Chief of State and Head of Government--President Hissein HABRE
(since 19 June 1982)
Political parties and leaders: National Union for Independence and
Revolution (UNIR) established June 1984 with Habre as President;
numerous dissident groups (most significant opponents have returned
to the government since mid-1986)
Suffrage: universal at age NA
Elections:
President--last held 10 December 1989 (next to be held December
1996);
results--President Habre was reelected without opposition
Communists: no front organizations or underground party; probably a few
Communists and some sympathizers
Other political or pressure groups: NA
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CEAO, Conference of East and Central African States,
EAMA, ECA, EC (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic
Development Bank, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, Lake Chad Basin
Commission, NAM, OAU, OCAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Mahamat Ali ADOUM; Chancery at
2002 R Steet NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 462-4009;
US--Ambassador-designate Richard W. BOGOSIAN; Charge d'Affaires,
Julius WALKER; Embassy at Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena (mailing address
is B. P. 413, N'Djamena); telephone [235] (51) 32-69 or 35-13,
28-62, 23-29, 32-29, 30-94, 28-47
Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red;
similar to the flag of Andorra which has a national coat of arms featuring a
quartered shield centered in the yellow band; also similar to the flag of
Romania which has a national coat of arms featuring a mountain landscape
centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France
- Economy
Overview: The climate, geographic location, and lack of infrastructure
and natural resources potential make Chad one of the most underdeveloped
countries in the world. Its economy is slowly recovering from the ravaging
effects of prolonged civil war, conflict with Libya, drought, and food
shortages. In 1986 real GDP returned to its 1977 level, with cotton, the major
cash crop, accounting for 43% of exports. Over 80% of the work force
is employed in subsistence farming and fishing. Industry is based almost
entirely on the processing of agricultural products, including cotton,
sugarcane, and cattle. Chad is still highly dependent on foreign aid, with its
economy in trouble and many regions suffering from shortages.
GDP: $902 million, per capita $190; real growth rate 7.0% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): - 3.0% (1987)
Unemployment rate: NA
Budget: revenues $61 million; expenditures $85 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (1988 est.)
Exports: $432 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--cotton 43%, cattle 35%, textiles 5%, fish;
partners--France, Nigeria, Cameroon
Imports: $214 million (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--machinery and transportation equipment 39%,
industrial goods 20%, petroleum products 13%, foodstuffs 9%;
partners--US, France
External debt: $360 million (December 1989)
Industrial production: growth rate - 7.0% (1986)
Electricity: 38,000 kW capacity; 70 million kWh produced, 14 kWh
per capita (1989)
Industries: cotton textile mills, slaughterhouses, brewery, natron
(sodium carbonate)
Agriculture: accounts for 45% of GDP; largely subsistence farming; cotton
most important cash crop; food crops include sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice,
potatoes, manioc; livestock--cattle, sheep, goats, camels;
self-sufficient in food in years of adequate rainfall
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $178 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87),
$1.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $28 million; Communist countries
(1970-88), $71 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: calendar year
- Communications
Highways: 31,322 km total; 32 km bituminous; 7,300 km gravel and laterite;
remainder unimproved
Inland waterways: 2,000 km navigable
Civil air: 3 major transport aircraft
Airports: 71 total, 55 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 24 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: fair system of radiocommunication stations for
intercity links; 5,000 telephones; stations--3 AM, 1 FM, limited TV
service; many facilities are inoperative; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth
station
- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie, Presidential Guard
Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,163,312; 603,923 fit for military
service; 50,255 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: 3.5% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Chile
- Geography
Total area: 756,950 km2; land area: 748,800 km2; includes Isla de
Pascua (Easter Island) and Isla Sala y Gomez
Comparative area: slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana
Land boundaries: 6,171 km total; Argentina 5,150 km, Bolivia 861 km,
Peru 160 km
Coastline: 6,435 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 nm;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: short section of the southern boundary with Argentina is
indefinite; Bolivia has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South
Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884;
dispute with Bolivia over Rio Lauca water rights; territorial claim in
Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine
claim
Climate: temperate; desert in north; cool and damp in south
Terrain: low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged Andes
in east
Natural resources: copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious
metals, molybdenum
Land use: 7% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 16% meadows and
pastures; 21% forest and woodland; 56% other; includes 2% irrigated
Environment: subject to severe earthquakes, active volcanism, tsunami;
Atacama Desert one of world's driest regions; desertification
Note: strategic location relative to sea lanes between
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage)
- People
Population: 13,082,842 (July 1990), growth rate 1.6% (1990)
Birth rate: 21 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 18 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 77 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.5 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Chilean(s); adjective--Chilean
Ethnic divisions: 95% European and European-Indian, 3% Indian, 2% other
Religion: 89% Roman Catholic, 11% Protestant, and small Jewish
population
Language: Spanish
Literacy: 94%
Labor force: 3,840,000; 38.6% services (including 12% government),
31.3% industry and commerce; 15.9% agriculture, forestry, and fishing;
8.7% mining; 4.4% construction (1985)
Organized labor: 10% of labor force (1989)
- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Chile
Type: republic
Capital: Santiago
Administrative divisions: 13 regions (regiones, singular--region);
Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania,
Atacama, Biobio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos,
Magallanes y Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana, Tarapaca,
Valparaiso
Independence: 18 September 1810 (from Spain)
Constitution: 11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981;
amended 30 July 1989
Legal system: based on Code of 1857 derived from Spanish law and
subsequent codes influenced by French and Austrian law; judicial review of
legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 18 September (1810)
Executive branch: president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso
Nacional) consisting of an upper house or Senate and a lower house
or Chamber of Deputies
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Patricio
AYLWIN (since 11 March 1990)
Political parties and leaders: National Renovation (RN), Sergio
Jarpa, president; Radical Party (PR), Enrique Silva Cimma;
Social Democratic Party (PSD), Eugenio Velasco; Christian Democratic
Party (PDC), Andres Zaldivar; Party for Democracy, Ricardo Lagos;
Socialist Party, Clodomiro Almeyda; other parties are
Movement of United Popular Action (MAPU), Victor Barrueto;
Christian Left (IC), Luis Maira; Communist Party of Chile (PCCh),
Volodia Teitelboim; Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR) is
splintered, no single leader; several leftist and far left parties
formed a new coalition in November 1988 with Luis Maira as president;
the 17-party Concertation of Parties for Democracy backed
Patricio Aylwin's presidential candidacy in December 1989
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
Elections:
President--last held 14 December 1989 (next to be held December
1993 or January 1994);
results--Patricio Aylwin 55.2%, Hernan Buchi 29.4%, other 15.4%;
Senate--last held 14 December 1989 (next to be held December
1993 or January 1994); seats--(47 total, 38 elected)
17-party Concertation of Parties for Democracy 22;
Chamber of Deputies--last held 14 December 1989 (next to be held
December 1993 or January 1994); seats--(120 total)
Concertation of Parties for Democracy 69
Communists: 120,000 when PCCh was legal in 1973; 50,000 (est.) active
militants
Other political or pressure groups: revitalized university student
federations at all major universities dominated by opposition political groups;
labor--United Labor Central (CUT) includes trade unionists from the
country's five-largest labor confederations; Roman Catholic Church
Member of: CCC, CIPEC, ECOSOC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, LAIA, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WSG, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Octavio ERRAZURIZ; Chancery
at 1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 785-1746;
there are Chilean Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
New York, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Charles A. GILLESPIE, Jr.; Embassy at Codina Building,
1343 Agustinas, Santiago (mailing address is APO Miami 34033);
telephone [56] (2) 710133 or 710190, 710326, 710375
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; there is a blue
square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white
band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center; design was based
on the US flag
- Economy
Overview: In 1989 the economy grew at the rate of 9.9%, reflecting
substantial growth in industry, agriculture, and construction. Copper
accounts for nearly 50% of export revenues; Chile's economic well-being
thus remains highly dependent on international copper prices. Unemployment
and inflation rates have declined from their peaks in 1982 to 5.3% and
21.4%, respectively, in 1989. The major long-term economic problem is
how to sustain growth in the face of political uncertainties.
GDP: $25.3 billion, per capita $1,970; real growth rate 9.9% (1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 21.4% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 5.3% (1989)
Budget: revenues $4.9 billion; expenditures $5.1 billion,
including capital expenditures of $0.6 billion (1986)
Exports: $7.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--copper 48%, industrial products 33%, molybdenum, iron ore,
wood pulp, fishmeal, fruits;
partners--EC 34%, US 22%, Japan 10%, Brazil 7%
Imports: $4.7 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--petroleum, wheat, capital goods, spare parts, raw materials;
partners--EC 23%, US 20%, Japan 10%, Brazil 9%
External debt: $16.3 billion (December 1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 7.4% (1989)
Electricity: 4,044,000 kW capacity; 17,710 million kWh produced,
1,380 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: copper, other minerals, foodstuffs, fish processing, iron
and steel, wood and wood products
Agriculture: accounts for about 8% of GDP (including fishing and
forestry); major exporter of fruit, fish, and timber products; major
crops--wheat, corn, grapes, beans, sugar beets, potatoes, deciduous fruit;
livestock products--beef, poultry, wool; self-sufficient in most foods;
1986 fish catch of 5.6 million metric tons net agricultural importer
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $521 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.3 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $386 million
Currency: Chilean peso (plural--pesos);
1 Chilean peso (Ch$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: Chilean pesos (Ch$) per US$1--296.68 (January 1990),
267.16 (1989), 245.05 (1988), 219.54 (1987), 193.02 (1986), 161.08 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Railroads: 8,613 km total; 4,257 km 1.676-meter gauge, 135 km 1.435-meter
standard gauge, 4,221 km 1.000-meter gauge; electrification, 1,578 km
1.676-meter gauge, 76 km 1.000-meter gauge
Highways: 79,025 km total; 9,913 km paved, 33,140 km gravel, 35,972 km
improved and unimproved earth (1984)
Inland waterways: 725 km
Pipelines: crude oil, 755 km; refined products, 785 km;
natural gas, 320 km
Ports: Antofagasta, Iquique, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Valparaiso,
San Antonio, Talcahuano, Arica
Merchant marine: 35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 498,354 GRT/804,809
DWT; includes 13 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 3 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 2 liquefied
gas, 3 combination ore/oil, 10 bulk; note--in addition, 1 naval tanker and 1
military transport are sometimes used commercially
Civil air: 22 major transport aircraft
Airports: 392 total, 352 usable; 49 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 11 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
57 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: modern telephone system based on extensive radio relay
facilities; 768,000 telephones; stations--159 AM, no FM, 131 TV, 11 shortwave;
satellite stations--2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 3 domestic
- Defense Forces
Branches: Army of the Nation, National Navy, Air Force of the Nation,
Carabineros of Chile
Military manpower: males 15-49, 3,491,854; 2,610,048 fit for military
service; 118,569 reach military age (19) annually
Defense expenditures: 4.0% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: China
(also see separate Taiwan entry)
- Geography
Total area: 9,596,960 km2; land area: 9,326,410 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than the US
Land boundaries: 23,213.34 km total; Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km,
Burma 2,185 km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, North Korea 1,416 km,
Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia 4,673 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km,
USSR 7,520 km, Vietnam 1,281 km
Coastline: 14,500 km
Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: boundary with India; bilateral negotiations are under way
to resolve four disputed sections of the boundary with the USSR
(Pamir, Argun, Amur, and Khabarovsk areas); a short section of
the boundary with North Korea is indefinite; Hong Kong is
scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region in 1997; Portuguese
territory of Macau is scheduled to become a Special Administrative
Region in 1999; sporadic border clashes with Vietnam; involved in a
complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines,
Taiwan, and Vietnam; maritime boundary dispute with Vietnam in the Gulf of
Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and
Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands)
Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Terrain: mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains,
deltas, and hills in east
Natural resources: coal, iron ore, crude oil, mercury, tin, tungsten,
antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead,
zinc, uranium, world's largest hydropower potential
Land use: 10% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 31% meadows and
pastures; 14% forest and woodland; 45% other; includes 5% irrigated
Environment: frequent typhoons (about five times per year along southern
and eastern coasts), damaging floods, tsunamis, earthquakes; deforestation; soil
erosion; industrial pollution; water pollution; desertification
Note: world's third-largest country (after USSR and Canada)
- People
Population: 1,118,162,727 (July 1990), growth rate 1.4% (1990)
Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 34 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 69 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.3 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Chinese (sing., pl.); adjective--Chinese
Ethnic divisions: 93.3% Han Chinese; 6.7% Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi,
Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities
Religion: officially atheist, but traditionally pragmatic and eclectic;
most important elements of religion are Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism;
about 2-3% Muslim, 1% Christian
Language: Standard Chinese (Putonghua) or Mandarin (based on the Beijing
dialect); also Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan
(Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, and minority languages (see
ethnic divisions)
Literacy: over 75%
Labor force: 513,000,000; 61.1% agriculture and forestry, 25.2% industry
and commerce, 4.6% construction and mining, 4.5% social services, 4.6% other
(1986 est.)
Organized labor: All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) follows the
leadership of the Chinese Communist Party; membership over 80 million or about
65% of the urban work force (1985)
- Government
Long-form name: People's Republic of China; abbreviated PRC
Type: Communist Party-led state
Capital: Beijing
Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural),
5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 3 municipalities**
(shi, singular and plural); Anhui, Beijing**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong,
Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu,
Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong,
Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang*, Yunnan,
Zhejiang; note--China considers Taiwan its 23rd province
Independence: unification under the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty 221 BC,
Qing (Ch'ing or Manchu) Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912,
People's Republic established 1 October 1949
Constitution: 4 December 1982
Legal system: a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal
law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes
in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve
civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law
National holiday: National Day, 1 October (1949)
Executive branch: president, vice president, premier, three vice premiers,
State Council, Central Military Commission (de facto)
Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Congress (Quanguo
Renmin Daibiao Dahui)
Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government (de facto)--DENG
Xiaoping (since mid-1977);
Chief of State--President YANG Shangkun (since 8 April 1988);
Vice President WANG Zhen (since 8 April 1988);
Head of Government--Premier LI Peng (Acting Premier since
24 November 1987, Premier since 9 April 1988);
Vice Premier YAO Yilin (since 2 July 1979);
Vice Premier TIAN Jiyun (since 20 June 1983);
Vice Premier WU Xueqian (since 12 April 1988)
Political parties and leaders: only party--Chinese Communist Party
(CCP), Jiang Zemin, general secretary of the Central Committee
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President--last held 8 April 1988 (next to be held March 1993);
Yang Shangkun was elected by the Seventh National People's Congress;
National People's Congress--last held NA March 1988 (next to
be held March 1993); results--CCP is the only party;
seats--(2,970 total) CCP 2,970 (indirectly elected)
Communists: about 45,000,000 party members (1986)
Other political or pressure groups: such meaningful opposition as exists
consists of loose coalitions, usually within the party and government
organization, that vary by issue
Member of: ADB, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador ZHU Qizhen; Chancery at
2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 328-2500 through 2502; there are Chinese Consulates General
in Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador James R. LILLEY; Embassy at Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3,
Beijing (mailing address is FPO San Francisco 96655); telephone [86] (1)
532-3831;
there are US Consulates General in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenyang
Flag: red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow
five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag)
in the upper hoist-side corner
- Economy
Overview: Beginning in late 1978 the Chinese leadership has been
trying to move the economy from the sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned
economy to a more productive and flexible economy with market elements--but
still within the framework of monolithic Communist control. To this
end the authorities have switched to a system of household responsibility
in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority
of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide
variety of small-scale enterprise in services and light manufacturing,
and opened the foreign economic sector to increased trade and joint
ventures. The most gratifying result has been a strong spurt in production,
particularly in agriculture in the early 1980s. Otherwise, the leadership has
often experienced in its hybrid system the worst results of socialism
(bureaucracy, lassitude, corruption) and of capitalism (windfall gains
and stepped-up inflation). Beijing thus has periodically backtracked,
retightening central controls at intervals and thereby undermining the
credibility of the reform process. Open inflation and excess demand continue to
plague the economy, and political repression, following the crackdown at
Tiananmen in mid-1989, has curtailed tourism, foreign aid, and new investment
by foreign firms. Popular resistance and changes in central policy have weakened
China's population control program, which is essential to the nation's long-term
economic viability.
GNP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate 4% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 19.5% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 3.0% in urban areas (1989)
Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of
$NA
Exports: $52.5 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--manufactured goods, agricultural products, oilseeds, grain
(rice and corn), oil, minerals;
partners--Hong Kong, US, Japan, USSR, Singapore, FRG (1989)