$NA
Exchange rates:
Ugandan shillings (UGX) per US dollar - 1,658.1 (2008 est.), 1,685.8 (2007), 1,834.9 (2006), 1,780.7 (2005), 1,810.3 (2004)
Communications ::Uganda
Telephones - main lines in use:
168,500 (2008) country comparison to the world: 128
Telephones - mobile cellular:
8.555 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 68
Telephone system:
general assessment: seriously inadequate; mobile cellular service is increasing rapidly, but the number of main lines is still deficient; e-mail and Internet services are available
domestic: intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communication stations, fixed and mobile-cellular systems for short-range traffic
international: country code - 256; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; analog links to Kenya and Tanzania
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 7, FM 33, shortwave 2 (2001)
Television broadcast stations:
8 (plus 1 repeater) (2001)
Internet country code:
.ug
Internet hosts:
6,757 (2009) country comparison to the world: 131
Internet users:
2.5 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 64
Transportation ::Uganda
Airports:
35 (2009) country comparison to the world: 109
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 30
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 15
under 914 m: 8 (2009)
Railways:
total: 1,244 km country comparison to the world: 84 narrow gauge: 1,244 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)
Roadways:
total: 70,746 km country comparison to the world: 67 paved: 16,272 km
unpaved: 54,474 km (2003)
Waterways:
on Lake Victoria, 200 km on Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, and parts of Albert Nile (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell
Military ::Uganda
Military branches:
Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF): Army (includes Marine Unit),
Air Force (2007)
Military service age and obligation:
18-26 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military duty; 18-30 years of age for professionals; 9-year service obligation; the government has stated that recruitment below 18 years of age could occur with proper consent and that "no person under the apparent age of 13 years shall be enrolled in the armed forces"; Ugandan citizenship and secondary education required (2009)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 6,532,894
females age 16-49: 6,352,416 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 3,996,597
females age 16-49: 3,899,717 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 399,134
female: 395,505 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures:
2.2% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world: 76
Transnational Issues ::Uganda
Disputes - international:
Uganda is subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces that extend across its borders; Uganda hosts 209,860 Sudanese, 27,560 Congolese, and 19,710 Rwandan refugees, while Ugandan refugees as well as members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) seek shelter in southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Garamba National Park; LRA forces have also attacked Kenyan villages across the border
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 215,700 (Sudan); 28,880 (Democratic Republic of Congo); 24,900 (Rwanda)
IDPs: 1.27 million (350,000 IDPs returned in 2006 following ongoing peace talks between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda) (2007)
page last updated on November 11, 2009
======================================================================
@Ukraine (Europe)
Introduction ::Ukraine
Background:
Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine was able to bring about a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and forced to endure a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two artificial famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for some 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although final independence for Ukraine was achieved in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties. A peaceful mass protest "Orange Revolution" in the closing months of 2004 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in parliamentary elections and become prime minister in August of 2006. An early legislative election, brought on by a political crisis in the spring of 2007, saw Yuliya TYMOSHENKO, as head of an "Orange" coalition, installed as a new prime minister in December 2007.
Geography ::Ukraine
Location:
Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east
Geographic coordinates:
49 00 N, 32 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 603,550 sq km country comparison to the world: 45 land: 579,330 sq km
water: 24,220 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 4,566 km
border countries: Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 940 km, Poland 428 km, Romania (south) 176 km, Romania (southwest) 362 km, Russia 1,576 km, Slovakia 90 km
Coastline:
2,782 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 m or to the depth of exploitation
Climate:
temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in west and north, lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; summers are warm across the greater part of the country, hot in the south
Terrain:
most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians), and in the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m
Natural resources:
iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 53.8%
permanent crops: 1.5%
other: 44.7% (2005)
Irrigated land:
22,080 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
139.5 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 37.53 cu km/yr (12%/35%/52%)
per capita: 807 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
NA
Environment - current issues:
inadequate supplies of potable water; air and water pollution; deforestation; radiation contamination in the northeast from 1986 accident at Chornobyl' Nuclear Power Plant
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulfur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds
Geography - note:
strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe
People ::Ukraine
Population:
45,700,395 (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 27
Age structure:
0-14 years: 13.8% (male 3,238,280/female 3,066,594)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 15,399,488/female 16,742,612)
65 years and over: 15.9% (male 2,422,311/female 4,831,110) (2009 est.)
Median age:
total: 39.5 years
male: 36.3 years
female: 42.7 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.632% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 230
Birth rate:
9.6 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 202
Death rate:
15.81 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 18
Net migration rate:
-0.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 93
Urbanization:
urban population: 68% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: -0.7% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 8.98 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 158 male: 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.25 years country comparison to the world: 150 male: 62.37 years
female: 74.5 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.26 children born/woman (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 211
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.6% (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 40
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
440,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 21
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
19,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 23
Nationality:
noun: Ukrainian(s)
adjective: Ukrainian
Ethnic groups:
Ukrainian 77.8%, Russian 17.3%, Belarusian 0.6%, Moldovan 0.5%,
Crimean Tatar 0.5%, Bulgarian 0.4%, Hungarian 0.3%, Romanian 0.3%,
Polish 0.3%, Jewish 0.2%, other 1.8% (2001 census)
Religions:
Ukrainian Orthodox - Kyiv Patriarchate 50.4%, Ukrainian Orthodox -
Moscow Patriarchate 26.1%, Ukrainian Greek Catholic 8%, Ukrainian
Autocephalous Orthodox 7.2%, Roman Catholic 2.2%, Protestant 2.2%,
Jewish 0.6%, other 3.2% (2006 est.)
Languages:
Ukrainian (official) 67%, Russian 24%, other 9% (includes small
Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.4%
male: 99.7%
female: 99.2% (2001 census)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 14 years
male: 14 years
female: 15 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
6.3% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world: 36
Government ::Ukraine
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Ukraine
local long form: none
local short form: Ukrayina
former: Ukrainian National Republic, Ukrainian State, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Kyiv (Kiev)
geographic coordinates: 50 26 N, 30 31 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
24 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast'), 1 autonomous republic* (avtonomna respublika), and 2 municipalities (mista, singular - misto) with oblast status**; Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Crimea or Avtonomna Respublika Krym* (Simferopol'), Dnipropetrovs'k, Donets'k, Ivano-Frankivs'k, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmel'nyts'kyy, Kirovohrad, Kyiv**, Kyiv, Luhans'k, L'viv, Mykolayiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sevastopol'**, Sumy, Ternopil', Vinnytsya, Volyn' (Luts'k), Zakarpattya (Uzhhorod), Zaporizhzhya, Zhytomyr
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Independence:
24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 24 August (1991); note - 22 January 1918, the day Ukraine first declared its independence (from Soviet Russia) and the day the short-lived Western and Central Ukrainian republics united (1919), is now celebrated as Unity Day
Constitution:
adopted 28 June 1996
Legal system:
based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Viktor A. YUSHCHENKO (since 23 January 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Yuliya TYMOSHENKO (since 18 December 2007); First Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr TURCHYNOV (since 18 December 2007); Deputy Prime Ministers Hryhoriy NEMYRYA and Ivan VASYUNYK (since 18 December 2007)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers selected by the prime minister; the only exceptions are the foreign and defense ministers, who are chosen by the president
note: there is also a National Security and Defense Council or NSDC originally created in 1992 as the National Security Council; the NSDC staff is tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and advising the president; a Presidential Secretariat helps draft presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); note - a special repeat runoff presidential election between Viktor YUSHCHENKO and Viktor YANUKOVYCH took place on 26 December 2004 after the earlier 21 November 2004 contest - won by YANUKOVYCH - was invalidated by the Ukrainian Supreme Court because of widespread and significant violations; under constitutional reforms that went into effect 1 January 2006, the majority in parliament takes the lead in naming the prime minister
election results: Viktor YUSHCHENKO elected president; percent of vote - Viktor YUSHCHENKO 52%, Viktor YANUKOVYCH 44.2%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; members allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 3% or more of the national electoral vote; serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 30 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012)
election results: percent of vote by party/bloc - Party of Regions 34.4%, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 30.7%, Our Ukraine-People's Self Defense 14.2%, CPU 5.4%, Lytvyn bloc 4%, other parties 11.3%; seats by party/bloc - Party of Regions 175, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 156, Our Ukraine-People's Self Defense 72, CPU 27, Lytvyn bloc 20
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders:
Christian Democratic Union [Volodymyr STRETOVYCH]; Communist Party
of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO]; European Party of Ukraine
[Mykola KATERYNCHUK]; Fatherland Party (Batkivshchyna) [Yuliya
TYMOSHENKO]; Forward Ukraine! [Viktor MUSIYAKA]; Labor Party of
Ukraine [Mykola SYROTA]; Our Ukraine [Viktor YUSHCHENKO]; Party of
Industrialists and Entrepreneurs [Anatoliy KINAKH]; Party of the
Defenders of the Fatherland [Yuriy Karmazin]; People's Movement of
Ukraine (Rukh) [Borys TARASYUK]; People's Party [Volodymyr LYTVYN];
Peoples' Self-Defense [Yuriy LUTSENKO]; PORA! (It's Time!) party
[Vladyslav KASKIV]; Progressive Socialist Party [Natalya VITRENKO];
Reforms and Order Party [Viktor PYNZENYK]; Party of Regions [Viktor
YANUKOVYCH]; Sobor [Anatoliy MATVIYENKO]; Social Democratic Party
[Yevhen KORNICHUK]; Social Democratic Party (United) or SDPU(o)
[Yuriy ZAHORODNIY]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr
MOROZ]; Ukrainian People's Party [Yuriy KOSTENKO]; United Center
[Ihor Krill]; Viche [Inna BOHOSLOVSKA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Committee of Voters of Ukraine [Ihor POPOV]
International organization participation:
Australia Group, BSEC, CBSS (observer), CE, CEI, CIS, EAEC (observer), EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Oleh V. SHAMSHUR
chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 333-0606
FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817
consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador William B. TAYLOR Jr.
embassy: 10 Yurii Kotsiubynsky Street, 01901 Kyiv
mailing address: 5850 Kiev Place, Washington, DC 20521-5850
telephone: [380] (44) 490-4000
FAX: [380] (44) 490-4085
Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grain fields under a blue sky
Economy ::Ukraine
Economy - overview:
After Russia, the Ukrainian republic was far and away the most important economic component of the former Soviet Union, producing about four times the output of the next-ranking republic. Its fertile black soil generated more than one-fourth of Soviet agricultural output, and its farms provided substantial quantities of meat, milk, grain, and vegetables to other republics. Likewise, its diversified heavy industry supplied the unique equipment (for example, large diameter pipes) and raw materials to industrial and mining sites (vertical drilling apparatus) in other regions of the former USSR. Shortly after independence was ratified in December 1991, the Ukrainian Government liberalized most prices and erected a legal framework for privatization, but widespread resistance to reform within the government and the legislature soon stalled reform efforts and led to some backtracking. Output by 1999 had fallen to less than 40% of the 1991 level. Ukraine's dependence on Russia for energy supplies and the lack of significant structural reform have made the Ukrainian economy vulnerable to external shocks. Ukraine depends on imports to meet about three-fourths of its annual oil and natural gas requirements. Ukraine concluded a deal with Russia in January 2006 that almost doubled the price Ukraine pays for Russian gas. Disputes with Russia over pricing have led to periodic gas cut-offs. Outside institutions - particularly the IMF - have encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms. Ukrainian Government officials eliminated most tax and customs privileges in a March 2005 budget law, bringing more economic activity out of Ukraine's large shadow economy, but more improvements are needed, including fighting corruption, developing capital markets, and improving the legislative framework. Ukraine's economy was buoyant despite political turmoil between the prime minister and president until mid-2008. Real GDP growth exceeded 7% in 2006-07, fueled by high global prices for steel - Ukraine's top export - and by strong domestic consumption, spurred by rising pensions and wages. The drop in steel prices and Ukraine's exposure to the global financial crisis due to aggressive foreign borrowing has lowered growth in 2008 and the economy probably will contract in 2009. Ukraine reached an agreement with the IMF for a $16.5 billion standby arrangement in November 2008 to deal with the economic crisis. However, political turmoil in Ukraine as well as deteriorating external conditions are likely to hamper efforts for economic recovery.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$338.6 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 35 $331.6 billion (2007 est.)
$307.4 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$179.6 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
2.1% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 157 7.9% (2007 est.)
7.3% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$7,400 (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 124 $7,200 (2007 est.)
$6,600 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 9.3%
industry: 31.7%
services: 58.9% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
21.57 million (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 28
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 19.4%
industry: 24.2%
services: 56.4% (2005)
Unemployment rate:
3% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 34 2.3% (2007 est.)
note: officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers
Population below poverty line:
37.7% (2003)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 25.7% (2006)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
31 (2006) country comparison to the world: 107 29 (1999)
Investment (gross fixed):
27.2% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 37
Budget:
revenues: $56.55 billion
expenditures: $59.24 billion; note - this is the planned, consolidated budget (2008 est.)
Public debt:
10.3% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 112 24.7% of GDP (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
25.2% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 213 12.8% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
12% (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 53 8% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
17.49% (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 71 11.33% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$29.24 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 28 $35.97 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$37.32 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 31 $41.51 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$101.1 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 38 $87.13 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$24.36 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 45 $111.8 billion (31 December 2007)
$42.87 billion (31 December 2006)
Agriculture - products:
grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk
Industries:
coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar)
Industrial production growth rate:
-5% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 167
Electricity - production:
185.2 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 20
Electricity - consumption:
153.1 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 22
Electricity - exports:
12.55 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
3.383 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
101,300 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 51
Oil - consumption:
353,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 37
Oil - exports:
97,200 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 67
Oil - imports:
354,100 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 29
Oil - proved reserves:
395 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 52
Natural gas - production:
19.8 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 30
Natural gas - consumption:
84 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 9
Natural gas - exports:
3.2 billion cu m (2007) country comparison to the world: 31
Natural gas - imports:
64.2 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 5
Natural gas - proved reserves:
1.104 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 24
Current account balance:
-$12.76 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 171 -$5.918 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$67.72 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 47 $49.84 billion (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products
Exports - partners:
Russia 23.5%, Turkey 6.9%, Italy 4.4% (2008)
Imports:
$83.81 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 41 $60.41 billion (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners:
Russia 22.7%, Germany 8.4%, Turkmenistan 6.6%, China 6.5%, Poland 5% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$31.54 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 41 $32.48 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$101.7 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 37 $79.96 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$41.77 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 53 $31.08 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$1.905 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 64 $895 million (31 December 2007 est.)
Exchange rates:
hryvnia (UAH) per US dollar - 4.9523 (2008 est.), 5.05 (2007), 5.05 (2006), 5.1247 (2005), 5.3192 (2004)
Communications ::Ukraine
Telephones - main lines in use:
13.177 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 20
Telephones - mobile cellular:
55.695 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 19
Telephone system:
general assessment: Ukraine's telecommunication development plan emphasizes improving domestic trunk lines, international connections, and the mobile-cellular system
domestic: at independence in December 1991, Ukraine inherited a telephone system that was antiquated, inefficient, and in disrepair; more than 3.5 million applications for telephones could not be satisfied; telephone density is rising and the domestic trunk system is being improved; about one-third of Ukraine's networks are digital and a majority of regional centers now have digital switching stations; improvements in local networks and local exchanges continue to lag; the mobile-cellular telephone system's expansion has slowed, largely due to saturation of the market which had reached 120 mobile phones per 100 people by 2008
international: country code - 380; 2 new domestic trunk lines are a part of the fiber-optic Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) system and 3 Ukrainian links have been installed in the fiber-optic Trans-European Lines (TEL) project that connects 18 countries; additional international service is provided by the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia (ITUR) fiber-optic submarine cable and by an unknown number of earth stations in the Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems
Radio broadcast stations:
524 (station frequency types NA) (2006)
Television broadcast stations:
647 (2006)
Internet country code:
.ua
Internet hosts:
706,485 (2009) country comparison to the world: 46
Internet users:
10.354 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 30
Transportation ::Ukraine
Airports:
425 (2009) country comparison to the world: 18
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 189
over 3,047 m: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 51
1,524 to 2,437 m: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m: 96 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 236
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 12
under 914 m: 214 (2009)
Heliports:
7 (2009)
Pipelines:
gas 33,327 km; oil 4,514 km; refined products 4,211 km (2008)
Railways:
total: 21,655 km country comparison to the world: 13 broad gauge: 21,655 km 1.524-m gauge (9,729 km electrified) (2008)
Roadways:
total: 169,422 km country comparison to the world: 30 paved: 165,611 km (includes 15 km of expressways)
unpaved: 3,811 km (2007)
Waterways:
2,176 km (most on Dnieper River) (2007) country comparison to the world: 42
Merchant marine:
total: 189 country comparison to the world: 36 by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 141, chemical tanker 1, container 3, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 7, specialized tanker 2
foreign-owned: 2 (Luxembourg 1, Russia 1)
registered in other countries: 204 (Belize 7, Cambodia 34, Comoros 8, Cyprus 4, Dominica 4, Georgia 18, Liberia 25, Lithuania 1, Malta 30, Moldova 5, Mongolia 1, Panama 10, Russia 11, Saint Kitts and Nevis 9, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 11, Sierra Leone 10, Slovakia 12, Tuvalu 1, unknown 3) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Feodosiya, Kerch, Kherson, Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Yuzhnyy
Military ::Ukraine
Military branches:
Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces
(Viyskovo-Povitryani Syly, VPS) (2009)
Military service age and obligation:
18-25 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months for Army and Air Force, 24 months for Navy (2004)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 11,457,562
females age 16-49: 11,767,357 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 7,056,742
females age 16-49: 9,234,591 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 269,311
female: 257,656 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures:
1.4% of GDP (2005 est.) country comparison to the world: 113
Transnational Issues ::Ukraine
Disputes - international:
1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Belarus remains un-ratified due to unresolved financial claims, stalling demarcation and reducing border security; delimitation of land boundary with Russia is complete with preparations for demarcation underway; the dispute over the boundary between Russia and Ukraine through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov remains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and ongoing expert-level discussions; Moldova and Ukraine operate joint customs posts to monitor transit of people and commodities through Moldova's break-away Transnistria Region, which remains under OSCE supervision; the ICJ gave Ukraine until December 2006 to reply, and Romania until June 2007 to rejoin, in their dispute submitted in 2004 over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy/Serpilor (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary; Romania opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube border through Ukraine to the Black Sea
Illicit drugs:
limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for CIS consumption; some synthetic drug production for export to the West; limited government eradication program; used as transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from Africa, Latin America, and Turkey to Europe and Russia; Ukraine has improved anti-money-laundering controls, resulting in its removal from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF's) Noncooperative Countries and Territories List in February 2004; Ukraine's anti-money-laundering regime continues to be monitored by FATF
page last updated on November 11, 2009
======================================================================
@United Arab Emirates (Middle East)
Introduction ::United Arab Emirates
Background:
The Trucial States of the Persian Gulf coast granted the UK control of their defense and foreign affairs in 19th century treaties. In 1971, six of these states - Abu Zaby, 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah, Dubayy, and Umm al Qaywayn - merged to form the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They were joined in 1972 by Ra's al Khaymah. The UAE's per capita GDP is on par with those of leading West European nations. Its generosity with oil revenues and its moderate foreign policy stance have allowed the UAE to play a vital role in the affairs of the region.
Geography ::United Arab Emirates
Location:
Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates:
24 00 N, 54 00 E
Map references:
Middle East
Area:
total: 83,600 sq km country comparison to the world: 114 land: 83,600 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maine
Land boundaries:
total: 867 km
border countries: Oman 410 km, Saudi Arabia 457 km
Coastline:
1,318 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate:
desert; cooler in eastern mountains
Terrain:
flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland; mountains in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal Yibir 1,527 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas
Land use:
arable land: 0.77%
permanent crops: 2.27%
other: 96.96% (2005)
Irrigated land:
760 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
0.2 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 2.3 cu km/yr (23%/9%/68%)
per capita: 511 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
frequent sand and dust storms
Environment - current issues:
lack of natural freshwater resources compensated by desalination plants; desertification; beach pollution from oil spills
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note:
strategic location along southern approaches to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil
People ::United Arab Emirates
Population:
4,798,491 country comparison to the world: 115 note: estimate is based on the results of the 2005 census that included a significantly higher estimate of net inmigration of non-citizens than previous estimates (July 2009 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 20.4% (male 500,928/female 478,388)
15-64 years: 78.7% (male 2,768,030/female 1,008,404)
65 years and over: 0.9% (male 27,601/female 15,140)
note: 73.9% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2009 est.)
Median age:
total: 30.1 years
male: 32 years
female: 24.7 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:
3.689% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 1
Birth rate:
16.02 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 132
Death rate:
2.11 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 222
Net migration rate:
22.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 1
Urbanization:
urban population: 78% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 2.9% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 2.74 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.82 male(s)/female
total population: 2.19 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 12.7 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 138 male: 14.86 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 10.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.11 years country comparison to the world: 70 male: 73.56 years
female: 78.78 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.42 children born/woman (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 102
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.18% (2001 est.) country comparison to the world: 111
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
Nationality:
noun: Emirati(s)
adjective: Emirati
Ethnic groups:
Emirati 19%, other Arab and Iranian 23%, South Asian 50%, other expatriates (includes Westerners and East Asians) 8% (1982)
note: less than 20% are UAE citizens (1982)
Religions:
Muslim 96% (Shia 16%), other (includes Christian, Hindu) 4%
Languages:
Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 77.9%
male: 76.1%
female: 81.7% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 11 years
male: 11 years
female: 12 years (2003)
Education expenditures:
1.3% of GDP (2005) country comparison to the world: 176
Government ::United Arab Emirates
Country name:
conventional long form: United Arab Emirates
conventional short form: none
local long form: Al Imarat al Arabiyah al Muttahidah
local short form: none
former: Trucial Oman, Trucial States
abbreviation: UAE
Government type:
federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to member emirates
Capital:
name: Abu Dhabi
geographic coordinates: 24 28 N, 54 22 E
time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
7 emirates (imarat, singular - imarah); Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi), 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah (Sharjah), Dubayy (Dubai), Ra's al Khaymah, Umm al Qaywayn (Quwayn)
Independence:
2 December 1971 (from the UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 2 December (1971)
Constitution:
2 December 1971; made permanent in 1996
Legal system:
based on a dual system of Sharia and civil courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
none
Executive branch:
chief of state: President KHALIFA bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan (since 3 November 2004), ruler of Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) (since 4 November 2004); Vice President and Prime Minister MUHAMMAD BIN RASHID al-Maktum (since 5 January 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister and Vice President MUHAMMAD bin
Rashid al-Maktum (since 5 January 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers
SULTAN bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan (since 20 November 1990) and HAMDAN bin
Zayid al-Nuhayyan (since 20 October 2003)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
note: there is also a Federal Supreme Council (FSC) composed of the seven emirate rulers; the FSC is the highest constitutional authority in the UAE; establishes general policies and sanctions federal legislation; meets four times a year; Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) and Dubayy (Dubai) rulers have effective veto power
elections: president and vice president elected by the FSC for five-year terms (no term limits) from among the seven FSC members; election last held 3 November 2004 upon the death of the UAE's Founding Father and first President ZAYID bin Sultan al Nuhayyan (next to be held in 2009); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president
election results: KHALIFA bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan elected president by a unanimous vote of the FSC; MUHAMMAD bin Rashid al-Maktum unanimously affirmed vice president after the 2006 death of his brother Sheikh Maktum bin Rashid al-Maktum
Legislative branch:
unicameral Federal National Council (FNC) or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; 20 members appointed by the rulers of the constituent states, 20 members elected to serve two-year terms)
elections: elections for one half of the FNC (the other half remains appointed) held in the UAE on 18-20 December 2006; the new electoral college - a body of 6,689 Emiratis (including 1,189 women) appointed by the rulers of the seven emirates - were the only eligible voters and candidates; 456 candidates including 65 women ran for 20 contested FNC seats; one female from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi won a seat and 8 women were among the 20 appointed members
note: reviews legislation but cannot change or veto
Judicial branch:
Union Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Political parties and leaders:
none; political parties are not allowed
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt
(signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC,
OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Yousef bin Mani Saeed al-OTAIBA
chancery: 3522 International Court NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 243-2400
FAX: [1] (202) 243-2432
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard G. OLSON, Jr.
embassy: Embassies District, Plot 38 Sector W59-02, Street No. 4, Abu Dhabi
mailing address: P. O. Box 4009, Abu Dhabi
telephone: [971] (2) 414-2200
FAX: [971] (2) 414-2603
consulate(s) general: Dubai
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a wider vertical red band on the hoist side
Economy ::United Arab Emirates
Economy - overview:
The UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Successful efforts at economic diversification have reduced the portion of GDP based on oil and gas output to 25%. Since the discovery of oil in the UAE more than 30 years ago, the UAE has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. The government has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure expansion and is opening up utilities to greater private sector involvement. In April 2004, the UAE signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement with Washington and in November 2004 agreed to undertake negotiations toward a Free Trade Agreement with the US. The country's Free Trade Zones - offering 100% foreign ownership and zero taxes - are helping to attract foreign investors. Higher oil revenue, strong liquidity, housing shortages, and cheap credit in 2005-07 led to a surge in asset prices (shares and real estate) and consumer inflation. The global financial crisis and the resulting tight international credit market and falling oil prices have already begun to deflate asset prices and will result in slower economic growth for 2009. Dependence on oil and a large expatriate workforce are significant long-term challenges. The UAE's strategic plan for the next few years focuses on diversification and creating more opportunities for nationals through improved education and increased private sector employment.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$206.3 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 51 $192 billion (2007 est.)
$181.2 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$262.2 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
7.4% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 28 6% (2007 est.)
14.9% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$44,600 (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 12 $43,200 (2007 est.)
$42,500 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.5%
industry: 62.7%
services: 35.7% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
3.266 million country comparison to the world: 97 note: expatriates account for about 85% of the work force (2008 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 7%
industry: 15%
services: 78% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate:
2.4% (2001) country comparison to the world: 25
Population below poverty line:
19.5% (2003)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Investment (gross fixed):
22.8% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 71
Budget:
revenues: $78.74 billion
expenditures: $48.31 billion (2008 est.)
Public debt:
40.7% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 51 17.6% of GDP (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
15.8% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 196 14% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
NA% (31 December 2008)
Stock of money:
$NA (31 December 2008)
$49.5 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$NA (31 December 2008)
$104.6 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$NA (31 December 2008)
$155.4 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$97.85 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 35 $224.7 billion (31 December 2007)
$138.5 billion (31 December 2006)
Agriculture - products:
dates, vegetables, watermelons; poultry, eggs, dairy products; fish
Industries:
petroleum and petrochemicals; fishing, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, commercial ship repair, construction materials, some boat building, handicrafts, textiles
Industrial production growth rate:
6.7% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 32
Electricity - production:
71.54 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 38
Electricity - consumption:
65.98 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 36
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production:
3.046 million bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 8
Oil - consumption:
463,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 33
Oil - exports:
2.7 million bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 4
Oil - imports:
192,900 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 51
Oil - proved reserves:
97.8 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 7
Natural gas - production:
50.24 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 18
Natural gas - consumption:
59.42 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 14
Natural gas - exports:
7.567 billion cu m (2008) country comparison to the world: 24
Natural gas - imports:
16.75 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 15
Natural gas - proved reserves:
6.071 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 6
Current account balance:
$22.31 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 19 $25.84 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$239.2 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 21 $170.4 billion (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
crude oil 45%, natural gas, reexports, dried fish, dates
Exports - partners:
Japan 23%, South Korea 9.4%, India 7.9%, Iran 6.5%, Thailand 5.3% (2008)
Imports:
$176.3 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 25 $116.6 billion (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food
Imports - partners:
China 13.2%, India 10.4%, US 8.8%, Germany 6.5%, Japan 6.1%, Turkey 4.5%, Italy 4.3% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$31.69 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 40 $77.24 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$134.7 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 33 $61.68 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$62.69 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 47 $51.54 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$28.95 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 34 $24.95 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Exchange rates:
Emirati dirhams (AED) per US dollar - 3.6725 (2008 est.), 3.6725 (2007), 3.6725 (2006), 3.6725 (2005), 3.6725 (2004)
note: officially pegged to the US dollar since February 2002
Communications ::United Arab Emirates
Telephones - main lines in use:
1.508 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 64
Telephones - mobile cellular:
9.358 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 62
Telephone system:
general assessment: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile-cellular telephones; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubai
domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber optic and coaxial cable
international: country code - 971; linked to the international submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe); landing point for both the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable networks; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 13, FM 8, shortwave 2 (2004)
Television broadcast stations:
15 (2004)
Internet country code:
.ae
Internet hosts:
379,106 (2009) country comparison to the world: 51
Internet users:
2.922 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 60
Transportation ::United Arab Emirates
Airports:
41 (2009) country comparison to the world: 102
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 2 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 17
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 5 (2009)
Heliports:
5 (2009)
Pipelines:
condensate 458 km; gas 2,129 km; liquid petroleum gas 220 km; oil 1,310 km; refined products 212 km; water 90 km (2008)
Roadways:
total: 4,080 km country comparison to the world: 156 paved: 4,080 km (includes 253 km of expressways) (2008)
Merchant marine:
total: 58 country comparison to the world: 66 by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 9, chemical tanker 4, container 8, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 24, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 14 (Denmark 1, Greece 3, Kuwait 10)
registered in other countries: 313 (Bahamas 23, Bahrain 1, Belize 5, Cambodia 2, Comoros 7, Cyprus 9, Dominica 1, Georgia 1, Gibraltar 3, Hong Kong 1, India 6, Indonesia 2, Iran 1, Jordan 13, North Korea 8, Liberia 23, Malta 5, Marshall Islands 15, Mexico 1, Netherlands 5, Panama 109, Papua New Guinea 6, Philippines 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 18, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 9, Saudi Arabia 1, Sierra Leone 8, Singapore 12, Somalia 1, Turkey 1, UK 9, unknown 6) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Mina' Zayid (Abu Dhabi), Al Fujayrah, Mina' Jabal 'Ali (Dubai),
Mina' Rashid (Dubai), Mina' Saqr (Ra's al Khaymah), Khawr Fakkan
(Sharjah)
Military ::United Arab Emirates
Military branches:
United Arab Emirates Armed Forces: Army, Navy (includes Marines),
Air Force and Air Defense, National Coast Guard (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age (est.) for voluntary military service; 18 years of age for officers and women; no conscription (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 2,405,884 (includes non-nationals)
females age 16-49: 884,853 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 2,081,491
females age 16-49: 788,632 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 26,659
female: 23,793 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures:
3.1% of GDP (2005 est.) country comparison to the world: 43
Transnational Issues ::United Arab Emirates
Disputes - international:
boundary agreement was signed and ratified with Oman in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah enclaves, but contents of the agreement and detailed maps showing the alignment have not been published; Iran and UAE dispute Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island, which Iran occupies
Illicit drugs:
the UAE is a drug transshipment point for traffickers given its proximity to Southwest Asian drug-producing countries; the UAE's position as a major financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering; anti-money-laundering controls improving, but informal banking remains unregulated
page last updated on November 11, 2009
======================================================================
@United Kingdom (Europe)
Introduction ::United Kingdom
Background:
As the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars and the Irish republic withdraw from the union. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999, but the latter was suspended until May 2007 due to wrangling over the peace process.
Geography ::United Kingdom
Location:
Western Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of France
Geographic coordinates:
54 00 N, 2 00 W
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 243,610 sq km country comparison to the world: 79 land: 241,930 sq km
water: 1,680 sq km
note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries:
total: 360 km
border countries: Ireland 360 km
Coastline:
12,429 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries
Climate:
temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast
Terrain:
mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: The Fens -4 m
highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m
Natural resources:
coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, lead, zinc, gold, tin, limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, potash, silica sand, slate, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 23.23%
permanent crops: 0.2%
other: 76.57% (2005)
Irrigated land:
1,700 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
160.6 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 11.75 cu km/yr (22%/75%/3%)
per capita: 197 cu m/yr (1994)
Natural hazards:
winter windstorms; floods
Environment - current issues:
continues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (has met Kyoto Protocol target of a 12.5% reduction from 1990 levels and intends to meet the legally binding target and move toward a domestic goal of a 20% cut in emissions by 2010); by 2005 the government reduced the amount of industrial and commercial waste disposed of in landfill sites to 85% of 1998 levels and recycled or composted at least 25% of household waste, increasing to 33% by 2015
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94,
Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and linked by tunnel under the English Channel; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters
People ::United Kingdom
Population:
61,113,205 (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 22
Age structure:
0-14 years: 16.7% (male 5,233,756/female 4,986,131)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 20,774,192/female 20,246,519)
65 years and over: 16.2% (male 4,259,654/female 5,612,953) (2009 est.)
Median age:
total: 40.2 years
male: 39.1 years
female: 41.3 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.279% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 175
Birth rate:
10.65 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 182
Death rate:
10.02 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 64
Net migration rate:
2.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 42
Urbanization:
urban population: 90% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 0.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.85 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 193 male: 5.4 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.01 years country comparison to the world: 36 male: 76.52 years
female: 81.63 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.66 children born/woman (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 175
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 95
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
77,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 52
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 500 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 97
Nationality:
noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural)
adjective: British
Ethnic groups:
white (of which English 83.6%, Scottish 8.6%, Welsh 4.9%, Northern Irish 2.9%) 92.1%, black 2%, Indian 1.8%, Pakistani 1.3%, mixed 1.2%, other 1.6% (2001 census)
Religions:
Christian (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 71.6%, Muslim 2.7%, Hindu 1%, other 1.6%, unspecified or none 23.1% (2001 census)
Languages:
English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 16 years
male: 16 years
female: 17 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
5.6% of GDP (2005) country comparison to the world: 47
Government ::United Kingdom
Country name:
conventional long form: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; note - Great Britain includes England, Scotland, and Wales
conventional short form: United Kingdom
abbreviation: UK
Government type:
constitutional monarchy and Commonwealth realm
Capital:
name: London
geographic coordinates: 51 30 N, 0 10 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
note: applies to the United Kingdom proper, not to its overseas dependencies or territories
Administrative divisions:
England: 34 two-tier counties, 32 London boroughs and 1 City of London or Greater London, 36 metropolitan counties, 46 unitary authorities
two-tier counties: Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire,
Cheshire, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon,
Dorset, Durham, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire,
Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire,
Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Northumberland,
Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire,
Suffolk, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Sussex, Wiltshire, Worcestershire
London boroughs and City of London or Greater London: Barking and
Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, Croydon, Ealing,
Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey,
Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and
Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, City of London,
Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton,
Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Westminster
metropolitan counties: Barnsley, Birmingham, Bolton, Bradford, Bury,
Calderdale, Coventry, Doncaster, Dudley, Gateshead, Kirklees,
Knowlsey, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, North
Tyneside, Oldham, Rochdale, Rotherham, Salford, Sandwell, Sefton,
Sheffield, Solihull, South Tyneside, St. Helens, Stockport,
Sunderland, Tameside, Trafford, Wakefield, Walsall, Wigan, Wirral,
Wolverhampton
unitary authorities: Bath and North East Somerset, Blackburn with
Darwen, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest, Brighton and Hove,
City of Bristol, Darlington, Derby, East Riding of Yorkshire,
Halton, Hartlepool, County of Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, City of
Kingston upon Hull, Leicester, Luton, Medway, Middlesbrough, Milton
Keynes, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, North Somerset,
Nottingham, Peterborough, Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, Reading,
Redcar and Cleveland, Rutland, Slough, South Gloucestershire,
Southampton, Southend-on-Sea, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent,
Swindon, Telford and Wrekin, Thurrock, Torbay, Warrington, West
Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham, York
Northern Ireland: 26 district council areas
district council areas: Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Ballymena, Ballymoney,
Banbridge, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine,
Cookstown, Craigavon, Derry, Down, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Larne,
Limavady, Lisburn, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne,
Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane
Scotland: 32 unitary authorities
unitary authorities: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and
Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, East
Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, City
of Edinburgh, Eilean Siar (Western Isles), Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow
City, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North
Lanarkshire, Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire,
Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, The
Scottish Borders, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian
Wales: 22 unitary authorities
unitary authorities: Blaenau Gwent; Bridgend; Caerphilly; Cardiff;
Carmarthenshire; Ceredigion; Conwy; Denbighshire; Flintshire;
Gwynedd; Isle of Anglesey; Merthyr Tydfil; Monmouthshire; Neath Port
Talbot; Newport; Pembrokeshire; Powys; Rhondda, Cynon, Taff;
Swansea; The Vale of Glamorgan; Torfaen; Wrexham
Dependent areas:
Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin
Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat,
Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich
Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
Independence:
1927; England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century; the union between England and Wales, begun in 1284 with the Statute of Rhuddlan, was not formalized until 1536 with an Act of Union; in another Act of Union in 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanently join as Great Britain; the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalized a partition of Ireland; six northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland and the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927
National holiday:
the UK does not celebrate one particular national holiday
Constitution:
unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
Legal system:
based on common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; has nonbinding judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the queen, born 14 November 1948)
head of government: Prime Minister James Gordon BROWN (since 27 June 2007)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
elections: the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of House of Lords (618 seats; consisting of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers, and 26 clergy) and House of Commons (646 seats since 2005 elections; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier)
elections: House of Lords - no elections (note - in 1999, as provided by the House of Lords Act, elections were held in the House of Lords to determine the 92 hereditary peers who would remain there; elections are held only as vacancies in the hereditary peerage arise); House of Commons - last held 5 May 2005 (next to be held by June 2010)
election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Labor 35.2%, Conservative 32.3%, Liberal Democrats 22%, other 10.5%; seats by party - Labor 355, Conservative 198, Liberal Democrat 62, other 31; seats by party in the House of Commons as of 21 November 2008 - Labor 350, Conservative 192, Liberal Democrat 63, Scottish National Party/Plaid Cymru 10, Democratic Unionist 9, Sinn Fein 5, other 17
note: in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Assembly (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of 1999 and has been suspended four times, the latest occurring in October 2002 and lasting until 8 May 2007); in 1999, the UK held the first elections for a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly, the most recent of which were held in May 2007
Judicial branch:
House of Lords (highest court of appeal; several Lords of Appeal in
Ordinary are appointed by the monarch for life); Supreme Courts of
England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (comprising the Courts of
Appeal, the High Courts of Justice, and the Crown Courts);
Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the Justiciary
Political parties and leaders:
Conservative [David CAMERON]; Democratic Unionist Party or DUP
(Northern Ireland) [Peter ROBINSON]; Labor Party [Gordon BROWN];
Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems) [Nick CLEGG]; Party of Wales (Plaid
Cymru) [Ieuan Wyn JONES]; Scottish National Party or SNP [Alex
SALMOND]; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Gerry ADAMS]; Social
Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) [Mark DURKAN];
Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Sir Reg EMPEY]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Confederation of British Industry;
National Farmers' Union; Trades Union Congress
International organization participation:
ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council
(observer), Australia Group, BIS, C, CBSS (observer), CDB, CE, CERN,
EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G-20, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO,
ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC,
MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club,
PCA, PIF (partner), SECI (observer), UN, UN Security Council,
UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOMIG,
UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Sir Nigel E. SHEINWALD
chancery: 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 588-6500
FAX: [1] (202) 588-7870
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
consulate(s): Dallas, Denver, Orlando
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert Holmes TUTTLE
embassy: 24 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1AE
mailing address: PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040
telephone: [44] (0) 20 7499-9000
FAX: [44] (0) 20 7629-9124
consulate(s) general: Belfast, Edinburgh
Flag description:
blue field with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); properly known as the Union Flag, but commonly called the Union Jack; the design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including other Commonwealth countries and their constituent states or provinces, and British overseas territories
Economy ::United Kingdom
Economy - overview:
The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is one of the quintet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe. Over the past two decades, the government has greatly reduced public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with less than 2% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil resources, but its oil and natural gas reserves are declining and the UK became a net importer of energy in 2005; energy industries now contribute about 4% to GDP. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance. Since emerging from recession in 1992, Britain's economy enjoyed the longest period of expansion on record during which time growth outpaced most of Western Europe. The global economic slowdown, tight credit, and falling home prices, however, pushed Britain back into recession in the latter half of 2008 and prompted the BROWN government to implement a number of new measures to stimulate the economy and stabilize the financial markets; these include part-nationalizing the banking system, cutting taxes, suspending public sector borrowing rules, and bringing forward public spending on capital projects. The Bank of England periodically coordinates interest rate moves with the European Central Bank, but Britain remains outside the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and opinion polls show a majority of Britons oppose joining the euro.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$2.236 trillion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 8 $2.22 trillion (2007 est.)
$2.164 trillion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.68 trillion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
0.7% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 188 2.6% (2007 est.)
2.9% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$36,700 (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 32 $36,500 (2007 est.)
$35,700 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.3%
industry: 24.2%
services: 74.5% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
31.23 million (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 18
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 1.4%
industry: 18.2%
services: 80.4% (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate:
5.6% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 69 5.3% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
14% (2006 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 28.5% (1999)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
34 (2005) country comparison to the world: 92 36.8 (1999)
Investment (gross fixed):
16.7% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 134
Budget:
revenues: $1.056 trillion
expenditures: $1.214 trillion (2008 est.)
Public debt:
51.8% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 35 39.6% of GDP (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.6% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 53 2.3% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
0.86% (31 December 2008)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
4.63% (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 137 5.52% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$NA (31 December 2008)
Stock of quasi money:
$NA (31 December 2008)
Stock of domestic credit:
$NA (31 December 2008)
$5.277 trillion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 5 $3.859 trillion (31 December 2007)
$3.794 trillion (31 December 2006)
Agriculture - products:
cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish
Industries:
machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, other consumer goods
Industrial production growth rate:
-2% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 154
Electricity - production:
368.6 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 12
Electricity - consumption:
345.8 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 12
Electricity - exports:
1.272 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
12.29 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production:
1.584 million bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 19
Oil - consumption:
1.71 million bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 15
Oil - exports:
1.602 million bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 15
Oil - imports:
1.651 million bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 13
Oil - proved reserves:
3.41 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 29
Natural gas - production:
69.9 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 14
Natural gas - consumption:
95.94 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 6
Natural gas - exports:
10.5 billion cu m (2008) country comparison to the world: 19
Natural gas - imports:
36.54 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 10
Natural gas - proved reserves:
342.9 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 37
Current account balance:
-$45.68 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 185 -$78.78 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$466.3 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 10 $442 billion (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco
Exports - partners:
US 13.8%, Germany 11.5%, Netherlands 7.8%, France 7.6%, Ireland 7.5%, Belgium 5.3%, Spain 4.1% (2008)
Imports:
$639.3 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 7 $620.7 billion (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
Germany 13.1%, US 8.7%, China 7.5%, Netherlands 7.4%, France 6.8%,
Norway 6%, Belgium 4.7%, Italy 4.1% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$52.98 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 24 $57.3 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$9.041 trillion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 2 $11.26 trillion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$1.445 trillion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 2 $1.348 trillion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$1.567 trillion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 3 $1.705 trillion (31 December 2007 est.)
Exchange rates:
British pounds (GBP) per US dollar - 0.5302 (2008 est.), 0.4993 (2007), 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004)
Communications ::United Kingdom
Telephones - main lines in use:
33.209 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 9
Telephones - mobile cellular:
75.565 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 11
Telephone system:
general assessment: technologically advanced domestic and international system
domestic: equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems
international: country code - 44; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and US; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Eutelsat; at least 8 large international switching centers
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 206, FM 696, shortwave 3 (2008)
Television broadcast stations:
940 (2008)
Internet country code:
.uk
Internet hosts:
9.322 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 11
Internet users:
48.755 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 7
Transportation ::United Kingdom
Airports:
506 (2009) country comparison to the world: 14
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 307
over 3,047 m: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 32
1,524 to 2,437 m: 125
914 to 1,523 m: 77
under 914 m: 64 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 199
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 22
under 914 m: 173 (2009)
Heliports:
11 (2009)
Pipelines:
condensate 43 km; gas 7,541 km; liquid petroleum gas 59 km; oil 699 km; refined products 4,417 km (2008)
Railways:
total: 16,454 km country comparison to the world: 17 broad gauge: 303 km 1.600-m gauge (in Northern Ireland)
standard gauge: 16,151 km 1.435-m gauge (5,248 km electrified) (2008)
Roadways:
total: 398,366 km country comparison to the world: 16 paved: 398,366 km (includes 3,520 km of expressways) (2006)
Waterways:
3,200 km (620 km used for commerce) (2008) country comparison to the world: 32
Merchant marine:
total: 518 country comparison to the world: 22 by type: bulk carrier 33, cargo 67, carrier 5, chemical tanker 61, container 180, liquefied gas 18, passenger 10, passenger/cargo 67, petroleum tanker 23, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 24, vehicle carrier 18
foreign-owned: 264 (Cyprus 2, Denmark 62, Finland 1, France 23, Germany 76, Hong Kong 2, Ireland 1, Italy 5, Japan 4, NZ 1, Norway 31, South Africa 3, Spain 1, Sweden 17, Switzerland 1, Taiwan 11, Turkey 2, UAE 9, US 12)
registered in other countries: 391 (Algeria 11, Antigua and Barbuda 9, Argentina 4, Australia 5, Bahamas 56, Barbados 9, Belize 5, Bermuda 3, Brunei 1, Cape Verde 1, Cayman Islands 3, Cyprus 19, Gibraltar 2, Greece 32, Hong Kong 39, India 2, Italy 7, South Korea 1, Liberia 20, Luxembourg 8, Malta 19, Marshall Islands 18, Netherlands 2, Norway 5, Panama 59, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 14, Sierra Leone 2, Singapore 17, Slovakia 1, Spain 5, Sweden 2, Thailand 5, Tonga 1, US 1) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Dover, Felixstowe, Immingham, Liverpool, London, Southampton,
Teesport (England); Forth Ports, Hound Point (Scotland); Milford
Haven (Wales)
Military ::United Kingdom
Military branches:
Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force (2009)
Military service age and obligation:
16-33 years of age (officers 17-28) for voluntary military service (with parental consent under 18); women serve in military services, but are excluded from ground combat positions and some naval postings; must be citizen of the UK, Commonwealth, or Republic of Ireland; reservists serve a minimum of 3 years, to age 45 or 55; 16 years of age for voluntary military service by Nepalese citizens in the Brigade of the Gurkhas; 16-34 years of age for voluntary military service by Papua New Guinean citizens (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 14,729,500
females age 16-49: 14,125,600 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 12,123,900
females age 16-49: 11,616,769 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 393,892
female: 376,351 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures:
2.4% of GDP (2005 est.) country comparison to the world: 70
Transnational Issues ::United Kingdom
Disputes - international:
in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement between the UK and Spain; the Government of Gibraltar insists on equal participation in talks between the two countries; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants since their eviction in 1965; most Chagossians reside in Mauritius, and in 2001 were granted UK citizenship, where some have since resettled; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed the UK Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; UK rejects sovereignty talks requested by Argentina, which still claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm
Illicit drugs:
producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and synthetic drugs; money-laundering center
page last updated on November 11, 2009
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@United States (North America)
Introduction ::United States
Background:
Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), in which a northern Union of states defeated a secessionist Confederacy of 11 southern slave states, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, an economic downturn during which about a quarter of the labor force lost its jobs. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.
Geography ::United States
Location:
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North
Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Geographic coordinates:
38 00 N, 97 00 W
Map references:
North America
Area:
total: 9,826,675 sq km country comparison to the world: 3 land: 9,161,966 sq km
water: 664,709 sq km
note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia
Area - comparative:
about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; more than twice the size of the European Union
Land boundaries:
total: 12,034 km
border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska), Mexico 3,141 km
note: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is leased by the US and is part of Cuba; the base boundary is 28 km
Coastline:
19,924 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: not specified
Climate:
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
Terrain:
vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Death Valley -86 m
highest point: Mount McKinley 6,198 m
Natural resources:
coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber
note: the US has the world's largest coal reserves with 491 billion short tons accounting for 27% of the world's total
Land use:
arable land: 18.01%
permanent crops: 0.21%
other: 81.78% (2005)
Irrigated land:
223,850 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
3,069 cu km (1985)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 477 cu km/yr (13%/46%/41%)
per capita: 1,600 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
tsunamis; volcanoes; earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development
Environment - current issues:
air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes
Geography - note:
world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India); Mt. McKinley is highest point in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent
People ::United States
Population:
307,212,123 (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 3
Age structure:
0-14 years: 20.2% (male 31,639,127/female 30,305,704)
15-64 years: 67% (male 102,665,043/female 103,129,321)
65 years and over: 12.8% (male 16,901,232/female 22,571,696) (2009 est.)
Median age:
total: 36.7 years
male: 35.4 years
female: 38 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.975% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 129
Birth rate:
13.82 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 153
Death rate:
8.38 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 101
Net migration rate:
4.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 25
Urbanization:
urban population: 82% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 1.3% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 6.26 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 180 male: 6.94 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.11 years country comparison to the world: 50 male: 75.65 years
female: 80.69 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.05 children born/woman (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 125
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.6% (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 68
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1.2 million (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 9
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
22,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 21
Nationality:
noun: American(s)
adjective: American
Ethnic groups:
white 79.96%, black 12.85%, Asian 4.43%, Amerindian and Alaska native 0.97%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.18%, two or more races 1.61% (July 2007 estimate)
note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean persons of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin including those of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, Spanish, and Central or South American origin living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.); about 15.1% of the total US population is Hispanic
Religions:
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
Languages:
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and
Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census)
note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 16 years
male: 15 years
female: 16 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
5.3% of GDP (2005) country comparison to the world: 57
Government ::United States
Country name:
conventional long form: United States of America
conventional short form: United States
abbreviation: US or USA
Government type:
Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
Capital:
name: Washington, DC
geographic coordinates: 38 53 N, 77 02 W
time difference: UTC-5 (during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
note: the 50 United States cover six time zones
Administrative divisions:
50 states and 1 district*; Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas,
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia*,
Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North
Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South
Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia,
Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Dependent areas:
American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island,
Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island,
Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin
Islands, Wake Island
note: from 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; it entered into a political relationship with all four political units: the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the US (effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 21 October 1986); the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palau concluded a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 1 October 1994)
Independence:
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 4 July (1776)
Constitution:
17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789
Legal system:
federal court system based on English common law; each state has its own unique legal system, of which all but one (Louisiana, which is still influenced by the Napoleonic Code) is based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Barack H. OBAMA (since 20 January 2009); Vice President Joseph R. BIDEN (since 20 January 2009); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Barack H. OBAMA (since 20 January 2009); Vice President Joseph BIDEN (since 20 January 2009)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 4 November 2008 (next to be held on 6 November 2012)
election results: Barack H. OBAMA elected president; percent of popular vote - Barack H. OBAMA 52.4%, John MCCAIN 46.3%, other 1.3%;
Legislative branch:
bicameral Congress consists of the Senate (100 seats, 2 members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third are elected every two years) and the House of Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 4 November 2008 (next to be held November 2010); House of Representatives - last held 4 November 2008 (next to be held in November 2010)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 57, Republican Party 41, independent 2; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 257, Republican Party 178
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (nine justices; nominated by the president and confirmed with the advice and consent of the Senate; appointed to serve for life); United States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and County Courts
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party [Timothy KAINE]; Green Party; Libertarian Party
[William (Bill) REDPATH]; Republican Party [Michael STEELE]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
environmentalists; business groups; labor unions; churches; ethnic groups; political action committees or PAC; health groups; education groups; civic groups; youth groups; transportation groups; agricultural groups; veterans groups; women's groups; reform lobbies
International organization participation:
ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), ANZUS, APEC,
Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS,
BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CE (observer), CERN (observer),
CP, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, G-20, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO,
ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA,
MINUSTAH, NAFTA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club,
PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SECI (observer), SPC, UN, UN
Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNOMIG,
UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Flag description:
13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico
Economy ::United States
Economy - overview:
The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $46,900. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The war in March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the subsequent occupation of Iraq, required major shifts in national resources to the military. Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage in the Gulf Coast region in August 2005, but had a small impact on overall GDP growth for the year. Soaring oil prices between 2005 and the first half of 2008 threatened inflation and unemployment, as higher gasoline prices ate into consumers' budgets. Imported oil accounts for about two-thirds of US consumption. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. The merchandise trade deficit reached a record $819 billion in 2007 and $821 billion in 2008. The global economic downturn, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, investment bank failures, falling home prices, and tight credit pushed the United States into a recession by mid-2008. To help stabilize financial markets, the US Congress established a $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in October 2008. The government used some of these funds to purchase equity in US banks and other industrial corporations. In January 2009 the US Congress passed and President Barack OBAMA signed a bill providing an additional $787 billion fiscal stimulus - two-thirds on additional spending and one-third on tax cuts - to create jobs and to help the economy recover.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$14.44 trillion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 2 $14.38 trillion (2007 est.)
$14.09 trillion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$14.44 trillion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
0.4% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 193 2.1% (2007 est.)
2.7% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$47,500 (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 10 $47,700 (2007 est.)
$47,200 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.2%
industry: 19.2%
services: 79.6% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
154.3 million (includes unemployed) (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 4
Labor force - by occupation:
farming, forestry, and fishing 0.6%, manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts 22.6%, managerial, professional, and technical 35.5%, sales and office 24.8%, other services 16.5%
note: figures exclude the unemployed (2007)
Unemployment rate:
5.8% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 72 4.6% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
12% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 30% (2007 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
45 (2007) country comparison to the world: 44 40.8 (1997)
Investment (gross fixed):
14.3% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 138
Budget:
revenues: $2.524 trillion
expenditures: $2.978 trillion (2008 est.)
Public debt:
37.5% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 61 65% of GDP (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.8% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 59 2.9% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
0.5% (31 March 2009) country comparison to the world: 110 4.83% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
5.09% (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 105 8.05% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$1.436 trillion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 4 $1.395 trillion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$10.99 trillion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 1 $7.466 trillion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$15.06 trillion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 2 $14.21 trillion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 1 $19.95 trillion (31 December 2007)
$19.43 trillion (31 December 2006)
Agriculture - products:
wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish; forest products
Industries:
leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining
Industrial production growth rate:
-2% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 152
Electricity - production:
4.11 trillion kWh (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 1
Electricity - consumption:
3.873 trillion kWh (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 1
Electricity - exports:
24.08 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
57.02 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production:
8.514 million bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 3
Oil - consumption:
19.5 million bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 1
Oil - exports:
1.433 million bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 17
Oil - imports:
13.47 million bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 1
Oil - proved reserves:
21.32 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 12
Natural gas - production:
582.2 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 2
Natural gas - consumption:
657.2 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 1
Natural gas - exports:
28.49 billion cu m (2008) country comparison to the world: 10
Natural gas - imports:
112.7 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 1
Natural gas - proved reserves:
6.731 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 5
Current account balance:
-$706.1 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 190 -$731.2 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$1.277 trillion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 4 $1.148 trillion (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9.2%, industrial supplies (organic chemicals) 26.8%, capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment) 49.0%, consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15.0% (2003)
Exports - partners:
Canada 20.1%, Mexico 11.7%, China 5.5%, Japan 5.1%, Germany 4.2%, UK 4.1% (2008)
Imports:
$2.117 trillion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 1 $1.968 trillion (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
agricultural products 4.9%, industrial supplies 32.9% (crude oil 8.2%), capital goods 30.4% (computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery), consumer goods 31.8% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys) (2003)
Imports - partners:
China 16.5%, Canada 15.7%, Mexico 10.1%, Japan 6.6%, Germany 4.6% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$77.65 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 19 $70.57 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$13.75 trillion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 1 $13.43 trillion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$2.367 trillion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 1 $2.093 trillion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$3.162 trillion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 1 $2.791 trillion (31 December 2007 est.)
Exchange rates:
British pounds per US dollar: 0.5302 (2008), 0.4993 (2007), 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004)
Canadian dollars per US dollar: 1.0364 (2008), 1.0724 (2007), 1.1334 (2006), 1.2118 (2005), 1.3010 (2004)
Chinese yuan per US dollar: 6.9385 (2008), 7.61 (2007), 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004)
euros per US dollar: 0.6827 (2008), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Japanese yen per US dollar: 103.58 (2008), 117.99 (2007), 116.18 (2006) 110.22 (2005), 108.19 (2004)
Communications ::United States
Telephones - main lines in use:
150 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 2
Telephones - mobile cellular:
270 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 3
Telephone system:
general assessment: a large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system
domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country
international: country code - 1; multiple ocean cable systems provide international connectivity; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 4,789, FM 8,961, shortwave 19 (2006)
Television broadcast stations:
2,218 (2006)
Internet country code:
.us
Internet hosts:
383 million (2009); note - the US Internet total host count includes the following top level domain host addresses: .us, .com, .edu, .gov, .mil, .net, and .org country comparison to the world: 1
Internet users:
231 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 2
Transportation ::United States
Airports:
15,095 (2009) country comparison to the world: 1
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 5,174
over 3,047 m: 190
2,438 to 3,047 m: 229
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,477
914 to 1,523 m: 2,309
under 914 m: 969 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 9,921
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 158
914 to 1,523 m: 1,757
under 914 m: 8,000 (2009)
Heliports:
126 (2009)
Pipelines:
petroleum products 244,620 km; natural gas 548,665 km (2006)
Railways:
total: 226,427 km country comparison to the world: 1 standard gauge: 226,427 km 1.435-m gauge (2007)
Roadways:
total: 6,465,799 km country comparison to the world: 1 paved: 4,209,835 km (includes 75,040 km of expressways)
unpaved: 2,255,964 km (2007)
Waterways:
41,009 km (19,312 km used for commerce) country comparison to the world: 4 note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with Canada (2008)
Merchant marine:
total: 422 country comparison to the world: 24 by type: barge carrier 6, bulk carrier 61, cargo 69, carrier 2, chemical tanker 22, container 81, passenger 19, passenger/cargo 59, petroleum tanker 53, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 25, vehicle carrier 22
foreign-owned: 74 (Australia 1, Denmark 31, Germany 5, Japan 7, Malaysia 2, Netherlands 1, Norway 9, Singapore 12, Sweden 5, UK 1)
registered in other countries: 732 (Antigua and Barbuda 8, Australia 2, Bahamas 106, Bermuda 23, Cambodia 6, Canada 10, Cayman Islands 42, Comoros 2, Cyprus 5, Ecuador 1, Greece 8, Hong Kong 29, Ireland 2, Isle of Man 4, Italy 17, South Korea 7, Liberia 98, Luxembourg 4, Malta 23, Marshall Islands 123, Netherlands 14, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 8, Panama 126, Portugal 1, Puerto Rico 3, Russia 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 18, Sierra Leone 1, Singapore 22, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Tuvalu 1, UK 12, Vanuatu 1, unknown 2) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Corpus Christi, Duluth, Hampton Roads, Houston, Long Beach, Los
Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Tampa, Texas City
Military ::United States
Military branches:
United States Armed Forces: US Army, US Navy (includes Marine Corps), US Air Force, US Coast Guard; note - Coast Guard administered in peacetime by the Department of Homeland Security, but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy (2009)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age (17 years of age with parental consent) for male and female voluntary service; maximum enlistment age 42 (Army), 27 (Air Force), 34 (Navy), 28 (Marines); service obligation 8 years, including 2-5 years active duty (Army), 2 years active (Navy), 4 years active (Air Force, Marines) (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 72,715,332
females age 16-49: 71,638,785 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 59,764,677
females age 16-49: 59,437,663 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 2,196,124
female: 2,085,085 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures:
4.06% of GDP (2005 est.) country comparison to the world: 28
Transnational Issues ::United States
Disputes - international:
the U.S. has intensified domestic security measures and is collaborating closely with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico, to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities across the international borders; abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements; 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian Duma ratification; managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; The Bahamas and US have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other states; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island; Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island among the islands listed in its 2006 draft constitution
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): the US admitted 62,643 refugees during FY04/05 including; 10,586 (Somalia); 8,549 (Laos); 6,666 (Russia); 6,479 (Cuba); 3,100 (Haiti); 2,136 (Iran) (2006)
Illicit drugs:
world's largest consumer of cocaine (shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean), Colombian heroin, and Mexican heroin and marijuana; major consumer of ecstasy and Mexican methamphetamine; minor consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center
page last updated on November 11, 2009
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@United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges (Australia-Oceania)
Introduction ::United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
Background:
All of the following US Pacific island territories except Midway Atoll constitute the Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Complex and as such are managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior. Midway Atoll NWR has been included in a Refuge Complex with the Hawaiian Islands NWR and also designated as part of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. These remote refuges are the most widespread collection of marine- and terrestrial-life protected areas on the planet under a single country's jurisdiction. They sustain many endemic species including corals, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, seabirds, water birds, land birds, insects, and vegetation not found elsewhere.
Baker Island: The US took possession of the island in 1857. Its guano deposits were mined by US and British companies during the second half of the 19th century. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization began on this island but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned. The island was established as a NWR in 1974.
Howland Island: Discovered by the US early in the 19th century, the uninhabited atoll was officially claimed by the US in 1857. Both US and British companies mined for guano deposits until about 1890. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization began on this island, similar to the effort on nearby Baker Island, but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned. The famed American aviatrix Amelia EARHART disappeared while seeking out Howland Island as a refueling stop during her 1937 round-the-world flight; Earhart Light, a day beacon near the middle of the west coast, was named in her memory. The island was established as a NWR in 1974.
Jarvis Island: First discovered by the British in 1821, the uninhabited island was annexed by the US in 1858 but abandoned in 1879 after tons of guano had been removed. The UK annexed the island in 1889 but never carried out plans for further exploitation. The US occupied and reclaimed the island in 1935. It was abandoned in 1942 during World War II. The island was established as a NWR in 1974.
Johnston Atoll: Both the US and the Kingdom of Hawaii annexed Johnston Atoll in 1858, but it was the US that mined the guano deposits until the late 1880s. Johnston and Sand Islands were designated wildlife refuges in 1926. The US Navy took over the atoll in 1934. Subsequently, the US Air Force assumed control in 1948. The site was used for high-altitude nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s. Until late in 2000 the atoll was maintained as a storage and disposal site for chemical weapons. Munitions destruction, cleanup, and closure of the facility were completed by May 2005. The Fish and Wildlife Service and the US Air Force are currently discussing future management options; in the interim, Johnston Atoll and the three-mile Naval Defensive Sea around it remain under the jurisdiction and administrative control of the US Air Force.
Kingman Reef: The US annexed the reef in 1922. Its sheltered lagoon served as a way station for flying boats on Hawaii-to-American Samoa flights during the late 1930s. There are no terrestrial plants on the reef, which is frequently awash, but it does support abundant and diverse marine fauna and flora. In 2001, the waters surrounding the reef out to 12 nm were designated a US NWR.
Midway Islands: The US took formal possession of the islands in 1867. The laying of the trans-Pacific cable, which passed through the islands, brought the first residents in 1903. Between 1935 and 1947, Midway was used as a refueling stop for trans-Pacific flights. The US naval victory over a Japanese fleet off Midway in 1942 was one of the turning points of World War II. The islands continued to serve as a naval station until closed in 1993. Today the islands are a NWR and are the site of the world's largest Laysan albatross colony.
Palmyra Atoll: The Kingdom of Hawaii claimed the atoll in 1862, and the US included it among the Hawaiian Islands when it annexed the archipelago in 1898. The Hawaii Statehood Act of 1959 did not include Palmyra Atoll, which is now partly privately owned by the Nature Conservancy with the rest owned by the Federal government and managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. These organizations are managing the atoll as a wildlife refuge. The lagoons and surrounding waters within the 12 nm US territorial seas were transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and designated as a NWR in January 2001.
Geography ::United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
Location:
Oceania
Baker Island: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 1,830 nm (3,389 km) southwest of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and Australia
Howland Island: island in the North Pacific Ocean 1,815 nm (3,361 km) southwest of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and Australia
Jarvis Island: island in the South Pacific Ocean 1,305 nm (2,417 km) south of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and Cook Islands
Johnston Atoll: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 717 nm (1,328 km) southwest of Honolulu, about one-third of the way from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands
Kingman Reef: reef in the North Pacific Ocean 930 nm (1,722 km) south of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and American Samoa
Midway Islands: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 1,260 nm (2,334 km) northwest of Honolulu near the end of the Hawaiian Archipelago, about one-third of the way from Honolulu to Tokyo
Palmyra Atoll: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 960 nm (1,778 km) south of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and American Samoa
Geographic coordinates:
Baker Island: 0 13 N, 176 28 W
Howland Island: 0 48 N, 176 38 W
Jarvis Island: 0 23 S, 160 01 W
Johnston Atoll: 16 45 N, 169 31 W
Kingman Reef: 6 23 N, 162 25 W
Midway Islands: 28 12 N, 177 22 W
Palmyra Atoll: 5 53 N, 162 05 W
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total - 6,959.41 sq km; emergent land - 22.41 sq km; submerged - 6,937 sq km country comparison to the world: 237 Baker Island: total - 129.1 sq km; emergent land - 2.1 sq km; submerged - 127 sq km
Howland Island: total - 138.6 sq km; emergent land - 2.6 sq km; submerged - 136 sq km
Jarvis Island: total - 152 sq km; emergent land - 5 sq km; submerged - 147 sq km
Johnston Atoll: total - 276.6 sq km; emergent land - 2.6 sq km; submerged - 274 sq km
Kingman Reef: total - 1,958.01 sq km; emergent land - 0.01 sq km; submerged - 1,958 sq km
Midway Islands: total - 2,355.2 sq km; emergent land - 6.2 sq km; submerged - 2,349 sq km
Palmyra Atoll: total - 1,949.9 sq km; emergent land - 3.9 sq km; submerged - 1,946 sq km
Area - comparative:
Baker Island: about two and a half times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
Howland Island: about three times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
Jarvis Island: about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington,
DC
Johnston Atoll: about four and a half times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
Kingman Reef: a little more than one and a half times the size of
The Mall in Washington, DC
Midway Islands: about nine times the size of The Mall in Washington,
DC
Palmyra Atoll: about 20 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
none
Coastline:
Baker Island: 4.8 km
Howland Island: 6.4 km
Jarvis Island: 8 km
Johnston Atoll: 34 km
Kingman Reef: 3 km
Midway Islands: 15 km
Palmyra Atoll: 14.5 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Johnston Atoll and Kingman Reef: tropical, but generally dry; consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation
Midway Islands: subtropical with cool, moist winters (December to February) and warm, dry summers (May to October); moderated by prevailing easterly winds; most of the 1,067 mm (42 in) of annual rainfall occurs during the winter
Palmyra Atoll: equatorial, hot; located within the low pressure area of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) where the northeast and southeast trade winds meet, it is extremely wet with between 4,000-5,000 mm (160-200 in) of rainfall each year
Terrain:
low and nearly level sandy coral islands with narrow fringing reefs that have developed at the top of submerged volcanic mountains, which in most cases rise steeply from the ocean floor
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Baker Island, unnamed location - 8 m; Howland Island, unnamed location - 3 m; Jarvis Island, unnamed location - 7 m; Johnston Atoll, Sand Island - 10 m; Kingman Reef, unnamed location - less than 2 m; Midway Islands, unnamed location - 13 m; Palmyra Atoll, unnamed location - 3 m
Natural resources:
terrestrial and aquatic wildlife
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (2008)
Natural hazards:
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard
Kingman Reef: wet or awash most of the time, maximum elevation of less than 2 m makes Kingman Reef a maritime hazard
Midway Islands, Johnston, and Palmyra Atolls: NA
Environment - current issues:
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, and Johnston Atoll: no natural fresh water resources
Kingman Reef: none
Midway Islands and Palmyra Atoll: NA
Geography - note:
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: scattered vegetation consisting of grasses, prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife; closed to the public
Johnston Atoll: Johnston Island and Sand Island are natural islands, which have been expanded by coral dredging; North Island (Akau) and East Island (Hikina) are manmade islands formed from coral dredging; the egg-shaped reef is 34 km in circumference; closed to the public
Kingman Reef: barren coral atoll with deep interior lagoon; closed to the public
Midway Islands: a coral atoll managed as a NWR and open to the public for wildlife-related recreation in the form of wildlife observation and photography
Palmyra Atoll: the high rainfall and resulting lush vegetation make the environment of this atoll unique among the US Pacific Island territories; supports a large undisturbed stand of Pisonia beach forest
People ::United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
Population:
no indigenous inhabitants
note: public entry is by special-use permit from US Fish and Wildlife Service only and generally restricted to scientists and educators; visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife Service
Johnston Atoll: in previous years, an average of 1,100 US military and civilian contractor personnel were present; as of May 2005, all US government personnel had left the island
Midway Islands: approximately 40 people make up the staff of US Fish and Wildlife Service and their services contractor living at the atoll
Palmyra Atoll: four to 20 Nature Conservancy, US Fish and Wildlife staff, and researchers
Government ::United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Baker Island; Howland Island; Jarvis Island; Johnston Atoll; Kingman Reef; Midway Islands; Palmyra Atoll
Dependency status:
unincorporated territories of the US; administered from Washington, DC by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system
note on Palmyra Atoll: incorporated Territory of the US; partly privately owned and partly federally owned; administered from Washington, DC by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior; the Office of Insular Affairs of the US Department of the Interior continues to administer nine excluded areas comprising certain tidal and submerged lands within the 12 nm territorial sea or within the lagoon
Legal system:
the laws of the US, where applicable, apply
Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (territories of the US)
Flag description:
the flag of the US is used
Economy ::United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
Economy - overview:
no economic activity
Transportation ::United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
Airports:
Baker Island: one abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m covered with vegetation and unusable
Howland Island: airstrip constructed in 1937 for scheduled refueling stop on the round-the-world flight of Amelia EARHART and Fred NOONAN; the aviators left Lae, New Guinea, for Howland Island but were never seen again; the airstrip is no longer serviceable
Johnston Atoll: one closed and not maintained
Kingman Reef: lagoon was used as a halfway station between Hawaii and American Samoa by Pan American Airways for flying boats in 1937 and 1938
Midway Islands: 3 - one operational (2,409 m paved); no fuel for sale except emergencies
Palmyra Atoll: 1 - 1,846 m unpaved runway; privately owned (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, and Kingman Reef: none; offshore anchorage only
Johnston Atoll: Johnston Island
Midway Islands: Sand Island
Palmyra Atoll: West Lagoon
Military ::United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of the US
Transnational Issues ::United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
Disputes - international:
none
page last updated on August 26, 2009
======================================================================
@Uruguay (South America)
Introduction ::Uruguay
Background:
Montevideo, founded by the Spanish in 1726 as a military stronghold, soon took advantage of its natural harbor to become an important commercial center. Claimed by Argentina but annexed by Brazil in 1821, Uruguay declared its independence four years later and secured its freedom in 1828 after a three-year struggle. The administrations of President Jose BATLLE in the early 20th century established widespread political, social, and economic reforms that established a statist tradition. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement named the Tupamaros, launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay's president to cede control of the government to the military in 1973. By yearend, the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold over the government. Civilian rule was not restored until 1985. In 2004, the left-of-center Frente Amplio Coalition won national elections that effectively ended 170 years of political control previously held by the Colorado and Blanco parties. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent.
Geography ::Uruguay
Location:
Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between
Argentina and Brazil
Geographic coordinates:
33 00 S, 56 00 W
Map references:
South America
Area:
total: 176,215 sq km country comparison to the world: 90 land: 175,015 sq km
water: 1,200 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than the state of Washington
Land boundaries:
total: 1,648 km
border countries: Argentina 580 km, Brazil 1,068 km
Coastline:
660 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or edge of continental margin
Climate:
warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown
Terrain:
mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m
Natural resources:
arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries
Land use:
arable land: 7.77%
permanent crops: 0.24%
other: 91.99% (2005)
Irrigated land:
2,100 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
139 cu km (2000)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 3.15 cu km/yr (2%/1%/96%)
per capita: 910 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind that blows north from the Argentine pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts
Environment - current issues:
water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note:
second-smallest South American country (after Suriname); most of the low-lying landscape (three-quarters of the country) is grassland, ideal for cattle and sheep raising
People ::Uruguay
Population:
3,494,382 (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 131
Age structure:
0-14 years: 22.4% (male 397,942/female 385,253)
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 1,115,963/female 1,129,478)
65 years and over: 13.3% (male 187,176/female 278,570) (2009 est.)
Median age:
total: 33.4 years
male: 32 years
female: 34.8 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.466% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 157
Birth rate:
13.91 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 152
Death rate:
9.09 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 84
Net migration rate:
-0.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 96
Urbanization:
urban population: 92% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 0.4% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 11.32 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 150 male: 12.73 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 9.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.35 years country comparison to the world: 68 male: 73.1 years
female: 79.72 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.92 children born/woman (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 141
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.6% (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 67
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
10,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 102
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 500 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 87
Nationality:
noun: Uruguayan(s)
adjective: Uruguayan
Ethnic groups:
white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian (practically nonexistent)
Religions:
Roman Catholic 47.1%, non-Catholic Christians 11.1%, nondenominational 23.2%, Jewish 0.3%, atheist or agnostic 17.2%, other 1.1% (2006)
Languages:
Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the
Brazilian frontier)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 97.6%
female: 98.4% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 15 years
male: 14 years
female: 16 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
2.9% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world: 148
Government ::Uruguay
Country name:
conventional long form: Oriental Republic of Uruguay
conventional short form: Uruguay
local long form: Republica Oriental del Uruguay
local short form: Uruguay
former: Banda Oriental, Cisplatine Province
Government type:
constitutional republic
Capital:
name: Montevideo
geographic coordinates: 34 53 S, 56 11 W
time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in October; ends second Sunday in March
Administrative divisions:
19 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Artigas,
Canelones, Cerro Largo, Colonia, Durazno, Flores, Florida,
Lavalleja, Maldonado, Montevideo, Paysandu, Rio Negro, Rivera,
Rocha, Salto, San Jose, Soriano, Tacuarembo, Treinta y Tres
Independence:
25 August 1825 (from Brazil)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 25 August (1825)
Constitution:
27 November 1966; effective 15 February 1967; suspended 27 June 1973; revised 26 November 1989 and 7 January 1997
Legal system:
based on Spanish civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Tabare VAZQUEZ Rosas (since 1 March 2005); Vice President Rodolfo NIN NOVOA (since 1 March 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Tabare VAZQUEZ Rosas (since 1 March 2005); Vice President Rodolfo NIN NOVOA (since 1 March 2005)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president with parliamentary approval
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 25 October 2009, with a runoff election scheduled for 29 November 2009 (next to be held in October 2014)
election results: Jose MUJICA wins first round; percent of vote - Jose MUJICA 48.5%, Luis Alberto LACALLE 29.2%, Pedro BORDABERRY 17%; other 5.3%; note - a runoff election will be held on 29 November 2009
Legislative branch:
bicameral General Assembly or Asamblea General consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (30 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; vice president has one vote in the Senate) and Chamber of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (99 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators - last held 25 October 2009 (next to be held in October 2014); Chamber of Representatives - last held 25 October 2009 (next to be held in October 2014)
election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Frente Amplio 16, Blanco 9, Colorado Party 5; Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Frente Amplio 50, Blanco 30, Colorado Party 17, Independent Party 2
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly)
Political parties and leaders:
Broad Front (Frente Amplio) - formerly known as the Progressive
Encounter/Broad Front Coalition or EP-FA [Jorge BROVETTO] (a broad
governing coalition that includes Movement of the Popular
Participation or MPP [Jose MUJICA], New Space Party (Nuevo Espacio)
[Rafael MICHELINI], Progressive Alliance (Alianza Progresista)
[Rodolfo NIN NOVOA], Socialist Party [Eduardo FERNANDEZ], the
Communist Party [Marina ARISMENDI], Uruguayan Assembly (Asamblea
Uruguay) [Danilo ASTORI], and Vertiente Artiguista [Mariano ARANA]);
Colorado Party (Foro Batllista) [Julio Maria SANGUINETTI]; National
Party or Blanco [Luis Alberto LACALLE and Jorge LARRANAGA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Architect's Society of Uruguay (professional organization); Chamber of Uruguayan Industries (manufacturer's association); Chemist and Pharmaceutical Association (professional organization); PIT/CNT (powerful federation of Uruguayan Unions - umbrella labor organization); Rural Association of Uruguay (rancher's association); Uruguayan Construction League; Uruguayan Network of Political Women
other: Catholic Church; students
International organization participation:
CAN (associate), FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU,
ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH,
MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNASUR,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNOMIG,
UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos Alberto GIANELLI Derois
chancery: 1913 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20006
telephone: [1] (202) 331-1313 through 1316
FAX: [1] (202) 331-8142
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York
consulate(s): San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Robin H. MATTHEWMAN
embassy: Lauro Muller 1776, Montevideo 11200
mailing address: APO AA 34035
telephone: [598] (2) 418-7777
FAX: [598] (2) 418-8611
Flag description:
nine equal horizontal stripes of white (top and bottom) alternating with blue; a white square in the upper hoist-side corner with a yellow sun bearing a human face known as the Sun of May with 16 rays that alternate between triangular and wavy
Economy ::Uruguay
Economy - overview:
Uruguay's economy is characterized by an export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated work force, and high levels of social spending. After averaging growth of 5% annually during 1996-98, in 1999-2002 the economy suffered a major downturn, stemming largely from the spillover effects of the economic problems of its large neighbors, Argentina and Brazil. In 2001-02, Argentine citizens made massive withdrawals of dollars deposited in Uruguayan banks after bank deposits in Argentina were frozen, which led to a plunge in the Uruguayan peso, a banking crisis, and a sharp economic contraction. Real GDP fell in four years by nearly 20%, with 2002 the worst year. The unemployment rate rose, inflation surged, and the burden of external debt doubled. Financial assistance from the IMF helped stem the damage. Uruguay restructured its external debt in 2003 without asking creditors to accept a reduction on the principal. Economic growth for Uruguay resumed, and averaged 8% annually during the period 2004-08.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$43.27 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 93 $39.73 billion (2007 est.)
$36.99 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$32.19 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
8.9% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 20 7.4% (2007 est.)
7% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$12,400 (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 89 $11,500 (2007 est.)
$10,700 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 9.5%
industry: 23.4%
services: 67.1% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
1.641 million (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 124
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 9%
industry: 15%
services: 76% (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate:
7.6% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 101 9.2% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
27.4% of households (2006)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 34.8% (2006)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
45.2 (2006) country comparison to the world: 43 44.8 (1999)
Investment (gross fixed):
18.7% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 125
Budget:
revenues: $8.16 billion
expenditures: $8.555 billion (2008 est.)
Public debt:
59.8% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 25 64.8% of GDP (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
7.9% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 126 8.1% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
10% (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 39 10% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
12.45% (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 118 7.25% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$2.247 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 68 $2.145 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$9.409 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 52 $7.919 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$9.096 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 73 $6.396 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 108 $159 million (31 December 2007)
$125.1 million (31 December 2006)
Agriculture - products:
rice, wheat, soybeans, barley; livestock, beef; fish; forestry
Industries:
food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages
Industrial production growth rate:
8% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 23
Electricity - production:
9.265 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 93
Electricity - consumption:
7.14 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 95
Electricity - exports:
996 million kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
789 million kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
946.1 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 107
Oil - consumption:
41,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 102
Oil - exports:
7,100 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 101
Oil - imports:
52,730 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 86
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl country comparison to the world: 120
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 118
Natural gas - consumption:
70 million cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 106
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008) country comparison to the world: 95
Natural gas - imports:
70 million cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 67
Natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 125
Current account balance:
-$1.484 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 132 -$82.7 million (2007 est.)
Exports:
$7.084 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 98 $5.043 billion (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
meat, rice, leather products, wool, fish, dairy products
Exports - partners:
Brazil 18.7%, China 8.5%, Argentina 7.3%, Germany 6.5%, Mexico 4.9%,
Netherlands 4.5%, Russia 4.3% (2008)
Imports:
$8.799 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 98 $5.598 billion (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
crude petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, chemicals, road vehicles, paper, plastics
Imports - partners:
Argentina 19.9%, Brazil 16.5%, China 11.2%, US 9.9%, Paraguay 6.6%,
Nigeria 4.6% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$6.36 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 79 $4.121 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$10.73 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 83 $11.07 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$4.19 billion (2007) country comparison to the world: 90
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$156 million (2007) country comparison to the world: 78
Exchange rates:
Uruguayan pesos (UYU) per US dollar - 20.936 (2008 est.), 23.947 (2007), 24.048 (2006), 24.479 (2005), 28.704 (2004)
Communications ::Uruguay
Telephones - main lines in use:
959,300 (2008) country comparison to the world: 83
Telephones - mobile cellular:
3.508 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 98
Telephone system:
general assessment: fully digitalized
domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide microwave radio relay network; overall fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is 130 telephones per 100 persons
international: country code - 598; the UNISOR submarine cable system provides direct connectivity to Brazil and Argentina; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2002)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 93, FM 191, shortwave 7 (2005)
Television broadcast stations:
62 (2005)
Internet country code:
.uy
Internet hosts:
498,232 (2009) country comparison to the world: 48
Internet users:
1.34 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 79
Transportation ::Uruguay
Airports:
57 (2009) country comparison to the world: 82
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 48
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 20
under 914 m: 25 (2009)
Pipelines:
gas 226 km; oil 155 km (2008)
Railways:
total: 1,641 km country comparison to the world: 79 standard gauge: 1,641 km 1.435-m gauge (2008)
Roadways:
total: 77,732 km country comparison to the world: 63 paved: 7,743 km
unpaved: 69,989 km (2004)
Waterways:
1,600 km (2008) country comparison to the world: 52
Merchant marine:
total: 17 country comparison to the world: 102 by type: cargo 3, chemical tanker 2, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 10 (Argentina 3, Greece 1, Spain 6)
registered in other countries: 3 (Liberia 3) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Montevideo
Military ::Uruguay
Military branches:
Uruguayan Armed Forces: Army (Ejercito), National Navy (Armada
Nacional; includes naval air arm, Marine Corps (Cuerpo de Fusileros
Navales, FUSNA), Maritime Prefecture in wartime), Air Force (Fuerza
Aerea Uruguaya, FAU) (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary and compulsory military service; enlistment is voluntary in peacetime, but the government has the authority to conscript in emergencies (2007)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 837,252
females age 16-49: 824,096 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 708,545
females age 16-49: 693,622 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 27,452
female: 26,479 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures:
1.6% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world: 103
Transnational Issues ::Uruguay
Disputes - international:
in Jan 2007, ICJ provisionally ruled Uruguay may begin construction of two paper mills on the Uruguay River, which forms the border with Argentina, while the court examines further whether Argentina has the legal right to stop such construction with potential environmental implications to both countries; uncontested dispute with Brazil over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina
Illicit drugs:
small-scale transit country for drugs mainly bound for Europe, often through sea-borne containers; law enforcement corruption; money laundering because of strict banking secrecy laws; weak border control along Brazilian frontier; increasing consumption of cocaine base and synthetic drugs
page last updated on November 11, 2009
======================================================================
@Uzbekistan (Central Asia)
Introduction ::Uzbekistan
Background:
Russia conquered Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after World War I was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic set up in 1924. During the Soviet era, intensive production of "white gold" (cotton) and grain led to overuse of agrochemicals and the depletion of water supplies, which have left the land poisoned and the Aral Sea and certain rivers half dry. Independent since 1991, the country seeks to gradually lessen its dependence on agriculture while developing its mineral and petroleum reserves. Current concerns include terrorism by Islamic militants, economic stagnation, and the curtailment of human rights and democratization.
Geography ::Uzbekistan
Location:
Central Asia, north of Afghanistan
Geographic coordinates:
41 00 N, 64 00 E
Map references:
Asia
Area:
total: 447,400 sq km country comparison to the world: 56 land: 425,400 sq km
water: 22,000 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than California
Land boundaries:
total: 6,221 km
border countries: Afghanistan 137 km, Kazakhstan 2,203 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,099 km, Tajikistan 1,161 km, Turkmenistan 1,621 km
Coastline:
0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline
Maritime claims:
none (doubly landlocked)
Climate:
mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east
Terrain:
mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya, Syr Darya (Sirdaryo), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m
highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m
Natural resources:
natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum
Land use:
arable land: 10.51%
permanent crops: 0.76%
other: 88.73% (2005)
Irrigated land:
42,810 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
72.2 cu km (2003)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 58.34 cu km/yr (5%/2%/93%)
per capita: 2,194 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
NA
Environment - current issues:
shrinkage of the Aral Sea is resulting in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification; water pollution from industrial wastes and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many human health disorders; increasing soil salination; soil contamination from buried nuclear processing and agricultural chemicals, including DDT
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world
People ::Uzbekistan
Population:
27,606,007 (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 44
Age structure:
0-14 years: 28.1% (male 3,970,386/female 3,787,371)
15-64 years: 67% (male 9,191,439/female 9,309,791)
65 years and over: 4.9% (male 576,191/female 770,829) (2009 est.)
Median age:
total: 24.7 years
male: 24.2 years
female: 25.2 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.935% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 133
Birth rate:
17.58 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 116
Death rate:
5.29 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 181
Net migration rate:
-2.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 148
Urbanization:
urban population: 37% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 1.6% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 23.43 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 92 male: 27.7 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 18.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.96 years country comparison to the world: 123 male: 68.95 years
female: 75.15 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.95 children born/woman (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 137
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
less than 0.1% (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 134
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
16,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 85
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 500 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 86
Nationality:
noun: Uzbekistani
adjective: Uzbekistani
Ethnic groups:
Uzbek 80%, Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, Tatar 1.5%, other 2.5% (1996 est.)
Religions:
Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3%
Languages:
Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.3%
male: 99.6%
female: 99% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 11 years
male: 12 years
female: 11 years (2007)
Education expenditures:
9.4% of GDP (1991) country comparison to the world: 7
Government ::Uzbekistan
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Uzbekistan
conventional short form: Uzbekistan
local long form: Ozbekiston Respublikasi
local short form: Ozbekiston
former: Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic
Government type:
republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
Capital:
name: Tashkent (Toshkent)
geographic coordinates: 41 20 N, 69 18 E
time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
12 provinces (viloyatlar, singular - viloyat), 1 autonomous
republic* (respublika), and 1 city** (shahar); Andijon Viloyati,
Buxoro Viloyati, Farg'ona Viloyati, Jizzax Viloyati, Namangan
Viloyati, Navoiy Viloyati, Qashqadaryo Viloyati (Qarshi),
Qoraqalpog'iston Respublikasi [Karakalpakstan]* (Nukus), Samarqand
Viloyati, Sirdaryo Viloyati (Guliston), Surxondaryo Viloyati
(Termiz), Toshkent Shahri**, Toshkent Viloyati, Xorazm Viloyati
(Urganch)
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Independence:
1 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 1 September (1991)
Constitution:
adopted 8 December 1992
Legal system:
based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Islom KARIMOV (since 24 March 1990, when he was elected president by the then Supreme Soviet)
head of government: Prime Minister Shavkat MIRZIYOYEV (since 11 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Rustam AZIMOV (since 2 January 2008)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president with approval of the Supreme Assembly
elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second term; previously was a five-year term, extended by constitutional amendment in 2002); election last held 23 December 2007 (next to be held in 2014); prime minister, ministers, and deputy ministers appointed by the president
election results: Islom KARIMOV reelected president; percent of vote - Islom KARIMOV 88.1%, Asliddin RUSTAMOV 3.2%, Dilorom T0SHMUHAMEDOVA 2.9%, Akmal SAIDOV 2.6%
Legislative branch:
bicameral Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis consists of an upper house or Senate (100 seats; 84 members are elected by regional governing councils and 16 appointed by the president; to serve five-year terms) and a lower house or Legislative Chamber (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26 December 2004 and 9 January 2005 (next to be held in December 2009)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Legislative Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LDPU 41, NDP 32, Fidokorlar 17, MTP 11, Adolat 9, unaffiliated 10
note: all parties in the Supreme Assembly support President KARIMOV
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Supreme Assembly)
Political parties and leaders:
Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party [Dilorom TOSHMUHAMEDOVA];
Democratic National Rebirth Party (Milliy Tiklanish) or MTP [Hurshid
DOSMUHAMMEDOV]; Fidokorlar National Democratic Party
(Self-Sacrificers) [Ahtam TURSUNOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of
Uzbekistan or LDPU [Adham SHADMANOV; People's Democratic Party or
NDP (formerly Communist Party) [Asliddin RUSTAMOV]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Agrarian and Entrepreneurs' Party [Marat ZAHIDOV]; Birlik (Unity)
Movement [Abdurahim POLAT, chairman]; Committee for the Protection
of Human Rights [Marat ZAHIDOV]; Erk (Freedom) Democratic Party
[Muhammad SOLIH, chairman] (was banned 9 December 1992); Ezgulik
Human Rights Society [Vasila INOYATOVA]; Free Farmers' Party or Ozod
Dehqonlar [Nigora HIDOYATOVA]; Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan
[Talib YAKUBOV, chairman]; Independent Human Rights Organization of
Uzbekistan [Mikhail ARDZINOV, chairman]; Mazlum; Sunshine Coalition
[Sanjar UMAROV, chairman]
International organization participation:
ADB, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol,
IOC, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
(observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Abdulaziz KAMILOV
chancery: 1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 887-5300
FAX: [1] (202) 293-6804
consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard B. NORLAND
embassy: 3 Moyqo'rq'on, 5th Block, Yunusobod District, Tashkent 100093
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [998] (71) 120-5450
FAX: [998] (71) 120-6335
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and green separated by red fimbriations with a white crescent moon and 12 white stars in the upper hoist-side quadrant
Economy ::Uzbekistan
Economy - overview:
Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 11% consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. More than 60% of its population lives in densely populated rural communities. Uzbekistan is now the world's second-largest cotton exporter and fifth largest producer; it relies heavily on cotton production as the major source of export earnings and has come under increasing international criticism for the use of child labor in its annual cotton harvest. Other major export earners include gold, natural gas, and oil. Following independence in September 1991, the government sought to prop up its Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls on production and prices. While aware of the need to improve the investment climate, the government still sponsors measures that often increase, not decrease, its control over business decisions. A sharp increase in the inequality of income distribution has hurt the lower ranks of society since independence. In 2003, the government accepted Article VIII obligations under the IMF, providing for full currency convertibility. However, strict currency controls and tightening of borders have lessened the effects of convertibility and have also led to some shortages that have further stifled economic activity. The Central Bank often delays or restricts convertibility, especially for consumer goods. Potential investment by Russia and China in Uzbekistan's gas and oil industry, as well as increased cooperation with South Korea in the realm of civil aviation, may boost growth prospects. In November 2005, Russian President Vladimir PUTIN and Uzbekistan President KARIMOV signed an "alliance," which included provisions for economic and business cooperation. Russian businesses have shown increased interest in Uzbekistan, especially in mining, telecom, and oil and gas. In 2006, Uzbekistan took steps to rejoin the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Community (EurASEC), which it subsequently left in 2008, both organizations dominated by Russia. Uzbek authorities have accused US and other foreign companies operating in Uzbekistan of violating Uzbek tax laws and have frozen their assets.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$71.84 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 78 $65.91 billion (2007 est.)
$60.19 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$27.92 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
9% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 18 9.5% (2007 est.)
7.3% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$2,600 (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 171 $2,400 (2007 est.)
$2,200 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 25.8%
industry: 31.4%
services: 42.8% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
15.37 million (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 37
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 44%
industry: 20%
services: 36% (1995)
Unemployment rate:
1% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 6 0.8% (2007 est.)
note: officially measured by the Ministry of Labor, plus another 20% underemployed
Population below poverty line:
33% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 29.6% (2003)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
36.8 (2003) country comparison to the world: 80 44.7 (1998)
Budget:
revenues: $8.884 billion
expenditures: $8.474 billion (2008 est.)
Public debt:
10.4% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 111 41.5% of GDP (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
14% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 185 12% (2007 est.)
note: official data; based on independent analysis of consumer prices, inflation reached 38% in 2008
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA (31 December 2008)
$NA (31 December 2007)
$715.3 million (31 December 2006)
Agriculture - products:
cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock
Industries:
textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, gold, petroleum, natural gas, chemicals
Industrial production growth rate:
12.7% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 4
Electricity - production:
46.33 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 49
Electricity - consumption:
41.94 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 49
Electricity - exports:
11.44 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
11.36 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
83,820 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 54
Oil - consumption:
148,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 68
Oil - exports:
6,104 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 102
Oil - imports:
35,810 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 97
Oil - proved reserves:
594 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 45
Natural gas - production:
67.6 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 15
Natural gas - consumption:
52.6 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 15
Natural gas - exports:
15 billion cu m (2008) country comparison to the world: 15
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 119
Natural gas - proved reserves:
1.841 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 18
Current account balance:
$6.257 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 31 $4.267 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$10.37 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 85 $8.026 billion (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
cotton, gold, energy products, mineral fertilizers, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, textiles, food products, machinery, automobiles
Exports - partners:
Ukraine 27.3%, Russia 19.6%, Turkey 7.5%, Kazakhstan 5.9%,
Bangladesh 5%, China 4.3%, Japan 4.1% (2008)
Imports:
$7.07 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 105 $5.73 billion (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, ferrous and non-ferrous metals
Imports - partners:
Russia 24.7%, China 15.4%, South Korea 13.6%, Ukraine 7.2%, Germany 5.5%, Kazakhstan 4.9%, Turkey 4.1% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$10.15 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 65 $7.413 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$4.022 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 111 $3.927 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: