Chapter 1
This is a preliminary edition. The final first edition should be on file around midnight, October 31, 1993.
As usual, the margination in these reports may be rough, and another edition should appear, somewhat neater in appearance, as a Gutenberg volunteer will probably start work on this shortly.
This file has been edited in such a manner as to delete redundancies [some, not all] and extra spaces [some, not all], enough that a file from Project Gutenberg should be enough smaller that storarge/search requirements should be reduced by 15 to 20%.
To search for information on a specific country from the list below, search for *country: *Afganistan, for example. You can also search directly for one of the categories of that country as follows:
*Afghanistan, Geography *Afghanistan, People *Afghanistan, Government *Afghanistan, Economy *Afghanistan, Communications *Afghanistan, Defense Forces
*The Project Gutenberg Edition of the 1993 CIA World Factbook*
Central Intelligence Agency
The World Factbook 1993
Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations A Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Arctic Ocean Argentina Armenia Aruba Ashmore and Cartier Islands Atlantic Ocean Australia Austria Azerbaijan
B Bahamas, The Bahrain Baker Island Bangladesh Barbados Bassas da India Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burma Burundi
C Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China (also see separate Taiwan entry) Christmas Island Clipperton Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Coral Sea Islands Costa Rica Cote d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic
D Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic
E Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Europa Island
F Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern and Antarctic Lands
G Gabon Gambia, The Gaza Strip Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Glorioso Islands Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana
H Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City) Honduras Hong Kong Howland Island Hungary
I Iceland India Indian Ocean Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel (also see separate Gaza Strip and West Bank entries) Italy
J Jamaica Jan Mayen Japan Jarvis Island Jersey Johnston Atoll Jordan (also see separate West Bank entry) Juan de Nova Island
K Kazakhstan Kenya Kingman Reef Kiribati Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kyrgyzstan
L Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg
M Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Man, Isle of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Midway Islands Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique
N Namibia Nauru Navassa Island Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway
O Oman
P Pacific Islands (Palau), Trust Territory of the Pacific Ocean 2 Pakistan Palmyra Atoll Panama Papua New Guinea Paracel Islands Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico
Q Qatar
R Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda
S Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain Spratly Islands Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria
T Taiwan entry follows Zimbabwe Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tromelin Island Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu
U Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan
V Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands
W Wake Island Wallis and Futuna West Bank Western Sahara Western Samoa World
Y Yemen
Z Zaire Zambia Zimbabwe Taiwan
Appendixes A: The United Nations System B: Abbreviations for International Organizations and Groups C: International Organizations and Groups D: Weights and Measures E: Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names
Reference Maps The World North America Central America and the Caribbean South America Europe Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe Middle East Africa Asia Commonwealth of Independent States-- European States Commonwealth of Independent States--Central Asian States Southeast Asia Oceania Arctic Region Antarctic Region Standard Time Zones of the World
There have been some significant changes in this edition. Czechoslovakia has been superseded by the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia. The name of the Ivory Coast has been changed to Cote d'Ivoire and the Vatican City became the Holy See. New entries include Location, Map references, Abbreviation (often substituted for the country name), and Digraph (two-letter country code). Names is a new entry which includes long and short forms of both conventional and local names of countries as well as any former names. Most diacritical marks have been omitted. The electronic files used to produce the Factbook have been restructured into a database. As a result, the formats of some entries in this edition have been changed. Additional changes will occur in the 1994 Factbook. Irrigated land is a new entry with the data separate from the Land use entry. The Disputes entry is now International disputes. The GNP/GDP entry was renamed National Product and the per capita and real growth rate data placed in separate entries. Similar changes were made in the Population and Diplomatic Representation entries.
Abbreviations: (see Appendix B for international organizations and groups)
avdp. avoirdupois
c.i.f. cost, insurance, and freight
CY calendar year
DWT deadweight ton
est. estimate
Ex-Im Export-Import Bank of the United States
f.o.b. free on board
FRG Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany); used for information dated before 3 October 1990 or CY91
FY fiscal year
GDP gross domestic product
GDR German Democratic Republic (East Germany); used for information dated before 3 October 1990 or CY91
GNP gross national product
GRT gross register ton
GWP gross world product
km kilometer
km2 square kilometer
kW kilowatt
kWh kilowatt hour
m meter
NA not available
NEGL negligible
nm nautical mile
NZ New Zealand
ODA official development assistance
OOF other official flows
PDRY People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]; used for information dated before 22 May 1990 or CY91
UAE United Arab Emirates
UK United Kingdom
US United States
USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union); used for information dated before 25 December 1991
YAR Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen]; used for information dated before 22 May 1990 or CY91
Administrative divisions: The numbers, designatory terms, and first-order administrative divisions are generally those approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN). Changes that have been reported but not yet acted on by BGN are noted.
Area: Total area is the sum of all land and water areas delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines. Land area is the aggregate of all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers). Comparative areas are based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 km2, 69 miles 2) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 km2, 0.23 miles 2,146 acres).
Birth rate: The average annual number of births during a year per 1,000 population at midyear; also known as crude birth rate.
Dates of information: In general, information available as of 1 January 1993 was used in the preparation of this edition. Population figures are estimates for 1 July 1993, with population growth rates estimated for calendar year 1993. Major political events have been updated through June 1993.
Death rate: The average annual number of deaths during a year per l,000 population at midyear; also known as crude death rate.
Digraphs: The digraph is a two-letter "country code'' that precisely identifies every entity without overlap, duplication, or omission. AF, for example, is the digraph for Afghanistan. It is a standardized geopolitical data element promulgated in the Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS) 10-3 by the National Bureau of Standards (US Department of Commerce) and maintained by the Office of the Geographer (US Department of State). The digraph is used to eliminate confusion and incompatibility in the collection, processing, and dissemination of area-specific data and is particularly useful for interchanging data between databases.
Diplomatic representation: The US Government has diplomatic relations with 180 nations. The US has diplomatic relations with 174 of the 182 UN members (excluding the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia whose status in the UN is unclear)--the exceptions are Angola, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Macedonia, North Korea, and Vietnam. In addition, the US has diplomatic relations with 7 nations that are not in the UN-Andorra, Holy See, Kiribati, Nauru, Switzerland, Tonga, and Tuvalu.
Economic aid: This entry refers to bilateral commitments of official development assistance (ODA), which is defined as government grants that are administered with the promotion of economic development and welfare of LDCs as their main objective and are concessional in character and contain a grant element of at least 25%, and other official flows (OOF) or transactions by the official sector whose main objective is other than development motivated or whose grant element is below the 25% threshold for ODA. OOF transactions include official export credits (such as Ex-Im Bank credits), official equity and portfolio investment, and debt reorganization by the official sector that does not meet concessional terms. Aid is considered to have been committed when agreements are initialed by the parties involved and constitute a formal declaration of intent.
Entities: Some of the nations, dependent areas, areas of special sovereignty, and governments included in this publication are not independent, and others are not officially recognized by the US Government. "Nation'' refers to a people politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory. "Dependent area" refers to a broad category of political entities that are associated in some way with a nation. Names used for page headings are usually the short-form names as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names. There are 266 entities in The World Factbook that may be categorized as follows:
NATIONS
182 UN members (excluding the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia whose status in the UN is unclear)
8 nations that are not members of the UN--Andorra, Holy See, Kiribati, Nauru, Serbia and Montenegro, Switzerland, Tonga, Tuvalu
OTHER
1 Taiwan
DEPENDENT AREAS
6 Australia--Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island
2 Denmark--Faroe Islands, Greenland
16 France--Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island, French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Guadeloupe, Juan de Nova Island, Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Reunion, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Tromelin Island, Wallis and Futuna
2 Netherlands--Aruba, Netherlands Antilles
3 New Zealand--Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau
3 Norway--Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard
1 Portugal--Macau
16 United Kingdom--Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
15 United States--American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Palau), Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island
MISCELLANEOUS
6 Antarctica, Gaza Strip, Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands, West Bank, Western Sahara
OTHER ENTITIES
4 oceans--Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean
1 World
266 total
note: The US Government does not recognize the four so-called independent homelands of Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, and Venda in South Africa. Exchange rate: The value of a nation's monetary unit at a given date or over a given period of time, as expressed in units of local currency per US dollar and as determined by international market forces or official fiat.
Gross domestic product (GDP): The value of all goods and services produced domestically in a given year.
Gross national product (GNP): The value of all goods and services produced domestically in a given year, plus income earned abroad, minus income earned by foreigners from domestic production.
Gross world product (GWP): The aggregate value of all goods and services produced worldwide in a given year.
GNP/GDP methodology: In the "Economy'' section, GNP/GDP dollar estimates for the OECD countries, the former Soviet republics, and the East European countries are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations rather than from conversions at official currency exchange rates. The PPP method normally involves the use of international dollar price weights, which are applied to the quantities of goods and services produced in a given economy. In addition to the lack of reliable data from the majority of countries, the statistician faces a major difficulty in specifying, identifying, and allowing for the quality of goods and services. The division of a PPP GNP/GDP estimate in dollars by the corresponding estimate in the local currency gives the PPP conversion rate. One thousand dollars will buy the same market basket of goods in the US as one thousand dollars--converted to the local currency at the PPP conversion rate-- will buy in the other country. GNP/GDP estimates for the LDCs, on the other hand, are based on the conversion of GNP/GDP estimates in local currencies to dollars at the official currency exchange rates. Because currency exchange rates depend on a variety of international and domestic financial forces that often have little relation to domestic output, use of these rates is less satisfactory for calculating GNP/GDP than the PPP method. Furthermore, exchange rates may suddenly go up or down by 10% or more because of market forces or official fiat whereas real output has remained unchanged. One additional caution: the proportion of, say, defense expenditures as a percent of GNP/GDP in local currency accounts may differ substantially from the proportion when GNP/GDP accounts are expressed in PPP terms, as, for example, when an observer estimates the dollar level of Russian or Japanese military expenditures; similar problems exist when components are expressed in dollars under currency exchange rate procedures. Finally, as academic research moves forward on the PPP method, we hope to convert all GNP/GDP estimates to this method in future editions of The World Factbook.
Growth rate (population): The annual percent change in the population, resulting from a surplus (or deficit) of births over deaths and the balance of migrants entering and leaving a country. The rate may be positive or negative.
Illicit drugs: There are five categories of illicit drugs--narcotics, stimulants, depressants (sedatives), hallucinogens, and cannabis. These categories include many drugs legally produced and prescribed by doctors as well as those illegally produced and sold outside medical channels.
Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) is the common hemp plant, which provides hallucinogens with some sedative properties, and includes marijuana (pot, Acapulco gold, grass, reefer), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, Marinol), hashish (hash), and hashish oil (hash oil).
Coca (Erythroxylon coca) is a bush, and the leaves contain the stimulant cocaine. Coca is not to be confused with cocoa, which comes from cacao seeds and is used in making chocolate, cocoa, and cocoa butter.
Cocaine is a stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca bush.
Depressants (sedatives) are drugs that reduce tension and anxiety and include chloral hydrate, barbiturates (Amytal, Nembutal, Seconal, phenobarbital), benzodiazepines (Librium, Valium), methaqualone (Quaalude), glutethimide (Doriden), and others (Equanil, Placidyl, Valmid).
Drugs are any chemical substances that effect a physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral change in an individual.
Drug abuse is the use of any licit or illicit chemical substance that results in physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral impairment in an individual.
Hallucinogens are drugs that affect sensation, thinking, self-awareness, and emotion. Hallucinogens include LSD (acid, microdot), mescaline and peyote (mexc, buttons, cactus), amphetamine variants (PMA, STP, DOB), phencyclidine (PCP, angel dust, hog), phencyclidine analogues (PCE, PCPy, TCP), and others (psilocybin, psilocyn).
Hashish is the resinous exudate of the cannabis or hemp plant (Cannabis sativa).
Heroin is a semisynthetic derivative of morphine.
Marijuana is the dried leaves of the cannabis or hemp plant (Cannabis sativa).
Narcotics are drugs that relieve pain, often induce sleep, and refer to opium, opium derivatives, and synthetic substitutes. Natural narcotics include opium (paregoric, parepectolin), morphine (MS-Contin, Roxanol), codeine (Tylenol w/codeine, Empirin w/codeine, Robitussan AC), and thebaine. Semisynthetic narcotics include heroin (horse, smack), and hydromorphone (Dilaudid). Synthetic narcotics include meperidine or Pethidine (Demerol, Mepergan), methadone (Dolophine, Methadose), and others (Darvon, Lomotil).
Opium is the milky exudate of the incised, unripe seedpod of the opium poppy.
Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) is the source for many natural and semisynthetic narcotics.
Poppy straw concentrate is the alkaloid derived from the mature dried opium poppy.
Qat (kat, khat) is a stimulant from the buds or leaves of Catha edulis that is chewed or drunk as tea.
Stimulants are drugs that relieve mild depression, increase energy and activity, and include cocaine (coke, snow, crack), amphetamines (Desoxyn, Dexedrine), phenmetrazine (Preludin), methylphenidate (Ritalin), and others (Cylert, Sanorex, Tenuate).
Infant mortality rate: The number of deaths to infants under one year old in a given year per l,000 live births occurring in the same year.
International disputes: This category includes a wide variety of situations that range from traditional bilateral boundary disputes to unilateral claims of one sort or another. Information regarding disputes over international boundaries and maritime boundaries has been reviewed by the Department of State. References to other situations may also be included that are border or frontier relevant, such as resource disputes, geopolitical questions, or irredentist issues. However, inclusion does not necessarily constitute official acceptance or recognition by the US Government.
Irrigated land: The figure refers to the number of km 2 that is artifically supplied with water.
Land use: Human use of the land surface is categorized as arable land--land cultivated for crops that are replanted after each harvest (wheat, maize, rice); permanent crops--land cultivated for crops that are not replanted after each harvest (citrus, coffee, rubber); meadows and pastures--land permanently used for herbaceous forage crops; forest and woodland land--under dense or open stands of trees; and other--any land type not specifically mentioned above (urban areas, roads, desert).
Leaders: The chief of state is the titular leader of the country who represents the state at official and ceremonial funcions but is not involved with the day- to-day activities of the government. The head of government is the administrative leader who manages the day-to-day activities of the government. In the UK, the monarch is the chief of state, and the Prime Minister is the head of government. In the US, the President is both the chief of state and the head of government.
Life expectancy at birth: The average number of years to be lived by a group of people all born in the same year, if mortality at each age remains constant in the future.
Literacy: There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise noted, all rates are based on the most common definition--the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of this publication.
Maps: All maps will be available only in the printed version of The World Factbook for the foreseeable future.
Maritime claims: The proximity of neighboring states may prevent some national claims from being extended the full distance.
Merchant marine: All ships engaged in the carriage of goods. All commercial vessels (as opposed to all nonmilitary ships), which excludes tugs, fishing vessels, offshore oil rigs, etc.; also, a grouping of merchant ships by nationality or register.
Captive register--A register of ships maintained by a territory, possession, or colony primarily or exclusively for the use of ships owned in the parent country; also referred to as an offshore register, the offshore equivalent of an internal register. Ships on a captive register will fly the same flag as the parent country, or a local variant of it, but will be subject to the maritime laws and taxation rules of the offshore territory. Although the nature of a captive register makes it especially desirable for ships owned in the parent country, just as in the internal register, the ships may also be owned abroad. The captive register then acts as a flag of convenience register, except that it is not the register of an independent state.
Flag of convenience register--A national register offering registration to a merchant ship not owned in the flag state. The major flags of convenience (FOC) attract ships to their register by virtue of low fees, low or nonexistent taxation of profits, and liberal manning requirements. True FOC registers are characterized by having relatively few of the ships registered actually owned in the flag state. Thus, while virtually any flag can be used for ships under a given set of circumstances, an FOC register is one where the majority of the merchant fleet is owned abroad. It is also referred to as an open register.
Flag state--The nation in which a ship is registered and which holds legal jurisdiction over operation of the ship, whether at home or abroad. Differences in flag state maritime legislation determine how a ship is manned and taxed and whether a foreign-owned ship may be placed on the register.