Climate: polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively
narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous
darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers
characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak
cyclones with rain or snow
Terrain: central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack
that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges
may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort
Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian
Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland);
the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more
than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling
landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest
percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin
interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen
Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge)
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Fram Basin -4,665 m
highest point: sea level 0 m
Natural resources: sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits,
polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals
and whales)
Natural hazards: ice islands occasionally break away from northern
Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland
and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice
locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing
from October to May
Environment - current issues: endangered marine species include
walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to
recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack
Geography - note: major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea
(northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait);
strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine
link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating
research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in
March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow
cover lasts about 10 months
@Arctic Ocean:Government
Data code: none; the US Government has not approved a standard for
hydrographic codes - see the Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic Data
Codes appendix
@Arctic Ocean:Economy
Economy - overview: Economic activity is limited to the exploitation
of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and
seals.
@Arctic Ocean:Transportation
Ports and harbors: Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe Bay
(US)
Transportation - note: sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land
routes; the Northwest Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route
(Eurasia) are important seasonal waterways
@Arctic Ocean:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: some maritime disputes (see littoral
states); Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute between
Norway and Russia
______________________________________________________________________
ARGENTINA
@Argentina:Introduction
Background: Following independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina
experienced periods of internal political conflict between
conservatives and liberals and between civilian and military factions.
After World War II, a long period of Peronist dictatorship was
followed by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy
returned in 1983, and four free elections since then have underscored
Argentina's progress in democratic consolidation.
@Argentina:Geography
Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean,
between Chile and Uruguay
Geographic coordinates: 34 00 S, 64 00 W
Map references: South America
Area:
total: 2,766,890 sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq km
water: 30,200 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total: 9,665 km
border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km,
Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km
Coastline: 4,989 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in
southwest
Terrain: rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling
plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Salinas Chicas -40 m (located on Peninsula Valdes)
highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m
Natural resources: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin,
copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
Land use:
arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 52%
forests and woodland: 19%
other: 19% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 17,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: San Miguel de Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes
subject to earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can
strike the Pampas and northeast; heavy flooding
Environment - current issues: environmental problems (urban and rural)
typical of an industrializing economy such as soil degradation,
desertification, air pollution, and water pollution
note: Argentina is a world leader in setting voluntary greenhouse gas
targets
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life
Conservation
Geography - note: second-largest country in South America (after
Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between South
Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel,
Drake Passage)
@Argentina:People
Population: 36,955,182 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 27% (male 5,061,588; female 4,827,582)
15-64 years: 63% (male 11,625,574; female 11,613,358)
65 years and over: 10% (male 1,582,861; female 2,244,219) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.16% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 18.59 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 7.59 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 18.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.05 years
male: 71.67 years
female: 78.61 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.47 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Argentine(s)
adjective: Argentine
Ethnic groups: white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo,
Amerindian, or other nonwhite groups 3%
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing),
Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
Languages: Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.2%
male: 96.2%
female: 96.2% (1995 est.)
@Argentina:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina
local long form: Republica Argentina
local short form: Argentina
Data code: AR
Government type: republic
Capital: Buenos Aires
Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (provincias, singular -
provincia), and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Buenos Aires;
Catamarca; Chaco; Chubut; Cordoba; Corrientes; Distrito Federal*;
Entre Rios; Formosa; Jujuy; La Pampa; La Rioja; Mendoza; Misiones;
Neuquen; Rio Negro; Salta; San Juan; San Luis; Santa Cruz; Santa Fe;
Santiago del Estero; Tierra del Fuego, Antartica e Islas del Atlantico
Sur; Tucuman
note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica
Independence: 9 July 1816 (from Spain)
National holiday: Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
Constitution: 1 May 1853; revised August 1994
Legal system: mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Fernando DE LA RUA (since 10 December 1999);
Vice President Carlos Alberto ALVAREZ (since 10 December 1999); note -
the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Fernando DE LA RUA (since 10 December
1999); Vice President Carlos Alberto ALVAREZ (since 10 December 1999);
note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by
popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 24 October 1999
(next to be held NA October 2003)
election results: Fernando DE LA RUA elected president; percent of
vote - 48.5%
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional
consists of the Senate (72 seats; formerly, three members appointed by
each of the provincial legislatures; presently transitioning to
one-third of the members being elected every two years to six-year
terms) and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats; one-half of the members
elected every two years to four-year terms)
elections: Senate - transition phase will begin in 2001 elections when
all seats will be fully contested; winners will randomly draw to
determine whether they will serve a two-year, four-year, or full
six-year term, beginning a rotating cycle renovating a third of the
body every two years; Chamber of Deputies - last held 24 October 1999
(next to be held NA October 2001)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA;
seats by bloc or party - Peronist 40, UCR 20, Frepaso 1, other 11;
Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by
bloc or party - Alliance 124 (UCR 85, Frepaso 36, others 3), Peronist
101, AR 12, other 20
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), the nine Supreme Court
judges are appointed by the president with approval of the Senate
Political parties and leaders: Action for the Republic or AR [Domingo
CAVALLO]; Alliance (UCR, Frepaso and others) ; Front for a
Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party coalition) [Carlos
ALVAREZ]; Justicialist Party or PJ (Peronist
umbrella political organization); Radical Civic Union or UCR [Raul
ALFONSIN]; several provincial parties
Political pressure groups and leaders: Argentine Association of
Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA); Argentine Industrial Union
(manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Society (large
landowners' association); Armed Forces; business organizations;
General Confederation of Labor or CGT (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor
organization); Peronist-dominated labor movement; Roman Catholic
Church; students
International organization participation: AfDB, Australia Group, BCIE,
CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G- 6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA,
Mercosur, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MTCR, NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN,
UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU,
WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Guillermo GONZALEZ Enrique
chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: (202) 238-6400
FAX: (202) 238-6471
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
embassy: 4300 Colombia, 1425 Buenos Aires
mailing address: international mail: use street address; APO address:
Unit 4334, APO AA 34034
telephone: (1) 777-4533, 4534
FAX: (1) 777-0197
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of light blue (top),
white, and light blue; centered in the white band is a radiant yellow
sun with a human face known as the Sun of May
@Argentina:Economy
Economy - overview: Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a
highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector,
and a diversified industrial base. However, when President Carlos
MENEM took office in 1989, the country had piled up huge external
debts, inflation had reached 200% per month, and output was
plummeting. To combat the economic crisis, the government embarked on
a path of trade liberalization, deregulation, and privatization. In
1991, it implemented radical monetary reforms which pegged the peso to
the US dollar and limited the growth in the monetary base by law to
the growth in reserves. Inflation fell sharply in subsequent years. In
1995, the Mexican peso crisis produced capital flight, the loss of
banking system deposits, and a severe, but short-lived, recession; a
series of reforms to bolster the domestic banking system followed.
Real GDP growth recovered strongly, reaching 8% in 1997. In 1998,
international financial turmoil caused by Russia's problems and
increasing investor anxiety over Brazil produced the highest domestic
interest rates in more than three years, halving the growth rate of
the economy. Conditions worsened in 1999 with GDP falling by 3%.
President Fernando DE LA RUA, who took office in December 1999,
sponsored tax increases and spending cuts to reduce the deficit, which
had ballooned to 2.5% of GDP in 1999. The new government also arranged
a new $7.4 billion stand-by facility with the IMF for contingency
purposes - almost three times the size of the previous arrangement.
Key challenges facing the new government include reforming the
country's rigid labor code and addressing the precarious financial
situation of several highly indebted provinces.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $367 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -3% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $10,000 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 7%
industry: 29%
services: 64% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: 36% (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -2% (1999 est.)
Labor force: 15 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services
NA%
Unemployment rate: 14% (December 1999)
Budget:
revenues: $44 billion
expenditures: $48 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
billion (2000 est.)
Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables,
textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
Industrial production growth rate: -7% (1999 est.)
Electricity - production: 75.237 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 42.71%
hydro: 47.55%
nuclear: 9.47%
other: 0.27% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 75.57 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 250 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 5.85 billion kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes,
corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock
Exports: $23 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)
Exports - commodities: edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed,
motor vehicles
Exports - partners: Brazil 24%, EU 21%, US 11% (1999 est.)
Imports: $25 billion (c.i.f., 1999 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, motor vehicles,
chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics
Imports - partners: EU 28%, US 22%, Brazil 21% (1999 est.)
Debt - external: $149 billion (1999 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $2.833 billion (1995)
Currency: 1 peso = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: peso is pegged to the US dollar at an exchange rate of
1 peso = $1
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Argentina:Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 7.5 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.8 million (1997)
Telephone system: 12,000 public telephones; extensive modern system
but many families do not have telephones; despite extensive use of
microwave radio relay, the telephone system frequently fails during
rainstorms, even in Buenos Aires
domestic: microwave radio relay and a domestic satellite system with
40 earth stations serve the trunk network
international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean);
two international gateways near Buenos Aires; Atlantis II submarine
cable (1999)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 260 (including 10 inactive stations), FM
NA (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998)
Radios: 24.3 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 7.95 million (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 47 (1999)
@Argentina:Transportation
Railways:
total: 38,326 km (160 km electrified)
broad gauge: 24,481 km 1.676-m gauge (134 km electrified)
standard gauge: 2,765 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 11,080 km 1.000-m gauge (1999)
Highways:
total: 215,434 km
paved: 63,553 km (including 734 km of expressways)
unpaved: 151,881 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: 10,950 km navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 4,090 km; petroleum products 2,900 km; natural
gas 9,918 km
Ports and harbors: Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia,
Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Necochea, Rio
Gallegos, Rosario, Santa Fe, Ushuaia
Merchant marine:
total: 26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 218,540 GRT/333,413 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, petroleum tanker 11, rail car carrier 1,
refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off 1, short-sea passenger 2 (1999
est.)
Airports: 1,359 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 142
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 26
1,524 to 2,437 m: 60
914 to 1,523 m: 44
under 914 m: 7 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1,217
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 63
914 to 1,523 m: 614
under 914 m: 536 (1999 est.)
@Argentina:Military
Military branches: Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic
(includes Naval Aviation, Marines, and Coast Guard), Argentine Air
Force, National Gendarmerie, National Aeronautical Police Force
Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 9,287,499 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 7,530,476 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 341,544 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $4.3 billion (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.3% (FY99)
@Argentina:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: claims UK-administered Falkland Islands
(Islas Malvinas); claims UK-administered South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica
Illicit drugs: increasing use as a transshipment country for cocaine
headed for Europe and the US; increasing use as a money-laundering
center; domestic consumption of drugs has skyrocketed
______________________________________________________________________
ARMENIA
@Armenia:Introduction
Background: An Orthodox Christian country, Armenia was incorporated
into Russia in 1828 and the USSR in 1920. Armenian leaders remain
preoccupied by the long conflict with Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated exclave, assigned to
Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan began
fighting over the exclave in 1988; the struggle escalated after both
countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May
1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces held not only
Nagorno-Karabakh but also a significant portion of Azerbaijan proper.
The economies of both sides have been hurt by their inability to make
substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution.
@Armenia:Geography
Location: Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey
Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N, 45 00 E
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States
Area:
total: 29,800 sq km
land: 28,400 sq km
water: 1,400 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries:
total: 1,254 km
border countries: Azerbaijan-proper 566 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan
exclave 221 km, Georgia 164 km, Iran 35 km, Turkey 268 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: highland continental, hot summers, cold winters
Terrain: Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast
flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Debed River 400 m
highest point: Aragats Lerr 4,095 m
Natural resources: small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc,
alumina
Land use:
arable land: 17%
permanent crops: 3%
permanent pastures: 24%
forests and woodland: 15%
other: 41% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 2,870 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts
Environment - current issues: soil pollution from toxic chemicals such
as DDT; energy blockade, the result of conflict with Azerbaijan, has
led to deforestation when citizens scavenged for firewood; pollution
of Hrazdan (Razdan) and Aras Rivers; the draining of Sevana Lich (Lake
Sevan), a result of its use as a source for hydropower, threatens
drinking water supplies; restart of Metsamor nuclear power plant
without adequate (IAEA-recommended) safety and backup systems
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
Geography - note: landlocked
@Armenia:People
Population: 3,344,336 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 24% (male 415,297; female 400,590)
15-64 years: 66% (male 1,084,588; female 1,131,387)
65 years and over: 10% (male 129,890; female 182,584) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.28% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 10.97 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 9.53 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: -4.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 41.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 66.4 years
male: 61.98 years
female: 71.04 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.47 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Armenian(s)
adjective: Armenian
Ethnic groups: Armenian 93%, Azeri 3%, Russian 2%, other (mostly
Yezidi Kurds) 2% (1989)
note: as of the end of 1993, virtually all Azeris had emigrated from
Religions: Armenian Orthodox 94%
Languages: Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2%
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 98% (1989 est.)
@Armenia:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Armenia
conventional short form: Armenia
local long form: Hayastani Hanrapetut'yun
local short form: Hayastan
former: Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic; Armenian Republic
Data code: AM
Government type: republic
Capital: Yerevan
Administrative divisions: 10 provinces (marzer, singular - marz) and 1
city* (k'aghak'ner, singular - k'aghak'); Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir,
Geghark'unik', Kotayk', Lorri, Shirak, Syunik', Tavush, Vayots' Dzor,
Yerevan*
Independence: 28 May 1918-2 December 1920 (First Armenian Republic);
23 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)