The 2007 CIA World Factbook (part 9 of 17)

The 2007 CIA World Factbook (part 9 of 17)

National holiday: the UK does not celebrate one particular national holiday

Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

Legal system: common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; has nonbinding judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the queen, born 14 November 1948) head of government: Prime Minister Anthony (Tony) BLAIR (since 2 May 1997) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament comprised of House of Lords (consists of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers and 26 clergy) and House of Commons (646 seats since 2005 elections; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier) elections: House of Lords - no elections (note - in 1999, as provided by the House of Lords Act, elections were held in the House of Lords to determine the 92 hereditary peers who would remain there; elections are held only as vacancies in the hereditary peerage arise); House of Commons - last held 5 May 2005 (next to be held by May 2010) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Labor 35.2%, Conservative 32.3%, Liberal Democrats 22%, other 10.5%; seats by party - Labor 356, Conservative 197, Liberal Democrat 62, other 31; note - as of 10 February 2006 party by seat in the House of Commons: Labor 353, Conservative 196, Liberal Democrat 63, Scottish National Party/Plaid Cymru 9, Democratic Unionist 9, Sinn Fein 5 (but refuse to vote), other 11 note: in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Assembly (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of 1999 and has been suspended four times the latest occurring in October 2002); in 1999 there were elections for a new Scottish Parliament and a new Welsh Assembly

Judicial branch: House of Lords (highest court of appeal; several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed by the monarch for life); Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (comprising the Courts of Appeal, the High Courts of Justice, and the Crown Courts); Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the Justiciary

Political parties and leaders: Conservative and Unionist Party [David CAMERON]; Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Rev. Ian PAISLEY]; Labor Party [Anthony (Tony) BLAIR]; Liberal Democrats [Sir Menzies CAMPBELL]; Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru) [Ieuan Wyn JONES]; Scottish National Party or SNP [Alex SALMOND]; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Gerry ADAMS]; Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) [Mark DURKAN]; Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Sir Reg EMPEY]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Confederation of British Industry; National Farmers' Union; Trades Union Congress

International organization participation: AfDB, Arctic Council (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CBSS (observer), CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SECI (observer), UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador David G. MANNING; note - will be replaced the Sir Nigel E. SHEINWALD in the autumn of 2007 chancery: 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-6500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-7870 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco consulate(s): Dallas, Denver, Miami, Orlando

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Robert Holmes TUTTLE embassy: 24 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1AE mailing address: PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040 telephone: [44] (0) 20 7499-9000 FAX: [44] (0) 20 7629-9124 consulate(s) general: Belfast, Edinburgh

Flag description: blue field with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); properly known as the Union Flag, but commonly called the Union Jack; the design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including other Commonwealth countries and their constituent states or provinces, and British overseas territories

Economy United Kingdom

Economy - overview: The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is one of the quintet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe. Over the past two decades, the government has greatly reduced public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with less than 2% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance. GDP growth slipped in 2001-03 as the global downturn, the high value of the pound, and the bursting of the "new economy" bubble hurt manufacturing and exports. Output recovered in 2004, to 3.2% growth, then slowed to 1.7% in 2005 and 2.6% in 2006. The economy is one of the strongest in Europe; inflation, interest rates, and unemployment remain low. The relatively good economic performance has complicated the BLAIR government's efforts to make a case for Britain to join the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Critics point out that the economy is doing well outside of EMU, and public opinion polls show a majority of Britons are opposed to the euro. Meantime, the government has been speeding up the improvement of education, transport, and health services, at a cost in higher taxes and a widening public deficit.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $1.903 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $2.341 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 2.7% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $31,400 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1% industry: 25.6% services: 73.4% (2006 est.)

Labor force: 30.4 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 1.5% industry: 19.1% services: 79.5% (2004)

Unemployment rate: 5.4% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line: 17% (2002 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.1% highest 10%: 28.5% (1999)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 36.8 (1999)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.3% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 17.2% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget: revenues: $973 billion expenditures: $1.04 trillion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

Public debt: 42.2% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products: cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish

Industries: machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, other consumer goods

Industrial production growth rate: 0% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production: 363.2 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 73.8% hydro: 0.9% nuclear: 23.7% other: 1.6% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 345.2 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports: 2.3 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 9.8 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 2.075 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption: 1.827 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports: 1.498 million bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports: 1.084 million bbl/day (2003)

Oil - proved reserves: 4.5 billion bbl (31 December 2004)

Natural gas - production: 95.97 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 98.47 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 9.8 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 12.3 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 589 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Current account balance: $-57.68 billion (2006 est.)

Exports: $468.8 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities: manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco

Exports - partners: US 15.1%, Germany 10.5%, France 8.9%, Ireland 7.3%, Netherlands 5.5%, Belgium 5%, Spain 4.4% (2005)

Imports: $603 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities: manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs

Imports - partners: Germany 12.8%, US 8.7%, France 7.1%, Netherlands 6.6%, China 5%, Norway 4.7%, Belgium 4.6%, Italy 4% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $38.83 billion (August 2006 est.)

Debt - external: $8.28 trillion (30 June 2006)

Economic aid - donor: ODA, $7.9 billion (2004)

Currency (code): British pound (GBP)

Currency code: GBP

Exchange rates: British pounds per US dollar - 0.54413 (2006), 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002)

Fiscal year: 6 April - 5 April

Communications United Kingdom

Telephones - main lines in use: 32.943 million (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 61.091 million (2004)

Telephone system: general assessment: technologically advanced domestic and international system domestic: equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems international: country code - 44; 40 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Eutelsat; at least 8 large international switching centers

Radio broadcast stations: AM 219, FM 431, shortwave 3 (1998)

Radios: 84.5 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 228 (plus 3,523 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions: 30.5 million (1997)

Internet country code: .uk

Internet hosts: 6,064,860 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): more than 400 (2000)

Internet users: 37.6 million (2005)

Transportation United Kingdom

Airports: 471 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 334 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 149 914 to 1,523 m: 86 under 914 m: 58 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 137 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 112 (2006)

Heliports: 11 (2006)

Pipelines: condensate 565 km; condensate/gas 6 km; gas 21,575 km; liquid petroleum gas 59 km; oil 5,094 km; oil/gas/water 161 km; refined products 4,444 km (2006)

Railways: total: 17,156 km standard gauge: 16,814 km 1.435-m gauge (5,384 km electrified) broad gauge: 342 km 1.600-m gauge (in Northern Ireland) (2005)

Roadways: total: 388,008 km paved: 388,008 km (including 3,520 km of expressways) (2005)

Waterways: 3,200 km (620 km used for commerce) (2003)

Merchant marine: total: 449 ships (1000 GRT or over) 11,049,317 GRT/11,731,680 DWT by type: bulk carrier 24, cargo 54, chemical tanker 50, container 146, liquefied gas 17, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 65, petroleum tanker 33, refrigerated cargo 17, roll on/roll off 26, vehicle carrier 8 foreign-owned: 215 (Australia 3, Denmark 46, Finland 1, France 4, Germany 76, Greece 7, Ireland 1, Italy 4, Netherlands 3, Norway 36, NZ 1, South Africa 5, Spain 1, Sweden 15, Switzerland 3, Taiwan 1, Turkey 2, US 6) registered in other countries: 368 (Algeria 13, Antigua and Barbuda 7, Argentina 4, Australia 2, Bahamas 69, Barbados 5, Belgium 2, Bermuda 9, Brazil 1, Brunei 8, Cape Verde 1, Cayman Islands 10, Cyprus 6, Denmark 1, Finland 1, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 1, Georgia 4, Gibraltar 4, Greece 9, Hong Kong 43, India 1, Indonesia 2, Italy 3, South Korea 2, Liberia 41, Malta 8, Marshall Islands 12, Morocco 1, Netherlands 19, Netherlands Antilles 3, Norway 6, Panama 37, Papua New Guinea 6, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 13, Singapore 9, Slovakia 1, Spain 1, Thailand 2, Tonga 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Hound Point, Immingham, Milford Haven, Liverpool, London, Southampton, Sullom Voe, Teesport

Military United Kingdom

Military branches: Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force

Military service age and obligation: 16 years of age for voluntary military service; women serve in military services, but are excluded from ground combat positions and some naval postings (2004)

Manpower available for military service: males age 16-49: 14,607,724 females age 16-49: 14,028,738 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 16-49: 12,046,268 females age 16-49: 11,555,893 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $42,836.5 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.4% (2003)

Transnational Issues United Kingdom

Disputes - international: in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement between the UK and Spain; the Government of Gibraltar insists on equal participation in talks between the two countries; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants since their eviction in 1965; most Chagossians reside in Mauritius, and in 2001 were granted UK citizenship, where some have since resettled; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed the UK Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; UK rejects sovereignty talks requested by Argentina, which still claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm

Illicit drugs: producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and synthetic drugs; money-laundering center

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@United States

Introduction United States

Background: Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.

Geography United States

Location: North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico

Geographic coordinates: 38 00 N, 97 00 W

Map references: North America

Area: total: 9,826,630 sq km land: 9,161,923 sq km water: 664,707 sq km note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia

Area - comparative: about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; almost two and a half times the size of the European Union

Land boundaries: total: 12,034 km border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska), Mexico 3,141 km note: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is leased by the US and is part of Cuba; the base boundary is 28 km

Coastline: 19,924 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: not specified

Climate: mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains

Terrain: vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Death Valley -86 m highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m

Natural resources: coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber

Land use: arable land: 18.01% permanent crops: 0.21% other: 81.78% (2005)

Irrigated land: 223,850 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development

Environment - current issues: air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification

Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes

Geography - note: world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India); Mt. McKinley is highest point in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent

People United States

Population: 298,444,215 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 20.4% (male 31,095,847/female 29,715,872) 15-64 years: 67.2% (male 100,022,845/female 100,413,484) 65 years and over: 12.5% (male 15,542,288/female 21,653,879) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 36.5 years male: 35.1 years female: 37.8 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.91% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 14.14 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 8.26 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 6.43 deaths/1,000 live births male: 7.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.85 years male: 75.02 years female: 80.82 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.09 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.6% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 950,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 14,000 (2003 est.)

Nationality: noun: American(s) adjective: American

Ethnic groups: white 81.7%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2% (2003 est.) note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.)

Religions: Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.)

Languages: English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)

Government United States

Country name: conventional long form: United States of America conventional short form: United States abbreviation: US or USA

Government type: Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition

Capital: name: Washington, DC (capital) geographic coordinates: 38 53 N, 77 02 W time difference: UTC-5 (during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November note: the United States is divided into six time zones

Administrative divisions: 50 states and 1 district*; Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Dependent areas: American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island note: from 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; it entered into a political relationship with all four political units: the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the US (effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 21 October 1986); the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palau concluded a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 1 October 1994)

Independence: 4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 July (1776)

Constitution: 17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789

Legal system: federal court system based on English common law; each state has its own unique legal system, of which all but one (Louisiana's) is based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held 4 November 2008) election results: George W. BUSH reelected president; percent of popular vote - George W. BUSH (Republican Party) 50.9%, John KERRY (Democratic Party) 48.1%, other 1.0%

Legislative branch: bicameral Congress consists of the Senate (100 seats, one-third are renewed every two years; 2 members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held on November 2008); House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held on November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 49, Republican Party 49, independent 2; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 233, Republican Party 202

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (nine justices; nominated by the president and confirmed with the advice and consent of the Senate; appointed to serve for life); United States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and County Courts

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party [Howard DEAN]; Green Party; Libertarian Party [Steve DAMERELL]; Republican Party [Ken MEHLMAN]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: AfDB, ANZUS, APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAFTA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SECI (observer), SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Flag description: 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico

Economy United States

Economy - overview: The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $43,500. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 showed the remarkable resilience of the economy. The war in March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the subsequent occupation of Iraq, required major shifts in national resources to the military. The rise in GDP in 2004-06 was undergirded by substantial gains in labor productivity. Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage in the Gulf Coast region in August 2005, but had a small impact on overall GDP growth for the year. Soaring oil prices in 2005 and 2006 threatened inflation and unemployment, yet the economy continued to grow through year-end 2006. Imported oil accounts for about two-thirds of US consumption. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $12.98 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $13.22 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.2% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $43,500 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 0.9% industry: 20.4% services: 78.6% (2006 est.)

Labor force: 151.4 million (includes unemployed) (2006)

Labor force - by occupation: farming, forestry, and fishing 0.7%, manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts 22.9%, managerial, professional, and technical 34.9%, sales and office 25%, other services 16.5% note: figures exclude the unemployed (2006)

Unemployment rate: 4.6% (2006)

Population below poverty line: 12% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.8% highest 10%: 30.5% (1997)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 45 (2004)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 16.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget: revenues: $2.409 trillion expenditures: $2.66 trillion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

Public debt: 64.7% of GDP (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products: wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish; forest products

Industries: leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining

Industrial production growth rate: 4.2% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production: 3.979 trillion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 71.4% hydro: 5.6% nuclear: 20.7% other: 2.3% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 3.717 trillion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports: 22.9 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 34.21 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 7.61 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption: 20.73 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports: 1.048 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports: 13.15 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves: 22.45 billion bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production: 531.1 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 635.1 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 24.18 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 120.6 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 5.451 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Current account balance: $-862.3 billion (2006 est.)

Exports: $1.024 trillion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities: agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9.2%, industrial supplies (organic chemicals) 26.8%, capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment) 49.0%, consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15.0% (2003)

Exports - partners: Canada 23.4%, Mexico 13.3%, Japan 6.1%, China 4.6%, UK 4.3% (2005)

Imports: $1.869 trillion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities: agricultural products 4.9%, industrial supplies 32.9% (crude oil 8.2%), capital goods 30.4% (computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery), consumer goods 31.8% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys) (2003)

Imports - partners: Canada 16.9%, China 15%, Mexico 10%, Japan 8.2%, Germany 5% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $69.19 billion (August 2006 est.)

Debt - external: $10.04 trillion (30 June 2006 est.)

Economic aid - donor: ODA, $6.9 billion (1997)

Currency (code): US dollar (USD)

Currency code: USD

Exchange rates: British pounds per US dollar - 0.5500 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001); Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.2118 (2005), 1.3010 (2004), 1.4011 (2003), 1.5693 (2002), 1.5488 (2001); Japanese yen per US dollar - 110.22 (2005), 108.19 (2004), 115.93 (2003), 125.39 (2002), 121.53 (2001); euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.8866 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001); Chinese yuan per US dollar - 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004), 8.2770 (2003), 8.2770 (2002), 8.2271 (2001)

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September

Communications United States

Telephones - main lines in use: 268 million (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 219.4 million (2005)

Telephone system: general assessment: a large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country international: country code - 1; 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4,789, FM 8,961, shortwave 19 (2006)

Radios: 575 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 2,218 (2006)

Televisions: 219 million (1997)

Internet country code: .us

Internet hosts: 195,138,696 (2005)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 7,000 (2002 est.)

Internet users: 205,326,680 (2005)

Transportation United States

Airports: 14,858 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 5,119 over 3,047 m: 189 2,438 to 3,047 m: 221 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,426 914 to 1,523 m: 2,337 under 914 m: 946 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 9,739 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 157 914 to 1,523 m: 1,728 under 914 m: 7,847 (2006)

Heliports: 149 (2006)

Pipelines: petroleum products 244,620 km; natural gas 548,665 km (2003)

Railways: total: 226,605 km standard gauge: 226,605 km 1.435-m gauge (2004)

Roadways: total: 6,430,366 km paved: 4,165,110 km (including 75,009 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,265,256 km (2005)

Waterways: 41,009 km (19,312 km used for commerce) note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with Canada (2004)

Merchant marine: total: 465 ships (1000 GRT or over) 10,590,325 GRT/13,273,133 DWT by type: barge carrier 7, bulk carrier 67, cargo 91, chemical tanker 20, container 76, passenger 19, passenger/cargo 58, petroleum tanker 76, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 27, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 20 foreign-owned: 51 (Australia 2, Canada 4, Denmark 24, Germany 2, Greece 1, Malaysia 4, Netherlands 4, Norway 2, Singapore 2, Sweden 5, Taiwan 1) registered in other countries: 700 (Antigua and Barbuda 7, Australia 3, Bahamas 121, Belize 5, Bermuda 27, Cambodia 8, Canada 2, Cayman Islands 41, Comoros 2, Cyprus 7, Greece 1, Honduras 1, Hong Kong 21, Ireland 2, Isle of Man 3, Italy 15, North Korea 3, South Korea 7, Liberia 93, Luxembourg 3, Malta 3, Marshall Islands 143, Netherlands 13, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 13, Panama 94, Peru 1, Philippines 8, Portugal 1, Puerto Rico 3, Qatar 1, Russia 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 21, Sierra Leone 1, Singapore 7, Spain 7, Sweden 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, UK 6, Vanuatu 1, Wallis and Futuna 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Corpus Christi, Duluth, Hampton Roads, Houston, Long Beach, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Tampa, Texas City note: 13 ports north of New Orleans (South Louisiana Ports) on the Mississippi River handle 290,000,000 tons of cargo annually

Military United States

Military branches: Army, Navy and Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard; note - Coast Guard administered in peacetime by the Department of Homeland Security, but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age; 17 years of age with written parental consent (2006)

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 67,742,879 females age 18-49: 67,070,144 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 54,609,050 females age 18-49: 54,696,706 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually: males age 18-49: 2,143,873 females age 18-49: 2,036,201 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $518.1 billion (FY04 est.) (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4.06% (FY03 est.) (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues United States

Disputes - international: the U.S. has intensified domestic security measures and is collaborating closely with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico, to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities across the international borders; abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements; 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian Duma ratification; managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; The Bahamas and US have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other states; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island; Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island among the islands listed in its 2006 draft constitution

Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): the US admitted 62,643 refugees during FY04/05 including, 10,586 (Somalia), 8,549 (Laos), 6,666 (Russia), 6,479 (Cuba), 3,100 (Haiti), 2,136 (Iran) (2006)

Illicit drugs: world's largest consumer of cocaine, shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean; consumer of heroin, marijuana, and increasingly methamphetamine from Mexico; consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges

Introduction United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges

Background: The following US Pacific island territories constitute the Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex and as such are managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of Interior. These remote refuges are the most widespread collection of marine- and terrestrial-life protected areas on the planet under a single country's jurisdiction. They protect many endemic species including corals, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, seabirds, water birds, land birds, insects, and vegetation not found elsewhere. Baker Island: The US took possession of the island in 1857, and its guano deposits were mined by US and British companies during the second half of the 19th century. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization began on this island but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned. The island was established as a National Wildlife Refuge in 1974. Howland Island: Discovered by the US early in the 19th century, the island was officially claimed by the US in 1857. Both US and British companies mined for guano until about 1890. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization began on this island, similar to the effort on nearby Baker Island, but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned. The famed American aviatrix Amelia EARHART disappeared while seeking out Howland Island as a refueling stop during her 1937 round-the-world flight; Earhart Light, a day beacon near the middle of the west coast, was named in her memory. The island was established as a National Wildlife Refuge in 1974. Jarvis Island: First discovered by the British in 1821, the uninhabited island was annexed by the US in 1858, but abandoned in 1879 after tons of guano had been removed. The UK annexed the island in 1889, but never carried out plans for further exploitation. The US occupied and reclaimed the island in 1935 until it was abandoned in 1942 during World War II. The island was established as a National Wildlife Refuge in 1974. Johnston Atoll: Both the US and the Kingdom of Hawaii annexed Johnston Atoll in 1858, but it was the US that mined the guano deposits until the late 1880s. Johnston and Sand Islands were designated wildlife refuges in 1926. The US Navy took over the atoll in 1934, and subsequently the US Air Force assumed control in 1948. The site was used for high-altitude nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s, and until late in 2000 the atoll was maintained as a storage and disposal site for chemical weapons. Munitions destruction is now complete. Cleanup and closure of the facility was completed by May 2005. The Fish and Wildlife Service and the US Air Force are currently discussing future management options; in the interim, Johnston Atoll and the three-mile Naval Defensive Sea around it remain under the jurisdiction and administrative control of the US Air Force. Kingman Reef: The US annexed the reef in 1922. Its sheltered lagoon served as a way station for flying boats on Hawaii-to-American Samoa flights during the late 1930s. There are no terrestrial plants on the reef, which is frequently awash, but it does support abundant and diverse marine fauna and flora. In 2001, the waters surrounding the reef out to 12 nm were designated a US National Wildlife Refuge. Midway Islands: The US took formal possession of the islands in 1867. The laying of the trans-Pacific cable, which passed through the islands, brought the first residents in 1903. Between 1935 and 1947, Midway was used as a refueling stop for trans-Pacific flights. The US naval victory over a Japanese fleet off Midway in 1942 was one of the turning points of World War II. The islands continued to serve as a naval station until closed in 1993. Today the islands are a National Wildlife Refuge and are the site of the world's largest Laysan albatross colony. Palmyra Atoll: The Kingdom of Hawaii claimed the atoll in 1862, and the US included it among the Hawaiian Islands when it annexed the archipelago in 1898. The Hawaii Statehood Act of 1959 did not include Palmyra Atoll, which is now partly privately owned by the Nature Conservancy with the rest owned by the Federal government and managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. These organizations are managing the atoll as a wildlife refuge. The lagoons and surrounding waters within the 12 nm US territorial seas were transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and designated as a National Wildlife Refuge in January 2001.

Geography United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges

Location: Oceania Baker Island: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 1,830 nm (3,389 km) southwest of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and Australia Howland Island: island in the North Pacific Ocean 1,815 nm (3,361 km) southwest of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and Australia Jarvis Island: island in the South Pacific Ocean 1,305 nm (2,417 km) south of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and the Cook Islands Johnston Atoll: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 717 nm (1,328 km) southwest of Honolulu, about one-third of the way from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands Kingman Reef: reef in the North Pacific Ocean 930 nm (1,722 km) south of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and American Samoa Midway Islands: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 1,260 nm (2,334 km) northwest of Honolulu near the end of the Hawaiian Archipelago, about one-third of the way from Honolulu to Tokyo Palmyra Atoll: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 960 nm (1,778 km) south of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and American Samoa

Geographic coordinates: Baker Island: 0 13 N, 176 28 W Howland Island: 0 48 N, 176 38 W Jarvis Island: 0 23 S, 160 01 W Johnston Atoll: 16 45 N, 169 31 W Kingman Reef: 6 23 N, 162 25 W Midway Islands: 28 12 N, 177 22 W Palmyra Atoll: 5 53 N, 162 05 W

Map references: Oceania

Area: total - 6,959.41 sq km; emergent land - 22.41 sq km; submerged - 6,937 sq km Baker Island: total - 129 sq km; emergent land - 2.1 sq km; submerged - 127 sq km Howland Island: total - 139 sq km; emergent land - 2.6 sq km; submerged - 136 sq km Jarvis Island: total - 152 sq km; emergent land - 5 sq km; submerged - 147 sq km Johnston Atoll: total - 276.6 sq km; emergent land - 2.6 sq km; submerged - 274 sq km Kingman Reef: total - 1,958.01 sq km; emergent land - 0.01 sq km; submerged - 1,958 sq km Midway Islands: total - 2,355.2 sq km; emergent land - 6.2 sq km; submerged - 2,349 sq km Palmyra Atoll: total - 1,949.9 sq km; emergent land - 3.9 sq km; submerged - 1,946 sq km

Area - comparative: Baker Island: about two and a half times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC Howland Island: about three times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC Jarvis Island: about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC Johnston Atoll: about four and a half times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC Kingman Reef: a little more than one and a half times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC Midway Islands: about nine times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC Palmyra Atoll: about 20 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: Baker Island: 4.8 km Howland Island: 6.4 km Jarvis Island: 8 km Johnston Atoll: 34 km Kingman Reef: 3 km Midway Islands: 15 km Palmyra Atoll: 14.5 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun Johnston Atoll and Kingman Reef: tropical, but generally dry; consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation Midway Islands: subtropical with cool, moist winters (December to February) and warm, dry summers (May to October); moderated by prevailing easterly winds; most of the 1,067 mm (42 in) of annual rainfall occurs during the winter Palmyra Atoll: equatorial, hot; located within the low pressure area of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) where the northeast and southeast trade winds meet, it is extremely wet with between 4,000-5,000 mm (160-200 in) of rainfall each year

Terrain: low and nearly level sandy coral islands with narrow fringing reefs that have developed at the top of submerged volcanic mountains, which in most cases rise steeply from the ocean floor

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Baker Island, unnamed location - 8 m; Howland Island, unnamed location - 3 m; Jarvis Island, unnamed location - 7 m; Johnston Atoll, Sand Island - 10 m; Kingman Reef, unnamed location - less than 1 m; Midway Islands, unnamed location - 13 m; Palmyra Atoll, unnamed location - 2 m

Natural resources: terrestrial and aquatic wildlife

Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)

Natural hazards: Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard Kingman Reef: wet or awash most of the time, maximum elevation of less than 1 m makes Kingman Reef a maritime hazard Midway Islands, Johnston, and Palmyra Atolls: NA

Environment - current issues: Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, and Johnston Atoll: no natural fresh water resources Kingman Reef: none Midway Islands and Palmyra Atoll: NA

Geography - note: Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: scattered vegetation consisting of grasses, prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife Johnston Atoll: Johnston Island and Sand Island are natural islands, which have been expanded by coral dredging; North Island (Akau) and East Island (Hikina) are manmade islands formed from coral dredging; the egg-shaped reef is 34 km in circumference Kingman Reef: barren coral atoll with deep interior lagoon; closed to the public Midway Islands: a coral atoll managed as a national wildlife refuge and open to the public for wildlife-related recreation in the form of wildlife observation and photography Palmyra Atoll: the high rainfall and resulting lush vegetation make the environment of this atoll unique among the US Pacific Island territories; it supports one of the largest remaining undisturbed stands of Pisonia beach forest in the Pacific

People United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges

Population: no indigenous inhabitants note: public entry is by special-use permit from US Fish and Wildlife Service only and generally restricted to scientists and educators; visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife Service Johnston Atoll: in previous years, an average of 1,100 US military and civilian contractor personnel were present; as of May 2005 all US government personnel had left the island Midway Islands: approximately 40 people make up the staff of US Fish and Wildlife Service and their services contractor living at the atoll Palmyra Atoll: four to 20 Nature Conservancy and US Fish and Wildlife staff

Government United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges

Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Baker Island; Howland Island; Jarvis Island; Johnston Atoll; Kingman Reef; Midway Islands; Palmyra Atoll

Dependency status: unincorporated territories of the US; administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system note on Palmyra Atoll: incorporated Territory of the US; partly privately owned and partly federally owned; administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior; the Office of Insular Affairs of the US Department of the Interior continues to administer nine excluded areas comprising certain tidal and submerged lands within the 12 nm territorial sea or within the lagoon

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

Flag description: the flag of the US is used

Economy United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges

Economy - overview: no economic activity

Transportation United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges

Airports: Baker Island: one abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m covered with vegetation and unusable Howland Island: airstrip constructed in 1937 for scheduled refueling stop on the round-the-world flight of Amelia EARHART and Fred NOONAN; the aviators left Lae, New Guinea, for Howland Island but were never seen again; the airstrip is no longer serviceable Johnston Atoll: 1 - closed and not maintained Kingman Reef: lagoon was used as a halfway station between Hawaii and American Samoa by Pan American Airways for flying boats in 1937 and 1938 Midway Islands: 3 - one operational (2,409 m paved); no fuel for sale except emergencies Palmyra Atoll: 1 - 1,846 m unpaved runway; privately owned (2006)

Ports and terminals: Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, and Kingman Reef: none; offshore anchorage only Johnston Atoll: Johnston Island Midway Islands: Sand Island Palmyra Atoll: West Lagoon

Military United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the US

Transnational Issues United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Uruguay

Introduction Uruguay

Background: Montevideo, founded by the Spanish in 1726 as a military stronghold, soon took advantage of its natural harbor to become an important commercial center. Claimed by Argentina but annexed by Brazil in 1821, Uruguay declared its independence four years later and secured its freedom in 1828 after a three-year struggle. The administrations of President Jose BATLLE in the early 20th century established widespread political, social, and economic reforms that established a statist tradition. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement named the Tupamaros, launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay's president to cede control of the government to the military in 1973. By yearend, the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold over the government. Civilian rule was not restored until 1985. In 2004, the left-of-center Frente Amplio Coalition won national elections that effectively ended 170 years of political control previously held by the Colorado and Blanco parties. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent.

Geography Uruguay

Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil

Geographic coordinates: 33 00 S, 56 00 W

Map references: South America

Area: total: 176,220 sq km land: 173,620 sq km water: 2,600 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than the state of Washington

Land boundaries: total: 1,648 km border countries: Argentina 580 km, Brazil 1,068 km

Coastline: 660 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or edge of continental margin

Climate: warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown

Terrain: mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m

Natural resources: arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries

Land use: arable land: 7.77% permanent crops: 0.24% other: 91.99% (2005)

Irrigated land: 2,100 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind that blows north from the Argentine pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts

Environment - current issues: water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal

Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note: second-smallest South American country (after Suriname); most of the low-lying landscape (three-quarters of the country) is grassland, ideal for cattle and sheep raising

People Uruguay

Population: 3,431,932 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 22.9% (male 399,409/female 386,136) 15-64 years: 63.9% (male 1,087,180/female 1,104,465) 65 years and over: 13.3% (male 185,251/female 269,491) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 32.7 years male: 31.3 years female: 34.2 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.46% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 13.91 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 9.05 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 11.61 deaths/1,000 live births male: 12.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.33 years male: 73.12 years female: 79.65 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.89 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 6,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 500 (2003 est.)

Nationality: noun: Uruguayan(s) adjective: Uruguayan

Ethnic groups: white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian (practically nonexistent)

Religions: Roman Catholic 66% (less than half of the adult population attends church regularly), Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, nonprofessing or other 31%

Languages: Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 97.6% female: 98.4% (2003 est.)

Government Uruguay

Country name: conventional long form: Oriental Republic of Uruguay conventional short form: Uruguay local long form: Republica Oriental del Uruguay local short form: Uruguay former: Banda Oriental, Cisplatine Province

Government type: constitutional republic

Capital: name: Montevideo geographic coordinates: 34 53 S, 56 11 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in October; ends second Sunday in March

Administrative divisions: 19 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Artigas, Canelones, Cerro Largo, Colonia, Durazno, Flores, Florida, Lavalleja, Maldonado, Montevideo, Paysandu, Rio Negro, Rivera, Rocha, Salto, San Jose, Soriano, Tacuarembo, Treinta y Tres

Independence: 25 August 1825 (from Brazil)

National holiday: Independence Day, 25 August (1825)

Constitution: 27 November 1966, effective February 1967; suspended 27 June 1973, new constitution rejected by referendum 30 November 1980; two constitutional reforms approved by plebiscite 26 November 1989 and 7 January 1997

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch: chief of state: President Tabare VAZQUEZ Rosas (since 1 March 2005) and Vice President Rodolfo NIN NOVOA (since 1 March 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Tabare VAZQUEZ Rosas (since 1 March 2005) and Vice President Rodolfo NIN NOVOA (since 1 March 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president with parliamentary approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009) election results: Tabare VAZQUEZ elected president; percent of vote - Tabare VAZQUEZ 50.5%, Jorge LARRANAGA 35.1%, Guillermo STIRLING 10.3%; other 4.1%

Legislative branch: bicameral General Assembly or Asamblea General consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (30 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; vice president has one vote in the Senate) and Chamber of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (99 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: Chamber of Senators - last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009); Chamber of Representatives - last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - EP-FA 16, Blanco 11, Colorado Party 3; Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - EP-FA 52, Blanco 36, Colorado Party 10, Independent Party 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly)

Political parties and leaders: Broad Front Coalition (Frente Amplio) - formerly known as the Progressive Encounter/Broad Front Coalition or EP-FA [Jorge BROVETTO]; Colorado Party [Julio Maria SANGUINETTI]; Independent Party (Partido Independiente) [Pablo MIERES]; Movement of Popular Participation or MPP [Jose MUJICA]; National Party or Blanco [Jorge LARRANAGA]; New Sector/Space Coalition (Nuevo Espacio) [Rafael MICHELINI]; Broad Front Coalition (Frente Amplio) - formerly known as the Progressive Encounter/Broad Front Coalition or EP-FA [Jorge BROVETTO]; Uruguayan Assembly or Asamblea Uruguay [Danilo ASTORI]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Architect's Society of Uruguay (professional organization); Catholic Church; Chamber of Uruguayan Industries (manufacturer's association); Chemist and Pharmaceutical Association (professional organization); PIT-CNT (powerful federation of Uruguayan unions); Rural Association of Uruguay (rancher's association); students; Uruguayan Construction League

International organization participation: CAN (associate), CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos Alberto GIANELLI Derois chancery: 1913 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 331-1313 through 1316 FAX: [1] (202) 331-8142 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York consulate(s): San Juan (Puerto Rico)

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Frank BAXTER embassy: Lauro Muller 1776, Montevideo 11200 mailing address: APO AA 34035 telephone: [598] (2) 418-7777 FAX: [598] (2) 418-8611

Flag description: nine equal horizontal stripes of white (top and bottom) alternating with blue; there is a white square in the upper hoist-side corner with a yellow sun bearing a human face known as the Sun of May with 16 rays that alternate between triangular and wavy

Economy Uruguay

Economy - overview: Uruguay's well-to-do economy is characterized by an export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated work force, and high levels of social spending. After averaging growth of 5% annually during 1996-98, in 1999-2002 the economy suffered a major downturn, stemming largely from the spillover effects of the economic problems of its large neighbors, Argentina and Brazil. For instance, in 2001-02 Argentina made massive withdrawals of dollars deposited in Uruguayan banks, which led to a plunge in the Uruguayan peso and a massive rise in unemployment. Total GDP in these four years dropped by nearly 20%, with 2002 the worst year due to the banking crisis. The unemployment rate rose to nearly 20% in 2002, inflation surged, and the burden of external debt doubled. Cooperation with the IMF helped stem the damage. A debt swap with private-sector creditors in 2003 extended the maturity dates on nearly half of Uruguay's then $11.3 billion of public debt and helped restore public confidence. The economy grew about 12% in 2004 as a result of high commodity prices for Uruguayan exports, a competitive peso, growth in the region, and low international interest rates, and it continued to grow nearly 7% annually in 2005 and 2006.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $36.56 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $14.3 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 7% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $10,700 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 9.3% industry: 33.7% services: 57% (2006 est.)

Labor force: 1.27 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 14% industry: 16% services: 70%

Unemployment rate: 10.5% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line: 22% of households (2004)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.7% highest 10%: 25.8% (1997)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 44.6 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.5% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 13.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget: revenues: $5.203 billion expenditures: $5.449 billion; including capital expenditures of $193 million (2006 est.)

Public debt: 70.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products: rice, wheat, corn, barley; livestock; fish

Industries: food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages

Industrial production growth rate: 12.6% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production: 8.183 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 0.7% hydro: 99.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0.3% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 9.939 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports: 19 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 2.348 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 513.5 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption: 38,100 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 120 million cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 120 million cu m (2004 est.)

Current account balance: $-600 million (2006 est.)

Exports: $3.993 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities: meat, rice, leather products, wool, fish, dairy products

Exports - partners: US 23.2%, Brazil 13.5%, Argentina 7.8%, Germany 4.2%, Mexico 4.1% (2005)

Imports: $4.532 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery, chemicals, road vehicles, crude petroleum

Imports - partners: Brazil 21.3%, Argentina 20.3%, Russia 8%, US 6.7%, Venezuela 6.3%, China 6.2%, Nigeria 5.9% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $3.594 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external: $10.37 billion (30 June 2006 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $NA

Currency (code): Uruguayan peso (UYU)

Currency code: UYU

Exchange rates: Uruguayan pesos per US dollar - 23.9911 (2006), 24.479 (2005), 28.704 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 21.257 (2002)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Uruguay

Telephones - main lines in use: 1 million (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 600,000 (2004)

Telephone system: general assessment: fully digitalized domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide microwave radio relay network international: country code - 598; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2002)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 93, FM 191, shortwave 7 (2005)

Radios: 1.97 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 62 (2005)

Televisions: 782,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .uy

Internet hosts: 145,774 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 14 (2001)

Internet users: 680,000 (2005)

Transportation Uruguay

Airports: 64 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 8 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 56 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 31 (2006)

Pipelines: gas 257 km; oil 160 km (2006)

Railways: total: 2,073 km standard gauge: 2,073 km 1.435-m gauge note: 461 km have been taken out of service and 460 km are in partial use (2005)

Roadways: total: 77,732 km paved: 7,743 km unpaved: 69,989 km (2004)

Waterways: 1,600 km (2005)

Merchant marine: total: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 34,259 GRT/19,725 DWT by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 4 (Argentina 3, Greece 1) registered in other countries: 8 (Argentina 1, Bahamas 2, Liberia 3, Spain 2) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Montevideo, Nueva Palmira, Fray Bentos, Colonia, Juan Lacaze

Military Uruguay

Military branches: Army, Navy (includes naval air arm, Marines, Maritime Prefecture in wartime), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Uruguaya, FAU) (2006)

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary and compulsory military service (2001)

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 764,408 females age 18-49: 760,341 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 637,445 females age 18-49: 631,046 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $371.2 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.1% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Uruguay

Disputes - international: in Jan 2007, ICJ provisionally ruled Uruguay may begin construction of two paper mills on the Uruguay River, which forms the border with Argentina, while the court examines further whether Argentina has the legal right to stop such construction with potential environmental implications to both countries; uncontested dispute with Brazil over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Uzbekistan

Introduction Uzbekistan

Background: Russia conquered Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after World War I was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic set up in 1924. During the Soviet era, intensive production of "white gold" (cotton) and grain led to overuse of agrochemicals and the depletion of water supplies, which have left the land poisoned and the Aral Sea and certain rivers half dry. Independent since 1991, the country seeks to gradually lessen its dependence on agriculture while developing its mineral and petroleum reserves. Current concerns include terrorism by Islamic militants, economic stagnation, and the curtailment of human rights and democratization.

Geography Uzbekistan

Location: Central Asia, north of Afghanistan

Geographic coordinates: 41 00 N, 64 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area: total: 447,400 sq km land: 425,400 sq km water: 22,000 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries: total: 6,221 km border countries: Afghanistan 137 km, Kazakhstan 2,203 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,099 km, Tajikistan 1,161 km, Turkmenistan 1,621 km

Coastline: 0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline

Maritime claims: none (doubly landlocked)

Climate: mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east

Terrain: mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya, Syr Darya (Sirdaryo), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m

Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum

Land use: arable land: 10.51% permanent crops: 0.76% other: 88.73% (2005)

Irrigated land: 42,810 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: shrinkage of the Aral Sea is resulting in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification; water pollution from industrial wastes and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many human health disorders; increasing soil salination; soil contamination from buried nuclear processing and agricultural chemicals, including DDT

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world

People Uzbekistan

Population: 27,307,134 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 32.9% (male 4,572,721/female 4,403,405) 15-64 years: 62.3% (male 8,420,174/female 8,594,478) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 539,336/female 777,020) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 22.7 years male: 22 years female: 23.3 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.7% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 26.36 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 7.84 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 69.99 deaths/1,000 live births male: 74.14 deaths/1,000 live births female: 65.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 64.58 years male: 61.19 years female: 68.14 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.91 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 11,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 500 (2003 est.)

Nationality: noun: Uzbekistani adjective: Uzbekistani

Ethnic groups: Uzbek 80%, Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, Tatar 1.5%, other 2.5% (1996 est.)

Religions: Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3%

Languages: Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.3% male: 99.6% female: 99% (2003 est.)

Government Uzbekistan

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Uzbekistan conventional short form: Uzbekistan local long form: Ozbekiston Respublikasi local short form: Ozbekiston former: Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic

Government type: republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch

Capital: name: Tashkent (Toshkent) geographic coordinates: 41 20 N, 69 18 E time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 12 provinces (viloyatlar, singular - viloyat), 1 autonomous republic* (respublika), and 1 city** (shahar); Andijon Viloyati, Buxoro Viloyati, Farg'ona Viloyati, Jizzax Viloyati, Namangan Viloyati, Navoiy Viloyati, Qashqadaryo Viloyati (Qarshi), Qoraqalpog'iston Respublikasi* (Nukus), Samarqand Viloyati, Sirdaryo Viloyati (Guliston), Surxondaryo Viloyati (Termiz), Toshkent Shahri**, Toshkent Viloyati, Xorazm Viloyati (Urganch) note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)

Independence: 1 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 September (1991)

Constitution: new constitution adopted 8 December 1992

Legal system: evolution of Soviet civil law; still lacks independent judicial system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Islom KARIMOV (since 24 March 1990, when he was elected president by the then Supreme Soviet) head of government: Prime Minister Shavkat MIRZIYAYEV (since 11 December 2003) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president with approval of the Supreme Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second term; previously was a five-year term, extended by constitutional amendment in 2002); election last held 9 January 2000 (next to be held in 2007); prime minister, ministers, and deputy ministers appointed by the president election results: Islom KARIMOV reelected president; percent of vote - Islom KARIMOV 91.9%, Abdulkhafiz JALALOV 4.2%

Legislative branch: bicameral Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis consists of an Upper House or Senate (100 seats; 84 members are elected by regional governing councils to serve five-year terms and 16 are appointed by the president) and a Lower House or Legislative Chamber (120 seats; elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 26 December 2004 and 9 January 2005 (next to be held December 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Legislative Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDPU 41, NDP 32, Fidokorlar 17, MTP 11, Adolat 9, unaffiliated 10 note: all parties in the Supreme Assembly support President KARIMOV

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Supreme Assembly)

Political parties and leaders: Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party [Dilorom TASHMUHAMMEDOVA, chief]; Democratic National Rebirth Party (Milly Tiklanish) or MTP [Hurshid DOSMUHAMMEDOV, chief]; Fidokorlar National Democratic Party (Self-Sacrificers) [Ahtam TURSUNOV, chief]; Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan or LDPU [Adham SHADMANOV, chief]; People's Democratic Party or NDP (formerly Communist Party) [Asliddin RUSTAMOV, first secretary]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Agrarian and Entrepreneurs' Party [Marat ZAHIDOV]; Birlik (Unity) Movement [Abdurakhim POLAT, chairman]; Committee for the Protection of Human Rights [Marat ZAHIDOV]; Erk (Freedom) Democratic Party [Muhammad SOLIH, chairman] was banned 9 December 1992; Ezgulik Human Rights Society [Vasila INOYATOVA]; Free Farmers' Party or Ozod Dehqonlar [Nigora KHIDOYATOVA]; Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan [Talib YAKUBOV, chairman]; Independent Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan [Mikhail ARDZINOV, chairman]; Mazlum; Sunshine Coalition [Sanjar UMAROV, chairman]

International organization participation: AsDB, CIS, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Abdulaziz KAMILOV chancery: 1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 887-5300 FAX: [1] (202) 293-6804 consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jon PURNELL embassy: 3 Moyqo'rq'on, 5th Block, Yunusobod District, Tashkent 100093 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [998] (71) 120-5450 FAX: [998] (71) 120-6335

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and green separated by red fimbriations with a white crescent moon and 12 white stars in the upper hoist-side quadrant

Economy Uzbekistan

Economy - overview: Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 11% consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. More than 60% of its population lives in densely populated rural communities. Uzbekistan is now the world's second-largest cotton exporter and fifth largest producer; it relies heavily on cotton production as the major source of export earnings. Other major export earners include gold, natural gas, and oil. Following independence in September 1991, the government sought to prop up its Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls on production and prices. While aware of the need to improve the investment climate, the government still sponsors measures that often increase, not decrease, its control over business decisions. A sharp increase in the inequality of income distribution has hurt the lower ranks of society since independence. In 2003, the government accepted the obligations of Article VIII under the International Monetary Fund (IMF), providing for full currency convertibility. However, strict currency controls and tightening of borders have lessened the effects of convertibility and have also led to some shortages that have further stifled economic activity. The Central Bank often delays or restricts convertibility, especially for consumer goods. Potential investment by Russia and China in Uzbekistan's gas and oil industry would increase economic growth prospects. In November 2005, Russian President Vladimir PUTIN and Uzbekistan President KARIMOV signed an "alliance" treaty, which included provisions for economic and business cooperation. Russian businesses have shown increased interest in Uzbekistan, especially in mining, telecom, and oil and gas. In December 2005, the Russians opened a "Trade House" to support and develop Russian-Uzbek business and economic ties.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $54.81 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $10.78 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 6.8% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $2,000 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 31.1% industry: 25.7% services: 43.2% (2006 est.)

Labor force: 14.44 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 44% industry: 20% services: 36% (1995)

Unemployment rate: 0.8% officially, plus another 20% underemployed (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line: 28% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.6% highest 10%: 22% (2000)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 26.8 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.6% (2006 est.)

Budget: revenues: $3.145 billion expenditures: $3.108 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

Public debt: 29.7% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products: cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock

Industries: textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, gold, petroleum, natural gas, chemicals

Industrial production growth rate: 7.7% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production: 46.45 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 88.2% hydro: 11.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 48.2 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports: 6.8 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 11.8 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 142,000 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - consumption: 148,000 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - exports: NA bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports: NA bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves: 600 million bbl (1 January 2005)

Natural gas - production: 59.86 billion cu m (2004)

Natural gas - consumption: 50.2 billion cu m (2004)

Natural gas - exports: 9.7 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 1.875 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Current account balance: $1.41 billion (2006 est.)

Exports: $5.51 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities: cotton 41.5%, gold 9.6%, energy products 9.6%, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, food products, automobiles (1998)

Exports - partners: Russia 23.8%, China 11.9%, Kazakhstan 6.9%, Turkey 6.9%, Ukraine 5.4%, Bangladesh 4.7%, Poland 4.2%, Tajikistan 4% (2005)

Imports: $3.99 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment 49.8%, foodstuffs 16.4%, chemicals, metals (1998)

Imports - partners: Russia 26.6%, South Korea 15.3%, Germany 8.8%, Kazakhstan 7.1%, China 7.1%, Turkey 4.7%, Ukraine 4.7% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $2.986 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external: $4.713 billion (2006 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $91.6 million from the US (2005)

Currency (code): Uzbekistani soum (UZS)

Currency code: UZS

Exchange rates: Uzbekistani soum per US dollar - 1,219.58 (2006), 1,020 (2005), 971.265 (2004), 771.029 (2003), 423.832 (2002)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Uzbekistan

Telephones - main lines in use: 1,717,100 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.1 million (2005)

Telephone system: general assessment: antiquated and inadequate; in serious need of modernization domestic: the main line telecommunications system is dilapidated; the state owned telecom company, Uzbektelecom, is using a US$110 million loan from the Japanese government to improve main line services; mobile services are growing swiftly, with the subscriber base doubling in 2005 to 1.1 million; there are six main cellular providers currently in operation international: country code - 998; linked by landline or microwave radio relay with CIS member states and to other countries by leased connection via the Moscow international gateway switch; after the completion of the Uzbek link to the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable, Uzbekistan will be independent of Russian facilities for international communications; Inmarsat also provides an international connection, albeit an expensive one; satellite earth stations - NA (1998)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 6, shortwave 3 (2006)

Radios: 10.8 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 8 1 cable rebroadcaster in Tashkent; approximately 20 stations in regional capitals (2003)

Televisions: 6.4 million (1997)

Internet country code: .uz

Internet hosts: 9,058 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 42 (2000)

Internet users: 880,000 (2005)

Transportation Uzbekistan

Airports: 61 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 34 over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 13 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 5 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 27 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 under 914 m: 25 (2006)

Pipelines: gas 9,594 km; oil 868 km (2006)

Railways: total: 3,950 km broad gauge: 3,950 km 1.520-m gauge (620 km electrified) (2005)

Roadways: total: 81,600 km paved: 71,237 km unpaved: 10,363 km (1999)

Waterways: 1,100 km (2006)

Ports and terminals: Termiz (Amu Darya)

Military Uzbekistan

Military branches: Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 12 months (2004)

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 6,340,220 females age 18-49: 6,432,072 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 4,609,621 females age 18-49: 5,383,233 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually: males age 18-49: 324,722 females age 18-49: 317,062 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $200 million (FY97)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2% (FY97)

Transnational Issues Uzbekistan

Disputes - international: prolonged drought and cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; field demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan commenced in 2004; border delimitation of 130 km of border with Kyrgyzstan is hampered by serious disputes around enclaves and other areas

Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): 39,202 (Tajikistan) IDPs: 3,400 (forced population transfers by government from villages near Tajikistan border) (2006)

Trafficking in persons: current situation: Uzbekistan is a source and, to a lesser extent, a transit country for women trafficked to Asia and the Middle East for the purpose of sexual exploitation; women from other Central Asian countries and China are trafficked through Uzbekistan; men are trafficked for purposes of forced labor in the construction and agricultural industries to Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan; men and women are also trafficked within the country tier rating: Tier 3 - Uzbekistan is placed on Tier 3 because it failed to fulfill commitments by the country to take additional steps during 2005, including the adoption of comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation, criminal code amendments to raise trafficking penalties, support to the country's first trafficking shelter, and approval of a national action plan

Illicit drugs: transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and small amounts of opium poppy for domestic consumption; poppy cultivation almost wiped out by government crop eradication program; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Vanuatu

Introduction Vanuatu

Background: Multiple waves of colonizers, each speaking a distinct language, migrated to the New Hebrides in the millennia preceeding European exploration in the 18th century. This settlement pattern accounts for the complex linguistic diversity found on the archipelago to this day. The British and French, who settled the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980, when the new name of Vanuatu was adopted.

Geography Vanuatu

Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia

Geographic coordinates: 16 00 S, 167 00 E

Map references: Oceania

Area: total: 12,200 sq km land: 12,200 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes more than 80 islands, about 65 of which are inhabited

Area - comparative: slightly larger than Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 2,528 km

Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate: tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds from May to October; moderate rainfall from November to April; may be affected by cyclones from December to April

Terrain: mostly mountainous islands of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Tabwemasana 1,877 m

Natural resources: manganese, hardwood forests, fish

Land use: arable land: 1.64% permanent crops: 6.97% other: 91.39% (2005)

Irrigated land: NA

Natural hazards: tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanic eruption on Aoba (Ambae) island began 27 November 2005, volcanism also causes minor earthquakes; tsunamis

Environment - current issues: a majority of the population does not have access to a reliable supply of potable water; deforestation

Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: a Y-shaped chain of four main islands and 80 smaller islands; several of the islands have active volcanoes

People Vanuatu

Population: 208,869 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 32.6% (male 34,804/female 33,331) 15-64 years: 63.7% (male 67,919/female 65,138) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 4,027/female 3,650) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 23 years male: 23 years female: 23 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.49% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 22.72 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 7.82 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.1 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 53.8 deaths/1,000 live births male: 56.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 51.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 62.85 years male: 61.34 years female: 64.44 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.7 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural) adjective: Ni-Vanuatu

Ethnic groups: Ni-Vanuatu 98.5%, other 1.5% (1999 Census)

Religions: Presbyterian 31.4%, Anglican 13.4%, Roman Catholic 13.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, other Christian 13.8%, indigenous beliefs 5.6% (including Jon Frum cargo cult), other 9.6%, none 1%, unspecified 1.3% (1999 Census)

Languages: local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) 23.1%, English 1.9%, French 1.4%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.7% (1999 Census)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 74% male: NA female: NA

Government Vanuatu

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Vanuatu conventional short form: Vanuatu local long form: Ripablik blong Vanuatu local short form: Vanuatu former: New Hebrides

Government type: parliamentary republic

Capital: name: Port-Vila (on Efate) geographic coordinates: 17 44 S, 168 19 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba

Independence: 30 July 1980 (from France and UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 30 July (1980)

Constitution: 30 July 1980

Legal system: unified system being created from former dual French and British systems

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Kalkot Matas KELEKELE (since 16 August 2004) head of government: Prime Minister Ham LINI (since 11 December 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Sato KILMAN (since 11 December 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils; election for president last held 16 August 2004 (next to be held in 2009); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament from among its members; election for prime minister last held 29 July 2004 (next to be held following general elections in 2008) election results: Kalkot Matas KELEKELE elected president, with 49 votes out of 56, after several ballots on 16 August 2004

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 6 July 2004 (next to be held 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NUP 10, UMP 8, VP 8, VRP 4, MPP 3, VGP 3, other and independent 16; note - political party associations are fluid note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of culture and language

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, three other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission)

Political parties and leaders: Jon Frum Movement [Song KEASPAI]; Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]; National United Party or NUP [Hem LINI]; Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Serge VOHOR]; Vanua'aku Pati (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward NATAPEI]; Vanuatu Greens Party or VGP [Moana CARCASSES]; Vanuatu Republican Party or VRP [Maxime Carlot KORMAN]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US: Vanuatu does not have an embassy in the US; it does, however, have a Permanent Mission to the UN

Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy in Vanuatu; the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all separated by a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal Y (the two points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the triangle); centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two crossed namele leaves, all in yellow

Economy Vanuatu

Economy - overview: This South Pacific island economy is based primarily on small-scale agriculture, which provides a living for 65% of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with more than 60,000 visitors in 2005, are other mainstays of the economy. Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits. A small light industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties. Economic development is hindered by dependence on relatively few commodity exports, vulnerability to natural disasters, and long distances from main markets and between constituent islands. GDP growth rose less than 3% on average in the 1990s. In response to foreign concerns, the government has promised to tighten regulation of its offshore financial center. In mid-2002 the government stepped up efforts to boost tourism through improved air connections, resort development, and cruise ship facilities. Agriculture, especially livestock farming, is a second target for growth. Australia and New Zealand are the main suppliers of tourists and foreign aid.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $276.3 million (2003 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $341 million (2005)

GDP - real growth rate: 6.8% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $2,900 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 26% industry: 12% services: 62% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 76,410 (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 65% industry: 5% services: 30% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate: 1.7% (1999)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): -1.6% (2005 est.)

Budget: revenues: $78.7 million expenditures: $72.23 million (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products: copra, coconuts, cocoa, coffee, taro, yams, fruits, vegetables; beef; fish

Industries: food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning

Industrial production growth rate: 1% (1997 est.)

Electricity - production: 43 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 39.99 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption: 620 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Current account balance: $-28.35 million (2003)

Exports: $34.11 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities: copra, beef, cocoa, timber, kava, coffee

Exports - partners: Thailand 46.5%, India 14.1%, Poland 7.9%, Turkey 7.7%, Japan 6.9% (2005)

Imports: $117.1 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, fuels

Imports - partners: Australia 18.4%, Japan 16.7%, Singapore 14.7%, Poland 8.5%, NZ 7.2%, Fiji 6.3% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $40.54 million (2003)

Debt - external: $81.2 million (2004)

Economic aid - recipient: $37.8 million (2004)

Currency (code): vatu (VUV)

Currency code: VUV

Exchange rates: vatu per US dollar - NA (2005), 111.79 (2004), 122.19 (2003), 139.2 (2002)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Vanuatu

Telephones - main lines in use: 6,800 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 12,700 (2005)

Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 678; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2004)

Radios: 67,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (2004)

Televisions: 2,300 (1999)

Internet country code: .vu

Internet hosts: 413 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)

Internet users: 7,500 (2004)

Transportation Vanuatu

Airports: 31 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 28 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 18 (2006)

Roadways: total: 1,070 km paved: 256 km unpaved: 814 km (1999)

Merchant marine: total: 51 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,340,132 GRT/1,908,687 DWT by type: bulk carrier 29, cargo 8, container 1, liquefied gas 2, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 5 foreign-owned: 51 (Australia 2, Canada 5, Denmark 6, Estonia 1, Japan 28, Poland 5, Russia 1, Switzerland 2, US 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Forari, Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo)

Military Vanuatu

Military branches: no regular military forces; security forces comprise the Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) and paramilitary Vanuatu Mobile Force (VMF), which includes Vanuatu's naval force, known as the Police Maritime Wing (PMW); border security in Vanuatu is the joint responsibility of the Customs and Inland Revenue Service, VPF, VMF, and PMW (2003)

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 50,221 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 33,837 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA

Transnational Issues Vanuatu

Disputes - international: Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by Vanuatu and France

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Venezuela

Introduction Venezuela

Background: Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Hugo CHAVEZ, president since 1999, has promoted a controversial policy of "democratic socialism," which purports to alleviate social ills while at the same time attacking globalization and undermining regional stability. Current concerns include: a weakening of democratic institutions, political polarization, a politicized military, drug-related violence along the Colombian border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples.

Geography Venezuela

Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 66 00 W

Map references: South America

Area: total: 912,050 sq km land: 882,050 sq km water: 30,000 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of California

Land boundaries: total: 4,993 km border countries: Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km

Coastline: 2,800 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 15 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

Terrain: Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Pico Bolivar (La Columna) 5,007 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds

Land use: arable land: 2.85% permanent crops: 0.88% other: 96.27% (2005)

Irrigated land: 5,750 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts

Environment - current issues: sewage pollution of Lago de Valencia; oil and urban pollution of Lago de Maracaibo; deforestation; soil degradation; urban and industrial pollution, especially along the Caribbean coast; threat to the rainforest ecosystem from irresponsible mining operations

Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed but not ratified:: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: on major sea and air routes linking North and South America; Angel Falls in the Guiana Highlands is the world's highest waterfall

People Venezuela

Population: 25,730,435 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 29.1% (male 3,860,116/female 3,620,440) 15-64 years: 65.7% (male 8,494,944/female 8,410,874) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 609,101/female 734,960) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 26 years male: 25.4 years female: 26.6 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.38% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 18.71 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 4.92 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 21.54 deaths/1,000 live births male: 24.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.54 years male: 71.49 years female: 77.81 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.23 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.7% - note - no country specific models provided (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 110,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 4,100 (2003 est.)

Nationality: noun: Venezuelan(s) adjective: Venezuelan

Ethnic groups: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people

Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2%

Languages: Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93.4% male: 93.8% female: 93.1% (2003 est.)

Government Venezuela

Country name: conventional long form: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela conventional short form: Venezuela local long form: Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela local short form: Venezuela

Government type: federal republic

Capital: name: Caracas geographic coordinates: 10 30 N, 66 56 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 23 states (estados, singular - estado), 1 capital district* (distrito capital), and 1 federal dependency** (dependencia federal); Amazonas, Anzoategui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Carabobo, Cojedes, Delta Amacuro, Dependencias Federales**, Distrito Federal*, Falcon, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Tachira, Trujillo, Vargas, Yaracuy, Zulia note: the federal dependency consists of 11 federally controlled island groups with a total of 72 individual islands

Independence: 5 July 1811 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 5 July (1811)

Constitution: 30 December 1999

Legal system: open, adversarial court system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Vice President Jorge RODRIGUEZ Gomez (since 3 January 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Vice President Jorge RODRIGUEZ Gomez (since 3 January 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 3 December 2006 (next to be held December 2012) note: in 1999, a National Constituent Assembly drafted a new constitution that increased the presidential term to six years; an election was subsequently held on 30 July 2000 under the terms of this new constitution election results: Hugo CHAVEZ Frias reelected president; percent of vote - Hugo CHAVEZ Frias 62.9%, Manuel ROSALES 36.9%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (167 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; three seats reserved for the indigenous peoples of Venezuela) elections: last held 4 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - pro-government 167 (MVR 114, PODEMOS 15, PPT 11, indigenous 2, other 25), opposition 0

Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Tribuna Suprema de Justicia (magistrates are elected by the National Assembly for a single 12-year term)

Political parties and leaders: A New Time or UNT [Manuel ROSALES]; Christian Democrats or COPEI [Cesar PEREZ Vivas]; Democratic Action or AD [Henry RAMOS Allup]; Fatherland for All or PPT [Jose ALBORNOZ]; Fifth Republic Movement or MVR [Hugo CHAVEZ]; Justice First [Julio BORGES]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Hector MUJICA]; Venezuela Project or PV [Henrique SALAS Romer]; We Can or PODEMOS [Ismael GARCIA]

Political pressure groups and leaders: FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; VECINOS groups; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers or CTV (labor organization dominated by the Democratic Action)

International organization participation: CAN, CDB, CSN, FAO, G-3, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Bernardo ALVAREZ Herrera chancery: 1099 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2214 FAX: [1] (202) 342-6820 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador William R. BROWNFIELD embassy: Calle F con Calle Suapure, Urbanizacion Colinas de Valle Arriba, Caracas 1080 mailing address: P. O. Box 62291, Caracas 1060-A; APO AA 34037 telephone: [58] (212) 975-9234, 975-6411 FAX: [58] (212) 975-8991

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), blue, and red with the coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band and an arc of eight white five-pointed stars centered in the blue band

Economy Venezuela

Economy - overview: Venezuela remains highly dependent on oil revenues, which account for roughly 90% of export earnings, more than 50% of the federal budget revenues, and around 30% of GDP. Tax collection-Venezuela's primary source of non-oil revenue-is expected to surpass $23 billion in 2006, exceeding the yearend collection goal by more than 20%. A nationwide strike between December 2002 and February 2003 had far-reaching economic consequences - real GDP declined by around 9% in 2002 and 8% in 2003 - but economic output since then has recovered strongly. Fueled by higher oil prices, record government spending helped to boost GDP growth in 2004 and 2005 to approximately 18% and 11%, respectively. Economic growth in 2006 reached around 9%. This spending, combined with recent minimum wage hikes and improved access to domestic credit, has fueled a consumption boom - car sales in 2006 increased by around 70% - but has come at the cost of higher inflation. Despite government attempts to withdraw liquidity from the economy, Venezuela's money supply set a record in June 2006, approximately 70% higher than the previous year. Imports have also jumped significantly.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $176.4 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $147.9 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 8.8% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $6,900 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.7% industry: 41% services: 55.3% (2006 est.)

Labor force: 12.5 million (November 2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 13% industry: 23% services: 64% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate: 8.9% (October 2006 est.)

Population below poverty line: 37.9% (End 2005 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 0.8% highest 10%: 36.5% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 49.1 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15.8% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 19.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget: revenues: $52.24 billion expenditures: $52.9 billion; including capital expenditures of $2.6 billion (2006 est.)

Public debt: 28.4% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products: corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish

Industries: petroleum, construction materials, food processing, textiles; iron ore mining, steel, aluminum; motor vehicle assembly

Industrial production growth rate: 7% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production: 93.03 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 31.7% hydro: 68.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 86.52 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 3.081 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption: 560,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports: 2.1 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - imports: NA bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - proved reserves: 75.27 billion bbl (2006 est.)

Natural gas - production: 27.2 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 27.2 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 4.276 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Current account balance: $31.82 billion (2006 est.)

Exports: $69.23 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities: petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures

Exports - partners: US 50.9%, Netherlands Antilles 7.2%, Canada 2.4% (2005)

Imports: $28.81 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities: raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials

Imports - partners: US 31.6%, Colombia 11%, Brazil 9.1%, Mexico 6.9% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $35.95 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external: $35.63 billion (2006 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $74 million (2000)

Currency (code): bolivar (VEB)

Currency code: VEB

Exchange rates: bolivares per US dollar - 2,147 (2006), 2,089.8 (2005), 1,891.3 (2004), 1,607 (2003), 1,161 (2002)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Venezuela

Telephones - main lines in use: 3,605,500 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 12.496 million (2005)

Telephone system: general assessment: modern and expanding domestic: domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations; recent substantial improvement in telephone service in rural areas; substantial increase in digitalization of exchanges and trunk lines; installation of a national interurban fiber-optic network capable of digital multimedia services international: country code - 58; 3 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 PanAmSat; participating with Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in the construction of an international fiber-optic network

Radio broadcast stations: AM 201, FM NA (20 in Caracas), shortwave 11 (1998)

Radios: 10.75 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 66 (plus 45 repeaters) (1997)

Televisions: 4.1 million (1997)

Internet country code: .ve

Internet hosts: 51,968 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 16 (2000)

Internet users: 3.04 million (2005)

Transportation Venezuela

Airports: 375 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 129 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 60 under 914 m: 19 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 246 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 90 under 914 m: 147 (2006)

Heliports: 1 (2006)

Pipelines: extra heavy crude 992 km; gas 5,369 km; oil 7,607 km; refined products 1,681 km; unknown (oil/water) 141 km (2006)

Railways: total: 682 km standard gauge: 682 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)

Roadways: total: 96,155 km paved: 32,308 km unpaved: 63,847 km (1999)

Waterways: 7,100 km note: Orinoco River and Lake de Maracaibo navigable by oceangoing vessels, Orinoco for 400 km (2005)

Merchant marine: total: 56 ships (1000 GRT or over) 824,941 GRT/1,327,924 DWT by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 10, chemical tanker 2, container 1, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo 12, petroleum tanker 18 foreign-owned: 13 (Denmark 3, Greece 3, India 1, Mexico 3, Panama 1, Russia 1, Spain 1) registered in other countries: 15 (Bahamas 1, Panama 14) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Amuay, La Guaira, Maracaibo, Puerto Cabello, Punta Cardon

Military Venezuela

Military branches: National Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales or FAN): Ground Forces or Army (Fuerzas Terrestres or Ejercito), Naval Forces (Fuerzas Navales or Armada; includes Marines, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerzas Aereas or Aviacion), Armed Forces of Cooperation or National Guard (Fuerzas Armadas de Cooperacion or Guardia Nacional)

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 30 months (2004)

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 6,236,012 females age 18-49: 6,137,622 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 4,907,947 females age 18-49: 5,151,843 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually: males age 18-49: 252,396 females age 18-49: 237,300 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1.61 billion (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.2% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Venezuela

Disputes - international: claims all of the area west of the Essequibo River in Guyana, preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into their waters; dispute with Colombia over maritime boundary and Venezuelan-administered Los Monjes islands near the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics and paramilitary activities penetrate Venezuela's shared border region; in 2006, an estimated 139,000 Colombians seek protection in 150 communities along the border in Venezuela; US, France, and the Netherlands recognize Venezuela's granting full effect to Aves Island, thereby claiming a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea; Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines protest Venezuela's full effect claim

Trafficking in persons: current situation: Venezuela is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor; women and children from Colombia, China, Peru, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic are trafficked to and through Venezuela and subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor; Venezuelans are trafficked internally and to Western Europe, particularly Spain and the Netherlands, and to countries in the Caribbean region for commercial sexual exploitation; Venezuela is a transit country for illegal migrants from other countries in the region and for Asian nationals, some are believed to be trafficking victims tier rating: Tier 3 - Venezuela does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so

Illicit drugs: small-scale illicit producer of opium and coca for the processing of opiates and coca derivatives; however, large quantities of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana transit the country from Colombia bound for US and Europe; significant narcotics-related money-laundering activity, especially along the border with Colombia and on Margarita Island; active eradication program primarily targeting opium; increasing signs of drug-related activities by Colombian insurgents on border

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Vietnam

Introduction Vietnam

Background: The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Vietnam declared independence after World War II, but France continued to rule until its 1954 defeat by Communist forces under Ho Chi MINH. Under the Geneva Accords of 1954, Vietnam was divided into the Communist North and anti-Communist South. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South reuniting the country under Communist rule. Despite the return of peace, for over a decade the country experienced little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies. However, since the enactment of Vietnam's "doi moi" (renovation) policy in 1986, Vietnamese authorities have committed to increased economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The country continues to experience protests from various groups - such as the Protestant Montagnard ethnic minority population of the Central Highlands and the Hoa Hao Buddhists in southern Vietnam over religious persecution. Montagnard grievances also include the loss of land to Vietnamese settlers.

Geography Vietnam

Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia

Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 106 00 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area: total: 329,560 sq km land: 325,360 sq km water: 4,200 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries: total: 4,639 km border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km

Coastline: 3,444 km (excludes islands)

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate: tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March)

Terrain: low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest

Elevation extremes: lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m

Natural resources: phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 20.14% permanent crops: 6.93% other: 72.93% (2005)

Irrigated land: 30,000 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta

Environment - current issues: logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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: extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point

People Vietnam

Population: 84,402,966 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 27% (male 11,826,457/female 10,983,069) 15-64 years: 67.1% (male 28,055,941/female 28,614,553) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 1,924,562/female 2,998,384) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 25.9 years male: 24.8 years female: 27.1 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.02% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 16.86 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 6.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 25.14 deaths/1,000 live births male: 25.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.85 years male: 68.05 years female: 73.85 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.91 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.4% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 220,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 9,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, Japanese encephalitis, and plague are high risks in some locations animal contact disease: rabies water contact disease: leptospirosis note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified among birds in this country or surrounding region; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2007)

Nationality: noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural) adjective: Vietnamese

Ethnic groups: Kinh (Viet) 86.2%, Tay 1.9%, Thai 1.7%, Muong 1.5%, Khome 1.4%, Hoa 1.1%, Nun 1.1%, Hmong 1%, others 4.1% (1999 census)

Religions: Buddhist 9.3%, Catholic 6.7%, Hoa Hao 1.5%, Cao Dai 1.1%, Protestant 0.5%, Muslim 0.1%, none 80.8% (1999 census)

Languages: Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.3% male: 93.9% female: 86.9% (2002)

Government Vietnam

Country name: conventional long form: Socialist Republic of Vietnam conventional short form: Vietnam local long form: Cong Hoa Xa Hoi Chu Nghia Viet Nam local short form: Viet Nam abbreviation: SRV

Government type: Communist state

Capital: name: Hanoi geographic coordinates: 21 02 N, 105 51 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 59 provinces (tinh, singular and plural) and 5 municipalities (thanh pho, singular and plural) provinces: An Giang, Bac Giang, Bac Kan, Bac Lieu, Bac Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, Ca Mau, Cao Bang, Dac Lak, Dac Nong, Dien Bien, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Giang, Ha Nam, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hai Duong, Hau Giang, Hoa Binh, Hung Yen, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Kon Tum, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Long An, Nam Dinh, Nghe An, Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan, Phu Tho, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Soc Trang, Son La, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien-Hue, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Tuyen Quang, Vinh Long, Vinh Phuc, Yen Bai municipalities: Can Tho, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh

Independence: 2 September 1945 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 2 September (1945)

Constitution: 15 April 1992

Legal system: based on communist legal theory and French civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Nguyen Minh TRIET (since 27 June 2006); Vice President Truong My HOA (since 25 July 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Nguyen Tan DUNG (since 27 June 2006); Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh HUNG (since 28 June 2006), Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia KHIEM (since 28 June 2006), and Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh TRONG (since 28 June 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president based on proposal of prime minister and confirmed by National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly from among its members for five-year term; election last held 27 June 2006; prime minister appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by the prime minister; appointment of prime minister and deputy prime ministers confirmed by National Assembly election results: Nguyen Minh TRIET elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 94%; Nguyen Tan DUNG elected prime minister; percent of National Assembly vote - 92%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Quoc Hoi (498 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 19 May 2002 (next to be held on 20 May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - CPV 90%, other 10% (the 10% are not CPV members but are approved by the CPV to stand for election); seats by party - CPV 447, CPV-approved 51

Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court (chief justice is elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president)

Political parties and leaders: Communist Party of Vietnam or CPV [Nong Duc MANH]; other parties proscribed

Political pressure groups and leaders: 8406 Bloc; Democratic Party of Vietnam or DPV; People's Democratic Party Vietnam or PDP-VN; Alliance for Democracy; groups advocate for democracy, are not recognized by government (2006)

International organization participation: ACCT (observer), APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Nguyen Tam CHIEN chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 861-0737 FAX: [1] (202) 861-0917 consulate(s) general: San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Michael W. MARINE embassy: 7 Lang Ha Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi mailing address: PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [84] (4) 772-1500 FAX: [84] (4) 772-1510 consulate(s) general: Ho Chi Minh City

Flag description: red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center

Economy Vietnam

Economy - overview: Vietnam is a densely-populated, developing country that in the last 30 years has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally-planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1997 in moving forward from an extremely low level of development and significantly reducing poverty. Growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy and temporarily allowed opponents of reform to slow progress toward a market-oriented economy. GDP growth averaged 6.8% per year from 1997 to 2004 even against the background of the Asian financial crisis and a global recession, and growth hit 8% in 2005 and 7.8% in 2006. Since 2001, however, Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic liberalization and international integration. They have moved to implement the structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. Vietnam's membership in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and entry into force of the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement in December 2001 have led to even more rapid changes in Vietnam's trade and economic regime. Vietnam's exports to the US doubled in 2002 and again in 2003. Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in January 2007. This should provide an important boost to the economy and should help to ensure the continuation of liberalizing reforms. Among other benefits, accession will allow Vietnam to take advantage of the phase out of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, which eliminated quotas on textiles and clothing for WTO partners on 1 January 2005. Agriculture's share of economic output has continued to shrink, from about 25% in 2000 to 20% in 2006. Deep poverty, defined as a percent of the population living under $1 per day, has declined significantly and is now smaller than that of China, India, and the Philippines. Vietnam is working to promote job creation to keep up with the country's high population growth rate. However, high levels of inflation have prompted Vietnamese authorities to tighten monetary and fiscal policies. Hanoi is targeting an economic growth rate between 7.5 and 8% over the next five years.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $258.6 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $48.26 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 7.8% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $3,100 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 20.1% industry: 41.8% services: 38.1% (2006 est.)

Labor force: 44.58 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 56.8% industry: 37% services: 6.2% (July 2005)

Unemployment rate: 2% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line: 19.5% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.6% highest 10%: 29.9% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 36.1 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.5% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 32.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget: revenues: $15.42 billion expenditures: $16.63 billion; including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (2006 est.)

Public debt: 47.5% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products: paddy rice, coffee, rubber, cotton, tea, pepper, soybeans, cashews, sugar cane, peanuts, bananas; poultry; fish, seafood

Industries: food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building; mining, coal, steel; cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, paper

Industrial production growth rate: 11.3% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production: 40.11 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 43.7% hydro: 56.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 37.3 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh

Oil - production: 400,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption: 230,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - proved reserves: 2.5 billion bbl (2006 est.)

Natural gas - production: 6.342 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 6.342 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m

Natural gas - proved reserves: 192.6 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Current account balance: $1.029 billion (2006 est.)

Exports: $39.92 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities: crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes

Exports - partners: US 18.3%, Japan 13.6%, China 9%, Australia 7.9%, Singapore 5.6% (2005)

Imports: $39.16 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles

Imports - partners: China 15.6%, Singapore 12.4%, Taiwan 11.7%, Japan 11.1%, South Korea 9.7%, Thailand 6.5% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $11.92 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external: $21.86 billion (2006 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $2.8 billion in credits and grants pledged by international donors for 2000 (2004)

Currency (code): dong (VND)

Currency code: VND

Exchange rates: dong per US dollar - 16,037 (2006), 15,746 (2005), (2004), 15,510 (2003), 15,280 (2002)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Vietnam

Telephones - main lines in use: 15.845 million (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 9.593 million (2005)

Telephone system: general assessment: Vietnam is putting considerable effort into modernization and expansion of its telecommunication system, but its performance continues to lag behind that of its more modern neighbors domestic: all provincial exchanges are digitalized and connected to Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay networks; main lines have been substantially increased, and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly international: country code - 84; satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 65, FM 7, shortwave 29 (1999)

Radios: 8.2 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 6 (plus 61 provincial TV stations) (2006)

Televisions: 3.57 million (1997)

Internet country code: .vn

Internet hosts: 12,114 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 5 (2000)

Internet users: 13.1 million (2006)

Transportation Vietnam

Airports: 32 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 26 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2006)

Pipelines: condensate/gas 432 km; gas 163 km; oil 50 km; refined products 206 km (2006)

Railways: total: 2,600 km standard gauge: 178 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 2,169 km 1.000-m gauge dual gauge: 253 km three-rail track combining 1.435 m and 1.000-m gauges (2005)

Roadways: total: 222,179 km paved: 42,167 km unpaved: 180,012 km (2004)

Waterways: 17,702 km (5,000 km navigable by vessels up to 1.8 m draft) (2005)

Merchant marine: total: 267 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,423,936 GRT/2,191,858 DWT by type: bulk carrier 23, cargo 202, chemical tanker 4, container 5, liquefied gas 5, petroleum tanker 24, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Denmark 1) registered in other countries: 17 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Honduras 1, Mongolia 8, Panama 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, unknown 2) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City

Military Vietnam

Military branches: People's Armed Forces: People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) (includes People's Navy Command (with naval infantry, coast guard), Air and Air Defense Force (Kon Quan Nhan Dan), Border Defense Command), People's Public Security Forces, Militia Force, Self-Defense Forces (2005)

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age (male) for compulsory military service; females may volunteer for active duty military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (3-4 years in the navy); 18-45 years of age (male) or 18-40 years of age (female) for Militia Force or Self Defense Forces (2006)

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 21,341,813 females age 18-49: 21,430,808 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 16,032,358 females age 18-49: 17,921,241 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually: males age 18-49: 915,572 females age 18-49: 864,161 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $650 million (FY98)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.5% (FY98)

Transnational Issues Vietnam

Disputes - international: southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; Cambodia and Laos protest Vietnamese squatters and armed encroachments along border; after years of Cambodia claiming Vietnam had moved or destroyed boundary markers, in 2005, after much domestic debate, Cambodia ratified an agreement with Vietnam that settled all but a small portion of the land boundary; establishment of a maritime boundary with Cambodia is hampered by unresolved dispute over offshore islands; in 2004, Laotian-Vietnamese boundary commission agrees to erect missing markers in two adjoining provinces; demarcation of the China-Vietnam boundary proceeds slowly and although the maritime boundary delimitation and fisheries agreements were ratified in June 2004, implementation has been delayed; China occupies Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; involved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; Vietnam continues to expand construction of facilities in the Spratly Islands; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands

Illicit drugs: minor producer of opium poppy; probable minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin; government continues to face domestic opium/heroin/methamphetamine addiction problems despite longstanding crackdowns

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Virgin Islands

Introduction Virgin Islands

Background: During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848.

Geography Virgin Islands

Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico

Geographic coordinates: 18 20 N, 64 50 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area: total: 1,910 sq km land: 346 sq km water: 1,564 sq km

Area - comparative: twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 188 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season September to November

Terrain: mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Crown Mountain 475 m

Natural resources: sun, sand, sea, surf

Land use: arable land: 5.71% permanent crops: 2.86% other: 91.43% (2005)

Irrigated land: NA

Natural hazards: several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes

Environment - current issues: lack of natural freshwater resources

Geography - note: important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the Caribbean

People Virgin Islands

Population: 108,605 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 22.4% (male 12,261/female 12,056) 15-64 years: 66.4% (male 34,174/female 37,949) 65 years and over: 11.2% (male 5,385/female 6,780) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 37.1 years male: 36.2 years female: 38 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.12% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 13.96 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 6.43 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: -8.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 7.86 deaths/1,000 live births male: 8.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 79.05 years male: 75.24 years female: 83.09 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.17 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Virgin Islander(s) (US citizens) adjective: Virgin Islander

Ethnic groups: black 76.2%, white 13.1%, Asian 1.1%, other 6.1%, mixed 3.5% (2000 census)

Religions: Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%, other 7%

Languages: English 74.7%, Spanish or Spanish Creole 16.8%, French or French Creole 6.6%, other 1.9% (2000 census)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90-95% est. male: NA% female: NA% (2005 est.)

Government Virgin Islands

Country name: conventional long form: United States Virgin Islands conventional short form: Virgin Islands former: Danish West Indies abbreviation: USVI

Dependency status: organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior

Government type: NA

Capital: name: Charlotte Amalie geographic coordinates: 18 21 N, 64 56 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three islands at the second order; Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Thomas

National holiday: Transfer Day (from Denmark to the US), 27 March (1917)

Constitution: Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954

Legal system: based on US laws

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections

Executive branch: chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor John DeJONGH (since 1 January 2007) cabinet: NA elections: under the US Consitution, residents of unincorporated territories, such as the Virgin Islands, do not vote in elections for US president and vice president; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 7 and 21 November 2006 (next to be held November 2010) election results: John DeJONGH elected governor; percent of vote - John DeJONGH 57.3%, Kenneth MAPP 42.7%

Legislative branch: unicameral Senate (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) elections: last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 8, ICM 4, independent 3 note: the Virgin Islands elects one non-voting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008); results - Donna M. CHRISTENSEN (Democrat) reelected

Judicial branch: US District Court of the Virgin Islands (under Third Circuit jurisdiction); Superior Court of the Virgin Islands (judges appointed by the governor for 10-year terms)

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party [Arturo WATLINGTON]; Independent Citizens' Movement or ICM [Usie RICHARDS]; Republican Party [Gary SPRAUVE]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: IOC, UPU

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

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

Flag description: white, with a modified US coat of arms in the center between the large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows a yellow eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and three arrows in the other with a superimposed shield of vertical red and white stripes below a blue panel

Economy Virgin Islands

Economy - overview: Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for 80% of GDP and employment. The islands hosted 2.6 million visitors in 2005. The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum refining, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch assembly. One of the world's largest petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and financial services are small but growing components of the economy. The islands are vulnerable to substantial damage from storms. The government is working to improve fiscal discipline, to support construction projects in the private sector, to expand tourist facilities, to reduce crime, and to protect the environment.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $1.577 billion (2004 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): NA

GDP - real growth rate: 2% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $14,500 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1% industry: 19% services: 80% (2003 est.)

Labor force: 43,980 (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 1% industry: 19% services: 80% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate: 6.2% (2004)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.2% (2003)

Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA

Agriculture - products: fruit, vegetables, sorghum; Senepol cattle

Industries: tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 980 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 911.4 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 17,110 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption: 115,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Exports: $4.234 billion (2001)

Exports - commodities: refined petroleum products

Exports - partners: US, Puerto Rico (2004)

Imports: $4.609 billion (2001)

Imports - commodities: crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building materials

Imports - partners: US, Puerto Rico (2004)

Debt - external: $NA

Economic aid - recipient: $NA

Currency (code): US dollar (USD)

Currency code: USD

Exchange rates: the US dollar is used

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September

Communications Virgin Islands

Telephones - main lines in use: 70,900 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 64,200 (2004)

Telephone system: general assessment: modern system with total digital switching, uses fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay domestic: full range of services available international: country code - 1-340; 2 submarine cable connections (Taino Carib, Americas-1); satellite earth stations - NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006)

Radios: 107,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 5 (2006)

Televisions: 68,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .vi

Internet hosts: 3,855 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 50 (2000)

Internet users: 30,000 (2002)

Transportation Virgin Islands

Airports: 2 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 2 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)

Roadways: total: 1,257 km (2004)

Ports and terminals: Charlotte Amalie, Limetree Bay

Military Virgin Islands

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the US

Transnational Issues Virgin Islands

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Wake Island

Introduction Wake Island

Background: The US annexed Wake Island in 1899 for a cable station. An important air and naval base was constructed in 1940-41. In December 1941, the island was captured by the Japanese and held until the end of World War II. In subsequent years, Wake was developed as a stopover and refueling site for military and commercial aircraft transiting the Pacific. Since 1974, the island's airstrip has been used by the US military, as well as for emergency landings. All operations on the island were suspended and all personnel evacuated in August 2006 with the approach of super typhoon IOKE (category 5), which struck the island with sustained winds of 250 kph and a 6 m storm surge inflicting major damage. A US Air Force assessment and repair team returned to the island in September and restored limited function to the airfield and facilities. The future status of activities on the island will be determined upon completion of the survey and assessment.

Geography Wake Island

Location: Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to the Northern Mariana Islands

Geographic coordinates: 19 17 N, 166 39 E

Map references: Oceania

Area: total: 6.5 sq km land: 6.5 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 19.3 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: tropical

Terrain: atoll of three low coral islands, Peale, Wake, and Wilkes, built up on an underwater volcano; central lagoon is former crater, islands are part of the rim

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 6 m

Natural resources: none

Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Natural hazards: occasional typhoons

Environment - current issues: NA

Geography - note: strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean; emergency landing location for transpacific flights

People Wake Island

Population: no indigenous inhabitants note: since super typhoon IOKE, a small military contingent along with 75 contractor personnel have returned to the island to conduct clean-up and restore basic operations on the island (July 2006 est.)

Government Wake Island

Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Wake Island

Dependency status: unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Washington, DC, by the Department of the Interior; activities on the island are conducted by the US Air Force

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

Flag description: the flag of the US is used

Economy Wake Island

Economy - overview: Economic activity is limited to providing services to military personnel and contractors located on the island. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.

Electricity - production: NA kWh

Communications Wake Island

Telephone system: general assessment: satellite communications; 2 DSN circuits off the Overseas Telephone System (OTS) domestic: NA international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0 note: Armed Forces Radio/Television Service (AFRTS) radio service provided by satellite (2005)

Television broadcast stations: 0 note: Armed Forces Radio/Television Service (AFRTS) radio service provided by satellite (2005)

Transportation Wake Island

Airports: 1 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2006)

Ports and terminals: none; two offshore anchorages for large ships

Transportation - note: there are no commercial or civilian flights to and from Wake Island, except in direct support of island missions; emergency landing is available

Military Wake Island

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the US; the US Air Force is responsible for overall administration and operation of the island; the launch support facility is administered by the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA)

Transnational Issues Wake Island

Disputes - international: claimed by Marshall Islands

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Wallis and Futuna

Introduction Wallis and Futuna

Background: The Futuna island group was discovered by the Dutch in 1616 and Wallis by the British in 1767, but it was the French who declared a protectorate over the islands in 1842. In 1959, the inhabitants of the islands voted to become a French overseas territory.

Geography Wallis and Futuna

Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand

Geographic coordinates: 13 18 S, 176 12 W

Map references: Oceania

Area: total: 274 sq km land: 274 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ile Uvea (Wallis Island), Ile Futuna (Futuna Island), Ile Alofi, and 20 islets

Area - comparative: 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 129 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: tropical; hot, rainy season (November to April); cool, dry season (May to October); rains 2,500-3,000 mm per year (80% humidity); average temperature 26.6 degrees C

Terrain: volcanic origin; low hills

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Singavi 765 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use: arable land: 7.14% permanent crops: 35.71% other: 57.15% (2005)

Irrigated land: NA

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: deforestation (only small portions of the original forests remain) largely as a result of the continued use of wood as the main fuel source; as a consequence of cutting down the forests, the mountainous terrain of Futuna is particularly prone to erosion; there are no permanent settlements on Alofi because of the lack of natural fresh water resources

Geography - note: both island groups have fringing reefs

People Wallis and Futuna

Population: 16,025 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: NA

Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population

Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population note: there has been steady emigration from Wallis and Futuna to New Caledonia (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: NA male: NA female: NA

Life expectancy at birth: total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years

Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Wallisian(s), Futunan(s), or Wallis and Futuna Islanders adjective: Wallisian, Futunan, or Wallis and Futuna Islander

Ethnic groups: Polynesian

Religions: Roman Catholic 99%, other 1%

Languages: Wallisian 58.9% (indigenous Polynesian language), Futunian 30.1%, French 10.8%, other 0.2% (2003 census)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 50% male: 50% female: 50% (1969 est.)

Government Wallis and Futuna

Country name: conventional long form: Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands conventional short form: Wallis and Futuna local long form: Territoire des Iles Wallis et Futuna local short form: Wallis et Futuna

Dependency status: overseas territory of France

Government type: NA

Capital: name: Mata-Utu (on Ile Uvea) geographic coordinates: 13 57 S, 171 56 W time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three kingdoms at the second order named Alo, Sigave, Wallis

Independence: none (overseas territory of France)

National holiday: Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)

Constitution: 4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French legal system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Administrator Richard DIDIER (since 19 July 2006) head of government: President of the Territorial Assembly Patalione KANIMOA (since January 2001) cabinet: Council of the Territory consists of three kings and three members appointed by the high administrator on the advice of the Territorial Assembly note: there are three traditional kings with limited powers elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high administrator appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the Territorial Government and the Territorial Assembly are elected by the members of the assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (20 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 11 March 2002 (next to be held March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR and affiliates 13, Socialists and affiliates 7 note: Wallis and Futuna elects one senator to the French Senate and one deputy to the French National Assembly; French Senate - elections last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held by September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats - RPR (now UMP) 1; French National Assembly - elections last held 16 June 2002 (next to be held by in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats - RPR (UMP) 1

Judicial branch: none; justice generally administered under French law by the high administrator, but the three traditional kings administer customary law and there is a magistrate in Mata-Utu

Political parties and leaders: Lua Kae Tahi (Giscardians); Mouvement des Radicaux de Gauche or MRG; Rally for the Republic or RPR (UMP) [Clovis LOGOLOGOFOLAU]; Socialist Party or PS; Taumu'a Lelei [Soane Muni UHILA]; Union Populaire Locale or UPL [Falakiko GATA]; Union Pour la Democratie Francaise or UDF

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: SPC, UPU

Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas territory of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US: none (overseas territory of France)

Flag description: unofficial, local flag has a red field with four white isosceles triangles in the middle, representing the three native kings of the islands and the French administrator; the apexes of the triangles are oriented inward and at right angles to each other; the flag of France, outlined in white on two sides, is in the upper hoist quadrant; the flag of France is the only official flag

Economy Wallis and Futuna

Economy - overview: The economy is limited to traditional subsistence agriculture, with about 80% of labor force earnings from agriculture (coconuts and vegetables), livestock (mostly pigs), and fishing. About 4% of the population is employed in government. Revenues come from French Government subsidies, licensing of fishing rights to Japan and South Korea, import taxes, and remittances from expatriate workers in New Caledonia.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $60 million (2004 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): NA

GDP - real growth rate: NA%

GDP - per capita (PPP): $3,800 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%

Labor force: 3,104 (2003)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 80% industry: 4% services: 16% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate: 15.2% (2003)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.8% (2005)

Budget: revenues: $29,730 expenditures: $31,330 (2004)

Public debt: 5.6% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products: breadfruit, yams, taro, bananas; pigs, goats; fish

Industries: copra, handicrafts, fishing, lumber

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: NA kWh

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 0% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0%

Electricity - consumption: NA kWh

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)

Exports: $47,450 f.o.b. (2004)

Exports - commodities: copra, chemicals, construction materials

Exports - partners: Italy 40%, Croatia 15%, US 14%, Denmark 13% (2004)

Imports: $61.17 million f.o.b. (2004)

Imports - commodities: chemicals, machinery, passenger ships, consumer goods

Imports - partners: France 97%, Australia 2%, NZ 1% (2004)

Debt - external: $3.67 million (2004)

Economic aid - recipient: assistance from France

Currency (code): Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF)

Currency code: XPF

Exchange rates: Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 95.01 (2006), 95.89 (2005), 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Wallis and Futuna

Telephones - main lines in use: 1,900 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 0 (1994)

Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 681

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (2000)

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 2 (2000)

Televisions: NA

Internet country code: .wf

Internet hosts: 1 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)

Internet users: 900 (2002)

Transportation Wallis and Futuna

Airports: 2 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006)

Merchant marine: total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 110,428 GRT/56,830 DWT by type: chemical tanker 1, passenger 7 foreign-owned: 8 (France 5, French Polynesia 2, US 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Leava, Mata-Utu

Military Wallis and Futuna

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues Wallis and Futuna

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@West Bank

Background: The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington in September 1993, provided for a transitional period of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A transfer of authority to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and, in additional areas of the West Bank, pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and the West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out a year later. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip. A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The international community has refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it does not recognize Israel, will not renounce violence, and refuses to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. Since March 2006, President Abbas has had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift the economic siege on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene in late 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members.

Geography West Bank

Location: Middle East, west of Jordan

Geographic coordinates: 32 00 N, 35 15 E

Map references: Middle East

Area: total: 5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Delaware

Land boundaries: total: 404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters

Terrain: mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m

Natural resources: arable land

Land use: arable land: 16.9% permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001)

Irrigated land: 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)

Natural hazards: droughts

Environment - current issues: adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment

Geography - note: landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.)

People West Bank

Population: 2,460,492 note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 42.9% (male 541,110/female 515,202) 15-64 years: 53.7% (male 676,427/female 644,347) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 35,440/female 47,966) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 18.3 years male: 18.2 years female: 18.5 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.06% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 31.67 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 3.92 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 19.15 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.27 years male: 71.5 years female: 75.15 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.28 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: NA adjective: NA

Ethnic groups: Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%

Religions: Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%

Languages: Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91.9% male: 96.3% female: 87.4% (2003 est.)

Government West Bank

Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: West Bank

Economy West Bank

Economy - overview: The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and trading relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. International aid of at least $1.14 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities - due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally - stymied growth. Israel's and the international community's financial embargo of the PA since HAMAS took office in March 2006 has interrupted the provision of PA social services and the payment of PA salaries.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $5.327 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $3.45 billion (2003)

GDP - real growth rate: 4.9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,500 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 8% industry: 18.2% services: 73.9% note: includes Gaza Strip (2005 est.)

Labor force: 568,000 (2005)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 16% industry: 29% services: 55% (2005)

Unemployment rate: 20.3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Population below poverty line: 45.7% including Gaza Strip (2005)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Budget: revenues: $1.23 billion expenditures: $1.64 billion; including capital expenditures of $44 million ; note - these budget data include Gaza Strip (2005)

Agriculture - products: olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products

Industries: generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers

Industrial production growth rate: 2.4%

Electricity - production: NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: NA kWh

Electricity - imports: NA kWh

Exports: $313 million f.o.b.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2004)

Exports - commodities: olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone

Exports - partners: Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004)

Imports: $2.37 billion c.i.f.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2004)

Imports - commodities: food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners: Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004)

Debt - external: NA

Economic aid - recipient: $1.14 billion; note - includes Gaza Strip (2004)

Currency (code): new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD)

Currency code: ILS; JOD

Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications West Bank

Telephones - main lines in use: 357,300 (includes Gaza Strip) (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 20, shortwave 0 (2005)

Radios: NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)

Television broadcast stations: 8 (2005)

Televisions: NA; note - many Palestinian households have televisions (1999)

Internet country code: .ps

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 8 (1999)

Internet users: 243,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Transportation West Bank

Airports: 3 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Roadways: total: 4,996 km paved: 4,996 km note: includes Gaza Strip (2004)

Military West Bank

Military expenditures - dollar figure: NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA

Transnational Issues West Bank

Disputes - international: West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region

Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): 705,207 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2006)

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Western Sahara

Background: Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed.

Geography Western Sahara

Location: Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco

Geographic coordinates: 24 30 N, 13 00 W

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: about the size of Colorado

Land boundaries: total: 2,046 km border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km

Coastline: 1,110 km

Maritime claims: contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue

Climate: hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew

Terrain: mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m

Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore

Land use: arable land: 0.02% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005)

Irrigated land: NA

Natural hazards: hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility

Environment - current issues: sparse water and lack of arable land

Environment - international agreements: party to: none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas

People Western Sahara

Population: 273,008 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: NA

Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population

Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population

Sex ratio: NA

Infant mortality rate: total: NA male: NA female: NA

Life expectancy at birth: total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years

Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: intermediate food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: may be a significant risk in some locations during the transmission season (typically April through November) (2007)

Nationality: noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian

Ethnic groups: Arab, Berber

Religions: Muslim

Languages: Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic

Literacy: NA

Government Western Sahara

Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara

Government type: legal status of territory and issue of sovereignty unresolved; territory contested by Morocco and Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro), which in February 1976 formally proclaimed a government-in-exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ; territory partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976, with Morocco acquiring northern two-thirds; Mauritania, under pressure from Polisario guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979; Morocco moved to occupy that sector shortly thereafter and has since asserted administrative control; the Polisario's government-in-exile was seated as an Organization of African Unity (OAU) member in 1984; guerrilla activities continued sporadically, until a UN-monitored cease-fire was implemented 6 September 1991

Capital: none time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: none (under de facto control of Morocco)

Suffrage: none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed

Executive branch: none

Political pressure groups and leaders: none

International organization participation: none

Diplomatic representation in the US: none

Diplomatic representation from the US: none

Economy Western Sahara

Economy - overview: Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the European Union signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006, the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $NA

GDP (official exchange rate): NA

GDP - real growth rate: NA%

GDP - per capita (PPP): $NA

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: 40%

Labor force: 12,000

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 50% industry and services: 50%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA

Agriculture - products: fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish

Industries: phosphate mining, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 85 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 79.05 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption: 1,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Exports: $NA

Exports - commodities: phosphates 62%

Exports - partners: Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006)

Imports: $NA

Imports - commodities: fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs

Imports - partners: Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006)

Debt - external: $NA

Economic aid - recipient: $NA

Currency (code): Moroccan dirham (MAD)

Currency code: MAD

Exchange rates: Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Western Sahara

Telephones - main lines in use: about 2,000 (1999 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 0 (1999)

Telephone system: general assessment: sparse and limited system domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco

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

Radios: 56,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: NA

Televisions: 6,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .eh

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)

Internet users: NA

Transportation Western Sahara

Airports: 11 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2006)

Ports and terminals: Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)

Military Western Sahara

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $992.2 million

Transnational Issues Western Sahara

Disputes - international: Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@World

Background: Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).

Geography World

Map references: Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area: total: 510.072 million sq km land: 148.94 million sq km water: 361.132 million sq km note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land

Area - comparative: land area about 16 times the size of the US

Land boundaries: the land boundaries in the world total 250,708 km (not counting shared boundaries twice); two nations, China and Russia, each border 14 other countries note: 44 nations and other areas are landlocked, these include: Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked

Coastline: 356,000 km note: 98 nations and other entities are islands that border no other countries, they include: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Baker Island, Barbados, Bassas da India, Bermuda, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominica, Europa Island, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Howland Island, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jarvis Island, Jersey, Johnston Atoll, Juan de Nova Island, Kingman Reef, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Federated States of Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Nauru, Navassa Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Palmyra Atoll, Paracel Islands, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka, Svalbard, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tromelin Island, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna, Taiwan

Maritime claims: a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims measured from the mean low-tide baseline as described in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: territorial sea - 12 nm, contiguous zone - 24 nm, and exclusive economic zone - 200 nm; additional zones provide for exploitation of continental shelf resources and an exclusive fishing zone; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200nm

Climate: a wide equatorial band of hot and humid tropical climates - bordered north and south by subtropical temperate zones - that separate two large areas of cold and dry polar climates

Terrain: the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m

Natural resources: the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address

Land use: arable land: 13.31% permanent crops: 4.71% other: 81.98% (2005)

Irrigated land: 2,770,980 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)

Environment - current issues: large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion

Geography - note: the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe

People World

Population: 6,525,170,264 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 27.4% (male 919,219,446/female 870,242,271) 15-64 years: 65.2% (male 2,152,066,888/female 2,100,334,722) 65 years and over: 7.4% (male 213,160,216/female 270,146,721) note: some countries do not maintain age structure information, thus a slight discrepancy exists between the total world population and the total for world age structure (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 27.6 years male: 27 years female: 28.2 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.14% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 20.05 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 8.67 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 48.87 deaths/1,000 live births male: 50.98 deaths/1,000 live births female: 46.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 64.77 years male: 63.16 years female: 66.47 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.59 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Religions: Christians 33.03% (of which Roman Catholics 17.33%, Protestants 5.8%, Orthodox 3.42%, Anglicans 1.23%), Muslims 20.12%, Hindus 13.34%, Buddhists 5.89%, Sikhs 0.39%, Jews 0.23%, other religions 12.61%, non-religious 12.03%, atheists 2.36% (2004 est.)

Languages: Mandarin Chinese 13.69%, Spanish 5.05%, English 4.84%, Hindi 2.82%, Portuguese 2.77%, Bengali 2.68%, Russian 2.27%, Japanese 1.99%, Standard German 1.49%, Wu Chinese 1.21% (2004 est.) note: percents are for "first language" speakers only

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 82% male: 87% female: 77% note: over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt); of all the illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where around one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.)

Government World

Administrative divisions: 268 nations, dependent areas, and other entities

Legal system: all members of the UN are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court

Economy World

Economy - overview: Global output rose by 4.4% in 2005, led by China (9.3%), India (7.6%), and Russia (5.9%). The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations continued as strong performers, in the 7% range of growth. Growth results posted by the major industrial countries varied from no gain for Italy to a strong gain by the United States (3.5%). The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that erode gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Iraq, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central government is losing decisionmaking powers to international bodies, notably the EU. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from an economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuated a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. After the coalition victory, the complex political difficulties and the high economic cost of establishing domestic order in Iraq became major global problems that continued through 2006.

GDP (purchasing power parity): GWP (gross world product): $65 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $46.66 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5.1% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $10,000 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 4% industry: 32% services: 64% (2004 est.)

Labor force: 3.001 billion (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 41% industry: 20.7% services: 38.4% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate: 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.5% highest 10%: 29.9% (2002 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 20% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in one Third World countries (Zimbabwe); inflation rates have declined for most countries for the last several years, held in check by increasing international competition from several low wage countries (2005 est.)

Industries: dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems

Industrial production growth rate: 3% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production: 17.15 trillion kWh (2004 est.)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: NA hydro: NA nuclear: NA other: NA

Electricity - consumption: 16.18 trillion kWh (2004 est.)

Electricity - exports: 562.2 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 568.5 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 83 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption: 82.59 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - proved reserves: 1.326 trillion bbl (1 January 2002 est.)

Natural gas - production: 2.824 trillion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 2.82 trillion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 810.9 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 828 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 172.2 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Exports: $12.45 trillion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services

Exports - partners: US 15.6%, Germany 7.4%, China 5.7%, France 4.9%, UK 4.7%, Japan 4.5% (2005)

Imports: $12.08 trillion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services

Imports - partners: China 9.3%, Germany 9%, US 9%, Japan 6.1%, France 4.2% (2005)

Debt - external: $44.62 trillion note: this figure is the sum total of all countries' external debt, both public and private (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $154 billion official development assistance (ODA) (2004)

Communications World

Telephones - main lines in use: 1,263,367,600 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 2,168,433,600 (2005)

Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: NA

Televisions: NA

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 10,350 (2000 est.)

Internet users: 1,018,057,389 (2005)

Transportation World

Airports: 49,024 (2006)

Heliports: 2,021 (2006)

Railways: total: 1,115,205 km broad gauge: 257,481 km standard gauge: 671,413 km narrow gauge: 186,311 km (2003)

Roadways: total: 32,345,165 km paved: 19,403,061 km unpaved: 12,942,104 km (2002)

Waterways: 671,886 km (2004)

Merchant marine: total: 33,222 ships (1000 GRT or over) (2006)

Military World

Military expenditures - dollar figure: aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide has increased in the beginning of the 21st century, with the largest increase in the US; a rough estimate for 2005 is $1.2 trillion (at puchasing power parity) (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: roughly 2% of gross world product (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues World

Disputes - international: stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 329 international land boundaries separate the 193 independent states and 73 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities; ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries; maritime states have claimed limits and have so far established over 130 maritime boundaries and joint development zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide for national security at sea; boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized; most disputes over the alignment of political boundaries are confined to short segments and are today less common and less hostile than borderland, resource, and territorial disputes; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries, however, encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resource competition; ethnic and cultural clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation around the world; disputes over islands at sea or in rivers frequently form the source of territorial and boundary conflict; other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially petroleum) resources, fisheries, and arable land; nonetheless, most nations cooperate to clarify their international boundaries and to resolve territorial and resource disputes peacefully; regional discord today prevails not so much between the armed forces of independent states as between stateless armed entities that detract from the sustenance and welfare of local populations, leaving the community of nations to cope with resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, and environmental degradation

Refugees and internally displaced persons: the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that in December 2005 there was a global population of 8.4 million registered refugees, the lowest number in 26 years, and as many as 23.7 million IDPs in more than 50 countries; the actual global population of refugees is probably closer to 10 million given the estimated 1.5 million Iraqi refugees displaced throughout the Middle East (2006)

Trafficking in persons: current situation: about 600,000 to 800,000 people, mostly women and children, are trafficked annually across national borders, not including millions trafficked within their own countries; at least 80% of the victims are female; 75% of all victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation; roughly two-thirds of the global victims are trafficked intra-regionally within East Asia and the Pacific (260,000 to 280,000 people) and Europe and Eurasia (170,000 to 210,000 people)

Illicit drugs: cocaine: worldwide coca cultivation in 2004 amounted to 166,200 hectares; Colombia produced slightly more than two-thirds of the worldwide crop, followed by Peru and Bolivia; potential pure cocaine production of 645 metric tons in 2004 marked the lowest level of Andean cocaine production in the past 10 years; Colombia conducts aggressive coca eradication campaign, but both Peruvian and Bolivian Governments are hesitant to eradicate coca in key growing areas; 376 metric tons of export-quality cocaine are documented to have been seized in 2003, and 26 metric tons disrupted (jettisoned or destroyed); consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated to have been 800 metric tons opiates: worldwide illicit opium poppy cultivation reached 258,630 hectares in 2004; potential opium production of 5,444 metric tons was highest total recorded since estimates began in mid-1980s; Afghanistan is world's primary opium producer, accounting for 91% of the global supply; Southeast Asia - responsible for 7% of global opium - continued to diminish in importance in the world opium market; Latin America produced 2% of global opium, but most refined into heroin destined for United States; if all opium processed into pure heroin, the potential global production would be 632 metric tons of heroin in 2004

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Yemen

Introduction Yemen

Background: North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border.

Geography Yemen

Location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 48 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area: total: 527,970 sq km land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen)

Area - comparative: slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming

Land boundaries: total: 1,746 km border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km

Coastline: 1,906 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate: mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east

Terrain: narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m

Natural resources: petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west

Land use: arable land: 2.91% permanent crops: 0.25% other: 96.84% (2005)

Irrigated land: 5,500 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: sandstorms and dust storms in summer

Environment - current issues: very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes

People Yemen

Population: 21,456,188 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 46.4% (male 5,067,762/female 4,881,333) 15-64 years: 51% (male 5,568,078/female 5,375,263) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 275,878/female 287,874) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 16.6 years male: 16.6 years female: 16.6 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.46% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 42.89 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 8.3 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 59.88 deaths/1,000 live births male: 64.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 54.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 62.12 years male: 60.23 years female: 64.11 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.58 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 12,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni

Ethnic groups: predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans

Religions: Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu

Languages: Arabic

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 50.2% male: 70.5% female: 30% (2003 est.)

Government Yemen

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Yemen conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]

Government type: republic

Capital: name: Sanaa geographic coordinates: 15 21 N, 44 12 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz note: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate

Independence: 22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen had become independent in November of 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)

National holiday: Unification Day, 22 May (1990)

Constitution: 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001

Legal system: based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL; Deputy Prime Ministers Rashid Muhammad al-ALIMI, Alawi Salah al-SALAMI, Ahmad Muhammad Abdallah al-SUFAN cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 20 September 2006 (next to be held September 2013); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 77.2%, Faysal BIN SHAMLAN 21.8%

Legislative branch: a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held in April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: there are more than 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdal Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qasim SALAM]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI chancery: 2319 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas C. KRAJESKI embassy: Sa'awan Street, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 755-2000 ext. 2153 or 2266 FAX: [967] (1) 303-182

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription), in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band

Economy Yemen

Economy - overview: Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported average annual growth of 3.5% from 2000 through 2006. Its economic fortunes depend mostly on oil. Oil revenues probably increased in 2006 as a result of higher prices. Yemen was on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. However, government dedication to the program waned in 2001 for political reasons. Yemen is struggling to control excessive spending and rampant corruption. Yemen is dependent on foreign aid to finance its budget deficits and development projects. In November, Yemen secured $4.7 billion in assistance from Arabian Gulf and Western donors.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $20.38 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $15.16 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.2% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $900 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 12.5% industry: 43.8% services: 43.7% (2006 est.)

Labor force: 5.759 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: note: most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force

Unemployment rate: 35% (2003 est.)

Population below poverty line: 45.2% (2003)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 25.9% (2003)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 33.4 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14.8% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 15.7% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget: revenues: $7.314 billion expenditures: $6.984 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

Public debt: 30% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products: grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish

Industries: crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement; commercial ship repair

Industrial production growth rate: 3% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production: 4.077 billion kWh (2004 est.)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 3.792 billion kWh (2004 est.)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 387,500 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption: 85,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports: 370,300 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - imports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - proved reserves: 3.72 billion bbl (2006 est.)

Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 478.6 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Current account balance: $1.69 billion (2006 est.)

Exports: $8.214 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities: crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish

Exports - partners: China 35.3%, India 16.2%, Thailand 11.9%, Japan 6.3%, South Korea 6.3%, Switzerland 5.5% (2005)

Imports: $5.042 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities: food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals

Imports - partners: UAE 18.9%, Saudi Arabia 8.9%, Switzerland 8.6%, Kuwait 6.7%, China 6.1%, US 4.5% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $6.735 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external: $5.469 billion (2006 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements)

Currency (code): Yemeni rial (YER)

Currency code: YER

Exchange rates: Yemeni rials per US dollar - 197.467 (2006), 192.67 (2005), 184.78 (2004), 183.45 (2003), 175.63 (2002)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Yemen

Telephones - main lines in use: 900,000 (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 2,074,846 (2006)

Telephone system: general assessment: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems international: country code - 967; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti

Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios: 1.05 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997)

Televisions: 470,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .ye

Internet hosts: 171 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)

Internet users: 220,000 (2005)

Transportation Yemen

Airports: 46 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 16 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 30 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2006)

Pipelines: gas 71 km; liquid petroleum gas 22 km; oil 1,284 km (2006)

Roadways: total: 71,300 km paved: 6,200 km unpaved: 65,100 km (2005)

Merchant marine: total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 15,400 GRT/18,072 DWT by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 9 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, North Korea 2, Panama 3) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Aden, Nishtun

Military Yemen

Military branches: Army (includes Special Forces), Navy (includes Marines), Unified Yemen Air Force (includes Air Defense Force) (2006)

Military service age and obligation: in May 2001, Yemen's National Defense Council abolished compulsory military service and authorized a voluntary program for military service (2004)

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 4,058,223 females age 18-49: 3,868,112 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 2,790,705 females age 18-49: 2,792,406 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually: males age 18-49: 236,517 females age 18-49: 230,641 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $992.2 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 6.4% (2005 est.)

Military - note: a Coast Guard was established in 2002

Transnational Issues Yemen

Disputes - international: Yemen protests Eritrea fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Yemen by the ICJ in 1999; Saudi Arabia still maintains the concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier along sections of the border with Yemen in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities; Yemen protests Saudi erection of a concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities in sections of the boundary

Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): 78,582 (Somalia) (2006)

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Zambia

Introduction Zambia

Background: The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the [British] South Africa Company from 1891 until it was taken over by the UK in 1923. During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred development and immigration. The name was changed to Zambia upon independence in 1964. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule, but the subsequent vote in 1996 saw blatant harassment of opposition parties. The election in 2001 was marked by administrative problems with three parties filing a legal petition challenging the election of ruling party candidate Levy MWANAWASA. The new president launched an anticorruption task force in 2002, but the government has yet to make a prosecution. The Zambian leader was reelected in 2006 in an election that was deemed free and fair.

Geography Zambia

Location: Southern Africa, east of Angola

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 S, 30 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 752,614 sq km land: 740,724 sq km water: 11,890 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than Texas

Land boundaries: total: 5,664 km border countries: Angola 1,110 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,930 km, Malawi 837 km, Mozambique 419 km, Namibia 233 km, Tanzania 338 km, Zimbabwe 797 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April)

Terrain: mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Zambezi river 329 m highest point: unnamed location in Mafinga Hills 2,301 m

Natural resources: copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 6.99% permanent crops: 0.04% other: 92.97% (2005)

Irrigated land: 1,560 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: periodic drought, tropical storms (November to April)

Environment - current issues: air pollution and resulting acid rain in the mineral extraction and refining region; chemical runoff into watersheds; poaching seriously threatens rhinoceros, elephant, antelope, and large cat populations; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; lack of adequate water treatment presents human health risks

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zimbabwe

People Zambia

Population: 11,502,010 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 46.3% (male 2,673,891/female 2,656,268) 15-64 years: 51.3% (male 2,925,910/female 2,969,324) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 117,877/female 158,740) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 16.5 years male: 16.3 years female: 16.7 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.11% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 41 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 19.93 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 86.84 deaths/1,000 live births male: 94.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 79.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 40.03 years male: 39.76 years female: 40.31 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.39 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 16.5% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 920,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 89,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and plague are high risks in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2007)

Nationality: noun: Zambian(s) adjective: Zambian

Ethnic groups: African 98.7%, European 1.1%, other 0.2%

Religions: Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous beliefs 1%

Languages: English (official), major vernaculars - Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write English total population: 80.6% male: 86.8% female: 74.8% (2003 est.)

Government Zambia

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Zambia conventional short form: Zambia former: Northern Rhodesia

Government type: republic

Capital: name: Lusaka geographic coordinates: 15 25 S, 28 17 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces; Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, Northern, North-Western, Southern, Western

Independence: 24 October 1964 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 24 October (1964)

Constitution: 24 August 1991; amended in 1996 to establish presidential term limits

Legal system: based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in an ad hoc constitutional council; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Levy MWANAWASA (since 2 January 2002); Vice President Rupiah BANDA (since 9 October 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Levy MWANAWASA (since 2 January 2002); Vice President Rupiah BANDA (since 9 October 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 28 September 2006 (next to be held 2011); vice president appointed by the president election results: Levy MWANAWASA reelected president; percent of vote - Levy MWANAWASA 43.0%, Michael SATA 29.4%, Hakainde HICHILEMA 25.3%, Godfrey MIYANDA 1.6%, Winright NGONDO 0.8%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (158 seats; 150 members are elected by popular vote, eight members are appointed by the president, to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 28 September 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MMD 72, PF 44, UDA 27, ULP 2, NDF 1, independents 2; seats not determined 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (the final court of appeal; justices are appointed by the president); High Court (has unlimited jurisdiction to hear civil and criminal cases)

Political parties and leaders: Agenda for Zambia or AZ [Inonge MBIKUSITA-LEWANIKA]; Forum for Democracy and Development or FDD [Christon TEMBO]; Heritage Party or HP [Godfrey MIYANDA]; Liberal Progressive Front or LPF [Roger CHONGWE, president]; Movement for Multiparty Democracy or MMD [Levy MWANAWASA, acting president]; National Leadership for Development or NLD [Yobert SHAMAPANDE]; National Party or NP [Dr. Sam CHIPUNGU]; Patriotic Front or PF [Michael SATA]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Gwendoline KONIE]; United National Independence Party or UNIP [Francis NKHOMA, president]; United Party for National Development or UPND [Anderson MAZOKA]; Zambian Republican Party or ZRP [Benjamin MWILA]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Inonge MBIKUSITA-LEWANIKA chancery: 2419 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-9717 through 9719 FAX: [1] (202) 332-0826

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Carmen M. MARTINEZ embassy: corner of Independence and United Nations Avenues, Lusaka mailing address: P. O. Box 31617, Lusaka telephone: [260] (1) 250-955 FAX: [260] (1) 252-225

Flag description: green with a panel of three vertical bands of red (hoist side), black, and orange below a soaring orange eagle, on the outer edge of the flag

Economy Zambia

Economy - overview: Despite progress in privatization and budgetary reform, Zambia's economic growth in 2005-06 remained somewhat below the 6%-7% per year needed to reduce poverty significantly. Privatization of government-owned copper mines relieved the government from covering mammoth losses generated by the industry and greatly improved the chances for copper mining to return to profitability and spur economic growth. Copper output has increased steadily since 2004, due to higher copper prices and the opening of new mines. The maize harvest was again good in 2005, helping boost GDP and agricultural exports. Cooperation continues with international bodies on programs to reduce poverty, including a new lending arrangement with the IMF in the second quarter of 2004. A tighter monetary policy will help cut inflation, but Zambia still has a serious problem with high public debt.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $11.51 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $5.806 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 6% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,000 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 19.9% industry: 28.9% services: 51.2% (2006 est.)

Labor force: 4.903 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 85% industry: 6% services: 9%

Unemployment rate: 50% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line: 86% (1993)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.1% highest 10%: 41% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 52.6 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.8% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 26.5% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget: revenues: $2.674 billion expenditures: $2.99 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

Public debt: 65.7% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products: corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts, sunflower seed, vegetables, flowers, tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), coffee; cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, milk, eggs, hides

Industries: copper mining and processing, construction, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, textiles, fertilizer, horticulture

Industrial production growth rate: 10.1% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production: 9.962 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 0.5% hydro: 99.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 6.692 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports: 2.975 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 403 million kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 140 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption: 13,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Current account balance: $-165.4 million (2006 est.)

Exports: $3.928 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities: copper/cobalt 64%, cobalt, electricity; tobacco, flowers, cotton

Exports - partners: Switzerland 28.7%, South Africa 18.6%, UK 14.4%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 5.4%, Tanzania 5.1%, Zimbabwe 4.1% (2005)

Imports: $3.092 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, electricity, fertilizer; foodstuffs, clothing

Imports - partners: South Africa 47.6%, UK 12.6%, Zimbabwe 4.3% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.05 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external: $4.397 billion (2006 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $640.6 million (2002)

Currency (code): Zambian kwacha (ZMK)

Currency code: ZMK

Exchange rates: Zambian kwacha per US dollar - 3,371.98 (2006), 4,463.5 (2005), 4,778.9 (2004), 4,733.3 (2003), 4,398.6 (2002)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Zambia

Telephones - main lines in use: 94,700 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 946,600 (2005)

Telephone system: general assessment: facilities are aging but still among the best in Sub-Saharan Africa domestic: high-capacity microwave radio relay connects most larger towns and cities; several cellular telephone services in operation; Internet service is widely available; very small aperture terminal (VSAT) networks are operated by private firms international: country code - 260; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 19, FM 5, shortwave 4 (2001)

Radios: 1.2 million (2001)

Television broadcast stations: 9 (2002)

Televisions: 277,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .zm

Internet hosts: 3,227 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 5 (2001)

Internet users: 231,000 (2005)

Transportation Zambia

Airports: 111 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 10 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 101 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 64 under 914 m: 32 (2006)

Pipelines: oil 771 km (2006)

Railways: total: 2,173 km narrow gauge: 2,173 km 1.067-m gauge note: includes 891 km of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) (2005)

Roadways: total: 91,440 km paved: 20,117 km unpaved: 71,323 km (2001)

Waterways: 2,250 km (includes Lake Tanganyika and the Zambezi and Luapula rivers) (2005)

Ports and terminals: Mpulungu

Military Zambia

Military branches: Zambian National Defense Force (ZNDF): Army, Air Force, Police, National Service

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age (est.) (2004)

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 2,219,739 females age 18-49: 2,159,688 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,043,702 females age 18-49: 953,328 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $121.7 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.8% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Zambia

Disputes - international: in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river

Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): 75,468 (Angola), 61,243 (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 5,669 (Rwanda) (2006)

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for moderate amounts of methaqualone, small amounts of heroin, and cocaine bound for Southern Africa and possibly Europe; a poorly developed financial infrastructure coupled with a government commitment to combating money laundering make it an unattractive venue for money launderers

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Zimbabwe

Introduction Zimbabwe

Background: The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the [British] South Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated that favored whites in power. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared its independence, but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded more complete voting rights for the black African majority in the country (then called Rhodesia). UN sanctions and a guerrilla uprising finally led to free elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, the nation's first prime minister, has been the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) and has dominated the country's political system since independence. His chaotic land redistribution campaign, which began in 2000, caused an exodus of white farmers, crippled the economy, and ushered in widespread shortages of basic commodities. Ignoring international condemnation, MUGABE rigged the 2002 presidential election to ensure his reelection. Opposition and labor strikes in 2003 were unsuccessful in pressuring MUGABE to retire early; security forces continued their brutal repression of regime opponents. The ruling ZANU-PF party used fraud and intimidation to win a two-thirds majority in the March 2005 parliamentary election, allowing it to amend the constitution at will and recreate the Senate, which had been abolished in the late 1980s. In April 2005, Harare embarked on Operation Restore Order, ostensibly an urban rationalization program, which resulted in the destruction of the homes or businesses of 700,000 mostly poor supporters of the opposition, according to UN estimates. ZANU-PF announced in December 2006 that they would combine presidential and parliamentary elections in 2010 to ensure MUGABE remains in office.

Geography Zimbabwe

Location: Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia

Geographic coordinates: 20 00 S, 30 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 390,580 sq km land: 386,670 sq km water: 3,910 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than Montana

Land boundaries: total: 3,066 km border countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March)

Terrain: mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east

Elevation extremes: lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m

Natural resources: coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals

Land use: arable land: 8.24% permanent crops: 0.33% other: 91.43% (2005)

Irrigated land: 1,740 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare

Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and water pollution; the black rhinoceros herd - once the largest concentration of the species in the world - has been significantly reduced by poaching; poor mining practices have led to toxic waste and heavy metal pollution

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zambia; in full flood (February-April) the massive Victoria Falls on the river forms the world's largest curtain of falling water

People Zimbabwe

Population: 12,236,805 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 37.4% (male 2,307,170/female 2,265,298) 15-64 years: 59.1% (male 3,616,528/female 3,621,190) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 199,468/female 227,151) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 19.9 years male: 19.7 years female: 20 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.62% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 28.01 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 21.84 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 51.71 deaths/1,000 live births male: 54.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 39.29 years male: 40.39 years female: 38.16 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.13 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 24.6% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 1.8 million (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 170,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid vectorborne disease: malaria water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2007)

Nationality: noun: Zimbabwean(s) adjective: Zimbabwean

Ethnic groups: African 98% (Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1%

Religions: syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1%

Languages: English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write English total population: 90.7% male: 94.2% female: 87.2% (2003 est.)

Government Zimbabwe

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe conventional short form: Zimbabwe former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia

Government type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: name: Harare geographic coordinates: 17 50 S, 31 03 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 8 provinces and 2 cities* with provincial status; Bulawayo*, Harare*, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands

Independence: 18 April 1980 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 18 April (1980)

Constitution: 21 December 1979

Legal system: mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Vice President Joseph MSIKA (since December 1999) and Vice President Joyce MUJURU (since 6 December 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Vice President Joseph MSIKA (since December 1999) and Vice President Joyce MUJURU (since 6 December 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; responsible to the House of Assembly elections: presidential candidates nominated with a nomination paper signed by at least 10 registered voters (at least one from each province) and elected by popular vote for a six-year term (no term limits); election last held 9-11 March 2002 (next to be held March 2008); co-vice presidents appointed by the president election results: Robert Gabriel MUGABE reelected president; percent of vote - Robert Gabriel MUGABE 56.2%, Morgan TSVANGIRAI 41.9%

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of a House of Assembly (150 seats - 120 elected by popular vote for five-year terms, 12 nominated by the president, 10 occupied by traditional chiefs chosen by their peers, and eight occupied by provincial governors appointed by the president) and a Senate (66 seats - 50 elected by popular vote for a five-year term, six nominated by the president, 10 nominated by the Council of Chiefs) elections: House of Assembly last held 31 March 2005 (next to be held in 2010), Senate last held 26 November 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - ZANU-PF 59.6%, MDC 39.5%, other 0.9%; seats by party - ZANU-PF 78, MDC 41, independents 1; Senate - percent of vote by party - ZANU-PF 73.7%, MDC 20.3%, other 4.4%, independents 1.6%; seats by party - ZANU-PF 43, MDC 7

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; High Court

Political parties and leaders: African National Party or ANP; Movement for Democratic Change or MDC [Morgan TSVANGIRAI]; Peace Action is Freedom for All or PAFA; United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA]; United People's Party [Daniel SHUMBA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Ndonga or ZANU-Ndonga [Wilson KUMBULA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front or ZANU-PF [Robert Gabriel MUGABE]; Zimbabwe African Peoples Union or ZAPU [Agrippa MADLELA]; Zimbabwe Youth in Alliance or ZIYA

Political pressure groups and leaders: Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition [Wellington CHIBEBE]; National Constitutional Assembly or NCA [Lovemore MADHUKU]; Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions or ZCTU [Lovemore MATOMBO]

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Machivenyika T. MAPURANGA chancery: 1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 332-7100 FAX: [1] (202) 483-9326

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher W. DELL embassy: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare mailing address: P. O. Box 3340, Harare telephone: [263] (4) 250-593 and 250-594 FAX: [263] (4) 796-488

Flag description: seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red, black, red, yellow, and green with a white isosceles triangle edged in black with its base on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird representing the long history of the country is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle, which symbolizes peace; green symbolizes agriculture, yellow - mineral wealth, red - blood shed to achieve independence, and black stands for the native people

Economy Zimbabwe

Economy - overview: The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles with an unsustainable fiscal deficit, an overvalued exchange rate, soaring inflation, and bare shelves. Its 1998-2002 involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy. The government's land reform program, characterized by chaos and violence, has badly damaged the commercial farming sector, the traditional source of exports and foreign exchange and the provider of 400,000 jobs, turning Zimbabwe into a net importer of food products. Badly needed support from the IMF has been suspended because of the government's arrears on past loans, which it began repaying in 2005. The official annual inflation rate rose from 32% in 1998, to 133% in 2004, 585% in 2005, and approached 1000% in 2006, although private sector estimates put the figure much higher. Meanwhile, the official exchange rate fell from approximately 1 (revalued) Zimbabwean dollar per US dollar in 2003 to 250 per US dollar in August 2006.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $25.05 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $3.146 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: -4.4% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $2,000 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 17.7% industry: 22.9% services: 59.4% (2006 est.)

Labor force: 3.958 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 66% industry: 10% services: 24% (1996)

Unemployment rate: 80% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line: 80% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 40.4% (1995)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 56.8 (2003)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 976.4% official data; private sector estimates are much higher (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 16.1% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget: revenues: $1.411 billion expenditures: $1.924 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

Public debt: 108.4% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products: corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; sheep, goats, pigs

Industries: mining (coal, gold, platinum, copper, nickel, tin, clay, numerous metallic and nonmetallic ores), steel; wood products, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, clothing and footwear, foodstuffs, beverages

Industrial production growth rate: -1.8% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production: 9.412 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 47% hydro: 53% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 11 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 2.25 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption: 22,500 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - imports: 23,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

Current account balance: $-264.6 million (2006 est.)

Exports: $1.766 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities: cotton, tobacco, gold, ferroalloys, textiles/clothing

Exports - partners: South Africa 27%, China 7.9%, Japan 6.8%, Zambia 5.6%, Netherlands 5.4%, US 4.9%, Italy 4.5%, Germany 4.4% (2005)

Imports: $2.055 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, fuels

Imports - partners: South Africa 52.5%, China 5.7%, Botswana 4.1% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $140 million (2006 est.)

Debt - external: $5.26 billion (2006 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $178 million; note - the EU and the US provide food aid on humanitarian grounds (2000 est.)

Currency (code): Zimbabwean dollar (ZWD)

Currency code: ZWD

Exchange rates: Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar - 195.107 (2006), 77.965 (2005), 5.729 (2004), 0.824 (2003), 0.055 (2002), note, these are official exchange rates; non-official rates vary significantly

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Zimbabwe

Telephones - main lines in use: 328,000 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 699,000 (2005)

Telephone system: general assessment: system was once one of the best in Africa, but now suffers from poor maintenance; more than 100,000 outstanding requests for connection despite an equally large number of installed but unused main lines domestic: consists of microwave radio relay links, open-wire lines, radiotelephone communication stations, fixed wireless local loop installations, and a substantial mobile cellular network; Internet connection is available in Harare and planned for all major towns and for some of the smaller ones international: country code - 263; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat; two international digital gateway exchanges (in Harare and Gweru)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 20 (plus 17 repeater stations), shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios: 1.14 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 16 (1997)

Televisions: 370,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .zw

Internet hosts: 7,954 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 6 (2000)

Internet users: 1 million (2005)

Transportation Zimbabwe

Airports: 403 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 17 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 8 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 386 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 187 under 914 m: 194 (2006)

Pipelines: refined products 261 km (2006)

Railways: total: 3,077 km narrow gauge: 3,077 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified) (2005)

Roadways: total: 97,440 km paved: 18,514 km unpaved: 78,926 km (2002)

Waterways: on Lake Kariba, length small (2005)

Ports and terminals: Binga, Kariba

Military Zimbabwe

Military branches: Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF): Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ), Zimbabwe Republic Police (2005)

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age (est.) (2004)

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 2,778,404 females age 18-49: 2,681,531 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,304,424 females age 18-49: 1,115,096 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $124.7 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Zimbabwe

Disputes - international: Botswana has built electric fences and South Africa has placed military along the border to stem the flow of thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing to find work and escape political persecution; Namibia has supported and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river

Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): 6,536 (Democratic Republic of Congo) IDPs: 569,685 (MUGABE-led political violence, human rights violations, land reform, and economic collapse) (2006)

Trafficking in persons: current situation: Zimbabwe is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation; children may be trafficked internally for forced agricultural labor, domestic servitude, and sexual exploitation; women and girls are lured out of the country to South Africa, China, Egypt, and Zambia with false job or scholarship promises that result in domestic servitude or commercial sexual exploitation; there are reports of South African employers demanding sex from undocumented Zimbabwean workers under threat of deportation; women and children from Malawi, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo transit Zimbabwe en route to South Africa; small numbers of South African girls are trafficked to Zimbabwe for domestic labor tier rating: Tier 3 - Zimbabwe does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so

Illicit drugs: transit point for African cannabis and South Asian heroin, mandrax, and methamphetamines destined for the South African and European markets

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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

@2001 GDP (purchasing power parity)

Afghanistan $21.5 billion (2004 est.)

Albania $20.21 billion note: Albania has a large gray economy that may be as large as 50% of official GDP (2006 est.)

Algeria $253.4 billion (2006 est.)

American Samoa $510.1 million (2003 est.)

Andorra $1.84 billion (2004)

Angola $51.95 billion (2006 est.)

Anguilla $108.9 million (2004 est.)

Antigua and Barbuda $750 million (2002 est.)

Argentina $599.1 billion (2006 est.)

Armenia $15.99 billion (2006 est.)

Aruba $2.258 billion (2005 est.)

Australia $666.3 billion (2006 est.)

Austria $279.5 billion (2006 est.)

Azerbaijan $58.1 billion (2006 est.)

Bahamas, The $6.476 billion (2006 est.)

Bahrain $17.7 billion (2006 est.)

Bangladesh $330.8 billion (2006 est.)

Barbados $5.108 billion (2006 est.)

Belarus $80.74 billion (2006 est.)

Belgium $330.4 billion (2006 est.)

Belize $2.307 billion (2006 est.)

Benin $8.931 billion (2006 est.)

Bermuda $4.5 billion (2004 est.)

Bhutan $2.9 billion (2003 est.)

Bolivia $27.21 billion (2006 est.)

Bosnia and Herzegovina $24.8 billion note: Bosnia has a large informal sector that could also be as much as 50% of official GDP (2006 est.)

Botswana $18.72 billion (2006 est.)

Brazil $1.616 trillion (2006 est.)

British Virgin Islands $853.4 million (2004 est.)

Brunei $6.842 billion (2003 est.)

Bulgaria $77.13 billion (2006 est.)

Burkina Faso $17.87 billion (2006 est.)

Burma $83.84 billion (2006 est.)

Burundi $5.744 billion (2006 est.)

Cambodia $36.78 billion (2006 est.)

Cameroon $42.2 billion (2006 est.)

Canada $1.165 trillion (2006 est.)

Cape Verde $3.129 billion (2006 est.)

Cayman Islands $1.939 billion (2004 est.)

Central African Republic $4.913 billion (2006 est.)

Chad $15.26 billion (2006 est.)

Chile $203 billion (2006 est.)

China $10 trillion (2006 est.)

Christmas Island $NA

Cocos (Keeling) Islands $NA

Colombia $366.7 billion (2006 est.)

Comoros $441 million (2002 est.)

Congo, Democratic Republic of the $44.6 billion (2006 est.)

Congo, Republic of the $4.958 billion (2006 est.)

Cook Islands $183.2 million (2005 est.)

Costa Rica $48.77 billion (2006 est.)

Cote d'Ivoire $28.47 billion (2006 est.)

Croatia $59.41 billion (2006 est.)

Cuba $44.54 billion (2006 est.)

Cyprus Republic of Cyprus: $17.79 billion; north Cyprus: $4.54 billion (2006 est.)

Czech Republic $221.4 billion (2006 est.)

Denmark $198.5 billion (2006 est.)

Djibouti $619 million (2002 est.)

Dominica $384 million (2003 est.)

Dominican Republic $73.74 billion (2006 est.)

East Timor $370 million (2004 est.)

Ecuador $60.48 billion (2006 est.)

Egypt $328.1 billion (2006 est.)

El Salvador $33.2 billion (2006 est.)

Equatorial Guinea $25.69 billion (2005 est.)

Eritrea $4.471 billion (2005 est.)

Estonia $26 billion (2006 est.)

Ethiopia $71.63 billion (2006 est.)

European Union $12.82 trillion (2006 est.)

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) $75 million (2002 est.)

Faroe Islands $1 billion (2001 est.)

Fiji $5.504 billion (2006 est.)

Finland $171.7 billion (2006 est.)

France $1.871 trillion (2006 est.)

French Polynesia $4.58 billion (2003 est.)

Gabon $10.21 billion (2006 est.)

Gambia, The $3.25 billion (2006 est.)

Gaza Strip $5.327 billion (2005 est.)

Georgia $17.79 billion (2006 est.)

Germany $2.585 trillion (2006 est.)

Ghana $59.15 billion (2006 est.)

Gibraltar $769 million (2000 est.)

Greece $251.7 billion (2006 est.)

Greenland $1.1 billion (2001 est.)

Grenada $440 million (2002 est.)

Guam $2.5 billion (2005 est.)

Guatemala $60.57 billion (2006 est.)

Guernsey $2.742 billion (2005)

Guinea $19.4 billion (2006 est.)

Guinea-Bissau $1.244 billion (2006 est.)

Guyana $3.62 billion (2006 est.)

Haiti $14.56 billion (2006 est.)

Holy See (Vatican City) $NA

Honduras $22.13 billion (2006 est.)

Hong Kong $253.1 billion (2006 est.)

Hungary $172.7 billion (2006 est.)

Iceland $11.4 billion (2006 est.)

India $4.042 trillion (2006 est.)

Indonesia $935 billion (2006 est.)

Iran $610.4 billion (2006 est.)

Iraq $94.1 billion (2005 est.)

Ireland $177.2 billion (2006 est.)

Isle of Man $2.113 billion (2003 est.)

Israel $166.3 billion (2006 est.)

Italy $1.727 trillion (2006 est.)

Jamaica $12.71 billion (2006 est.)

Japan $4.22 trillion (2006 est.)

Jersey $3.6 billion (2003 est.)

Jordan $28.89 billion (2006 est.)

Kazakhstan $138.7 billion (2006 est.)

Kenya $40.77 billion (2006 est.)

Kiribati $206.4 million (2004 est.)

Korea, North $40 billion note: North Korea does not publish any reliable National Income Accounts data; the datum shown here is derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) GDP estimates for North Korea that were made by Angus Maddison in a study conducted for the OECD; his figure for 1999 was extrapolated to 2005 using estimated real growth rates for North Korea's GDP and an inflation factor based on the US GDP deflator; the result was rounded to the nearest $10 billion (2006 est.)

Korea, South $1.18 trillion (2006 est.)

Kuwait $52.17 billion (2006 est.)

Kyrgyzstan $10.49 billion (2006 est.)

Laos $13.43 billion (2006 est.)

Latvia $35.08 billion (2006 est.)

Lebanon $21.45 billion (2006 est.)

Lesotho $5.195 billion (2006 est.)

Liberia $2.911 billion (2006 est.)

Libya $74.97 billion (2006 est.)

Liechtenstein $1.786 billion (2001 est.)

Lithuania $54.03 billion (2006 est.)

Luxembourg $32.6 billion (2006 est.)

Macau $10 billion (2004)

Macedonia $16.91 billion note: Macedonia has a large informal sector (2006 est.)

Madagascar $17.27 billion (2006 est.)

Malawi $8.038 billion (2006 est.)

Malaysia $308.8 billion (2006 est.)

Maldives $1.25 billion (2002 est.)

Mali $14.59 billion (2006 est.)

Malta $8.122 billion (2006 est.)

Marshall Islands $115 million (2001 est.)

Mauritania $8.397 billion (2006 est.)

Mauritius $16.72 billion (2006 est.)

Mayotte $466.8 million (2003 est.)

Mexico $1.134 trillion (2006 est.)

Micronesia, Federated States of $277 million; note - supplemented by grant aid, averaging perhaps $100 million annually (2002 est.)

Moldova $8.971 billion (2006 est.)

Monaco $870 million note: Monaco does not publish national income figures; the estimates are extremely rough (2000 est.)

Mongolia $5.781 billion (2006 est.)

Montenegro $3.394 billion (2006 est.)

Montserrat $29 million (2002 est.)

Morocco $147 billion (2006 est.)

Mozambique $29.32 billion (2006 est.)

Namibia $15.04 billion (2006 est.)

Nauru $60 million (2005 est.)

Nepal $41.92 billion (2006 est.)

Netherlands $512 billion (2006 est.)

Netherlands Antilles $2.8 billion (2004 est.)

New Caledonia $3.158 billion (2003 est.)

New Zealand $106 billion (2006 est.)

Nicaragua $16.83 billion (2006 est.)

Niger $12.23 billion (2006 est.)

Nigeria $188.5 billion (2006 est.)

Niue $7.6 million (2000 est.)

Norfolk Island $NA

Northern Mariana Islands $900 million note: GDP estimate includes US subsidy (2000 est.)

Norway $207.3 billion (2006 est.)

Oman $43.88 billion (2006 est.)

Pakistan $427.3 billion (2006 est.)

Palau $124.5 million; note - includes US subsidy (2004 est.)

Panama $25.29 billion (2006 est.)

Papua New Guinea $15.13 billion (2006 est.)

Paraguay $30.64 billion (2006 est.)

Peru $181.8 billion (2006 est.)

Philippines $443.1 billion (2006 est.)

Pitcairn Islands $NA

Poland $542.6 billion (2006 est.)

Portugal $203.1 billion (2006 est.)

Puerto Rico $74.89 billion (2006 est.)

Qatar $26.05 billion (2006 est.)

Romania $197.3 billion (2006 est.)

Russia $1.723 trillion (2006 est.)

Rwanda $13.54 billion (2006 est.)

Saint Helena $18 million (1998 est.)

Saint Kitts and Nevis $339 million (2002 est.)

Saint Lucia $866 million (2002 est.)

Saint Pierre and Miquelon $48.3 million note: supplemented by annual payments from France of about $60 million (2003 est.)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines $342 million (2002 est.)

Samoa $1 billion (2002 est.)

San Marino $940 million (2001 est.)

Sao Tome and Principe $214 million (2003 est.)

Saudi Arabia $374 billion (2006 est.)

Senegal $22.01 billion (2006 est.)

Serbia $44.83 billion for Serbia (including Kosovo) (2006 est.)

Seychelles $626 million (2002 est.)

Sierra Leone $5.38 billion (2006 est.)

Singapore $138.6 billion (2006 est.)

Slovakia $96.35 billion (2006 est.)

Slovenia $46.08 billion (2006 est.)

Solomon Islands $800 million (2002 est.)

Somalia $5.023 billion (2006 est.)

South Africa $576.4 billion (2006 est.)

Spain $1.07 trillion (2006 est.)

Sri Lanka $93.33 billion (2006 est.)

Sudan $96.01 billion (2006 est.)

Suriname $3.098 billion (2006 est.)

Svalbard $NA

Swaziland $5.91 billion (2006 est.)

Sweden $285.1 billion (2006 est.)

Switzerland $252.9 billion (2006 est.)

Syria $75.1 billion (2006 est.)

Taiwan $668.3 billion (2006 est.)

Tajikistan $9.405 billion (2006 est.)

Tanzania $29.25 billion (2006 est.)

Thailand $585.9 billion (2006 est.)

Togo $9.248 billion (2006 est.)

Tokelau $1.5 million (1993 est.)

Tonga $178.5 million (2004 est.)

Trinidad and Tobago $20.99 billion (2006 est.)

Tunisia $87.88 billion (2006 est.)

Turkey $627.2 billion (2006 est.)

Turkmenistan $45.11 billion (2006 est.)

Turks and Caicos Islands $216 million (2002 est.)

Tuvalu $14.94 million (2002 est.)

Uganda $51.89 billion (2006 est.)

Ukraine $355.8 billion (2006 est.)

United Arab Emirates $129.4 billion (2006 est.)

United Kingdom $1.903 trillion (2006 est.)

United States $12.98 trillion (2006 est.)

Uruguay $36.56 billion (2006 est.)

Uzbekistan $54.81 billion (2006 est.)

Vanuatu $276.3 million (2003 est.)

Venezuela $176.4 billion (2006 est.)

Vietnam $258.6 billion (2006 est.)

Virgin Islands $1.577 billion (2004 est.)

Wallis and Futuna $60 million (2004 est.)

West Bank $5.327 billion (2005 est.)

Western Sahara $NA

World GWP (gross world product): $65 trillion (2006 est.)

Yemen $20.38 billion (2006 est.)

Zambia $11.51 billion (2006 est.)

Zimbabwe $25.05 billion (2006 est.)

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@2002 Population growth rate (%)

Afghanistan 2.67% (2006 est.)

Albania 0.52% (2006 est.)

Algeria 1.22% (2006 est.)

American Samoa -0.19% (2006 est.)

Andorra 0.89% (2006 est.)

Angola 2.45% (2006 est.)

Anguilla 1.57% (2006 est.)

Antigua and Barbuda 0.55% (2006 est.)

Argentina 0.96% (2006 est.)

Armenia -0.19% (2006 est.)

Aruba 0.44% (2006 est.)

Australia 0.85% (2006 est.)

Austria 0.09% (2006 est.)

Azerbaijan 0.66% (2006 est.)

Bahamas, The 0.64% (2006 est.)

Bahrain 1.45% (2006 est.)

Bangladesh 2.09% (2006 est.)

Barbados 0.37% (2006 est.)

Belarus -0.06% (2006 est.)

Belgium 0.13% (2006 est.)

Belize 2.31% (2006 est.)

Benin 2.73% (2006 est.)

Bermuda 0.61% (2006 est.)

Bhutan 2.1% (2006 est.)

Bolivia 1.45% (2006 est.)

Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.35% (2006 est.)

Botswana -0.04% (2006 est.)

Brazil 1.04% (2006 est.)

British Virgin Islands 1.97% (2006 est.)

Brunei 1.87% (2006 est.)

Bulgaria -0.86% (2006 est.)

Burkina Faso 3% (2006 est.)

Burma 0.81% (2006 est.)

Burundi 3.7% (2006 est.)

Cambodia 1.78% (2006 est.)

Cameroon 2.04% (2006 est.)

Canada 0.88% (2006 est.)

Cape Verde 0.64% (2006 est.)

Cayman Islands 2.56% (2006 est.)

Central African Republic 1.53% (2006 est.)

Chad 2.93% (2006 est.)

Chile 0.94% (2006 est.)

China 0.59% (2006 est.)

Christmas Island 0% (2006 est.)

Cocos (Keeling) Islands 0% (2006 est.)

Colombia 1.46% (2006 est.)

Comoros 2.87% (2006 est.)

Congo, Democratic Republic of the 3.07% (2006 est.)

Congo, Republic of the 2.6% (2006 est.)

Cook Islands -1.2% between 1996-2001 (2001 census)

Costa Rica 1.45% (2006 est.)

Cote d'Ivoire 2.03% (2006 est.)

Croatia -0.03% (2006 est.)

Cuba 0.31% (2006 est.)

Cyprus 0.53% (2006 est.)

Czech Republic -0.06% (2006 est.)

Denmark 0.33% (2006 est.)

Djibouti 2.02% (2006 est.)

Dominica -0.08% (2006 est.)

Dominican Republic 1.47% (2006 est.)

East Timor 2.08% (2006 est.)

Ecuador 1.5% (2006 est.)

Egypt 1.75% (2006 est.)

El Salvador 1.72% (2006 est.)

Equatorial Guinea 2.05% (2006 est.)

Eritrea 2.47% (2006 est.)

Estonia -0.64% (2006 est.)

Ethiopia 2.31% (2006 est.)

European Union 0.15% (2006 est.)

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) 2.44% (2006 est.)

Faroe Islands 0.58% (2006 est.)

Fiji 1.4% (2006 est.)

Finland 0.14% (2006 est.)

France 0.35% (2006 est.)

French Polynesia 1.48% (2006 est.)

Gabon 2.13% (2006 est.)

Gambia, The 2.84% (2006 est.)

Gaza Strip 3.71% (2006 est.)

Georgia -0.34% (2006 est.)

Germany -0.02% (2006 est.)

Ghana 2.07% (2006 est.)

Gibraltar 0.14% (2006 est.)

Greece 0.18% (2006 est.)

Greenland -0.03% (2006 est.)

Grenada 0.26% (2006 est.)

Guam 1.43% (2006 est.)

Guatemala 2.27% (2006 est.)

Guernsey 0.26% (2006 est.)

Guinea 2.63% (2006 est.)

Guinea-Bissau 2.07% (2006 est.)

Guyana 0.25% (2006 est.)

Haiti 2.3% (2006 est.)

Holy See (Vatican City) 0.01% (2006 est.)

Honduras 2.16% (2006 est.)

Hong Kong 0.59% (2006 est.)

Hungary -0.25% (2006 est.)

Iceland 0.87% (2006 est.)

India 1.38% (2006 est.)

Indonesia 1.41% (2006 est.)

Iran 1.1% (2006 est.)

Iraq 2.66% (2006 est.)

Ireland 1.15% (2006 est.)

Isle of Man 0.52% (2006 est.)

Israel 1.18% (2006 est.)

Italy 0.04% (2006 est.)

Jamaica 0.8% (2006 est.)

Japan 0.02% (2006 est.)

Jersey 0.28% (2006 est.)

Jordan 2.49% (2006 est.)

Kazakhstan 0.33% (2006 est.)

Kenya 2.57% (2006 est.)

Kiribati 2.24% (2006 est.)

Korea, North 0.84% (2006 est.)

Korea, South 0.42% (2006 est.)

Kuwait 3.52% note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2006 est.)

Kyrgyzstan 1.32% (2006 est.)

Laos 2.39% (2006 est.)

Latvia -0.67% (2006 est.)

Lebanon 1.23% (2006 est.)

Lesotho -0.46% (2006 est.)

Liberia 4.91% (2006 est.)

Libya 2.3% (2006 est.)

Liechtenstein 0.78% (2006 est.)

Lithuania -0.3% (2006 est.)

Luxembourg 1.23% (2006 est.)

Macau 0.86% (2006 est.)

Macedonia 0.26% (2006 est.)

Madagascar 3.03% (2006 est.)

Malawi 2.38% (2006 est.)

Malaysia 1.78% (2006 est.)

Maldives 2.78% (2006 est.)

Mali 2.63% (2006 est.)

Malta 0.42% (2006 est.)

Marshall Islands 2.25% (2006 est.)

Mauritania 2.88% (2006 est.)

Mauritius 0.82% (2006 est.)

Mayotte 3.77% (2006 est.)

Mexico 1.16% (2006 est.)

Micronesia, Federated States of -0.11% (2006 est.)