Chapter LI: Front Matter (51)

Disputes - international:
Romania and Ukraine have taken their dispute over
Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea
maritime boundary to the ICJ for adjudication; Romania also opposes
Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube border
through Ukraine to the Black Sea; Hungary amended the status law
extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians
in Romania, to which Romania had objected

Illicit drugs:
major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the
Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for
Western Europe; although not a significant financial center, role as
a narcotics conduit leaves it vulnerable to laundering which occurs
via the banking system, currency exchange houses, and casinos

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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@Russia

Introduction Russia

Background:
Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able
to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th
centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding
principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynasty
continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific.
Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic
Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th
century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia.
Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led
to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and
to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The Communists
under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR.
The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened communist
rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of
millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the
following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV
(1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika
(restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his
initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991
splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics.
Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a
democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict
social, political, and economic controls of the Communist period.
While some progress has been made on the economic front, recent
years have seen a recentralization of power under Vladimir PUTIN and
the erosion of nascent democratic institutions. A determined
guerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya and threatens to
destabilize the North Caucasus region.

Geography Russia

Location:
Northern Asia (the area west of the Urals is considered part of
Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North
Pacific Ocean

Geographic coordinates:
60 00 N, 100 00 E

Map references:
Asia

Area:
total: 17,075,200 sq km
land: 16,995,800 sq km
water: 79,400 sq km

Area - comparative:
approximately 1.8 times the size of the US

Land boundaries:
total: 20,096.5 km
border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China
(southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland
1,340 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km,
Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 280.5 km, Mongolia
3,485 km, Norway 196 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 232 km, Ukraine
1,576 km

Coastline:
37,653 km

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

Climate:
ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much
of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the
polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid
in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along
Arctic coast

Terrain:
broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest
and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border
regions

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 m

Natural resources:
wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural
gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber
note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder
exploitation of natural resources

Land use:
arable land: 7.17%
permanent crops: 0.11%
other: 92.72% (2005)

Irrigated land:
46,000 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to
development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and
earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula; spring floods and
summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of European
Russia

Environment - current issues:
air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric
plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal,
and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and seacoasts;
deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper
application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes
intense radioactive contamination; groundwater contamination from
toxic waste; urban solid waste management; abandoned stocks of
obsolete pesticides

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

Geography - note:
largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably
located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its
size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either
too cold or too dry) for agriculture; Mount El'brus is Europe's
tallest peak

People Russia

Population:
142,893,540 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 14.2% (male 10,441,151/female 9,921,102)
15-64 years: 71.3% (male 49,271,698/female 52,679,463)
65 years and over: 14.4% (male 6,500,814/female 14,079,312) (2006
est.)

Median age:
total: 38.4 years
male: 35.2 years
female: 41.3 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.37% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
9.95 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
14.65 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.46 male(s)/female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 15.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.43 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 12.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 67.08 years
male: 60.45 years
female: 74.1 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.28 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
860,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
9,000 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Russian(s)
adjective: Russian

Ethnic groups:
Russian 79.8%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 2%, Bashkir 1.2%, Chuvash
1.1%, other or unspecified 12.1% (2002 census)

Religions:
Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2% (2006
est.)
note: estimates are of practicing worshipers; Russia has large
populations of non-practicing believers and non-believers, a legacy
of over seven decades of Soviet rule

Languages:
Russian, many minority languages

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6%
male: 99.7%
female: 99.5% (2003 est.)

Government Russia

Country name:
conventional long form: Russian Federation
conventional short form: Russia
local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
local short form: Rossiya
former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

Government type:
federation

Capital:
name: Moscow
geographic coordinates: 55 45 N, 37 35 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October
note: Russia is divided into eleven time zones

Administrative divisions:
48 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast), 21 republics (respublik,
singular - respublika), 9 autonomous okrugs (avtonomnykh okrugov,
singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 7 krays (krayev, singular - kray), 2
federal cities (singular - gorod), and 1 autonomous oblast
(avtonomnaya oblast')
oblasts: Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod,
Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga,
Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma,
Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad, Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk,
Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Orel,
Penza, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan', Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara,
Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula,
Tver', Tyumen', Ul'yanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh,
Yaroslavl'
republics: Adygeya (Maykop), Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Bashkortostan
(Ufa), Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashiya
(Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Ingushetiya (Magas),
Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik), Kalmykiya (Elista),
Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk), Kareliya (Petrozavodsk),
Khakasiya (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola),
Mordoviya (Saransk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Sakha [Yakutiya]
(Yakutsk), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)
autonomous okrugs: Aga Buryat (Aginskoye), Chukotka (Anadyr'), Evenk
(Tura), Khanty-Mansi, Koryak (Palana), Nenets (Nar'yan-Mar), Taymyr
[Dolgano-Nenets] (Dudinka), Ust'-Orda Buryat (Ust'-Ordynskiy),
Yamalo-Nenets (Salekhard)
krays: Altay (Barnaul), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk,
Permskiy, Primorskiy (Vladivostok), Stavropol'
federal cities: Moscow (Moskva), Saint Petersburg (Sankt-Peterburg)
autonomous oblast: Yevrey [Jewish] (Birobidzhan)
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their
administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center
name following in parentheses)

Independence:
24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday:
Russia Day, 12 June (1990)

Constitution:
adopted 12 December 1993

Legal system:
based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (acting
president 31 December 1999-6 May 2000, president since 7 May 2000)
head of government: Premier Mikhail Yefimovich FRADKOV (since 5
March 2004); First Deputy Premier Dmitriy Anatolyevich MEDVEDEV
(since 14 November 2005), Deputy Premiers Aleksandr Dmitriyevich
ZHUKOV (since 9 March 2004) and Sergey Borisovich IVANOV (since 14
November 2005)
cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" composed of
the premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other
individuals; all are appointed by the president
note: there is also a Presidential Administration (PA) that provides
staff and policy support to the president, drafts presidential
decrees, and coordinates policy among government agencies; a
Security Council also reports directly to the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term
(eligible for a second term); election last held 14 March 2004 (next
to be held March 2008); note - no vice president; if the president
dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is
impeached, or resigns, the premier serves as acting president until
a new presidential election is held, which must be within three
months; premier appointed by the president with the approval of the
Duma
election results: Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN reelected president;
percent of vote - Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN 71.2%, Nikolay
KHARITONOV 13.7%, other (no candidate above 5%) 15.1%

Legislative branch:
bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of the
Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (178 seats; as of July 2000,
members appointed by the top executive and legislative officials in
each of the 88 federal administrative units - oblasts, krays,
republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the federal cities of
Moscow and Saint Petersburg; members serve four-year terms) and the
State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; currently elected by
proportional representation from party lists winning at least 7% of
the vote; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve
four-year terms)
elections: State Duma - last held 7 December 2003 (next to be held
in December 2007)
election results: State Duma - percent of vote received by parties
clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of
the 225 party list seats - United Russia 37.1%, CPRF 12.7%, LDPR
11.6%, Motherland 9.1%; seats by party - United Russia 222, CPRF 53,
LDPR 38, Motherland 37, People's Party 19, Yabloko 4, SPS 2, other
7, independents 65, repeat election required 3; composition as of 1
July 2006 - United Russia 309, CPRF 45, LDPR 35, Motherland 29,
People's Party 12, independents 18, vacant 2

Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Supreme Arbitration Court;
judges for all courts are appointed for life by the Federation
Council on the recommendation of the president

Political parties and leaders:
A Just Russia or JR [Sergei MIRONOV] (formed from the merger of
three small political parties: Motherland Party (Rodina),
Pensioner's Party, and Party of Life); Communist Party of the
Russian Federation or CPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Liberal
Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich
ZHIRINOVSKIY]; People's Party [Gennady RAIKOV]; Union of Right
Forces or SPS [Nikita BELYKH]; United Russia or UR [Boris
Vyacheslavovich GRYZLOV]; Yabloko Party [Grigoriy Alekseyevich
YAVLINSKIY]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC,
CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, G- 8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer),
MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OIC
(observer), ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UN
Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE,
UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer), ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV
chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700, 5701, 5704, 5708
FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735
consulate(s) general: Houston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador William J. BURNS
embassy: Bolshoy Deviatinskiy Pereulok No. 8, 121099 Moscow
mailing address: PSC-77, APO AE 09721
telephone: [7] (495) 728-5000
FAX: [7] (495) 728-5090
consulate(s) general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red

Economy Russia

Economy - overview:
Russia ended 2005 with its seventh straight year of growth,
averaging 6.4% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. Although
high oil prices and a relatively cheap ruble are important drivers
of this economic rebound, since 2000 investment and consumer-driven
demand have played a noticeably increasing role. Real fixed capital
investments have averaged gains greater than 10% over the last five
years, and real personal incomes have realized average increases
over 12%. During this time, poverty has declined steadily and the
middle class has continued to expand. Russia has also improved its
international financial position since the 1998 financial crisis,
with its foreign debt declining from 90% of GDP to around 31%.
Strong oil export earnings have allowed Russia to increase its
foreign reserves from only $12 billion to some $180 billion at
yearend 2005. These achievements, along with a renewed government
effort to advance structural reforms, have raised business and
investor confidence in Russia's economic prospects. Nevertheless,
serious problems persist. Economic growth slowed to 5.9% for 2005
while inflation remains high. Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber
account for more than 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable
to swings in world prices. Russia's manufacturing base is
dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to
achieve broad-based economic growth. Other problems include a weak
banking system, a poor business climate that discourages both
domestic and foreign investors, corruption, and widespread lack of
trust in institutions. In addition, a string of investigations
launched against a major Russian oil company, culminating with the
arrest of its CEO in the fall of 2003 and the acquisition of the
company by a state owned firm, have raised concerns by some
observers that President PUTIN is granting more influence to forces
within his government that desire to reassert state control over the
economy. State control has increased in the past year with a number
of large acquisitions. Most fundamentally, Russia has made little
progress in building the rule of law, the bedrock of a modern market
economy.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$1.584 trillion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$740.7 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
6.4% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$11,000 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 5.4%
industry: 37.1%
services: 57.5% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
74.22 million (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 10.3%
industry: 21.4%
services: 68.3% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate:
7.6% plus considerable underemployment (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
17.8% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 38.7% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
40 (2002)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
12.7% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
18.1% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $176.7 billion
expenditures: $125.6 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2005 est.)

Public debt:
12.9% of GDP (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:
grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk

Industries:
complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal,
oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from
rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles;
defense industries including radar, missile production, and advanced
electronic components, shipbuilding; road and rail transportation
equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery,
tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and
transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer
durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate:
4% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:
931 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 66.3%
hydro: 17.2%
nuclear: 16.4%
other: 0.1% (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
811.5 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
24 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
14 billion kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
9.15 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
2.8 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports:
5.15 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:
75,000 bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
69 billion bbl (2003 est.)

Natural gas - production:
587 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
402.1 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
157.2 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
12 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
47.57 trillion cu m (2003)

Current account balance:
$84.25 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:
$245 billion (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood
products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and
military manufactures

Exports - partners:
Netherlands 10.3%, Germany 8.3%, Italy 7.9%, China 5.5%, Ukraine
5.2%, Turkey 4.5%, Switzerland 4.4% (2005)

Imports:
$125 billion (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, sugar,
semifinished metal products

Imports - partners:
Germany 13.6%, Ukraine 8%, China 7.4%, Japan 6%, Belarus 4.7%, US
4.7%, Italy 4.6%, South Korea 4.1% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$182.2 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$215.3 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
in FY01 from US, $979 million (including $750 million in
non-proliferation subsidies); in 2001 from EU, $200 million (2000
est.)

Currency (code):
Russian ruble (RUR)

Currency code:
RUR

Exchange rates:
Russian rubles per US dollar - 28.284 (2005), 28.814 (2004), 30.692
(2003), 31.349 (2002), 29.169 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Russia

Telephones - main lines in use:
40.1 million (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
120 million (2005)

Telephone system:
general assessment: the telephone system underwent significant
changes in the 1990s; there are more than 1,000 companies licensed
to offer communication services; access to digital lines has
improved, particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail
services are improving; Russia has made progress toward building the
telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy;
however, a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfied
domestic: cross-country digital trunk lines run from Saint
Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the
telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital
infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital, are
available in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services are
still outdated, inadequate, and low density
international: country code - 7; Russia is connected internationally
by three undersea fiber-optic cables; digital switches in several
cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls;
satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik,
Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 323, FM 1,500 est., shortwave 62 (2004)

Radios:
61.5 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
7,306 (1998)

Televisions:
60.5 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.ru; note - Russia also has responsibility for a legacy domain
".su" that was allocated to the Soviet Union, and whose legal status
and ownership are contested by the Russian Government, ICANN, and
several Russian commercial entities

Internet hosts:
1,979,924 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
300 (June 2000)

Internet users:
23.7 million (2005)

Transportation Russia

Airports:
1,623 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 616
over 3,047 m: 51
2,438 to 3,047 m: 198
1,524 to 2,437 m: 130
914 to 1,523 m: 100
under 914 m: 137 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1,007
over 3,047 m: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 75
914 to 1,523 m: 127
under 914 m: 780 (2006)

Heliports:
52 (2006)

Pipelines:
condensate 122 km; gas 156,285 km; oil 72,283 km; refined products
13,658 km (2006)

Railways:
total: 87,157 km
broad gauge: 86,200 km 1.520-m gauge (40,300 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 957 km 1.067-m gauge (on Sakhalin Island)
note: an additional 30,000 km of non-common carrier lines serve
industries (2005)

Roadways:
total: 871,000 km
paved: 738,000 km (including 29,000 km of expressways)
unpaved: 133,000 km
note: includes public and departmental roads (2004)

Waterways:
102,000 km (including 33,000 km with guaranteed depth)
note: 72,000 km system in European Russia links Baltic Sea, White
Sea, Caspian Sea, Sea of Azov, and Black Sea (2005)

Merchant marine:
total: 1,178 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,080,341 GRT/6,287,784 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 46, cargo 743, chemical
tanker 25, combination ore/oil 38, container 13, passenger 12,
passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 219, refrigerated cargo 54, roll
on/roll off 15, specialized tanker 5
foreign-owned: 100 (Belgium 4, Canada 1, Cyprus 2, Estonia 1,
Germany 2, Greece 1, Latvia 2, Malta 4, Norway 1, Switzerland 7,
Turkey 63, Ukraine 11, US 1)
registered in other countries: 465 (Antigua and Barbuda 6, Bahamas
6, Belize 36, Bulgaria 1, Cambodia 105, Comoros 4, Cyprus 53,
Dominica 2, Finland 1, Georgia 28, North Korea 1, Liberia 77, Malta
70, Marshall Islands 1, Mongolia 13, Panama 7, Saint Kitts and Nevis
5, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 29, Sierra Leone 1, Tuvalu 2,
Ukraine 1, Vanuatu 1, Venezuela 1, unknown 14) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Anapa, Kaliningrad, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Novorossiysk,
Rostov-na-Donu, Saint Petersburg, Taganrog, Vanino, Vostochnyy

Military Russia

Military branches:
Ground Forces (SV), Navy (VMF), Air Forces (VVS); Airborne Troops
(VDV), Strategic Rocket Troops (RVSN), and Space Troops (KV) are
independent "combat arms," not subordinate to any of the three
branches

Military service age and obligation:
Russia has adopted a mixed conscript-contract force; 18-27 years of
age; males are registered for the draft at 17 years of age; length
of compulsory military service is two years; plans call for
reduction in mandatory service to 18 months in 2007 and to one year
by 2008; 30% of Russian army personnel were contract servicemen at
the end of 2005; planning calls for volunteer servicemen to compose
70% of armed forces by 2010, with the remaining servicemen
consisting of conscripts; as of November 2006, the Armed Forces had
more than 60 units manned with contract personnel totalling over
78,000 contract privates and sergeants; 88 Ministry of Defense units
have been designated as permanent readiness units and are expected
to become all-volunteer by end 2007; these include most air force,
naval, and nuclear arms units, as well as all airborne and naval
infantry units, most motorized rifle brigades, and all special
forces detachments (2006)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 35,247,049
females age 18-49: 35,986,426 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 21,049,651
females age 18-49: 29,056,021 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 1,286,069
females age 18-49: 1,244,264 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Transnational Issues Russia

Disputes - international:
in 2005, China and Russia ratified the treaty to divide up the
islands in the Amur, Ussuri, and Argun Rivers, representing the
final portion of their centuries-long border disputes; the
sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri,
Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern
Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kurils," occupied by the
Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, and claimed by
Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty
formally ending World War II hostilities; Russia and Georgia agree
on delimiting all but small, strategic segments of the land boundary
and the maritime boundary; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas
such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Kodori Gorge
in Abkhazia; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia signed equidistance
boundaries in the Caspian seabed but the littoral states have no
consensus on dividing the water column; Russia and Norway dispute
their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights
beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty
zone; various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia
(Kareliya) and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union following the
Second World War but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial
demands; in May 2005, Russia recalled its signatures to the 1996
border agreements with Estonia (1996) and Latvia (1997), when the
two Baltic states announced issuance of unilateral declarations
referencing Soviet occupation and ensuing territorial losses; Russia
demands better treatment of ethnic Russians in Estonia and Latvia;
Estonian citizen groups continue to press for realignment of the
boundary based on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the
now divided ethnic Setu people and parts of the Narva region within
Estonia; Lithuania and Russia committed to demarcating their
boundary in 2006 in accordance with the land and maritime treaty
ratified by Russia in May 2003 and by Lithuania in 1999; Lithuania
operates a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals traveling
from the Kaliningrad coastal exclave into Russia, while still
conforming, as a member state that forms part of the EU's external
border, to strict Schengen border rules; delimitation of land
boundary with Ukraine is complete, but states have renewed
discussions on demarcation; the dispute over the maritime boundary
between Russia and Ukraine through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov
remains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and
on-going expert-level discussions; discussions toward economic and
political union with Belarus advance slowly; Kazakhstan and Russia
boundary delimitation ratified November 2005 and demarcation is
underway; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990 Maritime Boundary
Agreement with the US in the Bering Sea

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 339,000 (displacement from Chechnya and North Ossetia) (2005)

Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Russia is a source, transit, and destination
country for men, women, and children trafficked for various
purposes; it remains a significant source of women trafficked to
over 50 countries for commercial sexual exploitation; Russia is also
a transit and destination country for men and women trafficked from
Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and North Korea to Central and Western
Europe and the Middle East for purposes of forced labor and sexual
exploitation; internal trafficking remains a problem in Russia with
women trafficked from rural areas to urban centers for commercial
sexual exploitation, and men are trafficked internally and from
Central Asia for forced labor in the construction and agricultural
industries; debt bondage is common among trafficking victims, and
child sex tourism remains a concern
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Russia is placed on the Tier 2
Watch List for a third consecutive year for its continued failure to
show evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking,
particularly in the area of victim protection and assistance

Illicit drugs:
limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and
producer of methamphetamine, mostly for domestic consumption;
government has active illicit crop eradication program; used as
transshipment point for Asian opiates, cannabis, and Latin American
cocaine bound for growing domestic markets, to a lesser extent
Western and Central Europe, and occasionally to the US; major source
of heroin precursor chemicals; corruption and organized crime are
key concerns; heroin increasingly popular in domestic market

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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

@Rwanda

Introduction Rwanda

Background:
In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority
ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the
next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some
150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of
these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front
(RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several
political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions,
culminating in April 1994 in the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis
and moderate Hutus. The Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and
ended the killing in July 1994, but approximately 2 million Hutu
refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring
Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and the former Zaire. Since then, most of
the refugees have returned to Rwanda, but about 10,000 remain in
neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo and have formed an
extremist insurgency bent on retaking Rwanda, much as the RPF tried
in 1990. Despite substantial international assistance and political
reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 and
its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in
August and September 2003 - the country continues to struggle to
boost investment and agricultural output, and ethnic reconciliation
is complicated by the real and perceived Tutsi political dominance.
Kigali's increasing centralization and intolerance of dissent, the
nagging Hutu extremist insurgency across the border, and Rwandan
involvement in two wars in recent years in the neighboring
Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to hinder Rwanda's efforts
to escape its bloody legacy.

Geography Rwanda

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

Geographic coordinates:
2 00 S, 30 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 26,338 sq km
land: 24,948 sq km
water: 1,390 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries:
total: 893 km
border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo
217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to
January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible

Terrain:
mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with
altitude declining from west to east

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m
highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m

Natural resources:
gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane,
hydropower, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 45.56%
permanent crops: 10.25%
other: 44.19% (2005)

Irrigated land:
90 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the
northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo

Environment - current issues:
deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel;
overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching

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

Geography - note:
landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the
population predominantly rural

People Rwanda

Population:
8,648,248
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
2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 41.9% (male 1,817,998/female 1,802,134)
15-64 years: 55.6% (male 2,392,778/female 2,417,467)
65 years and over: 2.5% (male 87,325/female 130,546) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 18.6 years
male: 18.4 years
female: 18.8 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.43% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
40.37 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
16.09 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 89.61 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 94.71 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 84.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 47.3 years
male: 46.26 years
female: 48.38 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
5.43 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
5.1% (2003 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
22,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and
typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria (2005)

Nationality:
noun: Rwandan(s)
adjective: Rwandan

Ethnic groups:
Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1%

Religions:
Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%,
indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001)

Languages:
Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French
(official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in
commercial centers

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70.4%
male: 76.3%
female: 64.7% (2003 est.)

People - note:
Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa

Government Rwanda

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Rwanda
conventional short form: Rwanda
local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda
local short form: Rwanda
former: Ruanda, German East Africa

Government type:
republic; presidential, multiparty system

Capital:
name: Kigali
geographic coordinates: 1 57 S, 30 04 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
12 provinces (in French - provinces, singular - province; in
Kinyarwanda - prefigintara for singular and plural); Butare, Byumba,
Cyangugu, Gikongoro, Gisenyi, Gitarama, Kibungo, Kibuye, Kigali
Rurale, Kigali-ville, Umutara, Ruhengeri

Independence:
1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

Constitution:
new constitution adopted 4 June 2003

Legal system:
based on German and Belgian civil law systems and customary law;
judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal adult

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Paul KAGAME (since 22 April 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Bernard MAKUZA (since 8 March
2000)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: President elected by popular vote for a seven-year term
(eligible for a second term); elections last held 25 August 2003
(next to be held NA 2008)
election results: Paul KAGAME elected president in first direct
popular vote; Paul KAGAME 95.05%, Faustin TWAGIRAMUNGU 3.62%,
Jean-Nepomuscene NAYINZIRA 1.33%

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of Senate (26 seats; 12 members
elected local councils, 8 appointed by the president, 4 by the
Political Organizations Forum, 2 represent institutions of higher
learning, to serve eight-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies (80
seats; 53 members elected by popular vote, 24 women elected by local
bodies, 3 selected by youth and disability organizations, to serve
five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held NA, members appointed as part of the
transitional government (next to be held in 2011); Chamber of
Deputies - last held 29 September 2003 (next to be held in 2008)
election results: seats by party under the 2003 Constitution - RPF
40, PSD 7, PL 6, additional 27 members indirectly elected

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; High Courts of the Republic; Provincial Courts;
District Courts; mediation committees

Political parties and leaders:
Centrist Democratic Party or PDC [Alfred MUKEZAMFURA]; Democratic
Popular Union of Rwanda or UDPR [Adrien RANGIRA]; Democratic
Republican Movement or MDR [Celestin KABANDA] (officially banned);
Islamic Democratic Party or PDI [Andre BUMAYA]; Liberal Party or PL
[Prosper HIGIRO]; Party for Democratic Renewal (officially banned);
Rwandan Patriotic Front or RPF [Paul KAGAME]; Social Democratic
Party or PSD [Vincent BIRUTA]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
IBUKA - association of genocide survivors

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

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Zac NSENGA
chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882
FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael ARIETTI
embassy: 337 Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali
mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali
telephone: [250] 50 56 01 through 03
FAX: [250] 57 2128

Flag description:
three horizontal bands of sky blue (top, double width), yellow, and
green, with a golden sun with 24 rays near the fly end of the blue
band

Economy Rwanda

Economy - overview:
Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population
engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely
populated country in Africa and is landlocked with few natural
resources and minimal industry. Primary foreign exchange earners are
coffee and tea. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's fragile
economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly
women, and eroded the country's ability to attract private and
external investment. However, Rwanda has made substantial progress
in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy to pre-1994 levels,
although poverty levels are higher now. GDP has rebounded and
inflation has been curbed. Despite Rwanda's fertile ecosystem, food
production often does not keep pace with population growth,
requiring food imports. Rwanda continues to receive substantial aid
money and obtained IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country
(HIPC) initiative debt relief in 2005. Kigali's high defense
expenditures have caused tension between the government and
international donors and lending agencies. An energy shortage and
instability in neighboring states may slow growth in 2006, while the
lack of adequate transportation linkages to other countries
continues to handicap export growth.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$12.54 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$1.817 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.2% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,500 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 40.1%
industry: 22.9%
services: 37% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
4.6 million (2000)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 90%
industry and services: 10%

Unemployment rate:
NA%

Population below poverty line:
60% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.2%
highest 10%: 24.2% (1985)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
28.9 (1985)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
8% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
18.1% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $509.9 million
expenditures: $584.6 million; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:
coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums),
bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock

Industries:
cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap,
furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes

Industrial production growth rate:
7% (2001 est.)

Electricity - production:
98 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 2.3%
hydro: 97.7%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
121.1 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
30 million kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
6,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

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

Current account balance:
$-166 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
$98 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
coffee, tea, hides, tin ore

Exports - partners:
Germany 11%, China 6.5%, Belgium 4.5% (2005)

Imports:
$243 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products,
cement and construction material

Imports - partners:
Kenya 23.8%, Uganda 6.2%, Belgium 5.4%, Germany 5.3% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$357 million (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$1.4 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$425 million (2003)

Currency (code):
Rwandan franc (RWF)

Currency code:
RWF

Exchange rates:
Rwandan francs per US dollar - 610 (2005), 574.62 (2004), 537.66
(2003), 476.33 (2002), 442.8 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Rwanda

Telephones - main lines in use:
23,000 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
290,000
note: Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several
provincial capitals (2005)

Telephone system:
general assessment: telephone system primarily serves business and
government
domestic: the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the
provinces by microwave radio relay and, recently, by cellular
telephone service; much of the network depends on wire and HF
radiotelephone
international: country code - 250; international connections employ
microwave radio relay to neighboring countries and satellite
communications to more distant countries; satellite earth stations -
1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) in Kigali (includes telex and telefax
service)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 8 (two main FM programs are broadcast through a system of
repeaters, three international FM programs include the BBC, VOA, and
Deutchewelle), shortwave 1 (2005)

Radios:
601,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
2 (2004)

Televisions:
NA; probably less than 1,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.rw

Internet hosts:
1,590 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2002)

Internet users:
38,000 (2005)

Transportation Rwanda

Airports:
9 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 3 (2006)

Roadways:
total: 12,000 km
paved: 996 km
unpaved: 11,004 km (1999)

Waterways:
Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft (2005)

Ports and terminals:
Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye

Military Rwanda

Military branches:
Rwandan Defense Forces: Army, Air Force

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

Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 2,004,750
females age 16-49: 1,990,935 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,103,823
females age 16-49: 1,096,644 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$53.66 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.9% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Rwanda

Disputes - international:
Tutsi, Hutu, Hema, Lendu, and other conflicting ethnic groups,
associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government
forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the
boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and
Uganda to gain control over populated areas and natural resources -
government heads pledge to end conflicts, but localized violence
continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts; DROC and Rwanda
established a border verification mechanism in 2005 to address
accusations of Rwandan military supporting Congolese rebels and the
Congo providing rebel Rwandan "Interhamwe" forces the means and
bases to attack Rwandan forces; as of 2004, Rwandan refugees lived
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Zambia

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 45,460 (Democratic Republic of the
Congo)
IDPs: 4,158 (incursions by Hutu rebels from Democratic Republic of
the Congo, 1997-99; most IDPs in northwest) (2005)

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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

@Saint Helena

Introduction Saint Helena

Background:
Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory consisting of Saint
Helena and Ascension Islands, and the island group of Tristan da
Cunha.
Saint Helena: Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in
1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th
century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's
exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a
port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.
During the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa, several thousand Boer
prisoners were confined on the island between 1900 and 1903.
Ascension Island: This barren and uninhabited island was discovered
and named by the Portuguese in 1503. The British garrisoned the
island in 1815 to prevent a rescue of Napoleon from Saint Helena and
it served as a provisioning station for the Royal Navy's West Africa
Squadron on anti-slavery patrol. The island remained under Admiralty
control until 1922, when it became a dependency of Saint Helena.
During World War II, the UK permitted the US to construct an
airfield on Ascension in support of trans-Atlantic flights to Africa
and anti-submarine operations in the South Atlantic. In the 1960s
the island became an important space tracking station for the US. In
1982, Ascension was an essential staging area for British forces
during the Falklands War, and it remains a critical refueling point
in the air-bridge from the UK to the South Atlantic.
Tristan da Cunha: The island group consists of the islands of
Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale, Inaccessible, and Gough. Tristan da
Cunha is named after its Portuguese discoverer (1506); it was
garrisoned by the British in 1816 to prevent any attempt to rescue
Napoleon from Saint Helena. Gough and Inaccessible Islands have been
designated World Heritage Sites. South Africa leases the site for a
meteorological station on Gough Island.

Geography Saint Helena

Location:
islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South
America and Africa; Ascension Island lies 700 nm northwest of Saint
Helena; Tristan da Cunha lies 2300 nm southwest of Saint Helena

Geographic coordinates:
Saint Helena: 15 57 S 5 42 W
Ascension Island: 7 57 S 14 22 W
Tristan da Cunha island group: 37 15 S 12 30 W

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 413 sq km
land: Saint Helena Island 122 sq km; Ascension Island 90 sq km;
Tristan da Cunha island group 201 sq km
water: 0 sq km

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

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
Saint Helena: 60 km
Ascension Island: NA
Tristan da Cunha: 40 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Climate:
Saint Helena: tropical marine; mild, tempered by trade winds
Ascension Island: tropical marine; mild, semi-arid
Tristan da Cunha: temperate marine; mild, tempered by trade winds
(tends to be cooler than Saint Helena)

Terrain:
the islands of this group result from volcanic activity associated
with the Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge
Saint Helena: rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
Ascension: surface covered by lava flows and cinder cones of 44
dormant volcanoes; ground rises to the east
Tristan da Cunha: sheer cliffs line the coastline of the nearly
circular island; the flanks of the central volcanic peak are deeply
dissected; narrow coastal plain lies between The Peak and the
coastal cliffs

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,062 m; Green
Mountain on Ascension Island 859 m; Mount Actaeon on Saint Helena
Island 818 m

Natural resources:
fish, lobster

Land use:
arable land: 12.9%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 87.1% (2005)

Irrigated land:
NA

Natural hazards:
active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha, last eruption in 1961

Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
Saint Helena harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere
else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles
and sooty terns; Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha is the
highest island mountain in the South Atlantic and a prominent
landmark on the sea lanes around southern Africa

People Saint Helena

Population:
7,502
note: only Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha islands are
inhabited (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18.8% (male 717/female 692)
15-64 years: 71.2% (male 2,751/female 2,593)
65 years and over: 10% (male 342/female 407) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 36 years
male: 36.2 years
female: 35.8 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.56% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
12.13 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
6.53 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 18.34 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.96 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 14.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.93 years
male: 75.02 years
female: 80.98 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.55 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: Saint Helenian(s)
adjective: Saint Helenian
note: referred to locally as "Saints"

Ethnic groups:
African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25%

Religions:
Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic

Languages:
English

Literacy:
definition: age 20 and over can read and write
total population: 97%
male: 97%
female: 98% (1987 est.)

Government Saint Helena

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Helena

Dependency status:
overseas territory of the UK

Government type:
NA

Capital:
name: Jamestown
geographic coordinates: 15 56 S, 5 44 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint
Helena, Tristan da Cunha*

Independence:
none (overseas territory of the UK)

National holiday:
Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926)

Constitution:
1 January 1989

Legal system:
British common law and statutes, supplemented by local statutes

Suffrage:
NA years of age

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Michael CLANCY
(since 15 October 2004)
cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, three
ex-officio officers, and five elected members of the Legislative
Council
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by
the monarch

Legislative branch:
unicameral Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, 3
ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular
vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 August 2005 (next to be held NA 2009)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 12

Judicial branch:
Magistrate's Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders:
none

Political pressure groups and leaders:
none

International organization participation:
ICFTU, UPU

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

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

Flag description:
blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and
the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag;
the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship

Economy Saint Helena

Economy - overview:
The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK,
which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of
annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from
fishing, raising livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there
are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on
Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$18 million (1998 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
NA

GDP - real growth rate:
NA%

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$2,500 (1998 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Labor force:
2,486
note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 6%
industry: 48%
services: 46% (1987 est.)

Unemployment rate:
14% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.2% (1997 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $11.2 million
expenditures: $11 million; including capital expenditures of $NA
(FY92/93)

Agriculture - products:
coffee, corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, lobster (on
Tristan da Cunha)

Industries:
construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork),
fishing, philatelic sales

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
5 million kWh (2003)

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

Electricity - consumption:
4.65 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
100 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Exports:
$19 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee,
handicrafts

Exports - partners:
Tanzania 37.7%, US 17.4%, Japan 15.2%, UK 8.4%, Nigeria 4.8%, Spain
4.5% (2005)

Imports:
$45 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building
materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts

Imports - partners:
UK 53.5%, South Africa 14.3%, Spain 10.3%, Tanzania 8.5%, US 4.6%
(2005)

Debt - external:
$NA

Economic aid - recipient:
$12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997)

Currency (code):
Saint Helenian pound (SHP)

Currency code:
SHP

Exchange rates:
Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004),
0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001)
note: the Saint Helenian pound is on par with the British pound

Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

Communications Saint Helena

Telephones - main lines in use:
2,200 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
NA

Telephone system:
general assessment: can communicate worldwide
domestic: automatic digital network
international: country code - 290; international direct dialing;
satellite voice and data communications; satellite earth stations -
5 (Ascension Island - 4, Saint Helena - 1)

Radio broadcast stations:
Saint Helena: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0
Ascension: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2005)

Radios:
3,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
0
note: three television channels are received in Saint Helena via
satellite and distributed by UHF (2005)

Televisions:
2,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.sh; note - the IANA has assigned .ac as the ccTLD for Ascension
Island

Internet hosts:
329 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)

Internet users:
1,000 note - includes Ascension Island (2003)

Communications - note:
South Africa maintains a meteorological station on Gough Island

Transportation Saint Helena

Airports:
1
note: Wideawake Field on Ascension Island (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)

Roadways:
total: 198 km (Saint Helena 138 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da
Cunha 20 km)
paved: 168 km (Saint Helena 118km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha
10 km)
unpaved: 30 km (Saint Helena 20 km, Ascension 0 km, Tristan da Cunha
10 km) (2002)

Ports and terminals:
Saint Helena: Jamestown
Ascension Island: Georgetown
Tristan da Cunha: Calshot Harbor

Transportation - note:
there is no air connection to Saint Helena or Tristan da Cunha; an
international airport for Saint Helena is in development for 2010

Military Saint Helena

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of the UK

Transnational Issues Saint Helena

Disputes - international:
none

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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@Saint Kitts and Nevis

Introduction Saint Kitts and Nevis

Background:
First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an
associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of
Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and
Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a
referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds
majority needed. Nevis continues in its efforts to try and separate
from Saint Kitts.

Geography Saint Kitts and Nevis