EMS, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American
Development Bank, IFAD, IEA, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOOC, IPU, IRC, ITC, ITU, NATO, OAS (observer), OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WSG
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Rinaldo PETRIGNANI; Chancery at
1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 328-5500;
there are Italian Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans,
Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Consulates in Detroit and
Newark (New Jersey);
US--Ambassador Peter F. SECCHIA; Embassy at Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome
(mailing address is APO New York 09794); telephone [39] (6) 46741; there are
US Consulates General in Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, and Palermo (Sicily)
Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red;
similar to the flag of Ireland which is longer and is green (hoist side), white,
and orange; also similar to the flag of the Ivory Coast which has the colors
reversed--orange (hoist side), white, and green
- Economy
Overview: Since World War II the economy has changed from one based on
agriculture into a ranking industrial economy, with approximately the same total
and per capita output as France and the UK. The country is still divided into a
developed industrial north, dominated by large private companies and state
enterprises and an undeveloped agricultural south. Services account for 58% of
GDP, industry 37%, and agriculture 5%. Most raw materials needed by industry and
over 75% of energy requirements must be imported. The economic recovery that
began in mid-1983 has continued through 1989, with the economy growing at an
annual average rate of 3%. For the 1990s, Italy faces the problems of
refurbishing a tottering communications system, curbing the increasing
pollution in major industrial centers, and adjusting to the new
competitive forces accompanying the ongoing economic integration of the
European Community.
GDP: $803.3 billion, per capita $14,000; real growth rate 3.3% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.6% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 11.9% (1989)
Budget: revenues $355 billion; expenditures $448 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)
Exports: $141.6 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--textiles,
wearing apparel, metals, transportation equipment, chemicals;
partners--EC 57%, US 9%, OPEC 4%
Imports: $143.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--petroleum,
industrial machinery, chemicals, metals, food, agricultural products;
partners--EC 57%, OPEC 6%, US 6%
External debt: NA
Industrial production: growth rate 2.9% (1989)
Electricity: 56,022,000 kW capacity; 201,400 million kWh produced,
3,500 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: machinery and transportation equipment, iron and steel,
chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles
Agriculture: accounts for about 5% of GNP and 5% of the
work force; self-sufficient in foods other than meat and dairy products;
principal crops--fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets,
soybeans, grain, olives; fish catch of 554,000 metric tons in 1987
Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $18.7 billion
Currency: Italian lira (plural--lire); 1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100
centesimi
Exchange rates: Italian lire (Lit) per US$1--1,262.5 (January 1990),
1,372.1 (1989), 1,301.6 (1988), 1,296.1 (1987), 1,490.8 (1986), 1,909.4 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Railroads: 20,011 km total; 16,066 km 1.435-meter government-owned
standard gauge (8,999 km electrified); 3,945 km privately owned--2,100 km
1.435-meter standard gauge (1,155 km electrified) and 1,845 km 0.950-meter
narrow gauge (380 km electrified)
Highways: 294,410 km total; autostrada 5,900 km, state highways 45,170
km, provincial highways 101,680 km, communal highways 141,660 km; 260,500 km
concrete, bituminous, or stone block, 26,900 km gravel and crushed stone,
7,010 km earth
Inland waterways: 2,400 km for various types of commercial
traffic, although of limited overall value
Pipelines: crude oil, 1,703 km; refined products, 2,148 km; natural gas,
19,400 km
Ports: Cagliari (Sardinia), Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Naples,
Palermo (Sicily), Taranto, Trieste, Venice
Merchant marine: 547 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,871,505
GRT/10,805,368 DWT; includes 6 passenger, 41 short-sea passenger, 100 cargo,
5 refrigerated cargo, 22 container, 72 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 4 vehicle
carrier, 1 multifunction large-load carrier, 2 livestock carrier, 147 petroleum,
oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 37 chemical tanker, 29 liquefied gas, 8
specialized tanker, 16 combination ore/oil, 55 bulk, 2 combination bulk
Civil air: 132 major transport aircraft
Airports: 143 total, 138 usable; 88 with permanent-surface runways; 2
with runways over 3,659 m; 35 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 42 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: well engineered, constructed, and operated;
28,000,000 telephones; stations--144 AM, 54 (over 1,800 repeaters) FM,
135 (over 1,300 repeaters) TV; 22 submarine cables; communication satellite
earth stations operating in INTELSAT 3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean,
INMARSAT, and EUTELSAT systems
- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 14,721,704; 12,855,022 fit for military
service; 430,782 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 2.4% of GDP, or $19 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Ivory Coast
(also known as Cote d'Ivoire)
- Geography
Total area: 322,460 km2; land area: 318,000 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries: 3,110 km total; Burkina 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea
610 km, Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km
Coastline: 515 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 m;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three
seasons--warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May),
hot and wet (June to October)
Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest
Natural resources: crude oil, diamonds, manganese, iron ore,
cobalt, bauxite, copper
Land use: 9% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 9% meadows and pastures;
26% forest and woodland; 52% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; severe
deforestation
- People
Population: 12,478,024 (July 1990), growth rate 4.0% (1990)
Birth rate: 48 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 4 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 100 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 56 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 6.9 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Ivorian(s); adjective--Ivorian
Ethnic divisions: over 60 ethnic groups; most important are the Baoule
23%, Bete 18%, Senoufou 15%, Malinke 11%, and Agni; about 2 million foreign
Africans, mostly Burkinabe; about 130,000 to 330,000 non-Africans
(30,000 French and 100,000 to 300,000 Lebanese)
Religion: 63% indigenous, 25% Muslim, 12% Christian
Language: French (official), over 60 native dialects; Dioula most widely
spoken
Literacy: 42.7%
Labor force: 5,718,000; over 85% of population engaged in agriculture, for
estry,
livestock raising; about 11% of labor force are wage earners, nearly half in
agriculture and the remainder in government, industry, commerce, and
professions; 54% of population of working age (1985)
Organized labor: 20% of wage labor force
- Government
Long-form name: Republic of the Ivory Coast; note--the local official
name is Republique de Cote d'Ivoire
Type: republic; one-party presidential regime established 1960
Capital: Abidjan (capital city changed to Yamoussoukro in March 1983 but
not recognized by US)
Administrative divisions: 49 departments (departements,
singular--(departement); Abengourou, Abidjan, Aboisso, Adzope, Agboville,
Bangolo, Beoumi, Biankouma, Bondoukou, Bongouanou, Bouafle, Bouake, Bouna,
Boundiali, Dabakala, Daloa, Danane, Daoukro, Dimbokro, Divo, Duekoue,
Ferkessedougou, Gagnoa, Grand-Lahou, Guiglo, Issia, Katiola, Korhogo, Lakota,
Man, Mankono, Mbahiakro, Odienne, Oume, Sakassou, San-Pedro, Sassandra,
Seguela, Sinfra, Soubre, Tabou, Tanda, Tengrela, Tiassale, Touba,
Toumodi, Vavoua, Yamoussoukro, Zuenoula
Independence: 7 August 1960 (from France)
Constitution: 3 November 1960
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law;
judicial review in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: National Day, 7 December
Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Dr. Felix
HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY (since 27 November 1960)
Political parties and leaders: only party--Democratic Party of
the Ivory Coast (PDCI), Dr. Felix Houphouet-Boigny
Suffrage: universal at age 21
Elections:
President--last held 27 October 1985 (next to be held October 1990);
results--President Felix Houphouet-Boigny was reelected without
opposition to his fifth consecutive five-year term;
National Assembly--last held 10 November 1985 (next to be held
10 November 1990);
results--PDCI is the only party;
seats--(175 total) PDCI 175
Communists: no Communist party; possibly some sympathizers
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, EAMA, ECA, ECOWAS, EIB (associate),
Entente, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, Niger River Commission, NAM, OAU, OCAM, UN,
UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Charles GOMIS; Chancery at
2424 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 797-0300;
US--Ambassador Kenneth BROWN; Embassy at 5 Rue Jesse Owens, Abidjan
(mailing address is B. P. 1712, Abidjan 01); telephone [225] 32-09-79
Flag: three equal vertical bands of orange (hoist side), white, and green;
similar to the flag of Ireland which is longer and has the colors
reversed--green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of
Italy which is green (hoist side), white, and red; design was based on the flag
of France
- Economy
Overview: The Ivory Coast is among the world's largest producers and
exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm-kernel oil. Consequently, the economy
is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for coffee and cocoa
and to weather conditions. Despite attempts by the government to diversify, the
economy is still largely dependent on agriculture and related industries. The
agricultural sector accounts for over one-third of GDP and about 80% of export
earnings and employs about 85% of the labor force. A collapse of world cocoa and
coffee prices in 1986 threw the economy into a recession, from which the country
had not recovered by 1989.
GDP: $10.0 billion, per capita $900; real growth rate - 6.4% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.5% (1988)
Unemployment rate: 14% (1985)
Budget: revenues $1.6 billion (1986); expenditures $2.3 billion, including
capital expenditures of $504 million (1988 est.)
Exports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--cocoa 30%,
coffee 20%, tropical woods 11%, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton;
partners--France, FRG, Netherlands, US, Belgium, Spain (1985)
Imports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--manufactured
goods and semifinished products 50%, consumer goods 40%, raw materials and
fuels 10%; partners--France, other EC, Nigeria, US, Japan (1985)
External debt: $14.7 billion (1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 0% (1987)
Electricity: 1,081,000 kW capacity; 2,440 million kWh produced,
210 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: foodstuffs, wood processing, oil refinery, automobile
assembly, textiles, fertilizer, beverage
Agriculture: most important sector, contributing one-third to GDP
and 80% to exports; cash crops include coffee, cocoa beans, timber,
bananas, palm kernels, rubber; food crops--corn, rice, manioc, sweet
potatoes; not selfsufficient in bread grain and dairy products
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis on a small scale for the
international drug trade
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $344 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $4.6 billion
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
Railroads: 660 km (Burkina border to Abidjan, 1.00-meter gauge,
single track, except 25 km Abidjan-Anyama section is double track)
Highways: 46,600 km total; 3,600 km bituminous and bituminous-treated
surface; 32,000 km gravel, crushed stone, laterite, and improved earth; 11,000
km unimproved
Inland waterways: 980 km navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal
lagoons
Ports: Abidjan, San-Pedro
Merchant marine: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 71,945 GRT/
90,684 DWT; includes 5 cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
1 chemical tanker
Civil air: 12 major transport aircraft, including multinationally owned
Air Afrique fleet
Airports: 49 total, 42 usable; 7 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 16 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: system above African average; consists of open-wire
lines and radio relay links; 87,700 telephones; stations--3 AM, 17 FM, 11 TV;
2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; 2 coaxial submarine cables
- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie
Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,874,925; 1,487,909 fit for military
service; 141,193 males reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 1.9% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Jamaica
- Geography
Total area: 10,990 km2; land area: 10,830 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 1,022 km
Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Land use: 19% arable land; 6% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures;
28% forest and woodland; 29% other; includes 3% irrigated
Environment: subject to hurricanes (especially July to November);
deforestation; water pollution
Note: strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica
Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal
- People
Population: 2,441,396 (July 1990), growth rate 0.6% (1990)
Birth rate: 21 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: - 10 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 16 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 79 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.3 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Jamaican(s); adjective--Jamaican
Ethnic divisions: 76.3% African, 15.1% Afro-European, 3.4% East Indian and
Afro-East Indian, 3.2% white, 1.2% Chinese and Afro-Chinese, 0.8% other
Religion: predominantly Protestant (including Anglican and Baptist), some
Roman Catholic, some spiritualist cults
Language: English, Creole
Literacy: 74%
Labor force: 728,700; 32% agriculture, 28% industry and commerce,
27% services, 13% government; shortage of technical and managerial personnel
(1984)
Organized labor: 25% of labor force (1989)
- Government
Long-form name: none
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Kingston
Administrative divisions: 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston,
Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint
Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland
Independence: 6 August 1962 (from UK)
Constitution: 6 August 1962
Legal system: based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day (first Monday in August), 6 August 1990
Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister,
Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house
or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented
by Governor General Sir Florizel A. GLASSPOLE (since 2 March 1973);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Michael MANLEY (since 9 February 1989)
Political parties and leaders: People's National Party (PNP), Michael
Manley; Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Edward Seaga; Workers' Party of Jamaica
(WPJ), Trevor Munroe
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
House of Representatives--last held 9 February 1989 (next to be held
by February 1994);
results--PNP 57%, JLP 43%;
seats--(60 total) PNP 45, JLP 15
Communists: Workers' Party of Jamaica (Marxist-Leninist)
Other political or pressure groups:
Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)
Member of: ACP, CARICOM, CCC, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA,
IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Keith JOHNSON; Chancery at
Suite 355, 1850 K Street NW, Washington DC 20006; telephone (202) 452-0660;
there are Jamaican Consulates General in Miami and New York;
US--Ambassador Glen HOLDEN; Embassy at 3rd Floor, Jamaica Mutual Life
Center, 2 Oxford Road, Kingston; telephone [809] 929-4850
Flag: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles--green
(top and bottom) and black (hoist side and fly side)
- Economy
Overview: The economy is based on sugar, bauxite, and tourism.
In 1985 it suffered a setback with the closure of some facilities in the
bauxite and alumina industry, a major source of hard currency earnings. Since
1986 an economic recovery has been under way. In 1987 conditions began to
improve for the bauxite and alumina industry because of increases in world metal
prices. The recovery has also been supported by growth in the manufacturing and
tourism sectors. In September 1988, Hurricane Gilbert inflicted severe
damage on crops and the electric power system, a sharp but temporary
setback to the economy. By October 1989 the economic recovery from the
hurricane was largely complete and real growth was up about 3% for 1989.
GDP: $3.8 billion, per capita $1,529; real growth rate 3.0% (1989
est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 18.7% (1988)
Budget: revenues $1.1 billion; expenditures $1.5 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (FY88 est.)
Exports: $948 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--bauxite, alumina, sugar, bananas;
partners--US 40%, UK, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Norway
Imports: $1.6 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.); commodities--petroleum,
machinery, food, consumer goods, construction goods; partners--US 46%,
UK, Venezuela, Canada, Japan, Trinidad and Tobago
External debt: $4.4 billion (1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 3% (1989 est.)
Electricity: 1,437,000 kW capacity; 2,390 million kWh produced,
960 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: tourism, bauxite mining, textiles, food processing,
light manufactures
Agriculture: accounts for about 9% of GDP, one-third of work force, and
17% of exports; commercial crops--sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes,
and vegetables; livestock and livestock products include poultry, goats, milk;
not self-sufficient in grain, meat, and dairy products
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivation of cannabis has decreased, with
production shifting from large to small plots and nurseries to evade
aerial detection and eradication
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.1 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.2 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $27 million; Communist countries (1974-88),
$349 million
Currency: Jamaican dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1--6.5013 (January 1990),
5.7446 (1989), 5.4886 (1988), 5.4867 (1987), 5.4778 (1986), 5.5586 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
- Communications
Railroads: 370 km, all 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track
Highways: 18,200 km total; 12,600 km paved, 3,200 km gravel, 2,400 km
improved earth
Pipelines: refined products, 10 km
Ports: Kingston, Montego Bay
Merchant marine: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 13,048 GRT/21,412
DWT; includes 1 cargo, 1 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 petroleum, oils,
and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 bulk
Civil air: 6 major transport aircraft
Airports: 41 total, 25 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: fully automatic domestic telephone network;
127,000 telephones; stations--10 AM, 17 FM, 8 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
earth stations; 3 coaxial submarine cables
- Defense Forces
Branches: Jamaica Defense Force (includes Coast Guard and Air Wing)
Military manpower: males 15-49, 620,400; 440,967 fit for military service;
no conscription; 27,014 reach minimum volunteer age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 1.1% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Jan Mayen
(territory of Norway)
- Geography
Total area: 373 km2; land area: 373 km2
Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 124.1 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 10 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 4 nm
Disputes: Denmark has challenged Norway's maritime claims beween
Greenland and Jan Mayen
Climate: arctic maritime with frequent storms and persistent fog
Terrain: volcanic island, partly covered by glaciers; Beerenberg is the
highest peak, with an elevation of 2,277 meters
Natural resources: none
Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and
pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 100% other
Environment: barren volcanic island with some moss and grass;
volcanic activity resumed in 1970
Note: located 590 km north-northwest of Iceland between
the Greenland Sea and the Norwegian Sea north of the Arctic Circle
- People
Population: no permanent inhabitants
- Government
Long-form name: none
Type: territory of Norway
Note: administered by a governor (sysselmann) resident in Longyearbyen
(Svalbard)
- Economy
Overview: Jan Mayen is a volcanic island with no exploitable
natural resources. Economic activity is limited to providing services
for employees of Norway's radio and meteorological stations located on
the island.
Electricity: 15,000 kW capacity; 40 million kWh produced,
NA kWh per capita (1989)
- Communications
Airports: 1 with runway 1,220 to 2,439 m
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
Telecommunications: radio and meteorological station