total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 92,060 GRT/45,881 DWT
ships by type: passenger 2, petroleum tanker 1 (1999 est.)
Airports: 2 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1999 est.)
@Wallis and Futuna:Military
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France
@Wallis and Futuna:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
______________________________________________________________________
WEST BANK
@West Bank:Introduction
Background: The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim
Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13
September 1993, provides for a transitional period not exceeding five
years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and
responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes a
Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of
interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A
transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho
took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on
the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the
West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim
Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning
Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River
Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The
DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the
transitional period for external security and for internal security
and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Permanent status
is to be determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in
September 1999 after a three-year hiatus.
@West Bank:Geography
Location: Middle East, west of Jordan
Geographic coordinates: 32 00 N, 35 15 E
Map references: Middle East
Area:
total: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km
water: 220 sq km
note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of
the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No
Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire
area occupied by Israel in 1967
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Delaware
Land boundaries:
total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude,
warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Terrain: mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but
barren in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m
Natural resources: arable land
Land use:
arable land: 27%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 32%
forests and woodland: 1%
other: 40%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage
treatment
Geography - note: landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for
Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 231 Israeli settlements and
civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem
(August 1999 est.)
@West Bank:People
Population: 2,020,298
note: in addition, there are some 171,000 Israeli settlers in the West
Bank and about 172,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 463,644; female 440,211)
15-64 years: 52% (male 531,711; female 511,256)
65 years and over: 3% (male 32,107; female 41,369) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.38% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 36.73 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 4.49 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.51 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: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 22.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.08 years
male: 70.39 years
female: 73.86 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.02 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: NA
adjective: NA
Ethnic groups: Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
Religions: Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and
other 8%
Languages: Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many
Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Literacy:
definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%
@West Bank:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank
Data code: WE
@West Bank:Economy
Economy - overview: Economic conditions in the West Bank - where
economic activity is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April
1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority - have deteriorated
since the early 1990s. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza
Strip (WBGS) declined 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the
combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and robust population
growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of
Israeli closure policies - the imposition of generalized border
closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted
previously established labor and commodity market relationships
between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious negative social effect
of this downturn has been the emergence of chronic unemployment;
average unemployment rates in the WBGS during the 1980s were generally
under 5%; by the mid-1990s this level had risen to over 20%. Since
1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in
1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures
and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and
labor. In October 1999, Israel permitted the opening of a safe passage
between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in accordance with the 1995
Interim Agreement. These changes in the conduct of economic activity
have fueled a moderate economic recovery in 1998-99.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.3 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.6% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,050 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 33%
industry: 25%
services: 42% (includes Gaza Strip) (1995 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (includes Gaza Strip) (1999 est.)
Labor force: NA
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 13%, industry 13%, commerce,
restaurants, and hotels 12%, construction 8%, other services 54%
(1996)
Unemployment rate: 14.5% (includes Gaza Strip) (1998 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $1.6 billion
expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(includes Gaza Strip) (1999 est.)
Industries: generally small family businesses that produce cement,
textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs;
the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in
the settlements and industrial centers
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: NA kWh; note - most electricity imported
from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes
electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in
the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies
electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the
same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nabulus and Janin,
generate their own electricity from small power plants
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA%
nuclear: NA%
other: NA%
Electricity - consumption: NA kWh
Electricity - exports: NA kWh
Electricity - imports: NA kWh
Agriculture - products: olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy
products
Exports: $682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports - commodities: olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Exports - partners: Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip
Imports: $2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.)
Imports - commodities: food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports - partners: Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip
Debt - external: $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $800 million pledged (includes Gaza Strip)
(1999)
Currency: 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot; 1 Jordanian
dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils
Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 4.2260 (November
1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996), 3.0113 (1995);
Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1 - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996),
0.7005 (1995)
Fiscal year: calendar year (since 1 January 1992)
@West Bank:Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza
Strip) (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: NA
Telephone system:
domestic: NA
international: NA
note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are
responsible for communication services in the West Bank
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)
Television broadcast stations: NA
Televisions: NA; note - many Palestinian households have televisions
(1999)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 8 (1999)
@West Bank:Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: 4,500 km
paved: 2,700 km
unpaved: 1,800 km (1997 est.)
note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish
settlements
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 2 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (1999 est.)
@West Bank:Military
Military branches: NA
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
@West Bank:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: West Bank and Gaza Strip are
Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the
Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be
determined through further negotiation
______________________________________________________________________
WESTERN SAHARA
@Western Sahara:Introduction
Background: Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of
Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the
territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war
with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a
1991 cease fire; a referendum on final status has been repeatedly
postponed and is not expected to occur until at least 2002.
@Western Sahara:Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Mauritania and Morocco
Geographic coordinates: 24 30 N, 13 00 W
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: about the size of Colorado
Land boundaries:
total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
Coastline: 1,110 km
Maritime claims: contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
Climate: hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents
produce fog and heavy dew
Terrain: mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy
surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m
Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 19%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 81%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur
during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of
time, often severely restricting visibility
Environment - current issues: sparse water and lack of arable land
Environment - international agreements:
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
@Western Sahara:People
Population: 244,943 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 2.29% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 45.07 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 16.11 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: -6.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 133.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 49.81 years
male: 48.65 years
female: 51.33 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.64 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawian, Sahraouian
Ethnic groups: Arab, Berber
Religions: Muslim
Languages: Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
Literacy:
definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%
@Western Sahara:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara
former: Spanish Sahara
Data code: WI
Government type: legal status of territory and question of sovereignty
unresolved; territory contested by Morocco and Polisario Front
(Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de
Oro), which in February 1976 formally proclaimed a government-in-exile
of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); territory partitioned
between Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976, with Morocco acquiring
northern two-thirds; Mauritania, under pressure from Polisario
guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979;
Morocco moved to occupy that sector shortly thereafter and has since
asserted administrative control; the Polisario's government-in-exile
was seated as an OAU member in 1984; guerrilla activities continued
sporadically, until a UN-monitored cease-fire was implemented 6
September 1991
Capital: none
Administrative divisions: none (under de facto control of Morocco)
Suffrage: none; a UN sponsored voter identification campaign has yet
to be completed
Executive branch: none
International organization participation: none
Diplomatic representation in the US: none
Diplomatic representation from the US: none
@Western Sahara:Economy
Economy - overview: Western Sahara, a territory poor in natural
resources and lacking sufficient rainfall, depends on pastoral
nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of
income for the population. Most of the food for the urban population
must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are
controlled by the Moroccan Government. Incomes and standards of living
are substantially below the Moroccan level.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $NA
GDP - real growth rate: NA%
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $NA
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: 40%-45% (1996 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Labor force: 12,000
Labor force - by occupation: animal husbandry and subsistence farming
50%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: phosphate mining, handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 85 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 79 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: fruits and vegetables (grown in the few
oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads)
Exports: $NA
Exports - commodities: phosphates 62%
Exports - partners: Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so
trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts
Imports: $NA
Imports - commodities: fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs
Imports - partners: Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so
trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts
Debt - external: $NA
Economic aid - recipient: $NA
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: calendar year
@Western Sahara:Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: about 2,000 (1999 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 0 (1999)
Telephone system: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA
international: tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay,
tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 56,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: NA
Televisions: 6,000 (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): NA
@Western Sahara:Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km
unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est.)
Ports and harbors: Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)
Airports: 12 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 3 (1999 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1999 est.)
@Western Sahara:Military
Military branches: NA
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
@Western Sahara:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: claimed and administered by Morocco, 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
______________________________________________________________________
WORLD
@World:Geography
Map references: World, Time Zones
Area:
total: 510.072 million sq km
land: 148.94 million sq km
water: 361.132 million sq km
note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
Area - comparative: land area about 16 times the size of the US
Land boundaries: the land boundaries in the world total 251,480.24 km
(not counting shared boundaries twice)
Coastline: 356,000 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm claimed by most, but can vary
continental shelf: 200-m depth claimed by most or to depth of
exploitation; others claim 200 nm or to the edge of the continental
margin
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm claimed by most, but can vary
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm claimed by most, but can vary
territorial sea: 12 nm claimed by most, but can vary
note: boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many
countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200
nm; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include
Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan,
Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic,
Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg,
Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San
Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West
Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Climate: two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather
narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to
subtropical climates
Terrain: the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in
the Pacific Ocean
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
Natural resources: the rapid using up of nonrenewable mineral
resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction
of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water
quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China)
pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only
beginning to address
Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 26%
forests and woodland: 32%
other: 31% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 2,481,250 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: large areas subject to severe weather (tropical
cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis,
volcanic eruptions)
Environment - current issues: large areas subject to overpopulation,
industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic
substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation,
desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion,
erosion
@World:People
Population: 6,080,671,215 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 29.92% (male 932,832,913; female 885,970,165)
15-64 years: 63.17% (male 1,942,402,264; female 1,898,479,062)
65 years and over: 6.91% (male 184,072,470; female 235,017,660) (2000
est.)
Population growth rate: 1.3% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 9 deaths/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: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 54 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64 years
male: 62 years
female: 65 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.8 children born/woman (2000 est.)
@World:Government
Data code: none; there is no FIPS 10-4 country code for the World, so
the Factbook uses the "W" data code from DIAM 65-18 "Geopolitical Data
Elements and Related Features," Data Standard No. 3, March 1984,
published by the Defense Intelligence Agency; see the Cross-Reference
List of Country Data Codes appendix
Administrative divisions: 267 nations, dependent areas, other, and
miscellaneous entries
Legal system: all members of the UN (excluding Yugoslavia) plus
Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
@World:Economy