Читать книгу The 2002 CIA World Factbook - United States. Central Intelligence Agency - Страница 9
ОглавлениеPeople Bosnia and Herzegovina
Population: 3,964,388 note: all data dealing with population are subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 19.8% (male 403,391; female 382,037) 15-64 years: 70.6% (male 1,432,559; female 1,366,224) 65 years and over: 9.6% (male 161,659; female 218,518) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.76% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 12.76 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 8.1 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 23.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 74.93 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility rate: 1.71 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.04% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Bosnian(s) adjective: Bosnian
Ethnic groups: Serb 31%, Bosniak 44%, Croat 17%, Yugoslav 5.5%, other 2.5% (1991) note: with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam
Religions: Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10%
Languages: Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian
Literacy: definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Government Bosnia and Herzegovina
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina local long form: none local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina
Government type: emerging federal democratic republic
Capital: Sarajevo
Administrative divisions: there are two first-order administrative divisions and one internationally supervised district* - Brcko district (Brcko Distrikt)*, the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska; note - Brcko district is in northeastern Bosnia and is an administrative unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina; it is not part of either Republika Srpska or the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the district remains under international supervision
Independence: 1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia; referendum for independence was completed 1 March 1992; independence was declared 3 March 1992)
National holiday: National Day, 25 November (1943)
Constitution: the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new constitution now in force; note - each of the entities also has its own constitution
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 Beriz BELKIC (chairman since 14 February 2002, presidency member since 30 March 2001 - Bosniak); other members of the three-member rotating (every eight months) presidency: 30 March 2001 - Croat) elections: the three members of the presidency (one Bosniak, one Croat, one Serb) are elected by popular vote for a four-year term; the member with the most votes becomes the chairman unless he or she was the incumbent chairman at the time of the election, but the chairmanship rotates every eight months; election last held 12-13 September 1998 (next to be held NA October 2002); the chairman of the Council of Ministers is appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the National House of Representatives head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Dragan MIKEREVIC (since 15 March 2002), position rotates every eight months cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairman; approved by the National House of Representatives election results: percent of vote - Zivko RADISIC with 52% of the Serb vote was elected chairman of the collective presidency for the first eight months; Ante JELAVIC with 52% of the Croat vote followed RADISIC in the rotation; Alija IZETBEGOVIC with 87% of the Bosniak vote won the highest number of votes in the election but was ineligible to serve a second term until RADISIC and JELAVIC had each served a first term as Chairman of the Presidency; IZETBEGOVIC retired from the presidency 14 October 2000 and was replaced first temporarily by Halid GENJAC and subsequently by Beriz BELKIC; Ante JELAVIC was replaced by Jozo KRIZANOVIC in March 2001 when the High Representative barred him from public office note: (since 1 January 2002); Vice President Karlo FILIPOVIC (since 1 January 2002); note - president and vice president rotate every year; President of the Republika Srpska: Mirko SAROVIC (since 11 November 2000); Vice President of the Republika Srpska: Dragan CAVIZ (since NA)
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the National House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats - 14 Serb, 14 Croat, and 14 Bosniak; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats - 5 Bosniak, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members elected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve four-year terms); note - Bosnia's election law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures; officials elected in 2000 and previously were elected to two-year terms on the presumption that a permanent law would be in place before 2002 election results: National House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - SDP 22%, SDA 20%, SDS 15%, HDZ-BiH 12%, SBH 12%, PDP 5%, NHI 2%, BPS 2%, DPS 2%, SNS 2% SNSD-DSP 2%, DNZ 2%, SPRS 2%; seats by party/coalition - SDP 9, SDA 8, SDS 6, HDZ-BiH 5, SBH 5, PDP 2, NHI 1, BPS 1, DPS 1, SNS 1, SNSD-DSP 1, DNZ 1, SPRS 1; House of Peoples - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA%; seats by party/coalition - NA elections: National House of Representatives - elections last held 11 November 2000 (next to be held in NA October 2002); House of Peoples - last constituted after the 11 November 2000 elections (next to be constituted in the fall of 2002) note: the Bosniak/Croat Federation has a bicameral legislature that consists of a House of Representatives (140 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 11 November 2000 (next to be held NA October 2002); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDA 38, SDP 37, HDZ-BiH 25, SBH 21, DNZ 3, NHI 2, BPS 2, DPS 2, BOSS 2, GDS 1, RP 1, HSS 1, LDS 1, Pensioners' Party of FBiH 1, SNSD-DSP 1, HKDU 1, HSP 1; and a House of Peoples (74 seats - 30 Bosniak, 30 Croat, and 14 others); last constituted November 2000; the Republika Srpska has a National Assembly (83 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 11 November 2000 (next to be held in the fall of 2002); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDS 31, PDP 11, SNSD 11, SDA 6, DSP 4, SDP 4, SPRS 4, SBH 4, DNS 3, SNS 2, NHI 1, DSRS 1, Pensioners' Party 1; Bosnia's election law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures; officials elected in 2000 and prior were elected to two-year terms on the presumption that a permanent law would be in place before 2002
Judicial branch: BiH Constitutional Court (consists of nine members: four members are selected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives, two members by the Republika Srpska's National Assembly, and three non-Bosnian members by the president of the European Court of Human Rights) note: cases related to state-level law and appellate jurisdiction over cases initiated in the entities; the entities each have a Supreme Court; each entity also has a number of lower courts; there are 10 cantonal courts in the Federation, plus a number of municipal courts; the Republika Srpska has five municipal courts
Political parties and leaders: Bosnian Party or BOSS [Mirnes AJANOVIC];
Bosnian Patriotic Party or BPS [Sefer HALILOVIC]; Civic Democratic
Party of BiH or GDS [Ibrahim SPAHIC]; Croat Christian Democratic Union
or HKDU BiH [Ante PASALIC]; Croatian Democratic Union of BiH or HDZ-BiH
[Ante JELAVIC; note - not recognized by the international community];
Croatian Party of Rights of BiH or HSP-BiH [Zdravko HRSTIC]; Croatian
Peasants Party of BiH or HSS-BiH [Ilija SIMIC]; Democratic National
Alliance or DNS [Dragan KOSTIC]; Democratic Party of Pensioners or DPS
[Alojz KNEZOVIC]; Democratic Party of RS or DSRS [Dragomir DUMIC];
Democratic Peoples Union or DNZ [Fikret ABDIC]; Democratic Socialist
Party or DSP [Nebojsa RADMANOVIC]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDS
[Rasim KADIC]; New Croatian Initiative or NHI [Kresimir ZUBAK]; Party
for Bosnia and Herzegovina or SBH [Safet HALILOVIC]; Party of Democratic
Action or SDA [Sulejman TIHIC]; Party of Democratic Progress or PDP
[Mladen IVANIC]; Party of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD [Milorad
DODIK]; Pensioners' Party of FBiH [Husein VOJNIKOVIC]; Pensioners' Party
of SR [Stojan BOGOSAVAC]; People's Party-Working for Progress or NS-RZB
[Mladen IVANKOVIC]; Republican Party of BiH or RP [Stjepan KLJUIC];
Serb Democratic Party or SDS [Dragan KALINIC]; Serb National Alliance
(Serb People's Alliance) or SNS [Branislav LULIC]; Social Democratic
Party of BIH or SDP-BiH [Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA]; Socialist Party of Republika
Srpska or SPRS [Zivko RADISIC]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: BIS, CE (guest), CEI, EBRD,
ECE, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), OAS (observer),
OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Igor DAVIDOVIC chancery: 2109 E Street NW, [1] (202) 337-1500 consulate(s) general: Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Clifford J. BOND embassy: Alipasina 43, 71000 Sarajevo mailing address: use street address telephone: [387] (33) 445-700 FAX: [387] (33) 659-722 branch office(s): Banja Luka, Mostar
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: The Dayton Agreement, signed in Paris on 14 December 1995, retained Bosnia and Herzegovina'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 Agreement also recognized a second tier of government, comprised of two entities - a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina 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. The Bosniak/Croat Federation is further divided into 10 cantons. The Dayton Agreement established the Office of the High Representative (OHR) to oversee the implementation of the civilian aspects of the agreement. About 250 international and 450 local staff members are employed by the OHR.
Economy Bosnia and Herzegovina
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 is almost all in private hands, farms are small and inefficient, and the republic traditionally is a net importer of food. Industry has been greatly overstaffed, one reflection of the socialist economic structure of Yugoslavia. 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 recovered in 1996-99 at high percentage rates from a low base; but output growth slowed in 2000 and 2001. GDP remains far below the 1990 level. Economic data are of limited use because, although both entities issue figures, national-level statistics are limited. Moreover, official data do not capture the large share of activity that occurs on the black market. The marka - the national currency introduced in 1998 - is now pegged to the euro, and the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina has dramatically increased its reserve holdings. Implementation of privatization, however, has been slow, and local entities only reluctantly support national-level institutions. Banking reform accelerated in 2001 as all the communist-era payments bureaus were shut down. The country receives substantial amounts of reconstruction assistance and humanitarian aid from the international community but will have to prepare for an era of declining assistance.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $7 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 6% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 16% industry: 28% services: 56% (1998 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 1.026 million
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate: 40% (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $1.9 billion expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)
Industries: steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining
Industrial production growth rate: 9% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 2.615 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 37.67% hydro: 62.33% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 2.577 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 205 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 350 million kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock
Exports: $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: miscellaneous manufactures, crude materials
Exports - partners: Croatia, Switzerland, Italy, Germany
Imports: $3.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, industrial products, foodstuffs
Imports - partners: Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Italy
Debt - external: $2.8 billion (2001)
Economic aid - recipient: $650 million (2001 est.)
Currency: marka (BAM)
Currency code: BAM
Exchange rates: marka per US dollar - 2.161 (October 2001), 2.124 (2000), 1.837 (1999), 1.760 (1998), 1.734 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Bosnia and Herzegovina
Telephones - main lines in use: 303,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 9,000 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: telephone and telegraph network
needs modernization and expansion; many urban areas are below average
as contrasted with
NA international:
Radio broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 16, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: 940,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 33 (plus 277 repeaters) (September 1995)
Televisions: NA
Internet country code: .ba
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (2000)
Internet users: 3,500 (2000)
Transportation Bosnia and Herzegovina
Railways: total: 1,021 km (795 km electrified; operating as diesel or steam until grids are repaired) standard gauge: 1,021 km 1.435-m gauge; note - many segments still need repair and/or reconstruction because of war damage (2000 est.)
Highways: total: 21,846 km paved: 14,020 km note: road system is in need of maintenance and repair (2001) unpaved: 7,826 km
Waterways: NA km; large sections of the Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris
Pipelines: crude oil 174 km; natural gas 90 km (1992)
Ports and harbors: Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanski Brod, Bosanski Samac, and Brcko (all inland waterway ports on the Sava), Orasje
Merchant marine: none (2002 est.)
Airports: 27 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 19 under 914 m: 11 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7
Heliports: 5 (2001)
Military Bosnia and Herzegovina
Military branches: VF Army (the air and air defense forces are subordinate commands within the Army), VRS Army (the air and air defense forces are subordinate commands within the Army)
Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,131,537 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 898,117 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 29,757 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues Bosnia and Herzegovina
Disputes - international: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Yugoslavia have delimited about half of their boundary, but several segments, particularly along the meandering Drina River, remain in dispute; discussions continue with Croatia on the disputed boundary in the Una River near Kostajnica, Hrvatska Dubica, and Zeljava; protests Croatian claim to the tip of the Klek Peninsula and several islands near Neum
Illicit drugs: minor transit point for marijuana and opiate trafficking routes to Western Europe
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Bolivia
Introduction
Bolivia
Background: Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and counter-coups. Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in the 1980s, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and drug production. Current goals include attracting foreign investment, strengthening the educational system, continuing the privatization program, and waging an anticorruption campaign.
Geography Bolivia
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 water: 14,190 sq km land: 1,084,390 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:
Nevado Sajama 6,542 m
Natural resources: tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% other: 98% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,280 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship
Pollution, 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
People Bolivia
Population: 8,445,134 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 37.8% (male 1,626,596; female 1,565,124) 15-64 years: 57.7% (male 2,383,852; female 2,491,823) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 169,583; female 208,156) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.69% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 26.41 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 8.05 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.42 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: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 57.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 67.1 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility rate: 3.37 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 4,200 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 380 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian
Ethnic groups: Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 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.)
Government Bolivia
Country name: Republic of Bolivia conventional short form: Government type: republic
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 Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez (since 7 August 2001); Vice President NA; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government note: Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez assumed the presidency upon the resignation in August 2001 of former President Hugo BANZER Suarez for health reasons head of government: President NA; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government note: Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez assumed the presidency upon the resignation in August 2001 of former President Hugo BANZER Suarez for health reasons 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 30 June 2002) election results: (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 former Christian Democratic Party (PDC); resigned 7 August 2001 and was succeeded by Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez who is serving out BANZER's term; QUIROGA will step down in August 2002 when the new president is chosen by Congress, a result of no candidate winning a majority in the 30 June 2002 election cabinet: 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; note - some members are drawn from party lists, thus not directly elected) 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 - MNR 26, MIR 24, ADN 20, UCS 20, CONDEPA 19, NFR 11, MBL 5, IU 4, FSB 1 elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA June 2002)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges appointed for 10-year terms by National Congress); District Courts (one in each department); provincial and local courts (to try minor cases)
Political parties and leaders: Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB
[Otto RICHTER]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ];
Conscience of the Fatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado]; Free
Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz BARRIOS]; Movement of the Revolutionary
Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN
[Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez]; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or
MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]; New Republican Force or NFR [Manfred
REYES-VILLA]; United Left or IU [Marcos DOMIC] note: the ADN, MIR,
and UCS comprise the ruling coalition
Political pressure groups and leaders: Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Felipe QUISPE]
International organization participation: CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate),
MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Marlene FERNANDEZ del Granado FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York, and San Francisco telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410 chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
V. Manuel ROCHA embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz mailing
address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] 243-3812
FAX: [591] (2) 433854
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
Economy Bolivia
Economy - overview: Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, has made considerable progress toward the development of a market-oriented economy. Successes under President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (1993-97) included the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico and becoming an associate member of the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur), as well as the privatization of the state airline, telephone company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company. Growth slowed in 1999, in part due to tight government budget policies, which limited needed appropriations for anti-poverty programs, and the fallout from the Asian financial crisis. In 2000, major civil disturbances in April, and again in September and October, held down overall growth to 2.5%. Bolivia's GDP failed to grow in 2001 due to the global slowdown and laggard domestic activity. Growth is expected to pick up in 2002, but the fiscal deficit and debt burden will remain high.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $21.4 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 0% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 14% industry: 31% services: 55% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 70% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 45.7% (1997)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 58.9 (1997)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 2.5 million
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate: 7.6% (2000) note: widespread underemployment
Budget: revenues: $4 billion expenditures: $4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)
Industries: mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing
Industrial production growth rate: 3.9% (1998)
Electricity - production: 3.87 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 48.37% hydro: 50.13% other: 1.5% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 3.605 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 5 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 11 million kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber
Exports: $1.2 billion (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood
Exports - partners: US 32%, Colombia 18%, UK 15%, Brazil 15%, Peru 6% (2000)
Imports: $1.5 billion (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food
Imports - partners: US 24%, Argentina 17%, Brazil 15%, Chile 9%, Peru 5 (2000)
Debt - external: $5.8 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $588 million (1997)
Currency: boliviano (BOB)
Currency code: BOB
Exchange rates: bolivianos per US dollar - 6.8613 (January 2002), 6.6069 (2001), 6.1835 (2000), 5.8124 (1999), 5.5101 (1998), 5.2543 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Bolivia
Telephones - main lines in use: 327,600 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 116,000 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile cellular telephone use expanding rapidly domestic: primary trunk system, which is being expanded, employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; mobile cellular systems are being expanded international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999)
Radios: 5.25 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 48 (1997)
Televisions: 900,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .bo
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 9 (2000)
Internet users: 78,000 (2000)
Transportation Bolivia
Railways: total: 3,691 km narrow gauge: 3,652 km 1.000-m gauge; 39 km 0.760-m gauge (13 km electrified) (1995 est.)
Highways: 2,500 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: Waterways: 10,000 km (commercially navigable)
Pipelines: crude oil 1,800 km; petroleum products 580 km; natural gas 1,495 km
Ports and harbors: Puerto Aguirre (on the Paraguay/Parana waterway, at the Bolivia/Brazil border); also, Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay
Merchant marine: total: 36 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 196,399 GRT/320,137 DWT ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 15, chemical tanker 2, container 1, petroleum tanker 13, roll on/roll off 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of Belize 2, China 2, Cuba 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Honduras 1, Latvia 2, Liberia 2, Panama 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Saudi Arabia 1, Singapore 1, South Korea 3, Switzerland 1, Ukraine 1, United Arab Emirates 5, United States 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 1,109 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 13 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: Military Bolivia
Military branches: Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia)
Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,062,321 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,343,755 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 90,120 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $147 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.8% (FY99)
Transnational Issues Bolivia
Disputes - international: continues to demand a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama region was lost to Chile in 1884
Illicit drugs: world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 19,900 hectares under cultivation in July 2001, stable from July 2000 levels; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to the US and other international drug markets; eradication and alternative crop programs under the QUIROGA administration has kept pace with farmers' attempts to increase cultivation after significant reductions in 1998 and 1999
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Burma
Introduction
Burma
Background: Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party winning a decisive victory, the ruling military junta refused to hand over power. Key opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, under house arrest from 1989 to 1995, was again placed under house detention in September 2000; her supporters are routinely harassed or jailed.
Geography Burma
Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of
Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
Geographic coordinates: 22 00 N, 98 00 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total: 678,500 sq km land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries: total: 5,876 km border countries: Bangladesh 193 km,
China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km
Coastline: 1,930 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM territorial sea: 12 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate: tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April)
Terrain: central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m highest point:
Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m
Natural resources: petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 14% permanent crops: 1% other: 85% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 15,920 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts
Environment - current issues: deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes
People Burma
Population: 42,238,224 note: 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: 28.6% (male 6,158,039; female 5,905,314) 15-64 years: (male 905,476; female 1,130,881) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.56% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 19.65 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 12.25 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 72.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 57.07 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility rate: 2.23 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.99% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 530,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 48,000 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Burmese (singular and plural) adjective: Burmese
Ethnic groups: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%,
Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%
Religions: Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%),
Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%
Languages: Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write total population: statistics; estimates of functional literacy are likely closer to 30% (1999 est.)
Government Burma
Country name: conventional long form: Union of Burma conventional short form: Burma local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar) former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw
Government type: military regime
Capital: Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon)
Administrative divisions: 7 divisions* (yin-mya, singular - yin) and
7 states (pyine-mya, singular - pyine); Chin State, Ayeyarwady*, Bago*,
Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Magway*, Mandalay*, Mon State,
Rakhine State, Sagaing*, Shan State, Tanintharyi*, Yangon*
Independence: 4 January 1948 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 4 January (1948)
Constitution: 3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national convention started on 9 January 1993 to draft a new constitution; progress has since been stalled
Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note - the prime minister is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note - the prime minister is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); military junta, so named 15 November 1997, which initially assumed power 18 September 1988 under the name State Law and Order Restoration Council; the SPDC oversees the cabinet elections: none; the prime minister assumed power upon resignation of the former prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NLD 392, SNLD 23, NUP 10, other 60
Judicial branch: remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive
Political parties and leaders: National League for Democracy or NLD
[AUNG SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, general secretary]; National
Unity Party or NUP (proregime) [THA KYAW]; Shan Nationalities League
for Democracy or SNLD [U KHUN TUN OO]; Union Solidarity and Development
Association or USDA (proregime, a social and political organization)
[THAN AUNG, general secretary]; and other smaller parties
Political pressure groups and leaders: All Burma Student Democratic Front or ABSDF; Kachin Independence Army or KIA; Karen National Union or KNU; National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB [Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals legitimately elected to the People's Assembly but not recognized by the military regime (the group fled to a border area and joined with insurgents in December 1990 to form a parallel government); several Shan factions; United Wa State Army or UWSA
International organization participation: ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, CP,
ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador U LINN MYAING consulate(s) general: New [1] (202) 332-9044 chancery: Diplomatic representation from the US: Permanent Charge d'Affaires Priscilla A. CLAPP embassy: 96546 telephone: [95] (1) 282055, 282182 FAX: [95] (1) 280409
Flag description: red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, all in white, 14 five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 14 administrative divisions
Economy Burma
Economy - overview: Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from abject rural poverty. The military regime took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism", but those efforts have since stalled. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including an official exchange rate that overvalues the Burmese kyat by more than 100 times the market rate. In addition, most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta suppressed the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 election. Burma is data poor, and official statistics are often dated and inaccurate. Published estimates of Burma's foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and border trade - often estimated to be one to two times the official economy.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $63 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.3% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 42% industry: 17% services: 41% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 25% (2000 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 32.4% (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 23.7 million (1999 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 65%, industry 10%, services 25% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 5.1% (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $7.9 billion expenditures: $12.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (FY96/97)
Industries: agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 4.766 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 83.3% hydro: 16.7% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 4.432 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products
Exports: $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: apparel 55%, foodstuffs 18%, wood products 13%, precious stones 2% (2000)
Exports - partners: US 27%, India 16%, China 7%, Japan 6%, Singapore 6% (2000 est.) note: as narcotics, teak, and gems - or the largely unrecorded border trade with China and Thailand
Imports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, food products, textile fabrics, petroleum products
Imports - partners: China 26%, Singapore 23%, South Korea 15%, Japan 10%,
Taiwan 10% (2000 est.)
Debt - external: $6 billion (FY99/00 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $99 million (FY98/99)
Currency: kyat (MMK)
Currency code: MMK
Exchange rates: kyats per US dollar - official rate - 6.8581 (January 2002), 6.7489 (2001), 6.5167 (2000), 6.2858 (1999), 6.3432 (1998), 6.2418 (1997); kyats per US dollar - black market exchange rate - 435 (yearend 2000)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Communications Burma
Telephones - main lines in use: 250,000 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 8,492 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is good domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 3 (1998)
Radios: 4.2 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 2 (1998)
Televisions: 320,000 (2000)
Internet country code: .mm
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 note: as of September 2000, Internet connections were legal only for the government, tourist offices, and a few large businesses (2000)
Internet users: 500 (2000)
Transportation Burma
Railways: total: 3,991 km narrow gauge: 3,991 km 1.000-m gauge (2000 est.)
Highways: total: 28,200 km paved: 3,440 km unpaved: 24,760 km (1996)
Waterways: 12,800 km note: 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels
Pipelines: crude oil 1,343 km; natural gas 330 km
Ports and harbors: Bassein, Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina,
Rangoon, Akyab (Sittwe), Tavoy
Merchant marine: total: 35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 382,386 GRT/582,084 DWT note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 5, Japan 4 (2002 est.) ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 21, container 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1
Airports: 80 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 8 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
Airports - with unpaved runways: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: Heliports: 2 (2001)
Military Burma
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 12,211,144 note: both sexes liable for military service (2002 est.) females age 15-49: 12,223,069
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 6,502,013 females age 15-49: 6,491,732 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 486,432 females: 470,667 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $39 million (FY97/98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.1% (FY97/98)
Transnational Issues Burma
Disputes - international: despite renewed border committee talks, significant differences remain with Thailand over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic guerrilla rebels, refugees, smuggling, and drug trafficking in cross-border region; Burmese attempts to construct a dam on border stream with Bangladesh in 2001 prompted an armed response halting construction; Burmese Muslim migration into Bangladesh strains Bangladesh's meager resources
Illicit drugs: world's largest producer of illicit opium, surpassing Afghanistan (potential production in 2001 - 865 metric tons, down 21% due to drought, and to a lesser extent, eradication; cultivation in 2002 - 105,000 hectares, a 3% decline from 2000); surrender of drug warlord KHUN SA's Mong Tai Army in January 1996 was hailed by Rangoon as a major counternarcotics success, but lack of government will and ability to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Benin
Introduction
Benin
Background: Dahomey gained its independence from France in 1960; the name was changed to Benin in 1975. From 1974 to 1989 the country was a socialist state; free elections were reestablished in 1991.
Geography Benin
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Nigeria and Togo
Geographic coordinates: 9 30 N, 2 15 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 112,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km land: 110,620 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries: total: 1,989 km border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km,
Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km
Coastline: 121 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 200 NM
Climate: tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point:
Mont Sokbaro 658 m
Natural resources: small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber
Land use: arable land: 15% permanent crops: 1% other: 84% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 120 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from
December to March
Environment - current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands
People Benin
Population: 6,787,625 note: 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: 0-14 years: 47.2% (male 1,616,138; female 1,585,463) 15-64 years: 50.5% (male 1,665,439; female 1,764,966) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 65,877; female 89,742) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.91% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 43.66 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 14.52 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 88.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 50.61 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility rate: 6.14 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 4.1% (2002)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 160,000 (2002)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 37,000 (2002)
Nationality: noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese
Ethnic groups: African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon,
Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500
Religions: indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%
Languages: French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 37.5% male: 52.2% female: 23.6% (2000)
Government Benin
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey local long form: Republique du Benin
Government type: republic under multiparty democratic rule; dropped Marxism-Leninism December 1989; democratic reforms adopted February 1990; transition to multiparty system completed 4 April 1991
Capital: Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government
Administrative divisions: 12 provinces; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique,
Borgou, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou
Independence: 1 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday: National Day, 1 August (1960)
Constitution: December 1990
Legal system: based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006) note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first-round presidential elections were: 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the second-round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March 2001, was postponed four days because both SOGOLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match" election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RB 27, PRD 11, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 9, MADEP 6, E'toile 4, Alliance IPD 4, Car-DUNYA 3, MERCI 2, other 7 elections: last held 30 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003)
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle;
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice
Political parties and leaders: African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Sylvain Adekpedjou AKINDES]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD and the National Union for Solidarity and Progress or UNSP [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Cameleon Alliance or AC [leader NA]; Car-DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; Communist Party of Benin or PCB [Pascal FANTONDJI, first secretary]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Liberal Democrats' Rally for National Reconstruction-Vivoten or RDL-Vivoten [Severin ADJOVI]; Movement for Citizens' Commitment and Awakening or MERCI [Severin ADJOVI]; New Generation for the Republic or NGR [Paul DOSSOU]; Our Common Cause or NCC [Francois Odjo TANKPINON]; Party Democratique du Benin or PDB [Col. Soule DANKORO]; Rally for Democracy and Pan-Africanism or RDP [Dominique HOYMINOU, Dr. Giles Auguste MINONTIN]; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union for National Democracy and Solidarity or UDS [Adamou N'Diaye MAMA] note: the Coalition of Democratic Forces, [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI], an alliance of parties and organizations supporting President KEREKOU
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS,
Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU,
MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE,
UNMIK, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Cyrille Segbe OGUIN FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER embassy: Rue Caporal
B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone:
Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red
with a vertical green band on the hoist side
