_#_Disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica (Australian Antarctic
Territory)
_#_Climate: generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east;
tropical in north
_#_Terrain: mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in
southeast
_#_Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver,
uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural
gas, crude oil
_#_Land use: arable land 6%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 58%; forest and woodland 14%; other 22%; includes irrigated
NEGL%
_#_Environment: subject to severe droughts and floods; cyclones along
coast; limited freshwater availability; irrigated soil degradation;
regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as the doctor occurs
along west coast in summer; desertification
_#_Note: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country
_*_People
_#_Population: 17,288,044 (July 1991), growth rate 1.5% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 7 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 80 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Australian(s); adjective--Australian
_#_Ethnic divisions: Caucasian 95%, Asian 4%, Aboriginal and other
1%
_#_Religion: Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26.0%, other Christian
24.3%
_#_Language: English, native languages
_#_Literacy: 100% (male 100%, female 100%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1980 est.)
_#_Labor force: 7,700,000; finance and services 33.8%, public and
community services 22.3%, wholesale and retail trade 20.1%, manufacturing
and industry 16.2%, agriculture 6.1% (1987)
_#_Organized labor: 42% of labor force (1988)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Commonwealth of Australia
_#_Type: federal parliamentary state
_#_Capital: Canberra
_#_Administrative divisions: 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian
Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland,
South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia
_#_Dependent areas: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island,
Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald
Islands, Norfolk Island
_#_Independence: 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)
_#_Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901
_#_Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
_#_National holiday: Australia Day (last Monday in January), 29
January 1990
_#_Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime
minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Parliament consists of an
upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
_#_Judicial branch: High Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since February 1952),
represented by Governor General William George HAYDEN (since NA February
1989);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Robert James Lee HAWKE (since
11 March 1983); Deputy Prime Minister Paul KEATING (since 3 April 1990)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
government--Australian Labor Party, Robert James Lee HAWKE;
opposition--Liberal Party, John HEWSON;
National Party, Timothy FISCHER;
Australian Democratic Party, Janet POWELL
_#_Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
_#_Elections:
Senate--last held 11 July 1987 (next to be held by July 1993);
results--Labor 43%, Liberal-National 42%, Australian Democrats 8%,
independents 2%;
seats--(76 total) Labor 32, Liberal-National 34, Australian
Democrats 7, independents 3;
House of Representatives--last held 24 March 1990 (next to be
held by November 1993);
results--Labor 39.7%, Liberal-National 43%, Australian Democrats
and independents 11.1%;
seats--(148 total) Labor 78, Liberal-National 69, independent 1
_#_Communists: 4,000 members (est.)
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Australian Democratic Labor
Party (anti-Communist Labor Party splinter group); Peace and Nuclear
Disarmament Action (Nuclear Disarmament Party splinter group)
_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), ANZUS, APEC, AsDB, BIS, C, CCC, CP,
EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, G-8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA,
IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NEA, OECD, PCA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIIMOG, UNTAG, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Michael J. COOK; Chancery at
1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202)
797-3000; there are Australian Consulates General in Chicago, Honolulu,
Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Pago Pago (American Samoa), and San
Francisco;
US--Ambassador Melvin F. SEMBLER; Moonah Place, Yarralumla,
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 (mailing address is APO San
Francisco 96404); telephone [61] (6) 270-5000; there are US Consulates
General in Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney, and a Consulate in Brisbane
_#_Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant
and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant; the
remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in
white with one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed
stars
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist
economy, with a per capita GNP comparable to levels in industrialized
West European countries. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major
exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels.
Of the top 25 exports, 21 are primary products, so that, as happened
during 1983-84, a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big
impact on the economy. The government is pushing for increased exports
of manufactured goods but competition in international markets will be
severe.
_#_GDP: $255.9 billion, per capita $15,000; real growth rate 2.2%
(1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.9% (December 1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: 9.2% (March 1991)
_#_Budget: revenues $74.2 billion; expenditures $67.9 billion,
including capital expenditures of NA (FY90)
_#_Exports: $39.8 billion (f.o.b., FY90);
commodities--metals, minerals, coal, wool, cereals, meat,
manufacturers;
partners--Japan 26%, US 11%, NZ 6%, South Korea 4%, Singapore 4%,
UK, Taiwan, Hong Kong
_#_Imports: $42.0 billion (f.o.b., FY90);
commodities--manufactured raw materials, capital equipment,
consumer goods;
partners--US 24%, Japan 19%, UK 6%, FRG 7%, NZ 4% (1990)
_#_External debt: $123.7 billion (September 1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 1.8% (1990); accounts for
32% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 38,000,000 kW capacity; 150,000 million kWh produced,
8,860 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food
processing, chemicals, steel, motor vehicles
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 5% of GNP and 37% of export revenues;
world's largest exporter of beef and wool, second-largest for mutton,
and among top wheat exporters; major crops--wheat, barley, sugarcane,
fruit; livestock--cattle, sheep, poultry
_#_Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $10.4
billion
_#_Currency: Australian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Australian dollar
($A) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1--1.2834 (January
1991), 1.2799 (1990), 1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905
(1986), 1.4269 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 40,478 km total; 7,970 km 1.600-meter gauge, 16,201 km
1.435-meter standard gauge, 16,307 km 1.067-meter gauge; 183 km dual
gauge; 1,130 km electrified; government owned (except for a few hundred
kilometers of privately owned track) (1985)
_#_Highways: 837,872 km total; 243,750 km paved, 228,396 km gravel,
crushed stone, or stabilized soil surface, 365,726 km unimproved earth
_#_Inland waterways: 8,368 km; mainly by small, shallow-draft craft
_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 2,500 km; refined products, 500 km; natural
gas, 5,600 km
_#_Ports: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport, Fremantle,
Geelong, Hobart, Launceston, Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville
_#_Merchant marine: 77 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,249,926
GRT/3,391,323 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 6 cargo, 6 container,
10 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 vehicle carrier, 16 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 4 liquefied gas, 1
combination ore/oil, 30 bulk
_#_Civil air: around 150 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 747 total, 524 usable; 270 with permanent-surface
runways, 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 17 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
401 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: good international and domestic service; 8.7
million telephones; stations--258 AM, 67 FM, 134 TV; submarine cables to
New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; domestic satellite service;
satellite stations--4 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 6 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT
earth stations
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian
Air Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 4,689,559; 4,090,921 fit for
military service; 135,435 reach military age (17) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $6.6 billion, 2.2% of GDP (FY90)
_%_
_@_Austria
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 83,850 km2; land area: 82,730 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than Maine
_#_Land boundaries: 2,640 km total; Czechoslovakia 548 km,
Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 37 km,
Switzerland 164 km, Yugoslavia 311 km
_#_Coastline: none--landlocked
_#_Maritime claims: none--landlocked
_#_Climate: temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent
rain in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with occasional
showers
_#_Terrain: mostly mountains with Alps in west and south; mostly flat,
with gentle slopes along eastern and northern margins
_#_Natural resources: iron ore, crude oil, timber, magnesite,
aluminum, lead, coal, lignite, copper, hydropower
_#_Land use: arable land 17%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and
pastures 24%; forest and woodland 39%; other 19%; includes irrigated
NEGL%
_#_Environment: because of steep slopes, poor soils, and cold
temperatures, population is concentrated on eastern lowlands
_#_Note: landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of
central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys;
major river is the Danube
_*_People
_#_Population: 7,665,804 (July 1991), growth rate 0.3% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 5 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Austrian(s); adjective--Austrian
_#_Ethnic divisions: German 99.4%, Croatian 0.3%, Slovene 0.2%,
other 0.1%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 6%, other 9%
_#_Language: German
_#_Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1974 est.)
_#_Labor force: 3,470,000 (1989); services 56.4%, industry and crafts
35.4%, agriculture and forestry 8.1%; an estimated 200,000 Austrians are
employed in other European countries; foreign laborers in Austria number
177,840, about 6% of labor force (1988)
_#_Organized labor: 60.1% of work force; the Austrian Trade Union
Federation has 1,644,408 members (1989)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of Austria
_#_Type: federal republic
_#_Capital: Vienna
_#_Administrative divisions: 9 states (bundeslander,
singular--bundesland); Burgenland, Karnten, Niederosterreich,
Oberosterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien
_#_Independence: 12 November 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)
_#_Constitution: 1920, revised 1929 (reinstated 1945)
_#_Legal system: civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial
review of legislative acts by a Constitutional Court; separate
administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: National Day, 26 October (1955)
_#_Executive branch: president, chancellor, vice chancellor, Council
of Ministers (cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung)
consists of an upper council or Federal Council (Bundesrat) and a lower
council or National Council (Nationalrat)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) for
civil and criminal cases, Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof)
for bureaucratic cases, Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) for
constitutional cases
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--President Kurt WALDHEIM (since 8 July 1986);
Head of Government--Chancellor Franz VRANITZKY (since 16 June
1986); Vice Chancellor Josef RIEGLER (since 19 May 1989)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Socialist Party of Austria (SPO), Franz VRANITZKY, chairman;
Austrian People's Party (OVP), Josef RIEGLER, chairman;
Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), Jorg HAIDER, chairman;
Communist Party (KPO), Franz MUHRI, chairman;
Green Alternative List (GAL), Andreas WABL, chairman
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 19; compulsory for presidential
elections
_#_Elections:
President--last held 8 June 1986 (next to be held May 1992);
results of Second Ballot--Dr. Kurt WALDHEIM 53.89%, Dr. Kurt STEYRER
46.11%;
National Council--last held 7 October 1990 (next to be
held October 1994);
results--SP0 43%, OVP 32.1%, FPO 16.6%, GAL 4.5%, KPO 0.7%,
other 0.32%;
seats--(183 total) SP0 80, OVP 60, FP0 33, GAL 10
_#_Communists: membership 15,000 est.; activists 7,000-8,000
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Federal Chamber of Commerce and
Industry; Austrian Trade Union Federation (primarily Socialist); three
composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party (OVP) representing
business, labor, and farmers; OVP-oriented League of Austrian
Industrialists; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay
organization, Catholic Action
_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, CSCE,
EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-9, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO,
ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNDOF, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Friedrich HOESS; Embassy at
2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
483-4474; there are Austrian Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles,
and New York;
US--Ambassador Roy Michael HUFFINGTON; Embassy at Boltzmanngasse
16, A-1091, Vienna (mailing address is APO New York 09108-0001);
telephone [43] (222) 31-55-11; there is a US Consulate General in Salzburg
_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Austria boasts a prosperous and stable capitalist
economy with a sizable proportion of nationalized industry and extensive
welfare benefits. Thanks to an excellent raw material endowment, a
technically skilled labor force, and strong links to West German
industrial firms, Austria has successfully occupied specialized niches
in European industry and services (tourism, banking) and produces almost
enough food to feed itself with only 8% of the labor force in
agriculture. Improved export prospects from German unification
and the opening of Eastern Europe will also boost the economy during
the next few years. Living standards are roughly comparable with the
large industrial countries of Western Europe. Problems for the l990s
include an aging population, the high level of subsidies, and the
struggle to keep welfare benefits within budget capabilities. Austria,
which has applied for EC membership, is currently involved in EC and
European Free Trade Association negotiations for a European Economic
Area and will have to adapt its economy to achieve freer movement of
goods, services, capital, and labor with the EC.
_#_GDP: $111.0 billion, per capita $14,500; real growth rate 4.5%
(1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.3% (1990)
_#_Unemployment: 5.4% (1990)
_#_Budget: revenues $44.1 billion; expenditures $49.6 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)
_#_Exports: $40.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--machinery and equipment, iron and steel, lumber,
textiles, paper products, chemicals;
partners--EC 64.8%, EFTA 10.3%, CEMA 7.7%, US 3.2%, Japan 1.5%
_#_Imports: $46.6 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities--petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment,
vehicles, chemicals, textiles and clothing, pharmaceuticals;
partners--EC 68.4%, EFTA 7%, CEMA 5.7%, Japan 4.6%, US 3.6%
_#_External debt: $11.8 billion (1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: real growth rate 8.5% (1990); accounts
for 34% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 17,562,000 kW capacity; 49,290 million kWh produced,
6,500 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: foods, iron and steel, machines, textiles, chemicals,
electrical, paper and pulp, tourism, mining
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 3.2% of GDP (including forestry);
principal crops and animals--grains, fruit, potatoes, sugar beets,
sawn wood, cattle, pigs poultry; 80-90% self-sufficient in food
_#_Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $2.4
billion
_#_Currency: Austrian schilling (plural--schillings); 1 Austrian
schilling (S) = 100 groschen
_#_Exchange rates: Austrian schillings (S) per US$1--10.627 (January
1991), 11.370 (1990), 13.231 (1989), 12.348 (1988), 12.643 (1987), 15.267
(1986), 20.690 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 6,028 km total; 5,388 km government owned and 640 km
privately owned (1.435- and 1.000-meter gauge); 5,403 km 1.435-meter
standard gauge of which 3,051 km is electrified and 1,520 km is double
tracked; 363 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge of which 91 km is electrified
_#_Highways: 95,412 km total; 34,612 are the primary network
(including 1,012 km of autobahn, 10,400 km of federal, and 23,200 km of
provincial roads); of this number, 21,812 km are paved and 12,800 km are
unpaved; in addition, there are 60,800 km of communal roads (mostly
gravel, crushed stone, earth)
_#_Inland waterways: 446 km
_#_Ports: Vienna, Linz (river ports)
_#_Merchant marine: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
150,735 GRT/252,237 DWT; includes 26 cargo, 1 container, 1 chemical
tanker, 4 bulk
_#_Pipelines: 554 km crude oil; 2,611 km natural gas; 171 km refined
products
_#_Civil air: 25 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 55 total, 54 usable; 20 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: highly developed and efficient; 4,014,000
telephones; extensive TV and radiobroadcast systems; stations--6 AM, 21
(545 repeaters) FM, 47 (870 repeaters) TV; satellite stations operating
in INTELSAT 1 Atlantic Ocean earth station and 1 Indian Ocean earth
station and EUTELSAT systems
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Flying Division, Gendarmerie
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,957,414; 1,646,179 fit for
military service; 48,038 reach military age (19) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $1.4 billion, 1% of GDP (1990)
_%_
_@_The Bahamas
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 13,940 km2; land area: 10,070 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Connecticut
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 3,542 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;