Chapter LIX: Front Matter (59)

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May
1995), represented by High Administrator Christian JOB (since 6
August 2002)
elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year
term; high administrator appointed by the French president on the
advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the
Territorial Government and the Territorial Assembly are elected by
the members of the assembly
note: there are three traditional kings with limited powers
head of government: President of the Territorial Assembly Patalione
KANIMOA (since NA January 2001)
cabinet: Council of the Territory consists of three kings and three
members appointed by the high administrator on the advice of the
Territorial Assembly

Legislative branch:
unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (20
seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 11 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2007)
note: Wallis and Futuna elects one senator to the French Senate and
one deputy to the French National Assembly; French Senate -
elections last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held by NA
September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats -
RPR (now UMP) 1; French National Assembly - elections last held 16
June 2002 (next to be held by NA 2007); results - percent of vote by
party - NA%; seats - RPR (UMP) 1
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
RPR and affiliates 13, Socialists and affiliates 7

Judicial branch:
none; justice generally administered under French law by the high
administrator, but the three traditional kings administer customary
law and there is a magistrate in Mata-Utu

Political parties and leaders:
Lua Kae Tahi (Giscardians) [leader NA]; Mouvement des Radicaux de
Gauche or MRG [leader NA]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Clovis
LOGOLOGOFOLAU]; Taumu'a Lelei [Soane Muni UHILA]; Union Populaire
Locale or UPL [Falakiko GATA]; Union Pour la Democratie Francaise or
UDF [leader NA]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
FZ, SPC

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

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

Flag description:
a large white modified Maltese cross - shifted a little off center
toward the fly and slightly downward - on a red background; the flag
of France outlined in white on two sides is in the upper hoist
quadrant; the flag of France is used for official occasions

Economy Wallis and Futuna

Economy - overview:
The economy is limited to traditional subsistence agriculture, with
about 80% labor force earnings from agriculture (coconuts and
vegetables), livestock (mostly pigs), and fishing. About 4% of the
population is employed in government. Revenues come from French
Government subsidies, licensing of fishing rights to Japan and South
Korea, import taxes, and remittances from expatriate workers in New
Caledonia.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $30 million (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
NA%

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
NA%

Labor force:
NA

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture, livestock, and fishing 80%, government 4% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate:
NA%

Budget:
revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $17 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1998 est.)

Industries:
copra, handicrafts, fishing, lumber

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
NA kWh

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 0%
hydro: 0%
other: 0%
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
NA kWh

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)

Agriculture - products:
breadfruit, yams, taro, bananas; pigs, goats

Exports:
$250,000 f.o.b. (1999)

Exports - commodities:
copra, chemicals, construction materials

Exports - partners:
Italy 40%, Croatia 15%, US 14%, Denmark 13%

Imports:
$300,000 f.o.b. (1999)

Imports - commodities:
chemicals, machinery, passenger ships, consumer goods

Imports - partners:
France 97%, Australia 2%, New Zealand 1%

Debt - external:
$NA

Economic aid - recipient:
assistance from France

Currency:
Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF); note - may adopt the
euro in 2003

Currency code:
XPF

Exchange rates:
Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 126.41
(2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.43 (2000), 111.93 (1999), 107.25 (1998)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Wallis and Futuna

Telephones - main lines in use:
1,125 (1994)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
0 (1994)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: NA

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (2000)

Radios:
NA

Television broadcast stations:
2 (2000)

Televisions:
NA

Internet country code:
.wf

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)

Internet users:
NA

Transportation Wallis and Futuna

Railways:
0 km

Highways:
total: 120 km (Ile Uvea 100 km, Ile Futuna 20 km)
paved: 16 km (all on Ile Uvea)
unpaved: 104 km (Ile Uvea 84 km, Ile Futuna 20 km)

Waterways:
none

Ports and harbors:
Leava, Mata-Utu

Merchant marine:
total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 85,572 GRT/9,004 DWT
ships by type: passenger 4
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of
convenience: France 3, US 1 (2002 est.)

Airports:
2 (2002)

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

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)

Military Wallis and Futuna

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues Wallis and Futuna

Disputes - international:
none

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003

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

@West Bank

Introduction West Bank

Background:
The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government
Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993,
provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of
Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and
responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the
Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of
the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip
and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo
Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional
areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995
Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol
Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998
Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh
Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility
during the transitional period for external security and for
internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli
citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of
Gaza and West Bank had begun in September 1999 after a three-year
hiatus, but have been derailed by a second intifadah that broke out
in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability
within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress
toward a permanent agreement.

Geography West Bank

Location:
Middle East, west of Jordan

Geographic coordinates:
32 00 N, 35 15 E

Map references:
Middle East

Area:
total: 5,860 sq km
note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter
of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and
Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of
depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
water: 220 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Delaware

Land boundaries:
total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm
to hot summers, cool to mild winters

Terrain:
mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren
in east

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m

Natural resources:
arable land

Land use:
arable land: NEGL%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
droughts

Environment - current issues:
adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment

Geography - note:
landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal
aquifers; there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use
sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.)

People West Bank

Population:
2,237,194 (July 2002 est.)
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the
West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2002
est.) (July 2003 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 44.1% (male 505,880; female 481,369)
15-64 years: 52.4% (male 598,992; female 572,511)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 33,688; female 44,754) (2003 est.)

Median age:
total: 17.9 years
male: 17.7 years
female: 18 years (2002)

Population growth rate:
3.3% (2003 est.)

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

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

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

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 20.68 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 18.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 22.86 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.68 years
male: 70.95 years
female: 74.51 years (2003 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA%

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: NA
adjective: NA

Ethnic groups:
Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%

Religions:
Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%

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

Literacy:
definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%

Government West Bank

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank

Economy West Bank

Economy - overview:
Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS)
declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due to the
combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population
growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of
Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in
response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and
commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most
serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment;
unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by
1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive
closures during the next five years decreased and, in 1998, Israel
implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other
security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor.
These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in
1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the
outbreak of violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of
Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor
movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military
measures in Palestinian Authority areas have resulted in the
destruction of much capital plant and administrative structure,
widespread business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Another major
loss has been the decline in earnings of Palestinian workers in
Israel. International aid of $2 billion in 2001-02 to the West Bank
and Gaza Strip have prevented the complete collapse of the economy.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
-22% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 9%
industry: 28%
services: 63%
note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line:
60% (2002 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.)

Labor force:
NA

Labor force - by occupation:
services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996)

Unemployment rate:
50% (includes Gaza Strip) (2002 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $930 million
note: includes Gaza Strip (2000 est.)
expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $15
million

Industries:
generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles,
soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the
Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the
settlements and industrial centers

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East
Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to
Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank;
the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most
Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian
municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own
electricity from small power plants

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

Electricity - consumption:
NA kWh

Electricity - imports:
NA kWh

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

Exports:
$603 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip

Exports - commodities:
olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone

Exports - partners:
Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000)

Imports:
$1.9 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip

Imports - commodities:
food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners:
Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000)

Debt - external:
$108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$800 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.)

Currency:
new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD)

Currency code:
ILS; JOD

Exchange rates:
new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001),
4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997);
Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996)

Fiscal year:
calendar year (since 1 January 1992)

Communications West Bank

Telephones - main lines in use:
95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
NA

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: NA
note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are
responsible for communication services in the West Bank

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM
station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are
reported to be in operation (2000)

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

Television broadcast stations:
NA

Televisions:
NA; note - many Palestinian households have televisions (1999)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
8 (1999)

Internet users:
60,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2001)

Transportation West Bank

Railways:
0 km

Highways:
total: 4,500 km
paved: 2,700 km
unpaved: 1,800 km
note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish
settlements (1997 est.)

Waterways:
none

Ports and harbors:
none

Airports:
3 (2002)

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

Military West Bank

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA%

Transnational Issues West Bank

Disputes - international:
West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status
subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent
status to be determined through further negotiation

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003

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

@Western Sahara

Introduction Western Sahara

Background:
Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara
(formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in
1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the
Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991
UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status
has been repeatedly postponed.

Geography Western Sahara

Location:
Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Mauritania and Morocco

Geographic coordinates:
24 30 N, 13 00 W

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 266,000 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km

Area - comparative:
about the size of Colorado

Land boundaries:
total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km

Coastline:
1,110 km

Maritime claims:
contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue

Climate:
hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce
fog and heavy dew

Terrain:
mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces
rising to small mountains in south and northeast

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m

Natural resources:
phosphates, iron ore

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and
spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely
restricting visibility

Environment - current issues:
sparse water and lack of arable land

Environment - international agreements:
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas

People Western Sahara

Population:
261,794 (July 2003 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA%
65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.)

Population growth rate:
NA% (2003 est.)

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

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

Sex ratio:
NA (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: NA years
male: NA years
female: NA years (2003 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA%

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawian, Sahraouian

Ethnic groups:
Arab, Berber

Religions:
Muslim

Languages:
Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic

Literacy:
definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%

Government Western Sahara

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara
former: Spanish Sahara

Government type:
legal status of territory and issue of sovereignty unresolved;
territory contested by Morocco and Polisario Front (Popular Front
for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro), which in
February 1976 formally proclaimed a government-in-exile of the
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR),led by President Mohamed
ABDELAZIZ; territory partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in
April 1976, with Morocco acquiring northern two-thirds; Mauritania,
under pressure from Polisario guerrillas, abandoned all claims to
its portion in August 1979; Morocco moved to occupy that sector
shortly thereafter and has since asserted administrative control;
the Polisario's government-in-exile was seated as an OAU member in
1984; guerrilla activities continued sporadically, until a
UN-monitored cease-fire was implemented 6 September 1991

Capital:
none

Administrative divisions:
none (under de facto control of Morocco)

Suffrage:
none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed

Executive branch:
none

Political pressure groups and leaders:
none

International organization participation:
none

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none

Economy Western Sahara

Economy - overview:
Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate
mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The
territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural
production, and most of the food for the urban population must be
imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by
the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed
contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which
has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in
Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $NA

GDP - real growth rate:
NA%

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $NA

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: 40% (1996 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
NA%

Labor force:
12,000

Labor force - by occupation:
animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50%

Unemployment rate:
NA%

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

Industries:
phosphate mining, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
90 million kWh (2001)

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

Electricity - consumption:
83.7 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
1,800 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Agriculture - products:
fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep,
goats (kept by nomads)

Exports:
$NA

Exports - commodities:
phosphates 62%

Exports - partners:
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners
are included in overall Moroccan accounts

Imports:
$NA

Imports - commodities:
fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners
are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2000)

Debt - external:
$NA

Economic aid - recipient:
$NA

Currency:
Moroccan dirham (MAD)

Currency code:
MAD

Exchange rates:
Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001),
10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Western Sahara

Telephones - main lines in use:
about 2,000 (1999 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
0 (1999)

Telephone system:
general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA
international: tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay,
tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
56,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
NA

Televisions:
6,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.eh

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)

Internet users:
NA

Transportation Western Sahara

Railways:
0 km

Highways:
total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km
unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est)

Waterways:
none

Ports and harbors:
Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)

Airports:
11 (2002)

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

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 3 (2002)

Military Western Sahara

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA%

Transnational Issues Western Sahara

Disputes - international:
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty
remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in
effect since September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum have
failed and parties have rejected other proposals; Mauritanian claims
to Western Sahara have been dormant in recent years; Morocco allowed
Spanish fishermen to fish temporarily off the coast of Western
Sahara after an oil spill soiled Spanish fishing grounds

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003

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

@World

Introduction World

Background:
Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world
wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast
colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from
the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the
landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance
and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in
North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the
environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and
water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h)
the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of
the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population
continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930,
3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6
billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential
growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances
in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal
weapons of war).

Geography World

Map references:
Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard
Time Zones of the World

Area:
total: 510.072 million sq km
land: 148.94 million sq km
water: 361.132 million sq km
note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land

Area - comparative:
land area about 16 times the size of the US

Land boundaries:
the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting
shared boundaries twice)

Coastline:
356,000 km

Maritime claims:
a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make
the following claims: contiguous zone - 24 NM; continental shelf -
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation, or 200 NM or to the
edge of the continental margin; exclusive fishing zone - 200 NM;
exclusive economic zone - 200 NM; territorial sea - 12 NM; boundary
situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from
extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43
nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan,
Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia,
Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad,
Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg,
Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San
Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan,
West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and
Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked

Climate:
two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow
temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to
subtropical climates

Terrain:
the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the
Pacific Ocean

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m
note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is
the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific
Ocean
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)

Natural resources:
the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the
depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and
plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality
(especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose
serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only
beginning to address

Land use:
arable land: 10.58%
permanent crops: 1%
other: 88.42% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural
disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)

Environment - current issues:
large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters,
pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of
vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of
wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion

Geography - note:
the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just
about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe

People World

Population:
6,302,309,691 (July 2003 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 29.2% (male 932,581,592; female 885,688,851)
15-64 years: 63.7% (male 2,009,997,089; female 1,964,938,201)
65 years and over: 7.1% (male 193,549,180; female 247,067,032) (2003
est.)
note: some countries do not maintain age structure information, thus
a slight discrepancy exists between the total world population and
the total for world age structure

Population growth rate:
1.17% (2003 est.)

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

Death rate:
8.83 deaths/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: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 51.38 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 53.81 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 48.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 63.95 years
male: 62 years
female: 70.23 years (2003 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA%

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Religions:
Christians 32.79% (of which Roman Catholics 17.33%, Protestants
5.62%, Orthodox 3.51%, Anglicans 1.31%), Muslims 19.6%, Hindus
13.31%, Buddhists 5.88%, Sikhs 0.38%, Jews 0.24%, other religions
12.83%, non-religious 12.53%, atheists 2.44% (2001 est.)

Languages:
Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish
5.59%, Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese
2.06%, German, Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.)
note: percents are for "first language" speakers only

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 77%
male: 83%
female: 71% (1995 est.)

Government World

Administrative divisions:
268 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries

Legal system:
all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute
that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World
Court

Economy World

Economy - overview:
Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) fell from 4.8%
in 2000 to 2.2% in 2001 and 2.7% in 2002. The causes: sluggishness
in the US economy (21% of GWP) and in the 15 EU economies (19% of
GWP); continued stagnation in the Japanese economy (7.2% of GWP);
and spillover effects in the less developed regions of the world.
China, the second-largest economy in the world (12% of GWP), proved
an exception, continuing its rapid annual growth, officially
announced as 8% but estimated by many observers as perhaps two
percentage points lower. Russia (2.6% of GWP), with 4% growth,
continued to make uneven progress, its GDP per capita still only
one-third that of the leading industrial nations. The other 14
successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations
again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic
nations continued as strong performers, in the 5% range of growth.
The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with
many countries facing population increases that erode gains in
output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock
economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over
international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology.
Internally, the central government often finds its control over
resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically
based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor
states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in
India, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central
government is losing decision-making powers to international bodies.
In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem
of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to
increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment.
The addition of 80 million people each year to an already
overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution,
desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of
their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized
countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the
poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point
of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the
euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January
1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse,
poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and
cultural and political differences among the participating nations.
The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a
further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example,
by the reallocation of resources away from investment to
anti-terrorist programs. The opening of war in March 2003 between a
US-led coalition and Iraq added new uncertainties to global economic
prospects. (For specific economic developments in each country of
the world in 2002, see the individual country entries.)

GDP:
GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $49 trillion
(2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.7% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $7,900 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4%
industry: 32%
services: 64% (2002 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to
60% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual
cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several
Third World countries

Labor force:
NA

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%

Unemployment rate:
30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many
non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12%
unemployment

Industries:
dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers,
robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment;
most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small
portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to
these technological forces; the accelerated development of new
industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already
grim environmental problems

Industrial production growth rate:
3% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production:
14.85 trillion kWh (2001 est.)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA%
other: NA%
nuclear: NA%

Electricity - consumption:
13.93 trillion kWh (2001 est.)

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

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

Oil - proved reserves:
1.025 trillion bbl (37257)

Natural gas - production:
2.569 trillion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
2.556 trillion cu m (2001 est.)

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

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

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

Exports:
$6.6 trillion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services

Exports - partners:
US 17.4%, Germany 7.6%, UK 5.4%, France 5.1%, Japan 4.8%, China 4%
(2002)

Imports:
$6.6 trillion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services

Imports - partners:
US 11.2%, Germany 9.2%, China 7%, Japan 6.8%, France 4.7%, UK 4%
(2002)

Debt - external:
$2 trillion for less developed countries (2002 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
official development assistance (ODA) $50 billion

Communications World

Telephones - main lines in use:
NA

Telephones - mobile cellular:
NA

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: NA

Radio broadcast stations:
AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA

Radios:
NA

Television broadcast stations:
NA

Televisions:
NA

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
10,350 (2000 est.)

Internet users:
604,111,719 (2002 est.)

Transportation World

Railways:
total: 1,122,650 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of
electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in
the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and
4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is
300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer
Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line
broad gauge: 251,153 km
narrow gauge: 239,430 km
standard gauge: 710,754 km

Highways:
total: NA km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km

Ports and harbors:
Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi
(Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama

Military World

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at
approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion
dollars (1999 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.)

Transnational Issues World

Disputes - international:
Globally, there are over 250,000 km of international land
boundaries that separate the world's 192 independent states, along
with 70 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other
miscellaneous entities. Maritime states have claimed limits and have
so far established over 130 maritime boundaries and joint
development zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide for
their national security at sea. On land, ethnicity, culture, race,
religion, and language have divided states into separate political
entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or
conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries.
All of these factors have contributed to a wide array of boundary,
borderland, and territorial disagreements that vary in intensity
from unresolved or dormant to outright war. Territorial disputes may
evolve from historical and/or cultural animosities, or they may be
brought on by resource competition. Ethnic clashes continue to be
responsible for territorial fragmentation around the world.
Undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries encourage
illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and
political confrontation over boundary allocations. Other sources of
contention include the use of water and mineral (especially
petroleum) resources, fisheries, dams, and nuclear power plants.
Many islands or island groups are also disputed, including those at
sea and in streams. Nonetheless, many nations are actively
cooperating to clarify, delineate, and demarcate their international
borders. The tragic aspect of international discord is the impact on
the sustenance and welfare of populations caught in the conflict. It
is frequently left to members of the world community to cope with
enormous refugee situations, and the resultant hunger, disease, and
impoverishment that they create.

Illicit drugs:
cocaine: worldwide, coca is grown on an estimated 205,450 hectares
- almost exclusively in South America with 70% in Colombia;
potential cocaine production during 2002 is estimated at 938 metric
tons (or 1,200 metric tons of export quality cocaine at an average
of 78% purity); coca eradication programs continue in Bolivia,
Colombia, and Peru, and 292 metric tons of export quality cocaine
are documented to have been seized in 2002; consumption of export
quality cocaine is estimated to have been 875 metric tons
opiates: cultivation of opium poppy occurred on an estimated 141,213
hectares in 2002 and potentially produced 2,183 metric tons of opium
- which conceivably could be converted to the equivalent of 238
metric tons of pure heroin; opium eradication programs have been
undertaken in Afghanistan, Burma, Colombia, Mexico, Pakistan,
Thailand, and Vietnam, and the annual average for opiates seized
worldwide over the past five years (1998-2002) has been 45 metric
tons of pure heroin equivalent; estimates for average annual
consumption over this time period are 315 metric tons pure heroin
equivalent

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003

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

@Yemen

Introduction Yemen

Background:
North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The
British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port
of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South
Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist
orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis
from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility
between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the
Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994
was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a
delimitation of their border.

Geography Yemen

Location:
Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea,
between Oman and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 48 00 E

Map references:
Middle East

Area:
total: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km
note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR
or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of
Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen)
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming

Land boundaries:
total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km

Coastline:
1,906 km

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

Climate:
mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western
mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry,
harsh desert in east

Terrain:
narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged
mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the
desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold,
lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west

Land use:
arable land: 2.75%
permanent crops: 0.21%
other: 97.04% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
4,900 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
sandstorms and dust storms in summer

Environment - current issues:
very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of
potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

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

Geography - note:
strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea
and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes

People Yemen

Population:
19,349,881 (July 2003 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 46.8% (male 4,606,110; female 4,446,229)
15-64 years: 50.4% (male 4,972,946; female 4,778,034)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 272,921; female 273,641) (2003 est.)

Median age:
total: 16.4 years
male: 16.4 years
female: 16.4 years (2002)

Population growth rate:
3.42% (2003 est.)

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

Death rate:
9.04 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: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 65.02 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 59.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 69.98 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 60.97 years
male: 59.16 years
female: 62.87 years (2003 est.)

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

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

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
9,900 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni

Ethnic groups:
predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans

Religions:
Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of
Jewish, Christian, and Hindu

Languages:
Arabic

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 50.2%
male: 70.5%
female: 30% (2003 est.)

Government Yemen

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen
local short form: Al Yaman
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah

Government type:
republic

Capital:
Sanaa

Administrative divisions:
19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad
Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit,
'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah,
San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz
note: there may be one additional governorate of the capital city of
Sanaa

Independence:
22 May 1990, Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of
the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the
Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen
(Aden) or South Yemen]; previously North Yemen had become
independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South
Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)

National holiday:
Unification Day, 22 May (1990)

Constitution:
16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001

Legal system:
based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local
tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Field Marshall Ali Abdallah SALIH (since
22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office
upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen.
Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL (since 4
April 2001)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the
advice of the prime minister
election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of
vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 96.3%, Najib Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7%
elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a
seven-year term (recently extended from a five-year term by
constitutional amendment); election last held 23 September 1999
(next to be held NA 2006); vice president appointed by the
president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by
the president

Legislative branch:
a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created
a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats;
members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives
(301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
GPC 238, Islah 46, YSP 8, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab
Socialist Baath Party 2, independents 4
elections: last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held NA April 2009)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:
there are over 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the
more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali
Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah
bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; National Arab Socialist Baath Party [Dr.
Qassim SALAAM]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malik al-MAKHLAFI];
Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]
note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won a
landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and no
longer governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn
al-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah - the two parties had
been in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, a
loyal opposition party, boycotted the April 1997 legislative
election, but announced that it would participate in Yemen's first
local elections, held in February 2001; these local elections aim to
decentralize political power and are a key element of the
government's political reform program

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt
(signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAS (observer),
OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI
FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017
telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760
chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Edmund J. HULL
embassy: Dhahar Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa
mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa
telephone: [967] (1) 303-161
FAX: [967] (1) 303-182

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black;
similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars and of Iraq
which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a
horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag
of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band

Economy Yemen

Economy - overview:
Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported
strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production, but
has been harmed by periodic declines in oil prices. Yemen has
embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed
to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to
substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. International
donors, meeting in Paris in October 2002, agreed on a further $2.3
billion economic support package. Yemen has worked to maintain tight
control over spending and implement additional components of the IMF
program. A high population growth rate and internal political
dissension complicate the government's task.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $15.07 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.1% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 22%
industry: 38%
services: 40% (2001)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
33.4 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
12.2% (2002 est.)

Labor force:
NA

Labor force - by occupation:
most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services,
construction, industry, and commerce account for less than
one-fourth of the labor force

Unemployment rate:
30% (1995 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2001 est.)

Industries:
crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production
of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts;
small aluminum products factory; cement

Industrial production growth rate:
4% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production:
3.01 billion kWh (2001)

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

Electricity - consumption:
2.8 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
438,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
74,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
3.2 billion bbl (37257)

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

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

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

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

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

Agriculture - products:
grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub),
coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle,
camels), poultry; fish

Exports:
$3.4 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish

Exports - partners:
India 21.1%, Thailand 16.9%, South Korea 11.2%, China 11.1%,
Malaysia 7.7%, US 6.7%, Singapore 4% (2002)

Imports:
$2.9 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals

Imports - partners:
US 10.4%, Saudi Arabia 9.5%, China 8.7%, UAE 6.9%, Russia 5.8%,
France 4.7% (2002)

Debt - external:
$6.2 billion (2002)

Economic aid - recipient:
$2.3 billion to be disbursed 2003-07 (2003-07 disbursements)

Currency:
Yemeni rial (YER)

Currency code:
YER

Exchange rates:
Yemeni rials per US dollar - NA (2002), 168.67 (2001), 161.72
(2000), 155.72 (1999), 135.88 (1998)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Yemen

Telephones - main lines in use:
291,359 (1999)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
32,042 (2000)

Telephone system:
general assessment: since unification in 1990, efforts have been
made to create a national telecommunications network
domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay,
cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone
systems
international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean
and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2
Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios:
1.05 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:
470,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.ye

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)

Internet users:
17,000 (2002)

Transportation Yemen

Railways:
0 km

Highways:
total: 67,000 km
paved: 7,705 km
unpaved: 59,295 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
none

Pipelines:
gas 88 km; oil 1,174 km (2003)

Ports and harbors:
Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun

Merchant marine:
total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 18,623 GRT/23,752 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 1
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of
convenience: Hong Kong 2 (2002 est.)

Airports:
44 (2002)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 11
under 914 m: 4 (2002)

Military Yemen

Military branches:
Army (includes Special Forces, established in 1999), Navy, Air
Force, Air Defense Forces, Republican Guard

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

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 4,443,312 (2003 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 2,493,612 (2003 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 249,292 (2003 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$482.5 million (FY01)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
5.2% (FY01)

Military - note:
establishment of a Coast Guard, scheduled for May 2001, has been
delayed

Transnational Issues Yemen

Disputes - international:
Eritrea protests Yemeni fishing around the Hanish islands awarded
to Eritrea by the ICJ in 1999; nomadic groups in border region with
Saudi Arabia resist demarcation of boundary

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003

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

@Zambia

Introduction Zambia

Background:
The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the South
Africa Company from 1891 until it was taken over by the UK in 1923.
During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred development
and immigration. The name was changed to Zambia upon independence in
1964. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices and a
prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end
to one-party rule, but the subsequent vote in 1996 saw blatant
harassment of opposition parties. The election in 2001 was marked by
administrative problems with three parties filing a legal petition
challenging the election of ruling party candidate Levy MWANAWASA.
The new president launched a far-reaching anti-corruption campaign
in 2002, which resulted in the 2003 arrest of the previous president
Frederick CHILUBA and many of his supporters. Opposition parties
currently hold a majority of seats in the National Assembly.

Geography Zambia

Location:
Southern Africa, east of Angola

Geographic coordinates:
15 00 S, 30 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 752,614 sq km
water: 11,890 sq km
land: 740,724 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Texas

Land boundaries:
total: 5,664 km
border countries: Angola 1,110 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo
1,930 km, Malawi 837 km, Mozambique 419 km, Namibia 233 km, Tanzania
338 km, Zimbabwe 797 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April)

Terrain:
mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Zambezi river 329 m
highest point: unnamed location in Mafinga Hills 2,301 m

Natural resources:
copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium,
hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 7.08%
permanent crops: 0.03%
other: 92.89% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
460 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
periodic drought, tropical storms (November to April)

Environment - current issues:
air pollution and resulting acid rain in the mineral extraction and
refining region; chemical runoff into watersheds; poaching seriously
threatens rhinoceros, elephant, antelope, and large cat populations;
deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; lack of adequate water
treatment presents human health risks

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

Geography - note:
landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with
Zimbabwe

People Zambia

Population:
10,307,333
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower
life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2003 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 46.3% (male 2,396,313; female 2,378,567)
15-64 years: 50.9% (male 2,626,961; female 2,621,818)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 131,196; female 152,478) (2003 est.)

Median age:
total: 16.5 years
male: 16.4 years
female: 16.6 years (2002)

Population growth rate:
1.52% (2003 est.)

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

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

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