House of Representatives--last held 8 November 1989 (next to be
held NA); results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(80 total) percent of vote NA
Communists: party actively repressed, membership less than 500 (est.)
Member of: ACC, Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Hussein A. HAMMAMI;
Chancery at 3504 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 966-2664;
US--Ambassador Roscoe S. SUDDARTH; Embassy on Jebel Amman, Amman (mailing
address is P. O. Box 354, Amman, or APO New York 09892);
telephone [962] (6) 644371 through 644376
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white, and green with a
red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a small white
seven-pointed star; the seven points on the star represent the seven fundamental
laws of the Koran
- Economy
Overview: Jordan was a secondary beneficiary of the oil boom of
the late 1970s and early 1980s, when its GNP growth averaged 10-12%. Recent
years, however, have witnessed a sharp reduction in cash aid from Arab
oil-producing countries and in worker remittances, with growth averaging
1-2%. Imports--mainly oil, capital goods, consumer durables, and
foodstuffs--have been outstripping exports by roughly $2 billion annually,
the difference being made up by aid, remittances, and borrowing. In 1989
the government pursued policies to encourage private investment, curb
imports of luxury goods, promote exports, reduce the budget deficit, and, in
general, reinvigorate economic growth. Success will depend largely on
exogenous forces, such as the absence of drought and a pickup in outside
support. Down the road, the completion of the proposed Unity Dam on the
Yarmuk is vital to meet rapidly growing requirements for water.
GNP: $5.2 billion, per capita $1,760; real growth rate 0% (1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 9-10% (December 1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $0.92 billion; expenditures $1.6 billion, including
capital expenditures of $540 million (1989 est.)
Exports: $0.910 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--fruits and
vegetables, phosphates, fertilizers;
partners--Iraq, Saudi Arabia, India, Kuwait, Japan, China,
Yugoslavia, Indonesia
Imports: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.); commodities--crude oil,
textiles, capital goods, motor vehicles, foodstuffs;
partners--EC, US, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Turkey, Romania, China,
Taiwan
External debt: $8.3 billion (December 1989)
Industrial production: growth rate - 7.8% (1988 est.)
Electricity: 981,000 kW capacity; 3,500 million kWh produced,
1,180 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash,
light manufacturing
Agriculture: accounts for only 5% of GDP; principal products are wheat,
barley, citrus fruit, tomatoes, melons, olives; livestock--sheep, goats,
poultry; large net importer of food
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.7 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.2 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.5 billion; Communist countries (1970-88),
$44 million
Currency: Jordanian dinar (plural--dinars);
1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils
Exchange rates: Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1--0.6557 (January 1990),
0.5704 (1989), 0.3715 (1988), 0.3387 (1987), 0.3499 (1986), 0.3940 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Railroads: 619 km 1.050-meter gauge, single track
Highways: 7,500 km; 5,500 km asphalt, 2,000 km gravel and crushed stone
Pipelines: crude oil, 209 km
Ports: Al Aqabah
Merchant marine: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 32,635 GRT/44,618
DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 2 bulk cargo
Civil air: 19 major transport aircraft
Airports: 19 total, 16 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways over 3,659 m; 13 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
none with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: adequate system of radio relay, cable, and radio;
81,500 telephones; stations--4 AM, 3 FM, 24 TV; satellite earth stations--1
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT, 1 domestic TV
receive-only; coaxial cable and radio relay to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria;
radio relay to Lebanon is inactive; a microwave network linking Syria, Egypt,
Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Jordan
- Defense Forces
Branches: Jordan Arab Army, Royal Jordanian Air Force, Royal Jordanian
Coast Guard
Military manpower: males 15-49, 726,736; 519,972 fit for military service;
38,730 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 11% of GNP, or $570 million (1990 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Juan de Nova Island
(French possession)
- Geography
Total area: 4.4 km2; land area: 4.4 km2
Comparative area: about 7.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 24.1 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: claimed by Madagascar
Climate: tropical
Terrain: undetermined
Natural resources: guano deposits and other fertilizers
Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and
pastures; 90% forest and woodland; 10% other
Environment: subject to periodic cyclones; wildlife sanctuary
Note: located in the central Mozambique Channel about halfway
between Africa and Madagascar
- People
Population: uninhabited
- Government
Long-form name: none
Type: French possession administered by Commissioner of the Republic
Daniel CONSTANTIN, resident in Reunion
- Economy
Overview: no economic activity
- Communications
Railroads: short line going to a jetty
Airports: 1 with nonpermanent-surface runway less than 1,220 m
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
Note: one weather station
- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of France
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Kenya
- Geography
Total area: 582,650 km2; land area: 569,250 km2
Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Nevada
Land boundaries: 3,477 km total; Ethiopia 861 km, Somalia 682 km,
Sudan 232 km, Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 km
Coastline: 536 km
Maritime claims:
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: international boundary and Administrative Boundary with Sudan;
possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic Somalis
Climate: varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior
Terrain: low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift
Valley; fertile plateau in west
Natural resources: gold, limestone, diotomite, salt barytes, magnesite,
feldspar, sapphires, fluorspar, garnets, wildlife
Land use: 3% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 7% meadows and pastures;
4% forest and woodland; 85% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: unique physiography supports abundant and varied wildlife
of scientific and economic value; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification;
glaciers on Mt. Kenya
Note: Kenyan Highlands one of the most successful agricultural
production regions in Africa
- People
Population: 24,639,261 (July 1990), growth rate 3.8% (1990)
Birth rate: 45 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: 60 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 67 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Kenyan(s); adjective--Kenyan
Ethnic divisions: 21% Kikuyu, 14% Luhya, 13% Luo, 11% Kalenjin, 11% Kamba,
6% Kisii, 6% Meru, 1% Asian, European, and Arab
Religion: 38% Protestant, 28% Roman Catholic, 26% indigenous beliefs,
6% Muslim
Language: English and Swahili (official); numerous indigenous languages
Literacy: 59.2%
Labor force: 9,003,000; 78% agriculture, 22% nonagriculture
(1987 est.)
Organized labor: 390,000 (est.)
- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Kenya
Type: republic
Capital: Nairobi
Administrative divisions: 7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast,
Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North-Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western
Independence: 12 December 1963 (from UK; formerly British East Africa)
Constitution: 12 December 1963, amended as a republic 1964;
reissued with amendments 1979, 1983, 1986, and 1988
Legal system: based on English common law, tribal law, and Islamic law;
judicial review in High Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations; constitutional amendment in 1982 made Kenya a de jure one-party
state
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 December (1963)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, High Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Daniel Teroitich
arap MOI (since 14 October 1978); Vice President George SAITOTI
(since 10 May 1989)
Political parties and leaders: only party--Kenya African National
Union (KANU), Daniel T. arap Moi, president
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President--last held on 21 March 1988 (next to be held
February 1993);
results--President Daniel T. arap Moi was reelected;
National Assembly--last held on 21 March 1988
(next to be held March 1993); results--KANU is the only party;
seats--(202 total, 188 elected) KANU 200
Communists: may be a few Communists and sympathizers
Other political or pressure groups: labor unions; exile
opposition--Mwakenya and other groups
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITU,
IWC--International Wheat Council, NAM, OAU, UN, UNDP, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Denis Daudi AFANDE; Chancery at
2249 R Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 387-6101; there are
Kenyan Consulates General in Los Angeles and New York;
US--Ambassador Smith HEMPSTONE; Embassy at the corner of Moi Avenue
and Haile Selassie Avenue, Nairobi (mailing address is P. O. Box 30137,
Nairobi or APO New York 09675); telephone [254] (2) 334141; there is a
US Consulate in Mombasa
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green; the red
band is edged in white; a large warrior's shield covering crossed spears is
superimposed at the center
- Economy
Overview: A serious underlying economic problem is Kenya's 3.8% annual
population growth rate--one of the highest in the world. In the
meantime, GDP growth in the near term has kept slightly ahead of
population--annually averaging 5.2% in the 1986-88 period. Undependable
weather conditions and a shortage of arable land hamper long-term
growth in agriculture, the leading economic sector.
GDP: $8.5 billion, per capita $360; real growth rate 4.9% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.3% (1988)
Unemployment rate: NA%, but there is a high level of unemployment
and underemployment
Budget: revenues $2.3 billion; expenditures $2.6 billion, including
capital expenditures of $0.71 billion (FY87)
Exports: $1.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--coffee 20%,
tea 18%, manufactures 15%, petroleum products 10% (1987);
partners--Western Europe 45%, Africa 22%, Far East 10%, US 4%, Middle East
3% (1987)
Imports: $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--machinery
and transportation equipment 36%, raw materials 33%, fuels and lubricants 20%,
food and consumer goods 11% (1987);
partners--Western Europe 49%, Far East 20%, Middle East 19%, US 7% (1987)
External debt: $6.2 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 4.8% (1987 est.)
Electricity: 587,000 kW capacity; 2,250 million kWh produced,
90 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries,
textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural processing, oil refining,
cement, tourism
Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for 30% of GDP,
about 80% of the work force, and over 50% of exports; cash
crops--coffee, tea, sisal, pineapple; food products--corn, wheat,
sugarcane, fruit, vegetables, dairy products; food output not keeping
pace with population growth
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis used mostly for
domestic consumption; widespread cultivation of cannabis and qat on
small plots; transit country for heroin and methaqualone en route
from Southwest Asia to West Africa, Western Europe, and the US
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $771 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $6.0 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $74 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$83 million
Currency: Kenyan shilling (plural--shillings);
1 Kenyan shilling (KSh) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Kenyan shillings (KSh) per US$1--21.749 (December 1989),
20.572 (1989), 17.747 (1988), 16.454 (1987), 16.226 (1986), 16.432 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
- Communications
Railroads: 2,040 km 1.000-meter gauge
Highways: 64,590 km total; 7,000 km paved, 4,150 km gravel, remainder
improved earth
Inland waterways: part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of
Kenya; principal inland port is at Kisumu
Pipelines: refined products, 483 km
Ports: Mombasa, Lamu
Civil air: 14 major transport aircraft
Airports: 247 total, 211 usable; 18 with permanent-surface runways; 2
with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 45 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: in top group of African systems; consists of radio
relay links, open-wire lines, and radiocommunication stations;
260,000 telephones; stations--11 AM, 4 FM, 4 TV; satellite earth stations--1
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTLESAT
- Defense Forces
Branches: Kenya Army, Kenya Navy, Air Force; paramilitary General
Service Unit
Military manpower: males 15-49, 5,240,551; 3,235,557 fit for military
service; no conscription
Defense expenditures: 1.0% of GDP, or $100 million (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Kingman Reef
(territory of the US)
- Geography
Total area: 1 km2; land area: 1 km2
Comparative area: about 1.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 3 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical, but moderated by prevailing winds
Terrain: low and nearly level with a maximum elevation of about 1 meter
Natural resources: none
Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 100% other
Environment: barren coral atoll with deep interior lagoon; wet or awash
most of the time
Note: located 1,600 km south-southwest of Honolulu in the North Pacific
Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and American Samoa; maximum elevation of
about 1 meter makes this a navigational hazard; closed to the public
- People
Population: uninhabited
- Government
Long-form name: none
Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the US Navy
- Economy
Overview: no economic activity
- Communications
Airports: lagoon was used as a halfway station between Hawaii and
American Samoa by Pan American Airways for flying boats in 1937 and 1938
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Kiribati
- Geography
Total area: 717 km2; land area: 717 km2; includes three island
groups--Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands
Comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 1,143 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
Terrain: mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs
Natural resources: phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)
Land use: NEGL% arable land; 51% permanent crops; 0% meadows and
pastures; 3% forest and woodland; 46% other
Environment: typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March;
20 of the 33 islands are inhabited
Note: Banaba or Ocean Island is one of the three great phosphate rock
islands in the Pacific (the others are Makatea in French Polynesia and Nauru)
- People
Population: 70,012 (July 1990), growth rate 1.7% (1990)
Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: - 5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 65 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 57 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 4.3 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Kiribatian(s); adjective--Kiribati
Ethnic divisions: Micronesian
Religion: 48% Roman Catholic, 45% Protestant (Congregational),
some Seventh-Day Adventist and Baha'i
Language: English (official), Gilbertese
Literacy: 90%
Labor force: 7,870 economically active (1985 est.)
Organized labor: Kiribati Trades Union Congress--2,500 members
- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Kiribati
Type: republic
Capital: Tarawa
Administrative divisions: 3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix
Islands; note--a new administrative structure of 6 districts (Banaba, Central
Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) may have
been changed to 20 island councils (one for each of the inhabited islands) named
Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kiritimati, Kuria,
Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana,
Tarawa, Teraina
Independence: 12 July 1979 (from UK; formerly Gilbert Islands)
Constitution: 12 July 1979
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 July (1979)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly (Maneaba Ni Maungatabu)
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, High Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Ieremia T. TABAI
(since 12 July 1979); Vice President Teatao TEANNAKI (since 20 July 1979)
Political parties and leaders: Gilbertese National Party; Christian
Democratic Party, Teburoro Tito, secretary; essentially not organized
on basis of political parties
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President--last held on 12 May 1987 (next to be held May 1991);
results--Ieremia T. Tabai 50.1%, Tebruroro Tito 42.7%, Tetao
Tannaki 7.2%;
National Assembly--last held on 19 March l987 (next to be held
March 1991); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(40 total; 39 elected) percent of seats by party NA
Member of: ACP, ADB, Commonwealth, ESCAP (associate member), GATT (de
facto), ICAO, IMF, SPF, WHO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant) lives in Tarawa (Kiribati);
US--none
Flag: the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a
yellow rising sun and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white
stripes to represent the ocean
- Economy
Overview: The country has few national resources. Phosphate deposits were
exhausted at the time of independence in 1979. Copra and fish now represent
the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in
recent years. Real GDP declined about 8% in 1987, as the fish catch fell
sharply to only one-fourth the level of 1986 and copra production was hampered
by repeated rains. Output rebounded strongly in 1988, with real GDP growing
by 17%. The upturn in economic growth came from an increase in copra production
and a good fish catch. Following the strong surge in output in 1988, GDP
remained about the same in 1989.
GDP: $34 million, per capita $500; real growth rate 0% (1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.1% (1988)
Unemployment rate: 2% (1985); considerable underemployment
Budget: revenues $22.0 million; expenditures $12.7 million, including
capital expenditures of $9.7 million (1988)
Exports: $5.1 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--fish 55%,
copra 42%; partners--EC 20%, Marshall Islands 12%, US 8%, American
Samoa 4% (1985)
Imports: $21.5 million (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--foodstuffs,
fuel, transportation equipment; partners--Australia 39%, Japan 21%,
NZ 6%, UK 6%, US 3% (1985)
External debt: $2.0 million (December 1987 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 5,000 kW capacity; 13 million kWh produced,
190 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: fishing, handicrafts
Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP (including fishing); copra and fish
contribute 95% to exports; subsistence farming predominates; food crops--taro,
breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; not self-sufficient in food
Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $245 million
Currency: Australian dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1--1.2784 (January 1990),
1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905 (1986), 1.4269 (1985)
Fiscal year: NA
- Communications
Highways: 640 km of motorable roads
Inland waterways: small network of canals, totaling 5 km, in Line Islands
Ports: Banaba and Betio (Tarawa)
Civil air: 2 Trislanders; no major transport aircraft
Airports: 22 total; 21 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: 1,400 telephones; stations--1 AM, no FM, no TV;
1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station
- Defense Forces
Branches: NA
Military manpower: NA
Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Korea, North
- Geography
Total area: 120,540 km2; land area: 120,410 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Mississippi
Land boundaries: 1,671 km total; China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km,
USSR 17 km
Coastline: 2,495 km
Maritime claims:
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm;
Military boundary line: 50 nm (all foreign vessels and aircraft
without permission are banned)
Disputes: short section of boundary with China is indefinite;
Demarcation Line with South Korea
Climate: temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Terrain: mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys;
coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Natural resources: coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite,
iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Land use: 18% arable land; 1% permanent crops; NEGL% meadows and
pastures; 74% forest and woodland; 7% other; includes 9% irrigated
Environment: mountainous interior is isolated, nearly inaccessible,
and sparsely populated; late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding
Note: strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and USSR
- People
Population: 21,292,649 (July 1990), growth rate 1.7% (1990)
Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 27 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 75 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Korean(s); adjective--Korean
Ethnic divisions: racially homogeneous
Religion: Buddhism and Confucianism; religious activities now almost
nonexistent
Language: Korean
Literacy: 95% (est.)