Читать книгу The 2009 CIA World Factbook - United States. Central Intelligence Agency - Страница 492

Exchange rates:

euros per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)

Communications ::European Union

Telephones - main lines in use:

238 million (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

466 million (2005)

Telephone system:

note - see individual country entries of member states

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 930, FM 13,655, shortwave 71 (1998); note - sum of individual country radio broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Euroradio)

Television broadcast stations:

2,700 (1995); note - sum of individual country television broadcast stations excluding repeaters; there is also a European-wide station (Eurovision)

Internet country code:

.eu; note - see country entries of member states for individual country codes

Internet hosts:

118,760; note - this sum reflects the number of internet hosts assigned the .eu internet country code (2009)

Internet users:

247 million (2006)

Transportation ::European Union

Airports:

3,391 (2009)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 1,995

over 3,047 m: 115

2,438 to 3,047 m: 341

1,524 to 2,437 m: 543

914 to 1,523 m: 421

under 914 m: 575 (2009)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 1,396

over 3,047 m: 2

2,438 to 3,047 m: 3

1,524 to 2,437 m: 24

914 to 1,523 m: 257

under 914 m: 1,110 (2009)

Heliports:

100 (2007)

Railways:

total: 229,450 km (2008)

Roadways:

total: 5,454,446 km (2008)

Waterways:

52,332 km (2006)

Ports and terminals:

Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Braila (Romania), Bremen

(Germany), Burgas (Bulgaria), Constanta (Romania), Copenhagen

(Denmark), Galati (Romania), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany),

Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre

(France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Naples

(Italy), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Riga (Latvia), Rotterdam

(Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden), Talinn (Estonia), Tulcea

(Romania), Varna (Bulgaria)

Military ::European Union

Military - note:

the five-nation Eurocorps - created in 1992 by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg - has deployed troops and police on peacekeeping missions to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and assumed command of the ISAF in Afghanistan in August 2004; Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German Brigade, the Multinational Command Support Brigade, and EUFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina; in November 2004, the EU Council of Ministers formally committed to creating 13 1,500-man battle groups by the end of 2007, to respond to international crises on a rotating basis; 22 of the EU's 27 nations have agreed to supply troops; France, Italy, and the UK formed the first of three battle groups in 2005; Norway, Sweden, Estonia, and Finland established the Nordic Battle Group effective 1 January 2008; nine other groups are to be formed; a rapid-reaction naval EU Maritime Task Group was stood up in March 2007 (2007)

Transnational Issues ::European Union

Disputes - international:

as a political union, the EU has no border disputes with neighboring countries, but Estonia has no land boundary agreements with Russia, Slovenia disputes its land and maritime boundaries with Croatia, and Spain has territorial and maritime disputes with Morocco and with the UK over Gibraltar; the EU has set up a Schengen area - consisting of 22 EU member states that have signed the convention implementing the Schengen agreements or "acquis" (1985 and 1990) on the free movement of persons and the harmonization of border controls in Europe; these agreements became incorporated into EU law with the implementation of the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam on 1 May 1999; in addition, non-EU states Iceland and Norway (as part of the Nordic Union) have been included in the Schengen area since 1996 (full members in 2001), and Switzerland since 2008 bringing the total current membership to 25; the UK (since 2000) and Ireland (since 2002) take part in only some aspects of the Schengen area, especially with respect to police and criminal matters; nine of the 12 new member states that joined the EU since 2004 joined Schengen on 21 December 2007; of the three remaining EU states, Cyprus is expected to join by 2009, while Romania and Bulgaria continue to enhance their border security systems

page last updated on November 11, 2009

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@Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) (South America)

Introduction ::Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

Background:

Although first sighted by an English navigator in 1592, the first landing (English) did not occur until almost a century later in 1690, and the first settlement (French) was not established until 1764. The colony was turned over to Spain two years later and the islands have since been the subject of a territorial dispute, first between Britain and Spain, then between Britain and Argentina. The UK asserted its claim to the islands by establishing a naval garrison there in 1833. Argentina invaded the islands on 2 April 1982. The British responded with an expeditionary force that landed seven weeks later and after fierce fighting forced an Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982.

Geography ::Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

Location:

Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of southern Argentina

Geographic coordinates: