males age 16-49: 35,216
females age 16-49: 38,329 (2009 est.)
Saudi Arabia
males age 16-49: 7,486,622
females age 16-49: 5,652,819 (2009 est.)
Senegal
males age 16-49: 2,038,508
females age 16-49: 2,207,510 (2009 est.)
Serbia
males age 16-49: 1,415,007
females age 16-49: 1,379,541 (2009 est.)
Seychelles
males age 16-49: 19,702
females age 16-49: 19,780 (2009 est.)
Sierra Leone
males age 16-49: 692,469
females age 16-49: 762,239 (2009 est.)
Singapore
males age 16-49: 1,033,961
females age 16-49: 1,104,952 (2009 est.)
Slovakia
males age 16-49: 1,165,470
females age 16-49: 1,152,941 (2009 est.)
Slovenia
males age 16-49: 402,484
females age 16-49: 390,559 (2009 est.)
Solomon Islands
males age 16-49: 121,368
females age 16-49: 122,821 (2009 est.)
Somalia
males age 16-49: 1,301,026
females age 16-49: 1,351,649 (2009 est.)
South Africa
males age 16-49: 7,641,557
females age 16-49: 6,518,793 (2009 est.)
Spain
males age 16-49: 8,139,020
females age 16-49: 7,899,157 (2009 est.)
Sri Lanka
males age 16-49: 4,498,667
females age 16-49: 4,693,895 (2009 est.)
Sudan
males age 16-49: 5,836,971
females age 16-49: 5,942,043 (2009 est.)
Suriname
males age 16-49: 107,367
females age 16-49: 111,000 (2009 est.)
Swaziland
males age 16-49: 124,132
females age 16-49: 118,570 (2009 est.)
Sweden
males age 16-49: 1,705,746
females age 16-49: 1,645,070 (2009 est.)
Switzerland
males age 16-49: 1,510,259
females age 16-49: 1,475,993 (2009 est.)
Syria
males age 16-49: 4,360,934
females age 16-49: 4,344,895 (2009 est.)
Taiwan
males age 16-49: 5,106,730
females age 16-49: 5,008,563 (2009 est.)
Tajikistan
males age 16-49: 1,428,218
females age 16-49: 1,603,779 (2009 est.)
Tanzania
males age 16-49: 5,473,552
females age 16-49: 5,493,188 (2009 est.)
Thailand
males age 16-49: 13,086,106
females age 16-49: 14,126,398 (2009 est.)
Timor-Leste
males age 16-49: 230,534
females age 16-49: 238,610 (2009 est.)
Togo
males age 16-49: 929,395
females age 16-49: 943,967 (2009 est.)
Tonga
males age 16-49: 26,471
females age 16-49: 27,715 (2009 est.)
Trinidad and Tobago
males age 16-49: 276,224
females age 16-49: 271,677 (2009 est.)
Tunisia
males age 16-49: 2,569,403
females age 16-49: 2,489,651 (2009 est.)
Turkey
males age 16-49: 17,223,506
females age 16-49: 16,995,299 (2009 est.)
Turkmenistan
males age 16-49: 1,024,884
females age 16-49: 1,147,714 (2009 est.)
Turks and Caicos Islands
males age 16-49: 4,937
females age 16-49: 4,648 (2009 est.)
Tuvalu
males age 16-49: 2,462
females age 16-49: 2,631 (2009 est.)
Uganda
males age 16-49: 3,996,597
females age 16-49: 3,899,717 (2009 est.)
Ukraine
males age 16-49: 7,056,742
females age 16-49: 9,234,591 (2009 est.)
United Arab Emirates
males age 16-49: 2,081,491
females age 16-49: 788,632 (2009 est.)
United Kingdom
males age 16-49: 12,123,900
females age 16-49: 11,616,769 (2009 est.)
United States
males age 16-49: 59,764,677
females age 16-49: 59,437,663 (2009 est.)
Uruguay
males age 16-49: 708,545
females age 16-49: 693,622 (2009 est.)
Uzbekistan
males age 16-49: 6,340,446
females age 16-49: 6,559,769 (2009 est.)
Vanuatu
males age 16-49: 41,533
females age 16-49: 42,837 (2009 est.)
Venezuela
males age 16-49: 5,391,582
females age 16-49: 5,873,563 (2009 est.)
Vietnam
males age 16-49: 19,190,676
females age 16-49: 20,768,508 (2009 est.)
Virgin Islands
males age 16-49: 17,820
females age 16-49: 21,193 (2009 est.)
Wallis and Futuna
males age 16-49: 3,273
females age 16-49: 3,297 (2009 est.)
West Bank
males age 16-49: 545,653
females age 16-49: 515,102 (2009 est.)
Western Sahara
males age 16-49: 52,267
females age 16-49: 59,221 (2009 est.)
Yemen
males age 16-49: 3,733,704
females age 16-49: 3,773,626 (2009 est.)
Zambia
males age 16-49: 1,364,173
females age 16-49: 1,245,220 (2009 est.)
Zimbabwe
males age 16-49: 1,198,727
females age 16-49: 1,436,232 (2009 est.)
======================================================================
@2026
Field Listing :: Manpower reaching militarily significant age
annually
This entry gives the number of males and females entering the
military manpower pool (i.e., reaching age 16) in any given year and
is a measure of the availability of military-age young adults.
Country
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually
Afghanistan
male: 382,720
female: 361,733 (2009 est.)
Albania
male: 34,778
female: 31,673 (2009 est.)
Algeria
male: 375,852
female: 362,158 (2009 est.)
American Samoa
male: 820
female: 802 (2009 est.)
Andorra
male: 402
female: 373 (2009 est.)
Angola
male: 146,738
female: 143,478 (2009 est.)
Anguilla
male: 107
female: 106 (2009 est.)
Antigua and Barbuda
male: 744
female: 743 (2009 est.)
Argentina
male: 341,590
female: 326,342 (2009 est.)
Armenia
male: 27,293
female: 25,574 (2009 est.)
Aruba
male: 722
female: 711 (2009 est.)
Australia
male: 144,959
female: 137,333 (2009 est.)
Austria
male: 50,540
female: 48,042 (2009 est.)
Azerbaijan
male: 90,416
female: 85,344 (2009 est.)
Bahamas, The
male: 2,992
female: 3,003 (2009 est.)
Bahrain
male: 6,612
female: 6,499 (2009 est.)
Bangladesh
male: 1,538,865
female: 1,666,670 (2009 est.)
Barbados
male: 2,015
female: 2,007 (2009 est.)
Belarus
male: 60,009
female: 56,834 (2009 est.)
Belgium
male: 62,722
female: 59,969 (2009 est.)
Belize
male: 3,632
female: 3,500 (2009 est.)
Benin
male: 101,549
female: 97,856 (2009 est.)
Bermuda
male: 426
female: 413 (2009 est.)
Bhutan
male: 7,668
female: 7,379 (2009 est.)
Bolivia
male: 108,304
female: 104,882 (2009 est.)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
male: 27,368
female: 25,644 (2009 est.)
Botswana
male: 23,420
female: 22,904 (2009 est.)
Brazil
male: 1,690,031
female: 1,630,851 (2009 est.)
British Virgin Islands
male: 178
female: 173 (2009 est.)
Brunei
male: 3,460
female: 3,399 (2009 est.)
Bulgaria
male: 38,263
female: 36,374 (2009 est.)
Burkina Faso
male: 182,540
female: 180,051 (2009 est.)
Burma
male: 426,110
female: 417,674 (2009 est.)
Burundi
male: 101,402
female: 101,897 (2009 est.)
Cambodia
male: 177,881
female: 175,332 (2009 est.)
Cameroon
male: 213,027
female: 208,642 (2009 est.)
Canada
male: 223,238
female: 210,797 (2009 est.)
Cape Verde
male: 5,471
female: 5,349 (2009 est.)
Cayman Islands
male: 334
female: 345 (2009 est.)
Central African Republic
male: 55,484
female: 55,168 (2009 est.)
Chad
male: 121,080
female: 121,585 (2009 est.)
Chile
male: 145,766
female: 139,648 (2009 est.)
China
male: 10,621,373
female: 9,533,880 (2009 est.)
Colombia
male: 446,432
female: 437,164 (2009 est.)
Comoros
male: 8,203
female: 8,188 (2009 est.)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
male: 814,199
female: 811,238 (2009 est.)
Congo, Republic of the
male: 46,976
female: 46,490 (2009 est.)
Cook Islands
male: 148
female: 125 (2009 est.)
Costa Rica
male: 40,698
female: 38,808 (2009 est.)
Cote d'Ivoire
male: 236,159
female: 232,617 (2009 est.)
Croatia
male: 27,620
female: 26,154 (2009 est.)
Cuba
male: 75,969
female: 72,253 (2009 est.)
Cyprus
male: 6,241
female: 5,979 (2009 est.)
Czech Republic
male: 60,150
female: 57,157 (2009 est.)
Denmark
male: 37,231
female: 35,306 (2009 est.)
Djibouti
male: 5,778
female: 5,771 (2009 est.)
Dominica
male: 776
female: 731 (2009 est.)
Dominican Republic
male: 97,766
female: 93,922 (2009 est.)
Ecuador
male: 148,010
female: 143,291 (2009 est.)
Egypt
male: 831,157
female: 792,330 (2009 est.)
El Salvador
male: 77,473
female: 74,655 (2009 est.)
Equatorial Guinea
male: 6,983
female: 6,726 (2009 est.)
Eritrea
male: 62,265
female: 62,328 (2009 est.)
Estonia
male: 7,583
female: 7,111 (2009 est.)
Ethiopia
male: 908,384
female: 916,354 (2009 est.)
Faroe Islands
male: 386
female: 375 (2009 est.)
Fiji
male: 9,107
female: 8,755 (2009 est.)
Finland
male: 33,784
female: 32,621 (2009 est.)
France
male: 391,480
female: 373,334 (2009 est.)
French Polynesia
male: 2,665
female: 2,552 (2009 est.)
Gabon
male: 16,933
female: 16,942 (2009 est.)
Gambia, The
male: 20,238
female: 20,167 (2009 est.)
Gaza Strip
male: 19,147
female: 18,200 (2009 est.)
Georgia
male: 32,355
female: 30,809 (2009 est.)
Germany
male: 431,508
female: 409,111 (2009 est.)
Ghana
male: 272,954
female: 266,186 (2009 est.)
Gibraltar
male: 186
female: 179 (2009 est.)
Greece
male: 53,401
female: 50,084 (2009 est.)
Greenland
male: 532
female: 491 (2009 est.)
Grenada
male: 982
female: 937 (2009 est.)
Guam
male: 1,677
female: 1,581 (2009 est.)
Guatemala
male: 165,910
female: 163,760 (2009 est.)
Guernsey
male: 362
female: 351 (2009 est.)
Guinea
male: 110,281
female: 107,879 (2009 est.)
Guinea-Bissau
male: 16,957
female: 17,172 (2009 est.)
Guyana
male: 6,625
female: 6,365 (2009 est.)
Haiti
male: 108,444
female: 106,243 (2009 est.)
Honduras
male: 92,638
female: 88,993 (2009 est.)
Hong Kong
male: 42,330
female: 38,797 (2009 est.)
Hungary
male: 60,248
female: 57,280 (2009 est.)
Iceland
male: 2,369
female: 2,349 (2009 est.)
India
male: 11.795 million
female: 10,820,590 (2009 est.)
Indonesia
male: 2,197,323
female: 2,126,412 (2009 est.)
Iran
male: 700,213
female: 664,846 (2009 est.)
Iraq
male: 313,500
female: 304,923 (2009 est.)
Ireland
male: 28,072
female: 26,400 (2009 est.)
Isle of Man
male: 466
female: 446 (2009 est.)
Israel
male: 61,223
female: 58,219 (2009 est.)
Italy
male: 287,845
female: 270,384 (2009 est.)
Jamaica
male: 31,833
female: 31,257 (2009 est.)
Japan
male: 621,254
female: 589,270 (2009 est.)
Jersey
male: 586
female: 541 (2009 est.)
Jordan
male: 69,830
female: 67,292 (2009 est.)
Kazakhstan
male: 139,262
female: 133,047 (2009 est.)
Kenya
male: 412,656
female: 408,657 (2009 est.)
Kiribati
male: 1,264
female: 1,242 (2009 est.)
Korea, North
male: 191,759
female: 184,641 (2009 est.)
Korea, South
male: 371,728
female: 322,605 (2009 est.)
Kuwait
male: 18,122
female: 18,865 (2009 est.)
Kyrgyzstan
male: 57,659
female: 55,557 (2009 est.)
Laos
male: 75,310
female: 74,498 (2009 est.)
Latvia
male: 12,901
female: 12,497 (2009 est.)
Lebanon
male: 33,018
female: 31,800 (2009 est.)
Lesotho
male: 26,039
female: 25,964 (2009 est.)
Liberia
male: 34,059
female: 33,281 (2009 est.)
Libya
male: 60,710
female: 58,219 (2009 est.)
Liechtenstein
male: 199
female: 222 (2009 est.)
Lithuania
male: 23,556
female: 22,404 (2009 est.)
Luxembourg
male: 3,170
female: 2,995 (2009 est.)
Macau
male: 4,578
female: 4,052 (2009 est.)
Macedonia
male: 14,596
female: 13,881 (2009 est.)
Madagascar
male: 236,500
female: 235,994 (2009 est.)
Malawi
male: 174,044
female: 173,828 (2009 est.)
Malaysia
male: 266,267
female: 252,543 (2009 est.)
Maldives
male: 4,576
female: 3,942 (2009 est.)
Mali
male: 147,846
female: 140,543 (2009 est.)
Malta
male: 2,695
female: 2,533 (2009 est.)
Marshall Islands
male: 540
female: 521 (2009 est.)
Mauritania
male: 34,546
female: 35,272 (2009 est.)
Mauritius
male: 10,901
female: 10,796 (2009 est.)
Mayotte
male: 2,517
female: 2,511 (2009 est.)
Mexico
male: 1,109,981
female: 1,072,094 (2009 est.)
Micronesia, Federated States of
male: 1,273
female: 1,212 (2009 est.)
Moldova
male: 31,633
female: 30,214 (2009 est.)
Monaco
male: 190
female: 182 (2009 est.)
Mongolia
male: 28,251
female: 27,344 (2009 est.)
Montenegro
male: 3,945
female: 3,907 (2009 est.)
Montserrat
male: 36
female: 33 (2009 est.)
Morocco
male: 356,014
female: 343,520 (2009 est.)
Mozambique
male: 263,994
female: 265,058 (2009 est.)
Namibia
male: 25,857
female: 25,505 (2009 est.)
Nauru
male: 179
female: 174 (2009 est.)
Nepal
male: 365,567
female: 352,643 (2009 est.)
Netherlands
male: 105,194
female: 100,341 (2009 est.)
Netherlands Antilles
male: 1,920
female: 1,827 (2009 est.)
New Caledonia
male: 2,160
female: 2,087 (2009 est.)
New Zealand
male: 31,461
female: 29,809 (2009 est.)
Nicaragua
male: 72,366
female: 70,118 (2009 est.)
Niger
male: 170,060
female: 163,996 (2009 est.)
Nigeria
male: 1,697,030
female: 1,618,561 (2009 est.)
Northern Mariana Islands
male: 570
female: 587 (2009 est.)
Norway
male: 31,980
female: 30,543 (2009 est.)
Oman
male: 35,647
female: 34,407 (2009 est.)
Pakistan
male: 2,089,936
female: 1,964,090 (2009 est.)
Palau
male: 207
female: 214 (2009 est.)
Panama
male: 31,089
female: 29,939 (2009 est.)
Papua New Guinea
male: 64,636
female: 62,803 (2009 est.)
Paraguay
male: 73,660
female: 72,046 (2009 est.)
Peru
male: 310,575
female: 300,838 (2009 est.)
Philippines
male: 1,023,431
female: 986,434 (2009 est.)
Poland
male: 246,667
female: 235,698 (2009 est.)
Portugal
male: 64,047
female: 57,630 (2009 est.)
Puerto Rico
male: 30,422
female: 29,396 (2009 est.)
Qatar
male: 6,337
female: 5,059 (2009 est.)
Romania
male: 124,356
female: 118,430 (2009 est.)
Russia
male: 741,692
female: 706,081 (2009 est.)
Rwanda
male: 106,741
female: 106,935 (2009 est.)
Saint Barthelemy
male: 21
female: 20 (2009 est.)
Saint Helena
male: 47
female: 45 (2009 est.)
Saint Kitts and Nevis
male: 376
female: 362 (2009 est.)
Saint Lucia
male: 1,607
female: 1,511 (2009 est.)
Saint Martin
male: 177
female: 162 (2009 est.)
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
male: 61
female: 57 (2009 est.)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
male: 1,020
female: 1,009 (2009 est.)
Samoa
male: 2,597
female: 2,477 (2009 est.)
San Marino
male: 161
female: 160 (2009 est.)
Sao Tome and Principe
male: 2,534
female: 2,485 (2009 est.)
Saudi Arabia
male: 278,179
female: 267,905 (2009 est.)
Senegal
male: 154,249
female: 153,679 (2009 est.)
Serbia
male: 44,601
female: 41,845 (2009 est.)
Seychelles
male: 714
female: 685 (2009 est.)
Sierra Leone
male: 71,524
female: 75,491 (2009 est.)
Singapore
male: 27,715
female: 26,290 (2009 est.)
Slovakia
male: 36,552
female: 34,783 (2009 est.)
Slovenia
male: 10,192
female: 9,717 (2009 est.)
Solomon Islands
male: 7,091
female: 6,837 (2009 est.)
Somalia
male: 93,763
female: 93,738 (2009 est.)
South Africa
male: 511,616
female: 510,540 (2009 est.)
Spain
male: 199,124
female: 187,224 (2009 est.)
Sri Lanka
male: 173,256
female: 167,645 (2009 est.)
Sudan
male: 498,376
female: 479,005 (2009 est.)
Suriname
male: 4,251
female: 4,265 (2009 est.)
Swaziland
male: 15,985
female: 15,754 (2009 est.)
Sweden
male: 62,262
female: 59,340 (2009 est.)
Switzerland
male: 48,076
female: 44,049 (2009 est.)
Syria
male: 213,513
female: 201,055 (2009 est.)
Taiwan
male: 165,738
female: 154,123 (2009 est.)
Tajikistan
male: 80,819
female: 78,460 (2009 est.)
Tanzania
male: 487,742
female: 489,462 (2009 est.)
Thailand
male: 532,977
female: 510,737 (2009 est.)
Timor-Leste
male: 12,887
female: 12,529 (2009 est.)
Togo
male: 70,775
female: 70,051 (2009 est.)
Tonga
male: 1,458
female: 1,403 (2009 est.)
Trinidad and Tobago
male: 9,183
female: 8,662 (2009 est.)
Tunisia
male: 100,478
female: 94,055 (2009 est.)
Turkey
male: 692,592
female: 663,689 (2009 est.)
Turkmenistan
male: 57,021
female: 56,064 (2009 est.)
Turks and Caicos Islands
male: 226
female: 218 (2009 est.)
Tuvalu
male: 125
female: 121 (2009 est.)
Uganda
male: 399,134
female: 395,505 (2009 est.)
Ukraine
male: 269,311
female: 257,656 (2009 est.)
United Arab Emirates
male: 26,659
female: 23,793 (2009 est.)
United Kingdom
male: 393,892
female: 376,351 (2009 est.)
United States
male: 2,196,124
female: 2,085,085 (2009 est.)
Uruguay
male: 27,452
female: 26,479 (2009 est.)
Uzbekistan
male: 313,131
female: 310,442 (2009 est.)
Vanuatu
male: 2,368
female: 2,272 (2009 est.)
Venezuela
male: 276,051
female: 274,162 (2009 est.)
Vietnam
male: 893,726
female: 834,279 (2009 est.)
Virgin Islands
male: 831
female: 873 (2009 est.)
Wallis and Futuna
male: 175
female: 164 (2009 est.)
West Bank
male: 30,233
female: 28,745 (2009 est.)
Western Sahara
male: 4,796
female: 4,679 (2009 est.)
Yemen
male: 273,624
female: 263,402 (2009 est.)
Zambia
male: 149,567
female: 148,889 (2009 est.)
Zimbabwe
male: 149,592
female: 149,717 (2009 est.)
======================================================================
@2028
Field Listing :: Background
This entry usually highlights major historic events and current
issues and may include a statement about one or two key future
trends.
Country
Background
Afghanistan
Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and
founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between
the British and Russian empires until it won independence from
notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy
ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 Communist counter-coup. The Soviet
Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan Communist
regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew
in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported
anti-Communist mujahedin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars
saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline
Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the
country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001
terrorist attacks in New York City, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban
Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering
Osama BIN LADIN. The UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001
established a process for political reconstruction that included the
adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and
National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI
became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan and
the National Assembly was inaugurated the following December.
Despite gains toward building a stable central government, a
resurgent Taliban and continuing provincial instability -
particularly in the south and the east - remain serious challenges
for the Afghan Government.
Akrotiri
By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created
the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty
and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers -
Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the
Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the
Western Sovereign Base Area.
Albania
Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in
1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939. Communist partisans took
over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR
(until 1960), and then with China (to 1978). In the early 1990s,
Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established
a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as
successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment,
widespread corruption, a dilapidated physical infrastructure,
powerful organized crime networks, and combative political
opponents. Albania has made progress in its democratic development
since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies
remain. International observers judged elections to be largely free
and fair since the restoration of political stability following the
collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997; however, there have been claims
of electoral fraud in every one of Albania's post-communist
elections. In the 2005 general elections, the Democratic Party and
its allies won a decisive victory on pledges to reduce crime and
corruption, promote economic growth, and decrease the size of
government. The election, and particularly the orderly transition of
power, was considered an important step forward. Albania joined NATO
in April 2009 and is a potential candidate for EU accession.
Although Albania's economy continues to grow, the country is still
one of the poorest in Europe, hampered by a large informal economy
and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure.
Algeria
After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians
fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962.
Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front
(FLN), has dominated politics ever since. Many Algerians in the
subsequent generation were not satisfied, however, and moved to
counter the FLN's centrality in Algerian politics. The surprising
first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the
December 1991 balloting spurred the Algerian army to intervene and
postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular
elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming
power. The army began a crackdown on the FIS that spurred FIS
supporters to begin attacking government targets. The government
later allowed elections featuring pro-government and moderate
religious-based parties, but did not appease the activists who
progressively widened their attacks. The fighting escalated into an
insurgency, which saw intense fighting between 1992-98 and which
resulted in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate
massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the
upper hand by the late-1990s and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic
Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000. However, small numbers of
armed militants persist in confronting government forces and
conducting ambushes and occasional attacks on villages. The army
placed Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA in the presidency in 1999 in a
fraudulent election but claimed neutrality in his 2004 landslide
reelection victory. Longstanding problems continue to face
BOUTEFLIKA in his second term, including large-scale unemployment, a
shortage of housing, unreliable electrical and water supplies,
government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing
activities of extremist militants. The Salafist Group for Preaching
and Combat (GSPC) in 2006 merged with al-Qaida to form al-Qaida in
the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, which since has launched an
ongoing series of kidnappings and bombings - including high-profile,
mass-casualty suicide attacks targeted against the Algerian
government and Western interests. Algeria must also diversify its
petroleum-based economy, which has yielded a large cash reserve but
which has not been used to redress Algeria's many social and
infrastructure problems.
American Samoa
Settled as early as 1000 B.C., Samoa was "discovered"
by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries
in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899
treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago.
The US formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern
islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year.
Andorra
For 715 years, from 1278 to 1993, Andorrans lived under a
unique co-principality, ruled by French and Spanish leaders (from
1607 onward, the French chief of state and the Spanish bishop of
Urgel). In 1993, this feudal system was modified with the titular
heads of state retained, but the government transformed into a
parliamentary democracy. Long isolated and impoverished, mountainous
Andorra achieved considerable prosperity since World War II through
its tourist industry. Many immigrants (legal and illegal) are
attracted to the thriving economy with its lack of income taxes.
Angola
Angola is rebuilding its country after the end of a 27-year
civil war in 2002. Fighting between the Popular Movement for the
Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, and the
National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by
Jonas SAVIMBI, followed independence from Portugal in 1975. Peace
seemed imminent in 1992 when Angola held national elections, but
fighting picked up again by 1996. Up to 1.5 million lives may have
been lost - and 4 million people displaced - in the quarter century
of fighting. SAVIMBI's death in 2002 ended UNITA's insurgency and
strengthened the MPLA's hold on power. President DOS SANTOS held
legislative elections in September 2008, and announced plans to hold
presidential elections in 2009.