and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain
- People
Population: 37,776,725 (July 1990), growth rate NEGL (1990)
Birth rate: 14 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: - 5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 13 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 77 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Pole(s); adjective--Polish
Ethnic divisions: 98.7% Polish, 0.6% Ukrainian, 0.5% Byelorussian, less
than 0.05% Jewish
Religion: 95% Roman Catholic (about 75% practicing),
5% Russian Orthodox, Protestant, and other
Language: Polish
Literacy: 98%
Labor force: 17,128,000 (1988); 36.5% industry and construction;
28.5% agriculture; 14.7% trade, transport, and communications;
20.3% government and other
Organized labor: trade union pluralism
- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Poland
Type: democratic state
Capital: Warsaw
Administrative divisions: 49 provinces (wojewodztwa,
singular--wojewodztwo); Biala Podlaska, Bialystok, Bielsko-Biala,
Bydgoszcz, Chelm, Ciechanow, Czestochowa, Elblag, Gdansk,
Gorzow Wielkopolski, Jelenia Gora, Kalisz, Katowice, Kielce, Konin,
Koszalin, Krakow, Krosno, Legnica, Leszno, Lodz, Lomza,
Lublin, Nowy Sacz, Olsztyn, Opole, Ostroleka, Pila, Piotrkow,
Plock, Poznan, Przemysl, Radom, Rzeszow, Siedlce, Sieradz,
Skierniewice, Slupsk, Suwalki, Szczecin, Tarnobrzeg, Tarnow,
Torun, Walbrzych, Warszawa, Wloclawek, Wroclaw, Zamosc,
Zielona Gora
Independence: 11 November 1918, independent republic proclaimed
Constitution: the Communist-imposed Constitution of 22 July 1952
will be replaced by a democratic Constitution before May 1991
Legal system: mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and Communist
legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: National Liberation Day, 22 July (1952) will
probably be replaced by Constitution Day, 3 May (1794)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlament) consists of
an upper house or Senate (Senat) and a lower house or National Assembly
(Sejm)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Gen. Wojciech JARUZELSKI (since
19 July 1989, Chairman of Council of State since 6 November 1985);
Head of Government--Premier Tadeusz MAZOWIECKI (since 24 August 1989)
Political parties and leaders:
Center-right agrarian parties--Polish Peasant Party (PSL, known
unofficially as PSL-Wilanowska), Gen. Franciszek Kaminski, chairman;
Polish Peasant Party-Solidarity, Josef Slisz, chairman;
Polish Peasant Party-Rebirth (formerly the United Peasant Party),
Kazimirrz Olrsiak, chairman;
Other center-right parties--National Party, Bronislaw Ekert,
chairman;
Christian National Union, Urrslaw Chnzanowski, chairman;
Christian Democratic Labor Party, Wladyslaw Sila Nowicki, chairman;
Democratic Party, Jerzy Jozwiak, chairman;
Center-left parties--Polish Socialist Party, Jan Jozef Lipski,
chairman;
Left-wing parties--Polish Socialist Party-Democratic Revolution;
Other--Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland (formerly the
Communist Party or Polish United Workers' Party/PZPR), Aleksander
Kwasnuewski, chairman;
Union of the Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland (breakaway
faction of the PZPR), Tadrusz Fiszbach, chairman
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
Senate--last held 4 and 18 June 1989 (next to be held June 1993);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(100 total) Solidarity 99, independent 1;
National Assembly--last held 4 and 18 June 1989 (next to be
held June 1993);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(460 total) Communists 173, Solidarity 161, Polish Peasant
Party 76, Democratic Party 27, Christian National Union 23; note--rules
governing the election limited Solidarity's share of the vote to 35%
of the seats; future elections are to be freely contested
Communists: 70,000 members in the Communist successor party (1990)
Other political or pressure groups: powerful Roman Catholic Church;
Confederation for an Independent Poland (KPN), a nationalist group;
Solidarity (trade union); All Poland Trade Union Alliance (OPZZ),
populist program; Clubs of Catholic Intellectuals (KIKs); Freedom and
Peace (WiP), a pacifist group; Independent Student Union (NZS)
Member of: CCC, CEMA, Council of Europe, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBEC,
ICAO, ICES, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMO, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, UN, UNESCO,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, Warsaw Pact, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jan KINAST; Chancery at 2640 16th
Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 234-3800 through 3802; there are
Polish Consulates General in Chicago and New York;
US--Ambassador-designate Thomas SIMONS, Jr.; Embassy at Aleje
Ujazdowskie 29/31, Warsaw (mailing address is
APO New York 09213); telephone [48] 283041 through 283049; there is a US
Consulate General in Krakow and a Consulate in Poznan
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red--a crowned
eagle is to be added; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which
are red (top) and white
- Economy
Overview: The economy, except for the agricultural sector, had
followed the Soviet model of state ownership and control of the country's
productive assets. About 75% of agricultural production had come from the
private sector and the rest from state farms. The economy has presented a
picture of moderate but slowing growth against a background of underlying
weaknesses in technology and worker motivation. GNP increased between 3%
and 6% annually during the period 1983-1986, but grew only 2.5% and 2.1%
in 1987 and 1988, respectively. Output dropped by 1.5% in 1989. The
inflation rate, after falling sharply from the 1982 peak of 100% to 22%
in 1986, rose to a galloping rate of 640% in 1989. Shortages of consumer
goods and some food items worsened in 1988-89. Agricultural products and
coal have remained the biggest hard currency earners, but manufactures
are increasing in importance. Poland, with its hard currency debt of
approximately $40 billion, is severely limited in its ability to import
much-needed hard currency goods. The sweeping political changes of 1989
disrupted normal economic channels and exacerbated shortages. In January
1990, the new Solidarity-led government adopted a cold turkey program for
transforming Poland to a market economy. The government moved to
eliminate subsidies, end artificially low prices, make the zloty
convertible, and, in general, halt the hyperinflation. These financial
measures are accompanied by plans to privatize the economy in stages.
Substantial outside aid will be needed if Poland is to make a successful
transition in the 1990s.
GNP: $172.4 billion, per capita $4,565; real growth rate - 1.6%
(1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 640% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%; 215,000 (official number, mid-March 1990)
Budget: revenues $23 billion; expenditures $24 billion, including
capital expenditures of $3.5 billion (1988)
Exports: $24.7 billion (f.o.b., 1987 est.);
commodities--machinery and equipment 63%; fuels, minerals, and
metals 14%; manufactured consumer goods 14%; agricultural and forestry
products 5% (1987 est.);
partners--USSR 25%, FRG 12%, Czechoslovakia 6% (1988)
Imports: $22.8 billion (f.o.b., 1987 est.);
commodities--machinery and equipment 36%; fuels, minerals, and
metals 35%; manufactured consumer goods 9%; agricultural and forestry
products 12%;
partners--USSR 23%, FRG 13%, Czechoslovakia 6% (1988)
External debt: $40 billion (1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate - 2.0% (1988)
Electricity: 31,390,000 kW capacity; 125,000 million kWh produced,
3,260 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: machine building, iron and steel, extractive industries,
chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles
Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GNP and 28% of labor force; 75% of
output from private farms, 25% from state farms; productivity remains
low by European standards; leading European producer of rye, rapeseed,
and potatoes; wide variety of other crops and livestock; major exporter
of pork products; normally self-sufficient in food
Aid: donor--bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed countries,
$2.1 billion (1954-88)
Currency: zloty (plural--zlotych); 1 zloty (Zl) = 100 groszy
Exchange rates: zlotych (Zl) per US$1--9,500.00 (January 1990),
1,439.18 (1989), 430.55 (1988), 265.08 (1987), 175.29 (1986), 147.14 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Railroads: 27,245 km total; 24,333 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 397 km
1.524-meter broad gauge, 2,515 km narrow gauge; 8,986 km double track; 10,000 km
electrified; government owned (1986)
Highways: 299,887 km total; 130,000 km improved hard surface (concrete,
asphalt, stone block); 24,000 km unimproved hard surface (crushed stone,
gravel); 100,000 km earth; 45,887 km other urban roads (1985)
Inland waterways: 3,997 km navigable rivers and canals (1988)
Pipelines: 4,500 km for natural gas; 1,986 km for crude oil;
360 km for refined products (1987)
Ports: Gdansk, Gdynia, Szczecin, Swinoujscie; principal inland
ports are Gliwice on Kanal Gliwice, Wroclaw on the Oder, and Warsaw
on the Vistula
Merchant marine: 234 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,957,534
GRT/4,164,665 DWT; includes 5 short-sea passenger, 93 cargo, 3 refrigerated
cargo, 12 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 9 container, 3 petroleum, oils, and lubricants
(POL) tanker, 4 chemical tanker, 105 bulk
Civil air: 42 major transport aircraft
Airports: 160 total, 160 usable; 85 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runway over 3,659 m; 35 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 65 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: stations--30 AM, 28 FM, 41 TV; 4 Soviet TV relays;
9,691,075 TV sets; 9,290,000 radio receivers; at least 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
earth station
- Defense Forces
Branches: Ground Forces, National Air Defense Forces, Air Force Command,
Navy
Military manpower: males 15-49, 9,501,088; 7,503,477 fit for military
service; 292,769 reach military age (19) annually
Defense expenditures: 954 billion zlotych, NA% of total budget (1989);
note--conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the official
administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Portugal
- Geography
Total area: 92,080 km2; land area: 91,640 km2; includes Azores and
Madeira Islands
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana
Land boundary: 1,214 km with Spain
Coastline: 1,793 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: Macau is scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region
of China in 1999; East Timor question with Indonesia
Climate: maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier
in south
Terrain: mountainous north of the Tagus, rolling plains in south
Natural resources: fish, forests (cork), tungsten, iron ore,
uranium ore, marble
Land use: 32% arable land; 6% permanent crops; 6% meadows and
pastures; 40% forest and woodland; 16% other; includes 7% irrigated
Environment: Azores subject to severe earthquakes
Note: Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations
along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
- People
Population: 10,354,497 (July 1990), growth rate 0.3% (1990)
Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 1 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 14 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 71 years male, 78 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Portuguese (sing. and pl.); adjective--Portuguese
Ethnic divisions: homogeneous Mediterranean stock in mainland, Azores,
Madeira Islands; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland
during decolonization number less than 100,000
Religion: 97% Roman Catholic, 1% Protestant denominations, 2% other
Language: Portuguese
Literacy: 83%
Labor force: 4,605,700; 45% services, 35% industry, 20% agriculture (1988)
Organized labor: about 55% of the labor force; the Communist-dominated
General Confederation of Portuguese Workers--Intersindical (CGTP-IN) represents
more than half of the unionized labor force; its main competition, the General
Workers Union (UGT), is organized by the Socialists and Social Democrats and
represents less than half of unionized labor
- Government
Long-form name: Portuguese Republic
Type: republic
Capital: Lisbon
Administrative divisions: 18 districts (distritos,
singular--distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regioes autonomas,
singular--regiao autonoma); Acores*, Aveiro, Beja, Braga,
Braganca, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria,
Lisboa, Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal,
Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu
Dependent area: Macau (scheduled to become a Special Administrative
Region of China in 1999)
Independence: 1140; independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910
Constitution: 25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982; new discussions on
constitutional revision began October 1987
Legal system: civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the
constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations
National holiday: Day of Portugal, 10 June
Executive branch: president, Council of State, prime minister, deputy
prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia
da Republica)
Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de
Justica)
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Dr. Mario Alberto Nobre Lopes SOARES
(since 9 March 1986);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Anibal CAVACO SILVA (since 6
November 1985); Deputy Prime Minister (vacant)
Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party (PSD), Anibal
Cavaco Silva; Portuguese Socialist Party (PS), Jorge Sampaio; Party of
Democratic Renewal (PRD), Herminio Martinho; Portuguese Communist Party (PCP),
Alvaro Cunhal; Social Democratic Center (CDS), Diogo Freitas do Amaral
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President--last held 16 February 1986 (next to be held January
1991);
results--Dr. Mario Lopes Soares 51.3%, Prof. Diogo Freitas do Amal
48.7%;
Assembly of the Republic--last held 19 July 1987
(next to be held July 1991);
results--Social Democrats 59.2%, Socialists 24.0%, Communists (in a
front coalition) 12.4%, Democratic Renewal 2.8%, Center Democrats 1.6%;
seats--(250 total) Social Democrats 148, Socialists 60, Communists
(in a front coalition) 31 seats, Democratic Renewal 7,
Center Democrats 4
Communists: Portuguese Communist Party claims membership of 200,753
(December 1983)
Member of: CCC, Council of Europe, EC, EFTA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IATP, IBRD,
ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, IFC,
IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IRC, ISO, ITU, IWC--International
Wheat Council, NATO, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Joao Eduardo M. PEREIRA BASTOS;
Chancery at 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 328-8610; there are Portuguese Consulates General in Boston,
New York, and San Francisco, and Consulates in Los Angeles, Newark (New Jersey),
New Bedford (Massachusetts), and Providence (Rhode Island);
US--Ambassador Edward M. ROWELL; Embassy at Avenida das Forcas Armadas,
1600 Lisbon (mailing address is APO New York 09678-0002);
telephone [351] (1) 726-6600 or 6659, 8670, 8880; there are US Consulates in
Oporto and Ponta Delgada (Azores)
Flag: two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red
(three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the dividing line
- Economy
Overview: During the past four years, the economy has made a sustained
recovery from the severe recession of 1983-85. The economy grew by 4.7% in
1987, 4.1% in 1988, and 3.5% in 1989, largely because of strong domestic
consumption and investment spending. Unemployment has declined for the
third consecutive year, but inflation continues to be about three times
the European Community average. The government is pushing economic
restructuring and privatization measures in anticipation of the 1992
European Community timetable to form a single large market in Europe.
GDP: $72.1 billion, per capita $6,900; real growth rate 3.5% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11.8% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 5.9% (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $19.0 billion; expenditures $22.2 billion,
including capital expenditures of $3.1 billion (1989 est.)
Exports: $11.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--cotton
textiles, cork and cork products, canned fish, wine, timber and timber
products, resin, machinery, appliances; partners--EC 72%, other
developed countries 13%, US 6%
Imports: $17.7 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--petroleum,
cotton, foodgrains, industrial machinery, iron and steel, chemicals;
partners--EC 67%, other developed countries 13%, less developed countries
15%, US 4%
External debt: $17.2 billion (1988)
Industrial production: growth rate 5.5% (1988)
Electricity: 6,729,000 kW capacity; 16,000 million kWh produced,
1,530 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork;
metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism
Agriculture: accounts for 9% of GDP and 20% of labor force; small
inefficient farms; imports more than half of food needs; major crops--grain,
potatoes, olives, grapes; livestock sector--sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, meat,
dairy products
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.8 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $998 million
Currency: Portuguese escudo (plural--escudos);
1 Portuguese escudo (Esc) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: Portuguese escudos (Esc) per US$1--149.15 (January 1990),
157.46 (1989), 143.95 (1988), 140.88 (1987), 149.59 (1986), 170.39 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Railroads: 3,613 km total; state-owned Portuguese Railroad Co. (CP)
operates 2,858 km 1.665-meter gauge (434 km electrified and 426 km double
track), 755 km 1.000-meter gauge; 12 km (1.435-meter gauge) electrified,
double track, privately owned
Highways: 73,661 km total; 61,599 km paved (bituminous, gravel, and
crushed stone), including 140 km of limited-access divided highway; 7,962 km
improved earth; 4,100 km unimproved earth (motorable tracks)
Inland waterways: 820 km navigable; relatively unimportant to national
economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300-metric-ton cargo capacity
Pipelines: crude oil, 11 km; refined products, 58 km
Ports: Leixoes, Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Velas
(Azores), Setubal, Sines
Merchant marine: 50 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 576,654
GRT/1,005,740 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 21 cargo,
2 refrigerated cargo, 1 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
10 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 chemical tanker,
1 liquefied gas, 10 bulk, 1 combination bulk; note--Portugal has created
a captive register on Madeira (MAR) for Portuguese-owned ships that will
have the taxation and crewing benefits of a flag of convenience;
although only one ship is currently known to fly the Portuguese flag on
the MAR register, it is likely that a majority of Portuguese flag ships
will transfer to this subregister in a few years
Airports: 69 total, 64 usable; 37 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with
runways over 3,659 m; 11 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 8 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: facilities are generally adequate; 2,250,000
telephones; stations--44 AM, 66 (22 relays) FM, 25 (23 relays) TV; 7 submarine
cables; communication satellite ground stations operating in the INTELSAT (2
Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), EUTELSAT, and domestic systems (mainland and
Azores)
- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,583,782; 2,102,835 fit for military
service; 88,384 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: $1.3 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Puerto Rico
(commonwealth associated with the US)
- Geography
Total area: 9,104 km2; land area: 8,959 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 501 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical marine, mild, little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: mostly mountains with coastal plain belt in north;
mountains precipitous to sea on west coast
Natural resources: some copper and nickel; potential for onshore
and offshore crude oil
Land use: 8% arable land; 9% permanent crops; 51% meadows and pastures;
25% forest and woodland; 7% other
Environment: many small rivers and high central mountains ensure
land is well watered; south coast relatively dry; fertile coastal plain
belt in north
Note: important location between the Dominican Republic and the Virgin
Islands group along the Mona Passage--a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal;
San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean
- People
Population: 3,291,207 (July 1990), growth rate 0.1% (1990)
Birth rate: 19 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: - 11 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 17 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 76 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Puerto Rican(s); adjective--Puerto Rican
Ethnic divisions: almost entirely Hispanic
Religion: mostly Christian, 85% Roman Catholic, 15% Protestant
denominations and other
Language: Spanish (official); English is widely understood
Literacy: 89%
Labor force: 1,062,000; 23% government, 20% trade, 18% manufacturing,
4% agriculture, 35% other (1988)
Organized labor: 115,000 members in 4 unions; the largest is the
General Confederation of Puerto Rican Workers with 35,000 members (1983)
- Government
Long-form name: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Type: commonwealth associated with the US
Capital: San Juan
Administrative divisions: none (commonwealth associated with the US)
Independence: none (commonwealth associated with the US)
Constitution: ratified 3 March 1952; approved by US Congress 3 July 1952;
effective 25 July 1952
National holiday: Constitution Day, 25 July (1952)
Legal system: based on English common law
Executive branch: US president, US vice president, governor
Legislative branch: bicameral Legislative Assembly consists of an upper
house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--President George BUSH (since 20 January
1989); Vice President Dan QUAYLE (since 20 January 1989);
Head of Government Governor Rafael HERNANDEZ Colon (since 2 January
1989)