ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, WHO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Hersey
KYOTA FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281 telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814 chancery:
1150 18th Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20036
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: the Ambassador
to the Philippines is accredited to Palau; Charge d'Affaires Ronald
A. HARMS embassy: address NA, Koror
P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone:
Flag description: light blue with a large yellow disk (representing
the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side
Economy Palau
Economy - overview: The economy consists primarily of tourism,
subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the major
employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from
the US. Business and tourist arrivals numbered 50,000 in FY00/01. The
population enjoys a per capita income twice that of the Philippines and
much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the key tourist sector have
been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific,
the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries, and the willingness
of foreigners to finance infrastructure development.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $174 million (2001 est.) note: GDP
numbers reflect US spending
GDP - real growth rate: 1% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $9,000 (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): 3.4% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 8,300 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 20%, industry NA%, services NA%
(1990)
Unemployment rate: 2.3% (2000 est.)
Budget: revenues: $57.7 million expenditures: $80.8 million, including
capital expenditures of $17.1 million (FY98/99 est.)
Industries: tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls),
construction, garment making
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Agriculture - products: coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet
potatoes
Exports: $11 million (f.o.b., 1999)
Exports - commodities: shellfish, tuna, copra, garments
Exports - partners: US, Japan, Singapore
Imports: $126 million (f.o.b., 1999)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs
Imports - partners: US
Debt - external: $0 (FY99/00)
Economic aid - recipient: $155.8 million (1995); note - the Compact
of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN
trusteeship on 1 October 1994, provides Palau with up to $700 million
in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities
Currency: US dollar (USD)
Currency code: USD
Exchange rates: the US dollar is used
Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September
Communications Palau
Telephones - main lines in use: 6,700 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 1,000 (2002)
Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: NA international:
satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2002)
Radios: 12,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997)
Televisions: 11,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .pw
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2002)
Transportation Palau
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 61 km paved: 36 km unpaved: 25 km
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Koror
Merchant marine: none (2002 est.)
Airports: 3 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2001)
Military Palau
Military branches: NA
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the US; under a
Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military
is granted access to the islands for 50 years
Transnational Issues Palau
Disputes - international: none
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
========================================================================
Guinea-Bissau
Introduction
Guinea-Bissau
Background: In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal,
the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections
were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998,
created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. The president was
ousted by a military junta in May 1999. An interim government turned
over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Kumba YALA took
office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections.
Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its
crippled economy devastated in the civil war.
Geography Guinea-Bissau
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Guinea and Senegal
Geographic coordinates: 12 00 N, 15 00 W
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 36,120 sq km water: 8,120 sq km land: 28,000 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than three times the size of
Connecticut
Land boundaries: total: 724 km border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal
338 km
Coastline: 350 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season
(June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May)
with northeasterly harmattan winds
Terrain: mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point:
unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m
Natural resources: fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited
deposits of petroleum
Land use: arable land: 11% permanent crops: 2% other: 87% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 170 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility
during dry season; brush fires
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing;
overfishing
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: this small country is swampy along its western coast
and low-lying further inland
People Guinea-Bissau
Population: 1,345,479 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 41.9% (male 281,394; female 282,641) 15-64
years: 55.2% (male 353,755; female 388,968) 65 years and over: 2.9%
(male 17,130; female 21,591) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.23% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 38.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 15.05 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 108.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 52.2 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 5.13 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 2.5% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 14,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,300 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Guinean (s) adjective: Guinean
Ethnic groups: African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga
13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%
Religions: indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5%
Languages: Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 34% male: 50% female: 18% (2000 est.)
Government Guinea-Bissau
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short
Guine-Bissau local long form:
Government type: republic, multiparty since mid-1991
Capital: Bissau
Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao);
Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali;
note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos
Independence: 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau);
10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal)
National holiday: Independence Day, 24 September (1973)
Constitution: 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26
February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: President Kumba YALA (since 18 February 2000)
elections: held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held
NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation
with party leaders in the legislature election results: Kumba YALA
elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS)
72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28% cabinet: NA head of government:
Prime Minister Alamara Intchia NHASSE (since 7 December 2001)
Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia
Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to
serve a maximum of four years) elections: last held 28 November 1999
(next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11 remaining seats went
to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded candidates
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists
of nine justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his
pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional
Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral
Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over
$1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers;
they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases)
Political parties and leaders: African Party for the Independence of
Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Francisco BENANTE]; Front for
the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY];
Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES];
Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League
for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president];
National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE,
secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor
MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Union for Change
or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general];
United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS,
FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
(vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique Adriano DA SILVA chancery: c/o
P. O. Box 33813, Washington, DC 20033-3813 telephone: [1] (301) 947-3958
FAX: [1] (391) 947-3958
Diplomatic representation from the US: the US Embassy suspended
operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces
loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta; for the time being,
US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering Guinea-Bissau: [221] 823-4296
Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green
with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed
star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors
of Ethiopia
Economy Guinea-Bissau
Economy - overview: One of the 10 poorest countries in the world,
Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have
increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth
in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with
small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop
and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed
government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's
infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998;
the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery
in 1999-2001. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization
were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment
program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and
the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the
economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate,
and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However,
unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in
the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most
extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue
to work out plans to forward economic development.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.2 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 7.2% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $900 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 54% industry: 15% services:
31% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 42.4% (1991)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 480,000
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 82% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures
of $NA
Industries: agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks
Industrial production growth rate: 2.6% (1997 est.)
Electricity - production: 60 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0%
(2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 55.8 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew
nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish
Exports: $80 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: cashew nuts 70%, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels,
sawn lumber
Exports - partners: India 51.4%, Italy 2.7%, South Korea 2.0%, Belgium
2.0% (2000)
Imports: $55.2 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment,
petroleum products
Imports - partners: Portugal 30%, Senegal 14.6%, Thailand 8.5%, China
5.7% (2000)
Debt - external: $931 million (1999 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $115.4 million (1995)
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible
authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously
the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used
Currency code: XOF; GWP
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US
dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70
(1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997) note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau
adopted the XOF franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the
XOF franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Guinea-Bissau
Telephones - main lines in use: 10,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular: NA
Telephone system: general assessment: small system domestic: combination
of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular
communications international: NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4,
shortwave 0 (2002)
Radios: 49,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: NA (1997)
Televisions: NA
Internet country code: .gw
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2002)
Internet users: 1,500 (1999)
Transportation Guinea-Bissau
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 4,400 km paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1996)
Waterways: several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping
Ports and harbors: Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim
Merchant marine: none (2002 est.)
Airports: 28 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 25 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to
1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2001)
Military Guinea-Bissau
Military branches: People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes
Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 313,573 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 178,404
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $5.6 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.8% (FY01)
Transnational Issues Guinea-Bissau
Disputes - international: Senegalese separatists disrupt legal border
trade with smuggling, cattle rustling, and other illegal activities
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
========================================================================
Qatar
Introduction
Qatar
Background: Ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-1800s, Qatar
transformed itself from a poor British protectorate noted mainly for
pearling into an independent state with significant oil and natural gas
revenues. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Qatari economy
was crippled by a continuous siphoning off of petroleum revenues by
the amir who had ruled the country since 1972. He was overthrown by his
son, the current Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa Al Thani, in a bloodless coup in
1995. In 2001, Qatar resolved its longstanding border disputes with both
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Oil and natural gas revenues enable Qatar to
have a per capita income not far below the leading industrial countries
of Western Europe.
Geography Qatar
Location: Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi
Arabia
Geographic coordinates: 25 30 N, 51 15 E
Map references: Middle East
Area: total: 11,437 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 11,437 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut
Land boundaries: total: 60 km border countries: Saudi Arabia 60 km
Coastline: 563 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM exclusive economic zone: as
determined by bilateral agreements or the median line territorial sea:
12 NM
Climate: arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
Terrain: mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point:
Qurayn Abu al Bawl 103 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, fish
Land use: arable land: 1% permanent crops: 0% other: 99% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 130 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: haze, dust storms, sandstorms common
Environment - current issues: limited natural fresh water resources
are increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone
Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note: strategic location in central Persian Gulf near major
petroleum deposits
People Qatar
Population: 793,341 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 25.2% (male 102,110; female 98,053) 15-64
years: 72.1% (male 403,508; female 168,428) 65 years and over: 2.7%
(male 15,299; female 5,943) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.02% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 15.78 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 4.34 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 18.75 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: 2.4 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 2.57
male(s)/female total population: 1.91 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 20.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 75.48 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 3.1 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.09% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Qatari(s) adjective: Qatari
Ethnic groups: Arab 40%, Pakistani 18%, Indian 18%, Iranian 10%,
other 14%
Religions: Muslim 95%
Languages: Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 79% male: 79% female: 80% (1995 est.)
Government Qatar
Country name: conventional long form: State of Qatar conventional short
form: Qatar local short form: Qatar note: closest approximation of the
native pronunciation falls between cutter and gutter, but not like guitar
local long form: Dawlat Qatar
Government type: traditional monarchy
Capital: Doha
Administrative divisions: 9 municipalities (baladiyat, singular -
baladiyah); Ad Dawhah, Al Ghuwayriyah, Al Jumayliyah, Al Khawr, Al Wakrah,
Ar Rayyan, Jarayan al Batinah, Madinat ash Shamal, Umm Salal
Independence: 3 September 1971 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 3 September (1971)
Constitution: provisional constitution enacted 19 April 1972; in July
1999 Amir HAMAD issued a decree forming a committee to draft a permanent
constitution
Legal system: discretionary system of law controlled by the amir,
although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law dominates family
and personal matters
Suffrage: suffrage is limited to municipal elections
Executive branch: chief of state: Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa Al Thani
(since 27 June 1995 when, as crown prince, he ousted his father, Amir
KHALIFA bin Hamad Al Thani, in a bloodless coup); Crown Prince JASSIM
bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, third son of the monarch (selected crown
prince by the monarch 22 October 1996); note - Amir HAMAD also holds the
positions of minister of defense and commander-in-chief of the armed
forces elections: none; the monarch is hereditary head of government:
Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Khalifa Al Thani, brother of the monarch
(since 30 October 1996); Deputy Prime Minister MUHAMMAD bin Khalifa Al
Thani, brother of the monarch (since 20 January 1998) cabinet: Council
of Ministers appointed by the monarch note: in March 1999, Qatar held
nationwide elections for a 29-member Central Municipal Council, which has
consultative powers aimed at improving the provision of municipal services
Legislative branch: unicameral Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura (35
seats; members appointed) note: the constitution calls for elections for
part of this consultative body, but no elections have been held since
1970, when there were partial elections to the body; Council members
have had their terms extended every four years since
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: none
Political pressure groups and leaders: none
International organization participation: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC,
ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDB, IFAD, IFRCS,
IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent),
ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Badr
Umar al-DAFA chancery: 4200 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
consulate(s) general: Houston FAX: [1] (202) 237-0061 telephone: [1]
(202) 274-1600
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Maureen E. QUINN (since September 2001)
Al-Luqtas District, 22 February Road, Doha mailing address: workweek
is Saturday-Wednesday
Flag description: maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white
points) on the hoist side
Economy Qatar