Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor Christopher J. TURNER (since 1987);
Head of Government--Chief Minister John A. OSBORNE (since 1978)
Political parties and leaders: People's Liberation Movement (PLM), John
Osborne; Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), Howell Bramble; United
National Front (UNF), Dr. George Irish; National Development Party (NDP),
Bertrand Osborne
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
Legislative Council--last held on 25 August 1987 (next to be
held NA 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(11 total, 7 elected) PLM 4, NDP 2, PDP 1
Communists: probably none
Diplomatic representation: none (colony of the UK)
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and
the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat
of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around
a black cross
- Economy
Overview: The economy is small and open with economic activity centered
on tourism and construction. Tourism is the most important sector and
accounted for 20% of GDP in 1986. Agriculture accounted for about 4%
of GDP and industry 9%. The economy is heavily dependent on imports,
making it vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices. Exports consist
mainly of electronic parts sold to the US.
GDP: $45.4 million, per capita $3,780; real growth rate 12% (1988
est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.7% (1987)
Unemployment rate: 3.0% (1987)
Budget: revenues $10.0 million; expenditures $9.4 million, including
capital expenditures of $3.2 million (1987)
Exports: $3.0 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities--plastic bags,
electronic parts, apparel, hot peppers, live plants, cattle; partners--NA
Imports: $25.3 million (c.i.f., 1987); commodities--machinery and
transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants,
and related materials; partners--NA
External debt: $3.7 million (1985)
Industrial production: growth rate 8.1% (1986)
Electricity: 5,000 kW capacity; 12 million kWh produced,
930 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: tourism; light manufacturing--rum, textiles, electronic
appliances
Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GDP; small-scale farming; food
crops--tomatoes, onions, peppers; not self-sufficient in food, especially
livestock products
Aid: NA
Currency: East Caribbean dollar (plural--dollars);
1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1--2.70 (fixed
rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
- Communications
Highways: 280 km total; about 200 km paved, 80 km gravel and earth
Ports: Plymouth
Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runway 1,036 m
Telecommunications: 3,000 telephones; stations--8 AM, 4 FM, 1 TV
- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Morocco
- Geography
Total area: 446,550 km2; land area: 446,300 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than California
Land boundaries: 2,002 km total; Algeria 1,559 km, Western
Sahara 443 km
Coastline: 1,835 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: claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty is
unresolved; armed conflict in Western Sahara; Spain controls two coastal
presidios or places of sovereignty (Ceuta, Melilla)
Climate: Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior
Terrain: mostly mountains with rich coastal plains
Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead,
zinc, fish, salt
Land use: 18% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 28% meadows and
pastures; 12% forest and woodland; 41% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: northern mountains geologically unstable and subject
to earthquakes; desertification
Note: strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar
- People
Population: 25,648,241 (July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990)
Birth rate: 31 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: - 1 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 78 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 63 years male, 66 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 4.0 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Moroccan(s); adjective--Moroccan
Ethnic divisions: 99.1% Arab-Berber, 0.7% non-Moroccan, 0.2% Jewish
Religion: 98.7% Muslim, 1.1% Christian, 0.2% Jewish
Language: Arabic (official); several Berber dialects; French is language
of business, government, diplomacy, and postprimary education
Literacy: 28%
Labor force: 7,400,000; 50% agriculture, 26% services, 15% industry,
9% other (1985)
Organized labor: about 5% of the labor force, mainly in the Union of
Moroccan Workers (UMT) and the Democratic Confederation of Labor (CDT)
- Government
Long-form name: Kingdom of Morocco
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Rabat
Administrative divisions: 36 provinces (provinces, singular--province)
and 2 municipalities* (wilayas, singular--wilaya); Agadir, Al Hoceima, Azilal,
Beni Mellal, Ben Slimane, Boulemane, Casablanca*, Chaouen, El Jadida,
El Kelaa des Srarhna, Er Rachidia, Essaouira, Fes, Figuig, Guelmim, Ifrane,
Kenitra, Khemisset, Khenifra, Khouribga, Laayoune, Marrakech, Meknes, Nador,
Ouarzazate, Oujda, Rabat-Sale*, Safi, Settat, Sidi Kacem, Tanger, Tan-Tan,
Taounate, Taroudannt, Tata, Taza, Tetouan, Tiznit
Independence: 2 March 1956 (from France)
Constitution: 10 March 1972
Legal system: based on Islamic law and French and Spanish civil law
system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of Supreme
Court
National holiday: National Day (anniversary of King Hassan II's accession
to the throne), 3 March (1961)
Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral Chamber of Representatives (Majlis al
Nuwab)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--King HASSAN II (since 3 March 1961);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Dr. Azzedine LARAKI (since
30 September 1986)
Political parties and leaders: Morocco has 15 political parties; the major
ones are Istiqlal Party, M'Hamed Boucetta; Socialist Union of Popular Forces
(USFP), Abderrahim Bouabid; Popular Movement (MP), Secretariat General;
National Assembly of Independents (RNI), Ahmed Osman; National Democratic Party
(PND), Mohamed Arsalane El-Jadidi; Party for Progress and Socialism (PPS),
Ali Yata; Constitutional Union (UC), Maati Bouabid
Suffrage: universal at age 21
Elections:
Chamber of Representatives--last held on 14 September 1984 (were
scheduled for September 1990, but postponed until NA 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(306 total, 206 elected) CU 83, RNI 61, MP 47, Istiqlal 41,
USFP 36, PND 24, others 14
Communists: about 2,000
Member of: AfDB, Arab League, CCC, EC (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO,
ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ali BENGELLOUN; Chancery at
1601 21st Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 462-7979;
there is a Moroccan Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador Michael USSERY; Embassy at 2 Avenue de Marrakech, Rabat
(mailing address is P. O. Box 120, Rabat, or APO New York 09284);
telephone [212] (7) 622-65; there are US Consulates General in Casablanca
and Tangier
Flag: red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear star) known as
Solomon's seal in the center of the flag; green is the traditional color of
Islam
- Economy
Overview: After registering a robust 10% growth in 1988, the
economy slowed in 1989 because of higher prices for food and oil
imports, lower worker remittances, and a trade dispute with India over
phosphoric acid prices that cost Rabat $500 million. To meet the foreign
payments shortfall, Rabat has been drawing down foreign exchange reserves.
Servicing the $22 billion foreign debt, high unemployment, and Morocco's
vulnerability to external forces remain severe problems for the 1990s.
GDP: $21.9 billion, per capita $880 (1988); real growth rate 4.5% (1989
est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 15% (1988)
Budget: revenues $5.1 billion; expenditures $6.0 billion, including
capital expenditures of $1.4 billion (1988)
Exports: $3.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--food and
beverages 30%, semiprocessed goods 23%, consumer goods 21%, phosphates 17%;
partners--EC 58%, India 7%, Japan 5%, USSR 3%, US 2%
Imports: $5.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--capital
goods 24%, semiprocessed goods 22%, raw materials 16%, fuel and lubricants 16%,
food and beverages 13%, consumer goods 10%; partners--EC 53%, US 11%,
Canada 4%, Iraq 3%, USSR 3%, Japan 2%
External debt: $22.2 billion (1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 4% (1989 est.)
Electricity: 2,140,000 kW capacity; 7,760 million kWh produced,
300 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: phosphate rock mining and processing, food processing,
leather goods, textiles, construction, tourism
Agriculture: 50% of employment and 30% of export value; not
self-sufficient in food; cereal farming and livestock raising predominate;
barley, wheat, citrus fruit, wine, vegetables, olives; fishing catch
of 491,000 metric tons in 1987
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis; trafficking on
the increase for both domestic and international drug markets; shipments
of cannabis mostly directed to Western Europe; occasional transit point
for cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe.
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.2 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $6.3 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $4.8 billion; Communist countries (1970-88),
$2.3 billion
Currency: Moroccan dirham (plural--dirhams);
1 Moroccan dirham (DH) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1--8.093 (January 1990),
8.488 (1989), 8.209 (1988), 8.359 (1987), 9.104 (1986), 10.062 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Railroads: 1,893 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (246 km double track, 974
km electrified)
Highways: 59,198 km total; 27,740 km bituminous treated, 31,458 km gravel,
crushed stone, improved earth, and unimproved earth
Pipelines: 362 km crude oil; 491 km (abandoned) refined products; 241 km
natural gas
Ports: Agadir, Casablanca, El Jorf Lasfar, Kenitra, Mohammedia, Nador,
Safi, Tangier; also Spanish-controlled Ceuta and Melilla
Merchant marine: 54 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 334,931
GRT/513,762 DWT; includes 11 cargo, 2 container, 14 refrigerated cargo,
5 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
12 chemical tanker, 4 bulk, 3 short-sea passenger
Civil air: 23 major transport aircraft
Airports: 75 total, 68 usable; 26 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with
runways over 3,659 m; 14 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 27 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: good system composed of wire lines, cables, and radio
relay links; principal centers are Casablanca and Rabat, secondary centers are
Fes, Marrakech, Oujda, Tangier, and Tetouan; 280,000 telephones;
stations--14 AM, 6 FM, 47 TV; 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations--2
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 ARABSAT; radio relay to Gibraltar, Spain, and
Western Sahara; coaxial cable to Algeria; microwave network linking Syria,
Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco
- Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Moroccan Army, Royal Moroccan Navy, Royal Moroccan Air
Force, Royal Gendarmerie
Military manpower: males 15-49, 6,203,759; 3,946,408 fit for military
service; 293,893 reach military age (18) annually; limited conscription
Defense expenditures: 7.1% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Mozambique
- Geography
Total area: 801,590 km2; land area: 784,090 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of California
Land boundaries: 4,571 km total; Malawi 1,569 km, South Africa 491 km,
Swaziland 105 km, Tanzania 756 km, Zambia 419 km, Zimbabwe 1,231 km
Coastline: 2,470 km
Maritime claims:
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical to subtropical
Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in
northwest, mountains in west
Natural resources: coal, titanium
Land use: 4% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 56% meadows and
pastures; 20% forest and woodland; 20% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: severe drought and floods occur in south; desertification
- People
Population: 14,565,656 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)
Birth rate: 47 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 18 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: - 3 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 138 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 45 years male, 49 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Mozambican(s); adjective--Mozambican
Ethnic divisions: majority from indigenous tribal groups; about
10,000 Europeans, 35,000 Euro-Africans, 15,000 Indians
Religion: 60% indigenous beliefs, 30% Christian, 10% Muslim
Language: Portuguese (official); many indigenous dialects
Literacy: 38%
Labor force: NA, but 90% engaged in agriculture
Organized labor: 225,000 workers belong to a single union,
the Mozambique Workers' Organization (OTM)
Note: there are 800,000 Mozambican refugees in Malawi (1989 est.)
- Government
Long-form name: People's Republic of Mozambique
Type: people's republic
Capital: Maputo
Administrative divisions: 10 provinces (provincias,
singular--provincia); Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Nampula,
Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia
Independence: 25 June 1975 (from Portugal)
Constitution: 25 June 1975
Legal system: based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law
National holiday: Independence Day, 25 June (1975)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Assembleia Popular)
Judicial branch: People's Courts at all levels
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO (since 6
November 1986);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Mario da Graca MACHUNGO (since
17 July 1986)
Political parties and leaders: Front for the Liberation of Mozambique
(FRELIMO) is the only legal party and is a Marxist organization with close ties
to the USSR
Suffrage: universal adult at age 18
Elections: national elections are indirect and based on mass meetings
throughout the country
Communists: about 60,000 FRELIMO members
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO,
IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, ITU, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Valeriano FERRAO; Chancery at
Suite 570, 1990 M Street NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 293-7146;
US--Ambassador Melissa F. WELLS; Embassy at 3rd Floor, 35 Rua Da Mesquita,
Maputo (mailing address is P. O. Box 783, Maputo); telephone 743167 or 744163
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), black, and yellow with
a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; the black band is edged in
white; centered in the triangle is a yellow five-pointed star bearing a crossed
rifle and hoe in black superimposed on an open white book
- Economy
Overview: One of Africa's poorest countries, with a per capita GDP of
little more than $100, Mozambique has failed to exploit the economic potential
of its sizable agricultural, hydropower, and transportation resources.
Indeed, national output, consumption, and investment declined throughout the
first half of the 1980s because of internal disorders, lack of government
administrative control, and a growing foreign debt. A sharp increase in foreign
aid, attracted by an economic reform policy, has resulted in successive years of
economic growth since 1985. Agricultural output, nevertheless, is only
at about 75% of its 1981 level, and grain has to be imported. Industry
operates at only 20-40% of capacity. The economy depends heavily on
foreign assistance to keep afloat.
GDP: $1.6 billion, per capita less than $110; real growth rate 5.0%
(1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 81.1% (1988)
Unemployment rate: 40.0 (1988)
Budget: revenues $186 million; expenditures $239 million,
including capital expenditures of $208 million (1988 est.)
Exports: $100 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--shrimp 48%,
cashews 21%, sugar 10%, copra 3%, citrus 3%; partners--US, Western
Europe, GDR, Japan
Imports: $764 million (c.i.f., 1988), including aid;
commodities--food, clothing, farm equipment, petroleum;
partners--US, Western Europe, USSR
External debt: $4.4 billion (1988)
Industrial production: growth rate 7% (1989 est.)
Electricity: 2,265,000 kW capacity; 1,740 million kWh produced,
120 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints),
petroleum products, textiles, nonmetallic mineral products (cement, glass,
asbestos), tobacco
Agriculture: accounts for 50% of GDP, over 80% of labor force, and about
90% of exports; cash crops--cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, shrimp; other
crops--cassava, corn, rice, tropical fruits; not self-sufficient in food
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $282 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $3.1 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $37 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$887 million
Currency: metical (plural--meticais); 1 metical (Mt) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: meticais (Mt) per US$1--800 (September 1989),
528.60 (1988), 289.44 (1987), 40.43 (1986), 43.18 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Railroads: 3,288 km total; 3,140 km 1.067-meter gauge; 148 km 0.762-meter
narrow gauge; Malawi-Nacala, Malawi-Beira, and Zimbabwe-Maputo lines are
subject to closure because of insurgency
Highways: 26,498 km total; 4,593 km paved; 829 km gravel, crushed stone,
stabilized soil; 21,076 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways: about 3,750 km of navigable routes
Pipelines: 306 km crude oil (not operating); 289 km refined products
Ports: Maputo, Beira, Nacala
Merchant marine: 5 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,806
GRT/12,873 DWT
Civil air: 5 major transport aircraft
Airports: 203 total, 153 usable; 27 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 29 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: fair system of troposcatter, open-wire lines, and
radio relay; 57,400 telephones; stations--15 AM, 3 FM, 1 TV; satellite earth
stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 3 domestic
- Defense Forces
Branches: Mozambique Armed Forces (including Army, Border Guard, Naval
Command, Air Defense Forces)
Military manpower: males 15-49, 3,295,067; 1,892,699 fit for military
service
Defense expenditures: 8.4% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Namibia
- Geography
Total area: 824,290 km2; land area: 823,290 km2
Comparative area: slightly more than half the size of Alaska
Land boundaries: 3,935 km total; Angola 1,376 km, Botswana
1,360 km, South Africa 966 km, Zambia 233 km
Coastline: 1,489 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm;
Territorial sea: 6 nm
Disputes: short section of boundary with Botswana is indefinite;
quadripoint with Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe is in disagreement;
possible future claim to South Africa's Walvis Bay
Climate: desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic
Terrain: mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert
in east
Natural resources: diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, lead, tin,
zinc, salt, vanadium, natural gas, fish; suspected deposits of coal
and iron ore
Land use: 1% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 64% meadows and
pastures; 22% forest and woodland; 13% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: inhospitable with very limited natural water resources;
desertification
Note: Walvis Bay area is an exclave of South Africa in Namibia
- People
Population: 1,452,951 (July 1990), growth rate 5.6% (1990)
Birth rate: 46 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 20 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 71 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 57 years male, 63 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 6.6 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Namibian(s); adjective--Namibian
Ethnic divisions: 86% black, 6.5% white, 7.5% mixed; about 50%
of the population belong to the Ovambo tribe and 9% from the Kavangos
tribe
Religion: predominantly Christian
Language: Afrikaans principal language of about 60% of white population,
German of 33%, and English of 7% (all official); several indigenous languages
Literacy: 100% whites, 16% nonwhites
Labor force: 500,000; 60% agriculture, 19% industry and commerce,
8% services, 7% government, 6% mining (1981 est.)
Organized labor: 15 trade unions--largest is the mineworkers'
union which has a sizable black membership
- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Namibia
Type: republic as of 21 March 1990
Capital: Windhoek
Administrative divisions: 26 districts; Bethanien, Boesmanland,
Caprivi Oos, Damaraland, Gobabis, Grootfontein, Hereroland Oos,
Hereroland Wes, Kaokoland, Karasburg, Karibib, Kavango, Keetmanshoop,
Luderitz, Maltahohe, Mariental, Namaland, Okahandja, Omaruru,
Otjiwarongo, Outjo, Owambo, Rehoboth, Swakopmund, Tsumeb, Windhoek
Independence: 21 March 1990
Constitution: ratified 9 February 1990
Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and customary law
National holiday: Settlers' Day, 10 December
Executive branch: president, Cabinet, Constitutional Council
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government President Sam NUJOMA
(since 21 March 1990)
Political parties and leaders: South-West Africa People's
Organization (SWAPO), Sam Nujoma;
Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), Dirk Mudge;
United Democratic Front (UDF), Justus Garoeb;
Action Christian National (ACN), Kosie Pretorius;
National Patriotic Front (NPF), Moses Katjiuongua;
Federal Convention of Namibia (FCN), Hans Diergaardt;
Namibia National Front (NNF), Vekuii Rukoro
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
National Assembly--last held on 7-11 November 1989
(next to be held NA);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(72 total) SWAPO 41, DTA 21, UDF 4, ACN 3, NNF 1, FCN 1, NPF 1
Communists: no Communist party
Other political or pressure groups: NA
Member of: FAO, IAEA, ILO, UNESCO, WHO
Diplomatic representation: NA
Flag: a large blue triangle with a yellow sunburst fills the
upper left section, and an equal green triangle (solid) fills the lower
right section; the triangles are separated by a red stripe which is
contrasted by two narrow white edge borders