Imports:
total value: $104.1 million (c.i.f., 1996 est.) commodities: fuel and lubricants, grain, machinery and parts, vehicles, fabrics, rice
partners: India 77%, Japan, UK, Germany, US
Debt-external: $129 million (FY94/95)
Economic aid:
recipient: $NA
Currency: 1 ngultrum (Nu) = 100 chetrum; note-Indian currency is also legal tender
Exchange rates: ngultrum (Nu) per US$1-39.358 (January 1998), 36.313 (1997), 35.433 (1996), 32.427 (1995), 31.374 (1994), 30.493 (1993); note-the Bhutanese ngultrum is at par with the Indian rupee
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
Communications
Telephones: 4,620 (1991 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: domestic telephone service is very poor with very few telephones in use
international: international telephone and telegraph service is by landline through India; a satellite earth station was planned (1990)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1990)
Radios: 23,000 (1989 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 0 (1990 est.)
Televisions: 200 (1985 est.)
@Bhutan:Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: 3,285 km
paved: 1,994 km
unpaved: 1,291 km (1996 est.)
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 2 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1997 est.)
@Bhutan:Military
Military branches: Royal Bhutan Army, Palace Guard, Militia
Military manpower-military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 466,594 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service: males: 248,985 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually: males: 18,946 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: NA%
@Bhutan:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: with Nepal over 91,000 Bhutanese refugees in Nepal
______________________________________________________________________
BOLIVIA
@Bolivia:Geography
Location: Central South America, southwest of Brazil
Geographic coordinates: 17 00 S, 65 00 W
Map references: South America
Area:
total: 1,098,580 sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq km
water: 14,190 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Montana
Land boundaries:
total: 6,743 km
border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
Terrain: rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Cerro Illimani 6,882 m
Natural resources: tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber
Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 24%
forests and woodland: 53%
other: 21% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,750 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: cold, thin air of high plateau is obstacle to efficient fuel combustion, as well as to physical activity by those unaccustomed to it from birth; flooding in the northeast (March-April)
Environment-current issues: the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation
Environment-international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
Geography-note: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world’s highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru
@Bolivia:People
Population: 7,826,352 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 39% (male 1,559,149; female 1,526,646) 15-64 years: 56% (male 2,139,680; female 2,245,268) 65 years and over: 5% (male 161,431; female 194,178) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 2% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 31.43 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 9.89 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 63.86 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 60.89 years
male: 57.98 years
female: 63.94 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.05 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian
Ethnic groups: Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 25%-30%, white 5%-15%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist)
Languages: Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.1%
male: 90.5%
female: 76% (1995 est.)
@Bolivia:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia conventional short form: Bolivia
local long form: Republica de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia
Data code: BL
Government type: republic
National capital: La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary)
Administrative divisions: 9 departments (departamentos, singular-departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
Independence: 6 August 1825 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 6 August (1825)
Constitution: 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994
Legal system: based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single)
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Hugo BANZER Suarez (since 6 August 1997); Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez (since 6 August 1997); note-the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Hugo BANZER Suarez (since 6 August 1997); Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez (since 6 August 1997); note-the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from a panel of candidates proposed by the Senate
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held June 2002)
election results: Hugo BANZER Suarez elected president; percent of vote-Hugo BANZER Suarez (ADN) 22%; Jaime PAZ Zamora (MIR) 17%, Juan Carlos DURAN (MNR) 18%, Ivo KULJIS (UCS) 16%, Remedios LOZA (CONDEPA) 17%; no candidate received a majority of the popular vote; Hugo BANZER Suarez won a congressional runoff election on 5 August 1997 after forming a “megacoalition” with MIR, UCS, CONDEPA, NFR and PCD
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies-last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held June 2002)
election results: Chamber of Senators-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party – ADN 11, MIR 7, MNR 4, CONDEPA 3, UCS 2; Chamber of Deputies-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-ADN 32, MNR 26, MIR 23, UCS 21, CONDEPA 19, MBL 5, IU 4
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges appointed for a 10-year term by National Congress
Political parties and leaders:
Left Parties: Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Antonio ARANIBAR]; Patriotic Axis of Convergence or EJE-P [Ramiro BARRANECHEA]; April 9 Revolutionary Vanguard or VR-9 [Carlos SERRATE]; Alternative of Democratic Socialism or ASD [Jerjes JUSTINIANO]; Revolutionary Front of the Left or FRI [Oscar ZAMORA]; Bolivian Communist Party or PCB [Marcos DOMIC]; United Left or IU [Marcos DOMIC]; Front of National Salvation or FSN [Manual MORALES Davila]; Socialist Party One or PS-1; Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB; Socialist Unzaguista Movement or MAS
Center-Left Parties: Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Oscar EID]; Christian Democrat or PDC [Benjamin MIGUEL]; New Youth Force [Alfonso SAAVEDRA Bruno]
Center Party: Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]
Center-Right Parties: Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Enrique TORO]; New Republican Force or NFR [Manfred REYES VILLA] Populist Parties: Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Conscience of the Fatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado]; Solidarity and Democracy or SYD; Unity and Progress Movement or MUP [Ivo KULJIS]; Popular Patriotic Movement or MPP [Julio MANTILLA] Evangelical Party: Bolivian Renovating Alliance or ARBOL [Marcelo FERNANDEZ, Hugo VILLEGAS]
Indigenous Parties: Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement or MRTK-L [Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde]; Nationalist Katarista Movement or MKN [Fernando UNTOJA]; Front of Katarista Unity or FULKA [Genaro FLORES]; Katarismo National Unity or KND [Filepe KITTELSON]
International organization participation: AG, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Marcelo PEREZ Monasterios chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410 through 4412 FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Donna Jean HRINAK embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] (2) 430251
FAX: [591] (2) 433900
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band
@Bolivia:Economy
Economy-overview: With its long history of semifeudal social controls, dependence on volatile prices for its mineral exports, and bouts of hyperinflation, Bolivia has remained one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries. However, Bolivia has experienced generally improving economic conditions since the PAZ Estenssoro administration (1985-89) introduced market-oriented policies which reduced inflation from 11,700% in 1985 to about 20% in 1988. PAZ Estenssoro was followed as president by Jaime PAZ Zamora (1989-93) who continued the free-market policies of his predecessor, despite opposition from his own party and from Bolivia’s once powerful labor movement. By maintaining fiscal discipline, PAZ Zamora helped reduce inflation to 9.3% in 1993, while GDP grew by an annual average of 3.25% during his tenure. President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (1993-1997) vowed to advance the market-oriented economic reforms he helped launch as PAZ Estenssoro’s planning minister. His successes included the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico and the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur) as well as the privatization of the state airline, phone company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company. Furthermore, SANCHEZ DE LOZADA sponsored legislation creating private social security accounts for all adult Bolivians and capitalized these new accounts with the state’s remaining 50% share in the privatized companies. Hugo BANZER Suarez took office in August 1997 and has proclaimed his commitment to the economic reforms of the previous administration.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$23.1 billion (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 4.4% (1997 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$3,000 (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 17%
industry: 26%
services: 57% (1995 est.)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 7% (1997)
Labor force:
total: 2.5 million
by occupation: agriculture NA%, services and utilities NA%, manufacturing, mining and construction NA%
Unemployment rate: 10%
Budget:
revenues: $3.75 billion
expenditures: $3.75 billion, including capital expenditures of $556.2 million (1995 est.)
Industries: mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing
Industrial production growth rate: 4% (1995 est.)
Electricity-capacity: 786,000 kW (1995)
Electricity-production: 2.9 billion kWh (1995)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 370 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber
Exports:
total value: $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1997) commodities: metals 34%, natural gas 9.4%, soybeans 8.4%, jewelry 11%, wood 6.9%
partners: US 22%, UK 9.3%, Colombia 8.7%, Peru 7.4%, Argentina 7.2%
Imports:
total value: $1.7 billion (c.i.f. 1997) commodities: capital goods 48%, chemicals 11%, petroleum 5%, food 5% (1993 est.)
partners: US 20%, Japan 13%, Brazil 12, Chile 7.5% (1996)
Debt-external: $4.2 billion (1997)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $588 million (1997)
Currency: 1 boliviano ($B) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: bolivianos ($B) per US$1-5.3724 (January 1998), 5.2543 (1997), 5.0746 (1996), 4.8003 (1995), 4.6205 (1994), 4.2651 (1993)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 144,300 (1987 est.)
Telephone system: new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities domestic: microwave radio relay system being expanded international: satellite earth station-1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 129, FM 0, shortwave 68
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 43
Televisions: 500,000 (1993 est.)
@Bolivia:Transportation
Railways:
total: 3,691 km (single track)
narrow gauge: 3,652 km 1.000-m gauge; 39 km 0.760-m gauge (13 km electrified) (1995)
Highways:
total: 52,216 km
paved: 2,872 km (including 27 km of expressways) unpaved: 49,344 km (1995 est.)
Waterways: 10,000 km of commercially navigable waterways
Pipelines: crude oil 1,800 km; petroleum products 580 km; natural gas 1,495 km
Ports and harbors: none; however, Bolivia has free port privileges in the maritime ports of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay
Merchant marine:
total: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,214 GRT/6,390 DWT (1997 est.)
Airports: 1,153 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 11
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 1,142
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 73
914 to 1,523 m: 229
under 914 m: 837 (1997 est.)
@Bolivia:Military
Military branches: Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia)
Military manpower-military age: 19 years of age
Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 1,859,823 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service: males: 1,209,537 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually: males: 82,670 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $154 million (1997)
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: 1.9% (1996)
@Bolivia:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Chile over Rio Lauca water rights
Illicit drugs: world’s third-largest cultivator of coca (after Peru and Colombia) with an estimated 46,900 hectares under cultivation in 1997, a 2.5% decrease in overall cultivation of coca from 1996 levels; Bolivia, however, is the second-largest producer of coca leaf; even so, farmer abandonment and voluntary and forced eradication programs resulted in leaf production dropping from 75,100 metric tons in 1996 to 73,000 tons in 1997, a 3% decrease from 1996; government considers all but 12,000 hectares illicit; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to the US and other international drug markets; alternative crop program aims to reduce illicit coca cultivation
______________________________________________________________________
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Introduction
Current issues: On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the former Yugoslavia’s three warring parties signed a peace agreement that brought to a halt over three years of interethnic civil strife in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Agreement, signed then by Bosnian President IZETBEGOVIC, Croatian President TUDJMAN, and Serbian President MILOSEVIC, divides Bosnia and Herzegovina roughly equally between the Muslim/Croat Federation and the Bosnian Serbs while maintaining Bosnia’s currently recognized borders. In 1995-96, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia to implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement. IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) whose mission is to deter renewed hostilities. SFOR will remain in place until June 1998. A High Representative appointed by the UN Security Council is responsible for civilian implementation of the accord, including monitoring implementation, facilitating any difficulties arising in connection with civilian implementation, and coordinating activities of the civilian organizations and agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bosnian conflict began in the spring of 1992 when the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina held a referendum on independence and the Bosnian Serbs – supported by neighboring Serbia-responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form a “greater Serbia.” In March 1994, Bosnia’s Muslims and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement in Washington creating their joint Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Federation, formed by the Muslims and Croats in March 1994, is one of two entities (the other being the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska) that comprise Bosnia and Herzegovina.
@Bosnia and Herzegovina:Geography
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia
Geographic coordinates: 44 00 N, 18 00 E
Map references: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europe
Area:
total: 51,233 sq km
land: 51,233 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries:
total: 1,459 km
border countries: Croatia 932 km, Serbia and Montenegro 527 km (312 km with Serbia, 215 km with Montenegro)
Coastline: 20 km
Maritime claims: NA
Climate: hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast
Terrain: mountains and valleys
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maglic 2,386 m
Natural resources: coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, forests, copper, chromium, lead, zinc
Land use:
arable land: 14%
permanent crops: 5%
permanent pastures: 20%
forests and woodland: 39%
other: 22% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent and destructive earthquakes
Environment-current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants; sites for disposing of urban waste are limited; widespread casualties, water shortages, and destruction of infrastructure because of the 1992-95 civil strife
Environment-international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography-note: within Bosnia and Herzegovina’s recognized borders, the country is divided into a joint Muslim/Croat Federation (about 51% of the territory) and a Serb Republic, The Republika Srpska [RS] (about 49% of the territory); the region called Herzegovina is contiguous to Croatia and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority
@Bosnia and Herzegovina:People
Population: 3,365,727 (July 1998 est.) note: all data dealing with population is subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing
Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (male 307,857; female 291,424) 15-64 years: 71% (male 1,177,516; female 1,195,419) 65 years and over: 11% (male 156,041; female 237,470) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.63% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 8.72 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 12.32 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: 39.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 30.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 63.03 years
male: 58.35 years
female: 68.02 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.14 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)
adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian
Ethnic groups: Serb 40%, Muslim 38%, Croat 22% (est.)
Religions: Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10%
Languages: Serbo-Croatian (often called Bosnian) 99%
Literacy: NA
@Bosnia and Herzegovina:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina local long form: none
local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina
Data code: BK
Government type: emerging democracy
National capital: Sarajevo
Administrative divisions: there are two first-order administrative divisions approved by the US Government-the Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and Republika Srpska; it has been reported that the Muslim/Croat Federation is comprised of 10 cantons identified by either number or name – Goradzde (5), Livno (10), Middle Bosnia (6), Neretva (7), Posavina (2), Sarajevo (9), Tuzla Podrinje (3), Una Sana (1), West Herzegovina (8), Zenica Doboj (4)
Independence: NA April 1992 (from Yugoslavia)
National holiday: Republika Srpska-“Republic Day,” 9 January; Independence Day, 1 March; Bosnia-“Republic Day,” 25 November
Constitution: the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new constitution now in force
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Chairman of the Presidency Alija IZETBEGOVIC (since 14 September 1996); other members of the three-member rotating presidency: Kresimir ZUBAK (since 14 September 1996-Croat) and Momcilo KRAJISNIK (since 14 September 1996 – Serb) head of government: Cochairman of the Council of Ministers Haris SILAJDZIC (since NA January 1997); Cochairman of the Council of Ministers Boro BOSIC (since NA January 1997) NA cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairmen note: president of the Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Ejup GANIC (since 1 January 1998); president of the Republika Srpska: Biljana PLAVSIC (since September 1996) elections: the three presidency members (one each Muslim, Croat, Serb) are elected by direct election (first election for a two-year term, thereafter for a four-year term); the president with the most votes becomes the chairman; election last held 14 September 1996 (next to be held September 1998); the cochairmen are nominated by the presidency election results: Alija IZETBEGOVIC elected chairman of the collective presidency with the highest number of votes; percent of vote-Alija IZETBEGOVIC received 80% of the Muslim vote to Haris SILAJDZIC’s 14%; Kresimir ZUBAK received 88% of the Croat vote to Ivo KOMSIC’s 11%; Momcilo KRAJISNIK received 68% of the Serb vote to Mladen IVANIC’s 30%
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the National House of Representatives or Vijece Opcina (42 seats-14 Serb, 14 Croat, and 14 Muslim; members serve two-year terms) and the House of Peoples or Vijece Gradanstvo (15 seats-5 Muslim, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members serve two-year terms) elections: National House of Representatives-elections last held 14 September 1996 (next to be held NA); note-the House of Peoples is elected by the Muslim/Croat Federation’s 140-seat House of Representatives (two-thirds) and the Republika Srpska’s 83-seat National Assembly (one-third)
election results: National House of Representatives: two-thirds chosen from the Muslim/Croat Federation: percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-SDA 16, HDZ-BiH 7, Joint List of Social Democrats 3, Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2; one-third chosen from the Bosnian Serb Republic: percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-SDS 9, SDA 3, Democratic Patriotic Front/Union for Peace and Progress 2 note: the Muslim/Croat Federation has a House of Representatives with 140 seats: seats by party-SDA 80, HDZ-BiH 33, Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina 11, Joint List of Social Democrats 10, other 6; the Republika Srpska has a National Assembly with 83 seats: seats by party-SDS 24, Serb Radical Party 15, Serb National Alliance 15, Socialist Party 9, Independent Social Democrats 2, Coalition for United Bosnia and Herzegovina and others 18
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, supervised by the Ministry of Justice; Constitutional Court, supervised by the Ministry of Justice
Political parties and leaders: Party of Democratic Action or SDA [Alija IZETBEGOVIC]; Croatian Democratic Union of BiH or HDZ-BiH [Bozo RAJIC]; Serb Democratic Party or SDS [Aleksa BUHA]; Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina or SBiH [Haris SILAJDZIC]; Joint List (consists of the following parties: UBSD, RP, MBO, HSG, and SPP); Civic Democratic Party or GDS [Ibrahim SPAHIC]; Croatian Peasants’ Party of BiH or HSS [Ivo KOMSIC]; Independent Social Democratic Party or SNSD [Milorad DODIK]; Liberal Bosniak Organization or LBO [Muhamed FILIPOVIC]; Liberal Party or LS [Rasim KADIC, president]; Muslim-Bosniac Organization or MBO [Adil ZULFIKARPASIC]; Republican Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina or RS [Stjepan KLJUIC]; Serb Civic Council or SGV [Mirko PEJANOVIC]; Social Democratic Party or SDP (formerly the Democratic Party of Socialists or DSS) [Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA]; Socialist Party of Republika Srpska or SPRS [Zivko RADISIC]; Social Democrats of Bosnia Herzegovina [Selim BESLAGIC]; Serb Radical Party of RS [Nikola POPLASEN]; Serb Party of Krojina and Posavina or SSKIP [Predrag LAZAREVIC]; National Democratic Union (also known as Democratic People’s Union or DNZ) [Fikret ABDIC]; Serb National Alliance or SNS [Biljana PLAVSIC]; Coalition for a United and Democratic BiH (coalition of SDA, SBiH, LS, and GDS)
note: 82 parties participated in the September 1997 municipal elections
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), OIC (observer), OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Sven ALKALAJ chancery: Suite 760, 1707 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 833-3612, 3613, 3615 FAX: [1] (202) 833-2061
consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Richard KAUZLARICH embassy: 43 Ul. Dure Dakovica, Sarajevo
mailing address: use street address telephone: [387] (71) 445-700, 667-391, 667-389, 667-743, 667-390, 659-969, 659-992
FAX: [387] (71) 659-722
Flag description: a wide medium blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of the flag; the remainder of the flag is medium blue with seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle
Government-note: Until declaring independence in spring 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina existed as a republic in the former Yugoslavia. Bosnia was partitioned by fighting during 1992-95 and governed by competing ethnic factions. Bosnia’s current governing structures were created by the Dayton Accords, the 1995 peace agreement which was officially signed in Paris on 14 December 1995 by Bosnian President IZETBEGOVIC, Croatian President TUDJMAN, and Serbian President MILOSEVIC. This agreement retained Bosnia’s exterior border and created a joint multi-ethnic and democratic government. This national government-based on proportional representation similar to that which existed in the former socialist regime-is charged with conducting foreign, economic, and fiscal policy. The Dayton Accords also recognized a second tier of government, comprised of two entities-a joint Muslim/Croat Federation and the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska (RS)-each presiding over roughly one-half the territory. The Federation and RS governments are charged with overseeing internal functions. As mandated by the Dayton Accords, the Bosnians on 14 September 1996 participated in the first post-war elections of national, entity, and cantonal leaders. The Bosnians have been slow to form and install new joint institutions. A new Federation cabinet was sworn in 18 December 1996 and the new Bosnian central government cabinet was confirmed on 3 January 1997. The Bosnians on 13-14 September 1997 participated in municipal elections, postponed in 1996 because of voter registration irregularities.
@Bosnia and Herzegovina:Economy
Economy-overview: Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as the poorest republic in the old Yugoslav federation. Although agriculture has been almost all in private hands, farms have been small and inefficient, and the republic traditionally has been a net importer of food. Industry has been greatly overstaffed, one reflection of the rigidities of communist central planning and management. TITO had pushed the development of military industries in the republic with the result that Bosnia hosted a large share of Yugoslavia’s defense plants. The bitter interethnic warfare in Bosnia caused production to plummet by 80% from 1990 to 1995, unemployment to soar, and human misery to multiply. With an uneasy peace in place, output has recovered in 1996-97 at high percentage rates on a low base, but remains less than half the 1990 level. The country, especially in the Muslim-Croat area, receives substantial amounts of humanitarian aid from the international community. Wide regional differences in war damage and access to the outside world have resulted in substantial variations in living conditions among local areas and individual families.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$4.41 billion (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 35% (1997 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$1,690 (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 19%
industry: 23%
services: 58% (1996 est.)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: NA%
Labor force:
total: 1,026,254
by occupation: NA%
Unemployment rate: 40%-50% (1996 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining; much of capacity damaged or shut down (1995)
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity-capacity: 2.339 million kW (1995)
Electricity-production: 1.4 billion kWh (1995)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 506 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock
Exports:
total value: $152 million (1995 est.) commodities: NA
partners: NA
Imports:
total value: $1.1 billion (1995 est.) commodities: NA
partners: NA
Debt-external: $3.5 billion (yearend 1995 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: $1.2 billion (1997 pledged)
Currency: 1 convertible marka = 100 convertible pfenniga; former currencies still used
Exchange rates: NA
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 727,000
Telephone system: telephone and telegraph network is in need of modernization and expansion; many urban areas are below average when compared with services in other former Yugoslav republics domestic: NA
international: no satellite earth stations
Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 2, shortwave 0
Radios: 840,000
Television broadcast stations: 6
Televisions: 1,012,094
@Bosnia and Herzegovina:Transportation
Railways:
total: 1,021 km (electrified 795 km; operating as diesel or steam until grids are repaired)
standard gauge: 1,021 km 1.435-m gauge (1995); note-some segments still need repair and/or reconstruction
Highways:
total: 21,846 km
paved: 11,425 km
unpaved: 10,421 km (1996 est.)
note: roads need maintenance and repair
Waterways: NA km; Sava blocked by downed bridges
Pipelines: crude oil 174 km; natural gas 90 km (1992); note-pipelines now disrupted
Ports and harbors: Bosanski Brod (an inland waterway port on the Sava which is not useable), Orasje (ferry)
Merchant marine: none
Airports: 26 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 17
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 9
under 914 m: 7 (1997 est.)
Heliports: 2 (1997 est.)
@Bosnia and Herzegovina:Military
Military branches: Army
Military manpower-military age: 19 years of age
Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 912,536 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service: males: 733,931 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually: males: 26,114 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: NA%
@Bosnia and Herzegovina:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: disputes with Serbia over Serbian populated areas
Illicit drugs: transit point for minor regional marijuana and opiate trafficking routes
______________________________________________________________________
BOTSWANA
@Botswana:Geography
Location: Southern Africa, north of South Africa
Geographic coordinates: 22 00 S, 24 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 600,370 sq km
land: 585,370 sq km
water: 15,000 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 4,013 km
border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: semiarid; warm winters and hot summers
Terrain: predominately flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m highest point: Tsodilo Hill 1,489 m
Natural resources: diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver
Land use:
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 46%
forests and woodland: 47%
other: 6% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility
Environment-current issues: overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources
Environment-international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography-note: landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country
@Botswana:People
Population: 1,448,454 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 42% (male 310,253; female 302,960) 15-64 years: 54% (male 370,925; female 409,941) 65 years and over: 4% (male 20,637; female 33,738) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.11% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 32.02 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 20.89 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 59.29 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 40.09 years
male: 39.46 years
female: 40.75 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.03 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)
Ethnic groups: Batswana 95%, Kalanga, Basarwa, and Kgalagadi 4%, white 1%
Religions: indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 50%
Languages: English (official), Setswana
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 69.8%
male: 80.5%
female: 59.9% (1995 est.)
@Botswana:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Botswana conventional short form: Botswana
former: Bechuanaland
Data code: BC
Government type: parliamentary republic
National capital: Gaborone
Administrative divisions: 10 districts and four town councils*; Central, Chobe, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Ngamiland, North-East, Selebi-Phikwe*, South-East, Southern
Independence: 30 September 1966 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 30 September (1966)
Constitution: March 1965, effective 30 September 1966
Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) note-the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) note-the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 15 October 1994 (next to be held NA October 1999); vice president appointed by the president election results: Sir Ketumile MASIRE elected president; percent of National Assembly vote-NA
note: President MASIRE resigned on 31 March 1998; Vice President MOGAE assumed the presidency pending elections to be held in 1999; on 2 April 1998, Festus MOGAE, then president, designated S. K. Ian KHAMA to be vice president after he is elected to the National Assembly in accordance with constitutional requirements
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Chiefs (a largely advisory 15-member body consisting of the chiefs of the eight principal tribes, four elected subchiefs, and three members selected by the other 12) and the National Assembly (44 seats, 40 members are directly elected by popular vote and 4 appointed by the majority party; members serve five-year terms) elections: National Assembly-elections last held 15 October 1994 (next to be held October 1999)
election results: percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-BDP 27, BNF 13
Judicial branch: High Court; Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: Botswana Democratic Party or BDP [Festus MOGAE]; Botswana Freedom Party or BFP [leader NA]; Botswana National Front or BNF [Kenneth KOMA]; Botswana People’s Party or BPP [Knight MARIPE]; Independence Freedom Party or IFP [Motsamai MPHO]; Unified Action Party or UAP [Lepetu SETSHWEALD]
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Archibald Mooketsa MOGWE chancery: Suite 7M, 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-4990, 4991
FAX: [1] (202) 244-4164
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Robert C. KRUEGER embassy: address NA, Gaborone
mailing address: P. O. Box 90, Gaborone telephone: [267] 353982
FAX: [267] 356947
Flag description: light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center
@Botswana:Economy
Economy-overview: Agriculture still provides a livelihood for more than 80% of the population but supplies only about 50% of food needs and accounts for only 4% of GDP. Subsistence farming and cattle raising predominate. Diamond mining and tourism also are important to the economy. The sector is plagued by erratic rainfall and poor soils. Substantial mineral deposits were found in the 1970s and the mining sector grew from 25% of GDP in 1980 to 35% in 1997. Unemployment officially is 21% but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. On the plus side is the substantial positive trade balance.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$5 billion (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 6% (1997 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$3,300 (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 4%
industry: 45% (including 35% mining) services: 51% (1997 est.)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 10% (1996 est.)
Labor force:
total: 235,000 formal sector employees (1995) by occupation: 100,000 public sector; 135,000 private sector, including 14,300 who are employed in various mines in South Africa; most others engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture (1995 est.)
Unemployment rate: 20-40% (1997 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $1.6 billion
expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $560 million (FY96/97)
Industries: diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing
Industrial production growth rate: 4.6% (FY92/93)
Electricity-capacity: 217,000 kW (1995)
Electricity-production: 1 billion kWh (1995)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 962 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: sorghum, maize, millet, pulses, groundnuts (peanuts), beans, cowpeas, sunflower seed; livestock
Exports:
total value: $2.31 billion (f.o.b. 1996 est.) commodities: diamonds 71%, copper and nickel 5%, meat 3% partners: Europe 74%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 22%, Zimbabwe 3%
Imports:
total value: $1.6 billion (c.i.f., 1996 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, vehicles and transport equipment, textiles, petroleum products
partners: Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 74%, Europe 8%, Zimbabwe 6%
Debt-external: $619 million (1996)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $189 million (1993)
Currency: 1 pula (P) = 100 thebe
Exchange rates: pula (P) per US$1-3.8547 (January 1998), 3.6508 (1997), 3.3242 (1996), 2.7716 (1995), 2.6831 (1994), 2.4190 (1993)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
Communications
Telephones: 19,109 (1985 est.)
Telephone system: sparse system
domestic: small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations international: microwave radio relay links to Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa; satellite earth station-1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 13, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 0 (1988 est.)
Televisions: 13,800 (1993 est.)
@Botswana:Transportation
Railways:
total: 971 km
narrow gauge: 971 km 1.067-m gauge (1995)
Highways:
total: 18,482 km
paved: 4,343 km
unpaved: 14,139 km (1996 est.)
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 92 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 80
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 55
under 914 m: 22 (1997 est.)
@Botswana:Military
Military branches: Botswana Defense Force (includes Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police
Military manpower-military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 335,301 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service: males: 177,248 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually: males: 18,148 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $199 million (FY93/94)
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: 5.2% (FY93/94)
@Botswana:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: quadripoint with Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe is in disagreement; dispute with Namibia over uninhabited Kasikili (Sidudu) Island in Linyanti (Chobe) River is presently at the ICJ; at least one other island in Linyanti River is contested
______________________________________________________________________
BOUVET ISLAND
(territory of Norway)
@Bouvet Island:Geography
Location: Southern Africa, island in the South Atlantic Ocean, south-southwest of the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa)
Geographic coordinates: 54 26 S, 3 24 E
Map references: Antarctic Region
Area:
total: 58 sq km
land: 58 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area-comparative: about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 29.6 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 4 nm
Climate: antarctic
Terrain: volcanic; maximum elevation about 800 meters; coast is mostly inaccessible
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 780 m
Natural resources: none
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 100% (all ice)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment-current issues: NA
Environment-international agreements: party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA
Geography-note: covered by glacial ice
@Bouvet Island:People
Population: uninhabited
@Bouvet Island:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bouvet Island
Data code: BV
Dependency status: territory of Norway; administered from Oslo
Legal system: NA
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (territory of Norway)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (territory of Norway)
Flag description: the flag of Norway is used
@Bouvet Island:Economy
Economy-overview: no economic activity; declared a nature reserve
Communications
Communications-note: automatic meteorological station
@Bouvet Island:Transportation
Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only
@Bouvet Island:Military
Military-note: defense is the responsibility of Norway
@Bouvet Island:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: none
______________________________________________________________________
BRAZIL
@Brazil:Geography
Location: Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Geographic coordinates: 10 00 S, 55 00 W
Map references: South America
Area:
total: 8,511,965 sq km
land: 8,456,510 sq km
water: 55,455 sq km
note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo
Area-comparative: slightly smaller than the US
Land boundaries:
total: 14,691 km
border countries: Argentina 1,224 km, Bolivia 3,400 km, Colombia 1,643 km, French Guiana 673 km, Guyana 1,119 km, Paraguay 1,290 km, Peru 1,560 km, Suriname 597 km, Uruguay 985 km, Venezuela 2,200 km
Coastline: 7,491 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Terrain: mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 m
Natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber
Land use:
arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 22%
forests and woodland: 58%
other: 14% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 28,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south
Environment-current issues: deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and endangers the existence of a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities; land degradation and water pollution caused by improper mining activities
Environment-international agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography-note: largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador
@Brazil:People
Population: 169,806,557 (July 1998 est.) note: Brazil took a census in August 1996 which showed a total of 157,079,573; this figure is about 5% lower than projections by the US Census Bureau, which is close to the implied underenumeration of 4.6% for 1991; since the full results of the census have not been released for analysis, the numbers shown for Brazil do not take into consideration the results of this 1996 census
Age structure:
0-14 years: 30% (male 26,090,859; female 25,132,122) 15-64 years: 65% (male 54,199,642; female 55,769,122) 65 years and over: 5% (male 3,499,272; female 5,115,540) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.24% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 20.92 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 8.53 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 36.96 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64.36 years
male: 59.39 years
female: 69.59 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.33 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Brazilian(s)
adjective: Brazilian
Ethnic groups: white (includes Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish) 55%, mixed white and black 38%, black 6%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic (nominal) 70%
Languages: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.3%
male: 83.3%
female: 83.2% (1995 est.)
@Brazil:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil conventional short form: Brazil
local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil local short form: Brasil
Data code: BR
Government type: federal republic
National capital: Brasilia
Administrative divisions: 26 states (estados, singular-estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Acre, Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Distrito Federal*, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondonia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins
Independence: 7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
National holiday: Independence Day, 7 September (1822)
Constitution: 5 October 1988
Legal system: based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO (since 1 January 1995); Vice President Marco MACIEL (since 1 January 1995); note-the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO (since 1 January 1995); Vice President Marco MACIEL (since 1 January 1995); note-the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 October 1994 (next to be held NA October 1998)
election results: Fernando Henrique CARDOSO elected president; percent of vote-Fernando Henrique CARDOSO 53%, Luis Inacio LULA da Silva 26%, Eneas CARNEIRO 7%, Orestes QUERCIA 4%, Leonel BRIZOLA 3%, Espiridiao AMIN 3%; note-second direct presidential election since 1960
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional consists of the Federal Senate or Senado Federal (81 seats; three members from each state or federal district elected according to the principle of majority to serve eight-year terms; one-third elected after a four year period, two-thirds elected after the next four-year period) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara dos Deputados (513 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: Federal Senate-last held 3 October 1994 for two-thirds of Senate (next to be held October 1998 for one-third of the Senate); Chamber of Deputies – last held 3 October 1994 (next to be held October 1998)
election results: Federal Senate-percent of vote by party-PMDB 28%, PFL 22%, PSDB 12%, PPR 7%, PDT 7%, PT 6%, PTB 6%, other 12%; seats by party-NA; Chamber of Deputies-percent of vote by party-PMDB 21%, PFL 18%, PDT 7%, PSDB 12%, PPR 10%, PTB 6%, PT 10%, other 16%; seats by party-NA
note: party totals since the fall of 1994 have changed considerably due to extensive party-switching
Judicial branch: Supreme Federal Tribunal, 11 judges are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate
Political parties and leaders: Brazilian Democratic Movement Party or PMDB [Paes DE ANDRADE, president]; Liberal Front Party or PFL [Jose JORGE, president]; Workers’ Party or PT [Jose DIRCEU, president]; Brazilian Workers’ Party or PTB [Rodrigues PALMA, president]; Democratic Labor Party or PDT [Leonel BRIZOLA, president]; Brazilian Progressive Party or PPB [Espiridiao AMIN, president]; Brazilian Social Democracy Party or PSDB [Artur DA TAVOLA, president]; Popular Socialist Party or PPS [Roberto FREIRE, president]; Communist Party of Brazil or PCdoB [Joao AMAZONAS, chairman]; Liberal Party or PL [Alvaro VALLE, president]
Political pressure groups and leaders: left wing of the Catholic Church, Landless Worker’s Movement, and labor unions allied to leftist Workers’ Party are critical of government’s social and economic policies
International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), BIS (pending member), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIPONUH, MONUA, MTCR, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOP, UNPREDEP, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Paulo Tarso FLECHA de LIMA chancery: 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-2700
FAX: [1] (202) 238-2827
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Melvyn LEVITSKY embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, Lote 3, Brasilia, Distrito Federal mailing address: Unit 3500, APO AA 34030 telephone: [55] (61) 321-7272
FAX: [55] (61) 225-9136
consulate(s) general: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo consulate(s): Recife
Flag description: green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue celestial globe with 27 white five-pointed stars (one for each state and the Federal District) arranged in the same pattern as the night sky over Brazil; the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress)
@Brazil:Economy
Economy-overview: Possessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil’s economy outweighs that of all other South American countries and is expanding its presence in world markets. Prior to the institution of a stabilization plan-the Plano Real (Real Plan) in mid-1994, stratospheric inflation rates had disrupted economic activity and discouraged foreign investment. Since then, tight monetary policy has brought inflation under control-consumer prices increased by less than 5% in 1997 compared to more than 1,000% in 1994. At the same time, GDP growth slowed from 5.7% in 1994 to about 3.0% in 1997 due to tighter credit. The strong currency, another cornerstone of the Real Plan, has encouraged imports-contributing to a growing trade deficit-and restrained export growth. Brazil’s more stable economy allowed it to weather the fallout in 1995 from the Mexican peso crisis relatively well. Record levels of foreign investment have flowed in, helping support the Real Plan through financial shocks in October-November 1997 that occurred in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. These shocks caused Brazil’s foreign exchange reserves to drop by $8 billion to $52 billion and the stock market to decline by about 25%, although it still ended up more than 30% for the year. President CARDOSO remains committed to defending the Real Plan, but he faces several key challenges domestically and abroad. His package of fiscal reforms requiring constitutional amendments has progressed slowly through the balkanized Brazilian legislature; in their absence, the government continues to run deficits and has limited room to relax its interest and exchange rate policies if it wants to keep inflation under control. Some foreign investors remain concerned about the viability of Brazil’s exchange rate policy because of the country’s fiscal and current account deficits. The government thus has to contend with the possibility of capital flight or a speculative attack that could draw down foreign reserves to a critical level and force a devaluation.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$1.04 trillion (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 3% (1997)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$6,300 (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 13%
industry: 38%
services: 49% (1995)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 4.8% (1997)
Labor force:
total: 57 million (1989 est.)
by occupation: services 42%, agriculture 31%, industry 27%
Unemployment rate: 7% (1997 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $87.5 billion
expenditures: $96 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996)
Industries: textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment
Industrial production growth rate: 4.5% (1997 est.)
Electricity-capacity: 57.64 million kW (1995)
Electricity-production: 264.895 billion kWh (1995) note: imported about 36.95 billion kWh of electricity from Paraguay
Electricity-consumption per capita: 1,878 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef
Exports:
total value: $53 billion (f.o.b., 1997) commodities: iron ore, soybean bran, orange juice, footwear, coffee, motor vehicle parts
partners: EU 28%, Latin America 23%, US 20%, Argentina 12% (1996)
Imports:
total value: $61.4 billion (f.o.b., 1997) commodities: crude oil, capital goods, chemical products, foodstuffs, coal
partners: EU 26%, US 22%, Argentina 13%, Japan 5% (1996)
Debt-external: $192.9 billion (December 1997)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $107 million (1993)
Currency: 1 real (R$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: R$ per US$1-1.120 (January 1998), 1.078 (1997), 1.005 (1996), 0.918 (1995), 0.639 (1994); CR$ per US$1-390.845 (January 1994), 88.449 (1993)
note: on 1 August 1993 the cruzeiro real (CR$), equal to 1,000 cruzeiros, was introduced; another new currency, the real (R$) was introduced on 1 July 1994, equal to 2,750 cruzeiro reais
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 14,426,673 (1992 est.)
Telephone system: good working system domestic: extensive microwave radio relay system and a domestic satellite system with 64 earth stations
international: 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations-3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean Region East)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1,223, FM 0, shortwave 151
Radios: 60 million (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 112
note: Brazil has the world’s fourth largest television broadcasting system
Televisions: 30 million (1993 est.)
@Brazil:Transportation
Railways:
total: 26,895 km (1,750 km electrified) broad gauge: 5,730 km 1.600-m gauge
standard gauge: 194 km 1.440-m gauge narrow gauge: 20,958 km 1.000-m gauge; 13 km 0.760-m gauge dual gauge: 523 km 1.000-m and 1.600-m gauges
Highways:
total: 1.98 million km
paved: 184,140 km
unpaved: 1,795,860 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 50,000 km navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 2,000 km; petroleum products 3,804 km; natural gas 1,095 km
Ports and harbors: Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Imbituba, Manaus, Paranagua, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos, Vitoria
Merchant marine:
total: 188 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,498,081 GRT/7,279,945 DWT
ships by type: bulk 37, cargo 26, chemical tanker 9, combination ore/oil 11, container 16, liquefied gas tanker 10, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 61, passenger-cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 11 (1997 est.)
Airports: 3,291 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 502
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 130
914 to 1,523 m: 319
under 914 m: 29 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 2,789
1,524 to 2,437 m: 76
914 to 1,523 m: 1,324
under 914 m: 1,389 (1997 est.)
@Brazil:Military
Military branches: Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy (includes Marines), Brazilian Air Force, Federal Police (paramilitary)
Military manpower-military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 46,620,486 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service: males: 31,337,037 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually: males: 1,806,162 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $15.1 billion (1997)
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: 1.9% (1997)
@Brazil:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: short section of the boundary with Paraguay, just west of Salto das Sete Quedas (Guaira Falls) on the Rio Parana, has not been precisely delimited; two short sections of boundary with Uruguay are in dispute-Arroio Invernada (Arroyo de la Invernada) area of the Rio Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the islands at the confluence of the Rio Quarai and the Uruguay River
Illicit drugs: limited illicit producer of cannabis, minor coca cultivation in the Amazon region, mostly used for domestic consumption; government has a large-scale eradication program to control cannabis; important transshipment country for Bolivian and Colombian cocaine headed for the US and Europe; increasingly used by Andean traffickers as a way station between Peru and Colombia
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BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY
(dependent territory of the UK)
@British Indian Ocean Territory:Geography
Location: Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Geographic coordinates: 6 00 S, 71 30 E
Map references: World
Area:
total: 60 sq km
land: 60 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago
Area-comparative: about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 698 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 3 nm
Climate: tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Terrain: flat and low (up to four meters in elevation)
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m
Natural resources: coconuts, fish
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: NA%
other: NA%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment-current issues: NA
Environment-international agreements: party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA
Geography-note: archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
@British Indian Ocean Territory:People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants note: there are UK-US military personnel and civilian contractors; approximately 3,000 native inhabitants, known as the Chagosians or Ilois, were evacuated to Mauritius before construction of UK-US military facilities
@British Indian Ocean Territory:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none
abbreviation: BIOT
Data code: IO
Dependency status: dependent territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Legal system: NA
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II of the UK (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner David Ross MACLENNAN (since NA 1994); Administrator Don CAIRNS (since NA); note-both reside in the UK cabinet: NA
elections: none; the queen is a hereditary monarch; commissioner and administrator appointed by the queen
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Flag description: white with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and six blue wavy horizontal stripes bearing a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
@British Indian Ocean Territory:Economy