The 2009 CIA World Factbook

by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Solomon Islands
The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon
Islands in the 1890s. Some of the most bitter fighting of World War
II occurred on this archipelago. Self-government was achieved in
1976 and independence two years later. Ethnic violence, government
malfeasance, and endemic crime have undermined stability and civil
society. In June 2003, then Prime Minister Sir Allan KEMAKEZA sought
the assistance of Australia in reestablishing law and order; the
following month, an Australian-led multinational force arrived to
restore peace and disarm ethnic militias. The Regional Assistance
Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has generally been effective
in restoring law and order and rebuilding government institutions.

Somalia Britain withdrew from British Somaliland in 1960 to allow its protectorate to join with Italian Somaliland and form the new nation of Somalia. In 1969, a coup headed by Mohamed SIAD Barre ushered in an authoritarian socialist rule that managed to impose a degree of stability in the country for a couple of decades. After the regime's collapse early in 1991, Somalia descended into turmoil, factional fighting, and anarchy. In May 1991, northern clans declared an independent Republic of Somaliland that now includes the administrative regions of Awdal, Woqooyi Galbeed, Togdheer, Sanaag, and Sool. Although not recognized by any government, this entity has maintained a stable existence and continues efforts to establish a constitutional democracy, including holding municipal, parliamentary, and presidential elections. The regions of Bari, Nugaal, and northern Mudug comprise a neighboring self-declared autonomous state of Puntland, which has been self-governing since 1998 but does not aim at independence; it has also made strides toward reconstructing a legitimate, representative government but has suffered some civil strife. Puntland disputes its border with Somaliland as it also claims portions of eastern Sool and Sanaag. Beginning in 1993, a two-year UN humanitarian effort (primarily in the south) was able to alleviate famine conditions, but when the UN withdrew in 1995, having suffered significant casualties, order still had not been restored. A two-year peace process, led by the Government of Kenya under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), concluded in October 2004 with the election of Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed as President of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and the formation of an interim government, known as the Somalia Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs). The TFIs included a 275-member parliamentary body, known as the Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA). President YUSUF resigned late in 2008 while United Nations-sponsored talks between the TFG and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) were underway in Djibouti. In January 2009, following the creation of a TFG-ARS unity government, Ethiopian military forces, which had entered Somalia in December 2006 to support the TFG in the face of advances by the opposition Council of Islamic Courts (CIC), withdrew from the country. The TFA was increased to 550 seats with the addition of 275 ARS members of parliament. The expanded parliament elected Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed, the former CIC and ARS chairman as president on 31 January 2009, in Djibouti. Subsequently, President SHARIF appointed Omar Abdirashid ali SHARMARKE, son of a former president of Somalia, as prime minister on 13 February 2009. The TFIs are based on the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC), which outlines a five-year mandate leading to the establishment of a new Somali constitution and a transition to a representative government following national elections. However, in January 2009 the TFA amended the TFC to extend TFG's mandate until 2011. While its institutions remain weak, the TFG continues to reach out to Somali stakeholders and work with international donors to help build the governance capacity of the TFIs and work toward national elections in 2011.

South Africa
Dutch traders landed at the southern tip of modern day
South Africa in 1652 and established a stopover point on the spice
route between the Netherlands and the East, founding the city of
Cape Town. After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in
1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found
their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold
(1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the
subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British
encroachments but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902);
however, the British and the Afrikaners, as the Boers became known,
ruled together under the Union of South Africa. In 1948, the
National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of
apartheid - the separate development of the races. The first
multi-racial elections in 1994 brought an end to apartheid and
ushered in black majority rule under the African National Congress
(ANC). ANC infighting, which has grown in recent years, came to a
head in September 2008 after President Thabo MBEKI resigned. Kgalema
MOTLANTHE, the party's General-Secretary, succeeded as interim
president until general elections scheduled for 2009.

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
The islands, which have
large bird and seal populations, lie approximately 1,000 km east of
the Falkland Islands and have been under British administration
since 1908 - except for a brief period in 1982 when Argentina
occupied them. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early
20th century whaling station. Famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON
stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross
Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few
companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the
rest of his crew, stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in
1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today,
the station houses scientists from the British Antarctic Survey.
Recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in
adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993, extended the exclusive fishing
zone from 12 nm to 200 nm around each island.

Southern Ocean
A large body of recent oceanographic research has
shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current
that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role
in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the
ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a
distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with
the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a
unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients,
which promotes marine plant life, and which in turn allows for a
greater abundance of animal life. In the spring of 2000, the
International Hydrographic Organization decided to delimit the
waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern
Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean,
Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the
coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which
coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit and which approximates the
extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is
now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific
Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic
Ocean). It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does
not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world's primary
oceans by the US Government.

Spain
Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries
ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent
failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused
the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic
and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II
but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). A peaceful
transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco
FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization (Spain joined the
EU in 1986) gave Spain a dynamic and rapidly growing economy and
made it a global champion of freedom and human rights. The
government continues to battle the Basque Fatherland and Liberty
(ETA) terrorist organization, but its major focus for the immediate
future will be on measures to reverse the severe economic recession
that started in mid-2008.

Spratly Islands
The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small
islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and
potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their
entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed
by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by
relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a
fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any
formal claim.

Sri Lanka
The first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th
century B.C. probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced
in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization
developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C.
to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In
the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty established a Tamil kingdom
in northern Sri Lanka. The coastal areas of the island were
controlled by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in
the 17th century. The island was ceded to the British in 1796,
became a crown colony in 1802, and was united under British rule by
1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed
to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and
Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. Tens of thousands have
died in the ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two
decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) formalized a cease-fire in February 2002 with Norway
brokering peace negotiations. Violence between the LTTE and
government forces intensified in 2006 and the government regained
control of the Eastern Province in 2007. In May 2009, the government
announced that its military had finally defeated the remnants of the
LTTE and that its leader, Velupillai PRABHAKARAN, had been killed.

Sudan
Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have
dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956.
Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the
remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in
northern economic, political, and social domination of largely
non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in
1972 but broke out again in 1983. The second war and famine-related
effects resulted in more than four million people displaced and,
according to rebel estimates, more than two million deaths over a
period of two decades. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with
the signing of several accords. The final North/South Comprehensive
Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern
rebels autonomy for six years. After which, a referendum for
independence is scheduled to be held. A separate conflict, which
broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003, has displaced
nearly two million people and caused an estimated 200,000 to 400,000
deaths. The UN took command of the Darfur peacekeeping operation
from the African Union on 31 December 2007. As of early 2009,
peacekeeping troops were struggling to stabilize the situation,
which has become increasingly regional in scope, and has brought
instability to eastern Chad, and Sudanese incursions into the
Central African Republic. Sudan also has faced large refugee
influxes from neighboring countries, primarily Ethiopia and Chad.
Armed conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and lack of
government support have chronically obstructed the provision of
humanitarian assistance to affected populations.

Suriname
First explored by the Spaniards in the 16th century and
then settled by the English in the mid-17th century, Suriname became
a Dutch colony in 1667. With the abolition of slavery in 1863,
workers were brought in from India and Java. Independence from the
Netherlands was granted in 1975. Five years later the civilian
government was replaced by a military regime that soon declared a
socialist republic. It continued to exert control through a
succession of nominally civilian administrations until 1987, when
international pressure finally forced a democratic election. In
1990, the military overthrew the civilian leadership, but a
democratically elected government - a four-party New Front coalition
- returned to power in 1991 and has ruled since; the coalition
expanded to eight parties in 2005.