contiguous zone: 24 nm claimed by most, but can vary
continental shelf: 200-m depth claimed by most or to depth of
exploitation; others claim 200 nm or to the edge of the continental
margin
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm claimed by most, but can vary
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm claimed by most, but can vary
territorial sea: 12 nm claimed by most, but can vary
note: boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many
countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full
200 nm; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include
Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan,
Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic,
Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg,
Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San
Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan,
West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Climate: two large areas of polar climates separated by two
rather narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of
tropical to subtropical climates
Terrain: the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924
m in the Pacific Ocean
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m
Natural resources: the rapid using up of nonrenewable mineral
resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the
extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air
and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR,
and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and
peoples are only beginning to address
Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 26%
forests and woodland: 32%
other: 31% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 2,481,250 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: large areas subject to severe weather (tropical
cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis,
volcanic eruptions)
Environment--current issues: large areas subject to
overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid
rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing,
deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation,
soil depletion, erosion
Environment--international agreements: selected international
environmental agreements are included under the
Environment--international agreements entry for each country and in
the Selected International Environmental Agreements appendix
People
Population: 5,995,544,836 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 30% (male 934,816,288; female 884,097,095)
15-64 years: 63% (male 1,905,701,066; female 1,861,265,079)
65 years and over: 7% (male 179,094,601; female 230,570,707) (1999
est.)
Population growth rate: 1.3% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 56 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 63 years
male: 61 years
female: 65 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.8 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Government
Data code: none; there is no FIPS 10-4 country code for the
World, so the Factbook uses the "W" data code from DIAM 65-18
"Geopolitical Data Elements and Related Features," Data Standard No.
3, March 1984, published by the Defense Intelligence Agency; see the
Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes appendix
Administrative divisions: 266 nations, dependent areas, other,
and miscellaneous entries
Legal system: all members of the UN (excluding Yugoslavia) plus
Nauru and Switzerland are parties to the statute that established
the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
Economy
Economy--overview: Growth in global output (gross world product,
GWP) dropped to 2% in 1998 from 4% in 1997 because of continued
recession in Japan, severe financial difficulties in other East
Asian countries, and widespread dislocations in the Russian economy.
The US economy continued its remarkable sustained prosperity,
growing at 3.9% in 1998, and accounted for 22% of GWP. Western
Europe's economies grew at roughly 2.5%, not enough to cut deeply
into the region's high unemployment; these economies produced 21% of
GWP. China, the second largest economy in the world, continued its
rapid growth and accounted for 11% of GWP. Japan posted a decline of
2.6% in 1998 and its share in GWP dropped to 7.4%. As usual, the 15
successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations
experienced widely different rates of growth. Russia's national
product dropped by 5% whereas the nations of central and eastern
Europe grew by 3.4% on average. The developing nations varied widely
in their growth results, with many countries facing population
increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state,
as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing
control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and
technology. Internally, the central government finds its control
over resources slipping as separatist regional movements--typically
based on ethnicity--gain momentum, e.g., in the successor states of
the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, and in
Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political
problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order
to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment.
The addition of more than 80 million people each year to an already
overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution,
desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of
their own internal problems, the industrialized countries have
inadequate resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of
the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are
becoming further marginalized. In 1998, serious financial
difficulties in several high-growth East Asia countries cast a
shadow over short-term global economic prospects. The introduction
of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in
January 1999 poses serious economic risks because of varying levels
of income and cultural and political differences among the
participating nations. (For specific economic developments in each
country of the world in 1998, see the individual country entries.)
GDP: GWP (gross world product)--purchasing power parity?$39
trillion (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate: 2% (1998 est.)
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$6,600 (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): all countries 25%; developed
countries 2% to 4% typically; developing countries 10% to 60%
typically (1998 est.)
note: national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from
stable prices in Japan to hyperinflation in a number of Third World
countries
Labor force: NA
Labor force--by occupation: NA
Unemployment rate: 30% combined unemployment and underemployment
in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically
5%-12% unemployment (1998 est.)
Industries: dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in
computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical
equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a
small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly
adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development
of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating
already grim environmental problems
Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1997 est.)
Electricity--production: 12.3427 trillion kWh (1994)
Electricity--production by source:
fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA%
nuclear: NA%
other: NA%
Electricity--consumption: 12.3427 trillion kWh (1994)
Exports: $5 trillion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports--commodities: the whole range of industrial and
agricultural goods and services
Exports--partners: in value, about 75% of exports from the
developed countries
Imports: $5 trillion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Imports--commodities: the whole range of industrial and
agricultural goods and services
Imports--partners: in value, about 75% of imports by the developed
countries
Debt--external: $2 trillion for less developed countries (1998
est.)
Economic aid--recipient: traditional worldwide foreign aid $50
billion (1995 est.)
Communications
Telephones: NA
Telephone system:
domestic: NA
international: NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: NA
Televisions: NA
Transportation
Railways:
total: 1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of
electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in
the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and
4,160 km in North America; note--fastest speed in daily service is
300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer
Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV)--Atlantique line
broad gauge: 251,153 km
standard gauge: 710,754 km
narrow gauge: 239,430 km
Highways:
total: NA km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km
Ports and harbors: Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille,
Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
Merchant marine:
total: 28,310 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 495,299,489
GRT/764,129,056 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 23, bulk 5,745, cargo 8,766, chemical
tanker 1,326, combination bulk 319, combination ore/oil 227,
container 2,615, liquefied gas tanker 802, livestock carrier 60,
multifunction large-load carrier 90, oil tanker 4,521, passenger
392, passenger-cargo 126, railcar carrier 19, refrigerated cargo
1,067, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1,117, short-sea passenger 484,
specialized tanker 118, vehicle carrier 493 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: ground, maritime, and air forces at all levels
of technology
Military expenditures--dollar figure: aggregate real expenditure
on arms worldwide in 1998 remained at approximately the 1997 level,
about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1998 est.)
Military expenditures--percent of GDP: roughly 2% of gross world
product (1998 est.)
======================================================================
@Yemen
-----
Geography
Location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden,
and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 48 00 E
Map references: Middle East
Area:
total: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR
or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of
Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen)
Area--comparative: slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
Land boundaries:
total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
Coastline: 1,906 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 18 nm in the North; 24 nm in the South
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate
in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily
hot, dry, harsh desert in east
Terrain: narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and
rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope
into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small
deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in
west
Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 30%
forests and woodland: 4%
other: 63% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 3,600 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: sandstorms and dust storms in summer
Environment--current issues: very limited natural fresh water
resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil
erosion; desertification
Environment--international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography--note: strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait
linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active
shipping lanes
People
Population: 16,942,230 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 48% (male 4,118,292; female 3,971,886)
15-64 years: 49% (male 4,243,809; female 4,065,429)
65 years and over: 3% (male 278,133; female 264,681) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.34% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 43.31 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 9.88 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 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: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 69.82 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 59.98 years
male: 58.17 years
female: 61.88 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 7.06 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni
Ethnic groups: predominantly Arab; Afro-Arab concentrations in
western coastal locations; South Asians in southern regions; small
European communities in major metropolitan areas
Religions: Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a),
small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu
Languages: Arabic
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 38%
male: 53%
female: 26% (1990 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah
local short form: Al Yaman
Data code: YM
Government type: republic
Capital: Sanaa
Administrative divisions: 17 governorates (muhafazat,
singular--muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf,
Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Ataq, Dhamar, Hadhramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij,
Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Ta'izz
note: there may be a new governorate for the capital city of Sanaa
Independence: 22 May 1990 Republic of Yemen was established with
and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen
independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South
Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)
National holiday: Proclamation of the Republic, 22 May (1990)
Constitution: 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994
Legal system: based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common
law, and local tribal customary law; does not accept compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May
1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the
merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd
al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since NA October 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Abd al-Karim Ali al-IRYANI
(since NA April 1998)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the
advice of the prime minister
elections: President SALIH was elected by the House of
Representatives for a five-year term, however, future presidents
will be elected by direct, popular vote for five-year terms;
election last held 1 October 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); vice
president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy
prime ministers appointed by the president
election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of
House of Representatives vote--NA
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives (301
seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 April 1997 (next to be held NA April 2001)
election results: percent of vote by party--NA; seats by party--GPC
189, Islah 52, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist
Baath Party 2, independents 54, election pending 1
note: in May 1997, the president created a consultative council,
sometimes referred to as the upper house of Parliament; its 59
members are all appointed by the president
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: there are over 12 political
parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General
SALAAM]
note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won a
landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and no
longer governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn
al-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islaah--the two parties had
been in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, a
loyal opposition party, boycotted the April 1997 legislative election
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF,
CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC,
OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI
chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara K. BODINE
embassy: Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa
mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top),
white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria which has two green
stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic
inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also
similar to the flag of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle centered in
the white band
Economy
Economy--overview: Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab
world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil
production, but was harmed by low oil prices in 1998. Yemen has
embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed
to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to foreign
debt relief and restructuring. Yemen will work in 1999 to maintain
tight control over spending and implement additional components of
the IMF program. The high population growth rate of 3.3%, internal
political dissension, and continued low prices make the government's
task especially difficult.
GDP: purchasing power parity--$12.1 billion (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate: 1.8% (1998 est.)
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$740 (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: 16%
industry: 46%
services: 38% (1996)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 30.8% (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11% (1998 est.)
Labor force: NA
Labor force--by occupation: most people are employed in
agriculture and herding or as expatriate laborers; services,
construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-half
of the labor force
Unemployment rate: 30% (1995 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $2.3 billion
expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1998 budget est.)
Industries: crude oil production and petroleum refining;
small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food
processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity--production: 1.9 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)
Electricity--consumption: 1.9 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity--imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture--products: grain, fruits, vegetables, qat (mildly
narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, poultry, beef; fish
Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports--commodities: crude oil, cotton, coffee, dried and salted
fish
Exports--partners: China 31%, South Korea 19%, Thailand 17%,
Thailand 5%, Brazil 5%, Japan 5% (1997)
Imports: $2.8 billion (c.i.f., 1998 est.)
Imports--commodities: food and live animals, machinery and
equipment, manufactured goods
Imports--partners: UAE 9%, Saudi Arabia 8%, US 7%, France 6%,
Brazil 5% (1997)
Debt--external: $4.9 billion (1998)
Economic aid--recipient: $176.1 million (1995)
Currency: Yemeni rial (YRl) (new currency)
Exchange rates: Yemeni rials (YRl) per US$1--140.940 (October
1998), 129.286 (1997), 94.157 (1996), 40.839 (1995), 12.010
(official fixed rate 1991-94)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 131,655 (1992 est.)
Telephone system: since unification in 1990, efforts have been
made to create a national telecommunications network
domestic: the network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, and
tropospheric scatter
international: satellite earth stations--3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean
and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2
Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti
Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 1, shortwave 0
Radios: 325,000 (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 7 (in addition, there are several
low-power repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 100,000 (1993 est.)
Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: 64,725 km
paved: 5,243 km
unpaved: 59,482 km (1996 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km
Ports and harbors: Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif,
Mocha, Nishtun
Merchant marine:
total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 12,059 GRT/18,563 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, oil tanker 2 (1998 est.)
Airports: 48 (1998 est.)
Airports--with paved runways:
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Airports--with unpaved runways:
total: 36
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 12
under 914 m: 3 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces,
paramilitary (includes Police)
Military manpower--military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower--availability:
males age 15-49: 3,776,075 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 2,119,308 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--reaching military age annually:
males: 212,005 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures--dollar figure: $413.6 million (1999)
Military expenditures--percent of GDP: 7.6% (1999)
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international: a large section of boundary with Saudi
Arabia is not defined; Hanish Islands dispute with Eritrea resolved
by arbitral tribunal in October 1998
======================================================================
@Zambia
------
Geography
Location: Southern Africa, east of Angola
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 S, 30 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 752,610 sq km
land: 740,720 sq km
water: 11,890 sq km
Area--comparative: slightly larger than Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 5,664 km
border countries: Angola 1,110 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo
1,930 km, Malawi 837 km, Mozambique 419 km, Namibia 233 km, Tanzania
338 km, Zimbabwe 797 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to
April)
Terrain: mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains