Chapter LXVI: Front Matter (66)

Economy Wake Island

Economy - overview:
Economic activity is limited to providing services to military
personnel and contractors located on the island. All food and
manufactured goods must be imported.

Electricity - production:
NA kWh

Communications Wake Island

Telephone system:
general assessment: satellite communications; 1 DSN circuit off the
Overseas Telephone System (OTS)
domestic: NA
international: NA

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: Armed Forces Radio/Television Service (AFRTS) radio service
provided by satellite (2005)

Television broadcast stations:
0
note: Armed Forces Radio/Television Service (AFRTS) radio service
provided by satellite (2005)

Transportation Wake Island

Airports:
1 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2006)

Ports and terminals:
none; two offshore anchorages for large ships

Transportation - note:
there are no commercial or civilian flights to and from Wake
Island, except in direct support of island missions; emergency
landing is available

Military Wake Island

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of the US; launch support facility is
part of the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site (RTS)
administered by US Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC)

Transnational Issues Wake Island

Disputes - international:
claimed by Marshall Islands

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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

@Wallis and Futuna

Introduction Wallis and Futuna

Background:
The Futuna island group was discovered by the Dutch in 1616 and
Wallis by the British in 1767, but it was the French who declared a
protectorate over the islands in 1842. In 1959, the inhabitants of
the islands voted to become a French overseas territory.

Geography Wallis and Futuna

Location:
Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of
the way from Hawaii to New Zealand

Geographic coordinates:
13 18 S, 176 12 W

Map references:
Oceania

Area:
total: 274 sq km
land: 274 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Ile Uvea (Wallis Island), Ile Futuna (Futuna Island),
Ile Alofi, and 20 islets

Area - comparative:
1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
129 km

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

Climate:
tropical; hot, rainy season (November to April); cool, dry season
(May to October); rains 2,500-3,000 mm per year (80% humidity);
average temperature 26.6 degrees C

Terrain:
volcanic origin; low hills

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Singavi 765 m

Natural resources:
NEGL

Land use:
arable land: 7.14%
permanent crops: 35.71%
other: 57.15% (2005)

Irrigated land:
NA

Natural hazards:
NA

Environment - current issues:
deforestation (only small portions of the original forests remain)
largely as a result of the continued use of wood as the main fuel
source; as a consequence of cutting down the forests, the
mountainous terrain of Futuna is particularly prone to erosion;
there are no permanent settlements on Alofi because of the lack of
natural fresh water resources

Geography - note:
both island groups have fringing reefs

People Wallis and Futuna

Population:
16,025 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
NA

Birth rate:
NA births/1,000 population

Death rate:
NA deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate:
NA migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: there has been steady emigration from Wallis and Futuna to New
Caledonia (2006 est.)

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

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: NA years
male: NA years
female: NA years

Total fertility rate:
NA children born/woman

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: Wallisian(s), Futunan(s), or Wallis and Futuna Islanders
adjective: Wallisian, Futunan, or Wallis and Futuna Islander

Ethnic groups:
Polynesian

Religions:
Roman Catholic 99%, other 1%

Languages:
Wallisian 58.9% (indigenous Polynesian language), Futunian 30.1%,
French 10.8%, other 0.2% (2003 census)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 50%
male: 50%
female: 50% (1969 est.)

Government Wallis and Futuna

Country name:
conventional long form: Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands
conventional short form: Wallis and Futuna
local long form: Territoire des Iles Wallis et Futuna
local short form: Wallis et Futuna

Dependency status:
overseas territory of France

Government type:
NA

Capital:
name: Mata-Utu (on Ile Uvea)
geographic coordinates: 13 57 S, 171 56 W
time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order
administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there
are three kingdoms at the second order named Alo, Sigave, Wallis

Independence:
none (overseas territory of France)

National holiday:
Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)

Constitution:
4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system:
French legal system

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May
1995), represented by High Administrator Richard DIDIER (since 19
July 2006)
head of government: President of the Territorial Assembly Patalione
KANIMOA (since January 2001)
cabinet: Council of the Territory consists of three kings and three
members appointed by the high administrator on the advice of the
Territorial Assembly
note: there are three traditional kings with limited powers
elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year
term; high administrator appointed by the French president on the
advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the
Territorial Government and the Territorial Assembly are elected by
the members of the assembly

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

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

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

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
SPC, UPU

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

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

Flag description:
unofficial, local flag has a red field with four white isosceles
triangles in the middle, representing the three native kings of the
islands and the French administrator; the apexes of the triangles
are oriented inward and at right angles to each other; the flag of
France, outlined in white on two sides, is in the upper hoist
quadrant; the flag of France is the only official flag

Economy Wallis and Futuna

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

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$60 million (2004 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
NA

GDP - real growth rate:
NA%

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$3,800 (2004 est.)

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

Labor force:
NA 3,104

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 80%
industry: 4%
services: 16% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate:
15.2% NA%

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.8% NA%

Budget:
revenues: $29,730
expenditures: $31,330 (1998 est.)

Public debt:
5.6% of GDP

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

Industries:
copra, handicrafts, fishing, lumber

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
NA kWh

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

Electricity - consumption:
NA kWh

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)

Exports:
$47,450 f.o.b. (2004)

Exports - commodities:
copra, chemicals, construction materials

Exports - partners:
Italy 40%, Croatia 15%, US 14%, Denmark 13% (2004)

Imports:
$61.17 million f.o.b. (2004)

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

Imports - partners:
France 97%, Australia 2%, NZ 1% (2004)

Debt - external:
$3.67 million $NA

Economic aid - recipient:
assistance from France

Currency (code):
Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF)

Currency code:
XPF

Exchange rates:
Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 95.89
(2005), 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002), 133.26 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Wallis and Futuna

Telephones - main lines in use:
1,900 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
0 (1994)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: country code - 681

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

Radios:
NA

Television broadcast stations:
2 (2000)

Televisions:
NA

Internet country code:
.wf

Internet hosts:
1 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)

Internet users:
900 (2002)

Transportation Wallis and Futuna

Airports:
2 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006)

Merchant marine:
total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 110,428 GRT/56,830 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1, passenger 7
foreign-owned: 8 (France 5, French Polynesia 2, US 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Leava, Mata-Utu

Military Wallis and Futuna

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues Wallis and Futuna

Disputes - international:
none

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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

@West Bank

Introduction West Bank

Background:
The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government
Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993,
provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of
Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and
responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority (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 provided that Israel would 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 intifada 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. Israel and the PA agreed in February
2005 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.

Geography West Bank

Location:
Middle East, west of Jordan

Geographic coordinates:
32 00 N, 35 15 E

Map references:
Middle East

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

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Delaware

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

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

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

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

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

Natural resources:
arable land

Land use:
arable land: 16.9%
permanent crops: 18.97%
other: 64.13% (2001)

Irrigated land:
150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)

Natural hazards:
droughts

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

Geography - note:
landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal
aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem
settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August
2005 est.)

People West Bank

Population:
2,460,492
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the
West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 42.9% (male 541,110/female 515,202)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 676,427/female 644,347)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 35,440/female 47,966) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 18.3 years
male: 18.2 years
female: 18.5 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
3.06% (2006 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
2.8 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 19.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.12 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 17.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.27 years
male: 71.5 years
female: 75.15 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
4.28 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 83%, Jewish 17%

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

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

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

Government West Bank

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

Economy West Bank

Economy - overview:
The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian
Authority (PA)- has experienced a general decline in economic growth
and a degradation in economic conditions made worse since the second
intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the
result of the Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border
closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which
disrupted labor and commodity market relationships. In 2001, and
even more severely in 2002, 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 Gaza Strip, the UN estimates that more than 100,000
Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israeli
settlements, or in joint industrial zones, have lost their jobs.
International aid of $2 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in
2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some
reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high
unemployment and limited trade opportunities, due to continued
closures both within the West Bank and externally, stymied growth.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$1.8 billion (2003 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$3.45 billion

GDP - real growth rate:
6.2% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,100 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 9%
industry: 28%
services: 63%
note: includes Gaza Strip (2002 est.)

Labor force:
614,000 (April-June 2005)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 18.4%
industry: 24%
services: 57.6% (April-June 2005)

Unemployment rate:
19.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (January-September 2005)

Population below poverty line:
46% including Gaza Strip (2004 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
7% (includes Gaza Strip) (2003 est.)

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

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

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

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

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

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

Electricity - consumption:
NA kWh

Electricity - imports:
NA kWh

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

Exports - commodities:
olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone

Exports - partners:
Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004)

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

Imports - commodities:
food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners:
Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004)

Debt - external:
$0; note - includes Gaza Strip (2002)

Economic aid - recipient:
$1.14 billion; note - includes Gaza Strip (2004 est.)

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

Currency code:
ILS; JOD

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 West Bank

Telephones - main lines in use:
357,300 (includes Gaza Strip) (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (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 1, FM 20, shortwave 0 (2005)

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

Television broadcast stations:
8 (2005)

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

Internet country code:
.ps

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
8 (1999)

Internet users:
243,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Transportation West Bank

Airports:
3 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Roadways:
total: 4,158 km
paved: 4,158 km
note: includes Gaza Strip (2003)

Military West Bank

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Transnational Issues West Bank

Disputes - international:
West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status
subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent
status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel
continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along
parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew
from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005;
since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision
Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor
ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated
incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the
region

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 699,817 (Palestinian Refugees
(UNRWA)) (2005)

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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

@Western Sahara

Introduction Western Sahara

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

Geography Western Sahara

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

Geographic coordinates:
24 30 N, 13 00 W

Map references:
Africa

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

Area - comparative:
about the size of Colorado

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

Coastline:
1,110 km

Maritime claims:
contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue

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

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

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

Natural resources:
phosphates, iron ore

Land use:
arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 99.98% (2005)

Irrigated land:
NA

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

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

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

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

People Western Sahara

Population:
273,008 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
NA

Birth rate:
NA births/1,000 population

Death rate:
NA deaths/1,000 population

Sex ratio:
NA

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

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: NA years
male: NA years
female: NA years

Total fertility rate:
NA children born/woman

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea,
hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: may be a significant risk in some locations
during the transmission season (typically April through November)
(2005)

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

Ethnic groups:
Arab, Berber

Religions:
Muslim

Languages:
Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic

Literacy:
NA

Government Western Sahara

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

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

Capital:
none
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

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

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

Executive branch:
none

Political pressure groups and leaders:
none

International organization participation:
none

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none

Economy Western Sahara

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

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$NA

GDP (official exchange rate):
NA

GDP - real growth rate:
NA%

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$NA

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: 40%

Labor force:
12,000

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 50%
industry and services: 50%

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):
NA%

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA

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

Industries:
phosphate mining, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
85 million kWh (2003)

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

Electricity - consumption:
83.7 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

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

Oil - consumption:
1,750 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.)

Exports:
$NA

Exports - commodities:
phosphates 62%

Exports - partners:
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners
are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2004)

Imports:
$NA

Imports - commodities:
fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners
are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2004)

Debt - external:
$NA

Economic aid - recipient:
$NA

Currency (code):
Moroccan dirham (MAD)

Currency code:
MAD

Exchange rates:
Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744
(2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Western Sahara

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

Telephones - mobile cellular:
0 (1999)

Telephone system:
general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA
international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by
microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite;
satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to
Rabat, Morocco

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

Radios:
56,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
NA

Televisions:
6,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.eh

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)

Internet users:
NA

Transportation Western Sahara

Airports:
11 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 3 (2006)

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

Military Western Sahara

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$992.2 million

Transnational Issues Western Sahara

Disputes - international:
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty
remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in
effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the
Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a
referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all
brokered proposals

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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

@World

Introduction World

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

Geography World

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

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

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

Land boundaries:
the land boundaries in the world total 250,708 km (not counting
shared boundaries twice); two nations, China and Russia, each border
14 other countries
note: 44 nations and other areas are landlocked, these include:
Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan,
Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic,
Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg,
Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay,
Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia,
Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly
landlocked

Coastline:
356,000 km
note: 98 nations and other entities are islands that border no other
countries, they include: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and
Barbuda, Aruba, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, The Bahamas, Bahrain,
Baker Island, Barbados, Bassas da India, Bermuda, Bouvet Island,
British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde,
Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos (Keeling)
Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Cuba, Cyprus,
Dominica, Europa Island, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe
Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic
Lands, Glorioso Islands, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Heard
Island and McDonald Islands, Howland Island, Iceland, Isle of Man,
Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jarvis Island, Jersey, Johnston Atoll,
Juan de Nova Island, Kingman Reef, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives,
Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Federated
States of Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Nauru, Navassa
Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern
Mariana Islands, Palau, Palmyra Atoll, Paracel Islands, Philippines,
Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts
and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Singapore,
Solomon Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands,
Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka, Svalbard, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and
Tobago, Tromelin Island, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu,
Virgin Islands, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna, Taiwan

Maritime claims:
a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make
the following claims measured from the mean low-tide baseline as
described in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea:
territorial sea - 12 nm, contiguous zone - 24 nm, and exclusive
economic zone - 200 nm; additional zones provide for exploitation of
continental shelf resources and an exclusive fishing zone; boundary
situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from
extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200nm

Climate:
a wide equatorial band of hot and humid tropical climates -
bordered north and south by subtropical temperate zones - that
separate two large areas of cold and dry polar climates

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

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

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

Land use:
arable land: 13.31%
permanent crops: 4.71%
other: 81.98% (2005)

Irrigated land:
2,770,980 sq km (2003)

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

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

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

People World

Population:
6,525,170,264 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 27.4% (male 919,219,446/female 870,242,271)
15-64 years: 65.2% (male 2,152,066,888/female 2,100,334,722)
65 years and over: 7.4% (male 213,160,216/female 270,146,721)
note: some countries do not maintain age structure information, thus
a slight discrepancy exists between the total world population and
the total for world age structure (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 27.6 years
male: 27 years
female: 28.2 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.14% (2006 est.)

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

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

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 48.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 50.98 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 46.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64.77 years
male: 63.16 years
female: 66.47 years (2006 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Religions:
Christians 33.03% (of which Roman Catholics 17.33%, Protestants
5.8%, Orthodox 3.42%, Anglicans 1.23%), Muslims 20.12%, Hindus
13.34%, Buddhists 5.89%, Sikhs 0.39%, Jews 0.23%, other religions
12.61%, non-religious 12.03%, atheists 2.36% (2004 est.)

Languages:
Mandarin Chinese 13.69%, Spanish 5.05%, English 4.84%, Hindi 2.82%,
Portuguese 2.77%, Bengali 2.68%, Russian 2.27%, Japanese 1.99%,
Standard German 1.49%, Wu Chinese 1.21% (2004 est.)
note: percents are for "first language" speakers only

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82%
male: 87%
female: 77%
note: over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults
are found in only eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt); of all the
illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low
literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and West
Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where around
one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.)

Government World

Administrative divisions:
272 nations, dependent areas, and other entities

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

Economy World

Economy - overview:
Global output rose by 4.4% in 2005, led by China (9.3%), India
(7.6%), and Russia (5.9%). The other 14 successor nations of the
USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely
divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations continued as strong
performers, in the 7% range of growth. Growth results posted by the
major industrial countries varied from no gain for Italy to a strong
gain by the United States (3.5%). The developing nations also varied
in their growth results, with many countries facing population
increases that erode gains in output. Externally, the nation-state,
as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing
control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and
technology. Internally, the central government often finds its
control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements -
typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the
successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former
Yugoslavia, in India, in Iraq, in Indonesia, and in Canada.
Externally, the central government is losing decisionmaking powers
to international bodies, notably the EU. In Western Europe,
governments face the difficult political problem of channeling
resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment
and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80
million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is
exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification,
underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own
internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries
devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer
areas of the world, which, at least from an economic point of view,
are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as
the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while
paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic
risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political
differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks
on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuated a further growing risk to
global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of
resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The
opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq
added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. After the
coalition victory, the complex political difficulties and the high
economic cost of establishing domestic order in Iraq became major
global problems that continued into 2006.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
GWP (gross world product): $60.63 trillion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$43.07 trillion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.7% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$9,500 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4%
industry: 32%
services: 64% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
3.001 billion (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 42%
industry: 21%
services: 37% (2002 est.)

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

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 29.4% (2000 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to
20% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual
cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in one Third
World countries (Zimbabwe); inflation rates have declined for most
countries for the last several years, held in check by increasing
international competition from several low wage countries (2005 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate:
3% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
16.54 trillion kWh (2003 est.)

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

Electricity - consumption:
15.45 trillion kWh (2003 est.)

Electricity - exports:
537 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
545.2 billion kWh (2003)

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

Oil - consumption:
80.1 million bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - proved reserves:
1.349 trillion bbl (1 January 2002 est.)

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

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

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

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

Natural gas - proved reserves:
174.6 trillion cu m (1 January 2002)

Exports:
$10.33 trillion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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

Exports - partners:
US 15.6%, Germany 7.4%, China 5.7%, France 4.9%, UK 4.7%, Japan
4.5% (2005)

Imports:
$10.3 trillion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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

Imports - partners:
China 9.3%, US 9%, Germany 9%, Japan 6.1%, France 4.2% (2005)

Debt - external:
$36.89 trillion
note: this figure is the sum total of all countries' external debt,
both public and private (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$154 billion official development assistance (ODA) (2004)

Communications World

Telephones - main lines in use:
1,263,367,600 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
2,168,433,600 (2005)

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

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

Radios:
NA

Television broadcast stations:
NA

Televisions:
NA

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

Internet users:
1,018,057,389 (2005)

Transportation World

Airports:
49,024 (2006)

Heliports:
2,021 (2006)

Railways:
total: 1,115,205 km
broad gauge: 257,481 km
standard gauge: 671,413 km
narrow gauge: 186,311 km (2003)

Roadways:
total: 32,345,165 km
paved: 19,403,061 km
unpaved: 12,942,104 km (2002)

Waterways:
671,886 km (2004)

Merchant marine:
total: 33,222 ships (1000 GRT or over) (2006)

Military World

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide has increased in the
beginning of the 21st century, with the largest increase in the US;
a rough estimate for 2005 is $1.2 trillion (at puchasing power
parity) (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
roughly 2% of gross world product (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues World

Disputes - international:
stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 329 international land
boundaries separate the 193 independent states and 73 dependencies,
areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities;
ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states
into separate political entities as much as history, physical
terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes
arbitrary and imposed boundaries; maritime states have claimed
limits and have so far established over 130 maritime boundaries and
joint development zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide
for national security at sea; boundary, borderland/resource, and
territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to
violent or militarized; most disputes over the alignment of
political boundaries are confined to short segments and are today
less common and less hostile than borderland, resource, and
territorial disputes; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and
unmanaged boundaries, however, encourage illegal cross-border
activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorial
disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they
may be brought on by resource competition; ethnic and cultural
clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial
fragmentation around the world; disputes over islands at sea or in
rivers frequently form the source of territorial and boundary
conflict; other sources of contention include access to water and
mineral (especially petroleum) resources, fisheries, and arable
land; nonetheless, most nations cooperate to clarify their
international boundaries and to resolve territorial and resource
disputes peacefully; regional discord today prevails not so much
between the armed forces of independent states as between stateless
armed entities that detract from the sustenance and welfare of local
populations, leaving the community of nations to cope with resultant
refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, and environmental
degradation

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated
that in December 2004 there was a global population of 9.2 million
refugees, the lowest number in 25 years, and as many as 25 million
IDPs in over 49 countries (2005)

Trafficking in persons:
current situation: about 600,000 to 800,000 people, mostly women
and children, are trafficked annually across national borders, not
including millions trafficked within their own countries; at least
80% of the victims are female; 75% of all victims are trafficked
into commercial sexual exploitation; roughly two-thirds of the
global victims are trafficked intra-regionally within East Asia and
the Pacific (260,000 to 280,000 people) and Europe and Eurasia
(170,000 to 210,000 people)

Illicit drugs:
cocaine: worldwide coca cultivation in 2004 amounted to 166,200
hectares; Colombia produced slightly more than two-thirds of the
worldwide crop, followed by Peru and Bolivia; potential pure cocaine
production of 645 metric tons in 2004 marked the lowest level of
Andean cocaine production in the past 10 years; Colombia conducts
aggressive coca eradication campaign, but both Peruvian and Bolivian
Governments are hesitant to eradicate coca in key growing areas; 376
metric tons of export-quality cocaine are documented to have been
seized in 2003, and 26 metric tons disrupted (jettisoned or
destroyed); consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated to
have been 800 metric tons
opiates: worldwide illicit opium poppy cultivation reached 258,630
hectares in 2004; potential opium production of 5,444 metric tons
was highest total recorded since estimates began in mid-1980s;
Afghanistan is world's primary opium producer, accounting for 91% of
the global supply; Southeast Asia - responsible for 7% of global
opium - continued to diminish in importance in the world opium
market; Latin America produced 2% of global opium, but most refined
into heroin destined for United States; if all opium processed into
pure heroin, the potential global production would be 632 metric
tons of heroin in 2004

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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

@Yemen

Introduction Yemen

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

Geography Yemen

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

Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 48 00 E

Map references:
Middle East

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

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

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

Coastline:
1,906 km

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

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

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

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

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

Land use:
arable land: 2.91%
permanent crops: 0.25%
other: 96.84% (2005)

Irrigated land:
5,500 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
sandstorms and dust storms in summer

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

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

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

People Yemen

Population:
21,456,188 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 46.4% (male 5,067,762/female 4,881,333)
15-64 years: 51% (male 5,568,078/female 5,375,263)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 275,878/female 287,874) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 16.6 years
male: 16.6 years
female: 16.6 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
3.46% (2006 est.)

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

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

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

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

Infant mortality rate:
total: 59.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 64.55 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 54.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 62.12 years
male: 60.23 years
female: 64.11 years (2006 est.)

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

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

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
12,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni

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

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

Languages:
Arabic

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

Government Yemen

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah
local short form: Al Yaman
former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and
People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]

Government type:
republic

Capital:
name: Sanaa
geographic coordinates: 15 21 N, 44 12 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad
Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit,
'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah,
San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz
note: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of
Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate

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

National holiday:
Unification Day, 22 May (1990)

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

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

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990,
the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger
of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab
Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL; Deputy
Prime Ministers Rashid Muhammad al-ALIMI, Alawi Salah al-SALAMI,
Ahmad Muhammad Abdallah al-SUFAN
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the
advice of the prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term;
election last held 20 September 2006 (next to be held September
2013); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and
deputy prime ministers appointed by the president
election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of
vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 77.2%, Faisal bin SHAMLAN 21.8%

Legislative branch:
a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created
a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats;
members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives
(301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held in April 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab
Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:
there are more than 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of
the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President
Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh
Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdal Malik
al-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qasim SALAM];
Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

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

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI
chancery: 2319 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760
FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas C. KRAJESKI
embassy: Sa'awan Street, Sanaa
mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa
telephone: [967] (1) 755-2000 ext. 2153 or 2266
FAX: [967] (1) 303-182

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

Economy Yemen

Economy - overview:
Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, has reported
meager growth since 2000. Its economic fortunes depend mostly on
oil. Oil revenues increased in 2005 due to higher prices. Yemen was
on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to
modernize and streamline the economy, which led to substantial
foreign debt relief and restructuring. However, government
dedication to the program waned in 2001 for political reasons. Yemen
is struggling to control excessive spending and rampant corruption.
The people have grown increasingly upset over the economic
situation. In July 2005, a reduction in fuel subsidies sparked
riots; over 20 Yemenis were killed and hundreds were injured.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$19.36 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$14.34 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.8% (2005 est.)

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

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 13.5%
industry: 47.2%
services: 39.3% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
5.83 million (2005 est.)

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

Unemployment rate:
35% (2003 est.)

Population below poverty line:
45.2% (2003)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (2003)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
11.8% (2005 est.)