Chapter VIII: Front Matter (8)

Merchant marine:
total: 1,177 ships (1000 GRT or over) 37,743,270 GRT/50,918,747 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 253, cargo 250, chemical
tanker 64, container 79, liquefied gas 35, livestock carrier 2,
passenger 115, passenger/cargo 34, petroleum tanker 175,
refrigerated cargo 114, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 5,
vehicle carrier 30
foreign-owned: 1,093 (Angola 5, Australia 2, Belgium 13, Canada 18,
China 3, Cuba 1, Cyprus 13, Denmark 59, Estonia 1, Finland 8, France
37, Germany 22, Greece 232, Hong Kong 8, Iceland 1, India 1,
Indonesia 4, Ireland 2, Israel 1, Italy 5, Japan 51, Jordan 2, Kenya
1, Latvia 1, Malaysia 12, Monaco 17, Montenegro 2, Netherlands 24,
Nigeria 2, Norway 259, Philippines 1, Poland 15, Reunion 1, Russia
6, Saudi Arabia 12, Singapore 12, Slovenia 1, Spain 12, Sweden 6,
Switzerland 2, Thailand 1, Turkey 8, UAE 16, UK 69, Uruguay 2, US
121, Venezuela 1)
registered in other countries: 4 (Barbados 1, Liberia 1, Panama 2)
(2006)

Ports and terminals:
Freeport, Nassau, South Riding Point

Military Bahamas, The

Military branches:
Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Marines, Air Wing (2006)

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

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 73,121 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 44,309 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 2,804 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Transnational Issues Bahamas, The

Disputes - international:
disagrees with the US on the alignment of the maritime boundary;
continues to monitor and interdict Haitian refugees fleeing economic
privation and political instability

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and
Europe; offshore financial center

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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

@Bahrain

Introduction Bahrain

Background:
In 1782, the Al Khalifa family captured Bahrain from the Persians.
In order to secure these holdings, it entered into a series of
treaties with the UK during the 19th century that made Bahrain a
British protectorate. The archipelago attained its independence in
1971. Bahrain's small size and central location among Persian Gulf
countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign
affairs among its larger neighbors. Facing declining oil reserves,
Bahrain has turned to petroleum processing and refining and has
transformed itself into an international banking center. Sheikh
HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa, who came to power in 1999, has pushed
economic and political reforms and has worked to improve relations
with the Shia community. In February 2001, Bahraini voters approved
a referendum on the National Action Charter - the centerpiece of
Sheikh HAMAD's political liberalization program. In February 2002,
Sheikh HAMAD pronounced Bahrain a constitutional monarchy and
changed his status from amir to king. In October 2002, Bahrainis
elected members of the lower house of Bahrain's reconstituted
bicameral legislature, the National Assembly.

Geography Bahrain

Location:
Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates:
26 00 N, 50 33 E

Map references:
Middle East

Area:
total: 665 sq km
land: 665 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:
3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
161 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined

Climate:
arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers

Terrain:
mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m

Natural resources:
oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls

Land use:
arable land: 2.82%
permanent crops: 5.63%
other: 91.55% (2005)

Irrigated land:
40 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
periodic droughts; dust storms

Environment - current issues:
desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable
land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation
(damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting
from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil
refineries, and distribution stations; lack of freshwater resources,
groundwater and seawater are the only sources for all water needs

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic
location in Persian Gulf, through which much of the Western world's
petroleum must transit to reach open ocean

People Bahrain

Population:
698,585
note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 27.4% (male 96,567/female 94,650)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 280,272/female 202,451)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 12,753/female 11,892) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 29.4 years
male: 32.4 years
female: 25.8 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.45% (2006 est.)

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

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

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

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.38 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.07 male(s)/female
total population: 1.26 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 16.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 19.65 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 13.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.45 years
male: 71.97 years
female: 77 years (2006 est.)

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

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

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
less than 600 (2003 est.)

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

Nationality:
noun: Bahraini(s)
adjective: Bahraini

Ethnic groups:
Bahraini 62.4%, non-Bahraini 37.6% (2001 census)

Religions:
Muslim (Shi'a and Sunni) 81.2%, Christian 9%, other 9.8% (2001
census)

Languages:
Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89.1%
male: 91.9%
female: 85% (2003 est.)

Government Bahrain

Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Bahrain
conventional short form: Bahrain
local long form: Mamlakat al Bahrayn
local short form: Al Bahrayn
former: Dilmun

Government type:
constitutional hereditary monarchy

Capital:
name: Manama
geographic coordinates: 26 13 N, 50 35 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
5 governorates; Asamah, Janubiyah, Muharraq, Shamaliyah, Wasat
note: each governorate administered by an appointed governor

Independence:
15 August 1971 (from UK)

National holiday:
National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 is the date
of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 is the date of
independence from British protection

Constitution:
new constitution 14 February 2002

Legal system:
based on Islamic law and English common law

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: King HAMAD bin Isa al-Khalifa (since 6 March 1999);
Heir Apparent Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad (son of the monarch,
born 21 October 1969)
head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman al-Khalifa
(since 1971); Deputy Prime Ministers ALI bin Khalifa bin Salman
al-Khalifa, MUHAMMAD bin Mubarak al-Khalifa, Jawad al-ARAIDH
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch
elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister
appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of Shura Council (40 members
appointed by the King) and House of Deputies (40 members directly
elected to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Deputies - last held 31 October 2002 (next
election to be held in September 2006)
election results: House of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - Sunni Islamists 12, Shia grouping 7, other
groupings and independents 21
note: first elections since 7 December 1973; unicameral National
Assembly dissolved 26 August 1975; National Action Charter created
bicameral legislature on 23 December 2000; approved by referendum 14
February 2001; first legislative session of Parliament held on 25
December 2002

Judicial branch:
High Civil Appeals Court

Political parties and leaders:
political parties prohibited but political societies were legalized
per a July 2005 law

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Shi'a activists fomented unrest sporadically in 1994-97 and have
recently engaged in protests and marches, demanding that more power
be vested in the elected Council of Representatives and that the
government do more to decrease unemployment; several small,
clandestine leftist and Islamic fundamentalist groups are active

International organization participation:
ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt
(signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Nasir bin Muhammad al-BALUSHI
chancery: 3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 342-1111
FAX: [1] (202) 362-2192
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador William T. MONROE
embassy: Building #979, Road 3119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club),
Block 331, Zinj District, Manama
mailing address: American Embassy Manama, PSC 451, FPO AE
09834-5100; international mail: American Embassy, Box 26431, Manama
telephone: [973] 1724-2700
FAX: [973] 1727-0547

Flag description:
red, the traditional color for flags of Persian Gulf states, with a
white serrated band (five white points) on the hoist side; the five
points represent the five pillars of Islam

Economy Bahrain

Economy - overview:
Petroleum production and refining account for about 60% of
Bahrain's export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of
GDP. With its highly developed communication and transport
facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with
business in the Gulf. A large share of exports consists of petroleum
products made from refining imported crude. Construction proceeds on
several major industrial projects. Unemployment, especially among
the young, and the depletion of oil and underground water resources
are major long-term economic problems. In 2005 Bahrain and the US
ratified a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the first FTA between the US
and a Gulf state.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$15.9 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$11.01 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$23,100 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 0.5%
industry: 38.7%
services: 60.8% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
380,000
note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national
(2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 1%
industry: 79%
services: 20% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate:
15% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.7% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
19.5% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $4.662 billion
expenditures: $3.447 billion; including capital expenditures of $700
million (2005 est.)

Public debt:
33.5% of GDP (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:
fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish

Industries:
petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, iron
pelletization, fertilizers, offshore banking, ship repairing, tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
2% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:
7.345 billion kWh (2003)

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

Electricity - consumption:
6.83 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
188,300 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
26,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
124 million bbl (2005 est.)

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

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

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2002 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2002 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
92.03 billion cu m (2005)

Current account balance:
$1.531 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:
$11.17 billion (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles

Exports - partners:
Saudi Arabia 3.3%, US 2.6%, UAE 2.3% (2005)

Imports:
$7.83 billion (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
crude oil, machinery, chemicals

Imports - partners:
Saudi Arabia 36.4%, Japan 6.6%, Germany 6.4%, US 5.4%, UK 5%, UAE
4.1% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$2.432 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$6.814 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$150 million; note - $50 million annually since 1992 from the UAE
and Kuwait (2002)

Currency (code):
Bahraini dinar (BHD)

Currency code:
BHD

Exchange rates:
Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.376 (2005), 0.376 (2004), 0.376
(2003), 0.376 (2002), 0.376 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Bahrain

Telephones - main lines in use:
196,500 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
748,700 (2005)

Telephone system:
general assessment: modern system
domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network
with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones
international: country code - 973; tropospheric scatter to Qatar and
UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to
Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 1 (1997)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
338,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
4 (1997)

Televisions:
275,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.bh

Internet hosts:
2,165 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)

Internet users:
152,700 (2005)

Transportation Bahrain

Airports:
3 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)

Heliports:
1 (2006)

Pipelines:
gas 20 km; oil 52 km (2006)

Roadways:
total: 3,498 km
paved: 2,768 km
unpaved: 730 km (2003)

Merchant marine:
total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 235,449 GRT/339,728 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 1, container 2, petroleum tanker 1
foreign-owned: 3 (Kuwait 3) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Mina' Salman, Sitrah

Military Bahrain

Military branches:
Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF): Ground Force (includes Air Defense),
Navy, Air Force, National Guard

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 202,126
females age 18-49: 151,734 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 161,372
females age 18-49: 125,488 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 6,013
females age 18-49: 5,852 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$627.7 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
4.9% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Bahrain

Disputes - international:
none

Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Bahrain is a destination country for men and
women from South and Southeast Asia who migrate willingly to work as
laborers or domestic servants, but may be subjected to conditions of
involuntary servitude when faced with exorbitant recruitment and
transportation fees, withholding of their passports, restrictions on
their movement, non-payment of wages, and physical or sexual abuse;
Eastern European women are also believed to be trafficked to Bahrain
for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Bahrain's efforts to address
trafficking in persons are based largely on pledges of future
efforts; the government did not enact a comprehensive
anti-trafficking law extending labor protection to domestic workers

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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

@Bangladesh

Introduction Bangladesh

Background:
Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh
in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the
region and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan
and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated from India
(largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East
Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of
a two-part country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km
left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan
seceded from its union with West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed
Bangladesh. About a third of this extremely poor country floods
annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic
development.

Geography Bangladesh

Location:
Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India

Geographic coordinates:
24 00 N, 90 00 E

Map references:
Asia

Area:
total: 144,000 sq km
land: 133,910 sq km
water: 10,090 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Iowa

Land boundaries:
total: 4,246 km
border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km

Coastline:
580 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 18 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin

Climate:
tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March
to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)

Terrain:
mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m

Natural resources:
natural gas, arable land, timber, coal

Land use:
arable land: 55.39%
permanent crops: 3.08%
other: 41.53% (2005)

Irrigated land:
47,250 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during
the summer monsoon season

Environment - current issues:
many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate
flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water;
water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use
of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally
occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling
water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil
degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation

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, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing
from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel
of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty
into the Bay of Bengal

People Bangladesh

Population:
147,365,352 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 32.9% (male 24,957,997/female 23,533,894)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 47,862,774/female 45,917,674)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 2,731,578/female 2,361,435) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 22.2 years
male: 22.2 years
female: 22.2 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.09% (2006 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
-0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.16 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 60.83 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 61.87 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 59.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 62.46 years
male: 62.47 years
female: 62.45 years (2006 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
13,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
650 (2001 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E,
and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria are high risks in
some locations
water contact disease: leptospirosis
animal contact disease: rabies (2005)

Nationality:
noun: Bangladeshi(s)
adjective: Bangladeshi

Ethnic groups:
Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998)

Religions:
Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)

Languages:
Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 43.1%
male: 53.9%
female: 31.8% (2003 est.)

Government Bangladesh

Country name:
conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh
conventional short form: Bangladesh
local long form: Gana Prajatantri Banladesh
local short form: Banladesh
former: East Bengal, East Pakistan

Government type:
parliamentary democracy

Capital:
name: Dhaka
geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 25 E
time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet

Independence:
16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the
date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known
as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state
of Bangladesh

National holiday:
Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date
of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day
and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh

Constitution:
4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972; suspended following
coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986; amended many times

Legal system:
based on English common law

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 September 2002);
note - the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the
13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government
Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when
Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at
presidential direction - to supervise the elections
head of government: Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA (since 10 October
2001)
cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the
president
elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year
term (eligible for a second term); election scheduled for 16
September 2002 was not held since Iajuddin AHMED was the only
presidential candidate; he was sworn in on 6 September 2002 (next
election to be held by 2007); following legislative elections, the
leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed
prime minister by the president
election results: Iajuddin AHMED declared by the Election Commission
elected unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote
- NA

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected
by popular vote from single territorial constituencies (the
constitutional amendment reserving 30 seats for women over and above
the 300 regular parliament seats expired in May 2001); members serve
five-year terms
elections: last held 1 October 2001 (next to be held no later than
January 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance
partners 41%, AL 40%; seats by party - BNP 193, AL 58, JI 17, JP
(Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Manzur) 4, other 12; note - the
election of October 2001 brought a majority BNP government aligned
with three other smaller parties - JI, IOJ, and Jatiya Party (Manzur)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by
the president)

Political parties and leaders:
Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or
BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP
[Khaleda ZIA]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul Haq AMINI];
Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh or JIB [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya
Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Jatiya Party
(Manzur faction) [Naziur Rahman MANZUR]; Liberal Democratic Party or
LDP [Badrudozza CHOWDHURY and Oli AHMED]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ARF, AsDB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt
(signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM,
OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE,
UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Shamsher Mobin CHOWDHURY
chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183
FAX: [1] (202) 244-5366
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia A. BUTENIS
embassy: Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212
mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000
telephone: [880] (2) 885-5500
FAX: [880] (2) 882-3744

Flag description:
green field with a large red disk shifted slightly to the hoist
side of center; the red disk represents the rising sun and the
sacrifice to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the
lush vegetation of Bangladesh

Economy Bangladesh

Economy - overview:
Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve
economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor,
overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although half of
GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of
Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as
the single-most-important product. Major impediments to growth
include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned
enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor
force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting
energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and
slow implementation of economic reforms. Reform is stalled in many
instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of
government. Progress also has been blocked by opposition from the
bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups.
The BNP government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA, has the
parliamentary strength to push through needed reforms, but the
party's political will to do so has been lacking in key areas. One
encouraging note: growth has been a steady 5% for the past several
years.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$305.9 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$63.56 billion (2005 est.)

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

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$2,100 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 19.9%
industry: 19.8%
services: 60.3% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
66.6 million
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman,
Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion
in 1998-99 (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 63%
industry: 11%
services: 26% (FY95/96)

Unemployment rate:
2.5% (includes underemployment) (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
45% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.9%
highest 10%: 28.6% (1995-96 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
31.8 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
7% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
24.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $5.993 billion
expenditures: $8.598 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2005 est.)

Public debt:
44.5% of GDP (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:
rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses,
oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry

Industries:
cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint,
cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar

Industrial production growth rate:
6.7% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:
17.42 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 93.7%
hydro: 6.3%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
16.2 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
6,825 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - consumption:
84,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

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

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

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

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

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

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

Current account balance:
$37 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
$9.372 billion (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood
(2001)

Exports - partners:
US 23.6%, Germany 13.5%, UK 9.4%, France 6.4% (2005)

Imports:
$12.97 billion (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles,
foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement (2000)

Imports - partners:
India 14.1%, China 13.5%, Kuwait 8.5%, Singapore 6.2%, Japan 4.1%,
Hong Kong 4.1% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$2.825 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$20.63 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$1.575 billion (2000 est.)

Currency (code):
taka (BDT)

Currency code:
BDT

Exchange rates:
taka per US dollar - 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003),
57.888 (2002), 55.807 (2001)

Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June

Communications Bangladesh

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

Telephones - mobile cellular:
9 million (2005)

Telephone system:
general assessment: totally inadequate for a modern country
domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems
include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some
fiber-optic cable in cities
international: country code - 880; satellite earth stations - 6;
international radiotelephone communications and landline service to
neighboring countries (2005)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 15, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006)

Radios:
6.15 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
15 (1999)

Televisions:
770,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.bd

Internet hosts:
469 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
10 (2000)

Internet users:
300,000 (2005)

Transportation Bangladesh

Airports:
16 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 15
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 5 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)

Pipelines:
gas 2,604 km (2006)

Railways:
total: 2,768 km
broad gauge: 946 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)

Roadways:
total: 239,226 km
paved: 22,726 km
unpaved: 216,500 km (2003)

Waterways:
8,372 km
note: includes 5,635 km main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200
km in dry season (2005)

Merchant marine:
total: 42 ships (1000 GRT or over) 341,733 GRT/485,840 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 29, container 6, passenger/cargo 1,
petroleum tanker 3
foreign-owned: 1 (China 1)
registered in other countries: 10 (Antigua and Barbuda 4, Comoros 1,
Malta 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Singapore 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Chittagong, Mongla Port

Military Bangladesh

Military branches:
Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy,
Bangladesh Air Force (Bangladesh Biman Bahini, BAF) (2006)

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription
(2005)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 35,170,019 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 26,841,255 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$1.01 billion (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.8% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Bangladesh

Disputes - international:
discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of
river boundary, exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries,
allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade,
migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous
border; Bangladesh resists India's attempts to fence or wall off
high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; a joint
Bangladesh-India boundary inspection in 2005 revealed 92 pillars are
missing; dispute with India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha
Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation;
Burmese Muslim refugees strain Bangladesh's meager resources

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 20,402 (Burma)
IDPs: 61,000 (land conflicts, religious persecution) (2005)

Illicit drugs:
transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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

@Barbados

Introduction Barbados

Background:
The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in
1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island
until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily
dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the
20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political
reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the
UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the
sugar industry in economic importance.

Geography Barbados

Location:
Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of
Venezuela

Geographic coordinates:
13 10 N, 59 32 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 431 sq km
land: 431 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:
2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
97 km

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

Climate:
tropical; rainy season (June to October)

Terrain:
relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, fish, natural gas

Land use:
arable land: 37.21%
permanent crops: 2.33%
other: 60.46% (2005)

Irrigated land:
50 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides

Environment - current issues:
pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil
erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of
aquifers

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

Geography - note:
easternmost Caribbean island

People Barbados

Population:
279,912 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 20.1% (male 28,160/female 28,039)
15-64 years: 71.1% (male 97,755/female 101,223)
65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,508/female 15,227) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 34.6 years
male: 33.4 years
female: 35.6 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.37% (2006 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
-0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 11.77 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.38 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 10.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.79 years
male: 70.79 years
female: 74.82 years (2006 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.5% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
2,500 (2003 est.)

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

Nationality:
noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial)

Ethnic groups:
black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6%

Religions:
Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other
12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12%

Languages:
English

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 99.7%
male: 99.7%
female: 99.7% (2002 est.)

Government Barbados

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

Government type:
parliamentary democracy

Capital:
name: Bridgetown
geographic coordinates: 13 06 N, 59 37 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint
James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint
Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note - the city of Bridgetown may
be given parish status

Independence:
30 November 1966 (from UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 30 November (1966)

Constitution:
30 November 1966

Legal system:
English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts; accepts
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS
(since 1 June 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 7
September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY (since 26 May
2003)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of
the prime minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general
appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the
leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition
is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the
prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body
appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (30
seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year
terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 21 May 2003 (next to be
held by May 2008)
election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - BLP 23, DLP 7

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service
Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services)

Political parties and leaders:
Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party
or DLP [David THOMPSON]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union
[David COMISSIONG]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY];
Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE]

International organization participation:
ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU,
LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael Ian KING
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-9200
FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467
consulate(s) general: Miami, New York
consulate(s): Los Angeles

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mary M. OURISMAN
embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street,
Bridgetown; (courier) ALICO Building-Cheapside, Bridgetown
mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; CMR 1014, APO AA 34055
telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950
FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246, 429-3379

Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue
with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the
trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the
colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)

Economy Barbados

Economy - overview:
Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane
cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years
has diversified into light industry and tourism. Offshore finance
and information services are important foreign exchange earners. The
government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to
encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining
state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2002-03 mainly
due to a decline in tourism. Growth was positive in 2005, as
economic conditions in the US and Europe moderately improved.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$4.815 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.964 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.1% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$17,300 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 6%
industry: 16%
services: 78% (2000 est.)

Labor force:
128,500 (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 10%
industry: 15%
services: 75% (1996 est.)

Unemployment rate:
10.7% (2003 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
-0.5% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2000 est.)

Agriculture - products:
sugarcane, vegetables, cotton

Industries:
tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export

Industrial production growth rate:
-3.2% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:
819 million kWh (2003)

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

Electricity - consumption:
761.7 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
1,000 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - consumption:
10,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

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

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

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

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

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

Natural gas - proved reserves:
141.6 million cu m (1 January 2002)

Exports:
$209 million (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals,
electrical components

Exports - partners:
US 18.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 15%, UK 12.1%, Saint Lucia 8.4%,
Jamaica 7.9%, Grenada 4.6%, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4.6%
(2005)

Imports:
$1.476 billion (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials,
chemicals, fuel, electrical components

Imports - partners:
NZ 45.9%, US 20.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 12% (2005)

Debt - external:
$668 million (2003)

Economic aid - recipient:
$9.1 million (1995)

Currency (code):
Barbadian dollar (BBD)

Currency code:
BBD

Exchange rates:
Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2
(2002), 2 (2001)

Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

Communications Barbados

Telephones - main lines in use:
134,900 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
206,200 (2005)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system
international: country code - 1-246; satellite earth stations - 1
(Intelsat -Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and
Saint Lucia

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004)

Radios:
237,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (plus two cable channels) (2004)

Televisions:
76,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.bb

Internet hosts:
282 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
19 (2000)

Internet users:
160,000 (2005)

Transportation Barbados

Airports:
1 (2006)

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

Roadways:
total: 1,600 km
paved: 1,600 km (2003)

Merchant marine:
total: 58 ships (1000 GRT or over) 433,390 GRT/664,998 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 11, cargo 32, chemical tanker 7, passenger 1,
passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 2,
specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 57 (Bahamas, The 1, Canada 8, Greece 11, Lebanon 1,
Monaco 1, Norway 29, UAE 1, UK 5)
registered in other countries: 1 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
1) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Bridgetown

Military Barbados

Military branches:
Royal Barbados Defense Force: Troops Command, Coast Guard (2005)

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service; volunteers at
earlier age with parental consent; no conscription (2001)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 71,524
females age 18-49: 72,302 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 54,510
females age 18-49: 54,889 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Military - note:
the Royal Barbados Defense Force includes a land-based Troop
Command and a small Coast Guard; the primary role of the land
element is to defend the island against external aggression; the
Command consists of a single, part-time battalion with a small
regular cadre that is deployed throughout the island; it
increasingly supports the police in patrolling the coastline to
prevent smuggling and other illicit activities (2005)

Transnational Issues Barbados

Disputes - international:
in 2005, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory
international arbitration that will result in a binding award
challenging whether the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's and
Venezuela's maritime boundary extends into Barbadian waters and the
southern limit of Barbadian traditional fishing; joins other
Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island
sustains human habitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on
the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which permits Venezuela to extend its
EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea

Illicit drugs:
one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for
Europe and the US; offshore financial center

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

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

@Belarus

Introduction Belarus

Background:
After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus
attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political
and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet
republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union
on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic
integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the
accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. Since his
election in July 1994 as the country's first president, Alexander
LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian
means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press,
peaceful assembly, and religion continue.

Geography Belarus

Location:
Eastern Europe, east of Poland

Geographic coordinates:
53 00 N, 28 00 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries:
total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km,
Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between
continental and maritime

Terrain:
generally flat and contains much marshland

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m

Natural resources:
forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas,
granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay

Land use:
arable land: 26.77%
permanent crops: 0.6%
other: 72.63% (2005)

Irrigated land:
1,310 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
NA

Environment - current issues:
soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country
contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at
Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note:
landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of
Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes

People Belarus

Population:
10,293,011 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 15.7% (male 825,823/female 791,741)
15-64 years: 69.7% (male 3,490,442/female 3,682,950)
65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,976/female 1,003,079) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 37.2 years
male: 34.5 years
female: 39.9 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.06% (2006 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
2.3 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: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female
total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 12.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.08 years
male: 63.47 years
female: 74.98 years (2006 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.3% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
15,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
1,000 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian

Ethnic groups:
Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other
1.1% (1999 census)

Religions:
Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant,
Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)

Languages:
Belarusian, Russian, other

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.5% (2003 est.)

Government Belarus

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
conventional short form: Belarus
local long form: Respublika Byelarus'
local short form: Byelarus'
former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic

Government type:
republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship

Capital:
name: Minsk
geographic coordinates: 53 54 N, 27 34 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October

Administrative divisions:
6 provinces (voblastsi, singular - voblasts') and 1 municipality*
(horad); Brest, Homyel', Horad Minsk*, Hrodna, Mahilyow, Minsk,
Vitsyebsk
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their
administrative centers

Independence:
25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - 3 July 1944 was the date
Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date
of independence from the Soviet Union

Constitution:
15 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996
giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective
27 November 1996; revised again 17 October 2004 removing
presidential term limits

Legal system:
based on civil law system

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKIY (since 19
December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since
December 2003)
cabinet: Council of Ministers
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the
1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999,
however, Aleksandr LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a
November 1996 referendum; subsequent election held 9 September 2001;
an October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing
president to run in a third election held on 19 March 2006; prime
minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president
election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent
of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 82.6%, Aleksandr MILINKEVICH 6%,
Aleksandr KOZULIN 2.3%; note - election marred by electoral fraud

Legislative branch:
bicameral National Assembly or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of
the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56
members elected by regional councils and 8 members appointed by the
president, all for four-year terms) and the Chamber of
Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected
by universal adult suffrage to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers
widely denounced the elections as flawed and undemocratic, based on
massive government falsification; pro-LUKASHENKO candidates won
every seat, after many opposition candidates were disqualified for
technical reasons
election results: Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - NA; Palata Predstaviteley - percent of vote by
party - NA; seats by party - NA

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president);
Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president
and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives)

Political parties and leaders:
pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY];
Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement
(Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolai ULAKHOVICH, chairman];
Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Party of
Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party [Vladimir
ALEXANDROVICH]
opposition parties: 10 Plus Coalition [Alyaksandr MILINKEVICH],
includes: Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Syarhey KALYAKIN];
Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV,
Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk
VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav
SHUSHKEVICH]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and
Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or
UCP [Anatol LYABEDKA]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina
MATUSEVICH, chairperson]
other opposition includes: Belarusian Social-Democratic Party
Nardonaya Hromada or BSDP NH [Alyaksandr KOZULIN, chairman];
Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of
Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergei YERMAKK];
Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian
Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Alyaksandr YAROSHUK];
Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian
Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey
SANNIKOV]; Lenin Communist Union of Youth (youth wing of the
Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB); National Strike Committee of
Entrepreneurs [Aleksandr VASILYEV, Valery LEVONEVSKY]; Partnership
NGO [Nikolay ASTREYKA]; Perspektiva kiosk watchdog NGO [Anatol
SHUMCHENKO]; Vyasna [Ales BYALATSKY]; Women's Independent Democratic
Movement [Ludmila PETINA]; Youth Front (Malady Front) [Dzmitryy
DASHKEVICH, Syarhey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS]

International organization participation:
BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU,
ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA,
NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mikhail KHVOSTOV
chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604
FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Karen B. STEWART
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002
mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723
telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348
FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853

Flag description:
red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the
width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side
bears Belarusian national ornamentation in red

Economy Belarus

Economy - overview:
Belarus's economy in 2005 posted 8% growth. The government has
succeeded in lowering inflation over the past several years. Trade
with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in
2005, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax
(VAT) on trade was collected. Trade with European countries
increased. Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995,
when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of
"market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO
reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange
rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management
of private enterprises. During 2005, the government re-nationalized
a number of private companies. In addition, businesses have been
subject to pressure by central and local governments, e.g.,
arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections,
retroactive application of new business regulations, and arrests of
"disruptive" businessmen and factory owners. A wide range of
redistributive policies has helped those at the bottom of the
ladder; the Gini coefficient is among the lowest in the world.
Because of these restrictive economic policies, Belarus has had
trouble attracting foreign investment, which remains low. Growth has
been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in a tough,
centrally directed economy with a high, but decreasing, rate of
inflation. Belarus continues to receive heavily discounted oil and
natural gas from Russia. Much of Belarus' growth can be attributed
to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$73.09 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$26.69 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
9.2% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$7,100 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 9.3%
industry: 31.6%
services: 59.1% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
4.3 million (31 December 2005)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 14%
industry: 34.7%
services: 51.3% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate:
1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of
underemployed workers (2005)

Population below poverty line:
27.1% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
30.4 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
10.3% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
24.8% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $5.903 billion
expenditures: $6.343 billion; including capital expenditures of $180
million (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:
grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk

Industries:
metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers,
motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles,
radios, refrigerators

Industrial production growth rate:
15.6% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:
30 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 99.5%
hydro: 0.1%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.4% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
34.3 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
800 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
7 billion kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
36,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
252,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - imports:
360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Natural gas - production:
250 million cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
20.5 billion cu m (2005 est.)

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

Natural gas - imports:
20.5 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Current account balance:
$852 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
$16.14 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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

Exports - partners:
Russia 38.5%, Ukraine 7.8%, Poland 7.1%, Latvia 4.2%, UK 4.1%,
China 4.1% (2005)

Imports:
$16.94 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs,
metals

Imports - partners:
Russia 57.9%, Germany 9.7%, Ukraine 6.4%, Poland 5.2% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.215 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$4.662 billion (30 June 2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$194.3 million (1995)

Currency (code):
Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)

Currency code:
BYB/BYR

Exchange rates:
Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004),
2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001)