Chapter XXXIV: Front Matter (34)

Oil - consumption:
44,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

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

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

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

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

Current account balance:
$-955.9 million (2003)

Exports:
$3 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles,
foodstuffs

Exports - partners:
UK 15.6%, Germany 14.8%, Sweden 10.5%, Lithuania 8.2%, Estonia
6.6%, Denmark 6%, Russia 5.4% (2003)

Imports:
$4.921 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, vehicles

Imports - partners:
Germany 16.1%, Lithuania 9.7%, Russia 8.7%, Finland 7.4%, Estonia
6.4%, Sweden 6.3%, Poland 5.1%, Italy 4.4% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$1.535 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$6.793 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$96.2 million (1995)

Currency:
Latvian lat (LVL)

Currency code:
LVL

Exchange rates:
lati per US dollar - 0.5715 (2003), 0.6182 (2002), 0.6279 (2001),
0.6065 (2000), 0.5852 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Latvia

Telephones - main lines in use:
653,900 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1,219,600 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: inadequate, but is being modernized to provide
an international capability independent of the Moscow international
switch; more facilities are being installed for individual use
domestic: expansion underway in intercity trunk line connections,
rural exchanges, and mobile systems; still many unsatisfied
subscriber applications
international: country code - 371; international connections are now
available via cable and a satellite earth station at Riga, enabling
direct connections for most calls (1998)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 8, FM 56, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:
1.76 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
44 (plus 31 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions:
1.22 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.lv

Internet hosts:
51,758 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
41 (2001)

Internet users:
936,000 (2003)

Transportation Latvia

Railways:
total: 2,303 km
broad gauge: 2,270 km 1.520-m gauge (257 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 33 km 0.750-m gauge (2003)

Highways:
total: 73,202 km
paved: 28,256 km
unpaved: 44,946 km (2000)

Waterways:
300 km (2004)

Pipelines:
gas 1,097 km; oil 409 km; refined products 415 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils

Merchant marine:
total: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 53,153 GRT/37,414 DWT
foreign-owned: Germany 1, Greece 1, Ukraine 1
registered in other countries: 96 (2004 est.)
by type: cargo 6, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll
on/roll off 1, short-sea/passenger 1

Airports:
51 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 27
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 16 (2003 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 24
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 20 (2003 est.)

Military Latvia

Military branches:
Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Border Guard, Home Guard
(Zemessardze)

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
19 years of age for compulsory military service, conscript service
obligation - 12 months; 18 years of age for volunteers; Latvia plans
to phase out conscription, tentatively moving to an all-professional
force by 2007 (August 2004)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 594,596 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 466,659 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 19,209 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$87 million (FY01)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.2% (FY01)

Transnational Issues Latvia

Disputes - international:
the Russian Duma refuses to ratify boundary delimitation treaty
with Latvia; the Latvian Parliament has not ratified its 1998
maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns
over oil exploration rights

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from Central and
Southwest Asia to Western Europe and Scandinavia and Latin American
cocaine and some synthetics from Western Europe to CIS; vulnerable
to money laundering despite improved legislation due to nascent
enforcement capabilities and comparatively weak regulation of
offshore companies, exchange firms, and the gaming industry;
organized crime (including counterfeiting, corruption, extortion,
stolen cars, and prostitution) accounts for most laundered proceeds

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

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

@Lebanon

Introduction Lebanon

Background:
Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political
institutions since 1991 and the end of the devastating 15-year civil
war. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national
reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable
political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in
the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions
in the government. Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have
conducted several successful elections, most of the militias have
been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have
extended central government authority over about two-thirds of the
country. Hizballah, a radical Shia organization, retains its
weapons. Syria maintains about 16,000 troops in Lebanon, based
mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Syria's troop
deployment was legitimized by the Arab League during Lebanon's civil
war and in the Ta'if Accord. Damascus justifies its continued
military presence in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests and the
failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the
constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from
southern Lebanon in May 2000, however, encouraged some Lebanese
groups to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. The passage
of UNSCR 1559 in early October 2004 - a resolution calling for Syria
to withdraw from Lebanon and end its interference in Lebanese
affairs - further emboldened Lebanese groups opposed to Syria's
presence in Lebanon.

Geography Lebanon

Location:
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and
Syria

Geographic coordinates:
33 50 N, 35 50 E

Map references:
Middle East

Area:
total: 10,400 sq km
water: 170 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km

Area - comparative:
about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries:
total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km

Coastline:
225 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate:
Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers;
Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows

Terrain:
narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and
Anti-Lebanon Mountains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m

Natural resources:
limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit
region, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 16.62%
permanent crops: 13.98%
other: 69.4% (2001)

Irrigated land:
1,200 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
dust storms, sandstorms

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in
Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes;
pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life
Conservation

Geography - note:
Nahr el Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an
international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate,
protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion,
clan, and ethnicity

People Lebanon

Population:
3,777,218 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 26.9% (male 517,356; female 496,888)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 1,197,430; female 1,305,339)
65 years and over: 6.9% (male 117,930; female 142,275) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 26.9 years
male: 25.9 years
female: 27.9 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.3% (2004 est.)

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

Death rate:
6.28 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: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 25.48 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 22.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 28.21 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.35 years
male: 69.91 years
female: 74.91 years (2004 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.09% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
2,800 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese

Ethnic groups:
Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%

Religions:
Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri),
Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Melkite Catholic, Armenian
Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Roman Catholic,
Protestant), other 1.3%
note: seventeen religious sects recognized

Languages:
Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.4%
male: 93.1%
female: 82.2% (2003 est.)

Government Lebanon

Country name:
conventional long form: Lebanese Republic
conventional short form: Lebanon
local short form: Lubnan
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah

Government type:
republic

Capital:
Beirut

Administrative divisions:
6 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa,
Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye

Independence:
22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French
administration)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 22 November (1943)

Constitution:
23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently Charter of
Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989

Legal system:
mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law;
no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at
age 21 with elementary education

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Omar KARAMI (since 21 October
2004); Deputy Prime Minister Issam FARES (since 23 October 2000)
cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with
the president and members of the National Assembly
elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year
term; election last held 15 October 1998 (next election date NA);
note - on 3 September 2004 the National Assembly voted 96 to 29 to
extend Emile LAHUD's six-year term by three years; the prime
minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in
consultation with the National Assembly; by agreement, the president
is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and
the speaker of the legislature is a Shia Muslim
election results: For 15 October 1998 election: Emile LAHUD elected
president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against,
10 abstentions

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or
Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular
vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve
four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 August and 3 September 2000 (next to be held
spring 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by sect -
Muslim 64 ( of which Sunnis 27, Shia 27, Druze 8, Alawite 2),
Christian 64 (of which Maronite 34)

Judicial branch:
four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial
cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council
(called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws);
Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime
minister as needed)

Political parties and leaders:
political activity is organized along largely sectarian lines;
numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual
political figures and followers motivated by religious, ethnic,
clan, and economic considerations

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC,
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Farid ABBOUD
consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles
FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324
telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jeffrey D. FELTMAN
embassy: Awkar, Lebanon
mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box
2, FPO AE 09836-0002
telephone: [961] (4) 542600, 543600
FAX: [961] (4) 544136

Flag description:
three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red
with a green cedar tree centered in the white band

Economy Lebanon

Economy - overview:
The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic
infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended
Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub.
Peace enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut,
begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key port and government
facilities. Economic recovery was helped by a financially sound
banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers.
Family remittances, banking services, manufactured and farm exports,
and international aid provided the main sources of foreign exchange.
Lebanon's economy made impressive gains since the launch in 1993 of
"Horizon 2000," the government's $20 billion reconstruction program.
Real GDP grew 8% in 1994, 7% in 1995, 4% in 1996 and in 1997, but
slowed to 1.2% in 1998, -1.6% in 1999, -0.6% in 2000, 0.8% in 2001,
1.5% in 2002, and 3% in 2003. During the 1990s, annual inflation
fell to almost 0% from more than 100%. Lebanon has rebuilt much of
its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure. The government
nonetheless faces serious challenges in the economic arena. It has
funded reconstruction by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic
banks. In order to reduce the ballooning national debt, the
re-installed HARIRI government began an economic austerity program
to rein in government expenditures, increase revenue collection, and
privatize state enterprises. The HARIRI government met with
international donors at the Paris II conference in November 2002 to
seek bilateral assistance restructuring its domestic debt at lower
rates of interest. While privatization of state-owned enterprises
had not occurred by the end of 2003, massive receipts from donor
nations stabilized government finances in 2002-04.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $17.82 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 12%
industry: 21%
services: 67% (2000)

Investment (gross fixed):
24.8% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
28% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.5% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
1.5 million
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers
(2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA

Unemployment rate:
18% (1997 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $4.414 billion
expenditures: $7.026 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003 est.)

Public debt:
185.1% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:
citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives,
tobacco; sheep, goats

Industries:
banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles; mineral and
chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining; metal
fabricating

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
6.728 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
7.44 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
1.183 billion kWh (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
107,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Current account balance:
$-2.865 billion (2003)

Exports:
$1.359 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
authentic jewelry, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer
goods, fruit, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power
machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper

Exports - partners:
Switzerland 10.8%, UAE 10%, Saudi Arabia 7.5%, US 7.3%, Turkey
5.5%, Jordan 4.4% (2003)

Imports:
$6.073 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and
live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco

Imports - partners:
France 13.4%, Germany 11.7%, Italy 10.7%, Syria 5.3%, China 5.2%,
UK 4.9%, US 4.5% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$16.35 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$20.79 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$3.5 billion (pledges 1997-2001); $4.2 billion in soft loan pledges
November 2002 Paris II Aid Conference (2002)

Currency:
Lebanese pound (LBP)

Currency code:
LBP

Exchange rates:
Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2003), 1,507.5 (2002),
1,507.5 (2001), 1,507.5 (2000), 1,507.84 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Lebanon

Telephones - main lines in use:
678,800 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
775,100 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: telecommunications system severely damaged by
civil war; rebuilding well underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable
international: country code - 961; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations);
coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but
inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998)

Radios:
2.85 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions:
1.18 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.lb

Internet hosts:
6,998 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
22 (2000)

Internet users:
400,000 (2002)

Transportation Lebanon

Railways:
total: 401 km
standard gauge: 319 km 1.435-m
note: rail system was unusable because of damage during the civil
war in the 1980s; short sections are operable (2003)
narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050-m

Highways:
total: 7,300 km
paved: 6,198 km
unpaved: 1,102 km (1999 est.)

Pipelines:
oil 209 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail,
Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre

Merchant marine:
total: 49 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 198,602 GRT/248,313 DWT
registered in other countries: 52 (2004 est.)
foreign-owned: Greece 7, India 1, Netherlands 4, Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines 1, Spain 1, Syria 2
by type: bulk 5, cargo 23, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1,
container 2, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 8, refrigerated
cargo 1, roll on/roll off 4, vehicle carrier 3

Airports:
8 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military Lebanon

Military branches:
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force)

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
18-30 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service;
conscript service obligation - 12 months (2004)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,049,097 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 643,050 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$541 million (2002)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
4.8% (FY99)

Transnational Issues Lebanon

Disputes - international:
Syrian troops in central and eastern Lebanon since October 1976;
Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied
Golan Heights

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 394,532 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA))
IDPs: 300,000 (1975-1990 civil war, Israeli invasions) (2004)

Illicit drugs:
cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in
2002; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin
American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way
to European markets and for Middle Eastern consumption

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

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

@Lesotho

Introduction Lesotho

Background:
Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence
from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990.
Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of
military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny
following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody South
African military intervention. Constitutional reforms have since
restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were
held in 2002.

Geography Lesotho

Location:
Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Geographic coordinates:
29 30 S, 28 30 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 30,355 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries:
total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers

Terrain:
mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m

Natural resources:
water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other
minerals

Land use:
arable land: 10.87%
permanent crops: 0.13%
other: 89% (2001)

Irrigated land:
10 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
periodic droughts

Environment - current issues:
population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in
overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion;
desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and
redirects water to South Africa

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

Geography - note:
landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous,
more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level

People Lesotho

Population:
1,865,040
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: 37.3% (male 350,288; female 345,815)
15-64 years: 57.2% (male 521,434; female 545,183)
65 years and over: 5.5% (male 41,903; female 60,417) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 20 years
male: 19.5 years
female: 20.6 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.14% (2004 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
-0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 85.22 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 80.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 90.19 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 36.81 years
male: 36.81 years
female: 36.81 years (2004 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
28.9% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
320,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
29,000 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho

Ethnic groups:
Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,

Religions:
Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%

Languages:
Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8%
male: 74.5%
female: 94.5% (2003 est.)

Government Lesotho

Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho
former: Basutoland

Government type:
parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Capital:
Maseru

Administrative divisions:
10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru,
Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka

Independence:
4 October 1966 (from UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 4 October (1966)

Constitution:
2 April 1993

Legal system:
based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of
legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note -
King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to
February 1995, while his father was in exile
head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May
1998)
cabinet: Cabinet
elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the
majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister;
the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution,
which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is
a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative
powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to
determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as
regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may
even depose the monarch

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22
principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party)
and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by direct popular vote and 40 by
proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year
terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120
in the May 2002 election
elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 54%, BNP 21%, LPC
7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD 76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18

Judicial branch:
High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of
Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court

Political parties and leaders:
Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National
Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress
for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Pakalitha
MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress
or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles
MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance
[Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete
Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

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

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI
FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815
telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS
embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section)
mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho
telephone: [266] 312666
FAX: [266] 310116

Flag description:
divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half
is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with
crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with
a green triangle in the corner

Economy Lesotho

Economy - overview:
Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances
from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the
Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government
revenue, but the government has strengthened its tax system to
reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major
hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to
South Africa, also generating royalties for Lesotho. As the number
of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a
small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that
support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries and a
rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The economy is still
primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock,
although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme
inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback.
Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility
with the IMF.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $5.583 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 15.3%
industry: 43.3%
services: 41.4% (2003)

Investment (gross fixed):
34.1% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
49% (1999)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4%

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
56 (1986-87)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6.1% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
838,000 (2000)

Labor force - by occupation:
86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture;
roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa

Unemployment rate:
45% (2002)

Budget:
revenues: $625.4 million
expenditures: $675.2 million, including capital expenditures of $15
million (2003 est.)

Agriculture - products:
corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

Industries:
food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts;
construction; tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
15.5% (1999)

Electricity - production:
0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
40 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
1,500 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Current account balance:
$-112 million (2003)

Exports:
$450 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and
mohair, food and live animals (2000)

Exports - partners:
US 97.6%, Canada 1.5%, France 0.5% (2003)

Imports:
$661 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum
products (2000)

Imports - partners:
Hong Kong 36.6%, Taiwan 36.2%, China 12%, Germany 9.9% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$460 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$735 million (2002)

Economic aid - donor:
ODA $4.4 million

Economic aid - recipient:
$41.5 million (2000)

Currency:
loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)

Currency code:
LSL; ZAR

Exchange rates:
maloti per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092
(2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999)

Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

Communications Lesotho

Telephones - main lines in use:
28,600 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
92,000 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay
system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular
mobile telephone system is growing
international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:
NA (2002)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (2000)

Televisions:
NA

Internet country code:
.ls

Internet hosts:
119 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)

Internet users:
21,000 (2002)

Transportation Lesotho

Highways:
total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km
unpaved: 4,853 km (1999)

Ports and harbors:
none

Airports:
28 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)

Military Lesotho

Military branches:
Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; with Army and Air Wing)

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 465,827 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 253,974 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$32.5 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.6% (2003)

Military - note:
the Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future
structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially
considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening
in political affairs

Transnational Issues Lesotho

Disputes - international:
none

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

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

@Liberia

Introduction Liberia

Background:
In August 2003, a comprehensive peace agreement ended 14 years of
civil war and prompted the resignation of former president Charles
TAYLOR, who was exiled to Nigeria. The National Transitional
Government of Liberia (NTGL) - which is composed of rebel,
government, and civil society groups - assumed control in October
2003. Chairman Gyude BRYANT, who was given a two-year mandate to
oversee efforts to rebuild Liberia, heads the new government. The
United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), which maintains a strong
presence throughout the country, completed a disarmament program for
former combatants in late 2004, but the security situation is still
volatile and the process of rebuilding the social and economic
structure of this war-torn country remains sluggish.

Geography Liberia

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote
d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone

Geographic coordinates:
6 30 N, 9 30 W

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 111,370 sq km
water: 15,050 sq km
land: 96,320 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries:
total: 1,585 km
border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone
306 km

Coastline:
579 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold
nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers

Terrain:
mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and
low mountains in northeast

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m

Natural resources:
iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 3.95%
permanent crops: 2.28%
other: 93.77% (2001)

Irrigated land:
30 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March)

Environment - current issues:
tropical rain forest deforestation; soil erosion; loss of
biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw
sewage

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Environmental
Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:
facing the Atlantic Ocean, the coastline is characterized by
lagoons, mangrove swamps, and river-deposited sandbars; the inland
grassy plateau supports limited agriculture

People Liberia

Population:
3,390,635 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 43.4% (male 742,508; female 730,677)
15-64 years: 52.9% (male 875,951; female 918,570)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 61,867; female 61,062) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 18.1 years
male: 17.7 years
female: 18.4 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.7% (2004 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: at least 200,000 Liberian refugees are in surrounding
countries; the uncertain security situation has hindered their
ability to return (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 130.51 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 123.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 137.32 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 47.93 years
male: 46.9 years
female: 48.99 years (2004 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
5.9% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
100,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
7,200 (2003 est.)

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

Nationality:
noun: Liberian(s)
adjective: Liberian

Ethnic groups:
indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru,
Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella,
Mandingo, and Mende), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of
immigrants from the US who had been slaves), Congo People 2.5%
(descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves)

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

Languages:
English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a
few can be written and are used in correspondence

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.5%
male: 73.3%
female: 41.6%
note: (2003 est.)

Government Liberia

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Liberia
conventional short form: Liberia

Government type:
republic

Capital:
Monrovia

Administrative divisions:
15 counties; Bomi, Bong, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount,
Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba,
River Cess, River Gee, Sinoe

Independence:
26 July 1847

National holiday:
Independence Day, 26 July (1847)

Constitution:
6 January 1986

Legal system:
dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for
the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal
practices for indigenous sector

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Chairman Gyude BRYANT (since 14 October 2003); note
- this is an interim position until presidential elections in 2005;
the chairman is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Chairman Gyude BRYANT (since 14 October 2003);
note - this is an interim position until presidential elections in
2005; the chairman is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and confirmed by the
Senate; note - current cabinet positions are divided among groups
participating in the Liberian peace process
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term
(renewable); election last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA
October 2005)
note:: a UN-brokered cease-fire among warring factions and the
Liberian government resulted in the August 2003 resignation of
former president Charles TAYLOR; a jointly agreed upon replacement,
Chairman Gyude BRYANT, assumed office as head of the National
Transitional Government on 14 October 2003
election results: Charles Ghankay TAYLOR elected president; percent
of vote - Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (NPP) 75.3%, Ellen Johnson SIRLEAF
(UP) 9.6%, Alhaji KROMAH (ALCOP) 4%, other 11.1%; note - Taylor
stepped down in August 2003

Legislative branch:
bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (26 seats;
members elected by popular vote to serve nine-year terms) and the
House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected by popular vote
to serve six-year terms)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - NPP 21, UP 3, ALCOP 2; House of Representatives - percent of
vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPP 49, UP 7, ALCOP 3, Alliance
of Political Parties 2, UPP 2, LPP 1
elections: Senate - last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA
2006); House of Representatives - last held 19 July 1997 (next to be
held NA October 2005)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:
Alliance of Political Parties (a coalition of LAP and LUP) [leader
NA]; All Liberia Coalition Party or ALCOP [Peter KERBAY]; Liberian
Action Party or LAP [C. Gyude BRYANT]; Liberian People's Party or
LPP [Koffa NAGBE]; Liberia Unification Party or LUP [leader NA];
National Patriotic Party or NPP [Cyril ALLEN] - governing party;
United People's Party or UPP [Wesley JOHNSON]; Unity Party or UP
[Charles CLARKE]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU,
NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Aaron B.
KOLLIE
chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
consulate(s) general: New York
FAX: [1] (202) 723-0436
telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John William BLANEY III
embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, P. O. Box 10-0098, Mamba Point,
1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [231] 226-370 through 226-380
FAX: [231] 226-148

Flag description:
11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating
with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in
the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag

Economy Liberia

Economy - overview:
Civil war and misgovernment have destroyed much of Liberia's
economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Many
businessmen have fled the country, taking capital and expertise with
them. Some have returned, many will not. Richly endowed with water,
mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture,
Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products -
primarily raw timber and rubber. Local manufacturing, mainly foreign
owned, had been small in scope. The departure of the former
president, Charles TAYLOR, to Nigeria in August 2003, the
establishment of the all-inclusive National Transition Government of
Liberia (NTGL), and the arrival of a UN mission are all encouraging
signs that the political crisis is coming to an end. The restoration
of infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy
depend on the implementation of sound macro- and micro-economic
policies, including the encouragement of foreign investment, and
generous support from donor countries.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $3.261 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 76.9%
industry: 5.4%
services: 17.7% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line:
80%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
15% (2003 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 70%, industry 8%, services 22% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate:
85% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $85.4 million
expenditures: $90.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2000 est.)

Agriculture - products:
rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil,
sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber

Industries:
rubber processing, palm oil processing, timber, diamonds

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
468.8 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
435.9 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
3,100 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Exports:
$1.079 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee

Exports - partners:
Germany 43.3%, Poland 10.9%, Greece 9.1%, US 6%, France 5.5%,
Thailand 4.9%, China 4.1% (2003)

Imports:
$5.051 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured
goods; foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
South Korea 39.2%, Japan 16.2%, Singapore 12.4%, Germany 9.9%,
Spain 4.1% (2003)

Debt - external:
$2.1 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$94 million (1999)

Currency:
Liberian dollar (LRD)

Currency code:
LRD

Exchange rates:
Liberian dollars per US dollar - NA (2003), 61.7542 (2002), 48.5833
(2001), 40.9525 (2000), 41.9025 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Liberia

Telephones - main lines in use:
7,000 (2001)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
2,000 (2001)

Telephone system:
general assessment: telephone and telegraph service via microwave
radio relay network; main center is Monrovia
domestic: NA
international: country code - 231; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2001)

Radios:
790,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2001)

Televisions:
70,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.lr

Internet hosts:
14 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2001)

Internet users:
1,000 (2002)

Transportation Liberia

Railways:
total: 490 km
standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge
note: none of the railways are in operation (2003)

Highways:
total: 10,600 km
paved: 657 km
unpaved: 9,943 km (1999 est.)

Ports and harbors:
Buchanan, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia, Robertsport

Merchant marine:
total: 1,449 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 50,555,752 GRT/79,125,329 DWT
registered in other countries: 35 (2004 est.)
foreign-owned: Argentina 9, Australia 3, Austria 16, Belgium 8,
Bermuda 1, Brazil 5, Chile 7, China 40, Croatia 11, Cyprus 4,
Denmark 4, Estonia 1, France 3, Germany 510, Greece 142, Hong Kong
56, Iceland 1, India 3, Indonesia 1, Israel 4, Italy 8, Japan 81,
South Korea 7, Latvia 22, Isle of Man 5, Mexico 1, Monaco 59,
Netherlands 11, Nigeria 2, Norway 54, Panama 1, Poland 2, Portugal
6, Russia 68, Saudi Arabia 23, Singapore 43, Slovenia 1, Spain 1,
Sri Lanka 1, Sweden 9, Switzerland 7, Taiwan 36, Turkey 3, Ukraine
3, United Kingdom 36, United States 95, Uruguay 3
by type: bulk 278, cargo 67, chemical tanker 161, combination bulk
10, combination ore/oil 20, container 388, liquefied gas 77,
multi-functional large load carrier 3, passenger 3, petroleum tanker
317, refrigerated cargo 62, roll on/roll off 14, short-sea/passenger
3, specialized tanker 13, vehicle carrier 33

Airports:
53 (2003 est.)

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

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 51
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 8
under 914 m: 38 (2004 est.)

Military Liberia

Military branches:
Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL): Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription
(2001)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 752,943 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 406,293 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$10 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.3% (2003)

Transnational Issues Liberia

Disputes - international:
domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth
gangs in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have created
insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, and ethnic
conflicts and refugees in border areas; the Cote d'Ivoire Government
accuses Liberia of supporting Ivorian rebels

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 13,941 (Sierra Leone), 38,325 (Cote
d'Ivoire)
IDPs: 500,000 (civil war from 1990-2004; IDP resettlement began in
November 2004) (2004)

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and
South American cocaine for the European and US markets; corruption,
criminal activity, arms-dealing, and diamond trade provide
significant potential for money laundering, but the lack of
well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a
major money-laundering center

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

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

@Libya

Introduction Libya

Background:
From the earliest days of his rule following his 1969 military
coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own
political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system is a
combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal
practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people
themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy." QADHAFI has
always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader. He used
oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside
Libya, supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the
end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition, beginning in 1973, he
engaged in military operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to
gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian
politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987. UN sanctions in 1992
isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight
103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Libyan support for terrorism appears
to have decreased after the sanction imposition. During the 1990s,
QADHAFI also began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN
sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in
September 2003 after Libya resolved the Lockerbie case. In December
2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its
programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, and QADHAFI has
made significant strides in normalizing relations with western
nations since then. He has received various Western European leaders
as well as many working-level and commercial delegations, and made
his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to
Brussels in April 2004. QADHAFI also finally resolved in 2004
several outstanding cases against his government for terrorist
activities in the 1980s by paying compensation to the families of
victims of the UTA and La Belle disco bombings.

Geography Libya

Location:
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and
Tunisia

Geographic coordinates:
25 00 N, 17 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 1,759,540 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Alaska

Land boundaries:
total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km,
Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km

Coastline:
1,770 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north

Climate:
Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior

Terrain:
mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, gypsum

Land use:
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.19%
other: 98.78% (2001)

Irrigated land:
4,700 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four
days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms

Environment - current issues:
desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the
Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in
the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under
the Sahara to coastal cities

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

Geography - note:
more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert

People Libya

Population:
5,631,585
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 34.2% (male 983,050; female 941,603)
15-64 years: 61.7% (male 1,794,396; female 1,679,828)
65 years and over: 4.1% (male 113,391; female 119,317) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 22.4 years
male: 22.5 years
female: 22.2 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.37% (2004 est.)

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

Death rate:
3.48 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: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 25.7 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 23.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 28.04 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.28 years
male: 74.1 years
female: 78.58 years (2004 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
7,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan

Ethnic groups:
Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians,
Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians

Religions:
Sunni Muslim 97%

Languages:
Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major
cities

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.6%
male: 92.4%
female: 72% (2003 est.)

Government Libya

Country name:
conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya
local short form: none
local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah
al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma

Government type:
Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory, governed by the
populace through local councils; in fact, a military dictatorship

Capital:
Tripoli

Administrative divisions:
25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al
'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al
Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi,
Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt,
Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25
municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions

Independence:
24 December 1951 (from Italy)

National holiday:
Revolution Day, 1 September (1969)

Constitution:
11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977

Legal system:
based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate
religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of
legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar
al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title,
but is de facto chief of state
elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of
people's committees; head of government elected by the General
People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held
NA)
election results: NA
cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General
People's Congress
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee
(Prime Minister) Shukri Muhammad GHANIM (since 14 June 2003)

Legislative branch:
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected
indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:
none

Political pressure groups and leaders:
various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible
memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some
Islamic elements; an anti-QADHAFI Libyan exile movement exists,
primarily based in London, but has little influence

International organization participation:
ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
(observer), WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
Libya does not have an embassy in the US but maintains an interest
section under the protective power of the United Arab Emirates
Embassy in the US

Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli in May 1980,
resumed embassy activities in February 2004 under the protective
power of the US interests section of the Belgian Embassy in Tripoli,
then opened a Liaison Office in Tripoli in June 2004

Flag description:
plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state
religion)

Economy Libya

Economy - overview:
The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil
sector, which contribute practically all export earnings and about
one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give
Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of
this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Libyan
officials in the past three years have made progress on economic
reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate the country
into the international fold. This effort picked up steam after UN
sanctions were lifted in September 2003 and as Libya announced in
December 2003 that it would abandon programs to build weapons of
mass destruction. Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the
socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps - including applying
for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans
for privatization - are laying the groundwork for a transition to a
more market-based economy. The non-oil manufacturing and
construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have
expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the
production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic
conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and
Libya imports about 75% of its food.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $35 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3.2% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $6,400 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 8.6%
industry: 46.1%
services: 45.3% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
15% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.8% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
1.51 million (2003 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 17%, industry 29%, services 54% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate:
30% (2001)

Budget:
revenues: $10.28 billion
expenditures: $7.86 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003 est.)

Public debt:
16.6% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:
wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts,
soybeans; cattle

Industries:
petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
20.18 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
18.77 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)