$NA
Agriculture - products:
paddy rice, bananas, palm kernels, coconuts, plantains, peanuts; beef, chickens; shrimp; forest products
Industries:
bauxite and gold mining, alumina production; oil, lumbering, food processing, fishing
Industrial production growth rate:
6.5% (1994 est.) country comparison to the world: 33
Electricity - production:
1.605 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 140
Electricity - consumption:
1.467 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 139
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production:
15,280 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 79
Oil - consumption:
14,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 140
Oil - exports:
4,308 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 107
Oil - imports:
6,296 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 150
Oil - proved reserves:
79.6 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 72
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 143
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 143
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008) country comparison to the world: 140
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 105
Natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 150
Current account balance:
$24 million (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 60
Exports:
$1.391 billion (2006 est.) country comparison to the world: 143
Exports - commodities:
alumina, gold, crude oil, lumber, shrimp and fish, rice, bananas
Exports - partners:
Canada 36.2%, Belgium 12.5%, Norway 12.4%, UAE 8.9%, US 7.7% (2008)
Imports:
$1.297 billion (2006 est.) country comparison to the world: 166
Imports - commodities:
capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs, cotton, consumer goods
Imports - partners:
US 31.2%, Netherlands 15.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 14.2%, China 7.7%,
Japan 6.4% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$263.3 million (2006) country comparison to the world: 142
Debt - external:
$504.3 million (2005 est.) country comparison to the world: 164
Exchange rates:
Surinamese dollars (SRD) per US dollar - 2.745 (2007), 2.745 (2006), 2.7317 (2005), 2.7336 (2004), 2.6013 (2003)
note: in January 2004, the government replaced the guilder with the Surinamese dollar, tied to a US dollar-dominated currency basket
Communications ::Suriname
Telephones - main lines in use:
81,500 (2008) country comparison to the world: 149
Telephones - mobile cellular:
416,000 (2008) country comparison to the world: 159
Telephone system:
general assessment: international facilities are good
domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity exceed 100 telephones per 100 persons; microwave radio relay network
international: country code - 597; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 4, FM 13, shortwave 1 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
3 (plus 7 repeaters) (2000)
Internet country code:
.sr
Internet hosts:
162 (2009) country comparison to the world: 193
Internet users:
50,000 (2008) country comparison to the world: 170
Transportation ::Suriname
Airports:
50 (2009) country comparison to the world: 91
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1
under 914 m: 4 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 45
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 40 (2009)
Pipelines:
oil 50 km (2008)
Roadways:
total: 4,304 km country comparison to the world: 154 paved: 1,130 km
unpaved: 3,174 km (2003)
Waterways:
1,200 km (most navigable by ships with drafts up to 7 m) (2008) country comparison to the world: 61
Merchant marine:
total: 1 country comparison to the world: 151 by type: cargo 1 (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Paramaribo, Wageningen
Military ::Suriname
Military branches:
National Army (Nationaal Leger, NL; includes Naval Wing, Air Wing) (2007)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age (est.); recruitment is voluntary, with personnel drawn almost exclusively from the Creole community (2007)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 130,534
females age 16-49: 130,243 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 107,367
females age 16-49: 111,000 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 4,251
female: 4,265 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures:
0.6% of GDP (2006 est.) country comparison to the world: 156
Transnational Issues ::Suriname
Disputes - international:
area claimed by French Guiana between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa); Suriname claims a triangle of land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a historic dispute over the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) arbitration to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis of the territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich waters
Illicit drugs:
growing transshipment point for South American drugs destined for Europe via the Netherlands and Brazil; transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing
page last updated on November 11, 2009
======================================================================
@Svalbard (Europe)
Introduction ::Svalbard
Background:
First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory.
Geography ::Svalbard
Location:
Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea,
Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway
Geographic coordinates:
78 00 N, 20 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 62,045 sq km country comparison to the world: 124 land: 62,045 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
3,587 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 4 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia
Climate:
arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year
Terrain:
wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m
Natural resources:
coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (no trees; the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2005)
Irrigated land:
NA
Natural hazards:
ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic
Environment - current issues:
NA
Geography - note:
northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area; Spitsbergen Island is the site of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a seed repository established by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Norwegian Government
People ::Svalbard
Population:
2,116 (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 231
Age structure:
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.023% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 204
Birth rate:
NA
Death rate:
NA
Net migration rate:
NA (2009 est.)
Sex ratio:
NA (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: NA
male: NA
female: NA (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA
Total fertility rate:
NA (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0% (2001) country comparison to the world: 170
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
0 (2001) country comparison to the world: 165
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
0 (2001) country comparison to the world: 156
Ethnic groups:
Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998)
Languages:
Norwegian, Russian
Literacy:
NA
Government ::Svalbard
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen)
Dependency status:
territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway
Government type:
NA
Capital:
name: Longyearbyen
geographic coordinates: 78 13 N, 15 33 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Independence:
none (territory of Norway)
Legal system:
the laws of Norway, where applicable, apply
Executive branch:
chief of state: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991)
head of government: Governor Per SEFLAND (since 1 October 2005); Assistant Governor Rune Baard HANSEN (since 2003)
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
none
Flag description:
the flag of Norway is used
Economy ::Svalbard
Economy - overview:
Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gave the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some hunting of seal, reindeer, and fox.
GDP (purchasing power parity):