chief of mission: Ambassador Robert C. KRUEGER
embassy: address NA, Gaborone
mailing address: P. O. Box 90, Gaborone
telephone: [267] 353982
FAX: [267] 356947
Flag description: light blue with a horizontal white-edged black
stripe in the center
@Botswana:Economy
Economy-overview: Agriculture still provides a livelihood for more
than 80% of the population but supplies only about 50% of food needs
and accounts for only 4% of GDP. Subsistence farming and cattle
raising predominate. Diamond mining and tourism also are important to
the economy. The sector is plagued by erratic rainfall and poor soils.
Substantial mineral deposits were found in the 1970s and the mining
sector grew from 25% of GDP in 1980 to 35% in 1997. Unemployment
officially is 21% but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. On
the plus side is the substantial positive trade balance.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$5 billion (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 6% (1997 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$3,300 (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 4%
industry: 45% (including 35% mining)
services: 51% (1997 est.)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 10% (1996 est.)
Labor force:
total: 235,000 formal sector employees (1995)
by occupation: 100,000 public sector; 135,000 private sector,
including 14,300 who are employed in various mines in South Africa;
most others engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture
(1995 est.)
Unemployment rate: 20-40% (1997 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $1.6 billion
expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $560
million (FY96/97)
Industries: diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda ash, potash;
livestock processing
Industrial production growth rate: 4.6% (FY92/93)
Electricity-capacity: 217,000 kW (1995)
Electricity-production: 1 billion kWh (1995)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 962 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: sorghum, maize, millet, pulses, groundnuts
(peanuts), beans, cowpeas, sunflower seed; livestock
Exports:
total value: $2.31 billion (f.o.b. 1996 est.)
commodities: diamonds 71%, copper and nickel 5%, meat 3%
partners: Europe 74%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 22%,
Zimbabwe 3%
Imports:
total value: $1.6 billion (c.i.f., 1996 est.)
commodities: foodstuffs, vehicles and transport equipment, textiles,
petroleum products
partners: Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 74%, Europe 8%,
Zimbabwe 6%
Debt-external: $619 million (1996)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $189 million (1993)
Currency: 1 pula (P) = 100 thebe
Exchange rates: pula (P) per US$1-3.8547 (January 1998), 3.6508
(1997), 3.3242 (1996), 2.7716 (1995), 2.6831 (1994), 2.4190 (1993)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
Communications
Telephones: 19,109 (1985 est.)
Telephone system: sparse system
domestic: small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay
links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations
international: microwave radio relay links to Zambia, Zimbabwe and
South Africa; satellite earth station-1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 13, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 0 (1988 est.)
Televisions: 13,800 (1993 est.)
@Botswana:Transportation
Railways:
total: 971 km
narrow gauge: 971 km 1.067-m gauge (1995)
Highways:
total: 18,482 km
paved: 4,343 km
unpaved: 14,139 km (1996 est.)
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 92 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 80
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 55
under 914 m: 22 (1997 est.)
@Botswana:Military
Military branches: Botswana Defense Force (includes Army and Air
Wing), Botswana National Police
Military manpower-military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 335,301 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service:
males: 177,248 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually:
males: 18,148 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $199 million (FY93/94)
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: 5.2% (FY93/94)
@Botswana:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: quadripoint with Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
is in disagreement; dispute with Namibia over uninhabited Kasikili
(Sidudu) Island in Linyanti (Chobe) River is presently at the ICJ; at
least one other island in Linyanti River is contested
______________________________________________________________________
BOUVET ISLAND
(territory of Norway)
@Bouvet Island:Geography
Location: Southern Africa, island in the South Atlantic Ocean,
south-southwest of the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa)
Geographic coordinates: 54 26 S, 3 24 E
Map references: Antarctic Region
Area:
total: 58 sq km
land: 58 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area-comparative: about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 29.6 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 4 nm
Climate: antarctic
Terrain: volcanic; maximum elevation about 800 meters; coast is mostly
inaccessible
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 780 m
Natural resources: none
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 100% (all ice)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment-current issues: NA
Environment-international agreements:
party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA
Geography-note: covered by glacial ice
@Bouvet Island:People
Population: uninhabited
@Bouvet Island:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bouvet Island
Data code: BV
Dependency status: territory of Norway; administered from Oslo
Legal system: NA
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (territory of Norway)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (territory of Norway)
Flag description: the flag of Norway is used
@Bouvet Island:Economy
Economy-overview: no economic activity; declared a nature reserve
Communications
Communications-note: automatic meteorological station
@Bouvet Island:Transportation
Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only
@Bouvet Island:Military
Military-note: defense is the responsibility of Norway
@Bouvet Island:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: none
______________________________________________________________________
BRAZIL
@Brazil:Geography
Location: Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Geographic coordinates: 10 00 S, 55 00 W
Map references: South America
Area:
total: 8,511,965 sq km
land: 8,456,510 sq km
water: 55,455 sq km
note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas,
Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao
Paulo
Area-comparative: slightly smaller than the US
Land boundaries:
total: 14,691 km
border countries: Argentina 1,224 km, Bolivia 3,400 km, Colombia 1,643
km, French Guiana 673 km, Guyana 1,119 km, Paraguay 1,290 km, Peru
1,560 km, Suriname 597 km, Uruguay 985 km, Venezuela 2,200 km
Coastline: 7,491 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Terrain: mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills,
mountains, and narrow coastal belt
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 m
Natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel,
phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber
Land use:
arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 22%
forests and woodland: 58%
other: 14% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 28,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: recurring droughts in northeast; floods and
occasional frost in south
Environment-current issues: deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the
habitat and endangers the existence of a multitude of plant and animal
species indigenous to the area; air and water pollution in Rio de
Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities; land degradation
and water pollution caused by improper mining activities
Environment-international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography-note: largest country in South America; shares common
boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador
@Brazil:People
Population: 169,806,557 (July 1998 est.)
note: Brazil took a census in August 1996 which showed a total of
157,079,573; this figure is about 5% lower than projections by the US
Census Bureau, which is close to the implied underenumeration of 4.6%
for 1991; since the full results of the census have not been released
for analysis, the numbers shown for Brazil do not take into
consideration the results of this 1996 census
Age structure:
0-14 years: 30% (male 26,090,859; female 25,132,122)
15-64 years: 65% (male 54,199,642; female 55,769,122)
65 years and over: 5% (male 3,499,272; female 5,115,540) (July 1998
est.)
Population growth rate: 1.24% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 20.92 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 8.53 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 36.96 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64.36 years
male: 59.39 years
female: 69.59 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.33 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Brazilian(s)
adjective: Brazilian
Ethnic groups: white (includes Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish,
Polish) 55%, mixed white and black 38%, black 6%, other (includes
Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic (nominal) 70%
Languages: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.3%
male: 83.3%
female: 83.2% (1995 est.)
@Brazil:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil
conventional short form: Brazil
local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil
local short form: Brasil
Data code: BR
Government type: federal republic
National capital: Brasilia
Administrative divisions: 26 states (estados, singular-estado) and 1
federal district* (distrito federal); Acre, Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas,
Bahia, Ceara, Distrito Federal*, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato
Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Parana,
Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do
Sul, Rondonia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins
Independence: 7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
National holiday: Independence Day, 7 September (1822)
Constitution: 5 October 1988
Legal system: based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Suffrage: voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70;
compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO (since 1 January
1995); Vice President Marco MACIEL (since 1 January 1995); note-the
president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO (since 1
January 1995); Vice President Marco MACIEL (since 1 January 1995);
note-the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by
popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 October 1994
(next to be held NA October 1998)
election results: Fernando Henrique CARDOSO elected president; percent
of vote-Fernando Henrique CARDOSO 53%, Luis Inacio LULA da Silva 26%,
Eneas CARNEIRO 7%, Orestes QUERCIA 4%, Leonel BRIZOLA 3%, Espiridiao
AMIN 3%; note-second direct presidential election since 1960
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional
consists of the Federal Senate or Senado Federal (81 seats; three
members from each state or federal district elected according to the
principle of majority to serve eight-year terms; one-third elected
after a four year period, two-thirds elected after the next four-year
period) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara dos Deputados (513
seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve
four-year terms)
elections: Federal Senate-last held 3 October 1994 for two-thirds of
Senate (next to be held October 1998 for one-third of the Senate);
Chamber of Deputies - last held 3 October 1994 (next to be held
October 1998)
election results: Federal Senate-percent of vote by party-PMDB 28%,
PFL 22%, PSDB 12%, PPR 7%, PDT 7%, PT 6%, PTB 6%, other 12%; seats by
party-NA; Chamber of Deputies-percent of vote by party-PMDB 21%, PFL
18%, PDT 7%, PSDB 12%, PPR 10%, PTB 6%, PT 10%, other 16%; seats by
party-NA
note: party totals since the fall of 1994 have changed considerably
due to extensive party-switching
Judicial branch: Supreme Federal Tribunal, 11 judges are appointed for
life by the president and confirmed by the Senate
Political parties and leaders: Brazilian Democratic Movement Party or
PMDB [Paes DE ANDRADE, president]; Liberal Front Party or PFL [Jose
JORGE, president]; Workers' Party or PT [Jose DIRCEU, president];
Brazilian Workers' Party or PTB [Rodrigues PALMA, president];
Democratic Labor Party or PDT [Leonel BRIZOLA, president]; Brazilian
Progressive Party or PPB [Espiridiao AMIN, president]; Brazilian
Social Democracy Party or PSDB [Artur DA TAVOLA, president]; Popular
Socialist Party or PPS [Roberto FREIRE, president]; Communist Party of
Brazil or PCdoB [Joao AMAZONAS, chairman]; Liberal Party or PL [Alvaro
VALLE, president]
Political pressure groups and leaders: left wing of the Catholic
Church, Landless Worker's Movement, and labor unions allied to leftist
Workers' Party are critical of government's social and economic
policies
International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), BIS
(pending member), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU,
LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIPONUH, MONUA, MTCR, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS,
OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOP, UNPREDEP, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Paulo Tarso FLECHA de LIMA
chancery: 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 238-2700
FAX: [1] (202) 238-2827
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles,
Miami, New York, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Melvyn LEVITSKY
embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, Lote 3, Brasilia, Distrito Federal
mailing address: Unit 3500, APO AA 34030
telephone: [55] (61) 321-7272
FAX: [55] (61) 225-9136
consulate(s) general: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo
consulate(s): Recife
Flag description: green with a large yellow diamond in the center
bearing a blue celestial globe with 27 white five-pointed stars (one
for each state and the Federal District) arranged in the same pattern
as the night sky over Brazil; the globe has a white equatorial band
with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress)
@Brazil:Economy
Economy-overview: Possessing large and well-developed agricultural,
mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil's economy outweighs
that of all other South American countries and is expanding its
presence in world markets. Prior to the institution of a stabilization
plan-the Plano Real (Real Plan) in mid-1994, stratospheric inflation
rates had disrupted economic activity and discouraged foreign
investment. Since then, tight monetary policy has brought inflation
under control-consumer prices increased by less than 5% in 1997
compared to more than 1,000% in 1994. At the same time, GDP growth
slowed from 5.7% in 1994 to about 3.0% in 1997 due to tighter credit.
The strong currency, another cornerstone of the Real Plan, has
encouraged imports-contributing to a growing trade deficit-and
restrained export growth. Brazil's more stable economy allowed it to
weather the fallout in 1995 from the Mexican peso crisis relatively
well. Record levels of foreign investment have flowed in, helping
support the Real Plan through financial shocks in October-November
1997 that occurred in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. These
shocks caused Brazil's foreign exchange reserves to drop by $8 billion
to $52 billion and the stock market to decline by about 25%, although
it still ended up more than 30% for the year. President CARDOSO
remains committed to defending the Real Plan, but he faces several key
challenges domestically and abroad. His package of fiscal reforms
requiring constitutional amendments has progressed slowly through the
balkanized Brazilian legislature; in their absence, the government
continues to run deficits and has limited room to relax its interest
and exchange rate policies if it wants to keep inflation under
control. Some foreign investors remain concerned about the viability
of Brazil's exchange rate policy because of the country's fiscal and
current account deficits. The government thus has to contend with the
possibility of capital flight or a speculative attack that could draw
down foreign reserves to a critical level and force a devaluation.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$1.04 trillion (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 3% (1997)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$6,300 (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 13%
industry: 38%
services: 49% (1995)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 4.8% (1997)
Labor force:
total: 57 million (1989 est.)
by occupation: services 42%, agriculture 31%, industry 27%
Unemployment rate: 7% (1997 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $87.5 billion
expenditures: $96 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1996)
Industries: textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin,
steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and
equipment
Industrial production growth rate: 4.5% (1997 est.)
Electricity-capacity: 57.64 million kW (1995)
Electricity-production: 264.895 billion kWh (1995)
note: imported about 36.95 billion kWh of electricity from Paraguay
Electricity-consumption per capita: 1,878 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane,
cocoa, citrus; beef
Exports:
total value: $53 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
commodities: iron ore, soybean bran, orange juice, footwear, coffee,
motor vehicle parts
partners: EU 28%, Latin America 23%, US 20%, Argentina 12% (1996)
Imports:
total value: $61.4 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
commodities: crude oil, capital goods, chemical products, foodstuffs,
coal
partners: EU 26%, US 22%, Argentina 13%, Japan 5% (1996)
Debt-external: $192.9 billion (December 1997)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $107 million (1993)
Currency: 1 real (R$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: R$ per US$1-1.120 (January 1998), 1.078 (1997), 1.005
(1996), 0.918 (1995), 0.639 (1994); CR$ per US$1-390.845 (January
1994), 88.449 (1993)
note: on 1 August 1993 the cruzeiro real (CR$), equal to 1,000
cruzeiros, was introduced; another new currency, the real (R$) was
introduced on 1 July 1994, equal to 2,750 cruzeiro reais
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 14,426,673 (1992 est.)
Telephone system: good working system
domestic: extensive microwave radio relay system and a domestic
satellite system with 64 earth stations
international: 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations-3
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean Region East)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1,223, FM 0, shortwave 151
Radios: 60 million (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 112
note: Brazil has the world's fourth largest television broadcasting
system
Televisions: 30 million (1993 est.)
@Brazil:Transportation
Railways:
total: 26,895 km (1,750 km electrified)
broad gauge: 5,730 km 1.600-m gauge
standard gauge: 194 km 1.440-m gauge
narrow gauge: 20,958 km 1.000-m gauge; 13 km 0.760-m gauge
dual gauge: 523 km 1.000-m and 1.600-m gauges
Highways:
total: 1.98 million km
paved: 184,140 km
unpaved: 1,795,860 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 50,000 km navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 2,000 km; petroleum products 3,804 km; natural
gas 1,095 km
Ports and harbors: Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Imbituba, Manaus,
Paranagua, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador,
Santos, Vitoria
Merchant marine:
total: 188 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,498,081 GRT/7,279,945
DWT
ships by type: bulk 37, cargo 26, chemical tanker 9, combination
ore/oil 11, container 16, liquefied gas tanker 10, multifunction
large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 61, passenger-cargo 5, refrigerated
cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 11 (1997 est.)
Airports: 3,291 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 502
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 130
914 to 1,523 m: 319
under 914 m: 29 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 2,789
1,524 to 2,437 m: 76
914 to 1,523 m: 1,324
under 914 m: 1,389 (1997 est.)
@Brazil:Military
Military branches: Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy (includes Marines),
Brazilian Air Force, Federal Police (paramilitary)
Military manpower-military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 46,620,486 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service:
males: 31,337,037 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually:
males: 1,806,162 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $15.1 billion (1997)
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: 1.9% (1997)
@Brazil:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: short section of the boundary with Paraguay,
just west of Salto das Sete Quedas (Guaira Falls) on the Rio Parana,
has not been precisely delimited; two short sections of boundary with
Uruguay are in dispute-Arroio Invernada (Arroyo de la Invernada) area
of the Rio Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the islands at the confluence of
the Rio Quarai and the Uruguay River
Illicit drugs: limited illicit producer of cannabis, minor coca
cultivation in the Amazon region, mostly used for domestic
consumption; government has a large-scale eradication program to
control cannabis; important transshipment country for Bolivian and
Colombian cocaine headed for the US and Europe; increasingly used by
Andean traffickers as a way station between Peru and Colombia
______________________________________________________________________
BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY
(dependent territory of the UK)
@British Indian Ocean Territory:Geography
Location: Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about
one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Geographic coordinates: 6 00 S, 71 30 E
Map references: World
Area:
total: 60 sq km
land: 60 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago
Area-comparative: about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 698 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 3 nm