Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 44%, industry 20%, services 36%
(1995)
Unemployment rate: 10% plus another 20% underemployed (1999 est.)
Budget: revenues: $4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)
Industries: textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy,
natural gas, chemicals
Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production: 44.075 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 86.95% hydro: 13.05%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 41.89 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 4.1 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 5 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock
Exports: $2.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: cotton 41.5%, gold 9.6%, energy products 9.6%,
mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, food products, automobiles
(1998 est.)
Exports - partners: Russia 16.7%, Switzerland 8.3%, UK 7.2%, Ukraine
4.7%, South Korea 3.3%, Kazakhstan 3.1% (2000)
Imports: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment 49.8%, foodstuffs 16.4%,
chemicals, metals (1998 est.)
Imports - partners: Russia 15.8%, South Korea 9.8%, US 8.7%, Germany
8.6%, Kazakhstan 7.3%, Ukraine 6.1% (2002)
Debt - external: $5.1 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: approximately $150 million from the US (2001)
Currency: Uzbekistani sum (UZS)
Currency code: UZS
Exchange rates: Uzbekistani sums per US dollar - 687.0 (January 2002),
325.0 (January 2001), 141.4 (January 2000), 111.9 (February 1999), 110.95
(December 1998), 75.8 (September 1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Uzbekistan
Telephones - main lines in use: 1.98 million (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 26,000 (1998)
Telephone system: general assessment: antiquated and inadequate; in
serious need of modernization domestic: the domestic telephone system is
being expanded and technologically improved, particularly in Tashkent and
Samarqand, under contracts with prominent companies in industrialized
countries; moreover, by 1998, six cellular networks had been placed in
operation - four of the GSM type (Global System for Mobile Communication),
one D-AMPS type (Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System), and one AMPS
type (Advanced Mobile Phone System) international: linked by landline
or microwave radio relay with CIS member states and to other countries
by leased connection via the Moscow international gateway switch;
after the completion of the Uzbek link to the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE)
fiber-optic cable, Uzbekistan will be independent of Russian facilities
for international communications; Inmarsat also provides an international
connection, albeit an expensive one; satellite earth stations - NA (1998)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 20, FM 7, shortwave 10 (1998)
Radios: 10.8 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 4 (plus two repeaters that relay Russian,
Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Tajik programs) (1997)
Televisions: 6.4 million (1997)
Internet country code: .uz
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 42 (2000)
Internet users: 7,500 (2000)
Transportation Uzbekistan
Railways: total: 3,656 km broad gauge: 3,656 km 1.520-m gauge (618 km
electrified) (2000)
Highways: total: 81,600 km paved: 71,237 km (includes some all-weather
gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 10,363 km (these roads are made of
unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)
Waterways: 1,100 km (1990)
Pipelines: crude oil 250 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 810 km
(1992)
Ports and harbors: Termiz (Amu Darya)
Airports: 267 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 10 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047
m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 257 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to
3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 222 (2001)
Military Uzbekistan
Military branches: Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard,
Security Forces (internal security and border troops)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 6,747,221 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 5,478,766
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 274,602
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $200 million (FY97)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2% (FY97)
Transnational Issues Uzbekistan
Disputes - international: Uzbekistan border largely delimited with
Kazakhstan, but unresolved dispute remains over sovereignty of two border
villages, Bagys and Turkestan, and around the Arnasay dam; dispute over
access to Sokh and other Uzbek enclaves in Kyrgyzstan mars progress on
international boundary delimitation; Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan
and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited water resources and the
regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking Aral Sea;
the undemarcated northern and western border with Uzbekistan is mined
in many sections
Illicit drugs: limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and very small
amounts of opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption, almost entirely
eradicated by an effective government eradication program; increasingly
used as transshipment point for illicit drugs from Afghanistan to Russia
and Western Europe and for acetic anhydride destined for Afghanistan
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Introduction Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Background: Disputed between France and the United Kingdom in the 18th
century, Saint Vincent was ceded to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was
granted in 1969, and independence in 1979.
Geography Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Location: Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad
and Tobago
Geographic coordinates: 13 15 N, 61 12 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km) water: 0 sq km land:
389 sq km
Area - comparative: twice the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 84 km
Maritime claims: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: Climate: tropical;
little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)
Terrain: volcanic, mountainous
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point:
Soufriere 1,234 m
Natural resources: hydropower, cropland
Land use: arable land: 10% permanent crops: 18% other: 72% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint
Vincent is a constant threat
Environment - current issues: pollution of coastal waters and shorelines
from discharges by pleasure yachts and other effluents; in some areas,
pollution is severe enough to make swimming prohibitive
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Whaling signed, but not ratified: Geography - note: the administration
of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines and Grenada; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is
comprised of 32 islands and cays
People Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Population: 116,394 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 28.9% (male 17,093; female 16,497) 15-64
years: 64.8% (male 38,718; female 36,689) 65 years and over: 6.3%
(male 3,188; female 4,209) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.37% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 17.54 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 6.12 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -7.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 16.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 74.63 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.01 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: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s) adjective:
Saint Vincentian or Vincentian
Ethnic groups: black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian
2%, other 7%
Religions: Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Hindu
Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant
Languages: English, French patois
Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population:
Government Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form:
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Government type: parliamentary democracy; independent sovereign state
within the Commonwealth
Capital: Kingstown
Administrative divisions: 6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint
Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick
Independence: 27 October 1979 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 October (1979)
Constitution: 27 October 1979
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February
1952), represented by Governor General Sir Charles ANTROBUS (since NA)
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is
appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of
the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the governor
general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the
advice of the prime minister cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor
general on the advice of the prime minister head of government: Prime
Minister Ralph GONSALVES (since 29 March 2001)
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected
representatives and 6 appointed senators; representatives are elected by
popular vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
election results: last held 28 March 2001 (next to be held by March 2006)
Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint
Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines)
Political parties and leaders: National Reform Party or NRP [Joel
MIGUEL]; New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; People's
Progressive Movement or PPM [Ken BOYEA]; Progressive Labor Party or PLP
[leader NA]; United People's Movement or UPM [Adrian SAUNDERS]; Unity
Labor Party or ULP [Ralph GONSALVES] (formed by the coalition of Saint
Vincent Labor Party or SVLP and the Movement for National Unity or MNU)
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC,
FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, ITU, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Ellsworth I. A. JOHN chancery: 3216 New
[1] (202) 364-6730 FAX:
Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy
in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador in Barbados is
accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Flag description: three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold
(double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds
arranged in a V pattern
Economy Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Economy - overview: Bananas and other agricultural products remain
the staple of this lower-middle income country's economy. Although
tourism and other services have been growing moderately in recent
years, the government has been ineffective at introducing new
industries. Unemployment remains high, and economic growth hinges upon
seasonal variations in the agricultural and tourism sectors. Tropical
storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994 and 1995, and
tourism in the Eastern Caribbean has suffered low arrivals following
September 11. St. Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector,
but its restrictive secrecy laws have come under international review. As
of June 2001, it remained on the Financial Action Task Force's list of
noncooperative jurisdictions.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $339 million (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -0.8% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10% industry: 26% services:
64% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.4% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 67,000 (1984 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 26%, industry 17%, services 57%
(1980 est.)
Unemployment rate: 22% (1997 est.)
Budget: revenues: $94.6 million expenditures: $85.8 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Industries: food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch
Industrial production growth rate: -0.9% (1997 est.)
Electricity - production: 82 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 73.17% hydro: 26.83%
other: 0% (1999) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 76.3 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products: bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices;
small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish
Exports: $53.7 million (2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot
starch, tennis racquets
Exports - partners: Caricom countries 49%, UK 16%, US 10% (1995)
Imports: $185.6 million (2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals
and fertilizers, minerals and fuels
Imports - partners: US 36%, Caricom countries 28%, UK 13% (1995)
Debt - external: $167.2 million (2000)
Economic aid - recipient: $47.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million
(1998)
Currency: East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Currency code: XCD
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed
rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Telephones - main lines in use: 20,500 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: NA
Telephone system: general assessment: adequate system domestic:
islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from
Saint Vincent to the other islands of the Grenadines international:
VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to Barbados; new SHF
radiotelephone to Grenada and to Saint Lucia; access to Intelsat earth
station in Martinique through Saint Lucia
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 77,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (plus three repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 18,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .vc
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 15 (2000)
Internet users: 3,500 (2001)
Transportation Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 1,040 km paved: 320 km unpaved: 720 km (1996)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Kingstown
Merchant marine: total: 788 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,000,660
GRT/10,702,776 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 142, cargo 382,
chemical tanker 24, combination bulk 11, combination ore/oil 3, container
47, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large-load
carrier 2, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 48, refrigerated cargo 39, roll
on/roll off 52, short-sea passenger 13, specialized tanker 10, vehicle
carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as
a flag of convenience: Albania 1, Anguilla 1, Argentina 1, Australia
2, Bahamas, The 1, Bangladesh 1, Barbados 2, Belgium 4, Bulgaria 14,
Canada 1, Cayman Islands 1, China 135, Colombia 1, Croatia 12, Cyprus 6,
Denmark 16, Egypt 7, Estonia 6, France 27, Germany 12, Greece 156, Guyana
7, Hong Kong 23, Iceland 1, India 11, Indonesia 3, Israel 2, Italy 19,
Japan 1, Kenya 4, Latvia 5, Lebanon 9, Liberia 5, Lithuania 1, Malta 1,
Man, Isle of 1, Marshall Islands 3, Mexico 1, Monaco 6, Netherlands 14,
Netherlands Antilles 1, Nigeria 3, Norway 33, Pakistan 5, Panama 2,
Poland 2, Portugal 2, Puerto Rico 2, Russia 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1,
Saudi Arabia 3, Singapore 4, Slovenia 7, South Korea 4, Spain 1, Sweden
6, Switzerland 10, Syria 2, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1,
Tunisia 1, Turkey 15, Ukraine 8, United Arab Emirates 45, United Kingdom
16, United States 25, Vietnam 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 6 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m:
1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2001)
Military Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Military branches: Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force
(includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs destined
for the US and Europe
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Venezuela
Introduction
Venezuela
Background: Venezuela was one of the three countries that emerged from
the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and
Ecuador). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was
ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil
industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically-elected
governments have held sway since 1959. Current concerns include:
an embattled president who is losing his once solid support among
Venezuelans, a divided military, drug-related conflicts along the
Colombian border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence
on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible
mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous
peoples.
Geography Venezuela
Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the
North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana
Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 66 00 W
Map references: South America
Area: total: 912,050 sq km land: 882,050 sq km water: 30,000 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of California
Land boundaries: total: 4,993 km border countries: Brazil 2,200 km,
Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km
Coastline: 2,800 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 15 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive
economic zone: 200 NM
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
Terrain: Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central
plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point:
Pico Bolivar (La Columna) 5,007 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite,
other minerals, hydropower, diamonds
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 1% other: 96% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 540 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic
droughts
Environment - current issues: sewage pollution of Lago de Valencia; oil
and urban pollution of Lago de Maracaibo; deforestation; soil degradation;
urban and industrial pollution, especially along the Caribbean coast;
threat to the rainforest ecosystem from irresponsible mining operations
Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping
Geography - note: on major sea and air routes linking North and South
America; Angel Falls in the Guiana Highlands is the world's highest
waterfall
People Venezuela
Population: 24,287,670 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 31.6% (male 3,955,132; female 3,710,159)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 7,756,362; female 7,695,738) 65 years and over:
4.8% (male 533,559; female 636,720) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.52% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 20.22 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 4.91 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 24.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 76.81 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.41 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.49% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 62,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 2,000 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Venezuelan(s) adjective: Venezuelan
Ethnic groups: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African,
indigenous people
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2%
Languages: Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 91.1% male: 91.8% female: 90.3% (1995 est.)
Government Venezuela
Country name: conventional long form: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
conventional
Venezuela local long form:
Government type: federal republic
Capital: Caracas
Administrative divisions: 23 states (estados, singular - estado),
1 federal district* (distrito federal), and 1 federal dependency**
(dependencia federal); Amazonas, Anzoategui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas,
Bolivar, Carabobo, Cojedes, Delta Amacuro, Dependencias Federales**,
Distrito Federal*, Falcon, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas,
Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Tachira, Trujillo, Vargas, Yaracuy,
Zulia note: the federal dependency consists of 11 federally controlled
island groups with a total of 72 individual islands
Independence: 5 July 1811 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 5 July (1811)
Constitution: 30 December 1999
Legal system: based on organic laws as of July 1999; open, adversarial
court system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3
February 1999); Vice President Jose Vicente RANGEL (since 28 April 2002);
note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999);
Vice President Jose Vicente RANGEL (since 28 April 2002); note - the
president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet:
CHAVEZ Frias reelected president; percent of vote - 60% elections:
held 30 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2006)
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional
(165 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms;
three seats reserved for the indigenous peoples of Venezuela) election
results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - pro-government
108 (MVR 92, MAS 6, indigenous 3, other 7), opposition 57 (AD 33,
COPEI 6, Justice First 5, other 13) elections: last held 30 July 2000
(next to be held NA 2005)