Chapter 27
Flag: red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered)
Economy -------
Economic overview: Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. Croatia faces considerable economic problems stemming from: the legacy of longtime communist mismanagement of the economy; large foreign debt; damage during the internecine fighting to bridges, factories, power lines, buildings, and houses; the large refugee population, both Croatian and Bosnian; and the disruption of economic ties to Serbia and the other former Yugoslav republics, as well as within its own territory. Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, would help restore the economy. The government has been successful in some reform efforts including stabilization policies and has normalized relations with creditors. Yet it still is struggling with privatization of large state enterprises and with bank reform. The draft 1996 budget, which had raised concerns about inflation, capitalizes on the "peace dividend" to boost expenditures on the repair and upgrading of infrastructure.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $20.1 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 1.5% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $4,300 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 12.7% industry: 30.6% services: 56.7% (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.7% (1995)
Labor force: 1.444 million (1995) by occupation: industry and mining 31.1%, agriculture 4.3%, government 19.1% (including education and health), other 45.5% (1993)
Unemployment rate: 18.1% (January 1996)
Budget: revenues: $3.86 billion expenditures: $3.72 billion, including capital expenditures of $320 million (1994 est.)
Industries: chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages
Industrial production growth rate: 0.9% (1995 est.)
Electricity: capacity: 3,630,000 kW production: 11.234 billion kWh consumption per capita: 2,000 kWh (1993 est.)
Agriculture: wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, vegetables; livestock breeding, dairy farming
Illicit drugs: transit point for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe
Exports: $4.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: machinery and transport equipment 13.6%, miscellaneous manufactures 27.6%, chemicals 14.2%, food and live animals 12.2%, raw materials 6.1%, fuels and lubricants 9.4%, beverages and tobacco 2.7% (1993) partners: Germany 22.9%, Italy 21.2%, Slovenia 18.3% (1993)
Imports: $5.2 billion (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: machinery and transport equipment 23.1%, fuels and lubricants 8.8%, food and live animals 9.0%, chemicals 14.2%, miscellaneous manufactured articles 16.0%, raw materials 3.5%, beverages and tobacco 1.4% (1993) partners: Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Iran
External debt: $3.15 billion (September 1995)
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $NA note: IMF has given Croatia $192 million; World Bank has given Croatia $100 million
Currency: 1 Croatian kuna (HRK) = 100 paras
Exchange rates: Croatian kuna per US$1 - 5.405 (January 1996), 5.230 (1995), 5.996 (1994), 3.577 (1993)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation --------------
Railways: total: 2,699 km standard gauge: 2,699 km 1.435-m gauge (1213 km electrified) note: disrupted by territorial dispute with Serbia (1994)
Highways: total: 27,378 km paved: 22,176 km (including 302 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,202 km (1991 est.)
Waterways: 785 km perennially navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 670 km; petroleum products 20 km; natural gas 310 km (1992); note - under repair following territorial dispute
Ports: Dubrovnik, Omisalj, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split, Zadar
Merchant marine: total: 39 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 203,495 GRT/252,818 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 23, chemical tanker 1, container 3, oil tanker 1, passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 4 note: Croatia owns an additional 140 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,368,035 DWT operating under the registries of Malta, Liberia, Cyprus, Panama, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1995 est.)
Airports: total: 68 with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2 with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 6 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 47 with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 7 (1995 est.)
Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)
Communications --------------
Telephones: 1.216 million (1993 est.)
Telephone system: domestic: NA international: no satellite earth stations
Radio broadcast stations: AM 14, FM 8, shortwave 0
Radios: 1.1 million
Television broadcast stations: 12 (repeaters 2)
Televisions: 1.52 million (1992 est.)
Defense -------
Branches: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Frontier Guard, Home Guard
Manpower availability: males age 15-49: 1,314,718 males fit for military service: 1,046,490 males reach military age (19) annually: 34,914 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: 337 billion to 393 billion dinars, NA% of GDP (1993 est.); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
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@Cuba ----
Map ---
Location: 21 30 N, 80 00 W -- Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida
Flag ----
Description: five equal horizontal bands of blue (top and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white five-pointed star in the center
Geography ---------
Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida
Geographic coordinates: 21 30 N, 80 00 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 110,860 sq km land area: 110,860 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries: total: 29 km border country: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains part of Cuba
Coastline: 3,735 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease
Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October)
Terrain: mostly flat to rolling plains with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m
Natural resources: cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum
Land use: arable land: 23% permanent crops: 6% meadows and pastures: 23% forest and woodland: 17% other: 31%
Irrigated land: 8,960 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: pollution of Havana Bay; overhunting threatens wildlife populations; deforestation natural hazards: the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to October (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Marine Life Conservation
Geographic note: largest country in Caribbean
People ------
Population: 10,951,334 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 22% (male 1,256,674; female 1,191,652) 15-64 years: 68% (male 3,753,343; female 3,736,043) 65 years and over: 10% (male 478,630; female 534,992) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.44% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 13.37 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 7.39 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.05 years male: 72.71 years female: 77.54 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.52 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality: noun: Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban
Ethnic divisions: mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 85% prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented
Languages: Spanish
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.) total population: 95.7% male: 96.2% female: 95.3%
Government ----------
Name of country: conventional long form: Republic of Cuba conventional short form: Cuba local long form: Republica de Cuba local short form: Cuba
Data code: CU
Type of government: Communist state
Capital: Havana
Administrative divisions: 14 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara
Independence: 20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902)
National holiday: Rebellion Day, 26 July (1953); Liberation Day, 1 January (1959)
Constitution: 24 February 1976
Legal system: based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 16 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976) and First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976) were elected by the National Assembly cabinet: Council of Ministers were proposed by the president of the Council of State, appointed by the National Assembly Council of State: members elected by the National Assembly
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly of People's Power (Asemblea Nacional del P: elections last held NA February 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); seats - 589 total, elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions
Judicial branch: People's Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo Popular), president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly
Political parties and leaders: only party - Cuban Communist Party (PCC), Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary
International organization participation: CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in US: none; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Fernando REMIREZ DE ESTENOZ; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2639 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518 through 8520
US diplomatic representation: none; note - the US does have an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Joseph G. SULLIVAN; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada Entre L Y M, Vedado Seccion, Havana; telephone: 33-3551 through 3559, 33-3543 through 3547 (operator assistance required); FAX: 33-3700; protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland
Flag: five equal horizontal bands of blue (top and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white five-pointed star in the center
Economy -------
Economic overview: The state retains a primary role in the economy and controls practically all foreign trade. The government has undertaken several reforms in recent years designed to stem excess liquidity, raise labor incentives, and increase the availability of food, consumer goods, and services from depressed levels. The liberalized agricultural markets introduced in October 1994, where state and private farms are authorized to sell any above-quota production at unrestricted prices, have broadened legal consumption alternatives and reduced black market prices. The government's efforts to reduce subsidies to loss-making enterprises and shrink the money supply caused the black market exchange rate to move from a peak of 120 pesos to the dollar in the summer of 1994 to 25-30 pesos to the dollar at yearend 1995. The number of self-employed workers licensed by the government increased more slowly in 1995, from 160,000 at yearend 1994 to 190,000 in July 1995 and to about 210,000 in January 1996. Discussions continue within the leadership over the relative affluence of self-employed workers and the growing inequality of income in what has historically been a strictly egalitarian society. The government released new economic data in 1995 which showed a 35% decline in GDP during 1989-1993, a drop precipitated by the withdrawal of massive Soviet aid and prolonged by Cuba's own economic inefficiencies. The decline in GDP apparently was halted in 1994, and government officials claim that GDP increased by 2.5% in 1995. Export earnings rose by 20% in 1995 to $1.6 billion, largely on the strength of higher world prices for key commodities and increased production of nickel through joint ventures with a Canadian firm. Higher export revenues and new credits from European firms and Mexico enabled Havana to increase its imports for the first time in six years. Imports rose 21% to almost $2.4 billion, or 30% of the 1989 level. Officials have sharply criticized provisions of legislation under consideration in the US Congress, which aims to curtail third-country investment in expropriated US properties in Cuba and deny official assistance to Havana.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $14.7 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 2.5% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $1,300 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 7% industry: 30% services: 63% (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Labor force: 4.71 million economically active population (1989); 3,527,000 employed in state civilian sector (1989) by occupation: services and government 30%, industry 22%, agriculture 20%, commerce 11%, construction 10%, transportation and communications 7% (June 1990)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: sugar, petroleum, food, tobacco, textiles, chemicals, paper and wood products, metals (particularly nickel), cement, fertilizers, consumer goods, agricultural machinery
Industrial production growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)
Electricity: capacity: 3,990,000 kW production: 12 billion kWh consumption per capita: 1,022 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: sugarcane, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes and other tubers, beans; livestock
Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.) commodities: sugar, nickel, shellfish, tobacco, medical products, citrus, coffee partners: Canada 15%, China 15%, Russia 15% (1995 est.)
Imports: $2.4 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.) commodities: petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals partners: Spain 15%, Mexico 15%, Russia 10%, (1995 est.)
External debt: $9.1 billion (convertible currency,1995); another $20 billion owed to Russia (1995)
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $NA
Currency: 1 Cuban peso (Cu$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: Cuban pesos (Cu$) per US$1 - 1.0000 (non-convertible, official rate, linked to the US dollar)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation --------------
Railways: total: 4,677 km standard gauge: 4,677 km 1.435-m gauge (132 km electrified) note: a large amount of track is in private use by sugar plantations
Highways: total: 26,500 km paved: 14,575 km unpaved: 11,925 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 240 km
Ports: Cienfuegos, La Habana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba
Merchant marine: total: 41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 220,870 GRT/310,169 DWT ships by type: cargo 17, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas tanker 4, oil tanker 9, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 9 note: Cuba owns an additional 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 462,517 DWT operating under the registries of Panama, Cyprus, Malta, Belize, and Mauritius (1995 est.)
Airports: total: 156 with paved runways over 3 047 m: 7 with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 7 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 14 with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 9 with paved runways under 914 m: 87 with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 31 (1995 est.)
Communications --------------
Telephones: 430,000 (1987 est.)
Telephone system: among the world's least developed telephone systems domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean Region)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 150, FM 5, shortwave 0
Radios: 2.14 million (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 58
Televisions: 2.5 million (1993 est.)
Defense -------
Branches: Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) includes ground forces, Revolutionary Navy (MGR), Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Territorial Troops Militia (MTT), and Youth Labor Army (EJT); Interior Ministry Border Guards (TGF)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49: 3,053,431 females age 15-49: 3,009,852 males fit for military service: 1,898,644 females fit for military service: 1,866,313 males reach military age (17) annually: 65,182 females reach military age (17) annually: 61,960 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $NA, roughly 4% of GDP (1995 est.)
Defense note: Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of Cuba, cut off almost all military aid by 1993
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@Cyprus ------
Map ---
Location: 35 00 N, 33 00 E -- Middle East, island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey
Flag ----
Description: white with a copper-colored silhouette of the island (the name Cyprus is derived from the Greek word for copper) above two green crossed olive branches in the center of the flag; the branches symbolize the hope for peace and reconciliation between the Greek and Turkish communities
Geography ---------
Location: Middle East, island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey
Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N, 33 00 E
Map references: Middle East
Area: total area: 9,250 sq km (note - 3,355 sq km are in the Turkish area) land area: 9,240 sq km comparative area: about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 648 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: 1974 hostilities divided the island into two de facto autonomous areas, a Greek area controlled by the Cypriot Government (59% of the island's land area) and a Turkish-Cypriot area (37% of the island), that are separated by a UN buffer zone (4% of the island); there are two UK sovereign base areas within the Greek Cypriot portion of the island
Climate: temperate, Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters
Terrain: central plain with mountains to north and south; scattered but significant plains along southern coast lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Olympus 1,952 m
Natural resources: copper, pyrites, asbestos, gypsum, timber, salt, marble, clay earth pigment
Land use: arable land: 40% permanent crops: 7% meadows and pastures: 10% forest and woodland: 18% other: 25%
Irrigated land: 350 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: water resource problems (no natural reservoir catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall, and most potable resources concentrated in the Turkish Cypriot area); water pollution from sewage and industrial wastes; coastal degradation; loss of wildlife habitats from urbanization natural hazards: moderate earthquake activity international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change
People ------
Population: 744,609 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 25% (male 97,400; female 92,110) 15-64 years: 64% (male 240,716; female 238,039) 65 years and over: 11% (male 33,340; female 43,004) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.11% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 15.39 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 7.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 3.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.26 years male: 74.11 years female: 78.52 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.19 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality: noun: Cypriot(s) adjective: Cypriot
Ethnic divisions: total: Greek 78% (99.5% of the Greeks live in the Greek area; 0.5% of the Greeks live in the Turkish area), Turkish 18% (1.3% of the Turks live in the Greek area; 98.7% of the Turks live in the Turkish area), other 4% (99.2% of the other ethnic groups live in the Greek area; 0.8% of the other ethnic groups live in the Turkish area)
Religions: Greek Orthodox 78%, Muslim 18%, Maronite, Armenian Apostolic, and other 4%
Languages: Greek, Turkish, English
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1987 est.) total population: 94% male: 98% female: 91%
Government ----------
Name of country: conventional long form: Republic of Cyprus conventional short form: Cyprus note: the Turkish area refers to itself as the "Turkish Republic" or the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC)
Data code: CY