_#_Climate: temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool,
partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north
_#_Terrain: mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west
_#_Natural resources: zinc, iron ore, lead, copper, silver, timber,
uranium, hydropower potential
_#_Land use: arable land 7%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures
2%; forest and woodland 64%; other 27%; includes irrigated NEGL%
_#_Environment: water pollution; acid rain
_#_Note: strategic location along Danish Straits linking
Baltic and North Seas
_*_People
_#_Population: 8,564,317 (July 1991), growth rate 0.4% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 3 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 81 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Swede(s); adjective--Swedish
_#_Ethnic divisions: homogeneous white population; small Lappish
minority; foreign born or first-generation immigrants (Finns, Yugoslavs,
Danes, Norwegians, Greeks, Turks) about 12%
_#_Religion: Evangelical Lutheran 94%, Roman Catholic 1.5%,
Pentecostal 1%, other 3.5% (1987)
_#_Language: Swedish, small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities;
immigrants speak native languages
_#_Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1979 est.)
_#_Labor force: 4,572,000 (October 1990); government services 37.4%,
mining, manufacturing, electricity, and water service 23.1%, private
services 22.2%, transportation and communications 7%, construction 6.3%,
agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting 3.8%, other 0.2% (1988)
_#_Organized labor: 80% of labor force (1990 est.)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Kingdom of Sweden
_#_Type: constitutional monarchy
_#_Capital: Stockholm
_#_Administrative divisions: 24 provinces (lan, singular and
plural); Alvsborgs Lan, Blekinge Lan, Gavleborgs Lan,
Goteborgs och Bohus Lan, Gotlands Lan, Hallands Lan, Jamtlands
Lan, Jonkopings Lan, Kalmar Lan, Kopparbergs Lan,
Kristianstads Lan, Kronobergs Lan, Malmohus Lan, Norrbottens
Lan, Orebro Lan, Ostergotlands Lan, Skaraborgs Lan,
Sodermanlands Lan, Stockholms Lan, Uppsala Lan, Varmlands
Lan, Vasterbottens Lan, Vasternorrlands Lan, Vastmanlands
Lan
_#_Independence: 6 June 1809, constitutional monarchy established
_#_Constitution: 1 January 1975
_#_Legal system: civil law system influenced by customary law; accepts
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
_#_National holiday: Day of the Swedish Flag, 6 June
_#_Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Riksdag)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Hogsta Domstolen)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--King CARL XVI Gustaf (since 19 September 1973);
Heir Apparent Princess VICTORIA Ingrid Alice Desiree, daughter of the
King (born 14 July 1977);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Carl BILDT (since 3 October
1991)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
ruling four-party coalition consists of the
Moderate Party (conservative), Carl BILDT;
Liberal People's Party, Bengt WESTERBERG;
Center Party, Olof JOHANSSON; and the
Christian Democratic Party, Alf SVENSSON;
Social Democratic Party, Ingvar CARLSSON;
New Democracy Party, Count Ian WACHMEISTER;
Left Party (VP; Communist), Lars WERNER;
Swedish Communist Party (SKP), Rune PETTERSSON;
Communist Workers' Party, Rolf HAGEL;
Green Party, no formal leader
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
Riksdag--last held 15 September 1991 (next to be held
September 1994);
results--Social Democratic 37.6%, Moderate (conservative)
21.9%, Liberal People's Party 9.1%, Center Party 8.5%, Christian
Democrats 7.1%, New Democracy 6.7%, Left Party (Communist) 4.5%, Green
Party 3.4%, other 1.2%;
seats--(349 total) Social Democratic 138, Moderate (conservative) 80,
Liberal People's Party 33, Center Party 31, Christian Democrats 26, New
Democracy 25, Left Party (Communist) 16; note: the Green Party leaves
the Riksdag because it received less than the required 4% of the vote
_#_Communists: VP and SKP; VP, formerly the Left Party-Communists,
is reported to have roughly 17,800 members and attracted 5.8% of the vote
in the 1988 election; VP dropped the Communist label in 1990, but
maintains a Marxist ideology
_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer) AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, CSCE,
EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-6, G-8, G-9, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTERPOL,
INTELSAT, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NC,
NEA, NIB, OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Anders THUNBORG; Chancery at
Suite 1200, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037;
telephone (202) 944-5600; there are Swedish Consulates General in
Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York;
US--Ambassador Charles E. REDMAN; Embassy at Strandvagen 101,
S-115 89 Stockholm; telephone [46] (8) 783-5300
_#_Flag: blue with a yellow cross that extends to the edges of the
flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the
style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Aided by a long period of peace and neutrality during
World War I through World War II, Sweden has achieved an enviable
standard of living under a mixed system of high-tech capitalism and
extensive welfare benefits. It has essentially full employment,
a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external
communications, and a skilled labor force. Timber, hydropower, and
iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy that is heavily
oriented toward foreign trade. Privately owned firms account for
about 90% of industrial output, of which the engineering
sector accounts for 50% of output and exports. For some observers,
the Swedish model has succeeded in making economic efficiency
and social egalitarianism complementary, rather than competitive,
goals. Others argue that the Swedish model is on the verge of
collapsing by pointing to the serious economic problems Sweden
faces in 1991: high inflation and absenteeism, growing unemployment
and deficits, and declining international competitiveness. In 1990,
to improve the economy, the government approved a mandate for
Sweden to seek EC membership and an austerity and privatization
package and implemented a major tax reform. These reforms may
succeed in turning the economy around in 1992.
_#_GDP: $137.8 billion, per capita $16,200; real growth rate 0.3%
(1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10.9% (1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: 1.6% (1990)
_#_Budget: revenues $60.1 billion; expenditures $56.7 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (FY89)
_#_Exports: $57.5 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--machinery, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp
and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals, petroleum and
petroleum products;
partners--EC 54.4%, (FRG 14.2%, UK 10.1%, Denmark 6.6%), US 8.6%,
Norway 8.2%
_#_Imports: $54.7 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities--machinery, petroleum and petroleum products,
chemicals, motor vehicles, foodstuffs, iron and steel, clothing;
partners--EC 55.3%, US 8.4%
_#_External debt: $14.1 billion (December 1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 2.0% (1990)
_#_Electricity: 39,716,000 kW capacity; 142,000 million kWh produced,
16,700 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio
and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed
foods, motor vehicles
_#_Agriculture: animal husbandry predominates, with milk and dairy
products accounting for 37% of farm income; main crops--grains, sugar
beets, potatoes; 100% self-sufficient in grains and potatoes, 85%
self-sufficient in sugar beets
_#_Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $10.3
billion
_#_Currency: Swedish krona (plural--kronor);
1 Swedish krona (SKr) = 100 ore
_#_Exchange rates: Swedish kronor (SKr) per US$1--5.6402 (January
1991), 5.9188 (1990), 6.4469 (1989), 6.1272 (1988), 6.3404 (1987), 7.1236
(1986), 8.6039 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 12,000 km total; Swedish State Railways (SJ)--10,819 km
1.435-meter standard gauge, 6,955 km electrified and 1,152 km double
track; 182 km 0.891-meter gauge; 117 km rail ferry service; privately
owned railways--511 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (332 km electrified);
371 km 0.891-meter gauge (all electrified)
_#_Highways: 97,400 km (51,899 km paved, 20,659 km gravel, 24,842 km
unimproved earth)
_#_Inland waterways: 2,052 km navigable for small steamers and barges
_#_Pipelines: 84 km natural gas
_#_Ports: Gavle, Goteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Kalmar, Malmo,
Stockholm; numerous secondary and minor ports
_#_Merchant marine: 182 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,226,923
GRT/2,879,057 DWT; includes 9 short-sea passenger, 29 cargo, 3 container,
45 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 11 vehicle carrier, 2 railcar carrier,
28 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 27 chemical tanker,
6 specialized tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 8 combination ore/oil,
12 bulk, 1 combination bulk
_#_Civil air: 115 major transports
_#_Airports: 256 total, 254 usable; 137 with permanent-surface
runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
92 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: excellent domestic and international
facilities; 8,200,000 telephones; stations--4 AM, 56 (321 relays) FM,
111 (925 relays) TV; 5 submarine coaxial cables; communication satellite
earth stations operating in the INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean) and EUTELSAT
systems
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Swedish Army, Royal Swedish Navy, Royal Swedish Air Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,136,227; 1,865,645 fit for
military service; 55,198 reach military age (19) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $4.9 billion, 2.5% of GDP (FY90)
_%_
_@_Switzerland
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 41,290 km2; land area: 39,770 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of New Jersey
_#_Land boundaries: 1,852 km total; Austria 164 km, France 573 km,
Italy 740 km, Liechtenstein 41 km, Germany 334 km
_#_Coastline: none--landlocked
_#_Maritime claims: none--landlocked
_#_Climate: temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy,
rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional
showers
_#_Terrain: mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a
central plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes
_#_Natural resources: hydropower potential, timber, salt
_#_Land use: arable land 10%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
40%; forest and woodland 26%; other 23%; includes irrigated 1%
_#_Environment: dominated by Alps
_#_Note: landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe
_*_People
_#_Population: 6,783,961 (July 1991), growth rate 0.6% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 3 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 5 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 83 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Swiss (sing. & pl.); adjective--Swiss
_#_Ethnic divisions: total population--German 65%, French 18%,
Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other 6%; Swiss nationals--German 74%,
French 20%, Italian 4%, Romansch 1%, other 1%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 47.6%, Protestant 44.3%, other 8.1%
(1980)
_#_Language: total population--German 65%, French 18%, Italian 12%,
Romansch 1%, other 4%; Swiss nationals--German 74%, French 20%, Italian
4%, Romansch 1%, other 1%
_#_Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1980 est.)
_#_Labor force: 3,310,000; 904,095 foreign workers, mostly Italian;
services 50%, industry and crafts 33%, government 10%, agriculture and
forestry 6%, other 1% (1989)
_#_Organized labor: 20% of labor force
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Swiss Confederation
_#_Type: federal republic
_#_Capital: Bern
_#_Administrative divisions: 26 cantons (cantons, singular--canton in
French; cantoni, singular--cantone in Italian; kantone, singular--kanton
in German); Aargau, Ausser-Rhoden, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern,
Fribourg, Geneve, Glarus, Graubunden, Inner-Rhoden, Jura, Luzern,
Neuchatel, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Sankt Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz,
Solothurn, Thurgau, Ticino, Uri, Valais, Vaud, Zug, Zurich
_#_Independence: 1 August 1291
_#_Constitution: 29 May 1874
_#_Legal system: civil law system influenced by customary law;
judicial review of legislative acts, except with respect to federal
decrees of general obligatory character; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
_#_National holiday: Anniversary of the Founding of the Swiss
Confederation, 1 August (1291)
_#_Executive branch: president, vice president, Federal Council
(German--Bundesrat, French--Conseil Federal, Italian--Consiglio
Federale)
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly
(German--Bundesversammlung, French--Assemblee Federale,
Italian--Assemblea Federale) consists of an upper council or Council
of States (German--Standerat, French--Conseil des Etats,
Italian--Consiglio degli Stati) and a lower council or National
Council (German--Nationalrat, French--Conseil National,
Italian--Consiglio Nazionale)
_#_Judicial branch: Federal Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Flavio COTTI
(1991 calendar year; presidency rotates annually); Vice President Rene
FELBER (term runs concurrently with that of president)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Free Democratic Party (FDP), Bruno HUNZIKER, president;
Social Democratic Party (SPS), Helmut HUBACHER, chairman;
Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP), Eva SEGMULLER-WEBER,
chairman;
Swiss People's Party (SVP), Hans UHLMANN, president;
Green Party (GPS), Peter SCHMID, president;
Automobile Party (AP), DREYER;
Alliance of Independents' Party (LdU), Dr. Franz JAEGER, president;
Swiss Democratic Party (SD), NA;
Evangelical People's Party (EVP), Max DUNKI, president;
Workers' Party (PdA; Communist), Jean SPIELMANN, general secretary;
Ticino League, leader NA
Liberal Party (LPS), Gilbert COUTAU, president;
National Action Party (NA), Rudolph KELLER, chairman;
Republican Party (RP), Franz BAUMGARTNER, president;
Progressive Organizations of Switzerland (POCH), Georg DEGEN, secretary;
Unitary Socialist Party (PSU), Dario ROBBIANI, president
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 20
_#_Elections:
Council of States--last held throughout 1991 (next to be
held 1995;
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(46 total) FDP 15, CVP 14, SVP 4, LPS 3, LDU 1; note--9
seats require run-off elections, to be held in November1991
National Council--last held 20 October 1991 (next to be
held October 1995);
results--FDP %, SPS %, CVP %, SVP %, GPS %,
LPS %, AP %, LDU %,SD %, EVP %, Workers Party %,
Ticino League 23%, other %;
seats--(200 total) FDP 44, SPS 42, CVP 37, SVP 25, GPS 14, LPS 10,
AP 8, LDU 6, SD 5, EVP 3, Workers Party 2, Ticino League 2, other 2
_#_Communists: 4,500 members (est.)
_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, CSCE,
EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-8, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
IEA, IFAD, ILO, IMF (observer), IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA,
UN (observer), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Edouard BRUNNER; Chancery at
2900 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 745-7900;
there are Swiss Consulates General in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los
Angeles, New York, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Joseph B. GILDENHORN; Embassy at
Jubilaeumstrasse 93, 3005 Bern; telephone [41] (31) 437-011;
there is a Branch Office of the Embassy in Geneva and a
Consulate General in Zurich
_#_Flag: red square with a bold, equilateral white cross in the
center that does not extend to the edges of the flag
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Switzerland's economic success is matched in few, if any,
other nations. Per capita output, general living standards, education
and science, health care, and diet are unsurpassed in Europe. Inflation
remains low because of sound government policy and harmonious
labor-management relations. Unemployment is negligible, a marked
contrast to the larger economies of Western Europe. This economic
stability helps promote the important banking and tourist sectors. Since
World War II, Switzerland's economy has adjusted smoothly to the great
changes in output and trade patterns in Europe and presumably can adjust
to the challenges of the 1990s, in particular, the further economic
integration of Western Europe and the amazingly rapid changes in East
European political/economic prospects.
_#_GDP: $126 billion, per capita $18,700; real growth rate 2.6%
(1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.3% (1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: 0.5% (1990)
_#_Budget: revenues $24.0 billion; expenditures $23.8 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)
_#_Exports: $63.4 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--machinery and equipment, precision instruments, metal
products, foodstuffs, textiles and clothing;
partners--Western Europe 64% (EC 56%, other 8%), US 9%, Japan 4%
_#_Imports: $70.5 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities--agricultural products, machinery and transportation
equipment, chemicals, textiles, construction materials;
partners--Western Europe 78% (EC 71%, other 7%), US 6%
_#_External debt: $NA
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 2.1% (1990)
_#_Electricity: 17,710,000 kW capacity; 59,070 million kWh produced,
8,930 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision
instruments
_#_Agriculture: dairy farming predominates; less than 50%
self-sufficient; food shortages--fish, refined sugar, fats and oils
(other than butter), grains, eggs, fruits, vegetables, meat
_#_Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $3.5
billion
_#_Currency: Swiss franc, franken, or franco (plural--francs, franken,
or franchi); 1 Swiss franc, franken, or franco (SwF) = 100 centimes,
rappen, or centesimi
_#_Exchange rates: Swiss francs, franken, or franchi (SwF) per
US$1--1.2724 (January 1991), 1.3892 (1990), 1.6359 (1989), 1.4633
(1988), 1.4912 (1987), 1.7989 (1986), 2.4571 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 5,174 km total; 2,971 km are government owned
and 2,203 km are nongovernment owned; the government network consists
of 2,897 km 1.435-meter standard gauge and 74 km 1.000-meter narrow
gauge track; 1,432 km double track, 99% electrified; the nongovernment
network consists of 710 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 1,418 km
1.000-meter gauge, and 75 km 0.790-meter gauge track, 100% electrified
_#_Highways: 62,145 km total (all paved), of which 18,620 km are
canton and 1,057 km are national highways (740 km autobahn); 42,468 km
are communal roads
_#_Pipelines: 314 km crude oil; 1,506 km natural gas
_#_Inland waterways: 65 km; Rhine (Basel to Rheinfelden, Schaffhausen
to Bodensee); 12 navigable lakes
_#_Ports: Basel (river port)
_#_Merchant marine: 20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 258,678
GRT/441,555 DWT; includes 6 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 chemical
tanker, 2 specialized tanker, 7 bulk
_#_Civil air: 89 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 67 total, 65 usable; 42 with permanent-surface runways;
2 with runways over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 17 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: excellent domestic, international, and
broadcast services; 5,890,000 telephones; stations--6 AM, 36 (400
relays) FM, 145 (1,250 relays) TV; communications satellite earth
stations operating in the INTELSAT (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian
Ocean) and EUTELSAT systems
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Air Force, Frontier Guards, Fortification Guards
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,802,005; 1,549,347 fit for
military service; 42,619 reach military age (20) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $4.6 billion, 2% of GDP (1990)
_%_
_@_Syria
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 185,180 km2; land area: 184,050 km2 (including 1,295
km2 of Israeli-occupied territory)
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than North Dakota
_#_Land boundaries: 2,253 km total; Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km,
Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km
_#_Coastline: 193 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 6 nm beyond territorial sea limit;