Countries of the World Part 4

Ghana

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Official name: Republic of Ghana. Form of government: unitary multiparty republic with one legislative house (House of Parliament [230]). Head of state and government: President John Agyekum Kufuor (from 2001). Capital: Accra. Official language: English. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 Ghana cedi (GH<f) = 100 pesewas; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = GHt 10,945.00 (the Ghana cedi replaced the cedi [0] 1 Jul 2007, at the rate of 1 GHt = 010,000).

Demography

Area: 92,098 sq mi, 238,533 sq km. Population (2007): 22,931,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 249.0, persons per sq km 96.1. Urban (2006): 46.8%. Sex distribution (2006): male 50.05%; female 49.95%. Age breakdown (2006): under 15, 38.7%; 15-29, 29.0%; 30-44, 18.1%; 45-59, 8.9%; 60-74, 4.2%; 75-84, 1.0%; 85 and over, 0.1%. Ethnic composition (2000): Akan 41.6%; Mossi 23.0%; Ewe 10.0%; Ga-Adangme 7.2%; Gurma 3.4%; Nzima 1.8%; Yoruba 1.6%; other 11.4%. Religious affiliation (2005): Protestant 23.7%; traditional beliefs 21.5%; Sunni Muslim 20.1%; independent Christian 15.9%; Roman Catholic 12.2%; other 6.6%. Major cities (2001): Accra (2003) 1,847,432; Kumasi 627,600; Tamale 269,200; Tema 237,700; Obuasi 122,600. Location: western Africa, bordering Burkina Faso, Togo, the Atlantic Ocean, and Cote d’Ivoire.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 30.5 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2006): 9.7 (world avg. 8.6). Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (2006): 20.8 (world avg. 11.7). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2006): 3.99. Life expectancy at birth (2006): male 58.0 years; female 59.6 years.

National economy

Budget (2006). Revenue:031,917,680,000,000 (tax revenue 77.2%, of which VAT 18.4%, trade tax 17.0%, petroleum tax 12.8%, income tax 9.7%, corporate tax 9.4%; grants 19.9%; nontax revenue 2.9%). Expenditures: 038,734,730,000,000 (current expenditure 63.9%, of which transfers 14.7%, debt service 10.2%; capital expenditure 36.1%). Public debt (external, outstanding; 2005): US$5,734,000,000. Households (1999). Average household size (2003) 3.9; mean annual household income 02,267,000 (US$849); sources of income: income from agriculture 37.0%, other self-employment 31.3%, wages and salaries 22.8%, remittances 4.8%; expenditure: food and nonalcoholic beverages 53.6%, clothing and footwear 10.0%, household operations 8.8%, education 6.1%, transportation and communications 5.6%. Gross national income (2006): US$12,000,000,000 (US$522 per capita). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): cassava 9,739,000, yams 3,892,000, plantains 2,381,000; livestock (number of live animals) 3,631,600 goats, 3,211,100 sheep, 1,385,000 cattle; roundwood 22,028,000 cu m, of which fuelwood 94%; fisheries production 393,428. Mining and quarrying (2005): bauxite 726,000; manganese (metal content) 600,000; gold 66,852 kg. Manufacturing (value added in US$’000,000; 2003): processed wood and wood products 157; chemicals and chemical products 115; food products 108. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 6,044,000,000 (6,044,000,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2005) 350,000 ([2004] 13,200,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) 1,646,000 (1,898,000). Population economically active (2000): total 9,039,318; activity rate of total population 47.8% (participation rates: ages 15-64, 76.2%; female 54.1%; unemployed [2001] 20.3%). Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 796; remittances (2005) 99; foreign direct investment (2001-05 avg.) 116; official development assistance (2005) 1,184 (commitments). Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 303; remittances (2005) 6. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 18.4%, in permanent crops 9.7%, in pasture 36.7%; overall forest area (2005) 24.2%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2005): US$5,279,810,000 (crude and refined petroleum 19.8%; nonpetroleum imports 80.2%). Major import sources (2004): Nigeria 12.8%; China 10.1%; UK 7.0%; US 6.7%; France 5.3%. Exports (2005): US$2,736,610,000 (gold 34.6%; cocoa beans and products 30.8%; sawn wood 8.3%). Major export destinations (2004): The Netherlands 11.1%; UK 10.9%; France 6.9%; US 6.0%; Belgium 4.8%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2002): route length (2005) 953 km; passenger-km 238,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 168,000,000. Roads (2003): total length 47,787 km (paved 18%). Vehicles (2002): passenger cars 463,000; trucks and buses 56,000. Air transport (2003; Ghana Airways only, which subsequently ceased operations in July 2004): passenger-km 906,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 16,630,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 190,000 (8.7); televisions (2003): 1,114,000 (53); telephone landlines (2006): 356,000 (16); cellular telephone subscribers (2006): 5,207,000 (232); personal computers (2004): 112,000 (5.2); total Internet users (2006): 610,000 (27); broadband Internet subscribers (2006): 13,000 (0.6).

Education and health

Educational attainment (2003). Percentage of population ages 25 and over having: no formal schooling/unknown 41.8%; incomplete primary education 9.6%; primary 3.6%; incomplete secondary 35.0%; secondary 5.4%; higher 4.6%. Literacy (2005): total population ages 15 and over literate 77.0%; males literate 84.2%; females literate 70.0%. Health: physicians (2004) 3,240 (1 per 6,631 persons); hospital beds (2001) 18,448 (1 per 1,089 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2006) 54.9. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 3,098 (vegetable products 96%, animal products 4%); 167% of FAO recommended minimum.

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 7,000 (army 71.4%, navy 14.3%, air force 14.3%). Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 0.7%; per capita expenditure US$4.

Background

The modern state of Ghana is named after the ancient Ghana empire that flourished until the 13th century ad in the western Sudan, about 500 mi (800 km) northwest of the modern state. The Akan peoples then founded their first states in modern Ghana. Gold-seeking Mande traders arrived by the 14th century, and Hausa merchants arrived by the 16th century. During the 15th century the Mande founded the states of Dagomba and Mamprussi in the northern half of the region. The Ashanti, an Akan people, originated in the central forest region and formed a strongly centralized empire that was at its height in the 18th and 19th centuries. European exploration of the region began early in the 15th century, when the Portuguese landed on the Gold Coast; they later established a settlement at Elmina as headquarters for the slave trade. By the mid-18th century the Gold Coast was dominated by numerous forts controlled by Dutch, British, and Danish merchants. Britain made the Gold Coast a crown colony in 1874, and British protectorates over the Ashanti and the northern territories were established in 1901. In 1957 the Gold Coast became the independent state of Ghana.

Recent Developments

In June 2007 the British firm Tullow Oil announced the discovery of a major new oil field offshore from Ghana, with reserves estimated at 600 million bbl. Company officials cautioned that it would take up to seven years before the oil field was operational. Nevertheless, Pres. John Kufuor enthused that this find would transform the country into an “African tiger.” For those who feared that Ghana would mismanage its future oil wealth, Kufuor assured them that Accra’s economy would remain robust even without oil revenue.

Greece

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Official name: Elliniki Dhimokratia (Hellenic Republic). Form of government: unitary multiparty republic with one legislative house (Hellenic Parliament [300]). Chief of state: President Karolos Papoulias (from 2005). Head of government: Prime Minister Konstantinos (Kostas) Karamanlis (from 2004). Capital: Athens. Official language: Greek. Official religion: Eastern Orthodox. Monetary unit: 1 euro (€) = 100 cents; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = €0.63 (the euro replaced the drachma [Dr] 1 Jan 2002, at the rate of €1 = Dr 340.75).

Demography

Area: 50,949 sq mi, 131,957 sq km. Population (2007): 11,190,000. Density(2007): persons persq mi 219.6, persons per sq km 84.8. Urban (2003): 60.8%. Sex distribution (2005): male 49.41%; female 50.59%. Age breakdown (2005): under 15, 14.3%; 15-29, 20.3%; 30-44, 23.0%; 45-59, 19.4%; 60-74,15.3%; 75-84, 6.2%; 85 and over, 1.5%. Ethnic composition (2000; unofficial source; government states that there are no ethnic divisions in Greece): Greek 90.4%; Macedonian 1.8%; Albanian 1.5%; Turkish 1.4%; Pomak0.9%; Rom (Gypsy) 0.9%; other 3.1%. Religious affiliation (2005): Orthodox 90%; Sunni Muslim 5%; Roman Catholic 2%; other 3%. Major cities (2001): Athens 745,514 (urban agglomeration 3,187,734); Thessaloniki 363,987 (urban agglomeration 800,764); Piraeus (Piraievs) 175,697; Patrai 161,114; Peristerion 137,918. Location: southern Europe, bordering Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2005): 9.7 (world avg. 20.3); within marriage 94.9%. Death rate per 1,000 population (2005): 9.5 (world avg. 8.6). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 1.28. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 76.6 years; female 81.5 years.

National economy

Budget (2006). Revenue: €48,600,000,000 (tax revenue 92.2%, of which VAT 32.6%, income taxes 30.4%; nontax revenue 7.8%). Expenditures: €50,413,-000,000 (pensions and salaries 38.8%; interest payments 18.9%; health and social insurance 17.2%; op-eratingexpenditure 17.0%). Publicdebt (consolidated, general; 2005): US$305,300,000,000. Production (metric tons exceptas noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): sugar beets 2,573,400, corn (maize) 2,300,000, olives 2,200,000; livestock(numberof live animals) 9,000,000 sheep, 5,400,000 goats, 1,300,000 beehives; roundwood 1,523,000 cu m, of which fuelwood 66%; fisheries production 198,950 (from aquaculture 53%). Miningandquarrying: bauxite 3,315,300; nickel (metal content) 22,000; marble 230,000 cu m. Manufacturing (value added in US$’000,000; 2005): food products and beverages 5,300; textiles 1,950; cement, bricks, and ceramics 1,600. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 59,344,000,000 (62,164,000,000); hard coal (metric tons; 2004) none (776,000); lignite (metric tons; 2004) 70,041,000 (70,855,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2004) 847,000 (134,000,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) 19,115,000 (17,915,000); natural gas (cu m; 2004) 34,000,000 (2,657,000,000). Households (1998-99). Average household size (2004) 3.1; income per family Dr 6,429,000 (US$21,390); sources of income: wages and salaries 21.8%, transfer payments 21.7%, income from agriculture, forestry, and fishing 15.6%, self-employment 11.9%, other 29.0%; expenditure (2004-05): food 17.1%, transportation 12.6%, housing and energy 10.7%, cafe/hotel expenditures 9.6%, clothing and footwear 8.4%. Population economically active (2006): total 4,891,200; activity rate of total population 43.9% (participation rates: ages 15-64, 66.9%; female 40.8%; unemployed [January-March 2007] 9.1%). Gross national income (2006): US$307,364,000,000 (US$27,634 per capita). Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 13,578; remittances (2006) 1,543; foreign direct investment (FDI) (2001-05 avg.) 1,240. Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 3,039; remittances (2006) 982; FDI (2001-05 avg.) 833. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 20.9%, in permanent crops 8.8%, in pasture 35.7%; overall for-estarea (2005) 29.1%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2003; f.o.b. in balance of trade and c.i.f. in commodities and trading partners): US$44,856,-000,000 (machinery and apparatus 15.1%; chemicals and chemical products 12.5%; crude petroleum 9.2%; food products 9.2%; road vehicles 8.8%; ships and boats 8.2%). Major import sources (2004): Germany 13.4%; Italy 12.9%; France 6.4%; The Netherlands 5.6%; Russia 5.4%. Exports (2003): US$13,671,000,000 (food 14.4%, of which fruits and nuts 5.0%; clothing and apparel 13.3%; machinery and apparatus 10.2%; refined petroleum 6.4%). Major export destinations (2004): Germany 13.2%; Italy 10.1%; UK 7.6%; Bulgaria 6.3%; US 5.3%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2002): length 2,383 km; pas-senger-km 1,836,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 327,000,000. Roads (2004): total length 114,931 km (paved [1999] 92%). Vehicles (2004): passenger cars 4,073,511; trucks and buses 1,185,917. Air transport (2005): passenger-km 7,332,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 58,464,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 878,000 (79); televisions (2003): 6,152,000 (558); telephone landlines (2006): 6,185,000 (555); cellular telephone subscribers (2006): 11,098,000 (996); personal computers (2004): 1,476,000 (150); total Internet users (2006): 2,048,000 (184); broadband Internet subscribers (2006): 488,000 (44).

Education and health

Educational attainment (2001). Percentage of population ages 25 and over having: no formal schooling 12.7%; primary education 34.3%; lower secondary 8.5%; upper secondary 25.7%; higher 18.8%. Literacy (2001): total population ages 15 and over literate 97.3%; males literate 98.5%; females literate 96.1%. Health: physicians (2001) 47,944 (1 per 229 persons); hospital beds (2001) 52,276 (1 per 210 persons); infant mortality rate (2005) 3.8. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 3,706 (vegetable products 76%, animal products 24%).

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 163,850 (army 67.1%, navy 11.8%, air force 14.0%, jointstaff 7.1%); Greek troops in Cyprus (2006) 1,150. Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 4.1%; per capita expenditure US$833.

Background

The earliest urban society in Greece was the palace-centered Minoan civilization, which reached its height on Crete c. 2000 bc. It was succeeded by the mainland Mycenaean civilization, which arose c. 1600 bc following a wave of Indo-European invasions. About 1200 bc a second wave of invasions destroyed the Bronze Age cultures, and a dark age followed, known mostly through the epics of Homer. At the end of this time, classical Greece began to emerge (c. 750 bc) as a collection of independent city-states, including Sparta in the Peloponnese and Athens in Attica. The civilization reached its zenith after repelling the Persians at the beginning of the 5th century bc and began to decline after the civil strife of the Pelopon-nesian War at the century’s end. In 338 bc the Greek city-states were taken over by Philip II of Macedon, and Greek culture was spread by Philip’s son Alexander the Great throughout his empire. The Romans, themselves heavily influenced by Greek culture, conquered the Greek states in the 2nd century bc. After the fall of Rome, Greece remained part of the Byzantine empire until the mid-15th century, when it became part of the expanding Ottoman Empire; it gained its independence in 1832. It was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II. Civil war followed and lasted until 1949, when communist forces were defeated. In 1952 Greece joined NATO. A military junta ruled the country from 1967 to 1974, when democracy was restored and a referendum declared an end to the Greek monarchy. In 1981 Greece joined the European Community, the first Eastern European country to do so. Upheavals in the Balkans in the 1990s strained Greece’s relations with some neighboring states, notably the former Yugoslav entity that took the name Republic of Macedonia.

Recent Developments

In the summer of 2007, Greece was hit hard by the most devastating series of forest fires in decades. The fires claimed at least 64 lives and also threatened the site of ancient Olympia. Partly as a consequence of the inadequate response to the fires, Prime Minister Konstantinos (Kostas) Karamanlis merged the Public Order Ministry with the Interior Ministry, though he did not establish a separate Environment Ministry, as many demanded. The Greek economy continued to perform well. The gross domestic product grew by about 6.7% in 2007. Unemployment dropped to 8.0% in January 2008 (from 8.6% in January 2007), and inflation hovered under 4.0%. The tourism sector remained strong despite the weakening dollar, bringing in some €15 billion in 2007.

Greenland

Official name: Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenlandic); Gr0n-land (Danish) (Greenland). Political status: integral part of the Danish realm with one legislative house (Parliament [31]). Chief of state: Danish Queen Mar-grethe II (from 1972). Heads of government: High Commissioner (for Denmark) S0ren Hald M0ller(from 2005); Prime Minister (for Greenland) Hans Enoksen (from 2002). Capital: Nuuk (Godthab). Official languages: Greenlandic; Danish. Official religion: Evangelical Lutheran (Lutheran Church of Greenland). Monetary unit: 1 Danish krone (DKK) = 100 0re; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = DKK 4.72.

Demography

Area: 836,330 sq mi, 2,166,086 sq km. Population (2007): 57,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 0.36, persons persq km 0.14. Urban (2005): 82.7%. Sex distribution (2005): male 53.04%; female 46.96%. Age breakdown (2006): under 15, 23.9%; 15-29, 21.1%; 30-44, 24.3%; 45-59, 19.4%; 60-74, 8.8%; 75-84, 1.7%; 85 and over, 0.8%. Ethnic composition (2000): Greenland Eskimo 79.1%; Danish 13.6%; other 7.3%. Religious affiliation (2000): Protestant 69.2%, of which Evangelical Lutheran 64.2%, Pentecostal 2.8%; other Christian 27.4%; other/nonreligious 3.4%. Major towns (2005): Nuuk (Godthab) 14,501; Sisimiut (Holsteins-borg) 5,350; Ilulissat (Jakobshavn) 4,533; Qaqortoq (Julianehab) 3,144. Location: North Atlantic Ocean, east of northern Canada.

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Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 16.0 (world avg. 20.3); (1993) within marriage 29.2%. Death rate per 1,000 population (2006): 7.9 (world avg. 8.6). Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (2006): 8.1 (world avg. 11.7). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2006): 2.40. Life expectancy at birth (2006): male 66.4 years; female 73.6 years.

National economy

Budget (2005). Revenue:DKK 8,031,552,000 (block grant from Danish government 45.4%; income tax 32.3%; import duties 6.9%). Expenditures: DKK 7,466,650,000 (social welfare 25.4%, education 17.9%, health 12.0%, public order 3.2%, defense 3.0%). Tourism (2006): number of overnight stays at hotels 245,432, of which visitors from within Greenland 104,012, from Denmark 101,387, from the US 9,536. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops, negligible, in permanent crops, none, in pasture 0.6%; overall forest area (2005) negligible. Production (metric tons except as noted). Fishing, animal products: fish catch (2003) 340,200 (by local boats 196,500, of which prawn 98,900, halibut 28,900, cod 8,500, crab 6,900; by foreign boats 143,700; whales 2,767); livestock (number of live animals; 2003) 19,259 sheep, 3,100 tame reindeer; animal products (value of external sales in DKK ’000; 2004)sealskins 23,026, polar bear skins (1998) 579 (164 polar bears killed by trophy hunters in 2004). Manufacturing: principally handicrafts and fish processing. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 295,000,000 (274,000,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2003) none (185,000). Gross national income (2006): US$1,618,000,000 (US$27,991 per capita). Public debt (2000): US$53,000,000. Population economically active (2003): total 32,119; activity rate of total population 56.5% (participation rates: ages 15-62, 83.5%; female [2002] 45.7%; unemployed [2006] 8.6%). Households. Average household size (2005) 2.5; average income per household (2003) DKK 269,992 (US$40,982); expenditure (1994): food, beverages, and tobacco 41.6%, housing and energy 22.4%, transportation and communications 10.2%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2004): DKK 3,279,000,000 (goods for trades and industries 21.4%; food, beverages, and tobacco products 21.2%; mineral fuels 13.6%; goods for construction industry 12.6%; machinery 6.7%). Major import sources:Denmark 59.2%; Sweden 14.1%; US 2.0%; Norway 2.0%; China 1.8%. Exports (2004): DKK 2,285,000,000 (marine products 86.8%, of which shrimp 50.6%, halibut 19.9%, cod 3.1%). Major export destinations: Denmark 88.0%; Spain 5.7%; US 1.6%; Iceland 1.0%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Roads (1998): total length 150 km (paved 60%). Vehicles (2004): passenger cars 2,861; trucks and buses 1,531. Air transport (2006; Air Greenland A/S only): passenger-km 441,422,000; metric ton-km cargo 49,485,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Telephone landlines (2005): 24,000 (421); cellular telephone subscribers (2005): 46,000 (808); total Internet users (2005): 38,000 (666).

Education and health

Educational attainment (2002). Two-thirds of labor force has no formal education. Literacy (2001): virtually 100%. Health: physicians (2004) 91 (1 per 626 persons); hospital beds (2001) 406 (1 per 139 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2006) 15.4.

Military

Total active duty personnel. Denmark is responsible for Greenland’s defense. Greenlanders are not liable for military service. US troops (2006): 146.

Background

The Inuit probably crossed to northwestern Greenland from North America, along the islands of the Canadian Arctic, from 4000 bc to ad 1000. The Norwegian Erik the Red visited Greenland in 982; his son, Leif Eriksson, introduced Christianity in the 11th century. Greenland came under joint Danish-Norwegian rule in the late 14th century. The original Norse settlements became extinct in the 15th century, but Greenland was recolonized by Denmark in 1721. In 1776 Denmark closed the Greenland coast to foreign trade; it was not reopened until 1950. Greenland became part of the kingdom of Denmark in 1953. Home rule was established in 1979.

Recent Developments

Greenland remained prominent in the international debate over global warming, and residents experienced longer growing and fishing seasons. In July 2007 researchers reported in Science magazine that DNA extracted from the 3-km- (1.9-mi)-long Greenland Ice Core Project confirmed that some 450,000-800,000 years ago the southernmost part of the island was covered by boreal forests. Offshore tests indicated that massive reserves of petroleum may exist off of Greenland’s coasts, though commercial production remained years away.

Grenada

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Official name: Grenada. Form of government: constitutional monarchy with two legislative houses (Senate [13]; House of Representatives [15]). Chief of state: British Queen Elizabeth II (from 1952), represented by Governor-General Sir Daniel Williams (from 1996). Head of government: Prime Minister Tillman Thomas (from 2008). Capital: St. George’s. Official language: English. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 East Caribbean dollar (EC$) = 100 cents; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = EC$2.70.

Demography

Area: 133 sq mi, 344 sq km. Population (2007): 108,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 812.0, persons per sq km 314.0. Urban (2004): 41.5%. Sex distribution (2001): male 49.19%; female 50.81%. Age breakdown (2001): under 15, 35.1%; 15-29, 28.1%; 30-44, 17.6%; 45-59, 9.0%; 60 and over, 10.2%. Ethnic composition (2000): black 51.7%; mixed 40.0%; Indo-Pakistani 4.0%; white 0.9%; other 3.4%. Religious affiliation (2005): Roman Catholic 41%; Protestant (of which significantly Anglican and Seventh-day Adventist) 30%; Rastafarian 5%; nonreli-gious/other 24%. Major localities (2004): St. George’s 4,300 (urban agglomeration [2001] 35,559); Gouyave 3,200; Grenville 2,300; Victoria 2,100. Location: island between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 22.1 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2006): 6.9 (world avg. 8.6). Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (2006): 15.2 (world avg. 11.7). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2006): 2.34. Life expectancy at birth (2006): male 63.1 years; female 66.7 years.

National economy

Budget (2006). Revenue: EC$490,800,000 (tax revenue 73.3%, of which tax on international trade 43.3%, income taxes 11.4%; grants 21.3%; nontax revenue 5.4%). Expenditures: EC$588,800,000 (current expenditure 53.9%, of which wages 26.2%, transfers 11.6%, debt service 4.9%; capital expenditure 46.1%). Public debt (external, outstanding; 2005): US$337,800,000. Gross national income (at 2006 market prices): US$419,000,000 (US$3,971 per capita). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): sugarcane 7,080, coconuts 6,014, nutmeg 2,965; livestock (number of live animals) 13,200 sheep, 7,200 goats, 2,650 pigs; fisheries production 2,050. Mining and quarrying: excavation of limestone, sand, and gravel for local use. Manufacturing (value of production in EC$’000; 1997): wheat flour 13,390; soft drinks 9,798; beer 7,072. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 157,000,000 (157,000,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) none (72,000). Households. Average household size (2003) 3.3; income per capita (2000) EC$8,922 (US$3,400); expenditure (2001): food, beverages, and tobacco 38.6%, transportation and communications 15.7%, housing 10.2%, clothing and footwear 9.8%. Population economically active (2004): total 37,000; activity rate of total population 35% (participation rate: ages 15-64 [1998] 78%; female [1998] 43.5%; unemployed [2002] 12.2%). Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 71; remittances (2005) 22; foreign direct investment (2001-05 avg.) 59; official development assistance (2005) 62 (commitments). Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 11; remittances (2005) 2. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 6%, in permanent crops 29%, in pasture 3%; overall forest area (2005) 12%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2004; f.o.b. in balance of trade and c.i.f. for commodities and trading partners): US$263,-100,000 (food and live animals 21.2%; machinery and transport equipment 17.9%; mineral fuels 9.6%; chemicals and chemical products 6.7%). Major import sources: US 27.7%; Trinidad and Tobago 25.4%; UK 5.2%. Exports (2004): US$31,000,000 (domestic exports 78.7%, of which nutmeg 31.6%, fish 9.7%, flour 8.7%, paper products 6.8%, cocoa beans 6.5%; reexports 21.3%). Major export destinations: Saint Lucia 11.8%; US 11.6%; The Netherlands 8.1%; Antigua and Barbuda 8.0%; Germany 7.7%.

Transport and communications

15,800; trucks and buses 4,200. Air transport (2001; Point Salines airport only): passengers 331,000; cargo 2,747 metric tons. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Televisions (2001): 38,000 (375); telephone landlines (2006): 28,000 (262); cellular telephone subscribers (2006): 46,000 (431); personal computers (2004): 16,000 (155); total Internet users (2004): 8,000 (76); broadband Internet subscribers (2006): 5,500 (52).

Education and health

Educational attainment (2001). Percentage of population ages 18 and over having: no formal schooling/unknown 7.6%; primary education 65.1%; secondary 21.7%; higher 5.6%, of which university 1.5%. Literacy (2004): total population ages 15 and over literate 98.0%. Health (2003): physicians 127 (1 per 803 persons); hospital beds 330 (1 per 309 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2006) 14.3. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 2,425 (vegetable products 74%, animal products 26%); 127% of FAO recommended minimum.

Military

Total active duty personnel (2001) none (a 755-member police force includes an 80-member paramilitary unit and a 40-member coast guard unit).

Grenada is widely known as “Spice Island” because of its extensive export of spices. It is especially famous for its production of nutmeg.

Background

The warlike Carib Indians dominated Grenada when Christopher Columbus sighted the island in 1498 and named it Concepcion; they ruled it for the next 150 years. In 1674 it became subject to the French crown and remained so until 1762, when British forces captured it. In 1833 the island’s black slaves were freed. Grenada was the headquarters of the government of the British Windward Islands, 1885-1958, and a member of the West Indies Federation, 1958-62. It became a self-governing state in association with Britain in 1967 and gained its independence in 1974. In 1979 a left-wing government took control in a bloodless coup. Relations with its US-oriented Latin American neighbors became strained as Grenada leaned toward Cuba and the Soviet bloc. In order to counteract this trend, the US invaded the island in 1983; democratic self-government was reestablished in 1984. Its relations with Cuba, once suspended, were restored in 1997.

Recent Developments

In June 2007 the Grenada High Court ordered the immediate release of 3 of the remaining 13 imprisoned leaders of the 1983 insurrection against then prime minister Maurice Bishop, who, together with four cabinet ministers and six supporters, was murdered by a firing squad.

Guadeloupe

Official name: Departement de la Guadeloupe (Department of Guadeloupe). Political status: overseas department of France with two legislative houses (General Council [42]; Regional Council [41]). Chief of state: French President Nicolas Sarkozy (from 2007). Heads of government: Prefect Emmanuel Berthier (from 2007); President of the General Council Jacques Gillot (from 2001); President of the Regional Council Victorin Lurel (from 2004). Capital: BasseTerre. Official language: French. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 euro (€) = 100 cents; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = €0.63.

Demography

Area: 658 sq mi, 1,705 sq km. Population (2007): 451,300. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 656.6, persons per sq km 253.4. Urban (2005): 99.8%. Sex distribution (2005): male 49.25%; female 50.75%. Age breakdown (2005): under 15, 24.0%; 15-29, 22.7%; 30-44, 26.2%; 45-59, 14.6%; 60-74, 8.4%; 75 and over, 4.1%. Ethnic composition (2000): Creole (mulatto) 76.7%; black 10.0%; Guadeloupe mestizo (French-East Asian) 10.0%; white 2.0%; other 1.3%. Religious affiliation (2000): Roman Catholic 86.4%; Protestant 4.5%; Jehovah’s Witness 3.9%; nonreligious/atheist 3.1%; other 2.1%. Major communes (1999): Les Abymes (2003) 65,700; Saint-Martin (Marigot) 29,078; Le Gosier 25,360; Pointe-a-Pitre 20,948 (urban agglomeration 171,773); Basse-Terre (2003) 12,900 (urban agglomeration 54,076). Location: islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2005): 15.4 (world avg. 20.3); (1999) within marriage 34.7%. Death rate per 1,000 population (2005): 6.1 (world avg. 8.6). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 1.91. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 75.2 years; female 82.0 years.

National economy

Budget (2004). Revenue:€312,400,000 (direct tax revenues 46.7%; transfers from France 36.9%; loans 16.0%; other 0.4%). Expenditures: €312,400,000 (current expenditures 62.3%; capital expenditures 37.7%). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): sugarcane 841,000, bananas 62,000, yams 10,750; livestock (number of live animals) 77,800 cattle, 36,550 goats, 24,400 pigs; roundwood (2004) 15,300 cu m, of which fuelwood 98%; fisheries production 10,100 (from aquaculture 31). Mining and quarrying (2002): pumice 210,000. Manufacturing (2005): cement 266,121; rawsugar 73,000; rum 59,000 hectolitres. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2005) 1,564,000,000 (1,564,000,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2003) none (520,000). Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 12%, in permanent crops 3%, in pasture 12%; overall forest area 47%. Population economically active (2006): total 219,000; activity rate of total population 48.5% (participation rates: ages 15-59, 74.8%; female 50.5%; unemployed [December 2005] 23.3%). Gross domestic product (at 2005 market prices): US$9,131,000,000 (US$20,040 per capita). Households (2000). Average household size 2.3; disposable income per household €25,441 (US$23,439); sources of income: wages and salaries 81.5%, transfer payments 17.2%, property 1.3%; expenditure (1994-95): housing 26.2%, food and beverages 21.4%, transportation and communications 14.1%, household durables 6.0%. Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 246.

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Foreign trade

Imports (2004): €1,831,000,000 (food and agricultural products 20.0%; machinery and equipment 13.8%; motor vehicles 13.2%; mineral fuels 10.6%; pharmaceuticals 8.5%). Major import sources: France 63.2%; Germany 3.8%; Trinidad and Tobago 3.4%; Italy 2.9%; Martinique 2.6%. Exports (2004): €139,000,000 (food and agricultural products 67.7% [including bananas, sugar, rum, melons, eggplant, and flowers]; electrical equipment 7.2%). Major export destinations: France 66.9%; Martinique 18.0%; French Guiana 2.9%; US 1.4%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Roads (1998): total length 3,415 km (paved [1986] 80%). Vehicles (2001): passenger cars 117,700; trucks and buses 31,400. Air transport (2005): passenger arrivals and departures 1,825,144; cargo unloaded 6,931 metric tons. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 50,000 (110); televisions (2001): 125,000 (289); telephone land-lines (2000): 205,000 (480); cellular telephone subscribers (2005): 315,000 (710); personal computers (2005): 90,000 (200); total Internet users (2005): 85,000 (187).

Education and health

Educational attainment (1999). Percentage of population ages 20 and over having: unknown through lower secondary education 63.5%; upper secondary 10.1%; vocational 16.6%; higher 9.8%. Literacy (1992): total population ages 15 and over literate 90.1%; males literate 89.7%; females literate 90.5%. Health (2003): physicians 956 (1 per 463 persons); hospital beds 2,330 (1 per 190 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2005) 8.6.

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): French troops in Antilles (Guadeloupe and Martinique) 1,250 (army 64.0%, navy 36.0%).

Background

The Carib Indians held off the Spanish and French for a number of years before the islands of Guadeloupe became part of France in 1674. The British occupied Guadeloupe for short periods in the 18th and 19th centuries; the islands became officially French in 1816. In 1946 Guadeloupe was made an overseas territory of France. Tourism has benefited the economy in recent decades.

Recent Developments

Guadeloupe had administered Saint-Martin (the French part of the island of Saint Martin; Dutch Sint Maarten occupies the other part) and Saint-Barthelemy, but in a referendum in 2003 both voted to become independent overseas collectivities of France. On 21 Feb 2007, both achieved this status and separated from Guadeloupe.

Guam

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Official name: Teritorion Guam (Chamorro); Territory of Guam (English). Political status: self-governing, organized, unincorporated territory of the US with one legislative house (Guam Legislature [15]). Chief of state: US President George W. Bush (from 2001). Head of government: Governor Felix Camacho (from 2003). Capital: Hagatna (Agana). Official languages: Chamorro; English. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 US dollar (US$) = 100 cents.

Demography

Area: 209 sq mi, 541 sq km. Population (2007): 173,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 827.8, persons per sq km 319.8. Urban (2003): 93.7%. Sex distribution (2006): male 50.94%; female 49.06%. Age breakdown (2006): under 15, 29.0%; 15-29, 23.0%; 30-44, 22.2%; 45-59, 16.1%; 60-74, 7.4%; 75 and over, 2.3%. Ethnic composition (2000): Pacific Islander 44.6%, of which Chamorro 37.0%; Asian 32.5%, of which Filipino 26.3%, Korean 2.5%; white 6.8%; black 1.0%; mixed 13.9%; other 1.2%. Religious affiliation (2005): Roman Catholic 72%; Protestant 12%; nonreligious/other 16%. Major populated places (2000): Tamuning 10,833; Mangilao 7,794; Yigo 6,391; Astumbo 5,207; Hagatna 1,122. Location: Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, south of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 18.8 (world avg. 20.3); (2004) within marriage 42.8%. Death rate per 1,000 population (2006): 4.5 (world avg. 8.6). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2006): 2.58. Life expectancy at birth (2006): male 75.5 years; female 81.8 years.

National economy

Budget (2003). Revenue: US$426,276,454 (local taxes 81.8%; federal contributions 15.3%; other 2.9%). Expenditures:US$342,550,414 (education 46.1%; public order 16.0%; health 3.9%). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): coconuts 57,400, watermelons 2,470, nuts 422; livestock (number of live animals) 205,000 poultry, 5,100 pigs, 680 goats; fisheries production 162. Mining and quarrying: sand and gravel. Manufacturing (value of sales in US$’000; 2002): food processing 26,733; printing and publishing 7,382; fabricated metal products 4,052. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 1,589,000,000 (1,589,000,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2002) none (1,333,000). Households. Average household size (2003) 3.7; annual mean (median) household income (2003) US$41,196 (US$33,457); expenditure (1995): housing, energy, and household furnishings 37.0%, food and beverages 25.2%, transportation 13.7%. Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 1,149. Gross domestic product (at 2002 market prices): US$3,428,000,000 (US$21,120 per capita). Population economically active (2005): total 64,130; activity rate of total population 38% (participation rates: over age 15, 61.1%; female [2004] 43.3%; unemployed 7.0%). Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 4%, in permanent crops 18%, in pasture 15%; overall forest area (2005) 47%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2005): US$532,687,000 (food products and nonalcoholic beverages 31%; transportation equipment 21%; leather luggage and handbags 14%). Major import sources: significantly US and Japan. Exports (2005): US$51,844,521 (transportation equipment 33.5%; food products 14.5%, of which fish 13.0%; aluminum scrap metal 8.4%; tobacco products 7.5%). Major export destinations (2005): Finland 20.9%; Japan 19.5%; Federated States of Micronesia 18.4%; China 9.7%; Hong Kong 8.5%.

Transport and communications

Passenger-km 4,762,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 102,000,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 29,000 (171); televisions (1997): 106,000 (668); telephone land-lines (2004): 70,000 (420); cellular telephone subscribers (2004): 98,000 (594); total Internet users (2005): 65,000 (385).

Education and health

Educational attainment (2000). Percentage of population ages 25 and over having: unknown to some secondary education 23.7%; complete secondary 31.9%; some higher 24.5%; undergraduate 15.3%; advanced degree 4.6%. Literacy: virtually 100%. Health: physicians (2005)93 (1 per 1,828 persons); hospital beds (2005; Guam Memorial Hospital only) 187 (1 per 903 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2006) 6.8.

Military

Total active duty US personnel (2005): 2,931 (army 1.4%; navy 42.3%; air force 56.3%); 8,000 US Marines based in Japan are to be moved to Guam by 2014 per 2006 agreement.

Background

Possibly visited by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, Guam was formally claimed by Spain in 1565. It remained Spanish until it was ceded to the US after the Spanish-American War in 1898. During World War II the Japanese occupied the island (1941-44). It subsequently became a major US air and naval base. In 1950 it was made a US territory.

Recent Developments

US remilitarization of the Pacific in 2007 led to an increase in the number of American soldiers in Guam. In August, as 22,000 US troops were involved in exercises off Guam, Russia deployed two strategic bombers to the area for the first time since the Cold War. In February 2008 a US$1 billion B-2 stealth bomber crashed in Guam, the first to do so since the aircraft’s introduction in 1988.

Guatemala

Official name: Republica de Guatemala (Republic of Guatemala). Form of government: republic with one legislative house (Congress of the Republic [158]). Head of state and government: President Alvaro Colom Caballeros (from 2008). Capital: Guatemala City. Official language: Spanish. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 quetzal (Q) = 100 centavos; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = Q 7.52.

Demography

Area: 42,130 sq mi, 109,117 sq km. Population (2007): 12,728,000. Density(2007): persons persq mi 302.1, persons per sq km 116.6. Urban (2005): 47.2%. Sex distribution (2006): male 49.35%; female 50.65%. Age breakdown (2006): under 15, 41.5%; 15-29, 28.6%; 30-44,14.7%; 45-59, 9.6%; 60-74, 4.4%; 75-84, 1.1%; 85 and over, 0.1%. Ethnic composition (2000): mestizo 63.7%; Amerindian (virtually all Mayan) 33.1%; black 2.0%; white 1.0%; other0.2%. Religious affiliation (2005): Roman Catholic 57%; Protestant/independent Christian 40%; traditional Mayan religions 1%; other 2%. Major cities (2002; urban populations of municipios): Guatemala City 942,348 (urban agglomeration [2001] 3,366,000); Mixco 277,400; Villa Nueva 187,700; Quetzalte-nango 106,700; Escuintla 65,400. Location: Central America, bordering Mexico, Belize, the Caribbean Sea, Honduras, El Salvador, and the Pacific Ocean.

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Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 29.6 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2006): 5.4 (world avg. 8.6). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 4.30. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 64.3 years; female 71.6 years.

National economy

Budget (2005). Revenue: Q 24,521,300,000 (tax revenue 95.2%, of which VAT 43.8%, income tax 24.7%; nontax revenue 4.8%). Expenditures: Q 28,500,500,000 (current expenditures 66.4%; capital expenditures 33.6%). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry,fishing(2005): sugarcane 19,070,000, bananas 1,071,000, corn (maize) 989,600; livestock (number of live animals; 2006) 2,796,000 cattle, 260,000sheep, 27,000,000 chickens; roundwood 16,670,211 cu m, of which fuelwood 98%; fisheries production 16,756 (from aquaculture 27%). Mining and quarrying (2004): gypsum 106,140; gold 2,000 kg; marble 33 cu m. Manufacturing (value added in Q ’000,000 at 1958 prices; 2005): food products 213; textiles and wearing apparel 126; beverages 98. Energy production (consumption):electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 7,009,000,000 (6,586,000,000); coal (metric tons; 2004) none (461,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2004) 7,260,000 (2,180,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) 22,000 (3,032,000). Households. Average household size (2002) 4.4; income per household (1989) Q 4,306 (US$1,529); expenditure (2000): food and beverages 32.9%, household furnishings 14.7%, clothing 11.8%, recreation and culture 9.2%, health 7.3%. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 13.3%, in permanent crops 5.6%, in pasture 24.0%; overall forest area (2005) 36.3%. Gross national income (at 2006 market prices): US$30,030,000,000 (US$2,305 per capita). Public debt (external, outstanding; April 2007): US$4,162,600,000. Population economically active (2004): total 5,059,800; activity rate of total population 40.5% (participation rates: ages 15-64, 64.7%; female 34.9%; unemployed [2003] 7.5%). Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 846; remittances (2006) 3,610; foreign direct investment (2001-05 avg.) 212; official developmentassistance (2005) 311 (commitments). Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 444; remittances (2006) 35.

Foreign trade

Imports (2005; f.o.b. in balance of trade and c.i.f. for commodities and trading partners): US$8,812,297,-500 (mineral fuels 18.9%; machinery and apparatus 16.9%; chemical products 13.6%; transportation equipment 9.6%). Major import sources: US 39.4%; Mexico 8.5%; El Salvador 5.5%; Panama 4.6%; Costa Rica 3.8%. Exports (2005): US$3,378,459,100 (chemical products [2002] 17.7%; coffee 13.7%; bananas 7.0%; sugar 7.0%; crude petroleum 6.7%; cardamom 2.1%). Major export destinations: US 31.0%; El Salvador 18.3%; Honduras 11.2%; Nicaragua 6.1%; Costa Rica 6.0%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2004): route length 886 km. Roads (2002): total length 14,044 km (paved 39%). Vehicles (2004): passenger cars 1,328,100; trucks and buses (2000) 53,236. Airtransport (1999): pas-senger-km 341,700,000; metric ton-km cargo (2003) 200,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2001): 377,000 (33); televisions (2004): 2,000,000 (167); telephone landlines (2006): 1,355,000 (105); cellular telephone subscribers (2006): 7,179,000 (556); personal computers (2005): 262,000 (21); total Internet users (2006): 1,320,000 (102); broadband Internet subscribers (2005): 27,000 (2.1).

Education and health

Educational attainment (2002). Percentage of heads of households having: no formal schooling 33.3%; primary education 46.1%; secondary 15.0%; higher 5.6%. Literacy (2005): total population ages 15 and over literate 71.8%; males literate 79.1%; females literate 64.6%. Health (2003): physicians 11,700 (1 per 1,053 persons); hospital beds 6,118 (1 per 1,961 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2006) 30.8. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 2,298 (vegetable products 90%, animal products 10%); 131% of FAO recommended minimum.

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 29,200 (army 92.5%, navy 5.1%, air force 2.4%). Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 0.3%; per capita expenditure US$8.

Background

Impressive civilization. The civilization of the Maya declined after ad 900, and the Spanish began the subjugation of their descendants in 1523. The Central American colonies declared independence from Spain in Guatemala City in 1821, and Guatemala became part ofthe Mexican Empire until its collapse in 1823. In 1839 Guatemala became an independent republic under the first of a series of dictators who held power almost continuously for the next century. In 1945 a liberal-democratic coalition came to power and instituted sweeping reforms. Attempts to expropriate land belonging to American business interests prompted the US government in 1954 to sponsor an invasion. In the following years Guatemala’s social revolution came to an end and most of the reforms were reversed. Chronic political instability and violence thenceforth marked Guatemalan politics; most of the 200,000 deaths that resulted were blamed on government forces. In 1991 the country abandoned its long-standing claims of sovereignty over Belize, and the two established diplomatic relations. It continued to experience violence as guerrillas sought to seize power. A peace treaty was signed in 1996, and the country started slowly to recover from its civil war.

Recent Developments

US Pres. George W. Bush visited Guatemala in March 2007 to promote trade under the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) and encourage Guatemala to increase its production of ethanol from sugarcane (the country would soon have five sugarcane-based ethanol plants in operation). The heightened security for the visit disrupted commerce, prompting Guatemalans to complain that their country had been violated by Bush’s “security invasion force.” Under CAFTA-DR Guatemalan imports had increased much more than exports, and living standards had not improved as expected; 51% of the population lived on less than US$50 monthly, and 15% earned less than US$21 per month.

Guernsey

Official name: Bailiwick of Guernsey. Political status: crown dependency of the UK with one legislative house (States of Deliberation [51]); Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments. Chief of state: British Queen Elizabeth II (from 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Sir Fabian Malbon (from 2005). Head of government: Chief Minister Mike Torode (from 2007). Capital: St. Peter Port. Official language: English. Monetary unit: 1 Guernsey pound (£G) = 100 pence; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = £G 0.50 (the Guernsey pound is equivalent in value to the British pound sterling [£]).

Demography

Area: 30.2 sq mi, 78.1 sq km. Population (2007): 63,700. Density (2007): persons persq mi 2,109.3, persons per sq km 815.6. Urban (2003): 30.5%. Sex distribution (2004): male 49.42%; female 50.58%. Age breakdown (2001): under 15, 17.2%; 15-29, 18.8%; 30-44, 23.1%; 45-59, 20.0%; 60-74, 13.4%; 75-84, 5.4%; 85 and over, 2.1%. Population by place of birth (2001): Guernsey 64.3%; UK 27.4%; Portugal 1.9%; Jersey 0.7%; Ireland 0.7%; Alderney 0.2%; Sark 0.1%; other Europe 3.2%; other 1.5%. Religious affiliation (2000): Protestant 51.0%, of which Anglican 44.1%; unaffiliated Christian 20.1%; Roman Catholic 14.6%; nonreligious 12.4%; other 1.9%. Major cities (2001; parish populations): St. Peter Port 16,488; Vale 9,573; Castel 8,975; St. Sampson 8,592; St. Martin 6,267. Location: western Europe, island in the English Channel, northwest of France.

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Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2005): 10.5 (world avg. 20.3); (2000) within marriage 65.2%. Death rate per 1,000 population (2005): 8.7 (world avg. 8.6). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 1.38. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 77.3 years; female 83.4 years.

National economy

Budget (2005). Revenue:£310,000,000 (income tax 82.8%; documentduties 5.8%; customs duties and excise taxes 5.6%; automobile taxes 1.9%). Expenditures: £292,000,000 (2004; health 28.9%; education 23.2%; social security and welfare 22.4%; law and order 5.1%). Production (metric tons exceptas noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (1999): flowers 1,154,000 boxes, of which roses 288,000 boxes, freesia 184,000 boxes, carnations 161,000 boxes; livestock (number of live animals) 3,262 cattle; fisheries production (2003): 4,210 (from aquaculture 16%), of which crustaceans 2,032 (sea spiders and crabs 1,814), mollusks 1,239, marine fish 939. Manufacturing (value of exports in£’000,000; 2001): plants 20.3; cut flowers 11.7. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2004) n.a. (317,000,000). Population economically active (2007): total 31,664; activity rate of total population 49.7% (participation rates: ages 15-64 [2001] 79.1%; female [2001] 45.2%; unemployed 0.8%). Gross national income (2005): US$2,885,711,000 (US$45,370 per capita). Households. Average household size (2001) 2.6; expenditure (1998-99): housing 21.6%, food 12.7%, household furnishings and services 11.2%, recreation services 9.2%. Selected balance of payments data.

Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (1996) 275. Land use as % of total land area (1999): in pasture 37%; overall forestarea (2005)4.1%.

Foreign trade

Imports (1999): petroleum products are important. Major import sources (2005): mostly UK. Exports (1998): £93,000,000 (light industry 50.5%; flowers 36.6%; vegetables 5.4%). Major export destinations (2005): mostly UK.

Transport and communications

Transport. Vehicles (2005): passenger cars 40,163; trucks and buses 7,713. Air transport (2001; Guernsey airport only): passenger arrivals 429,076, passenger departures 430,254; cargo loaded 969 metric tons, cargo unloaded 3,557 metric tons. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 16,000 (255); telephone landlines (2005): 45,100 (810); cellular telephone subscribers (2005): 43,800 (790); total Internet users (2005): 39,000 (613).

Education and health

Literacy (2002): virtually 100%. Health (2004): physicians 96 (1 per 656 persons); hospital beds (Princess Elizabeth and King Edward VII hospitals only) 310 (1 per 204 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2005) 4.7. Food (2004): daily per capita caloric intake 3,481 (vegetable products 73%, animal products 27%).

Military

Total active duty personnel: The UK is responsible for defense.

Guinea

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Official name: Republique de Guinee (Republic of Guinea). Form of government: unitary multiparty republic with one legislative house (National Assembly [114 seats]). Head of state and government: President Lansana Conte (from 1984), assisted by Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare (from 2008). Capital: Conakry. Official language: French. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 Guinean franc (FG) = 100 cauris; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = FG 4,447.00.

Demography

Area: 94,918 sq mi, 245,836 sq km. Population (2007): 9,370,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 98.7, persons per sq km 38.1. Urban (2004): 29.6%. Sex distribution (2005): male 50.00%; female 50.00%. Age breakdown (2005): under 15, 44.4%; 15-29, 26.5%; 30-44, 15.4%; 45-59, 8.7%; 60-74, 4.1%; 75 and over, 0.9%. Ethnic composition (2000): Fulani 38.3%; Malinke 25.6%; Susu 12.2%; Kpelle 5.2%; Kisi 4.8%; other 13.9%. Religious affiliation (2005): Muslim (nearly all Sunni) 85%; Christian 8%; traditional beliefs 7%. Major cities (2004): Conakry 1,851,800; Kankan 113,900; Labe (2001) 64,500; Kindia (2001) 56,000; Nzerekore (2001) 55,000. Location: western Africa, bordering Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the North Atlantic Ocean.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2005): 42.0 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2005): 15.6 (world avg. 8.6). Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (2005): 26.4 (world avg. 11.7). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 5.83. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 48.2 years; female 50.6 years.

National economy

Budget (January-November 2005). Revenue: FG 1,449,530,000,000 (current revenue 94.2%, of which VAT 34.3%, mining sector revenue 22.7%, tax on trade 19.5%; grants 5.8%). Expenditures: FG 1,545,690,000,000 (current expenditure 71.7%, of which wages and salaries 20.5%, interest on debt 18.6%; capital expenditure 28.3%). Public debt (external, outstanding; 2005): US$2,931,000,000. Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): cassava 1,303,760, rice 951,900, oil palm fruit 896,300; livestock (number of live animals) 3,756,300 cattle, 1,396,000 goats, 1,169,000 sheep; roundwood 12,338,298 cu m, of which fuel-wood 95%; fisheries production 96,571. Mining and quarrying (2006): bauxite 16,956,200; gold 25,100 kg; diamonds 444,000 carats. Manufacturing (2006): cement 151,500; flour 54,600; paints 1,362. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2006) 583,400,000 ([2004] 801,000,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) none (378,000). Households (1994-95). Average household size (2004) 6.6; average annual household income FG 1,905,899 (US$1,952); sources of income: agriculture 49.3%, self-employment 22.2%, wages and salaries 15.7%; expenditure: food 50.0%; housing 14.0%; health 12.3%. Population economically active (2003): total 4,247,000; activity rate of total population 49.0% (participation rates: ages 15-64, 86.2%; female 46.3%). Gross national income (2006): US$3,732,000,000 (US$410 per capita). Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 30; remittances (2005) 42; foreign direct investment (2001-05 avg.) 63; official development assistance (2005) 182. Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2004) 25; remittances (2005) 48. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 4.5%, in permanent crops 2.6%, in pasture 43.5%; overall forest area (2005)27.4%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2004): US$569,320,000 (machinery and apparatus 28.0%; food 20.6%; refined petroleum 18.9%). Major import sources: France 14.6%; China 9.6%; The Netherlands 6.8%; Belgium 6.0%; US 5.9%. Exports (2004): US$772,820,000 (bauxite 39.0%; alumina 20.3%; gold 18.9%; diamonds 6.5%; cotton 5.6%). Major export destinations: South Korea 15.6%; Russia 13.1%; Spain 12.3%; Ireland 9.1%; US 7.5%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2004): route length (mostly for bauxite transport) 837 km; metric ton-km cargo (1993) 710,000,000. Roads (2003): total length 44,348 km (paved 10%). Vehicles (2003): passenger cars 47,524; trucks and buses 26,467. Air transport (1999): passenger-km 94,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 10,000,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Televisions (2004): 140,000 (16); telephone landlines (2005): 26,000 (3.3); cellular telephone subscribers (2005): 189,000 (24); personal computers (2005): 45,000 (5.6); total Internet users (2006): 50,000 (5.4).

Education and health

Educational attainment (1999). Percentage of population ages 25 and over having: no formal schooling/unknown 81.4%; primary 7.8%; secondary 6.8%; higher 4.0%. Literacy (2000): percentage of total population ages 15 and over literate 41.0%; males literate 55.0%; females literate 27.0%. Health (2004): physicians 987 (1 per 9,323 persons); hospital beds 2,990 (1 per 3,078 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2005) 91.5. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 2,612 (vegetable products 96%, animal products 4%); 142% of FAO recommended minimum.

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 9,700 (army 87.7%, navy 4.1%, air force 8.2%). Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 2.8%; per capita expenditure US$8.

Background

About ad 900 successive migrations of the Susu swept down from the desert and pushed the original inhabitants of Guinea, the Baga, to the Atlantic coast. Small kingdoms of the Susu rose in importance in the 13th century and later extended their rule to the coast. In the mid-15th century the Portuguese visited the coast and developed a slave trade. In the 16th century the Fulani established domination over the Fouta Djallon region; they ruled into the 19th century. In the early 19th century the French arrived and in 1849 proclaimed the coastal region a French protectorate. In 1895 French Guinea became part of the federation of French West Africa. In 1946 it was made an overseas territory of France, and in 1958 it achieved independence. Following a military coup in 1984, Guinea began implementing Westernized government systems. A new constitution was adopted in 1991, and the first multiparty elections were held in 1993. During the 1990s Guinea accommodated several hundred thousand war refugees from neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Recent Developments

In January 2007 unions called a strike, the third in 12 months, and demanded the resignation of Guinean Pres. Lansana Conte. The following week thousands of demonstrators battled with police throughout the capital, leaving at least 50 dead and hundreds injured. Conte, who had ruled Guinea since a 1984 coup, agreed to yield some powers to the prime minister. In August the government announced the discovery of substantial uranium deposits.

Guinea-Bissau

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Official name: Republica da Guine-Bissau (Republic of Guinea-Bissau). Form of government: republic with one legislative house (National People’s Assembly [102]). Chief of state: President Joao Bernardo Vieira (from 2005). Head of government: Prime Minister Carlos Correia (from 2008). Capital: Bissau. Official language: Portuguese. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = CFAF 414.60 (pegged to the euro at €1 = CFAF 655.96).

Demography

Area: 13,948 sq mi, 36,125 sq km. Population (2007): 1,472,000. Density (2006): persons per sq mi 135.6, persons per sq km 52.3. Urban (2003): 34.0%. Sex distribution (2005): male 48.53%; female 51.47%. Age breakdown (2005): under 15, 41.6%; 15-29, 28.1%; 30-44, 16.1%; 45-59, 9.4%; 60-74, 4.1%; 75 and over, 0.7%. Ethnic composition (1996): Balante 30%; Fulani 20%; Mandyako 14%; Malinke 13%; Pepel 7%; nonindigenous Cape Verdean mulatto 2%; other 14%. Religious affiliation (2005): traditional beliefs 49%; Muslim 42%; Christian/other 9%. Major cities (2004): Bissau 305,700; Bafata 15,000; Cacheu 14,000; Gabu 10,000. Location: western Africa, bordering Senegal, Guinea, and the North Atlantic Ocean.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2005): 37.6 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2005): 16.7 (world avg. 8.6). Natural increase rate per I,000 population (2005): 20.9 (world avg. 11.7). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 4.93. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 44.8 years; female 48.5 years.

National economy

Budget (2005). Revenue:CFAF 41,378,000,000 (tax revenue 44.3%, of which taxes on international trade 15.5%, sales tax 13.6%; grants 32.4%; nontax revenue 23.3%, of which fishing licenses 18.2%). Expen-ditures:CFAF 60,524,000,000 (current expenditures 72.7%, of which wages and salaries 35.1%, interest payments 11.1%; capital expenditures 27.3%). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2004): rice 89,000, cashews 81,000, oil palm fruit 80,000; livestock (number of live animals) 520,000 cattle, 360,000 pigs, 330,000 goats; roundwood (2005) 592,000 cu m, of which fu-elwood 71%; fisheries production (2005) 6,200. Mining and quarrying: extraction of construction materials only. Manufacturing (2003): processed wood II,000; bakery products 7,900; wood products 4,400. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 61,000,000 (61,000,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) none (88,000). Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 2; remittances (2005) 28; foreign direct investment (2001-05 avg.) 4; official development assistance (2005) 79. Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2004) 13; remittances (2005) 5. Population economically active (2003): total 643,000; activity rate of total population 47.2% (participation rates [1995]: over age 10, 65.5%; female 39.9%). Public debt (external, outstanding; 2005): US$671,000,000. Households. Average household size (1996) 6.9; expenditure (2001-02; Bissau only): food and nonalcoholic beverages 59.7%, housing and energy 13.6%, clothing and footwear 7.6%. Gross national income (at 2006 market prices): US$306,000,000 (US$186 per capita). Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 10.7%, in permanent crops 8.9%, in pasture 38.4%; overall forest area (2005) 73.5%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2005): US$119,100,000 (construction material 17.3%; petroleum products 13.3%; foodstuffs 12.6%, of which rice 9.1%; transportation equipment 11.1%; equipment and machinery 10.1%). Major import sources:Senegal 34.6%; Italy 20.4%; Portugal 12.7%; The Netherlands 3.0%; France 2.5%. Exports (2005): US$100,800,000 (cashew nuts 89.5%; cotton 1.4%; wood products 1.4%). Major export destinations:India 67.4%; Nigeria 19.0%; Senegal 1.5%; Portugal 1.1%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Roads (2003): total length 2,755 km (paved 28%). Vehicles (1996): passenger cars 7,120; trucks and buses 5,640. Air transport (1998): pas-senger-km 10,000,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 6,000 (4.2); televisions (2001): 47,000 (36); telephone landlines (2005): 10,000 (7.6); cellular telephone subscribers (2005): 95,000 (71); total Internet users (2006): 37,000 (26).

Education and health

Literacy (2003): total population ages 15 and over literate 32.2%; males literate (2001) 55.2%; females literate (2001) 24.7%. Health: physicians (2004) 188 (1 per 7,374 persons); hospital beds (2001) 1,448 (1 per 902 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2005) 107.2. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 1,902 (vegetable products 93%, animal products 7%); 106% of FAO recommended minimum.

Military

Total active duty personnel (2005): 9,250 (army 73.5%, navy 3.8%, air force 1.1%, paramilitary [gendarmerie] 21.6%). Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 4.0%; per capita expenditure US$6.

Background

More than 1,000 years ago the coast of Guinea-Bissau was occupied by iron-using agriculturists. They grew irrigated and dry rice and were also the major suppliers of marine salt to the western Sudan. At about the same time, the region came under the influence ofthe Mali empire and became a tributary kingdom known as Gabu. After 1546 Gabu was virtually autonomous; vestiges ofthe kingdom lasted until 1867. The earliest overseas contacts came in the 15th century with the Portuguese, who imported slaves from the Guinea area to the offshore Cape Verde Islands. Portuguese control of Guinea-Bissau was marginal despite claims to sovereignty there. The end of the slave trade forced the Portuguese inland in search of new profits. Their subjugation of the interior was slow and sometimes violent; it was not effectively achieved until 1915, though sporadic resistance continued until 1936. Guerrilla warfare in the 1960s led to the country’s independence in 1974, but political turmoil continued and the government was overthrown by a military coup in 1980. A new constitution was adopted in 1984, and the first multiparty elections were held in 1994. A destructive civil war in 1998 was followed by a military coup in 1999 and another in 2003.

Recent Developments

Underscoring the instability in 2007 in Guinea-Bissau (one of the world’s 10 poorest countries), Pres. Joao Bernardo Vieira’s supporters in parliament began defecting to other parties, and street demonstrators called for a new government. Vieira’s appointment in April of a new prime minister, Martinho Ndafa Kabi, restored a measure of stability. Kabi, who promised to work for fiscal discipline, reduced the price of cashews (the country’s main export) and called for a “relentless” fight against drug trafficking. The UN’s 2007 World Drug Report named Guinea-Bissau as a key staging post for cocaine moving from Latin America to Europe.

Guyana

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Official name: Co-operative Republic of Guyana. Form of government: unitary multiparty republic with one legislative house (National Assembly [65]). Chief of state: President Bharrat Jagdeo (from 1999). Head of government: Prime Minister Sam Hinds (from 1999). Capital: Georgetown. Official language: English. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 Guyana dollar (G$) = 100 cents; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = G$204.70.

Demography

Area: 83,012 sq mi, 214,999 sq km. Population (2007): 738,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 9.7, persons per sq km 3.7. Urban (2005): 38.5%. Sex distribution (2006): male 50.06%; female 49.94%. Age breakdown (2005): under 15, 26.5%; 15-29, 29.7%; 30-44, 23.0%; 45-59, 13.3%; 60-74, 5.6%; 75 and over, 1.9%. Ethnic composition (2002): East Indian 43.5%; black 30.2%; mixed race 16.7%; Amerindian 9.2%; other 0.4%. Religious affiliation (2002): Christian 57.3%, of which Protestant/independent Christian 48.2% (including Anglican 6.9%), Roman Catholic 8.0%, Jehovah’s Witness 1.1%; Hindu 28.4%; Muslim 7.2%; Rastafarian 0.5%; nonreligious 4.3%; other/unknown 2.3%. Major cities (2002): Georgetown 35,440 (urban agglomeration 137,520); Linden 29,502; New Amsterdam 15,997; Anna Regina 12,448; Corriverton 11,536. Location: northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, Suriname, Brazil, and Venezuela.

Vital statistics

Per childbearing woman; 2005): 2.05. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 62.9 years; female 68.3 years.

National economy

Budget (2005): Revenue:G$69,414,800,000 (tax revenue 76.2%, of which income taxes 34.2%, consumption taxes 31.0%, taxes on international trade 6.9%; nontax revenue 4.6%; grants 11.4%; other revenue 7.8%). Expenditures: G$88,861,400,000 (current expenditure 60.5%, of which wages and salaries 20.9%, transfers 13.3%, interest payments 4.9%; development expenditure 39.5%). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): sugar cane 3,016,000, rice 273,300, coconuts 66,100; livestock (number of live animals) 130,000 sheep, 110,000 cattle, 20,000,000 chickens; roundwood 1,276,009 cu m, of which fuelwood 68%; fisheries production 53,980 (from aquaculture 1%); catch of shrimps and prawns equaled 15,573 metric tons. Mining and quarrying (2006): bauxite 1,374,000; gold 6,406 kg; diamonds 340,500 carats. Manufacturing (2006): flour 37,400; margarine 2,265; rum 119,000 hectolitres. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 835,000,000 (835,000,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) none (470,000). Population economically active (2006): total 279,100; activity rate of total population 37% (participation rates: ages 15-65, 60%; female [2002] 34.1%; unemployed [2002] 11.7%). Gross national income (2006): US$857,000,000 (US$1,159 per capita). Public debt (external, outstanding; 2006): US$920,550,000. Households. Average household size (2002) 4.1. Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 35; remittances (2006) 270; foreign direct investment (2001-05 avg.) 47; official development assistance (2005) 92 (commitments). Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 40; remittances (2005) 55. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 2.4%, in permanent crops 0.2%, in pasture 6.2%; overall forest area (2005) 76.7%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2005; c.i.f.): US$785,500,000 (fuels and lubricants 28.1%; consumer goods 24.9%; capital goods 19.7%). Major import sources (2004): Trinidad and Tobago 24.8%; US 24.5%; Cuba 6.8%; UK 5.4%. Exports (2005; f.o.b.): US$551,000,000 (sugar 21.4%; gold 20.3%; bauxite 11.4%; shrimp 11.3%; timber 9.0%; reexports 2.8%). Major export destinations (2004): Canada 23.2%; US 19.2%; UK 10.9%; Portugal 9.0%; Belgium 6.4%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2001): 187 km (entirely devoted to transportation of ore). Roads (1999): total length 7,970 km (paved 7%). Vehicles (2001): passenger cars 61,300; trucks and buses 15,500. Air transport (2001): passenger-km 174,800,000; metric ton-km cargo 1,600,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 67,000 (88); televisions (2003): 125,000 (169); telephone landlines (2005): 110,000 (146); cellular telephone subscribers (2005): 281,000 (375); personal computers (2005): 29,000 (39); total Internet users (2005): 160,000 (212); broadband Internet subscribers (2005): 2,000 (2.6).

Education and health

Educational attainment (1992). Percentage of employed persons having: no formal schooling 1.6%; incomplete primary education 9.3%; complete primary 54.7%; secondary 30.0%; higher 4.4%. Literacy (2005): total population ages 15 and over literate 99.0%; males literate 99.2%; females literate 98.7%. Health (2005): physicians 323 (1 per 2,325 persons); hospital beds 3,267 (1 per 230 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births 33.3. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 2,784 (vegetable products 83%, animal products 17%); 148% of FAO recommended minimum.

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 1,100 (army 81.8%, navy 9.1%, air force 9.1%). Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2004): 1.8%; per capita expenditure US$19.

Background

Guyana was colonized by the Dutch in the 17th century. During the Napoleonic Wars the British occupied the territory and afterward purchased the colonies of Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo, united in 1831 as British Guiana. The slave trade was abolished in 1807, but emancipation of the 100,000 slaves in the colonies was not completed until 1838. From the 1840s East Indian and Chinese indentured servants were brought to work the plantations; by 1917 almost 240,000 East Indians had migrated to British Guiana. It was made a crown colony in 1928 and granted home rule in 1953. Political parties began to emerge, developing on racial lines as the People’s Progressive Party (largely East Indian) and the People’s National Congress (largely black). The PNC formed a coalition government and led the country into independence as Guyana in 1966. In 1970 Guyana became a republic within the Commonwealth; in 1980 it adopted a new constitution. Venezuela has long claimed land west of the Essequibo River, and the UN has continued to arbitrate the issue.

Recent Developments

The UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea’s decision in September 2007 on the maritime boundary dispute between Guyana and Suriname gave Georgetown the far-larger share of the Guyana-Suriname Basin in contention, and Guyana was expected to vigorously resume offshore oil exploration.

Haiti

Official name: Repiblik Dayti (Haitian Creole); Republique d’Haiti (French) (Republic of Haiti). Form of government: republic with two legislative houses (Senate [30]; Chamber of Deputies [99]). Chief of state: President Rene Preval (from 2006). Head of government: Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis (from 2008). Capital: Port-au-Prince. Official languages: Haitian Creole; French. Official religions: Roman Catholicism has special recognition per concordat with the Vatican; voodoo became officially sanctioned per governmental decree of April 2003. Monetary unit: 1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = G 38.75.

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Demography

Area: 10,695 sq mi, 27,700 sq km. Population (2007): 9,598,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 897.4, persons per sq km 346.5. Urban (2003): 40.8%. Sex distribution (2005): male 49.29%; female 50.71%. Age breakdown (2005): under 15, 42.6%; 15-29, 30.5%; 30-44, 14.2%; 45-59, 7.5%; 60-74, 4.2%; 75 and over, 1.0%. Ethnic composition (2000): black 94.2%; mulatto 5.4%; other 0.4%. Religious affiliation (2003): Roman Catholic 54.7% (about 80% of all Roman Catholics also practice voodoo); Protestant/independent Christian 28.5%, of which Baptist 15.4%, Pentecostal 7.9%; voodoo 2.1%; nonreligious/other 14.7%. Major cities (2003): Port-au-Prince 703,023 (metropolitan area 1,977,036); Carrefour (1999) 336,222; Delmas (1999) 284,079; Cap-Haitien 111,094; Gonaives 104,825. Location: western third of the island of His-paniola, bordered by the North Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Dominican Republic.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2005): 36.6 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2005): 12.3 (world avg. 8.6). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 5.02. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 51.6 years; female 54.3 years.

National economy

Budget (2003-04). Revenue: G 12,473,800,000 (customs duties 28.3%; sales tax 27.7%; individual taxes on income and profits 22.3%). Expenditures: G 17,164,900,000 (current expenditure 78.7%, of which wages 24.1%, transfers 6.0%, interest on public debt 5.0%; capital expenditure 21.3%). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): sugarcane 1,080,000, cassava (manioc) 326,800, bananas 321,800; livestock (number of live animals) 1,900,000 goats, 1,456,000 cattle, 500,000 horses; roundwood 2,239,070 cu m, of which fuelwood 89%; fisheries production 8,300. Mining and quarrying (2002):sand2,000,000 cum. Manufacturing (value added in G ’000,000, at prices of 1986-87; 2002): food and beverages 484.5; textiles, wearing apparel, and footwear 195.7; chemical and rubber products 63.8. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 547,000,000 (547,000,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) none (523,000). Gross national income (2006): US$4,619,000,000 (US$489 per capita). Population economically active (2003): total 3,467,000; activity rate of total population 41.8% (participation rates: ages 15-64, 69.5%; female 41.5%; unemployed 32.7% [unofficial estimate is 70%]). Public debt (external, outstanding; 2005): US$1,276,000,000. Households. Average household size (2000) 4.7; sources of income (2001): self-employment 37%, transfers 25%, wages 20%; expenditure (1996): food, beverages, and tobacco 49.4%, housing and energy 9.1%, transportation 8.7%, cloth-ingand footwear 8.5%. Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 110; remittances (2006) 1,650; foreign direct investment (2001-05 avg.) 8.0; official development assistance (2005)515. Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 54; remittances (2005) 59. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 28.3%, in permanent crops 11.6%, in pasture 17.8%; overall forest area (2005) 3.8%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2003): US$1,115,800,000 (food and live animals 24.0%; basic manufactures 22.4%; petroleum and derivatives 17.6%; machinery and transport equipment 14.8%). Major import sources (2004): US 52.9%; Dominican Republic 6.0%; Japan 2.9%. Exports (2003): US$333,160,000 (reexports to US 83.5%, of which clothing and apparel 82.1%; cacao 1.8%; essential oils 1.5%). Major export destinations (2004): US 81.8%; Dominican Republic 7.2%; Canada 4.2%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Roads (1999): total length 4,160 km (paved 24%). Vehicles (1999): passenger cars 93,000; trucks and buses 61,600. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 11,000 (1.3); televisions (2003): 60,000 (7.2); telephone landlines (2005): 145,000 (17); cellular telephone subscribers (2005): 500,000 (59); personal computers (2005): 16,000 (1.9); total Internet users (2006): 650,000 (69).

Education and health

Educational attainment (2000). Percentage of population ages 25 and over having: no formal schooling/unknown 46.1%; incomplete primary education 28.9%; primary 5.3%; incomplete secondary 15.6%; secondary 1.8%; higher 2.3%. Literacy (2005): total population ages 15 and over literate 54.8%; males literate 56.5%; females literate 52.3%. Health: physicians (1999) 1,910 (1 per 4,000 persons); hospital beds (2000) 6,431 (1 per 1,234 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2005) 73.5. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 1,863 (vegetable products 91%, animal products 9%); 96% of FAO recommended minimum.

Military

Total active duty personnel: The Haitian army was disbanded in 1995. The national police force had 5,000 personnel in mid-2006. UN peacekeeping troops (June 2007) 7,065.

Background

Haiti gained its independence when the former slaves of the island, initially led by Toussaint Louver-ture, and later by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, rebelled against French rule in 1791-1804. The new republic encompassed the entire island of Hispaniola, but the eastern portion was restored to Spain in 1809. The island was reunited under Haitian Pres. Jean-Pierre Boyer (1818-43); after his overthrow the eastern portion revolted and formed the Dominican Republic. Haiti’s government was marked by instability, with frequent coups and assassinations. It was occupied by the US in 1915-34. In 1957 the dictator Frangois (“Papa Doc”) Duvalier came to power. Despite an economic decline and civil unrest, Duvalier ruled until his death in 1971. He was succeeded by his son, Jean-Claude (“Baby Doc”) Duvalier, who was forced into exile in 1986. Haiti’s first free presidential elections, held in 1990, were won by Jean-Bertrand Aristide. He was deposed by a military coup in 1991, after which tens of thousands of Haitians attempted to flee to the US in small boats. The military government stepped down in 1994, and Aristide returned from exile and resumed the presidency.

Recent Developments

A sense of optimism enveloped Haiti during 2007 as the country continued to creep away from its past of political conflict, insecurity, and economic decline. Fueling optimism were the continuing efforts of Pres. Rene Preval to include opposition groups within his coalition government and the government’s success, supported by the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUS-TAH), in eliminating most of the gang violence and kidnapping that had paralyzed much of the country. MINUSTAH’s mandate, extended until 15 Oct 2008, was reconfigured toward shifting its presence to unsecured border and coastal locations to target arms and drugsmuggling. Haiti’s poor majority voiced frustration with the lackof tangible, sustained economic improvement in their lives. However, inflation fell from 40.0% to an estimated 8%, and GDP rose to a forecast growth of 3.2%. Significant amounts of previously pledged international aid flowed into Haiti, with much of it allocated to short-term job-creation programs. Cash transfers from Haitians living overseas (an estimated US$1.6 billion annually) continued to serve as a mechanism for bridging the gap between survival and growth.

Honduras

Official name: Republica de Honduras (Republic of Honduras). Form of government: multiparty republic with one legislative house (National Assembly [128]). Head of state and government: President Manuel Ze-laya (from 2006). Capital: Tegucigalpa. Official language: Spanish. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 Honduran lempira (L) = 100 centavos; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = L 18.90.

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Demography

Area: 43,433 sq mi, 112,492 sq km. Population (2007): 7,484,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 172.3, persons per sq km 66.5. Urban (2006): 45.5%. Sex distribution (2006): male 48.47%; female 51.53%. Age breakdown (2005): under 15, 40.5%; 15-29, 29.2%; 30-44, 16.7%; 45-59, 8.6%; 60-74, 3.9%; 75 and over, 1.1%. Ethnic composition (2000): mestizo 86.6%; Amerindian 5.5%; black (including Black Carib) 4.3%; white 2.3%; other 1.3%. Religious affiliation (2002): Roman Catholic 63%; Evangelical Protestant 23%; other 14%. Major cities (2005): Tegucigalpa 900,400; San Pedro Sula 558,200; Choloma 177,400; La Ceiba 150,400; El Progreso 107,400. Location: Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, Nicaragua, the North Pacific Ocean, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2005): 28.5 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2005): 6.0 (world avg. 8.6). Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (2005): 22.5 (world avg. 11.7). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 3.50. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 66.5 years; female 70.7 years.

National economy

Budget (2005). Revenue: L 32,305,100,000 (tax revenue 82.7%; nontax revenue 5.8%; transfers 11.5%). Expenditures: L 37,017,900,000 (current expenditure 78.6%; capital expenditure 21.4%). Public debt (external, outstanding; March 2006): US$4,327,-500,000. Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): sugarcane 5,625,000, oil palm fruit 1,233,000, bananas 887,100; livestock (number of live animals) 2,500,000 cattle, 490,000 pigs, 18,700,000 chickens; roundwood 9,632,614 cu m, of which fuelwood 90%; fisheries production 48,580 (from aquaculture 60%). Mining and quarrying (2004): gypsum 60,000; zinc (metal content) 46,500; silver 48,000 kg. Manufacturing (value added in L ’000,000; 1996): food products 1,937; wearing apparel 1,266 (important product of the maquiladora sector; garment assembly employed 110,000 in 2001); beverages 700. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2005) 5,551,300,000 (5,551,300,000); coal (metric tons; 2004) none (174,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) none (2,038,000). Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 9.5%, in permanent crops 3.2%, in pasture 13.5%; overall forest area (2005) 41.5%. Population economically active (2005): total 2,651,300; activity rate of total population 36.5% (participation rates: ages 15 and over 57.7%; female 32.4%; unemployed [2006] unofficially 27.9%). Gross national income (2006): US$8,989,-000,000 (US$1,290 per capita). Households (2004). Average household size (2006)4.8; average annual income per household L 85,860 (US$4,716); sources of income: wages and salaries 51%, self-employment 34%, remittances 8%, other 7%; expenditure (1999): food and nonalcoholic beverages 32%, housing and energy 19%, transportation 9%, clothing and footwear 8%, household furnishings 7%. Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 472; remittances (2006) 2,359; foreign direct investment(2001-05 avg.) 243; official development assistance (2005) 1,318 (commitments). Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 248; remittances (2005) 1.

Foreign trade

Imports (2006; f.o.b. in balance of trade and c.i.f. in commodities and trading partners): US$5,417,-800,000 (mineral fuels and lubricants 20.6%; food products and live animals 16.6%; machinery and electrical equipment 15.6%; chemicals and chemical products 12.9%; fabricated metal products 7.6%). Major import sources (2005): US 37.5%; Guatemala 9.0%; El Salvador 5.9%; Costa Rica 5.5%; Mexico 5.3%. Exports (2006): US$1,929,500,000 (coffee 20.9%; bananas 13.0%; shrimp 9.4%; zinc 5.8%; gold 4.1%; wood and wood products 3.4%). Major export destinations (2005): US 36.8%; El Salvador 10.5%; Germany 8.5%; Guatemala 7.9%; Belgium 5.4%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2005): serviceable lines 253 km. Roads (2005): total length 13,720 km (paved 22%). Vehicles (2003): passenger cars 386,468; trucks and buses 113,744. Airtransport (1995): pas-senger-km 341,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 33,000,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 198,000 (28); televisions (2004): 1,000,000 (143); telephone landlines (2006): 708,000 (97); cellular telephone subscribers (2006): 2,241,000 (306); personal computers (2005): 120,000 (17); total Internet users (2006): 337,000 (46).

Education and health

Educational attainment (1988). Percentage of population ages 10 and over having: no formal schooling 33.4%; primary education 50.1%; secondary education 13.4%; higher 3.1%. Literacy (2005): total population ages 15 and over literate 78.0%; males literate 77.6%; females literate 78.3%. Health: physicians (2001) 5,681 (1 per 1,149 persons); hospital beds (2005) 5,546 (1 per 1,292 persons); infant mortality rate (2005) 26.5. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 2,752 (vegetable products 75%, animal products 25%); 155% of FAO recommended minimum.

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 12,000 (army 69.2%, navy 11.7%, air force 19.1%); US troops (2005) 438. Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 0.6%; per capita expenditure US$7.

Background

Early residents of Honduras were part of the Maya civilization that flourished in the 1st millennium ad. Christopher Columbus reached Honduras in 1502, and permanent settlement followed. A major war between the Spanish and the Indians broke out in 1537, culminating in the decimation of the Indian population through disease and enslavement. After 1570 Honduras was part of the captaincy general of Guatemala until Central American independence in 1821. Part of the United Provinces of Central America, Honduras withdrew in 1838 and declared its independence. In the 20th century, under military rule, there was constant civil war and some intervention by the US. A civilian government assumed office in 1982. The military remained in the background, however, as the activity of leftist guerrillas increased.

Recent Developments

The US government in May 2007 extended for 18 months the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) that allowed 78,000 Hondurans to work legally in the US because of environmental disasters in Honduras. TPS worker remittances, in addition to remittances from undocumented workers, accounted for approximately 25% of the country’s GDP.

Hong Kong

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Official name: Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu (Chinese); Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (English). Political status: special administrative region (People’s Republic of China) with one legislative house (Legislative Council [60]). Chief of state: Chinese President Hu Jintao (from 2003). Head of government: Chief Executive Donald Tsang (from 2005). Official languages: Chinese; English. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = HK$7.80.

Demography

Area: 426 sq mi, 1,104 sq km. Population (2007): 6,924,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 16,254, persons per sq km 6,272. Urban (2003): 100%. Sex distribution (2006): male 47.68%; female 52.32%. Age breakdown (2005): under 15, 14.2%; 15-29, 19.9%; 30-44, 27.0%; 45-59, 23.3%; 60-74,10.2%; 75-84, 4.2%; 85 and over, 1.2%. Ethnic composition (2006): Chinese 95.0%; Filipino 1.6%; Indonesian 1.3%; assorted Caucasian 0.5%; Indian 0.3%; Nepalese 0.2%; other 1.1%. Religious affiliation (2002): nonreligious/non-practitioner of religion 57%; participant of religious practice 43%, of which Protestant 4.5%, Roman Catholic 3.5%, Muslim 1.5%, other (mostly Buddhist, Taoist, or Confu-cianist) 33.5%. Major built-up areas (2005): Kowloon 2,070,000; Victoria 986,800; Tuen Mun 473,100; Sha Tin 432,600; Tseung Kwan O 344,500. Location: east Asia, bordering China and the South China Sea.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 9.6 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2006): 5.4 (world avg. 8.6). Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (2006): 4.2 (world avg. 11.7). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 0.97. Life expectancy at birth (2006): male 79.5 years; female 85.6 years.

National economy

Budget (2005-06). Revenue:HK$247,035,000,000 (earnings and profits taxes 45.6%; indirect taxes 20.4%; capital revenue 17.3%; other 16.7%). Expenditures: HK$245,000,000,000 (education 22.0%; social welfare 13.6%; health 12.9%; police 10.1%; housing 6.2%; economic services 5.3%). Public debt (external, outstanding; 2005): US$1,589,700,000. Gross national income (2006): US$190,196,-000,000 (US$26,667 per capita). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): vegetables 24,600, fruits 350, eggs 2,008,000 units; livestock (number of live animals) 377,000 pigs, 11,676,000 chickens; fisheries production 158,995 (from aquaculture 2%). Manufacturing (value added in HK$’000,000; 2004): publishing and printed materials 11,270; textiles 6,067; food 5,031. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2005) 38,448,000,000 (44,545,000,000); hard coal (metric tons; 2005) none (10,800,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) none (4,207,000); natural gas(cu m; 2004) none (2,132,000,000). Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 10,179; remittances (2006) 297; foreign direct investment (FDI) (2001-05 avg.) 23,402. Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 13,307; remittances (2006) 365; FDI (2001-05 avg.) 22,515. Population economically active (2004): total 3,529,000; activity rate of total population 52.0% (participation rates: ages 15-64, 70.2%; female 44.2%; unemployed [January-March 2007] 4.3%). Households. Average household size (2006) 2.8; median annual income per household (2001) HK$224,500 (US$28,800); expenditure (2001): housing and energy 22.2%, clothing and footwear 15.2%, food and nonalcoholic beverages 13.5%, household furnishings 12.6%, transportation 11.0%. Land use as %of total land area (2000): in temporary and permanent crops 5.4%, in pasture 29.3%; overall forest area 18.0%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2006; c.i.f.): HK$2,599,800,000,000 (capital goods 29.6%; consumer goods 26.8%; mineral fuels and lubricants 2.8%; foodstuffs 2.5%). Major import sources: China 45.9%; Japan 10.3%; Taiwan 7.5%; Singapore 6.3%; US 4.8%. Exports (2006; f.o.b.): HK$2,461,000,000,000 (reexports 94.5%, of which consumer goods 30.6%, capital goods 29.2%; domestic exports 3.3%, of which clothing accessories and apparel 2.1%). Major export destinations: China 47.0%; US 15.1%; Japan 4.9%; Germany 3.1%; UK 3.0%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2003): route length 64 km; pas-senger-km 4,256,000,000. Roads (2006): total length 1,984 km (paved 100%). Vehicles (2006): passenger cars 378,000; trucks and buses 131,000. Air transport (2005; Cathay Pacific and Dragonair only): passenger-km 71,595,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 8,026,729,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 2,468,000 (356); televisions (2003): 3,467,000 (507); telephone landlines (2006): 3,836,000 (556); cellular telephone subscribers (2006): 9,356,000 (1,364); personal computers (2005): 4,172,000 (602); total Internet users (2006): 3,770,000 (550); broadband Internet subscribers (2006): 1,796,000 (262).

Education and health

Educational attainment (2005). Percentage of population ages 15 and over having: no formal schooling 6.5%; primary education 19.5%; secondary 45.9%; matriculation 5.2%; nondegree higher 7.9%; higher degree 15.1%. Literacy (2000): total population ages 15 and over literate 93.5%; males literate 96.5%; females literate 90.2%. Health (2005): physicians 11,775 (1 per 588 persons; there were an additional 4,848 practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine in Hong Kong at the beginning of 2006); hospital beds 33,939 (1 per 204 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2006) 1.8. Food (2001): daily per capita caloric intake 3,104 (vegetable products 68%, animal products 32%); 136% of FAO recommended minimum.

Military

Total active duty personnel (2003): 4,000 troops of Chinese military (including elements of army, navy, and air force); Hong Kong residents are exempted from military service.

Background

The island of Hong Kong and adjacent islets were ceded by China to the British in 1842, and the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories were later leased by the British from China for 99 years (1898-1997). A joint Chinese-British declaration, signed on 19 Dec 1984, paved the way for the entire territory to be returned to China, which occurred on 1 Jul 1997.

Recent Developments

Hong Kong was the scene of an international diplomatic incident in 2007. The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk was due to stop in Hong Kong over Thanksgiving but was refused entry by Chinese authorities, leaving thousands of sailors’ relatives unable to celebrate the holiday with their loved ones. Although the Kitty Hawk eventually did stop in Hong Kong (in April 2008), no adequate explanation was ever publicly given by the Chinese.

Hungary

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Official name: Magyar Koztarsasag (Republic of Hungary). Form of government: unitary multiparty republic with one legislative house (National Assembly [386]). Chief of state: President Laszlo Solyom (from 2005). Head of government: Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany (from 2004). Capital: Budapest. Official language: Hungarian. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 forint (Ft) = 100 filler; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = Ft 149.56.

Demography

Area: 35,919 sq mi, 93,030 sq km. Population (2007): 10,055,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 279.9, persons per sq km 108.1. Urban (2004): 64.8%. Sex distribution (2005): male 47.47%; female 52.53%. Age breakdown (2005): under 15, 15.6%; 15-29, 21.3%; 30-44, 20.4%; 45-59, 21.3%; 60-74, 14.7%; 75-84, 5.6%; 85 and over, 1.1%. Ethnic composition (2000): Hungarian 84.4%; Rom 5.3%; Ruthenian 2.9%; German 2.4%; Romanian 1.0%; Slovak 0.9%; Jewish 0.6%; other 2.5%. Religious affiliation (2001): Roman Catholic 51.9%; Reformed 15.9%; Lutheran 3.0%; Greek Catholic 2.6%; Jewish 0.1%; nonreligious 14.5%; other/unknown 12.0%. Major cities (2004): Budapest 1,697,343; Debrecen 204,297; Miskolc 175,701; Szeged 162,889; Pecs 156,567. Location: central Europe, bordering Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Austria.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 9.9 (world avg. 20.3); (2004) within marriage 66.0%. Death rate per 1,000 population (2006): 13.1 (world avg. 8.6). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2006): 1.35. Life expectancy at birth (2006): male 69.0 years; female 77.4 years.

National economy

Budget (2005). Revenue: Ft 6,458,391,000,000 (VAT 27.6%; personal income taxes 15.5%; corporate taxes 15.5%; excise taxes 11.4%). Expenditures: Ft 7,003,392,000,000 (general administration 47.6%; public debt 13.1%; family benefits 7.1%). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): corn (maize) 9,050,000, wheat 5,088,000, sugar beets 3,516,000, Hungarian red paprika 49,380; livestock (number of live animals) 4,913,000 pigs, 739,000 cattle, 2,127,000 geese; roundwood 5,940,000 cu m, of which fuelwood 53%; fisheries production 21,270 (from aquaculture 64%). Mining and quarrying (2004): bauxite 647,000. Manufacturing (value added in US$’000,000; 2002): electrical machineryand apparatus 1,885; motor vehicles and parts 1,176; chemical products 1,113. Energy production (consumptions-electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 33,708,000,000(41,176,000,000); hard coal (metric tons; 2004) none (1,299,000); lignite (metric tons; 2004) 11,242,000 (12,173,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2004) 7,205,000 (42,635,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004-05) 6,540,000 ([2004] 5,354,000); natural gas (cu m; 2004-05) 2,935,000,000 ([2004] 15,021,000,000). Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 4,279; remittances (2006) 363; foreign direct investment (FDI) (2001-05 avg.) 4,085. Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 2,925; remittances (2006) 189; FDI (2001-05 avg.) 952. Population economically active (2006): total 4,246,900; activity rate of total population 42.2% (participation rates: ages 15-64, 62.0%; female [2004] 45.7%; unemployed 7.5%). Gross national income (2006): US$104,036,000,000 (US$10,343 per capita). Public debt (external, outstanding; 2005): US$21,216,000,000. Households. Average household size (2005) 2.6; income per household (2001) Ft 2,898,000 (US$10,300); sources of income (2001): wages 48.3%, transfers 25.7%, self-employment 16.3%; expenditure (2005): food products 22.8%, transportation and communications 20.1%, housing and energy 19.1%, recreation 8.1%. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporarycrops 51.3%, in permanent crops 2.3%, in pasture 11.9%; overall forest area (2005) 21.5%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2003; c.i.f.): Ft 10,469,000,000,000 (electrical machinery 16.6%; nonelectrical machinery 15.7%; road vehicles 8.4%; telecommunications equipment 7.1%; mineral fuels 5.8%). Major import sources (2006): Germany 27.4%; Russia 8.2%; Austria 6.2%; China 5.1%; France 4.7%. Exports (2003; f.o.b.): Ft 9,646,000,000,000 (telecommunications equipment 12.6%; electrical machinery 11.9%; motor vehicle engines 8.7%; road vehicles 8.2%; office machines and computers 7.0%). Major export destinations (2006): Germany 29.4%; Italy 5.4%; Austria 4.8%; France 4.6%; UK 4.5%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2003): route length 7,898 km; passenger-km (2004) 10,544,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 8,878,000,000. Roads (2003): total length 159,568 km (paved 44%). Vehicles: passenger cars (2005) 2,888,735; trucks and buses (2003) 395,000. Air transport (2006; Malev Hungarian Airlines only): passenger-km 4,099,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 25,000,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2004): 1,820,000 (181); televisions (2003): 4,810,000 (475); telephone landlines (2006): 3,350,000 (333); cellular telephone subscribers (2006): 9,965,000 (990); personal computers (2005): 1,504,000 (149); total Internet users (2006): 3,500,000 (348); broadband Internet subscribers (2006): 977,000 (97).

Education and health

Educational attainment (2002). Population ages 25-64 having: no formal schooling through lower-sec-ondaryeducation 29%; uppersecondary/highervoca-tional 57%; university 14%. Health (2004): physicians 38,877 (1 per 260 persons); hospital beds 79,610 (1 per 127 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2006) 5.7. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 3,438 (vegetable products 72%, animal products 28%); 172% of FAO recommended minimum.

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 32,300 (army 74.2%, air force 23.2%, headquarters staff 2.6%). Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 1.5%; per capita expenditure US$158.

Background

The western part of Hungary was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 14 bc. The Magyars, a nomadic people, occupied the middle basin of the Danube River in the late 9th century ad. Stephen I, crowned in 1000, Christianized the country and organized it into a strong and independent state. Invasions by the Mongols in the 13th century and by the Ottoman Turks in the 14th century devastated the country, and by 1568 the territory of modern Hungary had been divided into three parts: Royal Hungary went to the Hab-sburgs; Transylvania gained autonomy in 1566 under the Turks; and the central plain remained under Turkish control until the late 17th century, when the Austrian Habsburgs took over. Hungary declared its independence from Austria in 1849, and in 1867 the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary was established. Its defeat in World War I resulted in the dismemberment of Hungary, leaving it only those areas in which Magyars predominated. In an attempt to regain some of this lost territory, Hungary cooperated with the Germans against the Soviet Union during World War II. After the war, a pro-Soviet provisional government was established, and in 1949 the Hungarian People’s Republic was formed. Opposition to this Stalinist regime broke out in 1956 but was suppressed. Nevertheless, from 1956 to 1988 communist Hungary grew to become the most tolerant of the Soviet-bloc nations of Eastern Europe. It gained its independence in 1989 and soon attracted the largest amount of direct foreign investment in east-central Europe. In 1999 it joined NATO and in 2004 the European Union (EU).

Recent Developments

During 2007 the popularity of Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany’s government plummeted in the wake of a strict austerity program that was designed to reduce the Hungarian government’s soaring budget deficit and bring macroeconomic indicators in line with EU requirements to join the euro zone. The most controversial element in the package, which included reforms ofthe public administration sector and cuts in energy subsidies to the public, was a radical overhaul of the debt-ridden health sector, including closures and mergers, a 10% cut in hospital beds, and the introduction of a patient “visit fee.” A particularly controversial provision opened up the sector to profit-making health insurance funds and privatized hospitals.

Iceland

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Official name: Lydhveldidh fsland (Republic of Iceland). Form of government: unitary multiparty republic with one legislative house (Althingi [63]). Chief of state: President Olafur Ragnar Grfmsson (from 1996). Head of government: Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde (from 2006). Capital: Reykjavik. Official language: Icelandic. Official religion: Evangelical Lutheran. Monetary unit: 1 krona (ISK; plural kronur) = 100 aurar; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = ISK 79.33.

Demography

Area: 39,741 sq mi, 102,928 sq km. Population (2007): 310,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 33.7, persons per sq km 13.0. Urban (2004): 94.0%. Sex distribution (2005): male 50.42%; female 49.58%. Age breakdown (2005): under 15, 21.8%; 15-29, 21.9%; 30-44, 21.5%; 45-59, 18.9%; 60-74,10.2%; 75-84, 4.3%; 85 and over, 1.4%. Ethnic composition (2006; by citizenship): Icelandic 94.0%; European 4.0%, of which Polish 1.9%, Nordic 0.5%; Asian 0.9%; other 1.1%. Religious affiliation (2004): Evangelical Lutheran 85.4%; other Lutheran 4.5%; Roman Catholic 2.0%; other Christian 1.9%; other/not specified 6.2%. Major cities (2006): Reykjavik 116,642 (urban area [2005] 187,426); Ko-pavogur 27,525; Hafnarfjordhur 23,751; Akureyri 16,887; Gar ab^r 9,556. Location: northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea, the Norwegian Sea, and the North Atlantic Ocean.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 14.5 (world avg. 20.3); within marriage 34.4%. Death rate per 1,000 population (2006): 6.2 (world avg. 8.6). Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (2006): 8.3 (world avg. 11.7). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2006): 2.07. Life expectancy at birth (2006): male 79.4 years; female 83.0 years.

National economy

Budget (2004). Revenue:ISK 279,425,000,000 (tax revenue 90.3%, of which VAT 30.8%, individual income tax 26.4%, social security contribution 10.4%; nontax revenue 9.7%). Expenditures:ISK 273,035,000,000 (social security and health 40.4%; education 11.8%; social affairs 8.4%; interest payment 5.5%). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): potatoes 13,800, cereals 9,773, tomatoes 1,508; livestock (number of live animals)454,950 sheep, 74,820 horses, 65,979 cattle; fisheries production (value in ISK ’000,000; 2005) 67,920, of which cod 24,924, haddock8,881, redfish 5,461, herring 5,161, capelin 5,031, halibut 3,035, blue whiting 1,489; fisheries production by tonnage 1,669,578 (from aquaculture 1%). Mining and quarrying (2005): diatomite 3,236. Manufacturing (value of sales in ISK ’000,000; 2004): food products and beverages (mainly preserved and processed fish) 179,749; base metals 42,067; chemicals and chemical products 20,504. Energy production (consumptions-electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 8,619,000,000 (8,619,000,000); coal (metric tons; 2004) none (104,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) none (729,000). Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (Us$’000,000): tourism (2005) 409; remittances (2006) 87; foreign direct investment (FDI) (2001-05 avg.) 711. Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 975; remittances (2006) 80; FDI (2001-05 avg.) 2,058. Population economically active (2006): total 174,300; activity rate of total population 57.4% (participation rates: ages 16-74, 82.1%; female 45.4%; unemployed 2.5%). Gross national income (2006): US$15,096,000,000 (US$50,586 per capita). Public debt (December 2005): US$4,222,000,000. Households. Average household size (2004) 2.5; annual employment income per household (2003) ISK 2,428,000 (US$31,700); sources of income (2001): wages and salaries 78.6%, pension 10.3%, self-employment 2.0%, other 9.1%; expenditure (2005): housing and energy 25.5%, transportation and communications 16.3%, food 14.4%, recreation, education, and culture 13.3%. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 0.07%, in permanent crops, none, in pasture 22.7%; overall forest area (2005)0.5%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2005; f.o.b. in balance of trade and c.i.f. in commodities and trading partners): ISK 313,854,600,000 (machinery and apparatus 23.7%; transport equipment 18.2%; crude petroleum and petroleum products 8.8%; metal and metal products 8.7%; chemicals and chemical products 7.8%). Major import sources: Germany 13.8%; US 9.3%; Norway 8.4%; Denmark 7.1%; UK 7.0%. Exports (2005): ISK 194,355,300,000 (marine products 56.7%, of which cod 21.6%, haddock 6.0%, redfish 4.1%, shrimp 4.1%; aluminum 18.0%; transport equipment 5.5%). Major export destinations: UK 17.8%; Germany 15.8%; The Netherlands 12.5%; US 8.8%; Spain 7.4%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Roads (2006): total length 13,038 km (paved 33%). Vehicles (2005): passenger cars 187,442; trucks and buses 27,443. Air transport (2006; Icelandair only): passenger-km 4,248,000,000; metric ton-km cargo [2005] 121,591,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 170,000 (573); televisions (2004): 101,000 (345); telephone landlines (2006): 194,000 (652); cellular telephone subscribers (2006): 329,000 (1,106); personal computers (2005): 142,000 (481); total Internet users (2006): 194,000 (653); broadband Internet subscribers (2006): 88,000 (290).

Education and health

Educational attainment (2002): Percentage of population ages 25-64 having: primary through some secondary education 34.4%; secondary 45.7%; higher 19.9%. Literacy: virtually 100%. Health: physicians (2004) 1,056 (1 per 277 persons); hospital beds (2002) 2,432 (1 per 118 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2005) 2.3. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 3,245 (vegetable products 60%, animal products 40%).

Military

Total active duty personnel (2005): 130 coast guard personnel; NATO-sponsored US-manned Iceland Defense Force 1,250. Coast guard expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 0.3%; per capita expenditure US$140.

Background

Iceland was settled by Norwegian seafarers in the 9th century and was Christianized by 1000. Its legislature, the Althing, was founded in 930, making it one of the oldest legislative assemblies in the world. Iceland united with Norway in 1262. It became an independent state of Denmark in 1918 but severed those ties to become an independent republic in 1944. Vigdfs Finnbogadottir became the world’s first female elected president in 1980.

Recent Developments

Iceland’s economy began to slow down in 2007, following the vigorous growth of the previous several years. The Karahnjukar 690-MW hydropower station in the northeastern part of the country was completed and began supplying power to the Alcoa aluminum plant at Rey5arfjor5ur. The construction of the power station provoked a bitter debate on damage to the environment and the future plans for additional power projects and aluminum plants. The stock of codfish in Icelandic waters had diminished over the years, despite stringent efforts to manage the catch by limiting the annual catch to 130,000 tons.

India

Official name: Bharat (Hindi); Republic of India (English). Form of government: multiparty federal republic with two legislative houses (Council of States [245], House of the People [545]). Chief of state: President Pratibha Patil (from 2007). Head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (from 2004). Capital: New Delhi. Official languages: Hindi; English. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 Indian rupee (Re, plural Rs) = 100 paise; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = Rs 43.35.

Demography

Area: 1,222,559 sq mi, 3,166,414 sq km (excludes 46,660 sq mi [120,849 sq km] of territory claimed by India as part of Jammu and Kashmir but occupied by Pakistan or China). Population (2007): 1,129,866,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 924.2, persons per sq km 356.8. Urban (2004): 28.5%. Sex distribution (2005): male 51.57%; female 48.43%. Age breakdown (2005): under 15, 32.1%; 15-29, 27.1%; 30-44, 20.2%; 45-59, 12.7%; 60-74, 6.2%; 75-84,1.4%; 85 and over, 0.3%. Major cities (2001; urban agglomerations): Greater Mumbai (Greater Bombay) 11,978,450(16,434,386); Delhi 9,879,172 (12,877,470); Kolkata (Calcutta) 4,580,546 (13,205,697); Chennai (Madras) 4,343,645 (6,560,242); Bengaluru (Bangalore) 4,301,326 (5,701,446); Hyderabad 3,637,483 (5,742,036); Ah-madabad 3,520,085 (4,525,013); Kanpur 2,551,337 (2,715,555); Pune (Poona) 2,538,473 (3,760,636); Surat 2,433,835 (2,811,614); Jaipur 2,322,575 (2,322,575); New Delhi 302,363. Location: southern Asia, bordering Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myan-mar (Burma), Bangladesh, and the Indian Ocean. Linguistic composition (1991): Hindi 27.58% (including associated languages and dialects, 38.58%); Bengali 8.22%; Telugu 7.80%; Marathi 7.38%; Tamil 6.26%; Urdu 5.13%; Gujarati 4.81%; Kannada 3.87%; Malay-alam 3.59%; Oriya 3.32%; Punjabi 2.76%; Assamese 1.55%; Bhili/Bhilodi 0.66%;Santhali 0.62%; Kashmiri 0.47%; Gondi 0.25%; Sindhi 0.25%; Nepali 0.25%; Konkani 0.21%; Tulu 0.18%; Kurukh 0.17%; Manipuri 0.15%; Bodo 0.14%; Khandeshi 0.12%; other 3.26%. Hindi (66.00%) and English (19.00%) are also spoken as lingua francas. Castes/tribes (2001): number of scheduled castes (formerly referred to as “untouchables”) 166,635,700; number of scheduled tribes (aboriginal peoples) 84,326,240. Religious affiliation (2005): Hindu 72.04%; Muslim 12.26%, of which Sunni 8.06%, Shi’i 4.20%; Christian 6.81%, of which Independent 3.23%, Protestant 1.74%, Roman Catholic 1.62%, Orthodox 0.22%; traditional beliefs 3.83%; Sikh 1.87%; Buddhist 0.67%; Jain 0.51%; Ba-ha’i 0.17%; Zoroastrian (Parsi) 0.02%; nonreligious I.22%; atheist 0.17%; remainder 0.43%. Households (2001). Total numberofhouseholds 193,579,954. Average household size 5.30. Type of household: permanent 51.8%; semipermanent 30.0%; temporary 18.2%. Average number of rooms per household 2.2; 1 room 38.4%, 2 rooms 30.0%, 3 rooms 14.3%, 4 rooms 7.5%, 5 rooms 2.9%, 6 or more rooms 3.7%, unspecified number of rooms 3.2%.

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Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2005): 22.3 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2005): 8.3 (world avg. 8.6). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 2.78. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 63.6 years; female 65.2 years.

Social indicators

Educational attainment (2001). Percentage of population ages 25 and over having: no formal schooling 48.1%; incomplete primary education 9.0%; complete primary 22.1%; secondary 13.7%; higher 7.1%. Quality of working life. Average workweek (2006) 50 hours. Rate of fatal injuries per 100,000 employees (2004) 28. Agricultural workers in servitude to creditors (early 1990s) 10-20%. Children ages 5-14 working as child laborers (2003) 35,000,000 (14% of age group). Access to services (2001). Percentage of total (urban, rural) households having access to: electricity for lighting purposes (2003) 61.5% (90.8%, 51.6%), kerosene for lighting purposes 36.9% (8.3%, 46.6%), water closets 18.0% (46.1%, 7.1%), pit latrines 11.5% (14.6%, 10.3%), no latrines 63.6% (26.3%, 78.1%), closed drainage for waste water 12.5% (34.5%, 3.9%), open drainage for waste water 33.9% (43.4%, 30.3%), no drainage for waste water 53.6% (22.1%, 65.8%). Type of fuel used for cooking in households (2003): firewood 61.1% (20.0%, 74.9%), LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) 20.8% (55.4%, 9.1%), cow dung 7.4% (1.8%, 9.3%), kerosene 4.7% (13.0%, 1.9%), coal 1.5% (3.3%, 0.9%), other 4.6% (6.6%, 3.9%). Source of drinking water: hand pump or tube well 41.3% (21.3%, 48.9%), piped water 36.7% (68.7%, 24.3%), well 18.2% (7.7%, 22.2%), river, canal, spring, public tank, pond, or lake 2.7%(0.7%, 3.5%). Social participation. Eligible voters participating in April-May 2004 national election 58.1%. Trade union membership (1998) 16,000,000 (primarily in the public sector). Social deviance (2003). Offense rate per 100,000 population for: murder 3.1; rape 1.5; dacoity(gang robbery) 0.5; theft 23.0; riots 5.4. Rate of suicide per 100,000 population (2002) II.2. Material well-being (2001). Total (urban, rural) households possessing: television receivers 31.6% (64.3%, 18.9%), telephones 9.1% (23.0%, 3.8%), scooters, motorcycles, or mopeds 11.7% (24.7%, 6.7%), cars, jeeps, or vans 2.5% (5.6%, 1.3%). Households availing bankingservices 35.5% (49.5%, 30.1%).

National economy

Gross national income (at current market prices; 2006): US$887,483,000,000 (US$771 per capita). Budget (2004). Revenue: Rs 3,941,400,000,000 (tax revenue 80.6%, of which taxes on income and profits 35.4%, excise taxes 27.7%; nontax revenue 18.1%; other 1.3%). Expenditures:Rs 5,104,800,000,000 (general public services 59.3%, of which public debt payments 24.6%; economic affairs 17.7%; defense 15.1%; housing 4.2%; education 2.2%; health 1.5%). Public debt (external, outstanding; 2005): US$80,281,000,000. Production (in ’000 metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): cereals 242,284 (of which rice 136,574, wheat 72,000, corn [maize] 14,710, millet 10,300, sorghum 7,500), sugarcane 232,300, fruits 43,035 (of which bananas 11,710, mangoes 11,140, oranges 3,469, lemons and limes 1,618, apples 1,353, pineapples 1,305), oilseeds 29,784 (of which peanuts [groundnuts] 7,200, rapeseed 6,800, soybeans 6,300, sunflower seeds 1,500, castor beans 870, sesame 680), potatoes 23,631, pulses 13,760 (of which chickpeas 5,470, dry beans 2,660, pigeon peas 2,350), eggplants 9,802, coconuts 9,534, seed cotton 7,500, cauliflower 5,363, okra 3,550, jute 2,100, allspice and pimiento 1,100, tea 831, natural rubber 780, garlic 646, tobacco 598, betel 453, ginger 349; livestock (number of live animals) 185,000,000 cattle, 120,000,000 goats, 98,000,000 water buffalo, 62,500,000 sheep, 14,300,000 pigs, 635,000 camels; roundwood 328,677,000 cu m, of which fuel-wood 93%; fisheries production 6,319 (from aquacul-ture 41%). Mining and quarrying (2005): mica 1.6 (world rank: 1); iron ore (metal content) 90,000 (world rank: 4); bauxite 11,957; chromium 3,255; barite 1,000; manganese (metal content) 640; zinc (metal content) 200; lead (metal content) 42.0; copper (metal content) 26.9; gold 3,200 kg; gem diamonds 16,000 carats. Manufacturing (value added in US$’000,000; 2003): refined petroleum 5,955; iron and steel 5,834; paints, soaps, varnishes, drugs, and medicines 4,891; industrial chemicals 4,105; food products 3,467; textiles 3,432; motor vehicles and parts 3,193; nonelectrical machinery and apparatus 2,333; cements, bricks, and tiles 2,029. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2005-06) 697,300,000,000 ([2004] 667,568,000,000); hard coal (metric tons; 2005-06) 407,040,000 ([2004] 404,691,000); lignite (metric tons; 2005-06) 30,060,000 ([2004] 30,028,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2004-05) 257,900,000 ([2004] 970,900,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004-05) 111,970,000 ([2004] 84,734,000); natural gas (cu m; 2004-05) 31,763,000,000 ([2004] 30,654,000,000). Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 53.6%, in permanent crops 3.4%, in pasture 3.6%; overall forest area (2005) 22.8%. Population economically active (2001): total 402,234,724; activity rate of total population 39.1% (participation rates: ages 15-69,60.2%; female 31.6%; unemployed [2005] 9.9%). Households. Average household size (2004) 5.40; expenditure (2003): food and nonalcoholic beverages 50.0%, housing and energy 11.2%, clothing and footwear 7.8%, health 6.7%, transportation 4.1%, tobacco and intoxicants 2.3%. Service enterprises (net value added in Rs ’000,000,000; 1998-99): wholesale and retail trade 1,562; finance, real estate, and insurance 1,310; transport and storage 804; community, social, and personal services 763; construction 545. Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2003) 3,887; remittances (2006) 26,900; foreign direct investment (FDI) (2001-05 avg.) 5,551; official development assistance (2005) 2,819 (commitments). Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2003) 3,510; remittances (2005) 1,008; FDI (2001-05 avg.) 1,558.

Foreign trade

Imports (2004-05): US$107,066,100,000 (crude petroleum and petroleum products 27.9%; gold and silver 10.1%; electronic goods [including computer software] 9.7%; precious and semiprecious stones 8.8%; nonelectrical machinery and apparatus 6.1%; organic and inorganic chemicals 5.0%). Major import sources: China 6.3%; US 5.9%; Switzerland 5.4%; UAE 4.3%; Belgium 4.3%; Australia 3.3%; UK 3.2%; South Korea 3.0%; Japan 2.8%. Exports (2004-05): US$79,247,000,000 (engineering goods 20.7%; gems and jewelry 17.3%; chemicals and chemical products 15.0%; food and agricultural products 10.1%; petroleum products 8.6%; ready-made garments 7.6%; cotton yarn, fabrics, and thread 4.0%). Major export destinations: US 16.7%; UAE 9.0%; China 5.8%; Singapore 4.8%; Hong Kong 4.6%; UK 4.5%; Germany 3.3%; Belgium 3.1%; Italy 2.7%; Japan 2.5%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2002): length 144,647 km; passenger-km 936,037,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 541,783,000,000. Roads (2002): total length 3,319,644 km (paved 46%). Vehicles (2003): passenger cars 8,619,000; trucks and buses 4,215,000. Air transport (2004-05): passenger-km 42,444,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 759,000,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 78,700,000 (71); televisions (2003): 88,876,000 (83); telephone landlines (2006): 40,770,000 (36); cellular telephone subscribers (2006): 166,050,000 (148); personal computers (2005): 17,000,000 (15); total Internet users (2005): 60,000,000 (54); broadband Internet subscribers (2006): 2,300,000 (2.1).

Education and health

Literacy (2003): percentage of total population ages 15 and over literate 59.5%; males literate 70.2%; females literate 48.3%. Health: physicians (2005) 767,500 (1 per 1,425 persons); hospital beds (2003) 963,720 (1 per 1,111 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2005) 56.3. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 2,529 (vegetable products 92%, animal products 8%); 139% of FAO recommended minimum.

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 1,325,000 (army 83.0%, navy 4.2%, air force 12.8%); personnel in paramilitary forces 1,089,700. Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 2.8%; per capita expenditure US$20.

Background

India has been inhabited for thousands of years. Agriculture dates back to at least the 7th millennium bc, and an urban civilization, that of the Indus Valley, was established by 2600 bc. Buddhism and Jainism arose in the 6th century bc in reaction to the caste-based society created by the Vedic religion and its successor, Hinduism. Muslim invasions began c. ad 1000, establishing the long-lived Delhi sultanate in 1206 and the Mughal dynasty in 1526. Vasco da Gama’s voyage to India in 1498 initiated several centuries of commercial rivalry among the Portuguese, Dutch, English, and French. British conquests in the 18th and 19th centuries led to the rule of the British East India Co., and direct administration by the British Empire began in 1858. After Mohandas K. Gandhi helped end British rule in 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru became India’s first prime minister, and he, Indira Gandhi (his daughter), and Rajiv Gandhi (his grandson) guided the nation’s destiny for all but a few years until 1989. The subcontinent was partitioned into two countries—India, with a Hindu majority, and Pakistan, with a Muslim majority—in 1947. A later clash with Pakistan resulted in the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. In the 1980s and ’90s, Sikhs sought to establish an independent state in Punjab, and ethnic and religious conflicts took place in other parts of the country as well.

Recent Developments

India continued to face the problem of terrorists operating in neighboring countries as well as domestic extremists. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar (Burma), and Sri Lanka continued to grapple with civil unrest and conflict. Several terrorist attacks in India during the year were traced to groups in Bangladesh, and other major terror attacks in various cities continued to cause concern.

Despite political uncertainty and social tensions, the Indian economy continued to perform robustly, establishing an unprecedented record of five continuous years of nearly 9% annual growth. The main worries for India’s macroeconomic managers were inflation and the strengthening of the Indian rupee vis-a-vis the US dollar. Negotiating the civil nuclear-energy cooperation agreement with the US and securing the support of all 45 member countries of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group were the government’s main foreign-policy concerns. While the US Congress took an important step forward in passing the Hyde Act, which enabled the US to negotiate the so-called 123 Agreement with India to resume cooperation in civil nuclear energy, various provisions of the act came under attack in both countries. Both governments, however, remained firmly committed to the agreement. In mid-2008, however, Indian government officials announced that an Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement was unlikely during the tenure of US Pres. George W. Bush.

Indonesia

Official name: Republik Indonesia (Republic of Indonesia). Form of government: multiparty republic with two legislative houses (Regional Representatives Council [128]; House of Representatives [500]). Head of state and government: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (from 2004). Capital: Jakarta. Official language: Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia). Official religion: monotheism. Monetary unit: 1 Indonesian rupiah (Rp) = 100 sen; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = Rp 9,220.00.

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Demography

Area: 718,289 sq mi, 1,860,360 sq km. Population (2007): 231,627,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 322.5, persons per sq km 124.5. Urban (2003): 45.6%. Sex distribution (2006): male 50.01%; female 49.99%. Age breakdown (2006): under 15, 29.1%; 15-29, 27.0%; 30-44, 22.2%; 45-59, 13.5%; 60-74, 6.7%; 75-84, 1.4%; 85 and over, 0.1%. Ethnic composition (2000): Javanese 36.4%; Sundanese 13.7%; Malay 9.4%; Madurese 7.2%; Han Chinese 4.0%; Minangkabau 3.6%; other 25.7%. Religious affiliation (2005): Muslim (excluding syncretists) 55.8%; Neoreligionists (syncretists) 21.2%; Christian 13.2%; Hindu 3.2%; traditional beliefs 2.6%; nonreligious 1.8%; other 2.2%. Major municipalities (2003): Jakarta 8,603,349 (urban agglomeration 12,300,000); Surabaya 2,660,381; Bandung 2,229,706; Medan 1,979,340; Bekasi I,845,245. Location: archipelago in southeast Asia, bordering Malaysia, the Pacific Ocean, Papua New Guinea, and the Indian Ocean.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 20.1 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2006): 6.3 (world avg. 8.6). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2006): 2.41. Life expectancy at birth (2006): male 67.4 years; female 72.4 years.

National economy

Budget (2005). Revenue: Rp 495,444,000,000,000 (tax revenue 70.0%, of which income tax 35.4%, VAT 20.4%; nontax revenue 30.0%, of which revenue from petroleum 14.7%). Expenditures: Rp 509,419,000,000,000 (current expenditure 58.5%; regional expenditure 29.5%; developmental expenditure 12.0%). Public debt (external, outstanding; December 2006): US$75,809,000,000. Population economically active (2006): total 106,388,935; activity rate 46.5% (participation rates: over age 15, 66.2%; unemployed 10.3%). Households. Average household size (2004) 4.0. Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): rice 53,984,592, sugarcane 29,300,000, cassava 19,460,000; livestock (number of live animals) 13,182,100 goats, II,500,000 cattle, 8,306,930 sheep; roundwood 106,216,000 cu m, of which fuelwood 69%; fisheries production 5,578,369 (from aquaculture 21%); aquatic plants production 918,366 (from aquacul-ture 99%). Mining and quarrying (2005): bauxite 1,081,700; copper (metal content; 2004) 840,318; nickel (metal content; 2004) 133,000. Manufacturing (value added in US$’000,000; 2003): textiles, clothing, and footwear 5,011; tobacco products 4,584; transport equipment 4,189. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 120,200,000,000 (94,111,000,000); coal (metric tons; 2005) 98,600,000 ([2004] 14,167,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2005) 387,300,000 ([2004] 381,600,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) 47,906,000 (58,131,000); natural gas (cu m; 2005) 83,400,000,000 (22,500,000,000). Gross national income (2006): US$308,964,-000,000 (US$1,350 per capita). Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 4,522; remittances (2005) 1,865; foreign direct investment (FDI) (2001-05 avg.) 745; official development assistance (2005) 3,866 (commitments). Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 3,584; remittances (2005) 1,200; FDI (2001-05 avg.) 1,359. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 12.7%, in permanent crops 7.4%, in pasture 6.2%; overall forest area (2005) 48.8%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2005-06; c.i.f. in balance of trade and commodities and f.o.b. in trading partners): US$65,712,-154,000 (petroleum and natural gas 23.7%; machinery and apparatus 16.8%; chemicals and chemical products 10.4%; base metals 8.8%; transport equipment 6.5%). Major import sources (2004): Japan 13.1%; Singapore 13.1%; China 8.8%; US 7.0%; Thailand 6.0%. Exports (2005-06): US$78,740,892,000 (petroleum and natural gas 27.4%; rubber products 15.7%; machinery and apparatus 14.5%; textiles 10.8%; base metals 7.0%). Major export destinations (2004): Japan 22.3%; US 12.3%; Singapore 8.4%; South Korea 6.8%; China 6.4%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2004): route length 6,458 km; passenger-km 15,077,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 4,698,000,000. Roads (2005): length 391,009 km (paved 55%). Vehicles (2005): passenger cars 5,494,034; trucks and buses 4,105,746. Air transport (2005): passenger-km 22,986,000,000; metric ton-km cargo (2004) 248,000,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2004): 4,866,000 (22); televisions (2003): 33,255,000 (153); telephone landlines (2006): 14,821,000 (66); cellular telephone subscribers (2006): 63,803,000 (283); personal computers (2005): 3,285,000 (15); total Internet users (2005): 16,000,000 (73); broadband Internet subscribers (2005): 108,000 (0.5).

Education and health

Educational attainment (2002-03). Percentage of population ages 15-64 having: no schooling or incomplete primary education 19.3%; primary and some secondary 57.2%; complete secondary 19.3%; higher 4.2%. Literacy (2003): total population ages 15 and over literate 88.4%; males literate 92.8%; females literate 84.1%. Health: physicians (2003) 29,499 (1 per 7,368 persons); hospital beds (2001) 124,834 (1 per 1,697 persons); infant mortality rate (2006) 33.3. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 2,972 (vegetable products 95%, animal products 5%); 162% of FAO recommended minimum.

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 302,000 (army 77.2%, navy 14.9%, air force 7.9%). Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 1.2%; per capita expenditure US$38.

Background

Proto-Malay peoples migrated to Indonesia from mainland Asia before 1000 bc. Commercial relations were established with China in about the 5th century ad, and Hindu and Buddhist cultural influences from India began to take hold. Arab traders brought Islam to the islands in the 13th century; the religion took hold throughout the islands, except for Bali, which retained its Hindu religion and culture. European influence began in the 16th century, and the Dutch ruled Indonesia from the late 17th century until 1942, when the Japanese invaded. Independence leader Sukarno declared Indonesia’s independence in 1945, which the Dutch granted, with nominal union to The Netherlands, in 1949; Indonesia dissolved this union in 1954. The suppression of an alleged coup attempt in 1965 resulted in the deaths of more than 300,000 people the government claimed to be communists, and by 1968 Gen. Suharto had taken power. His government forcibly incorporated East Timor into Indonesia in 1975-76, with much loss of life (the country became independent in 2002). In the 1990s the country was beset by political, economic, and environmental problems, and Suharto was deposed in 1998.

Recent Developments

Indonesia continued its democratic and economic consolidation in 2007. The economy continued to perform well, with 6.3% growth during the year. Investment also increased at a healthy 6.9% in the same period. Even the high poverty and unemployment levels, for which the government had been sharply criticized, fell modestly. Approximately 37 million people, or 16.6% of the population, were classed as living below the poverty line in 2007, compared with 39 million the previous year; during the same period, unemployment declined from 10.4% to 9.8%. Also, most of the country remained peaceful, despite a succession of natural disasters and continuing local direct elections. The December 2006 Aceh election, which went off largely without incident, was particularly important, as it was the culmination of the peace agreement signed in 2005, bringing an end to decades of bloody conflict between pro-independence insurgents and the Indonesian military. Finally, the government’s anticorruption campaign led to hundreds of high-profile figures being prosecuted for malfeasance. Some of the most important cases were those of former maritime and fisheries minister Rokhmin Dahuri, who stood accused of dispersing millions of dollars in bribes and inducements, and former president Suharto’s son Tommy, who was under renewed investigation over graft allegations.

Iran

Official name: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran (Islamic Republic of Iran). Form of government: unitary Islamic republic with one legislative house (Islamic Consultative Assembly [290]). Supreme political/religious authority: Rahbar (Spiritual Leader) Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei (from 1989). Head of state and government: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (from 2005). Capital: Tehran. Official language: Farsi (Persian). Official religion: Islam. Monetary unit: 1 rial (Rls); valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = Rls 9,210.00.

Demography

Area (land area only): 628,789 sq mi, 1,628,554 sq km. Population (2007): 71,243,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 112.0, persons per sq km 43.2. Urban (2006): 68.5%. Sex distribution (2005): male 50.96%; female 49.04%. Age breakdown (2005): under 15, 27.1%; 15-29, 35.0%; 30-44, 20.4%; 45-59, 10.7%; 60-74, 5.0%; 75 and over, 1.8%. Ethnic composition (2000): Persian 34.9%; Azerbaijani 15.9%; Kurd 13.0%; Luri 7.2%; Gilaki 5.1%; Mazandarani 5.1%; Afghan 2.8%; Arab 2.5%; other 13.5%. Religious affiliation (2005): Muslim 98.2%, of which Shi’i 86.1%, Sunni 10.1%, other 2.0%; Baha’i 0.5%; Christian 0.4%; Zoroastrian 0.1%; other 0.8%. Major cities (2006): Tehran 7,797,520; Mashhad 2,427,316; Esfahan 1,602,110; Tabriz 1,398,060; Shiraz 1,227,331. Location: the Middle East, bordering the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2005-06): 17.7 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2005-06): 5.2 (world avg. 8.6). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 1.82. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 68.6 years; female 71.4 years.

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National economy

Budget (2004-05). Revenue:Rls 428,872,000,000,000 (petroleum and natural gas revenue 61.7%; taxes 19.7%, of which import duties 7.1%, corporate 6.1%; other 18.6%). Expenditures: Rls 433,670,000,000,000 (current expenditure 60.5%;developmentex-penditures 17.7%; other 21.8%). Public debt (external, outstanding; 2005): US$10,493,000,000. Gross national income (2006): US$238,669,000,000 (US$3,396 per capita). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): wheat 14,500,000, tomatoes 4,781,000, potatoes 4,200,000; livestock (number of live animals) 54,000,000 sheep, 26,500,000 goats, 8,800,000 cattle; roundwood 774,000 cu m, of which fuelwood 9%; fisheries production 527,912 (from aquaculture 22%). Mining and quarrying (2004-05): iron ore (metal content) 9,000,000; chromite 223,563; copper ore (metal content) 190,000. Manufacturing (value added in US$’000,000; 2003): motor vehicles and parts 2,900; refined petroleum products 1,864; iron and steel 1,749. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2005-06) 176,342,000,000 (134,238,000,000); coal (metric tons; 2004) 1,246,000 (1,707,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2005) 1,477,885,000 (605,535,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) 76,128,000 (65,105,000); natural gas (cu m; 2004-05) 148,738,000,000 ([2003-04] 115,400,000,000). Population economically active (2005): total 22,317,000; activity rate of total population 33.3% (participation rates: ages 15-64, 48.3%; female 20.5%; unemployed 11.5%). Households (2004-05). Average household size (2005) 4.2; annual average monetary income per urban household Rls 41,697,965 (US$4,742); sources of urban monetary income: wages 40.8%, self-employment 35.0%, other 24.2%; expenditure: housing and energy 26.8%, food, beverages, and tobacco 25.3%, transportation and communications 16.5%. Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 992; remittances (2005) 1,032; foreign direct investment (2001-05 avg.) 244. Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 4,380. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporarycrops 10.3%, in permanent crops 1.3%, in pasture 26.9%; overall forest area (2005) 6.8%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2005-06; c.i.f.): US$40,969,000,000 (nonelectrical machinery and apparatus 23.5%; iron and steel 13.8%; road vehicles 13.0%; chemicals and chemical products 10.7%). Major import sources: UAE 19.7%; Germany 13.1%; France 6.8%; Italy 6.0%; China 5.5%. Exports (2005-06; f.o.b.): US$60,013,-000,000 (crude petroleum 73.1%; chemicals and chemical products 5.2%; fruits and nuts 2.2%, of which pistachios 1.4%; wool carpets 0.8%). Major export destinations: Japan 16.9%; China 11.9%; Turkey 5.8%; Italy 5.7%; South Korea 5.7%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2004-05): route length 7,584 km; passenger-km 10,012,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 18,182,000,000. Roads (2005-06): length 71,711 km (paved 90%). Vehicles (2003-04): passenger cars 634,482; trucks and buses 85,473. Air transport (2005; Iran Air): passenger-km 7,347,795,000; metric ton-km cargo 83,396,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 1,205,000 (17); televisions (2003): 11,566,000 (173); telephone landlines (2006): 21,981,000 (312); cellular telephone subscribers (2006): 13,659,000 (194); personal computers (2005): 8,694,000 (125); total Internet users (2006): 18,000,000 (255); broadband Internet subscribers (2006): 465,000 (6.7).

Education and health

Literacy (2003): total population ages 15 and over literate 79.4%; males literate 85.6%; females literate 73.0%. Health (2005-06): physicians (public sector only) 26,564 (1 per 2,618 persons); hospital beds (2004-05) 203,666 (1 per 340 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2005) 41.6. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 3,425 (vegetable products 91%, animal products 9%); 185% of FAO recommended minimum.

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 545,000 (revolutionary guard corps 22.9%, army 64.2%, navy 3.3%, air force 9.6%). Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 5.8%; per capita expenditure US$130.

Background

Habitation in Iran dates to c. 100,000 bc, but recorded history began with the Elamites c. 3000 bc. The Medes flourished from c. 728 bc but were overthrown (550 bc) by the Persians, who were in turn conquered by Alexander the Great in the 4th century bc. The Parthians created a Greek-speaking empire that lasted from 247 bc to ad 226, when control passed to the Sasanians. Arab Muslims conquered them in 640 and ruled Iran for 850 years. In 1502 the Safavids established a dynasty that lasted until 1736. The Qajars ruled from 1779, but in the 19th century the country was controlled economically by the Russian and British empires. Reza Khan seized power in a coup (1921). His son Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi alienated religious leaders with a program of modernization and Westernization and was overthrown in 1979; Shi’ite cleric Ruhollah Khomeini then set up a fundamentalist Islamic republic, and Western influence was suppressed. The destructive Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s ended in a stalemate. During the 1990s the government gradually moved to a more liberal conduct of state affairs.

Recent Developments

The year 2007 was an apparent triumph for Iranian Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who successfully managed the development of Iran’s atomic-energy program, against the wishes of the US and the EU, and sustained the country’s position as a leader in the Islamic world. He was popular at home for his robust resistance to the US, but he was under great pressure from the Iranian hierarchy to reach a compromise with the EU on the nuclear issue and thereby preempt economic or military moves against Iran. The EU was concerned that Iran already had the capacity to manufacture medium-range missiles but, like the US, was constrained by its inability to persuade Russia and China to permit more than minor UN sanctions against Iran. Although national economic performance was good—oil-export earnings totaled more than US$33 billion during the Iranian year 2006-07—government policies were criticized because there were fuel shortages at home, and Iran was required to import US$5 billion in products to avoid popular discontent. In an open letter in June to Ahmadinejad signed by 57 Iranian economists, the president was berated for neglecting the domestic economy and for damaging foreign policy at a time when opportunities were ideal for using expanded oil income. The signatories urged investment in productive assets and capital projects.

Iraq

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Official name: Al-Jumhuriyah al-Iraqiyah (Republic of Iraq). Form of government: multiparty republic with one legislative house (Council of Representatives [275]). Head of state: President Jalal Talabani (from 2005). Head of government: Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (from 2006). Capital: Baghdad. Official languages: Arabic; Kurdish. Official religion: Islam. Monetary unit: 1 Iraqi dinar (ID); valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = ID 1,194.00.

Demography

Area: 167,618 sq mi, 434,128 sq km. Population (2007): 28,993,000 (including 1,400,000 Iraqi refugees in Syria, 750,000 Iraqi refugees in Jordan, and nearly 300,000 elsewhere; about 2 million Iraqis were internally displaced as of mid-2007). Density (2007): persons per sq mi 173.0, persons per sq km 66.8. Urban (2004): 65.0%. Sex distribution (2004): male 49.95%; female 50.05%. Age breakdown (2004): under 15, 39.5%; 15-29, 29.8%; 30-44, 16.6%; 45-59, 9.2%; 60-74, 3.8%; 75 and over, 1.1%. Ethnic composition (2000): Arab 64.7%; Kurd 23.0%; Azerbaijani 5.6%; Turkmen 1.2%; Persian 1.1%; other 4.4%. Religious affiliation (2000): Shi’i Muslim 62.0%; Sunni Muslim 34.0%; Christian (primarily Chaldean rite and Syrian rite Catholic and Nestorian) 3.2%; other (primarily Yazidi syncretist) 0.8%. Major cities (2005): Baghdad 5,904,000; Mosul 1,234,000; Irbil (2003) 850,000; Al-Basrah 837,000; Karkuk (2003) 750,000. Location: the Middle East, bordering Turkey, Iran, the Persian Gulf, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2005): 32.5 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2005): 5.5 (world avg. 8.6). Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (2005): 27.0 (world avg. 11.7). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 4.28. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 67.5 years; female 70.0 years.

National economy

Budget (2006). Revenue: ID 61,650,000,000,000 (petroleum revenue 79.9%; grants 20.1%). Expendi-tures:ID 53,480,000,000,000 (current expenditure 79.8%; development expenditure 20.2%). Public debt (external, outstanding; 2006): US$81,480,000,000. Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): wheat 2,228,000, tomatoes 939,000, potatoes 808,000; livestock (number of live animals) 6,200,000 sheep, 1,500,000 cattle; round-wood 115,427 cu m, of which fuelwood 49%; fisheries production 32,970 (from aquaculture 39%). Mining and quarrying (2005): phosphate rock 1,000. Manufacturing (value added in US$’000,000; 1995): refined petroleum 143; bricks, tiles, and cement 103; food products 59. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 32,600,000,000 (33,700,000,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2006) 584,000,000 ([2004] 173,500,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) 19,617,000 (20,850,000); natural gas (cu m; 2004) 2,600,000,000 (2,600,000,000). Population economically active (1997): total 4,757,000; activity rate of total population 24.8% (participation rates: ages 15-59, 42.9%; female 10.5%; unemployed [2004] 28%). Households (2004). Average household size 6.4; median annual household income ID 2,230,000 (US$1,517); expenditure (1993): food 62%, housing 12%, clothing 10%. Gross national income (2005): US$46,917,000,000 (US$1,646 per capita). Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2002) 45; foreign direct investment (FDI) (2001-05 avg.) 76; official development assistance (2005) 19,107 (commitments). Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2002) 26. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 13.1%, in permanent crops 0.6%, in pasture 9.1%; overall forest area (2005) 1.9%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2004; c.i.f. in balance of trade and commodities and f.o.b. in trading partners): US$21,302,-000,000 (government imports 58.2%, of which capital goods 19.2%, UN oil-for-food program 17.0%; private sector imports 26.2%, of which capital goods 19.6%; refined petroleum 9.9%). Majorimportsources:Turkey 25.0%; US 11.1%; Jordan 10.0%; Vietnam 7.7%; Germany 5.6%. Exports (2004): US$17,810,000,000 (crude petroleum 98.0%; refined petroleum 1.4%; remainder 0.6%). Major export destinations: US 55.8%; Spain 8.0%; Japan 7.3%; Italy 6.5%; Canada 5.8%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2006): route length 580 km. Roads (2002): total length 45,550 km (paved 84%). Vehicles (2001): passenger cars 754,066; trucks and buses 372,241. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Televisions (2001): 472,000 (19); telephone landlines (2004): 1,034,000 (40); cellular telephone subscribers (2004): 574,000 (22); personal computers (2002): 212,000 (8.3); total Internet users (2004): 36,000 (1.3).

Education and health

Educational attainment (2004). Percentage of population ages 25 and over having: no formal schooling 28%; incomplete primary education 12%; primary 36%; secondary 9%; higher 15%. Literacy (2003): total population ages 15 and over literate 40.4%; males literate 55.9%; females literate 24.4%. Health (2003): physicians 16,594 (1 per 1,587 persons); hospital beds 34,505 (1 per 763 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2005) 50.3.

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 117,400; US/allied coalition forces (2007): 168,000/13,000.

Background

Called Mesopotamia in classical times, the region gave rise to the world’s earliest civilizations, including those of Sumer, Akkad, and Babylon. Conquered by Alexander the Great in 330 bc, the area later became a battleground between Romans and Parthians and then between Sasanians and Byzantines. Arab Muslims conquered it in the 7th century ad and ruled until the Mongols took over in 1258. The Ottomans took control in the 16th century and ruled until 1917. The British occupied the country during World War I and created the kingdom of Iraq in 1921. The British occupied Iraq again during World War II. A king was restored following the war, but a revolution ended the monarchy in 1958. Following a series of military coups, the socialist Ba’th Party, led by Saddam Hussein, took control and established totalitarian rule in 1968. The Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s and the Persian Gulf War (precipitated by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990) brought heavy casualties and disrupted the economy. The 1990s were dominated by economic and political turmoil. In response to increasingly willful and autocratic behavior by Saddam Hussein and the contention that Iraq was in possession of weapons of mass destruction (none were ever found), on 19 March 2003 air attacks on Baghdad began, and soon afterward US and British ground forces invaded southern Iraq from Kuwait; within a month most of the country was under the control of coalition forces. Saddam was taken into custody in December. In July US authorities established an Iraqi Governing Council, and a new interim constitution was agreed upon in late February 2004. Almost immediately after the occupation began, however, various forms of Iraqi opposition arose, and resistance attacks grew in frequency and violence in the years that followed.

Recent Developments

Divisions in Iraq in 2007 remained evident, with armed confrontations between sects and between militias of the majority Shi’ites. The most significant intra-Shi’ite confrontation took place in August in Karbala between the Mahdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr and forces belonging to the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, which left over 50 people dead. The mainSunni group in the government, the Iraqi Accord Front, announced in August that it was withdrawing its six ministers to protest, among other things, an alleged “genocide campaign” againstSunni, though they rejoined the government in April 2008. Key legislation remained hostage to protracted negotiations in an unwieldy parliament that could barely muster a quorum. Acts of violence by Sunni insurgents, al-Qaeda operatives, andShi’ite militias against the US and Iraqi government forces continued throughout the year. The most spectacular act of violence since the US-led invasion in 2003 occurred on 14 August, when a series of truck bombs struck two villages in northern Iraq inhabited by members ofthe ancient Yazidi sect. The incident left at least 500 people dead and 1,000 wounded. Some success was achieved in reducing violence in Al-Anbar province, a Sunni Arab stronghold in western Iraq where local forces, with the backingof the US, had formed a unified front called the Anbar Salvation Council; its aim was to use local tribesmen to fight insurgents. In September 2007 US Pres. George W. Bush visited the province and met with members ofthe council. Success in Al-Anbar encouraged the US to expand the model to other provinces, including the Shi’ite areas of central and southern Iraq. Early in the year, the US decided to increase the number of its troops in Iraq, in a “surge” of 30,000 additional US forces designed to pacify Baghdad and other parts of Iraq. By year’s end there was a decrease in the number of attacks and casualties in Baghdad and western Iraq, but fighting continued between Shi’ite and Sunni militias. This had led to massive internal migration; it was estimated that some two and a half million Iraqis were displaced internally. Iraqis also continued to flee to neighboring countries, mainly Syria (1.4 million) and Jordan (750,000).

Early in September the British government reduced its troop levels and began to withdraw those that remained from the city of Basra to bases outside the city. Iraqi security forces took over positions previously held by the British. In August Turkey and Iraq agreed to clear Turkish Kurdish rebels from northern Iraq. Although initially encountering resistance from the US and Iraq, in 2008 Turkey made a number of incursions in force across the border with Iraq, with the US providing intelligence to Turkish commanders.

Ireland

Official name: Eire (Irish); Ireland (English). Form of government: unitary multiparty republic with two legislative houses (Senate [60]; House of Representatives [166]). Chief of state: President Mary McAleese (from 1997). Head of government: Prime Minister Brian Cowen (from 2008). Capital: Dublin. Official languages: Irish; English. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 euro (€) = 100 cents; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = €0.63 (the euro replaced the Irish pound [£Ir] 1 Jan 2002, at the rate of 1€ = £Ir 0.79).

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Demography

Area: 27,133 sq mi, 70,273 sq km. Population (2007): 4,330,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 159.6, persons per sq km 61.6. Urban (2005): 60.5%. Sex distribution (2006): male 50.03%; female 49.97%. Age breakdown (2006): under 15, 20.4%; 15-29, 23.7%; 30-44, 23.0%; 45-59, 17.6%; 60-74, 10.5%; 75-84, 3.7%; 85 and over, 1.1%. Ethnic composition (2000): Irish 95.0%; British 1.7%, of which English 1.4%; Ulster Irish 1.0%; US white 0.8%; other 1.5%. Religious affiliation (2006): Roman Catholic 86.8%; Church of Ireland (Anglican) 3.0%; other Christian 2.7%; nonreligious 4.4%; other 3.1%. Major cities (2006): Dublin 506,211 (urban agglomeration 1,186,159); Cork 119,418; Galway 72,414; Limerick 52,539; Waterford 45,748. Location: western Europe, bordering the UK (Northern Ireland), the Irish Sea, the Celtic Sea, and the North Atlantic Ocean.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 15.0 (world avg. 20.3); within marriage 66.8%. Death rate per 1,000 population (2006): 7.0 (world avg. 8.6). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 1.88. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 75.0 years; female 80.3 years.

National economy

Budget (2005). Revenue:€39,849,000,000 (VAT 30.3%; income taxes 28.3%; corporate taxes 13.5%). Expenditures: €33,496,000,000 (current expenditure 88.4%; capital expenditure 11.6%). Total public debt (December 2005): US$50,288,000,000. Gross national income (2006): US$185,955,000,000 (US$44,052 per capita). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): sugar beets 1,395,000, barley 1,025,000, wheat 798,100; livestock (number of live animals) 6,888,000 cattle, 4,556,700 sheep, 1,681,000 pigs; roundwood 2,648,000 cu m, of which fuelwood 1%; fisheries production 322,582 (from aquaculture 19%). Mining and quarrying (2005): zinc ore (metal content) 428,596; lead ore (metal content) 63,810. Manufacturing (gross value added in €’000,000 2003): chemicals and chemical products 15,988; food, beverages, and tobacco 9,111; electrical and optical equipment 6,677. Energy production (con-sumption,):electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 25,627,000,000 (27,191,000,000); coal (metric tons; 2004) none (2,638,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2004) none (21,400,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) 2,874,000 (7,627,000); natural gas (cu m; 2004) 805,000,000 (4,263,000,000). Population economically active (2005): total 2,014,800 (in 2005 there were 243,000 foreigners in the labor force, of which 120,000 were from Poland); activity rate 48.8% (participation rates: ages 15-64, 70.2%; female 42.3%; unemployed [March 2005-February 2006] 4.4%). Households. Average household size (2006) 2.8; average annual disposable income per household (1999-2000): £Ir 22,589 (US$28,800); expenditure (2004): housing and energy 20.7%, food, beverages, and tobacco 14.9%, hotels and restaurants 14.2%, transportation and communications 14.0%. Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2006) 6,677; remittances (2006) 600; foreign direct investment (FDI) (2001-05 avg.) 10,028. Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 6,056; remittances (2006) 1,173; FDI (2001-05 avg.) 9,876. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 17.2%, in permanent crops 0.03%, in pasture 46.2%; overall forest area (2005) 9.7%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2006; c.i.f.): €60,665,000,000 (machinery 33.0%, of which office machines and parts 17.2%, electrical machinery 6.3%; chemicals and chemical products 13.2%; transportation equipment 9.0%; mineral fuels 7.7%). Major import sources (2004): UK 30.7%; US 13.9%; Germany 7.5%; China 5.7%; France 4.5%. Exports (2006; f.o.b.): €86,861,-000,000 (organic chemicals 19.6%; medicinal and pharmaceutical products 16.4%; office machines and parts 16.2%; food 8.1%). Major export destinations (2005): US 19.7%; UK 17.7%; Belgium 14.7%; Germany 7.7%; France 6.0%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2004): route length 3,312 km; passenger-km 1,581,698,000; metric ton-km cargo 343,747,000. Roads (2003): length 96,602 km (paved 100%). Vehicles (2003): passenger cars 1,507,106; trucks and buses 251,130. Airtransport (2006; Aer Lingus only): passenger-km 13,363,000,000; metric ton-km cargo (2004) 124,156,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2004): 742,000 (183); televisions (2002): 2,707,000 (694); telephone landlines (2006): 2,097,000 (431); cellular telephone subscribers (2006): 4,690,000 (1,114); personal computers (2005): 2,198,000 (530); total Internet users (2006): 1,437,000 (341); broadband Internet subscribers (2006): 517,000 (122).

Education and health

Educational attainment (2005). Percentage of population ages 25-64 having: no formal schooling through primary education 16.8%; lower secondary 17.7%; upper secondary/higher vocational 34.7%; some higher 10.4%; complete higher 17.9%; unknown 2.5%. Health: physicians (2004) 11,141 (1 per 365 persons); hospital beds (2004) 12,377 (1 per 330 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2004-05) 4.7. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 3,503 (vegetable products 66%, animal products 34%).

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 10,460 (army 81.3%, navy 10.5%, air force 8.2%). Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 0.6%; per capita expenditure US$275. 

Mary Robinson was president of Ireland from 1990 to 1997. Nominated by the Labour Party and supported by the Green Party and the Workers’ Party, she became Ireland’s first woman president by mobilizing a liberal constituency and merging it with a more conservative constituency opposed to the Fianna Fail party.

Background

Human settlement in Ireland began c. 6000 bc, and Celtic migration dates from c. 300 bc. St. Patrick is credited with Christianizing the country in the 5th century ad. Norse domination began in 795 and ended in 1014, when the Norse were defeated by Brian Boru. Gaelic Ireland’s independence ended in 1171 when English King Henry II proclaimed himself overlord of the island. Beginning in the 16th century, Irish Catholic landowners fled religious persecution by the English and were replaced by English and Scottish Protestant migrants. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established in 1801. The Great Famine of the 1840s led over two million people to emigrate and built momentum for Irish Home Rule. The Easter Rising (1916) was followed by civil war (1919-21) between the Catholic majority in southern Ireland, who favored complete independence, and the Protestant majority in the north, who preferred continued union with Britain. Southern Ireland was granted dominion status and became the Irish Free State in 1921, and in 1937 it adopted the name Eire and became a sovereign independent nation. It remained neutral during World War II. Britain recognized the status of Ireland in 1949 but declared that cession of the northern six counties could not occur without the consent of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. In 1973 Ireland joined the European Economic Community (later the European Community) and is now a member of the EU. The late 20th century was dominated by sectarian hostilities between the island’s Catholics and Protestants.

Recent Developments

The historic deal in 2007 between unionist and nationalist politicians to share power in a new government for Northern Ireland cemented the peace process that Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern had pursued since he was first elected in 1997. Unionist leader Ian Paisley and Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams reached agreement in March, and on 8 May Paisley and Martin McGuinness, a former leader ofthe illegal

Irish Republican Army, were appointed first minister and deputy first minister, respectively, ending almost 40 years of conflict in the six northern counties of Ireland under British jurisdiction that left more than 3,700 people dead. Ahern was invited to become the first Irish prime minister to address the joint houses ofthe British Parliament. However, Ahern announced that he would resign in May 2008 as a result of investigations into political corruption.

Isle of Man

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Official name: Isle of Man (Manx Gaelic: Ellan Vannin). Political status: crown dependency of the UK with two legislative bodies (collectively named Tynwald; Legislative Council [11]; House of Keys [24]). Chief of state: British Queen Elizabeth II (from 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Sir Paul Haddacks (from 2005). Head of government: Chief MinisterTony Brown (from 2006). Capital: Douglas. Official language: English. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 Manx pound (£M) = 100 new pence; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = £M 0.50 (the Manx pound is equivalent in value to the British pound sterling [£]).

Demography

Area: 220.9 sq mi, 572.0 km. Population (2007): 81,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 366.7, persons per sq km 141.6. Urban (2006): 71.6%. Sex distribution (2006): male 49.37%; female 50.63%. Age breakdown (2006): under 15, 16.9%; 15-29, 17.2%; 30-44, 22.0%; 45-59, 21.1%; 60-74, 14.4%; 75-84, 6.0%; 85 and over, 2.4%. Religious affiliation (2000): Christian 63.7%, of which Anglican 40.5%, Methodist 9.9%, Roman Catholic 8.2%; other (mostly nonreligious) 36.3%. Major towns (2006): Douglas 26,218; Onchan 9,172; Ramsey 7,309; Peel 4,280; Port Erin 3,575. Location: Irish Sea, midway between Ireland and Great Britain.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 11.3 (world avg. 20.3); (2004) within marriage 63.9%. Death rate per 1,000 population (2006): 9.6 (world avg. 8.6). Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (2006): 1.7 (world avg. 11.7). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2006): 1.65. Life expectancy at birth (2006): male 75.3 years; female 81.2 years.

National economy

Budget (2005-06). Revenue:£494,410,400 (customs duties and excise taxes 67.8%; income taxes 31.5%, of which resident 28.4%, nonresident 3.1%; nontax revenue 0.7%). Expenditures: £518,356,000 (health and social security 39.4%; education 17.5%; transportation 6.8%; home affairs 6.1%). Production. Agriculture, forestry, fishing: main crops include hay, oats, barley, wheat, and orchard crops; livestock(num-ber of live animals; 2006) 136,751 sheep, 20,654 cattle, 601 pigs; fish catch (value of principal catch in £; 2006): 3,053,961, of which scallops 1,505,919, queen scallops 803,205, crab 372,656, lobster 328,618; fisheries production by tonnage (2005) 2,566 metric tons. Mining and quarrying: sand and gravel. Manufacturing (value added in US$; 2001-02): electrical and nonelectrical machinery/apparatus, textiles, and other 76,100,000; food and beverages 21,900,000. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2006) n.a. (379,200,000). Households. Average household size (2006) 2.4; income per household (1995-96) £24,180 (US$37,965); sources of income (1995-96): wages and salaries 63.0%, transfer payments 16.0%, self-employment 10.0%, property income 8.0%, other 3.0%; expenditure (1995-96): food and nonalcoholic beverages 18.0%, housing 16.0%, transportation 13.0%, recreation and culture 13.0%, energy 7.0%. Gross national income (at current market prices; 2004-2005): US$2,719,000,000 (US$33,960 per capita). Population economically active (2006): total 41,793; activity rate of total population 52.2% (participation rates: ages 16-64, 79.9%; female 45.8%; unemployed [June 2007] 1.4%). Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2006) 211. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 7.4%, in permanent crops 0.9%, in pasture 71.7%; overall forest area (2005) 6.1%.

Foreign trade

Imports: n.a. Major import sources: mostly the UK. Exports: traditional exports include scallops, herring, beef, lambs, and tweeds. Major export destinations: mostly the UK.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2006): route length 65 km. Roads (2006): total length 800 km (paved, virtually 100%). Vehicles (2003): passenger cars 50,596; trucks and buses 11,637. Airtransport (1998; Manx Airlines only): passenger-km 846,775,000; metric ton-km cargo 168,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Televisions (2000): 29,000 (355); telephone landlines (2001): 56,000 (741); cellular telephone subscribers (2001): 32,000 (424).

Education and health

Health: physicians (2006) 130 (1 per 616 persons); hospital beds (2006) 355 (combined total for Noble’s Hospital and Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital; 1 per 225 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2004-05) 2.3. Food (2003): daily per capita caloric intake 3,450 (vegetable products 69%, animal products 31%).

Military

Total active duty personnel: The UK is responsible for defense.

Israel

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Official name: Medinat Yisrael (Hebrew); Israil (Arabic) (State of Israel). Form of government: multiparty republic with one legislative house (Knesset [120]). Chief of state: President Shimon Peres (from 2007). Head of government: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (from 2006). Capital: Jerusalem is the proclaimed capital of Israel and the actual seat of government, but recognition of its status as capital by the international community has largely been withheld. Official languages: Hebrew; Arabic. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 new (Israeli) sheqel (NIS) = 100 agorot; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = NIS 3.30.

Demography

Area: 8,357 sq mi, 21,643 sq km (excludes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip; includes the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem). Population (2007): 6,900,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 825.7, persons per sq km 318.8. Urban (2004): 91.5%. Sexdistribu-tion (2005): male 49.39%; female 50.61%. Age breakdown (2005): under 15, 28.3%; 15-29, 24.2%; 30-44, 19.0%; 45-59, 15.6%; 60-74, 8.3%; 75-84, 3.6%; 85 and over, 1.0%. Ethnic composition (2005): Jewish 76.2%; Arab and other 23.8%. Religious affiliation (2005): Jewish 76.3%, of which “secular” 33%, “traditionally observant” 30%, Orthodox 7%, ultra-Orthodox 6%; Muslim 16.1%; Christian 2.1%; Druze 1.6%; other 3.9%. Major cities (2006): Jerusalem 729,100; Tel Aviv-Yafo 382,500 (metro area 3,040,400); Haifa 267,000 (metro area 996,000); Rishon LeZiyyon 221,500. Location: Middle East, bordering Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank, Egypt, the Gaza Strip, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2005): 20.8 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2005): 5.6 (world avg. 8.6). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 2.84. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 78.3 years; female 82.3 years.

National economy

Budget (2005). Revenue: NIS 262,954,000,000 (tax revenue 67.3%; social contributions 15.5%; nontax revenue 13.2%; grants 4.0%). Expenditures: NIS 276,000,000,000 (social security and welfare 24.4%; defense 17.2%; education 15.2%; interest on loans 11.2%; health 10.5%). Public debt (2004): US$121,839,000,000. Gross national income (2006): US$138,986,000,000 (US$20,410 per capita). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): potatoes 550,000, tomatoes 405,000, grapefruit and pomelos 250,000; livestock (number of live animals) 400,000 cattle, 390,000 sheep; roundwood 27,000 cu m, of which fuelwood 8%; fisheries production 26,555 (from aquaculture 84%). Mining and quarrying (2005): phosphate rock 3,000,000; potash 2,260,000. Manufacturing (value added in US$’000,000; 2003): medical, measuring, and testing appliances 1,959; fabricated metals 1,766; food products 1,661. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 49,025,000,000 (47,566,000,000); hard coal (metric tons; 2004) none (12,875,000); lignite (metric tons; 2004) 439,000 (439,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2004) 14,000 (78,847,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) 10,024,000 (10,779,000); natural gas (cu m; 2005) 1,655,000,000 ([2004] 1,125,000,000). Population economically active (2004): total 2,678,500; activity rate 40.8% (participation rates: ages 15 and over, 54.9%; female 49.6%; unemployed [April 2006-March 2007] 8.2%). Households. Average household size (2005) 3.3; gross annual income per household (2004) NIS 125,280 (US$27,952); sources of income (2003): salaries and wages 66.1%, self-employment 10.5%; expenditure: housing 21.9%, transport and communications 20.4%, food and beverages 16.3%, education and entertainment 13.5%. Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 2,842; remittances (2006) 1,063; foreign direct investment (FDI) (2001-05 avg.) 3,335. Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 2,895; remittances (2006) 2,400; FDI (2001-05 avg.) 2,153. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 15.6%, in permanent crops 4.0%, in pasture 5.9%; overall forest area (2005) 8.3%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2004; f.o.b. in balance of trade and c.i.f. in commodities and trading partners): US$40,968,-700,000 (diamonds 22.4%; machinery and apparatus 22.2%; chemicals and chemical products 10.5%; crude petroleum and refined petroleum 9.7%). Major import sources: US 14.9%; Belgium 10.1%; Germany 7.5%; Switzerland 6.5%; UK 6.1%. Exports (2004): US$38,618,300,000 (cut diamonds 27.4%; chemicals and chemical products 14.7%; rough diamonds 8.7%; telecommunications equipment 7.5%; electronic microcircuits 4.4%). Major export destinations: US 36.7%; Belgium 7.5%; Hong Kong 4.9%; UK 3.7%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2005): route length 643 km; passenger-km 1,618,000,000, metric ton-km cargo 1,149,000,000. Roads (2005): total length 17,364 km (paved 100%). Vehicles (2006): passenger cars 1,626,388; trucks and buses 362,915. Airtransport (2006; El Al only): passenger-km 16,054,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 904,000,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 972,000 (145); televisions (2003): 2,136,000 (330); telephone landlines (2006): 3,005,000 (439); cellular telephone subscribers (2006): 8,404,000 (1,227); personal computers (2004): 5,037,000 (734); total Internet users (2006): 1,899,000 (277); broadband Internet subscribers (2006): 1,421,000 (209).

Education and health

Educational attainment (2004). Percentage of population ages 25 and over having: no formal schooling/unknown 3.7%; primary 12.5%; secondary 37.9%; postsecondary, vocational, and higher 45.9%. Literacy (2003): total population ages 15 and over literate 95.4%; males literate 97.3%; females literate 93.6%. Health (2005): physicians 25,058 (1 per 266 persons); hospital beds 42,632 (1 per 157 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2005) 4.3. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 3,831 (vegetable products 79%, animal products 21%).

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 168,300 (army 74.3%, navy 4.9%, air force 20.8%). Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 9.7%; per capita expenditure US$1,875.

Background

The record of human habitation in Israel is at least 100,000 years old. Efforts by Jews to establish a national state there began in the late 19th century. Britain supported Zionism and in 1922 assumed political responsibility for what was Palestine. Migration of Jews there during Nazi persecution led to deteriorating relations with Arabs. In 1947 the UN voted to partition the region into separate Jewish and Arab states, a decision opposed by neighboring Arab countries. The State of Israel was proclaimed in 1948, and Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq immediately declared war on it. Israel won this war as well as the 1967 Six-Day War, in which it claimed the West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt. Another war with its Arab neighbors followed in 1973, but the Camp David Accords led to the signing of a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt in 1979. Israel invaded Lebanon to quell the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1982, and in the late 1980s a Palestinian resistance movement arose in the occupied territories. Peace negotiations between Israel and the Arab states and Palestinians began in 1991. Israel and the PLO agreed in 1993 upon a five-year extension of self-government to the Palestinians of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israel signed a full peace treaty with Jordan in 1994. Israeli soldiers and Lebanon’s Hezbollah forces clashed in 1997. Following numerous contentious talks between Israel and Lebanon, Israeli troops abruptly withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.

Recent Developments

As Israel celebrated the 60th anniversary of its independence in May 2008, it looked back on a year that saw a renewal of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The new US-led drive for accommodation was made possible by a split in Palestinian ranks between the moderate, largely secular Fatah and the radical Hamas. The seminal event for Israeli-Palestinian ties in 2007 was a bitter showdown in Gaza in June between Fatah and Hamas. During a week that saw often brutal fighting, disorganized Fatah forces collapsed in the face of a well-coordinated onslaught by Hamas, who seized power in Gaza. However, though Hamas had won a national election in January 2006 and was in sole control in Gaza, in the wake of the fighting Palestinian Pres. Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah invoked his constitutional authority to dismiss Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and form a new Fatah-led administration under Salam Fayad, a highly respected economist. This government was immediately recognized by most of the international community, including Israel. All the key players were quick to recognize the peacemaking potential in the new situation, and a US-sponsored regional conference was set for the fall. At the peace conference, held in Annapolis MD on 27 November and attended by 16 Arab countries, Israel and the Palestinians agreed on a joint statement only under heavy American pressure and by avoiding specific reference to any of the core issues. Nevertheless, Israel and the Palestinians hoped to negotiate a final peace deal by the end of 2008. Relations between Israel and Syria were also strained. Tensions came to a head on 6 September when Israeli planes crossed into Syria and bombed a military building. In April 2008 US officials provided video evidence that they claimed proved that the facility was in fact a nuclear-weapons lab and that North Korea had provided technical expertise for its construction.

Italy

Official name: Repubblica Italiana (Italian Republic). Form of government: republic with two legislative houses (Senate [321]; Chamber of Deputies [630]). Chief of state: President Giorgio Napolitano (from 2006). Head of government: Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (from 2008). Capital: Rome. Official language: Italian. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 euro (€) = 100 cents; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = €0.63.

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Demography

Area: 116,346 sq mi, 301,336 sq km. Population (2007): 59,051,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 507.5, persons per sq km 196.0. Urban (2003): 67.4%. Sex distribution (2004): male 48.54%; female 51.46%. Age breakdown (2005): under 15, 14.0%; 15-29, 16.5%; 30-44, 23.8%; 45-59, 20.1%; 60-74, 16.3%; 75-84, 7.2%; 85 and over, 2.1%. Ethnolinguistic composition (2000): Italian 96.0%; North African Arab 0.9%; Italo-Albanian 0.8%; Albanian 0.5%; German 0.4%; Austrian 0.4%; other 1.0%. Religious affiliation (2005): Roman Catholic 83%, of which practicing 28%; Muslim 2%; nonreli-gious/atheist 14%; other 1%. Major cities (2007): Rome 2,705,603; Milan 1,303,347; Naples 975,139; Turin 900,569; Palermo 666,552; Genoa 615,686; Bologna 373,026; Florence 365,966; Bari 325,052; Catania 301,564; Venice 268,934; Verona 260,718; Messina 245,159; Padua 210,301. Location: southern Europe, bordering Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, the Mediterranean Sea, and France. Households. Average household size (2004) 2.5; composition of households (2001): 1 person 24.9%, 2 persons 27.1%, 3 persons 21.6%, 4 persons 19.0%, 5 or more persons 7.4%. Family households (2001): 21,810,676, of which couple with children 41.5%, single family 24.9%, couple without children 20.8%, mother with children 7.3%, father with children 1.6%. Immigration (1997): immigrants 162,857, from Europe 41.1%, of which EU countries 14.2%; Africa 25.5%; Asia 19.0%; Western Hemisphere 14.0%.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 9.5 (world avg. 20.3); (2004) within marriage 85.1%. Death rate per 1,000 population (2006): 9.4 (world avg. 8.6). Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (2006): 0.1 (world avg. 11.7). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2006): 1.35. Life expectancy at birth (2006): male 78.6 years; female 84.0 years.

Social indicators

Educational attainment (2002). Percentage of labor force ages 25 to 64 having: no formal schooling through lower secondary education 55.6%; completed upper secondary 34.0%; completed higher 10.4%. Quality of working life. Average workweek (2004) 39.7 hours. Annual rate per 100,000 workers (2005) for: nonfatal injury 2,848; fatal injury 5. Number of working days lost to labor stoppages per 1,000 workers (2005) 40. Material well-being. Rate per 100 households possessing (2006): mobile phone 82.3; personal computer 46.1; Internet access 35.6; satellite television 25.0. Social participation. Eligible voters participating in last national election (April 2006) 83%. Trade union membership in total workforce (2004) 30%. Social deviance (2003). Offense rate per 100,000 population for: murder 1.2; rape 4.8; theft 2,306; robbery 72.5; drug trafficking 64.7; suicide (2002) 7.0. Access to services (2002). Nearly 100% of dwellings have access to electricity, a safe water supply, and toilet facilities.

National economy

Gross national income (at current market prices; 2006): US$1,843,325,000,000 (US$31,360 per capita). Budget (2006). Revenue: €680,054,-000,000 (current revenue 99.3%, of which indirect taxes 32.1%, direct taxes 31.4%, social security contributions 28.2%; capital revenue 0.7%). Expenditures: €745,558,000,000 (current expenditure 88.1%, of which social assistance benefits 39.5%, wages and salaries 21.9%, interest payments 9.1%; capital expenditure 11.9%). Public debt (2005): US$1,771,919,000,000. Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): sugar beets 14,160,000, corn (maize) 10,510,000, grapes 8,554,000, wheat 7,717,000, tomatoes 7,187,000, olives 3,716,000; livestock (number of live animals) 9,200,000 pigs, 7,954,000 sheep, 6,255,000 cattle; roundwood 8,049,000 cu m, of which fuelwood 67%; fisheries production 479,316 (from aquaculture 38%). Mining and quarrying (2005): limestone 120,000,000; marble 5,600,000; feldspar 3,000,000; pumice 600,000. Manufacturing (value added in US$’000,000; 2003): nonelectrical machinery and apparatus 31,422; fabricated metal products 30,311; paints, soaps, pharmaceuticals 13,975; food products 13,203; bricks, cement, ceramics 11,749. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 303,347,000,000 (348,982,000,000); coal (metric tons; 2004) 98,000 (24,280,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2005) 41,900,000 (668,000,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) 88,757,000 (79,452,000); natural gas (cu m; 2004) 12,527,000,000 (80,637,000,000). Population economically active (2005): total 24,451,400; activity rate of total population 42.1% (participation rates: ages 15-64, 62.4%; female 40.1%; unemployed [2006] 6.8%). Households. Average household size (2004) 2.5; average annual disposable income per household (2000) €28,100 (US$25,900); sources of income (1996): salaries and wages 38.8%, property income and self-employment 38.5%, transfer payments 22.0%; expenditure (2004): housing and energy 30.1%, food and beverages 19.0%, transportation and communications 16.3%, clothing 6.6%, household operations 6.3%. Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 35,319; remittances (2006) 2,398; foreign direct investment (FDI) (2001-05 avg.) 16,523. Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 22,371; remittances (2006) 5,815; FDI (2001-05 avg.) 21,320. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 27.1%, in permanent crops 9.3%, in pasture 14.9%; overall forest area (2005) 33.9%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2004; c.i.f. in balance of trade and commodities and f.o.b. in trading partners): US$350,391,-000,000(transportequipment 14.2%; chemical products 13.5%; electrical equipment 13.1%; fuels 10.4%; fabricated metals 10.4%). Major import sources (2005): Germany 17.2%; France 9.9%; The Netherlands 5.6%; China 4.6%; Belgium 4.5%; Spain 4.2%; UK4.0%. Exports (2004): US$348,513,000,000 (machinery and apparatus 20.4%; transport equipment 11.2%; chemical products 9.7%; fabricated metals 9.6%; textiles and wearing apparel 9.2%; electrical equipment 9.1%). Major export destinations (2005): Germany 13.1%; France 12.2%; US 8.1%; Spain 7.4%; UK 6.4%; Switzerland 3.9%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2003): length (2004) 19,319 km; passenger-km 45,221,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 22,457,000,000. Roads (2003): total length 484,688 km (paved 100%). Vehicles (2004): passenger cars 33,973,147; trucks and buses 4,108,486. Air transport (2006; Alitalia and Alitalia Express only): passenger-km 39,502,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 1,473,000,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2004): 7,737,000 (134); televisions (2001): 28,153,000 (494); telephone landlines (2005): 25,049,000 (431); cellular telephone subscribers (2005): 71,535,000 (1,231); personal computers (2005): 21,486,000 (370); total Internet users (2006): 28,855,000 (496); broadband Internet subscribers (2006): 8,639,000 (146).

Education and health

Literacy (2003): total population ages 15 and over literate 98.6%; males literate 99.0%; females literate 98.3%. Health: physicians (2002) 353,692 (1 per 162 persons); hospital beds (2003) 237,216 (1 per 243 persons); infant mortality rate (2004) 6.1. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 3,754 (vegetable products 73%, animal products 27%).

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 191,152 (army 58.6%, navy 17.8%, air force 23.6%); US military forces (2005) 11,400. Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 1.9%; per capita expenditure US$578.

The Po River is the longest river in Italy, rising in the Monte Viso group ofthe Cottian Alps on Italy’s western frontier and emptying into the Adriatic Sea in the east after a course of 405 miles (652 km). Its drainage basin covers 27,062 square miles (70,091 square km), forming Italy’s widest and most fertile plain.

Background

The Etruscan civilization arose in the 9th century bc and was overthrown by the Romans in the 4th-3rd centuries BC. Barbarian invasions of the 4th and 5th centuries ad destroyed the western Roman empire. Italy’s political fragmentation lasted for centuries but did not diminish its impact on European culture, notably during the Renaissance. From the 15th to the 18th century, Italian lands were ruled by France, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and Austria. When Napoleonic rule ended in 1815, Italy was again a grouping of independent states. The Risorgimento successfully united most of Italy, including Sicily and Sardinia, by 1861, and the unification of peninsular Italy was completed by 1870. Italy joined the Allies during World War I, but social unrest in the 1920s brought to power the Fascist movement of Benito Mussolini, and Italy allied itself with Nazi Germany in World War II. Defeated by the Allies in 1943, Italy proclaimed itself a republic in 1946. It was a charter member of NATO (1949) and of the European Community. It completed the process of setting up regional legislatures with limited autonomy in the 1970s. Since World War II it has experienced rapid changes of government but has remained socially stable. It worked with other European countries to establish the European Union.

Recent Developments

Relations between Italy and the US suffered in February 2007 after the Italian Senate unexpectedly voted down a nonbinding foreign-policy resolution that pledged to maintain Italy’s 2,360-strong Afghanistan troop contingent and to allow the US to expand its military presence at a vital NATO base in Vicenza. Relations got another jolt in February when a Milan judge ruled that 26 Americans and 7 Italians, mostly current or former intelligence agents, should stand trial in connection with the 2003 kidnapping of the Muslim cleric Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr (known as Abu Omar), who was abducted from a Milan street by the CIA in conjunction with Italian secret services and flown to Egypt, where he was imprisoned for four years on terrorism charges. In April 2008 former premier Silvio Berlusconi was reelected to the post, and he quickly reaffirmed Italy’s commitment to the Afghan mission.

Jamaica

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Official name: Jamaica. Form of government: constitutional monarchy with two legislative houses (Senate [21]; House of Representatives [60]). Chief of state: British Queen Elizabeth II (from 1952), represented by Governor-General Kenneth Hall (from 2006). Head of government: Prime Minister Bruce Golding (from 2007). Capital: Kingston. Official language: English. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 Jamaica dollar (J$) = 100 cents; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = J$72.00.

Demography

Area: 4,244 sq mi, 10,991 sq km. Population (2007): 2,680,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 631.5, persons per sq km 243.8. Urban (2005): 52.2%. Sex distribution (2005): male 49.41%; female 50.59%. Age breakdown (2005): under 15, 33.7%; 15-29, 29.4%; 30-44, 17.6%; 45-59, 9.5%; 60-74, 6.7%; 75 and over, 3.1%. Ethnic composition (2001): black 91.6%; mixed race 6.2%; East Indian 0.9%; Chinese 0.2%; white 0.2%; other/unknown 0.9%. Religious affiliation (2001): Protestant 61.2%, of which Church of God 23.8%, Seventh-day Adventist 10.8%, Pentecostal 9.5%; Roman Catholic 2.6%; other Christian 1.7%; Rastafarian 0.9%; nonreligious 20.9%; other 12.7%. Major cities (2004): Kingston 594,500; Spanish Town 134,900; Portmore 102,000; Montego Bay 89,200; May Pen 49,900. Location: island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 17.0 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2006): 5.7 (world avg. 8.6). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 2.50. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 69.2 years; female 72.7 years.

National economy

Budget (2005). Revenue: J$177,986,900,000 (tax revenue 88.4%, of which income taxes 35.2%, taxes on goods and services 27.5%, customs duties 8.6%; nontax revenue 6.4%; other 5.2%). Expenditures: J$204,513,700,000 (public debt 42.4%; wages and salaries 30.8%; capital expenditures 8.1%). Public debt (external, outstanding; April 2007): US$6,065,200,000. Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): sugarcane 1,900,000, coconuts 198,700, oranges 172,300; livestock (number of live animals) 440,000 goats, 430,000 cattle, 85,000 pigs; roundwood 845,559 cu m, of which fuelwood 67%; fisheries production 18,766 (from aquaculture 30%). Mining and quarrying (2006): bauxite 14,865,400; alumina 4,099,500; gypsum 375,000. Manufacturing (2005): cement 848,365,000; animal feeds 367,600; flour 135,000. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2005) 3,878,000,000 ([2004] 2,974,000,000); coal (metric tons; 2004) none (66,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2004) none (5,358,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) 668,000 (3,264,000). Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 16.1%, in permanent crops 10.2%, in pasture 21.1%; overall forest area (2005) 31.3%. Population economically active (2006): total 1,251,600; activity rate of total population 46.9% (participation rates: ages 14 and over 64.6%; female 44.2%; unemployed 8.9%). Gross national income (2006): US$9,448,000,000 (US$3,501 per capita). Households. Average household size (2004) 3.5; expenditure (1988): food and beverages 48.2%, housing 7.9%, household furnishings 7.6%, meals away from home 7.4%, transportation 6.4%. Selected balance of payments data. Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 1,545; remittances (2006) 1,770; foreign direct investment (2001-05 avg.) 604. Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 250; remittances (2005) 394.

Foreign trade

Imports (2005; f.o.b. in balance of trade and c.i.f. in commodities and trading partners): US$4,867,-280,000 (mineral fuels 27.9%; machinery and transport equipment 17.9%; manufactured goods 13.1%; food 12.4%; chemicals 11.4%). Major import sources (2003): US 44.4%; Caricom (Caribbean Community and Common Market) 12.8%; Latin American countries 10.6%; EU 10.5%, of which UK 4.1%. Exports (2005): US$1,658,650,000 (alumina 55.5%; nontra-ditional exports [including chemical products and mineral fuels] 20.6%; free zone exports [mostly clothing] 7.7%; bauxite 6.0%; refined sugar 4.6%). Major export destinations (2003): US 28.8%; Canada 16.1%; UK 12.8%; Norway 3.7%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2004): route length 201 km. Roads (2004): total length 20,996 km (paved 73%). Vehicles (2004): passenger cars 357,660; trucks and buses 128,239. Air transport (2005; Air Jamaica only): passenger-km 3,854,519,000; metric ton-km cargo 15,823,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 95,000 (36); televisions (2003): 1,006,000 (374); telephone landlines (2005): 342,000 (125); cellular telephone subscribers (2005): 2,804,000 (1,058); personal computers (2005): 179,000 (68); total Internet users (2005): 1,232,000 (465).

Education and health

Educational attainment (2001). Percentage of population ages 15 and over having: no formal schooling/unknown 6.7%; primary education 25.5%; secondary 55.5%; higher 12.3%, of which university 4.2%. Literacy (2005): population ages 15 and over literate 88.7%; males literate 85.0%; females literate 92.3%. Health: physicians (2003) 2,253 (1 per 1,193 persons); hospital beds (2004) 4,882 (1 per 556 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2005) 19.2. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 3,075 (vegetable products 88%, animal products 12%); 159% of FAO recommended minimum.

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 2,830 (army 88.3%, coastguard 6.7%, air force 5.0%). Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 0.6%; per capita expenditure US$20.

Background

The island of Jamaica was settled by Arawak Indians c. ad 600. It was sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1494; Spain colonized it in the early 16th century but neglected it because it lacked gold reserves. Britain gained control in 1655, and by the end of the 18th century Jamaica had become a prized colonial possession due to the volume of sugar produced byslave laborers. Slavery was abolished in the late 1830s, and the plantation system collapsed. Jamaica gained full internal self-government in 1959 and became an independent country within the British Commonwealth in 1962.

Recent Developments

The 2007 Cricket World Cup tournament, the biggest sporting event ever held in the Caribbean, suffered a setback on the Jamaica leg in March when the coach of the Pakistani team, Englishman Bob Woolmer, was found dead in his hotel room. Local investigators pursued the case as a murder inquiry, but pathologists later confirmed that Woolmer had, in fact, died from a sudden heart attack.

Japan

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Official name: Nihon (Japan). Form of government: constitutional monarchy with a national Diet consisting of two legislative houses (House of Councillors [247]; House of Representatives [480]). Symbol of state: Emperor Akihito (from 1989). Head of government: Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (from 2007). Capital: Tokyo. Official language: Japanese. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 yen (¥) = 100 sen; valuation (1 Jul 2008) US$1 = ¥105.54.

Demography

Area: 145,898 sq mi, 377,873 sq km. Population (2007): 127,770,000. Density (2007): persons per sq mi 875.7, persons per sq km 338.1. Urban (2003): 65.4%. Sex distribution (2006): male 48.78%; female 51.22%. Age breakdown (2006): under 15, 13.7%; 15-29, 17.4%; 30-44, 20.9%; 45-59, 21.1%; 60-74,17.5%; 75-84,7.0%; 85 and over, 2.4%. Composition by nationality (2004): Japanese 98.5%; Korean 0.5%; Chinese 0.4%; Brazilian 0.2%; other 0.4%. Immigration/emigration (2004): permanent immigrants/registered aliens in Japan 1,973,747, from North and South Korea 30.8%, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China 24.7%, Brazil 14.5%, Philippines 10.1%, Peru 2.8%, US 2.5%, other 14.6%. Japanese living abroad 961,307, in the US 35.3%, in China 10.3%, in Brazil 7.2%, in the UK 5.3%, in Australia 5.1%, in other 36.8%. Major cities (2006): Tokyo 8,535,792; Yokohama 3,602,758; Osaka 2,635,420; Nagoya 2,223,148; Sapporo 1,888,953; Kobe 1,528,687; Kyoto 1,472,511; Fukuoka 1,414,417; Kawasaki 1,342,262; Saitama 1,182,744; Hiroshima 1,157,846; Sendai 1,027,329; Kita-Kyushu 990,585. Location: eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan. Religious affiliation (2003): Shinto and related beliefs 84.2%; Buddhism and related beliefs 73.6%; Christian 1.7%; Muslim 0.1%; other 7.8%. Households (2005). Total households 50,382,000; average household size 2.6; 1 person 27.6%, 2 persons 27.6%, 3 persons 18.5%, 4 persons 16.5%, 5 persons 6.7%, 6 or more persons 3.1%. Family households (2004) 32,573,000 (70.3%); nonfamily 13,751,000(29.7%). Mobility (2004). Percentage of total population moving: within a prefecture 2.5%; between prefectures 2.1%.

Vital statistics

Birth rate per 1,000 population (2005): 8.4 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2005): 8.6 (world avg. 8.6). Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (2005): -0.2 (world avg. 11.7). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 1.25. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 78.5 years; female 85.5 years.

Social indicators

Educational attainment (2003). Percentage of population ages 25-64 having: no formal schooling through lower secondary education 16%; upper secondary/higher vocational 47%; university 37%. Quality of working life. Average hours worked per month (2005) 152.4. Annual rate of industrial deaths per 100,000 workers (2001) 2.7. Proportion of labor force insured for damages or income loss resulting from injury, permanent disability, and death (2005) 53.1%. Average man-days lost to labor stoppages per 1,000 workdays (2003) 6.7. Average duration of journey to work (2003) 34.2 minutes. Rate per 1,000 workers of discouraged workers (unemployed no longer seeking work: 1997) 89.4. Access to services (2004). Proportion of households having access to: safe public water supply 96.9%; public sewage system 65%. Social participation. Adult population working as volunteers at least once in the year (2006) 26.2%. Trade union membership in total workforce (2004) 16.3%. Social deviance (2005). Offense rate per 100,000 population for: homicide 1.0; robbery 3.0; larceny and theft 151.6. Incidence in general population of drug and substance abuse 0.1. Rate of suicide per 100,000 population 22.0. Material well-being (2003-04). Households possessing: automobile 81.6%; air conditioner (2002) 87.2%; personal computer 77.5%; cellular phone 91.1%; Internet connection (2004)86.8%.

National economy

Gross national income (at current market prices; 2006): US$4,520,998,000,000 (US$35,333 per capita). Budget (2003-04). Revenue:¥86,878,703,-000,000 (government bonds 42.1%; income tax 16.2%; corporation tax 12.6%; VAT 11.2%). Expenditures: ¥86,878,703,000,000 (social security 23.5%; debt service 21.0%; public works 10.2%; education and science 7.2%; national defense 5.7%). Public debt (March 2006): US$7,038,635,000,000. Households. Average household size (2005) 2.6; average annual income per household (2004) ¥6,380,280 (US$58,970); sources of income (1994): wages and salaries 59.0%, transfer payments 20.5%, self-employment 12.8%, other 7.3%; expenditure (2005): food 22.9%, transportation and communications 12.9%, recreation 10.3%, fuel, light, and water charges 7.1%, housing 6.5%, clothing and footwear 4.5%, medical care 4.3%, education 4.2%. Energy production (con-sumption):electricity (kW-hr; 2004) 1,080,124,000,000 (1,080,124,000,000); coal (metric tons; 2004) none (production ceased in 2002) (180,807,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2005) 1,800,000 ([2004] 1,466,000,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2004) 174,149,000, of which (by volume [1998]) diesel 32.8%, heavy fuel oil 21.7%, gasoline 21.7%, kerosene and jet fuel 12.0% (186,112,000); natural gas (cu m; 2004) 5,228,000,000 (81,950,000,000). Composition of energy supply by source (2002): crude oil and petroleum products 49.7%, coal 19.5%, natural gas 13.5%, nuclear power 11.6%, hydroelectric power 3.2%, solar power and other new energy supplies 2.4%, geother-mal 0.1%. Domestic energy demand by end use (1998): mining and manufacturing 46.3%, residential and commercial 26.3%, transportation 25.2%, other 2.2%. Population economically active (2006): total 66,570,000; activity rate of total population 52.1% (participation rates: ages 15 and over, 60.4%; female 41.6%; unemployed [June 2007] 3.7%). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2005): rice 11,342,000, sugar beets 4,201,000, potatoes 2,752,000, cabbages 2,287,000, sugarcane 1,214,000, tangerines and mandarin oranges 1,132,000, dry onions 1,083,000, sweet potatoes 1,053,000, wheat 875,000, apples 818,900, carrots 762,100, tomatoes 758,100, cucumbers 674,700, green onions 554,000, lettuce 551,600, eggplant 395,400, pears 394,600, spinach 297,900, persimmons 285,400, cantaloupes 270,000, pumpkins 234,100, soybeans 225,000, yams 204,100, strawberries 196,200, taro 184,600, peaches 174,000, cauliflower 130,600, tea 100,000, plums 90,000, buckwheat 31,200, chestnuts 21,800; livestock (number of live animals) 9,600,000 pigs, 4,402,000cattle, 265,200,000chickens; roundwood 16,276,000 cu m, of which fuelwood 1%; fisheries production 4,819,116 (including mackerel 811,728, anchovy 348,647, skipjack tuna 293,087, Yesso scallop 287,486; from aquaculture 15% [including Pacific oyster 218,896, Yesso scallop 203,352]); aquatic plants 612,635 (from aquaculture [mostly seaweed] 83%); (2003) 830 whales caught; pearls 29 metric tons. Mining and quarrying (2005): limestone 165,240,000; silica sand 4,700,000; dolomite (2004) 3,727,000; py-rophyllite 351,111; zinc 41,452; lead 3,437; copper (2001) 744; silver 54,098 kg; gold 8,318 kg. Manufacturing (value added in US$’000,000; 2003): machinery and apparatus 225,282, of which nonelectrical machinery 89,580, electronics, televisions, and radios 81,109, electrical machinery 54,593; transportation equipment 123,083; chemicals and chemical products 96,800; food and food products 75,123; fabricated metal products 51,583; rubber products and plastic products 47,089, of which plastic products 35,565; iron and steel 36,772; cement, bricks, and ceramics 32,192; printing and publishing 29,052; beverages and tobacco 26,542; paper and paper products 22,936; textiles, wearing apparel, and footwear 19,175; professional and scientific equipment and watches 13,439. Selected balance of payments data.

Receipts from (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 12,430; remittances (2006) 1,380; foreign direct investment (FDI) (2001-05 avg.) 6,479. Disbursements for (US$’000,000): tourism (2005) 37,565; remittances (2006) 3,476; FDI (2001-05 avg.) 35,229. Land use as % of total land area (2003): in temporary crops 12.1%, in permanent crops 0.9%; overall forest area (2005) 68.2%.

Foreign trade

Imports (2005; c.i.f.): ¥56,949,400,000,000 (crude and refined petroleum 25.6%; electrical equipment [significantlycomputers and office machinery] 11.5%; nonelectrical machinery 10.0%; food products 9.6%; chemicals and chemical products 7.2%; base and fabricated metals 4.0%). Major import sources: China 21.0%; US 12.4%; Saudi Arabia 5.6%; UAE 4.9%; Australia 4.8%; South Korea 4.7%; Indonesia 4.0%; Taiwan 3.5%; Germany 3.5%; Thailand 3.0%. Exports (2005; f.o.b.): ¥65,656,500,000,000 (electrical equipment [significantly electronic microcircuits, computers, and office machinery] 20.6%; nonelectrical machinery 20.3%; transportation equipment 9.3%; chemicals and chemical products 8.7%; base and fabricated metals 5.9%). Major export destinations: US 22.5%; China 13.5%;South Korea 7.8%;Taiwan 7.3%; Hong Kong 6.0%; Thailand 3.8%; Indonesia 3.5%; Singapore 3.1%; Germany 3.1%; UK 2.5%.

Transport and communications

Transport. Railroads (2005): length (2004) 23,577 km; passengers carried 21,893,000,000; passenger-km 390,697,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 22,779,000,000. Roads (2004): total length 1,188,000 km (paved 80%). Vehicles (2005): passenger cars 57,092,000; trucks and buses 17,116,000. Air transport (2005): passengers carried (2004) 112,000,000; passenger-km 166,216,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 8,587,000,000. Urban transport (2000): passengers carried 57,719,000, of which by rail 34,020,000, by road 19,466,000, by subway 4,233,000. Communications, in total units (units per 1,000 persons). Daily newspaper circulation (2005): 69,700,000 (546); televisions (2003): 107,527,000 (842); telephone landlines (2006): 55,153,000 (430); cellular telephone subscribers (2006): 101,698,000 (793); personal computers (2005): 86,389,000 (675); total Internet users (2006): 87,540,000 (683); broadband Internet subscribers (2006): 25,755,000 (202). Radio and television broadcasting (2003): total radio stations 1,612, of which commercial 723; total television stations 15,021, of which commercial 8,276. Commercial broadcasting hours (by percentage of programs): reports—radio 12.3%, television 19.8%; education—radio 2.4%, television 12.3%; culture— radio 13.3%, television 25.1%; entertainment—radio 69.3%, television 37.5%. Advertisements (daily average): radio 149, television 445.

Education and health

Literacy: total population ages 15 and over literate: virtually 100%. Health (2004): physicians 267,943 (1 per 477 persons); dentists 94,022 (1 per 1,359 persons); nurses 799,416 (1 per 160 persons); pharmacists 241,369 (1 per 529 persons); midwives 25,257 (1 per 5,059 persons); hospital beds 1,631,553 (1 per 78 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2005) 2.8. Food (2005): daily per capita caloric intake 2,838 (vegetable products 77%, animal products 23%).

Military

Total active duty personnel (2006): 248,000 (army 59.7%, navy 21.9%, air force 18.4%); US troops (2006) 35,400. Military expenditure as percentage of GDP (2005): 1.0%; per capita expenditure US$345.

The conflict between Japan and China (1894-95) marked the emergence of Japan as a major world power and demonstrated the weakness ofthe Chinese empire. The war grew out of conflict between the two countries for supremacy in Korea.

Background

Japan’s history began with the accession of the legendary first emperor, Jimmu, in 660 bc. The Yamato court established the first unified Japanese state in the 4th-5th century ad; during this period Buddhism arrived in Japan by way of Korea. For centuries Japan borrowed heavily from Chinese culture, but it began to sever its links with the mainland by the 9th century. In 1192 MinamotoYoritomo established Japan’s first bakufu, or shogunate. Unification was achieved in the late 1500s under the leadership of Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. During the Tokugawa shogunate, beginning in 1603, the government imposed a policy of isolation. Under the leadership of Emperor Meiji (1868-1912), it adopted a constitution (1889) and began a program of modernization and Westernization. Japanese imperialism led to war with China (1894-95) and Russia (1904-05) as well as to the annexation of Korea (1910) and Manchuria (1931). During World War II Japan attacked US forces in Hawaii and the Philippines (December 1941) and occupied European colonial possessions in South Asia. In 1945 the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Japan surrendered to the Allied powers. US postwar occupation of Japan led to a new democratic constitution in 1947. In rebuilding Japan’s ruined industrial plant, new technology was used in every major industry. A tremendous economic recovery followed, and it was able to maintain a favorable balance of trade into the 1990s.

Recent Developments

In elections held in July 2007, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party(LDP) lostcontrol ofthe upper house of the Diet (parliament) for the first time since the party’s establishment in 1955, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stepped down in September. The LDP selected Yasuo Fukuda, a moderate conservative, to lead the party, and he formally tookoffice on 26September.

Japan’s economy grew by 2.1% in 2007, while the unemployment rate settled at 4.1% in February 2008. The government viewed a contraction in Japan’s economic output in the second quarter of 2007 as a temporary drop in Japan’s sixth year of continuing growth, the longest expansion since 1945. Many Japanese analysts worried about a possible economic slowdown in the US, one of Japan’s largest export markets. In spite of a softening in export sales to the US, Japan’s overall trade surplus expanded to about ¥11.7 trillion (about US$104 million) in fiscal year 2007. Weaker American demand for Japanese goods was offset by growth in shipments to Europe and to other Asian countries, particularly China. It was reported in April that China had replaced the US as Japan’s largest trading partner.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s three-day visit to Japan in April—the first by a Chinese premier in seven years— was intended to help nurture relations between the two Asian giants. In August Prime Minister Abe visited India, where he met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and signed a series of bilateral trade agreements. Also in August Japan reached a preliminary free-trade agreement with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) intended to boost economic integration in East Asia. No progress, however, occurred between Japan and North Korea in their attempts to establish diplomatic relations. Japan’s effort to seek full information about Pyongyang’s kidnappings of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and ’80s remained stymied. Tensions over North Korea also crept into US-Japanese relations as the Japanese feared that the US would remove North Korea from its listof countries thatsponsored terrorism, even if North Korea refused to settle the kidnapping issue with Japan. Tensions also flared between the US and Japan over the passage by the US House of Representatives of a non-binding resolution urging Japan to formally apologize for its military’s coercion of Asian women into sexual slavery during World War II. Japan announced that it was canceling aid to Myanmar (Burma) in response to Yangon’s (Rangoon’s) violent suppression of monk-led pro-democracy demonstrations in September. During those demonstrations a Japanese videojournalistcov-ering the protests was shot and killed as government troops opened fire on the participants.

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