total population: 64.48 years
male: 60.9 years
female: 68.23 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Georgian(s)
adjective: Georgian
Ethnic groups: Georgian 70.1%, Armenian 8.1%, Russian 6.3%, Azeri
5.7%, Ossetian 3%, Abkhaz 1.8%, other 5%
Religions: Georgian Orthodox 65%, Muslim 11%, Russian Orthodox 10%,
Armenian Apostolic 8%, unknown 6%
Languages: Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%,
other 7%
note: Abkhaz (official in Abkhazia)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 100%
female: 98% (1989 est.)
@Georgia:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Georgia
local long form: none
local short form: Sak'art'velo
former: Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic
Data code: GG
Government type: republic
Capital: T'bilisi
Administrative divisions: 53 rayons (raionebi, singular - raioni), 9
cities* (k'alak'ebi, singular - k'alak'i), and 2 autonomous
republics** (avtomnoy respubliki, singular - avtom respublika);
Abashis, Abkhazia or Ap'khazet'is Avtonomiuri Respublika** (Sokhumi),
Adigenis, Ajaria or Acharis Avtonomiuri Respublika** (Bat'umi),
Akhalgoris, Akhalk'alak'is, Akhalts'ikhis, Akhmetis, Ambrolauris,
Aspindzis, Baghdat'is, Bolnisis, Borjomis, Chiat'ura*, Ch'khorotsqus,
Ch'okhatauris, Dedop'listsqaros, Dmanisis, Dushet'is, Gardabanis,
Gori*, Goris, Gurjaanis, Javis, K'arelis, Kaspis, Kharagaulis,
Khashuris, Khobis, Khonis, K'ut'aisi*, Lagodekhis, Lanch'khut'is,
Lentekhis, Marneulis, Martvilis, Mestiis, Mts'khet'is, Ninotsmindis,
Onis, Ozurget'is, P'ot'i*, Qazbegis, Qvarlis, Rust'avi*, Sach'kheris,
Sagarejos, Samtrediis, Senakis, Sighnaghis, T'bilisi*, T'elavis,
T'erjolis, T'et'ritsqaros, T'ianet'is, Tqibuli*, Ts'ageris,
Tsalenjikhis, Tsalkis, Tsqaltubo*, Vanis, Zestap'onis, Zugdidi*,
Zugdidis
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their
administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name
following in parentheses)
Independence: 9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 26 May (1991)
Constitution: adopted 17 October 1995
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Eduard Amvrosiyevich SHEVARDNADZE
(previously elected chairman of the Government Council 10 March 1992,
Council has since been disbanded; previously elected chairman of
Parliament 11 October 1992; president since 26 November 1995); note -
the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Eduard Amvrosiyevich SHEVARDNADZE
(previously elected chairman of the Government Council 10 March 1992,
Council has since been disbanded; previously elected chairman of
Parliament 11 October 1992; president since 26 November 1995); note -
the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 5 November 1995 (next to be held 9 April 2000)
election results: Eduard SHEVARDNADZE elected president; percent of
vote - Eduard SHEVARDNADZE 74%
Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Council (commonly referred to
as Parliament) or Umaghiesi Sabcho (235 seats; members are elected by
popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 October 1999 (next to be held NA 2003)
election results: percent of vote by party - CUG 41.85%, AGUR 25.65%,
IWSG 7.8%, all other parties received less than 7% each; seats by
party - CUG 130, AGUR 59, IWSG 15, Abkhaz deputies 12, independents
14, other 5
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges elected by the Supreme Council
on the president's recommendation; Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders: Citizen's Union of Georgia or CUG
; Georgian United Communist Party or UCPG
; Greens Party [Giorgi
GACHECHILADZE]; Industry Will Save Georgia or IWSG ;
Labor Party ; National Democratic Party or NDP
; National Independent Party or NIP
; People's Party ;
Socialist Party or SPG ; Union for "Revival"
Party or AGUR ; Union of Traditionalists or UGT
; United Republican Party or URP [Nodar NATADZE,
chairman]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Georgian refugees from Abkhazia
(Abkhaz faction in Georgian Parliament); separatist elements in the
breakaway region of Abkhazia; supporters of the late ousted President
Zviad GAMSAKHURDYA remain a source of opposition
International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE, CE (guest),
CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO
(correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Tedo JAPARIDZE
chancery: Suite 300, 1615 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20009
telephone: (202) 387-2390
FAX: (202) 393-4537
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Kenneth S. YALOWITZ
embassy: #25 Antoneli Street, T'bilisi 380026
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: (32) 989-967
FAX: (32) 933-759
Flag description: maroon field with small rectangle in upper hoist
side corner; rectangle divided horizontally with black on top, white
below
@Georgia:Economy
Economy - overview: Georgia's economy has traditionally revolved
around Black Sea tourism; cultivation of citrus fruits, tea, and
grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small
industrial sector producing wine, metals, machinery, chemicals, and
textiles. The country imports the bulk of its energy needs, including
natural gas and oil products. Its only sizable internal energy
resource is hydropower. Despite the severe damage the economy has
suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with the help of the IMF and
World Bank, made substantial economic gains since 1995, increasing GDP
growth and slashing inflation. The Georgian economy continues to
experience large budget deficits due to a failure to collect tax
revenues. Georgia also still suffers from energy shortages; it
privatized the distribution network in 1998, and deliveries are
steadily improving. Georgia is pinning its hopes for long-term
recovery on the development of an international transportation
corridor through the key Black Sea ports of P'ot'i and Bat'umi. The
growing trade deficit, continuing problems with tax evasion and
corruption, and political uncertainties cloud the short-term economic
picture. However, revived investment could spur higher economic growth
in 2000, perhaps up to 6%.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $11.7 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.5% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,300 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 32%
industry: 23%
services: 45% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: 60% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 19% (1999 est.)
Labor force: 3.08 million (1997)
Labor force - by occupation: industry and construction 20%,
agriculture and forestry 40%, services 40% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 14.5% (1998 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $364 million
expenditures: $568 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1998)
Industries: steel, aircraft, machine tools, electric locomotives,
trucks, tractors, textiles, shoes, chemicals, wood products, wine
Industrial production growth rate: -0.3% (1998 est.)
Electricity - production: 6.96 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 14.66%
hydro: 85.34%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 6.123 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 700 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 350 million kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: citrus, grapes, tea, vegetables, potatoes;
livestock
Exports: $330 million (1999 est.)
Exports - commodities: citrus fruits, tea, wine, other agricultural
products; diverse types of machinery and metals; chemicals; fuel
reexports; textiles
Exports - partners: Russia 27%, Turkey 20%, Azerbaijan 10%, Armenia 8%
(1997)
Imports: $840 million (1999 est.)
Imports - commodities: fuel, grain and other foods, machinery and
parts, transport equipment
Imports - partners: EU 22%, Russia 15%, Turkey 12%, Azerbaijan 12%, US
7% (1997)
Debt - external: $1.8 billion (1998)
Economic aid - recipient: $212.7 million (1995)
Currency: 1 lari (GEL) = 100 tetri
Exchange rates: lari per US$1 (end of period) - 1.9503 (December
1999), 2.0245 (1999), 1.3898 (1998), 1.2975 (1997), 1.2628 (1996),
1.24 (December 1995)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Georgia:Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 554,000 (1995)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 150 (1995)
Telephone system:
domestic: local - T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi have cellular telephone
networks with about 10,000 customers total; urban areas 20
telephones/100 people; rural areas 4 telephones/100 people; intercity
- a fiber-optic line connects T'bilisi to K'ut'aisi (Georgia's second
largest city); nationwide pager service
international: Georgia and Russia are working on a fiber-optic line
between P'ot'i and Sochi (Russia); present international service is
available by microwave, landline, and satellite through the Moscow
switch; international electronic mail and telex service available
Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 12, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios: 3.02 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 12 (plus repeaters) (1998)
Televisions: 2.57 million (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 5 (1999)
@Georgia:Transportation
Railways:
total: 1,583 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial
lines
broad gauge: 1,583 km 1.520-m gauge (1993)
Highways:
total: 20,700 km
paved: 19,354 km
unpaved: 1,346 km (1996 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 370 km; refined products 300 km; natural gas 440
km (1992)
Ports and harbors: Bat'umi, P'ot'i, Sokhumi
Merchant marine:
total: 17 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 103,080 GRT/158,803 DWT
ships by type: cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 6 (1999
est.)
Airports: 28 (1994 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (1994 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 6 (1994 est.)
Transportation - note: transportation network is in poor condition and
disrupted by ethnic conflict, criminal activities, and fuel shortages;
network lacks maintenance and repair
@Georgia:Military
Military branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces,
Naval Forces, National Guard, Republic Security Forces (internal and
border troops)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,291,190 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 1,021,072 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 40,694 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $27 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1% (FY99)
Military - note: a CIS peacekeeping force consisting of Russian troops
is deployed in the Abkhazia region of Georgia together with a UN
military observer group; a Russian peacekeeping battalion is deployed
in South Ossetia
@Georgia:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly
for domestic consumption; used as transshipment point for opiates via
Central Asia to Western Europe and Russia
______________________________________________________________________
GERMANY
@Germany:Introduction
Background: As Western Europe's richest and most populous nation,
Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political,
and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed the
country in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th
century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers
of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent
of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western
Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic
Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western
economic and security organizations, the EC and NATO, while the
communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The
decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German
unification in 1990. Since then Germany has expended considerable
funds to bring eastern productivity and wages up to western standards.
In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries formed a common
European currency, the euro.
@Germany:Geography
Location: Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea,
between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Geographic coordinates: 51 00 N, 9 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area:
total: 357,021 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km
water: 7,798 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundaries:
total: 3,621 km
border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646
km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577
km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km
Coastline: 2,389 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers;
occasional warm foehn wind
Terrain: lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Freepsum Lake -2 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m
Natural resources: iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium,
copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 33%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 15%
forests and woodland: 31%
other: 20% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 4,750 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: flooding
Environment - current issues: emissions from coal-burning utilities
and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from
sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic
Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern
Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government currently attempting to
define mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power; government
working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in
line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile
Organic Compounds, 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,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: strategic location on North European Plain and along
the entrance to the Baltic Sea
@Germany:People
Population: 82,797,408 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 16% (male 6,679,930; female 6,333,110)
15-64 years: 68% (male 28,638,814; female 27,693,630)
65 years and over: 16% (male 5,133,121; female 8,318,803) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.29% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 9.35 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 10.49 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 4.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 4.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.44 years
male: 74.3 years
female: 80.75 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.38 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: German(s)
adjective: German
Ethnic groups: German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely
of Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Russian, Greek, Polish, Spanish)
Religions: Protestant 38%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 1.7%,
unaffiliated or other 26.3%
Languages: German
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1977 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%
@Germany:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany
conventional short form: Germany
local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland
local short form: Deutschland
Data code: GM
Government type: federal republic
Capital: Berlin
Administrative divisions: 16 states (Laender, singular - Land);
Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg,
Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen,
Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt,
Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen
Independence: 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided
into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in
1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West
Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and
French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany)
proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone;
unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October
1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991
National holiday: German Unity Day (Day of Unity), 3 October (1990)
Constitution: 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of
the united German people 3 October 1990
Legal system: civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial
review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Johannes RAU (since 1 July 1999)
head of government: Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October
1998)
cabinet: Cabinet or Bundeskanzler appointed by the president on the
recommendation of the chancellor
elections: president elected for a five-year term by a Federal
Convention including all members of the Federal Assembly and an equal
number of delegates elected by the Land Parliaments; election last
held 23 May 1999 (next to be held 23 May 2004); chancellor elected by
an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term;
election last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held in the fall of
2002)
election results: Johannes RAU elected president; percent of Federal
Convention vote - 57.6%; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor; percent
of Federal Assembly - 52.7%
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the
Federal Assembly or Bundestag (656 seats usually, but 669 for the 1998
term; elected by popular vote under a system combining direct and
proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote
or three direct mandates to gain representation; members serve
four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state
governments are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes
depending on population and are required to vote as a block)
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 27 September 1998 (next to be
held by the fall of 2002); note - there are no elections for the
Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the
state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the
potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election
election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - SPD
40.9%, Alliance '90/Greens 6.7%, CDU/CSU 35.1%, FDP 6.2%, PDS 5.1%;
seats by party - SPD 298, Alliance '90/Greens 47, CDU/CSU 245, FDP 43,
PDS 36; Federal Council - current composition - votes by party -
SPD-led states 26, CDU-led states 28, grand coalitions 15
Judicial branch: Federal Constitutional Court or
Bundesverfassungsgericht, half the judges are elected by the Bundestag
and half by the Bundesrat
Political parties and leaders: Alliance '90/Greens [Gunda ROESTEL and
Antje RADCKE]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU ;
Christian Social Union or CSU ; Free
Democratic Party or FDP ; Party of
Democratic Socialism or PDS ; Social
Democratic Party or SPD
Political pressure groups and leaders: employers' organizations;
expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups
International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group,
BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE,
EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA,
NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional),
WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Juergen CHROBOG
chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: (202) 298-8141
FAX: (202) 298-4249
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles,
Miami, New York, San Francisco
consulate(s): Wellington (America Samoa)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John C. KORNBLUM
embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin
mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265
telephone: (30) 238-5174
FAX: (30) 238-6290
consulate(s) general: Dusseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig,
Munich
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red,
and gold
@Germany:Economy
Economy - overview: Germany possesses the world's third most
technologically powerful economy after the US and Japan, but its basic
capitalistic economy has started to struggle under the burden of
generous social benefits. Structural rigidities - like a high rate of
social contributions on wages - have made unemployment a long-term,
not just cyclical, problem, while Germany's aging population has
pushed social security outlays to exceed contributions from workers.
The integration and upgrading of the eastern German economy remains a
costly long-term problem, with annual transfers from the west
amounting to roughly $100 billion. Growth slowed to 1.5% in 1999,
largely due to lower export demand and still-low business confidence.
Recovering Asian demand, a push for fiscal consolidation, and newly
proposed business and income tax cuts - if passed - are expected to
boost growth back to trend rates around 2.5% in 2000 and beyond. The
adoption of a common European currency and the general political and
economic integration of Europe will bring major changes to the German
economy in the early 21st century.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.864 trillion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.5% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $22,700 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.2%
industry: 30.4%
services: 68.4% (1999)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.8% (1999 est.)
Labor force: 40.5 million (1999 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: industry 33.7%, agriculture 2.7%,
services 63.6% (1998)
Unemployment rate: 10.5% (1999 est.)