(succeeded to the throne 4 June 2001 following the death of his nephew,
King DIPENDRA Bir Bikram Shah) head of government: Prime Minister Sher
Bahadur DEUBA (since 22 July 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the
monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the
monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the
majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed
prime minister by the monarch note: King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev
died in a bloody shooting at the royal palace on 1 June 2001 that also
claimed the lives of most of the royal family; King BIRENDRA's son,
Crown Price DIPENDRA, is believed to have been responsible for the
shootings before fatally wounding himself; immediately following the
shootings and while still clinging to life, DIPENDRA was crowned king;
he died three days later and was succeeded by his uncle
Legislative branch: note: Nepal's Parliament was dissolved on 22 May 2002
and elections are scheduled for 13 November 2002 : bicameral Parliament
consists of the National Council (60 seats; 35 appointed by the House of
Representatives, 10 by the king, and 15 elected by an electoral college;
one-third of the members elected every two years to serve six-year terms)
and the House of Representatives (205 seats; members elected by popular
vote to serve five-year terms) election results: House of Representatives
- percent of vote by party - NC 37.3%, CPN/UML 31.6%, NDP 10.4%, NSP
3.2%, Rastriya Jana Morcha 1.4%, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 0.8%, NWPP
0.5%, others 14.8%; seats by party - NC 113, CPN/UML 69, NDP 11, NSP 5,
Rastriya Jana Morcha 5, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 1, NWPP 1 elections:
House of Representatives - last held 3 and 17 May 1999 (next to be held
13 November 2002)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Sarbochha Adalat (chief justice is
appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the Constitutional Council;
the other judges are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of
the Judicial Council)
Political parties and leaders: Communist Party of Nepal/United
Marxist-Leninist or CPN/UML [Madhav Kumar NEPAL, general secretary];
National Democratic Party or NDP (also called Rastriya Prajantra
Party or RPP) [Surya Bahadur THAPA, chairman]; National People's Front
(Rastriya Jana Morcha) [Chitra Bahadur, chairman]; Nepal Sadbhavana
(Goodwill) Party or NSP [Bhadri Prasad MANDAL, acting party president];
Nepal Workers and Peasants Party or NWPP [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE, party
chair]; Nepali Congress or NC [Girija Prasad KOIRALA, party president,
Sushil KOIRALA, general secretary]; Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal [Lila Mani
POKHAREL, general secretary]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Maoist guerrilla-based insurgency;
numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small,
radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups
International organization participation: AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO,
G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC,
NAM, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNIFIL,
UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate Jai Pratap RANA chancery: 2131
New York FAX:
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Michael E. MALINOWSKI (since December 2001) embassy: Panipokhari,
Kathmandu mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [977]
(1) 411179 FAX: [977] (1) 419963
Flag description: red with a blue border around the unique shape of two
overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a white
stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a white 12-pointed sun
Economy Nepal
Economy - overview: Nepal is among the poorest and least developed
countries in the world with nearly half of its population living below
the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing
a livelihood for over 80% of the population and accounting for 41% of
GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural
produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Textile and carpet
production, accounteing for about 80% of foreign exchange earnings in
recent years, contracted significantly in 2001 due to the overall slowdown
in the world economy and pressures by Maoist insurgents on factory
owners and workers. Security concerns in the wake of Maoist activity,
the June massacre of many members of the royal family, and the September
11 terrorist attacks in the US led to a decrease in tourism, another key
source of foreign exchange. Agricultural production is growing by about
5% on average as compared with annual population growth of 2.3%. Since
May 1991, the government has been moving forward with economic reforms,
particularly those that encourage trade and foreign investment, e.g.,
by reducing business licenses and registration requirements to simplify
investment procedures. The government has also been cutting expenditures
by reducing subsidies, privatizing state industries, and laying off
civil servants. More recently, however, political instability - five
different governments over the past few years - has hampered Kathmandu's
ability to forge consensus to implement key economic reforms. Nepal has
considerable scope for accelerating economic growth by exploiting its
potential in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent foreign investment
interest. Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors
will remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy,
its technological backwardness, its remoteness, its landlocked geographic
location, and its susceptibility to natural disaster. The international
community's role of funding more than 60% of Nepal's development budget
and more than 28% of total budgetary expenditures will likely continue
as a major ingredient of growth.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $35.6 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.6% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 41% industry: 22% services:
37% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 42% (FY95/96 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1995-96)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 36.7 (1995-96)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.1% (FY00/01 est.)
Labor force: 10 million (1996 est.) note: severe lack of skilled labor
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 81%, services 16%, industry 3%
Unemployment rate: 47% (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $665 million expenditures: $1.1 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.)
Industries: tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and
oilseed mills; cigarette; cement and brick production
Industrial production growth rate: 8.7% (FY99/00)
Electricity - production: 1.454 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 9.56% hydro: 90.44%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 1.431 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 95 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 174 million kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops; milk,
water buffalo meat
Exports: $757 million (f.o.b., FY00/01 est.), but does not include
unrecorded border trade with India
Exports - commodities: carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods,
grain
Exports - partners: India 48%, US 26%, Germany 11% (FY00/01)
Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., FY00/01 est.)
Imports - commodities: gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products,
fertilizer
Imports - partners: India 39%, Singapore 10%, China/Hong Kong 9%,
(FY00/01)
Debt - external: $2.55 billion (FY00/01)
Economic aid - recipient: $424 million (FY00/01)
Currency: Nepalese rupee (NPR)
Currency code: NPR
Exchange rates: Nepalese rupees per US dollar - 76.675 (January 2002),
74.961 (2001), 71.094 (2000), 68.239 (1999), 65.976 (1998), 58.010 (1997)
Fiscal year: 16 July - 15 July
Communications Nepal
Telephones - main lines in use: 236,816 (January 2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: NA
Telephone system: general assessment: poor telephone and telegraph
service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile
cellular telephone network domestic: NA international: radiotelephone
communications; microwave landline to India; satellite earth station -
1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (January 2000)
Radios: 840,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998)
Televisions: 130,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .np
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 6 (2000)
Internet users: 50,000 (2001)
Transportation Nepal
Railways: total: 59 km narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge note: all in
Kosi close to Indian border (2001)
Highways: total: 13,223 km paved: 4,073 km unpaved: 9,150 km (April 1999)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 45 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 8 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 37 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to
1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 29 (2001)
Military Nepal
Military branches: Royal Nepalese Army (includes Royal Nepalese Army
Air Service), Nepalese Police Force
Military manpower - military age: 17 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 6,484,343 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 3,369,454
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 292,589
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $51.5 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1% (FY01)
Transnational Issues Nepal
Disputes - international: formed Joint Border committee with India in
2001 to resolve 53 disputed sections of boundary covering an area of
720 sq km; approximately 100,000 Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal, 90%
of whom reside in seven UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees
camps, place decades-long strains on Nepal
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and
international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast
Asia to the West
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
========================================================================
Nauru
Introduction
Nauru
Background: Nauru's phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the
20th century by a German-British consortium; the island was occupied by
Australian forces in World War I. Nauru achieved independence in 1968 and
joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic.
Geography Nauru
Location: Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the
Marshall Islands
Geographic coordinates: 0 32 S, 166 55 E
Map references: Oceania
Area: total: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 21 sq km
Area - comparative: about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 30 km
Maritime claims: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: Climate: tropical;
monsoonal; rainy season (November to February)
Terrain: sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs
with phosphate plateau in center
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point:
unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m
Natural resources: phosphates, fish
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: periodic droughts
Environment - current issues: limited natural fresh water resources, roof
storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging
desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years -
mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90%
of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not
ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands
in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati
and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator
People Nauru
Population: 12,329 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 39.6% (male 2,515; female 2,366) 15-64 years:
58.7% (male 3,578; female 3,656) 65 years and over: 1.7% (male 108;
female 106) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.96% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 26.6 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 7.06 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: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 10.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 65.26 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 3.5 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: Nauruan(s) adjective: Nauruan
Ethnic groups: Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%,
European 8%
Religions: Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic)
Languages: Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language),
English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and
commercial purposes
Literacy: definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Government Nauru
Country name: Republic of Nauru conventional short form: Government
type: republic
Capital: no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
Administrative divisions: 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare,
Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren
Independence: 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and
UK-administered UN trusteeship)
National holiday: Independence Day, 31 January (1968)
Constitution: 29 January 1968
Legal system: acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law
Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: President Rene HARRIS (since 30
March 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head
of government elections: held NA March 2001 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results: Rene HARRIS elected president; percent of Parliamentary
vote - NA% cabinet: head of government: President Rene HARRIS (since
30 March 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head
of government
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by
popular vote to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 9 April 2000
(next to be held NA April 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%;
seats - independents 18
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: loose multiparty system; Democratic Party
[Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [Bernard DOWIYOGO]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO,
ICAO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
Diplomatic representation in the US: Nauru does not have an embassy in
the US, but does have a UN office at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New
York, New York 10017; telephone: Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is
accredited to Nauru
Flag description: blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across
the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the
hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the
Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original
tribes of Nauru
Economy Nauru
Economy - overview: Revenues of this tiny island have come from
exports of phosphates, but reserves are expected to be exhausted within
a few years. Phosphate production has declined since 1989, as demand has
fallen in traditional markets and as the marginal cost of extracting the
remaining phosphate increases, making it less internationally competitive.
While phosphates have given Nauruans one of the highest per capita incomes
in the Third World, few other resources exist with most necessities being
imported, including fresh water from Australia. The rehabilitation of
mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious
long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's
phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income have been
invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for
Nauru's economic future. The government has been borrowing heavily from
the trusts to finance fiscal deficits. To cut costs the government has
called for a freeze on wages, a reduction of over-staffed public service
departments, privatization of numerous government agencies, and closure
of some overseas consulates. In recent years Nauru has encouraged the
registration of offshore banks and corporations. Tens of billions of
dollars have been channeled through their accounts. Few comprehensive
statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's per
capita GDP varying widely.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $60 million (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: NA%
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -3.6% (1993)
Labor force - by occupation: employed in mining phosphates, public
administration, education, and transportation
Unemployment rate: 0%
Budget: revenues: $23.4 million expenditures: $64.8 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (FY95/96)
Industries: phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 30 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0%
(2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 27.9 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: coconuts
Exports: $25.3 million (f.o.b., 1991)
Exports - commodities: phosphates
Exports - partners: NZ, Australia, South Korea, US (2000)
Imports: $21.1 million (c.i.f., 1991)
Imports - commodities: food, fuel, manufactures, building materials,
machinery
Imports - partners: Australia, US, UK, Indonesia, India (2000)
Debt - external: $33.3 million
Economic aid - recipient: $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.)
Currency: Australian dollar (AUD)
Currency code: AUD
Exchange rates: Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002)
1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
Communications Nauru
Telephones - main lines in use: 2,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 450 (1994)
Telephone system: general assessment: adequate local and international
radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities domestic:
NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 7,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997)
Televisions: 500 (1997)
Internet country code: .nr
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: NA
Transportation Nauru
Railways: total: 5 km note: gauge unknown; used to haul phosphates from
the center of the island to processing facilities on the southwest coast
(2001)
Highways: total: 30 km paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Nauru
Merchant marine: none (2002 est.)
Airports: 1 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2001)
Military Nauru
Military branches: no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 3,103 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,710
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Military - note: Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal
agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia
Transnational Issues Nauru
Disputes - international: none
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
========================================================================
Suriname
Introduction
Suriname
Background: Independence from the Netherlands was granted in 1975. Five
years later the civilian government was replaced by a military regime
that soon declared a socialist republic. It continued to rule through
a succession of nominally civilian administrations until 1987, when
international pressure finally forced a democratic election. In 1989, the
military overthrew the civilian government, but a democratically-elected
government returned to power in 1991.
Geography Suriname
Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
between French Guiana and Guyana
Geographic coordinates: 4 00 N, 56 00 W
Map references: South America
Area: total: 163,270 sq km land: 161,470 sq km water: 1,800 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Georgia
Land boundaries: total: 1,707 km border countries: Brazil 597 km,
French Guiana 510 km, Guyana 600 km
Coastline: 386 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds
Terrain: mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps
Elevation extremes: unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m highest
point: Natural resources: timber, hydropower, fish, kaolin, shrimp,
bauxite, gold, and small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum, iron ore
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% note: there are 95,000
hectares of arable land, 7,000 hectares of permanent crops, and 15,000
hectares of permanent pastures (1998 est.) other: 100%
Irrigated land: 490 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: deforestation as timber is cut for export;
pollution of inland waterways by small-scale mining activities
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the
selected agreements
Geography - note: smallest independent country on South American
continent; mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of flora and fauna
that, for the most part, is increasingly threatened by new development;
relatively small population, mostly along the coast
People Suriname
Population: 436,494 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 31.1% (male 69,642; female 66,262) 15-64
years: 63.1% (male 140,745; female 134,494) 65 years and over: 5.8%
(male 11,480; female 13,871) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.55% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 19.97 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 5.67 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -8.82 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: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 23.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 74.7 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.44 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.26% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 3,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 210 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Surinamer(s) adjective: Surinamese