Chapter XII: Front Matter (12)

_#_Labor force: 2,400,000 (1983); agriculture 82.0%, industry and commerce 11.0%, services 5.4%; 88,112 civil servants (1987); 52% of population of working age (1985)

_#_Organized labor: virtually 100% of wage earners loosely affiliated with the National Confederation of Guinean Workers

_*_Government _#_Long-form name: Republic of Guinea

_#_Type: republic

_#_Capital: Conakry

_#_Administrative divisions: 29 administrative regions (regions administratives, singular--region administrative); Beyla, Boffa, Boke, Conakry, Dabola, Dalaba, Dinguiraye, Dubreka, Faranah, Forecariah, Fria, Gaoual, Gueckedou, Kankan, Kerouane, Kindia, Kissidougou, Koundara, Kouroussa, Labe, Macenta, Mali, Mamou, Nzerekore, Pita, Siguiri, Telimele, Tougue, Yomou

_#_Independence: 2 October 1958 (from France; formerly French Guinea)

_#_Constitution: 23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale)

_#_Legal system: based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree; legal codes currently being revised; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

_#_National holiday: Anniversary of the Second Republic, 3 April (1984)

_#_Executive branch: president, Transitional Committee for National Recovery (Comite Transitionale de Redressement National or CTRN) replaced the Military Committee for National Recovery (Comite Militaire de Redressement National or CMRN); Council of Ministers (cabinet)

_#_Legislative branch: People's National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale Populaire) was dissolved after the 3 April 1984 coup

_#_Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel)

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State and Head of Government--Gen. Lansana CONTE (since 5 April 1984)

_#_Political parties and leaders: none; following the 3 April 1984 coup all political activity was banned

_#_Suffrage: none

_#_Elections: none

_#_Communists: no Communist party, although there are some sympathizers

_#_Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEAO (observer), ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant); Chancery at 2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 483-9420;

US--Ambassador Dane F. SMITH, Jr.; Embassy at 2nd Boulevard and 9th Avenue, Conakry (mailing address is B. P. 603, Conakry); telephone (224) 44-15-20 through 24

_#_Flag: three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Rwanda which has a large black letter R centered in the yellow band

_*_Economy _#_Overview: Although possessing many natural resources and considerable potential for agricultural development, Guinea is one of the poorest countries in the world. The agricultural sector contributes about 40% to GDP and employs more than 80% of the work force, while industry accounts for 27% of GDP. Guinea possesses over 25% of theworld's bauxite reserves; exports of bauxite and alumina accounted for about 70% of total exports in 1989.

_#_GDP: $2.7 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate 4.4% (1989 est.)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 28.2% (1989 est.)

_#_Unemployment rate: NA%

_#_Budget: revenues $394 million; expenditures $548 million, including capital expenditures of $254 million (1989 est.)

_#_Exports: $645 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);

commodities--alumina, bauxite, diamonds, coffee, pineapples, bananas, palm kernels;

partners--US 33%, EC 33%, USSR and Eastern Europe 20%, Canada

_#_Imports: $551 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.);

commodities--petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, textiles and other grain;

partners--US 16%, France, Brazil

_#_External debt: $2.6 billion (1990 est.)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for 27% of GDP

_#_Electricity: 113,000 kW capacity; 300 million kWh produced, 40 kWh per capita (1989)

_#_Industries: bauxite mining, alumina, gold, diamond mining, light manufacturing and agricultural processing industries

_#_Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP (includes fishing and forestry); mostly subsistence farming; principal products--rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava, bananas, sweet potatoes, timber; livestock--cattle, sheep and goats; not self-sufficient in food grains

_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $227 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1,075 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $120 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $446 million

_#_Currency: Guinean franc (plural--francs); 1 Guinean franc (FG) = 100 centimes

_#_Exchange rates: Guinean francs (FG) per US$1--24.39 (1989), 19.23 (1988), 17.54 (1987), 14.29 (1986), NA (1985)

_#_Fiscal year: calendar year

_*_Communications _#_Railroads: 1,045 km; 806 km 1.000-meter gauge, 239 km 1.435-meter standard gauge

_#_Highways: 30,100 km total; 1,145 km paved, 12,955 km gravel or laterite (of which barely 4,500 km are currently all-weather roads), 16,000 km unimproved earth (1987)

_#_Inland waterways: 1,295 km navigable by shallow-draft native craft

_#_Ports: Conakry, Kamsar

_#_Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft

_#_Airports: 16 total, 16 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 10 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

_#_Telecommunications: fair system of open-wire lines, small radiocommunication stations, and new radio relay system; 10,000 telephones; stations--3 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 12,000 TV sets; 125,000 radio receivers; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: Army, Navy (acts primarily as a coast guard), Air Force, Republican Guard, paramilitary National Gendarmerie, Surete Nationale

_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,695,832; 853,593 fit for military service

_#_Defense expenditures: $27 million, 1.2% of GDP (1988) _%_ _@_Guinea-Bissau _*_Geography _#_Total area: 36,120 km2; land area: 28,000 km2

_#_Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut

_#_Land boundaries: 724 km total; Guinea 386, Senegal 338 km

_#_Coastline: 350 km

_#_Maritime claims:

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

_#_Disputes: the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has rendered its decision on the Guinea-Bissau/Senegal maritime boundary (in favor of Senegal)--that decision has been rejected by Guinea-Bissau

_#_Climate: tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoon-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

_#_Terrain: mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east

_#_Natural resources: unexploited deposits of petroleum, bauxite, phosphates; fish, timber

_#_Land use: arable land 11%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 43%; forest and woodland 38%; other 7%

_#_Environment: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season

_*_People _#_Population: 1,023,544 (July 1991), growth rate 2.4% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 42 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 18 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 125 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 45 years male, 48 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 5.8 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Guinea-Bissauan(s); adjective--Guinea-Bissauan

_#_Ethnic divisions: African about 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%); European and mulatto less than 1%

_#_Religion: indigenous beliefs 65%, Muslim 30%, Christian 5%

_#_Language: Portuguese (official); Criolo and numerous African languages

_#_Literacy: 36% (male 50%, female 24%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

_#_Labor force: 403,000 (est.); agriculture 90%, industry, services, and commerce 5%, government 5%; population of working age 53% (1983)

_#_Organized labor: only one trade union--the National Union of Workers of Guinea-Bissau (UNTG)

_*_Government _#_Long-form name: Republic of Guinea-Bissau

_#_Type: republic; highly centralized one-party regime since September 1974; the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC) held an extraordinary party congress in December 1990 and established a two-year transition program during which the constitution will be revised, allowing for multiple political parties and a presidential election in 1993

_#_Capital: Bissau

_#_Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regioes, singular--regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali

_#_Independence: 24 September 1973 (from Portugal; formerly Portuguese Guinea)

_#_Constitution: 16 May 1984

_#_Legal system: NA

_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 24 September (1973)

_#_Executive branch: president of the Council of State, vice presidents of the Council of State, Council of State, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Assembly (Assembleia Nacional Popular)

_#_Judicial branch: none; there is a Ministry of Justice in the Council of Ministers

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State and Head of Government--President of the Council of State Brig. Gen. Joao Bernardo VIEIRA (assumed power 14 November 1980 and elected President of Council of State on 16 May 1984); First Vice President Col. Iafai CAMARA (since 7 November 1985); Second Vice President Vasco CABRAL (since 21 June 1989)

_#_Political parties and leaders: only party--African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC), President Joao Bernardo VIEIRA, leader; the party decided to retain the binational title despite its formal break with Cape Verde

_#_Suffrage: universal at age 15

_#_Elections:

President of Council of State--last held 19 June 1989 (next to be held NA 1993); results--Brig. Gen. Joao Bernardo VIEIRA was reelected without opposition by the National People's Assembly;

National People's Assembly--last held 15 June 1989 (next to be held 15 June 1994); results--PAIGC is the only party; seats--(150 total) PAIGC 150, appointed by Regional Councils

_#_Communists: a few Communists, some sympathizers

_#_Member of: ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOM (observer), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Alfredo Lopes CABRAL; Chancery (temporary) at the Guinea-Bissauan Permanent Mission to the UN, Suite 604, 211 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 661-3977;

US--Ambassador William L. JACOBSEN, Jr.; Embassy at 17 Avenida Domingos Ramos, Bissau (mailing address is 1067 Bissau Codex, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau); telephone [245] 20-1139, 20-1145, 20-1113

_#_Flag: two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Cape Verde which has the black star raised above the center of the red band and is framed by two corn stalks and a yellow clam shell

_*_Economy _#_Overview: Guinea-Bissau ranks among the poorest countries in the world, with a per capita GDP below $200. Agriculture and fishing are the main economic activities, with cashew nuts, peanuts, and palm kernels the primary exports. Exploitation of known mineral deposits is unlikely at present because of a weak infrastructure and the high cost of development. The government's four-year plan (1988-91) has targeted agricultural development as the top priority.

_#_GDP: $154 million, per capita $160; real growth rate 5.0% (1989)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% (1990 est.)

_#_Unemployment rate: NA%

_#_Budget: revenues $22.7 million; expenditures $30.8 million, including capital expenditures of $18.0 million (1989 est.)

_#_Exports: $14.2 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);

commodities--cashews, fish, peanuts, palm kernels;

partners--Portugal, Senegal, France, The Gambia, Netherlands, Spain

_#_Imports: $68.9 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);

commodities--capital equipment, consumer goods, semiprocessed goods, foods, petroleum;

partners--Portugal, Netherlands, Senegal, USSR, Germany

_#_External debt: $462 million (December 1990 est.)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 1.0% (1989 est.); accounts for 10% of GDP (1989 est.)

_#_Electricity: 22,000 kW capacity; 28 million kWh produced, 30 kWh per capita (1989)

_#_Industries: agricultural processing, beer, soft drinks

_#_Agriculture: accounts for over 50% of GDP, nearly 100% of exports, and 90% of employment; rice is the staple food; other crops include corn, beans, cassava, cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, and cotton; not self-sufficient in food; fishing and forestry potential not fully exploited

_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $49 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $561 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $41 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $68 million

_#_Currency: Guinea-Bissauan peso (plural--pesos); 1 Guinea-Bissauan peso (PG) = 100 centavos

_#_Exchange rates: Guinea-Bissauan pesos (PG) per US$1--1987.2 (1989), 1363.6 (1988), 851.65 (1987), 238.98 (1986), 173.61 (1985)

_#_Fiscal year: calendar year

_*_Communications _#_Highways: 3,218 km; 2,698 km bituminous, remainder earth

_#_Inland waterways: scattered stretches are important to coastal commerce

_#_Ports: Bissau

_#_Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft

_#_Airports: 37 total, 18 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

_#_Telecommunications: poor system of radio relay, open-wire lines, and radiocommunications; 3,000 telephones; stations--1 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; including Army, Navy, Air Force), paramilitary force

_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 222,371; 126,797 fit for military service

_#_Defense expenditures: $5 million, 3.2% of GDP (1987) _%_ _@_Guyana _*_Geography _#_Total area: 214,970 km2; land area: 196,850 km2

_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than Idaho

_#_Land boundaries: 2,462 km total; Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km

_#_Coastline: 459 km

_#_Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: outer edge of continental margin or 200 nm;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

_#_Disputes: all of the area west of the Essequibo river claimed by Venezuela; Suriname claims area between New (Upper Courantyne) and Courantyne/Kutari Rivers (all headwaters of the Courantyne)

_#_Climate: tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January)

_#_Terrain: mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south

_#_Natural resources: bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish

_#_Land use: arable land 3%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 6%; forest and woodland 83%; other 8%; includes irrigated 1%

_#_Environment: flash floods a constant threat during rainy seasons; water pollution

_*_People _#_Population: 749,508 (July 1991), growth rate - 0.4% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 23 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: - 20 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 51 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 61 years male, 68 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 2.6 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Guyanese (sing., pl.); adjective--Guyanese

_#_Ethnic divisions: East Indian 51%, black and mixed 43%, Amerindian 4%, European and Chinese 2%

_#_Religion: Christian 57%, Hindu 33%, Muslim 9%, other 1%

_#_Language: English, Amerindian dialects

_#_Literacy: 95% (male 98%, female 96%) age 15 and over having ever attended school (1990 est.)

_#_Labor force: 268,000; industry and commerce 44.5%, agriculture 33.8%, services 21.7%; public-sector employment amounts to 60-80% of the total labor force (1985)

_#_Organized labor: 34% of labor force

_*_Government _#_Long-form name: Co-operative Republic of Guyana

_#_Type: republic

_#_Capital: Georgetown

_#_Administrative divisions: 10 regions; Barima-Waini, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Demerara-Mahaica, East Berbice-Corentyne, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, Mahaica-Berbice, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Potaro-Siparuni, Upper Demerara-Berbice, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo

_#_Independence: 26 May 1966 (from UK; formerly British Guiana)

_#_Constitution: 6 October 1980

_#_Legal system: based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

_#_National holiday: Republic Day, 23 February (1970)

_#_Executive branch: executive president, first vice president, prime minister, first deputy prime minister, Cabinet

_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly

_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--Executive President Hugh Desmond HOYTE (since 6 August 1985); First Vice President Hamilton GREEN (since 6 August 1985);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Hamilton GREEN (since NA August 1985)

_#_Political parties and leaders: People's National Congress (PNC), Hugh Desmond HOYTE; People's Progressive Party (PPP), Cheddi JAGAN; Working People's Alliance (WPA), Eusi KWAYANA, Rupert ROOPNARINE, Moses BHAGWAN; Democratic Labor Movement (DLM), Paul TENNASSEE; People's Democratic Movement (PDM), Llewellyn JOHN; National Democratic Front (NDF), Joseph BACCHUS; United Force (UF), Marcellus Feilden SINGH; United Republican Party (URP), Leslie RAMSAMMY; National Republican Party (NRP), Robert GANGADEEN

_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18

_#_Elections:

Executive President--last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be held mid-1991); Hugh Desmond HOYTE was elected president (the leader of the party with the most votes in the National Assembly elections);

National Assembly--last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be held mid-1991); results--PNC 78%, PPP 16%, UF 4%, WPA 2%; seats--(65 total, 53 elected) PNC 42, PPP 8, UF 2, WPA 1

_#_Communists: 100 (est.) hardcore within PPP; top echelons of PPP and PYO (Progressive Youth Organization, militant wing of the PPP) include many Communists; small but unknown number of orthodox Marxist-Leninists within PNC, some of whom formerly belonged to the PPP

_#_Other political or pressure groups: Trades Union Congress (TUC); Guyanese Action for Reform and Democracy (GUARD) includes various labor groups as well as several of the smaller parties; Guyana Council of Indian Organizations (GCIO); Civil Liberties Action Committee (CLAC); the latter two organizations are small and active but not well organized; Guyanese Action for Reform and Democracy (GUARD) includes various labor groups, as well as several of the smaller political parties

_#_Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Dr. Cedric Hilburn GRANT; Chancery at 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 265-6900; there is a Guyanese Consulate General in New York;

US--Ambassador George JONES; Embassy at 31 Main Street, Georgetown; telephone [592] (02) 54900 through 54909

_#_Flag: green with a red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) superimposed on a long yellow arrowhead; there is a narrow black border between the red and yellow, and a narrow white border between the yellow and the green

_*_Economy _#_Overview: After growing on average at less than 1% a year in 1986-87, GDP dropped by 3% a year in 1988-89. The decline resulted from bad weather, labor trouble in the canefields, and flooding and equipment problems in the bauxite industry. Consumer prices rose about 35% in 1988 and by over 100% in 1989, and the current account deficit widened substantially as sugar and bauxite exports fell. Moreover, electric power is in short supply and constitutes a major barrier to future gains in national output. The government, in association with international financial agencies, seeks to reduce its payment arrears and to raise new funds. The government's stabilization program--aimed at establishing realistic exchange rates, reasonable price stability, and a resumption of growth--requires considerable public administrative abilities and continued patience by consumers during a long incubation period.

_#_GDP: $287.2 million, per capita $380; real growth rate - 3.3% (1989)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 105% (1989)

_#_Unemployment rate: 12-15% (1991 est.)

_#_Budget: revenues $65 million; expenditures $129 million, including capital expenditures of $6 million (1989 est.)

_#_Exports: $234 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.);

commodities--bauxite, sugar, gold, rice, shrimp, molasses, timber, rum;

partners--UK 31%, US 23%, CARICOM 7%, Canada 6% (1988)

_#_Imports: $319 million (c.i.f., 1991 est.);

commodities--manufactures machinery, food, petroleum;

partners--US 33%, CARICOM 10%, UK 9%, Canada 2% (1989)

_#_External debt: $1.7 billion, including arrears (December 1990 est.)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 10.0% (1989 est.); accounts for more than 20% of GDP

_#_Electricity: 250,000 kW capacity; 635 million kWh produced, 830 kWh per capita (1990)

_#_Industries: bauxite mining, sugar, rice milling, timber, fishing (shrimp), textiles, gold mining

_#_Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for 27% of GDP and about 50% of exports; sugar and rice are key crops; development potential exists for fishing and forestry; not self-sufficient in food, especially wheat, vegetable oils, and animal products

_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $116 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $244 million; Communist countries 1970-89, $242 million

_#_Currency: Guyanese dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Guyanese dollar (G$) = 100 cents

_#_Exchange rates: Guyanese dollars (G$) per US$1--45.00 (since June 1990), 39.533 (1990), 27.159 (1989), 10.000 (1988), 9.756 (1987), 4.272 (1986), 4.252 (1985)

_#_Fiscal year: calendar year

_*_Communications _#_Railroads: 187 km total, all single track 0.914-meter gauge

_#_Highways: 7,665 km total; 550 km paved, 5,000 km gravel, 1,525 km earth, 590 km unimproved

_#_Inland waterways: 6,000 km total of navigable waterways; Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo Rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km, respectively

_#_Ports: Georgetown

_#_Civil air: 5 major transport aircraft

_#_Airports: 58 total, 55 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; none with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 14 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

_#_Telecommunications: fair system with radio relay network; over 27,000 telephones; tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad; stations--4 AM, 3 FM, no TV, 1 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: Guyana Defense Force (GDF; includes Coast Guard and Air Corps), Guyana Police Force (GPF), Guyana People's Militia (GPM), Guyana National Service (GNS)

_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 195,142; 148,477 fit for military service

_#_Defense expenditures: $5.5 million, 6% of GDP (1989 est.) _%_ _@_Haiti _*_Geography _#_Total area: 27,750 km2; land area: 27,560 km2

_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

_#_Land boundary: 275 km with the Dominican Republic

_#_Coastline: 1,771 km

_#_Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

_#_Disputes: claims US-administered Navassa Island

_#_Climate: tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds

_#_Terrain: mostly rough and mountainous

_#_Natural resources: bauxite

_#_Land use: arable land 20%; permanent crops 13%; meadows and pastures 18%; forest and woodland 4%; other 45%; includes irrigated 3%

_#_Environment: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; deforestation; soil erosion

_#_Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic

_*_People _#_Population: 6,286,511 (July 1991), growth rate 2.3% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: - 5 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 106 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 55 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 6.3 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Haitian(s); adjective--Haitian

_#_Ethnic divisions: black 95%, mulatto and European 5%

_#_Religion: Roman Catholic is the official religion; Roman Catholic 80% (of which an overwhelming majority also practice Voodoo), Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)

_#_Language: French (official) spoken by only 10% of population; all speak Creole

_#_Literacy: 53% (male 59%, female 47%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

_#_Labor force: 2,300,000; agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%; shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)

_#_Organized labor: NA

_*_Government _#_Long-form name: Republic of Haiti

_#_Type: republic

_#_Capital: Port-au-Prince

_#_Administrative divisions: 9 departments, (departements, singular--departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est

_#_Independence: 1 January 1804 (from France)

_#_Constitution: 27 August 1983, suspended February 1986; draft constitution approved March 1987, suspended June 1988, most articles reinstated March 1989; March 1987 Constitution fully observed by government installed on 7 February 1991

_#_Legal system: based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1804)

_#_Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

_#_Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) consisting of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Deputies

_#_Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour de Cassation)

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 1991);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Rene PREVAL (since 13 February 1991)

_#_Political parties and leaders: National Front for Change and Democracy (FNCD) led by Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE, including Congress of Democratic Movements (CONACOM), Victor BENOIT; National Konbite Movement (MKN), Volvick Remy JOSEPH; National Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), a coalition consisting of Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti (MIDH), Marc BAZIN; National Progressive Revolutionary Party (PANPRA), Serge GILLES; and National Patriotic Movement of November 28 (MNP-28), Dejean BELIZAIRE; National Agricultural and Industrial Party (PAIN), Louis DEJOIE; Movement for National Reconstruction (MRN), Rene THEODORE; Haitian Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Sylvio CLAUDE; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats (RDNP), Leslie MANIGAT; National Party of Labor (PNT), Thomas DESULME; Mobilization for National Development (MDN), Hubert DE RONCERAY; Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Haiti (MODELH), Francois LATORTUE; Haitian Social Christian Party (PSCH), Gregoire EUGENE; Movement for the Organization of the Country (MOP), Gesner COMEAU

_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18

_#_Elections:

President--last held 16 December 1990 (next election to be held by December 1995); results--Rev. Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 67.5%, Marc BAZIN 14.2%, Louis DEJOIE 4.9%;

Senate--last held 16 December 1990, with runoff held 20 January 1991 (next to be held by December 1992); results--percent of vote NA; seats--(27) FNCD 13, ANDP 6, PAIN 2, MRN 2, PDCH 1, RDNP 1, PNT 1, independent 1;

Chamber of Deputies--last held 16 December 1990, with runoff held 20 January 1991 (next to be held by December 1994); results--percent of vote NA; seats--(83) FNCD 27, ANDP 17, PDCH 7, PAIN 6, RDNP 6, MDN 5, PNT 3, MKN 2, MODELH 2, MRN 1, independent 5, other 2

_#_Communists: United Party of Haitian Communists (PUCH), Rene THEODORE (roughly 2,000 members)

_#_Other political or pressure groups: Democratic Unity Confederation (KID), Roman Catholic Church, Confederation of Haitian Workers (CTH), Federation of Workers Trade Unions (FOS), Autonomous Haitian Workers (CATH), National Popular Assembly (APN)

_#_Member of: ACCT, CARICOM (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LAES, LORCS, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant), Charge d'Affaires Raymond Alcide JOSEPH; Chancery at 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-4090 through 4092; there are Haitian Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico);

US--Ambassador Alvin P. ADAMS, Jr.; Embassy at Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince (mailing address is P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince), telephone [509] (1) 20-354 or 20-368, 20-200, 20-612

_#_Flag: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms which contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength)

_*_Economy _#_Overview: About 85% of the population live in abject poverty. Agriculture is mainly small-scale subsistence farming and employs two-thirds of the work force. The majority of the population does not have ready access to safe drinking water, adequate medical care, or sufficient food. Few social assistance programs exist, and the lack of employment opportunities remains one of the most critical problems facing the economy, along with soil erosion and political instability.

_#_GDP: $2.7 billion, per capita $440; real growth rate - 3.0% (1990 est.)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (1990 est.)

_#_Unemployment rate: 25-50% (1990 est.)

_#_Budget: revenues $300 million; expenditures $416 million, including capital expenditures of $145 million (1990 est.)

_#_Exports: $169 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);

commodities--light manufactures 69%, coffee 19%, other agriculture 8%, other 8%;

partners--US 84%, Italy 4%, France 3%, other industrial 6%, less developed countries 3% (1987)

_#_Imports: $348 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.);

commodities--machines and manufactures 34%, food and beverages 22%, petroleum products 14%, chemicals 10%, fats and oils 9%;

partners--US 64%, Netherlands Antilles 5%, Japan 5%, France 4%, Canada 3%, Germany 3% (1987)

_#_External debt: $838 million (December 1990)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate 0.3% (FY88); accounts for 15% of GDP

_#_Electricity: 230,000 kW capacity; 264 million kWh produced, 43 kWh per capita (1990)

_#_Industries: sugar refining, textiles, flour milling, cement manufacturing, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts

_#_Agriculture: accounts for 33% of GDP and employs 66% of work force; mostly small-scale subsistence farms; commercial crops--coffee, mangoes, sugarcane and wood; staple crops--rice, corn, sorghum; shortage of wheat flour

_#_Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine

_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $700 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $682 million

_#_Currency: gourde (plural--gourdes); 1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes

_#_Exchange rates: gourdes (G) per US$1-- 5.0 (fixed rate)

_#_Fiscal year: 1 October-30 September

_*_Communications _#_Railroads: 40 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge, single-track, privately owned industrial line

_#_Highways: 4,000 km total; 950 km paved, 900 km otherwise improved, 2,150 km unimproved

_#_Inland waterways: negligible; less than 100 km navigable

_#_Ports: Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitien

_#_Civil air: 4 major transport aircraft

_#_Airports: 15 total, 10 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

_#_Telecommunications: domestic facilities barely adequate, international facilities slightly better; 36,000 telephones; stations--33 AM, no FM, 4 TV, 2 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean earth station

_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: Army (including Police), Navy, Air Corps

_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,287,179; 691,926 fit for military service; 61,265 reach military age (18) annually

_#_Defense expenditures: $34 million, 1.5% of GDP (1988 est.) _%_ _@_Heard Island and McDonald Islands (territory of Australia) _*_Geography _#_Total area: 412 km2; land area: 412 km2

_#_Comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

_#_Land boundaries: none

_#_Coastline: 101.9 km

_#_Maritime claims:

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

_#_Climate: antarctic

_#_Terrain: Heard Island--bleak and mountainous, with an extinct volcano; McDonald Islands--small and rocky

_#_Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 100%

_#_Environment: primarily used as research stations

_#_Note: located 4,100 km southwest of Australia in the southern Indian Ocean

_*_People _#_Population: uninhabited

_*_Government _#_Long-form name: Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands

_#_Type: territory of Australia administered by the Antarctic Division of the Department of Science in Canberra (Australia)

_*_Economy _#_Overview: no economic activity

_*_Communications _#_Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

_*_Defense Forces _#_Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia _%_ _@_Honduras _*_Geography _#_Total area: 112,090 km2; land area: 111,890 km2

_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee

_#_Land boundaries: 1,520 km total; Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km

_#_Coastline: 820 km

_#_Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

_#_Disputes: dispute with El Salvador over several sections of the land boundary; dispute over Golfo de Fonseca maritime boundary because of disputed sovereignty of islands; unresolved maritime boundary with Nicaragua

_#_Climate: subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

_#_Terrain: mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains

_#_Natural resources: timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish

_#_Land use: arable land 14%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 30%; forest and woodland 34%; other 20%; includes irrigated 1%

_#_Environment: subject to frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast; deforestation; soil erosion

_*_People _#_Population: 4,949,275 (July 1991), growth rate 2.9% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 38 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: - 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 56 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 68 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 5.0 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Honduran(s); adjective--Honduran

_#_Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Indian and European) 90%, Indian 7%, black 2%, white 1%

_#_Religion: Roman Catholic about 97%; small Protestant minority

_#_Language: Spanish, Indian dialects

_#_Literacy: 73% (male 76%, female 71%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

_#_Labor force: 1,300,000; agriculture 62%, services 20%, manufacturing 9%, construction 3%, other 6% (1985)

_#_Organized labor: 40% of urban labor force, 20% of rural work force (1985)

_*_Government _#_Long-form name: Republic of Honduras

_#_Type: republic

_#_Capital: Tegucigalpa

_#_Administrative divisions: 18 departments (departamentos, singular--departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro

_#_Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

_#_Constitution: 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982

_#_Legal system: rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law; some influence of English common law; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

_#_Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)

_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justica)

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State and Head of Government--Rafael Leonardo CALLEJAS Romero (since 26 January 1990)

_#_Political parties and leaders: Liberal Party (PLH)--faction leaders, Carlos FLORES Facusse (leader of Florista Liberal Movement), Carlos MONTOYA (Azconista subfaction), Ramon VILLEDA Bermudez and Jorge Arturo REINA (M-Lider faction); National Party (PNH), Jose Celin DISCUA, party president; PNH faction leaders--Oswaldo RAMOS Soto and Rafael Leonardo CALLEJAS (Monarca faction); National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democrats (PINU-SD), Enrique AGUILAR Cerrato Paz; Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Jorge ILLESCAS; Democratic Action (AD), Walter LOPEZ Reyes

_#_Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

_#_Elections:

President--last held on 26 November 1989 (next to be held November 1993); results--Rafael Leonardo CALLEJAS (PNH) 51%, Carlos FLORES Facusse (PLH) 43.3%, other 5.7%;

National Congress--last held on 26 November 1989 (next to be held November 1993); results--PNH 51%, PLH 43%, PDCH 1.9%, PINU 1.5%, other 2.6%; seats--(128 total) PNH 71, PLH 55, PINU 2

_#_Communists: up to 1,500; Honduran leftist groups--Communist Party of Honduras (PCH), Party for the Transformation of Honduras (PTH), Morazanist Front for the Liberation of Honduras (FMLH), People's Revolutionary Union/Popular Liberation Movement (URP/MPL), Popular Revolutionary Forces-Lorenzo Zelaya (FPR/LZ), Socialist Party of Honduras Central American Workers Revolutionary Party (PASO/PRTC)

_#_Other political or pressure groups: National Association of Honduran Campesinos (ANACH), Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP), Confederation of Honduran Workers (CTH), National Union of Campesinos (UNC), General Workers Confederation (CGT), United Federation of Honduran Workers (FUTH), Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH), Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations (CCOP)

_#_Member of: BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), LORCS, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jorge Ramon HERNANDEZ Alcerro; Chancery at Suite 100, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 966-7700 through 7702; there are Honduran Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco, and Consulates in Baton Rouge, Boston, Detroit, Houston, and Jacksonville;

US--Ambassador S. Crescencio ARCOS; Embassy at Avenida La Paz, Tegucigalpa (mailing address is APO Miami 34022); telephone [504] 32-3120

_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America--Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua which features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band

_*_Economy _#_Overview: Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Agriculture, the most important sector of the economy, accounts for nearly 30% of GDP, employs 62% of the labor force, and produces two-thirds of exports. Productivity remains low. Industry, still in its early stages, employs nearly 9% of the labor force, accounts for 15% of GDP, and generates 20% of exports. The service sectors, including public administration, account for 50% of GDP and employ nearly 20% of the labor force. Basic problems facing the economy include rapid population growth, high unemployment, sharply increased inflation, a lack of basic services, a large and inefficient public sector, and the dependence of the export sector mostly on coffee and bananas, which are subject to sharp price fluctuations. Despite government efforts at reform and large-scale foreign assistance, the economy still is unable to take advantage of its sizable natural resources.

_#_GDP: $4.9 billion, per capita $960; real growth rate -1.0% (1990)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35.2% (1990 est.)

_#_Unemployment rate: 15% unemployed, 30-40% underemployed (1989)

_#_Budget: revenues $1.4 billion; expenditures $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $511 million (1990 est.)

_#_Exports: $939 million (f.o.b., 1990);

commodities--bananas, coffee, shrimp, lobster, minerals, lumber;

partners--US 52%, FRG 11%, Japan, Italy, Belgium

_#_Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f. 1990);

commodities--machinery and transport equipment, chemical products, manufactured goods, fuel and oil, foodstuffs;

partners--US 39%, Japan 9%, CACM, Venezuela, Mexico

_#_External debt: $2.8 billion (1990)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate 2.9% (1989); accounts for 15% of GDP

_#_Electricity: 668,000 kW capacity; 2,023 million kWh produced, 380 kWh per capita (1990)

_#_Industries: agricultural processing (sugar and coffee), textiles, clothing, wood products

_#_Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for nearly 30% of GDP, over 60% of the labor force, and two-thirds of exports; principal products include bananas, coffee, timber, beef, citrus fruit, shrimp; importer of wheat

_#_Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; transshipment point for cocaine

_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $1,027 million

_#_Currency: lempira (plural--lempiras); 1 lempira (L) = 100 centavos

_#_Exchange rates: lempiras (L) per US$1--5.30 (fixed rate); 5.70 parallel black-market rate (November 1990)

_#_Fiscal year: calendar year

_*_Communications _#_Railroads: 785 km total; 508 km 1.067-meter gauge, 277 km 0.914-meter gauge

_#_Highways: 8,950 km total; 1,700 km paved, 5,000 km otherwise improved, 2,250 km unimproved earth

_#_Inland waterways: 465 km navigable by small craft

_#_Ports: Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo

_#_Merchant marine: 173 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 527,481 GRT/812,095 DWT; includes 2 passenger-cargo, 107 cargo, 12 refrigerated cargo, 9 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 20 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 2 specialized tanker, 1 vehicle carrier, 18 bulk; note--a flag of convenience registry; the USSR owns one ship under the Honduran flag

_#_Civil air: 9 major transport aircraft

_#_Airports: 175 total, 134 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 13 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

_#_Telecommunications: improved, but still inadequate; connection into Central American Microwave System; 35,100 telephones; stations--176 AM, no FM, 28 TV, 7 shortwave; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations

_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, Public Security Forces (FUSEP)

_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,106,630; 659,520 fit for military service; 58,953 reach military age (18) annually

_#_Defense expenditures: $82.5 million, 1.9% of GDP (1990 est.) _%_ _@_Hong Kong (dependent territory of the UK) _*_Geography _#_Total area: 1,040 km2; land area: 990 km2

_#_Comparative area: slightly less than six times the size of Washington, DC

_#_Land boundary: 30 km with China

_#_Coastline: 733 km

_#_Maritime claims:

Exclusive fishing zone: 3 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm

_#_Climate: tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall

_#_Terrain: hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north

_#_Natural resources: outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar

_#_Land use: arable land 7%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and woodland 12%; other 79%; includes irrigated 3%

_#_Environment: more than 200 islands; occasional typhoons

_*_People _#_Population: 5,855,800 (July 1991), growth rate 0.6% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: - 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 77 years male, 84 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: adjective--Hong Kong

_#_Ethnic divisions: Chinese 98%, other 2%

_#_Religion: eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%

_#_Language: Chinese (Cantonese), English

_#_Literacy: 77% (male 90%, female 64%) age 15 and over having ever attended school (1971)

_#_Labor force: 2,800,000 (1990); manufacturing 28.5%, wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 27.9%, services 17.7%, financing, insurance, and real estate 9.2%, transport and communications 4.5%, construction 2.5%, other 9.7% (1989)

_#_Organized labor: 16% of labor force (1990)

_*_Government _#_Long-form name: none; abbreviated HK

_#_Type: dependent territory of the UK; scheduled to revert to China in 1997

_#_Capital: Victoria

_#_Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)

_#_Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK); the UK signed an agreement with China on 19 December 1984 to return Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997; in the joint declaration, China promises to respect Hong Kong's existing social and economic systems and lifestyle for 50 years after transition

_#_Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice; new Basic Law approved in March 1990 in preparation for 1997

_#_Legal system: based on English common law

_#_National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 August (1945)

_#_Executive branch: British monarch, governor, chief secretary of the Executive Council

_#_Legislative branch: Legislative Council

_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);

Head of Government--Governor Sir David Clive WILSON (since 9 April 1987); Chief Secretary Sir David Robert FORD (since NA February 1987)

_#_Political parties: United Democrats of Hong Kong (UDHK), Martin LEE Chu-ming; Liberal Democratic Federation (LDF), HU Fa-kuang; Hong Kong Democratic Foundation (HKDF), Patrick SHIU Kin-ying; Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL), Frederick FUNG Kin-kee; Meeting Point, Anthony CHEUNG Bing-leung; Progressive Hong Kong Society (PHKS), Maria TAM Wai-chu

_#_Suffrage: direct election--universal at age 21 as a permanent resident living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years; indirect election--limited to about 100,000 professionals of electoral college and functional constituencies

_#_Elections:

Legislative Council--indirect elections last held 12 September 1991 and direct elections held 15 September 1991 (next to be held by September 1995); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(60 total; 21 indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 18 directly elected, 18 appointed by governor, 3 ex officio members) indirect elections--number of seats by functional constituency NA; direct elections--UDHK 12, Meeting Point 2, ADPL 1, other 3; note--direct elections were held for the first time in September 1991

_#_Communists: 5,000 (est.) cadres affiliated with Communist Party of China

_#_Other political or pressure groups: Federation of Trade Unions (pro-China), Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan), Confederation of Trade Unions (prodemocracy), Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China), Federation of Hong Kong Industries, Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union, Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China

_#_Member of: AsDB, CCC, ESCAP (associate), GATT, ICFTU, IMO (associate), IOC, ISO (correspondent), WCL, WMO

_#_Diplomatic representation: as a dependent territory of the UK, the interests of Hong Kong in the US are represented by the UK;

US--Consul General Richard L. WILLIAMS; Consulate General at 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong (mailing address is Box 30, Hong Kong, or FPO San Francisco 96659-0002); telephone [852] (5) 845-1598

_#_Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with the Hong Kong coat of arms on a white disk centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms contains a shield (bearing two junks below a crown) held by a lion (representing the UK) and a dragon (representing China) with another lion above the shield and a banner bearing the words HONG KONG below the shield

_*_Economy _#_Overview: Hong Kong has a free market economy with few tariffs or nontariff barriers. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Manufacturing accounts for about 18% of GDP, employs 28% of the labor force, and exports about 90% of its output. Real GDP growth averaged a remarkable 8% in 1987-88, then slowed to 2.5-3.0% in 1989-90. Unemployment, which has been declining since the mid-1980s, is now less than 2%. A shortage of labor continues to put upward pressure on prices and the cost of living. Short-term prospects remain solid so long as major trading partners continue to be prosperous. The crackdown in China in 1989-90 casts a long shadow over the longer term economic outlook.

_#_GDP: $64.0 billion, per capita $11,000; real growth rate 2.5% (1990)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.8% (1990)

_#_Unemployment rate: 1.8% (1990)

_#_Budget: $8.8 billion (FY90)

_#_Exports: $80.3 billion (f.o.b., 1990), including reexports of $51.2 billion;

commodities--clothing, textile yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks, toys;

partners--US 32%, China 19%, FRG 7%, UK 6%, Japan 6% (1989)

_#_Imports: $79.5 billion (c.i.f., 1990);

commodities--foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum;

partners--China 35%, Japan 17%, Taiwan 9%, US 8% (1989)

_#_External debt: $9.5 billion (December 1990 est.)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate 1.7% (1989)

_#_Electricity: 8,485,000 kW capacity; 25,000 million kWh produced, 4,340 kWh per capita (1990)

_#_Industries: textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks

_#_Agriculture: minor role in the economy; rice, vegetables, dairy products; less than 20% self-sufficient; shortages of rice, wheat, water

_#_Illicit drugs: a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade; transshipment and major financial and money-laundering center

_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $152 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $910 million

_#_Currency: Hong Kong dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents

_#_Exchange rates: Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$--7.800 (March 1989), 7.810 (1988), 7.760 (1987), 7.795 (1986), 7.811 (1985); note--linked to the US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$ since 1985

_#_Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

_*_Communications _#_Railroads: 35 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, government owned

_#_Highways: 1,484 km total; 794 km paved, 306 km gravel, crushed stone, or earth

_#_Ports: Hong Kong

_#_Merchant marine: 134 ships (1,000 GRT or over), totaling 4,690,770 GRT/8,091,177 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 short-sea passenger, 16 cargo, 5 refrigerated cargo, 16 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 9 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 chemical tanker, 6 combination ore/oil, 6 liquefied gas, 71 bulk; note--a flag of convenience registry; ships registered in Hong Kong fly the UK flag and an estimated 500 Hong Kong-owned ships are registered elsewhere

_#_Civil air: 16 major transport aircraft

_#_Airports: 2 total; 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; none with runways 1,220-2,439 m

_#_Telecommunications: modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services; 3,000,000 telephones; microwave transmission links and extensive optical fiber transmission network; stations--6 AM, 6 FM, 4 TV; 1 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) relay station and 1 British Forces Broadcasting Service relay station; 2,500,000 radio receivers; 1,312,000 TV sets (1,224,000 color TV sets); satellite earth stations--1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT; coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China; links to 5 international submarine cables providing access to ASEAN member nations, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe

_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: Headquarters of British Forces, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, Gurkha Brigade, Royal Hong Kong Police Force

_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,718,112; 1,328,230 fit for military service; 45,437 reach military age (18) annually

_#_Defense expenditures: $300 million, 0.5% of GDP (1989 est.); this represents one-fourth of the total cost of defending itself, the remainder being paid by the UK

_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK _%_ _@_Howland Island (territory of the US) _*_Geography _#_Total area: 1.6 km2; land area: 1.6 km2

_#_Comparative area: about 2.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

_#_Land boundaries: none

_#_Coastline: 6.4 km

_#_Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m (depth);

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

_#_Climate: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun

_#_Terrain: low-lying, nearly level, sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef; depressed central area

_#_Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)

_#_Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 5%; other 95%

_#_Environment: almost totally covered with grasses, prostrate vines, and low-growing shrubs; small area of trees in the center; lacks fresh water; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife; feral cats

_#_Note: remote location 2,575 km southwest of Honolulu in the North Pacific Ocean, just north of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia

_*_People _#_Population: uninhabited

_#_Note: American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and naval attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during World War II, but abandoned after the war; public entry is by special-use permit only and generally restricted to scientists and educators

_*_Government _#_Long-form name: none

_#_Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System

_*_Economy _#_Overview: no economic activity

_*_Communications _#_Airports: airstrip constructed in 1937 for scheduled refueling stop on the round-the-world flight of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan--they left Lae, New Guinea, for Howland Island, but were never seen again; the airstrip is no longer serviceable

_#_Ports: none; offshore anchorage only, one boat landing area along the middle of the west coast

_#_Note: Earhart Light is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast that was partially destroyed during World War II, but has since been rebuilt in memory of famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart

_*_Defense Forces _#_Note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US Coast Guard _%_ _@_Hungary _*_Geography _#_Total area: 93,030 km2; land area: 92,340 km2

_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana

_#_Land boundaries: 2,251 km total; Austria 366 km, Czechoslovakia 676 km, Romania 443 km, USSR 135 km, Yugoslavia 631 km

_#_Coastline: none--landlocked

_#_Maritime claims: none--landlocked

_#_Disputes: Nagymaros Dam dispute with Czechoslovakia

_#_Climate: temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers

_#_Terrain: mostly flat to rolling plains

_#_Natural resources: bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils

_#_Land use: arable land 54%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures 14%; forest and woodland 18%; other 11%; includes irrigated 2%

_#_Environment: levees are common along many streams, but flooding occurs almost every year

_#_Note: landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between USSR and Mediterranean basin

_*_People _#_Population: 10,558,001 (July 1991), growth rate - 0.1% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 14 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 76 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Hungarian(s); adjective--Hungarian

_#_Ethnic divisions: Hungarian 96.6%, German 1.6%, Slovak 1.1%, Southern Slav 0.3%, Romanian 0.2%

_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 67.5%, Calvinist 20.0%, Lutheran 5.0%, atheist and other 7.5%

_#_Language: Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8%

_#_Literacy: 99% (male 99%, female 98%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980)

_#_Labor force: 4,860,000; services, trade, government, and other 43.2%, industry 30.9%, agriculture 18.8%, construction 7.1% (1988)

_#_Organized labor: 96.5% of labor force; Central Council of Hungarian Trade Unions (SZOT) includes 19 affiliated unions, all controlled by the government; independent unions legal; may be as many as 12 small independent unions in operation

_*_Government _#_Long-form name: Republic of Hungary

_#_Type: republic

_#_Capital: Budapest

_#_Administrative divisions: 19 counties (megyek, singular--megye) and 1 capital city* (fovaros); Bacs-Kiskun, Baranya, Bekes, Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Budapest*, Csongrad, Fejer, Gyor-Moson-Sopron, Hajdu-Bihar, Heves, Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok, Komarom-Esztergom, Nograd, Pest, Somogy, Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg, Tolna, Vas, Veszprem, Zala

_#_Independence: 1001, unification by King Stephen I

_#_Constitution: 18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19 April 1972; 18 October 1989 revision ensures legal rights for individuals and constitutional checks on the authority of the prime minister and established the principle of parliamentary oversight

_#_Legal system: in process of revision, moving toward rule of law based on Western model

_#_National holiday: October 23 (1956); commemorates the Hungarian uprising

_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister

_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Orszaggyules)

_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court, may be restructured as part of ongoing government overhaul

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--President Arpad GONCZ (since 3 August 1990; previously interim President from 2 May 1990);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Jozsef ANTALL (since 23 May 1990)

_#_Political parties and leaders: Democratic Forum, Jozsef ANTALL, chairman; Free Democrats, Janos KIS, chairman; Independent Smallholders, Ferenc Jozsef NAGY, president; Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP), Gyula HORN, chairman; Young Democrats, Gabor FODOR, head; Christian Democrats, Dr. Lazlo SURJAN, president; note--the Hungarian Socialist (Communist) Workers' Party (MSZMP) renounced Communism and became the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP) in October 1989

_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18

_#_Elections:

President last held 3 August 1990 (next to be held August 1995); elected by the National Assembly with a total of 294 votes out of 304; President GONCZ was elected by the National Assembly as interim President from 2 May 1990 until elected President;

National Assembly--last held on 25 March 1990 (first round, with the second round held 8 April 1990); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(394 total) Democratic Forum 165, Free Democrats 92, Independent Smallholders 43, Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP) 33, Young Democrats 21, Christian Democrats 21, independent candidates or jointly sponsored candidates 19

_#_Communists: fewer than 100,000 (December 1989)

_#_Member of: BIS, CCC, CE, CSCE, ECE, FAO, G-9, GATT, IAEA, IBEC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IIB, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant); Chancery at 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 362-6730; there is a Hungarian Consulate General in New York;

US--Ambassador Charles THOMAS; Embassy at V. Szabadsag Ter 12, Budapest (mailing address is APO New York 09213); telephone [36] (1) 112-6450

_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green

_*_Economy _#_Overview: Agriculture is an important sector, providing sizable export earnings and meeting domestic food needs. Industry accounts for about 40% of GNP and 30% of employment. About 40% of Hungary's foreign trade is with the USSR and Eastern Europe and a third is with the EC. Low rates of growth reflect the inability of the Soviet-style economy to modernize capital plant and motivate workers. GNP declined by 1% in 1989 and by an estimated 6% in 1990. Since 1985 external debt has more than doubled, to over $20 billion. In recent years Hungary has experimented widely with decentralized and market-oriented enterprises. The newly democratic government has renounced the Soviet economic growth model and plans to open the economy to wider market forces and to much closer economic relations with Western Europe. Prime Minister Antall has declared his intention to move foward on privatization of state enterprises, provision for bankruptcy, land reform, and marketization of international trade, but concerns over acceptable levels of unemployment and inflation may slow the reform process.

_#_GNP: $60.9 billion, per capita $5,800; real growth rate - 5.7% (1990 est.)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30% (1990 est.)

_#_Unemployment rate: 1.7% (1990)

_#_Budget: revenues $18.2 billion; expenditures $18.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $805 million (1989)

_#_Exports: $10.2 billion (f.o.b. 1989);

commodities--capital goods 33%, foods 25%, consumer goods 16%, fuels 1.5%, other 24.5%;

partners USSR and Eastern Europe 42%, developed countries 37.4%, less developed countries 20.6% (1989)

_#_Imports: $10.1 billion (c.i.f., 1989);

commodities--capital goods 15%, fuels 20%, manufactured consumer goods 12.4%, agriculture 5%, other 47.6%;

partners--USSR and Eastern Europe 34.9%, developed countries 45.5%, less developed countries 16.6%, US 3%

_#_External debt: $20.7 billion (1989)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 7.9% (1990 est.)

_#_Electricity: 7,800,000 kW capacity; 30,400 million kWh produced, 2,870 kWh per capita (1990)

_#_Industries: mining, metallurgy, engineering industries, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals)

_#_Agriculture: including forestry, accounts for about 15% of GNP and 19% of employment; highly diversified crop-livestock farming; principal crops--wheat, corn, sunflowers, potatoes, sugar beets; livestock--hogs, cattle, poultry, dairy products; self-sufficient in food output

_#_Economic aid: donor--$2.0 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed countries (1962-89)

_#_Currency: forint (plural--forints); 1 forint (Ft) = 100 filler

_#_Exchange rates: forints (Ft) per US$1--60.95 (December 1990), 63.21 (1990), 59.07 (1989), 50.41 (1988), 46.97 (1987), 45.83 (1986), 50.12 (1985)

_#_Fiscal year: calendar year

_*_Communications _#_Railroads: 7,765 km total; 7,508 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 222 km narrow gauge (mostly 0.760-meter), 35 km 1.520-meter broad gauge; 1,147 km double track, 2,161 km electrified; all government owned (1988)