Location: body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America, mostly north of the Arctic Circle
Geographic coordinates: 90 00 N, 0 00 E
Map references: Arctic Region
Area: total: 14.056 million sq km note: includes Baffin Bay, BarentsSea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea,Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage,and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US
Coastline: 45,389 km
Climate: polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow
Terrain: central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge)
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Fram Basin -4,665 m highest point: sea level 0 m
Natural resources: sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales)
Natural hazards: ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May
Environment - current issues: endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack
Geography - note: major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow cover lasts about 10 months
People Arctic Ocean
Population growth rate: NA%
Economy Arctic Ocean
Economy - overview: Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals.
Transportation Arctic Ocean
Ports and harbors: Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe Bay(US)
Transportation - note: sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes; the Northwest Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route (Eurasia) are important seasonal waterways
Transnational Issues Arctic Ocean
Disputes - international: some maritime disputes (see littoral states);Russia is the first state to submit data to the UN Commission on theLimits of the Continental Shelf to extend its continental shelf byclaiming two undersea ridges in the Arctic Ocean
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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World
Introduction
World
Background: Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).
Geography World
Map references: Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World,Standard Time Zones of the World
Area: total: 510.072 million sq km land: 148.94 million sq km water: 361.132 million sq km note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
Area - comparative: land area about 16 times the size of the US
Land boundaries: the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting shared boundaries twice)
Coastline: 356,000 km
Maritime claims: a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims: contiguous zone - 24 NM; continental shelf - 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation, or 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin; exclusive fishing zone - 200 NM; exclusive economic zone - 200 NM; territorial sea - 12 NM; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked
Climate: two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates
Terrain: the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean highest point: Natural resources: the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
Land use: arable land: 11% permanent crops: 1% other: 88% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
Environment - current issues: large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
Geography - note: the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe
People World
Population: 6,233,821,945 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 29.2% (male 932,581,592; female 885,688,851) 15-64 years: (male 193,549,180; female 247,067,032) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.23% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 21.16 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 51.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 65.67 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility rate: 2.7 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Religions: Christians 32.88% (of which Roman Catholics 17.39%,Protestants 5.62%, Orthodox 3.54%, Anglicans 1.31%), Muslims 19.54%,Hindus 13.34%, Buddhists 5.92%, Sikhs 0.38%, Jews 0.24%, other religions12.6%, non-religious 12.63%, atheists 2.47% (2000 est.)
Languages: Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish 5.59%, Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese 2.06%, German, Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.) note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 77% male: 83% female: 71% (1995 est.)
Government World
Administrative divisions: 268 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries
Legal system: all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
Economy World
Economy - overview: Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) fell from 4.8% in 2000 to 2.2% in 2001. The causes: slowdowns in the US economy (21% of GWP) and in the 15 EU economies (20% of GWP); continued stagnation in the Japanese economy (7.3% of GWP); and spillover effects in the less developed regions of the world. China, the second largest economy in the world (12% of GWP), proved an exception, continuing its rapid annual growth, officially announced as 7.3% but estimated by many observers as perhaps two percentage points lower. Russia (2.6% of GWP), with 5.2% growth, continued to make uneven progress, its GDP per capita still only one-third that of the leading industrial nations. The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations were strong performers, in the 5% range of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Indonesia, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2001, see the individual country entries.)
GDP: GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $47 trillion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.2% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 4% industry: 32% services: 64% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically (2001 est.); national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third World countries
Labor force: NA
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate: 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2001 est.)
Industries: dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems
Industrial production growth rate: 6% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: NA% hydro: NA% nuclear:NA% other: NA%
Exports: $6.3 trillion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Exports - partners: in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries
Imports: $6.3 trillion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Imports - partners: in value, about 75% of imports into the developed countries
Debt - external: $2 trillion for less developed countries (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: official development assistance (ODA) $50 billion (2001 est.)
Communications World
Telephones - main lines in use: NA
Telephones - mobile cellular: NA
Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: NA
Televisions: NA
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 10,350 (2000 est.)
Internet users: 513.41 million (2001 est.)
Transportation World
Railways: total: 1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line broad gauge: 251,153 km narrow gauge: 239,430 km standard gauge: 710,754 km
Highways: total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km
Ports and harbors: Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
Military World
Military expenditures - dollar figure: aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.)
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Yugoslavia
Introduction
Yugoslavia
Background: The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941 was resisted by various paramilitary bands that fought themselves as well as the invaders. The group headed by Marshal TITO took full control upon German expulsion in 1945. Although Communist, his new government successfully steered its own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In the early 1990s, post-TITO Yugoslavia began to unravel along ethnic lines: Slovenia, Croatia, and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia all declared their independence in 1991; Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" (FRY)in 1992 and, under President Slobodan MILOSEVIC, Serbia led various military intervention efforts to unite Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." All of these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1999, massive expulsions by FRY forces and Serb paramilitaries of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo provoked an international response, including the NATO bombing of Serbia and the stationing of NATO and Russian peacekeepers in Kosovo. There are Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS)-led coalitions governing at the federal and Serbian Republic levels, implementing a wide-ranging political and economic reform program. The governing coalition in Montenegro is seeking independence from the Federation. Kosovo has been governed by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) since June 1999, under the authority of UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
Geography Yugoslavia
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, betweenAlbania and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Geographic coordinates: 44 00 N, 21 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 102,350 sq km water: 214 sq km land: 102,136 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Kentucky
Land boundaries: total: 2,246 km border countries: Albania 287 km,Bosnia and Herzegovina 527 km, Bulgaria 318 km, Croatia (north) 241 km,Croatia (south) 25 km, Hungary 151 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic ofMacedonia 221 km, Romania 476 km
Coastline: 199 km
Maritime claims: NA
Climate: in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall); central portion, continental and Mediterranean climate; to the south, Adriatic climate along the coast, hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland
Terrain: extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills; to the southwest, extremely high shoreline with no islands off the coast
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point:Daravica 2,656 m
Natural resources: oil, gas, coal, antimony, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, gold, pyrite, chrome, hydropower, arable land
Land use: arable land: 36% permanent crops: 4% other: 60% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 570 sq km
Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes
Environment - current issues: pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor; air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water pollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Geography - note: controls one of the major land routes from Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East; strategic location along the Adriatic coast
People Yugoslavia
Population: 10,656,929 note: all data dealing with population is subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 19.6% (male 1,077,581; female 1,005,379) 15-64 years: 65.3% (male 3,415,929; female 3,546,410) 65 years and over: 15.1% (male 690,014; female 921,616) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.12% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 12.8 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 10.59 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -3.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 17.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 76.89 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility rate: 1.78 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Serb(s); Montenegrin(s) adjective: Serbian;Montenegrin
Ethnic groups: Serb 62.6%, Albanian 16.5%, Montenegrin 5%, Hungarian 3.3%, other 12.6% (1991)
Religions: Orthodox 65%, Muslim 19%, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, other 11%
Languages: Serbian 95%, Albanian 5%
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 97.2% female: 88.9% (1991)
Government Yugoslavia
Country name: conventional long form: Federal Republic of YugoslaviaconventionalJugoslavija local long form:Government type: republic
Capital: Belgrade
Administrative divisions: 2 republics (republike, singular - republika); and 2 nominally autonomous provinces* (autonomn pokrajine, singular - autonomna pokrajina); Kosovo*, Montenegro, Serbia, Vojvodina*
Independence: 27 April 1992 (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or FRY formed as self-proclaimed successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or SFRY)
National holiday: Republic Day, 29 November
Constitution: 27 April 1992
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Vojislav KOSTUNICA (since 7 October 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Dragisa PESIC (since 24 July 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub LABUS (since 25 January 2001) cabinet: popular vote for up to two, four-year terms; election last held 24 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Vojislav KOSTUNICA elected president; percent of vote - Vojislav KOSTUNICA 50.2%, Slobodan MILOSEVIC 37%
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly or Savezna Skupstina consists of the Chamber of Republics or Vece Republika (40 seats - 20 Serbian, 20 Montenegrin; members distributed on the basis of party representation in the republican assemblies to serve four-year terms; note - the Assembly passed a new constitutional amendment calling for direct elections for the deputies to the upper chamber) and the Chamber of Citizens or Vece Gradjana (138 seats - 108 Serbian with half elected by constituency majorities and half by proportional representation, 30 Montenegrin with six elected by constituency and 24 proportionally; members serve four-year terms) elections: Chamber of Republics - last held 24 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); Chamber of Citizens - last held 24 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Chamber of Republics - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SNP 19, DOS 10, SPS/JUL 7, SRS 2, SPO 1, SNS 1; note - seats are filled on a proportional basis to reflect the composition of the legislatures of the republics of Montenegro and Serbia; since 1998 Serbia has effectively barred Montenegro from its constitutional right to delegate deputies to the Chamber of Republics; Chamber of Citizens - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - DOS 58, SPS/JUL 44, SNP 28, SRS 5, SNS 2, other 1
Judicial branch: Federal Court or Savezni Sud; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts are elected by the Federal Assembly for nine-year terms
Political parties and leaders: Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians or SVM[Jozsef KASZA]; Civic Alliance of Serbia or GSS [Goran SVILANOVIC];Coalition Sandzak [Rasim LJAJIC]; Coalition Sumadija [BranislavKOVACEVIC]; Democratic Alternative of DA [Nebojsa COVIC]; DemocraticCenter or DC [Dragoljub MICUNOVIC]; Democratic Christian Party of Serbiaof DHSS [Vladan BATIC]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Dr. IbrahimRUGOVA, president]; Democratic Opposition of Serbia or DOS [leader NA];Democratic Party or DS [Zoran DJINDJIC]; Democratic Party of Serbia orDSS [Vojislav KOSTUNICA]; Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro orDPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Movement for a Democratic Serbia or PDS [MomciloPERISIC]; New Democracy or ND [Dusan MIHAJLOVIC]; New Serbia [VelimirILIC]; People's Party of Montenegro or NS [Dragan SOC]; Serb People'sParty or SNS [Bozidar BOJOVIC]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS [VojislavSESELJ]; Serbian Renewal Movement or SPO [Vuk DRASKOVIC, president];Serbian Socialist Party or SPS (former Communist Party) [SlobodanMILOSEVIC]; Social Democracy or SD [Vuk OBRADOVIC]; Social DemocraticUnion or SDU [Zarko KORAC]; Socialist People's Party of Montenegro or SNP[Momir BULATOVIC]; Yugoslav United Left or JUL [Ljubisa RISTIC]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Alliance for the Future of Kosovoor AAK [Ramush HARADINAJ]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [IbrahimRUGOVA]; Democratic Party of Kosovo or PDK [Hashim THACI]; Group of 17Independent Economists or G-17 [leader NA]; National Movement for theLiberation of Kosovo or LKCK [Sabit GASHI]; Otpor Student ResistanceMovement [leader NA]; Political Council for Presevo, Meveda and Bujanovacor PCPMB [leader NA]; The People's Movement for Kosovo or LPK [EmrushXHEMAJLI]
International organization participation: ABEDA, BIS, CCC, CE (guest),CEI, EBRD, FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM,OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ivan ZIVKOVIC telephone: [1] (202) 462-6566 chancery: 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador William D. MONTGOMERY embassy: Kneza Milosa 50, 11000 Belgrade telephone: [381] (11) 361-9344 FAX: [381] (11) 646-031 branch office: Pristina
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and red
Economy Yugoslavia
Economy - overview: MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the economy, an extended period of economic sanctions, and the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry during the war in Kosovo has left the economy only half the size it was in 1990. Since the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC in October 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government has implemented stabilization measures and embarked on an aggressive market reform program. After renewing its membership in the IMF in December 2000, Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate into the international community by rejoining the World Bank (IBRD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). A World Bank-European Commission sponsored Donors' Conference held in June 2001 raised $1.3 billion for economic restructuring. An agreement rescheduling the country's $4.5 billion Paris Club government debts was concluded in November 2001; it will write off 66% of the debt and provide a basis for Belgrade to seek similar debt relief on its $2.8 billion London Club commercial debt. The smaller republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and continues to maintain it's own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages its own budget. Kosovo, while technically still part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, is moving toward local autonomy under United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and is dependent on the international community for financial and technical assistance. The euro and the Yugoslav dinar are official currencies, and UNMIK collects taxes and manages the budget.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $24 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,250 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 26% industry: 36% services: 38% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: 30%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 40% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 3 million (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate: 30% (2001)
Budget: revenues: $3.9 billion expenditures: $4.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries: machine building (aircraft, trucks, and automobiles; tanks and weapons; electrical equipment; agricultural machinery); metallurgy (steel, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, chromium, antimony, bismuth, cadmium); mining (coal, bauxite, nonferrous ore, iron ore, limestone); consumer goods (textiles, footwear, foodstuffs, appliances); electronics, petroleum products, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals
Industrial production growth rate: 11% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production: 32.984 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 58.75% hydro: 41.25% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 31.546 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 43 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 914 million kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: cereals, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, olives; cattle, sheep, goats
Exports: $2 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: manufactured goods, food and live animals, raw materials
Exports - partners: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, The Former YugoslavRepublic of Macedonia, Germany (2001)
Imports: $4.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, fuels and lubricants, manufactured goods, chemicals, food and live animals, raw materials
Imports - partners: Germany, Italy, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2001)
Debt - external: $9.2 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $2 billion pledged in 2001 (disbursements to follow for several years)
Currency: new Yugoslav dinar (YUM); note - in Montenegro the euro is legal tender; in Kosovo both the euro and the Yugoslav dinar are legal (2002)
Currency code: YUM
Exchange rates: new Yugoslav dinars per US dollar - official rate: 65 (January 2002), 10.0 (December 1998), 5.85 (December 1997), 5.02 (September 1996); black market rate: 14.5 (December 1998), 8.9 (December 1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Yugoslavia
Telephones - main lines in use: 2.017 million (1995)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 87,000 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 113, FM 194, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios: 3.15 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: more than 771 (including 86 strong stations and 685 low-power stations, plus 20 repeaters in the principal networks; also numerous local or private stations in Serbia and Vojvodina) (1997)
Televisions: 2.75 million (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 9 (2000)
Internet users: 400,000 (2001)
Transportation Yugoslavia
Railways: total: 4,059 km standard gauge: 4,059 km 1.435-m gauge (1,377 km electrified) note: during the 1999 Kosovo conflict, the Serbian rail system suffered significant damage due to bridge destruction; many rail bridges have been rebuilt; Montenegrin rail lines remain intact (2001)
Highways: 28,822 km (including 560 km of expressways) note: since the end of the conflict in June 1999, there has been an intensive program to either rebuild bridges or build by-pass routes (1999) unpaved: Waterways: 587 km note: the Danube River, central Europe's connection with the Black Sea, runs through Serbia; since early 2000, a pontoon bridge, replacing a destroyed conventional bridge, has obstructed river traffic at Novi Sad; the obstruction is bypassed by a canal system, the inadequate lock size of which limits the size of vessels which may pass; the pontoon bridge can be opened for large ships but has slowed river traffic (2001)
Pipelines: crude oil 415 km; petroleum products 130 km; natural gas 2,110 km
Ports and harbors: Bar, Belgrade, Kotor, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Tivat,Zelenika
Merchant marine: total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,437GRT/400 DWT ships by type: short-sea passenger 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 46 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 19 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 27 27 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 2 13 (2001)
Heliports: 2 (2001)
Military Yugoslavia
Military branches: Army (VJ) (including ground forces with border troops, naval forces, air and air defense forces)
Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,589,437 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 2,082,322 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 82,542 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $654 million (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues Yugoslavia
Disputes - international: Yugoslavia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have delimited about half of their boundary, but several segments, particularly along the meandering Drina River, remain in dispute; FYROM-Yugoslavia signed and ratified a boundary agreement, which adjusts the former republic boundaries, with demarcation to commence in 2002; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo dispute authority of agreement which cedes small tracts of Kosovo to FYROM; Croatia and Yugoslavia continue to discuss disputed Prevlaka Peninsula and control over the Gulf of Kotor despite imminent UN intention to withdraw observer mission (UNMOP)
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western Europe on the Balkan route
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Yemen
Introduction
Yemen
Background: North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border.
Geography Yemen
Location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, andRed Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 48 00 E
Map references: Middle East
Area: total: 527,970 sq km land: 527,970 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
Land boundaries: total: 1,746 km border countries: Oman 288 km, SaudiArabia 1,458 km
Coastline: 1,906 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM territorial sea: 12 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate: mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
Terrain: narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% other: 97% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 4,900 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: sandstorms and dust storms in summer
Environment - current issues: very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, ClimateChange, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, butnot ratified: Nuclear Test Ban
Geography - note: strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes
People Yemen
Population: 18,701,257 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 47% (male 4,468,928; female 4,317,648) 15-64 years: 50.1% (male 4,783,769; female 4,587,309) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 273,282; female 270,321) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.4% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 43.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 9.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 66.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 62.46 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility rate: 6.9 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.01% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni
Ethnic groups: predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians,Europeans
Religions: Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu
Languages: Arabic
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 38% male: 53% female: 26% (1990 est.)
Government Yemen
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Yemen conventional short form: Yemen local short form: Al Yaman local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah
Government type: republic
Capital: Sanaa
Administrative divisions: 17 governorates (muhafazat, singular -muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, AlMahwit, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a',Shabwah, Ta'izz note: there may be three more governorates: Ad Dali',Amran, and the capital city of Sanaa
Independence: 22 May 1990, Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]; previously North Yemen had become independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)
National holiday: Unification Day, 22 May (1990)
Constitution: 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001
Legal system: based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Field Marshall Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL (since 4 April 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 96.3%, Najib Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7% elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a seven-year term (recently extended from a five-year term by constitutional amendment); election last held 23 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president
Legislative branch: a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) election results: Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, independents 54, election pending 1; seats by party as of January 2002: Baath Party 2, YSP 2, independents 7 elections: last held 27 April 1997 (next to be held 27 April 2003)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: there are over 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; National Arab Socialist Baath Party [Dr. Qassim SALAAM]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL] note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won a landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and no longer governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah - the two parties had been in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, a loyal opposition party, boycotted the April 1997 legislative election, but announced that it would participate in Yemen's first local elections which were held in February 2001; these local elections aim to decentralize political power and are a key element of the government's political reform program
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU,CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer),OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: AmbassadorAbd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 telephone: [1](202) 965-4760 chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington,DC 20037
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: AmbassadorEdmund J. HULL (since 17 September 2001) embassy: Dhahar Himyar Zone,Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaatelephone: [967] (1) 303-161 FAX: [967] (1) 303-182
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band
Economy Yemen
Economy - overview: Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production, but has been harmed by periodic declines in oil prices. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. Aided by higher oil prices in 1999-2000, Yemen worked to maintain tight control over spending and implement additional components of the IMF program. A high population growth rate and internal political dissension complicate the government's task.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $14.8 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $820 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 17% industry: 40% services: 43% (1998)
Population below poverty line: NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 25.9% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 33.4 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (2001 est.)
Labor force: NA
Labor force - by occupation: most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force
Unemployment rate: 30% (1995 est.)
Budget: revenues: $3 billion expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries: crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 3.2 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 2.976 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish
Exports: $3.9 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish
Exports - partners: Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Singapore 9%, Japan 3%, Saudi Arabia 3% (1999)
Imports: $3 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: food and live animals, machinery and equipment
Imports - partners: Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, France 7%, US 7%, Italy 6% (1999)
Debt - external: $4.7 billion (2001)
Economic aid - recipient: $176.1 million (1995)
Currency: Yemeni rial (YER)
Currency code: YER
Exchange rates: Yemeni rials per US dollar - 171.860 (December 2001), 168.678 (2001), 161.718 (2000), 155.718 (1999), 135.882 (1998), 129.281 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Yemen
Telephones - main lines in use: 291,359 (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 32,042 (2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti
Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios: 1.05 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 470,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .ye
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 14,000 (2001)
Transportation Yemen
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 69,263 km paved: 9,963 km unpaved: 59,300 km (1999)
Waterways: none
Pipelines: crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km
Ports and harbors: Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa,Mocha, Nishtun
Merchant marine: total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,002GRT/23,752 DWT ships by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3 note: includessome foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience:Hong Kong 2 (2002 est.)
Airports: 49 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 14 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 35 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 4 (2001)
Military Yemen
Military branches: Army (includes Special Forces, established in 1999),Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Republican Guard
Military manpower - military age: 14 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 4,272,156 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 2,397,914 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 238,690 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $482.5 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 5.2% (FY01)
Military - note: establishement of a Coast Guard, scheduled for May 2001, has been delayed
Transnational Issues Yemen
Disputes - international: demarcation of delimited boundary with Saudi Arabia involves nomadic tribal affiliations; Yemen has asserted traditional fishing rights to islands ceded to Eritrea in ICJ ruling
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Zambia
Introduction
Zambia
Background: The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the South Africa Company from 1891 until it was taken over by the UK in 1923. During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred development and immigration. The name was changed to Zambia upon independence in 1964. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule, but the subsequent vote in 1996 saw blatant harassment of opposition parties. The election in 2001 was marked by administrative problems with at least two parties filing legal petitions challenging the results. Opposition parties currently hold a majority of seats in the National Assembly.
Geography Zambia
Location: Southern Africa, east of Angola
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 S, 30 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 752,614 sq km water: 11,890 sq km land: 740,724 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Texas
Land boundaries: total: 5,664 km border countries: Angola 1,110 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,930 km, Malawi 837 km, Mozambique 419 km, Namibia 233 km, Tanzania 338 km, Zimbabwe 797 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April)
Terrain: mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Zambezi river 329 m highest point: unnamed location in Mafinga Hills 2,301 m
Natural resources: copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 7% permanent crops: 0% other: 93% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 460 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: tropical storms (November to April)
Environment - current issues: air pollution and resulting acid rain in the mineral extraction and refining region; chemical runoff into watersheds; poaching seriously threatens rhinoceros, elephant, antelope, and large cat populations; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; lack of adequate water treatment presents human health risks
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zimbabwe
People Zambia
Population: 9,959,037 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 47.1% (male 2,357,581; female 2,335,644) 15-64 years: 50.4% (male 2,497,360; female 2,519,227) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 106,160; female 143,065) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.9% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 41.01 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 21.89 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 89.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 37.66 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility rate: 5.43 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 19.95% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 870,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 99,000 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Zambian(s) adjective: Zambian
Ethnic groups: African 98.7%, European 1.1%, other 0.2%
Religions: Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous beliefs 1%
Languages: English (official), major vernaculars - Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi,Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write English total population:Government Zambia
Country name: Republic of Zambia conventional short form: Government type: republic
Capital: Lusaka
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces; Central, Copperbelt, Eastern,Luapula, Lusaka, Northern, North-Western, Southern, Western
Independence: 24 October 1964 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 24 October (1964)
Constitution: 2 August 1991
Legal system: based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in an ad hoc constitutional council; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Levy MWANAWASA (since 2 January 2002); Vice President Enoch KAVINDELE (since 4 May 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Levy MWANAWASA (since 2 January 2002); Vice President Enoch KAVINDELE (since 4 May 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 27 December 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); vice president appointed by the president election results: Levy MWANAWASA elected president; percent of vote - Levy MWANAWASA 29%, Anderson MAZOKA 27%, Christon TEMBO 13%, Tilyenji KAUNDA 10%, Godfrey MIYANDA 8%, Benjamin MWILA 5%, Michael SATA 3%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 27 December 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - MMD 45.9%, UPND 32.4%, UNIP 8.8%, FDD 8.1%, HP 2.7%, PF 0.7%, ZRP 0.7%, independents 0.7%; seats by party - MMD 68, UPND 48, UNIP 13, FDD 12, HP 4, PF 1, ZRP 1, independents 1; seats not determined 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (the final court of appeal; justices are appointed by the president); High Court (has unlimited jurisdiction to hear civil and criminal cases)
Political parties and leaders: Agenda for Zambia or AZ [Inonge MBIKUSITA-LEWANIKA]; Forum for Democracy and Development or FDD [Christon TEMBO]; Heritage Party or HP [Godfrey MIYANDA]; Liberal Progressive Front or LPF [Roger CHONGWE, president]; Movement for Multiparty Democracy or MMD [Frederick CHILUBA, president]; National Citizens Coalition or NCC [Nevers MUMBA, president]; National Leadership for Development or NLD [Yobert SHAMAPANDE]; National Party or NP [Dr. Sam CHIPUNGU]; Patriotic Front or PF [Michael SATA]; Zambian Republican Party or ZRP [Benjamin MWILA]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Gwendoline Konie]; United National Independence Party or UNIP [Francis NKHOMA, president]; United Party for National Development or UPND [Anderson MAZOKA]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO,G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN,UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Atan SHANSONGA FAX: [1] (202) 332-0826 telephone: [1] (202) 265-9717 through 9719 chancery: 2419 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador David B. DUNN embassy: corner of Independence and United Nations Avenues mailing address: P. O. Box 31617, Lusaka telephone: [260] (1) 250-955 FAX: [260] (1) 252-225
Flag description: green with a panel of three vertical bands of red (hoist side), black, and orange below a soaring orange eagle, on the outer edge of the flag
Economy Zambia
Economy - overview: Despite progress in privatization and budgetary reform, Zambia's economy has a long way to go. Privatization of government-owned copper mines relieved the government from covering mammoth losses generated by the industry and greatly improved the chances for copper mining to return to profitability and spur economic growth. However, low mineral prices have slowed the benefits from privatizing the mines and reduced incentives for further private investment in the sector. In late 2000, Zambia was determined to be eligible for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, but Zambia has not yet finalized its Poverty Reduction Strategy paper. Unemployment rates remain high, but GDP growth should continue at about 4%. Inflation should remain close to 20%.