chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands
(since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Olindo
KOOLMAN (since 1 January 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister Jan (Henny) H. EMAN (since 29
July 1994) and Deputy Prime Minister Glenbert F. CROES
cabinet: Council of Ministers (elected by the Staten)
elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed for
a six-year term by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime
minister elected by the Staten for a four-year term; election last
held 12 July 1997 (next to be held by December 2001)
election results: inconclusive; no party won majority in December
1997 parliamentary elections; no new government formed as of May 1998
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats;
members elected by direct popular vote and serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 12 December 1997 (next to be held by NA
December 2001)
election results: percent of vote by party--NA; seats by party--AVP
10, MEP 9, OLA 2
Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice (judges are
appointed by the monarch)
Political parties and leaders: Electoral Movement Party or MEP
International organization participation: Caricom (observer),
ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WToO
(associate)
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (represented by the
Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Consul General James L. WILLIAMS
embassy: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Curacao
mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao
Flag description: blue, with two narrow, horizontal, yellow
stripes across the lower portion and a red, four-pointed star
outlined in white in the upper hoist-side corner
Economy
Economy--overview: Tourism is the mainstay of the Aruban economy,
although offshore banking and oil refining and storage are also
important. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last
decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities.
Construction has boomed, with hotel capacity five times the 1985
level. In addition, the reopening of the country's oil refinery in
1993, a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings,
has further spurred growth. Aruba's small labor force and less than
1% unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job
vacancies, despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years.
GDP: purchasing power parity--$1.5 billion (1997 est.)
GDP--real growth rate: 6% (1997)
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$22,000 (1997 est.)
GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1997)
Labor force: NA
Labor force--by occupation: most employment is in the tourist
industry (1996)
Unemployment rate: 0.6% (1996 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $345.3 million
expenditures: $378.5 million, including capital expenditures of $107
million (1997 est.)
Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity--production: 470 million kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)
Electricity--consumption: 470 million kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity--imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture--products: aloes; livestock; fish
Exports: $1.73 billion (including oil reexports)(1997)
Exports--commodities: mostly refined petroleum products
Exports--partners: US 64%, EU
Imports: $2.12 billion (1997)
Imports--commodities: food, consumer goods, manufactures,
petroleum products, crude oil for refining and reexport
Imports--partners: US 55.5%, Netherlands 12.3%, Japan 3.5%
Debt--external: $285 million (1996)
Economic aid--recipient: $26 million (1995); note?the Netherlands
provided a $127 million aid package to Aruba and Suriname in 1996
Currency: 1 Aruban florin (Af.) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Aruban florins (Af.) per US$1--1.7900 (fixed rate
since 1986)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 22,922 (1993 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: more than adequate
international: 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten (Netherlands
Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay links
Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 6, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997)
Televisions: 19,000 (1993 est.)
Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: 300 km
paved: 130 km
unpaved: 170 km
note: most coastal roads are paved, while unpaved roads serve large
tracts of the interior
Ports and harbors: Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas
Merchant marine:
total: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,366 GRT/1,595 DWT
(1998 est.)
Airports: 2 (1998 est.)
Airports--with paved runways:
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Military
Military--note: defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of
the Netherlands
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international: none
Illicit drugs: drug-money-laundering center and transit point for
narcotics bound for the US and Europe; added to the US list of major
drug producing or drug transit countries in December 1996
======================================================================
@Ashmore and Cartier Islands
---------------------------
Geography
Location: Southeastern Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean,
northwest of Australia
Geographic coordinates: 12 14 S, 123 05 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area:
total: 5 sq km
land: 5 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and
Cartier Island
Area--comparative: about eight times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 74.1 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 3 nm
Climate: tropical
Terrain: low with sand and coral
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 3 m
Natural resources: fish
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 100% (all grass and sand)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)
Natural hazards: surrounded by shoals and reefs that can pose
maritime hazards
Environment--current issues: NA
Environment--international agreements:
party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA
Geography--note: Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established
in August 1983
People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are only seasonal caretakers
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands
conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Data code: AT
Dependency status: territory of Australia; administered from
Canberra by the Australian Department of the Environment, Sport, and
Territories
Legal system: relevant laws of the Northern Territory of Australia
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (territory of Australia)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (territory of
Australia)
Flag description: the flag of Australia is used
Economy
Economy--overview: no economic activity
Transportation
Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only
Military
Military--note: defense is the responsibility of Australia;
periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian
Air Force
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international: none
======================================================================
@Atlantic Ocean
--------------
Geography
Location: body of water between Africa, Europe, Antarctica, and
the Western Hemisphere
Geographic coordinates: 0 00 N, 25 00 W
Map references: World
Area:
total: 82.217 million sq km
note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait,
Denmark Strait, Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea,
North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other
tributary water bodies
Area--comparative: slightly less than nine times the size of the
US; second-largest of the world's four oceans (after the Pacific
Ocean, but larger than Indian Ocean or Arctic Ocean)
Coastline: 111,866 km
Climate: tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of
Africa near Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea;
hurricanes can occur from May to December, but are most frequent
from August to November
Terrain: surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea,
Denmark Strait, and Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise
warm-water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern
Atlantic, counterclockwise warm-water gyre in the southern Atlantic;
the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged
north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m
highest point: in the Milwaukee Deep at sea level 0 m
Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals
(seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits,
polymetallic nodules, precious stones
Natural hazards: icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait,
and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have
been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands;
icebergs from Antarctica occur in the extreme southern Atlantic
Ocean; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme northern
Atlantic from October to May and extreme southern Atlantic from May
to October; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to
September
Environment--current issues: endangered marine species include the
manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; drift net fishing is
hastening the decline of fish stocks and contributing to
international disputes; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US,
southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean
Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North
Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea,
North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea
Environment--international agreements:
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography--note: major chokepoints include the Dardanelles, Strait
of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic
straits include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona
Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; the Equator
divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South
Atlantic Ocean
Government
Data code: none; the US Government has not approved a standard
for hydrographic codes--see the Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic
Data Codes appendix
Economy
Economy--overview: The Atlantic Ocean provides some of the world's
most heavily trafficked sea routes, between and within the Eastern
and Western Hemispheres. Other economic activity includes the
exploitation of natural resources, e.g., fishing, the dredging of
aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and production of crude oil and
natural gas (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North Sea).
Communications
Telephone system:
international: numerous submarine cables with most between
continental Europe and the UK, between North America and the UK, and
in the Mediterranean; numerous direct links across Atlantic via
satellite networks
Transportation
Ports and harbors: Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers (Algeria), Antwerp
(Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Casablanca
(Morocco), Colon (Panama), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dakar (Senegal),
Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas
(Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal),
London (UK), Marseille (France), Montevideo (Uruguay), Montreal
(Canada), Naples (Italy), New Orleans (US), New York (US), Oran
(Algeria), Oslo (Norway), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Rio de
Janeiro (Brazil), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Saint Petersburg
(Russia), Stockholm (Sweden)
Transportation--note: Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two
important waterways
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international: some maritime disputes (see littoral
states)
======================================================================
@Australia
---------
Introduction
Background: Australia became a British commonwealth in 1901.
Blessed by rich natural resources, the country enjoyed rapid gains
in herding, agriculture, and manufacturing and made a major
contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. Australia
subsequently developed its minerals, metals, and fossil fuel
markets, all of which have become key Australian exports. Long-term
concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone
layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially
the Great Barrier Reef. Sydney will host the 2000 summer Olympics.
Geography
Location: Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the
South Pacific Ocean
Geographic coordinates: 27 00 S, 133 00 E
Map references: Oceania
Area:
total: 7,686,850 sq km
land: 7,617,930 sq km
water: 68,920 sq km
note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island
Area--comparative: slightly smaller than the US
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 25,760 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east;
tropical in north
Terrain: mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in
southeast
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
highest point: Mount Kosciusko 2,229 m
Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver,
uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds,
natural gas, petroleum
Land use:
arable land: 6%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 54%
forests and woodland: 19%
other: 21% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 21,070 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: cyclones along the coast; severe droughts
Environment--current issues: soil erosion from overgrazing,
industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices;
soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water;
desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the
natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great
Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the
world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a
tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources
Environment--international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands,
Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification
Geography--note: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest
country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern
coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the
Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer
People
Population: 18,783,551 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 21% (male 2,023,569; female 1,926,901)
15-64 years: 66% (male 6,317,045; female 6,172,735)
65 years and over: 13% (male 1,022,485; female 1,320,816) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.9% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 13.21 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 6.9 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.11 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 80.14 years
male: 77.22 years
female: 83.23 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Australian(s)
adjective: Australian
Ethnic groups: Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%
Religions: Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian
24.3%, non-Christian 11%
Languages: English, native languages
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100%
male: 100%
female: 100% (1980 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia
Data code: AS
Government type: democratic, federal-state system recognizing the
British monarch as sovereign
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)
National holiday: Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901
Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Sir William DEANE (since 16 February
1996)
head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11
March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister Timothy Andrew FISCHER (since 11
March 1996)
cabinet: Cabinet selected from among the members of Federal
Parliament by the governor general on the advice of the prime
minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general
appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the
leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is
usually appointed prime minister by the governor general for a
three-year term
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the
Senate (76 seats--12 from each of the six states and two from each of
the two territories; one-half of the members elected every three
years by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of
Representatives (148 seats; members elected by popular vote on the
basis of proportional representation to serve three-year terms; no
state can have fewer than five representatives)
elections: Senate--last held 3 October 1998 (next to be held by
October 2001); House of Representatives--last held 3 October 1998
(next to be held by October 2001)
election results: Senate--percent of vote by party--NA; seats by
party--Liberal-National 35, Labor 29, Australian Democrats 9, Greens
1, One Nation 1, independent 1; House of Representatives--percent of
vote by party--NA; seats by party--Liberal-National 80, Labor 67,
independent 1
Judicial branch: High Court, the Chief Justice and six other
justices are appointed by the governor general
Political parties and leaders:
Political pressure groups and leaders: Australian Democratic
Labor Party (anti-Communist Labor Party splinter group); Peace and
Nuclear Disarmament Action (Nuclear Disarmament Party splinter group)
International organization participation: ANZUS, APEC, AsDB,
Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NAM
(guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Andrew Sharp PEACOCK
chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, and
San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Genta Hawkins HOLMES
embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital
Territory 2600
mailing address: APO AP 96549
consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney
Flag description: 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
Economy--overview: Australia has a prosperous Western-style
capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP at the level of the four
dominant West European economies. Rich in natural resources,
Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals,
metals, and fossil fuels. Commodities account for 57% of the value
of total exports, so that 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 continues to be severe. Australia has suffered
from the low growth and high unemployment characterizing the OECD
countries in the early 1990s, but the economy has expanded at
reasonably steady rates in recent years. Canberra's emphasis on
reforms is a key factor behind the economy's resilience to the
regional crisis and its stronger than expected growth rate that
reached 4.5% last year. After a slow start in 1998, exports
rebounded in the second half of the year because of a sharp currency
depreciation and a redirection of sales to Europe, North America,
and Latin America.
GDP: purchasing power parity--$393.9 billion (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate: 4.5% (1998 est.)
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$21,200 (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: 4%
industry: 31%
services: 65% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 24.8% (1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1% (1998)
Labor force: 9.2 million (December 1997)
Labor force--by occupation: services 73%, industry 22%,
agriculture 5% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: 8.1% (1998)
Budget:
revenues: $90.73 billion
expenditures: $89.04 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(FY98/99 est.)
Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food
processing, chemicals, steel
Industrial production growth rate: 1.2% (1995)
Electricity--production: 166.683 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source:
fossil fuel: 91.14%
hydro: 8.84%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.02% (1996)
Electricity--consumption: 166.683 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity--imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture--products: wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle,
sheep, poultry
Exports: $56 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports--commodities: coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore,
wheat, machinery and transport equipment
Exports--partners: Japan 20%, ASEAN 16%, EU 10%, South Korea 9%,
US 9%, NZ 8%, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China (1997)
Imports: $61 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Imports--commodities: machinery and transport equipment, computers
and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude
oil and petroleum products
Imports--partners: EU 25%, US 23%, Japan 13%, China, NZ (1997)
Debt--external: $156 billion (June 1997)
Economic aid--donor: ODA, $1.43 billion (FY97/98)
Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1--1.56 (February
1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996), 1.3486 (1995),
1.3668 (1994)
Fiscal year: 1 July--30 June
Communications
Telephones: 8.7 million (1987 est.)