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Geography East Timor
Location: Southeastern Asia, northwest of Australia in the Lesser Sunda Islands at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago; note - East Timor includes the eastern half of the island of Timor, the Oecussi (Ambeno) region on the northwest portion of the island of Timor, and the islands of Pulau Atauro and Pulau Jaco
Geographic coordinates: 8 50 S, 125 55 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total: 15,007 sq km land: NA sq km water: NA sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Connecticut
Land boundaries: total: 228 km border countries: Indonesia 228 km
Coastline: 706 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: NA nm extended fishing zone: NA nm exclusive economic zone: NA nm continental shelf: NA nm exclusive fishing zone: NA nm
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; distinct rainy and dry seasons
Terrain: mountainous
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Timor Sea, Savu Sea, and Banda Sea 0 m highest point: Foho Tatamailau 2,963 m
Natural resources: gold, petroleum, natural gas, manganese, marble
Land use: arable land: 4.71% other: 94.62% (2001) permanent crops: 0.67%
Irrigated land: 1,065 sq km (est.)
Natural hazards: floods and landslides are common; earthquakes, tsunamis, tropical cyclones
Environment - current issues: widespread use of slash and burn agriculture has led to deforestation and soil erosion
Environment - international agreements: NA
Geography - note: Timor comes from the Malay word for "East;" the island of Timor is part of the Malay Archipelago and is the largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands
People East Timor
Population: 1,019,252 note: other estimates range as low as 800,000 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 37.8% (male 196,007; female 189,584) 15-64 years: 59.2% (male 308,254; female 295,584) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 14,663; female 15,160) (2004 est.)
Median age: total: 20 years male: 20.1 years female: 19.9 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.11% (2004 est.)
Birth rate: 27.46 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate: 6.36 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 48.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 42.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 55.34 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 65.56 years male: 63.31 years female: 67.92 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Timorese adjective: Timorese
Ethnic groups: Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian), Papuan, small Chinese minority
Religions: Roman Catholic 90%, Muslim 4%, Protestant 3%, Hindu 0.5%, Buddhist, Animist (1992 est.)
Languages: Tetum (official), Portuguese (official), Indonesian, English note: there are about 16 indigenous languages; Tetum, Galole, Mambae, and Kemak are spoken by significant numbers of people
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 58.6% (2002)
Government East Timor
Country name: conventional long form: Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste conventional short form: East Timor local short form: Timor Lorosa'e [Tetum]; Timor-Leste [Portuguese] former: Portuguese Timor local long form: Republika Demokratika Timor Lorosa'e [Tetum]; Republica Democratica de Timor-Leste [Portuguese]
Government type: Republic
Capital: Dili
Administrative divisions: 13 administrative districts; Aileu, Ainaro, Baucau, Bobonaro (Maliana), Cova-Lima (Suai), Dili, Ermera, Lautem (Los Palos), Liquica, Manatuto, Manufahi (Same), Oecussi (Ambeno), Viqueque
Independence: 28 November 1975 (date of proclamation of independence from Portugal); note - 20 May 2002 is the official date of international recognition of East Timor's independence from Indonesia
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 November (1975)
Constitution: 22 March 2002 (based on the Portuguese model)
Legal system: UN-drafted legal system based on Indonesian law remains in place but will be replaced by civil and penal codes based on Portuguese law (2004)
Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Kay Rala Xanana GUSMAO (since 20 May 2002); note - the president plays a largely symbolic role but is able to veto some legislation; he formerly used the name Jose Alexandre GUSMAO head of government: Prime Minister Mari Bin Amude ALKATIRI (since 20 May 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 April 2002 (next to be held NA April 2007); after the first legislative elections, the leader of the majority party was appointed prime minister by the president, suggesting a precedent for the future election results: Kay Rala Xanana GUSMAO elected president; percent of vote - Kay Rala Xanana GUSMAO 82.7%, Francisco Xavier do AMARAL 17.3%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament (number of seats can vary, minimum requirement of 52 and a maximum of 65 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - for its first term of office, the National Parliament is comprised of 88 members on an exceptional basis elections: (next to be held August 2006); direct elections for national parliament were never held; elected delegates to the national convention named themselves legislators instead of having elections; hence the exceptional numbers for this term of the national parliament. election results: percent of vote by party - FRETILIN 57.37%, PD 8.72%, PSD 8.18%, ASDT 7.84%, UDT 2.36%, PNT 2.21%, KOTA 2.13%, PPT 2.01%, PDC 1.98%, PST 1.78%, independents/other 5.42%; seats by party - FRETILIN 55, PD 7, PSD 6, ASDT 6, PDC 2, UDT 2, KOTA 2, PNT 2, PPT 2, UDC/PDC 1, PST 1, PL 1, independent 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice - constitution calls for one judge to be appointed by National Parliament and rest appointed by Superior Council for Judiciary; note - until Supreme Court is established, Court of Appeals is highest court
Political parties and leaders: Associacao Social-Democrata Timorense or ASDT [Francisco Xavier do AMARAL]; Christian Democratic Party of Timor or PDC [Antonio XIMENES]; Christian Democratic Union of Timor or UDC [Vicente da Silva GUTERRES]; Democratic Party or PD [Fernando de ARAUJO]; Liberal Party or PL [leader NA]; Maubere Democratic Party or PDM [leader NA]; People's Party of Timor or PPT [Jacob XAVIER]; Revolutionary Front of Independent East Timor or FRETILIN [Lu OLO]; Social Democrat Party of East Timor or PSD [Mario CARRASCALAO]; Socialist Party of Timor or PST [leader Avelino COELHO]; Sons of the Mountain Warriors (also known as Association of Timorese Heroes) or KOTA [Clementino dos Reis AMARAL]; Timor Democratic Union or UDT [Joao CARRASCALAO]; Timor Labor Party or PTT [Paulo Freitas DA SILVA]; Timorese Nationalist Party or PNT [Abilio ARAUJO]; Timorese Popular Democratic Association or APODETI [Frederico Almeida-Santos DA COSTA]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Popular Council for the Defense of the Democratic Republic of East Timor or CPD-RDTL [leader Antonio-Aitahan MATAK] is largest political pressure group; it rejects current government and claims to be rightful government; Kolimau 2000 [leader Dr. Bruno MAGALHAES] is another opposition group; dissatisfied veterans of struggle against Indonesia, led by one-time government advisor Cornelio GAMA (also known as L-7), also play an important role in pressuring government
International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICCt, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, MIGA, OPCW, PIF (observer), UN, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jose Luis GUTERRES consulate(s) general: New York (the ambassador resides in New York) (2004) FAX: 202 965-1517 telephone: 202 965-1515 chancery: 3415 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC 20007
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Grover Joseph REES embassy: Avenida de Portugal, Praia dos Conqueiros, Dili mailing address: Department of State, 8250 Dili Place, Washington, DC 20521-8250 telephone: (670) 332-4684 FAX: (670) 331-3206
Flag description: red, with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) superimposed on a slightly longer yellow arrowhead that extends to the center of the flag; there is a white star in the center of the black triangle
Economy East Timor
Economy - overview: In late 1999, about 70% of the economic infrastructure of East Timor was laid waste by Indonesian troops and anti-independence militias, and 260,000 people fled westward. Over the next three years, however, a massive international program, manned by 5,000 peacekeepers (8,000 at peak) and 1,300 police officers, led to substantial reconstruction in both urban and rural areas. By mid-2002, all but about 50,000 of the refugees had returned. Growth was held back in 2003 by extensive drought and the gradual winding down of the international presence. The country faces great challenges in continuing the rebuilding of infrastructure, strengthening the infant civil administration, and generating jobs for young people entering the workforce. One promising long-term project is the planned development of oil and gas resources in nearby waters, but the government faces a substantial financing gap over the next several years before these revenues start flowing into state coffers.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $440 million (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -3% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $500 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 25.4% industry: 17.2% services: 57.4% (2001)
Population below poverty line: 42% (2003 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 38 (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8% NA (2003 est.)
Labor force: NA
Labor force - by occupation: NA
Unemployment rate: 50% (including underemployment) (1992 est.)
Budget: revenues: $36 million expenditures: $97 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products: coffee, rice, maize, cassava, sweet potatoes, soybeans, cabbage, mangoes, bananas, vanilla
Industries: printing, soap manufacturing, handicrafts, woven cloth
Industrial production growth rate: 8.5%
Electricity - production: NA kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption: NA kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2001)
Exports: $8 million (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: coffee, sandalwood, marble; note - the potential for oil and vanilla exports
Exports - partners: NA
Imports: $237 million (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: mainly food (2001)
Imports - partners: NA
Debt - external: NA
Economic aid - recipient: $2.2 billion (1999-2002 est.)
Currency: US dollar (USD)
Currency code: USD
Exchange rates: the US dollar is the legal tender
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
Communications East Timor
Telephones - main lines in use: NA
Telephones - mobile cellular: NA
Telephone system: NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: NA
Televisions: NA
Internet country code: .tp
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): NA
Internet users: NA
Transportation East Timor
Highways: total: 3,800 km paved: 428 km unpaved: 3,372 km (1995)
Ports and harbors: NA
Merchant marine: none
Airports: 8 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Heliports: 1 (2003 est.)
Military East Timor
Military branches: East Timor Defense Force (Forcas de Defesa de Timor-L'este, FDTL): Army, Navy
Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)
Military manpower - availability: NA (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: NA (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: NA (2004 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $4.4 million (FY03)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA
Transnational Issues East Timor
Disputes - international: East Timor-Indonesia Boundary Committee continues to meet, survey, and delimit the land boundary, but several sections of the boundary especially around the Oekussi enclave remain unresolved; Indonesia and East Timor contest the sovereignty of the uninhabited coral island of Palau Batek/Fatu Sinai, which may delay decision on the northern maritime boundaries; numbers of East Timor refugees in Indonesia refuse repatriation; East Timor and Australia continue to disagree over the delimitation of a permanent maritime boundary and over the sharing of petroleum resources that fall outside the Joint Petroleum Development Area covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty
Illicit drugs: NA
This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005
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@Ecuador
Introduction Ecuador
Background: The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. Although Ecuador marked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by political instability. Nine presidents have governed Ecuador since 1996.
Geography Ecuador
Location: Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
Geographic coordinates: 2 00 S, 77 30 W
Map references: South America
Area: total: 283,560 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands water: 6,720 sq km land: 276,840 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Nevada
Land boundaries: total: 2,010 km border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km
Coastline: 2,237 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 200 nm continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 meter isobath
Climate: tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands
Terrain: coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 5.85% permanent crops: 4.93% other: 89.22% (2001)
Irrigated land: 8,650 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands
Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world
People Ecuador
Population: 13,212,742 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 33.9% (male 2,285,775; female 2,199,356) 15-64 years: 61.2% (male 4,020,873; female 4,062,672) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 302,129; female 341,937) (2004 est.)
Median age: total: 23 years male: 22.5 years female: 23.5 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.03% (2004 est.)
Birth rate: 23.18 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate: 4.26 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate: -8.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 24.49 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 29.34 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.01 years male: 73.15 years female: 79 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.78 children born/woman (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 21,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,700 (2003 est.)
Nationality: noun: Ecuadorian(s) adjective: Ecuadorian
Ethnic groups: mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%
Languages: Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.5% male: 94% female: 91% (2003 est.)
Government Ecuador
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador conventional short form: Ecuador local short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador
Government type: republic
Capital: Quito
Administrative divisions: 22 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe
Independence: 24 May 1822 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809)
Constitution: 10 August 1998
Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters
Executive branch: chief of state: President Lucio GUTIERREZ (since 15 January 2003); Vice President Alfredo PALACIO (since 15 January 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government elections: the president and vice president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a four-year term (no immediate reelection); election last held 20 October 2002; runoff election held 24 November 2002 (next to be held NA October 2006) head of government: President Lucio GUTIERREZ (since 15 January 2003); Vice President Alfredo PALACIO (since 15 January 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president election results: results of the 24 November 2002 runoff election - Lucio GUTIERREZ elected president; percent of vote - Lucio GUTIERREZ 54.3%; Alvaro NOBOA 45.7%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (100 seats; members are popularly elected by province to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 20 October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSC 25, PRE 15, ID 16, PRIAN 10, PSP 9, Pachakutik Movement 6, MPD 5, DP 4, PS-FA 3, independents 7; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema; note - per the Constitution, new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court; In December 2004, however, Congress successfully replaced the entire court via a simple-majority resolution
Political parties and leaders: Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP [Averroes BUCARAM]; Democratic Left or ID [Guillermo LANDAZURI]; National Action Institutional Renewal Party or PRIAN [Alvaro NOBOA]; Pachakutik Movement [Gilberto TALAHUA]; Patriotic Society Party or PSP [Lucio GUTIERREZ Borbua]; Popular Democracy or DP [Dr. Juan Manuel FUERTES]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [Gustavo TERAN Acosta]; Radical Alfarista Front or FRA [Fabian ALARCON, director]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Leon FEBRES CORDERO]; Socialist Party - Broad Front or PS-FA [Victor GRANDA]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Luis MACAS, president]; Coordinator of Social Movements or CMS [F. Napoleon SANTOS]; Federation of Indigenous Evangelists of Ecuador or FEINE [Marco MURILLO, president]; National Federation of Indigenous Afro-Ecuatorianos and Peasants or FENOCIN [Pedro DE LA CRUZ, president]; Popular Front or FP [Luis VILLACIS]
International organization participation: CAN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant) consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and San Francisco FAX: [1] (202) 667-3482 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200 chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Kristie Anne KENNEY embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito mailing address: APO AA 34039 telephone: [593] (2) 256-2890 FAX: [593] (2) 250-2052 consulate(s) general: Guayaquil
Flag description: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia, which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms
Economy Ecuador
Economy - overview: Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which have accounted for 40% of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of public sector revenues in recent years. Consequently, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. In the late 1990s, Ecuador suffered its worst economic crisis, with natural disasters and sharp declines in world petroleum prices driving Ecuador's economy into free fall in 1999. Real GDP contracted by more than 6%, with poverty worsening significantly. The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. The currency depreciated by some 70% in 1999, and, on the brink of hyperinflation, the MAHAUD government announced it would dollarize the economy. A coup, however, ousted MAHAUD from office in January 2000, and after a short-lived junta failed to garner military support, Vice President Gustavo NOBOA took over the presidency. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years that followed. Under the administration of Lucio GUTIERREZ, who took office in January 2003, Ecuador benefited from higher world petroleum prices, but the government has made little progress on fiscal reforms and reforms of state-owned enterprises necessary to reduce Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum price swings and financial crises.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $45.65 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.5% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,300 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 8.7% industry: 29.7% services: 61.6% (2003 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 21.7% of GDP (2003)
Population below poverty line: 65% (2003 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.2% highest 10%: 33.8% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 43.7 (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.9% (2003 est.)
Labor force: 4.36 million (urban) (2003)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate: 9.8%; note - underemployment of 47% (2003 est.)
Budget: revenues: $6.908 billion expenditures: planned $6.594 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (2003)
Public debt: 53.7% of GDP (2003)
Agriculture - products: bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp
Industries: petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals
Industrial production growth rate: 5.3% (2003 est.)
Electricity - production: 75.23 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption: 69.96 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production: 421,200 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 129,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA (2001)
Oil - imports: NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves: 2.358 billion bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production: 160 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 160 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 106.5 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance: $-117 million (2003)
Exports: $6.073 billion (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities: petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp
Exports - partners: US 42.4%, Colombia 5.7%, Germany 5.6% (2003)
Imports: $6.22 billion (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities: consumer goods, industrial raw materials, capital goods
Imports - partners: US 23.9%, Colombia 12.8%, Venezuela 7.1%, Brazil 6.1%, Chile 4.8%, Japan 4.2% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $1.161 billion (2003)
Debt - external: $15.69 billion (2003)
Economic aid - recipient: $120 million (2001)
Currency: US dollar (USD)
Currency code: USD
Exchange rates: Ecuador formally adopted the US dollar as legal tender in March 2000
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Ecuador
Telephones - main lines in use: 1.549 million (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2,394,400 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment: generally elementary but being expanded domestic: facilities generally inadequate and unreliable international: country code - 593; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001)
Radios: 5 million (2001)
Television broadcast stations: 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2001)
Televisions: 2.5 million (2001)
Internet country code: .ec
Internet hosts: 3,188 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 31 (2001)
Internet users: 569,700 (2003)
Transportation Ecuador
Railways: total: 966 km narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2003)
Highways: total: 43,197 km paved: 8,164 km unpaved: 35,033 km (2000)
Waterways: 1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2003)
Pipelines: extra heavy crude 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,386 km; refined products 1,185 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, San Lorenzo
Merchant marine: total: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 241,403 GRT/391,898 DWT foreign-owned: Greece 1, Paraguay 1, Peru 1 registered in other countries: 3 (2004 est.) by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 1, passenger 5, petroleum tanker 21, specialized tanker 1
Airports: 205 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 62 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 143 914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 113 (2004 est.)
Heliports: 1 (2003 est.)
Military Ecuador
Military branches: Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, National Police
Military manpower - military age and obligation: 20 years of age for conscript military service; 12-month service obligation (2004)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 3,440,371 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 2,315,808 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 132,476 (2004 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $650 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.4% (2003)
Transnational Issues Ecuador
Disputes - international: the continuing civil disorder in Colombia has created a serious refugee crisis in neighboring states, especially Ecuador
Illicit drugs: significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; attractive location for cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime, especially vulnerable along the border with Colombia; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents
This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005
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@Egypt
Introduction Egypt
Background: The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C. and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and who ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation hub, but also fell heavily into debt. Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1914. Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty following World War II. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to ready the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure.
Geography Egypt
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula
Geographic coordinates: 27 00 N, 30 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 1,001,450 sq km land: 995,450 sq km water: 6,000 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico
Land boundaries: total: 2,665 km border countries: Gaza Strip 11 km, Israel 266 km, Libya 1,115 km, Sudan 1,273 km
Coastline: 2,450 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate: desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
Terrain: vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Qattara Depression -133 m highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc
Land use: arable land: 2.87% permanent crops: 0.48% other: 96.65% (2001)
Irrigated land: 33,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms
Environment - current issues: agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands; increasing soil salination below Aswan High Dam; desertification; oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats; other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents; very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Nile which is the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population overstraining the Nile and natural resources
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, a sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea; size, and juxtaposition to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics; dependence on upstream neighbors; dominance of Nile basin issues; prone to influxes of refugees
People Egypt
Population: 76,117,421 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 33.4% (male 13,038,369; female 12,418,254) 15-64 years: 62.2% (male 23,953,949; female 23,419,418) 65 years and over: 4.3% (male 1,407,248; female 1,880,183) (2004 est.)
Median age: total: 23.4 years male: 23 years female: 23.8 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.83% (2004 est.)
Birth rate: 23.84 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate: 5.3 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 33.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 33.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 34.64 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.71 years male: 68.22 years female: 73.31 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.95 children born/woman (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 8,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 700 (2003 est.)
Nationality: noun: Egyptian(s) adjective: Egyptian
Ethnic groups: Eastern Hamitic stock (Egyptians, Bedouins, and Berbers) 99%, Greek, Nubian, Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and French) 1%
Religions: Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94%, Coptic Christian and other 6%
Languages: Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57.7% male: 68.3% female: 46.9% (2003 est.)
Government Egypt
Country name: conventional long form: Arab Republic of Egypt conventional short form: Egypt local short form: Misr former: United Arab Republic (with Syria) local long form: Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah
Government type: republic
Capital: Cairo
Administrative divisions: 26 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Ad Daqahliyah, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum, Al Gharbiyah, Al Iskandariyah, Al Isma'iliyah, Al Jizah, Al Minufiyah, Al Minya, Al Qahirah, Al Qalyubiyah, Al Wadi al Jadid, Ash Sharqiyah, As Suways, Aswan, Asyut, Bani Suwayf, Bur Sa'id, Dumyat, Janub Sina', Kafr ash Shaykh, Matruh, Qina, Shamal Sina', Suhaj
Independence: 28 February 1922 (from UK)
National holiday: Revolution Day, 23 July (1952)
Constitution: 11 September 1971
Legal system: based on English common law, Islamic law, and Napoleonic codes; judicial review by Supreme Court and Council of State (oversees validity of administrative decisions); accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (since 14 October 1981) head of government: Prime Minister Ahmed NAZIF (since 9 July 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president nominated by the People's Assembly for a six-year term, the nomination must then be validated by a national, popular referendum; national referendum last held 26 September 1999 (next to be held NA October 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: national referendum validated President MUBARAK's nomination by the People's Assembly to a fourth term
Legislative branch: bicameral system consists of the People's Assembly or Majlis al-Sha'b (454 seats; 444 elected by popular vote, 10 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms) and the Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura - which functions only in a consultative role (264 seats; 176 elected by popular vote, 88 appointed by the president; members serve six-year terms) elections: People's Assembly - three-phase voting - last held 19 October, 29 October, 8 November 2000 (next to be held NA October-November 2005); Advisory Council - last held May-June 2004 (next to be held May-June 2007) election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Advisory Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA
Judicial branch: Supreme Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders: Nasserist Arab Democratic Party or Nasserists [Dia' al-din DAWUD]; National Democratic Party or NDP [President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK] - governing party; National Progressive Unionist Grouping or Tagammu [Rifaat EL-SAID]; New Wafd Party or NWP [No'man GOMA]; Socialist Liberal Party or Al-Ahrar [Hilmi SALIM]; Tomorrow Party or Al-Ghad [Ayman NOUR] note: formation of political parties must be approved by the government
Political pressure groups and leaders: despite a constitutional ban against religious-based parties, the technically illegal Muslim Brotherhood constitutes MUBARAK's potentially most significant political opposition; MUBARAK tolerated limited political activity by the Brotherhood for his first two terms, but moved more aggressively since then to block its influence; civic society groups are sanctioned, but constrained in practical terms; trade unions and professional associations are officially sanctioned
International organization participation: ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, BSEC (observer), CAEU, EBRD, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador M. Nabil FAHMY chancery: 3521 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco FAX: [1] (202) 244-4319 telephone: [1] (202) 895-5400
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador C. David WELCH embassy: 8 Kamal El Din Salah St., Garden City, Cairo mailing address: Unit 64900, Box 15, APO AE 09839-4900 telephone: [20] (2) 797-3300 FAX: [20] (2) 797-3200
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; the national emblem (a gold Eagle of Saladin facing the hoist side with a shield superimposed on its chest above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band; design is based on the Arab Liberation flag and similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars, Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band, and Yemen, which has a plain white band
Economy Egypt
Economy - overview: Lack of substantial progress on economic reform since the mid 1990s has limited foreign direct investment in Egypt and kept annual GDP growth in the range of 2-3 percent in 2001-03. Egyptian officials in late 2003 and early 2004 proposed new privatization and customs reform measures, but the government is likely to pursue these initiatives cautiously and gradually to avoid a public backlash over potential inflation or layoffs associated with the reforms. Monetary pressures on an overvalued Egyptian pound led the government to float the currency in January 2003, leading to a sharp drop in its value and consequent inflationary pressure. The existence of a black market for hard currency is evidence that the government continues to influence the official exchange rate offered in banks. In September 2003, Egyptian officials increased subsidies on basic foodstuffs, helping to calm a frustrated public but widening an already deep budget deficit. Egypt's balance-of-payments position was not hurt by the war in Iraq in 2003, as tourism and Suez Canal revenues fared well. The development of an export market for natural gas is a bright spot for future growth prospects, but improvement in the capital-intensive hydrocarbons sector does little to reduce Egypt's persistent unemployment.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $295.2 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.1% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 17% industry: 33% services: 50% (2003)
Investment (gross fixed): 16.7% of GDP (2003)
Population below poverty line: 16.7% (2000 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.7% highest 10%: 29.5% (1999)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 34.4 (1999)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.3% (2003 est.)
Labor force: 20.19 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 32%, industry 17%, services 51% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate: 9.9% (2003 est.)
Budget: revenues: $14.69 billion expenditures: $19.03 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.7 billion (2003)
Public debt: 101.8% of GDP (2003)
Agriculture - products: cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats
Industries: textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement, metals
Industrial production growth rate: 1.5% (2003 est.)
Electricity - production: 75.23 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption: 69.96 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production: 816,900 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 562,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA (2001)
Oil - imports: NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves: 3.308 billion bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production: 21.2 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 21.2 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 1.264 trillion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance: $3.874 billion (2003)
Exports: $8.759 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals
Exports - partners: US 13.3%, Italy 12.3%, UK 7.9%, France 4.7%, Germany 4.7%, India 4.2% (2003)
Imports: $14.75 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, wood products, fuels
Imports - partners: US 13.6%, Germany 7.4%, Italy 7%, France 6.6%, China 4.8%, Saudi Arabia 4.3% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $14.22 billion (2003)
Debt - external: $30.34 billion (2003 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $1.2 billion (2001)
Currency: Egyptian pound (EGP)
Currency code: EGP
Exchange rates: Egyptian pounds per US dollar - 5.8509 (2003), 4.4997 (2002), 3.973 (2001), 3.4721 (2000), 3.3953 (1999)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
Communications Egypt
Telephones - main lines in use: 8,735,700 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 5,797,500 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment: large system; underwent extensive upgrading during 1990s and is reasonably modern; Internet access and cellular service are available domestic: principal centers at Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, Suez, and Tanta are connected by coaxial cable and microwave radio relay international: country code - 20; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat; 5 coaxial submarine cables; tropospheric scatter to Sudan; microwave radio relay to Israel; a participant in Medarabtel and a signatory to Project Oxygen (a global submarine fiber-optic cable system)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 42 (plus 15 repeaters), FM 14, shortwave 3 (1999)
Radios: 20.5 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 98 (September 1995)
Televisions: 7.7 million (1997)
Internet country code: .eg
Internet hosts: 3,401 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 50 (2000)
Internet users: 2.7 million (2003)
Transportation Egypt
Railways: total: 5,063 km standard gauge: 5,063 km 1.435-m gauge (62 km electrified) (2003)
Highways: total: 64,000 km paved: 49,984 km unpaved: 14,016 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: 3,500 km note: includes Nile River, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in delta; Suez Canal (193.5 km including approaches) navigable by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 17.68 m (2004)
Pipelines: condensate 289 km; condensate/gas 94 km; gas 6,115 km; liquid petroleum gas 852 km; oil 5,032 km; oil/gas/water 36 km; refined products 246 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Alexandria, Al Ghardaqah, Aswan, Asyut, Bur Safajah, Damietta, Marsa Matruh, Port Said, Suez
Merchant marine: total: 159 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,194,696 GRT/1,754,815 DWT foreign-owned: China 2, Cyprus 1, Denmark 1, Greece 6, Lebanon 2, Turkey 1 registered in other countries: 50 (2004 est.) by type: bulk 18, cargo 41, container 5, passenger 64, petroleum tanker 14, roll on/roll off 13, short-sea/passenger 4
Airports: 89 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 72 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 38 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 15 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.) 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 5
Heliports: 2 (2003 est.)
Military Egypt
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command
Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18 years of age for conscript military service; 3-year service obligation (2001)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 20,340,716 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 13,148,944 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 756,233 (2004 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $2,443.2 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.6% (2003)
Transnational Issues Egypt
Disputes - international: Egypt and Sudan retain claims to administer the triangular areas that extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel, but have withdrawn their military presence; Egypt is economically developing and effectively administers the "Hala'ib Triangle" north of the Treaty line
Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): 70,215 (Palestinian Territories) (2004)
Illicit drugs: transit point for Southwest Asian and Southeast Asian heroin and opium moving to Europe, Africa, and the US; transit stop for Nigerian couriers; concern as money-laundering site due to lax financial regulations and enforcement
This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005
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@El Salvador
Introduction El Salvador
Background: El Salvador achieved independence from Spain in 1821 and from the Central American Federation in 1839. A 12-year civil war, which cost about 75,000 lives, was brought to a close in 1992 when the government and leftist rebels signed a treaty that provided for military and political reforms.
Geography El Salvador
Location: Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras
Geographic coordinates: 13 50 N, 88 55 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 21,040 sq km water: 320 sq km land: 20,720 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Land boundaries: total: 545 km border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km
Coastline: 307 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 200 nm
Climate: tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands
Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m
Natural resources: hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land
Land use: arable land: 31.85% permanent crops: 12.07% other: 56.08% (2001)
Irrigated land: 360 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note: smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea
People El Salvador
Population: 6,587,541 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 36.8% (male 1,237,262; female 1,185,750) 15-64 years: 58.1% (male 1,819,035; female 2,009,032) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 150,221; female 186,241) (2004 est.)
Median age: total: 21.4 years male: 20.2 years female: 22.5 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.78% (2004 est.)
Birth rate: 27.48 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate: 5.93 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate: -3.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 25.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 28.79 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.92 years male: 67.31 years female: 74.7 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.2 children born/woman (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 29,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 2,200 (2003 est.)
Nationality: noun: Salvadoran(s) adjective: Salvadoran
Ethnic groups: mestizo 90%, Amerindian 1%, white 9%
Religions: Roman Catholic 83% note: there is extensive activity by Protestant groups throughout the country; by the end of 1992, there were an estimated 1 million Protestant evangelicals in El Salvador
Languages: Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians)
Literacy: definition: age 10 and over can read and write total population: 80.2% male: 82.8% female: 77.7% (2003 est.)
Government El Salvador
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of El Salvador conventional short form: El Salvador local short form: El Salvador local long form: Republica de El Salvador
Government type: republic
Capital: San Salvador
Administrative divisions: 14 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa Ana, San Vicente, Sonsonate, Usulutan
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution: 23 December 1983
Legal system: based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Elias Antonio SACA (since 1 June 2004); Vice President Ana Vilma DE ESCOBAR (since 1 June 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Elias Antonio SACA (since 1 June 2004); Vice President Ana Vilma DE ESCOBAR (since 1 June 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 21 March 2004 (next to be held NA March 2009) election results: Elias Antonio SACA elected president; percent of vote - Elias Antonio SACA (ARENA) 57.7%, Schafik HANDAL (FMLN) 35.6%, Hector SILVA (CDU-PDC) 3.9%, other 2.8%
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (84 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 16 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FMLN 31, ARENA 28, PCN 15, PDC 5, CD 5
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly)
Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Rodolfo PARKER]; United Democratic Center or CDU [Ruben ZAMORA, secretary general]; Democratic Party or PD [Jorge MELENDEZ]; Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN [Medardo GONZALEZ]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Kirio Waldo SALGADO, president]; National Action Party or PAN [Gustavo Rogelio SALINAS, secretary general]; National Conciliation Party or PCN [Ciro CRUZ ZEPEDA, president]; National Republican Alliance or ARENA [Elias Antonio SACA]; Social Christian Union or USC (formed by the merger of Christian Social Renewal Party or PRSC and Unity Movement or MU) [Abraham RODRIGUEZ, president]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Juan MEDRANO]
Political pressure groups and leaders: labor organizations - Electrical Industry Union of El Salvador or SIES; Federation of the Construction Industry, Similar Transport and other activities, or FESINCONTRANS; National Confederation of Salvadoran Workers or CNTS; National Union of Salvadoran Workers or UNTS; Port Industry Union of El Salvador or SIPES; Salvadoran Union of Ex-Petrolleros and Peasant Workers or USEPOC; Salvadoran Workers Central or CTS; Workers Union of Electrical Corporation or STCEL; business organizations - National Association of Small Enterprise or ANEP; Salvadoran Assembly Industry Association or ASIC; Salvadoran Industrial Association or ASI
International organization participation: BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Rene Antonio LEON Rodriguez consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC FAX: [1] (202) 234-3834 telephone: [1] (202) 265-9671 chancery: 2308 California Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador H. Douglas BARCLAY embassy: Final Boulevard Santa Elena Sur, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad, San Salvador mailing address: Unit 3116, APO AA 34023 telephone: [503] 278-4444 FAX: [503] 278-5522
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band - it features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band
Economy El Salvador
Economy - overview: With the adoption of the US dollar as its currency, El Salvador has lost control over monetary policy and must concentrate on maintaining a disciplined fiscal policy. GDP per capita is roughly only half that of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, and the distribution of income is highly unequal. The trade deficit has been offset by annual remittances of almost $2 billion from Salvadorans living abroad and external aid. The government is striving to open new export markets, encourage foreign investment, modernize the tax and healthcare systems, and stimulate the sluggish economy.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $30.99 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.4% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 9.4% industry: 31.2% services: 59.3% (2003)
Investment (gross fixed): 16.2% of GDP (2003)
Population below poverty line: 48% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.4% highest 10%: 39.3% (2001)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 52.2 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.1% (2003 est.)
Labor force: 2.62 million (2003)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 30%, industry 15%, services 55% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 6.5% - but the economy has much underemployment (2003 est.)
Budget: revenues: $2.434 billion expenditures: $2.625 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Public debt: 43.7% of GDP (2003)
Agriculture - products: coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; shrimp; beef, dairy products
Industries: food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals
Industrial production growth rate: 1.6% (2003 est.)
Electricity - production: 3.729 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption: 3.777 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: 44 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: 353 million kWh (2001)
Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 39,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA (2001)
Oil - imports: NA (2001)
Current account balance: $-734 million (2003)
Exports: $3.162 billion (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities: offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity
Exports - partners: US 67.8%, Guatemala 11.5%, Honduras 5.9% (2003)
Imports: $5.466 billion (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities: raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity
Imports - partners: US 50%, Guatemala 8.1%, Mexico 5.5% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $2.061 billion (2003)
Debt - external: $6.575 billion (2003 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: total $252 million; $57 million from US (1995)
Currency: US dollar (USD)
Currency code: USD
Exchange rates: the US dollar is the legal tender
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications El Salvador
Telephones - main lines in use: 752,600 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 1,149,800 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system international: country code - 503; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System
Radio broadcast stations: AM 61 (plus 24 repeaters), FM 30, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 2.75 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 5 (1997)
Televisions: 600,000 (1990)
Internet country code: .sv
Internet hosts: 4,084 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 4 (2000)
Internet users: 550,000 (2003)
Transportation El Salvador
Railways: total: 283 km narrow gauge: 283 km 0.914-m gauge note: length of operational route reduced from 562 km to 283 km by disuse and lack of maintenance (2003)
Highways: total: 10,029 km paved: 1,986 km (including 327 km of expressways) unpaved: 8,043 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: Rio Lempa partially navigable (2004)
Ports and harbors: Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco, La Libertad, La Union, Puerto El Triunfo
Merchant marine: none
Airports: 73 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 69 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 54 (2004 est.)
Heliports: 1 (2003 est.)
Military El Salvador
Military branches: Army, Navy (FNES), Air Force
Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service, with 12-month service obligation; 16 years of age for volunteers (2002)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,571,299 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 995,672 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 69,993 (2004 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $157 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.1% (2003)
Transnational Issues El Salvador
Disputes - international: in 1992, the ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary, and the OAS is assisting with a technical resolution of undemarcated bolsones; in 2003, the ICJ rejected El Salvador's request to revise its decision on one part of the bolsones; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned by the ICJ, off Honduras in the Gulf de Fonseca
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine; small amounts of marijuana produced for local consumption; domestic cocaine abuse on the rise
This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005
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@Equatorial Guinea
Introduction Equatorial Guinea
Background: Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. This tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands, is one of the smallest on the African continent. President OBIANG NGUEM MBASOGO has ruled the country for over two decades since seizing power from his uncle, then President MACIAS, in a 1979 coup. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 legislative elections - were widely seen as being flawed. The president controls most opposition parties through the judicious use of patronage. Despite the country's economic windfall from oil production resulting in a massive increase in government revenue in recent years, there have been few improvements in the country's living standards.
Geography Equatorial Guinea
Location: Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon
Geographic coordinates: 2 00 N, 10 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 28,051 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries: total: 539 km border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km
Coastline: 296 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate: tropical; always hot, humid
Terrain: coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m
Natural resources: oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium, titanium, iron ore
Land use: arable land: 4.63% permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (2001)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: violent windstorms, flash floods
Environment - current issues: tap water is not potable; deforestation
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: insular and continental regions rather widely separated
People Equatorial Guinea
Population: 523,051 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 42% (male 110,268; female 109,222) 15-64 years: 54.3% (male 136,370; female 147,431) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,745; female 11,015) (2004 est.)
Median age: total: 18.7 years male: 18.1 years female: 19.4 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.43% (2004 est.)
Birth rate: 36.56 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate: 12.27 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 87.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 93.27 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 55.15 years male: 53 years female: 57.36 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.68 children born/woman (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 3.4% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 5,900 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 370 (2001 est.)
Major infectious diseases: typhoid fever, malaria overall degree of risk: very high (2004)
Nationality: noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s) adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
Ethnic groups: Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish
Religions: nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices
Languages: Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 85.7% male: 93.3% female: 78.4% (2003 est.)
Government Equatorial Guinea
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Equatorial Guinea conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial former: Spanish Guinea
Government type: republic
Capital: Malabo
Administrative divisions: 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas
Independence: 12 October 1968 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 October (1968)
Constitution: approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995
Legal system: partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal adult
Executive branch: chief of state: President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup) elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2009); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections marred by widespread fraud cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president head of government: Prime Minister Miguel Abia BITEO BORICO (since 14 June 2004); First Deputy Prime Minister Miguel OYONO NDONG (since NA January 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Demetrio Elo NDONG NZE FUMU (since NA January 1998)
Legislative branch: unicameral House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (80 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held 24 April 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - PDGE 80%, UP 6%, CPDS 5%; seats by party - PDGE 75, UP 4 and CPDS 1 note: Parliament has little power since the constitution vests all executive authority in the president
Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal
Political parties and leaders: Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido MIKO Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE (ruling party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Miguel Esono EMAN]; Popular Union or UP [Andres Moises Bda ADA]; Progressive Democratic Alliance or ADP [Victorino Bolekia BONAY]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Teodoro Biyogo NSUE chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 FAX: [1] (202) 518-5252 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700
Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); the US ambassador to Cameroon is accredited to Equatorial Guinea; the US State Department is considering opening a Consulate Agency in Malabo
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice)
Economy Equatorial Guinea
Economy - overview: The discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of corruption and mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government has been unsuccessfully trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and their family members. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Growth will remain strong in 2004, led by oil.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.27 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 20% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 20% industry: 60% services: 2.4% (2003 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 63.6% of GDP (2003)
Population below poverty line: NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6% (2003 est.)
Labor force: NA (October 2000)
Unemployment rate: 30% (1998 est.)
Budget: revenues: $708.5 million expenditures: $317.6 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products: coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber
Industries: petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas
Industrial production growth rate: 30% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production: 23.56 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption: 21.91 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production: 181,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 2,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA (2001)
Oil - imports: NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves: 563.5 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production: 20 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 20 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 68.53 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance: $-1.168 billion (2003)
Exports: $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities: petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa
Exports - partners: US 33.6%, Spain 25.8%, China 14.4%, Canada 11.8%, Italy 6.4% (2003)
Imports: $1.371 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities: petroleum sector equipment, other equipment
Imports - partners: US 30.6%, UK 16%, France 15.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 11.9%, Spain 8.1%, Norway 5.9%, Italy 5.3% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $206 million (2003)
Debt - external: $248 million (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $33.8 million (1995)
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States
Currency code: XAF
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999)
Fiscal year: 1 January - 31 December
Communications Equatorial Guinea
Telephones - main lines in use: 9,600 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 41,500 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment: poor system with adequate government services domestic: NA international: country code - 240; international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002)
Radios: 180,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (2002)
Televisions: 4,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .gq
Internet hosts: 3 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2002)
Internet users: 1,800 (2002)
Transportation Equatorial Guinea
Highways: total: 2,880 km (1999 est.)
Pipelines: condensate 37 km; gas 39 km; liquid natural gas 4 km; oil 24 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Bata, Luba, Malabo
Merchant marine: total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,556 GRT/9,704 DWT by type: cargo 2, passenger/cargo 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports: 3 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 less than 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Military Equatorial Guinea
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force
Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18 years of age (est.) (2004)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 120,463 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 61,084 (2004 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $75.1 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.5% (2003)
Transnational Issues Equatorial Guinea
Disputes - international: in 2002, ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but a dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River, imprecisely defined coordinates in the ICJ decision, and the unresolved Bakasi allocation contribute to the delay in implementation; creation of a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay with Gabon is hampered by dispute over Mbane Island, administered and occupied by Gabon since the 1970s
This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005
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@Eritrea
Introduction Eritrea
Background: Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices on 12 December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that is monitoring a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone on the border with Ethiopia. An international commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings in 2002 but final demarcation is on hold due to Ethiopian objections.
Geography Eritrea
Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 39 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 121,320 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries: total: 1,626 km border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km
Coastline: 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September except in coastal desert
Terrain: dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains
Elevation extremes: lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m highest point: Soira 3,018 m
Natural resources: gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish
Land use: arable land: 4.95% permanent crops: 0.03% other: 95.02% (2001)
Irrigated land: 220 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent droughts; locust swarms
Environment - current issues: deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993
People Eritrea
Population: 4,447,307 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 44.8% (male 998,404; female 993,349) 15-64 years: 51.9% (male 1,140,892; female 1,166,481) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 72,776; female 75,405) (2004 est.)
Median age: total: 17.5 years male: 17.3 years female: 17.7 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.57% (2004 est.)
Birth rate: 39.03 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate: 13.36 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: UNHCR began repatriating about 150,000 Eritrean refugees from Sudan in 2001 following the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2000 (2004 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 75.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 83.03 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 52.7 years male: 51.32 years female: 54.12 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.67 children born/woman (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 2.7% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 60,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 6,300 (2003 est.)
Nationality: noun: Eritrean(s) adjective: Eritrean
Ethnic groups: ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3%
Religions: Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Languages: Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
Literacy: definition: NA total population: 58.6% male: 69.9% female: 47.6% (2003 est.)
Government Eritrea
Country name: conventional long form: State of Eritrea conventional short form: Eritrea local long form: Hagere Ertra former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia local short form: Ertra
Government type: transitional government note: following a successful referendum on independence for the Autonomous Region of Eritrea on 23-25 April 1993, a National Assembly, composed entirely of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, was established as a transitional legislature; a Constitutional Commission was also established to draft a constitution; ISAIAS Afworki was elected president by the transitional legislature; the constitution, ratified in May 1997, did not enter into effect, pending parliamentary and presidential elections; parliamentary elections had been scheduled in December 2001, but were postponed indefinitely; currently the sole legal party is the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ)
Capital: Asmara (formerly Asmera)
Administrative divisions: 6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub, Debubawi K'eyih Bahri, Gash Barka, Ma'akel, Semenawi Keyih Bahri
Independence: 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia)
National holiday: Independence Day, 24 May (1993)
Constitution: the transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented
Legal system: primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with revisions; new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been promulgated; also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Sharia law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority; members appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 8 June 1993 (next election date uncertain as the National Assembly did not hold a presidential election in December 2001 as anticipated) election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; term limits not established) elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly, that had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections to a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of the Transitional National Assembly were elected, the constitution stipulates that once past the transition stage, all members of the National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were postponed indefinitely
Judicial branch: High Court - regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts
Political parties and leaders: People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS Afworki]; note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly has not yet debated or voted on it
Political pressure groups and leaders: Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ [leader NA] (also including Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM (also known as the Abu Sihel Movement) [leader NA]); Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also known as the Arafa Movement) [leader NA]; Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean National Alliance or ENA (a coalition including EIJ, EIS, ELF, and a number of ELF factions) [HERUY Tedla Biru]; Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob]
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador GIRMA Asmerom telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 consulate(s) general: Oakland (California) FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Scott H. DELISI embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584
Flag description: red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle
Economy Eritrea
Economy - overview: Since independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 1998-2000 severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth fell to zero in 1999 and to -12.1% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into northern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%. Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war damaged roads and bridges. Since the war ended, the government has maintained a firm grip on the economy, expanding the use of the military and party-owned businesses to complete Eritrea's development agenda. Erratic rainfall and the delayed demobilization of agriculturalists from the military kept cereal production well below normal, holding down growth in 2002. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and to open its economy to private enterprise so the diaspora's money and expertise can foster economic growth.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.3 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 12.4% industry: 25.3% services: 62.4% (2003 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 26.3% of GDP (2003)
Population below poverty line: 53% (1993/94)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12.3% (2003)
Labor force: NA (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry and services 20%
Unemployment rate: NA (2003 est.)
Budget: revenues: $235.7 million expenditures: $375 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products: sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish
Industries: food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles
Industrial production growth rate: NA
Electricity - production: 220.5 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption: 205.1 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh NA kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh NA kWh (2001)
Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 6,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA (2001)
Oil - imports: NA (2001)
Current account balance: $-159 million (2003)
Exports: $56 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities: livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000)
Exports - partners: Malaysia 65.1%, Italy 10.4%, France 4.4% (2003)
Imports: $600 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods (2000)
Imports - partners: US 39.7%, Italy 19.1%, Turkey 6.8%, Russia 5.4%, France 4.7% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $28 million (2003)
Debt - external: $311 million (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $77 million (1999)
Currency: nakfa (ERN)
Currency code: ERN
Exchange rates: nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - NA (2003), 13.9582 (2002), 11.3095 (2001), 9.5 (2000), 7.6 (1999)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Eritrea
Telephones - main lines in use: 38,100 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: NA
Telephone system: general assessment: inadequate domestic: very inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002) international: country code - 291; note - international connections exist
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000)
Radios: 345,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (2000)
Televisions: 1,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .er
Internet hosts: 1,047 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 5 (2001)
Internet users: 9,500 (2003)
Transportation Eritrea
Railways: total: 306 km narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge note: railway is being rebuilt; 117 km open (2003)
Highways: total: 4,010 km paved: 874 km unpaved: 3,136 km (1999 est.)
Ports and harbors: Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa)
Merchant marine: total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 16,069 GRT/19,549 DWT registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1
Airports: 18 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 13 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Military Eritrea
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary and compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 16 months (2004) |
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