Chapter XII: Front Matter (12)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$562 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$6.011 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$127 million (2001 est.)

Currency:
kyat (MMK)

Currency code:
MMK

Exchange rates:
kyats per US dollar - 6.0764 (2003), 6.5734 (2002), 6.6841 (2001),
6.5167 (2000), 6.2858 (1999)
note: these are official exchange rates; unofficial exchange rates
ranged in 2003 from 100 kyat/US dollar to nearly 1000 kyat/US dollar

Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

Communications Burma

Telephones - main lines in use:
357,300 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
66,500 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: barely meets minimum requirements for local and
intercity service for business and government; international service
is fair
domestic: NA
international: country code - 95; satellite earth station - 2,
Intelsat (Indian Ocean), and ShinSat

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 1 (2004)

Radios:
4.2 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
2 (2004)

Televisions:
320,000 (2000)

Internet country code:
.mm

Internet hosts:
3 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1
note: as of September 2000, Internet connections were legal only for
the government, tourist offices, and a few large businesses (2000)

Internet users:
28,000 (2003)

Transportation Burma

Railways:
total: 3,955 km
narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2003)

Highways:
total: 28,200 km
paved: 3,440 km
unpaved: 24,760 km (1996 est.)

Waterways:
12,800 km (2004)

Pipelines:
gas 2,056 km; oil 558 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina, Pathein, Rangoon,
Sittwe, Tavoy

Merchant marine:
total: 31 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 384,529 GRT/608,609 DWT
foreign-owned: Germany 6, Japan 4 (2004 est.)
by type: bulk 8, cargo 18, container 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum
tanker 1

Airports:
79 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 9
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 69
under 914 m: 31 (2004 est.)
914 to 1,523 m: 20
over 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 16

Heliports:
1 (2003 est.)

Military Burma

Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service for both sexes (May
2002)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 12,450,884
females age 15-49: 12,457,077 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 6,609,995
females age 15-49: 6,595,611 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 441,333
females: 440,914 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$39 million (FY97)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.1% (FY97)

Transnational Issues Burma

Disputes - international:
despite continuing border committee talks, significant differences
remain with Thailand over boundary alignment and the handling of
ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities; groups
in Burma and Thailand express concern over China's construction of
13 hydroelectric dams on the Salween River in Yunnan Province; India
seeks cooperation from Burma to keep out Indian Nagaland insurgents

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 600,000 - 1,000,000 (government offensives against ethnic
insurgent groups near borders; most IDPs are ethnic Karen, Karenni,
Shan, and Mon) (2004)

Illicit drugs:
world's second largest producer of illicit opium (potential
production in 2003 - 484 metric tons, down 23% due to eradication
efforts and alternate development; cultivation in 2003 - 47,130
hectares, a 39% decline from 2002); surrender of drug warlord KHUN
SA's Mong Tai Army in January 1996 was hailed by Rangoon as a major
counternarcotics success, but lack of government will and ability to
take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment
against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug
effort; major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional
consumption; currently under Financial Action Task Force
countermeasures due to continued failure to address its inadequate
money-laundering controls

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

======================================================================

@Burundi

Introduction Burundi

Background:
Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated
in October 1993 after only one hundred days in office. Since then,
some 200,000 Burundians have perished in widespread, often intense
ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. Hundreds of
thousands have been internally displaced or have become refugees in
neighboring countries. Burundi troops, seeking to secure their
borders, briefly intervened in the conflict in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo in 1998. A new transitional government,
inaugurated on 1 November 2001, signed a power-sharing agreement
with the largest rebel faction in December 2003 and set in place a
provisional constitution in October 2004. Implementation of the
agreement has been problematic, however, as one remaining rebel
group refuses to sign on and elections have been repeatedly delayed,
clouding prospects for a sustainable peace.

Geography Burundi

Location:
Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo

Geographic coordinates:
3 30 S, 30 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 27,830 sq km
water: 2,180 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries:
total: 974 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda
290 km, Tanzania 451 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772
m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies
with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally
moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual
rainfall is about 150 cm; wet seasons from February to May and
September to November, and dry seasons from June to August and
December to January

Terrain:
hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
highest point: Mount Heha 2,670 m

Natural resources:
nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum
(not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 35.05%
permanent crops: 14.02%
other: 50.93% (2001)

Irrigated land:
740 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
flooding, landslides, drought

Environment - current issues:
soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the expansion of
agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little forested land
remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel); habitat
loss threatens wildlife populations

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes,
Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note:
landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the
Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote
headstream of the White Nile

People Burundi

Population:
6,231,221
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
2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 46.4% (male 1,459,251; female 1,430,332)
15-64 years: 50.9% (male 1,566,274; female 1,607,705)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 66,306; female 101,353) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 16.5 years
male: 16.1 years
female: 16.8 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.2% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
39.68 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
17.61 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
-0.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 70.4 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 63.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 77.15 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 43.36 years
male: 42.73 years
female: 44 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
5.9 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
6% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
250,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
25,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
typhoid fever, malaria
overall degree of risk: very high (2004)

Nationality:
noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundian

Ethnic groups:
Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans
3,000, South Asians 2,000

Religions:
Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous
beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%

Languages:
Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake
Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 51.6%
male: 58.5%
female: 45.2% (2003 est.)

Government Burundi

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Burundi
conventional short form: Burundi
local short form: Burundi
local long form: Republika y'u Burundi
former: Urundi

Government type:
republic

Capital:
Bujumbura

Administrative divisions:
16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke,
Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro,
Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi

Independence:
1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

Constitution:
13 March 1992; provided for establishment of a plural political
system; supplanted on 20 October 2004 by a provisional constitution
approved by the parliament, which extended the transition, set
ethnic quotas for government positions, and tentatively scheduled
elections for February-April 2005

Legal system:
based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
NA years of age; universal adult

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Domitien NDAYIZEYE (since 30 April 2003);
note - NDAYIZEYE, a Hutu, was sworn in as president for the second
half of the three-year transitional government inaugurated on 1
November 2001; Vice President Frederic NGENZEBUHORO (since 11
November 2004)
head of government: President Domitien NDAYIZEYE (since 30 April
2003); note - NDAYIZEYE, a Hutu, was sworn in as president for the
second half of the three-year transitional government inaugurated on
1 November 2001; Vice President Frederic NGENZEBUHORO (since 11
November 2004)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president
elections: NA; current president assumed power on 30 April 2003 as
part of the transitional government established by the 2000 Arusha
Accord

Legislative branch:
bicameral, consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale
(expanded from 121 to approximately 140 seats under the transitional
government inaugurated 1 November 2001; members are elected by
popular vote to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (54 seats; term
length is undefined, the current senators will likely serve out the
three-year transition period)
elections: last held 29 June 1993 (next was scheduled to be held in
1998, but was suspended by presidential decree in 1996; elections
are planned to follow the completion of the three-year transitional
government)
election results: percent of vote by party - FRODEBU 71.04%, UPRONA
21.4%, other 7.56%; seats by party - FRODEBU 65, UPRONA 16,
civilians 27, other parties 13

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; Courts of
Appeal (there are three in separate locations); Tribunals of First
Instance (17 at the province level and 123 small local tribunals)

Political parties and leaders:
the two national, mainstream, governing parties are: Unity for
National Progress or UPRONA [Alphonse KADEGE, president]; Burundi
Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Jean MINANI, president]
note: a multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are:
Burundi African Alliance for the Salvation or ABASA [Terrence
NSANZE]; Rally for Democracy and Economic and Social Development or
RADDES [Joseph NZEYIMANA]; Party for National Redress or PARENA
[Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA]; People's Reconciliation Party or PRP
[Mathias HITIMANA]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
loosely organized Hutu and Tutsi militias, often affiliated with
Hutu and Tutsi extremist parties or subordinate to government
security forces

International organization participation:
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Antoine NTAMOBWA
chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578
telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador James Howard YELLIN
embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura
mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura
telephone: [257] 223454
FAX: [257] 222926

Flag description:
divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom)
and green panels (hoist side and outer side) with a white disk
superimposed at the center bearing three red six-pointed stars
outlined in green arranged in a triangular design (one star above,
two stars below)

Economy Burundi

Economy - overview:
Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an
underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly
agricultural with roughly 90% of the population dependent on
subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea
exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The
ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather
conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi
minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the
coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the
population. Since October 1993 an ethnic-based war has resulted in
more than 200,000 deaths, forced 800,000 refugees into Tanzania, and
displaced 525,000 others internally. Doubts about the prospects for
sustainable peace continue to impede development. Only one in two
children go to school, and approximately one in ten adults has
HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $3.78 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
-1.3% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $600 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 47.4%
industry: 19.3%
services: 33.3% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
9.8% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
68% (2002 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 32.9% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
42.5 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
10.7% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
2.99 million (2002)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 93.6%, industry 2.3%, services 4.1% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate:
NA

Budget:
revenues: $179.4 million
expenditures: $209 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2003)

Agriculture - products:
coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc
(tapioca); beef, milk, hides

Industries:
light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of
imported components; public works construction; food processing

Industrial production growth rate:
18% (2001)

Electricity - production:
155.4 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
177.5 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
33 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
2,750 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Current account balance:
$-35 million (2003)

Exports:
$40 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides

Exports - partners:
Switzerland 31.6%, UK 15.8%, Netherlands 5.3%, Rwanda 5.3% (2003)

Imports:
$128 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
Kenya 14.6%, Tanzania 11.5%, Uganda 5.7%, France 5.1%, Zambia 5.1%,
China 4.5%, India 4.5%, Japan 4.5% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$67.4 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$1.133 billion (2002)

Economic aid - recipient:
$92.7 million (2000)

Currency:
Burundi franc (BIF)

Currency code:
BIF

Exchange rates:
Burundi francs per US dollar - 1,082.62 (2003), 930.75 (2002),
830.35 (2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Burundi

Telephones - main lines in use:
23,900 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
64,000 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: primitive system
domestic: sparse system of open-wire, radiotelephone communications,
and low-capacity microwave radio relay
international: country code - 257; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001)

Radios:
440,000 (2001)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (2001)

Televisions:
25,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.bi

Internet hosts:
22 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)

Internet users:
14,000 (2003)

Transportation Burundi

Highways:
total: 14,480 km
paved: 1,028 km
unpaved: 13,452 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Bujumbura

Airports:
8 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)

Military Burundi

Military branches:
Army (including Naval Detachment and Air Wing), National Gendarmerie

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
16 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service (2001)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,419,755 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 747,400 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 81,862 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$33.3 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
6% (2003)

Transnational Issues Burundi

Disputes - international:
Tutsi, Hutu, and other conflicting ethnic groups, associated
political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces
continue fighting in the Great Lakes region, transcending the
boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and
Uganda to gain control over populated and natural resource areas;
government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence
continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 60,288 (Democratic Republic of the
Congo)
IDPs: 140,000 (armed conflict between government and rebels; most
IDPs in northern and western Burundi) (2004)

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

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@Cambodia

Introduction Cambodia

Background:
Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, whose Angkor
Empire extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith
between the 10th and 13th centuries. Subsequently, attacks by the
Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the empire
ushering in a long period of decline. In 1863, the king of Cambodia
placed the country under French protection; it became part of French
Indochina in 1887. Following Japanese occupation in World War II,
Cambodia became independent within the French Union in 1949 and
fully independent in 1953. After a five-year struggle, Communist
Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh in April 1975 and ordered the
evacuation of all cities and towns; at least 1.5 million Cambodians
died from execution, enforced hardships, or starvation during the
Khmer Rouge regime under POL POT. A December 1978 Vietnamese
invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside, led to a
10-year Vietnamese occupation, and touched off almost 13 years of
civil war. The 1991 Paris Peace Accords mandated democratic
elections and a ceasefire, which was not fully respected by the
Khmer Rouge. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some
semblance of normalcy and the final elements of the Khmer Rouge
surrendered in early 1999. Factional fighting in 1997 ended the
first coalition government, but a second round of national elections
in 1998 led to the formation of another coalition government and
renewed political stability. The July 2003 elections were relatively
peaceful, but it took one year of negotiations between contending
political parties before a coalition government was formed.
Nation-wide local elections are scheduled for 2007 and national
elections for 2008.

Geography Cambodia

Location:
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between
Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos

Geographic coordinates:
13 00 N, 105 00 E

Map references:
Southeast Asia

Area:
total: 181,040 sq km
land: 176,520 sq km
water: 4,520 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Oklahoma

Land boundaries:
total: 2,572 km
border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km

Coastline:
443 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season
(December to April); little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain:
mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m

Natural resources:
oil and gas, timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese,
phosphates, hydropower potential

Land use:
arable land: 20.96%
permanent crops: 0.61%
other: 78.43% (2001)

Irrigated land:
2,700 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts

Environment - current issues:
illegal logging activities throughout the country and strip mining
for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand have
resulted in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular,
destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries); soil
erosion; in rural areas, most of the population does not have access
to potable water; declining fish stocks because of illegal fishing
and overfishing

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes,
Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note:
a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and
Tonle Sap

People Cambodia

Population:
13,363,421
note: estimates for this country 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 growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 38.3% (male 2,583,606; female 2,534,460)
15-64 years: 58.6% (male 3,742,178; female 4,095,303)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 149,466; female 258,408) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 19.5 years
male: 18.8 years
female: 20.4 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.8% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
27.13 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
9.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 73.67 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 64.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 82.51 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 58.41 years
male: 55.71 years
female: 61.23 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
3.51 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
2.6% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
170,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
15,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
typhoid fever, dengue fever, malaria, Japanese encephalitis
overall degree of risk: very high (2004)

Nationality:
noun: Cambodian(s)
adjective: Cambodian

Ethnic groups:
Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%

Religions:
Theravada Buddhist 95%, other 5%

Languages:
Khmer (official) 95%, French, English

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 69.4%
male: 80.8%
female: 59.3% (2002)

Government Cambodia

Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Cambodia
conventional short form: Cambodia
local short form: Kampuchea
former: Kingdom of Cambodia, Khmer Republic, Democratic Kampuchea,
People's Republic of Kampuchea, State of Cambodia
local long form: Preahreacheanacha Kampuchea (phonetic pronunciation)

Government type:
multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy established in
September 1993

Capital:
Phnom Penh

Administrative divisions:
20 provinces (khaitt, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities
(krong, singular and plural)
: provinces: Banteay Mean Chey, Batdambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong
Chhnang, Kampong Spoe, Kampong Thum, Kampot, Kandal, Koh Kong,
Kracheh, Mondol Kiri, Otdar Mean Chey, Pouthisat, Preah Vihear, Prey
Veng, Rotanakir, Siem Reab, Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng, Takao
: municipalities: Keb, Pailin, Phnom Penh, Preah Sihanouk (formerly
Kompong Som)

Independence:
9 November 1953 (from France)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 9 November (1953)

Constitution:
promulgated 21 September 1993

Legal system:
primarily a civil law mixture of French-influenced codes from the
United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) period,
royal decrees, and acts of the legislature, with influences of
customary law and remnants of communist legal theory; increasing
influence of common law in recent years

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: King Norodom SIHAMONI (since 29 October 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister HUN SEN (since 14 January 1985)
and Deputy Prime Ministers SAR KHENG (since 3 February 1992),
Norodom SIRIVUDH, SOK AN, LU LAY SRENG, TEA BANH, HOR NAMHONG, NHEK
BUNCHHAY (since 16 July 2004)
elections: none; the monarch is chosen by a Royal Throne Council;
following legislative elections, a member of the majority party or
majority coalition is named prime minister by the Chairman of the
National Assembly and appointed by the king
cabinet: Council of Ministers in theory appointed by the monarch; in
practice named by the prime minister

Legislative branch:
bicameral consists of the National Assembly (123 seats; members
elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Senate (61
seats; two members appointed by the monarch, two elected by the
National Assembly, and 57 elected by "functional constituencies";
members serve five-year terms)
election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CPP
47%, SRP 22%, FUNCINPEC 21%, other 10%; seats by party - CPP 73,
FUNCINPEC 26, SRP 24; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats
by party - CPP 31, FUNCINPEC 21, SRP 7, other 2 (July 2003)
elections: National Assembly - last held 27 July 2003 (next to be
held in July 2008); Senate - last held 2 March 1999 (scheduled to be
held in 2004 but delayed)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Council of the Magistracy (provided for in the constitution
and formed in December 1997); Supreme Court (and lower courts)
exercises judicial authority

Political parties and leaders:
Cambodian Pracheachon Party (Cambodian People's Party) or CPP [CHEA
SIM]; National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful,
and Cooperative Cambodia or FUNCINPEC [Prince NORODOM Ranariddh];
Sam Rangsi Party or SRP [SAM RANGSI]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO
(subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador EK SEREYWATH
chancery: 4530 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
FAX: [1] (202) 726-8381
telephone: [1] (202) 726-7742

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles Aaron RAY
embassy: 27 EO Street 240, Phnom Penh
mailing address: Box P, APO AP 96546
telephone: [855] (23) 216-436/438
FAX: [855] (23) 216-437/811

Flag description:
three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double width), and blue
with a white three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat outlined
in black in the center of the red band; only national flag to
incorporate a building in its design

Economy Cambodia

Economy - overview:
Cambodia's economy slowed dramatically in 1997-1998 due to the
regional economic crisis, civil violence, and political infighting.
Foreign investment and tourism fell off. In 1999, the first full
year of peace in 30 years, progress was made on economic reforms.
Growth resumed and has remained about 5.0% during 2000-2003. Tourism
was Cambodia's fastest growing industry, with arrivals up 34% in
2000 and up another 40% in 2001 before the 11 September 2001
terrorist attacks in the US. Cambodia expects 1 million foreign
tourists in 2004. Economic growth has been largely driven by
expansion in the clothing sector and tourism. Clothing exports were
fostered by the U.S.-Cambodian Bilateral Textile Agreement signed in
1999. Even given Cambodia's recent growth, the long-term development
of the economy after decades of war remains a daunting challenge.
The population lacks education and productive skills, particularly
in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost
total lack of basic infrastructure. Fear of renewed political
instability and a dysfunctional legal system coupled with government
corruption discourage foreign investment. The Cambodian government
continues to work with bilateral and multilateral donors to address
the country's many pressing needs. The major economic challenge for
Cambodia over the next decade will be fashioning an economic
environment in which the private sector can create enough jobs to
handle Cambodia's demographic imbalance. About 60% of the population
is 20 years or younger; most of these citizens will seek to enter
the workforce over the course of the next 10 years.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $25.02 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 35%
industry: 30%
services: 35% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
15.9% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
36% (1997 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 33.8% (1997)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
40.4 (1997)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.7% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
7 million (2003 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 75% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate:
2.5% (2000 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $476.5 million
expenditures: $734.8 million, including capital expenditures of $291
million of which 75% was financed by external assistance (2003 est.)

Agriculture - products:
rice, rubber, corn, vegetables, cashews, tapioca

Industries:
tourism, garments, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products,
rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles

Industrial production growth rate:
22% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production:
119 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
110.6 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
3,600 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Current account balance:
$-218.1 million (2003)

Exports:
$1.616 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
Clothing, timber, rubber, rice, fish, tobacco, footwear

Exports - partners:
US 58.4%, Germany 10.3%, UK 7.2% (2003)

Imports:
$2.124 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
petroleum products, cigarettes, gold, construction materials,
machinery, motor vehicles, pharmaceutical products

Imports - partners:
Thailand 26.4%, Hong Kong 14.4%, Singapore 11.8%, China 11.3%,
Vietnam 8.3%, Taiwan 8%, South Korea 4.1% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$861.4 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$2.4 billion (2002 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$548 million pledged in grants and concessional loans for 2001 by
international donors (actual disbursement in 2002 was about $500
million)

Currency:
riel (KHR)

Currency code:
KHR

Exchange rates:
riels per US dollar - 3,973.33 (2003), 3,912.08 (2002), 3,916.33
(2001), 3,840.75 (2000), 3,807.83 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Cambodia

Telephones - main lines in use:
35,400 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
380,000 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: adequate landline and/or cellular service in
Phnom Penh and other provincial cities; mobile phone coverage is
rapidly expanding in rural areas
domestic: NA
international: country code - 855; adequate but expensive landline
and cellular service available to all countries from Phnom Penh and
major provincial cities; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik
(Indian Ocean region)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 17, (2003)

Radios:
1.34 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
7 (2003)

Televisions:
94,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.kh

Internet hosts:
818 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2000)

Internet users:
30,000 (2002)

Transportation Cambodia

Railways:
total: 602 km
narrow gauge: 602 km 1.000-m gauge (2003)

Highways:
total: 12,323 km
paved: 1,996 km
unpaved: 10,327 km (2000 est)

Waterways:
2,400 km (mainly on Mekong River) (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Kampong Som (Sihanoukville), Kampot, Krong Kaoh Kong, Phnom Penh,
Sre Ambol, Keo Phoh Port (privately owned) (2003)

Merchant marine:
total: 467 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,913,910 GRT/2,713,967 DWT
registered in other countries: 19 (2004 est.)
foreign-owned: Algeria 2, Angola 1, Aruba 1, Bahamas 1, Belize 10,
British Virgin Islands 7, Bulgaria 1, Canada 4, China 35, Cyprus 14,
Egypt 8, Finland 1, France 1, Georgia 1, Germany 1, Gibraltar 1,
Greece 9, Honduras 8, Hong Kong 12, Indonesia 2, Iran 1, Italy 2,
Japan 1, Jordan 1, North Korea 2, South Korea 31, Lebanon 2, Liberia
7, Malaysia 1, Malta 2, Marshall Islands 11, Netherlands 2, Nigeria
2, Norway 1, Panama 8, Romania 1, Russia 81, Saint Kitts and Nevis
2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5, Samoa 2, Singapore 7, Spain
1, Syria 19, Taiwan 1, Turkey 11
by type: bulk 42, cargo 360, chemical tanker 6, combination bulk 3,
container 13, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 4, multi-functional
large load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 16,
refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 5, short-sea/passenger 2

Airports:
20 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 6
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 14
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 11

Heliports:
2 (2003 est.)

Military Cambodia

Military branches:
Royal Cambodian Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
18-30 years of age for compulsory military service for all males;
conscription law passed September 2004; service obligation is 18
months (September 2004)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 3,402,703 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 1,899,710 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 170,072 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$112 million (FY01 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
3% (FY01 est.)

Transnational Issues Cambodia

Disputes - international:
land boundary disputes persist among Cambodian claims that Thailand
and Vietnam moved or destroyed boundary markers; maritime boundary
with Vietnam is hampered by dispute over offshore islands; Cambodia
periodically accuses Thailand of obstructing access to Preah Vihear
temple ruins awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in 1962; 2003
anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh resulted in the destruction of the
Thai Embassy, damage to 17 Thai-owned businesses, and disputes over
full payment of compensation

Illicit drugs:
narcotics-related corruption reportedly involving some in the
government, military, and police; possible small-scale opium,
heroin, and amphetamine production; large producer of cannabis for
the international market; vulnerable to money laundering due to its
cash-based economy and porous borders

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

======================================================================

@Cameroon

Introduction Cameroon

Background:
The former French Cameroon and part of British Cameroon merged in
1961 to form the present country. Cameroon has generally enjoyed
stability, which has permitted the development of agriculture,
roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum industry. Despite
movement toward democratic reform, political power remains firmly in
the hands of an ethnic oligarchy.

Geography Cameroon

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial
Guinea and Nigeria

Geographic coordinates:
6 00 N, 12 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 475,440 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km
land: 469,440 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:
total: 4,591 km
border countries: Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km,
Republic of the Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298
km, Nigeria 1,690 km

Coastline:
402 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 50 nm

Climate:
varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot
in north

Terrain:
diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in
center, mountains in west, plains in north

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Fako (on Mount Cameroon) 4,095 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 12.81%
permanent crops: 2.58%
other: 84.61% (2001)

Irrigated land:
330 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from
Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes

Environment - current issues:
water-borne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing;
desertification; poaching; overfishing

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa; throughout the
country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of
current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest
mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano

People Cameroon

Population:
16,063,678
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
2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 42% (male 3,416,086; female 3,334,904)
15-64 years: 54.8% (male 4,425,246; female 4,370,329)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 233,506; female 283,607) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 18.5 years
male: 18.3 years
female: 18.6 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.97% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
35.08 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
15.34 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 69.18 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 65.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 73.16 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 47.95 years
male: 47.1 years
female: 48.83 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
4.55 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
6.9% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
560,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
49,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
typhoid fever, malaria, yellow fever, schistosomiasis
overall degree of risk: very high (2004)

Nationality:
noun: Cameroonian(s)
adjective: Cameroonian

Ethnic groups:
Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani
10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, other African 13%,
non-African less than 1%

Religions:
indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20%

Languages:
24 major African language groups, English (official), French
(official)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79%
male: 84.7%
female: 73.4% (2003 est.)

Government Cameroon

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Cameroon
conventional short form: Cameroon
former: French Cameroon

Government type:
unitary republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition
parties legalized in 1990)
note: preponderance of power remains with the president

Capital:
Yaounde

Administrative divisions:
10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord,
Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest

Independence:
1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)

National holiday:
Republic Day (National Day), 20 May (1972)

Constitution:
20 May 1972 approved by referendum; 2 June 1972 formally adopted;
revised January 1996

Legal system:
based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
20 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)
elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term;
election last held 11 October 2004 (next to be held NA October
2011); prime minister appointed by the president
head of government: Prime Minister Ephraim INONI (since 8 Dec 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from proposals submitted
by the prime minister
election results: President Paul BIYA reelected; percent of vote -
Paul BIYA 70.9%, John FRU NDI 17.4%, Adamou Ndam NJOYA 4.5%, Garga
Haman ADJI 3.7%

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (180 seats;
members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms;
note - the president can either lengthen or shorten the term of the
legislature)
elections: last held 23 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
RDCP 133, SDF 21, UDC 5, other 21
note: the constitution calls for an upper chamber for the
legislature, to be called a Senate, but it has yet to be established

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); High Court
of Justice (consists of 9 judges and 6 substitute judges, elected by
the National Assembly)

Political parties and leaders:
Cameroonian Democratic Union or UDC [Adamou NDAM NJOYA]; Democratic
Rally of the Cameroon People or RDCP [Paul BIYA]; Movement for the
Defense of the Republic or MDR [Dakole DAISSALA]; Movement for the
Liberation and Development of Cameroon or MLDC [leader Marcel
YONDO]; Movement for the Youth of Cameroon or MYC [Dieudonne TINA];
National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Maigari BELLO
BOUBA]; Social Democratic Front or SDF [John FRU NDI]; Union of
Cameroonian Populations or UPC [Augustin Frederic KODOCK]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Southern Cameroon National Council [Ayamba Ette OTUN]; Human Rights
Defense Group [Albert MUKONG, president]

International organization participation:
ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, C, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC,
OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jerome MENDOUGA
chancery: 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
FAX: [1] (202) 387-3826
telephone: [1] (202) 265-8790

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador George McDade STAPLES
embassy: Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde
mailing address: P. O. Box 817, Yaounde; pouch: American Embassy,
Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520
telephone: [237] 223-05-12, 222-25-89, 222-17-94, 223-40-14
FAX: [237] 223-07-53
branch office(s): Douala

Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), red, and yellow
with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the
popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

Economy Cameroon

Economy - overview:
Because of its oil resources and favorable agricultural conditions,
Cameroon has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in
sub-Saharan Africa. Still, it faces many of the serious problems
facing other underdeveloped countries, such as a top-heavy civil
service and a generally unfavorable climate for business enterprise.
Since 1990, the government has embarked on various IMF and World
Bank programs designed to spur business investment, increase
efficiency in agriculture, improve trade, and recapitalize the
nation's banks. In June 2000, the government completed an
IMF-sponsored, three-year structural adjustment program; however,
the IMF is pressing for more reforms, including increased budget
transparency, privatization, and poverty reduction programs.
International oil and cocoa prices have considerable impact on the
economy.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $27.75 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.2% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 42.6%
industry: 19.8%
services: 37.6% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
19.4% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
48% (2000 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 36.6% (1996)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
47.7 (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.3% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
6.49 million NA (2003)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 70%, industry and commerce 13%, other 17%

Unemployment rate:
30% (2001 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $2.442 billion
expenditures: $1.941 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003 est.)

Public debt:
57.1% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:
coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root
starches; livestock; timber

Industries:
petroleum production and refining, food processing, light consumer
goods, textiles, lumber

Industrial production growth rate:
4.2% (1999 est.)

Electricity - production:
3.613 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
3.36 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
76,650 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
22,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
200 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
55.22 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$-564 million (2003)

Exports:
$1.873 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum,
coffee, cotton

Exports - partners:
Spain 21.9%, Italy 13.4%, France 10.8%, Netherlands 10.6%, US 7.5%,
China 4.4% (2003)

Imports:
$1.959 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food

Imports - partners:
France 21.9%, Nigeria 9.5%, Japan 6.8%, US 5.7%, China 4.9%,
Germany 4.3% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$634 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$7.236 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
on 23 January 2001, the Paris Club agreed to reduce Cameroon's debt
of $1.3 billion by $900 million; debt relief now totals $1.26 billion

Currency:
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible
authority is the Bank of the Central African States

Currency code:
XAF

Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 581.2
(2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699
(1999)

Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June

Communications Cameroon

Telephones - main lines in use:
110,900 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.077 million (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: available only to business and government
domestic: cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter
international: country code - 237; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC)
provides connectivity to Europe and Asia

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (2002)

Radios:
2.27 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (2002)

Televisions:
450,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.cm

Internet hosts:
479 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2002)

Internet users:
60,000 (2002)
note: Cameroon also had more than 100 cyber-cafes in 2001

Transportation Cameroon

Railways:
total: 1,008 km
narrow gauge: 1,008 km 1.000-m gauge (2003)

Highways:
total: 34,300 km
paved: 4,288 km
unpaved: 30,012 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
navigation mainly on Benue River; limited during rainy season (2004)

Pipelines:
gas 90 km; liquid petroleum gas 9 km; oil 1,120 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Bonaberi, Douala, Garoua, Kribi, Tiko

Merchant marine:
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 169,593 GRT/357,023 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2004 est.)

Airports:
47 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 11
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 36
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 20
under 914 m: 9 (2004 est.)

Military Cameroon

Military branches:
Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription
(1999)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 3,898,944 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 1,979,151 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 184,054 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$189.2 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.4% (2003)

Transnational Issues Cameroon

Disputes - international:
ICJ ruled in 2002 on the entire Cameroon-Nigeria land and maritime
boundary but the parties formed a Joint Border Commission to resolve
differences bilaterally and have commenced with demarcation in
less-contested sections of the boundary, starting in Lake Chad in
the north; the ICF ruled on an equidistance settlement of
Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of
Guinea, however, implementation of the decision is delayed due to
imprecisely defined coordinates, the unresolved Bakasi allocation,
and a sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon
over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River; Nigeria initially
rejected cession of the Bakasi Peninsula; Lake Chad Commission
continues to urge signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to
ratify delimitation treaty over the lake region, which remains the
site of armed clashes among local populations and militias

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 39,261 (Chad), 16,983 (Nigeria),
9,634 (Cote d'Ivoire) (2004)

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

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@Canada

Introduction Canada

Background:
A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became
a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the
British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has
developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across
an unfortified border. Canada's paramount political problem is
meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care and
education services after a decade of budget cuts. The issue of
reconciling Quebec's francophone heritage with the majority
anglophone Canadian population has moved to the back burner in
recent years; support for separatism abated after the Quebec
government's referendum on independence failed to pass in October of
1995.

Geography Canada

Location:
Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean on the
east, North Pacific Ocean on the west, and the Arctic Ocean on the
north, north of the conterminous US

Geographic coordinates:
60 00 N, 95 00 W

Map references:
North America

Area:
total: 9,984,670 sq km
land: 9,093,507 sq km
water: 891,163 sq km

Area - comparative:
somewhat larger than the US

Land boundaries:
total: 8,893 km
border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska)

Coastline:
202,080 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north

Terrain:
mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m

Natural resources:
iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash,
diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural
gas, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 4.96%
permanent crops: 0.02%
other: 95.02% (2001)

Irrigated land:
7,200 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to
development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a
result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and
North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and
snow east of the mountains

Environment - current issues:
air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and
damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and
vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity;
ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial,
mining, and forestry activities

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85,
Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic
Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:
second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location
between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 90% of
the population is concentrated within 160 km of the US border

People Canada

Population:
32,507,874 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18.2% (male 3,038,800; female 2,890,579)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 11,225,686; female 11,111,941)
65 years and over: 13% (male 1,807,472; female 2,433,396) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 38.2 years
male: 37.2 years
female: 39.2 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.92% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
10.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
7.67 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
5.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.82 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 5.28 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.96 years
male: 76.59 years
female: 83.5 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.61 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.3% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
56,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
1,500 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Canadian(s)
adjective: Canadian

Ethnic groups:
British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%,
Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed
background 26%

Religions:
Roman Catholic 46%, Protestant 36%, other 18%
note: based on the 1991 census

Languages:
English 59.3% (official), French 23.2% (official), other 17.5%

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% (1986 est.)
male: NA
female: NA

Government Canada

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Canada

Government type:
confederation with parliamentary democracy

Capital:
Ottawa

Administrative divisions:
10 provinces and 3 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia,
Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest
Territories*, Nova Scotia, Nunavut*, Ontario, Prince Edward Island,
Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory*

Independence:
1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December
1931 (independence recognized)

National holiday:
Canada Day, 1 July (1867)

Constitution:
17 April 1982 (Constitution Act); originally, the machinery of the
government was set up in the British North America Act of 1867;
charter of rights and unwritten customs

Legal system:
based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil law
system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Adrienne CLARKSON (since 7 October
1999)
elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; governor general
appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a
five-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the
majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House
of Commons is automatically designated prime minister by the
governor general
head of government: Prime Minister Paul MARTIN (since 12 December
2003); Deputy Prime Minister Anne MCLELLAN (since 12 December 2003)
cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister from among
the members of his own party sitting in Parliament

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat
(members appointed by the governor general with the advice of the
prime minister and serve until reaching 75 years of age; its normal
limit is 105 senators) and the House of Commons or Chambre des
Communes (308 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to
serve for up to five-year terms)
elections: House of Commons - last held 28 June 2004 (next to be
held by NA 2009)
election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party -
Liberal Party 36.7%, Conservative Party 29.6%, New Democratic Party
15.7%, Bloc Quebecois 12.4%, Greens 4.3%, independents 0.4%, other
0.9%; seats by party - Liberal Party 134, Conservative Party 99,
Bloc Quebecois 54, New Democratic Party 19, independent 2

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Canada (judges are appointed by the prime minister
through the governor general); Federal Court of Canada; Federal
Court of Appeal; Provincial Courts (these are named variously Court
of Appeal, Court of Queens Bench, Superior Court, Supreme Court, and
Court of Justice)

Political parties and leaders:
Bloc Quebecois [Gilles DUCEPPE]; Conservative Party of Canada (a
merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative
Party) [Stephen HARPER]; Liberal Party [Paul MARTIN]; New Democratic
Party [Jack LAYTON]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA