Chapter 121
The economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export. Mining accounts for 8% of GDP, but provides more than 50% of foreign exchange earnings. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a primary source for gem-quality diamonds. Namibia is the fourth-largest exporter of nonfuel minerals in Africa, the world's fifth-largest producer of uranium, and the producer of large quantities of lead, zinc, tin, silver, and tungsten. The mining sector employs only about 3% of the population while about half of the population depends on subsistence agriculture for its livelihood. Namibia normally imports about 50% of its cereal requirements; in drought years food shortages are a major problem in rural areas. A high per capita GDP, relative to the region, hides one of the world's most unequal income distributions. The Namibian economy is closely linked to South Africa with the Namibian dollar pegged one-to-one to the South African rand. Increased payments from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) put Namibia's budget into surplus in 2007 for the first time since independence, but SACU payments will decline after 2008 as part of a new revenue sharing formula. Increased fish production and mining of zinc, copper, uranium, and silver spurred growth in 2003-07, but growth in recent years was undercut by poor fish catches and high costs for metal inputs.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$10.69 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$7.4 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
3.6% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$5,200 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 10.6% industry: 35.4% services: 53.9% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
660,000 (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 47% industry: 20% services: 33% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate:
5.2% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
the UNDP's 2005 Human Development Report indicated that 34.9% of the population live on $1 per day and 55.8% live on $2 per day
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 64.5% (2003)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
70.7 (2003)
Investment (gross fixed):
23.8% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $2.765 billion expenditures: $2.515 billion (2007 est.)
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March
Public debt:
22.3% of GDP (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6.7% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
10.5% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
12.88% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$2.149 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$1.493 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$4.446 billion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
millet, sorghum, peanuts, grapes; livestock; fish
Industries:
meatpacking, fish processing, dairy products; mining (diamonds, lead, zinc, tin, silver, tungsten, uranium, copper)
Industrial production growth rate:
9% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
1.606 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
3.194 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
40 million kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
1.948 billion kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2006 est.)
Electricity - production by source:
NA
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
19,840 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:
17,750 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
62.29 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
$805.2 million (2007 est.)
Exports:
$2.919 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
diamonds, copper, gold, zinc, lead, uranium; cattle, processed fish, karakul skins
Exports - partners:
South Africa 33.4%, US 4% (2006)
Imports:
$3.091 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs; petroleum products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners:
South Africa 85.2%, US (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
ODA, $123.4 million (2005 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$896 million (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$1.003 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$NA
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$541.8 million (2006)
Currency (code):
Namibian dollar (NAD); South African rand (ZAR)
Currency code:
NAD; ZAR
Exchange rates:
Namibian dollars (NAD) per US dollar - 7.18 (2007), 6.7649 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003)
Communications Namibia
Telephones - main lines in use:
138,100 (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
800,300 (2007)
Telephone system:
general assessment: good system with a combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity of about 45 per 100 persons domestic: core fiber-optic network links most centers and connections are now digital; Namibia's first mobile-cellular network, launched in 1994, provides coverage to 86 percent of Namibia by area international: country code - 264; fiber-optic cable to South Africa, microwave radio relay link to Botswana, direct links to other neighboring countries; connected to the South African Far East (SAFE) submarine cable through South Africa; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (2007)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 39, shortwave 4 (2001)
Radios:
232,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
2 (2007)
Televisions:
60,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.na
Internet hosts:
6,296 (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2000)
Internet users:
101,000 (2007)
Transportation Namibia
Airports:
137 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 21 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 116 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 72 under 914 m: 20 (2007)
Railways:
total: 2,382 km narrow gauge: 2,382 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)
Roadways:
total: 42,237 km paved: 5,406 km unpaved: 36,831 km (2002)
Merchant marine:
total: 1 by type: cargo 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Luderitz, Walvis Bay
Military Namibia
Military branches:
Namibian Defense Force: Army, Navy, Air Wing (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
18-25 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 527,948 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 313,497 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 25,525 female: 25,182 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
3.7% of GDP (2006)
Transnational Issues Namibia
Disputes - international:
concerns from international experts and local populations over the Okavango Delta ecology in Botswana and human displacement scuttled Namibian plans to construct a hydroelectric dam on Popa Falls along the Angola-Namibia border; managed dispute with South Africa over the location of the boundary in the Orange River; Namibia has supported, and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to, plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 4,700 (Angola) (2007)
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
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@Nauru
Introduction Nauru
Background:
The exact origins of the Nauruans are unclear, since their language does not resemble any other in the Pacific. The island was annexed by Germany in 1888 and its phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium. Nauru was occupied by Australian forces in World War I and subsequently became a League of Nations mandate. After the Second World War - and a brutal occupation by Japan - Nauru became a UN trust territory. It achieved its independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999 as the world's smallest independent republic.
Geography Nauru
Location:
Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands
Geographic coordinates:
0 32 S, 166 55 E
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total: 21 sq km land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
30 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:
tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February)
Terrain:
sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m
Natural resources:
phosphates, fish
Land use:
arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Irrigated land:
NA
Natural hazards:
periodic droughts
Environment - current issues:
limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator
People Nauru
Population:
13,770 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 35.5% (male 2,492/female 2,393) 15-64 years: 62.5% (male 4,237/female 4,363) 65 years and over: 2.1% (male 148/female 137) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 21.3 years male: 20.7 years female: 21.9 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.772% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
24.26 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
6.54 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
NA (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.08 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 9.43 deaths/1,000 live births male: 11.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 63.81 years male: 60.2 years female: 67.6 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.94 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
Nationality:
noun: Nauruan(s) adjective: Nauruan
Ethnic groups:
Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8%
Religions:
Nauru Congregational 35.4%, Roman Catholic 33.2%, Nauru Independent Church 10.4%, other 14.1%, none 4.5%, unspecified 2.4% (2002 census)
Languages:
Nauruan (official; a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes
Literacy:
NA
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 8 years male: 8 years female: 9 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
NA
Government Nauru
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Nauru conventional short form: Nauru local long form: Republic of Nauru local short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island
Government type:
republic
Capital:
no official capital; government offices in Yaren District time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren
Independence:
31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 31 January (1968)
Constitution:
29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day)
Legal system:
acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Suffrage:
20 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Marcus STEPHEN (since 19 December 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Marcus STEPHEN (since 19 December 2007); note - President Ludwig SCOTTY defeated in a no confidence vote in parliament on 19 December 2007 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 19 December 2007 (next to be held in 2010) election results: NA
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 26 April 2008 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 18; note - President Marcus STEPHEN called a snap election to break a parliamentary stalemate blocking legislative action
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party; note - loose multiparty system
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Woman Information and News Agency (women's issues)
International organization participation:
ACP, ADB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Marlene I. MOSES chancery: 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 937-0074 FAX: [1] (212) 937-0079 consulate(s): Agana (Guam)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru
Flag description:
blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru
Economy Nauru
Economy - overview:
Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, now significantly depleted. An Australian company in 2005 entered into an agreement intended to exploit remaining supplies. Few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income were invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual bankruptcy. To cut costs the government has frozen wages and reduced overstaffed public service departments. In 2005, the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat continued to climb. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$60 million (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$NA
GDP - real growth rate:
NA%
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$5,000 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Labor force - by occupation:
note: employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation (1992)
Unemployment rate:
90% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $13.5 million expenditures: $13.5 million (2005)
Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
-3.6% (1993)
Agriculture - products:
coconuts
Industries:
phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
Electricity - production:
31 million kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
28.83 million kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
1,070 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:
1,049 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Exports:
$64,000 f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities:
phosphates
Exports - partners:
South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2006)
Imports:
$20 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:
food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery
Imports - partners:
South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
$20 million mostly from Australia (2005)
Debt - external:
$33.3 million (2002)
Currency (code):
Australian dollar (AUD)
Currency code:
AUD
Exchange rates:
Australian dollars (AUD) per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003)
Communications Nauru
Telephones - main lines in use:
1,900 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
1,500 (2002)
Telephone system:
general assessment: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities domestic: NA international: country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios:
7,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
1 (1997)
Televisions:
500 (1997)
Internet country code:
.nr
Internet hosts:
42 (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)
Internet users:
300 (2002)
Transportation Nauru
Airports:
1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Roadways:
total: 24 km paved: 24 km (2002)
Ports and terminals:
Nauru
Military Nauru
Military branches:
no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 3,470 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 173 female: 159 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
NA
Military - note:
Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia
Transnational Issues Nauru
Disputes - international:
none
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
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@Navassa Island
Introduction Navassa Island
Background:
This uninhabited island was claimed by the US in 1857 for its guano. Mining took place between 1865 and 1898. The lighthouse, built in 1917, was shut down in 1996 and administration of Navassa Island transferred from the Coast Guard to the Department of the Interior. A 1998 scientific expedition to the island described it as a unique preserve of Caribbean biodiversity; the following year it became a National Wildlife Refuge and annual scientific expeditions have continued.
Geography Navassa Island
Location:
Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, 35 miles west of Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti
Geographic coordinates:
18 25 N, 75 02 W
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 5.4 sq km land: 5.4 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
about nine times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
8 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:
marine, tropical
Terrain:
raised coral and limestone plateau, flat to undulating; ringed by vertical white cliffs (9 to 15 m high)
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: unnamed location on southwest side 77 m
Natural resources:
guano
Land use:
arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Natural hazards:
hurricanes
Environment - current issues:
NA
Geography - note:
strategic location 160 km south of the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; mostly exposed rock with numerous solution holes but with enough grassland to support goat herds; dense stands of fig trees, scattered cactus
People Navassa Island
Population:
uninhabited note: transient Haitian fishermen and others camp on the island
Government Navassa Island
Country name:
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Navassa Island
Dependency status:
unorganized, unincorporated territory of the US; administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior, from the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Boqueron, Puerto Rico; in September 1996, the Coast Guard ceased operations and maintenance of Navassa Island Light, a 46-meter-tall lighthouse on the southern side of the island; there has also been a private claim advanced against the island
Legal system:
the laws of the US, where applicable, apply
Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (territory of the US)
Flag description:
the flag of the US is used
Economy Navassa Island
Economy - overview:
Subsistence fishing and commercial trawling occur within refuge waters.
Transportation Navassa Island
Ports and terminals:
none; offshore anchorage only
Military Navassa Island
Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of the US
Transnational Issues Navassa Island
Disputes - international:
claimed by Haiti, source of subsistence fishing
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
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@Nepal
Introduction Nepal
Background:
In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. An insurgency led by Maoist extremists broke out in 1996. The ensuing nine-year civil war between insurgents and government forces witnessed the dissolution of the cabinet and parliament and assumption of absolute power by the king. Several weeks of mass protests in April 2006 were followed by several months of peace negotiations between the Maoists and government officials, and culminated in a November 2006 peace accord and the promulgation of an interim constitution. The newly formed interim parliament declared Nepal a democratic federal republic at its first meeting in May 2008, the king vacated the throne in mid-June 2008, and parliament elected the country's first president the following month.
Geography Nepal
Location:
Southern Asia, between China and India
Geographic coordinates:
28 00 N, 84 00 E
Map references:
Asia
Area:
total: 147,181 sq km land: 143,181 sq km water: 4,000 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Arkansas
Land boundaries:
total: 2,926 km border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: