The 1995 CIA World Factbook

Part 39 out of 45




Telephone system: 337,000 telephones; telephone density 10/100
persons; some modern facilities
local: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo
intercity: new nationwide microwave network
international: 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 99, FM 0, shortwave 9
radios: NA

Television:
broadcast stations: 26
televisions: NA

@Uruguay:Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm, Coast Guard, Marines),
Air Force, Grenadier Guards, Coracero Guard, Police

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 775,060; males fit for military
service 629,385 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $216 million, 2.3% of
GDP (1991 est.)


________________________________________________________________________

UZBEKISTAN

@Uzbekistan:Geography

Location: Central Asia, north of Afghanistan

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian
States

Area:
total area: 447,400 sq km
land area: 425,400 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries: total 6,221 km, Afghanistan 137 km, Kazakhstan 2,203
km, Kyrgyzstan 1,099 km, Tajikistan 1,161 km, Turkmenistan 1,621 km

Coastline: 0 km
note: Uzbekistan borders the Aral Sea (420 km)

Maritime claims: none; landlocked

International disputes: none

Climate: mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters;
semiarid grassland in east

Terrain: mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat
intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya and
Sirdaryo Rivers; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west

Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium,
silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum

Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 47%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 42%

Irrigated land: 41,550 sq km (1990)

Environment:
current issues: drying up of the Aral Sea is resulting in growing
concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these
substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and
contribute to desertification; water pollution from industrial wastes
and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many
human health disorders; increasing soil salinization; soil
contamination from agricultural chemicals, including DDT
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Environmental
Modification, Ozone Layer Protection

Note: landlocked

@Uzbekistan:People

Population: 23,089,261 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 40% (female 4,553,432; male 4,670,496)
15-64 years: 55% (female 6,400,578; male 6,384,862)
65 years and over: 5% (female 656,933; male 422,960) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.08% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 29.45 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

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

Net migration rate: -2.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 52 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.79 years
male: 65.5 years
female: 72.24 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.67 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Uzbek(s)
adjective: Uzbek

Ethnic divisions: Uzbek 71.4%, Russian 8.3%, Tajik 4.7%, Kazakh 4.1%,
Tatar 2.4%, Karakalpak 2.1%, other 7%

Religions: Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3%

Languages: Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989)
total population: 97%
male: 98%
female: 96%

Labor force: 8.234 million
by occupation: agriculture and forestry 43%, industry and construction
22%, other 35% (1992)

@Uzbekistan:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Uzbekistan
conventional short form: Uzbekistan
local long form: Uzbekiston Respublikasi
local short form: none
former: Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic

Digraph: UZ

Type: republic

Capital: Tashkent (Toshkent)

Administrative divisions: 12 wiloyatlar (singular - wiloyat), 1
autonomous republic* (respublikasi), and 1 city** (shahri); Andijon
Wiloyati, Bukhoro Wiloyati, Jizzakh Wiloyati, Farghona Wiloyati,
Qoraqalpoghiston* (Nukus), Qashqadaryo Wiloyati (Qarshi), Khorazm
Wiloyati (Urganch), Namangan Wiloyati, Nawoiy Wiloyati, Samarqand
Wiloyati, Sirdaryo Wiloyati (Guliston), Surkhondaryo Wiloyati
(Termiz), Toshkent Shahri**, Toshkent Wiloyati
note: an administrative division has the same name as its
administrative center (exceptions have the administrative center name
following in parentheses)

Independence: 31 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 September (1991)

Constitution: new constitution adopted 8 December 1992

Legal system: evolution of Soviet civil law; still lacks independent
judicial system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Islam KARIMOV (since NA March 1990);
election last held 29 December 1991 (next to be held NA); results -
Islam KARIMOV 86%, Mukhammad SOLIKH 12%, other 2%; note - a 26 March
1995 referendum extended KARIMOV's term until 2000 (99.6% approval)
head of government: Prime Minister Abdulhashim MUTALOV (since 13
January 1992), First Deputy Prime Minister Ismail DJURABEKOV (since
NA); Deputy Prime Ministers Viktor CHIZHEN, Bakhtiyar HAMIDOV, Kayim
KHAKKULOV, Yuriy PAYGIN, Saidmukhtar SAIDKASYMOV, Utkur SULTANOV,
Mirabror USMANOV, Murat SHARIFKHOJAYEV (since NA)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers; appointed by the president with
approval of the Supreme Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
Supreme Council: elections last held 25 December 1994 (next to be held
NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (250 total)
People's Democratic Party 207, Fatherland Progress Party 12, other 31;
note - final runoffs were held 22 January 1995; seating was as
follows: People's Democratic Party 69, Fatherland Progress Party 14,
Social Democratic Party 47, local government 120

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: People's Democratic Party (PDP;
formerly Communist Party), Islam A. KARIMOV, chairman; Fatherland
Progress Party (FPP), Anwar YULDASHEV, chairman; Social Democratic
Party, Anvar JORABAYEV, chairman; Erk (Freedom) Democratic Party
(EDP), Muhammad SOLIKH, chairman (in exile); note - EDP was banned 9
December 1992

Other political or pressure groups: Birlik (Unity) People's Movement
(BPM), Abdul Rakhim PULATOV, chairman (in exile); Islamic Rebirth
Party (IRP), Abdullah UTAYEV, chairman; Adolat-94 (formed by former
Vice President Shukhrat MIRSAIDOV and Ibragim BURIEV
note: PULATOV (BPM) is in exile in the West; UTAYEV (IRP) is either in
prison or in exile

Member of: AsDB, CCC, CIS, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, NACC, NAM, OSCE, PFP, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Fatikh TESHABAYEV
chancery: (temporary) Suites 619 and 623, 1511 K Street NW,
Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202) 638-4266, 4267
FAX: [1] (202) 638-4268
consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Henry L. CLARKE
embassy: 82 Chilanzarskaya, Tashkent
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [7] (3712) 77-14-07, 77-10-81
FAX: [7] (3712) 77-69-53

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and green
separated by red fimbriations with a crescent moon and 12 stars in the
upper hoist-side quadrant

@Uzbekistan:Economy

Overview: Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 10%
consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. It is one
of the poorest states of the former USSR with 60% of its population
living in overpopulated rural communities. Nevertheless, Uzbekistan is
the world's third largest cotton exporter, a major producer of gold
and natural gas, and a regionally significant producer of chemicals
and machinery. Since independence, the government has sought to prop
up the Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls
on prices and production. Such policies have buffered the economy from
the sharp declines in output and high inflation experienced by many
other former Soviet republics. They had become increasingly
unsustainable, however, as inflation moves along at 14% per month and
as Russia has forced the Uzbek government to introduce its own
currency. Faced with mounting economic problems, the government has
begun to move on a reform agenda and cooperate with international
financial institutions, announced an acceleration of privatization,
and stepped up efforts to attract foreign investors. Nevertheless, the
regime is likely to find it difficult to sustain its drive for
economic reform.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $54.5 billion (1994
estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)

National product real growth rate: -4% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $2,400 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14% per month (1994 est.)

Unemployment rate: 0.3% includes only officially registered
unemployed; large numbers of underemployed workers (December 1994)

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

Exports: $943.7 million to outside the FSU countries (1994)
commodities: cotton, gold, natural gas, mineral fertilizers, ferrous
metals, textiles, food products
partners: Russia, Ukraine, Eastern Europe, US

Imports: $1.15 billion from outside the FSU countries (1994)
commodities: grain, machinery and parts, consumer durables, other
foods
partners: principally other FSU countries, Czech Republic

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate 1% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
capacity: 11,690,000 kW
production: 47.5 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 2,130 kWh (1994)

Industries: textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy,
natural gas

Agriculture: cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain, livestock

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly
for CIS consumption; limited government eradication programs; used as
transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe

Economic aid:
recipient: the IMF has established a Systemic Transformation Facility
of $74 million and the World Bank has made a rehabilitation loan of
$160 million with other project loans pending; estimated annual
external financing requirements for 1995-96 of $600 million to $700
million

Currency: introduced provisional som-coupons 10 November 1993 which
circulated parallel to the Russian rubles; became the sole legal
currency 31 January 1994; was replaced in July 1994 by the som
currency

Exchange rates: soms per US$1 - 25 (yearend 1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Uzbekistan:Transportation

Railroads:
total: 3,460 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial
lines
broad gauge: 3,460 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)

Highways:
total: 78,400 km
paved and graveled: 67,000 km
unpaved: earth 11,400 km (1990)

Pipelines: crude oil 250 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 810
km (1992)

Ports: Termiz

Airports:
total: 261
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 6
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 14
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 8
with paved runways under 914 m: 5
with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 7
with unpaved runways under 914 m: 216

@Uzbekistan:Communications

Telephone system: 1,458,000 telephones; 63 telephones/1,000 persons
(1995); poorly developed
local: NMT-450 analog cellular network established in Tashkent
intercity: NA
international: linked by landline or microwave with CIS member states
and by leased connection via the Moscow international gateway switch
to other countries; new INTELSAT links to Tokyo and Ankara give
Uzbekistan international access independent of Russian facilities;
Orbita and INTELSAT earth stations

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

Television:
broadcast stations: NA
televisions: NA

@Uzbekistan:Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Air and Air Defense, Republic Security Forces
(internal and border troops), National Guard

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 5,567,580; males fit for
military service 4,537,455; males reach military age (18) annually
222,506 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP


________________________________________________________________________

VANUATU

@Vanuatu:Geography

Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about
three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia

Map references: Oceania

Area:
total area: 14,760 sq km
land area: 14,760 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Connecticut
note: includes more than 80 islands

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 2,528 km

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

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds

Terrain: mostly mountains of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains

Natural resources: manganese, hardwood forests, fish

Land use:
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 5%
meadows and pastures: 2%
forest and woodland: 1%
other: 91%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
current issues: a majority of the population does not have access to a
potable and reliable supply of water
natural hazards: tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April);
volcanism causes minor earthquakes
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea

@Vanuatu:People

Population: 173,648 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 41% (female 34,819; male 36,128)
15-64 years: 56% (female 47,320; male 50,456)
65 years and over: 3% (female 2,217; male 2,708) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.22% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 31.26 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 9.06 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

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

Infant mortality rate: 66.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 59.71 years
male: 57.9 years
female: 61.61 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.14 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural)
adjective: Ni-Vanuatu

Ethnic divisions: indigenous Melanesian 94%, French 4%, Vietnamese,
Chinese, Pacific Islanders

Religions: Presbyterian 36.7%, Anglican 15%, Catholic 15%, indigenous
beliefs 7.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.2%, Church of Christ 3.8%, other
15.7%

Languages: English (official), French (official), pidgin (known as
Bislama or Bichelama)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1979)
total population: 53%
male: 57%
female: 48%

Labor force: NA
by occupation: NA

@Vanuatu:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Vanuatu
conventional short form: Vanuatu
former: New Hebrides

Digraph: NH

Type: republic

Capital: Port-Vila

Administrative divisions: 6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa,
Tafea, Torba

Independence: 30 July 1980 (from France and UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 30 July (1980)

Constitution: 30 July 1980

Legal system: unified system being created from former dual French and
British systems

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jean Marie LEYE (since 2 March 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Maxime CARLOT Korman (since 16
December 1991); Deputy Prime Minister Sethy REGENVANU (since 17
December 1991)
cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister,
responsible to parliament

Legislative branch: unicameral
Parliament: elections last held 2 December 1991 (next to be held NA
November 1995); note - after election, a coalition was formed by the
Union of Moderate Parties and the National United Party to form a new
government on 16 December 1991, but political party associations are
fluid; results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (46 total) UMP
19, NUP 10, VP 10, MPP 4, TUP 1, Nagriamel 1, Friend 1
note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of custom and
land

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Vanuatu Party (VP), Donald KALPOKAS;
Union of Moderate Parties (UMP), Maxime CARLOT Korman; Melanesian
Progressive Party (MPP), Barak SOPE; National United Party (NUP),
Walter LINI; Tan Union Party (TUP), Vincent BOULEKONE; Nagriamel
Party, Jimmy STEVENS; Friend Melanesian Party, leader NA; People's
Democratic Party (PDP), Sethy REGENVANU
note: the VP, MPP, TUP, and Nagriamel Party have formed a coalition
called the United Front (UF) heading into the November 1995 elections

Member of: ACCT, ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM,
IDA, IFC, IFRCS (associate), IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user),
IOC, ITU, NAM, SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US: Vanuatu does not have a mission in
the US

US diplomatic representation: the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is
accredited to Vanuatu

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a black
isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all separated by a
black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal Y (the two
points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the triangle);
centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two crossed
namele leaves, all in yellow

@Vanuatu:Economy

Overview: The economy is based primarily on subsistence farming which
provides a living for about 80% of the population. Fishing and tourism
are the other mainstays of the economy, with 43,000 visitors in 1992.
Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum
deposits. A small light industry sector caters to the local market.
Tax revenues come mainly from import duties.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $200 million (1993
est.)

National product real growth rate: NA%

National product per capita: $1,200 (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.3% (1992 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $90 million
expenditures: $103 million, including capital expenditures of $45
million (1989 est.)

Exports: $14.9 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities: copra, beef, cocoa, timber, coffee
partners: Netherlands, Japan, France, New Caledonia, Belgium

Imports: $74 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities: machines and vehicles, food and beverages, basic
manufactures, raw materials and fuels, chemicals
partners: Australia 36%, Japan 13%, NZ 10%, France 8%, Fiji 8%

External debt: $40 million (yearend 1992)

Industrial production: growth rate 8.1% (1990); accounts for about 10%
of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 17,000 kW
production: 30 million kWh
consumption per capita: 181 kWh (1993)

Industries: food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning

Agriculture: export crops - coconuts, cocoa, coffee, fish; subsistence
crops - taro, yams, coconuts, fruits, vegetables

Economic aid:
recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1970-89), $606 million

Currency: 1 vatu (VT) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: vatu (VT) per US$1 - 112.42 (December 1994), 116.41
(1994), 121.58 (1993), 113.39 (1992), 111.68 (1991), 116.57 (1990)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Vanuatu:Transportation

Railroads: 0 km

Highways:
total: 1,027 km
paved: 240 km
unpaved: 787 km

Ports: Forari, Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo)

Merchant marine:
total: 116 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,874,698 GRT/2,758,783
DWT
ships by type: bulk 52, cargo 18, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk
1, container 4, liquefied gas tanker 5, livestock carrier 1, oil
tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 17, vehicle carrier 10
note: a flag of convenience registry; includes 21 countries among
which are ships of the US 117, Japan 39, Netherlands 12, China 11, UAE
6, Greece 6, Canada 6, Hong Kong 4, Russia 2, Australia 2

Airports:
total: 31
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 17
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 11

@Vanuatu:Communications

Telephone system: 3,000 telephones
local: NA
intercity: NA
international: 1 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) earth station

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0
radios: NA

Television:
broadcast stations: 0
televisions: NA

@Vanuatu:Defense Forces

Branches: no regular military forces; Vanuatu Police Force (VPF;
includes the paramilitary Vanuatu Mobile Force or VMF)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP


________________________________________________________________________

VENEZUELA

@Venezuela:Geography

Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the
North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana

Map references: South America

Area:
total area: 912,050 sq km
land area: 882,050 sq km
comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of California

Land boundaries: total 4,993 km, Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km,
Guyana 743 km

Coastline: 2,800 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 15 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo
River; maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of
Venezuela

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

Terrain: Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central
plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite,
other minerals, hydropower, diamonds

Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 20%
forest and woodland: 39%
other: 37%

Irrigated land: 2,640 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: sewage pollution of Lago de Valencia; oil and urban
pollution of Lago de Maracaibo; deforestation; soil degradation; urban
and industrial pollution, especially along the Caribbean coast
natural hazards: subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic
droughts
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not
ratified - Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping

Note: on major sea and air routes linking North and South America

@Venezuela:People

Population: 21,004,773 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 35% (female 3,650,705; male 3,795,032)
15-64 years: 60% (female 6,350,466; male 6,313,887)
65 years and over: 5% (female 486,020; male 408,663) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.1% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 25.11 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 4.57 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 26.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.31 years
male: 70.48 years
female: 76.29 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.97 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Venezuelan(s)
adjective: Venezuelan

Ethnic divisions: mestizo 67%, white 21%, black 10%, Amerindian 2%

Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%

Languages: Spanish (official), native dialects spoken by about 200,000
Amerindians in the remote interior

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
total population: 90%
male: 91%
female: 89%

Labor force: 7.6 million
by occupation: services 63%, industry 25%, agriculture 12% (1993)

@Venezuela:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Venezuela
conventional short form: Venezuela
local long form: Republica de Venezuela
local short form: Venezuela

Digraph: VE

Type: republic

Capital: Caracas

Administrative divisions: 21 states (estados, singular - estado), 1
territory* (territorio), 1 federal district** (distrito federal), and
1 federal dependency*** (dependencia federal); Amazonas*, Anzoategui,
Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Carabobo, Cojedes, Delta Amacuro,
Dependencias Federales***, Distrito Federal**, Falcon, Guarico, Lara,
Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Tachira,
Trujillo, Yaracuy, Zulia
note: the federal dependency consists of 11 federally controlled
island groups with a total of 72 individual islands

Independence: 5 July 1811 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 5 July (1811)

Constitution: 23 January 1961

Legal system: based on Napoleonic code; judicial review of legislative
acts in Cassation Court only; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government: President Rafael CALDERA
Rodriguez (since 2 February 1994); election last held 5 December 1993
(next to be held NA December 1998); results - Rafael CALDERA (National
Convergence) 30.45%, Claudio FERMIN (AD) 23.59%, Oswaldo ALVAREZ PAZ
(COPEI) 22.72%, Andres VELASQUEZ (Causa R) 21.94%, other 1.3%
cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president

Legislative branch: bicameral Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la
Republica)
Senate (Senado): elections last held 5 December 1993 (next to be held
NA December 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (53
total) AD 18, COPEI 15, Causa R 9, MAS 5, National Convergence 6; note
- 3 former presidents (2 from AD, 1 from COPEI) hold lifetime senate
seats
Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados): elections last held 5
December 1993 (next to be held NA December 1998); results - AD 27.9%,
COPEI 26.9%, MAS 12.4%, National Convergence 12.9%, Causa R 19.9%;
seats - (203 total) AD 55, COPEI 53, MAS 24, National Convergence 26,
Causa R 40, other 5

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia)
Roberto YEPES, President

Political parties and leaders: National Convergence (Convergencia),
Jose Miguel UZCATEGUI, president, Juan Jose CALDERA, national
coordinator; Social Christian Party (COPEI), Luis HERRERA Campins,
president, and Donald RAMIREZ, secretary general; Democratic Action
(AD), Pedro PARIS Montesinos, president, and Luis ALFARO Ucero,
secretary general; Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), Gustavo MARQUEZ,
president, and Enrique OCHOA Antich, secretary general; Radical Cause
(La Causa R), Pablo MEDINA, secretary general

Other political or pressure groups: FEDECAMARAS, a conservative
business group; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers (CTV, labor
organization dominated by the Democratic Action); VECINOS groups

Member of: AG, BCIE, CARICOM (observer), CDB, CG, ECLAC, FAO, G-11,
G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, ONUSAL, OPANAL, OPEC, PCA,
RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIH, UNPROFOR, UNU,
UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Pedro Luis ECHEVERRIA
chancery: 1099 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 342-2214
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans,
New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jeffrey DAVIDOW
embassy: Avenida Francisco de Miranda and Avenida Principal de la
Floresta, Caracas
mailing address: P. O. Box 62291, Caracas 1060-A; APO AA 34037
telephone: [58] (2) 285-2222, 3111
FAX: [58] (2) 285-0366

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), blue, and red with
the coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band and an arc of
seven white five-pointed stars centered in the blue band

@Venezuela:Economy

Overview: Despite efforts to broaden the base of the economy,
petroleum continues to play a dominant role. In 1994, as GDP declined
3.3%, the oil sector - which accounts for 24% of the total - enjoyed a
6% expansion, provided 45% of the budget revenues, and generated 70%
of the export earnings. President CALDERA, who assumed office in
February 1994, has used an interventionist, reactive approach to
managing the economy, instituting price and foreign exchange controls
in mid-year to slow inflation and stop the loss of foreign exchange
reserves. The government claims it will remove these controls once
inflationary pressures abate, but the $8 billion bailout of the
banking sector in 1994 has made it difficult for the government to
make good on its promise. Economic controls, coupled with political
uncertainty driven by recurrent coup rumors, continue to deter foreign
and domestic investment; private forecasters see the recession
persisting for a third year in 1995.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $178.3 billion (1994
est.)

National product real growth rate: -3.3% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $8,670 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 71% (1994 est.)

Unemployment rate: 9% (1994 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $10.3 billion
expenditures: $14.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $103
million (1994 est.)

Exports: $15.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: petroleum 72%, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals,
agricultural products, basic manufactures
partners: US and Puerto Rico 55%, Japan, Netherlands, Italy

Imports: $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport
equipment, construction materials
partners: US 40%, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Canada

External debt: $40.1 billion (1994)

Industrial production: growth rate -1.4% (1993 est.); accounts for 41%
of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 18,740,000 kW
production: 72 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 3,311 kWh (1993)

Industries: petroleum, iron-ore mining, construction materials, food
processing, textiles, steel, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly

Agriculture: accounts for 6% of GDP; products - corn, sorghum,
sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee, beef, pork, milk, eggs,
fish; not self-sufficient in food other than meat

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, opium, and coca leaf for
the international drug trade on a small scale; however, large
quantities of cocaine and heroin transit the country from Colombia;
important money-laundering hub

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-86), $488 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $10 million

Currency: 1 bolivar (Bs) = 100 centimos

Exchange rates: bolivares (Bs) per US$1 - 169.570 (January 1995),
148.503 (1994), 90.826 (1993), 68.38 (1992), 56.82 (1991), 46.90
(1990)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Venezuela:Transportation

Railroads:
total: 542 km (363 km single track; 179 km privately owned)
standard gauge: 542 km 1.435-m gauge

Highways:
total: 81,000 km
paved: 31,200 km
unpaved: gravel 24,800 km; earth and unimproved earth 25,000 km

Inland waterways: 7,100 km; Rio Orinoco and Lago de Maracaibo accept
oceangoing vessels

Pipelines: crude oil 6,370 km; petroleum products 480 km; natural gas
4,010 km

Ports: Amuay, Bajo Grande, El Tablazo, La Guaira, La Salina,
Maracaibo, Matanzas, Palua, Puerto Cabello, Puerto la Cruz, Puerto
Ordaz, Puerto Sucre, Punta Cardon

Merchant marine:
total: 39 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 686,811 GRT/1,110,829 DWT

ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 11, combination bulk 1, liquefied gas
tanker 2, oil tanker 15, passenger-cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 4,
short-sea passenger 1

Airports:
total: 431
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 4
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 34
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 65
with paved runways under 914 m: 191
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 12
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 114

@Venezuela:Communications

Telephone system: 1,440,000 telephones; modern and expanding
local: NA
intercity: 3 domestic satellite earth stations
international: 3 submarine coaxial cables; 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean)
earth station

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 181, FM 0, shortwave 26
radios: NA

Television:
broadcast stations: 59
televisions: NA

@Venezuela:Defense Forces

Branches: National Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales or FAN)
includes Ground Forces or Army (Fuerzas Terrestres or Ejercito), Naval
Forces (Fuerzas Navales or Armada), Air Force (Fuerzas Aereas or
Aviacion), Armed Forces of Cooperation or National Guard (Fuerzas
Armadas de Cooperation or Guardia Nacional)

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 5,491,524; males fit for
military service 3,981,190; males reach military age (18) annually
227,292 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.95 billion, 4% of
GDP (1991)


________________________________________________________________________

VIETNAM

@Vietnam:Geography

Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of
Tonkin, and South China Sea, between China and Cambodia

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
total area: 329,560 sq km
land area: 325,360 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries: total 3,818 km, Cambodia 982 km, China 1,281 km, Laos
1,555 km

Coastline: 3,444 km (excludes islands)

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

International disputes: maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined;
involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China,
Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei; unresolved
maritime boundary with Thailand; maritime boundary dispute with China
in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied by China but claimed
by Vietnam and Taiwan

Climate: tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season
(mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to
mid-March)

Terrain: low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly,
mountainous in far north and northwest

Natural resources: phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate,
offshore oil deposits, forests

Land use:
arable land: 22%
permanent crops: 2%
meadows and pastures: 1%
forest and woodland: 40%
other: 35%

Irrigated land: 18,300 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices are
contributing to deforestation; soil degradation; water pollution and
overfishing threatening marine life populations; inadequate supplies
of potable water because of groundwater contamination
natural hazards: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive
flooding
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
Nuclear Test Ban

@Vietnam:People

Population: 74,393,324 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 36% (female 13,225,916; male 13,918,321)
15-64 years: 59% (female 22,353,710; male 21,223,739)
65 years and over: 5% (female 2,236,453; male 1,435,185) (July 1995
est.)

Population growth rate: 1.71% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 26.25 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 7.6 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 44.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.72 years
male: 63.66 years
female: 67.91 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.21 children born/woman (1995 est.)

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

Ethnic divisions: Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese 3%, Muong, Thai, Meo,
Khmer, Man, Cham

Religions: Buddhist, Taoist, Roman Catholic, indigenous beliefs,
Islam, Protestant

Languages: Vietnamese (official), French, Chinese, English, Khmer,
tribal languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989)
total population: 88%
male: 93%
female: 83%

Labor force: 32.7 million
by occupation: agricultural 65%, industrial and service 35% (1990
est.)

@Vietnam:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
conventional short form: Vietnam
local long form: Cong Hoa Chu Nghia Viet Nam
local short form: Viet Nam

Abbreviation: SRV

Digraph: VM

Type: Communist state

Capital: Hanoi

Administrative divisions: 50 provinces (tinh, singular and plural), 3
municipalities* (thu do, singular and plural); An Giang, Ba Ria-Vung
Tau, Bac Thai, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Binh Thuan, Can Tho, Cao Bang, Dac
Lac, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Bac, Ha Giang, Ha Noi*, Ha Tay,
Ha Tinh, Hai Hung, Hai Phong*, Ho Chi Minh*, Hoa Binh, Khanh Hoa, Kien
Giang, Kon Tum, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Long An, Minh
Hai, Nam Ha, Nghe An, Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan, Phu Yen, Quang Binh,
Quang Nam-Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Soc Trang, Son
La, Song Be, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien-Hue, Tien
Giang, Tra Vinh, Tuyen Quang, Vinh Long, Vinh Phu, Yen Bai

Independence: 2 September 1945 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 2 September (1945)

Constitution: 15 April 1992

Legal system: based on Communist legal theory and French civil law
system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Le Duc ANH (since 23 September 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister Vo Van KIET (since 9 August 1991);
First Deputy Prime Minister Phan Van KHAI (since 10 August 1991);
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen KHANH (since NA February 1987); Deputy
Prime Minister Tran Duc LUONG (since NA February 1987)
cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president on proposal of the prime
minister and ratification of the Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
National Assembly (Quoc-Hoi): elections last held 19 July 1992 (next
to be held NA July 1997); results - VCP is the only party; seats -
(395 total) VCP or VCP-approved 395

Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court

Political parties and leaders: only party - Vietnam Communist Party
(VCP), DO MUOI, general secretary

Member of: ACCT, AsDB, ASEAN (observer), CCC, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Liaison Officer Le Van BANG
liaison office: address NA, Washington, DC
mailing address: NA
telephone: NA
FAX: NA
note: negotiations between representatives of the US and Vietnam
concluded 28 January 1995 with the signing of an agreement to
establish liaison offices in Hanoi and Washington

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Liaison Officer James HALL
liaison office: address NA, Hanoi
mailing address: NA
telephone: NA
FAX: NA
note: negotiations between representatives of the US and Vietnam
concluded 28 January 1995 with the signing of an agreement to
establish liaison offices in Hanoi and Washington

Flag: red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center

@Vietnam:Economy

Overview: Vietnam has made significant progress in recent years moving
away from the planned economic model toward a more effective
market-based economic system. Most prices are now fully decontrolled,
and the Vietnamese currency has been effectively devalued and floated
at world market rates. In addition, the scope for private sector
activity has been expanded, primarily through decollectivization of
the agricultural sector and introduction of laws giving legal
recognition to private business. Nearly three-quarters of export
earnings are generated by only two commodities, rice and crude oil.
Led by industry and construction, the economy did well in 1993 and
1994 with output rising 7% and 9% respectively. However, the
industrial sector remains burdened by noncompetitive state-owned
enterprises the government is unwilling or unable to privatize.
Unemployment looms as a serious problem with roughly 20% of the work
force without jobs and with population growth swelling the ranks of
the labor force yearly.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $83.5 billion (1994
est.)

National product real growth rate: 8.8% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $1,140 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14.4% (1994)

Unemployment rate: 20% (1994 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $3.6 billion
expenditures: $4.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1994 est.)

Exports: $3.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: petroleum, rice, agricultural products, marine products,
coffee
partners: Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, France, South Korea

Imports: $4.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: petroleum products, machinery and equipment, steel
products, fertilizer, raw cotton, grain
partners: Singapore, Japan, South Korea, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan

External debt: $4 billion Western countries; $4.5 billion CEMA debts
primarily to Russia;

Industrial production: growth rate 13% (1994 est.); accounts for 21%
of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 2,200,000 kW
production: 9.7 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 125 kWh (1993)

Industries: food processing, textiles, machine building, mining,
cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil

Agriculture: accounts for 36% of GDP; paddy rice, corn, potatoes make
up 50% of farm output; commercial crops (rubber, soybeans, coffee,
tea, bananas) and animal products 50%; since 1989 self-sufficient in
food staple rice; fish catch of 943,100 metric tons (1989 est.); note
- the third largest exporter of rice in the World, behind the US and
Thailand

Illicit drugs: opium producer and increasingly important transit point
for Southeast Asian heroin destined for the US and Europe; growing
opium addiction; small-scale heroin producer

Economic aid:
recipient: $2 billion in credits and grants pledged by international
donors for 1995, Japan largest contributor with $650 million pledged
for 1995

Currency: 1 new dong (D) = 100 xu

Exchange rates: new dong (D) per US$1 - 11,000 (October 1994), 10,800
(November 1993), 8,100 (July 1991), 7,280 (December 1990), 3,996
(March 1990)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Vietnam:Transportation

Railroads:
total: 3,059 km (including 224 km not restored to service after war
damage)
standard gauge: 151 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 2,454 km 1.000-m gauge
other gauge: 230 km NA-m dual gauge (three rails)

Highways:
total: 85,000 km
paved: 9,400 km
unpaved: gravel, improved earth 48,700 km; unimproved earth 26,900 km

Inland waterways: 17,702 km navigable; more than 5,149 km navigable at
all times by vessels up to 1.8 meter draft

Pipelines: petroleum products 150 km

Ports: Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Hon Gai, Qui Nhon, Nha
Trang

Merchant marine:
total: 109 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 449,963 GRT/932,837 DWT
ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 92, oil tanker 10, refrigerated cargo 3,
roll-on/roll-off cargo 1

Airports:
total: 48
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 8
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 13
with paved runways under 914 m: 7
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5
with unpaved runways under 914 m: 5

@Vietnam:Communications

Telephone system: NA telephones; 2 telephones/1,000 persons; the
inadequacies of the obsolete switching equipment and cable system are
a serious constraint on the business sector and on economic growth,
and restrict access to the international links that Vietnam has
established with most major countries; the telephone system is not
generally available for private use
local: NA
intercity: NA
international: 3 satellite earth stations

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM NA, FM 228, shortwave 0
radios: 7 million (1991)

Television:
broadcast stations: 36 (repeaters 77)
televisions: 2.5 million (1991)

@Vietnam:Defense Forces

Branches: People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; includes Ground forces, Navy
(includes Naval Infantry), and Air Force

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 18,799,370; males fit for
military service 11,913,116; males reach military age (17) annually
742,394 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $435 million, 2.5% of
GDP (1994)


________________________________________________________________________

VIRGIN ISLANDS

(territory of the US)

@Virgin Islands:Geography

Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North
Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total area: 352 sq km
land area: 349 sq km
comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 188 km

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

International disputes: none

Climate: subtropical, tempered by easterly tradewinds, relatively low
humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season May to
November

Terrain: mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land

Natural resources: sun, sand, sea, surf

Land use:
arable land: 15%
permanent crops: 6%
meadows and pastures: 26%
forest and woodland: 6%
other: 47%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
current issues: lack of natural freshwater resources
natural hazards: rarely affected by hurricanes; frequent and severe
droughts, floods, and earthquakes
international agreements: NA

Note: important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping
lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural,
deepwater harbors in the Caribbean

@Virgin Islands:People

Population: 97,229 (July 1995 est.)
note: West Indian (45% born in the Virgin Islands and 29% born
elsewhere in the West Indies) 74%, US mainland 13%, Puerto Rican 5%,
other 8%

Age structure:
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: -0.29% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 18.49 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 5.2 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: -16.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 12.54 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.29 years
male: 73.6 years
female: 77.2 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.41 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: Virgin Islander

Ethnic divisions: black 80%, white 15%, other 5%

Religions: Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%, other 7%

Languages: English (official), Spanish, Creole

Literacy: NA%

Labor force: 45,500 (1988)
by occupation: tourism 70%

@Virgin Islands:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Virgin Islands of the United States
conventional short form: Virgin Islands

Digraph: VQ

Type: organized, unincorporated territory of the US administered by
the Office of Territorial and International Affairs, US Department of
the Interior

Capital: Charlotte Amalie

Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US)

National holiday: Transfer Day, 31 March (1917) (from Denmark to US)

Constitution: Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954

Legal system: based on US

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; note - indigenous inhabitants
are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections

Executive branch:
chief of state: President William Jefferson CLINTON (since 20 January
1993); Vice President Albert GORE, Jr. (since 20 January 1993)
head of government: Governor Dr. Roy L. SCHNEIDER (since 5 January
1995); Lieutenant Governor Kenneth E. MAPP (since 5 January 1995);
election last held 22 November 1994 (next to be held NA November
1998); results - Dr. Roy L. SCHNEIDER (Independent) 54.7%, former
Lieutenant Governor Derek HODGE 42.6%

Legislative branch: unicameral
Senate: elections last held 8 November 1994 (next to be held 5
November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (15
total) Democrats 7, Independents 7, Republican 1
US House of Representatives: elections last held 8 November 1994 (next
to be held 5 November 1996); results - Victor O. FRAZER (Independent)
54.5%, Eileen R. PETERSON (Democrat) 45.5%; seats - (1 total)
Independent 1; note - the Virgin Islands elects one representative to
the US House of Representatives

Judicial branch:
US District Court: handles civil matters over $50,000, felonies
(persons 15 years of age and over), and federal cases
Territorial Court: handles civil matters up to $50,000, small claims,
juvenile, domestic, misdemeanors, and traffic cases

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party, Marilyn STAPLETON;
Independent Citizens' Movement (ICM), Virdin C. BROWN; Republican
Party, Charlotte-Poole DAVIS

Member of: ECLAC (associate), IOC

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

US diplomatic representation: none (territory of the US)

Flag: white with a modified US coat of arms in the center between the
large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows an eagle holding
an olive branch in one talon and three arrows in the other with a
superimposed shield of vertical red and white stripes below a blue
panel

@Virgin Islands:Economy

Overview: Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for
more than 70% of GDP and 70% of employment. The manufacturing sector
consists of textile, electronics, pharmaceutical, and watch assembly
plants. The agricultural sector is small, most food being imported.
International business and financial services are a small but growing
component of the economy. One of the world's largest petroleum
refineries is at Saint Croix.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.2 billion (1987
est.)

National product real growth rate: NA%

National product per capita: $11,000 (1987)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: 3.7% (1992)

Budget:
revenues: $364.4 million
expenditures: $364.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1990 est.)

Exports: $2.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990)
commodities: refined petroleum products
partners: US, Puerto Rico

Imports: $3.3 billion (c.i.f., 1990)
commodities: crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building materials

partners: US, Puerto Rico

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate 12% (year NA); accounts for NA% of
GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 320,000 kW
production: 970 million kWh
consumption per capita: 9,172 kWh (1993)

Industries: tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum
distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics

Agriculture: truck gardens, food crops (small scale), fruit, sorghum,
Senepol cattle

Economic aid:
recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1970-89), $42 million

Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: US currency is used

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September

@Virgin Islands:Transportation

Railroads: 0 km

Highways:
total: 856 km
paved: NA
unpaved: NA

Ports: Charlotte Amalie, Christiansted, Cruz Bay, Port Alucroix

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
total: 2
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
note: international airports on Saint Thomas and Saint Croix

@Virgin Islands:Communications

Telephone system: 58,931 telephones; modern telephone system using
fiber-optic cable, submarine cable, microwave radio, and satellite
facilities
local: NA
intercity: NA
international: NA

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 8, shortwave 0 (1988)
radios: 98,000

Television:
broadcast stations: 4 (1988)
televisions: 63,000

@Virgin Islands:Defense Forces

Note: defense is the responsibility of the US


________________________________________________________________________

WAKE ISLAND

(territory of the US)

@Wake Island:Geography

Location: Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds
of the way from Hawaii to the Northern Mariana Islands

Map references: Oceania

Area:
total area: 6.5 sq km
land area: 6.5 sq km
comparative area: about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington,
DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 19.3 km

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

International disputes: claimed by the Republic of the Marshall
Islands

Climate: tropical

Terrain: atoll of three coral islands built up on an underwater
volcano; central lagoon is former crater, islands are part of the rim;
average elevation less than 4 meters

Natural resources: none

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
current issues: NA
natural hazards: occasional typhoons
international agreements: NA

Note: strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean; emergency landing
location for transpacific flights

@Wake Island:People

Population: 302 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 0% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population

Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population

Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births

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

Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman

@Wake Island:Government

Names:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Wake Island

Digraph: WQ

Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the US Army
and Strategic Defense Command since 1 October 1994

Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC

Independence: none (territory of the US)

Flag: the US flag is used

@Wake Island:Economy

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

Electricity: supplied by US military

@Wake Island:Transportation

Railroads: 0 km

Ports: none; two offshore anchorages for large ships

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
total: 1
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1

Note: formerly an important commercial aviation base, now used by US
military, some commercial cargo planes, as well as the US Army Space
and Strategic Defense Command for missile launches

@Wake Island:Communications

Telephone system: NA telephones; satellite communications; 1 Autovon
circuit off the Overseas Telephone System (OTS)
local: NA
intercity: NA
international: NA
note: Armed Forces Radio/Television Service (AFRTS) radio and
television service provided by satellite

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

Television:
broadcast stations: NA
televisions: NA
note: Armed Forces Radio/Television Service (AFRTS) radio and
television service provided by satellite

Note: formerly an important commercial aviation base, now used by US
military, as well as the US Army Space and Strategic Defense Command
for missile launches

@Wake Island:Defense Forces

Note: defense is the responsibility of the US


________________________________________________________________________

WALLIS AND FUTUNA

(overseas territory of France)

@Wallis And Futuna:Geography

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

Map references: Oceania

Area:
total area: 274 sq km
land area: 274 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
note: includes Ile Uvea (Wallis Island), Ile Futuna (Futuna Island),
Ile Alofi, and 20 islets

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 129 km

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

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; hot, rainy season (November to April); cool, dry
season (May to October)

Terrain: volcanic origin; low hills

Natural resources: negligible

Land use:
arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 20%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 75%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

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

Note: both island groups have fringing reefs

@Wallis And Futuna:People

Population: 14,499 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 1.11% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 25.06 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 5.14 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: -8.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 24.92 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.24 years
male: 71.62 years
female: 72.9 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.11 children born/woman (1995 est.)

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

Ethnic divisions: Polynesian

Religions: Roman Catholic

Languages: French, Wallisian (indigenous Polynesian language)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1969)
total population: 50%
male: 50%
female: 51%

Labor force: NA
by occupation: agriculture, livestock, and fishing 80%, government 4%
(est.)

@Wallis And Futuna:Government

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

Digraph: WF

Type: overseas territory of France

Capital: Mata-Utu (on Ile Uvea)

Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of France)

Independence: none (overseas territory of France)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French legal system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981)
head of government: High Administrator Philippe LEGRIX (since NA);
President of the Territorial Assembly Soane Mani UHILA (since NA March
1992)
cabinet: Council of the Territory consists of 3 kings and 3 members
appointed by the high administrator on advice of the Territorial
Assembly
note: there are three traditional kings with limited powers

Legislative branch: unicameral
Territorial Assembly (Assemblee Territoriale): elections last held 15
March 1987 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party
NA; seats - (20 total) RPR 7, UPL 5, UDF 4, UNF 4
French Senate: elections last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held
by NA September 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
(1 total) RPR 1
French National Assembly: elections last held 21 and 28 March 1992
(next to be held by NA September 1996); results - percent of vote by
party NA; seats - (1 total) MRG 1; note - Wallis and Futuna elect one
deputy

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

Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic (RPR); Union
Populaire Locale (UPL); Union Pour la Democratie Francaise (UDF); Lua
kae tahi (Giscardians); Mouvement des Radicaux de Gauche (MRG)

Member of: FZ, SPC

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

US diplomatic representation: none (overseas territory of France)

Flag: the flag of France is used

@Wallis And Futuna:Economy

Overview: The economy is limited to traditional subsistence
agriculture, with about 80% of the labor force earning its livelihood
from agriculture (coconuts and vegetables), livestock (mostly pigs),
and fishing. About 4% of the population is employed in government.
Revenues come from French Government subsidies, licensing of fishing
rights to Japan and South Korea, import taxes, and remittances from
expatriate workers in New Caledonia. Wallis and Futuna imports food -
particularly sugar and beef - fuel, clothing, machinery, and transport
equipment, but its exports are negligible, consisting of copra and
handicrafts.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $28.7 million (1994
est.)

National product real growth rate: NA%

National product per capita: $2,000 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $2.7 million
expenditures: $2.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1983 est.)

Exports: $6.6 million (f.o.b., 1986)
commodities: copra, handicrafts
partners: NA

Imports: $13.3 million (c.i.f., 1984)
commodities: foodstuffs, manufactured goods, transportation equipment,
fuel, clothing
partners: France, Australia, New Zealand

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity:
capacity: 1,200 kW
production: 1 million kWh
consumption per capita: 70 kWh (1990)

Industries: copra, handicrafts, fishing, lumber

Agriculture: dominated by coconut production, with subsistence crops
of yams, taro, bananas, and herds of pigs and goats

Economic aid:
recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1970-89), $118 million



 


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