1995, put a damper on this small, open economy throughout 1996-99. A
catastrophic eruption in June 1997 closed the air and sea ports,
causing further economic and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the
12,000 inhabitants fled the island. Some began to return in 1998, but
lack of housing limited the number. The agriculture sector continued
to be affected by the lack of suitable land for farming and the
destruction of crops. Construction was the dominant activity in 1997
and 1998. GDP declined again in 1998. Prospects for the economy depend
largely on developments in relation to the volcano and on public
sector construction activity. The UK committed about $100 million in
1996-98 to help reconstruct the economy and has programmed additional
aid for 1999-2001.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $31 million (1998 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -16% (1998 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $NA
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 5.4%
industry: 13.6%
services: 81% (1996 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (1998)
Labor force: 4,521 (1992); note - recently lowered by flight of people
from volcanic activity
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services
NA%
Unemployment rate: 20% (1996 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $31.4 million
expenditures: $31.6 million, including capital expenditures of $8.4
million (1997 est.)
Industries: tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 10 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 9 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes,
onions, peppers; livestock products
Exports: $1.5 million (1998)
Exports - commodities: electronic components, plastic bags, apparel,
hot peppers, live plants, cattle
Exports - partners: US, Antigua and Barbuda (1993)
Imports: $26 million (1998)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transportation equipment,
foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related
materials
Imports - partners: US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada (1993)
Debt - external: $8.9 million (1997)
Economic aid - recipient: $9.8 million (1995); note - about $100
million (1996-98) in reconstruction aid from the UK; Country Policy
Plan (1999) is a three-year program for spending $122.8 million in
British budgetary assistance
Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.7000 (fixed
rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Montserrat:Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 4,000 (1992)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 70 (1994)
Telephone system:
domestic: NA
international: NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 7,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997)
Televisions: 3,000 (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): NA
@Montserrat:Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: 269 km
paved: 203 km
unpaved: 66 km (1995)
Ports and harbors: Plymouth (abandoned), Little Bay (anchorages and
ferry landing), Carr's Bay
Merchant marine: none (1999 est.)
Airports: 1 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1999 est.)
@Montserrat:Military
Military branches: Police Force
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
@Montserrat:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
______________________________________________________________________
MOROCCO
@Morocco:Introduction
Background: Morocco's long struggle for independence from France ended
in 1956. The internationalized city of Tangier was turned over to the
new country that same year. Morocco virtually annexed Western Sahara
during the late 1970s, but final resolution on the status of the
territory remains unresolved. Gradual political reforms in the 1990s
resulted in the establishment of a bicameral legislature in 1997.
@Morocco:Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the
Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Western Sahara
Geographic coordinates: 32 00 N, 5 00 W
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 446,550 sq km
land: 446,300 sq km
water: 250 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than California
Land boundaries:
total: 2,017.9 km
border countries: Algeria 1,559 km, Western Sahara 443 km, Spain
(Ceuta) 6.3 km, Spain (Melilla) 9.6 km
Coastline: 1,835 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior
Terrain: northern coast and interior are mountainous with large areas
of bordering plateaus, intermontane valleys, and rich coastal plains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Sebkha Tah -55 m
highest point: Jebel Toubkal 4,165 m
Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish,
salt
Land use:
arable land: 21%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 47%
forests and woodland: 20%
other: 11% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 12,580 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: northern mountains geologically unstable and subject
to earthquakes; periodic droughts
Environment - current issues: land degradation/desertification (soil
erosion resulting from farming of marginal areas, overgrazing,
destruction of vegetation); water supplies contaminated by raw sewage;
siltation of reservoirs; oil pollution of coastal waters
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea
Geography - note: strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar
@Morocco:People
Population: 30,122,350 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 35% (male 5,372,393; female 5,175,114)
15-64 years: 60% (male 9,021,259; female 9,163,548)
65 years and over: 5% (male 632,698; female 757,338) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.74% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 24.6 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 6.02 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.21 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: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 49.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.13 years
male: 66.92 years
female: 71.44 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.13 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Moroccan(s)
adjective: Moroccan
Ethnic groups: Arab-Berber 99.1%, other 0.7%, Jewish 0.2%
Religions: Muslim 98.7%, Christian 1.1%, Jewish 0.2%
Languages: Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the
language of business, government, and diplomacy
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 43.7%
male: 56.6%
female: 31% (1995 est.)
@Morocco:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Morocco
conventional short form: Morocco
local long form: Al Mamlakah al Maghribiyah
local short form: Al Maghrib
Data code: MO
Government type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Rabat
Administrative divisions: 37 provinces and 2 wilayas*; Agadir, Al
Hoceima, Azilal, Beni Mellal, Ben Slimane, Boulemane, Casablanca*,
Chaouen, El Jadida, El Kelaa des Srarhna, Er Rachidia, Essaouira, Fes,
Figuig, Guelmim, Ifrane, Kenitra, Khemisset, Khenifra, Khouribga,
Laayoune, Larache, Marrakech, Meknes, Nador, Ouarzazate, Oujda,
Rabat-Sale*, Safi, Settat, Sidi Kacem, Tanger, Tan-Tan, Taounate,
Taroudannt, Tata, Taza, Tetouan, Tiznit
note: three additional provinces of Ad Dakhla (Oued Eddahab),
Boujdour, and Es Smara as well as parts of Tan-Tan and Laayoune fall
within Moroccan-claimed Western Sahara;
decentralization/regionalization law passed by the legislature in
March 1997 creating many new provinces/regions; specific details and
scope of the reorganization not yet available
Independence: 2 March 1956 (from France)
National holiday: Throne Day or Sete de Throne 30 July (1999)
(anniversary of King MOHAMED VI's accession to the throne)
Constitution: 10 March 1972, revised 4 September 1992, amended (to
create bicameral legislature) September 1996
Legal system: based on Islamic law and French and Spanish civil law
system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber
of Supreme Court
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: King MOHAMED VI (since 23 July 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Abderrahmane YOUSSOUFI (since 14
March 1998)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed
by the monarch following legislative elections
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or
Chamber of Counselors (270 seats; members elected indirectly by local
councils, professional organizations, and labor syndicates for
nine-year terms; one-third of the members are renewed every three
years) and a lower house or Chamber of Representatives (325 seats;
members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Counselors - last held 5 December 1997 (next to
be held NA December 2000); Chamber of Representatives - last held 14
November 1997 (next to be held NA November 2002)
election results: Chamber of Counselors - percent of vote by party -
NA; seats by party - RNI 42, MDS 33, UC 28, MP 27, PND 21, IP 21, USFP
16, MNP 15, UT 13, FFD 12, CDT 11, UTM 8, PPS 7, PSD 4, PDI 4, UGTM 3,
UNMT 2, other 3; Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party
- NA; seats by party - USFP 57, UC 50, RNI 46, MP 40, MDS 32, IP 32,
MNP 19, PND 10, MPCD 9, PPS 9, FFD 9, PSD 5, OADP 4, PA 2, PDI 1
note: CDT, UTM, UGTM, UNMT are all labor unions listed under Political
pressure groups and leaders; see explanation in the description of
Parliament
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed on the
recommendation of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, presided over
by the monarch
Political parties and leaders: Action Party or PA ;
Constitutional Union or UC ; Democratic Forces
Front or FFD ; Democratic Socialist Party or PSD [Issa
al-OUARDIGHI]; Democratic Party for Independence or PDI [Thami
el-OUAZZANI, Said BOUACHRINE]; Istiqlal Party or IP ;
Labor Party or UT ; National Democratic Party or PND
; National Popular Movement or MNP
; National Rally of Independents or RNI [Ahmed
OSMAN]; Organization of Democratic and Popular Action or OADP [Mohamed
BENSAID]; Party of Progress and Socialism or PPS [Moulay Ismail al
ALAOUI]; Popular Constitutional and Democratic Movement or MPCD [Dr.
Abdelkarim al-KHATIB]; Popular Movement or MP ;
Social Democratic Movement or MDS ; Socialist Union
of Popular Forces or USFP
Political pressure groups and leaders: Association of Popular Trade
Unions or ADP ; Democratic Confederation of Labor or CDT
; Democratic National Trade Union or USND ;
Democratic Trade Union or SD ; General Union of Moroccan
Workers or UGTM ; Labor Union Commissions or CS
; Moroccan National Workers Union or UNMT ;
Moroccan Union of Workers or UTM ; Party of Shura
and Istiqla ;
International organization participation: ABEDA, ACCT (associate),
AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CCC, EBRD, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending
member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM,
OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
chancery: 1601 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: (202) 462-7979 through 7982
FAX: (202) 265-0161
consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Edward M. GABRIEL
embassy: 2 Avenue de Marrakech, Rabat
mailing address: PSC 74, Box 3, APO AE 09718
telephone: (7) 76 22 65
FAX: (7) 76 56 61
consulate(s) general: Casablanca
Flag description: red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear
star) known as Solomon's seal in the center of the flag; green is the
traditional color of Islam
@Morocco:Economy
Economy - overview: Morocco faces the problems typical of developing
countries - restraining government spending, reducing constraints on
private activity and foreign trade, and achieving sustainable economic
growth. Since the early 1980s the government has pursued an economic
program toward these objectives with the support of the IMF, the World
Bank, and the Paris Club of creditors. The dirham is now fully
convertible for current account transactions; reforms of the financial
sector have been implemented; and state enterprises are being
privatized. Drought conditions depressed activity in the key
agricultural sector, and contributed to an economic slowdown in 1999.
Favorable rainfalls have led Morocco to predict a growth of 6% for
2000. Formidable long-term challenges include: servicing the external
debt; preparing the economy for freer trade with the EU; and improving
education and attracting foreign investment to improve living
standards and job prospects for Morocco's youthful population.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $108 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 0% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,600 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 16%
industry: 30%
services: 54% (1998 est.)
Population below poverty line: 13.1% (1990-91 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 30.5% (1990-91)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.9% (1999 est.)
Labor force: 11 million (1997 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 50%, services 35%, industry
15% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 19% (1998 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $9.1 billion
expenditures: $10 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.7
billion (FY98/99 est.)
Industries: phosphate rock mining and processing, food processing,
leather goods, textiles, construction, tourism
Industrial production growth rate: 2% (1998 est.)
Electricity - production: 13.16 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 83.59%
hydro: 16.41%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 12.363 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 124 million kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: barley, wheat, citrus, wine, vegetables,
olives; livestock
Exports: $7.1 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports - commodities: phosphates and fertilizers, food and beverages,
minerals (1998)
Exports - partners: France 27%, Spain 11%, India 7%, Japan 6%, Italy
5% (1998)
Imports: $9.5 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Imports - commodities: semiprocessed goods, machinery and equipment,
food and beverages, consumer goods, fuel (1998)
Imports - partners: France 22%, Spain 10%, US 7%, Germany 6%, Italy 6%
(1998)
Debt - external: $19.1 billion (1999 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $565.6 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Moroccan dirham (DH) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1 - 10.051 (January
2000), 9.804 (1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997), 8.716 (1996), 8.540
(1995)
Fiscal year: July 1 - June 30
@Morocco:Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 1.391 million (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 116,645 (1998)
Telephone system:
domestic: good system composed of open-wire lines, cables, and
microwave radio relay links; Internet available but expensive;
principal switching centers are Casablanca and Rabat; national network
nearly 100% digital using fiber-optic links; improved rural service
employs microwave radio relay
international: 7 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to
Gibraltar, Spain, and Western Sahara; coaxial cable and microwave
radio relay to Algeria; participant in Medarabtel; fiber-optic cable
link from Agadir to Algeria and Tunisia
Radio broadcast stations: AM 27, FM 25, shortwave 6 (1998)
Radios: 6.64 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 26 (plus 35 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 3.1 million (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 27 (1999)
@Morocco:Transportation
Railways:
total: 1,907 km
standard gauge: 1,907 km 1.435-m gauge (1,003 km electrified; 540 km
double track)
Highways:
total: 57,847 km
paved: 30,254 km (including 327 km of expressways)
unpaved: 27,593 km (1998 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 362 km; petroleum products 491 km (abandoned);
natural gas 241 km
Ports and harbors: Agadir, El Jadida, Casablanca, El Jorf Lasfar,
Kenitra, Mohammedia, Nador, Rabat, Safi, Tangier; also
Spanish-controlled Ceuta and Melilla
Merchant marine:
total: 40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 218,987 GRT/263,191 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, chemical tanker 6, container 3, passenger 1,
petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 9, roll-on/roll-off 8,
short-sea passenger 1 (1999 est.)
Airports: 70 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 26
over 3,047 m: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 44
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 22
under 914 m: 11 (1999 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1999 est.)
@Morocco:Military
Military branches: Royal Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air
Force), Gendarmerie, Auxiliary Forces
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 7,961,552 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 5,026,210 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 335,264 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1.361 billion (FY97/98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.8% (FY97/98)
@Morocco:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: claims and administers Western Sahara, but
sovereignty is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a
referendum on the issue; the UN-administered cease-fire has been in
effect since September 1991; Spain controls five places of sovereignty
(plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco - the coastal
enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla which Morocco contests, as well as the
islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas
Chafarinas
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of hashish; trafficking on the
increase for both domestic and international drug markets; shipments
of hashish mostly directed to Western Europe; transit point for
cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe
______________________________________________________________________
MOZAMBIQUE
@Mozambique:Introduction
Background: Almost five centuries as a Portuguese colony came to a
close with independence in 1975. Large-scale emigration by whites,
economic dependence on South Africa, a severe drought, and a prolonged
civil war hindered the country's development. The ruling party
formally abandoned Marxism in 1989, and a new constitution the
following year provided for multiparty elections and a free market
economy. A UN-negotiated peace agreement with rebel forces ended the
fighting in 1992.
@Mozambique:Geography
Location: Southern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between
South Africa and Tanzania
Geographic coordinates: 18 15 S, 35 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 801,590 sq km
land: 784,090 sq km
water: 17,500 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of California
Land boundaries:
total: 4,571 km
border countries: Malawi 1,569 km, South Africa 491 km, Swaziland 105
km, Tanzania 756 km, Zambia 419 km, Zimbabwe 1,231 km
Coastline: 2,470 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical to subtropical
Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in
northwest, mountains in west
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Monte Binga 2,436 m
Natural resources: coal, titanium, natural gas, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 4%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 56%
forests and woodland: 18%
other: 22% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,180 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: severe droughts and floods occur in central and
southern provinces; devastating cyclones
Environment - current issues: a long civil war and recurrent drought
in the hinterlands have resulted in increased migration of the
population to urban and coastal areas with adverse environmental
consequences; desertification; pollution of surface and coastal waters
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
@Mozambique:People
Population: 19,104,696
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life
expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population
and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age
and sex than would otherwise be expected; the 1997 Mozambican census
reported a population of 16,099,246 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 43% (male 4,079,240; female 4,122,578)
15-64 years: 54% (male 5,123,178; female 5,262,618)
65 years and over: 3% (male 215,412; female 301,670) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.47% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 37.99 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 23.29 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 139.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 37.52 years
male: 38.34 years
female: 36.68 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.93 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Mozambican(s)
adjective: Mozambican
Ethnic groups: indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Shangaan, Chokwe,
Manyika, Sena, Makua, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans
0.2%, Indians 0.08%
Religions: indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%
Languages: Portuguese (official), indigenous dialects
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.1%
male: 57.7%
female: 23.3% (1995 est.)
@Mozambique:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Mozambique
conventional short form: Mozambique
local long form: Republica de Mocambique
local short form: Mocambique
Data code: MZ
Government type: republic
Capital: Maputo
Administrative divisions: 10 provinces (provincias, singular -
provincia); Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Nampula,
Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia
Independence: 25 June 1975 (from Portugal)
National holiday: Independence Day, 25 June (1975)
Constitution: 30 November 1990
Legal system: based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal