Chapter XXX: Front Matter (30)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
220 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 100 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Icelander(s)
adjective: Icelandic

Ethnic groups:
homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%,
population of foreign origin 6%

Religions:
Lutheran Church of Iceland 85.5%, Reykjavik Free Church 2.1%, Roman
Catholic Church 2%, Hafnarfjorour Free Church 1.5%, other Christian
2.7%, other or unspecified 3.8%, unaffiliated 2.4% (2004)

Languages:
Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken

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

Government Iceland

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Iceland
conventional short form: Iceland
local long form: Lydveldid Island
local short form: Island

Government type:
constitutional republic

Capital:
name: Reykjavik
geographic coordinates: 64 09 N, 21 57 W
time difference: UTC (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
8 regions; Austurland, Hofudhborgarsvaedhi, Nordhurland Eystra,
Nordhurland Vestra, Sudhurland, Sudhurnes, Vestfirdhir, Vesturland

Independence:
1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown);
17 June 1944 (from Denmark)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 17 June (1944)

Constitution:
16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944; amended many times

Legal system:
civil law system based on Danish law; has not accepted compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON (since 1 August
1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Geir H. HAARDE (since 7 June 2006)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
elections: president, largely a ceremonial post, is elected by
popular vote for a four-year term (no term limits); election last
held 26 June 2004 (next to be held June 2008); following legislative
elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the
majority coalition is usually the prime minister
election results: Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON 85.6%, Baldur AGUSTSSON
12.5%, Astthor MAGNUSSON 1.9%

Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament or Althing (63 seats; members are elected by
popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - Independence Party
33.7%, Social Democratic Alliance 31%, Progressive Party 17.7%,
Left-Green Movement 8.8%, Liberal Party 7.4%; seats by party -
Independence Party 22, Social Democratic Alliance 20, Progressive
Party 12, Left-Green Alliance 5, Liberal Party 4

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Haestirettur (justices are appointed for life by
the Minister of Justice); eight district courts (justices are
appointed for life by the Minister of Justice)

Political parties and leaders:
Independence Party or IP [Geir H. HAARDE]; Left-Green Movement or
LGM [Steingrimur SIGFUSSON]; Liberal Party or LP [Gudjon
KRISTJANSSON]; Progressive Party or PP [Jon SIGURDSSON]; Social
Democratic Alliance (includes People's Alliance or PA, Social
Democratic Party or SDP, Women's List) or SDA [Ingibjorg Solrun
GISLADOTTIR]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA,
FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NC,
NEA, NIB, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WEU
(associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Albert JONSSON
chancery: Suite 1200, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-1704
telephone: [1] (202) 265-6653
FAX: [1] (202) 265-6656
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Carol VAN VOORST
embassy: Laufasvegur 21, 101 Reykjavik
mailing address: US Department of State, 5640 Reykjavik Place,
Washington, D.C. 20521-5640
telephone: [354] 562-9100
FAX: [354] 562-9118

Flag description:
blue with a red cross outlined in white extending to the edges of
the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist
side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)

Economy Iceland

Economy - overview:
Iceland's Scandinavian-type economy is basically capitalistic, yet
with an extensive welfare system (including generous housing
subsidies), low unemployment, and remarkably even distribution of
income. In the absence of other natural resources (except for
abundant geothermal power), the economy depends heavily on the
fishing industry, which provides nearly 60% of export earnings and
employs 6% of the work force. The economy remains sensitive to
declining fish stocks as well as to fluctuations in world prices for
its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and
ferrosilicon. Government policies include reducing the current
account deficit, limiting foreign borrowing, containing inflation,
revising agricultural and fishing policies, and diversifying the
economy. The government remains opposed to EU membership, primarily
because of Icelanders' concern about losing control over their
fishing resources. Iceland's economy has been diversifying into
manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, and new
developments in software production, biotechnology, and financial
services are taking place. The tourism sector is also expanding,
with the recent trends in ecotourism and whale watching. Since 2000
growth has varied from a -1% in 2002 to 8% in 2004.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$11.4 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$13.85 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3.7% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$38,100 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 8.4%
industry: 15.6%
services: 76% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
173,000 (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 5.1%
industry: 23%
services: 71.4% (2005)

Unemployment rate:
1.3% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6.8% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
31.4% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $7.345 billion
expenditures: $6.655 billion; including capital expenditures of $467
million (2006 est.)

Public debt:
23.5% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products:
potatoes, green vegetables; mutton, dairy products; fish

Industries:
fish processing; aluminum smelting, ferrosilicon production;
geothermal power, tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
5% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production:
8.474 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 0.1%
hydro: 82.5%
nuclear: 0%
other: 17.5% (geothermal) (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
7.881 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
20,560 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
15,470 bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

Current account balance:
$-2.932 billion (2006 est.)

Exports:
$3.587 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities:
fish and fish products 70%, aluminum, animal products,
ferrosilicon, diatomite

Exports - partners:
UK 17.9%, Germany 16.4%, Netherlands 13%, US 8.1%, Spain 7.7%,
Denmark 4.3% (2005)

Imports:
$5.189 billion (2006 est.)

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

Imports - partners:
Germany 13.4%, US 9.1%, Sweden 8.6%, Denmark 7.3%, Norway 7.2%, UK
5.9%, China 5.3%, Netherlands 5%, Japan 4.7% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.018 billion (August 2006 est.)

Debt - external:
$3.073 billion (2002)

Economic aid - donor:
$6.7 million (2004)

Currency (code):
Icelandic krona (ISK)

Currency code:
ISK

Exchange rates:
Icelandic kronur per US dollar - 69.5108 (2006), 62.982 (2005),
70.192 (2004), 76.709 (2003), 91.662 (2002)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Iceland

Telephones - main lines in use:
193,900 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
304,000 (2005)

Telephone system:
general assessment: extensive domestic service
domestic: the trunk network consists of coaxial and fiber-optic
cables and microwave radio relay links
international: country code - 354; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean
regions); note - Iceland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the
other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 3, FM about 70 (including repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:
260,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
14 (plus 156 low-power repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:
98,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.is

Internet hosts:
212,897 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
20 (2001)

Internet users:
258,000 (2005)

Transportation Iceland

Airports:
98 (2006)

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

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 93
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 29
under 914 m: 61 (2006)

Roadways:
total: 13,028 km
paved/oiled gravel: 4,241 km (does not include urban roads)
unpaved: 8,787 km (2005)

Merchant marine:
total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 3,354 GRT/480 DWT
by type: passenger/cargo 1
registered in other countries: 34 (Antigua and Barbuda 8, Bahamas 1,
Belize 2, Faroe Islands 4, Gibraltar 1, Malta 4, Norway 4, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines 10) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Grundartangi, Hafnarfjordur, Hornafjordhur, Reykjavik,
Seydhisfjordhur

Military Iceland

Military branches:
no regular armed forces; Icelandic National Police, Icelandic Coast
Guard (Islenska Landhelgisgaeslan) subordinate to Ministry of
Justice, Icelandic Crisis Response Unit (2006)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 69,038 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 56,777 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
0

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0%

Military - note:
under a 1951 bilateral agreement, Iceland's defense was provided by
a US-manned Icelandic Defense Force (IDF) headquartered in Keflavik;
in October 2006, all US military forces in Iceland were withdrawn;
nonetheless, the US and Iceland signed a Joint Understanding to
strengthen their bilateral defense relationship, including regular
security consultations, military communications in the event of
national emergencies, annual bilateral exercises on Icelandic
territory, and future bilateral and NATO support to four Iceland Air
Defense System (IADS) radar sites

Transnational Issues Iceland

Disputes - international:
Iceland disputes Denmark's alignment of the Faroe Islands'
fisheries median line; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute
Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends
beyond 200 nm

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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

@Iles Eparses

Introduction Iles Eparses

Background:
The Iles Eparses, or scattered islands, are a group of five French
entities - Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de
Nova Island, and Tromelin Island - which on 1 April 1960 came under
the authority of the Minister in charge of overseas possessions. On
19 September 1960 by decree, the islands were transferred to the
charge of the Prefet of Reunion where they remained until 3 January
2005 when they were transferred by another decree to the Senior
Administrator of the Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic
Lands (TAAF).
Bassas da India: A French possession since 1897, this atoll is a
volcanic seamount surrounded by reefs and awash at high tide.
Europa Island: A French possession since 1897, the island is heavily
wooded; it is the site of a small military garrison that staffs a
weather station.
Glorioso Islands: A French possession since 1892, the Glorioso
Islands are composed of two lushly vegetated coral islands (Ile
Glorieuse and Ile du Lys) and three rock islets. A military garrison
operates a weather and radio station on Ile Glorieuse.
Juan de Nova Island: Named after a famous 15th century Spanish
navigator and explorer, the island has been a French possession
since 1897. It has been exploited for its guano and phosphate.
Presently a small military garrison oversees a meteorological
station.
Tromelin Island: First explored by the French in 1776, the island
came under the jurisdiction of Reunion in 1814. At present, it
serves as a sea turtle sanctuary and is the site of an important
meteorological station.

Geography Iles Eparses

Location:
Southern Africa, in the Indian Ocean
Bassas da India: atoll in the southern Mozambique Channel, about
half way from Madagascar to Mozambique
Europa Island: island in the Mozambique Channel, about half way
between southern Madagascar and southern Mozambique
Glorioso Islands: group of islands in the Indian Ocean, northwest of
Madagascar
Juan de Nova Island: island in the Mozambique Channel, about
one-third of the way between Madagascar and Mozambique
Tromelin Island: island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar

Geographic coordinates:
Bassas da India: 21 30 S, 39 50 E
Europa Island: 22 20 S, 40 22 E
Glorioso Islands: 11 30 S, 47 20 E
Juan de Nova Island: 17 03 S, 42 45 E
Tromelin Island: 15 52 S, 54 25 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
Bassas da India: total - 80 sq km; land - 0.2 sq km; water - 79.8
sq km (lagoon)
Europa Island: total - 28 sq km; land - 28 sq km; water - 0 sq km
Glorioso Islands: total - 5 sq km; land - 5 sq km; water - 0 sq km
Juan de Nova Island: total - 4.4 sq km; land - 4.4 sq km; water - 0
sq km
Tromelin Island: total - 1 sq km; land - 1 sq km; water - 0 sq km

Area - comparative:
Bassas da India: land area about one-third the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
Europa Island: about one-sixth the size of Washington, DC
Glorioso Islands: about eight times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
Juan de Nova Island: about seven times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
Tromelin Island: about 1.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington,
DC

Land boundaries:
none

Coastline:
Bassas da India: 35.2 km
Europa Island: 22.2 km
Glorioso Islands: 35.2 km
Juan de Nova Island: 24.1 km
Tromelin Island: 3.7 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; note - Juan de Nova Island and
Tromelin Island claim a continental shelf of 200-m depth or to the
depth of exploitation

Climate:
tropical

Terrain:
Bassas da India: atoll, awash at high tide; shallow (15 m) lagoon
Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island: low, flat, and
sandy
Tromelin Island: low, flat, sandy; likely volcanic seamount

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bassas da India 2.4 m; Europa Island 24 m; Glorioso
Islands 12 m; Juan de Nova Island 10 m; Tromelin Island 7 m (all
unnamed locations)

Natural resources:
Bassas da India and Europa Island: none
Glorioso Islands and Juan de Nova Island: guano, phosphates; coconuts
Tromelin Island: fish

Land use:
Bassas da India - 100% rock, coral reef, and sand; Europa Island -
100% mangrove swamp and dry woodlands; Glorioso Islands - 100% lush
vegetation and coconut palms; Juan de Nova Island - 90% forest, 10%
other; Tromelin Island - 100% grasses and scattered brush

Natural hazards:
all islands subject to periodic cyclones
Bassas da India: maritime hazard since it is under water for a
period of three hours prior to and following the high tide and
surrounded by reefs

Geography - note:
Bassas da India: the atoll is a circular reef that sits atop a
long-extinct, submerged volcano
Europa Island and Juan de Nova Island: wildlife sanctuary for
seabirds and sea turtles
Glorioso Islands: the islands and rocks are surrounded by an
extensive reef system
Tromelin Island: climatologically important location for forecasting
cyclones in the western Indian Ocean; wildlife sanctuary (seabirds,
tortoises)

People Iles Eparses

Population:
Bassas da India: uninhabitable
Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island: a small French
military garrison and a few meteorologists on each possession;
visited by scientists
Tromelin Island: uninhabited, except for visits by scientists

Government Iles Eparses

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso
Islands, Juan de Nova Island, Tromelin Island
local long form: none
local short form: Bassas da India, Ile Europa, Iles Glorieuses, Ile
Juan de Nova, Ile Tromelin

Dependency status:
possessions of France; administered by the Senior Administrator of
the Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF),
resident in Reunion

Legal system:
the laws of France, where applicable, apply

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May
1995), represented by Senior Administrator Michel CHAMPON

Flag description:
the flag of France is used

Economy Iles Eparses

Economy - overview:
no economic activity

Communications Iles Eparses

Communications - note:
Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, Tromelin
Island: 1 meteorological station on each possession; note -
meteorological station on Tromelin Island is important for
forecasting cyclones

Transportation Iles Eparses

Airports:
4 (2006)

Ports and terminals:
none; offshore anchorage only

Transportation - note:
aids to navigation - lighthouses: Europa Island 18m; Juan de Nova
Island (W side) 37m; Tromelin Island (NW point) 11m

Military Iles Eparses

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues Iles Eparses

Disputes - international:
Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova
Island: claimed by Madagascar
Tromelin Island: claimed by Mauritius

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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

@India

Introduction India

Background:
The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world,
dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest
infiltrated onto Indian lands about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the
earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture.
Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in the 12th
were followed by those of European traders, beginning in the late
15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political
control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the
British army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent
resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas GANDHI and
Jawaharlal NEHRU brought independence in 1947. The subcontinent was
divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state
of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted
in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Despite
impressive gains in economic investment and output, India faces
pressing problems such as the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over
Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation,
extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife.

Geography India

Location:
Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal,
between Burma and Pakistan

Geographic coordinates:
20 00 N, 77 00 E

Map references:
Asia

Area:
total: 3,287,590 sq km
land: 2,973,190 sq km
water: 314,400 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly more than one-third the size of the US

Land boundaries:
total: 14,103 km
border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463
km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km

Coastline:
7,000 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:
varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

Terrain:
upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along
the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m

Natural resources:
coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese,
mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds,
petroleum, limestone, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 48.83%
permanent crops: 2.8%
other: 48.37% (2005)

Irrigated land:
558,080 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive
flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air
pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water
pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap
water is not potable throughout the country; huge and growing
population is overstraining natural resources

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Treaty, 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, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean
trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world,
lies on the border with Nepal

People India

Population:
1,095,351,995 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 30.8% (male 173,478,760/female 163,852,827)
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 363,876,219/female 340,181,764)
65 years and over: 4.9% (male 27,258,020/female 26,704,405) (2006
est.)

Median age:
total: 24.9 years
male: 24.9 years
female: 24.9 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.38% (2006 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
-0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 54.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 55.18 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 54.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64.71 years
male: 63.9 years
female: 65.57 years (2006 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.9% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
5.1 million (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
310,000 (2001 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E,
and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and Japanese
encephalitis are high risks in some locations
animal contact disease: rabies
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified
among birds in this country or surrounding region; it poses a
negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens
who have close contact with birds (2007)

Nationality:
noun: Indian(s)
adjective: Indian

Ethnic groups:
Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)

Religions:
Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%,
unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)

Languages:
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language
for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the
national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are
14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu,
Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri,
Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu
spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official
language

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 59.5%
male: 70.2%
female: 48.3% (2003 est.)

Government India

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of India
conventional short form: India
local long form: Republic of India/Bharatiya Ganarajya
local short form: India/Bharat

Government type:
federal republic

Capital:
name: New Delhi
geographic coordinates: 28 36 N, 77 12 E
time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
28 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*,
Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*,
Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa,
Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand,
Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Puducherry*, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal,
West Bengal

Independence:
15 August 1947 (from UK)

National holiday:
Republic Day, 26 January (1950)

Constitution:
26 January 1950; amended many times

Legal system:
based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; separate
personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President A.P.J. Abdul KALAM (since 25 July 2002);
Vice President Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT (since 19 August 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since 22 May 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of
the prime minister
elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of
elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of
the states for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held
July 2002 (next to be held 18 July 2007); vice president elected by
both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election last held
12 August 2002 (next to be held August 2007); prime minister chosen
by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative
elections; election last held April - May 2004 (next to be held May
2009)
election results: Abdul KALAM elected president; percent of
electoral college vote - 89.6%; Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT elected vice
president; percent of Parliament vote - 59.8%

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States or
Rajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more than 250 members, up to
12 of whom are appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen
by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies;
members serve six-year terms) and the People's Assembly or Lok Sabha
(545 seats; 543 elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the
president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Assembly - last held 20 April through 10 May
2004 (next must be held before May 2009)
election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - INC 147, BJP 129, CPI(M) 43, SP 38, RJD 23, DMK 16,
BSP 15, SS 12, BJD 11, CPI 10, NCP 10, JD(U) 8, SAD 8, PMK 6, JMM 5,
LJSP 4, MDMK 4, TDP 4, TRS 4, independent 6, other 29, vacant 13;
note - party seat composition as of December 2006

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (one chief justice and 25 associate justices are
appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the
age of 65 or are removed for "proved misbehavior")

Political parties and leaders:
note - India has dozens of national and regional political parties;
only parties with four or more seats in the People's Assembly are
listed; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya Janata
Party or BJP [Rajnath SINGH]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen
PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan
BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M) [Prakash
KARAT]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian
National Congress or INC [Sonia GANDHI]; Janata Dal (United) or
JD(U) [Sharad YADEV]; Jharkhand Mukti Morcha or JMM [Shibu SOREN];
Lok Jan Shakti Party or LJSP [Ram Vilas PASWAN]; Marumalarchi
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [VAIKU]; Nationalist Congress
Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK [S.
RAMADOSS]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV];
Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal or
SAD [Prakash Singh BADAL]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY];
Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS [K. Chandrasekhar RAO]; Telugu
Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations,
including Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh; various separatist groups seeking greater
communal and/or regional autonomy, including the All Parties
Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir Valley and the National Socialist
Council of Nagaland in the Northeast

International organization participation:
AfDB, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIMSTEC, BIS, C, CERN
(observer), CP, EAS, FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC,
IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS
(observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO
(observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE,
UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ranendra SEN
chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note -
Consular Wing located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000
FAX: [1] (202) 265-4351
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador David C. MULFORD
embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [91] (11) 2419-8000
FAX: [91] (11) 2419-0017
consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai
(Bombay)

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of saffron (subdued orange) (top),
white, and green with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in
the white band; similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small
orange disk centered in the white band

Economy India

Economy - overview:
India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming,
modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries,
and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of
economic growth, accounting for more than half of India's output
with less than one quarter of its labor force. About three-fifths of
the work force is in agriculture, leading the UPA government to
articulate an economic reform program that includes developing basic
infrastructure to improve the lives of the rural poor and boost
economic performance. The government has reduced controls on foreign
trade and investment. Tariffs averaged 12.5% on non-agricultural
items in 2006. Higher limits on foreign direct investment were
permitted in a few key sectors, such as telecommunications. However,
tariff spikes in sensitive categories, including agriculture, and
incremental progress on economic reforms still hinder foreign access
to India's vast and growing market. Privatization of
government-owned industries remained stalled in 2006, and continues
to generate political debate; populist pressure from within the UPA
government and from its Left Front allies continues to restrain
needed initiatives. The economy has posted an average growth rate of
more than 7% in the decade since 1996, reducing poverty by about 10
percentage points. India achieved 8.5% GDP growth in 2006,
significantly expanding manufacturing. India is capitalizing on its
large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English
language to become a major exporter of software services and
software workers. Economic expansion has helped New Delhi continue
to make progress in reducing its federal fiscal deficit. However,
strong growth - more than 8 percent growth in each of the last three
years - combined with easy consumer credit and a real estate boom is
fueling inflation concerns. The huge and growing population is the
fundamental social, economic, and environmental problem.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$4.042 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$796.1 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
8.5% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$3,700 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 19.9%
industry: 19.3%
services: 60.7% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
509.3 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 60%
industry: 12%
services: 28% (2003)

Unemployment rate:
7.8% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line:
25% (2002 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1997)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
32.5 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.3% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
29.2% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $109.4 billion
expenditures: $143.8 billion; including capital expenditures of $15
billion (2006 est.)

Public debt:
52.8% of GDP (federal and state debt combined) (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products:
rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes;
cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish

Industries:
textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation
equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software

Industrial production growth rate:
7.5% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production:
630.6 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 81.7%
hydro: 14.5%
nuclear: 3.4%
other: 0.3% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
587.9 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
60 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
1.5 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
785,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
2.45 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
350,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - imports:
2.09 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - proved reserves:
5.6 billion bbl (2006 est.)

Natural gas - production:
28.2 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
30.83 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
2.63 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
853.5 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Current account balance:
$-26.4 billion (2006 est.)

Exports:
$112 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities:
textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals,
leather manufactures

Exports - partners:
US 16.7%, UAE 8.5%, China 6.6%, Singapore 5.3%, UK 4.9%, Hong Kong
4.4% (2005)

Imports:
$187.9 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities:
crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals

Imports - partners:
China 7.3%, US 5.6%, Switzerland 4.7% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$165 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external:
$132.1 billion (30 June 2006 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$2.9 billion (FY98/99)

Currency (code):
Indian rupee (INR)

Currency code:
INR

Exchange rates:
Indian rupees per US dollar - 45.5 (2006), 44.101 (2005), 45.317
(2004), 46.583 (2003), 48.61 (2002)

Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

Communications India

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

Telephones - mobile cellular:
69,193,321 (2006)

Telephone system:
general assessment: recent deregulation and liberalization of
telecommunications laws and policies have prompted rapid growth;
local and long distance service provided throughout all regions of
the country, with services primarily concentrated in the urban
areas; steady improvement is taking place with the recent admission
of private and private-public investors, but telephone density
remains low at about ten for each 100 persons nationwide and only
one per 100 persons in rural areas; there remains a national waiting
list of over 1.7 million; fastest growth is in cellular service with
modest growth in fixed lines
domestic: expansion of domestic service, although still weak in
rural areas, resulted from increased competition and dramatic
reductions in price led in large part by wireless service; mobile
cellular service (both CDMA and GSM) introduced in 1994 and
organized nationwide into four metropolitan cities and 19 telecom
circles each with about three private service providers and one
state-owned service provider; in recent years significant trunk
capacity added in the form of fiber-optic cable and one of the
world's largest domestic satellite systems, the Indian National
Satellite system (INSAT), with six satellites supporting 33,000 very
small aperture terminals (VSAT)
international: country code - 91; nine satellite earth stations - 8
Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region); nine
gateway exchanges operating from Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Kolkata
(Calcutta), Chennai (Madras), Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gandhinagar,
Hyderabad, and Ernakulam; 6 submarine cables, including Sea-Me-We-3
with landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay), Sea-Me-We-4 with
landing site at Chennai, Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG)
with landing site at Mumbai (Bombay), South Africa - Far East (SAFE)
with landing site at Cochin, i2icn linking to Singapore with landing
sites at Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras), and Tata Indicom
linking Singapore and Chennai (Madras), provide a significant
increase in the bandwidth available for both voice and data traffic
(2006)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998)

Radios:
116 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
562 (of which 82 stations have 1 kW or greater power and 480
stations have less than 1 kW of power) (1997)

Televisions:
63 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.in

Internet hosts:
1,543,289 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
43 (2000)

Internet users:
60 million (2005)

Transportation India

Airports:
341 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 243
over 3,047 m: 17
2,438 to 3,047 m: 51
1,524 to 2,437 m: 73
914 to 1,523 m: 81
under 914 m: 21 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 98
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 42
under 914 m: 48 (2006)

Heliports:
28 (2006)

Pipelines:
condensate/gas 8 km; gas 5,184 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,993 km;
oil 6,500 km; refined products 6,152 km (2006)

Railways:
total: 63,230 km
broad gauge: 45,718 km 1.676-m gauge (16,528 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 14,406 km 1.000-m gauge (165 km electrified); 3,106 km
0.762-m gauge and 0.610-m gauge (2005)

Roadways:
total: 3,383,344 km
paved: 1,603,705 km
unpaved: 1,779,639 km (2002)

Waterways:
14,500 km
note: 5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for
mechanized vessels (2005)

Merchant marine:
total: 316 ships (1000 GRT or over) 7,772,313 GRT/13,310,858 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 96, cargo 72, chemical tanker 13, container 8,
liquefied gas 17, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 10, petroleum tanker
96, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 10 (China 2, Hong Kong 1, UAE 6, UK 1)
registered in other countries: 46 (Bahamas 1, Comoros 1, Cyprus 5,
North Korea 1, Liberia 3, Malta 1, Mauritius 2, Panama 19, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines 6, Singapore 5, Venezuela 1, unknown 1)
(2006)

Ports and terminals:
Chennai, Haldia, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta),
Mumbai (Bombay), New Mangalore, Vishakhapatnam

Military India

Military branches:
Army, Navy (includes naval air arm), Air Force, Coast Guard,
various security or paramilitary forces (includes Border Security
Force, Assam Rifles, National Security Guards, Indo-Tibetan Border
Police, Special Frontier Force, Central Reserve Police Force,
Central Industrial Security Force, Railway Protection Force, and
Defense Security Corps)

Military service age and obligation:
16 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 287,551,111
females age 16-49: 268,524,835 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 219,471,999
females age 16-49: 209,917,553 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 11,446,452
females age 16-49: 10,665,877 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$19.04 billion (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.5% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues India

Disputes - international:
since China and India launched a security and foreign policy
dialogue in 2005, consolidated discussions related to the dispute
over most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclear
proliferation, Indian claims that China transferred missiles to
Pakistan, and other matters continue; various talks and
confidence-building measures have cautiously begun to defuse
tensions over Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005
earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remains the site of
the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with
portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin),
India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern
Areas); in 2004, India and Pakistan instituted a cease fire in
Kashmir and in 2005, restored bus service across the highly
militarized Line of Control; Pakistan has taken its dispute on the
impact and benefits of India's building the Baglihar Dam on the
Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir to the World Bank for arbitration;
UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has
maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949; India does not
recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964;
disputes persist with Pakistan over Indus River water sharing; to
defuse tensions and prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary,
in 2004, India and Pakistan resurveyed a portion of the disputed
boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch;
Pakistani maps continue to show its Junagadh claim in Indian Gujarat
State; discussions with Bangladesh remain stalled to delimit a small
section of river boundary, to exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in
both countries, to allocate divided villages, and to stop illegal
cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists
through the porous border; Bangladesh protests India's attempts to
fence off high-traffic sections of the border; dispute with
Bangladesh over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay
of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; India seeks
cooperation from Bhutan and Burma to keep Indian Nagaland and Assam
separatists from hiding in remote areas along the borders; Joint
Border Committee with Nepal continues to demarcate minor disputed
boundary sections; India maintains a strict border regime to keep
out Maoist insurgents and control illegal cross-border activities
from Nepal

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 77,200 (Tibet/China), 50,730 (Sri
Lanka), 9,700 (Afghanistan)
IDPs: at least 600,000 (about half are Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu
and Kashmir) (2006)

Trafficking in persons:
current situation: India is a source, destination, and transit
country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of
forced or bonded labor and commercial sexual exploitation; the large
population of men, women, and children - numbering in the millions -
in debt bondage face involuntary servitude in brick kilns, rice
mills, and embroidery factories, while some children endure
involuntary servitude as domestic servants; internal trafficking of
women and girls for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation
and forced marriage also occurs; the government estimates that 90
percent of India's sex trafficking is internal; India is also a
destination for women and girls from Nepal and Bangladesh trafficked
for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; boys from
Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are trafficked through India
to the Gulf states for involuntary servitude as child camel jockeys;
Indian men and women migrate willingly to the Persian Gulf region
for work as domestic servants and low-skilled laborers, but some
later find themselves in situations of involuntary servitude
including extended working hours, nonpayment of wages, restrictions
on their movement by withholding of their passports or confinement
to the home, and physical or sexual abuse
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - India has been on the Tier 2 Watch
List since 2004 for its failure to show evidence of increasing
efforts to address trafficking in persons

Illicit drugs:
world's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical
trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit
international drug markets; transit point for illicit narcotics
produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer of methaqualone;
vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through the hawala system

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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

@Indian Ocean

Background:
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's five oceans
(after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the
Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically important access
waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb
(Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of
Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). The decision by the International
Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth
ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Indian Ocean
south of 60 degrees south latitude.

Geography Indian Ocean

Location:
body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and
Australia

Geographic coordinates:
20 00 S, 80 00 E

Map references:
Political Map of the World

Area:
total: 68.556 million sq km
note: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Flores Sea,
Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Java Sea,
Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Savu Sea, Strait of
Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies

Area - comparative:
about 5.5 times the size of the US

Coastline:
66,526 km

Climate:
northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to
October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and
October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February
in the southern Indian Ocean

Terrain:
surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system
of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of
surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric
pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in
the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents,
while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter
air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest
winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean
Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest
Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Java Trench -7,258 m
highest point: sea level 0 m

Natural resources:
oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates,
placer deposits, polymetallic nodules

Natural hazards:
occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches

Environment - current issues:
endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and
whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea

Geography - note:
major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait
of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait

Economy Indian Ocean

Economy - overview:
The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle
East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries
a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products
from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are
of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for
domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan,
South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for
shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in
the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western
Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production
comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and
offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering
countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka,
and Thailand.

Transportation Indian Ocean

Ports and terminals:
Chennai (Madras; India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South
Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Kolkata (Calcutta; India) Melbourne
(Australia), Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richards Bay (South Africa)

Transnational Issues Indian Ocean

Disputes - international:
some maritime disputes (see littoral states)

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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

@Indonesia

Introduction Indonesia

Background:
The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century;
the islands were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia
declared its independence after Japan's surrender, but it required
four years of intermittent negotiations, recurring hostilities, and
UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to relinquish its colony.
Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state and home to the
world's largest Muslim population. Current issues include:
alleviating poverty, preventing terrorism, consolidating democracy
after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing financial
sector reforms, stemming corruption, and holding the military and
police accountable for human rights violations. Indonesia was the
nation worst hit by the December 2004 tsunami, which particularly
affected Aceh province causing over 100,000 deaths and over $4
billion in damage. An additional earthquake in March 2005 created
heavy destruction on the island of Nias. Reconstruction in these
areas may take up to a decade. In 2005, Indonesia reached a historic
peace agreement with armed separatists in Aceh, but it continues to
face a low intensity separatist guerilla movement in Papua.

Geography Indonesia

Location:
Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the
Pacific Ocean

Geographic coordinates:
5 00 S, 120 00 E

Map references:
Southeast Asia

Area:
total: 1,919,440 sq km
land: 1,826,440 sq km
water: 93,000 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
total: 2,830 km
border countries: East Timor 228 km, Malaysia 1,782 km, Papua New
Guinea 820 km

Coastline:
54,716 km

Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

Terrain:
mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Puncak Jaya 5,030 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper,
fertile soils, coal, gold, silver

Land use:
arable land: 11.03%
permanent crops: 7.04%
other: 81.93% (2005)

Irrigated land:
45,000 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes,
volcanoes, forest fires

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air
pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest fires

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
archipelago of 17,508 islands (6,000 inhabited); straddles equator;
strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian
Ocean to Pacific Ocean

People Indonesia

Population:
245,452,739 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 28.8% (male 35,995,919/female 34,749,582)
15-64 years: 65.8% (male 80,796,794/female 80,754,238)
65 years and over: 5.4% (male 5,737,473/female 7,418,733) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 26.8 years
male: 26.4 years
female: 27.3 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.41% (2006 est.)

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

Death rate:
6.25 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 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 34.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 39.36 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 29.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.87 years
male: 67.42 years
female: 72.45 years (2006 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
110,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
2,400 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea,
hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and chikungunya are
high risks in some locations
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified
among birds in this country or surrounding region; it poses a
negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens
who have close contact with birds (2007)

Nationality:
noun: Indonesian(s)
adjective: Indonesian

Ethnic groups:
Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays 7.5%,
other 26%

Religions:
Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist
1%, other 1% (1998)

Languages:
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English,
Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.9%
male: 92.5%
female: 83.4% (2002 est.)

Government Indonesia

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Indonesia
conventional short form: Indonesia
local long form: Republik Indonesia
local short form: Indonesia
former: Netherlands East Indies; Dutch East Indies

Government type:
republic

Capital:
name: Jakarta
geographic coordinates: 6 10 S, 106 48 E
time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
note: Indonesia is divided into three time zones

Administrative divisions:
30 provinces (propinsi-propinsi, singular - propinsi), 2 special
regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa, singular - daerah istimewa), and 1
special capital city district** (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*,
Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Irian Jaya Barat, Jakarta Raya**,
Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat,
Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Kepulauan
Bangka Belitung, Kepulauan Riau, Lampung, Maluku, Maluku Utara, Nusa
Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua, Riau, Sulawesi Barat,
Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi
Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Yogyakarta*
note: following the implementation of decentralization beginning on
1 January 2001, the 440 districts or regencies have become the key
administrative units responsible for providing most government
services

Independence:
17 August 1945 (independence proclaimed); 27 December 1949
(Netherlands recognizes Indonesian independence)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 17 August (1945)

Constitution:
August 1945; abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949 and
Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959; series of
amemdments concluded in 2002

Legal system:
based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by indigenous
concepts and by new criminal procedures and election codes; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO (since 20
October 2004) and Vice President Muhammad Yusuf KALLA (since 20
October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government
head of government: President Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO (since 20
October 2004) and Vice President Muhammad Yusuf KALLA (since 20
October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president were elected for five-year
terms (eligible for a second term) by direct vote of the citizenry;
last held 20 September 2004 (next to be held in 2009)
election results: Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO elected president
receiving 60.6% of vote; MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri received 39.4%

Legislative branch:
House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (550
seats; members elected to serve five-year terms); House of Regional
Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah or DPD), constitutionally
mandated role includes providing legislative input to DPR on issues
affecting regions; People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis
Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) has role in inaugurating and
impeaching president and in amending constitution; consists of
popularly-elected members in DPR and DPD; MPR does not formulate
national policy
elections: last held 5 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - Golkar 21.6%, PDI-P
18.5%, PKB 10.6%, PPP 8.2%, PD 7.5%, PKS 7.3%, PAN 6.4%, others
19.9%; seats by party - Golkar 128, PDI-P 109, PPP 58, PD 55, PAN
53, PKB 52, PKS 45, others 50
note: because of election rules, the number of seats won does not
always follow the percentage of votes received by parties

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (justices appointed by the
president from a list of candidates approved by the legislature); a
separate Constitutional Court or Mahkamah Konstitusi was invested by
the president on 16 August 2003; in March 2004 the Supreme Court
assumed administrative and financial responsibility for the lower
court system from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights; Labor
Court under supervision of Supreme Court began functioning in
January 2006

Political parties and leaders:
Crescent Moon and Star Party or PBB [MS KABAN]; Democratic Party or
PD [Hadi UTOMO]; Functional Groups Party or Golkar [Yusuf KALLA];
Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle or PDI-P [MEGAWATI
Sukarnoputri]; National Awakening Party or PKB [MUHAIMIN Iskander];
National Mandate Party or PAN [Sutrisno BACHIR]; Prosperous Justice
Party or PKS [Tifatul SEMBIRING]; United Development Party or PPP
[Hamzah HAZ]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, CP, EAS, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA,
MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PIF (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador SUDJADNAN Parnohadiningrat
chancery: 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 775-5200
FAX: [1] (202) 775-5365
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San
Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador B. Lynn PASCOE
embassy: Jalan 1 Medan Merdeka Selatan 4-5, Jakarta 10110
mailing address: Unit 8129, Box 1, FPO AP 96520
telephone: [62] (21) 3435-9000
FAX: [62] (21) 3435-9922
consulate(s) general: Surabaya
consulate(s): Medan; Denpasar (consular agency)

Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the
flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the flag of
Poland, which is white (top) and red

Economy Indonesia