Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.3% (FY00)
Transnational Issues Argentina
Disputes - international:
claims UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South
Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in its constitution, but in
1995 ceded the right to settle the dispute by force; Beagle Channel
islands dispute resolved through Papal mediation in 1984, but armed
incidents persist since 1992 oil discovery; territorial claim in
Antarctica partially overlaps UK and Chilean claims (see Antarctic
disputes); unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay
borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and drug
trafficking, and harbors Islamist militants; uncontested dispute
between Brazil and Uruguay over Braziliera Island in the
Quarai/Cuareim leaves the tripoint with Argentina in question
Illicit drugs:
used as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe and
the US; some money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border
Area; domestic consumption of drugs in urban centers is increasing
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003
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@Armenia
Introduction Armenia
Background:
Armenia prides itself on being the first nation to formally adopt
Christianity (early 4th century). Despite periods of autonomy, over
the centuries Armenia came under the sway of various empires
including the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman. It was
incorporated into Russia in 1828 and the USSR in 1920. Armenian
leaders remain preoccupied by the long conflict with Muslim
Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated
region, assigned to Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow.
Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the area in 1988; the
struggle escalated after both countries attained independence from
the Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold,
Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a
significant portion of Azerbaijan proper. The economies of both
sides have been hurt by their inability to make substantial progress
toward a peaceful resolution.
Geography Armenia