Chapter 32
Economic overview: Half of Egypt's GDP originates in the public sector, most industrial plants being owned by the government. Overregulation holds back technical modernization and foreign investment. Even so, the economy grew rapidly during the late 1970s and early 1980s, but in 1986 the collapse of world oil prices and an increasingly heavy burden of debt servicing led Egypt to begin negotiations with the IMF for balance-of-payments support. Egypt's first IMF standby arrangement, concluded in mid-1987, was suspended in early 1988 because of the government's failure to adopt promised reforms. Egypt signed a follow-on program with the IMF and also negotiated a structural adjustment loan with the World Bank in 1991. In 1991-93 the government made solid progress on administrative reforms such as liberalizing exchange and interest rates, but resisted implementing major structural reforms like streamlining the public sector. As a result, the economy has not gained enough momentum to tackle the growing problem of unemployment. Egypt made uneven progress in implementing the successor programs it signed onto in late 1993 with the IMF and World Bank; currently it is negotiating another successor program with the IMF. President MUBARAK has cited population growth as the main cause of the country's economic troubles. The addition of about 1.2 million people a year to the already huge population of 63 million exerts enormous pressure on the 5% of the land area available for agriculture along the Nile.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $171 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 4% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $2,760 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.4% (yearend 1995)
Labor force: 16 million (1994 est.) by occupation: government, public sector enterprises, and armed forces 36%, agriculture 34%, privately owned service and manufacturing enterprises 20% (1984) note: shortage of skilled labor; 2.5 million Egyptians work abroad, mostly in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab states (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: 20% (1995 est.)
Budget: revenues: $18 billion expenditures: $19.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.8 billion (FY94/95 est.)
Industries: textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, petroleum, construction, cement, metals
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity: capacity: 11,830,000 kW production: 44.5 billion kWh consumption per capita: 695 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats; annual fish catch about 140,000 metric tons
Illicit drugs: a transit point for Southwest Asian and Southeast Asian heroin and opium moving to Europe and the US; popular transit stop for Nigerian couriers; large domestic consumption of hashish from Lebanon and Syria
Exports: $5.4 billion (f.o.b., FY94/95 est.) commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, cotton yarn, raw cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals partners: EU, US, Japan
Imports: $15.2 billion (c.i.f., FY94/95 est.) commodities: machinery and equipment, foods, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer goods, capital goods partners: US, EU, Japan
External debt: $33.6 billion (FY93/94 est.)
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $1.713 billion (1993)
Currency: 1 Egyptian pound (LE) = 100 piasters
Exchange rates: Egyptian pounds (LE) per US$1 - 3.4 (November 1994), 3.369 (November 1993), 3.345 (November 1992), 2.7072 (1990); market rate: 3.3920 (January 1996), 3.3900 (1995), 3.3910 (1994), 3.3718 (1993), 3.3386 (1992), 3.3322 (1991)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
Transportation --------------
Railways: total: 4,751 km standard gauge: 4,751 km 1,435-m gauge (42 km electrified; 951 km double track)
Highways: total: 47,387 km paved: 34,593 km unpaved: 12,794 km (1992 est.)
Waterways: 3,500 km (including the Nile, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in the delta); Suez Canal, 193.5 km long (including approaches), used by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 16.1 m of water
Pipelines: crude oil 1,171 km; petroleum products 596 km; natural gas 460 km
Ports: Alexandria, Al Ghardaqah, Aswan, Asyut, Bur Safajah, Damietta, Marsa Matruh, Port Said, Suez
Merchant marine: total: 164 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,187,290 GRT/1,833,108 DWT ships by type: bulk 22, cargo 74, liquefied gas tanker 1, oil tanker 14, passenger 33, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 15, short-sea passenger 4 (1995 est.)
Airports: total: 80 with paved runways over 3 047 m: 11 with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 34 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 16 with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 9 with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4 (1995 est.)
Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)
Communications --------------
Telephones: 2.2 million (1993)
Telephone system: large system by Third World standards but inadequate for present requirements and undergoing extensive upgrading domestic: principal centers at Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, Suez, and Tanta are connected by coaxial cable and microwave radio relay international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat; 5 coaxial submarine cables; tropospheric scatter to Sudan; microwave radio relay to Israel; participant in Medarabtel
Radio broadcast stations: AM 39, FM 6, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 41
Televisions: 5 million (1993 est.)
Defense -------
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command
Manpower availability: males age 15-49: 16,530,460 males fit for military service: 10,723,011 males reach military age (20) annually: 660,453 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.5 billion, 8.2% of GDP (FY94/95 est.)
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@El Salvador -----------
Map ---
Location: 13 50 N, 88 55 W -- Middle America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras
Flag ----
Description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band - it features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band
Geography ---------
Location: Middle America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras
Geographic coordinates: 13 50 N, 88 55 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 21,040 sq km land area: 20,720 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Land boundaries: total: 545 km border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km
Coastline: 307 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 200 nm
International disputes: land boundary dispute with Honduras mostly resolved by 11 September 1992 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision; with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, ICJ referred to an earlier agreement in this century and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua likely would be required
Climate: tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April)
Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m
Natural resources: hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum
Land use: arable land: 27% permanent crops: 8% meadows and pastures: 29% forest and woodland: 6% other: 30%
Irrigated land: 1,200 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes natural hazards: known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea
Geographic note: smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea
People ------
Population: 5,828,987 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 38% (male 1,137,804; female 1,097,774) 15-64 years: 57% (male 1,627,519; female 1,716,261) 65 years and over: 5% (male 115,973; female 133,656) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.81% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 28.3 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 5.81 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: -4.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 31.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.88 years male: 65.44 years female: 72.5 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.2 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality: noun: Salvadoran(s) adjective: Salvadoran
Ethnic divisions: mestizo 94%, Indian 5%, white 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 75% note: there is extensive activity by Protestant groups throughout the country; by the end of 1992, there were an estimated 1 million Protestant evangelicals in El Salvador
Languages: Spanish, Nahua (among some Indians)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.) total population: 71.5% male: 73.5% female: 69.8%
Government ----------
Name of country: conventional long form: Republic of El Salvador conventional short form: El Salvador local long form: Republica de El Salvador local short form: El Salvador
Data code: ES
Type of government: republic
Capital: San Salvador
Administrative divisions: 14 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa Ana, San Vicente, Sonsonate, Usulutan
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution: 20 December 1983
Legal system: based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Armando CALDERON Sol (since 1 June 1994) and Vice President Enrique BORGO Bustamante (since 1 June 1994) were elected for five-year terms by universal suffrage; election last held 20 March 1994 (next to be held NA March 1999); results - Armando CALDERON SOL (ARENA) 49.03%, Ruben ZAMORA Rivas (CD/FMLN/MNR) 24.09%, Fidel CHAVEZ Mena (PDC) 16.39%, other 10.49%; because no candidate received a majority, a run-off election was held 24 April 1994; results - Armando CALDERON SOL (ARENA) 68.35%, Ruben ZAMORA Rivas (CD/FMLN/MNR) 31.65% cabinet: Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa): elections last held 20 March 1994 (next to be held NA March 1997); results - ARENA 46.4%, FMLN 25.0%, PDC 21.4%, PCN 4.8%, other 2.4%; seats - (84 total) ARENA 39, FMLN 21, PDC 18, PCN 4, other 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly
Political parties and leaders: National Republican Alliance (ARENA), Juan Jose DOMENECH, president; Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), Salvador SANCHEZ Ceren (aka Leonel GONZALEZ), general coordinator; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Ronal UMANA, secretary general; National Conciliation Party (PCN), Ciro CRUZ Zepeda, secretary general; Democratic Convergence (CD), Juan Jose MARTEL, secretary general; Unity Movement, Jorge MARTINEZ Menendez, president note: newly formed parties not yet officially recognized by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal: Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), Kirio Waldo SALGADO, founder; Social Democratic Party (breakaway from FMLN), Joaquin VILLALOBOS, founder; Social Christian Renovation Movement (MRSC) (breakaway from PDC), Abraham RODRIGUEZ, founder
Other political or pressure groups: labor organizations: Salvadoran Communal Union (UCS), peasant association; General Confederation of Workers (CGT), moderate; United Workers Front (FUT) business organizations: Productive Alliance (AP), conservative; National Federation of Salvadoran Small Businessmen (FENAPES), conservative
International organization participation: BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ana Cristina SOL chancery: 2308 California Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-9671, 9672 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Alan H. FLANIGAN embassy: Final Boulevard Santa Elena, Station Antiguo Cuscatlan, San Salvador mailing address: Unit 3116, APO AA 34023 telephone: [503] 278-4444 FAX: [503] 278-6011
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band - it features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band
Economy -------
Economic overview: El Salvador possesses a fast-growing entrepreneurial economy in which 90% of economic activity is in private hands, with growth averaging 5% since 1990. Yet, because the 1980s were a decade of civil war and stagnation, per capita GDP has not regained the level of the late 1970s. The rebound in the 1990s stems from the government program, in conjunction with the IMF, of privatization, deregulation, and fiscal stabilization. The economy now is oriented more toward manufacturing and services compared with agriculture. The sizable trade deficits are in the main covered by remittances from the large number of Salvadorans abroad.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $11.4 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 6.3% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $1,950 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11.4% (1995 est.)
Labor force: 1.7 million (1982 est.) by occupation: agriculture 40%, commerce 16%, manufacturing 15%, government 13%, financial services 9%, transportation 6%, other 1%
Unemployment rate: 6.7% (1993)
Budget: revenues: $846 million expenditures: $890 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Industries: food processing, beverages, petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, textiles, furniture
Industrial production growth rate: 7.6% (1993)
Electricity: capacity: 750,000 kW production: 2.4 billion kWh consumption per capita: 408 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: coffee, sugarcane, corn, rice, beans, oilseed; beef, dairy products; shrimp
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine; marijuana produced for local consumption
Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.) commodities: coffee, sugarcane, shrimp partners: US, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Germany
Imports: $3.3 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.) commodities: raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods partners: US, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela, Germany
External debt: $2.6 billion (December 1992)
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $777 million (1993) note: US has committed $250 million in aid to El Salvador for 1992-96
Currency: 1 Salvadoran colon (C) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: Salvadoran colones (C) per US$1 - 8.755 (December 1995), 8.755 (1995), 8.750 (1994), 8.670 (1993), 9.170 (1992), 8.080 (1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation --------------
Railways: total: 602 km (single track; note - some sections abandoned, unusable, or operating at reduced capacity) narrow gauge: 602 km 0.914-m gauge
Highways: total: 12,251 km paved: 1,740 km (including 107 km of expressways) unpaved: 10,511 km (1992 est.)
Waterways: Rio Lempa partially navigable
Ports: Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco, La Libertad, La Union, Puerto El Triunfo
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 73 with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 48 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 21 (1995 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)
Communications --------------
Telephones: 116,000 (1984 est.)
Telephone system: domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System
Radio broadcast stations: AM 77, FM 0, shortwave 2
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 5 (1986 est.)
Televisions: 500,700 (1993 est.)
Defense -------
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49: 1,415,691 males fit for military service: 905,938 males reach military age (18) annually: 78,660 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $100 million, 1% of GDP (1995)
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@Equatorial Guinea -----------------
Map ---
Location: 2 00 N, 10 00 E -- Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cameroon and Gabon
Flag ----
Description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice)
Geography ---------
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cameroon and Gabon
Geographic coordinates: 2 00 N, 10 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 28,050 sq km land area: 28,050 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries: total: 539 km border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km
Coastline: 296 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Gabon because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay
Climate: tropical; always hot, humid
Terrain: coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Malabo 3,008 m
Natural resources: timber, petroleum, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium
Land use: arable land: 8% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 4% forest and woodland: 51% other: 33%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: tap water is not potable; desertification natural hazards: violent windstorms international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea
Geographic note: insular and continental regions rather widely separated
People ------
Population: 431,282 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43% (male 93,319; female 92,753) 15-64 years: 53% (male 108,706; female 120,129) 65 years and over: 4% (male 7,235; female 9,140) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.58% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 39.77 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 14.01 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 98 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 53.01 years male: 50.79 years female: 55.29 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.17 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality: noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s) adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
Ethnic divisions: Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish
Religions: nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices
Languages: Spanish (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.) total population: 78.5% male: 89.6% female: 68.1%
Government ----------
Name of country: conventional long form: Republic of Equatorial Guinea conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial former: Spanish Guinea
Data code: EK
Type of government: republic in transition to multiparty democracy
Capital: Malabo
Administrative divisions: 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas
Independence: 12 October 1968 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 October (1968)
Constitution: new constitution 17 November 1991
Legal system: partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom
Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult
Executive branch: chief of state: President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979) election last held 25 February 1996 (next to be held NA February 2003); results - President OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected to a seven-year term without opposition head of government: Prime Minister Silvestre SIALE BILEKA (since 17 January 1992); Vice Prime Minister Anatolio NDONG MBA (since November 1993) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral House of People's Representatives: (Camara de Representantes del Pueblo) elections last held 21 November 1993 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (82 total) PDGE 72, various opposition parties 10
Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal