Virgin Islands Party (VIP), H. Lavity Stoutt; Independent
People's Movement (IPM), Cyril B. Romney
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
Legislative Council--last held 30 September 1986 (next to be
held by September 1991); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(9 total) UP 2, VIP 5, IPM 2
Communists: probably none
Member of: Commonwealth
Diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and
the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the
coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical
column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word
VIGILATE (Be Watchful)
- Economy
Overview: The economy is highly dependent on the tourist industry,
which generates about 21% of the national income. In 1985 the government
offered offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in
the islands, and, in consequence, incorporation fees generated about $2 million
in 1987. Livestock raising is the most significant agricultural activity. The
islands' crops, limited by poor soils, are unable to meet food requirements.
GDP: $106.7 million, per capita $8,900; real growth rate 2.5% (1987)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (January 1987)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $26.2 million; expenditures $25.4 million,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1988 est.)
Exports: $2.3 million (f.o.b., 1985); commodities--rum, fresh fish,
gravel, sand, fruits, animals; partners--Virgin Islands (US),
Puerto Rico, US
Imports: $72.0 million (c.i.f., 1985); commodities--building
materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery; partners--Virgin Islands
(US), Puerto Rico, US
External debt: $4.5 million (1985)
Industrial production: growth rate - 4.0% (1985)
Electricity: 13,500 kW capacity; 59 million kWh produced,
4,870 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block,
offshore financial center
Agriculture: livestock (including poultry), fish, fruit, vegetables
Aid: NA
Currency: US currency is used
Exchange rates: US currency is used
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
- Communications
Highways: 106 km motorable roads (1983)
Ports: Road Town
Airports: 3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways
less than 1,220 m
Telecommunications: 3,000 telephones; worldwide external telephone
service; submarine cable communication links to Bermuda; stations--1 AM,
no FM, 1 TV
- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Brunei
- Geography
Total area: 5,770 km2; land area: 5,270 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Delaware
Land boundary: 381 km with Malaysia
Coastline: 161 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: may wish to purchase the Malaysian salient that divides
the country
Climate: tropical; hot, humid, rainy
Terrain: flat coastal plain rises to mountains in east; hilly lowland
in west
Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, timber
Land use: 1% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures;
79% forest and woodland; 18% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: typhoons, earthquakes, and severe flooding are rare
Note: close to vital sea lanes through South China Sea linking
Indian and Pacific Oceans; two parts physically separated by Malaysia; almost
an enclave of Malaysia
- People
Population: 372,108 (July 1990), growth rate 7.1% (1990)
Birth rate: 23 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 52 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 10 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 77 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.9 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Bruneian(s); adjective--Bruneian
Ethnic divisions: 64% Malay, 20% Chinese, 16% other
Religion: 60% Muslim (official); 8% Christian; 32% Buddhist and
indigenous beliefs
Language: Malay (official), English, and Chinese
Literacy: 45%
Labor force: 89,000 (includes members of the Army); 33% of labor
force is foreign (1988); 50.4% production of oil, natural gas, and
construction; 47.6% trade, services, and other; 2.0% agriculture,
forestry, and fishing (1984)
Organized labor: 2% of labor force
- Government
Long-form name: Negara Brunei Darussalam
Type: constitutional sultanate
Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan
Administrative divisions: 4 districts (daerah-daerah, singular--daerah);
Belait, Brunei and Muara, Temburong, Tutong
Independence: 1 January 1984 (from UK)
Constitution: 29 September 1959 (some provisions suspended
under a State of Emergency since December 1962, others since
independence on 1 January 1984)
Legal system: based on Islamic law
National holiday: National Day, 23 February (1984)
Executive branch: sultan, prime minister, Council of Cabinet Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council
(Majlis Masyuarat Megeri)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--Sultan and Prime Minister Sir Muda
HASSANAL BOLKIAH Muizzaddin Waddaulah (since 5 October 1967)
Political parties and leaders: Brunei National United Party
(inactive), Anak Hasanuddin, chairman; Brunei National Democratic Party
(the first legal political party and now banned) Abdul Latif
bin Abdul Hamid, chairman
Suffrage: none
Elections:
Legislative Council--last held in March 1962; in 1970
the Council was changed to an appointive body by decree of the sultan
and no elections are planned
Communists: probably none
Member of: ASEAN, ESCAP (associate member), IMO, INTERPOL, OIC, UN
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Dato Paduka Haji MOHAMED SUNI
bin Haji Idris; Chancery at 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037;
telephone (202) 342-0159; US--Ambassador Christopher H. PHILLIPS;
Embassy at Teck Guan Plaza (corner of Jalan McArthur), Bandar Seri
Begawan (mailing address is P. O. Box 2991, Bandar Seri Begawan);
telephone [673] (2) 29670
Flag: yellow with two diagonal bands of white (top, almost double width)
and black starting from the upper hoist side; the national emblem in red is
superimposed at the center; the emblem includes a swallow-tailed flag on top of
a winged column within an upturned crescent above a scroll and flanked by two
upraised hands
- Economy
Overview: The economy is a mixture of foreign and domestic
entrepreneurship, government regulation and welfare measures, and
village tradition. It is almost totally supported by exports of
crude oil and natural gas, with revenues from the petroleum sector
accounting for more than 70% of GDP. Per capita GDP of $9,600
is among the highest in the Third World, and substantial income from
overseas investment supplements domestic production. The government
provides for all medical services and subsidizes food and housing.
GDP: $3.3 billion, per capita $9,600; real growth rate
2.5% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1989 est.)
Unemployment: 2.5%, shortage of skilled labor (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $1.2 billion (1987); expenditures $1.6 billion,
including capital expenditures of NA (1989 est.)
Exports: $2.07 billion (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--crude oil, liquefied natural gas, petroleum products;
partners--Japan 55% (1986)
Imports: $800 million (c.i.f., 1987);
commodities--machinery and transport equipment, manufactured
goods; food, beverages, tobacco; consumer goods;
partners--Singapore 31%, US 20%, Japan 6% (1986)
External debt: none
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 310,000 kW capacity; 890 million kWh produced,
2,580 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: petroleum, liquefied natural gas, construction
Agriculture: imports about 80% of its food needs; principal crops
and livestock include rice, cassava, bananas, buffaloes, and pigs
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $20.6 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $143.7 million
Currency: Bruneian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Bruneian dollar
(B$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Bruneian dollars (B$) per US$1--1.8895 (January 1990),
1.9503 (1989), 2.0124 (1988), 2.1060 (1987), 2.1774 (1986), 2.2002 (1985);
note--the Bruneian dollar is at par with the Singapore dollar
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Railroads: 13 km 0.610-meter narrow-gauge private line
Highways: 1,090 km total; 370 km paved (bituminous treated) and another
52 km under construction, 720 km gravel or unimproved
Inland waterways: 209 km; navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 meters
Ports: Kuala Belait, Muara
Merchant marine: 7 liquefied gas carriers (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
348,476 GRT/340,635 DWT
Pipelines: crude oil, 135 km; refined products, 418 km;
natural gas, 920 km
Civil air: 4 major transport aircraft (3 Boeing 757-200,
1 Boeing 737-200)
Airports: 2 total, 2 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with
runway over 3,659 m; 1 with runway 1,406 m
Telecommunications: service throughout country is adequate for present
needs; international service good to adjacent Malaysia; radiobroadcast coverage
good; 33,000 telephones (1987); stations--4 AM/FM, 1 TV; 74,000 radio receivers
(1987); satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Pacific
Ocean INTELSAT
- Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Brunei Armed Forces, including air wing, navy, and ground
forces; British Gurkha Battalion; Royal Brunei Police; Gurkha Reserve Unit
Military manpower: males 15-49, 104,398; 60,242 fit for military service;
3,106 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: $197.6 million, 17% of central government budget
(FY86)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Bulgaria
- Geography
Total area: 110,910 km2; land area: 110,550 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries: 1,881 km total; Greece 494 km, Romania 608 km,
Turkey 240 km, Yugoslavia 539 km
Coastline: 354 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: Macedonia question with Greece and Yugoslavia
Climate: temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers
Terrain: mostly mountains with lowlands in north and south
Natural resources: bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber,
arable land
Land use: 34% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures;
35% forest and woodland; 10% other; includes 11% irrigated
Environment: subject to earthquakes, landslides; deforestation;
air pollution
Note: strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key
land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia
- People
Population: 8,933,544 (July 1990), growth rate - 0.3% (1990)
Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 12 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: - 4 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 13 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 76 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Bulgarian(s); adjective--Bulgarian
Ethnic divisions: 85.3% Bulgarian, 8.5% Turk, 2.6% Gypsy, 2.5%
Macedonian, 0.3% Armenian, 0.2% Russian, 0.6% other
Religion: religious background of population is 85% Bulgarian
Orthodox, 13% Muslim, 0.8% Jewish, 0.7% Roman Catholic, 0.5%
Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other
Language: Bulgarian; secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic
breakdown
Literacy: 95% (est.)
Labor force: 4,300,000; 33% industry, 20% agriculture, 47% other (1987)
Organized labor: all workers are members of the Central Council of
Trade Unions (CCTU); Pod Krepa (Support), an independent trade union,
legally registered in January 1990
- Government
Long-form name: People's Republic of Bulgaria
Type: Communist state, but democratic elections planned for 1990
Capital: Sofia
Administrative divisions: 8 provinces (oblasti, singular--oblast)
and 1 city* (grad); Burgas, Grad Sofiya*, Khaskovo, Lovech, Mikhaylovgrad,
Plovdiv, Razgrad, Sofiya, Varna
Independence: 22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)
Constitution: 16 May 1971, effective 18 May 1971
Legal system: based on civil law system, with Soviet law influence;
judicial review of legislative acts in the State Council; has accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Anniversary of the Socialist Revolution in Bulgaria,
9 September (1944)
Executive branch: president, chairman of the Council of Ministers,
four deputy chairmen of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Narodno Sobranyie)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Petur Toshev MLADENOV (chairman of
the State Council since 11 November 1989; became president
on 3 April 1990 when the State Council was abolished);
Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers
Andrey LUKANOV (since 3 February 1990); Deputy Chairman of the
Council of Ministers Chudomir Asenov ALEKSANDROV (since 8 February
1990); Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Belcho Antonov BELCHEV
(since 8 February 1990); Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers
Konstantin Dimitrov KOSEV (since 8 February 1990); Deputy Chairman of
the Council of Ministers Nora Krachunova ANANIEVA (since 8 February 1990)
Political parties and leaders: Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP),
Aleksandur Lilov, chairman; Bulgarian National Agrarian
Union (BZNS), Angel Angelov Dimitrov, secretary of Permanent Board;
Bulgarian Social Democratic Party, Petur Dentlieu; Green Party;
Christian Democrats; Radical Democratic Party; others forming
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
Elections:
Chairman of the State Council--last held 17 June 1986
(next to be held 10 and 17 June 1990);
results--Todor Zhivkov reelected but was replaced by
Petur Toshev Mladenov on 11 November 1989;
National Assembly--last held 8 June 1986 (next to be held
10 and 17 June 1990); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(400 total) BKP 276, BZNS 99, others 25
Communists: 932,055 party members (April 1986)
Other political or pressure groups: Union of Democratic Forces
(umbrella organization for opposition groups); Ecoglenost, Podkrepa
Independent Trade Union, Fatherland Front, Communist Youth Union, Central
Council of Trade Unions, National Committee for Defense of
Peace, Union of Fighters Against Fascism and Capitalism, Committee
of Bulgarian Women, All-National Committee for Bulgarian-Soviet
Friendship; Union of Democratic Forces, a coalition of about a
dozen dissident groups; numerous regional and national interest
groups with various agendas
Member of: CCC, CEMA, FAO, IAEA, IBEC, ICAO, ILO, ILZSG, IMO,
IPU, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, UN, UNESCO, UPU,
Warsaw Pact, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Velichko Filipov VELICHKOV;
Chancery at 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 387-7969;
US--Ambassador Sol POLANSKY; Embassy at 1 Alexander Stamboliski Boulevard,
Sofia (mailing address is APO New York 09213); telephone [359] (2) 88-48-01
through 05
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red with the
national emblem on the hoist side of the white stripe; the emblem contains a
rampant lion within a wreath of wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and
above a ribbon bearing the dates 681 (first Bulgarian state established) and
1944 (liberation from Nazi control)
- Economy
Overview: Growth in the sluggish Bulgarian economy fell to the
2% annual level in the 1980s, and by 1989 Sofia's foreign debt had
skyrocketed to $10 billion--giving a debt service ratio of more
than 40% of hard currency earnings. The post-Zhivkov regime
faces major problems of renovating an aging industrial plant,
keeping abreast of rapidly unfolding technological developments,
investing in additional energy capacity (the portion of electric
power from nuclear energy reached 37% in 1988), and motivating workers,
in part by giving them a share in the earnings of their enterprises.
A major decree of January 1989 summarized and extended
the government's economic restructuring efforts, which include a partial
decentralization of controls over production decisions and foreign trade.
The new regime promises more extensive reforms and eventually a market
economy. But the ruling group cannot (so far) bring itself to give
up ultimate control over economic affairs exercised through the vertical
Party/ministerial command structure. Reforms have not
led to improved economic performance, in particular the provision of more
and better consumer goods. A further blow to the economy was the exodus
of 310,000 ethnic Turks in mid-1989, which caused temporary shortages
of skilled labor in glassware, aluminum, and other industrial plants
and in tobacco fields.
GNP: $51.2 billion, per capita $5,710; real growth rate - 0.1%
(1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (1989)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $26 billion; expenditures $28 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA billion (1988)
Exports: $20.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--machinery and equipment 60.5%; agricultural products 14.7%;
manufactured consumer goods 10.6%; fuels, minerals, raw materials, and metals
8.5%; other 5.7%;
partners--Socialist countries 82.5% (USSR 61%, GDR 5.5%, Czechoslovakia
4.9%); developed countries 6.8% (FRG 1.2%, Greece 1.0%); less developed
countries 10.7% (Libya 3.5%, Iraq 2.9%)
Imports: $21.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--fuels, minerals, and raw materials 45.2%; machinery and
equipment 39.8%; manufactured consumer goods 4.6%; agricultural products 3.8%;
other 6.6%;
partners--Socialist countries 80.5% (USSR 57.5%, GDR 5.7%), developed
countries 15.1% (FRG 4.8%, Austria 1.6%); less developed countries 4.4%
(Libya 1.0%, Brazil 0.9%)
External debt: $10 billion (1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 0.9% (1988)
Electricity: 11,500,000 kW capacity; 45,000 million kWh produced,
5,000 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: food processing, machine and metal building,
electronics, chemicals
Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GNP; climate and soil conditions support
livestock raising and the growing of various grain crops, oilseeds, vegetables,
fruits and tobacco; more than one-third of the arable land devoted to grain;
world's fourth-largest tobacco exporter; surplus food producer
Aid: donor--$1.6 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed
countries (1956-88)
Currency: lev (plural--leva); 1 lev (Lv) = 100 stotinki
Exchange rates: leva (Lv) per US$1--0.84 (1989), 0.82 (1988),
0.90 (1987), 0.95 (1986), 1.03 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Railroads: 4,294 km total, all government owned (1986); 4,049 km
1.435-meter standard gauge, 245 km narrow gauge; 908 km double track; 2,342 km
electrified
Highways: 37,397 km total; 33,352 km hard surface (including 228 km
superhighways); 4,045 km earth roads (1986)
Inland waterways: 470 km (1986)
Pipelines: crude, 193 km; refined product, 418 km; natural gas, 1,400 km
(1986)
Ports: Burgas, Varna, Varna West; river ports are Ruse, Vidin, and Lom
on the Danube
Merchant marine: 108 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 1,240,204
GRT/1,872,723 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 32 cargo, 2 container,
1 passenger-cargo training, 5 roll-on/roll-off, 16 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 railcar carriers, 48 bulk
Civil air: 65 major transport aircraft
Airports: 380 total, 380 usable; about 120 with permanent-surface
runways; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 20 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: stations--15 AM, 16 FM, 13 TV; 1 Soviet TV relay;
2,100,000 TV sets; 2,100,000 radio receivers; at least 1 satellite earth
station
- Defense Forces
Branches: Bulgarian People's Army, Bulgarian Navy, Air and Air
Defense Forces, Frontier Troops
Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,177,404; 1,823,111 fit for military
service; 66,744 reach military age (19) annually
Defense expenditures: 1.6051 billion leva (1989);
note--conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the official
administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Burkina
- Geography
Total area: 274,200 km2; land area: 273,800 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Colorado
Land boundaries: 3,192 km total; Benin 306 km, Ghana 548 km,
Ivory Coast 584 km, Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km
Coastline: none--landlocked
Maritime claims: none--landlocked
Disputes: the disputed international boundary between Burkina and Mali was
submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in October 1983 and the
ICJ issued its final ruling in December 1986, which both sides agreed to accept;
Burkina and Mali are proceeding with boundary demarcation, including the
tripoint with Niger
Climate: tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Terrain: mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and
southeast
Natural resources: manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits
of gold, antimony, copper, nickel, bauxite, lead, phosphates, zinc,
silver
Land use: 10% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 37% meadows and
pastures; 26% forest and woodland; 27% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: recent droughts and desertification severely affecting
marginal agricultural activities, population distribution, economy;
overgrazing; deforestation
Note: landlocked
- People
Population: 9,077,828 (July 1990), growth rate 3.1% (1990)
Birth rate: 50 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 17 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: - 3 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 121 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 51 years male, 52 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 7.2 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Burkinabe; adjective--Burkinabe
Ethnic divisions: more than 50 tribes; principal tribe is Mossi (about
2.5 million); other important groups are Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande,
and Fulani
Religion: 65% indigenous beliefs, about 25% Muslim, 10% Christian (mainly
Roman Catholic)
Language: French (official); tribal languages belong to Sudanic family,
spoken by 90% of the population
Literacy: 13.2%
Labor force: 3,300,000 residents; 30,000 are wage earners;
82% agriculture, 13% industry, 5% commerce, services, and government; 20% of
male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal
employment (1984); 44% of population of working age (1985)
Organized labor: four principal trade union groups represent less than 1%
of population
- Government
Long-form name: Burkina Faso
Type: military; established by coup on 4 August 1983
Capital: Ouagadougou
Administrative divisions: 30 provinces; Bam, Bazega, Bougouriba,
Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houet, Kadiogo,
Kenedougou, Komoe, Kossi, Kouritenga, Mouhoun, Namentenga, Naouri,
Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Sanguie, Sanmatenga, Seno, Sissili,
Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Yatenga, Zoundweogo
Independence: 5 August 1960 (from France; formerly Upper Volta)
Constitution: none; constitution of 27 November 1977 was abolished
following coup of 25 November 1980
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 4 August (1983)
Executive branch: chairman of the Popular Front, Council of Ministers