Chapter XX: Front Matter (20)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 72
over 3,047 m: 13
2,438 to 3,047 m: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 17
under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 15
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.)

Heliports:
2 (2004 est.)

Military Egypt

Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for conscript military service; 3-year service
obligation (2001)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 18,347,560 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 15,540,234 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males: 802,920 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$2.44 billion (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
3.4% (2004)

Transnational Issues Egypt

Disputes - international:
Egypt and Sudan retain claims to administer the two triangular
areas that extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary along
the 22nd Parallel, but have withdrawn their military presence; Egypt
is developing the Hala'ib Triangle north of the Treaty line; since
the attack on Taba and other Egyptian resort towns on the Red Sea in
October 2004, Egypt vigilantly monitors the Sinai and borders with
Israel and the Gaza Strip; Egypt does not extend domestic asylum to
some 70,000 persons who identify as Palestinians but who largely
lack UNRWA assistance and, until recently, UNHCR recognition as
refugees

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 70,215 (Palestinian Territories)
(2004)

Illicit drugs:
transit point for Southwest Asian and Southeast Asian heroin and
opium moving to Europe, Africa, and the US; transit stop for
Nigerian couriers; concern as money-laundering site due to lax
financial regulations and enforcement

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005

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

@El Salvador

Introduction El Salvador

Background:
El Salvador achieved independence from Spain in 1821 and from the
Central American Federation in 1839. A 12-year civil war, which cost
about 75,000 lives, was brought to a close in 1992 when the
government and leftist rebels signed a treaty that provided for
military and political reforms.

Geography El Salvador

Location:
Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between
Guatemala and Honduras

Geographic coordinates:
13 50 N, 88 55 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 21,040 sq km
land: 20,720 sq km
water: 320 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Massachusetts

Land boundaries:
total: 545 km
border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km

Coastline:
307 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to
April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands

Terrain:
mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m

Natural resources:
hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 31.85%
permanent crops: 12.07%
other: 56.08% (2001)

Irrigated land:
360 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very
destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible
to hurricanes

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of
soils from disposal of toxic wastes

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

Geography - note:
smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline
on Caribbean Sea

People El Salvador

Population:
6,704,932 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 36.5% (male 1,250,901/female 1,198,589)
15-64 years: 58.3% (male 1,860,084/female 2,051,140)
65 years and over: 5.1% (male 153,133/female 191,085) (2005 est.)

Median age:
total: 21.57 years
male: 20.44 years
female: 22.69 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.75% (2005 est.)

Birth rate:
27.04 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:
5.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate:
-3.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 25.1 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.98 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 22.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.22 years
male: 67.61 years
female: 75.01 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate:
3.16 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.7% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
29,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
2,200 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Salvadoran(s)
adjective: Salvadoran

Ethnic groups:
mestizo 90%, white 9%, Amerindian 1%

Religions:
Roman Catholic 83%, other 17%
note: there is extensive activity by Protestant groups throughout
the country; by the end of 1992, there were an estimated 1 million
Protestant evangelicals in El Salvador

Languages:
Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians)

Literacy:
definition: age 10 and over can read and write
total population: 80.2%
male: 82.8%
female: 77.7% (2003 est.)

Government El Salvador

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

Government type:
republic

Capital:
San Salvador

Administrative divisions:
14 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento);
Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz,
La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa Ana, San Vicente,
Sonsonate, Usulutan

Independence:
15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution:
23 December 1983

Legal system:
based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common law; judicial
review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez (since 1 June
2004); Vice President Ana Vilma DE ESCOBAR (since 1 June 2004); note
- the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez (since 1
June 2004); Vice President Ana Vilma DE ESCOBAR (since 1 June 2004);
note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government
cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket
by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 21 March
2004 (next to be held March 2009)
election results: Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez elected president;
percent of vote - Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez (ARENA) 57.7%, Schafik
HANDAL (FMLN) 35.6%, Hector SILVA (CDU-PDC) 3.9%, other 2.8%

Legislative branch:
unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (84 seats;
members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve three-year
terms)
elections: last held 16 March 2003 (next to be held March 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
FMLN 31, ARENA 28, PCN 15, PDC 5, CD 5

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are selected by the
Legislative Assembly)

Political parties and leaders:
Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Rodolfo PARKER]; Democratic
Convergence or CD (formerly United Democratic Center or CDU) [Ruben
ZAMORA, secretary general]; Democratic Party or PD [Jorge MELENDEZ];
Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN [Medardo
GONZALEZ]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Kirio Waldo SALGADO,
president]; National Action Party or PAN [Gustavo Rogelio SALINAS,
secretary general]; National Conciliation Party or PCN [Ciro CRUZ
ZEPEDA, president]; National Republican Alliance or ARENA [Elias
Antonio SACA Gonzalez]; Social Christian Union or USC (formed by the
merger of Christian Social Renewal Party or PRSC and Unity Movement
or MU) [Abraham RODRIGUEZ, president]; Social Democratic Party or
PSD [Juan MEDRANO]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
labor organizations - Electrical Industry Union of El Salvador or
SIES; Federation of the Construction Industry, Similar Transport and
other activities, or FESINCONTRANS; National Confederation of
Salvadoran Workers or CNTS; National Union of Salvadoran Workers or
UNTS; Port Industry Union of El Salvador or SIPES; Salvadoran Union
of Ex-Petrolleros and Peasant Workers or USEPOC; Salvadoran Workers
Central or CTS; Workers Union of Electrical Corporation or STCEL;
business organizations - National Association of Small Enterprise or
ANEP; Salvadoran Assembly Industry Association or ASIC; Salvadoran
Industrial Association or ASI

International organization participation:
BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO
(correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Rene Antonio LEON Rodriguez
chancery: 2308 California Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 265-9671
FAX: [1] (202) 234-3834
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los
Angeles, Miami, New York (2), San Francisco, and Washington, DC
consulate(s): Boston

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador H. Douglas BARCLAY
embassy: Final Boulevard Santa Elena Sur, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La
Libertad, San Salvador
mailing address: Unit 3116, APO AA 34023
telephone: [503] 278-4444
FAX: [503] 278-5522

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with
the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of
arms features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL
SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; similar to the flag of Nicaragua,
which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band - it
features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on
top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar to the flag of
Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern
centered in the white band

Economy El Salvador

Economy - overview:
GDP per capita is roughly half that of Brazil, Argentina, and
Chile, and the distribution of income is highly unequal. The
government is striving to open new export markets, encourage foreign
investment, modernize the tax and healthcare systems, and stimulate
the sluggish economy. Implementation of the Central
America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, ratified by El
Salvador in 2004, is viewed as a key policy to help achieve these
objectives. The trade deficit has been offset by annual remittances
from Salvadorans living abroad - 16% of GDP in 2004 - and external
aid. With the adoption of the US dollar as its currency, El Salvador
has lost control over monetary policy and must concentrate on
maintaining a disciplined fiscal policy.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$32.35 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
1.8% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $4,900 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 9.2%
industry: 31.1%
services: 59.7% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
2.75 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 17.1%, industry 17.1%, services 65.8% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate:
6.3% - but the economy has much underemployment (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
36.1% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 39.3% (2001)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
52.5 (2001)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.4% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
16.6% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $2.491 billion
expenditures: $2.782 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2004 est.)

Public debt:
41.7% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; shrimp;
beef, dairy products

Industries:
food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer,
textiles, furniture, light metals

Industrial production growth rate:
0.7% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production:
4.158 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 44%
hydro: 30.9%
nuclear: 0%
other: 25.1% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
4.45 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
91 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
473 million kWh (2004)

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

Oil - consumption:
39,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Current account balance:
$-880.5 million (2004 est.)

Exports:
$3.249 billion (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles,
chemicals, electricity

Exports - partners:
US 65.6%, Guatemala 11.8%, Honduras 6.3% (2004)

Imports:
$5.968 billion (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs,
petroleum, electricity

Imports - partners:
US 46.3%, Guatemala 8.1%, Mexico 6% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.888 billion (2004 est.)

Debt - external:
$4.792 billion (September 2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$125 million of which, $53 million from US (2003)

Currency (code):
US dollar (USD)

Currency code:
USD

Exchange rates:
the US dollar became El Salvador's currency in 2001

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications El Salvador

Telephones - main lines in use:
752,600 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1,149,800 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system
international: country code - 503; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave
System

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 61 (plus 24 repeaters), FM 30, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
2.75 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
5 (1997)

Televisions:
600,000 (1990)

Internet country code:
.sv

Internet hosts:
4,084 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
4 (2000)

Internet users:
550,000 (2003)

Transportation El Salvador

Railways:
total: 283 km
narrow gauge: 283 km 0.914-m gauge
note: length of operational route reduced from 562 km to 283 km by
disuse and lack of maintenance (2004)

Highways:
total: 10,029 km
paved: 1,986 km (including 327 km of expressways)
unpaved: 8,043 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
Rio Lempa partially navigable (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco

Airports:
73 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 69
914 to 1,523 m: 15
under 914 m: 54 (2004 est.)

Heliports:
1 (2004 est.)

Military El Salvador

Military branches:
Army, Navy (FNES), Air Force (FAS)

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for compulsory military service, with 12-month
service obligation; 16 years of age for volunteers (2002)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 1,391,278 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 960,315 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males: 70,286 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$157 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.1% (2003)

Transnational Issues El Salvador

Disputes - international:
in 1992, the ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed
areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary, but despite OAS
intervention and a further ICJ ruling in 2003, full demarcation of
the border remains stalled; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite
resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca advocating
Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny
Conejo Island, not identified in the ICJ decision, off Honduras in
the Gulf of Fonseca

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for cocaine; small amounts of marijuana
produced for local consumption; domestic cocaine abuse on the rise

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005

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

@Equatorial Guinea

Introduction Equatorial Guinea

Background:
Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of
Spanish rule. This tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus
five inhabited islands, is one of the smallest on the African
continent. President OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO has ruled the country for
over two decades since seizing power from his uncle, then President
MACIAS, in a 1979 coup. Although nominally a constitutional
democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as
well as the 1999 legislative elections - were widely seen as being
flawed. The president controls most opposition parties through the
judicious use of patronage. Despite the country's economic windfall
from oil production resulting in a massive increase in government
revenue in recent years, there have been few improvements in the
country's living standards.

Geography Equatorial Guinea

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and
Gabon

Geographic coordinates:
2 00 N, 10 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries:
total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km

Coastline:
296 km

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

Climate:
tropical; always hot, humid

Terrain:
coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, timber, gold, bauxite, diamonds, tantalum,
sand and gravel, clay

Land use:
arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57%
other: 91.8% (2001)

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
violent windstorms, flash floods

Environment - current issues:
tap water is not potable; deforestation

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

Geography - note:
insular and continental regions rather widely separated

People Equatorial Guinea

Population:
535,881 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 41.7% (male 112,326/female 111,244)
15-64 years: 54.5% (male 140,568/female 151,500)
65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,900/female 11,343) (2005 est.)

Median age:
total: 18.83 years
male: 18.2 years
female: 19.46 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.42% (2005 est.)

Birth rate:
36.18 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:
12 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 85.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 91.28 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 78.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 49.7 years
male: 48.01 years
female: 51.44 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate:
4.62 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
3.4% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
5,900 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
370 (2001 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and
typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria (2004)

Nationality:
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean

Ethnic groups:
Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily
Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish

Religions:
nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan
practices

Languages:
Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi,
Ibo

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.7%
male: 93.3%
female: 78.4% (2003 est.)

Government Equatorial Guinea

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea
local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial
local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial
former: Spanish Guinea

Government type:
republic

Capital:
Malabo

Administrative divisions:
7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko
Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas

Independence:
12 October 1968 (from Spain)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 12 October (1968)

Constitution:
approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January
1995

Legal system:
partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal adult

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA
MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup)
head of government: Prime Minister Miguel Abia BITEO BORICO (since
14 June 2004); First Deputy Prime Minister Mercelino Oyono NTUTUMU
(since 15 June 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Mangue Obama
NFUBEA (since 15 June 2004)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term;
election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held December 2009);
prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president
election results: Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president;
percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino
Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections marred by widespread fraud

Legislative branch:
unicameral House of People's Representatives or Camara de
Representantes del Pueblo (80 seats; members directly elected by
popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held NA 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
PDGE 98, NA 2
note: Parliament has little power since the constitution vests all
executive authority in the president

Judicial branch:
Supreme Tribunal

Political parties and leaders:
Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido MIKO
Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE (ruling
party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for Progress of
Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of
Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Miguel Esono EMAN]; Popular Union or UP
[Andres Moises Bda ADA]; Progressive Democratic Alliance or ADP
[Victorino Bolekia BONAY]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI
[Daniel OYONO]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM,
OAS (observer), OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,
WToO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Teodoro Biyogo NSUE
chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700
FAX: [1] (202) 518-5252

Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy
closed September 1995); the US ambassador to Cameroon is accredited
to Equatorial Guinea; the US State Department is considering opening
a Consulate Agency in Malabo

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a
blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms
centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow
six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore
islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below
which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity,
Peace, Justice)

Economy Equatorial Guinea

Economy - overview:
The discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have
contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry,
farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence
farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea
counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the neglect
of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished
potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its
intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number
of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been
cut off since 1993 because of corruption and mismanagement. No
longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil
revenues, the government has been unsuccessfully trying to agree on
a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF.
Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and
their family members. Undeveloped natural resources include
titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Growth
presumably remained strong in 2004, led by oil.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$1.27 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
20% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3%
industry: 95.7%
services: 1.3% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
NA

Unemployment rate:
30% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
8.5% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
50.8% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $813.2 million
expenditures: $375.3 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil
nuts; livestock; timber

Industries:
petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas

Industrial production growth rate:
30% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production:
26.69 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 94.3%
hydro: 5.7%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
24.82 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
350,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
2,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Oil - proved reserves:
563.5 million bbl (1 January 2002)

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

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

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

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

Natural gas - proved reserves:
68.53 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$-578.6 million (2004 est.)

Exports:
$2.771 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa

Exports - partners:
US 29.3%, China 22.8%, Spain 16%, Taiwan 14.9%, Canada 6.8% (2004)

Imports:
$1.167 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
petroleum sector equipment, other equipment

Imports - partners:
US 26.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 21.4%, Spain 13.6%, France 8.8%, UK 7.8%,
Italy 4.4% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$235.2 million (2004 est.)

Debt - external:
$248 million (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$33.8 million (1995)

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

Currency code:
XAF

Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 528.29
(2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)

Fiscal year:
1 January - 31 December

Communications Equatorial Guinea

Telephones - main lines in use:
9,600 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
41,500 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: poor system with adequate government services
domestic: NA
international: country code - 240; international communications from
Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth
station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002)

Radios:
180,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (2002)

Televisions:
4,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.gq

Internet hosts:
3 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2002)

Internet users:
1,800 (2002)

Transportation Equatorial Guinea

Highways:
total: 2,880 km (1999 est.)

Pipelines:
condensate 37 km; gas 39 km; liquid natural gas 4 km; oil 24 km
(2004)

Ports and harbors:
Malabo

Merchant marine:
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,556 GRT/9,704 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2005)

Airports:
4 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
less than 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military Equatorial Guinea

Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force (2005)

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age (est.) (2004)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 106,571 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 66,379 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$126.2 million (2004)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.5% (2004)

Transnational Issues Equatorial Guinea

Disputes - international:
in 2002, ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of
Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of
Guinea, but a dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an
island at the mouth of the Ntem River, imprecisely defined maritime
coordinates in the ICJ decision, and the unresolved Bakasi
allocation contribute to the delay in implementation; UN has been
pressing Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to pledge to resolve the
sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and create a
maritime boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005

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

@Eritrea

Introduction Eritrea

Background:
Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation.
Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later
sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with
Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was
overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two-and-a-half-year
border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN
auspices on 12 December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN
peacekeeping operation that is monitoring a 25 km-wide Temporary
Security Zone on the border with Ethiopia. An international
commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its
findings in 2002 but final demarcation is on hold due to Ethiopian
objections.

Geography Eritrea

Location:
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan

Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 39 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 121,320 sq km
land: 121,320 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Pennsylvania

Land boundaries:
total: 1,626 km
border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km

Coastline:
2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea
1,083 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate:
hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the
central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid in
western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September
except in coastal desert

Terrain:
dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands,
descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest
to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m
highest point: Soira 3,018 m

Natural resources:
gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish

Land use:
arable land: 4.95%
permanent crops: 0.03%
other: 95.02% (2001)

Irrigated land:
220 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
frequent droughts; locust swarms

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of
infrastructure from civil warfare

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping
lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the
Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993

People Eritrea

Population:
4,561,599 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,023,898/female 1,019,389)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 1,170,823/female 1,194,741)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 74,312/female 78,436) (2005 est.)

Median age:
total: 17.54 years
male: 17.35 years
female: 17.73 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.51% (2005 est.)

Birth rate:
38.62 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:
13.53 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: UNHCR began repatriating about 150,000 Eritrean refugees from
Sudan in 2001 following the restoration of diplomatic relations
between the two countries in 2000 (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 74.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 82.28 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 67.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 58.47 years
male: 56.96 years
female: 60.02 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate:
5.61 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
2.7% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
60,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
6,300 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and
typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria is a high risk in some locations (2004)

Nationality:
noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean

Ethnic groups:
ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea
coast dwellers) 3%, other 3%

Religions:
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant

Languages:
Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages

Literacy:
definition: NA
total population: 58.6%
male: 69.9%
female: 47.6% (2003 est.)

Government Eritrea

Country name:
conventional long form: State of Eritrea
conventional short form: Eritrea
local long form: Hagere Ertra
local short form: Ertra
former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia

Government type:
transitional government
note: following a successful referendum on independence for the
Autonomous Region of Eritrea on 23-25 April 1993, a National
Assembly, composed entirely of the People's Front for Democracy and
Justice or PFDJ, was established as a transitional legislature; a
Constitutional Commission was also established to draft a
constitution; ISAIAS Afworki was elected president by the
transitional legislature; the constitution, ratified in May 1997,
did not enter into effect, pending parliamentary and presidential
elections; parliamentary elections had been scheduled in December
2001, but were postponed indefinitely; currently the sole legal
party is the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ)

Capital:
Asmara

Administrative divisions:
6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub (Southern),
Debubawi K'eyih Bahri (Southern Red Sea), Gash Barka, Ma'akel
(Central), Semenawi Keyih Bahri (Northern Red Sea)

Independence:
24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 24 May (1993)

Constitution:
a transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced
by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented

Legal system:
primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with revisions;
new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been
promulgated; also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted
laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Sharia law

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note
- the president is both the chief of state and head of government
and is head of the State Council and National Assembly
head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993);
note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly
cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority;
members appointed by the president
elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last
held 8 June 1993 (next election date uncertain as the National
Assembly did not hold a presidential election in December 2001 as
anticipated)
election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of
National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95%

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; term limits not
established)
elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new
constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old
Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member
Constituent Assembly, that had been established in 1997 to discuss
and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans
living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to
serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections
to a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of
the Transitional National Assembly were elected, the constitution
stipulates that once past the transition stage, all members of the
National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible
voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were
postponed indefinitely

Judicial branch:
High Court - regional, subregional, and village courts; also have
military and special courts

Political parties and leaders:
People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party
recognized by the government [ISAIAS Afworki]; note - a National
Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January
2001, but the full National Assembly has not yet debated or voted on
it

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ [leader NA] (also including Eritrean
Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM (also known as the Abu Sihel
Movement) [leader NA]); Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also
known as the Arafa Movement) [leader NA]; Eritrean Liberation Front
or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean National Alliance or ENA (a
coalition including EIJ, EIS, ELF, and a number of ELF factions)
[HERUY Tedla Biru]; Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob]

International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory),
ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador GIRMA Asmerom
chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991
FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304
consulate(s) general: Oakland (California)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Scott H. DELISI
embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara
mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara
telephone: [291] (1) 120004
FAX: [291] (1) 127584

Flag description:
red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag
into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one
is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on
the hoist side of the red triangle

Economy Eritrea

Economy - overview:
Since independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea has faced
the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. Like the
economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on
subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in
farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 1998-2000 severely
hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth fell to zero in 1999 and to
-12.1% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into northern
Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss,
including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The
attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive
region, causing food production to drop by 62%. Even during the war,
Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new
roads, improving its ports, and repairing war damaged roads and
bridges. Since the war ended, the government has maintained a firm
grip on the economy, expanding the use of the military and
party-owned businesses to complete Eritrea's development agenda.
Erratic rainfall and the delayed demobilization of agriculturalists
from the military kept cereal production well below normal, holding
down growth in 2002-04. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its
ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment,
and low skills, and to open its economy to private enterprise so the
diaspora's money and expertise can foster economic growth.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$4.154 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.5% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $900 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 12.4%
industry: 25.9%
services: 61.7% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
NA

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 80%, industry and services 20%

Unemployment rate:
NA (2003 est.)

Population below poverty line:
50% (2004 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
10% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
26.3% of GDP (2002)

Budget:
revenues: $235.2 million
expenditures: $373.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal;
livestock, goats; fish

Industries:
food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, salt, cement,
commercial ship repair

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
246.6 million kWh (2002)

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

Electricity - consumption:
229.4 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)

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

Oil - consumption:
6,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Current account balance:
$-144.9 million (2004 est.)

Exports:
$64.44 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000)

Exports - partners:
Malaysia 26.6%, Italy 17.1%, Japan 8%, Germany 6.6%, China 5%, UK
4.9%, US 4.7%, France 4.4%, Poland 4.2% (2004)

Imports:
$622 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods (2000)

Imports - partners:
Ireland 26.6%, US 18.6%, Italy 16.6%, Turkey 6.4% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$30.87 million (2004 est.)

Debt - external:
$311 million (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$77 million (1999)

Currency (code):
nakfa (ERN)

Currency code:
ERN

Exchange rates:
nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - 13.788 (2004), 13.878 (2003), 13.958
(2002), 11.31 (2001), 9.625 (2000)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Eritrea

Telephones - main lines in use:
38,100 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
NA

Telephone system:
general assessment: inadequate
domestic: very inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government
is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002)
international: country code - 291; note - international connections
exist

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000)

Radios:
345,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (2000)

Televisions:
1,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.er

Internet hosts:
1,047 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
5 (2001)

Internet users:
9,500 (2003)

Transportation Eritrea

Railways:
total: 306 km
narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge (2004)

Highways:
total: 4,010 km
paved: 874 km
unpaved: 3,136 km (1999 est.)

Ports and harbors:
Assab, Massawa

Merchant marine:
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 16,069 GRT/19,549 DWT
by type: cargo 3, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll
off 1
registered in other countries: 1 (2005)

Airports:
17 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 13
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)

Military Eritrea

Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary and compulsory military service;
conscript service obligation - 16 months (2004)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: NA (2005)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$151 million (2004)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
13.4% (2004)

Transnational Issues Eritrea

Disputes - international:
Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea
Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but despite
international intervention, mutual animosities, accusations and
armed posturing prevail, preventing demarcation; Ethiopia refuses to
withdraw to the delimited boundary until technical errors made by
the EEBC that ignored "human geography" are addressed, including the
award of Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war; Eritrea insists that
the EEBC decision be implemented immediately without modifications;
since 2000, the UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea
(UNMEE) monitors the 25km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea
until the demarcation; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese
rebel groups; Eritrea protests Yemeni fishing around the Hanish
Islands awarded to Eritrea by the ICJ in 1999

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 59,000 (border war with Ethiopia from 1998-2000; most IDPs
are near the central border region) (2004)

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005

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

@Estonia

Introduction Estonia

Background:
After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule,
Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into
the USSR in 1940, it regained its freedom in 1991, with the collapse
of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994,
Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with
Western Europe. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.

Geography Estonia

Location:
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland,
between Latvia and Russia

Geographic coordinates:
59 00 N, 26 00 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 45,226 sq km
land: 43,211 sq km
water: 2,015 sq km
note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined

Land boundaries:
total: 633 km
border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km

Coastline:
3,794 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination with
neighboring states

Climate:
maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers

Terrain:
marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m

Natural resources:
oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite,
arable land, sea mud

Land use:
arable land: 16.04%
permanent crops: 0.45%
other: 83.51% (2001)

Irrigated land:
40 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
sometimes flooding occurs in the spring

Environment - current issues:
air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power
plants in northeast; however, the amount of pollutants emitted to
the air have fallen steadily, the emissions of 2000 were 80% less
than in 1980; the amount of unpurified wastewater discharged to
water bodies in 2000 was one twentieth the level of 1980; in
connection with the start-up of new water purification plants, the
pollution load of wastewater decreased; Estonia has more than 1,400
natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural
areas need to be monitored; coastal seawater is polluted in certain
locations

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution,
Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore
lie more than 1,500 islands

People Estonia

Population:
1,332,893 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 15.5% (male 106,300/female 100,446)
15-64 years: 67.7% (male 429,843/female 472,034)
65 years and over: 16.8% (male 74,037/female 150,233) (2005 est.)

Median age:
total: 39.06 years
male: 35.52 years
female: 42.35 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.65% (2005 est.)

Birth rate:
9.91 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:
13.21 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate:
-3.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female
total population: 0.84 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 7.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.06 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.77 years
male: 66.28 years
female: 77.6 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
7,800 (2003 est.)

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

Nationality:
noun: Estonian(s)
adjective: Estonian

Ethnic groups:
Estonian 67.9%, Russian 25.6%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Belarusian 1.3%,
Finn 0.9%, other 2.2% (2000 census)

Religions:
Evangelical Lutheran 13.6%, Orthodox 12.8%, other Christian
(including Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic,
Pentecostal) 1.4%, unaffiliated 34.1%, other and unspecified 32%,
none 6.1% (2000 census)

Languages:
Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7%
(2000 census)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.8% (2003 est.)

Government Estonia

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Estonia
conventional short form: Estonia
local long form: Eesti Vabariik
local short form: Eesti
former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic

Government type:
parliamentary republic

Capital:
Tallinn

Administrative divisions:
15 counties (maakonnad, singular - maakond): Harjumaa (Tallinn),
Hiiumaa (Kardla), Ida-Virumaa (Johvi), Jarvamaa (Paide), Jogevamaa
(Jogeva), Laanemaa (Haapsalu), Laane-Virumaa (Rakvere), Parnumaa
(Parnu), Polvamaa (Polva), Raplamaa (Rapla), Saaremaa (Kuressaare),
Tartumaa (Tartu), Valgamaa (Valga), Viljandimaa (Viljandi), Vorumaa
(Voru)
note: counties have the administrative center name following in
parentheses

Independence:
20 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 24 February (1918); note - 24 February 1918 is
the date Estonia declared its independence from Soviet Russia; 20
August 1991 is the date it declared its independence from the Soviet
Union

Constitution:
adopted 28 June 1992

Legal system:
based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Arnold RUUTEL (since 8 October 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Andrus ANSIP (since 12 April 2005)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister,
approved by Parliament
elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; if
a candidate does not secure two-thirds of the votes after three
rounds of balloting in the Parliament, then an electoral assembly
(made up of Parliament plus members of local governments) elects the
president, choosing between the two candidates with the largest
percentage of votes; election last held 21 September 2001 (next to
be held in the fall of 2006); prime minister nominated by the
president and approved by Parliament
election results: Arnold RUUTEL elected president on 21 September
2001 by a 367-member electoral assembly that convened following
Parliament's failure in August to elect then-President MERI's
successor; on the second ballot of voting, RUUTEL received 186 votes
to Parliament Speaker Toomas SAVI's 155; the remaining 26 ballots
were either left blank or invalid

Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament or Riigikogu (101 seats; members are elected
by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - Center Party 25.4%, Res
Publica 24.6%, Reform Party 17.7%, Estonian People's Union 13%, Pro
Patria Union (Fatherland League) 7.3% People's Party Moodukad 7%;
seats by party - Center Party 28, Res Publica 28, Reform Party 19,
Estonian People's Union 13, Pro Patria Union 7, People's Party
Moodukad 6

Judicial branch:
National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life)

Political parties and leaders:
Center Party of Estonia (Keskerakond) [Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman];
Estonian People's Union (Rahvaliit) [Villu REILJAN, chairman];
Estonian Reform Party (Reformierakond) [Andrus ANSIP]; Estonian
United Russian People's Party or EUVRP [Yevgeniy TOMBERG, chairman];
Pro Patria Union (Isamaaliit) [Tunne KELAM, chairman]; Res Publica
[Juhan PARTS, chairman]; Social Democratic Party (formerly People's
Party Moodukad or Moderates) [Ivari PADAR, chairman]; Social
Liberals (group of 8 parliamentarians, former Center Party members)
[Peeter Kreitzberg]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member),
FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NATO, NIB,
NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNTSO,
UPU, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Juri LUIK
chancery: 2131 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 588-0101
FAX: [1] (202) 588-0108
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Aldona Zofia WOS
embassy: Kentmanni 20, 15099 Tallinn
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [372] 668-8100
FAX: [372] 668-8134

Flag description:
pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 - three equal
horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white

Economy Estonia

Economy - overview:
Estonia, as a new member of the World Trade Organization and the
European Union, has transitioned effectively to a modern market
economy with strong ties to the West, including the pegging of its
currency to the euro. The economy benefits from strong electronics
and telecommunications sectors and is greatly influenced by
developments in Finland, Sweden, and Germany, three major trading
partners. The current account deficit remains high; however, the
state budget enjoyed a surplus of $130 million in 2003.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$19.23 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
6% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $14,300 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 28.9%
services: 67% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
660,000 (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 11%, industry 20%, services 69% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
9.6% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA (2000)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
37 (1999)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
28.2% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $4.622 billion
expenditures: $4.601 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2004 est.)

Public debt:
5.4% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
potatoes, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish

Industries:
engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile;
information technology, telecommunications

Industrial production growth rate:
5% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:
8.301 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 99.8%
hydro: 0.1%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.2% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
6.358 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
1.562 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
200 million kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
5,100 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
24,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

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

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

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

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

Current account balance:
$-1.169 billion (2004 est.)

Exports:
$5.701 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery and equipment 33%, wood and paper 15%, textiles 14%, food
products 8%, furniture 7%, metals, chemical products (2001)

Exports - partners:
Finland 23.1%, Sweden 15.3%, Germany 8.4%, Latvia 7.9%, Russia
5.7%, Lithuania 4.4% (2004)

Imports:
$7.318 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment 33.5%, chemical products 11.6%, textiles
10.3%, foodstuffs 9.4%, transportation equipment 8.9% (2001)

Imports - partners:
Finland 22.1%, Germany 12.9%, Sweden 9.7%, Russia 9.2%, Lithuania
5.3%, Latvia 4.7% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.503 billion (2004 est.)

Debt - external:
$8.373 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$108 million (2000)

Currency (code):
Estonian kroon (EEK)

Currency code:
EEK

Exchange rates:
krooni per US dollar - 12.596 (2004), 13.856 (2003), 16.612 (2002),
17.478 (2001), 16.969 (2000)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Estonia

Telephones - main lines in use:
475,000 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
881,000 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: foreign investment in the form of joint
business ventures greatly improved telephone service; substantial
fiber-optic cable systems carry telephone, TV, and radio traffic in
the digital mode; Internet services are available throughout most of
the country - only about 11,000 subscriber requests were unfilled by
September 2000
domestic: a wide range of high quality voice, data, and Internet
services is available throughout the country
international: country code - 372; fiber-optic cables to Finland,
Sweden, Latvia, and Russia provide worldwide packet-switched
service; two international switches are located in Tallinn (2001)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 98, shortwave 0 (2001)

Radios:
1.01 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
3 (2001)

Televisions:
605,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.ee

Internet hosts:
82,142 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
38 (2001)

Internet users:
444,000 (2002)

Transportation Estonia

Railways:
total: 958 km
broad gauge: 958 km 1.520-m/1.524-m gauge (132 km electrified) (2004)

Highways:
total: 55,944 km
paved: 13,874 km (including 99 km of expressways)
unpaved: 42,070 km (2002)

Waterways:
500 km (2003)

Pipelines:
gas 859 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Kopli, Kuivastu, Muuga, Tallinn, Virtsu

Merchant marine:
total: 43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 212,998 GRT/177,488 DWT
by type: cargo 17, passenger/cargo 20, petroleum tanker 2, roll
on/roll off 4
foreign-owned: 6 (Norway 6)
registered in other countries: 51 (2005)

Airports:
29 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 15
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.)

Military Estonia