(156 km electrified) note: Canada has two major transcontinental freight
railway systems: Canadian National (privatized November 1995) and Canadian
Pacific Railway; passenger service is provided by the government-operated
firm VIA, which has no trackage of its own (2000 est.)
Highways: total: 901,902 km paved: 318,371 km (including 16,571 km of
expressways) unpaved: 583,531 km (1999)
Waterways: 3,000 km (including Saint Lawrence Seaway)
Pipelines: crude and refined oil 23,564 km; natural gas 74,980 km
Ports and harbors: Becancour (Quebec), Churchill, Halifax, Hamilton,
Montreal, New Westminster, Prince Rupert, Quebec, Saint John (New
Brunswick), St. John's (Newfoundland), Sept Isles, Sydney, Trois-Rivieres,
Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Windsor
Merchant marine: total: 122 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,797,240
GRT/2,680,223 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 66, cargo 13,
chemical tanker 5, combination bulk 2, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1,
petroleum tanker 18, railcar carrier 2, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea
passenger 3, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned
ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 3, Monaco 16,
United Kingdom 1, United States 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 1,419 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 519 over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047
m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 244 under 914 m: 90 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 151
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 900 1,524 to 2,437 m: 74 914
to 1,523 m: 364 under 914 m: 462 (2001)
Heliports: 18 (2001)
Military Canada
Military branches: Canadian Armed Forces (comprising Land Forces Command,
Maritime Command, Air Command, Communications Command, Training Command)
Military manpower - military age: 17 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 8,361,475 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 7,139,068
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 217,516
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $7,860,500,000 (FY01/02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.1% (FY01/02)
Transnational Issues Canada
Disputes - international: maritime boundary disputes with the US (Dixon
Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Machias Seal Island)
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market;
use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities
of high-quality marijuana indoors; transit point for heroin and cocaine
entering the US market
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Cambodia
Introduction
Cambodia
Background: Following a five-year struggle, Communist Khmer Rouge
forces captured Phnom Penh in 1975 and ordered the evacuation of all
cities and towns; over 1 million displaced people died from execution
or enforced hardships. A 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge
into the countryside and touched off 13 years of fighting. UN-sponsored
elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy, as did the
rapid diminishment of the Khmer Rouge in the mid-1990s. A coalition
government, formed after national elections in 1998, brought renewed
political stability and the surrender of remaining Khmer Rouge forces.
Geography Cambodia
Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between
Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos
Geographic coordinates: 13 00 N, 105 00 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total: 181,040 sq km land: 176,520 sq km water: 4,520 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Oklahoma
Land boundaries: total: 2,572 km border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand
803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km
Coastline: 443 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate: tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season
(December to April); little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m highest point:
Phnum Aoral 1,810 m
Natural resources: timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese,
phosphates, hydropower potential
Land use: arable land: 21% permanent crops: 1% other: 78% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 2,700 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding;
occasional droughts
Environment - current issues: illegal logging activities throughout the
country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border
with Thailand have resulted in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in
particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries);
soil erosion; in rural areas, a majority of the population does not have
access to potable water; toxic waste delivery from Taiwan sparked unrest
in Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville) in December 1998
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life
Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Geography - note: a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong
River and Tonle Sap
People Cambodia
Population: 12,775,324 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 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 40.7% (male 2,646,883; female 2,550,015)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 3,373,692; female 3,758,736) 65 years and over:
3.5% (male 182,149; female 263,849) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.24% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 32.93 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 10.51 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69
male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 64 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 59.5 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 4.66 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 4.04% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 220,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 14,000 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Cambodian(s) adjective: Cambodian
Ethnic groups: Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%
Religions: Theravada Buddhist 95%, other 5%
Languages: Khmer (official) 95%, French, English
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 35% male: 48% female: 22% (1990 est.)
Government Cambodia
Country name: Kingdom of Cambodia conventional short form: Kampuchea
former: Khmer Republic, Kampuchea Republic
Government type: multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy
established in September 1993
Capital: Phnom Penh
Administrative divisions: 20 provinces (khett, singular and plural)
and 4 municipalities* (krong, singular and plural); Banteay Mean Cheay,
Batdambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Spoe, Kampong Thum,
Kampot, Kandal, Kaoh Kong, Keb*, Kracheh, Mondol Kiri, Otdar Mean Cheay,
Pailin*, Phnum Penh*, Pouthisat, Preah Seihanu* (Sihanoukville), Preah
Vihear, Prey Veng, Rotanah Kiri, Siem Reab, Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng,
Takev
Independence: 9 November 1953 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 9 November (1953)
Constitution: promulgated 21 September 1993
Legal system: primarily a civil law mixture of French-influenced codes
from the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC)
period, royal decrees, and acts of the legislature, with influences
of customary law and remnants of communist legal theory; increasing
influence of common law in recent years
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: King Norodom SIHANOUK (reinstated
24 September 1993) head of government: Prime Minister HUN SEN (since 30
November 1998) and Deputy Prime Ministers SAR KHENG (since NA) and TOL
LAH (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch
elections: none; the monarch is chosen by a Royal Throne Council;
prime minister appointed by the monarch after a vote of confidence by
the National Assembly
Legislative branch: bicameral consists of the National Assembly (122
seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the
Senate (61 seats; two members appointed by the monarch, two elected by
the National Assembly, and 57 elected by "functional constituencies";
members serve five-year terms) elections: National Assembly - last held
26 July 1998 (next to be held NA July 2003); Senate - last held 2 March
1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: National Assembly -
percent of vote by party - CPP 41%, FUNCINPEC 32%, SRP 14%, other 13%;
seats by party - CPP 64, FUNCINPEC 43, SRP 15; Senate - percent of vote
by party - NA%; seats by party - CPP 31, FUNCINPEC 21, SRP 7, other 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Council of the Magistracy (provided for in
the constitution and formed in December 1997); Supreme Court (and lower
courts) exercises judicial authority
Political parties and leaders: Buddhist Liberal Party or BLP [IENG
MOULY]; Cambodian Pracheachon Party or Cambodian People's Party or CPP
[CHEA SIM]; Khmer Citizen Party or KCP [NGUON SOEUR]; National United
Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia or
FUNCINPEC [Prince NORODOM RANARIDDH]; Sam Rangsi Party or SRP (formerly
Khmer Nation Party or KNP) [SAM RANGSI]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC,
CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU,
NAM, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: [1] (202) 726-8381 telephone:
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Kent M. WIEDEMANN embassy: 16-18 Mongkol
Box P, APO AP 96546 telephone:
Flag description: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double
width), and blue with a white three-towered temple representing Angkor
Wat outlined in black in the center of the red band
Economy Cambodia
Economy - overview: Cambodia's economy slowed dramatically in 1997-98
due to the regional economic crisis, civil violence, and political
infighting. Foreign investment and tourism fell off. In 1999, the first
full year of peace in 30 years, progress was made on economic reforms and
growth resumed at 5%. GDP growth for 2000 had been projected to reach
5.5%, but the worst flooding in 70 years severely damaged agricultural
crops, and high oil prices hurt industrial production, and growth for the
year is estimated at only 4%. In 2001, severe floods damaged an estimated
15% of the area devoted to rice. Tourism now is Cambodia's fastest growing
industry, with arrivals up 34% in 2000 and up another 40% in 2001 before
the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US. The long-term development
of the economy after decades of war remains a daunting challenge. The
population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the
poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of
basic infrastructure. Fear of renewed political instability and corruption
within the government discourage foreign investment and delay foreign
aid. On the brighter side, the government is addressing these issues
with assistance from bilateral and multilateral donors.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $18.7 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5.3% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 50% industry: 15% services:
35% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 36% (1997 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 33.8% (1997)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 40.4 (1997)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.6% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 6 million (1998 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 80% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate: 2.8% (1999 est.)
Budget: revenues: $363 million expenditures: $532 million, including
capital expenditures of $225 million (2000 est.)
Industries: tourism, garments, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood
products, rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 132 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 62.12% hydro: 37.88%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 122.76 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: rice, rubber, corn, vegetables
Exports: $1.05 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: timber, garments, rubber, rice, fish
Exports - partners: US 46.4%, Vietnam 26.1%, Germany 5.6%, Singapore
5.0%, UK 3.9% (2000)
Imports: $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: petroleum products, cigarettes, gold, construction
materials, machinery, motor vehicles
Imports - partners: Singapore 22.5%, Thailand 19.8%, Hong Kong 15.6%,
China 4.9%, Vietnam 4.9% (2000)
Debt - external: $829 million (1999 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $548 million pledged in grants and concessional
loans for 2001 by international donors
Currency: riel (KHR)
Currency code: KHR
Exchange rates: riels per US dollar - 3,895.0 (January 2002), 3,918.5
(2001), 3,840.8 (2000), 3,807.8 (1999), 3,744.4 (1998), 2,946.3 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Cambodia
Telephones - main lines in use: 21,800 (mid-1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 80,000 (2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: adequate landline and/or cellular
service in Phnom Penh and other provincial cities; rural areas have little
telephone service domestic: NA international: adequate but expensive
landline and cellular service available to all countries from Phnom Penh
and major provincial cities; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik
(Indian Ocean region)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 3, shortwave 3 (1999)
Radios: 1.34 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 5 (1999)
Televisions: 94,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .kh
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2000)
Internet users: 6,000 (2001)
Transportation Cambodia
Railways: total: 603 km narrow gauge: 603 km 1.000-m gauge (2001 est.)
Highways: total: 35,769 km paved: 4,165 km unpaved: 31,604 km (1997)
Waterways: 3,700 km note: navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 m or
less; 282 km navigable to craft drawing as much as 1.8 m
Ports and harbors: Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville), Kampot, Krong Kaoh Kong,
Phnom Penh
Merchant marine: total: 404 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,889,404
GRT/2,740,232 DWT ships by type: bulk 37, cargo 312, chemical tanker 2,
combination bulk 5, container 7, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 2,
multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum
tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 10, roll on/roll off 9, short-sea passenger
2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of
convenience: Aruba 1, Belize 8, British Virgin Islands 1, Bulgaria 3,
China 21, Cyprus 15, Denmark 1, Egypt 7, Estonia 1, Georgia 1, Germany
1, Greece 12, Honduras 5, Hong Kong 12, Iceland 1, Indonesia 2, Iran 1,
Ireland 1, Italy 1, Japan 5, Jordan 1, Latvia 2, Lebanon 5, Liberia 5,
Lithuania 1, Malta 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 2, Panama 7, Romania 4,
Russia 67, Saint Kitts and Nevis 10, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4,
Singapore 15, South Korea 24, Syria 13, Thailand 1, Turkey 22, Ukraine
13, United Arab Emirates 2, United Kingdom 1, United States 5, Vietnam 2,
Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 20 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to
2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 15 under 914 m: 1 (2001) 1,524
to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 13
Heliports: 2 (2001)
Military Cambodia
Military branches: Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF): Army, Navy,
Air Force
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,990,790 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,673,713
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 162,643
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $112 million (FY01 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3% (FY01 est.)
Transnational Issues Cambodia
Disputes - international: demarcation of boundaries with Cambodia,
Thailand, and Vietnam is nearing completion; accuses Thailand of moving
or destroying boundary markers and encroachment, of not respecting
its claims, and of sealing off access to the Preah Vihear temple ruin
awarded to Cambodia by the ICJ in 1962; accuses Vietnam of territorial
encroachments and initiating armed border incidents in seven provinces,
despite substantial demarcation efforts to date; disputes several offshore
islands with Vietnam, which prevents delimitation of a maritime boundary
Illicit drugs: possible money laundering; narcotics-related corruption
reportedly involving some in the government, military, and police;
possible small-scale opium, heroin, and amphetamine production; large
producer of cannabis for the international market
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Chad
Introduction
Chad
Background: Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured
three decades of ethnic warfare as well as invasions by Libya before
a semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. The government
eventually suppressed or came to terms with most political-military
groups, settled a territorial dispute with Libya on terms favorable to
Chad, drafted a democratic constitution, and held multiparty presidential
and National Assembly elections in 1996 and 1997 respectively. In 1998
a new rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which continued to escalate
throughout 2000. A peace agreement, signed in January 2002 between the
government and the rebels, provides for the demobilization of the rebels
and their reintegration into the political system. Despite movement
toward democratic reform, power remains in the hands of a northern
ethnic oligarchy.
Geography Chad
Location: Central Africa, south of Libya
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 19 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 1.284 million sq km water: 24,800 sq km land: 1,259,200
sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than three times the size of California
Land boundaries: total: 5,968 km border countries: Cameroon 1,094 km,
Central African Republic 1,197 km, Libya 1,055 km, Niger 1,175 km,
Nigeria 87 km, Sudan 1,360 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: tropical in south, desert in north
Terrain: broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in
northwest, lowlands in south
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Djourab Depression 160 m highest point:
Emi Koussi 3,415 m
Natural resources: petroleum (unexploited but exploration under way),
uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad)
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% other: 97% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 200 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north;
periodic droughts; locust plagues
Environment - current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water;
improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water
pollution; desertification
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea,
Marine Dumping
Geography - note: landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water
body in the Sahel
People Chad
Population: 8,997,237 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 47.8% (male 2,162,732; female 2,135,354)
15-64 years: 49.4% (male 2,108,134; female 2,340,189) 65 years and over:
2.8% (male 103,683; female 147,145) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.27% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 47.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 15.06 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7
male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 93.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 53.4 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 6.5 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 5%-7% (2001)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 300,000 (2001)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 14,000 (confirmed AIDS cases, actual number far
higher but difficult to estimate) (2001)
Nationality: noun: Chadian(s) adjective: Chadian
Ethnic groups: 200 distinct groups; in the north and center: Arabs,
Gorane (Toubou, Daza, Kreda), Zaghawa, Kanembou, Ouaddai, Baguirmi,
Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Hausa, Boulala, and Maba, most of whom are
Muslim; in the south: are Christian or animist; about 1,000 French
citizens live in Chad
Religions: Muslim 51%, Christian 35%, animist 7%, other 7%
Languages: French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south),
more than 120 different languages and dialects
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write French or
Arabic total population: 40% male: 49% female: 31% (1998)
Government Chad
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Chad conventional short
form: Chad local long form: Republique du Tchad local short form: Tchad
Government type: republic
Capital: N'Djamena
Administrative divisions: 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular -
prefecture); Batha, Biltine, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti, Chari-Baguirmi, Guera,
Kanem, Lac, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mayo-Kebbi, Moyen-Chari,
Ouaddai, Salamat, Tandjile note: instead of 14 prefectures, there may be
a new administrative structure of 28 departments (departments, singular -
department), and 1 city*; Assongha, Baguirmi, Bahr El Gazal, Bahr Koh,
Batha Oriental, Batha Occidental, Biltine, Borkou, Dababa, Ennedi, Guera,
Hadjer Lamis, Kabia, Kanem, Lac, Lac Iro, Logone Occidental, Logone
Oriental, Mandoul, Mayo-Boneye, Mayo-Dallah, Monts de Lam, N'djamena*,
Ouaddai, Salamat, Sila, Tandjile Oriental, Tandjile Occidental, Tibesti
Independence: 11 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 11 August (1960)
Constitution: passed by referendum 31 March 1996
Legal system: based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal