ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Warnasena RASAPUTRAM
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s): New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Shaun E. DONNELLY
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3
mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo
Flag description: yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side
panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange;
the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion
holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the
yellow field appears as a border that goes around the entire flag
and extends between the two panels
Economy
Economy--overview: In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic
policies and its import substitution trade policy for
market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most
dynamic industries now are food processing, textiles and apparel,
food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking.
By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of exports (compared with
93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP
grew at an annual average rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a
drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to
3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-98 with growth of 6.4%
and 4.7%. For the next round of reforms, the central bank of Sri
Lanka recommends that Colombo expand market mechanisms in
nonplantation agriculture, dismantle the government's monopoly on
wheat imports, and promote more competition in the financial sector.
A continuing cloud over the economy is the fighting between the
Sinhalese and the minority Tamils, which has cost 50,000 lives in
the past 15 years. The global slowdown will temper growth in 1999.
GDP: purchasing power parity--$48.1 billion (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate: 4.7% (1998 est.)
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$2,500 (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: 18%
industry: 31%
services: 51% (1997)
Population below poverty line: 35.3% (1990-91 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.8%
highest 10%: 25.2% (1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.3% (1998)
Labor force: 6.2 million (1997)
Labor force--by occupation: services 46%, agriculture 37%,
industry 17% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: 11% (1997 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $4.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $1
billion (1997 est.)
Industries: processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other
agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining,
textiles, tobacco
Industrial production growth rate: 6.5% (1996 est.)
Electricity--production: 5.05 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source:
fossil fuel: 4.95%
hydro: 95.05%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)
Electricity--consumption: 5.05 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity--imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture--products: rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed,
spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef
Exports: $4.5 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports--commodities: textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds and
other gems, coconut products, rubber products, petroleum products
(1997)
Exports--partners: US 36%, UK 11%, Japan 6%, Germany 5%,
Belgium-Luxembourg 4% (1997)
Imports: $5.3 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Imports--commodities: machinery and equipment, textiles,
petroleum, building materials, sugar (1997)
Imports--partners: India 10%, Japan 9%, South Korea 8%, Hong Kong
7%, Taiwan 7% (1997)
Debt--external: $8.8 billion (1998)
Economic aid--recipient: $559.3 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees (SLRes) per US$1--67.948
(January 1999), 64.593 (1998), 58.995 (1997), 55.271 (1996), 51.252
(1995), 49.415 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 352,681 (1997 est.); 114,888 cellular telephone
subscribers (1997 est.)
Telephone system: very inadequate domestic service, but expanding
with the entry of two wireless loop operators and privatization of
national telephone company; good international service
domestic: NA
international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite
earth stations--2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 5, shortwave 0
Radios: 3.6 million (1996 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 21 (19 network stations, two
low-power stations) (1997)
Televisions: 1.6 million (1996 est.)
Transportation
Railways:
total: 1,501 km
broad gauge: 1,442 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (1995)
Highways:
total: 99,200 km
paved: 39,680 km
unpaved: 59,520 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft
Pipelines: crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)
Ports and harbors: Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee
Merchant marine:
total: 22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 178,867 GRT/276,363 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 14, container 1, oil tanker 1,
refrigerated cargo 5 (1998 est.)
Airports: 13 (1998 est.)
Airports--with paved runways:
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 6 (1998 est.)
Airports--with unpaved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military manpower--military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower--availability:
males age 15-49: 5,223,590 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 4,062,758 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--reaching military age annually:
males: 199,196 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures--dollar figure: $719 million (1998)
Military expenditures--percent of GDP: 4.2% (1998)
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international: none
======================================================================
@Sudan
-----
Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt
and Eritrea
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 30 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 2,505,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km
water: 129,810 sq km
Area--comparative: slightly more than one-quarter the size of the
US
Land boundaries:
total: 7,687 km
border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km,
Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605
km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km
Coastline: 853 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 18 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season
(April to October)
Terrain: generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and
west
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m
Natural resources: petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper,
chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold
Land use:
arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 46%
forests and woodland: 19%
other: 30% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 19,460 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: dust storms
Environment--current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water;
wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion;
desertification
Environment--international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography--note: largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile
and its tributaries
People
Population: 34,475,690 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 7,941,909; female 7,614,225)
15-64 years: 53% (male 9,094,712; female 9,061,194)
65 years and over: 2% (male 423,389; female 340,261) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.71% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 39.34 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 10.6 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.68 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: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.24 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 70.94 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 56.4 years
male: 55.41 years
female: 57.44 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.58 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Sudanese
Ethnic groups: black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other
1%
Religions: Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%,
Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum)
Languages: Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse
dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of Arabization in process
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.1%
male: 57.7%
female: 34.6% (1995 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan
conventional short form: Sudan
local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan
local short form: As-Sudan
former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
Data code: SU
Government type: transitional--previously ruling military junta;
presidential and National Assembly elections held in March 1996; new
constitution drafted by Presidential Committee, went into effect on
30 June 1998 after being approved in nationwide referendum
Capital: Khartoum
Administrative divisions: 26 states (wilayat, singular--wilayah);
A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum,
Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash
Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al
Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan,
Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur,
Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab
Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1956)
Constitution: 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April
1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following
coup of 30 June 1989; new constitution implemented on 30 June 1998
Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; as of
20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council
imposed Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to
all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion;
some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations
Suffrage: NA years of age; universal, but noncompulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Lt. General Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR
(since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad
TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President (Police) Maj.
General George KONGOR AROP (since NA February 1994); note--the
president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Lt. General Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR
(since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad
TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President (Police) Maj.
General George KONGOR AROP (since NA February 1994); note--the
president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note--President
al-BASHIR's government is dominated by members of Sudan's National
Islamic Front (NIF), a fundamentalist political organization formed
from the Muslim Brotherhood in 1986; in 1998, the NIF created the
National Congress as its legal front; the National Congress/NIF
dominates much of Khartoum's overall domestic and foreign policies;
President al-BASHIR named a new cabinet on 20 April 1996 which
includes members of the National Islamic Front, serving and retired
military officers, and civilian technocrats; on 8 March 1998, he
reshuffled the cabinet and brought in several former rebel and
opposition members as ministers
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 6-17 March 1996 (next to be held NA 2001)
election results: Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR elected president;
percent of vote--Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR 75.7%; note--about forty
other candidates ran for president
note: al-BASHIR, as chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council
for National Salvation (RCC), assumed power on 30 June 1989 and
served concurrently as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime
minister, and minister of defense until 16 October 1993 when he was
appointed president by the RCC; upon its dissolution on 16 October
1993, the RCC's executive and legislative powers were devolved to
the president and the Transitional National Assembly (TNA), Sudan's
appointed legislative body, which has since been replaced by the
National Assembly which was elected in March 1996
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (400 seats; 275
elected by popular vote, 125 elected by a supraassembly of interest
groups known as the National Congress)
elections: last held 6-17 March 1996 (next to be held NA 2001)
election results: NA; the March 1996 elections were held on a
nonparty basis; parties are banned in the new National Assembly
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts
Political parties and leaders: political parties were banned
following 30 June 1989 coup, however, political "associations" are
allowed under a new law drafted in 1998 and implemented on 1 January
Political pressure groups and leaders: National Islamic Front or
its legal front)
International organization participation: ABEDA, ACP, AfDB,
AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM,
IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol,
IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mahdi Ibrahim MAHAMMAD (recalled to
Khartoum in August 1998)
chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: US officials at the US
Embassy in Khartoum were moved for security reasons in February 1996
and have been relocated to the US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and
Cairo, Egypt; they visit Khartoum monthly, but the Sudanese
Government has not allowed such visits since August 1998; the US
Embassy in Khartoum (located on Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue; mailing
employees; the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya is located temporarily
in the USAID Building at The Crescent, Parkland, Nairobi; mailing
address--P.O. Box 30137, Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831;
Cairo, Egypt is located at (North Gate) 8, Kamel El-Din Salah
Street, Garden City, Cairo; mailing address--Unit 64900, APO AE
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top),
white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist
side
Economy
Economy--overview: Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic
political instability, adverse weather, high inflation, a drop in
remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies.
The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture and
trading, with most private industrial investment predating 1980.
Agriculture employs 80% of the work force. Industry mainly processes
agricultural items. Sluggish economic performance over the past
decade, attributable largely to declining annual rainfall, has kept
per capita income at low levels. A large foreign debt and huge
arrears continue to cause difficulties. In 1990 the International
Monetary Fund took the unusual step of declaring Sudan
noncooperative because of its nonpayment of arrears to the Fund.
After Sudan backtracked on promised reforms in 1992-93, the IMF
threatened to expel Sudan from the Fund. To avoid expulsion,
Khartoum agreed to make payments on its arrears to the Fund,
liberalize exchange rates, and reduce subsidies, measures it has
partially implemented. The government's continued prosecution of the
civil war and its growing international isolation continued to
inhibit growth in the nonagricultural sectors of the economy during
1998. Hyperinflation has raised consumer prices above the reach of
most. In 1998, a top priority was to develop potentially lucrative
oilfields in southcentral Sudan; the government is working with
foreign partners to exploit the oil sector.
GDP: purchasing power parity--$31.2 billion (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate: 6.1% (1998 est.)
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$930 (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: 33%
industry: 17%
services: 50% (1992 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 27% (mid-1997 est.)
Labor force: 11 million (1996 est.)
note: labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled
employment (1983 est.)
Labor force--by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry and commerce
10%, government 6%
Unemployment rate: 30% (FY92/93 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $482 million
expenditures: $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $30
million (1996)
Industries: cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar,
soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining
Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1996 est.)
Electricity--production: 1.315 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source:
fossil fuel: 27.76%
hydro: 72.24%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)
Electricity--consumption: 1.315 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity--imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture--products: cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum,
millet, wheat, gum arabic, sesame; sheep
Exports: $594 million (f.o.b., 1997)
Exports--commodities: cotton 23%, sesame 22%, livestock/meat 13%,
gum arabic 5% (1996)
Exports--partners: Saudi Arabia 20%, UK 14%, China 11%, Italy 8%
(1996)
Imports: $1.42 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
Imports--commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum products, manufactured
goods, machinery and equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles
(1996)
Imports--partners: Saudi Arabia 10%, South Korea 7%, Germany 6%,
Egypt 6% (1996)
Debt--external: $20.3 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid--recipient: $254.4 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Sudanese pound (LSd) = 100 piastres
Exchange rates: Sudanese pounds (LSd) per US$1--1,819.70 (April
1998), 1,873.53 (2d Qtr 1998), 1,575.74 (1997), 1,250.79 (1996),
580.87 (1995), 289.61 (1994), 159.31 (1993)
Fiscal year: calendar year
note: prior to July 1995, Sudan had a fiscal year that began on 1
July and ended on 30 June; as a transition to their new fiscal year,
a six-month budget was implemented for 1 July-31 December 1995; the
new calendar year (1 January-31 December) fiscal year became
effective 1 January 1996
Communications
Telephones: 77,215 (1983 est.)
Telephone system: large, well-equipped system by African
standards, but barely adequate and poorly maintained by modern
standards
domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radiotelephone
communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite
system with 14 earth stations
international: satellite earth stations--1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
and 1 Arabsat
Radio broadcast stations: AM 11, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998 est.)
Radios: 5.75 million (1998 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 3 (1997)
Televisions: 250,000 (1998 est.)
Transportation
Railways:
total: 5,516 km
narrow gauge: 4,800 km 1.067-m gauge; 716 km 1.6096-m gauge
plantation line
Highways:
total: 11,900 km
paved: 4,320 km
unpaved: 7,580 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 5,310 km navigable
Pipelines: refined products 815 km
Ports and harbors: Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port
Sudan, Sawakin
Merchant marine:
total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 38,093 GRT/49,727 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1998 est.)
Airports: 63 (1998 est.)
Airports--with paved runways:
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (1998 est.)
Airports--with unpaved runways:
total: 51
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 26
under 914 m: 11 (1998 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force
Militia
Military manpower--military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower--availability:
males age 15-49: 7,942,139 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 4,889,557 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--reaching military age annually:
males: 379,174 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures--dollar figure: $550 million (FY98/99)
Military expenditures--percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international: administrative boundary with Kenya does
not coincide with international boundary; Egypt asserts its claim to
the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km under partial
Sudanese administration that is defined by an administrative
boundary which supersedes the treaty boundary of 1899
======================================================================
@Suriname
--------
Geography
Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic
Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
Geographic coordinates: 4 00 N, 56 00 W
Map references: South America
Area:
total: 163,270 sq km
land: 161,470 sq km
water: 1,800 sq km
Area--comparative: slightly larger than Georgia
Land boundaries:
total: 1,707 km
border countries: Brazil 597 km, French Guiana 510 km, Guyana 600 km
Coastline: 386 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds
Terrain: mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m
highest point: Wilhelmina Gebergte 1,286 m
Natural resources: timber, hydropower, fish, kaolin, shrimp,
bauxite, gold, and small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum, iron
ore
Land use:
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 96%
other: 4% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 600 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment--current issues: deforestation as timber is cut for
export; pollution of inland waterways by small-scale mining
activities
Environment--international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of
the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography--note: mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of
flora and fauna that, for the most part, is increasingly threatened
by new development; relatively small population, most of which lives
along the coast
People
Population: 431,156 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 33% (male 72,673; female 69,212)
15-64 years: 62% (male 135,573; female 130,700)
65 years and over: 5% (male 10,585; female 12,413) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.71% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 21.75 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 5.75 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -8.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 26.52 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)