Religions: Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%,
Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12%
Languages: English
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97.4%
male: 98%
female: 96.8% (1995 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados
Data code: BB
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Bridgetown
Administrative divisions: 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint
Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint
Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas
note: the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status
Independence: 30 November 1966 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 30 November (1966)
Constitution: 30 November 1966
Legal system: English common law; no judicial review of
legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS
(since 1 June 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6
September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Billie MILLER (since 6
September 1994)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of
the prime minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary monarch; governor general
appointed by the monarch; prime minister appointed by the governor
general
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate
(21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of
Assembly (28 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to
serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly--last held 20 January 1999 (next to be
held by January 2004)
election results: House of Assembly--percent of vote by party--NA;
seats by party--BLP 26, DLP 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are
appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal
Service)
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Labor Party or DLP
Political pressure groups and leaders: Barbados Workers Union
International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB,
ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU,
LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Courtney N. BLACKMAN
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s) general: Coral Gables (Florida), Miami, and New York
consulate(s): Los Angeles
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador E. William CROTTY
embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street,
Bridgetown
mailing address: P.O. Box 302, Bridgetown; FPO AA 34055
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist
side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on
the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break
with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete
trident)
Economy
Economy--overview: Historically, the Barbadian economy had been
dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but
production in recent years has diversified into manufacturing and
tourism. The start of the Port Charles Marina project in
Speightstown helped the tourism industry continue to expand in
1996-98. Offshore finance and informatics are important foreign
exchange earners, and there is also a light manufacturing sector.
The government continues its efforts to reduce the unacceptably high
unemployment rate, encourage direct foreign investment, and
privatize remaining state-owned enterprises.
GDP: purchasing power parity--$2.9 billion (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate: 3% (1998 est.)
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$11,200 (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: 6%
industry: 15%
services: 79% (1996)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.6% (1997)
Labor force: 136,000 (1998 est.)
Labor force--by occupation: services 75%, industry 15%,
agriculture 10% (1996 est.)
Unemployment rate: 12% (1998 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $725.5 million
expenditures: $750.6 million, including capital expenditures of
$126.3 million (FY97/98 est.)
Industries: tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component
assembly for export
Industrial production growth rate: 0.8% (1996)
Electricity--production: 600 million kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)
Electricity--consumption: 600 million kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity--imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture--products: sugarcane, vegetables, cotton
Exports: $280 million (1997)
Exports--commodities: sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and
beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing
Exports--partners: Caricom 34.8%, US 18.4%, UK 16.6%, Canada 4.4%
(1996)
Imports: $982 million (1997)
Imports--commodities: consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs,
construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components
Imports--partners: US 40.5%, Caricom 14.7%, UK 8.4%, Canada 5%
(1996)
Debt--external: $581.4 million (1996)
Economic aid--recipient: $9.1 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1--2.0000 (fixed
rate pegged to the dollar)
Fiscal year: 1 April--31 March
Communications
Telephones: 87,343 (1991 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: island wide automatic telephone system
international: satellite earth station--1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean);
tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 1 (in addition, there are two
cable channels) (1997)
Televisions: 69,350 (1993 est.)
Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: 1,650 km
paved: 1,582 km
unpaved: 68 km (1998 est.)
Ports and harbors: Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina)
Merchant marine:
total: 44 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 641,550 GRT/1,087,042
DWT
ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 26, combination bulk 1, oil tanker 4,
refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1
note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships of 2 countries:
Canada owns 2 ships, Hong Kong 1 (1998 est.)
Airports: 1 (1998 est.)
Airports--with paved runways:
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force (includes Ground
Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force
Military manpower--availability:
males age 15-49: 72,111 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 49,600 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures--dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures--percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international: none
Illicit drugs: one of many Caribbean transshipment points for
narcotics bound for the US and Europe
======================================================================
@Bassas da India
---------------
Geography
Location: Southern Africa, islands in the southern Mozambique
Channel, about one-half of the way from Madagascar to Mozambique
Geographic coordinates: 21 30 S, 39 50 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 0.2 sq km
land: 0.2 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area--comparative: about one-third the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 35.2 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical
Terrain: a volcanic rock 2.4 m high
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 2.4 m
Natural resources: none
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 100% (all rock)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)
Natural hazards: maritime hazard since it is usually under water
during high tide and surrounded by reefs; subject to periodic
cyclones
Environment--current issues: NA
Environment--international agreements:
party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA
People
Population: uninhabited
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bassas da India
Data code: BS
Dependency status: possession of France; administered by a high
commissioner of the Republic, resident in Reunion
Legal system: NA
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (possession of France)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (possession of France)
Flag description: the flag of France is used
Economy
Economy--overview: no economic activity
Transportation
Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only
Military
Military--note: defense is the responsibility of France
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international: claimed by Madagascar
======================================================================
@Belarus
-------
Introduction
Background: For centuries Byelorussia has been fought over,
devastated, and partitioned among Russia, Poland, Lithuania, and, in
World Wars I and II, Germany. After seven decades as a Soviet
republic, the newly named Belarus declared its independence in
August 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to
Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. On 25 December
1998, Russian President Boris YEL'TSIN and Belarusian President
Aleksandr LUKASHENKO signed several agreements intended to provide
greater political, economic, and social integration while preserving
both states' sovereignty.
Geography
Location: Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States
Area:
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area--comparative: slightly smaller than Kansas
Land boundaries:
total: 3,098 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km,
Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional
between continental and maritime
Terrain: generally flat and contains much marshland
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Natural resources: forests, peat deposits, small quantities of
oil and natural gas
Land use:
arable land: 29%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 15%
forests and woodland: 34%
other: 21% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment--current issues: soil pollution from pesticide use;
southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986
nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
Environment--international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Environmental Modification,
Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Geography--note: landlocked
People
Population: 10,401,784 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 19% (male 1,027,974; female 985,342)
15-64 years: 67% (male 3,390,552; female 3,591,245)
65 years and over: 14% (male 463,369; female 943,302) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.09% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 9.7 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 13.71 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 3.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female
total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 14.39 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.13 years
male: 62.04 years
female: 74.52 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.32 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian
Ethnic groups: Byelorussian 77.9%, Russian 13.2%, Polish 4.1%,
Ukrainian 2.9%, other 1.9%
Religions: Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic,
Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Languages: Byelorussian, Russian, other
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 99%
female: 97% (1989 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
conventional short form: Belarus
local long form: Respublika Byelarus'
local short form: none
former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
Data code: BO
Government type: republic
Capital: Minsk
Administrative divisions: 6 voblastsi (singular--voblasts') and
one municipality* (harady, singular--horad); Brestskaya (Brest),
Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna),
Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk)
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their
administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center
name following in parentheses)
Independence: 25 August 1991 (Belarusian Supreme Soviet
declaration of independence from the Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note--date set
by referendum of 24 November 1996; represents Minsk liberation from
German occupation
Constitution: 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24
November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and
became effective 27 November 1996
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergey LING (acting since 18
November 1996, confirmed 19 February 1997); First Deputy Prime
Ministers Petr PROKOPOVICH (since 23 December 1996) and Vasiliy
DOLGOLEV (since 2 December 1998); Deputy Prime Ministers Valeriy
KOKOREV (since 23 August 1994), Vladimir ZAMETALIN (since 15 July
1997), Ural LATYPOV (since 30 December 1997), Gennadiy NOVITSKIY
(since 11 February 1997), Leonid KOZIK (since 4 February 1997),
Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998)
cabinet: Council of Ministers
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 24 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA;
according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should be in
1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via the November
1996 referendum); prime minister and deputy prime ministers
appointed by the president
election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO elected president; percent of
vote--Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 85%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 15%
note: first presidential elections took place in June-July 1994
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye
Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet
Respubliki (64 seats; eight appointed by the president and 56
indirectly elected by deputies of local councils for four-year
terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley
(110 seats; note--present members came from the former Supreme Soviet
which LUKASHENKO disbanded in November 1996)
elections: last held May and November-December 1995 (two rounds,
each with a run-off; disbanded after the November 1996 referendum;
next to be held NA)
election results: after the November 1996 referendum, seats for the
Chamber of Representatives were filled by former Supreme Soviet
members as follows: PKB 24, Agrarian 14, Party of Peoples Concord 5,
LDPB 1, UPNAZ 1, Green World Party 1, Belarusian Social Sports Party
1, Ecological Party 1, Republican Party of Labor and Justice 1,
independents 61; 58 of the 64 seats in the Council of the Republic
have been appointed/elected
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the
president; Constitutional Court, half of the judges appointed by the
president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives
Political parties and leaders: Party of Communists Belarusian or
chairman]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic
International organization participation: CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC,
EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Inmarsat,
Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO,
ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires CHEREPANSKY
chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel V. SPECKHARD (recalled to
Washington in June 1998; Charge d'Affaires Randall LE COCQ)
embassy: Starovilenskaya #46-220002, Minsk
mailing address: use embassy street address
Flag description: red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal
band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe of
white on the hoist side bears the Belarusian national ornament in red
Economy
Economy--overview: Belarus has seen little structural reform since
1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of
"market socialism". In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO
re-imposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange
rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management
of private enterprise. This produced a climate hostile to private
business, inhibiting domestic and foreign investment. The Government
of Belarus has artificially revived economic output since mid-1996
by pursuing a policy of rapid credit expansion. In a vain attempt to
keep the rapidly rising inflation in check, the government placed
strict price controls on food and consumer products, which resulted
in food shortages. Long lines for dairy products, chicken, and pork
became common in the closing months of 1998. With the goal of
slowing down the devaluation of the Belarusian ruble, LUKASHENKO in
1997 introduced a new, complex system of legal buying/selling hard
currencies. The new "command" system proved to be totally unworkable
and resulted in galloping devaluation. In addition to the burdens
imposed on businesses by high inflation and an artificial currency
regime, businesses have also been subject to pressure on the part of
central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in
regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, and retroactive
application of new business regulations prohibiting practices that
had been legal. A further economic problem is the sizable trade
deficit.
GDP: purchasing power parity--$53.7 billion (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate: 7% (1998 est.)
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$5,200 (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: 20%
industry: 43%
services: 37% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: 77% (1997 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.9%
highest 10%: 19.4% (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 182% (1998)
Labor force: 4.3 million (1998)
Labor force--by occupation: industry and construction 40%,
agriculture and forestry 19%, services 41% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: 2.3% officially registered unemployed
(December 1998); large number of underemployed workers
Budget:
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180
million (1997 est.)
Industries: tractors, metal-cutting machine tools, off-highway
dump trucks up to 110-metric-ton load capacity, wheel-type earth
movers for construction and mining, eight-wheel-drive,
high-flotation trucks with cargo capacity of 25 metric tons for use
in tundra and roadless areas, equipment for animal husbandry and
livestock feeding, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers,
fertilizer, linen fabric, wool fabric, radios, refrigerators, other
consumer goods
Industrial production growth rate: 11% (1998 est.)
Electricity--production: 26.1 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity--production by source:
fossil fuel: 99.92%
hydro: 0.08%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1997)
Electricity--consumption: 33.7 billion kWh (1997)
Electricity--exports: 2.7 billion kWh (1997)
Electricity--imports: 10.3 billion kWh (1997)
Agriculture--products: grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets,
flax; beef, milk
Exports: $7 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports--commodities: machinery and transport equipment,
chemicals, foodstuffs
Exports--partners: Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany
Imports: $8.5 billion (c.i.f., 1998)
Imports--commodities: fuel, natural gas, industrial raw materials,
textiles, sugar, foodstuffs
Imports--partners: Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany
Debt--external: $1.03 billion (1998 est.)
Economic aid--recipient: $194.3 million (1995)
Currency: Belarusian rubel (BR)
Exchange rates: Belarusian rubels per US$1--139,000 (25 January
1999 official Belarusian exchange rate), 46,080 (2nd qtr 1998),
25,964 (1997), 15,500 (yearend 1996), 11,500 (yearend 1995), 10,600
(yearend 1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 2.55 million (October 1998)
Telephone system: the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all
telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company)
Beltelcom which is a monopoly
domestic: local--Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a
cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long;
local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity--Belarus
has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving
at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus's fiber optics form
synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries'
systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational
international: Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL),
Trans-Asia-Europe Fiber-Optic Line (TAE) and has access to the
Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-optic segments provide
connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide
service is available to Belarus due to this infrastructure;
additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat and
Intersputnik earth stations
Radio broadcast stations: AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11
Radios: 3.17 million (1991 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 17 (1997); note--Belarus has a
state-run television broadcasting network; independent local
television stations exist
Televisions: 9,686,854 (1996)
Transportation
Railways:
total: 5,563 km
broad gauge: 5,563 km 1.520-m gauge (894 km electrified)
Highways:
total: 53,407 km
paved: 52,446 km
unpaved: 961 km (1997 est.)
Waterways: NA km; note--Belarus has extensive and widely used
canal and river systems
Pipelines: crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural
gas 1,980 km (1992)
Ports and harbors: Mazyr
Airports: 118 (1996 est.)
Airports--with paved runways:
total: 36
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 18
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
under 914 m: 11 (1996 est.)
Airports--with unpaved runways:
total: 82
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 9
under 914 m: 62 (1996 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior
Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Military manpower--military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower--availability:
males age 15-49: 2,700,034 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 2,115,121 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--reaching military age annually:
males: 79,905 (1999 est.)