Part 3 out of 39



pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 100%


_#_Environment: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt


_#_Note: 28 km north of Venezuela


_*_People
_#_Population: 64,052 (July 1991), growth rate 0.6% (1991)


_#_Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Net migration rate: - 4 migrants/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)


_#_Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 80 years female (1991)


_#_Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)


_#_Nationality: noun--Aruban(s); adjective--Aruban


_#_Ethnic divisions: mixed European/Caribbean Indian 80%


_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, also small Hindu,
Muslim, Confucian, and Jewish minority


_#_Language: Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese,
Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish


_#_Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)


_#_Labor force: NA, but most employment is in the tourist industry
(1986)


_#_Organized labor: Aruban Workers' Federation (FTA)


_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: none


_#_Type: part of the Dutch realm--full autonomy in internal affairs
obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles


_#_Capital: Oranjestad


_#_Administrative divisions: none (self-governing part of the
Netherlands)


_#_Independence: none (part of the Dutch realm); note--in 1990 Aruba
requested and received from the Netherlands cancellation of the
agreement to automatically give independence to the island in 1996


_#_Constitution: 1 January 1986


_#_Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English
common law influence


_#_National holiday: Flag Day, 18 March


_#_Executive branch: Dutch monarch, governor, prime minister, Council
of Ministers (cabinet)


_#_Legislative branch: unicameral legislature (Staten)


_#_Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice


_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April
1980), represented by Governor General Felipe B. TROMP (since 1 January
1986);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Nelson ODUBER (since NA February
1989)


_#_Political parties and leaders:
Electoral Movement Party (MEP), Nelson ODUBER;
Aruban People's Party (AVP), Henny EMAN;
National Democratic Action (ADN), Pedro Charro KELLY;
New Patriotic Party (PPN), Eddy WERLEMEN;
Aruban Patriotic Party (PPA), Leo CHANCE;
Aruban Democratic Party (PDA), Leo BERLINSKI;
Democratic Action '86 (AD'86), Arturo ODUBER;
governing coalition includes the MEP, PPA, and ADN


_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18


_#_Elections:

Legislature--last held 6 January 1989 (next to be held by January
1993);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(21 total) MEP 10, AVP 8, ADN 1, PPN 1, PPA 1


_#_Member of: ECLAC (associate), INTERPOL, IOC, UNESCO (associate),
WCL, WTO (associate)


_#_Diplomatic representation: none (self-governing part of the
Netherlands)


_#_Flag: blue with two narrow horizontal yellow stripes across the
lower portion and a red, four-pointed star outlined in white in the upper
hoist-side corner


_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Tourism is the mainstay of the economy, although
offshore banking and oil refining and storage are also important.
Hotel capacity expanded rapidly between 1985 and 1989 and nearly
doubled in 1990 alone. Unemployment has steadily declined from about
20% in 1986 to about 2% in 1990. The reopening of the local oil
refinery, once a major source of employment and foreign exchange
earnings, promises to give the economy an additional boost.


_#_GDP: $730 million, per capita $11,600; real growth rate 8.8%
(1989 est.)


_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.8% (1990 est.)


_#_Unemployment rate: 1.6% (1990 est.)


_#_Budget: revenues $145 million; expenditures $185 million, including
capital expenditures of $42 million (1988)


_#_Exports: $131.6 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);

commodities--mostly petroleum products;

partners--US 64%, EC


_#_Imports: $496 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);

commodities--food, consumer goods, manufactures;

partners--US 8%, EC


_#_External debt: $81 million (1987)


_#_Industrial production: growth rate NA


_#_Electricity: 310,000 kW capacity; 945 million kWh produced, 15,000
kWh per capita (1990)


_#_Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining


_#_Agriculture: poor quality soils and low rainfall limit agricultural
activity to the cultivation of aloes, some livestock, and fishing


_#_Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1980-1988), $200 million


_#_Currency: Aruban florin (plural--florins);
1 Aruban florin (Af.) = 100 cents


_#_Exchange rates: Aruban florins (Af.) per US$1--1.7900 (fixed rate
since 1986)


_#_Fiscal year: calendar year


_*_Communications
_#_Ports: Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas


_#_Airfield: government-owned airport east of Oranjestad


_#_Telecommunications: generally adequate; extensive interisland radio
relay links; 72,168 telephones; stations--4 AM, 4 FM, 1 TV; 1 sea cable
to Sint Maarten


_*_Defense Forces
_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of the Netherlands
_%_
_@_Ashmore and Cartier Islands
(territory of Australia)
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 5 km2; land area: 5 km2; includes Ashmore Reef (West,
Middle, and East Islets) and Cartier Island


_#_Comparative area: about 8.5 times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC


_#_Land boundaries: none


_#_Coastline: 74.1 km


_#_Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploration;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm


_#_Climate: tropical


_#_Terrain: low with sand and coral


_#_Natural resources: fish


_#_Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and
pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other--grass and sand 100%


_#_Environment: surrounded by shoals and reefs; Ashmore Reef National
Nature Reserve established in August 1983


_#_Note: located in extreme eastern Indian Ocean between Australia
and Indonesia 320 km off the northwest coast of Australia


_*_People
_#_Population: no permanent inhabitants; seasonal caretakers


_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands


_#_Type: territory of Australia administered by the Australian
Ministry for Territories and Local Government


_#_Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)


_#_Legal system: relevant laws of the Northern Territory of Australia


_#_Note: administered by the Australian Minister for Arts, Sports, the
Environment, Tourism, and Territories Roslyn KELLY


_#_Diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)


_*_Economy
_#_Overview: no economic activity


_*_Communications
_#_Ports: none; offshore anchorage only


_*_Defense Forces
_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic
visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force
_%_
_@_Atlantic Ocean
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 82,217,000 km2; includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea,
Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, Drake Passage, Gulf of
Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Weddell Sea, and
other tributary water bodies


_#_Comparative area: slightly less than nine times the size of the US;
second-largest of the world's four oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but
larger than Indian Ocean or Arctic Ocean)


_#_Coastline: 111,866 km


_#_Climate: tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of
Africa near Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea;
hurricanes can occur from May to December, but are most frequent from
August to November


_#_Terrain: surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea,
Denmark Strait, and Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm
water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the north Atlantic,
counterclockwise warm water gyre in the south Atlantic; the ocean floor
is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline
for the entire Atlantic basin; maximum depth is 8,605 meters in the
Puerto Rico Trench


_#_Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals
and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic
nodules, precious stones


_#_Environment: endangered marine species include the manatee, seals,
sea lions, turtles, and whales; municipal sludge pollution off eastern
US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean
Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea;
industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea,
and Mediterranean Sea; icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait,
and the northwestern Atlantic from February to August and have been
spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; icebergs from
Antarctica occur in the extreme southern Atlantic


_#_Note: ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north
Atlantic from October to May and extreme south Atlantic from May to
October; persistent fog can be a hazard to shipping from May to
September; major choke points include the Dardanelles, Strait of
Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits
include the Dover Strait, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound
(Oresund), and Windward Passage; north Atlantic shipping lanes subject
to icebergs from February to August; the Equator divides the Atlantic
Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean


_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Economic activity is limited to exploitation of natural
resources, especially fish, dredging aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and
crude oil and natural gas production (Caribbean Sea and North Sea).


_*_Communications
_#_Ports: Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers (Algeria), Antwerp (Belgium),
Barcelona (Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Casablanca (Morocco),
Colon (Panama), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dakar (Senegal), Gdansk (Poland),
Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain),
Le Havre (France), Saint Petersburg (formerly Leningrad; USSR), Lisbon
(Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Montevideo (Uruguay),
Montreal (Canada), Naples (Italy), New Orleans (US), New York (US), Oran
(Algeria), Oslo (Norway), Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil),
Rotterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden)


_#_Telecommunications: numerous submarine cables with most between
continental Europe and the UK, North America and the UK, and in the
Mediterranean; numerous direct links across Atlantic via INTELSAT
satellite network


_#_Note: Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important
waterways
_%_
_@_Australia
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 7,686,850 km2; land area: 7,617,930 km2; includes
Macquarie Island


_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than the US


_#_Land boundaries: none


_#_Coastline: 25,760 km


_#_Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm


_#_Disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica (Australian Antarctic
Territory)


_#_Climate: generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east;
tropical in north


_#_Terrain: mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in
southeast


_#_Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver,
uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural
gas, crude oil


_#_Land use: arable land 6%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 58%; forest and woodland 14%; other 22%; includes irrigated
NEGL%


_#_Environment: subject to severe droughts and floods; cyclones along
coast; limited freshwater availability; irrigated soil degradation;
regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as the doctor occurs
along west coast in summer; desertification


_#_Note: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country


_*_People
_#_Population: 17,288,044 (July 1991), growth rate 1.5% (1991)


_#_Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Net migration rate: 7 migrants/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)


_#_Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 80 years female (1991)


_#_Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)


_#_Nationality: noun--Australian(s); adjective--Australian


_#_Ethnic divisions: Caucasian 95%, Asian 4%, Aboriginal and other
1%


_#_Religion: Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26.0%, other Christian
24.3%


_#_Language: English, native languages


_#_Literacy: 100% (male 100%, female 100%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1980 est.)


_#_Labor force: 7,700,000; finance and services 33.8%, public and
community services 22.3%, wholesale and retail trade 20.1%, manufacturing
and industry 16.2%, agriculture 6.1% (1987)


_#_Organized labor: 42% of labor force (1988)


_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Commonwealth of Australia


_#_Type: federal parliamentary state


_#_Capital: Canberra


_#_Administrative divisions: 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian
Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland,
South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia


_#_Dependent areas: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island,
Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald
Islands, Norfolk Island


_#_Independence: 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)


_#_Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901


_#_Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations


_#_National holiday: Australia Day (last Monday in January), 29
January 1990


_#_Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime
minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet


_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Parliament consists of an
upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives


_#_Judicial branch: High Court


_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since February 1952),
represented by Governor General William George HAYDEN (since NA February
1989);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Robert James Lee HAWKE (since
11 March 1983); Deputy Prime Minister Paul KEATING (since 3 April 1990)


_#_Political parties and leaders:

government--Australian Labor Party, Robert James Lee HAWKE;

opposition--Liberal Party, John HEWSON;
National Party, Timothy FISCHER;
Australian Democratic Party, Janet POWELL


_#_Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18


_#_Elections:

Senate--last held 11 July 1987 (next to be held by July 1993);
results--Labor 43%, Liberal-National 42%, Australian Democrats 8%,
independents 2%;
seats--(76 total) Labor 32, Liberal-National 34, Australian
Democrats 7, independents 3;

House of Representatives--last held 24 March 1990 (next to be
held by November 1993);
results--Labor 39.7%, Liberal-National 43%, Australian Democrats
and independents 11.1%;
seats--(148 total) Labor 78, Liberal-National 69, independent 1


_#_Communists: 4,000 members (est.)


_#_Other political or pressure groups: Australian Democratic Labor
Party (anti-Communist Labor Party splinter group); Peace and Nuclear
Disarmament Action (Nuclear Disarmament Party splinter group)


_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), ANZUS, APEC, AsDB, BIS, C, CCC, CP,
EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, G-8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA,
IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NEA, OECD, PCA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIIMOG, UNTAG, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO


_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Michael J. COOK; Chancery at
1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202)
797-3000; there are Australian Consulates General in Chicago, Honolulu,
Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Pago Pago (American Samoa), and San
Francisco;

US--Ambassador Melvin F. SEMBLER; Moonah Place, Yarralumla,
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 (mailing address is APO San
Francisco 96404); telephone [61] (6) 270-5000; there are US Consulates
General in Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney, and a Consulate in Brisbane


_#_Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant
and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant; the
remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in
white with one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed
stars


_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist
economy, with a per capita GNP comparable to levels in industrialized
West European countries. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major
exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels.
Of the top 25 exports, 21 are primary products, so that, as happened
during 1983-84, a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big
impact on the economy. The government is pushing for increased exports
of manufactured goods but competition in international markets will be
severe.


_#_GDP: $255.9 billion, per capita $15,000; real growth rate 2.2%
(1990)


_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.9% (December 1990)


_#_Unemployment rate: 9.2% (March 1991)


_#_Budget: revenues $74.2 billion; expenditures $67.9 billion,
including capital expenditures of NA (FY90)


_#_Exports: $39.8 billion (f.o.b., FY90);

commodities--metals, minerals, coal, wool, cereals, meat,
manufacturers;

partners--Japan 26%, US 11%, NZ 6%, South Korea 4%, Singapore 4%,
UK, Taiwan, Hong Kong


_#_Imports: $42.0 billion (f.o.b., FY90);

commodities--manufactured raw materials, capital equipment,
consumer goods;

partners--US 24%, Japan 19%, UK 6%, FRG 7%, NZ 4% (1990)


_#_External debt: $123.7 billion (September 1990)


_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 1.8% (1990); accounts for
32% of GDP


_#_Electricity: 38,000,000 kW capacity; 150,000 million kWh produced,
8,860 kWh per capita (1990)


_#_Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food
processing, chemicals, steel, motor vehicles


_#_Agriculture: accounts for 5% of GNP and 37% of export revenues;
world's largest exporter of beef and wool, second-largest for mutton,
and among top wheat exporters; major crops--wheat, barley, sugarcane,
fruit; livestock--cattle, sheep, poultry


_#_Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $10.4
billion


_#_Currency: Australian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Australian dollar
($A) = 100 cents


_#_Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1--1.2834 (January
1991), 1.2799 (1990), 1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905
(1986), 1.4269 (1985)


_#_Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June


_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 40,478 km total; 7,970 km 1.600-meter gauge, 16,201 km
1.435-meter standard gauge, 16,307 km 1.067-meter gauge; 183 km dual
gauge; 1,130 km electrified; government owned (except for a few hundred
kilometers of privately owned track) (1985)


_#_Highways: 837,872 km total; 243,750 km paved, 228,396 km gravel,
crushed stone, or stabilized soil surface, 365,726 km unimproved earth


_#_Inland waterways: 8,368 km; mainly by small, shallow-draft craft


_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 2,500 km; refined products, 500 km; natural
gas, 5,600 km


_#_Ports: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport, Fremantle,
Geelong, Hobart, Launceston, Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville


_#_Merchant marine: 77 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,249,926
GRT/3,391,323 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 6 cargo, 6 container,
10 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 vehicle carrier, 16 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 4 liquefied gas, 1
combination ore/oil, 30 bulk


_#_Civil air: around 150 major transport aircraft


_#_Airports: 747 total, 524 usable; 270 with permanent-surface
runways, 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 17 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
401 with runways 1,220-2,439 m


_#_Telecommunications: good international and domestic service; 8.7
million telephones; stations--258 AM, 67 FM, 134 TV; submarine cables to
New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; domestic satellite service;
satellite stations--4 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 6 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT
earth stations


_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian
Air Force


_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 4,689,559; 4,090,921 fit for
military service; 135,435 reach military age (17) annually


_#_Defense expenditures: $6.6 billion, 2.2% of GDP (FY90)
_%_
_@_Austria
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 83,850 km2; land area: 82,730 km2


_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than Maine


_#_Land boundaries: 2,640 km total; Czechoslovakia 548 km,
Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 37 km,
Switzerland 164 km, Yugoslavia 311 km


_#_Coastline: none--landlocked


_#_Maritime claims: none--landlocked


_#_Climate: temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent
rain in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with occasional
showers


_#_Terrain: mostly mountains with Alps in west and south; mostly flat,
with gentle slopes along eastern and northern margins


_#_Natural resources: iron ore, crude oil, timber, magnesite,
aluminum, lead, coal, lignite, copper, hydropower


_#_Land use: arable land 17%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and
pastures 24%; forest and woodland 39%; other 19%; includes irrigated
NEGL%


_#_Environment: because of steep slopes, poor soils, and cold
temperatures, population is concentrated on eastern lowlands


_#_Note: landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of
central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys;
major river is the Danube


_*_People
_#_Population: 7,665,804 (July 1991), growth rate 0.3% (1991)


_#_Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Infant mortality rate: 5 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)


_#_Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1991)


_#_Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1991)


_#_Nationality: noun--Austrian(s); adjective--Austrian


_#_Ethnic divisions: German 99.4%, Croatian 0.3%, Slovene 0.2%,
other 0.1%


_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 6%, other 9%


_#_Language: German


_#_Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1974 est.)


_#_Labor force: 3,470,000 (1989); services 56.4%, industry and crafts
35.4%, agriculture and forestry 8.1%; an estimated 200,000 Austrians are
employed in other European countries; foreign laborers in Austria number
177,840, about 6% of labor force (1988)


_#_Organized labor: 60.1% of work force; the Austrian Trade Union
Federation has 1,644,408 members (1989)


_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of Austria


_#_Type: federal republic


_#_Capital: Vienna


_#_Administrative divisions: 9 states (bundeslander,
singular--bundesland); Burgenland, Karnten, Niederosterreich,
Oberosterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien


_#_Independence: 12 November 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)


_#_Constitution: 1920, revised 1929 (reinstated 1945)


_#_Legal system: civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial
review of legislative acts by a Constitutional Court; separate
administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction


_#_National holiday: National Day, 26 October (1955)


_#_Executive branch: president, chancellor, vice chancellor, Council
of Ministers (cabinet)


_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung)
consists of an upper council or Federal Council (Bundesrat) and a lower
council or National Council (Nationalrat)


_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) for
civil and criminal cases, Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof)
for bureaucratic cases, Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) for
constitutional cases


_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--President Kurt WALDHEIM (since 8 July 1986);

Head of Government--Chancellor Franz VRANITZKY (since 16 June
1986); Vice Chancellor Josef RIEGLER (since 19 May 1989)


_#_Political parties and leaders:
Socialist Party of Austria (SPO), Franz VRANITZKY, chairman;
Austrian People's Party (OVP), Josef RIEGLER, chairman;
Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), Jorg HAIDER, chairman;
Communist Party (KPO), Franz MUHRI, chairman;
Green Alternative List (GAL), Andreas WABL, chairman


_#_Suffrage: universal at age 19; compulsory for presidential
elections


_#_Elections:

President--last held 8 June 1986 (next to be held May 1992);
results of Second Ballot--Dr. Kurt WALDHEIM 53.89%, Dr. Kurt STEYRER
46.11%;

National Council--last held 7 October 1990 (next to be
held October 1994);
results--SP0 43%, OVP 32.1%, FPO 16.6%, GAL 4.5%, KPO 0.7%,
other 0.32%;
seats--(183 total) SP0 80, OVP 60, FP0 33, GAL 10


_#_Communists: membership 15,000 est.; activists 7,000-8,000


_#_Other political or pressure groups: Federal Chamber of Commerce and
Industry; Austrian Trade Union Federation (primarily Socialist); three
composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party (OVP) representing
business, labor, and farmers; OVP-oriented League of Austrian
Industrialists; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay
organization, Catholic Action


_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, CSCE,
EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-9, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO,
ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNDOF, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO


_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Friedrich HOESS; Embassy at
2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
483-4474; there are Austrian Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles,
and New York;

US--Ambassador Roy Michael HUFFINGTON; Embassy at Boltzmanngasse
16, A-1091, Vienna (mailing address is APO New York 09108-0001);
telephone [43] (222) 31-55-11; there is a US Consulate General in Salzburg


_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red


_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Austria boasts a prosperous and stable capitalist
economy with a sizable proportion of nationalized industry and extensive
welfare benefits. Thanks to an excellent raw material endowment, a
technically skilled labor force, and strong links to West German
industrial firms, Austria has successfully occupied specialized niches
in European industry and services (tourism, banking) and produces almost
enough food to feed itself with only 8% of the labor force in
agriculture. Improved export prospects from German unification
and the opening of Eastern Europe will also boost the economy during
the next few years. Living standards are roughly comparable with the
large industrial countries of Western Europe. Problems for the l990s
include an aging population, the high level of subsidies, and the
struggle to keep welfare benefits within budget capabilities. Austria,
which has applied for EC membership, is currently involved in EC and
European Free Trade Association negotiations for a European Economic
Area and will have to adapt its economy to achieve freer movement of
goods, services, capital, and labor with the EC.


_#_GDP: $111.0 billion, per capita $14,500; real growth rate 4.5%
(1990)


_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.3% (1990)


_#_Unemployment: 5.4% (1990)


_#_Budget: revenues $44.1 billion; expenditures $49.6 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)


_#_Exports: $40.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990);

commodities--machinery and equipment, iron and steel, lumber,
textiles, paper products, chemicals;

partners--EC 64.8%, EFTA 10.3%, CEMA 7.7%, US 3.2%, Japan 1.5%


_#_Imports: $46.6 billion (c.i.f., 1990);

commodities--petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment,
vehicles, chemicals, textiles and clothing, pharmaceuticals;

partners--EC 68.4%, EFTA 7%, CEMA 5.7%, Japan 4.6%, US 3.6%


_#_External debt: $11.8 billion (1990 est.)


_#_Industrial production: real growth rate 8.5% (1990); accounts
for 34% of GDP


_#_Electricity: 17,562,000 kW capacity; 49,290 million kWh produced,
6,500 kWh per capita (1989)


_#_Industries: foods, iron and steel, machines, textiles, chemicals,
electrical, paper and pulp, tourism, mining


_#_Agriculture: accounts for 3.2% of GDP (including forestry);
principal crops and animals--grains, fruit, potatoes, sugar beets,
sawn wood, cattle, pigs poultry; 80-90% self-sufficient in food


_#_Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $2.4
billion


_#_Currency: Austrian schilling (plural--schillings); 1 Austrian
schilling (S) = 100 groschen


_#_Exchange rates: Austrian schillings (S) per US$1--10.627 (January
1991), 11.370 (1990), 13.231 (1989), 12.348 (1988), 12.643 (1987), 15.267
(1986), 20.690 (1985)


_#_Fiscal year: calendar year


_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 6,028 km total; 5,388 km government owned and 640 km
privately owned (1.435- and 1.000-meter gauge); 5,403 km 1.435-meter
standard gauge of which 3,051 km is electrified and 1,520 km is double
tracked; 363 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge of which 91 km is electrified


_#_Highways: 95,412 km total; 34,612 are the primary network
(including 1,012 km of autobahn, 10,400 km of federal, and 23,200 km of
provincial roads); of this number, 21,812 km are paved and 12,800 km are
unpaved; in addition, there are 60,800 km of communal roads (mostly
gravel, crushed stone, earth)


_#_Inland waterways: 446 km


_#_Ports: Vienna, Linz (river ports)


_#_Merchant marine: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
150,735 GRT/252,237 DWT; includes 26 cargo, 1 container, 1 chemical
tanker, 4 bulk


_#_Pipelines: 554 km crude oil; 2,611 km natural gas; 171 km refined
products


_#_Civil air: 25 major transport aircraft


_#_Airports: 55 total, 54 usable; 20 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m


_#_Telecommunications: highly developed and efficient; 4,014,000
telephones; extensive TV and radiobroadcast systems; stations--6 AM, 21
(545 repeaters) FM, 47 (870 repeaters) TV; satellite stations operating
in INTELSAT 1 Atlantic Ocean earth station and 1 Indian Ocean earth
station and EUTELSAT systems


_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Flying Division, Gendarmerie


_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,957,414; 1,646,179 fit for
military service; 48,038 reach military age (19) annually


_#_Defense expenditures: $1.4 billion, 1% of GDP (1990)
_%_
_@_The Bahamas
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 13,940 km2; land area: 10,070 km2


_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Connecticut


_#_Land boundaries: none


_#_Coastline: 3,542 km


_#_Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 3 nm


_#_Climate: tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream


_#_Terrain: long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills


_#_Natural resources: salt, aragonite, timber


_#_Land use: arable land 1%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures NEGL%; forest and woodland 32%; other 67%


_#_Environment: subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms
that cause extensive flood damage


_#_Note: strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island
chain


_*_People
_#_Population: 252,110 (July 1991), growth rate 1.4% (1991)


_#_Birth rate: 19 births/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Infant mortality rate: 18 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)


_#_Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 76 years female (1991)


_#_Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (1991)


_#_Nationality: noun--Bahamian(s); adjective--Bahamian


_#_Ethnic divisions: black 85%, white 15%


_#_Religion: Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%,
Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown
3%, other 2% (1980)


_#_Language: English; some Creole among Haitian immigrants


_#_Literacy: 90% (male 90%, female 89%) age 15 and over but
definition of literacy not available (1963 est.)


_#_Labor force: 132,600; government 30%, hotels and restaurants 25%,
business services 10%, agriculture 5% (1986)


_#_Organized labor: 25% of labor force


_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: The Commonwealth of The Bahamas


_#_Type: commonwealth


_#_Capital: Nassau


_#_Administrative divisions: 21 districts; Abaco, Acklins Island,
Andros Island, Berry Islands, Biminis, Cat Island, Cay Lobos, Crooked
Island, Eleuthera, Exuma, Grand Bahama, Harbour Island, Inagua, Long Cay,
Long Island, Mayaguana, New Providence, Ragged Island, Rum Cay, San
Salvador, Spanish Wells


_#_Independence: 10 July 1973 (from UK)


_#_Constitution: 10 July 1973


_#_Legal system: based on English common law


_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 10 July (1973)


_#_Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime
minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet


_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house
or Senate and a lower house or House of Assembly


_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court


_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Acting Governor General Sir Henry TAYLOR (since 26 June
1988);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Sir Lynden Oscar PINDLING (since
16 January 1967)


_#_Political parties and leaders:
Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), Sir Lynden O. PINDLING;
Free National Movement (FNM), Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM


_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18


_#_Elections:

House of Assembly--last held 19 June 1987 (next to be held
by June 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(49 total) PLP 32, FNM 17


_#_Communists: none known


_#_Other political or pressure groups: Vanguard Nationalist and
Socialist Party (VNSP), a small leftist party headed by Lionel CAREY;
Trade Union Congress (TUC), headed by Arlington MILLER


_#_Member of: ACP, C, CCC, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU,
LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO


_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Margaret E. McDONALD;
Chancery at Suite 865, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037;
telephone (202) 944-3390; there are Bahamian Consulates General in Miami
and New York;

US--Ambassador Chic HECHT; Embassy at Mosmar Building,
Queen Street, Nassau (mailing address is P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau);
telephone (809) 322-1181 or 328-2206


_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and
aquamarine with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side


_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The Bahamas is a stable, middle-income developing nation
whose economy is based primarily on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism
alone provides about 50% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs about
50,000 people or 40% of the local work force. The economy has slackened
in recent years, as the annual increase in the number of tourists slowed.
Nonetheless, the per capita GDP of $9,800 is one of the highest in the
region.


_#_GDP: $2.4 billion, per capita $9,800; real growth rate 2.0%
(1989 est.)


_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.1% (1990 est.)


_#_Unemployment: 11.7% (1989)


_#_Budget: revenues $1.03 billion; expenditures $1.1 billion,
including capital expenditures of $275 million (1990)


_#_Exports: $300 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);

commodities--pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish;

partners--US 41%, Norway 30%, Denmark 4%


_#_Imports: $1.23 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);

commodities--foodstuffs, manufactured goods, mineral fuels;

partners--US 35%, Nigeria 21%, Japan 13%, Angola 11%


_#_External debt: $1.2 billion (December 1990)


_#_Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for 15% of GDP


_#_Electricity: 368,000 kW capacity; 857 million kWh produced,
3,480 kWh per capita (1990)


_#_Industries: tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and
transshipment, salt production, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral
weld, steel pipe


_#_Agriculture: accounts for less than 5% of GDP; dominated by
small-scale producers; principal products--citrus fruit, vegetables,
poultry; large net importer of food


_#_Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine


_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY85-88), $1.0
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $345 million


_#_Currency: Bahamian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Bahamian dollar
(B$) = 100 cents


_#_Exchange rates: Bahamian dollar (B$) per US$1--1.00 (fixed rate)


_#_Fiscal year: calendar year


_*_Communications
_#_Highways: 2,400 km total; 1,350 km paved, 1,050 km gravel


_#_Ports: Freeport, Nassau


_#_Merchant marine: 636 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,266,066
GRT/23,585,465 DWT; includes 42 passenger, 16 short-sea passenger, 190
cargo, 41 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 23 container, 5 car carrier,
1 railroad carrier, 141 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 8
liquefied gas, 15 combination ore/oil, 33 chemical tanker, 1 specialized
tanker, 112 bulk, 8 combination bulk; note--a flag of convenience
registry


_#_Civil air: 9 major transport aircraft


_#_Airports: 59 total, 57 usable; 31 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 25 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m


_#_Telecommunications: highly developed; 99,000 telephones in totally
automatic system; tropospheric scatter and submarine cable links to
Florida; stations--3 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 3 coaxial submarine cables; 1
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station


_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Royal Bahamas Defense Force (a coast guard element only),
Royal Bahamas Police Force


_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 68,020; NA fit for military
service


_#_Defense expenditures: $65 million, 2.7% of GDP (1990)
_%_
_@_Bahrain
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 620 km2; land area: 620 km2


_#_Comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of
Washington, DC


_#_Land boundaries: none


_#_Coastline: 161 km


_#_Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: not specific;

Territorial sea: 3 nm


_#_Disputes: territorial dispute with Qatar over the Hawar Islands


_#_Climate: arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers


_#_Terrain: mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central
escarpment


_#_Natural resources: oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas,
fish


_#_Land use: arable land 2%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures
6%; forest and woodland 0%; other 90%, includes irrigated NEGL%


_#_Environment: subsurface water sources being rapidly depleted
(requires development of desalination facilities); dust storms;
desertification


_#_Note: close to primary Middle Eastern crude oil sources;
strategic location in Persian Gulf through which much of Western
world's crude oil must transit to reach open ocean


_*_People
_#_Population: 536,974 (July 1991), growth rate 3.2% (1991)


_#_Birth rate: 27 births/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Death rate: 3 deaths/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Net migration rate: 7 migrants/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Infant mortality rate: 17 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)


_#_Life expectancy at birth: 71 years male, 76 years female (1991)


_#_Total fertility rate: 4.0 children born/woman (1991)


_#_Nationality: noun--Bahraini(s); adjective--Bahraini


_#_Ethnic divisions: Bahraini 63%, Asian 13%, other Arab 10%,
Iranian 8%, other 6%


_#_Religion: Muslim (Shia 70%, Sunni 30%)


_#_Language: Arabic (official); English also widely spoken; Farsi,
Urdu


_#_Literacy: 77% (male 82%, female 69%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)


_#_Labor force: 140,000; 42% of labor force is Bahraini; industry
and commerce 85%, agriculture 5%, services 5%, government 3% (1982)


_#_Organized labor: General Committee for Bahrain Workers exists in
only eight major designated companies


_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: State of Bahrain


_#_Type: traditional monarchy


_#_Capital: Manama


_#_Administrative divisions: 12 municipalities (baladiyat,
singular--baladiyah); Al Hadd, Al Manamah,
Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Mintaqah al Wusta,
Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq,
Ar Rifa wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs,
Madinat Hamad, Madinat Isa, Mintaqat Juzur Hawar,
Sitrah


_#_Independence: 15 August 1971 (from UK)


_#_Constitution: 26 May 1973, effective 6 December 1973


_#_Legal system: based on Islamic law and English common law


_#_National holiday: National Day, 16 December


_#_Executive branch: amir, crown prince and heir apparent, prime
minister, Cabinet


_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly was dissolved
26 August 1975 and legislative powers were assumed by the Cabinet


_#_Judicial branch: High Civil Appeals Court


_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--Amir Isa bin Salman Al KHALIFA (since
2 November 1961); Heir Apparent Hamad bin Isa Al KHALIFA (son of Amir;
born 28 January 1950);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al KHALIFA,
(since 19 January 1970)


_#_Political parties and pressure groups: political parties
prohibited; several small, clandestine leftist and Shia fundamentalist
groups are active


_#_Suffrage: none


_#_Elections: none


_#_Communists: negligible


_#_Member of: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD,
ICAO, IDB, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent),
ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
WMO


_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ghazi Muhammad AL-QUSAYBI;
Chancery at 3502 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
(202) 342-0741 or 342-0742; there is a Bahraini Consulate General in
New York;

US--Ambassador Dr. Charles W. HOSTLER; Embassy at Building
No. 979, Road No. 3119, Block/Area 331, Manama ZINJ (mailing address is
P. O. 26431, Manama, or FPO New York 09526-6210); telephone [973]
273-300 or 275-126


_#_Flag: red with a white serrated band (eight white points) on the
hoist side


_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Petroleum production and processing account for
about 85% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 20% of GDP.
Economic conditions have fluctuated with the changing fortunes of oil
since 1985, including the Gulf crisis of 1990-91. The liberation of
Kuwait in early 1991 has improved short- to medium-term prospects and
has raised investors' confidence. Bahrain with its highly developed
communication and transport facilities is home to numerous
multinational firms with business in the Gulf.


_#_GDP: $3.9 billion, per capita $7,500; real growth rate 2.5%
(1990 est.)


_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1989)


_#_Unemployment: 8-10% (1989)


_#_Budget: revenues $1.2 billion; expenditures $1.32 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)


_#_Exports: $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);

commodities--petroleum 80%, aluminum 7%, other 13%;

partners--UAE, Japan, US, India


_#_Imports: $3.0 billion (f.o.b., 1989);

commodities--nonoil 59%, crude oil 41%;

partners--Saudi Arabia, Japan, US, UK


_#_External debt: $1.1 billion (December 1989 est.)


_#_Industrial production: growth rate 3.8% (1988); accounts for
44% of GDP


_#_Electricity: 1,652,000 kW capacity; 6,000 million kWh produced,
12,080 kWh per capita (1989)


_#_Industries: petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting,
offshore banking, ship repairing


_#_Agriculture: including fishing, accounts for less than 2% of GDP;
not self-sufficient in food production; heavily subsidized sector
produces fruit, vegetables, poultry, dairy products, shrimp, and fish;
fish catch 9,000 metric tons in 1987


_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-79), $24
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $35 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.8 billion


_#_Currency: Bahraini dinar (plural--dinars); 1 Bahraini dinar
(BD) = 1,000 fils


_#_Exchange rates: Bahraini dinars (BD) per US$1--0.3760 (fixed rate)


_#_Fiscal year: calendar year


_*_Communications
_#_Highways: 200 km bituminous surfaced, including 25 km
bridge-causeway to Saudi Arabia opened in November 1986; NA km
natural surface tracks


_#_Ports: Mina Salman, Manama, Sitrah


_#_Merchant marine: 4 cargo and 2 container (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 114,733 GRT/155,065 DWT


_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 56 km; refined products, 16 km; natural gas,
32 km


_#_Civil air: 24 major transport aircraft


_#_Airports: 3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; 2
with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m


_#_Telecommunications: excellent international telecommunications;
adequate domestic services; 98,000 telephones; stations--2 AM, 1 FM,
2 TV; satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean
INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT; tropospheric scatter and microwave to Qatar, UAE,
Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar and UAE


_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense, Police Force


_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 187,606; 104,285 fit for
military service


_#_Defense expenditures: $194 million, 6% of GDP (1990)
_%_
_@_Baker Island
(territory of the US)
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 1.4 km2; land area: 1.4 km2


_#_Comparative area: about 2.3 times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC


_#_Land boundaries: none


_#_Coastline: 4.8 km


_#_Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m (depth);

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm


_#_Climate: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun


_#_Terrain: low, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow
fringing reef


_#_Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until 1891)


_#_Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures
0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 100%


_#_Environment: treeless, sparse and scattered vegetation consisting
of grasses, prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; lacks fresh water;
primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds,
shorebirds, and marine wildlife


_#_Note: remote location 2,575 km southwest of Honolulu in the North
Pacific Ocean, just north of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii
and Australia


_*_People
_#_Population: uninhabited


_#_Note: American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and
naval attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during World
War II, but abandoned after the war; public entry is by special-use
permit only and generally restricted to scientists and educators; a
cemetery and cemetery ruins located near the middle of the west coast


_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: none


_#_Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the Fish
and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the
National Wildlife Refuge system


_*_Economy
_#_Overview: no economic activity


_*_Communications
_#_Ports: none; offshore anchorage only, one boat landing area along
the middle of the west coast


_#_Airports: 1 abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m


_#_Note: there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast


_*_Defense Forces
_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by
the US Coast Guard
_%_
_@_Bangladesh
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 144,000 km2; land area: 133,910 km2


_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than Wisconsin


_#_Land boundaries: 4,246 km total; Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km


_#_Coastline: 580 km


_#_Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 18 nm;

Continental shelf: up to outer limits of continental margin;

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm


_#_Disputes: a portion of the boundary with India is in dispute;
water sharing problems with upstream riparian India over the Ganges


_#_Climate: tropical; cool, dry winter (October to March); hot, humid
summer (March to June); cool, rainy monsoon (June to October)


_#_Terrain: mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast


_#_Natural resources: natural gas, uranium, arable land, timber


_#_Land use: arable land 67%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and
pastures 4%; forest and woodland 16%; other 11%; includes irrigated
14%


_#_Environment: vulnerable to droughts; much of country routinely
flooded during summer monsoon season; overpopulation; deforestation


_#_Note: almost completely surrounded by India


_*_People
_#_Population: 116,601,424 (July 1991), growth rate 2.3% (1991)


_#_Birth rate: 36 births/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)


_#_Infant mortality rate: 118 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)


_#_Life expectancy at birth: 54 years male, 52 years female (1991)


_#_Total fertility rate: 4.7 children born/woman (1991)


_#_Nationality: noun--Bangladeshi(s); adjective--Bangladesh


_#_Ethnic divisions: Bengali 98%, Biharis 250,000, and tribals less
than 1 million


_#_Religion: Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, Buddhist, Christian, and other
less than 1%


_#_Language: Bangla (official), English widely used


_#_Literacy: 35% (male 47%, female 22%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)


_#_Labor force: 35,100,000; agriculture 74%, services 15%, industry
and commerce 11% (FY86); extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, UAE,
and Oman (1991)


_#_Organized labor: 3% of labor force belongs to 2,614 registered
unions (1986 est.)


_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: People's Republic of Bangladesh


_#_Type: republic


_#_Capital: Dhaka


_#_Administrative divisions: 64 districts (zillagulo,
singular--zilla); Bagerhat, Bandarban, Barguna, Barisal,
Bhola, Bogra, Brahmanbaria, Chandpur, Chapai Nawabganj,
Chattagram, Chuadanga, Comilla, Cox's Bazar, Dhaka,
Dinajpur, Faridpur, Feni, Gaibandha, Gazipur, Gopalganj,
Habiganj, Jaipurhat, Jamalpur, Jessore, Jhalakati, Jhenaidah,
Khagrachari, Khulna, Kishorganj, Kurigram, Kushtia, Laksmipur,
Lalmonirhat, Madaripur, Magura, Manikganj, Meherpur,
Moulavibazar, Munshiganj, Mymensingh, Naogaon, Narail,
Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Nator, Netrakona, Nilphamari,
Noakhali, Pabna, Panchagar, Parbattya Chattagram,
Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Rajbari, Rajshahi, Rangpur,
Satkhira, Shariyatpur, Sherpur, Sirajganj, Sunamganj, Sylhet,
Tangail, Thakurgaon


_#_Independence: 16 December 1971 (from Pakistan; formerly East
Pakistan)


_#_Constitution: 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972,
suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986,
amended NA March 1991


_#_Legal system: based on English common law


_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 26 March (1971)


_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet


_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament (Jatiya Sangsad)


_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court


_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--President Abdur Rahman BISWAS (since
8 October 1991)

Head of Government--Prime Minister Khaleda ZIAUR Rahman
(since 20 March 1991)


_#_Political parties and leaders:
Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Khaleda ZIAUR Rahman;
Awami League, Sheikh Hasina WAZED;
Jatiyo Party, Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD;
Jamaat-E-Islami, Ali KHAN;
Bangladesh Communist Party (pro-Soviet), Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK;
National Awami Party (Muzaffar);
Workers Party, leader NA;
Jatiyo Samajtantik Dal (National Socialist Party--SIRAJ), M. A. JALIL;
Ganotantri Party, leader NA;
Islami Oikya Jote, leader NA;
National Democratic Party, leader NA;
Muslim League, Khan A. SABUR;
Democratic League, Khondakar MUSHTAQUE Ahmed;
United People's Party, Kazi ZAFAR Ahmed


_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18


_#_Elections:

President--last held 8 October 1991 (next to be held by October
1996);
results--Abdur Rahman BISWAS received 52.1% of parliamentary vote

National Parliament--last held 27 February 1991 (next to be held
February 1996); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(330 total, 300 elected and 30 seats reserved for women)
BNP 168, AL 93, JP 35, JI 20, CBP 5, National Awami Party (Muzaffar) 1,
Workers Party 1, SIRAJ 1, Ganotantri Party 1, Islami Oikya Jote 1,
NDP 1, independents 3


_#_Communists: 5,000 members (1987 est.)


_#_Member of: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG,
UPU, WHO, WFTU, WIPO, WCL, WMO, WTO


_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador A. H. S. Ataul KARIM;
Chancery at 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington DC 20007; telephone
(202) 342-8372 through 8376; there is a Bangladesh Consulate General in
New York;

US--Ambassador William B. MILAM; Embassy at Diplomatic
Enclave, Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka (mailing address


 


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