THE WORLD FACTBOOK (continued 7)
Reading edition
_#_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 NA 1993); 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
_#_Communists: a few Communists, some sympathizers
_#_Member of: ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOM (observer), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, 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 (212) 661-3977;
US—Ambassador William L. JACOBSEN, Jr.; Embassy at 17 Avenida Domingos Ramos, Bissau (mailing address is 1067 Bissau Codex, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau); telephone [245] 20-1139, 20-1145, 20-1113
_#_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: $154 million, per capita $160; real growth rate 5.0% (1989)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $22.7 million; expenditures $30.8 million, including capital expenditures of $18.0 million (1989 est.)
_#_Exports: $14.2 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities—cashews, fish, peanuts, palm kernels;
partners—Portugal, Senegal, France, The Gambia, Netherlands, Spain
_#_Imports: $68.9 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities—capital equipment, consumer goods, semiprocessed goods, foods, petroleum;
partners—Portugal, Netherlands, Senegal, USSR, Germany
_#_External debt: $462 million (December 1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 1.0% (1989 est.); accounts for 10% of GDP (1989 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 90% 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
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $49 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $561 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $41 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $68 million
_#_Currency: Guinea-Bissauan peso (plural—pesos); 1 Guinea-Bissauan peso (PG) = 100 centavos
_#_Exchange rates: Guinea-Bissauan pesos (PG) per US$1—1987.2 (1989), 1363.6 (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; including Army, Navy, Air Force), paramilitary force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 222,371; 126,797 fit for military service
_#Defense expenditures: $5 million, 3.2% of GDP (1987) % @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: all of the area west of the Essequibo river 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: arable land 3%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 6%; forest and woodland 83%; other 8%; includes irrigated 1%
_#_Environment: flash floods a constant threat during rainy seasons; water pollution
_*People #_Population: 749,508 (July 1991), growth rate - 0.4% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 23 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 20 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 51 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 61 years male, 68 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 2.6 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun—Guyanese (sing., pl.); adjective—Guyanese
_#_Ethnic divisions: East Indian 51%, black and mixed 43%, Amerindian 4%, European and Chinese 2%
_#_Religion: Christian 57%, Hindu 33%, Muslim 9%, other 1%
_#_Language: English, Amerindian dialects
_#_Literacy: 95% (male 98%, female 96%) age 15 and over having ever attended school (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 268,000; industry and commerce 44.5%, agriculture 33.8%, services 21.7%; 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—Executive 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 NA 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; United Republican Party (URP), Leslie RAMSAMMY; National Republican Party (NRP), Robert GANGADEEN
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
Executive President—last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be held mid-1991); Hugh Desmond HOYTE was elected president (the leader of the party with the most votes in the National Assembly elections);
National Assembly—last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be held mid-1991); 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); Guyanese Action for Reform and Democracy (GUARD) includes various labor groups as well as several of the smaller parties; Guyana Council of Indian Organizations (GCIO); Civil Liberties Action Committee (CLAC); the latter two organizations are small and active but not well organized; Guyanese Action for Reform and Democracy (GUARD) includes various labor groups, as well as several of the smaller political parties
_#_Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Dr. Cedric Hilburn GRANT; Chancery at 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 265-6900; there is a Guyanese Consulate General in New York;
US—Ambassador George JONES; Embassy at 31 Main Street, Georgetown; telephone [592] (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 1986-87, GDP dropped by 3% a year in 1988-89. The decline resulted from bad weather, labor trouble in the canefields, and flooding and equipment problems in the bauxite industry. Consumer prices rose about 35% in 1988 and by over 100% in 1989, 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: $287.2 million, per capita $380; real growth rate - 3.3% (1989)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 105% (1989)
_#_Unemployment rate: 12-15% (1991 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $65 million; expenditures $129 million, including capital expenditures of $6 million (1989 est.)
_#_Exports: $234 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.);
commodities—bauxite, sugar, gold, rice, shrimp, molasses, timber, rum;
partners—UK 31%, US 23%, CARICOM 7%, Canada 6% (1988)
_#_Imports: $319 million (c.i.f., 1991 est.);
commodities—manufactures machinery, food, petroleum;
partners—US 33%, CARICOM 10%, UK 9%, Canada 2% (1989)
_#_External debt: $1.7 billion, including arrears (December 1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 10.0% (1989 est.); accounts for more than 20% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 250,000 kW capacity; 635 million kWh produced, 830 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: bauxite mining, sugar, rice milling, timber, fishing (shrimp), textiles, gold mining
_#_Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for 27% of GDP and about 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
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $116 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $244 million; Communist countries 1970-89, $242 million
_#_Currency: Guyanese dollar (plural—dollars); 1 Guyanese dollar (G$) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: Guyanese dollars (G$) per US$1—45.00 (since June 1990), 39.533 (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: 58 total, 55 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; none with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 14 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 (GDF; includes Coast Guard and Air Corps), Guyana Police Force (GPF), Guyana People's Militia (GPM), Guyana National Service (GNS)
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 195,142; 148,477 fit for military service
_#Defense expenditures: $5.5 million, 6% of GDP (1989 est.) % @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;
Exclusive 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: arable land 20%; permanent crops 13%; meadows and pastures 18%; forest and woodland 4%; other 45%; includes irrigated 3%
_#_Environment: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; deforestation; soil erosion
_#_Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic
_*People #_Population: 6,286,511 (July 1991), growth rate 2.3% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 5 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 106 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 55 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 6.3 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun—Haitian(s); adjective—Haitian
_#_Ethnic divisions: black 95%, mulatto and European 5%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic is the official religion; Roman Catholic 80% (of which an overwhelming majority also practice Voodoo), Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
_#_Language: French (official) spoken by only 10% of population; all speak Creole
_#_Literacy: 53% (male 59%, female 47%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 2,300,000; agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%; 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; March 1987 Constitution fully observed by government installed on 7 February 1991
_#_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) consisting of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Deputies
_#_Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour de Cassation)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State—President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 1991);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Rene PREVAL (since 13 February 1991)
_#_Political parties and leaders: National Front for Change and Democracy (FNCD) led by Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE, including Congress of Democratic Movements (CONACOM), Victor BENOIT; National Konbite Movement (MKN), Volvick Remy JOSEPH; National Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), a coalition consisting of Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti (MIDH), Marc BAZIN; National Progressive Revolutionary Party (PANPRA), Serge GILLES; and National Patriotic Movement of November 28 (MNP-28), Dejean BELIZAIRE; National Agricultural and Industrial Party (PAIN), Louis DEJOIE; Movement for National Reconstruction (MRN), Rene THEODORE; Haitian Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Sylvio CLAUDE; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats (RDNP), Leslie MANIGAT; National Party of Labor (PNT), Thomas DESULME; Mobilization for National Development (MDN), Hubert DE RONCERAY; Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Haiti (MODELH), Francois LATORTUE; Haitian Social Christian Party (PSCH), Gregoire EUGENE; Movement for the Organization of the Country (MOP), Gesner COMEAU
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
President—last held 16 December 1990 (next election to be held by December 1995); results—Rev. Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 67.5%, Marc BAZIN 14.2%, Louis DEJOIE 4.9%;
Senate—last held 16 December 1990, with runoff held 20 January 1991 (next to be held by December 1992); results—percent of vote NA; seats—(27) FNCD 13, ANDP 6, PAIN 2, MRN 2, PDCH 1, RDNP 1, PNT 1, independent 1;
Chamber of Deputies—last held 16 December 1990, with runoff held 20 January 1991 (next to be held by December 1994); results—percent of vote NA; seats—(83) FNCD 27, ANDP 17, PDCH 7, PAIN 6, RDNP 6, MDN 5, PNT 3, MKN 2, MODELH 2, MRN 1, independent 5, other 2
_#_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: ACCT, CARICOM (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LAES, LORCS, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant), Charge d'Affaires Raymond Alcide JOSEPH; Chancery at 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-4090 through 4092; there are Haitian Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico);
US—Ambassador Alvin P. ADAMS, Jr.; Embassy at Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince (mailing address is P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince), telephone [509] (1) 20-354 or 20-368, 20-200, 20-612
_#_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 abject poverty. Agriculture is mainly small-scale subsistence farming and employs two-thirds 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 one of the most critical problems facing the economy, along with soil erosion and political instability.
_#_GDP: $2.7 billion, per capita $440; real growth rate - 3.0% (1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 25-50% (1990 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $300 million; expenditures $416 million, including capital expenditures of $145 million (1990 est.)
_#_Exports: $169 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities—light manufactures 69%, coffee 19%, other agriculture 8%, other 8%;
partners—US 84%, Italy 4%, France 3%, other industrial 6%, less developed countries 3% (1987)
_#_Imports: $348 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
commodities—machines and manufactures 34%, food and beverages 22%, petroleum products 14%, chemicals 10%, fats and oils 9%;
partners—US 64%, Netherlands Antilles 5%, Japan 5%, France 4%, Canada 3%, Germany 3% (1987)
_#_External debt: $838 million (December 1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 0.3% (FY88); accounts for 15% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 230,000 kW capacity; 264 million kWh produced, 43 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: sugar refining, textiles, flour milling, cement manufacturing, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 33% of GDP and employs 66% of work force; mostly small-scale subsistence farms; commercial crops—coffee, mangoes, sugarcane and wood; staple crops—rice, corn, sorghum; shortage of wheat flour
_#_Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $700 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $682 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 (including Police), Navy, Air Corps
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,287,179; 691,926 fit for military service; 61,265 reach military age (18) annually
_#Defense expenditures: $34 million, 1.5% of GDP (1988 est.) % @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:
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: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 100%
_#_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 % @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 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Disputes: dispute with El Salvador over several sections of the land boundary; dispute over Golfo de Fonseca maritime boundary because of disputed sovereignty of islands; unresolved maritime boundary with Nicaragua
_#_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: arable land 14%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 30%; forest and woodland 34%; other 20%; includes irrigated 1%
_#_Environment: subject to frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast; deforestation; soil erosion
_*People #_Population: 4,949,275 (July 1991), growth rate 2.9% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 38 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 56 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 68 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 5.0 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun—Honduran(s); adjective—Honduran
_#_Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Indian and European) 90%, Indian 7%, black 2%, white 1%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic about 97%; small Protestant minority
_#_Language: Spanish, Indian dialects
_#_Literacy: 73% (male 76%, female 71%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 1,300,000; agriculture 62%, services 20%, manufacturing 9%, construction 3%, other 6% (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), Jose Celin DISCUA, 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—Rafael Leonardo CALLEJAS (PNH) 51%, Carlos FLORES Facusse (PLH) 43.3%, other 5.7%;
National Congress—last held on 26 November 1989 (next to be held November 1993); results—PNH 51%, PLH 43%, PDCH 1.9%, PINU 1.5%, other 2.6%; seats—(128 total) PNH 71, PLH 55, PINU 2
_#_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: BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), LORCS, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jorge Ramon HERNANDEZ Alcerro; Chancery at Suite 100, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 966-7700 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 S. Crescencio ARCOS; Embassy at Avenida La Paz, Tegucigalpa (mailing address is APO Miami 34022); telephone [504] 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, the most important sector of the economy, accounts for nearly 30% of GDP, employs 62% of the labor force, and produces two-thirds of exports. Productivity remains low. Industry, still in its early stages, employs nearly 9% of the labor force, accounts for 15% of GDP, and generates 20% of exports. The service sectors, including public administration, account for 50% of GDP and employ nearly 20% of the labor force. Basic problems facing the economy include rapid population growth, high unemployment, sharply increased inflation, a lack of basic services, a large and inefficient public sector, and the dependence of the export sector mostly on coffee and bananas, which are subject to sharp price fluctuations. Despite government efforts at reform and large-scale foreign assistance, the economy still is unable to take advantage of its sizable natural resources.
_#_GDP: $4.9 billion, per capita $960; real growth rate -1.0% (1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35.2% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 15% unemployed, 30-40% underemployed (1989)
_#_Budget: revenues $1.4 billion; expenditures $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $511 million (1990 est.)
_#_Exports: $939 million (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities—bananas, coffee, shrimp, lobster, minerals, lumber;
partners—US 52%, FRG 11%, Japan, Italy, Belgium
_#_Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f. 1990);
commodities—machinery and transport equipment, chemical products, manufactured goods, fuel and oil, foodstuffs;
partners—US 39%, Japan 9%, CACM, Venezuela, Mexico
_#_External debt: $2.8 billion (1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 2.9% (1989); accounts for 15% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 668,000 kW capacity; 2,023 million kWh produced, 380 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_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
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $1,027 million
_#_Currency: lempira (plural—lempiras); 1 lempira (L) = 100 centavos
_#_Exchange rates: lempiras (L) per US$1—5.30 (fixed rate); 5.70 parallel black-market rate (November 1990)
_#_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: 173 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 527,481 GRT/812,095 DWT; includes 2 passenger-cargo, 107 cargo, 12 refrigerated cargo, 9 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 20 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 2 specialized tanker, 1 vehicle carrier, 18 bulk; note—a flag of convenience registry; the USSR owns one ship under the Honduran flag
_#_Civil air: 9 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 175 total, 134 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 13 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: Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, Public Security Forces (FUSEP)
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,106,630; 659,520 fit for military service; 58,953 reach military age (18) annually
_#Defense expenditures: $82.5 million, 1.9% of GDP (1990 est.) % @Hong Kong (dependent territory 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:
Exclusive fishing zone: 3 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
_#_Climate: tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall
_#_Terrain: hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north
_#_Natural resources: outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar
_#_Land use: arable land 7%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and woodland 12%; other 79%; includes irrigated 3%
_#_Environment: more than 200 islands; occasional typhoons
_*People #_Population: 5,855,800 (July 1991), growth rate 0.6% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 77 years male, 84 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: adjective—Hong Kong
_#_Ethnic divisions: Chinese 98%, other 2%
_#_Religion: eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%
_#_Language: Chinese (Cantonese), English
_#_Literacy: 77% (male 90%, female 64%) age 15 and over having ever attended school (1971)
_#_Labor force: 2,800,000 (1990); manufacturing 28.5%, wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 27.9%, services 17.7%, financing, insurance, and real estate 9.2%, transport and communications 4.5%, construction 2.5%, other 9.7% (1989)
_#_Organized labor: 16% of labor force (1990)
_*Government #_Long-form name: none; abbreviated HK
_#_Type: dependent territory of the UK; scheduled to revert to China in 1997
_#_Capital: Victoria
_#_Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)
_#_Independence: none (dependent territory 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; new Basic Law approved in March 1990 in preparation for 1997
_#_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: United Democrats of Hong Kong (UDHK), Martin LEE Chu-ming; Liberal Democratic Federation (LDF), HU Fa-kuang; Hong Kong Democratic Foundation (HKDF), Patrick SHIU Kin-ying; Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL), Frederick FUNG Kin-kee; Meeting Point, Anthony CHEUNG Bing-leung; Progressive Hong Kong Society (PHKS), Maria TAM Wai-chu
_#_Suffrage: direct election—universal at age 21 as a permanent resident living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years; indirect election—limited to about 100,000 professionals of electoral college and functional constituencies
_#_Elections:
Legislative Council—indirect elections last held 12 September 1991 and direct elections held 15 September 1991 (next to be held by September 1995); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(60 total; 21 indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 18 directly elected, 18 appointed by governor, 3 ex officio members) indirect elections—number of seats by functional constituency NA; direct elections—UDHK 12, Meeting Point 2, ADPL 1, other 3; note—direct elections were held for the first time in September 1991
_#_Communists: 5,000 (est.) cadres affiliated with Communist Party of China
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Federation of Trade Unions (pro-China), Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan), Confederation of Trade Unions (prodemocracy), Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China), Federation of Hong Kong Industries, Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union, Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China
_#_Member of: AsDB, CCC, ESCAP (associate), GATT, ICFTU, IMO (associate), IOC, ISO (correspondent), WCL, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: as a dependent territory of the UK, the interests of Hong Kong in the US are represented by the UK;
US—Consul General Richard L. WILLIAMS; Consulate General at 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong (mailing address is Box 30, Hong Kong, or FPO San Francisco 96659-0002); telephone [852] (5) 845-1598
_#_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 with few tariffs or nontariff barriers. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Manufacturing accounts for about 18% of GDP, employs 28% of the labor force, and exports about 90% of its output. Real GDP growth averaged a remarkable 8% in 1987-88, then slowed to 2.5-3.0% in 1989-90. 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 1989-90 casts a long shadow over the longer term economic outlook.
_#_GDP: $64.0 billion, per capita $11,000; real growth rate 2.5% (1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.8% (1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: 1.8% (1990)
_#_Budget: $8.8 billion (FY90)
_#_Exports: $80.3 billion (f.o.b., 1990), including reexports of $51.2 billion;
commodities—clothing, textile yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks, toys;
partners—US 32%, China 19%, FRG 7%, UK 6%, Japan 6% (1989)
_#_Imports: $79.5 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities—foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum;
partners—China 35%, Japan 17%, Taiwan 9%, US 8% (1989)
_#_External debt: $9.5 billion (December 1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 1.7% (1989)
_#_Electricity: 8,485,000 kW capacity; 25,000 million kWh produced, 4,340 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_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
_#_Illicit drugs: a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade; transshipment and major financial and money-laundering center
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $152 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $910 million
_#_Currency: Hong Kong dollar (plural—dollars); 1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 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: 1,484 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 4,690,770 GRT/8,091,177 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 short-sea passenger, 16 cargo, 5 refrigerated cargo, 16 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 9 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 chemical tanker, 6 combination ore/oil, 6 liquefied gas, 71 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; 3,000,000 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, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, Gurkha Brigade, Royal Hong Kong Police Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,718,112; 1,328,230 fit for military service; 45,437 reach military age (18) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $300 million, 0.5% of GDP (1989 est.); this represents one-fourth of the total cost of defending itself, the remainder being paid by the UK
_#Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK % @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 (depth);
Exclusive 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: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 5%; other 95%
_#_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 % @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: 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: arable land 54%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures 14%; forest and woodland 18%; other 11%; includes irrigated 2%
_#_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: 10,558,001 (July 1991), growth rate - 0.1% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 14 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 76 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun—Hungarian(s); adjective—Hungarian
_#_Ethnic divisions: Hungarian 96.6%, German 1.6%, Slovak 1.1%, Southern Slav 0.3%, Romanian 0.2%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 67.5%, Calvinist 20.0%, Lutheran 5.0%, atheist and other 7.5%
_#_Language: Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8%
_#_Literacy: 99% (male 99%, female 98%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980)
_#_Labor force: 4,860,000; services, trade, government, and other 43.2%, industry 30.9%, agriculture 18.8%, construction 7.1% (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-Moson-Sopron, Hajdu-Bihar, Heves, Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok, Komarom-Esztergom, Nograd, Pest, Somogy, Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg, Tolna, Vas, Veszprem, Zala
_#_Independence: 1001, unification by King Stephen I
_#_Constitution: 18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19 April 1972; 18 October 1989 revision ensures legal rights for individuals and constitutional checks on the authority of the prime minister and established the principle of parliamentary oversight
_#_Legal system: in process of revision, moving toward rule of law based on Western model
_#_National holiday: October 23 (1956); commemorates the Hungarian uprising
_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Orszaggyules)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court, may be restructured as part of ongoing government overhaul
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State—President Arpad GONCZ (since 3 August 1990; previously interim President from 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, Ferenc Jozsef NAGY, president; Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP), Gyula HORN, chairman; Young Democrats, Gabor FODOR, head; Christian Democrats, Dr. Lazlo SURJAN, 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:
President last held 3 August 1990 (next to be held August 1995); elected by the National Assembly with a total of 294 votes out of 304; President GONCZ was elected by the National Assembly as interim President from 2 May 1990 until elected President;
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
_#_Communists: fewer than 100,000 (December 1989)
_#_Member of: BIS, CCC, CE, CSCE, ECE, FAO, G-9, GATT, IAEA, IBEC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IIB, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant); Chancery at 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 362-6730; there is a Hungarian Consulate General in New York;
US—Ambassador Charles THOMAS; Embassy at V. Szabadsag Ter 12, Budapest (mailing address is APO New York 09213); telephone [36] (1) 112-6450
_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green
_*Economy #_Overview: Agriculture is an important sector, providing sizable export earnings and meeting domestic food needs. Industry accounts for about 40% of GNP and 30% of employment. About 40% of Hungary's foreign trade is with the USSR and Eastern Europe and a third is with the EC. Low rates of growth reflect the inability of the Soviet-style economy to modernize capital plant and motivate workers. GNP declined by 1% in 1989 and by an estimated 6% in 1990. Since 1985 external debt has more than doubled, to over $20 billion. In recent years Hungary has experimented widely with decentralized and market-oriented enterprises. The newly democratic government has renounced the Soviet economic growth model and plans to open the economy to wider market forces and to much closer economic relations with Western Europe. Prime Minister Antall has declared his intention to move foward on privatization of state enterprises, provision for bankruptcy, land reform, and marketization of international trade, but concerns over acceptable levels of unemployment and inflation may slow the reform process.
_#_GNP: $60.9 billion, per capita $5,800; real growth rate - 5.7% (1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 1.7% (1990)
_#_Budget: revenues $18.2 billion; expenditures $18.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $805 million (1989)
_#_Exports: $10.2 billion (f.o.b. 1989);
commodities—capital goods 33%, foods 25%, consumer goods 16%, fuels 1.5%, other 24.5%;
partners USSR and Eastern Europe 42%, developed countries 37.4%, less developed countries 20.6% (1989)
_#_Imports: $10.1 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities—capital goods 15%, fuels 20%, manufactured consumer goods 12.4%, agriculture 5%, other 47.6%;
partners—USSR and Eastern Europe 34.9%, developed countries 45.5%, less developed countries 16.6%, US 3%
_#_External debt: $20.7 billion (1989)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 7.9% (1990 est.)
_#_Electricity: 7,800,000 kW capacity; 30,400 million kWh produced, 2,870 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_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
_#_Economic aid: donor—$2.0 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed countries (1962-89)
_#_Currency: forint (plural—forints); 1 forint (Ft) = 100 filler
_#_Exchange rates: forints (Ft) per US$1—60.95 (December 1990), 63.21 (1990), 59.07 (1989), 50.41 (1988), 46.97 (1987), 45.83 (1986), 50.12 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*Communications #_Railroads: 7,765 km total; 7,508 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 222 km narrow gauge (mostly 0.760-meter), 35 km 1.520-meter broad gauge; 1,147 km double track, 2,161 km electrified; all government owned (1988)
_#_Highways: 130,014 km total; 29,715 km national highway system—26,834 km asphalt and bitumen, 142 km concrete, 51 km stone and road brick, 2,276 km macadam, 412 km unpaved; 58,495 km country roads (66% unpaved), and 41,804 km (est.) other roads (70% unpaved) (1988)
_#_Inland waterways: 1,622 km (1988)
_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 1,204 km; refined products, 630 km; natural gas, 3,895 km (1986)
_#_Ports: Budapest and Dunaujvaros are river ports on the Danube; maritime outlets are Rostock (Germany), Gdansk (Poland), Gdynia (Poland), Szczecin (Poland), Galati (Romania), and Braila (Romania)
_#_Merchant marine: 16 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) and 1 bulk totaling 94,393 GRT/131,946 DWT
_#_Civil air: 28 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: telephone density is at 17 per 100 inhabitants; 49% of all phones are in Budapest; 12-15 year wait for a phone; 16,000 telex lines (June 1990); stations—13 AM, 12 FM, 21 TV (8 Soviet TV relays); 4.2 TVs (1990)
_*Defense Forces #_Branches: Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Frontier Guard, Civil Defense
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,667,234; 2,130,749 fit for military service; 88,851 reach military age (18) annually
_#Defense expenditures: 43.7 billion forints, NA% of GDP (1989); note—conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the official administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results % @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;
Exclusive 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: arable land NEGL%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 23%; forest and woodland 1%; other 76%
_#_Environment: subject to earthquakes and volcanic activity
_#_Note: strategic location between Greenland and Europe; westernmost European country
_*People #_Population: 259,742 (July 1991), growth rate 1.0% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 17 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 80 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun—Icelander(s); adjective—Icelandic
_#_Ethnic divisions: homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norwegians and Celts
_#_Religion: Evangelical Lutheran 96%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, none 1% (1988)
_#_Language: Icelandic
_#_Literacy: 100% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1976 est.)
_#_Labor force: 134,429; commerce, finance, and services 55.4%, other manufacturing 14.3%., agriculture 5.8%, fish processing 7.9%, fishing 5.0% (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* (kaupstadhir, singular—kaupstadhur); 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 Hnappadalssysla, 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: bicameral Althingi 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 David ODDSSON (since 30 April 1991)
_#_Political parties and leaders: Independence (conservative), David ODDSSON; 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;
Althing—last held on 20 April 1991 (next to be held by April 1995); results—Independence 38.6%, Progressive 18.9%, Social Democratic 15.5%, People's Alliance 14.4%, Womens List 8.13%, Liberals 1.2%, other 3.27% seats—(63 total) Independence 26, Progressive 13, Social Democratic 10, People's Alliance 9, Womens List 5
_#_Communists: less than 100 (est.), some of whom participate in the People's Alliance
_#_Member of: BIS, CCC, CE, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Tomas A. TOMASSON; Chancery at 2022 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 265-6653 through 6655; there is an Icelandic Consulate General in New York;
US—Ambassador Charles E. COBB, Jr.; Embassy at Laufasvegur 21, Box 40, Reykjavik (mailing address is FPO New York 09571-0001); telephone [354] (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. As a result of climbing fish prices in 1990 and a noninflationary labor agreement, Iceland is pulling out of a recession, which began in mid-1988 with a sharp decline in fish prices and an imposition of quotas on fish catches to conserve stocks. Inflation was down sharply from 20% in 1989 to 8% in 1990.
_#_GDP: $4.2 billion, per capita $16,300; real growth rate 0% (1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.8% (1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: 1.8% (1990)
_#_Budget: revenues $1.58 billion; expenditures $1.66 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1990)
_#_Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities—fish and fish products, animal products, aluminum, diatomite;
partners—EC 67.7% (UK 25.3%, FRG 12.7%), US 9.9%, Japan 6%
_#_Imports: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities—machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs, textiles;
partners—EC 49.8% (FRG 12.4%, Denmark 8.6%, UK 8.1%), US 14.4%, Japan 5.6%
_#_External debt: $3 billion (1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 0.8% (1988 est.); accounts for 22% of GDP
_#_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 1.4 million metric tons in 1989
_#_Economic 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—55.216 (January 1991), 58.284 (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, Siglufjordhur, Vestmannaeyjar; numerous minor ports
_#_Merchant marine: 16 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 53,409 GRT/73,279 DWT; includes 8 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 1 container, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 1 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: no armed forces; State Criminal Police, Coast Guard; Iceland's defense is provided by the US-manned Icelandic Defense Force (IDF) headquartered at Keflavik
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 69,644; 62,248 fit for military service; no conscription or compulsory military service
_#Defense expenditures: none % @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;
Exclusive 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: arable land 55%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 4%; forest and woodland 23%; other 17%; includes irrigated 13%
_#_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: 866,351,738 (July 1991), growth rate 1.9% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 87 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 57 years male, 59 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun—Indian(s); adjective—Indian
_#_Ethnic divisions: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3%
_#_Religion: Hindu 82.6%, Muslim 11.4%, Christian 2.4%, Sikh 2.0%, Buddhist 0.7%, Jains 0.5%, other 0.4%
_#_Language: Hindi, English, and 14 other official languages—Bengali, Telugu, 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: 48% (male 62%, female 34%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_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: 25 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, 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
_#_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 Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and a lower house or House of the People (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 P. V. Narasimha RAO (since 21 June 1991)
_#_Political parties and leaders: Congress (I) Party, P. V. Narasimha RAO, president; Bharatiya Janata Party, L. K. ADVANI; Janata Dal Party, V. P. SINGH; Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M), E. M. S. NAMBOODIRIPAD; Communist Party of India (CPI), C. Rajeswara RAO; Telugu Desam (a regional party in Andhra Pradesh), N. T. Rama RAO; All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK; a regional party in Tamil Nadu), JAYALALITHA; Samajwadi Janata Party, CHANDRA SHEKHAR; Shiv Sena, Bal THACKERAY; Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Tridip CHOWDHURY; Bahujana Samaj Party (BSP), Kanshi RAM; Congress (S) Party, leader NA; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Satyanarayan SINGH; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (a regional party in Tamil Nadu), M. KARUNANIDHI; Akali Dal factions representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab; 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 21 May, 12 and 15 June 1991 (next to be held by November 1996); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(545 total), 509 elected—Congress (I) Party 225, Bharatiya Janata Party 117, Janata Dal Party 55, Communist Party of India (Marxist) 35, Communist Party of India 13, Telugu Desam 12, AIADMK 11, Samajwadi Janata Party 5, Shiv Sena 4, RSP 4, BSP 1, Congress (S) Party 1, other 26; note—second and third rounds of voting were delayed because of the assassination of Congress President Rajiv GANDHI on 21 May 1991
_#_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 religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Adam Sena, Anand Marg, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-6, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Abid HUSSEIN; Chancery at 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-7000; there are Indian Consulates General in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco;
US—Ambassador William CLARK, Jr.; Embassy at Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri 110021, New Delhi; telephone [91] (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 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 partial liberalization of controls. The growth rate of the service sector has also been strong. India, however, has been challenged more recently by much lower foreign exchange reserves, higher inflation, and a large debt service burden.
_#_GNP: $254 billion, per capita $300; real growth rate 4.5% (1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10.0% (1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: 20% (1990 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $34 billion; expenditures $54 billion, including capital expenditures of $13.3 billion (FY91)
_#_Exports: $17.0 billion (f.o.b., FY90);
commodities—gems and jewelry, engineering goods, clothing, textiles, chemicals, tea, coffee, fish products;
partners—EC 25%, US 19%, USSR and Eastern Europe 17%, Japan 10%
_#_Imports: $24.8 billion (c.i.f., FY90);
commodities—petroleum, capital goods, uncut gems and jewelry, chemicals, iron and steel, edible oils;
partners—EC 33%, Middle East 19%, Japan 10%, US 9%, USSR and Eastern Europe 8%
_#_External debt: $69.8 billion (1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 8.4% (1990); accounts for about 25% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 70,000,000 kW capacity; 245,000 million kWh produced, 290 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: textiles, food processing, steel, machinery, transportation equipment, cement, jute manufactures, mining, petroleum, power, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics
_#_Agriculture: accounts for about 30% 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 among the world's top 10 fishing nations
_#_Illicit drugs: licit producer of opium poppy for the pharmaceutical trade, but some opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; major transit country for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $4.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-88), $20.1 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $315 million; USSR (1970-89), $11.6 billion; Eastern Europe (1970-89), $105 million
_#_Currency: Indian rupee (plural—rupees); 1 Indian rupee (Re) = 100 paise
_#_Exchange rates: Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1—18.329 (January 1990), 17.504 (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: 308 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,087,451 GRT/10,150,460 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 8 passenger-cargo, 100 cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 8 container, 54 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 10 chemical tanker, 9 combination ore/oil, 115 bulk, 2 combination bulk
_#_Civil air: 93 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 345 total, 288 usable; 198 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 57 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 88 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: poor domestic telephone service, international radio communications adequate; 4,700,000 telephones; stations—96 AM, 4 FM, 274 TV (government controlled); domestic satellite system for communications and TV; 3 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; submarine cables to Malaysia and United Arab Emirates
_*Defense Forces #_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force, Border Security Forces, Coast Guard, Assam Rifles
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 232,793,714; 137,259,444 fit for military service; about 9,431,908 reach military age (17) annually
_#Defense expenditures: $9.2 billion, 3.5% of GNP (FY91) % @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 % @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);
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Disputes: sovereignty over Timor Timur (East Timor Province) disputed 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 liquids, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver
_#_Land use: arable land 8%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures 7%; forest and woodland 67%; other 15%; includes irrigated 3%
_#_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: 193,560,494 (July 1991), growth rate 1.8% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 26 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 73 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 59 years male, 63 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 3.0 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun—Indonesian(s); adjective—Indonesian
_#_Ethnic divisions: majority of Malay stock comprising Javanese 45.0%, Sundanese 14.0%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26.0%
_#_Religion: Muslim 87%, Protestant 6%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1985)
_#_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: 77% (male 84%, female 68%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 67,000,000; agriculture 55%, manufacturing 10%, construction 4%, transport and communications 3% (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: APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Abdul Rachman RAMLY; Chancery at 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 775-5200; 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 [62] (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 yet, with a large and rapidly increasing population, it remains a poor country. GDP growth in 1985-89 averaged about 4%, somewhat short of the more than 5% rate needed to absorb the 2.3 million workers annually entering the labor force. Agriculture, including forestry and fishing, is an 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—and textiles and plywood are being encouraged for both export and job generation. Industrial output now accounts for 30% of GDP based on a supply of diverse natural resources, including 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. However, the economy's growth is very dependent on the continuing expansion of nonoil exports. Japan is Indonesia's most important customer and supplier of aid.
_#_GDP: $94 billion, per capita $490; real growth rate 6.0% (1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10.8% (1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: 3%; underemployment 44% (1989 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $17.2 billion; expenditures $23.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $8.9 billion (FY91)
_#_Exports: $25.7 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities—petroleum and liquefied natural gas 40%, timber 15%, textiles 7%, rubber 5%, coffee 3%;
partners—Japan 40%, US 14%, Singapore 7%, Europe 16% (1990)
_#_Imports: $21.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities—machinery 39%, chemical products 19%, manufactured goods 16%;
partners—Japan 23%, US 13%, EC, Singapore
_#_External debt: $58.5 billion (1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 11.6% (1989 est.); accounts for 30% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 11,600,000 kW capacity; 38,000 million kWh produced, 200 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: petroleum, textiles, mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood, food, rubber
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 23% of GDP, subsistence food production; small-holder and plantation production for export; rice, cassava, peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, copra, other tropical products; products—poultry meat, beef, pork, eggs
_#_Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade, but not a major player; government actively eradicating plantings and prosecuting traffickers
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $4.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $22.8 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $213 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $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—1,907.5 (January 1991), 1,842.8 (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: 365 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,647,632 GRT/2,481,432 DWT; includes 5 short-sea passenger, 13 passenger-cargo, 215 cargo, 7 container, 3 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 vehicle carrier, 80 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 chemical tanker, 5 liquefied gas, 6 specialized tanker, 1 livestock carrier, 25 bulk
_#_Civil air: about 216 commercial transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 470 total, 436 usable; 111 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 12 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 63 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
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 50,572,652; 29,893,127 fit for military service; 2,149,673 reach military age (18) annually
_#Defense expenditures: $1.4 billion, 1.8% of GNP (1988) % @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; continental shelf limit, continental shelf boundaries, or median lines in the Persian Gulf;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Disputes: Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations on 14 October 1990 following the end of the war that began on 22 September 1980; progress had been made on the major issues of contention—troop withdrawal, prisoner-of-war exchanges, demarcation of the border, freedom of navigation, and sovereignty over the the Shatt al Arab waterway—but written agreements had yet to be drawn up when frictions reemerged in March 1991 in the wake of Shia and Kurdish revolts in Iraq that Baghdad accused Tehran of supporting; 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: arable land 8%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 27%; forest and woodland 11%; other 54%; includes irrigated 2%
_#_Environment: deforestation; overgrazing; desertification
_*People #_Population: 59,051,082 (July 1991), growth rate 3.6% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 44 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 66 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 65 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 6.6 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun—Iranian(s); adjective—Iranian
_#_Ethnic divisions: Persian 51%, Azerbaijani 25%, Kurd 9%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Lur 2%, Baloch 1%, Arab 1%, other 3%
_#_Religion: Shia Muslim 95%, Sunni Muslim 4%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Bahai 1%
_#_Language: 58% Persian and Persian dialects, 26% Turkic and Turkic dialects, 9% Kurdish, 2% Luri, 1% Baloch, 1% Arabic, 1% Turkish, 2% other
_#_Literacy: 54% (male 64%, female 43%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 15,400,000; agriculture 33%, manufacturing 21%; 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 and eliminate the prime ministership
_#_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 Ministers
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Cleric and functional Chief of State—Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989);
Head of Government—President Ali Akbar HASHEMI-RAFSANJANI (since 3 August 1989);
_#_Political parties and leaders: there are at least 14 licensed parties; the three most important are—Tehran Militant Clergy Association, Mohammad Reza MAHDAVI-KANI; Militant Clerics Association, Mehdi MAHDAVI-KARUBI and Mohammad Asqar MUSAVI-KHOINIHA; 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 HASHEMI-RAFSANJANI was elected with only token opposition;
Islamic Consultative Assembly—last held 8 April 1988 (next to be held June 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; armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government include Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), People's Fedayeen, and Kurdish Democratic Party; the Society for the Defense of Freedom is a group of liberal nationalists that has been repressed by the government for accusing it of corruption
_#_Member of: CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: none; protecting power in the US is Algeria—Iranian Interests Section, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington DC 20007; telephone (202) 965-4990;
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. Disruptions from the bitter war with Iraq, massive corruption, mismanagement, demographic pressures, and ideological rigidities have kept economic growth at depressed levels. Oil accounts for over 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 3.2% 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: $80.0 billion, per capita $1,400; real growth rate 0.5% (1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30-50% (1989 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 30% (1989)
_#_Budget: revenues $63 billion; expenditures $80 billion, including capital expenditures of $23 billion (FY90 est.)
_#_Exports: $12.3 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities—petroleum 90%, carpets, fruits, nuts, hides;
partners—Japan, Turkey, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, France, FRG
_#_Imports: $11.6 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
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—wheat, 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
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $1.0 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $1.6 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $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—64.941 (January 1991), 68.096 (1990), 72.015 (1989), 68.683 (1988), 71.460 (1987), 78.760 (1986), 91.052 (1985) at the official rate; black market rate 1,400 (January 1991)
_#_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.) 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 4,634,204 GRT/8,671,769 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: 214 total, 186 usable; 80 with permanent-surface runways; 17 with runways over 3,659 m; 16 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 70 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, Air Defense, and Revolutionary Guard Corps (includes Basij militia and own ground, air, and naval forces); a merger of the Komiteh, Police, and Gendarmerie has produced a new Security Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 12,750,593; 7,588,711 fit for military service; 576,321 reach military age (21) annually
_#Defense expenditures: $13 billion, 13.3% of GNP (1991 est.) % @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: Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations on 14 October 1990 following the end of the war that began on 22 September 1980; progress had been made on the major issues of contention—troop withdrawal, prisoner-of-war exchanges, demarcation of the border, freedom of navigation, and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway—but written agreements had yet to be drawn up when frictions reemerged in March 1991 in the wake of Shia and Kurdish revolts in Iraq that Baghdad accused Tehran of supporting; Kurdish question among Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and the USSR; shares Neutral Zone with Saudi Arabia—in December 1981, Iraq and Saudi Arabia signed a boundary agreement that divides the zone between them, but the agreement must be ratified before it becomes effective; Iraqi forces invaded and occupied Kuwait from 2 August 1990 until 27 February 1991; in April 1991 official Iraqi acceptance of UN Security Council Resolution 687, which demands that Iraq accept its internationally recognized border with Kuwait, ended earlier claims to Bubiyan and Warbah Islands or to all of Kuwait; 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: arable land 12%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 9%; forest and woodland 3%; other 75%; includes irrigated 4%
_#_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: 19,524,718 (July 1991), growth rate 3.9% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 46 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 66 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 68 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 7.2 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun—Iraqi(s); adjective—Iraqi
_#_Ethnic divisions: Arab 75-80%, Kurdish 15-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%
_#_Religion: Muslim 97%, (Shia 60-65%, Sunni 32-37%), Christian or other 3%
_#_Language: Arabic (official), Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian
_#_Literacy: 60% (male 70%, female 49%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 4,400,000 (1989); services 48%, agriculture 30%, industry 22%, severe labor shortage; expatriate labor force about 1,600,000 (July 1990)
_#_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, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Tamim, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, 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 drafted in 1990 but not adopted
_#_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 Watani)
_#_Judicial branch: Court of Cassation
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State—President Saddam HUSAYN (since 16 July 1979); Vice President Taha Muhyi al-Din MARUF (since 21 April 1974); Vice President Taha Yasin RAMADAN (since 23 March 1991);
_#_Head of Government—Prime Minister Sadun HAMMADI (since 27 March 1991); Deputy Prime Minister Tariq AZIZ (since NA 1979); Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Hamza al-ZUBAYDI (since 27 March 1991)
_#_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—Sunni Arabs 53%, Shia Arabs 30%, Kurds 15%, 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: ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: no Iraqi representative in Washington; Chancery at 1801 P Street NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 483-7500;
US—no US representative in Baghdad since mid-January 1991; Embassy in Masbah Quarter (opposite the Foreign Ministry Club), Baghdad (mailing address is P. O. Box 2447 Alwiyah, Baghdad); telephone [964] (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; the phrase Allahu Akbar (God is Great) in green Arabic script—Allahu to the right of the middle star and Akbar to the left of the middle star—was added in January 1991 during the Persian Gulf crisis; similar to the flag of Syria that has two stars but no script and the flag of Yemen that has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt that 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 has been dominated by the oil sector, which has provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. In the 1980s financial problems, caused by massive expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran and damage to oil export facilities by Iran, led the government to implement austerity measures and to borrow heavily and later reschedule foreign debt payments. After the end of hostilities in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. Agricultural development remained 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, also was under financial constraints. Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic embargoes, and military actions by an international coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically changed the economic picture. Oil exports were cut to near zero, and industrial and transportation facilities severely damaged.
_#_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: $12.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities—crude oil and refined products, fertilizer, sulfur;
partners—US, Brazil, Turkey, Japan, France, Italy, USSR (1989)
_#_Imports: $10.3 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities—manufactures, food;
partners—US, FRG, Turkey, UK, Romania, Japan, France (1989)
_#_External debt: $40 billion (1989 est.), excluding debt to Arab Gulf states
_#_Industrial production: NA%; manufacturing accounts for 10% of GDP (1987)
_#_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 11% of GNP but 30% of labor force; principal products—wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, other fruit, cotton, wool; livestock—cattle, sheep; not self-sufficient in food output
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $3 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $627 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1980-90), more than $30 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $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, Al Basrah
_#_Merchant marine: 43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 944,253 GRT/1,691,368 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 passenger-cargo, 17 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 3 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 19 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker; note—since the 2 August 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi forces, Iraq has sought to register at least part of its merchant fleet under convenience flags; none of the Iraqi flag merchant fleet was trading internationally as of 1 January 1991
_#_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, 102 usable; 73 with permanent-surface runways; 9 with runways over 3,659 m; 52 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 15 with runways 1,220-2,439 m