Geography - note:the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, justabout one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe
People World
Population:6,446,131,400 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:0-14 years: 27.8% (male 919,726,623; female 870,468,158)15-64 years: 64.9% (male 2,117,230,183; female 2,066,864,970)65 years and over: 7.3% (male 207,903,775; female 263,627,270)note: some countries do not maintain age structure information, thusa slight discrepancy exists between the total world population andthe total for world age structure (2005 est.)
Median age: total: 27.6 years male: 27 years female: 28.2 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:1.14% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:20.15 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:at birth: 1.06 male(s)/femaleunder 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/femaletotal population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:total: 50.11 deaths/1,000 live birthsmale: 52.1 deaths/1,000 live birthsfemale: 48.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:total population: 64.33 yearsmale: 62.73 yearsfemale: 66.04 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:2.6 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:NA
Religions:Christians 32.84% (of which Roman Catholics 17.34%, Protestants5.78%, Orthodox 3.44%, Anglicans 1.27%), Muslims 19.9%, Hindus13.29%, Buddhists 5.92%, Sikhs 0.39%, Jews 0.23%, other religions12.63%, non-religious 12.44%, atheists 2.36% (2003 est.)
Languages:Chinese, Mandarin 13.69%, Spanish 5.05%, English 4.84%, Hindi2.82%, Portuguese 2.77%, Bengali 2.68%, Russian 2.27%, Japanese1.99%, German, Standard 1.49%, Chinese, Wu 1.21% (2004 est.)note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
Literacy:definition: age 15 and over can read and writetotal population: 82%male: 87%female: 77%note: over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adultsare found in only eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh,Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt); of all theilliterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely lowliteracy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and WestAsia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where aroundone-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.)
Government World
Administrative divisions:271 nations, dependent areas, and other entities
Legal system:all members of the UN are parties to the statute that establishedthe International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
Economy World
Economy - overview: Global output rose by 4.9% in 2004, led by China (9.1%), Russia (6.7%), and India (6.2%). 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 continued as strong performers, in the 7% range of growth. Growth results posted by the major industrial countries varied from a small gain in Italy (1.3%) to a strong gain by the United States (4.4%). The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that erode 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 Iraq, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central government is losing decisionmaking powers to international bodies, notably the European Union. 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 75 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 an 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. The opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. After the coalition victory, the complex political difficulties and the high economic cost of establishing domestic order in Iraq became major global problems that continued into 2005.
GDP (purchasing power parity): GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $55.5 trillion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:4.9% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:agriculture: 4%industry: 32%services: 64% (2004 est.)
Labor force:NA
Labor force - by occupation:agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate:30% combined unemployment and underemployment in manynon-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12%unemployment
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; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third World countries (2004 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 smallportion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting tothese technological forces; the accelerated development of newindustrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating alreadygrim environmental problems
Industrial production growth rate:3% (2003 est.)
Electricity - production:15.29 trillion kWh (2002 est.)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: NA hydro: NA nuclear: NA other: NA (2001)
Electricity - consumption:14.28 trillion kWh (2002 est.)
Electricity - exports:500.8 billion kWh (2002 est.)
Electricity - imports:497.6 billion kWh (2002 est.)
Oil - production:76.01 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:77.04 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - proved reserves:1.025 trillion bbl (1 January 2002 est.)
Natural gas - production:2.637 trillion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:2.599 trillion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:693.7 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:718.7 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:161.2 trillion cu m (1 January 2002)
Exports:$8.819 trillion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities:the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Exports - partners:US 15.7%, Germany 7.7%, China 5.4%, France 5.1%, UK 5.1%, Japan4.5% (2004)
Imports:$8.754 trillion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities:the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Imports - partners:Germany 9.4%, US 9.3%, China 8.5%, Japan 6.5%, France 4.5% (2004)
Debt - external:$12.7 trillion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:$154 billion official development assistance (ODA) (2004)
Communications World
Telephones - main lines in use:843,923,500 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular:NA
Telephone system:general assessment: NAdomestic: NAinternational: 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:604,111,719 (2002 est.)
Transportation World
Railways:total: 1,115,205 kmbroad gauge: 257,481 kmstandard gauge: 671,413 kmnarrow gauge: 186,311 km (2003)
Highways: total: 32,345,165 km paved: 19,403,061 km unpaved: 12,942,104 km (2002)
Waterways:671,886 km (2004)
Merchant marine:total ships: 30,936 (2005)
Airports:49,973 (2004)
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.)
Transnational Issues World
Disputes - international:stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 325 international landboundaries separate the 192 independent states and 73 dependencies,areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities;ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided statesinto separate political entities as much as history, physicalterrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimesarbitrary and imposed boundaries; maritime states have claimedlimits and have so far established over 130 maritime boundaries andjoint development zones to allocate ocean resources and to providefor national security at sea; boundary, borderland/resource, andterritorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant toviolent or militarized; most disputes over the alignment ofpolitical boundaries are confined to short segments and are todayless common and less hostile than borderland, resource, andterritorial disputes; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, andunmanaged boundaries, however, encourage illegal cross-borderactivities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorialdisputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or theymay be brought on by resource competition; ethnic clashes continueto be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation aroundthe world; disputes over islands at sea or in rivers frequently formthe source of territorial and boundary conflict; other sources ofcontention include access to water and mineral (especiallypetroleum) resources, fisheries, and arable land; nonetheless, mostnations cooperate to clarify their international boundaries and toresolve territorial and resource disputes peacefully; regionaldiscord directly affects the sustenance and welfare of localpopulations, often leaving the world community to cope withresultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, deforestation,and desertification
Refugees and internally displaced persons:the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimatedthat in December 2003 there was a global population of 9.7 millionrefugees and as many as 25 million IDPs
Illicit drugs:cocaine: worldwide, coca is grown on an estimated 173,450 hectares- almost exclusively in South America with 70% in Colombia;potential cocaine production during 2003 is estimated at 728 metrictons (or 835 metric tons of export quality cocaine); cocaeradication programs continue in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru; 376metric tons of export quality cocaine are documented to have beenseized in 2003, and 26 metric tons disrupted (jettisoned ordestroyed); consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated tohave been 800 metric tonsopiates: cultivation of opium poppy occurred on an estimated 137,944hectares in 2003 - mostly in Southwest and Southeast Asia - with 44%in Afghanistan, potentially produced 3,775 metric tons of opium,which conceivably could be converted to the equivalent of 429 metrictons of pure heroin; opium eradication programs have been undertakenin Afghanistan, Burma, Colombia, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, andVietnam
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
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@Yemen
Introduction Yemen
Background:North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. TheBritish, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern portof Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became SouthYemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxistorientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenisfrom the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostilitybetween the states. The two countries were formally unified as theRepublic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to adelimitation of their border.
Geography Yemen
Location:Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea,between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates:15 00 N, 48 00 E
Map references:Middle East
Area:total: 527,970 sq kmland: 527,970 sq kmwater: 0 sq kmnote: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YARor North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic ofYemen (PDRY or South Yemen)
Area - comparative:slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
Land boundaries: total: 1,746 km border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
Coastline: 1,906 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate:mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in westernmountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry,harsh desert in east
Terrain:narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and ruggedmountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into thedesert interior of the Arabian Peninsula
Elevation extremes:lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 mhighest 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: 2.78% permanent crops: 0.24% other: 96.98% (2001)
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 ofpotable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Environment - international agreements:party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-KyotoProtocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, EnvironmentalModification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone LayerProtectionsigned, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Seaand the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes
People Yemen
Population:20,727,063 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:0-14 years: 46.5% (male 4,905,831/female 4,727,177)15-64 years: 50.8% (male 5,364,711/female 5,172,811)65 years and over: 2.7% (male 274,166/female 282,367) (2005 est.)
Median age:total: 16.54 yearsmale: 16.53 yearsfemale: 16.56 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:3.45% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:43.07 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:8.53 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:at birth: 1.05 male(s)/femaleunder 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/femaletotal population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:total: 61.5 deaths/1,000 live birthsmale: 66.26 deaths/1,000 live birthsfemale: 56.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:total population: 61.75 yearsmale: 59.89 yearsfemale: 63.71 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:6.67 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:12,000 (2001 est.)
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 ofJewish, Christian, and Hindu
Languages:Arabic
Literacy:definition: age 15 and over can read and writetotal population: 50.2%male: 70.5%female: 30% (2003 est.)
Government Yemen
Country name:conventional long form: Republic of Yemenconventional short form: Yemenlocal long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyahlocal short form: Al Yamanformer: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] andPeople's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]
Government type:republic
Capital:Sanaa
Administrative divisions:19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, AdDali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit,'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah,San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izznote: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city ofSanaa is treated as an additional governorate
Independence:22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen established with the merger of theYemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and theMarxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen(Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen had becomeindependent in November of 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and SouthYemen 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 localtribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:chief of state: President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990,the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the mergerof North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-RabMansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL (since 4April 2001)cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on theadvice of the prime ministerelections: president elected by direct, popular vote for aseven-year term (recently extended from a five-year term byconstitutional amendment); election last held 23 September 1999(next to be held NA 2006); vice president appointed by thepresident; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed bythe presidentelection results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent ofvote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 96.3%, Najib Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7%
Legislative branch:a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 createda 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)elections: last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held NA April 2009)election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National ArabSocialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14
Judicial branch:Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:there are more than 12 political parties active in Yemen, some ofthe more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [PresidentAli Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [ShaykhAbdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malikal-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. QassimSALAAM]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won alandslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and nolonger governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husaynal-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah - the two parties hadbeen in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, aloyal opposition party, represents the remnants of the former SouthYemeni leadership; leaders of the 1994 secessionist movement havebeen pardoned by President SALIH and some are now returning to Yemenfrom exile
Political pressure groups and leaders:NA
International organization participation:AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory),ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer),OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCO,WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017
Diplomatic representation from the US:chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas C. KRAJESKIembassy: Saawan Street, Sanaamailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaatelephone: [967] (1) 303-151 through 159FAX: [967] (1) 303-160/161/162/164/165
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 Iraqwhich has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in ahorizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flagof 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, has reportedstrong growth since 2000, but its economic fortunes depend mostly onoil. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustmentprogram designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which hasled to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. Yemen hasworked to maintain tight control over spending and to implementadditional components of the IMF program, but a high populationgrowth rate and internal political dissension complicate thegovernment's task. Plans include a diversification of the economy,encouragement of tourism, and more efficient use of scarce waterresources.
GDP (purchasing power parity):$16.25 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:1.9% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:purchasing power parity - $800 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 15.5% industry: 44.7% services: 39.7% (2004 est.)
Labor force: 5.98 million (2004 est.)
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:35% (2003 est.)
Population below poverty line:45.2% (2003)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:lowest 10%: 3%highest 10%: 25.9% (2003)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:33.4 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):12.2% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):16.1% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget:revenues: $4.251 billionexpenditures: $4.568 billion, including capital expenditures of NA(2004 est.)
Public debt:46.4% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products:grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub),coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle,camels), poultry; fish
Industries:crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale productionof cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts;small aluminum products factory; cement; commercial ship repair
Industrial production growth rate:3% (2003 est.)
Electricity - production:3.04 billion kWh (2002 est.)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:2.827 billion kWh (2002 est.)
Electricity - exports:0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports:0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production:417,500 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption:78,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports:370,300 bbl/day (2003)
Oil - imports:NA
Oil - proved reserves:4 billion bbl (2004 est.)
Natural gas - production:0 cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:0 cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - exports:0 cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - imports:0 cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:480 billion cu m (2004)
Current account balance:$369.9 million (2004 est.)
Exports:$4.468 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities:crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish
Exports - partners:Thailand 33.8%, China 30.3%, Singapore 7.8% (2004)
Imports:$3.734 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners:UAE 12.2%, Saudi Arabia 9.7%, China 8.8%, France 7.3%, India 4.4%,US 4.4%, Kuwait 4.2% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:$5.3 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external:$5.4 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:$2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements) (2003-07 disbursements)
Currency (code):Yemeni rial (YER)
Currency code:YER
Exchange rates:Yemeni rials per US dollar - 184.78 (2004), 183.45 (2003), 175.63(2002), 168.67 (2001), 161.72 (2000)
Fiscal year:calendar year
Communications Yemen
Telephones - main lines in use:542,200 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular:411,100 (2002)
Telephone system:general assessment: since unification in 1990, efforts have beenmade to create a national telecommunications networkdomestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay,cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephonesystemsinternational: country code - 967; satellite earth stations - 3Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik(Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay toSaudi 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 hosts:138 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):1 (2000)
Internet users:100,000 (2002)
Transportation Yemen
Highways: total: 67,000 km paved: 7,705 km unpaved: 59,295 km (1999 est.)
Pipelines:gas 88 km; oil 1,174 km (2004)
Ports and harbors:Aden, Nishtun
Merchant marine:total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 19,766 GRT/24,794 DWTby type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 2, rollon/roll off 1registered in other countries: 2 (2005)
Airports:44 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:total: 16over 3,047 m: 32,438 to 3,047 m: 91,524 to 2,437 m: 2914 to 1,523 m: 1under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:total: 28over 3,047 m: 22,438 to 3,047 m: 71,524 to 2,437 m: 4914 to 1,523 m: 11under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.)
Military Yemen
Military branches:Army (includes Special Forces), Naval Forces and Coastal Defenses(includes Marines), Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces),Republican Guard (2002)
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2004)
Manpower available for military service:males age 18-49: 4,058,223 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:males age 18-49: 2,790,705 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:males: 236,517 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:$885.5 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:7.8% (2003)
Military - note:a Coast Guard was established in 2002
Transnational Issues Yemen
Disputes - international:Yemen protests Eritrea fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded toYemen by the ICJ in 1999; despite resistance from nomadic groups,the demarcation of the Saudi Arabia-Yemen boundary established underthe 2000 Jeddah Treaty is almost complete; Yemen protests Saudierection of a concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier in 2004 tostem illegal cross-border activities in sections of the boundary
Refugees and internally displaced persons:refugees (country of origin): 60,901 (Somalia) (2004)
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
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@Zambia
Introduction Zambia
Background:The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the SouthAfrica Company from 1891 until it was taken over by the UK in 1923.During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred developmentand immigration. The name was changed to Zambia upon independence in1964. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices and aprolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an endto one-party rule, but the subsequent vote in 1996 saw blatantharassment of opposition parties. The election in 2001 was marked byadministrative problems with three parties filing a legal petitionchallenging the election of ruling party candidate Levy MWANAWASA.The new president launched a far-reaching anti-corruption campaignin 2002, which resulted in the prosecution of former PresidentFrederick CHILUBA and many of his supporters in late 2003.Opposition parties currently hold a majority of seats in theNational 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 kmland: 740,724 sq kmwater: 11,890 sq km
Area - comparative:slightly larger than Texas
Land boundaries:total: 5,664 kmborder countries: Angola 1,110 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo1,930 km, Malawi 837 km, Mozambique 419 km, Namibia 233 km, Tanzania338 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 mhighest 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: 7.08% permanent crops: 0.03% other: 92.9% (2001)
Irrigated land:460 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:periodic drought, tropical storms (November to April)
Environment - current issues:air pollution and resulting acid rain in the mineral extraction andrefining region; chemical runoff into watersheds; poaching seriouslythreatens rhinoceros, elephant, antelope, and large cat populations;deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; lack of adequate watertreatment presents human health risks
Environment - international agreements:party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, EndangeredSpecies, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection,Wetlandssigned, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note:landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary withZimbabwe
People Zambia
Population:11,261,795note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account theeffects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lowerlife expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lowerpopulation and growth rates, and changes in the distribution ofpopulation by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July2005 est.)
Age structure:0-14 years: 46.5% (male 2,626,911/female 2,609,857)15-64 years: 51.1% (male 2,848,402/female 2,904,376)65 years and over: 2.4% (male 118,043/female 154,206) (2005 est.)
Median age:total: 16.46 yearsmale: 16.26 yearsfemale: 16.67 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:2.12% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:41.38 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:20.23 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:at birth: 1.03 male(s)/femaleunder 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/femaletotal population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:total: 88.29 deaths/1,000 live birthsmale: 95.63 deaths/1,000 live birthsfemale: 80.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:total population: 39.7 yearsmale: 39.43 yearsfemale: 39.98 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:5.47 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:16.5% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:920,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:89,000 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:degree of risk: very highfood or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, andtyphoid fevervectorborne diseases: malaria and plague are high risks in somelocationswater contact disease: schistosomiasis (2004)
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:definition: age 15 and over can read and write Englishtotal population: 80.6%male: 86.8%female: 74.8% (2003 est.)
Government Zambia
Country name:conventional long form: Republic of Zambiaconventional short form: Zambiaformer: Northern Rhodesia
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:24 August 1991
Legal system:based on English common law and customary law; judicial review oflegislative acts in an ad hoc constitutional council; has notaccepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:chief of state: President Levy MWANAWASA (since 2 January 2002);Vice President Lupando MWAPE (since 4 October 2004); note - thepresident is both the chief of state and head of governmenthead of government: President Levy MWANAWASA (since 2 January 2002);Vice President Lupando MWAPE (since 4 October 2004); note - thepresident is both the chief of state and head of governmentcabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the membersof the National Assemblyelections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;election last held 27 December 2001 (next to be held December 2006);vice president appointed by the presidentelection 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%, MichaelSATA 3%, other 5%
Legislative branch:unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; members are elected bypopular vote to serve five-year terms)elections: last held 27 December 2001 (next to be held December 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, ZRP1, independents 1; seats not determined 2
Judicial branch:Supreme Court (the final court of appeal; justices are appointed bythe president); High Court (has unlimited jurisdiction to hear civiland criminal cases)
Political parties and leaders:Agenda for Zambia or AZ [Inonge MBIKUSITA-LEWANIKA]; Forum forDemocracy and Development or FDD [Christon TEMBO]; Heritage Party orHP [Godfrey MIYANDA]; Liberal Progressive Front or LPF [RogerCHONGWE, president]; Movement for Multiparty Democracy or MMD [LevyMWANAWASA, acting president]; National Leadership for Development orNLD [Yobert SHAMAPANDE]; National Party or NP [Dr. Sam CHIPUNGU];Patriotic Front or PF [Michael SATA]; Zambian Republican Party orZRP [Benjamin MWILA]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [GwendolineKONIE]; United National Independence Party or UNIP [Francis NKHOMA,president]; United Party for National Development or UPND [AndersonMAZOKA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:NA
International organization participation:ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM,IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO(correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN,UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI,UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Inonge MBIKUSITA-LEWANIKA chancery: 2419 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-9717 through 9719 FAX: [1] (202) 332-0826
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Martin George BRENNAN 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 ofthe flag
Economy Zambia
Economy - overview:Despite progress in privatization and budgetary reform, Zambia'seconomic growth remains somewhat below the 5% to 7% needed to reducepoverty significantly. Privatization of government-owned coppermines relieved the government from covering mammoth losses generatedby the industry and greatly improved the chances for copper miningto return to profitability and spur economic growth. Copper outputincreased in 2004 and is expected to increase again in 2005, due tohigher copper prices and the opening of new mines. The maize harvestwas again good in 2004, helping boost GDP and agricultural exports.Cooperation continues with international bodies on programs toreduce poverty, including a new lending arrangement with the IMF inthe second quarter, 2004. A tighter monetary policy will help cutinflation, but Zambia still has a serious problem with fiscaldiscipline.
GDP (purchasing power parity):$9.409 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:4.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:purchasing power parity - $900 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 14.9% industry: 28.9% services: 56.1% (2004 est.)
Labor force:4.63 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:agriculture 85%, industry 6%, services 9%
Unemployment rate:50% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line:86% (1993)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.1% highest 10%: 41% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:52.6 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):18.3% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):41.4% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget:revenues: $1.129 billionexpenditures: $1.307 billion, including capital expenditures of NA(2004 est.)
Public debt:127.5% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products:corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts, sunflower seed, vegetables, flowers,tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca); cattle, goats, pigs,poultry, milk, eggs, hides; coffee
Industries:copper mining and processing, construction, foodstuffs, beverages,chemicals, textiles, fertilizer, horticulture
Industrial production growth rate:6.9% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production:8.167 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 0.5% hydro: 99.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:5.345 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports:2.25 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports:0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production:0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:11,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:NA
Oil - imports:NA
Current account balance:$-181.4 million (2004 est.)
Exports:$1.548 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities:copper/cobalt 64%, cobalt, electricity, tobacco, flowers, cotton
Exports - partners:South Africa 25.6%, UK 17%, Switzerland 16%, Tanzania 7.4%,Democratic Republic of the Congo 7%, Zimbabwe 5.8% (2004)
Imports:$1.519 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products,electricity, fertilizer; foodstuffs, clothing
Imports - partners:South Africa 46.2%, UK 14.2%, UAE 7.1%, Zimbabwe 6% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:$345 million (2004 est.)
Debt - external:$5.353 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:$651 million (2000 est.)
Currency (code):Zambian kwacha (ZMK)
Currency code:ZMK
Exchange rates:Zambian kwacha per US dollar - 4,778.9 (2004), 4,733.3 (2003),4,398.6 (2002), 3,610.9 (2001), 3,110.8 (2000)
Fiscal year:calendar year
Communications Zambia
Telephones - main lines in use:88,400 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular:241,000 (2003)
Telephone system:general assessment: facilities are aging but still among the bestin Sub-Saharan Africadomestic: high-capacity microwave radio relay connects most largertowns and cities; several cellular telephone services in operation;Internet service is widely available; very small aperture terminal(VSAT) networks are operated by private firmsinternational: country code - 260; satellite earth stations - 2Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:AM 19, FM 5, shortwave 4 (2001)
Radios:1.2 million (2001)
Television broadcast stations:9 (2002)
Televisions:277,000 (1997)
Internet country code:.zm
Internet hosts:1,880 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):5 (2001)
Internet users:68,200 (2003)
Transportation Zambia
Railways:total: 2,173 kmnarrow gauge: 2,173 km 1.067-m gaugenote: includes 891 km of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority(TAZARA) (2004)
Highways:total: 91,440 kmpaved: 20,117 kmunpaved: 71,323 km (2001)
Waterways:2,250 kmnote: includes Lake Tanganyika and the Zambezi and Luapula rivers(2003)
Pipelines:oil 771 km (2004)
Ports and harbors:Mpulungu
Airports:109 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:total: 10over 3,047 m: 12,438 to 3,047 m: 31,524 to 2,437 m: 4914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:total: 992,438 to 3,047 m: 11,524 to 2,437 m: 4914 to 1,523 m: 62under 914 m: 32 (2004 est.)
Military Zambia
Military branches:Zambian National Defense Force (ZNDF): Army, Air Force, Police,National Service
Military service age and obligation:18 years of age (est.) (2004)
Manpower available for military service:males age 18-49: 2,219,739 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:males age 18-49: 1,043,702 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:$106.8 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:1.8% (2004)
Transnational Issues Zambia
Disputes - international:in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections and joined Namibia insupporting plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge overthe Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but notclearly delimited Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river; 90,000Angolan refugees were repatriated from Zambia by 2004, the remaining160,000 are expected to return in 2005
Refugees and internally displaced persons:refugees (country of origin): 158,894 (Angola) 58,405 (DemocraticRepublic of the Congo) 5,767 (Rwanda) (2004)
Illicit drugs:transshipment point for moderate amounts of methaqualone, smallamounts of heroin, and cocaine bound for Southern Africa andpossibly Europe; a poorly developed financial infrastructure coupledwith a government commitment to combating money laundering make itan unattractive venue for money launderers
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
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@Zimbabwe
Introduction Zimbabwe
Background:The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the South Africa Company in1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated that favored whites inpower. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared itsindependence, but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded morecomplete voting rights for the black African majority in the country(then called Rhodesia). UN sanctions and a guerrilla uprisingfinally led to free elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe)in 1980. Robert MUGABE, the nation's first prime minister, has beenthe country's only ruler (as president since 1987) and has dominatedthe country's political system since independence. His chaotic landredistribution campaign begun in 2000 caused an exodus of whitefarmers, crippled the economy, and ushered in widespread shortagesof basic commodities. Ignoring international condemnation, MUGABErigged the 2002 presidential election to ensure his reelection.Opposition and labor groups launched general strikes in 2003 topressure MUGABE to retire early; security forces continued theirbrutal repression of regime opponents.
Geography Zimbabwe
Location:Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia
Geographic coordinates:20 00 S, 30 00 E
Map references:Africa
Area:total: 390,580 sq kmland: 386,670 sq kmwater: 3,910 sq km
Area - comparative:slightly larger than Montana
Land boundaries:total: 3,066 kmborder countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa225 km, Zambia 797 km
Coastline:0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:none (landlocked)
Climate:tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March)
Terrain:mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld);mountains in east
Elevation extremes:lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 mhighest point: Inyangani 2,592 m
Natural resources:coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore,vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals
Land use: arable land: 8.32% permanent crops: 0.34% other: 91.34% (2001)
Irrigated land:1,170 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and water pollution; the black rhinoceros herd - once the largest concentration of the species in the world - has been significantly reduced by poaching; poor mining practices have led to toxic waste and heavy metal pollution
Environment - international agreements:party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, EndangeredSpecies, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protectionsigned, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary withZambia; in full flood (February-April) the massive Victoria Falls onthe river forms the world's largest curtain of falling water
People Zimbabwe
Population:12,746,990note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account theeffects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lowerlife expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lowerpopulation and growth rates, and changes in the distribution ofpopulation by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July2005 est.)
Age structure:0-14 years: 39.2% (male 2,522,609/female 2,474,131)15-64 years: 57.1% (male 3,686,354/female 3,592,662)65 years and over: 3.7% (male 235,478/female 235,756) (2005 est.)
Median age:total: 19.26 yearsmale: 19.28 yearsfemale: 19.24 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:0.51% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:29.74 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:24.66 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:0 migrant(s)/1,000 population negligible migrant(s)/1,000 populationnote: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africaand Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2005 est.)