Chapter XVIII: Front Matter (18)

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Vaclav KLAUS (since 7 March 2003)
note: the Czech Republic's first president Vaclav HAVEL stepped down
from office on 2 February 2003 having served exactly 10 years;
parliament finally elected a successor on 28 February 2003 after two
inconclusive elections in January 2003
head of government: Prime Minister Jiri PAROUBEK (since 25 April
2005), Deputy Prime Ministers Zdenek SKROMACH (since 4 August 2004),
Martin JAHN (since 4 August 2004), Pavel NEMEC (since 4 August
2004), Milan SIMONOVSKY (since 4 August 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of
the prime minister
elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term;
last successful election held 28 February 2003 (after earlier
elections held 15 and 24 January 2003 were inconclusive; next
election to be held January 2008); prime minister appointed by the
president
election results: Vaclav KLAUS elected president on 28 February
2003; Vaclav KLAUS 142 votes, Jan SOKOL 124 votes (third round;
combined votes of both chambers of parliament)

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat
(81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year
terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of
Deputies or Poslanecka Snemovna (200 seats; members are elected by
popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held in two rounds 5-6 November and 12-13
November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); Chamber of Deputies -
last held 14-15 June 2002 (next to be held by June 2006)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - ODS 37, KDU-CSL 14, Open Democracy 13, CSSD 7, Caucus Open
Democracy 7, independents 3; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote
by party - CSSD 30.2%, ODS 24.5%, KSCM 18.5%, KDU-CSL & US-DEU
coalition 14.3%, other minor 12.5%; seats by party - CSSD 70, ODS
57, KSCM 41, KDU-CSL 21, US-DEU 10, independent 1

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen
are appointed by the president for a 10-year term

Political parties and leaders:
Caucus SNK [Josef ZOSER]; Christian and Democratic
Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Miroslav KALOUSEK,
chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Jirina NOVAKOVA,
chairman]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Mirek TOPOLANEK,
chairman]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Miroslav
GREBENICEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Czechoslovakia or KSC
[Miroslav STEPAN, chairman]; Czech National Social Party of CSNS
[Jaroslav ROVNY, chairman]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD
[Stanislav GROSS, acting chairman]; European Democrats [Jan KASL];
Freedom Union-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Hana Marvanova,
chairwoman]; Open Democracy [Sona PAUKRTOVA, chairwoman]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Bohemian and Moravian Trade Union Confederation [Milan STECH]

International organization participation:
ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD,
EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory),
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC,
IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD,
OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE,
UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Martin PALOUS
chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 274-9100
FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador William J. CABANISS
embassy: Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [420] (2) 5753-0663
FAX: [420] (2) 5753-0583

Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue
isosceles triangle based on the hoist side (identical to the flag of
the former Czechoslovakia)

Economy Czech Republic

Economy - overview:
The Czech Republic is one of the most stable and prosperous of the
post-Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. Growth in
2000-04 was supported by exports to the EU, primarily to Germany,
and a strong recovery of foreign and domestic investment. Domestic
demand is playing an ever more important role in underpinning growth
as interest rates drop and the availability of credit cards and
mortgages increases. Current account deficits of around 5% of GDP
are beginning to decline as demand for Czech products in the
European Union increases. Inflation is under control. Recent
accession to the EU gives further impetus and direction to
structural reform. In early 2004 the government passed increases in
the Value Added Tax (VAT) and tightened eligibility for social
benefits with the intention to bring the public finance gap down to
4% of GDP by 2006, but more difficult pension and healthcare reforms
will have to wait until after the next elections. Privatization of
the state-owned telecommunications firm Cesky Telecom is scheduled
to take place in 2005. Intensified restructuring among large
enterprises, improvements in the financial sector, and effective use
of available EU funds should strengthen output growth.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$172.2 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3.7% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $16,800 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.4%
industry: 39.3%
services: 57.3% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
5.25 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 4%, industry 38%, services 58% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate:
10.6% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
25.4 (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.2% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
29% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $39.31 billion
expenditures: $45.8 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2004 est.)

Public debt:
33.5% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry

Industries:
metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass,
armaments

Industrial production growth rate:
4.7% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production:
71.75 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 76.1%
hydro: 2.9%
nuclear: 20%
other: 1% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
55.33 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
20.9 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
9.5 billion kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
7,419 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
175,700 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
26,670 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
192,300 bbl/day (2001)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Current account balance:
$-5.73 billion (2004 est.)

Exports:
$66.51 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials
and fuel 9% (2003)

Exports - partners:
Germany 36.1%, Slovakia 8.4%, Austria 6%, Poland 5.3%, UK 4.7%,
France 4.7%, Italy 4.3%, Netherlands 4.3% (2004)

Imports:
$68.19 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%,
chemicals 10% (2003)

Imports - partners:
Germany 31.7%, Slovakia 5.4%, Italy 5.3%, China 5.2%, Poland 4.8%,
France 4.8%, Russia 4.1% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$32.78 billion (2004 est.)

Debt - external:
$36.28 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$2.4 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion
funds (2004-06)

Currency (code):
Czech koruna (CZK)

Currency code:
CZK

Exchange rates:
koruny per US dollar - 25.7 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 32.739 (2002),
38.035 (2001), 38.598 (2000)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Czech Republic

Telephones - main lines in use:
3.626 million (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
9,708,700 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: privatization and modernization of the Czech
telecommunication system got a late start but is advancing steadily;
growth in the use of mobile cellular telephones is particularly
vigorous
domestic: 86% of exchanges now digital; existing copper subscriber
systems now being enhanced with Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
(ADSL) equipment to accommodate Internet and other digital signals;
trunk systems include fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay
international: country code - 420; satellite earth stations - 2
Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Intelsat, 1
Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000)

Radios:
3,159,134 (December 2000)

Television broadcast stations:
150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000)

Televisions:
3,405,834 (December 2000)

Internet country code:
.cz

Internet hosts:
295,677 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
more than 300 (2000)

Internet users:
2.7 million (2003)

Transportation Czech Republic

Railways:
total: 9,543 km
standard gauge: 9,421 km 1.435-m gauge (2,893 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 122 km 0.760-m gauge (23 km electrified) (2004)

Highways:
total: 127,204 km
paved: 127,204 km (including 518 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (2002)

Waterways:
664 km (on Elbe, Vltava, and Oder rivers) (2004)

Pipelines:
gas 7,020 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem

Merchant marine:
registered in other countries: 3

Airports:
120 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 44
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 17 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 76
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 27
under 914 m: 48 (2004 est.)

Heliports:
2 (2004 est.)

Military Czech Republic

Military branches:
Army of the Czech Republic (ACR): Joint Forces Command, Support and
Training Forces Command (2005)

Military service age and obligation:
18-50 years of age for voluntary military service; military service
transformed into a fully professional, all-volunteer force no longer
dependent on conscription beginning in January 2004 (2005)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 2,414,728 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 1,996,631 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males: 66,583 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$2.17 billion (2004)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.02% (2004)

Transnational Issues Czech Republic

Disputes - international:
in February 2005, the ICJ refused to rule on the restitution of
Liechtenstein's land and property assets in the Czech Republic
confiscated in 1945 as German property; individual Sudeten Germans
seek restitution for property confiscated in connection with their
expulsion after World War II

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and minor transit
point for Latin American cocaine to Western Europe; producer of
synthetic drugs for local and regional markets; susceptible to money
laundering related to drug trafficking, organized crime

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005

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

@Denmark

Introduction Denmark

Background:
Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European
power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is
participating in the general political and economic integration of
Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the EU) in 1973.
However, the country has opted out of certain elements of the
European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic
and Monetary Union (EMU), European defense cooperation, and issues
concerning certain justice and home affairs.

Geography Denmark

Location:
Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a
peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major
islands (Sjaelland and Fyn)

Geographic coordinates:
56 00 N, 10 00 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 43,094 sq km
land: 42,394 sq km
water: 700 sq km
note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest
of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major
islands of Sjaelland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and
Greenland

Area - comparative:
slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts

Land boundaries:
total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km

Coastline:
7,314 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate:
temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers

Terrain:
low and flat to gently rolling plains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel
and sand

Land use:
arable land: 54.02%
permanent crops: 0.19%
other: 45.79% (2001)

Irrigated land:
4,760 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of
Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are
protected from the sea by a system of dikes

Environment - current issues:
air pollution, principally from vehicle and power plant emissions;
nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and
surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85,
Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and
North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater
Copenhagen

People Denmark

Population:
5,432,335 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18.8% (male 524,250/female 497,683)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 1,811,787/female 1,780,907)
65 years and over: 15.1% (male 349,458/female 468,250) (2005 est.)

Median age:
total: 39.47 years
male: 38.55 years
female: 40.4 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.34% (2005 est.)

Birth rate:
11.36 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:
10.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate:
2.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.62 years
male: 75.34 years
female: 80.03 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.74 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
5,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 100 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish

Ethnic groups:
Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali

Religions:
Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%,
Muslim 2%

Languages:
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small
minority)
note: English is the predominant second language

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100%
male: 100%
female: 100%

Government Denmark

Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark
conventional short form: Denmark
local long form: Kongeriget Danmark
local short form: Danmark

Government type:
constitutional monarchy

Capital:
Copenhagen

Administrative divisions:
metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2
boroughs* (amtskommuner, singular - amtskommune); Arhus, Bornholm,
Frederiksberg*, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavn
(Copenhagen)*, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde,
Sonderjylland, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjalland, Viborg
note: since 2005 Bornholm may have become a borough; in the future
the counties may be replaced by regions; see separate entries for
the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the Kingdom of
Denmark and are self-governing overseas administrative divisions

Independence:
first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became
a constitutional monarchy

National holiday:
none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June (1849) is generally
viewed as the National Day

Constitution:
5 June 1849 adoption of original constitution; a major overhaul of
5 June 1953 allowed for a unicameral legislature and a female chief
of state

Legal system:
civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir
Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the monarch (born 26
May 1968)
head of government: Prime Minister Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN (since 27
November 2001)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by
parliament
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative
elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the
majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch

Legislative branch:
unicameral People's Assembly or Folketinget (179 seats, including 2
from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands; members are elected by
popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve
four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 February 2005 (next to be held February 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 29%,
Social Democrats 25.9%, Danish People's Party 13.2%, Conservative
Party 10.3%, Social Liberal Party 9.2%, Socialist People's Party 6%,
Unity List 3.4%; seats by party - Liberal Party 52, Social Democrats
47, Danish People's Party 24, Conservative Party 18, Social Liberal
Party 17, Socialist People's Party 11, Unity List 6; note - does not
include the 2 seats from Greenland and the 2 seats from the Faroe
Islands

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life)

Political parties and leaders:
Center Democratic Party [Mimi JAKOBSEN]; Christian Democrats (was
Christian People's Party) [Marianne KARLSMOSE]; Conservative Party
(sometimes known as Conservative People's Party) [Bendt BENDTSEN];
Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders Fogh
RASMUSSEN]; Social Democratic Party [Helle THORNING-SCHMIDT]; Social
Liberal Party (sometimes called the Radical Left) [Marianne JELVED,
leader; Soren BALD, chairman]; Socialist People's Party [Villy
SOEVNDAL]; Red-Green Unity List (bloc includes Left Socialist Party,
Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party) [collective
leadership]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB,
ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM,
IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer),
OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council
(temporary), UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK,
UNMIL, UNMISET, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer),
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Friis PETERSEN
chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300
FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470
consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Sally M.
LIGHT
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen
mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716
telephone: [45] 35 55 31 44
FAX: [45] 35 43 02 23

Flag description:
red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the
vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side, and that
design element of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was subsequently
adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway,
and Sweden

Economy Denmark

Economy - overview:
This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech
agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry,
extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards,
a stable currency, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is
a net exporter of food and energy and enjoys a comfortable balance
of payments surplus. Government objectives include streamlining the
bureaucracy and further privatization of state assets. The
government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the
economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase
(a common European currency) of the European Economic and Monetary
Union (EMU), but Denmark has decided not to join 12 other EU members
in the euro; even so, the Danish krone remains pegged to the euro.
Growth in 2004 was sluggish, yet above the scanty 0.3% of 2003.
Because of high GDP per capita, welfare benefits, a low Gini index,
and political stability, the Danish people enjoy living standards
topped by no other nation. A major long-term issue will be the sharp
decline in the ratio of workers to retirees.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$174.4 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.1% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $32,200 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 25.5%
services: 72.3% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
2.87 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 4%, industry 17%, services 79% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate:
6.2% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
24.7 (1992)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.4% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
19.8% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $136.1 billion
expenditures: $133.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $500
million (2004 est.)

Public debt:
42.5% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish

Industries:
iron, steel, nonferrous metals, chemicals, food processing,
machinery and transportation equipment, textiles and clothing,
electronics, construction, furniture and other wood products,
shipbuilding and refurbishment, windmills

Industrial production growth rate:
1.7% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production:
36.38 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 82.7%
hydro: 0.1%
nuclear: 0%
other: 17.3% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
31.63 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
11.1 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
8.9 billion kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
346,200 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
218,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
332,100 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
195,000 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
1.23 billion bbl (1 January 2002)

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

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

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

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

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

Current account balance:
$6.529 billion (2004 est.)

Exports:
$73.06 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products,
fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills

Exports - partners:
Germany 18%, Sweden 13.2%, UK 8.7%, US 5.8%, Netherlands 5.5%,
Norway 5.4%, France 5% (2004)

Imports:
$63.45 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for
industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods

Imports - partners:
Germany 22.3%, Sweden 13.5%, Netherlands 6.8%, UK 6.1%, France
4.5%, Norway 4.5%, Italy 4.1%, China 4% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$37.98 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$21.7 billion (2000)

Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $1.63 billion (1999)

Currency (code):
Danish krone (DKK)

Currency code:
DKK

Exchange rates:
Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947
(2002), 8.3228 (2001), 8.0831 (2000)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Denmark

Telephones - main lines in use:
3,610,100 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
4,785,300 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: excellent telephone and telegraph services
domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form
trunk network, 4 cellular mobile communications systems
international: country code - 45; 18 submarine fiber-optic cables
linking Denmark with Canada, Faroe Islands, Germany, Iceland,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and UK; satellite earth
stations - 6 Intelsat, 10 Eutelsat, 1 Orion, 1 Inmarsat
(Blaavand-Atlantic-East); note - the Nordic countries (Denmark,
Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) share the Danish earth station
and the Eik, Norway, station for worldwide Inmarsat access (1997)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
6.02 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998)

Televisions:
3.121 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.dk

Internet hosts:
1,219,925 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
13 (2000)

Internet users:
2.756 million (2002)

Transportation Denmark

Railways:
total: 2,628 km
standard gauge: 2,628 km 1.435-m gauge (595 km electrified) (2004)

Highways:
total: 71,847 km
paved: 71,847 km (including 918 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (2002)

Waterways:
417 km (2001)

Pipelines:
condensate 12 km; gas 3,892 km; oil 455 km; oil/gas/water 2 km;
unknown (oil/water) 64 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Aalborg, Aarhus, Asnaesvaerkets, Copenhagen, Elsinore, Ensted,
Esbjerg, Fredericia, Frederikshavn, Graasten, Kalundborg, Odense,
Roenne

Merchant marine:
total: 287 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,952,473 GRT/9,030,444 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 67, chemical tanker 40, container 79,
liquefied gas 10, livestock carrier 2, passenger 1, passenger/cargo
42, petroleum tanker 25, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 8,
specialized tanker 4
foreign-owned: 23 (Bahamas 14, France 1, Greece 1, Greenland 1,
Norway 2, Sweden 2, UAE 1, Vietnam 1)
registered in other countries: 487 (2005)

Airports:
97 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 12
under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 69
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m: 63 (2004 est.)

Military Denmark

Military branches:
Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home
Guard (Hjemmevaernet)

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for compulsory and volunteer military service;
conscripts serve an initial training period that varies from 4 to 12
months according to specialization; reservists are assigned to
mobilization units following completion of their conscript service
(2004)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 1,175,108 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 955,168 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males: 31,317 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$3,271.6 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.5% (2004)

Transnational Issues Denmark

Disputes - international:
Iceland disputes the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line; Iceland,
the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands'
continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm; Faroese continue to study
proposals for full independence; uncontested sovereignty dispute
with Canada over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between
Ellesmere Island and Greenland

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005

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

@Dhekelia

Introduction Dhekelia

Background:
By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the
independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and
jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers in
total: Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The larger of these is the Dhekelia
Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Eastern
Sovereign Base Area.

Geography Dhekelia

Location:
on the southeast coast of Cyprus near Famagusta

Geographic coordinates:
34 59 N, 33 45 E

Map references:
Middle East

Area:
total: 130.8 sq km
note: area surrounds three Cypriot enclaves

Area - comparative:
about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
total: NA; note - boundary with Cyprus is being resurveyed

Coastline:
27.5 km

Climate:
temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters

Environment - current issues:
netting and trapping of small migrant songbirds in the spring and
autumn

Geography - note:
British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small
off-post sites scattered across Cyprus

People Dhekelia

Population:
no indigenous personnel
note: approximately 2,200 military personnel are on the base; there
are another 5,000 British citizens who are families of military
personnel or civilian staff on both the bases of Akrotiri and
Dhekelia; Cyprus citizens work on the base, but do not live there

Languages:
English, Greek

Government Dhekelia

Country name:
conventional long form: Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Dhekelia

Dependency status:
overseas territory of UK; administered by an administrator who is
also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus

Capital:
Episkopi Cantonment; located in Akrotiri

Legal system:
the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Administrator Maj. Gen. Peter Tomas Clayton
PEARSON (since 9 May 2003); note - reports to the British Ministry
of Defence
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is
appointed by the monarch

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (overseas territory of the UK)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (overseas territory of the UK)

Flag description:
the flag of the UK is used

Economy Dhekelia

Economy - overview:
Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military
and their families located in Dhekelia. All food and manufactured
goods must be imported.

Industries:
none

Military Dhekelia

Military - note:
includes Dheklia Garrison and Ayios Nikolaos Station connected by a
roadway

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005

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

@Djibouti

Introduction Djibouti

Background:
The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas became Djibouti in
1977. Hassan Gouled APTIDON installed an authoritarian one-party
state and proceeded to serve as president until 1999. Unrest among
the Afars minority during the 1990s led to a civil war that ended in
2001 following the conclusion of a peace accord between Afar rebels
and the Issa-dominated government. Djibouti's first multi-party
presidential elections in 1999 resulted in the election of Ismail
Omar GUELLEH. Djibouti occupies a very strategic geographic location
at the mouth of the Red Sea and serves as an important transshipment
location for goods entering and leaving the east African highlands.
The present leadership favors close ties to France, which maintains
a significant military presence in the country, but has also
developed increasingly stronger ties with the United States in
recent years. Djibouti currently hosts the only United States
military base in sub-Saharan Africa and is a front-line state in the
global war on terrorism.

Geography Djibouti

Location:
Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between
Eritrea and Somalia

Geographic coordinates:
11 30 N, 43 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 23,000 sq km
land: 22,980 sq km
water: 20 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Massachusetts

Land boundaries:
total: 516 km
border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km

Coastline:
314 km

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

Climate:
desert; torrid, dry

Terrain:
coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m

Natural resources:
geothermal areas, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt,
diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum

Land use:
arable land: 0.04%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 99.96% (2001)

Irrigated land:
10 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the
Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods

Environment - current issues:
inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land;
desertification; endangered species

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

Geography - note:
strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to
Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly
wasteland; Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in Africa

People Djibouti

Population:
476,703 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 43.3% (male 103,516/female 102,860)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 133,168/female 121,823)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 7,748/female 7,588) (2005 est.)

Median age:
total: 18.23 years
male: 18.77 years
female: 17.69 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.06% (2005 est.)

Birth rate:
39.98 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:
19.39 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 104.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 111.82 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 96.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 43.1 years
male: 41.84 years
female: 44.39 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate:
5.4 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
2.9% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
9,100 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
690 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea,
hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria (2004)

Nationality:
noun: Djiboutian(s)
adjective: Djiboutian

Ethnic groups:
Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5%

Religions:
Muslim 94%, Christian 6%

Languages:
French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.9%
male: 78%
female: 58.4% (2003 est.)

Government Djibouti

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Djibouti
conventional short form: Djibouti
former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland

Government type:
republic

Capital:
Djibouti

Administrative divisions:
5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil,
Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura

Independence:
27 June 1977 (from France)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 27 June (1977)

Constitution:
multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992

Legal system:
based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and
Islamic law

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal adult

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ismail Omar GUELLEH (since 8 May 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Mohamed Dileita DILEITA (since 4
March 2001)
cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term;
election last held 8 April 2005 (next to be held by April 2011);
prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Ismail Omar GUELLEH reelected president; percent
of vote - Ismail Omar GUELLEH 100%

Legislative branch:
unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (65 seats;
members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 10 January 2003 (next to be held January 2008)
election results: percent of vote - RPP 62.2%, FRUD 36.9%; seats -
RPP 65, FRUD 0; note - RPP (the ruling party) dominated the election

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme

Political parties and leaders:
Democratic National Party or PND [ADEN Robleh Awaleh]; Democratic
Renewal Party or PRD [Abdillahi HAMARITEH]; Djibouti Development
Party or PDD [Mohamed Daoud CHEHEM]; Front pour la Restauration de
l'Unite Democratique or FRUD [Ali Mohamed DAOUD]; People's Progress
Assembly or RPP (governing party) [Ismail Omar GUELLEH]; Peoples
Social Democratic Party or PPSD [Moumin Bahdon FARAH]; Republican
Alliance for Democracy or ARD [Ahmed Dini AHMED]; Union for
Democracy and Justice or UDJ [leader NA]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Union for Presidential Majority UMP (coalition includes RPP, FRUD,
PPSD and PND); Union for Democratic Changeover or UAD (opposition
coalition includes ARD, MRDD, UDJ, and PDD) [Ahmed Dini AHMED]

International organization participation:
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador ROBLE Olhaye
chancery: Suite 515, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202) 331-0270
FAX: [1] (202) 331-0302

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Marguerita RAGSDALE
embassy: Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti
mailing address: B. P. 185, Djibouti
telephone: [253] 35 39 95
FAX: [253] 35 39 40

Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of light blue (top) and light green with
a white isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a red
five-pointed star in the center

Economy Djibouti

Economy - overview:
The economy is based on service activities connected with the
country's strategic location and status as a free trade zone in
northeast Africa. Two-thirds of the inhabitants live in the capital
city, the remainder are mostly nomadic herders. Scanty rainfall
limits crop production to fruits and vegetables, and most food must
be imported. Djibouti provides services as both a transit port for
the region and an international transshipment and refueling center.
Djibouti has few natural resources and little industry. The nation
is, therefore, heavily dependent on foreign assistance to help
support its balance of payments and to finance development projects.
An unemployment rate of at least 50% continues to be a major
problem. While inflation is not a concern, due to the fixed tie of
the Djiboutian franc to the US dollar, the artificially high value
of the Djiboutian franc adversely affects Djibouti's balance of
payments. Per capita consumption dropped an estimated 35% over the
last seven years because of recession, civil war, and a high
population growth rate (including immigrants and refugees). Faced
with a multitude of economic difficulties, the government has fallen
in arrears on long-term external debt and has been struggling to
meet the stipulations of foreign aid donors.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$619 million (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3.5% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 15.8%
services: 80.7% (2001 est.)

Labor force:
282,000 (2000)

Labor force - by occupation:
NA

Unemployment rate:
50% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
50% (2001 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2% (2002 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $135 million
expenditures: $182 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(1999 est.)

Agriculture - products:
fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels, animal hides

Industries:
construction, agricultural processing, salt

Industrial production growth rate:
3% (1996 est.)

Electricity - production:
180 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
167.4 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)

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

Oil - consumption:
11,300 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Exports:
$155 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit)

Exports - partners:
Somalia 63.8%, Yemen 22.6%, Ethiopia 5% (2004)

Imports:
$665 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products

Imports - partners:
Saudi Arabia 19.7%, India 12.4%, Ethiopia 11.8%, China 8.1%, France
5.6%, US 4.8% (2004)

Debt - external:
$366 million (2002 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$36 million (2001)

Currency (code):
Djiboutian franc (DJF)

Currency code:
DJF

Exchange rates:
Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.72 (2004), 177.72 (2003),
177.72 (2002), 177.72 (2001), 177.72 (2000)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Djibouti

Telephones - main lines in use:
9,500 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
23,000 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: telephone facilities in the city of Djibouti
are adequate as are the microwave radio relay connections to
outlying areas of the country
domestic: microwave radio relay network
international: country code - 253; submarine cable to Jiddah, Suez,
Sicily, Marseilles, Colombo, and Singapore; satellite earth stations
- 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; Medarabtel regional
microwave radio relay telephone network

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001)

Radios:
52,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (2002)

Televisions:
28,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.dj

Internet hosts:
702 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)

Internet users:
6,500 (2003)

Transportation Djibouti

Railways:
total: 100 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway)
narrow gauge: 100 km 1.000-m gauge
note: railway under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia (2004)

Highways:
total: 2,890 km
paved: 364 km
unpaved: 2,526 km (1999 est.)

Ports and harbors:
Djibouti

Merchant marine:
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2005)

Airports:
13 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)

Military Djibouti

Military branches:
Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force)

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

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 95,328 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 46,020 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$28.6 million (2004)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
4.4% (2004)

Transnational Issues Djibouti

Disputes - international:
Djibouti maintains economic ties and border accords with
"Somaliland" leadership while maintaining some political ties to
various factions in Somalia; although most of the 26,000 Somali
refugees in Djibouti who fled civil unrest in the early 1990s have
returned, several thousand still await repatriation in UNHCR camps

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 25,474 (Somalia) (2004)

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005

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

@Dominica

Introduction Dominica

Background:
Dominica was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by
Europeans, due chiefly to the fierce resistance of the native
Caribs. France ceded possession to Great Britain in 1763, which made
the island a colony in 1805. In 1980, two years after independence,
Dominica's fortunes improved when a corrupt and tyrannical
administration was replaced by that of Mary Eugenia CHARLES, the
first female prime minister in the Caribbean, who remained in office
for 15 years. Some 3,000 Carib Indians still living on Dominica are
the only pre-Columbian population remaining in the eastern Caribbean.

Geography Dominica

Location:
Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, about one-half of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and
Tobago

Geographic coordinates:
15 25 N, 61 20 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 754 sq km
land: 754 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
148 km

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

Climate:
tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall

Terrain:
rugged mountains of volcanic origin

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Morne Diablatins 1,447 m

Natural resources:
timber, hydropower, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 6.67%
permanent crops: 20%
other: 73.33% (2001)

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be
expected during the late summer months

Environment - current issues:
NA

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
known as "The Nature Island of the Caribbean" due to its
spectacular, lush, and varied flora and fauna, which are protected
by an extensive natural park system; the most mountainous of the
Lesser Antilles, its volcanic peaks are cones of lava craters and
include Boiling Lake, the second-largest, thermally active lake in
the world

People Dominica

Population:
69,029 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 9,328/female 9,125)
15-64 years: 65.4% (male 23,225/female 21,900)
65 years and over: 7.9% (male 2,193/female 3,258) (2005 est.)

Median age:
total: 29.59 years
male: 29.26 years
female: 29.95 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.27% (2005 est.)

Birth rate:
15.73 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:
6.81 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate:
-11.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 14.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.68 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 9.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.65 years
male: 71.73 years
female: 77.71 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.96 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican

Ethnic groups:
black, mixed black and European, European, Syrian, Carib Amerindian

Religions:
Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%, Pentecostal 3%,
Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%), other 6%, none 2%

Languages:
English (official), French patois

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 94%
male: 94%
female: 94% (2003 est.)

Government Dominica

Country name:
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Dominica
conventional short form: Dominica

Government type:
parliamentary democracy; republic within the Commonwealth

Capital:
Roseau

Administrative divisions:
10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John,
Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul,
Saint Peter

Independence:
3 November 1978 (from UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 3 November (1978)

Constitution:
3 November 1978

Legal system:
based on English common law

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Nicholas J. O. LIVERPOOL (since October
2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Roosevelt SKERRIT (since 8
January 2004); note - assumed post after death of Prime Minister
Pierre CHARLES
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the
prime minister
elections: president elected by the House of Assembly for a
five-year term; election last held 1 October 2003 (next to be held
October 2008); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Nicholas LIVERPOOL elected president; percent of
legislative vote - NA%

Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Assembly (30 seats, 9 appointed senators, 21
elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 5 May 2005 (next to be held by 5 August 2010);
note - tradition dictates that the election will be held within five
years of the last election, but technically it is five years from
the first seating of parliament (12 May 2005) plus a 90-day grace
period
election results: percent of vote by party - DLP 52.08%, UWP 43.6%,
DFP 3.15%; seats by party - DLP 12, UWP 8, independent 1

Judicial branch:
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the Court of Appeal
and the High Court (located in Saint Lucia; one of the six judges
must reside in Dominica and preside over the Court of Summary
Jurisdiction)

Political parties and leaders:
Dominica Freedom Party or DFP [Charles SAVARIN]; Dominica Labor
Party or DLP [Roosevelt SKERRIT]; United Workers Party or UWP
[Edison JAMES]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Dominica Liberation Movement or DLM (a small leftist party)

International organization participation:
ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO
(subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Swinburne LESTRADE
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
telephone: [1] (202) 364-6781
FAX: [1] (202) 364-6791
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US does not have an embassy in Dominica; the US Ambassador to
Barbados is accredited to Dominica

Flag description:
green, with a centered cross of three equal bands - the vertical
part is yellow (hoist side), black, and white and the horizontal
part is yellow (top), black, and white; superimposed in the center
of the cross is a red disk bearing a sisserou parrot encircled by 10
green, five-pointed stars edged in yellow; the 10 stars represent
the 10 administrative divisions (parishes)

Economy Dominica

Economy - overview:
The Dominican economy depends on agriculture, primarily bananas,
and remains highly vulnerable to climatic conditions and
international economic developments. Production of bananas dropped
precipitously in 2003, a major reason for the 1% decline in GDP.
Tourism increased in 2003 as the government sought to promote
Dominica as an "ecotourism" destination. Development of the tourism
industry remains difficult, however, because of the rugged
coastline, lack of beaches, and the absence of an international
airport. The government began a comprehensive restructuring of the
economy in 2003 - including elimination of price controls,
privatization of the state banana company, and tax increases - to
address Dominica's economic crisis and to meet IMF targets. In order
to diversify the island's production base the government is
attempting to develop an offshore financial sector and is planning
to construct an oil refinery on the eastern part of the island.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$384 million (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
-1% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $5,500 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 18%
industry: 24%
services: 58% (2002 est.)

Labor force:
25,000 (1999 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28%

Unemployment rate:
23% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line:
30% (2002 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1% (2001 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $73.9 million
expenditures: $84.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2001)

Agriculture - products:
bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts, cocoa; forest and
fishery potential not exploited

Industries:
soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes

Industrial production growth rate:
-10% (1997 est.)

Electricity - production:
68.41 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 47.1%
hydro: 52.9%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
63.62 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)

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

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

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Exports:
$39 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges

Exports - partners:
UK 21.6%, Jamaica 14.8%, Antigua and Barbuda 8.8%, Guyana 7.5%,
Japan 5.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.8%, US 4.3%, Saint Lucia 4% (2004)

Imports:
$98.2 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals

Imports - partners:
China 20.4%, US 16.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 12.3%, UK 6.9%, South
Korea 4.6%, Japan 4.3% (2004)

Debt - external:
$161.5 million (2001)

Economic aid - recipient:
$22.8 million (2003 est.)

Currency (code):
East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Currency code:
XCD

Exchange rates:
East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7
(2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000)

Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June

Communications Dominica

Telephones - main lines in use:
23,700 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
9,400 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: fully automatic network
international: country code - 1-767; microwave radio relay and SHF
radiotelephone links to Martinique and Guadeloupe; VHF and UHF
radiotelephone links to Saint Lucia

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2004)

Radios:
46,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (2004)

Televisions:
6,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.dm

Internet hosts:
681 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
16 (2000)

Internet users:
12,500 (2002)

Transportation Dominica

Highways:
total: 780 km
paved: 393 km
unpaved: 387 km (1999 est.)

Ports and harbors:
Portsmouth, Roseau

Merchant marine:
total: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 13,771 GRT/19,736 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 19, chemical tanker 2, container 1,
passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll
on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 21 (Estonia 6, Greece 3, Pakistan 1, Russia 2,
Singapore 6, Syria 2, UAE 1) (2005)

Airports:
2 (2004 est.)

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

Military Dominica

Military branches:
no regular military forces; Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force
(includes Coast Guard)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Transnational Issues Dominica

Disputes - international:
joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves
Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which
permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large
portion of the Caribbean Sea

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe;
minor cannabis producer; anti-money-laundering enforcement is weak,
making the country particularly vulnerable to money laundering

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005

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@Dominican Republic

Introduction Dominican Republic

Background:
Explored and claimed by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the
island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of
the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized
French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804
became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo
Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was
conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally
attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861,
the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two
years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865.
A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative, rule for much of
its subsequent history was brought to an end in 1966 when Joaquin
BALAGUER became president. He maintained a tight grip on power for
most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed
elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then,
regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition
candidates have won the presidency. The Dominican economy has had
one of the fastest growth rates in the hemisphere over the past
decade.

Geography Dominican Republic

Location:
Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between
the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti

Geographic coordinates:
19 00 N, 70 40 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 48,730 sq km
land: 48,380 sq km
water: 350 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire

Land boundaries:
total: 360 km
border countries: Haiti 360 km

Coastline:
1,288 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 6 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate:
tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal
variation in rainfall

Terrain:
rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m
highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m

Natural resources:
nickel, bauxite, gold, silver

Land use:
arable land: 22.65%
permanent crops: 10.33%
other: 67.02% (2001)

Irrigated land:
2,590 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe
storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts

Environment - current issues:
water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs;
deforestation

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

Geography - note:
shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti

People Dominican Republic

Population:
8,950,034 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 32.9% (male 1,505,964/female 1,438,809)
15-64 years: 61.7% (male 2,815,544/female 2,703,012)
65 years and over: 5.4% (male 226,372/female 260,333) (2005 est.)

Median age:
total: 23.88 years
male: 23.68 years
female: 24.09 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.29% (2005 est.)

Birth rate:
23.28 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:
7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate:
-3.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)