Telgu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya,
Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; 24 languages spoken by
a million or more persons each; numerous other languages and dialects,
for the most part mutually unintelligible; Hindi is the national language
and primary tongue of 30% of the people; English enjoys associate status
but is the most important language for national, political, and
commercial communication; Hindustani, a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu, is
spoken widely throughout northern India
Literacy: 36%
Labor force: 284,400,000; 67% agriculture (FY85)
Organized labor: less than 5% of the labor force
- Government
Long-form name: Republic of India
Type: federal republic
Capital: New Delhi
Administrative divisions: 24 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and
Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar,
Chandigarh*, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Delhi*, Goa and Daman and Diu*,
Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,
Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal;
note--Goa may have become a state with Daman and Diu remaining a union
territory
Independence: 15 August 1947 (from UK)
Constitution: 26 January 1950
Legal system: based on English common law; limited judicial review of
legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic,
26 January (1950)
Executive branch: president, vice president, prime minister,
Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Sansad) consists of an upper
house or Government Assembly (Rajya Sabha) and a lower house or People's
Assembly (Lok Sabha)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Ramaswamy Iyer VENKATARAMAN (since 25 July
1987); Vice President Dr. Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 3 September 1987);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap SINGH
(since 2 December 1989)
Political parties and leaders: Janata Dal Party, Prime Minister
V. P. Singh; Congress (I) Party, Rajiv Gandhi; Bharatiya Janata Party,
L. K. Advani; Communist Party of India (CPI), C. Rajeswara Rao;
Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M), E. M. S. Namboodiripad;
Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Satyanarayan Singh;
All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK), a regional party
in Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham, M. Karunanidhi;
Akali Dal factions representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab;
Telugu Desam, a regional party in Andhra Pradesh, N. T. Rama Rao; National
Conference (NC), a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah;
Asom Gana Parishad, a regional party in Assam, Prafulla Mahanta
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
People's Assembly--last held 22, 24, 26 November
1989 (next to be held by November 1994, subject to postponement);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(544 total), 525 elected--Congress (I) Party
193, Janata Dal Party 141, Bharatiya Janata Party 86, Communist
Party of India (Marxist) 32, independents 18, Communist Party of India
12, AIADMK 11, Akali Dal 6, Shiv Sena 4, RSP 4, Forward Bloc 3, BSP 3,
Telugu Desam 2, Congress (S) Party 1, others 9
Communists: 466,000 members claimed by CPI, 361,000 members claimed by
CPI/M; Communist extremist groups, about 15,000 members
Other political or pressure groups: various separatist groups seeking
greater communal autonomy; numerous senas or militant/chauvinistic
organizations, including Shiv Sena (in Bombay), Anand Marg, and Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh
Member of: ADB, AIOEC, ANRPC, CCC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth,
ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITC, ITU,
IWC--International Wheat Council, NAM, SAARC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador-designate Abid HUSSEIN;
Chancery at 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 939-7000; there are Indian Consulates General in
Chicago, New York, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador William CLARK; Embassy at Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri
110021, New Delhi; telephone [91] (11) 600651; there are US Consulates General
in Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with
a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band; similar to
the flag of Niger which has a small orange disk centered in the white band
- Economy
Overview: India's Malthusian economy is a mixture of traditional
village farming and handicrafts, modern agriculture, old and new branches
of industry, and a multitude of support services. It presents both the
entrepreneurial skills and drives of the capitalist system and
widespread government intervention of the socialist mold. Growth of 4%
to 5% annually in the 1980s has softened the impact of population growth
on unemployment, social tranquility, and the environment. Agricultural output
has continued to expand, reflecting the greater use of modern farming techniques
and improved seed that have helped to make India self-sufficient in food grains
and a net agricultural exporter. However, tens of millions of villagers,
particularly in the south, have not benefited from the green
revolution and live in abject poverty. Industry has benefited from a
liberalization of controls. The growth rate of the service sector has
also been strong.
GNP: $333 billion, per capita $400; real growth rate 5.0% (1989
est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.5% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 20% (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $48 billion; expenditures $53 billion, including
capital expenditures of $13.6 billion (1989)
Exports: $17.2 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--tea, coffee,
iron ore, fish products, manufactures;
partners--EC 25%, USSR and Eastern Europe 17%, US 19%, Japan 10%
Imports: $24.7 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--petroleum,
edible oils, textiles, clothing, capital goods; partners--EC 33%,
Middle East 19%, Japan 10%, US 9%, USSR and Eastern Europe 8%
External debt: $48.7 billion (1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 8.8% (1989)
Electricity: 59,000,000 kW capacity; 215,000 million kWh produced,
260 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: textiles, food processing, steel, machinery, transportation
equipment, cement, jute manufactures, mining, petroleum, power,
chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics
Agriculture: accounts for about 33% of GNP and employs 67% of labor force;
self-sufficient in food grains; principal crops--rice, wheat, oilseeds, cotton,
jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; livestock--cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats and
poultry; fish catch of about 3 million metric tons ranks India in the world's
top 10 fishing nations
Illicit drugs: licit producer of opium poppy for the
pharmaceutical trade, but some opium is diverted to international drug
markets; major transit country for illicit narcotics produced in
neighboring countries
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $4.2 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-87), $18.6 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $315 million; USSR (1970-88), $10.0 billion;
Eastern Europe (1970-88), $105 million
Currency: Indian rupee (plural--rupees);
1 Indian rupee (Re) = 100 paise
Exchange rates: Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1--16.965 (January 1990),
16.226 (1989), 13.917 (1988), 12.962 (1987), 12.611 (1986), 12.369 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
- Communications
Railroads: 61,850 km total (1986); 33,553 km 1.676-meter broad gauge,
24,051 km 1.000-meter gauge, 4,246 km narrow gauge (0.762 meter and
0.610 meter); 12,617 km is double track; 6,500 km is electrified
Highways: 1,633,300 km total (1986); 515,300 km secondary and
1,118,000 km gravel, crushed stone, or earth
Inland waterways: 16,180 km; 3,631 km navigable by large vessels
Pipelines: crude oil, 3,497 km; refined products, 1,703 km; natural gas,
902 km (1989)
Ports: Bombay, Calcutta, Cochin, Kandla, Madras, New Mangalore,
Port Blair (Andaman Islands)
Merchant marine: 296 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,855,842
GRT/9,790,260 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 8 passenger-cargo, 95 cargo,
1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 8 container, 53 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL)
tanker, 10 chemical tanker, 9 combination ore/oil,109 bulk, 2 combination bulk
Civil air: 93 major transport aircraft
Airports: 345 total, 292 usable; 202 with permanent-surface runways; 2
with runways over 3,659 m; 57 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 91 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: poor domestic telephone service, international radio
communications adequate; 3,200,000 telephones; stations--170 AM, no FM, 14 TV
(government controlled); domestic satellite system for communications and TV;
3 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; submarine cables to Sri Lanka, Malaysia,
and Pakistan
- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Border Security Forces, Coast Guard,
Paramilitary Forces
Military manpower: males 15-49, 227,436,282; 134,169,114 fit for military
service; about 9,403,063 reach military age (17) annually
Defense expenditures: 2.6% of GNP, or $8.7 billion (FY90 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Indian Ocean
- Geography
Total area: 73,600,000 km2; Arabian Sea, Bass Strait, Bay of Bengal,
Java Sea, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other
tributary water bodies
Comparative area: slightly less than eight times the size of the US;
third-largest ocean (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger
than the Arctic Ocean)
Coastline: 66,526 km
Climate: northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June
to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in
the north Indian Ocean and January/February in the south Indian Ocean
Terrain: surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular
system of currents) in the south Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface
currents in the north Indian Ocean--low pressure over southwest Asia from hot,
rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast
winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling,
winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds
and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and
subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge,
and Ninety East Ridge; maximum depth is 7,258 meters in the Java Trench
Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and
gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules
Environment: endangered marine species include the dugong, seals,
turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and
Red Sea
Note: major choke points include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz,
Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait;
ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme south near Antarctica from
May to October
- Economy
Overview: The Indian Ocean provides a major transportation highway
for the movement of petroleum products from the Middle East to Europe
and North and South American countries. Fish from the ocean are of growing
economic importance to many of the bordering countries as a source of both food
and exports. Fishing fleets from the USSR, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan also exploit
the Indian Ocean for mostly shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are
being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and Western
Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from
the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer
deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India,
South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
Industries: based on exploitation of natural resources, particularly
marine life, minerals, oil and gas production, fishing, sand and gravel
aggregates, placer deposits
- Communications
Ports: Bombay (India), Calcutta (India), Madras (India),
Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Fremantle (Australia),
Jakarta (Indonesia), Melbourne (Australia), Richard's Bay (South Africa)
Telecommunications: no submarine cables
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Indonesia
- Geography
Total area: 1,919,440 km2; land area: 1,826,440 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Land boundaries: 2,602 km total; Malaysia 1,782 km, Papua New Guinea
820 km
Coastline: 54,716 km
Maritime claims: (measured from claimed archipelagic baselines);
Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: East Timor question with Portugal
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains
Natural resources: crude oil, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite,
copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver
Land use: 8% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 7% meadows and pastures;
67% forest and woodland; 15% other; includes 3% irrigated
Environment: archipelago of 13,500 islands (6,000 inhabited); occasional
floods, severe droughts, and tsunamis; deforestation
Note: straddles Equator; strategic location astride or along major sea
lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean
- People
Population: 190,136,221 (July 1990), growth rate 1.8% (1990)
Birth rate: 27 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 75 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 58 years male, 63 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 3.1 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Indonesian(s); adjective--Indonesian
Ethnic divisions: majority of Malay stock comprising 45.0% Javanese, 14.0%
Sundanese, 7.5% Madurese, 7.5% coastal Malays, 26.0% other
Religion: 88% Muslim, 6% Protestant, 3% Roman Catholic, 2% Hindu, 1%
other
Language: Bahasa Indonesia (modified form of Malay; official); English
and Dutch leading foreign languages; local dialects, the most widely spoken
of which is Javanese
Literacy: 62%
Labor force: 67,000,000; 55% agriculture, 10% manufacturing,
4% construction, 3% transport and communications (1985 est.)
Organized labor: 3,000,000 members (claimed); about 5% of labor force
- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Indonesia
Type: republic
Capital: Jakarta
Administrative divisions: 24 provinces (propinsi-propinsi,
singular--propinsi), 2 special regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa,
singular--daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district**
(daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Bengkulu, Irian Jaya, Jakarta Raya**,
Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat,
Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Lampung, Maluku,
Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Riau, Sulawesi Selatan,
Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat,
Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Timor Timur, Yogyakarta*
Independence: 17 August 1945 (from Netherlands; formerly Netherlands
or Dutch East Indies)
Constitution: August 1945, abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949
and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959
Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by
indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures code; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 17 August (1945)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives
(Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR); note--the People's Consultative Assembly
(Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) includes the DPR plus 500 indirectly
elected members who meet every five years to elect the president and
vice president and, theoretically, to determine national policy
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Gen. (Ret.)
SOEHARTO (since 27 March 1968); Vice President Lt. Gen. (Ret.) SUDHARMONO
(since 11 March 1983)
Political parties and leaders: GOLKAR (quasi-official party based on
functional groups), Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Wahono, general chairman; Indonesia
Democracy Party (PDI--federation of former Nationalist and Christian
Parties), Soeryadi, chairman; Development Unity Party (PPP, federation
of former Islamic parties), Ismail Hasan Metareum, chairman
Suffrage: universal at age 17 and married persons regardless of age
Elections:
House of Representatives--last held on 23 April 1987
(next to be held 23 April 1992);
results--Golkar 73%, UDP 16%, PDI 11%;
seats--(500 total--400 elected, 100 appointed) Golkar 299, UDP 61, PDI 40
Communists: Communist Party (PKI) was officially banned in March 1966;
current strength about 1,000-3,000, with less than 10% engaged in organized
activity; pre-October 1965 hardcore membership about 1.5 million
Member of: ADB, ANRPC, ASEAN, Association of Tin Producing Countries,
CCC, CIPEC, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITC, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Abdul Rachman RAMLY;
Chancery at 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036;
telephone (202) 775-5200; there are Indonesian Consulates General in Houston,
New York, and Los Angeles, and Consulates in Chicago and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador John C. MONJO; Embassy at Medan Merdeka Selatan 5,
Jakarta (mailing address is APO San Francisco 96356);
telephone [62] (21) 360-360; there are US Consulates in Medan and Surabaya
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the
flag of Monaco which is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland which is
white (top) and red
- Economy
Overview: Indonesia is a mixed economy with many socialist institutions
and central planning but with a recent emphasis on deregulation and private
enterprise. Indonesia has extensive natural wealth but, with a large and
rapidly increasing population, it remains a poor country. GNP growth in 1985-89
averaged about 4%, somewhat short of the 5% rate needed to absorb the 2.3
million workers annually entering the labor force. Agriculture, including
forestry and fishing, is the most important sector, accounting for 21% of GDP
and over 50% of the labor force. The staple crop is rice. Once the world's
largest rice importer, Indonesia is now nearly self-sufficient.
Plantation crops--rubber and palm oil--are being encouraged for both
export and job generation. The diverse natural resources include crude
oil, natural gas, timber, metals, and coal. Of these, the oil sector
dominates the external economy, generating more than 20% of the
government's revenues and 40% of export earnings in 1989.
Japan is Indonesia's most important customer and supplier of aid.
GNP: $80 billion, per capita $430; real growth rate 5.7% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.5% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 3.1% (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $20.9 billion; expenditures $20.9 billion, including
capital expenditures of $7.5 billion (FY89)
Exports: $21.0 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--petroleum
and liquefied natural gas 40%, timber 15%, textiles 7%, rubber 5%, coffee 3%;
partners--Japan 42%, US 16%, Singapore 9%, EC 11% (1988)
Imports: $13.2 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--machinery
39%, chemical products 19%, manufactured goods 16%;
partners--Japan 26%, EC 19%, US 13%, Singapore 7% (1988)
External debt: $55.0 billion, medium and long-term (1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 4.8% (1988 est.)
Electricity: 11,600,000 kW capacity; 38,000 million kWh produced,
200 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: petroleum, textiles, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer
production, timber, food, rubber
Agriculture: subsistence food production; small-holder and plantation
production for export; rice, cassava, peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, copra,
other tropical products
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international
drug trade, but not a major player; government actively eradicating
plantings and prosecuting traffickers
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $4.2 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $19.8 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $213 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$175 million
Currency: Indonesian rupiah (plural--rupiahs);
1 Indonesian rupiah (Rp) = 100 sen (sen no longer used)
Exchange rates: Indonesian rupiahs (Rp) per US$1--1,804.9 (January 1990),
1,770.1 (1989), 1,685.7 (1988), 1,643.8 (1987), 1,282.6 (1986), 1,110.6 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
- Communications
Railroads: 6,964 km total; 6,389 km 1.067-meter gauge, 497 km 0.750-meter
gauge, 78 km 0.600-meter gauge; 211 km double track; 101 km electrified; all
government owned
Highways: 119,500 km total; 11,812 km state, 34,180 km provincial,
and 73,508 km district roads
Inland waterways: 21,579 km total; Sumatra 5,471 km, Java and Madura
820 km, Kalimantan 10,460 km, Celebes 241 km, Irian Jaya 4,587 km
Pipelines: crude oil, 2,505 km; refined products, 456 km; natural gas,
1,703 km (1989)
Ports: Cilacap, Cirebon, Jakarta, Kupang, Palembang, Ujungpandang,
Semarang, Surabaya
Merchant marine: 313 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,480,912
GRT/2,245,233 DWT; includes 5 short-sea passenger, 13 passenger-cargo,
173 cargo, 6 container, 3 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 vehicle carrier,
77 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker,
2 liquefied gas, 6 specialized tanker, 1 livestock carrier, 24 bulk
Civil air: about 216 commercial transport aircraft
Airports: 468 total, 435 usable; 106 with permanent-surface runways; 1
with runways over 3,659 m; 12 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 62 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: interisland microwave system and HF police net;
domestic service fair, international service good; radiobroadcast coverage
good; 763,000 telephones (1986); stations--618 AM, 38 FM, 9 TV; satellite earth
stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station and 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT
earth station; and 1 domestic satellite communications system
- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police
Military manpower: males 15-49, 49,283,496; 29,137,291 fit for military
service; 2,098,169 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 2.1% of GNP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Iran
- Geography
Total area: 1,648,000 km2; land area: 1,636,000 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Alaska
Land boundaries: 5,492 km total; Afghanistan 936 km, Iraq 1,458 km,
Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, USSR 1,690 km
Coastline: 3,180 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: not specific;
Exclusive fishing zone: 50 nm in the Sea of Oman, median-line
boundaries in the Persian Gulf;
Territorial sea: 12 nm