Chapter XXV: Front Matter (25)

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

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

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

Economy Gambia, The

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

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$3.034 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$429 million (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.5% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,900 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 30.8%
industry: 14.2%
services: 54.9% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
400,000 (1996)

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

Unemployment rate:
NA%

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
8.8% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
20% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $46.63 million
expenditures: $62.66 million; including capital expenditures of $4.1
million (2005 est.)

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

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

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
140 million kWh (2003)

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

Electricity - consumption:
130.2 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
2,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Current account balance:
$-53 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
$140.3 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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

Exports - partners:
India 40.4%, UK 18.2%, Indonesia 8.3%, Senegal 4.6%, Belgium 4.3%
(2005)

Imports:
$197 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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

Imports - partners:
China 21.3%, Senegal 11.3%, Cote d'Ivoire 8.4%, Brazil 6%, US 5.2%,
UK 5.1%, Netherlands 4.1% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$82 million (2005 est.)

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

Economic aid - recipient:
$59.8 million (2003)

Currency (code):
dalasi (GMD)

Currency code:
GMD

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

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Gambia, The

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

Telephones - mobile cellular:
247,500 (2005)

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

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

Radios:
196,000 (1997)

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

Televisions:
5,000 (2000)

Internet country code:
.gm

Internet hosts:
14 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2001)

Internet users:
49,000 (2005)

Transportation Gambia, The

Airports:
1 (2006)

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

Roadways:
total: 3,742 km
paved: 723 km
unpaved: 3,019 km (2003)

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

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

Ports and terminals:
Banjul

Military Gambia, The

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

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

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

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

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

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

Transnational Issues Gambia, The

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

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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

@Gaza Strip

Introduction Gaza Strip

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 (PA) 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 and internal security
and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct
negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank
began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed
by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. In April
2003 the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a
final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps
by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic
Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has
been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that
both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Longtime
Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT died in November 2004 and Mahmud
ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005, bringing hope of a
turning point in the conflict. In February 2005 Israel and the PA
agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments, focused on security
issues, in an effort to move the peace process forward. Progress has
been slow because of different interpretations of the verbal
agreement by the two sides. In September 2005, Israel withdrew all
its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in
the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless,
Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza
Strip. An agreement signed by the PA and Israel in November 2005
authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the
Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control, with
monitoring provided by the EU.

Geography Gaza Strip

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

Geographic coordinates:
31 25 N, 34 20 E

Map references:
Middle East

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

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

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

Coastline:
40 km

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

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

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

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

Natural resources:
arable land, natural gas

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

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

Natural hazards:
droughts

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

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

People Gaza Strip

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

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

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

Population growth rate:
3.71% (2006 est.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: NA
adjective: NA

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

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

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

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

Government Gaza Strip

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

Economy Gaza Strip

Economy - overview:
High population density, limited land access, and strict internal
and external controls have kept economic conditions in the Gaza
Strip - the smaller of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority
(PA)- even more degraded than in the West Bank. The beginning of the
second intifadah in September 2000 sparked an economic downturn,
largely the result of Israeli closure policies; these policies,
which were imposed in response to security interests in Israel,
disrupted labor and commodity relationships with the Gaza Strip. In
2001, and even more severely in 2003, Israeli military measures in
PA areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant, the
disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business
closures. Including the West Bank, the UN estimates that more than
100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israel
or in joint industrial zones have lost their jobs. Half the labor
force is unemployed. Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in
September 2005 offers some medium-term opportunities for economic
growth, especially given the removal of restrictions on internal
movement. In addition, recent agreements and continuing negotiations
on the administration of Gaza's border crossings increase the
prospects for trade.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$768 million (2003 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
NA

GDP - real growth rate:
4.5% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$600 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3%
industry: 28.3%
services: 68.7% (includes West Bank) (2002 est.)

Labor force:
278,000 (April-June 2005)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 11.9%
industry: 18%
services: 70.1% (2nd qtr. 2005)

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

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

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
7% (includes West Bank) (2003)

Budget:
revenues: $964 million
expenditures: $1.34 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA;
note - these budget data include West Bank (2004)

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

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

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the Gaza Strip power plant
and by an Israeli utility

Electricity - consumption:
NA kWh

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
NA kWh; note - some electricity supplied by an Israeli utility
(2005)

Exports:
$270 million f.o.b.; note - includes West Bank (2003)

Exports - commodities:
citrus, flowers, textiles

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

Imports:
$1.952 billion c.i.f.; note - includes West Bank (2003)

Imports - commodities:
food, consumer goods, construction materials

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

Debt - external:
$0; note - includes West Bank (2002)

Economic aid - recipient:
$2 billion; note - includes West Bank (2004 est.)

Currency (code):
new Israeli shekel (ILS)

Currency code:
ILS

Exchange rates:
new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004),
4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Gaza Strip

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

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

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

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

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

Television broadcast stations:
1 (2005)

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

Internet country code:
.ps

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
3 (1999)

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

Transportation Gaza Strip

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

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

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

Heliports:
1 (2006)

Roadways:
note: see entry for West Bank

Ports and terminals:
Gaza

Military Gaza Strip

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

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

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

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

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Transnational Issues Gaza Strip

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

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 986,034 (Palestinian Refugees
(UNRWA)) (2005)

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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

@Georgia

Introduction Georgia

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

Geography Georgia

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

Geographic coordinates:
42 00 N, 43 30 E

Map references:
Asia

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

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than South Carolina

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

Coastline:
310 km

Maritime claims:
NA

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

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

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

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

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

Irrigated land:
4,690 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
earthquakes

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

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

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

People Georgia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nationality:
noun: Georgian(s)
adjective: Georgian

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

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

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

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

Government Georgia

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

Government type:
republic

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

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

Independence:
9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union)

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

Constitution:
adopted 24 August 1995

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

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Mikheil SAAKASHVILI (since 25 January
2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government for the power ministries: state security (includes
interior) and defense
head of government: President Mikheil SAAKASHVILI (since 25 January
2004); Prime Minister Zurab NOGHAIDELI (since 17 February 2005);
note - the president is the chief of state and head of government
for the power ministries: state security (includes interior) and
defense; the prime minister is head of the remaining ministries of
government
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term
(eligible for a second term); election last held 4 January 2004
(next to be held in 2009)
election results: Mikheil SAAKASHVILI elected president; percent of
vote - Mikheil SAAKASHVILI 96.3%, Temur SHASHIASHVILI 1.9%

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

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

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

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Georgian independent deputies from Abkhaz government in exile;
separatists in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia;
supporters of former President Zviad GAMSAKHURDYA ousted in 1991

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

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

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

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

Economy Georgia

Economy - overview:
Georgia's main economic activities include the cultivation of
agricultural products such as grapes, citrus fruits, and hazelnuts;
mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small industrial
sector producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, metals,
machinery, and chemicals. The country imports the bulk of its energy
needs, including natural gas and oil products. It has sizeable but
underdeveloped hydropower capacity. Despite the severe damage the
economy has suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with the help of
the IMF and World Bank, has made substantial economic gains since
2000, achieving positive GDP growth and curtailing inflation.
Georgia had suffered from a chronic failure to collect tax revenues;
however, the new government is making progress and has reformed the
tax code, improved tax administration, increased tax enforcement,
and cracked down on corruption. In addition, the reinvigorated
privatization process has met with success, supplementing government
expenditures on infrastructure, defense, and poverty reduction.
Despite customs and financial (tax) enforcement improvements,
smuggling is a drain on the economy. Georgia also suffers from
energy shortages due to aging and badly maintained infrastructure,
as well as poor management. Due to concerted reform efforts,
collection rates have improved considerably to roughly 60%, both in
T'bilisi and throughout the regions. Continued reform in the
management of state-owned power entities is essential to successful
privatization and onward sustainability in this sector. The country
is pinning its hopes for long-term growth on its role as a transit
state for pipelines and trade. The construction on the
Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-T'bilisi-Erzerum gas
pipeline have brought much-needed investment and job opportunities.
Nevertheless, high energy prices in 2006 will compound the pressure
on the country's inefficient energy sector. Restructuring the sector
and finding energy supply alternatives to Russia remain major
challenges.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$16.03 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$6.4 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
9.3% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$3,400 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 17.2%
industry: 27.5%
services: 55.3% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
2.04 million (2004 est.)

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

Unemployment rate:
12.6% (2004 est.)

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

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

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
8.2% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
24% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.43 billion
expenditures: $1.56 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2005 est.)

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

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

Industrial production growth rate:
3% (2000)

Electricity - production:
8.634 billion kWh (2003)

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

Electricity - consumption:
9.8 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:
71 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
1.2 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
1,982 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - consumption:
13,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
20 million cu m (2003 est.)

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

Natural gas - exports:
NA cu m

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

Current account balance:
$-625 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
$1.4 billion (2005 est.)

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

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

Imports:
$2.5 billion (2005 est.)

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

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

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$474.2 million (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$2.04 billion (2004)

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

Currency (code):
lari (GEL)

Currency code:
GEL

Exchange rates:
lari per US dollar - 1.8127 (2005), 1.9167 (2004), 2.1457 (2003),
2.1957 (2002), 2.073 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Georgia

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

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.459 million (2005)

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

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

Radios:
3.02 million (1997)

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

Televisions:
2.57 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.ge

Internet hosts:
10,752 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
6 (2000)

Internet users:
175,600 (2005)

Transportation Georgia

Airports:
23 (2006)

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

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

Heliports:
3 (2006)

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

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

Roadways:
total: 20,247 km
paved: 7,973 km
unpaved: 12,274 km (2003)

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

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

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

Military Georgia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Transnational Issues Georgia

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

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 260,000 (displaced from Abkhazia and South Ossetia) (2005)

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

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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

@Germany

Introduction Germany

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

Geography Germany

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

Geographic coordinates:
51 00 N, 9 00 E

Map references:
Europe

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

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Montana

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

Coastline:
2,389 km

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

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

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

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

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

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

Irrigated land:
4,850 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
flooding

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

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85,
Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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

People Germany

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nationality:
noun: German(s)
adjective: German

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

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

Languages:
German

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

Government Germany

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

Government type:
federal republic

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

Administrative divisions:
13 states (Laender, singular - Land) and 3 free states*
(Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern*,
Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen,
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen,
Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen*, Sachsen-Anhalt,
Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen*

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

National holiday:
Unity Day, 3 October (1990)

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

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

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

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

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly
or Bundestag (613 seats; elected by popular vote under a system
combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win
5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain
representation; members serve four-year terms) and the Federal
Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly
represented by votes; each has three to six votes depending on
population and are required to vote as a block)
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 18 September 2005 (next to
be held September 2009); note - there are no elections for the
Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the
state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the
potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election
election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party -
CDU/CSU 35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%, Greens 8.1%; seats by
party - CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP 61, Left 54, Greens 51

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

Political parties and leaders:
Alliance '90/Greens [Claudia ROTH and Reinhard BUETIKOFER];
Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social
Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or
FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE, chairman]; Left Party (Linkspartei. was
Party of Democratic Socialism) or PDS [Lothar BISKY]; Social
Democratic Party or SPD [Kurt BECK]

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

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

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

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador William R. TIMKEN, Jr.
embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin; note - a new
embassy will be built near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; ground
was broken in October 2004 and completion is scheduled for 2008
mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265
telephone: [49] (030) 2385 174
FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215
consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg,
Leipzig, Munich

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

Economy Germany

Economy - overview:
Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth
largest in the world - has become one of the slowest growing
economies in the euro zone. A quick turnaround is not in the offing
in the foreseeable future. Growth in 2001-03 fell short of 1%,
rising to 1.7% in 2004 before falling back to 0.9% in 2005. The
modernization and integration of the eastern German economy
continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers
from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion. Germany's aging
population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social
security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers.
Structural rigidities in the labor market - including strict
regulations on laying off workers and the setting of wages on a
national basis - have made unemployment a chronic problem. Corporate
restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the
foundations that could allow Germany to meet the long-term
challenges of European economic integration and globalization,
particularly if labor market rigidities are further addressed. In
the short run, however, the fall in government revenues and the rise
in expenditures have raised the deficit above the EU's 3% debt limit.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$2.48 trillion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.73 trillion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
0.9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$30,100 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 29.6%
services: 69.5% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
43.32 million (2005 est.)

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

Unemployment rate:
11.7% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
17.1% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.249 trillion
expenditures: $1.362 trillion; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2005 est.)

Public debt:
67.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

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

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

Industrial production growth rate:
2.9% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:
558.1 billion kWh (2003)

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

Electricity - consumption:
510.4 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
54.1 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
45.4 billion kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
158,700 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - consumption:
2.677 million bbl/day (2003)

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

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

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

Natural gas - production:
22.22 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
93.88 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
7.731 billion cu m (2003)

Natural gas - imports:
85.02 billion cu m (2003)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
305.8 billion cu m (1 January 2004)

Current account balance:
$115.5 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:
$1.016 trillion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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

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

Imports:
$801 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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

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

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$101.7 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$3.626 trillion (30 June 2005)

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

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

Currency code:
EUR

Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003),
1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Germany

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

Telephones - mobile cellular:
79.2 million (2005)

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

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

Radios:
77.8 million (1997)

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

Televisions:
51.4 million (1998)

Internet country code:
.de

Internet hosts:
11,859,131 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
200 (2001)

Internet users:
50.616 million (2006)

Transportation Germany

Airports:
554 (2006)

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

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

Heliports:
32 (2006)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Military Germany

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Transnational Issues Germany

Disputes - international:
none

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

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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

@Ghana

Introduction Ghana

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

Geography Ghana

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

Geographic coordinates:
8 00 N, 2 00 W

Map references:
Africa

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

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Oregon

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

Coastline:
539 km

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

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

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

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

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

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

Irrigated land:
310 sq km (2003)

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

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

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

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

People Ghana

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

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

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

Population growth rate:
2.07% (2006 est.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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