(Tahoeraa Huiraatira) [Gaston FLOSSE]; Polynesian Union Party
(includes Te Tiarama and Pupu Here Ai'a Party) [Jean JUVENTIN];
Independent Front for the Liberation of Polynesia (Tavini Huiraatira)
[Oscar TEMARU]; New Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api) [Emile VERNAUDON];
Independent Party (Ia Mana Te Nunaa) [Jacques DROLLET]; Te Aratia Ote
Nunaa (Tinomana Ebb); Haere i Mua [Alexandre LEONTIEFF]; Te e'a No
Maohi Nui [Jean-Marius RAAPOTO]; Pupu Taina [Michel LAW]; Entente
Polynesian [Arthur CHUNG]; Centrist Union or UC
International organization participation: ESCAP (associate), FZ,
ICFTU, SPC, WMO
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas territory of
France)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (overseas territory of
France)
Flag description: two narrow red horizontal bands encase a wide white
band; centered on the white band is a disk with blue and white wave
pattern on the lower half and gold and white ray pattern on the upper
half; a stylized red, blue and white ship rides on the wave pattern;
the French flag is used for official occasions
@French Polynesia:Economy
Economy-overview: Since 1962, when France stationed military personnel
in the region, French Polynesia has changed from a subsistence economy
to one in which a high proportion of the work force is either employed
by the military or supports the tourist industry. Tourism accounts for
about 20% of GDP and is a primary source of hard currency earnings.
The small manufacturing sector primarily processes agricultural
products. The territory will continue to benefit from a five-year
(1994-98) development agreement with France aimed principally at
creating new jobs.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$1.76 billion (1995 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: NA%
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$8,000 (1995 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 4%
industry: 18%
services: 78% (1992 est.)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 1.5% (1994)
Labor force:
total: 118,744 (of which 70,044 are employed) (1988)
by occupation: agriculture 13%, industry 19%, services 68% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate: 15% (1992 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $636 million
expenditures: $643 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1994)
Industries: tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity-capacity: 79,000 kW (1995)
Electricity-production: 330 million kWh (1995)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 1,500 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: coconuts, vanilla, vegetables, fruits; poultry,
beef, dairy products
Exports:
total value: $245 million (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: cultured pearls 53.8%, coconut products, mother-of-pearl,
vanilla, shark meat (1992)
partners: France 33%, US 8.5% (1994)
Imports:
total value: $967 million (c.i.f., 1994)
commodities: fuels, foodstuffs, equipment
partners: France 44.7%, US 13.9% (1994)
Debt-external: $NA
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA
Currency: 1 CFP franc (CFPF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (CFPF) per
US$1-110.60 (January 1998), 106.11 (1997), 93.00 (1996), 90.75 (1995),
100.94 (1994), 102.96 (1993); note-linked at the rate of 18.18 to the
French franc
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 33,200 (1983 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station-1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 2, shortwave 0
Radios: 116,000 (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 6
Televisions: 35,000 (1992 est.)
@French Polynesia:Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: 792 km
paved: 792 km (1995 est.)
Ports and harbors: Mataura, Papeete, Rikitea, Uturoa
Merchant marine:
total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,127 GRT/6,710 DWT
ships by type: passenger-cargo 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (1997 est.)
Airports: 43 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 25
over 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 14
under 914 m: 4 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 18
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 11 (1997 est.)
@French Polynesia:Military
Military branches: French Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force),
Gendarmerie
Military-note: defense is the responsibility of France
@French Polynesia:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: none
______________________________________________________________________
FRENCH SOUTHERN AND ANTARCTIC LANDS
(overseas territory of France)
@French Southern and Antarctic Lands:Geography
Location: south of Africa, islands in the southern Indian Ocean, about
equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia; note-French
Southern and Antarctic Lands includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul,
Iles Crozet, and Iles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, along
with the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, "Adelie Land"; the US
does not recognize the French claim to "Adelie Land"
Geographic coordinates: 43 00 S, 67 00 E
Map references: Antarctic Region
Area:
total: 7,781 sq km
land: 7,781 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet and Iles
Kerguelen; excludes "Adelie Land" claim of about 500,000 sq km in
Antarctica that is not recognized by the US
Area-comparative: slightly less than 1.3 times the size of Delaware
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 1,232 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm from Iles Kerguelen only
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: antarctic
Terrain: volcanic
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Ross on Kerguelen 1,850 m
Natural resources: fish, crayfish
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 100%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)
Natural hazards: Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct
volcanoes
Environment-current issues: NA
Environment-international agreements:
party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA
Geography-note: remote location in the southern Indian Ocean
@French Southern and Antarctic Lands:People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants
note: there were 101 (1997) mostly researchers whose numbers vary from
winter (July) to summer (January)
@French Southern and Antarctic Lands:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic
Lands
conventional short form: French Southern and Antarctic Lands
local long form: Territoire des Terres Australes et Antarctiques
Francaises
local short form: Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises
Data code: FS
Dependency status: overseas territory of France since 1955;
administered from Paris by a high commissioner of the Republic
Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of France); there
are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US
Government, but there are 3 districts named Ile Crozet, Iles
Kerguelen, and Iles Saint-Paul et Amsterdam; excludes "Adelie Land"
claim in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US
Legal system: NA
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas territory of
France)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (overseas territory of
France)
Flag description: the flag of France is used
@French Southern and Antarctic Lands:Economy
Economy-overview: Economic activity is limited to servicing
meteorological and geophysical research stations and French and other
fishing fleets. The fish catches landed on Iles Kerguelen by foreign
ships are exported to France and Reunion.
Budget:
revenues: $14.2 million
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997)
@French Southern and Antarctic Lands:Transportation
Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only
Merchant marine:
total: 61 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,164,686 GRT/3,805,913
DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 4, chemical tanker 7, container 10,
liquefied gas tanker 5, oil tanker 19, refrigerated cargo 2,
roll-on/roll-off cargo 12
note: French Southern and Antarctic Lands owns 3 additional ships
(1,000 GRT or over) totaling 78,691 DWT that operate under French
registry (1997 est.)
Airports: none
@French Southern and Antarctic Lands:Military
Military-note: defense is the responsibility of France
@French Southern and Antarctic Lands:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: "Adelie Land" claim in Antarctica is not
recognized by the US
______________________________________________________________________
GABON
@Gabon:Geography
Location: Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator,
between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea
Geographic coordinates: 1 00 S, 11 45 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 267,670 sq km
land: 257,670 sq km
water: 10,000 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly smaller than Colorado
Land boundaries:
total: 2,551 km
border countries: Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo 1,903 km,
Equatorial Guinea 350 km
Coastline: 885 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; always hot, humid
Terrain: narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and
south
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m
Natural resources: petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron
ore
Land use:
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 18%
forests and woodland: 77%
other: 3% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment-current issues: deforestation; poaching
Environment-international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
@Gabon:People
Population: 1,207,844 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 33% (male 202,364; female 202,249)
15-64 years: 61% (male 372,157; female 364,806)
65 years and over: 6% (male 32,718; female 33,550) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.48% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 13.23 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 85.43 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 56.51 years
male: 53.55 years
female: 59.56 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.81 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Gabonese (singular and plural)
adjective: Gabonese
Ethnic groups: Bantu tribes including four major tribal groupings
(Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke), other Africans and Europeans
154,000, including 6,000 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality
Religions: Christian 55%-75%, Muslim less than 1%, animist
Languages: French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira,
Bandjabi
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 63.2%
male: 73.7%
female: 53.3% (1995 est.)
@Gabon:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Gabonese Republic
conventional short form: Gabon
local long form: Republique Gabonaise
local short form: Gabon
Data code: GB
Government type: republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition
parties legalized 1990)
National capital: Libreville
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue,
Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo,
Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem
Independence: 17 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 17 August (1960) (Gabon granted
full independence from France)
Constitution: adopted 14 March 1991
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law;
judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of the
Supreme Court; compulsory ICJ jurisdiction not accepted
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967)
head of government: Prime Minister Paulin OBAME Nguema (since 9
December 1994)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in
consultation with the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 5 December 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); prime
minister appointed by the president
election results: President Omar BONGO reelected; percent of vote-Omar
BONGO 51%
Legislative branch: bicameral legislature consists of a Senate (91
seats) and a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats);
members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms
elections: National Assembly-last held in December 1996 (next to be
held in December 2001); Senate-last held 12 January 1997 (next to be
held in January 2002)
election results: National Assembly-percent of vote by party-NA; seats
by party - PDG 100, Morena-Bucherons/RNB 8, PUP 3, CLR 3, FAR 1, UPG
1, USG 2, PGP 2; Senate-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by
party-PDG 51, RNB 17, PGP 4, ADERA 3, RDP 1, others 15
note: the provision of the constitution for the establishment of a
senate was implemented in the 12 January 1997 elections
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting of three
chambers-Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts; Constitutional Court;
Courts of Appeal; Court of State Security; County Courts
Political parties and leaders: Action Forum for Renewal or FAR [Leon
MBOU-YEMBI, secretary general]; Circle of Liberal Reformers or CLR
[General Jean Boniface ASSELE]; Gabonese Democratic Party or PDG,
former sole party [Simplice Guedet MANZELA, secretary general];
Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE,
president]; Gabonese People's Union or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU];
Gabonese Socialist Union or USG [Dr. Serge Mba BEKALE]; National
Recovery Movement-Lumberjacks or Morena-Bucherons/RNB [Fr. Paul
M'BA-ABESSOLE]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Louis Gaston MAYILA];
ADERA; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Akexandre SAMBAT,
president]
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC,
CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB,
IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM,
OAU, OIC, UDEAC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Paul BOUNDOUKOU-LATHA
chancery: Suite 200, 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 797-1000
FAX: [1] (202) 332-0668
consulate(s): New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Elizabeth RASPOLIC
embassy: Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville
mailing address: B. P. 4000, Libreville
telephone: [241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, 74 34 92
FAX: [241] 74 55 07
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow,
and blue
@Gabon:Economy
Economy-overview: Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of
most nations of sub-Saharan Africa. This has supported a sharp decline
in extreme poverty but because of high income inequality a large
proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon depended on timber
and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s.
The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Gabon continues to face
fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, manganese, and uranium
exports. Despite the abundance of natural wealth and a manageable rate
of population growth, the economy is hobbled by poor fiscal
management. In 1992, the fiscal deficit widened to 2.4% of GDP, and
Gabon failed to settle arrears on its bilateral debt, leading to a
cancellation of rescheduling agreements with official and private
creditors. Devaluation of its Francophone currency by 50% on 12
January 1994 sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%; the rate
dropped to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a one-year standby arrangement
in 1994-95 and a three-year Enhanced Financing Facility (EFF) at near
commercial rates beginning in late 1995. Those agreements mandate
progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided
additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon had met IMF
targets for mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon chastened the
government for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing from
the central bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatization and
administrative reform (such as reduced public sector employment and
salary growth).
GDP: purchasing power parity-$6 billion (1996 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 3% (1996 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$5,000 (1996 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 7.1%
industry: 54.6%
services: 38.3% (1996)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 6.2% (1996 est.)
Labor force: NA
by occupation: agriculture 65%, industry and commerce, services
Unemployment rate: 10%-14% (1993 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $1.5 billion
expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $302
million (1996 est.)
Industries: food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood; cement;
petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, uranium, and gold
mining; chemicals; ship repair
Industrial production growth rate: 2.3% (1995)
Electricity-capacity: 310,000 kW (1995)
Electricity-production: 925 million kWh (1995)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 800 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil; rubber; okoume
(a tropical softwood); cattle; small fishing operations (provide a
catch of about 30,000 metric tons)
Exports:
total value: $3.1 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: crude oil 81%, timber 12%, manganese 5%, uranium (1996)
partners: US 50%, France 16%, Japan 8%, China, Spain, Germany (1996)
Imports:
total value: $969 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, petroleum
products, construction materials
partners: France 39%, Cote d'Ivoire 13%, US 6%, Netherlands 5%, Japan
Debt-external: $3.9 billion (1996)
Economic aid: $NA
Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
centimes
Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1-608.36 (January 1998),
583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16
(1993)
note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF
100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since
1948
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 22,000 (1991 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay,
tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a
domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations
international: satellite earth stations-3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 6, shortwave 0
Radios: 250,000 (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 3 (repeaters 5)
Televisions: 40,000 (1993 est.)
@Gabon:Transportation
Railways:
total: 649 km Gabon State Railways (OCTRA)
standard gauge: 649 km 1.435-m gauge; single track (1994)
Highways:
total: 7,670 km
paved: 629 km (including 30 km of expressways)
unpaved: 7,041 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 1,600 km perennially navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km
Ports and harbors: Cape Lopez, Kango, Lambarene, Libreville, Mayumba,
Owendo, Port-Gentil
Merchant marine:
total: 3 bulk (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 37,003 GRT/60,663 DWT (1997
est.)
Airports: 64 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 10
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 54
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 18
under 914 m: 26 (1997 est.)
@Gabon:Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard (charged
with protecting the president and other senior officials), National
Gendarmerie, National Police
Military manpower-military age: 20 years of age
Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 277,850 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service:
males: 142,334 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually:
males: 11,352 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $154 million (1993)
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: 2.4% (1993)
@Gabon:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial
Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay
______________________________________________________________________
GAMBIA, THE
The Gambia
The Gambia
@Gambia, The:Geography
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and
Senegal
Geographic coordinates: 13 28 N, 16 34 W
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 11,300 sq km
land: 10,000 sq km
water: 1,300 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Delaware
Land boundaries:
total: 740 km
border countries: Senegal 740 km
Coastline: 80 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 18 nm
continental shelf: not specified
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; hot, rainy season (June to November); cooler, dry
season (November to May)
Terrain: flood plain of the Gambia River flanked by some low hills
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 53 m
Natural resources: fish
Land use:
arable land: 18%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 9%
forests and woodland: 28%
other: 45% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 150 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: rainfall has dropped by 30% in the last 30 years
Environment-current issues: deforestation; desertification;
water-borne diseases prevalent
Environment-international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography-note: almost an enclave of Senegal; smallest country on the
continent of Africa
@Gambia, The:People
Population: 1,291,858 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 46% (male 296,108; female 295,136)
15-64 years: 52% (male 330,215; female 336,056)
65 years and over: 2% (male 18,194; female 16,149) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.42% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 43.3 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 12.93 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: 3.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 77.07 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 53.91 years
male: 51.59 years
female: 56.29 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.91 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Gambian(s)
adjective: Gambian
Ethnic groups: African 99% (Mandinka 42%, Fula 18%, Wolof 16%, Jola
10%, Serahuli 9%, other 4%), non-African 1%
Religions: Muslim 90%, Christian 9%, indigenous beliefs 1%
Languages: English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous
vernaculars
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 38.6%
male: 52.8%
female: 24.9% (1995 est.)
@Gambia, The:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of The Gambia
conventional short form: The Gambia
Data code: GA
Government type: republic under multiparty democratic rule
National capital: Banjul