Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 7 (2006)

Heliports: 1 (2006)

Roadways: total: 2,590 km paved: 1,735 km unpaved: 855 km (1999)

Merchant marine: total: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 23,684 GRT/17,291 DWT by type: cargo 4, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 1 (France 1) registered in other countries: 2 (Wallis and Futuna 2) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Papeete

Military French Polynesia

Military branches: no regular military forces; Gendarmerie and National Police Force

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 69,679 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 55,305 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually: males age 18-49: 2,747 (2005 est.)

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues French Polynesia

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007



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@French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Introduction French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Background: The Southern Lands consist of two archipelagos, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen, and two volcanic islands, Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul. They contain no permanent inhabitants and are visited only by researchers studying the native fauna. The Antarctic portion consists of "Adelie Land," a thin slice of the Antarctic continent discovered and claimed by the French in 1840.

Geography French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Location: southeast of Africa, islands in the southern Indian Ocean, about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia; note - French Southern and Antarctic Lands include Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet, and Iles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, along with the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, "Adelie Land"; the US does not recognize the French claim to "Adelie Land"

Geographic coordinates: 43 00 S, 67 00 E

Map references: Antarctic Region

Area: total: 7,829 sq km land: 7,829 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet, and Iles Kerguelen; excludes "Adelie Land" claim of about 500,000 sq km in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US

Area - comparative: slightly less than 1.3 times the size of Delaware

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,232 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm from Iles Kerguelen (does not include the rest of French Southern and Antarctic Lands)

Climate: antarctic

Terrain: volcanic

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Ross on Iles Kerguelen 1,850 m

Natural resources: fish, crayfish

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

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Natural hazards: Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes

Environment - current issues: NA

Geography - note: islands component is widely scattered across remote locations in the southern Indian Ocean

People French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Population: no indigenous inhabitants note: in 2002, there were 145 researchers whose numbers vary from winter (July) to summer (January) (July 2006 est.)

Government French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Country name: conventional long form: Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands conventional short form: French Southern and Antarctic Lands local long form: Territoire des Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises local short form: Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises abbreviation: TAAF

Dependency status: overseas territory of France since 1955; administered from Paris by Administrateur Superieur Michel CHAMPON (since 20 December 2004), assisted by Secretary General Jean-Yves HERMOSO (since NA)

Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three districts named Ile Crozet, Iles Kerguelen, Iles Saint-Paul et Amsterdam; excludes "Adelie Land" claim in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US

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

Executive branch: chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Senior Administrator Michel CHAMPON

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

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

Flag description: the flag of France is used

Economy French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Economy - overview: Economic activity is limited to servicing meteorological and geophysical research stations and French and other fishing fleets. The fish catches landed on Iles Kerguelen by foreign ships are exported to France and Reunion.

Communications French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Internet country code: .tf

Internet hosts: 38 (2006)

Transportation French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Merchant marine: total: 77 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,432,833 GRT/5,345,291 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, chemical tanker 27, container 18, liquefied gas 5, petroleum tanker 15, roll on/roll off 6, vehicle carrier 4 foreign-owned: 76 (Belgium 6, Denmark 2, France 36, Germany 2, Hong Kong 2, Japan 4, Norway 12, Saudi Arabia 1, Sweden 9, Switzerland 1, UK 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals: none; offshore anchorage only

Military French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Disputes - international: French claim to "Adelie Land" in Antarctica is not recognized by the US

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007



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@Gabon

Introduction Gabon

Background: Only two autocratic presidents have ruled Gabon since independence from France in 1960. The current president of Gabon, El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba - one of the longest-serving heads of state in the world - has dominated the country's political scene for almost four decades. President BONGO introduced a nominal multiparty system and a new constitution in the early 1990s. However, allegations of electoral fraud during local elections in 2002-03 and the presidential elections in 2005 have exposed the weaknesses of formal political structures in Gabon. Gabon's political opposition remains weak, divided, and financially dependent on the current regime. Despite political conditions, a small population, abundant natural resources, and considerable foreign support have helped make Gabon one of the more prosperous and stable African countries.

Geography Gabon

Location: Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea

Geographic coordinates: 1 00 S, 11 45 E

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 267,667 sq km land: 257,667 sq km water: 10,000 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Colorado

Land boundaries: total: 2,551 km border countries: Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km

Coastline: 885 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: tropical; always hot, humid

Terrain: narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, diamond, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 1.21% permanent crops: 0.64% other: 98.15% (2005)

Irrigated land: 70 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: deforestation; poaching

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: a small population and oil and mineral reserves have helped Gabon become one of Africa's wealthier countries; in general, these circumstances have allowed the country to maintain and conserve its pristine rain forest and rich biodiversity

People Gabon

Population: 1,424,906 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 42.1% (male 300,914/female 299,141) 15-64 years: 53.9% (male 383,137/female 384,876) 65 years and over: 4% (male 23,576/female 33,262) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 18.6 years male: 18.4 years female: 18.8 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.13% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 36.16 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 12.25 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 54.51 deaths/1,000 live births male: 63.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 45.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 54.49 years male: 53.21 years female: 55.81 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.74 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 8.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 48,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 3,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria (2007)

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

Ethnic groups: Bantu tribes, including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Bapounou, Nzebi, Obamba); other Africans and Europeans, 154,000, including 10,700 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality

Religions: Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1%

Languages: French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 63.2% male: 73.7% female: 53.3% (1995 est.)

Government Gabon

Country name: conventional long form: Gabonese Republic conventional short form: Gabon local long form: Republique gabonaise local short form: Gabon

Government type: republic; multiparty presidential regime

Capital: name: Libreville geographic coordinates: 0 23 N, 9 27 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem

Independence: 17 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Founding of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), 12 March (1968)

Constitution: adopted 14 March 1991

Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba (since 2 December 1967) head of government: Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe NDONG (since 20 January 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (no term limits); election last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in 2012); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba reelected; percent of vote - El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba 79.2%, Pierre MAMBOUNDOU 13.6%, Zacharie MYBOTO 6.6%

Legislative branch: bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (91 seats; members elected by members of municipal councils and departmental assemblies to serve six-year terms) and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 26 January and 9 February 2003 (next to be held by January 2009); National Assembly - last held 17 and 24 December 2006 (next to be held December 2011) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDG 53, RNB 20, PGP 4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, CLR 1, independents 9; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDG 82, RPG 8, UPG 8, UGDD 4, ADERE 3, CLR 2, PGP-Ndaot 2, PSD 2, independents 4, others 5

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting of three chambers - Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal; Court of State Security; County Courts

Political parties and leaders: Circle of Liberal Reformers or CLR [General Jean Boniface ASSELE]; Congress for Democracy and Justice or CDJ [Jules Aristide Bourdes OGOULIGUENDE]; Democratic and Republican Alliance or ADERE [Divungui-di-Ndinge DIDJOB]; Gabonese Democratic Party or PDG [Simplice Nguedet MANZELA] (former sole party); Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE]; Gabonese Union for Democracy and Development or UGDD [Zacherie MYBOTO]; National Rally of Woodcutters or RNB; National Rally of Woodcutters-Rally for Gabon or RNB-RPG (Bucherons) [Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Louis Gaston MAYILA]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Pierre EMBONI]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Pierre Claver MAGANGA-MOUSSAVOU]; Union for Democracy and Social Integration or UDIS; Union of Gabonese Patriots or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jules Marius OGOUEBANDJA chancery: Suite 200, 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1000 FAX: [1] (202) 332-0668 consulate(s): New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Barrie R. WALKLEY embassy: Boulevard du Bord de Mer, Libreville mailing address: Centre Ville, B. P. 4000, Libreville telephone: [241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, after hours - 74 34 92 FAX: [241] 74 55 07

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue

Economy Gabon

Economy - overview: Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most of sub-Saharan African nations. This has supported a sharp decline in extreme poverty; yet, because of high income inequality, a large proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon depended on timber and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s. The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Gabon continues to face fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, and manganese exports. Despite the abundance of natural wealth, poor fiscal management hobbles the economy. Devaluation of its currency by 50% in January 1994 sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%; the rate dropped to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a one-year standby arrangement in 1994-95, a three-year Enhanced Financing Facility (EFF) at near commercial rates beginning in late 1995, and stand-by credit of $119 million in October 2000. Those agreements mandated progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon met IMF targets for mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticized the government for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing from the central bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatization and administrative reform. The rebound of oil prices in 1999-2000 helped growth, but drops in production hampered Gabon from fully realizing potential gains. In December 2000, Gabon signed a new agreement with the Paris Club to reschedule its official debt. A follow-up bilateral repayment agreement with the US was signed in December 2001. Gabon signed a 14-month Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF in May 2004, and received Paris Club debt rescheduling later that year. Short-term progress depends on an upbeat world economy and fiscal and other adjustments in line with IMF policies.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $10.21 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $7.052 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 2.8% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $7,200 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 5.9% industry: 59.7% services: 34.4% (2006 est.)

Labor force: 581,000 (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 60% industry: 15% services: 25%

Unemployment rate: 21% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.2% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 22.4% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget: revenues: $3.1 billion expenditures: $2.181 billion; including capital expenditures of $325 million (2006 est.)

Public debt: 28.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products: cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish

Industries: petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, gold; chemicals, ship repair, food and beverages, textiles, lumbering and plywood, cement

Industrial production growth rate: 1.6% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production: 1.543 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 34.5% hydro: 65.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 1.435 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 268,900 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption: 13,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - proved reserves: 1.827 billion bbl (2006 est.)

Natural gas - production: 100 million cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 100 million cu m (2004 est.)

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

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

Natural gas - proved reserves: 33.98 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Current account balance: $1.807 billion (2006 est.)

Exports: $6.677 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities: crude oil 77%, timber, manganese, uranium (2001)

Exports - partners: US 52.6%, France 6.3%, China 6.2% (2005)

Imports: $1.607 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction materials

Imports - partners: France 40.5%, US 6.4%, Cameroon 4.2% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $835 million (2006 est.)

Debt - external: $3.971 billion (2006 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $331 million (1995)

Currency (code): 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 - 522.592 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Gabon

Telephones - main lines in use: 39,100 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 649,800 (2005)

Telephone system: general assessment: adequate service by African standards and improving with the help of the growing mobile cell system domestic: adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations international: country code - 241; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia

Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 7 (and 11 repeaters), shortwave 4 (2001)

Radios: 208,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 4 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2001)

Televisions: 63,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .ga

Internet hosts: 322 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2001)

Internet users: 67,000 (2005)

Transportation Gabon

Airports: 56 (2006)

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

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 45 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 23 (2006)

Pipelines: gas 272 km; oil 1,354 km (2006)

Railways: total: 814 km standard gauge: 814 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)

Roadways: total: 9,170 km paved: 937 km unpaved: 8,233 km (2004)

Waterways: 1,600 km (310 km on Ogooue River) (2005)

Merchant marine: registered in other countries: 2 (Cambodia 1, Panama 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Gamba, Libreville, Lucinda, Owendo, Port-Gentil

Military Gabon

Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police

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

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 278,826 females age 18-49: 279,865 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 159,198 females age 18-49: 156,122 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually: males age 18-49: 15,325 females age 18-49: 15,367 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $253.5 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.4% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Gabon

Disputes - international: UN presses Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and to establish a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay; only a few hundred out of the 20,000 Republic of the Congo refugees who fled militia fighting in 2000 remain in Gabon

Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): 7,298 (Republic of Congo) (2006)

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007



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@Gambia, The

Introduction Gambia, The

Background: The Gambia gained its independence from the UK in 1965. Geographically surrounded by Senegal, it formed a short-lived federation of Senegambia between 1982 and 1989. In 1991 the two nations signed a friendship and cooperation treaty, but tensions have flared up intermittently since then. Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH led a military coup in 1994 that overthrew the president and banned political activity. A new constitution and presidential elections in 1996, followed by parliamentary balloting in 1997, completed a nominal return to civilian rule. JAMMEH has been elected president in all subsequent elections, including most recently in late 2006.

Geography Gambia, The

Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and Senegal

Geographic coordinates: 13 28 N, 16 34 W

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 11,300 sq km land: 10,000 sq km water: 1,300 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Delaware

Land boundaries: total: 740 km border countries: Senegal 740 km

Coastline: 80 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm continental shelf: not specified

Climate: tropical; hot, rainy season (June to November); cooler, dry season (November to May)

Terrain: flood plain of the Gambia River flanked by some low hills

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 53 m

Natural resources: fish, titanium (rutile and ilmenite), tin, zircon, silica sand, clay, petroleum

Land use: arable land: 27.88% permanent crops: 0.44% other: 71.68% (2005)

Irrigated land: 20 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: drought (rainfall has dropped by 30% in the last 30 years)

Environment - current issues: deforestation; desertification; water-borne diseases prevalent

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

Geography - note: almost an enclave of Senegal; smallest country on the continent of Africa

People Gambia, The

Population: 1,641,564 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 44.3% (male 365,157/female 361,821) 15-64 years: 53% (male 431,627/female 438,159) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 22,889/female 21,911) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 17.7 years male: 17.6 years female: 17.8 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.84% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 39.37 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 12.25 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 71.58 deaths/1,000 live births male: 78.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 64.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 54.14 years male: 52.3 years female: 56.03 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.3 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 6,800 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 600 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, yellow fever are high risks in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2007)

Nationality: noun: Gambian(s) adjective: Gambian

Ethnic groups: African 99% (Mandinka 42%, Fula 18%, Wolof 16%, Jola 10%, Serahuli 9%, other 4%), non-African 1%

Religions: Muslim 90%, Christian 9%, indigenous beliefs 1%

Languages: English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 40.1% male: 47.8% female: 32.8% (2003 est.)

Government Gambia, The

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of The Gambia conventional short form: The Gambia

Government type: republic

Capital: name: Banjul geographic coordinates: 12 28 N, 16 39 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 5 divisions and 1 city*; Banjul*, Central River, Lower River, North Bank, Upper River, Western

Independence: 18 February 1965 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 18 February (1965)

Constitution: 24 April 1970; suspended July 1994; rewritten and approved by national referendum 8 August 1996; reestablished January 1997

Legal system: based on a composite of English common law, Koranic law, and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH (since 18 October 1996); note - from 1994 to 1996 he was chairman of the Junta); Vice President Isatou NJIE-SAIDY (since 20 March 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH (since 18 October 1996); note - from 1994 to 1996 he was chairman of the Junta); Vice President Isatou NJIE-SAIDY (since 20 March 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 22 September 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH reelected president; percent of vote - Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH 67.3%, Ousainou DARBOE 26.6%, Halifa SALLAH 6.0%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (53 seats; 48 elected by popular vote, 5 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 17 January 2002 (next to be held 25 January 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APRC 45, PDOIS 2, NRP 1,

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction or APRC [Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH] (the ruling party); Gambia People's Democratic Party or GPDP [Henry GOMEZ]; National Alliance for Democracy and Development or NADD [Halifa SALLAH]; National Convention Party or NCP [Sheriff DIBBA]; National Reconciliation Party or NRP [Hamat N. K. BAH]; People's Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism or PDOIS [Sidia JATTA]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Ousainou DARBOE]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Dodou Bammy JAGNE chancery: Suite 905, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1379 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1430

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph D. STAFFORD, III embassy: Kairaba Avenue, Fajara, Banjul mailing address: P. M. B. No. 19, Banjul telephone: [220] 439-2856, 437-6169, 437-6170 FAX: [220] 439-2475

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue with white edges, and green

Economy Gambia, The

Economy - overview: The Gambia has no confirmed mineral or natural resource deposits and has a limited agricultural base. About 75% of the population depends on crops and livestock for its livelihood. Small-scale manufacturing activity features the processing of peanuts, fish, and hides. Reexport trade normally constitutes a major segment of economic activity, but a 1999 government-imposed preshipment inspection plan, and instability of the Gambian dalasi (currency) have drawn some of the reexport trade away from The Gambia. The Gambia's natural beauty and proximity to Europe has made it one of the larger markets for tourism in West Africa. The government's 1998 seizure of the private peanut firm Alimenta eliminated the largest purchaser of Gambian groundnuts. Despite an announced program to begin privatizing key parastatals, no plans have been made public that would indicate that the government intends to follow through on its promises. Unemployment and underemployment rates remain extremely high; short-run economic progress depends on sustained bilateral and multilateral aid, on responsible government economic management, on continued technical assistance from the IMF and bilateral donors, and on expected growth in the construction sector.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $3.25 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $461.2 million (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2006 est.)

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

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 30.5% industry: 13.9% services: 55.6% (2006 est.)

Labor force: 400,000 (1996)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 75% industry: 19% services: 6%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 20.3% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget: revenues: $112.7 million expenditures: $155.1 million; including capital expenditures of $4.1 million (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products: rice, millet, sorghum, peanuts, corn, sesame, cassava (tapioca), palm kernels; cattle, sheep, goats

Industries: processing peanuts, fish, and hides; tourism, beverages, agricultural machinery assembly, woodworking, metalworking, clothing

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 145 million kWh (2004)

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

Electricity - consumption: 134.9 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

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

Oil - consumption: 2,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports: NA bbl/day (2001)

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

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

Current account balance: $-54.61 million (2006 est.)

Exports: $130.5 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities: peanut products, fish, cotton lint, palm kernels, re-exports

Exports - partners: India 29.6%, Kenya 28.4%, UK 13.3%, Indonesia 6.1% (2005)

Imports: $212.2 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, manufactures, fuel, machinery and transport equipment

Imports - partners: China 21.5%, Senegal 11.4%, Cote d'Ivoire 8.5%, Brazil 5.6%, US 5.3%, UK 5.2%, Netherlands 4.1% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $88.11 million (2006 est.)

Debt - external: $628.8 million (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $59.8 million (2003)

Currency (code): dalasi (GMD)

Currency code: GMD

Exchange rates: dalasi per US dollar - 30 (2006), 30.38 (2005), 30.03 (2004), 27.306 (2004), 19.918 (2003), 15.687 (2002), 15.687 (2001)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Gambia, The

Telephones - main lines in use: 44,000 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 247,500 (2005)

Telephone system: general assessment: adequate; a packet switched data network is available domestic: adequate network of microwave radio relay and open-wire international: country code - 220; microwave radio relay links to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001)

Radios: 196,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (government-owned) (1997)

Televisions: 5,000 (2000)

Internet country code: .gm

Internet hosts: 14 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2001)

Internet users: 49,000 (2005)

Transportation Gambia, The

Airports: 1 (2006)

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

Roadways: total: 3,742 km paved: 723 km unpaved: 3,019 km (2004)

Waterways: 390 km (on River Gambia; small ocean-going vessels can reach 190 km) (2004)

Merchant marine: total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 32,064 GRT/9,751 DWT by type: passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 1 (2006)

Ports and terminals: Banjul

Military Gambia, The

Military branches: Gambian National Army (GNA), Gambian Navy (GN), Presidential Guard, National Guard

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2001)

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 311,025 females age 18-49: 316,214 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 183,057 females age 18-49: 194,551 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1.55 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.4% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Gambia, The

Disputes - international: attempts to stem refugees, cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and other illegal activities by separatists from southern Senegal's Casamance region, as well as from conflicts in other west African states

Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): 5,955 (Sierra Leone) (2006)

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007



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@Gaza Strip



Background: The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington in September 1993, provided for a transitional period of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A transfer of authority to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and, in additional areas of the West Bank, pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and the West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out a year later. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip. A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The international community has refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it does not recognize Israel, will not renounce violence, and refuses to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. Since March 2006, President Abbas has had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift the economic siege on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene in late 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members.

Geography Gaza Strip

Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel

Geographic coordinates: 31 25 N, 34 20 E

Map references: Middle East

Area: total: 360 sq km land: 360 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: total: 62 km border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km

Coastline: 40 km

Maritime claims: Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation

Climate: temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers

Terrain: flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m

Natural resources: arable land, natural gas

Land use: arable land: 29% permanent crops: 21% other: 50% (2002)

Irrigated land: 150 sq km; note - includes West Bank (2003)

Natural hazards: droughts

Environment - current issues: desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation; depletion and contamination of underground water resources

Geography - note: strategic strip of land along Mideast-North African trade routes has experienced an incredibly turbulent history; the town of Gaza itself has been besieged countless times in its history

People Gaza Strip

Population: 1,428,757 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 48.1% (male 351,642/female 335,060) 15-64 years: 49.4% (male 360,147/female 345,318) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 15,231/female 21,359) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 15.8 years male: 15.7 years female: 16 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.71% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 39.45 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 3.8 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 22.4 deaths/1,000 live births male: 23.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.97 years male: 70.67 years female: 73.34 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.78 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: NA adjective: NA

Ethnic groups: Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%

Religions: Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6%

Languages: Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91.9% male: 96.3% female: 87.4% (2003 est.)

Government Gaza Strip

Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Gaza Strip local long form: none local short form: Qita Ghazzah

Economy Gaza Strip

Economy - overview: High population density, limited land access, and strict internal and external security controls have kept economic conditions in the Gaza Strip - the smaller of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA)- even more degraded than in the West Bank. The beginning of the second intifadah in September 2000 sparked an economic downturn, largely the result of Israeli closure policies; these policies, which were imposed to address security concerns in Israel, disrupted labor and trade access to and from the Gaza Strip. In 2001, and even more severely in 2003, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. The Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September 2005 offered some medium-term opportunities for economic growth, which have not yet been realized due to Israeli military activities in the Gaza Strip in 2006, continued crossings closures, and the international community's financial embargo of the PA after HAMAS took office in March 2006.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $5.327 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): NA

GDP - real growth rate: 4.9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,500 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 8% industry: 18.2% services: 73.9% (includes West Bank) (2005 est.)

Labor force: 259,000 (2005)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 12% industry: 18% services: 70% (2005)

Unemployment rate: 31% (includes West Bank) (January-September 2005 avg.)

Population below poverty line: 81% (2004 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.2% (includes West Bank) (2005)

Budget: revenues: $1.23 billion expenditures: $1.64 billion; including capital expenditures of $44 million; note - these budget data include West Bank (2005)

Agriculture - products: olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products

Industries: generally small family businesses that produce textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in an industrial center, but operations ceased prior to Israel's evacuation of Gaza Strip settlements

Industrial production growth rate: 2.4%

Electricity - production: 140,000 kWh

Electricity - consumption: 230,000 kWh

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh

Electricity - imports: 90,000 kWh; note - from Israeli Electric Company (2005)

Exports: $313 million f.o.b.; note - includes West Bank (2004)

Exports - commodities: citrus, flowers, textiles

Exports - partners: Israel, Egypt, West Bank

Imports: $1.37 billion c.i.f.; note - includes West Bank (2004)

Imports - commodities: food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners: Israel, Egypt, West Bank (2004)

Debt - external: NA (2002)

Economic aid - recipient: $1.14 billion; note - includes West Bank (2004 est.)

Currency (code): new Israeli shekel (ILS)

Currency code: ILS

Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Gaza Strip

Telephones - main lines in use: 349,000 (includes West Bank) (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.095 million (includes West Bank) (2005)

Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970

Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 8, shortwave 0 (2005)

Radios: NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (2005)

Televisions: NA; note - most Palestinian households have televisions (1997)

Internet country code: .ps

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (1999)

Internet users: 243,000 (includes West Bank) (2005)

Transportation Gaza Strip

Airports: 2 note: includes Gaza International Airport closed since its runway was destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces in December 2001 (2006)

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

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Heliports: 1 (2006)

Roadways: note: see entry for West Bank

Ports and terminals: Gaza

Military Gaza Strip

Military branches: in accordance with the peace agreement, the Palestinian Authority is not permitted conventional military forces; there are, however, public security forces (2002)

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 260,855 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 221,530 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually: males age 18-49: 15,196 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA

Transnational Issues Gaza Strip

Disputes - international: West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel removed settlers and military personnel from the Gaza Strip in August 2005

Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): 993,818 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2006)

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007



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@Georgia

Introduction Georgia

Background: The region of present-day Georgia contained the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Kartli-Iberia. The area came under Roman influence in the first centuries A.D. and Christianity became the state religion in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks was followed by a Georgian golden age (11th-13th centuries) that was cut short by the Mongol invasion of 1236. Subsequently, the Ottoman and Persian empires competed for influence in the region. Georgia was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was forcibly incorporated into the USSR until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. An attempt by the incumbent Georgian government to manipulate national legislative elections in November 2003 touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, president since 1995. New elections in early 2004 swept Mikheil SAAKASHVILI into power along with his National Movement Party. Progress on market reforms and democratization has been made in the years since independence, but this progress has been complicated by two civil conflicts in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. These two territories remain outside the control of the central government and are ruled by de facto, unrecognized governments, supported by Russia. Russian-led peacekeeping operations continue in both regions. The Georgian Government put forward a new peace initiative for the peaceful resolution of the status of South Ossetia in 2005.

Geography Georgia

Location: Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia

Geographic coordinates: 42 00 N, 43 30 E

Map references: Asia

Area: total: 69,700 sq km land: 69,700 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than South Carolina

Land boundaries: total: 1,461 km border countries: Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km, Turkey 252 km

Coastline: 310 km

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

Climate: warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast

Terrain: largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south; Kolkhet'is Dablobi (Kolkhida Lowland) opens to the Black Sea in the west; Mtkvari River Basin in the east; good soils in river valley flood plains, foothills of Kolkhida Lowland

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Mt'a Shkhara 5,201 m

Natural resources: forests, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ore, copper, minor coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important tea and citrus growth

Land use: arable land: 11.51% permanent crops: 3.79% other: 84.7% (2005)

Irrigated land: 4,690 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: earthquakes

Environment - current issues: air pollution, particularly in Rust'avi; heavy pollution of Mtkvari River and the Black Sea; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil pollution from toxic chemicals

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

Geography - note: strategically located east of the Black Sea; Georgia controls much of the Caucasus Mountains and the routes through them

People Georgia

Population: 4,661,473 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 17.3% (male 428,056/female 380,193) 15-64 years: 66.2% (male 1,482,908/female 1,602,064) 65 years and over: 16.5% (male 308,905/female 459,347) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 37.7 years male: 35.3 years female: 40.1 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.34% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 10.41 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 9.23 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: -4.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.15 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 17.97 deaths/1,000 live births male: 20.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.09 years male: 72.8 years female: 79.87 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.42 children born/woman (2006 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 3,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality: noun: Georgian(s) adjective: Georgian

Ethnic groups: Georgian 83.8%, Azeri 6.5%, Armenian 5.7%, Russian 1.5%, other 2.5% (2002 census)

Religions: Orthodox Christian 83.9%, Muslim 9.9%, Armenian-Gregorian 3.9%, Catholic 0.8%, other 0.8%, none 0.7% (2002 census)

Languages: Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7% note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2004 est.)

Government Georgia

Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Georgia local long form: none local short form: Sak'art'velo former: Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic

Government type: republic

Capital: name: T'bilisi geographic coordinates: 41 43 N, 44 49 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 9 regions (mkharebi, singular - mkhare), 9 cities (k'alak'ebi, singular - k'alak'i), and 2 autonomous republics (avtomnoy respubliki, singular - avtom respublika) regions: Guria, Imereti, Kakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Samegrelo and Zemo Svaneti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Shida Kartli cities: Chiat'ura, Gori, K'ut'aisi, P'ot'i, Rust'avi, Tbilisi, Tqibuli, Tsqaltubo, Zugdidi autonomous republics: Abkhazia or Ap'khazet'is Avtonomiuri Respublika (Sokhumi), Ajaria or Acharis Avtonomiuri Respublika (Bat'umi) note: the administrative centers of the two autonomous republics are shown in parentheses

Independence: 9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 May (1918); note - 26 May 1918 is the date of independence from Soviet Russia, 9 April 1991 is the date of independence from the Soviet Union

Constitution: adopted 24 August 1995

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Mikheil SAAKASHVILI (since 25 January 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government for the power ministries: state security (includes interior) and defense head of government: President Mikheil SAAKASHVILI (since 25 January 2004); Prime Minister Zurab NOGHAIDELI (since 17 February 2005); note - the president is the chief of state and head of government for the power ministries: state security (includes interior) and defense; the prime minister is head of the remaining ministries of government cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 4 January 2004 (next to be held in late 2008) election results: Mikheil SAAKASHVILI elected president; percent of vote - Mikheil SAAKASHVILI 96.3%, Temur SHASHIASHVILI 1.9%

Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Council (commonly referred to as Parliament) or Umaghiesi Sabcho (235 seats - 150 elected by party lists); members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held spring 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - National Movement-Democratic Front 67.6%, Rightist Opposition 7.6%, all other parties received less than 7% each; seats by party - National Movement-Democratic Front 135, Rightist Opposition 15

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges elected by the Supreme Council on the president's or chairman of the Supreme Court's recommendation); Constitutional Court; first and second instance courts

Political parties and leaders: Burjanadze-Democrats [Nino BURJANADZE]; Georgian People's Front [Nodar NATADZE]; Georgian United Communist Party or UCPG [Panteleimon GIORGADZE]; Georgia's Way Party [Salome ZOURABICHVILI]; Greens [Giorgi GACHECHILADZE]; Industry Will Save Georgia (Industrialists) or IWSG [Georgi TOPADZE]; Labor Party [Shalva NATELASHVILI]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Bachuki KARDAVA]; National Movement Democratic Front [Mikheil SAAKASHVILI] bloc composed of National Movement and Burjanadze-Democrats; National Movement [Mikheil SAAKASHVILI]; New Rights [David GAMKRELIDZE]; Republican Party [David USUPASHVILI]; Rightist Opposition [David GAMKRELIDZE] bloc composed of Industrialists and New Right Party; Socialist Party or SPG [Irakli MINDELI]; Traditionalists [Akaki ASATIANI]; Union of National Forces-Conservatives [Koba DAVITASHVILI and Zviad DZIDZIGURI]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Georgian independent deputies from Abkhaz government in exile; separatists in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia

International organization participation: ACCT (observer), BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Vasil SIKHARULIDZE chancery: 1101 15th Street NW, Suite 602, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 387-2390 FAX: [1] (202) 393-4537

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador John F. TEFFT embassy: 11 George Balanchine St., T'bilisi 0131 mailing address: 7060 T'bilisi Place, Washington, DC 20521-7060 telephone: [995] (32) 27-70-00 FAX: [995] (32) 53-23-10

Flag description: white rectangle, in its central portion a red cross connecting all four sides of the flag; in each of the four corners is a small red bolnur-katskhuri cross; the five-cross flag appears to date back to the 14th century

Economy Georgia

Economy - overview: Georgia's main economic activities include the cultivation of agricultural products such as grapes, citrus fruits, and hazelnuts; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small industrial sector producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, metals, machinery, and chemicals. The country imports the bulk of its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. It has sizeable but underdeveloped hydropower capacity. Despite the severe damage the economy has suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with the help of the IMF and World Bank, has made substantial economic gains since 2000, achieving positive GDP growth and curtailing inflation. Georgia had suffered from a chronic failure to collect tax revenues; however, the new government is making progress and has reformed the tax code, improved tax administration, increased tax enforcement, and cracked down on corruption. In addition, the reinvigorated privatization process has met with success, supplementing government expenditures on infrastructure, defense, and poverty reduction. Despite customs and financial (tax) enforcement improvements, smuggling is a drain on the economy. Georgia also suffers from energy shortages due to aging and badly maintained infrastructure, as well as poor management. Due to concerted reform efforts, collection rates have improved considerably to roughly 60%, both in T'bilisi and throughout the regions. Continued reform in the management of state-owned power entities is essential to successful privatization and onward sustainability in this sector. The country is pinning its hopes for long-term growth on its role as a transit state for pipelines and trade. The construction on the Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-T'bilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline have brought much-needed investment and job opportunities. Nevertheless, high energy prices have compounded the pressure on the country's inefficient energy sector. Restructuring the sector and finding energy supply alternatives to Russia remain major challenges.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $17.79 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $5.272 billion (2006 est.)

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

GDP - per capita (PPP): $3,800 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 17.7% industry: 27.5% services: 54.8% (2006 est.)

Labor force: 2.04 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 40% industry: 20% services: 40% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 12.6% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line: 54% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 27.9% (1996)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 38 (2003)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 30% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget: revenues: $1.726 billion expenditures: $1.879 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products: citrus, grapes, tea, hazelnuts, vegetables; livestock

Industries: steel, aircraft, machine tools, electrical appliances, mining (manganese and copper), chemicals, wood products, wine

Industrial production growth rate: 3% (2000)

Electricity - production: 6.804 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 19.7% hydro: 80.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 8.528 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports: 200 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 2.4 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 1,981 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - consumption: 13,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports: NA bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production: 20 million cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 1.5 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports: NA cu m

Natural gas - imports: 1.5 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Current account balance: $-735 million (2006 est.)

Exports: $1.761 billion (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities: scrap metal, machinery, chemicals; fuel reexports; citrus fruits, tea, wine

Exports - partners: Russia 18.1%, Turkey 14.3%, Azerbaijan 9.8%, Turkmenistan 8.9%, Bulgaria 5%, Armenia 4.7%, Ukraine 4.4%, Canada 4.2% (2005)

Imports: $3.32 billion (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities: fuels, machinery and parts, transport equipment, grain and other foods, pharmaceuticals

Imports - partners: Russia 15.4%, Turkey 11.4%, Azerbaijan 9.4%, Ukraine 8.8%, Germany 8.3%, US 6% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $492 million (2006 est.)

Debt - external: $2.04 billion (2004)

Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $150 million (2000 est.)

Currency (code): lari (GEL)

Currency code: GEL

Exchange rates: lari per US dollar - 1.79 (2006), 1.8127 (2005), 1.9167 (2004), 2.1457 (2003), 2.1957 (2002)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Georgia

Telephones - main lines in use: 683,200 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.459 million (2005)

Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: local - T'bilisi, K'ut'aisi, and Batumi have cellular telephone networks; urban telephone density is about 20 per 100 people; rural telephone density is about 4 per 100 people; intercity facilities include a fiber-optic line between T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi; nationwide pager service is available international: country code - 995; Georgia and Russia are working on a fiber-optic line between P'ot'i and Sochi (Russia); present international service is available by microwave, landline, and satellite through the Moscow switch; international electronic mail and telex service are available

Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 12, shortwave 4 (1998)

Radios: 3.02 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 12 (plus repeaters) (1998)

Televisions: 2.57 million (1997)

Internet country code: .ge

Internet hosts: 10,752 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 6 (2000)

Internet users: 175,600 (2005)

Transportation Georgia

Airports: 23 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 19 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Heliports: 3 (2006)

Pipelines: gas 1,349 km; oil 1,010 km (2006)

Railways: total: 1,612 km broad gauge: 1,575 km 1.520-m gauge (1,575 electrified) narrow gauge: 37 km 0.912-m gauge (37 electrified) (2005)

Roadways: total: 20,247 km paved: 7,973 km unpaved: 12,274 km (2004)

Merchant marine: total: 222 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,059,386 GRT/1,538,746 DWT by type: bulk carrier 27, cargo 176, container 4, liquefied gas 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 188 (Albania 1, Azerbaijan 2, Belgium 1, China 2, Cyprus 1, Ecuador 1, Egypt 8, Germany 1, Greece 8, Indonesia 1, South Korea 1, Lebanon 7, Monaco 13, Romania 11, Russia 28, Slovakia 1, Slovenia 1, Syria 43, Turkey 30, UAE 1, UK 4, Ukraine 22) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Bat'umi, P'ot'i

Transportation - note: transportation network is in poor condition resulting from ethnic conflict, criminal activities, and fuel shortages; network lacks maintenance and repair

Military Georgia

Military branches: Ground Forces (includes National Guard), Air and Air Defense Forces, Navy (2006)

Military service age and obligation: 18 to 34 years of age for compulsory and voluntary active duty military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months (2005)

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 1,038,736 females age 18-49: 1,105,910 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 827,281 females age 18-49: 903,791 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually: males age 18-49: 38,857 females age 18-49: 38,238 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $23 million (FY00)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.59% (FY00)

Military - note: a CIS peacekeeping force of Russian troops is deployed in the Abkhazia region of Georgia together with a UN military observer group; a Russian peacekeeping battalion is deployed in South Ossetia

Transnational Issues Georgia

Disputes - international: Russia and Georgia agree on delimiting 80% of their common border, leaving certain small, strategic segments and the maritime boundary unresolved; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge in Abkhazia; UN Observer Mission in Georgia has maintained a peacekeeping force in Georgia since 1993; Meshkheti Turks scattered throughout the former Soviet Union seek to return to Georgia; boundary with Armenia remains undemarcated; ethnic Armenian groups in Javakheti region of Georgia seek greater autonomy from the Georgian government; Azerbaijan and Georgia continue to discuss the alignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas

Refugees and internally displaced persons: IDPs: 220,000-240,000 (displaced from Abkhazia and South Ossetia) (2006)

Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption; used as transshipment point for opiates via Central Asia to Western Europe and Russia

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007



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@Germany

Introduction Germany

Background: As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.

Geography Germany

Location: Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark

Geographic coordinates: 51 00 N, 9 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area: total: 357,021 sq km land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries: total: 3,621 km border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km

Coastline: 2,389 km

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

Climate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind

Terrain: lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m

Natural resources: coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land

Land use: arable land: 33.13% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 66.27% (2005)

Irrigated land: 4,850 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: flooding

Environment - current issues: emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive

Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea

People Germany

Population: 82,422,299 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 14.1% (male 5,973,437/female 5,665,971) 15-64 years: 66.4% (male 27,889,936/female 26,874,858) 65 years and over: 19.4% (male 6,602,478/female 9,415,619) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 42.6 years male: 41.3 years female: 43.9 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.02% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 8.25 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 10.62 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 4.12 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.8 years male: 75.81 years female: 81.96 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.39 children born/woman (2006 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 43,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 1,000 (2003 est.)

Nationality: noun: German(s) adjective: German

Ethnic groups: German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish)

Religions: Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%

Languages: German

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

Government Germany

Country name: conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany conventional short form: Germany local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland local short form: Deutschland former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich

Government type: federal republic

Capital: name: Berlin geographic coordinates: 52 31 N, 13 24 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions: 16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern (Bavaria), Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia), Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Saarland, Sachsen (Saxony), Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen (Thuringia); note - Bayern, Sachsen, and Thueringen refer to themselves as free states (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat)

Independence: 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991

National holiday: Unity Day, 3 October (1990)

Constitution: 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united Germany 3 October 1990

Legal system: civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July 2004) head of government: Chancellor Angela MERKEL (since 22 November 2005) cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor elections: president elected for a five-year term (eligible for a second term) by a Federal Convention, including all members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held 23 May 2004 (next to be held 23 May 2009); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; Bundestag election last held 22 November 2005 (next to be held November 2009) election results: Horst KOEHLER elected president; received 604 votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN; Angela MERKEL elected chancellor; vote by Federal Assembly 397 to 202 with 12 abstentions

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (614 seats; elected by popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain proportional representation and caucus recogntion; members serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has three to six votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block) elections: Federal Assembly - last held 18 September 2005 (next to be held September 2009); note - there are no elections for the Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - CDU/CSU 35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%, Greens 8.1%; seats by party - CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP 61, Left 53, Greens 51, and independents 2

Judicial branch: Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)

Political parties and leaders: Alliance '90/Greens [Claudia ROTH and Reinhard BUETIKOFER]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE, chairman]; Left Party.PDS (Linkspartei.PDS) [Lothar BISKY]; note - a merger with the Electoral Alternative-Work and Social Justice or WASG [Klaus ERNST] is planned for summer 2007; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Kurt BECK]

Political pressure groups and leaders: business associations and employers' organizations; religious, trade unions, immigrant, expellee, and veterans groups

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

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Klaus SCHARIOTH chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-4000 FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador William R. TIMKEN, Jr. embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin; note - a new embassy will be built near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; ground was broken in October 2004 and completion is scheduled for 2008 mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265 telephone: [49] (030) 8305-0 FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215 consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold

Economy Germany

Economy - overview: Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world - has become one of the slowest growing economies in the euro zone. A quick turnaround is not in the offing in the foreseeable future; however, stronger growth this year has improved employment considerably. Growth in 2001-03 fell short of 1%, rising to 1.7% in 2004, falling back to 0.9% in 2005, and increasing to 2.2% in 2006. Unemployment fell to 7.1% in October 2006, based on the Internation Labor Organization's measurement. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion. Germany's aging population, combined with high chronic unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. Structural rigidities in the labor market - including strict regulations on laying off workers and the setting of wages on a national basis - and a lack of competition in the sevice sectors have made slow growth a chronic problem. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could help Germany meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization; however, the current government has failed to pass meaningful economic reform that would improve growth prospects. Higher government revenues from the cyclical upturn in 2006 reduced Germany's budget deficit to within the EU's 3% debt limit.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $2.585 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $2.858 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 2.2% (2006 est.)

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

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 0.9% industry: 29.1% services: 70% (2006 est.)

Labor force: 43.66 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 2.8% industry: 33.4% services: 63.8% (1999)

Unemployment rate: 7.1% note: this is the International Labor Organization's estimated rate for international comparisons; Germany's Federal Employment Office estimated a seasonally adjusted rate of 9.8% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.6% highest 10%: 25.1% (1997)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 28.3 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 17.3% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget: revenues: $1.277 trillion expenditures: $1.344 trillion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

Public debt: 66.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products: potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry

Industries: among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages, shipbuilding, textiles

Industrial production growth rate: 4.4% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production: 566.9 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 61.8% hydro: 4.2% nuclear: 29.9% other: 4.1% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 524.6 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports: 50.8 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports: 48.2 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 167,400 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - consumption: 2.65 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil - exports: 12,990 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - imports: 2.135 million bbl/day (2003)

Oil - proved reserves: 395.8 million bbl (1 January 2004)

Natural gas - production: 19.9 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 102 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 8.81 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 90.11 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 279.1 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Current account balance: $134.8 billion (2006 est.)

Exports: $1.133 trillion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities: machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles

Exports - partners: France 10.2%, US 8.8%, UK 7.9%, Italy 6.9%, Netherlands 6.1%, Belgium 5.6%, Austria 5.4%, Spain 5.1% (2005)

Imports: $916.4 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals

Imports - partners: France 8.7%, Netherlands 8.5%, US 6.6%, China 6.4%, UK 6.3%, Italy 5.7%, Belgium 5%, Austria 4% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $48.76 billion (August 2006 est.)

Debt - external: $3.904 trillion (30 June 2006)

Economic aid - donor: ODA, $5.6 billion (1998)

Currency (code): euro (EUR) note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries

Currency code: EUR

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 0.7967 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Germany

Telephones - main lines in use: 55.046 million (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 79.2 million (2005)

Telephone system: general assessment: Germany has one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country, dating back to World War II, has been modernized and integrated with that of the western part domestic: Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available, expanding rapidly, and includes roaming service to many foreign countries international: country code - 49; Germany's international service is excellent worldwide, consisting of extensive land and undersea cable facilities as well as earth stations in the Inmarsat, Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems (2001)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998)

Radios: 77.8 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions: 51.4 million (1998)

Internet country code: .de

Internet hosts: 11,859,131 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 200 (2001)

Internet users: 50.616 million (2006)

Transportation Germany

Airports: 554 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 332 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 54 1,524 to 2,437 m: 58 914 to 1,523 m: 72 under 914 m: 135 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 222 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 33 under 914 m: 185 (2006)

Heliports: 32 (2006)

Pipelines: condensate 37 km; gas 25,035 km; oil 3,546 km; refined products 3,827 km (2006)

Railways: total: 47,201 km standard gauge: 46,948 km 1.435-m gauge (19,674 km electrified) narrow gauge: 229 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2005)

Roadways: total: 231,581 km paved: 231,581 km (including 12,200 km of expressways) (2005)

Waterways: 7,467 km note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea (2005)

Merchant marine: total: 394 ships (1000 GRT or over) 11,017,754 GRT/13,091,194 DWT by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 60, chemical tanker 13, container 273, liquefied gas 3, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 25, petroleum tanker 10, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 4 (Finland 2, Italy 1, Switzerland 1) registered in other countries: 2,491 (Antigua and Barbuda 858, Australia 3, Bahamas 22, Belize 3, Bermuda 21, Brazil 7, Bulgaria 1, Burma 5, Canada 3, Cayman Islands 13, Cyprus 214, Denmark 13, Dominica 1, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 2, Georgia 1, Gibraltar 108, Guyana 1, Hong Kong 6, Indonesia 1, Ireland 2, Isle of Man 56, Jamaica 3, Liberia 587, Luxembourg 10, Malaysia 2, Malta 64, Marshall Islands 194, Morocco 2, Netherlands 56, Netherlands Antilles 60, NZ 1, Panama 35, Portugal 17, Russia 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 8, Samoa 1, Singapore 9, Spain 12, Sri Lanka 5, Sweden 3, Turkey 1, UK 76, US 2) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Bremen, Bremerhaven, Brunsbuttel, Duisburg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Mainz, Rostock, Wilhemshaven

Military Germany

Military branches: Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Service Support Command (Streitkraeftebasis), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst) (2006)

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age (conscripts serve a nine-month tour of compulsory military service) (2004)

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 18,917,537 females age 18-49: 17,913,113 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 15,258,931 females age 18-49: 14,443,412 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually: males age 18-49: 497,048 females age 18-49: 470,537 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $35.063 billion (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.5% (2003)

Transnational Issues Germany

Disputes - international: none

Illicit drugs: source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs; major financial center

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007



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@Ghana

Introduction Ghana

Background: Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. A long series of coups resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981 and a ban on political parties. A new constitution, restoring multiparty politics, was approved in 1992. Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS, head of state since 1981, won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR, who defeated former Vice President John ATTA-MILLS in a free and fair election, succeeded him.

Geography Ghana

Location: Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 2 00 W

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 239,460 sq km land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries: total: 2,094 km border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km

Coastline: 539 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm

Climate: tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north

Terrain: mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m

Natural resources: gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone

Land use: arable land: 17.54% permanent crops: 9.22% other: 73.24% (2005)

Irrigated land: 310 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts

Environment - current issues: recurrent drought in north severely affects agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note: Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake

People Ghana

Population: 22,409,572 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 38.8% (male 4,395,744/female 4,288,720) 15-64 years: 57.7% (male 6,450,828/female 6,483,781) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 371,428/female 419,071) (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 19.9 years male: 19.7 years female: 20.1 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.07% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 30.52 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 9.72 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 55.02 deaths/1,000 live births male: 59.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 50.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 58.87 years male: 58.07 years female: 59.69 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.99 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 3.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 350,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 30,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever are high risks in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2007)

Nationality: noun: Ghanaian(s) adjective: Ghanaian

Ethnic groups: African 98.5% (includes Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%, Gurma 3%, Yoruba 1%), European and other 1.5% (1998)

Religions: Christian 63%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 21%

Languages: English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 74.8% male: 82.7% female: 67.1% (2003 est.)

Government Ghana

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Ghana conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast

Government type: constitutional democracy

Capital: name: Accra geographic coordinates: 5 33 N, 0 13 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western

Independence: 6 March 1957 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 March (1957)

Constitution: approved 28 April 1992

Legal system: based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers; president nominates members subject to approval by Parliament elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held December 2008) election results: John Agyekum KUFUOR reelected president in election; percent of vote - John KUFUOR 53.4%, John ATTA-MILLS 43.7%

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (230 seats; note - increased from 200 seats in last election; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held December 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPP 128, NDC 92, other 10

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Convention People's Party or CPP [Nii Noi DOWUONA, general secretary]; Democratic Freedom Party or DFP [Obed ASAMOAH, chairman]; Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE [Owuraku AMOFA, chairman]; Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Dan LARTY]; National Convention Party or NCP [Sarpong KUMA-KUMA]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Dr. Huudu YAHAYA, general secretary]; New Patriotic Party or NPP [Samuel Arthur ODOI-SYKES]; People's Convention Party or PCP [P. K. DONKOH-AYIFI, acting chairman]; People's Heritage Party or PHP [Emmanuel Alexander ERSKINE]; People's National Convention or PNC [Edward MAHAMA]; Reform Party [Kyeretwie OPUKU, general secretary]; United Renaissance Party or URP [Charles Wayo, chairman]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Fritz Kwabena POKU chancery: 1156 15th St. NW #905, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1379 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1430 consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela BRIDGEWATER embassy: 6th and 10th Lanes, 798/1 Osu, Accra mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra telephone: [233] (21) 775-347, 775-348 FAX: [233] (21) 701-813

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Bolivia, which has a coat of arms centered in the yellow band

Economy Ghana

Economy - overview: Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorest countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and technical assistance. Gold, timber, and cocoa production are major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 34% of GDP and employs 60% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program in 2002, but was included in a G-8 debt relief program decided upon at the Gleneagles Summit in July 2005. Priorities under its current $38 million Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) include tighter monetary and fiscal policies, accelerated privatization, and improvement of social services. Receipts from the gold sector helped sustain GDP growth in 2006 along with record high prices for Ghana's largest cocoa crop to date. Ghana received a Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant in 2006, which aims to assist in transforming Ghana's agricultural export sector.