Chapter M: Major infectious diseases (85)

Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria

page last updated on January 13, 2011

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@World (World)

Introduction ::World

Background:

Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).

Geography ::World

Geographic overview:

The surface of the earth is approximately 70.9% water and 29.1% land. The former portion is divided into large water bodies termed oceans. The World Factbook recognizes and describes five oceans, which are in decreasing order of size: the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean.

The land portion is generally divided into several, large, discrete landmasses termed continents. Depending on the convention used, the number of continents can vary from five to seven. The most common classification recognizes seven, which are (from largest to smallest): Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. Asia and Europe are sometimes lumped together into a Eurasian continent resulting in six continents. Alternatively, North and South America are sometimes grouped as simply the Americas, resulting in a continent total of six (or five, if the Eurasia designation is used).

North America is commonly understood to include the island of Greenland, the isles of the Caribbean, and to extend south all the way to the Isthmus of Panama. The easternmost extent of Europe is generally defined as being the Ural Mountains and the Ural River; on the southeast the Caspian Sea; and on the south the Caucasus Mountains, the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean. Portions of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkey fall within both Europe and Asia, but in every instance the larger section is in Asia. These countries are considered part of both continents. Armenia and Cyprus, which lie completely in Western Asia, are geopolitically European countries.

Asia usually incorporates all the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The islands of the Pacific are often lumped with Australia into a "land mass" termed Oceania or Australasia. Africa's northeast extremity is frequently delimited at the Isthmus of Suez, but for geopolitical purposes, the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula is often included as part of Africa.

Although the above groupings are the most common, different continental dispositions are recognized or taught in certain parts of the world, with some arrangements more heavily based on cultural spheres rather than physical geographic considerations.

Map references:

Political Map of the World , Physical Map of the World , Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:

total: 510.072 million sq km

land: 148.94 million sq km

water: 361.132 million sq km

note: 70.9% of the world's surface is water, 29.1% is land

Area - comparative:

land area about 16 times the size of the US

top fifteen World Factbook entities ranked by size: Pacific Ocean 155.557 million sq km; Atlantic Ocean 76.762 million sq km; Indian Ocean 68.556 million sq km; Southern Ocean 20.327 million sq km; Russia 17,098,242 sq km; Arctic Ocean 14.056 million sq km; Antarctica 14 million sq km; Canada 9,984,670 sq km; United States 9,826,675 sq km; China 9,596,961 sq km; Brazil 8,514,877 sq km; Australia 7,741,220 sq km; European Union 4,324,782 sq km; India 3,287,263 sq km; Argentina 2,780,400 sq km

top ten largest islands: Greenland 2,166,086 sq km; New Guinea (Indonesia, Papua New Guinea) 785,753 sq km; Borneo (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia) 751,929 sq km; Madagascar 587,713 sq km; Baffin Island (Canada) 507,451 sq km; Sumatra (Indonesia) 472,784 sq km; Honshu (Japan) 227,963 sq km; Victoria Island (Canada) 217,291 sq km; Great Britain (United Kingdom) 209,331 sq km; Ellesmere Island (Canada) 196,236 sq km

Land boundaries:

the land boundaries in the world total 251,060 km (not counting shared boundaries twice); two nations, China and Russia, each border 14 other countries

note: 45 nations and other areas are landlocked, these include: Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked

Coastline:

356,000 km

note: 95 nations and other entities are islands that border no other countries, they include: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Baker Island, Barbados, Bermuda, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Cyprus, Dominica, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Howland Island, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jarvis Island, Jersey, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Federated States of Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Nauru, Navassa Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Palmyra Atoll, Paracel Islands, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka, Svalbard, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna, Taiwan

Maritime claims:

a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims measured from the mean low-tide baseline as described in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: territorial sea - 12 nm, contiguous zone - 24 nm, and exclusive economic zone - 200 nm; additional zones provide for exploitation of continental shelf resources and an exclusive fishing zone; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 nm

Climate:

a wide equatorial band of hot and humid tropical climates - bordered north and south by subtropical temperate zones - that separate two large areas of cold and dry polar climates

Terrain:

the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,555 m

note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean

highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m

top ten highest mountains (measured from sea level): Mount Everest (Nepal-China) 8,850 m; K2 (Pakistan) 8,611 m; Kanchenjunga (Nepal-India) 8,598 m; Lhotse (Nepal) 8,516 m; Makalu (Nepal-China) 8,463 m; Cho Oyu (Nepal-China) 8,201 m; Dhaulagiri (Nepal) 8,167 m; Manaslu (Nepal) 8,163 m; Nanga Parbat (Pakistan) 8,125 m; Anapurna (Nepal) 8,091 m

Natural resources:

the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in some countries of Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address

Land use:

arable land: 10.57%

permanent crops: 1.04%

other: 88.39% (2005)

Irrigated land:

2,770,980 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:

large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones); natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)

volcanism: the world is home to more than 1,500 potentially active volcanoes, with over 500 of these having erupted in historical times; an estimated 500 million people live near these volcanoes; associated dangers include lava flows, lahars (mudflows), pyroclastic flows, ash clouds, ash fall, ballistic projectiles, gas emissions, landslides, earthquakes, and tsunamis; in the 1990s, the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, created a list of 16 volcanoes worthy of special study because of their great potential for destruction: Avachinsky-Koryaksky (Russia), Colima (Mexico), Etna (Italy), Galeras (Colombia), Mauna Loa (United States), Merapi (Indonesia), Nyiragongo (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Rainier (United States), Sakurajima (Japan), Santa Maria (Guatemala), Santorini (Greece), Taal (Philippines), Teide (Spain), Ulawun (Papua New Guinea), Unzen (Japan), Vesuvius (Italy)

Environment - current issues:

large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion; global warming becoming a greater concern

Geography - note:

the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13.7-billion-year age estimated for the universe

People ::World

Population:

6,768,181,146 (July 2010 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 27% (male 944,987,919/female 884,268,378)

15-64 years: 65.3% (male 2,234,860,865/female 2,187,838,153)

65 years and over: 7.6% (male 227,164,176/female 289,048,221) (2010 est.)

Median age:

total: 28.4 years

male: 27.7 years

female: 29 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.133% (2009 est.)

Birth rate:

19.86 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Death rate:

8.37 deaths/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Urbanization:

urban population: 50.5% of total population (2010)

rate of urbanization: 1.85% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

ten largest urban agglomerations: Tokyo (Japan) - 36,669,000; Delhi (India) - 22,157,000; Sao Paulo (Brazil) - 20,262,000; Mumbai (India) - 20,041,000; Mexico City (Mexico) - 19,460,000; New York-Newark (US) - 19,425,000; Shanghai (China) - 16,575,000; Kolkata (India) - 15,552,000; Dhaka (Bangladesh) - 14,648,000; Karachi (Pakistan) - 13,125,000 (2009)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 44.13 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 46.19 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 41.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 66.12 years

male: 64.29 years

female: 68.07 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate:

2.56 children born/woman (2009 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

0.8% (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

33 million (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

2 million (2007 est.)

Religions:

Christians 33.32% (of which Roman Catholics 16.99%, Protestants 5.78%, Orthodox 3.53%, Anglicans 1.25%), Muslims 21.01%, Hindus 13.26%, Buddhists 5.84%, Sikhs 0.35%, Jews 0.23%, Baha'is 0.12%, other religions 11.78%, non-religious 11.77%, atheists 2.32% (2007 est.)

Languages:

Mandarin Chinese 12.65%, Spanish 4.93%, English 4.91%, Arabic 3.31%, Hindi 2.73%, Bengali 2.71%, Portuguese 2.67%, Russian 2.16%, Japanese 1.83%, Standard German 1.35%, Javanese 1.27% (2008 est.)

note: percents are for "first language" speakers only

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 82%

male: 87%

female: 77%

note: over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries (Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan); of all the illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, the Arab states, South and West Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa, where around one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.)

Government ::World

Administrative divisions:

266 countries, dependent areas, and other entities

Legal system:

all members of the UN are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court

Economy ::World

Economy - overview:

In 2010, world output - and per capita income - began to recover from the 2008-09 recession, the first global downturn since 1946. Gross World Product (GWP) grew 4.6%, largely on the strength of rebounding exports, which rose about 20% from the level of 2009. Growth was not evenly distributed across countries, however. Lower income countries - those with per capita incomes below $30,000 per year - averaged 6.3% growth, while higher income countries - with per capita incomes above $30,000 - averaged just 2.8% growth. And countries with current account surpluses averaged 6.0% growth, while those with current account deficits averaged just 3.4% growth. Among large economies, China (+10.1%), Taiwan (+8.3%), India (+8.3%), Brazil (+7.5%), and South Korea (+6.1%) recorded the biggest GDP gains - China also became the world's largest exporter. Continuing uncertainties in mortgage and financial markets resulted in slower growth in Japan (+3.0%), the US (+2.8%), and the European Union (+1.7%). In 2010, global unemployment continued to creep upwards, reaching 8.8% - underemployment, especially in the developing world, remained much higher. Global gross fixed investment stabilized at about 23% of GWP, after a significant drop in 2009. World trade appears to be returning to pre-2009 patterns, with current account surpluses or deficits rising for a majority of countries. World external debt, however, dropped again in 2010 - about 5% from the 2009 level, as many countries reduced borrowing. Many, if not most, countries pursued expansionary monetary and fiscal policies. The global money supply, both narrowly and broadly defined, increased roughly 10%, as countries tried to keep interest rates low; the global budget deficit stablilized at roughly $3.5 trillion, as countries tried to rein in spending and slow the rise of public debt.

The international financial crisis of 2008-09 presents the world economy with a major new challenge, together with several long-standing ones. The fiscal stimulus packages put in place in 2009-10 required most countries to run budget deficits - government balances have deteriorated for 14 out of every 15 countries. Treasuries issued new public debt - totaling $5.5 trillion since 2008 - to pay for the additional expenditures. To keep interest rates low, many central banks monetized that debt, injecting large sums of money into the economies. As economic activity picks up, central banks will face the difficult task of containing inflation without raising interest rates so high they snuff out further growth. At the same time, governments will face the difficult task of spurring current growth and employment without saddling their economies with so much debt that they sacrifice long-term growth and financial stability.

Long-standing challenges the world faces are several. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of underemployment, pollution, waste-disposal, epidemics, water-shortages, famine, over-fishing of oceans, deforestation, desertification, and depletion of non-renewable resources. The nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, central governments often find their control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Iraq, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, central governments are losing decisionmaking powers to international bodies, most notably the EU. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because the participating nations are culturally and politically diverse and have varying levels and rates of growth of income, and hence, differing needs for monetary and fiscal policies. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from an economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuated a growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan added new uncertainties to global economic prospects.

Despite these challenges, the world economy also shows great promise. Technology has made possible further advances in all fields, from agriculture, to medicine, alternative energy, metallurgy, and transportation. Improved global communications have greatly reduced the costs of international trade, helping the world gain from the international division of labor, raise living standards, and reduce income disparities among nations. Much of the resilience of the world economy in the aftermath of the financial crisis resulted from government leaders around the globe working in concert to stem the financial onslaught, knowing well the lessons of past economic failures.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$74.43 trillion (2010 est.)

$71.17 trillion (2009 est.)

$71.67 trillion (2008 est.)

note: data are in 2010 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate):

GWP (gross world product): $62.22 trillion (2010 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

4.6% (2010 est.)

-0.7% (2009 est.)

2.7% (2008 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$11,100 (2010 est.)

$10,800 (2009 est.)

$11,000 (2008 est.)

note: data are in 2010 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 5.8%

industry: 30.8%

services: 63.4% (2010 est.)

Labor force:

3.232 billion (2010 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 37.3%

industry: 21.7%

services: 41% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate:

8.8% (2010 est.)

8.2% (2009 est.)

note: 30% (2007 est.) combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 2.7%

highest 10%: 27.3% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):

23.4% of GDP (2010 est.)

23.1% of GDP (2009 est.) (2010 est.)

Public debt:

58.3% of GDP (2010 est.)

56.2% of GDP (2009 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

developed countries 2.5%

developing countries 5.6%

note: developed countries 0% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 10% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases; inflation rates have declined for most countries for the last several years, held in check by increasing international competition from several low wage countries, and by soft demand as a result of the world financial crisis (2010 est.)

Stock of narrow money:

$22.4 trillion (31 December 2010 est)

$20.87 trillion (31 December 2009 est)

Stock of broad money:

$75.86 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$68.54 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of domestic credit:

$104.2 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$94.49 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$48.85 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

$36.41 trillion (31 December 2008)

$64.6 trillion (31 December 2007 est.)

Industries:

dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems

Industrial production growth rate:

4.6% (2010 est.)

Electricity - production:

19.25 trillion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

17.93 trillion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - exports:

615.4 billion kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - imports:

613.9 billion kWh (2008 est.)

Oil - production:

84.24 million bbl/day (2009 est.)

Oil - consumption:

83.62 million bbl/day (2009 est.)

Oil - exports:

61.37 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - imports:

63.77 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - proved reserves:

1.378 trillion bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

Natural gas - production:

3.127 trillion cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

3.073 trillion cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

949.9 billion cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

947.2 billion cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

187.8 trillion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

Exports:

$14.9 trillion (2010 est.)

$12.39 trillion (2009)

Exports - commodities:

the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services

top ten - share of world trade: electrical machinery, including computers 14.8%; mineral fuels, including oil, coal, gas, and refined products 14.4%; nuclear reactors, boilers, and parts 14.2%; cars, trucks, and buses 8.9%; scientific and precision instruments 3.5%; plastics 3.4%; iron and steel 2.7%; organic chemicals 2.6%; pharmaceutical products 2.6%; diamonds, pearls, and precious stones 1.9%

Exports - partners:

US 12.7%, Germany 7.2%, China 6.4%, France 4.5%, Japan 4.3%, UK 4.2% (2008 est.)

Imports:

$14.68 trillion (2010)

$12.19 trillion (2009)

Imports - commodities:

the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services

top ten - share of world trade: see listing for exports

Imports - partners:

China 10.3%, Germany 8.7%, US 8%, Japan 5% (2008 est.)

Debt - external:

$59.09 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$62.25 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

note: this figure is the sum total of all countries' external debt, both public and private

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:

$17.53 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$16.51 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:

$18.19 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$17.28 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

Communications ::World

Telephones - main lines in use:

1.268 billion (2008)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

5.3 billion (2010)

Telephone system:

general assessment: NA

domestic: NA

international: NA

Internet users:

2.1 billion (2010)

Transportation ::World

Airports:

total airports - 44,010 (2010)

top ten by passengers: Atlanta (ATL) - 88,032,086; London (LHR) - 66,037,578; Beijing (PEK) - 65,372,012; Chicago (ORD) - 64,158,343; Tokyo (HND) - 61,903,656; Paris (CDG) - 57,906,866; Los Angeles (LAX) - 56,520,843; Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) - 56,030,457; Frankfurt (FRA) - 50,932,840; Denver (DEN) - 50,167,485 (2009)

top ten by cargo (metric tons): Memphis (MEM) - 3,697,054; Hong Kong (HKG) - 3,385,313; Shanghai (PVG) - 2,543,394; Inch'on (ICN) - 2,313,001; Paris (CDG) - 2,054,515; Anchorage (ANC) - 1,994,629; Louisville (SDF) - 1,949,528; Dubai (DXB) - 1,927,520; Frankfurt (FRA) - 1,887,686; Tokyo (NRT) - 1,851,972 (2009)

Heliports:

3,825 (2010)

Railways:

total: 1,138,632 km (2008)

Roadways:

total: 102,260,304 km (2008)

Waterways:

671,886 km (2004)

top ten longest rivers: Nile (Africa) 6,693 km; Amazon (South America) 6,436 km; Mississippi-Missouri (North America) 6,238 km; Yenisey-Angara (Asia) 5,981 km; Ob-Irtysh (Asia) 5,569 km; Yangtze (Asia) 5,525 km; Yellow (Asia) 4,671 km; Amur (Asia) 4,352 km; Lena (Asia) 4,345 km; Congo (Africa) 4,344 km

note: if measured by volume, the Amazon is the largest river in the world

Ports and terminals:

top ten container ports as measured by Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) throughput: Singapore - 25,866,400; Shanghai - 25,002,000; Hong Kong - 20,983,000; Shenzhen (China) - 18,250,100; Pusan (South Korea) - 11,954,861; Guangzhou (China) - 11,190,000; Dubai (UAE) - 11,124,082; Ningbo (China) - 10,502,800; Qingdao (China) - 10,260,000; - Rotterdam - 9,743,290 (2009)

Transportation - note:

as of September 2009, incidents of piracy around the world have more than doubled over the comparable time period in 2008; half of all attacks occur in the waters off Somalia, primarily in the Gulf of Aden; other high risk areas include the waters off Nigeria, the South China Sea, and waters off Malaysia

Military ::World

Military expenditures:

roughly 2% of GDP of gross world product (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues ::World

Disputes - international:

stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 322 international land boundaries separate 194 independent states and 71 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities; ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries; most maritime states have claimed limits that include territorial seas and exclusive economic zones; overlapping limits due to adjacent or opposite coasts create the potential for 430 bilateral maritime boundaries of which 209 have agreements that include contiguous and non-contiguous segments; boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries tend to encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resource competition; ethnic and cultural clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation and internal displacement of the estimated 6.6 million people and cross-border displacements of 8.6 million refugees around the world as of early 2006; just over one million refugees were repatriated in the same period; other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially hydrocarbon) resources, fisheries, and arable land; armed conflict prevails not so much between the uniformed armed forces of independent states as between stateless armed entities that detract from the sustenance and welfare of local populations, leaving the community of nations to cope with resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, and environmental degradation

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that in December 2006 there was a global population of 8.8 million registered refugees and as many as 24.5 million IDPs in more than 50 countries; the actual global population of refugees is probably closer to 10 million given the estimated 1.5 million Iraqi refugees displaced throughout the Middle East (2007)

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: approximately 800,000 people, mostly women and children, are trafficked annually across national borders, not including millions trafficked within their own countries; at least 80% of the victims are female and up to 50% are minors; 75% of all victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation; almost two-thirds of the global victims are trafficked intra-regionally within East Asia and the Pacific (260,000 to 280,000 people) and Europe and Eurasia (170,000 to 210,000 people)

Tier 2 Watch List: Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Federated States of Micronesia, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, India, Iraq, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Mali, Moldova, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Yemen

Tier 3: Burma, Chad, Cuba, Eritrea, Fiji, Iran, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mauritania, Niger, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Zimbabwe (2009)

Illicit drugs:

cocaine: worldwide coca leaf cultivation in 2007 amounted to 232,500 hectares; Colombia produced slightly more than two-thirds of the worldwide crop, followed by Peru and Bolivia; potential pure cocaine production decreased 7% to 865 metric tons in 2007; Colombia conducts an aggressive coca eradication campaign, but both Peruvian and Bolivian Governments are hesitant to eradicate coca in key growing areas; 551 metric tons of export-quality cocaine (85% pure) is documented to have been seized or destroyed in 2005; US consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated to have been in excess of 380 metric tons

opiates: worldwide illicit opium poppy cultivation continued to increase in 2007, with a potential opium production of 8,400 metric tons, reaching the highest levels recorded since estimates began in mid-1980s; Afghanistan is world's primary opium producer, accounting for 95% of the global supply; Southeast Asia - responsible for 9% of global opium - saw marginal increases in production; Latin America produced 1% of global opium, but most was refined into heroin destined for the US market; if all potential opium was processed into pure heroin, the potential global production would be 1,000 metric tons of heroin in 2007

page last updated on January 20, 2011

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

@Yemen (Middle East)

Introduction ::Yemen

Background:

North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border.

Geography ::Yemen

Location:

Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates:

15 00 N, 48 00 E

Map references:

Middle East

Area:

total: 527,968 sq km country comparison to the world: 49 land: 527,968 sq km

water: 0 sq km

note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen)

Area - comparative:

slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming

Land boundaries:

total: 1,746 km

border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km

Coastline:

1,906 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate:

mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east

Terrain:

narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m

highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m

Natural resources:

petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west

Land use:

arable land: 2.91%

permanent crops: 0.25%

other: 96.84% (2005)

Irrigated land:

5,500 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

4.1 cu km (1997)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 6.63 cu km/yr (4%/1%/95%)

per capita: 316 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

sandstorms and dust storms in summer

volcanism: Yemen experiences limited volcanic activity; Jebel at Tair (Jabal al-Tair, Jebel Teir, Jabal al-Tayr, Jazirat at-Tair) (elev. 244 m, 801 ft), which forms an island in the Red Sea, erupted in 2007 after awakening from dormancy; other historically active volcanoes include Harra of Arhab, Harras of Dhamar, Harra es-Sawad, and Jebel Zubair, although many of these have not erupted in over a century

Environment - current issues:

limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

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

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes

People ::Yemen

Population:

23,495,361 (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 48

Age structure:

0-14 years: 43.9% (male 5,108,423/female 4,925,523)

15-64 years: 53.5% (male 6,215,999/female 6,013,334)

65 years and over: 2.6% (male 285,752/female 309,207) (2010 est.)

Median age:

total: 17.9 years

male: 17.8 years

female: 18 years (2010 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.713% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 23

Birth rate:

34.37 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 36

Death rate:

7.24 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 126

Net migration rate:

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population country comparison to the world: 99

Urbanization:

urban population: 31% of total population (2008)

rate of urbanization: 4.9% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female

total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 56.77 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 38 male: 61.46 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 51.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 63.36 years country comparison to the world: 173 male: 61.35 years

female: 65.47 years (2010 est.)

Total fertility rate:

4.81 children born/woman (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 30

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

0.1% (2001 est.) country comparison to the world: 153

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

12,000 (2001 est.) country comparison to the world: 96

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

NA

Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk: high

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria

water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2009)

Nationality:

noun: Yemeni(s)

adjective: Yemeni

Ethnic groups:

predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans

Religions:

Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shia), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu

Languages:

Arabic (official)

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 50.2%

male: 70.5%

female: 30% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 9 years

male: 11 years

female: 7 years (2005)

Education expenditures:

5.2% of GDP (2008) country comparison to the world: 60

Government ::Yemen

Country name:

conventional long form: Republic of Yemen

conventional short form: Yemen

local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah

local short form: Al Yaman

former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]

Government type:

republic

Capital:

name: Sanaa

geographic coordinates: 15 21 N, 44 12 E

time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

21 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan (Aden), Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, Amanat al 'Asimah, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Raymah, Sa'dah, San'a' (Sanaa), Shabwah, Ta'izz

Independence:

22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen became independent in November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and became a republic with the overthrow of the theocratic Imamate in 1962; South Yemen became independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)

National holiday:

Unification Day, 22 May (1990)

Constitution:

16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001

Legal system:

based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)

head of government: Prime Minister Ali Muhammad MUJAWWAR (since 31 March 2007)

cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held on 20 September 2006 (next to be held in September 2013); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president

election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 77.2%, Faysal BIN SHAMLAN 21.8%

Legislative branch:

bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve eight-year terms)

elections: last held on 27 April 2003 (scheduled April 2009 election postponed for two years)

election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 238, Islah 47, YSP 6, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 5

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:

General People's Congress or GPC [Abdul-Kader BAJAMMAL]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Muhammed Abdallah AL-YADUMI]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abd al-Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qasim SALAM]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Yasin Said NUMAN]; note - there are at least seven more active political parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Muslim Brotherhood; Women National Committee

other: conservative tribal groups; Huthis, southern secessionist groups; al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

International organization participation:

AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI

chancery: 2319 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760

FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Gerald M. FEIERSTEIN

embassy: Sa'awan Street, Sanaa

mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa

telephone: [967] (1) 755-2000 ext. 2153 or 2266

FAX: [967] (1) 303-182

Flag description:

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black), overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white)

note: similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars in the white band, and of Iraq, which has an Arabic inscription centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band

National anthem:

name: "al-qumhuriyatu l-muttahida" (United Republic)

lyrics/music: Abdullah Abdulwahab NOA'MAN/Ayyoab Tarish ABSI

note: adopted 1990; the music first served as the anthem for South Yemen before unification with North Yemen in 1990

Economy ::Yemen

Economy - overview:

Yemen is a low income country that is highly dependent on declining oil resources for revenue. Petroleum accounts for roughly 25% of GDP and 70% of government revenue. Yemen has tried to counter the effects of its declining oil resources by diversifying its economy through an economic reform program initiated in 2006 that is designed to bolster non-oil sectors of the economy and foreign investment. In October 2009, Yemen exported its first liquefied natural gas as part of this diversification effort. In January 2010, the international community established the Friends of Yemen group that aims to support Yemen's efforts towards economic and political reform, and in August 2010 the IMF approved a three-year $370 million program to further this effort. Despite these ambitious endeavors, Yemen continues to face difficult long term challenges, including declining water resources and a high population growth rate.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$61.88 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 85 $58.82 billion (2009 est.)

$56.67 billion (2008 est.)

note: data are in 2010 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate):

$30.02 billion (2010 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

5.2% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 52 3.8% (2009 est.)

3.2% (2008 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$2,600 (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 173 $2,600 (2009 est.)

$2,600 (2008 est.)

note: data are in 2010 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 8.2%

industry: 38.8%

services: 53% (2010 est.)

Labor force:

6.832 million (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 63

Labor force - by occupation:

note: most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force

Unemployment rate:

35% (2003 est.) country comparison to the world: 184

Population below poverty line:

45.2% (2003)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 2.9%

highest 10%: 30.8% (2005)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

37.7 (2005) country comparison to the world: 76 33.4 (1998)

Investment (gross fixed):

19.4% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 96

Public debt:

39.1% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 76 36.7% of GDP (2009 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

12.2% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 209 5.4% (2009 est.)

Central bank discount rate:

NA%

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

18% (31 December 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 27 18% (31 December 2008 est.)

Stock of narrow money:

$3.551 billion (31 December 2010 est) country comparison to the world: 106 $3.74 billion (31 December 2009 est)

Stock of broad money:

$9.739 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 100 $9.552 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of domestic credit:

$5.297 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 109 $5.098 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$NA

Agriculture - products:

grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish

Industries:

crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement; commercial ship repair; natural gas production

Industrial production growth rate:

9% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 20

Electricity - production:

5.665 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 107

Electricity - consumption:

4.133 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 117

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2008 est.)

Oil - production:

288,400 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 37

Oil - consumption:

155,000 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 66

Oil - exports:

274,400 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 43

Oil - imports:

65,860 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 77

Oil - proved reserves:

3.16 billion bbl (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 30

Natural gas - production:

454,700 cu m (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 93

Natural gas - consumption:

0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 160

Natural gas - exports:

454,700 cu m (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 45

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 113

Natural gas - proved reserves:

478.5 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 32

Current account balance:

-$2.181 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 157 -$2.328 billion (2009 est.)

Exports:

$7.462 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 96 $5.812 billion (2009 est.)

Exports - commodities:

crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish, liquefied natural gas

Exports - partners:

China 36%, Thailand 17.63%, India 13.54%, South Africa 6.16%, Japan 5.49%, UAE 4.99% (2009)

Imports:

$8.35 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 97 $7.518 billion (2009 est.)

Imports - commodities:

food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals

Imports - partners:

China 13.98%, UAE 12.3%, India 8.63%, Saudi Arabia 5.8%, US 4.52%, Brazil 4.51%, Turkey 4.51%, Kuwait 4.33%, France 4.24% (2009)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$5.744 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 64 $6.993 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Debt - external:

$7.147 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 95 $6.552 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:

$NA

Exchange rates:

Yemeni rials (YER) per US dollar - 220.05 (2010), 202.85 (2009), 199.76 (2008), 199.14 (2007), 197.18 (2006)

Communications ::Yemen

Telephones - main lines in use:

997,000 (2009) country comparison to the world: 79

Telephones - mobile cellular:

8.313 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 72

Telephone system:

general assessment: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network

domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, GSM and CDMA mobile-cellular telephone systems; fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity remains low by regional standards

international: country code - 967; landing point for the international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti

Broadcast media:

state-run TV with 2 stations; state-run radio with 2 national radio stations and 5 local stations; stations from Oman and Saudi Arabia can be accessed (2007)

Internet country code:

.ye

Internet hosts:

255 (2010) country comparison to the world: 188

Internet users:

2.349 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 71

Transportation ::Yemen

Airports:

55 (2010) country comparison to the world: 85

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 17

over 3,047 m: 4

2,438 to 3,047 m: 9

1,524 to 2,437 m: 3

914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2010)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 38

over 3,047 m: 3

2,438 to 3,047 m: 5

1,524 to 2,437 m: 6

914 to 1,523 m: 14

under 914 m: 10 (2010)

Pipelines:

gas 423 km; liquid petroleum gas 22 km; oil 1,367 km (2009)

Roadways:

total: 71,300 km country comparison to the world: 67 paved: 6,200 km

unpaved: 65,100 km (2005)

Merchant marine:

total: 6 country comparison to the world: 128 by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 2, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1

registered in other countries: 14 (Moldova 1, Panama 4, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Sierra Leone 2, unknown 6) (2010)

Ports and terminals:

Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla

Transportation - note:

the International Maritime Bureau reports offshore waters in the Gulf of Aden are high risk for piracy; numerous vessels, including commercial shipping and pleasure craft, have been attacked and hijacked both at anchor and while underway; crew, passengers, and cargo are held for ransom

Military ::Yemen

Military branches:

Army, Navy (includes Marines), Yemen Air Force (Al Quwwat al Jawwiya al Jamahiriya al Yemeniya; includes Air Defense Force), Republican Guard (2010)

Military service age and obligation:

voluntary military service program authorized in 2001; 2-year service obligation (2006)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 5,458,642

females age 16-49: 5,205,387 (2010 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 3,902,186

females age 16-49: 3,952,370 (2010 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 279,283

female: 269,824 (2010 est.)

Military expenditures:

6.6% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world: 7

Military - note:

a Coast Guard was established in 2002

Transnational Issues ::Yemen

Disputes - international:

Saudi Arabia has reinforced its concrete-filled security barrier along sections of the fully demarcated border with Yemen to stem illegal cross-border activities

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 91,587 (Somalia) (2007)

page last updated on January 20, 2011

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

@Zambia (Africa)

Introduction ::Zambia

Background:

The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the [British] South Africa Company from 1891 until it was taken over by the UK in 1923. During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred development and immigration. The name was changed to Zambia upon independence in 1964. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule, but the subsequent vote in 1996 saw blatant harassment of opposition parties. The election in 2001 was marked by administrative problems with three parties filing a legal petition challenging the election of ruling party candidate Levy MWANAWASA. The new president launched an anticorruption investigation in 2002 to probe high-level corruption during the previous administration. In 2006-07, this task force successfully prosecuted four cases, including a landmark civil case in the UK in which former President CHILUBA and numerous others were found liable for USD 41 million. MWANAWASA was reelected in 2006 in an election that was deemed free and fair. Upon his abrupt death in August 2008, he was succeeded by his Vice President Rupiah BANDA, who subsequently won a special presidential election in October 2008.

Geography ::Zambia

Location:

Southern Africa, east of Angola

Geographic coordinates:

15 00 S, 30 00 E

Map references:

Africa

Area:

total: 752,618 sq km country comparison to the world: 39 land: 743,398 sq km

water: 9,220 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly larger than Texas

Land boundaries:

total: 5,664 km

border countries: Angola 1,110 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,930 km, Malawi 837 km, Mozambique 419 km, Namibia 233 km, Tanzania 338 km, Zimbabwe 797 km

Coastline:

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:

none (landlocked)

Climate:

tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April)

Terrain:

mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Zambezi river 329 m

highest point: unnamed elevation in Mafinga Hills 2,301 m

Natural resources:

copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower

Land use:

arable land: 6.99%

permanent crops: 0.04%

other: 92.97% (2005)

Irrigated land:

1,560 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

105.2 cu km (2001)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 1.74 cu km/yr (17%/7%/76%)

per capita: 149 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

periodic drought; tropical storms (November to April)

Environment - current issues:

air pollution and resulting acid rain in the mineral extraction and refining region; chemical runoff into watersheds; poaching seriously threatens rhinoceros, elephant, antelope, and large cat populations; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; lack of adequate water treatment presents human health risks

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zimbabwe

People ::Zambia

Population:

13,460,305 country comparison to the world: 69 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2010 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 45.1% (male 2,685,142/female 2,659,771)

15-64 years: 52.6% (male 3,122,305/female 3,116,846)

65 years and over: 2.3% (male 114,477/female 164,199) (2010 est.)

Median age:

total: 16.5 years

male: 16.5 years

female: 16.6 years (2010 est.)

Population growth rate:

3.118% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 11

Birth rate:

44.63 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 4

Death rate:

12.84 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 26

Net migration rate:

-0.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 146

Urbanization:

urban population: 35% of total population (2008)

rate of urbanization: 2.3% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 68.4 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 20 male: 73.1 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 63.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 52.03 years country comparison to the world: 209 male: 50.81 years

female: 53.28 years (2010 est.)

Total fertility rate:

6.07 children born/woman (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 9

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

15.2% (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 7

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

1.1 million (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 11

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

56,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 12

Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk: very high

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria and plague are high risks in some locations

water contact disease: schistosomiasis

animal contact disease: rabies (2009)

Nationality:

noun: Zambian(s)

adjective: Zambian

Ethnic groups:

African 99.5% (includes Bemba, Tonga, Chewa, Lozi, Nsenga, Tumbuka, Ngoni, Lala, Kaonde, Lunda, and other African groups), other 0.5% (includes Europeans, Asians, and Americans) (2000 Census)

Religions:

Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous beliefs 1%

Languages:

Bemba 30.1% (official), Nyanja 10.7% (official), Tonga 10.6% (official), Lozi 5.7% (official), Chewa 4.9%, Nsenga 3.4%, Tumbuka 2.5%, Lunda 2.2% (official), Kaonde 2% (official), Lala 2%, Luvale 1.7% (official), English 1.7% (official), other 22.5% (2000 Census)

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write English

total population: 80.6%

male: 86.8%

female: 74.8% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 7 years

male: 8 years

female: 7 years (2000)

Education expenditures:

1.4% of GDP (2008) country comparison to the world: 178

Government ::Zambia

Country name:

conventional long form: Republic of Zambia

conventional short form: Zambia

former: Northern Rhodesia

Government type:

republic

Capital:

name: Lusaka

geographic coordinates: 15 25 S, 28 17 E

time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

9 provinces; Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, Northern, North-Western, Southern, Western

Independence:

24 October 1964 (from the UK)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 24 October (1964)

Constitution:

24 August 1991; amended in 1996 to establish presidential term limits

Legal system:

based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in an ad hoc constitutional council; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Rupiah BANDA (since 19 August 2008); Vice President George KUNDA (since 14 November 2008); note - President BANDA was acting president during the illness leading up to the death of President Levy MWANAWASA on 18 August 2008, he was then elected president on 30 October 2008 to serve out the remainder of MWANAWASA's term; the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government: President Rupiah BANDA (since 19 August 2008); Vice President George KUNDA (since 14 November 2008)

cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 30 October 2008 (next to be held in 2011); vice president appointed by the president; note - due to the death of former President Levy MWANAWASA, early elections were held to identify a replacement to serve out the remainder of his term

election results: Rupiah BANDA elected president; percent of vote - Rupiah BANDA 40.1%, Michael SATA 38.1%, Hakainde HICHILEMA 19.7%, Godfrey MIYANDA 0.8%, other 1.3%

Legislative branch:

unicameral National Assembly (158 seats; 150 members are elected by popular vote, 8 members appointed by the president, to serve five-year terms)

elections: last held on 28 September 2006 (next to be held in October 2011)