Part 39
Imports: $61.3 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains; partners--Japan 28%, US 25% (1990)
External debt: $30.5 billion (September 1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.5% (1989)
Electricity: 20,500,000 kW capacity; 80,000 million kWh produced, 1,850 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing, chemicals, steel, electronics, automobile production, ship building
Agriculture: accounts for 11% of GNP and employs 21% of work force (including fishing and forestry); principal crops--rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; livestock and livestock products--cattle, hogs, chickens, milk, eggs; self-sufficient in food, except for wheat; fish catch of 2.9 million metric tons, seventh-largest in world
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-85), $3.9 billion
Currency: South Korean won (plural--won); 1 South Korean won (W) = 100 chon (theoretical)
Exchange rates: South Korean won (W) per US$1--683.43 (January 1990), 671.46 (1989), 731.47 (1988), 822.57 (1987), 881.45 (1986), 870.02 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications Railroads: 3,106 km operating in 1983; 3,059 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 47 km 0.610-meter narrow gauge, 712 km double track, 418 km electrified; government owned
Highways: 62,936 km total (1982); 13,476 km national highway, 49,460 km provincial and local roads
Inland waterways: 1,609 km; use restricted to small native craft
Pipelines: 294 km refined products
Ports: Pusan, Inchon, Kunsan, Mokpo, Ulsan
Merchant marine: 423 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,006,481 GRT/11,658,104 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 130 cargo, 41 container, 11 refrigerated cargo, 11 vehicle carrier, 49 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 8 chemical tanker, 10 liquefied gas, 10 combination ore/oil, 143 bulk, 7 combination bulk, 1 multifunction large-load carrier
Civil air: 93 major transport aircraft
Airports: 112 total, 105 usable; 61 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 17 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: adequate domestic and international services; 4,800,000 telephones; stations--79 AM, 46 FM, 256 TV (57 of 1 kW or greater); satellite earth stations--2 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT
- Defense Forces Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps
Military manpower: males 15-49, 12,792,426; 8,260,886 fit for military service; 445,320 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 5% of GNP, or $10 billion (1989 est.) ---------------------------------------------------- Country: Kuwait - Geography Total area: 17,820 km2; land area: 17,820 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundaries: 462 km total; Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km
Coastline: 499 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: not specific;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: ownership of Warbah and Bubiyan islands disputed by Iraq; ownership of Qaruh and Umm al Maradim Islands disputed by Saudi Arabia
Climate: dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters
Terrain: flat to slightly undulating desert plain
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas
Land use: NEGL% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 8% meadows and pastures; NEGL% forest and woodland; 92% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide most of water; air and water pollution; desertification
Note: strategic location at head of Persian Gulf
- People Population: 2,123,711 (July 1990), growth rate 3.8% (1990)
Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 2 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 11 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 15 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 76 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Kuwaiti(s); adjective--Kuwaiti
Ethnic divisions: 27.9% Kuwaiti, 39% other Arab, 9% South Asian, 4% Iranian, 20.1% other
Religion: 85% Muslim (30% Shia, 45% Sunni, 10% other), 15% Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other
Language: Arabic (official); English widely spoken
Literacy: 71% (est.)
Labor force: 566,000 (1986); 45.0% services, 20.0% construction, 12.0% trade, 8.6% manufacturing, 2.6% finance and real estate, 1.9% agriculture, 1.7% power and water, 1.4% mining and quarrying; 70% of labor force is non-Kuwaiti
Organized labor: labor unions exist in oil industry and among government personnel
- Government Long-form name: State of Kuwait
Type: nominal constitutional monarchy
Capital: Kuwait
Administrative divisions: 4 governorates (muhafazat, singular--muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Jahrah, Al Kuwayt, Hawalli; note--there may be a new governorate of Farwaniyyah
Independence: 19 June 1961 (from UK)
Constitution: 16 November 1962 (some provisions suspended since 29 August 1962)
Legal system: civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: National Day, 25 February
Executive branch: amir, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: National Assembly (Majlis al Umma) dissolved 3 July 1986
Judicial branch: High Court of Appeal
Leaders: Chief of State--Amir Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al SABAH (since 31 December 1977);
Head of Government--Prime Minister and Crown Prince Sad Abdallah al-Salim Al SABAH (since 8 February 1978)
Political parties and leaders: none
Suffrage: adult males who resided in Kuwait before 1920 and their male descendants at age 21; note--out of all citizens, only 8.3% are eligible to vote and only 3.5% actually vote
Elections: National Assembly--dissolved 3 July 1986 and no elections are planned
Communists: insignificant
Other political or pressure groups: large (350,000) Palestinian community; several small, clandestine leftist and Shia fundamentalist groups are active
Member of: Arab League, FAO, G-77, GATT, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Shaikh Saud Nasir AL-SABAH; Chancery at 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 966-0702; US--Ambassador W. Nathaniel HOWELL; Embassy at Bneid al-Gar (opposite the Hilton Hotel), Kuwait City (mailing address is P. O. Box 77 Safat, 13001 Safat, Kuwait City); telephone [965] 242-4151 through 4159
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side
- Economy Overview: The oil sector dominates the economy. Of the countries in the Middle East, Kuwait has oil reserves second only to those of Saudi Arabia. Earnings from hydrocarbons generate over 90% of both export and government revenues and contribute about 40% to GDP. Most of the nonoil sector is dependent upon oil-derived government revenues to provide infrastructure development and to promote limited industrial diversification. The economy is heavily dependent upon foreign labor--Kuwaitis account for less than 20% of the labor force. The early years of the Iran-Iraq war pushed Kuwait's GDP well below its 1980 peak; however, during the period 1986-88, GDP increased each year, rising to 5% in 1988.
GDP: $20.5 billion, per capita $10,500; real growth rate 5.0% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1988)
Unemployment rate: 0%
Budget: revenues $7.1 billion; expenditures $10.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.1 billion (FY88)
Exports: $7.1 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--oil 90%; partners--Japan, Italy, FRG, US
Imports: $5.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--food, construction material, vehicles and parts, clothing; partners--Japan, US, FRG, UK
External debt: $7.2 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 3% (1988)
Electricity: 8,287,000 kW capacity; 21,500 million kWh produced, 10,710 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing, salt, construction
Agriculture: virtually none; dependent on imports for food; about 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported
Aid: donor--pledged $18.3 billion in bilateral aid to less developed countries (1979-89)
Currency: Kuwaiti dinar (plural--dinars); 1 Kuwaiti dinar (KD) = 1,000 fils
Exchange rates: Kuwaiti dinars (KD) per US$1--0.2915 (January 1990), 0.2937 (1989), 0.2790 (1988), 0.2786 (1987), 0.2919 (1986), 0.3007 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
- Communications Highways: 3,000 km total; 2,500 km bituminous; 500 km earth, sand, light gravel
Pipelines: crude oil, 877 km; refined products, 40 km; natural gas, 165 km
Ports: Ash Shuwaykh, Ash Shuaybah, Mina al Ahmadi
Merchant marine: 51 ships (1,000 GRT or over), totaling 1,862,010 GRT/2,935,007 DWT; includes 18 cargo, 5 container, 5 livestock carrier, 18 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 5 liquefied gas
Civil air: 19 major transport aircraft
Airports: 8 total, 4 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; none with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: excellent international, adequate domestic facilities; 258,000 telephones; stations--3 AM, 2 FM, 3 TV; satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, and 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT; 1 INMARSAT, 1 ARABSAT; coaxial cable and radio relay to Iraq and Saudi Arabia
- Defense Forces Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, National Guard
Military manpower: males 15-49, about 688,516; about 411,742 fit for military service; 18,836 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 5.8% of GDP, or $1.2 billion (FY89) ---------------------------------------------------- Country: Laos - Geography Total area: 236,800 km2; land area: 230,800 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Utah
Land boundaries: 5,083 km total; Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km
Coastline: none--landlocked
Maritime claims: none--landlocked
Disputes: boundary dispute with Thailand
Climate: tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)
Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
Natural resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Land use: 4% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures; 58% forest and woodland; 35% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: deforestation; soil erosion; subject to floods
Note: landlocked
- People Population: 4,023,726 (July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990)
Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 126 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 48 years male, 51 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 5.1 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Lao (sing., Lao or Laotian); adjective--Lao or Laotian
Ethnic divisions: 50% Lao, 15% Phoutheung (Kha), 20% tribal Thai, 15% Meo, Hmong, Yao, and other
Religion: 85% Buddhist, 15% animist and other
Language: Lao (official), French, and English
Literacy: 85%
Labor force: 1-1.5 million; 85-90% in agriculture (est.)
Organized labor: Lao Federation of Trade Unions is subordinate to the Communist party
- Government Long-form name: Lao People's Democratic Republic
Type: Communist state
Capital: Vientiane
Administrative divisions: 16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural) and 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamsai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louang Namtha, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Saravan, Savannakhet, Sekong, Vientiane, Vientiane*, Xaignabouri, Xiangkhoang
Independence: 19 July 1949 (from France)
Constitution: draft constitution under discussion since 1976
Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: National Day (proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic), 2 December (1975)
Executive branch: president, chairman and five vice chairmen of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: Supreme People's Assembly
Judicial branch: Central Supreme Court
Leaders: Chief of State--Acting President PHOUMI VONGVICHIT (since 29 October 1986);
Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers General KAYSONE PHOMVIHAN (since 2 December 1975)
Political parties and leaders: Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), Kaysone Phomvihan, party chairman; includes Lao Patriotic Front and Alliance Committee of Patriotic Neutralist Forces; other parties moribund
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: Supreme People's Assembly--last held on 26 March 1989 (next to be held NA); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(79 total) number of seats by party NA
Other political or pressure groups: non-Communist political groups moribund; most leaders have fled the country
Member of: ADB, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, Mekong Committee, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: First Secretary, Charge d'Affaires ad interim DONE SOMVORACHIT; Chancery at 2222 S Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-6416 or 6417; US--Charge d'Affaires Charles B. SALMON; Embassy at Rue Bartholonie, Vientiane (mailing address is B. P. 114, Vientiane, or Box V, APO San Francisco 96346); telephone 2220, 2357, 2384
Flag: three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band
- Economy Overview: One of the world's poorest nations, Laos has had a Communist centrally planned economy with government ownership and control of productive enterprises of any size. Recently, however, the government has been decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise. Laos is a landlocked country with a primitive infrastructure, that is, it has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, limited external and internal telecommunications, and electricity available in only a limited area. Subsistence agriculture is the main occupation, accounting for over 60% of GDP and providing about 85-90% of total employment. The predominant crop is rice. For the foreseeable future the economy will continue to depend for its survival on foreign aid--from CEMA, IMF, and other international sources.
GDP: $585 million, per capita $150; real growth rate 3% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 15% (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $71 million; expenditures $198 million, including capital expenditures of $132 million (1988 est.)
Exports: $57.5 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities-- electricity, wood products, coffee, tin; partners--Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, USSR, US
Imports: $219 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.); commodities--food, fuel oil, consumer goods, manufactures; partners--Thailand, USSR, Japan, France, Vietnam
External debt: $964 million (1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 8% (1989 est.)
Electricity: 176,000 kW capacity; 900 million kWh produced, 225 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: tin mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing
Agriculture: accounts for 60% of GDP and employs most of the work force; subsistence farming predominates; normally self-sufficient; principal crops--rice (80% of cultivated land), potatoes, vegetables, coffee, sugarcane, cotton
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis and opium poppy for the international drug trade; production of cannabis increased in 1989; marijuana and heroin are shipped to Western countries, including the US
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-79), $276 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $468 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $895 million
Currency: new kip (plural--kips); 1 new kip (NK) = 100 at
Exchange rates: new kips (NK) per US$1--700 (December 1989), 725 (1989), 350 (1988), 200 (1987), 108 (1986), 95 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
- Communications Highways: about 27,527 km total; 1,856 km bituminous or bituminous treated; 7,451 km gravel, crushed stone, or improved earth; 18,220 km unimproved earth and often impassable during rainy season mid-May to mid-September
Inland waterways: about 4,587 km, primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional kilometers are sectionally navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m
Pipelines: 136 km, refined products
Ports: none
Airports: 64 total, 50 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: service to general public considered poor; radio network provides generally erratic service to government users; 7,390 telephones (1986); stations--10 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 satellite earth station
- Defense Forces Branches: Lao People's Army (LPA, which consists of an army with naval, aviation, and militia elements), Air Force, National Police Department
Military manpower: males 15-49, 967,047; 517,666 fit for military service; 44,176 reach military age (18) annually; conscription age NA
Defense expenditures: 3.8% of GDP (1987) ---------------------------------------------------- Country: Lebanon - Geography Total area: 10,400 km2; land area: 10,230 km2
Comparative area: about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries: 454 km total; Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km
Coastline: 225 km
Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; Syrian troops in northern Lebanon since October 1976
Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers
Terrain: narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains
Natural resources: limestone, iron ore, salt; water-surplus state in a water-deficit region
Land use: 21% arable land; 9% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures; 8% forest and woodland; 61% other; includes 7% irrigated
Environment: rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, ethnicity; deforestation; soil erosion; air and water pollution; desertification
Note: Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary
- People Population: 3,339,331 (July 1990), growth rate 1.3% (1990)
Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: - 8 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 49 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 70 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Lebanese (sing., pl.); adjective--Lebanese
Ethnic divisions: 93% Arab, 6% Armenian, 1% other
Religion: 75% Islam, 25% Christian, NEGL% Judaism; 17 legally recognized sects--4 Orthodox Christian (Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Nestorean, Syriac Orthodox), 7 Uniate Christian (Armenian Catholic, Caldean, Greek Catholic, Maronite, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Syrian Catholic), 5 Islam (Alawite or Nusayri, Druze, Ismailite, Shia, Sunni), and 1 Jewish
Language: Arabic and French (both official); Armenian, English
Literacy: 75%
Labor force: 650,000; 79% industry, commerce, and services, 11% agriculture, 10% goverment (1985)
Organized labor: 250,000 members (est.)
- Government Note: Between early 1975 and late 1976 Lebanon was torn by civil war between its Christians--then aided by Syrian troops--and its Muslims and their Palestinian allies. The cease-fire established in October 1976 between the domestic political groups generally held for about six years, despite occasional fighting. Syrian troops constituted as the Arab Deterrent Force by the Arab League have remained in Lebanon. Syria's move toward supporting the Lebanese Muslims and the Palestinians and Israel's growing support for Lebanese Christians brought the two sides into rough equilibrium, but no progress was made toward national reconciliation or political reforms--the original cause of the war.
Continuing Israeli concern about the Palestinian presence in Lebanon led to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982. Israeli forces occupied all of the southern portion of the country and mounted a summer-long siege of Beirut, which resulted in the evacuation of the PLO from Beirut in September under the supervision of a multinational force (MNF) made up of US, French, and Italian troops.
Within days of the departure of the MNF, Lebanon's newly elected president, Bashir Gemayel, was assassinated. In the wake of his death, Christian militiamen massacred hundreds of Palestinian refugees in two Beirut camps. This prompted the return of the MNF to ease the security burden on Lebanon's weak Army and security forces. In late March 1984 the last MNF units withdrew.
Lebanese Parliamentarians met in Taif, Saudi Arabia in late 1989 and concluded a national reconciliation pact that codified a new power-sharing formula, specifiying a Christian president but giving Muslims more authority. Rene Muawad was subsequently elected president on 4 November 1989, ending a 13-month period during which Lebanon had no president and rival Muslim and Christian governments. Muawad was assassinated 17 days later, on 22 November; on 24 November Elias Harawi was elected to succeed Muawad.
Progress toward lasting political compromise in Lebanon has been stalled by opposition from Christian strongman Gen. Michel Awn. Awn--appointed acting Prime Minister by outgoing president Amin Gemayel in September 1988--called the national reconciliation accord illegitimate and has refused to recognize the new Lebanese Government.
Lebanon continues to be partially occupied by Syrian troops. Syria augmented its troop presence during the weeks following Muawad's assassination. Troops are deployed in West Beirut and its southern suburbs, in Al Biqa, and in northern Lebanon. Iran also maintains a small contingent of revolutionary guards in Al Biqa, from which it supports Lebanese Islamic fundamentalist groups.
Israel withdrew the bulk of its forces from the south in 1985, although it still retains troops in a 10-km-deep security zone north of its border with Lebanon. Israel arms and trains the Army of South Lebanon (ASL), which also occupies the security zone and is Israel's first line of defense against attacks on its northern border.
The following description is based on the present constitutional and customary practices of the Lebanese system.
Long-form name: Republic of Lebanon; note--may be changed to Lebanese Republic
Type: republic
Capital: Beirut
Administrative divisions: 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular--muhafazah); Al Biqa, Al Janub, Ash Shamal, Bayrut, Jabal Lubnan
Independence: 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
Constitution: 26 May 1926 (amended)
Legal system: mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 22 November (1943)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet; note--by custom, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the president of the legislature is a Shia Muslim
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Arabic--Majlis Alnuwab, French--Assemblee Nationale)
Judicial branch: four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases)