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Head of Government—Prime Minister Vere Cornwall BIRD, Sr. (since NA 1976)
#Political parties and leaders: Antigua Labor Party (ALP), Vere C. BIRD, Sr., Lester BIRD; United National Democratic Party (UNDP), Dr. Ivor HEATH
#Suffrage: universal at age 18
#Elections:
House of Representatives—last held 9 March 1989 (next to be held 1994); results—percentage of vote by party NA; seats—(17 total) ALP 15, UNDP 1, independent 1
#Communists: negligible
#Other political or pressure groups: Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement (ACLM), a small leftist nationalist group led by Leonard (Tim) HECTOR; Antigua Trades and Labor Union (ATLU), headed by Noel THOMAS
#Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WCL, WHO, WMO
#Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Edmund Hawkins LAKE; Chancery at Suite 2H, 3400 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 362-5211 or 5166, 5122, 5225; there is an Antiguan Consulate in Miami;
US—the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and Barbuda, and in his absence, the Embassy is headed by Charge d'Affaires Bryant SALTER; Embassy at Queen Elizabeth Highway, Saint John's (mailing address is FPO Miami 34054); telephone (809) 462-3505 or 3506
#Flag: red with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands of black (top), light blue, and white with a yellow rising sun in the black band
*Economy #Overview: The economy is primarily service oriented, with tourism the most important determinant of economic performance. During the period 1983-89, real GDP expanded at an annual average rate of about 7%. Tourism's contribution to GDP, as measured by value added tax in hotels and restaurants, rose from about 14% in 1983 to 16% in 1989, and stimulated growth in other sectors—particularly in construction, communications, and public utilities. Antigua and Barbuda is one of the few areas in the Caribbean experiencing a labor shortage in some sectors of the economy.
#GDP: $350 million, per capita $5,470 (1989); real growth rate 3.0% (1991 est.)
#Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1990 est.)
#Unemployment rate: 5.0% (1988 est.)
#Budget: revenues $92.8 million; expenditures $101 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)
#Exports: $33.2 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities—petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, food and live animals 4%, machinery and transport equipment 17%;
partners—OECS 26%, Barbados 15%, Guyana 4%, Trinidad and Tobago 2%, US 0.3%
#Imports: $358.2 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
commodities—food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil;
partners—US 27%, UK 16%, Canada 4%, OECS 3%, other 50%
#External debt: $250 million (1990 est.)
#Industrial production: growth rate 3% (1989 est.); accounts for 9% of GDP
#Electricity: 52,000 kW capacity; 95 million kWh produced, 1,490 kWh per capita (1990)
#Industries: tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances)
#Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GDP; expanding output of cotton, fruits, vegetables, and livestock sector; other crops—bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; not self-sufficient in food
#Economic aid: US commitments, $10 million (1985-88); Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $45 million
#Currency: East Caribbean dollar (plural—dollars); 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
#Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1—2.70 (fixed rate since 1976)
#Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
*Communications #Railroads: 64 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge and 13 km 0.610-meter gauge used almost exclusively for handling sugarcane
#Highways: 240 km
#Ports: Saint John's
#Merchant marine: 86 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 319,477 GRT/497,194 DWT; includes 61 cargo, 5 refrigerated cargo, 6 container, 4 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 multifunction large load carrier, 3 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 6 chemical tanker; note—a flag of convenience registry
#Civil air: 10 major transport aircraft
#Airports: 3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with runways less than 1,220 m
#Telecommunications: good automatic telephone system; 6,700 telephones; tropospheric scatter links with Saba and Guadeloupe; stations—4 AM, 2 FM, 2 TV, 2 shortwave; 1 coaxial submarine cable; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
*Defense Forces #Branches: Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force (includes the Coast Guard)
#Manpower availability: NA
Defense expenditures: $1.4 million, less than 1% of GDP (FY91) % @Arctic Ocean *Geography Total area: 14,056,000 km2; includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, and other tributary water bodies
#Comparative area: slightly more than 1.5 times the size of the US; smallest of the world's four oceans (after Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean)
#Coastline: 45,389 km
#Climate: persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow
#Terrain: central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack which averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight line movement from the New Siberian Islands (USSR) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the ice pack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling land masses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonsov Ridge); maximum depth is 4,665 meters in the Fram Basin
#Natural resources: sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals, whales)
#Environment: endangered marine species include walruses and whales; ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean and lasts about 10 months; permafrost in islands; virtually icelocked from October to June; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage
#Note: major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May; strategic location between North America and the USSR; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western USSR; floating research stations operated by the US and USSR
*Economy #Overview: Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources, including crude oil, natural gas, fishing, and sealing.
*Communications #Ports: Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (USSR), Prudhoe Bay (US)
#Telecommunications: no submarine cables
Note: sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes; the Northwest Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route (Asia) are important waterways % @Argentina *Geography Total area: 2,766,890 km2; land area: 2,736,690 km2
#Comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of Texas
#Land boundaries: 9,665 km total; Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km
#Coastline: 4,989 km
#Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Territorial sea: 200 nm (overflight and navigation permitted beyond 12 nm)
#Disputes: short section of the boundary with Uruguay is in dispute; short section of the boundary with Chile is indefinite; claims British-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); claims British-administered South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica
#Climate: mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
#Terrain: rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border
#Natural resources: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, crude oil, uranium
#Land use: arable land 9%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and pastures 52%; forest and woodland 22%; other 13%; includes irrigated 1%
#Environment: Tucuman and Mendoza areas in Andes subject to earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike Pampas and northeast; irrigated soil degradation; desertification; air and water pollution in Buenos Aires
#Note: second-largest country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between South Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage)
*People #Population: 32,663,983 (July 1991), growth rate 1.1% (1991)
#Birth rate: 20 births/1,000 population (1991)
#Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
#Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)
#Infant mortality rate: 31 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
#Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 74 years female (1991)
#Total fertility rate: 2.7 children born/woman (1991)
#Nationality: noun—Argentine(s); adjective—Argentine
#Ethnic divisions: white 85%; mestizo, Indian, or other nonwhite groups 15%
#Religion: nominally Roman Catholic 90% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 6%
#Language: Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
#Literacy: 95% (male 96%, female 95%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
#Labor force: 10,900,000; agriculture 12%, industry 31%, services 57% (1985 est.)
#Organized labor: 3,000,000; 28% of labor force
*Government #Long-form name: Argentine Republic
#Type: republic
#Capital: Buenos Aires (tentative plans to move to Viedma by 1990 indefinitely postponed)
#Administrative divisions: 22 provinces (provincias, singular—provincia), 1 national territory* (territorio nacional), and 1 district** (distrito); Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Cordoba, Corrientes, Distrito Federal**, Entre Rios, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, Tierra del Fuego, Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur*, Tucuman; note—the national territory is in the process of becoming a province; the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica
#Independence: 9 July 1816 (from Spain)
#Constitution: 1 May 1853
#Legal system: mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
#National holiday: Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
#Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
#Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
#Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
#Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government—President Carlos Saul MENEM (since 8 July 1989); Vice President Eduardo DUHALDE (since 8 July 1989)
#Political parties and leaders: Justicialist Party (JP), Carlos Saul MENEM, Peronist umbrella political organization; Radical Civic Union (UCR), Raul ALFONSIN, moderately left of center; Union of the Democratic Center (UCD), Alvaro ALSOGARAY, conservative party; Intransigent Party (PI), Dr. Oscar ALENDE, leftist party; several provincial parties
#Suffrage: universal at age 18
#Elections:
President—last held 14 May 1989 (next to be held May 1995); results—Carlos Saul MENEM was elected;
Chamber of Deputies—last held 14 May 1989 (next to be held October 1991); results—JP 47%, UCR 30%, UCD 7%, other 16%; seats—(254 total); JP 122, UCR 93, UCD 11, other 28
#Communists: some 70,000 members in various party organizations, including a small nucleus of activists
#Other political or pressure groups: Peronist-dominated labor movement, General Confederation of Labor (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization), Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association), Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association), business organizations, students, the Roman Catholic Church, the Armed Forces
#Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-6, G-11, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM, OAS, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
#Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ortiz de ROZAS; Chancery at 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 939-6400 through 6403; there are Argentine Consulates General in Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Consulates in Baltimore, Chicago, and Los Angeles;
US—Ambassador Terence A. TODMAN; Embassy at 4300 Colombia, 1425 Buenos Aires (mailing address is APO Miami 34034); telephone [54] (1) 774-7611 or 8811, 9911
#Flag: three equal horizontal bands of light blue (top), white, and light blue; centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with a human face known as the Sun of May
*Economy #Overview: Argentina is rich in natural resources and has a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. Nevertheless, following decades of mismanagement and statist policies, the economy has encountered major problems in recent years, leading to escalating inflation and a recession in 1988-90. A widening public-sector deficit and a multidigit inflation rate have dominated the economy over the past three years; retail prices rose nearly 5,000% in 1989 and another 1,345% in 1990. Since 1978, Argentina's external debt has nearly doubled to $60 billion, creating severe debt-servicing difficulties and hurting the country's creditworthiness with international lenders.
#GNP: $82.7 billion, per capita $2,560; real growth rate - 3.5% (1990 est.)
#Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1,350% (1990)
#Unemployment rate: 8.6% (May 1990)
#Budget: revenues $12.2 billion; expenditures $17.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.8 billion (1989)
#Exports: $12.4 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities—meat, wheat, corn, oilseed, hides, wool;
partners—US 12%, USSR, Italy, Brazil, Japan, Netherlands
#Imports: $4.1 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities—machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, fuels and lubricants, agricultural products;
partners—US 22%, Brazil, FRG, Bolivia, Japan, Italy, Netherlands
#External debt: $60 billion (December 1990)
#Industrial production: growth rate 5% (1991 est.); accounts for 30% of GDP
#Electricity: 16,749,000 kW capacity; 45,580 million kWh produced, 1,410 kWh per capita (1990)
#Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
#Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GNP (including fishing); produces abundant food for both domestic consumption and exports; among world's top five exporters of grain and beef; principal crops—wheat, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sugar beets; 1987 fish catch estimated at 500,000 tons
#Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.0 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $4.0 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $718 million
#Currency: austral (plural—australes); 1 austral (2) = 100 centavos
#Exchange rates: australes (2) per US$1—9,900 (April 1991), 4,707 (1990), 423 (1989), 8.7526 (1988), 2.1443 (1987), 0.9430 (1986), 0.6018 (1985)
#Fiscal year: calendar year
*Communications #Railroads: 34,172 km total (includes 169 km electrified); includes a mixture of 1.435-meter standard gauge, 1.676-meter broad gauge, 1.000-meter gauge, and 0.750-meter gauge
#Highways: 208,350 km total; 47,550 km paved, 39,500 km gravel, 101,000 km improved earth, 20,300 km unimproved earth
#Inland waterways: 11,000 km navigable
#Pipelines: 4,090 km crude oil; 2,900 km refined products; 9,918 km natural gas
#Ports: Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Necochea, Rio Gallegos, Rosario, Santa Fe
#Merchant marine: 129 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,663,884 GRT/2,689,645 DWT; includes 42 cargo, 7 refrigerated cargo, 6 container, 1 railcar carrier, 47 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 4 chemical tanker, 4 liquefied gas, 18 bulk; additionally, 2 naval tankers and 1 military transport are sometimes used commercially
#Civil air: 54 major transport aircraft
#Airports: 1,763 total, 1,575 usable; 135 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 31 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 336 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
#Telecommunications: extensive modern system; 2,650,000 telephones (12,000 public telephones); radio relay widely used; stations—171 AM, no FM, 231 TV, 13 shortwave; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; domestic satellite network has 40 stations
*Defense Forces #Branches: Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic, Argentine Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Argentine Naval Prefecture (Coast Guard only), National Aeronautical Police Force
#Manpower availability: males 15-49, 7,992,140; 6,478,730 fit for military service; 285,047 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: $700 million, 1% of GNP (1990) % @Aruba (part of the Dutch realm) *Geography Total area: 193 km2; land area: 193 km2
#Comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
#Land boundaries: none
#Coastline: 68.5 km
#Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
#Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation
#Terrain: flat with a few hills; scant vegetation
#Natural resources: negligible; white sandy beaches
#Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 100%
#Environment: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt
#Note: 28 km north of Venezuela
*People #Population: 64,052 (July 1991), growth rate 0.6% (1991)
#Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991)
#Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
#Net migration rate: - 4 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
#Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
#Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 80 years female (1991)
#Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)
#Nationality: noun—Aruban(s); adjective—Aruban
#Ethnic divisions: mixed European/Caribbean Indian 80%
#Religion: Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, also small Hindu, Muslim, Confucian, and Jewish minority
#Language: Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish
#Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
#Labor force: NA, but most employment is in the tourist industry (1986)
#Organized labor: Aruban Workers' Federation (FTA)
*Government #Long-form name: none
#Type: part of the Dutch realm—full autonomy in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles
#Capital: Oranjestad
#Administrative divisions: none (self-governing part of the Netherlands)
#Independence: none (part of the Dutch realm); note—in 1990 Aruba requested and received from the Netherlands cancellation of the agreement to automatically give independence to the island in 1996
#Constitution: 1 January 1986
#Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence
#National holiday: Flag Day, 18 March
#Executive branch: Dutch monarch, governor, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
#Legislative branch: unicameral legislature (Staten)
#Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice
#Leaders:
Chief of State—Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Felipe B. TROMP (since 1 January 1986);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Nelson ODUBER (since NA February 1989)
#Political parties and leaders: Electoral Movement Party (MEP), Nelson ODUBER; Aruban People's Party (AVP), Henny EMAN; National Democratic Action (ADN), Pedro Charro KELLY; New Patriotic Party (PPN), Eddy WERLEMEN; Aruban Patriotic Party (PPA), Leo CHANCE; Aruban Democratic Party (PDA), Leo BERLINSKI; Democratic Action '86 (AD'86), Arturo ODUBER; governing coalition includes the MEP, PPA, and ADN
#Suffrage: universal at age 18
#Elections:
Legislature—last held 6 January 1989 (next to be held by January 1993); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(21 total) MEP 10, AVP 8, ADN 1, PPN 1, PPA 1
#Member of: ECLAC (associate), INTERPOL, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WTO (associate)
#Diplomatic representation: none (self-governing part of the Netherlands)
#Flag: blue with two narrow horizontal yellow stripes across the lower portion and a red, four-pointed star outlined in white in the upper hoist-side corner
*Economy #Overview: Tourism is the mainstay of the economy, although offshore banking and oil refining and storage are also important. Hotel capacity expanded rapidly between 1985 and 1989 and nearly doubled in 1990 alone. Unemployment has steadily declined from about 20% in 1986 to about 2% in 1990. The reopening of the local oil refinery, once a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings, promises to give the economy an additional boost.
#GDP: $730 million, per capita $11,600; real growth rate 8.8% (1989 est.)
#Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.8% (1990 est.)
#Unemployment rate: 1.6% (1990 est.)
#Budget: revenues $145 million; expenditures $185 million, including capital expenditures of $42 million (1988)
#Exports: $131.6 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities—mostly petroleum products;
partners—US 64%, EC
#Imports: $496 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities—food, consumer goods, manufactures;
partners—US 8%, EC
#External debt: $81 million (1987)
#Industrial production: growth rate NA
#Electricity: 310,000 kW capacity; 945 million kWh produced, 15,000 kWh per capita (1990)
#Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining
#Agriculture: poor quality soils and low rainfall limit agricultural activity to the cultivation of aloes, some livestock, and fishing
#Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-1988), $200 million
#Currency: Aruban florin (plural—florins); 1 Aruban florin (Af.) = 100 cents
#Exchange rates: Aruban florins (Af.) per US$1—1.7900 (fixed rate since 1986)
#Fiscal year: calendar year
*Communications #Ports: Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas
#Airfield: government-owned airport east of Oranjestad
#Telecommunications: generally adequate; extensive interisland radio relay links; 72,168 telephones; stations—4 AM, 4 FM, 1 TV; 1 sea cable to Sint Maarten
*Defense Forces Note: defense is the responsibility of the Netherlands % @Ashmore and Cartier Islands (territory of Australia) *Geography Total area: 5 km2; land area: 5 km2; includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and Cartier Island
#Comparative area: about 8.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
#Land boundaries: none
#Coastline: 74.1 km
#Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploration;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
#Climate: tropical
#Terrain: low with sand and coral
#Natural resources: fish
#Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other—grass and sand 100%
#Environment: surrounded by shoals and reefs; Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established in August 1983
#Note: located in extreme eastern Indian Ocean between Australia and Indonesia 320 km off the northwest coast of Australia
*People #Population: no permanent inhabitants; seasonal caretakers
*Government #Long-form name: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands
#Type: territory of Australia administered by the Australian Ministry for Territories and Local Government
#Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)
#Legal system: relevant laws of the Northern Territory of Australia
#Note: administered by the Australian Minister for Arts, Sports, the Environment, Tourism, and Territories Roslyn KELLY
#Diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)
*Economy #Overview: no economic activity
*Communications #Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
*Defense Forces Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force % @Atlantic Ocean *Geography Total area: 82,217,000 km2; includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
#Comparative area: slightly less than nine times the size of the US; second-largest of the world's four oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than Indian Ocean or Arctic Ocean)
#Coastline: 111,866 km
#Climate: tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of Africa near Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea; hurricanes can occur from May to December, but are most frequent from August to November
#Terrain: surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the north Atlantic, counterclockwise warm water gyre in the south Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin; maximum depth is 8,605 meters in the Puerto Rico Trench
#Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious stones
#Environment: endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea; icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic from February to August and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; icebergs from Antarctica occur in the extreme southern Atlantic
#Note: ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north Atlantic from October to May and extreme south Atlantic from May to October; persistent fog can be a hazard to shipping from May to September; major choke points include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits include the Dover Strait, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; north Atlantic shipping lanes subject to icebergs from February to August; the Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean
*Economy #Overview: Economic activity is limited to exploitation of natural resources, especially fish, dredging aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and crude oil and natural gas production (Caribbean Sea and North Sea).
*Communications #Ports: Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers (Algeria), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Casablanca (Morocco), Colon (Panama), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dakar (Senegal), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Saint Petersburg (formerly Leningrad; USSR), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Montevideo (Uruguay), Montreal (Canada), Naples (Italy), New Orleans (US), New York (US), Oran (Algeria), Oslo (Norway), Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden)
#Telecommunications: numerous submarine cables with most between continental Europe and the UK, North America and the UK, and in the Mediterranean; numerous direct links across Atlantic via INTELSAT satellite network
Note: Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways % @Australia *Geography Total area: 7,686,850 km2; land area: 7,617,930 km2; includes Macquarie Island
#Comparative area: slightly smaller than the US
#Land boundaries: none
#Coastline: 25,760 km
#Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
#Disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica (Australian Antarctic Territory)
#Climate: generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north
#Terrain: mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast
#Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, crude oil
#Land use: arable land 6%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 58%; forest and woodland 14%; other 22%; includes irrigated NEGL%
#Environment: subject to severe droughts and floods; cyclones along coast; limited freshwater availability; irrigated soil degradation; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as the doctor occurs along west coast in summer; desertification
#Note: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country
*People #Population: 17,288,044 (July 1991), growth rate 1.5% (1991)
#Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991)
#Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
#Net migration rate: 7 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
#Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
#Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 80 years female (1991)
#Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)
#Nationality: noun—Australian(s); adjective—Australian
#Ethnic divisions: Caucasian 95%, Asian 4%, Aboriginal and other 1%
#Religion: Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26.0%, other Christian 24.3%
#Language: English, native languages
#Literacy: 100% (male 100%, female 100%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
#Labor force: 7,700,000; finance and services 33.8%, public and community services 22.3%, wholesale and retail trade 20.1%, manufacturing and industry 16.2%, agriculture 6.1% (1987)
#Organized labor: 42% of labor force (1988)
*Government #Long-form name: Commonwealth of Australia
#Type: federal parliamentary state
#Capital: Canberra
#Administrative divisions: 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia
#Dependent areas: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island
#Independence: 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)
#Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901
#Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
#National holiday: Australia Day (last Monday in January), 29 January 1990
#Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
#Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
#Judicial branch: High Court
#Leaders:
Chief of State—Queen ELIZABETH II (since February 1952), represented by Governor General William George HAYDEN (since NA February 1989);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Robert James Lee HAWKE (since 11 March 1983); Deputy Prime Minister Paul KEATING (since 3 April 1990)
#Political parties and leaders:
government—Australian Labor Party, Robert James Lee HAWKE;
opposition—Liberal Party, John HEWSON; National Party, Timothy FISCHER; Australian Democratic Party, Janet POWELL
#Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
#Elections:
Senate—last held 11 July 1987 (next to be held by July 1993); results—Labor 43%, Liberal-National 42%, Australian Democrats 8%, independents 2%; seats—(76 total) Labor 32, Liberal-National 34, Australian Democrats 7, independents 3;
House of Representatives—last held 24 March 1990 (next to be held by November 1993); results—Labor 39.7%, Liberal-National 43%, Australian Democrats and independents 11.1%; seats—(148 total) Labor 78, Liberal-National 69, independent 1
#Communists: 4,000 members (est.)
#Other political or pressure groups: Australian Democratic Labor Party (anti-Communist Labor Party splinter group); Peace and Nuclear Disarmament Action (Nuclear Disarmament Party splinter group)
#Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), ANZUS, APEC, AsDB, BIS, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, G-8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NEA, OECD, PCA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIIMOG, UNTAG, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
#Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Michael J. COOK; Chancery at 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 797-3000; there are Australian Consulates General in Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Pago Pago (American Samoa), and San Francisco;
US—Ambassador Melvin F. SEMBLER; Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 (mailing address is APO San Francisco 96404); telephone [61] (6) 270-5000; there are US Consulates General in Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney, and a Consulate in Brisbane
#Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars
*Economy #Overview: Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GNP comparable to levels in industrialized West European countries. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Of the top 25 exports, 21 are primary products, so that, as happened during 1983-84, a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the economy. The government is pushing for increased exports of manufactured goods but competition in international markets will be severe.
#GDP: $255.9 billion, per capita $15,000; real growth rate 2.2% (1990)
#Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.9% (December 1990)
#Unemployment rate: 9.2% (March 1991)
#Budget: revenues $74.2 billion; expenditures $67.9 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (FY90)
#Exports: $39.8 billion (f.o.b., FY90);
commodities—metals, minerals, coal, wool, cereals, meat, manufacturers;
partners—Japan 26%, US 11%, NZ 6%, South Korea 4%, Singapore 4%, UK, Taiwan, Hong Kong
#Imports: $42.0 billion (f.o.b., FY90);
commodities—manufactured raw materials, capital equipment, consumer goods;
partners—US 24%, Japan 19%, UK 6%, FRG 7%, NZ 4% (1990)
#External debt: $123.7 billion (September 1990)
#Industrial production: growth rate - 1.8% (1990); accounts for 32% of GDP
#Electricity: 38,000,000 kW capacity; 150,000 million kWh produced, 8,860 kWh per capita (1990)
#Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel, motor vehicles
#Agriculture: accounts for 5% of GNP and 37% of export revenues; world's largest exporter of beef and wool, second-largest for mutton, and among top wheat exporters; major crops—wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruit; livestock—cattle, sheep, poultry
#Economic aid: donor—ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $10.4 billion
#Currency: Australian dollar (plural—dollars); 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents
#Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1—1.2834 (January 1991), 1.2799 (1990), 1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905 (1986), 1.4269 (1985)
#Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
*Communications #Railroads: 40,478 km total; 7,970 km 1.600-meter gauge, 16,201 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 16,307 km 1.067-meter gauge; 183 km dual gauge; 1,130 km electrified; government owned (except for a few hundred kilometers of privately owned track) (1985)
#Highways: 837,872 km total; 243,750 km paved, 228,396 km gravel, crushed stone, or stabilized soil surface, 365,726 km unimproved earth
#Inland waterways: 8,368 km; mainly by small, shallow-draft craft
#Pipelines: crude oil, 2,500 km; refined products, 500 km; natural gas, 5,600 km
#Ports: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport, Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart, Launceston, Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville
#Merchant marine: 77 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,249,926 GRT/3,391,323 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 6 cargo, 6 container, 10 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 vehicle carrier, 16 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 4 liquefied gas, 1 combination ore/oil, 30 bulk
#Civil air: around 150 major transport aircraft
#Airports: 747 total, 524 usable; 270 with permanent-surface runways, 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 17 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 401 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
#Telecommunications: good international and domestic service; 8.7 million telephones; stations—258 AM, 67 FM, 134 TV; submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; domestic satellite service; satellite stations—4 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 6 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
*Defense Forces #Branches: Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force
#Manpower availability: males 15-49, 4,689,559; 4,090,921 fit for military service; 135,435 reach military age (17) annually
Defense expenditures: $6.6 billion, 2.2% of GDP (FY90) % @Austria *Geography Total area: 83,850 km2; land area: 82,730 km2
#Comparative area: slightly smaller than Maine
#Land boundaries: 2,640 km total; Czechoslovakia 548 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 37 km, Switzerland 164 km, Yugoslavia 311 km
#Coastline: none—landlocked
#Maritime claims: none—landlocked
#Climate: temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with occasional showers
#Terrain: mostly mountains with Alps in west and south; mostly flat, with gentle slopes along eastern and northern margins
#Natural resources: iron ore, crude oil, timber, magnesite, aluminum, lead, coal, lignite, copper, hydropower
#Land use: arable land 17%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 24%; forest and woodland 39%; other 19%; includes irrigated NEGL%
#Environment: because of steep slopes, poor soils, and cold temperatures, population is concentrated on eastern lowlands
#Note: landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube
*People #Population: 7,665,804 (July 1991), growth rate 0.3% (1991)
#Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)
#Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
#Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
#Infant mortality rate: 5 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
#Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1991)
#Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1991)
#Nationality: noun—Austrian(s); adjective—Austrian
#Ethnic divisions: German 99.4%, Croatian 0.3%, Slovene 0.2%, other 0.1%
#Religion: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 6%, other 9%
#Language: German
#Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1974 est.)
#Labor force: 3,470,000 (1989); services 56.4%, industry and crafts 35.4%, agriculture and forestry 8.1%; an estimated 200,000 Austrians are employed in other European countries; foreign laborers in Austria number 177,840, about 6% of labor force (1988)
#Organized labor: 60.1% of work force; the Austrian Trade Union Federation has 1,644,408 members (1989)
*Government #Long-form name: Republic of Austria
#Type: federal republic
#Capital: Vienna
#Administrative divisions: 9 states (bundeslander, singular—bundesland); Burgenland, Karnten, Niederosterreich, Oberosterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien
#Independence: 12 November 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)
#Constitution: 1920, revised 1929 (reinstated 1945)
#Legal system: civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial review of legislative acts by a Constitutional Court; separate administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
#National holiday: National Day, 26 October (1955)
#Executive branch: president, chancellor, vice chancellor, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
#Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) consists of an upper council or Federal Council (Bundesrat) and a lower council or National Council (Nationalrat)
#Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) for civil and criminal cases, Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof) for bureaucratic cases, Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) for constitutional cases
#Leaders:
Chief of State—President Kurt WALDHEIM (since 8 July 1986);
Head of Government—Chancellor Franz VRANITZKY (since 16 June 1986); Vice Chancellor Josef RIEGLER (since 19 May 1989)
#Political parties and leaders: Socialist Party of Austria (SPO), Franz VRANITZKY, chairman; Austrian People's Party (OVP), Josef RIEGLER, chairman; Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), Jorg HAIDER, chairman; Communist Party (KPO), Franz MUHRI, chairman; Green Alternative List (GAL), Andreas WABL, chairman
#Suffrage: universal at age 19; compulsory for presidential elections
#Elections:
President—last held 8 June 1986 (next to be held May 1992); results of Second Ballot—Dr. Kurt WALDHEIM 53.89%, Dr. Kurt STEYRER 46.11%;
National Council—last held 7 October 1990 (next to be held October 1994); results—SP0 43%, OVP 32.1%, FPO 16.6%, GAL 4.5%, KPO 0.7%, other 0.32%; seats—(183 total) SP0 80, OVP 60, FP0 33, GAL 10
#Communists: membership 15,000 est.; activists 7,000-8,000
#Other political or pressure groups: Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Austrian Trade Union Federation (primarily Socialist); three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party (OVP) representing business, labor, and farmers; OVP-oriented League of Austrian Industrialists; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action
#Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-9, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNDOF, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
#Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Friedrich HOESS; Embassy at 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 483-4474; there are Austrian Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York;
US—Ambassador Roy Michael HUFFINGTON; Embassy at Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1091, Vienna (mailing address is APO New York 09108-0001); telephone [43] (222) 31-55-11; there is a US Consulate General in Salzburg
#Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red
*Economy #Overview: Austria boasts a prosperous and stable capitalist economy with a sizable proportion of nationalized industry and extensive welfare benefits. Thanks to an excellent raw material endowment, a technically skilled labor force, and strong links to West German industrial firms, Austria has successfully occupied specialized niches in European industry and services (tourism, banking) and produces almost enough food to feed itself with only 8% of the labor force in agriculture. Improved export prospects from German unification and the opening of Eastern Europe will also boost the economy during the next few years. Living standards are roughly comparable with the large industrial countries of Western Europe. Problems for the l990s include an aging population, the high level of subsidies, and the struggle to keep welfare benefits within budget capabilities. Austria, which has applied for EC membership, is currently involved in EC and European Free Trade Association negotiations for a European Economic Area and will have to adapt its economy to achieve freer movement of goods, services, capital, and labor with the EC.
#GDP: $111.0 billion, per capita $14,500; real growth rate 4.5% (1990)
#Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.3% (1990)
#Unemployment: 5.4% (1990)
#Budget: revenues $44.1 billion; expenditures $49.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)
#Exports: $40.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities—machinery and equipment, iron and steel, lumber, textiles, paper products, chemicals;
partners—EC 64.8%, EFTA 10.3%, CEMA 7.7%, US 3.2%, Japan 1.5%
#Imports: $46.6 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities—petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, vehicles, chemicals, textiles and clothing, pharmaceuticals;
partners—EC 68.4%, EFTA 7%, CEMA 5.7%, Japan 4.6%, US 3.6%
#External debt: $11.8 billion (1990 est.)
#Industrial production: real growth rate 8.5% (1990); accounts for 34% of GDP
#Electricity: 17,562,000 kW capacity; 49,290 million kWh produced, 6,500 kWh per capita (1989)
#Industries: foods, iron and steel, machines, textiles, chemicals, electrical, paper and pulp, tourism, mining
#Agriculture: accounts for 3.2% of GDP (including forestry); principal crops and animals—grains, fruit, potatoes, sugar beets, sawn wood, cattle, pigs poultry; 80-90% self-sufficient in food
#Economic aid: donor—ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $2.4 billion
#Currency: Austrian schilling (plural—schillings); 1 Austrian schilling (S) = 100 groschen
#Exchange rates: Austrian schillings (S) per US$1—10.627 (January 1991), 11.370 (1990), 13.231 (1989), 12.348 (1988), 12.643 (1987), 15.267 (1986), 20.690 (1985)
#Fiscal year: calendar year
*Communications #Railroads: 6,028 km total; 5,388 km government owned and 640 km privately owned (1.435- and 1.000-meter gauge); 5,403 km 1.435-meter standard gauge of which 3,051 km is electrified and 1,520 km is double tracked; 363 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge of which 91 km is electrified
#Highways: 95,412 km total; 34,612 are the primary network (including 1,012 km of autobahn, 10,400 km of federal, and 23,200 km of provincial roads); of this number, 21,812 km are paved and 12,800 km are unpaved; in addition, there are 60,800 km of communal roads (mostly gravel, crushed stone, earth)
#Inland waterways: 446 km
#Ports: Vienna, Linz (river ports)
#Merchant marine: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 150,735 GRT/252,237 DWT; includes 26 cargo, 1 container, 1 chemical tanker, 4 bulk
#Pipelines: 554 km crude oil; 2,611 km natural gas; 171 km refined products
#Civil air: 25 major transport aircraft
#Airports: 55 total, 54 usable; 20 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
#Telecommunications: highly developed and efficient; 4,014,000 telephones; extensive TV and radiobroadcast systems; stations—6 AM, 21 (545 repeaters) FM, 47 (870 repeaters) TV; satellite stations operating in INTELSAT 1 Atlantic Ocean earth station and 1 Indian Ocean earth station and EUTELSAT systems
*Defense Forces #Branches: Army, Flying Division, Gendarmerie
#Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,957,414; 1,646,179 fit for military service; 48,038 reach military age (19) annually
Defense expenditures: $1.4 billion, 1% of GDP (1990) % @The Bahamas *Geography Total area: 13,940 km2; land area: 10,070 km2
#Comparative area: slightly larger than Connecticut
#Land boundaries: none
#Coastline: 3,542 km
#Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
#Climate: tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
#Terrain: long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
#Natural resources: salt, aragonite, timber
#Land use: arable land 1%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures NEGL%; forest and woodland 32%; other 67%
#Environment: subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause extensive flood damage
#Note: strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain
*People #Population: 252,110 (July 1991), growth rate 1.4% (1991)
#Birth rate: 19 births/1,000 population (1991)
#Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
#Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
#Infant mortality rate: 18 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
#Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 76 years female (1991)
#Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (1991)
#Nationality: noun—Bahamian(s); adjective—Bahamian
#Ethnic divisions: black 85%, white 15%
#Religion: Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% (1980)
#Language: English; some Creole among Haitian immigrants
#Literacy: 90% (male 90%, female 89%) age 15 and over but definition of literacy not available (1963 est.)
#Labor force: 132,600; government 30%, hotels and restaurants 25%, business services 10%, agriculture 5% (1986)
#Organized labor: 25% of labor force
*Government #Long-form name: The Commonwealth of The Bahamas
#Type: commonwealth
#Capital: Nassau
#Administrative divisions: 21 districts; Abaco, Acklins Island, Andros Island, Berry Islands, Biminis, Cat Island, Cay Lobos, Crooked Island, Eleuthera, Exuma, Grand Bahama, Harbour Island, Inagua, Long Cay, Long Island, Mayaguana, New Providence, Ragged Island, Rum Cay, San Salvador, Spanish Wells
#Independence: 10 July 1973 (from UK)
#Constitution: 10 July 1973
#Legal system: based on English common law
#National holiday: Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
#Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
#Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Assembly
#Judicial branch: Supreme Court
#Leaders:
Chief of State—Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Acting Governor General Sir Henry TAYLOR (since 26 June 1988);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Sir Lynden Oscar PINDLING (since 16 January 1967)
#Political parties and leaders: Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), Sir Lynden O. PINDLING; Free National Movement (FNM), Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM
#Suffrage: universal at age 18
#Elections:
House of Assembly—last held 19 June 1987 (next to be held by June 1992); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(49 total) PLP 32, FNM 17
#Communists: none known
#Other political or pressure groups: Vanguard Nationalist and Socialist Party (VNSP), a small leftist party headed by Lionel CAREY; Trade Union Congress (TUC), headed by Arlington MILLER
#Member of: ACP, C, CCC, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
#Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Margaret E. McDONALD; Chancery at Suite 865, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037; telephone (202) 944-3390; there are Bahamian Consulates General in Miami and New York;
US—Ambassador Chic HECHT; Embassy at Mosmar Building, Queen Street, Nassau (mailing address is P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau); telephone (809) 322-1181 or 328-2206
#Flag: three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side
*Economy #Overview: The Bahamas is a stable, middle-income developing nation whose economy is based primarily on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone provides about 50% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs about 50,000 people or 40% of the local work force. The economy has slackened in recent years, as the annual increase in the number of tourists slowed. Nonetheless, the per capita GDP of $9,800 is one of the highest in the region.
#GDP: $2.4 billion, per capita $9,800; real growth rate 2.0% (1989 est.)
#Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.1% (1990 est.)
#Unemployment: 11.7% (1989)
#Budget: revenues $1.03 billion; expenditures $1.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $275 million (1990)
#Exports: $300 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities—pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish;
partners—US 41%, Norway 30%, Denmark 4%
#Imports: $1.23 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities—foodstuffs, manufactured goods, mineral fuels;
partners—US 35%, Nigeria 21%, Japan 13%, Angola 11%
#External debt: $1.2 billion (December 1990)
#Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for 15% of GDP
#Electricity: 368,000 kW capacity; 857 million kWh produced, 3,480 kWh per capita (1990)
#Industries: tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt production, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral weld, steel pipe
#Agriculture: accounts for less than 5% of GDP; dominated by small-scale producers; principal products—citrus fruit, vegetables, poultry; large net importer of food
#Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine
#Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY85-88), $1.0 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $345 million
#Currency: Bahamian dollar (plural—dollars); 1 Bahamian dollar (B$) = 100 cents
#Exchange rates: Bahamian dollar (B$) per US$1—1.00 (fixed rate)
#Fiscal year: calendar year
*Communications #Highways: 2,400 km total; 1,350 km paved, 1,050 km gravel
#Ports: Freeport, Nassau
#Merchant marine: 636 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,266,066 GRT/23,585,465 DWT; includes 42 passenger, 16 short-sea passenger, 190 cargo, 41 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 23 container, 5 car carrier, 1 railroad carrier, 141 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 8 liquefied gas, 15 combination ore/oil, 33 chemical tanker, 1 specialized tanker, 112 bulk, 8 combination bulk; note—a flag of convenience registry
#Civil air: 9 major transport aircraft
#Airports: 59 total, 57 usable; 31 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 25 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
#Telecommunications: highly developed; 99,000 telephones in totally automatic system; tropospheric scatter and submarine cable links to Florida; stations—3 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 3 coaxial submarine cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
*Defense Forces #Branches: Royal Bahamas Defense Force (a coast guard element only), Royal Bahamas Police Force
#Manpower availability: males 15-49, 68,020; NA fit for military service
Defense expenditures: $65 million, 2.7% of GDP (1990) % @Bahrain *Geography Total area: 620 km2; land area: 620 km2
#Comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
#Land boundaries: none
#Coastline: 161 km
#Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: not specific;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
#Disputes: territorial dispute with Qatar over the Hawar Islands
#Climate: arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
#Terrain: mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment
#Natural resources: oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish
#Land use: arable land 2%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 6%; forest and woodland 0%; other 90%, includes irrigated NEGL%
#Environment: subsurface water sources being rapidly depleted (requires development of desalination facilities); dust storms; desertification
#Note: close to primary Middle Eastern crude oil sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf through which much of Western world's crude oil must transit to reach open ocean
*People #Population: 536,974 (July 1991), growth rate 3.2% (1991)
#Birth rate: 27 births/1,000 population (1991)
#Death rate: 3 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
#Net migration rate: 7 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
#Infant mortality rate: 17 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
#Life expectancy at birth: 71 years male, 76 years female (1991)
#Total fertility rate: 4.0 children born/woman (1991)
#Nationality: noun—Bahraini(s); adjective—Bahraini
#Ethnic divisions: Bahraini 63%, Asian 13%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8%, other 6%
#Religion: Muslim (Shia 70%, Sunni 30%)
#Language: Arabic (official); English also widely spoken; Farsi, Urdu
#Literacy: 77% (male 82%, female 69%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
#Labor force: 140,000; 42% of labor force is Bahraini; industry and commerce 85%, agriculture 5%, services 5%, government 3% (1982)
#Organized labor: General Committee for Bahrain Workers exists in only eight major designated companies
*Government #Long-form name: State of Bahrain
#Type: traditional monarchy
#Capital: Manama
#Administrative divisions: 12 municipalities (baladiyat, singular—baladiyah); Al Hadd, Al Manamah, Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Mintaqah al Wusta, Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq, Ar Rifa wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs, Madinat Hamad, Madinat Isa, Mintaqat Juzur Hawar, Sitrah
#Independence: 15 August 1971 (from UK)
#Constitution: 26 May 1973, effective 6 December 1973
#Legal system: based on Islamic law and English common law
#National holiday: National Day, 16 December
#Executive branch: amir, crown prince and heir apparent, prime minister, Cabinet
#Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly was dissolved 26 August 1975 and legislative powers were assumed by the Cabinet
#Judicial branch: High Civil Appeals Court
#Leaders:
Chief of State—Amir Isa bin Salman Al KHALIFA (since 2 November 1961); Heir Apparent Hamad bin Isa Al KHALIFA (son of Amir; born 28 January 1950);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al KHALIFA, (since 19 January 1970)
#Political parties and pressure groups: political parties prohibited; several small, clandestine leftist and Shia fundamentalist groups are active
#Suffrage: none
#Elections: none
#Communists: negligible
#Member of: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, IDB, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
#Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ghazi Muhammad AL-QUSAYBI; Chancery at 3502 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 342-0741 or 342-0742; there is a Bahraini Consulate General in New York;
US—Ambassador Dr. Charles W. HOSTLER; Embassy at Building No. 979, Road No. 3119, Block/Area 331, Manama ZINJ (mailing address is P. O. 26431, Manama, or FPO New York 09526-6210); telephone [973] 273-300 or 275-126
#Flag: red with a white serrated band (eight white points) on the hoist side
*Economy #Overview: Petroleum production and processing account for about 85% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 20% of GDP. Economic conditions have fluctuated with the changing fortunes of oil since 1985, including the Gulf crisis of 1990-91. The liberation of Kuwait in early 1991 has improved short- to medium-term prospects and has raised investors' confidence. Bahrain with its highly developed communication and transport facilities is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf.
#GDP: $3.9 billion, per capita $7,500; real growth rate 2.5% (1990 est.)
#Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1989)
#Unemployment: 8-10% (1989)
#Budget: revenues $1.2 billion; expenditures $1.32 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)
#Exports: $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities—petroleum 80%, aluminum 7%, other 13%;
partners—UAE, Japan, US, India
#Imports: $3.0 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities—nonoil 59%, crude oil 41%;
partners—Saudi Arabia, Japan, US, UK
#External debt: $1.1 billion (December 1989 est.)
#Industrial production: growth rate 3.8% (1988); accounts for 44% of GDP
#Electricity: 1,652,000 kW capacity; 6,000 million kWh produced, 12,080 kWh per capita (1989)
#Industries: petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, offshore banking, ship repairing
#Agriculture: including fishing, accounts for less than 2% of GDP; not self-sufficient in food production; heavily subsidized sector produces fruit, vegetables, poultry, dairy products, shrimp, and fish; fish catch 9,000 metric tons in 1987
#Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-79), $24 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $35 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.8 billion
#Currency: Bahraini dinar (plural—dinars); 1 Bahraini dinar (BD) = 1,000 fils
#Exchange rates: Bahraini dinars (BD) per US$1—0.3760 (fixed rate)
#Fiscal year: calendar year
*Communications #Highways: 200 km bituminous surfaced, including 25 km bridge-causeway to Saudi Arabia opened in November 1986; NA km natural surface tracks
#Ports: Mina Salman, Manama, Sitrah
#Merchant marine: 4 cargo and 2 container (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 114,733 GRT/155,065 DWT
#Pipelines: crude oil, 56 km; refined products, 16 km; natural gas, 32 km
#Civil air: 24 major transport aircraft
#Airports: 3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
#Telecommunications: excellent international telecommunications; adequate domestic services; 98,000 telephones; stations—2 AM, 1 FM, 2 TV; satellite earth stations—1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT; tropospheric scatter and microwave to Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar and UAE
*Defense Forces #Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense, Police Force
#Manpower availability: males 15-49, 187,606; 104,285 fit for military service
Defense expenditures: $194 million, 6% of GDP (1990) % @Baker Island (territory of the US) *Geography Total area: 1.4 km2; land area: 1.4 km2
#Comparative area: about 2.3 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
#Land boundaries: none
#Coastline: 4.8 km
#Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth);
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
#Climate: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
#Terrain: low, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef
#Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until 1891)
#Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 100%
#Environment: treeless, sparse and scattered vegetation consisting of grasses, prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; lacks fresh water; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife
#Note: remote location 2,575 km southwest of Honolulu in the North Pacific Ocean, just north of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia
*People #Population: uninhabited
#Note: American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and naval attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during World War II, but abandoned after the war; public entry is by special-use permit only and generally restricted to scientists and educators; a cemetery and cemetery ruins located near the middle of the west coast
*Government #Long-form name: none
#Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system
*Economy #Overview: no economic activity
*Communications #Ports: none; offshore anchorage only, one boat landing area along the middle of the west coast
#Airports: 1 abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m
#Note: there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast
*Defense Forces Note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US Coast Guard % @Bangladesh *Geography Total area: 144,000 km2; land area: 133,910 km2
#Comparative area: slightly smaller than Wisconsin
#Land boundaries: 4,246 km total; Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km
#Coastline: 580 km
#Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 18 nm;
Continental shelf: up to outer limits of continental margin;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
#Disputes: a portion of the boundary with India is in dispute; water sharing problems with upstream riparian India over the Ganges
#Climate: tropical; cool, dry winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); cool, rainy monsoon (June to October)
#Terrain: mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast
#Natural resources: natural gas, uranium, arable land, timber
#Land use: arable land 67%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 4%; forest and woodland 16%; other 11%; includes irrigated 14%
#Environment: vulnerable to droughts; much of country routinely flooded during summer monsoon season; overpopulation; deforestation
#Note: almost completely surrounded by India
*People #Population: 116,601,424 (July 1991), growth rate 2.3% (1991)
#Birth rate: 36 births/1,000 population (1991)
#Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
#Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
#Infant mortality rate: 118 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
#Life expectancy at birth: 54 years male, 52 years female (1991)
#Total fertility rate: 4.7 children born/woman (1991)
#Nationality: noun—Bangladeshi(s); adjective—Bangladesh
#Ethnic divisions: Bengali 98%, Biharis 250,000, and tribals less than 1 million
#Religion: Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, Buddhist, Christian, and other less than 1%
#Language: Bangla (official), English widely used
#Literacy: 35% (male 47%, female 22%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
#Labor force: 35,100,000; agriculture 74%, services 15%, industry and commerce 11% (FY86); extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Oman (1991)
#Organized labor: 3% of labor force belongs to 2,614 registered unions (1986 est.)
*Government #Long-form name: People's Republic of Bangladesh
#Type: republic
#Capital: Dhaka
#Administrative divisions: 64 districts (zillagulo, singular—zilla); Bagerhat, Bandarban, Barguna, Barisal, Bhola, Bogra, Brahmanbaria, Chandpur, Chapai Nawabganj, Chattagram, Chuadanga, Comilla, Cox's Bazar, Dhaka, Dinajpur, Faridpur, Feni, Gaibandha, Gazipur, Gopalganj, Habiganj, Jaipurhat, Jamalpur, Jessore, Jhalakati, Jhenaidah, Khagrachari, Khulna, Kishorganj, Kurigram, Kushtia, Laksmipur, Lalmonirhat, Madaripur, Magura, Manikganj, Meherpur, Moulavibazar, Munshiganj, Mymensingh, Naogaon, Narail, Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Nator, Netrakona, Nilphamari, Noakhali, Pabna, Panchagar, Parbattya Chattagram, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Rajbari, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Satkhira, Shariyatpur, Sherpur, Sirajganj, Sunamganj, Sylhet, Tangail, Thakurgaon
#Independence: 16 December 1971 (from Pakistan; formerly East Pakistan)
#Constitution: 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended NA March 1991
#Legal system: based on English common law
#National holiday: Independence Day, 26 March (1971)
#Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet
#Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament (Jatiya Sangsad)
#Judicial branch: Supreme Court
#Leaders:
Chief of State—President Abdur Rahman BISWAS (since 8 October 1991)
Head of Government—Prime Minister Khaleda ZIAUR Rahman (since 20 March 1991)
#Political parties and leaders: Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Khaleda ZIAUR Rahman; Awami League, Sheikh Hasina WAZED; Jatiyo Party, Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD; Jamaat-E-Islami, Ali KHAN; Bangladesh Communist Party (pro-Soviet), Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK; National Awami Party (Muzaffar); Workers Party, leader NA; Jatiyo Samajtantik Dal (National Socialist Party—SIRAJ), M. A. JALIL; Ganotantri Party, leader NA; Islami Oikya Jote, leader NA; National Democratic Party, leader NA; Muslim League, Khan A. SABUR; Democratic League, Khondakar MUSHTAQUE Ahmed; United People's Party, Kazi ZAFAR Ahmed
#Suffrage: universal at age 18
#Elections:
President—last held 8 October 1991 (next to be held by October 1996); results—Abdur Rahman BISWAS received 52.1% of parliamentary vote
National Parliament—last held 27 February 1991 (next to be held February 1996); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(330 total, 300 elected and 30 seats reserved for women) BNP 168, AL 93, JP 35, JI 20, CBP 5, National Awami Party (Muzaffar) 1, Workers Party 1, SIRAJ 1, Ganotantri Party 1, Islami Oikya Jote 1, NDP 1, independents 3
#Communists: 5,000 members (1987 est.)
#Member of: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WHO, WFTU, WIPO, WCL, WMO, WTO
#Diplomatic representation: Ambassador A. H. S. Ataul KARIM; Chancery at 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington DC 20007; telephone (202) 342-8372 through 8376; there is a Bangladesh Consulate General in New York;
US—Ambassador William B. MILAM; Embassy at Diplomatic Enclave, Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka (mailing address is G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1212); telephone [880] (2) 884700-22
#Flag: green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center; green is the traditional color of Islam
*Economy #Overview: Bangladesh is one of the poorest nations in the world. The economy is based on the output of a narrow range of agricultural products, such as jute, which is the main cash crop and major source of export earnings. Bangladesh is hampered by a relative lack of natural resources, population growth of more than 2% a year, large-scale unemployment, and a limited infrastructure; furthermore, it is highly vulnerable to natural disasters. Despite these constraints, real GDP growth averaged about 3.5% annually during 1985-89. A strong agricultural performance in FY90 pushed the growth rate up to 5.5%. Alleviation of poverty remains the cornerstone of the government's development strategy.
#GDP: $20.4 billion, per capita $180; real growth rate 4.0% (1990 est.)
#Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (FY90 est.)
#Unemployment rate: 30% (FY90 est.)
#Budget: revenues $2.2 billion; expenditures $3.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (FY90)
#Exports: $1.5 billion (FY90 est.);
commodities—jute, tea, leather, shrimp, textiles;
partners—US 25%, Western Europe 22%, Middle East 9%, Japan 8%, Eastern Europe 7%
#Imports: $3.6 billion (FY90 est.);
commodities—food, petroleum and other energy, nonfood consumer goods, semiprocessed goods, and capital equipment;
partners—Western Europe 18%, Japan 14%, Middle East 9%, US 8%
#External debt: $10.9 billion (FY90 est.)
#Industrial production: growth rate 4.1% (FY90 est.); accounts for 15% of GDP
#Electricity: 1,990,000 kW capacity; 5,700 million kWh produced, 50 kWh per capita (1990)
#Industries: jute manufacturing, base metals, food processing, cotton textiles, tobacco processing, chemicals
#Agriculture: accounts for about 40% of GDP, 60% of employment, and one third of exports; imports 10% of food grain requirements; world's largest exporter of jute; commercial products—jute, rice, wheat, tea, sugarcane, potatoes, beef, milk, poultry; shortages include wheat, vegetable oils and cotton; fish catch 778,000 metric tons in 1986
#Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-88), $10.6 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $652 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $1.5 billion
#Currency: taka (plural—taka); 1 taka (Tk) = 100 paise
#Exchange rates: taka (Tk) per US$1—35.790 (January 1991), 34.567 (1990), 32.270 (1989), 31.733 (1988), 30.950 (1987), 30.407 (1986), 27.995 (1985)
#Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
*Communications #Railroads: 2,892 km total (1986); 1,914 km 1.000 meter gauge, 978 km 1.676 meter broad gauge
#Highways: 7,240 km total (1985); 3,840 km paved, 3,400 km unpaved
#Inland waterways: 5,150-8,046 km navigable waterways (includes 2,575-3,058 km main cargo routes)
#Ports: Chittagong, Chalna
#Merchant marine: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 339,081 GRT/500,008 DWT; includes 38 cargo, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 refrigerated cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off, 3 bulk
#Pipelines: 1,220 km natural gas
#Civil air: 15 major transport aircraft
#Airports: 16 total, 12 usable; 12 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 6 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
#Telecommunications: adequate international radio communications and landline service; fair domestic wire and microwave service; fair broadcast service; 241,250 telephones; stations—9 AM, 6 FM, 11 TV; 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT satellite earth stations
*Defense Forces #Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary forces—Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Armed Police Reserve, Coastal Police
#Manpower availability: males 15-49, 28,896,632; 17,154,593 fit for military service
Defense expenditures: $319 million, 1.5% of GDP (FY91) % @Barbados *Geography Total area: 430 km2; land area: 430 km2
#Comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
#Land boundaries: none
#Coastline: 97 km
#Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
#Climate: tropical; rainy season (June to October)
#Terrain: relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region
#Natural resources: crude oil, fishing, natural gas
#Land use: arable land 77%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 9%; forest and woodland 0%; other 14%
#Environment: subject to hurricanes (especially June to October)
#Note: easternmost Caribbean island
*People #Population: 254,626 (July 1991), growth rate 0.1% (1991)
#Birth rate: 16 births/1,000 population (1991)
#Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
#Net migration rate: - 6 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
#Infant mortality rate: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
#Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 76 years female (1991)
#Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)
#Nationality: noun—Barbadian(s); adjective—Barbadian
#Ethnic divisions: African 80%, mixed 16%, European 4%
#Religion: Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%; none 17%, unknown 3%, other 9% (1980)
#Language: English
#Literacy: 99% (male 99%, female 99%) age 15 and over having ever attended school (1970)
#Labor force: 112,300; services and government 37%; commerce 22%; manufacturing and construction 22%; transportation, storage, communications, and financial institutions 9%; agriculture 8%; utilities 2% (1985 est.)
#Organized labor: 32% of labor force
*Government #Long-form name: none
#Type: parliamentary democracy
#Capital: Bridgetown
#Administrative divisions: 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note—there may be a new city of Bridgetown
#Independence: 30 November 1966 (from UK)
#Constitution: 30 November 1966
#Legal system: English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts
#National holiday: Independence Day, 30 November (1966)
#Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
#Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Assembly
#Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature
#Leaders:
Chief of State—Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Hugh SPRINGER (since 24 February 1984);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Lloyd Erskine SANDIFORD (since 2 June 1987)
#Political parties and leaders: Democratic Labor Party (DLP), Erskine SANDIFORD; Barbados Labor Party (BLP), Henry FORDE; National Democratic Party (NDP), Richie HAYNES
#Suffrage: universal at age 18
#Elections:
House of Assembly—last held 22 January 1991 (next to be held by January 1996); results—DLP 49.8%; seats—(28 total) DLP 18, BLP 10
#Communists: negligible
#Other political or pressure groups: Industrial and General Workers Union, Sir Frank WALCOTT; People's Progressive Movement, Eric SEALY; Workers' Party of Barbados, Dr. George BELLE
#Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
#Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Sir William DOUGLAS; Chancery at 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-9200 through 9202; there is a Barbadian Consulate General in New York and a Consulate in Los Angeles;
US—Ambassador G. Philip HUGHES; Embassy at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown (mailing address is P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown or FPO Miami 34054); telephone (809) 436-4950 through 4957
#Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)
*Economy #Overview: A per capita income of $6,500 gives Barbados one of the highest standards of living of all the small island states of the eastern Caribbean. Historically, the economy was based on the cultivation of sugarcane and related activities. In recent years, however, the economy has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. The tourist industry is now a major employer of the labor force and a primary source of foreign exchange. An unemployment rate of 18% remains one of the most serious economic problems facing the country.
#GDP: $1.7 billion, per capita $6,500; real growth rate 3.6% (1989 est.)
#Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.2% (1989)
#Unemployment: 18% (1990)
#Budget: revenues $501 million; expenditures $484 million, including capital expenditures of $113 million (FY91)
#Exports: $165 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities—sugar and molasses, chemicals, electrical components, clothing, rum, machinery and transport equipment;
partners: CARICOM 30%, US 20%, UK 20%
#Imports: $701 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
commodities—foodstuffs, consumer durables, raw materials, machinery, crude oil, construction materials, chemicals;
partners—US 35%, CARICOM 13%, UK 12%, Japan 6%, Canada 8%, Venezuela 4%
#External debt: $550 million (June 1990 est.)
#Industrial production: growth rate - 1.5% (1989); accounts for 14 % of GDP
#Electricity: 132,000 kW capacity; 494 million kWh produced, 1,880 kWh per capita (1990)
#Industries: tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export
#Agriculture: accounts for 10% of GDP; major cash crop is sugarcane; other crops—vegetables and cotton; not self-sufficient in food
#Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $15 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $169 million
#Currency: Barbadian dollars (plural—dollars); 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents
#Exchange rates: Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1—2.0113 (fixed rate)
#Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
*Communications #Highways: 1,570 km total; 1,475 km paved, 95 km gravel and earth
#Ports: Bridgetown
#Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,200 GRT/7,338 DWT
#Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
#Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runways 2,440-3,659 m
#Telecommunications: islandwide automatic telephone system with 89,000 telephones; tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad and Saint Lucia; stations—3 AM, 2 FM, 2 (1 is pay) TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
*Defense Forces #Branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force, Coast Guard, Royal Barbados Police Force
#Manpower availability: males 15-49, 69,038; 48,455 fit for military service, no conscription
Defense expenditures: $10 million, 0.7% of GDP (1989) % @Bassas da India (French possession) *Geography Total area: undetermined
#Comparative area: undetermined
#Land boundaries: none
#Coastline: 35.2 km
#Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
#Disputes: claimed by Madagascar
#Climate: tropical
#Terrain: a volcanic rock 2.4 m high
#Natural resources: none
#Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other (rock) 100%
#Environment: surrounded by reefs; subject to periodic cyclones
#Note: navigational hazard since it is usually under water during high tide; located in southern Mozambique Channel about halfway between Africa and Madagascar
*People #Population: uninhabited
*Government #Long-form name: none
#Type: French possession administered by Commissioner of the Republic Daniel CONSTANTIN, resident in Reunion
*Economy #Overview: no economic activity
*Communications #Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
*Defense Forces Note: defense is the responsibility of France % @Belgium *Geography Total area: 30,510 km2; land area: 30,230 km2
#Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
#Land boundaries: 1,385 km total; France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km
#Coastline: 64 km
#Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: not specific;
Exclusive fishing zone: equidistant line with neighbors (extends about 68 km from coast);
Territorial sea: 12 nm
#Climate: temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy
#Terrain: flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast
#Natural resources: coal, natural gas
#Land use: arable land 24%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 20%; forest and woodland 21%; other 34%, includes irrigated NEGL%
#Environment: air and water pollution
#Note: majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels; crossroads of Western Europe; Brussels is the seat of the EC
*People #Population: 9,921,910 (July 1991), growth rate 0.1% (1991)
#Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)
#Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
#Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
#Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
#Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1991)
#Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1991)
#Nationality: noun—Belgian(s); adjective—Belgian
#Ethnic divisions: Fleming 55%, Walloon 33%, mixed or other 12%
#Religion: Roman Catholic 75%, remainder Protestant or other
#Language: Flemish (Dutch) 56%, French 32%, German 1%; legally bilingual 11%; divided along ethnic lines
#Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
#Labor force: 4,200,000; services 69%, industry 28%, agriculture 3% (1988)
#Organized labor: 70% of labor force
*Government #Long-form name: Kingdom of Belgium
#Type: constitutional monarchy
#Capital: Brussels
#Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (French—provinces, singular—province; Flemish—provincien, singular—provincie); Antwerpen, Brabant, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen, West-Vlaanderen
#Independence: 4 October 1830 (from the Netherlands)
#Constitution: 7 February 1831, last revised 8-9 August 1980; the government is in the process of revising the Constitution, with the aim of federalizing the Belgian state
#Legal system: civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
#National holiday: National Day, 21 July (ascension of King Leopold to the throne in 1831)
#Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, five deputy prime ministers, Cabinet
#Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Flemish—Senaat, French—Senat) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Representatives (Flemish—Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French—Chambre des Representants)
#Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Flemish—Hof van Cassatie, French—Cour de Cassation)
#Leaders:
Chief of State—King BAUDOUIN I (since 17 July 1951); Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT of Liege (brother of the King; born 6 June 1934);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Wilfried MARTENS, (since April 1979, with a 10-month interruption in 1981)
#Political parties and leaders: Flemish Social Christian (CVP), Herman van ROMPUY, president; Walloon Social Christian (PSC), Gerard DEPREZ, president; Flemish Socialist (SP), Frank VANDENBROUCKE, president; Walloon Socialist (PS), Guy SPITAELS, president; Flemish Liberal (PVV), Guy VERHOFSTADT, president; Walloon Liberal (PRL), Antoine DUQUESNE, president; Francophone Democratic Front (FDF), Georges CLERFAYT, president; Volksunie (VU), Jaak GABRIELS, president; Communist Party (PCB), Louis van GEYT, president; Vlaams Blok (VB), Karel DILLEN; other minor parties
#Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
#Elections:
Senate—last held 13 December 1987 (next to be held by January 1992); results—CVP 19.2%, PS 15.7%, SP 14.7%, PVV 11.3%, PRL 9.3%, VU 8.1%, PSC 7.8%, ECOLO-AGALEV 7.7%, VB 2.0%, VDF 1.3%, other 1.96%; seats—(106 total) CVP 22, PS 20, SP 17, PRL 12, PVV 11, PSC 9, VU 8, ECOLO-AGALEV 5, VB 1, FDF 1;
Chamber of Representatives—last held 13 December 1987 (next to be held by January 1992); results—CVP 19.45%, PS 15.66%, SP 14.88%, PVV 11.55%, PRL 9.41%, PSC 8.01%, VU 8.05%, ECOLO-AGALEV 7.05%, VB 1.90%, FDF 1.16%, other 2.88%; seats—(212 total) CVP 43, PS 40, SP 32, PVV 25, PRL 23, PSC 19, VU 16, ECOLO-AGALEV 9, FDF 3, VB 2
#Communists: under 5,000 members (December 1985 est.)
#Other political or pressure groups: Christian and Socialist Trade Unions; Federation of Belgian Industries; numerous other associations representing bankers, manufacturers, middle-class artisans, and the legal and medical professions; various organizations represent the cultural interests of Flanders and Wallonia; various peace groups such as the Flemish Action Committee Against Nuclear Weapons and Pax Christi
#Member of: ACCT, AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-9, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NATO, NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
#Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Juan CASSIERS; Chancery at 3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 333-6900; there are Belgian Consulates General in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York;
US—Ambassador Maynard W. GLITMAN; Embassy at 27 Boulevard du Regent, B-1000 Brussels (mailing address is APO New York 09667-1000); telephone [32] (2) 513-3830; there is a US Consulate General in Antwerp
#Flag: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France
*Economy #Overview: This small private-enterprise economy has capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north, although the government is encouraging reinvestment in the southern region of Walloon. With few natural resources Belgium must import essential raw materials, making its economy closely dependent on the state of world markets. Over 70% of trade is with other EC countries. During the period 1988-90 Belgium's economic performance was marked by buoyant output growth, moderate inflation, and a substantial external surplus. Real GDP grew by an average of 3.9% in 1988-90. However, the economy is likely to slow in 1991-92 to below 3% GDP growth.
#GDP: $144.8 billion, per capita $14,600; real growth rate 3.3% (1990)
#Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1991 est.)
#Unemployment rate: 8.2% est. (1991 est.)
#Budget: revenues $45.0 billion; expenditures $55.3 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1989)
#Exports: $106 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union;
commodities—iron and steel, transportation equipment, tractors, diamonds, petroleum products;
partners—EC 74%, US 5%, Communist countries 2% (1989)
#Imports: $108 billion (c.i.f., 1989) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union;
commodities—fuels, grains, chemicals, foodstuffs;
partners—EC 73%, US 4%, oil-exporting less developed countries 4%, Communist countries 3% (1989)
#External debt: $28.8 billion (1990 est.)
#Industrial production: growth rate 1.3% (1991 est.); accounts for almost 30% of GDP
#Electricity: 17,325,000 kW capacity; 62,780 million kWh produced, 6,350 kWh per capita (1989)
#Industries: engineering and metal products, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum, coal
#Agriculture: accounts for 2% of GDP; emphasis on livestock production—beef, veal, pork, milk; major crops are sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, and tobacco; net importer of farm products
#Economic aid: donor—ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $5.8 billion
#Currency: Belgian franc (plural—francs); 1 Belgian franc (BF) = 100 centimes
#Exchange rates: Belgian francs (BF) per US$1—31.102 (January 1991), 33.418 (1990), 39.404 (1989), 36.768 (1988), 37.334 (1987), 44.672 (1986), 59.378 (1985)
#Fiscal year: calendar year
*Communications #Railroads: Belgian National Railways (SNCB) operates 3,667 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, government owned; 2,563 km double track; 1,978 km electrified; 191 km 1.000-meter gauge, government owned and operated
#Highways: 103,396 km total; 1,317 km limited access, divided autoroute; 11,717 km national highway; 1,362 km provincial road; about 38,000 km paved and 51,000 km unpaved rural roads
#Inland waterways: 2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use)
#Ports: Antwerp, Brugge, Gent, Oostende, Zeebrugge
#Merchant marine: 69 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,785,066 GRT/2,927,618 DWT; includes 12 cargo, 6 roll-on/roll-off, 6 container, 7 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 9 liquefied gas, 3 combination ore/oil, 9 chemical tanker, 11 bulk, 6 combination bulk |
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