white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is
green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the
Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed-orange (hoist side),
white, and green
@Italy:Economy
Economy-overview: Since World War II, the Italian economy has changed
from one based on agriculture into a ranking industrial economy, with
approximately the same total and per capita output as France and the
UK. This basically capitalistic economy is still divided into a
developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less
developed agricultural south, with large public enterprises and more
than 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and over
75% of energy requirements must be imported. In the second half of
1992, Rome became unsettled by the prospect of not qualifying to
participate in EU plans for economic and monetary union later in the
decade; thus, it finally began to address its huge fiscal imbalances.
Subsequently, the government has adopted fairly stringent budgets,
abandoned its inflationary wage indexation system, and started to
scale back its generous social welfare programs, including pension and
health care benefits. In November 1996 the lire rejoined the European
monetary system, which it had left in September 1992 when under
extreme pressure in currency markets. Italy faces the problem of
restructuring its economy to meet Maastricht criteria for inclusion in
the EMU, together with other problems of refurbishing a tottering
communications system, curbing industrial pollution, and adjusting to
new EU and global competitive forces.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$1.24 trillion (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 1.5% (1997 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$21,500 (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.3%
industry: 33%
services: 63.7% (1994)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 1.9% (1997 est.)
Labor force:
total: 22.851 million
by occupation: services 61%, industry 32%, agriculture 7% (1996)
Unemployment rate: 12.2% (December 1997 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $416 billion
expenditures: $506 billion, including capital expenditures of $47
billion (1996 est.)
Industries: tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food
processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics
Industrial production growth rate: 0.5% (1996 est.)
Electricity-capacity: 57.186 million kW (1995)
Electricity-production: 225.179 billion kWh (1995)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 4,509 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar
beets, soybeans, grain, olives; meat and dairy products; fish catch of
525,000 metric tons in 1990
Exports:
total value: $250.8 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: metals, textiles and clothing, production machinery,
motor vehicles, transportation equipment, chemicals
partners: EU 53.4%, US 7.8%, OPEC 3.8%
Imports:
total value: $190 billion (c.i.f., 1996)
commodities: industrial machinery, chemicals, transport equipment,
petroleum, metals, food, agricultural products
partners: EU 45.5%, OPEC 4.8%, US 4.3%
Debt-external: $45 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid:
donor: ODA, $3.043 billion (1993)
Currency: 1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi
Exchange rates: Italian lire (Lit) per US$1-1,787.7 (January 1998),
1,703.1 (1997), 1,542.9 (1996), 1,628.9 (1995), 1,612.4 (1994),
1,573.7 (1993)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 25.6 million (1996 est.)
Telephone system: modern, well-developed, fast; fully automated
telephone, telex, and data services
domestic: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks
international: satellite earth stations-3 Intelsat (with a total of 5
antennas - 3 for Atlantic Ocean and 2 for Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat
(Atlantic Ocean region), and NA Eutelsat; 21 submarine cables
Radio broadcast stations: AM 135, FM 28 (repeaters 1,840), shortwave 0
Radios: 45.7 million (1996 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 83 (repeaters 1,000)
Televisions: 17 million (1996 est.)
@Italy:Transportation
Railways:
total: 19,437 km
standard gauge: 18,103 km 1.435-m gauge; Italian Railways (FS)
operates 15,942 km of the total standard gauge routes (11,299 km
electrified)
narrow gauge: 56 km 1.000-m gauge (56 km electrified); 1,278 km
0.950-m gauge (19 km electrified) (1996)
Highways:
total: 317,000 km
paved: 317,000 km (including 9,500 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 2,400 km for various types of commercial traffic, although
of limited overall value
Pipelines: crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km; natural
gas 19,400 km
Ports and harbors: Ancona, Augusta (Sicily), Bari, Cagliari
(Sardinia), Catania (Sicily), Gaeta, Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno,
Naples, Oristano (Sardinia), Palermo (Sicily), Piombino, Porto Torres
(Sardinia), Ravenna, Savona, Trieste, Venice
Merchant marine:
total: 365 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,032,728 GRT/7,076,307
DWT
ships by type: bulk 29, cargo 47, chemical tanker 39, combination
ore/oil 2, container 15, liquefied gas tanker 30, multifunction
large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 98, passenger 5, roll-on/roll-off
cargo 51, short-sea passenger 30, specialized tanker 11, vehicle
carrier 7 (1997 est.)
Airports: 136 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 96
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 33
1,524 to 2,437 m: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 30
under 914 m: 12 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 40
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 20
under 914 m: 18 (1997 est.)
Heliports: 3 (1997 est.)
@Italy:Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri
Military manpower-military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 14,249,145 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service:
males: 12,314,086 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually:
males: 324,437 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $20.4 billion (1995)
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: 1.9% (1995)
@Italy:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: Italy is negotiating with Slovenia over
property and minority rights issues dating from World War II; Croatia
and Italy made progress toward resolving a bilateral issue dating from
WWII over property and ethnic minority rights
Illicit drugs: important gateway for and consumer of Latin American
cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market
______________________________________________________________________
JAMAICA
@Jamaica:Geography
Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
Geographic coordinates: 18 15 N, 77 30 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 10,990 sq km
land: 10,830 sq km
water: 160 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 1,022 km
Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m
Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Land use:
arable land: 14%
permanent crops: 6%
permanent pastures: 24%
forests and woodland: 17%
other: 39% (1993 est.)
note: irrigated land-3% (350 sq km)(1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 350 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: hurricanes (especially July to November)
Environment-current issues: deforestation; coastal waters polluted by
industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air
pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions
Environment-international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography-note: strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica
Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal
@Jamaica:People
Population: 2,634,678 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 32% (male 425,233; female 406,529)
15-64 years: 62% (male 806,846; female 817,145)
65 years and over: 6% (male 79,125; female 99,800) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.7% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 20.91 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -8.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 14.47 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.37 years
male: 73.01 years
female: 77.84 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.33 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican
Ethnic groups: black 90.4%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese
0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.6%
Religions: Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%,
Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist
2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%,
Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other, including some spiritual
cults 34.7%
Languages: English, Creole
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 85%
male: 80.8%
female: 89.1% (1995 est.)
@Jamaica:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica
Data code: JM
Government type: parliamentary democracy
National capital: Kingston
Administrative divisions: 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston,
Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint
Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny,
Westmoreland
Independence: 6 August 1962 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day (first Monday in August) (1962)
Constitution: 6 August 1962
Legal system: based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II of the UK (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August
1991)
head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30
March 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since NA 1993)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of
the prime minister
elections: none; the queen is a hereditary monarch; governor general
appointed by the queen on the recommendation of the prime minister;
prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the governor
general
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a
21-member body appointed by the governor general on the
recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the
opposition; ruling party 13 seats, opposition 8 seats) and the House
of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to
serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 18 December 1997 (next to be held by March 2002)
election results: percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-PNP 50,
JLP 10
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges appointed by the governor
general on advice of the prime minister
Political parties and leaders: People's National Party (PNP), P. J.
PATTERSON; Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Edward SEAGA; National
Democratic Movement (NDM), Bruce GOLDING
Political pressure groups and leaders: Rastafarians (black
religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists); New Beginnings Movement
(NBM)
International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB,
ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat,
Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Leighton BERNAL
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660
FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081
consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Stanley Louis MCLELLAND
embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor,
Kingston
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [1] (809) 929-4850 through 4859
FAX: [1] (809) 926-6743
Flag description: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four
triangles-green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)
@Jamaica:Economy
Economy-overview: Key sectors in this island economy are bauxite
(alumina and bauxite account for more than half of exports) and
tourism. Since assuming office in 1992, Prime Minister PATTERSON has
eliminated most price controls, streamlined tax schedules, and
privatized government enterprises. Continued tight monetary and fiscal
policies have helped slow inflation and stabilize the exchange rate,
but have resulted in the slow-down of economic growth (moving from
1.5% in 1992 to 0.5% in 1995. In 1996, GDP was in negative growth
(-1.4%) and remained so in 1997. Serious problems include: high
interest rates; increased foreign competition; the weak financial
condition of business in general resulting in receiverships or
closures and downsizings of companies; the shift in investment
portfolios to non-productive, short-term high yield instruments; a
pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise
trade deficit; and a growing internal debt for government bailouts to
various ailing sectors of the economy. Jamaica's medium-term prospects
will depend upon encouraging investment in the productive sectors,
maintaining a competitive exchange rate, stabilizing the labor
environment, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$9.5 billion (1996 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: -1.4% (1996 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$3,660 (1996 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 8%
industry: 37%
services: 55% (1996 est.)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 17% (1996 est.)
Labor force:
total: 1.14 million (1996)
by occupation: services 41%, agriculture 22.5%, industry 19%,
unemployed 17.5% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 16% (1996 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $3 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.163
billion (FY97/98 est.)
Industries: tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light
manufactures
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity-capacity: 1.182 million kW (1995)
Electricity-production: 3.87 billion kWh (1995)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 1,503 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes,
vegetables; poultry, goats, milk
Exports:
total value: $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum
partners: US 37%, UK 13%, Canada 12%, Netherlands 9%, Norway 7%
Imports:
total value: $2.9 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment, construction
materials, fuel, food, chemicals
partners: US 52%, Trinidad and Tobago 8%, Japan 6%, UK 4%, Canada 3%
Debt-external: $3.2 billion (1997 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $306 million (1996)
Currency: 1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1-36.051 (November 1997),
37.120 (1996), 35.142 (1995), 33.086 (1994), 24.949 (1993)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
Communications
Telephones: 350,000 (1997 est.)
Telephone system: fully automatic domestic telephone network
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth stations-2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3
coaxial submarine cables
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 7, shortwave 0 (1997)
Radios: 1.973 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 8
Televisions: 330,000 (1992 est.)
@Jamaica:Transportation
Railways:
total: 370 km
standard gauge: 370 km 1.435-m gauge; note-207 km belong to the
Jamaica Railway Corporation in common carrier service, but are no
longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and used to
transport bauxite
Highways:
total: 18,700 km
paved: 13,100 km
unpaved: 5,600 km (gravel 3,200 km; improved earth 2,400 km) (1997
est.)
Pipelines: petroleum products 10 km
Ports and harbors: Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego
Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Longswharf
Merchant marine:
total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,931 GRT/10,545 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1997
est.)
Airports: 36 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 5 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 23 (1997 est.)
@Jamaica:Military
Military branches: Jamaica Defense Force (includes Ground Forces,
Coast Guard and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force
Military manpower-military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 703,697 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service:
males: 496,276 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually:
males: 25,525 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $47.9 million (FY97/98 est.)
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: NA%
@Jamaica:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: none
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine from Central and South
America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis;
government has an active manual cannabis eradication program
______________________________________________________________________
JAN MAYEN
(territory of Norway)
@Jan Mayen:Geography
Location: Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the
Norwegian Sea, northeast of Iceland
Geographic coordinates: 71 00 N, 8 00 W
Map references: Arctic Region
Area:
total: 373 sq km
land: 373 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 124.1 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 10 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 4 nm
Climate: arctic maritime with frequent storms and persistent fog
Terrain: volcanic island, partly covered by glaciers
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Norwegian Sea 0 m
highest point: Haakon VII Toppen/Beerenberg 2,277 m
Natural resources: none
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: dominated by the volcano Beerenberg; volcanic
activity resumed in 1970
Environment-current issues: NA
Environment-international agreements:
party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA
Geography-note: barren volcanic island with some moss and grass
@Jan Mayen:People
Population: no permanent inhabitants
note: there are personnel who operate the Long Range Navigation
(Loran) C base and the weather and coastal services radio station
@Jan Mayen:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jan Mayen
Data code: JN
Dependency status: territory of Norway; administered from Oslo through
a governor (sysselmann) resident in Longyearbyen (Svalbard); however,
authority has been delegated to a station commander of the Norwegian
Defense Communication Service
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
@Jan Mayen:Economy
Economy-overview: Jan Mayen is a volcanic island with no exploitable
natural resources. Economic activity is limited to providing services
for employees of Norway's radio and meteorological stations located on
the island.
Communications
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: radio and meteorological station
@Jan Mayen:Transportation
Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only
Airports: 1 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1997 est.)
@Jan Mayen:Military
Military-note: defense is the responsibility of Norway
@Jan Mayen:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: none
______________________________________________________________________
JAPAN
@Japan:Geography
Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean
and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
Geographic coordinates: 36 00 N, 138 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area:
total: 377,835 sq km
land: 374,744 sq km
water: 3,091 sq km
note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto,
Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and
Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
Area-comparative: slightly smaller than California
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 29,751 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm; 3 nm in the international straits-La Perouse
or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea
or Tsushima Strait
Climate: varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
highest point: Fujiyama 3,776 m
Natural resources: negligible mineral resources, fish
Land use:
arable land: 11%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 2%
forests and woodland: 67%
other: 19% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 27,820 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500
seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis
Environment-current issues: air pollution from power plant emissions
results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading
water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan's appetite for fish
and tropical timber is contributing to the depletion of these
resources in Asia and elsewhere
Environment-international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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
signed, but not ratified: Desertification
Geography-note: strategic location in northeast Asia
@Japan:People
Population: 125,931,533 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 15% (male 9,802,921; female 9,342,254)
15-64 years: 69% (male 43,486,840; female 43,135,979)
65 years and over: 16% (male 8,388,242; female 11,775,297) (July 1998
est.)
Population growth rate: 0.2% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 10.26 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 7.94 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 4.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 80 years
male: 76.91 years
female: 83.25 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.46 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Japanese
Ethnic groups: Japanese 99.4%, other 0.6% (mostly Korean)