_#_Terrain: rugged mountains of volcanic origin
_#_Natural resources: timber
_#_Land use: arable land 9%; permanent crops 13%; meadows and pastures 3%; forest and woodland 41%; other 34%
_#_Environment: flash floods a constant hazard; occasional hurricanes
_#_Note: located 550 km southeast of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea
_*_People
_#_Population: 86,285 (July 1991), growth rate 1.7% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 26 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: – 3 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 13 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 79 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 2.6 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun–Dominican(s); adjective–Dominican
_#_Ethnic divisions: mostly black; some Carib indians
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%, Pentecostal 3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%), none 2%, unknown 1%, other 5%
_#_Language: English (official); French patois widely spoken
_#_Literacy: 94% (male 94%, female 94%) age 15 and over having ever attended school (1970)
_#_Labor force: 25,000; agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28% (1984)
_#_Organized labor: 25% of labor force
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Commonwealth of Dominica
_#_Type: parliamentary democracy
_#_Capital: Roseau
_#_Administrative divisions: 10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter
_#_Independence: 3 November 1978 (from UK)
_#_Constitution: 3 November 1978
_#_Legal system: based on English common law
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 3 November (1978)
_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly
_#_Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State–President Sir Clarence Augustus SEIGNORET (since 19 December 1983);
Head of Government–Prime Minister (Mary) Eugenia CHARLES (since 21 July 1980, elected for a third term 28 May 1990)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Dominica Freedom Party (DFP), (Mary) Eugenia CHARLES; Dominica Labor Party (DLP), Michael DOUGLAS; United Workers Party (UWP), Edison JAMES
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
President–last held 20 December 1988 (next to be held December 1993); the president is elected by the House of Assembly;
House of Assembly–last held 28 May 1990 (next to be held May 1995); results–percent of vote by party NA; seats–(30 total; 9 appointed senators and 21 elected representatives) DFP 11, UWP 6, DLP 4
_#_Communists: negligible
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Dominica Liberation Movement (DLM), a small leftist group
_#_Member of: ACCT, ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, LORCS, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: there is no Chancery in the US;
US–no official presence since the Ambassador resides in Bridgetown (Barbados), but travels frequently to Dominica
_#_Flag: green with a centered cross of three equal bands–the vertical part is yellow (hoist side), black, and white–the horizontal part is yellow (top), black, and white; superimposed in the center of the cross is a red disk bearing a sisserou parrot encircled by 10 green five-pointed stars edged in yellow; the 10 stars represent the 10 administrative divisions (parishes)
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The economy is dependent on agriculture and thus is highly vulnerable to climatic conditions. Agriculture accounts for about 30% of GDP and employs 40% of the labor force. Principal products include bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, and coconuts. In 1988 the economy achieved a 5.6% growth in real GDP on the strength of a boost in construction, higher agricultural production, and growth of the small manufacturing sector based on the soap and garment industries. In 1989, however, Hurricane Hugo wiped out 70% of the banana crop and affected other economic activity. The tourist industry remains undeveloped because of a rugged coastline and the lack of an international-class airport.
_#_GDP: $153 million, per capita $1,840; real growth rate – 1.7% (1989 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.3% (1989)
_#_Unemployment rate: 10% (1989 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $48 million; expenditures $85 million, including capital expenditures of $41 million (FY90)
_#_Exports: $59 million (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities–bananas, coconuts, grapefruit, soap, galvanized sheets;
partners–UK 72%, Jamaica 10%, OECS 6%, US 3%, other 9%
_#_Imports: $115 million (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities–food, oils and fats, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment;
partners–US 23%, UK 18%, CARICOM 15%, OECS 15%, Japan 5%, Canada 3%, other 21%
_#_External debt: $73 million (1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 4.5% in manufacturing (1988 est.); accounts for 11% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 7,000 kW capacity; 16 million kWh produced, 190 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: soap, beverages, tourism, food processing, furniture, cement blocks, shoes
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP; principal crops–bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, and coconuts; bananas provide the bulk of export earnings; forestry and fisheries potential not exploited
_#_Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $115 million
_#_Currency: East Caribbean dollar (plural–dollars); 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1–2.70 (fixed rate since 1976)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
_*_Communications
_#_Highways: 750 km total; 370 km paved, 380 km gravel and earth
_#_Ports: Roseau, Portsmouth
_#_Civil air: NA
_#_Airports: 2 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 2,439 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: 4,600 telephones in fully automatic network; VHF and UHF link to Saint Lucia; new SHF links to Martinique and Guadeloupe; stations–3 AM, 2 FM, 1 cable TV
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force
_#_Manpower availability: NA
_#_Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP _%_
_@_Dominican Republic
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 48,730 km2; land area: 48,380 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire
_#_Land boundary 275 km with Haiti
_#_Coastline: 1,288 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: outer edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 6 nm
_#_Climate: tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation
_#_Terrain: rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed
_#_Natural resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
_#_Land use: arable land 23%; permanent crops 7%; meadows and pastures 43%; forest and woodland 13%; other 14%; includes irrigated 4%
_#_Environment: subject to occasional hurricanes (July to October); deforestation
_#_Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)
_*_People
_#_Population: 7,384,837 (July 1991), growth rate 2.0% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 27 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: – 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 60 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 69 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 3.1 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun–Dominican(s); adjective–Dominican
_#_Ethnic divisions: mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 95%
_#_Language: Spanish
_#_Literacy: 83% (male 85%, female 82%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 2,300,000-2,600,000; agriculture 49%, services 33%, industry 18% (1986)
_#_Organized labor: 12% of labor force (1989 est.)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Dominican Republic (no short-form name)
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: Santo Domingo
_#_Administrative divisions: 29 provinces (provincias, singular–provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Juan, San Pedro De Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Valverde
_#_Independence: 27 February 1844 (from Haiti)
_#_Constitution: 28 November 1966
_#_Legal system: based on French civil codes
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 27 February (1844)
_#_Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government–President Joaquin BALAGUER Ricardo (since 16 August 1986, fifth elected term began 16 August 1990); Vice President Carlos A. MORALES Troncoso (since 16 August 1986)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Major parties–
Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC), Joaquin BALAGUER Ricardo; Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), Jose Francisco PENA Gomez; Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Juan BOSCH Gavino; Independent Revolutionary Party (PRI), Jacobo MAJLUTA;
Minor parties–
National Veterans and Civilian Party (PNVC), Juan Rene BEAUCHAMPS Javier; Liberal Party of the Dominican Republic (PLRD), Andres Van Der HORST; Democratic Quisqueyan Party (PQD), Elias WESSIN Chavez; Constitutional Action Party (PAC), Luis ARZENO Rodriguez; National Progressive Force (FNP), Marino VINICIO Castillo; Popular Christian Party (PPC), Rogelio DELGADO Bogaert; Dominican Communist Party (PCD), Narciso ISA Conde; Anti-Imperialist Patriotic Union (UPA), Ivan RODRIGUEZ;
note–in 1983 several leftist parties, including the PCD, joined to form the Dominican Leftist Front (FID); however, they still retain individual party structures
_#_Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18 or if married; members of the armed forces and police cannot vote
_#_Elections:
President–last held 16 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994); results–Joaquin BALAGUER (PRSC) 35.7%, Juan BOSCH Gavino (PLD) 34.4%;
Senate–last held 16 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994); results–percent of vote by party NA;
seats–(30 total) PRSC 16, PLD 12, PRD 2;
Chamber of Deputies–last held 16 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994);
results–percent of vote by party NA; seats–(120 total) PLD 44, PRSC 41, PRD 33, PRI 2
_#_Communists: an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 members in several legal and illegal factions; effectiveness limited by ideological differences, organizational inadequacies, and severe funding shortages
_#_Member of: CARICOM (observer), ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), LORCS, NAM (guest), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Carlos A. MORALES Troncoso (serves concurrently as Vice President); Chancery at 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-6280; there are Dominican Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Consulates in Charlotte Amalie (Virgin Islands), Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Minneapolis, Mobile, Ponce (Puerto Rico), and San Francisco;
US–Ambassador Paul D. TAYLOR; Embassy at the corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo (mailing address is APO Miami 34041-0008); telephone [809] 541-2171
_#_Flag: a centered white cross that extends to the edges, divides the flag into four rectangles–the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms is at the center of the cross
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The economy is largely dependent on trade; imported components average 60% of the value of goods consumed in the domestic market. Rapid growth of free trade zones has established a significant expansion of manufacturing for export, especially wearing apparel. Over the past decade tourism has also increased in importance and is a major earner of foreign exchange and a source of new jobs. Agriculture remains a key sector of the economy. The principal commercial crop is sugarcane, followed by coffee, cotton, cocoa, and tobacco. Domestic industry is based on the processing of agricultural products, durable consumer goods, minerals, and chemicals. Unemployment is officially reported at about 30%, but there is considerable underemployment. An increasing foreign debt burden and galloping inflation are the economy’s greatest weaknesses.
_#_GDP: $6.68 billion, per capita $940; real growth rate 4.2% (1989)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 70% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 29% (1990 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $413 million; expenditures $522 million, including capital expenditures of $218 million (1988)
_#_Exports: $922 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities–sugar, coffee, cocoa, gold, ferronickel;
partners–US 60%, EC 19%, Puerto Rico 8% (1990)
_#_Imports: $1.9 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
commodities–foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals;
partners–US 50%
_#_External debt: $4.2 billion (1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 2.3% (1989 est.); accounts for 18% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 1,445,000 kW capacity; 4,200 million kWh produced, 580 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GDP and employs 49% of labor force; sugarcane most important commercial crop, followed by coffee, cotton, cocoa, and tobacco; food crops–rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; animal output–cattle, hogs, dairy products, meat, eggs; not self-sufficient in food
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY85-89), $576.5 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $569 million
_#_Currency: Dominican peso (plural–pesos); 1 Dominican peso (RD$) = 100 centavos
_#_Exchange rates: Dominican pesos per US$1–11.850 (January 1991), 8.290 (1990), 6.3400 (1989), 6.1125 (1988), 3.8448 (1987), 2.9043 (1986), 3.1126 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 1,655 km total in numerous segments; 4 different gauges from 0.558 m to 1.435 m
_#_Highways: 12,000 km total; 5,800 km paved, 5,600 km gravel and improved earth, 600 km unimproved
_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 96 km; refined products, 8 km
_#_Ports: Santo Domingo, Haina, San Pedro de Macoris, Puerto Plata
_#_Merchant marine: 4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 23,326 GRT/38,661 DWT
_#_Civil air: 14 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 44 total, 30 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 9 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: relatively efficient domestic system based on islandwide radio relay network; 190,000 telephones; stations–120 AM, no FM, 18 TV, 6 shortwave; 1 coaxial submarine cable; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,963,260; 1,241,370 fit for military service; 81,083 reach military age (18) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $70 million, 1% of GDP (1990) _%_
_@_Ecuador
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 283,560 km2; land area: 276,840 km2; includes Galapagos Islands
_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than Nevada
_#_Land boundaries: 2,010 km total; Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km
_#_Coastline: 2,237 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: claims continental shelf between mainland and Galapagos Islands;
Territorial sea: 200 nm
_#_Disputes: two sections of the boundary with Peru are in dispute
_#_Climate: tropical along coast becoming cooler inland
_#_Terrain: coastal plain (Costa), inter-Andean central highlands (Sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (Oriente)
_#_Natural resources: petroleum, fish, timber
_#_Land use: arable land 6%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures 17%; forest and woodland 51%; other 23% ; includes irrigated 2%
_#_Environment: subject to frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; periodic droughts
_#_Note: Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world
_*_People
_#_Population: 10,751,648 (July 1991), growth rate 2.3% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 30 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 60 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 68 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun–Ecuadorian(s); adjective–Ecuadorian
_#_Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish) 55%, Indian 25%, Spanish 10%, black 10%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 95%
_#_Language: Spanish (official); Indian languages, especially Quechua
_#_Literacy: 86% (male 88%, female 84%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 2,800,000; agriculture 35%, manufacturing 21%, commerce 16%, services and other activities 28% (1982)
_#_Organized labor: less than 15% of labor force
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of Ecuador
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: Quito
_#_Administrative divisions: 21 provinces (provincias, singular–provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe
_#_Independence: 24 May 1822 (from Spain; Battle of Pichincha)
_#_Constitution: 10 August 1979
_#_Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 10 August (1809, independence of Quito)
_#_Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government–President Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos (since 10 August 1988); Vice President Luis PARODI Valverde (since 10 August 1988)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Right to center parties–
Social Christian Party (PSC), former President Leon FEBRES Cordero Rivadeneira;
Conservative Party (PC), Alberto DAHIK, leader; Radical Liberal Party (PLR), Blasco Manuel PENAHERRERA Padilla, director;
Centrist parties–
Concentration of Popular Forces (CFP), Averroes BUCARAM Saxida, director; Radical Alfarist Front (FRA), Cecilia CALDERON de Castro, leader; People, Change, and Democracy (PCD), Aquiles RIGAIL Santistevan, director;
Revolutionary Nationalist Party (PNR), Carlos Julio AROSEMENA Monroy, leader;
Center-left parties–
Democratic Left (ID), President Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos, leader; Roldosist Party of Ecuador (PRE), Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director; Popular Democracy (DP), Vladimiro ALVAREZ, president; Christian Democratic (CD), Julio Cesar TRUJILLO; Democratic Party (PD), Francisco HUERTA Montalvo, leader;
Far-left parties–
Broad Leftist Front (FADI), Rene MAUGE Mosquera, director; Socialist Party (PSE), Victor GRANDA Aguilar, secretary general; Democratic Popular Movement (MPD), Jaime HURTADO Gonzalez, leader; Ecuadorian National Liberation (LN), Alfredo CASTILLO, president; Popular Revolutionary Action Party (APRE), Lt. Gen. Frank VARGAS Pazzos, leader
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18; compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters
_#_Elections:
President–first round held 31 January 1988 and second round on 8 May 1988 (next first round to be held May 1992 and second round June 1992);
results–Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos (ID) 54%, Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz (PRE) 46%;
Chamber of Representatives–last held 17 June 1990 (next to be held June 1992);
results–percent of vote by party NA; seats–(72 total) PSC 16, ID 14, PRE 13, PSE 8, DP 7, CFP 3, PC 3, PLR 3, FADI 2, FRA 2, MPD 1
_#_Communists: Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE, pro-Moscow), Rene Mauge Mosquera, secretary general, 5,000 members; Communist Party of Ecuador/Marxist Leninist (PCMLE, Maoist), 3,000 members; Socialist Party of Ecuador (PSE, pro-Cuba), 5,000 members (est.); National Liberation Party (PLN, Communist), 5,000 members (est.)
_#_Member of: AG, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jaime MONCAYO; Chancery at 2535 15th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 234-7200; there are Ecuadorian Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco, and a Consulate in San Diego;
US–Ambassador Paul C. LAMBERT; Embassy at Avenida Patria 120, on the corner of Avenida 12 de Octubre, Quito (mailing address is P. O. Box 538, Quito, or APO Miami 34039); telephone [593] (2) 562-890; there is a US Consulate General in Guayaquil
_#_Flag: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Ecuador has substantial oil resources and rich agricultural areas. Growth has been uneven because of natural disasters (e.g., a major earthquake in 1987), fluctuations in global oil prices, and government policies designed to curb inflation. The government has not taken a supportive attitude toward either domestic or foreign investment, although its agreement to enter the Andean free trade zone is an encouraging move.
_#_GDP: $10.6 billion, per capita $1,010; real growth rate 1.5% (1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 49.5% (1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: 8.0% (1990)
_#_Budget: revenues $2.2 billion; expenditures $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $375 million (1991)
_#_Exports: $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities–petroleum 47%, coffee, bananas, cocoa products, shrimp, fish products;
partners–US 60%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries
_#_Imports: $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities–transport equipment, vehicles, machinery, chemicals;
partners–US 34%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC, Japan
_#_External debt: $11.8 billion (December 1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate – 3.8% (1989); accounts for almost 40% of GDP, including petroleum
_#_Electricity: 1,983,000 kW capacity; 6,011 million kWh produced, 570 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: petroleum, food processing, textiles, metal works, paper products, wood products, chemicals, plastics, fishing, timber
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 18% of GDP and 35% of labor force (including fishing and forestry); leading producer and exporter of bananas and balsawood; other exports–coffee, cocoa, fish, shrimp; crop production–rice, potatoes, manioc, plantains, sugarcane; livestock sector–cattle, sheep, hogs, beef, pork, dairy products; net importer of foodgrains, dairy products, and sugar
_#_Illicit drugs: relatively small producer of coca following the successful eradication campaign of 1985-87; significant transit country, however, for derivatives of coca originating in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $498 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $1.7 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $64 million
_#_Currency: sucre (plural–sucres); 1 sucre (S/) = 100 centavos
_#_Exchange rates: sucres (S/) per US$1–869.54 (December 1990), 767.75 (1990), 526.35 (1989), 301.61 (1988), 170.46 (1987), 122.78 (1986), 69.56 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 965 km total; all 1.067-meter-gauge single track
_#_Highways: 28,000 km total; 3,600 km paved, 17,400 km gravel and improved earth, 7,000 km unimproved earth
_#_Inland waterways: 1,500 km
_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 800 km; refined products, 1,358 km
_#_Ports: Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, Esmeraldas
_#_Merchant marine: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 342,411 GRT/495,482 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 8 cargo, 17 refrigerated cargo, 2 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 16 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 1 bulk
_#_Civil air: 44 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 153 total, 151 usable; 46 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 23 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: domestic facilities generally adequate; 318,000 telephones; stations–272 AM, no FM, 33 TV, 39 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army (Ejercito Ecuatoriano), Navy (Armada Ecuatoriana), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana), National Police
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,716,919; 1,840,296 fit for military service; 117,113 reach military age (20) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $176 million, 1.6% of GDP (1990 est.) _%_
_@_Egypt
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 1,001,450 km2; land area: 995,450 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico
_#_Land boundaries: 2,689 km total; Gaza Strip 11 km, Israel 255 km, Libya 1,150 km, Sudan 1,273 km
_#_Coastline: 2,450 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive economic zone: undefined;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Disputes: Administrative boundary with Sudan does not coincide with international boundary
_#_Climate: desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
_#_Terrain: vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
_#_Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc
_#_Land use: arable land 3%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland NEGL%; other 95%; includes irrigated 5%
_#_Environment: Nile is only perennial water source; increasing soil salinization below Aswan High Dam; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; water pollution; desertification
_#_Note: controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, shortest sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean; size and juxtaposition to Israel establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics
_*_People
_#_Population: 54,451,588 (July 1991), growth rate 2.3% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 33 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 82 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 60 years male, 61 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 4.5 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun–Egyptian(s); adjective–Egyptian
_#_Ethnic divisions: Eastern Hamitic stock 90%; Greek, Italian, Syro-Lebanese 10%
_#_Religion: (official estimate) Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94%; Coptic Christian and other 6%
_#_Language: Arabic (official); English and French widely understood by educated classes
_#_Literacy: 48% (male 63%, female 34%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 15,000,000 (1989 est.); government, public sector enterprises, and armed forces 36%; agriculture 34%; privately owned service and manufacturing enterprises 20% (1984); shortage of skilled labor; 2,500,000 Egyptians work abroad, mostly in Iraq and the Gulf Arab states (1988 est.)
_#_Organized labor: 2,500,000 (est.)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Arab Republic of Egypt
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: Cairo
_#_Administrative divisions: 24 governorates (muhafazat, singular–muhafazah); Ad Daqahliyah, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum, Al Gharbiyah, Al Iskandariyah, Al Ismailiyah, Al Jizah, Al Minufiyah, Al Minya, Al Qahirah, Al Qalyubiyah, Al Wadi al Jadid, Ash Sharqiyah, As Suways, Aswan, Asyut, Bani Suwayf, Bur Said, Dumyat, Janub Sina, Matruh,
Shamal Sina, Suhaj
_#_Independence: 28 February 1922 (from UK); formerly United Arab Republic
_#_Constitution: 11 September 1971
_#_Legal system: based on English common law, Islamic law, and Napoleonic codes; judicial review by Supreme Court and Council of State (oversees validity of administrative decisions); accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
_#_National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 23 July (1952)
_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral People’s Assembly (Majlis al-Chaab); note–there is an Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura) that functions in a consultative role
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Constitutional Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State–President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (was made acting President on 6 October 1981 upon the assassination of President Sadat and sworn in as President on 14 October 1981);
Head of Government–Prime Minister Atef Mohammed Najib SEDKY (since 12 November 1986)
_#_Political parties and leaders: formation of political parties must be approved by government;
National Democratic Party (NDP), President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK, leader, is the dominant party;
legal opposition parties are
Socialist Liberal Party (SLP), Kamal MURAD; Socialist Labor Party, Ibrahim SHUKRI;
National Progressive Unionist Grouping (NPUG), Khalid MUHYI-AL-DIN; Umma Party, Ahmad al-SABAHI;
New Wafd Party (NWP), Fuad SIRAJ AL-DIN; Misr al-Fatah Party (Young Egypt Party), Ali al-Din SALIH; Democratic Unionist Party, Muhammad Abd al-Mun’im TURK; The Greens Party, Hasan RAJAB
_#_Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
_#_Elections:
President–last held 5 October 1987 (next to be held October 1993); results–President Hosni MUBAREK was reelected;
People’s Assembly–last held 29 November 1990 (next to be held November 1995); results–NDP 78.4%, NPUG 1.4%, independents 18.7%; seats–(454 total, 444 elected)–including NDP 348, NPUG 6, independents 83; note–most opposition parties boycotted;
Advisory Council–last held 8 June 1989 (next to be held June 1995);
results–NDP 100%;
seats–(258 total, 172 elected) NDP 172
_#_Communists: about 500 party members
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Islamic groups are illegal, but the largest one, the Muslim Brotherhood, is tolerated by the government; trade unions and professional associations are officially sanctioned
_#_Member of: ABEDA, ACC, ACCT (associate), AfDB, AFESD, AG (observer), AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, EBRD, ECA, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador El Sayed Abdel Raouf EL REEDY; Chancery at 2310 Decatur Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 232-5400; there are Egyptian Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco;
US–Ambassador Frank G. WISNER; Embassy at Lazougi Street, Garden City, Cairo (mailing address is APO New York 09674-0006); telephone [20] (2) 355-7371; there is a US Consulate General in Alexandria
_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with the national emblem (a shield superimposed on a golden eagle facing the hoist side above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen which has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of Syria which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Egypt has one of the largest public sectors of all the Third World economies, most industrial plants being owned by the government. Overregulation holds back technical modernization and foreign investment. Even so, the economy grew rapidly during the late 1970s and early 1980s, but in 1986 the collapse of world oil prices and an increasingly heavy burden of debt servicing led Egypt to begin negotiations with the IMF for balance-of-payments support. As part of the 1987 agreement with the IMF, the government agreed to institute a reform program to reduce inflation, promote economic growth, and improve its external position. The reforms have been slow in coming, however, and the economy has been largely stagnant for the past three years. The addition of 1 million people every seven months to Egypt’s population exerts enormous pressure on the 5% of the total land area available for agriculture.
_#_GDP: $37.0 billion, per capita $700; real growth rate 1.0% (1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 26% (FY90)
_#_Unemployment rate: 15% (1989 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $7 billion; expenditures $11.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $4 billion (FY89 est.)
_#_Exports: $3.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities–crude and refined petroleum, cotton yarn, raw cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals;
partners–EC, Eastern Europe, US, Japan
_#_Imports: $11.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities–machinery and equipment, foods, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer goods, capital goods;
partners–EC, US, Japan, Eastern Europe
_#_External debt: $52 billion (December 1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 2-4% (1989 est.); accounts for 24% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 11,273,000 kW capacity; 42,500 million kWh produced, 780 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, petroleum, construction, cement, metals
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 20% of GNP and employs more than one-third of labor force; dependent on irrigation water from the Nile; world’s sixth-largest cotton exporter; other crops produced include rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruit, vegetables; not self-sufficient in food; livestock–cattle, water buffalo, sheep, and goats; annual fish catch about 140,000 metric tons
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $15.7 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $9.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $2.4 billion
_#_Currency: Egyptian pound (plural–pounds); 1 Egyptian pound (5E) = 100 piasters
_#_Exchange rates: Egyptian pounds (5E) per US$1–2.9030 (January 1991), 2.7072 (1990), 2.5171 (1989), 2.2233 (1988), 1.5183 (1987), 1.3503 (1986), 1.3010 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 5,110 km total; 4,763 km 1,435-meter standard gauge, 347 km 0.750-meter gauge; 951 km double track; 25 km electrified
_#_Highways: 51,925 km total; 17,900 km paved, 2,500 km gravel, 13,500 km improved earth, 18,025 km unimproved earth
_#_Inland waterways: 3,500 km (including the Nile, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in the delta); Suez Canal, 193.5 km long (including approaches), used by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 16.1 meters of water
_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 1,171 km; refined products, 596 km; natural gas, 460 km
_#_Ports: Alexandria, Port Said, Suez, Bur Safajah, Damietta
_#_Merchant marine: 144 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,121,534 GRT/1,725,369 DWT; includes 5 passenger, 7 short-sea passenger, 2 passenger-cargo, 85 cargo, 3 refrigerated cargo, 13 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 14 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 15 bulk
_#_Civil air: 43 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 91 total, 82 usable; 66 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 44 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 22 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: system is large but still inadequate for needs; principal centers are Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, and Tanta; intercity connections by coaxial cable and microwave; extensive upgrading in progress; 600,000 telephones (est.); stations–25 AM, 5 FM, 47 TV; satellite earth stations–1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 INMARSAT, 1 ARABSAT; 4 submarine coaxial cables; tropospheric scatter to Sudan; radio relay to Libya (may not be operational); radio relay to Jordan
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 13,333,285; 8,665,260 fit for military service; 584,780 reach military age (20) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $2.8 billion, 7.3% of GDP (1991) _%_
_@_El Salvador
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 21,040 km2; land area: 20,720 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than Massachusetts
_#_Land boundaries: 545 km total; Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km
_#_Coastline: 307 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 200 nm (overflight and navigation permitted beyond 12 nm)
_#_Disputes: dispute with Honduras over several sections of the land boundary; dispute over Golfo de Fonseca maritime boundary because of disputed sovereignty of islands
_#_Climate: tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April)
_#_Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau
_#_Natural resources: hydropower, geothermal power, crude oil
_#_Land use: arable land 27%; permanent crops 8%; meadows and pastures 29%; forest and woodland 6%; other 30%; includes irrigated 5%
_#_Environment: The Land of Volcanoes; subject to frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes; deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
_#_Note: smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea
_*_People
_#_Population: 5,418,736 (July 1991), growth rate 2.0% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: – 6 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 47 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 63 years male, 68 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 4.1 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun–Salvadoran(s); adjective–Salvadoran
_#_Ethnic divisions: mestizo 89%, Indian 10%, white 1%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic about 75%, with extensive activity by Protestant groups throughout the country (more than 1 million Protestant evangelicals in El Salvador at the end of 1990)
_#_Language: Spanish, Nahua (among some Indians)
_#_Literacy: 73% (male 76%, female 70%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 1,700,000 (1982 est.); agriculture 40%, commerce 16%, manufacturing 15%, government 13%, financial services 9%, transportation 6%, other 1%; shortage of skilled labor and a large pool of unskilled labor, but manpower training programs improving situation (1984 est.)
_#_Organized labor: total labor force 15%; agricultural labor force 10%; urban labor force 7% (1987 est.)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of El Salvador
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: San Salvador
_#_Administrative divisions: 14 departments (departamentos, singular–departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa Ana, San Vicente, Sonsonate, Usulutan
_#_Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
_#_Constitution: 20 December 1983
_#_Legal system: based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
_#_Executive branch: president, vice president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government–President Alfredo CRISTIANI (since 1 June 1989); Vice President Jose Francisco MERINO (since 1 June 1989)
_#_Political parties and leaders: National Republican Alliance (ARENA), Armando CALDERON Sol;
Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Fidel CHAVEZ Mena; National Conciliation Party (PCN), Ciro CRUZ Zepeda; National Democratic Union (UDN), Mario AGUINADA Carranza; the Democratic Convergence (CD) is a coalition of three parties–the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Wilfredo BARILLAS; the National Revolutionary Movement (MNR), Rene FLORES; and the Popular Social Christian Movement (MPSC), Ruben ZAMORA; Authentic Christian Movement (MAC), Julio REY PRENDES; Democratic Action (AD), Ricardo GONZALEZ Camacho
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
President–last held 19 March 1989 (next to be held March 1994); results–Alfredo CRISTIANI (ARENA) 53.8%, Fidel CHAVEZ Mena (PDC) 36.6%, other 9.6%;
Legislative Assembly–last held 10 March 1991 (next to be held March 1994);
results–ARENA 44.3%, PDC 27.96%, CD 12.16%, PCN 8.99%, MAC 3.23%, UDN 2.68%;
seats–(84 total) ARENA 39, PDC 26, PCN 9, CD 8, UDN 1, MAC 1
_#_Other political or pressure groups:
Leftist revolutionary movement–Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), leadership body of the insurgency, four factions–Popular Liberation Forces (FPL), Armed Forces of National Resistance (FARN), People’s Revolutionary Army (ERP), Salvadoran Communist Party/Armed Forces of Liberation (PCES/FAL), and Central American Workers’ Revolutionary Party (PRTC)/Popular Liberation Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARLP);
Leftist political parties–National Democratic Union (UDN), National Revolutionary Movement (MNR), and Popular Social Movement (MPSC);
FMLN front organizations:
Labor fronts include–National Union of Salvadoran Workers (UNTS), leftist umbrella front group, leads FMLN front network; National Federation of Salvadoran Workers (FENASTRAS), best organized of front groups and controlled by FMLN’s National Resistance (RN); Social Security Institute Workers Union (STISSS), one of the most militant fronts, is controlled by FMLN’S Armed Forces of National Resistance (FARN) and RN;
Association of Telecommunications Workers (ASTTEL); Centralized Union Federation of El Salvador (FUSS); Treasury Ministry Employees (AGEMHA);
Nonlabor fronts include–Committee of Mothers and Families of Political Prisoners, Disappeared Persons, and Assassinated of El Salvador (COMADRES);
Nongovernmental Human Rights Commission (CDHES); Committee of Dismissed and Unemployed of El Salvador (CODYDES); General Association of Salvadoran University Students (AGEUS); National Association of Salvadoran Educators (ANDES-21 DE JUNIO); Salvadoran Revolutionary Student Front (FERS), associated with the Popular Forces of Liberation (FPL);
Association of National University Educators (ADUES); Salvadoran University Students Front (FEUS); Christian Committee for the Displaced of El Salvador (CRIPDES), an FPL front;
The Association for Communal Development in El Salvador (PADECOES), controlled by the People’s Revolutionary Army (ERP); Confederation of Cooperative Associations of El Salvador (COACES);
Labor organizations–Federation of Construction and Transport Workers Unions (FESINCONSTRANS), independent; Salvadoran Communal Union (UCS), peasant association; Unitary Federation of Salvadoran Unions (FUSS), leftist; National Federation of Salvadoran Workers (FENASTRAS), leftist; Democratic Workers Central (CTD), moderate; General Confederation of Workers (CGT), moderate; National Unity of Salvadoran Workers (UNTS), leftist; National Union of Workers and Peasants (UNOC), moderate labor coalition of democratic labor organizations; United Workers Front (FUT);
Business organizations–National Association of Private Enterprise (ANEP), conservative;
Productive Alliance (AP), conservative; National Federation of Salvadoran Small Businessmen (FENAPES), conservative
_#_Member of: BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LORCS, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Miguel Angel SALAVERRIA; Chancery at 2308 California Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 265-3480 through 3482; there are Salvadoran Consulates General in Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco;
US–Ambassador William G. WALKER; Embassy at 25 Avenida Norte No. 1230, San Salvador (mailing address is APO Miami 34023); telephone [503] 26-7100
_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; similar to the flag of Nicaragua which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band–it features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar to the flag of Honduras which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The agricultural sector accounts for 25% of GDP, employs about 40% of the labor force, and contributes about 66% to total exports. Coffee is the major commercial crop, accounting for 45% of export earnings. The manufacturing sector, based largely on food and beverage processing, accounts for 18% of GDP and 15% of employment. Economic losses because of guerrilla sabotage total more than $2.0 billion since 1979. The costs of maintaining a large military seriously constrain the government’s efforts to provide essential social services. Nevertheless, growth in national output last year exceeded growth in population for the first time since 1987.
_#_GDP: $5.4 billion, per capita $1,030; real growth rate 2.8% (1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: 10% (1989)
_#_Budget: revenues $751 million; expenditures $790 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)
_#_Exports: $571 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities–coffee 45%, sugar, cotton, shrimp;
partners–US 49%, FRG 24%, Guatemala 7%, Costa Rica 4%, Japan 4%
_#_Imports: $1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
commodities–petroleum products, consumer goods, foodstuffs, machinery, construction materials, fertilizer;
partners–US 40%, Guatemala 12%, Venezuela 7%, Mexico 7%, FRG 5%, Japan 4%
_#_External debt: $2.1 billion (December 1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 2.4% (1990); accounts for 22% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 682,000 kW capacity; 1,849 million kWh produced, 350 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: food processing, textiles, clothing, beverages, petroleum, tobacco products, chemicals, furniture
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 25% of GDP and 40% of labor force (including fishing and forestry); coffee most important commercial crop; other products–sugarcane, corn, rice, beans, oilseeds, beef, dairy products, shrimp; not self-sufficient in food
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $2.95 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $455 million
_#_Currency: Salvadoran colon (plural–colones); 1 Salvadoran colon (C) = 100 centavos
_#_Exchange rates: Salvadoran colones (C) per US$1–8.0 (April 1991, floating rate since mid-1990); 5.0000 (fixed rate 1986 to mid-1990)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 602 km 0.914-meter gauge, single track
_#_Highways: 10,000 km total; 1,500 km paved, 4,100 km gravel, 4,400 km improved and unimproved earth
_#_Inland waterways: Rio Lempa partially navigable
_#_Ports: Acajutla, Cutuco
_#_Civil air: 7 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 116 total, 82 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: nationwide trunk radio relay system; connection into Central American Microwave System; 116,000 telephones; stations–77 AM, no FM, 5 TV, 2 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, National Police, Treasury Police
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,220,088; 780,108 fit for military service; 71,709 reach military age (18) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $220 million, 3.6% of GDP (1990) _%_
_@_Equatorial Guinea
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 28,050 km2; land area: 28,050 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
_#_Land boundaries: 539 km total; Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km
_#_Coastline: 296 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Gabon because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay
_#_Climate: tropical; always hot, humid
_#_Terrain: coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic
_#_Natural resources: timber, crude oil, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium
_#_Land use: arable land 8%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and pastures 4%; forest and woodland 51%; other 33%
_#_Environment: subject to violent windstorms
_#_Note: insular and continental regions rather widely separated
_*_People
_#_Population: 378,729 (July 1991), growth rate 2.6% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 42 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 116 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 53 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 5.4 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun–Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s); adjective–Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
_#_Ethnic divisions: indigenous population of Bioko, primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos; Rio Muni, primarily Fang; less than 1,000 Europeans, mostly Spanish
_#_Religion: natives all nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic; some pagan practices retained
_#_Language: Spanish (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo
_#_Literacy: 50% (male 64%, female 37%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 172,000 (1986 est.); agriculture 66%, services 23%, industry 11% (1980); labor shortages on plantations; 58% of population of working age (1985)
_#_Organized labor: no formal trade unions
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: Malabo
_#_Administrative divisions: 2 provinces (provincias, singular–provincia); Bioko, Rio Muni; note–there may now be 6 provinces named Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele Nzas
_#_Independence: 12 October 1968 (from Spain; formerly Spanish Guinea)
_#_Constitution: 15 August 1982
_#_Legal system: in transition; partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 12 October (1968)
_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives of the People (Camara de Representantes del Pueblo)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State–President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979);
Head of Government–Prime Minister Cristino SERICHE BIOKO MALABO (since 15 August 1982); Deputy Prime Minister Isidoro Eyi MONSUY ANDEME (since 15 August 1989)
_#_Political parties and leaders: only party–Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea (PDGE), Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO, party leader
_#_Suffrage: universal adult at age NA
_#_Elections:
President–last held 25 June 1989 (next to be held 25 June 1996); results–President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO was reelected without opposition;
Chamber of People’s Representatives–last held 10 July 1988 (next to be held 10 July 1993);
results–PDGE is the only party;
seats–(41 total) PDGE 41
_#_Communists: no significant number
_#_Member of: ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS (associate), NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Damaso OBIANG NDONG; Chancery at 801 Second Avenue, Suite 1403, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 599-1523;
US–Ambassador (vacant); Charge d’Affaires William MITHOEFER; Embassy at Calle de Los Ministros, Malabo (mailing address is P. O. Box 597, Malabo; telephone [240] (9) 2185, 2406, 2507
_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice)
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The economy, destroyed during the regime of former President Macias Nguema, is now based on agriculture, forestry, and fishing, which account for about 60% of GNP and nearly all exports. Subsistence agriculture predominates, with cocoa, coffee, and wood products providing income, foreign exchange, and government revenues. There is little industry. Commerce accounts for about 10% of GNP, and the construction, public works, and service sectors for about 34%. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Oil exploration, taking place under concessions offered to US, French, and Spanish firms, has been moderately successful, and some revenues from oil exports will begin rolling in by mid-1991.
_#_GDP: $144 million, per capita $411; real growth rate 2.9% (1988 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.9% (1989 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $23 million; expenditures $31 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1988)
_#_Exports: $41 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities–coffee, timber, cocoa beans;
partners–Spain 44%, FRG 19%, Italy 12%, Netherlands 11% (1987)
_#_Imports: $57.1 million (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities–petroleum, food, beverages, clothing, machinery;
partners–Spain 34%, Italy 16%, France 14%, Netherlands 8% (1987)
_#_External debt: $195 million (1989)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate – 6.8% (1990 est.); acounts for about 4% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 23,000 kW capacity; 60 million kWh produced, 170 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: fishing, sawmilling
_#_Agriculture: cash crops–timber and coffee from Rio Muni, cocoa from Bioko; food crops–rice, yams, cassava, bananas, oil palm nuts, manioc, livestock
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY81-89), $14 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $112 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $55 million
_#_Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural–francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
_#_Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1–256.54 (January 1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
_*_Communications
_#_Highways: Rio Muni–1,024 km; Bioko–216 km
_#_Ports: Malabo, Bata
_#_Merchant marine: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,413