Chapter 204
Croatia male: 27,500 female: 25,893 (2008 est.)
Cuba male: 79,945 female: 76,014 (2008 est.)
Cyprus male: 6,482 female: 6,208 (2008 est.)
Czech Republic male: 63,124 female: 59,786 (2008 est.)
Denmark male: 36,561 female: 34,603 (2008 est.)
Djibouti male: 5,618 female: 5,609 (2008 est.)
Dominica male: 756 female: 713 (2008 est.)
Dominican Republic male: 96,971 female: 93,116 (2008 est.)
Ecuador male: 144,821 female: 139,091 (2008 est.)
Egypt male: 825,300 female: 786,590 (2008 est.)
El Salvador male: 73,915 female: 71,252 (2008 est.)
Equatorial Guinea male: 6,784 female: 6,543 (2008 est.)
Eritrea male: 60,490 female: 60,639 (2008 est.)
Estonia male: 8,322 female: 7,846 (2008 est.)
Ethiopia male: 887,061 female: 896,048 (2008 est.)
Faroe Islands male: 400 female: 387 (2008 est.)
Fiji male: 9,077 female: 8,728 (2008 est.)
Finland male: 34,152 female: 32,870 (2008 est.)
France male: 401,379 female: 382,409 (2008 est.)
French Polynesia male: 2,699 female: 2,589 (2008 est.)
Gabon male: 16,558 female: 16,577 (2008 est.)
Gambia, The male: 19,650 female: 19,582 (2008 est.)
Gaza Strip male: 19,275 female: 18,309 (2008 est.)
Georgia male: 35,917 female: 34,566 (2008 est.)
Germany male: 442,972 female: 420,801 (2008 est.)
Ghana male: 273,265 female: 267,204 (2008 est.)
Gibraltar male: 190 female: 185 (2008 est.)
Greece male: 53,858 female: 50,488 (2008 est.)
Greenland male: 534 female: 503 (2008 est.)
Grenada male: 1,034 female: 970 (2008 est.)
Guam male: 1,665 female: 1,547 (2008 est.)
Guatemala male: 161,550 female: 159,760 (2008 est.)
Guernsey male: 379 female: 353 (2008 est.)
Guinea male: 106,967 female: 104,631 (2008 est.)
Guinea-Bissau male: 16,634 female: 16,841 (2008 est.)
Guyana male: 6,713 female: 6,451 (2008 est.)
Haiti male: 105,655 female: 104,376 (2008 est.)
Honduras male: 90,876 female: 87,292 (2008 est.)
Hong Kong male: 42,173 female: 38,753 (2008 est.)
Hungary male: 62,197 female: 59,267 (2008 est.)
Iceland male: 2,393 female: 2,317 (2008 est.)
India male: 11,592,516 female: 10,636,857 (2008 est.)
Indonesia male: 2,181,303 female: 2,110,397 (2008 est.)
Iran male: 766,668 female: 727,654 (2008 est.)
Iraq male: 302,926 female: 294,747 (2008 est.)
Ireland male: 28,610 female: 27,095 (2008 est.)
Isle of Man male: 471 female: 447 (2008 est.)
Israel male: 60,602 female: 57,532 (2008 est.)
Italy male: 290,740 female: 273,569 (2008 est.)
Jamaica male: 32,000 female: 31,428 (2008 est.)
Japan male: 622,168 female: 590,153 (2008 est.)
Jersey male: 587 female: 540 (2008 est.)
Jordan male: 68,067 female: 65,512 (2008 est.)
Kazakhstan male: 145,495 female: 140,149 (2008 est.)
Kenya male: 411,032 female: 406,794 (2008 est.)
Kiribati male: 1,247 female: 1,226 (2008 est.)
Korea, North male: 199,628 female: 192,388 (2008 est.)
Korea, South male: 371,108 female: 325,408 (2008 est.)
Kuwait male: 17,737 female: 18,519 (2008 est.)
Kyrgyzstan male: 60,706 female: 58,721 (2008 est.)
Laos male: 73,973 female: 72,758 (2008 est.)
Latvia male: 14,506 female: 13,982 (2008 est.)
Lebanon male: 32,815 female: 31,610 (2008 est.)
Lesotho male: 26,084 female: 26,006 (2008 est.)
Liberia male: 30,448 female: 29,902 (2008 est.)
Libya male: 61,305 female: 58,788 (2008 est.)
Liechtenstein male: 202 female: 222 (2008 est.)
Lithuania male: 25,907 female: 24,735 (2008 est.)
Luxembourg male: 3,066 female: 2,909 (2008 est.)
Macau male: 4,601 female: 4,171 (2008 est.)
Macedonia male: 15,141 female: 14,434 (2008 est.)
Madagascar male: 230,088 female: 229,932 (2008 est.)
Malawi male: 168,858 female: 168,946 (2008 est.)
Malaysia male: 260,725 female: 247,309 (2008 est.)
Maldives male: 4,749 female: 4,084 (2008 est.)
Mali male: 144,293 female: 136,381 (2008 est.)
Malta male: 2,815 female: 2,657 (2008 est.)
Marshall Islands male: 512 female: 494 (2008 est.)
Mauritania male: 38,191 female: 38,638 (2008 est.)
Mauritius male: 11,089 female: 10,843 (2008 est.)
Mayotte male: 2,407 female: 2,401 (2008 est.)
Mexico male: 1,110,544 female: 1,073,223 (2008 est.)
Micronesia, Federated States of male: 1,310 female: 1,262 (2008 est.)
Moldova male: 33,053 female: 31,712 (2008 est.)
Monaco male: 191 female: 182 (2008 est.)
Mongolia male: 29,990 female: 29,256 (2008 est.)
Montenegro male: 4,426 female: 4,201 (2008 est.)
Montserrat male: 31 female: 39 (2008 est.)
Morocco male: 355,479 female: 343,016 (2008 est.)
Mozambique male: 257,261 female: 259,114 (2008 est.)
Namibia male: 25,525 female: 25,182 (2008 est.)
Nauru male: 173 female: 159 (2008 est.)
Nepal male: 335,747 female: 312,297 (2008 est.)
Netherlands male: 105,735 female: 100,747 (2008 est.)
Netherlands Antilles male: 1,855 female: 1,760 (2008 est.)
New Caledonia male: 2,202 female: 2,121 (2008 est.)
New Zealand male: 31,834 female: 30,243 (2008 est.)
Nicaragua male: 72,689 female: 70,452 (2008 est.)
Niger male: 150,728 female: 143,379 (2008 est.)
Nigeria male: 1,663,025 female: 1,585,224 (2008 est.)
Northern Mariana Islands male: 572 female: 594 (2008 est.)
Norway male: 32,185 female: 30,683 (2008 est.)
Oman male: 34,238 female: 33,139 (2008 est.)
Pakistan male: 2,062,065 female: 1,936,916 (2008 est.)
Palau male: 179 female: 165 (2008 est.)
Panama male: 31,042 female: 29,969 (2008 est.)
Papua New Guinea male: 62,865 female: 61,102 (2008 est.)
Paraguay male: 72,109 female: 70,509 (2008 est.)
Peru male: 306,260 female: 296,819 (2008 est.)
Philippines male: 1,012,779 female: 977,030 (2008 est.)
Poland male: 257,605 female: 245,832 (2008 est.)
Portugal male: 64,910 female: 58,599 (2008 est.)
Puerto Rico male: 30,760 female: 29,469 (2008 est.)
Qatar male: 6,224 female: 4,845 (2008 est.)
Romania male: 127,706 female: 121,852 (2008 est.)
Russia male: 821,103 female: 781,570 (2008 est.)
Rwanda male: 111,791 female: 112,131 (2008 est.)
Saint Barthelemy male: 21 female: 20 (2008 est.)
Saint Helena male: 47 female: 43 (2008 est.)
Saint Kitts and Nevis male: 367 female: 352 (2008 est.)
Saint Lucia male: 1,591 female: 1,504 (2008 est.)
Saint Martin male: 186 female: 162 (2008 est.)
Saint Pierre and Miquelon male: 61 female: 58 (2008 est.)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines male: 1,224 female: 1,169 (2008 est.)
Samoa male: 2,571 female: 2,454 (2008 est.)
San Marino male: 156 female: 154 (2008 est.)
Sao Tome and Principe male: 2,437 female: 2,394 (2008 est.)
Saudi Arabia male: 271,905 female: 261,795 (2008 est.)
Senegal male: 141,832 female: 139,541 (2008 est.)
Serbia male: 66,263 female: 62,165 (2008 est.)
Seychelles male: 770 female: 750 (2008 est.)
Sierra Leone male: 70,068 female: 73,930 (2008 est.)
Singapore male: 27,742 female: 26,325 (2008 est.)
Slovakia male: 38,183 female: 36,388 (2008 est.)
Slovenia male: 10,516 female: 9,934 (2008 est.)
Solomon Islands male: 6,924 female: 6,679 (2008 est.)
Somalia male: 95,446 female: 95,339 (2008 est.)
South Africa male: 529,201 female: 522,678 (2008 est.)
Spain male: 203,650 female: 191,352 (2008 est.)
Sri Lanka male: 174,065 female: 168,593 (2008 est.)
Sudan male: 488,679 female: 469,547 (2008 est.)
Suriname male: 4,329 female: 4,350 (2008 est.)
Swaziland male: 15,951 female: 15,728 (2008 est.)
Sweden male: 64,605 female: 61,110 (2008 est.)
Switzerland male: 49,205 female: 45,220 (2008 est.)
Syria male: 215,734 female: 203,106 (2008 est.)
Taiwan male: 164,883 female: 152,085 (2008 est.)
Tajikistan male: 84,137 female: 81,777 (2008 est.)
Tanzania male: 478,812 female: 479,557 (2008 est.)
Thailand male: 531,315 female: 511,288 (2008 est.)
Timor-Leste male: 13,045 female: 12,670 (2008 est.)
Togo male: 69,156 female: 69,200 (2008 est.)
Tonga male: 1,464 female: 1,412 (2008 est.)
Trinidad and Tobago male: 8,671 female: 8,153 (2008 est.)
Tunisia male: 101,794 female: 95,198 (2008 est.)
Turkey male: 660,452 female: 638,527 (2008 est.)
Turkmenistan male: 57,615 female: 55,426 (2008 est.)
Turks and Caicos Islands male: 222 female: 214 (2008 est.)
Tuvalu male: 128 female: 125 (2008 est.)
Uganda male: 384,638 female: 381,990 (2008 est.)
Ukraine male: 288,605 female: 276,324 (2008 est.)
United Arab Emirates male: 25,856 female: 23,085 (2008 est.)
United Kingdom male: 400,927 female: 383,593 (2008 est.)
United States male: 2,186,440 female: 2,079,688 (2008 est.)
Uruguay male: 27,082 female: 26,075 (2008 est.)
Uzbekistan male: 324,094 female: 323,923 (2008 est.)
Vanuatu male: 2,385 female: 2,290 (2008 est.)
Venezuela male: 275,323 female: 274,106 (2008 est.)
Vietnam male: 903,734 female: 845,306 (2008 est.)
Virgin Islands male: 861 female: 897 (2008 est.)
Wallis and Futuna male: 172 female: 170 (2008 est.)
West Bank male: 29,866 female: 28,372 (2008 est.)
Western Sahara male: 4,658 female: 4,545 (2008 est.)
Yemen male: 268,468 female: 258,196 (2008 est.)
Zambia male: 147,358 female: 146,771 (2008 est.)
Zimbabwe male: 144,601 female: 147,627 (2008 est.)
This page was last updated on 18 December 2008
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@2028 Background
Afghanistan Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 Communist counter-coup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan Communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-Communist mujahedin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. The UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan and the National Assembly was inaugurated the following December. Despite gains toward building a stable central government, a resurgent Taliban and continuing provincial instability - particularly in the south and the east - remain serious challenges for the Afghan Government.
Akrotiri By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area.
Albania Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939. Communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960), and then with China (to 1978). In the early 1990s, Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, a dilapidated physical infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents. Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain. International observers judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997. In the 2005 general elections, the Democratic Party and its allies won a decisive victory on pledges of reducing crime and corruption, promoting economic growth, and decreasing the size of government. The election, and particularly the orderly transition of power, was considered an important step forward. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, the country is still one of the poorest in Europe, hampered by a large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure. Albania has played a largely helpful role in managing inter-ethnic tensions in southeastern Europe, and is continuing to work toward joining NATO and the EU. Albania, with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been a strong supporter of the global war on terrorism.
Algeria After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962. Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), has dominated politics ever since. Many Algerians in the subsequent generation were not satisfied, however, and moved to counter the FLN's centrality in Algerian politics. The surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 balloting spurred the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crackdown on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets. The government later allowed elections featuring pro-government and moderate religious-based parties, but did not appease the activists who progressively widened their attacks. The fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense fighting between 1992-98 and which resulted in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000. However, small numbers of armed militants persist in confronting government forces and conducting ambushes and occasional attacks on villages. The army placed Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA in the presidency in 1999 in a fraudulent election but claimed neutrality in his 2004 landslide reelection victory. Longstanding problems continue to face BOUTEFLIKA in his second term, including the ethnic minority Berbers' ongoing autonomy campaign, large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, unreliable electrical and water supplies, government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing activities of extremist militants. The 2006 merger of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) with al-Qaida (followed by a name change to al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb) signaled an increase in bombings, including high-profile, mass-casualty suicide attacks targeted against the Algerian government and Western interests. Algeria must also diversify its petroleum-based economy, which has yielded a large cash reserve but which has not been used to redress Algeria's many social and infrastructure problems.
American Samoa Settled as early as 1000 B.C., Samoa was "discovered" by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year.
Andorra For 715 years, from 1278 to 1993, Andorrans lived under a unique co-principality, ruled by French and Spanish leaders (from 1607 onward, the French chief of state and the Spanish bishop of Urgel). In 1993, this feudal system was modified with the titular heads of state retained, but the government transformed into a parliamentary democracy. Long isolated and impoverished, mountainous Andorra achieved considerable prosperity since World War II through its tourist industry. Many immigrants (legal and illegal) are attracted to the thriving economy with its lack of income taxes.
Angola Angola is rebuilding its country after the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002. Fighting between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, followed independence from Portugal in 1975. Peace seemed imminent in 1992 when Angola held national elections, but UNITA renewed fighting after being beaten by the MPLA at the polls. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost - and 4 million people displaced - in the quarter century of fighting. SAVIMBI's death in 2002 ended UNITA's insurgency and strengthened the MPLA's hold on power. President DOS SANTOS has announced legislative elections will be held in September 2008, with presidential elections planned for sometime in 2009.
Anguilla Colonized by English settlers from Saint Kitts in 1650, Anguilla was administered by Great Britain until the early 19th century, when the island - against the wishes of the inhabitants - was incorporated into a single British dependency, along with Saint Kitts and Nevis. Several attempts at separation failed. In 1971, two years after a revolt, Anguilla was finally allowed to secede; this arrangement was formally recognized in 1980, with Anguilla becoming a separate British dependency.
Antarctica Speculation over the existence of a "southern land" was not confirmed until the early 1820s when British and American commercial operators and British and Russian national expeditions began exploring the Antarctic Peninsula region and other areas south of the Antarctic Circle. Not until 1840 was it established that Antarctica was indeed a continent and not just a group of islands. Several exploration "firsts" were achieved in the early 20th century. Following World War II, there was an upsurge in scientific research on the continent. A number of countries have set up a range of year-round and seasonal stations, camps, and refuges to support scientific research in Antarctica. Seven have made territorial claims, but not all countries recognize these claims. In order to form a legal framework for the activities of nations on the continent, an Antarctic Treaty was negotiated that neither denies nor gives recognition to existing territorial claims; signed in 1959, it entered into force in 1961.
Antigua and Barbuda The Siboney were the first to inhabit the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in 2400 B.C., but Arawak Indians populated the islands when COLUMBUS landed on his second voyage in 1493. Early settlements by the Spanish and French were succeeded by the English who formed a colony in 1667. Slavery, established to run the sugar plantations on Antigua, was abolished in 1834. The islands became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981.
Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the recently delimited Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. A sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes circumscribes the Arctic Ocean.
Argentina In 1816, the United Provinces of the Rio Plata declared their independence from Spain. After Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay went their separate ways, the area that remained became Argentina. The country's population and culture were heavily shaped by immigrants from throughout Europe, but most particularly Italy and Spain, which provided the largest percentage of newcomers from 1860 to 1930. Up until about the mid-20th century, much of Argentina's history was dominated by periods of internal political conflict between Federalists and Unitarians and between civilian and military factions. After World War II, an era of Peronist authoritarian rule and interference in subsequent governments was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy returned in 1983, and has persisted despite numerous challenges, the most formidable of which was a severe economic crisis in 2001-02 that led to violent public protests and the resignation of several interim presidents. The economy has recovered strongly since bottoming out in 2002.
Armenia Armenia prides itself on being the first nation to formally adopt Christianity (early 4th century). Despite periods of autonomy, over the centuries Armenia came under the sway of various empires including the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman. During World War I in the western portion of Armenia, Ottoman Turkey instituted a policy of forced resettlement coupled with other harsh practices that resulted in an estimated 1 million Armenian deaths. The eastern area of Armenia was ceded by the Ottomans to Russia in 1828; this portion declared its independence in 1918, but was conquered by the Soviet Red Army in 1920. Armenian leaders remain preoccupied by the long conflict with Muslim Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated region, assigned to Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the area in 1988; the struggle escalated after both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a significant portion of Azerbaijan proper. The economies of both sides have been hurt by their inability to make substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution. Turkey imposed an economic blockade on Armenia and closed the common border because of the Armenian separatists' control of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas.
Aruba Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990.
Ashmore and Cartier Islands These uninhabited islands came under Australian authority in 1931; formal administration began two years later. Ashmore Reef supports a rich and diverse avian and marine habitat; in 1983, it became a National Nature Reserve. Cartier Island, a former bombing range, became a marine reserve in 2000.