five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast
of Morocco-the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which Morocco
contests, as well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez
de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas
Illicit drugs: key European gateway country for Latin American cocaine
and North African hashish entering the European market; transshipment
point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin
______________________________________________________________________
SPRATLY ISLANDS
@Spratly Islands:Geography
Location: Southeastern Asia, group of reefs and islands in the South
China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the
southern Philippines
Geographic coordinates: 8 38 N, 111 55 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area:
total: less than 5 sq km
land: less than 5 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered
over a large area of the central South China Sea
Area-comparative: NA
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 926 km
Maritime claims: NA
Climate: tropical
Terrain: flat
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay 4 m
Natural resources: fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas
potential
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: typhoons; serious maritime hazard because of numerous
reefs and shoals
Environment-current issues: NA
Environment-international agreements:
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography-note: strategically located near several primary shipping
lanes in the central South China Sea; includes numerous small islands,
atolls, shoals, and coral reefs
@Spratly Islands:People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several
claimant states
@Spratly Islands:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Spratly Islands
Data code: PG
@Spratly Islands:Economy
Economy-overview: Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing.
The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins
suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is
largely unexplored, and there are no reliable estimates of potential
reserves; commercial exploitation has yet to be developed.
@Spratly Islands:Transportation
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 4 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 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.)
@Spratly Islands:Military
Military-note: about 50 small islands or reefs are occupied by China,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam
@Spratly Islands:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by
China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and
the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing
zone, which encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands,
but has not publicly claimed the island
______________________________________________________________________
SRI LANKA
@Sri Lanka:Geography
Location: Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Geographic coordinates: 7 00 N, 81 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area:
total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km
water: 870 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 1,340 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: tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March);
southwest monsoon (June to October)
Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central
interior
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
Natural resources: limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems,
phosphates, clay
Land use:
arable land: 14%
permanent crops: 15%
permanent pastures: 7%
forests and woodland: 32%
other: 32% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 5,500 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Environment-current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife
populations threatened by poaching; coastal degradation from mining
activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being
polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff
Environment-international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography-note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes
@Sri Lanka:People
Population: 18,933,558 (July 1998 est.)
note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and
armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand
Tamil civilians have fled the island; as of late 1996, 63,068 were
housed in refugee camps in south India, another 30,000-40,000 lived
outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought
political asylum in the West
Age structure:
0-14 years: 28% (male 2,673,194; female 2,556,926)
15-64 years: 66% (male 6,126,759; female 6,385,450)
65 years and over: 6% (male 579,329; female 611,900) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.12% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 18.4 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 5.96 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.25 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: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 16.33 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.55 years
male: 69.82 years
female: 75.41 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.12 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan
Ethnic groups: Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and
Vedda 1%
Religions: Buddhist 69%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 8%
Languages: Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil
(national language) 18%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken by about
10% of the population
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.2%
male: 93.4%
female: 87.2% (1995 est.)
@Sri Lanka:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka
former: Ceylon
Data code: CE
Government type: republic
National capital: Colombo
Administrative divisions: 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North
Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western
Independence: 4 February 1948 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence and National Day, 4 February (1948)
Constitution: adopted 16 August 1978
Legal system: a highly complex mixture of English common law,
Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12
November 1994); note-Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE is the prime minister; in
Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state
and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common
practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime
minister when both offices exist
head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA
(since 12 November 1994); note-Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE is the prime
minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the
chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to
the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president
and the prime minister when both offices exist
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the
prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term;
election last held 9 November 1994 (next to be held NA November 2000)
election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA elected
president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA
(People's Alliance) 62%, Srima DISSANAYAKE (United National Party)
37%, other 1%
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected
by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation
system to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 16 August 1994 (next to be held by August 2000)
election results: percent of vote by party-PA 49.0%, UNP 44.0%, SLMC
1.8%, TULF 1.7%, SLPF 1.1%, EPDP 0.3%, UPF 0.3%, PLOTE 0.1%, other
1.7%; seats by party-PA 105, UNP 94, EPDP 9, SLMC 7, TULF 5, PLOTE 3,
SLPF 1, UPF 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the Judicial
Service Commission; Court of Appeals
Political parties and leaders: All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), C. G.
Kumar PONNAMBALAM; Ceylon Workers Congress (CLDC), S. THONDAMAN;
Communist Party, K. P. SILVA; Communist Party/Beijing (CP/B), N.
SHANMUGATHASAN; Democratic People's Liberation Front (DPLF), leader
NA; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front (DUNLF), Srimani
ATHULATHMUDALI; Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), Douglas
DEVANANDA; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRL),
Suresh PREMACHANDRAN; Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students
(EROS), Shankar RAJI; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Somawansa
AMERASINGHE; Lanka Socialist Party/Trotskyite (LSSP, or Lanka Sama
Samaja Party), Batty WEERAKOON; Liberal Party (LP), Rajira WIJESINGHE;
New Socialist Party (NSSP, or Nava Sama Samaja Party), Vasudeva
NANAYAKKARA; People's Alliance (PA), Chandrika Bandaranaike
KUMARATUNGA; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE),
Uma MAHESWARAN; People's United Front (MEP, or Mahajana Eksath
Peramuna), Dinesh GUNAWARDENE; Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP),
Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC),
M. H. M. ASHRAFF; Sri Lanka People's Party (SLMP, or Sri Lanka
Mahajana Party), Y. P. DE SILVA; Sri Lanka Progressive Front (SLPF),
Ariya BULEGODA; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), M. K.
SIVAJILINGHAM; Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), M.
SIVASITHAMBARAM; United National Party (UNP), Ranil WICHREMESINGHE;
Upcountry People's Front (UPF), Periyasamy CHANDRASEKARAN; Desha
Vimukthi Janatha Party (DVJP), P.M. Podi APPUHAMY; several ethnic
Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either parliament or
provincial councils
note: the United Socialist Alliance (USA), which was formed in 1987
and included the NSSP, LSSP, SLMP, CP/M, and CP/B, was defunct as of
1993, following the formation of the People's Alliance Party (PA)
Political pressure groups and leaders: Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE); other radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups; Buddhist
clergy; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups; labor unions
International organization participation: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP,
FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Warnasena RASAPUTRAM
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 through 4028
FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181
consulate(s): New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Shaun E. DONNELLY
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3
mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo
telephone: [94] (1) 448007
FAX: [94] (1) 437345, 446013
Flag description: yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel
has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the
other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a
sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field
appears as a border that goes around the entire flag and extends
between the two panels
@Sri Lanka:Economy
Economy-overview: At independence in 1948, plantations growing tea,
rubber, or coconuts and paddies growing rice for subsistence dominated
Sri Lanka's economy, and, as late as 1970, plantation crops accounted
for 93% of exports. In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic
policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented
policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic
industries now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and
beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. By 1996
plantation crops made up only 20% of exports, while textiles and
garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an annual average rate of 5.5%
throughout the 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security
situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in
second half 1996, however, and continued to perform well in 1997 with
growth of 6%. Sustained economic growth, coupled with population
growth of only 1.1%, has pushed Sri Lanka from the ranks of the
poorest countries in the world up to the threshold of the middle
income countries. For the next round of reforms, the central bank of
Sri Lanka recommends that Colombo expand market mechanisms in
nonplantation agriculture, dismantle the government's monopoly on
wheat imports, and promote more competition in the financial sector. A
continuing cloud over the economy is the fighting between the
Sinhalese and the minority Tamils, which has cost 50,000 lives in the
past 14 years.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$72.1 billion (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 6% (1997 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$3,800 (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 18.4%
industry: 18%
services: 63.6% (1996)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 9.6% (1997)
Labor force:
total: 6.2 million (1997)
by occupation: services 46%, agriculture 37%, industry 17% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: 11% (1997 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $4.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $1
billion (1997 est.)
Industries: processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other
agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining,
textiles, tobacco
Industrial production growth rate: 6.5% (1996 est.)
Electricity-capacity: 1.557 million kW (1997 est.)
Electricity-production: 4.86 billion kWh (1997 est.)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 220 kWh (1997 est.)
Agriculture-products: rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, roots,
spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, meat
Exports:
total value: $4.1 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds and other gems,
rubber products, petroleum products (1995)
partners: US 34%, UK 9.5%, Japan 6.2%, Germany 5.8%,
Belgium-Luxembourg 5.3% (1996)
Imports:
total value: $5.4 billion (c.i.f., 1996)
commodities: machinery and equipment, textiles, transport equipment,
petroleum, building materials, sugar, wheat (1996)
partners: India 10.4%, Japan 9.1%, South Korea 6.5%, Hong Kong 6.5%,
Taiwan 5.3% (1996)
Debt-external: $9.4 billion (1996)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $620 million (1996 est.)
Currency: 1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees (SLRes) per US$1-61.479 (January
1998), 58.995 (1997), 55.271 (1996), 51.252 (1995), 49.415 (1994),
48.322 (1993)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 352,681 (1997 est.); note-in addition, there are 114,888
mobile telephones (1997 est.)
Telephone system: very inadequate domestic service, but expanding with
the entry of two wireless loop operators and privatization of national
telephone company; good international service
domestic: NA
international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite
earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 5, shortwave 0
Radios: 3.6 million (1996 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 5
Televisions: 1.6 million (1996 est.)
@Sri Lanka:Transportation
Railways:
total: 1,501 km
broad gauge: 1,442 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (1995)
Highways:
total: 99,200 km
paved: 39,680 km
unpaved: 59,520 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft
Pipelines: crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)
Ports and harbors: Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee
Merchant marine:
total: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 204,542 GRT/317,253 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 13, container 1, oil tanker 2,
refrigerated cargo 6 (1997 est.)
Airports: 13 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 6 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1997 est.)
@Sri Lanka:Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military manpower-military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 5,147,100 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service:
males: 4,006,314 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually:
males: 193,851 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $736 million (1997)
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: 5.7% (1997)
@Sri Lanka:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: none
______________________________________________________________________
SUDAN
@Sudan:Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and
Eritrea
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 30 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 2,505,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km
water: 129,810 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total: 7,687 km
border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km,
Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605
km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km
Coastline: 853 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 18 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April
to October)
Terrain: generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m
Natural resources: petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper,
chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold
Land use:
arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 46%
forests and woodland: 19%
other: 30% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 19,460 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: dust storms
Environment-current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water;
wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion;
desertification
Environment-international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography-note: largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and
its tributaries
@Sudan:People
Population: 33,550,552 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 7,769,266; female 7,449,510)
15-64 years: 52% (male 8,818,018; female 8,778,485)
65 years and over: 3% (male 410,170; female 325,103) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.73% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 39.94 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 10.88 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.73 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: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.26 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 72.64 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 55.97 years
male: 55 years
female: 56.98 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.68 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Sudanese
Ethnic groups: black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1%
Religions: Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%,
Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum)
Languages: Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of
Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of Arabization in process
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.1%
male: 57.7%
female: 34.6% (1995 est.)
@Sudan:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan
conventional short form: Sudan
local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan
local short form: As-Sudan
former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
Data code: SU
Government type: transitional-previously ruling military junta;
presidential and National Assembly elections held in March 1996; new
constitution drafted by Presidential Committee, will go before public
in national referendum in May-June 1998
National capital: Khartoum
Administrative divisions: 26 states (wilayat, singular-wilayat or
wilayah*); A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al
Khartum, Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash
Shamaliyah*, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al
Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan,
Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur,
Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab
Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1956)
Constitution: 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985;
interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30
June 1989; new constitution being drafted by Presidential Committee
Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20
January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed
Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all
residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; some
separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations
Suffrage: NA years of age; universal, but noncompulsory