land: 268,021 sq km
water: NA
note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands,
Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands
Area - comparative:
about the size of Colorado
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
15,134 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate:
temperate with sharp regional contrasts
Terrain:
predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Aoraki-Mount Cook 3,754 m
Natural resources:
natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold,
limestone
Land use:
arable land: 5.54%
permanent crops: 6.92%
other: 87.54% (2005)
Irrigated land:
2,850 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
397 cu km (1995)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 2.11 cu km/yr (48%/9%/42%)
per capita: 524 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by
invasive species
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic Seals, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note:
about 80% of the population lives in cities; Wellington is the
southernmost national capital in the world
People
New Zealand
Population:
4,173,460 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 20.9% (male 446,883/female 424,240)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 1,390,669/female 1,385,686)
65 years and over: 12.6% (male 238,560/female 287,422) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 36.3 years
male: 35.6 years
female: 37.1 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.971% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
14.09 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
7 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
2.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.99 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.62 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 80.24 years
male: 78.33 years
female: 82.25 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.11 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1,400 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 200 (2003 est.)
Nationality:
noun: New Zealander(s)
adjective: New Zealand
Ethnic groups:
European 69.8%, Maori 7.9%, Asian 5.7%, Pacific islander 4.4%, other
0.5%, mixed 7.8%, unspecified 3.8% (2001 census)
Religions:
Anglican 14.9%, Roman Catholic 12.4%, Presbyterian 10.9%, Methodist
2.9%, Pentecostal 1.7%, Baptist 1.3%, other Christian 9.4%, other
3.3%, unspecified 17.2%, none 26% (2001 census)
Languages:
English (official), Maori (official), Sign Language (official)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 19 years
male: 19 years
female: 20 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
6.2% of GDP (2006)
Government
New Zealand
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: New Zealand
abbreviation: NZ
Government type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
name: Wellington
geographic coordinates: 41 28 S, 174 51 E
time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in October; ends
third Sunday in March
note: New Zealand is divided into two time zones, including Chatham
Island
Administrative divisions:
16 regions and 1 territory*; Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury,
Chatham Islands*, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu-Wanganui,
Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman,
Waikato, Wellington, West Coast
Dependent areas:
Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau
Independence:
26 September 1907 (from UK)
National holiday:
Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty
over New Zealand), 6 February (1840); ANZAC Day (commemorated as the
anniversary of the landing of troops of the Australian and New
Zealand Army Corps during World War I at Gallipoli, Turkey), 25
April (1915)
Constitution:
consists of a series of legal documents, including certain acts of
the UK and New Zealand Parliaments, as well as The Constitution Act
1986, which is the principal formal charter; adopted 1 January 1987,
effective 1 January 1987
Legal system:
based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts
for the Maori; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);
represented by Governor General Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August
2006)
head of government: Prime Minister John KEY (since 19 November
2008); Deputy Prime Minister Bill ENGLISH (since 19 November 2008)
cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the
recommendation of the prime minister
elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by
the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the
majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually
appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime
minister appointed by the governor general
Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament
(usually 120 seats; 69 members elected by popular vote in
single-member constituencies including 7 Maori constituencies, and
51 proportional seats chosen from party lists; to serve three-year
terms)
elections: last held 8 November 2008 (next to be held in 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - NP 45.5%, NZLP 33.8%,
Green Party 6.4%, ACT New Zealand 3.7%, Maori 2.2%, Progressive
0.9%, UF 0.9%, other 6.6%; seats by party - NP 59, NZLP 43, Green
Party 8, ACT New Zealand 5, Maori 5, Progressive 1, UF 1
note: results of 2008 election saw the total number of seats
increase to 122
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; High Court; note - judges appointed
by the Governor-General
Political parties and leaders:
ACT New Zealand [Rodney HIDE]; Green Party [Jeanette FITZSIMONS];
Maori Party [Whatarangi WINIATA]; National Party or NP [John KEY];
New Zealand First Party or NZFP [Winston PETERS]; New Zealand Labor
Party or NZLP [Phil GOFF]; Progressive Party [James (Jim) ANDERTON];
United Future or UF [Peter DUNNE]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Women's Electoral Lobby or WEL
other: apartheid groups; civil rights groups; farmers groups; Maori;
nuclear weapons groups; women's rights groups
International organization participation:
ADB, ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August
1986), APEC, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C,
CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU,
ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, PIF,
Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNMIT,
UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Roy N. FERGUSON
chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 328-4800
FAX: [1] (202) 667-5227
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador William P. McCORMICK
embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington
mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, APO AP
96531-1034
telephone: [64] (4) 462-6000
FAX: [64] (4) 499-0490
consulate(s) general: Auckland
Flag description:
blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with
four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer
half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross
constellation
Government - note:
while not an official symbol, the Kiwi, a small native flightless
bird, represents New Zealand
Economy
New Zealand
Economy - overview:
Over the past 20 years the government has transformed New Zealand
from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market
access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can
compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes - but
left behind many at the bottom of the ladder - and broadened and
deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector.
Per capita income has risen for eight consecutive years and reached
$27,300 in 2007 in purchasing power parity terms. Consumer and
government spending have driven growth in recent years, and exports
picked up in 2006 after struggling for several years. Exports were
equal to about 22% of GDP in 2007, down from 33% of GDP in 2001.
Thus far the economy has been resilient, and the Labor Government
promises that expenditures on health, education, and pensions will
increase proportionately to output. Inflationary pressures have
built in recent years and the central bank raised its key rate 13
times since January 2004 to finish 2007 at 8.25%. A large balance of
payments deficit poses another challenge in managing the economy.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$112.4 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$128.1 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
3.1% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$27,200 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4.5%
industry: 26.2%
services: 69.3% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
2.236 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 7%
industry: 19%
services: 74% (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate:
3.6% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: %NA
highest 10%: %NA
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
36.2 (1997)
Investment (gross fixed):
23.3% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $58.31 billion
expenditures: $53.5 billion (2007 est.)
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March
note: this is the fiscal year for tax purposes
Public debt:
20.7% of GDP (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.4% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
8.25% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
12.83% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$24.2 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$117.8 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$200.1 billion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
dairy products, lamb and mutton; wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses,
fruits, vegetables; wool, beef; fish
Industries:
food processing, wood and paper products, textiles, machinery,
transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism, mining
Industrial production growth rate:
1.5% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
42.41 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
38.93 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 31.6%
hydro: 57.8%
nuclear: 0%
other: 10.7% (2001)
Oil - production:
47,850 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
158,400 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - exports:
14,570 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:
137,300 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
55 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
4.573 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
4.572 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
29.67 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
-$10.23 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$27.35 billion (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery
Exports - partners:
Australia 22%, US 11.5%, Japan 9.2%, China 5.3%, UK 4.6% (2007)
Imports:
$29.06 billion (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum,
electronics, textiles, plastics
Imports - partners:
Australia 20.7%, China 13.4%, US 9.7%, Japan 9.5%, Singapore 4.9%,
Germany 4.7% (2007)
Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $259 million (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$17.25 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$51.44 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$71.31 billion (2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$40.62 billion (2005)
Currency (code):
New Zealand dollar (NZD)
Currency code:
NZD
Exchange rates:
New Zealand dollars (NZD) per US dollar - 1.3811 (2007), 1.5408
(2006), 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003)
Communications
New Zealand
Telephones - main lines in use:
1.706 million (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
4.245 million (2007)
Telephone system:
general assessment: excellent domestic and international systems
domestic: NA
international: country code - 64; the Southern Cross submarine cable
system provides links to Australia, Fiji, and the US; satellite
earth stations - 8 (1 Inmarsat - Pacific Ocean, 7 other)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 124, FM 290, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios:
3.75 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
41 (plus about 700 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions:
1.926 million (1997)
Internet country code:
.nz
Internet hosts:
1.72 million (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
36 (2000)
Internet users:
3.36 million (2007)
Transportation
New Zealand
Airports:
121 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 41
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 11
914 to 1,523 m: 26
under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 80
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 31
under 914 m: 46 (2007)
Pipelines:
condensate 331 km; gas 1,896 km; liquid petroleum gas 172 km; oil
288 km; refined products 260 km (2007)
Railways:
total: 4,128 km
narrow gauge: 4,128 km 1.067-m gauge (506 km electrified) (2006)
Roadways:
total: 93,576 km
paved: 61,564 km (includes 172 km of expressways)
unpaved: 32,012 km (2006)
Merchant marine:
total: 13
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 2, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo
4, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 2
foreign-owned: 3 (Australia 1, Germany 1, South Africa 1)
registered in other countries: 5 (Antigua and Barbuda 2, Cook
Islands 1, France 1, UK 1) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Auckland, Lyttelton, Marsden Point, Tauranga, Wellington, Whangarei
Military
New Zealand
Military branches:
New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF): New Zealand Army, Royal New
Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
17 years of age for voluntary military service; soldiers cannot be
deployed until the age of 18; no conscription (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,009,298
females age 16-49: 997,134 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 833,073
females age 16-49: 822,807 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 31,834
female: 30,243 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
1% of GDP (2005 est.)
Transnational Issues
New Zealand
Disputes - international:
asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency)
Illicit drugs:
significant consumer of amphetamines
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
======================================================================
@Nicaragua
Introduction
Nicaragua
Background:
The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from
Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was
declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in
1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the
19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in
subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation
and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a
short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas
to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador
caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through
much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and 2001, saw the
Sandinistas defeated, but voting in 2006 announced the return of
former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra. Nicaragua's
infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and
by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt.
Geography
Nicaragua
Location:
Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North
Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
Geographic coordinates:
13 00 N, 85 00 W
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km
water: 9,240 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than the state of New York
Land boundaries:
total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km
Coastline:
910 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: natural prolongation
Climate:
tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
Terrain:
extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior
mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m
Natural resources:
gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish
Land use:
arable land: 14.81%
permanent crops: 1.82%
other: 83.37% (2005)
Irrigated land:
610 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
196.7 cu km (2000)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 1.3 cu km/yr (15%/2%/83%)
per capita: 237 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely
susceptible to hurricanes
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Geography - note:
largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater
body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua
People
Nicaragua
Population:
5,785,846 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 34.6% (male 1,019,281/female 981,903)
15-64 years: 62.1% (male 1,792,398/female 1,803,133)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 82,840/female 106,291) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 21.7 years
male: 21.3 years
female: 22.1 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.825% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
23.7 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
4.33 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
-1.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 25.91 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.06 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 22.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.21 years
male: 69.08 years
female: 73.44 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.63 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
6,400 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 500 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and
typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: dengue fever and malaria
water contact disease: leptospirosis (2008)
Nationality:
noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan
Ethnic groups:
mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%,
Amerindian 5%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 58.5%, Evangelical 21.6%, Moravian 1.6%, Jehovah's
Witness 0.9%, other 1.7%, none 15.7% (2005 census)
Languages:
Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.5%
male: 67.2%
female: 67.8% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 11 years
male: 11 years
female: 11 years (2003)
Education expenditures:
3.1% of GDP (2003)
Government
Nicaragua
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua
local long form: Republica de Nicaragua
local short form: Nicaragua
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Managua
geographic coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W
time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard
Time)
Administrative divisions:
15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2
autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region
autonoma); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo,
Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz,
Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas
Independence:
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution:
9 January 1987; reforms in 1995, 2000, and 2005
Legal system:
civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
16 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January
2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007);
note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10
January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January
2007)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket
by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term so
long as it is not consecutive); election last held 5 November 2006
(next to be held by November 2011)
election results: Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra elected president - 38.07%,
Eduardo MONTEALEGRE 29%, Jose RIZO 26.21%, Edmundo JARQUIN 6.44%
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; 90
members are elected by proportional representation and party lists
to serve five-year terms; 1 seat for the previous president, 1 seat
for the runner-up in previous presidential election)
elections: last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November
2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
FSLN 38, PLC 25, ALN 23 (22 plus one for presidential candidate
Eduardo MONTEALEGRE, runner-up in the 2006 presidential election),
MRS 5, APRE 1 (outgoing President Enrique BOLANOS)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema de Justicia (16 judges elected for
five-year terms by the National Assembly)
Political parties and leaders: