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Title: The 1999 CIA World Factbook
Author: United States. Central Intelligence Agency
Release date: December 31, 2008 [eBook #27676]
Most recently updated: October 3, 2025
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Al Haines
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE 1999 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK ***
The World Factbook 1999
In general, information available as of 1 January 1999 was used in the
preparation of this edition.
The World Factbook is prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency for
the use of US Government officials, and the style, format, coverage,
and content are designed to meet their specific requirements.
Information is provided by the Bureau of the Census (Department of
Commerce), Bureau of Labor Statistics (Department of Labor), Central
Intelligence Agency, Council of Managers of National Antarctic
Programs, Defense Intelligence Agency (Department of Defense), Defense
Threat Reduction Agency (Department of Defense), Department of State,
Fish and Wildlife Service (Department of the Interior), Maritime
Administration (Department of Transportation), National Imagery and
Mapping Agency (Department of Defense), Antarctic Information Program
(National Science Foundation), Naval Facilities Engineering Command
(Department of Defense), Office of Insular Affairs (Department of the
Interior), Office of Naval Intelligence (Department of Defense), US
Board on Geographic Names (Department of the Interior), and other
public and private sources.
The Factbook is in the public domain. Accordingly, it may be copied
freely without permission of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The
official seal of the CIA, however, may NOT be copied without permission
as required by the CIA Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. section 403m). Misuse of
the official seal of the CIA could result in civil and criminal
penalties.
Comments and queries are welcome and may be addressed to:
Central Intelligence Agency
Attn.: Office of Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20505
Telephone: [1] (703) 482-0623
FAX: [1] (703) 482-1739
=====================================================================
Country Listings
A
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua and Barbuda
Arctic Ocean
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Atlantic Ocean
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
B
Bahamas, The
Bahrain
Baker Island
Bangladesh
Barbados
Bassas da India
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Bouvet Island
Brazil
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burma
Burundi
C
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Clipperton Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Comoros
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Republic of the
Cook Islands
Coral Sea Islands
Costa Rica
Cote d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
D
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
E
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Europa Island
F
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern and Antarctic Lands
G
Gabon
Gambia, The
Gaza Strip
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Glorioso Islands
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
H
Haiti
Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Holy See (Vatican City)
Honduras
Hong Kong
Howland Island
Hungary
I
Iceland
India
Indian Ocean
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
J
Jamaica
Jan Mayen
Japan
Jarvis Island
Jersey
Johnston Atoll
Jordan
Juan de Nova Island
K
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kingman Reef
Kiribati
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
L
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
M
Macau
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Man, Isle of
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States of
Midway Islands
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
N
Namibia
Nauru
Navassa Island
Nepal
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
Northern Mariana Islands
Norway
O
Oman
P
Pacific Ocean
Pakistan
Palau
Palmyra Atoll
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paracel Islands
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn Islands
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Q
Qatar
R
Reunion
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
S
Saint Helena
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia and Montenegro
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Spain
Spratly Islands
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Svalbard
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
T
Taiwan entry follows Zimbabwe
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tromelin Island
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
U
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
V
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands
W
Wake Atoll
Wallis and Futuna
West Bank
Western Sahara
World
Y
Yemen
Z
Zaire (see Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Taiwan
=====================================================================
Appendixes
A. Abbreviations
B. United Nations System
C. International Organizations and Groups
D. Selected International Environmental Agreements
E. Weights and Measures
F. Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes
G. Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic Data Codes
H. Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names
=====================================================================
Notes and Definitions
In addition to the updating of information, the following
changes have been made in this edition of The World
Factbook. The name Wake Island has been officially changed
to Wake Atoll. The Historical perspective and Current issues
entries in the Introduction category have been combined into
a new Background entry. It appears in only a few country
profiles at this time. There are new entries on Population
below poverty line, Household income or consumption by
percentage share, Electricity--production by source (fossil
fuel, hydro, nuclear, other), Electricity--exports, and
Electricity--imports. A new reference map of Kosovo has been
included and terrain has been added to most of the reference
maps.
Abbreviations: This information is included in Appendix A:
Abbreviations, which includes all abbreviations and acronyms
used in the Factbook, with their expansions.
Administrative divisions: This entry generally gives the
numbers, designatory terms, and first-order administrative
divisions as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names
(BGN). Changes that have been reported but not yet acted on
by BGN are noted.
Age structure: This entry provides the distribution of the
population according to age. Information is included by sex
and age group (0-14 years, 15-64 years, 65 years and over).
The age structure of a population affects a nation's key
socioeconomic issues. Countries with young populations (high
percentage under age 15) need to invest more in schools,
while countries with older populations (high percentage ages
65 and over) need to invest more in the health sector. The
age structure can also be used to help predict potential
political issues. For example, the rapid growth of a young
adult population unable to find employment can lead to
unrest.
Agriculture--products: This entry is a rank ordering of major
crops and products starting with the most important.
Airports: This entry gives the total number of airports. The
runway(s) may be paved (concrete or asphalt surfaces) or
unpaved (grass, dirt, sand, or gravel surfaces), but must be
usable. Not all airports have facilities for refueling,
maintenance, or air traffic control.
Airports--with paved runways: This entry gives the total
number of airports with paved runways (concrete or asphalt
surfaces). For airports with more than one runway, only the
longest runway is included according to the following five
groups --(1) over 3,047 m, (2) 2,438 to 3,047 m, (3) 1,524 to
2,437 m, (4) 914 to 1,523 m, and (5) under 914 m. Only
airports with usable runways are included in this listing.
Not all airports have facilities for refueling, maintenance,
or air traffic control.
Airports--with unpaved runways: This entry gives the total
number of airports with unpaved runways (grass, dirt, sand,
or gravel surfaces). For airports with more than one runway,
only the longest runway is included according to the
following five groups--(1) over 3,047 m, (2) 2,438 to 3,047
m, (3) 1,524 to 2,437 m, (4) 914 to 1,523 m, and (5) under
914 m. Only airports with usable runways are included in
this listing. Not all airports have facilities for
refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control.
Appendixes: This section includes Factbook-related material
by topic.
Area: This entry includes three subfields. Total area is the
sum of all land and water areas delimited by international
boundaries and/or coastlines. Land area is the aggregate of
all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or
coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes,
reservoirs, rivers). Water area is the sum of all water
surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or
coastlines, including inland water bodies (lakes,
reservoirs, rivers).
Area--comparative: This entry provides an area comparison
based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared
with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area
measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the
Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington,
DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59
sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).
Background: This entry usually highlights major historic
events, current issues, and may include a statement about
one or two key future trends. This entry appears for only a
few countries at the present time, but will be added to all
countries in the future.
Birth rate: This entry gives the average annual number of
births during a year per 1,000 persons in the population at
midyear; also known as crude birth rate. The birth rate is
usually the dominant factor in determining the rate of
population growth. It depends on both the level of fertility
and the age structure of the population.
Budget: This entry includes revenues, total expenditures,
and capital expenditures. These figures are calculated on an
exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity
(PPP) terms.
Capital: This entry gives the location of the seat of
government.
Climate: This entry includes a brief description of typical
weather regimes throughout the year.
Coastline: This entry gives the total length of the boundary
between the land area (including islands) and the sea.
Communications: This category deals with the means of
exchanging information and includes the telephone, radio,
and television entries.
Communications--note: This entry includes miscellaneous
communications information of significance not included
elsewhere.
Constitution: This entry includes the dates of adoption,
revisions, and major amendments.
Country map: Most versions of the Factbook provide a country
map in color. The maps were produced from the best
information available at the time of preparation. Names
and/or boundaries may have changed subsequently.
Country name: This entry includes all forms of the country's
name approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Italy is
used as an example): conventional long form (Italian
Republic), conventional short form (Italy), local long form
(Repubblica Italiana), local short form (Italia), former
(Kingdom of Italy), as well as the abbreviation. Also see
the Terminology note.
Currency: This entry identifies the national medium of
exchange and its basic subunit.
Data code: This entry gives the official US Government
digraph that precisely identifies every land entity without
overlap, duplication, or omission. AF, for example, is the
data code for Afghanistan. This two-letter country code is a
standardized geopolitical data element promulgated in the
Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS)
10-4 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology
at the US Department of Commerce and maintained by the
Office of the Geographer and Global Issues at the US
Department of State. The data code is used to eliminate
confusion and incompatibility in the collection, processing,
and dissemination of area-specific data and is particularly
useful for interchanging data between databases. Appendix F
cross-references various country data codes and Appendix G
does the same thing for hydrographic data codes.
Data codes--country: This information is presented in
Appendix F: Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes which
includes the US Government approved Federal Information
Processing Standards (FIPS) codes, the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) codes, and Internet
codes for land entities.
Data codes--hydrographic: This information is presented in
Appendix G: Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic Data Codes
which includes the International Hydrographic Organization
(IHO) codes, Aeronautical Chart and Information Center
(ACIC; now National Imagery and Mapping Agency or NIMA)
codes, and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) codes for
hydrographic entities. The US Government has not yet
approved a standard for hydrographic data codes similar to
the FIPS 10-4 standard for country data codes.
Date of information: In general, information available as of
1 January 1999, was used in the preparation of this edition.
Death rate: This entry gives the average annual number of
deaths during a year per 1,000 population at midyear; also
known as crude death rate. The death rate, while only a
rough indicator of the mortality situation in a country,
accurately indicates the current mortality impact on
population growth. This indicator is significantly affected
by age distribution, and most countries will eventually show
a rise in the overall death rate, in spite of continued
decline in mortality at all ages, as declining fertility
results in an aging population.
Debt--external: This entry gives the total amount of public
foreign financial obligations.
Dependency status: This entry describes the formal
relationship between a particular nonindependent entity and
an independent state.
Dependent areas: This entry contains an alphabetical listing
of all nonindependent entities associated in some way with a
particular independent state.
Diplomatic representation: The US Government has diplomatic
relations with 184 independent states, including 178 of the
185 UN members (excluded UN members are Bhutan, Cuba, Iran,
Iraq, North Korea, former Yugoslavia, and the US itself). In
addition, the US has diplomatic relations with 6 independent
states that are not in the UN--Holy See, Kiribati, Nauru,
Switzerland, Tonga, and Tuvalu.
Diplomatic representation from the US: This entry includes
the chief of mission, embassy address, mailing address,
telephone number, FAX number, branch office locations,
consulate general locations, and consulate locations.
Diplomatic representation in the US: This entry includes the
chief of the foreign mission, chancery address, telephone
number, FAX number, consulate general locations, consulate
locations, honorary consulate general locations, and
honorary consulate locations.
Disputes--international: This entry includes a wide variety
of situations that range from traditional bilateral boundary
disputes to unilateral claims of one sort or another.
Information regarding disputes over international
terrestrial and maritime boundaries has been reviewed by the
US Department of State. References to other situations
involving borders or frontiers may also be included, such as
resource disputes, geopolitical questions, or irredentist
issues; however, inclusion does not necessarily constitute
official acceptance or recognition by the US Government.
Economic aid--donor: This entry refers to net official
development assistance (ODA) from OECD nations to developing
countries and multilateral organizations. ODA is defined as
financial assistance that is concessional in character, has
the main objective to promote economic development and
welfare of LDCs, and contains a grant element of at least
25%. The entry does not cover other official flows (OOF) or
private flows.
Economic aid--recipient: This entry, which is subject to
major problems of definition and statistical coverage,
refers to the net inflow of Official Development Finance
(ODF) to recipient countries. The figure includes assistance
from the World Bank, the IMF, and other international
organizations and from individual nation donors. Formal
commitments of aid are included in the data. Omitted from
the data are grants by private organizations. Aid comes in
various forms including outright grants and loans. The entry
thus is the difference between new inflows and repayments.
Economy: This category includes the entries dealing with the
size, development, and management of productive resources,
i.e., land, labor, and capital.
Economy--overview: This entry briefly describes the type of
economy, including the degree of market orientation, the
level of economic development, the most important natural
resources, and the unique areas of specialization. It also
characterizes major economic events and policy changes in
the most recent 12 months and may include a statement about
one or two key future macroeconomic trends.
Electricity--consumption: This entry consists of total
electricity generated annually plus imports and minus
exports, expressed in kilowatt hours.
Electricity--exports: This entry is the total exported
electricity in kilowatt hours.
Electricity--imports: This entry is the total imported
electricity in kilowatt hours.
Electricity--production: This entry is the annual electricity
generated expressed in kilowatt hours.
Electricity--production by source: This entry indicates the
percentage share of annual electricity production of each
energy source. These are fossil fuel, hydro, nuclear, and
other (solar, geothermal, and wind).
Elevation extremes: This entry includes both the highest
point and the lowest point.
Entities: Some of the independent states, dependencies,
areas of special sovereignty, and governments included in
this publication are not independent, and others are not
officially recognized by the US Government. "Independent
state" refers to a people politically organized into a
sovereign state with a definite territory. "Dependencies"
and "areas of special sovereignty" refer to a broad category
of political entities that are associated in some way with
an independent state. "Country" names used in the table of
contents or for page headings are usually the short-form
names as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names and
may include independent states, dependencies, and areas of
special sovereignty, or other geographic entities. There are
a total of 266 separate geographic entities in The World
Factbook that may be categorized as follows:
INDEPENDENT STATES
191 Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua
and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria,
Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados,
Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria,
Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada,
Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China,
Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire,
Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti,
Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El
Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia,
Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia,
Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras,
Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland,
Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya,
Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan,
Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya,
Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia,
Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia,
Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia,
Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, NZ, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria,
Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea,
Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar,
Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint
Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San
Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal,
Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone,
Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia,
South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname,
Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan,
Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago,
Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine,
UAE, UK, US, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela,
Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
OTHER
1 Taiwa
n
DEPENDENCIES AND AREAS OF SPECIAL SOVEREIGNTY
6 Australia--Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island,
Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island
and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island
1 China--Hong Kong
2 Denmark--Faroe Islands, Greenland
16 France--Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island,
French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern and
Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Guadeloupe, Juan de
Nova Island, Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Reunion,
Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Tromelin Island, Wallis and
Futuna
2 Netherlands--Aruba, Netherlands Antilles
3 New Zealand--Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau
3 Norway--Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard
1 Portugal--Macau
15 UK--Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory,
British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands,
Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat,
Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the
South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
14 US--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 Atoll
MISCELLANEOUS
6 Antarctica, Gaza Strip, Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands,
West Bank, Western Sahara
OTHER ENTITIES
4 oceans--Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean,
Pacific Ocean
1 World
266 Tota
l
Environment--current issues: This entry lists the most
pressing and important environmental problems.
Environment--international agreements: This entry separates
country participation in international environmental
agreements into two levels--party to and signed but not
ratified. Agreements are listed in alphabetical order by the
abbreviated form of the full name.
Environmental agreements: This information is presented in
Appendix D: Selected International Environmental Agreements,
which includes the name, abbreviation, date opened for
signature, date entered into force, objective, and parties
by category.
Ethnic groups: This entry provides a rank ordering of ethnic
groups starting with the largest and normally includes the
percent of total population.
Exchange rates: This entry provides the official value of a
country's monetary unit at a given date or over a given
period of time, as expressed in units of local currency per
US dollar and as determined by international market forces
or official fiat.
Executive branch: This entry includes several subfields.
Chief of state includes the name and title of the titular
leader of the country who represents the state at official
and ceremonial functions but may not be involved with the
day-to-day activities of the government. Head of government
includes the name and title of the top administrative leader
who is designated to manage the day-to-day activities of the
government. Cabinet includes the official name for this body
of high-ranking advisers and the method for selection of
members. Elections includes the nature of election process
or accession to power, date of the last election, and date
of the next election. Election results includes the percent
of vote for each candidate in the last election. In the UK,
the monarch is the chief of state, and the prime minister is
the head of government. In the US, the president is both the
chief of state and the head of government.
Exports: This entry provides the total US dollar amount of
exports on an f.o.b. (free on board) basis.
Exports--commodities: This entry provides a rank ordering of
exported products starting with the most important; it
sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
Exports--partners: This entry provides a rank ordering of
trading partners starting with the most important; it
sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
Fiscal year: This entry identifies the beginning and ending
months for a country's accounting period of 12 months, which
often is the calendar year but which may begin in any month.
FY93/94 refers to the fiscal year that began in calendar
year 1993 and ended in calendar year 1994. All yearly
references are for the calendar year (CY) unless indicated
as a noncalendar fiscal year (FY).
Flag description: This entry provides a written flag
description produced from actual flags or the best
information available at the time the entry was written. The
flags of independent states are used by their dependencies
unless there is an officially recognized local flag. Some
disputed and other areas do not have flags.
Flag graphic: Most versions of the Factbook include a color
flag at the beginning of the country profile. The flag
graphics were produced from actual flags or the best
information available at the time of preparation. The flags
of independent states are used by their dependencies unless
there is an officially recognized local flag. Some disputed
and other areas do not have flags.
GDP: This entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or
value of all final goods and services produced within a
nation in a given year. GDP dollar estimates in the Factbook
are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations.
See the note on GDP methodology for more information.
GDP methodology: In the Economy section, GDP dollar
estimates for all countries are derived from purchasing
power parity (PPP) calculations rather than from conversions
at official currency exchange rates. The PPP method involves
the use of standardized international dollar price weights,
which are applied to the quantities of final goods and
services produced in a given economy. The data derived from
the PPP method provide the best available starting point for
comparisons of economic strength and well-being between
countries. The division of a GDP estimate in domestic
currency by the corresponding PPP estimate in dollars gives
the PPP conversion rate. Whereas PPP estimates for OECD
countries are quite reliable, PPP estimates for developing
countries are often rough approximations. Most of the GDP
estimates are based on extrapolation of PPP numbers
published by the UN International Comparison Program (UNICP)
and by Professors Robert Summers and Alan Heston of the
University of Pennsylvania and their colleagues. In
contrast, currency exchange rates depend on a variety of
international and domestic financial forces that often have
little relation to domestic output. In developing countries
with weak currencies the exchange rate estimate of GDP in
dollars is typically one-fourth to one-half the PPP
estimate. Furthermore, exchange rates may suddenly go up or
down by 10% or more because of market forces or official
fiat whereas real output has remained unchanged. On 12
January 1994, for example, the 14 countries of the African
Financial Community (whose currencies are tied to the French
franc) devalued their currencies by 50%. This move, of
course, did not cut the real output of these countries by
half. One important caution: the proportion of, say, defense
expenditures as a percentage of GDP in local currency
accounts may differ substantially from the proportion when
GDP accounts are expressed in PPP terms, as, for example,
when an observer tries to estimate the dollar level of
Russian or Japanese military expenditures. Note: the numbers
for GDP and other economic data can not be chained together
from successive volumes of the Factbook because of changes
in the US dollar measuring rod, revisions of data by
statistical agencies, use of new or different sources of
information, and changes in national statistical methods and
practices. For statistical series on GDP and other economic
variables, see the Handbook of International Economic
Statistics available from the same sources as The World
Factbook.
GDP--composition by sector: This entry gives the percentage
contribution of agriculture, industry, and services to total
GDP.
GDP--per capita: This entry shows GDP on a purchasing power
parity basis divided by population as of 1 July for the same
year.
GDP--real growth rate: This entry gives GDP growth on an
annual basis adjusted for inflation and expressed as a
percent.
Geographic coordinates: This entry includes rounded latitude
and longitude figures for the purpose of finding the
approximate geographic center of an entity and is based on
the Gazetteer of Conventional Names, Third Edition, August
1988, US Board on Geographic Names and on other sources.
Geographic names: This information is presented in Appendix
H: Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names which indicates
where various geographic names--including alternate names,
former names, political or geographical portions of larger
entities, and the location of all US Foreign Service
posts--can be found in The World Factbook. Spellings are
normally, but not always, those approved by the US Board on
Geographic Names (BGN). Alternate names are included in
parentheses, while additional information is included in
brackets.
Geography: This category includes the entries dealing with
the natural environment and the effects of human activity.
Geography--note: This entry includes miscellaneous geographic
information of significance not included elsewhere.
GNP: Gross national product (GNP) is the value of all final
goods and services produced within a nation in a given year,
plus income earned by its citizens abroad, minus income
earned by foreigners from domestic production. The Factbook,
following current practice, uses GDP rather than GNP to
measure national production. However, the user must realize
that in certain countries net remittances from citizens
working abroad may be important to national well-being.
Government: This category includes the entries dealing with
the system for the adoption and administration of public
policy.
Government type: This entry gives the basic form of
government (e.g., republic, constitutional monarchy, federal
republic, parliamentary democracy, military dictatorship).
Government--note: This entry includes miscellaneous
government information of significance not included
elsewhere.
Gross domestic product: see GDP
Gross national product: see GNP
Gross world product: see GWP
GWP: This entry gives the gross world product (GWP) or
aggregate value of all final goods and services produced
worldwide in a given year.
Heliports: This entry gives the total number of established
helicopter takeoff and landing sites (which may or may not
have fuel or other services).
Highways: This entry includes the total length of the
highway system as well as the length of the paved and
unpaved components.
Household income or consumption by percentage share: Data on
household income or consumption come from household surveys,
the results adjusted for household size. Nations use
different standards and procedures in collecting and
adjusting the data. Surveys based on income will normally
show a more unequal distribution than surveys based on
consumption. The quality of surveys is improving with time,
yet caution is still necessary in making inter-country
comparisons.
Illicit drugs: This entry gives information on the five
categories of illicit drugs--narcotics, stimulants,
depressants (sedatives), hallucinogens, and cannabis. These
categories include many drugs legally produced and
prescribed by doctors as well as those illegally produced
and sold outside of medical channels.
Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) is the common hemp plant, which
provides hallucinogens with some sedative properties, and
includes marijuana (pot, Acapulco gold, grass, reefer),
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, Marinol), hashish (hash), and
hashish oil (hash oil).
Coca (mostly Erythroxylum coca) is a bush with leaves that
contain the stimulant used to make cocaine. Coca is not to
be confused with cocoa, which comes from cacao seeds and is
used in making chocolate, cocoa, and cocoa butter.
Cocaine is a stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca
bush.
Depressants (sedatives) are drugs that reduce tension and
anxiety and include chloral hydrate, barbiturates (Amytal,
Nembutal, Seconal, phenobarbital), benzodiazepines (Librium,
Valium), methaqualone (Quaalude), glutethimide (Doriden),
and others (Equanil, Placidyl, Valmid).
Drugs are any chemical substances that effect a physical,
mental, emotional, or behavioral change in an individual.
Drug abuse is the use of any licit or illicit chemical
substance that results in physical, mental, emotional, or
behavioral impairment in an individual.
Hallucinogens are drugs that affect sensation, thinking,
self-awareness, and emotion. Hallucinogens include LSD
(acid, microdot), mescaline and peyote (mexc, buttons,
cactus), amphetamine variants (PMA, STP, DOB), phencyclidine
(PCP, angel dust, hog), phencyclidine analogues (PCE, PCPy,
TCP), and others (psilocybin, psilocyn).
Hashish is the resinous exudate of the cannabis or hemp
plant (Cannabis sativa).
Heroin is a semisynthetic derivative of morphine.
Mandrax is a trade name for methaqualone, a pharmaceutical
depressant.
Marijuana is the dried leaves of the cannabis or hemp plant
(Cannabis sativa).
Methaqualone is a pharmaceutical depressant, referred to as
mandrax in Southwest Asia.
Narcotics are drugs that relieve pain, often induce sleep,
and refer to opium, opium derivatives, and synthetic
substitutes. Natural narcotics include opium (paregoric,
parepectolin), morphine (MS-Contin, Roxanol), codeine
(Tylenol with codeine, Empirin with codeine, Robitussan AC),
and thebaine. Semisynthetic narcotics include heroin (horse,
smack), and hydromorphone (Dilaudid). Synthetic narcotics
include meperidine or Pethidine (Demerol, Mepergan),
methadone (Dolophine, Methadose), and others (Darvon,
Lomotil).
Opium is the brown, gummy exudate of the incised, unripe
seedpod of the opium poppy.
Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) is the source for the
natural and semisynthetic narcotics.
Poppy straw concentrate is the alkaloid derived from the
mature, dried opium poppy.
Qat (kat, khat) is a stimulant from the buds or leaves of
Catha edulis that is chewed or drunk as tea.
Quaaludes is the North American slang term for methaqualone,
a pharmaceutical depressant.
Stimulants are drugs that relieve mild depression, increase
energy and activity, and include cocaine (coke, snow,
crack), amphetamines (Desoxyn, Dexedrine), phenmetrazine
(Preludin), methylphenidate (Ritalin), and others (Cylert,
Sanorex, Tenuate).
Imports: This entry provides the total US dollar amount of
imports on a c.i.f. (cost, insurance, and freight)or f.o.b.
(free on board) basis.
Imports--commodities: This entry provides a rank ordering of
imported products starting with the most important; it
sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
Imports--partners: This entry provides a rank ordering of
trading partners starting with the most important; it
sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
Independence: For most countries, this entry gives the date
that sovereignty was achieved, and from which nation,
empire, or trusteeship. For the other countries, the date
given may not represent "independence" in the strict sense,
but rather some significant nationhood event such as
traditional founding date, date of unification, federation,
confederation, establishment, fundamental change in the form
of government, or state succession. Dependent areas include
the notation "none" followed by the nature of their
dependency status. Also see the Terminology note.
Industrial production growth rate: This entry gives the
annual percentage increase in industrial production
(includes manufacturing, mining, and construction).
Industries: This entry provides a rank ordering of
industries starting with the largest by value of annual
output.
Infant mortality rate: This entry gives the number of deaths
of infants under one year old in a given year per 1,000 live
births in the same year. This rate is often used an
indicator of the level of health in a country.
Inflation rate (consumer prices): This entry furnishes the
annual percent change in consumer prices compared with the
previous year's consumer prices.
International disputes: see Disputes--international
International organization participation: This entry lists
in alphabetical order by abbreviation those international
organizations in which the subject country is a member or
participates in some other way.
International organizations: This information is presented
in Appendix C: International Organizations and Groups which
includes the name, abbreviation, address, telephone, FAX,
date established, aim, and members by category.
Introduction: This category includes one entry, Background.
At present it appears in only a few country profiles, but
will be added to others in the future.
Irrigated land: This entry gives the number of square
kilometers of land area that is artificially supplied with
water.
Judicial branch: This entry contains the name(s) of the
highest court(s) and a brief description of the selection
process for members.
Labor force: This entry contains the total labor force
figure.
Labor force--by occupation: This entry contains a rank
ordering of component parts of the labor force by
occupation.
Land boundaries: This entry contains the total length of all
land boundaries and the individual lengths for each of the
contiguous border countries.
Land use: This entry contains the percentage shares of total
land area for five different types of land use. Arable
land--land cultivated for crops that are replanted after each
harvest like wheat, maize, and rice. Permanent crops--land
cultivated for crops that are not replanted after each
harvest like citrus, coffee, and rubber. Permanent
pastures--land permanently used for herbaceous forage crops.
Forests and woodland--land under dense or open stands of
trees. Other--any land type not specifically mentioned above,
such as urban areas, roads, desert, etc.
Languages: This entry provides a rank ordering of languages
starting with the largest and sometimes includes the percent
of total population speaking that language.
Legal system: This entry contains a brief description of the
legal system's historical roots, role in government, and
acceptance of International Court of Justice (ICJ)
jurisdiction.
Legislative branch: This entry contains information on the
structure (unicameral, bicameral, tricameral), formal name,
number of seats, and term of office. Elections includes the
nature of election process or accession to power, date of
the last election, and date of the next election. Election
results includes the percent of vote and/or number of seats
held by each party in the last election.
Life expectancy at birth: This entry contains the average
number of years to be lived by a group of people born in the
same year, if mortality at each age remains constant in the
future. The entry includes total population as well as the
male and female components. Life expectancy at birth is also
a measure of overall quality of life in a country and
summarizes the mortality at all ages. It can also be thought
of as indicating the potential return on investment in human
capital and is necessary for the calculation of various
actuarial measures.
Literacy: This entry includes a definition of literacy and
Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males,
and females. There are no universal definitions and
standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates
are based on the most common definition--the ability to read
and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that
individual countries use to assess the ability to read and
write is beyond the scope of the Factbook. Information on
literacy, while not a perfect measure of educational
results, is probably the most easily available and valid for
international comparisons. Low levels of literacy, and
education in general, can impede the economic development of
a country in the current rapidly changing, technology-driven
world.
Location: This entry identifies the country's regional
location, neighboring countries, and adjacent bodies of
water.
Map references: This entry includes the name of the Factbook
reference map on which a country may be found. The entry on
Geographic coordinates may be helpful in finding some
smaller countries.
Maritime claims: This entry includes the following claims:
contiguous zone, continental shelf, exclusive economic zone,
exclusive fishing zone, extended fishing zone, none (usually
for a landlocked country), other (unique maritime claims
like Libya's Gulf of Sidra Closing Line or North Korea's
Military Boundary Line), and territorial sea. The proximity
of neighboring states may prevent some national claims from
being extended the full distance.
Merchant marine: Merchant marine may be defined as all ships
engaged in the carriage of goods; all commercial vessels (as
opposed to all nonmilitary ships), which excludes tugs,
fishing vessels, offshore oil rigs, etc.; or a grouping of
merchant ships by nationality or register. This entry
contains information in two subfields--total and ships by
type. Total includes the total number of ships (1,000 GRT or
over), total DWT for those ships, and total GRT for those
ships. Ships by type includes a listing of barge carriers,
bulk cargo ships, cargo ships, combination bulk carriers,
combination ore/oil carriers, container ships, intermodal
ships, liquefied gas tankers, livestock carriers,
multifunction large--load carriers, oil tankers, passenger
ships, passenger-cargo ships, railcar carriers, refrigerated
cargo ships, roll-on/roll-off cargo ships, short-sea
passenger ships, specialized tankers, tanker tug-barges, and
vehicle carriers.
A captive register is a register of ships maintained by a
territory, possession, or colony primarily or exclusively
for the use of ships owned in the parent country; it is also
referred to as an offshore register, the offshore equivalent
of an internal register. Ships on a captive register will
fly the same flag as the parent country, or a local variant
of it, but will be subject to the maritime laws and taxation
rules of the offshore territory. Although the nature of a
captive register makes it especially desirable for ships
owned in the parent country, just as in the internal
register, the ships may also be owned abroad. The captive
register then acts as a flag of convenience register, except
that it is not the register of an independent state.
A flag of convenience register is a national register
offering registration to a merchant ship not owned in the
flag state. The major flags of convenience (FOC) attract
ships to their registers by virtue of low fees, low or
nonexistent taxation of profits, and liberal manning
requirements. True FOC registers are characterized by having
relatively few of the registered ships actually owned in the
flag state. Thus, while virtually any flag can be used for
ships under a given set of circumstances, an FOC register is
one where the majority of the merchant fleet is owned
abroad. It is also referred to as an open register.
A flag state is the nation in which a ship is registered and
which holds legal jurisdiction over operation of the ship,
whether at home or abroad. Maritime legislation of the flag
state determines how a ship is crewed and taxed and whether
a foreign-owned ship may be placed on the register. An
internal register is a register of ships maintained as a
subset of a national register. Ships on the internal
register fly the national flag and have that nationality but
are subject to a separate set of maritime rules from those
on the main national register. These differences usually
include lower taxation of profits, use of foreign nationals
as crew members, and, usually, ownership outside the flag
state (when it functions as an FOC register). The Norwegian
International Ship Register and Danish International Ship
Register are the most notable examples of an internal
register. Both have been instrumental in stemming flight
from the national flag to flags of convenience and in
attracting foreign-owned ships to the Norwegian and Danish
flags.
A merchant ship is a vessel that carries goods against
payment of freight; it is commonly used to denote any
nonmilitary ship but accurately restricted to commercial
vessels only.
A register is the record of a ship's ownership and
nationality as listed with the maritime authorities of a
country; also, it is the compendium of such individual
ships' registrations. Registration of a ship provides it
with a nationality and makes it subject to the laws of the
country in which registered (the flag state) regardless of
the nationality of the ship's ultimate owner.
Military: This category includes the entries dealing with a
country's military structure, manpower, and expenditures.
Military branches: This entry lists the names of the ground,
naval, air, marine, and other defense or security forces.
Military expenditures--dollar figure: This entry gives
current military expenditures in US dollars; the figure is
calculated by multiplying the estimated defense spending in
percentage terms by the gross domestic product (GDP)
calculated on an exchange rate basis not purchasing power
parity (PPP) terms. The figure should be treated with
caution because of different price patterns and accounting
methods among nations, as well as wide variations in the
strength of their currencies.
Military expenditures--percent of GDP: This entry gives
current military expenditures as an estimated percent of
gross domestic product (GDP).
Military manpower--availability: This entry gives the total
numbers of males and females age 15-49 and assumes that
every individual is fit to serve.
Military manpower--fit for military service: This entry gives
the number of males and females age 15-49 fit for military
service. This is a more refined measure of potential
military manpower availability which tries to correct for
the health situation in the country and reduces the maximum
potential number to a more realistic estimate of the actual
number fit to serve.
Military manpower--military age: This entry gives the minimum
age at which an individual may volunteer for military
service or be subject to conscription.
Military manpower--reaching military age annually: This entry
gives the number of draft-age males and females entering the
military manpower pool in any given year and is a measure of
the availability of draft-age young adults.
Military--note: This entry includes miscellaneous military
information of significance not included elsewhere.
Money figures: All money figures are expressed in
contemporaneous US dollars unless otherwise indicated.
National holiday: This entry gives the primary national day
of celebration--usually independence day.
Nationality: This entry provides the identifying terms for
citizens--noun and adjective.
Natural hazards: This entry lists potential natural
disasters.
Natural resources: This entry lists a country's mineral,
petroleum, hydropower, and other resources of commercial
importance.
Net migration rate: This entry includes the figure for the
difference between the number of persons entering and
leaving a country during the year per 1,000 persons (based
on midyear population). An excess of persons entering the
country is referred to as net immigration (e.g., 3.56
migrants/1,000 population); an excess of persons leaving the
country as net emigration (e.g., -9.26 migrants/1,000
population). The net migration rate indicates the
contribution of migration to the overall level of population
change. High levels of migration can cause problems such as
increasing unemployment and potential ethnic strife (if
people are coming in) or a reduction in the labor force,
perhaps in certain key sectors (if people are leaving).
People: This category includes the entries dealing with the
characteristics of the people and their society.
People--note: This entry includes miscellaneous demographic
information of significance not included elsewhere.
Personal Names--Capitalization: The Factbook capitalizes the
surname or family name of individuals for the convenience of
our users who are faced with a world of different cultures
and naming conventions. An example would be President SADDAM
Husayn of Iraq. Saddam is his name and Husayn is his
father's name. He may be referred to as President SADDAM
Husayn or President SADDAM, but not President Husayn. The
need for capitalization, bold type, underlining, italics, or
some other indicator of the individual's surname is apparent
in the following examples: MAO Zedong, Fidel CASTRO Ruz,
William Jefferson CLINTON, and TUNKU SALAHUDDIN Abdul Aziz
Shah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Hisammuddin Alam Shah. By knowing
the surname, a short form without all capital letters can be
used with confidence as in President Saddam, President
Castro, Chairman Mao, President Clinton, or Sultan Tunku
Salahuddin. The same system of capitalization is extended to
the names of leaders with surnames that are not commonly
used such as Queen ELIZABETH II.
Personal Names--Spelling: The romanization of personal names
in the Factbook normally follows the same transliteration
system used by the US Board on Geographic Names for spelling
place names. At times, however, a foreign leader expressly
indicates a preference for, or the media or official
documents regularly use, a romanized spelling that differs
from the transliteration derived from the US Government
standard. In such cases, the Factbook uses the alternative
spelling.
Personal Names--Titles: The Factbook capitalizes any valid
title (or short form of it) immediately preceding a person's
name. A title standing alone is lowercased. Examples:
President YEL'TSIN and President CLINTON are chiefs of
state. In Russia, the president is chief of state and the
premier is the head of the government, while in the US, the
president is both chief of state and head of government.
Pipelines: This entry gives the lengths and types of
pipelines for transporting products like natural gas, crude
oil, or petroleum products.
Political parties and leaders: This entry includes a listing
of significant political organizations and their leaders.
Political pressure groups and leaders: This entry includes a
listing of organizations with leaders involved in politics,
but not standing for legislative election.
Population: This entry gives an estimate from the US Bureau
of the Census based on statistics from population censuses,
vital statistics registration systems, or sample surveys
pertaining to the recent past and on assumptions about
future trends. The total population presents one overall
measure of the potential impact of the country on the world
and within its region. Note: starting with the 1993
Factbook, demographic estimates for some countries (mostly
African) have taken into account the effects of the growing
incidence of AIDS infections. These countries are Botswana,
Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana,
Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria,
Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda,
Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Population below poverty line: National estimates of the
percentage of the population lying below the poverty line
are based on surveys of sub-groups, with the results
weighted by the number of people in each group. Definitions
of poverty vary considerably among nations. For example,
rich nations generally employ more generous standards of
poverty than poor nations.
Population growth rate: The average annual percent change in
the population, resulting from a surplus (or deficit) of
births over deaths and the balance of migrants entering and
leaving a country. The rate may be positive or negative. The
growth rate is a factor in determining how great a burden
would be imposed on a country by the changing needs of its
people for infrastructure (e.g., schools, hospitals,
housing, roads), resources (e.g., food, water, electricity),
and jobs. Rapid population growth can be seen as threatening
by neighboring countries.
Ports and harbors: This entry lists the major ports and
harbors selected on the basis of overall importance to each
country. This is determined by evaluating a number of
factors (e.g., dollar value of goods handled, gross tonnage,
facilities, military significance).
Radio broadcast stations: This entry includes the total
number of AM, FM, and shortwave broadcast stations.
Radios: This entry gives the total number of radio
receivers.
Railways: This entry includes the total length of the
railway network and component parts by gauge: broad, dual,
narrow, standard, and other.
Reference maps: This section includes world, regional, and
special or current interest maps.
Religions: This entry includes a rank ordering of religions
starting with the largest and sometimes includes the percent
of total population.
Sex ratio: This entry includes the number of males for each
female in five age groups--at birth, under 15 years, 15-64
years, 65 years and over, and for the total population. Sex
ratio at birth has recently emerged as an indicator of
certain kinds of sex discrimination in some countries. For
instance, high sex ratios at birth in some Asian countries
are now attributed to sex-selective abortion and infanticide
due to a strong preference for sons. This will affect future
marriage patterns and fertility patterns. Eventually it
could cause unrest among young adult males who are unable to
find partners. The sex ratio at birth for the World is 1.06
(1999 est.).
Suffrage: This entry gives the age at enfranchisement and
whether the right to vote is universal or restricted.
Telephone numbers: All telephone numbers in the Factbook
consist of the country code in brackets, the city or area
code (where required) in parentheses, and the local number.
The one component that is not presented is the international
access code, which varies from country to country. For
example, an international direct dial telephone call placed
from the US to Madrid, Spain, would be as follows:
011 [34] (1) 577-xxxx where
011 is the international access code for station-to-station
calls
(01 is for calls other than station-to-station calls),
[34] is the country code for Spain,
(1) is the city code for Madrid,
577 is the local exchange, and
xxxx is the local telephone number.
An international direct dial telephone call placed from
another country to the US would be as follows:
international access code + [1] (202) 939-xxxx, where
[1] is the country code for the US,
(202) is the area code for Washington, DC,
939 is the local exchange, and
xxxx is the local telephone number.
Telephone system: This entry includes a brief
characterization of the system with details on the domestic
and international components. The following terms and
abbreviations are used throughout the entry:
Arabsat--Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia).
Autodin--Automatic Digital Network (US Department of
Defense).
CB--citizen's band mobile radio communications.
cellular telephone system--the telephones in this system are
radio
transceivers, with each instrument having its own private
radio frequency and sufficient radiated power to reach the
booster station in its area (cell), from which the telephone
signal is fed to a regular telephone exchange.
Central American Microwave System--a trunk microwave radio
relay system that links the countries of Central America and
Mexico with each other.
coaxial cable--a multichannel communication cable consisting
of a central conducting wire, surrounded by and insulated
from a cylindrical conducting shell; a large number of
telephone channels can be made available within the
insulated space by the use of a large number of carrier
frequencies.
Comsat--Communications Satellite Corporation (US).
DSN--Defense Switched Network (formerly Automatic Voice
Network or Autovon); basic general-purpose, switched voice
network of the Defense Communications System (US Department
of Defense).
Eutelsat--European Telecommunications Satellite Organization
(Paris).
fiber-optic cable--a multichannel communications cable using
a thread of optical glass fibers as a transmission medium in
which the signal (voice, video, etc.) is in the form of a
coded pulse of light.
HF-- high-frequency; any radio frequency in the 3,000- to
30,000-kHz range.
Inmarsat--International Mobile Satellite Organization
(London); provider of global mobile satellite communications
for commercial, distress, and safety applications at sea, in
the air, and on land.
Intelsat--International Telecommunications Satellite
Organization (Washington, DC).
Intersputnik--International Organization of Space
Communications (Moscow); first established in the former
Soviet Union and the East European countries, it is now
marketing its services worldwide with earth stations in
North America, Africa, and East Asia.
landline--communication wire or cable of any sort that is
installed on poles or buried in the ground.
Marecs--Maritime European Communications Satellite used in
the Inmarsat system on lease from the European Space Agency.
Marisat--satellites of the Comsat Corporation that
participate in the Inmarsat system.
Medarabtel--the Middle East Telecommunications Project of the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) providing a
modern telecommunications network, primarily by microwave
radio relay, linking Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan,
Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria,
Tunisia, and Yemen; it was initially started in Morocco in
1970 by the Arab Telecommunications Union (ATU) and was
known at that time as the Middle East Mediterranean
Telecommunications Network.
microwave radio relay--transmission of long distance
telephone calls and television programs by highly
directional radio microwaves that are received and sent on
from one booster station to another on an optical path.
NMT--Nordic Mobile Telephone; an analog cellular telephone
system that was developed jointly by the national
telecommunications authorities of the Nordic countries
(Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden).
Orbita--a Russian television service; also the trade name of
a packet--switched digital telephone network.
radiotelephone communications--the two-way transmission and
reception of sounds by broadcast radio on authorized
frequencies using telephone handsets.
satellite communication system--a communication system
consisting of two or more earth stations and at least one
satellite that provides long distance transmission of voice,
data, and television; the system usually serves as a trunk
connection between telephone exchanges; if the earth
stations are in the same country, it is a domestic system.
satellite earth station--a communications facility with a
microwave radio transmitting and receiving antenna and
required receiving and transmitting equipment for
communicating with satellites.
satellite link--a radio connection between a satellite and an
earth station permitting communication between them, either
one-way (down link from satellite to earth
station--television receive-only transmission) or two-way
(telephone channels).
SHF--super-high-frequency; any radio frequency in the 3,000-
to 30,000-MHz range.
shortwave--radio frequencies (from 1.605 to 30 MHz) that fall
above the commercial broadcast band and are used for
communication over long distances.
Solidaridad--geosynchronous satellites in Mexico's system of
international telecommunications in the Western Hemisphere.
Statsionar--Russia's geostationary system for satellite
telecommunications.
submarine cable--a cable designed for service under water.
TAT--Trans-Atlantic Telephone; any of a number of high-
capacity submarine coaxial telephone cables linking Europe
with North America.
telefax--facsimile service between subscriber stations via
the public switched telephone network or the international
Datel network.
telegraph--a telecommunications system designed for
unmodulated electric impulse transmission.
telex--a communication service involving teletypewriters
connected by wire through automatic exchanges.
tropospheric scatter--a form of microwave radio transmission
in which the troposphere is used to scatter and reflect a
fraction of the incident radio waves back to earth;
powerful, highly directional antennas are used to transmit
and receive the microwave signals; reliable over-the-horizon
communications are realized for distances up to 600 miles in
a single hop; additional hops can extend the range of this
system for very long distances.
trunk network--a network of switching centers, connected by
multichannel trunk lines.
UHF-- ultra-high-frequency; any radio frequency in the 300-
to 3,000-MHz range.
VHF--very-high-frequency; any radio frequency in the 30- to
300-MHz range.
Telephones: This entry gives the total number of
subscribers.
Television--broadcast stations: This entry gives the total
number of separate broadcast stations plus any repeater
stations.
Televisions: This entry gives the total number of television
sets.
Terminology: Due to the highly structured nature of the
Factbook database, some collective generic terms have to be
used. For example, the word Country in the Country name
entry refers to a wide variety of dependencies, areas of
special sovereignty, uninhabited islands, and other entities
in addition to the traditional countries or independent
states. Military is also used as an umbrella term for
various civil defense, security, and defense activities in
many entries. The Independence entry includes the usual
colonial independence dates and former ruling states as well
as other significant nationhood dates such as the
traditional founding date or the date of unification,
federation, confederation, establishment, or state
succession that are not strictly independence dates.
Dependent areas have the nature of their dependency status
noted in this same entry.
Terrain: This entry contains a brief description of the
topography.
Total fertility rate: This entry gives a figure for the
average number of children that would be born per woman if
all women lived to the end of their childbearing years and
bore children according to a given fertility rate at each
age. The total fertility rate is a more direct measure of
the level of fertility than the crude birth rate, since it
refers to births per woman. This indicator shows the
potential for population growth in the country. High rates
will also place some limits on the labor force participation
rates for women. Large numbers of children born to women
indicate large family sizes that might limit the ability of
the families to feed and educate their children.
Transnational Issues: This category includes only two
entries at the present time --Disputes--international and
Illicit drugs--that deal with current issues going beyond
national boundaries.
Transportation: This category includes the entries dealing
with the means for movement of people and goods.
Transportation--note: This entry includes miscellaneous
transportation information of significance not included
elsewhere.
Unemployment rate: This entry contains the percent of the
labor force that is without jobs. Substantial
underemployment might be noted.
United Nations System: This information is presented in
Appendix B: United Nations System as a chart, table, or text
(depending on the version of the Factbook) that shows the
organization of the UN in detail.
Waterways: This entry gives the total length and individual
names of navigable rivers, canals, and other inland bodies
of water.
Weights and measures: This information is presented in
Appendix E: Weights and Measures and includes mathematical
notations (mathematical powers and names), metric
interrelationships (prefix; symbol; length, weight, or
capacity; area; volume), and standard conversion factors.
Years: All year references are for the calendar year (CY)
unless indicated as fiscal year (FY). The calendar year is
an accounting period of 12 months from 1 January to 31
December. The fiscal year is an accounting period of 12
months other than 1 January to 31 December. FY93/94 refers
to the fiscal year that began in calendar year 1993 and
ended in calendar year 1994.
Note: Information for the US and US dependencies was
compiled from material in the public domain and does not
represent Intelligence Community estimates. The Handbook of
International Economic Statistics, published annually in
September by the Central Intelligence Agency, contains
detailed economic information for the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, the
successor nations to the Soviet Union, and selected other
countries. The Handbook can be obtained wherever the
Factbook is available.
=====================================================================
A Brief History of Basic Intelligence and The World Factbook
The Intelligence Cycle is the process by which information is acquired,
converted into intelligence, and made available to policymakers.
Information is raw data from any source, data that may be fragmentary,
contradictory, unreliable, ambiguous, deceptive, or wrong. Intelligence
is information that has been collected, integrated, evaluated,
analyzed, and interpreted. Finished intelligence is the final product
of the Intelligence Cycle ready to be delivered to the policymaker.
The three types of finished intelligence are: basic, current, and
estimative. Basic intelligence provides the fundamental and factual
reference material on a country or issue. Current intelligence reports
on new developments. Estimative intelligence judges probable outcomes.
The three are mutually supportive: basic intelligence is the foundation
on which the other two are constructed; current intelligence
continually updates the inventory of knowledge; and estimative
intelligence revises overall interpretations of country and issue
prospects for guidance of basic and current intelligence. The World
Factbook, The President's Daily Brief, and the National Intelligence
Estimates are examples of the three types of finished intelligence.
The United States has carried on foreign intelligence activities since
the days of George Washington, but only since World War II have they
been coordinated on a governmentwide basis. Three programs have
highlighted the development of coordinated basic intelligence since
that time: (1) the Joint Army Navy Intelligence Studies (JANIS), (2)
the National Intelligence Survey (NIS), and (3) The World Factbook.
During World War II, intelligence consumers realized that the
production of basic intelligence by different components of the US
Government resulted in a great duplication of effort and conflicting
information. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 brought home
to leaders in Congress and the executive branch the need for
integrating departmental reports to national policymakers. Detailed
coordinated information was needed not only on such major powers as
Germany and Japan, but also on places of little previous interest. In
the Pacific Theater, for example, the Navy and Marines had to launch
amphibious operations against many islands about which information was
unconfirmed or nonexistent. Intelligence authorities resolved that the
United States should never again be caught unprepared.
In 1943, Gen. George B. Strong (G-2), Adm. H. C. Train (Office of Naval
Intelligence--ONI), and Gen. William J. Donovan (Director of the Office
of Strategic Services--OSS) decided that a joint effort should be
initiated. A steering committee was appointed on 27 April 1943 that
recommended the formation of a Joint Intelligence Study Publishing
Board to assemble, edit, coordinate, and publish the Joint Army Navy
Intelligence Studies (JANIS). JANIS was the first interdepartmental
basic intelligence program to fulfill the needs of the US Government
for an authoritative and coordinated appraisal of strategic basic
intelligence. Between April 1943 and July 1947, the board published 34
JANIS studies. JANIS performed well in the war effort, and numerous
letters of commendation were received, including a statement from Adm.
Forrest Sherman, Chief of Staff, Pacific Ocean Areas, which said,
"JANIS has become the indispensable reference work for the shore-based
planners."
The need for more comprehensive basic intelligence in the postwar world
was well expressed in 1946 by George S. Pettee, a noted author on
national security. He wrote in The Future of American Secret
Intelligence (Infantry Journal Press, 1946, page 46) that world
leadership in peace requires even more elaborate intelligence than war.
"The conduct of peace involves all countries, all human activities--not
just the enemy and his war production."
The Central Intelligence Agency was established on 26 July 1947 and
officially began operating on 18 September 1947. Effective 1 October
1947, the Director of Central Intelligence assumed operational
responsibility for JANIS. On 13 January 1948, the National Security
Council issued Intelligence Directive (NSCID) No. 3, which authorized
the National Intelligence Survey (NIS) program as a peacetime
replacement for the wartime JANIS program. Before adequate NIS country
sections could be produced, government agencies had to develop more
comprehensive gazetteers and better maps. The US Board on Geographic
Names (BGN) compiled the names; the Department of the Interior produced
the gazetteers; and CIA produced the maps.
The Hoover Commission's Clark Committee, set up in 1954 to study the
structure and administration of the CIA, reported to Congress in 1955
that: "The National Intelligence Survey is an invaluable publication
which provides the essential elements of basic intelligence on all
areas of the world. . . . There will always be a continuing requirement
for keeping the Survey up-to-date." The Factbook was created as an
annual summary and update to the encyclopedic NIS studies. The first
classified Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first
unclassified version was published in June 1971. The NIS program was
terminated in 1973 except for the Factbook, map, and gazetteer
components. The 1975 Factbook was the first to be made available to the
public with sales through the US Government Printing Office (GPO). The
1996 edition was printed by GPO and the 1997 edition was reprinted by
GPO. The year 1999 marks the 52nd anniversary of the establishment of
the Central Intelligence Agency and the 56th year of continuous basic
intelligence support to the US Government by The World Factbook and its
two predecessor programs
=====================================================================
Purchasing Information
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) prepares The World Factbook in
printed, CD-ROM, and Internet versions. US Government officials may
obtain information about availability of the Factbook directly from
their own organizations or through liaison channels to the CIA. Other
users may obtain sales information about printed copies and CD-ROMs
from the following:
Superintendent of Documents
P.O. Box 371954
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954
Telephone: [1] (202) 512-1800
FAX: [1] (202) 512-2250
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone: [1] (800) 553-6847 (only in the US);
[1] (703) 605-6000 (for outside US)
FAX: [1] (703) 605-6900
http://www.ntis.gov/
The Internet version may be accessed through the following World-Wide
Web uniform resource locator (URL): http://www.cia.gov
Electronic file preparation by Printing and Photography Group, Central
Intelligence Agency.
=====================================================================
@Afghanistan
-----------
Geography
Location: Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran
Geographic coordinates: 33 00 N, 65 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area:
total: 647,500 sq km
land: 647,500 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area--comparative: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 5,529 km
border countries: China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km,
Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m
highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m
Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, talc,
barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and
semiprecious stones
Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 46%
forests and woodland: 3%
other: 39% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 30,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush
mountains; flooding
Environment--current issues: soil degradation; overgrazing;
deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for
fuel and building materials); desertification
Environment--international agreements:
party to: Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
Geography--note: landlocked
People
Population: 25,824,882 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 43% (male 5,640,841; female 5,422,460)
15-64 years: 54% (male 7,273,681; female 6,776,750)
65 years and over: 3% (male 374,666; female 336,484) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.95% (1999 est.)
note: this rate reflects the continued return of refugees
Birth rate: 41.93 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 17.02 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 14.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 140.55 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 47.33 years
male: 47.82 years
female: 46.82 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.94 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Afghan(s)
adjective: Afghan
Ethnic groups: Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 6%, Hazara 19%,
minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others)
Religions: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%
Languages: Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic
languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages
(primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 31.5%
male: 47.2%
female: 15% (1995 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Islamic State of Afghanistan; note--the
self-proclaimed Taliban government refers to the country as Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan
conventional short form: Afghanistan
local long form: Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan
local short form: Afghanestan
former: Republic of Afghanistan
Data code: AF
Government type: transitional government
Capital: Kabul
Administrative divisions: 30 provinces (velayat,
singular--velayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian,
Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol,
Kandahar, Kapisa, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz,
Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar,
Vardak, Zabol
note: there may be two new provinces of Nurestan (Nuristan) and
Khowst
Independence: 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign
affairs)
National holiday: Victory of the Muslim Nation, 28 April;
Remembrance Day for Martyrs and Disabled, 4 May; Independence Day,
19 August
Constitution: none
Legal system: a new legal system has not been adopted but all
factions tacitly agree they will follow Shari'a (Islamic law)
Suffrage: undetermined; previously males 15-50 years of age
Executive branch: on 27 September 1996, the ruling members of the
Afghan Government were displaced by members of the Islamic Taliban
movement; the Islamic State of Afghanistan has no functioning
government at this time, and the country remains divided among
fighting factions
note: the Taliban have declared themselves the legitimate government
of Afghanistan; the UN has deferred a decision on credentials and
the Organization of the Islamic Conference has left the Afghan seat
vacant until the question of legitimacy can be resolved through
negotiations among the warring factions; the country is essentially
divided along ethnic lines; the Taliban controls the capital of
Kabul and approximately two-thirds of the country including the
predominately ethnic Pashtun areas in southern Afghanistan; opposing
factions have their stronghold in the ethnically diverse north
Legislative branch: non-functioning as of June 1993
Judicial branch: non-functioning as of March 1995, although there
are local Shari'a (Islamic law) courts throughout the country
Political parties and leaders: Taliban (Religious Students
Afghanistan comprised of Jumbesh-i-Melli Islami (National Islamic
other smaller parties are Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin (Islamic Party)
SAYYAF]; Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami (Islamic Revolutionary Movement)
GAILANI]; Hizbi Wahdat-Akbari faction (Islamic Unity Party)
Political pressure groups and leaders: tribal elders represent
traditional Pashtun leadership; Afghan refugees in Pakistan,
Australia, US, and elsewhere have organized politically; Peshawar,
Pakistan-based groups such as the Coordination Council for National
International organization participation: AsDB, CP, ECO, ESCAP,
FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, Intelsat, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
note: embassy operations suspended 21 August 1997
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: the US embassy in Kabul
has been closed since January 1989 due to security concerns
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top),
white, and black with a gold emblem centered on the three bands; the
emblem features a temple-like structure with Islamic inscriptions
above and below, encircled by a wreath on the left and right and by
a bolder Islamic inscription above, all of which are encircled by
two crossed scimitars
note: the Taliban uses a plain white flag
Economy
Economy--overview: Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked
country, highly dependent on farming and livestock raising (sheep
and goats). Economic considerations have played second fiddle to
political and military upheavals during two decades of war,
including the nearly 10-year Soviet military occupation (which ended
15 February 1989). During that conflict one-third of the population
fled the country, with Pakistan and Iran sheltering a combined peak
of more than 6 million refugees. Now, only 750,000 registered Afghan
refugees remain in Pakistan and about 1.2 million in Iran. Another 1
million have probably moved into and around urban areas within
Afghanistan. Gross domestic product has fallen substantially over
the past 20 years because of the loss of labor and capital and the
disruption of trade and transport. Much of the population continues
to suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, and medical
care. Inflation remains a serious problem throughout the country,
with one estimate putting the rate at 240% in Kabul in 1996.
International aid can deal with only a fraction of the humanitarian
problem, let alone promote economic development. Government efforts
to encourage foreign investment have not worked. The economic
situation did not improve in 1998. Numerical data are likely to be
either unavailable or unreliable.
GDP: purchasing power parity--$20 billion (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate: NA%
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$800 (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: 53%
industry: 28.5%
services: 18.5% (1990)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 240% (1996 est.)
Labor force: 7.1 million
Labor force--by occupation: agriculture and animal husbandry
67.8%, industry 10.2%, construction 6.3%, commerce 5%, services and
other 10.7% (1980 est.)
Unemployment rate: 8% (1995 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture,
shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil,
coal, copper
Electricity--production: 540 million kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source:
fossil fuel: 35.19%
hydro: 64.81%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)
Electricity--consumption: 660 million kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports: 0 kWh (1996) (1996)
Electricity--imports: 120 million kWh (1996)
Agriculture--products: wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts; wool,
mutton
Exports: $80 million (1996 est.)
Exports--commodities: fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool,
cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems
Exports--partners: FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, India, UK,
Belgium, Luxembourg, Czech Republic
Imports: $150 million (1996 est.)
Imports--commodities: food and petroleum products; most consumer
goods
Imports--partners: FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India,
South Korea, Germany
Debt--external: $2.3 billion (March 1991 est.)
Economic aid--recipient: $214.6 million (1995); note?US provided
$450 million in bilateral assistance (1985-93); US continues to
contribute to multilateral assistance through the UN programs of
food aid, immunization, land mine removal, and a wide range of aid
to refugees and displaced persons
Currency: 1 afghani (AF) = 100 puls
Exchange rates: afghanis (Af) per US$1--4,750 (February 1999),
17,000 (December 1996), 7,000 (January 1995), 1,900 (January 1994),
1,019 (March 1993), 850 (1991); note--these rates reflect the free
market exchange rates rather than the official exchange rate, which
was fixed at 50.600 afghanis to the dollar until 1996, when it rose
to 2,262.65 per dollar, and finally became fixed again at 3,000.00
per dollar on April 1996
Fiscal year: 21 March--20 March
Communications
Telephones: 31,200 (1983 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: very limited telephone and telegraph service; in 1997,
telecommunications links were established between Mazar-e Sharif,
Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad, and Kabul through satellite and
microwave systems
international: satellite earth stations--1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
linked only to Iran and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region);
commercial satellite telephone center in Ghazni
Radio broadcast stations: AM 6 (5 are inactive), FM 1, shortwave
3 (1998)
Radios: 1.67 million (1998 est.)
Television broadcast stations: NA
note: in 1997, there was a station in Mazar-e Sharif reaching four
northern Afghanistan provinces; also, the government ran a central
television station in Kabul and regional stations in nine of the 30
provinces; it is unknown if any of these stations currently operate
Televisions: 100,000 (1998 est.)
Transportation
Railways:
total: 24.6 km
broad gauge: 9.6 km 1.524-m gauge from Gushgy (Turkmenistan) to
Towraghondi; 15 km 1.524-m gauge from Termiz (Uzbekistan) to
Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya
Highways:
total: 21,000 km
paved: 2,793 km
unpaved: 18,207 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up
to about 500 DWT
Pipelines: petroleum products--Uzbekistan to Bagram and
Turkmenistan to Shindand; natural gas 180 km
Ports and harbors: Kheyrabad, Shir Khan
Merchant marine:
total: 1 container ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 11,982
GRT/14,101 DWT (1998 est.)
Airports: 44 (1998 est.)
Airports--with paved runways:
total: 11
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
under 914 m: 2 (1998 est.)
Airports--with unpaved runways:
total: 33
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 10 (1998 est.)
Heliports: 3 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: NA; note--the military does not exist on a
national basis; some elements of the former Army, Air and Air
Defense Forces, National Guard, Border Guard Forces, National Police
Force (Sarandoi), and tribal militias still exist but are
factionalized among the various groups
Military manpower--military age: 22 years of age
Military manpower--availability:
males age 15-49: 6,326,135 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 3,392,336 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--reaching military age annually:
males: 248,320 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures--dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures--percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international: support to Islamic militants worldwide by
some factions; question over which group should hold Afghanistan's
seat at the UN
Illicit drugs: world's second-largest illicit opium producer
after Burma (cultivation in 1998--41,720 hectares, a 7% increase over
1997; potential production in 1998--1,350 metric tons) and a major
source of hashish; increasing number of heroin-processing
laboratories being set up in the country; major political factions
in the country profit from drug trade
======================================================================
@Albania
-------
Geography
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and
Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro
Geographic coordinates: 41 00 N, 20 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area:
total: 28,750 sq km
land: 27,400 sq km
water: 1,350 sq km
Area--comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries:
total: 720 km
border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km (114 km with Serbia,
173 km with Montenegro)
Coastline: 362 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear,
dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter
Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium,
copper, timber, nickel
Land use:
arable land: 21%
permanent crops: 5%
permanent pastures: 15%
forests and woodland: 38%
other: 21% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 3,410 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along
southwestern coast
Environment--current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water
pollution from industrial and domestic effluents
Environment--international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography--note: strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links
Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
People
Population: 3,364,571 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 33% (male 568,642; female 530,088)
15-64 years: 61% (male 957,561; female 1,105,870)
65 years and over: 6% (male 84,280; female 118,130) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.05% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 20.74 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 7.35 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 42.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69 years
male: 65.92 years
female: 72.33 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.5 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Albanian(s)
adjective: Albanian
Ethnic groups: Albanian 95%, Greeks 3%, other 2% (Vlachs,
Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)
note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from
1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)
Religions: Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%
note: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious
observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing
private religious practice
Languages: Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek
Literacy:
definition: age 9 and over can read and write
total population: 93%
male: NA%
female: NA% (1997 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Albania
conventional short form: Albania
local long form: Republika e Shqiperise
local short form: Shqiperia
former: People's Socialist Republic of Albania
Data code: AL
Government type: emerging democracy
Capital: Tirana
Administrative divisions: 36 districts (rrethe, singular--rreth)
and 1 municipality* (bashki); Berat, Bulqize, Delvine, Devoll
(Bilisht), Diber (Peshkopi), Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster,
Gramsh, Has (Krume), Kavaje, Kolonje (Erseke), Korce, Kruje, Kucove,
Kukes, Lac, Lezhe, Librazhd, Lushnje, Malesi e Madhe (Koplik),
Mallakaster (Ballsh), Mat (Burrel), Mirdite (Rreshen), Peqin,
Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Sarande, Shkoder, Skrapar (Corovode),
Tepelene, Tirane (Tirana), Tirane* (Tirana), Tropoje (Bajram Curri),
Vlore
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their
administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center
name following in parentheses)
Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 November (1912)
Constitution: a new constitution was adopted by popular
referendum on 28 November 1998; note--the opposition Democratic Party
boycotted the vote
Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state: President of the Republic Rexhep MEIDANI (since 24
July 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Pandeli MAJKO (since 2 October
1998)
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and
approved by the president
elections: president elected by the People's Assembly for a
five-year term; election last held 24 July 1997 (next to be held NA
2002); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Rexhep MEIDANI elected president; People's
Assembly vote by number--total votes 122, for 110, against 3,
abstained 2, invalid 7
Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly or Kuvendi
Popullor (155 seats; most members are elected by direct popular vote
and some by proportional vote for four-year terms)
elections: last held 29 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2001)
election results: percent of vote by party--PS 53.36%, PD 25.33%, PSD
2.5%, PBDNJ 2.78%, PBK 2.36%, PAD 2.85%, PR 2.25%, PLL 3.09%, PDK
1.00%, PBSD 0.84%; seats by party--PS 101, PD 27, PSD 8, PBDNJ 4, PBK
3, PAD 2, PR 2, PLL 2, PDK 1, PBSD 1, PUK 1, independents 3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chairman of the Supreme Court is
elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term
Political parties and leaders: Albanian Socialist Party or PS
International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI,
EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user),
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
(applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Petrit BUSHATI
chancery: 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Marisa R. LINO
embassy: Rruga Elbasanit 103, Tirana
mailing address: American Embassy, Tirana, Department of State,
Washington, DC 20521-9510
Flag description: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center
Economy
Economy--overview: An extremely poor country by European
standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more
open-market economy. The economy rebounded in 1993-95 after a severe
depression accompanying the collapse of the previous centrally
planned system in 1990 and 1991. However, a weakening of government
resolve to maintain stabilization policies in the election year of
1996 contributed to renewal of inflationary pressures, spurred by
the budget deficit which exceeded 12%. The collapse of financial
pyramid schemes in early 1997--which had attracted deposits from a
substantial portion of Albania's population--triggered severe social
unrest which led to more than 1,500 deaths, widespread destruction
of property, and an 8% drop in GDP. The new government installed in
July 1997 has taken strong measures to restore public order and to
revive economic activity and trade. The economy continues to be
bolstered by remittances of some 20% of the labor force which works
abroad, mostly in Greece and Italy. These remittances supplement GDP
and help offset the large foreign trade deficit. Most agricultural
land was privatized in 1992, substantially improving peasant
incomes. In 1998, Albania probably recovered most if not all of the
7% drop in GDP of 1997.
GDP: purchasing power parity--$5 billion (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate: 7% (1998 est.)
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$1,490 (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: 56%
industry: 21%
services: 23% (1997)
Population below poverty line: 19.6% (1996 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 40% (1997 est.)
Labor force: 1.692 million (1994 est.) (including 352,000
emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed)
Labor force--by occupation: agriculture (nearly all private; but
some state employed) 49.5%, private business sector 22.2%, state
business sector 28.3% (including state-owned industry 7.8%);
note--includes only those domestically employed
Unemployment rate: 14% (October 1997) officially, but likely to
be as high as 28%
Budget:
revenues: $624 million
expenditures: $996 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil,
cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower
Industrial production growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)
Electricity--production: 5.12 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source:
fossil fuel: 4.3%
hydro: 95.7%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)
Electricity--consumption: 5.27 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports: 0 kWh (1996) (1996)
Electricity--imports: 150 million kWh (1996)
Agriculture--products: wide range of temperate-zone crops and
livestock
Exports: $212 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports--commodities: asphalt, metals and metallic ores,
electricity, crude oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco
Exports--partners: Italy, Greece, Germany, Belgium, US
Imports: $791 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Imports--commodities: machinery, consumer goods, grains
Imports--partners: Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Debt--external: $645 million (1996)
Economic aid--recipient: $630 million (1997 pledged)
Currency: 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars
Exchange rates: leke (L) per US$1--139.93 (January 1999), 150.63
(1998), 148.93 (1997), 104.50 (1996), 92.70 (1995), 94.62 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 55,000
Telephone system:
domestic: obsolete wire system; no longer provides a telephone for
every village; in 1992, following the fall of the communist
government, peasants cut the wire to about 1,000 villages and used
it to build fences
international: inadequate; international traffic carried by
microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece
Radio broadcast stations: AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios: 577,000 (1991 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 13 (1997)
Televisions: 300,000 (1993 est.)
Transportation
Railways:
total: 447 km (none electrified)
standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)
Highways:
total: 18,000 km
paved: 5,400 km
unpaved: 12,600 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake
Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)
Pipelines: crude oil 145 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural
gas 64 km (1991)
Ports and harbors: Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore
Merchant marine:
total: 8 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,394 GRT/41,429
DWT (1998 est.)
Airports: 9 (1998 est.)
Airports--with paved runways:
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (1998 est.)
Airports--with unpaved runways:
total: 6
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 2 (1998 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces,
Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Military manpower--military age: 19 years of age
Military manpower--availability:
males age 15-49: 763,949 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 622,013 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--reaching military age annually:
males: 32,954 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures--dollar figure: $60 million (1998)
Military expenditures--percent of GDP: 2% (1998)
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international: the Albanian Government supports
protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders
but has downplayed them to further its primary foreign policy goal
of regional cooperation; Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks
independence from Serbian Republic; Albanians in The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia claim discrimination in education, access to
public-sector jobs, and representation in government
Illicit drugs: increasingly active transshipment point for
Southwest Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan
route and--to a far lesser extent--cocaine from South America destined
for Western Europe; limited opium and cannabis production; ethnic
Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and rapidly expanding
in Europe
======================================================================
@Algeria
-------
Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea,
between Morocco and Tunisia
Geographic coordinates: 28 00 N, 3 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 2,381,740 sq km
land: 2,381,740 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area--comparative: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 6,343 km
border countries: Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km, Mauritania 463 km,
Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km, Western Sahara 42 km
Coastline: 998 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry
summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high
plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in
summer
Terrain: mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow,
discontinuous coastal plain
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m
highest point: Tahat 3,003 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates,
uranium, lead, zinc
Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 13%
forests and woodland: 2%
other: 82% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 5,550 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes;
mud slides
Environment--current issues: soil erosion from overgrazing and
other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw
sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is
leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean
Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion,
and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water
Environment--international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban
Geography--note: second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)
People
Population: 31,133,486 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 37% (male 5,911,910; female 5,696,538)
15-64 years: 59% (male 9,255,702; female 9,063,954)
65 years and over: 4% (male 559,570; female 645,812) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.1% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 27 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 5.52 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 43.82 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.24 years
male: 68.07 years
female: 70.46 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.27 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Algerian(s)
adjective: Algerian
Ethnic groups: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
Religions: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and
Jewish 1%
Languages: Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 61.6%
male: 73.9%
female: 49% (1995 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria
conventional short form: Algeria
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash
Shabiyah
local short form: Al Jaza'ir
Data code: AG
Government type: republic
Capital: Algiers
Administrative divisions: 48 provinces (wilayas,
singular--wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba,
Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira,
Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf,
Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara,
Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el
Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras,
Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi
Ouzou, Tlemcen
Independence: 5 July 1962 (from France)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 1 November (1954)
Constitution: 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976;
revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996;
note--referendum approving the revisions of 28 November 1996 was
signed into law 7 December 1996
Legal system: socialist, based on French and Islamic law;
judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council
composed of various public officials, including several Supreme
Court justices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Liamine ZEROUAL (appointed president 31
January 1994, elected president 16 November 1995)
head of government: Interim Prime Minister Smail HAMDANI (since 15
December 1998); note--appointed as interim prime minister until April
1999 presidential elections
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 16 November 1995 (next to be held NA April 1999;
note--ZEROUAL announced in September 1998 his intention to step down
after early presidential elections); prime minister appointed by the
president
election results: Liamine ZEROUAL elected president; percent of
vote--Liamine ZEROUAL 61.3%
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the National
People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani (380 seats;
members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the
Council of Nations (144 seats; one-third of the members appointed by
the president, two-thirds elected by indirect vote; members serve
six-year terms; created as a result of the constitutional revision
of November 1996)
elections: National People's Assembly--last held 5 June 1997 (next to
be held NA 2001); elections for two-thirds of the Council of
Nations--last held 25 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2003)
election results: National People's Assembly--percent of vote by
party--NA%; seats by party--RND 156, MSP 69, FLN 62, Nahda Movement
34, FFS 20, RCD 19, PT 4, Republican Progressive Party 3, Union for
Democracy and Freedoms 1, Liberal Social Party 1, independents 11;
Council of Nations--percent of vote by party--NA%; seats by party--RND
80, FLN 10, FFS 4, MSP 2 (remaining 48 seats appointed by the
president, party breakdown NA)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: Islamic Salvation Front or FIS
BENHAMOUDA, secretary general]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS
note: the government established a multiparty system in September
1989 and, as of 31 December 1990, over 50 legal parties existed; a
new party law was enacted in March 1997
International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL,
AMF, AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAS
(observer), OAU, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
(applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ramtane LAMAMRA
chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Cameron R. HUME
embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers
mailing address: B. P. Box 549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers
Flag description: two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side)
and white with a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent; the
crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam
(the state religion)
Economy
Economy--overview: The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the
economy, accounting for roughly 52% of budget revenues, 25% of GDP,
and over 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the fifth-largest
reserves of natural gas in the world and is the second largest gas
exporter; it ranks fourteenth for oil reserves. Algiers' efforts to
reform one of the most centrally planned economies in the Arab world
began after the 1986 collapse of world oil prices plunged the
country into a severe recession. In 1989, the government launched a
comprehensive, IMF-supported program to achieve economic
stabilization and to introduce market mechanisms into the economy.
Despite substantial progress toward economic adjustment, in 1992 the
reform drive stalled as Algiers became embroiled in political
turmoil. In September 1993, a new government was formed, and one
priority was the resumption and acceleration of the structural
adjustment process. Burdened with a heavy foreign debt, Algiers
concluded a one-year standby arrangement with the IMF in April 1994
and the following year signed onto a three-year extended fund
facility which ended 30 April 1998. Progress on economic reform, a
Paris Club debt rescheduling in 1995, and oil and gas sector
expansion have contributed to a recovery since 1995. Investments in
developing hydrocarbon resources have spurred growth, but the
economy remains heavily dependent on volatile oil and gas revenues.
The government has continued efforts to diversify the economy by
attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector
in order to reduce high unemployment and improve living standards.
GDP: purchasing power parity--$140.2 billion (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate: 3.2% (1998 est.)
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$4,600 (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: 12%
industry: 51%
services: 37% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: 22.6% (1995 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 26.8% (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9% (1998 est.)
Labor force: 7.8 million (1996 est.)
Labor force--by occupation: government 29.5%, agriculture 22%,
construction and public works 16.2%, industry 13.6%, commerce and
services 13.5%, transportation and communication 5.2% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 30% (1998 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $14.4 billion
expenditures: $15.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.4
million (1998 est.)
Industries: petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining,
electrical, petrochemical, food processing
Industrial production growth rate: -4% (1997 est.)
Electricity--production: 18.4 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source:
fossil fuel: 98.91%
hydro: 1.09%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)
Electricity--consumption: 18.13 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports: 490 million kWh (1996)
Electricity--imports: 220 million kWh (1996)
Agriculture--products: wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives,
citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle
Exports: $14 billion (f.o.b., 1997 est.)
Exports--commodities: petroleum and natural gas 97%
Exports--partners: Italy 18.8%, US 14.8%, France 11.8%, Spain 8%,
Germany 7.9% (1995 est.)
Imports: $8.5 billion (f.o.b., 1997 est.)
Imports--commodities: capital goods, food and beverages, consumer
goods
Imports--partners: France 29%, Spain 10.5%, Italy 8.2%, US 8%,
Germany 5.6% (1995 est.)
Debt--external: $31.4 billion (1998 est.)
Economic aid--recipient: $897.5 million (1994)
Currency: 1 Algerian dinar (DA) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Algerian dinars (DA) per US$1--61.264 (January
1999), 58.739 (1998), 57.707 (1997), 54.749 (1996), 47.663 (1995),
35.059 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 1,381,342 (5,200 cellular telephone subscribers)
(1997)
Telephone system:
domestic: good service in north but sparse in south; domestic
satellite system with 12 earth stations (20 additional domestic
earth stations are planned)
international: 5 submarine cables; microwave radio relay to Italy,
France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; coaxial cable to Morocco and
Tunisia; participant in Medarabtel; satellite earth stations--2
Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik, and
1 Arabsat
Radio broadcast stations: AM 23, FM 1, shortwave 8 (1998 est.)
Radios: 3.5 million (1998 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 18 (not including low-power
stations) (1997)
Televisions: 2 million (1998 est.)
Transportation
Railways:
total: 4,772 km
standard gauge: 3,616 km 1.435-m gauge (301 km electrified; 215 km
double track)
narrow gauge: 1,156 km 1.055-m gauge
Highways:
total: 102,424 km
paved: 70,570 km (including 608 km of expressways)
unpaved: 31,854 km (1995 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 6,612 km; petroleum products 298 km; natural
gas 2,948 km
Ports and harbors: Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Beni Saf,
Dellys, Djendjene, Ghazaouet, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda, Tenes
Merchant marine:
total: 78 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 933,672 GRT/1,094,104
DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 27, chemical tanker 7, liquefied gas
tanker 11, oil tanker 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 13, short-sea
passenger 5, specialized tanker 1 (1998 est.)
Airports: 137 (1998 est.)
Airports--with paved runways:
total: 51
over 3,047 m: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Airports--with unpaved runways:
total: 86
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 40
under 914 m: 19 (1998 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: National Popular Army, Navy, Air Force,
Territorial Air Defense, National Gendarmerie
Military manpower--military age: 19 years of age
Military manpower--availability:
males age 15-49: 8,237,682 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 5,046,931 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--reaching military age annually:
males: 359,592 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures--dollar figure: $1.3 billion (1994)
Military expenditures--percent of GDP: 2.7% (1994)
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international: part of southeastern region claimed by
Libya
======================================================================
@American Samoa
--------------
Geography
Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean,
about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Geographic coordinates: 14 20 S, 170 00 W
Map references: Oceania
Area:
total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island
Area--comparative: slightly larger than Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 116 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds;
annual rainfall averages 124 inches; rainy season from November to
April, dry season from May to October; little seasonal temperature
variation
Terrain: five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited
coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island)
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacifi