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                        THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1990
                          ELECTRONIC VERSION

    The World Factbook is produced annually by the Central Intelligence
Agency for the use of United States Government officials, and the style,
format, coverage, and content are designed to meet their specific
requirements. Comments and queries are welcome and may be addressed to:

                       Central Intelligence Agency
                       Attn: Public Affairs
                       Washington, DC 20505
                       [phone]

----------------------------------------------------
                     Table of Contents

Text (249 nations, dependent areas, and other entities)
    Afghanistan
    Albania
    Algeria
    American Samoa
    Andorra
    Angola
    Anguilla
    Antarctica
    Antigua and Barbuda
    Arctic Ocean
    Argentina
    Aruba
    Ashmore and Cartier Islands
    Atlantic Ocean
    Australia
    Austria

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

    Cambodia
    Cameroon
    Canada
    Cape Verde
    Cayman Islands
    Central African Republic
    Chad
    Chile
    China (also see separate Taiwan entry)
    Christmas Island
    Clipperton Island
    Cocos (Keeling) Islands
    Colombia
    Comoros
    Congo
    Cook Islands
    Coral Sea Islands
    Costa Rica
    Cuba
    Cyprus
    Czechoslovakia

    Denmark
    Djibouti
    Dominica
    Dominican Republic

    Ecuador
    Egypt
    El Salvador
    Equatorial Guinea
    Ethiopia
    Europa Island

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

    Gabon
    Gambia, The
    Gaza Strip
    German Democratic Republic
      (East Germany)
    Germany, Federal Republic of
      (West Germany)
    Ghana
    Gibraltar
    Glorioso Islands
    Greece
    Greenland
    Grenada
    Guadeloupe
    Guam
    Guatemala
    Guernsey
    Guinea
    Guinea-Bissau
    Guyana

    Haiti
    Heard Island and McDonald Islands
    Honduras
    Hong Kong
    Howland Island
    Hungary

    Iceland
    India
    Indian Ocean
    Indonesia
    Iran
    Iraq
    Iraq-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone
    Ireland
    Israel (also see separate Gaza Strip and West Bank entries)
    Italy
    Ivory Coast

    Jamaica
    Jan Mayen
    Japan
    Jarvis Island
    Jersey
    Johnston Atoll
    Jordan (also see separate West Bank entry)
    Juan de Nova Island

    Kenya
    Kingman Reef
    Kiribati
    Korea, North
    Korea, South
    Kuwait

    Laos
    Lebanon
    Lesotho
    Liberia
    Libya
    Liechtenstein
    Luxembourg

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

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

    Oman

    Pacific Islands, Trust Territory of the
      (Palau)
    Pacific Ocean
    Pakistan
    Palmyra Atoll
    Panama
    Papua New Guinea
    Paracel Islands
    Paraguay
    Peru
    Philippines
    Pitcairn Islands
    Poland
    Portugal
    Puerto Rico

    Qatar

    Reunion
    Romania
    Rwanda

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

    Taiwan entry follows Zimbabwe
    Tanzania
    Thailand
    Togo
    Tokelau
    Tonga
    Trinidad and Tobago
    Tromelin Island
    Tunisia
    Turkey
    Turks and Caicos Islands
    Tuvalu

    Uganda
    United Arab Emirates
    United Kingdom
    United States
    Uruguay

    Vanuatu
    Vatican City
    Venezuela
    Vietnam
    Virgin Islands

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

    Yemen Arab Republic
      {Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen}
    Yemen, People's Democratic Republic of
      {Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen}
    Yugoslavia

    Zaire
    Zambia
    Zimbabwe

    Taiwan

Appendix A: The United Nations System
Appendix B: International Organizations
Appendix C: Country Membership in International Organizations
Appendix D: Weights and Measures
Appendix E: Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names

Note: all maps will be available only in the printed version for the
  foreseeable future
----------------------------------------------------
                  Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations

There have been some significant changes in this edition. In the
Government section the former Branches entry has been replaced by
three entries--Executive branch, Legislative branch, and Judicial
branch. The Leaders entry now has subentries for Chief of State,
Head of Government, and their deputies. The Elections entry has
been completely redone with information for each branch of the
national government, including the date for the last election, the
date for the next election, results (percent of vote by candidate or
party), and current distribution of seats by party. In the Economy
section there is a new entry on Illicit drugs.

Abbreviations: (see Appendix B for international organizations)

          avdp.     avoirdupois
          c.i.f.    cost, insurance, and freight
          CY        calendar year
          DWT       deadweight ton
          est.      estimate
          Ex-Im     Export-Import Bank of the United States
          f.o.b.    free on board
          FRG       Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)
          FY        fiscal year
          GDP       gross domestic product
          GDR       German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
          GNP       gross national product
          GRT       gross register ton
          km        kilometer
          km2       square kilometer
          kW        kilowatt
          kWh       kilowatt-hour
          m         meter
          NA        not available
          NEGL      negligible
          nm        nautical mile
          NZ        New Zealand
          ODA       official development assistance
          OOF       other official flows
          PDRY      People's Democratic Republic of Yemen {Yemen
                    (Aden) or South Yemen}
          UAE       United Arab Emirates
          UK        United Kingdom
          US        United States
          USSR      Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union)
          YAR       Yemen Arab Republic {Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen}

Administrative divisions: The numbers, designatory terms, and
first-order administrative divisions are generally those approved by the
United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) as of 5 April 1990. Changes
that have been reported but not yet acted upon by BGN are noted.

Area: Total area is the sum of all land and water areas delimited
by international boundaries and/or coastlines. Land area is the
aggregate of all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or
coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers).
Comparative areas are based on total area equivalents. Most entities
are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states. The smaller
entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 km2, 69 miles2) or
The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 km2, 0.23 miles2, 146 acres).

Birth rate: The average annual number of births during a year
per 1,000 population at midyear. Also known as crude birth rate.

Contributors: Information was provided by the Bureau of the
Census (Department of Commerce), Central Intelligence Agency,
Defense Intelligence Agency, Defense Nuclear Agency, Department of
State, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Navy Operational
Intelligence Center and Maritime Administration (merchant marine data),
Office of Territorial and International Affairs (Department of the
Interior), United States Board on Geographic Names, United States
Coast Guard, and others.

Dates of information: In general, information available as of 1
January 1990 was used in the preparation of this edition. Population
figures are estimates for 1 July 1990, with population growth rates
estimated for mid-1990 through mid-1991. Major political events have
been updated through 30 March 1990. Military age figures are average
annual estimates for 1990-94.

Death rate: The average annual number of deaths during a year
per l,000 population at midyear. Also known as crude death rate.

Diplomatic representation: The US Government has diplomatic
relations with 162 nations. There are only 144 US embassies, since some
nations have US ambassadors accredited to them, but no physical US
mission exists. The US has diplomatic relations with 149 of the 159 UN
members--the exceptions are Albania, Angola, Byelorussia (constituent
republic of the Soviet Union), Cambodia, Cuba, Iran, Vietnam, People's
Democratic Republic of Yemen {Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen}, Ukraine
(constituent republic of the Soviet Union) and, obviously, the US itself.
In addition, the US has diplomatic relations with 13 nations that are not
in the UN--Andorra, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati,
Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Nauru, San Marino, South Korea,
Switzerland, Tonga, Tuvalu, and the Vatican City. North Korea is not in
the UN and the US does not have diplomatic relations with that nation.
The US has not recognized the incorporation of Estonia, Latvia, and
Lithuania into the Soviet Union and continues to accredit the diplomatic
representatives of their last free governments.

Disputes: This category includes a wide variety of situations
that range from traditional bilateral boundary disputes to unilateral
claims of one sort or another. Every international land boundary
dispute in the "Guide to International Boundaries," a map published
by the Department of State, is included. References to other situations
may also be included that are border- or frontier-relevant, such as
maritime disputes, geopolitical questions, or irredentist issues.
However, inclusion does not necessarily constitute official acceptance
or recognition by the US Government.

Entities: Some of the nations, dependent areas, areas of special
sovereignty, and governments included in this publication are not
independent, and others are not officially recognized by the US
Government. Nation refers to a people politically organized into a
sovereign state with a definite territory. Dependent area refers to a
broad category of political entities that are associated in some way
with a nation. Names used for page headings are usually the short-form
names as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names. The
long-form name is included in the Government section and an entry
of "none" indicates a long-form name does not exist. In some
instances, no short-form name exists--then the long-form name must
serve for all usages.

There are 249 entities in the Factbook that may be categorized as
follows:

NATIONS
157 UN members (there are 159 members in the UN, but only 157 are
      included in The World Factbook because Byelorussia and Ukraine are
      constituent republics of the Soviet Union)
 15 nations that are not members of the UN--Andorra, Federated States of
      Micronesia, Kiribati, Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Monaco,
      Namibia, Nauru, North Korea, San Marino, South Korea, Switzerland,
      Tonga, Tuvalu, Vatican City

OTHER
  1 Taiwan

DEPENDENT AREAS
  6 Australia--Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island,
      Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and
      McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island
  2 Denmark--Faroe Islands, Greenland
 16 France--Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island,
      French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic
      Lands, Glorioso Islands, Guadeloupe, Juan de Nova Island,
      Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Reunion, St. Pierre and
      Miquelon, Tromelin Island, Wallis and Futuna
  2 Netherlands--Aruba, Netherlands Antilles
  3 New Zealand--Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau
  3 Norway--Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard
  1 Portugal--Macau
 16 United Kingdom--Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory,
      British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands,
      Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, Montserrat,
      Pitcairn Islands, St. Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich
      Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
 15 United States--American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island,
      Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands,
      Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll,
      Puerto Rico, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Palau),
      Virgin Islands, Wake Island

MISCELLANEOUS
  7 Antarctica, Gaza Strip, Iraq-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone,
      Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands, West Bank, Western Sahara

OTHER ENTITIES
  4 oceans--Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean
  1 World
===
249 total

Notes: The US Government has not recognized the incorporation of
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into the Soviet Union as constituent
republics during World War II. Those Baltic states are not members of the
UN and are not included in the list of nations. The US Government does
not recognize the four so-called "independent" homelands of
Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, and Venda in South Africa.

Gross domestic product (GDP): The value of all goods and
services produced domestically.

Gross national product (GNP): The value of all goods and
services produced domestically, plus income earned abroad, minus
income earned by foreigners from domestic production.

GNP/GDP methodology: GNP/GDP dollar estimates for the OECD
countries, the USSR, Eastern Europe, and a portion of the developing
countries, are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP)
calculations rather than from conversions at official currency exchange
rates. The PPP methods involve the use of average price weights,
which lie between the weights of the domestic and foreign price systems;
using these weights, US $100 converted into German marks by a PPP
method will buy an equal amount of goods and services in both the US
and Germany. One caution: the proportion of, say, military expenditures
as a percent of GNP/GDP in local currency accounts may differ
substantially from the proportion when GNP/GDP is expressed in PPP dollar
terms, as, for example, when an observer estimates the dollar level of
Soviet or Japanese military expenditures. Similarly, dollar figures for
exports and imports reflect the price patterns of international
markets rather than PPP price patterns.

Growth rate (population): The annual percent change in the
population, resulting from a surplus (or deficit) of births over
deaths and the balance of migrants entering and leaving a country.
The rate may be positive or negative.

Illicit drugs: There are five categories of illicit
drugs--narcotics, stimulants, depressants (sedatives), hallucinogens,
and cannabis. These categories include many drugs legally produced and
prescribed by doctors as well as those illegally produced and sold
outside medical channels.

  Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) is the common hemp plant, provides
hallucinogens with some sedative properties, and includes marijuana (pot,
Acapulco gold, grass, reefer), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, Marinol),
hashish (hash), and hashish oil (hash oil).

  Coca (Erythroxylon coca) is a bush and the leaves contain the stimulant
cocaine. Coca is not to be confused with cocoa which comes from cacao
seeds and is used in making chocolate, cocoa, and cocoa butter.

  Cocaine is a stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca bush.

  Depressants (sedatives) are drugs that reduce tension and anxiety and
include chloral hydrate, barbiturates (Amytal, Nembutal, Seconal,
phenobarbital), benzodiazepines (Librium, Valium), methaqualone
(Quaalude), glutethimide (Doriden), and others (Equanil, Placidyl,
Valmid).

  Drugs are any chemical substances that effect a physical, mental,
emotional, or behavioral change in an individual.

  Drug abuse is the use of any licit or illicit chemical substance that
results in physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral impairment in an
individual.

  Hallucinogens are drugs that affect sensation, thinking,
self-awareness, and emotion. Hallucinogens include LSD (acid, microdot),
mescaline and peyote (mexc, buttons, cactus), amphetamine variants (PMA,
STP, DOB), phencyclidine (PCP, angel dust, hog), phencyclidine analogues
(PCE, PCPy, TCP), and others (psilocybin, psilocyn).

  Hashish is the resinous exudate of the cannabis or hemp plant
(Cannabis sativa).

  Heroin is a semisynthetic derivative of morphine.

  Marijuana is the dried leaves of the cannabis or hemp plant
(Cannabis sativa).

  Narcotics are drugs that relieve pain, often induce sleep, and refer to
opium, opium derivatives, and synthetic substitutes. Natural narcotics
include opium (paregoric, parepectolin), morphine (MS-Contin, Roxanol),
codeine (Tylenol w/codeine, Empirin w/codeine, Robitussan A-C), and
thebaine. Semisynthetic narcotics include heroin (horse, smack), and
hydromorphone (Dilaudid). Synthetic narcotics include meperidine or
Pethidine (Demerol, Mepergan), methadone (Dolophine, Methadose), and
others (Darvon, Lomotil).

  Opium is the milky exudate of the incised, unripe seedpod of the
opium poppy.

  Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) is the source for many natural and
semisynthetic narcotics.

  Poppy straw concentrate is the alkaloid derived from the mature dried
opium poppy.

  Qat (kat, khat) is a stimulant from the buds or leaves of Catha edulis
that is chewed or drunk as tea.

  Stimulants are drugs that relieve mild depression, increase energy and
activity, and include cocaine (coke, snow, crack), amphetamines (Desoxyn,
Dexedrine), phenmetrazine (Preludin), methylphenidate (Ritalin), and
others (Cylert, Sanorex, Tenuate).

Infant mortality rate: The number of deaths to infants under one
year of age in a given year per l,000 live births occurring in the same
year.

Land use: Human use of the land surface is categorized as
arable land--land cultivated for crops that are replanted after
each harvest (wheat, maize, rice); permanent crops--land
cultivated for crops that are not replanted after each harvest
(citrus, coffee, rubber); meadows and pastures--land permanently
used for herbaceous forage crops; forest and woodland--land under
dense or open stands of trees; and other--any land type not
specifically mentioned above (urban areas, roads, desert). The
percentage figure for irrigated refers to the portion of the entire
amount of land area that is artificially supplied with water.

Leaders: The chief of state is the titular leader of the country
who represents the state at official and ceremonial funcions but is not
involved with the day-to-day activities of the government. The head
of government is the administrative leader who manages the day-to-day
activities of the government. In the UK, the monarch is the chief
of state and the prime minister is the head of government. In the US,
the President is both the chief of state and the head of government.

Life expectancy at birth: The average number of years to be lived
by a group of people all born in the same year, if mortality at each
age remains constant in the future.

Maritime claims: The proximity of neighboring states may prevent
some national claims from being fully extended.

Merchant marine: All ships engaged in the carriage of goods. All
commercial vessels (as opposed to all nonmilitary ships), which
excludes tugs, fishing vessels, offshore oil rigs, etc. Also, a
grouping of merchant ships by nationality or register.

     Captive register--A register of ships maintained by a territory,
possession, or colony primarily or exclusively for the use of ships
owned in the parent country. Also referred to as an offshore register,
the offshore equivalent of an internal register. Ships on a captive
register will fly the same flag as the parent country, or a local
variant of it, but will be subject to the maritime laws and taxation
rules of the offshore territory. Although the nature of a captive
register makes it especially desirable for ships owned in the parent
country, just as in the internal register, the ships may also be owned
abroad. The captive register then acts as a flag of convenience
register, except that it is not the register of an independent state.

     Flag of convenience register--A national register offering
registration to a merchant ship not owned in the flag state. The major
flags of convenience (FOC) attract ships to their register by virtue
of low fees, low or nonexistent taxation of profits, and liberal
manning requirements. True FOC registers are characterized by having
relatively few of the ships registered actually owned in the flag
state. Thus, while virtually any flag can be used for ships under a
given set of circumstances, an FOC register is one where the majority
of the merchant fleet is owned abroad. It is also referred to as an
open register.

     Flag state--The nation in which a ship is registered and which
holds legal jurisdiction over operation of the ship, whether at home
or abroad. Differences in flag state maritime legislation determine
how a ship is manned and taxed and whether a foreign-owned ship may be
placed on the register.

      Internal register--A register of ships maintained as a subset of
a national register. Ships on the internal register fly the national
flag and have that nationality but are subject to a separate set of
maritime rules from those on the main national register. These
differences usually include lower taxation of profits, manning by
foreign nationals, and, usually, ownership outside the flag state
(when it functions as an FOC register). The Norwegian International
Ship Register and Danish International Ship Register are the most
notable examples of an internal register. Both have been instrumental
in stemming flight from the national flag to flags of convenience and in
attracting foreign-owned ships to the Norwegian and Danish flags.

     Merchant ship--A vessel that carries goods against payment of
freight. Commonly used to denote any nonmilitary ship but accurately
restricted to commercial vessels only.

     Register--The record of a ship's ownership and nationality as
listed with the maritime authorities of a country. Also, the
compendium of such individual ships' registrations. Registration of
a ship provides it with a nationality and makes it subject to the laws
of the country in which registered (the flag state) regardless of the
nationality of the ship's ultimate owner.

Money figures: All are expressed in contemporaneous US dollars
unless otherwise indicated.

Net migration rate: The balance between the number of persons
entering and leaving a country during the year per 1,000 persons
(based on midyear population). An excess of persons entering the
country is referred to as net immigration (3.56 migrants/1,000
population); an excess of persons leaving the country as net
emigration (-9.26 migrants/1,000 population).

Population: Figures are estimates from the Bureau of the Census
based on statistics from population censuses, vital registration
systems, or sample surveys pertaining to the recent past, and on
assumptions about future trends.

Total fertility rate: The average number of children that would
be born per woman if all women lived to the end of their childbearing
years and bore children according to a given fertility rate at each age.

Years: All year references are for the calendar year (CY) unless
indicated as fiscal year (FY).

-------------------------------------------------------------------
                        THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1990
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Country:  Afghanistan
- Geography
Total area: 647,500 km2; land area: 647,500 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries: 5,826 km total; China 76 km, Iran 936 km,
Pakistan 2,430 km, USSR 2,384 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Disputes: Pashtun question with Pakistan; Baloch question with Iran
and Pakistan; periodic disputes with Iran over Helmand water rights;
insurgency with Iranian and Pakistani involvement; traditional tribal
rivalries

Climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

Natural resources: natural gas, crude oil, coal, copper, talc, barites,
sulphur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones

Land use: 12% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 46% meadows and
pastures; 3% forest and woodland; 39% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains;
soil degradation, desertification, overgrazing, deforestation, pollution

Note: landlocked

- People
Population: 15,862,293 (July 1990), growth rate 7.7% (1990)

Birth rate: 44 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 18 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 51 migrants/1,000 population (1990);
note--there are flows across the border in both directions, but data are
fragmentary and unreliable

Infant mortality rate: 154 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 47 years male, 46 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.4 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Afghan(s); adjective--Afghan

Ethnic divisions: 50% Pashtun, 25% Tajik, 9% Uzbek, 12-15% Hazara; minor
ethnic groups include Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others

Religion: 74% Sunni Muslim, 15% Shia Muslim, 11% other

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

Literacy: 12%

Labor force: 4,980,000; 67.8% agriculture and animal husbandry,
10.2% industry, 6.3% construction, 5.0% commerce, 10.7% services and other
(1980 est.)

Organized labor: some small government-controlled unions

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Afghanistan

Type: authoritarian

Capital: Kabul

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

Independence: 19 August 1919 (from UK)

Constitution: adopted 30 November 1987

Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Anniversary of the Saur Revolution, 27 April (1978)

Executive branch: president, four vice presidents, prime minister,
deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Meli Shura) consists of
an upper house or Senate (Sena) and a lower house or House of Representatives
(Wolasi Jirgah)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President (Mohammad)
NAJIBULLAH (Ahmadzai) (since 30 November 1987); Chairman of the Council
of Ministers Executive Committee Soltan Ali KESHTMAND (since 21
February 1989); Prime Minister Fazil Haq KHALIQYAR (since 21 May 1990)

Political parties and leaders: only party--the People's Democratic
Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) has two factions--the Parchami faction
has been in power since December 1979 and members of the deposed Khalqi
faction continue to hold some important posts mostly in the military and
Ministry of Interior; nonparty figures hold some posts

Suffrage: universal, male ages 15-50

Elections:
Senate--last held NA April 1988 (next to be held April 1991);
results--PDPA is the only party;
seats--(192 total, 115 elected) PDPA 115;

House of Representatives--last held NA April 1988 (next to be held
April 1993);
results--PDPA is the only party;
seats--(234 total) PDPA 184, 50 seats reserved for opposition

Communists: the PDPA claims 200,000 members (1988)

Other political or pressure groups: the military and other branches of
internal security have been rebuilt by the USSR; insurgency continues
throughout the country; widespread anti-Soviet and antiregime sentiment
and opposition on religious and political grounds

Member of: ADB, CCC, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, ITU, NAM, UN,
UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO, WSG; suspended from OIC in January 1980

Diplomatic representation: Minister-Counselor, Charge d'Affaires MIAGOL;
Chancery at 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
[phone] or 3771; US--Charge d'Affaires (vacant);
Embassy at Ansari Wat, Wazir Akbar Khan Mina, Kabul; telephone 62230 through
62235 or 62436; note--US Embassy in Kabul was closed in January 1989

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with the
national coat of arms superimposed on the hoist side of the black and red bands;
similar to the flag of Malawi which is shorter and bears a radiant, rising, red
sun centered in the black band

- Economy
Overview: Fundamentally, Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked
country, highly dependent on farming (wheat especially) and livestock
raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations, however, have played
second fiddle to political and military upheavals, including the nine-year
Soviet military occupation (ended 15 February 1989) and the continuing
bloody civil war. Over the past decade, one-third of the population has
fled the country, with Pakistan sheltering some 3 million refugees
and Iran perhaps 2 million. Another 1 million have probably
moved into and around urban areas within Afghanistan. Large numbers
of bridges, buildings, and factories have been destroyed or
damaged by military action or sabotage. Government claims
to the contrary, gross domestic product almost certainly is
lower than 10 years ago because of the loss of labor and capital
and the disruption of trade and transport. Official claims indicate
that agriculture grew by 0.7% and industry by 3.5% in 1988.

GDP: $3 billion, per capita $200; real growth rate 0% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): over 50% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues NA; expenditures $646.7 million, including capital
expenditures of $370.2 million (FY87 est.)

Exports: $512 million (f.o.b., FY88);
commodities--natural gas 55%, fruits and nuts 24%, handwoven carpets,
wool, cotton, hides, and pelts;
partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe

Imports: $996 million (c.i.f., FY88);
commodities--food and petroleum products;
partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe

External debt: $1.8 billion (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 6.2% (FY89 plan)

Electricity: 480,000 kW capacity; 1,470 million kWh produced,
100 kWh per capita (1989)

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

Agriculture: largely subsistence farming and nomadic animal husbandry;
cash products--wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts, wool, mutton

Illicit drugs: an illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis
for the international drug trade; world's second largest opium producer
(after Burma) and a major source of hashish

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $265 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $419 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $57 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$4.1 billion

Currency: afghani (plural--afghanis); 1 afghani (Af) = 100 puls

Exchange rates: afghanis (Af) per US$1--50.6 (fixed rate since
1982)

Fiscal year: 21 March-20 March

- Communications
Railroads: 9.6 km (single track) 1.524-meter gauge from Kushka (USSR) to
Towraghondi and 15.0 km from Termez (USSR) to Kheyrabad transshipment
point on south bank of Amu Darya

Highways: 21,000 km total (1984); 2,800 km hard surface, 1,650 km
bituminous-treated gravel and improved earth, 16,550 km unimproved earth and
tracks

Inland waterways: total navigability 1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya, which
handles steamers up to about 500 metric tons

Pipelines: petroleum, oil, and lubricants pipelines--USSR
to Bagram and USSR to Shindand; natural gas, 180 km

Ports: Shir Khan and Kheyrabad (river ports)

Civil air: 2 TU-154, 2 Boeing 727, assorted smaller transports

Airports: 38 total, 34 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
15 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: limited telephone, telegraph, and radiobroadcast
services; television introduced in 1980; 31,200 telephones; stations--5 AM,
no FM, 1 TV; 1 satellite earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Armed Forces (Army; Air and Air Defense Forces); Border
Guard Forces; National Police Force (Sarandoi); Ministry of
State Security (WAD); Tribal Militia

Military manpower: males 15-49, 3,880,124; 2,080,725 fit for
military service; 168,021 reach military age (22) annually

Defense expenditures: 9.1% of GDP (1984)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Albania
- Geography
Total area: 28,750 km2; land area: 27,400 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundaries: 768 km total; Greece 282 km, Yugoslavia 486 km

Coastline: 362 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: not specified;

Territorial sea: 15 nm

Disputes: Kosovo question with Yugoslavia; Northern Epirus question
with Greece

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

Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast

Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, coal, chromium,
copper, timber, nickel

Land use: 21% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 15% meadows and pastures;
38% forest and woodland; 22% other; includes 1% irrigated

Environment: subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along
southwestern coast; deforestation seems to be slowing

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

- People
Population: 3,273,131 (July 1990), growth rate 1.9% (1990)

Birth rate: 25 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 52 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.0 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Albanian(s); adjective--Albanian

Ethnic divisions: Albanian 90%, Greeks 8%, other 2% (Vlachs,
Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)

Religion: Albania claims to be the world's first atheist state; all
churches and mosques were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited;
pre-1967 estimates of religious affiliation--70% Muslim, 20% Albanian Orthodox,
10% Roman Catholic

Language: Albanian (Tosk is official dialect), Greek

Literacy: 75%

Labor force: 1,500,000 (1987); about 60% agriculture, 40% industry and
commerce (1986)

Organized labor: Central Council of Albanian Trade Unions, 610,000
members

- Government
Long-form name: People's Socialist Republic of Albania

Type: Communist state (Stalinist)

Capital: Tirane

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

Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Turkey); People's Socialist
Republic of Albania declared 11 January 1946

Constitution: 27 December 1976

Legal system: judicial review of legislative acts only in the Presidium
of the People's Assembly, which is not a true court; has not accepted compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 November (1944)

Executive branch: president of the Presidium of the People's Assembly,
three vice presidents, Presidium of the People's Assembly; chairman of the
Council of Ministers, three deputy chairmen, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President of the Presidium of the People's Assembly Ramiz
ALIA (since 22 November 1982);

Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers Adil CARCANI
(since 14 January 1982)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Albanian Workers Party,
Ramiz Alia, first secretary

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 19 February 1987 (next to be held
February 1991);
results--President Ramiz Alia was reelected without opposition;

People's Assembly--last held 1 February 1987 (next to be held
February 1991);
results--Albanian Workers Party is the only party;
seats--(250 total) Albanian Workers Party 250

Communists: 147,000 party members (November 1986)

Member of: CCC, CEMA (has not participated since rift with USSR
in 1961), FAO, IAEA, IPU, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: none--the US does not recognize the Albanian
Government and has no diplomatic or consular relations with Albania; there is
no third-power representation of Albanian interests in the US or of US
interests in Albania

Flag: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center below a red
five-pointed star outlined in yellow

- Economy
Overview: As the poorest country in Europe, Albania's development
lags behind even the least favored areas of the Yugoslav economy.
The Stalinist-type economy operates on the principles of central
planning and state ownership of the means of production. In recent years
Albania has implemented limited economic reforms to stimulate its lagging
economy, although they do not go nearly so far as current reforms
in the USSR and Eastern Europe. Attempts at self-reliance and a
policy of not borrowing from international
lenders--sometimes overlooked in recent years--have greatly hindered the
development of a broad economic infrastructure. Albania, however,
possesses considerable mineral resources and is largely self-sufficient
in food. Numerical estimates of Albanian economic activity are
subject to an especially wide margin of error because the government
is isolated and closemouthed.

GNP: $3.8 billion, per capita $1,200; real growth rate NA% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $2.3 billion; expenditures $2.3 billion,
including capital expenditures of NA (1989)

Exports: $378 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.); commodities--asphalt,
bitumen, petroleum products, metals and metallic ores, electricity, oil,
vegetables, fruits, tobacco; partners--Italy, Yugoslavia, FRG,
Greece, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary

Imports: $255 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.); commodities--machinery,
machine tools, iron and steel products, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals;
partners--Italy, Yugoslavia, FRG, Czechoslovakia, Romania,
Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, GDR

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA

Electricity: 1,630,000 kW capacity; 4,725 million kWh produced,
1,440 kWh per capita (1989)

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

Agriculture: arable land per capita among lowest in Europe; one-half of
work force engaged in farming; produces wide range of temperate-zone crops
and livestock; claims self-sufficiency in grain output

Aid: none

Currency: lek (plural--leke); 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars

Exchange rates: leke (L) per US$1--8.00 (noncommercial fixed rate
since 1986), 4.14 (commercial fixed rate since 1987)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 543 km total; 509 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track and
34 km narrow gauge, single track (1988); line connecting Titograd (Yugoslavia)
and Shkoder (Albania) completed August 1986

Highways: 16,700 km total; 6,700 km highway and roads, 10,000 km forest
and agricultural

Inland waterways: 43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake
Ohrid, and Lake Prespa

Pipelines: crude oil, 145 km; refined products, 55 km; natural gas, 64 km
(1988)

Ports: Durres, Sarande, Vlore

Merchant marine: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,886 GRT/75,993
DWT; includes 11 cargo

Airports: 12 total, 10 usable; more than 5 with permanent-surface
runways; more than 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: stations--17 AM, 5 FM, 9 TV; 52,000 TV sets;
210,000 radios

- Defense Forces
Branches: Albanian People's Army, Frontier Troops, Interior Troops,
Albanian Coastal Defense Command, Air and Air Defense Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 882,965; 729,635 fit for military
service; 33,598 reach military age (19) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.1 billion leks, 11.3% of total budget (FY88);
note--conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the official
administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Algeria
- Geography
Total area: 2,381,740 km2; land area: 2,381,740 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas

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

Coastline: 998 km

Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: Libya claims about 19,400 km2 in southeastern Algeria

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

Terrain: mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow,
discontinuous coastal plain

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

Land use: 3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 13% meadows and
pastures; 2% forest and woodland; 82% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes;
desertification

Note: second largest country in Africa (after Sudan)

- People
Population: 25,566,507 (July 1990), growth rate 2.8% (1990)

Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 87 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 61 years male, 64 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 5.4 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Algerian(s); adjective--Algerian

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

Religion: 99% Sunni Muslim (state religion); 1% Christian and Jewish

Language: Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects

Literacy: 52%

Labor force: 3,700,000; 40% industry and commerce, 24% agriculture,
17% government, 10% services (1984)

Organized labor: 16-19% of labor force claimed; General Union of Algerian
Workers (UGTA) is the only labor organization and is subordinate to the
National Liberation Front

- Government
Long-form name: Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria

Type: republic

Capital: Algiers

Administrative divisions: 31 provinces (wilayat, singular--wilaya); Adrar,
Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bouira, Constantine,
Djelfa, El Asnam, Guelma, Jijel, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mostaganem,
M'sila, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el Bouaghi, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda,
Tamanrasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen; note--there may now be 48
provinces with El Asnam abolished, and the addition of 18 new provinces named
Ain Delfa, Ain Temouchent, Bordjbou, Boumerdes, Chlef, El Bayadh, El Oued,
El Tarf, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Mila, Naama, Relizane, Souk Ahras, Tindouf,
Tipaza, Tissemsilt

Independence: 5 July 1962 (from France)

Constitution: 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976

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

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

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Assembly (Assemblee
Nationale Populaire)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Chadli BENDJEDID (since 7 February 1979);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Mouloud HAMROUCHE (since 9 September
1989)

Political parties and leaders: National Liberation Front (FLN),
Col. Chadli Bendjedid, chairman; Abdelhamid Mehri, secretary general;
the government established a multiparty system in September 1989 and
as of 1 February 1990 19 legal parties existed

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held on 22 December 1988 (next to be held December
1993); results--President Bendjedid was reelected without opposition;

People's National Assembly--last held on 26 February 1987 (next
to be held by February 1992);
results--FLN was the only party;
seats--(281 total) FLN 281; note--the government has promised
to hold multiparty elections (municipal and wilaya) in June
1990, the first in Algerian history

Communists: 400 (est.); Communist party banned 1962

Member of: AfDB, AIOEC, Arab League, ASSIMER, CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT
(de facto), IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, ILO,
IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, ILZSG, INTERPOL, IOOC, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN,
UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Abderrahmane BENSID;
Chancery at 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
[phone];
US--Ambassador Christopher W. S. ROSS; Embassy at 4 Chemin Cheich Bachir
Brahimi, Algiers (mailing address is B. P. Box 549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers);
telephone p213o (2) 601-425 or 255, 186; there is a US Consulate in Oran

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

- Economy
Overview: The exploitation of oil and natural gas products forms the
backbone of the economy. Algeria depends on hydrocarbons for nearly all of its
export receipts, about 30% of government revenues, and nearly 25%
of GDP. In 1973-74 the sharp increase in oil prices led to a booming economy
that helped to finance an ambitious program of industrialization. Plunging oil
and gas prices, combined with the mismanagement of Algeria's highly centralized
economy, have brought the nation to its most serious social and economic crisis
since independence. The government has promised far-reaching reforms, including
giving public sector companies more autonomy, encouraging private-sector
activity, boosting gas and nonhydrocarbon exports, and a major overhaul
of the banking and financial systems. In 1988 the government started to
implement a new economic policy to dismantle large state farms into
privately operated units.

GDP: $54.1 billion, per capita $2,235; real growth rate - 1.8%
(1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.9% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 19% (1988)

Budget: revenues $17.4 billion; expenditures $22.0 billion, including
capital expenditures of $8.0 billion (1988)

Exports: $9.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--petroleum and natural gas 98%;
partners--Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Italy, France, US

Imports: $7.8 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--capital goods 35%, consumer goods 36%, food 20%;
partners--France 25%, Italy 8%, FRG 8%, US 6-7%

External debt: $26.2 billion (December 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 5.4% (1986)

Electricity: 4,333,000 kW capacity; 14,370 million kWh produced,
580 kWh per capita (1989)

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

Agriculture: accounts for 8% of GDP and employs 24% of labor force;
net importer of food--grain, vegetable oil, and sugar; farm production
includes wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits, sheep, and cattle

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-85), $1.4 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $8.2 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $1.8 billion; Communist countries (1970-88),
$2.7 billion

Currency: Algerian dinar (plural--dinars); 1 Algerian dinar
(DA) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Algerian dinars (DA) per US$1--8.0086 (January
1990), 7.6086 (1989), 5.9148 (1988), 4.8497 (1987), 4.7023 (1986), 5.0278 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 4,146 km total; 2,632 km standard gauge (1.435 m), 1,258 km
1.055-meter gauge, 256 km 1.000-meter gauge; 300 km electrified; 215 km double
track

Highways: 80,000 km total; 60,000 km concrete or bituminous, 20,000 km
gravel, crushed stone, unimproved earth

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

Ports: Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Jijel, Mers el Kebir, Mostaganem,
Oran, Skikda

Merchant marine: 75 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 900,957
GRT/1,063,994 DWT; includes 5 passenger, 27 cargo, 2 vehicle carrier,
10 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 5 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
9 liquefied gas, 7 chemical tanker, 9 bulk, 1 specialized liquid cargo

Civil air: 42 major transport aircraft

Airports: 147 total, 136 usable; 53 with permanent-surface runways;
2 with runways over 3,660 m; 29 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 68 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: excellent domestic and international service in the
north, sparse in the south; 693,000 telephones; stations--26 AM, no FM, 113 TV;
1,550,000 TV sets; 3,500,000 receiver sets; 6 submarine cables; coaxial cable or
radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; satellite earth
stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Intersputnik,
1 ARABSAT, and 15 domestic

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie

Military manpower: males 15-49, 5,886,334; 3,638,458 fit for military
service; 293,476 reach military age (19) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.8% of GDP, or $974 million (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  American Samoa
(territory of the US)
- Geography
Total area: 199 km2; land area: 199 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 116 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

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

Terrain: five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal
plains, two coral atolls

Natural resources: pumice and pumicite

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

Environment: typhoons common from December to March

Note: Pago Pago has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in
the South Pacific Ocean, sheltered by shape from rough seas and protected by
peripheral mountains from high winds; strategic location about 3,700 km
south-southwest of Honolulu in the South Pacific Ocean about halfway between
Hawaii and New Zealand

- People
Population: 41,840 (July 1990), growth rate 2.9% (1990)

Birth rate: 41 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 8 immigrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 11 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 74 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 5.4 children born/woman (1990)

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

Ethnic divisions: 90% Samoan (Polynesian), 2% Caucasian, 2% Tongan,
6% other

Religion: about 50% Christian Congregationalist, 20% Roman Catholic,
30% mostly Protestant denominations and other

Language: Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian
languages) and English; most people are bilingual

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 10,000; 48% government, 33% tuna canneries, 19% other
(1986 est.)

Organized labor: NA

Note: about 65,000 American Samoans live in the States of
California and Washington and 20,000 in Hawaii

- Government
Long-form name: Territory of American Samoa

Type: unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US

Capital: Pago Pago

Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US)

Independence: none (territory of the US)

Constitution: ratified 1966, in effect 1967

National holiday: Flag Day, 17 April (1900)

Executive branch: US president, governor, lieutenant governor

Legislative branch: bicameral Legislature (Fono) consists of an upper
house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

Judicial branch: High Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President George BUSH (since 20 January 1989);
Vice President Dan QUAYLE (since 20 January 1989);

Head of Government--Governor Peter Tali COLEMAN (since 20
January 1989);
Lieutenant Governor Galea'i POUMELE (since NA 1989)

Suffrage: universal at age 18; indigenous inhabitants are US nationals,
not US citizens

Elections:
Governor--last held 7 November 1988 (next to be held November
1992); results--Peter T. Coleman was elected (percent of vote NA);

Senate--last held 7 November 1988 (next to be held November
1992);
results--senators elected by county councils from 12 senate
districts;
seats--(18 total) number of seats by party NA;

House of Representatives--last held 7 November 1988 (next to be
held November 1990);
results--representatives popularly elected from 17 house districts;
seats--(21 total, 20 elected and 1 nonvoting delegate from Swain's
Island);

US House of Representatives--last held 19 November 1988 (next
to be held November 1990);
results--Eni R. F. H. Faleomavaega elected as a nonvoting delegate

Communists: none

Diplomatic representation: none (territory of the US)

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

Note: administered by the US Department of Interior, Office of
Territorial and International Affairs; indigenous inhabitants are US
nationals, not citizens of the US

- Economy
Overview: Economic development is strongly linked to the US, with
which American Samoa does 90% of its foreign trade. Tuna fishing and tuna
processing plants are the backbone of the private sector economy, with canned
tuna the primary export. The tuna canneries are the second-largest
employer, exceeded only by the government. Other economic activities include
meat canning, handicrafts, dairy farming, and a slowly developing tourist
industry. Tropical agricultural production provides little surplus for export.

GNP: $190 million, per capita $5,210; real growth rate NA% (1985)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.3% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 13.4% (1986)

Budget: revenues $90.3 million; expenditures $93.15 million, including
capital expenditures of $4.9 million (1988)

Exports: $288 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--canned tuna 93%;
partners--US 99.6%

Imports: $346 million (c.i.f., 1987);
commodities--building materials 18%, food 17%, petroleum
products 14%;
partners--US 72%, Japan 7%, NZ 7%, Australia 5%, other 9%

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 35,000 kW capacity; 70 million kWh produced,
1,720 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign supplies
of raw tuna)

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

Aid: $20.1 million in operational funds and $5.8 million in construction
funds for capital improvement projects from the US Department of Interior (1989)

Currency: US currency is used

Exchange rates: US currency is used

Fiscal year: 1 October-30 September

- Communications
Railroads: small marine railroad in Pago Pago harbor

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

Ports: Pago Pago, Ta'u

Airports: 3 total, 3 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440 to 3,659 m
(international airport at Tafuna, near Pago Pago); small airstrips on
Ta'u and Ofu

Telecommunications: 6,500 telephones; stations--1 AM, no FM, 1 TV; good
telex, telegraph, and facsimile services; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth
station

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Andorra
- Geography
Total area: 450 km2; land area: 450 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 125 km total; France 60 km, Spain 65 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

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

Terrain: rugged mountains dissected by narrow valleys

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

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

Environment: deforestation, overgrazing

Note: landlocked

- People
Population: 51,895 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 18 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.3 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Andorran(s); adjective--Andorran

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

Religion: virtually all Roman Catholic

Language: Catalan (official); many also speak some French and Castilian

Literacy: 100%

Labor force: NA

Organized labor: none

- Government
Long-form name: Principality of Andorra

Type: unique coprincipality under formal sovereignty of president of
France and Spanish bishop of Seo de Urgel, who are represented locally by
officials called verguers

Capital: Andorra la Vella

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

Independence: 1278

Constitution: none; some pareatges and decrees, mostly custom and usage

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

National holiday: Mare de Deu de Meritxell, 8 September

Executive branch: two co-princes (president of France, bishop of
Seo de Urgel in Spain), two designated representatives (French veguer,
Episcopal veguer), two permanent delegates (French prefect for the department
of Pyrenees-Orientales, Spanish vicar general for the Seo de Urgel diocese),
president of government, Executive Council

Legislative branch: unicameral General Council of the Valleys (Consell
General de las Valls)

Judicial branch: civil cases--Supreme Court of Andorra at Perpignan
(France) or the Ecclesiastical Court of the bishop of Seo de Urgel (Spain);
criminal cases--Tribunal of the Courts (Tribunal des Cortes)

Leaders:
Chiefs of State--French Co-Prince Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May
1981), represented by Veguer de Franca Louis DEBLE; Spanish Episcopal
Co-Prince Mgr. Joan MARTI y Alanis (since 31 January 1971), represented
by Veguer Episcopal Francesc BADIA Batalla;

Head of Government--Josep PINTAT Solans (since NA 1984)

Political parties and leaders: political parties not yet legally
recognized; traditionally no political parties but partisans for
particular independent candidates for the General Council on the basis of
competence, personality, and orientation toward Spain or France; various small
pressure groups developed in 1972; first formal political party, Andorran
Democratic Association, was formed in 1976 and reorganized in 1979 as
Andorran Democratic Party

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
General Council of the Valleys--last held 11 December 1989
(next to be held December 1993);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(28 total) number of seats by party NA

Communists: negligible

Member of: CCC, UNESCO

Diplomatic representation: Andorra has no mission in the US;
US--includes Andorra within the Barcelona (Spain) Consular District and
the US Consul General visits Andorra periodically; Consul General Ruth A. DAVIS;
Consulate General at Via Layetana 33, Barcelona 3, Spain (mailing
address APO NY 09286); telephone p34o (3) 319-9550

Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red
with the national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; the coat of arms
features a quartered shield; similar to the flag of Chad which does not have a
national coat of arms in the center; also similar to the flag of Romania which
has a national coat of arms featuring a mountain landscape below a red
five-pointed star and the words REPUBLICA SOCIALISTA ROMANIA at the bottom

- Economy
Overview: The mainstay of Andorra's economy is tourism. An estimated
12 million tourists visit annually, attracted by Andorra's duty-free
status and by its summer and winter resorts. Agricultural production is limited
by a scarcity of arable land, and most food has to be imported. The
principal livestock activity is sheep raising. Manufacturing consists mainly of
cigarettes, cigars, and furniture. The rapid pace of European economic
integration is a potential threat to Andorra's advantages from its
duty-free status.

GNP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: NA%

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

Exports: $0.017 million (f.o.b., 1986);
commodities--electricity; partners--France, Spain

Imports: $531 million (f.o.b., 1986); commodities--NA;
partners--France, Spain

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 35,000 kW capacity; 140 million kWh produced,
2,800 kWh per capita (1989)

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

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

Aid: none

Currency: French franc (plural--francs) and Spanish peseta
(plural--pesetas); 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes and 1 Spanish peseta
(Pta) = 100 centimos

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1--5.7598 (January 1990),
6.3801 (1989), 5.9569 (1988), 6.0107 (1987), 6.9261 (1986), 8.9852 (1985);
Spanish pesetas (Ptas) per US$1--109.69 (January 1990), 118.38 (1989),
116.49 (1988), 123.48 (1987), 140.05 (1986), 170.04 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 96 km

Telecommunications: international digital microwave network; international
landline circuits to France and Spain; stations--1 AM, no FM, no TV; 17,700
telephones

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of France and Spain
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Angola
- Geography
Total area: 1,246,700 km2; land area: 1,246,700 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

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

Coastline: 1,600 km

Maritime claims:

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 20 nm

Disputes: civil war since independence on 11 November 1975

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

Terrain: narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau

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

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

Environment: locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on plateau;
desertification

Note: Cabinda is separated from rest of country by Zaire

- People
Population: 8,534,483 (July 1990), growth rate 2.9% (1990)

Birth rate: 47 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 20 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 158 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 42 years male, 46 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.7 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Angolan(s); adjective--Angolan

Ethnic divisions: 37% Ovimbundu, 25% Kimbundu, 13% Bakongo, 2% Mestico,
1% European

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

Language: Portuguese (official); various Bantu dialects

Literacy: 41%

Labor force: 2,783,000 economically active; 85% agriculture, 15% industry
(1985 est.)

Organized labor: about 450,695 (1980)

- Government
Long-form name: People's Republic of Angola

Type: Marxist people's republic

Capital: Luanda

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

Independence: 11 November 1975 (from Portugal)

Constitution: 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978 and 11 August 1980

Legal system: based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law, but
being modified along socialist lines

National holiday: Independence Day, 11 November (1975)

Executive branch: president, chairman of the Council of Ministers,
Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Tribunal da Relacao)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Jose Eduardo dos
SANTOS (since 21 September 1979)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Popular Movement for the
Liberation of Angola-Labor Party (MPLA-Labor Party), Jose Eduardo
dos Santos; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA),
lost to the MPLA with Cuban military support in immediate postindependence
struggle, now carrying out insurgency

Suffrage: universal adult at age NA

Elections: none held to date

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), ICAO, IFAD, ILO,
IMO, INTELSAT, ITU, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UNICEF, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: none

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

- Economy
Overview: Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for
80-90% of the population, but accounts for only 10-20% of GDP. Oil production
is the most lucrative sector of the economy, contributing about 50% to
GDP. In recent years, however, the impact of fighting an internal war has
severely affected the economy and food has to be imported.

GDP: $5.0 billion, per capita $600; real growth rate 9.2% (1988 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues NA; expenditures $2.7 billion, including capital
expenditures of NA (1986 est.)

Exports: $2.9 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--oil, coffee,
diamonds, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton; partners--US,
USSR, Cuba, Portugal, Brazil

Imports: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--capital
equipment (machinery and electrical equipment), food, vehicles and spare parts,
textiles and clothing, medicines; substantial military deliveries;
partners--US, USSR, Cuba, Portugal, Brazil

External debt: $3.0 billion (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 506,000 kW capacity; 770 million kWh produced,
90 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: petroleum, mining (phosphate rock, diamonds), fish processing,
brewing, tobacco, sugar, textiles, cement, food processing, building
construction

Agriculture: cash crops--coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, sugar, manioc,
tobacco; food crops--cassava, corn, vegetables, plantains, bananas, and
other local foodstuffs; disruptions caused by civil war and marketing
deficiencies require food imports


Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $263 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $903 million;
Communist countries (1970-88), $1.3 billion

Currency: kwanza (plural--kwanza); 1 kwanza (Kz) = 100 lwei

Exchange rates: kwanza (Kz) per US$1--29.62 (fixed rate since 1976)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 3,189 km total; 2,879 km 1.067-meter gauge, 310 km 0.600-meter
gauge; limited trackage in use because of insurgent attacks; sections of the
Benguela Railroad closed because of insurgency

Highways: 73,828 km total; 8,577 km bituminous-surface treatment, 29,350
km crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth, remainder unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 1,295 km navigable

Pipelines: crude oil, 179 km

Ports: Luanda, Lobito, Namibe, Cabinda

Merchant marine: 12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
66,348 GRT/102,825 DWT; includes 11 cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants
(POL) tanker

Civil air: 27 major transport aircraft

Airports: 317 total, 184 usable; 28 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways over 3,659 m; 12 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 60 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: fair system of wire, radio relay, and troposcatter
routes; high frequency used extensively for military/Cuban links; 40,300
telephones; stations--17 AM, 13 FM, 2 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth
stations

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force/Air Defense; paramilitary
forces--People's Defense Organization and Territorial Troops, Frontier Guard,
Popular Vigilance Brigades

Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,049,295; 1,030,868 fit for military
service; 90,877 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Anguilla
(dependent territory of the UK)
- Geography
Total area: 91 km2; land area: 91 km2

Comparative area: about half the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 61 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds

Terrain: flat and low-lying island of coral and limestone

Natural resources: negligible; salt, fish, lobsters

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

Environment: frequent hurricanes, other tropical storms (July to October)

Note: located 270 km east of Puerto Rico

- People
Population: 6,883 (July 1990), growth rate 0.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 24 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 10 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 18 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 71 years male, 76 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Anguillan(s); adjective--Anguillan

Ethnic divisions: mainly of black African descent

Religion: Anglican, Methodist, and Roman Catholic

Language: English (official)

Literacy: 80%

Labor force: 2,780 (1984)

Organized labor: NA

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: The Valley

Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Constitution: 1 April 1982

Legal system: based on English common law

National holiday: Anguilla Day, 30 May

Executive branch: British monarch, governor, chief minister,
Executive Council (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly

Judicial branch: High Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by
Governor Geoffrey O. WHITTAKER (since NA 1987);

Head of Government--Chief Minister Emile GUMBS (since NA March
1984, served previously from February 1977 to May 1980)

Political parties and leaders: Anguilla National Alliance (ANA), Emile
Gumbs; Anguilla United Party (AUP), Ronald Webster; Anguilla Democratic Party
(ADP), Victor Banks

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
House of Assembly--last held 27 February 1989 (next to
be held February 1994);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(11 total, 7 elected) ANA 3, AUP 2, ADP 1, independent 1

Communists: none

Member of: Commonwealth

Diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Flag: two horizontal bands of white (top, almost triple width) and light
blue with three orange dolphins in an interlocking circular design centered
in the white band

- Economy
Overview: Anguilla has few natural resources, and the economy
depends heavily on lobster fishing, offshore banking, tourism, and
remittances from emigrants. In recent years the economy has benefited
from a boom in tourism. Development is planned to improve the
infrastructure, particularly transport and tourist facilities, and
also light industry. Improvement in the economy has reduced
unemployment from 40% in 1984 to about 5% in 1988.

GDP: $23 million, per capita $3,350 (1988 est.); real growth rate
8.2% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.5% (1988 est.)

Unemployment rate: 5.0% (1988 est.)

Budget: revenues $9.0 million; expenditures $8.8 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (1988 est.)

Exports: $NA; commodities--lobsters and salt; partners--NA

Imports: $NA; commodities--NA; partners --NA

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 3,000 kW capacity; 9 million kWh produced, 1,300 kWh per
capita (1988)

Industries: tourism, boat building, salt, fishing (including lobster)

Agriculture: pigeon peas, corn, sweet potatoes, sheep, goats, pigs,
cattle, poultry

Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1970-87), $33 million

Currency: East Caribbean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 EC dollar
(EC$) = 100 cents

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

Fiscal year: NA

- Communications
Highways: 60 km surfaced

Ports: Road Bay, Blowing Point

Civil air: no major transport aircraft

Airports: 3 total, 3 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways of 1,100 m
(Wallblake Airport)

Telecommunications: modern internal telephone system; 890 telephones;
stations--3 AM, 1 FM, no TV; radio relay link to island of St. Martin

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Antarctica
- Geography
Total area: about 14,000,000 km2; land area: about 14,000,000 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US;
second-smallest continent (after Australia)

Land boundaries: see entry on Disputes

Coastline: 17,968 km

Maritime claims: see entry on Disputes

Disputes: Antarctic Treaty suspends all claims; sections (some
overlapping) claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France (Adelie Land),
New Zealand (Ross Dependency), Norway (Queen Maud Land), and UK; Brazil claims
a Zone of Interest; the US and USSR do not recognize the territorial claims of
other nations and have made no claims themselves (but reserve the right to do
so); no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90o west and
150o west

Climate: severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation, and
distance from the ocean; East Antarctica colder than Antarctic Peninsula in
the west; warmest temperatures occur in January along the coast and average
slightly below freezing

Terrain: about 98% thick continental ice sheet, with average elevations
between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain ranges up to 5,000 meters high;
ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land,
and the scientific research areas of Graham Land and Ross Island on McMurdo
Sound; glaciers form ice shelves along about half of coastline

Natural resources: coal and iron ore; chromium, copper, gold, nickel,
platinum, and hydrocarbons have been found in small quantities along the coast;
offshore deposits of oil and gas

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

Environment: mostly uninhabitable; katabatic (gravity) winds blow
coastward from the high interior; frequent blizzards form near the foot of the
plateau; cyclonic storms form over the ocean and move clockwise around the
coast; during summer more solar radiation reaches the surface at the South
Pole than is received at the Equator in an equivalent period; in October 1987
it was reported that the ozone shield, which protects the Earth's surface
from harmful ultraviolet radiation, has dwindled to its lowest level
ever over Antarctica; subject to active volcanism (Deception Island)

Note: the coldest continent

- People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants; staffing of research stations
varies seasonally;

Summer (January) population--3,330; Argentina 179, Australia 216,
Brazil 36, Chile 124, China 62, France 46, FRG 9, GDR 15, India 59,
Italy 121, Japan 52, NZ 251, Poland 19, South Africa 102, South
Korea 17, UK 72, Uruguay 47, US 1,250, USSR 653 (1986-87);

Winter (July) population--1,148 total; Argentina 149, Australia
82, Brazil 11, Chile 59, China 16, France 32, FRG 9, GDR 9, India 17,
Japan 37, NZ 11, Poland 19, South Africa 15, UK 61, Uruguay 10, US 242,
USSR 369 (1986-87);

Year-round stations--43 total; Argentina 7, Australia 3, Brazil 1,
Chile 3, China 1, France 1, FRG 1, GDR 1, India 1, Japan 2, NZ 1,
Poland 1, South Africa 1, South Korea 1, UK 6, Uruguay 1, US 3, USSR 8
(1986-87);

Summer only stations--26 total; Argentina 3, Australia 3, Chile 4,
Italy 1, Japan 1, NZ 2, South Africa 2, US 4, USSR 6 (1986-87)

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: The Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 December 1959 and entered into
force on 23 June 1961, established, for at least 30 years, a legal framework for
peaceful use, scientific research, and suspension of territorial claims.
Administration is carried out through consultative member meetings--the 14th
and last meeting was held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in October 1987.

Consultative (voting) members include claimant nations (they claim portions of
Antarctica as national territory and some claims overlap) and nonclaimant
nations (they have made no claims to Antarctic territory, although the US and
USSR have reserved the right to do so and do not recognize the claims of
others); the year in parentheses indicates when an acceding nation was voted to
full consultative (voting) status, while no date indicates an original 1959
treaty signatory. Claimant nations are--Argentina, Australia, Chile, France,
New Zealand, Norway, and the UK. Nonclaimant nations are--Belgium,
Brazil (1983), China (1985), FRG (1981), GDR (1987), India (1983), Italy (1987),
Japan, Poland (1977), South Africa, Uruguay (1985), US, and the USSR.

Acceding (nonvoting) members, with year of accession in parenthesis,
are--Austria (1987), Bulgaria (1978), Cuba (1984), Czechoslovakia (1962),
Denmark (1965), Finland (1984), Greece (1987), Hungary (1984),
Netherlands (1987), North Korea (1987), Papua New Guinea (1981), Peru (1981),
Romania (1971), South Korea (1986), Spain (1982), and Sweden (1984).

Antarctic Treaty Summary: Article 1--area to be used for peaceful purposes only
and military activity, such as weapons testing, is prohibited, but military
personnel and equipment may be used for scientific purposes; Article 2--freedom
of scientific investigation and cooperation shall continue; Article 3--free
exchange of information and personnel; Article 4--does not recognize, dispute,
or establish territorial claims and no new claims shall be asserted while the
treaty is in force; Article 5--prohibits nuclear explosions or disposal of
radioactive wastes; Article 6--includes under the treaty all land and ice
shelves south of 60o 00' south, but that the water areas be covered by
international law; Article 7--treaty-state observers have free access, including
aerial observation, to any area and may inspect all stations, installations, and
equipment; advance notice of all activities and the introduction of
military personnel must be given; Article 8--allows for jurisdiction over
observers and scientists by their own states; Article 9--frequent consultative
meetings take place among member nations and acceding nations given consultative
status; Article 10--treaty states will discourage activities by any country in
Antarctica that are contrary to the treaty; Article 11--disputes to be settled
peacefully by the parties concerned or, ultimately, by the ICJ; Articles 12, 13,
14--deal with upholding, interpreting, and amending the treaty among involved
nations.

Other agreements: Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living
Resources; Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals; a mineral
resources agreement is currently undergoing ratification by the Antarctic Treaty
consultative parties

- Economy
Overview: No economic activity at present except for fishing off
the coast and small-scale tourism, both based abroad.  Exploitation of
mineral resources will be held back by technical difficulties, high
costs, and objections by environmentalists.

- Communications
Airports: 39 total; 25 usable; none with permanent surface runways;
3 with runways over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

- Defense Forces
Note: none; Article 7 of the Antarctic Treaty states that advance notice
of all activities and the introduction of military personnel must be given
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Antigua and Barbuda
- Geography
Total area: 440 km2; land area: 440 km2; includes Redonda

Comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 153 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands with some higher
volcanic areas

Natural resources: negligible; pleasant climate fosters
tourism

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

Environment: subject to hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October);
insufficient freshwater resources; deeply indented coastline provides many
natural harbors

Note: 420 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico

- People
Population: 63,726 (July 1990), growth rate 0.3% (1990)

Birth rate: 18 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 10 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 74 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Antiguan(s); adjective--Antiguan

Ethnic divisions: almost entirely of black African origin; some of
British, Portuguese, Lebanese, and Syrian origin

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

Language: English (official), local dialects

Literacy: 90% (est.)

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

Organized labor: Antigua and Barbuda Public Service Association
(ABPSA), membership 500; Antigua Trades and Labor Union (ATLU), 10,000 members;
Antigua Workers Union (AWU), 10,000 members (1986 est.)

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Saint John's

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

Independence: 1 November 1981 (from UK)

Constitution: 1 November 1981

Legal system: based on English common law

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 November (1981)

Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister,
deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or
Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Sir Wilfred Ebenezer JACOBS (since 1 November
1981, previously Governor since 1976);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Vere Cornwall BIRD, Sr. (since NA
1976); Deputy Prime Minister Lester BIRD (since NA 1976)

Political parties and leaders: Antigua Labor Party (ALP), Vere C. Bird,
Sr., Lester Bird; United National Democratic Party (UNDP), Dr. Ivor Heath

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
House of Representatives--last held 9 March 1989 (next to be
held 1994);
results--percentage of vote by party NA;
seats--(17 total) ALP 15, UNDP 1, independent 1

Communists: negligible

Other political or pressure groups: Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement
(ACLM), a small leftist nationalist group led by Leonard (Tim) Hector;
Antigua Trades and Labor Union (ATLU), headed by Noel Thomas

Member of: ACP, CARICOM, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ILO, IMF,
ISO, OAS, UN, UNESCO, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Edmund Hawkins LAKE;
Chancery at Suite 2H, 3400 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone [phone] or 5166, 5122, 5225; there is an Antiguan Consulate
in Miami;
US--the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and Barbuda,
and in his absence, the Embassy is headed by Charge d'Affaires
Roger R. GAMBLE; Embassy at Queen Elizabeth Highway, Saint John's
(mailing address is FPO Miami 34054); telephone [phone] or 3506

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

- Economy
Overview: The economy is primarily service oriented, with tourism the
most important determinant of economic performance. During the period
1983-87, real GDP expanded at an annual average rate of 8%. Tourism's
contribution to GDP, as measured by value added in hotels and restaurants, rose
from about 14% in 1983 to 17% in 1987, and stimulated growth in other
sectors--particularly in construction, communications, and public utilities.
During the same period the combined share of agriculture and manufacturing
declined from 12% to less than 10%. Antigua and Barbuda is one of the few areas
in the Caribbean experiencing a labor shortage in some sectors of the economy.

GDP: $353.5 million, per capita $5,550; real growth rate 6.2% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.1% (1988 est.)

Unemployment rate: 5.0% (1988 est.)

Budget: revenues $77 million; expenditures $81 million,
including capital expenditures of $13 million (1988 est.)

Exports: $30.4 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.);
commodities--petroleum products 46%, manufactures 29%, food and live
animals 14%, machinery and transport equipment 11%; partners--Trinidad
and Tobago 40%, Barbados 8%, US 0.3%

Imports: $302.1 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.); commodities--food and
live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals,
oil; partners--US 27%, UK 14%, CARICOM 7%, Canada 4%, other 48%

External debt: $245.4 million (1987)

Industrial production: growth rate 10% (1987)

Electricity: 49,000 kW capacity; 90 million kWh produced, 1,410 kWh
per capita (1989)

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

Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GDP; expanding output of cotton,
fruits, vegetables, and livestock sector; other crops--bananas, coconuts,
cucumbers, mangoes; not self-sufficient in food

Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $40 million

Currency: East Caribbean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 EC dollar
(EC$) = 100 cents

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

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Railroads: 64 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge and 13 km 0.610-meter gauge
used almost exclusively for handling sugarcane

Highways: 240 km

Ports: St. John's

Merchant marine: 80 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 307,315
GRT/501,552 DWT; includes 50 cargo, 4 refrigerated cargo, 8 container,
8 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
5 chemical tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 1 short-sea passenger; note--a flag of
convenience registry

Civil air: 10 major transport aircraft

Airports: 3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with
runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with runways less than 2,440 m

Telecommunications: good automatic telephone system; 6,700 telephones;
tropospheric scatter links with Saba and Guadeloupe; stations--4 AM, 2 FM, 2 TV,
2 shortwave; 1 coaxial submarine cable; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

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

Military manpower: NA

Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Arctic Ocean
- Geography
Total area: 14,056,000 km2; includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea,
Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay,
Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, and other tributary water bodies

Comparative area: slightly more than 1.5 times the size of the US;
smallest of the world's four oceans (after Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean,
and Indian Ocean)

Coastline: 45,389 km

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

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

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

Environment: endangered marine species include walruses and whales; ice
islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved
from western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; maximum snow cover in
March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean and lasts about
10 months; permafrost in islands; virtually icelocked from October to June;
fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage

Note: major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern
access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); ships subject to
superstructure icing from October to May; strategic location between North
America and the USSR; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and
western USSR; floating research stations operated by the US and USSR

- Economy
Overview: Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural
resources, including crude oil, natural gas, fishing, and sealing.

- Communications
Ports: Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (USSR), Prudhoe Bay (US)

Telecommunications: no submarine cables

Note: sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes; the Northwest
Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route (Asia) are important waterways
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Argentina
- Geography
Total area: 2,766,890 km2; land area: 2,736,690 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of Texas

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

Coastline: 4,989 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Territorial sea: 200 nm (overflight and navigation permitted beyond
12 nm)

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

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

Terrain: rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling
plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border

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

Land use: 9% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 52% meadows and pastures;
22% forest and woodland; 13% other; includes 1% irrigated

Environment: Tucuman and Mendoza areas in Andes subject to earthquakes;
pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike Pampas and northeast; irrigated
soil degradation; desertification; air and water pollution in
Buenos Aires

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

- People
Population: 32,290,966 (July 1990), growth rate 1.2% (1990)

Birth rate: 20 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 32 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 74 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.8 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Argentine(s); adjective--Argentine

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

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

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

Literacy: 94%

Labor force: 10,900,000; 12% agriculture, 31% industry, 57% services
(1985 est.)

Organized labor: 3,000,000; 28% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Argentine Republic

Type: republic

Capital: Buenos Aires (tentative plans to move to Viedma by
1990 indefinitely postponed)

Administrative divisions: 22 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia),
1 national territory* (territorio nacional), and 1 district** (distrito);
Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Cordoba, Corrientes,
Distrito Federal**, Entre Rios, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza,
Misiones, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz,
Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, Tierra del Fuego and Antartida e Islas del
Atlantico Sur*, Tucuman

Independence: 9 July 1816 (from Spain)

Constitution: 1 May 1853

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

National holiday: National Day, 25 May (1810)

Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or
Chamber of Deputies (Camera de Diputados)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Carlos Saul MENEM
(since 8 July 1989); Vice President Eduardo DUHALDE (since 8 July 1989)

Political parties and leaders:
Justicialist Party (JP), Antonio Cafiero, Peronist umbrella political
organization; Radical Civic Union (UCR), Raul Alfonsin, moderately
left of center; Union of the Democratic Center (UCEDE), Alvaro
Alsogaray, conservative party; Intransigent Party (PI), Dr. Oscar
Alende, leftist party; several provincial parties

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 14 May 1989 (next to be held May 1995);
results--Carlos Saul Menem was elected;

Chamber of Deputies--last held 14 May 1989 (next to be
held May 1991); results--JP 47%, UCR 30%, UDC 7%, other 16%;
seats--(254 total); JP 122, UCR 93, UDC 11, other 28

Communists: some 70,000 members in various party organizations, including
a small nucleus of activists

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

Member of: CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, Group of Eight, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC,
ICAO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, ISO, ITU, IWC--International Whaling Commission,
IWC--International Wheat Council, LAIA, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO, WSG

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Guido Jose Maria DI TELLA;
Chancery at 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone
202) 939-6400 through 6403; there are Argentine Consulates General in
Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto
Rico), and Consulates in Baltimore, Chicago, and Los Angeles;
US--Ambassador Terence A. TODMAN; Embassy at 4300 Colombia,
1425 Buenos Aires (mailing address is APO Miami 34034);
telephone p54o (1) 774-7611 or 8811, 9911

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

- Economy
Overview: Argentina is rich in natural resources, and has a highly
literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a
diversified industrial base. Nevertheless, the economy has encountered
major problems in recent years, leading to a recession in 1988-89.
Economic growth slowed to 2.0% in 1987 and to - 1.8% in 1988; a sharp
decline of - 5.5% has been estimated for 1989. A widening public-sector
deficit and a multidigit inflation rate has dominated the
economy over the past three years, reaching about 5,000% in 1989.
Since 1978, Argentina's external debt has nearly doubled to $60
billion, creating severe debt-servicing difficulties and hurting
the country's creditworthiness with international lenders.

GNP: $72.0 billion, per capita $2,217; real growth rate - 5.5%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4,925% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 8.5% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $11.5 billion; expenditures $13.0 billion,
including capital expenditures of $0.93 billion (1988)

Exports: $9.6 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--meat, wheat, corn, oilseed, hides, wool;
partners--US 14%, USSR, Italy, Brazil, Japan, Netherlands

Imports: $4.3 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, fuels and
lubricants, agricultural products;
partners--US 25%, Brazil, FRG, Bolivia, Japan, Italy, Netherlands

External debt: $60 billion (December 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate - 8% (1989)

Electricity: 16,449,000 kW capacity; 46,590 million kWh produced,
1,460 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: food processing (especially meat packing), motor vehicles,
consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing,
metallurgy, steel

Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GNP (including fishing); produces
abundant food for both domestic consumption and exports; among world's
top five exporters of grain and beef; principal crops--wheat, corn, sorghum,
soybeans, sugar beets; 1987 fish catch estimated at 500,000 tons

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.0 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $3.6 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $718 million

Currency: austral (plural--australes); 1 austral (A) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: australes (A) per US$1--1,930 (December
1989), 8.7526 (1988), 2.1443 (1987), 0.9430 (1986), 0.6018 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 34,172 km total (includes 169 km electrified); includes a
mixture of 1.435-meter standard gauge, 1.676-meter broad gauge, 1.000-meter
gauge, and 0.750-meter gauge

Highways: 208,350 km total; 47,550 km paved, 39,500 km gravel,
101,000 km improved earth, 20,300 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 11,000 km navigable

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

Ports: Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Necochea, Rio Gallegos, Rosario,
Santa Fe

Merchant marine: 131 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,693,540
GRT/2,707,079 DWT; includes 45 cargo, 6 refrigerated cargo, 6 container,
1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 railcar carrier, 48 petroleum, oils, and lubricants
(POL) tanker, 2 chemical tanker, 4 liquefied gas, 18 bulk

Civil air: 54 major transport aircraft

Airports: 1,799 total, 1,617 usable; 132 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways over 3,659 m; 30 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 335 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: extensive modern system; 2,650,000 telephones
(12,000 public telephones); radio relay widely used; stations--171 AM, no FM,
231 TV, 13 shortwave; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; domestic
satellite network has 40 stations

- Defense Forces
Branches: Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic, Argentine Air
Force, National Gendarmerie, Argentine Naval Prefecture, National Aeronautical
Police Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 7,860,054; 6,372,189 fit for military
service; 277,144 reach military age (20) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.4% of GNP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Aruba
(part of the Dutch realm)
- Geography
Total area: 193 km2; land area: 193 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 68.5 km

Maritime claims:

Exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: flat with a few hills; scant vegetation

Natural resources: negligible; white sandy beaches

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

Environment: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt

Note: 28 km north of Venezuela

- People
Population: 62,656 (July 1990), growth rate 0.2% (1990)

Birth rate: 16 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 8 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 80 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1990)

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

Ethnic divisions: 80% mixed European/Caribbean Indian

Religion: 82% Roman Catholic, 8% Protestant; also small Hindu, Muslim,
Confucian, and Jewish minority

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

Literacy: 95%

Labor force: NA, but most employment is in the tourist industry (1986)

Organized labor: Aruban Workers' Federation (FTA)

- Government
Long-form name: none

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

Capital: Oranjestad

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

Independence: planned for 1996

Constitution: 1 January 1986

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

National holiday: Flag Day, 18 March

Executive branch: Dutch monarch, governor, prime minister, Council of
Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Staten)

Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April 1980),
represented by Governor General Felipe B. TROMP (since 1 January 1986);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Nelson ODUBER (since NA February 1989)

Political parties and leaders: Electoral Movement Party (MEP),
Nelson Oduber; Aruban People's Party (AVP), Henny Eman; National
Democratic Action (ADN), Pedro Charro Kelly; New Patriotic Party (PPN),
Eddy Werlemen; Aruban Patriotic Party (PPA), Benny Nisbet; Aruban Democratic
Party (PDA), Leo Berlinski; Democratic Action '86 (AD'86), Arturo
Oduber; governing coalition includes the MEP, PPA, and ADN

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
Parliament--last held 6 January 1989 (next to be held by January
1993);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(21 total) MEP 10, AVP 8, ADN 1, PPN 1, PPA 1

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

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

- Economy
Overview: Tourism is the mainstay of the economy. In 1985 the economy
suffered a severe blow when Exxon closed its refinery, a major source of
employment and foreign exchange earnings. Economic collapse was prevented
by soft loans from the Dutch Government and by a booming tourist industry.
Hotel capacity expanded by 20% between 1985 and 1987 and is projected to more
than double by 1990. Unemployment has steadily declined from about 20% in
1986 to about 3% in 1988.

GDP: $620 million, per capita $10,000; real growth rate 16.7%
(1988 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (1988 est.)

Unemployment rate: 3% (1988 est.)

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

Exports: $47.5 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.);
commodities--mostly petroleum products;
partners--US 64%, EC

Imports: $296.0 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.);
commodities--food, consumer goods, manufactures;
partners--US 8%, EC

External debt: $81 million (1987)

Industrial production: growth rate - 20% (1984)

Electricity: 310,000 kW capacity; 945 million kWh produced, 15,120
kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities

Agriculture: poor quality soils and low rainfall limit agricultural
activity to the cultivation of aloes

Aid: none

Currency: Aruban florin (plural--florins);
1 Aruban florin (Af.) = 100 cents

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

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Ports: Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas

Airfield: government-owned airport east of Oranjestad

Telecommunications: generally adequate; extensive interisland radio relay
links; 72,168 telephones; stations--4 AM, 4 FM, 1 TV; 1 sea cable to St. Maarten

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the Netherlands until 1996
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Ashmore and Cartier Islands
(territory of Australia)
- Geography
Total area: 5 km2; land area: 5 km2; includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle,
and East Islets) and Cartier Island

Comparative area: about 8.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 74.1 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploration;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: tropical

Terrain: low with sand and coral

Natural resources: fish

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

Environment: surrounded by shoals and reefs; Ashmore Reef National
Nature Reserve established in August 1983

Note: located in extreme eastern Indian Ocean between Australia
and Indonesia 320 km off the northwest coast of Australia

- People
Population: no permanent inhabitants; seasonal caretakers

- Government
Long-form name: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Type: territory of Australia administered by the Australian Ministry
for Territories and Local Government

Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)

Legal system: relevant laws of the Northern Territory of Australia

Note: administered by the Australian Minister for Arts, Sports, the
Environment, Tourism, and Territories Graham Richardson

Diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)

- Economy
Overview: no economic activity

- Communications
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic
visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Atlantic Ocean
- Geography
Total area: 82,217,000 km2; includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea,
Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea,
North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies

Comparative area: slightly less than nine times the size of the US;
second-largest of the world's four oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger
than Indian Ocean or Arctic Ocean)

Coastline: 111,866 km

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

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

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

Environment: endangered marine species include the manatee, seals,
sea lions, turtles, and whales; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US,
southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean Sea,
Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; industrial
waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea, and
Mediterranean Sea; icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the
northwestern Atlantic from February to August and have been spotted as far
south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; icebergs from Antarctica occur
in the extreme southern Atlantic

Note: ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north Atlantic
from October to May and extreme south Atlantic from May to October; persistent
fog can be a hazard to shipping from May to September; major choke points
include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez
Canals; strategic straits include the Dover Strait, Straits of Florida,
Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; north Atlantic
shipping lanes subject to icebergs from February to August; the Equator
divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic
Ocean

- Economy
Overview: Economic activity is limited to exploitation of natural
resources, especially fish, dredging aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and
crude oil and natural gas production (Caribbean Sea and North Sea).

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

Telecommunications: numerous submarine cables with most between
continental Europe and the UK, North America and the UK, and in the
Mediterranean; numerous direct links across Atlantic via INTELSAT
satellite network

Note: Kiel Canal and St. Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Australia
- Geography
Total area: 7,686,850 km2; land area: 7,617,930 km2; includes
Macquarie Island

Comparative area: slightly smaller than the US

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 25,760 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica (Australian Antarctic Territory)

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

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

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

Land use: 6% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 58% meadows and
pastures; 14% forest and woodland; 22% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: subject to severe droughts and floods; cyclones along coast;
limited freshwater availability; irrigated soil degradation; regular, tropical,
invigorating, sea breeze known as the doctor occurs along west coast in summer;
desertification

Note: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country

- People
Population: 16,923,478 (July 1990), growth rate 1.3% (1990)

Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 6 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 80 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Australian(s); adjective--Australian

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

Religion: 26.1% Anglican, 26.0% Roman Catholic, 24.3% other Christian

Language: English, native languages

Literacy: 98.5%

Labor force: 7,700,000; 33.8% finance and services, 22.3% public and
community services, 20.1% wholesale and retail trade, 16.2% manufacturing and
industry, 6.1% agriculture (1987)

Organized labor: 42% of labor force (1988)

- Government
Long-form name: Commonwealth of Australia

Type: federal parliamentary state

Capital: Canberra

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

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

Independence: 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)

Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901

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

National holiday: Australia Day (last Monday in January), 29 January 1990

Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister,
deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Parliament consists of an upper
house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

Judicial branch: High Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since February 1952),
represented by Governor General William George HAYDEN (since NA February 1989);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Robert James Lee HAWKE (since
11 March 1983); Deputy Prime Minister Paul KEATING (since 3 April 1990)

Political parties and leaders: government--Australian Labor
Party, Robert Hawke; opposition--Liberal Party, Andrew Peacock;
National Party, Charles Blunt; Australian Democratic Party, Janine Haines

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

Elections:
Senate--last held 11 July 1987 (next to be held by 12 May 1990);
results--Labor 43%, Liberal-National 42%, Australian Democrats 8%,
independents 2%;
seats--(76 total) Labor 32, Liberal-National 34, Australian
Democrats 7, independents 3;

House of Representatives--last held 24 March 1990 (next to be
held by November 1993);
results--Labor 39.7%, Liberal-National 43%, Australian Democrats
and independents 11.1%;
seats--(148 total) Labor 78, Liberal-National 69, independent 1

Communists: 4,000 members (est.)

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

Member of: ADB, AIOEC, ANZUS, CCC, CIPEC (associate), Colombo Plan,
Commonwealth, DAC, ESA, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IATP, IBA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO,
ICO, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC,
IPU, IRC, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Whaling Commission,
IWC--International Wheat Council, OECD, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WSG

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Michael J. COOK; Chancery at
1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone [phone];
there are Australian Consulates General in Chicago, Honolulu, Houston,
Los Angeles, New York, Pago Pago (American Samoa), and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Melvin F. SEMBLER; Moonah Place, Yarralumla,
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 (mailing address is APO San
Francisco 6404);
telephone p61o (62) 705000; there are US Consulates General in Melbourne, Perth,
and Sydney, and a Consulate in Brisbane

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

- Economy
Overview: Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy,
with a per capita GNP comparable to levels in
industrialized West European countries. Rich in natural resources,
Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and
fossil fuels. Of the top 25 exports, 21 are primary products, so that,
as happened during 1983-84, a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big
impact on the economy. The government is pushing for increased exports
of manufactured goods but competition in international markets will be severe.

GNP: $240.8 billion, per capita $14,300; real growth rate 4.1%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.0% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 6.0% (December 1989)

Budget: revenues $76.3 billion; expenditures $69.1 billion, including
capital expenditures of NA (FY90 est.)

Exports: $43.2 billion (f.o.b., FY89);
commodities--wheat, barley, beef, lamb, dairy products, wool, coal,
iron ore;
partners--Japan 26%, US 11%, NZ 6%, South Korea 4%, Singapore 4%,
USSR 3%

Imports: $48.6 billion (c.i.f., FY89);
commodities--manufactured raw materials, capital equipment, consumer
goods;
partners--US 22%, Japan 22%, UK 7%, FRG 6%, NZ 4% (1984)

External debt: $111.6 billion (September 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 5.6% (FY88)

Electricity: 38,000,000 kW capacity; 139,000 million kWh produced,
8,450 kWh per capita (1989)

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

Agriculture: accounts for 5% of GNP and 37% of export revenues;
world's largest exporter of beef and wool, second-largest for mutton,
and among top wheat exporters; major crops--wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruit;
livestock--cattle, sheep, poultry

Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $8.8 billion

Currency: Australian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Australian dollar
($A) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1--1.2784 (January 1990),
1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905 (1986), 1.4269 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

- Communications
Railroads: 40,478 km total; 7,970 km 1.600-meter gauge, 16,201 km
1.435-meter standard gauge, 16,307 km 1.067-meter gauge; 183 km dual gauge;
1,130 km electrified; government owned (except for a few hundred kilometers of
privately owned track) (1985)

Highways: 837,872 km total; 243,750 km paved, 228,396 km gravel,
crushed stone, or stabilized soil surface, 365,726 km unimproved earth

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

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

Ports: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport, Fremantle, Geelong,
Hobart, Launceston, Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville

Merchant marine: 77 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,300,049
GRT/3,493,802 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 7 cargo, 5 container,
10 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 17 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
2 chemical tanker, 3 liquefied gas, 1 combination ore/oil, 1 livestock carrier,
29 bulk

Civil air: around 150 major transport aircraft

Airports: 564 total, 524 usable; 235 with permanent-surface runways,
2 with runways over 3,659 m; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 311 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: good international and domestic service; 8.7
million telephones; stations--258 AM, 67 FM, 134 TV; submarine cables to
New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; domestic satellite service;
satellite stations--4 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 6 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth
stations

- Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, Royal Australian Air
Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 4,588,750; 4,009,127 fit for military
service; 136,042 reach military age (17) annually

Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Austria
- Geography
Total area: 83,850 km2; land area: 82,730 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Maine

Land boundaries: 2,640 km total; Czechoslovakia 548 km, Hungary 366 km,
Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 37 km, Switzerland 164 km, FRG 784 km,
Yugoslavia 311 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Disputes: South Tyrol question with Italy

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

Terrain: mostly mountains with Alps in west and south; mostly flat, with
gentle slopes along eastern and northern margins

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

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

Environment: because of steep slopes, poor soils, and cold temperatures,
population is concentrated on eastern lowlands

Note: landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of
central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys;
major river is the Danube

- People
Population: 7,644,275 (July 1990), growth rate 0.3% (1990)

Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 80 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Austrian(s); adjective--Austrian

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

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

Language: German

Literacy: 98%

Labor force: 3,037,000; 56.4% services, 35.4% industry and crafts,
8.1% agriculture and forestry; an estimated 200,000 Austrians are employed in
other European countries; foreign laborers in Austria number 177,840, about
6% of labor force (1988)

Organized labor: 1,672,820 members of Austrian Trade Union Federation
(1984)

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Austria

Type: federal republic

Capital: Vienna

Administrative divisions: 9 states (bundeslander, singular--bundesland);
Burgenland, Karnten, Niederosterreich, Oberosterreich, Salzburg,
Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien

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

Constitution: 1920, revised 1929 (reinstated 1945)

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

National holiday: National Day, 26 October (1955)

Executive branch: president, chancellor, vice chancellor, Council of
Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung)
consists of an upper council or Federal Council (Bundesrat) and a lower council
or National Council (Nationalrat)

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

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Kurt WALDHEIM (since 8 July 1986);

Head of Government--Chancellor Franz VRANITZKY (since 16 June 1986);
Vice Chancellor Josef RIEGLER (since 19 May 1989)

Political parties and leaders: Socialist Party of Austria (SPO),
Franz Vranitzky, chairman; Austrian People's Party (OVP), Josef
Riegler, chairman; Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), Jorg Haider,
chairman; Communist Party (KPO), Franz Muhri, chairman; Green
Alternative List (GAL), Andreas Wabl, chairman

Suffrage: universal at age 19; compulsory for presidential elections

Elections:
President--last held 8 June 1986 (next to be held May 1992);
results of Second Ballot--Dr. Kurt Waldheim 53.89%, Dr. Kurt Steyrer
46.11%;

Federal Council--last held 23 November 1986 (next to be
held November 1990);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(63 total) OVP 32, SPO 30, FPO 1;

National Council--last held 23 November 1986 (next to be
held November 1990);
results--SP0 43.1%, OVP 41.3%, FPO 9.7%, GAL 4.8%, KPO 0.7%,
other 0.32%;
seats--(183 total) SP0 80, OVP 77, FP0 18, GAL 8

Communists: membership 15,000 est.; activists 7,000-8,000

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

Member of: ADB, Council of Europe, CCC, DAC, ECE, EFTA, ESA,
FAO, GATT, IAEA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IBRD, ICAC,
ICAO, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU,
IWC--International Wheat Council, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO, WSG; Austria is neutral and is not a member of NATO or the EC

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Friedrich HOESS; Embassy at
2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
there are Austrian Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York;
US--Ambassador Henry A. GRUNWALD; Embassy at Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1091,
Vienna (mailing address is APO New York 09108); telephone p43o [phone];
there is a US Consulate General in Salzburg

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

- Economy
Overview: Austria boasts a prosperous and stable capitalist
economy with a sizable proportion of nationalized industry and extensive
welfare benefits. Thanks to an excellent raw material endowment, a
technically skilled labor force, and strong links with West German
industrial firms, Austria has successfully occupied specialized niches
in European industry and services (tourism, banking) and produces almost
enough food to feed itself with only 8% of the labor force in
agriculture.  Living standards are roughly comparable with the large
industrial countries of Western Europe.  Problems for the l990s include
an aging population and the struggle to keep welfare benefits within
budget capabilities.

GDP: $103.2 billion, per capita $13,600; real growth rate 4.2%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.7% (1989)

Unemployment: 4.8% (1989)

Budget: revenues $34.2 billion; expenditures $39.5 billion,
including capital expenditures of NA (1988)

Exports: $31.2 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--machinery and equipment, iron and steel, lumber, textiles,
paper products, chemicals;
partners--FRG 35%, Italy 10%, Eastern Europe 9%, Switzerland 7%, US 4%,
OPEC 3%

Imports: $37.9 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, vehicles,
chemicals, textiles and clothing, pharmaceuticals;
partners--FRG 44%, Italy 9%, Eastern Europe 6%, Switzerland 5%, US 4%,
USSR 2%

External debt: $12.4 billion (December 1987)

Industrial production: growth rate 5.8% (1989 est.)

Electricity: 17,562,000 kW capacity; 49,290 million kWh produced,
6,500 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: foods, iron and steel, machines, textiles, chemicals,
electrical, paper and pulp, tourism, mining

Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GDP (including forestry);
principal crops and animals--grains, fruit, potatoes, sugar beets,
sawn wood, cattle, pigs poultry; 80-90% self-sufficient in food

Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $1.7 billion

Currency: Austrian schilling (plural--schillings); 1 Austrian
schilling (S) = 100 groschen

Exchange rates: Austrian schillings (S) per US$1--11.907 (January 1990),
13.231 (1989), 12.348 (1988), 12.643 (1987), 15.267 (1986), 20.690 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 6,028 km total; 5,388 km government owned and 640 km privately
owned (1.435- and 1.000-meter gauge); 5,403 km 1.435-meter standard gauge of
which 3,051 km is electrified and 1,520 km is double tracked; 363 km 0.760-meter
narrow gauge of which 91 km is electrified

Highways: 95,412 km total; 34,612 are the primary network (including
1,012 km of autobahn, 10,400 km of federal, and 23,200 km of provincial roads);
of this number, 21,812 km are paved and 12,800 km are unpaved; in addition,
there are 60,800 km of communal roads (mostly gravel, crushed stone, earth)

Inland waterways: 446 km

Ports: Vienna, Linz (river ports)

Merchant marine: 29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
209,311 GRT/366,401 DWT; includes 23 cargo, 1 container, 5 bulk

Pipelines: 554 km crude oil; 2,611 km natural gas; 171 km refined
products

Civil air: 25 major transport aircraft

Airports: 55 total, 54 usable; 19 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: highly developed and efficient; 4,014,000
telephones; extensive TV and radiobroadcast systems; stations--6 AM, 21 (544
repeaters) FM, 47 (867 repeaters) TV; satellite stations operating in INTELSAT
1 Atlantic Ocean earth station and 1 Indian Ocean earth station and EUTELSAT
systems

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Flying Division

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,970,189; 1,656,228 fit for military
service; 50,090 reach military age (19) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.1% of GDP, or $1.1 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  The Bahamas
- Geography
Total area: 13,940 km2; land area: 10,070 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Connecticut

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 3,542 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

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

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

Natural resources: salt, aragonite, timber

Land use: 1% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; NEGL% meadows
and pastures; 32% forest and woodland; 67% other

Environment: subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms
that cause extensive flood damage

Note: strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island
chain

- People
Population: 246,491 (July 1990), growth rate 1.2% (1990)

Birth rate: 17 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 21 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 75 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Bahamian(s); adjective--Bahamian

Ethnic divisions: 85% black, 15% white

Religion: Baptist 29%, Anglican 23%, Roman Catholic 22%, smaller groups
of other Protestants, Greek Orthodox, and Jews

Language: English; some Creole among Haitian immigrants

Literacy: 95% (1986)

Labor force: 132,600; 30% government, 25% hotels and restaurants,
10% business services, 5% agriculture (1986)

Organized labor: 25% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: The Commonwealth of The Bahamas

Type: commonwealth

Capital: Nassau

Administrative divisions: 21 districts; Abaco, Acklins Island,
Andros Island, Berry Islands, Biminis, Cat Island, Cay Lobos, Crooked Island,
Eleuthera, Exuma, Grand Bahama, Harbour Island, Inagua, Long Cay, Long Island,
Mayaguana, New Providence, Ragged Island, Rum Cay, San Salvador, Spanish Wells

Independence: 10 July 1973 (from UK)

Constitution: 10 July 1973

Legal system: based on English common law

National holiday: Independence Day, 10 July (1973)

Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister,
deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or
Senate and a lower house or House of Assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Acting Governor General Sir Henry TAYLOR (since 26 June 1988);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Sir Lynden Oscar PINDLING (since
16 January 1967)

Political parties and leaders: Progressive Liberal Party (PLP),
Sir Lynden O. Pindling; Free National Movement (FNM), Cecil Wallace-Whitfield

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
House of Assembly--last held 19 June 1987 (next to be held
by June 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(49 total) PLP 31, FNM 16, independents 2

Communists: none known

Other political or pressure groups: Vanguard Nationalist and Socialist
Party (VNSP), a small leftist party headed by Lionel Carey; Trade Union
Congress (TUC), headed by Arlington Miller

Member of: ACP, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77,
GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, ILO, IMF,
IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAS, PAHO, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Margaret E. MCDONALD; Chancery at
Suite 865, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037;
telephone [phone]; there are Bahamian Consulates General in Miami
and New York;
US--Ambassador Chic HECHT; Embassy at Mosmar Building,
Queen Street, Nassau (mailing address is P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau);
telephone [phone] or 328-2206

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

- Economy
Overview: The Bahamas is a stable, middle-income developing nation whose
economy is based primarily on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone
provides about 50% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs about 50,000 people
or 40% of the local work force. The economy has boomed in recent years, aided by
a steady annual increase in the number of tourists. The per capita GDP of over
$9,800 is one of the highest in the region.

GDP: $2.4 billion, per capita $9,875; real growth rate 2.0%
(1988 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.1% (1988)

Unemployment: 12% (1986)

Budget: revenues $555 million; expenditures $702 million, including
capital expenditures of $138 million (1989 est.)

Exports: $733 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish;
partners--US 90%, UK 10%

Imports: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1987);
commodities--foodstuffs, manufactured goods, mineral fuels;
partners--Iran 30%, Nigeria 20%, US 10%, EC 10%, Gabon 10%

External debt: $1.5 billion (September 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 368,000 kW capacity; 857 million kWh produced,
3,470 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: banking, tourism, cement, oil refining and
transshipment, salt production, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral weld,
steel pipe

Agriculture: accounts for less than 5% of GDP; dominated by
small-scale producers; principal products--citrus fruit, vegetables,
poultry; large net importer of food

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $42 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $344 million

Currency: Bahamian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Bahamian dollar
(B$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Bahamian dollar (B$) per US$1--1.00 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 2,400 km total; 1,350 km paved, 1,050 km gravel

Ports: Freeport, Nassau

Merchant marine: 533 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 11,684,123
GRT/19,574,532 DWT; includes 26 passenger, 15 short-sea passenger, 121 cargo,
40 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 42 refrigerated cargo, 16 container, 6 car carrier,
123 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 6 liquefied gas, 19
combination ore/oil, 29 chemical tanker, 1 specialized tanker, 86 bulk,
3 combination bulk; note--a flag of convenience registry

Civil air: 9 major transport aircraft

Airports: 59 total, 57 usable; 31 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 25 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: highly developed; 99,000 telephones in totally
automatic system; tropospheric scatter and submarine cable links to Florida;
stations--3 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 3 coaxial submarine cables;1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Bahamas Defense Force (a coast guard element only),
Royal Bahamas Police Force

Military manpower: NA

Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Bahrain
- Geography
Total area: 620 km2; land area: 620 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 161 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: not specific;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Disputes: territorial dispute with Qatar over the Hawar Islands

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

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

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

Land use: 2% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 6% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 90% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: subsurface water sources being rapidly depleted (requires
development of desalination facilities); dust storms; desertification

Note: proximity to primary Middle Eastern crude oil sources
and strategic location in Persian Gulf through which much of Western world's
crude oil must transit to reach open ocean

- People
Population: 520,186 (July 1990), growth rate 3.2% (1990)

Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 3 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 8 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 19 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 71 years male, 76 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 4.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Bahraini(s); adjective--Bahraini

Ethnic divisions: 63% Bahraini, 13% Asian, 10% other Arab, 8% Iranian, 6%
other

Religion: Muslim (70% Shia, 30% Sunni)

Language: Arabic (official); English also widely spoken; Farsi, Urdu

Literacy: 40%

Labor force: 140,000; 42% of labor force is Bahraini; 85% industry and
commerce, 5% agriculture, 5% services, 3% government (1982)

Organized labor: General Committee for Bahrain Workers exists in only
eight major designated companies

- Government
Long-form name: State of Bahrain

Type: traditional monarchy

Capital: Manama

Administrative divisions: 11 municipalities (baladiyat,
singular--baladiyah); Al Hadd, Al Manamah, Al Mintaqah
al Gharbiyah, Al Mintaqah al Wusta,
Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq,
Ar Rifa wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs,
Madinat Isa, Mintaqat Juzur Hawar, Sitrah

Independence: 15 August 1971 (from UK)

Constitution: 26 May 1973, effective 6 December 1973

Legal system: based on Islamic law and English common law

National holiday: National Day, 16 December

Executive branch: amir, crown prince and heir apparent, prime minister,
Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly was dissolved
26 August 1975 and legislative powers were assumed by the Cabinet

Judicial branch: High Civil Appeals Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Amir Isa bin Salman Al KHALIFA (since
2 November 1961); Heir Apparent Hamad bin Isa Al KHALIFA (son of Amir;
born 28 January 1950);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al KHALIFA,
(since 19 January 1970)

Political parties and pressure groups: political parties prohibited;
several small, clandestine leftist and Shia fundamentalist groups are active

Suffrage: none

Elections: none

Communists: negligible

Member of: Arab League, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), GCC, IBRD, ICAO,
IDB--Islamic Development Bank, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC,
UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ghazi Muhammad AL-QUSAYBI;
Chancery at 3502 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
[phone] or 342-0742; there is a Bahraini Consulate General in
New York; US--Ambassador Dr. Charles W. HOSTLER; Embassy at Shaikh
Isa Road, Manama (mailing address is P. O. 26431, Manama, or FPO New York
09526); telephone p973o 714151 through 714153

Flag: red with a white serrated band (eight white points) on the
hoist side

- Economy
Overview: The oil price decline in recent years has had an adverse
impact on the economy. Petroleum production and processing account for about
85% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 20% of GDP. In 1986
soft oil-market conditions led to a 5% drop in GDP, in sharp contrast
wit the 5% average annual growth rate during the early 1980s. The
slowdown in economic activity, however, has helped to check the
inflation of the 1970s. The government's past economic diversification
efforts have moderated the severity of the downturn but failed to
offset oil and gas revenue losses.

GDP: $3.5 billion, per capita $7,550 (1987); real growth rate 0% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.3% (1988)

Unemployment: 8-10% (1989)

Budget: revenues $1,136 million; expenditures $1,210 million,
including capital expenditures of $294 million (1987)

Exports: $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.);
commodities--petroleum 80%, aluminum 7%, other 13%; partners--US,
UAE, Japan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia

Imports: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--nonoil 59%,
crude oil 41%; partners--UK, Saudi Arabia, US, Japan

External debt: $1.1 billion (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate - 3.1% (1987)

Electricity: 1,652,000 kW capacity; 6,000 million kWh produced,
12,800 kWh per capita (1989)

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

Agriculture: including fishing, accounts for less than 2% of GDP;
not self-sufficient in food production; heavily subsidized sector produces
fruit, vegetables, poultry, dairy products, shrimp, and fish; fish catch 9,000
metric tons in 1987

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-79), $24 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87),
$28 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.8 billion

Currency: Bahraini dinar (plural--dinars); 1 Bahraini dinar
(BD) = 1,000 fils

Exchange rates: Bahraini dinars (BD) per US$1--0.3760 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 200 km bituminous surfaced, including 25 km
bridge-causeway to Saudi Arabia opened in November 1986; NA km
natural surface tracks

Ports: Mina Salman, Mina al Manamah, Sitrah

Merchant marine: 1 cargo and 1 bulk (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,621
GRT/44,137 DWT

Pipelines: crude oil, 56 km; refined products, 16 km; natural gas, 32 km

Civil air: 24 major transport aircraft

Airports: 3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with
runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: excellent international telecommunications; adequate
domestic services; 98,000 telephones; stations--2 AM, 1 FM, 2 TV; satellite
earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT;
tropospheric scatter and microwave to Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia; submarine cable
to Qatar and UAE

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army (Defense Force), Navy, Air Force, Police Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 183,580; 102,334 fit for military service

Defense expenditures: 5% of GDP, or $194 million (1990 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Baker Island
(territory of the US)
- Geography
Total area: 1.4 km2; land area: 1.4 km2

Comparative area: about 2.3 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 4.8 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

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

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

Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until 1891)

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

Environment: treeless, sparse and scattered vegetation consisting of
grasses, prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; lacks fresh water;
primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds,
shorebirds, and marine wildlife

Note: remote location 2,575 km southwest of Honolulu in the North Pacific
Ocean, just north of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia

- People
Population: uninhabited

Note: American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and naval
attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during World War II, but
abandoned after the war; public entry is by special-use permit only and
generally restricted to scientists and educators; a cemetery and cemetery ruins
located near the middle of the west coast

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the Fish
and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the
National Wildlife Refuge system

- Economy
Overview: no economic activity

- Communications
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only, one boat landing area along the
the middle of the west coast

Airports: 1 abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m

Note: there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the
US Coast Guard
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Bangladesh
- Geography
Total area: 144,000 km2; land area: 133,910 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Wisconsin

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

Coastline: 580 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 18 nm;

Continental shelf: up to outer limits of continental margin;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: a portion of the boundary with India is in dispute;
water sharing problems with upstream riparian India over the Ganges

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

Terrain: mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast

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

Land use: 67% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures;
16% forest and woodland; 11% other; includes 14% irrigated

Environment: vulnerable to droughts; much of country routinely flooded
during summer monsoon season; overpopulation; deforestation

Note: almost completely surrounded by India

- People
Population: 118,433,062 (July 1990), growth rate 2.8% (1990)

Birth rate: 42 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 14 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 136 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 54 years male, 53 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 5.7 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Bangladeshi(s); adjective--Bangladesh

Ethnic divisions: 98% Bengali; 250,000 Biharis, and less than 1 million
tribals

Religion: 83% Muslim, about 16% Hindu, less than 1% Buddhist, Christian,
and other

Language: Bangla (official), English widely used

Literacy: 29% (39% men, 18% women)

Labor force: 35,100,000; 74% agriculture, 15% services, 11% industry and
commerce; extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, and Kuwait
(FY86)

Organized labor: 3% of labor force belongs to 2,614 registered unions
(1986 est.)

- Government
Long-form name: People's Republic of Bangladesh

Type: republic

Capital: Dhaka

Administrative divisions: 64 districts (zillagulo,
singular--zilla); Bagerhat, Bandarban, Barisal, Bhola, Bogra,
Borguna, Brahmanbaria, Chandpur, Chapai Nawabganj,
Chattagram, Chuadanga, Comilla, Cox's Bazar, Dhaka,
Dinajpur, Faridpur, Feni, Gaibandha, Gazipur, Gopalganj,
Habiganj, Jaipurhat, Jamalpur, Jessore, Jhalakati, Jhenaidah,
Khagrachari, Khulna, Kishorganj, Kurigram, Kushtia, Laksmipur,
Lalmonirhat, Madaripur, Magura, Manikganj, Meherpur,
Moulavibazar, Munshiganj, Mymensingh, Naogaon, Narail,
Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Nator, Netrakona, Nilphamari,
Noakhali, Pabna, Panchagar, Parbattya Chattagram,
Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Rajbari, Rajshahi, Rangpur,
Satkhira, Shariyatpur, Sherpur, Sirajganj, Sunamganj, Sylhet,
Tangail, Thakurgaon

Independence: 16 December 1971 (from Pakistan; formerly East Pakistan)

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

Legal system: based on English common law

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 March (1971)

Executive branch: president, vice president, prime minister,
three deputy prime ministers, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Jatiya Sangsad)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD
(since 11 December 1983, elected 15 October 1986); Vice President
Moudad AHMED (since 12 August 1989);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Qazi Zafar AHMED (since 12
August 1989)

Political parties and leaders: Jatiyo Party, Hussain Mohammad
Ershad; Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Begum Ziaur Rahman; Awami League, Sheikh
Hasina Wazed; United People's Party, Kazi Zafar Ahmed; Democratic League,
Khondakar Mushtaque Ahmed; Muslim League, Khan A. Sabur; Jatiyo Samajtantrik
Dal (National Socialist Party), M. A. Jalil; Bangladesh Communist Party
(pro-Soviet), Saifuddin Ahmed Manik; Jamaat-E-Islami, Ali Khan

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 15 October 1986 (next to be held October
1991);
results--President Hussain Mohammad Ershad received 83.5% of vote;

Parliament--last held 3 March 1988 (next to be held March
1993); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(330 total, 300 elected and 30 seats reserved for women)
Jatiyo Party won 256 out of 300 seats

Communists: 5,000 members (1987 est.)

Member of: ADB, CCC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, ESCAP, FAO, G-77,
GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WFTU, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador A. H. S. Ataul KARIM; Chancery
at 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington DC 20007; telephone [phone]
through 8376; there is a Bangladesh Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador-designate William B. MILAM; Embassy at Diplomatic
Enclave, Madani Avenue, Baridhara Model Town, Dhaka (mailing address
is G. P. O. Box 323, Ramna, Dhaka); telephone p88o (2) 608170

Flag: green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center;
green is the traditional color of Islam

- Economy
Overview: The economy is based on the output of a narrow range of
agricultural products, such as jute, which is the main cash crop and major
source of export earnings. Bangladesh is hampered by a relative lack of natural
resources, a rapid population growth of 2.8% a year and a limited
infrastructure, and it is highly vulnerable to natural disasters.
Despite these constraints, real GDP averaged about 3.8% annually
during 1985-88. One of the poorest nations in the world, alleviation
of poverty remains the cornerstone of the government's development
strategy. The agricultural sector contributes over 50% to GDP and
75% to exports, and employs over 74% of the labor force. Industry
accounts for about 10% of GDP.

GDP: $20.6 billion, per capita $180; real growth rate 2.1% (FY89 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8-10% (FY89 est.)

Unemployment rate: 30% (FY88 est.)

Budget: revenues $1.8 billion; expenditures $3.3 billion, including
capital expenditures of $1.7 billion (FY89)

Exports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., FY89 est.);
commodities--jute, tea, leather, shrimp, manufacturing;
partners--US 25%, Western Europe 22%, Middle East 9%, Japan 8%,
Eastern Europe 7%

Imports: $3.1 billion (c.i.f., FY89 est.);
commodities--food, petroleum and other energy, nonfood consumer goods,
semiprocessed goods, and capital equipment;
partners--Western Europe 18%, Japan 14%, Middle East 9%, US 8%

External debt: $10.4 billion (December 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 5.4% (FY89 est.)

Electricity: 1,700,000 kW capacity; 4,900 million kWh produced, 40 kWh per
capita (1989)

Industries: jute manufacturing, food processing, cotton textiles,
petroleum, urea fertilizer

Agriculture: accounts for about 50% of GDP and 74% of both employment
and exports; imports 10% of food grain requirements; world's largest
exporter of jute; commercial products--jute, rice, wheat, tea, sugarcane,
potatoes, beef, milk, poultry; shortages include wheat, vegetable oils
and cotton; fish catch 778,000 metric tons in 1986

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $3.2 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-87), $9.5 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $652 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$1.5 billion

Currency: taka (plural--taka); 1 taka (Tk) = 100 paise

Exchange rates: taka (Tk) per US$1--32.270 (January 1990), 32.270 (1989),
31.733 (1988), 30.950 (1987), 30.407 (1986), 27.995 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

- Communications
Railroads: 2,892 km total (1986); 1,914 km 1.000 meter gauge, 978 km
1.676 meter broad gauge

Highways: 7,240 km total (1985); 3,840 km paved, 3,400 km unpaved

Inland waterways: 5,150-8,046 km navigable waterways (includes
2,575-3,058 km main cargo routes)

Ports: Chittagong, Chalna

Merchant marine: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 331,568 GRT/493,935
DWT; includes 38 cargo, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
3 refrigerated cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off, 3 bulk

Pipelines: 650 km natural gas

Civil air: 15 major transport aircraft

Airports: 16 total, 13 usable; 13 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 7 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: adequate international radio communications and
landline service; fair domestic wire and microwave service; fair broadcast
service; 182,000 telephones; stations--9 AM, 6 FM, 11 TV; 2 Indian Ocean
INTELSAT satellite earth stations

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary forces--Bangladesh Rifles,
Bangladesh Ansars, Armed Police Reserve, Coastal Police

Military manpower: males 15-49, 28,110,802; 16,686,644 fit for military
service

Defense expenditures: 1.5% of GDP, or $309 million (FY90 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Barbados
- Geography
Total area: 430 km2; land area: 430 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 97 km

Maritime claims:

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; rainy season (June to October)

Terrain: relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region

Natural resources: crude oil, fishing, natural gas

Land use: 77% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 9% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 14% other

Environment: subject to hurricanes (especially June to October)

Note: easternmost Caribbean island

- People
Population: 262,688 (July 1990), growth rate 0.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 18 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 16 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 77 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Barbadian(s); adjective--Barbadian

Ethnic divisions: 80% African, 16% mixed, 4% European

Religion: 70% Anglican, 9% Methodist, 4% Roman Catholic, 17% other,
including Moravian

Language: English

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 112,300; 37% services and government; 22% commerce,
22% manufacturing and construction; 9% transportation, storage, communications,
and financial institutions; 8% agriculture; 2% utilities (1985 est.)

Organized labor: 32% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Bridgetown

Administrative divisions: 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew,
Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael,
Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note--there may a new city of
Bridgetown

Independence: 30 November 1966 (from UK)

Constitution: 30 November 1966

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

National holiday: Independence Day, 30 November (1966)

Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister,
deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or
Senate and a lower house or House of Assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Sir Hugh SPRINGER (since 24 February
1984);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Lloyd Erskine SANDIFORD (since
2 June 1987)

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Labor Party (DLP), Erskine
Sandiford; Barbados Labor Party (BLP), Henry Forde; National Democratic
Party (NDP), Richie Haynes

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
House of Assembly--last held 28 May 1986 (next to be held by May 1991);
results--DLP 59.4%, BLP 40.6%; seats--(27 total) DLP 24, BLP 3; note--a
split in the DLP in February 1989 resulted in the formation of the NDP,
changing the status of seats to DLP 20, NDP 4, BLP 3

Communists: negligible

Other political or pressure groups: Industrial and General Workers Union,
Bobby Clarke; People's Progressive Movement, Eric Sealy; Workers' Party of
Barbados, Dr. George Belle

Member of: ACP, CARICOM, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD, ICAO,
IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA,
UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Sir William DOUGLAS; Chancery at
2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone] through
9202; there is a Barbadian Consulate General in New York and a Consulate
in Los Angeles;
US--Ambassador-nominee G. Philip HUGHES; Embassy at Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown (mailing
address is P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown or FPO Miami 34054); telephone (809)
436-4950 through 4957

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

- Economy
Overview: A per capita income of $5,250 gives Barbados
the highest standard of living of all the small island states of the
eastern Caribbean. Historically, the economy was based on the cultivation
of sugarcane and related activities. In recent years, however, the economy
has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. The tourist industry
is now a major employer of the labor force and a primary source of
foreign exchange. A high unemployment rate of about 19% in 1988 remains
one of the most serious economic problems facing the country.

GDP: $1.3 billion, per capita $5,250 (1988 est.); real growth rate
3.7% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.7% (1988)

Unemployment: 18.6% (1988)

Budget: revenues $476 million; expenditures $543 million,
including capital expenditures of $94 million (FY86)

Exports: $173 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--sugar and molasses, electrical components, clothing, rum,
machinery and transport equipment;
partners: US 30%, CARICOM, UK, Puerto Rico, Canada

Imports: $582 million (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--foodstuffs, consumer durables, raw materials, crude oil;
partners--US 34%, CARICOM, Japan, UK, Canada

External debt: $635 million (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate - 5.4% (1987 est.)

Electricity: 132,000 kW capacity; 460 million kWh produced, 1,780
kWh per capita (1989)

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

Agriculture: accounts for 10% of GDP; major cash crop is sugarcane;
other crops--vegetables and cotton; not self-sufficient in food

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-84), $14 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $144 million

Currency: Barbadian dollars (plural--dollars); 1 Barbadian dollar
(Bds$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1--2.0113 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Highways: 1,570 km total; 1,475 km paved, 95 km gravel and earth

Ports: Bridgetown

Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,200
GRT/7,338 DWT

Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft

Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runways 2,440-3,659 m

Telecommunications: islandwide automatic telephone system with 89,000
telephones; tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad and St. Lucia; stations--3 AM,
2 FM, 2 (1 is pay) TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force, Royal Barbados Police Force,
Coast Guard

Military manpower: males 15-49, 67,677; 47,566 fit for military service,
no conscription

Defense expenditures: 0.6% of GDP (1986)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Bassas da India
(French possession)
- Geography
Total area: undetermined

Comparative area: undetermined

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 35.2 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: claimed by Madagascar

Climate: tropical

Terrain: a volcanic rock 2.4 m high

Natural resources: none

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

Environment: surrounded by reefs; subject to periodic cyclones

Note: navigational hazard since it is usually under water during
high tide; located in southern Mozambique Channel about halfway between Africa
and Madagascar

- People
Population: uninhabited

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: French possession administered by Commissioner of the Republic
Daniel CONSTANTIN, resident in Reunion

- Economy
Overview: no economic activity

- Communications
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of France
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Belgium
- Geography
Total area: 30,510 km2; land area: 30,230 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundaries: 1,385 km total; France 620 km, Luxembourg
148 km, Netherlands 450 km, FRG 167 km

Coastline: 64 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: not specific;

Exclusive fishing zone: equidistant line with neighbors (extends
about 68 km from coast);

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy

Terrain: flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged
mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast

Natural resources: coal, natural gas

Land use: 24% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 20% meadows and pastures;
21% forest and woodland; 34% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: air and water pollution

Note: majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels;
crossroads of Western Europe; Brussels is the seat of the EC

- People
Population: 9,909,285 (July 1990), growth rate 0.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 80 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Belgian(s); adjective--Belgian

Ethnic divisions: 55% Fleming, 33% Walloon, 12% mixed or other

Religion: 75% Roman Catholic; remainder Protestant or other

Language: 56% Flemish (Dutch), 32% French, 1% German; 11% legally
bilingual; divided along ethnic lines

Literacy: 98%

Labor force: 4,000,000; 58% services, 37% industry, 5% agriculture (1987)

Organized labor: 70% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Kingdom of Belgium

Type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Brussels

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (French--provinces,
singular--province; Flemish--provincien, singular--provincie); Antwerpen,
Brabant, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen,
West-Vlaanderen

Independence: 4 October 1830 (from the Netherlands)

Constitution: 7 February 1831, last revised 8-9 August 1980; the
government is in the process of revising the Constitution, with the aim of
federalizing the Belgian state

Legal system: civil law system influenced by English constitutional
theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: National Day, 21 July (ascension of King Leopold
to the throne in 1831)

Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, five deputy prime ministers,
Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper chamber or
Senate (Flemish--Senaat, French--Senat) and a lower chamber or Chamber of
Representatives (Flemish--Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French--Chambre
des Representants)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Flemish--Hof van Cassatie,
French--Cour de Cassation)

Leaders:
Chief of State--King BAUDOUIN I (since 17 July 1951);
Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT of Liege (brother of the King; born 6
June 1934);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Wilfried MARTENS,
(since April 1979, with a 10-month interruption in 1981)

Political parties and leaders: Flemish Social Christian (CVP), Herman
van Rompuy, president; Walloon Social Christian (PSC), Gerard Deprez,
president; Flemish Socialist (SP), Frank Vandenbroucke, president; Walloon
Socialist (PS), Guy Spitaels, president; Flemish Liberal (PVV),
Guy Verhofstadt, president; Walloon Liberal (PRL), Antoine Duquesne,
president; Francophone Democratic Front (FDF), Georges Clerfayt, president;
Volksunie (VU), Jaak Gabriels, president; Communist Party (PCB),
Louis van Geyt, president; Vlaams Blok (VB), Karel Dillen;
other minor parties

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

Elections:
Senate--last held 13 December 1987 (next to be held December
1991);
results--CVP 19.2%, PS 15.7%, SP 14.7%, PVV 11.3%, PRL 9.3%,
VU 8.1%, PSC 7.8%, ECOLO-AGALEV 7.7%, VB 2.0%, VDF 1.3%,
other 1.96%;
seats--(106 total) CVP 22, PS 20, SP 17, PRL 12, PVV 11, PSC 9, VU 8,
ECOLO-AGALEV 5, VB 1, FDF 1;

Chamber of Representatives--last held 13 December 1987
(next to be held December 1991);
results--CVP 19.45%, PS 15.66%, SP 14.88%, PVV 11.55%, PRL 9.41%,
PSC 8.01%, VU 8.05%, ECOLO-AGALEV 7.05%, VB 1.90%, FDF 1.16%, other
2.88%;
seats--(212 total) CVP 43, PS 40, SP 32, PVV 25, PRL 23,
PSC 19, VU 16, ECOLO-AGALEV 9, FDF 3, VB 2

Communists: under 5,000 members (December 1985 est.)

Other political or pressure groups: Christian and Socialist Trade Unions;
Federation of Belgian Industries; numerous other associations representing
bankers, manufacturers, middle-class artisans, and the legal and medical
professions; various organizations represent the cultural interests of Flanders
and Wallonia; various peace groups such as the Flemish Action Committee Against
Nuclear Weapons and Pax Christi

Member of: ADB, Benelux, BLEU, CCC, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, ECE,
ECOSOC, EIB, EMS, ESA, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, ITC, ITU, NATO, OAS (observer), OECD, UN, UNESCO,
UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Herman DEHENNIN; Chancery at
3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
there are Belgian Consulates General in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles,
and New York;
US--Ambassador Maynard W. GLITMAN; Embassy at 27 Boulevard du Regent,
B-1000 Brussels (mailing address is APO New York 09667);
telephone p32o (2) 513-3830; there is a US Consulate General in Antwerp

Flag: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red;
the design was based on the flag of France

- Economy
Overview: This small private-enterprise economy has capitalized
on its central geographic location, highly developed transport
network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is
concentrated mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north, although
the government is encouraging reinvestment in the southern region
of Walloon. With few natural resources Belgium must import essential raw
materials, making its economy closely dependent on the state of world
markets. In 1988 over 70% of trade was with other EC countries. During the
period 1986-88 the economy profited from falling oil prices and a lower
dollar, which helped to improve the terms of trade. Real GDP grew
by an average of 3.5% in 1986-89, up from 1.5% in 1985. However, a
large budget deficit and 10% unemployment cast a shadow on the
economy.

GDP: $136.0 billion, per capita $13,700; real growth rate 4.5%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.6% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 9.7% est. (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $45.0 billion; expenditures $55.3 billion,
including capital expenditures of NA (1989)

Exports: $100.3 billion (f.o.b., 1989) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic
Union; commodities--iron and steel, transportation equipment,
tractors, diamonds, petroleum products;
partners--EC 74%, US 5%, Communist countries 2% (1988)

Imports: $100.1 billion (c.i.f., 1989) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic
Union; commodities--fuels, grains, chemicals, foodstuffs;
partners--EC 72%, US 5%, oil-exporting less developed countries 4%,
Communist countries 3% (1988)

External debt: $27.5 billion (1988)

Industrial production: growth rate 6.4% (1988)

Electricity: 17,325,000 kW capacity; 62,780 million kWh produced,
6,350 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: engineering and metal products, processed food and beverages,
chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum, coal

Agriculture: accounts for 2% of GDP; emphasis on livestock
production--beef, veal, pork, milk; major crops are sugar beets, fresh
vegetables, fruits, grain, and tobacco; net importer of farm products

Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $4.3 billion

Currency: Belgian franc (plural--francs); 1 Belgian franc (BF) = 100
centimes

Exchange rates: Belgian francs (BF) per US$1--35.468 (January 1990),
39.404 (1989), 36.768 (1988), 37.334 (1987), 44.672 (1986), 59.378 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: Belgian National Railways (SNCB) operates 3,667 km
1.435-meter standard gauge, government owned; 2,563 km double track; 1,978 km
electrified; 191 km 1.000-meter gauge, government owned and operated

Highways: 103,396 km total; 1,317 km limited access, divided autoroute;
11,717 km national highway; 1,362 km provincial road; about 38,000 km
paved and 51,000 km unpaved rural roads

Inland waterways: 2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use)

Ports: Antwerp, Brugge, Gent, Oostende, Zeebrugge, 1 secondary, and
1 minor maritime; 11 inland

Merchant marine: 67 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,854,898
GRT/3,071,637 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 10 cargo, 6
roll-on/roll-off, 6 container, 7 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL)
tanker, 6 liquefied gas, 3 combination ore/oil, 9 chemical tanker, 13
bulk, 6 combination bulk

Pipelines: refined products 1,167 km; crude 161 km; natural gas 3,300 km

Civil air: 47 major transport aircraft

Airports: 42 total, 42 usable; 24 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 14 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 3 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: excellent domestic and international telephone and
telegraph facilities; 4,560,000 telephones; stations--8 AM, 19 FM (41 relays),
25 TV (10 relays); 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations operating
in INTELSAT 3 Atlantic Ocean and EUTELSAT systems

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,512,681; 2,114,701 fit for military
service; 66,758 reach military age (19) annually

Defense expenditures: 2.7% of GDP, or $3.7 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Belize
- Geography
Total area: 22,960 km2; land area: 22,800 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Massachusetts

Land boundaries: 516 km total; Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km

Coastline: 386 km

Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Disputes: claimed by Guatemala, but boundary negotiations are
under way

Climate: tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to February)

Terrain: flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south

Natural resources: arable land potential, timber, fish

Land use: 2% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 2% meadows and pastures;
44% forest and woodland; 52% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: frequent devastating hurricanes (September to December)
and coastal flooding (especially in south); deforestation

Note: national capital moved 80 km inland from Belize City to
Belmopan because of hurricanes; only country in Central America without a
coastline on the North Pacific Ocean

- People
Population: 219,737 (July 1990), growth rate 3.7% (1990)

Birth rate: 38 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 4 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 35 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 72 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 4.8 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Belizean(s); adjective--Belizean

Ethnic divisions: 39.7% Creole, 33.1% Mestizo, 9.5% Maya, 7.6%
Garifuna, 2.1% East Indian, 8.0% other

Religion: 60% Roman Catholic; 40% Protestant (Anglican, Seventh-Day
Adventist, Methodist, Baptist, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mennonite)

Language: English (official), Spanish, Maya, Garifuna (Carib)

Literacy: 93% (est.)

Labor force: 51,500; 30.0% agriculture, 16.0% services, 15.4% government,
11.2% commerce, 10.3% manufacturing; shortage of skilled labor and all types of
technical personnel (1985)

Organized labor: 30% of labor force; 11 unions currently active

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: parliamentary

Capital: Belmopan

Administrative divisions: 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal,
Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo

Independence: 21 September 1981 (from UK; formerly British Honduras)

Constitution: 21 September 1981

Legal system: English law

National holiday: Independence Day, 21 September

Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister,
deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of an upper house
or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by
Governor General Dame Elmira Minita GORDON (since 21 September 1981);

Head of Government--Prime Minister George Cadle PRICE (since 4
September 1989)

Political parties and leaders: People's United Party (PUP),
George Price, Florencio Marin, Said Musa; United Democratic Party (UDP),
Manuel Esquivel, Curl Thompson, Dean Barrow; Belize Popular Party
(BPP), Louis Sylvestre

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
National Assembly--last held 4 September 1989 (next to be
held September 1994);
results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(28 total)
PUP 15 seats, UDP 13 seats; note--in January 1990 one
member expelled from UDP joined PUP, making the seat count
16 PUP, UDP 12

Communists: negligible

Other political or pressure groups: Society for the Promotion
of Education and Research (SPEAR) headed by former PUP minister;
United Workers Front

Member of: ACP, CARICOM, CDB, Commonwealth, FAO, GATT, IBRD, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, ILO, IMF, G-77, ISO, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Edward A. LAING; Chancery at
Suite 2J, 3400 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
[phone];
US--Ambassador Robert G. RICH, Jr.; Embassy at Gabourel Lane and Hutson
Street, Belize City (mailing address is P. O. Box 286, Belize City); telephone
p501o 77161 through 77163

Flag: blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom edges;
centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms; the coat of arms
features a shield flanked by two workers with a mahogany tree at the top and the
related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in the Shade) on a scroll at
the bottom, all encircled by a green garland

- Economy
Overview: The economy is based primarily on agriculture and
merchandising. Agriculture accounts for more than 30% of GDP and provides 75%
of export earnings, while sugar, the chief crop, accounts for almost 40% of
hard currency earnings. The US, Belize's main trading partner, is assisting in
efforts to reduce dependency on sugar with an agricultural diversification
program. In 1987 the drop in income from sugar sales to the US because of quota
reductions was almost totally offset by higher world prices for sugar.

GDP: $225.6 million, per capita $1,285; real growth rate 6% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 14% (1988 est.)

Budget: revenues $94.6 million; expenditures $74.3 million,
including capital expenditures of $33.9 million (1988 est.)

Exports: $120 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--sugar, clothing, seafood, molasses, citrus, wood and
wood products;
partners--US 47%, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada (1987)

Imports: $176 million (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--machinery and transportation equipment, food, manufactured
goods, fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals;
partners--US 55%, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Mexico (1987)

External debt: $140 million (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate 6% (1988)

Electricity: 34,000 kW capacity; 88 million kWh produced,
500 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: sugar refining, clothing, timber and forest products,
furniture, rum, soap, beverages, cigarettes, tourism

Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP (including fish and forestry);
commercial crops include sugarcane, bananas, coca, citrus fruits; expanding
output of lumber and cultured shrimp; net importer of basic foods

Illicit drugs: an illicit producer of cannabis for the
international drug trade; eradication program cut marijuana
production from 200 metric tons in 1987 to 66 metric tons in 1989;
transshipment point for cocaine

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $94 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $194 million

Currency: Belizean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Belizean dollar
(Bz$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Belizean dollars (Bz$) per US$1--2.00 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Highways: 2,575 km total; 340 km paved, 1,190 km gravel, 735 km improved
earth, and 310 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 825 km river network used by shallow-draft craft;
seasonally navigable

Ports: Belize City, Belize City Southwest

Civil air: no major transport aircraft

Airports: 38 total, 30 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: 8,650 telephones; above-average system based on
radio relay; stations--6 AM, 5 FM, 1 TV, 1 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: British Forces Belize, Belize Defense Force, Coast
Guard, Police Department

Military manpower: males 15-49, 50,988; 30,502 fit for military service;
2,500 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 2.0% of GDP, or $4.6 million (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Benin
- Geography
Total area: 112,620 km2; land area: 110,620 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Land boundaries: 1,989 km total; Burkina 306 km, Niger 266 km,
Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km

Coastline: 121 km

Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 200 nm

Climate: tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north

Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains

Natural resources: small offshore oil deposits, limestone,
marble, timber

Land use: 12% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures;
35% forest and woodland; 45% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north in winter;
deforestation; desertification

Note: recent droughts have severely affected marginal
agriculture in north; no natural harbors

- People
Population: 4,673,964 (July 1990), growth rate 3.3% (1990)

Birth rate: 50 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 121 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 48 years male, 52 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 7.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Beninese (sing., pl.); adjective--Beninese

Ethnic divisions: 99% African (42 ethnic groups, most important being
Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba); 5,500 Europeans

Religion: 70% indigenous beliefs, 15% Muslim, 15% Christian

Language: French (official); Fon and Yoruba most common vernaculars in
south; at least six major tribal languages in north

Literacy: 25.9%

Labor force: 1,900,000 (1987); 60% agriculture, 38% transport, commerce,
and public services, less than 2% industry; 49% of population of working age
(1985)

Organized labor: about 75% of wage earners

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Benin

Type: dropped Marxism-Leninism December 1989; democratic reforms
adopted February 1990; transition to multiparty system by 1991 planned

Capital: Porto-Novo (official), Cotonou (de facto)

Administrative divisions: 6 provinces; Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Mono,
Oueme, Zou

Independence: 1 August 1960 (from France; formerly Dahomey)

Constitution: 23 May 1977 (nullified 1 March 1990); new
constitution to be drafted by April 1990

Legal system: based on French civil law and customary law; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: National Day, 30 November (1975)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral National Revolutionary Assembly
(Assemblee Nationale Revolutionnaire) dissolved 1 March 1990
and replaced by a 24-member interim High Council of the Republic
during the transition period

Judicial branch: Central People's Court (Cour Central Populaire)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Mathieu KEREKOU
(since 27 October 1972)

Political parties and leaders: only party--People's Revolutionary
Party of Benin (PRPB), President Mathieu Kerekou, chairman of the
Central Committee

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held July 1989 (next to be held July 1994);
results--President Mathieu Kerekou was reelected by the
National Revolutionary Assembly;

National Revolutionary Assembly--dissolved 1 March 1990 and
replaced by a 24-member interim High Council of the Republic with
legislative elections for new institutions planned for February 1991

Communists: dropped Marxism-Leninism December 1989

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CEAO, EAMA, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, G-77, GATT,
IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, Niger
River Commission, OAU, OCAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Theophile NATA; Chancery at
2737 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador Harriet ISOM; Embassy at Rue Caporal Anani Bernard,
Cotonou (mailing address is B. P. 2012, Cotonou); telephone p229o 30-06-50

Flag: green with a red five-pointed star in the upper hoist-side corner

- Economy
Overview: Benin is one of the least developed countries in the world
because of limited natural resources and a poorly developed infrastructure.
Agriculture accounts for almost 45% of GDP, employs about 60% of
the labor force, and generates a major share of foreign exchange earnings.
The industrial sector contributes only about 15% to GDP and employs
2% of the work force. Persistently low prices in recent years have
limited hard currency earnings from Benin's major exports of agricultural
products and crude oil.

GDP: $1.7 billion, per capita $335; real growth rate 1.8% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.3% (1988)

Unemployment: NA

Budget: revenues $168 million; expenditures $317 million, including
capital expenditures of $97 million (1989)

Exports: $226 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--crude oil, cotton, palm products, cocoa;
partners--FRG 36%, France 16%, Spain 14%, Italy 8%, UK 7%

Imports: $413 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco, petroleum products,
intermediate goods, capital goods, light consumer goods;
partners--France 34%, Netherlands 10%, Japan 7%, Italy 6%, US 5%

External debt: $1.0 billion (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate - 0.7% (1988)

Electricity: 28,000 kW capacity; 24 million kWh produced,
5 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: palm oil and palm kernel oil processing, textiles, beverages,
petroleum

Agriculture: small farms produce 90% of agricultural output;
production is dominated by food crops--corn, sorghum, cassava, beans,
and rice; cash crops include cotton, palm oil, and peanuts; poultry
and livestock output has not kept up with consumption

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $41 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.0 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $19 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$101 million

Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs);
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per
US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987),
346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 578 km, all 1.000-meter gauge, single track

Highways: 5,050 km total; 920 km paved, 2,600 laterite, 1,530 km
improved earth

Inland waterways: navigable along small sections, important
only locally

Ports: Cotonou

Merchant marine: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) of 2,999 GRT/4,407 DWT

Civil air: 3 major transport aircraft

Airports: 6 total, 5 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: fair system of open wire, submarine cable, and radio
relay; 16,200 telephones; stations--2 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
satellite earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower: eligible 15-49, 2,015,206; of the 950,921 males 15-49,
486,620 are fit for military service; of the 1,064,285 females 15-49, 537,049
are fit for military service; about 55,550 males and 53,663 females reach
military age (18) annually; both sexes are liable for military service

Defense expenditures: 1.7% of GDP, or $28.9 million (1988 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Bermuda
(dependent territory of the UK)
- Geography
Total area: 50 km2; land area: 50 km2

Comparative area: about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 103 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: subtropical; mild, humid; gales, strong winds common in winter

Terrain: low hills separated by fertile depressions

Natural resources: limestone, pleasant climate fostering tourism

Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
20% forest and woodland; 80% other

Environment: ample rainfall, but no rivers or freshwater lakes;
consists of about 360 small coral islands

Note: 1,050 km east of North Carolina; some reclaimed land
leased by US Government

- People
Population: 58,337 (July 1990), growth rate 1.5% (1990)

Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 6 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 12 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Bermudian(s); adjective--Bermudian

Ethnic divisions: 61% black, 39% white and other

Religion: 37% Anglican, 14% Roman Catholic, 10% African Methodist
Episcopal (Zion), 6% Methodist, 5% Seventh-Day Adventist, 28% other

Language: English

Literacy: 98%

Labor force: 32,000; 25% clerical, 22% services, 21% laborers,
13% professional and technical, 10% administrative and managerial, 7% sales,
2% agriculture and fishing (1984)

Organized labor: 8,573 members (1985); largest union is Bermuda Industrial
Union

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: Hamilton

Administrative divisions: 9 parishes and 2 municipalities*; Devonshire,
Hamilton, Hamilton*, Paget, Pembroke, Saint George*, Saint George's, Sandys,
Smiths, Southampton, Warwick

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Constitution: 8 June 1968

Legal system: English law

National holiday: Bermuda Day, 22 May

Executive branch: British monarch, governor, deputy governor, premier,
deputy premier, Executive Council (cabinet)

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or
Senate and a lower house or House of Assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented
by Governor Sir Desmond LANGLEY (since NA October 1988);

Head of Government--Premier John William David SWAN (since NA January
1982)

Political parties and leaders: United Bermuda Party (UBP), John W. D.
Swan; Progressive Labor Party (PLP), Frederick Wade; National Liberal
Party (NLP), Gilbert Darrell

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections:
House of Assembly--last held 9 February 1989 (next to be
held by February 1994); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(40 total) UBP 23, PLP 15, NLP 1, other 1

Communists: negligible

Other political or pressure groups: Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU),
headed by Ottiwell Simmons

Member of: INTERPOL, WHO

Diplomatic representation: as a dependent territory of the UK,
Bermuda's interests in the US are represented by the UK; US--Consul
General James M. MEDAS; Consulate General at Vallis Building,
Par-la-Ville Road (off Front Street West), Hamilton (mailing address is
P. O. Box 325, Hamilton, or FPO New York 09560); telephone [phone]

Flag: red with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the
Bermudian coat of arms (white and blue shield with a red lion holding a scrolled
shield showing the sinking of the ship Sea Venture off Bermuda in 1609) centered
on the outer half of the flag

- Economy
Overview: Bermuda enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in the
world, having successfully exploited its location by providing luxury tourist
facilities and financial services. The tourist industry attracts more than
90% of its business from North America. The industrial sector is
small, and agriculture is severely limited by a lack of suitable land. About
80% of food needs are imported.

GDP: $1.3 billion, per capita $23,000; real growth rate 2.0% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.8% (1988)

Unemployment: 2.0% (1988)

Budget: revenues $280 million; expenditures $279 million, including
capital expenditures of $34 million (FY89 est.)

Exports: $23 million (f.o.b.,1985);
commodities--semitropical produce, light manufactures;
partners--US 25%, Italy 25%, UK 14%, Canada 5%, other 31%

Imports: $402 million (c.i.f., 1985);
commodities--fuel, foodstuffs, machinery;
partners--US 58%, Netherlands Antilles 9%, UK 8%, Canada 6%, Japan
5%, other 14%

External debt: NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 134,000 kW capacity; 446 million kWh produced,
7,680 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: tourism, finance, structural concrete products,
paints, pharmaceuticals, ship repairing

Agriculture: accounts for less than 1% of GDP; most basic foods must
be imported; produces bananas, vegetables, citrus fruits, flowers, dairy
products

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-81), $34 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $267 million

Currency: Bermudian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Bermudian dollar
(Bd$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Bermudian dollar (Bd$) per US$1--1.0000 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Highways: 210 km public roads, all paved (about 400 km of private roads)

Ports: Freeport, Hamilton, St. George

Merchant marine: 93 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,163,947
GRT/7,744,319 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 10 cargo, 4 refrigerated
cargo, 5 container, 10 roll-on/roll-off, 27 petroleum, oils, and lubricants
(POL) tanker, 4 chemical tanker, 1 combination ore/oil, 10 liquefied
gas, 20 bulk; note--a flag of convenience registry

Civil air: 16 major transport aircraft

Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runways 2,440-3,659 m

Telecommunications: modern with fully automatic telephone system; 46,290
telephones; stations--5 AM, 3 FM, 2 TV; 3 submarine cables; 2 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth stations

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Bhutan
- Geography
Total area: 47,000 km2; land area: 47,000 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than half the size of Indiana

Land boundaries: 1,075 km total; China 470 km, India 605 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Climate: varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot
summers in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas

Terrain: mostly mountainous with some fertile valleys and savanna

Natural resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbide

Land use: 2% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 5% meadows and pastures;
70% forest and woodland; 23% other

Environment: violent storms coming down from the Himalayas were the source
of the country name which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon

Note: landlocked; strategic location between China and India;
controls several key Himalayan mountain passes

- People
Population: 1,565,969 (July 1990), growth rate 2.0% (1990)

Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 17 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 137 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 50 years male, 48 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 5.0 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Bhutanese (sing., pl.); adjective--Bhutanese

Ethnic divisions: 60% Bhote, 25% ethnic Nepalese, 15% indigenous or
migrant tribes

Religion: 75% Lamaistic Buddhism, 25% Indian- and Nepalese-influenced
Hinduism

Language: Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects--most widely spoken
dialect is Dzongkha (official); Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects

Literacy: 5%

Labor force: NA; 95% agriculture, 1% industry and commerce; massive lack
of skilled labor (1983)

Organized labor: not permitted

- Government
Long-form name: Kingdom of Bhutan

Type: monarchy; special treaty relationship with India

Capital: Thimphu

Administrative divisions: 3 regions and 1 division*; Central Bhutan,
Eastern Bhutan, Southern Bhutan*, Western Bhutan; note--there may now be 18
districts (dzong, singular and plural) named Bumthang, Chhukha, Chirang,
Daga, Geylegphug, Ha, Lhuntshi, Mongar, Paro, Pemagatsel, Punakha, Samchi,
Samdrup Jongkhar, Shemgang, Tashigang, Thimphu, Tongsa, Wangdiphodrang

Independence: 8 August 1949 (from India)

Constitution: no written constitution or bill of rights

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

National holiday: National Day (Ugyen Wangchuck became first hereditary
king), 17 December (1907)

Executive branch: monarch, chairman of the Royal Advisory Council,
Royal Advisory Council (Lodoi Tsokde), chairman of the Council of Ministers,
Council of Ministers (Lhengye Shungtsog)

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Tshogdu)

Judicial branch: High Court

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--King Jigme Singye WANGCHUCK (since
24 July 1972)

Political parties: no legal parties

Suffrage: each family has one vote in village-level elections

Elections: no national elections

Communists: no overt Communist presence

Other political or pressure groups: Buddhist clergy, Indian merchant
community, ethnic Nepalese organizations

Member of: ADB, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, IDA, IFAD, IMF, NAM,
SAARC, UNESCO, UPU, UN, WHO

Diplomatic representation: no formal diplomatic relations, although
informal contact is maintained between the Bhutanese and US Embassies in
New Delhi (India); the Bhutanese mission to the UN in New York has consular
jurisdiction in the US

Flag: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper
triangle is orange and the lower triangle is red; centered along the dividing
line is a large black and white dragon facing away from the hoist side

- Economy
Overview: The economy is based on agriculture and forestry, which
provide the main livelihood for 90% of the population and account for about
50% of GDP. One of the world's least developed countries, rugged mountains
dominate and make the building of roads and other infrastructure difficult
and expensive. Bhutan's hydropower potential and its attraction for tourists
are its most important natural resources.

GDP: $273 million, per capita $199; real growth rate 6.3% (1988 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1989 est.)

Unemployment: NA

Budget: revenues $99 million; expenditures $128 million, including
capital expenditures of $65 million (FY89 est.)

Exports: $70.9 million (f.o.b., FY89);
commodities--cardamon, gypsum, timber, handicrafts, cement, fruit;
partners--India 93%

Imports: $138.3 million (c.i.f., FY89 est.);
commodities--fuel and lubricants, grain, machinery and parts,
vehicles, fabrics;
partners--India 67%

External debt: $70.1 million (FY89 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate - 12.4% (1988 est.)

Electricity: 353,000 kW capacity; 2,000 million kWh produced, 1,300 kWh
per capita (1989)

Industries: cement, chemical products, mining, distilling, food
processing, handicrafts

Agriculture: accounts for 50% of GDP; based on subsistence farming and
animal husbandry; self-sufficient in food except for foodgrains; other
production--rice, corn, root crops, citrus fruit, dairy, and eggs

Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $85.8 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $11 million

Currency: ngultrum (plural--ngultrum); 1 ngultrum (Nu) = 100
chetrum; note--Indian currency is also legal tender

Exchange rates: ngultrum (Nu) per US$1--16.965 (January 1990),
16.226 (1989), 13.917 (1988), 12.962 (1987), 12.611 (1986), 12.369 (1985);
note--the Bhutanese ngultrum is at par with the Indian rupee

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

- Communications
Highways: 1,304 km total; 418 km surfaced, 515 km improved, 371 km
unimproved earth

Civil air: 1 jet, 2 prop

Airports: 2 total, 2 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: inadequate; 1,890 telephones (1985); 15,000 radio
receivers (1987 est.); 85 TV sets (1985); stations--20 AM, no FM, no TV

- Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Bhutan Army

Military manpower: males 15-49, 389,142; 208,231 fit for military
service; 17,203 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Bolivia
- Geography
Total area: 1,098,580 km2; land area: 1,084,390 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Montana

Land boundaries: 6,743 km total; Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400
km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Disputes: has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since
the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Chile over Rio Lauca
water rights

Climate: varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid

Terrain: high plateau, hills, lowland plains

Natural resources: tin, natural gas, crude oil, zinc, tungsten,
antimony, silver, iron ore, lead, gold, timber

Land use: 3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 25% meadows and
pastures; 52% forest and woodland; 20% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: cold, thin air of high plateau is obstacle to
efficient fuel combustion; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

Note: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's
highest navigable lake, with Peru

- People
Population: 6,706,854 (July 1990), growth rate 2.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 35 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 125 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 56 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 4.7 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Bolivian(s); adjective Bolivian

Ethnic divisions: 30% Quechua, 25% Aymara, 25-30% mixed, 5-15% European

Religion: 95% Roman Catholic; active Protestant minority, especially
Evangelical Methodist

Language: Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara (all official)

Literacy: 63%

Labor force: 1,700,000; 50% agriculture, 26% services and utilities,
10% manufacturing, 4% mining, 10% other (1983)

Organized labor: 150,000-200,000, concentrated in mining, industry,
construction, and transportation; mostly organized under Bolivian Workers'
Central (COB) labor federation

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Bolivia

Type: republic

Capital: La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of
judiciary)

Administrative divisions: 9 departments (departamentos,
singular--departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, El Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando,
Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija

Independence: 6 August 1825 (from Spain)

Constitution: 2 February 1967

Legal system: based on Spanish law and Code Napoleon; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 August (1825)

Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or
Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government--President Jaime
PAZ Zamora (since 6 August 1989); Vice President Luis OSSIO Sanjines
(since 6 August 1989)

Political parties and leaders: Movement of the Revolutionary
Left (MIR), Jaime Paz Zamora; Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN),
Hugo Banzer Suarez; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR), Gonzalo
Sanchez de Lozada; United Left (IU), coalition of leftist parties which
includes Free Bolivia Movement (MBL), led by Antonio Aranibar,
Patriotic National Convergency Axis (EJE-P) led by Walter Delgadillo,
and Bolivian Communist Party (PCB) led by Humberto Ramirez; Conscience of
the Fatherland (CONDEPA), Carlos Palenque Aviles; Revolutionary
Vanguard-9th of April (VR-9), Carlos Serrate Reich

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18 (married) or 21 (single)

Elections:
President--last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May 1993);
results--Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada (MNR) 23%, Hugo Banzer Suarez
(ADN) 22%, Jaime Paz Zamora (MIR) 19%; no candidate received a
majority of the popular vote; Jaime Paz Zamora (MIR) formed a
coalition with Hugo Banzer (ADN); with ADN support Paz Zamora
won the congressional runoff election on 4 August and was inaugurated
on 6 August;

Senate--last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May 1993);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats (27 total) MNR 9, ADN 8, MIR 8, CONDEPA 2;

Chamber of Deputies--last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May
1993); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats (130 total) MNR 40, ADN 38, MIR 30, IU 10, CONDEPA 9,
VR-9 3

Member of: FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IATP, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, LAIA, NAM, OAS, PAHO,
SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jorge CRESPO; Chancery at
3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone]
through 4412; there are Bolivian Consulates General in Houston, Los Angeles,
Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Robert GELBARD; Embassy at Banco Popular del Peru Building,
corner of Calles Mercado y Colon, La Paz (mailing address is P. O. Box 425,
La Paz, or APO Miami 34032); telephone p591o (2) 350251 or 350120

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with
the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of Ghana,
which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band

- Economy
Overview: The Bolivian economy steadily deteriorated between
1980 and 1985 as La Paz financed growing budget deficits by expanding
the money supply and inflation spiraled--peaking at 11,700%. An austere
orthodox economic program adopted by newly elected President Paz
Estenssoro in 1985, however, succeeded in reducing inflation to between
10% and 20% annually during 1987 and 1989, eventually restarting
economic growth. President Paz Zamora has pledged to retain the economic
policies of the previous government in order to keep inflation down
and continue the growth begun under his predecessor. Nevertheless,
Bolivia continues to be one of the poorest countries in Latin
America, and it remains vulnerable to price fluctuations for
its limited exports--mainly minerals and natural gas. Moreover,
for many farmers, who constitute half of the country's
work force, the main cash crop is coca, which is sold for cocaine
processing.

GNP: $4.6 billion, per capita $660; real growth rate 2.8% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15.5% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 20.7% (1988)

Budget: revenues $2,867 million; expenditures $2,867 million,
including capital expenditures of $663 million (1987)

Exports: $634 million (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--metals 45%, natural gas 32%, coffee, soybeans,
sugar, cotton, timber, and illicit drugs;
partners--US 23%, Argentina

Imports: $786 million (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--food, petroleum, consumer goods, capital goods;
partners--US 15%

External debt: $5.7 billion (December 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 8.1% (1987)

Electricity: 817,000 kW capacity; 1,728 million kWh produced, 260 kWh per
capita (1989)

Industries: mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverage, tobacco,
handicrafts, clothing; illicit drug industry reportedly produces the largest
revenues

Agriculture: accounts for 20% of GDP (including forestry and
fisheries); principal commodities--coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice,
potatoes, timber; self-sufficient in food

Illicit drugs: world's second-largest producer of coca
(after Peru) with an estimated 54,000 hectares under cultivation;
government considers all but 12,000 hectares illicit and subject to
eradication; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or
through Colombia and Brazil to the US and other international drug
markets

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $909 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87),
$1.4 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $340 million

Currency: boliviano (plural--bolivianos); 1 boliviano ($B) = 100
centavos

Exchange rates: bolivianos ($B) per US$1--2.6917 (1989), 2.3502
(1988), 2.0549 (1987), 1.9220 (1986), 0.4400 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 3,675 km total; 3,643 km 1.000-meter gauge and 32 km
0.760-meter gauge, all government owned, single track

Highways: 38,836 km total; 1,300 km paved, 6,700 km gravel, 30,836 km
improved and unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 10,000 km of commercially navigable waterways

Pipelines: crude oil 1,800 km; refined products 580 km; natural gas
1,495 km

Ports: none; maritime outlets are Arica and Antofagasta in Chile and
Matarani in Peru

Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,051
GRT/22,155 DWT; note--1 is owned by the Bolivian Navy

Civil air: 56 major transport aircraft

Airports: 636 total, 551 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways over 3,659 m; 8 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 110 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: radio relay system being expanded; improved
international services; 144,300 telephones; stations--129 AM, no FM, 43 TV,
68 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Bolivian Army, Bolivian Navy, Bolivian Air Force (literally,
the Army of the Nation, the Navy of the Nation, the Air Force of the Nation)

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,629,154; 1,060,187 fit for military
service; 70,528 reach military age (19) annually

Defense expenditures: 3% of GNP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Botswana
- Geography
Total area: 600,370 km2; land area: 585,370 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries: 4,013 km total; Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km,
Zimbabwe 813 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Disputes: short section of the boundary with Namibia is indefinite;
quadripoint with Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe is in disagreement

Climate: semiarid; warm winters and hot summers

Terrain: predominately flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert
in southwest

Natural resources: diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash,
coal, iron ore, silver, natural gas

Land use: 2% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 75% meadows and pastures;
2% forest and woodland; 21% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: rains in early 1988 broke six years of drought that had
severely affected the important cattle industry; overgrazing; desertification

Note: landlocked; very long boundary with South Africa

- People
Population: 1,224,527 (July 1990), growth rate 2.8% (1990)

Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 43 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 58 years male, 64 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 4.8 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun and adjective--Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)

Ethnic divisions: 95% Batswana; about 4% Kalanga, Basarwa, and Kgalagadi;
about 1% white

Religion: 50% indigenous beliefs, 50% Christian

Language: English (official), Setswana

Literacy: 60%

Labor force: 400,000; 163,000 formal sector employees, most others
are engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture (1988 est.);
19,000 are employed in various mines in South Africa (1988)

Organized labor: 19 trade unions

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Botswana

Type: parliamentary republic

Capital: Gaborone

Administrative divisions: 10 districts; Central, Chobe, Ghanzi,
Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Ngamiland, North-East, South-East, Southern;
note--in addition, there may now be 4 town councils named Francistown,
Gaborone, Lobaste, Selebi-Pikwe

Independence: 30 September 1966 (from UK; formerly Bechuanaland)

Constitution: March 1965, effective 30 September 1966

Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law;
judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Botswana Day, 30 September (1966)

Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or
House of Chiefs and a lower house or National Assembly

Judicial branch: High Court, Court of Appeal

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Quett K. J. MASIRE (since
13 July 1980); Vice President Peter S. MMUSI (since 3 January 1983)

Political parties and leaders: Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Quett
Masire; Botswana National Front (BNF), Kenneth Koma; Botswana People's Party
(BPP), Knight Maripe; Botswana Independence Party (BIP), Motsamai Mpho;
Botswana Progressive Union (BPU), Daniel Kwele

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections:
President--last held 7 October 1989 (next to be held October
1994);
results--President Quett K. J. Masire was reelected by the National
Assembly;

National Assembly--last held 7 October 1989 (next to be
held October 1994); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(34 total, 30 elected) BDP 31, BNF 3

Communists: no known Communist organization; Koma of BNF has long history
of Communist contacts

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD,
ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, Southern African
Customs Union, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Botsweletse Kingsley
SEBELE; Chancery at Suite 404, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington
DC 20008; telephone [phone] or 4991;
US--Ambassador-designate David PASSAGE; Deputy Chief of Mission
Johnnie CARSON; Embassy at Botswana Road, Gaborone
(mailing address is P. O. Box 90, Gaborone); telephone p267o 353982
through 353984

Flag: light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe
in the center

- Economy
Overview: The economy has historically been based on cattle raising and
crops. Agriculture today provides a livelihood for over 80% of the
population, but produces only about 50% of food needs and contributes
a small 5% to GDP. The driving force behind the rapid economic growth of
the 1970s and 1980s has been the mining industry. This sector, mostly on the
strength of diamonds, has gone from generating 25% of GDP in 1980 to over 50%
in 1988. No other sector has experienced such growth, especially not
that of the agricultural sector, which is plagued by erratic rainfall and poor
soils. The unemployment rate remains a problem at 25%. A scarce resource base
limits diversification into labor-intensive industries.

GDP: $1.87 billion, per capita $1,600; real growth rate 8.4%
(FY88)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11.45% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 25% (1987)

Budget: revenues $1,235 million; expenditures $1,080 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (FY90 est.)

Exports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--diamonds 88%, copper and nickel 5%, meat 4%, cattle, animal
products;
partners--Switzerland, US, UK, other EC-associated members of
Southern African Customs Union

Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--foodstuffs, vehicles, textiles, petroleum products;
partners--Switzerland, US, UK, other EC-associated members of Southern
African Customs Union

External debt: $700 million (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 16.8% (FY86)

Electricity: 217,000 kW capacity; 630 million kWh produced,
510 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: livestock processing; mining of diamonds, copper,
nickel, coal, salt, soda ash, potash; tourism

Agriculture: accounts for only 5% of GDP; subsistence
farming predominates; cattle raising supports 50% of the population;
must import large share of food needs

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $242 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.6 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $43 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$24 million

Currency: pula (plural--pula); 1 pula (P) = 100 thebe

Exchange rates: pula (P) per US$1--1.8734 (January 1990), 2.0125 (1989),
1.8159 (1988), 1.6779 (1987), 1.8678 (1986), 1.8882 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Railroads: 712 km 1.0 67-meter gauge

Highways: 11,514 km total; 1,600 km paved; 1,700 km crushed stone or
gravel, 5,177 km improved earth, 3,037 km unimproved earth

Civil air: 6 major transport aircraft

Airports: 99 total, 87 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 23 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: the small system is a combination of open-wire lines,
radio relay links, and a few radiocommunication stations; 17,900 telephones;
stations--2 AM, 3 FM, no TV; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air Wing, Botswana Police

Military manpower: males 15-49, 249,480; 131,304 fit for military
service; 14,363 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 2.2% of GNP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Bouvet Island
(territory of Norway)
- Geography
Total area: 58 km2; land area: 58 km2

Comparative area: about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 29.6 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 10 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 4 nm

Climate: antarctic

Terrain: volcanic; maximum elevation about 800 meters;
coast is mostly inacessible

Natural resources: none

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

Environment: covered by glacial ice

Note: located in the South Atlantic Ocean 2,575 km
south-southwest of the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa

- People
Population: uninhabited

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: territory of Norway

- Economy
Overview: no economic activity

- Communications
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

Telecommunications: automatic meteorological station

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Norway
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Brazil
- Geography
Total area: 8,511,965 km2; land area: 8,456,510 km2; includes
Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade,
Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo

Comparative area: slightly smaller than the US

Land boundaries: 14,691 km total; Argentina 1,224 km, Bolivia 3,400 km,
Colombia 1,643 km, French Guiana 673 km, Guyana 1,119 km, Paraguay 1,290 km,
Peru 1,560 km, Suriname 597 km, Uruguay 985 km, Venezuela 2,200 km

Coastline: 7,491 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 200 nm

Disputes: short section of the boundary with Paraguay (just west of
Guaira Falls on the Rio Parana) is in dispute; two short
sections of boundary with Uruguay are in dispute (Arroyo de la
Invernada area of the Rio Quarai and the islands at the confluence of
the Rio Quarai and the Uruguay); claims a Zone of Interest in Antarctica

Climate: mostly tropical, but temperate in south

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills,
mountains, and narrow coastal belt

Natural resources: iron ore, manganese, bauxite, nickel, uranium,
phosphates, tin, hydropower, gold, platinum, crude oil, timber

Land use: 7% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 19% meadows and pastures;
67% forest and woodland; 6% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: recurrent droughts in northeast; floods and frost in south;
deforestation in Amazon basin; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro
and Sao Paulo

Note: largest country in South America; shares common boundaries
with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador

- People
Population: 152,505,077 (July 1990), growth rate 1.9% (1990)

Birth rate: 26 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 69 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 68 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Brazilian(s); adjective--Brazilian

Ethnic divisions: Portuguese, Italian, German, Japanese, black,
Amerindian; 55% white, 38% mixed, 6% black, 1% other

Religion: 90% Roman Catholic (nominal)

Language: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French

Literacy: 76%

Labor force: 57,000,000 (1989 est.); 42% services, 31% agriculture,
27% industry

Organized labor: 13,000,000 dues paying members (1989 est.)

- Government
Long-form name: Federative Republic of Brazil

Type: federal republic

Capital: Brasilia

Administrative divisions: 24 states (estados, singular--estado),
2 territories* (territorios, singular--territorio), and 1 federal district**
(distrito federal); Acre, Alagoas, Amapa*, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara,
Distrito Federal**, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato
Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Parana,
Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul,
Rondonia, Roraima*, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins;
note--the territories of Amapa and Roraima will become states
on 15 March 1991

Independence: 7 September 1822 (from Portugal)

Constitution: 5 October 1988

Legal system: based on Latin codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 7 September (1822)

Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congresso Nacional)
consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or
Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados)

Judicial branch: Supreme Federal Tribunal

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Fernando
Affonso COLLOR de Mello (since 15 March 1990); Vice President
Itamar FRANCO (since 15 March 1990)

Political parties and leaders: National Reconstruction Party (PRN),
Daniel Tourinho, president; Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB),
Ulysses Guimaraes, president; Liberal Front Party (PFL), Hugo
Napoleao, president; Workers' Party (PT), Luis Ignacio (Lula) da
Silva, president; Brazilian Labor Party (PTB), Luiz Gonzaga de Paiva
Muniz, president; Democratic Labor Party (PDT), Doutel de Andrade,
president; Democratic Social Party (PDS), Jarbas Passarinho, president;
Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Mario Covas, president;
Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), Salomao Malina, secretary general;
Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), Joao Amazonas, president

Suffrage: voluntary at age 16; compulsory between ages 18 and 70;
voluntary at age 70

Elections:
President--last held 15 November 1989, with runoff on 17
December 1989 (next to be held November 1994);
results--Fernando Collor de Mello 53%, Luis Inacio da Silva 47%;
first free, direct presidential election since 1960;

Senate--last held 15 November 1986 (next to be held 3 October
1990); results--PMDB 60%, PFL 21%, PDS 8%, PDT 3%, others 8%;
seats--(66 total) PMDB 43, PFL 15, PDS 6, PDT 2, others 6; note--as of
1990 Senate has 75 seats;

Chamber of Deputies--last held 15 November 1986 (next to
be held 3 October 1990);
results--PMDB 53%, PFL 23%, PDS 7%, PDT 5%, other 12%;
seats--(495 total) PMDB 258, PFL 114, PDS 33, PDT 24, others 58;
note--as of 1990 Chamber of Deputies has 570 seats

Communists: about 30,000

Other political or pressure groups: left wing of the Catholic Church
and labor unions allied to leftist Worker's Party are critical of government's
social and economic policies

Member of: CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, Group of Eight, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC,
ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, INTELSAT, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, OAS, PAHO,
SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Marcilio Marques MOREIRA; Chancery
at 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
there are Brazilian Consulates General in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami,
New Orleans, and New York, and Consulates in Dallas, Houston, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Richard MELTON; Embassy at Avenida das Nocoes,
Lote 3, Brasilia, Distrito Federal (mailing address is APO Miami 34030);
telephone p55o (6) 321-7272; there are US Consulates General in Rio de Janeiro
and Sao Paulo, and Consulates in Porto Alegre and Recife

Flag: green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue
celestial globe with 23 white five-pointed stars (one for each state) arranged
in the same pattern as the night sky over Brazil; the globe has a white
equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress)

- Economy
Overview: The economy, a mixture of private enterprises of all
sizes and extensive government intervention, experienced enormous
difficulties in the late 1980s, notably declining real growth, runaway
inflation, foreign debt obligations of more than $100 billion, and
uncertain economic policy. Government intervention includes trade and
investment restrictions, wage/price controls, interest and exchange rate
controls, and extensive tariff barriers. Ownership of major industrial
facilities is divided among private interests, the government, and
multinational companies. Ownership in agriculture likewise is varied,
with the government intervening in the politically sensitive
issues involving large landowners and the masses of poor peasants.
In consultation with the IMF, the Brazilian Government has initiated
several programs over the last few years to ameliorate the stagnation
and foreign debt problems. None of these has given more than temporary
relief. The strategy of the new Collor government is to increase
the pace of privatization, encourage foreign trade and investment,
and establish a more realistic exchange rate. One long-run strength
is the existence of vast natural resources.

GDP: $377 billion, per capita $2,500; real growth rate 3% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1,765% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 2.5% (December 1989)

Budget: revenues $27.8 billion; expenditures $40.1 billion,
including capital expenditures of $8.8 billion (1986)

Exports: $34.2 billion (1989 est.);
commodities--coffee, metallurgical products, chemical products,
foodstuffs, iron ore, automobiles and parts;
partners--US 28%, EC 26%, Latin America 11%, Japan 6% (1987)

Imports: $18.0 billion (1989 est.);
commodities--crude oil, capital goods, chemical products, foodstuffs,
coal;
partners--Middle East and Africa 24%, EC 22%, US 21%, Latin
America 12%, Japan 6% (1987)

External debt: $109 billion (December 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 3.2% (1989 est.)

Electricity: 52,865,000 kW capacity; 202,280 million kWh produced,
1,340 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: textiles and other consumer goods, shoes, chemicals, cement,
lumber, iron ore, steel, motor vehicles and auto parts, metalworking, capital
goods, tin

Agriculture: accounts for 12% of GDP; world's largest producer and
exporter of coffee and orange juice concentrate and second-largest exporter of
soybeans; other products--rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, beef; self-sufficient
in food, except for wheat

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis and coca, mostly for
domestic consumption; government has an active eradication program
to control cannabis and coca cultivation

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $2.5 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $9.5 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $284 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$1.3 billion

Currency: novo cruzado (plural--novos cruzados);
1 novo cruzado (NCr$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: novos cruzados (NCr$) per US$1--2.83392 (1989),
0.26238 (1988), 0.03923 (1987), 0.01366 (1986), 0.00620 (1985); note--
25 tourist/parallel rate (December 1989)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 29,694 km total; 25,268 km 1.000-meter gauge, 4,339 km
1.600-meter gauge, 74 km mixed 1.600-1.000-meter gauge,
13 km 0.760-meter gauge; 2,308 km electrified

Highways: 1,448,000 km total; 48,000 km paved, 1,400,000 km gravel or
earth

Inland waterways: 50,000 km navigable

Pipelines: crude oil, 2,000 km; refined products, 3,804 km; natural gas,
1,095 km

Ports: Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Manaus, Paranagua, Porto Alegre,
Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos

Merchant marine: 271 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,855,708
GRT/9,909,097 DWT; includes 2 passenger-cargo, 68 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo,
12 container, 9 roll-on/roll-off, 56 petroleum, oils, and lubricants
(POL) tanker, 15 chemical tanker, 10 liquefied gas, 14 combination ore/oil,
82 bulk, 2 combination bulk

Civil air: 176 major transport aircraft

Airports: 3,774 total, 3,106 usable; 386 with permanent-surface runways;
2 with runways over 3,659 m; 21 with runways 2,240-3,659 m; 503 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: good system; extensive radio relay facilities;
9.86 million telephones; stations--1,223 AM, no FM, 112 TV, 151 shortwave;
3 coaxial submarine cables 3 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations with total
of 3 antennas; 64 domestic satellite stations

- Defense Forces
Branches: Brazilian Army, Navy of Brazil, Brazilian Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 39,620,936; 26,752,307 fit for military
service; 1,617,378 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 0.6% of GDP, or $2.3 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  British Indian Ocean Territory
(dependent territory of the UK)
- Geography
Total area: 60 km2; land area: 60 km2

Comparative area: about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 698 km

Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Disputes: Diego Garcia is claimed by Mauritius

Climate: tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds

Terrain: flat and low (up to 4 meters in elevation)

Natural resources: coconuts, fish

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

Environment: archipelago of 2,300 islands

Note: Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies
strategic location in central Indian Ocean

- People
Population: no permanent civilian population; formerly about 3,000
islanders

Ethnic divisions: civilian inhabitants, known as the Ilois, evacuated to
Mauritius before construction of UK and US defense facilities

- Government
Long-form name: British Indian Ocean Territory (no short-form
name); abbreviated BIOT

Type: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: none

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);

Head of Government--Commissioner R. EDIS (since NA 1988),
Administrator Robin CROMPTON (since NA 1988);
note--both officials reside in the UK

Diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory
of the UK)

Flag: the flag of the UK is used

- Economy
Overview: All economic activity is concentrated on the largest
island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located.
Construction projects and various services needed to support the military
installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK and US.
There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands.

Electricity: provided by the US military

- Communications
Highways: short stretch of paved road between port and airfield on
Diego Garcia

Ports: Diego Garcia

Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runways over 3,659 m on Diego Garcia

Telecommunications: minimal facilities; stations (operated by the
US Navy)--1 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  British Virgin Islands
(dependent territory of the UK)
- Geography
Total area: 150 km2; land area: 150 km2

Comparative area: about 0.8 times the size of Washington, DC

Coastline: 80 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds

Terrain: coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly

Natural resources: negligible

Land use: 20% arable land; 7% permanent crops; 33% meadows and pastures;
7% forest and woodland; 33% other

Environment: subject to hurricanes and tropical storms from July
to October

Note: strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico

- People
Population: 12,258 (July 1990), growth rate 1.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 20 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 3 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 14 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 71 years male, 77 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--British Virgin Islander(s); adjective--British
Virgin Islander

Ethnic divisions: over 90% black, remainder of white and Asian origin

Religion: majority Methodist; others include Anglican, Church of God,
Seventh-Day Adventist, Baptist, and Roman Catholic

Language: English (official)

Literacy: 98%

Labor force: 4,911 (1980)

Organized labor: NA

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: Road Town

Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Constitution: 1 June 1977

Legal system: English law

National holiday: Territory Day, 1 July

Executive branch: British monarch, governor, chief minister,
Executive Council (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by
Governor John Mark Ambrose HERDMAN (since NA 1986);

Head of Government--Chief Minister H. Lavity STOUTT (since NA 1986)

Political parties and leaders: United Party (UP), Conrad Maduro;
Virgin Islands Party (VIP), H. Lavity Stoutt; Independent
People's Movement (IPM), Cyril B. Romney

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
Legislative Council--last held 30 September 1986 (next to be
held by September 1991); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(9 total) UP 2, VIP 5, IPM 2

Communists: probably none

Member of: Commonwealth

Diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and
the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the
coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical
column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word
VIGILATE (Be Watchful)

- Economy
Overview: The economy is highly dependent on the tourist industry,
which generates about 21% of the national income. In 1985 the government
offered offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in
the islands, and, in consequence, incorporation fees generated about $2 million
in 1987. Livestock raising is the most significant agricultural activity. The
islands' crops, limited by poor soils, are unable to meet food requirements.

GDP: $106.7 million, per capita $8,900; real growth rate 2.5% (1987)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (January 1987)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $26.2 million; expenditures $25.4 million,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1988 est.)

Exports: $2.3 million (f.o.b., 1985); commodities--rum, fresh fish,
gravel, sand, fruits, animals; partners--Virgin Islands (US),
Puerto Rico, US

Imports: $72.0 million (c.i.f., 1985); commodities--building
materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery; partners--Virgin Islands
(US), Puerto Rico, US

External debt: $4.5 million (1985)

Industrial production: growth rate - 4.0% (1985)

Electricity: 13,500 kW capacity; 59 million kWh produced,
4,870 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block,
offshore financial center

Agriculture: livestock (including poultry), fish, fruit, vegetables

Aid: NA

Currency: US currency is used

Exchange rates: US currency is used

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Highways: 106 km motorable roads (1983)

Ports: Road Town

Airports: 3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways
less than 1,220 m

Telecommunications: 3,000 telephones; worldwide external telephone
service; submarine cable communication links to Bermuda; stations--1 AM,
no FM, 1 TV

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Brunei
- Geography
Total area: 5,770 km2; land area: 5,270 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Delaware

Land boundary: 381 km with Malaysia

Coastline: 161 km

Maritime claims:

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: may wish to purchase the Malaysian salient that divides
the country

Climate: tropical; hot, humid, rainy

Terrain: flat coastal plain rises to mountains in east; hilly lowland
in west

Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, timber

Land use: 1% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures;
79% forest and woodland; 18% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: typhoons, earthquakes, and severe flooding are rare

Note: close to vital sea lanes through South China Sea linking
Indian and Pacific Oceans; two parts physically separated by Malaysia; almost
an enclave of Malaysia

- People
Population: 372,108 (July 1990), growth rate 7.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 23 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 52 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 10 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 77 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.9 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Bruneian(s); adjective--Bruneian

Ethnic divisions: 64% Malay, 20% Chinese, 16% other

Religion: 60% Muslim (official); 8% Christian; 32% Buddhist and
indigenous beliefs

Language: Malay (official), English, and Chinese

Literacy: 45%

Labor force: 89,000 (includes members of the Army); 33% of labor
force is foreign (1988); 50.4% production of oil, natural gas, and
construction; 47.6% trade, services, and other; 2.0% agriculture,
forestry, and fishing (1984)

Organized labor: 2% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Negara Brunei Darussalam

Type: constitutional sultanate

Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan

Administrative divisions: 4 districts (daerah-daerah, singular--daerah);
Belait, Brunei and Muara, Temburong, Tutong

Independence: 1 January 1984 (from UK)

Constitution: 29 September 1959 (some provisions suspended
under a State of Emergency since December 1962, others since
independence on 1 January 1984)

Legal system: based on Islamic law

National holiday: National Day, 23 February (1984)

Executive branch: sultan, prime minister, Council of Cabinet Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council
(Majlis Masyuarat Megeri)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--Sultan and Prime Minister Sir Muda
HASSANAL BOLKIAH Muizzaddin Waddaulah (since 5 October 1967)

Political parties and leaders: Brunei National United Party
(inactive), Anak Hasanuddin, chairman; Brunei National Democratic Party
(the first legal political party and now banned) Abdul Latif
bin Abdul Hamid, chairman

Suffrage: none

Elections:
Legislative Council--last held in March 1962; in 1970
the Council was changed to an appointive body by decree of the sultan
and no elections are planned

Communists: probably none

Member of: ASEAN, ESCAP (associate member), IMO, INTERPOL, OIC, UN

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Dato Paduka Haji MOHAMED SUNI
bin Haji Idris; Chancery at 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037;
telephone [phone]; US--Ambassador Christopher H. PHILLIPS;
Embassy at Teck Guan Plaza (corner of Jalan McArthur), Bandar Seri
Begawan (mailing address is P. O. Box 2991, Bandar Seri Begawan);
telephone p673o (2) 29670

Flag: yellow with two diagonal bands of white (top, almost double width)
and black starting from the upper hoist side; the national emblem in red is
superimposed at the center; the emblem includes a swallow-tailed flag on top of
a winged column within an upturned crescent above a scroll and flanked by two
upraised hands

- Economy
Overview: The economy is a mixture of foreign and domestic
entrepreneurship, government regulation and welfare measures, and
village tradition. It is almost totally supported by exports of
crude oil and natural gas, with revenues from the petroleum sector
accounting for more than 70% of GDP. Per capita GDP of $9,600
is among the highest in the Third World, and substantial income from
overseas investment supplements domestic production. The government
provides for all medical services and subsidizes food and housing.

GDP: $3.3 billion, per capita $9,600; real growth rate
2.5% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1989 est.)

Unemployment: 2.5%, shortage of skilled labor (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $1.2 billion (1987); expenditures $1.6 billion,
including capital expenditures of NA (1989 est.)

Exports: $2.07 billion (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--crude oil, liquefied natural gas, petroleum products;
partners--Japan 55% (1986)

Imports: $800 million (c.i.f., 1987);
commodities--machinery and transport equipment, manufactured
goods; food, beverages, tobacco; consumer goods;
partners--Singapore 31%, US 20%, Japan 6% (1986)

External debt: none

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 310,000 kW capacity; 890 million kWh produced,
2,580 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: petroleum, liquefied natural gas, construction

Agriculture: imports about 80% of its food needs; principal crops
and livestock include rice, cassava, bananas, buffaloes, and pigs

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $20.6 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $143.7 million

Currency: Bruneian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Bruneian dollar
(B$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Bruneian dollars (B$) per US$1--1.8895 (January 1990),
1.9503 (1989), 2.0124 (1988), 2.1060 (1987), 2.1774 (1986), 2.2002 (1985);
note--the Bruneian dollar is at par with the Singapore dollar

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 13 km 0.610-meter narrow-gauge private line

Highways: 1,090 km total; 370 km paved (bituminous treated) and another
52 km under construction, 720 km gravel or unimproved

Inland waterways: 209 km; navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 meters

Ports: Kuala Belait, Muara

Merchant marine: 7 liquefied gas carriers (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
348,476 GRT/340,635 DWT

Pipelines: crude oil, 135 km; refined products, 418 km;
natural gas, 920 km

Civil air: 4 major transport aircraft (3 Boeing 757-200,
1 Boeing 737-200)

Airports: 2 total, 2 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with
runway over 3,659 m; 1 with runway 1,406 m

Telecommunications: service throughout country is adequate for present
needs; international service good to adjacent Malaysia; radiobroadcast coverage
good; 33,000 telephones (1987); stations--4 AM/FM, 1 TV; 74,000 radio receivers
(1987); satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Pacific
Ocean INTELSAT

- Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Brunei Armed Forces, including air wing, navy, and ground
forces; British Gurkha Battalion; Royal Brunei Police; Gurkha Reserve Unit

Military manpower: males 15-49, 104,398; 60,242 fit for military service;
3,106 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: $197.6 million, 17% of central government budget
(FY86)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Bulgaria
- Geography
Total area: 110,910 km2; land area: 110,550 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries: 1,881 km total; Greece 494 km, Romania 608 km,
Turkey 240 km, Yugoslavia 539 km

Coastline: 354 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: Macedonia question with Greece and Yugoslavia

Climate: temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers

Terrain: mostly mountains with lowlands in north and south

Natural resources: bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber,
arable land

Land use: 34% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures;
35% forest and woodland; 10% other; includes 11% irrigated

Environment: subject to earthquakes, landslides; deforestation;
air pollution

Note: strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key
land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia

- People
Population: 8,933,544 (July 1990), growth rate - 0.3% (1990)

Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 12 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 4 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 13 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 76 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Bulgarian(s); adjective--Bulgarian

Ethnic divisions: 85.3% Bulgarian, 8.5% Turk, 2.6% Gypsy, 2.5%
Macedonian, 0.3% Armenian, 0.2% Russian, 0.6% other

Religion: religious background of population is 85% Bulgarian
Orthodox, 13% Muslim, 0.8% Jewish, 0.7% Roman Catholic, 0.5%
Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other

Language: Bulgarian; secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic
breakdown

Literacy: 95% (est.)

Labor force: 4,300,000; 33% industry, 20% agriculture, 47% other (1987)

Organized labor: all workers are members of the Central Council of
Trade Unions (CCTU); Pod Krepa (Support), an independent trade union,
legally registered in January 1990

- Government
Long-form name: People's Republic of Bulgaria

Type: Communist state, but democratic elections planned for 1990

Capital: Sofia

Administrative divisions: 8 provinces (oblasti, singular--oblast)
and 1 city* (grad); Burgas, Grad Sofiya*, Khaskovo, Lovech, Mikhaylovgrad,
Plovdiv, Razgrad, Sofiya, Varna

Independence: 22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)

Constitution: 16 May 1971, effective 18 May 1971

Legal system: based on civil law system, with Soviet law influence;
judicial review of legislative acts in the State Council; has accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Anniversary of the Socialist Revolution in Bulgaria,
9 September (1944)

Executive branch: president, chairman of the Council of Ministers,
four deputy chairmen of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Narodno Sobranyie)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Petur Toshev MLADENOV (chairman of
the State Council since 11 November 1989; became president
on 3 April 1990 when the State Council was abolished);

Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers
Andrey LUKANOV (since 3 February 1990); Deputy Chairman of the
Council of Ministers Chudomir Asenov ALEKSANDROV (since 8 February
1990); Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Belcho Antonov BELCHEV
(since 8 February 1990); Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers
Konstantin Dimitrov KOSEV (since 8 February 1990); Deputy Chairman of
the Council of Ministers Nora Krachunova ANANIEVA (since 8 February 1990)

Political parties and leaders: Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP),
Aleksandur Lilov, chairman; Bulgarian National Agrarian
Union (BZNS), Angel Angelov Dimitrov, secretary of Permanent Board;
Bulgarian Social Democratic Party, Petur Dentlieu; Green Party;
Christian Democrats; Radical Democratic Party; others forming

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

Elections:
Chairman of the State Council--last held 17 June 1986
(next to be held 10 and 17 June 1990);
results--Todor Zhivkov reelected but was replaced by
Petur Toshev Mladenov on 11 November 1989;

National Assembly--last held 8 June 1986 (next to be held
10 and 17 June 1990); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(400 total) BKP 276, BZNS 99, others 25

Communists: 932,055 party members (April 1986)

Other political or pressure groups: Union of Democratic Forces
(umbrella organization for opposition groups); Ecoglenost, Podkrepa
Independent Trade Union, Fatherland Front, Communist Youth Union, Central
Council of Trade Unions, National Committee for Defense of
Peace, Union of Fighters Against Fascism and Capitalism, Committee
of Bulgarian Women, All-National Committee for Bulgarian-Soviet
Friendship; Union of Democratic Forces, a coalition of about a
dozen dissident groups; numerous regional and national interest
groups with various agendas

Member of: CCC, CEMA, FAO, IAEA, IBEC, ICAO, ILO, ILZSG, IMO,
IPU, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, UN, UNESCO, UPU,
Warsaw Pact, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Velichko Filipov VELICHKOV;
Chancery at 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador Sol POLANSKY; Embassy at 1 Alexander Stamboliski Boulevard,
Sofia (mailing address is APO New York 09213); telephone p359o (2) 88-48-01
through 05

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red with the
national emblem on the hoist side of the white stripe; the emblem contains a
rampant lion within a wreath of wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and
above a ribbon bearing the dates 681 (first Bulgarian state established) and
1944 (liberation from Nazi control)

- Economy
Overview: Growth in the sluggish Bulgarian economy fell to the
2% annual level in the 1980s, and by 1989 Sofia's foreign debt had
skyrocketed to $10 billion--giving a debt service ratio of more
than 40% of hard currency earnings. The post-Zhivkov regime
faces major problems of renovating an aging industrial plant,
keeping abreast of rapidly unfolding technological developments,
investing in additional energy capacity (the portion of electric
power from nuclear energy reached 37% in 1988), and motivating workers,
in part by giving them a share in the earnings of their enterprises.
A major decree of January 1989 summarized and extended
the government's economic restructuring efforts, which include a partial
decentralization of controls over production decisions and foreign trade.
The new regime promises more extensive reforms and eventually a market
economy. But the ruling group cannot (so far) bring itself to give
up ultimate control over economic affairs exercised through the vertical
Party/ministerial command structure. Reforms have not
led to improved economic performance, in particular the provision of more
and better consumer goods. A further blow to the economy was the exodus
of 310,000 ethnic Turks in mid-1989, which caused temporary shortages
of skilled labor in glassware, aluminum, and other industrial plants
and in tobacco fields.

GNP: $51.2 billion, per capita $5,710; real growth rate - 0.1%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (1989)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $26 billion; expenditures $28 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA billion (1988)

Exports: $20.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--machinery and equipment 60.5%; agricultural products 14.7%;
manufactured consumer goods 10.6%; fuels, minerals, raw materials, and metals
8.5%; other 5.7%;
partners--Socialist countries 82.5% (USSR 61%, GDR 5.5%, Czechoslovakia
4.9%); developed countries 6.8% (FRG 1.2%, Greece 1.0%); less developed
countries 10.7% (Libya 3.5%, Iraq 2.9%)

Imports: $21.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--fuels, minerals, and raw materials 45.2%; machinery and
equipment 39.8%; manufactured consumer goods 4.6%; agricultural products 3.8%;
other 6.6%;
partners--Socialist countries 80.5% (USSR 57.5%, GDR 5.7%), developed
countries 15.1% (FRG 4.8%, Austria 1.6%); less developed countries 4.4%
(Libya 1.0%, Brazil 0.9%)

External debt: $10 billion (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 0.9% (1988)

Electricity: 11,500,000 kW capacity; 45,000 million kWh produced,
5,000 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: food processing, machine and metal building,
electronics, chemicals

Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GNP; climate and soil conditions support
livestock raising and the growing of various grain crops, oilseeds, vegetables,
fruits and tobacco; more than one-third of the arable land devoted to grain;
world's fourth-largest tobacco exporter; surplus food producer

Aid: donor--$1.6 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed
countries (1956-88)

Currency: lev (plural--leva); 1 lev (Lv) = 100 stotinki

Exchange rates: leva (Lv) per US$1--0.84 (1989), 0.82 (1988),
0.90 (1987), 0.95 (1986), 1.03 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 4,294 km total, all government owned (1986); 4,049 km
1.435-meter standard gauge, 245 km narrow gauge; 908 km double track; 2,342 km
electrified

Highways: 37,397 km total; 33,352 km hard surface (including 228 km
superhighways); 4,045 km earth roads (1986)

Inland waterways: 470 km (1986)

Pipelines: crude, 193 km; refined product, 418 km; natural gas, 1,400 km
(1986)

Ports: Burgas, Varna, Varna West; river ports are Ruse, Vidin, and Lom
on the Danube

Merchant marine: 108 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 1,240,204
GRT/1,872,723 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 32 cargo, 2 container,
1 passenger-cargo training, 5 roll-on/roll-off, 16 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 railcar carriers, 48 bulk

Civil air: 65 major transport aircraft

Airports: 380 total, 380 usable; about 120 with permanent-surface
runways; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 20 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: stations--15 AM, 16 FM, 13 TV; 1 Soviet TV relay;
2,100,000 TV sets; 2,100,000 radio receivers; at least 1 satellite earth
station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Bulgarian People's Army, Bulgarian Navy, Air and Air
Defense Forces, Frontier Troops

Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,177,404; 1,823,111 fit for military
service; 66,744 reach military age (19) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.6051 billion leva (1989);
note--conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the official
administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Burkina
- Geography
Total area: 274,200 km2; land area: 273,800 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Colorado

Land boundaries: 3,192 km total; Benin 306 km, Ghana 548 km,
Ivory Coast 584 km, Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Disputes: the disputed international boundary between Burkina and Mali was
submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in October 1983 and the
ICJ issued its final ruling in December 1986, which both sides agreed to accept;
Burkina and Mali are proceeding with boundary demarcation, including the
tripoint with Niger

Climate: tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers

Terrain: mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and
southeast

Natural resources: manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits
of gold, antimony, copper, nickel, bauxite, lead, phosphates, zinc,
silver

Land use: 10% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 37% meadows and
pastures; 26% forest and woodland; 27% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: recent droughts and desertification severely affecting
marginal agricultural activities, population distribution, economy;
overgrazing; deforestation

Note: landlocked

- People
Population: 9,077,828 (July 1990), growth rate 3.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 50 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 17 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 3 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 121 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 51 years male, 52 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 7.2 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Burkinabe; adjective--Burkinabe

Ethnic divisions: more than 50 tribes; principal tribe is Mossi (about
2.5 million); other important groups are Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande,
and Fulani

Religion: 65% indigenous beliefs, about 25% Muslim, 10% Christian (mainly
Roman Catholic)

Language: French (official); tribal languages belong to Sudanic family,
spoken by 90% of the population

Literacy: 13.2%

Labor force: 3,300,000 residents; 30,000 are wage earners;
82% agriculture, 13% industry, 5% commerce, services, and government; 20% of
male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal
employment (1984); 44% of population of working age (1985)

Organized labor: four principal trade union groups represent less than 1%
of population

- Government
Long-form name: Burkina Faso

Type: military; established by coup on 4 August 1983

Capital: Ouagadougou

Administrative divisions: 30 provinces; Bam, Bazega, Bougouriba,
Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houet, Kadiogo,
Kenedougou, Komoe, Kossi, Kouritenga, Mouhoun, Namentenga, Naouri,
Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Sanguie, Sanmatenga, Seno, Sissili,
Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Yatenga, Zoundweogo

Independence: 5 August 1960 (from France; formerly Upper Volta)

Constitution: none; constitution of 27 November 1977 was abolished
following coup of 25 November 1980

Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law

National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 4 August (1983)

Executive branch: chairman of the Popular Front, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
was dissolved on 25 November 1980

Judicial branch: Appeals Court

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--Chairman of the
Popular Front Captain Blaise COMPAORE (since 15 October 1987)

Political parties and leaders: all political parties banned following
November 1980 coup

Suffrage: none

Elections: the National Assembly was dissolved 25 November 1980 and
no elections are scheduled

Communists: small Communist party front group; some sympathizers

Other political or pressure groups: committees for the defense of the
revolution, watchdog/political action groups throughout the country in both
organizations and communities

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, EAMA, ECA, EIB (associate), Entente, FAO,
GATT, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, NAM, Niger River Commission, OAU, OCAM, OIC,
UN, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Paul Desire KABORE;
Chancery at 2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone [phone] or 6895;
US--Ambassador David H. SHINN; Embassy at Avenue Raoul Follerau,
Ouagadougou (mailing address is B. P. 35, Ouagadougou);
telephone p226o 30-67-23 through 25

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a yellow
five-pointed star in the center; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

- Economy
Overview: One of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina
has a high population density, few natural resources, and relatively infertile
soil. Economic development is hindered by a poor communications network within
a landlocked country. Agriculture provides about 40% of GDP and is
entirely of a subsistence nature. Industry, dominated by unprofitable
government-controlled corporations, accounted for 13% of GDP in 1985.

GDP: $1.43 billion, per capita $170; real growth rate 7.7% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.3% (1988)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $422 million; expenditures $516 million, including
capital expenditures of $25 million (1987)

Exports: $249 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--oilseeds, cotton, live animals, gold;
partners--EC 42% (France 30%, other 12%), Taiwan 17%,
Ivory Coast 15% (1985)

Imports: $591 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--grain, dairy products, petroleum, machinery;
partners--EC 37% (France 23%, other 14%), Africa 31%, US 15%
(1985)

External debt: $969 million (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate 7.1% (1985)

Electricity: 121,000 kW capacity; 320 million kWh produced, 37 kWh per
capita (1989)

Industries: agricultural processing plants; brewery, cement, and brick
plants; a few other small consumer goods enterprises

Agriculture: cash crops--peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, cotton; food
crops--sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock; not self-sufficient in food
grains

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $271 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.5 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $94 million

Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs);
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1--284.55 (January 1990),
319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 620 km total; 520 km Ouagadougou to Ivory Coast border and
100 km Ouagadougou to Kaya; all 1.00-meter gauge and single track

Highways: 16,500 km total; 1,300 km paved, 7,400 km improved, 7,800 km
unimproved (1985)

Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft

Airports: 50 total, 43 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 7 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: all services only fair; radio relay, wire, and radio
communication stations in use; 13,900 telephones; stations--2 AM, 2 FM, 2 TV;
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,775,143; 904,552 fit for military
service; no conscription

Defense expenditures: 3.1% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Burma
- Geography
Total area: 678,500 km2; land area: 657,740 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries: 5,876 km total; Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km,
India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km

Coastline: 1,930 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest
monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures,
lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April)

Terrain: central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands

Natural resources: crude oil, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper,
tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas

Land use: 15% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures;
49% forest and woodland; 34% other; includes 2% irrigated

Environment: subject to destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding
and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); deforestation

Note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes

- People
Population: 41,277,389 (July 1990), growth rate 2.0% (1990)

Birth rate: 33 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 97 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 53 years male, 56 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 4.2 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Burmese; adjective--Burmese

Ethnic divisions: 68% Burman, 9% Shan, 7% Karen, 4% Rakhine, 3% Chinese,
2% Mon, 2% Indian, 5% other

Religion: 85% Buddhist, 15% animist beliefs, Muslim, Christian, or
other

Language: Burmese; minority ethnic groups have their own languages

Literacy: 78%

Labor force: 16,036,000; 65.2% agriculture, 14.3% industry, 10.1%  trade,
6.3% government, 4.1% other (FY89 est.)

Organized labor: Workers' Asiayone (association), 1,800,000 members, and
Peasants' Asiayone, 7,600,000 members

- Government
Long-form name: Union of Burma; note--the local official name is
Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw which has been translated as Union of Myanma
or Union of Myanmar

Type: military government

Capital: Rangoon (sometimes translated as Yangon)

Administrative divisions: 7 divisions* (yin-mya, singular--yin) and
7 states (pyine-mya, singular--pyine); Chin State, Irrawaddy*, Kachin State,
Karan State, Kayah State, Magwe*, Mandalay*, Mon State, Pegu*, Rakhine State,
Rangoon*, Sagaing*, Shan State, Tenasserim*

Independence: 4 January 1948 (from UK)

Constitution: 3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988)

Legal system: martial law in effect throughout most of the
country; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 January (1948)

Executive branch: chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council,
State Law and Order Restoration Council

Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw)
was dissolved after the coup of 18 September 1988

Judicial branch: Council of People's Justices was abolished after the
coup of 18 September 1988

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--Chairman of the State Law and Order
Restoration Council and Prime Minister Gen. SAW MAUNG (since 18
September 1988)

Political parties and leaders: National League for Democracy,
U Tin Oo and Aung San Suu Kyi; League for Democracy and Peace, U Nu;
National Unity Party (promilitary); over 100 other parties

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
People's Assembly--last held 6-20 October 1985, but dissolved after
the coup of 18 September 1988; next scheduled 27 May 1990);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(NA total) number of seats by party NA

Communists: several hundred, est., primarily as an insurgent group
on the northeast frontier

Other political or pressure groups: Kachin Independence Army; Karen
National Union, several Shan factions (all insurgent groups); Burmese
Communist Party (BCP)

Member of: ADB, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
IDA, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador U MYO AUNG; Chancery at
2300 S Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone] through 9046;
there is a Burmese Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador Burton LEVIN; Embassy at 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon
(mailing address is G. P. O. Box 521, Rangoon or
Box B, APO San Francisco 96346); telephone 82055 or 82181

Flag: red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing,
all in white, 14 five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of
rice; the 14 stars represent the 14 administrative divisions

- Economy
Overview: Burma is one of the poorest countries in Asia, with a per
capita GDP of about $280. The government reports negligible growth
for FY88.  The nation has been unable to achieve any significant
improvement in export earnings because of falling prices for many
of its major commodity exports. For rice, traditionally the most important
export, the drop in world prices has been accompanied by shrinking markets
and a smaller volume of sales. In 1985 teak replaced rice as the largest export
and continues to hold this position. The economy is heavily dependent on the
agricultural sector, which generates about 40% of GDP and provides employment
for more than 65% of the work force.

GDP: $11.0 billion, per capita $280; real growth rate 0.2%
(FY88 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 22.6% (FY89 est.)

Unemployment rate: 10.4% in urban areas (FY87)

Budget: revenues $4.9 billion; expenditures $5.0 billion,
including capital expenditures of $0.7 billion (FY89 est.)

Exports: $311 million (f.o.b., FY88 est.)
commodities--teak, rice, oilseed, metals, rubber, gems;
partners--Southeast Asia, India, China, EC, Africa

Imports: $536 million (c.i.f., FY88 est.)
commodities--machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, food products;
partners--Japan, EC, CEMA, China, Southeast Asia

External debt: $5.6 billion (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate - 1.5% (FY88)

Electricity: 950,000 kW capacity; 2,900 million kWh produced, 70 kWh
per capita (1989)

Industries: agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood and
wood products; petroleum refining; mining of copper, tin, tungsten, iron;
construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer

Agriculture: accounts for about 40% of GDP (including fish and
forestry); self-sufficient in food; principal crops--paddy rice, corn,
oilseed, sugarcane, pulses; world's largest stand of hardwood trees;
rice and teak account for 55% of export revenues; 1985 fish catch of
644 million metric tons

Illicit drugs: world's largest illicit producer of opium poppy
and minor producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; opium
production is on the increase as growers respond to the collapse
of Rangoon's antinarcotic programs

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $158 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $3.8 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $424 million

Currency: kyat (plural--kyats); 1 kyat (K) = 100 pyas

Exchange rates: kyats (K) per US$1--6.5188 (January 1990), 6.7049 (1989),
6.3945 (1988), 6.6535 (1987), 7.3304 (1986), 8.4749 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Railroads: 3,991 km total, all government owned; 3,878 km 1.000-meter
gauge, 113 km narrow-gauge industrial lines; 362 km double track

Highways: 27,000 km total; 3,200 km bituminous, 17,700 km improved earth
or gravel, 6,100 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 12,800 km; 3,200 km navigable by large commercial
vessels

Pipelines: crude, 1,343 km; natural gas, 330 km

Ports: Rangoon, Moulmein, Bassein

Merchant marine: 45 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 595,814
GRT/955,924 DWT; includes 3 passenger-cargo, 15 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off,
1 vehicle carrier, 1 container, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL)
tanker, 5 chemical, 16 bulk

Civil air: 17 major transport aircraft (including 3 helicopters)

Airports: 88 total, 81 usable; 29 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 37
with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: meets minimum requirements for local and intercity
service; international service is good; radiobroadcast coverage is limited to
the most populous areas; 53,000 telephones (1986); stations--2 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV
(1985); 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower: eligible 15-49, 20,294,848; of the 10,135,886 males
15-49, 5,438,196 are fit for military service; of the 10,158,962 females 15-49,
5,437,518 are fit for military service; 434,200 males and 423,435 females
reach military age (18) annually; both sexes are liable for military service

Defense expenditures: $315.0 million, 21.0% of central government budget
(FY88)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Burundi
- Geography
Total area: 27,830 km2; land area: 25,650 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundaries: 974 km total; Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km,
Zaire 233 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Climate: temperate; warm; occasional frost in uplands

Terrain: mostly rolling to hilly highland; some plains

Natural resources: nickel, uranium, rare earth oxide, peat, cobalt,
copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium

Land use: 43% arable land; 8% permanent crops; 35% meadows and pastures;
2% forest and woodland; 12% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: soil exhaustion; soil erosion; deforestation

Note: landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed

- People
Population: 5,645,997 (July 1990), growth rate 3.2% (1990)

Birth rate: 47 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 111 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 50 years male, 54 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 7.0 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Burundian(s); adjective--Burundi

Ethnic divisions: Africans--85% Hutu (Bantu), 14% Tutsi (Hamitic), 1%
Twa (Pygmy); other Africans include about 70,000 refugees, mostly Rwandans and
Zairians; non-Africans include about 3,000 Europeans and 2,000 South Asians

Religion: about 67% Christian (62% Roman Catholic, 5% Protestant), 32%
indigenous beliefs, 1% Muslim

Language: Kirundi and French (official); Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika
and in the Bujumbura area)

Literacy: 33.8%

Labor force: 1,900,000 (1983 est.); 93.0% agriculture, 4.0% government,
1.5% industry and commerce, 1.5% services; 52% of population of working age
(1985)

Organized labor: sole group is the Union of Burundi Workers (UTB); by
charter, membership is extended to all Burundi workers (informally); figures
denoting active membership unobtainable

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Burundi

Type: republic

Capital: Bujumbura

Administrative divisions: 15 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi,
Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya,
Muyinga, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi

Independence: 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian
administration)

Constitution: 20 November 1981; suspended following the coup of
3 September 1987

Legal system: based on German and Belgian civil codes and
customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

Executive branch: president, Military Committee for National Salvation,
prime minister, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
was dissolved following the coup of 3 September 1987

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Pierre BUYOYA (since 9 September 1987);

Head of Government Prime Minister Adrien SIBOMANA (since 26
October 1988)

Political parties and leaders: only party--National Party of
Unity and Progress (UPRONA), a Tutsi-led party, Libere Bararunyeretse,
coordinator of the National Permanent Secretariat

Suffrage: universal adult at age NA

Elections:
National Assembly--dissolved after the coup of 3 September
1987; no elections are planned

Communists: no Communist party

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, EAMA, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICO,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Julien KAVAKURE; Chancery at
Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington DC 20007;
telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador Cynthia Shepherd PERRY; Embassy at Avenue du Zaire,
Bujumbura (mailing address is B. P. 1720, Bujumbura);
telephone 234-54 through 56

Flag: divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom)
and green panels (hoist side and outer side) with a white disk superimposed at
the center bearing three red six-pointed stars outlined in green arranged in a
triangular design (one star above, two stars below)

- Economy
Overview: A landlocked, resource-poor country in an early stage
of economic development, Burundi is predominately agricultural with only
a few basic industries. Its economic health is dependent on the coffee crop,
which accounts for an average 90% of foreign exchange earnings each year.
The ability to pay for imports therefore continues to rest largely on the
vagaries of the climate and the international coffee market.

GDP: $1.3 billion, per capita $255; real growth rate 2.8% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.4% (1988 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $213 million; expenditures $292 million,
including capital expenditures of $131 million (1988 est.)

Exports: $128 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--coffee 88%, tea, hides and skins;
partners--EC 83%, US 5%, Asia 2%

Imports: $204 million (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--capital goods 31%, petroleum products 15%, foodstuffs,
consumer goods;
partners--EC 57%, Asia 23%, US 3%

External debt: $795 million (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: real growth rate 5.1% (1986)

Electricity: 51,000 kW capacity; 105 million kWh produced, 19 kWh per
capita (1989)

Industries: light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly
of imports; public works construction; food processing

Agriculture: accounts for 60% of GDP; 90% of population dependent on
subsistence farming; marginally self-sufficient in food production;
cash crops--coffee, cotton, tea; food crops--corn, sorghum, sweet
potatoes, bananas, manioc; livestock--meat, milk, hides, and skins

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $68 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $10 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $32 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$175 million

Currency: Burundi franc (plural--francs); 1 Burundi franc
(FBu) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Burundi francs (FBu) per US$1--176.20 (January 1990),
158.67 (1989), 140.40 (1988), 123.56 (1987), 114.17 (1986), 120.69 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 5,900 km total; 400 km paved, 2,500 km gravel or laterite,
3,000 km improved or unimproved earth

Inland waterways: Lake Tanganyika

Ports: Bujumbura (lake port) connects to transportation systems of
Tanzania and Zaire

Civil air: 1 major transport aircraft

Airports: 8 total, 7 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; none
with runways 1,220 to 2,439 m

Telecommunications: sparse system of wire, radiocommunications, and
low-capacity radio relay links; 8,000 telephones; stations--2 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV;
1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army (includes naval and air units); paramilitary Gendarmerie

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,230,559; 642,927 fit for military
service; 61,418 reach military age (16) annually

Defense expenditures: 3.1% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Cambodia
- Geography
Total area: 181,040 km2; land area: 176,520 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Oklahoma

Land boundaries: 2,572 km total; Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km,
Vietnam 1,228 km

Coastline: 443 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: offshore islands and three sections of the
boundary with Vietnam are in dispute; maritime boundary with Vietnam
not defined; occupied by Vietnam on 25 December 1978

Climate: tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to October); dry season
(December to March); little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north

Natural resources: timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese,
phosphates, hydropower potential

Land use: 16% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures;
76% forest and woodland; 4% other; includes 1% irrigated

Environment: a land of paddies and forests dominated by Mekong River
and Tonle Sap

Note: buffer between Thailand and Vietnam

- People
Population: 6,991,107 (July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990)

Birth rate: 39 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 128 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 47 years male, 50 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 4.5 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Cambodian(s); adjective--Cambodian

Ethnic divisions: 90% Khmer (Cambodian), 5% Chinese, 5% other minorities

Religion: 95% Theravada Buddhism, 5% other

Language: Khmer (official), French

Literacy: 48%

Labor force: 2.5-3.0 million; 80% agriculture (1988 est.)

Organized labor: Kampuchea Federation of Trade Unions (FSC); under
government control

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: disputed between the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea
(CGDK) led by Prince NORODOM SIHANOUK and the People's Republic of Kampuchea
(PRK) led by HENG SAMRIN

Capital: Phnom Penh

Administrative divisions: 18 provinces (khet, singular and plural) and
1 autonomous municipality* (rottatheanei, singular and plural);
Batdambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Spoe,
Kampong Thum, Kampot, Kandal, Kaoh Kong, Kracheh,
Mondol Kiri, Phnum Penh*, Pouthisat, Preah Vihear,
Prey Veng, Rotanokiri, Siemreab-Otdar Meanchey,
Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng, Takev; note--there may be a new province of
Banteay Meanchey and Siemreab-Otdar Meanchey may have been
divided into two provinces named Siemreab and Otdar Meanchey

Independence: 9 November 1953 (from France)

Constitution: 27 June 1981

National holidays: CGDK--Independence Day, 17 April (1975);
PRK--Liberation Day, 7 January (1979)

Executive branch: CGDK--president, prime minister; PRK--chairman of the
Council of State, Council of State, chairman of the Council of Ministers,
Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: CGDK--none; PRK--unicameral National Assembly

Judicial branch: CGDK--none; PRK--Supreme People's Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--CGDK--President Prince NORODOM SIHANOUK
(since NA July 1982); PRK--Chairman of the Council of State HENG SAMRIN
(since 27 June 1981);

Head of Government--CGDK--Prime Minister SON SANN (since NA July
1982);
PRK--Chairman of the Council of Ministers HUN SEN (since 14 January 1985)

Political parties and leaders: CGDK--three resistance groups including
Democratic Kampuchea (DK, also known as the Khmer Rouge) under Khieu Samphan,
Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF) under Son Sann, and National
United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia
(FUNCINPEC) under Prince Norodom Sihanouk; PRK--Kampuchean People's
Revolutionary Party (KPRP) led by Heng Samrin

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
CGDK--none;

PRK--National Assembly--last held 1 May 1981; in February 1986 the
Assembly voted to extend its term for five years (next to be
held by March 1990); results--KPRP is the only party;
seats--(123 total) KPRP 123

Member of: ADB, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, IDA, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, Mekong Committee
(inactive), NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO for CGDK; none for PRK

Diplomatic representation: none

Flag:
CGDK--red with the yellow silhouette of a stylized three-towered temple
representing Angkor Wat in the center;

Non-Communists--three horizontal bands of blue, red (double width),
and blue with a white stylized temple representing Angkor Wat centered on
the red band;

PRK--red with the yellow silhouette of a stylized five-towered temple
representing Angkor Wat in the center

- Economy
Overview: Cambodia is a desperately poor country whose economic
development has been stymied by deadly political infighting. The
economy is based on agriculture and related industries.  Over the
past decade Cambodia has been slowly recovering from its near destruction
by war and political upheaval. It still remains, however, one of the
world's poorest countries, with an estimated per capita GDP of about
$130.  The food situation is precarious; during the 1980s famine has
been averted only through international relief. In 1986 the production level
of rice, the staple food crop, was able to meet only 80% of domestic needs. The
biggest success of the nation's recovery program has been in new rubber
plantings and in fishing.  Industry, other than rice processing, is
almost nonexistent. Foreign trade is primarily with the USSR and Vietnam.
Statistical data on the economy continues to be sparse and unreliable.

GDP: $890 million, per capita $130; real growth rate 0% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Exports: $32 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--natural rubber, rice, pepper, wood;
partners--Vietnam, USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, India

Imports: $147 million (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--international food aid; fuels, consumer goods;
partners--Vietnam, USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, India

External debt: $600 million (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 126,000 kW capacity; 150 million kWh produced,
21 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber,
cement, gem mining

Agriculture: mainly subsistence farming except for rubber plantations;
main crops--rice, rubber, corn; food shortages--rice, meat, vegetables, dairy
products, sugar, flour

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $719 million;
Western (non-US) countries (1970-85), $270 million; Communist countries
(1970-88), $950 million

Currency: riel (plural--riels); 1 riel (CR) = 100 sen

Exchange rates: riels (CR) per US$1--218 (November 1989)
100.00 (1987), 30.00 (1986), 7.00 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 612 km 1.000-meter gauge, government owned

Highways: 13,351 km total; 2,622 km bituminous; 7,105 km crushed stone,
gravel, or improved earth; 3,624 km unimproved earth; some roads in disrepair

Inland waterways: 3,700 km navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6
meters; 282 km navigable to craft drawing 1.8 meters

Ports: Kampong Saom, Phnom Penh

Airports: 22 total, 9 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: service barely adequate for government requirements
and virtually nonexistent for general public; international service limited to
Vietnam and other adjacent countries; stations--1 AM, no FM, 1 TV

- Defense Forces
Branches: PRK--People's Republic of Kampuchea Armed Forces;
Communist resistance forces--National Army of Democratic Kampuchea
(Khmer Rouge); non-Communist resistance forces--Sihanoukist National
Army (ANS) and Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF)

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,857,129; 1,025,456 fit for military
service; 61,649 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Cameroon
- Geography
Total area: 475,440 km2; land area: 469,440 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries: 4,591 km total; Central African Republic 797 km,
Chad 1,094 km, Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km,
Nigeria 1,690 km

Coastline: 402 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: not specific;

Territorial sea: 50 nm

Disputes: exact locations of the Chad-Niger-Nigeria and
Cameroon-Chad-Nigeria tripoints in Lake Chad have not been determined, so the
boundary has not been demarcated and border incidents have resulted; Nigerian
proposals to reopen maritime boundary negotiations and redemarcate the entire
land boundary have been rejected by Cameroon

Climate: varies with terrain from tropical along coast to semiarid
and hot in north

Terrain: diverse with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau
in center, mountains in west, plains in north

Natural resources: crude oil, bauxite, iron ore, timber,
hydropower potential

Land use: 13% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures;
54% forest and woodland; 13% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: recent volcanic activity with release of poisonous gases;
deforestation; overgrazing; desertification

Note: sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa

- People
Population: 11,092,470 (July 1990), growth rate 2.7% (1990)

Birth rate: 42 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 120 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 53 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 5.7 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Cameroonian(s); adjective--Cameroonian

Ethnic divisions: over 200 tribes of widely differing background; 31%
Cameroon Highlanders, 19% Equatorial Bantu, 11% Kirdi, 10% Fulani, 8%
Northwestern Bantu, 7% Eastern Nigritic, 13% other African, less than 1%
non-African

Religion: 51% indigenous beliefs, 33% Christian, 16% Muslim

Language: English and French (official), 24 major African language groups

Literacy: 56.2%

Labor force: NA; 74.4% agriculture, 11.4% industry and transport,
14.2% other services (1983); 50% of population of working age (15-64 years)
(1985)

Organized labor: under 45% of wage labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Cameroon

Type: unitary republic; one-party presidential regime

Capital: Yaounde

Administrative divisions: 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est,
Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest

Independence: 1 January 1960 (from UN trusteeship under
French administration; formerly French Cameroon)

Constitution: 20 May 1972

Legal system: based on French civil law system, with common law
influence; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: National Day, 20 May (1972)

Executive branch: president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government President Paul BIYA (since
6 November 1982)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Cameroon People's
Democratic Movement (RDPC), Paul Biya, president

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections:
President--last held 24 April 1988 (next to be held April 1993);
results--President Paul Biya reelected without opposition;

National Assembly--last held 24 April 1988 (next to be
held April 1993);
results--RDPC is the only party;
seats--(180 total) RDPC 180

Communists: no Communist party or significant number of sympathizers

Other political or pressure groups: Cameroon People's Union (UPC),
remains an illegal group with its factional leaders in exile

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, EAMA, ECA, EIB (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ISO, ITU, Lake Chad Basin Commission,
NAM, Niger River Commission, OAU, OIC, UDEAC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Paul PONDI; Chancery at
2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC  20008; telephone [phone]
through 8794;
US--Ambassador Frances COOK; Embassy at Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde
(mailing address is B. P. 817, Yaounde); telephone p237o 234014; there is a
US Consulate General in Douala

Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), red, and yellow
with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular
pan-African colors of Ethiopia

- Economy
Overview: Over the past decade the economy has registered a remarkable
performance because of the development of an offshore oil industry. Real
GDP growth annually averaged 10% from 1978 to 1985. In 1986 Cameroon had one of
the highest levels of income per capita in tropical Africa, with oil revenues
picking up the slack as growth in other sectors softened. Because of the sharp
drop in oil prices, however, the economy is now experiencing serious budgetary
difficulties and balance-of-payments disequalibrium. Oil reserves currently
being exploited will be depleted in the early 1990s, so ways must be found to
boost agricultural and industrial exports in the medium term. The Sixth
Cameroon Development Plan (1986-91) stresses balanced development and designates
agriculture as the basis of the country's economic future.

GDP: $12.9 billion, per capita $955; real growth rate - 8.6% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.6% (FY88)

Unemployment rate: 7% (1985)

Budget: revenues $2.17 billion; expenditures $2.17 billion,
including capital expenditures of $833 million (FY88)

Exports: $2.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--petroleum products 56%, coffee, cocoa, timber, manufactures;
partners--EC (particularly the Netherlands) about 50%, US 3%

Imports: $2.3 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--machines and electrical equipment, transport equipment,
chemical products, consumer goods;
partners--France 42%, Japan 7%, US 4%

External debt: $4.9 billion (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate - 6.4% (FY87)

Electricity: 752,000 kW capacity; 2,940 million kWh produced,
270 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: crude oil products, small aluminum plant, food processing,
light consumer goods industries, sawmills

Agriculture: the agriculture and forestry sectors provide employment for
the majority of the population, contributing nearly 25% to GDP and
providing a high degree of self-sufficiency in staple foods; commercial and
food crops include coffee, cocoa, timber, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed,
grains, livestock, root starches

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $400 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $3.9 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $29 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$120 million

Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs);
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per
US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987),
346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

- Communications
Railroads: 1,003 km total; 858 km 1.000-meter gauge, 145 km 0.600-meter
gauge

Highways: about 65,000 km total; includes 2,682 km bituminous,
30,000 km unimproved earth, 32,318 km gravel, earth, and improved earth

Inland waterways: 2,090 km; of decreasing importance

Ports: Douala

Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
24,122 GRT/33,509 DWT

Civil air: 5 major transport aircraft

Airports: 61 total, 54 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 22 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: good system of open wire, cable, troposcatter, and
radio relay; 26,000 telephones; stations--10 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth stations

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary Gendarmerie

Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,553,867; 1,286,831 fit for military
service; 121,773 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.7% of GDP, or $219 million (1990 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Canada
- Geography
Total area: 9,976,140 km2; land area: 9,220,970 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than US

Land boundaries: 8,893 km with US (includes 2,477 km with Alaska)

Coastline: 243,791 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: maritime boundary disputes with France (St. Pierre and Miquelon)
and US

Climate: varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north

Terrain: mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast

Natural resources: nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash,
silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, crude oil, natural gas

Land use: 5% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures;
35% forest and woodland; 57% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: 80% of population concentrated within 160 km of US border;
continuous permafrost in north a serious obstacle to development

Note: second-largest country in world (after USSR); strategic
location between USSR and US via north polar route

- People
Population: 26,538,229 (July 1990), growth rate 1.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 14 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Canadian(s); adjective--Canadian

Ethnic divisions: 40% British Isles origin, 27% French origin, 20% other
European, 1.5% indigenous Indian and Eskimo

Religion: 46% Roman Catholic, 16% United Church, 10% Anglican

Language: English and French (both official)

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 13,380,000; services 75%, manufacturing 14%, agriculture 4%,
construction 3%, other 4% (1988)

Organized labor: 30.6% of labor force; 39.6% of nonagricultural paid
workers

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: confederation with parliamentary democracy

Capital: Ottawa

Administrative divisions: 10 provinces and 2 territories*; Alberta,
British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland,
Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island,
Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory*

Independence: 1 July 1867 (from UK)

Constitution: amended British North America Act 1867 patriated to
Canada 17 April 1982; charter of rights and unwritten customs

Legal system: based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil
law system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations

National holiday: Canada Day, 1 July (1867)

Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister,
deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house
or Senate and a lower house or House of Commons

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented
by Governor General Raymond John HNATSHYN (since 29 January
1990);

Head of Government--Prime Minister (Martin) Brian MULRONEY (since
4 September 1984); Deputy Prime Minister Donald Frank MAZANKOWSKI (since
NA June 1986)

Political parties and leaders: Progressive Conservative, Brian Mulroney;
Liberal, John Turner; New Democratic, Audrey McLaughlin

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
House of Commons--last held 21 November 1988 (next to be
held by November 1993);
results--Progressive Conservative 43.0%, Liberal 32%,
New Democratic Party 20%, other 5%;
seats--(295 total) Progressive Conservative 170, Liberal 82, New
Democratic Party 43

Communists: 3,000

Member of: ADB, CCC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, DAC, FAO, GATT, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IEA,
IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ISO, ITC,
ITU, IWC--International Whaling Commission, IWC--International Wheat
Council, NATO, OAS, OECD, PAHO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WSG

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Derek BURNEY; Chancery at
1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone [phone];
there are Canadian Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago,
Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia,
San Francisco, and Seattle;
US--Ambassador Edward N. NEY; Embassy at 100 Wellington Street,
K1P 5T1, Ottawa (mailing address is P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburg, NY 13669);
telephone [phone]; there are US Consulates General in Calgary, Halifax,
Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, and Vancouver

Flag: three vertical bands of red (hoist side), white (double width,
square), and red with a red maple leaf centered in the white band

- Economy
Overview: As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, Canada
today closely resembles the US in per capita output, market-oriented
economic system, and pattern of production. Since World War II the
impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has
transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily
industrial and urban. In the 1980s Canada registered one of the highest
rates of growth among the OECD nations, averaging about 4%. With its
great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant,
Canada has excellent economic prospects. In mid-1990, however, the
long-simmering problems between English- and French-speaking areas
became so acute that observers spoke openly of a possible split in the
confederation; foreign investors were becoming edgy.

GDP: $513.6 billion, per capita $19,600; real growth rate
2.9% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.0% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 7.5% (1989)

Budget: revenues $79.2 billion; expenditures $102.0 billion,
including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (FY88 est.)

Exports: $127.2 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--newsprint, wood pulp, timber, grain, crude petroleum,
natural gas, ferrous and nonferrous ores, motor vehicles;
partners--US, Japan, UK, FRG, other EC, USSR

Imports: $116.5 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--processed foods, beverages, crude petroleum, chemicals,
industrial machinery, motor vehicles, durable consumer goods, electronic
computers;
partners--US, Japan, UK, FRG, other EC, Taiwan, South Korea, Mexico

External debt: $247 billion (1987)

Industrial production: growth rate 2.3% (1989)

Electricity: 103,746,000 kW capacity; 472,580 million kWh produced,
17,960 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and
paper products, transportation equipment, chemicals, fish products, petroleum
and natural gas

Agriculture: accounts for 3% of GDP; one of the world's major producers
and exporters of grain (wheat and barley); key source of US agricultural
imports; large forest resources cover 35% of total land area; commercial
fisheries provide annual catch of 1.5 million metric tons, of which 75% is
exported

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic
drug market

Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $2.2 billion

Currency: Canadian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Canadian dollar
(Can$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Canadian dollars (Can$) per US$1--1.1714 (January
1990), 1.1840 (1989), 1.2307 (1988), 1.3260 (1987), 1.3895 (1986),
1.3655 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Railroads: 80,095 km total; 79,917 km 1.435-meter standard gauge
(includes 129 km electrified); 178 km 0.915-meter narrow gauge (mostly unused);
two major transcontinental freight railway systems--Canadian National
(government owned) and Canadian Pacific Railway; passenger service--VIA
(government operated)

Highways: 884,272 km total; 712,936 km surfaced (250,023 km paved),
171,336 km earth

Inland waterways: 3,000 km, including St. Lawrence Seaway

Pipelines: oil, 23,564 km total crude and refined; natural gas, 74,980 km

Ports: Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Saint John (New Brunswick),
St. John's (Newfoundland), Toronto, Vancouver

Merchant marine: 78 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 555,749 GRT/774,914
DWT; includes 1 passenger, 5 short-sea passenger, 2 passenger-cargo, 12 cargo,
2 railcar carrier, 1 refrigerated cargo, 8 roll-on/roll-off, 1 container,
29 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 6 chemical tanker,
1 specialized tanker, 10 bulk; note--does not include ships used
exclusively in the Great Lakes
ships

Civil air: 636 major transport aircraft; Air Canada is the major carrier

Airports: 1,359 total, 1,117 usable; 442 with permanent-surface runways;
4 with runways over 3,659 m; 30 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 322 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: excellent service provided by modern media; 18.0
million telephones; stations--900 AM, 29 FM, 53 (1,400 repeaters) TV; 5 coaxial
submarine cables; over 300 satellite earth stations operating in
INTELSAT (including 4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) and domestic
systems

- Defense Forces
Branches: Mobile Command, Maritime Command, Air Command, Communications
Command, Canadian Forces Europe, Training Commands

Military manpower: males 15-49, 7,174,119; 6,251,492 fit for military
service; 187,894 reach military age (17) annually

Defense expenditures: 2.0% of GDP, or $10 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Cape Verde
- Geography
Total area: 4,030 km2; land area: 4,030 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Rhode Island

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 965 km

Maritime claims: (measured from claimed archipelagic baselines);

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: temperate; warm, dry, summer precipitation very erratic

Terrain: steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic

Natural resources: salt, basalt rock, pozzolana, limestone, kaolin,
fish

Land use: 9% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 6% meadows and pastures;
NEGL% forest and woodland; 85% other; includes 1% irrigated

Environment: subject to prolonged droughts; harmattan wind can obscure
visibility; volcanically and seismically active; deforestation; overgrazing

Note: strategic location 500 km from African coast near major
north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air
refueling site

- People
Population: 374,984 (July 1990), growth rate 3.0% (1990)

Birth rate: 49 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 8 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 65 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 59 years male, 63 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.7 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Cape Verdean(s); adjective--Cape Verdean

Ethnic divisions: about 71% Creole (mulatto), 28% African, 1% European

Religion: Roman Catholicism fused with indigenous beliefs

Language: Portuguese and Crioulo, a blend of Portuguese and West African
words

Literacy: 48% (1986)

Labor force: 102,000 (1985 est.); 57% agriculture
(mostly subsistence), 29% services, 14% industry (1981); 51% of
population of working age (1985)

Organized labor: Trade Unions of Cape Verde Unity Center (UNTC-CS)
closely associated with ruling party

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Cape Verde

Type: republic

Capital: Praia

Administrative divisions: 12 districts (concelhos, singular--concelho);
Boa Vista, Brava, Fogo, Maio, Paul, Praia, Ribeira Grande, Sal, Santa Catarina,
Sao Nicolau, Sao Vicente, Tarrafal; there may be 2 new districts named
Porto Novo and Santa Cruz

Independence: 5 July 1975 (from Portugal)

Constitution: 7 September 1980, amended 12 February 1981 and
December 1988

National holiday: Independence Day, 5 July (1975)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, deputy minister,
Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Assembly
(Assembleia Nacional Popular)

Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de
Justia)

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Aristides Maria PEREIRA (since 5 July 1975);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Pedro Verona Rodrigues PIRES, (since
5 July 1975); Deputy Minister Aguinaldo Liboa RAMOS (since NA February
1990)

Political parties and leaders: only party--African Party for
Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), Aristides Maria Pereira, secretary
general

Suffrage: universal at age 15

Elections:
President--last held 13 January 1986 (next to be held January
1991);
results--President Aristides Maria Pereira (PAICV) was reelected without
opposition;

National People's Assembly--last held 7 December 1985 (next
to be held December 1990);
results--PAICV is the only party;
seats--(83 total) PAICV 83

Communists: a few Communists and some sympathizers

Member of: ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jose Luis FERNANDES LOPES;
Chancery at 3415 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20007;
telephone [phone]; there is a Cape Verdean Consulate General in Boston;
US--Ambassador Terry McNAMARA; Embassy at Rua Hojl Ya
Yenna 81, Praia (mailing address is C. P. 201, Praia); telephone
p238o 614-363 or 253

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical
red band on the hoist side; in the upper portion of the red band is a black
five-pointed star framed by two corn stalks and a yellow clam shell; uses the
popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Guinea-Bissau
which is longer and has an unadorned black star centered in the red band

- Economy
Overview: Cape Verde's low per capita GDP reflects a poor natural resource
base, a 17-year drought, and a high birth rate. The economy is
service oriented, with commerce, transport, and public services accounting for
60% of GDP during the period 1984-86. Although nearly 70% of the population
lives in rural areas, agriculture's share of GDP is only 16%; the
fishing and manufacturing sectors are 4% each. About 90% of food must be
imported. The fishing potential of the islands is not fully exploited
(the fish catch--mostly lobster and tuna--came to only 10,000 tons in
1985). Cape Verde annually runs a high trade deficit, financed by
remittances from emigrants, cash grants, food aid, and foreign loans.

GDP: $158 million, per capita $494; real growth rate 6.1% (1987)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.8% (1987)

Unemployment rate: 25% (1988)

Budget: revenues $80 million; expenditures $87
million, including capital expenditures of $45 million (1988 est.)

Exports: $8.9 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--fish, bananas, salt;
partners--Portugal, Angola, Algeria, Belgium/Luxembourg,
Italy

Imports: $124
 million (c.i.f., 1987);
commodities--petroleum, foodstuffs, consumer goods, industrial products;
partners--Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, France, US, FRG

External debt: $140 million (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate 0% (1986 est.)

Electricity: 14,000 kW capacity; 18 million kWh produced,
50 kWh per capita (1989)

Industry: fish processing, salt mining, clothing factories, ship repair

Agriculture: accounts for 16% of GDP; largely subsistence farming;
bananas are the only export crop; other crops--corn, beans, sweet
potatoes, coffee; growth potential of agricultural sector limited by
poor soils and limited rainfall; annual food imports required; fish catch
provides for both domestic consumption and small exports

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY75-88), $83 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $540 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $12 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$36 million

Currency: Cape Verdean escudo (plural--escudos); 1 Cape Verdean
escudo (CVEsc) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Cape Verdean escudos (CVEsc) per
US$1--72.31 (February 1990), 74.86 (December 1989), 72.01 (1988), 72.5 (1987),
76.56 (1986), 85.38 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Ports: Mindelo and Praia

Merchant marine: 5 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,308
GRT/16,172 DWT

Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft

Airports: 6 total, 6 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: interisland radio relay system, high-frequency radio
to mainland Portugal and Guinea-Bissau; 1,740 telephones; stations--5 AM, 1 FM,
1 TV; 2 coaxial submarine cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: People's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARP); Army, Navy, and Air
Force are separate components of FARP

Military manpower: males 15-49, 68,776; 40,731 fit for military service

Defense expenditures: 11.8% of GDP (1981)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Cayman Islands
(dependent territory of the UK)
- Geography
Total area: 260 km2; land area: 260 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 160 km

Maritime claims:

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and
cool, relatively dry winters (November to April)

Terrain: low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs

Natural resources: fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism

Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 8% meadows and pastures;
23% forest and woodland; 69% other

Environment: within the Caribbean hurricane belt

Note: important location between Cuba and Central America

- People
Population: 26,356 (July 1990), growth rate 4.3% (1990)

Birth rate: 14 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 33 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 10 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 80 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Caymanian(s); adjective--Caymanian

Ethnic divisions: 40% mixed, 20% white, 20% black, 20% expatriates of
various ethnic groups

Religion: United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican,
Baptist, Roman Catholic, Church of God, other Protestant denominations

Language: English

Literacy: 98%

Labor force: 8,061; 18.7% service workers, 18.6% clerical, 12.5%
construction, 6.7% finance and investment, 5.9% directors and business managers
(1979)

Organized labor: Global Seaman's Union; Cayman All Trade Union

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: George Town

Administrative divisions: 12 districts; Bodden Town, Creek, East End,
George Town, Jacksons, North Side, Prospect, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay,
West Bay, West End

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Legal system: British common law and local statutes

Constitution: 1959, revised 1972

National holiday: Constitution Day (first Monday in July), 3 July 1989

Executive branch: British monarch, governor, Executive Council (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly

Judicial branch: Grand Court, Cayman Islands Court of Appeal

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented
by Governor Alan James SCOTT (since NA 1987);

Head of Government--Governor and President of the Executive Council
Alan James SCOTT (since NA 1987)

Political parties and leaders: no formal political parties

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
Legislative Assembly--last held NA November 1988 (next to be held
November 1992); results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(15 total, 12 elected)

Communists: none

Member of: Commonwealth

Diplomatic representation: as a dependent territory of the UK,
Caymanian interests in the US are represented by the UK; US--none

Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and
the Caymanian coat of arms on a white disk centered on the outer half of the
flag; the coat of arms includes a pineapple and turtle above a shield with three
stars (representing the three islands) and a scroll at the bottom bearing the
motto HE HATH FOUNDED IT UPON THE SEAS

- Economy
Overview: The economy depends heavily on tourism (70% of GDP
and 75% of export earnings) and offshore financial services, with
the tourist industry aimed at the luxury market and catering
mainly to visitors from North America. About 90% of the islands' food and
consumer goods needs must be imported. The Caymanians enjoy one of the highest
standards of living in the region.

GDP: $238 million, per capita $10,000 (1989 est.); real growth
rate 12% (1987 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.4% (1986)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $46.2 million; expenditures $47.0 million, including
capital expenditures of $9.1 million (1986)

Exports: $2.2 million (f.o.b., 1986 est.);
commodities--turtle products, manufactured consumer goods;
partners--mostly US

Imports: $134 million (c.i.f., 1986 est.);
commodities--foodstuffs, manufactured goods;
partners--US, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Japan

External debt: $15 million (1986)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 59,000 kW capacity; 213 million kWh produced,
8,960 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: tourism, banking, insurance and finance, real estate
and construction

Agriculture: minor production of vegetables, fruit, livestock; turtle
farming

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $26.7 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87),
$32.2 million

Currency: Caymanian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Caymanian dollar
(CI$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Caymanian dollars (CI$) per US$1--0.835 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Highways: 160 km of main roads

Ports: George Town, Cayman Brac

Merchant marine: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 355,055 GRT/576,622
DWT; includes 1 passenger-cargo, 8 cargo, 8 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 4 petroleum,
oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 1 specialized tanker, 1
liquefied gas carrier, 8 bulk; note--a flag of convenience registry

Airports: 3 total; 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: 35,000 telephones; telephone system uses 1 submarine
coaxial cable and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station to link islands and
access international services; stations--2 AM, 1 FM, no TV

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Central African Republic
- Geography
Total area: 622,980 km2; land area: 622,980 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries: 5,203 km total; Cameroon 797 km, Chad 1,197 km,
Congo 467 km, Sudan 1,165 km, Zaire 1,577 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Climate: tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers

Terrain: vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills
in northeast and southwest

Natural resources: diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil

Land use: 3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 5% meadows and pastures;
64% forest and woodland; 28% other

Environment: hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas;
poaching has diminished reputation as one of last great wildlife refuges;
desertification

Note: landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa

- People
Population: 2,877,365 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 44 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 18 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 141 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 45 years male, 48 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 5.6 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Central African(s); adjective--Central African

Ethnic divisions: about 80 ethnic groups, the majority of which have
related ethnic and linguistic characteristics; 34% Baya, 27% Banda, 10% Sara,
21% Mandjia, 4% Mboum, 4% M'Baka; 6,500 Europeans, of whom 3,600 are French

Religion: 24% indigenous beliefs, 25% Protestant, 25% Roman Catholic,
15% Muslim, 11% other; animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence
the Christian majority

Language: French (official); Sangho (lingua franca and national
language); Arabic, Hunsa, Swahili

Literacy: 40.2%

Labor force: 775,413 (1986 est.); 85% agriculture, 9% commerce and
services, 3% industry, 3% government; about 64,000 salaried workers;
55% of population of working age (1985)

Organized labor: 1% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Central African Republic (no short-form name);
abbreviated CAR

Type: republic, one-party presidential regime since 1986

Capital: Bangui

Administrative divisions: 14 prefectures (prefectures,
singular--prefecture) and 2 economic prefectures* (prefectures
economiques, singular--prefecture economique); Bamingui-Bangoran,
Basse-Kotto, Gribingui*, Haute-Kotto, Haute-Sangha, Haut-Mbomou,
Kemo-Gribingui, Lobaye, Mbomou, Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka, Ouham,
Ouham-Pende, Sangha*, Vakaga; note--there may be a new autonomous commune
of Bangui

Independence: 13 August 1960 (from France; formerly Central African
Empire)

Constitution: 21 November 1986

Legal system: based on French law

National holiday: National Day (proclamation of the republic),
1 December (1958)

Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: bicameral Congress consists of an upper house or
Economic and Regional Council (Conseil Economique et Regional) and a
lower house or National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Andre-Dieudonne
KOLINGBA (since 1 September 1981)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Centrafrican Democrtic
Rally Party (RDC), Andre-Dieudonne Kolingba

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections:
President--last held 21 November 1986 (next to be held November
1993);
results--President Kolingba was reelected without opposition;

National Assembly--last held 31 July 1987 (next to be
held July 1992);
results--RDC is the only party;
seats--(total) RDC 52

Communists: small number of Communist sympathizers

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, Conference of East and Central African
States, EAMA, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD,
ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, OCAM, UDEAC, UEAC, UN,
UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jean-Pierre SOHAHONG-KOMBET;
Chancery at 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
483-7800 or 7801;
US--Ambassador Daniel H. SIMPSON; Embassy at Avenue du President
David Dacko, Bangui (mailing address is B. P. 924, Bangui);
telephone 61-02-00 or 61-25-78, 61-43-33

Flag: four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, green, and yellow
with a vertical red band in center; there is a yellow five-pointed star on the
hoist side of the blue band

- Economy
Overview: The Central African Republic (CAR) is one of the poorest
countries in Africa, with a per capita income of roughly $450 in 1988.
Subsistence agriculture, including forestry, is the backbone of the economy,
with over 70% of the population living in the countryside. In 1988 the
agricultural sector generated about 40% of GDP, mining and manufacturing 14%,
utilities and construction 4%, and services 41%. Agricultural products accounted
for about 60% of export earnings and the diamond industry for 30%. Important
constraints to economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a
poor transportation infrastructure, and a weak human resource base. Multilateral
and bilateral development assistance plays a major role in providing capital
for new investment.

GDP: $1.27 billion, per capita $453; real growth rate 2.0%
(1988 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): - 4.2% (1988 est.)

Unemployment rate: 30% in Bangui (1988 est.)

Budget: revenues $132 million; current expenditures $305 million,
including capital expenditures of $NA million (1989 est.)

Exports: $138 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.);
commodities--diamonds, cotton, coffee, timber, tobacco;
partners--France, Belgium, Italy, Japan, US

Imports: $285 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.);
commodities--food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical
equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods,
industrial products;
partners--France, other EC, Japan, Algeria, Yugoslavia

External debt: $660 million (December 1989)

Industrial production: 1.9% (1987 est.)

Electricity: 35,000 kW capacity; 84 million kWh produced,
30 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: sawmills, breweries, diamond mining, textiles,
footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles

Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP; self-sufficient in food production
except for grain; commercial crops--cotton, coffee, tobacco, timber; food
crops--manioc, yams, millet, corn, bananas

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $44 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.3 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $6 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$38 million

Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs);
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per
US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987),
346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 22,000 km total; 458 km bituminous, 10,542 km improved earth,
11,000 unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 800 km; traditional trade carried on by means of
shallow-draft dugouts; Oubangui is the most important river

Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft

Airports: 66 total, 49 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 22 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: fair system; network relies primarily on radio
relay links, with low-capacity, low-powered radiocommunication also used;
6,000 telephones; stations--1 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 642,207; 335,863 fit for military service

Defense expenditures: 1.8% of GDP, or $23 million (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Chad
- Geography
Total area: 1,284,000 km2; land area: 1,259,200 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of California

Land boundaries: 5,968 km total; Cameroon 1,094 km, Central African
Republic 1,197 km, Libya 1,055 km, Niger 1,175 km, Nigeria 87 km, Sudan 1,360 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Disputes: Libya claims and occupies a small portion of the Aozou Strip in
far north; exact locations of the Chad-Niger-Nigeria and Cameroon-Chad-Nigeria
tripoints in Lake Chad have not been determined--since the boundary has
not been demarcated, border incidents have resulted

Climate: tropical in south, desert in north

Terrain: broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in
northwest, lowlands in south

Natural resources: small quantities of crude oil (unexploited but
exploration beginning), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad)

Land use: 2% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 36% meadows and
pastures; 11% forest and woodland; 51% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; drought and
desertification adversely affecting south; subject to plagues of locusts

Note: landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body
in the Sahel

- People
Population: 5,017,431 (July 1990), growth rate 2.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 42 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 22 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 136 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 38 years male, 40 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 5.3 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Chadian(s); adjective--Chadian

Ethnic divisions: some 200 distinct ethnic groups, most of whom are
Muslims (Arabs, Toubou, Fulbe, Kotoko, Hausa, Kanembou, Baguirmi, Boulala, and
Maba) in the north and center and non-Muslims (Sara, Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye,
Moudang, Moussei, Massa) in the south; some 150,000 nonindigenous, of whom
1,000 are French

Religion: 44% Muslim, 33% Christian, 23% indigenous beliefs,
animism

Language: French and Arabic (official); Sara and Sango in south; more
than 100 different languages and dialects are spoken

Literacy: 25.3%

Labor force: NA; 85% agriculture (engaged in unpaid subsistence farming,
herding, and fishing)

Organized labor: about 20% of wage labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Chad

Type: republic

Capital: N'Djamena

Administrative divisions: 14 prefectures (prefectures,
singular--prefecture); Batha, Biltine, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti, Chari-Baguirmi,
Guera, Kanem, Lac, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mayo-Kebbi,
Moyen-Chari, Ouaddai, Salamat, Tandjile

Independence: 11 August 1960 (from France)

Constitution: 22 December 1989

Legal system: based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: National Day (founding of the Third Republic),
7 June (1982)

Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral National Consultative Council
(Conseil National Consultatif)

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Hissein HABRE
(since 19 June 1982)

Political parties and leaders: National Union for Independence and
Revolution (UNIR) established June 1984 with Habre as President;
numerous dissident groups (most significant opponents have returned
to the government since mid-1986)

Suffrage: universal at age NA

Elections:
President--last held 10 December 1989 (next to be held December
1996);
results--President Habre was reelected without opposition

Communists: no front organizations or underground party; probably a few
Communists and some sympathizers

Other political or pressure groups: NA

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CEAO, Conference of East and Central African States,
EAMA, ECA, EC (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic
Development Bank, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, Lake Chad Basin
Commission, NAM, OAU, OCAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Mahamat Ali ADOUM; Chancery at
2002 R Steet NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador-designate Richard W. BOGOSIAN; Charge d'Affaires,
Julius WALKER; Embassy at Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena (mailing address
is B. P. 413, N'Djamena); telephone p235o (51) 32-69 or 35-13,
28-62, 23-29, 32-29, 30-94, 28-47

Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red;
similar to the flag of Andorra which has a national coat of arms featuring a
quartered shield centered in the yellow band; also similar to the flag of
Romania which has a national coat of arms featuring a mountain landscape
centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France

- Economy
Overview: The climate, geographic location, and lack of infrastructure
and natural resources potential make Chad one of the most underdeveloped
countries in the world. Its economy is slowly recovering from the ravaging
effects of prolonged civil war, conflict with Libya, drought, and food
shortages. In 1986 real GDP returned to its 1977 level, with cotton, the major
cash crop, accounting for 43% of exports. Over 80% of the work force
is employed in subsistence farming and fishing. Industry is based almost
entirely on the processing of agricultural products, including cotton,
sugarcane, and cattle. Chad is still highly dependent on foreign aid, with its
economy in trouble and many regions suffering from shortages.

GDP: $902 million, per capita $190; real growth rate 7.0% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): - 3.0% (1987)

Unemployment rate: NA

Budget: revenues $61 million; expenditures $85 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (1988 est.)

Exports: $432 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--cotton 43%, cattle 35%, textiles 5%, fish;
partners--France, Nigeria, Cameroon

Imports: $214 million (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--machinery and transportation equipment 39%,
industrial goods 20%, petroleum products 13%, foodstuffs 9%;
partners--US, France

External debt: $360 million (December 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate - 7.0% (1986)

Electricity: 38,000 kW capacity; 70 million kWh produced, 14 kWh
per capita (1989)

Industries: cotton textile mills, slaughterhouses, brewery, natron
(sodium carbonate)

Agriculture: accounts for 45% of GDP; largely subsistence farming; cotton
most important cash crop; food crops include sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice,
potatoes, manioc; livestock--cattle, sheep, goats, camels;
self-sufficient in food in years of adequate rainfall

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $178 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87),
$1.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $28 million; Communist countries
(1970-88), $71 million

Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs);
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per
US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987),
346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 31,322 km total; 32 km bituminous; 7,300 km gravel and laterite;
remainder unimproved

Inland waterways: 2,000 km navigable

Civil air: 3 major transport aircraft

Airports: 71 total, 55 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 24 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: fair system of radiocommunication stations for
intercity links; 5,000 telephones; stations--3 AM, 1 FM, limited TV
service; many facilities are inoperative; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth
station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie, Presidential Guard

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,163,312; 603,923 fit for military
service; 50,255 reach military age (20) annually

Defense expenditures: 3.5% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Chile
- Geography
Total area: 756,950 km2; land area: 748,800 km2; includes Isla de
Pascua (Easter Island) and Isla Sala y Gomez

Comparative area: slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana

Land boundaries: 6,171 km total; Argentina 5,150 km, Bolivia 861 km,
Peru 160 km

Coastline: 6,435 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 nm;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: short section of the southern boundary with Argentina is
indefinite; Bolivia has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South
Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884;
dispute with Bolivia over Rio Lauca water rights; territorial claim in
Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine
claim

Climate: temperate; desert in north; cool and damp in south

Terrain: low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged Andes
in east

Natural resources: copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious
metals, molybdenum

Land use: 7% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 16% meadows and
pastures; 21% forest and woodland; 56% other; includes 2% irrigated

Environment: subject to severe earthquakes, active volcanism, tsunami;
Atacama Desert one of world's driest regions; desertification

Note: strategic location relative to sea lanes between
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage)

- People
Population: 13,082,842 (July 1990), growth rate 1.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 21 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 18 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 77 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.5 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Chilean(s); adjective--Chilean

Ethnic divisions: 95% European and European-Indian, 3% Indian, 2% other

Religion: 89% Roman Catholic, 11% Protestant, and small Jewish
population

Language: Spanish

Literacy: 94%

Labor force: 3,840,000; 38.6% services (including 12% government),
31.3% industry and commerce; 15.9% agriculture, forestry, and fishing;
8.7% mining; 4.4% construction (1985)

Organized labor: 10% of labor force (1989)

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Chile

Type: republic

Capital: Santiago

Administrative divisions: 13 regions (regiones, singular--region);
Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania,
Atacama, Biobio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos,
Magallanes y Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana, Tarapaca,
Valparaiso

Independence: 18 September 1810 (from Spain)

Constitution: 11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981;
amended 30 July 1989

Legal system: based on Code of 1857 derived from Spanish law and
subsequent codes influenced by French and Austrian law; judicial review of
legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 18 September (1810)

Executive branch: president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso
Nacional) consisting of an upper house or Senate and a lower house
or Chamber of Deputies

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Patricio
AYLWIN (since 11 March 1990)

Political parties and leaders: National Renovation (RN), Sergio
Jarpa, president; Radical Party (PR), Enrique Silva Cimma;
Social Democratic Party (PSD), Eugenio Velasco; Christian Democratic
Party (PDC), Andres Zaldivar; Party for Democracy, Ricardo Lagos;
Socialist Party, Clodomiro Almeyda; other parties are
Movement of United Popular Action (MAPU), Victor Barrueto;
Christian Left (IC), Luis Maira; Communist Party of Chile (PCCh),
Volodia Teitelboim; Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR) is
splintered, no single leader; several leftist and far left parties
formed a new coalition in November 1988 with Luis Maira as president;
the 17-party Concertation of Parties for Democracy backed
Patricio Aylwin's presidential candidacy in December 1989

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 14 December 1989 (next to be held December
1993 or January 1994);
results--Patricio Aylwin 55.2%, Hernan Buchi 29.4%, other 15.4%;

Senate--last held 14 December 1989 (next to be held December
1993 or January 1994); seats--(47 total, 38 elected)
17-party Concertation of Parties for Democracy 22;

Chamber of Deputies--last held 14 December 1989 (next to be held
December 1993 or January 1994); seats--(120 total)
Concertation of Parties for Democracy 69

Communists: 120,000 when PCCh was legal in 1973; 50,000 (est.) active
militants

Other political or pressure groups: revitalized university student
federations at all major universities dominated by opposition political groups;
labor--United Labor Central (CUT) includes trade unionists from the
country's five-largest labor confederations; Roman Catholic Church

Member of: CCC, CIPEC, ECOSOC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, LAIA, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Octavio ERRAZURIZ; Chancery
at 1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone [phone];
there are Chilean Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
New York, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Charles A. GILLESPIE, Jr.; Embassy at Codina Building,
1343 Agustinas, Santiago (mailing address is APO Miami 34033);
telephone p56o (2) 710133 or 710190, 710326, 710375

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; there is a blue
square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white
band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center; design was based
on the US flag

- Economy
Overview: In 1989 the economy grew at the rate of 9.9%, reflecting
substantial growth in industry, agriculture, and construction. Copper
accounts for nearly 50% of export revenues; Chile's economic well-being
thus remains highly dependent on international copper prices. Unemployment
and inflation rates have declined from their peaks in 1982 to 5.3% and
21.4%, respectively, in 1989. The major long-term economic problem is
how to sustain growth in the face of political uncertainties.

GDP: $25.3 billion, per capita $1,970; real growth rate 9.9% (1989)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 21.4% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 5.3% (1989)

Budget: revenues $4.9 billion; expenditures $5.1 billion,
including capital expenditures of $0.6 billion (1986)

Exports: $7.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--copper 48%, industrial products 33%, molybdenum, iron ore,
wood pulp, fishmeal, fruits;
partners--EC 34%, US 22%, Japan 10%, Brazil 7%

Imports: $4.7 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--petroleum, wheat, capital goods, spare parts, raw materials;
partners--EC 23%, US 20%, Japan 10%, Brazil 9%

External debt: $16.3 billion (December 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 7.4% (1989)

Electricity: 4,044,000 kW capacity; 17,710 million kWh produced,
1,380 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: copper, other minerals, foodstuffs, fish processing, iron
and steel, wood and wood products

Agriculture: accounts for about 8% of GDP (including fishing and
forestry); major exporter of fruit, fish, and timber products; major
crops--wheat, corn, grapes, beans, sugar beets, potatoes, deciduous fruit;
livestock products--beef, poultry, wool; self-sufficient in most foods;
1986 fish catch of 5.6 million metric tons net agricultural importer

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $521 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.3 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $386 million

Currency: Chilean peso (plural--pesos);
1 Chilean peso (Ch$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Chilean pesos (Ch$) per US$1--296.68 (January 1990),
267.16 (1989), 245.05 (1988), 219.54 (1987), 193.02 (1986), 161.08 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 8,613 km total; 4,257 km 1.676-meter gauge, 135 km 1.435-meter
standard gauge, 4,221 km 1.000-meter gauge; electrification, 1,578 km
1.676-meter gauge, 76 km 1.000-meter gauge

Highways: 79,025 km total; 9,913 km paved, 33,140 km gravel, 35,972 km
improved and unimproved earth (1984)

Inland waterways: 725 km

Pipelines: crude oil, 755 km; refined products, 785 km;
natural gas, 320 km

Ports: Antofagasta, Iquique, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Valparaiso,
San Antonio, Talcahuano, Arica

Merchant marine: 35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 498,354 GRT/804,809
DWT; includes 13 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 3 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 2 liquefied
gas, 3 combination ore/oil, 10 bulk; note--in addition, 1 naval tanker and 1
military transport are sometimes used commercially

Civil air: 22 major transport aircraft

Airports: 392 total, 352 usable; 49 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 11 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
57 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: modern telephone system based on extensive radio relay
facilities; 768,000 telephones; stations--159 AM, no FM, 131 TV, 11 shortwave;
satellite stations--2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 3 domestic

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army of the Nation, National Navy, Air Force of the Nation,
Carabineros of Chile

Military manpower: males 15-49, 3,491,854; 2,610,048 fit for military
service; 118,569 reach military age (19) annually

Defense expenditures: 4.0% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  China
(also see separate Taiwan entry)
- Geography
Total area: 9,596,960 km2; land area: 9,326,410 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than the US

Land boundaries: 23,213.34 km total; Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km,
Burma 2,185 km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, North Korea 1,416 km,
Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia 4,673 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km,
USSR 7,520 km, Vietnam 1,281 km

Coastline: 14,500 km

Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: boundary with India; bilateral negotiations are under way
to resolve four disputed sections of the boundary with the USSR
(Pamir, Argun, Amur, and Khabarovsk areas); a short section of
the boundary with North Korea is indefinite; Hong Kong is
scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region in 1997; Portuguese
territory of Macau is scheduled to become a Special Administrative
Region in 1999; sporadic border clashes with Vietnam; involved in a
complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines,
Taiwan, and Vietnam; maritime boundary dispute with Vietnam in the Gulf of
Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and
Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands)

Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

Terrain: mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains,
deltas, and hills in east

Natural resources: coal, iron ore, crude oil, mercury, tin, tungsten,
antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead,
zinc, uranium, world's largest hydropower potential

Land use: 10% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 31% meadows and
pastures; 14% forest and woodland; 45% other; includes 5% irrigated

Environment: frequent typhoons (about five times per year along southern
and eastern coasts), damaging floods, tsunamis, earthquakes; deforestation; soil
erosion; industrial pollution; water pollution; desertification

Note: world's third-largest country (after USSR and Canada)

- People
Population: 1,118,162,727 (July 1990), growth rate 1.4% (1990)

Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 34 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 69 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.3 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Chinese (sing., pl.); adjective--Chinese

Ethnic divisions: 93.3% Han Chinese; 6.7% Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi,
Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities

Religion: officially atheist, but traditionally pragmatic and eclectic;
most important elements of religion are Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism;
about 2-3% Muslim, 1% Christian

Language: Standard Chinese (Putonghua) or Mandarin (based on the Beijing
dialect); also Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan
(Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, and minority languages (see
ethnic divisions)

Literacy: over 75%

Labor force: 513,000,000; 61.1% agriculture and forestry, 25.2% industry
and commerce, 4.6% construction and mining, 4.5% social services, 4.6% other
(1986 est.)

Organized labor: All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) follows the
leadership of the Chinese Communist Party; membership over 80 million or about
65% of the urban work force (1985)

- Government
Long-form name: People's Republic of China; abbreviated PRC

Type: Communist Party-led state

Capital: Beijing

Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural),
5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 3 municipalities**
(shi, singular and plural); Anhui, Beijing**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong,
Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu,
Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong,
Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang*, Yunnan,
Zhejiang; note--China considers Taiwan its 23rd province

Independence: unification under the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty 221 BC,
Qing (Ch'ing or Manchu) Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912,
People's Republic established 1 October 1949

Constitution: 4 December 1982

Legal system: a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal
law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes
in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve
civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law

National holiday: National Day, 1 October (1949)

Executive branch: president, vice president, premier, three vice premiers,
State Council, Central Military Commission (de facto)

Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Congress (Quanguo
Renmin Daibiao Dahui)

Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government (de facto)--DENG
Xiaoping (since mid-1977);

Chief of State--President YANG Shangkun (since 8 April 1988);
Vice President WANG Zhen (since 8 April 1988);

Head of Government--Premier LI Peng (Acting Premier since
24 November 1987, Premier since 9 April 1988);
Vice Premier YAO Yilin (since 2 July 1979);
Vice Premier TIAN Jiyun (since 20 June 1983);
Vice Premier WU Xueqian (since 12 April 1988)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Chinese Communist Party
(CCP), Jiang Zemin, general secretary of the Central Committee

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 8 April 1988 (next to be held March 1993);
Yang Shangkun was elected by the Seventh National People's Congress;

National People's Congress--last held NA March 1988 (next to
be held March 1993); results--CCP is the only party;
seats--(2,970 total) CCP 2,970 (indirectly elected)

Communists: about 45,000,000 party members (1986)

Other political or pressure groups: such meaningful opposition as exists
consists of loose coalitions, usually within the party and government
organization, that vary by issue

Member of: ADB, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador ZHU Qizhen; Chancery at
2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone [phone] through 2502; there are Chinese Consulates General
in Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador James R. LILLEY; Embassy at Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3,
Beijing (mailing address is FPO San Francisco 96655); telephone p86o (1)
532-3831;
there are US Consulates General in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenyang

Flag: red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow
five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag)
in the upper hoist-side corner

- Economy
Overview: Beginning in late 1978 the Chinese leadership has been
trying to move the economy from the sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned
economy to a more productive and flexible economy with market elements--but
still within the framework of monolithic Communist control. To this
end the authorities have switched to a system of household responsibility
in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority
of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide
variety of small-scale enterprise in services and light manufacturing,
and opened the foreign economic sector to increased trade and joint
ventures. The most gratifying result has been a strong spurt in production,
particularly in agriculture in the early 1980s. Otherwise, the leadership has
often experienced in its hybrid system the worst results of socialism
(bureaucracy, lassitude, corruption) and of capitalism (windfall gains
and stepped-up inflation). Beijing thus has periodically backtracked,
retightening central controls at intervals and thereby undermining the
credibility of the reform process. Open inflation and excess demand continue to
plague the economy, and political repression, following the crackdown at
Tiananmen in mid-1989, has curtailed tourism, foreign aid, and new investment
by foreign firms. Popular resistance and changes in central policy have weakened
China's population control program, which is essential to the nation's long-term
economic viability.

GNP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate 4% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 19.5% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 3.0% in urban areas (1989)

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

Exports: $52.5 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--manufactured goods, agricultural products, oilseeds, grain
(rice and corn), oil, minerals;
partners--Hong Kong, US, Japan, USSR, Singapore, FRG (1989)

Imports: $59.1 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--grain (mostly wheat), chemical fertilizer, steel,
industrial raw materials, machinery, equipment;
partners--Hong Kong, Japan, US, FRG, USSR (1989)

External debt: $51 billion (1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 8.0% (1989)

Electricity: 110,000,000 kW capacity; 560,000 million kWh produced,
500 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: iron, steel, coal, machine building, armaments,
textiles, petroleum

Agriculture: accounts for 26% of GNP; among the world's largest producers
of rice, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, and pork; commercial
crops include cotton, other fibers, and oilseeds; produces variety of livestock
products; basically self-sufficient in food; fish catch of 8 million metric tons
in 1986

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $220.7 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87),
$11.1 billion

Currency: yuan (plural--yuan); 1 yuan (Y) = 10 jiao

Exchange rates: yuan (Y) per US$1--4.7221 (January 1990),
3.7651 (1989), 3.7221 (1988), 3.7221 (1987), 3.4528 (1986), 2.9367 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: total about 54,000 km common carrier lines; 53,400 km
1.435-meter standard gauge;  600 km 1.000-meter gauge;
all single track except 11,200 km double track on standard-gauge lines;
6,500 km electrified; 10,000 km industrial lines
(gauges range from 0.762 to 1.067 meters)

Highways: about 980,000 km all types roads; 162,000 km paved
roads, 617,200 km gravel/improved earth roads, 200,800 km unimproved
natural earth roads and tracks

Inland waterways: 138,600 km; about 109,800 km navigable

Pipelines: crude, 6,500 km; refined products, 1,100 km; natural gas,
6,200 km

Ports: Dalian, Guangzhou, Huangpu, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai,
Xingang, Zhanjiang, Ningbo

Merchant marine: 1,373 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 13,303,685 GRT/
20,092,833 DWT; includes 25 passenger, 41 short-sea passenger, 17
passenger-cargo, 7 cargo/training, 766 cargo, 10 refrigerated cargo,
65 container, 17 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 multifunction barge carriers,
173 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 9 chemical tanker, 237 bulk,
2 vehicle carrier, 1 liquefied gas; note--China beneficially owns an additional
175 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling approximately 5,380,415 DWT that operate
under the registry of Panama, UK, Hong Kong, Liberia, and Malta

Airports: 330 total, 330 usable; 260 with permanent-surface runways;
fewer than 10 with runways over 3,500 m; 90 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 200 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: domestic and international services are
increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed internal
system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and most townships;
11,000,000 telephones (December 1989); stations--274 AM, unknown FM,
202 (2,050 relays) TV; more than 215 million radio receivers; 75 million
TVs; satellite earth stations--4 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean
INTELSAT, and 55 domestic

- Defense Forces
Branches: Chinese People's Liberation Army (CPLA), CPLA Navy (including
Marines), CPLA Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 330,353,665; 184,515,412 fit for military
service; 11,594,366 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: $5.28 billion (1988)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Christmas Island
(territory of Australia)
- Geography
Total area: 135 km2; land area: 135 km2

Comparative area: about 0.8 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 138.9 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: tropical; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds

Terrain: steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau

Natural resources: phosphate

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

Environment: almost completely surrounded by a reef

Note: located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean

- People
Population: 2,278 (July 1990), growth rate 0.0% (1990)

Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NA migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: NA years male, NA years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Christmas Islander(s), adjective--Christmas Island

Ethnic divisions: 61% Chinese, 25% Malay, 11% European, 3% other; no
indigenous population

Religion: NA

Language: English

Literacy: NA%

Labor force: NA; all workers are employees of the Phosphate Mining
Company of Christmas Island, Ltd.

Organized labor: NA

- Government
Long-form name: Territory of Christmas Island

Type: territory of Australia

Capital: The Settlement

Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)

Independence: none (territory of Australia)

Constitution: Christmas Island Act of 1958

Legal system: under the authority of the governor general of Australia

National holiday: NA

Executive branch: British monarch, governor general of Australia,
administrator, Advisory Council (cabinet)

Legislative branch: none

Judicial branch: none

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);

Head of Government--Administrator A. D. TAYLOR (since NA)

Communists: none

Diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)

Flag: the flag of Australia is used

- Economy
Overview: Phosphate mining is the only significant economic
activity, but in November 1987 the Australian Government announced that
the mine would be closed because of labor unrest. Plans are under way to build a
casino and hotel to develop tourism.

GDP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: 0%

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

Exports: $NA; commodities--phosphate; partners--Australia, NZ

Imports: $NA; commodities--NA; partners--NA

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 11,000 kW capacity; 38 million kWh produced,
16,680 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: phosphate extraction (near depletion)

Agriculture: NA

Aid: none

Currency: Australian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Australian dollar
($A) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1--1.2784 (January 1990),
1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905 (1986), 1.4269 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

- Communications
Ports: Flying Fish Cove

Airports: 1 usable with permanent-surface runway 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: 4,000 radios (1982)

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Clipperton Island
(French possession)
- Geography
Total area: undetermined

Comparative area: undetermined

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 11.1 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical

Terrain: coral atoll

Natural resources: none

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

Environment: reef about 8 km in circumference

Note: located 1,120 km southwest of Mexico in the North Pacific Ocean

- People
Population: uninhabited

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: French possession administered by High Commissioner of the
Republic Jean MONTPEZAT, resident in French Polynesia

- Economy
Overview: no economic activity

- Communications
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of France
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Cocos (Keeling) Islands
(territory of Australia)
- Geography
Total area: 14 km2; land area: 14 km2; main islands are West Island and
Home Island

Comparative area: about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 42.6 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: pleasant, modified by the southeast trade winds for about nine
months of the year; moderate rainfall

Terrain: flat, low-lying coral atolls

Natural resources: fish

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

Environment: two coral atolls thickly covered with coconut palms and
other vegetation

Note: located 1,070 km southwest of Sumatra (Indonesia) in the
Indian Ocean about halfway between Australia and Sri Lanka

- People
Population: 670 (July 1990), growth rate 2.1% (1990)

Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NA migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: NA years male, NA years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Cocos Islander(s); adjective--Cocos Islander(s)

Ethnic divisions: mostly Europeans on West Island and Cocos Malays
on Home Island

Religion: NA

Language: English

Literacy: NA%

Labor force: NA

Organized labor: none

- Government
Long-form name: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Type: territory of Australia

Capital: West Island

Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)

Independence: none (territory of Australia)

Constitution: Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955

Legal system: based upon the laws of Australia and local laws

National holiday: NA

Executive branch: British monarch, governor general of Australia,
administrator, chairman of the Islands Council

Legislative branch: unicameral Islands Council

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders: Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);

Head of Government--Administrator D. LAWRIE (since NA 1989);
Chairman of the Islands Council Parson Bin YAPAT (since NA)

Suffrage: NA

Elections: NA

Diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)

Flag: the flag of Australia is used

- Economy
Overview: Grown throughout the islands, coconuts are the sole cash
crop. Copra and fresh coconuts are the major export earners. Small local
gardens and fishing contribute to the food supply, but additional food and most
other necessities must be imported from Australia.

GNP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment: NA

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

Exports: $NA;
commodities--copra;
partners--Australia

Imports: $NA;
commodities--foodstuffs;
partners--Australia

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: NA kW capacity; NA million kWh produced, NA kWh per
capita

Industries: copra products

Agriculture: gardens provide vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts

Aid: none

Currency: Australian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Australian dollar
($A) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1--1.2784 (January 1990),
1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905 (1986), 1.4269 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

- Communications
Ports: none; lagoon anchorage only

Airports: 1 airfield with permanent-surface runway, 2,440-3,659 m;
airport on West Island is a link in service between Australia and South Africa

Telecommunications: 250 radios (1985); linked by telephone,
telex, and facsimile communications via satellite with Australia;
stations--1 AM, no FM, no TV

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Colombia
- Geography
Total area: 1,138,910 km2; land area: 1,038,700 km2; includes Isla
de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranilla Bank

Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Montana

Land boundaries: 7,408 km total; Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km,
Panama 225 km, Peru 2,900, Venezuela 2,050 km

Coastline: 3,208 km total (1,448 km North Pacific Ocean;
1,760 Caribbean Sea)

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: not specified;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the
Gulf of Venezuela; territorial dispute with Nicaragua over Archipelago
de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank

Climate: tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands

Terrain: mixture of flat coastal lowlands, plains in east, central
highlands, some high mountains

Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel,
gold, copper, emeralds

Land use: 4% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 29% meadows and pastures;
49% forest and woodland; 16% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: highlands subject to volcanic eruptions;
deforestation; soil damage from overuse of pesticides; periodic droughts

Note: only South American country with coastlines on both
North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea

- People
Population: 33,076,188 (July 1990), growth rate 2.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 27 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 38 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 73 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.9 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Colombian(s); adjective--Colombian

Ethnic divisions: 58% mestizo, 20% white, 14% mulatto, 4% black, 3%
mixed black-Indian, 1% Indian

Religion: 95% Roman Catholic

Language: Spanish

Literacy: 88% (1987 est.), Indians about 40%

Labor force: 11,000,000 (1986); 53% services, 26% agriculture,
21% industry (1981)

Organized labor: 1,400,000 members (1987), about 12% of labor
force; the Communist-backed Unitary Workers Central or CUT is the largest
labor organization, with about 725,000 members (including all affiliate unions)

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Colombia

Type: republic; executive branch dominates government structure

Capital: Bogota

Administrative divisions: 23 departments (departamentos,
singular--departamento), 5 commissariats* (comisarias,
singular--comisaria), and 4 intendancies** (intendencias,
singular--intendencia); Amazonas*, Antioquia, Arauca**, Atlantico, Bolivar,
Boyaca, Caldas, Caqueta, Casanare**, Cauca, Cesar, Choco, Cordoba,
Cundinamarca, Guainia*, Guaviare*, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena, Meta,
Narino, Norte de Santander, Putumayo**, Quindio, Risaralda,
San Andres y Providencia**, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca,
Vaupes*, Vichada*; note--there may be a new special district (distrito
especial) named Bogota

Independence: 20 July 1810 (from Spain)

Constitution: 4 August 1886, with amendments codified in 1946 and 1968

Legal system: based on Spanish law; judicial review of legislative acts
in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: Independence Day, 20 July (1810)

Executive branch: president, presidential designate, cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Congress (Congreso) consists of an upper
chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Representatives
(Camara de Representantes)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justica)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--Virgilio BARCO Vargas
(since 7 August 1986; term ends August 1990); Presidential Designate
Victor MOSQUERA Chaux (since 13 October 1986); President-elect Cesar
GAVIRIA Trujillo (since 27 May 1990, takes office 7 August 1990)

Political parties and leaders: Liberal Party--Cesar Gaviria
Trujillo, Virgilio Barco Vargas, Alfonso Lopez Michelson, Julio Cesar
Turbay;
Conservative Party--Misael Pastrana Borrero, Alvaro Gomez Hurtado;
Patriotic Union (UP), is a legal political party formed by
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Colombian
Communist Party (PCC), Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa; 19th of April Movement
(M-19), Rodrigo Lloreda

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 27 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994);
results--Cesar Gaviria Trujillo (Liberal) 47%, Alvaro Gomez Hurtado
(Conservative) 24%, Antonio Novarro Wolff (Conservative) 13%, Rodrigo
Lloreda (M-19) 12%;

Senate--last held 11 March 1990 (next to be held March 1994);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(114 total) Liberal 68, Conservative 45, UP 1;

House of Representatives last held 11 March 1990 (next to be held
March 1994); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(199 total) Liberal 107, Conservative 82, UP 10

Communists: 18,000 members (est.), including Communist Party Youth
Organization (JUCO)

Other political or pressure groups: Colombian Communist Party (PCC),
Gilberto Vieira White; Communist Party/Marxist-Leninist (PCC/ML), Chinese-line
Communist Party; Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC);
National Liberation Army (ELN); People's Liberation Army (EPL)

Member of: FAO, G-77, GATT, Group of Eight, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC,
ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD,
IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITU, LAIA,
NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Victor MOSQUERA; Chancery at
2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone]; there are
Colombian Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York,
San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Consulates in Atlanta, Boston,
Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Tampa;
US--Ambassador Thomas E. McNAMARA; Embassy at Calle 38, No.8-61,
Bogota (mailing address is APO Miami 34038); telephone p57o (1) 285-1300 or
1688; there is a US Consulate in Barranquilla

Flag: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double-width), blue, and red;
similar to the flag of Ecuador which is longer and bears the Ecuadorian coat of
arms superimposed in the center

- Economy
Overview: Economic activity has slowed gradually since 1986, but
growth rates remain high by Latin American standards. Conservative
economic policies have encouraged investment and kept inflation
and unemployment under 30% and 10%, respectively. The rapid development
of oil, coal, and other nontraditional industries over the past four
years has helped to offset the decline in coffee prices--Colombia's major
export. The collapse of the International Coffee Agreement in the summer
of 1989, a troublesome rural insurgency, and drug-related violence
dampen prospects for future growth.

GDP: $35.4 billion, per capita $1,110; real growth rate 3.7% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 27% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 9.0% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $4.39 billion; current expenditures $3.93
billion, capital expenditures $l.03 billion (1989 est.)

Exports: $5.76 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--coffee 30%, petroleum 24%, coal, bananas, fresh cut flowers;
partners--US 36%, EC 21%, Japan 5%, Netherlands 4%, Sweden 3%

Imports: $5.02 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.);
commodities--industrial equipment, transportation equipment, foodstuffs,
chemicals, paper products;
partners--US 34%, EC 16%, Brazil 4%, Venezuela 3%, Japan 3%

External debt: $17.5 billion (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 2.0% (1989 est.)

Electricity: 9,250,000 kW capacity; 35,364 million kWh produced,
1,110 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear,
beverages, chemicals, metal products, cement; mining--gold, coal, emeralds,
iron, nickel, silver, salt

Agriculture: accounts for 22% of GDP; crops make up two-thirds and
livestock one-third of agricultural output; climate and soils permit a wide
variety of crops, such as coffee, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans,
oilseeds, vegetables; forest products and shrimp farming are becoming more
important

Illicit drugs: major illicit producer of cannabis and coca for the
international drug trade; key supplier of marijuana and cocaine to
the US and other international drug markets; drug production and
trafficking accounts for an estimated 4% of GDP and 28% of foreign
exchange earnings

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.6 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.9 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $399 million

Currency: Colombian peso (plural--pesos);
1 Colombian peso (Col$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Colombian pesos (Col$) per US$1--439.68 (January 1990),
382.57 (1989), 299.17 (1988), 242.61 (1987), 194.26 (1986), 142.31 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 3,563 km, all 0.914-meter gauge, single track

Highways: 75,450 km total; 9,350 km paved, 66,100 km earth and gravel
surfaces

Inland waterways: 14,300 km, navigable by river boats

Pipelines: crude oil, 3,585 km; refined products, 1,350 km; natural gas,
830 km; natural gas liquids, 125 km

Ports: Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Covenas, San Andres,
Santa Marta, Tumaco

Merchant marine: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 334,854 GRT/487,438
DWT; includes 23 cargo, 1 chemical tanker, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants
(POL) tanker, 9 bulk

Civil air: 106 major transport aircraft

Airports: 673 total, 622 usable; 66 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 124 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: nationwide radio relay system; 1,890,000 telephones;
stations--413 AM, no FM, 33 TV, 28 shortwave 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth
stations with 2 antennas and 11 domestic satellite stations


- Defense Forces
Branches: armed forces include Police (Policia Nacional) and
military--Army (Ejercito Nacional), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea de Colombia),
Navy (Armada Nacional)

Military manpower: males 15-49, 8,768,072; 5,953,729 fit for military
service; 354,742 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.9% of GDP, or $700 million (1990 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Comoros
- Geography
Total area: 2,170 km2; land area: 2,170 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than 12 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 340 km

Maritime claims:

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: claims French-administered Mayotte

Climate: tropical marine; rainy season (November to May)

Terrain: volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains
to low hills

Natural resources: negligible

Land use: 35% arable land; 8% permanent crops; 7% meadows and pastures;
16% forest and woodland; 34% other

Environment: soil degradation and erosion; deforestation;
cyclones possible during rainy season

Note: important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel

- People
Population: 460,188 (July 1990), growth rate 3.5% (1990)

Birth rate: 48 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 12 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 89 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 54 years male, 58 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 7.0 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Comoran(s); adjective--Comoran

Ethnic divisions: Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava

Religion: 86% Sunni Muslim, 14% Roman Catholic

Language: Shaafi Islam (a Swahili dialect), Malagasy, French

Literacy: 15%

Labor force: 140,000 (1982); 80% agriculture, 3% government; 51% of
population of working age (1985)

Organized labor: NA

- Government
Long-form name: Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros

Type: independent republic

Capital: Moroni

Administrative divisions: 3 islands; Anjouan, Grande Comore,
Moheli; note--there may also be 4 municipalities named Domoni, Fomboni,
Moroni, and Mutsamudu

Independence: 6 July 1975 (from France)

Constitution: 1 October 1978, amended October 1982 and January 1985

Legal system: French and Muslim law in a new consolidated code

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 July (1975)

Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral Federal Assembly (Assemblee Federale)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Said
Mohamed DJOHAR (since 11 March 1990)

Political parties: Comoran Union for Progress (Udzima), Said
Mohamed Djohar, president; National Union for Democracy (UNDC),
Mohamed Taki

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 11 March 1990 (next to be held March 1996);
results--Said Mohamed Djohar (Udzima) 55%; Mohamed Taki Abdulkarim
(UNDC) 45%;

Federal Assembly--last held 22 March 1987 (next to be held March
1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(42 total) Udzima 42

Member of: ACP, AfDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank,
IFAD, ILO, IMF, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Amini Ali MOUMIN; Chancery
(temporary) at the Comoran Permanent Mission to the UN, 336 East 45th Street,
2nd Floor, New York, NY 10017; telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador Howard K. WALKER, resides in Antananarivo (Madagascar);
Embassy at address NA, Moroni (mailing address B. P. 1318, Moroni);
telephone 73-12-03

Flag: green with a white crescent placed diagonally (closed side of the
crescent points to the upper hoist-side corner of the flag); there are four
white five-pointed stars placed in a line between the points of the crescent;
the crescent, stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam; the four
stars represent the four main islands of the archipelago--Mwali, Njazidja,
Nzwani, and Mayotte (which is a territorial collectivity of France, but claimed
by the Comoros)

- Economy
Overview: One of the world's poorest countries, Comoros is made up of
several islands that have poor transportation links, a young and rapidly
increasing population, and few natural resources. The low educational level
of the labor force contributes to a low level of economic activity, high
unemployment, and a heavy dependence on foreign technical assistance.
Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is the leading sector of the
economy. It contributes about 40% to GDP, employs 80% of the labor
force, and provides most of the exports. The country is not self-sufficient in
food production, and rice, the main staple, accounts for 90% of imports.
During the period 1982-86 the industrial sector grew at an annual average rate
of 5.3%, but its contribution to GDP was less than 4% in 1986. Despite major
investment in the tourist industry, which accounts for about 25% of GDP, growth
has stagnated since 1983.

GDP: $207 million, per capita $475; real growth rate 0.1% (1988 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.3% (1986)

Unemployment rate: over 16% (1988 est.)

Budget: revenues $75.2 million; expenditures $77.9 million,
including capital expenditures of $4.8 million (1988 est.)

Exports: $12 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--vanilla, cloves, perfume oil, copra;
partners--US 53%, France 41%, Africa 4%, FRG 2%

Imports: $52 million (c.i.f., 1987);
commodities--rice and other foodstuffs, cement, petroleum products,
consumer goods;
partners--Europe 62% (France 22%, other 40%), Africa 5%, Pakistan,
China

External debt: $238 million (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate 3.4% (1988 est.)

Electricity: 16,000 kW capacity; 24 million kWh produced,
55 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: perfume distillation

Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP; most of population works in
subsistence agriculture and fishing; plantations produce cash crops for
export--vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, and copra; principal food
crops--coconuts, bananas, cassava; world's leading producer of essence of
ylang-ylang (for perfumes) and second-largest producer of vanilla; large net
food importer

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY80-88), $9 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $371 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $22 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$18 million

Currency: Comoran franc (plural--francs); 1 Comoran franc (CF) = 100
centimes

Exchange rates: Comoran francs (CF) per US$1--287.99 (January 1990),
319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985);
note--linked to the French franc at 50 to 1 French franc

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 750 km total; about 210 km bituminous, remainder crushed
stone or gravel

Ports: Mutsamudu, Moroni

Civil air: 4 major transport aircraft

Airports: 4 total, 4 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 3 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: sparse system of radio relay and high-frequency radio
communication stations for interisland and external communications to Madagascar
and Reunion; over 1,800 telephones; stations--2 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Presidential Guard, Gendarmerie

Military manpower: males 15-49, 97,504; 58,274 fit for military service

Defense expenditures: 3% of GDP (1981)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Congo
- Geography
Total area: 342,000 km2; land area: 341,500 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries: 5,504 km total; Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km,
Central African Republic 467 km, Gabon 1,903 km, Zaire 2,410 km

Coastline: 169 km

Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 200 nm

Disputes: long section with Zaire along the Congo River is indefinite
(no division of the river or its islands has been made)

Climate: tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June
to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating
climate astride the Equator

Terrain: coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin

Natural resources: petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium,
copper, phosphates, natural gas

Land use: 2% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 29% meadows and
pastures; 62% forest and woodland; 7% other

Environment: deforestation; about 70% of the population lives in
Brazzaville, Pointe Noire, or along the railroad between them

- People
Population: 2,242,274 (July 1990), growth rate 3.0% (1990)

Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 14 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 110 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 55 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 5.8 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Congolese (sing., pl.); adjective--Congolese or Congo

Ethnic divisions: about 15 ethnic groups divided into some 75 tribes,
almost all Bantu; most important ethnic groups are Kongo (48%) in the south,
Sangha (20%) and M'Bochi (12%) in the north, Teke (17%) in the center; about
8,500 Europeans, mostly French

Religion: 50% Christian, 48% animist, 2% Muslim

Language: French (official); many African languages with Lingala and
Kikongo most widely used

Literacy: 62.9%

Labor force: 79,100 wage earners; 75% agriculture, 25% commerce, industry,
and government; 51% of population of working age; 40% of population economically
active (1985)

Organized labor: 20% of labor force (1979 est.)

- Government
Long-form name: People's Republic of the Congo

Type: people's republic

Capital: Brazzaville

Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regions, singular--region);
Bouenza, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha;
note--there may be a new capital district of Brazzaville

Independence: 15 August 1960 (from France; formerly Congo/Brazzaville)

Constitution: 8 July 1979

Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law

National holiday: National Day, 15 August (1960)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral People's National Assembly
(Assemblee Nationale Populaire)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Denis
SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 8 February 1979);
Prime Minister Alphonse POATY-SOUCHLATY (since 6 August 1989)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Congolese Labor Party
(PCT), President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, leader

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 26-31 July 1989 (next to be held July 1993);
results--President Sassou-Nguesso unanimously reelected leader of the
PCT by the Party Congress, which automatically makes him president;

People's National Assembly--last held 24 September 1989 (next
to be held 1993); results--PCT is the only party;
seats--(153 total) single list of candidates nominated by the PCT

Communists: unknown number of Communists and sympathizers

Other political or pressure groups: Union of Congolese Socialist Youth
(UJSC), Congolese Trade Union Congress (CSC), Revolutionary Union of Congolese
Women (URFC), General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students (UGEEC)

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, Conference of East and Central African
States, EAMA, ECA, EIB (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICO,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, UDEAC,
UEAC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Benjamin BOUNKOULOU; Chancery at
4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington DC 20011; telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador-designate James Daniel PHILLIPS; Embassy at Avenue
Amilcar Cabral, Brazzaville (mailing address is B. P. 1015, Brazzaville,
or Box C, APO New York 09662-0006); telephone 83-20-70 or 83-26-24

Flag: red with the national emblem in the upper hoist-side corner; the
emblem includes a yellow five-pointed star above a crossed hoe and hammer (like
the hammer and sickle design) in yellow, flanked by two curved green palm
branches; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

- Economy
Overview: Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the
economy, providing about two-thirds of government revenues and
exports. In the early 1980s rapidly rising oil revenues enabled Congo
to finance large-scale development projects with growth averaging 5%
annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. The world decline in
oil prices, however, has forced the government to launch an austerity
program to cope with declining receipts and mounting foreign debts.

GDP: $2.2 billion, per capita $1,000; real growth rate - 3% (1988 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1988)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $382 million; expenditures $575 million,
including capital expenditures of $118 million (1988)

Exports: $912 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--crude petroleum 72%, lumber, plywood, coffee, cocoa,
sugar, diamonds;
partners--US, France, other EC

Imports: $494.4 million (c.i.f., 1987);
commodities--foodstuffs, consumer goods, intermediate manufactures,
capital equipment;
partners--France, Italy, other EC, US, FRG, Spain, Japan, Brazil

External debt: $4.5 billion (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate - 5.9% (1987)

Electricity: 133,000 kW capacity; 300 million kWh produced,
130 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: crude oil, cement, sawmills, brewery, sugar mill, palm
oil, soap, cigarettes

Agriculture: accounts for 11% of GDP (including fishing and
forestry); cassava accounts for 90% of food output; other crops--rice,
corn, peanuts, vegetables; cash crops include coffee and cocoa; forest
products important export earner; imports over 90% of food needs

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $56 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.1 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $15 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$338 million

Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs);
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF)
per US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987),
346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 797 km, 1.067-meter gauge, single track (includes 285 km
that are privately owned)

Highways: 12,000 km total; 560 km bituminous surface treated; 850 km
gravel, laterite; 5,350 km improved earth; 5,240 km unimproved roads

Inland waterways: the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) Rivers provide 1,120 km
of commercially navigable water transport; the rest are used for local traffic
only

Pipelines: crude oil 25 km

Ports: Pointe-Noire (ocean port), Brazzaville (river port)

Civil air: 4 major transport aircraft

Airports: 51 total, 46 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 17 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: services adequate for government use; primary network
is composed of radio relay routes and coaxial cables; key centers are
Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; 18,100 telephones; stations--3 AM, 1 FM,
4 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary National People's Militia

Military manpower: males 15-49, 492,419; 250,478 fit for military
service; 23,622 reach military age (20) annually

Defense expenditures: 4.6% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Cook Islands
(free association with New Zealand)
- Geography
Total area: 240 km2; land area: 240 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 120 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or edge of continental margin;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds

Terrain: low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south

Natural resources: negligible

Land use: 4% arable land; 22% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 74% other

Environment: subject to typhoons from November to March

Note: located 4,500 km south of Hawaii in the South Pacific Ocean

- People
Population: 18,187 (July 1990), growth rate 0.5% (1990)

Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 10 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 24 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 72 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.5 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Cook Islander(s); adjective--Cook Islander

Ethnic divisions: 81.3% Polynesian (full blood), 7.7% Polynesian and
European, 7.7% Polynesian and other, 2.4% European, 0.9% other

Religion: Christian, majority of populace members of Cook Islands
Christian Church

Language: English

Literacy: NA%

Labor force: 5,810; agriculture 29%, government 27%, services 25%,
industry 15%, and other 4% (1981)

Organized labor: NA

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Cook Islands
fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for
external affairs, in consultation with the Cook Islands

Capital: Avarua

Administrative divisions: none

Independence: became self-governing in free association with New Zealand
on 4 August 1965 and has the right at any time to move to full independence by
unilateral action

Constitution: 4 August 1965

National holiday: NA

Executive branch: British monarch, representative of the UK,
representative of New Zealand, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament; note--the unicameral
House of Arikis (chiefs) advises on traditional matters, but has no
legislative powers

Judicial branch: High Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);
Representative of the UK Sir Tangaroa TANGAROA (since NA);
Representative of New Zealand Adrian SINCOCK (since NA);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Geoffrey HENRY
(since NA February 1989); Deputy Prime Minister Inatio AKARURU (since NA)

Political parties and leaders: Cook Islands Party, Geoffrey Henry;
Democratic Tumu Party, Vincent Ingram; Democratic Party, Dr. Vincent Pupuke
Robati; Cook Islands Labor Party, Rena Jonassen; Cook Islands People's Party,
Sadaraka Sadaraka

Suffrage: universal adult at age NA

Elections:
Parliament--last held 19 January 1989 (next to be held by
January 1994); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(24 total) Cook Islands Party 12, Democratic
Tumu Party 2, opposition coalition (including Democratic Party) 9,
independent 1

Member of: ADB, ESCAP (associate member), IDA, IFC, IMF, SPEC,
SPF

Diplomatic representation: none (self-governing in free association
with New Zealand)

Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant
and a large circle of 15 white five-pointed stars (one for every island)
centered in the outer half of the flag

- Economy
Overview: Agriculture provides the economic base. The major export
earners are fruit, copra, and clothing. Manufacturing activities are limited to
a fruit-processing plant and several clothing factories.  Economic development
is hindered by the isolation of the islands from foreign markets and a lack of
natural resources and good transportation links.  A large trade deficit is
annually made up for by remittances from emigrants and from foreign aid. Current
economic development plans call for exploiting the tourism potential and
expanding the fishing industry.

GDP: $40.0 million, per capita $2,200 (1988 est.); real growth rate
5.3% (1986-88 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.0% (1988)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $33.8 million; expenditures $34.4 million,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)

Exports: $4.0 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--copra, fresh and canned fruit, clothing;
partners--NZ 80%, Japan

Imports: $38.7 million (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--foodstuffs, textiles, fuels, timber;
partners--NZ 49%, Japan, Australia, US

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 4,800 kW capacity; 15 million kWh produced,
830 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: fruit processing, tourism

Agriculture: export crops--copra, citrus fruits, pineapples,
tomatoes, bananas; subsistence crops--yams, taro

Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-89), $128 million

Currency: New Zealand dollar (plural--dollars); 1 New Zealand
dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1--1.6581 (January
1990), 1.6708 (1989), 1.5244 (1988), 1.6886 (1987), 1.9088 (1986), 2.0064 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Highways: 187 km total (1980); 35 km paved, 35 km gravel, 84 km improved
earth, 33 km unimproved earth

Ports: Avatiu

Civil air: no major transport aircraft

Airports: 7 total, 5 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: stations--2 AM, no FM, no TV; 10,000 radio receivers;
2,052 telephones; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of New Zealand
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Coral Sea Islands
(territory of Australia)
- Geography
Total area: undetermined; includes numerous small islands and reefs
scattered over a sea area of about 1 million km2, with Willis Islets the
most important

Comparative area: undetermined

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 3,095 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: tropical

Terrain: sand and coral reefs and islands (or cays)

Natural resources: negligible

Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 100% other, mostly grass or scrub cover; Lihou Reef
Reserve and Coringa-Herald Reserve were declared National Nature Reserves
on 3 August 1982

Environment: subject to occasional tropical cyclones; no permanent
fresh water; important nesting area for birds and turtles

Note: the islands are located just off the northeast coast of
Australia in the Coral Sea

- People
Population: 3 meteorologists

- Government
Long-form name: Coral Sea Islands Territory

Type: territory of Australia administered by the Minister for
Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism, and Territories Graham
Richardson

Flag: the flag of Australia is used

- Economy
Overview: no economic activity

- Communications
Ports: none; offshore anchorages only

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; visited regularly by
the Royal Australian Navy; Australia has control over the activities of visitors
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Costa Rica
- Geography
Total area: 51,100 km2; land area: 50,660 km2; includes Isla del
Coco

Comparative area: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries: 639 km total; Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km

Coastline: 1,290 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to
November)

Terrain: coastal plains separated by rugged mountains

Natural resources: hydropower potential

Land use: 6% arable land; 7% permanent crops; 45% meadows and pastures;
34% forest and woodland; 8% other; includes 1% irrigated

Environment: subject to occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic
coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season; active volcanoes;
deforestation; soil erosion

- People
Population: 3,032,795 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 16 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 79 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.3 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Costa Rican(s); adjective--Costa Rican

Ethnic divisions: 96% white (including mestizo), 2% black,
1% Indian, 1% Chinese

Religion: 95% Roman Catholic

Language: Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon

Literacy: 93%

Labor force: 868,300; industry and commerce 35.1%, government and
services 33%, agriculture 27%, other 4.9% (1985 est.)

Organized labor: 15.1% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Costa Rica

Type: democratic republic

Capital: San Jose

Administrative divisions: 7 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia);
Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose

Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Constitution: 9 November 1949

Legal system: based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of
legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Executive branch: president, two vice presidents, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Rafael Angel
CALDERON Fournier (since 8 May 1990); First Vice President German SERRANO
Pinto (since 8 May 1990); Second Vice President Arnoldo LOPEZ Echandi
(since 8 May 1990)

Political parties and leaders: National Liberation Party (PLN),
Carlos Manuel Castillo; Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), Rafael Angel
Calderon Fournier; Marxist Popular Vanguard Party (PVP), Humberto Vargas
Carbonell; New Republic Movement (MNR), Sergio Erick Ardon;
Progressive Party (PP), Javier Solis; People's Party of Costa Rica
(PPC), Lenin Chacon Vargas; Radical Democratic Party (PRD), Juan Jose
Echeverria Brealey

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 4 February 1990 (next to be held February
1994);
results--Rafael Calderon Fournier 51%, Carlos Manuel Castillo 47%;

Legislative Assembly--last held 4 February 1990 (next to be held
February 1994);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(57 total) PUSC 29, PLN 25, PVP/PPC 1, regional parties 2

Communists: 7,500 members and sympathizers

Other political or pressure groups: Costa Rican Confederation of
Democratic Workers (CCTD; Liberation Party affiliate), Confederated Union of
Workers (CUT; Communist Party affiliate), Authentic Confederation of
Democratic Workers (CATD; Communist Party affiliate), Chamber of Coffee
Growers, National Association for Economic Development (ANFE), Free Costa Rica
Movement (MCRL; rightwing militants), National Association of Educators (ANDE)

Member of: CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council,
OAS, ODECA, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Danilo JIMENEZ; Chancery at
Suite 211, 1825 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20009;
telephone [phone] through 2947; there are Costa Rican Consulates General
at Albuquerque, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York,
San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Tampa, and
Consulates in Austin, Buffalo, Honolulu, and Raleigh;
US--Ambassador (vacant); Embassy at Pavas Road, San Jose
(mailing address is APO Miami 34020); telephone p506o 33-11-55

Flag: five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width),
white, and blue with the coat of arms in a white disk on the hoist side of the
red band

- Economy
Overview: In 1988 the economy grew at a 3.8% rate, a drop from the
5.1% of the previous year. Gains in agricultural production
(on the strength of good coffee and banana crops) and in construction,
were partially offset by declines in the rates of growth for the industry
and commerce sectors. In 1988 consumer prices rose by nearly 21%
followed by a 10% rise in 1989. Unemployment is officially reported at
about 6%, but much underemployment remains. External debt, on a
per capita basis, is among the world's highest.

GDP: $4.7 billion, per capita $1,630; real growth rate 3.8% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 5.5% (March 1989)

Budget: revenues $719 million; expenditures $808 million, including
capital expenditures of $103 million (1988)

Exports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--coffee, bananas, textiles, sugar;
partners--US 75%, FRG, Guatemala, Netherlands, UK, Japan

Imports: $1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--petroleum, machinery, consumer durables, chemicals,
fertilizer, foodstuffs;
partners--US 35%, Japan, Guatemala, FRG

External debt: $4.5 billion (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 2.1% (1988)

Electricity: 909,000 kW capacity; 2,928 million kWh produced,
990 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing, construction
materials, fertilizer

Agriculture: accounts for 20-25% of GDP and 70% of exports; cash
commodities--coffee, beef, bananas, sugar; other food crops include corn, rice,
beans, potatotes; normally self-sufficient in food except for grain; depletion
of forest resources resulting in lower timber output

Illicit drugs: illicit production of cannabis on small scattered
plots; transshipment country for cocaine from South America

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.3 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $706 million;
Communist countries (1971-88), $27 million

Currency: Costa Rican colon (plural--colones);
1 Costa Rican colon (C) = 100 centimos

Exchange rates: Costa Rican colones (C) per US$1--84.689 (January 1990),
81.504 (1989), 75.805 (1988), 62.776 (1987), 55.986 (1986), 50.453 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 950 km total, all 1.067-meter gauge; 260 km electrified

Highways: 15,400 km total; 7,030 km paved, 7,010 km gravel, 1,360 km
unimproved earth

Inland waterways: about 730 km, seasonally navigable

Pipelines: refined products, 176 km

Ports: Puerto Limon, Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puntarenas

Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 4,279 GRT/6,602 DWT

Civil air: 9 major transport aircraft

Airports: 193 total, 177 usable; 25 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
11 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: very good domestic telephone service; 292,000
telephones; connection into Central American Microwave System; stations--71 AM,
no FM, 18 TV, 13 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Civil Guard, Rural Assistance Guard; note--Constitution
prohibits armed forces

Military manpower: males 15-49, 785,429; 530,986 fit for military
service; 31,899 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 0.6% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Cuba
- Geography
Total area: 110,860 km2; land area: 110,860 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Land boundary: 29.1 km with US Naval Base at Guantanamo;
note--Guantanamo is leased and as such remains part of Cuba

Coastline: 3,735 km

Maritime claims:

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: US Naval Base at Guantanamo is leased to US and only mutual
agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease

Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to
April); rainy season (May to October)

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling plains with rugged hills and mountains
in the southeast

Natural resources: cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt,
timber, silica

Land use: 23% arable land; 6% permanent crops; 23% meadows and pastures;
17% forest and woodland; 31% other; includes 10% irrigated

Environment: averages one hurricane every other year

Note: largest country in Caribbean; 145 km south of Florida

- People
Population: 10,620,099 (July 1990), growth rate 1.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 18 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 12 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 78 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Cuban(s); adjective--Cuban

Ethnic divisions: 51% mulatto, 37% white, 11% black, 1% Chinese

Religion: at least 85% nominally Roman Catholic before Castro assumed
power

Language: Spanish

Literacy: 98.5%

Labor force: 3,400,000 in state sector; 30% services and
government, 22% industry, 20% agriculture, 11% commerce,
10% construction, 7% transportation and communications (1988);
economically active population 4,500,000 (1987)

Organized labor: Workers Central Union of Cuba (CTC), only labor
federation approved by government; 2,910,000 members; the CTC is an
umbrella organization composed of 17 member unions

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Cuba

Type: Communist state

Capital: Havana

Administrative divisions: 14 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia)
and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Camaguey, Ciego de Avila,
Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin,
Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio,
Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara

Independence: 20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered
by the US from 1898 to 1902)

Constitution: 24 February 1976

Legal system: based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of
Communist legal theory; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Revolution Day, 1 January (1959)

Executive branch: president of the Council of State, first vice
president of the Council of State, Council of State, president of the
Council of Ministers, first vice president of the Council of Ministers,
Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly of the People's
Power (Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular)

Judicial branch: People's Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President of the Council of
State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz
(became Prime Minister in January 1959 and President since 2 December
1976);
First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President
of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December
1976)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Cuban Communist Party
(PCC), Fidel Castro Ruz, first secretary

Suffrage: universal at age 16

Elections:
National Assembly of the People's Power--last held NA December
1986 (next to be held December 1991);
results--PCC is the only party;
seats--(510 total) PCC 510 (indirectly elected)

Communists: about 600,000 full and candidate members

Member of: CEMA, ECLA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB (nonparticipant), IAEA,
IBEC, ICAO, IFAD, ICO, IHO, ILO, IMO, IRC, ISO, ITU, IWC--International
Wheat Council, NAM, OAS (nonparticipant), PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation: none; protecting power in the US is
Czechoslovakia--Cuban Interests Section; Counselor Jose Antonio Arbesu
FRAGA; 2630 and 2639 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202)
797-8518 or 8519, 8520, 8609, 8610; US--protecting power in Cuba is
Switzerland--US Interests Section; Principal Officer John J. TAYLOR;
Calzada entre L y M, Vedado Seccion, Havana; telephone 320551 or 320543

Flag: five equal horizontal bands of blue (top and bottom) alternating
with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white
five-pointed star in the center

- Economy
Overview: The Soviet-style economy, centrally planned and largely
state owned, is highly dependent on the agricultural sector and foreign
trade. Sugar provides about 75% of export revenues and is mostly exported
to the USSR and other CEMA countries. The economy has stagnated since
1985 under a program that has deemphasized material incentives in the
workplace, abolished farmers' informal produce markets, and raised prices
of government-supplied goods and services. Castro has complained that
the ongoing CEMA reform process has interfered with the regular flow of
goods to Cuba. Recently the government has been trying to increase
trade with Latin America and China. Cuba has had difficulty servicing
its foreign debt since 1982. The government currently is encouraging
foreign investment in tourist facilities. Other investment priorities
include sugar, basic foods, and nickel. The annual $4 billion Soviet
subsidy, a main prop to Cuba's threadbare economy, may be cut in view
of the USSR's mounting economic problems.

GNP: $20.9 billion, per capita $2,000; real growth rate - 1%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment: 6% overall, 10% for women (1989)

Budget: revenues $11.7 billion; expenditures $13.5 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1989 est.)

Exports: $5.5 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--sugar, nickel, shellfish, citrus, tobacco, coffee;
partners--USSR 67%, GDR 6%, China 4% (1988)

Imports: $7.6 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--capital goods, industrial raw materials, food, petroleum;
partners--USSR 71%, other Communist countries 15% (1988)

External debt: $6.8 billion (convertible currency, July 1989)

Industrial production: 3% (1988)

Electricity: 3,991,000 kW capacity; 14,972 million kWh produced,
1,425 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: sugar milling, petroleum refining, food and tobacco
processing, textiles, chemicals, paper and wood products, metals
(particularly nickel), cement, fertilizers, consumer goods, agricultural
machinery

Agriculture: accounts for 11% of GNP (including fishing and forestry); key
commercial crops--sugarcane, tobacco, and citrus fruits; other products--coffee,
rice, potatoes, meat, beans; world's largest sugar exporter; not self-sufficient
in food

Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $657.5 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $13.5 billion

Currency: Cuban peso (plural--pesos); 1 Cuban peso (Cu$) = 100
centavos

Exchange rates: Cuban pesos (Cu$) per US$1--1.0000 (linked to the
US dollar)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 14,925 km total; Cuban National Railways operates 5,295 km of
1.435-meter gauge track; 199 km electrified; 9,630 km of sugar plantation
lines of 0.914-1.435-meter gauge

Highways: about 21,000 km total; 9,000 km paved, 12,000 km gravel and
earth surfaced

Inland waterways: 240 km

Ports: Cienfuegos, Havana, Mariel, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba;
7 secondary, 35 minor

Merchant marine: 91 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
701,418 GRT/1,014,014 DWT; includes 62 cargo, 7 refrigerated cargo, 3
cargo/training, 10 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1
chemical tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 6 bulk; note--Cuba beneficially owns
an additional 34 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 475,864 DWT under
the registry of Panama, Cyprus, and Malta

Civil air: 59 major transport aircraft

Airports: 197 total, 168 usable; 72 with permanent-surface runways;
2 with runways over 3,659 m; 14 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 17 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: stations--150 AM, 5 FM, 58 TV; 1,530,000 TV sets;
2,140,000 radio receivers; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Revolutionary Armed Forces (Ground Forces, Revolutionary Navy,
Air and Air Defense Force), Ministry of Interior Special Troops, Border Guard
Troops, Territorial Militia Troops, Youth Labor Army

Military manpower: eligible 15-49, 6,027,131; of the 3,024,385 males
15-49, 1,897,175 are fit for military service; of the 3,002,746 females 15-49,
1,879,471 are fit for military service; 96,319 males and 92,765 females reach
military age (17) annually

Defense expenditures: about 6% of GNP, or $1.2-$1.4 billion
(1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Cyprus
- Geography
Total area: 9,250 km2; land area: 9,240 km2

Comparative area: about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 648 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: 1974 hostilities divided the island into two de facto
autonomous areas--a Greek area controlled by the Cypriot Government (60% of
the island's land area) and a Turkish-Cypriot area (35% of the island) that
are separated by a narrow UN buffer zone; in addition, there are two UK
sovereign base areas (about 5% of the island's land area)

Climate: temperate, Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool, wet
winters

Terrain: central plain with mountains to north and south

Natural resources: copper, pyrites, asbestos, gypsum, timber, salt,
marble, clay earth pigment

Land use: 40% arable land; 7% permanent crops; 10% meadows and pastures;
18% forest and woodland; 25% other; includes 10% irrigated (most
irrigated lands are in the Turkish-Cypriot area of the island)

Environment: moderate earthquake activity; water resource problems
(no natural reservoir catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall, and most
potable resources concentrated in the Turkish-Cypriot area)

- People
Population: 707,776 (July 1990), growth rate 1.0% (1990)

Birth rate: 19 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 10 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 78 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.4 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Cypriot(s); adjective--Cypriot

Ethnic divisions: 78% Greek; 18% Turkish; 4% other

Religion: 78% Greek Orthodox; 18% Muslim; 4% Maronite, Armenian,
Apostolic, and other

Language: Greek, Turkish, English

Literacy: 99% (est.)

Labor force: Greek area--251,406; 42% services, 33% industry,
22% agriculture; Turkish area--NA (1986)

Organized labor: 156,000 (1985 est.)

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Cyprus

Type: republic; a disaggregation of the two ethnic communities inhabiting
the island began after the outbreak of communal strife in 1963; this separation
was further solidified following the Turkish invasion of the island in July
1974, which gave the Turkish Cypriots de facto control in the north; Greek
Cypriots control the only internationally recognized government; on 15 November
1983 Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktash declared independence and the
formation of a Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which has been recognized
only by Turkey; both sides publicly call for the resolution of intercommunal
differences and creation of a new federal system of government

Capital: Nicosia

Administrative divisions: 6 districts; Famagusta, Kyrenia,
Larnaca, Limassol, Nicosia, Paphos

Independence: 16 August 1960 (from UK)

Constitution: 16 August 1960; negotiations to create the basis for a new
or revised constitution to govern the island and to better relations between
Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been held intermittently; in 1975 Turkish
Cypriots created their own Constitution and governing bodies within the Turkish
Federated State of Cyprus, which was renamed the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus in 1983; a new Constitution for the Turkish area passed by referendum
in May 1985

Legal system: based on common law, with civil law modifications

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 October

Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet); note--there
is a president, prime minister, and Council of Ministers (cabinet) in the
Turkish area

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives (Vouli
Antiprosopon); note--there is a unicameral Assembly of the Republic
(Cumhuriyet Meclisi) in the Turkish area

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; note--there is also a Supreme Court
in the Turkish area

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President George VASSILIOU
(since February 1988); note--Rauf R. DENKTAS was proclaimed President of
the Turkish area on 13 February 1975

Political parties and leaders: Greek Cypriot--Progressive
Party of the Working People (AKEL; Communist Party), Dimitrios
Christotias, Democratic Rally (DESY), Glafkos Clerides; Democratic Party
(DEKO), Spyros Kyprianou; United Democratic Union of the Center (EDEK),
Vassos Lyssarides;

Turkish area--National Unity Party (NUP), Dervis Eroglu;
Communal Liberation Party (CLP), Ismail Bozkurt; Republican Turkish
Party (RTP), Ozker Ozgur; New Birth Party (NBP), Aytac Besheshler;
New Cyprus savey (NCP), Alpay Durduran

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 14 February and 21 February 1988 (next
to be held February 1993);
results--George Vassiliou 52%, Glafkos Clerides 48%;

House of Representatives--last held 8 December 1985 (next to
be held December 1990);
results--Democratic Rally 33.56%, Democratic Party 27.65%, AKEL 27.43%,
EDEK 11.07%;
seats--(56 total) Democratic Rally 19, Democratic Party 16,
AKEL (Communist) 15, EDEK 6;

Turkish Area: President--last held 9 June 1985 (next to be
held June 1990);
results--Rauf Denktash 70%;

Turkish Area: Legislative Assembly--last held 23 June 1985
(next to be held June 1990);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(50 total) National Unity Party (conservative)
24, Republican Turkish Party (Communist) 12, Communal Liberation Party
(center-right) 10, New Birth Party 4

Communists: about 12,000

Other political or pressure groups: United Democratic Youth Organization
(EDON; Communist controlled); Union of Cyprus Farmers (EKA; Communist
controlled); Cyprus Farmers Union (PEK; pro-West); Pan-Cyprian Labor Federation
(PEO; Communist controlled); Confederation of Cypriot Workers (SEK; pro-West);
Federation of Turkish Cypriot Labor Unions (Turk-Sen); Confederation of
Revolutionary Labor Unions (Dev-Is)

Member of: CCC, Commonwealth, Council of Europe, FAO, G-77, GATT,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
ITU, NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO; Turkish Federated State
of Cyprus--OIC (observer)

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Michael E. SHERIFIS;
Chancery at 2211 R Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
there is a Cypriot Consulate General in New York;
US--(vacant); Embassy at the corner of Therissos Street
and Dositheos Street, Nicosia (mailing address is FPO New York 09530);
telephone p357o (2) 465151

Flag: white with a copper-colored silhouette of the island (the name
Cyprus is derived from the Greek word for copper) above two green crossed olive
branches in the center of the flag; the branches symbolize the hope for peace
and reconciliation between the Greek and Turkish communities

- Economy
Overview: These data are for the area controlled by the Republic of
Cyprus (information on the northern Turkish-Cypriot area is sparse).
The economy is small, diversified, and prosperous. Industry contributes
about 28% to GDP and employs 35% of the labor force, while the service
sector contributes about 55% to GDP and employs 40% of the labor force.
Rapid growth in exports of agricultural and manufactured products
and in tourism have played important roles in the average 6% rise in GDP
in recent years. While this growth put considerable pressure on prices
and the balance of payments, the inflation rate has remained low
and the balance-of-payments deficit manageable.

GDP: $4.2 billion, per capita $6,100; real growth rate 6.9%
(1988 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.9% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 2.8% (1988)

Budget: revenues $1.2 billion; expenditures $1.4 billion, including
capital expenditures of $178 million (1989 est.)

Exports: $767 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--citrus, potatoes, grapes, wine, cement, clothing and shoes;
partners--Middle East and North Africa 37%, UK 27%, other EC
11%, US 2%

Imports: $1.9 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--consumer goods 23%, petroleum and lubricants 12%, food and
feed grains, machinery;
partners--EC 60%, Middle East and North Africa 7%, US 4%

External debt: $2.8 billion (1988)

Industrial production: growth rate 6.5% (1988)

Electricity: 620,000 kW capacity; 1,770 million kWh produced,
2,530 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: mining (iron pyrites, gypsum, asbestos);
manufactured products--beverages, footwear, clothing, and cement--are
principally for local consumption

Agriculture: accounts for 8% of GDP and employs 22% of labor force; major
crops--potatoes, vegetables, barley, grapes, olives, and citrus fruits;
vegetables and fruit provide 25% of export revenues

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $272 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $223 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $62 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$24 million

Currency: Cypriot pound (plural--pounds) and in Turkish area, Turkish
lira (plural--liras); 1 Cypriot pound (LC) = 100 cents and 1 Turkish lira
(TL) = 100 kurus

Exchange rates: Cypriot pounds (LC) per US$1--0.4854 (January 1990),
0.4933 (1989), 0.4663 (1988), 0.4807 (1987), 0.5167 (1986), 0.6095 (1985);
in Turkish area, Turkish liras (TL) per US$1--2,314.7 (November 1989),
1,422.3 (1988), 857.2 (1987), 674.5 (1986), 522.0 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 10,780 km total; 5,170 km bituminous surface treated; 5,610 km
gravel, crushed stone, and earth

Ports: Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol, Paphos

Merchant marine: 1,100 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 18,093,340
GRT/32,148,550 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 12 short-sea passenger, 2
passenger-cargo, 434 cargo, 61 refrigerated cargo, 18 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
40 container, 94 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 specialized
cargo, 3 liquefied gas, 13 chemical tanker, 29 combination ore/oil,
341 bulk, 3 vehicle carrier, 48 combination bulk carrier;
note--a flag of convenience registry; Cuba owns at least 20 of these
ships and Yugoslavia owns 1

Civil air: 8 major transport aircraft

Airports: 13 total, 13 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 7 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: excellent in the area controlled by the Cypriot
Government (Greek area), moderately good in the Turkish-Cypriot administered
area; 210,000 telephones; stations--13 AM, 7 (7 repeaters) FM, 2 (40
repeaters) TV; tropospheric scatter circuits to Greece and Turkey; 3 submarine
coaxial cables; satellite earth stations--INTELSAT, 1 Atlantic Ocean
and 1 Indian Ocean, and EUTELSAT systems

- Defense Forces
Branches: Cyprus National Guard; Turkish area--Turkish Cypriot Security
Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 180,946; 125,044 fit for military
service; 5,083 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 2% of GDP, or $84 million (1990 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Czechoslovakia
- Geography
Total area: 127,870 km2; land area: 125,460 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than New York State

Land boundaries: 3,446 km total; Austria 548 km, GDR 459 km,
Hungary 676 km, Poland 1,309 km, USSR 98 km, FRG 356 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Disputes: Nagymaros Dam dispute with Hungary

Climate: temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters

Terrain: mixture of hills and mountains separated by plains and basins

Natural resources: coal, timber, lignite, uranium, magnesite,
iron ore, copper, zinc

Land use: 40% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 13% meadows and pastures;
37% forest and woodland; 9% other; includes 1% irrigated

Environment: infrequent earthquakes; acid rain; water pollution;
air pollution

Note: landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest
and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a traditional
military corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube in central
Europe

- People
Population: 15,683,234 (July 1990), growth rate 0.3% (1990)

Birth rate: 14 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 11 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 76 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.0 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Czechoslovak(s); adjective--Czechoslovak

Ethnic divisions: 64.3% Czech, 30.5% Slovak, 3.8% Hungarian, 0.4% German,
0.4% Polish, 0.3% Ukrainian, 0.1% Russian, 0.2% other (Jewish, Gypsy)

Religion: 50% Roman Catholic, 20% Protestant, 2% Orthodox, 28% other

Language: Czech and Slovak (official), Hungarian

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 8,200,000 (1987); 36.9% industry, 12.3% agriculture,
50.8% construction, communications, and other (1982)

Organized labor: Revolutionary Trade Union Movement (ROH),
formerly regime-controlled; other industry-specific strike committees;
new independent trade unions forming

- Government
Long-form name: Czechoslovak Socialist Republic; abbreviated CSSR;
note--on 23 March 1990 the name was changed to Czechoslovak Federative
Republic; because of Slovak concerns about their status in the
Federation, the Federal Assembly approved the name Czech and Slovak
Federative Republic on 20 April 1990

Type: in transition from Communist state to republic

Capital: Prague

Administrative divisions: 2 socialist republics (socialisticke
republiky, singular--socialisticka republika); Ceska Socialisticka
Republika, Slovenska Socialisticka Republika

Independence: 18 October 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)

Constitution: 11 July 1960; amended in 1968 and 1970; new
constitution under review (1 January 1990)

Legal system: civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes, modified
by Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: National Holiday of the Republic (Anniversary
of the Liberation), 9 May (1945)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly (Federalni
Shromazdeni) consists of an upper house or House of Nations
(Snemovna Narodu) and a lower house or House of the People
(Snemovna Lidu)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders: Chief of State--President Vaclav HAVEL
(since 28 December 1989);

Head of Government--Premier Marian CALFA (since
10 December 1989); First Deputy Premier Valtr KOMAREK (since
7 December 1989); Jan CARNOGURSKY (since 7 December 1989)

Political parties and leaders: Civic Forum, since December 1989
leading political force, loose coalition of former oppositionists headed
by President Vaclav Havel; Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
(KSC), Ladislav Adamec, chairman (since 20 December 1989); KSC
toppled from power in November 1989 by massive antiregime
demonstrations, minority role in coalition government since 10
December 1989

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 22 May 1985 (next to be held 8 June 1990;
will be a free election);
results--Gustav Husak was reelected without opposition;

Federal Assembly--last held 23 and 24 May 1986 (next to
be held 8 June 1990; will be a free election);
results--KSC was the only party;
seats--(350 total) KSC 350

Communists: 1.71 million party members (April 1988) and falling

Other political groups: Czechoslovak Socialist Party, Czechoslovak
People's Party, Slovak Freedom Party, Slovak Revival Party, Christian
Democratic Party; more than 40 political groups are expected to field
candidates for the 8 June 1990 election

Member of: CCC, CEMA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBEC, ICAO, ICO, ILO, ILZSG,
IMO, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, Warsaw Pact, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Rita KLIMOVA;
Chancery at 3900 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
363-6315 or 6316;
US--Ambassador Shirley Temple BLACK; Embassy at Trziste 15-12548,
Prague (mailing address is APO New York 09213); telephone p42o (2) 53 6641
through 6649

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue
isosceles triangle based on the hoist side

- Economy
Overview: Czechoslovakia is highly industrialized and has a
well-educated and skilled labor force. Its industry, transport, energy
sources, banking, and most other means of production are state owned. The
country is deficient, however, in energy and many raw materials.
Moreover, its aging capital plant lags well behind West European
standards. Industry contributes over 50% to GNP and construction 10%.
About 95% of agricultural land is in collectives or state farms. The
centrally planned economy has been tightly linked in trade (80%) to
the USSR and Eastern Europe. Growth has been sluggish, averaging
less than 2% in the period 1982-89. GNP per capita ranks
next to the GDR as the highest in the Communist countries.
As in the rest of Eastern Europe, the sweeping political changes of
1989 have been disrupting normal channels of supply and compounding
the government's economic problems. Czechoslovakia is beginning
the difficult transition from a command to a market economy.

GNP: $123.2 billion, per capita $7,878; real growth rate 1.0%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 0.9% (1987)

Budget: revenues $22.4 billion; expenditures $21.9 billion, including
capital expenditures of $3.7 billion (1986 state budget)

Exports: $24.5 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--machinery and equipment 58.5%;
industrial consumer goods 15.2%;
fuels, minerals, and metals 10.6%;
agricultural and forestry products 6.1%, other products 15.2%;
partners--USSR, GDR, Poland, Hungary, FRG, Yugoslavia, Austria,
Bulgaria, Romania, US

Imports: $23.5 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--machinery and equipment 41.6%;
fuels, minerals, and metals 32.2%; agricultural and forestry
products 11.5%; industrial consumer goods 6.7%; other products 8.0%;
partners--USSR, GDR, Poland, Hungary, FRG, Yugoslavia, Austria,
Bulgaria, Romania, US

External debt: $7.4 billion, hard currency indebtedness (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 2.1% (1988)

Electricity: 22,955,000 kW capacity; 85,000 million kWh produced,
5,410 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: iron and steel, machinery and equipment, cement, sheet
glass, motor vehicles, armaments, chemicals, ceramics, wood, paper
products, footwear

Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GNP (includes forestry); largely
self-sufficient in food production; diversified crop and livestock production,
including grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit, hogs, cattle, and poultry;
exporter of forest products

Aid: donor--$4.2 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed
countries (1954-88)

Currency: koruna (plural--koruny); 1 koruna (Kc) = 100 haleru

Exchange rates: koruny (Kcs) per US$1--17.00 (March 1990),
10.00 (1989), 5.63 (1988), 5.43 (1987), 5.95 (1986), 6.79 (1985), 6.65 (1984)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 13,116 km total; 12,868 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 102 km
1.524-meter broad gauge, 146 km 0.750- and 0.760-meter narrow gauge; 2,854 km
double track; 3,530 km electrified; government owned (1986)

Highways: 73,805 km total; including 489 km superhighway (1986)

Inland waterways: 475 km (1986); the Elbe (Labe) is the principal river

Pipelines: crude oil, 1,448 km; refined products, 1,500 km; natural gas,
8,000 km

Ports: maritime outlets are in Poland (Gdynia, Gdansk, Szczecin),
Yugoslavia (Rijeka, Koper), FRG (Hamburg), GDR (Rostock); principal river ports
are Prague on the Vltava, Decin on the Elbe (Labe), Komarno on the
Danube, Bratislava on the Danube

Merchant marine: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 208,471 GRT/
308,072 DWT; includes 15 cargo, 6 bulk

Civil air: 40 major transport aircraft

Airports: 158 total, 158 usable; 40 with permanent-surface
runways; 19 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 37 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: stations--58 AM, 16 FM, 45 TV; 14 Soviet TV relays;
4,360,000 TV sets; 4,208,538 radio receivers; at least 1 satellite earth
station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Czechoslovak People's Army, Frontier Guard, Air and Air Defense
Forces

Military manpower: males 15-49, 4,019,311; 3,076,735 fit for military
service; 137,733 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 28.4 billion koruny, 7% of total budget (1989);
note--conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the official
administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Denmark
- Geography
Total area: 43,070 km2; land area: 42,370 km2; includes the island of
Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark, but excludes
the Faroe Islands and Greenland

Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Massachusetts

Land boundaries: 68 km with FRG

Coastline: 3,379 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 4 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Disputes: Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Iceland, Ireland,
and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the
Rockall area); Denmark has challenged Norway's maritime claims between
Greenland and Jan Mayen

Climate: temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool
summers

Terrain: low and flat to gently rolling plains

Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone

Land use: 61% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 6% meadows and
pastures; 12% forest and woodland; 21% other; includes 9% irrigated

Environment: air and water pollution

Note: controls Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas

- People
Population: 5,131,217 (July 1990), growth rate NEGL% (1990)

Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 79 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Dane(s); adjective--Danish

Ethnic divisions: Scandinavian, Eskimo, Faroese, German

Religion: 97% Evangelical Lutheran, 2% other Protestant and Roman
Catholic, 1% other

Language: Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Eskimo dialect); small
German-speaking minority

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 2,760,000; 51% services, 34% industry, 8% government,
7% agriculture, forestry, and fishing (1988)

Organized labor: 65% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Kingdom of Denmark

Type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Copenhagen

Administrative divisions: metropolitan Denmark--14 counties (amter,
singular--amt) and 1 city* (stad); Arhus, Bornholm, Frederiksborg, Fyn,
Kobenhavn, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland,
Staden Kobenhavn*, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjaelland, Viborg; note--see
separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland which are part of the
Danish realm and self-governing administrative divisions

Independence: became a constitutional monarchy in 1849

Constitution: 5 June 1953

Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)

Executive branch: monarch, heir apparent, prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Folketing)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen MARGRETHE II (since January 1972);
Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the Queen (born 26 May 1968);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Poul SCHLUTER (since 10 September
1982)

Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic, Svend Auken;
Liberal, Uffe Ellemann-Jensen; Conservative, Poul Schluter; Radical Liberal,
Niels Helveg Petersen; Socialist People's, Gert Petersen; Communist, Ole
Sohn; Left Socialist, Elizabeth Brun Olesen; Center Democratic, Mimi
Stilling Jakobsen; Christian People's, Flemming Kofoed-Svendsen;
Justice, Poul Gerhard Kristiansen; Progress Party, Aage Brusgaard;
Socialist Workers Party, leader NA; Communist Workers' Party
(KAP); Common Course, Preben Moller Hansen; Green Party, Inger
Borlehmann

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections:
Parliament--last held 10 May 1988 (next to be held by May
1992);
results--Social Democrat 29.9%, Conservative 19.3%, Socialist
People's 13.0%, Liberal 11.8%, Radical Liberal 9.0%, Center
Democratic 5.6%, Christian People's 2.0%, Common Course 2.7%,
other 6.7%;
seats--(175 total; includes 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe
Islands) Social Democratic 55, Conservative 35,
Socialist People's 24, Liberal 22, Progress 16,
Radical Liberal 10, Center Democratic 9, Christian People's 4

Member of: ADB, CCC, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, EMS, ESA, FAO, GATT,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB, Inter-American Development Bank,
IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ISO, ITC,
ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, NATO, Nordic Council, OECD, UN, UNESCO,
UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Peter Pedersen DYVIG;
Chancery at 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
[phone]; there are Danish Consulates General at Chicago, Houston,
Los Angeles, and New York;
US--Ambassador Keith L. BROWN; Embassy at Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24,
2100 Copenhagen O (mailing address is APO New York 09170);
telephone p45o (31) 42 31 44

Flag: red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the
vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side and that design element
of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was subsequently adopted by the other
Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden

- Economy
Overview: This modern economy features high-tech
agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive
government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, and high
dependence on foreign trade. Growth in output, however, has been
sluggish in 1987-89, and unemployment in early 1989 stood at 9.6%
of the labor force. The government is trying to revitalize growth
in preparation for the economic integration of Europe in 1992.

GDP: $73.7 billion, per capita $14,300; real growth rate 1.4%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.25% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 9.6% (1989)

Budget: revenues $34 billion; expenditures $34 billion, including
capital expenditures of $19 billion (1988)

Exports: $27.7 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--meat and meat products, dairy products, transport equipment,
fish, chemicals, industrial machinery;
partners--US 6.0%, FRG, Norway, Sweden, UK, other EC, Japan

Imports: $26.4 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.);
commodities--petroleum, machinery and equipment, chemicals, grain and
foodstuffs, textiles, paper;
partners--US 7.0%, FRG, Netherlands, Sweden, UK, other EC

External debt: $41.1 billion (1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 0.9% (1988)

Electricity: 11,215,000 kW capacity; 30,910 million kWh produced,
6,030 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and
clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture, and other
wood products

Agriculture: accounts for 7% of GNP and employs 1.8% of labor force
(includes fishing); farm products account for nearly 16% of export revenues;
principal products--meat, dairy, grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets, fish;
self-sufficient in food production

Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87) $4.8 billion

Currency: Danish krone (plural--kroner); 1 Danish krone
(DKr) = 100 ore

Exchange rates: Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1--6.560 (January 1990),
7.310 (1989), 6.732 (1988), 6.840 (1987), 8.091 (1986), 10.596 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 2,675 km 1.435-meter standard gauge; Danish State Railways
(DSB) operate 2,025 km (1,999 km rail line and 121 km rail ferry services);
188 km electrified, 730 km double tracked; 650 km of standard-gauge lines are
privately owned and operated

Highways: 66,482 km total; 64,551 km concrete, bitumen, or stone block;
1,931 km gravel, crushed stone, improved earth

Inland waterways: 417 km

Pipelines: crude oil, 110 km; refined products, 578 km; natural gas, 700
km

Ports: Alborg, Arhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia; numerous
secondary and minor ports

Merchant marine: 252 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,498,611
GRT/6,711,011 DWT; includes 12 short-sea passenger, 82 cargo, 15 refrigerated
cargo, 28 container, 36 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 railcar carrier, 37 petroleum,
oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 13 chemical tanker, 12 liquefied gas, 4
livestock carrier, 12 bulk; note--Denmark has created a captive register
called the Danish International Ship Register (DIS) as its own internal
register; DIS ships do not have to meet Danish manning regulations,
and they amount to a flag of convenience within the Danish register;
by the end of 1990, most Danish flag ships will belong to the DIS

Civil air: 58 major transport aircraft

Airports: 130 total, 114 usable; 27 with permanent-surface
runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 9 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
6 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: excellent telephone, telegraph, and broadcast
services; 4,237,000 telephones; stations--2 AM, 15 (39 repeaters) FM, 27
(25 repeaters) TV stations; 7 submarine coaxial cables; 1 satellite earth
station operating in INTELSAT, 4 Atlantic Ocean, EUTELSAT, and
domestic systems

- Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air
Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,368,013; 1,180,865 fit for
military service; 37,228 reach military age (20) annually

Defense expenditures: 2.1% of GDP, or $1.5 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Djibouti
- Geography
Total area: 22,000 km2; land area: 21,980 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Massachusetts

Land boundaries: 517 km total; Ethiopia 459 km, Somalia 58 km

Coastline: 314 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic Somalis

Climate: desert; torrid, dry

Terrain: coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains

Natural resources: geothermal areas

Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 9% meadows and pastures;
NEGL% forest and woodland; 91% other

Environment: vast wasteland

Note: strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes
and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia

- People
Population: 337,386 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 17 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 119 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 46 years male, 49 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.4 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Djiboutian(s); adjective--Djiboutian

Ethnic divisions: 60% Somali (Issa); 35% Afar, 5% French, Arab,
Ethiopian, and Italian

Religion: 94% Muslim, 6% Christian

Language: French (official); Arabic, Somali, and Afar widely used

Literacy: 20%

Labor force: NA, but a small number of semiskilled laborers at the port
and 3,000 railway workers; 52% of population of working age (1983)

Organized labor: 3,000 railway workers

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Djibouti

Type: republic

Capital: Djibouti

Administrative divisions: 5 districts (cercles, singular--cercle);
Ali Sahih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura

Independence: 27 June 1977 (from France; formerly French Territory of
the Afars and Issas)

Constitution: partial constitution ratified January 1981 by the
Chamber of Deputies

Legal system: based on French civil law system, traditional practices,
and Islamic law

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 June (1977)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: Chamber of Deputies (Chambre des Deputes)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Hassan GOULED Aptidon (since 24 June 1977);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Barkat GOURAD Hamadou (since 30
September 1978)

Political parties and leaders: only party--People's Progress
Assembly (RPP), Hassan Gouled Aptidon

Suffrage: universal adult at age NA

Elections:
President--last held 24 April 1987 (next to be held April 1993);
results--President Hassan Gouled Aptidon was reelected without
opposition;

Chamber of Deputies--last held 24 April 1987 (next to be
held April 1992); results--RPP is the only party; seats--(65 total) RPP 65

Communists: NA

Member of: ACP, AfDB, Arab League, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, ITU,
NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Roble OLHAYE; Chancery
(temporary) at the Djiboutian Permanent Mission to the UN; 866 United Nations
Plaza, Suite 4011, New York, NY 10017; telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador Robert S. BARRETT IV; Embassy at Villa Plateau du
Serpent Boulevard, Marechal Joffre, Djibouti (mailing address is B. P. 185,
Djibouti); telephone p253o 35-38-49 or 35-39-95, 35-29-16, 35-29-17

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of light blue (top) and light green with
a white isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a red five-pointed
star in the center

- Economy
Overview: The economy is based on service activities connected with the
country's strategic location and status as a free trade zone. Djibouti
provides services as both a transit port for the region and an international
transshipment and refueling center. It has few natural resources and little
industry. The nation is, therefore, heavily dependent on foreign assistance
to help support its balance of payments and to finance development projects.
An unemployment rate of over 50% continues to be a major problem.

GNP: $333 million, $1,070 per capita; real growth rate - 0.7% (1986)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.0% (1987)

Unemployment rate: over 50% (1987)

Budget: revenues $117 million; expenditures $163 billion, including
capital expenditures of $52 million (1987 est.)

Exports: $128 million (f.o.b., 1986); commodities--hides and skins,
coffee (in transit); partners--Middle East 50%, Africa 43%, Western Europe
7%

Imports: $198 million (f.o.b., 1986); commodities--foods, beverages,
transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products; partners--EC 36%,
Africa 21%, Bahrain 14%, Asia 12%, US 2%

External debt: $250 million (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate - 1.6% (1986)

Electricity: 110,000 kW capacity; 190 million kWh produced,
580 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: limited to a few small-scale enterprises, such as
dairy products and mineral-water bottling

Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP; scanty rainfall limits crop
production to mostly fruit and vegetables; half of population pastoral nomads
herding goats, sheep, and camels; imports bulk of food needs

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY78-88), $36 million;
Western (non-US) countries, including ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $962 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $149 million; Communist
countries (1970-88), $35 million

Currency: Djiboutian franc (plural--francs); 1 Djiboutian franc
(DF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Djiboutian francs (DF) per US$1--177.721 (fixed rate since
1973)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: the Ethiopian-Djibouti railroad extends for 97 km through
Djibouti

Highways: 2,900 km total; 280 km bituminous surface, 2,620 km
improved or unimproved earth (1982)

Ports: Djibouti

Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft

Airports: 12 total, 9 usable; none with runways over 3,659 m;
1 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
4 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: fair system of urban facilities in Djibouti and radio
relay stations at outlying places; 7,300 telephones; stations--2 AM, 1 FM, 2 TV;
1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station and 1 ARABSAT; 1 submarine cable to Saudi
Arabia

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary National Security Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 88,132; 51,260 fit for military service

Defense expenditures: $29.9 million, 23% of central government budget
(1986)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Dominica
- Geography
Total area: 750 km2; land area: 750 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 148 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall

Terrain: rugged mountains of volcanic origin

Natural resources: timber

Land use: 9% arable land; 13% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures;
41% forest and woodland; 34% other

Environment: flash floods a constant hazard; occasional hurricanes

Note: located 550 km southeast of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea

- People
Population: 84,854 (July 1990), growth rate 1.7% (1990)

Birth rate: 26 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 4 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 13 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 79 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.6 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Dominican(s); adjective--Dominican

Ethnic divisions: mostly black; some Carib indians

Religion: 80% Roman Catholic; Anglican, Methodist

Language: English (official); French patois widely spoken

Literacy: 80% (est.)

Labor force: 25,000; 40% agriculture, 32% industry and commerce, 28%
services (1984)

Organized labor: 25% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Commonwealth of Dominica

Type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Roseau

Administrative divisions: 10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David,
Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick,
Saint Paul, Saint Peter

Independence: 3 November 1978 (from UK)

Constitution: 3 November 1978

Legal system: based on English common law

National holiday: Independence Day, 3 November (1978)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly (includes 9 appointed
senators and 21 elected representatives)

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Sir Clarence Augustus SEIGNORET (since
19 December 1983);

Head of Government--Prime Minister (Mary) Eugenia CHARLES (since 21
July 1980)

Political parties and leaders: Dominica Freedom Party (DFP),
(Mary) Eugenia Charles; Labor Party of Dominica (LPD, a leftist-dominated
coalition), Michael Douglas; United Workers Party (UWP), Edison James

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 20 December 1988 (next to be held December
1993); the president is elected by the House of Assembly;

House of Assembly--last held 1 July 1985 (next to be held July
1990); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(21 total) DFP 17, LPD 4

Communists: negligible

Other political or pressure groups: Dominica Liberation Movement (DLM), a
small leftist group

Member of: ACP, CARICOM, Commonwealth, FAO, GATT (de facto), G-77, IBRD,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, OAS, OECS, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: there is no Chancery in the US;
US--no official presence since the Ambassador resides in Bridgetown
(Barbados), but travels frequently to Dominica

Flag: green with a centered cross of three equal bands--the vertical part
is yellow (hoist side), black, and white--the horizontal part is yellow (top),
black, and white; superimposed in the center of the cross is a red disk bearing
a sisserou parrot encircled by 10 green five-pointed stars edged in yellow; the
10 stars represent the 10 administrative divisions (parishes)

- Economy
Overview: The economy is dependent on agriculture and thus is highly
vulnerable to climatic conditions. Agriculture accounts for about 30%
of GDP and employs 40% of the labor force. Principal products include
bananas, coconuts, citrus, and root crops. In 1988 the economy achieved a
5.6% growth in real GDP on the strength of a boost in construction,
higher agricultural production, and growth of the small manufacturing
sector based on soap and garment industries.  The tourist industry
remains undeveloped because of a rugged coastline and the lack of an
international-class airport.

GDP: $137 million, per capita $1,408; real growth rate 5.6% (1988 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.9% (1987)

Unemployment rate: 10% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $60 million; expenditures $52 million,
including capital expenditures of $18 million (FY88)

Exports: $46 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities--bananas,
coconuts, grapefruit, soap, galvanized sheets;
partners--UK 72%, Jamaica 10%, OECS 6%, US 3%, other 9%

Imports: $66.0 million (c.i.f., 1987); commodities--food, oils and
fats, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, manufactured goods, machinery and
equipment;
partners--US 23%, UK 18%, CARICOM 15%, OECS 15%, Japan 5%,
Canada 3%, other 21%

External debt: $63.6 million (December 1987)

Industrial production: growth rate 5.9% in manufacturing (1987)

Electricity: 7,000 kW capacity; 16 million kWh produced,
190 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: agricultural processing, tourism, soap and other
coconut-based products, cigars, pumice mining

Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP; principal crops--bananas, citrus
fruit, coconuts, root crops; bananas provide the bulk of export earnings;
 forestry and fisheries potential not exploited

Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $109 million

Currency: East Caribbean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 EC dollar
(EC$) = 100 cents

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

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

- Communications
Highways: 750 km total; 370 km paved, 380 km gravel and earth

Ports: Roseau, Portsmouth

Civil air: NA

Airports: 2 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: 4,600 telephones in fully automatic network; VHF and
UHF link to St. Lucia; new SHF links to Martinique and Guadeloupe;
stations--3 AM, 2 FM, 1 cable TV

- Defense Forces
Branches: Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force

Military manpower: NA

Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Dominican Republic
- Geography
Total area: 48,730 km2; land area: 48,380 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire

Land boundary 275 km with Haiti

Coastline: 1,288 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: outer edge of continental margin or 200 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 6 nm

Climate: tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation


Terrain: rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys
interspersed

Natural resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver

Land use: 23% arable land; 7% permanent crops; 43% meadows and pastures;
13% forest and woodland; 14% other; includes 4% irrigated

Environment: subject to occasional hurricanes (July to October);
deforestation

Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (western one-third is
Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)

- People
Population: 7,240,793 (July 1990), growth rate 2.0% (1990)

Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 62 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 69 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.2 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Dominican(s); adjective--Dominican

Ethnic divisions: 73% mixed, 16% white, 11% black

Religion: 95% Roman Catholic

Language: Spanish

Literacy: 74%

Labor force: 2,300,000-2,600,000; 49% agriculture, 33% services,
18% industry (1986)

Organized labor: 12% of labor force (1989 est.)

- Government
Long-form name: Dominican Republic (no short-form name)

Type: republic

Capital: Santo Domingo

Administrative divisions: 29 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia)
and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon,
Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor,
Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez,
Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata,
Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Juan,
San Pedro De Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Valverde

Independence: 27 February 1844 (from Haiti)

Constitution: 28 November 1966

Legal system: based on French civil codes

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 February (1844)

Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and lower chamber or
Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Joaquin BALAGUER
Ricardo (since 16 August 1986); Vice President Carlos A. MORALES Troncoso
(since 16 August 1986)

Political parties and leaders:

Major parties--Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC),
Joaquin Balaguer Ricardo; Dominican Revolutionary
Party (PRD), which fractured in May 1989 with the understanding that
leading rivals Jacobo Majluta and Jose Francisco
Pena Gomez would run separately for president at the head of the
Independent Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Social Democratic
Institutional Bloc (BIS), respectively, and try to reconstitute the
PRD after the election; Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Juan Bosch
Gavino;

Minor parties--National Veterans and Civilian Party (PNVC),
Juan Rene Beauchanps Javier; The Structure (LE), Andres Van Der Horst;
Democratic Quisqueyan Party (PQD), Elias Wessin Chavez;
Constitutional Action Party (PAC), Luis Arzeno
Rodriguez; National Progressive Force (FNP), Marino Vinicio Castillo;
Popular Christian Party (PPC), Rogelio Delgado Bogaert; Dominican
Communist Party (PCD), Narciso Isa Conde; Anti-Imperialist Patriotic
Union (UPA), Ivan Rodriguez; in 1983 several leftist parties,
including the PCD, joined to form the Dominican Leftist Front (FID);
however, they still retain individual party structures

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18 or if married; members of
the armed forces and police cannot vote

Elections:
President--last held 16 May 1986 (next to be held May 1990);
results--Joaquin Balaguer (PRSC) 41.8%, Jacobo Majluta (PRD) 39.7%,
Juan Bosch Gavino (PLD) 18.5%;

Senate--last held 16 May 1986 (next to be held May 1990);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(30 total) PRSC 21, PRD 7, PLD 2;

Chamber of Deputies--last held 16 May 1986 (next to be
held May 1990);
results--PRSC 40.6%, PRD 33.5%, PLD 18.3%, LE 5.3%, other 2.3%;
seats--(120 total) PRSC 56, PRD 48, PLD 16

Communists: an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 members in several legal and
illegal factions; effectiveness limited by ideological differences and
organizational inadequacies

Member of: FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOOC, IRC, ISO, ITU, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Carlos A. MORALES Troncoso
(serves concurrently as Vice President); Chancery at
1715 22nd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
there are Dominican Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles,
Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Juan
(Puerto Rico), and Consulates in Charlotte Amalie (Virgin Islands), Detroit,
Houston, Jacksonville, Minneapolis, Mobile, Ponce (Puerto Rico), and
San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Paul D. TAYLOR; Embassy at the corner of
Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo
(mailing address is APO Miami 34041-0008); telephone p809o 541-2171

Flag: a centered white cross that extends to the edges, divides the flag
into four rectangles--the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, the bottom
ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms is at the center of
the cross

- Economy
Overview: The economy is largely dependent on the agricultural sector,
which employs 50% of the labor force and provides about half of export revenues.
The principal commercial crop is sugarcane, followed by coffee, cocoa, and
tobacco. Industry is based on the processing of agricultural products, durable
consumer goods, minerals, and chemicals. Rapid growth of free trade zones has
established a significant expansion of manufacturing for export, especially
wearing apparel. Over the past decade tourism has also increased in importance
and is a significant earner of foreign exchange and a source of new jobs.
Unemployment is officially reported at about 25%, but underemployment may
be much higher.

GDP: $5.1 billion, per capita $790; real growth rate 0.5% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 57.6% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 25% (1988)

Budget: revenues $413 million; expenditures $522 million,
including capital expenditures of $218 million (1988)

Exports: $711 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--sugar, coffee, cocoa, gold, ferronickel;
partners--US, including Puerto Rico, 74%

Imports: $1.8 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and
pharmaceuticals;
partners--US, including Puerto Rico, 37% (1985)

External debt: $3.6 billion (1989) est.

Industrial production: growth rate 30% (1987 est.)

Electricity: 1,376,000 kW capacity; 4,000 million kWh produced,
560 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining,
textiles, cement, tobacco

Agriculture: accounts for 18% of GDP and employs 49% of labor
force; sugarcane most important commercial crop, followed by coffee,
cotton, and cocoa; food crops--rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas;
animal output--cattle, hogs, dairy products, meat, eggs; not
self-sufficient in food

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.1 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $529 million

Currency: Dominican peso (plural--pesos); 1 Dominican peso
(RD$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Dominican pesos per US$1--6.3400 (January 1990),
6.3400 (1989), 6.1125 (1988), 3.8448 (1987), 2.9043 (1986), 3.1126 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 1,655 km total in numerous segments; 4 different gauges
from 0.558 m to 1.435 m

Highways: 12,000 km total; 5,800 km paved, 5,600 km gravel and improved
earth, 600 km unimproved

Pipelines: crude oil, 96 km; refined products, 8 km

Ports: Santo Domingo, Haina, San Pedro de Macoris, Puerto Plata

Merchant marine: 4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 23,335
GRT/40,297 DWT

Civil air: 14 major transport aircraft

Airports: 44 total, 30 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 9 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: relatively efficient domestic system based on
islandwide radio relay network; 190,000 telephones; stations--120 AM, no
FM, 18 TV, 6 shortwave; 1 coaxial submarine cable; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,912,101; 1,210,172 fit for military
service; 80,290 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.2% of GDP, or $61 million (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Ecuador
- Geography
Total area: 283,560 km2; land area: 276,840 km2; includes
Galapagos Islands

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Nevada

Land boundaries: 2,010 km total; Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km

Coastline: 2,237 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 m;

Territorial sea: 200 nm

Disputes: two sections of the boundary with Peru are in dispute

Climate: tropical along coast becoming cooler inland

Terrain: coastal plain (Costa), inter-Andean central highlands (Sierra),
and flat to rolling eastern jungle (Oriente)

Natural resources: petroleum, fish, timber

Land use: 6% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 17% meadows and pastures;
51% forest and woodland; 23% other; includes 2% irrigated

Environment: subject to frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic
activity; deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; periodic droughts

Note: Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world

- People
Population: 10,506,668 (July 1990), growth rate 2.3% (1990)

Birth rate: 30 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 61 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 68 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.8 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Ecuadorian(s); adjective--Ecuadorian

Ethnic divisions: 55% mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish), 25% Indian, 10%
Spanish, 10% black

Religion: 95% Roman Catholic

Language: Spanish (official); Indian languages, especially Quechua

Literacy: 85% (1981)

Labor force: 2,800,000; 35% agriculture, 21% manufacturing,
16% commerce, 28% services and other activities (1982)

Organized labor: less than 15% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Ecuador

Type: republic

Capital: Quito

Administrative divisions: 21 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia);
Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas,
Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago,
Napo, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe

Independence: 24 May 1822 (from Spain; Battle of Pichincha)

Constitution: 10 August 1979

Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 10 August (1809, independence
of Quito)

Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral Chamber of Representatives
(Camara de Representantes)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos
(since 10 August 1988); Vice President Luis PARODI Valverde (since
10 August 1988)

Political parties and leaders: Right to center
parties--Social Christian Party (PSC), Camilio Ponce, president;
Conservative Party (PC), Jose Teran Varea, director;
Radical Liberal Party (PLR), Blasco Penaherrera, director;

Centrist parties--Concentration of Popular Forces (CFP), Averroes
Bucaram Saxida, director; Radical Alfarist Front (FRA), Cecilia
Calderon de Castro, leader; People, Change, and Democracy (PCD), Aquiles
Rigail Santistevan, director; Revolutionary Nationalist Party (PNR),
Carlos Julio Arosemena Monroy, leader;

Center-left parties--Democratic Left (ID), President Rodrigo Borja,
leader; Roldosist Party of Ecuador (PRE), Abdala Bucaram, director;
Popular Democracy (DP), Vladimiro Alvarez, leader;
Christian Democratic (CD), Julio Cesar Trujillo;
Democratic Party (PD), Francisco Huerta Montalvo, leader;

Far-left parties--Broad Leftist Front (FADI), Rene Mauge
Mosquera, director; Socialist Party (PSE), Victor Granda Aguilar,
secretary general; Democratic Popular Movement (MPD), Jaime Hurtado
Gonzalez, leader; Ecuadorian National Liberation (LN), Alfredo Castillo;
Popular Revolutionary Action Party (APRE), Lt. Gen. Frank Vargas
Pazzos, leader

Suffrage: universal at age 18; compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65,
optional for other eligible voters

Elections:
President--first round held 31 January 1988 and second round on
8 May 1988 (next first round to be held January 1992 and second round
May 1992);
results--Rodrigo Borja Cevallos (ID) 54%, Abdala Bucaram Ortiz
(PRE) 46%;

Chamber of Representatives--last held 31 January 1988
(next to be held June 1990);
results--ID 42%, PSC 11%, PRE 11%, DP 9%, others 27%;
seats--(71 total) ID 30, PRE 8, PSC 8, DP 7, CFP 6, PSE 4,
FADI 2, MPD 2, FRA 2, PCE 1, PLR 1; note--with the addition of the
new province of Sucumbios there will be 72 seats in the August 1990
election

Communists: Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE, pro-Moscow), Rene
Mauge Mosquera, secretary general, 5,000 members; Communist Party of
Ecuador/Marxist Leninist (PCMLE, Maoist), 3,000 members; Socialist
Party of Ecuador (PSE, pro-Cuba), 5,000 members (est.); National
Liberation Party (PLN, Communist), 5,000 members (est.)

Member of: Andean Pact, ECOSOC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO,
IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPEC, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO,
UPEB, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jaime MONCAYO; Chancery at
2535 15th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone [phone];
there are Ecuadorian Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco, and a Consulate in San Diego;
US--Ambassador-designate Paul C. LAMBERT; Embassy at Avenida Patria
120, on the corner of Avenida 12 de Octubre, Quito (mailing address is P. O.
Box 538, Quito, or APO Miami 34039); telephone p593o (2) 562-890; there is a US
Consulate General in Guayaquil

Flag: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red
with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the
flag of Colombia which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms

- Economy
Overview: Ecuador continues to recover from a 1986 drop in international
oil prices and a major earthquake in 1987 that interrupted oil exports
for six months and forced Ecuador to suspend foreign debt payments.
In 1988-89 oil exports recovered--accounting for nearly half of
Ecuador's total export revenues--and Quito resumed full interest
payments on its official debt, and partial payments on its commercial
debt. The Borja administration has pursued austere economic
policies that have helped reduce inflation and restore international
reserves. Ecuador was granted an IMF standby agreement worth $135
million in 1989, and Quito will seek to reschedule its foreign
commercial debt in 1990.

GDP: $9.8 billion, per capita $935; real growth rate 0.5% (1989)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 54% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 14.3% (1988)

Budget: revenues $2.2 billion; expenditures $2.7 billion,
including capital expenditures of $601 million (1988 est.)

Exports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--petroleum 47%,
coffee, bananas, cocoa products, shrimp, fish products; partners--US 58%,
Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries

Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--transport
equipment, vehicles, machinery, chemical, petroleum; partners--US 28%,
Latin America, Caribbean, EC, Japan

External debt: $10.9 billion (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 0.7% (1988)

Electricity: 1,953,000 kW capacity; 5,725 million kWh produced,
560 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: food processing, textiles, chemicals, fishing,
timber, petroleum

Agriculture: accounts for 18% of GDP and 35% of labor force (including
fishing and forestry); leading producer and exporter of bananas and balsawood;
other exports--coffee, cocoa, fish, shrimp; crop production--rice, potatoes,
manioc, plantains, sugarcane; livestock sector--cattle, sheep, hogs, beef,
pork, dairy products; net importer of foodgrain, dairy products, and sugar

Illicit drugs: relatively small producer of coca following the
successful eradication campaign of 1985-87; significant transit country,
however, for derivatives of coca originating in Colombia, Bolivia, and
Peru

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $457 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.4 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $64 million

Currency: sucre (plural--sucres); 1 sucre (S/) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: sucres (S/) per US$1--526.35 (1989), 301.61 (1988),
170.46 (1987), 122.78 (1986), 69.56 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 965 km total; all 1.067-meter-gauge single track

Highways: 28,000 km total; 3,600 km paved, 17,400 km gravel and improved
earth, 7,000 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 1,500 km

Pipelines: crude oil, 800 km; refined products, 1,358 km

Ports: Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, Esmeraldas

Merchant marine: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 340,446
GRT/492,670 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 7 cargo, 17 refrigerated cargo,
2 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 16 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL)
tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 1 bulk

Civil air: 44 major transport aircraft

Airports: 179 total, 178 usable; 43 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 20 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: domestic facilities generally adequate; 318,000
telephones; stations--272 AM, no FM, 33 TV, 39 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Ecuadorean Army (Ejercito Ecuatoriano), Ecuadorean Air Force
(Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana), Ecuadorean Navy (Armada Ecuatoriana)

Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,635,543; 1,786,068 fit for military
service; 114,976 reach military age (20) annually

Defense expenditures: 1% of GDP, or $100 million (1988 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Egypt
- Geography
Total area: 1,001,450 km2; land area: 995,450 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico

Land boundaries: 2,689 km total; Gaza Strip 11, Israel 255 km,
Libya 1,150 km, Sudan 1,273 km

Coastline: 2,450 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Extended economic zone: undefined;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: Administrative Boundary and international boundary with Sudan

Climate: desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters

Terrain: vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta

Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates,
manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc

Land use: 3% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
NEGL% forest and woodland; 95% other; includes 5% irrigated

Environment: Nile is only perennial water source; increasing soil
salinization below Aswan High Dam; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin
occurs in spring; water pollution; desertification

Note: controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa
and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, shortest sea link
between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean; size and juxtaposition to Israel
establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics

- People
Population: 54,705,746 (July 1990), growth rate 2.5% (1990)

Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 90 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 60 years male, 61 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 4.7 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Egyptian(s); adjective--Egyptian

Ethnic divisions: 90% Eastern Hamitic stock; 10% Greek, Italian,
Syro-Lebanese

Religion: (official estimate) 94% Muslim (mostly Sunni), 6% Coptic
Christian and other

Language: Arabic (official); English and French widely understood by
educated classes

Literacy: 45%

Labor force: 15,000,000 (1989 est.); 36% government,
public sector enterprises, and armed forces; 34% agriculture;
20% privately owned service and manufacturing enterprises (1984);
shortage of skilled labor; 2,500,000 Egyptians work abroad, mostly
in Iraq and the Gulf Arab states (1988 est.)

Organized labor: 2,500,000 (est.)

- Government
Long-form name: Arab Republic of Egypt

Type: republic

Capital: Cairo

Administrative divisions: 26 governorates (muhafazat,
singular--muhafazah); Ad Daqahliyah, Al Bahr al Ahmar,
Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum, Al Gharbiyah, Al Iskandariyah,
Al Ismailiyah, Al Jizah, Al Minufiyah, Al Minya,
Al Qahirah, Al Qalyubiyah, Al Wadi al Jadid, Ash Sharqiyah,
As Suways, Aswan, Asyut, Bani Suwayf, Bur Said, Dumyat,
Janub Sina, Kafr ash Shaykh, Matruh, Qina,
Shamal Sina, Suhaj

Independence: 28 February 1922 (from UK); formerly United Arab Republic

Constitution: 11 September 1971

Legal system: based on English common law, Islamic law, and Napoleonic
codes; judicial review by Supreme Court and Council of State (oversees
validity of administrative decisions); accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations

National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 23 July (1952)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Majlis al-Shaab);
note--there is an Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura) that functions in a
consultative role

Judicial branch: Supreme Constitutional Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (was made acting
President on 6 October 1981 upon the assassination of President Sadat and
sworn in as President on 14 October 1981);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Atef Mohammed Najib SEDKY
(since 12 November 1986)

Political parties and leaders: formation of political parties must be
approved by government; National Democratic Party (NDP), President
Mohammed Hosni Mubarak, leader, is the dominant party; legal opposition
parties are Socialist Liberal Party (SLP), Kamal Murad; Socialist Labor
Party, Ibrahim Shukri; National Progressive Unionist Grouping, Khalid
Muhyi-al-Din; Umma Party, Ahmad al-Sabahi; and New Wafd Party (NWP),
Fuad Siraj al-Din

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 5 October 1987 (next to be held October
1993); results--President Hosni Mubarek was reelected;

People's Assembly--last held 6 April 1987 (next to be held
April 1992); results--NDP 69.3%, Socialist Labor Party Coalition 17%,
NWP 10.9%;
seats--(458 total, 448 elected)--NDP 346, Socialist Labor Party
Coalition 60,
Labor-Liberal-Muslim Brotherhood Alliance 60 (37 belong to the
Muslim Brotherhood), NWP 36, independents 7;

Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura)--last held October 1986
(next to be held October 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(210 total, 140 elected)

Communists: about 500 party members

Other political or pressure groups: Islamic groups are illegal, but the
largest one, the Muslim Brotherhood, is tolerated by the government and
recently gained a sizable presence in the new People's Assembly; trade
unions and professional associations are officially sanctioned

Member of: ACC, AfDB, Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC,
IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, IRC, ITU,
IWC--International Wheat Council, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WPC, WSG, WTO; Egypt was suspended from Arab League and
OAPEC in April 1979 and readmitted in May 1989

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador El Sayed Abdel Raouf EL REEDY;
Chancery at 2310 Decatur Place NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone [phone]; there are Egyptian Consulates General in Chicago,
Houston, New York, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Frank G. WISNER; Embassy at 5 Sharia Latin America,
Garden City, Cairo (mailing address is FPO New York 09527);
telephone p20o p2o 355-7371; there is a US Consulate General in Alexandria

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with the
national emblem (a shield superimposed on a golden eagle facing the hoist side
above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white
band; similar to the flags of the YAR which has one star, Syria which has two
stars, and Iraq which has three stars--all green and five-pointed in a
horizontal line centered in the white band

- Economy
Overview: Egypt has one of the largest public sectors of all
the Third World economies, most industrial plants being owned by the
government. Overregulation holds back technical modernization and
foreign investment. Even so, the economy grew rapidly during the late
1970s and early 1980s, but in 1986 the collapse of world oil prices
and an increasingly heavy burden of debt servicing led Egypt to begin
negotiations with the IMF for balance-of-payments support. As part of
the 1987 agreement with the IMF, the government agreed to institute
a reform program to reduce inflation, promote economic growth, and
improve its external position. The reforms have been slow in coming,
however, and the economy has been largely stagnant for the past
three years. With 1 million people being added every eight months
to Egypt's population, urban growth exerts enormous pressure on
the 5% of the total land area available for agriculture.

GDP: $38.3 billion, per capita $700; real growth rate 1.0% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 15% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $7 billion; expenditures $11.5 billion,
including capital expenditures of $4 billion (FY89 est.)

Exports: $2.55 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--raw cotton,
crude and refined petroleum, cotton yarn, textiles; partners--US,
EC, Japan, Eastern Europe

Imports: $10.1 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--foods,
machinery and equipment, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer goods,
capital goods; partners--US, EC, Japan, Eastern Europe

External debt: $45 billion (December 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 2-4% (1989 est.)

Electricity: 11,273,000 kW capacity; 42,500 million kWh produced,
780 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals,
petroleum, construction, cement, metals

Agriculture: accounts for 20% of GNP and employs more than one-third of
labor force; dependent on irrigation water from the Nile; world's
fifth-largest cotton exporter; other crops produced include rice,
corn, wheat, beans, fruit, vegetables; not self-sufficient in food;
livestock--cattle, water buffalo, sheep, and goats; annual fish catch
about 140,000 metric tons

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $14.7 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $7.8 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-88),
$2.4 billion

Currency: Egyptian pound (plural--pounds); 1 Egyptian pound
(LE) = 100 piasters

Exchange rates: Egyptian pounds (LE) per US$1--2.5790 (January 1990),
2.5171 (1989), 2.2128 (1988), 1.5015 (1987), 1.3503 (1986), 1.3010 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

- Communications
Railroads: 5,110 km total; 4,763 km 1,435-meter standard gauge, 347 km
0.750-meter gauge; 951 km double track; 25 km electrified

Highways: 51,925 km total; 17,900 km paved, 2,500 km gravel, 13,500
km improved earth, 18,025 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 3,500 km (including the Nile, Lake Nasser,
Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in the delta);
Suez Canal, 193.5 km long (including approaches), used by oceangoing
vessels drawing up to 16.1 meters of water

Pipelines: crude oil, 1,171 km; refined products, 596 km; natural gas, 460
km

Ports: Alexandria, Port Said, Suez, Bur Safajah, Damietta

Merchant marine: 142 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,141,799
GRT/1,754,181 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 7 short-sea passenger,
2 passenger-cargo, 88 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 13 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
14 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 15 bulk

Civil air: 43 major transport aircraft

Airports: 97 total, 87 usable; 67 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with
runways over 3,659 m; 46 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 21 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: system is large but still inadequate for needs;
principal centers are Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, and
Tanta; intercity connections by coaxial cable and microwave; extensive
upgrading in progress; 600,000 telephones (est.); stations--25 AM, 5 FM, 47 TV;
satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean
INTELSAT, 1 INMARSAT; 4 submarine coaxial cables; tropospheric scatter
to Sudan; radio relay to Libya (may not be operational); new radio
relay to Jordan

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command

Military manpower: males 15-49, 13,271,942; 8,642,075 fit for military
service; 547,084 reach military age (20) annually

Defense expenditures: 7.2% of GDP, or $2.8 billion (FY90 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  El Salvador
- Geography
Total area: 21,040 km2; land area: 20,720 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Massachusetts

Land boundaries: 545 km total; Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km

Coastline: 307 km

Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 200 nm (overflight and navigation permitted beyond 12 nm)

Disputes: several sections of the boundary with Honduras are in dispute

Climate: tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to
April)

Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau

Natural resources: hydropower and geothermal power, crude oil

Land use: 27% arable land; 8% permanent crops; 29% meadows and pastures;
6% forest and woodland; 30% other; includes 5% irrigated

Environment: The Land of Volcanoes; subject to frequent and sometimes
very destructive earthquakes; deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution

Note: smallest Central American country and only one without a
coastline on Caribbean Sea

- People
Population: 5,309,865 (July 1990), growth rate 2.0% (1990)

Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 7 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 49 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 68 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 4.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Salvadoran(s); adjective--Salvadoran

Ethnic divisions: 89% mestizo, 10% Indian, 1% white

Religion: about 97% Roman Catholic, with activity by Protestant groups
throughout the country

Language: Spanish, Nahua (among some Indians)

Literacy: 65%

Labor force: 1,700,000 (1982 est.); 40% agriculture,
16% commerce, 15% manufacturing, 13% government, 9% financial services,
6% transportation; shortage of skilled labor and a large pool of unskilled
labor, but manpower training programs improving situation (1984 est.)

Organized labor: 15% total labor force; 10% agricultural labor force; 7%
urban labor force (1987 est.)

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of El Salvador

Type: republic

Capital: San Salvador

Administrative divisions: 14 departments (departamentos,
singular--departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan,
La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa Ana,
San Vicente, Sonsonate, Usulutan

Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Constitution: 20 December 1983

Legal system: based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common
law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Executive branch: president, vice president, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Alfredo CRISTIANI (since
1 June 1989); Vice President Jose Francisco MERINO (since 1 June 1989)

Political parties and leaders: National Republican Alliance
(ARENA), Armando Calderon Sol; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Jose
Antonio Morales Erlich; National Conciliation Party (PCN), Ciro Cruz
Zepeda; Democratic Action (AD), Ricardo Gonzalez Camacho; Salvadoran
Authentic Institutional Party (PAISA), Roberto Escobar Garcia; Patria
Libre (PL), Hugo Barrera; Authentic Christian Movement (MAC), Julio
Rey Prendes; Salvadoran Popular Party (PPS), Francisco Quinonez;
Democratic Convergence (CD), a coalition composed of the Social
Democratic Party (PSD), Mario Rene Roldan; the National Revolutionary
Movement (MNR), Guillermo Ungo; and the Popular Social Christian Movement
(MPSC), Ruben Zamora

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 19 March 1989 (next to be held March 1994);
results--Alfredo Cristiani (ARENA) 53.8%, Fidel Chavez Mena (PDC) 36.6%,
other 9.6%;

Legislative Assembly--last held 20 March 1988 (next to be
held March 1991);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(60 total) ARENA 32, MAC 13, PDC 9, PCN 6

Other political or pressure groups:

Leftist revolutionary movement--Farabundo Marti National
Liberation Front (FMLN), leadership body of the insurgency;
Popular Liberation Forces (FPL), Armed Forces of National Resistance
(FARN), People's Revolutionary Army (ERP), Salvadoran Communist
Party/Armed Forces of Liberation (PCES/FAL),
and Central American Workers' Revolutionary Party (PRTC)/Popular
Liberation Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARLP);

Militant front organizations--Revolutionary Coordinator
of Masses (CRM; alliance of front groups), Popular Revolutionary
Bloc (BPR), Unified Popular Action Front (FAPU), Popular Leagues
of 28 February (LP-28), National Democratic Union (UDN), and
Popular Liberation Movement (MLP); Revolutionary Democratic Front (FDR),
coalition of CRM and Democratic Front (FD); FD consists of
moderate leftist groups--Independent Movement of Professionals and Technicians
of El Salvador (MIPTES), National Revolutionary Movement (MNR), and Popular
Social Christian Movement (MPSC);

Extreme rightist vigilante organizations--Anti-Communist Army (ESA);
Maximiliano Hernandez
Brigade; Organization for Liberation From Communism (OLC);

Labor organizations--Federation of Construction and Transport
Workers Unions (FESINCONSTRANS), independent; Salvadoran Communal
Union (UCS), peasant association; Unitary Federation of Salvadoran Unions
(FUSS), leftist; National Federation of Salvadoran Workers (FENASTRAS),
leftist; Democratic Workers Central (CTD), moderate; General
Confederation of Workers (CGT), moderate; Popular Democratic Unity (UPD),
moderate labor coalition which includes FESINCONSTRANS, and other
democratic labor organizations; National Unity of Salvadoran Workers
(UNTS), leftist; National Union of Workers and Peasants (UNOC),
moderate labor coalition of democratic labor organizations;

Business organizations--National Association of Private Enterprise
(ANEP), conservative; Productive Alliance (AP), conservative; National
Federation of Salvadoran Small Businessmen (FENAPES), conservative

Member of: CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, OAS, ODECA, PAHO, SELA, UN,
UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Miguel Angel SALAVERRIA;
Chancery at 2308 California Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
[phone] through 3482; there are Salvadoran Consulates General in
Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco,
US--Ambassador William G. WALKER; Embassy at 25 Avenida Norte No. 1230,
San Salvador (mailing address is APO Miami 34023); telephone p503o 26-7100

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the
national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a
round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA
CENTRAL; similar to the flag of Nicaragua which has a different coat of arms
centered in the white band--it features a triangle encircled by the words
REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom;
also similar to the flag of Honduras which has five blue stars arranged
in an X pattern centered in the white band

- Economy
Overview: The economy experienced a modest recovery during the period
1983-86, after a sharp decline in the early 1980s. Real GDP grew by 1.5% a
year on the strength of value added by the manufacturing and service sectors.
In 1987 the economy expanded by 2.5% as agricultural output recovered from the
1986 drought. The agricultural sector accounts for 25% of GDP, employs about 40%
of the labor force, and contributes about 66% to total exports. Coffee is the
major commercial crop, contributing 60% to export earnings. The manufacturing
sector, based largely on food and beverage processing, accounts for 17% of GDP
and 16% of employment. Economic losses due to guerrilla sabotage total more
than $2.0 billion since 1979. The costs of maintaining a large military
seriously constrain the government's ability to provide essential social
services.

GDP: $5.5 billion, per capita $1,020 (1988); real growth rate 0.9% (1989
est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16.8% (September 1989)

Unemployment rate: 10% (1989)

Budget: revenues $688 million; expenditures $725 million, including
capital expenditures of $112 million (1988)

Exports: $497 million (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--coffee 60%, sugar, cotton, shrimp;
partners--US 49%, FRG 24%, Guatemala 7%, Costa Rica 4%, Japan 4%

Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--petroleum products, consumer goods, foodstuffs, machinery,
construction materials, fertilizer;
partners--US 40%, Guatemala 12%, Venezuela 7%, Mexico 7%, FRG 5%, Japan 4%

External debt: $1.7 billion (December 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 2.9% (1989)

Electricity: 669,000 kW capacity; 1,813 million kWh produced,
350 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: food processing, textiles, clothing, petroleum
products, cement

Agriculture: accounts for 25% of GDP and 40% of labor force (including
fishing and forestry); coffee most important commercial crop; other
products--sugarcane, corn, rice, beans, oilseeds, beef, dairy products,
shrimp; not self-sufficient in food

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $2.4 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $353 million

Currency: Salvadoran colon (plural--colones); 1 Salvadoran
colon (C) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Salvadoran colones (C) per US$1--5.0000 (fixed rate
since 1986)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 602 km 0.914-meter gauge, single track

Highways: 10,000 km total; 1,500 km paved, 4,100 km gravel, 4,400 km
improved and unimproved earth

Inland waterways: Rio Lempa partially navigable

Ports: Acajutla, Cutuco

Civil air: 7 major transport aircraft

Airports: 125 total, 84 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: nationwide trunk radio relay system; connection into
Central American Microwave System; 116,000 telephones; stations--77 AM, no FM,
5 TV, 2 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, National Police,
Treasury Police

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,180,751; 754,350 fit for military
service; 68,805 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 4% of GDP, or $220 million (1990 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Equatorial Guinea
- Geography
Total area: 28,050 km2; land area: 28,050 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundaries: 539 km total; Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km

Coastline: 296 km

Maritime claims:

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Gabon

Climate: tropical; always hot, humid

Terrain: coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are
volcanic

Natural resources: timber, crude oil, small unexploited deposits
of gold, manganese, uranium

Land use: 8% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures;
51% forest and woodland; 33% other

Environment: subject to violent windstorms

Note: insular and continental regions rather widely separated

- People
Population: 368,935 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 118 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 48 years male, 52 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 5.5 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s);
adjective--Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean

Ethnic divisions: indigenous population of Bioko, primarily Bubi, some
Fernandinos; Rio Muni, primarily Fang; less than 1,000 Europeans, mostly
Spanish

Religion: natives all nominally Christian and predominantly Roman
Catholic; some pagan practices retained

Language: Spanish (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo

Literacy: 40%

Labor force: 172,000 (1986 est.); 66% agriculture, 23% services,
11% industry (1980); labor shortages on plantations; 58% of population
of working age (1985)

Organized labor: no formal trade unions

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Equatorial Guinea

Type: republic

Capital: Malabo

Administrative divisions: 2 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia);
Bioko, Rio Muni; note--there may now be 6 provinces named Bioko Norte,
Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele Nzas

Independence: 12 October 1968 (from Spain; formerly Spanish Guinea)

Constitution: 15 August 1982

Legal system: in transition; partly based on Spanish civil law and
tribal custom

National holiday: Independence Day, 12 October (1968)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, deputy prime minister,
Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral Chamber of People's Representatives
(Camara de Representantes del Pueblo)

Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Brig. Gen. Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA
MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Cristino SERICHE Bioko Malabo (since
15 August 1982); Deputy Prime Minister Isidoro Eyi Monsuy Andeme
(since 15 August 1989)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Democratic Party
for Equatorial Guinea (PDEG), Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, party leader

Suffrage: universal adult at age NA

Elections:
President--last held 25 June 1989 (next to be held 25 June 1996);
results--President Brig. Gen. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo was reelected without
opposition;

Chamber of Deputies--last held 10 July 1988 (next to be
held 10 July 1993);
results--PDEG is the only party;
seats--(41 total) PDEG 41

Communists: no significant number but some sympathizers

Member of: ACP, AfDB, Conference of East and Central African
States, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Damaso OBIANG NDONG; Chancery at
801 Second Avenue, Suite 1403, New York, NY 10017; telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador Chester E. NORRIS, Jr.; Embassy at Calle de Los Ministros,
Malabo (mailing address is P. O. Box 597, Malabo); telephone 2406 or 2507

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a
blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered
in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars
(representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield
bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto
UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice)

- Economy
Overview: The economy, destroyed during the regime of former
President Macias Nguema, is now based on agriculture, forestry,
and fishing, which account for about 60% of GNP and nearly all exports.
Subsistence agriculture predominates, with cocoa, coffee, and wood
products providing income, foreign exchange, and government
revenues. There is little industry. Commerce accounts
for about 10% of GNP, and the construction, public works, and service
sectors for about 34%. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium,
iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold.  Oil exploration is
taking place under concessions offered to US, French, and Spanish firms.

GNP: $103 million, per capita $293; real growth rate NA% (1987)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): - 6.0% (1988 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $23 million; expenditures $31 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (1988)

Exports: $30 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--coffee,
timber, cocoa beans;
partners--Spain 44%, FRG 19%, Italy 12%, Netherlands 11% (1987)

Imports: $50 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.); commodities--petroleum,
food, beverages, clothing, machinery;
partners--Spain 34%, Italy 16%, France 14%, Netherlands 8% (1987)

External debt: $191 million (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 23,000 kW capacity; 60 million kWh produced,
170 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: fishing, sawmilling

Agriculture: cash crops--timber and coffee from Rio Muni, cocoa
from Bioko; food crops--rice, yams, cassava, bananas, oil palm nuts,
manioc, livestock

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY81-88), $11 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $100 million;
Communist countries (1970-88), $55 million

Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs);
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF)
per US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987),
346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Highways: Rio Muni--1,024 km; Bioko--216 km

Ports: Malabo, Bata

Merchant marine: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,413
GRT/6,699 DWT; includes 1 cargo and 1 passenger-cargo

Civil air: 1 major transport aircraft

Airports: 4 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: poor system with adequate government services;
international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European
countries; 2,000 telephones; stations--2 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 Indian Ocean
INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, and possibly Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 77,363; 39,174 fit for military service

Defense expenditures: 11% of GNP (FY81 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Ethiopia
- Geography
Total area: 1,221,900 km2; land area: 1,101,000 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries: 5,141 km total; Djibouti 459 km, Kenya 861 km,
Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 2,221 km

Coastline: 1,094 km

Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: southern half of the boundary with Somalia is a Provisional
Administrative Line; possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic
Somalis; territorial dispute with Somalia over the Ogaden; separatist movement
in Eritrea; antigovernment insurgencies in Tigray and other areas

Climate: tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation;
prone to extended droughts

Terrain: high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great
Rift Valley

Natural resources: small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash

Land use: 12% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 41% meadows and pastures;
24% forest and woodland; 22% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion;
desertification; frequent droughts; famine

Note: strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest
shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; major resettlement
project ongoing in rural areas will significantly alter population distribution
and settlement patterns over the next several
decades

- People
Population: 51,666,622 (July 1990), growth rate 3.5% (1990)

Birth rate: 45 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 116 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 52 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 7.0 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Ethiopian(s); adjective--Ethiopian

Ethnic divisions: 40% Oromo, 32% Amhara and Tigrean, 9% Sidamo, 6%
Shankella, 6% Somali, 4% Afar, 2% Gurage, 1% other

Religion: 40-45% Muslim, 35-40% Ethiopian Orthodox, 15-20% animist, 5%
other

Language: Amharic (official), Tigrinya, Orominga, Arabic, English (major
foreign language taught in schools)

Literacy: 55.2%

Labor force: 18,000,000; 80% agriculture and animal
husbandry, 12% government and services, 8% industry and construction
(1985)

Organized labor: All Ethiopian Trade Union formed by the government in
January 1977 to represent 273,000 registered trade union members

- Government
Long-form name: People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Type: Communist state

Capital: Addis Ababa

Administrative divisions: 14 administrative regions (plural--NA,
singular--kifle hager); Arsi, Bale, Eritrea, Gamo Gofa, Gojam,
Gonder, Harerge, Ilubabor, Kefa, Shewa, Sidamo, Tigray, Welega,
Welo; note--the administrative structure may be changing to 25
administrative regions (astedader akababiwach, singular--astedader
akababee) and 5 autonomous
regions* (rasgez akababiwach, singular--rasgez akababee); Addis Ababa,
Arsi, Aseb*, Asosa, Bale, Borena, Dire Dawa*, East Gojam,
East Harerge, Eritrea*, Gambela, Gamo Gofa, Ilubabor, Kefa, Metekel,
Nazaret, North Gonder, North Shewa, North Welo, Ogaden*, Omo, Sidamo,
South Gonder, South Shewa, South Welo, Tigray*, Welega, West Gojam,
West Harerge, West Shewa

Independence: oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest
in the world--at least 2,000 years

Constitution: 12 September 1987

Legal system: complex structure with civil, Islamic, common, and
customary law influences; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: National Revolution Day, 12 September (1974)

Executive branch: president, vice president, Council of State
prime minister, five deputy prime ministers, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Shengo)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President MENGISTU Haile-Mariam (Chairman from
11 September 1977 until becoming President on 10 September 1987);
Vice President FISSEHA Desta (since 10 September 1987);

Head of Government--Prime Minister (Acting) and Deputy Prime
Minister HAILU Yimenu (since 7 November 1989);
Deputy Prime Minister WOLLE Chekol (since 21 November 1989);
Deputy Prime Minister ALEMU Abebe (since 10 September 1987);
Deputy Prime Minister TESFAYE Dinka (since 10 September 1987);
Deputy Prime Minister ASHAGRE Yigletu (since 21 November 1989)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Workers' Party of
Ethiopia (WPE), Mengistu Haile-Mariam, secretary general

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 10 September 1987 (next to be held September
1992);
results--National Assembly elected President Mengistu Haile-Mariam;

National Assembly--last held 14 June 1987 (next to be
held June 1992);
results--WPE is the only party;
seats--(835 total) WPE 835

Other political or pressure groups: important dissident groups include
Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) in Eritrea; Tigrean People's
Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopian Peoples Democratic Movement
in Tigray, Welo, and border regions; Oromo Liberation Front in Welega and
Harerge regions

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICO, ICAO, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN,
UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Counselor, Charge d'Affaires ad interim
GIRMA Amare; Chancery at 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone [phone] or 2282;
US--Charge d'Affaires Robert G. HOUDEK; Embassy at Entoto Street,
Addis Ababa (mailing address is P.O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa);
telephone [phone]

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red;
Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and the colors of her flag
were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they
became known as the pan-African colors

- Economy
Overview: Ethiopia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in
Africa. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, which accounts for
about 45% of GDP, 90% of exports, and 80% of total employment; coffee generates
over 60% of export earnings. The manufacturing sector is heavily dependent on
inputs from the agricultural sector. The economy is centrally planned, and over
90% of large-scale industry is state run. Favorable agricultural weather
largely explains the 4.5% growth in output in FY89.

GDP: $6.6 billion, per capita $130, real growth rate 4.5% (FY89 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.6% (FY89)

Unemployment rate: NA; shortage of skilled manpower

Budget: revenues $1.4 billion; expenditures $1.9 billion, including
capital expenditures of $0.7 billion (FY87)

Exports: $418 million (f.o.b., FY88); commodities--coffee 60%,
hides;
partners--US, FRG, Djibouti, Japan, PDRY, France, Italy

Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f., FY88),
commodities--food, fuels, capital goods;
partners--USSR, Italy, FRG, Japan, UK, US, France

External debt: $2.6 billion (1988)

Industrial production: growth rate - 0.2% (FY88 est.)

Electricity: 330,000 kW capacity; 700 million kWh produced,
14 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: cement, textiles, food processing, oil refinery

Agriculture: accounts for 45% of GDP and is the most important sector of
the economy even though frequent droughts, poor cultivation practices, and
state economic policies keep farm output low; famines not uncommon;
export crops of coffee and oilseeds grown partly on state farms;
estimated 50% of agricultural production at subsistence level;
principal crops and livestock--cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseeds,
potatoes, sugarcane, vegetables, hides and skins, cattle, sheep, goats

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $471 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.6 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $8 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$2.0 billion


Currency: birr (plural--birr); 1 birr (Br) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: birr (Br) per US$1--2.0700 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: 8 July-7 July

- Communications
Railroads: 988 km total; 681 km 1.000-meter gauge; 307 km 0.950-meter
gauge (nonoperational)

Highways: 44,300 km total; 3,650 km bituminous, 9,650 km gravel, 3,000 km
improved earth, 28,000 km unimproved earth

Ports: Aseb, Mitsiwa

Merchant marine: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 71,837
GRT/92,067 DWT; includes 10 cargo, 1 roll-on/roll off cargo, 1 livestock
carrier, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker

Civil air: 21 major transport aircraft

Airports: 152 total, 111 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways;
2 with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 51 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: open-wire and radio relay system adequate for
government use; open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti; radio relay to Kenya and
Djibouti; stations--4 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 45,000 TV sets; 3,300,000 radios;
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense

Military manpower: males 15-49, 11,438,616; 5,922,555 fit for military
service; 589,231 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 8.5% of GDP (1988)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Europa Island
(French possession)
- Geography
Total area: 28 km2; land area: 28 km2

Comparative area: about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 22.2 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: claimed by Madagascar

Climate: tropical

Terrain: NA

Natural resources: negligible

Land use: NA% arable land; NA% permanent crops; NA% meadows and pastures;
NA% forest and woodland; NA% other; heavily wooded

Environment: wildlife sanctuary

Note: located in the Mozambique Channel 340 km west of Madagascar

- People
Population: uninhabited

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: French possession administered by Commissioner of
the Republic Daniel CONSTANTIN, resident in Reunion

- Economy
Overview: no economic activity

- Communications
Airports: 1 with runway 1,220 to 2,439 m

Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

Telecommunications: 1 meteorological station

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of France
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
(dependent territory of the UK)
- Geography
Total area: 12,170 km2; land area: 12,170 km2; includes the two
main islands of East and West Falkland and about 200 small islands

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 1,288 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 100 meter depth;

Exclusive fishing zone: 150 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: administered by the UK, claimed by Argentina

Climate: cold marine; strong westerly winds, cloudy, humid; rain occurs on
more than half of days in year; occasional snow all year, except in January
and February, but does not accumulate

Terrain: rocky, hilly, mountainous with some boggy, undulating plains

Natural resources: fish and wildlife

Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 99% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 1% other

Environment: poor soil fertility and a short growing season

Note: deeply indented coast provides good natural harbors

- People
Population: 1,958 (July 1990), growth rate 0.5% (1990)

Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NA migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: NA years male, NA years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Falkland Islander(s); adjective--Falkland Island

Ethnic divisions: almost totally British

Religion: primarily Anglican, Roman Catholic, and United Free Church;
Evangelist Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Lutheran, Seventh-Day Adventist

Language: English

Literacy: NA%, but compulsory education up to age 15

Labor force: 1,100 (est.); about 95% in agriculture, mostly sheepherding

Organized labor: Falkland Islands General Employees Union, 400 members

- Government
Long-form name: Colony of the Falkland Islands

Type: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: Stanley

Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Constitution: 3 October 1985

Legal system: English common law

National holiday: Liberation Day, 14 June (1982)

Executive branch: British monarch, governor, Executive Council

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);

Head of Government--Governor William Hugh FULLERTON (since NA 1988)

Political parties: NA

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
Legislative Council--last held 3 October 1985 (next to be
held October 1990); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(10 total, 8 elected) number of seats by party NA

Diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and
the Falkland Island coat of arms in a white disk centered on the outer half of
the flag; the coat of arms contains a white ram (sheep raising is the major
economic activity) above the sailing ship Desire (whose crew discovered
the islands) with a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto DESIRE THE
RIGHT

- Economy
Overview: The economy is based on sheep farming, which directly or
indirectly employs most of the work force. A few dairy herds are kept to meet
domestic consumption of milk and milk products, and crops grown are primarily
those for providing winter fodder. Major sources of income are from the export
of high-grade wool to the UK and the sale of stamps and coins. Rich stocks of
fish in the surrounding waters are not presently exploited by the islanders, but
development plans called for the islands to have six trawlers by 1989.
In 1987 the government began to sell fishing licenses to foreign trawlers
operating within the Falklands exclusive fishing zone. These license
fees amount to more than $25 million per year. To encourage tourism, the
Falkland Islands Development Corporation has built three lodges for
visitors who are attracted by the abundant wildlife and trout fishing.

GNP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: 0%

Budget: revenues $11 million; expenditures $11.8 million,
including capital expenditures of $1.2 million (FY87)

Exports: at least $14.7 million;
commodities--wool, hides and skins, and other;
partners--UK, Netherlands, Japan (1987 est.)

Imports: at least $13.9 million;
commodities--food, clothing, fuels, and machinery;
partners--UK, Netherlands Antilles (Curacao), Japan (1987 est.)

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 9,200 kW capacity; 17 million kWh produced, 8,700 kWh per
capita (1989)

Industries: wool processing

Agriculture: predominantly sheep farming; small dairy herds and
fodder crops

Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $102 million

Currency: Falkland pound (plural--pounds); 1 Falkland pound
(LF) = 100 pence

Exchange rates: Falkland pound (LF) per US$1--0.6055 (January 1990),
0.6099 (1989), 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102 (1987), 0.6817 (1986), 0.7714 (1985);
note--the Falkland pound is at par with the British pound

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Highways: 510 km total; 30 km paved, 80 km gravel, and 400 km unimproved
earth

Ports: Port Stanley

Civil air: no major transport aircraft

Airports: 5 total, 5 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
none with runways 1,220 to 2,439 m

Telecommunications: government-operated radiotelephone and private
VHF/CB radio networks provide effective service to almost all points on
both islands; 590 telephones; stations--2 AM, 3 FM, no TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station with links through London to other countries

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Faroe Islands
(part of the Danish realm)
- Geography
Total area: 1,400 km2; land area: 1,400 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than eight times the size of
Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 764 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 4 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: mild winters, cool summers; usually overcast; foggy, windy

Terrain: rugged, rocky, some low peaks; cliffs along most of coast

Natural resources: fish

Land use: 2% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 98% other

Environment: precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal
lowlands; archipelago of 18 inhabited islands and a few uninhabited
islets

Note: strategically located along important sea lanes in
northeastern Atlantic about midway between Iceland and Shetland Islands

- People
Population: 47,715 (July 1990), growth rate 0.9% (1990)

Birth rate: 17 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 9 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Faroese (sing., pl.); adjective--Faroese

Ethnic divisions: homogeneous Scandinavian population

Religion: Evangelical Lutheran

Language: Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 17,585; largely engaged in fishing, manufacturing,
transportation, and commerce

Organized labor: NA

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: part of the Danish realm; self-governing overseas
administrative division of Denmark

Capital: Torshavn

Administrative divisions: none (self-governing overseas
administrative division of Denmark)

Independence: part of the Danish realm; self-governing overseas
administrative division of Denmark

Constitution: Danish

Legal system: Danish

National holiday: Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)

Executive branch: Danish monarch, high commissioner, prime minister,
deputy prime minister, Cabinet (Landsstyri)

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Logting)

Judicial branch: none

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972), represented by
High Commissioner Bent KLINTE (since NA);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Jogvan SUNDSTEIN (since 17 January
1989)

Political parties and leaders: four-party ruling
coalition--People's Party, Jogvan Sundstein; Republican Party,
Signer Hansen; Progressive and Fishing Industry Party combined with the
Christian People's Party (CPP-PFIP); Home Rule Party, Hilmar Kass;
opposition--Social Democratic Party, Atli P. Dam; Cooperation
Coalition Party, Pauli Ellefsen; Progress Party

Suffrage: universal at age 20

Elections:
Parliament--last held 8 November 1988 (next to be held November
1992); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(32 total) three-party coalition 21 (People's Party 8, Cooperation
Coalition Party 7, Republican Party 6);
Social Democrat 7, CPP-PFIP 2, Home Rule 2

Communists: insignificant number

Member of: Nordic Council

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

Flag: white with a red cross outlined in blue that extends to the edges of
the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the
style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)

- Economy
Overview: The Faroese enjoy the high standard of living
characteristic of the Danish and other Scandinavian economies.
Fishing is the dominant economic activity. It employs over
25% of the labor force, accounts for about 25% of GDP, and
contributes over 80% to export revenues. A handicraft industry
employs about 20% of the labor force. Because of cool summers
agricultural activities are limited to raising sheep and to
potato and vegetable cultivation. There is a labor shortage, and
immigrant workers accounted for 5% of the work force in 1989. Denmark
annually subsidizes the economy, perhaps on the order of 15% of GDP.

GDP: $662 million, per capita $14,000; real growth rate 3%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.0% (1988)

Unemployment rate: labor shortage

Budget: revenues $176 million; expenditures $176 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (FY86)

Exports: $267 million (f.o.b., 1986);
commodities--fish and fish products 86%, animal feedstuffs, transport
equipment;
partners--Denmark 18%, US 14%, FRG, France, UK, Canada

Imports: $363 million (c.i.f., 1986);
commodities--machinery and transport equipment 38%, food and livestock
11%, fuels 10%, manufactures 10%, chemicals 5%;
partners: Denmark 46%, FRG, Norway, Japan, UK

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 80,000 kW capacity; 280 million kWh produced, 5,910 kWh
per capita (1989)

Industries: fishing, shipbuilding, handicrafts

Agriculture: accounts for 27% of GDP and employs 27% of labor force;
principal crops--potatoes and vegetables; livestock--sheep; annual fish catch
about 360,000 metric tons

Aid: none

Currency: Danish krone (plural--kroner); 1 Danish krone
(DKr) = 100 ore

Exchange rates: Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1--6.560 (January
1990), 7.310 (1989), 6.732 (1988), 6.840 (1987), 8.091 (1986), 10.596 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Highways: 200 km

Ports: Torshavn, Tvoroyri; 8 minor

Merchant marine: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,249
GRT/11,887 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 2 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off
cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo; note--a subset of the Danish register

Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runway 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: good international communications; fair domestic
facilities; 27,900 telephones; stations--1 AM, 3 (10 repeaters) FM,
3 (29 repeaters) TV; 3 coaxial submarine cables

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Denmark
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Fiji
- Geography
Total area: 18,270 km2; land area: 18,270 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 1,129 km

Maritime claims: (measured from claimed archipelagic baselines)

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: mostly mountains of volcanic origin

Natural resources: timber, fish, gold, copper; offshore oil
potential

Land use: 8% arable land; 5% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures;
65% forest and woodland; 19% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: subject to hurricanes from November to January;
includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited

Note: located 2,500 km north of New Zealand in the South Pacific
Ocean

- People
Population: 759,567 (July 1990), growth rate 1.5% (1990)

Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 7 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 22 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 70 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.3 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Fijian(s); adjective--Fijian

Ethnic divisions: 49% Indian, 46% Fijian, 5% European, other Pacific
Islanders, overseas Chinese, and others

Religion: Fijians are mainly Christian, Indians are Hindu with a Muslim
minority

Language: English (official); Fijian; Hindustani

Literacy: 80%

Labor force: 176,000; 60% subsistence agriculture, 40% wage earners (1979)

Organized labor: about 45,000 employees belong to some 46 trade
unions, which are organized along lines of work and ethnic origin (1983)

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Fiji

Type: military coup leader Major General Sitiveni Rabuka formally
declared Fiji a republic on 6 October 1987

Capital: Suva

Administrative divisions: 4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern,
Northern, Rotuma*, Western

Independence: 10 October 1970 (from UK)

Constitution: 10 October 1970 (suspended 1 October 1987); note--a new
constitution was proposed on 23 September 1988 and awaits final approval

Legal system: based on British system

National holiday: Independence Day, 10 October (1970)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: the bicameral Parliament, consisting of an
upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives,
was dissolved following the coup of 14 May 1987; the proposed
constitution of NA September 1988 provides for a bicameral Parliament

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Ratu Sir Penaia Kanatabatu GANILAU
(since 5 December 1987);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA (since 5
December 1987); note--Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara served as prime minister from
10 October 1970 until the 5-11 April 1987 election; after a second coup led
by Major General Sitiveni Rabuka on 25 September 1987, Ratu Mara was
reappointed as prime minister

Political parties and leaders: Alliance, primarily Fijian,
Ratu Mara; National Federation, primarily Indian, Siddiq Koya;
Western United Front, Fijian, Ratu Osea Gavidi; Fiji Labor Party,
Adi Kuini Bavadra; coalition of the National Federation Party
and the Fiji Labor Party, Adi Kuini Vuikaba Bavadra

Suffrage: none

Elections: none

Communists: some

Member of: ACP, ADB, Colombo Plan, EC (associate), ESCAP, FAO, G-77,
GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Counselor (Commercial), Vice Consul, Charge
d'Affaires ad interim Abdul H. YUSUF; Chancery at Suite 240, 2233 Wisconsin
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007; telephone [phone]; there is a
Fijian Consulate in New York;
US--Ambassador Leonard ROCHWARGER; Embassy at 31 Loftus Street, Suva
(mailing address is P. O. Box 218, Suva); telephone p679o 314-466 or 314-069

Flag: light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant
and the Fijian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield depicts
a yellow lion above a white field quartered by the cross of St. George featuring
stalks of sugarcane, a palm tree, bananas, and a white dove

- Economy
Overview: Fiji's economy is primarily agricultural, with a large
subsistence sector. Sugar exports are a major source of foreign exchange
and sugar processing accounts for one-third of industrial output.
Industry, including sugar milling, contributes 10% to GDP. Fiji
traditionally earned considerable sums of hard currency from the 250,000
tourists who visited each year. In 1987, however, after two military
coups, the economy went into decline. GDP dropped by 7.8% in
1987 and by another 2.5% in 1988; political uncertainly created a drop in
tourism, and the worst drought of the century caused sugar production
to fall sharply. In contrast, sugar and tourism turned in strong
performances in 1989, and the economy rebounded vigorously.

GDP: $1.32 billion, per capita $1,750; real growth rate 12.5%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11.8% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 11% (1988)

Budget: revenues $260 million; expenditures $233 million,
including capital expenditures of $47 million (1988)

Exports: $312 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--sugar 49%, copra, processed fish, lumber;
partners--UK 45%, Australia 21%, US 4.7%

Imports: $454 million (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--food 15%, petroleum products, machinery, consumer goods;
partners--US 4.8%, NZ, Australia, Japan

External debt: $398 million (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate - 15% (1988 est.)

Electricity: 215,000 kW capacity; 330 million kWh produced, 440 kWh per
capita (1989)

Industries: sugar, copra, tourism, gold, silver, fishing, clothing,
lumber, small cottage industries

Agriculture: principal cash crop is sugarcane; coconuts, cassava, rice,
sweet potatoes, and bananas; small livestock sector includes cattle, pigs,
horses, and goats

Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1980-87), $677 million

Currency: Fijian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Fijian dollar
(F$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Fijian dollars (F$) per US$1--1.4950 (January 1990),
1.4833 (1989), 1.4303 (1988), 1.2439 (1987), 1.1329 (1986), 1.1536 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 644 km 0.610-meter narrow gauge, belonging to the
government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation

Highways: 3,300 km total (1984)--390 km paved; 1,200 km
bituminous-surface treatment; 1,290 km gravel, crushed stone, or stabilized
soil surface; 420 unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 203 km; 122 km navigable by motorized craft and
200-metric-ton barges

Ports: Lambasa, Lautoka, Savusavu, Suva

Merchant marine: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 42,872 GRT/49,795
DWT; includes 1 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 container, 2
liquefied gas, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
1 chemical tanker

Civil air: 1 DC-3 and 1 light aircraft

Airports: 26 total, 24 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: modern local, interisland, and international
(wire/radio integrated) public and special-purpose telephone, telegraph, and
teleprinter facilities; regional radio center; important COMPAC cable link
between US-Canada and New Zealand-Australia; 53,228 telephones; stations--7 AM,
1 FM, no TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: integrated ground and naval forces

Military manpower: males 15-49, 194,433; 107,317 fit for military
service; 7,864 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 2.5% of GDP (1988)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Finland
- Geography
Total area: 337,030 km2; land area: 305,470 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries: 2,578 km total; Norway 729 km, Sweden 536 km,
USSR 1,313 km

Coastline: 1,126 km excluding islands and coastal indentations

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 6 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm;

Territorial sea: 4 nm

Climate: cold temperate; potentially subarctic, but comparatively mild
because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea,
and more than 60,000 lakes

Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes
and low hills

Natural resources: timber, copper, zinc, iron ore, silver

Land use: 8% arable land; 0% permanent crops; NEGL% meadows and pastures;
76% forest and woodland; 16% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: permanently wet ground covers about 30% of land;
population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain

Note: long boundary with USSR; Helsinki is northernmost national
capital on European continent

- People
Population: 4,977,325 (July 1990), growth rate 0.3% (1990)

Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 71 years male, 80 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Finn(s); adjective--Finnish

Ethnic divisions: Finn, Swede, Lapp, Gypsy, Tatar

Religion: 97% Evangelical Lutheran, 1.2% Eastern Orthodox, 1.8% other

Language: 93.5% Finnish, 6.3% Swedish (both official); small Lapp- and
Russian-speaking minorities

Literacy: almost 100%

Labor force: 2,556,000; 33.1% services, 22.9% mining and manufacturing,
13.8% commerce, 10.3% agriculture, forestry, and fishing, 7.2% construction,
7.1% transportation and communications (1989 est.)

Organized labor: 80% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Finland

Type: republic

Capital: Helsinki

Administrative divisions: 12 provinces (laanit, singular--laani);
Ahvenanmaa, Hame, Keski-Suomi, Kuopio, Kymi, Lappi, Mikkeli, Oulu,
Pohjois-Karjala, Turku ja Pori, Uusimaa, Vaasa

Independence: 6 December 1917 (from Soviet Union)

Constitution: 17 July 1919

Legal system: civil law system based on Swedish law; Supreme Court
may request legislation interpreting or modifying laws; accepts compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 December (1917)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, deputy prime minister,
Council of State (Valtioneuvosto)

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Eduskunta)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Korkein Oikeus)

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Mauno KOIVISTO (since 27 January 1982);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Harri HOLKERI (since 30 April 1987);
Deputy Prime Minister Pertti PAASIO (since NA January 1989)

Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party, Pertti Paasio;
Center Party, Paavo Vayrynen; People's Democratic League (majority Communist
front), Reijo Kakela; National Coalition (Conservative) Party, Ilkka Suominen;
Liberal People's Party, Kyosti Lallukka; Swedish People's Party, Christoffer
Taxell; Rural Party, leader NA

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 31 January-1 February and 15 February
1988 (next to be held January 1994);
results--Mauno Koivisto 48%, Paavo Vayrynen 20%, Harri Holkeri 18%;

Parliament--last held 15-16 March 1987 (next to be held March
1991);
results--Social Democratic 24.3%, National Coalition (Conservative)
23.9%, Center-Liberal People's 18.6%, People's Democratic League 9.4%,
Rural 6.3%, Swedish People's 5.3%, Democratic Alternative 4.3%, Green
League 4.0%, Finnish Christian League 2.6%, Finnish Pensioners 1.2%,
Constitutional Rightist 0.1%;
seats--(200 total) Social Democratic 56, National Coalition
(Conservative) 53, Center-Liberal People's 40, People's Democratic
League 16, Swedish People's 13, Rural 9, Finnish Christian League 5;
Democratic Alternative 4, Green League 4

Communists: 28,000 registered members; an additional 45,000 persons
belong to People's Democratic League

Other political or pressure groups: Finnish Communist Party
(majority Communist faction), Jarmo Wahlstrom; Finnish Communist
Party-Unity (minority faction), Esko-Juhani Tennila; Democratic
Alternative (minority Communist front), Kristiina Halkola;
Finnish Christian League, Esko Almgren; Constitutional
Rightist Party; Finnish Pensioners Party; Green League, Heidi Hautala;
Communist Workers Party, Timo Lahdenmaki

Member of: ADB, CCC, CEMA (special cooperation agreement), DAC, EC
(free trade agreement), EFTA, ESA (associate), FAO, GATT, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD,
IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC--International
Wheat Council, Nordic Council, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jukka VALTASAARI; Chancery at
3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington DC 20016; telephone [phone];
there are Finnish Consulates General in Los Angeles and New York,
and Consulates in Chicago and Houston;
US--Ambassador John G. WEINMANN; Embassy at Itainen Puistotie
14ASF-00140, Helsinki (mailing address is APO New York 09664);
telephone p358o (0) 171931

Flag: white with a blue cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the
vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the
Dannebrog (Danish flag)

- Economy
Overview: Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free market
economy, with per capita output nearly three-fourths the US figure.
Its main economic force is the manufacturing sector--principally
the wood, metals, and engineering industries. Trade is important, with the
export of goods representing about 25% of GNP. Except for timber and
several minerals, Finland depends on imported raw materials, energy, and
some components of manufactured goods. Because of the climate, agricultural
development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic commodities.
Economic prospects are generally bright, the main shadow being the
increasing pressures on wages and prices.

GDP: $74.4 billion, per capita $15,000; real growth rate 4.6% (1989
est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.5% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 3.4% (1989)

Budget: revenues $28.3 billion; expenditures $28.1 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA billion (1988 est.)

Exports: $22.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--timber, paper and pulp, ships, machinery, clothing and
footwear;
partners--EC 44.2% (UK 13.0%, FRG 10.8%), USSR 14.9%, Sweden 14.1%,
US 5.8%

Imports: $22.0 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals,
transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, fodder
grains;
partners--EC 43.5% (FRG 16.9%, UK 6.8%),
Sweden 13.3%, USSR 12.1%, US 6.3%

External debt: $5.3 billion (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 4.3% (1989)

Electricity: 13,324,000 kW capacity; 49,330 million kWh produced, 9,940
kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: metal manufacturing and shipbuilding, forestry and wood
processing (pulp, paper), copper refining, foodstuffs, textiles, clothing

Agriculture: accounts for 8% of GNP (including forestry); livestock
production, especially dairy cattle, predominates; forestry is an important
export earner and a secondary occupation for the rural population; main
crops--cereals, sugar beets, potatoes; 85% self-sufficient, but short of food
and fodder grains; annual fish catch about 160,000 metric tons

Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $1.7 billion

Currency: markka (plural--markkaa); 1 markka (FMk) or
Finmark = 100 pennia

Exchange rates: markkaa (FMk) per US$1--4.0022 (January 1990),
4.2912 (1989), 4.1828 (1988), 4.3956 (1987), 5.0695 (1986), 6.1979 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 5,924 km total; Finnish State Railways (VR) operate a total of
5,863 km 1.524-meter gauge, of which 480 km are multiple track and 1,445 km
are electrified

Highways: about 103,000 km total, including 35,000 km paved (bituminous,
concrete, bituminous-treated surface) and 38,000 km unpaved (stabilized gravel,
gravel, earth); additional 30,000 km of private (state-subsidized) roads

Inland waterways: 6,675 km total (including Saimaa Canal); 3,700 km
suitable for steamers

Pipelines: natural gas, 580 km

Ports: Helsinki, Oulu, Pori, Rauma, Turku; 6 secondary, numerous
minor ports

Merchant marine: 82 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 737,811
GRT/764,695 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 11 short-sea passenger, 18 cargo,
1 refrigerated cargo, 24 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 12 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker, 5 chemical tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 7 bulk,
1 combination bulk

Civil air: 39 major transport

Airports: 160 total, 157 usable; 56 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 23 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
22 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: good service from cable and radio relay network;
3,140,000 telephones; stations--4 AM, 42 (101 relays) FM, 79 (195 relays) TV;
2 submarine cables; satellite service via Swedish earth stations; satellite
earth stations--2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 EUTELSAT

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,312,941; 1,091,416 fit for military
service; 32,288 reach military age (17) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.5% of GDP (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  France
- Geography
Total area: 547,030 km2; land area: 545,630 km2; includes Corsica and
the rest of metropolitan France, but excludes the overseas administrative
divisions

Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Colorado

Land boundaries: 2,892.4 km total; Andorra 60 km, Belgium 620 km,
FRG 451 km, Italy 488 km, Luxembourg 73 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Spain 623 km,
Switzerland 573 km

Coastline: 3,427 km (includes Corsica, 644 km)

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12-24 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Canada (St. Pierre and Miquelon);
Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands,
Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island; Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius
claims Tromelin Island; Seychelles claims Tromelin Island; Suriname claims part
of French Guiana; territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land)

Climate: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters
and hot summers along the Mediterranean

Terrain: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west;
remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east

Natural resources: coal, iron ore, bauxite, fish, timber, zinc,
potash

Land use: 32% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 23% meadows and pastures;
27% forest and woodland; 16% other; includes 2% irrigated

Environment: most of large urban areas and industrial centers in
Rhone, Garonne, Seine, or Loire River basins; occasional warm tropical wind
known as mistral

Note: largest West European nation

- People
Population: 56,358,331 (July 1990), growth rate 0.4% (1990)

Birth rate: 14 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 82 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women); adjective--French

Ethnic divisions: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African,
Indochinese, and Basque minorities

Religion: 90% Roman Catholic, 2% Protestant, 1% Jewish, 1% Muslim (North
African workers), 6% unaffiliated

Language: French (100% of population); rapidly declining regional
dialects (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 24,170,000; 61.5% services, 31.3% industry, 7.3% agriculture
(1987)

Organized labor: 20% of labor force (est.)

- Government
Long-form name: French Republic

Type: republic

Capital: Paris

Administrative divisions: metropolitan France--22 regions (regions,
singular--region); Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie, Bourgogne,
Bretagne, Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Corse, Franche-Comte, Haute-Normandie,
Ile-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrenees,
Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes,
Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Rhone-Alpes; note--the 22 regions are subdivided
into 96 departments; see separate entries for the overseas departments
(French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion) and the territorial
collectivities (Mayotte, St. Pierre and Miquelon)

Dependent areas: Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island,
French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands,
Juan de Nova Island, New Caledonia, Tromelin Island, Wallis and Futuna

Independence: unified by Clovis in 486, First Republic proclaimed in 1792

Constitution: 28 September 1958, amended concerning election of
president in 1962

Legal system: civil law system with indigenous concepts; review of
administrative but not legislative acts

National holiday: Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlement) consists of an
upper house or Senate (Senat) and a lower house or National Assembly
(Assemblee Nationale)

Judicial branch: Court of Cassation (Cour de Cassation)

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Michel ROCARD (since 10 March 1988)

Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic (RPR, formerly UDR),
Jacques Chirac; Union for French Democracy (UDF, federation of PR, CDS, and
RAD), Valery Giscard d'Estaing; Republicans (PR), Francois Leotard;
Center for Social Democrats (CDS), Pierre Mehaignerie; Radical
(RAD), Yves Gallard; Socialist Party (PS), Pierre Mauroy; Left Radical
Movement (MRG), Yves Collin; Communist Party (PCF), Georges
Marchais; National Front (FN), Jean-Marie Le Pen

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 8 May 1988 (next to be held May 1995);
results--Second Ballot Francois Mitterrand 54%, Jacques Chirac 46%;

Senate--last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held September
1992); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(321 total; 296 metropolitan France, 13 for overseas departments
and territories, and 12 for French nationals abroad) RPR 93,
UDF 143 (PR 53, CDS 65, RAD 25), PS 64, PCF 16, independents 2,
unknown 3;

National Assembly--last held 5 and 12 June 1988 (next to be held
June 1993);
results--Second Ballot PS-MRG 48.7%, RPR 23.1%, UDF 21%, PCF 3.4%,
other 3.8%;
seats--(577 total) PS 275, RPR 132, UDF 90, UDC 40, PCF 25, independents
15

Communists: 700,000 claimed but probably closer to 150,000; Communist
voters, 2.8 million in 1988 election

Other political or pressure groups: Communist-controlled labor union
(Confederation Generale du Travail) nearly 2.4 million members
(claimed); Socialist-leaning labor union (Confederation Francaise
Democratique du Travail or CFDT) about 800,000 members est.;
independent labor union (Force Ouvriere) about 1,000,000 members est.;
independent white-collar union (Confederation Generale des Cadres)
340,000 members (claimed); National Council of French Employers (Conseil
National du Patronat Francais--CNPF or Patronat)

Member of: ADB, CCC, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, EIB, EMS,
ESA, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IATP, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Whaling
Commission, NATO (signatory), OAS (observer), OECD, SPC, UN, UNESCO,
UPU, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jacques ANDREANI; Chancery at
4101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington DC 20007; telephone [phone]; there are
French Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles,
New Orleans, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico);
US--Ambassador Walter J. P. CURLEY; Embassy at 2 Avenue
Gabriel, 75382 Paris Cedex 08 (mailing address is APO New York 09777); telephone
p33o (1) 42-96-12-02 or 42-61-80-75; there are US Consulates General in
Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, and Strasbourg

Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and red;
known as the French Tricouleur (Tricolor); the design and colors have
been the basis for a number of other flags, including those of Belgium,
Chad, Ireland, Ivory Coast, and Luxembourg; the official flag for all
French dependent areas

- Economy
Overview: One of the world's most developed economies, France
has substantial agricultural resources and a highly diversified modern
industrial sector. Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern
technology, and subsidies have combined to make it the leading agricultural
producer in Western Europe. France is largely self-sufficient in agricultural
products and is a major exporter of wheat and dairy products. The industrial
sector generates about one-third of GDP and employs about one-third of the work
force. During the period 1982-86 economic growth was sluggish, averaging
only 1.4% annually. This trend was reversed by late 1987, however,
with a strong expansion of consumer demand, followed by a surge in
investment. The economy has had difficulty generating enough jobs for new
entrants into the labor force, resulting in a high unemployment rate,
but the upward trend in growth recently pushed the jobless rate below 10%.
The steadily advancing economic integration within the European
Community is a major force affecting the fortunes of the various economic
sectors.

GDP: $819.6 billion, per capita $14,600; real growth rate 3.4%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.5% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 9.7% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $197.0 billion; expenditures $213.4 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1989 est.)

Exports: $183.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals,
foodstuffs, agricultural products, iron and steel products, textiles and
clothing;
partners--FRG 15.8%, Italy 12.2%, UK 9.8%, Belgium-Luxembourg 8.9%,
Netherlands 8.7%, US 6.7%, Spain 5.6%, Japan 1.8%, USSR 1.3% (1989 est.)

Imports: $194.5 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.);
commodities--crude oil, machinery and equipment, agricultural
products, chemicals, iron and steel products;
partners--FRG 19.4%, Italy 11.5%, Belgium-Luxembourg 9.2%, US 7.7%,
UK 7.2%, Netherlands 5.2%, Spain 4.4%, Japan 4.1%, USSR 2.1% (1989 est.)

External debt: $59.3 billion (December 1987)

Industrial production: growth rate 4.4% (1989 est.)

Electricity: 109,972,000 kW capacity; 403,570 million kWh produced,
7,210 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: steel, machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy,
aircraft, electronics, mining, textiles, food processing, and tourism

Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GNP (including fishing and forestry); one
of the world's top five wheat producers; other principal products--beef, dairy
products, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; self-sufficient for most
temperate-zone foods; shortages include fats and oils and tropical produce, but
overall net exporter of farm products; fish catch of 850,000 metric tons ranks
among world's top 20 countries and is all used domestically

Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $59.8 billion

Currency: French franc (plural--francs); 1 French franc (F) = 100
centimes

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1--5.7598 (January 1990),
6.3801 (1989), 5.9569 (1988), 6.0107 (1987), 6.9261 (1986), 8.9852 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: French National Railways (SNCF) operates 34,568 km 1.435-meter
standard gauge; 11,674 km electrified, 15,132 km double or multiple track;
2,138 km of various gauges (1.000-meter to 1.440-meter), privately owned and
operated

Highways: 1,551,400 km total; 33,400 km national highway; 347,000 km
departmental highway; 421,000 km community roads; 750,000 km rural roads; 5,401
km of controlled-access divided autoroutes; about 803,000 km paved

Inland waterways: 14,932 km; 6,969 km heavily traveled

Pipelines: crude oil, 3,059 km; refined products, 4,487 km; natural gas,
24,746 km

Ports: maritime--Bordeaux, Boulogne, Brest, Cherbourg, Dunkerque,
Fos-Sur-Mer, Le Havre, Marseille, Nantes, Rouen, Sete, Toulon;
inland--42

Merchant marine: 153 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,671,645
GRT/5,950,785 DWT; includes 10 short-sea passenger, 19 cargo, 19 container, 1
multifunction large-load carrier, 30 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 37 petroleum, oils,
and lubricants (POL) tanker,  9 chemical tanker, 6 liquefied gas, 4 specialized
tanker, 17 bulk, 1 combination bulk; note--France also maintains a
captive register for French-owned ships in the Kerguelen Islands (French
Southern and Antarctic Lands) and French Polynesia

Civil air: 355 major transport aircraft (1982)

Airports: 470 total, 460 usable; 204 with permanent-surface runways; 3
with runways over 3,659 m; 34 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 133 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: highly developed system provides satisfactory
telephone, telegraph, radio and TV broadcast services; 39,110,000 telephones;
stations--42 AM, 138 (777 relays) FM, 215 TV (8,900 relays); 25 submarine
coaxial cables; communication satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT,
3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean, EUTELSAT, MARISAT, and domestic systems

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie

Military manpower: males 15-49, 14,285,904; 12,042,731 fit for military
service; 409,544 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 3.8% of GDP, or $31.1 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  French Guiana
(overseas department of France)
- Geography
Total area: 91,000 km2; land area: 89,150 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries: 1,183 km total; Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km

Coastline: 378 km

Maritime claims:

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and
Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa)

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

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

Natural resources: bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar,
kaolin, fish

Land use: NEGL% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; NEGL% meadows and
pastures; 82% forest and woodland; 18% other

Environment: mostly an unsettled wilderness

- People
Population: 97,781 (July 1990), growth rate 3.4% (1990)

Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 10 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 19 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 76 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.8 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--French Guianese (sing., pl.); adjective--French Guiana

Ethnic divisions: 66% black or mulatto; 12% Caucasian; 12% East Indian,
Chinese, Amerindian; 10% other

Religion: predominantly Roman Catholic

Language: French

Literacy: 73%

Labor force: 23,265; 60.6% services, government, and commerce,
21.2% industry, 18.2% agriculture (1980)

Organized labor: 7% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Department of Guiana

Type: overseas department of France

Capital: Cayenne

Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)

Independence: none (overseas department of France)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French legal system

National holiday: Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)

Executive branch: French president, commissioner of the republic

Legislative branch: unicameral General Council and a unicameral
Regional Council

Judicial branch: highest local court is the Court of Appeals based in
Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981);

Head of Government--Commissioner of the Republic Jean-Pierre LACROIX
(since NA August 1988)

Political parties and leaders: Guianese Socialist Party (PSG),
Gerard Holder; Rally for the Republic (RPR), Paulin Brune;
Guyanese Democratic Action (ADG), Andre Lecante; Union for French
Democracy (UDF), Claude Ho A Chuck; National Front, Guy Malon;
Popular and National Party of Guiana (PNPG), Claude Robo;
National Anti-Colonist Guianese Party (PANGA), Michel Kapel

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
Regional Council--last held 16 March 1986 (next to be
held March 1991);
results--PSG 43%, RPR 27.7%, ADG 12.2%, UDF 8.9%, FN 3.7%,
PNPG 1.4%, others 3.1%;
seats--(31 total) PSG 15, RPR 9, ADG 4, UDF 3;

French Senate--last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held
September 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(1 total) PSG 1;

French National Assembly--last held 24 September 1989 (next to be
held September 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(2 total) PSG 1, RPR 1

Communists: Communist party membership negligible

Member of: WFTU

Diplomatic representation: as an overseas department of France
the interests of French Guiana are represented in the US by France

Flag: the flag of France is used

- Economy
Overview: The economy is tied closely to that of France through subsidies
and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou, fishing and forestry are
the most important economic activities, with exports of fish and fish products
(mostly shrimp) accounting for about two-thirds of total revenue in 1985. The
large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding
sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops--rice,
cassava, bananas, and sugarcane--are limited to the coastal area, where the
population is largely concentrated. French Guiana is heavily dependent on
imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly
among younger workers, with an unemployment rate of 15%.

GDP: $210 million, per capita $3,230; real growth rate NA% (1982)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.1% (1987)

Unemployment rate: 15% (1987)

Budget: revenues $735 million; expenditures $735 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (1987)

Exports: $37.0 million (f.o.b., 1986); commodities--shrimp, timber,
rum, rosewood essence;
partners--US 41%, Japan 18%, France 9% (1984)

Imports: $297.7 million (c.i.f., 1986);
commodities--food (grains, processed meat), other consumer goods, producer
goods, petroleum;
partners--France 55%, Trinidad and Tobago 13%, US 3% (1984)

External debt: $1.2 billion (1988)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 92,000 kW capacity; 185 million kWh produced, 1,950 kWh
per capita (1989)

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

Agriculture: some vegetables for local consumption; rice, corn,
manioc, cocoa, bananas, sugar

Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $1.1 billion

Currency: French franc (plural--francs); 1 French franc (F) = 100
centimes

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1--5.7598 (January 1990),
6.3801 (1989), 5.9569 (1988), 6.0107 (1987), 6.9261 (1986), 8.9852 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 680 km total; 510 km paved, 170 km improved and unimproved
earth

Inland waterways: 460 km, navigable by small oceangoing vessels and
river and coastal steamers; 3,300 km possibly navigable by native craft

Ports: Cayenne

Civil air: no major transport aircraft

Airports: 11 total, 11 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: fair open wire and radio relay system;
18,100 telephones; stations--5 AM, 7 FM, 9 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
1Military manpower: males 15-49 27,866; 18,430 fit for military
service

Note: defense is the responsibility of France
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  French Polynesia
(overseas territory of France)
- Geography
Total area: 3,941 km2; land area: 3,660 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 2,525 km

Maritime claims:

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical, but moderate

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

Natural resources: timber, fish, cobalt

Land use: 1% arable land; 19% permanent crops; 5% meadows and pastures;
31% forest and woodland; 44% other

Environment: occasional cyclonic storm in January; includes five
archipelagoes

Note: Makatea is one of three great phosphate rock islands in
the Pacific (others are Banaba or Ocean Island in Kiribati and Nauru)

- People
Population: 190,181 (July 1990), growth rate 2.5% (1990)

Birth rate: 31 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 71 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.9 children born/woman (1990)

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

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

Religion: mainly Christian; 55% Protestant, 32% Roman Catholic

Language: French (official), Tahitian

Literacy: NA%

Labor force: 57,863 employed (1983)

Organized labor: NA

- Government
Long-form name: Territory of French Polynesia

Type: overseas territory of France

Capital: Papeete

Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of France)

Independence: none (overseas territory of France)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: based on French system

National holiday: Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)

Executive branch: French president, high commissioner of the republic,
president of the Council of Ministers, vice president of the Council of
Ministers, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral Territorial Assembly

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Francois MITTERRAND (since
21 May 1981); High Commissioner of the Republic Jean MONTPEZAT
(since NA November 1987);

Head of Government--President of the Council of Ministers
Alexandre LEONTIEFF (since 9 December 1987); Vice President of the
Council of Ministers Georges KELLY (since 9 December 1987)

Political parties and leaders: Tahoeraa Huiraatira (Gaullist),
Gaston Flosse; Pupu Here Ai'a, Jean Juventin; Front de Liberation, Oscar
Temaru; Ai'a Api, Emile Vernaudon; Ia Mana Te Nunaa, Jacques Drollet;
Pupu Taina, Michel Law; Toatiraa Polynesia, Arthur Chung; Te E'a Api,
Francis Sanford

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
Territorial Assembly--last held 16 March 1986 (next to be held
March 1991); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(41 total) Tahoeraa Huiraatira 24, Amuitahiraa Mo
Porinesia 6, Pupu Here Ai'a 4, Ia Mana 3, Front de Liberation 2,
other 2;

French Senate--last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held
September 1992); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(1 total) Democrats for Progress 1;

French National Assembly last held 5 and 12 June 1988 (next to be
held June 1993); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(2 total) Rally for the Republic 1, Ai'a Api 1

Diplomatic representation: as an overseas territory of France,
French Polynesian interests are represented in the US by France

Flag: the flag of France is used

- Economy
Overview: Since 1962, when France stationed military personnel in
the region, French Polynesia has changed from a subsistence economy to one
in which a high proportion of the work force is either employed by the military
or supports the tourist industry. Tourism accounts for about 20% of GDP
and is a primary source of hard currency earnings.

GDP: $2.24 billion, per capita $6,400; real growth rate NA% (1986)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.2% (1987)

Unemployment rate: 8% (1986 est.)

Budget: revenues $431; expenditures $418, including capital expenditures
of $NA (1986)

Exports: $75 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--coconut products 79%, mother-of-pearl 14%, vanilla, shark
meat;
partners--France 44%, US 21%

Imports: $767 million (c.i.f., 1986);
commodities--fuels, foodstuffs, equipment;
partners--France 50%, US 16%, New Zealand 6%

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 72,000 kW capacity; 265 million kWh produced, 1,350 kWh
per capita (1989)

Industries: tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts

Agriculture: coconut and vanilla plantations; vegetables and fruit;
poultry, beef, dairy products

Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $3.6 billion

Currency: Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (plural--francs);
1 CFP franc (CFPF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (CFPF) per
US$1--104.71 (January 1990), 115.99 (1989), 108.30 (1988), 109.27 (1987),
125.92 (1986), 163.35 (1985); note--linked at the rate of 18.18 to the French
franc

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 600 km (1982)

Ports: Papeete, Bora-bora

Merchant marine: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,732
GRT/4,191 DWT; includes 1 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo; note--a subset of
the French register

Civil air: about 6 major transport aircraft

Airports: 43 total, 41 usable; 23 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 12 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: 33,200 telephones; 84,000 radio receivers; 26,400 TV
sets; stations--5 AM, 2 FM, 6 TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT  earth station

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is responsibility of France
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  French Southern and Antarctic Lands
(overseas territory of France)
- Geography
Total area: 7,781 km2; land area: 7,781 km2; includes Ile Amsterdam,
Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Kerguelen, and Iles Crozet; excludes claim not
recognized by the US of about 500,000 km2 in Antarctica known as Terre Adelie

Comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of Delaware

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 1,232 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploration;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: claim in Antarctica (Terre Adelie) not recognized by the US

Climate: antarctic

Terrain: volcanic

Natural resources: fish, crayfish

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

Environment: Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes

Note: located in the southern Indian Ocean about equidistant
between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia

- People
Population: 210 (July 1990), growth rate 0.00% (1990); mostly
researchers

- Government
Long-form name: Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Type: overseas territory of France governed by High Administrator
Claude CORBIER (since NA  1988)

Flag: the flag of France is used

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

- Communications
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

Merchant marine: 10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
217,203 GRT/348,632 DWT; includes 2 cargo, 3 refrigerated cargo,
1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 2 bulk;
note--a subset of the French register

Telecommunications: NA

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of France
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Gabon
- Geography
Total area: 267,670 km2; land area: 257,670 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Colorado

Land boundaries: 2,551 km total; Cameroon 298 km, Congo 1,903 km,
Equatorial Guinea 350 km

Coastline: 885 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: maritime boundary with Equatorial Guinea

Climate: tropical; always hot, humid

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

Natural resources: crude oil, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore

Land use: 1% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures;
78% forest and woodland; 2% other

Environment: deforestation

- People
Population: 1,068,240 (July 1990), growth rate 0.8% (1990)

Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 6 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 106 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 50 years male, 56 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 4.0 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Gabonese (sing., pl.); adjective--Gabonese

Ethnic divisions: about 40 Bantu tribes, including four major tribal
groupings (Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke); about 100,000 expatriate Africans
and Europeans, including 27,000 French

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

Language: French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira,
Bandjabi

Literacy: 61.6%

Labor force: 120,000 salaried; 65.0% agriculture, 30.0% industry and
commerce, 2.5% services, 2.5% government; 58% of population of working age
(1983)

Organized labor: there are 38,000 members of the national trade union,
the Gabonese Trade Union Confederation (COSYGA)

- Government
Long-form name: Gabonese Republic

Type: republic; one-party presidential regime since 1964

Capital: Libreville

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

Independence: 17 August 1960 (from France)

Constitution: 21 February 1961, revised 15 April 1975

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

National holiday: Renovation Day (Gabonese Democratic Party established),
12 March (1968)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemble Nationale)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Leaders:
Chief of State--President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Leon MEBIAME (since 16 April 1975)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Gabonese Social
Democratic Rally (RSDG), El Hadj Omar Bongo, president; formerly
Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), which was dissolved in February 1990

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections:
President--last held on 9 November 1986 (next to be held
November 1993);
results--President Omar BONGO was reelected without opposition;

National Assembly--last held on 17 February 1985 (next to be
held by February 1992);
results--PDG was the only party;
seats--(120 total, 111 elected) PDG 111

Communists: no organized party; probably some Communist sympathizers

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, Conference of East and Central
African States, EAMA, EIB (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICCO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO,
IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UDEAC,
UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jean Robert ODZAGA; Chancery
at 2034 20th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador Keith L. WAUCHOPE; Embassy at Boulevard de la Mer,
Libreville (mailing address is B. P. 4000, Libreville); telephone 762003
or 762004, 761337, 721348, 740248

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

- Economy
Overview: The economy, dependent on timber and manganese until the early
1970s, is now dominated by the oil sector. During the period 1981-85 oil
accounted for about 46% of GDP, 83% of export earnings, and 65% of government
revenues on average. The high oil prices of the early 1980s contributed to a
substantial increase in per capita income, stimulated domestic demand,
reinforced migration from rural to urban areas, and raised the level of real
wages to among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. The three-year slide of
Gabon's economy, which began with falling oil prices in 1985, stabilized
in 1989 because of a near doubling of oil prices over their 1988 lows.
The agricultural and industrial sectors are relatively underdeveloped,
accounting for only 8% and 10%, respectively, of GDP in 1986.

GDP: $3.2 billion, per capita $3,200; real growth rate 0% (1989)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1989)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $927 million; expenditures $1.2 billion,
including capital expenditures of $33 million (1988)

Exports: $1.14 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--crude oil 70%, manganese 11%, wood 12%, uranium 6%;
partners--France 53%, US 22%, FRG, Japan

Imports: $0.76 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--foodstuffs, chemical products, petroleum products,
construction materials, manufactures, machinery;
partners--France 48%, US 2.6%, FRG, Japan, UK

External debt: $2.0 billion (October 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 1.7% (1986)

Electricity: 310,000 kW capacity; 980 million kWh produced,
920 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: sawmills, petroleum, food and beverages; mining of
increasing importance (especially manganese and uranium)

Agriculture: accounts for 8% of GDP (including fishing and forestry);
cash crops--cocoa, coffee, palm oil; livestock not developed; importer of food;
small fishing operations provide a catch of about 20,000 metric tons; okoume
(a tropical softwood) is the most important timber product

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $64 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.7 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $27 million

Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs);
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF)
per US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987),
346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 649 km 1.437-meter standard-gauge single track
(Transgabonese Railroad)

Highways: 7,500 km total; 560 km paved, 960 km laterite, 5,980 km earth

Inland waterways: 1,600 km perennially navigable

Pipelines: crude oil, 270 km; refined products, 14 km

Ports: Owendo, Port-Gentil, Libreville

Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 18,563
GRT/25,330 DWT

Civil air: 11 major transport aircraft

Airports: 79 total, 68 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 21 with
runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: adequate system of open-wire, radio relay,
tropospheric scatter links and radiocommunication stations; 13,800 telephones;
stations--6 AM, 6 FM, 8 TV; satellite earth stations--2 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT and 12 domestic satellite

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie

Military manpower: males 15-49, 266,110; 133,158 fit for military
service; 9,282 reach military age (20) annually

Defense expenditures: 3.2% of GDP, or $102 million (1990 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  The Gambia
- Geography
Total area: 11,300 km2; land area: 10,000 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Delaware

Land boundary: 740 km with Senegal

Coastline: 80 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 18 nm;

Continental shelf: not specific;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: short section of boundary with Senegal is indefinite

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

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

Natural resources: fish

Land use: 16% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 9% meadows and pastures;
20% forest and woodland; 55% other; includes 3% irrigated

Environment: deforestation

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

- People
Population: 848,147 (July 1990), growth rate 3.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 48 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 18 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 140 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 46 years male, 50 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Gambian(s); adjective--Gambian

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

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

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

Literacy: 25.1%

Labor force: 400,000 (1986 est.); 75.0% agriculture, 18.9% industry,
commerce, and services, 6.1% government; 55% population of working age (1983)

Organized labor: 25-30% of wage labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of The Gambia

Type: republic

Capital: Banjul

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

Independence: 18 February 1965 (from UK); The Gambia and Senegal signed
an agreement on 12 December 1981 (effective 1 February 1982) that called
for the creation of a loose confederation to be known as Senegambia, but the
agreement was dissolved on 30 September 1989

Constitution: 24 April 1970

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

National holiday: Independence Day, 18 February (1965)

Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Alhaji Sir Dawda Kairaba
JAWARA (since 24 April 1970); Vice President Bakary Bunja DARBO (since 12
May 1982)

Political parties and leaders: People's Progressive Party (PPP),
Dawda K. Jawara, secretary general; National Convention Party (NCP),
Sheriff Dibba; Gambian People's Party (GPP), Assan Musa Camara; United
Party (UP); People's Democratic Organization of Independence and Socialism
(PDOIS)

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections:
President--last held on 11 March 1987 (next to be held March 1992);
results--Sir Dawda Jawara (PPP) 61.1%, Sherif Mustapha Dibba (NCP) 25.2%,
Assan Musa Camara (GPP) 13.7%;

House of Representatives--last held on 11 March 1987 (next to
be held by March 1992);
results--PPP 56.6%, NCP 27.6%, GPP 14.7%, PDOIS 1%;
seats--(43 total, 36 elected) PPP 31, NCP 5

Communists: no Communist party

Member of: ACP, AfDB, APC, Commonwealth, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT,
IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, IRC,
ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ousman A. SALLAH; Chancery at
Suite 720, 1030 15th Street NW, Washington DC 20005;
telephone [phone] or 842-1359;
US--Ambassador (vacant); Embassy at Pipeline Road
(Kairaba Avenue), Fajara, Banjul (mailing address is P. M. B. No. 19,
Banjul); telephone Serrekunda p220o 92856 or 92858, 91970, 91971

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

- Economy
Overview: The Gambia has no important mineral or other natural
resources and has a limited agricultural base. It is one of the world's
poorest countries with a per capita income of about $250. About 75% of
the population is engaged in crop production and livestock raising, which
contributes about 30% to GDP. Small-scale manufacturing
activity--processing peanuts, fish, and hides--accounts for less than
10% of GDP. Tourism is a growing industry. The Gambia imports about 33%
of its food, all fuel, and most manufactured goods. Exports are
concentrated on peanut products (over 75% of total value).

GDP: $195 million, per capita $250; real growth rate 4.6% (FY89 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.0% (FY89 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $75 million; expenditures $67 million, including
capital expenditures of $21 million (FY89)

Exports: $133 million (f.o.b., FY89);
commodities--peanuts and peanut products, fish, cotton lint, palm kernels;
partners--Ghana 49%, Europe 27%, Japan 12%, US 1% (1986)

Imports: $105 million (c.i.f., FY89);
commodities--foodstuffs, manufactures, raw materials, fuel, machinery
and transport equipment;
partners--Europe 55% (EC 39%, other 16%), Asia 20%, US 11%, Senegal 4%
(1986)

External debt: $330 million (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 7.3% (FY88)

Electricity: 29,000 kW capacity; 64 million kWh produced, 80 kWh per
capita (1989)

Industries: peanut processing, tourism, beverages, agricultural
machinery assembly, woodworking, metalworking, clothing

Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP and employs about 75% of the
population; imports one-third of food requirements; major export crop is
peanuts; the principal crops--millet, sorghum, rice, corn, cassava,
palm kernels; livestock--cattle, sheep, and goats; forestry and fishing
resources not fully exploited

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $84 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $422 million;
Communist countries (1970-88), $39 million

Currency: dalasi (plural--dalasi); 1 dalasi (D) = 100 bututs

Exchange rates: dalasi (D) per US$1--8.3232 (December 1989),
7.5846 (1989), 6.7086 (1988), 7.0744 (1987), 6.9380 (1986), 3.8939 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

- Communications
Highways: 3,083 km total; 431 km paved, 501 km gravel/laterite, and 2,151
km unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 400 km

Ports: Banjul

Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft

Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runway 2,440-3,659 m

Telecommunications: adequate network of radio relay and wire; 3,500
telephones; stations--3 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, paramilitary Gendarmerie

Military manpower: males 15-49, 182,308; 92,001 fit for military service

Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Gaza Strip
Note: The war between Israel and the Arab states in June 1967 ended with
Israel in control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Sinai, and the Golan
Heights. As stated in the 1978 Camp David Accords and reaffirmed by President
Reagan's 1 September 1982 peace initiative, the final status of the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip, their relationship with their neighbors, and a peace
treaty between Israel and Jordan are to be negotiated among the concerned
parties. Camp David further specifies that these negotiations will resolve the
respective boundaries. Pending the completion of this process, it is US policy
that the final status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has yet to be
determined. In the view of the US, the term West Bank describes all of the area
west of the Jordan under Jordanian administration before the 1967 Arab-Israeli
war. With respect to negotiations envisaged in the framework agreement, however,
it is US policy that a distinction must be made between Jerusalem and the rest
of the West Bank because of the city's special status and circumstances.
Therefore, a negotiated solution for the final status of Jerusalem could be
different in character from that of the rest of the West Bank.

- Geography
Total area: 380km2; land area: 380 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 62 km total; Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km

Coastline: 40 km

Maritime claims: Israeli occupied with status to be determined

Disputes: Israeli occupied with status to be determined

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

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

Natural resources: negligible

Land use: 13% arable land, 32% permanent crops, 0% meadows and pastures,
0% forest and woodland, 55% other

Environment: desertification

Note: there are 18 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip

- People
Population: 615,575 (July 1990), growth rate 3.2% (1990); in addition,
there are 2,500 Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip

Birth rate: 47 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 7 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 55 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 63 years male, 66 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 7.0 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: NA

Ethnic divisions: 99.8% Palestinian Arab and other, 0.2% Jewish

Religion: 99% Muslim (predominantly Sunni), 0.7% Christian, 0.3% Jewish

Language: Arabic, Israeli settlers speak Hebrew, English widely
understood

Literacy: NA%

Labor force: (excluding Israeli Jewish settlers) 32.0% small industry,
commerce and business, 24.4% construction, 25.5% service and other, and
18.1% agriculture (1984)

Organized labor: NA

- Government
Long-form name: none

Note: The Gaza Strip is currently governed by Israeli military authorities
and Israeli civil administration. It is US policy that the final status of the
Gaza Strip will be determined by negotiations among the concerned parties. These
negotiations will determine how this area is to be governed.

- Economy
Overview: Nearly half of the labor force of the Gaza Strip is employed
across the border by Israeli industrial, construction, and agricultural
enterprises, with worker transfer funds accounting for 40% of GNP in 1989. The
once dominant agricultural sector now contributes only 13% to GNP, about the
same as that of the construction sector, and industry accounts for 7%. Gaza
depends upon Israel for 90% of its imports and as a market for 80% of its
exports. Unrest in the territory in 1988-89 (intifadah) has raised
unemployment and substantially lowered the incomes of the population.

GNP: $380 million, per capita $650; real growth rate NA% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $36.6 million; expenditures $32.0 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (1986)

Exports: $88 million;
commodities--citrus;
partners--Israel, Egypt (1989 est.)

Imports: $260 million;
commodities--food, consumer goods, construction materials;
partners--Israel, Egypt (1989 est.)

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: power supplied by Israel

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

Agriculture: olives, citrus and other fruits, vegetables, beef, dairy
products

Aid: none

Currency: new Israeli shekel (plural--shekels);
1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot

Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1--1.9450 (January
1990), 1.9164 (1989), 1.5989 (1988), 1.5946 (1987), 1.4878 (1986), 1.1788 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 April-March 31

- Communications
Railroads: one line, abandoned and in disrepair, but trackage remains

Highways: small, poorly developed indigenous road network

Ports: facilities for small boats to service Gaza

Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runway less than 1,220 m

Telecommunications: stations--no AM, no FM, no TV

- Defense Forces
Branches: NA

Military manpower: NA

Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  German Democratic Republic
(East Germany)
- Geography
Total area: 108,330 km2; land area: 105,980 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Tennessee

Land boundaries: 2,296 km total; Czechoslovakia 459 km, Poland 456 km,
FRG 1,381 km

Coastline: 901 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: it is US policy that the final borders of Germany have not been
established; the US is seeking to settle the property claims of US nationals
against the GDR

Climate: temperate; cloudy, cold winters with frequent rain and snow;
cool, wet summers

Terrain: mostly flat plain with hills and mountains in south

Natural resources: lignite, potash, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt,
nickel

Land use: 45% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 12% meadows and pastures;
28% forest and woodland; 12% other; includes 2% irrigated

Environment: significant deforestation in mountains caused by air
pollution and acid rain

Note: strategic location on North European Plain and near the entrance to
the Baltic Sea; West Berlin is an enclave (about 116 km by air or 176 km
by road from FRG)

- People
Population: 16,307,170 (July 1990), growth rate - 0.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 12 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 6 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 71 years male, 77 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--German(s); adjective--German

Ethnic divisions: 99.7% German, 0.3% Slavic and other

Religion: 47% Protestant, 7% Roman Catholic, 46% unaffiliated or other;
less than 5% of Protestants and about 25% of Roman Catholics active participants

Language: German

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 8,960,000; 37.5% industry, 21.1% services, 10.8% agriculture
and forestry, 10.3% commerce, 7.4% transport and communications,
6.6% construction, 3.1% handicrafts, 3.2% other (1987)

Organized labor: 87.7% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: German Democratic Republic; abbreviated GDR

Type: Communist state

Capital: East Berlin (not officially recognized by France, UK, and US,
which together with the USSR have special rights and responsibilities in Berlin)

Administrative divisions: 14 districts (bezirke, singular--bezirk);
Cottbus, Dresden, Erfurt, Frankfurt, Gera, Halle, Karl-Marx-Stadt, Leipzig,
Magdeburg, Neubrandenburg, Potsdam, Rostock, Schwerin, Suhl

Independence: self-government proclaimed 7 October 1949, with permission
of the Soviet authorities

Constitution: 9 April 1968, amended 7 October 1974

Legal system: civil law system modified by Communist legal theory;
no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction

National holiday: Foundation of the German Democratic Republic,
7 October (1949)

Executive branch: Council of State abolished on 5 April 1990,
post of president to be created; chairman of the Council of
Ministers, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral People's Chamber (Volkskammer)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders: Chief of State--Acting President of the People's
Chamber Sabine BERGMANN-POHL (since 5 April 1990);

Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers
Lothar DE MAIZIERE (since 12 April 1990); Deputy Chairman Peter-Michael
DIESTEL (since 16 April 1990)

Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for Germany--Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Lothar de
Maiziere, chairman; German Social Union (DSU), Hans-Wilhelm Ebeling,
chairman; and Democratic Awakening (DA), Rainer Eppelmann, chairman;

Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Markus Meckel, acting chairman;

Party for Democratic Socialism (PDS, former Communist), Gregor Gysi,
chairman;

League of Free Democrats (BFD)--Liberals, Rainer Ortleb,
chairman; Free Democratic Party (FDP), Bruno Menzel, chairman; and
German Forum Party (DFP), Juergen Schmieder, chairman;

Alliance '90--New Forum, Baerbel Bohley, Jens Reich, Sebastian
Pflugbeil, spokespersons; Democracy Now, Konrad Weiss, spokesperson;
and United Left, Herbert Misslitz, spokesperson;

Greens Party (GP), Vera Wollenberger, spokesperson;

Democratic Peasants' Party (DBD), Guenther Maleuda, chairman

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
People's Chamber--last held on 18 March 1990 (next to be held
March NA);
results--Alliance for Germany--CDU 40.9%, DSU 6.3%, DA 0.9%;
SPD 21.8; BFD 5.3%; SPD 21.8%; PDS 16.3%;
Alliance '90 2.9%; DBD 2.2%; GP 2.0%; NDPD 0.4%; others 1.0%;
seats--(400 total, including 66 from East Berlin) Alliance for
Germany--CDU 164, DSU 25, DA 4; SPD 87; BFD 21; PDS 65; Alliance '90
12, DBD 9; GP 8; NDPD 2; others 3

Communists: 500,000 to 700,000 party members (1990)

Member of: CEMA, IAEA, IBEC, ICES, ILO, IMO, IPU, ITU, UN, UNESCO,
UPU, Warsaw Pact, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Dr. Gerhard HERDER; Chancery at
1717 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador Richard C. BARKLEY; Embassy at 1080 Berlin, Neustaedtische
Kirchstrasse 4-5, East Berlin (mailing address is Box E, APO New York 09742);
telephone p37o (2) 220-2741

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and yellow with
the coat of arms centered; the coat of arms contains, in yellow, a hammer and
compass encircled by a wreath of grain with a black, red, and gold ribbon at the
bottom; similar to the flag of the FRG which does not have a coat of arms

- Economy
Overview: The GDR is moving rapidly away from its centrally planned
economy. As the 1990s begin, economic integration with West Germany
appears inevitable, beginning with the establishment of a common
currency. The opening of the border with the FRG in late 1989 and the
continuing emigration of hundreds of thousands of skilled workers had
brought growth to a standstill by yearend 1989. Features of the old
economic regime that will quickly change: (a) the collectivization
of 95% of East German farms; (b) state ownership of nearly all
transportation facilities, industrial plants, foreign trade
organizations, and financial institutions; (c) the 65% share in trade
of the USSR and other CEMA countries; and (d) the detailed control over
economic details exercised by Party and state. Once integrated into
the thriving West German economy, the area will have to stem the
outflow of workers and renovate the obsolescent industrial base. After an
initial readjustment period, living standards and quality of output will
steadily rise toward West German levels.

GNP: $159.5 billion, per capita $9,679; real growth rate 1.2%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $123.5 billion; expenditures $123.2 billion, including
capital expenditures of $33 billion (1986)

Exports: $30.7 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--machinery and transport equipment 47%, fuels and metals
16%, consumer goods 16%, chemical products and building materials 13%,
semimanufactured goods and processed foodstuffs 8%;
partners--USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, FRG, Hungary, Bulgaria,
Switzerland, Romania

Imports: $31.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--fuels and metals 40%, machinery and transport equipment
29%, chemical products and building materials 9%;
partners--CEMA countries 65%, non-Communist 33%, other 2%

External debt: $20.6 billion (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 2.7% (1989 est.)

Electricity: (including East Berlin) 24,585,000 kW capacity;
122,500 million kWh produced, 7,390 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: metal fabrication, chemicals, brown coal, shipbuilding,
machine building, food and beverages, textiles, petroleum

Agriculture: accounts for about 10% of GNP (including fishing and
forestry); principal crops--wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, fruit;
livestock products include pork, beef, chicken, milk, hides and skins; net
importer of food; fish catch of 193,600 metric tons in 1987

Aid: donor--$4.0 billion extended bilaterally to non-Communist less
developed countries (1956-88)

Currency: GDR mark (plural--marks); 1 GDR mark (M) = 100 pfennige

Exchange rates: GDR marks (M) per US$1--3.01 (1988), 3.00 (1987),
3.30 (1986), 3.70 (1985), 3.64 (1984)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 14,005 km total; 13,730 km 1.435-meter standard gauge,
275 km 1.000-meter or other narrow gauge, 3,830 (est.) km 1.435-meter
double-track standard gauge; 2,754 km overhead electrified (1986)

Highways: 124,615 km total; 47,214 km concrete, asphalt, stone block,
of which 1,913 km are autobahn and limited access roads, 11,261 are trunk
roads, and 34,040 are regional roads; 77,401 municipal roads (1985)

Inland waterways: 2,319 km (1986)

Pipelines: crude oil, 1,301 km; refined products, 500 km; natural gas,
2,150 km (1988)

Ports: Rostock, Wismar, Stralsund, Sassnitz; river ports are East Berlin,
Riesa, Magdeburg, and Eisenhuttenstadt on the Elbe or Oder Rivers and connecting
canals

Merchant marine: 145 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,349,537
GRT/1,733,089 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 89 cargo, 10 refrigerated cargo,
6 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 16 container, 1 multifunction large-load carrier,
2 railcar carrier, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
2 chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas tanker, 16 bulk

Civil air: 45 major transport aircraft

Airports: 190 total, 190 usable; 70 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runway over 3,659 m; 45 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 40 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: stations--23 AM, 17 FM, 21 TV; 15 Soviet TV relays;
6,181,860 TV sets; 6,700,000 radio receivers; at least 1 satellite earth
station

- Defense Forces
Branches: National People's Army, Border Troops, Air and Air Defense
Command, People's Navy

Military manpower: eligible 15-49, 7,944,305; of the 4,045,396 males
15-49, 3,243,970 are fit for military service; 91,579 reach military age (18)
annually; of the 3,898,909 females 15-49, 3,117,847 are fit for military
service; 85,892 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 16.2 billion marks, 5.4% of total budget (1989);
note--conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the official
administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Germany, Federal Republic of
(West Germany)
- Geography
Total area: 248,580 km2; land area: 244,280 km2; includes West Berlin

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries: 4,256 km total; Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km,
Czechoslovakia 356 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, GDR 1,381 km;
Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577 km, Switzerland 334 km

Coastline: 1,488 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm (extends, at one point, to 16 nm in the
Helgolander Bucht)

Disputes: it is US policy that the final borders of Germany have
not been established

Climate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers;
occasional warm, tropical foehn wind; high relative humidity

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

Natural resources: iron ore, coal, potash, timber

Land use: 30% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 19% meadows and pastures;
30% forest and woodland; 20% other; includes 1% irrigated

Environment: air and water pollution

Note: West Berlin is an exclave (about 116 km by air or 176 km by
road from FRG)

- People
Population: 62,168,200 (July 1990), growth rate 0.5% (1990)

Birth rate: 11 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 81 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--German(s); adjective--German

Ethnic divisions: primarily German; Danish minority

Religion: 45% Roman Catholic, 44% Protestant, 11% other

Language: German

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 27,790,000; 41.6% industry, 35.4% services and other,
18.2% trade and transport, 4.8% agriculture (1987)

Organized labor: 9,300,000 total; 7,760,000 in German Trade Union
Federation (DGB); union membership constitutes about 40% of union-eligible labor
force, 34% of total labor force, and 35% of wage and salary earners (1986)

- Government
Long-form name: Federal Republic of Germany; abbreviated FRG

Type: federal republic

Capital: Bonn

Administrative divisions: 10 states (lander, singular--land);
Baden-Wurttemberg, Bayern, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Niedersachsen,
Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Schleswig-Holstein

Constitution: 23 May 1949, provisional constitution known as Basic Law

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

National holiday: NA

Executive branch: president, chancellor, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlament) consists of
an upper chamber or Federal Assembly (Bundesrat) and a lower chamber or
National Assembly (Bundestag)

Judicial branch: Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht)

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Dr. Richard von WEIZSACKER (since 1
July 1984);

Head of Government--Chancellor Dr. Helmut KOHL (since 4 October 1982)

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Helmut
Kohl; Christian Social Union (CSU), Theo Waigel; Free Democratic Party (FDP),
Otto Lambsdorff; Social Democratic Party (SPD), Hans-Jochen Vogel; National
Democratic Party (NPD), Martin Mussgnug; Republikaner, Franz Schoerhuber;
Communist Party (DKP), Herbert Mies; Green Party--Realos faction,
Joschka Fischer; Green Party--Fundis faction, Jutta Ditfurth

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
National Assembly--last held 25 January 1987 (next to be held by
18 January 1991); results--SPD 37.0%, CDU 34.5%, CSU 9.8%, FDP 9.1%,
Green Party 8.2%, others 1.4%;
seats--(497 total, 22 are elected by the West Berlin House of
Representatives and have limited voting rights) SPD 186, CDU 174,
CSU 49, FDP 46, Green Party 42

Communists: about 40,000 members and supporters

Other political or pressure groups: expellee, refugee, and veterans
groups

Member of: ADB, CCC, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, EIB, EMS, ESA,
FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American
Development Bank, IFAD, IEA, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IPU, ITC, ITU, NATO, OAS (observer), OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jeurgen RUHFUS; Chancery at
4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington DC 20007; telephone [phone];
there are FRG Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston,
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York, and Consulates in Miami
and New Orleans;
US--Ambassador Vernon WALTERS; Embassy at Deichmanns Avenue, 5300 Bonn 2
(mailing address is APO New York 09080); telephone [phone]; there are
US Consulates General in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, and Stuttgart

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and yellow;
similar to the flag of the GDR which has a coat of arms in the center

- Economy
Overview: West Germany, a major economic power and a leading exporter,
has a highly urbanized and skilled population that enjoys excellent
living standards and comprehensive social welfare benefits. The FRG is
poor in natural resources, coal being the most important
mineral. The FRG's comparative advantage lies in the technologically
advanced production stages. Thus manufacturing and services dominate
economic activity, and raw materials and semimanufactures constitute
a large proportion of imports. In 1988 manufacturing accounted for
35% of GDP, with other sectors contributing lesser amounts.  The major
economic problem in 1989 is persistent unemployment of over 8%. The FRG is well
poised to take advantage of the increasing economic integration of the European
Community. The dramatic opening of the boundary with East Germany in late 1989
poses new economic challenges that could tax even this powerful economy.

GDP: $945.7 billion, per capita $15,300; real growth rate 4.3% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.0% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 8.4% (1989)

Budget: revenues $539 billion; expenditures $563 billion, including
capital expenditures of $11.5 billion (1988)

Exports: $323.4 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--manufactures 86.6% (including machines and machine tools,
chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel products), agricultural products 4.9%,
raw materials 2.3%, fuels 1.3%;
partners--EC 52.7% (France 12%, Netherlands 9%, Italy 9%, UK 9%,
Belgium-Luxembourg 7%), other West Europe 18%, US 10%, Eastern Europe 4%,
OPEC 3% (1987)

Imports: $250.6 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--manufactures 68.5%, agricultural products 12.0%, fuels 9.7%,
raw materials 7.1%;
partners--EC 52.7% (France 12%, Netherlands 11%, Italy 10%, UK 7%,
Belgium-Luxembourg 7%), other West Europe 15%, US 6%, Japan 6%,
Eastern Europe 5%, OPEC 3% (1987)

External debt: $500 million (June 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate 3.3% (1988)

Electricity: (including West Berlin) 110,075,000 kW capacity; 452,390
million kWh produced, 7,420 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: among world's largest producers of iron, steel, coal, cement,
chemicals, machinery, ships, vehicles, and machine tools; electronics, food and
beverages

Agriculture: accounts for about 2% of GDP (including fishing and
forestry); diversified crop and livestock farming; principal crops and livestock
include potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbage, cattle, pigs,
poultry; net importer of food; fish catch of 202,000 metric tons in 1987

Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $60.0 billion

Currency: deutsche mark (plural--marks);
1 deutsche mark (DM) = 100 pfennige

Exchange rates: deutsche marks (DM) per US$1--1.6918 (January 1990),
1.8800 (1989), 1.7562 (1988), 1.7974 (1987), 2.1715 (1986), 2.9440 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 31,443 km total; 27,421 km government owned, 1.435-meter
standard gauge (12,491 km double track, 11,501 km electrified); 4,022 km
nongovernment owned, including 3,598 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (214 km
electrified) and 424 km 1.000-meter gauge (186 km electrified)

Highways: 466,305 km total; 169,568 km primary, includes 6,435 km
autobahn, 32,460 km national highways (Bundesstrassen), 65,425 km state
highways (Landesstrassen), 65,248 km county roads (Kreisstrassen); 296,737
km of secondary communal roads (Gemeindestrassen)

Inland waterways: 5,222 km, of which almost 70% are usable by
craft of 1,000-metric ton capacity or larger; major rivers include the
Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic
Sea and the North Sea

Pipelines: crude oil, 2,343 km; refined products, 3,446 km; natural gas,
95,414 km

Ports: maritime--Bremerhaven, Brunsbuttel, Cuxhaven, Emden, Bremen,
Hamburg, Kiel, Lubeck, Wilhelmshaven; inland--27 major

Merchant marine: 422 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,436,568
GRT/4,297,520 DWT; includes 2 passenger, 7 short-sea passenger, 218 cargo,
4 refrigerated cargo, 95 container, 20 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 railcar
carrier, 7 barge carrier, 2 multifunction large-load carrier, 12 petroleum,
oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 21 chemical tanker, 15 liquefied gas,
5 combination ore/oil, 13 combination bulk

Civil air: 194 major transport aircraft

Airports: 466 total, 457 usable; 240 with permanent-surface runways; 3
with runways over 3,659 m; 41 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 55 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: highly developed, modern telecommunication service
to all parts of the country; fully adequate in all respects; 40,300,000
telephones; stations--87 AM, 205 (376 relays) FM, 300 (6,400 relays)
TV; 6 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations operating in
INTELSAT (12 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), EUTELSAT, and domestic
systems

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 16,006,352; 13,883,536 fit for military
service; 326,666 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 2.9% of GDP (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Ghana
- Geography
Total area: 238,540 km2; land area: 230,020 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries: 2,093 km total; Burkina 548 km, Ivory Coast 668 km,
Togo 877 km

Coastline: 539 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 nm;

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

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

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

Land use: 5% arable land; 7% permanent crops; 15% meadows and pastures;
37% forest and woodland; 36% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: recent drought in north severely affecting marginal
agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; dry,
northeasterly harmattan wind (January to March)

Note: Lake Volta is world's largest artificial lake

- People
Population: 15,165,243 (July 1990), growth rate 3.2% (1990)

Birth rate: 46 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 89 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 56 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.4 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Ghanaian(s); adjective--Ghanaian

Ethnic divisions: 99.8% black African (major tribes--44% Akan,
16% Moshi-Dagomba, 13% Ewe, 8% Ga), 0.2% European and other

Religion: 38% indigenous beliefs, 30% Muslim, 24% Christian, 8% other

Language: English (official); African languages include Akan,
Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga

Literacy: 53.2%

Labor force: 3,700,000; 54.7% agriculture and fishing, 18.7% industry,
15.2% sales and clerical, 7.7% services, transportation, and communications,
3.7% professional; 48% of population of working age (1983)

Organized labor: 467,000 (about 13% of labor force)

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Ghana

Type: military

Capital: Accra

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

Independence: 6 March 1957 (from UK, formerly Gold Coast)

Constitution: 24 September 1979; suspended 31 December 1981

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

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 March (1957)

Executive branch: chairman of the Provisional National Defense
Council (PNDC), PNDC, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly dissolved after 31
December 1981 coup, and legislative powers were assumed by the
Provisional National Defense Council

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--Chairman of the Provisional
National Defense Council Flt. Lt. (Ret.) Jerry John RAWLINGS (since 31 December
1981)

Political parties and leaders: none; political parties outlawed
after 31 December 1981 coup

Suffrage: none

Elections: none

Communists: a small number of Communists and sympathizers

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, Commonwealth, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT,
IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IRC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Eric K. OTOO; Chancery at
2460 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone [phone];
there is a Ghanaian Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador Raymond C. EWING; Embassy at Ring Road East, East of
Danquah Circle, Accra (mailing address is P. O. Box 194, Accra);
telephone 775347 through 775349

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with a
large black five-pointed star centered in the gold 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
Overview: Supported by substantial international assistance, Ghana
has been implementing a steady economic rebuilding program since 1983.
Good harvests in 1988 featured the 6% growth in GNP. Moves toward privatization
and relaxation of government controls continued in 1988-89, although at a
slower-than-expected pace. In 1988 service on the $2.8 billion debt was
equivalent to 75% of export earnings. As Ghana obtains concessional loans
and pays off high-interest debt, however, debt service is expected to fall
below 30% of export earnings in the early 1990s. The economic rebuilding
program has both helped and harmed the manufacturing sector, for example,
by improving the supply of raw materials and by increasing competition from
imports. The long-term outlook is favorable provided that the political
structure can endure the slow pace at which living standards are improving
and can manage the problems stemming from excessive population growth.

GNP: $5.2 billion, per capita $400; real growth rate 6% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 32.7% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 26% (April 1987)

Budget: revenues $769 million; expenditures $749 million, including
capital expenditures of $179 million (1988 est.)

Exports: $977 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--cocoa 60%, timber, gold, tuna, bauxite, and aluminum;
partners--US 23%, UK, other EC

Imports: $988 million (c.i.f., 1987);
commodities--petroleum 16%, consumer goods, foods, intermediate goods,
capital equipment;
partners--US 10%, UK, FRG, France, Japan, South Korea, GDR

External debt: $3.0 billion (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 0.5% in manufacturing (1987)

Electricity: 1,172,000 kW capacity; 4,110 million kWh produced,
280 kWh per capita (1989)

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

Agriculture: accounts for more than 50% of GDP (including fishing and
forestry); the major cash crop is cocoa; other principal crops--rice, coffee,
cassava, peanuts, corn, shea nuts, timber; normally self-sufficient in food

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international
drug trade

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $424 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.9 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $78 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$84 million

Currency: cedi (plural--cedis); 1 cedi (C) = 100 pesewas

Exchange rates: cedis (C) per US$1--301.68 (December 1989), 270.00 (1989),
202.35 (1988), 153.73 (1987), 89.20 (1986), 54.37 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 953 km, all 1.067-meter gauge; 32 km double track; railroads
undergoing major renovation

Highways: 28,300 km total; 6,000 km concrete or bituminous surface,
22,300 km gravel, laterite, and improved earth surfaces

Inland waterways: Volta, Ankobra, and Tano Rivers provide 155 km of
perennial navigation for launches and lighters; Lake Volta provides 1,125 km
of arterial and feeder waterways

Pipelines: none

Ports: Tema, Takoradi

Merchant marine: 4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
52,016 GRT/66,627 DWT

Civil air: 6 major transport aircraft

Airports: 10 total, 9 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 7 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: poor to fair system of open-wire and cable, radio
relay links; 38,000 telephones; stations--6 AM, no FM, 9 TV; 1 Atlantic
Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Palace Guard, paramilitary
People's Militia

Military manpower: males 15-49, 3,437,300; 1,927,817 fit for military
service; 167,778 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 0.9% of GNP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Gibraltar
(dependent territory of the UK)
- Geography
Total area: 6.5 km2; land area: 6.5 km2

Comparative area: about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 1.2 km with Spain

Coastline: 12 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 3 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Disputes: source of occasional friction between Spain and the UK

Climate: Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers

Terrain: a narrow coastal lowland borders The Rock

Natural resources: negligible

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

Environment: natural freshwater sources are meager so large
water catchments (concrete or natural rock) collect rain water

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

- People
Population: 29,572 (July 1990), growth rate 0.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 18 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 8 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.4 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Gibraltarian; adjective--Gibraltar

Ethnic divisions: mostly Italian, English, Maltese, Portuguese, and
Spanish descent

Religion: 75% Roman Catholic, 8% Church of England, 2.25% Jewish

Language: English and Spanish are primary languages; Italian, Portuguese,
and Russian also spoken; English used in the schools and for official
purposes

Literacy: 99% (est.)

Labor force: about 14,800 (including non-Gibraltar laborers); UK military
establishments and civil government employ nearly 50% of the labor force

Organized labor: over 6,000

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: Gibraltar

Administrative divisions: none (colony of the UK)

Independence: none (colony of the UK)

Constitution: 30 May 1969

Legal system: English law

National holiday: Commonwealth Day (second Monday of March), 12 March 1990

Executive branch: British monarch, governor, chief minister, Gibraltar
Council, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Court of Appeal

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented
by Governor and Commander in Chief Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter TERRY (since
NA 1985);

Head of Government--Chief Minister Joe BOSSANO (since NA March 1988)

Political parties and leaders: Socialist Labor Party (SL), Joe
Bossano; Gibraltar Labor Party/Association for the Advancement of Civil
Rights (GCL/AACR), Adolfo Canepa; Independent Democratic Party, Joe
Pitaluga

Suffrage: universal at age 18, plus other UK subjects resident six
months or more

Elections:
House of Assembly: last held on 24 March 1988 (next to be held
March 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(18 total, 15 elected) SL 8, GCL/AACR 7

Communists: negligible

Other political or pressure groups: Housewives Association, Chamber of
Commerce, Gibraltar Representatives Organization

Diplomatic representation: none (colony of the UK)

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

- Economy
Overview: The economy depends heavily on British defense expenditures,
revenue from tourists, fees for services to shipping, and revenues from
banking and finance activities. Because more than 70% of the economy
is in the public sector, changes in government spending have a major
impact on the level of employment. Construction workers are particularly
affected when government expenditures are cut.

GNP: $129 million, per capita $4,450; real growth rate NA% (FY85)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.4% (1986)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $105 million; expenditures $104 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (FY87)

Exports: $62.2 million (1985);
commodities--(principally reexports) petroleum 75%, beverages and
tobacco 12%, manufactured goods 8%;
partners--UK, Morocco, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, US, FRG

Imports: $147 million (1985);
commodities--manufactured goods, fuels, and foodstuffs;
partners--UK, Morocco, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, US, FRG

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 46,000 kW capacity; 200 million kWh produced, 6,770 kWh
per capita (1989)

Industries: tourism, banking and finance, construction, commerce; support
to large UK naval and air bases; transit trade and supply depot in the port;
light manufacturing of tobacco, roasted coffee, ice, mineral waters, candy,
beer, and canned fish

Agriculture: NA

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $0.8 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87),
$162.5 million

Currency: Gibraltar pound (plural--pounds);
1 Gibraltar pound (LG) = 100 pence

Exchange rates: Gibraltar pounds (LG) per US$1--0.6055 (January 1990),
0.6099 (1989), 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102 (1987), 0.6817 (1986), 0.7714 (1985);
note--the Gibraltar pound is at par with the British pound

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

- Communications
Railroads: 1.000-meter-gauge system in dockyard area only

Highways: 50 km, mostly good bitumen and concrete

Ports: Gibraltar

Merchant marine: 45 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,126,060
GRT/4,189,948 DWT; includes 10 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 1 container,
16 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker
1 combination oil/ore, 1 liquefied gas, 13 bulk; note--a flag of convenience
registry

Civil air: 1 major transport aircraft

Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runway 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: adequate international radiocommunication facilities;
automatic telephone system with 10,500 telephones; stations--1 AM, 6 FM, 4 TV;
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Glorioso Islands
(French possession)
- Geography
Total area: 5 km2; land area: 5 km2; includes Ile Glorieuse,
Ile du Lys, Verte Rocks, Wreck Rock, and South Rock

Comparative area: about 8.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 35.2 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: claimed by Madagascar

Climate: tropical

Terrain: undetermined

Natural resources: guano, coconuts

Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 100% other--lush vegetation and coconut palms

Environment: subject to periodic cyclones

Note: located in the Indian Ocean just north of the Mozambique
Channel between Africa and Madagascar

- People
Population: uninhabited

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: French possession administered by Commissioner of the Republic
Daniel CONSTANTIN, resident in Reunion

- Economy
Overview: no economic activity

- Communications
Airports: 1 with runway 1,220-2,439 m

Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of France
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Greece
- Geography
Total area: 131,940 km2; land area: 130,800 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Alabama

Land boundaries: 1,228 km total; Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km,
Turkey 206 km, Yugoslavia 246 km

Coastline: 13,676 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Territorial sea: 6 nm

Disputes: complex maritime and air (but not territorial) disputes with
Turkey in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question; Macedonia question with Bulgaria and
Yugoslavia; Northern Epirus question with Albania

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

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

Natural resources: bauxite, lignite, magnesite, crude oil, marble

Land use: 23% arable land; 8% permanent crops; 40% meadows and pastures;
20% forest and woodland; 9% other; includes 7% irrigated

Environment: subject to severe earthquakes; air pollution; archipelago
of 2,000 islands

Note: strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern
approach to Turkish Straits

- People
Population: 10,028,171 (July 1990), growth rate 0.2% (1990)

Birth rate: 11 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 10 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 80 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Greek(s); adjective--Greek

Ethnic divisions: Greek 98%, others 2%; note--the Greek Government
states there are no ethnic divisions in Greece

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

Language: Greek (official); English and French widely understood

Literacy: 95%

Labor force: 3,860,000; 43% services, 27% agriculture, 20% manufacturing
and mining, 7% construction (1985)

Organized labor: 10-15% of total labor force, 20-25% of urban labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Hellenic Republic

Type: presidential parliamentary government; monarchy rejected by
referendum 8 December 1974

Capital: Athens

Administrative divisions: 51 departments (nomoi, singular--nomos);
Aitolia kai Akarnania, Akhaia, Argolis, Arkadhia, Arta, Attiki,
Dhodhekanisos, Drama, Evritania, Evros, Evvoia, Florina, Fokis,
Fthiotis, Grevena, Ilia, Imathia, Ioannina, Iraklion, Kardhitsa,
Kastoria, Kavala, Kefallinia, Kerkira, Khalkidhiki, Khania, Khios,
Kikladhes, Kilkis, Korinthia, Kozani, Lakonia, Larisa, Lasithi,
Lesvos, Levkas, Magnisia, Messinia, Pella, Pieria, Preveza,
Rethimni, Rodhopi, Samos, Serrai, Thesprotia, Thessaloniki,
Trikala, Voiotia, Xanthi, Zakinthos

Independence: 1827 (from the Ottoman Empire)

Constitution: 11 June 1975

Legal system: NA

National holiday: Independence Day (proclamation of the war of
independence), 25 March (1821)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Vouli)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Christos SARTZETAKIS (since 30 March 1985);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Constantin MITSOTAKIS
(since 11 April 1990)

Political parties and leaders: New Democracy (ND; conservative),
Constantine Mitsotakis; Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), Andreas
Papandreou; Democratic Renewal (DR), Constantine Stefanopoulos;
Communist Party (KKE), Grigorios Farakos; Greek Left Party (EAR),
Leonidas Kyrkos; KKE and EAR have joined in the Left Alliance,
Harilaos Florakis, president

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 30 March 1985 (next to be held 29 April 1990);
results--Christos Sartzetakis was elected by Parliament;

Parliament:--last held on 8 April 1990 (next to be held
April 1994);
results--New Democracy 46.89%, Panhellenic Socialist Movement 38.62%,
Left Alliance 10.27%, PASOK-Left Alliance Cooperation 1.02%,
Ecologist-Alternative 0.77%, Democratic Renewal 0.67%, Muslim 0.5%;
seats--(300 total) New Democracy 150, Panhellenic Socialist Movement 123,
Left Alliance 19, PASOK-Left Alliance Cooperation 4, Muslim
independent 2, Democratic Renewal 1, Ecologist-Alternative 1

Communists: an estimated 60,000 members and sympathizers

Member of: CCC, EC, EIB (associate), FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, ITU,
IWC--International Wheat Council, NATO, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Christos ZACHARAKIS; Chancery at
2221 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
there are Greek Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los
Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, and a Consulate in New Orleans;
US--Ambassador Michael G. SOTIRHOS; Embassy at 91 Vasilissis
Sophias Boulevard, 10160 Athens (mailing address is APO New York 09253);
telephone p30o (1) 721-2951 or 721-8401; there is a US Consulate General
in Thessaloniki

Flag: nine equal horizontal stripes of blue (top and bottom) alternating
with white; there is a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a
white cross; the cross symbolizes Christianity, the established religion of the
country

- Economy
Overview: Greece has a mixed capitalistic economy with the basic
entrepreneurial system overlaid in 1981-89 by a
socialist-left-government that enlarged the public sector and became the
nation's largest employer. Like many other Western economies, Greece
suffered severely from the global oil price hikes of the 1970s, annual
GDP growth plunging from 8% to 2% in the 1980s, and inflation,
unemployment, and budget deficits rising sharply. The fall of the
socialist government in 1989 and the inability of the conservative
opposition to muster a clear majority have led to business uncertainty
and the continued prospects for lackluster economic performance.
Once the political situation is sorted out, Greece will have to face the
challenges posed by the steadily increasing integration of the European
Community, including the progressive lowering of tariff barriers. Tourism
continues as a major industry, providing a vital offset to the sizable
commodity trade deficit.

GDP: $56.3 billion, per capita $5,605; real growth rate 2.3% (1989
est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14.8% (December 1989)

Unemployment rate: 7.7% (1988)

Budget: revenues $15.5 billion; expenditures $23.9 billion, including
capital expenditures of $2.5 billion (1988)

Exports: $5.9 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--manufactured goods, food and live animals, fuels and
lubricants, raw materials;
partners--FRG 24%, Italy 14%, nonoil developing countries 11.8%,
France 9.5%, US 7.1%, UK 6.8%

Imports: $13.5 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--machinery and transport equipment, light manufactures,
fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs, chemicals;
partners--FRG 22%, nonoil developing countries 14%, oil exporting
countries 13%, Italy 12%, France 8%, US 3.2%

External debt: $20.0 billion (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate 1.6% (1989 est.)

Electricity: 10,500,000 kW capacity; 36,420 million kWh produced,
3,630 kWh per capita (1989)

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

Agriculture: including fishing and forestry, accounts for 14% of
GNP and 27% of the labor force; principal products--wheat, corn, barley,
sugar beets, olives, tomatoes, wine, tobacco, potatoes, beef, mutton,
pork, dairy products; self-sufficient in food; fish catch of 135,000
metric tons in 1987

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-81), $525 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.3 billion

Currency: drachma (plural--drachmas); 1 drachma (Dr) = 100 lepta

Exchange rates: drachma (Dr) per US$1--158.03 (January 1990),
162.42 (1989), 141.86 (1988), 135.43 (1987), 139.98 (1986), 138.12 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 2,479 km total; 1,565 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, of which
36 km electrified and 100 km double track, 892 km 1.000-meter gauge; 22 km
0.750-meter narrow gauge; all government owned

Highways: 38,938 km total; 16,090 km paved, 13,676 km crushed stone and
gravel, 5,632 km improved earth, 3,540 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 80 km; system consists of three coastal canals and
three unconnected rivers

Pipelines: crude oil, 26 km; refined products, 547 km

Ports: Piraeus, Thessaloniki

Merchant marine: 954 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,544,516
GRT/36,858,545 DWT; includes 15 passenger, 58 short-sea passenger,
2 passenger-cargo, 164 cargo, 18 container, 20 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
27 refrigerated cargo, 182 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
10 chemical tanker, 10 liquefied gas, 20 combination ore/oil, 6 specialized
tanker, 407 bulk, 15 specialized bulk; note--ethnic Greeks also own large
numbers of ships under the registry of Liberia, Panama, Cyprus, and Lebanon

Civil air: 39 major transport aircraft

Airports: 79 total, 77 usable; 60 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
22 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: adequate, modern networks reach all areas;
4,079,000 telephones; stations--30 AM, 17 (20 repeaters) FM, 39 (560
repeaters) TV; 8 submarine cables; satellite earth stations operating in
INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), EUTELSAT, and MARISAT
systems

- Defense Forces
Branches: Hellenic Army, Hellenic Navy, Hellenic Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,418,754; 1,861,141 fit for military
service; about 73,809 reach military age (21) annually

Defense expenditures: 6.0% of GDP, or $3.4 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Greenland
(part of the Danish realm)
- Geography
Total area: 2,175,600 km2; land area: 341,700 km2 (ice free)

Comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of Texas

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 44,087 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 4 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Disputes: Denmark has challenged Norway's maritime claims between
Greenland and Jan Mayen

Climate: arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters

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

Natural resources: zinc, lead, iron ore, coal, molybdenum, cryolite,
uranium, fish

Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures;
NEGL% forest and woodland; 99% other

Environment: sparse population confined to small settlements along coast;
continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island

Note: dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe

- People
Population: 56,078 (July 1990), growth rate 1.2% (1990)

Birth rate: 20 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 28 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 68 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Greenlander(s); adjective--Greenlandic

Ethnic divisions: 86% Greenlander (Eskimos and Greenland-born
Caucasians), 14% Danish

Religion: Evangelical Lutheran

Language: Eskimo dialects, Danish

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 22,800; largely engaged in fishing, hunting, sheep breeding

Organized labor: NA

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: part of the Danish realm; self-governing overseas administrative
division

Capital: Nuuk (Godthab)

Administrative divisions: 3 municipalities (kommuner, singular--kommun);
Nordgronland, Ostgronland, Vestgronland

Independence: part of the Danish realm; self-governing overseas
administrative division

Constitution: Danish

Legal system: Danish

National holiday: Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)

Executive branch: Danish monarch, high commissioner, home rule chairman,
prime minister, Cabinet (Landsstyre)

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Landsting)

Judicial branch: High Court (Landsret)

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972), represented
by High Commissioner Bent KLINTE (since NA);

Head of Government--Home Rule Chairman Jonathan MOTZFELDT
(since NA May 1979)

Political parties: Siumut (moderate socialist, advocates more distinct
Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark); Atassut Party (more
conservative, favors continuing close relations with Denmark);
Inuit Ataqatigiit (Marxist-Leninist party that favors complete independence from
Denmark rather than home rule); Polar Party (Conservative-Greenland Nationalist)

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
Parliament--last held on 27 May 1987 (next to be held by 27 May
1991);
results--Siumut 39.8%, Atassut Party 40.1%, Inuit Ataqatigiit 15.3%,
Polar Party 4.5%;
seats--(27 total) Siumut 11, Atassut Party 11, Inuit Ataqatigiit
4, Polar Party 1;

Danish Parliament--last held on 10 May 1988 (next to be held by
10 May 1992); Greenland elects two representatives to the Danish
Parliament;
results--(percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(2 total) number of seats by party NA

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

Flag: the flag of Denmark is used

- Economy
Overview: Over the past 25 years, the economy has changed from
one based on subsistence whaling, hunting, and fishing to one dependent on
foreign trade. Fishing is still the most important industry, accounting
for over two-thirds of exports and about 25% of the population's income.
Exploitation of mineral resources is limited to lead and zinc. Maintenance
of a social welfare system similar to Denmark's has given the public
sector a dominant role in the economy. Greenland is heavily dependent
on an annual subsidy of about $400 million from the Danish Government.

GNP: $500 million, per capita $9,000; real growth rate 5% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.9% (1987)

Unemployment rate: 10%

Budget: revenues $380 million; expenditures $380 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1985)

Exports: $386.2 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--fish and fish products, metallic ores and concentrates;
partners--Denmark 76%, FRG 7%, Sweden 5%

Imports: $445.6 million (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--petroleum and petroleum products, machinery and transport
equipment, food products;
partners--Denmark 66%, Norway 5%, Sweden 4%, FRG 4%, Japan 4%
US 3%

External debt: $445 million (1988)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 84,000 kW capacity; 176 million kWh produced,
3,180 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: fish processing, lead and zinc mining, handicrafts

Agriculture: sector dominated by fishing and sheep raising; crops limited
to forage and small garden vegetables; 1987 fish catch of 101,000
metric tons

Aid: none

Currency: Danish krone (plural--kroner); 1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 ore

Exchange rates: Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1--6.560 (January 1990),
7.310 (1989), 6.732 (1988), 6.840 (1987), 8.091 (1986), 10.596 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 80 km

Ports: Kangerluarsoruseq (Faeringehavn), Paamiut (Frederikshaab),
Nuuk (Godthaab), Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), Julianehaab, Maarmorilik,
North Star Bay, and at least 10 minor ports

Merchant marine: 1 refrigerated cargo (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
1,021 GRT/1,778 DWT; note--operates under the registry of Denmark

Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft

Airports: 11 total, 8 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: adequate domestic and international service provided
by cables and radio relay; 17,900 telephones; stations--5 AM, 7 (35 relays) FM,
4 (9 relays) TV; 2 coaxial submarine cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
earth station

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is responsibility of Denmark
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Grenada
- Geography
Total area: 340 km2; land area: 340 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 121 km

Maritime claims:

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds

Terrain: volcanic in origin with central mountains

Natural resources: timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors

Land use: 15% arable land; 26% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures;
9% forest and woodland; 47% other

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

Note: islands of the Grenadines group are divided politically
with St. Vincent and the Grenadines

- People
Population: 84,135 (July 1990), growth rate - 0.4% (1990)

Birth rate: 36 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 33 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 30 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 74 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 4.9 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Grenadian(s); adjective--Grenadian

Ethnic divisions: mainly of black African descent

Religion: largely Roman Catholic; Anglican; other Protestant sects

Language: English (official); some French patois

Literacy: 85%

Labor force: 36,000; 31% services, 24% agriculture, 8% construction,
5% manufacturing, 32% other (1985)

Organized labor: 20% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Saint George's

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

Independence: 7 February 1974 (from UK)

Constitution: 19 December 1973

Legal system: based on English common law

National holiday: Independence Day, 7 February (1974)

Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister,
Ministers of Government (cabinet)

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house
or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented
by Governor General Sir Paul SCOON (since 30 September 1978);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Nicholas BRATHWAITE
(since 13 March 1990)

Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Congress (NDC),
Nicholas Brathwaite; Grenada United Labor Party (GULP), Sir Eric Gairy;
The National Party (TNP), Ben Jones; New National Party (NNP), Keith
Mitchell; Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement (MBPM), Terrence
Merryshow; New Jewel Movement (NJM), Bernard Coard

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
House of Representatives--last held on 13 March 1990 (next
to be held by March 1996);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(15 total) NDC 8, GULP 3, TNP 2, NNP 2

Communists: about 450 members of the New Jewel Movement
(pro-Soviet) and the Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement (pro-Cuban)

Member of: ACP, CARICOM, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, ITU, NAM, OAS, OECS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Albert O. XAVIER; Chancery at
1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone [phone];
there is a Grenadian Consulate General in New York;
US--Charge d'Affaires James F. COOPER; Embassy at Ross Point Inn,
Saint George's (mailing address is P. O. Box 54, Saint George's);
telephone p440o 1731 or 1734

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

- Economy
Overview: The economy is essentially agricultural and centers on the
traditional production of spices and tropical plants. Agriculture accounts for
about 20% of GDP and 90% of exports and employs 24% of the labor force. Tourism
is the leading foreign exchange earner, followed by agricultural exports.
Manufacturing remains relatively undeveloped, but with a more favorable private
investment climate since 1983, it is expected to grow. Despite an
impressive average annual growth rate for the economy of 5.5% during
the period 1984-88, unemployment remains high at about 26%.

GDP: $129.7 million, per capita $1,535; real growth rate 5% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.0% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 26% (1988)

Budget: revenues $74.2 million; expenditures $82.3 million, including
capital expenditures of $27.8 million (1989 est.)

Exports: $31.8 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.);
commodities--nutmeg 35%, cocoa beans 15%, bananas 13%, mace 7%, textiles;
partners--US 4%, UK, FRG, Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago

Imports: $92.6 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.);
commodities--machinery 24%, food 22%, manufactured goods 19%,
petroleum 8%;
partners--US 32%, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada

External debt: $108 million (1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 5.8% (1989 est.)

Electricity: 11,400 kW capacity; 24 million kWh produced,
280 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: food and beverage, textile, light assembly operations,
tourism, construction

Agriculture: accounts for 20% of GDP and 90% of exports; bananas, cocoa,
nutmeg, and mace account for two-thirds of total crop production;
world's second-largest producer and fourth-largest exporter of nutmeg
and mace; small-size farms predominate, growing a variety of citrus
fruits, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, and vegetables

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY84-88), $60 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $61 million;
Communist countries (1970-88), $32 million

Currency: East Caribbean dollar (plural--dollars);
1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

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

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 1,000 km total; 600 km paved, 300 km otherwise improved; 100 km
unimproved

Ports: Saint George's

Civil air: no major transport aircraft

Airports: 3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: automatic, islandwide telephone system with 5,650
telephones; new SHF links to Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent; VHF and UHF
links to Trinidad and Carriacou; stations--1 AM, no FM, 1 TV

- Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Grenada Police Force

Military manpower: NA

Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Guadeloupe
(overseas department of France)
- Geography
Total area: 1,780 km2; land area: 1,760 km2

Comparative area: 10 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 306 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: subtropical tempered by trade winds; relatively high humidity

Terrain: Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains;
Grand-Terre is low limestone formation

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

Land use: 18% arable land; 5% permanent crops; 13% meadows and pastures;
40% forest and woodland; 24% other; includes 1% irrigated

Environment: subject to hurricanes (June to October); La Soufriere is
an active volcano

Note: located 500 km southeast of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea

- People
Population: 342,175 (July 1990), growth rate 0.8% (1990)

Birth rate: 20 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 6 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 17 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 77 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Guadeloupian(s); adjective--Guadeloupe

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

Religion: 95% Roman Catholic, 5% Hindu and pagan African

Language: French, creole patois

Literacy: over 70%

Labor force: 120,000; 53.0% services, government, and commerce,
25.8% industry, 21.2% agriculture

Organized labor: 11% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Department of Guadeloupe

Type: overseas department of France

Capital: Basse-Terre

Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)

Independence: none (overseas department of France)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French legal system

National holiday: Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)

Executive branch: government commissioner

Legislative branch: unicameral General Council and unicameral
Regional Council

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

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Francois MITTERRAND (since
21 May 1981);

Head of Government--Commissioner of the Republic Jean-Paul PROUST
(since November 1989)

Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic (RPR),
Marlene Captant; Communist Party of Guadeloupe (PCG), Christian
Medard Celeste; Socialist Party (PSG), Dominique Larifla;
Independent Republicans; Union for French Democracy (UDF); Union
for a New Majority (UNM)

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
General Council --last held NA 1986 (next to be held by NA 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(42 total) number of seats by party NA;

Regional Council--last held on 16 March 1986 (next to be held
by 16 March 1992);
results--RPR 33.1%, PS 28.7%, PCG 23.8%, UDF 10.7%, others 3.8%;
seats--(41 total) RPR 15, PS 12, PCG 10, UDF 4;

French Senate--last held on 5 and 12 June 1988 (next to be
held June 1994); Guadeloupe elects two representatives;
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(2 total) PCG 1, PS 1;

French National Assembly--last held on 5 and 12 June 1988
(next to be held June 1994); Guadeloupe elects four representatives;
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(4 total) PS 2 seats, RPR 1 seat, PCG 1 seat

Communists: 3,000 est.

Other political or pressure groups: Popular Union for the Liberation
of Guadeloupe (UPLG); Popular Movement for Independent Guadeloupe
(MPGI); General Union of Guadeloupe Workers (UGTG); General
Federation of Guadeloupe Workers (CGT-G); Christian Movement for
the Liberation of Guadeloupe (KLPG)

Member of: WFTU

Diplomatic representation: as an overseas department of France,
the interests of Guadeloupe are represented in the US by France

Flag: the flag of France is used

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

GDP: $1.1 billion, per capita $3,300; real growth rate NA% (1987)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.0% (1987)

Unemployment rate: 25% (1983)

Budget: revenues $251 million; expenditures $251 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (1985)

Exports: $109 million (f.o.b., 1986);
commodities--bananas, sugar, rum;
partners--France 72%, Martinique 16% (1984)

Imports: $792 million (c.i.f., 1986);
commodities--vehicles, foodstuffs, clothing and other consumer goods,
construction materials, petroleum products;
partners--France 59% (1984)

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 103,000 kW capacity; 315 million kWh produced,
920 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism

Agriculture: cash crops--bananas and sugarcane; other products include
tropical fruits and vegetables; livestock--cattle, pigs, and goats; not
self-sufficient in food

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $4 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $7.7 billion

Currency: French franc (plural--francs); 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1--5.7598 (January 1990),
6.3801 (1989), 5.9569 (1988), 6.0107 (1987), 6.9261 (1986), 8.9852 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: privately owned, narrow-gauge plantation lines

Highways: 1,940 km total; 1,600 km paved, 340 km gravel and earth

Ports: Pointe-a-Pitre, Basse-Terre

Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft

Airports: 9 total, 9 usable, 8 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: domestic facilities inadequate; 57,300 telephones;
interisland radio relay to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Martinique;
stations--2 AM, 8 FM (30 private stations licensed to broadcast FM),
9 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT ground station

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is responsibility of France
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Guam
(territory of the US)
- Geography
Total area: 541 km2; land area: 541 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of
Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 125.5 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

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

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

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

Land use: 11% arable land; 11% permanent crops; 15% meadows and pastures;
18% forest and woodland; 45% other

Environment: frequent squalls during rainy season; subject to relatively
rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (especially in August)

Note: largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago;
strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean 5,955 km west-southwest of
Honolulu about three-quarters of the way between Hawaii and the Philippines

- People
Population: 141,039 (July 1990), growth rate 2.8% (1990)

Birth rate: 26 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 12 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 75 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.0 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Guamanian(s); adjective--Guamanian

Ethnic divisions: 47% Chamorro, 25% Filipino, 10% Caucasian,
18% Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other

Religion: 98% Roman Catholic, 2% other

Language: English and Chamorro, most residents bilingual; Japanese
also widely spoken

Literacy: 90%

Labor force: 54,000; 42% government, 58% private (1988)

Organized labor: 13% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Territory of Guam

Type: organized, unincorporated territory of the US

Capital: Agana

Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US)

Independence: none (territory of the US)

Constitution: Organic Act of 1 August 1950

Legal system: NA

National holiday: Guam Discovery Day (first Monday in March), 6 March 1989

Executive branch: US president, governor, lieutenant governor, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislature

Judicial branch: Superior Court of Guam (Federal District Court)

Leaders:
Chief of State--President George BUSH (since 20 January 1989);

Head of Government--Governor Joseph A. ADA (since NA November 1986)

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party (controls the
legislature); Republican Party (party of the Governor)

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

Elections:
Governor--last held on NA November 1986 (next to be held
November 1990);

Legislature--last held on 8 November 1988 (next to be held
November 1990);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(21 total) Democratic 13, Republican 8;

US House of Representatives--last held 8 November
1988 (next to be held November 1990);
Guam elects one nonvoting delegate;
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(1 total) Republican 1

Communists: none

Note: relations between Guam and the US are under the jurisdiction of the
Office of Territorial and International Affairs, US Department of the
Interior

Diplomatic representation: none (territory of the US)

Flag: 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

- Economy
Overview: The economy is based on US military spending and on revenues
from tourism. Over the past 20 years the tourist industry has grown
rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of
older ones. Visitors numbered about 800,000 in 1989. The small manufacturing
sector includes textile and clothing, beverage, food, and watch
production. About 58% of the labor force works for the private sector and the
rest for government. Most food and industrial goods are imported, with about 75%
from the US. In 1989 the unemployment rate was about 3%, down from 10% in
1983.

GNP: $1.0 billion, per capita $7,675; real growth rate 20%
(1988 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.9% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 3% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $208.0 million; expenditures $175 million, including
capital expenditures of $17 million (1987 est.)

Exports: $39 million (f.o.b., 1983);
commodities--mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products,
copra, fish;
partners--US 25%, others 75%

Imports: $611 million (c.i.f., 1983);
commodities--mostly crude petroleum and petroleum products, food,
manufactured goods;
partners--US 77%, others 23%

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 500,000 kW capacity; 2,300 million kWh produced,
16,660 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: US military, tourism, petroleum refining, construction,
concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles

Agriculture: relatively undeveloped with most food imported;
fruits, vegetables, eggs, pork, poultry, beef, copra

Aid: NA

Currency: US currency is used

Exchange rates: US currency is used

Fiscal year: 1 October-30 September

- Communications
Highways: 674 km all-weather roads

Ports: Apra Harbor

Airports: 5 total, 4 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
none with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: 26,317 telephones (1989); stations--3 AM, 3 FM, 3 TV;
2 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT ground stations

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Guatemala
- Geography
Total area: 108,890 km2; land area: 108,430 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Tennessee

Land boundaries: 1,687 km total; Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km,
Honduras 256 km, Mexico 962 km

Coastline: 400 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: not specific;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: claims Belize, but boundary negotiations are under way

Climate: tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands

Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling
limestone plateau (Peten)

Natural resources: crude oil, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle

Land use: 12% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 12% meadows and pastures;
40% forest and woodland; 32% other; includes 1% irrigated

Environment: numerous volcanoes in mountains, with frequent violent
earthquakes; Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms;
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution

Note: no natural harbors on west coast

- People
Population: 9,097,636 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 3 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 61 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 60 years male, 65 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 5.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Guatemalan(s); adjective--Guatemalan

Ethnic divisions: 56% Ladino (mestizo--mixed Indian and European
ancestry), 44% Indian

Religion: predominantly Roman Catholic; also Protestant, traditional
Mayan

Language: Spanish, but over 40% of the population speaks an Indian
language as a primary tongue (18 Indian dialects, including Quiche, Cakchiquel,
Kekchi)

Literacy: 50%

Labor force: 2,500,000; 57.0% agriculture, 14.0% manufacturing,
13.0% services, 7.0% commerce, 4.0% construction, 3.0% transport,
0.8% utilities, 0.4% mining (1985)

Organized labor: 8% of labor force (1988 est.)

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Guatemala

Type: republic

Capital: Guatemala

Administrative divisions: 22 departments (departamentos,
singular--departamento); Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Chiquimula,
El Progreso, Escuintla, Guatemala, Huehuetenango, Izabal, Jalapa, Jutiapa,
Peten, Quezaltenango, Quiche, Retalhuleu, Sacatepequez, San Marcos,
Santa Rosa, Solola, Suchitepequez, Totonicapan, Zacapa

Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Constitution: 31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986

Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Executive branch: president, vice president, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Mario Vinicio CEREZO
Arevalo (since 14 January 1986); Vice President Roberto CARPIO Nicolle
(since 14 January 1986)

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party (DCG),
Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arevalo;
National Centrist Union (UCN), Jorge Carpio Nicolle;
National Liberation Movement (MLN), Mario Sandoval Alarcon;
Social Action Movement (MAS), Jorge Serrano Elias;
Revolutionary Party (PR) in coalition with National Renewal Party (PNR),
Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre;
Social Democratic Party (PSD), Mario Solarzano Martinez;
National Authentic Center (CAN), Mario David Garcia;
United Anti-Communist Party (PUA), Leonel Sisniega;
Emerging Movement for Harmony (MEC), Louis Gordillo;
Democratic Party of National Cooperation (PDCN), Adan Fletes;
Democratic Institutional Party (PID), Oscar Rivas;
Nationalist United Front (FUN), Gabriel Giron

Suffrage: universal at age 18, compulsory for literates, voluntary for
illiterates

Elections:
President--last held on 3 December 1985 (next to be held 3 November 1990);
results--Mario Vinicio Cerezo Arevalo (DCG) 38.7%, Jorge Carpio
Nicolle (UCN) 20.2%, Jorge Serrano Elias (PDCN/PR) 14.8%;

National Congress--last held on 3 November 1985 (next to be held
3 November 1990);
results--DCG 38.7%, UCN 20.2%, PDCN/PR 13.8%, MLN/PID 12.6%,
CAN 6.3%, PSD 3.4%, PNR 3.2%, PUA/FUN/MEC 1.9%;
seats--(100 total) DCG 51, UCN 22, MLN 12, PDCN/PR 11, PSD 2, PNR 1, CAN 1

Communists: Guatemalan Labor Party (PGT); main radical left guerrilla
groups--Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP), Revolutionary Organization of the
People in Arms (ORPA), Rebel Armed Forces (FAR), and PGT dissidents

Other political or pressure groups: Federated Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (CACIF), Mutual Support Group (GAM), Unity for Popular and Labor
Action (UASP), Agrarian Owners Group (UNAGRO), Committee for Campesino Unity
(CUC)

Member of: CACM, CCC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, OAS, ODECA, PAHO,
SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Rodolfo ROHRMOSER V;
Chancery at 2220 R Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
745-4952 through 4954;
there are Guatemalan Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Thomas F. STROOCK; Embassy at 7-01 Avenida de la
Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City (mailing address is APO Miami 34024);
telephone p502o (2) 31-15-41

Flag: three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist side), white, and
light blue with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms
includes a green and red quetzal (the national bird) and a scroll bearing the
inscription LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (the original date of
independence from Spain) all superimposed on a pair of crossed rifles and a
pair of crossed swords and framed by a wreath

- Economy
Overview: The economy is based on agriculture, which accounts for
25% of GDP, employs about 60% of the labor force, and supplies two-thirds
of exports. Industry accounts for about 20% of GDP and 15% of the labor
force. The economy has reentered a slow-growth phase, but is hampered by
political uncertainty. In 1988 the economy grew by 3.7%, the third
consecutive year of mild growth. Government economic reforms introduced
since 1986 have stabilized exchange rates and have helped to stem
inflationary pressures. The inflation rate has dropped from 36.9%
in 1986 to 15% in 1989.

GDP: $10.8 billion, per capita $1,185; real growth rate 1.3% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 13%, with 30-40% underemployment (1988 est.)

Budget: revenues $771 million; expenditures $957 million, including
capital expenditures of $188 million (1988)

Exports: $1.02 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--coffee 38%, bananas 7%, sugar 7%, cardamom 4%;
partners--US 29%, El Salvador, FRG, Costa Rica, Italy

Imports: $1.5 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--fuel and petroleum products, machinery, grain, fertilizers,
motor vehicles;
partners--US 38%, Mexico, FRG, Japan, El Salvador

External debt: $3.0 billion (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 3.5% (1988 est.)

Electricity: 807,000 kW capacity; 2,540 million kWh produced,
280 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals,
petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism

Agriculture: accounts for 25% of GDP; most important sector of economy
and contributes two-thirds to export earnings; principal
crops--sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom;
livestock--cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens; food importer

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the
international drug trade; the government has engaged in aerial
eradication of opium poppy; transit country for cocaine shipments

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $869 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $7.7 billion

Currency: quetzal (plural--quetzales); 1 quetzal (Q) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: free market quetzales (Q) per US$1--3.3913
(January 1990), 2.8261 (1989), 2.6196 (1988), 2.500 (1987), 1.875 (1986),
1.000 (1985); note--black-market rate 2.800 (May 1989)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 870 km 0.914-meter gauge, single track; 780 km government
owned, 90 km privately owned

Highways: 26,429 km total; 2,868 km paved, 11,421 km gravel, and 12,140
unimproved

Inland waterways: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km
navigable during high-water season

Pipelines: crude oil, 275 km

Ports: Puerto Barrios, Puerto Quetzal, Santo Tomas de Castilla

Merchant marine: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
4,129 GRT/6,450 DWT

Civil air: 10 major transport aircraft

Airports: 451 total, 391 usable; 11 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 19 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: fairly modern network centered in Guatemala
pcityo; 97,670 telephones; stations--91 AM, no FM, 25 TV, 15 shortwave;
connection into Central American Microwave System; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,028,875; 1,327,374 fit for military
service; 107,251 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 1% of GDP, or $115 million (1990 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Guernsey
(British crown dependency)
- Geography
Total area: 194 km2; land area: 194 km2; includes Alderney, Guernsey,
Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands

Comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 50 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of
days are overcast

Terrain: mostly level with low hills in southwest

Natural resources: cropland

Land use: NA% arable land; NA% permanent crops; NA% meadows and pastures;
NA% forest and woodland; NA% other; about 50% cultivated

Environment: large, deepwater harbor at St. Peter Port

Note: 52 km west of France

- People
Population: 57,227 (July 1990), growth rate 0.7% (1990)

Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 6 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Channel Islander(s); adjective--Channel Islander

Ethnic divisions: UK and Norman-French descent

Religion: Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist,
Congregational, Methodist

Language: English, French; Norman-French dialect spoken in country
districts

Literacy: NA%, but universal education

Labor force: NA

Organized labor: NA

- Government
Long-form name: Bailiwick of Guernsey

Type: British crown dependency

Capital: St. Peter Port

Administrative divisions: none (British crown dependency)

Independence: none (British crown dependency)

Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

Legal system: English law and local statute; justice is administered by
the Royal Court

National holiday: Liberation Day, 9 May (1945)

Executive branch: British monarch, lieutenant governor, bailiff,
deputy bailiff

Legislative branch: States of Deliberation

Judicial branch: Royal Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);

Head of Government--Lieutenant Governor Lt. Gen. Sir Alexander
BOSWELL (since 1985); Bailiff Sir Charles FROSSARD (since 1982)

Political parties and leaders: none; all independents

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
States of Deliberation--last held NA (next to be held NA);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(60 total, 33 elected), all independents

Communists: none

Diplomatic representation: none (British crown dependency)

Flag: white with the red cross of St. George (patron saint of England)
extending to the edges of the flag

- Economy
Overview: Tourism is a major source of revenue. Other economic
activity includes financial services, breeding the world-famous
Guernsey cattle, and growing tomatoes and flowers for export.

GDP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate 9% (1987)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1988)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $145.0 million; expenditures $117.2 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (1985)

Exports: $NA;
commodities--tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant,
other vegetables;
partners--UK (regarded as internal trade)

Imports: $NA;
commodities--coal, gasoline and oil;
partners--UK (regarded as internal trade)

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 173,000 kW capacity; 525 million kWh produced,
9,340 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: tourism, banking

Agriculture: tomatoes, flowers (mostly grown in greenhouses),
sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables and fruit; Guernsey cattle

Aid: none

Currency: Guernsey pound (plural--pounds);
1 Guernsey (LG) pound = 100 pence

Exchange rates: Guernsey pounds (LG) per US$1--0.6055 (January
1990), 0.6099 (1989), 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102 (1987), 0.6817 (1986),
0.7714 (1985); note--the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Ports: St. Peter Port, St. Sampson

Airport: 1 with permanent-surface runway 1,220-2,439 m (La Villiaze)

Telecommunications: stations--1 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 41,900
telephones; 1 submarine cable

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Guinea
- Geography
Total area: 245,860 km2; land area: 245,860 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries: 3,399 km total; Guinea-Bissau 386 km, Ivory Coast
610 km, Liberia 563 km, Mali 858 km, Senegal 330 km, Sierra Leone 652 km

Coastline: 320 km

Maritime claims:

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 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

Natural resources: bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium,
hydropower, fish

Land use: 6% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 12% meadows and
pastures; 42% forest and woodland; 40% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during
dry season; deforestation

- People
Population: 7,269,240 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 47 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 22 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 147 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 40 years male, 44 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Guinean(s); adjective--Guinean

Ethnic divisions: Fulani, Malinke, Sousou, 15 smaller tribes

Religion: 85% Muslim, 5% indigenous beliefs, 1.5% Christian

Language: French (official); each tribe has its own language

Literacy: 20% in French; 48% in local languages

Labor force: 2,400,000 (1983); 82.0% agriculture, 11.0% industry and
commerce, 5.4% services; 88,112 civil servants (1987); 52% of population of
working age (1985)

Organized labor: virtually 100% of wage earners loosely affiliated with
the National Confederation of Guinean Workers

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Guinea

Type: republic

Capital: Conakry

Administrative divisions: 29 administrative regions (regions
administratives, singular--region administrative); Beyla, Boffa, Boke,
Conakry, Dabola, Dalaba, Dinguiraye, Dubreka, Faranah, Forecariah, Fria, Gaoual,
Gueckedou, Kankan, Kerouane, Kindia, Kissidougou, Koundara, Kouroussa, Labe,
Macenta, Mali, Mamou, Nzerekore, Pita, Siguiri, Telimele, Tougue, Yomou

Independence: 2 October 1958 (from France; formerly French Guinea)

Constitution: 14 May 1982, suspended after coup of 3 April 1984

Legal system: based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree;
legal codes currently being revised; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction

National holiday: Anniversary of the Second Republic, 3 April (1984)

Executive branch: president, Military Committee for National
Recovery (Comite Militaire de Redressement National or CMRN), Council of
Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: People's National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale
Populaire) was dissolved after the 3 April 1984 coup

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--Gen. Lansana CONTE (since
5 April 1984)

Political parties and leaders: none; following the 3 April 1984
coup all political activity was banned

Suffrage: none

Elections: none

Communists: no Communist party, although there are some sympathizers

Member of: ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU,
Mano River Union, Niger River Commission, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO,
UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Kekoura CAMARA; Chancery at
2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador Samuel E. LUPO; Embassy at 2nd Boulevard and 9th Avenue,
Conakry (mailing address is B. P. 603, Conakry); telephone 44-15-20 through 24

Flag: three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green;
uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Rwanda
which has a large black letter R centered in the yellow band

- Economy
Overview: Although possessing many natural resources and considerable
potential for agricultural development, Guinea is one of the poorest
countries in the world. The agricultural sector contributes about 40%
to GDP and employs more than 80% of the work force, while industry
accounts for about 25% of GDP. Guinea possesses over 25% of the
world's bauxite reserves; exports of bauxite and alumina accounted for more
than 80% of total exports in 1986.

GDP: $2.5 billion, per capita $350; real growth rate 5.0%
(1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 27.0% (1988)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $357 million; expenditures $480 million, including
capital expenditures of $229 million (1988 est.)

Exports: $553 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.);
commodities--alumina, bauxite, diamonds, coffee, pineapples, bananas,
palm kernels;
partners--US 33%, EC 33%, USSR and Eastern Europe 20%, Canada

Imports: $509 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.);
commodities--petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment,
foodstuffs, textiles and other grain;
partners--US 16%, France, Brazil

External debt: $1.6 billion (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 113,000 kW capacity; 300 million kWh produced,
40 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: bauxite mining, alumina, diamond mining, light
manufacturing and agricultural processing industries

Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP (includes fishing and forestry);
mostly subsistence farming; principal products--rice, coffee, pineapples, palm
kernels, cassava, bananas, sweet potatoes, timber; livestock--cattle,
sheep and goats; not self-sufficient in food grains

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $203 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $882 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $120 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$446 million

Currency: Guinean franc (plural--francs);
1 Guinean franc (FG) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Guinean francs (FG) per US$1--505.00 (October 1988),
440.00 (January 1988), 440.00 (1987), 235.63 (1986), 22.47 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 1,045 km; 806 km 1.000-meter gauge, 239 km 1.435-meter
standard gauge

Highways: 30,100 km total; 1,145 km paved, 12,955 km gravel or laterite
(of which barely 4,500 km are currently all-weather roads), 16,000 km unimproved
earth (1987)

Inland waterways: 1,295 km navigable by shallow-draft native craft

Ports: Conakry, Kamsar

Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft

Airports: 16 total, 16 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
9 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: fair system of open-wire lines, small
radiocommunication stations, and new radio relay system; 10,000 telephones;
stations--3 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 12,000 TV sets; 125,000 radio receivers;
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army (ground forces), Navy (acts primarily as a coast guard),
Air Force, paramilitary National Gendarmerie

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,657,787; 834,777 fit for military
service

Defense expenditures: 3.1% of GDP (1984)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Guinea-Bissau
- Geography
Total area: 36,120 km2; land area: 28,000 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of
Connecticut

Land boundaries: 724 km total; Guinea 386, Senegal 338 km

Coastline: 350 km

Maritime claims:

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has rendered its
decision on the Guinea-Bissau/Senegal maritime boundary (in favor
of Senegal)--that decision has been rejected by Guinea-Bissau

Climate: tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoon-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

Natural resources: unexploited deposits of petroleum, bauxite,
phosphates; fish, timber

Land use: 11% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 43% meadows and
pastures; 38% forest and woodland; 7% other

Environment: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during
dry season

- People
Population: 998,963 (July 1990), growth rate 2.5% (1990)

Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 19 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 127 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 44 years male, 48 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 5.9 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Guinea-Bissauan(s); adjective--Guinea-Bissauan

Ethnic divisions: about 99% African (30% Balanta, 20% Fula, 14% Manjaca,
13% Mandinga, 7% Papel); less than 1% European and mulatto

Religion: 65% indigenous beliefs, 30% Muslim, 5% Christian

Language: Portuguese (official); Criolo and numerous African languages

Literacy: 34% (1986)

Labor force: 403,000 (est.); 90% agriculture, 5% industry,
services, and commerce, 5% government; 53% of population of working
age (1983)

Organized labor: only one trade union--the National Union of Workers of
Guinea-Bissau (UNTG)

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Guinea-Bissau

Type: republic; highly centralized one-party regime since September 1974

Capital: Bissau

Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regioes, singular--regiao);
Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara,
Tombali

Independence: 24 September 1973 (from Portugal; formerly Portuguese
Guinea)

Constitution: 16 May 1984

Legal system: NA

National holiday: Independence Day, 24 September (1973)

Executive branch: president of the Council of State, vice presidents
of the Council of State, Council of State, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Assembly (Assembleia
Nacional Popular)

Judicial branch: none; there is a Ministry of Justice in the Council
of Ministers

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President of the
Council of State Brig. Gen. Joao Bernardo VIEIRA (assumed power 14
November 1980 and elected President of Council of State on 16 May 1984);
First Vice President Col. Iafai CAMARA (since 7 November 1985); Second
Vice President Vasco CABRAL (since 21 June 1989)

Political parties and leaders: only party--African Party for the
Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC), President
Joao Bernardo Vieira, leader; the party decided to retain the
binational title despite its formal break with Cape Verde

Suffrage: universal at age 15

Elections:
President of Council of State--last held 19 June 1989 (next
to be held 19 June 1994);
results--Brig. Gen. Joao Bernardo Vieira was reelected without
opposition by the National People's Assembly;

National People's Assembly--last held 15 June 1989 (next
to be held 15 June 1994);
results--PAIGC is the only party;
seats--(150 total) PAIGC 150, appointed by Regional Councils;

Regional Councils--last held 1 June 1989 (next to be held 1 June
1994); results--PAIGC is the only party;
seats--(473 total) PAIGC 473, by public plebiscite

Communists: a few Communists, some sympathizers

Member of: ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto),
IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO,
IMF, IMO, IRC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Alfredo Lopes CABRAL; Chancery
(temporary) at the Guinea-Bissauan Permanent Mission to the UN, Suite 604,
211 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017; telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador William L. JACOBSEN; Embassy at 17 Avenida Domingos Ramos,
Bissau (mailing address is C. P. 297, Bissau); telephone p245o 212816, 21817,
213674

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical
red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the
red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag
of Cape Verde which has the black star raised above the center of the red band
and is framed by two corn stalks and a yellow clam shell

- Economy
Overview: Guinea-Bissau ranks among the poorest countries in the world,
with a per capita GDP below $200. Agriculture and fishing are the main economic
activities, with cashew nuts, peanuts, and palm kernels the primary exports.
Exploitation of known mineral deposits is unlikely at present because of a weak
infrastructure and the high cost of development. The government's four-year plan
(1988-91) has targeted agricultural development as the top priority.

GDP: $152 million, per capita $160 (1988); real growth rate
5.6% (1987)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $20 million; expenditures $25 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1987)

Exports: $15 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--cashews, fish, peanuts, palm kernels;
partners--Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Cape Verde, China

Imports: $49 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--capital equipment, consumer goods, semiprocessed goods,
foods, petroleum;
partners--Portugal, USSR, EC countries, other Europe, Senegal, US

External debt: $465 million (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate - 1.7% (1986 est.)

Electricity: 22,000 kW capacity; 28 million kWh produced,
30 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: agricultural processing, beer, soft drinks

Agriculture: accounts for over 50% of GDP, nearly 100% of exports,
and 80% of employment; rice is the staple food; other crops include
corn, beans, cassava, cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, and cotton; not
self-sufficient in food; fishing and forestry potential not fully
exploited

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $46 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $519 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $41 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$68 million

Currency: Guinea-Bissauan peso (plural--pesos);
1 Guinea-Bissauan peso (PG) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Guinea-Bissauan pesos (PG) per US$1--650 pesos
(December 1989), NA (1988), 851.65 (1987), 238.98 (1986), 173.61 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 3,218 km; 2,698 km bituminous, remainder earth

Inland waterways: scattered stretches are important to coastal commerce

Ports: Bissau

Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft

Airports: 37 total, 18 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: poor system of radio relay, open-wire lines,
and radiocommunications; 3,000 telephones; stations--1 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 1
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP); Army, Navy, and Air
Force are separate components

Military manpower: males 15-49, 215,552; 122,824 fit for military service

Defense expenditures: 3.2% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Guyana
- Geography
Total area: 214,970 km2; land area: 196,850 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Idaho

Land boundaries: 2,462 km total; Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km,
Venezuela 743 km

Coastline: 459 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: outer edge of continental margin or 200 nm;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: Essequibo area claimed by Venezuela; Suriname claims area
between New (Upper Courantyne) and Courantyne/Kutari Rivers (all headwaters
of the Courantyne)

Climate: tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds;
two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January)

Terrain: mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south

Natural resources: bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber,
shrimp, fish

Land use: 3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 6% meadows and
pastures; 83% forest and woodland; 8% other; includes 1% irrigated

Environment: flash floods a constant threat during rainy seasons;
water pollution

- People
Population: 764,649 (July 1990), growth rate - 0.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 24 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 19 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 40 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 70 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.7 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Guyanese (sing., pl.); adjective--Guyanese

Ethnic divisions: 51% East Indian, 43% black and mixed, 4% Amerindian, 2%
European and Chinese

Religion: 57% Christian, 33% Hindu, 9% Muslim, 1% other

Language: English, Amerindian dialects

Literacy: 85%

Labor force: 268,000; 44.5% industry and commerce, 33.8% agriculture,
21.7% services; public-sector employment amounts to 60-80% of the total labor
force (1985)

Organized labor: 34% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Co-operative Republic of Guyana

Type: republic

Capital: Georgetown

Administrative divisions: 10 regions; Barima-Waini, Cuyuni-Mazaruni,
Demerara-Mahaica, East Berbice-Corentyne, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara,
Mahaica-Berbice, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Potaro-Siparuni, Upper Demerara-Berbice,
Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo

Independence: 26 May 1966 (from UK; formerly British Guiana)

Constitution: 6 October 1980

Legal system: based on English common law with certain admixtures of
Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Republic Day, 23 February (1970)

Executive branch: executive president, first vice president,
prime minister, first deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Hugh Desmond HOYTE (since 6 August 1985);
First Vice President Hamilton GREEN (since 6 August 1985);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Hamilton GREEN (since 6 August 1985)

Political parties and leaders: People's National Congress (PNC), Hugh
Desmond Hoyte; People's Progressive Party (PPP), Cheddi Jagan; Working People's
Alliance (WPA), Eusi Kwayana, Rupert Roopnarine, Moses Bhagwan; Democratic Labor
Movement (DLM), Paul Tennassee; People's Democratic Movement (PDM),
Llewellyn John; National Democratic Front (NDF), Joseph Bacchus; United Force
(UF), Marcellus Feilden Singh; Vanguard for Liberation and Democracy (VLD,
also known as Liberator Party), Gunraj Kumar, J. K. Makepeace Richmond

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
Executive President--last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be
held late 1990); Hugh Desmond Hoyte was elected president (the leader
of the party with the most votes in the National Assembly
elections--PNC 78%);

National Assembly--last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be held
by 9 December 1990);
results--PNC 78%, PPP 16%, UF 4%, WPA 2%;
seats--(65 total, 53 elected) PNC 42, PPP 8, UF 2, WPA 1

Communists: 100 (est.) hardcore within PPP; top echelons of PPP and PYO
(Progressive Youth Organization, militant wing of the PPP) include many
Communists; small but unknown number of orthodox Marxist-Leninists within PNC,
some of whom formerly belonged to the PPP

Other political or pressure groups: Trades Union Congress (TUC);
Guyana Council of Indian Organizations (GCIO); Civil Liberties Action Committee
(CLAC); the latter two organizations are small and active but not well organized

Member of: ACP, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICJ, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Dr. Cedric Hilburn GRANT;
Chancery at 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
there is a Guyanese Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador Theresa A. TULL; Embassy at 31 Main Street, Georgetown;
telephone p592o (02) 54900 through 54909

Flag: green with a red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side)
superimposed on a long yellow arrowhead; there is a narrow black border between
the red and yellow, and a narrow white border between the yellow and the green

- Economy
Overview: After growing on average at less than 1% a year in 1984-87,
GDP dropped by 3% in 1988, the result of bad weather, labor trouble in the
canefields, and flooding and equipment problems in the bauxite industry.
Consumer prices rose about 35%, and the current account deficit widened
substantially as sugar and bauxite exports fell. Moreover, electric power
is in short supply and constitutes a major barrier to future gains in
national output. The government, in association with international financial
agencies, seeks to reduce its payment arrears and to raise new funds. The
government's stabilization program--aimed at establishing realistic
exchange rates, reasonable price stability, and a resumption of
growth--requires considerable public administrative abilities and
continued patience by consumers during a long incubation period.

GDP: $323 million, per capita $420; real growth rate - 3.0% (1988 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1988 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $173 million; expenditures $414 million, including
capital expenditures of $75 million (1988 est.)

Exports: $215 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.)
commodities--bauxite, sugar, rice, shrimp, gold, molasses, timber, rum;
partners--UK 37%, US 12%, Canada 10.6%, CARICOM 4.8% (1986)

Imports: $216 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.);
commodities--manufactures machinery, food, petroleum;
partners--CARICOM 41%, US 18%, UK 9%, Canada 3% (1984)

External debt: $1.8 billion, including arrears (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate - 5.0% (1988 est.)

Electricity: 221,000 kW capacity; 583 million kWh produced,
760 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: bauxite mining, sugar, rice milling, timber, fishing (shrimp),
textiles, gold mining

Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for 25% of GDP and over 50%
of exports; sugar and rice are key crops; development potential exists for
fishing and forestry; not self-sufficient in food, especially wheat, vegetable
oils, and animal products

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $109 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $234 million;
Communist countries (1970-88), $242 million

Currency: Guyanese dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Guyanese dollar (G$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Guyanese dollars (G$) per US$1--33.0000 (January 1990),
27.159 (1989), 10.000 (1988), 9.756 (1987), 4.272 (1986), 4.252 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 187 km total, all single track 0.914-meter gauge

Highways: 7,665 km total; 550 km paved, 5,000 km gravel, 1,525 km earth,
590 km unimproved

Inland waterways: 6,000 km total of navigable waterways; Berbice,
Demerara, and Essequibo Rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km,
100 km, and 80 km, respectively

Ports: Georgetown

Civil air: 5 major transport aircraft

Airports: 66 total, 63 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: fair system with radio relay network; over 27,000
telephones; tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad; stations--4 AM, 3 FM, no TV,
1 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Guyana Defense Force (including Maritime Corps and Air Corps),
Guyana Police Force, Guyana People's Militia, Guyana National Service

Military manpower: males 15-49, 201,104; 152,958 fit for military service

Defense expenditures: 4.3% of GDP, or $13.8 million (1988 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Haiti
- Geography
Total area: 27,750 km2; land area: 27,560 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundary: 275 km with the Dominican Republic

Coastline: 1,771 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: claims US-administered Navassa Island

Climate: tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds

Terrain: mostly rough and mountainous

Natural resources: bauxite

Land use: 20% arable land; 13% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures;
4% forest and woodland; 45% other; includes 3% irrigated

Environment: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to
severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes;
deforestation

Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic

- People
Population: 6,142,141 (July 1990), growth rate 2.3% (1990)

Birth rate: 45 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 6 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 107 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 55 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.4 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Haitian(s); adjective--Haitian

Ethnic divisions: 95% black, 5% mulatto and European

Religion: 75-80% Roman Catholic (of which an overwhelming majority also
practice Voodoo), 10% Protestant

Language: French (official) spoken by only 10% of population; all speak
Creole

Literacy: 23%

Labor force: 2,300,000; 66% agriculture, 25% services, 9% industry;
shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)

Organized labor: NA

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Haiti

Type: republic

Capital: Port-au-Prince

Administrative divisions: 9 departments, (departements,
singular--departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est,
Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est

Independence: 1 January 1804 (from France)

Constitution: 27 August 1983, suspended February 1986; draft
constitution approved March 1987, suspended June 1988, most articles
reinstated March 1989

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

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1804)

Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Assemblee
Nationale) consisted of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or
House of Representatives, but was dissolved on 20 June 1988 after the
coup of 19 June 1988 (there was a subsequent coup on 18 September 1988);
after naming a civilian as provisional president on 13 March 1990, it
was announced that a Council of State was being formed

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour de Cassation)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--Provisional President
Ertha PASCAL-TROUILLOT (since 13 March 1990)

Political parties and leaders: Haitian Christian Democratic Party (PDCH),
Sylvio Claude; Haitian Social Christian Party (PSCH), Gregoire Eugene;
Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti (MIDH), Marc Bazin;
National Alliance Front (FNC), Gerard Gourgue; National Agricultural and
Industrial Party (PAIN), Louis Dejoie; Congress of Democratic Movements
(CONACOM), Victor Bono; National Progressive Revolutionary Party (PANPRA),
Serge Gilles; National Patriotic Movement of November 28 (MNP-28), Dejean
Belizaire; Movement for the Organization of the Country (MOP), Gesner Comeau;
Mobilization for National Development (MDN), Hubert De Ronceray

Suffrage: none

Elections:
President--last held 17 January 1988 (next to be held
by mid-June 1990); on 13 March 1990 Ertha Pascal-Trouillot
became provisional president after the resignation of President
Lieut. Gen Prosper Avril;

Legislature--last held 17 January 1988, but dissolved on
20 June 1988; the government has promised an election by
mid-June 1990

Communists: United Party of Haitian Communists (PUCH), Rene Theodore
(roughly 2,000 members)

Other political or pressure groups: Democratic Unity Confederation (KID),
Roman Catholic Church, Confederation of Haitian Workers (CTH),
Federation of Workers Trade Unions (FOS), Autonomous Haitian Workers
(CATH), National Popular Assembly (APN)

Member of: CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant), Charge
d'Affaires Fritz VOUGY; Chancery at 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone] through 4092; there
are Haitian Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York,
and San Juan (Puerto Rico);
US--Ambassador Alvin ADAMS; Embassy at Harry Truman
Boulevard, Port-au-Prince (mailing address is P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince),
telephone p509o (1) 20354 or 20368, 20200, 20612

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered
white rectangle bearing the coat of arms which contains a palm tree flanked by
flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto
L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength)

- Economy
Overview: About 85% of the population live in absolute poverty.
Agriculture is mainly small-scale subsistence farming and employs 65% of
the work force. The majority of the population does not have ready access
to safe drinking water, adequate medical care, or sufficient food. Few social
assistance programs exist, and the lack of employment opportunities remains the
most critical problem facing the economy.

GDP: $2.4 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate 0.3% (1988
est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.8% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 50% (1988 est.)

Budget: revenues $252 million; expenditures $357 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA million (1988)

Exports: $200 million (f.o.b., FY88);
commodities--light manufactures 65%, coffee 17%, other agriculture 8%,
other products 10%;
partners--US 77%, France 5%, Italy 4%, FRG 3%, other industrial 9%,
less developed countries 2% (FY86)

Imports: $344 million (c.i.f., FY88);
commodities--machines and manufactures 36%, food and beverages 21%,
petroleum products 11%, fats and oils 12%, chemicals 12%;
partners--US 65%, Netherlands Antilles 6%, Japan 5%, France 4%, Canada 2%,
Asia 2% (FY86)

External debt: $820 million (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate - 2% (FY87)

Electricity: 230,000 kW capacity; 482 million kWh produced,
75 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: sugar refining, textiles, flour milling, cement manufacturing,
bauxite mining, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts

Agriculture: accounts for 32% of GDP and employs 65% of work force; mostly
small-scale subsistence farms; commercial crops--coffee and sugarcane; staple
crops--rice, corn, sorghum, mangoes; shortage of wheat flour

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $638 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $627 million

Currency: gourde (plural--gourdes); 1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: gourdes (G) per US$1-- 5.0 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: 1 October-30 September

- Communications
Railroads: 40 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge, single-track, privately owned
industrial line

Highways: 4,000 km total; 950 km paved, 900 km otherwise improved, 2,150
km unimproved

Inland waterways: negligible; less than 100 km navigable

Ports: Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitien

Civil air: 4 major transport aircraft

Airports: 15 total, 10 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: domestic facilities barely adequate, international
facilities slightly better; 36,000 telephones; stations--33 AM, no FM, 4 TV,
2 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Corps

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,264,238; 679,209 fit for military
service; 59,655 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Heard Island and McDonald Islands
(territory of Australia)
- Geography
Total area: 412 km2; land area: 412 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 101.9 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploration;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: antarctic

Terrain: Heard Island--bleak and mountainous, with an extinct
volcano; McDonald Islands--small and rocky

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

Environment: primarily used as research stations

Note: located 4,100 km southwest of Australia in the
southern Indian Ocean

- People
Population: uninhabited

- Government
Long-form name: Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Type: territory of Australia administered by the Antarctic Division
of the Department of Science in Canberra (Australia)

- Economy
Overview: no economic activity

- Communications
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Honduras
- Geography
Total area: 112,090 km2; land area: 111,890 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries: 1,520 km total; Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342
km, Nicaragua 922 km

Coastline: 820 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: several sections of the boundary with El Salvador are in dispute

Climate: subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

Terrain: mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains

Natural resources: timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc,
iron ore, antimony, coal, fish

Land use: 14% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 30% meadows and pastures;
34% forest and woodland; 20% other; includes 1% irrigated

Environment: subject to frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes;
damaging hurricanes along Caribbean coast; deforestation; soil erosion

- People
Population: 5,259,699 (July 1990), growth rate 3.0% (1990)

Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 62 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 67 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 4.8 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Honduran(s); adjective--Honduran

Ethnic divisions: 90% mestizo (mixed Indian and European), 7% Indian, 2%
black, 1% white

Religion: about 97% Roman Catholic; small Protestant minority

Language: Spanish, Indian dialects

Literacy: 56%

Labor force: 1,300,000; 62% agriculture, 20% services, 9% manufacturing,
3% construction, 6% other (1985)

Organized labor: 40% of urban labor force, 20% of rural work force (1985)

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Honduras

Type: republic

Capital: Tegucigalpa

Administrative divisions: 18 departments (departamentos,
singular--departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan,
Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca,
Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara,
Valle, Yoro

Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Constitution: 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982

Legal system: rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law; some influence of
English common law; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justica)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--Rafael Leonardo CALLEJAS
Romero (since 26 January 1990)

Political parties and leaders: Liberal Party (PLH)--faction leaders,
Carlos Flores Facusse (leader of Florista Liberal Movement), Carlos Montoya
(Azconista subfaction), Ramon Villeda Bermudez and Jorge Arturo Reina (M-Lider
faction); National Party (PNH), Ricardo Maduro, party president; PNH
faction leaders--Oswaldo Ramos Soto and Rafael Leonardo Callejas
(Monarca faction); National Innovation and Unity Party-Social
Democrats (PINU-SD), Enrique Aguilar Cerrato Paz; Christian Democratic
Party (PDCH), Jorge Illescas; Democratic Action (AD), Walter Lopez
Reyes

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

Elections:
President--last held on 26 November 1989 (next to be held
November 1993);
results--Leonardo Rafael Callejas (PNH) 51%,
Jose Azcona Hoyo (PLH) 43.3%, others 5.7%;

National Congress--last held on 24 November 1985 (next to be held
November 1993);
results--PLH 51%, PNH 45%, PDCH 1.9%, PINU 1.5%, others 0.65;
seats--(134 total) PLH 62, PNH 71, PINU 1

Communists: up to 1,500; Honduran leftist groups--Communist Party of
Honduras (PCH), Party for the Transformation of Honduras (PTH),
Morazanist Front for the Liberation of Honduras (FMLH), People's
Revolutionary Union/Popular Liberation Movement (URP/MPL), Popular
Revolutionary Forces-Lorenzo Zelaya (FPR/LZ), Socialist Party of Honduras
Central American Workers Revolutionary Party (PASO/PRTC)

Other political or pressure groups: National Association of Honduran
Campesinos (ANACH), Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP),
Confederation of Honduran Workers (CTH), National Union of Campesinos (UNC),
General Workers Confederation (CGT), United Federation of Honduran Workers
(FUTH), Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH),
Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations (CCOP)

Member of: CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jorge Ramon HERNANDEZ Alcerro;
Chancery at Suite 100, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone [phone] through 7702; there are Honduran Consulates General
in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco,
and Consulates in Baton Rouge, Boston, Detroit, Houston, and Jacksonville;
US--Ambassador Crescencio ARCOS; Embassy at Avenida La Paz,
Tegucigalpa (mailing address is APO Miami 34022); telephone p504o 32-3120

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with
five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the
white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of
Central America--Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua;
similar to the flag of El Salvador which features a round emblem encircled by
the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the
white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua which features a triangle
encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA
CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band

- Economy
Overview: Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western
Hemisphere. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, accounting
for nearly 30% of GDP, employing 62% of the labor force, and producing
two-thirds of exports. Productivity remains low, however, leaving considerable
room for improvement. Although industry is still in its early stages, it employs
nearly 15% of the labor force, accounts for 23% of GDP, and generates 20% of
exports. The service sectors, including public administration, account for 48%
of GDP and employ nearly 20% of the labor force. Basic problems facing the
economy include a high population growth rate, a high unemployment rate, a lack
of basic services, a large and inefficient public sector, and an export sector
dependent mostly on coffee and bananas, which are subject to sharp price
fluctuations.

GDP: $4.4 billion, per capita $890; real growth rate 4.0% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 12% unemployed, 30-40% underemployed (1988)

Budget: revenues $1,053 million; expenditures $949 million, including
capital expenditures of $159 million (1989)

Exports: $1.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--bananas, coffee, shrimp, lobster, minerals, lumber;
partners--US 52%, FRG 11%, Japan, Italy, Belgium

Imports: $1.4 billion (c.i.f. 1988);
commodities--machinery and transport equipment, chemical products,
manufactured goods, fuel and oil, foodstuffs;
partners--US 39%, Japan 9%, CACM, Venezuela, Mexico

External debt: $3.2 billion (December 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 5% (1988)

Electricity: 655,000 kW capacity; 1,980 million kWh produced,
390 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: agricultural processing (sugar and coffee), textiles,
clothing, wood products

Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for nearly 30% of
GDP, over 60% of the labor force, and two-thirds of exports; principal
products include bananas, coffee, timber, beef, citrus fruit, shrimp;
importer of wheat

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on
small plots and used principally for local consumption; transshipment
point for cocaine

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.3 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $776 million

Currency: lempira (plural--lempiras); 1 lempira (L) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: lempiras (L) per US$1--2.00 (fixed rate); 3.50 parallel
exchange and black-market rate (October 1989)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 785 km total; 508 km 1.067-meter gauge, 277 km 0.914-meter
gauge

Highways: 8,950 km total; 1,700 km paved, 5,000 km otherwise improved,
2,250 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 465 km navigable by small craft

Ports: Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo

Merchant marine: 149 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 438,495
GRT/660,990 DWT; includes 2 passenger-cargo, 87 cargo, 12 refrigerated
cargo, 9 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 17 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 1 specialized tanker, 1 vehicle
carrier, 17 bulk; note--a flag of convenience registry

Civil air: 9 major transport aircraft

Airports: 180 total, 140 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 12 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: improved, but still inadequate; connection into
Central American Microwave System; 35,100 telephones; stations--176 AM, no FM,
28 TV, 7 shortwave; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations

- Defense Forces
Branches: Armed Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,222,858; 727,851 fit for military
service; 61,493 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.9% of GDP, or $82.5 million (1990 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Hong Kong
(colony of the UK)
- Geography
Total area: 1,040 km2; land area: 990 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than six times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundary: 30 km with China

Coastline: 733 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 3 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Disputes: scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region of China
in 1997

Climate: tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from
spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall

Terrain: hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north

Natural resources: outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar

Land use: 7% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures;
12% forest and woodland; 79% other; includes 3% irrigated

Environment: more than 200 islands; occasional typhoons

- People
Population: 5,759,990 (July 1990), growth rate 1.0% (1990)

Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 76 years male, 82 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: adjective--Hong Kong

Ethnic divisions: 98% Chinese, 2% other

Religion: 90% eclectic mixture of local religions, 10% Christian

Language: Chinese (Cantonese), English

Literacy: 75%

Labor force: 2,640,000; 35.8% manufacturing; 22.7% wholesale and retail
trade, restaurants and hotel, 17.1% services, 7.5% construction, 8.4% transport
and communications, 6.1% financing, insurance, and real estate (1986)

Organized labor: 15% of labor force (1986)

- Government
Long-form name: none; abbreviated HK

Type: colony of the UK; scheduled to revert to China in 1997

Capital: Victoria

Administrative divisions: none (colony of the UK)

Independence: none (colony of the UK); the UK signed an agreement
with China on 19 December 1984 to return Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997;
in the joint declaration, China promises to respect Hong Kong's existing
social and economic systems and lifestyle for 50 years after transition

Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

Legal system: based on English common law

National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 August (1945)

Executive branch: British monarch, governor, chief secretary of the
Executive Council

Legislative branch: Legislative Council

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);

Head of Government--Governor Sir David Clive WILSON (since 9 April 1987);
Chief Secretary Sir David Robert FORD (since NA February 1987)

Political parties: none

Suffrage: limited to about 71,000 professionals of electoral college and
functional constituencies

Elections:
Legislative Council--indirect elections last held 26 September 1985
(next to be held in September 1991)
seats--(58 total; 26 elected, 32 appointed)

Communists: 5,000 (est.) cadres affiliated with Communist Party of China

Other political or pressure groups: Federation of Trade Unions (Communist
controlled), Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (Nationalist Chinese
dominated), Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Chinese General Chamber of
Commerce (Communist controlled), Federation of Hong Kong Industries, Chinese
Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Professional Teachers'
Union, and several small pro-democracy groups.

Member of: ADB, ESCAP (associate member), GATT, IMO, INTERPOL, Multifiber
Arrangement, WMO

Diplomatic representation: as a British colony, the interests
of Hong Kong in the US are represented by the UK;
US--Consul General Donald M. ANDERSON; Consulate General at
26 Garden Road, Hong Kong (mailing address is Box 30, Hong Kong, or
FPO San Francisco 96659-0002); telephone p852o (5) 239011

Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with
the Hong Kong coat of arms on a white disk centered on the outer half of the
flag; the coat of arms contains a shield (bearing two junks below a
crown) held by a lion (representing the UK) and a dragon (representing China)
with another lion above the shield and a banner bearing the words
HONG KONG below the shield

- Economy
Overview: Hong Kong has a free-market economy and is autonomous in
financial affairs. Natural resources are limited and food and raw materials must
be imported. Manufacturing is the backbone of the economy, accounting
for more than 20% of GDP, employing 36% of the labor force, and exporting about
90% of output. Real GDP growth averaged a remakable 8% in 1987-88, then
slowed to a respectable 3% in 1989. Unemployment, which has been declining since
the mid-1980s, is now less than 2%. A shortage of labor continues to put upward
pressure on prices and the cost of living. Short-term prospects remain
solid so long as major trading partners continue to be prosperous. The
crackdown in China in 1989 casts a long shadow over the longer term
economic outlook.

GDP: $57 billion, per capita $10,000; real growth rate 3% (1989)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.5% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 1.6% (1988)

Budget: $6.9 billion (FY89)

Exports: $63.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988), including reexports of
$22.9 billion;
commodities--clothing, textile yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical
appliances, watches and clocks, toys;
partners--US 31%, China 14%, FRG 8%, UK 6%, Japan 5%

Imports: $63.9 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials,
semimanufactures, petroleum;
partners--China 31%, Japan 20%, Taiwan 9%, US 8%

External debt: $9.6 billion (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate 7.0% (1988)

Electricity: 7,800,000 kW capacity; 23,000 million kWh produced,
4,030 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys,
watches, clocks

Agriculture: minor role in the economy; rice, vegetables, dairy products;
less than 20% self-sufficient; shortages of rice, wheat, water

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $141.2 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87),
$899.8 million

Currency: Hong Kong dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$--7.800 (March 1989),
7.810 (1988), 7.760 (1987), 7.795 (1986), 7.811 (1985); note--linked to the
US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$ since 1985

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Railroads: 35 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, government owned

Highways: 1,100 km total; 794 km paved, 306 km gravel, crushed stone,
or earth

Ports: Hong Kong

Merchant marine: 134 ships (1,000 GRT or over), totaling 4,391,102
GRT/7,430,337 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 short-sea passenger, 11 cargo,
10 refrigerated cargo, 13 container, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 10 petroleum,
oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 9 combination ore/oil,
7 liquefied gas, 69 bulk; note--a flag of convenience registry; ships registered
in Hong Kong fly the UK flag and an estimated 500 Hong Kong-owned ships are
registered elsewhere

Civil air: 16 major transport aircraft

Airports: 2 total; 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
none with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: modern facilities provide excellent domestic and
international services; 2,300,000 telephones; microwave transmission links and
extensive optical fiber transmission network; stations--6 AM, 6 FM, 4
TV; 1 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) relay station and 1 British
Forces Broadcasting Service relay station; 2,500,000 radio receivers;
1,312,000 TV sets (1,224,000 color TV sets);
satellite earth stations--1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 2 Indian Ocean
INTELSAT; coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China; links to 5 international
submarine cables providing access to ASEAN member nations, Japan,
Taiwan, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe

- Defense Forces
Branches: Headquarters of British Forces, Gurkha Brigade, Royal Navy,
Royal Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Police
Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,703,890; 1,320,914 fit for military
service; 46,440 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 0.5% of GDP, or $300 million (1989 est.);
this represents one-fourth of the total cost of defending the colony,
the remainder being paid by the UK

Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Howland Island
(territory of the US)
- Geography
Total area: 1.6 km2; land area: 1.6 km2

Comparative area: about 2.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 6.4 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

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

Terrain: low-lying, nearly level, sandy, coral island surrounded by
a narrow fringing reef; depressed central area

Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)

Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and
pastures; 5% forest and woodland; 95% other

Environment: almost totally covered with grasses, prostrate vines, and
low-growing shrubs; small area of trees in the center; lacks fresh water;
primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds,
and marine wildlife; feral cats

Note: remote location 2,575 km southwest of Honolulu in the North Pacific
Ocean, just north of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia

- People
Population: uninhabited

Note: American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and naval
attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during World War II, but
abandoned after the war; public entry is by special-use permit only and
generally restricted to scientists and educators

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the Fish and
Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National
Wildlife Refuge System

- Economy
Overview: no economic activity

- Communications
Airports: airstrip constructed in 1937 for scheduled refueling stop on
the round-the-world flight of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan--they left Lae,
New Guinea, for Howland Island, but were never seen again; the airstrip is no
longer serviceable

Ports: none; offshore anchorage only, one boat landing area along the
middle of the west coast

Note: Earhart Light is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast
that was partially destroyed during World War II, but has since been rebuilt in
memory of famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually
by the US Coast Guard
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Hungary
- Geography
Total area: 93,030 km2; land area: 92,340 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries: 2,251 km total; Austria 366 km, Czechoslovakia 676
km, Romania 443 km, USSR 135 km, Yugoslavia 631 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Disputes: Transylvania question with Romania; Nagymaros Dam
dispute with Czechoslovakia

Climate: temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling plains

Natural resources: bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils

Land use: 54% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 14% meadows and pastures;
18% forest and woodland; 11% other; includes 2% irrigated

Environment: levees are common along many streams, but flooding occurs
almost every year

Note: landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes
between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between USSR and
Mediterranean basin

- People
Population: 10,568,686 (July 1990), growth rate - 0.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 15 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 75 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Hungarian(s); adjective--Hungarian

Ethnic divisions: 96.6% Hungarian, 1.6% German, 1.1% Slovak, 0.3%
Southern Slav, 0.2% Romanian

Religion: 67.5% Roman Catholic, 20.0% Calvinist, 5.0% Lutheran, 7.5%
atheist and other

Language: 98.2% Hungarian, 1.8% other

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 4,860,000; 43.2% services, trade, government, and other,
30.9% industry, 18.8% agriculture, 7.1% construction (1988)

Organized labor: 96.5% of labor force; Central Council of Hungarian Trade
Unions (SZOT) includes 19 affiliated unions, all controlled by the government;
independent unions legal; may be as many as 12 small independent unions
in operation

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Hungary

Type: republic

Capital: Budapest

Administrative divisions: 19 counties (megyek, singular--megye) and
1 capital city* (fovaros); Bacs-Kiskun, Baranya, Bekes,
Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Budapest*, Csongrad, Fejer, Gyor-Sopron,
Hajdu-Bihar, Heves, Komarom, Nograd, Pest, Somogy, Szabolcs-Szatmar,
Szolnok, Tolna, Vas, Veszprem, Zala

Independence: 1001, unification by King Stephen I

Constitution: 18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19 April
1972 and 18 October 1989

Legal system: based on Communist legal theory, with both civil law system
(civil code of 1960) and common law elements; Supreme Court renders decisions of
principle that sometimes have the effect of declaring legislative acts
unconstitutional; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Anniversary of the Liberation, 4 April (1945)

Executive branch: president, premier, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Orszaggyules)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President-designate Arpad GONCZ (since
2 May 1990);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Jozsef ANTALL
(since 23 May 1990)

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Forum, Jozsef Antall,
chairman; Free Democrats, Janos Kis, chairman; Independent Smallholders,
Istvan Prepeliczay, president; Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP), Rezso
Nyers, chairman; Young Democrats; Christian Democrats, Sandor Keresztes,
president; note--the Hungarian Socialist (Communist) Workers' Party
(MSZMP) renounced Communism and became the Hungarian Socialist Party
(MSP) in October 1989

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
National Assembly--last held on 25 March 1990 (first round, with
the second round held 8 April 1990);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(394 total) Democratic Forum 165, Free Democrats 92,
Independent Smallholders 43, Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP) 33,
Young Democrats 21, Christian Democrats 21, independent candidates
or jointly sponsored candidates 19; an additional 8 seats
will be given to representatives of minority nationalities

Communists: fewer than 100,000 (December 1989)

Member of: CCC, CEMA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, IBEC, ICAC, ICAO,
ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, Warsaw Pact,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Dr. Peter VARKONYI;
Chancery at 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
[phone];
there is a Hungarian Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador-designate Charles THOMAS; Embassy at V. Szabadsag
Ter 12, Budapest (mailing address is APO New York 09213); telephone p36o
(1) 126-450

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

- Economy
Overview: Hungary's postwar Communist government spurred the movement
from a predominantly agricultural to an industrialized economy. The share
of the labor force in agriculture dropped from over 50% in 1950 to under
20% in 1989. Agriculture nevertheless remains an important sector,
providing sizable export earnings and meeting domestic food needs.
Industry accounts for about 40% of GNP and 30% of employment. Nearly
three-fourths of foreign trade is with the USSR and Eastern Europe.  Low
rates of growth reflect the inability of the Soviet-style economy to
modernize capital plant and motivate workers. GNP grew about 1% in 1988
and declined by 1% in 1989. Since 1985 external debt has
more than doubled, to nearly $20 billion. In recent years Hungary has
moved further than any other East European country in experimenting with
decentralized and market-oriented enterprises. These experiments have
failed to jump-start the economy because of: limitations on funds for
privatization; continued subsidization of insolvent state enterprises;
and the leadership's reluctance to implement sweeping market reforms
that would cause additional social dislocations in the short term.

GNP: $64.6 billion, per capita $6,108; real growth rate - 1.3%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 18% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 0.4% (1989)

Budget: revenues $14.0 billion; expenditures $14.2 billion, including
capital expenditures of $944 million (1988)

Exports: $19.1 billion (f.o.b. 1988);
commodities--capital goods 36%, foods 24%, consumer goods 18%, fuels
and minerals 11%, other 11%;
partners USSR 48%, Eastern Europe 25%, developed countries 16%,
less developed countries 8% (1987)

Imports: $18.3 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--machinery and transport 28%, fuels 20%, chemical
products 14%, manufactured consumer goods 16%, agriculture 6%, other
16%;
partners--USSR 43%, Eastern Europe 28%, less developed countries 23%,
US 3% (1987)

External debt: $19.6 billion (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 0.6% (1988)

Electricity: 7,250,000 kW capacity; 30,300 million kWh produced,
2,870 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: mining, metallurgy, engineering industries, processed foods,
textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals)

Agriculture: including forestry, accounts for about 15% of GNP and 19% of
employment; highly diversified crop-livestock farming; principal
crops--wheat, corn, sunflowers, potatoes, sugar beets;
livestock--hogs, cattle, poultry, dairy products; self-sufficient in
food output

Aid: donor--$1.8 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed
countries (1962-88)

Currency: forint (plural--forints); 1 forint (Ft) = 100 filler

Exchange rates: forints (Ft) per US$1--62.5 (January 1990), 59.2 (1989),
50.413 (1988), 46.971 (1987), 45.832 (1986), 50.119 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 7,770 km total; 7,513 km 1.435-meter standard gauge,
222 km narrow gauge (mostly 0.760-meter), 35 km 1.524-meter broad gauge; 1,138
km double track, 2,088 km electrified; all government owned (1987)

Highways: 130,000 km total; 29,701 km national highway
system--26,727 km asphalt and bitumen, 146 km concrete, 55 km stone and
road brick, 2,345 km macadam, 428 km unpaved; 58,495 km country roads
(66% unpaved), and 41,804 km (est.) other roads (70% unpaved) (1987)

Inland waterways: 1,622 km (1986)

Pipelines: crude oil, 1,204 km; refined products, 600 km; natural gas,
3,800 km (1986)

Ports: Budapest and Dunaujvaros are river ports on the Danube; maritime
outlets are Rostock (GDR), Gdansk (Poland), Gdynia (Poland), Szczecin (Poland),
Galati (Romania), and Braila (Romania)

Merchant marine: 16 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 77,141
GRT/103,189 DWT

Civil air: 22 major transport aircraft

Airports: 90 total, 90 usable; 20 with permanent-surface runways;
2 with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 15 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: stations--13 AM, 11 FM, 21 TV; 8 Soviet TV relays;
3,500,000 TV sets; 5,500,000 receiver sets; at least 1 satellite earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Hungarian People's Army, Frontier Guard, Air and Air Defense
Command

Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,645,016; 2,112,651 fit for military
service; 86,481 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 43.7 billion forints, NA% of total budget (1989);
note--conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the official
administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Iceland
- Geography
Total area: 103,000 km2; land area: 100,250 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Kentucky

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 4,988 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Ireland,
and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall
area)

Climate: temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy
winters; damp, cool summers

Terrain: mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks,
icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords

Natural resources: fish, hydroelectric and geothermal power,
diatomite

Land use: NEGL% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 23% meadows and
pastures; 1% forest and woodland; 76% other

Environment: subject to earthquakes and volcanic activity

Note: strategic location between Greenland and Europe;
westernmost European country

- People
Population: 257,023 (July 1990), growth rate 1.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 18 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 80 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Icelander(s); adjective--Icelandic

Ethnic divisions: homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norwegians and
Celts

Religion: 95% Evangelical Lutheran, 3% other Protestant and Roman
Catholic, 2% no affiliation

Language: Icelandic

Literacy: 100%

Labor force: 134,429; 55.4% commerce, finance, and services, 14.3% other
manufacturing, 5.8% agriculture, 7.9% fish processing, 5.0% fishing (1986)

Organized labor: 60% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Iceland

Type: republic

Capital: Reykjavik

Administrative divisions: 23 counties (syslar, singular--sysla) and
14 independent towns* (kaupstadar, singular--kaupstadur); Akranes*, Akureyri*,
Arnessysla, Austur-Bardhastrandarsysla, Austur-Hunavatnssysla,
Austur-Skaftafellssysla, Borgarfjardharsysla, Dalasysla,
Eyjafjardharsysla, Gullbringusysla, Hafnarfjordhur*, Husavik*,
Isafjordhur*, Keflavik*, Kjosarsysla, Kopavogur*, Myrasysla,
Neskaupstadhur*, Nordhur-Isafjardharsysla, Nordhur-Mulasysla,
Nordhur-Thingeyjarsysla, Olafsfjordhur*, Rangarvallasysla,
Reykjavik*, Saudharkrokur*, Seydhisfjordhur*, Siglufjordhur*,
Skagafjardharsysla, Snaefellsnes-og Hanppadalssysla, Strandasysla,
Sudhur-Mulasysla, Sudhur-Thingeyjarsysla, Vestmannaeyjar*,
Vestur-Bardhastrandarsysla, Vestur-Hunavatnssysla,
Vestur-Isafjardharsysla, Vestur-Skaftafellssysla

Independence: 17 June 1944 (from Denmark)

Constitution: 16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944

Legal system: civil law system based on Danish law; does not accept
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Anniversary of the Establishment of the Republic,
17 June (1944)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Althing) with an Upper House
(Efri Deild) and a Lower House (Nedri Deild)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Haestirettur)

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Vigdis FINNBOGADOTTIR (since 1 August 1980);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Steingrimur HERMANNSSON (since 28
September 1988)

Political parties and leaders: Independence (conservative), Thorsteinn
Palsson; Progressive, Steingrimur Hermannsson; Social Democratic, Jon
Baldvin Hannibalsson; People's Alliance (left socialist), Olafur Ragnar
Grimsson; Citizens Party (conservative nationalist), Julius Solnes;
Women's List

Suffrage: universal at age 20

Elections:
President--last held on 29 June 1980 (next scheduled for June 1992);
results--there were no elections in 1984 and 1988 as President Vigdis
Finnbogadottir was unopposed;

Parliament--last held on 25 April 1987 (next to be held by
25 April 1991);
results--Independence 27.2%, Progressive 18.9%, Social Democratic 15.2%,
People's Alliance 13.4%, Citizens Party 10.9%, Womens List 10.1%, other 4.3%;

seats--(63 total) Independence 18, Progressive 13, Social Democratic 10,
People's Alliance 8, Citizens Party 7, Womens List 6, Regional Equality
Platform 1

Communists: less than 100 (est.), some of whom participate in the
People's Alliance

Member of: CCC, Council of Europe, EC (free trade agreement pending
resolution of fishing limits issue), EFTA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICES,
IDA, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC--International
Whaling Commission, NATO, Nordic Council, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WSG

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ingvi S. INGVARSSON; Chancery at
2022 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone]
through 6655; there is an Icelandic Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador Charles E. COBB; Embassy at Laufasvegur 21, Reykjavik
(mailing address is FPO New York 09571-0001); telephone p354o (1) 29100

Flag: blue with a red cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of
the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the
style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)

- Economy
Overview: Iceland's prosperous Scandinavian-type economy is basically
capitalistic, but with extensive welfare measures, low unemployment, and
comparatively even distribution of income. The economy is heavily dependent on
the fishing industry, which provides nearly 75% of export earnings. In the
absence of other natural resources, Iceland's economy is vulnerable to changing
world fish prices. National output declined for the second consecutive year in
1989, and two of the largest fish farms filed for bankruptcy. Other economic
activities include livestock raising and aluminum smelting. A fall in the fish
catch is expected for 1990, resulting in a continuation of the recession.

GDP: $4.0 billion, per capita $16,200; real growth rate - 1.8% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 17.4% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 1.3% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $1.5 billion; expenditures $1.7 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA million (1988)

Exports: $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--fish and fish products, animal products, aluminum,
diatomite;
partners--EC 58.9% (UK 23.3%, FRG 10.3%), US 13.6%,
USSR 3.6%

Imports: $1.6 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum,
foodstuffs, textiles;
partners--EC 58% (FRG 16%, Denmark 10.4%, UK 9.2%), US 8.5%,
USSR 3.9%

External debt: $1.8 billion (1988)

Industrial production: growth rate 4.7% (1987 est.)

Electricity: 1,063,000 kW capacity; 5,165 million kWh produced,
20,780 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: fish processing, aluminum smelting, ferro-silicon production,
hydropower

Agriculture: accounts for about 25% of GDP (including fishing); fishing is
most important economic activity, contributing nearly 75% to export earnings;
principal crops--potatoes and turnips; livestock--cattle, sheep; self-sufficient
in crops; fish catch of about 1.6 million metric tons in 1987

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-81), $19.1 million

Currency: krona (plural--kronur);
1 Icelandic krona (IKr) = 100 aurar

Exchange rates: Icelandic kronur (IKr) per US$1--60.751 (January 1990),
57.042 (1989), 43.014 (1988), 38.677 (1987), 41.104 (1986), 41.508 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 12,343 km total; 166 km bitumen and concrete; 1,284 km
bituminous treated and gravel; 10,893 km earth

Ports: Reykjavik, Akureyri, Hafnarfjordhur, Keflavik, Seydhisfjordhur,
Siglufjordur, Vestmannaeyjar; numerous minor ports

Merchant marine: 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 62,867
GRT/87,610 DWT; includes 9 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 1 container,
2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
1 chemical tanker, 2 bulk

Civil air: 20 major transport aircraft

Airports: 99 total, 92 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
14 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: adequate domestic service, wire and radio
communication system; 135,000 telephones; stations--10 AM, 17 (43 relays) FM,
14 (132 relays) TV; 2 submarine cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Police, Coast Guard

Military manpower: males 15-49, 68,688; 61,553 fit for military service;
no conscription or compulsory military service

Defense expenditures: none
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  India
- Geography
Total area: 3,287,590 km2; land area: 2,973,190 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than one-third the size of the US

Land boundaries: 14,103 km total; Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km,
Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km

Coastline: 7,000 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: boundaries with Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan; water
sharing problems with downstream riparians, Bangladesh over the Ganges
and Pakistan over the Indus

Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

Terrain: upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling
plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north

Natural resources: coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore,
manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds,
crude oil, limestone

Land use: 55% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures;
23% forest and woodland; 17% other; includes 13% irrigated

Environment: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common;
deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; air and water pollution;
desertification

Note: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important
Indian Ocean trade routes

- People
Population: 849,746,001 (July 1990), growth rate 2.0% (1990)

Birth rate: 30 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 89 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 57 years male, 59 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.8 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Indian(s); adjective--Indian

Ethnic divisions: 72% Indo-Aryan, 25% Dravidian, 3% Mongoloid and other

Religion: 82.6% Hindu, 11.4% Muslim, 2.4% Christian, 2.0% Sikh, 0.7%
Buddhist, 0.5% Jains, 0.4% other

Language: Hindi, English, and 14 other official languages--Bengali,
Telgu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya,
Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; 24 languages spoken by
a million or more persons each; numerous other languages and dialects,
for the most part mutually unintelligible; Hindi is the national language
and primary tongue of 30% of the people; English enjoys associate status
but is the most important language for national, political, and
commercial communication; Hindustani, a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu, is
spoken widely throughout northern India

Literacy: 36%

Labor force: 284,400,000; 67% agriculture (FY85)

Organized labor: less than 5% of the labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of India

Type: federal republic

Capital: New Delhi

Administrative divisions: 24 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and
Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar,
Chandigarh*, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Delhi*, Goa and Daman and Diu*,
Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,
Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal;
note--Goa may have become a state with Daman and Diu remaining a union
territory

Independence: 15 August 1947 (from UK)

Constitution: 26 January 1950

Legal system: based on English common law; limited judicial review of
legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic,
26 January (1950)

Executive branch: president, vice president, prime minister,
Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Sansad) consists of an upper
house or Government Assembly (Rajya Sabha) and a lower house or People's
Assembly (Lok Sabha)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Ramaswamy Iyer VENKATARAMAN (since 25 July
1987); Vice President Dr. Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 3 September 1987);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap SINGH
(since 2 December 1989)

Political parties and leaders: Janata Dal Party, Prime Minister
V. P. Singh; Congress (I) Party, Rajiv Gandhi; Bharatiya Janata Party,
L. K. Advani; Communist Party of India (CPI), C. Rajeswara Rao;
Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M), E. M. S. Namboodiripad;
Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Satyanarayan Singh;
All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK), a regional party
in Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham, M. Karunanidhi;
Akali Dal factions representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab;
Telugu Desam, a regional party in Andhra Pradesh, N. T. Rama Rao; National
Conference (NC), a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah;
Asom Gana Parishad, a regional party in Assam, Prafulla Mahanta

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
People's Assembly--last held 22, 24, 26 November
1989 (next to be held by November 1994, subject to postponement);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(544 total), 525 elected--Congress (I) Party
193, Janata Dal Party 141, Bharatiya Janata Party 86, Communist
Party of India (Marxist) 32, independents 18, Communist Party of India
12, AIADMK 11, Akali Dal 6, Shiv Sena 4, RSP 4, Forward Bloc 3, BSP 3,
Telugu Desam 2, Congress (S) Party 1, others 9

Communists: 466,000 members claimed by CPI, 361,000 members claimed by
CPI/M; Communist extremist groups, about 15,000 members

Other political or pressure groups: various separatist groups seeking
greater communal autonomy; numerous senas or militant/chauvinistic
organizations, including Shiv Sena (in Bombay), Anand Marg, and Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh

Member of: ADB, AIOEC, ANRPC, CCC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth,
ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITC, ITU,
IWC--International Wheat Council, NAM, SAARC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador-designate Abid HUSSEIN;
Chancery at 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone [phone]; there are Indian Consulates General in
Chicago, New York, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador William CLARK; Embassy at Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri
110021, New Delhi; telephone p91o (11) 600651; there are US Consulates General
in Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with
a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band; similar to
the flag of Niger which has a small orange disk centered in the white band

- Economy
Overview: India's Malthusian economy is a mixture of traditional
village farming and handicrafts, modern agriculture, old and new branches
of industry, and a multitude of support services. It presents both the
entrepreneurial skills and drives of the capitalist system and
widespread government intervention of the socialist mold. Growth of 4%
to 5% annually in the 1980s has softened the impact of population growth
on unemployment, social tranquility, and the environment. Agricultural output
has continued to expand, reflecting the greater use of modern farming techniques
and improved seed that have helped to make India self-sufficient in food grains
and a net agricultural exporter. However, tens of millions of villagers,
particularly in the south, have not benefited from the green
revolution and live in abject poverty. Industry has benefited from a
liberalization of controls. The growth rate of the service sector has
also been strong.

GNP: $333 billion, per capita $400; real growth rate 5.0% (1989
est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.5% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 20% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $48 billion; expenditures $53 billion, including
capital expenditures of $13.6 billion (1989)

Exports: $17.2 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--tea, coffee,
iron ore, fish products, manufactures;
partners--EC 25%, USSR and Eastern Europe 17%, US 19%, Japan 10%

Imports: $24.7 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--petroleum,
edible oils, textiles, clothing, capital goods; partners--EC 33%,
Middle East 19%, Japan 10%, US 9%, USSR and Eastern Europe 8%

External debt: $48.7 billion (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 8.8% (1989)

Electricity: 59,000,000 kW capacity; 215,000 million kWh produced,
260 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: textiles, food processing, steel, machinery, transportation
equipment, cement, jute manufactures, mining, petroleum, power,
chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics

Agriculture: accounts for about 33% of GNP and employs 67% of labor force;
self-sufficient in food grains; principal crops--rice, wheat, oilseeds, cotton,
jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; livestock--cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats and
poultry; fish catch of about 3 million metric tons ranks India in the world's
top 10 fishing nations

Illicit drugs: licit producer of opium poppy for the
pharmaceutical trade, but some opium is diverted to international drug
markets; major transit country for illicit narcotics produced in
neighboring countries

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $4.2 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-87), $18.6 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $315 million; USSR (1970-88), $10.0 billion;
Eastern Europe (1970-88), $105 million

Currency: Indian rupee (plural--rupees);
1 Indian rupee (Re) = 100 paise

Exchange rates: Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1--16.965 (January 1990),
16.226 (1989), 13.917 (1988), 12.962 (1987), 12.611 (1986), 12.369 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Railroads: 61,850 km total (1986); 33,553 km 1.676-meter broad gauge,
24,051 km 1.000-meter gauge, 4,246 km narrow gauge (0.762 meter and
0.610 meter); 12,617 km is double track; 6,500 km is electrified

Highways: 1,633,300 km total (1986); 515,300 km secondary and
1,118,000 km gravel, crushed stone, or earth

Inland waterways: 16,180 km; 3,631 km navigable by large vessels

Pipelines: crude oil, 3,497 km; refined products, 1,703 km; natural gas,
902 km (1989)

Ports: Bombay, Calcutta, Cochin, Kandla, Madras, New Mangalore,
Port Blair (Andaman Islands)

Merchant marine: 296 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,855,842
GRT/9,790,260 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 8 passenger-cargo, 95 cargo,
1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 8 container, 53 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL)
tanker, 10 chemical tanker, 9 combination ore/oil,109 bulk, 2 combination bulk

Civil air: 93 major transport aircraft

Airports: 345 total, 292 usable; 202 with permanent-surface runways; 2
with runways over 3,659 m; 57 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 91 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: poor domestic telephone service, international radio
communications adequate; 3,200,000 telephones; stations--170 AM, no FM, 14 TV
(government controlled); domestic satellite system for communications and TV;
3 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; submarine cables to Sri Lanka, Malaysia,
and Pakistan

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Border Security Forces, Coast Guard,
Paramilitary Forces

Military manpower: males 15-49, 227,436,282; 134,169,114 fit for military
service; about 9,403,063 reach military age (17) annually

Defense expenditures: 2.6% of GNP, or $8.7 billion (FY90 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Indian Ocean
- Geography
Total area: 73,600,000 km2; Arabian Sea, Bass Strait, Bay of Bengal,
Java Sea, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other
tributary water bodies

Comparative area: slightly less than eight times the size of the US;
third-largest ocean (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger
than the Arctic Ocean)

Coastline: 66,526 km

Climate: northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June
to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in
the north Indian Ocean and January/February in the south Indian Ocean

Terrain: surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular
system of currents) in the south Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface
currents in the north Indian Ocean--low pressure over southwest Asia from hot,
rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast
winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling,
winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds
and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and
subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge,
and Ninety East Ridge; maximum depth is 7,258 meters in the Java Trench

Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and
gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules

Environment: endangered marine species include the dugong, seals,
turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and
Red Sea

Note: major choke points include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz,
Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait;
ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme south near Antarctica from
May to October

- Economy
Overview: The Indian Ocean provides a major transportation highway
for the movement of petroleum products from the Middle East to Europe
and North and South American countries. Fish from the ocean are of growing
economic importance to many of the bordering countries as a source of both food
and exports. Fishing fleets from the USSR, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan also exploit
the Indian Ocean for mostly shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are
being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and Western
Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from
the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer
deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India,
South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

Industries: based on exploitation of natural resources, particularly
marine life, minerals, oil and gas production, fishing, sand and gravel
aggregates, placer deposits

- Communications
Ports: Bombay (India), Calcutta (India), Madras (India),
Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Fremantle (Australia),
Jakarta (Indonesia), Melbourne (Australia), Richard's Bay (South Africa)

Telecommunications: no submarine cables
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Indonesia
- Geography
Total area: 1,919,440 km2; land area: 1,826,440 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Land boundaries: 2,602 km total; Malaysia 1,782 km, Papua New Guinea
820 km

Coastline: 54,716 km

Maritime claims: (measured from claimed archipelagic baselines);

Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: East Timor question with Portugal

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains

Natural resources: crude oil, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite,
copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver

Land use: 8% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 7% meadows and pastures;
67% forest and woodland; 15% other; includes 3% irrigated

Environment: archipelago of 13,500 islands (6,000 inhabited); occasional
floods, severe droughts, and tsunamis; deforestation

Note: straddles Equator; strategic location astride or along major sea
lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean

- People
Population: 190,136,221 (July 1990), growth rate 1.8% (1990)

Birth rate: 27 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 75 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 58 years male, 63 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Indonesian(s); adjective--Indonesian

Ethnic divisions: majority of Malay stock comprising 45.0% Javanese, 14.0%
Sundanese, 7.5% Madurese, 7.5% coastal Malays, 26.0% other

Religion: 88% Muslim, 6% Protestant, 3% Roman Catholic, 2% Hindu, 1%
other

Language: Bahasa Indonesia (modified form of Malay; official); English
and Dutch leading foreign languages; local dialects, the most widely spoken
of which is Javanese

Literacy: 62%

Labor force: 67,000,000; 55% agriculture, 10% manufacturing,
4% construction, 3% transport and communications (1985 est.)

Organized labor: 3,000,000 members (claimed); about 5% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Indonesia

Type: republic

Capital: Jakarta

Administrative divisions: 24 provinces (propinsi-propinsi,
singular--propinsi), 2 special regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa,
singular--daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district**
(daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Bengkulu, Irian Jaya, Jakarta Raya**,
Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat,
Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Lampung, Maluku,
Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Riau, Sulawesi Selatan,
Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat,
Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Timor Timur, Yogyakarta*

Independence: 17 August 1945 (from Netherlands; formerly Netherlands
or Dutch East Indies)

Constitution: August 1945, abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949
and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959

Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by
indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures code; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 17 August (1945)

Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives
(Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR); note--the People's Consultative Assembly
(Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) includes the DPR plus 500 indirectly
elected members who meet every five years to elect the president and
vice president and, theoretically, to determine national policy

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Gen. (Ret.)
SOEHARTO (since 27 March 1968); Vice President Lt. Gen. (Ret.) SUDHARMONO
(since 11 March 1983)

Political parties and leaders: GOLKAR (quasi-official party based on
functional groups), Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Wahono, general chairman; Indonesia
Democracy Party (PDI--federation of former Nationalist and Christian
Parties), Soeryadi, chairman; Development Unity Party (PPP, federation
of former Islamic parties), Ismail Hasan Metareum, chairman

Suffrage: universal at age 17 and married persons regardless of age

Elections:
House of Representatives--last held on 23 April 1987
(next to be held 23 April 1992);
results--Golkar 73%, UDP 16%, PDI 11%;
seats--(500 total--400 elected, 100 appointed) Golkar 299, UDP 61, PDI 40

Communists: Communist Party (PKI) was officially banned in March 1966;
current strength about 1,000-3,000, with less than 10% engaged in organized
activity; pre-October 1965 hardcore membership about 1.5 million

Member of: ADB, ANRPC, ASEAN, Association of Tin Producing Countries,
CCC, CIPEC, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITC, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Abdul Rachman RAMLY;
Chancery at 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036;
telephone [phone]; there are Indonesian Consulates General in Houston,
New York, and Los Angeles, and Consulates in Chicago and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador John C. MONJO; Embassy at Medan Merdeka Selatan 5,
Jakarta (mailing address is APO San Francisco 96356);
telephone p62o (21) 360-360; there are US Consulates in Medan and Surabaya

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the
flag of Monaco which is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland which is
white (top) and red

- Economy
Overview: Indonesia is a mixed economy with many socialist institutions
and central planning but with a recent emphasis on deregulation and private
enterprise. Indonesia has extensive natural wealth but, with a large and
rapidly increasing population, it remains a poor country. GNP growth in 1985-89
averaged about 4%, somewhat short of the 5% rate needed to absorb the 2.3
million workers annually entering the labor force. Agriculture, including
forestry and fishing, is the most important sector, accounting for 21% of GDP
and over 50% of the labor force. The staple crop is rice. Once the world's
largest rice importer, Indonesia is now nearly self-sufficient.
Plantation crops--rubber and palm oil--are being encouraged for both
export and job generation. The diverse natural resources include crude
oil, natural gas, timber, metals, and coal. Of these, the oil sector
dominates the external economy, generating more than 20% of the
government's revenues and 40% of export earnings in 1989.
Japan is Indonesia's most important customer and supplier of aid.

GNP: $80 billion, per capita $430; real growth rate 5.7% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.5% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 3.1% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $20.9 billion; expenditures $20.9 billion, including
capital expenditures of $7.5 billion (FY89)

Exports: $21.0 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--petroleum
and liquefied natural gas 40%, timber 15%, textiles 7%, rubber 5%, coffee 3%;
partners--Japan 42%, US 16%, Singapore 9%, EC 11% (1988)

Imports: $13.2 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--machinery
39%, chemical products 19%, manufactured goods 16%;
partners--Japan 26%, EC 19%, US 13%, Singapore 7% (1988)

External debt: $55.0 billion, medium and long-term (1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 4.8% (1988 est.)

Electricity: 11,600,000 kW capacity; 38,000 million kWh produced,
200 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: petroleum, textiles, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer
production, timber, food, rubber

Agriculture: subsistence food production; small-holder and plantation
production for export; rice, cassava, peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, copra,
other tropical products

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international
drug trade, but not a major player; government actively eradicating
plantings and prosecuting traffickers

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $4.2 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $19.8 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $213 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$175 million

Currency: Indonesian rupiah (plural--rupiahs);
1 Indonesian rupiah (Rp) = 100 sen (sen no longer used)

Exchange rates: Indonesian rupiahs (Rp) per US$1--1,804.9 (January 1990),
1,770.1 (1989), 1,685.7 (1988), 1,643.8 (1987), 1,282.6 (1986), 1,110.6 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Railroads: 6,964 km total; 6,389 km 1.067-meter gauge, 497 km 0.750-meter
gauge, 78 km 0.600-meter gauge; 211 km double track; 101 km electrified; all
government owned

Highways: 119,500 km total; 11,812 km state, 34,180 km provincial,
and 73,508 km district roads

Inland waterways: 21,579 km total; Sumatra 5,471 km, Java and Madura
820 km, Kalimantan 10,460 km, Celebes 241 km, Irian Jaya 4,587 km

Pipelines: crude oil, 2,505 km; refined products, 456 km; natural gas,
1,703 km (1989)

Ports: Cilacap, Cirebon, Jakarta, Kupang, Palembang, Ujungpandang,
Semarang, Surabaya

Merchant marine: 313 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,480,912
GRT/2,245,233 DWT; includes 5 short-sea passenger, 13 passenger-cargo,
173 cargo, 6 container, 3 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 vehicle carrier,
77 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker,
2 liquefied gas, 6 specialized tanker, 1 livestock carrier, 24 bulk

Civil air: about 216 commercial transport aircraft

Airports: 468 total, 435 usable; 106 with permanent-surface runways; 1
with runways over 3,659 m; 12 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 62 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: interisland microwave system and HF police net;
domestic service fair, international service good; radiobroadcast coverage
good; 763,000 telephones (1986); stations--618 AM, 38 FM, 9 TV; satellite earth
stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station and 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT
earth station; and 1 domestic satellite communications system

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

Military manpower: males 15-49, 49,283,496; 29,137,291 fit for military
service; 2,098,169 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 2.1% of GNP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Iran
- Geography
Total area: 1,648,000 km2; land area: 1,636,000 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Alaska

Land boundaries: 5,492 km total; Afghanistan 936 km, Iraq 1,458 km,
Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, USSR 1,690 km

Coastline: 3,180 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: not specific;

Exclusive fishing zone: 50 nm in the Sea of Oman, median-line
boundaries in the Persian Gulf;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: Iran began formal UN peace negotiations with Iraq in August
1988 to end the war that began on 22 September 1980--troop withdrawal,
freedom of navigation, sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway and
prisoner-of-war exchange are the major issues for negotiation; Kurdish
question among Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and the USSR; occupies three
islands in the Persian Gulf claimed by UAE (Jazireh-ye Abu Musa
or Abu Musa, Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg or Greater Tunb,
and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek or Lesser Tunb); periodic disputes with
Afghanistan over Helmand water rights; Boluch question with Afghanistan
and Pakistan

Climate: mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast

Terrain: rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts,
mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper,
iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur

Land use: 8% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 27% meadows and
pastures; 11% forest and woodland; 54% other; includes 2% irrigated

Environment: deforestation; overgrazing; desertification

- People
Population: 55,647,001 (July 1990), growth rate 3.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 45 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 91 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 63 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.3 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Iranian(s); adjective--Iranian

Ethnic divisions: 51% Persian, 25% Azerbaijani, 9% Kurd, 8% Gilaki
and Mazandarani, 2% Lur, 1% Baloch, 1% Arab, 3% other

Religion: 95% Shia Muslim, 4% Sunni Muslim, 2% Zoroastrian, Jewish,
Christian, and Bahai

Language: 58% Persian and Persian dialects, 26% Turkic and Turkic
dialects, 9% Kurdish, 2% Luri, 1% Baloch, 1% Arabic, 1% Turkish, 2% other

Literacy: 48% (est.)

Labor force: 15,400,000; 33% agriculture, 21% manufacturing; shortage of
skilled labor (1988 est.)

Organized labor: none

- Government
Long-form name: Islamic Republic of Iran

Type: theocratic republic

Capital: Tehran

Administrative divisions: 24 provinces (ostanha, singular--ostan);
Azarbayjan-e Bakhtari, Azarbayjan-e Khavari,
Bakhtaran, Bushehr, Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari,
Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam,
Kerman, Khorasan, Khuzestan,
Kohkiluyeh va Buyer Ahmadi, Kordestan,
Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Semnan,
Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan

Independence: 1 April 1979, Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed

Constitution: 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of
the presidency

Legal system: the new Constitution codifies Islamic principles of
government

National holiday: Islamic Republic Day, 1 April (1979)

Executive branch: cleric (faqih), president, Council of Cabinet Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly
(Majlis-e-Shura-e-Islami)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Cleric and functional Chief of State--Leader of the Islamic
Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 3 June 1989);

Head of Government--President Ali Akbar RAFSANJANI (since 3 August
1989);

Political parties and leaders: there are at least seven licensed
parties; the two most important are--Militant Clerics Association, Mehdi
Mahdavi-Karubi and Mohammad Asqar Musavi-Khoinima; Fedaiyin Islam
Organization, Sadeq Khalkhali

Suffrage: universal at age 15

Elections:
President--last held NA July 1989 (next to be held April 1993);
results--Ali Akbar Rafsanjani was elected with only token opposition;

Islamic Consultative Assembly--last held 8 April and 13 May
1988 (next to be held April 1992); results--percent of vote by party
NA;
seats--(270 seats total) number of seats by party NA

Communists: 1,000 to 2,000 est. hardcore; 15,000 to 20,000 est.
sympathizers; crackdown in 1983 crippled the party; trials of captured leaders
began in late 1983 and remain incomplete

Other political or pressure groups: groups that generally
support the Islamic Republic include Hizballah,
Hojjatiyeh Society, Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution, Muslim Students
Following the Line of the Imam, and Tehran Militant Clergy Association;
Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), People's Fedayeen, and Kurdish Democratic
Party are armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by
the government


Member of: CCC, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, IDA, IDB, IFC,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, IPU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNIDO,
WHO

Diplomatic representation: none; protecting power in the US is
Algeria--Iranian Interests Section, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW,
Washington DC 20007; telephone [phone];
US--protecting power in Iran is Switzerland

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red; the
national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah) in red is centered
in the white band; Allah Akbar (God is Great) in white Arabic script is
repeated 11 times along the bottom edge of the green band and 11 times along the
top edge of the red band

- Economy
Overview: Since the 1979 revolution, the banks, petroleum industry,
transportation, utilities, and mining have been nationalized, but the
new five-year plan--the first since the revolution--passed in January
1990, calls for the transfer of many government-controlled enterprises
to the private sector. War-related disruptions, massive corruption,
mismanagement, demographic pressures, and ideological rigidities have kept
economic growth at depressed levels. Oil accounts for 90% of export
revenues. A combination of war damage and low oil prices brought a 2%
drop in GNP in 1988. GNP probably rose slightly in 1989, considerably
short of the 3.4% population growth rate in 1989. Heating oil and gasoline
are rationed. Agriculture has suffered from the war, land reform, and shortages
of equipment and materials. The five-year plan seeks to reinvigorate the
economy by increasing the role of the private sector, boosting nonoil
income, and securing foreign loans. The plan is overly ambitious but
probably will generate some short-term relief.

GNP: $97.6 billion, per capita $1,800; real growth rate 0-1% (1989)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 50-80% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 30% (1989)

Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $55.1 billion, including capital
expenditures of $11.5 billion (FY88 est.)

Exports: $12.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--petroleum 90%, carpets, fruits, nuts, hides;
partners--Japan, Turkey, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, France, FRG

Imports: $12.0 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--machinery,
military supplies, metal works, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, technical services,
refined oil products; partners--FRG, Japan, Turkey, UK, Italy

External debt: $4-5 billion (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 14,579,000 kW capacity; 40,000 million kWh produced,
740 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other building
materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil
production), metal fabricating (steel and copper)

Agriculture: principal products--rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits,
nuts, cotton, dairy products, wool, caviar; not self-sufficient in food

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium poppy for the domestic and
international drug trade

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $1.0 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.5 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $976 million; note--aid fell sharply
following the 1979 revolution

Currency: Iranian rial (plural--rials); 1 Iranian rial (IR) = 100 dinars;
note--domestic figures are generally referred to in terms of the toman
(plural--tomans), which equals 10 rials

Exchange rates: Iranian rials (IR) per US$1--70.019 (January 1990),
72.015 (1989), 68.683 (1988), 71.460 (1987), 78.760 (1986), 91.052 (1985)

Fiscal year: 21 March-20 March

- Communications
Railroads: 4,601 km total; 4,509 km 1.432-meter gauge, 92 km 1.676-meter
gauge; 730 km under construction from Bafq to Bandar Abbas

Highways: 140,072 km total; 46,866 km gravel and crushed stone; 49,440 km
improved earth; 42,566 km bituminous and bituminous-treated surfaces;
1,200 km (est.) of rural road network

Inland waterways: 904 km; the Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by
maritime traffic for about 130 km, but closed since September 1980 because
of Iran-Iraq war

Pipelines: crude oil, 5,900 km; refined products, 3,900 km; natural gas,
3,300 km

Ports: Abadan (largely destroyed in fighting during 1980-88 war),
Bandar Beheshti, Bandar-e Abbas, Bandar-e Bushehr, Bandar-e Khomeyni,
Bandar-e Shahid Rajai, Khorramshahr (largely destroyed in fighting
during 1980-88 war)

Merchant marine: 133 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,631,836
GRT/8,662,454 DWT; includes 36 cargo, 6 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 33 petroleum,
oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 4 chemical tanker, 3 refrigerated cargo,
49 bulk, 2 combination bulk

Civil air: 42 major transport aircraft

Airports: 201 total, 175 usable; 82 with permanent-surface runways; 17
with runways over 3,659 m; 17 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 68 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: radio relay extends throughout country; system
centered in Tehran; 2,143,000 telephones; stations--62 AM, 30 FM, 250 TV;
satellite earth stations--2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT;
HF and microwave to Turkey, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait, and USSR

- Defense Forces
Branches: Islamic Republic of Iran Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force,
and Revolutionary Guard Corps (includes Basij militia and own ground, air, and
naval forces), Gendarmerie

Military manpower: males 15-49, 12,302,967; 7,332,614 fit for military
service; 569,647 reach military age (21) annually

Defense expenditures: 8% of GNP, or $7.8 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Iraq
- Geography
Total area: 434,920 km2; land area: 433,970 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Idaho

Land boundaries: 3,454 km total; Iran 1,458 km, Iraq - Saudi Arabia
Neutral Zone 191 km, Jordan 134 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 495 km,
Syria 605 km, Turkey 331 km

Coastline: 58 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: not specific;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: Iraq began formal UN peace negotiations with Iran in August
1988 to end the war that began on 22 September 1980--sovereignty over the Shatt
al Arab waterway, troop withdrawal, freedom of navigation, and
prisoner of war exchange are the major issues for negotiation; Kurdish
question among Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and the USSR; shares Neutral Zone with
Saudi Arabia--in July 1975, Iraq and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement
to divide the zone between them, but the agreement must be ratified
before it becomes effective; disputes Kuwaiti ownership of Warbah and
Bubiyan islands; periodic disputes with upstream riparian
Syria over Euphrates water rights; potential dispute over water
development plans by Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

Climate: desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers

Terrain: mostly broad plains; reedy marshes in southeast; mountains
along borders with Iran and Turkey

Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

Land use: 12% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 9% meadows and pastures;
3% forest and woodland; 75% other; includes 4% irrigated

Environment: development of Tigris-Euphrates river systems contingent
upon agreements with upstream riparians (Syria, Turkey); air and water
pollution; soil degradation (salinization) and erosion; desertification

- People
Population: 18,781,770 (July 1990), growth rate 3.9% (1990)

Birth rate: 46 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 67 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 68 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 7.3 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Iraqi(s); adjective--Iraqi

Ethnic divisions: 75-80% Arab, 15-20% Kurdish, 5% Turkoman, Assyrian
or other

Religion: 97% Muslim (60-65% Shia, 32-37% Sunni), 3% Christian or other

Language: Arabic (official), Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions),
Assyrian, Armenian

Literacy: 55-65% (1989 est.)

Labor force: 3,400,000 (1984); 39% services, 33% agriculture, 28%
industry, severe labor shortage (1987); expatriate labor force about
1,000,000 (1989)

Organized labor: less than 10% of the labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Iraq

Type: republic

Capital: Baghdad

Administrative divisions: 18 provinces (muhafazat,
singular--muhafazah); Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna,
Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, As Sulaymaniyah, At Tamim, Babil,
Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Arbil, Karbala,
Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, Wasit

Independence: 3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under
British administration)

Constitution: 22 September 1968, effective 16 July 1970 (interim
Constitution); new constitution now in final stages of drafting

Legal system: based on Islamic law in special religious courts, civil law
system elsewhere; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 17 July (1968)

Executive branch: president, vice president, chairman of the Revolutionary
Command Council, vice chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council,
prime minister, first deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Majlis al Umma)

Judicial branch: Court of Cassation

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Saddam HUSAYN
(since 16 July 1979); Vice President Taha Muhyi al-Din MARUF
(since 21 April 1974)

Political parties: National Progressive Front is a coalition of the
Arab Bath Socialist Party, Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Kurdistan
Revolutionary Party

Suffrage: universal adult at age 18

Elections:
National Assembly--last held on 1 April 1989 (next to be held NA);
results--Shia Arabs 30%, Kurds 15%, Sunni Arabs 53%, Christians 2% est.;
seats--(250 total) number of seats by party NA

Communists: about 1,500 hardcore members

Other political or pressure groups: political parties and activity
severely restricted; possibly some opposition to regime from disaffected
members of the regime, Army officers, and religious and ethnic dissidents

Member of: ACC, Arab League, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Sadiq AL-MASHAT;
Chancery at 1801 P Street NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador April C. GLASPIE; Embassy in Masbah Quarter (opposite the
Foreign Ministry Club), Baghdad (mailing address is P. O. Box 2447 Alwiyah,
Baghdad); telephone p964o (1) 719-6138 or 719-6139, 718-1840, 719-3791

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with
three green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band;
similar to the flags of the YAR which has one star and Syria which has two stars
(in a horizontal line centered in the white band)--all green and five-pointed;
also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle centered in the
white band

- Economy
Overview: The Bathist regime engages in extensive central planning
and management of industrial production and foreign trade while leaving
some small-scale industry and services and most agriculture to
private enterprise. The economy is dominated by the oil sector, which provides
about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. Since the early 1980s financial
problems, caused by war expenditures and damage to oil export facilities by
Iran, have led the government to implement austerity measures and to reschedule
foreign debt payments. Oil exports have gradually increased with the
construction of new pipelines. Agricultural development remains hampered by
labor shortages, salinization, and dislocations caused by previous land reform
and collectivization programs. The industrial sector, although accorded high
priority by the government, is under financial constraints. New investment funds
are generally allocated only to projects that result in import substitution or
foreign exchange earnings.

GNP: $35 billion, per capita $1,940; real growth rate 5%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30-40% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: less than 5% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $NA billion; expenditures $35 billion,
including capital expenditures of NA (1989)

Exports: $12.5 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--crude oil and refined products, machinery, chemicals, dates;
partners--US, Brazil, USSR, Italy, Turkey, France, Japan, Yugoslavia
(1988)

Imports: $10.2 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--manufactures, food;
partners--Turkey, US, FRG, UK, France, Japan, Romania, Yugoslavia,
Brazil (1988)

External debt: $40 billion (1988 est.), excluding debt to Persian
Gulf Arab states

Industrial production: NA%

Electricity: 9,902,000 kW capacity; 20,000 million kWh produced,
1,110 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food
processing

Agriculture: accounts for less than 10% of GNP but 33% of labor force;
principal products--wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, other fruit,
cotton, wool; livestock--cattle, sheep; not self-sufficient in food output

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $3 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $607
million; OPEC bilateral aid (1980-89), $37.2 billion; Communist countries
(1970-88), $3.9 billion

Currency: Iraqi dinar (plural--dinars); 1 Iraqi dinar (ID) = 1,000 fils

Exchange rates: Iraqi dinars (ID) per US$1--0.3109 (fixed rate since 1982)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 2,962 km total; 2,457 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 505 km
1.000-meter gauge

Highways: 25,479 km total; 8,290 km paved, 5,534 km improved earth,
11,655 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 1,015 km; Shatt al Arab usually navigable by maritime
traffic for about 130 km, but closed since September 1980 because of Iran-Iraq
war; Tigris and Euphrates navigable by shallow-draft steamers (of little
importance); Shatt al Basrah canal navigable in sections by
shallow-draft vessels

Ports: Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr

Merchant marine: 44 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 947,721
GRT/1,703,988 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 passenger-cargo, 18 cargo,
1 refrigerated cargo, 3 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 19 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker

Pipelines: crude oil, 4,350 km; 725 km refined products; 1,360 km natural
gas

Civil air: 64 major transport aircraft (including 30 IL-76s
used by the Iraq Air Force)

Airports: 111 total, 101 usable; 72 with permanent-surface runways; 8 with
runways over 3,659 m; 53 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 14 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: good network consists of coaxial cables, radio relay
links, and radiocommunication stations; 632,000 telephones; stations--9
AM, 1 FM, 81 TV; satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT,
1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 GORIZONT Atlantic Ocean in the Intersputnik
system; coaxial cable and radio relay to Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, and Turkey

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Border Guard Force, mobile
police force, Republican Guard

Military manpower: males 15-49, 4,097,190; 2,284,417 fit for military
service; 219,701 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Iraq - Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone
- Geography
Total area: 3,520 km2; land area: 3,520 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Rhode Island

Land boundaries: 389 km total; 191 km Iraq, 198 km Saudi Arabia

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Climate: harsh, dry desert

Terrain: sandy desert

Natural resources: none

Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 100% other (sandy desert)

Environment: harsh, inhospitable

Note: landlocked; located west of quadripoint with Iraq, Kuwait, and
Saudi Arabia

- People
Population: uninhabited

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: joint administration by Iraq and Saudi Arabia; in July 1975,
Iraq and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to divide the zone between
them, but the agreement must be ratified, however, before it becomes
effective.

- Economy
Overview: no economic activity

- Communications
Highways: none; some secondary roads

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the joint responsibility of Iraq and Saudi Arabia
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Ireland
- Geography
Total area: 70,280 km2; land area: 68,890 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundary: 360 km with UK

Coastline: 1,448 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: no precise definition;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: maritime boundary with the UK; Northern Ireland question with
the UK; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK
(Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)

Climate: temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current;
mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time

Terrain: mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged
hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast

Natural resources: zinc, lead, natural gas, crude oil, barite,
copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver

Land use: 14% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 71% meadows and
pastures; 5% forest and woodland; 10% other

Environment: deforestation

- People
Population: 3,500,212 (July 1990), growth rate -0.4% (1990)

Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 10 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Irishman(men), Irish (collective pl.); adjective--Irish

Ethnic divisions: Celtic, with English minority

Religion: 94% Roman Catholic, 4% Anglican, 2% other

Language: Irish (Gaelic) and English; English is the language generally
used, with Gaelic spoken in a few areas, mostly along the western seaboard

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 1,310,000; 57.3% services, 19.1% manufacturing and
construction, 14.8% agriculture, forestry, and fishing (1988)

Organized labor: 36% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Ireland

Type: republic

Capital: Dublin

Administrative divisions: 26 counties; Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork,
Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick,
Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary,
Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

Independence: 6 December 1921 (from UK)

Constitution: 29 December 1937; adopted 1937

Legal system: based on English common law, substantially modified by
indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: St. Patrick's Day, 17 March

Executive branch: president, prime minister, deputy prime minister,
Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Oireachtas) consists of an
upper house or Senate (Seanad Eireann) and a lower house or House of
Representatives (Dail Eireann)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Dr. Patrick J. HILLERY (since 3 December
1976);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Charles J. HAUGHEY (since 12 July
1989, the fourth time elected as prime minister)

Political parties and leaders: Fianna Fail, Charles Haughey;
Labor Party, Richard Spring; Fine Gael, Alan Dukes; Communist Party
of Ireland, Michael O'Riordan; Workers' Party, Proinsias DeRossa;
Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams; Progressive Democrats, Desmond O'Malley;
note--Prime Minister Haughey heads a coalition consisting of the
Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 21 October 1983 (next to be held October
1990); results--Dr. Patrick Hillery reelected;

Senate--last held on 17 February 1987 (next to be held February
1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(60 total, 49 elected) Fianna Fail 30, Fine Gael 16, Labor 3,
Independents 11;

House of Representatives--last held on 12 July 1989 (next to be held
NA June 1994);
results--Fianna Fail 44.0%, Fine Gael 29.4%, Labor Party 9.3%,
Progressive Democrats 5.4%, Workers' Party 4.9%, Sinn Fein 1.1%,
independents 5.9%;
seats--(166 total) Fianna Fail 77, Fine Gael 55, Labor Party 15,
Workers' Party 7, Progressive Democrats 6, independents 6

Communists: under 500

Member of: CCC, Council of Europe, EC, EMS, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICES, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Padraic N. MACKERNAN; Chancery at
2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
there are Irish Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, New York, and
San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Richard A. MOORE; Embassy at 42 Elgin Road,
Ballsbridge, Dublin; telephone p353o (1) 688777

Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange;
similar to the flag of the Ivory Coast which is shorter and has the colors
reversed--orange (hoist side), white, and green; also similar to the flag of
Italy which is shorter and has colors of green (hoist side), white, and red

- Economy
Overview: The economy is small, open, and trade dependent. Agriculture,
once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for
35% of GNP and about 80% of exports and employs 20% of the labor force. The
government has successfully reduced the rate of inflation from double-digit
figures in the late 1970s to about 4% in 1989. In 1987, after years of deficits,
the balance of payments was brought into the black. Unemployment, however,
is a serious problem. A 1989 unemployment rate of 17.7% placed Ireland
along with Spain as the countries with the worst jobless records in
Western Europe.

GDP: $31.4 billion, per capita $8,900; real growth rate 4.3% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.2% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 17.7% (1989)

Budget: revenues $10.9 billion; expenditures $11.2 billion, including
capital expenditures of $1.5 billion (1989)

Exports: $20.3 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--live animals,
animal products, chemicals, data processing equipment, industrial machinery;
partners--EC 74% (UK 35%, FRG 11%, France 9%), US 8%

Imports: $17.3 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--food, animal
feed, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, textiles,
clothing; partners--EC 66% (UK 42%, FRG 9%, France 4%), US 16%

External debt: $16.1 billion (1988)

Industrial production: growth rate 9.5% (1989 est.)

Electricity: 4,957,000 kW capacity; 14,480 million kWh produced,
4,080 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: food products, brewing, textiles, clothing, chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and crystal

Agriculture: accounts for 11% of GNP and 14.8% of the labor force;
principal crops--turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat;
livestock--meat and dairy products; 85% self-sufficient in food; food
shortages include bread grain, fruits, vegetables

Aid: NA

Currency: Irish pound (plural--pounds); 1 Irish pound (LIr) = 100 pence

Exchange rates: Irish pounds (LIr) per US$1--0.6399 (January 1990),
0.7047 (1989), 0.6553 (1988), 0.6720 (1987), 0.7454 (1986), 0.9384 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: Irish National Railways (CIE) operates 1,947 km 1.602-meter
gauge, government owned; 485 km double track; 38 km electrified

Highways: 92,294 km total; 87,422 km surfaced, 4,872 km gravel or crushed
stone

Inland waterways: limited for commercial traffic

Pipelines: natural gas, 225 km

Ports: Cork, Dublin, Shannon Estuary, Waterford

Merchant marine: 67 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 113,569 GRT/139,681
DWT; includes 3 short-sea passenger, 29 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo,
2 container, 23 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 specialized
tanker, 2 chemical tanker, 5 bulk

Civil air: 23 major transport aircraft

Airports: 40 total, 37 usable; 18 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: small, modern system using cable and radio relay
circuits; 900,000 telephones; stations--45 AM, 16 (29 relays) FM, 18
(68 relays) TV; 5 coaxial submarine cables; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth
stations

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Naval Service, Army Air Corps

Military manpower: males 15-49, 870,161; 705,765 fit for military service;
33,259 reach military age (17) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.6% of GDP, or $500 million (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Israel
(also see separate Gaza Strip and West Bank entries)
Note: The Arab territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not
included in the data below. As stated in the 1978 Camp David Accords and
reaffirmed by President Reagan's 1 September 1982 peace initiative, the final
status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, their relationship with their neighbors,
and a peace treaty between Israel and Jordan are to be negotiated among the
concerned parties. The Camp David Accords further specify that these
negotiations will resolve the location of the respective boundaries. Pending the
completion of this process, it is US policy that the final status of the West
Bank and Gaza Strip has yet to be determined (see West Bank and Gaza Strip
entries). On 25 April 1982 Israel relinquished control of the Sinai to Egypt.
Statistics for the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights are included in the Syria
entry.

- Geography
Total area: 20,770 km2; land area: 20,330 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than New Jersey

Land boundaries: 1,006 km total; Egypt 255 km, Jordan 238 km,
Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307, Gaza Strip 51 km

Coastline: 273 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation;

Territorial sea: 6 nm

Disputes: separated from Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank by the
1949 Armistice Line; differences with Jordan over the location
of the 1949 Armistice Line which separates the two countries;
West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli occupied with status
to be determined; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Israeli troops in southern
Lebanon since June 1982; water-sharing issues with Jordan

Climate: temperate; hot and dry in desert areas

Terrain: Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains;
Jordan Rift Valley

Natural resources: copper, phosphates, bromide, potash, clay, sand,
sulfur, asphalt, manganese, small amounts of natural gas and crude oil

Land use: 17% arable land; 5% permanent crops; 40% meadows and pastures;
6% forest and woodland; 32% other; includes 11% irrigated

Environment: sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; limited
arable land and natural water resources pose serious constraints; deforestation;

Note: there are 173 Jewish settlements in the West Bank, 35 in the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 18 in the Gaza Strip, and 14 Israeli-built
Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem

- People
Population: 4,409,218 (July 1990), growth rate 1.5% (1989); includes
70,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank, 10,500 in the Israeli-occupied
Golan Heights, 2,500 in the Gaza Strip, and 110,000 in East Jerusalem
(1989 est.)

Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 9 deaths/1,000 live births (July 1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 76 years male, 79 years female (July 1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.9 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Israeli(s); adjective--Israeli

Ethnic divisions: 83% Jewish, 17% non-Jewish (mostly Arab)

Religion: 83% Judaism, 13.1% Islam (mostly Sunni Muslim), 2.3% Christian,
1.6% Druze

Language: Hebrew (official); Arabic used officially for Arab minority;
English most commonly used foreign language

Literacy: 88% Jews, 70% Arabs

Labor force: 1,400,000 (1984 est.); 29.5% public services; 22.8% industry,
mining, and manufacturing; 12.8% commerce; 9.5% finance and business;
6.8% transport, storage, and communications; 6.5% construction and public works;
5.5% agriculture, forestry, and fishing; 5.8% personal and other services;
1.0% electricity and water (1983)

Organized labor: 90% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: State of Israel

Type: republic

Capital: Israel proclaimed Jerusalem its capital in 1950, but the US,
like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv

Administrative divisions: 6 districts (mehozot, singular--mehoz); Central,
Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv

Independence: 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British
administration)

Constitution: no formal constitution; some of the functions of a
constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the basic
laws of the Parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law

Legal system: mixture of English common law, British Mandate
regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal
systems; in December 1985 Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would
no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 10 May 1989; Israel declared
independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday
may occur in April or May

Executive branch: president, prime minister, vice prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral Knesset

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Gen. Chaim HERZOG (since 5 May 1983);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Yitzhak SHAMIR (since 20 October 1986);
Vice Prime Minister Shimon PERES (Prime Minister from 13 September 1984 to
20 October 1986, when he rotated to Vice Prime Minister)

Political parties and leaders: Israel currently has a national unity
government comprising five parties that hold 95 of the Knesset's
120 seats; Members of the unity government--Likud bloc, Prime
Minister Yitzhak Shamir; Labor Party, Vice Prime Minister and Finance
Minister Shimon Peres; Sephardic Torah Guardians (SHAS), Minister of
Immigrant Absorption Yitzhak Peretz; National Religious Party, Minister of
Religious Affairs Zevulun Hammer; Agudat Yisrael, Deputy Minister
of Labor and Social Welfare Moshe Zeev Feldman;

Opposition parties--Tehiya Party, Yuval Ne'eman; Tzomet Party,
Rafael Eytan; Moledet Party, Rehavam Ze'evi; Degel HaTorah, Avraham
Ravitz; Citizens' Rights Movement, Shulamit Aloni; United Workers' Party
(MAPAM), Yair Tzaban; Center Movement-Shinui, Amnon Rubenstein; New
Communist Party of Israel (RAKAH), Meir Wilner; Progressive List for
Peace, Muhammad Mi'ari; Arab Democratic Party, Abd Al Wahab Darawshah

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 23 February 1988 (next to be held February
1994); results--Gen. Chaim Herzog reelected by Knesset;

Parliament--last held 1 November 1988 (next to be held by
November 1992);
seats--(120 total) Likud bloc 40, Labor Party 39, SHAS 6, National Religious
Party 5, Agudat Yisrael 5, Citizens' Rights Movement 5, RAKAH 4,
Tehiya Party 3, MAPAM 3, Tzomet Party 2, Moledet Party 2, Degel HaTorah 2,
Center Movement-Shinui 2, Progressive List for Peace 1, Arab Democratic Party 1

Communists: Hadash (predominantly Arab but with Jews in its leadership)
has some 1,500 members

Other political or pressure groups: Gush Emunim, Jewish nationalists
advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now,
critical of government's West Bank/Gaza Strip and Lebanon policies

Member of: CCC, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA,
IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOOC, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, OAS (observer), UN,
UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Moshe ARAD; Chancery at
3514 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
there are Israeli Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston,
Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador William A. BROWN; Embassy at 71 Hayarkon Street,
Tel Aviv (mailing address is APO New York 09672); telephone p972o (3) 654338;
there is a US Consulate General in Jerusalem

Flag: white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the
Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands
near the top and bottom edges of the flag

- Economy
Overview: Israel has a market economy with substantial government
participation. It depends on imports for crude oil, food, grains, raw materials,
and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has developed
its agriculture and industry sectors on an intensive scale over the past 20
years. Industry accounts for about 23% of the labor force, agriculture for 6%,
and services for most of the balance. Diamonds, high-technology
machinery, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the
biggest export earners. The balance of payments has traditionally
been negative, but is offset by large transfer payments and foreign loans.
Nearly two-thirds of Israel's $16 billion external debt is owed to
the US, which is its major source for economic and military aid.
To earn needed foreign exchange, Israel must continue to exploit
high-technology niches in the international market, such as medical
scanning equipment. In 1987 the economy showed a 5.2% growth in real GNP, the
best gain in nearly a decade; in 1988-89 the gain was only 1% annually,
largely because of the economic impact of the Palestinian uprising
(intifadah). Inflation dropped from an annual rate of over 400%
in 1984 to about 16% in 1987-88 without any major increase in
unemployment.

GNP: $38 billion, per capita $8,700; real growth rate 1% (1989)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 9% (December 1989)

Budget: revenues $24.2 billion; expenditures $26.3 billion, including
capital expenditures of $7 billion (FY89 est.)

Exports: $10.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--polished
diamonds, citrus and other fruits, textiles and clothing, processed foods,
fertilizer and chemical products, military hardware, electronics;
partners--US, UK, FRG, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy

Imports: $12.4 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.); commodities--military
equipment, rough diamonds, oil, chemicals, machinery, iron and steel, cereals,
textiles, vehicles, ships, aircraft; partners--US, FRG, UK, Switzerland,
Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg

External debt: $16.4 billion (March 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate - 1.5% (1989)

Electricity: 4,392,000 kW capacity; 17,500 million kWh produced,
4,000 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: food processing, diamond cutting and polishing, textiles,
clothing, chemicals, metal products, military equipment, transport equipment,
electrical equipment, miscellaneous machinery, potash mining, high-technology
electronics, tourism

Agriculture: accounts for 5% of GNP; largely self-sufficient in food
production, except for bread grains; principal products--citrus and other
fruits, vegetables, cotton; livestock products--beef, dairy, and poultry

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $15.8 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.2 billion

Currency: new Israeli shekel (plural--shekels);
1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot

Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1--1.9450
(January 1990), 1.9164 (1989), 1.5989 (1988), 1.5946 (1987), 1.4878 (1986),
1.1788 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Railroads: 594 km 1.435-meter gauge, single track; diesel operated

Highways: 4,500 km; majority is bituminous surfaced

Pipelines: crude oil, 708 km; refined products, 290 km; natural gas, 89 km

Ports: Ashdod, Haifa, Elat

Merchant marine: 31 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 483,424
GRT/560,085 DWT; includes 9 cargo, 20 container, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo

Civil air: 27 major transport aircraft

Airports: 55 total, 52 usable; 26 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
11 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: most highly developed in the Middle East though not
the largest; good system of coaxial cable and radio relay; 1,800,000 telephones;
stations--11 AM, 24 FM, 54 TV; 2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations--2
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT

- Defense Forces
Branches: Israel Defense Forces; historically there have been no separate
Israeli military services; ground, air, and naval components are branches of
Israel Defense Forces

Military manpower: eligible 15-49, 2,159,462; of the 1,089,346 males
15-49, 898,272 are fit for military service; of the 1,070,116 females 15-49,
878,954 are fit for military service; 43,644 males and 41,516 females reach
military age (18) annually; both sexes are liable for military service

Defense expenditures: 8.5% of GNP, or $3.2 billion (1989 est.);
note--does not include an estimated $1.8 billion in US military aid
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Italy
- Geography
Total area: 301,230 km2; land area: 294,020 km2; includes Sardinia
and Sicily

Comparative area: slightly larger than Arizona

Land boundaries: 1,902.2 km total; Austria 430 km, France 488 km,
San Marino 39 km, Switzerland 740 km, Vatican City 3.2 km, Yugoslavia
202 km

Coastline: 4,996 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 m or to depth of exploitation;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: South Tyrol question with Austria

Climate: predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry
in south

Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands

Natural resources: mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, dwindling
natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal

Land use: 32% arable land; 10% permanent crops; 17% meadows and pastures;
22% forest and woodland; 19% other; includes 10% irrigated

Environment: regional risks include landslides, mudflows, snowslides,
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding, pollution; land sinkage in Venice

Note: strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as
well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe

- People
Population: 57,664,405 (July 1990), growth rate 0.2% (1990)

Birth rate: 10 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 1 migrant/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Italian(s); adjective--Italian

Ethnic divisions: primarily Italian but population includes small clusters
of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians
in the south; Sicilians; Sardinians

Religion: almost 100% nominally Roman Catholic

Language: Italian; parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly
German speaking; significant French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region;
Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area

Literacy: 93%

Labor force: 23,670,000; 56.7% services, 37.9% industry, 5.4% agriculture
(1987)

Organized labor: 40-45% of labor force (est.)

- Government
Long-form name: Italian Republic

Type: republic

Capital: Rome

Administrative divisions: 20 regions (regioni, singular--regione);
Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia,
Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia,
Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto

Independence: 17 March 1861, Kingdom of Italy proclaimed

Constitution: 1 January 1948

Legal system: based on civil law system, with ecclesiastical law
influence; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)

Executive branch: president, prime minister,

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) consists of
an upper chamber or Senate (Senato) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies
(Camera dei Deputati)

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale)

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Francesco COSSIGA (since 3 July 1985);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Giulio ANDREOTTI (since 22 July 1989,
heads the government for the sixth time); Deputy Prime Minister Claudio
MARTELLI (since 23 July 1989)

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party (DC), Arnaldo
Forlani (general secretary), Ciriaco De Mita (president); Communist Party
(PCI), Achille Occhetto (secretary general); Socialist Party (PSI), Bettino
Craxi (party secretary); Social Democratic Party (PSDI), Antonio Cariglia (party
secretary); Liberal Party (PLI), Renato Altissimo (secretary general); Italian
Social Movement (MSI), Giuseppe (Pino) Rauti (national secretary); Republican
Party (PRI), Giorgio La Malfa (political secretary); Italy's 49th postwar
government was formed on 23 July 1989, with Prime Minister Andreotti,
a Christian Democrat, presiding over a five-party coalition consisting of the
Christian Democrats, Socialists, Social Democrats, Republicans, and Liberals

Suffrage: universal at age 18 (except in senatorial elections, where
minimum age is 25)

Elections:
Senate--last held 14-15 June 1987 (next to be held by June 1992);
results--DC 33.9%, PCI 28.3%, PSI 10.7%, others 27.1%;
seats--(320 total, 315 elected) DC 125, PCI 100, PSI 36, others 54;

Chamber of Deputies--last held 14-15 June 1987 (next to be held by
June 1992);
results--DC 34.3%, PCI 26.6%, PSI 14.3%, MSI 5.9%, PRI 3.7%, PSDI 3.0%,
Radicals 2.6%, Greens 2.5%, PLI 2.1%, Proletarian Democrats 1.7%,
others 3.3%;
seats--(630 total) DC 234, PCI 177, PSI 94, MSI 35, PRI 21, PSDI 17,
Radicals 13, Greens 13, PLI 11, Proletarian Democrats 8, others 7

Communists: 1,673,751 members (1983)

Other political or pressure groups: Vatican City; three major
trade union confederations (CGIL--Communist dominated, CISL--Christian
Democratic, and UIL--Social Democratic, Socialist, and Republican);
Italian manufacturers association (Confindustria); organized farm groups
(Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura)

Member of: ADB, ASSIMER, CCC, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, ECOWAS, EIB,
EMS, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American
Development Bank, IFAD, IEA, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOOC, IPU, IRC, ITC, ITU, NATO, OAS (observer), OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WSG

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Rinaldo PETRIGNANI; Chancery at
1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone [phone];
there are Italian Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans,
Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Consulates in Detroit and
Newark (New Jersey);
US--Ambassador Peter F. SECCHIA; Embassy at Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome
(mailing address is APO New York 09794); telephone p39o (6) 46741; there are
US Consulates General in Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, and Palermo (Sicily)

Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red;
similar to the flag of Ireland which is longer and is green (hoist side), white,
and orange; also similar to the flag of the Ivory Coast which has the colors
reversed--orange (hoist side), white, and green

- Economy
Overview: Since World War II the economy has changed from one based on
agriculture into a ranking industrial economy, with approximately the same total
and per capita output as France and the UK. The country is still divided into a
developed industrial north, dominated by large private companies and state
enterprises and an undeveloped agricultural south. Services account for 58% of
GDP, industry 37%, and agriculture 5%. Most raw materials needed by industry and
over 75% of energy requirements must be imported. The economic recovery that
began in mid-1983 has continued through 1989, with the economy growing at an
annual average rate of 3%. For the 1990s, Italy faces the problems of
refurbishing a tottering communications system, curbing the increasing
pollution in major industrial centers, and adjusting to the new
competitive forces accompanying the ongoing economic integration of the
European Community.

GDP: $803.3 billion, per capita $14,000; real growth rate 3.3% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.6% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 11.9% (1989)

Budget: revenues $355 billion; expenditures $448 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)

Exports: $141.6 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--textiles,
wearing apparel, metals, transportation equipment, chemicals;
partners--EC 57%, US 9%, OPEC 4%

Imports: $143.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--petroleum,
industrial machinery, chemicals, metals, food, agricultural products;
partners--EC 57%, OPEC 6%, US 6%

External debt: NA

Industrial production: growth rate 2.9% (1989)

Electricity: 56,022,000 kW capacity; 201,400 million kWh produced,
3,500 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: machinery and transportation equipment, iron and steel,
chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles

Agriculture: accounts for about 5% of GNP and 5% of the
work force; self-sufficient in foods other than meat and dairy products;
principal crops--fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets,
soybeans, grain, olives; fish catch of 554,000 metric tons in 1987

Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $18.7 billion

Currency: Italian lira (plural--lire); 1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100
centesimi

Exchange rates: Italian lire (Lit) per US$1--1,262.5 (January 1990),
1,372.1 (1989), 1,301.6 (1988), 1,296.1 (1987), 1,490.8 (1986), 1,909.4 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 20,011 km total; 16,066 km 1.435-meter government-owned
standard gauge (8,999 km electrified); 3,945 km privately owned--2,100 km
1.435-meter standard gauge (1,155 km electrified) and 1,845 km 0.950-meter
narrow gauge (380 km electrified)

Highways: 294,410 km total; autostrada 5,900 km, state highways 45,170
km, provincial highways 101,680 km, communal highways 141,660 km; 260,500 km
concrete, bituminous, or stone block, 26,900 km gravel and crushed stone,
7,010 km earth

Inland waterways: 2,400 km for various types of commercial
traffic, although of limited overall value

Pipelines: crude oil, 1,703 km; refined products, 2,148 km; natural gas,
19,400 km

Ports: Cagliari (Sardinia), Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Naples,
Palermo (Sicily), Taranto, Trieste, Venice

Merchant marine: 547 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,871,505
GRT/10,805,368 DWT; includes 6 passenger, 41 short-sea passenger, 100 cargo,
5 refrigerated cargo, 22 container, 72 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 4 vehicle
carrier, 1 multifunction large-load carrier, 2 livestock carrier, 147 petroleum,
oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 37 chemical tanker, 29 liquefied gas, 8
specialized tanker, 16 combination ore/oil, 55 bulk, 2 combination bulk

Civil air: 132 major transport aircraft

Airports: 143 total, 138 usable; 88 with permanent-surface runways; 2
with runways over 3,659 m; 35 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 42 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: well engineered, constructed, and operated;
28,000,000 telephones; stations--144 AM, 54 (over 1,800 repeaters) FM,
135 (over 1,300 repeaters) TV; 22 submarine cables; communication satellite
earth stations operating in INTELSAT 3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean,
INMARSAT, and EUTELSAT systems

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 14,721,704; 12,855,022 fit for military
service; 430,782 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 2.4% of GDP, or $19 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Ivory Coast
(also known as Cote d'Ivoire)
- Geography
Total area: 322,460 km2; land area: 318,000 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries: 3,110 km total; Burkina 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea
610 km, Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km

Coastline: 515 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 m;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three
seasons--warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May),
hot and wet (June to October)

Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest

Natural resources: crude oil, diamonds, manganese, iron ore,
cobalt, bauxite, copper

Land use: 9% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 9% meadows and pastures;
26% forest and woodland; 52% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; severe
deforestation

- People
Population: 12,478,024 (July 1990), growth rate 4.0% (1990)

Birth rate: 48 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 4 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 100 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 56 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.9 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Ivorian(s); adjective--Ivorian

Ethnic divisions: over 60 ethnic groups; most important are the Baoule
23%, Bete 18%, Senoufou 15%, Malinke 11%, and Agni; about 2 million foreign
Africans, mostly Burkinabe; about 130,000 to 330,000 non-Africans
(30,000 French and 100,000 to 300,000 Lebanese)

Religion: 63% indigenous, 25% Muslim, 12% Christian

Language: French (official), over 60 native dialects; Dioula most widely
spoken

Literacy: 42.7%

Labor force: 5,718,000; over 85% of population engaged in agriculture, for
estry,
livestock raising; about 11% of labor force are wage earners, nearly half in
agriculture and the remainder in government, industry, commerce, and
professions; 54% of population of working age (1985)

Organized labor: 20% of wage labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of the Ivory Coast; note--the local official
name is Republique de Cote d'Ivoire

Type: republic; one-party presidential regime established 1960

Capital: Abidjan (capital city changed to Yamoussoukro in March 1983 but
not recognized by US)

Administrative divisions: 49 departments (departements,
singular--(departement); Abengourou, Abidjan, Aboisso, Adzope, Agboville,
Bangolo, Beoumi, Biankouma, Bondoukou, Bongouanou, Bouafle, Bouake, Bouna,
Boundiali, Dabakala, Daloa, Danane, Daoukro, Dimbokro, Divo, Duekoue,
Ferkessedougou, Gagnoa, Grand-Lahou, Guiglo, Issia, Katiola, Korhogo, Lakota,
Man, Mankono, Mbahiakro, Odienne, Oume, Sakassou, San-Pedro, Sassandra,
Seguela, Sinfra, Soubre, Tabou, Tanda, Tengrela, Tiassale, Touba,
Toumodi, Vavoua, Yamoussoukro, Zuenoula

Independence: 7 August 1960 (from France)

Constitution: 3 November 1960

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

National holiday: National Day, 7 December

Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Dr. Felix
HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY (since 27 November 1960)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Democratic Party of
the Ivory Coast (PDCI), Dr. Felix Houphouet-Boigny

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections:
President--last held 27 October 1985 (next to be held October 1990);
results--President Felix Houphouet-Boigny was reelected without
opposition to his fifth consecutive five-year term;

National Assembly--last held 10 November 1985 (next to be held
10 November 1990);
results--PDCI is the only party;
seats--(175 total) PDCI 175

Communists: no Communist party; possibly some sympathizers

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, EAMA, ECA, ECOWAS, EIB (associate),
Entente, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, Niger River Commission, NAM, OAU, OCAM, UN,
UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Charles GOMIS; Chancery at
2424 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador Kenneth BROWN; Embassy at 5 Rue Jesse Owens, Abidjan
(mailing address is B. P. 1712, Abidjan 01); telephone p225o 32-09-79

Flag: three equal vertical bands of orange (hoist side), white, and green;
similar to the flag of Ireland which is longer and has the colors
reversed--green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of
Italy which is green (hoist side), white, and red; design was based on the flag
of France

- Economy
Overview: The Ivory Coast is among the world's largest producers and
exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm-kernel oil. Consequently, the economy
is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for coffee and cocoa
and to weather conditions. Despite attempts by the government to diversify, the
economy is still largely dependent on agriculture and related industries. The
agricultural sector accounts for over one-third of GDP and about 80% of export
earnings and employs about 85% of the labor force. A collapse of world cocoa and
coffee prices in 1986 threw the economy into a recession, from which the country
had not recovered by 1989.

GDP: $10.0 billion, per capita $900; real growth rate - 6.4% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.5% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 14% (1985)

Budget: revenues $1.6 billion (1986); expenditures $2.3 billion, including
capital expenditures of $504 million (1988 est.)

Exports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--cocoa 30%,
coffee 20%, tropical woods 11%, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton;
partners--France, FRG, Netherlands, US, Belgium, Spain (1985)

Imports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--manufactured
goods and semifinished products 50%, consumer goods 40%, raw materials and
fuels 10%; partners--France, other EC, Nigeria, US, Japan (1985)

External debt: $14.7 billion (1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 0% (1987)

Electricity: 1,081,000 kW capacity; 2,440 million kWh produced,
210 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: foodstuffs, wood processing, oil refinery, automobile
assembly, textiles, fertilizer, beverage

Agriculture: most important sector, contributing one-third to GDP
and 80% to exports; cash crops include coffee, cocoa beans, timber,
bananas, palm kernels, rubber; food crops--corn, rice, manioc, sweet
potatoes; not selfsufficient in bread grain and dairy products

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis on a small scale for the
international drug trade

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $344 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $4.6 billion

Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs);
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF)
per US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987),
346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 660 km (Burkina border to Abidjan, 1.00-meter gauge,
single track, except 25 km Abidjan-Anyama section is double track)

Highways: 46,600 km total; 3,600 km bituminous and bituminous-treated
surface; 32,000 km gravel, crushed stone, laterite, and improved earth; 11,000
km unimproved

Inland waterways: 980 km navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal
lagoons

Ports: Abidjan, San-Pedro

Merchant marine: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 71,945 GRT/
90,684 DWT; includes 5 cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
1 chemical tanker

Civil air: 12 major transport aircraft, including multinationally owned
Air Afrique fleet

Airports: 49 total, 42 usable; 7 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 16 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: system above African average; consists of open-wire
lines and radio relay links; 87,700 telephones; stations--3 AM, 17 FM, 11 TV;
2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; 2 coaxial submarine cables

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie

Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,874,925; 1,487,909 fit for military
service; 141,193 males reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.9% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Jamaica
- Geography
Total area: 10,990 km2; land area: 10,830 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 1,022 km

Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone

Land use: 19% arable land; 6% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures;
28% forest and woodland; 29% other; includes 3% irrigated

Environment: subject to hurricanes (especially July to November);
deforestation; water pollution

Note: strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica
Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal

- People
Population: 2,441,396 (July 1990), growth rate 0.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 21 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 10 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 16 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 79 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.3 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Jamaican(s); adjective--Jamaican

Ethnic divisions: 76.3% African, 15.1% Afro-European, 3.4% East Indian and
Afro-East Indian, 3.2% white, 1.2% Chinese and Afro-Chinese, 0.8% other

Religion: predominantly Protestant (including Anglican and Baptist), some
Roman Catholic, some spiritualist cults

Language: English, Creole

Literacy: 74%

Labor force: 728,700; 32% agriculture, 28% industry and commerce,
27% services, 13% government; shortage of technical and managerial personnel
(1984)

Organized labor: 25% of labor force (1989)

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Kingston

Administrative divisions: 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston,
Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint
Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland

Independence: 6 August 1962 (from UK)

Constitution: 6 August 1962

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

National holiday: Independence Day (first Monday in August), 6 August 1990

Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister,
Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house
or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented
by Governor General Sir Florizel A. GLASSPOLE (since 2 March 1973);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Michael MANLEY (since 9 February 1989)

Political parties and leaders: People's National Party (PNP), Michael
Manley; Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Edward Seaga; Workers' Party of Jamaica
(WPJ), Trevor Munroe

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
House of Representatives--last held 9 February 1989 (next to be held
by February 1994);
results--PNP 57%, JLP 43%;
seats--(60 total) PNP 45, JLP 15

Communists: Workers' Party of Jamaica (Marxist-Leninist)

Other political or pressure groups:
Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)

Member of: ACP, CARICOM, CCC, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA,
IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Keith JOHNSON; Chancery at
Suite 355, 1850 K Street NW, Washington DC 20006; telephone [phone];
there are Jamaican Consulates General in Miami and New York;
US--Ambassador Glen HOLDEN; Embassy at 3rd Floor, Jamaica Mutual Life
Center, 2 Oxford Road, Kingston; telephone p809o 929-4850

Flag: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles--green
(top and bottom) and black (hoist side and fly side)

- Economy
Overview: The economy is based on sugar, bauxite, and tourism.
In 1985 it suffered a setback with the closure of some facilities in the
bauxite and alumina industry, a major source of hard currency earnings. Since
1986 an economic recovery has been under way. In 1987 conditions began to
improve for the bauxite and alumina industry because of increases in world metal
prices. The recovery has also been supported by growth in the manufacturing and
tourism sectors. In September 1988, Hurricane Gilbert inflicted severe
damage on crops and the electric power system, a sharp but temporary
setback to the economy. By October 1989 the economic recovery from the
hurricane was largely complete and real growth was up about 3% for 1989.

GDP: $3.8 billion, per capita $1,529; real growth rate 3.0% (1989
est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 18.7% (1988)

Budget: revenues $1.1 billion; expenditures $1.5 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (FY88 est.)

Exports: $948 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--bauxite, alumina, sugar, bananas;
partners--US 40%, UK, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Norway

Imports: $1.6 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.); commodities--petroleum,
machinery, food, consumer goods, construction goods; partners--US 46%,
UK, Venezuela, Canada, Japan, Trinidad and Tobago

External debt: $4.4 billion (1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 3% (1989 est.)

Electricity: 1,437,000 kW capacity; 2,390 million kWh produced,
960 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: tourism, bauxite mining, textiles, food processing,
light manufactures

Agriculture: accounts for about 9% of GDP, one-third of work force, and
17% of exports; commercial crops--sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes,
and vegetables; livestock and livestock products include poultry, goats, milk;
not self-sufficient in grain, meat, and dairy products

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivation of cannabis has decreased, with
production shifting from large to small plots and nurseries to evade
aerial detection and eradication

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.1 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.2 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $27 million; Communist countries (1974-88),
$349 million

Currency: Jamaican dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1--6.5013 (January 1990),
5.7446 (1989), 5.4886 (1988), 5.4867 (1987), 5.4778 (1986), 5.5586 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Railroads: 370 km, all 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track

Highways: 18,200 km total; 12,600 km paved, 3,200 km gravel, 2,400 km
improved earth

Pipelines: refined products, 10 km

Ports: Kingston, Montego Bay

Merchant marine: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 13,048 GRT/21,412
DWT; includes 1 cargo, 1 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 petroleum, oils,
and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 bulk

Civil air: 6 major transport aircraft

Airports: 41 total, 25 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: fully automatic domestic telephone network;
127,000 telephones; stations--10 AM, 17 FM, 8 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
earth stations; 3 coaxial submarine cables

- Defense Forces
Branches: Jamaica Defense Force (includes Coast Guard and Air Wing)

Military manpower: males 15-49, 620,400; 440,967 fit for military service;
no conscription; 27,014 reach minimum volunteer age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.1% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Jan Mayen
(territory of Norway)
- Geography
Total area: 373 km2; land area: 373 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 124.1 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 10 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 4 nm

Disputes: Denmark has challenged Norway's maritime claims beween
Greenland and Jan Mayen

Climate: arctic maritime with frequent storms and persistent fog

Terrain: volcanic island, partly covered by glaciers; Beerenberg is the
highest peak, with an elevation of 2,277 meters

Natural resources: none

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

Environment: barren volcanic island with some moss and grass;
volcanic activity resumed in 1970

Note: located 590 km north-northwest of Iceland between
the Greenland Sea and the Norwegian Sea north of the Arctic Circle

- People
Population: no permanent inhabitants

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: territory of Norway

Note: administered by a governor (sysselmann) resident in Longyearbyen
(Svalbard)

- Economy
Overview: Jan Mayen is a volcanic island with no exploitable
natural resources. Economic activity is limited to providing services
for employees of Norway's radio and meteorological stations located on
the island.

Electricity: 15,000 kW capacity; 40 million kWh produced,
NA kWh per capita (1989)

- Communications
Airports: 1 with runway 1,220 to 2,439 m

Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

Telecommunications: radio and meteorological station

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Norway
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Japan
- Geography
Total area: 377,835 km2; land area: 374,744 km2; includes Bonin Islands
(Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okinotori-shima,
Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)

Comparative area: slightly smaller than California

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 29,751 km

Maritime claims:

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm (3 nm in international straits--La Perouse or
Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western channels of the Korea or
Tsushima Strait)

Disputes: Habomai Islands, Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan Islands
occupied by Soviet Union since 1945, claimed by Japan; Kuril Islands
administered by Soviet Union; Liancourt Rocks disputed with South Korea;
Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands) claimed by China and Taiwan

Climate: varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north

Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous

Natural resources: negligible mineral resources, fish

Land use: 13% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures;
67% forest and woodland; 18% other; includes 9% irrigated

Environment: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic
occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; subject to tsunamis

Note: strategic location in northeast Asia

- People
Population: 123,642,461 (July 1990), growth rate 0.4% (1990)

Birth rate: 11 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 5 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 76 years male, 82 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Japanese (sing., pl.); adjective--Japanese

Ethnic divisions: 99.4% Japanese, 0.6% other (mostly Korean)

Religion: most Japanese observe both Shinto and Buddhist rites; about 16%
belong to other faiths, including 0.8% Christian

Language: Japanese

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 63,330,000; 54% trade and services; 33% manufacturing,
mining, and construction; 7% agriculture, forestry, and fishing; 3% government
(1988)

Organized labor: about 29% of employed workers; 76.4% public service,
57.9% transportation and telecommunications, 48.7% mining, 33.7% manufacturing,
18.2% services, 9.3% wholesale, retail, and restaurant

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Tokyo

Administrative divisions: 47 prefectures (fuken, singular and plural);
Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma,
Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima,
Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki,
Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga,
Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama,
Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi

Independence: 660 BC, traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu;
3 May 1947, constitutional monarchy established

Constitution: 3 May 1947

Legal system: civil law system with English-American influence;
judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: Birthday of the Emperor, 23 December (1933)

Executive branch: emperor, prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Diet (Kokkai) consists of an upper house or
House of Councillors (Sangi-in) and a lower house or House of Representatives
(Shugi-in)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Toshiki KAIFU (since 9 August 1989)

Political parties and leaders: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),
Toshiki Kaifu, president; Japan Socialist Party (JSP), T. Doi, chairman;
Democratic Socialist Party (DSP), Keigo Ouchi, chairman; Japan
Communist Party (JCP), K. Miyamoto, Presidium chairman; Komeito (Clean
Government Party, CGP), Koshiro Ishida, chairman

Suffrage: universal at age 20

Elections:
House of Councillors--last held on 23 July 1989 (next to be held
23 July 1992); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(252 total, 100 elected) LDP 109, JSP 67, CGP 21, JCP 14,
others 33;

House of Representatives--last held on 18 February 1990
(next to be held by February 1993);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(512 total) LDP 275, JSP 136, CGP 45, JCP 16, JDSP 14,
other parties 5, independents 21; note--nine independents are expected
to join the LDP, five the JSP

Communists: about 470,000 registered Communist party members

Member of: ADB, ASPAC, CCC, Colombo Plan, DAC, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD,
IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITC, ITU,
IWC--International Whaling Commission, IWC--International Wheat Council, OECD,
UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Nobuo MATSUNAGA; Chancery at
2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
there are Japanese Consulates General in Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta,
Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los Angeles,
New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland (Oregon),
and a Consulate in Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands);
US--Ambassador Michael H. ARMACOST; Embassy at 10-1, Akasaka 1-chome,
Minato-ku (107), Tokyo (mailing address is APO San Francisco 96503); telephone
p81o (3) 224-5000; there are US Consulates General in Naha, Osaka-Kobe, and
Sapporo and a Consulate in Fukuoka

Flag: white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays)
in the center

- Economy
Overview: Although Japan has few natural resources, since 1971 it has
become the world's third-largest industrial economy, ranking behind only the US
and the USSR. Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, and a
comparatively small defense allocation have helped Japan advance rapidly,
notably in high-technology fields. Industry, the most important sector of the
economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels.
Self-sufficent in rice, Japan must import 50% of its requirements for other
grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing
fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the total global catch. Overall
economic growth has been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5%
average in the 1970s and 1980s.  In 1989 strong investment and
consumption spending helped maintain growth at nearly 5%. Inflation
remains low at 2.1% despite high oil prices and a somewhat weaker yen.
Japan continues to run a huge trade surplus, $60 billion in 1989, which
supports extensive investment in foreign properties.

GNP: $1,914.1 billion, per capita $15,600; real growth rate 4.8%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.1% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 2.3% (1989)

Budget: revenues $392 billion; expenditures $464 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (FY89)

Exports: $270 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--manufactures
97% (including machinery 38%, motor vehicles 17%, consumer electronics
10%); partners--US 34%, Southeast Asia 22%, Western Europe 21%, Communist
countries 5%, Middle East 5%

Imports: $210 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--manufactures
42%, fossil fuels 30%, foodstuffs 15%, nonfuel raw materials 13%;
partners--Southeast Asia 23%, US 23%, Middle East 15%, Western Europe 16%,
Communist countries 7%

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate 9.0% (1989)

Electricity: 191,000,000 kW capacity; 700,000 million kWh produced,
5,680 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: metallurgy, engineering, electrical and electronic, textiles,
chemicals, automobiles, fishing

Agriculture: accounts for 3% of GNP; highly subsidized and protected
sector, with crop yields among highest in world; principal crops--rice, sugar
beets, vegetables, fruit; animal products include pork, poultry, dairy and eggs;
about 50% self-sufficient in food production; shortages of wheat, corn,
soybeans; world's largest fish catch of 11.8 million metric tons in 1987

Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $57.5 billion

Currency: yen (plural--yen); 1 yen (Y) = 100 sen

Exchange rates: yen (Y) per US$1--145.09 (January 1990), 137.96 (1989),
128.15 (1988), 144.64 (1987), 168.52 (1986), 238.54 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Railroads: 27,327 km total; 2,012 km 1.435-meter standard gauge
and 25,315 km predominantly 1.067-meter narrow gauge; 5,724 km doubletrack and
multitrack sections, 9,038 km 1.067-meter narrow-gauge electrified, 2,012
km 1.435-meter standard-gauge electrified (1987)

Highways: 1,098,900 km total; 718,700 km paved, 380,200 km gravel,
crushed stone, or unpaved; 3,900 km national expressways, 46,544 km national
highways, 43,907 km principal local roads, 86,930 km prefectural roads,
and 917,619 other (1987)

Inland waterways: about 1,770 km; seagoing craft ply all coastal inland
seas

Pipelines: crude oil, 84 km; refined products, 322 km; natural gas,
1,800 km

Ports: Chiba, Muroran, Kitakyushu, Kobe, Tomakomai, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo,
Yokkaichi, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Niigata, Fushiki-Toyama, Shimizu, Himeji,
Wakayama-Shimozu, Shimonoseki, Tokuyama-Shimomatsu

Merchant marine: 1,088 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 23,597,688
GRT/36,655,266 DWT; includes 7 passenger, 57 short-sea passenger, 4 passenger
cargo, 108 cargo, 44 container, 27 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 135 refrigerated
cargo, 117 vehicle carrier, 237 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
21 chemical tanker, 42 liquefied gas, 12 combination ore/oil, 3 specialized
tanker, 272 bulk, 1 combination bulk, 1 multifunction large-load carrier

Civil air: 341 major transport aircraft

Airports: 165 total, 156 usable; 128 with permanent-surface runways;
2 with runways over 3,659 m; 27 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 55 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: excellent domestic and international service;
64,000,000 telephones; stations--318 AM, 58 FM, 12,350 TV (196 major--1 kw or
greater); satellite earth stations--4 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean
INTELSAT; submarine cables to US (via Guam), Philippines, China, and USSR

- Defense Forces
Branches: Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (army), Japan Maritime
Self-Defense Force (navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (air force), Maritime
Safety Agency (coast guard)

Military manpower: males 15-49, 32,181,866; 27,695,890 fit for military
service; 1,004,052 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.0% of GNP at market prices (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Jarvis Island
(territory of the US)
- Geography
Total area: 4.5 km2; land area: 4.5 km2

Comparative area: about 7.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 8 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

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

Terrain: sandy, coral island surrounded by a  narrow fringing reef

Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)

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

Environment: sparse bunch grass, prostrate vines, and low-growing
shrubs; lacks fresh water; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging
habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife; feral cats

Note: 2,090 km south of Honolulu in the South Pacific Ocean, just south
of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands

- People
Population: uninhabited

Note: Millersville settlement on western side of island occasionally used
as a weather station from 1935 until World War II, when it was abandoned;
reoccupied in 1957 during the International Geophysical Year by scientists who
left in 1958; public entry is by special-use permit only and generally
restricted to scientists and educators

- Government
Long-form name: none (territory of the US)

Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the Fish
and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the
National Wildlife Refuge System

- Economy
Overview: no economic activity

- Communications
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only--one boat landing area in the
middle of the west coast and another near the southwest corner of the island

Note: there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually
by the US Coast Guard
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Jersey
(British crown dependency)
- Geography
Total area: 117 km2; land area: 117 km2

Comparative area: about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 70 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: temperate; mild winters and cool summers

Terrain: gently rolling plain with low, rugged hills along north coast

Natural resources: agricultural land

Land use: NA% arable land; NA% permanent crops; NA% meadows and pastures;
NA% forest and woodland; NA% other; about 58% of land under cultivation

Environment: about 30% of population concentrated in Saint Helier

Note: largest and southernmost of Channel Islands; 27 km
from France

- People
Population: 83,609 (July 1990), growth rate 0.9% (1990)

Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 7 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.3 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Channel Islander(s); adjective--Channel Islander

Ethnic divisions: UK and Norman-French descent

Religion: Anglican, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Congregational New Church,
Methodist, Presbyterian

Language: English and French (official), with the Norman-French dialect
spoken in country districts

Literacy: NA%, but probably high

Labor force: NA

Organized labor: none

- Government
Long-form name: Bailiwick of Jersey

Type: British crown dependency

Capital: Saint Helier

Administrative divisions: none (British crown dependency)

Independence: none (British crown dependency)

Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and
practice

Legal system: English law and local statute

National holiday: Liberation Day, 9 May (1945)

Executive branch: British monarch, lieutenant governor, bailiff

Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly of the States

Judicial branch: Royal Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);

Head of Government--Lieutenant Governor Adm. Sir William PILLAR
(since NA 1985); Bailiff Peter CRILL (since NA)

Political parties and leaders: none; all independents

Suffrage: universal adult at age NA

Elections:
Assembly of the States--last held NA (next to be held NA);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(56 total, 52 elected) 52 independents

Communists: probably none

Diplomatic representation: none (British crown dependency)

Flag: white with the diagonal red cross of St. Patrick (patron saint
of Ireland) extending to the corners of the flag

- Economy
Overview: The economy is based largely on financial services, agriculture,
and tourism. Potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes, and especially flowers are
important export crops, shipped mostly to the UK. The Jersey breed of dairy
cattle is known worldwide and represents an important export earner. Milk
products go to the UK and other EC countries. In 1986 the finance sector
overtook tourism as the main contributor to GDP, accounting for 40% of the
island's output. In recent years the government has encouraged light industry
to locate in Jersey, with the result that an electronics industry has developed
alongside the traditional manufacturing of knitwear. All raw material
and energy requirements are imported, as well as a large share of Jersey's food
needs.

GDP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate 8% (1987 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8% (1988 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $308.0 million; expenditures $284.4 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (1985)

Exports: $NA; commodities--light industrial and electrical goods,
foodstuffs, textiles; partners--UK

Imports: $NA; commodities--machinery and transport equipment,
manufactured goods, foodstuffs, mineral fuels, chemicals; partners--UK

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 50,000 kW standby capacity (1989); power supplied by France

Industries: tourism, banking and finance, dairy

Agriculture: potatoes, cauliflowers, tomatoes; dairy and cattle farming

Aid: none

Currency: Jersey pound (plural--pounds); 1 Jersey pound (LJ) = 100 pence

Exchange rates: Jersey pounds (LJ) per US$1--0.6055 (January 1990),
0.6099 (1989), 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102 (1987), 0.6817 (1986), 0.7714 (1985);
the Jersey pound is at par with the British pound

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Ports: Saint Helier, Gorey, St. Aubin

Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runway 1,220-2,439 m (St. Peter)

Telecommunications: 63,700 telephones; stations--1 AM, no FM, 1
TV; 3 submarine cables

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Johnston Atoll
(territory of the US)
- Geography
Total area: 2.8 km2; land area: 2.8 km2

Comparative area: about 4.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 10 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical, but generally dry; consistent northeast trade winds
with little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: mostly flat with a maximum elevation of 4 meters

Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until about 1890)

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

Environment: some low-growing vegetation

Note: strategic location 1,328 km west-southwest of Honolulu in the North
Pacific Ocean, about one-third of the way between Hawaii and the Marshall
Islands; Johnston Island and Sand Island are natural islands; North Island
(Akau) and East Island (Hikina) are manmade islands formed from coral
dredging; closed to the public; former nuclear weapons test site

- People
Population: 1,203 (December 1989); all US government personnel and
contractors

- Government
Long-form name: none (territory of the US)

Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the US Defense
Nuclear Agency (DNA) and managed cooperatively by DNA and the Fish and Wildlife
Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife
Refuge system

Diplomatic representation: none (territory of the US)

Flag: the flag of the US is used

- Economy
Overview: Economic activity is limited to providing services to
US military personnel and contractors located on the island. All
food and manufactured goods must be imported.

- Communications
Ports: Johnston Island

Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runway 2,743 m

Telecommunications: excellent system including 60-channel submarine
cable, Autodin/SRT terminal, digital telephone switch, Military
Affiliated Radio System (MARS station), and a (receive only) commercial
satellite television system

Note: US Coast Guard operates a LORAN transmitting station

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Jordan
(see separate West Bank entry)
Note: The war between Israel and the Arab states in June 1967 ended with
Israel in control of the West Bank. As stated in the 1978 Camp David Accords
and reaffirmed by President Reagan's 1 September 1982 peace initiative, the
final status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, their relationship with their
neighbors, and a peace treaty between Israel and Jordan are to be negotiated
among the concerned parties. The Camp David Accords further specify that these
negotiations will resolve the location of the respective boundaries. Pending the
completion of this process, it is US policy that the final status of the West
Bank and Gaza Strip has yet to be determined.

- Geography
Total area: 91,880 km2; land area: 91,540 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries: 1,586 km total; Iraq 134 km, Israel 238 km,
Saudi Arabia 742 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km

Coastline: 26 km

Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Disputes: differences with Israel over the location of the
1949 Armistice Line which separates the two countries

Climate: mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)

Terrain: mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west;
Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River

Natural resources: phosphates, potash, shale oil

Land use: 4% arable land; 0.5% permanent crops; 1% meadows
and pastures; 0.5% forest and woodland; 94% other; includes 0.5% irrigated

Environment: lack of natural water resources; deforestation;
overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

- People
Population: 3,064,508 (July 1990), growth rate 3.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 42 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 55 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 71 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.2 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Jordanian(s); adjective--Jordanian

Ethnic divisions: 98% Arab, 1% Circassian, 1% Armenian

Religion: 92% Sunni Muslim, 8% Christian

Language: Arabic (official); English widely understood among upper and
middle classes

Literacy: 71% (est.)

Labor force: 572,000 (1988); 20% agriculture, 20%
manufacturing and mining (1987 est.)

Organized labor: about 10% of labor force

Note: 1.5-1.7 million Palestinians live on the East Bank (55-60%
of the population), most are Jordanian citizens

- Government
Long-form name: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Amman

Administrative divisions: 8 governorates (muhafazat,
singular--muhafazah); Al Balqa, Al Karak, Al Mafraq, Amman,
At Tafilah, Az Zarqa, Irbid, Maan

Independence: 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British
administration; formerly Trans-Jordan)

Constitution: 8 January 1952

Legal system: based on Islamic law and French codes; judicial review
of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 25 May (1946)

Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Majlis al Umma)
consists of an upper house or House of Notables (Majlis al-Ayaan) and a
lower house or House of Representatives (Majlis al-Nuwwab); note--the House
of Representatives was dissolved by King Hussein on 30 July 1988 as part of
Jordanian disengagement from the West Bank and in November 1989 the
first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held, with no seats going
to Palestinians on the West Bank

Judicial branch: Court of Cassation

Leaders:
Chief of State--King HUSSEIN Ibn Talal I (since 11 August 1952);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Mudar BADRAN (since 4 December
1989)

Political parties and leaders: none; after 1989 parliamentary
elections, King Hussein promised to allow the formation of political
parties

Suffrage: universal at age 20

Elections:
House of Representatives--last held 8 November 1989 (next to be
held NA); results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(80 total) percent of vote NA

Communists: party actively repressed, membership less than 500 (est.)

Member of: ACC, Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Hussein A. HAMMAMI;
Chancery at 3504 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador Roscoe S. SUDDARTH; Embassy on Jebel Amman, Amman (mailing
address is P. O. Box 354, Amman, or APO New York 09892);
telephone p962o (6) 644371 through 644376

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white, and green with a
red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a small white
seven-pointed star; the seven points on the star represent the seven fundamental
laws of the Koran

- Economy
Overview: Jordan was a secondary beneficiary of the oil boom of
the late 1970s and early 1980s, when its GNP growth averaged 10-12%. Recent
years, however, have witnessed a sharp reduction in cash aid from Arab
oil-producing countries and in worker remittances, with growth averaging
1-2%. Imports--mainly oil, capital goods, consumer durables, and
foodstuffs--have been outstripping exports by roughly $2 billion annually,
the difference being made up by aid, remittances, and borrowing. In 1989
the government pursued policies to encourage private investment, curb
imports of luxury goods, promote exports, reduce the budget deficit, and, in
general, reinvigorate economic growth. Success will depend largely on
exogenous forces, such as the absence of drought and a pickup in outside
support. Down the road, the completion of the proposed Unity Dam on the
Yarmuk is vital to meet rapidly growing requirements for water.

GNP: $5.2 billion, per capita $1,760; real growth rate 0% (1989)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 9-10% (December 1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $0.92 billion; expenditures $1.6 billion, including
capital expenditures of $540 million (1989 est.)

Exports: $0.910 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--fruits and
vegetables, phosphates, fertilizers;
partners--Iraq, Saudi Arabia, India, Kuwait, Japan, China,
Yugoslavia, Indonesia

Imports: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.); commodities--crude oil,
textiles, capital goods, motor vehicles, foodstuffs;
partners--EC, US, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Turkey, Romania, China,
Taiwan

External debt: $8.3 billion (December 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate - 7.8% (1988 est.)

Electricity: 981,000 kW capacity; 3,500 million kWh produced,
1,180 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash,
light manufacturing

Agriculture: accounts for only 5% of GDP; principal products are wheat,
barley, citrus fruit, tomatoes, melons, olives; livestock--sheep, goats,
poultry; large net importer of food

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.7 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.2 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.5 billion; Communist countries (1970-88),
$44 million

Currency: Jordanian dinar (plural--dinars);
1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils

Exchange rates: Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1--0.6557 (January 1990),
0.5704 (1989), 0.3715 (1988), 0.3387 (1987), 0.3499 (1986), 0.3940 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 619 km 1.050-meter gauge, single track

Highways: 7,500 km; 5,500 km asphalt, 2,000 km gravel and crushed stone

Pipelines: crude oil, 209 km

Ports: Al Aqabah

Merchant marine: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 32,635 GRT/44,618
DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 2 bulk cargo

Civil air: 19 major transport aircraft

Airports: 19 total, 16 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways over 3,659 m; 13 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
none with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: adequate system of radio relay, cable, and radio;
81,500 telephones; stations--4 AM, 3 FM, 24 TV; satellite earth stations--1
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT, 1 domestic TV
receive-only; coaxial cable and radio relay to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria;
radio relay to Lebanon is inactive; a microwave network linking Syria, Egypt,
Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Jordan

- Defense Forces
Branches: Jordan Arab Army, Royal Jordanian Air Force, Royal Jordanian
Coast Guard

Military manpower: males 15-49, 726,736; 519,972 fit for military service;
38,730 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 11% of GNP, or $570 million (1990 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Juan de Nova Island
(French possession)
- Geography
Total area: 4.4 km2; land area: 4.4 km2

Comparative area: about 7.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 24.1 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: claimed by Madagascar

Climate: tropical

Terrain: undetermined

Natural resources: guano deposits and other fertilizers

Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and
pastures; 90% forest and woodland; 10% other

Environment: subject to periodic cyclones; wildlife sanctuary

Note: located in the central Mozambique Channel about halfway
between Africa and Madagascar

- People
Population: uninhabited

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: French possession administered by Commissioner of the Republic
Daniel CONSTANTIN, resident in Reunion

- Economy
Overview: no economic activity

- Communications
Railroads: short line going to a jetty

Airports: 1 with nonpermanent-surface runway less than 1,220 m

Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

Note: one weather station

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of France
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Kenya
- Geography
Total area: 582,650 km2; land area: 569,250 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Nevada

Land boundaries: 3,477 km total; Ethiopia 861 km, Somalia 682 km,
Sudan 232 km, Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 km

Coastline: 536 km

Maritime claims:

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: international boundary and Administrative Boundary with Sudan;
possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic Somalis

Climate: varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior

Terrain: low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift
Valley; fertile plateau in west

Natural resources: gold, limestone, diotomite, salt barytes, magnesite,
feldspar, sapphires, fluorspar, garnets, wildlife

Land use: 3% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 7% meadows and pastures;
4% forest and woodland; 85% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: unique physiography supports abundant and varied wildlife
of scientific and economic value; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification;
glaciers on Mt. Kenya

Note: Kenyan Highlands one of the most successful agricultural
production regions in Africa

- People
Population: 24,639,261 (July 1990), growth rate 3.8% (1990)

Birth rate: 45 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 60 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 67 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Kenyan(s); adjective--Kenyan

Ethnic divisions: 21% Kikuyu, 14% Luhya, 13% Luo, 11% Kalenjin, 11% Kamba,
6% Kisii, 6% Meru, 1% Asian, European, and Arab

Religion: 38% Protestant, 28% Roman Catholic, 26% indigenous beliefs,
6% Muslim

Language: English and Swahili (official); numerous indigenous languages

Literacy: 59.2%

Labor force: 9,003,000; 78% agriculture, 22% nonagriculture
(1987 est.)

Organized labor: 390,000 (est.)

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Kenya

Type: republic

Capital: Nairobi

Administrative divisions: 7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast,
Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North-Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western

Independence: 12 December 1963 (from UK; formerly British East Africa)

Constitution: 12 December 1963, amended as a republic 1964;
reissued with amendments 1979, 1983, 1986, and 1988

Legal system: based on English common law, tribal law, and Islamic law;
judicial review in High Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations; constitutional amendment in 1982 made Kenya a de jure one-party
state

National holiday: Independence Day, 12 December (1963)

Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, High Court

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Daniel Teroitich
arap MOI (since 14 October 1978); Vice President George SAITOTI
(since 10 May 1989)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Kenya African National
Union (KANU), Daniel T. arap Moi, president

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held on 21 March 1988 (next to be held
February 1993);
results--President Daniel T. arap Moi was reelected;

National Assembly--last held on 21 March 1988
(next to be held March 1993); results--KANU is the only party;
seats--(202 total, 188 elected) KANU 200

Communists: may be a few Communists and sympathizers

Other political or pressure groups: labor unions; exile
opposition--Mwakenya and other groups

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITU,
IWC--International Wheat Council, NAM, OAU, UN, UNDP, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Denis Daudi AFANDE; Chancery at
2249 R Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone]; there are
Kenyan Consulates General in Los Angeles and New York;
US--Ambassador Smith HEMPSTONE; Embassy at the corner of Moi Avenue
and Haile Selassie Avenue, Nairobi (mailing address is P. O. Box 30137,
Nairobi or APO New York 09675); telephone p254o (2) 334141; there is a
US Consulate in Mombasa

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green; the red
band is edged in white; a large warrior's shield covering crossed spears is
superimposed at the center

- Economy
Overview: A serious underlying economic problem is Kenya's 3.8% annual
population growth rate--one of the highest in the world. In the
meantime, GDP growth in the near term has kept slightly ahead of
population--annually averaging 5.2% in the 1986-88 period. Undependable
weather conditions and a shortage of arable land hamper long-term
growth in agriculture, the leading economic sector.

GDP: $8.5 billion, per capita $360; real growth rate 4.9% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.3% (1988)

Unemployment rate: NA%, but there is a high level of unemployment
and underemployment

Budget: revenues $2.3 billion; expenditures $2.6 billion, including
capital expenditures of $0.71 billion (FY87)

Exports: $1.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--coffee 20%,
tea 18%, manufactures 15%, petroleum products 10% (1987);
partners--Western Europe 45%, Africa 22%, Far East 10%, US 4%, Middle East
3% (1987)

Imports: $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--machinery
and transportation equipment 36%, raw materials 33%, fuels and lubricants 20%,
food and consumer goods 11% (1987);
partners--Western Europe 49%, Far East 20%, Middle East 19%, US 7% (1987)

External debt: $6.2 billion (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 4.8% (1987 est.)

Electricity: 587,000 kW capacity; 2,250 million kWh produced,
90 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries,
textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural processing, oil refining,
cement, tourism

Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for 30% of GDP,
about 80% of the work force, and over 50% of exports; cash
crops--coffee, tea, sisal, pineapple; food products--corn, wheat,
sugarcane, fruit, vegetables, dairy products; food output not keeping
pace with population growth

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis used mostly for
domestic consumption; widespread cultivation of cannabis and qat on
small plots; transit country for heroin and methaqualone en route
from Southwest Asia to West Africa, Western Europe, and the US

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $771 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $6.0 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $74 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$83 million

Currency: Kenyan shilling (plural--shillings);
1 Kenyan shilling (KSh) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Kenyan shillings (KSh) per US$1--21.749 (December 1989),
20.572 (1989), 17.747 (1988), 16.454 (1987), 16.226 (1986), 16.432 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

- Communications
Railroads: 2,040 km 1.000-meter gauge

Highways: 64,590 km total; 7,000 km paved, 4,150 km gravel, remainder
improved earth

Inland waterways: part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of
Kenya; principal inland port is at Kisumu

Pipelines: refined products, 483 km

Ports: Mombasa, Lamu

Civil air: 14 major transport aircraft

Airports: 247 total, 211 usable; 18 with permanent-surface runways; 2
with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 45 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: in top group of African systems; consists of radio
relay links, open-wire lines, and radiocommunication stations;
260,000 telephones; stations--11 AM, 4 FM, 4 TV; satellite earth stations--1
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTLESAT

- Defense Forces
Branches: Kenya Army, Kenya Navy, Air Force; paramilitary General
Service Unit

Military manpower: males 15-49, 5,240,551; 3,235,557 fit for military
service; no conscription

Defense expenditures: 1.0% of GDP, or $100 million (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Kingman Reef
(territory of the US)
- Geography
Total area: 1 km2; land area: 1 km2

Comparative area: about 1.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 3 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical, but moderated by prevailing winds

Terrain: low and nearly level with a maximum elevation of about 1 meter

Natural resources: none

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

Environment: barren coral atoll with deep interior lagoon; wet or awash
most of the time

Note: located 1,600 km south-southwest of Honolulu in the North Pacific
Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and American Samoa; maximum elevation of
about 1 meter makes this a navigational hazard; closed to the public

- People
Population: uninhabited

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the US Navy

- Economy
Overview: no economic activity

- Communications
Airports: lagoon was used as a halfway station between Hawaii and
American Samoa by Pan American Airways for flying boats in 1937 and 1938

Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Kiribati
- Geography
Total area: 717 km2; land area: 717 km2; includes three island
groups--Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands

Comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 1,143 km

Maritime claims:

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds

Terrain: mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs

Natural resources: phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)

Land use: NEGL% arable land; 51% permanent crops; 0% meadows and
pastures; 3% forest and woodland; 46% other

Environment: typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March;
20 of the 33 islands are inhabited

Note: Banaba or Ocean Island is one of the three great phosphate rock
islands in the Pacific (the others are Makatea in French Polynesia and Nauru)

- People
Population: 70,012 (July 1990), growth rate 1.7% (1990)

Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 65 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 57 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 4.3 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Kiribatian(s); adjective--Kiribati

Ethnic divisions: Micronesian

Religion: 48% Roman Catholic, 45% Protestant (Congregational),
some Seventh-Day Adventist and Baha'i

Language: English (official), Gilbertese

Literacy: 90%

Labor force: 7,870 economically active (1985 est.)

Organized labor: Kiribati Trades Union Congress--2,500 members

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Kiribati

Type: republic

Capital: Tarawa

Administrative divisions: 3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix
Islands; note--a new administrative structure of 6 districts (Banaba, Central
Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern  Gilberts, Southern  Gilberts, Tarawa) may have
been changed to 20 island councils (one for each of the inhabited islands) named
Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kiritimati, Kuria,
Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana,
Tarawa, Teraina

Independence: 12 July 1979 (from UK; formerly Gilbert Islands)

Constitution: 12 July 1979

National holiday: Independence Day, 12 July (1979)

Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly (Maneaba Ni Maungatabu)

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, High Court

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Ieremia T. TABAI
(since 12 July 1979); Vice President Teatao TEANNAKI (since 20 July 1979)

Political parties and leaders: Gilbertese National Party; Christian
Democratic Party, Teburoro Tito, secretary; essentially not organized
on basis of political parties

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held on 12 May 1987 (next to be held May 1991);
results--Ieremia T. Tabai 50.1%, Tebruroro Tito 42.7%, Tetao
Tannaki 7.2%;

National Assembly--last held on 19 March l987 (next to be held
March 1991); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(40 total; 39 elected) percent of seats by party NA

Member of: ACP, ADB, Commonwealth, ESCAP (associate member), GATT (de
facto), ICAO, IMF, SPF, WHO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant) lives in Tarawa (Kiribati);
US--none

Flag: the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a
yellow rising sun and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white
stripes to represent the ocean

- Economy
Overview: The country has few national resources. Phosphate deposits were
exhausted at the time of independence in 1979. Copra and fish now represent
the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in
recent years. Real GDP declined about 8% in 1987, as the fish catch fell
sharply to only one-fourth the level of 1986 and copra production was hampered
by repeated rains. Output rebounded strongly in 1988, with real GDP growing
by 17%. The upturn in economic growth came from an increase in copra production
and a good fish catch. Following the strong surge in output in 1988, GDP
remained about the same in 1989.

GDP: $34 million, per capita $500; real growth rate 0% (1989)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.1% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 2% (1985); considerable underemployment

Budget: revenues $22.0 million; expenditures $12.7 million, including
capital expenditures of $9.7 million (1988)

Exports: $5.1 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--fish 55%,
copra 42%; partners--EC 20%, Marshall Islands 12%, US 8%, American
Samoa 4% (1985)

Imports: $21.5 million (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--foodstuffs,
fuel, transportation equipment; partners--Australia 39%, Japan 21%,
NZ 6%, UK 6%, US 3% (1985)

External debt: $2.0 million (December 1987 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 5,000 kW capacity; 13 million kWh produced,
190 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: fishing, handicrafts

Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP (including fishing); copra and fish
contribute 95% to exports; subsistence farming predominates; food crops--taro,
breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; not self-sufficient in food

Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $245 million

Currency: Australian dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1--1.2784 (January 1990),
1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905 (1986), 1.4269 (1985)

Fiscal year: NA

- Communications
Highways: 640 km of motorable roads

Inland waterways: small network of canals, totaling 5 km, in Line Islands

Ports: Banaba and Betio (Tarawa)

Civil air: 2 Trislanders; no major transport aircraft

Airports: 22 total; 21 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: 1,400 telephones; stations--1 AM, no FM, no TV;
1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: NA

Military manpower: NA

Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Korea, North
- Geography
Total area: 120,540 km2; land area: 120,410 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Mississippi

Land boundaries: 1,671 km total; China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km,
USSR 17 km

Coastline: 2,495 km

Maritime claims:

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm;

Military boundary line: 50 nm (all foreign vessels and aircraft
without permission are banned)

Disputes: short section of boundary with China is indefinite;
Demarcation Line with South Korea

Climate: temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer

Terrain: mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys;
coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east

Natural resources: coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite,
iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower

Land use: 18% arable land; 1% permanent crops; NEGL% meadows and
pastures; 74% forest and woodland; 7% other; includes 9% irrigated

Environment: mountainous interior is isolated, nearly inaccessible,
and sparsely populated; late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding

Note: strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and USSR

- People
Population: 21,292,649 (July 1990), growth rate 1.7% (1990)

Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 27 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 75 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Korean(s); adjective--Korean

Ethnic divisions: racially homogeneous

Religion: Buddhism and Confucianism; religious activities now almost
nonexistent

Language: Korean

Literacy: 95% (est.)

Labor force: 9,615,000; 36% agricultural, 64% nonagricultural; shortage
of skilled and unskilled labor (mid-1987 est.)

Organized labor: 1,600,000 members; single-trade union system coordinated
by the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea under the Central Committee

- Government
Long-form name: Democratic People's Republic of Korea; abbreviated DPRK

Type: Communist state; one-man rule

Capital: P'yongyang

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and
3 special cities* (jikhalsi, singular and plural); Chagang-do,
Hamgyong-namdo, Hamgyong-bukto, Hwanghae-namdo, Hwanghae-bukto,
Kaesong-si*, Kangwon-do, Namp'o-si*, P'yongan-bukto,
P'yongan-namdo, P'yongyang-si*, Yanggang-do

Independence: 9 September 1948

Constitution: adopted 1948, revised 27 December 1972

Legal system: based on German civil law system with Japanese influences
and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 9 September (1948)

Executive branch: president, two vice presidents, premier, nine vice
premiers, State Administration Council (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme People's Assembly (Choe Ko In
Min Hoe Ui)

Judicial branch: Central Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President KIM Il-song (since 28 December 1972);
Designated Successor KIM Chong-Il (son of President, born 16 February 1942);

Head of Government--Premier YON Hyong-muk (since NA December 1988)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Korean Workers' Party
(KWP); Kim Il-song, General Secretary, and his son, Kim Chong-Il,
Secretary, Central Committee

Suffrage: universal at age 17

Elections:
President--last held 29 December 1986 (next to be held December
1990);
results--President Kim Il Song was reelected without opposition;

Supreme People's Assembly--last held on 2 November 1986 (next
to be held November 1990, but the constitutional provision for elections
every four years is not always followed);
results--KWP is the only party;
seats--(655 total) KWP 655; the KWP approves a single list of candidates
who are elected without opposition

Communists: KWP claims membership of about 2 million, or about one-tenth
of population

Member of: ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, IMO, IPU, ITU, NAM,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTO, UNIDO, WMO; official
observer status at UN

Diplomatic representation: none

Flag: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue;
the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white
disk with a red five-pointed star

- Economy
Overview: More than 90% of this command economy is socialized;
agricultural land is collectivized; and state-owned industry produces 95% of
manufactured goods. State control of economic affairs is unusually tight
even for a Communist country because of the small size and homogeneity of
the society and the strict one-man rule of Kim. Economic growth during
the period 1984-89 has averaged approximately 3%. Abundant natural resources
and hydropower form the basis of industrial development. Output of the
extractive industries includes coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper,
zinc, lead, and precious metals. Manufacturing emphasis is centered on heavy
industry, with light industry lagging far behind. The use of high-yielding
seed varieties, expansion of irrigation, and the heavy use of fertilizers
have enabled North Korea to become largely self-sufficient in food production.
North Korea, however, is far behind South Korea in economic development and
living standards.

GNP: $28 billion, per capita $1,240; real growth rate 3% (1989)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: officially none

Budget: revenues $15.6 billion; expenditures $15.6 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1989)

Exports: $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--minerals,
metallurgical products, agricultural products, manufactures;
partners--USSR, China, Japan, FRG, Hong Kong, Singapore

Imports: $3.1 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--petroleum,
machinery and equipment, coking coal, grain;
partners--USSR, Japan, China, FRG, Hong Kong, Singapore

External debt: $2.5 billion hard currency (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 6,440,000 kW capacity; 40,250 million kWh produced,
1,740 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: machine building, military products, electric power,
chemicals, mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing

Agriculture: accounts for about 25% of GNP and 36% of work force;
principal crops--rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; livestock and livestock
products--cattle, hogs, pork, eggs; not self-sufficient in grain; fish catch
estimated at 1.7 million metric tons in 1987

Aid: Communist countries (1970-88), $1.3 billion

Currency: North Korean won (plural--won);
1 North Korean won (Wn) = 100 chon

Exchange rates: North Korean won (Wn) per US$1--2.3 (December 1989),
2.13 (December 1988), 0.94 (March 1987), NA (1986), NA (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 4,535 km total operating in 1980; 3,870 km 1.435-meter standard
gauge, 665 km 0.762-meter narrow gauge, 159 km double track; 3,175 km
electrified; government owned

Highways: about 20,280 km (1980); 98.5% gravel, crushed stone, or earth
surface; 1.5% concrete or bituminous

Inland waterways: 2,253 km; mostly navigable by small craft only

Pipelines: crude oil, 37 km

Ports: Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam, Namp'o, Wonsan, Songnim, Najin

Merchant marine: 65 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 437,103
GRT/663,835 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 short-sea passenger, 1 passenger-cargo,
56 cargo, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 bulk, 1 combination
bulk

Airports: 50 total, 50 usable; about 30 with permanent-surface
runways; fewer than 5 with runways over 3,659 m; 20 with runways
2,440-3,659 m; 30 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: stations--18 AM, no FM, 11 TV; 200,000 TV sets;
3,500,000 radio receivers; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Ministry of People's Armed Forces (consists of the army, navy,
and air force)

Military manpower: males 15-49, 6,054,774; 3,699,088 fit for military
service; 223,087 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 22% of GNP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Korea, South
- Geography
Total area: 98,480 km2; land area: 98,190 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Indiana

Land boundary: 238 km with North Korea

Coastline: 2,413 km

Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 12 nm (3 nm in the Korea Strait)

Disputes: Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks claimed
by Japan

Climate: temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter

Terrain: mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west
and south

Natural resources: coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead,
hydropower

Land use: 21% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures;
67% forest and woodland; 10% other; includes 12% irrigated

Environment: occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; earthquakes
in southwest; air pollution in large cities

Notes: strategic location along the Korea Strait, Sea of Japan, and
Yellow Sea

- People
Population: 43,045,098 (July 1990), growth rate 0.8% (1990)

Birth rate: 20 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 1 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 73 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Korean(s); adjective--Korean

Ethnic divisions: homogeneous; small Chinese minority (about 20,000)

Religion: strong Confucian tradition; vigorous Christian minority (28%
of the total population); Buddhism; pervasive folk religion (Shamanism);
Chondokyo (religion of the heavenly way), eclectic religion with nationalist
overtones founded in 19th century, claims about 1.5 million adherents

Language: Korean; English widely taught in high school

Literacy: over 90%

Labor force: 16,900,000; 52% services and other; 27% mining and
manufacturing; 21% agriculture, fishing, forestry (1987)

Organized labor: about 10% of nonagricultural labor force in
government-sanctioned unions

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Korea; abbreviated ROK

Type: republic

Capital: Seoul

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and
6 special cities* (jikhalsi, singular and plural); Cheju-do,
Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto,
Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-jikhalsi*, Kangwon-do,
Kwangju-jikhalsi, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto,
Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-jikhalsi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*,
Taegu-jikhalsi*, Taejon-jikhalsi

Independence: 15 August 1948

Constitution: 25 February 1988

Legal system: combines elements of continental European civil law systems,
Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought; has not accepted compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 August (1948)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, deputy prime minister,
State Council (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President ROH Tae Woo (since 25 February 1988);

Head of Government--Prime Minister KANG Young Hoon (since 5 December
1988); Deputy Prime Minister CHO Soon (since 5 December 1988)

Political parties and leaders: major party is government's Democratic
Justice Party (DJP), Roh Tae Woo, president, and Park Tae Chun, chairman;
opposition parties are Peace and Democracy Party (PPD), Kim Dae Jung; Korea
Reunification Democratic Party (RPD), Kim Young Sam; New Democratic Republican
Party (NDRP), Kim Jong Pil; several smaller parties

Suffrage: universal at age 20

Elections:
President--last held on 16 December 1987 (next to be held December 1992);
results--Roh Tae Woo (DJP) 35.9%, Kim Young Sam (RDP) 27.5%,
Kim Dae Jung (PPD) 26.5%, other 10.1%;

National Assembly--last held on 26 April 1988 (next to be held
April 1992);
results--DJP 34%, RPD 24%, PPD 19%, NDRP 15%, others 8%;
seats--(299 total) DJP 125, PPD 71, RPD 59, NDRP 35, others 9

Communists: Communist party activity banned by government

Other political or pressure groups: Korean National Council of Churches;
large, potentially volatile student population concentrated in Seoul; Federation
of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Veterans' Association; Federation of Korean
Industries; Korean Traders Association

Member of: ADB, AfDB, ASPAC, CCC, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77,
GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, IMF,
IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, IWC--International Whaling
Commission, IWC--International Wheat Council, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNESCO,
UNICEF, UNIDO, UN Special Fund, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO;
official observer status at UN

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Tong-Jin PARK; Chancery at
2320 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
there are Korean Consulates General in Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta,
Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle;
US--Ambassador Donald GREGG; Embassy at 82 Sejong-Ro,
Chongro-ku, Seoul (mailing address is APO San Francisco 96301); telephone p82o
(2) 732-2601 through 2618; there is a US Consulate in Pusan

Flag: white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there
is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes)
in each corner of the white field

- Economy
Overview: The driving force behind the economy's dynamic growth
has been the planned development of an export-oriented economy in a
vigorously entrepreneurial society. GNP increased almost 13% in both
1986 and 1987 and 12% in 1988 before slowing to 6.5% in 1989. Such a
rapid rate of growth was achieved with an inflation rate of only 3% in the
period 1986-87, rising to 7% in 1988 and 5% in 1989. Unemployment is
also low, and some labor bottlenecks have appeared in several processing
industries. While the South Korean economy is expected to grow at more
than 5% annually during the 1990s, labor unrest--which led to
substantial wage hikes in 1987-89--threatens to undermine
noninflationary growth.

GNP: $200 billion, per capita $4,600; real growth rate 6.5% (1989)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 3% (1989)

Budget: revenues $33.6 billion; expenditures $33.6 billion, including
capital expenditures of NA (1990)

Exports: $62.3 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--textiles,
clothing, electronic and electrical equipment, footwear, machinery, steel,
automobiles, ships, fish; partners--US 33%, Japan 21%

Imports: $61.3 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil,
steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains;
partners--Japan 28%, US 25% (1990)

External debt: $30.5 billion (September 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 3.5% (1989)

Electricity: 20,500,000 kW capacity; 80,000 million kWh produced,
1,850 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing, chemicals,
steel, electronics, automobile production, ship building

Agriculture: accounts for 11% of GNP and employs 21% of work force
(including fishing and forestry); principal crops--rice, root crops, barley,
vegetables, fruit; livestock and livestock products--cattle, hogs, chickens,
milk, eggs; self-sufficient in food, except for wheat; fish catch of 2.9
million metric tons, seventh-largest in world

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-85), $3.9 billion

Currency: South Korean won (plural--won);
1 South Korean won (W) = 100 chon (theoretical)

Exchange rates: South Korean won (W) per US$1--683.43 (January 1990),
671.46 (1989), 731.47 (1988), 822.57 (1987), 881.45 (1986), 870.02 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 3,106 km operating in 1983; 3,059 km 1.435-meter standard
gauge, 47 km 0.610-meter narrow gauge, 712 km double track, 418 km
electrified; government owned

Highways: 62,936 km total (1982); 13,476 km national highway, 49,460 km
provincial and local roads

Inland waterways: 1,609 km; use restricted to small native craft

Pipelines: 294 km refined products

Ports: Pusan, Inchon, Kunsan, Mokpo, Ulsan

Merchant marine: 423 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,006,481
GRT/11,658,104 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 130 cargo, 41 container,
11 refrigerated cargo, 11 vehicle carrier, 49 petroleum, oils, and lubricants
(POL) tanker, 8 chemical tanker, 10 liquefied gas, 10 combination ore/oil,
143 bulk, 7 combination bulk, 1 multifunction large-load carrier

Civil air: 93 major transport aircraft

Airports: 112 total, 105 usable; 61 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 17 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: adequate domestic and international services;
4,800,000 telephones; stations--79 AM, 46 FM, 256 TV (57 of 1 kW or greater);
satellite earth stations--2 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps

Military manpower: males 15-49, 12,792,426; 8,260,886 fit for military
service; 445,320 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 5% of GNP, or $10 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Kuwait
- Geography
Total area: 17,820 km2; land area: 17,820 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries: 462 km total; Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km

Coastline: 499 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: not specific;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: ownership of Warbah and Bubiyan islands disputed
by Iraq; ownership of Qaruh and Umm al Maradim Islands disputed by
Saudi Arabia

Climate: dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters

Terrain: flat to slightly undulating desert plain

Natural resources: petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas

Land use: NEGL% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 8% meadows and
pastures; NEGL% forest and woodland; 92% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination
facilities provide most of water; air and water pollution; desertification

Note: strategic location at head of Persian Gulf

- People
Population: 2,123,711 (July 1990), growth rate 3.8% (1990)

Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 2 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 11 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 15 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 76 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Kuwaiti(s); adjective--Kuwaiti

Ethnic divisions: 27.9% Kuwaiti, 39% other Arab, 9% South Asian, 4%
Iranian, 20.1% other

Religion: 85% Muslim (30% Shia, 45% Sunni, 10% other),
15% Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other

Language: Arabic (official); English widely spoken

Literacy: 71% (est.)

Labor force: 566,000 (1986); 45.0% services, 20.0% construction, 12.0%
trade, 8.6% manufacturing, 2.6% finance and real estate, 1.9% agriculture, 1.7%
power and water, 1.4% mining and quarrying; 70% of labor force is non-Kuwaiti

Organized labor: labor unions exist in oil industry and among government
personnel

- Government
Long-form name: State of Kuwait

Type: nominal constitutional monarchy

Capital: Kuwait

Administrative divisions: 4 governorates (muhafazat,
singular--muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Jahrah, Al Kuwayt,
Hawalli; note--there may be a new governorate of Farwaniyyah

Independence: 19 June 1961 (from UK)

Constitution: 16 November 1962 (some provisions suspended since 29
August 1962)

Legal system: civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal
matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: National Day, 25 February

Executive branch: amir, prime minister, deputy prime minister,
Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: National Assembly (Majlis al Umma) dissolved
3 July 1986

Judicial branch: High Court of Appeal

Leaders:
Chief of State--Amir Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al SABAH
(since 31 December 1977);

Head of Government--Prime Minister and Crown Prince Sad Abdallah
al-Salim Al SABAH (since 8 February 1978)

Political parties and leaders: none

Suffrage: adult males who resided in Kuwait before 1920 and their male
descendants at age 21; note--out of all citizens, only 8.3% are
eligible to vote and only 3.5% actually vote

Elections:
National Assembly--dissolved 3 July 1986 and no elections are
planned

Communists: insignificant

Other political or pressure groups: large (350,000) Palestinian
community; several small, clandestine leftist and Shia fundamentalist groups
are active

Member of: Arab League, FAO, G-77, GATT, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IPU, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Shaikh Saud Nasir AL-SABAH;
Chancery at 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador W. Nathaniel HOWELL; Embassy at Bneid al-Gar (opposite the
Hilton Hotel), Kuwait City (mailing address is P. O. Box 77 Safat, 13001 Safat,
Kuwait City); telephone p965o 242-4151 through 4159

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a
black trapezoid based on the hoist side

- Economy
Overview: The oil sector dominates the economy. Of the countries in the
Middle East, Kuwait has oil reserves second only to those of Saudi Arabia.
Earnings from hydrocarbons generate over 90% of both export and government
revenues and contribute about 40% to GDP. Most of the nonoil sector is dependent
upon oil-derived government revenues to provide infrastructure development and
to promote limited industrial diversification. The economy is heavily dependent
upon foreign labor--Kuwaitis account for less than 20% of the labor force. The
early years of the Iran-Iraq war pushed Kuwait's GDP well below its 1980 peak;
however, during the period 1986-88, GDP increased each year, rising to 5% in
1988.

GDP: $20.5 billion, per capita $10,500; real growth rate 5.0% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 0%

Budget: revenues $7.1 billion; expenditures $10.5 billion, including
capital expenditures of $3.1 billion (FY88)

Exports: $7.1 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--oil 90%;
partners--Japan, Italy, FRG, US

Imports: $5.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--food,
construction material, vehicles and parts, clothing; partners--Japan,
US, FRG, UK

External debt: $7.2 billion (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 3% (1988)

Electricity: 8,287,000 kW capacity; 21,500 million kWh produced,
10,710 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing,
salt, construction

Agriculture: virtually none; dependent on imports for food; about 75% of
potable water must be distilled or imported

Aid: donor--pledged $18.3 billion in bilateral aid to less developed
countries (1979-89)

Currency: Kuwaiti dinar (plural--dinars);
1 Kuwaiti dinar (KD) = 1,000 fils

Exchange rates: Kuwaiti dinars (KD) per US$1--0.2915 (January 1990),
0.2937 (1989), 0.2790 (1988), 0.2786 (1987), 0.2919 (1986), 0.3007 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

- Communications
Highways: 3,000 km total; 2,500 km bituminous; 500 km earth, sand, light
gravel

Pipelines: crude oil, 877 km; refined products, 40 km; natural gas, 165 km

Ports: Ash Shuwaykh, Ash Shuaybah, Mina al Ahmadi

Merchant marine: 51 ships (1,000 GRT or over), totaling 1,862,010
GRT/2,935,007 DWT; includes 18 cargo, 5 container, 5 livestock carrier,
18 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 5 liquefied gas

Civil air: 19 major transport aircraft

Airports: 8 total, 4 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
none with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: excellent international, adequate domestic facilities;
258,000 telephones; stations--3 AM, 2 FM, 3 TV; satellite earth stations--1
Indian Ocean INTELSAT, and 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT; 1 INMARSAT, 1 ARABSAT;
coaxial cable and radio relay to Iraq and Saudi Arabia

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, National Guard

Military manpower: males 15-49, about 688,516; about 411,742 fit for
military service; 18,836 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 5.8% of GDP, or $1.2 billion (FY89)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Laos
- Geography
Total area:  236,800 km2; land area: 230,800 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Utah

Land boundaries: 5,083 km total; Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China
423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Disputes: boundary dispute with Thailand

Climate: tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season
(December to April)

Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus

Natural resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold,
gemstones

Land use: 4% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 3% meadows and
pastures; 58% forest and woodland; 35% other; includes 1% irrigated

Environment: deforestation; soil erosion; subject to floods

Note: landlocked

- People
Population: 4,023,726 (July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990)

Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 126 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 48 years male, 51 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 5.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Lao (sing., Lao or Laotian); adjective--Lao or Laotian

Ethnic divisions: 50% Lao, 15% Phoutheung (Kha), 20% tribal Thai, 15% Meo,
Hmong, Yao, and other

Religion: 85% Buddhist, 15% animist and other

Language: Lao (official), French, and English

Literacy: 85%

Labor force: 1-1.5 million; 85-90% in agriculture (est.)

Organized labor: Lao Federation of Trade Unions is subordinate to the
Communist party

- Government
Long-form name: Lao People's Democratic Republic

Type: Communist state

Capital: Vientiane

Administrative divisions: 16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural)
and 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo,
Bolikhamsai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louang Namtha, Louangphrabang,
Oudomxai, Phongsali, Saravan, Savannakhet, Sekong, Vientiane,
Vientiane*, Xaignabouri, Xiangkhoang

Independence: 19 July 1949 (from France)

Constitution: draft constitution under discussion since 1976

Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction

National holiday: National Day (proclamation of the Lao People's
Democratic Republic), 2 December (1975)

Executive branch: president, chairman and five vice chairmen of the
Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: Supreme People's Assembly

Judicial branch: Central Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Acting President PHOUMI VONGVICHIT (since 29 October
1986);

Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers General
KAYSONE PHOMVIHAN (since 2 December 1975)

Political parties and leaders: Lao People's Revolutionary Party
(LPRP), Kaysone Phomvihan, party chairman; includes Lao Patriotic
Front and Alliance Committee of Patriotic Neutralist Forces; other
parties moribund

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
Supreme People's Assembly--last held on 26 March 1989 (next to be
held NA); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(79 total) number of seats by party NA

Other political or pressure groups: non-Communist political groups
moribund; most leaders have fled the country

Member of: ADB, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD,
ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, Mekong Committee, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: First Secretary, Charge d'Affaires ad interim
DONE SOMVORACHIT; Chancery at 2222 S Street NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone [phone] or 6417;
US--Charge d'Affaires Charles B. SALMON; Embassy at Rue
Bartholonie, Vientiane (mailing address is B. P. 114, Vientiane, or
Box V, APO San Francisco 96346); telephone 2220, 2357, 2384

Flag: three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red
with a large white disk centered in the blue band

- Economy
Overview: One of the world's poorest nations, Laos has had a Communist
centrally planned economy with government ownership and control of
productive enterprises of any size. Recently, however, the government
has been decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise.
Laos is a landlocked country with a primitive infrastructure, that is,
it has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, limited
external and internal telecommunications, and electricity
available in only a limited area. Subsistence agriculture is the
main occupation, accounting for over 60% of GDP and providing about 85-90% of
total employment. The predominant crop is rice. For the foreseeable future the
economy will continue to depend for its survival on foreign aid--from
CEMA, IMF, and other international sources.

GDP: $585 million, per capita $150; real growth rate 3% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 15% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $71 million; expenditures $198 million, including
capital expenditures of $132 million (1988 est.)

Exports: $57.5 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--
electricity, wood products, coffee, tin; partners--Thailand, Malaysia,
Vietnam, USSR, US

Imports: $219 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.); commodities--food, fuel
oil, consumer goods, manufactures; partners--Thailand, USSR, Japan,
France, Vietnam

External debt: $964 million (1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 8% (1989 est.)

Electricity: 176,000 kW capacity; 900 million kWh produced,
225 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: tin mining, timber, electric power, agricultural
processing

Agriculture: accounts for 60% of GDP and employs most of the work force;
subsistence farming predominates; normally self-sufficient; principal
crops--rice (80% of cultivated land), potatoes, vegetables, coffee,
sugarcane, cotton

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis and opium poppy for the
international drug trade; production of cannabis increased in 1989;
marijuana and heroin are shipped to Western countries, including the US

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-79), $276 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $468
million; Communist countries (1970-88), $895 million

Currency: new kip (plural--kips); 1 new kip (NK) = 100 at

Exchange rates: new kips (NK) per US$1--700 (December 1989), 725 (1989),
350 (1988), 200 (1987), 108 (1986), 95 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

- Communications
Highways: about 27,527 km total; 1,856 km bituminous or bituminous
treated; 7,451 km gravel, crushed stone, or improved earth; 18,220 km unimproved
earth and often impassable during rainy season mid-May to mid-September

Inland waterways: about 4,587 km, primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897
additional kilometers are sectionally navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m

Pipelines: 136 km, refined products

Ports: none

Airports: 64 total, 50 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: service to general public considered poor; radio
network provides generally erratic service to government users; 7,390 telephones
(1986); stations--10 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 satellite earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Lao People's Army (LPA, which consists of an army with naval,
aviation, and militia elements), Air Force, National Police Department

Military manpower: males 15-49, 967,047; 517,666 fit for military service;
44,176 reach military age (18) annually; conscription age NA

Defense expenditures: 3.8% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Lebanon
- Geography
Total area: 10,400 km2; land area: 10,230 km2

Comparative area: about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries: 454 km total; Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km

Coastline: 225 km

Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line;
Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; Syrian troops in
northern Lebanon since October 1976

Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers

Terrain: narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa (Bekaa Valley) separates
Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains

Natural resources: limestone, iron ore, salt; water-surplus state
in a water-deficit region

Land use: 21% arable land; 9% permanent crops; 1% meadows and
pastures; 8% forest and woodland; 61% other; includes 7% irrigated

Environment: rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect,
and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, ethnicity;
deforestation; soil erosion; air and water pollution; desertification

Note: Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East
not crossing an international boundary

- People
Population: 3,339,331 (July 1990), growth rate 1.3% (1990)

Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 8 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 49 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 70 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Lebanese (sing., pl.); adjective--Lebanese

Ethnic divisions: 93% Arab, 6% Armenian, 1% other

Religion: 75% Islam, 25% Christian, NEGL% Judaism; 17 legally recognized
sects--4 Orthodox Christian (Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Nestorean,
Syriac Orthodox), 7 Uniate Christian (Armenian Catholic, Caldean, Greek
Catholic, Maronite, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Syrian Catholic), 5 Islam
(Alawite or Nusayri, Druze, Ismailite, Shia, Sunni), and 1 Jewish

Language: Arabic and French (both official); Armenian, English

Literacy: 75%

Labor force: 650,000; 79% industry, commerce, and services,
11% agriculture, 10% goverment (1985)

Organized labor: 250,000 members (est.)

- Government
Note: Between early 1975 and late 1976 Lebanon was torn by civil
war between its Christians--then aided by Syrian troops--and its Muslims
and their Palestinian allies. The cease-fire established in October
1976 between the domestic political groups generally held for about six
years, despite occasional fighting. Syrian troops constituted as the Arab
Deterrent Force by the Arab League have remained in Lebanon. Syria's
move toward supporting the Lebanese Muslims and the Palestinians and
Israel's growing support for Lebanese Christians brought the two sides
into rough equilibrium, but no progress was made toward national
reconciliation or political reforms--the original cause of the war.

   Continuing Israeli concern about the Palestinian presence in
Lebanon led to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982. Israeli
forces occupied all of the southern portion of the country and mounted a
summer-long siege of Beirut, which resulted in the evacuation of the
PLO from Beirut in September under the supervision of a multinational
force (MNF) made up of US, French, and Italian troops.

   Within days of the departure of the MNF, Lebanon's newly elected
president, Bashir Gemayel, was assassinated. In the wake of his death,
Christian militiamen massacred hundreds of Palestinian refugees in two
Beirut camps. This prompted the return of the MNF to ease the security
burden on Lebanon's weak Army and security forces. In late March 1984
the last MNF units withdrew.

   Lebanese Parliamentarians met in Taif, Saudi Arabia in late 1989 and
concluded a national reconciliation pact that codified a new power-sharing
formula, specifiying a Christian president but giving Muslims more
authority. Rene Muawad was subsequently elected president on 4 November
1989, ending a 13-month period during which Lebanon had no president and
rival Muslim and Christian governments. Muawad was assassinated
17 days later, on 22 November; on 24 November Elias Harawi was
elected to succeed Muawad.

   Progress toward lasting political compromise in Lebanon has been
stalled by opposition from Christian strongman Gen. Michel Awn.
Awn--appointed acting Prime Minister by outgoing president Amin Gemayel
in September 1988--called the national reconciliation accord
illegitimate and has refused to recognize the new Lebanese Government.

   Lebanon continues to be partially occupied by Syrian troops. Syria
augmented its troop presence during the weeks following Muawad's
assassination. Troops are deployed in West Beirut and its southern
suburbs, in Al Biqa, and in northern Lebanon. Iran also maintains
a small contingent of revolutionary guards in Al Biqa, from
which it supports Lebanese Islamic fundamentalist groups.

   Israel withdrew the bulk of its forces from the south in 1985,
although it still retains troops in a 10-km-deep security zone north
of its border with Lebanon. Israel arms and trains the Army of South
Lebanon (ASL), which also occupies the security zone and is Israel's
first line of defense against attacks on its northern border.

   The following description is based on the present constitutional and
customary practices of the Lebanese system.

Long-form name: Republic of Lebanon; note--may be changed to
Lebanese Republic

Type: republic

Capital: Beirut

Administrative divisions: 5 governorates (muhafazat,
singular--muhafazah); Al Biqa, Al Janub, Ash Shamal,
Bayrut, Jabal Lubnan

Independence: 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under
French administration)

Constitution: 26 May 1926 (amended)

Legal system: mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code,
and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 22 November (1943)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet; note--by custom,
the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim,
and the president of the legislature is a Shia Muslim

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Arabic--Majlis
Alnuwab, French--Assemblee Nationale)

Judicial branch: four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and
commercial cases and one court for criminal cases)

Leaders:
Chief of State--Elias HARAWI (since 24 November 1989);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Salim AL-HUSS (since 24
November 1989)

Political parties and leaders: political party activity is organized along
largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist, consisting of
individual political figures and followers motivated by religious, clan, and
economic considerations; most parties have well-armed militias, which are still
involved in occasional clashes

Suffrage: compulsory for all males at age 21; authorized for women
at age 21 with elementary education

Elections:
National Assembly--elections should be held every four years
but security conditions have prevented elections since May 1972

Communists: the Lebanese Communist Party was legalized in 1970; members
and sympathizers estimated at 2,000-3,000

Member of: Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IPU, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, NAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WMO, WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant); Charge
d'Affaires Suleiman RASSI; note--the former Lebanese Ambassador,
Dr. Abdallah Bouhabib, is loyal to Gen. Awn and has refused to
abandon his residence or relinquish his post; Chancery at 2560 28th
Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
there are Lebanese Consulates General in Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles;
US--Ambassador John T. MCCARTHY; Embassy at Avenue de Paris, Beirut
(mailing address is P. O. Box 70-840, Beirut); telephone p961o 417774 or 415802,
415803, 402200, 403300

Flag: three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red
with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band

- Economy
Overview: Severe factional infighting in 1989 has been destroying physical
property, interrupting the established pattern of economic affairs, and
practically ending chances of restoring Lebanon's position as a Middle
Eastern entrepot and banking hub. The ordinary Lebanese citizen
struggles to keep afloat in an environment of physical danger, high
unemployment, and growing shortages. The central government's ability
to collect taxes has suffered greatly from militia control and taxation
of local areas. As the civil strife persists, the US dollar has become
more and more the medium of exchange. Transportation,
communications, and other parts of the infrastructure continue to deteriorate.
Family remittances, foreign political money going to the factions, international
emergency aid, and a small volume of manufactured exports help prop up the
battered economy. Prospects for 1990 are grim, with expected further declines in
economic activity and living standards.

GDP: $2.3 billion, per capita $700; real growth rate NA% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 60% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 33% (1987 est.)

Budget: revenues $50 million; expenditures $650 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1988 est.)

Exports: $1.0 billion (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--agricultural products, chemicals, textiles, precious
and semiprecious metals and jewelry, metals and metal products;
partners--Saudi Arabia 16%, Switzerland 8%, Jordan 6%, Kuwait 6%, US 5%

Imports: $1.5 billion (c.i.f., 1987); commodities--NA;
partners--Italy 14%, France 12%, US 6%, Turkey 5%, Saudi Arabia 3%

External debt: $935 million (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 1,381,000 kW capacity; 3,870 million kWh produced,
1,170 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: banking, food processing, textiles, cement, oil refining,
chemicals, jewelry, some metal fabricating

Agriculture: accounts for about one-third of GDP; principal
products--citrus fruits, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco, hemp
(hashish), sheep, and goats; not self-sufficient in grain

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the
international drug trade; opium poppy production in Al Biqa
is increasing; most hashish production is shipped to
Western Europe

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $356 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $509 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $962 million; Communist countries (1970-86),
$9 million

Currency: Lebanese pound (plural--pounds);
1 Lebanese pound (LL) = 100 piasters

Exchange rates: Lebanese pounds (LL) per US$1--474.21 (December 1989),
496.69 (1989), 409.23 (1988), 224.60 (1987), 38.37 (1986), 16.42 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 378 km total; 296 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 82 km
1.050-meter gauge; all single track; system almost entirely inoperable

Highways: 7,370 km total; 6,270 km paved, 450 km gravel and crushed stone,
650 km improved earth

Pipelines: crude oil, 72 km (none in operation)

Ports: Beirut, Tripoli, Ras Silata, Juniyah, Sidon,
Az Zahrani, Tyre, Shikka (none are under the direct control
of the Lebanese Government); northern ports are occupied by Syrian
forces and southern ports are occupied or partially quarantined by
Israeli forces; illegal ports scattered along the central coast are
owned and operated by various Christian, Druze, and Shia militias

Merchant marine: 67 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 325,361
GRT/494,319 DWT; includes 43 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 2 vehicle
carrier, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 container, 7 livestock carrier, 1
petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker,
1 specialized tanker, 6 bulk, 1 combination bulk

Civil air: 15 major transport aircraft

Airports: 9 total, 8 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m; none under the direct control of the
Lebanese Government

Telecommunications: rebuilding program disrupted; had fair system of
radio relay, cable; 325,000 telephones; stations--5 AM, 3 FM, 15 TV;
1 inactive Indian Ocean INTELSAT satellite earth station; 3 submarine
coaxial cables; radio relay to Jordan and Syria, inoperable

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 702,961; 434,591 fit for military
service; about 44,625 reach military age (18) yearly

Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Lesotho
- Geography
Total area: 30,350 km2; land area: 30,350 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundary: 909 km with South Africa

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Climate: temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers

Terrain: mostly highland with some plateaus, hills, and mountains

Natural resources: some diamonds and other minerals, water,
agricultural and grazing land

Land use: 10% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 66% meadows and
pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 24% other

Environment: population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas
results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, soil exhaustion; desertification

Note: surrounded by South Africa; Highlands Water Project will control,
store, and redirect water to South Africa

- People
Population: 1,754,664 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 80 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 59 years male, 62 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 4.9 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Mosotho (sing.), Basotho (pl.); adjective--Basotho

Ethnic divisions: 99.7% Sotho; 1,600 Europeans, 800 Asians

Religion: 80% Christian, rest indigenous beliefs

Language: Sesotho (southern Sotho) and English (official); also Zulu and
Xhosa

Literacy: 59% (1989)

Labor force: 689,000 economically active; 86.2% of resident population
engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 60% of active male labor force works
in South Africa

Organized labor: there are two trade union federations; the
government favors formation of a single, umbrella trade union
confederation

- Government
Long-form name: Kingdom of Lesotho

Type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Maseru

Administrative divisions: 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe,
Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qachas Nek, Quthing,
Thaba-Tseka

Independence: 4 October 1966 (from UK; formerly Basutoland)

Constitution: 4 October 1966, suspended January 1970

Legal system: based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law;
judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 October (1966)

Executive branch: monarch, chairman of the Military Council, Military
Council, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: a bicameral Parliament consisting of an upper house
or Senate and a lower house or National Assembly was dissolved in January 1970;
following the military coup of 20 January 1986, legislative powers were vested
in the monarch

Judicial branch: High Court, Court of Appeal

Leaders:
Chief of State--King MOSHOESHOE II (Paramount Chief from 1960 until
independence on 4 October 1966, when he became King); Heir Apparent Letsie
David SEEISO (son of the King);

Head of Government--Chairman of the Military Council Maj. Gen. Justin
Metsing LEKHANYA (since 24 January 1986)

Political parties and leaders: Basotho National Party (BNP),
position vacant; Basutoland Congress Party (BCP), Ntsu Mokhehle; Basotho
Democratic Alliance (BDA), A. S. Nqojane; National Independent Party (NIP),
A. C. Manyeli; Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP), S. H. Mapheleba; United
Democratic Party, C. D. Mofeli

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections:
National Assembly --dissolved following the military coup in
January 1986; no date set for national elections

Communists: small Lesotho Communist Party

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD,
ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, Southern African
Customs Union, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador W. T. VAN TONDER; Chancery at
2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador (vacant): Deputy Chief of Mission Howard F. JETER;
Embassy at address NA, Maseru (mailing address is P. O. Box 333, Maseru
100); telephone p266o 312666

Flag: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half
is white bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and
club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner

- Economy
Overview: Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho has no important
natural resources other than water. Its economy is based on agriculture,
light manufacturing, and remittances from laborers employed in South Africa.
Subsistence farming is the principal occupation for about 86% of the domestic
labor force and accounts for about 20% of GDP. Manufacturing depends largely on
farm products to support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries;
other industries include textile, clothing, and light engineering. Industry's
share of total GDP rose from 6% in 1982 to 10.5% in 1987. During the period
1985-87 real GDP growth averaged 2.9% per year, only slightly above the
population growth rate. In FY89 per capita GDP was only $245 and
nearly 25% of the labor force was unemployed.

GDP: $412 million, per capita $245; real growth rate 8.2% (FY89 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15.0% (FY89 est.)

Unemployment rate: 23% (1988)

Budget: revenues $159 million; expenditures $224 million, including
capital expenditures of $68 million (FY89 est.)

Exports: $55 million (f.o.b., FY89 est.); commodities--wool,
mohair, wheat, cattle, peas, beans, corn, hides, skins, baskets;
partners--South Africa 87%, EC 10%, (1985)

Imports: $526 million (f.o.b., FY89 est.); commodities--mainly
corn, building materials, clothing, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum,
oil, and lubricants; partners--South Africa 95%, EC 2% (1985)

External debt: $235 million (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate 10.3% (1988 est.)

Electricity: power supplied by South Africa

Industries: tourism

Agriculture: exceedingly primitive, mostly subsistence farming and
livestock; principal crops are corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $252 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $714 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $4 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$14 million

Currency: loti (plural--maloti); 1 loti (L) = 100 lisente

Exchange rates: maloti (M) per US$1--2.5555 (January 1990),
2.6166 (1989), 2.2611 (1988), 2.0350 (1987), 2.2685 (1986), 2.1911 (1985);
note--the Basotho loti is at par with the South African rand

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Railroads: 1.6 km; owned, operated, and included in the statistics of
South Africa

Highways: 5,167 km total; 508 km paved; 1,585 km crushed stone,
gravel, or stabilized soil; 946 km improved earth, 2,128 km unimproved earth

Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft

Airports: 28 total, 28 usable; 2 with permanent surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: modest system consisting of a few land lines, a small
radio relay system, and minor radiocommunication stations; 5,920 telephones;
stations--2 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air Wing, Police Department

Military manpower: males 15-49, 381,015; 205,499 fit for military service

Defense expenditures: 8.6% of GDP, or $35 million (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Liberia
- Geography
Total area: 111,370 km2; land area: 96,320 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries: 1,585 km total; Guinea 563 km, Ivory Coast 716 km,
Sierra Leone 306 km

Coastline: 579 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Territorial sea: 200 nm

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool
to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau
and low mountains in northeast

Natural resources: iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold

Land use: 1% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 2% meadows and pastures;
39% forest and woodland; 55% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: West Africa's largest tropical rain forest, subject to
deforestation

- People
Population: 2,639,809 (July 1990), growth rate 3.4% (1990)

Birth rate: 45 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 14 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 126 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 54 years male, 58 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.6 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Liberian(s); adjective--Liberian

Ethnic divisions: 95% indigenous African tribes, including Kpelle, Bassa,
Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, and Bella; 5%
descendants of repatriated slaves known as Americo-Liberians

Religion: 70% traditional, 20% Muslim, 10% Christian

Language: English (official); more than 20 local languages of the
Niger-Congo language group; English used by about 20%

Literacy: 35%

Labor force: 510,000, including 220,000 in the monetary economy;
70.5% agriculture, 10.8% services, 4.5% industry and commerce, 14.2% other;
non-African foreigners hold about 95% of the top-level management and
engineering jobs; 52% of population of working age

Organized labor: 2% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Liberia

Type: republic

Capital: Monrovia

Administrative divisions: 13 counties; Bomi, Bong, Grand Bassa,
Grand Cape Mount, Grand Jide, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado,
Nimba, Rivercess, Sino

Independence: 26 July 1847

Constitution: 6 January 1986

Legal system: dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common
law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices
for indigenous sector

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1847)

Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of an
upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

Judicial branch: People's Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Gen. Dr. Samuel Kanyon
DOE (since 12 April 1980); Vice President Harry F. MONIBA (since 6 January
1986)

Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Party of Liberia
(NDPL), Augustus Caine, chairman; Liberian Action Party (LAP), Emmanuel
Koromah, chairman; Unity Party (UP), Carlos Smith, chairman; United
People's Party (UPP), Gabriel Baccus Matthews, chairman

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held on 15 October 1985 (next to be held October 1991);
results--Samuel Kanyon Doe (NDPL) 50.9%, Jackson Doe (LAP) 26.4%,
others 22.7%;

Senate--last held on 15 October 1985 (next to be held 15 October
1991); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(26 total) NDPL 21, LAP 3, UP 1, LUP 1;

House of Representatives--last held on 15 October 1985 (next
to be held October 1991); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(64 total) NDPL 51, LAP 8, UP 3, LUP 2

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, Mano River Union, NAM,
OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Eugenia A. WORDSWORTH-STEVENSON;
Chancery at 5201 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20011; telephone [phone]
through 0440; there is a Liberian Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador James K. BISHOP; Embassy at 111 United Nations Drive,
Monrovia (mailing address is P. O. Box 98, Monrovia, or APO New York 09155);
telephone p231o 222991 through 222994

Flag: 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with
white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper
hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag

- Economy
Overview: In 1988 and 1989 the Liberian economy posted its best two years
in a decade, thanks to a resurgence of the rubber industry and rapid growth
in exports of forest products. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources,
forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia is a producer and
exporter of basic products. Local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, is
small in scope. Liberia imports primarily machinery and parts, transportation
equipment, petroleum products, and foodstuffs. Persistent budget deficits,
the flight of capital, and deterioration of transport and other infrastructure
continue to hold back economic progress.

GDP: $988 million, per capita $395; real growth rate 1.5% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 43% urban (1988)

Budget: revenues $242.1 million; expenditures $435.4 million, including
capital expenditures of $29.5 million (1989)

Exports: $550 million (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--iron ore 61%,
rubber 20%, timber 11%, coffee; partners--US, EC, Netherlands

Imports: $335 million (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--rice, mineral
fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, other foodstuffs;
partners--US, EC, Japan, China, Netherlands, ECOWAS

External debt: $1.7 billion (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 1.5% in
manufacturing (1987)

Electricity: 400,000 kW capacity; 730 million kWh produced,
290 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: rubber processing, food processing, construction
materials, furniture, palm oil processing, mining (iron ore, diamonds)

Agriculture: accounts for about 40% of GDP (including fishing and
forestry); principal products--rubber, timber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava,
palm oil, sugarcane, bananas, sheep, and goats; not self-sufficient in food,
imports 25% of rice consumption

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $634 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $793 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $25 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $77
million

Currency: Liberian dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Liberian dollar (L$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Liberian dollars (L$) per US$1--1.00 (fixed rate since
1940); unofficial parallel exchange rate of L$2.5 = US$1, January 1989

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 480 km total; 328 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 152 km
1.067-meter narrow gauge; all lines single track; rail systems owned and
operated by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction with Liberian
Government

Highways: 10,087 km total; 603 km bituminous treated, 2,848 km
all weather, 4,313 km dry weather; there are also 2,323 km of private,
laterite-surfaced roads open to public use, owned by rubber and timber
companies

Ports: Monrovia, Buchanan, Greenville, Harper (or Cape Palmas)

Merchant marine: 1,379 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 48,655,666 DWT/
90,005,898 DWT; includes 11 passenger, 148 cargo, 26 refrigerated cargo, 18
roll-on/roll-off cargo, 42 vehicle carrier, 42 container, 4 barge
carrier, 436 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 100 chemical,
63 combination ore/oil, 41 liquefied gas, 6 specialized tanker, 413
bulk, 2 multifunction large-load carrier, 26 combination bulk; note--a
flag of convenience registry; all ships are foreign owned; the top
four owning flags are US 17%, Hong Kong 13%, Japan 10%, and Greece 10%;
China owns at least 20 ships and Vietnam owns 1

Civil air: 3 major transport aircraft

Airports: 76 total, 60 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: telephone and telegraph service via radio relay
network; main center is Monrovia; 8,500 telephones; stations--3 AM, 4 FM, 5 TV;
2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations

- Defense Forces
Branches: Armed Forces of Liberia, Liberia National Coast Guard

Military manpower: males 15-49, 627,519; 335,063 fit for military service;
no conscription

Defense expenditures: 2.4% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Libya
- Geography
Total area: 1,759,540 km2; land area: 1,759,540 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Alaska

Land boundaries: 4,383 km total; Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt
1,150 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km

Coastline: 1,770 km

Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 12 nm;

Gulf of Sidra closing line: 32o 30' N

Disputes: claims and occupies a small portion of the Aozou Strip in
northern Chad; maritime boundary dispute with Tunisia; Libya claims about 19,400
km2 in northern Niger; Libya claims about 19,400 km2 in southeastern Algeria

Climate: Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior

Terrain: mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions

Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, gypsum

Land use: 1% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 8% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 91% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting
one to four days in spring and fall; desertification; sparse natural
surface-water resources

Note: the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water
development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large
aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities

- People
Population: 4,221,141 (July 1990), growth rate 3.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 64 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 70 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 5.2 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Libyan(s); adjective--Libyan

Ethnic divisions: 97% Berber and Arab; some Greeks, Maltese, Italians,
Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, and Tunisians

Religion: 97% Sunni Muslim

Language: Arabic; Italian and English widely understood in major cities

Literacy: 50-60%

Labor force: 1,000,000, includes about 280,000 resident
foreigners; 31% industry, 27% services, 24% government, 18% agriculture

Organized labor: National Trade Unions' Federation, 275,000 members;
General Union for Oil and Petrochemicals; Pan-Africa Federation of Petroleum
Energy and Allied Workers

- Government
Long-form name: Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Type: Jamahiriya (a state of the masses); in theory, governed by
the populace through local councils; in fact, a military dictatorship

Capital: Tripoli

Administrative divisions: 46 municipalities (baladiyat,
singular--baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al Abyar, Al Aziziyah,
Al Bayda, Al Jufrah, Al Jumayl, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, Al Marj,
Al Qarabulli, Al Qubbah, Al Ujaylat, Ash Shati,
Awbari, Az Zahra, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Bani Walid,
Bin Jawwad, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Ghat, Jadu, Jalu,
Janzur, Masallatah, Misratah, Mizdah, Murzuq, Nalut,
Qaminis, Qasr Bin Ghashir, Sabha, Sabratah, Shahhat,
Surman, Surt, Tajura, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq,
Tukrah, Yafran, Zlitan, Zuwarah; note--the number of municipalities may
have been reduced to 13 named Al Jabal al-Akhdar, Al Jabal al-Gharbi,
Al Jabal al-Khums, Al Batnam, Al Kufrah, Al Marqab, Al Marzuq, Az Zawiyah,
Banghazi, Khalij Surt, Sabha, Tripoli, Wadi al-Hayat

Independence: 24 December 1951 (from Italy)

Constitution: 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977

Legal system: based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate
religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative
acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Revolution Day, 1 September (1969)

Executive branch: revolutionary leader, chairman of the General
People's Committee, General People's Committee (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral General People's Congress

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI
(since 1 September 1969);

Head of Government--Chairman of the General People's Committee (Premier)
Umar Mustafa al-MUNTASIR (since 1 March 1987)

Political parties and leaders: none

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

Elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of
revolutionary committees

Flag: plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state
religion)

- Economy
Overview: The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues
from the oil sector, which contributes virtually all export earnings and over
50% to GNP. Since 1980, however, the sharp drop in oil prices and resulting
decline in export revenues has adversely affected economic development. In 1986
per capita GNP was the highest in Africa at $5,410, but it had been $2,000
higher in 1982. Severe cutbacks in imports over the past five years have
led to shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs, although the reopening
of the Libyan-Tunisian border in April 1988 and the Libyan-Egyptian
border in December 1989 have somewhat eased shortages. Austerity
budgets and a lack of trained technicians have undermined the government's
ability to implement a number of planned infrastructure development
projects. The nonoil industrial and construction sectors, which
account for about 15% of GNP, have expanded from processing
mostly agricultural products to include petrochemicals, iron, steel,
and aluminum. Although agriculture accounts for less than 5% of GNP, it employs
20% of the labor force. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit farm
output, requiring Libya to import about 75% of its food requirements.

GNP: $20 billion, per capita $5,410; real growth rate 0% (1988 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (1988 est.)

Unemployment rate: 2% (1988 est.)

Budget: revenues $6.4 billion; expenditures $11.3 billion, including
capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (1986 est.)

Exports: $6.1 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--petroleum,
peanuts, hides; partners--Italy, USSR, FRG, Spain, France,
Belgium/Luxembourg, Turkey

Imports: $5.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--machinery,
transport equipment, food, manufactured goods; partners--Italy, USSR,
FRG, UK, Japan

External debt: $2.1 billion, excluding military debt (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 4,580,000 kW capacity; 13,360 million kWh produced,
3,270 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement

Agriculture: 5% of GNP; cash crops--wheat, barley, olives, dates,
citrus fruits, peanuts; 75% of food is imported

Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $242 million

Currency: Libyan dinar (plural--dinars);
1 Libyan dinar (LD) = 1,000 dirhams

Exchange rates: Libyan dinars (LD) per US$1--0.2896 (January 1990),
0.2922 (1989), 0.2853 (1988), 0.2706 (1987), 0.3139 (1986), 0.2961 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 32,500 km total; 24,000 km bituminous and bituminous treated,
8,500 km gravel, crushed stone and earth

Pipelines: crude oil 4,383 km; natural gas 1,947 km; refined products
443 km (includes 256 km liquid petroleum gas)

Ports: Tobruk, Tripoli, Banghazi, Misratah, Marsa el Brega

Merchant marine: 30 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 816,546
GRT/1,454,874 DWT; includes 3 short-sea passenger, 11 cargo, 4 roll-on/roll-off
cargo, 11 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker

Civil air: 59 major transport aircraft

Airports: 130 total, 122 usable; 53 with permanent-surface runways;
7 with runways over 3,659 m; 30 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 44 with runways
1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: modern telecommunications system using radio relay,
coaxial cable, tropospheric scatter, and domestic satellite stations;
370,000 telephones; stations--18 AM, 3 FM, 13 TV; satellite earth stations--
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, and 14 domestic;
submarine cables to France and Italy; radio relay to Tunisia; tropospheric
scatter to Greece; planned ARABSAT and Intersputnik satellite stations

- Defense Forces
Branches: Armed Forces of the Libyan Arab Jamahariya includes
People's Defense (Army), Arab Air Force and Air Defense Command, Arab
Navy

Military manpower: males 15-49, 991,368; 584,512 fit for military service;
50,379 reach military age (17) annually; conscription now being implemented

Defense expenditures: 11.1% of GNP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Liechtenstein
- Geography
Total area: 160 km2; land area: 160 km2

Comparative area: about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 78 km total; Austria 37 km, Switzerland 41 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Climate: continental; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow or rain;
cool to moderately warm, cloudy, humid summers

Terrain: mostly mountainous (Alps) with Rhine Valley in western third

Natural resources: hydroelectric potential

Land use: 25% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 38% meadows and
pastures; 19% forest and woodland; 18% other

Environment: variety of microclimatic variations based on elevation

Note: landlocked

- People
Population: 28,292 (July 1990), growth rate 0.7% (1990)

Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 1 migrant/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 5 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 81 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Liechtensteiner(s); adjective--Liechtenstein

Ethnic divisions: 95% Alemannic, 5% Italian and other

Religion: 82.7% Roman Catholic, 7.1% Protestant, 10.2% other

Language: German (official), Alemannic dialect

Literacy: 100%

Labor force: 12,258; 5,078 foreign workers (mostly from Switzerland and
Austria); 54.4% industry, trade, and building; 41.6% services; 4.0% agriculture,
fishing, forestry, and horticulture

Organized labor: NA

- Government
Long-form name: Principality of Liechtenstein

Type: hereditary constitutional monarchy

Capital: Vaduz

Administrative divisions: 11 communes (gemeinden, singular--gemeinde);
Balzers, Eschen, Gamprin, Mauren, Planken, Ruggell, Schaan, Schellenberg,
Triesen, Triesenberg, Vaduz

Independence: 23 January 1719, Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein
established

Constitution: 5 October 1921

Legal system: local civil and penal codes; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: St. Joseph's Day, 19 March

Executive branch: reigning prince, hereditary prince, prime
minister, deputy prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral Diet (Landtag)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) for criminal
cases and Superior Court (Obergericht) for civil cases

Leaders:
Chief of State--Prince HANS ADAM von und zu Liechtenstein
(since 13 November 1989; assumed executive powers 26 August 1984);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Hans BRUNHART (since 26 April 1978);
Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Herbert WILLE (since 2 February 1986)

Political parties and leaders: Fatherland Union (VU), Dr. Otto Hasler;
Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP), Dr. Herbert Batliner; Christian Social Party,
Fritz Kaiser

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
Diet--last held on 5 March 1989 (next to be held by March 1993);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(25 total) VU 13, FBP 12

Communists: none

Member of: Council of Europe, EFTA, IAEA, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, UNCTAD,
UNIDO, UNICEF, UPU, WIPO; considering UN membership; has consultative status in
the EC

Diplomatic representation: in routine diplomatic matters, Liechtenstein
is represented in the US by the Swiss Embassy;
US--the US has no diplomatic or consular mission in Liechtenstein, but the
US Consul General at Zurich (Switzerland) has consular accreditation at Vaduz

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a gold crown
on the hoist side of the blue band

- Economy
Overview: The prosperous economy is based primarily on small-scale light
industry and some farming. Industry accounts for 54% of total employment,
the service sector 42% (mostly based on tourism), and agriculture and
forestry 4%. The sale of postage stamps to collectors is estimated at $10
million annually and accounts for 10% of revenues. Low business taxes (the
maximum tax rate is 20%) and easy incorporation rules have induced about 25,000
holding or so-called letter box companies to establish nominal offices in
Liechtenstein. Such companies, incorporated solely for tax purposes, provide an
additional 30% of state revenues. The economy is tied closely to that of
Switzerland in a customs union, and incomes and living standards parallel those
of the more prosperous Swiss groups.

GNP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1987 est.)

Unemployment rate: 0.1% (December 1986)

Budget: revenues $171 million; expenditures $189 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (1986)

Exports: $807 million;
commodities--small specialty machinery, dental products, stamps,
hardware, pottery;
partners--EC 40%, EFTA 26% (Switzerland 19%) (1986)

Imports: $NA; commodities--machinery, metal goods, textiles,
foodstuffs, motor vehicles;
partners--NA

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 23,000 kW capacity; 150 million kWh produced,
5,340 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: electronics, metal manufacturing, textiles, ceramics,
pharmaceuticals, food products, precision instruments, tourism

Agriculture: livestock, vegetables, corn, wheat, potatoes, grapes

Aid: none

Currency: Swiss franc, franken, or franco (plural--francs, franken,
or franchi); 1 Swiss franc, franken, or franco (SwF) = 100 centimes, rappen,
or centesimi

Exchange rates: Swiss francs, franken, or franchi (SwF) per US$1--1.5150
(January 1990), 1.6359 (1989), 1.4633 (1988), 1.4912 (1987), 1.7989 (1986),
2.4571 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 18.5 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, electrified; owned,
operated, and included in statistics of Austrian Federal Railways

Highways: 130.66 km main roads, 192.27 km byroads

Civil air: no transport aircraft

Airports: none

Telecommunications: automatic telephone system; 25,400 telephones;
stations--no AM, no FM, no TV

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is responsibility of Switzerland
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Luxembourg
- Geography
Total area: 2,586 km2; land area: 2,586 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Rhode Island

Land boundaries: 359 km total; Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, FRG 138 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Climate: modified continental with mild winters, cool summers

Terrain: mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys;
uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle
floodplain in the southeast

Natural resources: iron ore (no longer exploited)

Land use: 24% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 20% meadows and
pastures; 21% forest and woodland; 34% other

Environment: deforestation

Note: landlocked

- People
Population: 383,813 (July 1990), growth rate 1.1% (1989)

Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 9 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 80 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Luxembourger(s); adjective--Luxembourg

Ethnic divisions: Celtic base, with French and German blend; also guest
and worker residents from Portugal, Italy, and European countries

Religion: 97% Roman Catholic, 3% Protestant and Jewish

Language: Luxembourgish, German, French; many also speak English

Literacy: 100%

Labor force: 161,000; one-third of labor force is foreign workers, mostly
from Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium, and FRG; 48.9% services, 24.7% industry,
13.2% government, 8.8% construction, 4.4% agriculture (1984)

Organized labor: 100,000 (est.) members of four confederated trade unions

- Government
Long-form name: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Luxembourg

Administrative divisions: 3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg

Independence: 1839

Constitution: 17 October 1868, occasional revisions

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

National holiday: National Day (public celebration of the Grand Duke's
birthday), 23 June (1921)

Executive branch: grand duke, prime minister, vice prime minister,
Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral Chamber of Deputies (Chambre des
Deputes); note--the Council of State (Conseil d'Etat) is an advisory
body whose views are considered by the Chamber of Deputies

Judicial branch: Superior Court of Justice (Cour Superieure de
de Justice)

Leaders:
Chief of State--Grand Duke JEAN (since 12 November 1964);
Heir Apparent Prince HENRI (son of Grand Duke Jean, born 16 April 1955);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Jacques SANTER (since 21 July 1984);
Deputy Prime Minister Jacques F. POOS (since 21 July 1984)

Political parties and leaders: Christian Social Party (CSV),
Jacques Santer; Socialist Workers Party (LSAP), Jacques Poos; Liberal (DP),
Colette Flesch; Communist (KPL), Rene Urbany; Green Alternative (GAP),
Jean Huss

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

Elections:
Chamber of Deputies--last held on 18 June 1989 (next to be held
by June 1994);
results--CSV 31.7%, LSAP 27.2%, DP 16.2%, Greens 8.4%, PAC 7.3%, KPL 5.1%,
others 4%;
seats--(60 total) CSV 22, LSAP 18, DP 11, Greens 4, PAC 4, KPL 1, others 4

Communists: 500 party members (1982)

Other political or pressure groups: group of steel industries representing
iron and steel industry, Centrale Paysanne representing agricultural producers;
Christian and Socialist labor unions; Federation of Industrialists; Artisans and
Shopkeepers Federation

Member of: Benelux, BLEU, CCC, Council of Europe, EC, EIB, EMS, FAO, GATT,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU,
ITU, NATO, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Andre PHILIPPE; Chancery at
2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
there are Luxembourg Consulates General in New York and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Jean B. S. GERARD; Embassy at 22 Boulevard
Emmanuel-Servais, 2535 Luxembourg City (mailing address is APO New York 09132);
telephone p352o 460123

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and light blue;
similar to the flag of the Netherlands which uses a darker blue and is shorter;
design was based on the flag of France

- Economy
Overview: The stable economy features moderate growth, low
inflation, and negligible unemployment. Agriculture is based on small but
highly productive family-owned farms. The industrial sector, until
recently dominated by steel, has become increasingly more diversified,
particularly toward high-technology firms. During the past decade growth
in the financial sector has more than compensated for the decline in
steel. Services, especially banking, account for a growing proportion
of the economy. Luxembourg participates in an economic union with
Belgium on trade and most financial matters and is also closely connected
economically with the Netherlands.

GDP: $6.3 billion, per capita $17,200; real growth rate 4% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.0% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 1.6% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $2.5 billion; expenditures $2.3 billion, including
capital expenditures of NA (1988)

Exports: $4.7 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--finished
steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass, aluminum, other industrial
products; partners--EC 75%, US 6%

Imports: $5.9 billion (c.i.f., 1988 est.); commodities--minerals,
metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods; partners--FRG 40%,
Belgium 35%, France 15%, US 3%

External debt: $131.6 million (1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 5% (1989 est.)

Electricity: 1,500,000 kW capacity; 1,163 million kWh produced,
3,170 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: banking, iron and steel, food processing, chemicals,
metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum

Agriculture: accounts for less than 3% of GDP (including forestry);
principal products--barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits, wine grapes;
cattle raising widespread

Aid: none

Currency: Luxembourg franc (plural--francs);
1 Luxembourg franc (LuxF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Luxembourg francs (LuxF) per US$1--35.468 (January 1990),
39.404 (1989), 36.768 (1988), 37.334 (1987), 44.672 (1986), 59.378 (1985);
note--the Luxembourg franc is at par with the Belgian franc, which circulates
freely in Luxembourg

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: Luxembourg National Railways (CFL) operates 270 km 1.435-meter
standard gauge; 162 km double track; 162 km electrified

Highways: 5,108 km total; 4,995 km paved, 57 km gravel, 56 km earth; about
80 km limited access divided highway

Inland waterways: 37 km; Moselle River

Pipelines: refined products, 48 km

Ports:  Mertert (river port)

Merchant marine: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,138 GRT/9,373 DWT;
includes 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 chemical tanker

Civil air: 13 major transport aircraft

Airports: 2 total, 2 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways less than 1,220 m; 1 with runways over 3,659 m

Telecommunications: adequate and efficient system, mainly buried cables;
230,000 telephones; stations--2 AM, 4 FM, 6 TV; 2 communication satellite
earth stations operating in EUTELSAT and domestic systems

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army

Military manpower: males 15-49, 99,734; 83,237 fit for military service;
2,368 reach military age (19) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.2% of GDP, or $76 million (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Macau
(overseas territory of Portugal)
- Geography
Total area: 16 km2; land area: 16 km2

Comparative area: about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundary: 0.34 km with China

Coastline: 40 km

Maritime claims:

Exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm;

Territorial sea: 6 nm

Disputes: scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region of China
in 1999

Climate: subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers

Terrain: generally flat

Natural resources: negligible

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

Environment: essentially urban; one causeway and one bridge connect
the two islands to the peninsula on mainland

Note: 27 km west southwest of Hong Kong on the southeast coast of
China

- People
Population: 441,691 (July 1990), growth rate 1.1% (1990)

Birth rate: 16 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 79 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Macanese (sing. and pl.); adjective--Macau

Ethnic divisions: 95% Chinese, 3% Portuguese, 2% other

Religion: mainly Buddhist; 17,000 Roman Catholics, of whom about half are
Chinese

Language: Portuguese (official); Cantonese is the language of
commerce

Literacy: almost 100% among Portuguese and Macanese; no data on Chinese
population

Labor force: 180,000 (1986)

Organized labor: none

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: overseas territory of Portugal; scheduled to revert to China
in 1999

Capital: Macau

Administrative divisions: 2 districts (concelhos, singular--concelho);
Ilhas, Macau

Independence: none (territory of Portugal); Portugal signed an agreement
with China on 13 April 1987 to return Macau to China on 20 December 1999; in the
joint declaration, China promises to respect Macau's existing social and
economic systems and lifestyle for 50 years after transition

Constitution: 17 February 1976, Organic Law of Macau

Legal system: Portuguese civil law system

National holiday: Day of Portugal, 10 June

Executive branch: president of Portugal, governor, Consultative Council,
(cabinet)

Legislative branch: Legislative Assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President (of Portugal) Mario Alberto SOARES (since
9 March 1986);

Head of Government--Governor Carlos MELANCIA (since 3 July 1987)

Political parties and leaders: Association to Defend the Interests of
Macau; Macau Democratic Center; Group to Study the Development of Macau; Macau
Independent Group

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
Legislative Assembly--last held on 9 November 1988 (next to be
held November 1991);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(17 total; 6 elected by universal suffrage, 6 by indirect
suffrage) number of seats by party NA

Other political or pressure groups: wealthy Macanese and Chinese
representing local interests, wealthy pro-Communist merchants representing
China's interests; in January 1967 the Macau Government acceded to Chinese
demands that gave China veto power over administration

Member of: Multifiber Agreement

Diplomatic representation: as Chinese territory under Portuguese
administration, Macanese interests in the US are represented by Portugal;
US--the US has no offices in Macau and US interests are monitored
by the US Consulate General in Hong Kong

Flag: the flag of Portugal is used

- Economy
Overview: The economy is based largely on tourism (including
gambling), and textile and fireworks manufacturing. Efforts to diversify have
spawned other small industries--toys, artificial flowers, and electronics.
The tourist sector has accounted for roughly 25% of GDP, and the clothing
industry has provided about two-thirds of export earnings. Macau depends on
China for most of its food, fresh water, and energy imports. Japan and Hong Kong
are the main suppliers of raw materials and capital goods.

GDP: $2.7 billion, per capita $6,300; real growth rate 5% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.5% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 2% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $305 million; expenditures $298 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1989)

Exports: $1.7 billion (1989 est.); commodities--textiles, clothing,
toys;
partners--US 33%, Hong Kong 15%, FRG 12%, France 10% (1987)

Imports: $1.6 billion (1989 est.); commodities--raw materials,
foodstuffs, capital goods;
partners--Hong Kong 39%, China 21%, Japan 10% (1987)

External debt: $91 million (1985)

Industrial production: NA

Electricity: 179,000 kW capacity; 485 million kWh produced,
1,110 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: clothing, textiles, toys, plastic products, furniture, tourism

Agriculture: rice, vegetables; food shortages--rice, vegetables, meat;
depends mostly on imports for food requirements

Aid: none

Currency: pataca (plural--patacas); 1 pataca (P) = 100 avos

Exchange rates: patacas (P) per US$1--8.03 (1989), 8.044 (1988),
7.993 (1987), 8.029 (1986), 8.045 (1985); note--linked to the Hong Kong dollar
at the rate of 1.03 patacas per Hong Kong dollar

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: 42 km paved

Ports: Macau

Civil air: no major transport aircraft

Airports: none; 1 seaplane station

Telecommunications: fairly modern communication facilities maintained for
domestic and international services; 52,000 telephones; stations--4 AM, 3 FM,
no TV; 75,000 radio receivers (est.); international high-frequency radio
communication facility; access to international communications carriers provided
via Hong Kong and China; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station

- Defense Forces
Military manpower: males 15-49, 166,956; 93,221 fit for military service

Note: defense is responsibility of Portugal
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Madagascar
- Geography
Total area: 587,040 km2; land area: 581,540 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Arizona

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 4,828 km

Maritime claims:

Exclusive fishing zone: 150 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands,
Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island (all administered by France)

Climate: tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south

Terrain: narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center

Natural resources: graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt,
quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish

Land use: 4% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 58% meadows and
pastures; 26% forest and woodland; 11% other; includes 2% irrigated

Environment: subject to periodic cyclones; deforestation; overgrazing;
soil erosion; desertification

Note: world's fourth-largest island; strategic location
along Mozambique Channel

- People
Population: 11,800,524 (July 1990), growth rate 3.2% (1990)

Birth rate: 47 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 97 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 50 years male, 54 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.9 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Malagasy (sing. and pl.); adjective--Malagasy

Ethnic divisions: basic split between highlanders of predominantly
Malayo-Indonesian origin (Merina 1,643,000 and related Betsileo 760,000) on the
one hand and coastal tribes, collectively termed the Cotiers, with mixed
African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry (Betsimisaraka 941,000, Tsimihety
442,000, Antaisaka 415,000, Sakalava 375,000), on the other; there are also
11,000 European French, 5,000 Indians of French nationality, and 5,000 Creoles

Religion: 52% indigenous beliefs; about 41% Christian, 7% Muslim

Language: French and Malagasy (official)

Literacy: 67.5%

Labor force: 4,900,000; 90% nonsalaried family workers engaged in
subsistence agriculture; 175,000 wage earners--26% agriculture, 17% domestic
service, 15% industry, 14% commerce, 11% construction, 9% services,
6% transportation, 2% other; 51% of population of working age (1985)

Organized labor: 4% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Democratic Republic of Madagascar

Type: republic

Capital: Antananarivo

Administrative divisions: 6 provinces (plural--NA, singular--faritanin);
Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara

Independence: 26 June 1960 (from France; formerly Malagasy Republic)

Constitution: 21 December 1975

Legal system: based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy
law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 June (1960)

Executive branch: president, Supreme Council of the Revolution,
prime minister, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral Popular National Assembly (Assemblee
Nationale Populaire)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme), High Constitutional
Court (Haute Cour Constitutionnelle)

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Adm. Didier RATSIRAKA (since 15 June 1975);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Lt. Col. Victor RAMAHATRA (since
12 February 1988)

Political parties and leaders: seven parties are now allowed limited
political activity under the national front and are represented on the Supreme
Revolutionary Council: Advance Guard of the Malagasy Revolution (AREMA), Didier
Ratsiraka; Congress Party for Malagasy Independence (AKFM);
Congress Party for Malagasy Independence-Revival (AKFM-R), Pastor Richard
Andriamanjato; Movement for National Unity (VONJY), Dr. Marojama Razanabahiny;
Malagasy Christian Democratic Union (UDECMA), Norbert Andriamorasata; Militants
for the Establishment of a Proletarian Regime (MFM), Manandafy Rakotonirina;
National Movement for the Independence of Madagascar (MONIMA), Monja Jaona;
Socialist Organization Monima (VSM, an offshoot of MONIMA), Tsihozony
Maharanga

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held on 12 March 1989 (next to be held March 1996);
results--Didier Ratsiraka (AREMA) 62%, Manandafy Rakotonirina (MFM/MFT)
20%, Dr. Jerome Marojama Razanabahiny (VONJY) 15%, Monja Jaona
(MONIMA) 3%;

People's National Assembly--last held on 28 May 1989 (next to
be held May 1994);
results--AREMA 88.2%, MFM 5.1%, AKFM 3.7%, VONJY 2.2%, others 0.8%;
seats--(137 total) AREMA 120, MFM 7, AKFM 5, VONJY 4, MONIMA 1,
independent 1

Communists: Communist party of virtually no importance; small and vocal
group of Communists has gained strong position in leadership of AKFM, the rank
and file of which is non-Communist

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, EAMA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU,
OCAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Pierrot Jocelyn RAJAONARIVELO;
Chancery at 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
265-5525 or 5526; there is a Malagasy Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador Howard K. WALKER; Embassy at 14 and 16 Rue Rainitovo,
Antsahavola, Antananarivo (mailing address is B. P. 620, Antananarivo);
telephone 212-57, 209-56, 200-89, 207-18

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical
white band of the same width on hoist side

- Economy
Overview: Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world.
During the period 1980-85 it had a population growth of 3% a year and
a - 0.4% GDP growth rate. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is
the mainstay of the economy, accounting for over 40% of GDP, employing about
85% of the labor force, and contributing more than 70% to export earnings.
Industry is confined to the processing of agricultural products and textile
manufacturing; in 1988 it contributed only 16% to GDP and employed 3% of the
labor force. Industrial development has been hampered by government policies
that have restricted imports of equipment and spare parts and put strict
controls on foreign-owned enterprises. In 1986 the government introduced a
five-year development plan that stresses self-sufficiency in food (mainly rice)
by 1990, increased production for exports, and reduced energy imports.

GDP: $1.7 billion, per capita $155; real growth rate 2.2% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 17.0% (1988)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $337 million; expenditures $245 million, including
capital expenditures of $163 million (1988)

Exports: $284 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--coffee 45%, vanilla 15%, cloves 11%, sugar, petroleum
products; partners--France, Japan, Italy, FRG, US

Imports: $319 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--intermediate manufactures 30%, capital goods 28%,
petroleum 15%, consumer goods 14%, food 13%; partners--France, FRG, UK,
other EC, US

External debt: $3.6 billion (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate - 3.9 % (1988)

Electricity: 119,000 kW capacity; 430 million kWh produced,
40 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: agricultural processing (meat canneries, soap factories,
brewery, tanneries, sugar refining), light consumer goods industries (textiles,
glassware), cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum

Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP; cash crops--coffee, vanilla,
sugarcane, cloves, cocoa; food crops--rice, cassava, beans, bananas, peanuts;
cattle raising widespread; not self-sufficient in rice and wheat flour

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild
varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $118 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.6 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $491 million

Currency: Malagasy franc (plural--francs);
1 Malagasy franc (FMG) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Malagasy francs (FMG) per US$1--1,531.0 (January 1990),
1603.4 (1989), 1,407.1 (1988), 1,069.2 (1987), 676.3 (1986), 662.5 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 1,020 km 1.000-meter gauge

Highways: 40,000 km total; 4,694 km paved, 811 km crushed stone, gravel,
or stabilized soil, 34,495 km improved and unimproved earth (est.)

Inland waterways: of local importance only; isolated streams and small
portions of Canal des Pangalanes

Ports: Toamasina, Antsiranana, Mahajanga, Toliara

Merchant marine: 13 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 58,126
GRT/79,420 DWT; includes 8 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 petroleum,
oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas

Civil air: 5 major transport aircraft

Airports: 147 total, 115 usable; 30 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 43 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: above average system includes open-wire lines, coaxial
cables, radio relay, and troposcatter links; submarine cable to Bahrain;
satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT;
over 38,200 telephones; stations--14 AM, 1 FM, 7 (30 repeaters) TV

- Defense Forces
Branches: Popular Army, Aeronaval Forces (includes Navy and Air Force),
paramilitary Gendarmerie

Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,550,775; 1,519,084 fit for military
service; 116,438 reach military age (20) annually

Defense expenditures: 2.2% of GDP, or $37 million (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Malawi
- Geography
Total area: 118,480 km2; land area: 94,080 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Pennsylvania

Land boundaries: 2,881 km total; Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km,
Zambia 837 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Disputes: dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa
(Lake Malawi)

Climate: tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to
November)

Terrain: narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills,
some mountains

Natural resources: limestone; unexploited deposits of uranium, coal,
and bauxite

Land use: 25% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 20% meadows and
pastures; 50% forest and woodland; 5% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: deforestation

Note: landlocked

- People
Population: 9,157,528 (July 1990), growth rate 1.8% (1990)

Birth rate: 52 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 18 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 16 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 130 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 48 years male, 50 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 7.7 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Malawian(s); adjective--Malawian

Ethnic divisions: Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuko, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni,
Ngonde, Asian, European

Religion: 55% Protestant, 20% Roman Catholic, 20% Muslim; traditional
indigenous beliefs are also practiced

Language: English and Chichewa (official); other languages important
regionally

Literacy: 41.2%

Labor force: 428,000 wage earners; 43% agriculture, 16% manufacturing,
15% personal services, 9% commerce, 7% construction, 4% miscellaneous services,
6% other permanently employed (1986)

Organized labor: small minority of wage earners are unionized

Note: there are 800,000 Mozambican refugees in Malawi (1989 est.)

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Malawi

Type: one-party state

Capital: Lilongwe

Administrative divisions: 24 districts; Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu,
Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Kasungu, Kasupe, Lilongwe, Mangochi, Mchinji,
Mulanje, Mwanza, Mzimba, Ncheu, Nkhata Bay, Nkhota Kota, Nsanje, Ntchisi,
Rumphi, Salima, Thyolo, Zomba

Independence: 6 July 1964 (from UK; formerly Nyasaland)

Constitution: 6 July 1964; republished as amended January 1974

Legal system: based on English common law and customary law; judicial
review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 July (1964)

Executive branch: president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly

Judicial branch: High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Dr. Hastings Kamuzu
BANDA (since 6 July 1966; sworn in as President for Life 6 July 1971)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Malawi Congress Party
(MCP), Maxwell Pashane, administrative secretary; John Tembo, treasurer
general; top party position of secretary general vacant since 1983

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections:
President--President Banda sworn in as President for Life on
6 July 1971;

National Assembly--last held 27-28 May 1987 (next to be held
by May 1992);
results--MCP is the only party;
seats--(133 total, 112 elected) MCP 133

Communists: no Communist party

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, Commonwealth, EC (associated member), FAO,
G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ISO,
ITU, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Robert B. MBAYA; Chancery at
2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
US--Ambassador George A. TRAIL, III; Embassy in new capital city
development area, address NA (mailing address is P. O. Box 30016, Lilongwe);
telephone 730-166

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with a
radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band; similar to the flag of
Afghanistan which is longer and has the national coat of arms superimposed on
the hoist side of the black and red bands

- Economy
Overview: A landlocked country, Malawi ranks among the world's least
developed with a per capita GDP of $180. The economy is predominately
agricultural and operates under a relatively free enterprise
environment, with about 90% of the population living in rural areas.
Agriculture accounts for 40% of GDP and 90% of export revenues. After
two years of weak performance, economic growth improved significantly
in 1988 as a result of good weather and a broadly based economic
adjustment effort by the government. The closure of traditional trade
routes through Mozambique continues to be a constraint on the economy.

GDP: $1.4 billion, per capita $180; growth rate 3.6% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 31.5% (1988)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $246 million; expenditures $390 million, including
capital expenditures of $97 million (FY88 est.)

Exports: $292 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--tobacco,
tea, sugar, coffee, peanuts; partners--US, UK, Zambia, South Africa, FRG

Imports: $402 million (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--food,
petroleum, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment;
partners--South Africa, Japan, US, UK, Zimbabwe

External debt: $1.4 billion (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 6.4% (1988)

Electricity: 181,000 kW capacity; 535 million kWh produced,
60 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: agricultural processing (tea, tobacco, sugar), sawmilling,
cement, consumer goods

Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP; cash crops--tobacco,
sugarcane, cotton, tea, and corn; subsistence crops--potatoes, cassava,
sorghum, pulses; livestock--cattle and goats


Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $182 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.8 billion

Currency: Malawian kwacha (plural--kwacha);
1 Malawian kwacha (MK) = 100 tambala

Exchange rates: Malawian kwacha (MK) per US$1--2.6793 (January 1990),
2.7595 (1989), 2.5613 (1988), 2.2087 (1987), 1.8611 (1986), 1.7191 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

- Communications
Railroads: 789 km 1.067-meter gauge

Highways: 13,135 km total; 2,364 km paved; 251 km crushed stone, gravel,
or stabilized soil; 10,520 km earth and improved earth

Inland waterways: Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi); Shire River, 144 km

Ports: Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, and Nkotakota--all on Lake
Nyasa (Lake Malawi)

Civil air: 3 major transport aircraft

Airports: 48 total, 47 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 9 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: fair system of open-wire lines, radio relay links, and
radio communication stations; 36,800 telephones; stations--8 AM, 4 FM, no TV;
satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT

Note: a majority of exports would normally go through Mozambique on the
Beira or Nacala railroads, but now most go through South Africa because of
insurgent activity and damage to rail lines

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Army Air Wing, Army Naval Detachment, paramilitary
Police Mobile Force Unit, paramilitary Young Pioneers

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,904,445; 967,032 fit for military
service

Defense expenditures: 1.6% of GDP, or $22 million (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Malaysia
- Geography
Total area: 329,750 km2; land area: 328,550 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries: 2,669 km total; Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782,
Thailand 506 km

Coastline: 4,675 km total (2,068 km Peninsular Malaysia,
2,607 km East Malaysia)

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation,
specified boundary in the South China Sea;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with
China, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam; state of Sabah claimed by the
Philippines; Brunei may wish to purchase the Malaysian salient that divides
Brunei into two parts

Climate: tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast
(October to February) monsoons

Terrain: coastal plains rising to hills and mountains

Natural resources: tin, crude oil, timber, copper, iron ore,
natural gas, bauxite

Land use: 3% arable land; 10% permanent crops; NEGL% meadows and
pastures; 63% forest and woodland; 24% other; includes 1% irrigated

Environment: subject to flooding; air and water pollution

Note: strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern
South China Sea

- People
Population: 17,510,546 (July 1990), growth rate 2.3% (1990)

Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 30 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 71 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.5 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Malaysian(s); adjective--Malaysian

Ethnic divisions: 59% Malay and other indigenous, 32% Chinese, 9% Indian

Religion: Peninsular Malaysia--Malays nearly all Muslim, Chinese
predominantly Buddhists, Indians predominantly Hindu; Sabah--38% Muslim,
17% Christian, 45% other; Sarawak--35% tribal religion, 24% Buddhist and
Confucianist, 20% Muslim, 16% Christian, 5% other

Language: Peninsular Malaysia--Malay (official); English, Chinese
dialects, Tamil; Sabah--English, Malay, numerous tribal dialects, Mandarin and
Hakka dialects predominate among Chinese; Sarawak--English, Malay, Mandarin,
numerous tribal languages

Literacy: 65.0% overall, age 20 and up; Peninsular Malaysia--80%;
Sabah--60%; Sarawak--60%

Labor force: 6,800,000; 30.8% agriculture, 17% manufacturing,
13.6% government, 5.8% construction, 4.3% finance, 3.4% business services,
transport and communications, 0.6% mining, 24.5% other (1989 est.)

Organized labor: 660,000, 10% of total labor force (1988)

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: Federation of Malaysia formed 9 July 1963; constitutional monarchy
nominally headed by the paramount ruler (king) and a bicameral Parliament
composed of a 58-member Senate and a 177-member House of Representatives;
Peninsular Malaysian states--hereditary rulers in all but Penang and Melaka,
where governors are appointed by Malaysian Government; powers of state
governments are limited by federal Constitution; Sabah--self-governing state,
holds 20 seats in House of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense,
internal security, and other powers delegated to federal government;
Sarawak--self-governing state within Malaysia, holds 24 seats in House of
Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and
other powers delegated to federal government

Capital: Kuala Lumpur

Administrative divisions: 13 states (negeri-negeri, singular--negeri) and
2 federal territories* (wilayah-wilayah persekutuan,
singular--wilayah persekutuan); Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Labuan*, Melaka,
Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor,
Terengganu, Wilayah Persekutuan*

Independence: 31 August 1957 (from UK)

Constitution: 31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963 when
Federation of Malaya became Federation of Malaysia

Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of legislative
acts in the Supreme Court at request of supreme head of the federation; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: National Day, 31 August (1957)

Executive branch: paramount ruler, deputy paramount ruler, prime minister,
deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlimen) consists of an
upper house or Senate (Dewan Negara) and a lower house or House of
Representatives (Dewan Rakyat)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Paramount Ruler AZLAN Muhibbuddin Shah ibni Sultan
Yusof Izzudin (since 26 April 1989); Deputy Paramount Ruler JA'AFAR ibni Abdul
Rahman (since 26 April 1989);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Dr. MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (since
16 July 1981); Deputy Prime Minister Abdul GHAFAR Baba (since 7 May 1986)

Political parties and leaders: Peninsular
Malaysia--National Front, a confederation of 14 political parties
dominated by United Malays National Organization Baru (UMNO Baru),
Mahathir bin Mohamad; Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), Ling Liong Sik;
Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, Datuk Lim Keng Yaik; Malaysian Indian Congress
(MIC), Datuk Samy Vellu;

Sabah--Berjaya Party, Datuk Haji Mohamed Noor Mansoor; Bersatu Sabah
(PBS), Joseph Pairin Kitingan; United Sabah National Organizaton (USNO),
Tun Datuk Mustapha;

Sarawak--coalition Sarawak National Front composed of the Party
Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Haji Abdul Taib
Mahmud; Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), Datuk Amar Stephen Yong
Kuat Tze; Sarawak National Party (SNAP), Datuk James Wong; Parti Bansa
Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), Datuk Leo Moggie; major opposition parties are
Democratic Action Party (DAP), Lim Kit Siang and Pan-Malaysian Islamic
Party (PAS), Fadzil Noor

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections:
House of Representatives--last held 2-3 August 1986 (next to be held
by August 1991);
results--National Front 57.4%, DAP 20.8%, PAS 15.6%, independents 3.3%,
others 2.9%; note--within the National Front, UMNO got 35% and MCA
14% of the vote;
seats--(177 total) National Front 148, DAP 24, PAS 1, independents 4;
note--within the National Front, UMNO got 83 seats and MCA 17 seats

Communists: Peninsular Malaysia--about 1,000 armed insurgents on
Thailand side of international boundary and about 200 full time inside
Malaysia surrendered on 2 December 1989; only about 100 Communist
insurgents remain in North Kalimantan and Sabah

Member of: ADB, ANRPC, ASEAN, Association of Tin Producing Countries,
CCC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC,
ITC, ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Albert S. TALALLA; Chancery at
2401 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone];
there are Malaysian Consulates General in Los Angeles and New York;
US--Ambassador Paul M. CLEVELAND; Embassy at 376 Jalan Tun Razak,
50400 Kuala Lumpur (mailing address is P. O. Box No. 10035, 50700 Kuala Lumpur);
telephone p6o [phone]

Flag: fourteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with
white (bottom); there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing
a yellow crescent and a yellow fourteen-pointed star; the crescent and the star
are traditional symbols of Islam; the design was based on the flag of the US

- Economy
Overview: In 1988-89 booming exports helped Malaysia continue to recover
from the severe 1985-86 recession. Real output grew by 8.7% in 1988 and
about 7.7% in 1989, helped by vigorous growth in manufacturing output and
further increases in foreign direct investment, particularly from
Japanese and Taiwanese firms facing higher costs at home. Malaysia has
become the world's third-largest producer of semiconductor devices
(after the US and Japan) and the world's largest exporter of semiconductor
devices. Inflation remained low as unemployment stood at about 8% of
the labor force and as the government followed prudent fiscal/monetary
policies. The country is not self-sufficient in food, and a majority
of the rural population subsists at the poverty level. Malaysia's
high export dependence (merchandise exports are 63% of GDP) leaves
it vulnerable to a recession in the OECD countries or a fall in
world commodity prices.

GDP: $37.9 billion, per capita $2,270; real growth rate 7.7% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.6% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 7.9% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $8.8 billion; expenditures $11.2 billion, including
capital expenditures of $2.5 billion (1989 est.)

Exports: $24 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--natural
rubber, palm oil, tin, timber, petroleum, electronics, light manufactures;
partners--Singapore, Japan, USSR, EC, Australia, US

Imports: $20 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--food, crude
oil, consumer goods, intermediate goods, capital equipment, chemicals;
partners--Japan, Singapore, FRG, UK, Thailand, China, Australia, US

External debt: $16.3 billion (1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 13.6% (1988)

Electricity: 5,600,000 kW capacity; 16,500 million kWh produced,
990 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: Peninsular Malaysia--rubber and oil palm processing and
manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and
smelting, logging and processing timber; Sabah--logging, petroleum production;
Sarawak--agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining, logging

Agriculture: Peninsular Malaysia--natural rubber, palm oil, rice;
Sabah--mainly subsistence; main crops--rubber, timber, coconut, rice;
Sarawak--main crops--rubber, timber, pepper; there is a deficit of rice
in all areas; fish catch of 608,000 metric tons in 1987

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-84), $170 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $3.8 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $42 million

Currency: ringgit (plural--ringgits); 1 ringgit (M$) = 100 sen

Exchange rates: ringgits (M$) per US$1--2.7038 (January 1990),
2.7087 (1989), 2.6188 (1988), 2.5196 (1987), 2.5814 (1986), 2.4830 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: Peninsular Malaysia--1,665 km 1.04-meter gauge; 13 km double
track, government owned; Sabah--136 km 1.000-meter gauge

Highways: Peninsular Malaysia--23,600 km (19,352 km hard surfaced, mostly
bituminous-surface treatment, and 4,248 km unpaved); Sabah--3,782 km;
Sarawak--1,644 km

Inland waterways: Peninsular Malaysia--3,209 km; Sabah--1,569 km;
Sarawak--2,518 km

Ports: Tanjong, Kidurong, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Pasir Gudang, Penang,
Port Kelang, Sandakan, Tawau

Merchant marine: 159 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,525,635
GRT/2,216,215 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 71 cargo, 21 container,
2 vehicle carrier, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 livestock carrier, 28 petroleum,
oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 6 liquefied gas,
1 specialized tanker, 1 passenger-cargo, 22 bulk, 1 passenger

Civil air: 53 major transport aircraft

Pipelines: crude oil, 1,307 km; natural gas, 379 km

Airports: 126 total, 121 usable; 32 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 8 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 19 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: good intercity service provided to peninsular Malaysia
mainly by microwave relay, adequate intercity radio relay network between Sabah
and Sarawak via Brunei; international service good; good coverage by radio and
television broadcasts; 994,860 telephones (1984); stations--28 AM, 3 FM, 33 TV;
submarine cables extend to India and Sarawak; SEACOM submarine cable links to
Hong Kong and Singapore; satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and
1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT, and 2 domestic

- Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Air
Force, Royal Malaysian Police Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 4,499,495; 2,744,743 fit for military
service; 178,923 reach military age (21) annually

Defense expenditures: 3.8% of GDP, or $1.4 billion (1990 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Maldives
- Geography
Total area: 300 km2; land area: 300 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 644 km

Maritime claims:

Exclusive fishing zone: about 100 nm (defined by geographic
coordinates);

Extended economic zone: 37-310 nm (segment of zone coincides with
maritime boundary with India);

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to
March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)

Terrain: flat with elevations only as high as 2.5 meters

Natural resources: fish

Land use: 10% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures;
3% forest and woodland; 84% other

Environment: 1,200 coral islands grouped into 19 atolls

Note: archipelago of strategic location astride and along
major sea lanes in Indian Ocean

- People
Population: 217,945 (July 1990), growth rate 3.7% (1990)

Birth rate: 46 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 76 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 60 years male, 65 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.6 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Maldivian(s); adjective--Maldivian

Ethnic divisions: admixtures of Sinhalese, Dravidian, Arab, and black

Religion: Sunni Muslim

Language: Divehi (dialect of Sinhala; script derived from Arabic); English
spoken by most government officials

Literacy: 36%

Labor force: 66,000 (est.); 80% engaged in fishing industry

Organized labor: none

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Maldives

Type: republic

Capital: Male

Administrative divisions: 19 district (atolls); Aliff, Baa, Daalu, Faafu,
Gaafu
Aliff, Gaafu Daalu, Haa Aliff, Haa Daalu, Kaafu, Laamu, Laviyani, Meemu,
Naviyani, Noonu, Raa, Seenu, Shaviyani, Thaa, Waavu

Independence: 26 July 1965 (from UK)

Constitution: 4 June 1964

Legal system: based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common law
primarily in commercial matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1965)

Executive branch: president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral Citizens' Council (Majlis)

Judicial branch: High Court

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM
(since since 11 November 1978)

Political parties and leaders: no organized political parties; country
governed by the Didi clan for the past eight centuries

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections:
President--last held 23 September 1988 (next to be held September
1994);
results--President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom reelected;

Citizens' Council--last held on 7 December 1984 (next to be held
7 December 1989);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(48 total, 40 elected)

Communists: negligible

Member of: ADB, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth (special member), ESCAP, FAO,
G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD,
IFC, IMF, IMO, ITU, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Maldives does not maintain an embassy
in the US, but does have a UN mission in New York;
US--the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka is accredited to Maldives and
makes periodic visits there; US Consular Agency, Mahduedurage, Violet
Magu, Henveru, Male; telephone 2581

Flag: red with a large green rectangle in the center bearing a vertical
white crescent; the closed side of the crescent is on the hoist side of the flag

- Economy
Overview: The economy is based on fishing, tourism, and shipping.
Agriculture is limited to the production of a few subsistence crops that provide
only 10% of food requirements. Fishing is the largest industry, employing 80%
of the work force and accounting for over 60% of exports; it is also an
important source of government revenue. During the 1980s tourism has become one
of the most important and highest growth sectors of the economy. In 1988
industry accounted for about 14% of GDP. Real GDP is officially
estimated to have increased by about 10% annually during the period
1974-86, and GDP estimates for 1988 show a further growth of 9% on
the strength of a record fish catch and an improved tourist season.

GDP: $136 million, per capita $670; real growth rate 9.2% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14% (1988 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $51 million; expenditures $50 million, including
capital expenditures of $25 million (1988 est.)

Exports: $47.0 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--fish 57%,
clothing 39%; partners--Thailand, Western Europe, Sri Lanka

Imports: $90.0 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.); commodities--
intermediate and capital goods 47%, consumer goods 42%, petroleum products 11%;
partners--Japan, Western Europe, Thailand

External debt: $70 million (December 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate 3.9% (1988 est.)

Electricity: 5,000 kW capacity; 10 million kWh produced,
50 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: fishing and fish processing, tourism, shipping, boat
building, some coconut processing, garments, woven mats, coir (rope),
handicrafts

Agriculture: accounts for almost 30% of GDP (including fishing);
fishing more important than farming; limited production of coconuts, corn,
sweet potatoes; most staple foods must be imported

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $28 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $84 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $14 million

Currency: rufiyaa (plural--rufiyaa); 1 rufiyaa (Rf) = 100 laaris

Exchange rates: rufiyaa (Rf) per US$1--9.3043 (January 1990),
9.0408 (1989), 8.7846 (1988), 9.2230 (1987), 7.1507 (1986), 7.0981 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Highways: Male has 9.6 km of coral highways within the city

Ports: Male, Gan

Merchant marine: 16 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 70,066
GRT/112,480 DWT; includes 12 cargo, 1 container, 1 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 bulk

Civil air: 1 major transport aircraft

Airports: 2 with permanent-surface runways 2,440-3,659 m

Telecommunications: minimal domestic and international facilities;
2,325 telephones; stations--2 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth
station

- Defense Forces
Branches: no military force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 49,261; 27,519 fit for military
service

Defense expenditures: $1.8 million (1984 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Mali
- Geography
Total area: 1,240,000 km2; land area: 1,220,000 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries: 7,243 km total; Algeria 1,376 km, Burkina 1,000 km,
Guinea 858 km, Ivory Coast 532 km, Mauritania 2,237 km, Niger 821 km, Senegal
419 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Disputes: the disputed international boundary between Burkina and Mali was
submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in October 1983 and the
ICJ issued its final ruling in December 1986, which both sides agreed to accept;
Burkina and Mali are proceeding with boundary demarcation, including
the tripoint with Niger

Climate: subtropical to arid; hot and dry February to June; rainy,
humid, and mild June to November; cool and dry November to February

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna
in south, rugged hills in northeast

Natural resources: gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone,
uranium; bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known
but not exploited

Land use: 2% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 25% meadows and
pastures; 7% forest and woodland; 66% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons;
desertification

Note: landlocked

- People
Population: 8,142,373 (July 1990), growth rate 2.3% (1990)

Birth rate: 51 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 21 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 7 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 116 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 45 years male, 47 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 7.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Malian(s); adjective--Malian

Ethnic divisions: 50% Mande (Bambara, Malinke, Sarakole), 17% Peul, 12%
Voltaic, 6% Songhai, 5% Tuareg and Moor, 10% other

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

Language: French (official); Bambara spoken by about 80% of the
population; numerous African languages

Literacy: 18%

Labor force: 2,666,000 (1986 est.); 80% agriculture, 19% services,
1% industry and commerce (1981); 50% of population of working age (1985)

Organized labor: National Union of Malian Workers (UNTM) is umbrella
organization for over 13 national unions

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Mali

Type: republic; single-party constitutional government

Capital: Bamako

Administrative divisions: 7 regions (regions, singular--region); Gao,
Kayes, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou; note--there may be a new
capital district of Bamako

Independence: 22 September 1960 (from France; formerly French Sudan)

Constitution: 2 June 1974, effective 19 June 1979; amended September 1981
and March 1985

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

National holiday: Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic,
22 September (1960)

Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemble Nationale)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Gen. Moussa TRAORE
(since 6 December 1968)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Democratic Union of
Malian People (UDPM)

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections:
President--last held on 9 June 1985 (next to be held June 1991);
results--General Moussa Traore was reelected without opposition;

National Assembly--last held on 26 June 1988 (next to be held June
1991); results--UDPM is the only party; seats--(82 total) UDPM 82

Communists: a few Communists and some sympathizers (no legal Communist
party)

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto),
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, NAM, Niger River Commission, OAU,
OIC, OMVS (Organization for the Development of the Senegal River
Valley), UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO,

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Alhousseyni TOURE; Chancery
at 2130 R Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone [phone] or
939-8950;
US--Ambassador Robert M. PRINGLE; Embassy at Rue Testard and
Rue Mohamed V., Bamako (mailing address is B. P. 34, Bamako); telephone 225834

Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and
red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

- Economy
Overview: Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, with about
80% of its land area desert or semidesert. Economic activity is largely
confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger. About 10% of the
population lives as nomads and some 80% of the labor force is engaged in
agriculture and fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on
processing farm commodities.

GDP: $1.94 billion, per capita $220; real growth rate - 0.9% (1988 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA% (1987)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $338 million; expenditures $559 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1987)

Exports: $260 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities--livestock,
peanuts, dried fish, cotton, skins; partners--mostly franc zone and
Western Europe

Imports: $493 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities--textiles,
vehicles, petroleum products, machinery, sugar, cereals; partners--mostly
franc zone and Western Europe

External debt: $2.1 billion (December 1988 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 92,000 kW capacity; 165 million kWh produced,
20 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: small local consumer goods and processing, construction,
phosphate, gold, fishing

Agriculture: accounts for 50% of GDP; most production based on small
subsistence farms; cotton and livestock products account for over 70% of
exports; other crops--millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts;
livestock--cattle, sheep, and goats

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $313 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.4 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $92 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$190 million

Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs);
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per
US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987),
346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

- Communications
Railroads: 642 km 1.000-meter gauge; linked to Senegal's rail
system through Kayes

Highways: about 15,700 km total; 1,670 km bituminous, 3,670 km
gravel and improved earth, 10,360 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 1,815 km navigable

Civil air: no major transport aircraft

Airports: 37 total, 29 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 7 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 9 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: domestic system poor but improving; provides only
minimal service with radio relay, wire, and radio communications stations;
expansion of radio relay in progress; 11,000 telephones; stations--2 AM, 2 FM,
2 TV; satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean
INTELSAT

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air Force; paramilitary, Gendarmerie,
Republican Guard, National Guard

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,585,878; 913,000 fit for military
service; no conscription

Defense expenditures: 2.5% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Malta
- Geography
Total area: 320 km2; land area: 320 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 140 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 25 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: Mediterranean with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers

Terrain: mostly low, rocky, flat to dissected plains; many coastal cliffs

Natural resources: limestone, salt

Land use: 38% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 0% meadows and
pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 59% other; includes 3% irrigated

Environment: numerous bays provide good harbors; fresh water very
scarce--increasing reliance on desalination

Note: strategic loc