The 1995 CIA World Factbook

Part 21 out of 45



to push ahead with privatization, including in the oil industry, but
the government will move slowly on this front.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $30.7 billion (1994
est.)

National product real growth rate: 9.3% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $16,900 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1993)

Unemployment rate: NEGL% (1992 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $9 billion
expenditures: $13 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(FY92/93)

Exports: $10.5 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: oil
partners: France 16%, Italy 15%, Japan 12%, UK 11%

Imports: $6.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: food, construction materials, vehicles and parts,
clothing
partners: US 35%, Japan 12%, UK 9%, Canada 9%

External debt: $7.2 billion (December 1989 est.)
note: external debt has grown substantially in 1991 and 1992 to pay
for restoration of war damage

Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for NA% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 7,070,000 kW
production: 11 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 6,007 kWh (1993)

Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing,
building materials, salt, construction

Agriculture: practically none; extensive fishing in territorial waters
and Indian Ocean

Economic aid:
donor: pledged bilateral aid to less developed countries (1979-89),
$18.3 billion

Currency: 1 Kuwaiti dinar (KD) = 1,000 fils

Exchange rates: Kuwaiti dinars (KD) per US$1 - 0.2991 (January 1995),
0.2976 (1994), 0.3017 (1993), 0.2934 (1992), 0.2843 (1991), 0.2915
(1990)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

@Kuwait:Transportation

Railroads: 0 km

Highways:
total: 4,270 km
paved: bituminous 3,370 km
unpaved: gravel, sand, earth 900 km (est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 877 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 165
km

Ports: Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al
Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud

Merchant marine:
total: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,202,558 GRT/3,618,527
DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, container 3, liquefied gas tanker 7, livestock
carrier 4, oil tanker 24

Airports:
total: 8
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 3
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 2
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1

@Kuwait:Communications

Telephone system: NA telephones; civil network suffered extensive
damage as a result of the Gulf war and reconstruction is still under
way with some restored international and domestic capabilities
local: NA
intercity: NA
international: earth stations destroyed during Gulf war and not
rebuilt yet; temporary mobile satellite antennae provide international
telecommunications; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi
Arabia; service to Iraq is nonoperational

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0
radios: NA

Television:
broadcast stations: 3
televisions: NA

@Kuwait:Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, National Guard

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 610,205; males fit for military
service 363,735; males reach military age (18) annually 16,170 (1995
est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.4 billion, 13.3%
of GDP (1995)


________________________________________________________________________

KYRGYZSTAN

@Kyrgyzstan:Geography

Location: Central Asia, west of China

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian
States

Area:
total area: 198,500 sq km
land area: 191,300 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than South Dakota

Land boundaries: total 3,878 km, China 858 km, Kazakhstan 1,051 km,
Tajikistan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,099 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none; landlocked

International disputes: territorial dispute with Tajikistan on
southwestern boundary in Isfara Valley area

Climate: dry continental to polar in high Tien Shan; subtropical in
southwest (Fergana Valley); temperate in northern foothill zone

Terrain: peaks of Tien Shan rise to 7,000 meters, and associated
valleys and basins encompass entire nation

Natural resources: abundant hydroelectric potential; significant
deposits of gold and rare earth metals; locally exploitable coal, oil
and natural gas; other deposits of nepheline, mercury, bismuth, lead,
and zinc

Land use:
arable land: 7%
permanent crops: NEGL%
meadows and pastures: 42%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 51%

Irrigated land: 10,320 sq km (1990)

Environment:
current issues: water pollution; many people get their water directly
from contaminated streams and wells, as a result, water-borne diseases
are prevalent; increasing soil salinity from faulty irrigation
practices
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: NA

Note: landlocked

@Kyrgyzstan:People

Population: 4,769,877 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 37% (female 868,108; male 888,479)
15-64 years: 57% (female 1,377,221; male 1,345,990)
65 years and over: 6% (female 185,807; male 104,272) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.5% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 25.97 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 7.32 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 45.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.13 years
male: 63.92 years
female: 72.56 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.31 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Kyrgyz(s)
adjective: Kyrgyz

Ethnic divisions: Kirghiz 52.4%, Russian 21.5%, Uzbek 12.9%, Ukrainian
2.5%, German 2.4%, other 8.3%

Religions: Muslim 70%, Russian Orthodox NA%

Languages: Kirghiz (Kyrgyz) - official language, Russian widely used

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989)
total population: 97%
male: 99%
female: 96%

Labor force: 1.836 million
by occupation: agriculture and forestry 38%, industry and construction
21%, other 41% (1990)

@Kyrgyzstan:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Kyrgyz Republic
conventional short form: Kyrgyzstan
local long form: Kyrgyz Respublikasy
local short form: none
former: Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic

Digraph: KG

Type: republic

Capital: Bishkek

Administrative divisions: 6 oblasttar (singular - oblast) and 1 city*
(singular - shaar); Bishkek Shaary*, Chuy Oblasty (Bishkek),
Jalal-Abad Oblasty, Naryn Oblasty, Osh Oblasty, Talas Oblasty,
Ysyk-Kol Oblasty (Karakol)
note: names in parentheses are administrative centers when name
differs from oblast name

Independence: 31 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: National Day, 2 December; Independence Day, 31
August (1991)

Constitution: adopted 5 May 1993

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Askar AKAYEV (since 28 October 1990);
election last held 12 October 1991 (next to be held NA 1996); results
- Askar AKAYEV won in uncontested election with 95% of vote and with
90% of electorate voting; note - president elected by Supreme Soviet
28 October 1990, then by popular vote 12 October 1991; AKAYEV won 96%
of the vote in a referendum on his status as president on 30 January
1994
head of government: Prime Minister Apas DJUMAGULOV (since NA December
1993)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers; subordinate to the president

Legislative branch: bicameral
Assembly of Legislatures: elections last held 5 February 1995 (next to
be held no later than NA 1998); 35-member house to which 19 members
have been elected so far; next round of runoffs scheduled for 19 April
1995
Assembly of Representatives: elections last held 5 February 1995 (next
to be held no later than NA 1998); 70-member house to which 60 members
have been elected so far; next round of runoffs scheduled for 19 April
1995
note: the legislature became bicameral for the 5 February 1995
elections

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party (SDP), Ishenbai
KADYRBEKOV, chairman; Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan (DMK), Kazat
AKHMATOV, chairman; National Unity, German KUZNETSOV; Communist Party
of Kyrgyzstan (PCK), Sherali SYDYKOV, chairman; Democratic Movement of
Free Kyrgyzstan (ErK), Topchubek TURGUNALIYEV, chairman; Republican
Popular Party of Kyrgyzstan; Agrarian Party of Kyrgyzstan, A. ALIYEV

Other political or pressure groups: National Unity Democratic
Movement; Peasant Party; Council of Free Trade Unions; Union of
Entrepreneurs; Agrarian Party

Member of: AsDB, CIS, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, OIC, OSCE,
PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Almas CHUKIN
chancery: (temporary) Suite 705, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC
20005
telephone: [1] (202) 347-3732, 3733, 3718
FAX: [1] (202) 347-3718

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Eileen A. MALLOY
embassy: Erkindik Prospekt #66, Bishkek 720002
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [7] (3312) 22-29-20, 22-27-77, 22-26-31, 22-24-73
FAX: [7] (3312) 22-35-51

Flag: red field with a yellow sun in the center having 40 rays
representing the 40 Kirghiz tribes; on the obverse side the rays run
counterclockwise, on the reverse, clockwise; in the center of the sun
is a red ring crossed by two sets of three lines, a stylized
representation of the roof of the traditional Kirghiz yurt

@Kyrgyzstan:Economy

Overview: Kyrgyzstan is one of the smallest and poorest states of the
former Soviet Union. Its economy is heavily agricultural, growing
cotton and tobacco on irrigated land in the south and grain in the
foothills of the north and raising sheep and goats on mountain
pastures. Its small and obsolescent industrial sector, concentrated
around Bishkek, has traditionally relied on Russia and other CIS
countries for customers and industrial inputs, including most of its
fuel. Since 1990, the economy has contracted by almost 50% as
subsidies from Moscow vanished and trade links with other former
Soviet republics eroded. At the same time, the Kyrgyz government stuck
to tight monetary and fiscal policies in 1994 that succeeded in
reducing inflation from 23% per month in 1993 to 5.4% per month in
1994. Moreover, Kyrgyzstan has been the most successful of the Central
Asian states in reducing state controls over the economy and
privatizing state industries. Nevertheless, restructuring proved to be
a slow and painful process in 1994 despite relatively large flows of
foreign aid and continued progress on economic reform. The decline in
output in 1995 may be much smaller, perhaps 5%, compared with an
estimated 24% in 1994.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $8.4 billion (1994
estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)

National product real growth rate: -24% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $1,790 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.4% per month (1994 est.)

Unemployment rate: 0.7% includes officially registered unemployed;
also large numbers of unregistered unemployed and underemployed
workers (1994)

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Exports: $116 million to countries outside the FSU (1994)
commodities: wool, chemicals, cotton, ferrous and nonferrous metals,
shoes, machinery, tobacco
partners: Russia 70%, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and others

Imports: $92.4 million from countries outside the FSU (1994)
commodities: grain, lumber, industrial products, ferrous metals, fuel,
machinery, textiles, footwear
partners: other CIS republics

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate -24% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
capacity: 3,660,000 kW
production: 12.7 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 2,700 kWh (1994)

Industries: small machinery, textiles, food-processing industries,
cement, shoes, sawn logs, refrigerators, furniture, electric motors,
gold, and rare earth metals

Agriculture: wool, tobacco, cotton, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle),
vegetables, meat, grapes, fruits and berries, eggs, milk, potatoes

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly
for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program; used as
transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe and North
America from Southwest Asia

Economic aid:
recipient: IMF aid commitments were $80 million in 1993 and $400
million in 1994

Currency: introduced national currency, the som (10 May 1993)

Exchange rates: soms per US$1 - 10.6 (yearend 1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Kyrgyzstan:Transportation

Railroads:
total: 370 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial
lines
broad gauge: 370 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)

Highways:
total: 30,300 km
paved and graveled: 22,600 km
unpaved: earth 7,700 km (1990)

Pipelines: natural gas 200 km

Ports: Ysyk-Kol (Rybach'ye)

Airports:
total: 54
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
with paved runways under 914 m: 1
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 4
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4
with unpaved runways under 914 m: 32

@Kyrgyzstan:Communications

Telephone system: 342,000 telephones (1991); 76 telephones/1,000
persons (December 1991); poorly developed; about 100,000 unsatisfied
applications for household telephones
local: NA
intercity: principally by microwave radio relay
international: connections with other CIS countries by landline or
microwave and with other countries by leased connections with Moscow
international gateway switch and by satellite; 1 GORIZONT and 1
INTELSAT satellite link through Ankara to 200 other countries

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
radios: 825,000 (radio receiver systems with multiple speakers for
program diffusion 748,000)

Television:
broadcast stations: NA; note - receives Turkish broadcasts
televisions: 875,000

@Kyrgyzstan:Defense Forces

Branches: National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border
troops), Civil Defense

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,154,683; males fit for
military service 934,167; males reach military age (18) annually
44,526 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP


________________________________________________________________________

LAOS

@Laos:Geography

Location: Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
total area: 236,800 sq km
land area: 230,800 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Utah

Land boundaries: total 5,083 km, Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China
423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none; landlocked

International disputes: boundary dispute with Thailand

Climate: tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season
(December to April)

Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus

Natural resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones

Land use:
arable land: 4%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 3%
forest and woodland: 58%
other: 35%

Irrigated land: 1,554 sq km (1992 est.)

Environment:
current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the
population does not have access to potable water
natural hazards: floods, droughts, and blight
international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Environmental
Modification, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Law of the
Sea

Note: landlocked

@Laos:People

Population: 4,837,237 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (female 1,084,615; male 1,111,928)
15-64 years: 51% (female 1,280,142; male 1,199,149)
65 years and over: 4% (female 86,390; male 75,013) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.84% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 42.64 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 14.28 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 99.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 52.2 years
male: 50.66 years
female: 53.81 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.98 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian

Ethnic divisions: Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao
Soung (highland) including the Hmong ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien) 9%,
ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%

Religions: Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40%

Languages: Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic
languages

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1992)
total population: 50%
male: 65%
female: 35%

Labor force: 1 million-1.5 million
by occupation: agriculture 80% (1992 est.)

@Laos:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic
conventional short form: Laos
local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao
local short form: none

Digraph: LA

Type: Communist state

Capital: Vientiane

Administrative divisions: 16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural)
and 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural); Attapu,
Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha,
Louangphabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan*,
Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xekong, Xiangkhoang

Independence: 19 July 1949 (from France)

National holiday: National Day, 2 December (1975) (proclamation of the
Lao People's Democratic Republic)

Constitution: promulgated 14 August 1991

Legal system: based on traditional customs, French legal norms and
procedures, and Socialist practice

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President NOUHAK PHOUMSAVAN (since 25 November 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister Gen. KHAMTAI SIPHANDON (since 15
August 1991)
cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president, approved by
the Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
National Assembly: elections last held on 20 December 1992 (next to be
held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (85 total)
number of seats by party NA

Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court

Political parties and leaders: Lao People's Revolutionary Party
(LPRP), KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president; other parties proscribed

Other political or pressure groups: non-Communist political groups
proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975

Member of: ACCT, AsDB, ASEAN (observer), CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD,
ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory
user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador HIEM PHOMMACHANH
chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416, 6417
FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Victor L. TOMSETH
embassy: Rue Bartholonie, Vientiane
mailing address: B. P. 114, Vientiane; American Embassy, Box V, APO AP
96546
telephone: [856] (21) 212581, 212582, 212585
FAX: [856] (21) 212584

Flag: three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and
red with a large white disk centered in the blue band

@Laos:Economy

Overview: The government of Laos - one of the few remaining official
Communist states - has been decentralizing control and encouraging
private enterprise since 1986. The results, starting from an extremely
low base, have been striking - growth has averaged 7.5% annually since
1988. Even so, Laos is a landlocked country with a primitive
infrastructure. It has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and
limited external and internal telecommunications. Electricity is
available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts
for half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The predominant
crop is rice. In non-drought years, Laos is self-sufficient overall in
food, but each year flood, pests, and localized drought cause
shortages in various parts of the country. For the foreseeable future
the economy will continue to depend on aid from the IMF and other
international sources; aid from the former USSR and Eastern Europe has
been cut sharply. As in many developing countries, deforestation and
soil erosion will hamper efforts to maintain the high rate of GDP
growth.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $4 billion (1994
est.)

National product real growth rate: 8.4% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $850 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.5% (1994 est.)

Unemployment rate: 21% (1992 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA

Exports: $277 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: electricity, wood products, coffee, tin, garments
partners: Thailand 57%, Germany 10%, France 10%, Japan 5% (1991)

Imports: $528 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
commodities: food, fuel oil, consumer goods, manufactures
partners: Thailand 55%, Japan 16%, China 8%, Italy 4% (1991)

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate 7.5% (1992 est.); accounts for 18%
of GDP (1992 est.)

Electricity:
capacity: 260,000 kW
production: 870 million kWh
consumption per capita: 44 kWh (1993)

Industries: tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power,
agricultural processing, construction

Agriculture: principal crops - rice (80% of cultivated land), sweet
potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, cotton; livestock -
buffaloes, hogs, cattle, poultry

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, opium poppy for the
international drug trade, fourth largest opium producer (85 metric
tons in 1994); heroin producer; increasingly used as transshipment
point for heroin produced in Burma

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-79), $276 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-89), $605 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $995 million;
international assistance in loans and grant aid (1993/94) $217.7
million

Currency: 1 new kip (NK) = 100 at

Exchange rates: new kips (NK) per US$1 - 717 (1994 est.), 720 (July
1993). 710 (May 1992), 710 (December 1991), 700 (September 1990), 576
(1989)

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September

@Laos:Transportation

Railroads: 0 km

Highways:
total: 14,130 km
paved: 2,260 km
unpaved: 11,870 km (1992 est.)

Inland waterways: about 4,587 km, primarily Mekong and tributaries;
2,897 additional kilometers are sectionally navigable by craft drawing
less than 0.5 m

Pipelines: petroleum products 136 km

Ports: none

Merchant marine:
total: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370 GRT/3,000 DWT

Airports:
total: 52
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
with paved runways under 914 m: 25
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 17

@Laos:Communications

Telephone system: 7,390 telephones (1986); service to general public
very poor; radio communications network provides generally erratic
service to government users
local: 16 telephone lines per 1,000 people
intercity: radio communications
international: 1 earth station

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 0, shortwave 0
radios: NA

Television:
broadcast stations: 2
televisions: NA

@Laos:Defense Forces

Branches: Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine naval and militia
elements), Air Force, National Police Department

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,051,105; males fit for
military service 567,017; males reach military age (18) annually
51,437 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $105 million, 8.1% of
GDP (FY92/93)


________________________________________________________________________

LATVIA

@Latvia:Geography

Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia
and Lithuania

Map references: Europe

Area:
total area: 64,100 sq km
land area: 64,100 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries: total 1,078 km, Belarus 141 km, Estonia 267 km,
Lithuania 453 km, Russia 217 km

Coastline: 531 km

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

International disputes: the Abrene section of border ceded by the
Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944

Climate: maritime; wet, moderate winters

Terrain: low plain

Natural resources: minimal; amber, peat, limestone, dolomite

Land use:
arable land: 27%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 13%
forest and woodland: 39%
other: 21%

Irrigated land: 160 sq km (1990)

Environment:
current issues: air and water pollution because of a lack of waste
conversion equipment; Gulf of Riga and Daugava River heavily polluted;
contamination of soil and groundwater with chemicals and petroleum
products at military bases
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Hazardous Wastes,
Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate
Change

@Latvia:People

Population: 2,762,899 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 22% (female 294,521; male 304,830)
15-64 years: 65% (female 933,003; male 870,128)
65 years and over: 13% (female 247,476; male 112,941) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.5% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 13.71 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 12.49 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 21 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.65 years
male: 64.6 years
female: 74.95 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.97 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Latvian(s)
adjective: Latvian

Ethnic divisions: Latvian 51.8%, Russian 33.8%, Byelorussian 4.5%,
Ukrainian 3.4%, Polish 2.3%, other 4.2%

Religions: Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox

Languages: Lettish (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989)
total population: 100%
male: 100%
female: 99%

Labor force: 1.407 million
by occupation: industry and construction 41%, agriculture and forestry
16%, other 43% (1990)

@Latvia:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Latvia
conventional short form: Latvia
local long form: Latvijas Republika
local short form: Latvija
former: Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic

Digraph: LG

Type: republic

Capital: Riga

Administrative divisions: 26 counties (singular - rajons) and 7
municipalities*: Aizkraukles Rajons, Aluksnes Rajons, Balvu Rajons,
Bauskas Rajons, Cesu Rajons, Daugavpils*, Daugavpils Rajons, Dobeles
Rajons, Gulbenes Rajons, Jekabpils Rajons, Jelgava*, Jelgavas Rajons,
Jurmala*, Kraslavas Rajons, Kuldigas Rajons, Leipaja*, Liepajas
Rajons, Limbazu Rajons, Ludzas Rajons, Madonas Rajons, Ogres Rajons,
Preiju Rajons, Rezekne*, Rezeknes Rajons, Riga*, Rigas Rajons, Saldus
Rajons, Talsu Rajons, Tukuma Rajons, Valkas Rajons, Valmieras Rajons,
Ventspils*, Ventspils Rajons

Independence: 6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 18 November (1918)

Constitution: newly elected Parliament in 1993 restored the 1933
constitution

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Guntis ULMANIS (since 7 July 1993);
Parliament (Saeima) elected President ULMANIS in the third round of
balloting on 7 July 1993
head of government: Prime Minister Maris GAILIS (since September 1994)

cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the Supreme Council

Legislative branch: unicameral
Parliament (Saeima): elections last held 5-6 June 1993 (next to be
held NA October 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
(100 total) LC 36, LNNK 15, Concord for Latvia 13, LZS 12, Equal
Rights 7, LKDS 6, TUB 6, DCP 5

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Latvian Way Union (LC), Valdis BIRKAVS;
Latvian Farmers Union (LZS), Alvars BERKIS; Latvian National
Independence Movement (LNNK), Andrejs KRASTINS, Aristids LAMBERGS,
cochairmen; Concord for Latvia, Janis JURKANS; Equal Rights, Sergejs
DIMANIS; Christian Democrat Union (LKDS), Peteris CIMDINS, Andris
SAULITIS, Janis RUSKO; Fatherland and Freedom (TUB), Maris GRINBLATS,
Roberts MILBERGS, Oigerts DZENTIS; Democratic Center (DCP), Ints
CALITIS; Popular Front of Latvia (LTF), Uldis AUGSTKALNS

Member of: BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL,
IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ojars Eriks KALNINS
chancery: 4325 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
telephone: [1] (202) 726-8213, 8214
FAX: [1] (202) 726-6785

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ints M, SILINS
embassy: Raina Boulevard 7, Riga 226050
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [371] (2) 213-962
FAX: [371] 882-0047 (cellular)

Flag: two horizontal bands of maroon (top and bottom), white (middle,
narrower than other two bands)

@Latvia:Economy

Overview: Latvia is rapidly becoming a dynamic market economy, rivaled
only by Estonia among the former Soviet states in the speed of its
transformation. However, the transition has been painful; in 1994 the
IMF reported a 2% growth in GDP, following steep declines in 1992-93.
The government's tough monetary policies and reform program have kept
inflation at less than 2% a month, supported a dynamic private sector
now accounting for more than half of GDP, and spurred the growth of
trade ties with the West. Much of agriculture is already privatized
and the government plans to step up the pace of privatization of state
enterprises. Latvia thus is in the midst of recovery, helped by the
country's strategic location on the Baltic Sea, its well-educated
population, and its diverse - albeit largely obsolete - industrial
structure.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $12.3 billion (1994
estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)

National product real growth rate: 2% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $4,480 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.9% (monthly average 1994)

Unemployment rate: 6.5% (December 1994)

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Exports: $1 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: oil products, timber, ferrous metals, dairy products,
furniture, textiles
partners: Russia, Germany, Sweden, Belarus

Imports: $1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
commodities: fuels, cars, ferrous metals, chemicals
partners: Russia, Germany, Sweden, Ukraine

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate -9.5% (1994 est.); accounts for 27%
of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 2,080,000 kW
production: 5.5 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 1,864 kWh (1993)

Industries: highly diversified; dependent on imports for energy, raw
materials, and intermediate products; produces buses, vans, street and
railroad cars, synthetic fibers, agricultural machinery, fertilizers,
washing machines, radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals, processed
foods, textiles

Agriculture: principally dairy farming and livestock feeding; products
- meat, milk, eggs, grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; fishing
and fish packing

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central and
Southwest Asia and Latin America to Western Europe; limited producer
of illicit opium; mostly for domestic consumption; also produces
illicit amphetamines for export

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 lat = 100 cents; introduced NA March 1993

Exchange rates: lats per US$1 - 0.55 (December 1994), 0.5917 (January
1994), 1.32 (March 1993)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Latvia:Transportation

Railroads:
total: 2,400 km
broad gauge: 2,400 km 1.520-m gauge (270 km electrified)

Highways:
total: 59,500 km
paved and graveled: 33,000 km
unpaved: earth 26,500 km (1990)

Inland waterways: 300 km perennially navigable

Pipelines: crude oil 750 km; refined products 780 km; natural gas 560
km (1992)

Ports: Daugavpils, Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils

Merchant marine:
total: 85 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 774,182 GRT/1,010,517 DWT

ships by type: cargo 17, oil tanker 37, refrigerated cargo 24,
roll-on/roll-off cargo 7

Airports:
total: 50
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 27
with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2
with unpaved runways under 914 m: 10

@Latvia:Communications

Telephone system: 660,000 telephones; 240 telephones/1,000 persons
(1993); Latvia is better provided with telephone service than most of
the other former Soviet republics; an NMT-450 analog cellular
telephone network covers 75% of Latvia's population
local: NA
intercity: NA
international: international traffic carried by leased connection to
the Moscow international gateway switch and through the new Ericsson
AXE local/transit digital telephone exchange in Riga and through the
Finnish cellular net; electronic mail capability by Sprint data
network

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

Television:
broadcast stations: NA
televisions: NA

@Latvia:Defense Forces

Branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Security
Forces (internal and border troops), Border Guard, Home Guard
(Zemessardze)

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 658,193; males fit for military
service 517,896; males reach military age (18) annually 18,736 (1995
est.)

Defense expenditures: 176 million rubles, 3% to 5% of GDP (1994); note
- conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the
prevailing exchange rate could produce misleading results


________________________________________________________________________

LEBANON

Note--Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political
institutions and regaining its national sovereignty since the end of
the devastating 16-year civil war which began in 1975. Under the Ta'if
accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have
established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving
Muslims a greater say in the political process. Since December 1990,
the Lebanese have formed three cabinets and conducted the first
legislative election in 20 years. Most of the militias have been
weakened or disbanded. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has seized vast
quantities of weapons used by the militias during the war and extended
central government authority over about one-half of the country.
Hizballah, the radical Sh'ia party, retains most of its weapons.
Foreign forces still occupy areas of Lebanon. Israel maintains troops
in southern Lebanon and continues to support a proxy militia, The Army
of South Lebanon (ASL), along a narrow stretch of territory contiguous
to its border. The ASL's enclave encompasses this self-declared
security zone and about 20 kilometers north to the strategic town of
Jazzine. As of December 1993, Syria maintained about 30,000-35,000
troops in Lebanon. These troops are based mainly in Beirut, North
Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's deployment was legitimized by
the Arab League early in Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if accord.
Citing the continued weakness of the LAF, Beirut's requests, and
failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the
constitutional reforms in the Ta'if accord, Damascus has so far
refused to withdraw its troops from Beirut.

@Lebanon:Geography

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

Map references: Middle East

Area:
total area: 10,400 sq km
land area: 10,230 sq km
comparative area: about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries: total 454 km, Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km

Coastline: 225 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice
Line; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; Syrian
troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976

Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry
summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows

Terrain: narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa' (Bekaa Valley) separates
Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains

Natural resources: limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a
water-deficit region

Land use:
arable land: 21%
permanent crops: 9%
meadows and pastures: 1%
forest and woodland: 8%
other: 61%

Irrigated land: 860 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air
pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of
industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil
spills
natural hazards: duststorms, sandstorms
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified -
Desertification, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine
Life Conservation

Note: Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an
international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate,
protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion,
clan, and ethnicity

@Lebanon:People

Population: 3,695,921 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 36% (female 657,403; male 682,757)
15-64 years: 58% (female 1,131,450; male 1,016,859)
65 years and over: 6% (female 111,585; male 95,867) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.15% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 27.9 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 6.44 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 38 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.69 years
male: 67.22 years
female: 72.28 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.31 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese

Ethnic divisions: Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%

Religions: Islam 70% (5 legally recognized Islamic groups - Alawite or
Nusayri, Druze, Isma'ilite, Shi'a, Sunni), Christian 30% (11 legally
recognized Christian groups - 4 Orthodox Christian, 6 Catholic, 1
Protestant), Judaism NEGL%

Languages: Arabic (official), French (official), Armenian, English

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population: 80%
male: 88%
female: 73%

Labor force: 650,000
by occupation: industry, commerce, and services 79%, agriculture 11%,
government 10% (1985)

@Lebanon:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Lebanon
conventional short form: Lebanon
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
local short form: none

Digraph: LE

Type: republic

Capital: Beirut

Administrative divisions: 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular -
muhafazah); Al Biqa, 'Al Janub, Ash Shamal, Bayrut, Jabal Lubnan

Independence: 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under
French administration)

National holiday: Independence Day, 22 November (1943)

Constitution: 23 May 1926, amended a number of times

Legal system: mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and
civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for
women at age 21 with elementary education

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ilyas HARAWI (since 24 November 1989); note
- by custom, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister
is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shi'a
Muslim
head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 22 October
1992)
cabinet: Cabinet; chosen by the president in consultation with the
members of the National Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
National Assembly: (Arabic - Majlis Alnuwab, French - Assemblee
Nationale) Lebanon's first legislative election in 20 years was held
in the summer of 1992; the National Assembly is composed of 128
deputies, one-half Christian and one-half Muslim; its mandate expires
in 1996

Judicial branch: four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and
commercial cases and one court for criminal cases)

Political parties and leaders: political party activity is organized
along largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist,
consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by
religious, clan, and economic considerations

Member of: ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Riyad TABBARAH
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300
FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324
consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: (vacant)
embassy: Antelias, Beirut
address: P. O. Box 70-840, Beirut; PSC 815, Box 2, Beirut; FPO AE
09836-0002
telephone: [961] (1) 402200, 403300, 416502, 426183, 417774
FAX: [961] (1) 407112

Flag: three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and
red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band

@Lebanon:Economy

Overview: The 1975-1991 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic
infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended
Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. A
tentative peace has enabled the central government to begin restoring
control in Beirut, collect taxes, and regain access to key port and
government facilities. The battered economy has also been propped up
by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and
medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking transactions,
manufactured and farm exports, the narcotics trade, and international
emergency aid are the main sources of foreign exchange. In the
relatively settled year of 1991, industrial production, agricultural
output, and exports showed substantial gains. The further rebuilding
of the war-ravaged country was delayed in 1992 because of an upturn in
political wrangling. In October 1992, Rafiq HARIRI was appointed Prime
Minister. HARIRI, a wealthy entrepreneur, announced ambitious plans
for Lebanon's reconstruction which involve a substantial influx of
foreign aid and investment. Progress on restoring basic services is
limited. Since Prime Minister HARIRI's appointment, the most
significant improvement lies in the stabilization of the Lebanese
pound, which had gained over 30% in value by yearend 1993. The years
1993 and 1994 were marked by efforts of the new administration to
encourage domestic and foreign investment and to obtain additional
international assistance. The construction sector led the 8.5% advance
in real GDP in 1994.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $15.8 billion (1994
est.)

National product real growth rate: 8.5% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $4,360 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (1994 est.)

Unemployment rate: 35% (1993 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.4 billion
expenditures: $3.2 billion (1994 est.)

Exports: $925 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities: agricultural products, chemicals, textiles, precious and
semiprecious metals and jewelry, metals and metal products
partners: Saudi Arabia 21%, Switzerland 9.5%, Jordan 6%, Kuwait 12%,
US 5%

Imports: $4.1 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
commodities: consumer goods, machinery and transport equipment,
petroleum products
partners: Italy 14%, France 12%, US 6%, Turkey 5%, Saudi Arabia 3%

External debt: $765 million (1994 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 25% (1993 est.)

Electricity:
capacity: 1,220,000 kW
production: 2.5 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 676 kWh (1993)

Industries: banking, food processing, textiles, cement, oil refining,
chemicals, jewelry, some metal fabricating

Agriculture: principal products - citrus fruits, vegetables, potatoes,
olives, tobacco, hemp (hashish), sheep, goats; not self-sufficient in
grain

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of hashish and heroin for the
international drug trade; hashish production is shipped to Western
Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America; increasingly a
key locus of cocaine processing and trafficking; a Lebanese/Syrian
1994 eradication campaign eliminated the opium crop and caused a 50%
decrease in the cannabis crop

Economic aid: the government estimates that it has received $1.7
billion in aid and has an additional $725 million in commitments to
support its $3 billion National Emergency Recovery Program

Currency: 1 Lebanese pound (#L) = 100 piasters

Exchange rates: Lebanese pounds (#L) per US$1 - 1,644.6 (January
1995), 1,680.1 (1994), 1,741.4 (1993), 1,712.8 (1992), 928.23 (1991),
695.09 (1990)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Lebanon:Transportation

Railroads:
total: 222 km
standard gauge: 222 km 1.435-m
note: system in disrepair, considered inoperable

Highways:
total: 7,300 km
paved: 6,200 km
unpaved: gravel 450 km; improved earth 650 km

Pipelines: crude oil 72 km (none in operation)

Ports: Al Batrun, Al Mina, An Naqurah, Antilyas, Az Zahrani, Beirut,
Jubayl, Juniyah, Shikka Jadidah, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre

Merchant marine:
total: 64 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 260,383 GRT/381,937 DWT
ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 41, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk
1, combination ore/oil 1, container 2, livestock carrier 6,
refrigerated cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, specialized tanker 1,
vehicle carrier 2

Airports:
total: 9
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1

@Lebanon:Communications

Telephone system: 325,000 telephones; 95 telephones/1,000 persons;
telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding
still underway
local: NA
intercity: primarily microwave radio relay and cable
international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) earth
stations (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio
relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine
coaxial cables

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 3, shortwave 0; note - numerous AM and FM
stations are operated sporadically by various factions
radios: NA

Television:
broadcast stations: 13
televisions: NA

@Lebanon:Defense Forces

Branches: Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air
Force)

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 857,698; males fit for military
service 533,640 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $278 million, 5.5% of
GDP (1994)


________________________________________________________________________

LESOTHO

@Lesotho:Geography

Location: Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Map references: Africa

Area:
total area: 30,350 sq km
land area: 30,350 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundaries: total 909 km, South Africa 909 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none; landlocked

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers

Terrain: mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains

Natural resources: water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds
and other minerals

Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 66%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 24%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
current issues: population pressure forcing settlement in marginal
areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, soil exhaustion;
desertification; Highlands Water Project will control, store, and
redirect water to South Africa
natural hazards: periodic droughts
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Marine Life
Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not
ratified - Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of
the Sea, Marine Dumping

Note: landlocked; surrounded by South Africa

@Lesotho:People

Population: 1,992,960 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 41% (female 407,213; male 416,709)
15-64 years: 54% (female 558,106; male 520,961)
65 years and over: 5% (female 51,809; male 38,162) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.44% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 33.39 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 8.96 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 67.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 62.56 years
male: 60.74 years
female: 64.43 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.41 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho

Ethnic divisions: Sotho 99.7%, Europeans 1,600, Asians 800

Religions: Christian 80%, rest indigenous beliefs

Languages: Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1966)
total population: 59%
male: 44%
female: 68%

Labor force: 689,000 economically active
by occupation: 86.2% of resident population engaged in subsistence
agriculture; roughly 60% of the active male wage earners work in South
Africa

@Lesotho:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho
former: Basutoland

Digraph: LT

Type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Maseru

Administrative divisions: 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe,
Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing,
Thaba-Tseka

Independence: 4 October 1966 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 October (1966)

Constitution: 2 April 1993

Legal system: based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law;
judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: King MOSHOESHOE II (since February 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Ntsu MOKHEHLE (since 2 April 1993)
cabinet: Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consisting of the Assembly or
lower house whose members are chosen by popular election and the
Senate or upper house whose members consist of the 22 principal chiefs
and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party; election last held
in March 1993 (first since 1971); all 65 seats in the Assembly were
won by the BCP

Judicial branch: High Court, Court of Appeal, Magistrate's Court,
customary or traditional court

Political parties and leaders: Basotho National Party (BNP), Evaristus
SEKHONYANA; Basotho Congress Party (BCP), Ntsu MOKHEHLE; National
Independent Party (NIP), A. C. MANYELI; Marematlou Freedom Party
(MFP), Vincent MALEBO; United Democratic Party, Charles MOFELI;
Communist Party of Lesotho (CPL), Jacob M. KENA

Member of: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user),
INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Mokhali A.
LITHEBE (since 2 July 1994)
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536
FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Myrick BISMARCK
embassy: address NA, Maseru
mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho
telephone: [266] 312666
FAX: [266] 310116

Flag: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper
half is white bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with
crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a
green triangle in the corner

@Lesotho:Economy

Overview: Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho has no important
natural resources other than water. Its economy is based on
agriculture, light manufacturing, and remittances from laborers
employed in South Africa (these remittances supplement domestic income
by as much as 45%). The great majority of households gain their
livelihoods from subsistence farming and migrant labor; a large
portion of the adult male work force is employed in South African
mines. Manufacturing depends largely on farm products to support the
milling, canning, leather, and jute industries; other industries
include textile, clothing, and construction. Although drought has
decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, improvement
of a major hydropower facility will permit the sale of water to South
Africa and allow Lesotho's economy to continue its moderate growth.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.6 billion (1994
est.)

National product real growth rate: 6% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $1,340 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 13.9% (1993)

Unemployment rate: substantial unemployment and underemployment

Budget:
revenues: $438 million
expenditures: $430 million, including capital expenditures of $155
million (FY93/94 est.)

Exports: $109 million (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities: wool, mohair, wheat, cattle, peas, beans, corn, hides,
skins, baskets
partners: South Africa 42%, EC 28%, North and South America 25% (1991)

Imports: $964 million (c.i.f., 1992)
commodities: mainly corn, building materials, clothing, vehicles,
machinery, medicines, petroleum
partners: South Africa 94%, Asia 3%, EC 1% (1991)

External debt: $512 million (1993)

Industrial production: growth rate 10%; accounts for 17% of GDP (1993
est.)

Electricity: power supplied by South Africa

Industries: food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts, tourism

Agriculture: accounts for 50% of GDP (1993 est.); exceedingly
primitive, mostly subsistence farming and livestock; principal crops
corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $268 million; US
(1992), $10.3 million; US (1993 est.), $10.1 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $819 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $4 million; Communist countries
(1970-89), $14 million

Currency: 1 loti (L) = 100 lisente

Exchange rates: maloti (M) per US$1 - 3.5389 (January 1995), 3.5490
(1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992), 2.7563 (1991), 2.5863 (1990);
note - the Basotho loti is at par with the South African rand

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

@Lesotho:Transportation

Railroads:
total: 2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the
statistics of South Africa
narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge

Highways:
total: 7,215 km
paved: 572 km
unpaved: gravel, stabilized earth 2,337 km; improved earth 1,806 km;
unimproved earth 2,500 km (1988)

Ports: none

Airports:
total: 29
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 23
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4

@Lesotho:Communications

Telephone system: 5,920 telephones; rudimentary system
local: NA
intercity: consists of a few land lines, a small microwave radio relay
system, and a minor radio communication system
international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0
radios: NA

Television:
broadcast stations: 1
televisions: NA

@Lesotho:Defense Forces

Branches: Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing),
Lesotho Mounted Police

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 453,844; males fit for military
service 244,767 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $25 million, NA% of
GDP (1994)


________________________________________________________________________

LIBERIA

@Liberia:Geography

Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone

Map references: Africa

Area:
total area: 111,370 sq km
land area: 96,320 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries: total 1,585 km, Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km,
Sierra Leone 306 km

Coastline: 579 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 200 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to
cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling
plateau and low mountains in northeast

Natural resources: iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold

Land use:
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 3%
meadows and pastures: 2%
forest and woodland: 39%
other: 55%

Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: tropical rain forest subject to deforestation; soil
erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of rivers from the dumping of
iron ore tailings and of coastal waters from oil residue and raw
sewage
natural hazards: dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara
(December to March)
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94; signed,
but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental
Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation

@Liberia:People

Population: 3,073,245 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (female 674,155; male 680,952)
15-64 years: 52% (female 768,147; male 844,326)
65 years and over: 4% (female 55,575; male 50,090) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.32% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 43.08 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 12.05 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
note: if the Ghanaian-led peace negotiations, under way in 1995, are
successful, many Liberian refugees may return from exile

Infant mortality rate: 110.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 58.17 years
male: 55.67 years
female: 60.75 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.3 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Liberian(s)
adjective: Liberian

Ethnic divisions: indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle,
Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai,
and Bella), Americo-Liberians 5% (descendants of former slaves)

Religions: traditional 70%, Muslim 20%, Christian 10%

Languages: English 20% (official), Niger-Congo language group about 20
local languages come from this group

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population: 40%
male: 50%
female: 29%

Labor force: 510,000 including 220,000 in the monetary economy
by occupation: agriculture 70.5%, services 10.8%, industry and
commerce 4.5%, other 14.2%
note: non-African foreigners hold about 95% of the top-level
management and engineering jobs

@Liberia:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Liberia
conventional short form: Liberia

Digraph: LI

Type: republic

Capital: Monrovia

Administrative divisions: 13 counties; Bomi, Bong, Grand Bassa, Grand
Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland,
Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, Sinoe

Independence: 26 July 1847

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1847)

Constitution: 6 January 1986

Legal system: dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American
common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten
tribal practices for indigenous sector

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government: Chairman of the Council of
State David KPOMAKPOR (since March 1994); election last held on 15
October 1985; results - Gen. Dr. Samuel Kanyon DOE (NDPL) 50.9%,
Jackson DOE (LAP) 26.4%, other 22.7%
note: constitutional government ended in September 1990 when President
Samuel Kanyon DOE was killed by rebel forces; civil war ensued and in
July 1993 the Cotonou Peace Treaty was negotiated by the major warring
factions under UN auspices; a transitional coalition government under
David KROMAKPOR was formed in March 1994 but has been largely
ineffective and unable to implement the provisions of the peace
treaty; Ghanaian-led negotiations are now underway to seat a new
interim government that would oversee elections proposed for late 1995

cabinet: Cabinet; selected by the leaders of the major factions in the
civil war

Legislative branch: unicameral Transitional Legislative Assembly, the
members of which are appointed by the leaders of the major factions in
the civil war
note: the former bicameral legislature no longer exists and there is
no assurance that it will be reconstituted very soon

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Party of Liberia
(NDPL), Augustus CAINE, chairman; Liberian Action Party (LAP),
Emmanuel KOROMAH, chairman; Unity Party (UP), Joseph KOFA, chairman;
United People's Party (UPP), Gabriel Baccus MATTHEWS, chairman;
National Patriotic Party (NPP), Charles TAYLOR, chairman; Liberian
Peoples Party (LPP), Dusty WOLOKOLLIE, chairman

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT
(nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Konah K. BLACKETT
chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437
consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d' Affaires William P. TWADDELL
embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, Monrovia
mailing address: P. O. Box 100098, Mamba Point, Monrovia
telephone: [231] 222991 through 222994
FAX: [231] 223710

Flag: 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating
with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the
upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag

@Liberia:Economy

Overview: Civil war since 1990 has destroyed much of Liberia's
economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia.
Businessmen have fled the country, taking capital and expertise with
them. Many will not return. Richly endowed with water, mineral
resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia
had been a producer and exporter of basic products, while local
manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope.
Political instability threatens prospects for economic reconstruction
and repatriation of some 750,000 Liberian refugees who have fled to
neighboring countries. The political impasse between the interim
government and rebel leader Charles TAYLOR has prevented restoration
of normal economic life, including the re-establishment of a strong
central government with effective economic development programs. The
economy deteriorated further in 1994.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.3 billion (1994
est.)

National product real growth rate: NA%

National product per capita: $770 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $242.1 million
expenditures: $435.4 million, including capital expenditures of $29.5
million (1989 est.)

Exports: $505 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.)
commodities: iron ore 61%, rubber 20%, timber 11%, coffee
partners: US, EC, Netherlands

Imports: $394 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.)
commodities: mineral fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation
equipment, rice and other foodstuffs
partners: US, EC, Japan, China, Netherlands, ECOWAS

External debt: $2.1 billion (September 1993 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate NA% (1993-94); much industrial
damage caused by factional warfare

Electricity:
capacity: 330,000 kW
production: 440 million kWh
consumption per capita: 143 kWh (1993)

Industries: rubber processing, food processing, construction
materials, furniture, palm oil processing, mining (iron ore, diamonds)

Agriculture: accounts for about 40% of GDP (including fishing and
forestry); principal products - rubber, timber, coffee, cocoa, rice,
cassava, palm oil, sugarcane, bananas, sheep, goats; not
self-sufficient in food, imports 25% of rice consumption



 


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