Chapter XIII: Front Matter (13)

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (109 seats;
members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note -
there were 85 seats in the National Assembly before the 1998
election)
elections: last held 22-23 November and 13 December 1998 (next to be
held NA 2003)
election results: percent of vote by party - MLPC 43%, RDC 18%, MDD
9%, FPP 6%, PSD 5%, ADP 4%, PUN 3%, FODEM 2%, PLD 2%, UPR 1%, FC 1%,
independents 6%; seats by party - MLPC 47, RDC 20, MDD 8, FPP 7, PSD
6, ADP 5, PUN 3, FODEM 2, PLD 2, UPR 1, FC 1, independents 7

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court (3 judges
appointed by the president, 3 by the president of the National
Assembly, and 3 by fellow judges); Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts;
Inferior Courts

Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Jacques MBOLIEDAS];
Central African Democratic Assembly or RDC [Andre KOLINGBA]; Civic
Forum or FC [Gen. Timothee MALENDOMA]; Democratic Forum for
Modernity or FODEM [Charles MASSI]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD
[Nestor KOMBO-NAGUEMON]; Movement for Democracy and Development or
MDD [David DACKO]; Movement for the Liberation of the Central
African People or MLPC [the party of deposed president, Ange-Felix
PATASSE]; Patriotic Front for Progress or FPP [Abel GOUMBA];
People's Union for the Republic or UPR [Pierre Sammy MAKFOY];
National Unity Party or PUN [Jean-Paul NGOUPANDE]; Social Democratic
Party or PSD [Enoch LAKOUE]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC (observer), OPCW (signatory), UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Emmanuel TOUABOY
FAX: [1] (202) 332-9893
telephone: [1] (202) 483-7800
chancery: 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mattie R. SHARPLESS
embassy: Avenue David Dacko, Bangui
mailing address: B. P. 924, Bangui
telephone: [236] 61 02 00
FAX: [236] 61 44 94

Flag description:
four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, green, and yellow
with a vertical red band in center; there is a yellow five-pointed
star on the hoist side of the blue band

Economy Central African Republic

Economy - overview:
Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry, remains the
backbone of the economy of the Central African Republic (CAR), with
more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The
agricultural sector generates half of GDP. Timber has accounted for
about 16% of export earnings and the diamond industry for 54%.
Important constraints to economic development include the CAR's
landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely
unskilled work force, and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic
policies. Factional fighting between the government and its
opponents remains a drag on economic revitalization, with GDP growth
likely to be no more than 1.3% in 2003. Distribution of income is
extraordinarily unequal. Grants from France and the international
community can only partially meet humanitarian needs.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $4.296 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
1.5% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 55%
industry: 20%
services: 25% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 47.7% (1993)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
61.3 (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.6% (2001 est.)

Labor force:
NA

Unemployment rate:
8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries:
diamond mining, logging, brewing, textiles, footwear, assembly of
bicycles and motorcycles

Industrial production growth rate:
3% (2002)

Electricity - production:
106 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 19.8%
hydro: 80.2%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
98.63 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
2,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Agriculture - products:
cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams, millet, corn,
bananas; timber

Exports:
$134 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco

Exports - partners:
Belgium 66.8%, Spain 6.4%, Kazakhstan 4% (2002)

Imports:
$102 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical
equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals

Imports - partners:
France 30%, US 5.2%, Cameroon 4.5%, Germany 4.3% (2002)

Debt - external:
$881.4 million (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
ODA $73 million; note - traditional budget subsidies from France
(2000 est.)

Currency:
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible
authority is the Bank of the Central African States

Currency code:
XAF

Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 696.99
(2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Central African Republic

Telephones - main lines in use:
9,500 (2000)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
710 (1998)

Telephone system:
general assessment: fair system
domestic: network consists principally of microwave radio relay and
low-capacity, low-powered radiotelephone communication
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2002)

Radios:
283,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (2001)

Televisions:
18,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.cf

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2002)

Internet users:
2,000 (2002)

Transportation Central African Republic

Railways:
0 km

Highways:
total: 23,810 km
paved: 643 km
unpaved: 23,167 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
900 km
note: traditional trade carried on by means of shallow-draft
dugouts; Oubangui is the most important river, navigable all year to
craft drawing 0.6 m or less; 282 km navigable to craft drawing as
much as 1.8 m

Ports and harbors:
Bangui, Nola, Salo, Nzinga

Airports:
50 (2002)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 47
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 23
under 914 m: 13 (2002)

Military Central African Republic

Military branches:
Central African Armed Forces (FACA) (including Republican Guard,
Ground Forces, Naval Forces, and Air Force), Presidential Security
Guard, Gendarmerie, National Police

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 858,671 (2003 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 449,466 (2003 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$13.43 million (FY02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.1% (FY02)

Transnational Issues Central African Republic

Disputes - international:
internal political instabilities with fighting and violence overlap
into Chad and CAR, leaving refugees and rebel groups in both
countries; violent ethnic skirmishes persist along the border with
Sudan

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003

======================================================================

@Chad

Introduction Chad

Background:
Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three
decades of ethnic warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a
semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. The government
eventually suppressed or came to terms with most political-military
groups, settled a territorial dispute with Libya on terms favorable
to Chad, drafted a democratic constitution, and held multiparty
presidential and National Assembly elections in 1996 and 1997,
respectively. In 1998, a new rebellion broke out in northern Chad,
which continued to escalate throughout 2000. A peace agreement,
signed in January 2002 between the government and the rebels,
provides for the demobilization of the rebels and their
reintegration into the political system. Despite movement toward
democratic reform, power remains in the hands of a northern ethnic
oligarchy.

Geography Chad

Location:
Central Africa, south of Libya

Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 19 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 1.284 million sq km
water: 24,800 sq km
land: 1,259,200 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly more than three times the size of California

Land boundaries:
total: 5,968 km
border countries: Cameroon 1,094 km, Central African Republic 1,197
km, Libya 1,055 km, Niger 1,175 km, Nigeria 87 km, Sudan 1,360 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
tropical in south, desert in north

Terrain:
broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in
northwest, lowlands in south

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Djourab Depression 160 m
highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m

Natural resources:
petroleum (unexploited but exploration under way), uranium, natron,
kaolin, fish (Lake Chad)

Land use:
arable land: 2.78%
permanent crops: 0.02%
other: 97.2% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
200 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts;
locust plagues

Environment - current issues:
inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in
rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping

Geography - note:
landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the
Sahel

People Chad

Population:
9,253,493 (July 2003 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 47.9% (male 2,228,605; female 2,201,368)
15-64 years: 49.3% (male 2,171,169; female 2,393,184)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 105,686; female 153,481) (2003 est.)

Median age:
total: 16 years
male: 15.2 years
female: 16.8 years (2002)

Population growth rate:
3.07% (2003 est.)

Birth rate:
47.06 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate:
16.38 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 95.74 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 86.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 105 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 48.51 years
male: 46.97 years
female: 50.1 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate:
6.44 children born/woman (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
3.6% 5%-7% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
150,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
14,000 (confirmed AIDS cases, actual number far higher but
difficult to estimate) (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Chadian(s)
adjective: Chadian

Ethnic groups:
200 distinct groups; in the north and center: Arabs, Gorane
(Toubou, Daza, Kreda), Zaghawa, Kanembou, Ouaddai, Baguirmi,
Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Hausa, Boulala, and Maba, most of whom are
Muslim; in the south: Sara (Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye), Moundang,
Moussei, Massa, most of whom are Christian or animist; about 1,000
French citizens live in Chad

Religions:
Muslim 51%, Christian 35%, animist 7%, other 7%

Languages:
French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than
120 different languages and dialects

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic
total population: 47.5%
male: 56%
female: 39.3% (2003 est.)

Government Chad

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Chad
conventional short form: Chad
local long form: Republique du Tchad
local short form: Tchad

Government type:
republic

Capital:
N'Djamena

Administrative divisions:
14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture); Batha,
Biltine, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti, Chari-Baguirmi, Guera, Kanem, Lac,
Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mayo-Kebbi, Moyen-Chari,
Ouaddai, Salamat, Tandjile
note: instead of 14 prefectures, there may be a new administrative
structure of 28 departments (departments, singular - department),
and 1 city*; Assongha, Baguirmi, Bahr El Gazal, Bahr Koh, Batha
Oriental, Batha Occidental, Biltine, Borkou, Dababa, Ennedi, Guera,
Hadjer Lamis, Kabia, Kanem, Lac, Lac Iro, Logone Occidental, Logone
Oriental, Mandoul, Mayo-Boneye, Mayo-Dallah, Monts de Lam,
N'Djamena*, Ouaddai, Salamat, Sila, Tandjile Oriental, Tandjile
Occidental, Tibesti

Independence:
11 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 11 August (1960)

Constitution:
passed by referendum 31 March 1996

Legal system:
based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY (since 4 December
1990)
head of government: Prime Minister Moussa Faki MAHAMAT (since NA
July 2003)
cabinet: Council of State, members appointed by the president on the
recommendation of the prime minister
election results: Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY reelected president; percent
of vote - Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY 63%, Ngarlegy YORONGAR 16%, Saleh
KEBZABO 7%
note: government coalition - MPS, UNDR, and URD
elections: president elected by popular vote to serve five-year
term; if no candidate receives at least 50% of the total vote, the
two candidates receiving the most votes must stand for a second
round of voting; last held 20 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006);
prime minister appointed by the president

Legislative branch:
bicameral according to constitution, consists of a National
Assembly (155 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve
four-year terms) and a Senate (not yet created and size unspecified,
members to serve six-year terms, one-third of membership renewable
every two years)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
MPS 110, RDP 12, FAR 9, RNDP 5, URD 5, UNDR 3, others 11
elections: National Assembly - last held 21 April 2002 (next to be
held in NA April 2006)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate Courts

Political parties and leaders:
Federation Action for the Republic or FAR [Ngarlejy YORONGAR];
National Rally for Development and Progress or RNDP [Mamadou BISSO];
National Union for Democracy and Renewal or UNDR [Saleh KEBZABO];
Patriotic Salvation Movement or MPS [Mahamat Saleh AHMAT, chairman]
(originally in opposition but now the party in power and the party
of the president); Union for Renewal and Democracy or URD [Gen.
Wadal Abdelkader KAMOUGUE]; Viva Rally for Development and Progress
or Viva RNDP [Delwa Kassire COUMAKOYE]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD,
ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Hassaballah Abdelhadi Ahmat SOUBIANE
chancery: 2002 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
FAX: [1] (202) 265-1937
telephone: [1] (202) 462-4009

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher E. GOLDTHWAIT
embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena
mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena
telephone: [235] (51) 70-09
FAX: [235] (51) 56-54

Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red;
similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the flags of Andorra
and Moldova, both of which have a national coat of arms centered in
the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France

Economy Chad

Economy - overview:
Chad's primarily agricultural economy will continue to be boosted
by major oilfield and pipeline projects that began in 2000. Over 80%
of Chad's population relies on subsistence farming and stock raising
for its livelihood. Cotton, cattle, and gum arabic provide the bulk
of Chad's export earnings, but Chad will begin to export oil in
2004. Chad's economy has long been handicapped by its landlocked
position, high energy costs, and a history of instability. Chad
relies on foreign assistance and foreign capital for most public and
private sector investment projects. A consortium led by two US
companies has been investing $3.7 billion to develop oil reserves
estimated at 1 billion barrels in southern Chad. Oil production is
scheduled to come on stream in late 2003.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $9.297 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
7.4% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 38%
industry: 13%
services: 49% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line:
80% (2001 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6% (2002 est.)

Labor force:
NA

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture more than 80% (subsistence farming, herding, and
fishing)

Unemployment rate:
NA%

Budget:
revenues: $198 million
expenditures: $218 million, including capital expenditures of $146
million (1998 est.)

Industries:
oil, cotton textiles, meatpacking, beer brewing, natron (sodium
carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials

Industrial production growth rate:
5% (1995)

Electricity - production:
94.04 million kWh (2001)

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

Electricity - consumption:
87.46 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
1,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Agriculture - products:
cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca);
cattle, sheep, goats, camels

Exports:
$197 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
cotton, cattle, gum arabic

Exports - partners:
Portugal 28.3%, Germany 13.6%, US 7.8%, Czech Republic 6.5%, France
5.8%, Nigeria 5.8%, Poland 5.5%, Spain 5.2%, Morocco 4.5% (2002)

Imports:
$570 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, petroleum
products, foodstuffs, textiles

Imports - partners:
France 31.5%, US 31.4%, Germany 5.5%, Nigeria 4.6% (2002)

Debt - external:
$1.1 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$238.3 million; note - $125 million committed by Taiwan (August
1997); $30 million committed by African Development Bank; ODA $150
million

Currency:
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible
authority is the Bank of the Central African States

Currency code:
XAF

Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 696.99
(2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Chad

Telephones - main lines in use:
9,700 (1999)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
5,500 (2000)

Telephone system:
general assessment: primitive system
domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 5 (2002)

Radios:
1.67 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (2002)

Televisions:
10,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.td

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2002)

Internet users:
4,000 (2002)

Transportation Chad

Railways:
0 km

Highways:
total: 33,400 km
paved: 267 km
unpaved: 33,133 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
2,000 km

Pipelines:
oil 205 km (2003)

Ports and harbors:
none

Airports:
50 (2002)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 7
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 43
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 20
under 914 m: 10 (2002)

Military Chad

Military branches:
Armed Forces (including National Army, Air Force, and Gendarmerie),
Rapid Intervention Force, National and Nomadic Guard (GNNT),
Presidential Security Guard, Police

Military manpower - military age:
20 years of age (2003 est.)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,940,328 (2003 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 1,015,982 (2003 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 86,953 (2003 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$40.74 million (FY02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.9% (FY02)

Transnational Issues Chad

Disputes - international:
internal political instabilities with fighting and violence overlap
into Chad and Central African Republic, leaving refugees and rebel
groups in both countries; Chadian Aozou rebels reside in southern
Libya; Lake Chad Commission continues to urge signatories Cameroon,
Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake
region, which remains the site of armed clashes among local
populations and militias; Chad rejects Nigerian request to
redemarcate boundary, the site of continuing cross-border incidents

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003

======================================================================

@Chile

Introduction Chile

Background:
A three-year-old Marxist government was overthrown in 1973 by a
dictatorial military regime led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until
a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic
policies, first implemented by the PINOCHET dictatorship, led to
unprecedented growth in 1991-97 and have helped secure the country's
commitment to democratic and representative government.

Geography Chile

Location:
Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between
Argentina and Peru

Geographic coordinates:
30 00 S, 71 00 W

Map references:
South America

Area:
total: 756,950 sq km
land: 748,800 sq km
note: includes Easter Island (Isla de Pascua) and Isla Sala y Gomez
water: 8,150 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana

Land boundaries:
total: 6,171 km
border countries: Argentina 5,150 km, Bolivia 861 km, Peru 160 km

Coastline:
6,435 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200/350 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

Climate:
temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool
and damp in south

Terrain:
low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged Andes in east

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Nevado Ojos del Salado 6,880 m

Natural resources:
copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum,
hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 2.65%
permanent crops: 0.42%
other: 96.93% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
18,000 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis

Environment - current issues:
widespread deforestation and mining threaten natural resources; air
pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution
from raw sewage

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear
Test Ban

Geography - note:
strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage);
Atacama Desert is one of world's driest regions

People Chile

Population:
15,665,216 (July 2003 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 26.4% (male 2,112,251; female 2,018,099)
15-64 years: 66% (male 5,151,551; female 5,180,607)
65 years and over: 7.7% (male 499,441; female 703,267) (2003 est.)

Median age:
total: 29.5 years
male: 28.6 years
female: 30.4 years (2002)

Population growth rate:
1.05% (2003 est.)

Birth rate:
16.1 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate:
5.63 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 8.88 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 8.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 9.68 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.35 years
male: 73.04 years
female: 79.82 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate:
2.09 children born/woman (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.3% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
20,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
220 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Chilean(s)
adjective: Chilean

Ethnic groups:
white and white-Amerindian 95%, Amerindian 3%, other 2%

Religions:
Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 11%, Jewish NEGL%

Languages:
Spanish

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.2%
male: 96.4%
female: 96.1% (2003 est.)

Government Chile

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Chile
conventional short form: Chile
local long form: Republica de Chile
local short form: Chile

Government type:
republic

Capital:
Santiago

Administrative divisions:
13 regions (regiones, singular - region); Aisen del General Carlos
Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania, Atacama, Bio-Bio,
Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos,
Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana
(Santiago), Tarapaca, Valparaiso
note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica

Independence:
18 September 1810 (from Spain)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 18 September (1810)

Constitution:
11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981, amended 30 July 1989,
1993, and 1997

Legal system:
based on Code of 1857 derived from Spanish law and subsequent codes
influenced by French and Austrian law; judicial review of
legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction
note: Chile is in the process of completely overhauling its criminal
justice system; a new, US-style adversarial system is being
gradually implemented throughout the country

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ricardo LAGOS Escobar (since 11 March
2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government
head of government: President Ricardo LAGOS Escobar (since 11 March
2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
election results: Ricardo LAGOS Escobar elected president; percent
of vote - Ricardo LAGOS Escobar 51.32%, Joaquin LAVIN 48.68%
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term;
election last held 12 December 1999, with runoff election held 16
January 2000 (next to be held NA December 2005)

Legislative branch:
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the
Senate or Senado (49 seats, 38 elected by popular vote, 9 designated
members, and 2 former presidents who serve six-year terms and are
senators for life); elected members serve eight-year terms (one-half
elected every four years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de
Diputados (120 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve
four-year terms)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - CPD 20 (PDC 12, PS 5, PPD 3), APC 16 (UDI 9, RN 7),
independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - CPD 62 (PDC 24, PPD 21, PS 11, PRSD 6), UDI
35, RN 22, independent 1
elections: Senate - last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held NA
December 2005); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 December 2001
(next to be held NA December 2005)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by the
president and ratified by the Senate from lists of candidates
provided by the court itself; the president of the Supreme Court is
elected by the 21-member court); Constitutional Tribunal

Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for Chile ("Alianza") or APC - including RN and UDI;
Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Adolfo ZALDIVAR]; Coalition of
Parties for Democracy ("Concertacion") or CPD - including PDC, PS,
PPD, PRSD; Communist Party or PC [Gladys MARIN]; Independent
Democratic Union or UDI [Pablo LONGUEIRA]; National Renewal or RN
[Sebastian PINERA]; Party for Democracy or PPD [Guido GIRARDI];
Radical Social Democratic Party or PRSD [Orlando CANTUARIAS];
Socialist Party or PS [Camilo ESCALONA]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
revitalized university student federations at all major
universities; Roman Catholic Church; United Labor Central or CUT
includes trade unionists from the country's five largest labor
confederations

International organization participation:
APEC, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt
(signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), NAM,
OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary),
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UNU,
UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Andres BIANCHI
chancery: 1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New
York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
FAX: [1] (202) 887-5579
telephone: [1] (202) 785-1746

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador William R. BROWNFIELD
embassy: Avenida Andres Bello 2800, Las Condes, Santiago
mailing address: APO AA 34033
telephone: [56] (2) 232-2600
FAX: [56] (2) 330-3710

Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; there is a blue
square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of
the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the
center representing a guide to progress and honor; blue symbolizes
the sky, white is for the snow-covered Andes, and red stands for the
blood spilled to achieve independence; design was influenced by the
US flag

Economy Chile

Economy - overview:
Chile has a market-oriented economy characterized by a high level
of foreign trade. During the early 1990s, Chile's reputation as a
role model for economic reform was strengthened when the democratic
government of Patricio AYLWIN - which took over from the military in
1990 - deepened the economic reform initiated by the military
government. Growth in real GDP averaged 8% during 1991-97, but fell
to half that level in 1998 because of tight monetary policies
implemented to keep the current account deficit in check and because
of lower export earnings - the latter a product of the global
financial crisis. A severe drought exacerbated the recession in
1999, reducing crop yields and causing hydroelectric shortfalls and
electricity rationing, and Chile experienced negative economic
growth for the first time in more than 15 years. Despite the effects
of the recession, Chile maintained its reputation for strong
financial institutions and sound policy that have given it the
strongest sovereign bond rating in South America. By the end of
1999, exports and economic activity had begun to recover, and growth
rebounded to 4.4% in 2000. Growth fell back to 2.8% in 2001 and 1.8%
in 2002, largely due to lackluster global growth and the devaluation
of the Argentine peso. Unemployment remains stubbornly high, putting
pressure on President LAGOS to improve living standards. One bright
spot was the signing of a free trade agreement with the US, which
will take effect on 1 January 2004.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $156.1 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.1% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $10,100 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 11%
industry: 34%
services: 56% (2001)

Population below poverty line:
21% (1998 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 45.6% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
56.7 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.5% (2002 est.)

Labor force:
5.9 million (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 14%, industry 27%, services 59% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate:
9.2% (2002)

Budget:
revenues: $17 billion
expenditures: $17 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2001 est.)

Industries:
copper, other minerals, foodstuffs, fish processing, iron and
steel, wood and wood products, transport equipment, cement, textiles

Industrial production growth rate:
-1.5% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production:
41.66 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 47%
hydro: 51.5%
other: 1.4% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
40.13 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
1.386 billion kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
13,640 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
241,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
81.05 million bbl (37257)

Natural gas - production:
1.2 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
6.47 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
5.27 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
67.78 billion cu m (37257)

Agriculture - products:
wheat, corn, grapes, beans, sugar beets, potatoes, fruit; beef,
poultry, wool; fish; timber

Exports:
$17.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
copper, fish, fruits, paper and pulp, chemicals

Exports - partners:
US 19.1%, Japan 10.5%, China 6.7%, Mexico 5%, Italy 4.7%, UK 4.4%
(2002)

Imports:
$15.6 billion f.o.b. (2002)

Imports - commodities:
consumer goods, chemicals, motor vehicles, fuels, electrical
machinery, heavy industrial machinery, food

Imports - partners:
Argentina 18%, US 14.9%, Brazil 9.5%, China 6.5%, Germany 4.3%
(2002)

Debt - external:
$40.4 billion (2002)

Economic aid - recipient:
ODA, $40 million (2001 est.)

Currency:
Chilean peso (CLP)

Currency code:
CLP

Exchange rates:
Chilean pesos per US dollar - 688.95 (2002), 634.94 (2001), 535.47
(2000), 508.78 (1999), 460.29 (1998)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Chile

Telephones - main lines in use:
2.603 million (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
944,225 (1998)

Telephone system:
general assessment: modern system based on extensive microwave
radio relay facilities
domestic: extensive microwave radio relay links; domestic satellite
system with 3 earth stations
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 180 (eight inactive), FM 64, shortwave 17 (one inactive) (1998)

Radios:
5.18 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
63 (plus 121 repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:
3.15 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.cl

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
7 (2000)

Internet users:
3.1 million (2002)

Transportation Chile

Railways:
total: 6,585 km
broad gauge: 2,831 km 1.676-m gauge (1,317 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 3,754 km 1.000-m gauge (2002)

Highways:
total: 79,814 km
paved: 15,484 km (including 294 km of expressways)
unpaved: 64,330 km (2000)

Waterways:
725 km

Pipelines:
gas 2,267 km; gas/liquid petroleum gas 42 km; liquid petroleum gas
531 km; oil 983 km; refined products 545 km (2003)

Ports and harbors:
Antofagasta, Arica, Chanaral, Coquimbo, Iquique, Puerto Montt,
Punta Arenas, San Antonio, San Vicente, Talcahuano, Valparaiso

Merchant marine:
total: 50 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 696,202 GRT/900,317 DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 6, chemical tanker 9, container 4,
liquefied gas 2, passenger 4, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off
6, vehicle carrier 4
note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of
convenience: Netherlands 1 (2002 est.)

Airports:
363 (2002)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 71
over 3,047 m: 6
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 21
914 to 1,523 m: 23
under 914 m: 15 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 292
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 11
914 to 1,523 m: 60
under 914 m: 216 (2002)

Military Chile

Military branches:
Army of the Nation, National Navy (including naval air, coast
guard, and marines), Air Force of the Nation, Chilean Carabineros
(National Police), Investigations Police

Military manpower - military age:
19 years of age (2003 est.)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 4,154,636 (2003 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 3,070,140 (2003 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 131,324 (2003 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$2.5 billion (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
3.1% (FY99)

Transnational Issues Chile

Disputes - international:
Bolivia continues to press Chile and Peru to restore the Atacama
corridor ceded to Chile in 1884; dispute with Peru over the economic
zone delimited by the maritime boundary; Chile demands water rights
to Bolivia's Rio Lauca and Silala Spring; Beagle Channel islands
dispute resolved through Papal mediation in 1984, but armed
incidents persist since 1992 oil discovery; territorial claim in
Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps
Argentine and British claims

Illicit drugs:
a growing transshipment country for cocaine destined for the US and
Europe; economic prosperity and increasing trade have made Chile
more attractive to traffickers seeking to launder drug profits,
especially through the Iquique Free Trade Zone; imported precursors
passed on to Bolivia; domestic cocaine consumption is rising

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003

======================================================================

@China

Introduction China

Background:
For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the
rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But in the 19th and
early 20th centuries, China was beset by civil unrest, major
famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War
II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a dictatorship that,
while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over
everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people.
After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping gradually introduced
market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision-making.
Output quadrupled by 2000. Political controls remain tight while
economic controls continue to be relaxed.

Geography China

Location:
Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea,
and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam

Geographic coordinates:
35 00 N, 105 00 E

Map references:
Asia

Area:
total: 9,596,960 sq km
land: 9,326,410 sq km
water: 270,550 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than the US

Land boundaries:
total: 22,147.34 km
border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km,
Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea
1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia
4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605
km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km

Coastline:
14,500 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate:
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

Terrain:
mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas,
and hills in east

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)

Natural resources:
coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten,
antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum,
lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)

Land use:
arable land: 13.31%
permanent crops: 1.2%
other: 85.49% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
525,800 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern
coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land
subsidence

Environment - current issues:
air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from
reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly
in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation;
estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil
erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in
endangered species

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note:
world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US);
Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak;

People China

Population:
1,286,975,468 (July 2003 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 23.1% (male 155,473,656; female 141,737,406)
15-64 years: 69.5% (male 461,223,219; female 433,154,970)
65 years and over: 7.4% (male 44,954,643; female 50,431,574) (2003
est.)

Median age:
total: 31.5 years
male: 31.2 years
female: 31.7 years (2002)

Population growth rate:
0.6% (2003 est.)

Birth rate:
12.96 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate:
6.74 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate:
-0.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.09 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 25.26 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 25.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 24.91 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.22 years
male: 70.33 years
female: 74.28 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.7 children born/woman (2003 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
850,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
30,000 (2001 est.)

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

Ethnic groups:
Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu,
Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%

Religions:
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4%
note: officially atheist (2002 est.)

Languages:
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing
dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan
(Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages
(see Ethnic groups entry)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86%
male: 92.9%
female: 78.8% (2003 est.)

Government China

Country name:
conventional long form: People's Republic of China
conventional short form: China
local short form: Zhong Guo
abbreviation: PRC
local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo

Government type:
Communist state

Capital:
Beijing

Administrative divisions:
23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions*
(zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities** (shi,
singular and plural); Anhui, Beijing**, Chongqing**, Fujian, Gansu,
Guangdong, Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan,
Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol*,
Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan,
Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang* (Tibet), Yunnan, Zhejiang; note -
China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for
the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau

Independence:
221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty 221 BC; Qing or
Ch'ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912;
People's Republic established 1 October 1949)

National holiday:
Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1
October (1949)

Constitution:
most recent promulgation 4 December 1982

Legal system:
a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law;
rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal
codes in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being
made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) and Vice
President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003)
elections: president and vice president elected by the National
People's Congress for five-year terms; elections last held 15-17
March 2003 (next to be held mid-March 2008); premier nominated by
the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress
head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Vice
Premiers HUANG Ju (since 17 March 2003), WU Yi (17 March 2003), ZENG
Peiyan (since 17 March 2003), and HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003)
cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress
(NPC)
election results: HU Jintao elected president by the Tenth National
People's Congress with a total of 2,937 votes (4 delegates voted
against him, 4 abstained, and 38 did not vote); ZENG Qinghong
elected vice president by the Tenth National People's Congress with
a total of 2,578 votes (177 delegates voted against him, 190
abstained, and 38 did not vote); 2 seats were vacant

Legislative branch:
unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao
Dahui (2,985 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and
provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held NA December 2002-NA February 2003 (next to be
held late 2007-NA February 2008)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA

Judicial branch:
Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's
Congress); Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and
local courts); Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime,
and railway transport courts)

Political parties and leaders:
Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao, General Secretary of the
Central Committee]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP

Political pressure groups and leaders:
no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the
government has identified the Falungong sect and the China Democracy
Party as potential rivals

International organization participation:
APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS,
CDB, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU,
LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), OPCW, PCA, SCO, UN,
UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, IFC, UNHCR, UNIDO,
AfDB, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCO,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador YANG Jiechi
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and
San Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582
telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500
chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr.
embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing
mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002
telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3831
FAX: [86] (10) 6532-6929
consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai,
Shenyang

Flag description:
red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow
five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of
the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner

Economy China

Economy - overview:
In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a
sluggish, Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more
market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a
political framework of strict Communist control, the economic
influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has
been steadily increasing. The authorities switched to a system of
household and village responsibility in agriculture in place of the
old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and
plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale
enterprises in services and light manufacturing, and opened the
economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has
been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. In 2003, with its 1.3 billion
people but a GDP of just $5,000 per capita, China stood as the
second-largest economy in the world after the US (measured on a
purchasing power parity basis). Agriculture and industry have posted
major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite
Taiwan, where foreign investment has helped spur output of both
domestic and export goods. The leadership, however, often has
experienced - as a result of its hybrid system - the worst results
of socialism (bureaucracy and lassitude) and of capitalism (windfall
gains and growing income disparities). China thus has periodically
backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. The
government has struggled to (a) collect revenues due from provinces,
businesses, and individuals; (b) reduce corruption and other
economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large state-owned
enterprises, many of which had been shielded from competition by
subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and
pensions. From 80 to 120 million surplus rural workers are adrift
between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through
part-time low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central
policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's
population control program, which is essential to maintaining
long-term growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to
growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air
pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table
especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because
of erosion and economic development. Beijing says it will intensify
efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure -
such as water control and power grids - and poverty relief and
through rural tax reform aimed at eliminating arbitrary local levies
on farmers. Accession to the World Trade Organization helps
strengthen China's ability to maintain strong growth rates but at
the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of
strong political controls and growing market influences. China has
benefited from a huge expansion in computer internet use. Foreign
investment remains a strong element in China's remarkable economic
growth.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $5.989 trillion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
8% (official data) (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $4,700 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 15.2%
industry and construction: 51.2%
services: 33.6% (2001)

Population below poverty line:
10% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 30.4% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
40 (2001)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
-0.8% (2002 est.)

Labor force:
744 million (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 50%, industry 22%, services 28% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate:
urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and
underemployment in rural areas (2002 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $224.8 billion
expenditures: $267.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2000)

Industries:
iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and
apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys,
food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics,
telecommunications

Industrial production growth rate:
12.6% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production:
1.42 trillion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 80.2%
hydro: 18.5%
other: 0.1% (2001)
nuclear: 1.2%

Electricity - consumption:
1.312 trillion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
10.3 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
1.55 billion kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
3.3 million bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
4.975 million bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
26.75 billion bbl (37257)

Natural gas - production:
30.3 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
30.3 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
1.29 trillion cu m (37257)

Agriculture - products:
rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley,
cotton, oilseed; pork; fish

Exports:
$325.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery and equipment; textiles and clothing, footwear, toys and
sporting goods; mineral fuels

Exports - partners:
US 21.5%, Hong Kong 18%, Japan 14.9%, South Korea 4.8% (2002)

Imports:
$295.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, plastics, iron and steel,
chemicals

Imports - partners:
Japan 18.1%, Taiwan 10.5%, South Korea 9.7%, US 9.2%, Germany 5.6%
(2002)

Debt - external:
$149.4 billion (2002 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$NA

Currency:
yuan (CNY)
note:: also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB)

Currency code:
CNY

Exchange rates:
yuan per US dollar - 8.28 (2002), 8.28 (2001), 8.28 (2000), 8.28
(1999), 8.28 (1998)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications China

Telephones - main lines in use:
135 million (2000)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
65 million (January 2001)

Telephone system:
general assessment: domestic and international services are
increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed
domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and
many towns
domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular
telephone systems have been installed; a domestic satellite system
with 55 earth stations is in place
international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific
Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and
1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); several international
fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and
Germany (2000)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)

Radios:
417 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31
are provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 are local city stations)
(1997)

Televisions:
400 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.cn

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
3 (2000)

Internet users:
45.8 million (2002)

Transportation China

Railways:
total: 71,600 km
standard gauge: 68,000 km 1.435-m gauge (14,600 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 3,600 km 1.000-m and 0.750-m gauge local industrial
lines (2002)

Highways:
total: 1,402,698 km
paved: 314,204 km (with at least 16,314 km of expressways)
unpaved: 1,088,494 km (2000)

Waterways:
110,000 km (1999)

Pipelines:
gas 13,845 km; oil 15,143 km; refined products 3,280 km (2003)

Ports and harbors:
Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing,
Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Shenzhen,
Tianjin, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang (2001)

Merchant marine:
total: 1,817 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 18,047,962 GRT/27,035,740 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 348, cargo 824, chemical tanker
28, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 2, container 150,
liquefied gas 28, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, passenger
6, passenger/cargo 47, petroleum tanker 267, refrigerated cargo 26,
roll on/roll off 21, short-sea passenger 42, specialized tanker 8,
vehicle carrier 2
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of
convenience: Croatia 1, Germany 1, Hong Kong 16, Japan 2, Panama 2,
South Korea 1, Spain 1, Taiwan 9, Tanzania 1, Turkey 1 (2002 est.)

Airports:
500 (2002)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 351
over 3,047 m: 32
2,438 to 3,047 m: 108
1,524 to 2,437 m: 143
914 to 1,523 m: 29
under 914 m: 39 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 149
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 48
under 914 m: 71 (2002)

Military China

Military branches:
People's Liberation Army (PLA): comprises ground forces, Navy
(including naval infantry and naval aviation), Air Force, and II
Artillery Corps (strategic missile force), People's Armed Police
Force (internal security troops, nominally a state security body but
included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered
to be an adjunct to the PLA), militia

Military manpower - military age:
18 years of age (2003 est.)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 375,520,255 (2003 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 206 million (2003 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 10,973,761 (2003 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$55.91 billion (FY02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
4.3% (FY02)

Transnational Issues China

Disputes - international:
involved in complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia,
Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; claimants in
November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in
the South China Sea", a mechanism to ease tension but which fell
short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; much of the rugged,
militarized boundary with India is in dispute, but the two sides
have participated in more than 13 rounds of joint working group
sessions on this issue; India objects to Pakistan ceding lands to
China in 1965 boundary agreement that India believes are part of
disputed Kashmir; China, as well as Taiwan, claims
Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) islands;
negotiations with Tajikistan resolved the longstanding boundary
dispute; China and Kazakhstan have resolved their border dispute and
are working to delimit their large open borders to control
population migration, illegal activities, and trade; Kyrgyzstan's
constitutional court rules that 1,270 sq km ceded to China in 2000
delimitation agreement were legally transferred; certain islands in
Yalu and Tumen rivers are in uncontested dispute with North Korea
and a section of boundary around Mount Paektu is indefinite - China
objects to illegal migration of North Koreans into northern China;
China continues to seek a mutually acceptable solution to the
disputed alluvial islands with Russia at the confluence of the Amur
and Ussuri rivers and a small island on the Argun river as part of
the 2001 Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation;
boundary agreements signed in 2002 with Tajikistan cedes 1,000 sq km
of Pamir Mountain range to China in return for China's relinquishing
claims to 28,000 sq km; demarcation of land boundary with Vietnam
continues but maritime boundary and joint fishing zone agreement
remains unratified; China occupies Paracel Islands also claimed by
Vietnam and Taiwan

Illicit drugs:
major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden
Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for
chemical precursors and methamphetamine

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003

======================================================================

@Christmas Island

Introduction Christmas Island

Background:
Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed
and settlement was begun by the UK in 1888. Phosphate mining began
in the 1890s. The UK transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1958.
Almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park.

Geography Christmas Island

Location:
Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia

Geographic coordinates:
10 30 S, 105 40 E

Map references:
Southeast Asia