Factbook normally follows the same transliteration system used by the
US Board on Geographic Names for spelling place names. At times,
however, a foreign leader expressly indicates a preference for, or the
media or official documents regularly use, a romanized spelling that
differs from the transliteration derived from the US Government
standard. In such cases, the Factbook uses the alternative spelling.
Personal Names - Titles: The Factbook capitalizes any valid title (or
short form of it) immediately preceding a person's name. A title
standing alone is lowercased. Examples: President PUTIN and President
CLINTON are chiefs of state. In Russia, the president is chief of
state and the premier is the head of the government, while in the US,
the president is both chief of state and head of government.
Pipelines: This entry gives the lengths and types of pipelines for
transporting products like natural gas, crude oil, or petroleum
products.
Political parties and leaders: This entry includes a listing of
significant political organizations and their leaders.
Political pressure groups and leaders: This entry includes a listing
of organizations with leaders involved in politics, but not standing
for legislative election.
Population: This entry gives an estimate from the US Bureau of the
Census based on statistics from population censuses, vital statistics
registration systems, or sample surveys pertaining to the recent past
and on assumptions about future trends. The total population presents
one overall measure of the potential impact of the country on the
world and within its region. Note: starting with the 1993 Factbook,
demographic estimates for some countries (mostly African) have
explicitly taken into account the effects of the growing impact of the
HIV/AIDS epidemic. These countries are currently: The Bahamas, Benin,
Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic
of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guyana, Haiti,
Honduras, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria,
Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda,
Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Population below poverty line: National estimates of the percentage of
the population lying below the poverty line are based on surveys of
sub-groups, with the results weighted by the number of people in each
group. Definitions of poverty vary considerably among nations. For
example, rich nations generally employ more generous standards of
poverty than poor nations.
Population growth rate: The average annual percent change in the
population, resulting from a surplus (or deficit) of births over
deaths and the balance of migrants entering and leaving a country. The
rate may be positive or negative. The growth rate is a factor in
determining how great a burden would be imposed on a country by the
changing needs of its people for infrastructure (e.g., schools,
hospitals, housing, roads), resources (e.g., food, water,
electricity), and jobs. Rapid population growth can be seen as
threatening by neighboring countries.
Ports and harbors: This entry lists the major ports and harbors
selected on the basis of overall importance to each country. This is
determined by evaluating a number of factors (e.g., dollar value of
goods handled, gross tonnage, facilities, military significance).
Radio broadcast stations: This entry includes the total number of AM,
FM, and shortwave broadcast stations.
Radios: This entry gives the total number of radio receivers.
Railways: This entry includes the total route length of the railway
network and component parts by gauge: broad, dual, narrow, standard,
and other.
Reference maps: This section includes world, regional, and special or
current interest maps.
Religions: This entry includes a rank ordering of religions by
adherents starting with the largest group and sometimes includes the
percent of total population.
Sex ratio: This entry includes the number of males for each female in
five age groups - at birth, under 15 years, 15-64 years, 65 years and
over, and for the total population. Sex ratio at birth has recently
emerged as an indicator of certain kinds of sex discrimination in some
countries. For instance, high sex ratios at birth in some Asian
countries are now attributed to sex-selective abortion and infanticide
due to a strong preference for sons. This will affect future marriage
patterns and fertility patterns. Eventually it could cause unrest
among young adult males who are unable to find partners.
Suffrage: This entry gives the age at enfranchisement and whether the
right to vote is universal or restricted.
Telephone numbers: All telephone numbers in the Factbook consist of
the country code in brackets, the city or area code (where required)
in parentheses, and the local number. The one component that is not
presented is the international access code, which varies from country
to country. For example, an international direct dial telephone call
placed from the US to Madrid, Spain, would be as follows:
011 [34] (1) 577-xxxx, where
011 is the international access code for station-to-station calls
(01 is for calls other than station-to-station calls),
[34] is the country code for Spain,
(1) is the city code for Madrid,
577 is the local exchange, and
xxxx is the local telephone number.
An international direct dial telephone call placed from another
country to the US would be as follows:
international access code + [1] (202) 939-xxxx, where
[1] is the country code for the US,
(202) is the area code for Washington, DC,
939 is the local exchange, and
xxxx is the local telephone number.
Telephone system: This entry includes a brief characterization of the
system with details on the domestic and international components. The
following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry:
Africa ONE - a fiber-optic submarine cable link encircling the
continent of Africa.
Arabsat - Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia).
Autodin - Automatic Digital Network (US Department of Defense).
CB - citizen's band mobile radio communications.
cellular telephone system - the telephones in this system are radio
transceivers, with each instrument having its own private radio
frequency and sufficient radiated power to reach the booster station
in its area (cell), from which the telephone signal is fed to a
regular telephone exchange.
Central American Microwave System - a trunk microwave radio relay
system that links the countries of Central America and Mexico with
each other.
coaxial cable - a multichannel communication cable consisting of a
central conducting wire, surrounded by and insulated from a
cylindrical conducting shell; a large number of telephone channels can
be made available within the insulated space by the use of a large
number of carrier frequencies.
Comsat - Communications Satellite Corporation (US).
DSN - Defense Switched Network (formerly Automatic Voice Network or
Autovon); basic general-purpose, switched voice network of the Defense
Communications System (US Department of Defense).
Eutelsat - European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Paris).
fiber-optic cable - a multichannel communications cable using a thread
of optical glass fibers as a transmission medium in which the signal
(voice, video, etc.) is in the form of a coded pulse of light.
GSM - a global system for mobile (cellular) communications devised by
the Groupe Special Mobile of the pan-European standardization
organization, Conference Europeanne des Posts et Telecommunications
(CEPT) in 1982.
HF - high-frequency; any radio frequency in the 3,000- to 30,000-kHz
range.
Inmarsat - International Mobile Satellite Organization (London);
provider of global mobile satellite communications for commercial,
distress, and safety applications at sea, in the air, and on land.
Intelsat - International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
(Washington, DC).
Intersputnik - International Organization of Space Communications
(Moscow); first established in the former Soviet Union and the East
European countries, it is now marketing its services worldwide with
earth stations in North America, Africa, and East Asia.
landline - communication wire or cable of any sort that is installed
on poles or buried in the ground.
Marecs - Maritime European Communications Satellite used in the
Inmarsat system on lease from the European Space Agency.
Marisat - satellites of the Comsat Corporation that participate in the
Inmarsat system.
Medarabtel - the Middle East Telecommunications Project of the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) providing a modern
telecommunications network, primarily by microwave radio relay,
linking Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Saudi
Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen; it was initially
started in Morocco in 1970 by the Arab Telecommunications Union (ATU)
and was known at that time as the Middle East Mediterranean
Telecommunications Network.
microwave radio relay - transmission of long distance telephone calls
and television programs by highly directional radio microwaves that
are received and sent on from one booster station to another on an
optical path.
NMT - Nordic Mobile Telephone; an analog cellular telephone system
that was developed jointly by the national telecommunications
authorities of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland,
Norway, and Sweden).
Orbita - a Russian television service; also the trade name of a
packet-switched digital telephone network.
radiotelephone communications - the two-way transmission and reception
of sounds by broadcast radio on authorized frequencies using telephone
handsets.
PanAmSat - PanAmSat Corporation (Greenwich, CT).
satellite communication system - a communication system consisting of
two or more earth stations and at least one satellite that provides
long distance transmission of voice, data, and television; the system
usually serves as a trunk connection between telephone exchanges; if
the earth stations are in the same country, it is a domestic system.
satellite earth station - a communications facility with a microwave
radio transmitting and receiving antenna and required receiving and
transmitting equipment for communicating with satellites.
satellite link - a radio connection between a satellite and an earth
station permitting communication between them, either one-way (down
link from satellite to earth station - television receive-only
transmission) or two-way (telephone channels).
SHF - super-high-frequency; any radio frequency in the 3,000- to
30,000-MHz range.
shortwave - radio frequencies (from 1.605 to 30 MHz) that fall above
the commercial broadcast band and are used for communication over long
distances.
Solidaridad - geosynchronous satellites in Mexico's system of
international telecommunications in the Western Hemisphere.
Statsionar - Russia's geostationary system for satellite
telecommunications.
submarine cable - a cable designed for service under water.
TAT - Trans-Atlantic Telephone; any of a number of high-capacity
submarine coaxial telephone cables linking Europe with North America.
telefax - facsimile service between subscriber stations via the public
switched telephone network or the international Datel network.
telegraph - a telecommunications system designed for unmodulated
electric impulse transmission.
telex - a communication service involving teletypewriters connected by
wire through automatic exchanges.
tropospheric scatter - a form of microwave radio transmission in which
the troposphere is used to scatter and reflect a fraction of the
incident radio waves back to earth; powerful, highly directional
antennas are used to transmit and receive the microwave signals;
reliable over-the-horizon communications are realized for distances up
to 600 miles in a single hop; additional hops can extend the range of
this system for very long distances.
trunk network - a network of switching centers, connected by
multichannel trunk lines.
UHF - ultra-high-frequency; any radio frequency in the 300- to
3,000-MHz range.
VHF - very-high-frequency; any radio frequency in the 30- to 300-MHz
range.
Telephones - main lines in use: This entry gives the total number of
main telephone lines in use.
Telephones - mobile cellular: This entry gives the total number of
mobile cellular telephones in use.
Television - broadcast stations: This entry gives the total number of
separate broadcast stations plus any repeater stations.
Televisions: This entry gives the total number of television sets.
Terminology: Due to the highly structured nature of the Factbook
database, some collective generic terms have to be used. For example,
the word Country in the Country name entry refers to a wide variety of
dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, uninhabited islands, and
other entities in addition to the traditional countries or independent
states. Military is also used as an umbrella term for various civil
defense, security, and defense activities in many entries. The
Independence entry includes the usual colonial independence dates and
former ruling states as well as other significant nationhood dates
such as the traditional founding date or the date of unification,
federation, confederation, establishment, or state succession that are
not strictly independence dates. Dependent areas have the nature of
their dependency status noted in this same entry.
Terrain: This entry contains a brief description of the topography.
Total fertility rate: This entry gives a figure for the average number
of children that would be born per woman if all women lived to the end
of their childbearing years and bore children according to a given
fertility rate at each age. The total fertility rate is a more direct
measure of the level of fertility than the crude birth rate, since it
refers to births per woman. This indicator shows the potential for
population growth in the country. High rates will also place some
limits on the labor force participation rates for women. Large numbers
of children born to women indicate large family sizes that might limit
the ability of the families to feed and educate their children.
Transnational Issues: This category includes only two entries at the
present time - Disputes - international and Illicit drugs - that deal
with current issues going beyond national boundaries.
Transportation: This category includes the entries dealing with the
means for movement of people and goods.
Transportation - note: This entry includes miscellaneous
transportation information of significance not included elsewhere.
Unemployment rate: This entry contains the percent of the labor force
that is without jobs. Substantial underemployment might be noted.
United Nations System: This information is presented in [9]Appendix B:
United Nations System as a chart, table, or text (depending on the
version of the Factbook) that shows the organization of the UN in
detail.
Waterways: This entry gives the total length and individual names of
navigable rivers, canals, and other inland bodies of water.
Weights and measures: This information is presented in [10]Appendix E:
Weights and Measures and includes mathematical notations (mathematical
powers and names), metric interrelationships (prefix; symbol; length,
weight, or capacity; area; volume), and standard conversion factors.
Years: All year references are for the calendar year (CY) unless
indicated as fiscal year (FY). The calendar year is an accounting
period of 12 months from 1 January to 31 December. The fiscal year is
an accounting period of 12 months other than 1 January to 31 December.
Note: Information for the US and US dependencies was compiled from
material in the public domain and does not represent Intelligence
Community estimates.
______________________________________________________________________
@Appendix A: Abbreviations
A
ABEDA Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa
ACC Arab Cooperation Council
ACCT Agence de Cooperation Culturelle et Technique; see Agency for
Cultural and Technical Cooperation; changed name in 1996 to Agence de
la francophonie or Agency for the French-Speaking Community
ACP Group African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States
AfDB African Development Bank
AFESD Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development
AG Andean Group; see Andean Community of Nations (CAN)
Air Pollution Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution
Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides Protocol to the 1979 Convention on
Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution Concerning the Control of
Emissions of Nitrogen Oxides or Control of Emissions of Nitrogen
Oxides or Their Transboundary Fluxes
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants Protocol to the 1979
Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent
Organic Pollutants
Air Pollution-Sulphur 85 Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range
Transboundary Air Pollution on the Reduction of Sulphur Emissions or
Their Transboundary Fluxes by at Least 30%
Air Pollution-Sulphur 94 Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range
Transboundary Air Pollution on Further Reduction of Sulphur Emissions
Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds Protocol to the 1979
Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution Concerning the
Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds or Their
Transboundary Fluxes
AL Arab League
ALADI Asociacion Latinoamericana de Integracion; see Latin American
Integration Association (LAIA)
AMF Arab Monetary Fund
AMU Arab Maghreb Union
Ancom Andean Common Market; see Andean Community of Nations (CAN)
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol Protocol on Environmental Protection
to the Antarctic Treaty
ANZUS Australia-New Zealand-United States Security Treaty
APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Arabsat Arab Satellite Communications Organization
AsDB Asian Development Bank
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Autodin Automatic Digital Network
B
BAD Banque Africaine de Developpement; see African Development Bank
(AfDB)
BADEA Banque Arabe de Developpement Economique en Afrique; see Arab
Bank
for Economic Development in Africa (ABEDA)
BCIE Banco Centroamericano de Integracion Economico;
see Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE)
BDEAC Banque de Developpment des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale;
see Central African States Development Bank (BDEAC)
Benelux Benelux Economic Union
BID Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo;
see Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
Biodiversity Convention on Biological Diversity
BIS Bank for International Settlements
BOAD Banque Ouest-Africaine de Developpement; see West African
Development Bank (WADB)
BSEC Black Sea Economic Cooperation Zone
C
C Commonwealth
CACM Central American Common Market
CAEU Council of Arab Economic Unity
CAN Andean Community of Nations
Caricom Caribbean Community and Common Market
CB citizen's band mobile radio communications
CBSS Council of the Baltic Sea States
CCC Customs Cooperation Council
CDB Caribbean Development Bank
CE Council of Europe
CEAO Communaute Economique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest; see West African
Economic Community (CEAO)
CEEAC Communaute Economique des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale;
see Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC)
CEI Central European Initiative
CEMA Council for Mutual Economic Assistance; also known as CMEA or
Comecon
CEPGL Communaute Economique des Pays des Grands Lacs;
see Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL)
CERN Conseil Europeenne pour la Recherche Nucleaire;
see European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
CG Contadora Group
c.i.f. cost, insurance, and freight
CIS Commonwealth of Independent States
CITES see Endangered Species
Climate Change United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change
CMEA Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CEMA); also known as
Comecon
COCOM Coordinating Committee on Export Controls
Comecon Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CEMA); also known as
CMEA
Comsat Communications Satellite Corporation
CP Colombo Plan
CSCE Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe; see
Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
CY calendar year
D
DC developed country
Desertification United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in
Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification,
Particularly in Africa
DSN Defense Switched Network
DWT deadweight ton
E
EADB East African Development Bank
EAPC Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
EC European Community; see European Union (EU)
ECA Economic Commission for Africa
ECAFE Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East; see Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
ECE Economic Commission for Europe
ECLA Economic Commission for Latin America; see Economic Commission
for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
ECO Economic Cooperation Organization
ECOSOC Economic and Social Council
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
ECS European Coal and Steel Community; see European Union (EU)
ECWA Economic Commission for Western Asia;
see Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
EEC European Economic Community; see European Union (EU)
EFTA European Free Trade Association
EIB European Investment Bank
EMU European Monetary Union
Endangered Species Convention on the International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)
Entente Council of the Entente
Environmental Modification Convention on the Prohibition of Military
or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques
ESA European Space Agency
ESCAP Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
ESCWA Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
est. estimate
EU European Union
Euratom European Atomic Energy Community; see European Community (EC)
Eutelsat European Telecommunications Satellite Organization
Ex-Im Export-Import Bank of the United States
F
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization
FAX facsimile
f.o.b. free on board
FLS Front Line States
FRG Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany);
used for information dated before 3 October 1990 or CY91
FSU former Soviet Union
FY fiscal year
FYROM The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
FZ Franc Zone
G
G-2 Group of 2
G-3 Group of 3
G-5 Group of 5
G-6 Group of 6 (not to be confused with the Big Six)
G-7 Group of 7
G-8 Group of 8
G-9 Group of 9
G-10 Group of 10
G-11 Group of 11
G-15 Group of 15
G-19 Group of 19
G-24 Group of 24
G-30 Group of 30
G-33 Group of 33
G-77 Group of 77
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade;
subsumed by the World Trade Organization (WTrO) on 1 January 1995
GCC Gulf Cooperation Council
GDP gross domestic product
GDR German Democratic Republic (East Germany);
used for information dated before 3 October 1990 or CY91
GNP gross national product
GRT gross register ton
GWP gross world product
H
Hazardous Wastes Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary
Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal
HF high-frequency
I
IADB Inter-American Development Bank
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency
IBEC International Bank for Economic Cooperation
IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World
Bank)
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization
ICC International Chamber of Commerce
ICEM Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration;
see International Organization for Migration (IOM)
ICFTU International Confederation of Free Trade Unions; see World
Confederation of Labor (WCL)