Читать книгу The 2002 CIA World Factbook - United States. Central Intelligence Agency - Страница 10
ОглавлениеEconomy Benin
Economy - overview: The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output averaged a stable 5% in the past five years, but rapid population rise offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $6.8 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5.4% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,040 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 36% industry: 14% services: 50% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: 37% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (2001 est.)
Labor force: NA
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $377.4 million expenditures: $561.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001)
Industries: textiles, food processing, chemical production, construction materials (2001)
Industrial production growth rate: 8.3% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 240 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 16.67% hydro: 83.33% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 523.2 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 300 million kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001)
Exports: $35.3 million (f.o.b., 2000)
Exports - commodities: cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa
Exports - partners: Brazil, France, Indonesia, Thailand, Morocco,
Portugal, Cote d'Ivoire (2001)
Imports: $437.6 million (c.i.f., 2000)
Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products
Imports - partners: France, US, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Netherlands,
Japan (2001)
Debt - external: $1.18 billion (2000)
Economic aid - recipient: $342.6 million (2000)
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Currency code: XOF
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Benin
Telephones - main lines in use: 51,000 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 55,500 (2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: fair system of open wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); submarine cable
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)
Radios: 660,000 (2000)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (2001)
Televisions: 66,000 (2000)
Internet country code: .bj
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 4 (2002)
Internet users: 50,000 (2002)
Transportation Benin
Railways: total: 578 km narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2000 est.)
Highways: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: Waterways: streams navigable along small sections, important only locally
Ports and harbors: Cotonou, Porto-Novo
Merchant marine: none (2002 est.)
Airports: 5 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2001)
Military Benin
Military branches: Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force),
National Gendarmerie
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,509,760 note: both sexes are liable for military service (2002 est.) females age 15-49: 1,536,036
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 771,373 females age 15-49: 778,730 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 71,278 females: 70,088 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $27 million (FY96)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.2% (FY96)
Transnational Issues Benin
Disputes - international: Benin and Niger have refered to the ICJ the dispute over l'Ete and 14 smaller disputed islands in the Niger River, which has never been delimited; with Nigeria, several villages are in dispute along the Okpara River and only 35 km of the 436 km boundary are demarcated; the Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint remains undemarcated; Benin accuses Togo of moving boundary markers and stationing troops in its territory; two villages are in dispute with Burkina Faso
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Belarus
Introduction
Belarus
Background: After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration; Belarus has agreed on the framework for implementation of the accord.
Geography Belarus
Location: Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 207,600 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Kansas
Land boundaries: total: 2,900 km border countries: Latvia 141 km,
Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Terrain: generally flat and contains much marshland
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point:
Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Natural resources: forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Land use: arable land: 30% permanent crops: 1% other: 69% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air
Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note: landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes; the country is geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay
People Belarus
Population: 10,335,382 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 17.3% (male 914,579; female 876,346) 15-64 years: 68.6% (male 3,443,859; female 3,643,628) 65 years and over: 14.1% (male 482,624; female 974,346) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.14% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 9.86 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 14.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 74.56 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility rate: 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.28% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 14,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 400 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian
Ethnic groups: Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%
Religions: Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic,
Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Languages: Belarusian, Russian, other
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.)
Government Belarus
Country name: Republic of Belarus conventional short form: Socialist
Republic local long form: Respublika Byelarus'
Government type: republic
Capital: Minsk
Administrative divisions: 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady, singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk); note - when using a place name with the adjectival ending 'skaya' the word voblasts' should be added to the place name note: Independence: 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - 3 July 1944 was the date Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union
Constitution: 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 1 October 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998), Sergei SIDORSKY (since NA September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since NA September 2001) cabinet: president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4% elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; new election held 9 September 2001 (next election to be held by September 2006); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and 8 members appointed by the president, all for 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms) election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless elections: Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives)
Political parties and leaders: Agrarian Party or AP [Semyon SHARETSKY,
chairman]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN, chairman];
Belarusian Ecological Green Party (merger of Belarusian Ecological
Party and Green Party of Belarus) [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic
Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH,
chairman]; Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian
Social-Democrat Party or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian
Social-Democratic Party or Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman];
Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc
(United Civic Party) or CAB [Stanislav BOGDANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal
Democratic Party or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH, chairman]; Party of
Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Republican
Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS [Anatoliy NETYLKIN, chairman];
Social-Democrat Party of Popular Accord or PPA [Leanid SECHKA]; Women's
Party or "Nadezhda" [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD,
ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Valeriy V. TSEPAKLO chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 consulate(s) general: New York FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805 telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Michael KOZAK embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya use embassy street address telephone: Flag description: red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears the Belarusian national ornament in red
Economy Belarus
Economy - overview: Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprise. In addition to the burdens imposed by high inflation and persistent trade deficits, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive application of new business regulations, and arrests of "disruptive" businessmen and factory owners. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color the pattern of economic developments. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $84.8 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.1% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 13% industry: 42% services: 45% (2000)
Population below poverty line: 22% (1995 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 5.1% highest 10%: 20% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 21.7 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 46.1% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 4.8 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation: industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate: 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers
Budget: revenues: $4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
Industries: metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Industrial production growth rate: 5.4% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 24.66 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 99.51% hydro: 0.08% other: 0.41% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 26.78 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 300 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 4.15 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Exports: $7.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, textiles, foodstuffs, metals
Exports - partners: Russia 51%, Ukraine 8%, Poland 4%, Germany 3% (2000)
Imports: $8.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners: Russia 65%, Germany 7%, Poland 3% (2000)
Debt - external: $770 million (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $194.3 million (1995)
Currency: Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Currency code: BYB/BYR
Exchange rates: Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,590 (yearend 2001), 1,531.000 (November 2001), 876.750 (2000), 248.795 (1999), 46.127 (1998), 26.020 (1997); note - on 1 January 2000, the national currency was redenominated at one new ruble to 2,000 old rubles
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Belarus
Telephones - main lines in use: 2.313 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 8,167 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly domestic: local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long; local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity - Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus's fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational international: Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations
Radio broadcast stations: AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios: 3.02 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions: 2.52 million (1997)
Internet country code: .by
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 23 (2002)
Internet users: 180,000 (2001)
Transportation Belarus
Railways: total: 5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000 est.)
Highways: total: 98,200 km paved: 66,100 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 32,100 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)
Waterways: NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems
Pipelines: crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992)
Ports and harbors: Mazyr
Airports: 136 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 33 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 11 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 103 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 65 (2001)
Military Belarus
Military branches: Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior
Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,744,267 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 2,149,873 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 86,396 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $156 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1% (FY01)
Transnational Issues Belarus
Disputes - international: boundary demarcation with Latvia and Lithuania is pending European Union funding
Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Solomon Islands
Introduction
Solomon Islands
Background: The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the most bitter fighting of World War II occurred on these islands. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. Ethnic violence, government malfeasance, and endemic crime have undermined stability and civil society.
Geography Solomon Islands
Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
Geographic coordinates: 8 00 S, 159 00 E
Map references: Oceania
Area: total: 28,450 sq km water: 910 sq km land: 27,540 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 5,313 km
Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM continental shelf: 200 NM
Climate: tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
Terrain: mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point:
Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m
Natural resources: fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel
Land use: arable land: 1% permanent crops: 1% other: 98% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea,
Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection,
Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: strategic location on sea routes between the South
Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea
People Solomon Islands
Population: 494,786 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43.4% (male 109,339; female 105,170) 15-64 years: 53.5% (male 134,125; female 130,804) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 7,467; female 7,881) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.91% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 33.26 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 4.19 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 23.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 74.39 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility rate: 4.5 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander
Ethnic groups: Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4%
Religions: Anglican 45%, Roman Catholic 18%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 12%, Baptist 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4%
Languages: Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English is official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population note: 120 indigenous languages
Literacy: definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Government Solomon Islands
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form:
Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands
Government type: parliamentary democracy tending toward anarchy
Capital: Honiara
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces and 1 capital territory*; Central,
Choiseul (Lauru), Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita,
Rennell/Bellona, Temotu, Western
Independence: 7 July 1978 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 7 July (1978)
Constitution: 7 July 1978
Legal system: English common law, which is widely disregarded
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir John LAPLI (since NA 1999) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of Parliament for up to five years; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament cabinet: Cabinet consists of 20 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament head of government: Minister Snyder RINI (since 17 December 2001)
Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single-member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms) election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 40%, SIACC 40%, PPP 20%; seats by party - PAP 16, SIACC 13, PPP 2, SILP 1, independents 18 elections: last held 5 December 2001 (next to be held by December 2005)
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: Association of Independents [Snyder RINI]; People's Alliance Party or PAP [Allan KEMAKEZA]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon Islands Alliance for Change Coalition or SIACC [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU] note: in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO,
G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU,
Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Jeremiah MANELE 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017 telephone: Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy in Solomon Islands (embassy closed July 1993); the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands
Flag description: divided diagonally by a thin yellow stripe from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue with five white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the lower triangle is green
Economy Solomon Islands
Economy - overview: The bulk of the population depends on agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their livelihood. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. However, severe ethnic violence, the closing of key business enterprises, and an empty government treasury have led to serious economic disarray, indeed near collapse. Tanker deliveries of crucial fuel supplies (including those for electrical generation) have become sporadic due to the government's inability to pay and attacks against ships. Telecommunications are threatened by the nonpayment of bills and by the lack of technical and maintenance staff many of whom have left the country.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $800 million (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -10% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 42% industry: 11% services: 47% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.9% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 26,842
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $38 million (2001) expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: fish (tuna), mining, timber
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 32 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 29.76 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish
Exports: $165 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.)
Exports - commodities: timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa
Exports - partners: Japan 22%, China 15%, Philippines 13%, South Korea 12%, UK 12%, Thailand 5% (2000)
Imports: $152 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.)
Imports - commodities: plant and equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals, fuels, chemicals
Imports - partners: Australia 27%, Singapore 25%, NZ 5.5%, Japan 5.3%,
US 5.1% (2000)
Debt - external: $137 million (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $28 million mainly from Japan, Australia,
China, and NZ (2001 est.)
Currency: Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)
Currency code: SBD
Exchange rates: Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - 5.3728 (December 2001), 5.0889 (2000), 4.8381 (1999), 4.8156 (1998), 3.7169 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Solomon Islands
Telephones - main lines in use: 8,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 658 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 57,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 0 (1997)
Televisions: 3,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .sb
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 3,000 (2000)
Transportation Solomon Islands
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 1,360 km paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 km (includes about 800 km of private plantation roads) (1996 est.)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina
Merchant marine: none (2002 est.)
Airports: 31 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 19 (2001)
Military Solomon Islands
Military branches: no regular military forces; Solomon Islands National
Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues Solomon Islands
Disputes - international: none
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Navassa Island
Introduction
Navassa Island
Background: This uninhabited island was claimed by the US in 1857 for its guano, and mining took place between 1865 and 1898. The lighthouse, built in 1917, was shut down in 1996 and administration of Navassa Island transferred from the Coast Guard to the Department of the Interior. A 1998 scientific expedition to the island described it as a unique preserve of Caribbean biodiversity; the following year it became a National Wildlife Refuge.
Geography Navassa Island
Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, about one-fourth of the way from Haiti to Jamaica
Geographic coordinates: 18 25 N, 75 02 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 5.2 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 5.2 sq km
Area - comparative: about nine times the size of The Mall in Washington,
DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 8 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: marine, tropical
Terrain: raised coral and limestone plateau, flat to undulating; ringed by vertical white cliffs (9 to 15 m high)
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: unnamed location on southwest side 77 m
Natural resources: guano
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: NA
Geography - note: strategic location 160 km south of the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; mostly exposed rock, but enough grassland to support goat herds; dense stands of fig-like trees, scattered cactus
People Navassa Island
Population: uninhabited note: transient Haitian fishermen and others camp on the island (July 2002 est.)
Population growth rate: NA
Government Navassa Island
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form:
Navassa Island
Dependency status: unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior; in September 1996, the Coast Guard ceased operations and maintenance of Navassa Island Light, a 46-meter-tall lighthouse on the southern side of the island; there has also been a private claim advanced against the island
Legal system: the laws of the US, where applicable, apply
Flag description: the flag of the US is used
Economy Navassa Island
Economy - overview: no economic activity
Transportation Navassa Island
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only
Military Navassa Island
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the US
Transnational Issues Navassa Island
Disputes - international: claimed by Haiti
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Brazil
Introduction
Brazil
Background: Following three centuries under the rule of Portugal, Brazil became an independent nation in 1822. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil has overcome more than half a century of military intervention in the governance of the country to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of the interior. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, Brazil became South America's leading economic power by the 1970s. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem.
Geography Brazil
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 note: includes
Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade,
Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo water: 55,455 sq km
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 territorial sea: 12 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 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: 6% permanent crops: 2% other: 92% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 26,560 sq km (1998 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 a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area; there is a lucrative illegal wildlife trade; 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; wetland degradation; severe oil spills
Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, 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: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador
People Brazil
Population: 176,029,560 note: Brazil took an intercensal count in August 1996 which reported a population of 157,079,573; that figure was about 5% lower than projections by the US Census Bureau, which is close to the implied underenumeration of 4.6% for the 1991 census; estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 28% (male 25,140,954; female 24,199,276) 15-64 years: (male 3,992,017; female 5,863,234) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.87% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 18.08 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 9.32 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 35.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 67.91 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility rate: 2.05 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.57% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 540,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 18,000 (1999 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) 80%
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.)
Government Brazil
Country name: conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil conventional short form: Brazil local short form: Brasil local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil
Government type: federative republic
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 election results: Fernando Henrique CARDOSO reelected president; percent of vote - 53% elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 4 October 1998 (next to be held 6 October 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president 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
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) election results: PFL 20, PSDB 16, PT 7, PPB 5, PSB 3, PDT 2, PPS 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PFL 106, PSDB 99, PMDB 82, PPB 60, PT 58, PTB 31, PDT 25, PSB 19, PL 12, PCdoB 7, other 14 note: PSDB 13, PT 7, PDT 5, PSB 4, PTB 4, PPB 2, PPS 2, PL 1, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - seats by party (as of January 2002) - PFL 96, PSDB 93, PMDB 90, PT 59, PPB 49, PTB 33, PL 24, PDT 17, PSB 16, PPS 13, PCdoB 10, other 13 elections: Federal Senate - last held 4 October 1998 for one-third of the Senate (next to be held 6 October 2002 for two-thirds of the Senate); Chamber of Deputies - last held 4 October 1998 (next to be held 6 October 2002)
Judicial branch: Supreme Federal Tribunal (11 ministers are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate); Higher Tribunal of Justice; Regional Federal Tribunals (judges are appointed for life)
Political parties and leaders: Brazilian Democratic Movement Party
or PMDB [Michel TEMER, president]; Brazilian Labor Party or PTB [Jose
Carlos MARTINEZ, president]; Brazilian Social Democracy Party or PSDB
[Senator Jose ANIBAL, president]; Brazilian Socialist Party or PSB [Miguel
ARRAES, president]; Brazilian Progressive Party or PPB [Paulo Salim
MALUF]; Communist Party of Brazil or PCdoB [Renato RABELLO, chairman];
Democratic Labor Party or PDT [Leonel BRIZOLA, president]; Liberal Front
Party or PFL [Jorge BORNHAUSEN, president]; Liberal Party or PL [Deputy
Valdemar COSTA Neto, president]; Popular Socialist Party or PPS [Senator
Roberto FREIRE, president]; Worker's Party or PT [Jose DIRCEU, president]
Political pressure groups and leaders: left wing of the Catholic Church,
Landless Worker's Movement, and labor unions allied to leftist Worker's
Party are critical of government's social and economic policies
International organization participation: AfDB, BIS, CCC, ECLAC, FAO,
G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO,
ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA,
RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOP, UNMOVIC, UNTAET,
UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Rubens Antonio BARBOSA FAX: [1] (202) 238-2827 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco chancery: 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-2700
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Donna J. HRINAK embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, Quadra 801, Lote 3, Distrito
Federal Cep 70403-900, Brasilia mailing
[55] (061) 321-7272 FAX: 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)
Economy Brazil
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. The maintenance of large current account deficits via capital account surpluses became problematic as investors became more risk averse to emerging market exposure as a consequence of the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the Russian bond default in August 1998. After crafting a fiscal adjustment program and pledging progress on structural reform, Brazil received a $41.5 billion IMF-led international support program in November 1998. In January 1999, the Brazilian Central Bank announced that the real would no longer be pegged to the US dollar. This devaluation helped moderate the downturn in economic growth in 1999 that investors had expressed concerns about over the summer of 1998, and the country posted moderate GDP growth. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001 - to less than 2% - because of a slowdown in major markets and the hiking of interest rates by the Central Bank to combat inflationary pressures. Investor confidence was strong at yearend 2001, in part because of the strong recovery in the trade balance.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.34 trillion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.9% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $7,400 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 9% industry: 32% services: 59% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 22% (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1% highest 10%: 46.7% (1997)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 59.1 (1997)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.7% (2001)
Labor force: 79 million (1999 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: services 53%, agriculture 23%, industry 24%
Unemployment rate: 6.4% (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $100.6 billion expenditures: $91.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000)
Industries: textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment
Industrial production growth rate: 1% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 342.302 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 5.85% other: 3.74% (2000) hydro: 88.97% nuclear: 1.44%
Electricity - consumption: 360.641 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 42.3 billion kWh note: supplied by Paraguay (2000)
Agriculture - products: coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef
Exports: $57.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: manufactures, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos
Exports - partners: US 24.4%, Argentina 11.2%, Germany 8.7%, Japan 5.5%,
Italy 3.9%, Netherlands (2001)
Imports: $57.7 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, chemical products, oil, electricity, autos and auto parts
Imports - partners: US 23.2%, Argentina 11.2%, Germany 8.7%, Japan 5.5%,
Italy 3.9% (2001)
Debt - external: $251 billion (2001)
Economic aid - recipient: NA
Currency: real (BRL)
Currency code: BRL
Exchange rates: reals per US dollar - 2.378 (January 2002), 2.358 (2001), 1.830 (2000), 1.815 (1999), 1.161 (1998), 1.078 (1997) note: from October 1994 through 14 January 1999, the official rate was determined by a managed float; since 15 January 1999, the official rate floats independently with respect to the US dollar
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Brazil
Telephones - main lines in use: 17.039 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 4.4 million (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: 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), connected by microwave relay system to Mercosur Brazilsat B3 satellite earth station
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1,365, FM 296, shortwave 161 (of which 91 are collocated with AM stations) (1999)
Radios: 71 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 138 (1997)
Televisions: 36.5 million (1997)
Internet country code: .br
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 50 (2000)
Internet users: 11.94 million (2001)
Transportation Brazil
Railways: total: broad gauge: 5,679 km 1.600-m gauge (1,199 km electrified) narrow gauge: 24,666 km 1.000-m gauge (930 km electrified) dual gauge: 336 km 1.000-m and 1.600-m gauges (three rails) standard gauge: 194 km 1.440-m gauge note: in addition to the interurban routes itemized above, Brazil has 247.8 km of suburban railway consisting of 170.8 km of 1.600-m gauge (75 km electrified) and 77 km of 1.000-m gauge (1999 est.)
Highways: total: 1.98 million km paved: 184,140 km unpaved: 1,795,860 km (1996)
Waterways: 50,000 km
Pipelines: crude oil 2,980 km; petroleum products 4,762 km; natural gas 4,246 km (1998)
Ports and harbors: Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Imbituba, Manaus,
Paranagua, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador,
Santos, Vitoria
Merchant marine: total: 165 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,662,570 GRT/5,875,933 DWT note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Chile 2, Germany 6, Greece 1, Monaco 1 (2002 est.) ships by type: bulk 32, cargo 25, chemical tanker 5, combination ore/oil 9, container 12, liquefied gas 11, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 54, roll on/roll off 10, short-sea passenger 1
Airports: 3,365 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 627 over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 153 914 to 1,523 m: 407 under 914 m: 40 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: 1,316 under 914 m: Military Brazil
Military branches: Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy (includes naval air and marines), Brazilian Air Force, Federal Police (paramilitary)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 48,859,610 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 32,743,504 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 1,762,740 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $13.408 billion (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.9% (FY99)
Transnational Issues Brazil
Disputes - international: uncontested dispute with Uruguay over islands in the Rio Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the Arroio Invernada (Arroyo de la Invernada)
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis; minor coca cultivation in the Amazon region, used for domestic consumption; government has a large-scale eradication program to control cannabis; important transshipment country for Colombian and Peruvian cocaine headed for the US and Europe; also used by traffickers as a way station for narcotics air transshipments between Peru and Colombia; upsurge in drug-related violence and weapons smuggling; important market for Colombian, Bolivian, and Peruvian cocaine
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Bassas da India
Introduction
Bassas da India
Background: This atoll is a volcanic rock surrounded by reefs and is awash at high tide. A French possession since 1897, it was placed under the administration of a commissioner residing in Reunion in 1968.
Geography Bassas da India
Location: Southern Africa, islands in the southern Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from Madagascar to Mozambique
Geographic coordinates: 21 30 S, 39 50 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 0.2 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 0.2 sq km
Area - comparative: about one-third the size of The Mall in Washington,
DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 35.2 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: tropical
Terrain: volcanic rock
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 2.4 m
Natural resources: none
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (all rock) (1998 est.)
