provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem,
Litoral, Wele-Nzas
Independence: 12 October 1968 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 October (1968)
Constitution: new constitution 17 November 1991
Legal system: partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom
Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA
MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979)
head of government: Prime Minister Serafin Seriche DOUGAN (since April
1996); Vice Prime Minister Francisco Javier Ndongo MBENGONO (since
April 1996)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote to a seven-year term;
election last held 25 February 1996 (next to be held NA February 2003)
election results : President OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected without
opposition; percent of popular vote - NA
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Peoples Representatives or
Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (80 seats; members are directly
elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 21 November 1993 (next to be held November 1998)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDGE
68, CSD 6, UDS 5, CLD 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal
Political parties and leaders:
ruling party: Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE [Brig.
Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]
opposition parties: Convergence for Social Democracy or CSD [Santiago
Obama Ndong, president]; Democratic Social Union or UDS [Camelo MODU,
general secretary]; Liberal Democratic Convention or CLD [Alfonso Nsue
MIFUMU, president]; Liberal Party or PL [Santos PASCUAL]; National
Democratic Union or UDENA [Jose MECHEBA Ikaka, president]; Party of
the Social Democratic Coalition or PCSD [Buenaventura Moswi M'Asumu,
general coordinater]; Party of Progress or PP [Severo MOTO Nsa,
president]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Casiano Masi
Edu]; Popular Union or UP [Juan BITUI, president]; Party for Progress
of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo Moto NSA, president]; Progressive
Democratic Alliance or ADP [Antonio-Ebang Mbele Abang, president];
Social Democratic and Popular Convergence or CSDP [Secundino Oyono
Agueng Ada, general secretary]; Social Democratic Party or PSD
[Benjamin-Gabriel Balingha Balinga Alene, general secretary];
Socialist Party of Equatorial Guinea or PSGE [Tomas MICHEBE Fernandez,
general secretary]
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC,
CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU,
UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador Pastor Micha ONDO BILE
chancery: Suite 405, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone : [1] (202) 393-0525
FAX: [1] (202) 393-0348
Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy
in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); US relations
with Equatorial Guinea are handled through the US Embassy in Yaounde,
Cameroon
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white,
and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the
coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six
yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore
islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below
which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace,
Justice)
Economy
Economy - overview: Farming, forestry, and fishing account for about
half of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although
pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for
hard currency earnings, the deterioration of the rural economy under
successive brutal regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led
growth. A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the
IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of the government's gross
corruption and mismanagement. Businesses, for the most part, are owned
by government officials and their family members. Undeveloped natural
resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial
gold. Oil exploration, taking place under concessions offered to US,
French, and Spanish firms, has been moderately successful and has
contributed to Equatorial Guinea's strong growth rates in the early
1990s. The country responded favorably to the devaluation of the CFA
franc in January 1994.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $328 million (1995 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 11.2% (1995 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $800 (1995 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 50%
industry: 14%
services: 36% (1994 est.)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 10.9% (1995 est.)
Labor force: NA
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $27 million
expenditures: $34.1 million, including capital expenditures of $11.2
million (1994)
Industries: fishing, sawmilling
Industrial production growth rate: 7.4% (1994 est.)
Electricity - capacity: 23,000 kW (1995)
Electricity - production: NA kWh
Electricity - consumption per capita: NA kWh
Agriculture - products: coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca),
bananas, palm oil nuts, manioc; livestock; timber
Exports:
total value : $83.5 million (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: timber, petroleum, cocoa
partners: US 34%, Japan 16%, Spain 15%, China 12%, Cote d'Ivoire,
Nigeria
Imports:
total value: $52.3 million (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities : petroleum, food, beverages, clothing, machinery
partners: Spain 51%, Cameroon 21%, France 6%, US 4%
Debt - external: $252 million (1995 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient : ODA, $NA
Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
centimes
Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 541.69 (January 1997),
511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69
(1992)
note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF
100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since
1948
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Equatorial Guinea:Communications
Telephones: 2,000 (1987 est.)
Telephone system: poor system with adequate government services
domestic: NA
international: international communications from Bata and Malabo to
African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
(Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 1
Televisions: 4,000 (1992 est.)
@Equatorial Guinea:Transportation
Railways:
total : 0 km
Highways:
total: 2,820 km
paved : 0 km
unpaved: 2,820 km (1995 est.)
Ports and harbors: Bata, Luba, Malabo
Merchant marine:
total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,997 GRT/7,105 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1, passenger-cargo 1 (1996 est.)
Airports: 3
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3 (1996 est.)
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (1996 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force,
National Police
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 95,788 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males: 48,696 (1997 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $2.5 million (FY93/94)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: maritime boundary dispute with Gabon because
of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay
______________________________________________________________________
ERITREA
Introduction
Historical perspective: on 29 May 1991, ISAIAS Afworke, secretary
general of the Peoples' Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), which
then served as the country's legislative body, announced the formation
of the Provisional Government in Eritrea (PGE) in preparation for the
23-25 April 1993 referendum on independence for the Autonomous Region
of Eritrea; the referendum resulted in a landslide vote for
independence which was proclaimed on 27 April 1993
@Eritrea:Geography
Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and
Sudan
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 39 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total : 121,320 sq km
land: 121,320 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries:
total: 1,630 km
border countries: Djibouti 113 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km
Coastline: 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in
Red Sea 1,083 km
Maritime claims: NA
Climate: hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter
in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid
in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September
except on coastal desert
Terrain: dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending
highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the
northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling
plains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point : Kobar Sink -75 m
highest point: Soira 3,013 m
Natural resources: gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, probably oil
(petroleum geologists are prospecting for it), fish
Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 48%
forests and woodland: 20%
other : 19% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 280 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent droughts
Environment - current issues: deforestation; desertification; soil
erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: strategic geopolitical position along world's
busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of
Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on
27 April 1993
@Eritrea:People
Population: 3,589,687 (July 1997 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 43% (male 781,169; female 770,497)
15-64 years: 54% (male 963,542; female 966,083)
65 years and over: 3% (male 55,811; female 52,585) (July 1997 est.)
Population growth rate: 6.35% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 43.96 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 15.26 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Net migration rate: 34.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)
note: it is estimated that between 200,000 and 350,000 Eritrean
refugees were still living in Sudan in mid-1997
Sex ratio:
at birth : 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female
total population : 1.01 male(s)/female (1997 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 117.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 50.61 years
male: 48.85 years
female : 52.42 years (1997 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.47 children born/woman (1997 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean
Ethnic groups: ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%,
Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%
Religions: Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Languages: Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Italian, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya,
minor tribal languages
@Eritrea:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: State of Eritrea
conventional short form: Eritrea
local long form : Hagere Ertra
local short form: Ertra
former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia
Data code: ER
Government type: transitional government
note : following a successful referendum on independence for the
Autonomous Region of Eritrea on 23-25 April 1993, a National Assembly,
composed entirely of the Peoples' Front for Democracy and Justice or
PFDJ, was established as a transitional legislature; a Constitutional
Commission was also established to draft a constitution; ISAIAS
Afworki was elected president by the transitional legislature pending
the promulgation of a constitution and popular elections
National capital: Asmara (formerly Asmera)
Administrative divisions: 8 provinces (singular - awraja); Akele
Guzay, Barka, Denkel, Hamasen, Sahil, Semhar, Senhit, Seraye
note: in May 1995 the National Assembly adopted a resolution stating
that the administrative structure of Eritrea, which had been
established by former colonial powers, would consist of only six
provinces when the new constitution, then being drafted, would go into
effect sometime in 1998; the new provinces, which have not been
recommended by the US Board on Geographic Names for recognition by the
US government, pending acceptable definition of the boundaries, are:
Anseba, Debub, Debubawi, Gash-Barka, Maakel, and Semanawi Keyih Bahri
Independence: 27 May 1993 (from Ethiopia; formerly the Eritrea
Autonomous Region)
National holiday: National Day (independence from Ethiopia), 24 May
(1993)
Constitution: transitional "constitution" decreed 19 May 1993; the
promulgation of a draft constitution is expected in 1998
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: NA; note - the transitional constitution of 19 May 1993 did
not provide rules for suffrage, but it seems likely that the final
version of the constitution, to be promulgated some time in 1998, will
follow the example set in the referendum of 1993 and extend suffrage
to all persons 18 years of age or older
Executive branch:
chief of state: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note -
the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note
- the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority
note: the president is head of the State Council and National Assembly
elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last
held 8 June 1993 (next to be held NA 1997)
election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of
National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; term
limits not established pending new constitution)
elections: 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central
Committee of the EPLF) and 75 directly elected members serve as the
country's legislative body until country-wide elections are held in
1997
Judicial branch: Judiciary
Political parties and leaders: People's Front for Democracy and
Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS
Afworki, PETROS Solomon]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ;
Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean
Liberation Front - United Organization or ELF-UO [Mohammed Said
NAWUD]; Eritrean Liberation Front - Revolutionary Council or ELF-RC
[Ahmed NASSER]
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat
(nonsignatory user), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador AMDEMICHAEL Berhane Khasai
chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone : [1] (202) 319-1991
FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador John HICKS
embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt St., Asmara
mailing address: P.O. Box 211, Asmara
telephone: [291] (1) 120004
FAX : [291] (1) 127584
Flag description: red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side)
dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is
green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive
branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle
Economy
Economy - overview: With independence from Ethiopia on 27 April 1993,
Eritrea faced the bitter economic problems of a small, desperately
poor African country. Most of the population must continue to depend
on subsistence farming. Domestic output (GDP) is substantially
augmented by worker remittances from abroad. Government revenues come
from custom duties and income and sales taxes. Road construction is a
top domestic priority. Shortages persist in housing, education, and
health care. Eritrea has inherited the entire coastline of Ethiopia
and has long-term prospects for revenues from the development of
offshore oil, offshore fishing, and tourism. Ethiopia is largely
dependent on Eritrean ports for its foreign commerce.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $2 billion (1995 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.9% (1995 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $570 (1995 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 19%
industry: 18%
services : 63% (1995 est.)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 8% (1995 est.)
Labor force: NA
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues : $214 million
expenditures: $397 million, including capital expenditures of $78
million (1995 est.)
Industries: food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - capacity: 73,000 kW (1995)
Electricity - production: NA kWh
Electricity - consumption per capita: NA kWh
Agriculture - products: sorghum, lentils, vegetables, maize, cotton,
tobacco, coffee, sisal (for making rope); livestock (including goats);
fish
Exports:
total value: $81 million (1995 est.)
commodities: livestock, sorghum, textiles
partners: Ethiopia, Italy, Saudi Arabia, UK, US, Yemen
Imports:
total value : $404 million (1995 est.)
commodities: processed goods, machinery, petroleum products
partners: Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Italy, United Arab Emirates
Debt - external: $162 million (1995 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA
Currency: 1 birr (Br) = 100 cents; at present, Ethiopian currency
used; note - new Eritrean currency, the nakfa, to be circulated in
1997
Exchange rates: birr (Br) per US$1 (end of the period) - 6.4260
(December 1996), 6.4260 (1996), 6.3200 (1995), 5.9500 (1994), 5.000
(fixed rate 1992-93); note - following independence from Ethiopia,
Eritrea continued to use Ethiopian currency
note: since May 1993, the birr market rate has been determined in an
interbank market supported by weekly wholesale auction; prior to that
date, the official rate was pegged to US$1 = 5.000 birr
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Eritrea:Communications
Telephones: NA
Telephone system:
domestic : very inadequate; about 4 telephones per 100 families, most
of which are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to
improve the system
international: NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 1 (government controlled)
Televisions: NA
@Eritrea:Transportation
Railways:
total: 307 km
narrow gauge: 307 km 0.950-m gauge (1995 est.)
note: nonoperational since 1978 except for an about 5 km stretch that
was reopened in Massawa in 1994; rehabilitation of the remainder and
of the rolling stock is under way; links Ak'ordat and Asmara (formerly
Asmera) with the port of Massawa (formerly Mits'iwa)
Highways:
total: 3,930 km
paved: 841 km
unpaved : 3,089 km (1995 est.)
Ports and harbors: Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa)
Merchant marine:
total : 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 11,573 GRT/13,593
DWT (1996 est.)
Airports: 14 (1996 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total : 4
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (1996 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total : 10
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 4 (1996 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: NA
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males: NA
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $40 million (1995)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: a dispute with Yemen over sovereignty of the
Hanish Islands in the southern Red Sea has been submitted to
arbitration under the auspices of the ICJ
______________________________________________________________________
ESTONIA
@Estonia:Geography
Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of
Finland, between Latvia and Russia
Geographic coordinates: 59 00 N, 26 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area:
total : 45,226 sq km
land: 43,211 sq km
water: 2,015 sq km
note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont
combined
Land boundaries:
total: 633 km
border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km
Coastline: 3,794 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: limits to be fixed in coordination with
neighboring states
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers
Terrain: marshy, lowlands
Elevation extremes:
lowest point : Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m
Natural resources: shale oil (kukersite), peat, phosphorite, amber,
cambrian blue clay
Land use:
arable land : 27%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 7%
forests and woodland: 48%
other : 18% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 110 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: flooding occurs frequently in the spring
Environment - current issues: air heavily polluted with sulfur dioxide
from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; contamination of
soil and groundwater with petroleum products, chemicals at former
Soviet military bases; Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and manmade
lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas are heavily affected
by organic waste; coastal sea water is polluted in many locations
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous
Wastes, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified : none of the selected agreements
@Estonia:People
Population: 1,436,558 (July 1997 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 19% (male 141,814; female 136,895)
15-64 years: 67% (male 460,067; female 495,935)
65 years and over: 14% (male 65,302; female 136,545) (July 1997 est.)
Population growth rate: -1.14% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 9.04 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 14.08 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Net migration rate: -6.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years : 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female
total population: 0.87 male(s)/female (1997 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 14.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.38 years
male : 62.39 years
female: 74.67 years (1997 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.29 children born/woman (1997 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Estonian(s)
adjective: Estonian
Ethnic groups: Estonian 64.2%, Russian 28.7%, Ukrainian 2.7%,
Byelorussian 1.5%, Finn 1%, other 1.9% (1995)
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran, others include Baptist, Methodist,
7th Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Word of Life, 7th Day
Baptist, Judaism
Languages: Estonian (official), Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, other
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100%
male : 100%
female: 100% (1989 est.)
@Estonia:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Estonia
conventional short form : Estonia
local long form: Eesti Vabariik
local short form: Eesti
former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
Data code: EN
Government type: republic
National capital: Tallinn