There have been some significant changes in this edition. The
Literacy entry now includes rates for males, females, and both
sexes. Appendix C: International Organizations and Groups is new
and includes date established, aim, and list of members. Three maps
of special interest have been added this year--republics of the
Soviet Union, ethnic groups in the Soviet Union, and ethnic groups
in Eastern Europe.
_#_Abbreviations: (see Appendix B for international organizations
and groups)
avdp. avoirdupois
c.i.f. cost, insurance, and freight
CY calendar year
DWT deadweight ton
est. estimate
Ex-Im Export-Import Bank of the United States
f.o.b. free on board
FRG Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany);
used for information dated before 3 October 1990
or CY91
FY fiscal year
GDP gross domestic product
GDR German Democratic Republic (East Germany);
used for information dated before 3 October 1990
or CY91
GNP gross national product
GRT gross register ton
km kilometer
km2 square kilometer
kW kilowatt
kWh kilowatt-hour
m meter
NA not available
NEGL negligible
nm nautical mile
NZ New Zealand
ODA official development assistance
OOF other official flows
PDRY People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen
(Aden) or South Yemen]; used for information
dated before 22 May 1990 or CY91
UAE United Arab Emirates
UK United Kingdom
US United States
USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union)
YAR Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen];
used for information dated before 22 May 1990 or
CY91
_#_Administrative divisions: The numbers, designatory terms, and
first-order administrative divisions are generally those approved by the
United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN). Changes that have been
reported but not yet acted upon by BGN are noted.
_#_Area: Total area is the sum of all land and water areas delimited
by international boundaries and/or coastlines. Land area is the
aggregate of all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or
coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers).
Comparative areas are based on total area equivalents. Most entities
are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states. The smaller
entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 km2, 69 miles2) or
The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 km2, 0.23 miles2, 146 acres).
_#_Birth rate: The average annual number of births during a year
per 1,000 population at midyear. Also known as crude birth rate.
_#_Dates of information: In general, information available as of 1
January 1991 was used in the preparation of this edition. Population
figures are estimates for 1 July 1991, with population growth rates
estimated for mid-1991 through mid-1992. Major political events have
been updated through 30 June 1991. Military age figures are average
annual estimates for 1991-95.
_#_Death rate: The average annual number of deaths during a year
per l,000 population at midyear. Also known as crude death rate.
_#_Diplomatic representation: The US Government has diplomatic
relations with 162 nations. There are only 144 US embassies, since some
nations have US ambassadors accredited to them, but no physical US
mission exists. The US has diplomatic relations with 151 of the 159 UN
members--the exceptions are Angola, Belorussia (Byelorussia;
constituent republic of the Soviet Union), Cambodia, Cuba, Iran, Vietnam,
Ukraine (constituent republic of the Soviet Union) and, obviously, the US
itself. In addition, the US has diplomatic relations with 12 nations that
are not in the UN--Andorra, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati,
Marshall Islands, Monaco, Nauru, San Marino, South Korea, Switzerland,
Tonga, Tuvalu, and the Vatican City. North Korea is not in the UN and the
US does not have diplomatic relations with that nation. The US has not
recognized the incorporation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into the
Soviet Union and continues to accredit the diplomatic representatives of
their last free governments.
_#_Disputes: This category includes a wide variety of situations
that range from traditional bilateral boundary disputes to unilateral
claims of one sort or another. Every international land boundary
dispute in the "Guide to International Boundaries," a map published
by the Department of State, is included. References to other situations
may also be included that are border- or frontier-relevant, such as
maritime disputes, geopolitical questions, or irredentist issues.
However, inclusion does not necessarily constitute official acceptance
or recognition by the US Government.
_#_Economic aid: This entry refers to bilateral commitments of:
Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is defined as government
grants that (a) are administered with the promotion of economic
development and welfare of LDCs as their main objective and (b) are
concessional in character and contain a grant element of at least 25%;
and
Other Official Flows (OOF) or transactions by the official sector
whose main objective is other than development-motivated or whose
grant element is below the 25% threshold for ODA. OOF transactions
include official export credits (such as Eximbank credits), official
equity and portfolio investment, and debt reorganization by the
official sector that does not meet concessional terms.
Aid is considered to have been committed when agreements are
initialed by the parties involved and constitute a formal declaration
of intent.
_#_Entities: Some of the nations, dependent areas, areas of special
sovereignty, and governments included in this publication are not
independent, and others are not officially recognized by the US
Government. Nation refers to a people politically organized into a
sovereign state with a definite territory. Dependent area refers to a
broad category of political entities that are associated in some way
with a nation. Names used for page headings are usually the short-form
names as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names. The
long-form name is included in the Government section and an entry
of "none" indicates a long-form name does not exist. In some
instances, no short-form name exists--then the long-form name must
serve for all usages.
There are 247 entities in the Factbook that may be categorized as
follows:
NATIONS
157 UN members (there are 159 members in the UN, but only 157 are
included in The World Factbook because Belorussia
(Byelorussia) and Ukraine are constituent republics of the Soviet
Union)
13 nations that are not members of the UN--Andorra, Federated States of
Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Nauru, North Korea,
San Marino, South Korea, Switzerland, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vatican City
OTHER
1 Taiwan
DEPENDENT AREAS
6 Australia--Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island,
Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and
McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island
2 Denmark--Faroe Islands, Greenland
16 France--Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island,
French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic
Lands, Glorioso Islands, Guadeloupe, Juan de Nova Island,
Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Reunion, Saint Pierre and
Miquelon, Tromelin Island, Wallis and Futuna
2 Netherlands--Aruba, Netherlands Antilles
3 New Zealand--Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau
3 Norway--Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard
1 Portugal--Macau
16 United Kingdom--Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory,
British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands,
Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, Montserrat,
Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
15 United States--American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island,
Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands,
Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll,
Puerto Rico, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Palau),
Virgin Islands, Wake Island
MISCELLANEOUS
7 Antarctica, Gaza Strip, Iraq-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone,
Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands, West Bank, Western Sahara
OTHER ENTITIES
4 oceans--Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean
1 World
===
247 total
Notes: The US Government has not recognized the incorporation of
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into the Soviet Union as constituent
republics during World War II. Those Baltic states are not members of the
UN and are not included in the list of nations. The US Government does
not recognize the four so-called "independent" homelands of
Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, and Venda in South Africa.
_#_Gross domestic product (GDP): The value of all goods and
services produced domestically.
_#_Gross national product (GNP): The value of all goods and
services produced domestically, plus income earned abroad, minus
income earned by foreigners from domestic production.
_#_GNP/GDP methodology: In the Economy section, GNP/GDP dollar
estimates for the OECD countries, the USSR, and the East European
countries are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP)
calculations rather than from conversions at official currency exchange
rates. The PPP method normally involves the use of international
dollar price weights, which are applied to the quantities of goods and
services produced in a given economy. In addition to the lack of
reliable data from the majority of countries, the statistician faces
a major difficulty in specifying, identifying, and allowing for the
quality of goods and services. The division of a PPP GNP/GDP estimate
in dollars by the corresponding estimate in the local currency gives
the PPP conversion rate. One thousand dollars will buy the
same market basket of goods in the US as one thousand dollars, converted
to the local currency at the PPP conversion rate, will buy in the other
country. GNP/GDP estimates for the LDCs, on the other hand, are based on
the conversion of GNP/GDP estimates in local currencies to dollars at
the official currency exchange rates. One caution: the proportion of,
say, defense expenditures as a percent of GNP/GDP in local currency
accounts may differ substantially from the proportion when GNP/GDP
accounts are expressed in PPP terms, as, for example, when an observer
estimates the dollar level of Soviet or Japanese military expenditures;
similar problems exist when components are expressed in dollars under
currency exchange rate procedures. Finally, as academic research
moves forward on the PPP method, we hope to convert all GNP/GDP
estimates to this method in future editions of the Factbook.
_#_Growth rate (population): The annual percent change in the
population, resulting from a surplus (or deficit) of births over
deaths and the balance of migrants entering and leaving a country.
The rate may be positive or negative.
_#_Illicit drugs: There are five categories of illicit
drugs--narcotics, stimulants, depressants (sedatives), hallucinogens,
and cannabis. These categories include many drugs legally produced and
prescribed by doctors as well as those illegally produced and sold
outside medical channels.
Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) is the common hemp plant, provides
hallucinogens with some sedative properties, and includes marijuana (pot,
Acapulco gold, grass, reefer), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, Marinol),
hashish (hash), and hashish oil (hash oil).
Coca (Erythroxylon coca) is a bush and the leaves contain the stimulant
cocaine. Coca is not to be confused with cocoa which comes from cacao
seeds and is used in making chocolate, cocoa, and cocoa butter.
Cocaine is a stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca bush.
Depressants (sedatives) are drugs that reduce tension and anxiety and
include chloral hydrate, barbiturates (Amytal, Nembutal, Seconal,
phenobarbital), benzodiazepines (Librium, Valium), methaqualone
(Quaalude), glutethimide (Doriden), and others (Equanil, Placidyl,
Valmid).
Drugs are any chemical substances that effect a physical, mental,
emotional, or behavioral change in an individual.
Drug abuse is the use of any licit or illicit chemical substance that
results in physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral impairment in an
individual.
Hallucinogens are drugs that affect sensation, thinking,
self-awareness, and emotion. Hallucinogens include LSD (acid, microdot),
mescaline and peyote (mexc, buttons, cactus), amphetamine variants (PMA,
STP, DOB), phencyclidine (PCP, angel dust, hog), phencyclidine analogues
(PCE, PCPy, TCP), and others (psilocybin, psilocyn).
Hashish is the resinous exudate of the cannabis or hemp plant
(Cannabis sativa).
Heroin is a semisynthetic derivative of morphine.
Marijuana is the dried leaves of the cannabis or hemp plant
(Cannabis sativa).
Narcotics are drugs that relieve pain, often induce sleep, and refer to
opium, opium derivatives, and synthetic substitutes. Natural narcotics
include opium (paregoric, parepectolin), morphine (MS-Contin, Roxanol),
codeine (Tylenol w/codeine, Empirin w/codeine, Robitussan A-C), and
thebaine. Semisynthetic narcotics include heroin (horse, smack), and
hydromorphone (Dilaudid). Synthetic narcotics include meperidine or
Pethidine (Demerol, Mepergan), methadone (Dolophine, Methadose), and
others (Darvon, Lomotil).
Opium is the milky exudate of the incised, unripe seedpod of the
opium poppy.
Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) is the source for many natural and
semisynthetic narcotics.
Poppy straw concentrate is the alkaloid derived from the mature dried
opium poppy.
Qat (kat, khat) is a stimulant from the buds or leaves of Catha edulis
that is chewed or drunk as tea.
Stimulants are drugs that relieve mild depression, increase energy and
activity, and include cocaine (coke, snow, crack), amphetamines (Desoxyn,
Dexedrine), phenmetrazine (Preludin), methylphenidate (Ritalin), and
others (Cylert, Sanorex, Tenuate).
_#_Infant mortality rate: The number of deaths to infants under one
year of age in a given year per l,000 live births occurring in the same
year.
_#_Land use: Human use of the land surface is categorized as
arable land--land cultivated for crops that are replanted after
each harvest (wheat, maize, rice); permanent crops--land
cultivated for crops that are not replanted after each harvest
(citrus, coffee, rubber); meadows and pastures--land permanently
used for herbaceous forage crops; forest and woodland--land under
dense or open stands of trees; and other--any land type not
specifically mentioned above (urban areas, roads, desert). The
percentage figure for irrigated refers to the portion of the entire
amount of land area that is artificially supplied with water.
_#_Leaders: The chief of state is the titular leader of the country
who represents the state at official and ceremonial funcions but is not
involved with the day-to-day activities of the government. The head
of government is the administrative leader who manages the day-to-day
activities of the government. In the UK, the monarch is the chief
of state and the prime minister is the head of government. In the US,
the President is both the chief of state and the head of government.
_#_Life expectancy at birth: The average number of years to be lived
by a group of people all born in the same year, if mortality at each
age remains constant in the future.
_#_Literacy: There are no universal definitions and standards of
literacy. Unless otherwise noted, all rates are based on the most
common definition--the ability to read and write at a specified age.
Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the
ability to read and write is beyond the scope of this publication.
_#_Maps: All maps will be available only in the printed version for
the foreseeable future.
_#_Maritime claims: The proximity of neighboring states may prevent
some national claims from being fully extended.
_#_Merchant marine: All ships engaged in the carriage of goods. All
commercial vessels (as opposed to all nonmilitary ships), which
excludes tugs, fishing vessels, offshore oil rigs, etc. Also, a
grouping of merchant ships by nationality or register.
Captive register--A register of ships maintained by a territory,
possession, or colony primarily or exclusively for the use of ships
owned in the parent country. Also referred to as an offshore register,
the offshore equivalent of an internal register. Ships on a captive
register will fly the same flag as the parent country, or a local
variant of it, but will be subject to the maritime laws and taxation
rules of the offshore territory. Although the nature of a captive
register makes it especially desirable for ships owned in the parent
country, just as in the internal register, the ships may also be owned
abroad. The captive register then acts as a flag of convenience
register, except that it is not the register of an independent state.
Flag of convenience register--A national register offering
registration to a merchant ship not owned in the flag state. The major
flags of convenience (FOC) attract ships to their register by virtue
of low fees, low or nonexistent taxation of profits, and liberal
manning requirements. True FOC registers are characterized by having
relatively few of the ships registered actually owned in the flag
state. Thus, while virtually any flag can be used for ships under a
given set of circumstances, an FOC register is one where the majority
of the merchant fleet is owned abroad. It is also referred to as an
open register.
Flag state--The nation in which a ship is registered and which
holds legal jurisdiction over operation of the ship, whether at home
or abroad. Differences in flag state maritime legislation determine
how a ship is manned and taxed and whether a foreign-owned ship may be
placed on the register.
Internal register--A register of ships maintained as a subset of
a national register. Ships on the internal register fly the national
flag and have that nationality but are subject to a separate set of
maritime rules from those on the main national register. These
differences usually include lower taxation of profits, manning by
foreign nationals, and, usually, ownership outside the flag state
(when it functions as an FOC register). The Norwegian International
Ship Register and Danish International Ship Register are the most
notable examples of an internal register. Both have been instrumental
in stemming flight from the national flag to flags of convenience and in
attracting foreign-owned ships to the Norwegian and Danish flags.
Merchant ship--A vessel that carries goods against payment of
freight. Commonly used to denote any nonmilitary ship but accurately
restricted to commercial vessels only.
Register--The record of a ship's ownership and nationality as
listed with the maritime authorities of a country. Also, the
compendium of such individual ships' registrations. Registration of
a ship provides it with a nationality and makes it subject to the laws
of the country in which registered (the flag state) regardless of the
nationality of the ship's ultimate owner.
_#_Money figures: All are expressed in contemporaneous US dollars
unless otherwise indicated.
_#_Net migration rate: The balance between the number of persons
entering and leaving a country during the year per 1,000 persons
(based on midyear population). An excess of persons entering the
country is referred to as net immigration (3.56 migrants/1,000
population); an excess of persons leaving the country as net
emigration (-9.26 migrants/1,000 population).
_#_Population: Figures are estimates from the Bureau of the Census
based on statistics from population censuses, vital registration
systems, or sample surveys pertaining to the recent past, and on
assumptions about future trends.
_#_Total fertility rate: The average number of children that would
be born per woman if all women lived to the end of their childbearing
years and bore children according to a given fertility rate at each age.
_#_Years: All year references are for the calendar year (CY) unless
indicated as fiscal year (FY).
_#_Note: Information for the US and US dependencies was compiled from
material in the public domain and does not represent Intelligence
Community estimates.
The Handbook of Economic Statistics, published annually in
September by the Central Intelligence Agency, contains detailed
economic information for the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) countries, Eastern Europe, the USSR,
and selected other countries. The Handbook can be obtained wherever
The World Factbook is available.