from a low income, agriculturally based economy to a middle income
diversified economy with growing industrial, financial services, and
tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been of the
order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in
increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much
improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the
cultivated land area and accounts for 25% of export earnings. The
government's development strategy centers on industrialization (with a
view to modernization and to exports), agricultural diversification,
and tourism. Economic performance in 1991-97 continued strong with
solid growth and low unemployment.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$11.7 billion (1996 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 5.4% (1996 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$10,300 (1996 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 8%
industry: 29%
services: 63% (1996)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 6.5% (1996)
Labor force:
total: 514,000 (1995)
by occupation: construction and industry 36%, services 24%,
agriculture and fishing 14%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%,
transportation and communication 7%, finance 3% (1995)
Unemployment rate: 1.8% (1995)
Budget:
revenues: $822 million (FY 94/95)
expenditures: $1 billion, including capital expenditures of $198
million (FY95/96 est.)
Industries: food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, wearing
apparel; chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical
machinery; tourism
Industrial production growth rate: 5.8% (1992)
Electricity-capacity: 361,000 kW (1995)
Electricity-production: 960 million kWh (1995)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 852 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses;
cattle, goats; fish
Exports:
total value: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: clothing and textiles 55%, sugar 24% (1995)
partners: UK 34%, France 21%, US 15%, Germany 6%, Italy 4% (1995)
Imports:
total value: $2.2 billion (c.i.f., 1996 est.)
commodities: manufactured goods 37%, capital equipment 19%, foodstuffs
13%, petroleum products 8%, chemicals 7% (1995)
partners: France 20%, India 8%, Hong Kong 7%, UK 6%, Germany 5% (1995)
Debt-external: $1.2 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA
Currency: 1 Mauritian rupee (MauR) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Mauritian rupees (MauRs) per US$1-22.220 (January
1998), 20.561 (1997), 17.948 (1996), 17.386 (1995), 17.960 (1994),
17.648 (1993)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
Communications
Telephones: 65,000 (1985 est.)
Telephone system: small system with good service
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay
international: satellite earth station-1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new
microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several
countries
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: 395,000 (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 4 (1987 est.)
note: two new subscription channels began operation in 1995
Televisions: 151,096 (1991 est.)
@Mauritius:Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: 1,860 km
paved: 1,732 km (including 30 km of expressways)
unpaved: 128 km (1996 est.)
Ports and harbors: Port Louis
Merchant marine:
total: 20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 241,799 GRT/336,316 DWT
ships by type: cargo 7, combination bulk 2, container 6, liquefied gas
tanker 1, oil tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 3
note: a flag of convenience registry; India owns 1 ship (1997 est.)
Airports: 5 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (1997 est.)
@Mauritius:Military
Military branches: National Police Force (includes the paramilitary
Special Mobile Force or SMF, Special Support Units or SSU, and
National Coast Guard)
Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 336,655 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service:
males: 170,695 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $13.9 million (FY94/95)
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: 0.1% (FY94/95)
@Mauritius:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: claims the island of Diego Garcia in
UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory; claims
French-administered Tromelin Island
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug
trade; heroin consumption and transshipment are growing problems
______________________________________________________________________
MAYOTTE
(territorial collectivity of France)
@Mayotte:Geography
Location: Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about
one-half of the way from northern Madagascar to northern Mozambique
Geographic coordinates: 12 50 S, 45 10 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 375 sq km
land: 375 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 185.2 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during
northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to
November)
Terrain: generally undulating, with deep ravines and ancient volcanic
peaks
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Benara 660 m
Natural resources: NEGL
Land use:
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA%
permanent pastures: NA%
forests and woodland: NA%
other: NA%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: cyclones during rainy season
Environment-current issues: NA
Environment-international agreements:
party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA
Geography-note: part of Comoro Archipelago
@Mayotte:People
Population: 141,944 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 46% (male 33,067; female 33,016)
15-64 years: 52% (male 40,009; female 33,380)
65 years and over: 2% (male 1,214; female 1,258) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 5.16% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 46.96 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 9.22 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: 13.87 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: 1.2 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 71.13 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 59.58 years
male: 57.21 years
female: 62.02 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.48 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Mahorais (singular and plural)
adjective: Mahoran
Ethnic groups: NA
Religions: Muslim 99%, Christian (mostly Roman Catholic)
Languages: Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French
Literacy: NA
@Mayotte:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Mayotte
conventional short form: Mayotte
Data code: MF
Dependency status: territorial collectivity of France
Government type: NA
National capital: Mamoutzou
Administrative divisions: none (territorial collectivity of France)
Independence: none (territorial collectivity of France)
National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: French law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May
1995), represented by Prefect Philippe BOISADAM (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Younoussa BAMANA
(since NA 1977)
cabinet: NA
elections: prefect appointed by the president of France on the advice
of the French Ministry of the Interior; president of the General
Council elected by the members of the General Council for a six-year
term
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19
seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held NA March 1997 (next to be held NA March 2000)
election results: percent of vote by party-NA; note-only nine of the
19 seats were subjected to voting in March 1997; after the election,
seats by party were as follows: MPM 8, RPR 5, independent candidates
5, local PS 1
note: Mayotte elects 1 member of the French Senate; elections last
held 24 September 1995 (next to be held 24 September 2001);
results-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-MPM 1; Mayotte
also elects 1 member to the French National Assembly; elections last
held 25 May and 1 June 1997 (next to be held as a special election on
NA May 2002); results-percent of vote by party-UDF/FD 51.7%, RPR
48.3%; seats by party-UDF/FD 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Tribunal Superieur d'Appel)
Political parties and leaders: Mahoran Popular Movement or MPM
[Younoussa BAMANA]; Mahoran Rally for the Republic or RPR [Mansour
KAMARDINE]; Democratic Front or FD [Youssouf MOUSSA]; Association for
French Mayotte or Association Pour Mayotte Francaise [Didier BEOUTIS];
Socialist Party or PS (local branch of French Parti Socialiste); Union
for French Democracy or UDF [Henri JEAN-BAPTISTE]
International organization participation: FZ
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (territorial collectivity of
France)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (territorial collectivity
of France)
Flag description: the flag of France is used
@Mayotte:Economy
Economy-overview: Economic activity is based primarily on the
agricultural sector, including fishing and livestock raising. Mayotte
is not self-sufficient and must import a large portion of its food
requirements, mainly from France. The economy and future development
of the island are heavily dependent on French financial assistance, an
important supplement to GDP. Mayotte's remote location is an obstacle
to the development of tourism.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$63 million (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: NA%
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$600 (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Inflation rate-consumer price index: NA%
Labor force: NA
Unemployment rate: 38% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $73 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991
est.)
Industries: newly created lobster and shrimp industry
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity-capacity: NA kW
Electricity-production: NA kWh
Electricity-consumption per capita: NA kWh
Agriculture-products: vanilla, ylang-ylang (perfume essence), coffee,
copra
Exports:
total value: $3.64 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: ylang-ylang (perfume essence), vanilla, copra
partners: France 80%, Comoros 15%, Reunion
Imports:
total value: $131.5 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: building materials, machinery and transportation
equipment, metals, chemicals, rice, clothing, flour
partners: France 66%, Africa 14%, Southeast Asia 20%
Debt-external: $NA
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA
note: extensive French financial assistance
Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1-6.0836 (January 1998),
5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994), 5.6632
(1993)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 450
Telephone system: small system administered by French Department of
Posts and Telecommunications
domestic: NA
international: microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone
communications to Comoros and other international connections
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: 30,000 (1994 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 0
Televisions: 3,500 (1994 est.)
@Mayotte:Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: 93 km
paved: 72 km
unpaved: 21 km
Ports and harbors: Dzaoudzi
Merchant marine: none
Airports: 1 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1997 est.)
@Mayotte:Military
Military-note: defense is the responsibility of France; small
contingent of French forces stationed on the island
@Mayotte:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: claimed by Comoros
______________________________________________________________________
MEXICO
@Mexico:Geography
Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of
Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific
Ocean, between Guatemala and the US
Geographic coordinates: 23 00 N, 102 00 W
Map references: North America
Area:
total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km
water: 49,510 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 4,538 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km
Coastline: 9,330 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: varies from tropical to desert
Terrain: high, rugged mountains, low coastal plains, high plateaus,
and desert
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m
Natural resources: petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc,
natural gas, timber
Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 39%
forests and woodland: 26%
other: 22% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 61,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and
destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the
Gulf and Caribbean coasts
Environment-current issues: natural fresh water resources scarce and
polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme
southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in
urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification;
serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers along
US-Mexico border
Environment-international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography-note: strategic location on southern border of US
@Mexico:People
Population: 98,552,776 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 36% (male 17,883,007; female 17,193,082)
15-64 years: 60% (male 28,932,074; female 30,511,443)
65 years and over: 4% (male 1,808,581; female 2,224,589) (July 1998
est.)
Population growth rate: 1.77% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 25.49 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 4.91 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.89 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: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 25.82 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.63 years
male: 68.62 years
female: 74.79 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.91 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican
Ethnic groups: mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or
predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1%
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%
Languages: Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional
indigenous languages
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89.6%
male: 91.8%
female: 87.4% (1995 est.)
@Mexico:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: United Mexican States
conventional short form: Mexico
local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos
local short form: Mexico
Data code: MX
Government type: federal republic operating under a centralized
government
National capital: Mexico
Administrative divisions: 31 states (estados, singular-estado) and 1
federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California,
Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de
Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero,
Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo
Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis
Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala,
Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas
Independence: 16 September 1810 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
Constitution: 5 February 1917
Legal system: mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law
system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (since 1
December 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government
head of government: President Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (since 1
December 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with consent of the Senate
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term;
election last held 21 August 1994 (next to be held in July or August
2000)
election results: Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon elected president;
percent of vote-Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (PRI) 50.18%, Cuauhtemoc
CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 17.08%, Diego FERNANDEZ DE CEVALLOS (PAN)
26.69%, other 6.049%
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la
Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats,
expanded from 64 seats at the last election; half are elected by
popular vote to serve six-year terms, and half are allocated or on
basis of each party's popular vote) and the Chamber of Deputies or
Camara de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by
popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 seats are
allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for a
three-year term)
elections: Senate-last held 6 July 1997 for one-quarter of the seats;
Chamber of Deputies-last held 6 July 1997 (the next legislative
elections will coincide with the presidential election in July or
August 2000)
election results: Senate-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by
party-PRI 77, PAN 33, PRD 16, PVEM 1, PT 1; note-the distribution of
seats as of May 1998 is as follows-PRI 77, PAN 31, PRD 15, PT 1,
independents 4; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party-PRI
39%, PAN 27%, PRD 26%; seats by party-PRI 239, PRD 125, PAN 121, PVEM
8, PT 7; note-the distribution of seats as of May 1998 is as
follows-PRI 237, PRD 127, PAN 120, PT 7, PVEM 6, independents 3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia),
judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate
Political parties and leaders: (recognized parties) Institutional
Revolutionary Party (PRI), Mariano PALACIOS Alocer; National Action
Party (PAN), Felipe CALDERON Hinojosa; Party of the Democratic
Revolution (PRD), Andres Manuel LOPEZ Obrador; Cardenist Front for the
National Reconstruction Party (PFCRN), Rafael AGUILAR Talamantes;
Democratic Forum Party (PFD), Rosalia RAMIREZ; Mexican Green Ecologist
Party (PVEM), Jorge GONZALEZ Torres; Workers Party (PT), Alberto ANAYA
Gutierrez
Political pressure groups and leaders: Roman Catholic Church;
Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM); Confederation of Industrial
Chambers (CONCAMIN); Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce
(CONCANACO); National Peasant Confederation (CNC); Revolutionary
Workers Party (PRT); Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and
Peasants (CROC); Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (CROM);
Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX);
National Chamber of Transformation Industries (CANACINTRA);
Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations (COECE);
Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services (FESEBES)
International organization participation: AG (observer), APEC, BCIE,
BIS (pending member), Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO,
G- 6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat,
Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer),
OAS, OECD, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jesus REYES HEROLES Gonzalez Garza
chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006
telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El
Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix,
Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto
Rico)
consulate(s): Albuquerque, Boston, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico
(California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas
(Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Laredo, McAllen
(Texas), Midland (Texas), Nogales (Arizona), Orlando, Oxnard
(California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), St. Louis, Salt Lake
City, San Bernardino, San Jose, Santa Ana (California), Seattle
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge Charles BRAYSHAW
embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico,
Distrito Federal
mailing address: P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087
telephone: [52] (5) 211-0042
FAX: [52] (5) 511-9980, 208-3373
consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana
consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side),
white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a
snake in its beak) is centered in the white band
@Mexico:Economy
Economy-overview: Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of
modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated
by the private sector. The number of state-owned enterprises in Mexico
has fallen from more than 1,000 in 1982 to fewer than 200 in 1998. The
ZEDILLO administration is privatizing and expanding competition in sea
ports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas
distribution, and airports. The Mexican economy is in its third year
of recovery from the recession of 1995, which was touched off by a
financial crisis. After declining 6.2% in 1995, real GDP grew 5.1% in
1996 and 7.3% in 1997 and is expected to rise by 5% in 1998. A strong
export sector helped to cushion the economy's decline in 1995 and led
the recovery in 1996 and 1997. Private consumption spending in 1998
probably will rise by at least 4% on the strength of increased
employment and rising real wages, and the troubled banking sector is
likely to increase lending for the first time in three years. Despite
the spillover from the Asian crisis, the medium-term outlook for
Mexico remains positive, with government and private sector economists
projecting average annual growth of 4% to 5% through the year 2000.
Mexico still needs to overcome many structural problems as it strives
to modernize its economy and raise living standards. Income
distribution is very unequal with the top 20% of income earners
accounting for 55% of income. The inefficient agricultural sector
employs 20% to 25% of the labor force but produces only 8% of GDP.
Trade with the United States and Canada has nearly doubled since NAFTA
was implemented in 1994. Mexico is pursuing additional trade
agreements with most countries in Latin America and with the European
Union to lessen its dependence on the United States, which accounts
for 80% of Mexico's total trade.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$694.3 billion (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 7.3% (1997 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$7,700 (1997 est.)