Chief of State--CGDK--President Prince NORODOM SIHANOUK
(since NA July 1982); PRK--Chairman of the Council of State HENG SAMRIN
(since 27 June 1981);
Head of Government--CGDK--Prime Minister SON SANN (since NA July
1982);
PRK--Chairman of the Council of Ministers HUN SEN (since 14 January 1985)
Political parties and leaders: CGDK--three resistance groups including
Democratic Kampuchea (DK, also known as the Khmer Rouge) under Khieu Samphan,
Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF) under Son Sann, and National
United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia
(FUNCINPEC) under Prince Norodom Sihanouk; PRK--Kampuchean People's
Revolutionary Party (KPRP) led by Heng Samrin
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
CGDK--none;
PRK--National Assembly--last held 1 May 1981; in February 1986 the
Assembly voted to extend its term for five years (next to be
held by March 1990); results--KPRP is the only party;
seats--(123 total) KPRP 123
Member of: ADB, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, IDA, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, Mekong Committee
(inactive), NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO for CGDK; none for PRK
Diplomatic representation: none
Flag:
CGDK--red with the yellow silhouette of a stylized three-towered temple
representing Angkor Wat in the center;
Non-Communists--three horizontal bands of blue, red (double width),
and blue with a white stylized temple representing Angkor Wat centered on
the red band;
PRK--red with the yellow silhouette of a stylized five-towered temple
representing Angkor Wat in the center
- Economy
Overview: Cambodia is a desperately poor country whose economic
development has been stymied by deadly political infighting. The
economy is based on agriculture and related industries. Over the
past decade Cambodia has been slowly recovering from its near destruction
by war and political upheaval. It still remains, however, one of the
world's poorest countries, with an estimated per capita GDP of about
$130. The food situation is precarious; during the 1980s famine has
been averted only through international relief. In 1986 the production level
of rice, the staple food crop, was able to meet only 80% of domestic needs. The
biggest success of the nation's recovery program has been in new rubber
plantings and in fishing. Industry, other than rice processing, is
almost nonexistent. Foreign trade is primarily with the USSR and Vietnam.
Statistical data on the economy continues to be sparse and unreliable.
GDP: $890 million, per capita $130; real growth rate 0% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of
$NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Exports: $32 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--natural rubber, rice, pepper, wood;
partners--Vietnam, USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, India
Imports: $147 million (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--international food aid; fuels, consumer goods;
partners--Vietnam, USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, India
External debt: $600 million (1989)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 126,000 kW capacity; 150 million kWh produced,
21 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber,
cement, gem mining
Agriculture: mainly subsistence farming except for rubber plantations;
main crops--rice, rubber, corn; food shortages--rice, meat, vegetables, dairy
products, sugar, flour
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $719 million;
Western (non-US) countries (1970-85), $270 million; Communist countries
(1970-88), $950 million
Currency: riel (plural--riels); 1 riel (CR) = 100 sen
Exchange rates: riels (CR) per US$1--218 (November 1989)
100.00 (1987), 30.00 (1986), 7.00 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Railroads: 612 km 1.000-meter gauge, government owned
Highways: 13,351 km total; 2,622 km bituminous; 7,105 km crushed stone,
gravel, or improved earth; 3,624 km unimproved earth; some roads in disrepair
Inland waterways: 3,700 km navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6
meters; 282 km navigable to craft drawing 1.8 meters
Ports: Kampong Saom, Phnom Penh
Airports: 22 total, 9 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: service barely adequate for government requirements
and virtually nonexistent for general public; international service limited to
Vietnam and other adjacent countries; stations--1 AM, no FM, 1 TV
- Defense Forces
Branches: PRK--People's Republic of Kampuchea Armed Forces;
Communist resistance forces--National Army of Democratic Kampuchea
(Khmer Rouge); non-Communist resistance forces--Sihanoukist National
Army (ANS) and Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF)
Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,857,129; 1,025,456 fit for military
service; 61,649 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Cameroon
- Geography
Total area: 475,440 km2; land area: 469,440 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than California
Land boundaries: 4,591 km total; Central African Republic 797 km,
Chad 1,094 km, Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km,
Nigeria 1,690 km
Coastline: 402 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: not specific;
Territorial sea: 50 nm
Disputes: exact locations of the Chad-Niger-Nigeria and
Cameroon-Chad-Nigeria tripoints in Lake Chad have not been determined, so the
boundary has not been demarcated and border incidents have resulted; Nigerian
proposals to reopen maritime boundary negotiations and redemarcate the entire
land boundary have been rejected by Cameroon
Climate: varies with terrain from tropical along coast to semiarid
and hot in north
Terrain: diverse with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau
in center, mountains in west, plains in north
Natural resources: crude oil, bauxite, iron ore, timber,
hydropower potential
Land use: 13% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures;
54% forest and woodland; 13% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: recent volcanic activity with release of poisonous gases;
deforestation; overgrazing; desertification
Note: sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa
- People
Population: 11,092,470 (July 1990), growth rate 2.7% (1990)
Birth rate: 42 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 120 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 53 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 5.7 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Cameroonian(s); adjective--Cameroonian
Ethnic divisions: over 200 tribes of widely differing background; 31%
Cameroon Highlanders, 19% Equatorial Bantu, 11% Kirdi, 10% Fulani, 8%
Northwestern Bantu, 7% Eastern Nigritic, 13% other African, less than 1%
non-African
Religion: 51% indigenous beliefs, 33% Christian, 16% Muslim
Language: English and French (official), 24 major African language groups
Literacy: 56.2%
Labor force: NA; 74.4% agriculture, 11.4% industry and transport,
14.2% other services (1983); 50% of population of working age (15-64 years)
(1985)
Organized labor: under 45% of wage labor force
- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Cameroon
Type: unitary republic; one-party presidential regime
Capital: Yaounde
Administrative divisions: 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est,
Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest
Independence: 1 January 1960 (from UN trusteeship under
French administration; formerly French Cameroon)
Constitution: 20 May 1972
Legal system: based on French civil law system, with common law
influence; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: National Day, 20 May (1972)
Executive branch: president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government President Paul BIYA (since
6 November 1982)
Political parties and leaders: only party--Cameroon People's
Democratic Movement (RDPC), Paul Biya, president
Suffrage: universal at age 21
Elections:
President--last held 24 April 1988 (next to be held April 1993);
results--President Paul Biya reelected without opposition;
National Assembly--last held 24 April 1988 (next to be
held April 1993);
results--RDPC is the only party;
seats--(180 total) RDPC 180
Communists: no Communist party or significant number of sympathizers
Other political or pressure groups: Cameroon People's Union (UPC),
remains an illegal group with its factional leaders in exile
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, EAMA, ECA, EIB (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ISO, ITU, Lake Chad Basin Commission,
NAM, Niger River Commission, OAU, OIC, UDEAC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Paul PONDI; Chancery at
2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 265-8790
through 8794;
US--Ambassador Frances COOK; Embassy at Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde
(mailing address is B. P. 817, Yaounde); telephone [237] 234014; there is a
US Consulate General in Douala
Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), red, and yellow
with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular
pan-African colors of Ethiopia
- Economy
Overview: Over the past decade the economy has registered a remarkable
performance because of the development of an offshore oil industry. Real
GDP growth annually averaged 10% from 1978 to 1985. In 1986 Cameroon had one of
the highest levels of income per capita in tropical Africa, with oil revenues
picking up the slack as growth in other sectors softened. Because of the sharp
drop in oil prices, however, the economy is now experiencing serious budgetary
difficulties and balance-of-payments disequalibrium. Oil reserves currently
being exploited will be depleted in the early 1990s, so ways must be found to
boost agricultural and industrial exports in the medium term. The Sixth
Cameroon Development Plan (1986-91) stresses balanced development and designates
agriculture as the basis of the country's economic future.
GDP: $12.9 billion, per capita $955; real growth rate - 8.6% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.6% (FY88)
Unemployment rate: 7% (1985)
Budget: revenues $2.17 billion; expenditures $2.17 billion,
including capital expenditures of $833 million (FY88)
Exports: $2.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--petroleum products 56%, coffee, cocoa, timber, manufactures;
partners--EC (particularly the Netherlands) about 50%, US 3%
Imports: $2.3 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--machines and electrical equipment, transport equipment,
chemical products, consumer goods;
partners--France 42%, Japan 7%, US 4%
External debt: $4.9 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate - 6.4% (FY87)
Electricity: 752,000 kW capacity; 2,940 million kWh produced,
270 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: crude oil products, small aluminum plant, food processing,
light consumer goods industries, sawmills
Agriculture: the agriculture and forestry sectors provide employment for
the majority of the population, contributing nearly 25% to GDP and
providing a high degree of self-sufficiency in staple foods; commercial and
food crops include coffee, cocoa, timber, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed,
grains, livestock, root starches
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $400 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $3.9 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $29 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$120 million
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs);
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per
US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987),
346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
- Communications
Railroads: 1,003 km total; 858 km 1.000-meter gauge, 145 km 0.600-meter
gauge
Highways: about 65,000 km total; includes 2,682 km bituminous,
30,000 km unimproved earth, 32,318 km gravel, earth, and improved earth
Inland waterways: 2,090 km; of decreasing importance
Ports: Douala
Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
24,122 GRT/33,509 DWT
Civil air: 5 major transport aircraft
Airports: 61 total, 54 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 22 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: good system of open wire, cable, troposcatter, and
radio relay; 26,000 telephones; stations--10 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth stations
- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary Gendarmerie
Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,553,867; 1,286,831 fit for military
service; 121,773 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 1.7% of GDP, or $219 million (1990 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Canada
- Geography
Total area: 9,976,140 km2; land area: 9,220,970 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than US
Land boundaries: 8,893 km with US (includes 2,477 km with Alaska)
Coastline: 243,791 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: maritime boundary disputes with France (St. Pierre and Miquelon)
and US
Climate: varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north
Terrain: mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast
Natural resources: nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash,
silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, crude oil, natural gas
Land use: 5% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures;
35% forest and woodland; 57% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: 80% of population concentrated within 160 km of US border;
continuous permafrost in north a serious obstacle to development
Note: second-largest country in world (after USSR); strategic
location between USSR and US via north polar route
- People
Population: 26,538,229 (July 1990), growth rate 1.1% (1990)
Birth rate: 14 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Canadian(s); adjective--Canadian
Ethnic divisions: 40% British Isles origin, 27% French origin, 20% other
European, 1.5% indigenous Indian and Eskimo
Religion: 46% Roman Catholic, 16% United Church, 10% Anglican
Language: English and French (both official)
Literacy: 99%
Labor force: 13,380,000; services 75%, manufacturing 14%, agriculture 4%,
construction 3%, other 4% (1988)
Organized labor: 30.6% of labor force; 39.6% of nonagricultural paid
workers
- Government
Long-form name: none
Type: confederation with parliamentary democracy
Capital: Ottawa
Administrative divisions: 10 provinces and 2 territories*; Alberta,
British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland,
Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island,
Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory*
Independence: 1 July 1867 (from UK)
Constitution: amended British North America Act 1867 patriated to
Canada 17 April 1982; charter of rights and unwritten customs
Legal system: based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil
law system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations
National holiday: Canada Day, 1 July (1867)
Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister,
deputy prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house
or Senate and a lower house or House of Commons
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented
by Governor General Raymond John HNATSHYN (since 29 January
1990);
Head of Government--Prime Minister (Martin) Brian MULRONEY (since
4 September 1984); Deputy Prime Minister Donald Frank MAZANKOWSKI (since
NA June 1986)
Political parties and leaders: Progressive Conservative, Brian Mulroney;
Liberal, John Turner; New Democratic, Audrey McLaughlin
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
House of Commons--last held 21 November 1988 (next to be
held by November 1993);
results--Progressive Conservative 43.0%, Liberal 32%,
New Democratic Party 20%, other 5%;
seats--(295 total) Progressive Conservative 170, Liberal 82, New
Democratic Party 43
Communists: 3,000
Member of: ADB, CCC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, DAC, FAO, GATT, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IEA,
IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ISO, ITC,
ITU, IWC--International Whaling Commission, IWC--International Wheat
Council, NATO, OAS, OECD, PAHO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WSG
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Derek BURNEY; Chancery at
1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 785-1400;
there are Canadian Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago,
Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia,
San Francisco, and Seattle;
US--Ambassador Edward N. NEY; Embassy at 100 Wellington Street,
K1P 5T1, Ottawa (mailing address is P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburg, NY 13669);
telephone (613) 238-5335; there are US Consulates General in Calgary, Halifax,
Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, and Vancouver
Flag: three vertical bands of red (hoist side), white (double width,
square), and red with a red maple leaf centered in the white band
- Economy
Overview: As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, Canada
today closely resembles the US in per capita output, market-oriented
economic system, and pattern of production. Since World War II the
impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has
transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily
industrial and urban. In the 1980s Canada registered one of the highest
rates of growth among the OECD nations, averaging about 4%. With its
great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant,
Canada has excellent economic prospects. In mid-1990, however, the
long-simmering problems between English- and French-speaking areas
became so acute that observers spoke openly of a possible split in the
confederation; foreign investors were becoming edgy.
GDP: $513.6 billion, per capita $19,600; real growth rate
2.9% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.0% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 7.5% (1989)
Budget: revenues $79.2 billion; expenditures $102.0 billion,
including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (FY88 est.)
Exports: $127.2 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--newsprint, wood pulp, timber, grain, crude petroleum,
natural gas, ferrous and nonferrous ores, motor vehicles;
partners--US, Japan, UK, FRG, other EC, USSR
Imports: $116.5 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--processed foods, beverages, crude petroleum, chemicals,
industrial machinery, motor vehicles, durable consumer goods, electronic
computers;
partners--US, Japan, UK, FRG, other EC, Taiwan, South Korea, Mexico
External debt: $247 billion (1987)
Industrial production: growth rate 2.3% (1989)
Electricity: 103,746,000 kW capacity; 472,580 million kWh produced,
17,960 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and
paper products, transportation equipment, chemicals, fish products, petroleum
and natural gas
Agriculture: accounts for 3% of GDP; one of the world's major producers
and exporters of grain (wheat and barley); key source of US agricultural
imports; large forest resources cover 35% of total land area; commercial
fisheries provide annual catch of 1.5 million metric tons, of which 75% is
exported
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic
drug market
Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $2.2 billion
Currency: Canadian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Canadian dollar
(Can$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Canadian dollars (Can$) per US$1--1.1714 (January
1990), 1.1840 (1989), 1.2307 (1988), 1.3260 (1987), 1.3895 (1986),
1.3655 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
- Communications
Railroads: 80,095 km total; 79,917 km 1.435-meter standard gauge
(includes 129 km electrified); 178 km 0.915-meter narrow gauge (mostly unused);
two major transcontinental freight railway systems--Canadian National
(government owned) and Canadian Pacific Railway; passenger service--VIA
(government operated)
Highways: 884,272 km total; 712,936 km surfaced (250,023 km paved),
171,336 km earth
Inland waterways: 3,000 km, including St. Lawrence Seaway
Pipelines: oil, 23,564 km total crude and refined; natural gas, 74,980 km
Ports: Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Saint John (New Brunswick),
St. John's (Newfoundland), Toronto, Vancouver
Merchant marine: 78 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 555,749 GRT/774,914
DWT; includes 1 passenger, 5 short-sea passenger, 2 passenger-cargo, 12 cargo,
2 railcar carrier, 1 refrigerated cargo, 8 roll-on/roll-off, 1 container,
29 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 6 chemical tanker,
1 specialized tanker, 10 bulk; note--does not include ships used
exclusively in the Great Lakes
ships
Civil air: 636 major transport aircraft; Air Canada is the major carrier
Airports: 1,359 total, 1,117 usable; 442 with permanent-surface runways;
4 with runways over 3,659 m; 30 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 322 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: excellent service provided by modern media; 18.0
million telephones; stations--900 AM, 29 FM, 53 (1,400 repeaters) TV; 5 coaxial
submarine cables; over 300 satellite earth stations operating in
INTELSAT (including 4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) and domestic
systems
- Defense Forces
Branches: Mobile Command, Maritime Command, Air Command, Communications
Command, Canadian Forces Europe, Training Commands
Military manpower: males 15-49, 7,174,119; 6,251,492 fit for military
service; 187,894 reach military age (17) annually
Defense expenditures: 2.0% of GDP, or $10 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Cape Verde
- Geography
Total area: 4,030 km2; land area: 4,030 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Rhode Island
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 965 km
Maritime claims: (measured from claimed archipelagic baselines);
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: temperate; warm, dry, summer precipitation very erratic
Terrain: steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic
Natural resources: salt, basalt rock, pozzolana, limestone, kaolin,
fish
Land use: 9% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 6% meadows and pastures;
NEGL% forest and woodland; 85% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: subject to prolonged droughts; harmattan wind can obscure
visibility; volcanically and seismically active; deforestation; overgrazing