_#_Disputes: territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago
de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; unresolved maritime
boundary in Golfo de Fonseca
_#_Climate: tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
_#_Terrain: extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central
interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
_#_Natural resources: gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc,
timber, fish
_#_Land use: arable land 9%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
43%; forest and woodland 35%; other 12%; including irrigated 1%
_#_Environment: subject to destructive earthquakes, volcanoes,
landslides, and occasional severe hurricanes; deforestation; soil
erosion; water pollution
_*_People
_#_Population: 3,751,884 (July 1991), growth rate 2.8% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 60 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 60 years male, 65 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 4.7 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Nicaraguan(s); adjective--Nicaraguan
_#_Ethnic divisions: mestizo 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Indian 5%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant 5%
_#_Language: Spanish (official); English- and Indian-speaking
minorities on Atlantic coast
_#_Literacy: 57% (male 57%, female 57%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1971)
_#_Labor force: 1,086,000; service 43%, agriculture 44%, industry 13%
(1986)
_#_Organized labor: 35% of labor force
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of Nicaragua
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: Managua
_#_Administrative divisions: 9 administrative regions encompassing 16
departments (departamentos, singular--departamento); Boaco, Carazo,
Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz,
Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas,
Zelaya; note--Zelaya may have been replaced by 2 autonomous regions
(regiones autonomistas, singular--region autonomista) named
North Atlantic Coast and South Atlantic Coast
_#_Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
_#_Constitution: January 1987
_#_Legal system: civil law system; Supreme Court may review
administrative acts
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
_#_Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema) and municipal courts
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Violeta
Barrios de CHAMORRO (since 25 April 1990);
Vice President Virgilio GODOY (since 25 April 1990)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
ruling coalition--National Opposition Union (UNO) is a
14-party alliance--National Conservative Party (PNC), Silviano MATAMOROS;
Conservative Popular Alliance Party (PAPC), Myriam ARGUELLO;
National Conservative Action Party (PANC), Hernaldo ZUNIGA;
National Democratic Confidence Party (PDCN), Augustin JARQUIN;
Independent Liberal Party (PLI), Wilfredo NAVARRO;
Neo-Liberal Party (PALI), Andres ZUNIGA;
Liberal Constitutionalist Party (PLC), Jose Ernesto SOMARRIBA;
National Action Party (PAN), Eduardo RIVAS;
Nicaraguan Socialist Party (PSN), Gustavo TABLADA;
Communist Party of Nicaragua (PCdeN), Eli ALTIMIRANO;
Popular Social Christian Party (PPSC), Luis HUMBERTO;
Nicaraguan Democratic Movement (MDN), Roberto URROZ;
Social Democratic Party (PSD), Guillermo POTOY;
Central American Integrationist Party (PIAC), Alejandro PEREZ;
opposition parties--Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN),
Daniel ORTEGA;
Central American Unionist Party (PUCA), Blanca ROJAS;
Democratic Conservative Party of Nicaragua (PCDN), Jose BRENES;
Liberal Party of National Unity (PLUIN), Eduardo CORONADO;
Movement of Revolutionary Unity (MUR), Francisco SAMPER;
Social Christian Party (PSC), Erick RAMIREZ;
Revolutionary Workers' Party (PRT), Bonifacio MIRANDA;
Social Conservative Party (PSOC), Fernando AGUERRO;
Popular Action Movement--Marxist-Leninist (MAP-ML), Isidro TELLEZ;
Popular Social Christian Party (PPSC), Mauricio DIAZ
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 16
_#_Elections:
President--last held on 25 February 1990 (next to be held February
1996);
results--Violeta Barrios de CHAMORRO (UNO) 54.7%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra
(FSLN) 40.8%, other 4.5%;
National Assembly--last held on 25 February 1990
(next to be held February 1996);
results--UNO 53.9%, FSLN 40.8%, PSC 1.6%, MUR 1.0%;
seats--(92 total) UNO 51, FSLN 39, PSC 1, MUR 1
_#_Communists: 15,000-20,000
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Permanent Congress of Workers
(CPT), Confederation of Labor Unification (CUS), Autonomous Nicaraguan
Workers' Central (CTN-A), Independent General Confederation of Workers
(CTG-I), Communist Labor Action and Unity Central (CAUS), Nicaraguan
Workers' Central (CST); Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP) is
an umbrella group of 11 different business groups, including the Chamber
of Commerce, the Chamber of Industry, and the Nicaraguan Development
Institute (INDE)
_#_Member of: BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT,
IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ernesto PALAZIO;
Chancery at 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone
(202) 387-4371 or 4372;
US--Ambassador Harry W. SHLAUDEMAN; Embassy at Kilometer 4.5
Carretera Sur., Managua (mailing address is APO Miami 34021); telephone
[505] (2) 666010 or 666013, 666015 through 18, 666026, 666027, 666032
through 34
_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue
with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of
arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE
NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar
to the flag of El Salvador which features a round emblem encircled by the
words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in
the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue
stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Government control of the economy historically has been
extensive, although the Chamorro government has pledged to reduce it.
The financial system is directly controlled by the state, which also
regulates wholesale purchasing, production, sales, foreign trade, and
distribution of most goods. Over 50% of the agricultural and industrial
firms are state owned. Sandinista economic policies and the war
have produced a severe economic crisis. The foundation of the economy
continues to be the export of agricultural commodities, largely coffee
and cotton. Farm production fell by roughly 7% in 1989, the fifth
successive year of decline. The agricultural sector employs 44%
of the work force and accounts for 23% of GDP and 86% of export earnings.
Industry, which employs 13% of the work force and contributes about
25% to GDP, showed a drop of 7% in 1989 and remains below
pre-1979 levels. External debt is one of the highest in the world on a
per capita basis. In 1990 the annual inflation rate was 11,800%, sharply
up from 1,800% in 1989.
_#_GDP: $1.7 billion, per capita $470; real growth rate - 1.0% (1990
est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11,800% (1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: 35% (1990)
_#_Budget: revenues $244 million; expenditures $550 million, including
capital expenditures of $73 million (1988)
_#_Exports: $298 million (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--coffee, cotton, sugar, bananas, seafood, meat,
chemicals;
partners--OECD 75%, USSR and Eastern Europe 15%, other 10%
_#_Imports: $710 million (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--petroleum, food, chemicals, machinery, clothing;
partners--Latin America 30%, US 25%, EC 20%, USSR and
Eastern Europe 10%, other 15% (1990 est.)
_#_External debt: $9 billion (December 1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 7% (1989); accounts
for about 25% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 415,000 kW capacity; 1,342 million kWh produced,
360 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: food processing, chemicals, metal products, textiles,
clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 23% of GDP and 44% of work force; cash
crops--coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton; food crops--rice, corn,
cassava, citrus fruit, beans; variety of animal products--beef, veal,
pork, poultry, dairy; normally self-sufficient in food
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $294
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $1,186 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $3.5 billion
_#_Currency: cordoba (plural--cordobas); 1 cordoba (C$) = 100
centavos
_#_Exchange rates: cordobas (C$) per US$1--13,300,000 (January
1991), 15,655 (1989), 270 (1988), 102.60 (1987), 97.48 (1986), 38.90
(1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 373 km 1.067-meter gauge, government owned; majority of
system not operating; 3 km 1.435-meter gauge line at Puerto Cabezas (does
not connect with mainline)
_#_Highways: 25,930 km total; 4,000 km paved, 2,170 km
gravel or crushed stone, 5,425 km earth or graded earth, 14,335 km
unimproved; Pan-American highway 368.5 km
_#_Inland waterways: 2,220 km, including 2 large lakes
_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 56 km
_#_Ports: Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama
_#_Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,161
GRT/2,500 DWT
_#_Civil air: 12 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 251 total, 162 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: low-capacity radio relay and wire system being
expanded; connection into Central American Microwave System; 60,000
telephones; stations--45 AM, no FM, 7 TV, 3 shortwave; earth
stations--1 Intersputnik and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 845,961; 521,425 fit for
military service; 44,222 reach military age (18) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $70 million, 3.8% of GDP (1991)
_%_
_@_Niger
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 1,267,000 km2; land area: 1,266,700 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
_#_Land boundaries: 5,697 km total; Algeria 956 km, Benin 266 km,
Burkina 628 km, Chad 1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km, Nigeria 1,497
km
_#_Coastline: none--landlocked
_#_Maritime claims: none--landlocked
_#_Disputes: Libya claims about 19,400 km2 in northern Niger;
demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which
has led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting
ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; Burkina and Mali are
proceeding with boundary demarcation, including the tripoint with Niger
_#_Climate: desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south
_#_Terrain: predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to
rolling plains in south; hills in north
_#_Natural resources: uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates
_#_Land use: arable land 3%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures
7%; forest and woodland 2%; other 88%; includes irrigated NEGL%
_#_Environment: recurrent drought and desertification severely
affecting marginal agricultural activities; overgrazing; soil erosion
_#_Note: landlocked
_*_People
_#_Population: 8,154,145 (July 1991), growth rate 3.4% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 50 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 129 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 53 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 7.0 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Nigerien(s) adjective--Nigerien
_#_Ethnic divisions: Hausa 56%; Djerma 22%; Fula 8.5%; Tuareg 8%; Beri
Beri (Kanouri) 4.3%; Arab, Toubou, and Gourmantche 1.2%; about 4,000
French expatriates
_#_Religion: Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christians
_#_Language: French (official); Hausa, Djerma
_#_Literacy: 28% (male 40%, female 17%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 2,500,000 wage earners (1982); agriculture 90%,
industry and commerce 6%, government 4%; 51% of population of working age
(1985)
_#_Organized labor: negligible
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of Niger
_#_Type: republic; presidential system in which military officers
hold key offices
_#_Capital: Niamey
_#_Administrative divisions: 7 departments (departements,
singular--departement); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey, Tahoua,
Zinder
_#_Independence: 3 August 1960 (from France)
_#_Constitution: adopted NA December 1989 after 15 years of
military rule
_#_Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holidays: Republic Day, 18 December (1958)
_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
_#_Judicial branch: State Court (Cour d'Etat), Court of Appeal
(Cour d'Apel)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--President Brig. Gen. Ali SAIBOU (since 14
November 1987);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Aliou MAHAMIDOU (since 2 March
1990)
_#_Political parties and leaders: National Movement for the
Development Society (MNSD), leader NA; other political parties now
forming
_#_Suffrage: universal adult at age 18
_#_Elections:
President--last held December 1989 (next to be held NA 1996);
results--President Ali SAIBOU was reelected without opposition;
National Assembly--last held 10 December 1989 (next to be
held NA); results--MNSD was the only party;
seats--(150 total) MNSD 150 (indirectly elected);
note--Niger is to hold a national conference to decide upon a
transitional government and an agenda for multiparty elections
_#_Communists: no Communist party; some sympathizers in outlawed
Sawaba party
_#_Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO,
FZ, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Moumouni Adamou DJERMAKOYE;
Chancery at 2204 R Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
483-4224 through 4227;
US--Ambassador Carl C. CUNDIFF; Embassy at Avenue des
Ambassades, Niamey (mailing address is B. P. 11201, Niamey); telephone
[227] 72-26-61 through 64
_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and
green with a small orange disk (representing the sun) centered in the
white band; similar to the flag of India which has a blue, spoked wheel
centered in the white band
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: About 90% of the population is engaged in farming and
stock rearing, activities which generate almost half the national
income. The economy also depends heavily on exploitation of large uranium
deposits. Uranium production grew rapidly in the mid-1970s, but tapered
off in the early 1980s, when world prices declined. France is a major
customer, while Germany, Japan, and Spain also make regular purchases.
The depressed demand for uranium has contributed to an overall
sluggishness in the economy, a severe trade imbalance, and a mounting
external debt.
_#_GDP: $2.0 billion, per capita $270; real growth rate - 3.3% (1989
est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): - 2.8% (1989)
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $220 million; expenditures $446 million, including
capital expenditures of $190 million (FY89 est.)
_#_Exports: $308 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--uranium 75%, livestock products, cowpeas, onions;
partners--France 65%, Nigeria 11%, Ivory Coast, Italy
_#_Imports: $386 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.);
commodities--petroleum products, primary materials, machinery,
vehicles and parts, electronic equipment, pharmaceuticals, chemical
products, cereals, foodstuffs;
partners--France 32%, Ivory Coast 11%, Germany 5%, Italy 4%,
Nigeria 4%
_#_External debt: $1.8 billion (December 1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 3.0% (1989 est.); accounts
for 18% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 102,000 kW capacity; 225 million kWh produced,
30 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals,
slaughterhouses, and a few other small light industries; uranium
production began in 1971
_#_Agriculture: accounts for roughly 40% of GDP and 90% of labor
force; cash crops--cowpeas, cotton, peanuts; food crops--millet, sorghum,
cassava, rice; livestock--cattle, sheep, goats; self-sufficient in food
except in drought years
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $380
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $3.0 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $504 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $61 million
_#_Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc
(plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
_#_Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF)
per US$1--256.54 (January 1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85
(1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 October-30 September
_*_Communications
_#_Highways: 39,970 km total; 3,170 km bituminous, 10,330 km gravel
and laterite, 3,470 km earthen, 23,000 km tracks
_#_Inland waterways: Niger river is navigable 300 km from Niamey to
Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December through March
_#_Civil air: no major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 31 total, 29 usable; 7 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 12 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: small system of wire, radiocommunications, and
radio relay links concentrated in southwestern area; 11,900 telephones;
stations--15 AM, 5 FM, 16 TV; satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, and 4 domestic
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie, paramilitary
Republican Guard, paramilitary Presidential Guard, paramilitary National
Police
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,713,566; 923,634 fit for
military service; 90,801 reach military age (18) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $20.6 million, 0.9% of GDP (1988)
_%_
_@_Nigeria
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 923,770 km2; land area: 910,770 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of California
_#_Land boundaries: 4,047 km total; Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km,
Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km
_#_Coastline: 853 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;