Introductory material (continued 9)
Reading edition
GDP: Greek Cypriot area: purchasing power parity - $9.7 billion (2000 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: purchasing power parity - $830 million (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: Greek Cypriot area: 4.2% (2000 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: 4.9% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: Greek Cypriot area: purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2000 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: purchasing power parity - $5,300 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: Greek Cypriot area: agriculture 6.3%, industry 22.4%, services 71.3% (1998); Turkish Cypriot area: agriculture 11.8%, industry 20.5%, services 67.7% (1998)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): Greek Cypriot area: 4.2% (2000 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: 58% (1999 est.)
Labor force: Greek Cypriot area: 291,000; Turkish Cypriot area: 86,300 (2000)
Labor force - by occupation: Greek Cypriot area: services 73%, industry 22%, agriculture 5% (2000); Turkish Cypriot area: services 56.4%, industry 22.8%, agriculture 20.8% (1998)
Unemployment rate: Greek Cypriot area: 3.6% (2000 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: 6% (1998 est.)
Budget: revenues: Greek Cypriot area - $2.9 billion (2000 est.); Turkish Cypriot area - $294 million (2000 est.)
expenditures: Greek Cypriot area - $3.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $324 million (2000 est.); Turkish Cypriot $495 million, including capital expenditures of $60 million (2000 est.)
Industries: food, beverages, textiles, chemicals, metal products, tourism, wood products
Industrial production growth rate: Greek Cypriot area: 2.2% (1999); Turkish Cypriot area: -0.3% (1999)
Electricity - production: 2.951 billion kWh (1999); Turkish Cypriot area: NA kWh
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)
Electricity - consumption: 2.744 billion kWh (1999); Turkish Cypriot area: NA kWh
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products: potatoes, citrus, vegetables, barley, grapes, olives, vegetables
Exports: Greek Cypriot area: $1 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: $51.1 million (f.o.b., 1999)
Exports - commodities: Greek Cypriot area: citrus, potatoes, grapes, wine, cement, clothing and shoes; Turkish Cypriot area: citrus, potatoes, textiles
Exports - partners: Greek Cypriot area: UK 17.3%, Greece 9.7%, Russia 7.0%, Lebanon 5.2% (1999); Turkish Cypriot area: Turkey 51%, UK 31%, other EU 16.5% (1999)
Imports: Greek Cypriot area: $3.6 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: $402 million (f.o.b., 1999)
Imports - commodities: Greek Cypriot area: consumer goods, petroleum and lubricants, food and feed grains, machinery; Turkish Cypriot area: food, minerals, chemicals, machinery
Imports - partners: Greek Cypriot area: UK 11.2%, US 10.6%, Italy 8.8%, Greece 8.2%, Germany 6.7% (1999); Turkish Cypriot area: Turkey 58.6%, UK 12.5%, other EU 13% (1999)
Debt - external: Greek Cypriot area: $NA; Turkish Cypriot area: $NA
Economic aid - recipient: Greek Cypriot area - $17 million (1998); Turkish Cypriot area - $700 million from Turkey in grants and loans (1990-97) that are usually forgiven
Currency: Greek Cypriot area: Cypriot pound (CYP); Turkish Cypriot area: Turkish lira (TRL)
Currency code: CYP; TRL
Exchange rates: Cypriot pounds per US dollar - 0.6146 (January 2001), 0.6208 (2000), 0.5423 (1999), 0.5170 (1998), 0.5135 (1997), 0.4663 (1996); Turkish liras per US dollar - 677,621 (December 2000), 625,219 (2000), 418,783 (1999), 260,724 (1998), 151,865 (1997), 81,405 (1996)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Cyprus Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: Greek Cypriot area: 405,000 (1998); Turkish Cypriot area: 83,162 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: Greek Cypriot area: 68,000 (1998); Turkish Cypriot area: 70,000 (1999)
Telephone system: general assessment: excellent in both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot areas
domestic: open wire, fiber-optic cable, and microwave radio relay
international: tropospheric scatter; 3 coaxial and 5 fiber-optic submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 2 Eutelsat, 2 Intersputnik, and 1 Arabsat
Radio broadcast stations: Greek Cypriot area: AM 7, FM 60, shortwave 1 (1998); Turkish Cypriot area: AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: Greek Cypriot area: 310,000 (1997); Turkish Cypriot area: 56,450 (1994)
Television broadcast stations: Greek Cypriot area: 4 (plus 225 low-power repeaters) (September 1995); Turkish Cypriot area: 4 (plus 5 repeaters) (September 1995)
Televisions: Greek Cypriot area: 248,000 (1997); Turkish Cypriot area: 52,300 (1994)
Internet country code: .cy
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 6 (2000)
Internet users: 80,000 (2000)
Cyprus Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: Greek Cypriot area: 10,663 km (1998 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: 2,350 km (1996 est.)
paved: Greek Cypriot area: 6,249 km (1998 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: 1,370 km (1996 est.)
unpaved: Greek Cypriot area: 4,414 km (1998 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: 980 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol, Paphos, Vasilikos
Merchant marine: total: 1,328 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 22,905,542 GRT/36,312,219 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 431, cargo 438, chemical tanker 23, combination bulk 36, combination ore/oil 4, container 140, liquefied gas 6, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 143, refrigerated cargo 40, roll on/roll off 42, short-sea passenger 9, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 3
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Austria 8, Belgium 7, China 10, Cuba 10, Denmark 2, Germany 79, Greece 385, Hong Kong 9, Croatia 2, India 5, Iran 1, Israel 4, Italy 2, Japan 19, South Korea 3, Latvia 10, Lithuania 1, Monaco 1, Netherlands 13, Norway 11, Poland 9, Portugal 3, Russia 42, Singapore 1, Spain 5, Sudan 2, Sweden 3, Switzerland 2, UAE 6, UK 8, Ukraine 2, US 9, Venezuela 2 (2000 est.)
Airports: 15 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.)
Heliports: 7 (2000 est.)
Cyprus Military
Military branches: Greek Cypriot area: Greek Cypriot National Guard (GCNG; includes air and naval elements), Hellenic Forces Contingent on Cyprus (ELDYK), Greek Cypriot Police; Turkish Cypriot area: Turkish Cypriot Security Force (TCSF), Turkish mainland army units
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 198,275 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 136,147 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 6,616 (2001 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $370 million (FY00)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4.2% (FY00)
Cyprus Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: 1974 hostilities divided the island into two de facto autonomous areas, a Greek Cypriot area controlled by the internationally recognized Cypriot Government (59% of the island's land area) and a Turkish-Cypriot area (37% of the island), that are separated by a UN buffer zone (4% of the island); there are two UK sovereign base areas mostly within the Greek Cypriot portion of the island
Illicit drugs: minor transit point for heroin and hashish via air routes and container traffic to Europe, especially from Lebanon and Turkey; some cocaine transits as well
======================================================================
@Czech Republic
Czech Republic Introduction
Background: After World War II, Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize party rule and create "socialism with a human face." Anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Now a member of NATO, the Czech Republic has moved toward integration in world markets, a development that poses both opportunities and risks.
Czech Republic Geography
Location: Central Europe, southeast of Germany
Geographic coordinates: 49 45 N, 15 30 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km
water: 1,590 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land boundaries: total: 1,881 km
border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters
Terrain: Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m
Natural resources: hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber
Land use: arable land: 41%
permanent crops: 2%
permanent pastures: 11%
forests and woodland: 34%
other: 12% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 240 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: flooding
Environment - current issues: air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain damaging forests
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube in central Europe
Czech Republic People
Population: 10,264,212 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 16.09% (male 847,219; female 804,731)
15-64 years: 69.99% (male 3,592,984; female 3,590,802)
65 years and over: 13.92% (male 549,538; female 878,938) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.07% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 9.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 10.81 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.96 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 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.73 years
male: 71.23 years
female: 78.43 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.18 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.04% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 2,200 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech
Ethnic groups: Czech 81.2%, Moravian 13.2%, Slovak 3.1%, Polish 0.6%, German 0.5%, Silesian 0.4%, Roma 0.3%, Hungarian 0.2%, other 0.5% (1991)
Religions: atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4%
Languages: Czech
Literacy: definition: NA
total population: 99.9% (1999 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%
Czech Republic Government
Country name: conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic
local long form: Ceska Republika
local short form: Ceska Republika
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Prague
Administrative divisions: 13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Brnensky, Budejovicky, Jihlavsky, Karlovarsky, Kralovehradecky, Liberecky, Olomoucky, Ostravsky, Pardubicky, Plzensky, Praha*, Stredocesky, Ustecky, Zlinsky
Independence: 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
National holiday: Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918)
Constitution: ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993
Legal system: civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to bring it in line with Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Vaclav HAVEL (since 2 February 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Milos ZEMAN (since 17 July 1998); Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir SPIDLA (since 22 July 1998), Pavel RYCHETSKY (since 22 July 1998), Jan KAVAN (since 8 December 1999)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 20 January 1998 (next to be held NA January 2003); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Vaclav HAVEL reelected president; Vaclav HAVEL received 47 of 81 votes in the Senate and 99 out of 200 votes in the Chamber of Deputies (second round of voting)
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Poslanecka snemovna (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 12 and 19 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 19-20 June 1998 (next to be held by NA June 2002)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - KDU-CSL 28, ODS 22, CSSD 15, ODA 7, US 4, KSCM 3, independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - CSSD 32.3%, ODS 27.7%, KSCM 11%, KDU-CSL 9.0%, US 8.6%; seats by party - CSSD 74, ODS 63, KSCM 24, KDU-CSL 20, US 18, CSNS 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term
Political parties and leaders: Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Jan KASAL, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Daniel KROUPA, chairman]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Vaclav KLAUS, chairman]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Miroslav GREBENICEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Czechoslovakia or KSC [Miroslav STEPAN, chairman]; Czech National Social Party of CSNS [Jan SULA, chairman]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Milos ZEMAN, chairman]; Democratic Union or DEU [Ratibor MAJZLIK, chairman]; Freedom Union or US [Karel KUEHNL, chairman]; Quad Coalition [Cyril SVOBODA, chairman] (includes KDU-CSL, US, ODA, DEU); Republicans of Miroslav SLADEK or RMS [Miroslav SLADEK, chairman]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions [Richard FALBR]
International organization participation: ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Alexsandr VONDRA
chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 274-9100
FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Steven J. COFFEY
embassy: Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [420] (2) 5753-0663
FAX: [420] (2) 5753-0583
Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side (identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia)
Czech Republic Economy
Economy - overview: Basically one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states, the Czech Republic has been recovering from recession since mid-1999. The economy grew about 2.5% in 2000 and should achieve somewhat higher growth in 2001. Growth is led by exports to the EU, especially Germany, and foreign investment, while domestic demand is reviving. Uncomfortably high fiscal and current account deficits could be future problems. Unemployment is down to 8.7% as job creation continues in the rebounding economy; inflation is up to 3.8% but still moderate. The EU put the Czech Republic just behind Poland and Hungary in preparations for accession, which will give further impetus and direction to structural reform. Moves to complete banking, telecommunications and energy privatization will add to foreign investment, while intensified restructuring among large enterprises and banks and improvements in the financial sector should strengthen output growth.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $132.4 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.5% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $12,900 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.7%
industry: 41.8%
services: 54.5% (1999)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.8% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 5.203 million (1999 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 5%, industry 40%, services 55% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate: 8.7% (2000 est.)
Budget: revenues: $16.7 billion
expenditures: $18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries: metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments
Industrial production growth rate: 7.6% (2000)
Electricity - production: 67.642 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 77.8%
hydro: 3.43%
nuclear: 18.77%
other: 0% (2000)
Electricity - consumption: 52.898 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 18.744 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 8.735 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry
Exports: $28.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000)
Exports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment 44%, other manufactured goods 40%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (1999)
Exports - partners: Germany 43%, Slovakia 8.4%, Austria 6.6%, Poland 5.6%, France 4% (1999)
Imports: $31.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment 42%, other manufactured goods 33%, chemicals 12%, raw materials and fuels 10% (1999)
Imports - partners: Germany 37.5%, Slovakia 6.7%, Austria 6.2%, Italy 5.9%, France 5.4% (1999)
Debt - external: $21.3 billion (2000)
Economic aid - recipient: $NA
Currency: Czech koruna (CZK)
Currency code: CZK
Exchange rates: koruny per US dollar - 37.425 (January 2001), 38.598 (2000), 34.569 (1999), 32.281 (1998), 31.698 (1997), 27.145 (1996)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Czech Republic Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 3.869 million (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 4.346 million (2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: privatization and modernization of the Czech telecommunication system got a late start but is advancing steadily; growth in the use of mobile cellular telephones is particularly vigorous
domestic: 86% of exchanges now digital; existing copper subscriber systems now being enhanced with Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) equipment to accommodate Internet and other digital signals; trunk systems include fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar
Radio broadcast stations: AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000)
Radios: 3,159,134 (December 2000)
Television broadcast stations: 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000)
Televisions: 3,405,834 (December 2000)
Internet country code: .cz
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): more than 300 (2000)
Internet users: 900,000 (2000)
Czech Republic Transportation
Railways: total: 9,444 km
standard gauge: 9,350 km 1.435-m standard gauge (2,843 km electrified; 1,929 km double track)
narrow gauge: 94 km 0.760-m narrow gauge (2000)
Highways: total: 55,432 km
paved: 55,432 km (including 499 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (2000)
Waterways: 303 km
note: (the Labe (Elbe) is the principal river) (2000)
Pipelines: natural gas 3,550 km (2000)
Ports and harbors: Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem
Airports: 114 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 43
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 16 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 71
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 28
under 914 m: 42 (2000 est.)
Heliports: 1 (2000 est.)
Czech Republic Military
Military branches: Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense, Railroad Units
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,653,456 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 2,024,070 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 69,393 (2001 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1.2 billion (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.2% (FY01)
Czech Republic Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: Liechtenstein's royal family claims restitution for 1,600 sq km of land in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1918; individual Sudeten German claims for restitution of property confiscated in connection with their expulsion after World War II; Austria has minor dispute with Czech Republic over nuclear power plants and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities
Illicit drugs: major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and minor transit point for Latin American cocaine to Western Europe; domestic consumption - especially of locally produced synthetic drugs - on the rise
======================================================================
@Denmark
Denmark Introduction
Background: Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the political and economic integration of Europe. So far, however, the country has opted out of some aspects of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the economic and monetary system (EMU) and issues concerning certain internal affairs.
Denmark Geography
Location: Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major islands (Sjaeland and Fyn)
Geographic coordinates: 56 00 N, 10 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 43,094 sq km
land: 42,394 sq km
water: 700 sq km
note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major islands of Sjaeland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland
Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts
Land boundaries: total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km
Coastline: 7,314 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers
Terrain: low and flat to gently rolling plains
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, stone, gravel and sand
Land use: arable land: 60%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 5%
forests and woodland: 10%
other: 25% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 4,350 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes
Environment - current issues: air pollution, principally from vehicle and power plant emissions; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea
Geography - note: controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen
Denmark People
Population: 5,352,815 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18.59% (male 510,826; female 484,385)
15-64 years: 66.56% (male 1,804,617; female 1,758,019)
65 years and over: 14.85% (male 331,906; female 463,062) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.3% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 11.96 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 10.9 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.98 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: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.72 years
male: 74.12 years
female: 79.47 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.73 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.17% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 4,300 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish
Ethnic groups: Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslims 2%
Languages: Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100%
male: NA%
female: NA%
Denmark Government
Country name: conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark
conventional short form: Denmark
local long form: Kongeriget Danmark
local short form: Danmark
Government type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Copenhagen
Administrative divisions: metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 kommunes*; Arhus, Bornholm, Fredericksberg*, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavns*, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjalland, Viborg
note: see separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the Kingdom of Denmark and are self-governing administrative divisions
Independence: first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy
National holiday: none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June is generally viewed as the National Day
Constitution: 1849 was the original constitution; there was a major overhaul 5 June 1953, allowing for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state
Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the monarch (born 26 May 1968)
head of government: Prime Minister Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN (since 25 January 1993)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by Parliament
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament or Folketing (179 seats, including 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 11 March 1998 (next to be held by March 2002)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - progovernment parties: Social Democratic Party 65, Socialist People's Party 13, Social Liberal Party 7, Red-Green Unity List 5; opposition: Liberal Party 43, Conservative Party 17, Danish People's Party 13, Center Democratic Party 8, Christian People's Party 4, Progress Party 4; seats by party as of 1 January 2001: government coalition parties - Social Democrats 63, Social Liberals 7; pro-government parties - Socialist People's Party 13, Unity List 5; opposition - Liberals 42, Conservatives 16, Danish People's Party 13, Center Democrats 8, Christian People's Party 4, Progress Party 4 (now named Freedom 2000); does not include the 4 overseas seats
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life)
Political parties and leaders: Center Democratic Party [Mimi JAKOBSEN]; Christian People's Party [Jann SJURSEN]; Conservative Party (sometimes known as Conservative People's Party) [Bendt BENDTSEN]; Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN]; Progress Party (now named Freedom 2000) [Kim BEHNKE]; Social Democratic Party [Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN]; Social Liberal Party (sometimes called the Radical Left) [Marianne JELVED, leader; Johannes LEBECH, chairman]; Socialist People's Party [Holger K. NIELSEN]; Red-Green Unity List (bloc includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party) [collective leadership]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ulrik Andreas FEDERSPIEL
chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300
FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Stuart BERNSTEIN
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen
mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716
telephone: [45] 35 55 31 44
FAX: [45] 35 38 96 16
Flag description: red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side, and that design element of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden
Denmark Economy
Economy - overview: This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and has a comfortable balance of payments surplus. The center-left coalition government has reduced the formerly high unemployment rate and attained a budget surplus as well as followed the previous government's policies of maintaining low inflation and a stable currency. The coalition has lowered marginal income tax rates and raised environmental taxes thus maintaining overall tax revenues. Problems of bottlenecks, and longer term demographic changes reducing the labor force, are being addressed through labor market reforms. The government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (a common European currency) of the European Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark, in a September 2000 referendum, reconfirmed its decision not to join the 11 other EU members in the euro. Even so, the Danish currency remains pegged to the euro.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $136.2 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.8% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $25,500 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3%
industry: 25%
services: 72% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.9% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 2.856 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: services 79%, industry 17%, agriculture 4% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate: 5.3% (2000)
Budget: revenues: $52.9 billion
expenditures: $51.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2001 est.)
Industries: food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture, and other wood products, shipbuilding, windmills
Industrial production growth rate: 3% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production: 37.885 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 88.4%
hydro: 0.07%
nuclear: 0%
other: 11.53% (1999)
Electricity - consumption: 32.916 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports: 7.28 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 4.963 billion kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products: grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets; pork and beef, dairy products; fish
Exports: $50.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000)
Exports - commodities: machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills
Exports - partners: EU 66.5% (Germany 20.1%, Sweden 11.7%, UK 9.6%, France 5.3%, Netherlands 4.7%), Norway 5.8%, US 5.4% (1999)
Imports: $43.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods
Imports - partners: EU 72.1% (Germany 21.6%, Sweden 12.4%, UK 8.0%, Netherlands 8.0%, France 5.8%), Norway 4.2%, US 4.5% (1999)
Debt - external: $21.7 billion (2000)
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $1.63 billion (1999)
Currency: Danish krone (DKK)
Currency code: DKK
Exchange rates: Danish kroner per US dollar - 7.951 (January 2001), 8.083 (2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997), 5.799 (1996); note - the Danes rejected the Euro in a 28 September 2000 referendum
Fiscal year: calendar year
Denmark Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 4.785 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 1,444,016 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: excellent telephone and telegraph services
domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form trunk network, 4 cellular mobile communications systems
international: 18 submarine fiber-optic cables linking Denmark with Norway, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Canada; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 10 Eutelsat, 1 Orion, 1 Inmarsat (Blaavand-Atlantic-East); note - the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) share the Danish earth station and the Eik, Norway, station for worldwide Inmarsat access (1997)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 6.02 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998)
Televisions: 3.121 million (1997)
Internet country code: .dk
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 13 (2000)
Internet users: 2.3 million (2000)
Denmark Transportation
Railways: total: 2,859 km (508 km privately owned and operated)
standard gauge: 2,859 km 1.435-m gauge (600 km electrified; 760 km double track) (1998)
Highways: total: 71,474 km
paved: 71,474 km (including 880 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1999)
Waterways: 417 km
Pipelines: crude oil 110 km; petroleum products 578 km; natural gas 700 km
Ports and harbors: Abenra, Alborg, Arhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Kolding, Odense, Roenne (Bornholm), Vejle
Merchant marine: total: 342 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,073,489 GRT/8,027,002 DWT
ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 128, chemical tanker 27, container 76, liquefied gas 26, livestock carrier 6, petroleum tanker 22, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 23, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 3
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Finland 1 (2000 est.)
Airports: 119 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 12
under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 91
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 83 (2000 est.)
Denmark Military
Military branches: Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,292,619 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,106,094 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 29,212 (2001 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $2.47 billion (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.4% (FY99)
Denmark Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Iceland and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); dispute with Iceland over the Faroe Islands fisheries median line boundary within 200 NM; disputes with Iceland, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM
======================================================================
@Djibouti
Djibouti Introduction
Background: The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas became Djibouti in 1977. A peace accord in 1994 ended a three-year uprising by Afars rebels.
Djibouti Geography
Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia
Geographic coordinates: 11 30 N, 43 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 22,000 sq km
land: 21,980 sq km
water: 20 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Land boundaries: total: 508 km
border countries: Eritrea 113 km, Ethiopia 337 km, Somalia 58 km
Coastline: 314 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: desert; torrid, dry
Terrain: coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m
Natural resources: geothermal areas
Land use: arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 9%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 91% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods
Environment - current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland
Djibouti People
Population: 460,700 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 42.58% (male 98,314; female 97,859)
15-64 years: 54.58% (male 132,619; female 118,841)
65 years and over: 2.84% (male 6,787; female 6,280) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.6% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 40.66 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 14.66 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 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.08 male(s)/female
total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 101.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 51.21 years
male: 49.37 years
female: 53.1 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.72 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 11.75% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 37,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 3,100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Djiboutian(s)
adjective: Djiboutian
Ethnic groups: Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5%
Religions: Muslim 94%, Christian 6%
Languages: French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.2%
male: 60.3%
female: 32.7% (1995 est.)
Djibouti Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Djibouti
conventional short form: Djibouti
former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland
Government type: republic
Capital: Djibouti
Administrative divisions: 5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura
Independence: 27 June 1977 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 June (1977)
Constitution: multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992
Legal system: based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic law
Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult
Executive branch: chief of state: President GUELLEH Ismail Omar (since 8 May 1999);
head of government: Prime Minister DILLEITA Mohamed Dilleita (since 4 March 2001)
cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 9 April 1999 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: GUELLEH Ismail Omar elected president; percent of vote - GUELLEH Ismail Omar 74.4%, IDRIS Moussa Ahmed 25.6%
Legislative branch: unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (65 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2002)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - RPP 65; note - RPP (the ruling party) dominated the election
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Political parties and leaders: Democratic National Party or PND [ADEN Robleh Awaleh]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Abdillahi HAMARITEH]; People's Progress Assembly or RPP (governing party) [Ismail Omar GELLEH]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy or FRUD and affiliates; Movement for Unity and Democracy or MUD
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador ROBLE Olhaye Oudine
chancery: Suite 515, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202) 331-0270
FAX: [1] (202) 331-0302
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Donald YAMAMOTO
embassy: Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti
mailing address: B. P. 185, Djibouti
telephone: [253] 35 39 95
FAX: [253] 35 39 40
Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of light blue (top) and light green with a white isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a red five-pointed star in the center
Djibouti Economy
Economy - overview: The economy is based on service activities connected with the country's strategic location and status as a free trade zone in northeast Africa. Two-thirds of the inhabitants live in the capital city, the remainder being mostly nomadic herders. Scanty rainfall limits crop production to fruits and vegetables, and most food must be imported. Djibouti provides services as both a transit port for the region and an international transshipment and refueling center. It has few natural resources and little industry. The nation is, therefore, heavily dependent on foreign assistance to help support its balance of payments and to finance development projects. An unemployment rate of 40% to 50% continues to be a major problem. Inflation is not a concern, however, because of the fixed tie of the franc to the US dollar. Per capita consumption dropped an estimated 35% over the last seven years because of recession, civil war, and a high population growth rate (including immigrants and refugees). Faced with a multitude of economic difficulties, the government has fallen in arrears on long-term external debt and has been struggling to meet the stipulations of foreign aid donors. The year 2001 will see only small growth as port activity should decrease now that Ethiopia has more trade route options.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $574 million (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3%
industry: 22%
services: 75% (1998 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 282,000
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 75%, industry 11%, services 14% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate: 50% (2000 est.)
Budget: revenues: $133 million
expenditures: $187 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)
Industries: limited to a few small-scale enterprises, such as dairy products and mineral-water bottling
Industrial production growth rate: 3% (1996 est.)
Electricity - production: 180 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)
Electricity - consumption: 167.4 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products: fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels
Exports: $260 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.)
Exports - commodities: reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit)
Exports - partners: Somalia 53%, Yemen 23%, Ethiopia 5%, (1998)
Imports: $440 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.)
Imports - commodities: foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products
Imports - partners: France 13%, Ethiopia 12%, Italy 9%, Saudi Arabia 6%, UK 6% (1998)
Debt - external: $356 million (1999 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $106.3 million (1995)
Currency: Djiboutian franc (DJF)
Currency code: DJF
Exchange rates: Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.721 (fixed rate since 1973)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Djibouti Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 8,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 203 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: telephone facilities in the city of Djibouti are adequate as are the microwave radio relay connections to outlying areas of the country
domestic: microwave radio relay network
international: submarine cable to Jiddah, Suez, Sicily, Marseilles, Colombo, and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; Medarabtel regional microwave radio relay telephone network
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 52,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (plus 5 low-power repeaters) (1998)
Televisions: 28,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .dj
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 1,000 (2000)
Djibouti Transportation
Railways: total: 100 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
narrow gauge: 100 km 1.000-m gauge
note: Djibouti and Ethiopia plan to revitalize the century-old railroad that links their capitals by 2003
Highways: total: 2,890 km
paved: 364 km
unpaved: 2,526 km (1996)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Djibouti
Merchant marine: total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.)
Airports: 12 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.)
Djibouti Military
Military branches: Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 108,038 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 63,589 (2001 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $23 million (FY97)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4.5% (FY97)
Djibouti Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
======================================================================
@Dominica
Dominica Introduction
Background: Dominica was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by Europeans, due chiefly to the fierce resistance of the native Caribs. France ceded possession to Great Britain in 1763, which made the island a colony in 1805. In 1980, two years after independence, Dominica's fortunes improved when a corrupt and tyrannical administration was replaced by that of Mary Eugenia CHARLES, the first female prime minister in the Caribbean, who remained in office for 15 years.
Dominica Geography
Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago
Geographic coordinates: 15 25 N, 61 20 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 754 sq km
land: 754 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 148 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall
Terrain: rugged mountains of volcanic origin
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Morne Diablatins 1,447 m
Natural resources: timber, hydropower, arable land
Land use: arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 13%
permanent pastures: 3%
forests and woodland: 67%
other: 8% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months
Environment - current issues: NA
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Dominica People
Population: 70,786 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 28.72% (male 10,300; female 10,027)
15-64 years: 63.45% (male 23,056; female 21,855)
65 years and over: 7.83% (male 2,267; female 3,281) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.98% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 17.81 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 7.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: -20.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 16.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.6 years
male: 70.74 years
female: 76.61 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.03 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican
Ethnic groups: black, Carib Amerindian
Religions: Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%, Pentecostal 3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%), none 2%, other 6%
Languages: English (official), French patois
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 94%
male: 94%
female: 94% (1970 est.)
Dominica Government
Country name: conventional long form: Commonwealth of Dominica
conventional short form: Dominica
Government type: parliamentary democracy; republic within the Commonwealth
Capital: Roseau
Administrative divisions: 10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter
Independence: 3 November 1978 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 3 November (1978)
Constitution: 3 November 1978
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Vernon Lordon SHAW (since 6 October 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Pierre CHARLES (since 1 October 2000); note - assumed post after death of Roosevelt DOUGLAS
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister
elections: president elected by the House of Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 6 October 1998 (next to be held NA October 2003); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Vernon Lordon SHAW elected president; percent of legislative vote - NA%
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly (30 seats, 9 appointed senators, 21 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 31 January 2000 (next to be held by NA 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -DLP 11, UWP 8, DFP 2
Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the Court of Appeal and the High Court (located in Saint Lucia; one of the six judges must reside in Dominica and preside over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction)
Political parties and leaders: Dominica Freedom Party or DFP [Charles SAVARIN]; Dominica Labor Party or DLP [Pierre CHARLES]; United Workers Party or UWP [Edison JAMES]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Dominica Liberation Movement or DLM (a small leftist party)
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Nicholas J. O. LIVERPOOL (resident in Dominica)
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
telephone: [1] (202) 364-6781
FAX: [1] (202) 364-6791
consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy in Dominica; US interests are served by the embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados
Flag description: green, with a centered cross of three equal bands - the vertical part is yellow (hoist side), black, and white and the horizontal part is yellow (top), black, and white; superimposed in the center of the cross is a red disk bearing a sisserou parrot encircled by 10 green, five-pointed stars edged in yellow; the 10 stars represent the 10 administrative divisions (parishes)
Dominica Economy
Economy - overview: The economy depends on agriculture and is highly vulnerable to climatic conditions, notably tropical storms. Agriculture, primarily bananas, accounts for 21% of GDP and employs 40% of the labor force. Development of the tourist industry remains difficult because of the rugged coastline, lack of beaches, and the lack of an international airport. Hurricane Luis devastated the country's banana crop in September 1995; tropical storms had wiped out one-quarter of the crop in 1994 as well. The subsequent recovery has been fueled by increases in construction, soap production, and tourist arrivals. The government is attempting to develop an offshore financial industry in order to diversify the island's production base.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $290 million (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 0.5% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 21%
industry: 16%
services: 63% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 25,000
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28%
Unemployment rate: 20% (1999 est.)
Budget: revenues: $72 million
expenditures: $79.9 million, including capital expenditures of $11.5 million (FY97/98)
Industries: soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes
Industrial production growth rate: -10% (1997 est.)
Electricity - production: 62 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 48.39%
hydro: 51.61%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)
Electricity - consumption: 57.7 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products: bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts, cocoa; forest and fishery potential not exploited
Exports: $60.7 million (2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges
Exports - partners: Caricom countries 47%, UK 36%, US 7% (1996 est.)
Imports: $126 million (2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals
Imports - partners: US 41%, Caricom countries 25%, UK 13%, Netherlands, Canada (1996 est.)
Debt - external: $108.9 million (1999)
Economic aid - recipient: $24.4 million (1995)
Currency: East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Currency code: XCD
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
Dominica Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 19,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 461 (1996)
Telephone system: general assessment: NA
domestic: fully automatic network
international: microwave radio relay and SHF radiotelephone links to Martinique and Guadeloupe; VHF and UHF radiotelephone links to Saint Lucia
Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 10, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 46,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 0 (however, there is one cable television company) (1997)
Televisions: 6,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .dm
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 16 (2000)
Internet users: 2,000 (2000)
Dominica Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 750 km
paved: 375 km
unpaved: 375 km (2001)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Portsmouth, Roseau
Merchant marine: none (2000 est.)
Airports: 2 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.)
Dominica Military
Military branches: Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (includes Special Service Unit, Coast Guard)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Dominica Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; minor cannabis producer; banking industry is vulnerable to money laundering
======================================================================
@Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic Introduction
Background: A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative, rule for much of the 20th century was brought to an end in 1996 when free and open elections ushered in a new government.
Dominican Republic Geography
Location: Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti
Geographic coordinates: 19 00 N, 70 40 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 48,730 sq km
land: 48,380 sq km
water: 350 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire
Land boundaries: total: 275 km
border countries: Haiti 275 km
Coastline: 1,288 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 6 NM
Climate: tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall
Terrain: rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m
highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m
Natural resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
Land use: arable land: 21%
permanent crops: 9%
permanent pastures: 43%
forests and woodland: 12%
other: 15% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 2,300 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts
Environment - current issues: water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation; Hurricane Georges damage
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note: shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic, western one-third is Haiti)
Dominican Republic People
Population: 8,581,477 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 34.11% (male 1,495,477; female 1,431,406)
15-64 years: 60.99% (male 2,664,679; female 2,569,398)
65 years and over: 4.9% (male 199,240; female 221,277) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.63% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 24.77 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 4.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: -3.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 34.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.44 years
male: 71.34 years
female: 75.64 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.97 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 2.8% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 130,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 4,900 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican
Ethnic groups: white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%
Languages: Spanish
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.1%
male: 82%
female: 82.2% (1995 est.)
Dominican Republic Government
Country name: conventional long form: Dominican Republic
conventional short form: none
local long form: Republica Dominicana
local short form: none
Government type: representative democracy
Capital: Santo Domingo
Administrative divisions: 29 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Valverde
Independence: 27 February 1844 (from Haiti)
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 February (1844)
Constitution: 28 November 1966
Legal system: based on French civil codes
Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age
note: members of the armed forces and police cannot vote
Executive branch: chief of state: President Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (since 16 August 2000); Vice President Milagros ORTIZ-BOSCH (since 16 August 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (since 16 August 2000); Vice President Milagros ORTIZ-BOSCH (since 16 August 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term; election last held 16 May 2000 (next to be held NA May 2004)
election results: Raphael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez elected president; percent of vote - Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (PRD) 49.87%, Danilo MEDINA (PLD) 24.95%, Joaquin BALAGUER (PRSC) 24.6%
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (30 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (149 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 16 May 1998 (next to be held NA May 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 May 1998 (next to be held NA May 2002)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 24, PLD 3, PRSC 3; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 83, PLD 49, PRSC 17
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are elected by a Council made up of members of the legislative and executive branches with the president presiding)
Political parties and leaders: Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Hatuey DE CAMPS]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Joaquin BALAGUER Ricardo]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Collective of Popular Organizations or COP
International organization participation: ACP, Caricom (observer), ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Roberto Bienvenido SALADIN-SELIN
chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280
FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
consulate(s): Houston, Jacksonville, Mobile, and Ponce (Puerto Rico)
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Charles T. MANATT
embassy: corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo
mailing address: Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500
telephone: [1] (809) 221-2171
FAX: [1] (809) 686-7437
Flag description: a centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms is at the center of the cross
Dominican Republic Economy
Economy - overview: The Dominican economy experienced dramatic growth over the last decade, even though the economy was hit hard by Hurricane Georges in 1998. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest ten percent enjoy 40% of national income. In December 2000, the new MEJIA administration passed broad new tax legislation which it hopes will provide enough revenue to offset rising oil prices and to service foreign debt.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $48.3 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 8% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,700 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 11.3%
industry: 32.2%
services: 56.5% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: 25% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 39.6% (1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.9% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 2.3 million - 2.6 million
Labor force - by occupation: services and government 58.7%, industry 24.3%, agriculture 17% (1998 est.)
Unemployment rate: 13.8% (1999 est.)
Budget: revenues: $2.3 billion
expenditures: $2.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $867 million (1999 est.)
Industries: tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco
Industrial production growth rate: 8% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production: 7.29 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 87.19%
hydro: 12.4%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.41% (1999)
Electricity - consumption: 6.78 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products: sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs
Exports: $5.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000)
Exports - commodities: ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats
Exports - partners: US 66.1%, Netherlands 7.8%, Canada 7.6%, Russia 7.4%, UK 4.5% (1999 est.)
Imports: $9.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
Imports - partners: US 25.7%, Venezuela 9.2%, Mexico 4%, Japan 3%, Panama 2.6% (1999 est.)
Debt - external: $4.7 billion (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $239.6 million (1995)
Currency: Dominican peso (DOP)
Currency code: DOP
Exchange rates: Dominican pesos per US dollar - 16.888 (January 2001), 16.415 (2000), 16.033 (1999), 15.267 (1998), 14.265 (1997), 13.775 (1996)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Dominican Republic Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 709,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 130,149 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: NA
domestic: relatively efficient system based on islandwide microwave radio relay network
international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios: 1.44 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 25 (1997)
Televisions: 770,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .do
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 24 (2000)
Internet users: 25,000 (1999)
Dominican Republic Transportation
Railways: total: 757 km
standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge (Central Romana Railroad)
narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge (Dominican Republic Government Railway)
note: 240 km operated by sugar companies in various gauges (0.558-m, 0.762-m, 1.067-m gauges) (2000)
Highways: total: 12,600 km
paved: 6,224 km
unpaved: 6,376 km (1996)
Waterways: none
Pipelines: crude oil 96 km; petroleum products 8 km
Ports and harbors: Barahona, La Romana, Puerto Plata, San Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo
Merchant marine: total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,587 GRT/1,165 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.)
Airports: 29 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 13
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.)
Dominican Republic Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,281,035 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,430,776 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 87,404 (2001 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $180 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.1% (FY98)
Dominican Republic Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada
======================================================================
@Ecuador
Ecuador Introduction
Background: The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999.
Ecuador Geography
Location: Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
Geographic coordinates: 2 00 S, 77 30 W
Map references: South America
Area: total: 283,560 sq km
land: 276,840 sq km
water: 6,720 sq km
note: includes Galapagos Islands
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Nevada
Land boundaries: total: 2,010 km
border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km
Coastline: 2,237 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: claims continental shelf between mainland and Galapagos Islands
territorial sea: 200 NM
Climate: tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands
Terrain: coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 6%
permanent crops: 5%
permanent pastures: 18%
forests and woodland: 56%
other: 15% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 5,560 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; periodic droughts
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes
Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world
Ecuador People
Population: 13,183,978 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 35.8% (male 2,398,801; female 2,320,537)
15-64 years: 59.81% (male 3,900,193; female 3,984,797)
65 years and over: 4.39% (male 269,372; female 310,278) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 2% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 25.99 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 5.44 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 34.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.33 years
male: 68.52 years
female: 74.28 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.12 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.29% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 19,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,400 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Ecuadorian(s)
adjective: Ecuadorian
Ethnic groups: mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%
Languages: Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.1%
male: 92%
female: 88.2% (1995 est.)
Ecuador Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador
conventional short form: Ecuador
local long form: Republica del Ecuador
local short form: Ecuador
Government type: republic
Capital: Quito
Administrative divisions: 22 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe
Independence: 24 May 1822 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809)
Constitution: 10 August 1998
Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters
Executive branch: chief of state: President Gustavo NOBOA Bejarano (since 22 January 2000) selected president following coup that deposed President MAHUAD; Vice President Pedro PINTO Rubianes (since 28 January 2000) elected by National Congress from a slate of candidates submitted by President NABOA; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Gustavo NOBOA Bejarano (since 22 January 2000) selected president following coup that deposed President MAHUAD; Vice President Pedro PINTO Rubianes (since 28 January 2000) elected by National Congress from a slate of candidates submitted by President NABOA; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term (no reelection); election last held 31 May 1998; runoff election held 12 July 1998 (next to be held NA 2002)
election results: results of the last election prior to the coup were: Jamil MAHUAD elected president; percent of vote - 51%
note: a military-indigenous coup toppled democratically elected President Jamil MAHAUD on 21 January 2000; the military quickly handed power over to Vice President Gustavo NOBOA on 22 January; National Congress then elected a new vice president from a slate of candidates submitted by NOBOA; the new administration is scheduled to complete the remainder of MAHAUD's term, due to expire in January 2003
Legislative branch: unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (121 seats; 79 members are popularly elected at-large nationally to serve four-year terms; 42 members are popularly elected by province - two per province - for four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 May 1998 (next to be held NA 2002)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - DP 32, PSC 27, PRE 24, ID 18, P-NP 9, FRA 5, PCE 3, MPD 2, CFP 1; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court)
Political parties and leaders: Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP [Averroes BUCARAM]; Democratic Left or ID [Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos]; Ecuadorian Conservative Party or PCE [Sixto DURAN Ballen]; Independent National Movement or MIN [leader NA]; Pachakutik-New Country or P-NP [Rafael PANDAM]; Popular Democracy or DP [Ramiro RIVERA]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [leader NA]; Radical Alfarista Front or FRA [Fabian ALARCON, director]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Jaime NEBOT Saadi, president]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Antonio VARGAS]; Coordinator of Social Movements or CMS [F. Napoleon SANTOS]; Popular Front or FP [Luis VILLACIS]
International organization participation: CAN, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ivonne A-BAKI
chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200
FAX: [1] (202) 667-3482
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Gwen C. CLARE
embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito
mailing address: APO AA 34039
telephone: [593] (2) 562-890
FAX: [593] (2) 502-052
consulate(s) general: Guayaquil
Flag description: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms
Ecuador Economy
Economy - overview: Ecuador has substantial oil resources and rich agricultural areas. Because the country exports primary products such as oil, bananas, and shrimp, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. Ecuador joined the World Trade Organization in 1996, but has failed to comply with many of its accession commitments. In recent years, growth has been uneven due to ill-conceived fiscal stabilization measures. The aftermath of El Nino and depressed oil market of 1997-98 drove Ecuador's economy into a free-fall in 1999. The beginning of 1999 saw the banking sector collapse, which helped precipitate an unprecedented default on external loans later that year. Continued economic instability drove a 70% depreciation of the currency throughout 1999, which eventually forced a desperate government to "dollarize" the currency regime in 2000. The move stabilized the currency, but did not stave off the ouster of the government. The new president, Gustavo NOBOA has yet to complete negotiations for a long sought IMF accord. He will find it difficult to push through the reforms necessary to make "dollarization" work in the long run.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $37.2 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 0.8% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 14%
industry: 36%
services: 50% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: 50% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 33.8% (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 96% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 4.2 million
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 13%; note - widespread underemployment (2000 est.)
Budget: revenues: planned $5.1 billion (not including revenue from potential privatizations)
expenditures: $5.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999)
Industries: petroleum, food processing, textiles, metal work, paper products, wood products, chemicals, plastics, fishing, lumber
Industrial production growth rate: 2.4% (1997 est.)
Electricity - production: 10.065 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 29.51%
hydro: 70.49%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)
Electricity - consumption: 9.386 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 25 million kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products: bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp
Exports: $5.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: petroleum, bananas, shrimp, coffee, cocoa, cut flowers, fish
Exports - partners: US 37%, Colombia 5%, Italy 5%, Chile 5%, Peru 4% (1999)
Imports: $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, raw materials, fuels; consumer goods
Imports - partners: US 30%, Colombia 13%, Venezuela 6%, Japan 5%, Venezuela 6%, Mexico 3% (1998)
Debt - external: $15 billion (1999)
Economic aid - recipient: $695.7 million (1995)
Currency: US dollar (USD)
Currency code: USD
Exchange rates: sucres per US dollar - 25,000 (January 2001), 24,988.4 (2000), 11,786.8 (1999), 5,446.6 (1998), 3,988.3 (1997), 3,189.5 (1996)
note: on 7 January 2000, the government passed a decree "dollarizing" the economy; on 13 March 2000, the National Congress approved a new exchange system whereby the US dollar is adopted as the main legal tender in Ecuador for all purposes; on 20 March 2000, the Central Bank of Ecuador started to exchange sucres for US dollars at a fixed rate of 25,000 sucres per US dollar; since 30 April 2000, all transactions are denominated in US dollars
Fiscal year: calendar year
Ecuador Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 899,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 160,061 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: NA
domestic: facilities generally inadequate and unreliable
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 392, FM 27, shortwave 29 (1998)
Radios: 4.15 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 15 (including one station on the Galapagos Islands) (1997)
Televisions: 1.55 million (1997)
Internet country code: .ec
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 13 (2000)
Internet users: 20,000 (2000)
Ecuador Transportation
Railways: total: 965 km
narrow gauge: 965 km 1.067-m gauge (2000)
Highways: total: 43,197 km
paved: 8,165 km
unpaved: 35,032 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: 1,500 km
Pipelines: crude oil 800 km; petroleum products 1,358 km
Ports and harbors: Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, San Lorenzo
Merchant marine: total: 30 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 233,312 GRT/385,784 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 1, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 22, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.)
Airports: 180 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 59
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 18
914 to 1,523 m: 15
under 914 m: 19 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 121
914 to 1,523 m: 32
under 914 m: 89 (2000 est.)
Heliports: 1 (2000 est.)
Ecuador Military
Military branches: Army (Ejercito Ecuatoriano), Navy (Armada Ecuatoriana, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana), National Police (Policia Nacional)
Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 3,382,567 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 2,280,899 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 132,978 (2001 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $720 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.4% (FY98)
Ecuador Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: significant transit country for cocaine and derivatives of coca originating in Colombia and Peru; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; important money-laundering hub; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents
======================================================================
@Egypt
Egypt Introduction
Background: Nominally independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty following World War II. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile river in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to ready the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure.
Egypt Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip
Geographic coordinates: 27 00 N, 30 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 1,001,450 sq km
land: 995,450 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico
Land boundaries: total: 2,689 km
border countries: Gaza Strip 11 km, Israel 255 km, Libya 1,150 km, Sudan 1,273 km
Coastline: 2,450 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
Terrain: vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Qattara Depression -133 m
highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc
Land use: arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 98% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 32,460 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, volcanic activity; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms
Environment - current issues: agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands; increasing soil salination below Aswan High Dam; desertification; oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats; other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents; very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Nile which is the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population overstraining natural resources
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, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, shortest sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea; size, and juxtaposition to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics; dependence on upstream neighbors; dominance of Nile basin issues; prone to influxes of refugees
Egypt People
Population: 69,536,644 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 34.59% (male 12,313,585; female 11,739,072)
15-64 years: 61.6% (male 21,614,284; female 21,217,978)
65 years and over: 3.81% (male 1,160,967; female 1,490,758) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.69% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 24.89 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 7.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.24 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: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 60.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 63.69 years
male: 61.62 years
female: 65.85 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.07 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.02% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Egyptian(s)
adjective: Egyptian
Ethnic groups: Eastern Hamitic stock (Egyptians, Bedouins, and Berbers) 99%, Greek, Nubian, Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and French) 1%
Religions: Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94%, Coptic Christian and other 6%
Languages: Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 51.4%
male: 63.6%
female: 38.8% (1995 est.)
Egypt Government
Country name: conventional long form: Arab Republic of Egypt
conventional short form: Egypt
local long form: Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah
local short form: Misr
former: United Arab Republic (with Syria)
Government type: republic
Capital: Cairo
Administrative divisions: 26 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Ad Daqahliyah, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum, Al Gharbiyah, Al Iskandariyah, Al Isma'iliyah, Al Jizah, Al Minufiyah, Al Minya, Al Qahirah, Al Qalyubiyah, Al Wadi al Jadid, Ash Sharqiyah, As Suways, Aswan, Asyut, Bani Suwayf, Bur Sa'id, Dumyat, Janub Sina', Kafr ash Shaykh, Matruh, Qina, Shamal Sina', Suhaj
Independence: 28 February 1922 (from UK)
National holiday: Revolution Day, 23 July (1952)
Constitution: 11 September 1971
Legal system: based on English common law, Islamic law, and Napoleonic codes; judicial review by Supreme Court and Council of State (oversees validity of administrative decisions); accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (since 14 October 1981)
head of government: Prime Minister Atef OBEID (since 5 October 1999)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president nominated by the People's Assembly for a six-year term, the nomination must then be validated by a national, popular referendum; national referendum last held 26 September 1999 (next to be held NA October 2005); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: national referendum validated President MUBARAK's nomination by the People's Assembly to a fourth term
Legislative branch: bicameral system consists of the People's Assembly or Majlis al-Sha'b (454 seats; 444 elected by popular vote, 10 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms) and the Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura - which functions only in a consultative role (264 seats; 176 elected by popular vote, 88 appointed by the president; members serve NA-year terms)
elections: People's Assembly - three-phase voting - last held 19 October, 29 October, 8 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2005); Advisory Council - last held 7 June 1995 (next to be held NA)
election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NDP 88%, independents 8%, opposition 4%; seats by party - NDP 398, NWP 7, Tagammu 6, Nasserists 2, LSP 1, independents 38, undecided 2; Advisory Council - percent of vote by party - NDP 99%, independents 1%; seats by party - NA
Judicial branch: Supreme Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders: Nasserist Arab Democratic Party or Nasserists [Dia' al-din DAWUD]; National Democratic Party or NDP [President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK, leader] - governing party; National Progressive Unionist Grouping or Tagammu [Khalid MUHI AL-DIN]; New Wafd Party or NWP [No'man GOMA]; Socialist Liberal Party or LSP [leader NA]
note: formation of political parties must be approved by government
Political pressure groups and leaders: despite a constitutional ban against religious-based parties, the technically illegal Muslim Brotherhood constitutes MUBARAK's potentially most significant political opposition; MUBARAK tolerated limited political activity by the Brotherhood for his first two terms, but moved more aggressively since then to block its influence; civic society groups are sanctioned, but constrained in practical terms; trade unions and professional associations are officially sanctioned
International organization participation: ABEDA, ACC, ACCT (associate), AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BSEC (observer), CAEU, CCC, EBRD, ECA, ESCWA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Nabil FAHMY
chancery: 3521 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 895-5400
FAX: [1] (202) 244-4319, 5131
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel C. KURTZER
embassy: 5 Latin America St., Garden City, Cairo
mailing address: Unit 64900, APO AE 09839-4900
telephone: [20] (2) 795-7371
FAX: [20] (2) 797-2000
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with the national emblem (a shield superimposed on a golden eagle facing the hoist side above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars, and to the flag of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band
Egypt Economy
Economy - overview: A series of IMF arrangements - along with massive external debt relief resulting from Egypt's participation in the Gulf war coalition - helped Egypt improve its macroeconomic performance during the 1990s. Sound fiscal and monetary policies through the mid-1990s helped to tame inflation, slash budget deficits, and build up foreign reserves, while structural reforms such as privatization and new business legislation prompted increased foreign investment. By mid-1998, however, the pace of structural reform slackened, and lower combined hard currency earnings resulted in pressure on the Egyptian pound and sporadic US dollar shortages. External payments were not in crisis, but Cairo's attempts to curb demand for foreign exchange convinced some investors and currency traders that government financial operations lacked transparency and coordination. Monetary pressures have since eased, however, with the 1999-2000 higher oil prices, a rebound in tourism, and a series of mini-devaluations of the pound. The development of a gas export market is a major plus factor in future growth.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $247 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 17%
industry: 32%
services: 51% (1999)
Population below poverty line: 22.9% (FY95/96 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 4.4%
highest 10%: 25% (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (2000)
Labor force: 19.9 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 29%, services 49%, industry 22% (FY99)
Unemployment rate: 11.5% (2000 est.)
Budget: revenues: $22.6 billion
expenditures: $26.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99)
Industries: textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement, metals
Industrial production growth rate: 2.1% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production: 64.685 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 76.59%
hydro: 23.41%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)
Electricity - consumption: 60.157 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products: cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats
Exports: $7.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals
Exports - partners: EU 35%, Middle East 17%, Afro-Asian countries 14%, US 12% (1999)
Imports: $17 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, wood products, fuels
Imports - partners: EU 36%, US 14%, Afro-Asian countries 14%, Middle East 6% (1999)
Debt - external: $31 billion (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $2.25 billion (1999)
Currency: Egyptian pound (EGP)
Currency code: EGP
Exchange rates: Egyptian pounds per US dollar - market rate - 3.8400 (January 2001), 3.6900 (2000), 3.4050 (1999), 3.3880 (1998), 3.3880 (1997), 3.3880 (1996)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
Egypt Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 3,971,500 (December 1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 380,000 (1999)
Telephone system: general assessment: large system; underwent extensive upgrading during 1990s and is reasonably modern; Internet access and cellular service are available
domestic: principal centers at Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, Suez, and Tanta are connected by coaxial cable and microwave radio relay
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat; 5 coaxial submarine cables; tropospheric scatter to Sudan; microwave radio relay to Israel; a participant in Medarabtel and a signatory to Project Oxygen (a global submarine fiber-optic cable system)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 42 (plus 15 repeaters), FM 14, shortwave 3 (1999)
Radios: 20.5 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 98 (September 1995)
Televisions: 7.7 million (1997)
Internet country code: .eg
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 50 (2000)
Internet users: 300,000 (2000)
Egypt Transportation
Railways: total: 4,955 km
standard gauge: 4,955 km 1,435-m gauge (42 km electrified; 1,560 km double track) (2000)
Highways: total: 64,000 km
paved: 50,000 km
unpaved: 14,000 km (1996)
Waterways: 3,500 km
note: including the Nile, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in the delta; Suez Canal (193.5 km including approaches), used by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 16.1 m of water
Pipelines: crude oil 1,171 km; petroleum products 596 km; natural gas 460 km
Ports and harbors: Alexandria, Al Ghardaqah, Aswan, Asyut, Bur Safajah, Damietta, Marsa Matruh, Port Said, Suez
Merchant marine: total: 181 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,336,678 GRT/1,982,220 DWT
ships by type: bulk 23, cargo 61, container 2, liquefied gas 1, passenger 61, petroleum tanker 15, roll on/roll off 15, short-sea passenger 3 (2000 est.)
Airports: 90 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 69
over 3,047 m: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 35
1,524 to 2,437 m: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 21
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.)
Heliports: 2 (2000 est.)
Egypt Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command
Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 18,562,994 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 12,020,059 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 712,983 (2001 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $4.04 billion (FY99/00)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4.1% (FY99/00)
Egypt Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: Egypt asserts its claim to the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km under partial Sudanese administration that is defined by an administrative boundary which supersedes the treaty boundary of 1899
Illicit drugs: a transit point for Southwest Asian and Southeast Asian heroin and opium moving to Europe, Africa, and the US; popular transit stop for Nigerian couriers
======================================================================
@El Salvador
El Salvador Introduction
Background: El Salvador achieved independence from Spain in 1821 and from the Central American Federation in 1839. A 12-year civil war, which cost the lives of some 75,000 people, was brought to a close in 1992 when the government and leftist rebels signed a treaty that provided for military and political reforms.
El Salvador Geography
Location: Middle America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras
Geographic coordinates: 13 50 N, 88 55 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 21,040 sq km
land: 20,720 sq km
water: 320 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Land boundaries: total: 545 km
border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km
Coastline: 307 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 200 NM
Climate: tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands
Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m
Natural resources: hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land
Land use: arable land: 27%
permanent crops: 8%
permanent pastures: 29%
forests and woodland: 5%
other: 31% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,200 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes; Hurricane Mitch damage
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note: smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea
El Salvador People
Population: 6,237,662 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 37.68% (male 1,198,623; female 1,151,584)
15-64 years: 57.27% (male 1,693,865; female 1,878,254)
65 years and over: 5.05% (male 142,345; female 172,991) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.85% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 28.67 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 6.18 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: -3.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 28.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.03 years
male: 66.43 years
female: 73.81 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.34 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.6% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 20,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,300 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Salvadoran(s)
adjective: Salvadoran
Ethnic groups: mestizo 90%, Amerindian 1%, white 9%
Religions: Roman Catholic 86%
note: there is extensive activity by Protestant groups throughout the country; by the end of 1992, there were an estimated 1 million Protestant evangelicals in El Salvador
Languages: Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians)
Literacy: definition: age 10 and over can read and write
total population: 71.5%
male: 73.5%
female: 69.8% (1995 est.)
El Salvador Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of El Salvador
conventional short form: El Salvador
local long form: Republica de El Salvador
local short form: El Salvador
Government type: republic
Capital: San Salvador
Administrative divisions: 14 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa Ana, San Vicente, Sonsonate, Usulutan
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution: 23 December 1983
Legal system: based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Francisco FLORES Perez (since 1 June 1999); Vice President Carlos QUINTANILLA Schmidt (since 1 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Francisco FLORES Perez (since 1 June 1999); Vice President Carlos QUINTANILLA Schmidt (since 1 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: cabinet selected by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2004)
election results: Francisco FLORES Perez elected president; percent of vote - Francisco FLORES (ARENA) 52%, Facundo GUARDADO (FMLN) 29%, Ruben ZAMORA (CDU) 7.5%, other (no individual above 3%) 11.5%
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (84 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve three-year terms)