Land boundaries: total: 1,919.1 km border countries: Andorra 65 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km, Morocco (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Morocco (Melilla) 9.6 km
Coastline: 4,964 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean) territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast
Terrain: large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills;Pyrenees in north
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico de Teide on Canary Islands 3,718 m
Natural resources: coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 30% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 21% forests and woodland: 32% other: 8% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 34,530 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: periodic droughts
Environment-current issues: pollution of the Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage and effluents from the offshore production of oil and gas; water quality and quantity nationwide; air pollution; deforestation; desertification
Environment-international agreements:party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, AirPollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine LifeConservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, ShipPollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whalingsigned, but not ratified: Desertification
Geography-note: strategic location along approaches to Strait ofGibraltar
@Spain:People
Population: 39,133,996 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 15% (male 3,057,919; female 2,879,109) 15-64 years: 69% (male 13,407,270; female 13,408,685) 65 years and over: 16% (male 2,651,149; female 3,729,864) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.08% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 9.73 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 9.62 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.51 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.56 years male: 73.78 years female: 81.59 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.21 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality: noun: Spaniard(s) adjective: Spanish
Ethnic groups: composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types
Religions: Roman Catholic 99%, other 1%
Languages: Castilian Spanish 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96% male: 98% female: 94% (1986 est.)
@Spain:Government
Country name: conventional long form: Kingdom of Spain conventional short form: Spain local short form: Espana
Data code: SP
Government type: parliamentary monarchy
National capital: Madrid
Administrative divisions: 17 autonomous communities (comunidadesautonomas, singular-comunidad autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias,Canarias, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna,Communidad Valencian, Extremadura, Galicia, Islas Baleares, La Rioja,Madrid, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country)note: there are five places of sovereignty on and off the coast ofMorocco (Ceuta, Mellila, Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, andPenon de Velez de la Gomera) with administrative status unknown
Independence: 1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)
National holiday: National Day, 12 October
Constitution: 6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978
Legal system: civil law system, with regional applications; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: King JUAN CARLOS I (since 22 November 1975); Heir Apparent Prince FELIPE, son of the king head of government: President of the Government Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez (since 5 May 1996); First Vice President Francisco ALVAREZ CASCOS Fernandez (since 5 May 1996) and Second Vice President (and Minister of Economy and Finance) Rodrigo RATO Figaredo (since 5 May 1996) cabinet: Council of Ministers designated by the president note: there is also a Council of State that is the supreme consultative organ of the government elections: the king is a hereditary monarch; president proposed by the king and elected by the National Assembly following legislative elections; election last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by NA March 2000) election results: Jose Maria AZNAR elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA
Legislative branch: bicameral The General Courts or National Assembly or Las Cortes Generales consists of the Senate or Senado (256 seats; 208 members are directly elected by popular vote and the other 48 were appointed by the regional legislatures to serve four-year terms) and the Congress of Deputies or Congreso de los Diputados (350 seats; members are elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate-last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by March 2000); Congress of Deputies-last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by March 2000) election results: Senate-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-PP 132, PSOE 96, CiU 11, PNV 6, IU 2, others 9; Congress of Deputies-percent of vote by party-PP 38.9%, PSOE 37.5%, IU 10.7%, CiU 4.6%; seats by party-PP 156, PSOE 141, IU 21, CiU 16, other 16
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo
Political parties and leaders: principal national parties, from right to left: Popular Party or PP [Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez]; Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE [Joaquin ALMUNIA Amann, secretary general]; Spanish Communist Party or PCE [Julio ANGUITA Gonzalez]; United Left or IU (a coalition of parties including the PCE and other small parties) [Julio ANGUITA Gonzalez] chief regional parties: Convergence and Union or CiU [Jordi PUJOL i Soley, secretary general] (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia or CDC [Jordi PUJOL i Soley] and the Democratic Union of Catalonia or UDC [Josep Antoni DURAN y LLEIDA]); Basque Nationalist Party or PNV [Xabier ARZALLUS Antia]; Canarian Coalition or CC (a coalition of five parties) [Lorenzo OLLARTE Cullen]
Political pressure groups and leaders: on the extreme left, the Basque Fatherland and Liberty or ETA [Herri BATASUNA] and the First of October Antifascist Resistance Group or GRAPO use terrorism to oppose the government; free labor unions (authorized in April 1977); Workers Confederation or CC.OO; the Socialist General Union of Workers or UGT and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union or USO; business and landowning interests; the Catholic Church; Opus Dei; university students
International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB,Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA,EU, FAO, G- 8, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA,IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol,IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINUGUA, MTCR, NAM(guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio OYARZABAL MARCHESI chancery: 2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0100, 728-2340 FAX: [1] (202) 833-5670 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Lawrence G. ROSSIN embassy: Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid mailing address: APO AE 09642 telephone: [34] (1) 587-2200 FAX: [34] (1) 587-2303 consulate(s) general: Barcelona
Flag description: three horizontal bands of red (top), yellow (double width), and red with the national coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band; the coat of arms includes the royal seal framed by the Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar
@Spain:Economy
Economy-overview: Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is three-fourths that of the four leading West European economies. Its center-right government has staked much on gaining admission to the first group of countries to implement the European single currency and, based on economic indicators, Madrid appears poised to be in EMU from the outset. The deficit-to-GDP ratio is 2.3%, the debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to be around 68%, and inflation is approximately 2%. Moreover, the AZNAR administration has continued to advocate liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy, and has introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment, nonetheless, remains the highest in the EU at 21%. The government, for political reasons, has made only limited progress in changing labor laws or reforming pension schemes, which are key to the sustainability of both Spain's internal economic advances and its competitiveness in a single currency area.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$642.4 billion (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 3.3% (1997 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$16,400 (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector: agriculture: 3.6% industry: 33.6% services: 62.8% (1995 est.)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 2.1% (1997 est.)
Labor force: total: 16.2 million by occupation: services 64%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 28%, agriculture 8% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: 21% (1997 est.)
Budget: revenues: $113 billion expenditures: $139 billion, including capital expenditures of $15 billion (1995)
Industries: textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism
Industrial production growth rate: -0.8% (1996)
Electricity-capacity: 39.583 million kW (1995)
Electricity-production: 154.144 billion kWh (1995)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 4,026 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish catch of 867,000 metric tons in 1993
Exports: total value: $94.5 billion (f.o.b., 1995) commodities: cars and trucks, semifinished manufactured goods, foodstuffs, machinery (1994) partners: EU 72.1%, US 4.2%, other developed countries 7.9% (1996)
Imports: total value: $118.3 billion (c.i.f., 1995) commodities: machinery, transport equipment, fuels, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals (1994) partners: EU 65.6%, US 6.6%, other developed countries 11.5%, Middle East 6.2% (1996)
Debt-external: $90 billion (1993 est.)
Economic aid: donor: ODA, $1.213 billion (1993)
Currency: 1 peseta (Pta) = 100 centimos
Exchange rates: pesetas (Ptas) per US$1-153.94 (January 1998), 146.41 (1997), 126.66 (1996), 124.69 (1995), 133.96 (1994), 127.26 (1993)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 12.6 million (1990 est.)
Telephone system: generally adequate, modern facilitiesdomestic: NAinternational: 22 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations-2Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat, NAInmarsat, and NA Marecs; tropospheric scatter to adjacent countries
Radio broadcast stations: AM 190, FM 406 (repeaters 134), shortwave 0
Radios: 12 million (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 100 (repeaters 1,297)
Televisions: 15.7 million (1992 est.)
@Spain:Transportation
Railways: total: 15,172 km broad gauge: 12,781 km 1.668-m gauge (6,355 km electrified; 2,295 km double track) standard gauge: 664 km 1.435-m gauge (480 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,727 km (privately owned: 1,708 km 1.000-m gauge, 517 km electrified; government owned: 19 km 1.000-m gauge, all electrified) (1996)
Highways: total: 344,847 km paved: 341,399 km (including 7,747 km of expressways) unpaved: 3,448 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 1,045 km, but of minor economic importance
Pipelines: crude oil 265 km; petroleum products 1,794 km; natural gas 1,666 km
Ports and harbors: Aviles, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Cartagena,Castellon de la Plana, Ceuta, Huelva, La Coruna, Las Palmas (CanaryIslands), Malaga, Melilla, Pasajes, Gijon, Santa Cruz de Tenerife(Canary Islands), Santander, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo
Merchant marine: total: 135 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,043,747 GRT/1,651,634 DWT ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 30, chemical tanker 7, combination ore/oil 1, container 8, liquefied gas tanker 3, oil tanker 29, passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 8, roll-on/roll-off cargo 30, short-sea passenger 6, specialized tanker 1 (1997 est.)
Airports: 98 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways: total: 64 over 3,047 m: 15 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 9 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways: total: 34 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 21 (1997 est.)
Heliports: 2 (1997 est.)
@Spain:Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Civil Guard,National Police, Coastal Civil Guard
Military manpower-military age: 20 years of age
Military manpower-availability: males age 15-49: 10,387,539 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service: males: 8,369,756 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually: males: 323,552 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $6.3 billion (1995)
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: 1.4% (1995)
@Spain:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: Gibraltar question with UK; Spain controls five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco-the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which Morocco contests, as well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas
Illicit drugs: key European gateway country for Latin American cocaine and North African hashish entering the European market; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin
______________________________________________________________________
@Spratly Islands:Geography
Location: Southeastern Asia, group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines
Geographic coordinates: 8 38 N, 111 55 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total: less than 5 sq km land: less than 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over a large area of the central South China Sea
Area-comparative: NA
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 926 km
Maritime claims: NA
Climate: tropical
Terrain: flat
Elevation extremes: lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay 4 m
Natural resources: fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)
Natural hazards: typhoons; serious maritime hazard because of numerous reefs and shoals
Environment-current issues: NA
Environment-international agreements: party to: none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography-note: strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the central South China Sea; includes numerous small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral reefs
@Spratly Islands:People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants note: there are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several claimant states
@Spratly Islands:Government
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Spratly Islands
Data code: PG
@Spratly Islands:Economy
Economy-overview: Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored, and there are no reliable estimates of potential reserves; commercial exploitation has yet to be developed.
@Spratly Islands:Transportation
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 4 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways: total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways: total: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (1997 est.)
@Spratly Islands:Military
Military-note: about 50 small islands or reefs are occupied by China,Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam
@Spratly Islands:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone, which encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands, but has not publicly claimed the island
______________________________________________________________________
@Sri Lanka:Geography
Location: Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Geographic coordinates: 7 00 N, 81 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area: total: 65,610 sq km land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 1,340 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
Natural resources: limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay
Land use: arable land: 14% permanent crops: 15% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 32% other: 32% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 5,500 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Environment-current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff
Environment-international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography-note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes
@Sri Lanka:People
Population: 18,933,558 (July 1998 est.) note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island; as of late 1996, 63,068 were housed in refugee camps in south India, another 30,000-40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought political asylum in the West
Age structure: 0-14 years: 28% (male 2,673,194; female 2,556,926) 15-64 years: 66% (male 6,126,759; female 6,385,450) 65 years and over: 6% (male 579,329; female 611,900) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.12% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 18.4 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 5.96 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 16.33 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.55 years male: 69.82 years female: 75.41 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.12 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality: noun: Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan
Ethnic groups: Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, andVedda 1%
Religions: Buddhist 69%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 8%
Languages: Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18% note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken by about 10% of the population
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.2% male: 93.4% female: 87.2% (1995 est.)
@Sri Lanka:Government
Country name: conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Ceylon
Data code: CE
Government type: republic
National capital: Colombo
Administrative divisions: 8 provinces; Central, North Central, NorthEastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western
Independence: 4 February 1948 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence and National Day, 4 February (1948)
Constitution: adopted 16 August 1978
Legal system: a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note-Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note-Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 9 November 1994 (next to be held NA November 2000) election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA elected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (People's Alliance) 62%, Srima DISSANAYAKE (United National Party) 37%, other 1%
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system to serve six-year terms) elections: last held 16 August 1994 (next to be held by August 2000) election results: percent of vote by party-PA 49.0%, UNP 44.0%, SLMC 1.8%, TULF 1.7%, SLPF 1.1%, EPDP 0.3%, UPF 0.3%, PLOTE 0.1%, other 1.7%; seats by party-PA 105, UNP 94, EPDP 9, SLMC 7, TULF 5, PLOTE 3, SLPF 1, UPF 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the JudicialService Commission; Court of Appeals
Political parties and leaders: All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), C. G.Kumar PONNAMBALAM; Ceylon Workers Congress (CLDC), S. THONDAMAN;Communist Party, K. P. SILVA; Communist Party/Beijing (CP/B), N.SHANMUGATHASAN; Democratic People's Liberation Front (DPLF), leaderNA; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front (DUNLF), SrimaniATHULATHMUDALI; Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), DouglasDEVANANDA; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRL),Suresh PREMACHANDRAN; Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students(EROS), Shankar RAJI; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), SomawansaAMERASINGHE; Lanka Socialist Party/Trotskyite (LSSP, or Lanka SamaSamaja Party), Batty WEERAKOON; Liberal Party (LP), Rajira WIJESINGHE;New Socialist Party (NSSP, or Nava Sama Samaja Party), VasudevaNANAYAKKARA; People's Alliance (PA), Chandrika BandaranaikeKUMARATUNGA; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE),Uma MAHESWARAN; People's United Front (MEP, or Mahajana EksathPeramuna), Dinesh GUNAWARDENE; Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP),Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC),M. H. M. ASHRAFF; Sri Lanka People's Party (SLMP, or Sri LankaMahajana Party), Y. P. DE SILVA; Sri Lanka Progressive Front (SLPF),Ariya BULEGODA; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), M. K.SIVAJILINGHAM; Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), M.SIVASITHAMBARAM; United National Party (UNP), Ranil WICHREMESINGHE;Upcountry People's Front (UPF), Periyasamy CHANDRASEKARAN; DeshaVimukthi Janatha Party (DVJP), P.M. Podi APPUHAMY; several ethnicTamil and Muslim parties, represented in either parliament orprovincial councilsnote: the United Socialist Alliance (USA), which was formed in 1987and included the NSSP, LSSP, SLMP, CP/M, and CP/B, was defunct as of1993, following the formation of the People's Alliance Party (PA)
Political pressure groups and leaders: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE); other radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups; Buddhist clergy; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups; labor unions
International organization participation: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP,FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM,ISO, ITU, NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL,WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Warnasena RASAPUTRAM chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 through 4028 FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 consulate(s): New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Shaun E. DONNELLY embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (1) 448007 FAX: [94] (1) 437345, 446013
Flag description: yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border that goes around the entire flag and extends between the two panels
@Sri Lanka:Economy
Economy-overview: At independence in 1948, plantations growing tea, rubber, or coconuts and paddies growing rice for subsistence dominated Sri Lanka's economy, and, as late as 1970, plantation crops accounted for 93% of exports. In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic industries now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of exports, while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an annual average rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in second half 1996, however, and continued to perform well in 1997 with growth of 6%. Sustained economic growth, coupled with population growth of only 1.1%, has pushed Sri Lanka from the ranks of the poorest countries in the world up to the threshold of the middle income countries. For the next round of reforms, the central bank of Sri Lanka recommends that Colombo expand market mechanisms in nonplantation agriculture, dismantle the government's monopoly on wheat imports, and promote more competition in the financial sector. A continuing cloud over the economy is the fighting between the Sinhalese and the minority Tamils, which has cost 50,000 lives in the past 14 years.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$72.1 billion (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 6% (1997 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$3,800 (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector: agriculture: 18.4% industry: 18% services: 63.6% (1996)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 9.6% (1997)
Labor force: total: 6.2 million (1997) by occupation: services 46%, agriculture 37%, industry 17% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: 11% (1997 est.)
Budget: revenues: $3 billion expenditures: $4.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $1 billion (1997 est.)
Industries: processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco
Industrial production growth rate: 6.5% (1996 est.)
Electricity-capacity: 1.557 million kW (1997 est.)
Electricity-production: 4.86 billion kWh (1997 est.)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 220 kWh (1997 est.)
Agriculture-products: rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, roots, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, meat
Exports: total value: $4.1 billion (f.o.b., 1996) commodities: textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds and other gems, rubber products, petroleum products (1995) partners: US 34%, UK 9.5%, Japan 6.2%, Germany 5.8%, Belgium-Luxembourg 5.3% (1996)
Imports: total value: $5.4 billion (c.i.f., 1996) commodities: machinery and equipment, textiles, transport equipment, petroleum, building materials, sugar, wheat (1996) partners: India 10.4%, Japan 9.1%, South Korea 6.5%, Hong Kong 6.5%, Taiwan 5.3% (1996)
Debt-external: $9.4 billion (1996)
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $620 million (1996 est.)
Currency: 1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees (SLRes) per US$1-61.479 (January 1998), 58.995 (1997), 55.271 (1996), 51.252 (1995), 49.415 (1994), 48.322 (1993)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 352,681 (1997 est.); note-in addition, there are 114,888 mobile telephones (1997 est.)
Telephone system: very inadequate domestic service, but expanding with the entry of two wireless loop operators and privatization of national telephone company; good international service domestic: NA international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 5, shortwave 0
Radios: 3.6 million (1996 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 5
Televisions: 1.6 million (1996 est.)
@Sri Lanka:Transportation
Railways: total: 1,501 km broad gauge: 1,442 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (1995)
Highways: total: 99,200 km paved: 39,680 km unpaved: 59,520 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft
Pipelines: crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)
Ports and harbors: Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee
Merchant marine: total: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 204,542 GRT/317,253 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 13, container 1, oil tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 6 (1997 est.)
Airports: 13 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways: total: 12 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways: total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1997 est.)
@Sri Lanka:Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military manpower-military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower-availability: males age 15-49: 5,147,100 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service: males: 4,006,314 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually: males: 193,851 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $736 million (1997)
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: 5.7% (1997)
@Sri Lanka:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: none
______________________________________________________________________
@Sudan:Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt andEritrea
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 30 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 2,505,810 sq km land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US
Land boundaries: total: 7,687 km border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km
Coastline: 853 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 18 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October)
Terrain: generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Red Sea 0 m highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m
Natural resources: petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold
Land use: arable land: 5% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 19% other: 30% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 19,460 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: dust storms
Environment-current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification
Environment-international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography-note: largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries
@Sudan:People
Population: 33,550,552 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 45% (male 7,769,266; female 7,449,510) 15-64 years: 52% (male 8,818,018; female 8,778,485) 65 years and over: 3% (male 410,170; female 325,103) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.73% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 39.94 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 10.88 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.26 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 72.64 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 55.97 years male: 55 years female: 56.98 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.68 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality: noun: Sudanese (singular and plural) adjective: Sudanese
Ethnic groups: black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1%
Religions: Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%,Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum)
Languages: Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English note: program of Arabization in process
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 46.1% male: 57.7% female: 34.6% (1995 est.)
@Sudan:Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan conventional short form: Sudan local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan local short form: As-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
Data code: SU
Government type: transitional-previously ruling military junta; presidential and National Assembly elections held in March 1996; new constitution drafted by Presidential Committee, will go before public in national referendum in May-June 1998
National capital: Khartoum
Administrative divisions: 26 states (wilayat, singular-wilayat orwilayah*); A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, AlKhartum, Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, AshShamaliyah*, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr alGhazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan,Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur,Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab
Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1956)
Constitution: 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989; new constitution being drafted by Presidential Committee
Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: NA years of age; universal, but noncompulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: President Lt. General Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President (Police) Maj. General George KONGOR AROP (since NA February 1994); note-the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Lt. General Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President (Police) Maj. General George KONGOR AROP (since NA February 1994); note-the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note-President al-BASHIR's government is dominated by members of Sudan's National Islamic Front, a fundamentalist political organization formed from the Muslim Brotherhood in 1986; front leader Hasan al-TURABI dominates much of Khartoum's overall domestic and foreign policies; President al-BASHIR named a new cabinet on 20 April 1996 which includes members of the National Islamic Front, serving and retired military officers, and civilian technocrats; on 8 March 1998, he reshuffled the cabinet and brought in several former rebel and opposition members as ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 6-17 March 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR elected president; percent of vote-Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR 75.7%; note-about forty other candidates ran for president note: al-BASHIR, as chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCC), assumed power on 30 June 1989 and served concurrently as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime minister, and minister of defense until 16 October 1993 when he was appointed president by the RCC; upon its dissolution on 16 October 1993, the RCC's executive and legislative powers were devolved to the president and the Transitional National Assembly (TNA), Sudan's appointed legislative body, which has since been replaced by the National Assembly which was elected in March 1996
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (400 seats; 275 elected by popular vote, 125 elected by a supraassembly of interest groups known as the National Congress) elections: last held 6-17 March 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: NA; the March 1996 elections were held on a nonparty basis; parties are banned in the new National Assembly
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts
Political parties and leaders: none; banned following 30 June 1989 coup
Political pressure groups and leaders: National Islamic Front, Hasan al-TURABI
International organization participation: ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL,AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB,IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM(observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador MAHDI IBRAHIM Mohamed chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406 consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: US officials at the US Embassy in Khartoum were moved for security reasons in February 1996 and have been relocated to the US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Cairo, Egypt; they visit Khartoum monthly; the US Embassy in Khartoum (located on Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue; mailing address-P.O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829; telephone-[249] (11) 774611 or 774700; FAX-[249] (11) 774137) is kept open by local employees; the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya is located at the corner of Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue, Nairobi; mailing address - P.O. Box 30137, Unit 64100, Nairobi; telephone-[254] (2) 334141; FAX - [254] (2) 340838; the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt is located at (North Gate) 8, Kamel El-Din Salah Street, Garden City, Cairo; mailing address-Unit 64900, APO AE 09839-4900; telephone-[20] (2) 3557371; FAX-[20] (2) 3573200
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
@Sudan:Economy
Economy-overview: Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic political instability, adverse weather, high inflation, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture and trading, with most private industrial investment predating 1980. Agriculture employs 80% of the work force. Industry mainly processes agricultural items. Sluggish economic performance over the past decade, attributable largely to declining annual rainfall, has kept per capita income at low levels. A large foreign debt and huge arrearages continue to cause difficulties. In 1990 the International Monetary Fund took the unusual step of declaring Sudan noncooperative because of its nonpayment of arrearages to the Fund. After Sudan backtracked on promised reforms in 1992-93, the IMF threatened to expel Sudan from the Fund. To avoid expulsion, Khartoum agreed to make payments on its arrears to the Fund, liberalize exchange rates, and reduce subsidies, measures it has partially implemented. The government's continued prosecution of the civil war and its growing international isolation continued to inhibit growth in the nonagricultural sectors of the economy during 1997. Hyperinflation has raised consumer prices above the reach of most. In 1997, a top priority was to develop potentially lucrative oilfields in south-central Sudan; the government was seeking foreign partners to exploit the oil sector.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$26.6 billion (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 5% (1997 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$875 (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector: agriculture: 33% industry: 17% services: 50% (1992 est.)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 27% (mid-1997 est.)
Labor force: total: 11 million (1996 est.) by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6% note: labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled employment (1983 est.)
Unemployment rate: 30% (FY92/93 est.)
Budget: revenues: $482 million expenditures: $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $30 million (1996)
Industries: cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining
Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1996 est.)
Electricity-capacity: 500,000 kW (1995)
Electricity-production: 1.305 billion kWh (1995)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 43 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: cotton, groundnuts, sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sesame; sheep
Exports: total value: $620 million (f.o.b., 1996) commodities: cotton 23%, sesame 22%, livestock/meat 13%, gum arabic 5% (1996) partners: Saudi Arabia 20%, UK 14%, China 11%, Italy 8% (1996)
Imports: total value: $1.5 billion (1996) commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum products, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles (1996) partners: Saudi Arabia 10%, South Korea 7%, Germany 6%, Egypt 6% (1996)
Debt-external: $20.3 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $387 million (1993)
Currency: 1 Sudanese pound (£Sd) = 100 piastres
Exchange rates: Sudanese pounds (£Sd) per US$1-official rate: 1,602.70 (July 1997), 1,250.79 (1996), 580.87 (1995), 289.61 (1994), 159.31 (1993); market rate: 1,612.90 (July 1997), 1,250.79 (1996), 571.02 (August 1995), 289.61 (1994), 159.31 (1993), 97.43 (1992) note: the market rate is a unified exchange rate determined by a committee of local bankers, without official intervention, and is quoted uniformly by all commercial banks
Fiscal year: calendar year note: prior to July 1995, Sudan had a fiscal year that began on 1 July and ended on 30 June; as a transition to their new fiscal year, a six-month budget was implemented for 1 July-31 December 1995; the new calendar year (1 January-31 December) fiscal year became effective 1 January 1996
Communications
Telephones: 77,215 (1983 est.)
Telephone system: large, well-equipped system by African standards, but barely adequate and poorly maintained by modern standards domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations-1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat
Radio broadcast stations: AM 11, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: 6.67 million (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 3
Televisions: 2.06 million (1992 est.)
@Sudan:Transportation
Railways: total: 5,516 km narrow gauge: 4,800 km 1.067-m gauge; 716 km 1.6096-m gauge plantation line
Highways: total: 11,900 km paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 5,310 km navigable
Pipelines: refined products 815 km
Ports and harbors: Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan,Sawakin
Merchant marine: total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 38,093 GRT/49,727 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1997 est.)
Airports: 65 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways: total: 12 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways: total: 53 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 11 (1997 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1997 est.)
@Sudan:Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense ForceMilitia
Military manpower-military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower-availability: males age 15-49: 7,690,798 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service: males: 4,733,457 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually: males: 363,752 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: NA%
@Sudan:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: administrative boundary with Kenya does notcoincide with international boundary; administrative boundary withEgypt does not coincide with international boundary creating the"Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km
______________________________________________________________________
@Suriname:Geography
Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
Geographic coordinates: 4 00 N, 56 00 W
Map references: South America
Area: total: 163,270 sq km land: 161,470 sq km water: 1,800 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly larger than Georgia
Land boundaries: total: 1,707 km border countries: Brazil 597 km, French Guiana 510 km, Guyana 600 km
Coastline: 386 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds
Terrain: mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps
Elevation extremes: lowest point: unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m highest point: Wilhelmina Gebergte 1,286 m
Natural resources: timber, hydropower potential, fish, kaolin, shrimp, bauxite, gold, and small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum, iron ore
Land use: arable land: NA permanent crops: NA permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 96% other: 4% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 600 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment-current issues: deforestation as timber is cut for export; pollution of inland waterways by small-scale mining activities
Environment-international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography-note: mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of flora and fauna which for the most part is increasingly threatened by new development; relatively small population most of which lives along the coast
@Suriname:People
Population: 427,980 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 33% (male 72,945; female 69,468) 15-64 years: 62% (male 133,840; female 129,452) 65 years and over: 5% (male 10,309; female 11,966) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.77% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 22.48 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 5.79 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -8.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 27.44 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.61 years male: 68.05 years female: 73.29 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.59 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality: noun: Surinamer(s) adjective: Surinamese
Ethnic groups: Hindustani (also known locally as "East Indians"; their ancestors emigrated from northern India in the latter part of the 19th century) 37%, Creole (mixed white and black) 31%, Javanese 15.3%, "Maroons" (their African ancestors were brought to the country in the 17th and 18th centuries as slaves and escaped to the interior) 10.3%, Amerindian 2.6%, Chinese 1.7%, white 1%, other 1.1%
Religions: Hindu 27.4%, Muslim 19.6%, Roman Catholic 22.8%, Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), indigenous beliefs 5%
Languages: Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo(Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of Creolesand much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others),Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 95% female: 91% (1995 est.)
@Suriname:Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Suriname conventional short form: Suriname local long form: Republiek Suriname local short form: Suriname former: Netherlands Guiana, Dutch Guiana
Data code: NS
Government type: republic
National capital: Paramaribo
Administrative divisions: 10 districts (distrikten, singular-distrikt); Brokopondo, Commewijne, Coronie, Marowijne, Nickerie, Para, Paramaribo, Saramacca, Sipaliwini, Wanica
Independence: 25 November 1975 (from Netherlands)
National holiday: Independence Day, 25 November (1975)
Constitution: ratified 30 September 1987
Legal system: based on Dutch legal system incorporating French penal theory
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Jules WIJDENBOSCH (since 14 September 1996); Vice President Pretaapnarian RADHAKISHUN (since 14 September 1996); note-the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Jules WIJDENBOSCH (since 14 September 1996); Vice President Pretaapnarian RADHAKISHUN (since 14 September 1996); note-the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly note: First Advisor of State maintains significant power elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly or, if no presidential or vice presidential candidate receives a constitutional majority vote in the National Assembly after two votes, by the larger Peoples Assembly (the National Assembly members and 289 local and regional councillors), for five-year terms; election last held 23 May 1996; runoff election held 5 September 1996 (next to be held NA May 2001) election results: Jules WIJDENBOSCH elected president; percent of legislative vote NA; National Assembly failed to elect president; results reflect the People's Assembly votes-Jules WIJDENBOSCH (NDP) 438, Ronald VENETIAAN (NF) 407
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or National Assemblee (51 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 23 May 1996 (next to be held NA May 2001) election results: percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-NDP 16, NF 14, BVD 5, KTPI 5, Pendawa Lima 4, Alliance 3, DA '91 2, OPDA 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, justices nominated for life
Political parties and leaders: The New Front (NF), a coalition ofthree parties (NPS, VHP, SPA), leader Ronald R. VENETIAAN; ProgressiveReform Party (VHP), Jaggernath LACHMON; National Party of Suriname(NPS), Ronald VENETIAAN; Party of National Unity and Solidarity(KTPI), Willy SOEMITA; Suriname Labor Party (SPA), Fred DERBY;Democratic Alternative '91 (DA '91), a coalition of parties (AF, andBEP) formed in January 1991, Winston JESSURUN; Alternative Forum (AF),Rick VAN RAVENSWAY; Party for Brotherhood and Unity in Politics (BEP),Caprino ALLENDY; Pendawa Lima, Paul SOMOHARDJO; National DemocraticParty (NDP), Desire BOUTERSE; Progressive Workers' and Farm Laborers'Union (PALU), Ir Iwan KROLIS; The Progressive Development Alliance, acombination of two parties (HPP, PVF), Harry KISOENSINGH; DemocraticParty (DP), Frank PLAYFAIR; Reformed Progressive Party (HPP), HarryKISOENSINGH; Party of the Federation of Land Workers PVF), Jwan SITAL;Party for Renewal and Democracy (BVD), Atta MUNGRA; IndependentProgressive Democratic Alternative (OPDA), Joginder RAMKHILAWAN
Political pressure groups and leaders: Union for Liberation andDemocracy, Kofi AFONGPONG; Mandela Bushnegro Liberation Movement,Leendert ADAMS; Tucayana Amazonica, Alex JUBITANA, Thomas SABAJO;General Liberation and Development Party (ABOP), Ronnie BRUNSWIJK
International organization participation: ACP, Caricom, ECLAC, FAO,G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OIC,OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Arnold Theodoor HALFHIDE chancery: Suite 460, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-7488 FAX: [1] (202) 244-5878 consulate(s) general: Miami
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Dennis K. HAYS embassy: Dr. Sophie Redmondstraat 129, Paramaribo mailing address: P. O. Box 1821, Paramaribo; pouch address: American Embassy Paramaribo, Department of State, Washington, DC, 20521-3390 telephone: [597] 472900, 477881, 476459 FAX: [597] 420800
Flag description: five horizontal bands of green (top, double width), white, red (quadruple width), white, and green (double width); there is a large yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band
@Suriname:Economy
Economy-overview: The economy is dominated by the bauxite industry, which accounts for more than 15% of GDP and 70% of export earnings. Following a dismal year in 1994-which saw the value of the Surinamese guilder plummet by about 70%, inflation rise to more than 600%, and national output fall for the fifth consecutive year-nearly all economic indicators improved in 1995-97. The VENETIAAN government unified the exchange rate as part of its structural adjustment program (SAP). After assuming power in the fall of 1996, the WIJDENBOSCH government ended the SAP claiming it was unfair to the poorer elements of society. Tax revenues fell as old taxes lapsed and the government failed to implement new tax alternatives. By the end of 1997, the allocation of new Dutch development funds was frozen as Surinamese government relations with Holland deteriorated. Suriname's economic prospects for the medium term will depend on renewed commitment to financially responsible monetary and fiscal policies.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$1.44 billion (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 4% (1997 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$3,400 (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector: agriculture: 14% industry: 33% services: 53% (1994)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 8% (1997 est.)
Labor force: NA by occupation: agriculture, industry, services
Unemployment rate: 20% (1997)
Budget: revenues: $317 million expenditures: $333 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1997 est.)
Industries: bauxite and gold mining, alumina and aluminum production, lumbering, food processing, fishing
Industrial production growth rate: 6.5% (1994 est.)
Electricity-capacity: 425,000 kW (1995)
Electricity-production: 1.601 billion kWh (1995)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 3,727 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: paddy rice, bananas, palm kernels, coconuts, plantains, peanuts; beef, chicken; forest products and shrimp of increasing importance