Part 2
Total fertility rate: The average number of children that would be born per woman if all women lived to the end of their childbearing years and bore children according to a given fertility rate at each age.
Years: All year references are for the calendar year (CY) unless indicated as fiscal year (FY).
THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1990 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Country: Afghanistan - Geography Total area: 647,500 km2; land area: 647,500 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries: 5,826 km total; China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, USSR 2,384 km
Coastline: none--landlocked
Maritime claims: none--landlocked
Disputes: Pashtun question with Pakistan; Baloch question with Iran and Pakistan; periodic disputes with Iran over Helmand water rights; insurgency with Iranian and Pakistani involvement; traditional tribal rivalries
Climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
Natural resources: natural gas, crude oil, coal, copper, talc, barites, sulphur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones
Land use: 12% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 46% meadows and pastures; 3% forest and woodland; 39% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; soil degradation, desertification, overgrazing, deforestation, pollution
Note: landlocked
- People Population: 15,862,293 (July 1990), growth rate 7.7% (1990)
Birth rate: 44 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 18 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 51 migrants/1,000 population (1990); note--there are flows across the border in both directions, but data are fragmentary and unreliable
Infant mortality rate: 154 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 47 years male, 46 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 6.4 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Afghan(s); adjective--Afghan
Ethnic divisions: 50% Pashtun, 25% Tajik, 9% Uzbek, 12-15% Hazara; minor ethnic groups include Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others
Religion: 74% Sunni Muslim, 15% Shia Muslim, 11% other
Language: 50% Pashtu, 35% Afghan Persian (Dari), 11% Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen), 4% thirty minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai); much bilingualism
Literacy: 12%
Labor force: 4,980,000; 67.8% agriculture and animal husbandry, 10.2% industry, 6.3% construction, 5.0% commerce, 10.7% services and other (1980 est.)
Organized labor: some small government-controlled unions
- Government Long-form name: Republic of Afghanistan
Type: authoritarian
Capital: Kabul
Administrative divisions: 30 provinces (velayat, singular--velayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Vardak, Zabol; note--there may be a new province of Nurestan (Nuristan)
Independence: 19 August 1919 (from UK)
Constitution: adopted 30 November 1987
Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Anniversary of the Saur Revolution, 27 April (1978)
Executive branch: president, four vice presidents, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Meli Shura) consists of an upper house or Senate (Sena) and a lower house or House of Representatives (Wolasi Jirgah)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government--President (Mohammad) NAJIBULLAH (Ahmadzai) (since 30 November 1987); Chairman of the Council of Ministers Executive Committee Soltan Ali KESHTMAND (since 21 February 1989); Prime Minister Fazil Haq KHALIQYAR (since 21 May 1990)
Political parties and leaders: only party--the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) has two factions--the Parchami faction has been in power since December 1979 and members of the deposed Khalqi faction continue to hold some important posts mostly in the military and Ministry of Interior; nonparty figures hold some posts
Suffrage: universal, male ages 15-50
Elections: Senate--last held NA April 1988 (next to be held April 1991); results--PDPA is the only party; seats--(192 total, 115 elected) PDPA 115;
House of Representatives--last held NA April 1988 (next to be held April 1993); results--PDPA is the only party; seats--(234 total) PDPA 184, 50 seats reserved for opposition
Communists: the PDPA claims 200,000 members (1988)
Other political or pressure groups: the military and other branches of internal security have been rebuilt by the USSR; insurgency continues throughout the country; widespread anti-Soviet and antiregime sentiment and opposition on religious and political grounds
Member of: ADB, CCC, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, ITU, NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO, WSG; suspended from OIC in January 1980
Diplomatic representation: Minister-Counselor, Charge d'Affaires MIAGOL; Chancery at 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 234-3770 or 3771; US--Charge d'Affaires (vacant); Embassy at Ansari Wat, Wazir Akbar Khan Mina, Kabul; telephone 62230 through 62235 or 62436; note--US Embassy in Kabul was closed in January 1989
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with the national coat of arms superimposed on the hoist side of the black and red bands; similar to the flag of Malawi which is shorter and bears a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band
- Economy Overview: Fundamentally, Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on farming (wheat especially) and livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations, however, have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals, including the nine-year Soviet military occupation (ended 15 February 1989) and the continuing bloody civil war. Over the past decade, one-third of the population has fled the country, with Pakistan sheltering some 3 million refugees and Iran perhaps 2 million. Another 1 million have probably moved into and around urban areas within Afghanistan. Large numbers of bridges, buildings, and factories have been destroyed or damaged by military action or sabotage. Government claims to the contrary, gross domestic product almost certainly is lower than 10 years ago because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport. Official claims indicate that agriculture grew by 0.7% and industry by 3.5% in 1988.
GDP: $3 billion, per capita $200; real growth rate 0% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): over 50% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues NA; expenditures $646.7 million, including capital expenditures of $370.2 million (FY87 est.)
Exports: $512 million (f.o.b., FY88); commodities--natural gas 55%, fruits and nuts 24%, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides, and pelts; partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe
Imports: $996 million (c.i.f., FY88); commodities--food and petroleum products; partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe
External debt: $1.8 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 6.2% (FY89 plan)
Electricity: 480,000 kW capacity; 1,470 million kWh produced, 100 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper
Agriculture: largely subsistence farming and nomadic animal husbandry; cash products--wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts, wool, mutton
Illicit drugs: an illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; world's second largest opium producer (after Burma) and a major source of hashish
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $265 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $419 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $57 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $4.1 billion
Currency: afghani (plural--afghanis); 1 afghani (Af) = 100 puls
Exchange rates: afghanis (Af) per US$1--50.6 (fixed rate since 1982)
Fiscal year: 21 March-20 March
- Communications Railroads: 9.6 km (single track) 1.524-meter gauge from Kushka (USSR) to Towraghondi and 15.0 km from Termez (USSR) to Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya
Highways: 21,000 km total (1984); 2,800 km hard surface, 1,650 km bituminous-treated gravel and improved earth, 16,550 km unimproved earth and tracks
Inland waterways: total navigability 1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya, which handles steamers up to about 500 metric tons
Pipelines: petroleum, oil, and lubricants pipelines--USSR to Bagram and USSR to Shindand; natural gas, 180 km
Ports: Shir Khan and Kheyrabad (river ports)
Civil air: 2 TU-154, 2 Boeing 727, assorted smaller transports
Airports: 38 total, 34 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 15 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: limited telephone, telegraph, and radiobroadcast services; television introduced in 1980; 31,200 telephones; stations--5 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 satellite earth station
- Defense Forces Branches: Armed Forces (Army; Air and Air Defense Forces); Border Guard Forces; National Police Force (Sarandoi); Ministry of State Security (WAD); Tribal Militia
Military manpower: males 15-49, 3,880,124; 2,080,725 fit for military service; 168,021 reach military age (22) annually
Defense expenditures: 9.1% of GDP (1984) ---------------------------------------------------- Country: Albania - Geography Total area: 28,750 km2; land area: 27,400 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries: 768 km total; Greece 282 km, Yugoslavia 486 km
Coastline: 362 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: not specified;
Territorial sea: 15 nm
Disputes: Kosovo question with Yugoslavia; Northern Epirus question with Greece
Climate: mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter
Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel
Land use: 21% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 15% meadows and pastures; 38% forest and woodland; 22% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern coast; deforestation seems to be slowing
Note: strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
- People Population: 3,273,131 (July 1990), growth rate 1.9% (1990)
Birth rate: 25 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 52 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 3.0 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Albanian(s); adjective--Albanian
Ethnic divisions: Albanian 90%, Greeks 8%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)
Religion: Albania claims to be the world's first atheist state; all churches and mosques were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; pre-1967 estimates of religious affiliation--70% Muslim, 20% Albanian Orthodox, 10% Roman Catholic
Language: Albanian (Tosk is official dialect), Greek
Literacy: 75%
Labor force: 1,500,000 (1987); about 60% agriculture, 40% industry and commerce (1986)
Organized labor: Central Council of Albanian Trade Unions, 610,000 members
- Government Long-form name: People's Socialist Republic of Albania
Type: Communist state (Stalinist)
Capital: Tirane
Administrative divisions: 26 districts (rrethe, singular--rreth); Berat, Dibre, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh, Kolonje, Korce, Kruje, Kukes, Lezhe, Librazhd, Lushnje, Mat, Mirdite, Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Sarande, Shkoder, Skrapar, Tepelene, Tirane, Tropoje, Vlore
Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Turkey); People's Socialist Republic of Albania declared 11 January 1946
Constitution: 27 December 1976
Legal system: judicial review of legislative acts only in the Presidium of the People's Assembly, which is not a true court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 November (1944)
Executive branch: president of the Presidium of the People's Assembly, three vice presidents, Presidium of the People's Assembly; chairman of the Council of Ministers, three deputy chairmen, Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders: Chief of State--President of the Presidium of the People's Assembly Ramiz ALIA (since 22 November 1982);
Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers Adil CARCANI (since 14 January 1982)
Political parties and leaders: only party--Albanian Workers Party, Ramiz Alia, first secretary
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
Elections: President--last held 19 February 1987 (next to be held February 1991); results--President Ramiz Alia was reelected without opposition;
People's Assembly--last held 1 February 1987 (next to be held February 1991); results--Albanian Workers Party is the only party; seats--(250 total) Albanian Workers Party 250
Communists: 147,000 party members (November 1986)
Member of: CCC, CEMA (has not participated since rift with USSR in 1961), FAO, IAEA, IPU, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: none--the US does not recognize the Albanian Government and has no diplomatic or consular relations with Albania; there is no third-power representation of Albanian interests in the US or of US interests in Albania
Flag: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center below a red five-pointed star outlined in yellow
- Economy Overview: As the poorest country in Europe, Albania's development lags behind even the least favored areas of the Yugoslav economy. The Stalinist-type economy operates on the principles of central planning and state ownership of the means of production. In recent years Albania has implemented limited economic reforms to stimulate its lagging economy, although they do not go nearly so far as current reforms in the USSR and Eastern Europe. Attempts at self-reliance and a policy of not borrowing from international lenders--sometimes overlooked in recent years--have greatly hindered the development of a broad economic infrastructure. Albania, however, possesses considerable mineral resources and is largely self-sufficient in food. Numerical estimates of Albanian economic activity are subject to an especially wide margin of error because the government is isolated and closemouthed.
GNP: $3.8 billion, per capita $1,200; real growth rate NA% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $2.3 billion; expenditures $2.3 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1989)
Exports: $378 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.); commodities--asphalt, bitumen, petroleum products, metals and metallic ores, electricity, oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco; partners--Italy, Yugoslavia, FRG, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary
Imports: $255 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.); commodities--machinery, machine tools, iron and steel products, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; partners--Italy, Yugoslavia, FRG, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, GDR
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA
Electricity: 1,630,000 kW capacity; 4,725 million kWh produced, 1,440 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing, lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, basic metals, hydropower
Agriculture: arable land per capita among lowest in Europe; one-half of work force engaged in farming; produces wide range of temperate-zone crops and livestock; claims self-sufficiency in grain output
Aid: none
Currency: lek (plural--leke); 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars
Exchange rates: leke (L) per US$1--8.00 (noncommercial fixed rate since 1986), 4.14 (commercial fixed rate since 1987)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications Railroads: 543 km total; 509 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track and 34 km narrow gauge, single track (1988); line connecting Titograd (Yugoslavia) and Shkoder (Albania) completed August 1986
Highways: 16,700 km total; 6,700 km highway and roads, 10,000 km forest and agricultural
Inland waterways: 43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa
Pipelines: crude oil, 145 km; refined products, 55 km; natural gas, 64 km (1988)
Ports: Durres, Sarande, Vlore
Merchant marine: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,886 GRT/75,993 DWT; includes 11 cargo
Airports: 12 total, 10 usable; more than 5 with permanent-surface runways; more than 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: stations--17 AM, 5 FM, 9 TV; 52,000 TV sets; 210,000 radios
- Defense Forces Branches: Albanian People's Army, Frontier Troops, Interior Troops, Albanian Coastal Defense Command, Air and Air Defense Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 882,965; 729,635 fit for military service; 33,598 reach military age (19) annually
Defense expenditures: 1.1 billion leks, 11.3% of total budget (FY88); note--conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the official administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results ---------------------------------------------------- Country: Algeria - Geography Total area: 2,381,740 km2; land area: 2,381,740 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
Land boundaries: 6,343 km total; Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km, Mauritania 463 km, Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km, Western Sahara 42 km
Coastline: 998 km
Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: Libya claims about 19,400 km2 in southeastern Algeria
Climate: arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer
Terrain: mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc
Land use: 3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 13% meadows and pastures; 2% forest and woodland; 82% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; desertification
Note: second largest country in Africa (after Sudan)
- People Population: 25,566,507 (July 1990), growth rate 2.8% (1990)
Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 87 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 61 years male, 64 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 5.4 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Algerian(s); adjective--Algerian
Ethnic divisions: 99% Arab-Berber, less than 1% European
Religion: 99% Sunni Muslim (state religion); 1% Christian and Jewish
Language: Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Literacy: 52%
Labor force: 3,700,000; 40% industry and commerce, 24% agriculture, 17% government, 10% services (1984)
Organized labor: 16-19% of labor force claimed; General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA) is the only labor organization and is subordinate to the National Liberation Front
- Government Long-form name: Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria
Type: republic
Capital: Algiers
Administrative divisions: 31 provinces (wilayat, singular--wilaya); Adrar, Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bouira, Constantine, Djelfa, El Asnam, Guelma, Jijel, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mostaganem, M'sila, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el Bouaghi, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Tamanrasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen; note--there may now be 48 provinces with El Asnam abolished, and the addition of 18 new provinces named Ain Delfa, Ain Temouchent, Bordjbou, Boumerdes, Chlef, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Mila, Naama, Relizane, Souk Ahras, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt
Independence: 5 July 1962 (from France)
Constitution: 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976
Legal system: socialist, based on French and Islamic law; judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials, including several Supreme Court justices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 1 November (1954)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Assembly (Assemblee Nationale Populaire)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Leaders: Chief of State--President Chadli BENDJEDID (since 7 February 1979);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Mouloud HAMROUCHE (since 9 September 1989)
Political parties and leaders: National Liberation Front (FLN), Col. Chadli Bendjedid, chairman; Abdelhamid Mehri, secretary general; the government established a multiparty system in September 1989 and as of 1 February 1990 19 legal parties existed
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: President--last held on 22 December 1988 (next to be held December 1993); results--President Bendjedid was reelected without opposition;
People's National Assembly--last held on 26 February 1987 (next to be held by February 1992); results--FLN was the only party; seats--(281 total) FLN 281; note--the government has promised to hold multiparty elections (municipal and wilaya) in June 1990, the first in Algerian history
Communists: 400 (est.); Communist party banned 1962
Member of: AfDB, AIOEC, Arab League, ASSIMER, CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, ILZSG, INTERPOL, IOOC, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Abderrahmane BENSID; Chancery at 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 328-5300; US--Ambassador Christopher W. S. ROSS; Embassy at 4 Chemin Cheich Bachir Brahimi, Algiers (mailing address is B. P. Box 549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers); telephone [213] (2) 601-425 or 255, 186; there is a US Consulate in Oran
Flag: two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white with a red five-pointed star within a red crescent; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion)
- Economy Overview: The exploitation of oil and natural gas products forms the backbone of the economy. Algeria depends on hydrocarbons for nearly all of its export receipts, about 30% of government revenues, and nearly 25% of GDP. In 1973-74 the sharp increase in oil prices led to a booming economy that helped to finance an ambitious program of industrialization. Plunging oil and gas prices, combined with the mismanagement of Algeria's highly centralized economy, have brought the nation to its most serious social and economic crisis since independence. The government has promised far-reaching reforms, including giving public sector companies more autonomy, encouraging private-sector activity, boosting gas and nonhydrocarbon exports, and a major overhaul of the banking and financial systems. In 1988 the government started to implement a new economic policy to dismantle large state farms into privately operated units.