P (continued 26)
Reading edition
Religions: Presbyterian 36.7%, Anglican 15%, Catholic 15%, indigenous beliefs 7.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.2%, Church of Christ 3.8%, other 15.7%
Languages: English (official), French (official), pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 53% male: 57% female: 48% (1979 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Vanuatu conventional short form: Vanuatu former: New Hebrides
Data code: NH
Government type: republic
Capital: Port-Vila
Administrative divisions: 6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba
Independence: 30 July 1980 (from France and UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 30 July (1980)
Constitution: 30 July 1980
Legal system: unified system being created from former dual French and British systems
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Jean Marie LEYE (since 2 March 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Donald KALPOKAS (since 30 March 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Willie JIMMY (since 19 October 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils for a five-year term; election for president last held 2 March 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament from among its members; election for prime minister last held 6 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: Jean Marie LEYE elected president; percent of electoral college vote—NA; Donald KALPOKAS elected prime minister by Parliament with a total of 35 votes; other candidate, Rialuth Serge VOHOR, received 17 votes note: the general legislative elections in November 1995 did not give a majority to any of the political parties; since the election, there have been four changes of government—all of which have been coalitions formed by Parliamentary vote; Rialuth Serge VOHOR was prime minister from November 1995 until he resigned 7 February 1996 when faced with a no-confidence vote in Parliament; Maxime Carlot KORMAN was then elected prime minister and served until he was ousted in a no-confidence motion on 30 September 1996; VOHOR was then elected prime minister for a second time; as a result of legislative elections in March 1998, KALPOKAS was elected prime minister and formed a coalition government with Father LINI's National United Party (NUP)
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 6 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—VP 18, UMP 12, NUP 11, other and independent 11; note—political party associations are fluid; there have been four changes of government since the November 1995 elections note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of custom and land
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, three other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission
Political parties and leaders: Union of Moderate Parties or UMP
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, NAM, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: Vanuatu does not have an embassy in the US, it does, however, have a Permanent Mission to the UN
Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy in Vanuatu; the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu
Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all separated by a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal Y (the two points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the triangle); centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two crossed namele leaves, all in yellow
Economy
Economy—overview: The economy is based primarily on subsistence or small-scale agriculture which provides a living for 65% of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with about 50,000 visitors in 1997, are other mainstays of the economy. Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits. A small light industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties. Economic development is hindered by dependence on relatively few commodity exports, vulnerability to natural disasters, and long distances from main markets and between constituent islands.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$240 million (1997 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: NA%
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$1,300 (1997 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 23% industry: 13% services: 64% (1996)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.2% (1997 est.)
Labor force: NA
Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 65%, services 32%, industry 3% (1995 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $94.4 million expenditures: $99.8 million, including capital expenditures of $30.4 million (1996 est.)
Industries: food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning
Industrial production growth rate: 6.4% (1996 est.)
Electricity—production: 30 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 30 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: copra, coconuts, cocoa, coffee, taro, yams, coconuts, fruits, vegetables; fish, beef
Exports: $30 million (f.o.b., 1996)
Exports—commodities: copra, beef, cocoa, timber, coffee
Exports—partners: Japan 28%, Spain 21%, Germany 14%, UK 7%, Cote d'Ivoire 7%, Australia, New Caledonia (1996 est.)
Imports: $97 million (f.o.b., 1996)
Imports—commodities: machines and vehicles, food and beverages, basic manufactures, raw materials and fuels, chemicals
Imports—partners: Japan 47%, Australia 23%, Singapore 8%, New Zealand 6%, France 3%, Fiji (1996 est.)
Debt—external: $63 million (1996 est.)
Economic aid—recipient: $45.8 million (1995)
Currency: 1 vatu (VT) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: vatu (VT) per US$1—129.66 (January 1999), 127.52 (1998), 115.87 (1997), 111.72 (1996), 112.11 (1995), 116.41 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 4,000 (1994 est.)
Telephone system: domestic: NA international: satellite earth station—1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: 49,000 (1994 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997)
Televisions: 2,000 (1994 est.)
Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 1,070 km paved: 256 km unpaved: 814 km (1996 est.)
Ports and harbors: Forari, Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo)
Merchant marine: total: 82 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,327,078 GRT/1,764,558 DWT ships by type: bulk 31, cargo 24, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 1, liquefied gas tanker 4, oil tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 11, vehicle carrier 6 note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 15 countries among which are ships of Japan 28, India 10, US 10, Greece 3, Hong Kong 3, Australia 2, Canada 1, China 1, and France 1 (1998 est.)
Airports: 32 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 17 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: no regular military forces; Vanuatu Police Force (VPF; includes the paramilitary Vanuatu Mobile Force or VMF)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: claims Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia
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@Venezuela ————-
Geography
Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana
Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 66 00 W
Map references: South America, Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 912,050 sq km land: 882,050 sq km water: 30,000 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly more than twice the size of California
Land boundaries: total: 4,993 km border countries: Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km
Coastline: 2,800 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 15 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
Terrain: Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Pico Bolivar (La Columna) 5,007 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds
Land use: arable land: 4% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 34% other: 41% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,900 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: subject to floods, rockslides, mud slides; periodic droughts
Environment—current issues: sewage pollution of Lago de Valencia; oil and urban pollution of Lago de Maracaibo; deforestation; soil degradation; urban and industrial pollution, especially along the Caribbean coast
Environment—international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping
Geography—note: on major sea and air routes linking North and South America
People
Population: 23,203,466 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 33% (male 3,988,499; female 3,741,568) 15-64 years: 62% (male 7,231,546; female 7,184,769) 65 years and over: 5% (male 484,071; female 573,013) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.71% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 22.25 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 4.93 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 26.51 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.95 years male: 69.97 years female: 76.16 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.61 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Venezuelan(s) adjective: Venezuelan
Ethnic groups: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%
Languages: Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91.1% male: 91.8% female: 90.3% (1995 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Venezuela conventional short form: Venezuela local long form: Republica de Venezuela local short form: Venezuela
Data code: VE
Government type: republic
Capital: Caracas
Administrative divisions: 22 states (estados, singular—estado),1 federal district* (distrito federal), and 1 federal dependency** (dependencia federal); Amazonas, Anzoategui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Carabobo, Cojedes, Delta Amacuro, Dependencias Federales**, Distrito Federal*, Falcon, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Tachira, Trujillo, Yaracuy, Zulia note: the federal dependency consists of 11 federally controlled island groups with a total of 72 individual islands
Independence: 5 July 1811 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 5 July (1811)
Constitution: 23 January 1961
Legal system: based on Napoleonic code; judicial review of legislative acts in Cassation Court only; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); note—the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); note—the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA December 2003) election results: Hugo CHAVEZ Frias elected president; percent of vote—NA%
Legislative branch: bicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica consists of the Senate or Senado (52 seats, two from each state and the federal district (46), one for each of the retired presidents, and others representing minorities (6); members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (207 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate—last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA December 2003); Chamber of Deputies—last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA December 2003) election results: Senate—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—AD 16, COPEI 14, Causa R 9, National Convergence 5, MAS 3, independents 5; note—two former presidents (1 from AD, 1 from COPEI) hold lifetime Senate seats; Chamber of Deputies—percent of vote by party—AD 25.6%, COPEI 24.6%, MAS 10.6%, National Convergence 8.7%, Causa R 19.3%; seats by party—AD 53, COPEI 51, Causa R 40, MAS 22, National Convergence 18, other 23
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia), magistrates are elected by both chambers in joint session for a nine-year term, one-third are reelected every three years
Political parties and leaders: National Convergence or Campins, president, and Donald RAMIREZ, secretary general]; ALFARO Ucero, secretary general]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS
Political pressure groups and leaders: FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers or CTV (labor organization dominated by the Democratic Action); VECINOS groups
International organization participation: CAN, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G- 3, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant) chancery: 1099 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador John Francis MAISTO embassy: Calle F con Calle Suapure, Colinas de Valle Arriba, Caracas 1060 mailing address: P. O. Box 62291, Caracas 1060-A; APO AA 34037
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), blue, and red with the coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band and an arc of seven white five-pointed stars centered in the blue band
Economy
Economy—overview: The petroleum sector dominates the economy, accounting for roughly a third of GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and more than half of government operating revenues. As a result, the steep downturn in international oil prices has had a severe impact on the economy; fiscal cuts spurred by the loss of revenues, high interest rates, and the sharp downturn in export earnings drove the economy into recession in 1998. The recession continued into 1999 with oil prices forecast to stay relatively low, but rising. Although the government has pursued moderate austerity measures to address the downturn in revenues, Venezuela's ongoing reform program has largely stalled. Pressure on the bolivar—overvalued by as much as 40%—was also significant through much of 1998, increasing the probability of an adjustment of the currency in 1999. Newly elected President Hugo CHAVEZ will be hard pressed to address Venezuela's many economic ills. He has promised to strike a balance between reforms designed to address the structural deformities of the economy and addressing declining living standards. CHAVEZ has sought to play down the populism that marked his political campaign for the presidency in an effort to allay investor concerns. The wide range of viewpoints represented on CHAVEZ's economic team is likely to make rapid implementation of a coherent policy difficult.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$194.5 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: -0.9% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$8,500 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 4% industry: 63% services: 33% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: 31.3% (1989 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.5% highest 10%: 35.6% (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 29.9% (1998)
Labor force: 9.2 million
Labor force—by occupation: services 64%, industry 23%, agriculture 13% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: 11.5% (1997 est.)
Budget: revenues: $11.99 billion expenditures: $11.48 billion, including capital expenditures of $3 billion (1996 est.)
Industries: petroleum, iron ore mining, construction materials, food processing, textiles, steel, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly
Industrial production growth rate: 0.5% (1995 est.)
Electricity—production: 73 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: 20.55% hydro: 79.45% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 72.85 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 150 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish
Exports: $16.9 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports—commodities: petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures (1998)
Exports—partners: US and Puerto Rico 57%, Colombia, Brazil (1997)
Imports: $12.4 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Imports—commodities: raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials (1998)
Imports—partners: US 53%, Japan, Colombia, Italy, Germany (1997)
Debt—external: $26.5 billion (1996)
Economic aid—recipient: $50.8 million (1995)
Currency: 1 bolivar (Bs) = 100 centimos
Exchange rates: bolivares (Bs) per US$1—570.267 (January 1999), 547.556 (1998), 488.635 (1997), 417.333 (1996), 176.843 (1995), 148.503 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 1.44 million (1987 est.)
Telephone system: modern and expanding domestic: domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations international: 3 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth station—1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 181, FM 0, shortwave 26
Radios: 9.04 million (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 66 (in addition, there are 45 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 3.3 million (1992 est.)
Transportation
Railways: total: 584 km (248 km privately owned) standard gauge: 584 km 1.435-m gauge
Highways: total: 84,300 km paved: 33,214 km unpaved: 51,086 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 7,100 km; Rio Orinoco and Lago de Maracaibo accept oceangoing vessels
Pipelines: crude oil 6,370 km; petroleum products 480 km; natural gas 4,010 km
Ports and harbors: Amuay, Bajo Grande, El Tablazo, La Guaira, La Salina, Maracaibo, Matanzas, Palua, Puerto Cabello, Puerto la Cruz, Puerto Ordaz, Puerto Sucre, Punta Cardon
Merchant marine: total: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 535,882 GRT/937,461 DWT ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 9, combination bulk 1, liquefied gas tanker 2, oil tanker 8, passenger-cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 5, short-sea passenger 1 (1998 est.)
Airports: 371 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 122 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 32 914 to 1,523 m: 59 under 914 m: 16 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 249 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 94 under 914 m: 145 (1998 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: National Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales or FAN) includes Ground Forces or Army (Fuerzas Terrestres or Ejercito), Naval Forces (Fuerzas Navales or Armada), Air Force (Fuerzas Aereas or Aviacion), Armed Forces of Cooperation or National Guard (Fuerzas Armadas de Cooperacion or Guardia Nacional)
Military manpower—military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower—availability: males age 15-49: 6,268,982 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military service: males age 15-49: 4,522,757 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—reaching military age annually: males: 242,362 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $1.1 billion (1998)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 1% (1998)
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo River; maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, opium, and coca leaf for the international drug trade on a small scale; however, large quantities of cocaine and heroin transit the country from Colombia bound for US and Europe; important money-laundering hub; active eradication program primarily targeting opium
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@Vietnam ———-
Geography
Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia
Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 106 00 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total: 329,560 sq km land: 325,360 sq km water: 4,200 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries: total: 4,639 km border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km
Coastline: 3,444 km (excludes islands)
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March)
Terrain: low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest
Elevation extremes: lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: Ngoc Linh 3,143 m
Natural resources: phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests
Land use: arable land: 17% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 30% other: 48% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 18,600 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding
Environment—current issues: logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
Environment—international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban
People
Population: 77,311,210 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 34% (male 13,377,315; female 12,603,906) 15-64 years: 61% (male 22,934,553; female 24,277,488) 65 years and over: 5% (male 1,645,288; female 2,472,660) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.37% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 20.78 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 6.56 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 34.84 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.1 years male: 65.71 years female: 70.64 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.41 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural) adjective: Vietnamese
Ethnic groups: Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese 3%, Muong, Tai, Meo, Khmer, Man, Cham
Religions: Buddhist, Taoist, Roman Catholic, indigenous beliefs, Islam, Protestant, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao
Languages: Vietnamese (official), Chinese, English, French, Khmer, tribal languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93.7% male: 96.5% female: 91.2% (1995 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Socialist Republic of Vietnam conventional short form: Vietnam local long form: Cong Hoa Chu Nghia Viet Nam local short form: Viet Nam abbreviation: SRV
Data code: VM
Government type: Communist state
Capital: Hanoi
Administrative divisions: 58 provinces (tinh, singular and plural), 3 municipalities* (thu do, singular and plural); An Giang, Bac Giang, Bac Kan, Bac Lieu, Bac Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, Ca Mau, Can Tho, Cao Bang, Dac Lac, Da Nang, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Giang, Hai Duong, Hai Phong*, Ha Nam, Ha Noi*, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hoa Binh, Ho Chi Minh*, Hung Yen, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Kon Tum, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Long An, Nam Dinh, Nghe An, Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan, Phu Tho, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Soc Trang, Son La, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien-Hue, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Tuyen Quang, Vinh Long, Vinh Phuc, Yen Bai
Independence: 2 September 1945 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 2 September (1945)
Constitution: 15 April 1992
Legal system: based on communist legal theory and French civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Tran Duc LUONG (since 24 September 1997) and Vice President Nguyen Thi BINH (since NA October 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Phan Van KHAI (since 25 September 1997); First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan DUNG (since 29 September 1997); Deputy Prime Ministers Nguyen Cong TAN (since 29 September 1997), Ngo Xuan LOC (since 29 September 1997), Nguyen Manh CAM (since 29 September 1997), and Pham Gia KHIEM (since 29 September 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister and ratification of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly from among its members for a five-year term; election last held 25 September 1997 (next to be held when National Assembly meets following legislative elections in NA 2002); prime minister appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by the prime minister election results: Tran Duc LUONG elected president; percent of National Assembly vote—NA
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Quoc-Hoi (450 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 20 July 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party—CPV 92%, other 8% (the 8% are not CPV members but are approved by the CPV to stand for election); seats by party—CPV or CPV-approved 450
Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court, chief justice is elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president
Political parties and leaders: only party—Communist Party of
International organization participation: ACCT, APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador LE VAN BANG chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, Suite 400 consulate(s) general: San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Douglas B. "Pete" Peterson embassy: 7 Lang Ha Road, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi mailing address: PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002 consulate(s) general: Ho Chi Minh City
Flag description: red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center
Economy
Economy—overview: Vietnam is a poor, densely populated country that has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally planned economy. Substantial progress has been achieved over the past 10 years in moving forward from an extremely low starting point, though the regional downturn is now limiting that progress. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 4% in 1998. These numbers masked some major difficulties that are emerging in economic performance. Many domestic industries, including coal, cement, steel, and paper, have reported large stockpiles of inventory and tough competition from more efficient foreign producers, giving Vietnam a trade deficit of $3.3 billion in 1997. While disbursements of aid and foreign direct investment have risen, they are not large enough to finance the rapid increase in imports; and it is widely believed that Vietnam may be using short-term trade credits to bridge the gap—a risky strategy that could result in a foreign exchange crunch. Meanwhile, Vietnamese authorities continue to move slowly toward implementing the structural reforms needed to revitalize the economy and produce more competitive, export-driven industries. Privatization of state enterprises remains bogged down in political controversy, while the country's dynamic private sector is denied both financing and access to markets. Reform of the banking sector is proceeding slowly, raising concerns that the country will be unable to tap sufficient domestic savings to maintain current high levels of growth. Administrative and legal barriers are also causing costly delays for foreign investors and are raising similar doubts about Vietnam's ability to maintain the inflow of foreign capital. Ideological bias in favor of state intervention and control of the economy is slowing progress toward a more liberalized investment environment.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$134.8 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 4% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$1,770 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 28% industry: 30% services: 42% (1996 est.)
Population below poverty line: 50.9% (1993 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.5% highest 10%: 29% (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9% (1998)
Labor force: 32.7 million
Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 65%, industry and services 35% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate: 25% (1995 est.)
Budget: revenues: $5.6 billion expenditures: $6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.7 billion (1996 est.)
Industries: food processing, garments, shoes, machine building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, coal, steel, paper
Industrial production growth rate: 12% (1998 est.)
Electricity—production: 14.88 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: 12.1% hydro: 84% nuclear: 0% other: 3.9% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 14.88 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: paddy rice, corn, potatoes, rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas; poultry, pigs; fish
Exports: $9.4 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports—commodities: crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes
Exports—partners: Japan, Germany, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, France, South Korea
Imports: $11.4 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Imports—commodities: machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles
Imports—partners: Singapore, South Korea, Japan, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan
Debt—external: $7.3 billion Western countries; $4.5 billion CEMA debts primarily to Russia; $9 billion to $18 billion nonconvertible debt (former CEMA, Iraq, Iran)
Economic aid—recipient: $2.2 billion in credits and grants pledged by international donors for 1999
Currency: 1 new dong (D) = 100 xu
Exchange rates: new dong (D) per US$1—13,900 (December 1998), 11,100 (December 1996), 11,193 (1995 average), 11,000 (October 1994), 10,800 (November 1993), 8,100 (July 1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 800,000 (1995 est.)
Telephone system: while Vietnam's telecommunication sector lags far behind other countries in Southeast Asia, Hanoi has made considerable progress since 1991 in upgrading the system; Vietnam has digitized all provincial switch boards, while fiber-optic and microwave transmission systems have been extended from Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City to all provinces; the density of telephone receivers nationwide doubled from 1993 to 1995, but is still far behind other countries in the region; Vietnam's telecommunications strategy aims to increase telephone density to 30 per 1,000 inhabitants by the year 2000 and authorities estimate that approximately $2.7 billion will be spent on telecommunications upgrades through the end of the decade domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations—2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM 228, shortwave 0
Radios: 7.215 million (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: NA
Televisions: 2.9 million (1992 est.)
Transportation
Railways: total: 2,835 km (in addition, there are 224 km not restored to service after war damage) standard gauge: 151 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 2,454 km 1.000-m gauge dual gauge: 230 km NA-m gauges (three rails)
Highways: total: 93,300 km paved: 23,418 km unpaved: 69,882 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 17,702 km navigable; more than 5,149 km navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 m draft
Pipelines: petroleum products 150 km
Ports and harbors: Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Gai, Qui Nhon, Nha Trang
Merchant marine: total: 123 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 527,920 GRT/820,515 DWT ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 98, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, oil tanker 12, refrigerated cargo 4 (1998 est.)
Airports: 48 (1994 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 36 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 7 (1994 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 5 (1994 est.)
Military
Military branches: People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) (includes Ground Forces, Navy, and Air Force), Coast Guard
Military manpower—military age: 17 years of age
Military manpower—availability: males age 15-49: 20,492,806 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military service: males age 15-49: 12,933,945 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—reaching military age annually: males: 877,714 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $650 million (1997)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 9.3% (1997)
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary with Thailand resolved, August 1997; maritime boundary dispute with China in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; offshore islands and sections of boundary with Cambodia are in dispute; sections of land border with China are indefinite
Illicit drugs: minor producer of opium poppy with 3,000 hectares cultivated in 1998, capable of producing 20 metric tons of opium; probably minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin destined for the US and Europe; growing opium/heroin addiction; possible small-scale heroin production
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@Virgin Islands ———————
Geography
Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico
Geographic coordinates: 18 20 N, 64 50 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 352 sq km land: 349 sq km water: 3 sq km
Area—comparative: twice the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 188 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season May to November
Terrain: mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Crown Mountain 474 m
Natural resources: sun, sand, sea, surf
Land use: arable land: 15% permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 26% forests and woodland: 6% other: 47% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes
Environment—current issues: lack of natural freshwater resources
Environment—international agreements: party to: NA signed, but not ratified: NA
Geography—note: important location along the Anegada Passage?a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural, deepwater harbors in the Caribbean
People
Population: 119,827 (July 1999 est.) note: West Indian (45% born in the Virgin Islands and 29% born elsewhere in the West Indies) 74%, US mainland 13%, Puerto Rican 5%, other 8%
Age structure: 0-14 years: 28% (male 17,454; female 16,585) 15-64 years: 63% (male 34,712; female 41,325) 65 years and over: 9% (male 4,237; female 5,514) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.19% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 17.08 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 5.34 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.84 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.89 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 10.07 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.74 years male: 74.04 years female: 81.67 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.42 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Virgin Islander(s) adjective: Virgin Islander
Ethnic groups: black 80%, white 15%, other 5%
Religions: Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%, other 7%
Languages: English (official), Spanish, Creole
Literacy: NA
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Virgin Islands of the United States conventional short form: Virgin Islands former: Danish West Indies
Data code: VQ
Dependency status: organized, unincorporated territory of the US; administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior
Government type: NA
Capital: Charlotte Amalie
Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three islands at the second order; Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Thomas
National holiday: Transfer Day, 31 March (1917) (from Denmark to US)
Constitution: Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954
Legal system: based on US laws
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; note—indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections
Executive branch: chief of state: President William Jefferson CLINTON of the US (since 20 January 1993); Vice President Albert GORE, Jr. (since 20 January 1993) head of government: Governor Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (since 5 January 1999) and Lieutenant Governor Gerald LUZ James II (since 5 January 1999) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 November 1998 (next to be held NA November 2002) election results: Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL elected governor; percent of vote—Dr. Charles W. TURNBULL (Democrat) 58.9%, former Governor Roy L. SCHNEIDER (ICM) 41.1%
Legislative branch: unicameral Senate (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) elections: last held 3 November 1998 (next to be held NA November 2000) election results: percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—Democratic Party 6, independents 5, Republican Party 2, Independent Citizens Movement 2 note: the Virgin Islands elect one representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 3 November 1998 (next to be held NA November 2000); results—Dr. Donna GREEN (Democrat) 80%, Victor O. FRAZER (ICM) 20%
Judicial branch: US District Court (judges are appointed by the president); Territorial Court (judges appointed by the governor)
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party [James O'BRYON
International organization participation: ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (territory of the US)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (territory of the US)
Flag description: white, with a modified US coat of arms in the center between the large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows a yellow eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and three arrows in the other with a superimposed shield of vertical red and white stripes below a blue panel
Economy
Economy—overview: Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for more than 70% of GDP and 70% of employment. The islands normally host 2 million visitors a year. The number of US tourists in the first five months of 1996 was down by 55% from the same period in 1995, the lingering result of the fierce hurricanes of 1995. Unemployment rose sharply in 1996. The manufacturing sector consists of textile, electronics, pharmaceutical, and watch assembly plants. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and financial services are a small but growing component of the economy. One of the world's largest petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix. A major economic problem at the beginning of 1997 was the more than $1 billion in governmental arrears, income tax refunds, payments to vendors, and overdue wages.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$1.2 billion (1987 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: NA%
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$12,500 (1987 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Labor force: 47,443 (1990 est.)
Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 1%, industry 20%, services 62%, other 17% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 6.2% (March 1994)
Budget: revenues: $364.4 million expenditures: $364.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)
Industries: tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity—production: 1.02 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 1.02 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: truck garden products, fruit, vegetables, sorghum; Senepol cattle
Exports: $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
Exports—commodities: refined petroleum products
Exports—partners: US, Puerto Rico
Imports: $2.2 billion (c.i.f., 1992)
Imports—commodities: crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building materials
Imports—partners: US, Puerto Rico
Debt—external: $NA
Economic aid—recipient: $NA
Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: US currency is used
Fiscal year: 1 October—30 September
Communications
Telephones: 60,000 (1990 est.)
Telephone system: domestic: modern, uses fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay international: submarine cable and satellite communications; satellite earth stations—NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 8, shortwave 0 (1988)
Radios: 105,000 (1994 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 2 (1997)
Televisions: 66,000 (1994 est.)
Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 856 km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km
Ports and harbors: Charlotte Amalie, Christiansted, Cruz Bay, Port Alucroix
Merchant marine: none
Airports: 2 note: international airports on Saint Thomas and Saint Croix; there is an airfield on St. John (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (1998 est.)
Military
Military—note: defense is the responsibility of the US
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: none
======================================================================
@Wake Atoll —————
Geography
Location: Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to the Northern Mariana Islands
Geographic coordinates: 19 17 N, 166 36 E
Map references: Oceania
Area: total: 6.5 sq km land: 6.5 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area—comparative: about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 19.3 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical
Terrain: atoll of three coral islands built up on an underwater volcano; central lagoon is former crater, islands are part of the rim
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 6 m
Natural resources: none
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1998)
Natural hazards: occasional typhoons
Environment—current issues: NA
Environment—international agreements: party to: NA signed, but not ratified: NA
Geography—note: strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean; emergency landing location for transpacific flights
People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants note: US military personnel have left the island, but some civilian personnel remain (1999 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Wake Atoll
Data code: WQ
Dependency status: unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Washington, DC by the Department of the Interior; occasional activities on the island are managed by the US Army under a US Air Force contract
Legal system: NA
Flag description: the flag of the US is used
Economy
Economy—overview: Economic activity is limited to providing services to contractors located on the island. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.
Electricity—production: NA kWh note: electricity supplied by the US military
Electricity—consumption: NA kWh
Communications
Telephone system: satellite communications; 1 DSN circuit off the Overseas Telephone System (OTS) domestic: NA international: NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM NA, shortwave NA note: Armed Forces Radio/Television Service (AFRTS) radio service provided by satellite
Television broadcast stations: 0 (1997)
Transportation
Ports and harbors: none; two offshore anchorages for large ships
Airports: 1 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Transportation—note: formerly an important commercial aviation base, now occasionally used by US military, some commercial cargo planes, and for emergency landings
Military
Military—note: defense is the responsibility of the US
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: claimed by Marshall Islands
======================================================================
@Wallis and Futuna ————————-
Geography
Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Geographic coordinates: 13 18 S, 176 12 W
Map references: Oceania
Area: total: 274 sq km land: 274 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ile Uvea (Wallis Island), Ile Futuna (Futuna Island), Ile Alofi, and 20 islets
Area—comparative: 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 129 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; hot, rainy season (November to April); cool, dry season (May to October); rains 2,500-3,000 mm per year (80% humidity); average temperature 26.6 degrees C
Terrain: volcanic origin; low hills
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Singavi 765 m
Natural resources: NEGL
Land use: arable land: 5% permanent crops: 20% permanent pastures: NA% forests and woodland: NA% other: 75% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: NA
Environment—current issues: deforestation (only small portions of the original forests remain) largely as a result of the continued use of wood as the main fuel source; as a consequence of cutting down the forests, the mountainous terrain of Futuna is particularly prone to erosion; there are no permanent settlements on Alofi because of the lack of natural fresh water resources
Environment—international agreements: party to: NA signed, but not ratified: NA
Geography—note: both island groups have fringing reefs
People
Population: 15,129 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA%
Population growth rate: 1.04% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 22.34 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 4.66 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -7.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years
Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman
Nationality: noun: Wallisian(s), Futunan(s), or Wallis and Futuna Islanders adjective: Wallisian, Futunan, or Wallis and Futuna Islander
Ethnic groups: Polynesian
Religions: Roman Catholic 100%
Languages: French, Wallisian (indigenous Polynesian language)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 50% male: 50% female: 50% (1969 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands conventional short form: Wallis and Futuna local long form: Territoire des Iles Wallis et Futuna local short form: Wallis et Futuna
Data code: WF
Dependency status: overseas territory of France
Government type: NA
Capital: Mata-Utu (on Ile Uvea)
Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three kingdoms named Wallis, Sigave, Alo
Independence: none (overseas territory of France)
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: French legal system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Administrator Claude PIERRET (since NA) head of government: President of the Territorial Assembly Victor BRIAL (since 1 June 1997) cabinet: Council of the Territory consists of three kings and three members appointed by the high administrator on the advice of the Territorial Assembly note: there are three traditional kings with limited powers elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; high administrator appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the Territorial Government and the Territorial Assembly are elected by the members of the assembly
Legislative branch: unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (20 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 16 March 1997 (next to be held NA March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—NA note: Wallis and Futuna elects one senator to the French Senate and one deputy to the French National Assembly; French Senate—elections last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held by NA September 2007); results—percent of vote by party—NA; seats—RPR 1; French National Assembly—elections last held 25 May-1 June 1997 (next to be held by NA March 2002); results—percent of vote by party—NA; seats—RPR 1
Judicial branch: none; justice generally administered under French law by the high administrator, but the three traditional kings administer customary law and there is a magistrate in Mata-Utu
Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic or RPR
International organization participation: FZ, SPC
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas territory of France)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (overseas territory of France)
Flag description: a large white modified Maltese cross centered on a red background; the flag of France outlined in white on two sides is in the upper hoist quadrant; the flag of France is used for official occasions
Economy
Economy—overview: The economy is limited to traditional subsistence agriculture, with about 80% of the labor force earning its livelihood from agriculture (coconuts and vegetables), livestock (mostly pigs), and fishing. About 4% of the population is employed in government. Revenues come from French Government subsidies, licensing of fishing rights to Japan and South Korea, import taxes, and remittances from expatriate workers in New Caledonia. Wallis and Futuna imports food—particularly flour, sugar, rice, and beef—fuel, clothing, machinery, and transport equipment, but its exports are negligible, consisting mostly of breadfruit, yams, and taro root.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$28.7 million (1995 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: NA%
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$2,000 (1995 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Labor force: NA
Labor force—by occupation: agriculture, livestock, and fishing 80%, government 4% (est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $20 million expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)
Industries: copra, handicrafts, fishing, lumber
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity—production: NA kWh
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA%
Electricity—consumption: NA kWh
Electricity—exports: NA kWh
Electricity—imports: NA kWh
Agriculture—products: breadfruit, yams, taro, bananas; pigs, goats
Exports: $370,000 (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
Exports—commodities: copra, handicrafts
Exports—partners: NA
Imports: $13.5 million (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
Imports—commodities: foodstuffs, manufactured goods, transportation equipment, fuel, clothing
Imports—partners: France, Australia, New Zealand
Debt—external: $NA
Economic aid—recipient: $1 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (CFPF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (CFPF) per US$1—102.72 (January 1999), 107.25 (1998), 106.11 (1997), 93.00 (1996), 90.75 (1995), 100.94 (1994); note—linked at the rate of 18.18 to the French franc
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 340 (1985 est.)
Telephone system: domestic: NA international: NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 2 (1997)
Televisions: NA
Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 120 km (Ile Uvea 100 km, Ile Futuna 20 km) paved: 16 km (all on Ile Uvea) unpaved: 104 km (Ile Uvea 84 km, Ile Futuna 20 km)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Leava, Mata-Utu
Merchant marine: total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 44,160 GRT/41,656 DWT ships by type: oil tanker 1, passenger 1 (1998 est.)
Airports: 2 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Military
Military—note: defense is the responsibility of France
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: none
======================================================================
@West Bank ————-
Introduction
Background: The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements ("the DOP"), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provides for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Permanent status negotiations began on 5 May 1996, but have not resumed since the initial meeting. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes a Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, and the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israelis. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations.
Geography
Location: Middle East, west of Jordan
Geographic coordinates: 32 00 N, 35 15 E
Map references: Middle East
Area: total: 5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
Area—comparative: slightly smaller than Delaware
Land boundaries: total: 404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Terrain: mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m
Natural resources: NEGL
Land use: arable land: 27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 32% forests and woodland: 1% other: 40%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: NA
Environment—current issues: adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment
Environment—international agreements: party to: none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography—note: landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 216 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 1998 est.)
People
Population: 1,611,109 (July 1999 est.) note: in addition, there are some 166,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and about 176,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1998 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 45% (male 370,770; female 352,803) 15-64 years: 52% (male 422,209; female 411,597) 65 years and over: 3% (male 22,376; female 31,354) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.14% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 35.59 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 4.2 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 25.22 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.83 years male: 70.96 years female: 74.79 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.78 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: NA adjective: NA
Ethnic groups: Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
Religions: Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
Languages: Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Literacy: NA
Government
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: West Bank
Data code: WE
Economy
Economy—overview: Economic conditions in the West Bank?where economic activity is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority—have deteriorated since the early 1990s. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and robust population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies—the imposition of generalized border closures in response to security incidents in Israel—which disrupted previously established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious negative social effect of this downturn has been the emergence of chronic unemployment; average unemployment rates in the WBGS during the 1980s were generally under 5%, by the mid-1990s this level had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These positive changes to the conduct of economic activity, combined with international donor pledges of over $3 billion made to the Palestinian Authority in November, may fuel a moderate economic recovery in 1999.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$3.1 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 2.2% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$2,000 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 33% industry: 25% services: 42% (1995 est., includes Gaza Strip)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.6% (1997 est.)
Labor force: NA note: excluding Israeli settlers
Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 13%, industry 13%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 12%, construction 8%, other services 54% (1996)
Unemployment rate: 17.3% (1997 est.)
Budget: revenues: $816 million expenditures: $866 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) note: includes Gaza Strip
Industries: generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity—production: NA kWh note: most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nabulus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA%
Electricity—consumption: NA kWh
Electricity—exports: NA kWh
Electricity—imports: NA kWh
Agriculture—products: olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Exports: $781 million (f.o.b., 1997 est.) (includes Gaza Strip)
Exports—commodities: olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Exports—partners: Israel, Jordan
Imports: $2.1 billion (c.i.f., 1997 est.) (includes Gaza Strip)
Imports—commodities: food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports—partners: Israel, Jordan
Debt—external: $108 million (1997 est.)
Economic aid—recipient: $NA
Currency: 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot; 1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils
Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1—4.2260 (November 1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996), 3.0113 (1995), 3.0111 (1994); Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1—0.7090 (January 1999), 0.7090 (1998), 0.7090 (1997), 0.7090 (1996), 0.7005 (1995), 0.6987 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year (since 1 January 1992)
Communications
Telephones: NA; 3.1% of Palestinian households have telephones
Telephone system: domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: NA; note—82% of Palestinian households have radios (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: NA
Televisions: NA; note—54% of Palestinian households have televisions (1992 est.)
Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 4,500 km paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km (1997 est.) note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 2 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: NA
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement—permanent status to be determined through further negotiation
======================================================================
@Western Sahara ———————
Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco
Geographic coordinates: 24 30 N, 13 00 W
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area—comparative: about the size of Colorado
Land boundaries: total: 2,046 km border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
Coastline: 1,110 km
Maritime claims: contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
Climate: hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew
Terrain: mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m
Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 19% forests and woodland: 0% other: 81%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility
Environment—current issues: sparse water and arable land
Environment—international agreements: party to: none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
People
Population: 239,333 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 2.34% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 45.42 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 16.58 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -5.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 136.67 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 49.1 years male: 47.98 years female: 50.57 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.7 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawian, Sahraouian
Ethnic groups: Arab, Berber
Religions: Muslim
Languages: Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
Literacy: NA
Government
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Western Sahara
Data code: WI
Government type: legal status of territory and question of sovereignty unresolved; territory contested by Morocco and Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro), which in February 1976 formally proclaimed a government-in-exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); territory partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976, with Morocco acquiring northern two-thirds; Mauritania, under pressure from Polisario guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979; Morocco moved to occupy that sector shortly thereafter and has since asserted administrative control; the Polisario's government-in-exile was seated as an OAU member in 1984; guerrilla activities continued sporadically, until a UN-monitored cease-fire was implemented 6 September 1991
Capital: none
Administrative divisions: none (under de facto control of Morocco)
Suffrage: none; a UN sponsored voter identification campaign has yet to be completed
Executive branch: none
International organization participation: none
Diplomatic representation in the US: none
Diplomatic representation from the US: none
Economy
Economy—overview: Western Sahara, a territory poor in natural resources and lacking sufficient rainfall, depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. Most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Incomes and standards of living are substantially below the Moroccan level.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$NA
GDP—real growth rate: NA%
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$NA
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: 40%-45% (1996 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Labor force: 12,000
Labor force—by occupation: animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: phosphate mining, handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity—production: 85 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 85 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads)
Exports: $NA
Exports—commodities: phosphates 62%
Exports—partners: Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts
Imports: $NA
Imports—commodities: fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs
Imports—partners: Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts
Debt—external: $NA
Economic aid—recipient: $NA
Currency: 1 Moroccan dirham (DH) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1—9.320 (January 1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997), 8.716 (1996), 8.540 (1995), 9.203 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 2,000
Telephone system: sparse and limited system domestic: NA international: tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations—2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: NA
Televisions: NA
Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 6,200 km paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est.)
Ports and harbors: Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)
Airports: 12 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (1998 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: NA
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: claimed and administered by Morocco, but sovereignty is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue; the UN-administered cease-fire has been in effect since September 1991
======================================================================
@World ——-
Geography
Map references: World, Time Zones
Area: total: 510.072 million sq km land: 148.94 million sq km water: 361.132 million sq km note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
Area—comparative: land area about 15 times the size of the US
Land boundaries: the land boundaries in the world total 251,480.24 km (not counting shared boundaries twice)
Coastline: 356,000 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm claimed by most, but can vary continental shelf: 200-m depth claimed by most or to depth of exploitation; others claim 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm claimed by most, but can vary exclusive economic zone: 200 nm claimed by most, but can vary territorial sea: 12 nm claimed by most, but can vary note: boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 nm; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Climate: two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates
Terrain: the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m
Natural resources: the rapid using up of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
Land use: arable land: 10% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 26% forests and woodland: 32% other: 31% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 2,481,250 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
Environment—current issues: large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
Environment—international agreements: selected international environmental agreements are included under the Environment—international agreements entry for each country and in the Selected International Environmental Agreements appendix
People
Population: 5,995,544,836 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 30% (male 934,816,288; female 884,097,095) 15-64 years: 63% (male 1,905,701,066; female 1,861,265,079) 65 years and over: 7% (male 179,094,601; female 230,570,707) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.3% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 56 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 63 years male: 61 years female: 65 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.8 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Government
Data code: none; there is no FIPS 10-4 country code for the World, so the Factbook uses the "W" data code from DIAM 65-18 "Geopolitical Data Elements and Related Features," Data Standard No. 3, March 1984, published by the Defense Intelligence Agency; see the Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes appendix
Administrative divisions: 266 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries
Legal system: all members of the UN (excluding Yugoslavia) plus Nauru and Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
Economy
Economy—overview: Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) dropped to 2% in 1998 from 4% in 1997 because of continued recession in Japan, severe financial difficulties in other East Asian countries, and widespread dislocations in the Russian economy. The US economy continued its remarkable sustained prosperity, growing at 3.9% in 1998, and accounted for 22% of GWP. Western Europe's economies grew at roughly 2.5%, not enough to cut deeply into the region's high unemployment; these economies produced 21% of GWP. China, the second largest economy in the world, continued its rapid growth and accounted for 11% of GWP. Japan posted a decline of 2.6% in 1998 and its share in GWP dropped to 7.4%. As usual, the 15 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations experienced widely different rates of growth. Russia's national product dropped by 5% whereas the nations of central and eastern Europe grew by 3.4% on average. The developing nations varied widely in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements—typically based on ethnicity—gain momentum, e.g., in the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of more than 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems, the industrialized countries have inadequate resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. In 1998, serious financial difficulties in several high-growth East Asia countries cast a shadow over short-term global economic prospects. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999 poses serious economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 1998, see the individual country entries.)
GDP: GWP (gross world product)—purchasing power parity?$39 trillion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 2% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$6,600 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): all countries 25%; developed countries 2% to 4% typically; developing countries 10% to 60% typically (1998 est.) note: national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from stable prices in Japan to hyperinflation in a number of Third World countries
Labor force: NA
Labor force—by occupation: NA
Unemployment rate: 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 5%-12% unemployment (1998 est.)
Industries: dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems
Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1997 est.)
Electricity—production: 12.3427 trillion kWh (1994)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA%
Electricity—consumption: 12.3427 trillion kWh (1994)
Exports: $5 trillion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports—commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Exports—partners: in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries
Imports: $5 trillion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Imports—commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Imports—partners: in value, about 75% of imports by the developed countries
Debt—external: $2 trillion for less developed countries (1998 est.)
Economic aid—recipient: traditional worldwide foreign aid $50 billion (1995 est.)
Communications
Telephones: NA
Telephone system: domestic: NA international: NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: NA
Televisions: NA
Transportation
Railways: total: 1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note—fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV)—Atlantique line broad gauge: 251,153 km standard gauge: 710,754 km narrow gauge: 239,430 km
Highways: total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km
Ports and harbors: Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
Merchant marine: total: 28,310 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 495,299,489 GRT/764,129,056 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 23, bulk 5,745, cargo 8,766, chemical tanker 1,326, combination bulk 319, combination ore/oil 227, container 2,615, liquefied gas tanker 802, livestock carrier 60, multifunction large-load carrier 90, oil tanker 4,521, passenger 392, passenger-cargo 126, railcar carrier 19, refrigerated cargo 1,067, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1,117, short-sea passenger 484, specialized tanker 118, vehicle carrier 493 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: ground, maritime, and air forces at all levels of technology
Military expenditures—dollar figure: aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1998 remained at approximately the 1997 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1998 est.)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: roughly 2% of gross world product (1998 est.)
======================================================================
@Yemen ——-
Geography
Location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 48 00 E
Map references: Middle East
Area: total: 527,970 sq km land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen)
Area—comparative: slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
Land boundaries: total: 1,746 km border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
Coastline: 1,906 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 18 nm in the North; 24 nm in the South continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
Terrain: narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 30% forests and woodland: 4% other: 63% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 3,600 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: sandstorms and dust storms in summer
Environment—current issues: very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Environment—international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography—note: strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes
People
Population: 16,942,230 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 48% (male 4,118,292; female 3,971,886) 15-64 years: 49% (male 4,243,809; female 4,065,429) 65 years and over: 3% (male 278,133; female 264,681) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.34% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 43.31 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 9.88 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 69.82 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 59.98 years male: 58.17 years female: 61.88 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 7.06 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni
Ethnic groups: predominantly Arab; Afro-Arab concentrations in western coastal locations; South Asians in southern regions; small European communities in major metropolitan areas
Religions: Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu
Languages: Arabic
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 38% male: 53% female: 26% (1990 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Yemen conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman
Data code: YM
Government type: republic
Capital: Sanaa
Administrative divisions: 17 governorates (muhafazat, singular—muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Ataq, Dhamar, Hadhramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Ta'izz note: there may be a new governorate for the capital city of Sanaa
Independence: 22 May 1990 Republic of Yemen was established with and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)
National holiday: Proclamation of the Republic, 22 May (1990)
Constitution: 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994
Legal system: based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since NA October 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Abd al-Karim Ali al-IRYANI (since NA April 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: President SALIH was elected by the House of Representatives for a five-year term, however, future presidents will be elected by direct, popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 1 October 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of House of Representatives vote—NA
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 April 1997 (next to be held NA April 2001) election results: percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—GPC 189, Islah 52, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, independents 54, election pending 1 note: in May 1997, the president created a consultative council, sometimes referred to as the upper house of Parliament; its 59 members are all appointed by the president
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: there are over 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General SALAAM] note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won a landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and no longer governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islaah—the two parties had been in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, a loyal opposition party, boycotted the April 1997 legislative election
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara K. BODINE embassy: Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band
Economy
Economy—overview: Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production, but was harmed by low oil prices in 1998. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to foreign debt relief and restructuring. Yemen will work in 1999 to maintain tight control over spending and implement additional components of the IMF program. The high population growth rate of 3.3%, internal political dissension, and continued low prices make the government's task especially difficult.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$12.1 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 1.8% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$740 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 16% industry: 46% services: 38% (1996)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 30.8% (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11% (1998 est.)
Labor force: NA
Labor force—by occupation: most people are employed in agriculture and herding or as expatriate laborers; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-half of the labor force
Unemployment rate: 30% (1995 est.)
Budget: revenues: $2.3 billion expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 budget est.)
Industries: crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity—production: 1.9 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 1.9 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: grain, fruits, vegetables, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, poultry, beef; fish
Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports—commodities: crude oil, cotton, coffee, dried and salted fish
Exports—partners: China 31%, South Korea 19%, Thailand 17%, Thailand 5%, Brazil 5%, Japan 5% (1997)
Imports: $2.8 billion (c.i.f., 1998 est.)
Imports—commodities: food and live animals, machinery and equipment, manufactured goods
Imports—partners: UAE 9%, Saudi Arabia 8%, US 7%, France 6%, Brazil 5% (1997)
Debt—external: $4.9 billion (1998)
Economic aid—recipient: $176.1 million (1995)
Currency: Yemeni rial (YRl) (new currency)
Exchange rates: Yemeni rials (YRl) per US$1—140.940 (October 1998), 129.286 (1997), 94.157 (1996), 40.839 (1995), 12.010 (official fixed rate 1991-94)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 131,655 (1992 est.)
Telephone system: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network domestic: the network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, and tropospheric scatter international: satellite earth stations—3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti
Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 1, shortwave 0
Radios: 325,000 (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 7 (in addition, there are several low-power repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 100,000 (1993 est.)
Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 64,725 km paved: 5,243 km unpaved: 59,482 km (1996 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km
Ports and harbors: Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Mocha, Nishtun
Merchant marine: total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 12,059 GRT/18,563 DWT ships by type: cargo 1, oil tanker 2 (1998 est.)
Airports: 48 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 12 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 36 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 3 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, paramilitary (includes Police)
Military manpower—military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower—availability: males age 15-49: 3,776,075 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military service: males age 15-49: 2,119,308 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—reaching military age annually: males: 212,005 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $413.6 million (1999)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 7.6% (1999)
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: a large section of boundary with Saudi Arabia is not defined; Hanish Islands dispute with Eritrea resolved by arbitral tribunal in October 1998
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@Zambia ———
Geography
Location: Southern Africa, east of Angola
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 S, 30 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 752,610 sq km land: 740,720 sq km water: 11,890 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly larger than Texas
Land boundaries: total: 5,664 km border countries: Angola 1,110 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,930 km, Malawi 837 km, Mozambique 419 km, Namibia 233 km, Tanzania 338 km, Zimbabwe 797 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April)
Terrain: mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Zambezi river 329 m highest point: unnamed location in Mafinga Hills 2,301 m
Natural resources: copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 7% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 40% forests and woodland: 39% other: 14% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 460 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: tropical storms (November to April)
Environment—current issues: air pollution and resulting acid rain in the mineral extraction and refining region; poaching seriously threatens rhinoceros and elephant populations; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; lack of adequate water treatment presents human health risks
Environment—international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography—note: landlocked
People
Population: 9,663,535 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 49% (male 2,381,937; female 2,355,807) 15-64 years: 49% (male 2,308,715; female 2,379,994) 65 years and over: 2% (male 107,427; female 129,655) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.12% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 44.51 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 22.56 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 91.85 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 36.96 years male: 36.72 years female: 37.21 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.35 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Zambian(s) adjective: Zambian
Ethnic groups: African 98.7%, European 1.1%, other 0.2%
Religions: Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous beliefs 1%
Languages: English (official), major vernaculars—Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write English total population: 78.2% male: 85.6% female: 71.3% (1995 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Zambia conventional short form: Zambia former: Northern Rhodesia
Data code: ZA
Government type: republic
Capital: Lusaka
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces; Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, Northern, North-Western, Southern, Western
Independence: 24 October 1964 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 24 October (1964)
Constitution: 2 August 1991
Legal system: based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in an ad hoc constitutional council; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Frederick CHILUBA (since 31 October 1991); Vice President Christon TEMBO (since NA December 1997); note—the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Frederick CHILUBA (since 31 October 1991); Vice President Christon TEMBO (since NA December 1997); note—the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 18 November 1996 (next to be held NA October 2001); vice president appointed by the president election results: Frederick CHILUBA reelected president; percent of vote—Frederick CHILUBA 70%, Dean MUNGO'MBA 12%, Humphrey MULEMBA 6%, Akashambatwa LEWANIKA 4%, Chama CHAKOMBOKA 3%, others 5%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 18 November 1996 (next to be held NA October 2001) election results: percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—MMD 130, NP 5, ZADECO 2, AZ 2, independents 11
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, justices are appointed by the president
Political parties and leaders: Agenda for Zambia or AZ
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MONUA, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMSIL, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Dunstan Weston KAMANA chancery: 2419 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Arlene RENDER embassy: corner of Independence and United Nations Avenues mailing address: P. O. Box 31617, Lusaka
Flag description: green with a panel of three vertical bands of red (hoist side), black, and orange below a soaring orange eagle, on the outer edge of the flag
Economy
Economy—overview: Despite progress in privatization and budgetary reform, Zambia's economy has a long way to go. Inflation, while slowing somewhat, continues to be a major concern to the CHILUBA government. Zambia's copper mining sector, which accounts for over 80% of the nation's foreign currency intake, is struggling. Production rates are down as are world copper prices. Aid cuts by Zambia's donors, arising out of concern for the November 1996 flawed election, also have damaged Zambia's economic prospects. Urged by the World Bank, Zambia has embarked on a privatization program which is to include the all-important copper industry. Until a deal on the copper sector is concluded, perhaps by mid-1999, economic prospects will remain clouded.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$8.3 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: -2% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$880 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 23% industry: 40% services: 37% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: 86% (1993 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.5% highest 10%: 31.3% (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 43.9% (1996)
Labor force: 3.4 million
Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 85%, mining, manufacturing, and construction 6%, transport and services 9%
Unemployment rate: 22% (1991)
Budget: revenues: $888 million expenditures: $835 million, including capital expenditures of $110 million (1995 est.)
Industries: copper mining and processing, construction, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, textiles, fertilizer
Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (1996)
Electricity—production: 7.84 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: 0.51% hydro: 99.49% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 6.393 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 1.47 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 23 million kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts, sunflower seed, tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca); cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, beef, pork, poultry meat, milk, eggs, hides
Exports: $905 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports—commodities: copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, tobacco
Exports—partners: Japan, South Africa, US, Saudi Arabia, India, Thailand, Malaysia (1997)
Imports: $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Imports—commodities: machinery, transportation equipment, foodstuffs, fuels, petroleum products, electricity, fertilizer
Imports—partners: South Africa 48%, Saudi Arabia, UK, Zimbabwe (1997)
Debt—external: $7.1 billion (1997 est.)
Economic aid—recipient: $1.991 billion (1995)
Currency: 1 Zambian kwacha (ZK) = 100 ngwee
Exchange rates: Zambian kwacha (ZK) per US$1—1,428 (October 1998), 1,333.81 (1997), 1,203.71 (1996), 857.23 (1995), 669.37 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 80,900 (1987 est.)
Telephone system: facilities are among the best in Sub-Saharan Africa domestic: high-capacity microwave radio relay connects most larger towns and cities international: satellite earth stations—2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 11, FM 5, shortwave 0
Radios: 1,889,140
Television broadcast stations: 9 (1997)
Televisions: 215,000 (1995 est.)
Transportation
Railways: total: 2,164 km (1995) narrow gauge: 2,164 km 1.067-m gauge (13 km double track) note: the total includes 891 km of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), which operates 1,860 km of 1.067-m narrow gauge track between Dar es Salaam and Kapiri Mposhi where it connects to the Zambia Railways system; TAZARA is not a part of Zambia Railways
Highways: total: 39,700 km paved: 7,265 km (including 60 km of expressways) unpaved: 32,435 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 2,250 km, including Zambezi and Luapula rivers, Lake Tanganyika
Pipelines: crude oil 1,724 km
Ports and harbors: Mpulungu
Airports: 112 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 12 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 100 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 66 under 914 m: 31 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Air Force, paramilitary forces, Police
Military manpower—availability: males age 15-49: 2,102,167 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,113,174 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $76 million (1997)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 1.8% (1997)
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: quadripoint with Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe is in disagreement
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for methaqualone, heroin, and cocaine bound for Southern Africa and Europe; regional money-laundering center
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@Zimbabwe ————
Geography
Location: Southern Africa, northeast of Botswana
Geographic coordinates: 20 00 S, 30 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 390,580 sq km land: 386,670 sq km water: 3,910 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly larger than Montana
Land boundaries: total: 3,066 km border countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March)
Terrain: mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east
Elevation extremes: lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m
Natural resources: coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals
Land use: arable land: 7% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 23% other: 57% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,930 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare
Environment—current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and water pollution; the black rhinoceros herd—once the largest concentration of the species in the world—has been significantly reduced by poaching
Environment—international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography—note: landlocked
People
Population: 11,163,160 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43% (male 2,432,785; female 2,389,029) 15-64 years: 54% (male 2,986,531; female 3,059,186) 65 years and over: 3% (male 132,532; female 163,097) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.02% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 30.64 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 20.43 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population note: there is a small but steady flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa in search of better paid employment
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 61.21 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 38.86 years male: 38.77 years female: 38.94 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.71 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Zimbabwean(s) adjective: Zimbabwean
Ethnic groups: African 98% (Shona 71%, Ndebele 16%, other 11%), white 1%, mixed and Asian 1%
Religions: syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1%
Languages: English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write English total population: 85% male: 90% female: 80% (1995 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe conventional short form: Zimbabwe former: Southern Rhodesia
Data code: ZI
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Harare
Administrative divisions: 8 provinces and 2 cities* with provincial status; Bulawayo*, Harare*, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands
Independence: 18 April 1980 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 18 April (1980)
Constitution: 21 December 1979
Legal system: mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Co-Vice Presidents Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since 31 December 1987) and Joshua M. NKOMO (since 6 August 1990); note—the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Co-Vice Presidents Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since 31 December 1987) and Joshua M. NKOMO (since 6 August 1990); note—the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; responsible to the House of Assembly elections: president nominated by the House of Assembly for a six-year term (if more than one nomination, an electoral college consisting of members of the House of Assembly elects the president); election last held 26-27 March 1996 (next to be held NA March 2002); co-vice presidents appointed by the president election results: Robert Gabriel MUGABE reelected president; percent of electoral college vote—Robert Gabriel MUGABE 92.7%, Abel MUZOREWA 4.8%; Ndabaningi SITHOLE 2.4%
Legislative branch: unicameral parliament, called House of Assembly (150 seats—120 elected by popular vote for six-year terms, 12 nominated by the president, 10 occupied by traditional chiefs chosen by their peers, and 8 occupied by provincial governors) elections: last held 8-9 April 1995 (next to be held NA April 2001) election results: percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—ZANU-PF 117, ZANU-Ndonga 2, independent 1