SOMALIA
@Somalia:Geography
Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian
Ocean, east of Ethiopia
Geographic coordinates: 10 00 N, 49 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 637,660 sq km
land: 627,340 sq km
water: 10,320 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 2,366 km
border countries: Djibouti 58 km, Ethiopia 1,626 km, Kenya 682 km
Coastline: 3,025 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 200 nm
Climate: principally desert; December to February-northeast monsoon,
moderate temperatures in north and very hot in south; May to
October-southwest monsoon, torrid in the north and hot in the south,
irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between
monsoons
Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Shimbiris 2,450 m
Natural resources: uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron
ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt
Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 69%
forests and woodland: 26%
other: 3% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,800 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over eastern
plains in summer
Environment-current issues: famine; use of contaminated water
contributes to human health problems; deforestation; overgrazing; soil
erosion; desertification
Environment-international agreements:
party to: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban
Geography-note: strategic location on Horn of Africa along southern
approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and Suez Canal
@Somalia:People
Population: 6,841,695 (July 1998 est.)
note: this estimate was derived from an official census taken in 1987
by the Somali Government with the cooperation of the UN and the US
Bureau of the Census; population estimates are updated year by year
between census years by factoring growth rates into them and by taking
account of refugee movements and of losses due to famine; lower
estimates of Somalia's population in mid-1996 (on the order of 6.0
million to 6.5 million) have been made by aid and relief agencies,
based on the number of persons being fed; population counting in
Somalia is complicated by the large numbers of nomads and by refugee
movements in response to famine and clan warfare
Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (male 1,512,014; female 1,511,858)
15-64 years: 53% (male 1,833,922; female 1,786,261)
65 years and over: 3% (male 90,475; female 107,165) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 4.43% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 46.75 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 18.5 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: 16.08 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: 0.84 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 125.77 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 46.23 years
male: 44.66 years
female: 47.85 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 7.01 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Somali(s)
adjective: Somali
Ethnic groups: Somali 85%, Bantu, Arabs 30,000
Religions: Sunni Muslim
Languages: Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 24%
male: 36%
female: 14% (1990 est.)
@Somalia:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Somalia
former: Somali Republic, Somali Democratic Republic
Data code: SO
Government type: none
National capital: Mogadishu
Administrative divisions: 18 regions (plural-NA, singular-gobolka);
Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiiraan, Jubbada
Dhexe, Jubbada Hoose, Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe,
Shabeellaha Hoose, Sool, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed
Independence: 1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which
became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960, and Italian
Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN
trusteeship on 1 July 1960, to form the Somali Republic)
National holiday: NA
Constitution: 25 August 1979, presidential approval 23 September 1979
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: Somalia has no functioning government; the United
Somali Congress (USC) ousted the regime of Major General Mohamed SIAD
Barre on 27 January 1991; the present political situation is one of
anarchy, marked by interclan fighting and random banditry
Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly or Golaha Shacbiga
note: the Golaha Shacbiga is not functioning
Judicial branch: (not functioning); note-following the breakdown of
national government, most regions have reverted to Islamic law with a
provision for appeal of all sentences
Political parties and leaders: the United Somali Congress or USC
ousted the former regime on 27 January 1991; formerly the only party
was the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party or SRSP, headed by former
President and Commander in Chief of the Army Major General Mohamed
SIAD Barre
Political pressure groups and leaders: numerous clan and subclan
factions are currently vying for power
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF,
CAEU, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU,
NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: Somalia does not have an embassy
in the US (ceased operations on 8 May 1991)
Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy
in Somalia; US interests are represented by the US Embassy in Nairobi
at Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue; mail address: P. O. Box
30137, Unit 64100, Nairobi; APO AE 09831; telephone: [254] (2) 334141;
FAX [254] (2) 340838
Flag description: light blue with a large white five-pointed star in
the center; design based on the flag of the UN (Italian Somaliland was
a UN trust territory)
Government-note: While chaos and clan fighting continue in most of
Somalia, some orderly government has been established in the northern
part. In May 1991, the elders of clans in former British Somaliland
established the independent Republic of Somaliland, which, although
not recognized by any government, maintains a stable existence, aided
by the overwhelming dominance of the ruling clan and the economic
infrastructure left behind by British, Russian and American military
assistance programs. The economy has been growing and in February 1996
the EU agreed to finance the reconstruction of the port of Berbera;
since then, other aid projects have been assumed by the EU and by a
non-governmental Italian organization.
@Somalia:Economy
Economy-overview: One of the world's poorest and least developed
countries, Somalia has few resources. Moreover, much of the economy
has been devastated by the civil war. Agriculture is the most
important sector, with livestock accounting for about 40% of GDP and
about 65% of export earnings. Nomads and semi-nomads, who are
dependent upon livestock for their livelihood, make up a large portion
of the population. Crop production generates only 10% of GDP and
employs about 20% of the work force. After livestock, bananas are the
principal export; sugar, sorghum, corn, and fish are products for the
domestic market. The small industrial sector, based on the processing
of agricultural products, accounts for less than 10% of GDP; most
facilities have been shut down because of the civil strife. Moreover,
ongoing civil disturbances in Mogadishu and outlying areas are
interfering with any substantial economic advance.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$8 billion (1996 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 4% (1996 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$600 (1996 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 59%
industry: 10%
services: 31% (1995 est.)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: NA%
Labor force:
total: 3.7 million (very few are skilled laborers)(1993 est.)
by occupation: agriculture (mostly pastoral nomadism) 71%, industry
and services 29%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: a few small industries, including sugar refining,
textiles, petroleum refining (mostly shut down)
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity-capacity: 144,000 kW prior to the civil war, but now
largely shut down due to war damage; some localities operate their own
generating plants, providing limited municipal power; note-UN and
relief organizations use their own portable power systems
Electricity-production: 245 million kWh (1995 est.)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 33 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture-products: bananas, sorghum, corn, sugarcane, mangoes,
sesame seeds, beans; cattle, sheep, goats; fishing potential largely
unexploited
Exports:
total value: $130 million (1994 est.)
commodities: bananas, live animals, fish, hides (1997)
partners: Saudi Arabia 57%, Yemen 14%, Italy 13%, UAE 10%, US
(bananas) (1995 est.)
Imports:
total value: $269 million (1994 est.)
commodities: manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs,
construction materials (1995)
partners: Kenya 24%, Djibouti 18%, Pakistan 6% (1995 est.)
Debt-external: $2.6 billion (1994 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA
Currency: 1 Somali shilling (So. Sh.) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Somali shillings (So. Sh.) per US$1-7,500 (November
1997 est.), 7,000 (January 1996 est.), 5,000 (1 January 1995), 2,616
(1 July 1993), 4,200 (December 1992)
note: the Republic of Somaliland, a self-declared independent country
not recognized by any government, issues its own currency, the
Somaliland shilling (Sol. Sh.); estimated exchange rate, Sol. Sh. per
US$1-4,000 (November 1997)
Fiscal year: NA
Communications
Telephones: 9,000 (1991 est.)
Telephone system: the public telecommunications system was completely
destroyed or dismantled by the civil war factions; all relief
organizations depend on their own private systems
domestic: recently, local cellular telephone systems have been
established in Mogadishu and in several other population centers
international: international connections are available from Mogadishu
by satellite
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA (there are at
least five radio broadcast stations of NA type)
Radios: 370,000 (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 0 (Somalia's only TV station was
demolished during the civil strife, sometime in 1991)
Televisions: 118,000 (1993 est.)
@Somalia:Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: 22,100 km
paved: 2,608 km
unpaved: 19,492 km (1996 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 15 km
Ports and harbors: Bender Cassim (Boosaaso), Berbera, Chisimayu
(Kismaayo), Merca, Mogadishu
Merchant marine: none
Airports: 61 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 7
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 54
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 27
under 914 m: 10 (1997 est.)
@Somalia:Military
Military branches: NA; note-no functioning central government military
forces; clan militias continue to battle for control of key economic
or political prizes
Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 1,669,645 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service:
males: 930,405 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: NA%
@Somalia:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: most of the southern half of the boundary with
Ethiopia is a Provisional Administrative Line; territorial dispute
with Ethiopia over the Ogaden
______________________________________________________________________
SOUTH AFRICA
@South Africa:Geography
Location: Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of
Africa
Geographic coordinates: 29 00 S, 24 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 1,219,912 sq km
land: 1,219,912 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward
Island)
Area-comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 4,750 km
border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491
km, Namibia 855 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km
Coastline: 2,798 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days,
cool nights
Terrain: vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow
coastal plain
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m
Natural resources: gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore,
manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum,
copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 67%
forests and woodland: 7%
other: 15% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 12,700 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: prolonged droughts
Environment-current issues: lack of important arterial rivers or lakes
requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in
water usage threatens to outpace supply; pollution of rivers from
agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in
acid rain; soil erosion; desertification
Environment-international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
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: South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost
completely surrounds Swaziland
@South Africa:People
Population: 42,834,520 (July 1998 est.)
note: South Africa took a census 10 October 1996 which showed a total
of 37,859,000 (after a 6.8% adjustment for underenumeration based on a
post-enumeration survey); this figure is still about 10% below
projections from earlier censuses; since the full results of the
census have not been released for analysis, the numbers shown for
South Africa do not take into consideration the results of this 1996
census
Age structure:
0-14 years: 35% (male 7,502,396; female 7,366,144)
15-64 years: 61% (male 12,947,521; female 13,079,892)
65 years and over: 4% (male 778,767; female 1,159,800) (July 1998
est.)
Population growth rate: 1.42% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 26.43 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 12.28 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 52.04 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 55.65 years
male: 53.56 years
female: 57.8 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.16 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: South African(s)
adjective: South African
Ethnic groups: black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6%
Religions: Christian 68% (includes most whites and Coloreds, about 60%
of blacks and about 40% of Indians), Muslim 2%, Hindu 1.5% (60% of
Indians), traditional and animistic 28.5%
Languages: 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English,
Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.8%
male: 81.9%
female: 81.7% (1995 est.)
@South Africa:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of South Africa
conventional short form: South Africa
abbreviation: RSA
Data code: SF
Government type: republic
National capital: Pretoria (administrative); Cape Town (legislative);
Bloemfontein (judicial)
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State,
Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape,
Northern Province, Western Cape
Independence: 31 May 1910 (from UK)
National holiday: Freedom Day, 27 April (1994)
Constitution: 10 December 1996; this new constitution was certified by
the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996, was signed by President
MANDELA on 10 December 1996, and entered into effect on 3 February
1997; it is being implemented in phases
Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Nelson MANDELA (since 10 May 1994);
Executive Deputy President Thabo MBEKI (since 10 May 1994); note-the
president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Nelson MANDELA (since 10 May 1994);
Executive Deputy President Thabo MBEKI (since 10 May 1994); note-the
president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and executive deputy presidents elected by the
National Assembly; election last held 9 May 1994 (next scheduled for
sometime between May and July 1999)
election results: Nelson MANDELA elected president; percent of
National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation); Thabo MBEKI and
Frederik W. DE KLERK elected executive deputy presidents; percent of
National Assembly vote-100% (by acclamation)
note: the initial governing coalition, made up of the ANC, the IFP,
and the NP, which constituted a Government of National Unity or GNU,
no longer includes the NP which was withdrawn by DE KLERK on 30 June
1996 when he voluntarily gave up his position as executive deputy
president and distanced himself from the programs of the ANC
Legislative branch: bicameral parliament consisting of the National
Assembly (400 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a
system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms) and
the National Council of Provinces (90 seats, ten members elected by
each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-year terms; has
special powers to protect regional interests, including the
safeguarding of cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic
minorities); note-following the implementation of the new constitution
on 3 February 1997 the former Senate was disbanded and replaced by the
National Council of Provinces with essentially no change in membership
and party affiliations, although the new institution's
responsibilities have been changed somewhat by the new constitution
elections: National Assembly and Senate-last held 26-29 April 1994
(next to be held between May and July 1999); note-the Senate was
disbanded and replaced by the National Council of Provinces on 6
February 1997
election results: National Assembly-percent of vote by party-ANC
62.6%, NP 20.4%, IFP 10.5%, FF 2.2%, DP 1.7%, PAC 1.2%, ACDP 0.5%,
other 0.9%; seats by party - ANC 252, NP 82, IFP 43, FF 9, DP 7, PAC
5, ACDP 2; Senate-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-ANC 61,
NP 17, FF 4, IFP 5, DP 3
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High
Courts; Magistrate Courts
Political parties and leaders: African Christian Democratic Party or
ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE, president]; African National Congress or ANC
[Thabo MBEKI, president]; Democratic Party or DP [Tony LEON,
president]; Freedom Front or FF [Constand VILJOEN, president]; Inkatha
Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president]; National Party
or NP [Marthinus VAN SCHALKWYK, executive director]; Pan-Africanist
Congress or PAC [Stanley MOGOBA, president]; United Democratic
Movement or UDM [Roelf MEYER and Bantu HOLOMISA, leaders]
note: 11 other parties won votes in the April 1994 elections but not
enough to gain seats in the National Assembly; moreover, in September
1997, a substantial new party, the United Democratic Movement or UDM,
was formed, with Roelf MEYER and Bantu HOLOMISA as leaders
Political pressure groups and leaders: Congress of South African Trade
Unions or COSATU [Sam SHILOWA, general secretary]; South African
Communist Party or SACP [Charles NQAKULA, general secretary]; South
African National Civics Organization or SANCO [Mlungisi HLONGWANE,
national president]; note-COSATU and SACP are in a formal alliance
with the ANC
International organization participation: AfDB, BIS, C, CCC, ECA, FAO,
G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO,
ITU, MTCR, NAM, OAU, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Franklin SONN
chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400
FAX: [1] (202) 265-1607
consulate(s) general: Beverly Hills (California), Chicago, and New
York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador James A. JOSEPH
embassy: 877 Pretorius St., Arcadia 0083
mailing address: P.O. Box 9536, Pretoria 0001
telephone: [27] (12) 342-1048
FAX: [27] (12) 342-2244
consulate(s) general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg
Flag description: two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and
blue separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal
Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side, embracing a
black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow
yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band
and its arms by narrow white stripes
note: prior to 26 April 1994, the flag was actually four flags in
one-three miniature flags reproduced in the center of the white band
of the former flag of the Netherlands, which has three equal
horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and blue; the miniature flags
are a vertically hanging flag of the old Orange Free State with a
horizontal flag of the UK adjoining on the hoist side and a horizontal
flag of the old Transvaal Republic adjoining on the other side
@South Africa:Economy