Chapter 104
Economy - overview: One of the world's poorest and least developed countries, Somalia has few resources. Moreover, much of the economy has been devastated by the civil war. Agriculture is the most important sector, with livestock accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings. Nomads and seminomads, who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihood, make up a large portion of the population. Crop production generates only 10% of GDP and employs about 20% of the work force. The main export crop is bananas; sugar, sorghum, and corn are grown for the domestic market. The small industrial sector is based on the processing of agricultural products and accounts for less than 10% of GDP; most facilities have been shut down because of the civil strife. The greatly increased political turmoil of 1991-93 resulted in a substantial drop in agricultural output, with widespread famine. In 1994 economic conditions stabilized in the countryside, followed in 1995 by slight improvements. However, ongoing civil strife in Mogadishu and outlying areas is interfering with any substantial recovery.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.6 billion (1995 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2% (1995 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $500 (1995 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture : 65.5% industry: 8.7% services: 25.8% (1990 est.)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: NA
Labor force: total: 3.7 million (very few are skilled laborers)(1993 est.) by occupation: agriculture (mostly pastoral nomadism) 71%, industry and services 29%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: a few small industries, including sugar refining, textiles, petroleum refining (mostly shut down)
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - capacity: 144,000 kW prior to the civil war, but now largely shut down due to war damage; some localities operate their own generating plants, providing limited municipal power; note - UN and relief organizations use their own portable power systems
Electricity - production: 60 million kWh (1991)
Electricity - consumption per capita: NA kWh
Agriculture - products: bananas, sorghum, corn, mangoes, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, goats; fishing potential largely unexploited
Exports: total value: $130 million (1994 est.) commodities: bananas, live animals, fish, hides (1995) partners: Saudi Arabia 57%, Yemen 14%, Italy 13%, US (bananas) (1995 est.)
Imports: total value: $269 million (1994 est.) commodities : manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials (1995) partners: Kenya 24%, Djibouti 18%, Pakistan 6% (1995 est.)
Debt - external: $2.6 billion (1994 est.)
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $NA
Currency: 1 Somali shilling (So. Sh.) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Somali shillings (So. Sh.) per US$1 - 4,100 (November 1996 est.), 7,000 (January 1996 est.), 5,000 (1 January 1995), 2,616 (1 July 1993), 4,200 (December 1992)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Somalia:Communications
Telephones: 9,000 (1991 est.)
Telephone system: the public telecommunications system was completely destroyed or dismantled by the civil war factions; all relief organizations depend on their own private systems domestic: recently, local cellular telephone systems have been established in Mogadishu and in several other population centers international : international connections are available from Mogadishu by satellite
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA (there are at least five radio broadcast stations of NA type)
Radios: 350,000 (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 0 (Somalia's only TV station was demolished during the civil strife, sometime in 1991)
Televisions: 113,000 (1992 est.)
@Somalia:Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 18,000 km paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 15,300 km (1993 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 15 km
Ports and harbors: Bender Cassim (Boosaaso), Berbera, Chisimayu (Kismaayo), Merca, Mogadishu
Merchant marine: total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,529 GRT/6,892 DWT ships by type: cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1 (1996 est.)
Airports: 47 (1996 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 11 over 3,047 m : 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (1996 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total : 36 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 19 (1996 est.)
Military
Military branches: NA; note - no functioning central government military forces; clan militias continue to battle for control of key economic or political prizes
Military manpower - military age: males: 1,615,598 years of age (1997 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,408,639 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males: 901,827 (1997 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: most of the southern half of the boundary with Ethiopia is a Provisional Administrative Line; territorial dispute with Ethiopia over the Ogaden ______________________________________________________________________
SOUTH AFRICA
@South Africa:Geography
Location: Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Geographic coordinates: 29 00 S, 24 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 1,219,912 sq km land: 1,219,912 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island)
Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries: total : 4,750 km border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 855 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km
Coastline: 2,798 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone : 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
Terrain: vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point : Njesuthi 3,408 m
Natural resources: gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
Land use: arable land: 10% permanent crops : 1% permanent pastures: 67% forests and woodland: 7% other: 15% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 12,700 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: prolonged droughts
Environment - current issues: lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage threatens to outpace supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification
Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Geography - note: South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland
@South Africa:People
Population: 42,327,458 (July 1997 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 35% (male 7,470,444; female 7,340,734) 15-64 years: 61% (male 12,729,753; female 12,891,969) 65 years and over : 4% (male 762,041; female 1,132,517) (July 1997 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.51% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 26.89 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 11.89 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over : 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (1997 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 53.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population : 56.29 years male: 54.4 years female: 58.23 years (1997 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.22 children born/woman (1997 est.)
Nationality: noun: South African(s) adjective: South African
Ethnic groups: black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6%
Religions: Christian 68% (includes most whites and Coloreds, about 60% of blacks and about 40% of Indians), Muslim 2%, Hindu 1.5% (60% of Indians), traditional and animistic 28.5%
Languages: 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 81.8% male : 81.9% female: 81.7% (1995 est.)
@South Africa:Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of South Africa conventional short form: South Africa abbreviation : RSA
Data code: SF
Government type: republic
National capital: Pretoria (administrative); Cape Town (legislative); Bloemfontein (judicial)
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Northern Province, Western Cape
Independence: 31 May 1910 (from UK)
National holiday: Freedom Day, 27 April (1994)
Constitution: 10 December 1996; this new constitution was certified by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996, was signed by President MANDELA on 10 December 1996, and entered into effect on 3 February 1997; it is being implemented in phases
Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Nelson MANDELA (since 10 May 1994); Deputy Executive President Thabo MBEKI (since 10 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Nelson MANDELA (since 10 May 1994); Deputy Executive President Thabo MBEKI (since 10 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet : Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and deputy executive presidents elected by the National Assembly; election last held 9 May 1994 (next to be held in April 1999) election results: Nelson MANDELA elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation); Thabo MBEKI and Frederik W. DE KLERK elected deputy executive presidents; percent of National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation) note: the initial governing coalition, made up of the ANC, the IFP, and the NP, which constituted a Government of National Unity or GNU, no longer includes the NP which was withdrawn by DE KLERK on 30 June 1996 when he voluntarily gave up his position as deputy executive president and distanced himself from the programs of the ANC
Legislative branch: bicameral parliament consisting of the National Assembly (400 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms) and the National Council of Provinces (90 seats, ten members elected by each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-year terms; has special powers to protect regional interests, including the safeguarding of cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities); note - following the implementation of the new constitution on 3 February 1997 the former Senate was disbanded and replaced by the National Council of Provinces with essentially no change in membership and party affiliations, although the new institution's responsibilities have been changed somewhat by the new constitution elections: National Assembly and Senate - last held 26-29 April 1994 (next to be held NA April 1999); note - the Senate was disbanded and replaced by the National Council of Provinces on 6 February 1997 election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - ANC 62.6%, NP 20.4%, IFP 10.5%, FF 2.2%, DP 1.7%, PAC 1.2%, ACDP 0.5%, other 0.9%; seats by party - ANC 252, NP 82, IFP 43, FF 9, DP 7, PAC 5, ACDP 2; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ANC 61, NP 17, FF 4, IFP 5, DP 3
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts
Political parties and leaders: African National Congress or ANC [Nelson MANDELA, president]; National Party or NP [Frederik W. DE KLERK, president]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president]; African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE, president]; Democratic Party or DP [Tony LEON, president]; Freedom Front or FF [Constand VILJOEN, president]; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Stanley MOGOBA, president] note: in addition to these seven parties which received seats in the National Assembly, 11 other parties won votes in the national elections in April 1994
Political pressure groups and leaders: South African National Civics Organization or SANCO [Mlungisi HLONGWANE, national president]; Congress of South African Trade Unions or COSATU [John GOMONO, president]; note - both SANCO and COSATU, as well as the South African Communist Party, are in a formal alliance with the ANC
International organization participation: AfDB, BIS, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MTCR, NAM, OAU, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission : Ambassador Franklin SONN chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1607 consulate(s) general: Beverly Hills (California), Chicago, and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission : Ambassador James A. JOSEPH embassy: 877 Pretorius St., Arcadia 0083 mailing address: P.O. Box 9536, Pretoria 0001 telephone: [27] (12) 342-1048 FAX : [27] (12) 342-2244 consulate(s) general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg
Flag description: two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side, embracing a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes note: prior to 26 April 1994, the flag was actually four flags in one - three miniature flags reproduced in the center of the white band of the former flag of the Netherlands, which has three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and blue; the miniature flags are a vertically hanging flag of the old Orange Free State with a horizontal flag of the UK adjoining on the hoist side and a horizontal flag of the old Transvaal Republic adjoining on the other side
Economy
Economy - overview: Despite the efforts of South Africa's first majority-run government, income inequality remains among the world's most extreme. Many of the white one-seventh of the South African population enjoy incomes, material comforts, and health and educational standards equal to those of Western Europe. In contrast, most of the remaining population suffers from the poverty patterns of the Third World, including unemployment, lack of job skills, and bleak living conditions. The main strength of the economy lies in its rich mineral resources, which provide two-thirds of exports. Economic developments for the remainder of the 1990s will be driven largely by the new government's attempts to improve black living standards, to set the country on a steady export-led growth path, and to cut back the enormous numbers of unemployed. The economy in recent years has absorbed less than 5% of the more than 300,000 workers entering the labor force annually. Local economists estimate that the economy must grow at least 5% in real terms annually to absorb all of the new entrants, much less reduce the accumulated total.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $227 billion (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,400 (1996 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture : 5% industry: 37% services : 58% (1995 est.)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 9% (1996 est.)
Labor force: total: 14.2 million economically active (1996) by occupation: services 35%, agriculture 30%, industry 20%, mining 9%, other 6%
Unemployment rate: 34% (1996 est.); note - an additional 11% of the workforce is underemployed
Budget: revenues : $30.5 billion expenditures: $38 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.6 billion (FY94/95 est.)
Industries: mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemical, fertilizer, foodstuffs
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - capacity: 34.57 million kW (1994)
Electricity - production: 158.78 billion kWh (1994)
Electricity - consumption per capita: 3,305 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture - products: corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products
Exports: total value: $29.2 billion (f.o.b., 1996) commodities: gold 27%, other minerals and metals 20%-25%, food 5%, chemicals 3% (1994) partners: Italy, Japan, US, Germany, UK, other EU countries, Hong Kong
Imports: total value : $26.9 billion (f.o.b., 1996) commodities: machinery 32%, transport equipment 15%, chemicals 11%, petroleum products, textiles, scientific instruments (1994) partners: Germany, US, Japan, UK, Italy
Debt - external: $30 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $NA note: current aid pledges include US $600 million over three years, 1994-96; UK $150 million over three years; Australia $21 million over three years; Japan $1.3 billion over two years ending in 1996; EU $833 million over five years
Currency: 1 rand (R) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: rand (R) per US$1 - 4.6410 (January 1997), 4.2706 (1996), 3.6266 (1995), 3.5490 (1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@South Africa:Communications
Telephones: 5,206,235 (1993 est.)
Telephone system: the system is the best developed, most modern, and has the highest capacity in Africa domestic: consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay links, fiber-optic cable, and radiotelephone communication stations; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria international : 1 submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 14, FM 286, shortwave 0
Radios: 12.1 million (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 67 (1987 est.)
Televisions: 3.45 million (1990 est.)
@South Africa:Transportation
Railways: total: 21,431 km narrow gauge: 20,995 km 1.067-m gauge (9,087 km electrified); 436 km 0.610-m gauge (1995)
Highways: total: 182,329 km paved : 55,428 km (including 2,040 km of expressways) unpaved: 126,901 km (1991 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 931 km; petroleum products 1,748 km; natural gas 322 km
Ports and harbors: Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mosselbaai, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha
Merchant marine: total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 270,848 GRT/266,029 DWT ships by type: container 6, oil tanker 1 (1996 est.)
Airports: 662 (1996 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 351 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m : 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 43 914 to 1,523 m: 74 under 914 m: 220 (1996 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 311 1,524 to 2,437 m : 33 914 to 1,523 m: 278 (1996 est.)
Military
Military branches: South African National Defense Force or SANDF (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Services), South African Police Service or SAPS
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 10,972,813 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males: 6,672,760 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 435,972 (1997 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $2.9 billion (FY95/96)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.2% (FY95/96)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: Swaziland has asked South Africa to open negotiations on reincorporating some nearby South African territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis or that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom
Illicit drugs: transshipment center for heroin and cocaine; cocaine consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit methaqualone, usually imported illegally from India through various east African countries; illicit cultivation of marijuana ______________________________________________________________________
SOUTH GEORGIA AND THE Sandwich Islands]
(dependent territory of the UK)
@South Georgia and the:Geography
Location: Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America
Geographic coordinates: 54 30 S, 37 00 W
Map references: Antarctic Region
Area: total : 4,066 sq km land: 4,066 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Shag Rocks, Clerke Rocks, Bird Island
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Rhode Island
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: NA km
Maritime claims: exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year, interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow
Terrain: most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Paget 2,915 m
Natural resources: fish
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland : 0% other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)
Natural hazards: the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism
Environment - current issues: NA
Environment - international agreements: party to : NA signed, but not ratified: NA
Geography - note: the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in this century, live on South Georgia
@South Georgia and the:People
Population: no indigenous population note: there is a small military garrison on South Georgia, and the British Antarctic Survey has a biological station on Bird Island; the South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited
@South Georgia and the:Government
Country name: conventional long form: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands conventional short form: none
Data code: SX
Dependency status: dependent territory of the UK; administered by a civil commissioner based in the Falkland Islands
National capital: none; Grytviken on South Georgia is the garrison town
Flag description: the flag of the UK is used
Economy
Economy - overview: Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from harvesting fin fish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK.
Budget: revenues: $291,777 expenditures: $451,000, including capital expenditures of $NA (1988 est.)
Electricity - capacity: NA kW
Electricity - production: NA kWh
Electricity - consumption per capita: NA kWh
@South Georgia and the:Communications
Telephones: NA
Telephone system: domestic: NA international: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken
Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 0
Televisions: NA