Introductory material (continued 17)

elections: last held 3 October 1998 (next to be held NA October 2002)

election results: percent of vote by party - People's Party 21%, LC 18%, TSP 14%, TB/LNNK 14%, Social Democrats 13%, New Party 7%; seats by party - People's Party 24, LC 21, TB/LNNK 17, TSP 16, Social Democrats 14, New Party 8

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges' appointments are confirmed by Parliament)

Political parties and leaders: Anticommunist Union or PA [P. MUCENIEKS]; Christian Democrat Union or LKDS [Talavs JUNDZIS]; Christian People's Party or KTP [Uldis AUGSTKALNS]; Democratic Party "Saimnieks" or DPS [Ziedonis CEVERS, chairman]; For Fatherland and Freedom or TB [Maris GRINBLATS], merged with LNNK; For Human Rights in a United Latvia [Janis JURKANS], a coalition of the People's Harmony Party or TSP, the Latvian Socialist Party or LSP, and the Equal Rights Movement; Green Party or LZP [Olegs BATAREVSKI]; Latvian Liberal Party or LLP [J. DANOSS]; Latvian National Conservative Party or LNNK [Andrejs KRASTINS]; Latvian National Democratic Party or LNDP [A. MALINS]; Latvian Social-Democratic Workers Party (Social Democrats) or LSDWU [Juris BOJARS and Janis ADAMSONS, leaders]; Latvian Unity Party or LVP [Alberis KAULS]; Latvia's Way or LC [Andrei PANTELEJEVS]; New Christian Party [Ainars SLESERS]; New Faction [Ingrida UDRE]; "Our Land" or MZ [M. DAMBEKALNE]; Party of Russian Citizens or LKPP [V. SOROCHIN, V. IVANOV]; People's Party [Andris SKELE]; Political Union of Economists or TPA [Edvins KIDE]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Aivis RONIS

chancery: 4325 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011

telephone: [1] (202) 726-8213, 8214

FAX: [1] (202) 726-6785

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador James H. HOLMES

embassy: Raina Boulevard 7, LV-1510, Riga

mailing address: American Embassy Riga, PSC 78, Box Riga, APO AE 09723

telephone: [371] 721-0005

FAX: [371] 782-0047

Flag description: three horizontal bands of maroon (top), white (half-width), and maroon

Latvia Economy

Economy - overview: In 2000, Latvia's transitional economy recovered from the 1998 Russian financial crisis, largely due to the SKELE government's budget stringency and a gradual reorientation of exports toward EU countries, lessening Latvia's trade dependency on Russia. Latvia officially joined the World Trade Organization in February 1999 - the first Baltic state to join - and was invited at the Helsinki EU Summit in December 1999 to begin accession talks in early 2000. Unemployment fell to 7.8% in 2000, down from 9.6% in 1999, and 9.2% in 1998. Privatization of large state-owned utilities and the shipping industry faced more delays in 2000, and political instability will continue to delay completion of the privatization process over the next year. Latvia projects 6% GDP growth, 2.5%-3.0% inflation, and a 1.7% fiscal deficit in 2001. Preparing for EU membership over the next few years remains a top foreign policy goal.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $17.3 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5.5% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $7,200 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 5%

industry: 33%

services: 62% (1999)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.9%

highest 10%: 25.9% (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.7% (2000)

Labor force: 1.4 million (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 10%, industry 25%, services 65% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate: 7.8% (2000 est.)

Budget: revenues: $1.33 billion

expenditures: $1.27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.)

Industries: buses, vans, street and railroad cars, synthetic fibers, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, washing machines, radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, textiles; note - dependent on imports for energy, raw materials, and intermediate products

Industrial production growth rate: 6.3% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production: 3.996 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 31.78%

hydro: 68.22%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 4.316 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 400 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 1 billion kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish

Exports: $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities: wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs

Exports - partners: Germany 16%, UK 11%, Sweden 11%, Russia 7% (1999)

Imports: $3.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels

Imports - partners: Russia 15%, Germany 10%, Finland 9%, Sweden 7% (1999)

Debt - external: $800 million (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $96.2 million (1995)

Currency: Latvian lat (LVL)

Currency code: LVL

Exchange rates: lati per US dollar - 0.614 (January 2001), 0.607 (2000), 0.585 (1999), 0.590 (1998), 0.581 (1997), 0.551 (1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Latvia Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 748,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 77,100 (1997)

Telephone system: general assessment: inadequate, but is being modernized to provide an international capability independent of the Moscow international switch; more facilities are being installed for individual use

domestic: expansion underway in intercity trunk line connections, rural exchanges, and mobile systems; still many unsatisfied subscriber applications

international: international connections are now available via cable and a satellite earth station at Riga, enabling direct connections for most calls (1998)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 56, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios: 1.76 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 44 (plus 31 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions: 1.22 million (1997)

Internet country code: .lv

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 42 (2000)

Internet users: 234,000 (2000)

Latvia Transportation

Railways: total: 2,412 km

broad gauge: 2,379 km 1.520-m gauge (271 km electrified) (1992)

narrow gauge: 33 km 0.750-m gauge (1994)

Highways: total: 59,178 km

paved: 22,843 km

unpaved: 36,335 km (1998 est.)

Waterways: 300 km (perennially navigable)

Pipelines: crude oil 750 km; refined products 780 km; natural gas 560 km (1992)

Ports and harbors: Daugavpils, Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils

Merchant marine: total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 27,984 GRT/29,978 DWT

ships by type: cargo 2, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 3 (2000 est.)

Airports: 25 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 13

2,438 to 3,047 m: 7

1,524 to 2,437 m: 1

914 to 1,523 m: 1

under 914 m: 4 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 12

2,438 to 3,047 m: 1

1,524 to 2,437 m: 2

914 to 1,523 m: 2

under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.)

Latvia Military

Military branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Security Forces, Border Guard, Home Guard (Zemessardze)

Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 590,784 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 463,944 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 19,114 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $60 million (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.9% (FY99)

Latvia Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: draft treaty delimiting the boundary with Russia has not been signed; has not ratified 1998 maritime boundary agreement with Lithuania (primary concern is oil exploration rights)

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from Central and Southwest Asia to Western Europe and Scandinavia and Latin American cocaine and some synthetics from Western Europe to CIS; limited production of illicit amphetamine, ephedrine, and ecstasy for export

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@Lebanon

Lebanon Introduction

Background: Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions and regaining its national sovereignty since 1991 and the end of the devastating 16-year civil war. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections, most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central government authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, the radical Shi'a party, retains its weapons. Syria maintains about 25,000 troops in Lebanon based mainly in Beirut, North Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's troop deployment was legitimized by the Arab League during Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if Accord. Damascus justifies its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing the continued weakness of the LAF, Beirut's requests, and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from its security zone in southern Lebanon in May of 2000, however, has emboldened some Lebanese Christians and Druze to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well.

Lebanon Geography

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

Geographic coordinates: 33 50 N, 35 50 E

Map references: Middle East

Area: total: 10,400 sq km

land: 10,230 sq km

water: 170 sq km

Area - comparative: about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries: total: 454 km

border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km

Coastline: 225 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows

Terrain: narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa' (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m

highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m

Natural resources: limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land

Land use: arable land: 18%

permanent crops: 9%

permanent pastures: 1%

forests and woodland: 8%

other: 64% (1996 est.)

Irrigated land: 860 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: dust storms, sandstorms

Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note: Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity

Lebanon People

Population: 3,627,774 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 27.57% (male 509,975; female 490,031)

15-64 years: 65.72% (male 1,136,995; female 1,247,184)

65 years and over: 6.71% (male 110,964; female 132,625) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.38% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 20.16 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female

total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 28.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.52 years

male: 69.13 years

female: 74.03 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.05 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.09% (1999 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)

adjective: Lebanese

Ethnic groups: Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%

Religions: Muslim 70% (including Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 30% (including Orthodox Christian, Catholic, Protestant), Jewish NEGL%

Languages: Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 86.4%

male: 90.8%

female: 82.2% (1997 est.)

Lebanon Government

Country name: conventional long form: Lebanese Republic

conventional short form: Lebanon

local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah

local short form: Lubnan

Government type: republic

Capital: Beirut

Administrative divisions: 5 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Ech Chimal, Ej Jnoub, El Bekaa, Jabal Loubnane

Independence: 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)

National holiday: Independence Day, 22 November (1943)

Constitution: 23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Taif Accord) of October 1989

Legal system: mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education

Executive branch: chief of state: President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998)

head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 23 October 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Issam FARES (since 23 October 2000)

cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly; the current Cabinet was formed in 1998

elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term; election last held 15 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by custom, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shi'a Muslim

election results: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms)

elections: last held 27 August and 3 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004)

election results: percent of vote by party - Muslim 57% (of which Sunni 25%, Sh'ite 25%, Druze 6%, Alawite less than 1%), Christian 43% (of which Maronite 23%); seats by party - Muslim 64 (of which Sunni 27, Sh'ite 27, Druze 8, Alawite 2), Christian 64 (of which Maronite 34)

Judicial branch: four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed)

Political parties and leaders: political party activity is organized along largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by religious, clan, and economic considerations

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Farid ABBOUD

chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300

FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324

consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador David M. SATTERFIELD

embassy: Antelias, Beirut

mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Beirut; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002

telephone: [961] (4) 543600, 543600

FAX: [961] (4) 544136

Flag description: three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band

Lebanon Economy

Economy - overview: The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Peace enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut, begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key port and government facilities. Economic recovery was helped by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking services, manufactured and farm exports, and international aid provided the main sources of foreign exchange. Lebanon's economy has made impressive gains since the launch in 1993 of "Horizon 2000," the government's $20 billion reconstruction program. Real GDP grew 8% in 1994, 7% in 1995, 4% per year in 1996 and 1997 but slowed to 2% in 1998, -1% in 1999, and 1% in 2000. Annual inflation fell during the course of the 1990s from more than 100% to 0%, and foreign exchange reserves jumped from $1.4 billion to more than $6 billion. Burgeoning capital inflows have generated foreign payments surpluses, and the Lebanese pound has remained very stable for the past two years. Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure. Solidere, a $2-billion firm, has managed the reconstruction of Beirut's central business district; the stock market reopened in January 1996; and international banks and insurance companies are returning. The government nonetheless faces serious challenges in the economic arena. It has funded reconstruction by tapping foreign exchange reserves and by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. The newly re-installed HARIRI government's announced policies fail to address the ever-increasing budgetary deficits and national debt burden. The gap between rich and poor has widened in the 1990s, resulting in grassroots dissatisfaction over the skewed distribution of the reconstruction's benefits.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $18.2 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 1% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 12%

industry: 27%

services: 61% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line: 28% (1999 est.)

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

highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 1.3 million (1999 est.)

note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (1997 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: services NA%, industry NA%, agriculture NA%

Unemployment rate: 18% (1997 est.)

Budget: revenues: $3.31 billion

expenditures: $5.55 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries: banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles; mineral and chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining; metal fabricating

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 7.748 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 91.29%

hydro: 8.71%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 7.86 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 654 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats

Exports: $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: foodstuffs and tobacco, textiles, chemicals, precious stones, metal and metal products, electrical equipment and products, jewelry, paper and paper products

Exports - partners: UAE 9%, Saudi Arabia 8%, Syria 6%, US 6%, Kuwait 6%, France 5%, Belgium 5%, Jordan 4% (1999)

Imports: $6.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, textiles, metals, fuels, agricultural foods

Imports - partners: Italy 13%, France 11%, Germany 8%, US 7%, Switzerland 6%, Japan, UK, Syria (1999)

Debt - external: $9.6 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $3.5 billion (pledges 1997-2001)

Currency: Lebanese pound (LBP)

Currency code: LBP

Exchange rates: Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (January 2001), 1,507.5 (2000), 1,507.8 (1999), 1,516.1 (1998), 1,539.5 (1997), 1,571.4 (1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Lebanon Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 700,000 (1999)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 580,000 (1999)

Telephone system: general assessment: telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway

domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable

international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables

Radio broadcast stations: AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998)

Radios: 2.85 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions: 1.18 million (1997)

Internet country code: .lb

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 22 (2000)

Internet users: 227,500 (2000)

Lebanon Transportation

Railways: total: 399 km (mostly unusable because of damage in civil war)

standard gauge: 317 km 1.435-m

narrow gauge: 82 km (1999)

Highways: total: 7,300 km

paved: 6,350 km

unpaved: 950 km (1999 est.)

Waterways: none

Pipelines: crude oil 72 km (none in operation)

Ports and harbors: Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail, Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre

Merchant marine: total: 71 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 379,705 GRT/592,672 DWT

ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 42, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 3

note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Netherlands 1, Syria 1 (2000 est.)

Airports: 8 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 5

over 3,047 m: 1

2,438 to 3,047 m: 2

1,524 to 2,437 m: 1

under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 3

914 to 1,523 m: 2

under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Lebanon Military

Military branches: Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force)

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 980,412 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 605,332 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $343 million (FY99/00)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4.8% (FY99/00)

Lebanon Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Lebanese government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as a part of Lebanon from which Hizballah conducts cross-border attacks

Illicit drugs: inconsequential producer of hashish; a Lebanese/Syrian eradication campaign started in the early 1990s has practically eliminated the opium and cannabis crops

======================================================================

@Lesotho

Lesotho Introduction

Background: Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule.

Lesotho Geography

Location: Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Geographic coordinates: 29 30 S, 28 30 E

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 30,355 sq km

land: 30,355 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries: total: 909 km

border countries: South Africa 909 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers

Terrain: mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains

Elevation extremes: lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m

highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m

Natural resources: water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals

Land use: arable land: 11%

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 66%

forests and woodland: 0%

other: 23% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 30 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: periodic droughts

Environment - current issues: population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping

Geography - note: landlocked; surrounded by South Africa

Lesotho People

Population: 2,177,062

note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 39.28% (male 430,147; female 424,994)

15-64 years: 56.03% (male 588,440; female 631,404)

65 years and over: 4.69% (male 43,033; female 59,044) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.49% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 48.84 years

male: 47.97 years

female: 49.74 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 23.57% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 240,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 16,000 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)

adjective: Basotho

Ethnic groups: Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,

Religions: Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%

Languages: Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 83%

male: 72%

female: 93% (1999 est.)

Lesotho Government

Country name: conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho

conventional short form: Lesotho

former: Basutoland

Government type: parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Capital: Maseru

Administrative divisions: 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka

Independence: 4 October 1966 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 October (1966)

Constitution: 2 April 1993

Legal system: based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile

head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998)

cabinet: Cabinet

elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (80 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 65 to 80 in the May 1998 election; on 28 February 2001, the Senate approved expansion of the Assembly by a further 50 seats in the next election, which may be held as early as January 2002

elections: last held 23 May 1998 (next to be held NA March 2001)

election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 60.7%, BNP 24.5%, other 14.8%; seats by party - LCD 79, BNP 1

note: results contested; opposition parties claimed the election was fraudulent and staged a coup; Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces intervened in September 1998 and restored order; the Interim Political Authority (IPA) was set up in December 1998 to create a new electoral system and conduct new elections.

Judicial branch: High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court

Political parties and leaders: Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Dr. Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO

chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536

FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Katherine H. PETERSON

embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section)

mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho

telephone: [266] 312666

FAX: [266] 310116

Flag description: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner

Lesotho Economy

Economy - overview: Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, and remittances from miners employed in South Africa. The number of such mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa. Proceeds from membership in a common customs union with South Africa form the majority of government revenue. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, generating royalties for Lesotho. The pace of substantial privatization has increased in recent years. In December 1999, the government embarked on a nine-month IMF staff-monitored program aimed at structural adjustment and stabilization of macroeconomic fundamentals. The government is in the process of applying for a three-year successor program with the IMF under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 2.5% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 18%

industry: 38%

services: 44% (1999)

Population below poverty line: 49.2% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 0.9%

highest 10%: 43.4% (1986-87)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 700,000 economically active

Labor force - by occupation: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa

Unemployment rate: 45% (2000 est.)

Budget: revenues: $76 million

expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.)

Industries: food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 15.5% (1999 est.)

Electricity - production: 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 0%

hydro: 0%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 55 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 55 million kWh

note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999)

Agriculture - products: corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

Exports: $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998)

Exports - partners: South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998)

Imports: $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995)

Imports - partners: South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998)

Debt - external: $720 million (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $123.7 million (1995)

Currency: loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)

Currency code: LSL; ZAR

Exchange rates: maloti per US dollar - 7.78307 (January 2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Lesotho Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 20,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 1,262 (1996)

Telephone system: general assessment: rudimentary system

domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system

international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios: 104,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (2000)

Televisions: 54,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .ls

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)

Internet users: 1,000 (2000)

Lesotho Transportation

Railways: total: 2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa

narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995)

Highways: total: 4,955 km

paved: 887 km

unpaved: 4,068 km (1996)

Waterways: none

Ports and harbors: none

Airports: 29 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 4

over 3,047 m: 1

914 to 1,523 m: 1

under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 25

914 to 1,523 m: 4

under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.)

Lesotho Military

Military branches: Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP)

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 515,464 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 277,369 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $34 million (1999)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%

Military - note: The Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs.

Lesotho Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

======================================================================

@Liberia

Liberia Introduction

Background: Seven years of civil strife were brought to a close in 1996 when free and open presidential and legislative elections were held. President TAYLOR now holds strong executive power with no real political opposition. The years of fighting coupled with the flight of most businesses have disrupted formal economic activity. A still unsettled domestic security situation has slowed the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country.

Liberia Geography

Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone

Geographic coordinates: 6 30 N, 9 30 W

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 111,370 sq km

land: 96,320 sq km

water: 15,050 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries: total: 1,585 km

border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km

Coastline: 579 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 200 NM

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m

Natural resources: iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 1%

permanent crops: 3%

permanent pastures: 59%

forests and woodland: 18%

other: 19% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March)

Environment - current issues: tropical rain forest subject to deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation

Liberia People

Population: 3,225,837 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 43.21% (male 698,178; female 695,599)

15-64 years: 53.34% (male 840,103; female 880,403)

65 years and over: 3.45% (male 56,073; female 55,481) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.92% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 46.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 16.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

note: by the end of 1999, all Liberian refugees, who had fled the domestic strife, were assumed to have returned

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female

total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 132.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 51.41 years

male: 49.96 years

female: 52.91 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.36 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 2.8% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 39,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 4,500 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Liberian(s)

adjective: Liberian

Ethnic groups: indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, and Bella), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the US who had been slaves), Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves)

Religions: indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20%

Languages: English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 38.3%

male: 53.9%

female: 22.4% (1995 est.)

note: these figures are increasing because of the improving school system

Liberia Government

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Liberia

conventional short form: Liberia

Government type: republic

Capital: Monrovia

Administrative divisions: 13 counties; Bomi, Bong, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, Sinoe

Independence: 26 July 1847

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1847)

Constitution: 6 January 1986

Legal system: dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (since 2 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government: President Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (since 2 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate

elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (renewable); election last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA July 2003)

election results: Charles Ghankay TAYLOR elected president; percent of vote - Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (NPP) 75.3%, Ellen Johnson SIRLEAF (UP) 9.6%, Alhaji KROMAH (ALCOP) 4%, other 11.1%

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (26 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve nine-year terms) and the House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)

elections: Senate - last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held in NA 2006); House of Representatives - last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held in NA 2003)

election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 21, UP 3, ALCOP 2; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 49, UP 7, ALCOP 3, Alliance of Political Parties 2, UPP 2, LPP 1; note - the Alliance of Political Parties was a coalition of the LAP and the Liberia Unification Party or LUP

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: All Liberia Coalition Party or ALCOP [Lusinee KAMARA]; Liberian Action Party or LAP [Cletus WOTORSON]; Liberian National Union or LINU [Henry MONIBA, chairman]; Liberian People's Party or LPP [Togba-Nah TIPOTEH, chairman]; National Democratic Party of Liberia or NDPL [Isaac DAKINAH]; National Patriotic Party or NPP [Charles Ghankay TAYLOR] - governing party; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Chea CHEAPOO, chairman]; Reformation Alliance Party or RAP [Henry Boimah FAHNBULLEH, chairman]; True Whig Party or TWP [Rudolph SHERMAN, chairman]; United People's Party or UPP [Gabriel Baccus MATTHEWS, chairman]; Unity Party or UP [Charles Clarke]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador William BULL

chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011

telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437

FAX: [1] (202) 723-0436

consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Bismarck MYRICK

embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, P. O. Box 10-0098, Mamba Point, Monrovia

mailing address: use embassy street address

telephone: [231] 226-370 through 226-380

FAX: [231] 226-148

Flag description: 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag

Liberia Economy

Economy - overview: A civil war in 1989-96 destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Many businessmen fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them. Some returned during 1997. Many will not return. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products, while local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. The democratically elected government, installed in August 1997, inherited massive international debts and currently relies on revenues from its maritime registry to provide the bulk of its foreign exchange earnings. The restoration of the infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy depend on the implementation of sound macro- and micro-economic policies of the new government, including the encouragement of foreign investment. Recent growth has been from a low base, and continued growth will require major policy successes.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.35 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 15% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 60%

industry: 10%

services: 30% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line: 80%

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

highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 70%, industry 8%, services 22% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 70%

Budget: revenues: $NA

expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: rubber processing, palm oil processing, diamonds

Industrial production growth rate: NA

Electricity - production: 432 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100%

hydro: 0%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 401.8 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber

Exports: $55 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: diamonds, iron ore, rubber, timber, coffee, cocoa

Exports - partners: Belgium 53%, Switzerland 9%, US 6%, France 4% (1999)

Imports: $170 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; rice and other foodstuffs

Imports - partners: South Korea 30%, Italy 24%, Japan 15%, Germany 9% (1999)

Debt - external: $3 billion (1999 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $200 million pledged (1998)

Currency: Liberian dollar (LRD)

Currency code: LRD

Exchange rates: Liberian dollars per US dollar - 39.8100 (December 2000), 41.0483 (2000), 41.9025 (1999), 41.5075 (1998), 1.0000 (officially fixed rate 1940-97); market exchange rate: Liberian dollars per US dollar - 40 (December 1998), 50 (October 1995)

note: until December 1997, rates were based on a fixed relationship with the US dollar; beginning in January 1998, rates are market determined

Fiscal year: calendar year

Liberia Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 6,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 0 (1995)

Telephone system: general assessment: telephone and telegraph service via microwave radio relay network; main center is Monrovia

domestic: NA

international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 6, shortwave 4 (1999)

Radios: 790,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 2 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2000)

Televisions: 70,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .lr

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)

Internet users: 300 (2000)

Liberia Transportation

Railways: total: 490 km (328 km single track); note - three rail systems owned and operated by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction with the Liberian Government; one of these, the Lamco Railroad, closed in 1989 after iron ore production ceased; the other two were shut down by the civil war; large sections of the rail lines have been dismantled; approximately 60 km of railroad track was exported for scrap

standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge

Highways: total: 10,600 km

paved: 657 km

unpaved: 9,943 km

note: (there is major deterioration on all highways due to heavy rains and lack of maintenance) (1996 est.)

Waterways: none

Ports and harbors: Buchanan, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia

Merchant marine: total: 1,478 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 49,456,361 GRT/76,620,648 DWT

ships by type: barge carrier 3, bulk 324, cargo 97, chemical tanker 163, combination bulk 20, combination ore/oil 38, container 245, liquefied gas 97, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 24, petroleum tanker 310, refrigerated cargo 74, roll on/roll off 19, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 12, vehicle carrier 45

note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 8, Australia 1, Ashmore and Cartier Islands 1, Austria 5, Bermuda 5, Belgium 5, Burma 1, Brazil 8, Canada 1, China 28, Chile 7, Costa Rica 8, Cyprus 27, Denmark 4, Ecuador 1, Germany 117, Greece 83, Hong Kong 54, Croatia 9, Indonesia 2, India 8, Israel 1, Italy 8, Japan 85, South Korea 8, Latvia 15, Monaco 28, Mexico 6, Malaysia 1, Nigeria 1, Netherlands 7, Norway 86, Netherlands Antilles 1, NZ 1, Poland 2, Portugal 2, Philippines 1, Russia 22, Saudi Arabia 20, South Africa 1, Slovenia 1, Singapore 30, Spain 1, Sweden 8, Switzerland 23, UAE 5, Taiwan 10, UK 15, US 85, Uruguay 1, Vietnam 1 (2000 est.)

Airports: 46 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 2

over 3,047 m: 1

1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 44

1,524 to 2,437 m: 3

914 to 1,523 m: 5

under 914 m: 36 (2000 est.)

Liberia Military

Military branches: Army, Air Force, Navy

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 715,753 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 385,460 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1 million (FY98)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2% (FY98)

Liberia Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: large refugee population from civil war in Sierra Leone

Illicit drugs: increasingly a transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets

======================================================================

@Libya

Libya Introduction

Background: Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999.

Libya Geography

Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia

Geographic coordinates: 25 00 N, 17 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 1,759,540 sq km

land: 1,759,540 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than Alaska

Land boundaries: total: 4,383 km

border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,150 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km

Coastline: 1,770 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 NM

note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north

Climate: Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior

Terrain: mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m

highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, gypsum

Land use: arable land: 1%

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 8%

forests and woodland: 0%

other: 91% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 4,700 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms

Environment - current issues: desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities

Environment - international agreements: party to: Climate Change, Desertification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban

Libya People

Population: 5,240,599

note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 35.41% (male 947,645; female 907,854)

15-64 years: 60.64% (male 1,645,085; female 1,533,066)

65 years and over: 3.95% (male 101,701; female 105,248) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.42% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 27.67 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 3.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female

total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 28.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.65 years

male: 73.53 years

female: 77.88 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.64 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.05% (1999 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Libyan(s)

adjective: Libyan

Ethnic groups: Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians

Religions: Sunni Muslim 97%

Languages: Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 76.2%

male: 87.9%

female: 63% (1995 est.)

Libya Government

Country name: conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

conventional short form: Libya

local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma

local short form: none

Government type: Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory, governed by the populace through local councils; in fact, a military dictatorship

Capital: Tripoli

Administrative divisions: 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions

Independence: 24 December 1951 (from Italy)

National holiday: Revolution Day, 1 September (1969)

Constitution: 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977

Legal system: based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch: chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state

head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000)

cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress

elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA)

election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA%

Legislative branch: unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: none

Political pressure groups and leaders: various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements

International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US: Libya does not have an embassy in the US

Diplomatic representation from the US: the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980

Flag description: plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion)

Libya Economy

Economy - overview: The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. In this statist society, import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food requirements. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. Following the suspension of UN sanctions in 1999, Libya has been trying to increase its attractiveness to foreign investors, and several foreign companies have visited in search of contracts.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $45.4 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 6.5% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 7%

industry: 47%

services: 46% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 18.5% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 1.5 million (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: services and government 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate: 30% (2000 est.)

Budget: revenues: $6.85 billion

expenditures: $4.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries: petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 18.9 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100%

hydro: 0%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 17.577 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle

Exports: $13.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: crude oil, refined petroleum products

Exports - partners: Italy 33%, Germany 24%, Spain 10%, France 5%, Turkey 4%, Tunisia 4% (1999)

Imports: $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods

Imports - partners: Italy 24%, Germany 12%, Tunisia 9%, UK 7%, France 6%, South Korea 5% (1999)

Debt - external: $4.1 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $8.4 million (1995)

Currency: Libyan dinar (LYD)

Currency code: LYD

Exchange rates: Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.5101 (January 2001), 0.5081 (2000), 0.4616 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997), 0.3651 (1996)

note: Libya currently has two rates for foreign trade; one for government operations and foreign companies and one for Libyan individuals (0.45 dinars per US dollar in December 1998)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Libya Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 380,000 (1996)

Telephones - mobile cellular: NA

Telephone system: general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996

domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations

international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 4, shortwave 3 (1998)

Radios: 1.35 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1998)

Televisions: 730,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .ly

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)

Internet users: 7,500 (2000)

Libya Transportation

Railways: note: Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (1001)

Highways: total: 24,484 km

paved: 6,800 km

unpaved: 17,684 km (1996)

Waterways: none

Pipelines: crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km

Ports and harbors: Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah

Merchant marine: total: 28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 399,725 GRT/654,843 DWT

ships by type: cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 (2000 est.)

Airports: 136 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 58

over 3,047 m: 23

2,438 to 3,047 m: 6

1,524 to 2,437 m: 22

914 to 1,523 m: 5

under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 78

over 3,047 m: 4

2,438 to 3,047 m: 2

1,524 to 2,437 m: 14

914 to 1,523 m: 40

under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.)

Libya Military

Military branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Command

Military manpower - military age: 17 years of age

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,459,400 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 866,012 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 61,694 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1.3 billion (FY99/00)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.9% (FY99/00)

Libya Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger and also a part of southeastern Algeria

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@Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein Introduction

Background: The Principality of Liechtenstein was established within the Holy Roman Empire in 1719; it became a sovereign state in 1806. Until the end of World War I, it was closely tied to Austria, but the economic devastation caused by that conflict forced Liechtenstein to conclude a customs and monetary union with Switzerland. Since World War II (in which Liechtenstein remained neutral) the country's low taxes have spurred outstanding economic growth. However, shortcomings in banking regulatory oversight have resulted in concerns about the use of the financial institutions for money laundering.

Liechtenstein Geography

Location: Central Europe, between Austria and Switzerland

Geographic coordinates: 47 10 N, 9 32 E

Map references: Europe

Area: total: 160 sq km

land: 160 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: total: 76 km

border countries: Austria 35 km, Switzerland 41 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: continental; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow or rain; cool to moderately warm, cloudy, humid summers

Terrain: mostly mountainous (Alps) with Rhine Valley in western third

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Ruggeller Riet 430 m

highest point: Grauspitz 2,599 m

Natural resources: hydroelectric potential, arable land

Land use: arable land: 24%

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 16%

forests and woodland: 35%

other: 25% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: NA

Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea

Geography - note: along with Uzbekistan, one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world; variety of microclimatic variations based on elevation

Liechtenstein People

Population: 32,528 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 18.41% (male 2,992; female 2,996)

15-64 years: 70.6% (male 11,455; female 11,511)

65 years and over: 10.99% (male 1,439; female 2,135) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.98% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 11.53 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 4.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.95 years

male: 75.32 years

female: 82.6 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Liechtensteiner(s)

adjective: Liechtenstein

Ethnic groups: Alemannic 87.5%, Italian, Turkish, and other 12.5%

Religions: Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 7.4%, unknown 7.7%, other 4.9% (1996)

Languages: German (official), Alemannic dialect

Literacy: definition: age 10 and over can read and write

total population: 100%

male: 100%

female: 100% (1981 est.)

Liechtenstein Government

Country name: conventional long form: Principality of Liechtenstein

conventional short form: Liechtenstein

local long form: Fuerstentum Liechtenstein

local short form: Liechtenstein

Government type: hereditary constitutional monarchy

Capital: Vaduz

Administrative divisions: 11 communes (gemeinden, singular - gemeinde); Balzers, Eschen, Gamprin, Mauren, Planken, Ruggell, Schaan, Schellenberg, Triesen, Triesenberg, Vaduz

Independence: 23 January 1719 Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein established; 12 July 1806 established independence from the Holy Roman Empire

National holiday: Assumption Day, 15 August

Constitution: 5 October 1921

Legal system: local civil and penal codes; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: Prince HANS ADAM II (since 13 November 1989, assumed executive powers 26 August 1984); Heir Apparent Prince ALOIS, son of the monarch (born 11 June 1968)

head of government: Head of Government Mario FRICK (since 15 December 1993) and Deputy Head of Government Michael RITTER (since 2 February 1997)

cabinet: Cabinet elected by the Diet; confirmed by the monarch

elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the Diet is usually appointed the head of government by the monarch and the leader of the largest minority party in the Diet is usually appointed the deputy head of government by the monarch

Legislative branch: unicameral Diet or Landtag (25 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote under proportional representation to serve four-year terms)

elections: last held on 9-11 February 2001 (next to be held by NA 2005)

election results: percent of vote by party - FBP 49.90%, VU 41.35%, FL 8.71%; seats by party - FBP 13, VU 11, FL 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Superior Court or Obergericht

Political parties and leaders: Fatherland Union or VU [Dr. Oswald KRANZ]; Progressive Citizens' Party or FBP [Dr. Ernst WALCH]; The Free List or FL [Dr. Pepo FRICK, Karin JENNY, Rene HASLER]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: CE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, IAEA, ICRM, IFRCS, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO (observer), WIPO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: Liechtenstein's Ambassador to the US, Claudia FRITSCHE, is dually accredited to the UN in New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy in Liechtenstein, but the US Ambassador to Switzerland is also accredited to Liechtenstein

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a gold crown on the hoist side of the blue band

Liechtenstein Economy

Economy - overview: Despite its small size and limited natural resources, Liechtenstein has developed into a prosperous, highly industrialized, free-enterprise economy with a vital financial service sector and living standards on a par with the urban areas of its large European neighbors. Low business taxes - the maximum tax rate is 18% - and easy incorporation rules have induced 73,700 holding or so-called letter box companies to establish nominal offices in Liechtenstein, providing 30% of state revenues. The country participates in a customs union with Switzerland and uses the Swiss franc as its national currency. It imports more than 90% of its energy requirements. Liechtenstein has been a member of the European Economic Area (an organization serving as a bridge between European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and EU) since May 1995. The government is working to harmonize its economic policies with those of an integrated Europe.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $730 million (1998 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: NA%

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $23,000 (1998 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): 0.5% (1997 est.)

Labor force: 22,891 of which 13,847 are foreigners; 8,231 commute from Austria and Switzerland to work each day

Labor force - by occupation: industry, trade, and building 45%, services 53%, agriculture, fishing, forestry, and horticulture 2% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate: 1.8% (February 1999)

Budget: revenues: $424.2 million

expenditures: $414.1 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.)

Industries: electronics, metal manufacturing, textiles, ceramics, pharmaceuticals, food products, precision instruments, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

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: wheat, barley, corn, potatoes; livestock, dairy products

Exports: $2.47 billion (1996)

Exports - commodities: small specialty machinery, dental products, stamps, hardware, pottery

Exports - partners: EU and EFTA countries 60.57% (Switzerland 15.7%) (1995)

Imports: $917.3 million (1996)

Imports - commodities: machinery, metal goods, textiles, foodstuffs, motor vehicles

Imports - partners: EU countries, Switzerland (1996)

Debt - external: $0 (1996)

Economic aid - recipient: none

Currency: Swiss franc (CHF)

Currency code: CHF

Exchange rates: Swiss francs per US dollar - 1.6303 (January 2001), 1.6888 (2000), 1.5022 (1999), 1.4498 (1998), 1.4513 (1997), 1.2360 (1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Liechtenstein Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 20,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: NA

Telephone system: general assessment: automatic telephone system

domestic: NA

international: linked to Swiss networks by cable and microwave radio relay

Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios: 21,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: NA (linked to Swiss networks) (1997)

Televisions: 12,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .li

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 44 (Liechtenstein and Switzerland) (2000)

Internet users: NA

Liechtenstein Transportation

Railways: total: 18.5 km; note - owned, operated, and included in statistics of Austrian Federal Railways

standard gauge: 18.5 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified)

Highways: total: 250 km

paved: 250 km

unpaved: 0 km

Waterways: none

Ports and harbors: none

Airports: none

Liechtenstein Military

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of Switzerland

Liechtenstein Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: Liechtenstein's royal family claims restitution for 1,600 sq km of land in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1918

Illicit drugs: multilateral organizations engaged in issuing international guidelines for financial sector oversight have found gaps in Liechtenstein's financial services controls that make it vulnerable to money laundering

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@Lithuania

Lithuania Introduction

Background: Independent between the two World Wars, Lithuania was annexed by the USSR in 1940. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence, but this proclamation was not generally recognized until September of 1991 (following the abortive coup in Moscow). The last Russian troops withdrew in 1993. Lithuania subsequently has restructured its economy for eventual integration into Western European institutions.

Lithuania Geography

Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia

Geographic coordinates: 56 00 N, 24 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area: total: 65,200 sq km

land: 65,200 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries: total: 1,273 km

border countries: Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km

Coastline: 99 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers

Terrain: lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m

highest point: Juozapines/Kalnas 292 m

Natural resources: peat, arable land

Land use: arable land: 39%

permanent crops: 9%

permanent pastures: 6%

forests and woodland: 31%

other: 15% (2001 est.)

Irrigated land: 430 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Lithuania People

Population: 3,610,535 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 18.75% (male 345,694; female 331,125)

15-64 years: 67.69% (male 1,181,119; female 1,262,872)

65 years and over: 13.56% (male 165,732; female 323,993) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.27% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 10 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 12.86 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.51 male(s)/female

total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 14.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69.25 years

male: 63.3 years

female: 75.5 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.37 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.02% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: less than 500 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Lithuanian(s)

adjective: Lithuanian

Ethnic groups: Lithuanian 80.6%, Russian 8.7%, Polish 7%, Byelorussian 1.6%, other 2.1%

Religions: Roman Catholic (primarily), Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Protestant, Evangelical Christian Baptist, Muslim, Jewish

Languages: Lithuanian (official), Polish, Russian

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 98%

male: 99%

female: 98% (1989 est.)

Lithuania Government

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Lithuania

conventional short form: Lithuania

local long form: Lietuvos Respublika

local short form: Lietuva

former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic

Government type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Vilnius

Administrative divisions: 44 regions (rajonai, singular - rajonas) and 11 municipalities*: Akmenes Rajonas, Alytaus Rajonas, Alytus*, Anyksciu Rajonas, Birstonas*, Birzu Rajonas, Druskininkai*, Ignalinos Rajonas, Jonavos Rajonas, Joniskio Rajonas, Jurbarko Rajonas, Kaisiadoriu Rajonas, Kaunas*, Kauno Rajonas, Kedainiu Rajonas, Kelmes Rajonas, Klaipeda*, Klaipedos Rajonas, Kretingos Rajonas, Kupiskio Rajonas, Lazdiju Rajonas, Marijampole*, Marijampoles Rajonas, Mazeikiu Rajonas, Moletu Rajonas, Neringa* Pakruojo Rajonas, Palanga*, Panevezio Rajonas, Panevezys*, Pasvalio Rajonas, Plunges Rajonas, Prienu Rajonas, Radviliskio Rajonas, Raseiniu Rajonas, Rokiskio Rajonas, Sakiu Rajonas, Salcininku Rajonas, Siauliai*, Siauliu Rajonas, Silales Rajonas, Silutes Rajonas, Sirvintu Rajonas, Skuodo Rajonas, Svencioniu Rajonas, Taurages Rajonas, Telsiu Rajonas, Traku Rajonas, Ukmerges Rajonas, Utenos Rajonas, Varenos Rajonas, Vilkaviskio Rajonas, Vilniaus Rajonas, Vilnius*, Zarasu Rajonas

Independence: 11 March 1990 (independence declared from Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (Soviet Union recognizes Lithuania's independence)

National holiday: Independence Day, 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 is the date of independence from German, Austrian, Prussian, and Russian occupation, 11 March 1990 is the date of independence from the Soviet Union

Constitution: adopted 25 October 1992

Legal system: based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Valdas ADAMKUS (since 26 February 1998)

head of government: Premier Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS (since 3 July 2001)

cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the premier

elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 December 1997 and 4 January 1998 (next to be held NA 2002); premier appointed by the president on the approval of the Parliament

election results: Valdas ADAMKUS elected president; percent of vote - Valdas ADAMKUS 50.4%, Arturas PAULAUSKAS 49.6%

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament or Seimas (141 seats, 71 members are directly elected by popular vote, 70 are elected by proportional representation; members serve four-year terms)

elections: last held 8 October 2000 (next to be held NA October 2004)

election results: percent of vote by party - Social Democratic Coalition 31.1%, New Union/Social Liberals 19.6%, Liberal Union 17.2%, TS 8.6%, remaining parties all less than 5%; seats by party - Social Democratic Coalition 52, Liberal Union 34, New Union/Social Liberals 29, TS 9, Farmer's Party 4, Center Union 2, Poles' Electoral Action 2, Modern Christian Democratic Union 1, independents 3, others 5

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts appointed by the Parliament

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party or LKDP [Zigmas ZINKEVICIUS, chairman]; Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles [Valdemar TOMASZEVSKI, chairman]; Homeland Union/Conservative Party or TS [Vytautas LANDSBERGIS, chairman]; Lithuanian Center Union or LCS [Kestutis GLAVECKAS, chairman]; Lithuanian Farmer's Party or LUP [Ramunas KARBAUSKIS, chairman]; Lithuanian Liberal Union [Rolandas PAKSAS, chairman]; Lithuanian Social Democratic Coalition [Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS, chairman] consists of the Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party or LDDP, the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party or LSPD, and New Democracy; Modern Christian Democratic Union [Vytautas BOGUSIS, chairman]; New Union-Social Liberals [Arturas PAULAUSKAS, chairman]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACCT (observer), BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Vygaudas USACKAS

chancery: 2622 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone: [1] (202) 234-5860

FAX: [1] (202) 328-0466

consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador John F. TEFFT

embassy: Akmenu 6, 2600 Vilnius

mailing address: American Embassy, Vilnius, PSC 78, Box V, APO AE 09723

telephone: [370] (2) 223-031

FAX: [370] (2) 227-236

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

Lithuania Economy

Economy - overview: Lithuania, the Baltic state that has conducted the most trade with Russia, has been slowly rebounding from the 1998 Russian financial crisis. High unemployment and weak consumption have held back recovery. GDP growth for 2000 - estimated at 2.9% - fell behind that of Estonia and Latvia, and unemployment is estimated at 10.8%, the country's highest since regaining independence in 1990. For 2001, Lithuanians forecast 3.2% growth, 1.8% inflation, and a fiscal deficit of 3.3%. In early 2001, the Lithuanian Government announced that it will repeg its currency, the litas, to the euro (the litas is currently pegged to the dollar) some time in 2002. Lithuania must ratify 25 agreements along with other legal documents and obligations by 1 May 2001 before gaining World Trade Organization membership. Lithuania was invited to the Helsinki summit in December 1999 and began EU accession talks in early 2000. Privatization of the large, state-owned utilities, particularly in the energy sector, remains a key challenge for 2001.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $26.4 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 2.9% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $7,300 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10%

industry: 33%

services: 57% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.1%

highest 10%: 25.6% (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 2 million (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate: 10.8% (2000)

Budget: revenues: $1.5 billion

expenditures: $1.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)

Industries: metal-cutting machine tools, electric motors, television sets, refrigerators and freezers, petroleum refining, shipbuilding (small ships), furniture making, textiles, food processing, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment, electronic components, computers, amber

Industrial production growth rate: 2.3% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production: 13.567 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 23.89%

hydro: 3.43%

nuclear: 72.68%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 9.817 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 3.2 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 400 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish

Exports: $3.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment 22%, mineral products 15%, chemicals 12%, textiles and clothing, foodstuffs (1999)

Exports - partners: Germany 15.8%, Latvia 12.6%, Russia 6.9%, Belarus 5.8%, Denmark (1999)

Imports: $4.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment 18%, mineral products 16%, chemicals 10%, textiles and clothing 10%, transport equipment 7% (1999)

Imports - partners: Russia 20.4%, Germany 16.5%, Denmark 3.8%, Belarus 2.2%, Latvia 2% (1999)

Debt - external: $2.5 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $228.5 million (1995)

Currency: litas (LTL)

Currency code: LTL

Exchange rates: litai per US dollar - 4.000 (fixed rate since 1 May 1994); note - litai is the plural of litas

Fiscal year: calendar year

Lithuania Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 1.048 million (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 297,500 (November 1998)

Telephone system: general assessment: inadequate, but is being modernized to provide an improved international capability and better residential access

domestic: a national, fiber-optic cable, interurban, trunk system is nearing completion; rural exchanges are being improved and expanded; mobile cellular systems are being installed; access to the Internet is available; still many unsatisfied telephone subscriber applications

international: landline connections to Latvia and Poland; major international connections to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway by submarine cable for further transmission by satellite

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 112, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios: 1.9 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 20 (plus 30 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions: 1.7 million (1997)

Internet country code: .lt

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 14 (2000)

Internet users: 225,000 (2000)

Lithuania Transportation

Railways: total: 2,002 km

broad gauge: 2,002 km 1.524-m gauge (122 km electrified) (1994)

Highways: total: 44,000 km

paved: 35,500 km

unpaved: 8,500 km (2000)

Waterways: 600 km (perennially navigable)

Pipelines: crude oil, 105 km; natural gas 760 km (1992)

Ports and harbors: Butinge, Kaunas, Klaipeda

Merchant marine: total: 50 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 293,168 GRT/327,827 DWT

ships by type: cargo 26, combination bulk 10, petroleum tanker 2, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 3 (2000 est.)

Airports: 72 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 9

over 3,047 m: 2

1,524 to 2,437 m: 4

under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 63

1,524 to 2,437 m: 3

914 to 1,523 m: 5

under 914 m: 55 (2000 est.)

Lithuania Military

Military branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force, Security Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard (Skat)

Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 929,389 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 730,363 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 28,506 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $181 million (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.66% (FY00)

Lithuania Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: Latvia has not ratified a 1998 maritime boundary agreement with Lithuania (primary concern is oil exploration rights); 1997 border agreement with Russia not yet ratified by Russia

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from Southwest Asia, Latin America, and Western Europe to Western Europe and Scandinavia; limited production of methamphetamine and ecstasy

======================================================================

@Luxembourg

Luxembourg Introduction

Background: Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839, but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both World Wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union) and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area.

Luxembourg Geography

Location: Western Europe, between France and Germany

Geographic coordinates: 49 45 N, 6 10 E

Map references: Europe

Area: total: 2,586 sq km

land: 2,586 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Rhode Island

Land boundaries: total: 356 km

border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 135 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: modified continental with mild winters, cool summers

Terrain: mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Moselle River 133 m

highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 m

Natural resources: iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land

Land use: arable land: 24%

permanent crops: 1%

permanent pastures: 20%

forests and woodland: 35%

other: 20%

Irrigated land: 10 sq km (including Belgium) (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland

Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Environmental Modification

Geography - note: landlocked

Luxembourg People

Population: 442,972 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 18.91% (male 43,051; female 40,711)

15-64 years: 67.03% (male 149,781; female 147,165)

65 years and over: 14.06% (male 24,921; female 37,343) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.26% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 12.25 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 8.88 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 9.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female

total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.3 years

male: 74.02 years

female: 80.8 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.16% (1999 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Luxembourger(s)

adjective: Luxembourg

Ethnic groups: Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, Slavs (from Montenegro, Albania, and Kososvo) and European (guest and resident workers)

Religions: the greatest preponderance of the population is Roman Catholic with a very few Protestants, Jews, and Muslims

note: 1979 legislation forbids the collection of religious statistics

Languages: Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 100%

male: 100%

female: 100% (2000 est.)

Luxembourg Government

Country name: conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

conventional short form: Luxembourg

local long form: Grand Duche de Luxembourg

local short form: Luxembourg

Government type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Luxembourg

Administrative divisions: 3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg

Independence: 1839 (from the Netherlands)

National holiday: National Day (Birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte) 23 June

Constitution: 17 October 1868, occasional revisions

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch: chief of state: Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Heir Apparent Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch, born 11 November 1981);

head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Claude JUNCKER (since 1 January 1995) and Vice Prime Minister Lydie POLFER (since 7 August 1999)

cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch

elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and vice prime minister appointed by the monarch, following popular election to the Chamber of Deputies; they are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies

note: government coalition - CSV and DP

Legislative branch: unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections: last held 13 June 1999 (next to be held by NA June 2004)

election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 29.79%, DP 21.58%, LSAP 23.75%, ADR 10.36%, Green Party 9.09%, the Left 3.77%; seats by party - CSV 19, DP 15, LSAP 13, ADR 6, Green Party 5, the Left 2

note: the Council of State or Conseil d'Etat, which has 21 members who are appointed and dismissed by the Grand Duke based on proposals from the government, the Chamber of Deputies, or the Council of State, is an advisory body whose views are considered by the Chamber of Deputies

Judicial branch: judicial courts and tribunals (3 Justices of the Peace, 2 district courts, and 1 Supreme Court of Appeals); administrative courts and tribunals (State Prosecutor's Office, administrative courts and tribunals, and the Constitutional Court); judges for all courts are appointed for life by the monarch

Political parties and leaders: Action Committee for Democracy and Justice or ADR [Robert MEHLEN]; Christian Social People's Party or CSV (known also as Christian Social Party or PCS) [Erna HENNICOT-SCHOEPGES]; Democratic Party or DP [Lydie POLFER]; Green Party [Abbes JACOBY and Felix BRAS]; Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Jean ASSELBORN]; Marxist and Reformed Communist Party DEI LENK (the Left) [no formal leadership]; other minor parties

Political pressure groups and leaders: ABBL (bankers' association); ALEBA (financial sector trade union); Centrale Paysanne (federation of agricultural producers); CEP (professional sector chamber); CGFP (trade union representing civil service); Chambre de Commerce (Chamber of Commerce); Chambre des Metiers (Chamber of Artisans); FEDIL (federation of industrialists); LCGP (center-right trade union); OGBL (center-left trade union)

International organization participation: ACCT, Australia Group, Benelux, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Arlette CONZEMIUS

chancery: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 265-4171

FAX: [1] (202) 328-8270

consulate(s) general: New York and San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador James C. HORMEL

embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel-Servais, L-2535 Luxembourg City

mailing address: American Embassy Luxembourg, Unit 1410, APO AE 09126-1410 (official mail); American Embassy Luxembourg, PSC 9, Box 9500, APO AE 09123 (personal mail)

telephone: [352] 46 01 23

FAX: [352] 46 14 01

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and light blue; similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker blue and is shorter; design was based on the flag of France

Luxembourg Economy

Economy - overview: The stable, high-income economy features solid growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. The industrial sector, initially dominated by steel, has become increasingly diversified to include chemicals, rubber, and other products. Growth in the financial sector has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Services, especially banking, account for a substantial proportion of the economy. Agriculture is based on small family-owned farms. The economy depends on foreign and trans-border workers for 30% of its labor force. Luxembourg has a custom union with Belgium and the Netherlands, and, as a member of the EU, enjoys the advantages of the open European market. It joined with 10 other EU members to launch the euro on 1 January 1999.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $15.9 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5.7% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $36,400 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1%

industry: 30%

services: 69% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.8% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 248,000 (of whom 70,200 are foreign cross-border workers primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany) (2000)

Labor force - by occupation: services 83.2%, industry 14.3%, agriculture 2.5% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate: 2.7% (2000 est.)

Budget: revenues: $5.6 billion

expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries: banking, iron and steel, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum

Industrial production growth rate: 7.8% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production: 648 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 36.88%

hydro: 53.09%

nuclear: 0%

other: 10.03% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 6.149 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 655 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 6.201 billion kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits, wine grapes; livestock products

Exports: $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass

Exports - partners: EU 75% (Germany 25%, France 21%, Belgium 13%, UK 8%, Italy 6%, Netherlands 5%), US 4% (1999)

Imports: $10 billion (c.i.f., 2000)

Imports - commodities: minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods

Imports - partners: EU 81% (Belgium 35%, Germany 26%, France 12%, Netherlands 4%), US 9% (1999)

Debt - external: $NA

Economic aid - donor: ODA, $160 million (1999)

Currency: Luxembourg franc (LUF); euro (EUR)

note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Luxembourg at a fixed rate of 40.3399 Luxembourg francs per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002

Currency code: LUF; EUR

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Luxembourg francs per US dollar - 34.77 (January 1999), 36.299 (1998), 35.774 (1997), 30.962 (1996); note - the Luxembourg franc is at par with the Belgian franc, which circulates freely in Luxembourg

Fiscal year: calendar year

Luxembourg Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 314,700 (1999)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 215,741 (2000)

Telephone system: general assessment: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables

domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable

international: 3 channels leased on TAT-6 coaxial submarine cable (Europe to North America)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999)

Radios: 285,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 5 (1999)

Televisions: 285,000 (1998 est.)

Internet country code: .lu

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 8 (2000)

Internet users: 86,000 (1999)

Luxembourg Transportation

Railways: total: 274 km

standard gauge: 274 km 1.435-m gauge (242 km electrified; 178 km double track) (1998)

Highways: total: 5,166 km

paved: 5,166 km (including 118 km of expressways)

unpaved: 0 km (1999)

Waterways: 37 km (on the Moselle)

Pipelines: petroleum products 48 km

Ports and harbors: Mertert

Merchant marine: total: 50 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 988,450 GRT/1,313,498 DWT

ships by type: bulk 2, chemical tanker 11, container 2, liquefied gas 18, passenger 4, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 7

note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 4 (2000 est.)

Airports: 2 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 1

over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1

under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2000 est.)

Luxembourg Military

Military branches: Army; note - the government abolished the Gendarmerie

Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 112,714 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 92,817 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 2,565 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $131 million (FY98/99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1% (FY98/99)

Luxembourg Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

======================================================================

@Macau

Macau Introduction

Background: Colonized by the Portuguese in the 16th century, Macau was the first European settlement in the Far East. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and Portugal on 13 April 1987, Macau became the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 20 December 1999. China has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be practiced in Macau and that Macau will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs.

Macau Geography

Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

Geographic coordinates: 22 10 N, 113 33 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area: total: 21 sq km

land: 21 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: total: 0.34 km

border countries: China 0.34 km

Coastline: 40 km

Maritime claims: not specified

Climate: subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers

Terrain: generally flat

Elevation extremes: lowest point: South China Sea 0 m

highest point: Coloane Alto 174 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use: arable land: 0%

permanent crops: 2%

permanent pastures: 0%

forests and woodland: 0%

other: 98% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: typhoons

Environment - current issues: NA

Geography - note: essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland

Macau People

Population: 453,733 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 22.68% (male 53,291; female 49,615)

15-64 years: 70.08% (male 150,538; female 167,431)

65 years and over: 7.24% (male 13,287; female 19,571) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.79% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 12.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 3.71 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 9.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female

total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 81.69 years

male: 78.88 years

female: 84.64 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.31 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Chinese

adjective: Chinese

Ethnic groups: Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other

Religions: Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.)

Languages: Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 90%

male: 93%

female: 86% (1981 est.)

Macau Government

Country name: conventional long form: Macau Special Administrative Region

conventional short form: Macau

local long form: Aomen Tebie Xingzhengqu (Chinese); Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (Portuguese)

local short form: Aomen (Chinese); Macau (Portuguese)

Dependency status: special administrative region of China

Government type: NA

Administrative divisions: none (special administrative region of China)

Independence: none (special administrative region of China)

National holiday: National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949); note - 20 December 1999 is celebrated as Macau Special Administrative Region Establishment Day

Constitution: Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution"

Legal system: based on Portuguese civil law system

Suffrage: direct election 18 years of age, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past seven years; indirect election limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" (257 are currently registered) and a 300-member Election Committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies

Executive branch: chief of state: President of China JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993)

head of government: Chief Executive Edmund HO Hau-wah (since 20 December 1999)

cabinet: Executive Council consists of all five government secretaries, three legislators, and two businessmen

elections: NA

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (23 seats; 8 elected by popular vote, 8 by indirect vote, and 7 appointed by the chief executive; members serve four-year terms)

elections: last held 22 September 1996 (next to be held by 15 October 2001)

election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - APPEM 2, UNIPRO 2, CODEM 1, UDM 1, UPD 1, ANMD 1

Judicial branch: The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region

Political parties and leaders: the following is a listing of those associations that participated in the last legislative elections: Associacao de Novo Macau Democratico or ANMD [leader NA]; Associacao Promotora para a Economia de Macau or APPEM [leader NA]; Convergencia para o Desenvolvimento or CODEM [leader NA]; Uniao Geral para o Desenvolvimento de Macau or UDM [leader NA]; Uniao para o Desenvolvimento or UPD [leader NA]; Uniao Promotora para o Progresso or UNIPRO [leader NA]

note: there are no formal political parties, but civic associations are used instead

Political pressure groups and leaders: Catholic Church [Domingos LAM, bishop]; Macau Society of Tourism and Entertainment or STDM [Stanley HO, managing director]; Union for Democracy Development [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong, leader]

International organization participation: CCC, ESCAP (associate), IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), UNESCO (associate), WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: none (special administrative region of China)

Diplomatic representation from the US: the US has no offices in Macau, and US interests are monitored by the US Consulate General in Hong Kong

Flag description: light green with a lotus flower above a stylized bridge and water in white, beneath an arc of five gold, five-pointed stars: one large in center of arc and four smaller