Latvia is rapidly becoming a dynamic market economy, rivaled only by
Estonia among the former Soviet states in the speed of its
transformation. The transition has been painful with GDP falling over
45% in 1992-93, according to official statistics, and industrial
production experiencing even steeper declines. Nevertheless, the
government's tough monetary policies and reform program, which foster
the development of the private sector and market mechanisms, have kept
inflation low, created a dynamic private sector - much of which is not
captured in official statistics - and expanded trade ties with the
West. Much of agriculture is already privatized and the government
plans to step up the pace of privatization of state enterprises. The
economy is now poised for recovery and will benefit from the country's
strategic location on the Baltic Sea, its well-educated population,
and its diverse - albeit largely obsolete - industrial structure.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $13.2 billion (1993 estimate from
the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and
published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as
extrapolated to 1993 using official Latvian statistics, which are very
uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990)
National product real growth rate:
-5% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
$4,810 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2% per month (1993 average)
Unemployment rate:
5.6% (December 1993)
Budget:
revenues:
$NA
expenditures:
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
$429 million from non-FSU countries (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
oil products, timber, ferrous metals, dairy products, furniture,
textiles
partners:
Russia, other CIS countries, Western Europe
Imports:
$NA
commodities:
fuels, cars, ferrous metals, chemicals
partners:
Russia, other CIS countries, Western Europe
External debt:
$NA
Industrial production:
growth rate -38% (1992 est.)
Electricity:
capacity:
2,140,000 kW
production:
5.8 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
2,125 kWh (1992)
Industries:
employs 41% of labor force; highly diversified; dependent on imports
for energy, raw materials, and intermediate products; produces buses,
vans, street and railroad cars, synthetic fibers, agricultural
machinery, fertilizers, washing machines, radios, electronics,
pharmaceuticals, processed foods, textiles
Agriculture:
employs 16% of labor force; principally dairy farming and livestock
feeding; products - meat, milk, eggs, grain, sugar beets, potatoes,
vegetables; fishing and fish packing
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central and Southwest Asia
and Latin America to Western Europe; limited producer of illicit
opium; mostly for domestic consumption; also produces illicit
amphetamines for export
Economic aid:
$NA
Currency:
1 lat = 100 cents; introduced NA March 1993
Exchange rates:
lats per US$1 - 0.5917 (January 1994), 1.32 (March 1993)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
@Latvia, Communications
Railroads:
2,400 km (1,524-mm gauge); 270 km electrified
Highways:
total:
59,500 km
paved and graveled:
33,000 km
unpaved:
earth 26,500 km (1990)
Inland waterways:
300 km perennially navigable
Pipelines:
crude oil 750 km; refined products 780 km; natural gas 560 km (1992)
Ports:
coastal - Riga, Ventspils, Liepaja; inland - Daugavpils
Merchant marine:
93 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 850,840 GRT/1,107,403 DWT, cargo
15, container 2, oil tanker 41, refrigerated cargo 27,
roll-on/roll-off cargo 8
Airports:
total:
50
usable:
15
with permanent-surface runways:
11
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
7
with runways 1,060-2,439 m:
7
note:
a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip
Telecommunications:
Latvia is better provided with telephone service than most of the
other former Soviet republics; subscriber circuits 660,000; subscriber
density 240 per 1,000 persons (1993); an NMT-450 analog cellular
telephone network covers 75% of Latvia's population; international
traffic carried by leased connection to the Moscow international
gateway switch and through the new Ericsson AXE local/transit digital
telephone exchange in Riga and through the Finnish cellular net;
electronic mail capability by Sprint data network; broadcasting
services NA
@Latvia, Defense Forces
Branches:
Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Security Forces (internal and border
troops), Border Guard, Home Guard (Zemessardze)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 652,444; fit for military service 514,055; reach
military age (18) annually 18,803 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
176 million rubles, 3%-5% of GDP; note - conversion of the military
budget into US dollars using the prevailing exchange rate could
produce misleading results
@Lebanon
Header
Note:
Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions
and regaining its national sovereignty since the end of the
devastating 16-year civil war in October 1990. Under the Ta'if accord
- the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have
established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving
Muslims a greater say in the political process. Since December 1990,
the Lebanese have formed three cabinets and conducted the first
legislative election in 20 years. Most of the militias have been
weakened or disbanded. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has seized vast
quantities of weapons used by the militias during the war and extended
central government authority over about one-half of the country.
Hizballah, the radical Sh'ia party, retains most of its weapons.
Foreign forces still occupy areas of Lebanon. Israel maintains troops
in southern Lebanon and continues to support a proxy militia, The Army
of South Lebanon (ASL), along a narrow stretch of territory contiguous
to its border. The ASL's enclave encompasses this self-declared
security zone and about 20 kilometers north to the strategic town of
Jazzine. As of December 1993, Syria maintained about 30,000-35,000
troops in Lebanon. These troops are based mainly in Beirut, North
Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's deployment was legitimized by
the Arab League early in Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if accord.
Citing the continued weakness of the LAF, Beirut's requests, and
failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the
constitutional reforms in the Ta'if accord, Damascus has so far
refused to withdraw its troops from Beirut.
@Lebanon, Geography
Location:
Middle East, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and
Syria
Map references:
Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
10,400 sq km
land area:
10,230 sq km
comparative area:
about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries:
total 454 km, Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km
Coastline:
225 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line; Israeli troops in
southern Lebanon since June 1982; Syrian troops in northern, central,
and eastern Lebanon since October 1976
Climate:
Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers;
Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows
Terrain:
narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa' (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and
Anti-Lebanon Mountains
Natural resources:
limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit
region
Land use:
arable land:
21%
permanent crops:
9%
meadows and pastures:
1%
forest and woodland:
8%
other:
61%
Irrigated land:
860 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air and water pollution
natural hazards:
NA
international agreements:
party to - Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution;
signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine
Life Conservation
Note:
Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an
international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate,
protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion,
clan, and ethnicity
@Lebanon, People
Population:
3,620,395 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.98% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
27.89 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
6.55 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
-1.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
39.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
69.35 years
male:
66.92 years
female:
71.9 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
3.39 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Lebanese
Ethnic divisions:
Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%
Religions:
Islam 70% (5 legally recognized Islamic groups - Alawite or Nusayri,
Druze, Isma'ilite, Shi'a, Sunni), Christian 30% (11 legally recognized
Christian groups - 4 Orthodox Christian, 6 Catholic, 1 Protestant),
Judaism NEGL%
Languages:
Arabic (official), French (official), Armenian, English
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
80%
male:
88%
female:
73%
Labor force:
650,000
by occupation:
industry, commerce, and services 79%, agriculture 11%, government 10%
(1985)
@Lebanon, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Republic of Lebanon
conventional short form:
Lebanon
local long form:
Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
local short form:
none
Digraph:
LE
Type:
republic
Capital:
Beirut
Administrative divisions:
5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Biqa, 'Al Janub,
Ash Shamal, Bayrut, Jabal Lubnan
Independence:
22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French
administration)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 22 November (1943)
Constitution:
23 May 1926, amended a number of times
Legal system:
mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no
judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Suffrage:
21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age
21 with elementary education
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Ilyas HARAWI (since 24 November 1989); note - by custom, the
president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni
Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shi'a Muslim
head of government:
Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 22 October 1992)
cabinet:
Cabinet; chosen by the president in consultation with the members of
the National Assembly
Legislative branch:
unicameral
National Assembly:
(Arabic - Majlis Alnuwab, French - Assemblee Nationale) Lebanon's
first legislative election in 20 years was held in the summer of 1992;
the National Assembly is composed of 128 deputies, one-half Christian
and one-half Muslim; its mandate expires in 1996
Judicial branch:
four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases
and one court for criminal cases)
Political parties and leaders:
political party activity is organized along largely sectarian lines;
numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political
figures and followers motivated by religious, clan, and economic
considerations
Member of:
ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Riad TABBARAH
chancery:
2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 939-6300
FAX:
(202) 939-6324
consulate(s) general:
Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Mark HAMBLEY
mailing embassy:
Antelias, Beirut
address:
P. O. Box 70-840, PSC 815, Box 2, Beirut; FPO AE 09836-0002
telephone:
[961] 417774 or 415802 through 415803, 402200, 403300
FAX:
[961] (1) 407-112
Flag:
three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red
with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band
@Lebanon, Economy
Overview:
Since 1975 civil war has seriously damaged Lebanon's economic
infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended
Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub.
Following October 1990, however, a tentative peace has enabled the
central government to begin restoring control in Beirut, collect
taxes, and regain access to key port and government facilities. The
battered economy has also been propped up by a financially sound
banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers.
Family remittances, banking transactions, manufactured and farm
exports, the narcotics trade, and international emergency aid are the
main sources of foreign exchange. In the relatively settled year of
1991, industrial production, agricultural output, and exports showed
substantial gains. The further rebuilding of the war-ravaged country
was delayed in 1992 because of an upturn in political wrangling. In
October 1992, Rafiq HARIRI was appointed Prime Minister. HARIRI, a
wealthy entrepreneur, has announced ambitious plans for Lebanon's
reconstruction which involve a substantial influx of foreign aid and
investment. Progress on restoring basic services is limited. Since
Prime Minister HARIRI's appointment, the most significant improvement
lies in the stabilization of the Lebanese pound, which had gained over
30% in value by yearend 1993. The year 1993 was marked by efforts of
the new administration to encourage domestic and foreign investment
and to obtain additional international assistance.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $6.1 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
4.2% (1992)
National product per capita:
$1,720 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
35% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
35% (1993 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$990 million
expenditures:
$1.98 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)
Exports:
$925 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities:
agricultural products, chemicals, textiles, precious and semiprecious
metals and jewelry, metals and metal products
partners:
Saudi Arabia 21%, Switzerland 9.5%, Jordan 6%, Kuwait 12%, US 5%
Imports:
$4.1 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
commodities:
Consumer goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products
partners:
Italy 14%, France 12%, US 6%, Turkey 5%, Saudi Arabia 3%
External debt:
$700 million (1993 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 25% (1993 est.)
Electricity:
capacity:
1,300,000 kW
production:
3.413 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
990 kWh (1992)
Industries:
banking, food processing, textiles, cement, oil refining, chemicals,
jewelry, some metal fabricating
Agriculture:
accounts for about one-third of GDP; principal products - citrus
fruits, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco, hemp (hashish), sheep,
goats; not self-sufficient in grain
Illicit drugs:
illicit producer of hashish and heroin for the international drug
trade; hashish production is shipped to Western Europe, the Middle
East, and North and South America; increasingly a key locus of cocaine
processing and trafficking
Economic aid:
aid for Lebanon's reconstruction programs currently totals $1.3
billion since October 1992, including a $175 million loan from the
World Bank
Currency:
1 Lebanese pound (#L) = 100 piasters
Exchange rates:
Lebanese pounds (#L) per US$1 - 1,713.00 (December 1993), 2,200.00
(1992), 928.23 (1991), 695.09 (1990), 496.69 (1989)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
@Lebanon, Communications
Railroads:
system in disrepair, considered inoperable
Highways:
total:
7,300 km
paved:
6,200 km
unpaved:
gravel 450 km; improved earth 650 km
Pipelines:
crude oil 72 km (none in operation)
Ports:
Beirut, Tripoli, Ra'Sil'ata, Juniyah, Sidon, Az Zahrani, Tyre, Jubayl,
Shikka Jadidah
Merchant marine:
63 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 268,268 GRT/399,054 DWT, bulk 4,
cargo 39, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 2,
livestock carrier 9, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2,
specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 2, combination ore/oil 1
Airports:
total:
9
usable:
7
with permanent-surface runways:
5
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
3
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
1
Telecommunications:
telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding
still underway; 325,000 telephones (95 telephones per 1,000 persons);
domestic traffic carried primarily by microwave radio relay and a
small amount of cable; international traffic by satellite - 1 Indian
Ocean INTELSAT earth station and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth
station (erratic operations), coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio
relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan, 3 submarine
coaxial cables; broadcast stations - 5 AM, 3 FM, 13 TV (numerous AM
and FM stations are operated sporadically by various factions)
@Lebanon, Defense Forces
Branches:
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; including Army, Navy, and Air Force)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 827,267; fit for military service 514,291
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $271 million, 8.2% of GDP (1992 budget)
@Lesotho, Geography
Location:
Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
Map references:
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
30,350 sq km
land area:
30,350 sq km
comparative area:
slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries:
total 909 km, South Africa 909 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none; landlocked
International disputes:
none
Climate:
temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Terrain:
mostly highland with some plateaus, hills, and mountains
Natural resources:
water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals
Land use:
arable land:
10%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
66%
forest and woodland:
0%
other:
24%
Irrigated land:
NA sq km
Environment:
current issues:
population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in
overgrazing, severe soil erosion, soil exhaustion; desertification
natural hazards:
subject to periods of drought
international agreements:
party to - Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands;
signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Note:
landlocked; surrounded by South Africa; Highlands Water Project will
control, store, and redirect water to South Africa
Population:
1,944,493 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.48% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
34 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
9.19 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
69.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
62.14 years
male:
60.32 years
female:
64.01 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.5 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective:
Basotho
Ethnic divisions:
Sotho 99.7%, Europeans 1,600, Asians 800
Religions:
Christian 80%, rest indigenous beliefs
Languages:
Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1966)
total population:
59%
male:
44%
female:
68%
Labor force:
689,000 economically active
by occupation:
86.2% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture;
roughly 60% of active male labor force works in South Africa
@Lesotho, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form:
Lesotho
former:
Basutoland
Digraph:
LT
Type:
constitutional monarchy
Capital:
Maseru
Administrative divisions:
10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's
Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka
Independence:
4 October 1966 (from UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 4 October (1966)
Constitution:
2 April 1993
Legal system:
based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of
legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
21 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
King LETSIE III (since 12 November 1990)
head of government:
Prime Minister Ntsu MOKHEHLE (since 2 April 1993 )
cabinet:
Cabinet
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consisting of the Assembly or lower house whose
members are chosen by popular election and the Senate or upper house
whose members consist of the 22 principal chiefs and 10 other members
appointed by the ruling party; election held in March 1993 (first
since 1971); all 65 seats in the Assembly were won by the BCP
Judicial branch:
High Court, Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders:
Basotho National Party (BNP), Evaristus SEKHONYANA; Basutholand
Congress Party (BCP), Ntsu MOKHEHLE; National Independent Party (NIP),
A. C. MANYELI; Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP), Vincent MALEBO; United
Democratic Party, Charles MOFELI; Communist Party of Lesotho (CPL),
Jacob M. KENA
Member of:
ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU,
LORCS, NAM, OAU, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU,
WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Teboho KITLELI
chancery:
2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 797-5533 through 5536
FAX:
(202) 234-6815
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
(vacant); Charge d'Affaires Karl HOFMANN
embassy:
address NA, Maseru
mailing address:
P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho
telephone:
[266] 312-666
FAX:
[266] 310-116
Flag:
divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is
white bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed
spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green
triangle in the corner
@Lesotho, Economy