Mount Roraima 2,835 m
Natural resources: bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% other: 98% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,500 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons
Environment - current issues: water pollution from sewage and
agricultural and industrial chemicals; deforestation
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: the third-smallest country in South America after
Suriname and Uruguay; substantial portions of its western and eastern
territories are claimed by Venezuela and Suriname respectively
People Guyana
Population: 698,209 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: 27.6% (male 98,198; female 94,397) 15-64
years: 67.4% (male 237,324; female 233,400) 65 years and over: 5%
(male 15,510; female 19,380) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.23% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 17.89 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 9.33 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -6.28 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: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 38.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 65.34 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.09 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 3.01% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 15,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 900 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Guyanese (singular and plural) adjective: Guyanese
Ethnic groups: East Indian 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese,
and mixed 7%
Religions: Christian 50%, Hindu 35%, Muslim 10%, other 5%
Languages: English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu
Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population:
Government Guyana
Country name: conventional long form: Co-operative Republic of Guyana
conventional short form: Guyana former: British Guiana
Government type: republic within the Commonwealth
Capital: Georgetown
Administrative divisions: 10 regions; Barima-Waini, Cuyuni-Mazaruni,
Demerara-Mahaica, East Berbice-Corentyne, Essequibo Islands-West
Demerara, Mahaica-Berbice, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Potaro-Siparuni, Upper
Demerara-Berbice, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo
Independence: 26 May 1966 (from UK)
National holiday: Republic Day, 23 February (1970)
Constitution: 6 October 1980
Legal system: based on English common law with certain admixtures of
Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Bharrat JAGDEO (since 11
August 1999); note - assumed presidency after resignation of President
JAGAN head of government: Prime Minister Samuel HINDS (since NA December
1997) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president,
responsible to the legislature elections: president elected by the
majority party in the National Assembly following legislative elections,
which must be held at least every five years; elections last held 19
March 2001 (next to be held by March 2006); prime minister appointed
by the president election results: President Bharrat JAGDEO reelected;
percent of legislative vote - NA%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (68 seats, 65 elected
by popular vote, 1 elected Speaker of the National Assembly, and 2
nonvoting members appointed by the president; members serve five-year
terms) elections: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
PPP/C 34, PNC 27, GAP and WPA 2, ROAR 1, TUF 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature; Judicial Court of Appeal;
High Court
Political parties and leaders: Alliance for Guyana or AFG (includes
Guyana Labor Party or GLP and Working People's Alliance or WPA) [Rupert
ROOPNARAINE]; Guyana Action Party or GAP [Paul HARDY]; Guyana Labor Party
or GLP [leader NA]; People's National Congress or PNC [Hugh Desmond
HOYTE]; People's Progressive Party/Civic or PPP/C [Bharrat JAGDEO];
Rise, Organize, and Rebuild or ROAR [Ravi DEV]; The United Force or TUF
[Manzoor NADIR]; Working People's Alliance or WPA [Rupert ROOPNARAINE]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Civil Liberties Action Committee
or CLAC; Guyana Council of Indian Organizations or GCIO; Trades Union
Congress or TUC note: the GCIO and the CLAC are small and active but
not well organized
International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB,
ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS,
OIC, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Dr. Ali Odeen ISHMAEL chancery: 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC
20008 consulate(s) general: New York FAX: [1] (202) 232-1297 telephone:
[1] (202) 265-6900
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Ronald D. GODARD embassy: 100 Young and Duke Streets, Kingston, Georgetown
mailing address: P. O. Box 10507, Georgetown telephone: [592] 225-4900
through 4909 and [592] 225-7961 through 7963 FAX: [592] 225-7316
Flag description: green, with a red isosceles triangle (based on the
hoist side) superimposed on a long, yellow arrowhead; there is a narrow,
black border between the red and yellow, and a narrow, white border
between the yellow and the green
Economy Guyana
Economy - overview: The Guyanese economy has exhibited moderate economic
growth since 1999, based on an expansion in the agricultural and mining
sectors, a more favorable atmosphere for business initiatives, a more
realistic exchange rate, fairly low inflation, and the continued support
of international organizations. Chronic problems include a shortage
of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. The government is
juggling a sizable external debt against the urgent need for expanded
public investment. Low prices for key mining and agricultural commodities
combined with troubles in the bauxite and sugar industries threaten the
government's already tenuous fiscal position and dim prospects for 2002.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.5 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.8% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 36.1% industry: 31.8% services:
32.1% (2000)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 418,000 (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate: 9.1% (2000) (understated)
Budget: revenues: $227 million expenditures: $235.2 million, including
capital expenditures of $93.4 million (2000)
Industries: bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining
Industrial production growth rate: 7.1% (1997 est.)
Electricity - production: 505 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 99.01% hydro: 0.99%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 469.65 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: sugar, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork,
poultry, dairy products; fish (shrimp)
Exports: $505 million (f.o.b., 2000)
Exports - commodities: sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp,
molasses, rum, timber
Exports - partners: Canada 22%, US 22%, UK 18%, Netherlands Antilles 11%
(1999)
Imports: $585 million (c.i.f., 2000)
Imports - commodities: manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food
Imports - partners: US 29%, Trinidad and Tobago 18%, Netherlands Antilles
16%, UK 7% (1999)
Debt - external: $1.1 billion (2000)
Economic aid - recipient: $84 million (1995), Heavily Indebted Poor
Country Initiative (HIPC) $253 million (1997)
Currency: Guyanese dollar (GYD)
Currency code: GYD
Exchange rates: Guyanese dollars per US dollar - 189.5 (December 2001),
187.3 (2001), 182.4 (2000), 178.0 (1999), 150.5 (1998), 142.4 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Guyana
Telephones - main lines in use: 70,000 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 6,100 (2000)
Telephone system: fair system for long-distance calling domestic:
scatter to Trinidad; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: 420,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 3 (one public station; two private
stations which relay US satellite services) (1997)
Televisions: 46,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .gy
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (2000)
Internet users: 3,000 (2000)
Transportation Guyana
Railways: total: 187 km standard gauge: 139 km 1.435-m gauge note: all
dedicated to ore transport (2001 est.) narrow gauge: 48 km 0.914-m gauge
Highways: total: 7,970 km paved: 590 km unpaved: 7,380 km (1996)
Waterways: 5,900 km (total length of navigable waterways) note: Berbice,
Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for
150 km, 100 km, and 80 km, respectively
Ports and harbors: Bartica, Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam, Parika
Merchant marine: total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,929
GRT/4,507 DWT ships by type: cargo 2 (2002 est.)
Airports: 51 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to
1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 45 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to
1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 36 (2001)
Military Guyana
Military branches: Guyana Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast
Guard, and Air Corps), Guyana Police Force, Guyana People's Militia,
Guyana National Service
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 206,199 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 155,058
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues Guyana
Disputes - international: all of the area west of the Essequibo (river)
claimed by Venezuela; Suriname claims area between New (Upper Courantyne)
and Courantyne/Kutari [Koetari] rivers (all headwaters of the Courantyne);
territorial sea boundary with Suriname is in dispute
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for narcotics from South America -
primarily Venezuela - to Europe and the US; producer of cannabis
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Gaza Strip
Introduction Gaza Strip
Background: The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim
Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13
September 1993, provided 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 the
Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the
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. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza
and West Bank had begun in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus,
but have been derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September
2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,
Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian
Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement.
Geography Gaza Strip
Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt
and Israel
Geographic coordinates: 31 25 N, 34 20 E
Map references: Middle East
Area: total: 360 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 360 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: total: 62 km border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km
Coastline: 40 km
Maritime claims: Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the
Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined
through further negotiation
Climate: temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers
Terrain: flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point:
Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m
Natural resources: arable land, natural gas
Land use: arable land: 26% permanent crops: 40% other: 34% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 120 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: droughts
Environment - current issues: desertification; salination of fresh water;
sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation; depletion and
contamination of underground water resources
Geography - note: there are 25 Israeli settlements and civilian land
use sites in the Gaza Strip (August 2001 est.)
People Gaza Strip
Population: 1,225,911 (July 2002 est.) note: in addition, there are
fewer than 7,000 Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip (August 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 49.7% (male 312,253; female 297,008) 15-64
years: 47.5% (male 296,488; female 286,393) 65 years and over: 2.8%
(male 14,407; female 19,362) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.95% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 41.85 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 4.12 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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:
0.74 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 24.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 72.52 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 6.29 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: NA adjective: NA
Ethnic groups: Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%
Religions: Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%, Christian 0.7%,
Jewish 0.6%
Languages: Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many
Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Literacy: definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Government Gaza Strip
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form:
Gaza Strip local long form: none local short form: Qita Ghazzah
Economy Gaza Strip
Economy - overview: Economic output in the Gaza Strip - under the
responsibility of the Palestinian Authority since the Cairo Agreement of
May 1994 - declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996. The downturn
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 (West Bank and Gaza
Strip). The most serious negative social effect of this downturn was
the emergence of high unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the
1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's
use of comprehensive closures decreased during the next few years 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. These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6%
in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the
outbreak of Palestinian violence, triggering tight Israeli closures of
Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor
movements. In 2001, and even more severely in early 2002, internal turmoil
and Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas resulted in
the destruction of capital plant and administrative structure, widespread
business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Another major loss has been
the decline in income earned by Palestinian workers in Israel.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $750 million (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -35% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $625 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 9% industry: 28% services: 63%
(includes West Bank, 1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: 60% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1% (includes West Bank) (2001 est.)
Labor force: NA
Labor force - by occupation: services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13%
(1996)
Unemployment rate: 26% (includes West Bank) (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $930 million note: expenditures: $1.2 billion,
including capital expenditures of $15 million (includes West Bank)
(2000 est.)
Industries: generally small family businesses that produce textiles,
soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis
have established some small-scale modern industries in an industrial
center
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Israel
Electricity - consumption: NA kWh
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Israel
Agriculture - products: olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Exports: $603 million (includes West Bank) (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: citrus, flowers
Exports - partners: Israel, Egypt, West Bank
Imports: $1.9 billion (includes West Bank) (c.i.f., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports - partners: Israel, Egypt, West Bank
Debt - external: $108 million (includes West Bank) (1997 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $800 million disbursed (includes West Bank)
(2001 est.)
Currency: new Israeli shekel (ILS)
Currency code: ILS
Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.2757 (December
2001), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494
(1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Gaza Strip
Telephones - main lines in use: 95,729 (total for Gaza Strip and West
Bank) (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: NA
Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: rudimentary telephone
services provided by an open wire system international: NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)
Television broadcast stations: 2 (operated by the Palestinian
Broadcasting Corporation) (1997)
Televisions: NA; note - most Palestinian households have televisions
(1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (1999)
Internet users: 60,000 (includes West Bank) (2001)
Transportation Gaza Strip
Railways: total: NA km; note - one line, abandoned and in disrepair,
little trackage remains (2001 est.)
Highways: total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: small, poorly
developed road network
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Gaza
Airports: 2 (2001) note: includes Gaza International Airport (GIA),
inaugurated on 24 November 1998 as part of agreements stipulated in
the September 1995 Oslo II Accord and the 23 October 1998 Wye River
Memorandum; GIA has been largely closed since October 2000 by Israeli
orders and its runway was destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces in
December 2001
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2001)
Military Gaza Strip
Military branches: in accordance with the peace agreement, the
Palestinian Authority is not permitted conventional military forces;
there are, however, a Public Security Force and a civil Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues Gaza Strip
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
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Haiti
Introduction
Haiti
Background: One of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere,
Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. Over
three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in 1990
when Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE was elected president. Most of his term was
usurped by a military takeover, but he was able to return to office in
1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency
in 1996. ARISTIDE won a second term as president in 2000, and took office
early in 2001. However, a political crisis stemming from fraudulent
legislative elections in 2000 has not yet been resolved.
Geography Haiti
Location: Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola,
between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the
Dominican Republic
Geographic coordinates: 19 00 N, 72 25 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 27,750 sq km land: 27,560 sq km water: 190 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries: total: 360 km border countries: Dominican Republic
360 km
Coastline: 1,771 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone:
200 NM
Climate: tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
Terrain: mostly rough and mountainous
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point:
Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m
Natural resources: bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble,
hydropower
Land use: arable land: 20% permanent crops: 13% other: 67% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 750 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to
severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes;
periodic droughts
Environment - current issues: extensive deforestation (much of the
remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as
fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water