(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $2,424,400,000 (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 12.2% (FY01)
Transnational Issues Oman
Disputes - international: Oman signed a boundary treaty with the UAE in
1999, but the completed boundary is not expected until the end of 2002;
undefined segments of the Oman-UAE boundary remain with Ra's al-Khaymah
and Ash Shariqah (Sharjah) emirates, including the Musandam Peninsula,
where an administrative boundary substitutes for an international boundary
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
========================================================================
Maldives
Introduction
Maldives
Background: The Maldives were long a sultanate, first under Dutch and
then under British protection. They became a republic in 1968, three
years after independence. Tourism and fishing are being developed on
the archipelago.
Geography Maldives
Location: Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean,
south-southwest of India
Geographic coordinates: 3 15 N, 73 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area: total: 300 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 300 sq km
Area - comparative: about 1.7 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 644 km
Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines territorial
sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM contiguous zone: 24 NM
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to
March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)
Terrain: flat, with white sandy beaches
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point:
unnamed location on Wilingili island in the Addu Atoll 2.4 m
Natural resources: fish
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 7% other: 90% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: low level of islands makes them very sensitive to sea
level rise
Environment - current issues: depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens
water supplies; global warming and sea level rise; coral reef bleaching
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements
Geography - note: 1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls (200
inhabited islands, plus 80 islands with tourist resorts); archipelago
with strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean
People Maldives
Population: 320,165 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 45.3% (male 74,493; female 70,394) 15-64
years: 51.7% (male 84,548; female 81,092) 65 years and over: 3% (male
4,944; female 4,694) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.95% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 37.41 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 7.86 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: 1.06
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
1.05 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 61.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 64.2 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 5.38 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.05% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Maldivian(s) adjective: Maldivian
Ethnic groups: South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs
Religions: Sunni Muslim
Languages: Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from
Arabic), English spoken by most government officials
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 93.2% male: 93.3% female: 93% (1995 est.)
Government Maldives
Country name: Republic of Maldives conventional short form: Raajjeyge
Jumhooriyyaa
Government type: republic
Capital: Male
Administrative divisions: 19 atolls (atholhu, singular and plural)
and 1 other first-order administrative division*; Alifu, Baa, Dhaalu,
Faafu, Gaafu Alifu, Gaafu Dhaalu, Gnaviyani, Haa Alifu, Haa Dhaalu, Kaafu,
Laamu, Lhaviyani, Maale*, Meemu, Noonu, Raa, Seenu, Shaviyani, Thaa, Vaavu
Independence: 26 July 1965 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1965)
Constitution: adopted January 1998
Legal system: based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common
law primarily in commercial matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM (since
11 November 1978); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government elections: president nominated by the Majlis and then
that nomination must be ratified by a national referendum (at least a 51%
approval margin is required); president elected for a five-year term;
election last held 16 October 1998 (next to be held NA October 2003)
election results: President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM reelected; percent of
popular vote - Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM 90.9% cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers
appointed by the president; note - need not be members of Majlis head
of government: President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM (since 11 November 1978);
note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Legislative branch: unicameral People's Council or Majlis (50 seats;
42 elected by popular vote, 8 appointed by the president; members serve
five-year terms) elections: last held 20 November 1999 (next to be
held NA November 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats -
independents 42
Judicial branch: High Court
Political parties and leaders: although political parties are not banned,
none exist
Political pressure groups and leaders: none
International organization participation: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO,
G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM,
OIC, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: Maldives does not have an embassy
in the US, but does have a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy
in Maldives; the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka is accredited to Maldives
and makes periodic visits there
Flag description: red with a large green rectangle in the center bearing
a vertical white crescent; the closed side of the crescent is on the
hoist side of the flag
Economy Maldives
Economy - overview: Tourism, Maldives largest industry, accounts
for 20% of GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange
receipts. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties
and tourism-related taxes. Almost 400,000 tourists visited the islands in
1998. Fishing is a second leading sector. The Maldivian Government began
an economic reform program in 1989 initially by lifting import quotas
and opening some exports to the private sector. Subsequently, it has
liberalized regulations to allow more foreign investment. Agriculture and
manufacturing continue to play a minor role in the economy, constrained by
the limited availability of cultivable land and the shortage of domestic
labor. Most staple foods must be imported. Industry, which consists
mainly of garment production, boat building, and handicrafts, accounts
for about 18% of GDP. Maldivian authorities worry about the impact of
erosion and possible global warming on their low-lying country; 80%
of the area is one meter or less above sea level.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.2 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 7% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,870 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 20% industry: 18% services:
62% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 67,000 (1995)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 22%, industry 18%, services 60%
(1995)
Unemployment rate: NEGL%
Budget: revenues: $166 million (excluding foreign grants) expenditures:
$192 million, including capital expenditures of $80 million (1999 est.)
Industries: fish processing, tourism, shipping, boat building, coconut
processing, garments, woven mats, rope, handicrafts, coral and sand mining
Industrial production growth rate: 4.4% (1996 est.)
Electricity - production: 110 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0%
(2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 102.3 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: coconuts, corn, sweet potatoes; fish
Exports: $88 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: fish, clothing
Exports - partners: US, UK, Sri Lanka, Japan
Imports: $372 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: consumer goods, intermediate and capital goods,
petroleum products
Imports - partners: Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, Canada
Debt - external: $237 million (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $NA
Currency: rufiyaa (MVR)
Currency code: MVR
Exchange rates: rufiyaa per US dollar - 11.770 (fixed rate since 1995)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Maldives
Telephones - main lines in use: 21,000 (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 1,290 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: minimal domestic and international
facilities domestic: interatoll communication through microwave links;
all inhabited islands are connected with telephone and fax service
international: Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: 35,000 (1999)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997)
Televisions: 10,000 (1999)
Internet country code: .mv
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 6,000 (2001)
Transportation Maldives
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km; note - Male has
9.6 km of coral highways within the city (1988 est.)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Gan, Male
Merchant marine: total: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 51,532
GRT/71,298 DWT ships by type: cargo 13, short-sea passenger 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 5 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m:
1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2001)
Military Maldives
Military branches: National Security Service
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 74,893 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 41,672
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $34.5 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 8.6% (FY01)
Transnational Issues Maldives
Disputes - international: none
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
========================================================================
Mexico
Introduction
Mexico
Background: The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came
under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence
early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw
Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half
a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing
economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for
a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and
few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the
impoverished southern states. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first
time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the
party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente
FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000
as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections.
Geography Mexico
Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of
Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean,
between Guatemala and the US
Geographic coordinates: 23 00 N, 102 00 W
Map references: North America
Area: total: 1,972,550 sq km land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Land boundaries: total: 4,353 km border countries: Belize 250 km,
Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km
Coastline: 9,330 km
Maritime claims: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: Climate: varies from
tropical to desert
Terrain: high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus;
desert
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m highest point:
Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m
Natural resources: petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural
gas, timber
Land use: arable land: 13% permanent crops: 1% other: 86% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 65,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and
destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the
Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts
Environment - current issues: scarcity of hazardous waste disposal
facilities; rural to urban migration; natural fresh water resources
scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and
extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers
in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification;
deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in
the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land
subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion note: the
government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national
security issues
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Geography - note: strategic
location on southern border of US
People Mexico
Population: 103,400,165 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 32.8% (male 17,310,230; female 16,630,935) 15-64 years:
(male 2,069,826; female 2,589,629) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.47% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 22.36 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 4.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.71 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: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 24.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 75.21 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.57 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.29% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 150,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 4,700 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Mexican(s) adjective: Mexican
Ethnic groups: mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or
predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1%
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5%
Languages: Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous
languages
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 89.6% male: 91.8% female: 87.4% (1995 est.)
Government Mexico
Country name: United Mexican States conventional short form: Government
type: federal republic
Capital: Mexico (Distrito Federal)
Administrative divisions: 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1
federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California,
Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza,
Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo,
Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon,
Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi,
Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan,
Zacatecas
Independence: 16 September 1810 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
Constitution: 5 February 1917
Legal system: mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system;
judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)
Executive branch: chief of state: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1
December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head
of government election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president;
percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA
Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other
4.74% elections: 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2006) cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney
general requires consent of the Senate head of government: President
Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is
both the chief of state and head of government
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la
Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are
elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated
on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of
Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are
directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining
200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote,
also for three-year terms) election results: Senate - percent of vote
by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 60, PAN 46, PRD 15, PVEM 5, PT 1,
CD 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - PRI 211, PAN 207, PRD 50, PVEM 16, PT 8, PSN 3, PAS 2, CD 1,
independents 2 elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the
seats (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July
2000 (next to be held NA 2003)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia
(judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate)
Political parties and leaders: Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante
DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Dulce Maria
SAURI Riancho]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio
GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO
Mena]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Amalia GARCIA Medina];
Party of the Nationalist Society or PSN [Gustavo RIOJAS Santana]; Social
Alliance Party or PAS [Guillermo CALDERON Dominguez]; Workers Party or PT
[Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Confederation of Employers of
the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers
or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of
National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade
Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods
and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries
or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union
of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM;
Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman
Catholic Church
International organization participation: APEC, BCIE, BIS, Caricom
(observer), CCC, CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15,
G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer),
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU,
LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN,
UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR,
UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Juan
Jose BREMER Martino FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698 consulate(s): Albuquerque,
Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del
Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno
(California), McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard
(California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh,
St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California),
Seattle, Tucson consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago,
Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New
Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio,
San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico) chancery: 1911
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Jeffery DAVIDOW embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc,
06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal mailing address: [52] 55 5080-2005,
2834 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey,
Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo, Nogales
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side),
white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a
snake in its beak) is centered in the white band
Economy Mexico
Economy - overview: Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of
modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by
the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition
in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural
gas distribution, and airports. Income distribution remains highly
unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation
of NAFTA in 1994. Following 6.9% growth in 2000, real GDP fell 0.3% in
2001, with the US slowdown the principal cause. Positive developments in
2001 included a drop in inflation to 6.5%, a sharp fall in interest rates,
and a strong peso that appreciated 5% against the dollar. Mexico City
implemented free trade agreements with Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador,
and the European Free Trade Area in 2001, putting more than 90% of
trade under free trade agreements. Foreign direct investment reached
$25 billion in 2001, of which $12.5 billion came from the purchase of
Mexico's second largest bank, Banamex, by Citigroup.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $920 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -0.3% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 5% industry: 26% services: 69%
(2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: 40% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 41.1% (2001)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 51.9 (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.5% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 39.8 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 20%, industry 24%, services 56%
(1998)
Unemployment rate: urban - 3% plus considerable underemployment (2001)
Budget: revenues: $136 billion expenditures: $140 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries: food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel,
petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables,
tourism
Industrial production growth rate: -3.4% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 194.367 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 75.91% hydro: 16.88%
other: 3.19% (2000) nuclear: 4.02%
Electricity - consumption: 182.829 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 77 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 2.145 billion kWh (2000)