and North African hashish entering the European market; transshipment
point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin
______________________________________________________________________
SPRATLY ISLANDS
@Spratly Islands:Geography
Location: Southeastern Asia, group of reefs and islands in the South
China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the
southern Philippines
Geographic coordinates: 8 38 N, 111 55 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area:
total: less than 5 sq km
land: less than 5 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered
over an area of nearly 410,000 sq km of the central South China Sea
Area - comparative: NA
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 926 km
Maritime claims: NA
Climate: tropical
Terrain: flat
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay 4 m
Natural resources: fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas
potential
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 100%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)
Natural hazards: typhoons; serious maritime hazard because of numerous
reefs and shoals
Environment - current issues: NA
Geography - note: strategically located near several primary shipping
lanes in the central South China Sea; includes numerous small islands,
atolls, shoals, and coral reefs
@Spratly Islands:People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several
claimant states (July 2000 est.)
@Spratly Islands:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Spratly Islands
Data code: PG
@Spratly Islands:Economy
Economy - overview: Economic activity is limited to commercial
fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary
basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region
is largely unexplored, and there are no reliable estimates of
potential reserves; commercial exploitation has yet to be developed.
@Spratly Islands:Transportation
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 4 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (1999 est.)
@Spratly Islands:Military
Military - note: Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small
islands or reefs, of which about 45 are claimed and occupied by China,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam
@Spratly Islands:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by
China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and
the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing
zone, which encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands,
but has not publicly claimed the island
______________________________________________________________________
SRI LANKA
@Sri Lanka:Introduction
Background: Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and the
Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in
1802. As Ceylon it became independent in 1948; its name was changed in
1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists
erupted in violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in
an ethnic war that continues to fester.
@Sri Lanka:Geography
Location: Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Geographic coordinates: 7 00 N, 81 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area:
total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km
water: 870 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 1,340 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: tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March);
southwest monsoon (June to October)
Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central
interior
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
Natural resources: limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems,
phosphates, clay, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 14%
permanent crops: 15%
permanent pastures: 7%
forests and woodland: 32%
other: 32% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 5,500 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife
populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal
degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater
resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste
disposal; air pollution in Colombo
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes
@Sri Lanka:People
Population: 19,238,575
note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and
armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand
Tamil civilians have fled the island; as of mid-1999, approximately
66,000 were housed in 133 refugee camps in south India, another 40,000
lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have
sought refuge in the West (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 26% (male 2,605,251; female 2,490,416)
15-64 years: 67% (male 6,285,118; female 6,606,196)
65 years and over: 7% (male 602,470; female 649,124) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.89% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 16.78 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 6.43 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.47 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: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 16.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.83 years
male: 69.33 years
female: 74.45 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.98 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan
Ethnic groups: Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and
Vedda 1%
Religions: Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999)
Languages: Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil
(national language) 18%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently
by about 10% of the population
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.2%
male: 93.4%
female: 87.2% (1995 est.)
@Sri Lanka:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka
former: Ceylon
Data code: CE
Government type: republic
Capital: Colombo
Administrative divisions: 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North
Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western
note: North Eastern province may have been divided in two - Northern
and Eastern
Independence: 4 February 1948 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence and National Day, 4 February (1948)
Constitution: adopted 16 August 1978
Legal system: a highly complex mixture of English common law,
Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12
November 1994); note - Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE is the prime minister; in
Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state
and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common
practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime
minister when both offices exist
head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA
(since 12 November 1994); note - Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE is the prime
minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the
chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to
the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president
and the prime minister when both offices exist
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the
prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term;
election last held 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005)
election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected
president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (PA)
51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (UNP) 42%, other 7%
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected
by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation
system by district to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 16 August 1994 (next to be held by August 2000)
election results: percent of vote by party - PA 49.0%, UNP 44.0%, SLMC
1.8%, TULF 1.7%, SLPF 1.1%, EPDP 0.3%, UPF 0.3%, PLOTE 0.1%, other
1.7%; seats by party - PA 105, UNP 94, EPDP 9, SLMC 7, TULF 5, PLOTE
3, SLPF 1, UPF 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president;
Court of Appeals, judges are appointed by the president
Political parties and leaders: All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC
; Ceylon Workers Congress or CLDC ; Communist
Party ; Communist Party/Beijing or CP/B ;
Democratic People's Liberation Front or DPLF ; Democratic
United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF ; Desha Vimukthi
Janatha Party or DVJP ; Eelam People's Democratic Party or
EPDP ; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or
EPRLF ; Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students or
EROS ; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP ; Lanka
Socialist Party/Trotskyite or LSSP (Lanka Sama Samaja Party) [leader
NA]; Liberal Party or LP ; New Socialist Party or NSSP
(Nava Sama Samaja Party) ; People's Alliance or PA
; People's Liberation Organization
of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE ; People's United Front or MEP
(Mahajana Eksath Peramuna) ; Sri Lanka Freedom
Party or SLFP ; Sri Lanka Muslim
Congress or SLMC ; Sri Lanka People's Party or SLMP (Sri
Lanka Mahajana Party) ; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF
; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO ;
Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF ; United National
Party or UNP ; Upcountry People's Front or UPF
; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in
either parliament or provincial councils
Political pressure groups and leaders: Buddhist clergy; labor unions;
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE (insurgent group fighting for
a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the
National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups
International organization participation: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP,
FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Warnasena RASAPUTRAM
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: (202) 483-4025 through 4028
FAX: (202) 232-7181
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles
consulate(s): New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Shaun E. DONNELLY
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3
mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo
telephone: (1) 448007
FAX: (1) 437345, 446013
Flag description: yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel
has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the
other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a
sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field
appears as a border that goes around the entire flag and extends
between the two panels
@Sri Lanka:Economy
Economy - overview: In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic
policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented
policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic
industries now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and
beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. By 1996
plantation crops made up only 20% of exports (compared with 93% in
1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an
annual average rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and a
deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The
economy rebounded in 1997-98 with growth of 6.4% and 4.7% - but slowed
to 3.7% in 1999. For the next round of reforms, the central bank of
Sri Lanka recommends that Colombo expand market mechanisms in
nonplantation agriculture, dismantle the government's monopoly on
wheat imports, and promote more competition in the financial sector. A
continuing cloud over the economy is the fighting between the
Sinhalese and the minority Tamils, which has cost 50,000 lives in the
past 15 years.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $50.5 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.7% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,600 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 21%
industry: 19%
services: 60% (1998)
Population below poverty line: 22% (1997 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 39.7% (1995-96 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6% (1999 est.)
Labor force: 6.6 million (1998)
Labor force - by occupation: services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry
17% (1998 est.)
Unemployment rate: 9.5% (1998 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $2.7 billion
expenditures: $4.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1
billion (1998 est.)
Industries: processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other
agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining,
textiles, tobacco
Industrial production growth rate: 6.3% (1998)
Electricity - production: 5.505 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 30.97%
hydro: 69.03%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 5.12 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed,
spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef
Exports: $4.7 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports - commodities: textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut
products, petroleum products (1998)
Exports - partners: US 40%, UK 11%, Middle East 9%, Germany 5%, Japan
4% (1998)
Imports: $5.3 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum,
foodstuffs (1998)
Imports - partners: India 10%, Japan 10%, South Korea 8%, Hong Kong
7%, Taiwan 6% (1998)
Debt - external: $8.4 billion (1998)
Economic aid - recipient: $577 million (1998)
Currency: 1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees (SLRe) per US$1 - 72.364 (January
2000), 70.402 (1999), 64.593 (1998), 58.995 (1997), 55.271 (1996),
51.252 (1995)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Sri Lanka:Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 494,509 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 228,604 (1999)
Telephone system: very inadequate domestic service, particularly in
rural areas; some hope for improvement with privatization of national
telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good
international service (1999)
domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave
radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two
fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong
in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low at 2.6 main
lines per 100 persons (1999)
international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite
earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: 3.85 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 21 (1997)
Televisions: 1.53 million (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 4 (1999)
@Sri Lanka:Transportation
Railways:
total: 1,463 km
broad gauge: 1,404 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (1996)
Highways:
total: 11,285 km
paved: 10,721 km
unpaved: 564 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: 430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft
Pipelines: crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)
Ports and harbors: Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee
Merchant marine:
total: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 192,190 GRT/293,832 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 16, container 1, petroleum tanker 1,
refrigerated cargo 5 (1999 est.)
Airports: 14 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 6 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (1999 est.)
@Sri Lanka:Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 5,251,045 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 4,081,742 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 196,584 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $719 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4.2% (FY98)
@Sri Lanka:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
______________________________________________________________________
SUDAN
@Sudan:Introduction
Background: Military dictatorships promulgating an Islamic government
have mostly run the country since independence from the UK in 1956.
Over the past two decades, a civil war pitting black Christians and
animists in the south against the Arab-Muslims of the north has cost
at least 1.5 million lives in war and famine-related deaths, as well
as the displacement of millions of others.
@Sudan:Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and
Eritrea
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 30 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 2,505,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km
water: 129,810 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total: 7,687 km
border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km,
Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605
km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km
Coastline: 853 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 18 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April
to October)
Terrain: generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m
Natural resources: petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper,
chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 46%
forests and woodland: 19%
other: 30% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 19,460 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: dust storms
Environment - current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water;
wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion;
desertification
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and
its tributaries
@Sudan:People
Population: 35,079,814 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 8,064,592; female 7,712,839)
15-64 years: 53% (male 9,300,886; female 9,290,340)
65 years and over: 2% (male 406,034; female 305,123) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.84% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 38.58 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 10.28 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.05 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: 1.33 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 70.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 56.55 years
male: 55.49 years
female: 57.66 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.47 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Sudanese
Ethnic groups: black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1%
Religions: Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%,
Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum)
Languages: Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of
Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of Arabization in process
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.1%
male: 57.7%
female: 34.6% (1995 est.)
@Sudan:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan
conventional short form: Sudan
local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan
local short form: As-Sudan
former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
Data code: SU
Government type: transitional - previously ruling military junta;
presidential and National Assembly elections held in March 1996; new
constitution drafted by Presidential Committee, went into effect on 30
June 1998 after being approved in nationwide referendum
Capital: Khartoum
Administrative divisions: 26 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah);
A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum,
Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash
Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al Ghazal,
Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan, Junqali,
Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur, Shamal
Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab
Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1956)
Constitution: 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985;
interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30
June 1989; new constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially
suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR
Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20
January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed
Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all
residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; some
separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations
Suffrage: NA years of age; universal, but noncompulsory