Y
Reading edition
Years
All year references are for the calendar year (CY) unless indicated as fiscal year (FY). The calendar year is an accounting period of 12 months from 1 January to 31 December. The fiscal year is an accounting period of 12 months other than 1 January to 31 December.
Note: Information for the US and US dependencies was complied from material in the public domain and does not represent Intelligence Community estimates.
======================================================================
About :: History
A Brief History of Basic Intelligence and The World Factbook
The Intelligence Cycle is the process by which information is acquired, converted into intelligence, and made available to policymakers. Information is raw data from any source, data that may be fragmentary, contradictory, unreliable, ambiguous, deceptive, or wrong. Intelligence is information that has been collected, integrated, evaluated, analyzed, and interpreted. Finished intelligence is the final product of the Intelligence Cycle ready to be delivered to the policymaker.
The three types of finished intelligence are: basic, current, and estimative. Basic intelligence provides the fundamental and factual reference material on a country or issue. Current intelligence reports on new developments. Estimative intelligence judges probable outcomes. The three are mutually supportive: basic intelligence is the foundation on which the other two are constructed; current intelligence continually updates the inventory of knowledge; and estimative intelligence revises overall interpretations of country and issue prospects for guidance of basic and current intelligence. The World Factbook, The President's Daily Brief, and the National Intelligence Estimates are examples of the three types of finished intelligence.
The United States has carried on foreign intelligence activities since the days of George Washington but only since World War II have they been coordinated on a government-wide basis. Three programs have highlighted the development of coordinated basic intelligence since that time: (1) the Joint Army Navy Intelligence Studies (JANIS), (2) the National Intelligence Survey (NIS), and (3)The World Factbook .
During World War II, intelligence consumers realized that the production of basic intelligence by different components of the US Government resulted in a great duplication of effort and conflicting information. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 brought home to leaders in Congress and the executive branch the need for integrating departmental reports to national policymakers. Detailed and coordinated information was needed not only on such major powers as Germany and Japan, but also on places of little previous interest. In the Pacific Theater, for example, the Navy and Marines had to launch amphibious operations against many islands about which information was unconfirmed or nonexistent. Intelligence authorities resolved that the United States should never again be caught unprepared.
In 1943, Gen. George B. Strong (G-2), Adm. H. C. Train (Office of Naval Intelligence - ONI), and Gen. William J. Donovan (Director of the Office of Strategic Services - OSS) decided that a joint effort should be initiated. A steering committee was appointed on 27 April 1943 that recommended the formation of a Joint Intelligence Study Publishing Board to assemble, edit, coordinate, and publish the Joint Army Navy Intelligence Studies (JANIS). JANIS was the first interdepartmental basic intelligence program to fulfill the needs of the US Government for an authoritative and coordinated appraisal of strategic basic intelligence. Between April 1943 and July 1947, the board published 34 JANIS studies. JANIS performed well in the war effort, and numerous letters of commendation were received, including a statement from Adm. Forrest Sherman, Chief of Staff, Pacific Ocean Areas, which said, "JANIS has become the indispensable reference work for the shore-based planners."
The need for more comprehensive basic intelligence in the postwar world was well expressed in 1946 by George S. Pettee, a noted author on national security. He wrote in The Future of American Secret Intelligence (Infantry Journal Press, 1946, page 46) that world leadership in peace requires even more elaborate intelligence than in war. "The conduct of peace involves all countries, all human activities - not just the enemy and his war production."
The Central Intelligence Agency was established on 26 July 1947 and officially began operating on 18 September 1947. Effective 1 October 1947, the Director of Central Intelligence assumed operational responsibility for JANIS. On 13 January 1948, the National Security Council issued Intelligence Directive (NSCID) No. 3, which authorized the National Intelligence Survey (NIS) program as a peacetime replacement for the wartime JANIS program. Before adequate NIS country sections could be produced, government agencies had to develop more comprehensive gazetteers and better maps. The US Board on Geographic Names (BGN) compiled the names; the Department of the Interior produced the gazetteers; and CIA produced the maps.
The Hoover Commission's Clark Committee, set up in 1954 to study the structure and administration of the CIA, reported to Congress in 1955 that: "The National Intelligence Survey is an invaluable publication which provides the essential elements of basic intelligence on all areas of the world. There will always be a continuing requirement for keeping the Survey up-to-date." The Factbook was created as an annual summary and update to the encyclopedic NIS studies. The first classified Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first unclassified version was published in June 1971. The NIS program was terminated in 1973 except for the Factbook, map, and gazetteer components. The 1975 Factbook was the first to be made available to the public with sales through the US Government Printing Office (GPO). The Factbook was first made available on the Internet in June 1997. The year 2010 marks the 63rd anniversary of the establishment of the Central Intelligence Agency and the 67th year of continuous basic intelligence support to the US Government by The World Factbook and its two predecessor programs.
The Evolution of The World Factbook
National Basic Intelligence Factbook produced semiannually until 1980. Country entries include sections on Land, Water, People, Government, Economy, Communications, and Defense Forces.
1981
Publication becomes an annual product and is renamed The World Factbook. A total of 165 nations are covered on 225 pages.
1983
Appendices (Conversion Factors, International Organizations) first introduced.
1984
Appendices expanded; now include: A. The United Nations, B. Selected United Nations Organizations, C. Selected International Organizations, D. Country Membership in Selected Organizations, E. Conversion Factors.
1987
A new Geography section replaces the former separate Land and Water sections. UN Organizations and Selected International Organizations appendices merged into a new International Organizations appendix. First multi-color-cover Factbook.
1988
More than 40 new geographic entities added to provide complete world coverage without overlap or omission. Among the new entities are Antarctica, oceans (Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific), and the World. The front-of-the-book explanatory introduction expanded and retitled to Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations. Two new Appendices added: Weights and Measures (in place of Conversion Factors) and a Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names. Factbook size reaches 300 pages.
1989
Economy section completely revised and now includes an Overview briefly describing a country's economy. New entries added under People, Government, and Communications.
1990
The Government section revised and considerably expanded with new entries.
1991
A new International Organizations and Groups appendix added. Factbook size reaches 405 pages.
1992
Twenty new successor state entries replace those of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. New countries are respectively: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan; and Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia. Number of nations in the Factbook rises to 188.
1993
Czechoslovakia's split necessitates new Czech Republic and Slovakia entries. New Eritrea entry added after it secedes from Ethiopia. Substantial enhancements made to Geography section.
1994
Two new appendices address Selected International Environmental Agreements. The gross domestic product (GDP) of most developing countries changed to a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis rather than an exchange rate basis. Factbook size up to 512 pages.
1995
The GDP of all countries now presented on a PPP basis. New appendix lists estimates of GDP on an exchange rate basis. Communications category split; Railroads, Highways, Inland waterways, Pipelines, Merchant marine, and Airports entries now make up a new Transportation category. The World Factbook is first produced on CD-ROM.
1996
Maps accompanying each entry now present more detail. Flags also introduced for nearly all entities. Various new entries appear under Geography and Communications. Factbook abbreviations consolidated into a new Appendix A. Two new appendices present a Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes and a Cross-Reference List of Hydrogeographic Data Codes. Geographic coordinates added to Appendix H, Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names. Factbook size expands by 95 pages in one year to reach 652.
1997
The World Factbook introduced onto the Internet. A special printed edition prepared for the CIA's 50th anniversary. A schema or Guide to Country Profiles introduced. New color maps and flags now accompany each country profile. Category headings distinguished by shaded backgrounds. Number of categories expanded to nine - the current number - with the addition of an Introduction (for only a few countries) and Transnational Issues (which includes Disputes-international and Illicit drugs).
1998
The Introduction category with two entries, Current issues and Historical perspective, expanded to more countries. Last year for the production of CD-ROM versions of the Factbook.
1999
Historical perspective and Current issues entries in the Introduction category combined into a new Background statement. Several new Economy entries introduced. A new physical map of the world added to the back-of-the-book reference maps.
2000
A new "country profile" added on the Southern Ocean. The Background statements dramatically expanded to over 200 countries and possessions. A number of new Communications entries added.
2001
Background entries completed for all 267 entities in the Factbook. Several new HIV/AIDS entries introduced under the People category. Revision begun on individual country maps to include elevation extremes and a partial geographic grid. Weights and Measures appendix deleted.
2002
New entry on Distribution of Family income - Gini index added. Revision of individual country maps continued (process still ongoing).
2003
In the Economy category, petroleum entries added for oil production, consumption, exports, imports, and proved reserves, as well as natural gas proved reserves.
2004
Bi-weekly updates launched on The World Factbook Web site. Additional petroleum entries included for natural gas production, consumption, exports, and imports. In the Transportation category, under Merchant marine, subfields added for foreign-owned vessels and those registered in other countries. Descriptions of the many forms of government mentioned in the Factbook incorporated into the Definitions and Notes.
2005
In the People category, a Major infectious diseases field added for countries deemed to pose a higher risk for travelers. In the Economy category, entries included for Current account balance, Investment, Public debt, and Reserves of foreign exchange and gold. The Transnational issues category expanded to include Refugees and internally displaced persons. Category headings receive distinctive colored backgrounds. These distinguishing colors are used in both the printed and online versions of the Factbook. Size of the printed Factbook reaches 702 pages.
2006
In the Economy category, national GDP figures now presented at Official Exchange Rates (OER) in addition to GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP). Entries in the Transportation section reordered; Highways changed to Roadways, and Ports and harbors to Ports and terminals.
2007
In the Government category, the Capital entry significantly expanded with up to four subfields, including new information having to do with time. The subfields consist of the name of the capital itself, its geographic coordinates, the time difference at the capital from coordinated universal time (UTC), and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time (DST). Where appropriate, a special note is added to highlight those countries with multiple time zones. A Trafficking in persons entry added to the Transnational issues category. A new appendix, Weights and Measures, (re)introduced to the online version of the Factbook.
2008
In the Geography category, two fields focus on the increasingly vital resource of water: Total renewable water resources and Freshwater withdrawal. In the Economy category, three fields added for: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home, Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad, and Market value of publicly traded shares. Concise descriptions of all major religions included in the Definitions and Notes. Responsibility for printing of The World Factbook turned over to the Government Printing Office.
2009
The online Factbook site completely redesigned with many new features. In the People category, two new fields provide information on education in terms of opportunity and resources: School Life Expectancy and Education expenditures. Additionally, the Urbanization entry expanded to include all countries. In the Economy category, five fields added: Central bank discount rate, Commercial bank prime lending rate, Stock of money, Stock of quasi money, and Stock of domestic credit.
2010
In order to facilitate comparisons over time, dozens of the entries in the Economy category expanded to include two (and in some cases three) years' worth of data. A variety of enhancements introduced on the Factbook Web site.
2011
Weekly updates inaugurated on the The World Factbook Web site. The dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles results in two new listings: Curacao and Sint Maarten. A Broadcast media field replaces the former Radio broadcast stations and TV broadcast stations entries. Concise descriptions of all major Legal systems incorporated into the Definitions and Notes. In the Geography section, under Natural hazards, a Volcanism subfield added for countries with historically active volcanoes. In the Government category, a new National anthems field introduced.
======================================================================
About :: Copyright and Contributors
The World Factbook is prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency for the use of US Government officials, and the style, format, coverage, and content are designed to meet their specific requirements. Information is provided by Antarctic Information Program (National Science Foundation), Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center (Department of Defense), Bureau of the Census (Department of Commerce), Bureau of Labor Statistics (Department of Labor), Central Intelligence Agency, Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs, Defense Intelligence Agency (Department of Defense), Department of Energy, Department of State, Fish and Wildlife Service (Department of the Interior), Maritime Administration (Department of Transportation), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Department of Defense), Naval Facilities Engineering Command (Department of Defense), Office of Insular Affairs (Department of the Interior), Office of Naval Intelligence (Department of Defense), US Board on Geographic Names (Department of the Interior), US Transportation Command (Department of Defense), Oil & Gas Journal, and other public and private sources.
The Factbook is in the public domain. Accordingly, it may be copied freely without permission of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The official seal of the CIA, however, may NOT be copied without permission as required by the CIA Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. section 403m). Misuse of the official seal of the CIA could result in civil and criminal penalties.
Citation model:
The World Factbook 2009. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2009.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
Comments and queries are welcome and may be addressed to:
Central Intelligence Agency Attn: Office of Public Affairs Washington, DC 20505 Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM Eastern Standard Time Telephone: [1] (703) 482-0623 FAX: [1] (703) 482-1739
======================================================================
About :: Purchasing
Printed copies of The World Factbook may be obtained from the following:
US Government Printing Office 732 N. Capitol St. Washington, DC 20401 Hours: Monday-Friday 7:00 AM-6:30 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) Telephone: [1] (202) 512-1800; toll free: [1] (866) 512-1800 FAX: [1] (202) 512-2104 http://bookstore.gpo.gov/
National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-6:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) Telephone: [1] (800) 553-6847 (only in the US); [1] (703) 605-6000 (for outside US) FAX: [1] (703) 605-6900 http://www.ntis.gov/
The World Factbook can be accessed on the Internet at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
======================================================================
Frequently Asked Questions(by category)
Answers to many frequently asked questions (FAQs) are explained in the Definitions and Notes section inThe World Factbook. Please review this section to see if your question is already answered there. In addition, we have compiled the following list of FAQs to answer other common questions.
General ::
Can you provide additional information for a specific country?
The staff cannot provide data beyond what appears in The World Factbook. The format and information in the Factbook are tailored to the specific requirements of US Government officials and content is focused on their current and anticipated needs. The staff welcomes suggestions for new entries.
How often is The World Factbook updated?
Formerly our Web site and the published Factbook were only updated annually. In November 2001, we began more frequent online updating and for many years bi-weekly updates were the norm. In late 2010 we began to update the online Factbook on a weekly schedule. The CIA discontinued publishing the printed Factbook after the 2007 edition; subsequent annual editions have been published by the US Government Printing Office.
Can I use some or all of The World Factbook for my Web site (book, research project, homework, etc.)?
The World Factbook is in the public domain and may be used freely by anyone at anytime without seeking permission. However, US Code (Section 403m) prohibits use of the CIA seal in a manner which implies that the CIA approved, endorsed, or authorized such use. For any questions about your intended use, you should consult with legal counsel. Further information on use of The World Factbook is described on the Contributors and Copyright Information page. As a courtesy, please cite The World Factbook when used.
Why are there discrepancies between The World Factbook's demographic statistics and other sources?
Although estimates and projections start with the same basic data from censuses, surveys, and registration systems, final estimates and projections can differ as a result of factors including data availability, assessment, and methods and protocols.
Data availability Researchers may obtain specific country data at different times. Estimates or projections developed before the results of a census have been released will not be as accurate as those that take into account new census results.
Assessment Researchers can differ in their assessment of data quality and in their estimates based on the available country data. They often need to adjust their estimates due to such factors as undercounting in a census or underregistration of births or deaths.
Methods and protocols Differences in methods and protocols can shape the way estimates and projections are made of fertility, mortality, and international migration, and how these data are integrated with the population data. For example, the US Census Bureau uses a model that projects the population ahead by single years of age, a single year at a time (population statistics used in the Factbook are based on this model), whereas the United Nations model projects five-year age groups forward, five years at a time.
Why doesn't The World Factbook include information on states, departments, provinces, etc., for each country?
The World Factbook provides national-level information on countries, territories, and dependencies, but not subnational administrative units within a country. A comprehensive encyclopedia might be a source for state/province-level information.
Is it possible to access older editions of The World Factbook to do comparative research and trend analysis?
Previous editions of the Factbook , beginning with 2000, are available for downloading - but not browsing - on the CIA Web site. Rehosted versions of earlier editions of the Factbook are available for browsing, as well as for downloading, at other Internet web sites. We urge caution, however, in attempting to create time series by stringing together economic data - especially dollar values - from previous editions of the Factbook . Over time, data sources, definitions, and economic accounting methods have changed. We occasionally have made these changes ourselves in order to provide our readers with the best information available. Also, in the case of dollar values, changes in relative exchange rates and prices may make trends difficult to comprehend. Therefore, individuals should consult additional resources when doing comparative research or trend analysis.
Would it be possible to set up a partnership or collaboration between the producers of The World Factbook and other organizations or individuals?
The World Factbook does not partner with other organizations or individuals, but we do welcome comments and suggestions that such groups or persons choose to provide.
Geography ::
Why can't I find a geographic name for a particular country?
The World Factbook is not a gazetteer (a dictionary or index of places, usually with descriptive or statistical information) and cannot provide more than the names of the administrative divisions (in the Government category) and major cities/towns (on the country maps). Our expanded Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names (Appendix F), however, includes many of the world's major geographic features as well as historic (former) names of countries and cities mentioned in The World Factbook.
Why are Taiwan and the European Union listed out of alphabetical order at the end of the Factbook entries?
Taiwan is listed after the A-Z country entries because even though the mainland People's Republic of China claims Taiwan, elected Taiwanese authorities de facto administer the island and reject mainland sovereignty claims. With the establishment of diplomatic relations with China on January 1, 1979, the US Government recognized the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China, acknowledging the Chinese position that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of China.
The European Union (EU) is not a country, but it has taken on many nation-like attributes and these may be expanded in the future. A more complete explanation on the inclusion of the EU into the Factbook can be found in the Preliminary statement.
Since we have an ambassador who represents the US at the Vatican, why is this entity not listed in the Factbook?
Vatican City is found under Holy See. The term "Holy See" refers to the authority and sovereignty vested in the Pope and his advisors to direct the worldwide Catholic Church. As the jurisdictional equal of a state, the Holy See can enter into treaties and sends and receives diplomatic representatives. Vatican City, created in 1929 to administer properties belonging to the Holy See in Rome, is recognized under international law as a sovereign state, but it does not send or receive diplomatic representatives. Consequently, Holy See is included as a Factbook entry, with Vatican City cross-referenced in the Geographic Names appendix.
Why is Palestine not listed in The World Factbook?
The Palestinian areas of Gaza Strip and West Bank are listed in the Factbook.
Why are the Golan Heights not shown as part of Israel or Northern Cyprus with Turkey?
Territorial occupations/annexations not recognized by the United States Government are not shown on US Government maps.
Why don't you include information on entities such as Tibet or Kashmir?
The World Factbook provides information on the administrative divisions of a country as recommended by the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN). The BGN is a component of the US Government that develops policies, principles, and procedures governing the spelling, use, and application of geographic names - domestic, foreign, Antarctic, and undersea. Its decisions enable all departments and agencies of the US Government to have access to uniform names of geographic features.
Also included in the Factbook are entries on parts of the world whose status has not yet been resolved (e.g., West Bank, Spratly Islands). Specific regions within a country or areas in dispute among countries are not covered.
What do you mean when you say that a country is "doubly landlocked"?
A doubly landlocked country is one that is separated from an ocean or an ocean-accessible sea by two intervening countries. Uzbekistan and Liechtenstein are the only countries that fit this definition.
Why is the area of the United States described as "slightly larger than China" in the Factbook , while other sources list China as larger in area than the United States?
It all depends on whether one is looking at total area (land and water) when making the comparison (which is the criterion used by the Factbook) or just land area (which excludes inland water features such as rivers and lakes).
Total area (combining land and water)
United States = 9,826,630 sq km China = 9,596,960 sq km
Land only (without any water features)
United States = 9,161,923 sq km China = 9,326,410 sq km
Why has The World Factbook dropped the four French departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion, and French Guiana?
The four entities are no longer in The World Factbook because their status has changed. While they are overseas departments of France, they are also now recognized as French regions, having equal status to the 22 metropolitan regions that make up European France. In other words, they are now recognized as being part of France proper. Their status is somewhat analogous to Alaska and Hawaii vis-a-vis the contiguous United States. Although separated from the larger geographic entity, they are still considered to be an integral part of it.
Photos ::
Why do you not have pictures for every country?
Inclusion of photos in The World Factbook is a new feature that premiered with the unveiling of the redesigned online World Factbook in June 2009. This is a long-term project, and we plan to continuously add more photos to the site over time. Eventually, we hope to have images for every country in the Factbook.
Could you include photos of people from different locations around the world?
Factbook policy is to not include photos showing identifiable individuals.
I have great travel photos from my trips abroad. Can I submit them to your website to enhance your photo collection?
We appreciate the many offers from the public to contribute to our photo collection. However, we only use photos from US Government sources.
Spelling and Pronunciation ::
Why is the spelling of proper names such as rulers, presidents, and prime ministers in The World Factbook different than their spelling in my country?
The Factbook staff applies the names and spellings from the Chiefs of State link on the CIA Web site. The World Factbook is prepared using the standard American English computer keyboard and does not use any special characters, symbols, or most diacritical markings in its spellings. Surnames are always spelled with capital letters; they may appear first in some cultures.
Why does the spelling of geographic names, features, cities, administrative divisions, etc. in the Factbook differ from those used in my country?
The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) recommends and approves names and spellings. The BGN is the component of the United States Government that develops policies, principles, and procedures governing the spelling, use, and application of geographic names - domestic, foreign, Antarctic, and undersea. Its decisions enable all departments and agencies of the US Government to use uniform names of geographic features. (A note is usually included where changes may have occurred but have not yet been approved by the BGN). The World Factbook is prepared using the standard American English computer keyboard and does not use any special characters, symbols, or most diacritical markings in its spellings.
Why does The World Factbook omit pronunciations of country or leader names?
There are too many variations in pronunciation among English-speaking countries, not to mention English renditions of non-English names, for pronunciations to be included. American English pronunciations are included for some countries such as Qatar and Kiribati.
Why is the name of the Labour party misspelled?
When American and British spellings of common English words differ, The World Factbook always uses the American spelling, even when these common words form part of a proper name in British English.
Policies and Procedures ::
What is The World Factbook's source for a specific subject field?
The Factbook staff uses many different sources to publish what we judge are the most reliable and consistent data for any particular category. Space considerations preclude a listing of these various sources.
The names of some geographic features provided in the Factbook differ from those used in other publications. For example, in Asia the Factbook has Burma as the country name, but in other publications Myanmar is used; also, the Factbook uses Sea of Japan whereas other publications label it East Sea. What is your policy on naming geographic features?
The Factbook staff follows the guidance of the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN). The BGN is the component of the United States Government that develops policies, principles, and procedures governing the spelling, use, and application of geographic names - domestic, foreign, Antarctic, and undersea. Its decisions enable all departments and agencies of the US Government to have access to uniform names of geographic features. The position of the BGN is that the names Burma and Sea of Japan be used in official US Government maps and publications.
Why is most of the statistical information in the Factbook given in metric units, rather than the units standard to US measure?
US Federal agencies are required by the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 (Public Law 94-168) and by Executive Order 12770 of July 1991 to use the International System of Units, commonly referred to as the metric system or SI. In addition, the metric system is used by over 95 percent of the world's population.
Why don't you include information on minimum and maximum temperature extremes?
The Factbook staff judges that this information would only be useful for some (generally smaller) countries. Larger countries can have large temperature extremes that do not represent the landmass as a whole.
What information sources are used for the country flags?
Flag designs used in The World Factbook are based on various national and vexillological sources.
Why do your GDP (Gross Domestic Product) statistics differ from other sources?
We have two sets of GDP dollar estimates in The World Factbook , one derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations and the other derived from official exchange rates (OER). Other sources probably use one of the two. See the Definitions and Notes section on GDP and GDP methodology for more information.
On the CIA Web site, Chiefs of State is updated weekly, but the last update for the Factbook was an earlier date. Why the discrepancy?
Although Chiefs of State and The World Factbook both appear on the CIA Web site, they are produced and updated on different weekly schedules. Chiefs of State includes fewer countries but more leaders, whereas The World Factbook has a much larger database and includes all countries.
Some percentage distributions do not add to 100. Why not?
Because of rounding, percentage distributions do not always add precisely to 100%. Rounding of numbers always results in a loss of precision - i.e., error. This error becomes apparent when percentage data are totaled, as the following two examples show:
Original Data Rounded to whole integer
Example 1 43.2 43 30.4 30 26.4 26 —— — 100.0 99
Example 2 42.8 43 31.6 32 25.6 26 —— — 100.0 101
When this occurs, we do not force the numbers to add exactly to 100, because doing so would introduce additional error into the distribution.
What rounding convention does The World Factbook use?
In deciding on the number of digits to present, the Factbook staff assesses the accuracy of the original data and the needs of US Government officials. All of the economic data are processed by computer - either at the source or by the Factbook staff. The economic data presented in The Factbook, therefore, follow the rounding convention used by virtually all numerical software applications, namely, any digit followed by a "5" is rounded up to the next higher digit, no matter whether the original digit is even or odd. Thus, for example, when rounded to the nearest integer, 2.5 becomes 3, rather than 2, as occurred in some pre-computer rounding systems.
Why do you list "Independence" dates for countries such as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom?
For most countries, this entry presents the date that sovereignty was achieved and from which nation, empire, or trusteeship. For other countries, the date may be some other significant nationhood event such as the traditional founding date or the date of unification, federation, confederation, establishment, or state succession and so may not strictly be an "Independence" date. Dependent entities have the nature of their dependency status noted in this same entry.
Technical ::
Does The World Factbook comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act regarding accessibility of Web pages?
The World Factbook home page has a link entitled "Text/Low Bandwidth Version." The country data in the text version is fully accessible. We believe The World Factbook is compliant with the Section 508 law. If you are experiencing difficulty, please use our comment form to provide us details of the specific problem you are experiencing and the assistive software and/or hardware you are using so that we can work with our technical support staff to find and implement a solution. We welcome visitors' suggestions to improve accessibility of The World Factbook and the CIA Web site.
I am using the Factbook online and it is not working. What is wrong?
Hundreds of "Factbook" look-alikes exist on the Internet. You can access The World Factbook at: www.cia.gov, which is the only official site.
When I attempt to download a PDF (Portable Document Format) map file (or some other map) the file has no image. Can you fix this?
Some of the files on The World Factbook Web site are large and could take several minutes to download on a dial-up connection. The screen might be blank during the download process.
When I open a map on The World Factbook site, it is fuzzy or granular, or too big or too small. Why?
Adjusting the resolution setting on your monitor should correct this problem.
Is The World Factbook country data available in machine-readable format? All I can find is HTML, but I'm looking for simple tabular data.
The Factbook Web site now features Country Comparison pages for selected Factbook entries. All of the Country Comparison pages can be downloaded as tab-delimited data files that can be opened in other applications such as spreadsheets and databases.
======================================================================
@Afghanistan (South Asia)
Introduction ::Afghanistan
Background:
Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian Empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 Communist counter-coup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan Communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-Communist mujahedin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. The UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan and the National Assembly was inaugurated the following December. Karzai was re-elected in August 2009 for a second term. Despite gains toward building a stable central government, a resurgent Taliban and continuing provincial instability - particularly in the south and the east - remain serious challenges for the Afghan Government.
Geography ::Afghanistan
Location:
Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran
Geographic coordinates:
33 00 N, 65 00 E
Map references:
Asia
Area:
total: 652,230 sq km country comparison to the world: 41 land: 652,230 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 5,529 km
border countries: China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Terrain:
mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m
highest point: Noshak 7,485 m
Natural resources:
natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones
Land use:
arable land: 12.13%
permanent crops: 0.21%
other: 87.66% (2005)
Irrigated land:
27,200 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
65 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 23.26 cu km/yr (2%/0%/98%)
per capita: 779 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts
Environment - current issues:
limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note:
landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor)
People ::Afghanistan
Population:
29,121,286 country comparison to the world: 41 note: this is a significantly revised figure; the previous estimate of 33,609,937 was extrapolated from the last Afghan census held in 1979, which was never completed because of the Soviet invasion; a new Afghan census is scheduled to take place in 2010 (July 2010 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 43.6% (male 6,343,611/female 6,036,673)
15-64 years: 54% (male 7,864,422/female 7,470,617)
65 years and over: 2.4% (male 326,873/female 353,520) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 18 years
male: 17.9 years
female: 18 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.471% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 33
Birth rate:
38.11 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 19
Death rate:
17.65 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 3
Net migration rate:
4.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 23
Urbanization:
urban population: 24% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 5.4% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 151.5 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 2 male: 155.15 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 147.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 44.65 years country comparison to the world: 221 male: 44.45 years
female: 44.87 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
5.5 children born/woman (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 13
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.01% (2001 est.) country comparison to the world: 168
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria
animal contact disease: rabies
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)
Nationality:
noun: Afghan(s)
adjective: Afghan
Ethnic groups:
Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4%
Religions:
Sunni Muslim 80%, Shia Muslim 19%, other 1%
Languages:
Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashto (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 28.1%
male: 43.1%
female: 12.6% (2000 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 8 years
male: 11 years
female: 5 years (2004)
Education expenditures:
NA
Government ::Afghanistan
Country name:
conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
conventional short form: Afghanistan
local long form: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Afghanestan
local short form: Afghanestan
former: Republic of Afghanistan
Government type:
Islamic republic
Capital:
name: Kabul
geographic coordinates: 34 31 N, 69 11 E
time difference: UTC+4.5 (9.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
34 provinces (welayat, singular - welayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamyan, Daykundi, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghor, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabul, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khost, Kunar, Kunduz, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nimroz, Nuristan, Paktika, Paktiya, Panjshir, Parwan, Samangan, Sar-e Pul, Takhar, Uruzgan, Wardak, Zabul
Independence:
19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 19 August (1919)
Constitution:
constitution drafted 14 December 2003-4 January 2004; signed 16 January 2004; ratified 26 January 2004
Legal system:
based on mixed civil and sharia law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid KARZAI (since 7 December 2004); First Vice President Mohammad FAHIM Khan (since 19 November 2009); Second Vice President Abdul Karim KHALILI (since 7 December 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid KARZAI (since 7 December 2004); First Vice President Mohammad FAHIM Khan (since 19 November 2009); Second Vice President Abdul Karim KHALILI (since 7 December 2004)
cabinet: 25 ministers; note - ministers are appointed by the president and approved by the National Assembly (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) elections: the president and two vice presidents elected by direct vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); if no candidate receives 50% or more of the vote in the first round of voting, the two candidates with the most votes will participate in a second round; election last held on 20 August 2009 (next to be held in 2014)
election results: Hamid KARZAI reelected president; percent of vote (first round) - Hamid KARZAI 49.67%, Abdullah ABDULLAH 30.59%, Ramazan BASHARDOST 10.46%, Ashraf GHANI 2.94%; other 6.34%; note - ABDULLAH conceded the election to KARZAI following the first round vote
Legislative branch:
the bicameral National Assembly consists of the Meshrano Jirga or House of Elders (102 seats, one-third of members elected from provincial councils for four-year terms, one-third elected from local district councils for three-year terms, and one-third nominated by the president for five-year terms) and the Wolesi Jirga or House of People (no more than 250 seats); members directly elected for five-year terms
note: on rare occasions the government may convene a Loya Jirga (Grand Council) on issues of independence, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity; it can amend the provisions of the constitution and prosecute the president; it is made up of members of the National Assembly and chairpersons of the provincial and district councils
elections: last held on 18 September 2010 (next election expected in 2015)
election results: NA
Judicial branch:
the constitution establishes a nine-member Stera Mahkama or Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for 10-year terms by the president with approval of the Wolesi Jirga) and subordinate High Courts and Appeals Courts; there is also a minister of justice; a separate Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission established by the Bonn Agreement is charged with investigating human rights abuses and war crimes
Political parties and leaders:
Afghanistan Peoples' Treaty Party [Sayyed Amir TAHSEEN]; Afghanistan's Islamic Mission Organization [Abdul Rasoul SAYYAF]; Afghanistan's Islamic Nation Party [Toran Noor Aqa Ahmad ZAI]; Afghanistan's National Islamic Party [Rohullah LOUDIN]; Afghanistan's Welfare Party [Meer Asef ZAEEFI]; Afghan Social Democratic Party [Anwarul Haq AHADI]; Afghan Society for the Call to the Koran and Sunna [Mawlawee Samiullah NAJEEBEE]; Comprehensive Movement of Democracy and Development of Afghanistan Party [Sher Mohammad BAZGAR]; Democratic Party of Afghanistan [Al-hajj Mohammad Tawos ARAB]; Democratic Party of Afghanistan [Abdul Kabir RANJBAR]; Elites People of Afghanistan Party [Abdul Hamid JAWAD]; Freedom and Democracy Movement of Afghanistan [Abdul Raqib Jawid KOHISTANEE]; Freedom Party of Afghanistan [Abdul MALEK]; Freedom Party of Afghanistan [Dr. Ghulam Farooq NEJRABEE]; Hizullah-e-Afghanistan [Qari Ahmad ALI]; Human Rights Protection and Development Party of Afghanistan [Baryalai NASRATI]; Islamic Justice Party of Afghanistan [Mohammad Kabir MARZBAN]; Islamic Movement of Afghanistan [Mohammad Ali JAWID]; Islamic Movement of Afghanistan Party [Mohammad Mukhtar MUFLEH]; Islamic Party of Afghanistan [Mohammad Khalid FAROOQI, Abdul Hadi ARGHANDIWAL]; Islamic Party of the Afghan Land [Mohammad Hassan FEROZKHEL]; Islamic People's Movement of Afghanistan [Al-haj Said Hussain ANWARY]; Islamic Society of Afghanistan [Ustad RABBANI]; Islamic Unity of the Nation of Afghanistan Party [Qurban Ali URFANI]; Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan [Mohammad Karim KHALILI]; Islamic Unity Party of the People of Afghanistan [Haji Mohammad MOHAQQEQ]; Labor and Progress of Afghanistan Party [Zulfiqar OMID]; Muslim People of Afghanistan Party [Besmellah JOYAN]; Muslim Unity Movement Party of Afghanistan [Wazir Mohammad WAHDAT]; National and Islamic Sovereignty Movement Party of Afghanistan [Ahmad Shah AHMADZAI]; National Congress Party of Afghanistan [Abdul Latif PEDRAM]; National Country Party [Ghulam MOHAMMAD]; National Development Party of Afghanistan [Dr. Assef BAKTASH]; National Freedom Seekers Party [Abdul Hadi DABEER]; National Independence Party of Afghanistan [Taj Mohammad WARDAK]; National Islamic Fighters Party of Afghanistan [Amanat NINGARHAREE]; National Islamic Front of Afghanistan [Pir Sayed Ahmad GAILANEE]; National Islamic Moderation Party of Afghanistan [Qara Baik IZADYAR]; National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan [Sayed NOORULLAH]
National Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan [Mohammad AKBAREE]; National Movement of Afghanistan [Ahmad Wali MASOOUD]; National Party of Afghanistan [Abdul Rashid ARYAN]; National Patch of Afghanistan Party [Sayed Kamal SADAT]; National Peace Islamic Party of Afghanistan [Shah Mohammood Popal ZAI]; National Peace & Islamic Party of the Tribes of Afghanistan [Abdul Qaher SHARIATEE]; National Peace & Unity Party of Afghanistan [Abdul Qader IMAMI]; National Prosperity and Islamic Party of Afghanistan [Mohammad Osman SALEKZADA]; National Prosperity Party [Mohammad Hassan JAHFAREE]; National Solidarity Movement of Afghanistan [Pir Sayed Eshaq GAILANEE]; National Solidarity Party of Afghanistan [Sayed Mansoor NADREEI]; National Sovereignty Party [Sayed Mustafa KAZEMI]; National Stability Party [Mohammad Same KHAROTI]; National Stance Party [Habibullah JANEBDAR]; National Tribal Unity Islamic Party of Afghanistan [Mohammad Shah KHOGYANI]; National Unity Movement [Sultan Mohammad GHAZI]; National Unity Movement of Afghanistan [Mohammad Nadir AATASH]; National Unity Party of Afghanistan [Abdul Rashid JALILI]; New Afghanistan Party [Mohammad Yunis QANUNI]; Peace and National Welfare Activists Society [Shamsul al-Haq Noor SHAMS]; Peace Movement [Shahnawaz TANAI]; People's Aspirations Party of Afghanistan [Ilhaj Saraj-u-din ZAFAREE]; People's Freedom Seekers Party of Afghanistan [Feda Mohammad EHSAS]; People's Liberal Freedom Seekers Party of Afghanistan [Ajmal SUHAIL]; People's Message Party of Afghanistan [Noor Aqa WAINEE]; People's Movement of the National Unity of Afghanistan [Abdul Hakim NOORZAI]; People's Party of Afghanistan [Ahmad Shah ASAR]; People's Prosperity Party of Afghanistan [Ustad Mohammad ZAREEF]; People's Sovereignty Movement of Afghanistan [Hayatullah SUBHANEE]; People's Uprising Party of Afghanistan [Sayed Zahir Qayedam Al-BELADI]; People's Welfare Party of Afghanistan [Miagul WASIQ]; People's Welfare Party of Afghanistan [Mohammad Zubair PAIROZ]; Progressive Democratic Party of Afghanistan [Mohammad Wali ARYA]; Republican Party [Sebghatullah SANJAR]; Solidarity Party of Afghanistan [Abdul Khaleq NEMAT]; The Afghanistan's Mujahid Nation's Islamic Unity Movement [Saeedullah SAEED]; The People of Afghanistan's Democratic Movement [Mohammad Sharif NAZARI]; Tribes Solidarity Party of Afghanistan [Mohammad Zarif NASERI]; Understanding and Democracy Party of Afghanistan [Ahamad SHAHEEN]
United Afghanistan Party [Mohammad Wasil RAHIMEE]; United Islamic Party of Afghanistan [Wahidullah SABAWOON]; Young Afghanistan's Islamic Organization [Sayed Jawad HUSSINEE]; Youth Solidarity Party of Afghanistan [Mohammad Jamil KARZAI]; note - includes only political parties approved by the Ministry of Justice
Political pressure groups and leaders:
other: religious groups; tribal leaders; ethnically based groups; Taliban
International organization participation:
ADB, CICA, CP, ECO, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Khojesta F. EBRAHIMKHEL
chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483-6410
FAX: [1] (202) 483-6488
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Karl W. EIKENBERRY
embassy: The Great Masood Road, Kabul
mailing address: U.S. Embassy Kabul, APO, AE 09806
telephone: [93] 0700 108 001
FAX: [93] 0700 108 564
Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), red, and green, with the national emblem in white centered on the red band and slightly overlapping the other two bands; the center of the emblem features a mosque with pulpit and flags on either side, below the mosque are numerals for the solar year 1298 (1919 in the Gregorian calendar, the year of Afghan independence from the UK); this central image is circled by a border consisting of sheaves of wheat on the left and right, in the upper-center is an Arabic inscription of the Shahada (Muslim creed) below which are rays of the rising sun over the Takbir (Arabic expression meaning "God is great"), and at bottom center is a scroll bearing the name Afghanistan; black signifies the past, red is for the blood shed for independence, and green can represent either hope for the future, agricultural prosperity, or Islam
note: Afghanistan had more changes to its national flag in the 20th century than any other country; the colors black, red, and green appeared on most of them
National anthem:
name: "Milli Surood" (National Anthem)
lyrics/music: Abdul Bari JAHANI/Babrak WASA
note: adopted 2006; the 2004 constitution of the post-Taliban government mandated that a new national anthem should be written containing the phrase "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) and mentioning the names of Afghanistan's ethnic groups
Economy ::Afghanistan
Economy - overview:
Afghanistan's economy is recovering from decades of conflict. The economy has improved significantly since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 largely because of the infusion of international assistance, the recovery of the agricultural sector, and service sector growth. Despite the progress of the past few years, Afghanistan is extremely poor, landlocked, and highly dependent on foreign aid, agriculture, and trade with neighboring countries. Much of the population continues to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs. Criminality, insecurity, weak governance, and the Afghan Government's inability to extend rule of law to all parts of the country pose challenges to future economic growth. Afghanistan's living standards are among the lowest in the world. While the international community remains committed to Afghanistan's development, pledging over $67 billion at four donors' conferences since 2002, the Government of Afghanistan will need to overcome a number of challenges, including low revenue collection, anemic job creation, high levels of corruption, weak government capacity, and poor public infrastructure.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$29.81 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 109 $27.38 billion (2009 est.)
$22.34 billion (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$16.63 billion (2010 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
8.9% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 6 22.5% (2009 est.)
3.4% (2008 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,000 (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 212 $1,000 (2009 est.)
$800 (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 31%
industry: 26%
services: 43%
note: data exclude opium production (2008 est.)
Labor force:
15 million (2004 est.) country comparison to the world: 39
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 78.6%
industry: 5.7%
services: 15.7% (FY08/09 est.)
Unemployment rate:
35% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 183 40% (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line:
36% (FY08/09)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
13.3% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 214 20.7% (2008 est.)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
15% (31 December 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 48 14.92% (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of narrow money:
$3.943 billion (31 December 2009) country comparison to the world: 100 $2.819 billion (31 December 2008)
Stock of broad money:
$4.149 billion (31 December 2009) country comparison to the world: 125 $2.915 billion (31 December 2008)
Stock of domestic credit:
$363.6 million (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 166 $20.06 million (31 December 2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA
Agriculture - products:
opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins
Industries:
small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, apparel, food-products, non-alcoholic beverages, mineral water, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
Electricity - production:
285.5 million kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 168
Electricity - consumption:
231.1 million kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 175
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
230 million kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 116
Oil - consumption:
5,000 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 164
Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 138
Oil - imports:
4,404 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 161
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 99
Natural gas - production:
30 million cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 84
Natural gas - consumption:
30 million cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 108
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 46
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 70
Natural gas - proved reserves:
49.55 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 65
Current account balance:
-$2.475 billion (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 160 $85 million (2008 est.)
Exports:
$547 million (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 164 $603 million (2008 est.); note - not including illicit exports or reexports
Exports - commodities:
opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems
Exports - partners:
US 26.47%, India 23.09%, Pakistan 17.36%, Tajikistan 12.51% (2009)
Imports:
$5.3 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 109 $4.5 billion (2007)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and other capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products
Imports - partners:
Pakistan 26.78%, US 24.81%, India 5.15%, Germany 5.06%, Russia 4.04% (2009)
Debt - external:
$2.7 billion (2008/2009) country comparison to the world: 134 $8 billion (2004)
Exchange rates:
afghanis (AFA) per US dollar - 50.23 (2009), 50.25 (2008), 50 (2007), 46 (2006), 47.7 (2005), 48 (2004)
Communications ::Afghanistan
Telephones - main lines in use:
129,300 (2009) country comparison to the world: 139
Telephones - mobile cellular:
12 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 57
Telephone system:
general assessment: limited fixed-line telephone service; an increasing number of Afghans utilize mobile-cellular phone networks
domestic: aided by the presence of multiple providers, mobile-cellular telephone service continues to improve rapidly
international: country code - 93; multiple VSAT's provide international and domestic voice and data connectivity (2009)
Broadcast media:
state-owned broadcaster, Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), operates a series of radio and television stations in Kabul and the provinces; an estimated 50 private radio stations, 8 TV networks, and about a dozen international broadcasters are available; more than 30 community-based radio stations broadcasting (2007)
Internet country code:
.af
Internet hosts:
46 (2010) country comparison to the world: 211
Internet users:
1 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 98
Communications - note:
Internet access is growing through Internet cafes as well as public "telekiosks" in Kabul (2005)
Transportation ::Afghanistan
Airports:
53 (2010) country comparison to the world: 89
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 19
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2010)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 34
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m: 9 (2010)
Heliports:
11 (2010)
Pipelines:
gas 466 km (2009)
Roadways:
total: 42,150 km country comparison to the world: 87 paved: 12,350 km
unpaved: 29,800 km (2006)
Waterways:
1,200 km; (chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT) (2008) country comparison to the world: 59
Ports and terminals:
Kheyrabad, Shir Khan
Military ::Afghanistan
Military branches:
Afghan Armed Forces: Afghan National Army (ANA, includes Afghan National Army Air Force, ANAAF) (2010)
Military service age and obligation:
22 years of age; inductees are contracted into service for a 4-year term (2005)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 6,800,888
females age 16-49: 6,413,647 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 3,888,358
females age 16-49: 3,641,998 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 378,996
female: 357,822 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
1.9% of GDP (2009) country comparison to the world: 75
Transnational Issues ::Afghanistan
Disputes - international:
Pakistan has built fences in some portions of its border with Afghanistan which remains open in some areas to foreign terrorists and other illegal activities
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 132,246 (mostly Pashtuns and Kuchis displaced in south and west due to drought and instability) (2007)
Illicit drugs:
world's largest producer of opium; poppy cultivation decreased 22% to 157,000 hectares in 2008 but remains at a historically high level; less favorable growing conditions in 2008 reduced potential opium production to 5,500 metric tons, down 31 percent from 2007; if the entire opium crop were processed, 648 metric tons of pure heroin potentially could be produced; the Taliban and other antigovernment groups participate in and profit from the opiate trade, which is a key source of revenue for the Taliban inside Afghanistan; widespread corruption and instability impede counterdrug efforts; most of the heroin consumed in Europe and Eurasia is derived from Afghan opium; vulnerable to drug money laundering through informal financial networks; regional source of hashish (2008)
page last updated on January 13, 2011
======================================================================
@Akrotiri (Europe)
Introduction ::Akrotiri
Background:
By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area.
Geography ::Akrotiri
Location:
Eastern Mediterranean, peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus
Geographic coordinates:
34 37 N, 32 58 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 123 sq km country comparison to the world: 223 note: includes a salt lake and wetlands
Area - comparative:
about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
total: 47.4 km
border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km
Coastline:
56.3 km
Climate:
temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters
Environment - current issues:
hunting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base
Geography - note:
British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus; of the Sovereign Base Area (SBA) land, 60% is privately owned and farmed, 20% is owned by the Ministry of Defense, and 20% is SBA Crown land
People ::Akrotiri
Population:
approximately 15,700 live on the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia including 7,700 Cypriots, 3,600 Service and UK-based contract personnel, and 4,400 dependents country comparison to the world: 219
Languages:
English, Greek
Government ::Akrotiri
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Akrotiri
Dependency status:
a special form of UK overseas territory; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus
Capital:
name: Episkopi Cantonment (base administrative center for Akrotiri and Dhekelia)
geographic coordinates: 34 40 N, 32 51 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Constitution:
Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960, functions as a basic legal document
Legal system:
the Sovereign Base Area Administration has its own court system to deal with civil and criminal matters; laws applicable to the Cypriot population are, as far as possible, the same as the laws of the Republic of Cyprus
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Administrator Major General Jamie GORDON (since October 2008); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defense
elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; the administrator appointed by the monarch
Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (overseas territory of the UK)
Flag description:
the flag of the UK is used
National anthem:
note: as a United Kingdom area of special sovereignty, "God Save the Queen" is official (see United Kingdom)
Economy ::Akrotiri
Economy - overview:
Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.
Exchange rates:
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7715 (2010), 0.7338 (2009), 0.6827 (2008)
note: on 1 January 2008 Akrotiri and Dhekelia adopted the euro along with the rest of Cyprus
Communications ::Akrotiri
Broadcast media:
British Forces Broadcast Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite TV service as well as BFBS radio broadcasts to the Akrotiri Sovereign Base (2009)
Military ::Akrotiri
Military - note:
Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit
page last updated on January 12, 2011
======================================================================
@Albania (Europe)
Introduction ::Albania
Background:
Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939. Communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960), and then with China (to 1978). In the early 1990s, Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, a dilapidated physical infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents. Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain. International observers judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997; however, there have been claims of electoral fraud in every one of Albania's post-communist elections. In the 2005 general elections, the Democratic Party and its allies won a decisive victory on pledges to reduce crime and corruption, promote economic growth, and decrease the size of government. The election, and particularly the orderly transition of power, was considered an important step forward. Albania joined NATO in April 2009 and is a potential candidate for EU accession. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, the country is still one of the poorest in Europe, hampered by a large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure.
Geography ::Albania
Location:
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece in the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north
Geographic coordinates:
41 00 N, 20 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 28,748 sq km country comparison to the world: 144 land: 27,398 sq km
water: 1,350 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries:
total: 717 km
border countries: Greece 282 km, Macedonia 151 km, Montenegro 172 km, Kosovo 112 km
Coastline:
362 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate:
mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter
Terrain:
mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,764 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 20.1%
permanent crops: 4.21%
other: 75.69% (2005)
Irrigated land:
3,530 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
41.7 cu km (2001)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 1.71 cu km/yr (27%/11%/62%)
per capita: 546 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
People ::Albania
Population:
2,986,952 (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 135
Age structure:
0-14 years: 23.1% (male 440,528/female 400,816)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 1,251,001/female 1,190,841)
65 years and over: 9.8% (male 165,557/female 190,710) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 30 years
male: 28.9 years
female: 31.1 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.249% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 178
Birth rate:
11.88 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 166
Death rate:
6.04 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 165
Net migration rate:
-3.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 189
Urbanization:
urban population: 47% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 1.9% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.123 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 15.11 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 123 male: 16.79 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 13.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.22 years country comparison to the world: 59 male: 74.65 years
female: 80.11 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.47 children born/woman (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 189
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
Nationality:
noun: Albanian(s)
adjective: Albanian
Ethnic groups:
Albanian 95%, Greek 3%, other 2% (Vlach, Roma (Gypsy), Serb, Macedonian, Bulgarian) (1989 est.)
note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)
Religions:
Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%
note: percentages are estimates; there are no available current statistics on religious affiliation; all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice
Languages:
Albanian (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek, Vlach, Romani, Slavic dialects
Literacy:
definition: age 9 and over can read and write
total population: 98.7%
male: 99.2%
female: 98.3% (2001 census)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 11 years
male: 11 years
female: 11 years (2004)
Education expenditures:
2.9% of GDP (2002) country comparison to the world: 148
Government ::Albania
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Albania
conventional short form: Albania
local long form: Republika e Shqiperise
local short form: Shqiperia
former: People's Socialist Republic of Albania
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Tirana (Tirane)
geographic coordinates: 41 19 N, 19 49 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
12 counties (qarqe, singular - qark); Berat, Diber, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Korce, Kukes, Lezhe, Shkoder, Tirane, Vlore
Independence:
28 November 1912 (from the Ottoman Empire)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 28 November (1912)
Constitution:
approved by parliament on 21 October 1998; adopted by popular referendum on 22 November 1998; promulgated 28 November 1998
Legal system:
has a civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; has accepted jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court for its citizens
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President of the Republic Bamir TOPI (since 24 July 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Sali BERISHA (since 10 September 2005)
cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, nominated by the president, and approved by parliament (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) elections: president elected by the Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); four election rounds held between 8 and 20 July 2007 (next election to be held in 2012); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Bamir TOPI elected president; Assembly vote, fourth round (three-fifths majority, 84 votes, required): Bamir TOPI 85 votes, Neritan CEKA 5 votes
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Kuvendi (140 deputies; 100 deputies elected directly in single member electoral zones with an approximate number of voters; 40 deputies elected from multi-name lists of parties or party coalitions according to their respective order)
elections: last held on 28 June 2009 (next to be held in 2013)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PD 68, PS 65, LSI 4, other 3
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court, Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term) and multiple appeals and district courts
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party or PD [Sali BERISHA]; Party for Justice and Integration or PDI [Tahir MUCHEDINI]; Republican Party or PR [Fatmir MEDIU]; Socialist Movement for Integration or LSI [Ilir META]; Socialist Party or PS [Edi RAMA]; Unity for Humen Rights Party or PBDNJ [Vangjel DULE]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Citizens Advocacy Office [Kreshnik SPAHIU]; Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania or KSSH [Kastriot MUCO]; Front for Albanian National Unification or FBKSH [Gafur ADILI]; Mjaft Movement [Elton KACIDHJA]; Omonia [Ligorag KARAMELO]; Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania or BSPSH [Gezim KALAJA]
International organization participation:
BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, OIC, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Gilbert GALANXHI
chancery: 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942
FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342
consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Alexander ARVIZU
embassy: Rruga e Elbasanit, Labinoti #103, Tirana
mailing address: US Department of State, 9510 Tirana Place, Dulles, VA 20189-9510
telephone: [355] (4) 2247285
FAX: [355] (4) 2232222
Flag description:
red with a black two-headed eagle in the center; the design is claimed to be that of 15th-century hero George Castriota SKANDERBERG, who led a successful uprising against the Turks that resulted in a short-lived independence for some Albanian regions (1443-1478); an unsubstantiated explanation for the eagle symbol is the tradition that Albanians see themselves as descendants of the eagle; they refer to themselves as "Shkypetars," which translates as "sons of the eagle"
National anthem:
name: "Hymni i Flamurit" (Hymn to the Flag)
lyrics/music: Aleksander Stavre DRENOVA/Ciprian PORUMBESCU
note: adopted 1912
Economy ::Albania
Economy - overview:
Albania, a formerly closed, centrally-planned state, is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. Macroeconomic growth averaged around 6% between 2004-08, but declined to about 3% in 2009-10. Inflation is low and stable. The government has taken measures to curb violent crime, and recently adopted a fiscal reform package aimed at reducing the large gray economy and attracting foreign investment. The economy is bolstered by annual remittances from abroad representing about 15% of GDP, mostly from Albanians residing in Greece and Italy; this helps offset the towering trade deficit. The agricultural sector, which accounts for over half of employment but only about one-fifth of GDP, is limited primarily to small family operations and subsistence farming because of lack of modern equipment, unclear property rights, and the prevalence of small, inefficient plots of land. Energy shortages because of a reliance on hydropower, and antiquated and inadequate infrastructure contribute to Albania's poor business environment and lack of success in attracting new foreign investment needed to expand the country's export base. The completion of a new thermal power plant near Vlore has helped diversify generation capacity, and plans to upgrade transmission lines between Albania and Montenegro and Kosovo would help relieve the energy shortages. Also, with help from EU funds, the government is taking steps to improve the poor national road and rail network, a long-standing barrier to sustained economic growth.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$23.95 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 115 $23.23 billion (2009 est.)
$22.49 billion (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
Albania has an informal, and unreported, sector that may be as large as 50% of official GDP
GDP (official exchange rate):
$11.58 billion (2010 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
3.1% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 114 3.3% (2009 est.)
7.8% (2008 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$8,000 (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 123 $7,800 (2009 est.)
$7,500 (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 21.2%
industry: 19.5%
services: 59.3% (2010 est.)
Labor force:
1.1 million (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 140
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 58%
industry: 15%
services: 27% (September 2006 est.)
Unemployment rate:
12.7% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 134 12.8% (2009 est.)
note: these are official rates, but actual rates may exceed 30% due to preponderance of near-subsistence farming
Population below poverty line:
25% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 25.9% (2005)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
26.7 (2005) country comparison to the world: 126
Investment (gross fixed):
29.8% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 19
Public debt:
59.3% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 34 58.1% of GDP (2009 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.4% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 99 2.2% (2009 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
5.25% (31 December 2009) country comparison to the world: 71 6.25% (31 December 2008)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
12.66% (31 December 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 63 13.02% (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of narrow money:
$2.708 billion (31 December 2010 est) country comparison to the world: 113 $2.995 billion (31 December 2009 est)
Stock of broad money:
$9.096 billion (31 December 2009) country comparison to the world: 105 $9.279 billion (31 December 2008)
Stock of domestic credit:
$7.701 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 104 $8.231 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA
Agriculture - products:
wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products
Industries:
food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower
Industrial production growth rate:
3% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 103
Electricity - production:
2.888 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 124
Electricity - consumption:
3.603 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 118
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
2.475 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production:
5,400 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 92
Oil - consumption:
36,000 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 108
Oil - exports:
749 bbl/day (2005 est.) country comparison to the world: 122
Oil - imports:
24,080 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 106
Oil - proved reserves:
199.1 million bbl (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 58
Natural gas - production:
30 million cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 86
Natural gas - consumption:
30 million cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 109
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 205
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 71
Natural gas - proved reserves:
849.5 million cu m (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 100
Current account balance:
-$1.245 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 143 -$1.845 billion (2009 est.)
Exports:
$1.339 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 144 $1.048 billion (2009 est.)
Exports - commodities:
textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco
Exports - partners:
Italy 58.75%, Greece 9.69%, Austria 6.73%, China 5.68% (2009)
Imports:
$4.337 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 126 $4.264 billion (2009 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals
Imports - partners:
Italy 29.94%, Greece 14.05%, Turkey 7.1%, Germany 6.9%, China 5.39% (2009)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.992 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 98 $2.37 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt - external:
$1.55 billion (2004) country comparison to the world: 143
Exchange rates:
leke (ALL) per US dollar - 106.5 (2010), 94.979 (2009), 79.546 (2008), 92.668 (2007), 98.384 (2006)
Communications ::Albania
Telephones - main lines in use:
363,000 (2009) country comparison to the world: 107
Telephones - mobile cellular:
4.162 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 102
Telephone system:
general assessment: despite new investment in fixed lines teledensity remains low with roughly 10 fixed lines per 100 people; mobile-cellular telephone use is widespread and generally effective; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is now exceeds 100 per 100 persons
domestic: offsetting the shortage of fixed line capacity, mobile-cellular phone service has been available since 1996; by 2003, two companies were providing mobile services at a greater teledensity than some of Albania's neighbors; Internet broadband services initiated in 2005; Internet cafes are popular in Tirana and have started to spread outside the capital
international: country code - 355; submarine cable provides connectivity to Italy, Croatia, and Greece; the Trans-Balkan Line, a combination submarine cable and land fiber-optic system, provides additional connectivity to Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Turkey; international traffic carried by fiber-optic cable and, when necessary, by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece (2009)
Broadcast media:
2 public television networks, one of which transmits by satellite to Albanian-language communities in neighboring countries; more than 60 private television stations operating; many viewers can pick up Italian and Greek TV broadcasts via terrestrial reception; cable TV service is available; 2 public radio networks and roughly 50 private radio stations; several international broadcasters are available (2008)
Internet country code:
.al
Internet hosts:
15,098 (2010) country comparison to the world: 117
Internet users:
1.3 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 90
Transportation ::Albania
Airports:
5 (2010) country comparison to the world: 177
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2010)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2010)
Heliports:
1 (2010)
Pipelines:
gas 339 km; oil 207 km (2009)
Railways:
total: 896 km country comparison to the world: 96 standard gauge: 896 km 1.435-m gauge (2008)
Roadways:
total: 18,000 km country comparison to the world: 117 paved: 7,020 km
unpaved: 10,980 km (2002)
Waterways:
43 km (on the Bojana River) (2010) country comparison to the world: 105
Merchant marine:
total: 25 country comparison to the world: 92 by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 23, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 1 (Turkey 1)
registered in other countries: 4 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Panama 3) (2010)
Ports and terminals:
Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore
Military ::Albania
Military branches:
Joint Force Command (includes Land, Naval, and Aviation Brigade Commands), Joint Support Command (includes Logistic Command), Training and Doctrine Command (2010)
Military service age and obligation:
19 years of age (2004)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 947,446
females age 16-49: 910,145 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 802,097
females age 16-49: 768,953 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 35,249
female: 31,855 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
1.49% of GDP (2005 est.) country comparison to the world: 103
Transnational Issues ::Albania
Disputes - international:
the Albanian Government calls for the protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians in neighboring countries, and the peaceful resolution of interethnic disputes; some ethnic Albanian groups in neighboring countries advocate for a "greater Albania," but the idea has little appeal among Albanian nationals; the mass emigration of unemployed Albanians remains a problem for developed countries, chiefly Greece and Italy
Illicit drugs:
increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and - to a lesser extent - cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium and expanding cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and expanding in Europe; vulnerable to money laundering associated with regional trafficking in narcotics, arms, contraband, and illegal aliens
page last updated on January 20, 2011
======================================================================
@Algeria (Africa)
Introduction ::Algeria
Background:
After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962. Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), was established in 1954 as part of the struggle for independence and has largely dominated politics since. The Government of Algeria in 1988 instituted a multi-party system in response to public unrest, but the surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 balloting spurred the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crackdown on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets, and fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense violence between 1992-98 resulting in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s, and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000. Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA, with the backing of the military, won the presidency in 1999 in an election widely viewed as fraudulent, was reelected to a second term in 2004, and overwhelmingly won a third term in 2009 after the government amended the constitution in 2008 to remove presidential term limits. Longstanding problems continue to face BOUTEFLIKA, including large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, unreliable electrical and water supplies, government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing activities of extremist militants. The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) in 2006 merged with al-Qai'da to form al-Qai'da in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, which has launched an ongoing series of kidnappings and bombings targeting the Algerian Government and Western interests.
Geography ::Algeria
Location:
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
Geographic coordinates:
28 00 N, 3 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 2,381,741 sq km country comparison to the world: 11 land: 2,381,741 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 6,343 km
border countries: Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km, Mauritania 463 km, Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km, Western Sahara 42 km
Coastline:
998 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm
Climate:
arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer
Terrain:
mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m
highest point: Tahat 3,003 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc
Land use:
arable land: 3.17%
permanent crops: 0.28%
other: 96.55% (2005)
Irrigated land:
5,690 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
14.3 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 6.07 cu km/yr (22%/13%/65%)
per capita: 185 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season
Environment - current issues:
soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)
People ::Algeria
Population:
34,586,184 (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 35
Age structure:
0-14 years: 25.4% (male 4,436,591/female 4,259,729)
15-64 years: 69.5% (male 11,976,965/female 11,777,618)
65 years and over: 5.1% (male 798,576/female 928,709) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 27.1 years
male: 26.8 years
female: 27.3 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.177% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 106
Birth rate:
16.71 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 121
Death rate:
4.66 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 196
Net migration rate:
-0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 132
Urbanization:
urban population: 65% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 2.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 26.75 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 81 male: 29.8 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 23.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.26 years country comparison to the world: 98 male: 72.57 years
female: 76.04 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.76 children born/woman (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 162
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1%; note - no country specific models provided (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 112
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
21,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 76
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 1,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 73
Nationality:
noun: Algerian(s)
adjective: Algerian
Ethnic groups:
Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
note: almost all Algerians are Berber in origin, not Arab; the minority who identify themselves as Berber live mostly in the mountainous region of Kabylie east of Algiers; the Berbers are also Muslim but identify with their Berber rather than Arab cultural heritage; Berbers have long agitated, sometimes violently, for autonomy; the government is unlikely to grant autonomy but has offered to begin sponsoring teaching Berber language in schools
Religions:
Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%
Languages:
Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 69.9%
male: 79.6%
female: 60.1% (2002 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 13 years
male: 13 years
female: 13 years (2005)
Education expenditures:
4.3% of GDP (2008) country comparison to the world: 98
Government ::Algeria
Country name:
conventional long form: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
conventional short form: Algeria
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Sha'biyah
local short form: Al Jaza'ir
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Algiers
geographic coordinates: 36 45 N, 3 03 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
48 provinces (wilayat, singular - wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira, Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf, Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras, Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen
Independence:
5 July 1962 (from France)
National holiday:
Revolution Day, 1 November (1954)
Constitution:
8 September 1963; revised 19 November 1976; effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, 28 November 1996, 10 April 2002, and 12 November 2008
Legal system:
socialist, based on French and Islamic law; judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials including several Supreme Court justices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (since 28 April 1999) note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; a November 2008 constitutional amendment separated the position of head of government from that of the prime minister
head of government: President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (since 28 April 1999)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; note - a November 2008 constitutional amendment abolished presidential term limits; election last held on 9 April 2009 (next to be held in April 2014)
election results: Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA was reelected president for a third term; percent of vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA 90.2%, Louisa HANOUNE 4.2%, Moussa TOUATI 2.3%, Djahid YOUNSI 1.4%, Ali Fawzi REBIANE less than 1%, Mohamed SAID less than 1%
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Council of the Nation (upper house; 144 seats; one-third of the members appointed by the president, two-thirds elected by indirect vote to serve six-year terms; the constitution requires half the Council to be renewed every three years) and the National People's Assembly (lower house; 389 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Council of the Nation - last held on 29 December 2009 (next to be held in December 2012); National People's Assembly - last held on 17 May 2007 (next to be held in 2012)
election results: Council of the Nation - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; National People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 136, RND 61, MSP 52, PT 26, RCD 19, FNA 13, other 49, independents 33;
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
Ahd 54 [Ali Fauzi REBAINE]; Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI]; National Democratic Rally (Rassemblement National Democratique) or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA]; National Liberation Front or FLN [Abdelaziz BELKHADEM, secretary general]; National Reform Movement or Islah [Ahmed ABDESLAM] (formerly MRN); Rally for Culture and Democracy or RCD [Said SADI]; Renaissance Movement or EnNahda Movement [Fatah RABEI]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hocine Ait AHMED]; Society of Peace Movement or MSP [Boudjerra SOLTANI]; Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUNE]
note: a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997
Political pressure groups and leaders:
The Algerian Human Rights League or LADDH [Hocine ZEHOUANE]; SOS Disparus [Nacera DUTOUR]
International organization participation:
ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BIS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Abdallah BAALI
chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800
FAX: [1] (202) 667-2174
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador David D. PEARCE
embassy: 05 Chemin Cheikh Bachir, El-Ibrahimi, El-Biar 16000 Algiers
mailing address: B. P. 408, Alger-Gare, 16030 Algiers
telephone: [213] 770-08-2000
FAX: [213] 21-60-7355
Flag description:
two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white; a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent centered over the two-color boundary; the colors represent Islam (green), purity and peace (white), and liberty (red); the crescent and star are also Islamic symbols, but the crescent is more closed than those of other Muslim countries because the Algerians believe the long crescent horns bring happiness
National anthem:
name: "Kassaman" (We Pledge)
lyrics/music: Mufdi ZAKARIAH/Mohamed FAWZI
note: adopted 1962; ZAKARIAH wrote "Kassaman" as a poem while imprisoned in Algiers by French colonial forces
Economy ::Algeria
Economy - overview:
Algeria's economy remains dominated by the state, a legacy of the country's socialist post-independence development model. Gradual liberalization since the mid-1990s has opened up more of the economy, but in recent years Algeria has imposed new restrictions on foreign involvement in its economy and largely halted the privatization of state-owned industries. Hydrocarbons have long been the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, 30% of GDP, and over 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the eighth-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the fourth-largest gas exporter. It ranks 16th in oil reserves. Thanks to strong hydrocarbon revenues, Algeria has a cushion of $150 billion in foreign currency reserves and a large hydrocarbon stabilization fund. In addition, Algeria's external debt is extremely low at about 1% of GDP. Algeria has struggled to develop industires outside of hydrocarbons in part because of high costs and an inert state bureaucracy.The government's efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foregin and domestic investment outside the energy sector have done little to reduce high poverty and youth unemployment rates. In 2010, Algeria began a five-year, $286 billion development program to update the country's infrastructure and provide jobs. The costly program will boost Algeria's economy in 2011 but worsen the country's budget deficit. Long-term economic challenges include diversification from hydrocarbons, relaxing state control of the economy, and providing adequate jobs for youger Algerians.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$254.7 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 48 $244.6 billion (2009 est.)
$239.4 billion (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$159 billion (2010 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
4.1% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 74 2.2% (2009 est.)
2.8% (2008 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$7,400 (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 126 $7,200 (2009 est.)
$7,100 (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 8.3%
industry: 61.5%
services: 30.2% (2010 est.)
Labor force:
9.877 million (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 49
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 14%
industry: 13.4%
construction and public works: 10%
trade: 14.6%
government: 32%
other: 16% (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate:
9.9% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 110 10.2% (2009 est.)
Population below poverty line:
23% (2006 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 26.8% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
35.3 (1995) country comparison to the world: 86
Investment (gross fixed):
27.5% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 29
Public debt:
25.7% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 95 20% of GDP (2009 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 142 5.7% (2009 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
4% (31 December 2009) country comparison to the world: 107 4% (31 December 2008)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
8% (31 December 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 117 8% (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of narrow money:
$79.07 billion (31 December 2010 est) country comparison to the world: 36 $68.13 billion (31 December 2009 est)
Stock of broad money:
$109.7 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 50 $98.82 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of domestic credit:
$12.29 billion (31 December 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 89 $21.71 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA
Agriculture - products:
wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle
Industries:
petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing
Industrial production growth rate:
4.8% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 68
Electricity - production:
34.98 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 61
Electricity - consumption:
28.34 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 62
Electricity - exports:
273 million kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
279 million kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
2.125 million bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 16
Oil - consumption:
325,000 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 39
Oil - exports:
1.891 million bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 12
Oil - imports:
14,320 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 127
Oil - proved reserves:
13.42 billion bbl (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 16
Natural gas - production:
86.5 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 7
Natural gas - consumption:
26.83 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 28
Natural gas - exports:
59.67 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 4
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 201
Natural gas - proved reserves:
4.502 trillion cu m (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 10