Introductory material (continued 8)

former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire

abbreviation: DROC

Government type: dictatorship; presumably undergoing a transition to representative government

Capital: Kinshasa

Administrative divisions: 10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and one city* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu

Independence: 30 June 1960 (from Belgium)

National holiday: Independence Day, 30 June (1960)

Constitution: 24 June 1967, amended August 1974, revised 15 February 1978, amended April 1990; transitional constitution promulgated in April 1994; in November 1998, a draft constitution was approved by former President Laurent KABILA but it has not been ratified by a national referendum

Legal system: based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch: chief of state: Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - the president succeeded his father Laurent Desire KABILA after his assassination on 16 January 2001; as president he is both chief of state and head of government

head of government: Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - the president succeeded his father Laurent Desire KABILA after his assassination on 16 January 2001; as president he is both chief of state and head of government

cabinet: National Executive Council, appointed by the president

elections: before Laurent Desire KABILA seized power, the president was elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 29 July 1984 (next was scheduled to be held in May 1997); formerly, the prime minister was elected by the High Council of the Republic; note - elections were not held in 1991 as called for by the constitution

election results: results of the last election were: MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga reelected president in 1984 without opposition

note: Marshal MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga was president from 24 November 1965 until forced into exile on 16 May 1997 when his government was overthrown militarily by Laurent Desire KABILA, who immediately assumed governing authority; KABILA pledged to hold elections by April 1999, but in December 1998 announced that elections would be postponed until all foreign military forces attempting to topple the government had withdrawn from the country; KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and was succeeded by his son Joseph KABILA

Legislative branch: a 300-member Transitional Constituent Assembly established in August 2000

elections: NA; members of the Transitional Constituent Assembly were appointed by former President KABILA

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Social Christian Party or PDSC [Andre BO-BOLIKO]; Popular Movement of the Revolution or MPR [leader NA]; Unified Lumumbast Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI wa Mulumba]; Union of Federalists and Independent Republicans or UFERI [Kouyoumba MUCHULI Mulembe]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Faida MITIFU

chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691

FAX: [1] (202) 234-2609

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador William Lacy SWING

embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa

mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828

telephone: [243] (12) 21804, 21807

FAX: [243] (88) 43805

Flag description: light blue with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center and a columnar arrangement of six small yellow five-pointed stars along the hoist side

Congo, Democratic Republic of the Economy

Economy - overview: The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The new government instituted a tight fiscal policy that initially curbed inflation and currency depreciation, but these small gains were quickly reversed when the foreign-backed rebellion in the eastern part of the country began in August 1998. The war has dramatically reduced national output and government revenue and has increased external debt. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict and because of increased government harassment and restrictions. The war has intensified the impact of such basic problems as an uncertain legal framework, corruption, raging inflation, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations. A number of IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan but associated reforms are on hold.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $31 billion (2000 est.)

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

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $600 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 58%

industry: 17%

services: 25% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 540% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 14.51 million (1993 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 65%, industry 16%, services 19% (1991 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues: $269 million

expenditures: $244 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 est.)

Industries: mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 5.268 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 2.05%

hydro: 97.95%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 4.55 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 404 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 55 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products

Exports: $960 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: diamonds, copper, coffee, cobalt, crude oil

Exports - partners: Benelux 62%, US 18%, South Africa, Finland, Italy (1999)

Imports: $660 million (c.i.f., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels

Imports - partners: South Africa 28%, Benelux 14%, Nigeria 9%, Kenya 7%, China (1999)

Debt - external: $13 billion (1998 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $195.3 million (1995)

Currency: Congolese franc (CDF)

Currency code: CDF

Exchange rates: Congolese francs per US dollar - 50 (January 2001), 4.5 (January 2000), 4.02 (1999), 1.61 (1998), 1.31 (1997), 0.50 (1996)

note: on 30 June 1998 the Congolese franc was introduced, replacing the new zaire

Fiscal year: calendar year

Congo, Democratic Republic of the Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 21,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 8,900 (1997)

Telephone system: general assessment: NA

domestic: barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations

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

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 12, shortwave 1 (1999)

Radios: 18.03 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 20 (1999)

Televisions: 6.478 million (1997)

Internet country code: .cd

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2000)

Internet users: 1,500 (1999)

Congo, Democratic Republic of the Transportation

Railways: total: 5,138 km (1995)

note: severely reduced route-distance in use because of damage to facilities by civil strife

narrow gauge: 3,987 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge; 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge (2000)

Highways: total: 157,000 km (including 30 km of expressways)(1996)

paved: NA km

unpaved: NA km

Waterways: 15,000 km (including the Congo and its tributaries, and unconnected lakes)

Pipelines: petroleum products 390 km

Ports and harbors: Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka

Merchant marine: none (2000 est.)

Airports: 232 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 24

over 3,047 m: 4

2,438 to 3,047 m: 3

1,524 to 2,437 m: 15

914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 208

1,524 to 2,437 m: 20

914 to 1,523 m: 96

under 914 m: 92 (2000 est.)

Congo, Democratic Republic of the Military

Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Presidential Security Group

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 11,615,554 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 5,915,251 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $250 million (FY97)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4.6% (FY97)

Congo, Democratic Republic of the Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: the Democratic Republic of the Congo is in the grip of a civil war that has drawn in military forces from neighboring states, with Uganda and Rwanda supporting the rebel movements that occupy much of the eastern portion of the state; most of the Congo river boundary with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area)

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption

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

@Congo, Republic of the

Congo, Republic of the Introduction

Background: Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government installed in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President SASSOU-NGUESSO.

Congo, Republic of the Geography

Location: Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon

Geographic coordinates: 1 00 S, 15 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 342,000 sq km

land: 341,500 sq km

water: 500 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries: total: 5,504 km

border countries: Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Gabon 1,903 km

Coastline: 169 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 200 NM

Climate: tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator

Terrain: coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m

Natural resources: petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 0%

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 29%

forests and woodland: 62%

other: 9% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: seasonal flooding

Environment - current issues: air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note: about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them

Congo, Republic of the People

Population: 2,894,336

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: 42.43% (male 618,411; female 609,633)

15-64 years: 54.23% (male 765,501; female 804,125)

65 years and over: 3.34% (male 38,772; female 57,894) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.2% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 38.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 16.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 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: 0.95 male(s)/female

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

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

Infant mortality rate: 99.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 47.57 years

male: 44.38 years

female: 50.85 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 6.43% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 86,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 8,600 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Congolese (singular and plural)

adjective: Congolese or Congo

Ethnic groups: Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans NA%; note - Europeans estimated at 8,500, mostly French, before the 1997 civil war; may be half that of 1998, following the widespread destruction of foreign businesses in 1997

Religions: Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%

Languages: French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users)

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

total population: 74.9%

male: 83.1%

female: 67.2% (1995 est.)

Congo, Republic of the Government

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of the Congo

conventional short form: none

local long form: Republique du Congo

local short form: none

former: Middle Congo, Congo/Brazzaville, Congo

Government type: republic

Capital: Brazzaville

Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha

Independence: 15 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 August (1960)

Constitution: Draft constitution approved by transitional parliament in September 2000

Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 August 1992 (next was to be held 27 July 1997 but will be delayed for several years pending the drafting of a new constitution)

election results: Pascal LISSOUBA elected president in 1992; percent of vote - Pascal LISSOUBA 61.3%, Bernard KOLELAS 38.7%; note - LISSOUBA was deposed in 1997, replaced by Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO

Legislative branch: unicameral National Transitional Council (75 seats, members elected by reconciliation forum of 1,420 delegates on NA January 1998); note - the National Transitional Council replaced the bicameral Parliament

elections: National Transitional Council - last held NA January 1998 (next to be held NA 2001); note - at that election the National Transitional Council is to be replaced by a bicameral assembly

election results: National Transitional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme

Political parties and leaders: the most important of the many parties are the Democratic and Patriotic Forces or FDP (an alliance of Convention for Alternative Democracy, Congolese Labor Party or PCT, Liberal Republican Party, National Union for Democracy and Progress, Patriotic Union for the National Reconstruction, and Union for the National Renewal) [Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, president]; Association for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president]; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin MBERI]; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC; General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC; Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC; Union of Congolese Socialist Youth or UJSC

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Serge MOMBOULI

chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011

telephone: [1] (202) 726-5500

FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador David H. KAEUPER

embassy: NA

mailing address: NA

telephone: [243] (88) 43608

FAX: [243] (88) 41036

note: the embassy is temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (US Embassy Kinshasa, 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa)

Flag description: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

Congo, Republic of the Economy

Economy - overview: The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. Moreover, the government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings, contributing to the government's shortage of revenues. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 61% in 1994, but inflation has subsided since. Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. The reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, who returned to power when the war ended in October 1997, publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. However, economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the Republic of the Congo's budget deficit. Even with the IMF's renewed confidence and high world oil prices, Congo is unlikely to realize growth of more than 5% in 2001-02. With the return to fragile peace, the IMF approved a $14 million credit in November 2000 to aid post-conflict reconstruction.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.8% (2000 est.)

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

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10%

industry: 48%

services: 42% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.5% (2000 est.)

Labor force: NA

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues: $870 million

expenditures: $970 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)

Industries: petroleum extraction, cement kilning, lumbering, brewing, sugar milling, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarette making

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 302 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 0.66%

hydro: 99.34%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 406.9 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 126 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products

Exports: $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities: petroleum 50%, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds

Exports - partners: US 23%, Benelux 14%, Germany, Italy, Taiwan, China (1998)

Imports: $870 million (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports - commodities: petroleum products, capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs

Imports - partners: France 23%, US 9%, Belgium 8%, UK 7%, Italy (1997 est.)

Debt - external: $5 billion (1999 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $159.1 million (1995)

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

Currency code: XAF

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro

Fiscal year: calendar year

Congo, Republic of the Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 22,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 1,000 (1996)

Telephone system: general assessment: services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out-of-order

domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable

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

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999)

Radios: 341,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1999)

Televisions: 33,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .cg

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)

Internet users: 500 (2000)

Congo, Republic of the Transportation

Railways: total: 894 km

narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2000)

Highways: total: 12,800 km

paved: 1,242 km

unpaved: 11,558 km (1996)

Waterways: 1,120 km

note: the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) rivers provide 1,120 km of commercially navigable water transport; other rivers are used for local traffic only

Pipelines: crude oil 25 km

Ports and harbors: Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire

Airports: 33 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 4

over 3,047 m: 1

1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 29

1,524 to 2,437 m: 7

914 to 1,523 m: 12

under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.)

Congo, Republic of the Military

Military branches: Army, Air Force, Navy, Gendarmerie

Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 684,922 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 347,946 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 32,350 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $110 million (FY93)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.8% (FY93)

Congo, Republic of the Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: most of the Congo river boundary with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Stanley Pool/Pool Malebo area)

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

@Cook Islands

Cook Islands Introduction

Background: Named after Captain Cook, who sighted them in 1770, the islands became a British protectorate in 1888. By 1900, administrative control was transferred to New Zealand; in 1965 residents chose self-government in free association with New Zealand. The emigration of skilled workers to New Zealand and government deficits are continuing problems.

Cook Islands Geography

Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand

Geographic coordinates: 21 14 S, 159 46 W

Map references: Oceania

Area: total: 240 sq km

land: 240 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: 1.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 120 km

Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds

Terrain: low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

highest point: Te Manga 652 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use: arable land: 9%

permanent crops: 13%

permanent pastures: 0%

forests and woodland: 0%

other: 78% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: typhoons (November to March)

Environment - current issues: NA

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Cook Islands People

Population: 20,611 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: NA%

15-64 years: NA%

65 years and over: NA%

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Cook Islander(s)

adjective: Cook Islander

Ethnic groups: Polynesian (full blood) 81.3%, Polynesian and European 7.7%, Polynesian and non-European 7.7%, European 2.4%, other 0.9%

Religions: Christian (majority of populace are members of the Cook Islands Christian Church)

Languages: English (official), Maori

Literacy: definition: NA

total population: 95%

male: NA%

female: NA%

Cook Islands Government

Country name: conventional long form: none

conventional short form: Cook Islands

former: Harvey Islands

Dependency status: self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Cook Islands is fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs, in consultation with the Cook Islands

Government type: self-governing parliamentary democracy

Capital: Avarua

Administrative divisions: none

Independence: none (became self-governing in free association with New Zealand on 4 August 1965 and has the right at any time to move to full independence by unilateral action)

National holiday: Constitution Day, first Monday in August (1965)

Constitution: 4 August 1965

Legal system: based on New Zealand law and English common law

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult

Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Apenera SHORT (since NA); New Zealand High Commissioner Jon JONESSEN (since NA January 1998), representative of New Zealand

head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Terepai MAOATE (since 18 November 1999); Deputy Prime Minister Norman GEORGE (since NA)

cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister; collectively responsible to Parliament

elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the UK representative is appointed by the monarch; the New Zealand high commissioner is appointed by the New Zealand Government; following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats usually becomes prime minister

note: ten years of rule by the Cook Islands Party (CIP) came to an end 18 November 1999 with the resignation of Prime Minister Joe WILLIAMS; WILLIAMS had led a minority government since October 1999 when the New Alliance Party (NAP) left the government coalition and joined the main opposition Democratic Alliance Party (DAP); on 18 November 1999, DAP leader Dr. Terepai MAOATE was sworn in as prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (25 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

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

election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CIP 12, DAP 12, NAP 1

note: the House of Ariki (chiefs) advises on traditional matters, but has no legislative powers

Judicial branch: High Court

Political parties and leaders: Cook Islands People's Party or CIP [Tai CARPENTER]; Democratic Alliance Party or DAP [Terepai MAOATE]; New Alliance Party or NAP [Norman GEORGE]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, ESCAP (associate), FAO, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US: none (self-governing in free association with New Zealand)

Diplomatic representation from the US: none (self-governing in free association with New Zealand)

Flag description: blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large circle of 15 white five-pointed stars (one for every island) centered in the outer half of the flag

Cook Islands Economy

Economy - overview: Like many other South Pacific island nations, the Cook Islands' economic development is hindered by the isolation of the country from foreign markets, the limited size of domestic markets, lack of natural resources, periodic devastation from natural disasters, and inadequate infrastructure. Agriculture provides the economic base with major exports made up of copra and citrus fruit. Manufacturing activities are limited to fruit processing, clothing, and handicrafts. Trade deficits are made up for by remittances from emigrants and by foreign aid, overwhelmingly from New Zealand. In the 1980s and 1990s, the country lived beyond its means, maintaining a bloated public service and accumulating a large foreign debt. Subsequent reforms, including the sale of state assets, the strengthening of economic management, the encouragement of tourism, and a debt restructuring agreement, have rekindled investment and growth.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $100 million (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: NA%

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,000 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 18%

industry: 9%

services: 73% (1995)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.6% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 6,601 (1993)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 29%, industry 15%, services 56% (1995) note - shortage of skilled labor

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues: $25 million

expenditures: $23 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 99/00)

Industries: fruit processing, tourism, fishing

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 21 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100%

hydro: 0%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 19.5 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: copra, citrus, pineapples, tomatoes, beans, pawpaws, bananas, yams, taro, coffee; pigs, poultry

Exports: $3 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Exports - commodities: copra, papayas, fresh and canned citrus fruit, coffee; fish; pearls and pearl shells; clothing

Exports - partners: Japan 42%, New Zealand 25%, US 9%, Australia 9% (1999)

Imports: $85 million (c.i.f., 1994)

Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, textiles, fuels, timber, capital goods

Imports - partners: NZ 70%, Australia 8% (1999)

Debt - external: $141 million (1996 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $13.1 million (1995); note - New Zealand continues to furnish the greater part

Currency: New Zealand dollar (NZD)

Currency code: NZD

Exchange rates: New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.2502 (January 2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8632 (1998), 1.5083 (1997), 1.4543 (1996)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Cook Islands Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 5,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 0 (1994)

Telephone system: general assessment: NA

domestic: the individual islands are connected by a combination of satellite earth stations, microwave systems, and VHF and HF radiotelephone; within the islands, service is provided by small exchanges connected to subscribers by open wire, cable, and fiber-optic cable

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

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios: 14,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 2 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997)

Televisions: 4,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .ck

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (2000)

Internet users: NA

Cook Islands Transportation

Railways: 0 km

Highways: total: 320 km (1992)

paved: NA

unpaved: NA

Waterways: none

Ports and harbors: Avarua, Avatiu

Merchant marine: total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,310 GRT/2,181 DWT

ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.)

Airports: 7 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 1

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

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 6

1,524 to 2,437 m: 3

914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2000 est.)

Cook Islands Military

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of New Zealand, in consultation with the Cook Islands and at its request

Cook Islands Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

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

@Coral Sea Islands

Coral Sea Islands Introduction

Background: Scattered over some 1 million square kilometers of ocean, the Coral Sea Islands were declared a territory of Australia in 1969. They are uninhabited except for a small meteorological staff on Willis Island. Automated weather stations, beacons, and a lighthouse occupy many other islands and reefs.

Coral Sea Islands Geography

Location: Oceania, islands in the Coral Sea, northeast of Australia

Geographic coordinates: 18 00 S, 152 00 E

Map references: Oceania

Area: total: less than 3 sq km

land: less than 3 sq km

water: 0 sq km

note: includes numerous small islands and reefs scattered over a sea area of about 1 million sq km, with the Willis Islets the most important

Area - comparative: NA

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 3,095 km

Maritime claims: exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 3 NM

Climate: tropical

Terrain: sand and coral reefs and islands (or cays)

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

highest point: unnamed location on Cato Island 6 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use: arable land: 0%

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 0%

forests and woodland: 0%

other: 100% (mostly grass or scrub cover)

Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)

Natural hazards: occasional tropical cyclones

Environment - current issues: no permanent fresh water resources

Geography - note: important nesting area for birds and turtles

Coral Sea Islands People

Population: no indigenous inhabitants

note: there is a staff of three to four at the meteorological station (July 2001 est.)

Coral Sea Islands Government

Country name: conventional long form: Coral Sea Islands Territory

conventional short form: Coral Sea Islands

Dependency status: territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Department of the Environment, Sport, and Territories

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

Executive branch: administered from Canberra by the Department of the Environment, Sport, and Territories

Diplomatic representation in the US: none (territory of Australia)

Diplomatic representation from the US: none (territory of Australia)

Flag description: the flag of Australia is used

Coral Sea Islands Economy

Economy - overview: no economic activity

Coral Sea Islands Communications

Communications - note: there are automatic weather stations on many of the isles and reefs relaying data to the mainland

Coral Sea Islands Transportation

Waterways: none

Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only

Coral Sea Islands Military

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; visited regularly by the Royal Australian Navy; Australia has control over the activities of visitors

Coral Sea Islands Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

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

@Costa Rica

Costa Rica Introduction

Background: Costa Rica is a Central American success story: since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred its democratic development. Although still a largely agricultural country, it has achieved a relatively high standard of living. Land ownership is widespread. Tourism is a rapidly expanding industry.

Costa Rica Geography

Location: Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama

Geographic coordinates: 10 00 N, 84 00 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area: total: 51,100 sq km

land: 50,660 sq km

water: 440 sq km

note: includes Isla del Coco

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries: total: 639 km

border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km

Coastline: 1,290 km

Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands

Terrain: coastal plains separated by rugged mountains

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m

Natural resources: hydropower

Land use: arable land: 6%

permanent crops: 5%

permanent pastures: 46%

forests and woodland: 31%

other: 12% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,200 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes

Environment - current issues: deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; water pollution (rivers); coastal marine pollution; wetlands degradation; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation

Costa Rica People

Population: 3,773,057 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 31.38% (male 605,728; female 578,128)

15-64 years: 63.37% (male 1,209,084; female 1,181,754)

65 years and over: 5.25% (male 92,314; female 106,049) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.65% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 20.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 4.3 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

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

under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

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

65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female

total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 11.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.02 years

male: 73.49 years

female: 78.68 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.47 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.54% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 12,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 750 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Costa Rican(s)

adjective: Costa Rican

Ethnic groups: white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, other Protestant 0.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%

Languages: Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon

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

total population: 94.8%

male: 94.7%

female: 95% (1995 est.)

Costa Rica Government

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica

conventional short form: Costa Rica

local long form: Republica de Costa Rica

local short form: Costa Rica

Government type: democratic republic

Capital: San Jose

Administrative divisions: 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose

Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution: 7 November 1949

Legal system: based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch: chief of state: President Miguel Angel RODRIGUEZ (since 8 May 1998); First Vice President Astrid FISCHEL Volio (since 8 May 1998), Second Vice President Elizabeth ODIO Benito (since 8 May 1998); note - president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government: President Miguel Angel RODRIGUEZ (since 8 May 1998); First Vice President Astrid FISCHEL Volio (since 8 May 1998), Second Vice President Elizabeth ODIO Benito (since 8 May 1998); note - president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president

elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 1 February 1998 (next to be held 3 February 2002)

election results: Miguel Angel RODRIGUEZ elected president; percent of vote - Miguel Angel RODRIGUEZ (PUSC) 46.6%, Jose Miguel CORRALES (PLN) 44.6%

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (57 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections: last held 1 February 1998 (next to be held 3 February 2002)

election results: percent of vote by party - PUSC 41%, PLN 35%, minority parties 24%; seats by party - PUSC 27, PLN 23, minority parties 7

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly)

Political parties and leaders: Agricultural Labor Action or PALA [Carlos Alberto SOLIS Blanco]; Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Justo OROZCO]; Democratic Force Party or PFD [Jose M. NUNEZ]; Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth]; National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Alejandro MADRIGAL]; National Independent Party or PNI [Jorge GONZALEZ Marten]; National Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes]; National Liberation Party or PLN [Sonia PICADO]; Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Luis Manuel CHACON]

note: mainly a two-party system - PUSC and PLN; numerous small parties share less than 25% of population's support

Political pressure groups and leaders: Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers or CATD (Communist Party affiliate); Chamber of Coffee Growers; Confederated Union of Workers or CUT (Communist Party affiliate); Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers or CCTD (Liberation Party affiliate); Federation of Public Service Workers or FTSP; National Association for Economic Development or ANFE; National Association of Educators or ANDE; Rerum Novarum or CTRN (PLN affiliate) [Gilbert Brown]

International organization participation: BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime DAREMBLUM Rosenstein

chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 234-2945

FAX: [1] (202) 265-4795

consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Paul, and Tampa

consulate(s): Austin

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas J. DODD

embassy: Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose

mailing address: APO AA 34020

telephone: [506] 220-3939

FAX: [506] 220-2305

Flag description: five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white disk on the hoist side of the red band

Costa Rica Economy

Economy - overview: Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports. Poverty has been substantially reduced over the past 15 years, and a strong social safety net has been put into place. Foreign investors remain attracted by the country's political stability and high education levels, and tourism continues to bring in foreign exchange. However, traditional export sectors have not kept pace. Low coffee prices and an overabundance of bananas have hurt the agricultural sector. The government continues to grapple with its large deficit and massive internal debt and with the need to modernize the state-owned electricity and telecommunications sector.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $25 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 12.5%

industry: 30.7%

services: 56.8% (1999)

Population below poverty line: 20.6% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.3%

highest 10%: 34.7% (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 1.9 million (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 5.2% (2000 est.)

Budget: revenues: $1.95 billion

expenditures: $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries: microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products

Industrial production growth rate: 4.3% (2000)

Electricity - production: 5.805 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 2.41%

hydro: 83.32%

nuclear: 0%

other: 14.27% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 5.303 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 165 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 69 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber

Exports: $6.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment

Exports - partners: US 54.1%, EU 21.3%, Central America 8.6% (1999)

Imports: $5.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum

Imports - partners: US 56.4%, EU 9%, Mexico 5.4%, Japan 4.7%, (1999)

Debt - external: $4.2 billion (2000 est.)

Currency: Costa Rican colon (CRC)

Currency code: CRC

Exchange rates: Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 318.95 (2001), 308.19 (2000), 285.68 (1999), 257.23 (1998), 232.60 (1997), 207.69 (1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Costa Rica Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 450,000 (1998)

note: 584,000 installed in 1997, but only about 450,000 were in use 1998

Telephones - mobile cellular: 143,000 (2000)

Telephone system: general assessment: very good domestic telephone service

domestic: point-to-point and point-to-multi-point microwave, fiber-optic, and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is available

international: connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); two submarine cables (1999)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 50, FM 43, shortwave 19 (1998)

Radios: 980,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 6 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997)

Televisions: 525,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .cr

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (of which only one is legal) (2000)

Internet users: 150,000 (2000)

Costa Rica Transportation

Railways: total: 950 km

narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) (2000)

Highways: total: 37,273 km

paved: 7,827 km

unpaved: 29,446 km (1998 est.)

Waterways: 730 km (seasonally navigable)

Pipelines: petroleum products 176 km

Ports and harbors: Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas

Merchant marine: total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,716 GRT/NA DWT

ships by type: passenger 1 (2000 est.)

Airports: 152 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 29

2,438 to 3,047 m: 2

1,524 to 2,437 m: 1

914 to 1,523 m: 19

under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 123

914 to 1,523 m: 28

under 914 m: 95 (2000 est.)

Costa Rica Military

Military branches: Coast Guard, Air Section, Ministry of Public Security Force (Fuerza Publica)

note: Costa Rica has no military, only domestic police forces, including the Coast Guard and Air Section

Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,035,090 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 692,973 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 39,411 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $69 million (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.6% (FY99)

Costa Rica Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua

Illicit drugs: transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots; domestic cocaine consumption is rising, particularly crack cocaine; those who previously only trafficked are now becoming users

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

@Cote d'Ivoire

Cote d'Ivoire Introduction

Background: Close ties to France since independence in 1960, the development of cocoa production for export, and foreign investment made Cote d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the tropical African states. Falling cocoa prices and political turmoil, however, sparked an economic downturn in 1999 and 2000. On 25 December 1999, a military coup - the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history - overthrew the government led by President Henri Konan BEDIE. Presidential and legislative elections held in October and December 2000 provoked violence due to the exclusion of opposition leader Alassane OUATTARA. In October 2000, Laurent GBAGBO replaced junta leader Robert GUEI as president, ending 10 months of military rule.

Cote d'Ivoire Geography

Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 5 00 W

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 322,460 sq km

land: 318,000 sq km

water: 4,460 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries: total: 3,110 km

border countries: Burkina Faso 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km, Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km

Coastline: 515 km

Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 NM

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three seasons - warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), hot and wet (June to October)

Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Gulf of Guinea 0 m

highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 8%

permanent crops: 4%

permanent pastures: 41%

forests and woodland: 22%

other: 25% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 680 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible

Environment - current issues: deforestation (most of the country's forests - once the largest in West Africa - have been heavily logged); water pollution from sewage and industrial and agricultural effluents

Environment - international agreements: party to: 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: none of the selected agreements

Cote d'Ivoire People

Population: 16,393,221

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: 46.21% (male 3,802,397; female 3,773,455)

15-64 years: 51.57% (male 4,343,518; female 4,110,805)

65 years and over: 2.22% (male 180,463; female 182,583) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.51% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 40.38 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 16.65 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

note: after Liberia's civil war started in 1990, more than 350,000 refugees fled to Cote d'Ivoire; by the end of 1999 most Liberian refugees were assumed to have returned

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

under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female

total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 93.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 44.93 years

male: 43.58 years

female: 46.33 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.7 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 10.76% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 760,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 72,000 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Ivorian(s)

adjective: Ivorian

Ethnic groups: Akan 42.1%, Voltaiques or Gur 17.6%, Northern Mandes 16.5%, Krous 11%, Southern Mandes 10%, other 2.8% (1998)

Religions: Christian 34%, Muslim 27%, no religion 21%, animist 15%, other 3% (1998)

note: the majority of foreigners (migratory workers) are Muslim (70%) and Christian (20%)

Languages: French (official), 60 native dialects with Dioula the most widely spoken

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

total population: 48.5%

male: 57%

female: 40%

Cote d'Ivoire Government

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Cote d'Ivoire

conventional short form: Cote d'Ivoire

local long form: Republique de Cote d'Ivoire

local short form: Cote d'Ivoire

former: Ivory Coast

Government type: republic; multiparty presidential regime established 1960

Capital: Yamoussoukro; note - although Yamoussoukro has been the official capital since 1983, Abidjan remains the administrative center; the US, like other countries, maintains its Embassy in Abidjan

Administrative divisions: 50 departments (departements, singular - departement); Abengourou, Abidjan, Aboisso, Adzope, Agboville, Agnibilekrou, Bangolo, Beoumi, Biankouma, Bondoukou, Bongouanou, Bouafle, Bouake, Bouna, Boundiali, Dabakala, Daloa, Danane, Daoukro, Dimbokro, Divo, Duekoue, Ferkessedougou, Gagnoa, Grand-Lahou, Guiglo, Issia, Katiola, Korhogo, Lakota, Man, Mankono, Mbahiakro, Odienne, Oume, Sakassou, San-Pedro, Sassandra, Seguela, Sinfra, Soubre, Tabou, Tanda, Tingrela, Tiassale, Touba, Toumodi, Vavoua, Yamoussoukro, Zuenoula

note: Cote d'Ivoire may have a new administrative structure consisting of 58 departments; the following additional departments have been reported but not yet confirmed by the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN); Adiake', Ale'pe', Dabon, Grand Bassam, Jacqueville, Tiebissou, Toulepleu, Bocanda

Independence: 7 August (1960) (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 7 August (1960)

Constitution: 3 November 1960; has been amended numerous times, last time 27 July 1998

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Laurent GBAGBO (since 26 October 2000); note - took power following a popular overthrow of the interim leader Gen. Robert GUEI who had claimed a dubious victory in presidential elections; Gen. GUEI himself had assumed power on 25 December 1999, following a military coup against the government of former President Henri Konan BEDIE

head of government: Prime Minister and Minister of Planning and Development Affi N'GUESSAN (since 27 October 2000) appointed by the president

cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 October 2000 (next is scheduled to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president

election results: Laurent GBAGBO elected president; percent of vote - Laurent GBAGBO 59.4%, Robert GUEI 32.7%, Francis WODIE 5.7%, other 2.2%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (225 seats; members are elected in single- and multi-district elections by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections: elections last held 10 December 2000 with by-elections on 14 January 2001 (next to be held NA 2005)

election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FPI 96, PDCI-RDA 94, RDR 5, PIT 4, other 2, independents 22, vacant 2

note: a Senate is scheduled to be created in the next full election in 2005

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consists of four chambers: Judicial Chamber for criminal cases, Audit Chamber for financial cases, Constitutional Chamber for judicial review cases, and Administrative Chamber for civil cases; there is no legal limit to the number of members

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire-African Democratic Rally or PDCI-RDA [Aime Henri Konan BEDIE]; Ivorian Popular Front or FPI [Laurent GBAGBO]; Ivorian Worker's Party or PIT [Francis WODIE]; Rally of the Republicans or RDR [Henriette DAGRI-DIABATE]; Union for Democracy and Peace [Gen. Robert GUEI]; over 20 smaller parties

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC (observer), OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Youssouf BAMBA

chancery: 3421 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone: [1] (202) 797-0300

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador George MU

embassy: 5 Rue Jesse Owens, Abidjan

mailing address: B. P. 1712, Abidjan 01

telephone: [225] 20 21 09 79

FAX: [225] 20 22 32 59

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of orange (hoist side), white, and green; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and has the colors reversed - green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of Italy, which is green (hoist side), white, and red; design was based on the flag of France

Cote d'Ivoire Economy

Economy - overview: Cote d'Ivoire is among the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm oil. Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for these products and to weather conditions. Despite government attempts to diversify the economy, it is still largely dependent on agriculture and related activities, which engage roughly 68% of the population. After several years of lagging performance, the Ivorian economy began a comeback in 1994, due to the 50% devaluation of the CFA franc and improved prices for cocoa and coffee, growth in nontraditional primary exports such as pineapples and rubber, limited trade and banking liberalization, offshore oil and gas discoveries, and generous external financing and debt rescheduling by multilateral lenders and France. Moreover, government adherence to donor-mandated reforms led to a jump in growth to 5% annually in 1996-99. Growth was negative in 2000 because of the difficulty of meeting the conditions of international donors, continued low prices of key exports, and post-coup instability. In 2001-02, a moderate rebound in the cocoa market could boost growth back above 3%; however, political instability could impede growth again.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $26.2 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: -0.3% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,600 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 32%

industry: 18%

services: 50% (1998)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

highest 10%: 28.8% (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 68% agricultural (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate: 13% in urban areas (1998 est.)

Budget: revenues: $1.5 billion

expenditures: $2.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $420 million (2000 est.)

Industries: foodstuffs, beverages; wood products, oil refining, truck and bus assembly, textiles, fertilizer, building materials, electricity

Industrial production growth rate: 15% (1998 est.)

Electricity - production: 4.06 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 75.37%

hydro: 24.63%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 3.183 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 593 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: coffee, cocoa beans, bananas, palm kernels, corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sweet potatoes, sugar, cotton, rubber; timber

Exports: $3.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: cocoa 33%, coffee, tropical woods, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton, fish (1999)

Exports - partners: France 15%, US 8%, Netherlands 7%, Germany 6%, Italy 6% (1999)

Imports: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: food, consumer goods; capital goods, fuel, transport equipment

Imports - partners: France 26%, Nigeria 10%, China 7%, Italy 5%, Germany 4% (1999)

Debt - external: $13.9 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $1 billion (1996 est.)

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

Currency code: XOF

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro

Fiscal year: calendar year

Cote d'Ivoire Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 219,283 (31 December 1999)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 322,500 (May 2000)

Telephone system: general assessment: well developed by African standards but operating well below capacity

domestic: open-wire lines and microwave radio relay; 90% digitalized

international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); 2 coaxial submarine cables (June 1999)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 8, shortwave 3 (1998)

Radios: 2.26 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 14 (1999)

Televisions: 900,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .ci

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 5 (2001)

Internet users: 20,000 (2000)

Cote d'Ivoire Transportation

Railways: total: 660 km

narrow gauge: 660 km 1.000-meter gauge; 25 km double track

note: an additional 600 km of this railroad extends into Burkina Faso, ending at Kaya, north of Ouagadougou (2000)

Highways: total: 50,400 km

paved: 4,889 km

unpaved: 45,511 km (1996)

Waterways: 980 km (navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons)

Ports and harbors: Abidjan, Aboisso, Dabou, San-Pedro

Merchant marine: total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,200 GRT/1,500 DWT

ships by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2000 est.)

Airports: 36 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 7

over 3,047 m: 1

2,438 to 3,047 m: 2

1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 29

1,524 to 2,437 m: 8

914 to 1,523 m: 12

under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.)

Cote d'Ivoire Military

Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie, Republican Guard (includes Presidential Guard), Sapeur-Pompier (Military Fire Group)

Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 3,851,432 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 2,010,862 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 188,411 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $94 million (FY96)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1% (FY96)

Cote d'Ivoire Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for local consumption; transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin to Europe and occasionally to the US, and for Latin American cocaine destined for Europe

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

@Croatia

Croatia Introduction

Background: In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became an independent communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998.

Croatia Geography

Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia

Geographic coordinates: 45 10 N, 15 30 E

Map references: Europe

Area: total: 56,542 sq km

land: 56,414 sq km

water: 128 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries: total: 2,028 km

border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Yugoslavia 266 km, Slovenia 501 km

Coastline: 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km)

Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast

Terrain: geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m

highest point: Dinara 1,830 m

Natural resources: oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 21%

permanent crops: 2%

permanent pastures: 20%

forests and woodland: 38%

other: 19% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 30 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes

Environment - current issues: air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; landmine removal and reconstruction of infrastructure consequent to 1992-95 civil strife

Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

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

Geography - note: controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits

Croatia People

Population: 4,334,142 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 18.16% (male 403,722; female 383,151)

15-64 years: 66.61% (male 1,452,872; female 1,434,086)

65 years and over: 15.23% (male 245,727; female 414,584) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.48% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 12.82 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 11.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 13.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female

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

Infant mortality rate: 7.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.9 years

male: 70.28 years

female: 77.73 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.94 children born/woman (2001 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 350 (1999 est.)

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

Nationality: noun: Croat(s)

adjective: Croatian

Ethnic groups: Croat 78.1%, Serb 12.2%, Bosniak 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, Czech 0.4%, Albanian 0.3%, Montenegrin 0.3%, Roma 0.2%, others 6.6% (1991)

Religions: Roman Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8% (1991)

Languages: Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German)

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

total population: 97%

male: 99%

female: 95% (1991 est.)

Croatia Government

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Croatia

conventional short form: Croatia

local long form: Republika Hrvatska

local short form: Hrvatska

Government type: presidential/parliamentary democracy

Capital: Zagreb

Administrative divisions: 20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular), 1 city (grad -singular)*: Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska Zupanija, Brodsko-Posavska Zupanija, Dubrovacko-Neretvanska Zupanija, Istarska Zupanija, Karlovacka Zupanija, Koprivnicko-Krizevacka Zupanija, Krapinsko-Zagorska Zupanija, Licko-Senjska Zupanija, Medimurska Zupanija, Osjecko-Baranjska Zupanija, Pozesko-Slavonska Zupanija, Primorsko-Goranska Zupanija, Sibensko-Kninska Zupanija, Sisacko-Moslavacka Zupanija, Splitsko-Dalmatinska Zupanija, Varazdinska Zupanija, Viroviticko-Podravska Zupanija, Vukovarsko-Srijemska Zupanija, Zadarska Zupanija, Zagreb*, Zagrebacka Zupanija

Independence: 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

National holiday: Republic Day/Statehood Day, 30 May (1990)

Constitution: adopted on 22 December 1990

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed)

Executive branch: chief of state: President Stjepan (Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February 2000)

head of government: Prime Minister Ivica RACAN (since 27 January 2000); Deputy Prime Ministers Goran GRANIC (since 27 January 2000), Zeljka ANTUNOVIC (since 27 January 2000), Slavko LINIC (since 27 January 2000)

cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the House of Representatives

elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 7 February 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister nominated by the president in line with the balance of power in the Assembly

election results: Stjepan MESIC elected president; percent of vote - Stjepan MESIC (HNS) 56%, Drazen BUDISA (HSLS) 44%

note: government coalition - SDP, HSLS, HSS, LP, HNS, IDS

Legislative branch: bicameral Assembly or Sabor consists of the House of Counties or Zupanijski Dom (68 seats, 63 directly elected by popular vote, 5 appointed by the president; members serve four-year terms; note - House of Counties to be abolished in 2001) and House of Representatives or the Zastupnicki Dom (151 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections: House of Counties - last held 13 April 1997; House of Representatives - last held 2-3 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004)

election results: House of Counties - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HDZ 42, HSLS/HSS 11, HSS 2, IDS 2, SDP/PGS/HNS 2, SDP/HNS 2, HSLS/HSS/HNS 1, HSLS 1; note - in some districts certain parties ran as coalitions, while in others they ran alone; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HDZ 46, SDP 44, HSLS 24, HSS 17, HSP/HKDU 5, IDS 4, HNS 2, independents 4, minority representatives 5

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the House of Representatives

Political parties and leaders: Alliance of Croatian Coast and Mountains Department or PGS [Luciano SUSANJ]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Marko VESELICA]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Dobroslav PARAGA]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Zlatko TOMCIC]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC]; Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Drazen BUDISA]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Liberal Party or LP [leader NA]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN]

note: the Social Democratic Party or SDP and the Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS formed a coalition as did the HSS, HNS, LP, and IDS, which together defeated the Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ in the 2000 lower house parliamentary election

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ivan GRDESIC

chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899

FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936

consulate(s) general: Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Lawrence G. ROSSIN

embassy: Andrije Hebranga 2, 100000 Zagreb

mailing address: use street address

telephone: [385] (1) 455-55-00

FAX: [385] (1) 455-85-85

Flag description: red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered)

Croatia Economy

Economy - overview: Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. Croatia faces considerable economic problems stemming from: the legacy of longtime communist mismanagement of the economy; damage during the internecine fighting to bridges, factories, power lines, buildings, and houses; the large refugee and displaced population, both Croatian and Bosnian; and the disruption of economic ties. Stepped-up Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, would help bolster the economy. The economy emerged from its mild recession in 2000 with tourism the main factor. Massive unemployment remains a key negative element. The government's failure to press the economic reforms needed to spur growth is largely the result of coalition politics and public resistance, particularly from the trade unions, to measures that would cut jobs, wages, or social benefits.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $24.9 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.2% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10%

industry: 19%

services: 71% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line: 4% (1999 est.)

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

highest 10%: NA%

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

Labor force: 1.68 million (October 2000)

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

Unemployment rate: 22% (October 2000)

Budget: revenues: $6 billion

expenditures: $4.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)

Industries: chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 1.7% (2000)

Electricity - production: 10.96 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 40.89%

hydro: 59%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0.11% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 13.643 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 1 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 4.45 billion kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soy beans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products

Exports: $4.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999)

Exports - commodities: transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels

Exports - partners: Italy 18%, Germany 15.7%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 12.8%, Slovenia 10.6%, Austria 6.2% (1999)

Imports: $7.8 billion (c.i.f., 1999)

Imports - commodities: machinery, transport and electrical equipment, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs

Imports - partners: Germany 18.5%, Italy 15.9%, Russia 8.6%, Slovenia 7.9%, Austria 7.1% (1999)

Debt - external: $9.9 billion (December 1999)

Economic aid - recipient: $NA

Currency: kuna (HRK)

Currency code: HRK

Exchange rates: kuna per US dollar - 8.089 (January 2001), 8.277 (2000), 7.112 (1999), 6.362 (1998), 6.101 (1997), 5.434 (1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Croatia Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 1.488 million (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 187,000 (yearend 1998)

Telephone system: general assessment: NA

domestic: reconstruction plan calls for replacement of all analog circuits with digital and enlarging the network; a backup will be included in the plan for the main trunk

international: digital international service is provided through the main switch in Zagreb; Croatia participates in the Trans-Asia-Europe (TEL) fiber-optic project which consists of two fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik; Croatia is also investing in ADRIA 1, a joint fiber-optic project with Germany, Albania, and Greece (2000)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999)

Radios: 1.51 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (September 1995)

Televisions: 1.22 million (1997)

Internet country code: .hr

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 9 (2000)

Internet users: 100,000 (1999)

Croatia Transportation

Railways: total: 2,296 km

standard gauge: 2,296 km 1.435-m gauge (983 km electrified) (2000)

Highways: total: 27,840 km

paved: 23,497 km (including 330 km of expressways)

unpaved: 4,343 km (1998)

Waterways: 785 km

note: (perennially navigable; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris)

Pipelines: crude oil 670 km; petroleum products 20 km; natural gas 310 km (1992)

Ports and harbors: Dubrovnik, Dugi Rat, Omisalj, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split, Vukovar (inland waterway port on Danube), Zadar

Merchant marine: total: 53 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 631,853 GRT/969,739 DWT

ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 18, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 5, container 3, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 3 (2000 est.)

Airports: 67 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 22

over 3,047 m: 2

2,438 to 3,047 m: 6

1,524 to 2,437 m: 2

914 to 1,523 m: 4

under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 45

1,524 to 2,437 m: 1

914 to 1,523 m: 8

under 914 m: 36 (2000 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2000 est.)

Croatia Military

Military branches: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces

Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,085,877 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 859,621 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 30,037 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $575 million (2000)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.8% (2000)

Croatia Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: Croatia and Italy made progress toward resolving a bilateral issue dating from World War II over property and ethnic minority rights; progress with Slovenia on discussions of adjustments to land boundary, but problems remain in defining maritime boundary in Gulf of Piran; Croatia and Yugoslavia are negotiating the status of the strategically important Prevlaka Peninsula, which is currently under a UN military observer mission (UNMOP)

Illicit drugs: transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe; a minor transit point for maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe

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

@Cuba

Cuba Introduction

Background: Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the country together since. Cuba's communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic recession in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Havana portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, or falsified visas - is a continuing problem. Some 3,000 Cubans took to the Straits of Florida in 2000; the US Coast Guard interdicted only about 35% of these.

Cuba Geography

Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida

Geographic coordinates: 21 30 N, 80 00 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area: total: 110,860 sq km

land: 110,860 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Land boundaries: total: 29 km

border countries: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km

note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains part of Cuba

Coastline: 3,735 km

Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October)

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m

highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m

Natural resources: cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land

Land use: arable land: 24%

permanent crops: 7%

permanent pastures: 27%

forests and woodland: 24%

other: 18% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 9,100 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to October (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common

Environment - current issues: pollution of Havana Bay; overhunting threatens wildlife populations; deforestation

Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note: largest country in Caribbean

Cuba People

Population: 11,184,023 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 20.99% (male 1,205,159; female 1,142,070)

15-64 years: 69.14% (male 3,876,432; female 3,855,878)

65 years and over: 9.87% (male 511,589; female 592,895) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.37% (2001 est.)

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

Death rate: 7.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 7.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.41 years

male: 74.02 years

female: 78.94 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.03% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 1,950 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 120 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Cuban(s)

adjective: Cuban

Ethnic groups: mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%

Religions: nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented

Languages: Spanish

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

total population: 95.7%

male: 96.2%

female: 95.3% (1995 est.)

People - note: illicit migration is a continuing problem; Cubans attempt to depart the island and enter the US using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, direct flights, or falsified visas; some 3,000 Cubans took to the Straits of Florida in 2000; the US Coast Guard interdicted about 35% of these migrants; Cubans also use non-maritime routes to enter the US; some 2,400 Cubans arrived overland via the southwest border and direct flights to Miami

Cuba Government

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Cuba

conventional short form: Cuba

local long form: Republica de Cuba

local short form: Cuba

Government type: Communist state

Capital: Havana

Administrative divisions: 14 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara

Independence: 20 May 1902 (from US)

National holiday: Independence Day, 10 October (1868); note - 10 October 1868 is the date of independence from Spain, 20 May 1902 is the date of independence from US administration

Constitution: 24 February 1976, amended July 1992

Legal system: based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 16 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the president of the Council of State, appointed by the National Assembly; note - there is also a Council of State whose members are elected by the National Assembly

elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 24 February 1998 (next election unscheduled)

election results: Fidel CASTRO Ruz elected president; percent of legislative vote - 100%; Raul CASTRO Ruz elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 100%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (601 seats, elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions; members serve five-year terms)

elections: last held 11 January 1998 (next to be held in 2003)

election results: percent of vote - PCC 94.39%; seats - PCC 601

Judicial branch: People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly)

Political parties and leaders: only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: none; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Fernando REMIREZ DE ESTENOZ; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518

Diplomatic representation from the US: none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Vicki HUDDLESTON; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada between L and M Streets, Vedado Seccion, Havana; telephone: 33-3551 through 3559 (operator assistance required); FAX: 33-3700; protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland

Flag description: five equal horizontal bands of blue (top and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center; design influenced by the US flag

Cuba Economy

Economy - overview: The government, the primary player in the economy, has undertaken limited reforms in recent years to stem excess liquidity, increase enterprise efficiency, and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services, but prioritizing of political control makes extensive reforms unlikely. Living standards for the average Cuban, without access to dollars, remain at a depressed level compared with 1990. The liberalized farmers' markets introduced in 1994, sell above-quota production at market prices, expand legal consumption alternatives, and reduce black market prices. Income taxes and increased regulations introduced since 1996 have sharply reduced the number of legally self-employed from a high of 208,000 in January 1996. Havana announced in 1995 that GDP declined by 35% during 1989-93 as a result of lost Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. The slide in GDP came to a halt in 1994 when Cuba reported growth in GDP of 0.7%. Cuba reported that GDP increased by 2.5% in 1995 and 7.8% in 1996, before slowing down in 1997 and 1998 to 2.5% and 1.2% respectively. Growth recovered with a 6.2% increase in GDP in 1999 and a 5.6% increase in 2000. Much of Cuba's recovery can be attributed to tourism revenues and foreign investment. Growth in 2001 should continue at the same level as the government balances the need for economic loosening against its concern for firm political control.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $19.2 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5.6% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 7%

industry: 37%

services: 56% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.3% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 4.3 million (2000 est.)

note: state sector 75%, non-state sector 25% (1998)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 25%, industry 24%, services 51% (1998)

Unemployment rate: 5.5% (2000 est.)

Budget: revenues: $13.5 billion

expenditures: $14.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries: sugar, petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, construction, services, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery

Industrial production growth rate: 5% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production: 14.358 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 94.2%

hydro: 0.7%

nuclear: 0%

other: 5.1% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 13.353 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock

Exports: $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee

Exports - partners: Russia 23%, Netherlands 23%, Canada 13% (1999)

Imports: $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment, consumer goods

Imports - partners: Spain 18%, Venezuela 13%, Canada 8% (1999)

Debt - external: $11.1 billion (convertible currency, 1999); another $15 billion -$20 billion owed to Russia (2000)

Economic aid - recipient: $68.2 million (1997 est.)

Currency: Cuban peso (CUP)

Currency code: CUP

Exchange rates: Cuban pesos per US dollar - 1.0000 (nonconvertible, official rate, for international transactions, pegged to the US dollar); convertible peso sold for domestic use at a rate of 1.00 US dollar per 22 pesos by the Government of Cuba (January 2001)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Cuba Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 473,031 (2000)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 2,994 (1997)

Telephone system: general assessment: NA

domestic: principal trunk system, end to end of country, is coaxial cable; fiber-optic distribution in Havana and on Isla de la Juventud; 2 microwave radio relay installations (one is old, US-built; the other newer, Soviet-built); both analog and digital mobile cellular service established

international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios: 3.9 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 58 (1997)

Televisions: 2.64 million (1997)

Internet country code: .cu

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 4 (2001)

Internet users: 60,000 (2000)

Cuba Transportation

Railways: total: 11,969 km

standard gauge: 4,807 km 1.435-m gauge (147 km electrified)

note: in addition to the 4,807 km of standard gauge track in public use, 7,162 km of track is in private use by sugar plantations; about 90% of the private use track is standard gauge and the rest is narrow gauge (2000)

Highways: total: 60,858 km

paved: 29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway)

unpaved: 31,038 km (1997)

Waterways: 240 km

Ports and harbors: Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba

Merchant marine: total: 15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 54,821 GRT/78,062 DWT

ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 7, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 5 (2000 est.)

Airports: 171 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 77

over 3,047 m: 7

2,438 to 3,047 m: 9

1,524 to 2,437 m: 16

914 to 1,523 m: 10

under 914 m: 35 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 94

914 to 1,523 m: 31

under 914 m: 63 (2000 est.)

Cuba Military

Military branches: Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) includes ground forces, Revolutionary Navy (MGR), Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Territorial Troops Militia (MTT), and Youth Labor Army (EJT); the Border Guard (TGF) is controlled by the Interior Ministry

Military manpower - military age: 17 years of age

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 3,090,633

females age 15-49: 3,029,274 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,911,160

females age 15-49: 1,867,958 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 79,562

females: 85,650 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: roughly 4% (FY95 est.)

Military - note: Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of Cuba, cut off almost all military aid by 1993

Cuba Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease

Illicit drugs: territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone for cocaine bound for the US and Europe; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999

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

@Cyprus

Cyprus Introduction

Background: Independence from the UK was approved in 1960 with constitutional guarantees by the Greek Cypriot majority to the Turkish Cypriot minority. In 1974, a Greek-sponsored attempt to seize the government was met by military intervention from Turkey, which soon controlled almost 40% of the island. In 1983, the Turkish-held area declared itself the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", but it is recognized only by Turkey. UN-led talks on the status of Cyprus resumed in December 1999 to prepare the ground for meaningful negotiations leading to a comprehensive settlement.

Cyprus Geography

Location: Middle East, island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey

Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N, 33 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area: total: 9,250 sq km (of which 3,355 sq km are in the Turkish Cypriot area)

land: 9,240 sq km

water: 10 sq km

Area - comparative: about 0.6 times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 648 km

Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: temperate, Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool, winters

Terrain: central plain with mountains to north and south; scattered but significant plains along southern coast

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m

highest point: Olympus 1,951 m

Natural resources: copper, pyrites, asbestos, gypsum, timber, salt, marble, clay earth pigment

Land use: arable land: 12%

permanent crops: 5%

permanent pastures: 0%

forests and woodland: 13%

other: 70% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 390 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: moderate earthquake activity; droughts

Environment - current issues: water resource problems (no natural reservoir catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall, sea water intrusion to island's largest aquifer, increased salination in the north); water pollution from sewage and industrial wastes; coastal degradation; loss of wildlife habitats from urbanization

Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants

Cyprus People

Population: 762,887 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 22.95% (male 89,532; female 85,518)

15-64 years: 66.26% (male 255,368; female 250,140)

65 years and over: 10.79% (male 35,864; female 46,465) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.59% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 13.08 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 7.65 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

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

under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

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

65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 7.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.89 years

male: 74.6 years

female: 79.3 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.93 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 400 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Cypriot(s)

adjective: Cypriot

Ethnic groups: Greek 78% (99.5% of the Greeks live in the Greek Cypriot area; 0.5% of the Greeks live in the Turkish Cypriot area), Turkish 18% (1.3% of the Turks live in the Greek Cypriot area; 98.7% of the Turks live in the Turkish Cypriot area), other 4% (99.2% of the other ethnic groups live in the Greek Cypriot area; 0.8% of the other ethnic groups live in the Turkish Cypriot area)

Religions: Greek Orthodox 78%, Muslim 18%, Maronite, Armenian Apostolic, and other 4%

Languages: Greek, Turkish, English

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

total population: 94%

male: 98%

female: 91% (1987 est.)

Cyprus Government

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Cyprus

conventional short form: Cyprus

note: the Turkish Cypriot area refers to itself as the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC)

Government type: republic

note: a disaggregation of the two ethnic communities inhabiting the island began following the outbreak of communal strife in 1963; this separation was further solidified after the Turkish intervention in July 1974 after a Greek junta-based coup attempt gave the Turkish Cypriots de facto control in the north; Greek Cypriots control the only internationally recognized government; on 15 November 1983 Turkish Cypriot "President" Rauf DENKTASH declared independence and the formation of a "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC), recognized only by Turkey; both sides publicly support a settlement based on a federation (Greek Cypriot position) or confederation (Turkish Cypriot position)

Capital: Nicosia

Administrative divisions: 6 districts; Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol, Nicosia, Paphos; note - Turkish Cypriot area's administrative divisions include Kyrenia, all but a small part of Famagusta, and small parts of Lefkosa (Nicosia) and Larnaca

Independence: 16 August 1960 (from UK); note - Turkish Cypriot area proclaimed self-rule on 13 February 1975

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 October (1960); note - Turkish Cypriot area celebrates 15 November (1983) as Independence Day

Constitution: 16 August 1960; negotiations to create the basis for a new or revised constitution to govern the island and to better relations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been held intermittently; in 1975 Turkish Cypriots created their own constitution and governing bodies within the "Turkish Federated State of Cyprus," which was renamed the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" in 1983; a new constitution for the Turkish Cypriot area passed by referendum on 5 May 1985

Legal system: based on common law, with civil law modifications

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Glafcos CLERIDES (since 28 February 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; post of vice president is currently vacant; under the 1960 constitution, the post is reserved for a Turkish Cypriot

head of government: President Glafcos CLERIDES (since 28 February 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; post of vice president is currently vacant; under the 1960 constitution, the post is reserved for a Turkish Cypriot

cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed jointly by the president and vice president

elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 15 February 1998 (next to be held NA February 2003)

election results: Glafcos CLERIDES reelected president; percent of vote - Glafcos CLERIDES 50.8%, George IAKOVOU 49.2%

note: Rauf R. DENKTASH has been "president" of the Turkish Cypriot area since 13 February 1975 ("president" elected by popular vote for a five-year term); elections last held 15 April 2000 (next to be held NA April 2005); results - Rauf R. DENKTASH reelected president after the other contender withdrew; Dervis EROGLU has been "prime minister" of the Turkish Cypriot area since 16 August 1996; there is a Council of Ministers (cabinet) in the Turkish Cypriot area

Legislative branch: unicameral - Greek Cypriot area: House of Representatives or Vouli Antiprosopon (80 seats; 56 assigned to the Greek Cypriots, 24 to Turkish Cypriots; note - only those assigned to Greek Cypriots are filled; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); Turkish Cypriot area: Assembly of the Republic or Cumhuriyet Meclisi (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections: Greek Cypriot area: last held 27 May 2001 (next to be held NA May 2006); Turkish Cypriot area: last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA December 2003)

election results: Greek Cypriot area: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - AKEL (Communist) 20, DISY 19, DIKO 9, KISOS 4, others 4; Turkish Cypriot area: Assembly of the Republic - percent of vote by party - UBP 40.3%, DP 22.6%, TKP 15.4%, CTP 13.4%, UDP 4.6%, YBH 2.5%, BP 1.2%; seats by party - UBP 24, DP 13, TKP 7, CTP 6

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the Supreme Council of Judicature)

note: there is also a Supreme Court in the Turkish Cypriot area

Political parties and leaders: Greek Cypriot area: Democratic Party or DIKO [Tassos PAPADOPOULOS]; Democratic Rally or DISY [Nikos ANASTASIADHIS]; Restorative Party of the Working People or AKEL (Communist Party) [Dimitrios CHRISTOFIAS]; Social Democrats Movement or KISOS (formerly United Democratic Union of Cyprus or EDEK) [Vassos LYSSARIDIS]; United Democrats Movement or EDE (formerly Free Democrats Movement or KED) [George VASSILIOU]; Turkish Cypriot area: Communal Liberation Party or TKP [Mustafa AKINCI]; Democratic Party or DP [Salih COSAR]; National Birth Party or UDP [Enver EMIN]; National Unity Party or UBP [Dervis EROGLU]; Our Party or BP [Okyay SADIKOGLU]; Patriotic Unity Movement or YBH [Izzet IZCAN]; Republican Turkish Party or CTP [Mehmet ALI TALAT]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Confederation of Cypriot Workers or SEK (pro-West); Confederation of Revolutionary Labor Unions or Dev-Is; Federation of Turkish Cypriot Labor Unions or Turk-Sen; Pan-Cyprian Labor Federation or PEO (Communist controlled)

International organization participation: Australia Group, C, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Erato KOZAKOU-MARCOULLIS

chancery: 2211 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 462-5772

FAX: [1] (202) 483-6710

consulate(s) general: New York

note: representative of the Turkish Cypriot area in the US is Ahmet ERDENGIZ; office at 1667 K Street NW, Washington, DC; telephone [1] (202) 887-6198

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Donald K. BANDLER

embassy: corner of Metochiou and Ploutarchou Streets, Engomi, 2407 Nicosia

mailing address: P. O. Box 4536, FPO AE 09836

telephone: [357] (2) 776400

FAX: [357] (2) 780944

Flag description: white with a copper-colored silhouette of the island (the name Cyprus is derived from the Greek word for copper) above two green crossed olive branches in the center of the flag; the branches symbolize the hope for peace and reconciliation between the Greek and Turkish communities

note: the Turkish Cypriot flag has a horizontal red stripe at the top and bottom between which is a red crescent and red star on a white field

Cyprus Economy

Economy - overview: Economic affairs are affected by the division of the country. The Greek Cypriot economy is prosperous but highly susceptible to external shocks. Erratic growth rates in the 1990s reflect the economy's vulnerability to swings in tourist arrivals, caused by political instability on the island and fluctuations in economic conditions in Western Europe. Economic policy is focused on meeting the criteria for admission to the EU. As in the Turkish sector, water shortage is a growing problem, and several desalination plants are planned. The Turkish Cypriot economy has about one-fifth the population and one-third the per capita GDP of the south. Because it is recognized only by Turkey, it has had much difficulty arranging foreign financing, and foreign firms have hesitated to invest there. It remains heavily dependent on agriculture and government service, which together employ about half of the work force. Moreover, the small, vulnerable economy has suffered because the Turkish lira is legal tender. To compensate for the economy's weakness, Turkey provides direct and indirect aid to tourism, education, industry, etc.