Sylvio Claude; Haitian Social Christian Party (PSCH), Gregoire Eugene;
Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti (MIDH), Marc Bazin;
National Alliance Front (FNC), Gerard Gourgue; National Agricultural and
Industrial Party (PAIN), Louis Dejoie; Congress of Democratic Movements
(CONACOM), Victor Bono; National Progressive Revolutionary Party (PANPRA),
Serge Gilles; National Patriotic Movement of November 28 (MNP-28), Dejean
Belizaire; Movement for the Organization of the Country (MOP), Gesner Comeau;
Mobilization for National Development (MDN), Hubert De Ronceray
Suffrage: none
Elections:
President--last held 17 January 1988 (next to be held
by mid-June 1990); on 13 March 1990 Ertha Pascal-Trouillot
became provisional president after the resignation of President
Lieut. Gen Prosper Avril;
Legislature--last held 17 January 1988, but dissolved on
20 June 1988; the government has promised an election by
mid-June 1990
Communists: United Party of Haitian Communists (PUCH), Rene Theodore
(roughly 2,000 members)
Other political or pressure groups: Democratic Unity Confederation (KID),
Roman Catholic Church, Confederation of Haitian Workers (CTH),
Federation of Workers Trade Unions (FOS), Autonomous Haitian Workers
(CATH), National Popular Assembly (APN)
Member of: CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant), Charge
d'Affaires Fritz VOUGY; Chancery at 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-4090 through 4092; there
are Haitian Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York,
and San Juan (Puerto Rico);
US--Ambassador Alvin ADAMS; Embassy at Harry Truman
Boulevard, Port-au-Prince (mailing address is P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince),
telephone [509] (1) 20354 or 20368, 20200, 20612
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered
white rectangle bearing the coat of arms which contains a palm tree flanked by
flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto
L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength)
- Economy
Overview: About 85% of the population live in absolute poverty.
Agriculture is mainly small-scale subsistence farming and employs 65% of
the work force. The majority of the population does not have ready access
to safe drinking water, adequate medical care, or sufficient food. Few social
assistance programs exist, and the lack of employment opportunities remains the
most critical problem facing the economy.
GDP: $2.4 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate 0.3% (1988
est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.8% (1988)
Unemployment rate: 50% (1988 est.)
Budget: revenues $252 million; expenditures $357 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA million (1988)
Exports: $200 million (f.o.b., FY88);
commodities--light manufactures 65%, coffee 17%, other agriculture 8%,
other products 10%;
partners--US 77%, France 5%, Italy 4%, FRG 3%, other industrial 9%,
less developed countries 2% (FY86)
Imports: $344 million (c.i.f., FY88);
commodities--machines and manufactures 36%, food and beverages 21%,
petroleum products 11%, fats and oils 12%, chemicals 12%;
partners--US 65%, Netherlands Antilles 6%, Japan 5%, France 4%, Canada 2%,
Asia 2% (FY86)
External debt: $820 million (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate - 2% (FY87)
Electricity: 230,000 kW capacity; 482 million kWh produced,
75 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: sugar refining, textiles, flour milling, cement manufacturing,
bauxite mining, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts
Agriculture: accounts for 32% of GDP and employs 65% of work force; mostly
small-scale subsistence farms; commercial crops--coffee and sugarcane; staple
crops--rice, corn, sorghum, mangoes; shortage of wheat flour
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $638 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $627 million
Currency: gourde (plural--gourdes); 1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: gourdes (G) per US$1-- 5.0 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year: 1 October-30 September
- Communications
Railroads: 40 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge, single-track, privately owned
industrial line
Highways: 4,000 km total; 950 km paved, 900 km otherwise improved, 2,150
km unimproved
Inland waterways: negligible; less than 100 km navigable
Ports: Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitien
Civil air: 4 major transport aircraft
Airports: 15 total, 10 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: domestic facilities barely adequate, international
facilities slightly better; 36,000 telephones; stations--33 AM, no FM, 4 TV,
2 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean earth station
- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Corps
Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,264,238; 679,209 fit for military
service; 59,655 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Heard Island and McDonald Islands
(territory of Australia)
- Geography
Total area: 412 km2; land area: 412 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 101.9 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploration;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
Climate: antarctic
Terrain: Heard Island--bleak and mountainous, with an extinct
volcano; McDonald Islands--small and rocky
Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and
pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 100% other
Environment: primarily used as research stations
Note: located 4,100 km southwest of Australia in the
southern Indian Ocean
- People
Population: uninhabited
- Government
Long-form name: Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Type: territory of Australia administered by the Antarctic Division
of the Department of Science in Canberra (Australia)
- Economy
Overview: no economic activity
- Communications
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Honduras
- Geography
Total area: 112,090 km2; land area: 111,890 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries: 1,520 km total; Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342
km, Nicaragua 922 km
Coastline: 820 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: several sections of the boundary with El Salvador are in dispute
Climate: subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
Terrain: mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains
Natural resources: timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc,
iron ore, antimony, coal, fish
Land use: 14% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 30% meadows and pastures;
34% forest and woodland; 20% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: subject to frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes;
damaging hurricanes along Caribbean coast; deforestation; soil erosion
- People
Population: 5,259,699 (July 1990), growth rate 3.0% (1990)
Birth rate: 37 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: 62 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 67 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 4.8 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Honduran(s); adjective--Honduran
Ethnic divisions: 90% mestizo (mixed Indian and European), 7% Indian, 2%
black, 1% white
Religion: about 97% Roman Catholic; small Protestant minority
Language: Spanish, Indian dialects
Literacy: 56%
Labor force: 1,300,000; 62% agriculture, 20% services, 9% manufacturing,
3% construction, 6% other (1985)
Organized labor: 40% of urban labor force, 20% of rural work force (1985)
- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Honduras
Type: republic
Capital: Tegucigalpa
Administrative divisions: 18 departments (departamentos,
singular--departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan,
Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca,
Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara,
Valle, Yoro
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Constitution: 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982
Legal system: rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law; some influence of
English common law; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justica)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--Rafael Leonardo CALLEJAS
Romero (since 26 January 1990)
Political parties and leaders: Liberal Party (PLH)--faction leaders,
Carlos Flores Facusse (leader of Florista Liberal Movement), Carlos Montoya
(Azconista subfaction), Ramon Villeda Bermudez and Jorge Arturo Reina (M-Lider
faction); National Party (PNH), Ricardo Maduro, party president; PNH
faction leaders--Oswaldo Ramos Soto and Rafael Leonardo Callejas
(Monarca faction); National Innovation and Unity Party-Social
Democrats (PINU-SD), Enrique Aguilar Cerrato Paz; Christian Democratic
Party (PDCH), Jorge Illescas; Democratic Action (AD), Walter Lopez
Reyes
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
Elections:
President--last held on 26 November 1989 (next to be held
November 1993);
results--Leonardo Rafael Callejas (PNH) 51%,
Jose Azcona Hoyo (PLH) 43.3%, others 5.7%;
National Congress--last held on 24 November 1985 (next to be held
November 1993);
results--PLH 51%, PNH 45%, PDCH 1.9%, PINU 1.5%, others 0.65;
seats--(134 total) PLH 62, PNH 71, PINU 1
Communists: up to 1,500; Honduran leftist groups--Communist Party of
Honduras (PCH), Party for the Transformation of Honduras (PTH),
Morazanist Front for the Liberation of Honduras (FMLH), People's
Revolutionary Union/Popular Liberation Movement (URP/MPL), Popular
Revolutionary Forces-Lorenzo Zelaya (FPR/LZ), Socialist Party of Honduras
Central American Workers Revolutionary Party (PASO/PRTC)
Other political or pressure groups: National Association of Honduran
Campesinos (ANACH), Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP),
Confederation of Honduran Workers (CTH), National Union of Campesinos (UNC),
General Workers Confederation (CGT), United Federation of Honduran Workers
(FUTH), Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH),
Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations (CCOP)
Member of: CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jorge Ramon HERNANDEZ Alcerro;
Chancery at Suite 100, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 966-7700 through 7702; there are Honduran Consulates General
in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco,
and Consulates in Baton Rouge, Boston, Detroit, Houston, and Jacksonville;
US--Ambassador Crescencio ARCOS; Embassy at Avenida La Paz,
Tegucigalpa (mailing address is APO Miami 34022); telephone [504] 32-3120
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with
five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the
white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of
Central America--Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua;
similar to the flag of El Salvador which features a round emblem encircled by
the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the
white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua which features a triangle
encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA
CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band
- Economy
Overview: Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western
Hemisphere. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, accounting
for nearly 30% of GDP, employing 62% of the labor force, and producing
two-thirds of exports. Productivity remains low, however, leaving considerable
room for improvement. Although industry is still in its early stages, it employs
nearly 15% of the labor force, accounts for 23% of GDP, and generates 20% of
exports. The service sectors, including public administration, account for 48%
of GDP and employ nearly 20% of the labor force. Basic problems facing the
economy include a high population growth rate, a high unemployment rate, a lack
of basic services, a large and inefficient public sector, and an export sector
dependent mostly on coffee and bananas, which are subject to sharp price
fluctuations.
GDP: $4.4 billion, per capita $890; real growth rate 4.0% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 12% unemployed, 30-40% underemployed (1988)
Budget: revenues $1,053 million; expenditures $949 million, including
capital expenditures of $159 million (1989)
Exports: $1.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--bananas, coffee, shrimp, lobster, minerals, lumber;
partners--US 52%, FRG 11%, Japan, Italy, Belgium
Imports: $1.4 billion (c.i.f. 1988);
commodities--machinery and transport equipment, chemical products,
manufactured goods, fuel and oil, foodstuffs;
partners--US 39%, Japan 9%, CACM, Venezuela, Mexico
External debt: $3.2 billion (December 1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 5% (1988)
Electricity: 655,000 kW capacity; 1,980 million kWh produced,
390 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: agricultural processing (sugar and coffee), textiles,
clothing, wood products
Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for nearly 30% of
GDP, over 60% of the labor force, and two-thirds of exports; principal
products include bananas, coffee, timber, beef, citrus fruit, shrimp;
importer of wheat
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on
small plots and used principally for local consumption; transshipment
point for cocaine
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.3 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $776 million
Currency: lempira (plural--lempiras); 1 lempira (L) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: lempiras (L) per US$1--2.00 (fixed rate); 3.50 parallel
exchange and black-market rate (October 1989)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Railroads: 785 km total; 508 km 1.067-meter gauge, 277 km 0.914-meter
gauge
Highways: 8,950 km total; 1,700 km paved, 5,000 km otherwise improved,
2,250 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways: 465 km navigable by small craft
Ports: Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo
Merchant marine: 149 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 438,495
GRT/660,990 DWT; includes 2 passenger-cargo, 87 cargo, 12 refrigerated
cargo, 9 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 17 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 1 specialized tanker, 1 vehicle
carrier, 17 bulk; note--a flag of convenience registry
Civil air: 9 major transport aircraft
Airports: 180 total, 140 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 12 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: improved, but still inadequate; connection into
Central American Microwave System; 35,100 telephones; stations--176 AM, no FM,
28 TV, 7 shortwave; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
- Defense Forces
Branches: Armed Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,222,858; 727,851 fit for military
service; 61,493 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 1.9% of GDP, or $82.5 million (1990 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Hong Kong
(colony of the UK)
- Geography
Total area: 1,040 km2; land area: 990 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than six times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundary: 30 km with China
Coastline: 733 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 3 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
Disputes: scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region of China
in 1997
Climate: tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from
spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall
Terrain: hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north
Natural resources: outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar
Land use: 7% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures;
12% forest and woodland; 79% other; includes 3% irrigated
Environment: more than 200 islands; occasional typhoons
- People
Population: 5,759,990 (July 1990), growth rate 1.0% (1990)
Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 76 years male, 82 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: adjective--Hong Kong
Ethnic divisions: 98% Chinese, 2% other
Religion: 90% eclectic mixture of local religions, 10% Christian
Language: Chinese (Cantonese), English
Literacy: 75%
Labor force: 2,640,000; 35.8% manufacturing; 22.7% wholesale and retail
trade, restaurants and hotel, 17.1% services, 7.5% construction, 8.4% transport
and communications, 6.1% financing, insurance, and real estate (1986)
Organized labor: 15% of labor force (1986)
- Government
Long-form name: none; abbreviated HK
Type: colony of the UK; scheduled to revert to China in 1997
Capital: Victoria
Administrative divisions: none (colony of the UK)
Independence: none (colony of the UK); the UK signed an agreement
with China on 19 December 1984 to return Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997;
in the joint declaration, China promises to respect Hong Kong's existing
social and economic systems and lifestyle for 50 years after transition
Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
Legal system: based on English common law
National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 August (1945)
Executive branch: British monarch, governor, chief secretary of the
Executive Council
Legislative branch: Legislative Council
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);
Head of Government--Governor Sir David Clive WILSON (since 9 April 1987);
Chief Secretary Sir David Robert FORD (since NA February 1987)
Political parties: none
Suffrage: limited to about 71,000 professionals of electoral college and
functional constituencies
Elections:
Legislative Council--indirect elections last held 26 September 1985
(next to be held in September 1991)
seats--(58 total; 26 elected, 32 appointed)
Communists: 5,000 (est.) cadres affiliated with Communist Party of China
Other political or pressure groups: Federation of Trade Unions (Communist
controlled), Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (Nationalist Chinese
dominated), Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Chinese General Chamber of
Commerce (Communist controlled), Federation of Hong Kong Industries, Chinese
Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Professional Teachers'
Union, and several small pro-democracy groups.
Member of: ADB, ESCAP (associate member), GATT, IMO, INTERPOL, Multifiber
Arrangement, WMO
Diplomatic representation: as a British colony, the interests
of Hong Kong in the US are represented by the UK;
US--Consul General Donald M. ANDERSON; Consulate General at
26 Garden Road, Hong Kong (mailing address is Box 30, Hong Kong, or
FPO San Francisco 96659-0002); telephone [852] (5) 239011
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with
the Hong Kong coat of arms on a white disk centered on the outer half of the
flag; the coat of arms contains a shield (bearing two junks below a
crown) held by a lion (representing the UK) and a dragon (representing China)
with another lion above the shield and a banner bearing the words
HONG KONG below the shield
- Economy
Overview: Hong Kong has a free-market economy and is autonomous in
financial affairs. Natural resources are limited and food and raw materials must
be imported. Manufacturing is the backbone of the economy, accounting
for more than 20% of GDP, employing 36% of the labor force, and exporting about
90% of output. Real GDP growth averaged a remakable 8% in 1987-88, then
slowed to a respectable 3% in 1989. Unemployment, which has been declining since
the mid-1980s, is now less than 2%. A shortage of labor continues to put upward
pressure on prices and the cost of living. Short-term prospects remain
solid so long as major trading partners continue to be prosperous. The
crackdown in China in 1989 casts a long shadow over the longer term
economic outlook.
GDP: $57 billion, per capita $10,000; real growth rate 3% (1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.5% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 1.6% (1988)
Budget: $6.9 billion (FY89)
Exports: $63.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988), including reexports of
$22.9 billion;
commodities--clothing, textile yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical
appliances, watches and clocks, toys;
partners--US 31%, China 14%, FRG 8%, UK 6%, Japan 5%
Imports: $63.9 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials,
semimanufactures, petroleum;
partners--China 31%, Japan 20%, Taiwan 9%, US 8%
External debt: $9.6 billion (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate 7.0% (1988)
Electricity: 7,800,000 kW capacity; 23,000 million kWh produced,
4,030 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys,
watches, clocks
Agriculture: minor role in the economy; rice, vegetables, dairy products;
less than 20% self-sufficient; shortages of rice, wheat, water
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $141.2 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87),
$899.8 million
Currency: Hong Kong dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$--7.800 (March 1989),
7.810 (1988), 7.760 (1987), 7.795 (1986), 7.811 (1985); note--linked to the
US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$ since 1985
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
- Communications
Railroads: 35 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, government owned
Highways: 1,100 km total; 794 km paved, 306 km gravel, crushed stone,
or earth
Ports: Hong Kong
Merchant marine: 134 ships (1,000 GRT or over), totaling 4,391,102
GRT/7,430,337 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 short-sea passenger, 11 cargo,
10 refrigerated cargo, 13 container, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 10 petroleum,
oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 9 combination ore/oil,
7 liquefied gas, 69 bulk; note--a flag of convenience registry; ships registered
in Hong Kong fly the UK flag and an estimated 500 Hong Kong-owned ships are
registered elsewhere
Civil air: 16 major transport aircraft
Airports: 2 total; 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
none with runways 1,220-2,439 m