1989 Edition

Climate

desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters

tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April)

Coastline

2,450 km

307 km

Comparative area

slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico

slightly smaller than Massachusetts

Contiguous zone

24 nm

Continental shelf

200 meters or to depth of exploitation

Disputes

Administrative Boundary and international boundary with Sudan

several sections of the boundary with Honduras are in dispute

Environment

Nile is only perennial water source; increasing soil salinization below Aswan High Dam; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; water pollution; desertification

The Land of Volcanoes; subject to frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes; deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution

Extended economic zone

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Flag

three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms

Land boundaries

2,689 km total; Gaza Strip 11, Israel 255 km, Libya 1,150 km, Sudan 1,273 km

545 km total; Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km

Land use

3% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; NEGL% forest and woodland; 95% other; includes 5% irrigated

27% arable land; 8% permanent crops; 29% meadows and pastures; 6% forest and woodland; 30% other; includes 5% irrigated

Natural resources

crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc

hydropower and geothermal power, crude oil

Note

controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, shortest sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean; size and juxtaposition to Israel establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics

smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea

Terrain

vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta

mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau

Territorial sea

1 2 nm

200 nm (overflight and navigation permitted beyond 1 2 nm)

Total area

1,001,450 km2; land area: 995,450 km2

21,040 km2; land area: 20,720 km2

Birth rate

34 births/ 1,000 population (1990)

34 births/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

Death rate

10 deaths/ 1,000 population (1990)

7 deaths/ 1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

90% Eastern Hamitic stock; 10% Greek, Italian, Syro-Lebanese

89% mestizo, 10% Indian, 1% white

Infant mortality rate

90 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)

49 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

15,000,000 (1989 est.); 36% government, public sector enterprises, and armed forces; 34% agriculture; 20% privately owned service and manufacturing enterprises (1984); shortage of skilled labor; 2,500,000 Egyptians work abroad, mostly in Iraq and the Gulf Arab states (1988 est.) Organized labor 2,500,000 (est.)

1,700,000 (1982 est.); 40% agriculture, 16% commerce, 15% manufacturing, 13% government, 9% financial services, 6% transportation; shortage of skilled labor and a large pool of unskilled labor, but manpower training programs improving situation (1984 est.)

Language

Arabic (official); English and French widely understood by educated classes

Spanish, Nahua (among some Indians)

Life expectancy at birth

60 years male, 61 years female (1990)

62 years male, 68 years female (1990)

Literacy

45%

65%

Nationality

noun — Egyptian(s); adjective— Egyptian

noun — Salvadoran(s); adjective— Salvadoran

Net migration rate

NEGL migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

— 7 migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

1 5% total labor force; 10% agricultural labor force; 7% urban labor force (1987 est.)

Population

54,705,746 (July 1990), growth rate 2.5% (1990)

5,309,865 (July 1990), growth rate 2.0% (1990)

Religion

(official estimate) 94% Muslim (mostly Sunni), 6% Coptic Christian and other

about 97% Roman Catholic, with activity by Protestant groups throughout the country

Total fertility rate

4.7 children born/ woman (1990)

4.1 children born/ woman (1990)

Administrative divisions

26 governorates (muhafazat, singular — muhsfazah); Ad DaqahlTyah, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum, Al Gharblyah, Al IskandarTyah, Al IsmJ'IlIyah, Al Jlzah, Al Minufiyah, Al Minya, Al Qahirah, Al Qalyublyah, Al WadI al Jadld, Ash Sharqlyah, As Suways, Aswan, Asyflt, BanI Suwayf, Bur Said, Dumyat, Janflb Slna', Kafr ash Shaykh, MatrOh, Qina, Shamal Slna', Suhaj

1 4 departments (departamentos, singular — departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas. Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa Ana, San Vicente, Sonsonate, Usulutan

Capital

Cairo

San Salvador

Communists

about 500 party members

Constitution

11 September 1971

20 December 1983

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador El Sayed Abdel Raouf EL REEDY; Chancery at 2310 Decatur Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 2325400; there are Egyptian Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco; US — Ambassador Frank G. WISNER; Embassy at 5 Sharia Latin America, Garden City, Cairo (mailing address is FPO New York 09527); telephone [20] [2] 355-7371; there is a US Consulate General in Alexandria

Ambassador Miguel Angel SALAVERRIA; Chancery at 2308 California Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 265-3480 through 3482; there are Salvadoran Consulates General in Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco, US — Ambassador William G. WALKER; Embassy at 25 Avenida Norte No. 1230, San Salvador (mailing address is APO Miami 34023); telephone [503] 26-7100

Elections

President — last held 5 October 1987 (next to be held October 1993); results— President Hosni Mubarek was reelected; People's Assembly — last held 6 April 1987 (next to be held April 1992); results— NDP 69.3%, Socialist Labor Party Coalition 17%, NWP 10.9%; seats— (458 total, 448 elected)— NDP 346, Socialist Labor Party Coalition 60, LaborLiberal-Muslim Brotherhood Alliance 60 (37 belong to the Muslim Brotherhood), NWP 36, independents 7; Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura) — last held October 1986 (next to be held October 1992); results — percent of vote by party NA; seats — (210 total, 140 elected)

President — last held 1 9 March 1989 (next to be held March 1994); results—Alfredo Cristiani (ARENA) 53.8%, Fidel Chavez Mena (PDC) 36.6%, other 9.6%; Legislative Assembly — last held 20 March 1988 (next to be held March 1991); results— percent of vote by party NA; seats— (60 total) ARENA 32, MAC 13, PDC 9, PCN 6

Executive branch

president, prime minister, Cabinet

president, vice president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with the national emblem (a shield superimposed on a golden eagle facing the hoist side above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band; similar to the flags of the YAR which has one star, Syria which has two stars, and Iraq which has three stars — all green and fivepointed in a horizontal line centered in the white band

three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; similar to the flag of Nicaragua which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band — it features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar to the flag of Honduras which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band

Independence

28 February 1922 (from UK); formerly United Arab Republic

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Judicial branch

Supreme Constitutional Court

Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Leaders

Chief of State — President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (was made acting President on 6 October 1 98 1 upon the assassination of President Sadat and sworn in as President on 1 4 October 1981); Head of Government — Prime Minister Atef Mohammed Najib SEDKY (since 12 November 1986) Political parties and leaders: formation of political parties must be approved by government; National Democratic Party (NDP), President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak, leader, is the dominant party; legal opposition parties are Socialist Liberal Party (SLP), Kamal Murad; Socialist Labor Party, Ibrahim Shukri; National Progressive Unionist Grouping, Khalid Muhyi-al-Din; Umma Party, Ahmad alSabahi; and New Wafd Party (NWP), Fu'ad Siraj al-Din

Chief of State and Head of Government—President Alfredo CRISTIANI (since 1 June 1989); Vice President Jose Francisco MERINO (since 1 June 1989) Political parties and leaders: National Republican Alliance (ARENA), Armando Calderon Sol; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Jose Antonio Morales Erlich; National Conciliation Party (PCN), Ciro Cruz Zepeda; Democratic Action (AD), Ricardo Gonzalez Camacho; Salvadoran Authentic Institutional Party (PAISA), Roberto Escobar Garcia; Patria Libre (PL), Hugo Barrera; Authentic Christian Movement (MAC), Julio Rey Prendes; Salvadoran Popular Party (PPS), Francisco Quifidnez; Democratic Convergence (CD), a coalition composed of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Mario Rene Roldan; the National Revolutionary Movement (MNR), Guillermo Ungo; and the Popular Social Christian Movement (MPSC), Ruben Zamora

Legal system

based on English common law, Islamic law, and Napoleonic codes; judicial review by Supreme Court and Council of State (oversees validity of administrative decisions); accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Legislative branch

unicameral People's Assembly (Majlis al-Sha'ab); note — there is an Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura) that functions in a consultative role

unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa)

Long-form name

Arab Republic of Egypt

Republic of El Salvador

Member of

ACC, AfDB, Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, IRC, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, QIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO; Egypt was suspended from Arab League and OAPEC in April 1979 and readmitted in May 1989

CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB — Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, OAS, ODECA, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday

Anniversary of the Revolution, 23 July (1952)

Independence Day, 1 5 September (1821)

Other political or pressure groups

Islamic groups are illegal, but the largest one, the Muslim Brotherhood, is tolerated by the government and recently gained a sizable presence in the new People's Assembly; trade unions and professional associations are officially sanctioned

Leftist revolutionary movement — Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), leadership body of the insurgency; Popular Liberation Forces (FPL), Armed Forces of National Resistance (FARN), People's Revolutionary Army (ERP), Salvadoran Communist Party/ Armed Forces of Liberation (PCES/FAL), and Central American Workers' Revolutionary Party (PRTQ/Popular Liberation Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARLP); Militant front organizations — Revolutionary Coordinator of Masses (CRM; alliance of front groups), Popular Revolutionary Bloc (BPR), Unified Popular Action Front (FAPU), Popular Leagues of 28 February (LP-28), National Democratic Union (UDN), and Popular Liberation Movement (MLP); Revolutionary Democratic Front (FDR), coalition of CRM and Democratic Front (FD); FD consists of moderate leftist groups — Independent Movement of Professionals and Technicians of El Salvador (MIPTES), National Revolutionary Movement (MNR), and Popular Social Christian Movement (MPSC); Extreme rightist vigilante organizations — Anti-Communist Army (ESA); Maximiliano Hernandez Brigade; Organization for Liberation From Communism (OLC); Labor organizations — Federation of Construction and Transport Workers Unions (FESINCONSTRANS), independent; Salvadoran Communal Union (UCS), peasant association; Unitary Federation of Salvadoran Unions (FUSS), leftist; National Federation of Salvadoran Workers (FENASTRAS), leftist; Democratic Workers Central (CTD), moderate; General Confederation of Workers (CGT), moderate; Popular Democratic Unity (UPD), moderate labor coalition which includes FESINCONSTRANS, and other democratic labor organizations; National Unity of Salvadoran Workers (UNTS), leftist; National Union of Workers and Peasants (UNOC), moderate labor coalition of democratic labor organizations; Business organizations — National Association of Private Enterprise (ANEP), conservative; Productive Alliance (AP), conservative; National Federation of Salvadoran Small Businessmen (FENAPES), conservative

Suffrage

universal and compulsory at age

universal at age 18

Type

republic

republic

Agriculture

accounts for 1 8% of GDP and 35% of labor force (including fishing and forestry); leading producer and exporter of bananas and balsawood; other exports — coffee, cocoa, fish, shrimp; crop production— rice, potatoes, manioc, plantains, sugarcane; livestock sector — cattle, sheep, hogs, beef, pork, dairy products; net importer of foodgrain, dairy products, and sugar

accounts for 20% of GNP and employs more than one-third of labor force; dependent on irrigation water from the Nile; world's fifth-largest cotton exporter; other crops produced include rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruit, vegetables; not self-sufficient in food; livestock — cattle, water buffalo, sheep, and goats; annual fish catch about 140,000 metric tons

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $457 million; Western (nonUS) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.4 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $64 million

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $14.7 billion; Western (nonUS) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $7.8 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $2.4 billion

Budget

revenues $2.2 billion; expenditures $2.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $601 million (1 988 est.)

revenues $7 billion; expenditures $11.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $4 billion (FY89 est.)

Currency

sucre (plural — sucres); 1 Sucre (S/) = 100 centavos

Egyptian pound (plural — pounds); 1 Egyptian pound (E) = 100 piasters

Electricity

1,953,000 kW capacity; 5,725 million kWh produced, 560 kWh per capita (1989)

11,273,000 kW capacity; 42,500 million kWh produced, 780 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

sucres (S/) per US$1— 526.35 (1989), 301.61 (1988), 170.46 (1987), 122.78 (1986), 69.56 (1985)

Egyptian pounds (E) per US$1— 2.5790 (January 1990), 2.5171 (1989), 2.2128 (1988), 1.5015 (1987), 1.3503(1986), 1.3010(1985)

Exports

$2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities— petroleum 47%, coffee, bananas, cocoa products, shrimp, fish products; partners — US 58%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries

$2.55 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities— raw cotton, crude and refined petroleum, cotton yarn, textiles; partners — US, EC, Japan, Eastern Europe

External debt

$10.9 billion (1989)

$45 billion (December 1989) Egypt (continued) El Salvador

Fiscal year

calendar year

1 July-30 June

GDP

$9.8 billion, per capita $935; real growth rate 0.5% (1989)

$38.3 billion, per capita $700; real growth rate 1.0% (1989 est.)

Illicit drugs

relatively small producer of coca following the successful eradication campaign of 1985-87; significant transit country, however, for derivatives of coca originating in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru

Imports

$1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities— transport equipment, vehicles, machinery, chemical, petroleum; partners — US 28%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC, Japan

$10.1 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities— foods, machinery and equipment, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer goods, capital goods; partners — US, EC, Japan, Eastern Europe

Industrial production

growth rate 0.7% (1988)

growth rate 2-4% (1989 est.)

Industries

food processing, textiles, chemicals, fishing, timber, petroleum

textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, petroleum, construction, cement, metals

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

54% (1989)

25% (1989 est.)

Overview

Ecuador continues to recover from a 1986 drop in international oil prices and a major earthquake in 1987 that interrupted oil exports for six months and forced Ecuador to suspend foreign debt payments. In 1988-89 oil exports recovered— accounting for nearly half of Ecuador's total export revenues — and Quito resumed full interest payments on its official debt, and partial payments on its commercial debt. The Borja administration has pursued austere economic policies that have helped reduce inflation and restore international reserves. Ecuador was granted an IMF standby agreement worth $135 million in 1989, and Quito will seek to reschedule its foreign commercial debt in 1 990.

Egypt has one of the largest public sectors of all the Third World economies, most industrial plants being owned by the government. Overregulation holds back technical modernization and foreign investment. Even so, the economy grew rapidly during the late 1970s and early 1980s, but in 1986 the collapse of world oil prices and an increasingly heavy burden of debt servicing led Egypt to begin negotiations with the IMF for balance-of-payments support. As part of the 1987 agreement with the IMF, the government agreed to institute a reform program to reduce inflation, promote economic growth, and improve its external position. The reforms have been slow in coming, however, and the economy has been largely stagnant for the past three years. With 1 million people being added every eight months to Egypt's population, urban growth exerts enormous pressure on the 5% of the total land area available for agriculture.

The economy experienced a modest recovery during the period 198386, after a sharp decline in the early 1980s. Real GDP grew by 1.5% a year on the strength of value added by the manufacturing and service sectors. In 1987 the economy expanded by 2.5% as agricultural output recovered from the 1986 drought. The agricultural sector accounts for 25% of GDP, employs about 40% of the labor force, and contributes about 66% to total exports. Coffee is the major commercial crop, contributing 60% to export earnings. The manufacturing sector, based largely on food and beverage processing, accounts for 17% of GDP and 1 6% of employment. Economic losses due to guerrilla sabotage total more than $2.0

Unemployment rate

14.3% (1988)

15% (1989 est.)

Airports

179 total, 178 usable; 43 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,4403,659 m; 20 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

97 total, 87 usable; 67 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 46 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 21 with runways 1,2202,439 m

Branches

Ecuadorean Army (Ejercito Ecuatoriano), Ecuadorean Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana), Ecuadorean Navy (Armada Ecuatoriana) Military manpower males 15-49, 2,635,543; 1,786,068 fit for military service; 114,976 reach military age (20) annually

Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command

Civil air

44 major transport aircraft

43 major transport aircraft

Defense expenditures

1% of GDP, or $100 million (1988 est.) Mediterranean Sea Bur Safajah Al Kharijah^ .Luxor A.wan Sec rtfionil imp VI and VI] not necessarily authoritative

7.2% of GDP, or $2.8 billion (FY90 est.) Boundary representation is 75km Chaiatenango • Santa Ana ^SAN SALVADOR Ac*jutl. 's.nv.c.nt. La Libertad North Pacific Ocean Set regional map III

Highways

28,000 km total; 3,600 km paved, 17,400 km gravel and improved earth, 7,000 km unimproved earth

51,925 km total; 17,900 km paved, 2,500 km gravel, 13,500 km improved earth, 18,025 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways

1,500 km

3,500 km (including the Nile, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in the delta); Suez Canal, 193.5 km long (including approaches), used by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 16.1 meters of water

Merchant marine

47 ships (1,000 CRT or over) totaling 340,446 GRT/492,670 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 7 cargo, 17 refrigerated cargo, 2 container, 1 roll-on/ roll-off cargo, 16 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 1 bulk

142 ships (1,000 CRT or over) totaling 1,141,799 CRT/ 1,754,181 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 7 short-sea passenger, 2 passenger-cargo, 88 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 13 roll-on/ roll-off cargo, 14 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 15 bulk

Military manpower

males 15-49, 13,271,942; 8,642,075 fit for military service; 547,084 reach military age (20) annually

Pipelines

crude oil, 800 km; refined products, 1,358 km

crude oil, 1,171 km; refined products, 596 km; natural gas, 460 km

Ports

Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, Esmeraldas

Alexandria, Port Said, Suez, Bur Safajah, Damietta

Railroads

965 km total; all 1 .067-metergauge single track

5,110 km total; 4,763 km 1 ,435-meter standard gauge, 347 km 0.750-meter gauge; 95 1 km double track; 25 km electrified

Telecommunications

domestic facilities generally adequate; 318,000 telephones; stations— 272 AM, no FM, 33 TV, 39 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station Defense Forces

system is large but still inadequate for needs; principal centers are Alexandria, Cairo, Al MansOrah. Ismailia, and TantS; intercity connections by coaxial cable and microwave; extensive upgrading in progress; 600,000 telephones (est.); stations— 25 AM, 5 FM, 47 TV; satellite earth stations — 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 INMARSAT; 4 submarine coaxial cables; tropospheric scatter to Sudan; radio relay to Libya (may not be operational); new radio relay to Jordan Defense Forces