Government Romania

Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Romania local long form: none local short form: Romania

Government type: republic

Capital: Bucharest

Administrative divisions: 41 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality* (municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti (Bucharest)*, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Ilfov, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea

Independence: 9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from the Ottoman Empire; independence recognized 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin; kingdom proclaimed 26 March 1881); 30 December 1947 (republic proclaimed)

National holiday: Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918)

Constitution: 8 December 1991; revision effective 29 October 2003

Legal system: former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; is now based on the constitution of France's Fifth Republic

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Traian BASESCU (since 20 December 2004) head of government: Prime Minister Calin Popescu-TARICEANU (since 29 December 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 2004, with runoff between the top two candidates held 12 December 2004 (next to be held 28 November 2009 and 12 December 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: percent of vote - Traian BASESCU 51.23%, Adrian NASTASE 48.77%

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (137 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Adunarea Deputatilor (332 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 28 November 2004 (next to be held 28 November 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 28 November 2004 (next to be held 28 November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 37.1%, PNL-PD 31.8%, PRM 13.6%, UDMR 6.2%; seats by party - PSD 46, PNL 28, PD 21, PRM 21, PUR 11, UMDR 10; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 36.6%, PNL-PD 31.3%%, PRM 12.9%, UDMR 6.2%; seats by party - PSD 113, PNL 64, PD 48, PRM 48, UDMR 22, PUR 19, ethnic minorities 18

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates, a board of eleven judges and six prosecutors elected by parliament)

Political parties and leaders: Conservative Party [Dan VOICULESCU], formerly Humanist Party or PUR; Democratic Party or PD [Emil BOC]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Calin Popescu TARICEANU]; Romania Mare Party (Greater Romanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Mircea Dan GEOANA], formerly Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR

Political pressure groups and leaders: various human rights and professional associations

International organization participation: ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Sorin Dumitru DUCARU chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Jack Dyer CROUCH II embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: American Embassy Bucharest, Department of State, 5260 Bucharest Place, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch) telephone: [40] (21) 210-4042 FAX: [40] (21) 210-0395 branch office(s): Cluj-Napoca

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band has been removed; now similar to the flag of Chad, also resembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova

Economy Romania

Economy - overview: Romania began the transition from Communism in 1989 with a largely obsolete industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited to the country's needs. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets. Despite the global slowdown in 2001-02, strong domestic activity in construction, agriculture, and consumption have kept growth above 4%. An IMF standby agreement, signed in 2001, has been accompanied by slow but palpable gains in privatization, deficit reduction, and the curbing of inflation. The IMF Board approved Romania's completion of the standby agreement in October 2003, the first time Romania has successfully concluded an IMF agreement since the 1989 revolution. In July 2004, the executive board of the IMF approved a 24-month standby agreement for $367 million. The Romanian authorities do not intend to draw on this agreement, however, viewing it simply as a precaution. Meanwhile, recent macroeconomic gains have done little to address Romania's widespread poverty, while corruption and red tape continue to handicap the business environment.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $171.5 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 8.1% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 13.1% industry: 33.7% services: 53.2% (2004 est.)

Labor force: 9.66 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 31.6%, industry 30.7%, services 37.7% (2004)

Unemployment rate: 6.3% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line: 28.9% (2002)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 27.6% (2003)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 28.8 (2003)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.6% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 23.3% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget: revenues: $22.1 billion expenditures: $23.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.2 billion (2004 est.)

Public debt: 23.6% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products: wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep

Industries: textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining

Industrial production growth rate: 4% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production: 56.53 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 62.5% hydro: 27.6% nuclear: 9.9% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 57.5 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports: 3.046 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports: 962 million kWh (2003)

Oil - production: 128,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption: 253,800 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports: NA

Oil - imports: NA

Oil - proved reserves: 1.055 billion bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production: 12.6 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 18.5 billion cu m (2003 est.)

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

Natural gas - imports: 5.4 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 111.1 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance: $-3.631 billion (2004 est.)

Exports: $23.54 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities: textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and equipment, minerals and fuels, chemicals, agricultural products

Exports - partners: Italy 21.4%, Germany 15%, France 8.5%, Turkey 7%, UK 6.6% (2004)

Imports: $28.43 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, fuels and minerals, chemicals, textile and products, basic metals, agricultural products

Imports - partners: Italy 17.2%, Germany 14.9%, France 7.1%, Russia 6.8%, Turkey 4.2% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $16.21 billion (2004)

Debt - external: $24.59 billion (2004 est.)

Currency (code): leu (ROL)

Currency code: ROL

Exchange rates: lei per US dollar - 32,637 (2004), 33,200 (2003), 33,055 (2002), 29,061 (2001), 21,709 (2000)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Romania

Telephones - main lines in use: 4.3 million (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 6.9 million (2003)

Telephone system: general assessment: poor domestic service, but improving domestic: 90% of telephone network is automatic; trunk network is mostly microwave radio relay, with some fiber-optic cable; about one-third of exchange capacity is digital; roughly 3,300 villages have no service international: country code - 40; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; new digital, international, direct-dial exchanges operate in Bucharest; note - Romania is an active participant in several international telecommunication network projects (1999)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 40, FM 202, shortwave 3 (1998)

Radios: 7.2 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 48 (plus 392 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions: 5.25 million (1997)

Internet country code: .ro

Internet hosts: 50,807 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 38 (2000)

Internet users: 4 million (2003)

Transportation Romania

Railways: total: 11,385 km (3,888 km electrified) standard gauge: 10,898 km 1.435-m gauge broad gauge: 60 km 1.524-m gauge narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (2004)

Highways: total: 198,755 km paved: 100,173 km (including 113 km of expressways) unpaved: 98,582 km (2002)

Waterways: 1,731 km (2004)

Pipelines: gas 3,508 km; oil 2,427 km (2004)

Ports and harbors: Braila, Constanta, Galati, Tulcea

Merchant marine: total: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 395,350 GRT/510,232 DWT by type: bulk carrier 5, cargo 20, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 2 (Italy 2) registered in other countries: 39 (2005)

Airports: 61 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 25 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 36 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 24 (2004 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2004 est.)

Military Romania

Military branches: Land Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (AMR), Special Operations, Civil Defense (2005)

Military service age and obligation: 20 years of age for compulsory military service, 18 in wartime; conscript service obligation - 12 months; 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2004)

Manpower available for military service: males age 20-49: 5,061,984 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 20-49: 3,932,579 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually: males: 172,093 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $985 million (2002)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.47% (2002)

Transnational Issues Romania

Disputes - international: Romania and Ukraine have taken their dispute over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary to the ICJ for adjudication; Romania also opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube border through Ukraine to the Black Sea; Hungary amended the status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Romania, to which Romania had objected

Illicit drugs: major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for Western Europe; although not a significant financial center, role as a narcotics conduit leaves it vulnerable to laundering which occurs via the banking system, currency exchange houses, and casinos

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005



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@Russia

Introduction Russia

Background: Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN (1928-53) strengthened Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into 15 independent republics. Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict social, political, and economic controls of the Communist period. While some progress has been made on the economic front, recent years have seen a recentralization of power under Vladimir PUTIN and an erosion in nascent democratic institutions. A determined guerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya.

Geography Russia

Location: Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean

Geographic coordinates: 60 00 N, 100 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area: total: 17,075,200 sq km land: 16,995,800 sq km water: 79,400 sq km

Area - comparative: approximately 1.8 times the size of the US

Land boundaries: total: 20,017 km border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland 1,340 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,485 km, Norway 196 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km

Coastline: 37,653 km

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

Climate: ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast

Terrain: broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 m

Natural resources: wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources

Land use: arable land: 7.33% permanent crops: 0.11% other: 92.56% (2001)

Irrigated land: 46,630 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula; spring floods and summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of European Russia

Environment - current issues: air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal, and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and seacoasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination; groundwater contamination from toxic waste; urban solid waste management; abandoned stocks of obsolete pesticides

Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulfur 94

Geography - note: largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture; Mount El'brus is Europe's tallest peak

People Russia

Population: 143,420,309 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 14.6% (male 10,704,617/female 10,173,313) 15-64 years: 71.3% (male 49,429,716/female 52,799,740) 65 years and over: 14.2% (male 6,405,027/female 13,907,896) (2005 est.)

Median age: total: 38.15 years male: 34.99 years female: 41.03 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.37% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 9.8 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 14.52 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.46 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 15.39 deaths/1,000 live births male: 17.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 67.1 years male: 60.55 years female: 74.04 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.27 children born/woman (2005 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 860,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 9,000 (2001 est.)

Nationality: noun: Russian(s) adjective: Russian

Ethnic groups: Russian 79.8%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 2%, Bashkir 1.2%, Chuvash 1.1%, other or unspecified 12.1% (2002 census)

Religions: Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other

Languages: Russian, many minority languages

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.6% male: 99.7% female: 99.5% (2003 est.)

Government Russia

Country name: conventional long form: Russian Federation conventional short form: Russia local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya local short form: Rossiya former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

Government type: federation

Capital: Moscow

Administrative divisions: 49 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast), 21 republics (respublik, singular - respublika), 10 autonomous okrugs (avtonomnykh okrugov, singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 6 krays (krayev, singular - kray), 2 federal cities (singular - gorod), and 1 autonomous oblast (avtonomnaya oblast') : oblasts: Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad, Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Orel, Penza, Perm', Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan', Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula, Tver', Tyumen', Ul'yanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl' : republics: Adygeya (Maykop), Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashiya (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Ingushetiya (Magas), Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik), Kalmykiya (Elista), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk), Kareliya (Petrozavodsk), Khakasiya (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordoviya (Saransk), Sakha [Yakutiya] (Yakutsk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtiya (Izhevsk) : autonomous okrugs: Aga Buryat (Aginskoye), Chukotka (Anadyr'), Evenk (Tura), Khanty-Mansi, Komi-Permyak (Kudymkar), Koryak (Palana), Nenets (Nar'yan-Mar), Taymyr [Dolgano-Nenets] (Dudinka), Ust'-Orda Buryat (Ust'-Ordynskiy), Yamalo-Nenets (Salekhard) : krays: Altay (Barnaul), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Primorskiy (Vladivostok), Stavropol' : federal cities: Moscow (Moskva), Saint Petersburg (Sankt-Peterburg) : autonomous oblast: Yevrey [Jewish] (Birobidzhan) note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)

Independence: 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Russia Day, 12 June (1990)

Constitution: adopted 12 December 1993

Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (acting president since 31 December 1999, president since 7 May 2000) head of government: Premier Mikhail Yefimovich FRADKOV (since 5 March 2004); Deputy Premier Aleksandr Dmitriyevich ZHUKOV (since 9 March 2004) cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" composed of the premier and his deputy, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the president note: there is also a Presidential Administration (PA) that provides staff and policy support to the president, drafts presidential decrees, and coordinates policy among government agencies; a Security Council also reports directly to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 14 March 2004 (next to be held March 2008); note - no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the premier succeeds him; the premier serves as acting president until a new presidential election is held, which must be within three months; premier appointed by the president with the approval of the Duma election results: Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN reelected president; percent of vote - Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN 71.2%, Nikolay KHARITONOV 13.7%, other (no candidate above 5%) 15.1%

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (178 seats; as of July 2000, members appointed by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units - oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; members serve four-year terms) and the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; currently 225 seats elected by proportional representation from party lists winning at least 5% of the vote, and 225 seats from single-member constituencies; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: State Duma - last held 7 December 2003 (next to be held NA December 2007) election results: State Duma - percent of vote received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats - United Russia 37.1%, CPRF 12.7%, LDPR 11.6%, Motherland 9.1%; seats by party - United Russia 222, CPRF 53, LDPR 38, Motherland 37, People's Party 19, Yabloko 4, SPS 2, other 7, independents 65, repeat election required 3

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Superior Court of Arbitration; judges for all courts are appointed for life by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president

Political parties and leaders: Communist Party of the Russian Federation or CPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Motherland Bloc (Rodina) [Dmitriy ROGOZIN]; People's Party [Gennadiy RAYKOV]; Union of Right Forces or SPS [Anatoliy Borisovich CHUBAYS, Yegor Timurovich GAYDAR, Irina Mutsuovna KHAKAMADA, Boris Yefimovich NEMTSOV]; United Russia [Boris Vyacheslavovich GRYZLOV]; Yabloko Party [Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: APEC, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, G- 8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer), ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700, 5701, 5704, 5708 FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735 consulate(s) general: Houston, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Alexander VERSHBOW embassy: Bolshoy Devyatinskiy Pereulok No. 8, 121099 Moscow mailing address: PSC-77, APO AE 09721 telephone: [7] (095) 728-5000 FAX: [7] (095) 728-5090 consulate(s) general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg

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

Economy Russia

Economy - overview: Russia ended 2004 with its sixth straight year of growth, averaging 6.5% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. Although high oil prices and a relatively cheap ruble are important drivers of this economic rebound, since 2000 investment and consumer-driven demand have played a noticeably increasing role. Real fixed capital investments have averaged gains greater than 10% over the last five years, and real personal incomes have realized average increases over 12%. Russia has also improved its international financial position since the 1998 financial crisis, with its foreign debt declining from 90% of GDP to around 28%. Strong oil export earnings have allowed Russia to increase its foreign reserves from only $12 billion to some $120 billion at yearend 2004. These achievements, along with a renewed government effort to advance structural reforms, have raised business and investor confidence in Russia's economic prospects. Nevertheless, serious problems persist. Economic growth slowed down in the second half of 2004 and the Russian government forecasts growth of only 4.5% to 6.2% for 2005. Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Russia's manufacturing base is dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to achieve broad-based economic growth. Other problems include a weak banking system, a poor business climate that discourages both domestic and foreign investors, corruption, and widespread lack of trust in institutions. In addition, a string of investigations launched against a major Russian oil company, culminating with the arrest of its CEO in the fall of 2003, have raised concerns by some observers that President PUTIN is granting more influence to forces within his government that desire to reassert state control over the economy.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $1.408 trillion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 6.7% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $9,800 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 4.9% industry: 33.9% services: 61.2% (2004 est.)

Labor force: 71.83 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 12.3%, industry 22.7%, services 65% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate: 8.3% plus considerable underemployment (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line: 25% (January 2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 5.9% highest 10%: 47% (2001)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 39.9 (2001)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11.5% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 19.1% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget: revenues: $106.4 billion expenditures: $93.33 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Public debt: 28.2% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk

Industries: complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; defense industries including radar, missile production, and advanced electronic components, shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate: 6.4% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production: 915 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 66.3% hydro: 17.2% nuclear: 16.4% other: 0.1% (2003)

Electricity - consumption: 894.3 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports: 20.7 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports: 12.65 billion kWh (2002)

Oil - production: 8.42 million bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption: 2.31 million bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports: 6.11 million bbl/day (2003)

Oil - imports: NA

Oil - proved reserves: 69 billion bbl (2003 est.)

Natural gas - production: 578.6 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 405.8 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 171 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 32.7 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 47 trillion cu m (2003)

Current account balance: $46.04 billion (2004 est.)

Exports: $162.5 billion (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures

Exports - partners: Netherlands 9.1%, Germany 8%, Ukraine 6.4%, Italy 6.2%, China 6%, US 5%, Switzerland 4.7%, Turkey 4.3% (2004)

Imports: $92.91 billion (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, sugar, semifinished metal products

Imports - partners: Germany 15.3%, Ukraine 8.8%, China 6.9%, Japan 5.7%, Kazakhstan 5%, US 4.6%, Italy 4.6%, France 4.4% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $124.5 billion (3 December 2004 e)

Debt - external: $169.6 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: in FY01 from US, $979 million (including $750 million in non-proliferation subsidies); in 2001 from EU, $200 million (2000 est.)

Currency (code): Russian ruble (RUR)

Currency code: RUR

Exchange rates: Russian rubles per US dollar - 28.814 (2004), 30.692 (2003), 31.349 (2002), 29.169 (2001), 28.129 (2000)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Russia

Telephones - main lines in use: 35.5 million (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 17,608,800 (2002)

Telephone system: general assessment: the telephone system underwent significant changes in the 1990s; there are more than 1,000 companies licensed to offer communication services; access to digital lines has improved, particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail services are improving; Russia has made progress toward building the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy; however, a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfied domestic: cross-country digital trunk lines run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital, are available in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services are still outdated, inadequate, and low density international: country code - 7; Russia is connected internationally by three undersea fiber-optic cables; digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems

Radio broadcast stations: AM 420, FM 447, shortwave 56 (1998)

Radios: 61.5 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 7,306 (1998)

Televisions: 60.5 million (1997)

Internet country code: .ru; Russia also has responsibility for a legacy domain ".su" that was allocated to the Soviet Union, and whose legal status and ownership are contested by the Russian Government, ICANN, and several Russian commercial entities

Internet hosts: 560,874 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 300 (June 2000)

Internet users: 6 million (2002)

Transportation Russia

Railways: total: 87,157 km broad gauge: 86,200 km 1.520-m gauge (40,300 km electrified) narrow gauge: 957 km 1.067-m gauge (on Sakhalin Island) note: an additional 30,000 km of non-common carrier lines serve industries (2004)

Highways: total: 537,289 km paved: 362,133 km unpaved: 175,156 km (2001)

Waterways: 96,000 km note: 72,000 km system in European Russia links Baltic Sea, White Sea, Caspian Sea, Sea of Azov, and Black Sea (2004)

Pipelines: condensate 122 km; gas 150,007 km; oil 75,539 km; refined products 13,771 km (2004)

Ports and harbors: Anapa, Kaliningrad, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Novorossiysk, Rostov-na-Donu, Saint Petersburg, Taganrog, Vanino, Vostochnyy

Merchant marine: total: 1,194 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,521,472 GRT/5,505,118 DWT by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 45, cargo 767, chemical tanker 20, combination ore/oil 48, container 21, passenger 11, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum tanker 213, refrigerated cargo 46, roll on/roll off 12, specialized tanker 2 foreign-owned: 56 (Belgium 2, Cyprus 1, Estonia 2, Germany 1, Hong Kong 1, Latvia 3, Norway 1, Sweden 1, Turkey 28, Ukraine 10, United Kingdom 2, United States 4) registered in other countries: 326 (2005)

Airports: 2,586 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 577 over 3,047 m: 55 2,438 to 3,047 m: 197 1,524 to 2,437 m: 128 914 to 1,523 m: 98 under 914 m: 99 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 2,009 over 3,047 m: 14 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 111 914 to 1,523 m: 257 under 914 m: 1,597 (2004 est.)

Heliports: 36 (2004 est.)

Military Russia

Military branches: Ground Forces (SV), Navy (VMF), Air Forces (VVS); Airborne Troops (VDV), Strategic Rocket Troops (RVSN), and Space Troops (KV) are independent "combat arms," not subordinate to any of the three branches

Military service age and obligation: 18-27 years of age; males are registered for the draft at 17 years of age; 200,000 conscripts were inducted into the armed forces in 2003; length of compulsory military service is 2 years; plans as of August 2004 call for reduction in mandatory service to 1 year by 2008; 2003 planning calls for volunteer servicemen to compose 70% of armed forces by 2010, with the remaining servicemen consisting of conscripts (August 2004)

Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 35,247,049 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 21,049,651 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually: males: 1,286,069 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA

Transnational Issues Russia

Disputes - international: in 2004, China and Russia divided up the islands in the Amur, Ussuri, and Argun Rivers, ending a century-old border dispute; the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kurils," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Russia and Georgia agree on delimiting 80% of their common border, leaving certain small, strategic segments and the maritime boundary unresolved; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia; equidistant seabed treaties were signed and ratified with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in the Caspian Sea but no consensus exists on dividing the water column among the littoral states; Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone; various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union following the Second World War but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands; in 1996, the Estonia-Russia technical border agreement was initialed but both have been hesitant to sign and ratify it, with Russia asserting that Estonia needs to better assimilate Russian-speakers and Estonian groups advocating realignment of the boundary based more closely on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; the Latvian-Russian boundary treaty of 1997 remains unsigned and unratified with Russia linking it to better Latvian treatment of ethnic Russians and Latvian politicians demanding Russian agreement to a declaration that admits Soviet aggression during the Second World War and other issues; in 2003, the Lithuania-Russia land and maritime boundary treaty was ratified and a transit regime established through Lithuania linking Russia and its Kaliningrad coastal exclave, leaving only improvements to the border demarcation in 2005; delimitation of land boundary with Ukraine is complete, but states have agreed to defer demarcation; Russia and Ukraine continue talks but still dispute the alignment of a maritime boundary through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov; Kazakhstan and Russia continue demarcation of their long border; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US in the Bering Sea

Refugees and internally displaced persons: IDPs: 368,000 (displacement from Chechnya and North Ossetia) (2004)

Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and producer of methamphetamine, mostly for domestic consumption; government has active illicit crop eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian opiates, cannabis, and Latin American cocaine bound for growing domestic markets, to a lesser extent Western and Central Europe, and occasionally to the US; major source of heroin precursor chemicals; corruption and organized crime are key concerns; heroin increasingly popular in domestic market

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005



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@Rwanda

Introduction Rwanda

Background: In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and ended the killing in July 1994, but approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and the former Zaire. Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda, but about 10,000 that remain in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo have formed an extremist insurgency bent on retaking Rwanda, much as the RPF tried in 1990. Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in August and September 2003, respectively - the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output, and ethnic reconciliation is complicated by the real and perceived Tutsi political dominance. Kigali's increasing centralization and intolerance of dissent, the nagging Hutu extremist insurgency across the border, and Rwandan involvement in two wars in recent years in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to hinder Rwanda's efforts to escape its bloody legacy.

Geography Rwanda

Location: Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo

Geographic coordinates: 2 00 S, 30 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 26,338 sq km land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries: total: 893 km border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible

Terrain: mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m

Natural resources: gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land

Land use: arable land: 40.54% permanent crops: 12.16% other: 47.3% (2001)

Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo

Environment - current issues: deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching

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

Geography - note: landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural

People Rwanda

Population: 8,440,820 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 41.9% (male 1,777,178/female 1,762,252) 15-64 years: 55.5% (male 2,328,686/female 2,356,572) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 87,155/female 128,977) (2005 est.)

Median age: total: 18.48 years male: 18.26 years female: 18.7 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.43% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 40.6 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 16.32 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 91.23 deaths/1,000 live births male: 96.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 85.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 46.96 years male: 45.92 years female: 48.03 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.49 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 5.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 250,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 22,000 (2003 est.)

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

Nationality: noun: Rwandan(s) adjective: Rwandan

Ethnic groups: Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001)

Languages: Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 70.4% male: 76.3% female: 64.7% (2003 est.)

People - note: Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa

Government Rwanda

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Rwanda conventional short form: Rwanda local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda local short form: Rwanda former: Ruanda

Government type: republic; presidential, multiparty system

Capital: Kigali

Administrative divisions: 12 provinces (in French - provinces, singular - province; in Kinyarwanda - prefigintara for singular and plural); Butare, Byumba, Cyangugu, Gikongoro, Gisenyi, Gitarama, Kibungo, Kibuye, Kigali Rurale, Kigali-ville, Umutara, Ruhengeri

Independence: 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

Constitution: new constitution adopted 4 June 2003

Legal system: based on German and Belgian civil law systems and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal adult

Executive branch: chief of state: President Paul KAGAME (since 22 April 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Bernard MAKUZA (since 8 March 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: last held 25 August 2003 (next to be held NA 2008) election results: Paul KAGAME elected president in first direct popular vote; Paul KAGAME 95.05%, Faustin TWAGIRAMUNGU 3.62%, Jean-Nepomuscene NAYINZIRA 1.33%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (53 seats; members elected by direct vote) elections: last held 29 September 2003 (next to be held Chamber of Deputies - NA 2008; Senate - NA 2011) election results: seats by party under the 2003 Constitution - RPF 40, PSD 7, PL 6

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; High Courts of the Republic; Provincial Courts; District Courts; mediation committees

Political parties and leaders: Centrist Democratic Party or PDC [Alfred MUKEZAMFURA]; Democratic Popular Union of Rwanda or UDPR [Adrien RANGIRA]; Democratic Republican Movement or MDR (officially banned) [Celestin KABANDA]; Islamic Democratic Party or PDI [Andre BUMAYA]; Liberal Party or PL [Prosper HIGIRO]; Party for Democratic Renewal (officially banned) [Pasteur BIZIMUNGU and Charles NTAKARUTINKA]; Rwandan Patriotic Front or RPF [Paul KAGAME]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Vincent BIRUTA]

Political pressure groups and leaders: IBUKA - association of genocide survivors

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Zac NSENGA chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henderson PATRICK embassy: 337 Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali telephone: [250] 50 56 01 through 03 FAX: [250] 57 2128

Flag description: three horizontal bands of sky blue (top, double width), yellow, and green, with a golden sun with 24 rays near the fly end of the blue band

Economy Rwanda

Economy - overview: Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely populated country in Africa; landlocked with few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary foreign exchange earners are coffee and tea. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and eroded the country's ability to attract private and external investment. However, Rwanda has made substantial progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy to pre-1994 levels, although poverty levels are higher now. GDP has rebounded and inflation has been curbed. Export earnings, however, have been hindered by low beverage prices, depriving the country of much needed hard currency. Despite Rwanda's fertile ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with population growth, requiring food imports. Rwanda continues to receive substantial aid money and was approved for IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in late 2000. Kigali's high defense expenditures have caused tension between the government and international donors and lending agencies. An energy shortage and instability in neighboring states may slow growth in 2005, while the lack of adequate transportation linkages to other countries continues to handicap export growth.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $10.43 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 0.9% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 41.1% industry: 21.2% services: 37.7% (2004 est.)

Labor force: 4.6 million (2000)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 90%

Unemployment rate: NA

Population below poverty line: 60% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 4.2% highest 10%: 24.2% (1985)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 28.9 (1985)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 20% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget: revenues: $354.5 million expenditures: $385 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products: coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock

Industries: cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes

Industrial production growth rate: 7% (2001 est.)

Electricity - production: 166.7 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 2.3% hydro: 97.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption: 195 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports: 40 million kWh (2002)

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

Oil - consumption: 5,300 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports: NA

Oil - imports: NA

Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 28.32 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance: $-212.5 million (2004 est.)

Exports: $69.78 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities: coffee, tea, hides, tin ore

Exports - partners: Indonesia 64.2%, China 3.6%, Germany 2.7% (2004)

Imports: $260 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material

Imports - partners: Kenya 24.4%, Germany 7.4%, Belgium 6.6%, Uganda 6.3%, France 5.1% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $210.9 million (2004 est.)

Debt - external: $1.3 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $372.9 million (1999)

Currency (code): Rwandan franc (RWF)

Currency code: RWF

Exchange rates: Rwandan francs per US dollar - 574.62 (2004), 537.66 (2003), 476.33 (2002), 442.8 (2001), 393.44 (2000)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Rwanda

Telephones - main lines in use: 23,200 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 134,000 note: Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several provincial capitals (2003)

Telephone system: general assessment: telephone system primarily serves business and government domestic: the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the provinces by microwave radio relay and, recently, by cellular telephone service; much of the network depends on wire and HF radiotelephone international: country code - 250; international connections employ microwave radio relay to neighboring countries and satellite communications to more distant countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) in Kigali (includes telex and telefax service)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 8 (two main FM programs are broadcast through a system of repeaters, three international FM programs include the BBC, VOA, and Deutchewelle), shortwave 1 (2005)

Radios: 601,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 2 (2004)

Televisions: NA; probably less than 1,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .rw

Internet hosts: 1,495 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2002)

Internet users: 25,000 (2002)

Transportation Rwanda

Highways: total: 12,000 km paved: 996 km unpaved: 11,004 km (1999 est.)

Waterways: Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft (2004)

Ports and harbors: Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye

Airports: 9 (2004 est.)

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

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)

Military Rwanda

Military branches: Rwandan Defense Forces: Army, Air Force

Military service age and obligation: 16 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2001)

Manpower available for military service: males age 16-49: 2,004,750 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service: males age 16-49: 1,103,823 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $50.1 million (2004)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.2% (2004)

Transnational Issues Rwanda

Disputes - international: Tutsi, Hutu, Hema, Lendu, and other conflicting ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated areas and natural resources - government heads pledge to end conflicts, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts; DROC and Rwanda established a border verification mechanism in 2005 to address accusations of Rwandan military supporting Congolese rebels and the Congo providing rebel Rwandan "Interhamwe" forces the means and bases to attack Rwandan forces; as of 2004, Rwandan refugees lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Zambia

Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): 37,691 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) IDPs: 4,158 (incursions by Hutu rebels from Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1997-99; most IDPs in northwest) (2004)

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005



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@Saint Helena

Introduction Saint Helena

Background: Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Ascension Island is the site of a US Air Force auxiliary airfield; Gough Island has a meteorological station.

Geography Saint Helena

Location: islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa

Geographic coordinates: 15 56 S, 5 42 W

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 410 sq km land: 410 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Saint Helena Island, Ascension, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha, which consists of Tristan da Cunha Island, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, and the three Nightingale Islands

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

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 60 km

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

Climate: Saint Helena - tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds; Tristan da Cunha - temperate; marine, mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena)

Terrain: Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 m

Natural resources: fish

Land use: arable land: 12.9% permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (2001)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha

Environment - current issues: NA

Geography - note: harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns

People Saint Helena

Population: 7,460 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 18.8% (male 715/female 691) 15-64 years: 71.3% (male 2,745/female 2,575) 65 years and over: 9.8% (male 330/female 404) (2005 est.)

Median age: total: 35.4 years male: 35.61 years female: 35.21 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.59% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 12.33 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 6.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 19 deaths/1,000 live births male: 22.74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.76 years male: 74.86 years female: 80.81 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.54 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Saint Helenian(s) adjective: Saint Helenian

Ethnic groups: African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25%

Religions: Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic

Languages: English

Literacy: definition: age 20 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.)

Government Saint Helena

Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Saint Helena

Dependency status: overseas territory of the UK

Government type: NA

Capital: Jamestown

Administrative divisions: 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha*

Independence: none (overseas territory of the UK)

National holiday: Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926)

Constitution: 1 January 1989

Legal system: NA

Suffrage: NA years of age

Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Michael CLANCY (since 15 October 2004) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, two ex officio officers, and six elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 June 2001 (next to be held June 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court; Small Debts Court; Juvenile Court

Political parties and leaders: none

Political pressure groups and leaders: none

International organization participation: ICFTU, UPU

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

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

Flag description: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship

Economy Saint Helena

Economy - overview: The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, raising livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $18 million (1998 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: NA

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,500 (1998 est.)

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

Labor force: 3,500 note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture and fishing 6%, industry (mainly construction) 48%, services 46% (1987 est.)

Unemployment rate: 14% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.2% (1997 est.)

Budget: revenues: $11.2 million expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY92/93)

Agriculture - products: corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, crawfish (on Tristan da Cunha)

Industries: construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing

Industrial production growth rate: NA

Electricity - production: 5 million kWh (2002)

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

Electricity - consumption: 4.65 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)

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

Oil - consumption: 200 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports: NA

Oil - imports: NA

Exports: $17 million f.o.b. (2002)

Exports - commodities: fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts

Exports - partners: Tanzania 30.3%, US 23.8%, Japan 10.4%, UK 7.1%, Spain 6.3% (2004)

Imports: $42 million c.i.f. (2002)

Imports - commodities: food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts

Imports - partners: UK 35.7%, US 17.6%, South Africa 17.5%, Tanzania 10.4%, Australia 5.5%, Spain 4.1% (2004)

Debt - external: NA (1996)

Economic aid - recipient: $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997)

Currency (code): Saint Helenian pound (SHP)

Currency code: SHP

Exchange rates: Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001), 0.6609 (2000) note: the Saint Helenian pound is on par with the British pound

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Communications Saint Helena

Telephones - main lines in use: 2,200 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 0 (1997)

Telephone system: general assessment: can communicate worldwide domestic: automatic network international: country code - 290; HF radiotelephone from Saint Helena to Ascension Island, which is a major coaxial submarine cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios: 3,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 0 note: television programs are received in Saint Helena via satellite and distributed by cable (2002)

Televisions: 2,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .sh

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)

Internet users: 500 (2002)

Communications - note: Gough Island has a meteorological station

Transportation Saint Helena

Highways: total: 198 km (Saint Helena 138 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 20 km) paved: 168 km (Saint Helena 118km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) unpaved: 30 km (Saint Helena 20 km, Ascension 0 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) (2000)

Ports and harbors: Georgetown (on Ascension), Jamestown

Airports: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military Saint Helena

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the UK

Transnational Issues Saint Helena

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005



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@Saint Kitts and Nevis

Introduction Saint Kitts and Nevis

Background: First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Nevis is once more trying to separate from the Saint Kitts.

Geography Saint Kitts and Nevis

Location: Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates: 17 20 N, 62 45 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area: total: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km) land: 261 sq km water: 0 sq km

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

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 135 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: tropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)

Terrain: volcanic with mountainous interiors

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m

Natural resources: arable land

Land use: arable land: 19.44% permanent crops: 2.78% other: 77.78% (2001)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: hurricanes (July to October)

Environment - current issues: NA

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

Geography - note: with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a three-km-wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of long, baseball bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island

People Saint Kitts and Nevis

Population: 38,958 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 28% (male 5,586/female 5,330) 15-64 years: 63.7% (male 12,424/female 12,403) 65 years and over: 8.3% (male 1,328/female 1,887) (2005 est.)

Median age: total: 27.6 years male: 26.78 years female: 28.38 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.38% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 18.12 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 8.47 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: -5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 14.49 deaths/1,000 live births male: 16.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.15 years male: 69.31 years female: 75.16 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.33 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s) adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian

Ethnic groups: predominantly black; some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese

Religions: Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic

Languages: English

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1980 est.)

Government Saint Kitts and Nevis

Country name: conventional long form: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis

Government type: constitutional monarchy with Westminster-style parliament

Capital: Basseterre

Administrative divisions: 14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capesterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capesterre, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point

Independence: 19 September 1983 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 19 September (1983)

Constitution: 19 September 1983

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Cuthbert Montraville SEBASTIAN (since 1 January 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS (since 6 July 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR (since 6 July 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general in consultation with the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 25 October 2004 (next to be held by 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SKNLP 7, CCM 2, NRP 1, PAM 1

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis)

Political parties and leaders: Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Vance AMORY]; Nevis Reformation Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]; People's Action Movement or PAM [Lindsey GRANT]; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP [Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Izben Cordinal WILLIAMS chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636 FAX: [1] (202) 686-5740 consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis

Flag description: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band bearing two white, five-pointed stars; the black band is edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green, the lower triangle is red

Economy Saint Kitts and Nevis

Economy - overview: Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the Saint Kitts economy until the 1970s. Although the crop still dominates the agricultural sector, activities such as tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking have assumed larger roles in the economy. Tourism revenues are now the chief source of the islands' foreign exchange. The opening of a 470-room resort in February 2003 was expected to bring in much-needed revenue.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $339 million (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: -1.9% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.5% industry: 25.8% services: 70.7% (2001)

Labor force: 18,170 (June 1995)

Labor force - by occupation: NA

Unemployment rate: 4.5% (1997)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (2001 est.)

Budget: revenues: $89.7 million expenditures: $128.2 million, including capital expenditures of $19.5 million (2003 est.)

Agriculture - products: sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish

Industries: sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 105.8 million kWh (2002)

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

Electricity - consumption: 98.44 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)

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

Oil - consumption: 710 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports: NA

Oil - imports: NA

Exports: $70 million (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities: machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco

Exports - partners: US 57.5%, Canada 9%, Portugal 8.3%, UK 6.7% (2004)

Imports: $195 million (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery, manufactures, food, fuels

Imports - partners: Ukraine 44.7%, US 22.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 8.8%, UK 6.2% (2004)

Debt - external: $171 million (2001)

Economic aid - recipient: $8 million (2001)

Currency (code): East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Currency code: XCD

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Saint Kitts and Nevis

Telephones - main lines in use: 23,500 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 5,000 (2002)

Telephone system: general assessment: good interisland and international connections domestic: inter-island links via Eastern Caribbean Fiber Optic cable; construction of enhanced wireless infrastructure launched in November 2004 international: country code - 1-869; international calls are carried by submarine cable or Intelsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2004)

Radios: 28,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (plus three repeaters) (2004)

Televisions: 10,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .kn

Internet hosts: 51 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 16 (2000)

Internet users: 10,000 (2002)

Transportation Saint Kitts and Nevis

Railways: total: 50 km narrow gauge: 50 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane plantations during harvest season (2003)

Highways: total: 320 km paved: 136 km unpaved: 184 km (1999 est)

Ports and harbors: Basseterre, Charlestown

Airports: 2 (2004 est.)

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

Military Saint Kitts and Nevis

Military branches: Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (includes Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force

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

Military expenditures - dollar figure: NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA

Transnational Issues Saint Kitts and Nevis

Disputes - international: joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; some money-laundering activity

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005



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@Saint Lucia

Introduction Saint Lucia

Background: The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries, was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally ceded to the UK in 1814. Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence in 1979.

Geography Saint Lucia

Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates: 13 53 N, 60 68 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area: total: 616 sq km land: 606 sq km water: 10 sq km

Area - comparative: 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 158 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: tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to April, rainy season from May to August

Terrain: volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Gimie 950 m

Natural resources: forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential

Land use: arable land: 6.56% permanent crops: 22.95% other: 70.49% (2001)

Irrigated land: 30 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: hurricanes and volcanic activity

Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region

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

Geography - note: the twin Pitons (Gros Piton and Petit Piton), striking cone-shaped peaks south of Soufriere, are one of the scenic natural highlights of the Caribbean

People Saint Lucia

Population: 166,312 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 30.3% (male 25,937/female 24,391) 15-64 years: 64.6% (male 52,813/female 54,544) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 3,172/female 5,455) (2005 est.)

Median age: total: 24.81 years male: 24.03 years female: 25.66 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.28% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 20.05 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 5.12 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 13.53 deaths/1,000 live births male: 14.66 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.61 years male: 70.05 years female: 77.42 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.21 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Saint Lucian(s) adjective: Saint Lucian

Ethnic groups: black 90%, mixed 6%, East Indian 3%, white 1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 67.5%, Seventh Day Adventist 8.5%, Pentecostal 5.7%, Anglican 2%, Evangelical 2%, other Christian 5.1%, Rastafarian 2.1%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.5%, none 4.5% (2001 census)

Languages: English (official), French patois

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 90.1% male: 89.5% female: 90.6% (2001 est.)

Government Saint Lucia

Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Saint Lucia

Government type: Westminster-style parliamentary democracy

Capital: Castries

Administrative divisions: 11 quarters; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros-Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufriere, Vieux-Fort

Independence: 22 February 1979 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 22 February (1979)

Constitution: 22 February 1979

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Pearlette LOUISY (since September 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Kenneth Davis ANTHONY (since 24 May 1997) and Deputy Prime Minister Mario MICHEL (since 24 May 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (11 seats; six members appointed on the advice of the prime minister, three on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and two after consultation with religious, economic, and social groups) and the House of Assembly (17 seats; members are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Assembly - last held 3 December 2001 (next to be held in December 2006) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - SLP 55%, UWP 37%, NA 3.5%; seats by party - SLP 14, UWP 3

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (jurisdiction extends to Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

Political parties and leaders: National Alliance or NA [George ODLUM]; Saint Lucia Freedom Party or SFP [Martinus FRANCOIS]; Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP [Kenneth ANTHONY]; Sou Tout Apwe Fete Fini or STAFF [Christopher HUNTE]; United Workers Party or UWP [Dr. Morella JOSEPH]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Sonia Merlyn JOHNNY chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6723 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia

Flag description: blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border

Economy Saint Lucia

Economy - overview: Changes in the EU import preference regime and the increased competition from Latin American bananas have made economic diversification increasingly important in Saint Lucia. The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism industries. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area, and the government is trying to revitalize the banana industry. Economic fundamentals remain solid, even though unemployment needs to be cut.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $866 million (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.3% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,400 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 7% industry: 20% services: 73% (2002 est.)

Labor force: 43,800 (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 21.7%, industry, commerce, and manufacturing 24.7%, services 53.6% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate: 20% (2003 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (2001 est.)

Budget: revenues: $141.2 million expenditures: $146.7 million, including capital expenditures of $25.1 million (2000 est.)

Agriculture - products: bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa

Industries: clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism, lime processing, coconut processing

Industrial production growth rate: -8.9% (1997 est.)

Electricity - production: 270.3 million kWh (2002)

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

Electricity - consumption: 251.3 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)

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

Oil - consumption: 2,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports: NA

Oil - imports: NA

Exports: $66 million (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities: bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil

Exports - partners: UK 41.4%, US 16.5%, Brazil 11.6%, Barbados 5.8%, Antigua and Barbuda 4.6%, Dominica 4.5% (2004)

Imports: $267 million (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities: food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels

Imports - partners: US 27.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 20.4%, UK 8%, Venezuela 7.6%, Finland 7% (2004)

Debt - external: $214 million (2000)

Economic aid - recipient: $51.8 million (1995)

Currency (code): East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Currency code: XCD

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Communications Saint Lucia

Telephones - main lines in use: 51,100 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 14,300 (2002)

Telephone system: general assessment: adequate system domestic: system is automatically switched international: country code - 1-758; direct microwave radio relay link with Martinique and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; tropospheric scatter to Barbados; international calls beyond these countries are carried by Intelsat from Martinique

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2004)

Radios: 111,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 2 (of which one is a commercial broadcast station and one is a community antenna television or CATV channel) (2004)

Televisions: 32,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .lc

Internet hosts: 41 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 15 (2000)

Internet users: 13,000 (2002)

Transportation Saint Lucia

Highways: total: 1,210 km paved: 63 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1999 est.)

Ports and harbors: Castries, Cul-de-Sac, Vieux-Fort

Airports: 2 (2004 est.)

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

Military Saint Lucia

Military branches: Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (includes Special Service Unit, Coast Guard)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA

Transnational Issues Saint Lucia

Disputes - international: joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea

Illicit drugs: transit point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005



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@Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Introduction Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Background: First settled by the French in the early 17th century, the islands represent the sole remaining vestige of France's once vast North American possessions.

Geography Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Location: Northern North America, islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland (Canada)

Geographic coordinates: 46 50 N, 56 20 W

Map references: North America

Area: total: 242 sq km land: 242 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes eight small islands in the Saint Pierre and the Miquelon groups

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

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 120 km

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

Climate: cold and wet, with much mist and fog; spring and autumn are windy

Terrain: mostly barren rock

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Morne de la Grande Montagne 240 m

Natural resources: fish, deepwater ports

Land use: arable land: 13.04% permanent crops: 0% other: 86.96% (2001)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: persistent fog throughout the year can be a maritime hazard

Environment - current issues: recent test drilling for oil in waters around Saint Pierre and Miquelon may bring future development that would impact the environment

Geography - note: vegetation scanty

People Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Population: 7,012 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 24% (male 861/female 825) 15-64 years: 65.3% (male 2,330/female 2,251) 65 years and over: 10.6% (male 335/female 410) (2005 est.)

Median age: total: 33.7 years male: 33.39 years female: 33.96 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.21% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 13.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: -4.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 7.54 deaths/1,000 live births male: 8.66 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.46 years male: 76.13 years female: 80.9 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.03 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women) adjective: French

Ethnic groups: Basques and Bretons (French fishermen)

Religions: Roman Catholic 99%

Languages: French (official)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1982 est.)

Government Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Country name: conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon conventional short form: Saint Pierre and Miquelon local long form: Departement de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon local short form: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon

Dependency status: self-governing territorial collectivity of France

Government type: NA

Capital: Saint-Pierre

Administrative divisions: none (territorial collectivity of France); note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are two communes - Saint Pierre, Miquelon at the second order

Independence: none (territorial collectivity of France; has been under French control since 1763)

National holiday: Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)

Constitution: 4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French law with special adaptations for local conditions, such as housing and taxation

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Albert DUPUY (since 10 January 2005) head of government: President of the General Council Marc PLANTAGENEST (since NA) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held, first round - 21 April 2002, second round - 5 May 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the General Council is elected by the members of the council

Legislative branch: unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats - 15 from Saint Pierre and 4 from Miquelon; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: elections last held 19 and 26 March 2000 (next to be held NA April 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PS 12, PRG 2, UDF-RPR 5 note: Saint Pierre and Miquelon elect 1 seat to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 1995 (next to be held NA September 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR 1; Saint Pierre and Miquelon also elects 1 seat to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UDF 1

Judicial branch: Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel

Political parties and leaders: Left Radical Party or PRG [leader NA]; Rassemblement pour la Republique or RPR (now UMP) [leader NA]; Socialist Party or PS [leader NA]; Union pour la Democratie Francaise or UDF [leader NA]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: UPU, WFTU

Diplomatic representation in the US: none (territorial collectivity of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US: none (territorial collectivity of France)

Flag description: a yellow sailing ship facing the hoist side rides on a dark blue background with yellow wavy lines under the ship; on the hoist side, a vertical band is divided into three parts: the top part (called ikkurina) is red with a green diagonal cross extending to the corners overlaid by a white cross dividing the rectangle into four sections; the middle part has a white background with an ermine pattern; the third part has a red background with two stylized yellow lions outlined in black, one above the other; these three heraldic arms represent settlement by colonists from the Basque Country (top), Brittany, and Normandy; the flag of France is used for official occasions

Economy Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Economy - overview: The inhabitants have traditionally earned their livelihood by fishing and by servicing fishing fleets operating off the coast of Newfoundland. The economy has been declining, however, because of disputes with Canada over fishing quotas and a steady decline in the number of ships stopping at Saint Pierre. In 1992, an arbitration panel awarded the islands an exclusive economic zone of 12,348 sq km to settle a longstanding territorial dispute with Canada, although it represents only 25% of what France had sought. The islands are heavily subsidized by France to the great betterment of living standards. The government hopes an expansion of tourism will boost economic prospects. Recent test drilling for oil may pave the way for development of the energy sector.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $48.3 million - supplemented by annual payments from France of about $60 million (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: NA%

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2001 est.)

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

Labor force: 3,261 (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: fishing 18%, industry (mainly fish-processing) 41%, services 41% (1996 est.)

Unemployment rate: 9.8% (1997)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.1% (1991-96 average)

Budget: revenues: $70 million expenditures: $60 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 est.)

Agriculture - products: vegetables; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish

Industries: fish processing and supply base for fishing fleets; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 43.08 million kWh (2002)

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

Electricity - consumption: 40.06 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)

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

Oil - consumption: 600 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports: NA

Oil - imports: NA

Exports: $10 million f.o.b. (2002)

Exports - commodities: fish and fish products, soybeans, animal feed, mollusks and crustaceans, fox and mink pelts

Exports - partners: Belgium 41.3%, US 19.9%, Spain 14.9%, France 10%, Germany 4.1% (2004)

Imports: $106 million f.o.b. (2002)

Imports - commodities: meat, clothing, fuel, electrical equipment, machinery, building materials

Imports - partners: France 37.6%, Canada 25.3%, Ireland 25.2%, Italy 5.1% (2004)

Debt - external: $NA

Economic aid - recipient: approximately $60 million in annual grants from France

Currency (code): euro (EUR)

Currency code: EUR

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Telephones - main lines in use: 4,800 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 0 (1994)

Telephone system: general assessment: adequate domestic: NA international: country code - 508; radiotelephone communication with most countries in the world; 1 earth station in French domestic satellite system

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios: 4,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 0 (there are, however, two repeaters which rebroadcast programs from France, Canada, and the US) (1997)

Televisions: 4,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .pm

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)

Internet users: NA

Transportation Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Highways: total: 114 km paved: 69 km unpaved: 45 km

Ports and harbors: Saint-Pierre

Airports: 2 (2004 est.)

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

Military Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005



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@Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Introduction Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Background: Disputed between France and the United Kingdom in the 18th century, Saint Vincent was ceded to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979.