October 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Siim KALLAS (since
28 January 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime
minister, approved by Parliament election results: Arnold RUUTEL
elected president on 21 September 2001 by a 367-member electoral
assembly that convened following Parliament's failure in August to
elect then-President MERI's successor; on the second ballot of voting,
RUUTEL received 188 votes to Parliament Speaker Toomas SAVI's 155;
the remaining 24 ballots were either left blank or invalid elections:
president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; if he or she does
not secure two-thirds of the votes after three rounds of balloting in
the Parliament, then an electoral assembly (made up of Parliament plus
members of local governments) elects the president, choosing between the
two candidates with the largest percentage of votes; election last held
21 September 2001 (next to be held in the fall of 2006); prime minister
nominated by the president and approved by Parliament
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament or Riigikogu (101 seats;
members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) election
results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Center Party 28,
Union of Pro Patria (Fatherland League) 18, Reform Party 18, Moderates 17,
Country People's Party (Agrarians) 7, Coalition Party 7, UPPE 6 elections:
last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003)
Judicial branch: National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament
for life)
Political parties and leaders: Coalition Party [Mart SIIMANN, chairman];
Estonian Center Party or K [Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman]; Estonian Christian
People's Party [Aldo VINKEL]; Estonian Democratic Party [Jean LAAS];
Estonian Independence Party [Vello LEITO]; Estonian People's Union
[Villu REILJAN]; note - includes Estonian Country People's Party and
two small parties; Estonian Reform Party [Siim KALLAS]; Estonian Social
Democratic Labor Party [Tiit TOOMSALU]; Estonian United People's Party or
UPPE [Viktor ANDREJEV]; Estonian Unity Party [Igor PISSAREV]; Moderates
[Andres TARAND]; New Estonia Party [Ulo NUGIS]; Pro Patria Union [Mart
LAAR, chairman]; Republican Party [Kristian-Olari LEPING]; Res Publica
[Rein TAAGEPERA]; Russian Baltic Party [Sergei IVANOV]; Russian Party
in Estonia [Nikolai MASPANOV] note: Country People's Party, formerly
under Estonian Rural People's Union, has probably dissolved
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EAPC,
EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS,
IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent),
ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTSO, UPU,
WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Sven
JURGENSON FAX: [1] (202) 588-0108
[1] (202) 588-0101 chancery:
Diplomatic representation from the US: Ambassador Joseph M. DeTHOMAS
(designate) embassy: telephone: [372] 668-8100 FAX: [372] 668-8134
Flag description: pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 -
three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white
Economy Estonia
Economy - overview: Estonia, as a new member of the World Trade
Organization, is steadily moving toward a modern market economy with
increasing ties to the West, including the pegging of its currency to the
euro. A major goal is accession to the EU, possibly by 2004. The state of
the economy is greatly influenced by developments in Finland and Sweden,
two major trading partners.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $14.3 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.7% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6% industry: 28% services: 66%
(2000)
Population below poverty line: 25% of households (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 37 (1999)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.8% (2001)
Labor force: 608,600 (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: industry 20%, agriculture 11%, services 69%
(1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 12.4% (2001)
Budget: revenues: $1.89 billion expenditures: $1.89 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)
Industries: engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile;
services; transit, information technology, telecommunications
Industrial production growth rate: 5% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production: 7.056 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 99.77% hydro: 0.06%
other: 0.17% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 5.362 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 1.2 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: potatoes, vegetables; livestock and dairy
products; fish
Exports: $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment 24%, wood products 20%,
textiles 17%, food products 9%, metals, chemical products (1999)
Exports - partners: Finland 27.6%, Sweden 11%, Russia 8%, Latvia 7%,
Germany 6%, US 2.0% (1999) (2001)
Imports: $4.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment 38.5%, chemical products
11.2%, textiles 9.5%, foodstuffs 8.6%, metals 8.1% (2000)
Imports - partners: Finland 27%, Russia 10%, Germany 10%, Sweden 8%
(2001)
Debt - external: $0 (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $108 million (2000)
Currency: Estonian kroon (EEK)
Currency code: EEK
Exchange rates: krooni per US dollar - 17.518 (January 2002), 17.538
(2001), 16.969 (2000), 14.678 (1999), 14.075 (1998), 13.882 (1997); note -
the kroon is tied to the euro at a fixed rate of 15.65 krooni per euro
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Estonia
Telephones - main lines in use: 501,691 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 711,000 (yearend 2001)
Telephone system: general assessment: foreign investment in the form of
joint business ventures greatly improved telephone service; substantial
fiber-optic cable systems carry telephone, TV, and radio traffic in
the digital mode; internet services are available throughout most of
the country - only about 11,000 subscriber requests were unfilled by
September 2000 domestic: a wide range of high quality voice, data, and
internet services is available throughout the country international:
fiber-optic cables to Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Russia provide
worldwide packet-switched service; two international switches are located
in Tallinn (2001)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 98, shortwave 0 (2001)
Radios: 1.01 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 3 (2001)
Televisions: 605,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .ee
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 38 (2001)
Internet users: 540,000 (2001)
Transportation Estonia
Railways: total: 968 km common carrier lines only; does not include
dedicated industrial lines broad gauge: 968 km 1.520-m gauge (132 km
electrified) (2001)
Highways: total: 30,300 km paved: 29,200 km (including 75 km
of expressways); note - these roads are said to be hard-surfaced,
and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are
surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable
in all weather unpaved: Waterways: 320 km (perennially navigable) (2002)
Pipelines: natural gas 2,000 km (2002)
Ports and harbors: Haapsalu, Kunda, Muuga, Paldiski, Parnu, Tallinn
Merchant marine: 37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 245,958
GRT/193,042 DWT note: Liberia 1 (2002 est.) ships by type: bulk 2,
cargo 13, container 5, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 9, short-sea
passenger 6
Airports: 32 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 under 914 m:
1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 24 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to
3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 6 (2001)
Military Estonia
Military branches: Estonia Defense Forces (including Ground Forces,
Navy, Air Force), Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops),
Volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit), Maritime Border Guard, Coast Guard
note: Border Guards and Ministry of Internal Affairs become part of the
Estonian Defense Forces in wartime; the Coast Guard is subordinate to
the Ministry of Defense in peacetime and the Estonian Navy in wartime
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 359,902 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 282,716
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 11,164
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $155 million (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2% (2002 est.)
Transnational Issues Estonia
Disputes - international: Russia continues to reject signing and
ratifying the joint December 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from
Southwest Asia and the Caucasus via Russia, cocaine from Latin America
to Western Europe and Scandinavia, and synthetic drugs from Western
Europe to Scandinavia; increasing domestic drug abuse problem; possible
precursor manufacturing and/or trafficking
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Eritrea
Introduction
Eritrea
Background: Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a
federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years
later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991
with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was
overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two and a half year
border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices on
12 December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation
that will monitor the border region until an international commission
determines and demarcates the boundary between the two countries.
Geography Eritrea
Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti
and Sudan
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 39 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 121,320 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries: total: 1,626 km border countries: Djibouti 109 km,
Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km
Coastline: 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in
Red Sea 1,083 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter
in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid
in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September
except in coastal desert
Terrain: dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending
highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the
northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains
Elevation extremes: lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil
depression -75 m highest point: Soira 3,018 m
Natural resources: gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and
natural gas, fish
Land use: arable land: 4% permanent crops: 0% other: 96% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 220 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent droughts; locust swarms
Environment - current issues: deforestation; desertification; soil
erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest
shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along
the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993
People Eritrea
Population: 4,465,651 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 42.9% (male 958,564; female 955,625) 15-64
years: 53.9% (male 1,192,454; female 1,213,313) 65 years and over: 3.2%
(male 73,017; female 72,678) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.8% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 42.25 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 11.82 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 7.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: UNHCR began
repatriating about 150,000 Eritrean refugees from Sudan in 2001 following
the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2000
(2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 73.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 59.13 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 5.8 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 2.87% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Eritrean(s) adjective: Eritrean
Ethnic groups: ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho
(Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3%
Religions: Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Languages: Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other
Cushitic languages
Literacy: definition: NA total population: 25% male: NA% female: NA%
Government Eritrea
Country name: State of Eritrea conventional short form: in Ethiopia
local short form: Ertra
Government type: transitional government note: following a successful
referendum on independence for the Autonomous Region of Eritrea on 23-25
April 1993, a National Assembly, composed entirely of the People's Front
for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, was established as a transitional
legislature; a Constitutional Commission was also established to draft
a constitution; Afworki ISAIAS was elected president by the transitional
legislature; the constitution, ratified in May 1997, did not enter into
effect, pending parliamentary and presidential elections; parliamentary
elections had been scheduled to take place in December 2001, but were
postponed; currently the sole legal party is the People's Front for
Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), though a draft political parties law is
under consideration
Capital: Asmara (formerly Asmera)
Administrative divisions: 6 regions (regions, singular - region);
Central, Anelba, Southern Red Sea, Northern Red Sea, Southern, Gash-Barka
Independence: 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia)
National holiday: Independence Day, 24 May (1993)
Constitution: the transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993,
was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not
yet implemented
Legal system: primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with
revisions; new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been
promulgated; also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws
and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Sharia law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Afworki ISAIAS (since 8
June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly head of
government: both the chief of state and head of government and is head
of the State Council and National Assembly cabinet: State Council is
the collective executive authority; members appointed by the president
elections: (next election date uncertain as the National Assembly
did not hold a presidential election in December 2001 as anticipated)
election results: ISAIAS Afworki 95%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; term
limits not established) elections: in May 1997, following the adoption
of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee
(the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member
Constituent Assembly which had been established in 1997 to discuss and
ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living
abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as
the country's legislative body until countrywide elections to a National
Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of the Transitional
National Assembly were elected, the constitution stipulates that once
past the transition stage, all members of the National Assembly will
be elected by secret ballot of all eligible voters; National Assembly
elections scheduled for December 2001 were postponed indefinately
Judicial branch: High court, regional, subregional, and village courts;
also have military and special courts
Political parties and leaders: People's Front for Democracy and Justice
or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [Afworki ISAIAS];
note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties
in January 2001, but the full National Assembly had not yet debated or
voted on it as of December 2001
Political pressure groups and leaders: Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ;
Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean Liberation
Front-Revolutionary Council or ELF-RC [Ahmed NASSER]; Eritrean Liberation
Front-United Organization or ELF-UO [Mohammed Said NAWD]; Eritrean Public
Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob]
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), IGAD, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador GIRMA
Asmerom telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 chancery:
1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Donald J. McCONNELL embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara mailing
address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291]
(1) 127584
Flag description: red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side)
dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green,
the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is
centered on the hoist side of the red triangle
Economy Eritrea
Economy - overview: Since independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993,
Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor
country. Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is
largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population
involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 1998-2000
severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth in 1999 fell to less than 1%,
and GDP decreased by 8.2% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into
northern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss,
including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The attack
prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing
food production to drop by 62%. Even during the war, Eritrea developed
its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its
ports, and repairing war damaged roads and bridges. Eritrea's economic
future remains mixed. The cessation of Ethiopian trade, which mainly used
Eritrean ports before the war, leaves Eritrea with a large economic hole
to fill. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master
fundamental social problems like illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills,
and to convert the diaspora's money and expertise into economic growth.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 7% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $740 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 17% industry: 29% services:
54% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (2001 est.)
Labor force: NA
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry and services 20%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $206.4 million expenditures: $615.7 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Industries: food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 210 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0%
(2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 195.3 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh NA kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh NA kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton,
tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish
Exports: $34.8 million (f.o.b., 2000)
Exports - commodities: livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small
manufactures
Exports - partners: Sudan 27.2%, Ethiopia 26.5%, Japan 13.2%, UAE 7.3%,
Italy 5.3% (1998)
Imports: $470.5 million (c.i.f., 2000)
Imports - commodities: machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured
goods
Imports - partners: Italy 17.4%, UAE 16.2%, Germany 5.7%, UK 4.5%,
Korea 4.4% (1998)
Debt - external: $281 million (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $77 million (1999)
Currency: nakfa (ERN)
Currency code: ERN
Exchange rates: nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - 9.5 (January 2000), 7.6
(January 1999), 7.2 (March 1998 est.)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Eritrea
Telephones - main lines in use: 30,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular: NA; note - mobile cellular service was
introduced in May 2001
Telephone system: general assessment: inadequate domestic: very
inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking
international tenders to improve the system (2002) international: NA;
note - international connections exist
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000)
Radios: 345,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (2000)
Televisions: 1,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .er
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 5 (2001)
Internet users: 12,000 (2001)
Transportation Eritrea
Railways: total: 317 km narrow gauge: 317 km 0.950-m gauge note: links
Ak'ordat and Asmara with the port of Massawa; nonoperational since 1978
except for about a 5 km stretch that was reopened in Massawa in 1994;
rehabilitation of the remainder and of the rolling stock is under way
(2001 est.)
Highways: total: 3,850 km paved: 810 km unpaved: 3,040 km (2000)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa)
Merchant marine: total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 19,100
GRT/23,399 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 2, liquefied gas 1, petroleum
tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 21 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m:
2 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 17 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to
3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2001)
Military Eritrea
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $138.3 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 19.8% (FY01)
Transnational Issues Eritrea
Disputes - international: Eritrea and Ethiopia have expressed general
approval of the April 2002 arbitration commission ruling re-delimiting
the boundary, the focus of their 1998-2000 war; United Nations Mission
in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) will monitor activities within the 25-km
wide temporary security zone in Eritrea until demarcation and de-mining
are complete; Yemen has asserted traditional fishing rights to islands
ceded to Eritrea in ICJ ruling
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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El Salvador
Introduction El Salvador
Background: El Salvador achieved independence from Spain in 1821 and
from the Central American Federation in 1839. A 12-year civil war,
which cost about 75,000 lives, was brought to a close in 1992 when the
government and leftist rebels signed a treaty that provided for military
and political reforms.
Geography El Salvador