_#_Disputes: claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands,
Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island (all administered by France)
_#_Climate: tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south
_#_Terrain: narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center
_#_Natural resources: graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt,
quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish
_#_Land use: arable land 4%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
58%; forest and woodland 26%; other 11%; includes irrigated 2%
_#_Environment: subject to periodic cyclones; deforestation;
overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
_#_Note: world's fourth-largest island; strategic location
along Mozambique Channel
_*_People
_#_Population: 12,185,318 (July 1991), growth rate 3.2% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 47 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 95 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 51 years male, 54 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 6.9 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Malagasy (sing. and pl.); adjective--Malagasy
_#_Ethnic divisions: basic split between highlanders of predominantly
Malayo-Indonesian origin (Merina 1,643,000 and related Betsileo 760,000)
on the one hand and coastal tribes, collectively termed the Cotiers,
with mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry (Betsimisaraka
941,000, Tsimihety 442,000, Antaisaka 415,000, Sakalava 375,000), on the
other; there are also 11,000 European French, 5,000 Indians of French
nationality, and 5,000 Creoles
_#_Religion: indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian about 41%, Muslim 7%
_#_Language: French and Malagasy (official)
_#_Literacy: 80% (male 88%, female 73%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 4,900,000; 90% nonsalaried family workers engaged in
subsistence agriculture; 175,000 wage earners--agriculture 26%, domestic
service 17%, industry 15%, commerce 14%, construction 11%, services 9%,
transportation 6%, other 2%; 51% of population of working age (1985)
_#_Organized labor: 4% of labor force
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Democratic Republic of Madagascar
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: Antananarivo
_#_Administrative divisions: 6 provinces (plural--NA,
singular--faritanin); Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa,
Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara
_#_Independence: 26 June 1960 (from France; formerly Malagasy
Republic)
_#_Constitution: 21 December 1975
_#_Legal system: based on French civil law system and traditional
Malagasy law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 26 June (1960)
_#_Executive branch: president, Supreme Council of the Revolution,
prime minister, Council of Ministers
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral Popular National Assembly
(Assemblee Nationale Populaire)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme), High
Constitutional Court (Haute Cour Constitutionnelle)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--President Adm. Didier RATSIRAKA (since 15 June
1975);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Guy RASANAMAZY (since
8 August 1991)
_#_Political parties and leaders: a presidential decree issued early
last year, legalized the existence of political parties outside of the
Ruling Front; some thirty political parties now exist in Madagascar, the
most important of which are the
Advance Guard of the Malagasy Revolution (AREMA), Didier RATSIRAKA;
Congress Party for Malagasy Independence (AKFM), RAKOTOVAO-ANDRIATIANA;
Congress Party for Malagasy Independence-Revival (AKFM-R), Pastor Richard
ANDRIAMANJATO;
Movement for National Unity (VONJY), Dr. Marojama RAZANABAHINY;
Malagasy Christian Democratic Union (UDECMA), Norbert ANDRIAMORASATA;
Militants for the Establishment of a Proletarian Regime (MFM), Manandafy
RAKOTONIRINA;
National Movement for the Independence of Madagascar (MONIMA), Monja
JAONA;
Socialist Organization Monima (VSM, an offshoot of MONIMA), Tsihozony
MAHARANGA
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
President--last held on 12 March 1989 (next to be held March 1996);
results--Didier RATSIRAKA (AREMA) 62%, Manandafy RAKOTONIRINA (MFM/MFT)
20%, Dr. Jerome Marojama RAZANABAHINY (VONJY) 15%, Monja JAONA
(MONIMA) 3%;
Popular National Assembly--last held on 28 May 1989 (next to
be held May 1994);
results--AREMA 88.2%, MFM 5.1%, AKFM 3.7%, VONJY 2.2%, other 0.8%;
seats--(137 total) AREMA 120, MFM 7, AKFM 5, VONJY 4, MONIMA 1
_#_Communists: Communist party of virtually no importance; small and
vocal group of Communists has gained strong position in leadership of
AKFM, the rank and file of which is non-Communist
_#_Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU,
LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Pierrot Jocelyn
RAJAONARIVELO; Chancery at 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC
20008; telephone (202) 265-5525 or 5526; there is a Malagasy Consulate
General in New York;
US--Ambassador Howard K. WALKER; Embassy at 14 and 16 Rue
Rainitovo, Antsahavola, Antananarivo (mailing address is B. P. 620,
Antananarivo); telephone 212-57, 209-56, 200-89, 207-18
_#_Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a
vertical white band of the same width on hoist side
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world.
During the period 1980-85 it had a population growth of 3% a year and
a - 0.4% GDP growth rate. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is
the mainstay of the economy, accounting for over 40% of GDP, employing
about 80% of the labor force, and contributing to more than 70% of total
export earnings. Industry is largely confined to the processing of
agricultural products and textile manufacturing; in 1990 it accounted for
only 16% of GDP and employed 3% of the labor force. In 1986 the
government introduced a five-year development plan that stresses
self-sufficiency in food (mainly rice) by 1990, increased production for
exports, and reduced energy imports.
_#_GDP: $2.4 billion, per capita $200; real growth rate 3.8% (1990
est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $390 million; expenditures $525 million, including
capital expenditures of $240 million (1990 est.)
_#_Exports: $290 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--coffee 45%, vanilla 15%, cloves 11%, sugar, petroleum
products;
partners--France, Japan, Italy, FRG, US
_#_Imports: $436 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--intermediate manufactures 30%, capital goods 28%,
petroleum 15%, consumer goods 14%, food 13%;
partners--France, FRG, UK, other EC, US
_#_External debt: $3.6 billion (1989)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 5.2% (1990 est.); accounts
for 16% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 119,000 kW capacity; 430 million kWh produced,
40 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: agricultural processing (meat canneries, soap
factories, breweries, tanneries, sugar refining plants), light consumer
goods industries (textiles, glassware), cement, automobile assembly
plant, paper, petroleum
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP; cash crops--coffee, vanilla,
sugarcane, cloves, cocoa; food crops--rice, cassava, beans, bananas,
peanuts; cattle raising widespread; almost self-sufficient in rice
_#_Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild
varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $136
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $2.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $491 million
_#_Currency: Malagasy franc (plural--francs);
1 Malagasy franc (FMG) = 100 centimes
_#_Exchange rates: Malagasy francs (FMG) per US$1--1,454.6 (December
1990), 1,494.1 (1990), 1,603.4 (1989), 1,407.1 (1988), 1,069.2 (1987),
676.3 (1986), 662.5 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 1,020 km 1.000-meter gauge
_#_Highways: 40,000 km total; 4,694 km paved, 811 km crushed stone,
gravel, or stabilized soil, 34,495 km improved and unimproved
earth (est.)
_#_Inland waterways: of local importance only; isolated streams and
small portions of Canal des Pangalanes
_#_Ports: Toamasina, Antsiranana, Mahajanga, Toliara
_#_Merchant marine: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 59,416
GRT/82,869 DWT; includes 9 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 petroleum,
oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas
_#_Civil air: 5 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 148 total, 115 usable; 30 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 42 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: above average system includes open-wire lines,
coaxial cables, radio relay, and troposcatter links; submarine cable to
Bahrain; satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Atlantic
Ocean INTELSAT; over 38,200 telephones; stations--14 AM, 1 FM, 7 (30
repeaters) TV
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Popular Armed Forces (includes Intervention Forces,
Development Forces, Aeronaval Forces--includes Navy and Air Force),
Gendarmerie, Presidential Security Regiment
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,637,866; 1,570,393 fit for
military service; 119,882 reach military age (20) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $37 million, 2.2% of GDP (1989 est.)
_%_
_@_Malawi
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 118,480 km2; land area: 94,080 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Pennsylvania
_#_Land boundaries: 2,881 km total; Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania
475 km, Zambia 837 km
_#_Coastline: none--landlocked
_#_Maritime claims: none--landlocked
_#_Disputes: dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa
(Lake Malawi)
_#_Climate: tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season
(May to November)
_#_Terrain: narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded
hills, some mountains
_#_Natural resources: limestone; unexploited deposits of uranium,
coal, and bauxite
_#_Land use: arable land 25%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 20%; forest and woodland 50%; other 5%; includes irrigated
NEGL%
_#_Environment: deforestation
_#_Note: landlocked
_*_People
_#_Population: 9,438,462 (July 1991), growth rate 1.8% (1991);
note--900,000 Mozambican refugees in Malawi (1990 est.)
_#_Birth rate: 52 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 18 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 17 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 136 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 48 years male, 51 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 7.6 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Malawian(s); adjective--Malawian
_#_Ethnic divisions: Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuko, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga,
Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European
_#_Religion: Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%;
traditional indigenous beliefs are also practiced
_#_Language: English and Chichewa (official); other languages
important regionally
_#_Literacy: 22% (male 34%, female 12%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1966)
_#_Labor force: 428,000 wage earners; agriculture 43%, manufacturing
16%, personal services 15%, commerce 9%, construction 7%, miscellaneous
services 4%, other permanently employed 6% (1986)
_#_Organized labor: small minority of wage earners are unionized
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of Malawi
_#_Type: one-party state
_#_Capital: Lilongwe
_#_Administrative divisions: 24 districts; Blantyre, Chikwawa,
Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Kasungu, Lilongwe,
Machinga (Kasupe), Mangochi, Mchinji, Mulanje, Mwanza, Mzimba, Ncheu,
Nkhata Bay, Nkhota Kota, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Rumphi, Salima, Thyolo, Zomba
_#_Independence: 6 July 1964 (from UK; formerly Nyasaland)
_#_Constitution: 6 July 1964; republished as amended January 1974
_#_Legal system: based on English common law and customary law;
judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 6 July (1964)
_#_Executive branch: president, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly
_#_Judicial branch: High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Dr. Hastings
Kamuzu BANDA (since 6 July 1966; sworn in as President for Life 6 July
1971)
_#_Political parties and leaders: only party--Malawi Congress Party
(MCP), Maxwell PASHANE, administrative secretary; John TEMBO, treasurer
general; top party position of secretary general vacant since 1983
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 21
_#_Elections:
President--President BANDA sworn in as President for Life on
6 July 1971;
National Assembly--last held 27-28 May 1987 (next to be held
by May 1992);
results--MCP is the only party;
seats--(133 total, 112 elected) MCP 133
_#_Communists: no Communist party
_#_Member of: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO
(correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Robert B. MBAYA; Chancery at
2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
797-1007;
US--Ambassador George A. TRAIL, III; Embassy in new capital city
development area, address NA (mailing address is P. O. Box 30016,
Lilongwe); telephone [265] 730-166
_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green
with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band; similar to
the flag of Afghanistan which is longer and has the national coat of arms
superimposed on the hoist side of the black and red bands
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: A landlocked country, Malawi ranks among the world's
least developed with a per capita GDP of $175. The economy is
predominately agricultural and operates under a relatively free
enterprise environment, with about 90% of the population living in
rural areas. Agriculture accounts for 40% of GDP and 90% of export
revenues. After two years of weak performance, economic growth improved
significantly in 1988-90 as a result of good weather and a broadly based
economic adjustment effort by the government. The economy depends on
substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank,
and individual donor nations. The closure of traditional trade routes
through Mozambique continues to be a constraint on the economy.
_#_GDP: $1.6 billion, per capita $175; growth rate 4.8% (1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11.7% (1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $398 million; expenditures $510 million, including
capital expenditures of $154 million (FY91 est.)
_#_Exports: $390 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--tobacco, tea, sugar, coffee, peanuts;
partners--US, UK, Zambia, South Africa, FRG
_#_Imports: $560 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
commodities--food, petroleum, semimanufactures, consumer goods,
transportation equipment;
partners--South Africa, Japan, US, UK, Zimbabwe
_#_External debt: $1.4 billion (December 1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 4.9% (1989 est.); accounts
for about 18% of GDP (1988)
_#_Electricity: 181,000 kW capacity; 535 million kWh produced,
60 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: agricultural processing (tea, tobacco, sugar),
sawmilling, cement, consumer goods
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP; cash crops--tobacco,
sugarcane, cotton, tea, and corn; subsistence crops--potatoes, cassava,
sorghum, pulses; livestock--cattle and goats
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $215
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $2.0 billion
_#_Currency: Malawian kwacha (plural--kwacha);
1 Malawian kwacha (MK) = 100 tambala
_#_Exchange rates: Malawian kwacha (MK) per US$1--2.6300 (January
1991), 2.7289 (1990), 2.7595 (1989), 2.5613 (1988), 2.2087 (1987), 1.8611
(1986), 1.7191 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 789 km 1.067-meter gauge
_#_Highways: 13,135 km total; 2,364 km paved; 251 km crushed stone,
gravel, or stabilized soil; 10,520 km earth and improved earth
_#_Inland waterways: Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi); Shire River, 144 km
_#_Ports: Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, and Nkotakota--all on Lake
Nyasa (Lake Malawi)
_#_Civil air: 3 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 48 total, 46 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 9 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: fair system of open-wire lines, radio relay
links, and radio communication stations; 36,800 telephones; stations--8
AM, 4 FM, no TV; satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
_#_Note: a majority of exports would normally go through Mozambique
on the Beira or Nacala railroads, but now most go through South Africa
because of insurgent activity and damage to rail lines
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army (includes Air Wing and Naval Detachment),
Police (includes paramilitary Mobile Force Unit), paramilitary
Malawi Young Pioneers
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,960,082; 995,864 fit for
military service
_#_Defense expenditures: $22 million, 1.6% of GDP (1989 est.)
_%_
_@_Malaysia
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 329,750 km2; land area: 328,550 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico
_#_Land boundaries: 2,669 km total; Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782,
Thailand 506 km
_#_Coastline: 4,675 km total (2,068 km Peninsular Malaysia,
2,607 km East Malaysia)
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation,
specified boundary in the South China Sea;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;