chief of mission: Ambassador Jayantha Cudah Bandara DHANAPALA
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 through 4028
FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181
consulate(s): New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador A. Peter BURLEIGH
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3
mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo
telephone: [94] (1) 448007
FAX: [94] (1) 437345
Flag: 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
-------
Economic overview: Industry - dominated by the fast-growing
apparel industry - has surpassed agriculture as the main source of
export earnings. The economy has been plagued by high rates of
unemployment since the late 1970s. Economic growth accelerated in
1991-94 as domestic conditions began to improve and conditions for
foreign investment brightened. In 1995, however, the government's
emphasis on populist measures and its preoccupation with the
stepped-up Tamil insurgency have clouded Sri Lanka's economic
prospects and discouraged foreign investors. A further problem for
1996 is the need to curb government overspending.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $65.6 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 5% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $3,600 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 24%
industry: 24%
services: 52% (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.4% (1994 est.)
Labor force: 6.1 million
by occupation: agriculture 45%, services 37%, industry 18% (1993
est.)
Unemployment rate: 13% (1994 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $2.7 billion
expenditures: $3.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $851
million (1995)
Industries: processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other
agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining,
textiles, tobacco
Industrial production growth rate: 9% (1994 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 1,410,000 kW
production: 3.2 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 168 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, roots,
spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, meat
Exports: $3.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: garments and textiles, teas, diamonds, other gems,
petroleum products, rubber products, other agricultural products,
marine products, graphite
partners: US 34.7%, UK, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, France (1994)
Imports: $4.8 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
commodities: textiles and textile materials, machinery and
equipment, transport equipment, food, petroleum, building materials
partners: Japan, India, UK, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan,
Singapore, China (1994)
External debt: $8.8 billion (1994 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $423 million (1993)
Currency: 1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees (SLRes) per US$1 - 54.158
(January 1996), 51.252 (1995), 49.415 (1994), 48.322 (1993), 43.830
(1992), 41.372 (1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation
--------------
Railways:
total: 1,484 km
broad gauge: 1,459 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 25 km .762-m gauge (1995)
Highways:
total: 94,651 km
paved: 25,749 km
unpaved: 68,902 km (1990)
Waterways: 430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft
Pipelines: crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)
Ports: Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee
Merchant marine:
total: 26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 220,508 GRT/329,410 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 13, container 1, oil tanker 2,
refrigerated cargo 8 (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 13
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 6
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 6 (1995 est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 175,000 (1991 est.)
Telephone system: very inadequate domestic service, 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: 3.525 million (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 5
Televisions: 865,000 (1992 est.)
Defense
-------
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 5,085,306
males fit for military service: 3,960,070
males reach military age (18) annually: 180,825 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $640 million,
4.4% of GDP (1996)
======================================================================
@Sudan
-----
Map
---
Location: 15 00 N, 30 00 E -- Northern Africa, bordering the Red
Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea
Flag
----
Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and
black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
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 area: 2,505,810 sq km
land area: 2.376 million sq km
comparative area: 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,
Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km,
Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km, Zaire 628 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
International disputes: administrative boundary with Kenya does
not coincide with international boundary; administrative boundary
with Egypt does not coincide with international boundary creating
the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km, tensions over
this disputed area began to escalate in 1992 and remain high
Climate: tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season
(April to October)
Terrain: generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and
west
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%
meadows and pastures: 24%
forest and woodland: 20%
other: 51%
Irrigated land: 18,900 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife
populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion;
desertification
natural hazards: dust storms
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
Geographic note: largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile
and its tributaries
People
------
Population: 31,547,543 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 46% (male 7,389,616; female 7,080,044)
15-64 years: 52% (male 8,219,080; female 8,172,544)
65 years and over: 2% (male 387,961; female 298,298) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.48% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 41.08 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 11.46 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 5.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.3 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 76 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 55.12 years
male: 54.2 years
female: 56.09 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.89 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Sudanese
Ethnic divisions: 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: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 46.1%
male: 57.7%
female: 34.6%
Government
----------
Name of country:
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
Type of government: transitional - previously ruling military
junta; presidential and National Assembly elections held in March
1996; new constitution to be drafted by the National Assembly
Capital: Khartoum
Administrative divisions: 9 states (wilayat, singular - wilayat or
wilayah*); A'ali an Nil (Upper Nile), Al Wusta*, Al Istiwa'iyah*
(Equatoria), Al Khartum, Ash Shamaliyah*, Ash Sharqiyah*, Bahr al
Ghazal, Darfur, Kurdufan
note: on 14 February 1994, the 9 states comprising Sudan were
divided into 26 new states; the following spellings have been
reported but not approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Bahr
Aljebal, Blue Nile, Bohayrat, East Equatoria, Gedarif, Gezira,
Jungle, Kassala, Khartoum, North, North Bahr Alghazal, North Darfur,
North Kordofan, Red Sea, River Nile, Sinnar, South Darfur, South
Kordofan, Unity, Upper Nile, Warab, West Bahr Alghazal, West Darfur,
West Kordofan, West Equatoria, White Nile)
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 to be drafted following
national elections held in March 1996
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; the council is still
studying criminal provisions under Islamic law; 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 noncompulsary
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government: President Lt. General Umar
Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993) was elected to a
five-year term by popular vote; election last held 6-17 March 1996
(next to be held NA 2001); results - President al-BASHIR won 75.7%
of the vote and defeated about forty other candidates; First Vice
President Major General al-Zubayr Muhammad SALIH (since 19 October
1993), Second Vice President (Police) Maj. General George KONGOR
AROP (since NA February 1994)
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
cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president; note - on 30
October 1993, President al-BASHIR announced a new, predominantly
civilian cabinet, consisting of 20 federal ministers, most of whom
retained their previous cabinet positions; on 9 February 1995, he
abolished three ministries and redivided their portfolios to create
several new ministries; these changes increased National Islamic
Front presence at the ministerial level and consolidated its control
over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; President al-BASHIR's
government is dominated by members of Sudan's National Islamic
Front, a fundamentalist political organization formed from the
Muslim Brotherhood in 1986; front leader Hasan al-TURABI dominates
much of Khartoum's overall domestic and foreign policies; President
al-BASHIR is expected to name a new cabinet following the elections
held in March 1996
Legislative branch: unicameral
National Assembly: elections last held 6-17 March 1996 (next to be
held NA); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (400 total, 275
directly elected, and 125 elected by a supra assembly of interest
groups known as the National Congress); note - March 1996 elections
were held on a nonparty basis and parties are to be banned in the
new National Assembly
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts
Political parties and leaders: none; banned following 30 June 1989
coup
Other political or pressure groups: National Islamic Front, Hasan
al-TURABI
International organization participation: ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD,
AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGADD, 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, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Mahdi IBRAHIM
chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 through 8570
FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406
US diplomatic representation: operations in Khartoum were
suspended in February 1996; Ambassador to Sudan Timothy M. CARNEY
and several members of the mission have relocated to Nairobi, Kenya
and operate out of the US Embassy there; the embassy is located at
the corner of Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue; mailing address:
P. O. Box 30137, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831; telephone: [254] (2)
334141; FAX: [254] (2) 340838
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black
with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
Economy
-------
Economic 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
reduced levels of per capita income and consumption. A large foreign
debt and huge arrearages continue to cause difficulties. In 1990 the
International Monetary Fund took the unusual step of declaring Sudan
noncooperative because of its nonpayment of arrearages 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
1995. Agricultural production in 1995, while fairly good, was not up
to the bumper crop level of 1994.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $25 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 0% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $800 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 33%
industry: 17%
services: 50% (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 66% (1995 est.)
Labor force: 8.9 million (1993 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%,
government 6%
note: labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled
employment (1983 est.)
Unemployment rate: 30% (FY92/93 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $382 million
expenditures: $1.06 billion, including capital expenditures of $91
million (1995 est.)
Industries: cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar,
soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining
Industrial production growth rate: 6.8% (FY92/93 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 500,000 kW
production: 1.3 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 42 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: cotton, oilseed, sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic;
sheep
Exports: $535 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
commodities: cotton 24%, livestock/meat 13%, gum arabic 11%
partners: EU 39%, Saudi Arabia 19%, Japan 9%, US 3% (1993)
Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum products, manufactured goods,
machinery and equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles
partners: EU 31%, Libya 19%, Egypt 5%, Saudi Arabia 5%, US 5% (1993)
External debt: $18 billion (yearend 1995 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $387 million (1993)
Currency: 1 Sudanese pound (LSd) = 100 piastres
Exchange rates: Sudanese pounds (LSd) per US$1 - official rate:
750.0 (November 1995), 277.8 (1994), 153.8 (1993), 69.4 (1992),
5.4288 (1991); market rate: 571.02 (August 1995), 289.61 (1994),
159.31 (1993), 97.43 (1992), 6.96 (1991)
note: the market rate is a unified exchange rate determined by a
committee of local bankers, without official intervention, and is
quoted uniformly by all commercial banks
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
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: 19,885 km
paved: 1,989 km
unpaved: 17,896 km (1986 est.)
Waterways: 5,310 km navigable
Pipelines: refined products 815 km
Ports: Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin
Merchant marine:
total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 43,024 GRT/57,985 DWT
ships by type: cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 56
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 8
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
with paved runways under 914 m: 7
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 13
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 25 (1995 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)
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 0, shortwave 0
Radios: 6.67 million (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 3
Televisions: 2.06 million (1992 est.)
Defense
-------
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 7,152,884
males fit for military service: 4,399,445
males reach military age (18) annually: 329,460 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP
======================================================================
@Suriname
--------
Map
---
Location: 4 00 N, 56 00 W -- Northern South America, bordering the
North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
Flag
----
Description: five horizontal bands of green (top, double width),
white, red (quadruple width), white, and green (double width); there
is a large yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band
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 area: 163,270 sq km
land area: 161,470 sq km
comparative area: 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
International disputes: claims area in French Guiana between
Litani Rivier and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa
Rivier); claims area in Guyana between New (Upper Courantyne) and
Courantyne/Koetari Rivers (all headwaters of the Courantyne)
Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds
Terrain: mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps
lowest point: unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m
highest point: Wilhelmina Gebergte 1,286 m
Natural resources: timber, hydropower potential, fish, shrimp,
bauxite, iron ore, and small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum,
gold
Land use:
arable land: NEGL%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 97%
other: 3%
Irrigated land: 590 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: deforestation as foreign producers obtain timber
concessions
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling;
signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the
Sea
Geographic note: mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of
flora and fauna which for the most part is not threatened because of
the lack of development; relatively small population most of which
lives along the coast
People
------
Population: 436,418 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 34% (male 74,959; female 71,500)
15-64 years: 62% (male 136,287; female 132,407)
65 years and over: 4% (male 9,930; female 11,335) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.6% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 24.15 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 5.84 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 29.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.04 years
male: 67.51 years
female: 72.7 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.68 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Surinamer(s)
adjective: Surinamese
Ethnic divisions: Hindustani (also known locally as "East"
Indians; their ancestors emigrated from northern India in the latter
part of the 19th century) 37%, Creole (mixed European and African
ancestry) 31%, Javanese 15.3%, "Bush Black" (also known as "Bush
Creole" whose ancestors were brought to the country in the 17th and
18th centuries as slaves) 10.3%, Amerindian 2.6%, Chinese 1.7%,
Europeans 1%, other 1.1%
Religions: Hindu 27.4%, Muslim 19.6%, Roman Catholic 22.8%,
Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), indigenous beliefs 5%
Languages: Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang
Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of
Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca
among others), Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 93%
male: 95.1%
female: 91%
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: Republic of Suriname
conventional short form: Suriname
local long form: Republiek Suriname
local short form: Suriname
former: Netherlands Guiana, Dutch Guiana
Data code: NS
Type of government: republic
Capital: Paramaribo
Administrative divisions: 10 districts (distrikten, singular -
distrikt); Brokopondo, Commewijne, Coronie, Marowijne, Nickerie,
Para, Paramaribo, Saramacca, Sipaliwini, Wanica
Independence: 25 November 1975 (from Netherlands)
National holiday: Independence Day, 25 November (1975)
Constitution: ratified 30 September 1987
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal