The 1993 CIA World Factbook E-Book

United States. Central Intelligence Agency

• Herausgeber: DigiCat
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

The 1993 CIA World Factbook serves as an authoritative reference for understanding global demographics, geography, government, and economics during a pivotal period in history. This comprehensive compendium employs a utilitarian prose style, combining factual data with concise analyses, making it accessible for both policymakers and the general public. The 1993 edition reflects the geopolitical complexities following the Cold War, presenting an organized overview of over 250 countries and regions, alongside a wealth of statistics detailing population dynamics, economic indicators, and political structures. Produced by the Central Intelligence Agency, an agency deeply embedded in national security and global intelligence, this factbook draws from meticulous research and extensive data collection efforts. The CIA's mission, which historically involved nuanced understandings of international affairs, is echoed in this text, illuminating how data-driven insights can inform public understanding. The publication stands as a testament to the CIA's commitment to transparency and knowledge dissemination in navigating a rapidly changing world. I highly recommend The 1993 CIA World Factbook to scholars, students, and anyone seeking a well-rounded snapshot of global conditions in the early 1990s. Its rich data not only provides insights into the socio-political landscape of the time but also serves as an invaluable resource for comparative studies and historical research. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions. - The Author Biography highlights personal milestones and literary influences that shape the entire body of writing. - A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation. - A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists. - A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths. - Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts. - Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.

Leseprobe

United States. Central Intelligence Agency

The 1993 CIA World Factbook

Enriched edition.

Introduction, Studies and Commentaries by Gabriel Fox

EAN 8596547182481

Edited and published by DigiCat, 2022

Table of Contents

Introduction

Author Biography

Historical Context

Synopsis (Selection)

The 1993 CIA World Factbook

Analysis

Reflection

Memorable Quotes

Introduction

Table of Contents

This collection presents The 1993 CIA World Factbook, a single-author work credited to the United States. Central Intelligence Agency. It assembles, in unified form, the complete textual contents of the 1993 edition, preserving the internal organization and reference orientation of the original government publication. The aim is to provide a stable, readable resource for study and consultation, while reflecting the original editorial intent: a concise, country-by-country compendium of essential information. As a historical snapshot, the 1993 Factbook captures the world as the Agency summarized it at that time, offering a coherent point of reference for readers seeking context, comparison, and a reliable baseline.

The CIA World Factbook is an annual compendium produced by the Central Intelligence Agency for ready reference. Prepared for United States government users and widely consulted by the broader public, it is a public-domain publication that has long served as a standard, accessible repository of basic country data. The 1993 edition continues that mission by presenting structured summaries designed for quick orientation: names, basic national characteristics, selected statistics, and brief narrative descriptions. The result is not argument or advocacy but a compact catalog intended to facilitate informed decision-making and general understanding, balancing breadth of coverage with a clear, concise style that favors comparability over exhaustive detail.

The present collection focuses on text. Readers will encounter standardized country entries that combine succinct narrative passages with numerical indicators and category labels. The prose is designed for reference use: compact sentences, consistent terminology, and recurring headings that enable scanning as well as sustained reading. Explanatory notes appear where terms or measures require clarification, framing the meaning of indicators so that data can be interpreted in context. Together, these textual elements constitute a distinctive genre: a government-produced, cross-sectional reference work whose primary unit is the country profile, organized to support both quick lookups and systematic comparisons across states and territories.

A hallmark of the Factbook’s style is its uniform structure. Entries adhere to a predictable sequence of sections, allowing readers to find the same types of information in the same order across jurisdictions. The tone is impersonal and neutral, avoiding rhetorical flourish in favor of direct, economical statement. Terminology is standardized to reduce ambiguity. Abbreviations, conventional names, and formal designations are treated consistently, reflecting an editorial emphasis on clarity and repeatable retrieval. This disciplined presentation underpins the Factbook’s utility: the same categories recur, the same measurement concepts appear, and the same organizational logic applies from entry to entry.

The content spans principal domains of basic country information. Geography typically includes location and physical features. Population and society summarize demographic attributes. Government outlines constitutional form and administrative organization. Economy condenses production, trade, and finance indicators. Communications and transportation register infrastructure and connectivity measures. Military sections identify defense-related basics. These categories work together to offer a compact portrait of each entity. While not exhaustive, the selection favors elements most frequently needed for orientation, making the volume a practical starting point for readers who require consistent, high-level facts about many places at once.

As an edition issued in the early post–Cold War period, the 1993 Factbook offers particular historical interest. The geopolitical landscape was in flux, with borders, names, and affiliations undergoing visible change. The volume captures that moment by cataloging the entities recognized and described by the Agency at the time of compilation. For historians and policy analysts, this provides a dated, authoritative snapshot against which later developments can be gauged. For general readers, it preserves the contemporaneous framing of global information: how states and territories were grouped, named, and summarized during a transitional era in international affairs.

The Factbook’s method favors comparability across entries. Definitions and notes establish how terms are used, helping ensure that indicators can be read consistently from one profile to the next. Because reference data reflect the sources and reporting available when compiled, each edition represents a best-effort synthesis rather than an immutable ledger. The 1993 edition thus stands as a temporal record: a careful assembly of facts as known and reported at that time. Subsequent editions may revise figures or structures, but the value of this volume lies in its internally coherent, time-specific statement of the global baseline.

The unifying themes across the Factbook series are classification, standardization, and accessibility. By organizing heterogeneous national realities into a shared set of categories, the CIA creates a comparable grid of information that serves many users. The 1993 edition maintains this approach, reinforcing the idea that reliable knowledge begins with clear definitions and consistent presentation. Implicitly, the book maps not only countries but also the contours of what counts as essential reference knowledge: names, numbers, forms of rule, basic economic measures, and infrastructural capacities rendered legible for rapid consultation and cross-national reading.

The stylistic hallmarks—brevity, neutrality, and regularity—contribute to the work’s lasting significance. Journalists, educators, students, and researchers have long turned to the Factbook as a first point of contact for country facts because it is coherent, standardized, and freely usable. Its public-domain status facilitates wide distribution and citation. While no single volume can satisfy specialized research needs, the Factbook excels at furnishing a dependable overview, creating a shared factual groundwork upon which deeper, domain-specific inquiry can build. The 1993 edition continues this tradition with clarity and restraint.

Readers will find the text most rewarding when approached both vertically and horizontally: vertically, by following a single entry through its sections to form a compact national profile; horizontally, by comparing the same section across multiple entries to identify similarities and differences. The recurring categories are designed to make this dual reading practical. Explanatory material embedded in the text supports interpretation and guards against misreading. In this way, the Factbook functions not merely as a directory but as a framework for structured comparison, enabling informed, side-by-side assessments without presuming specialist expertise.

As an institutional author, the United States. Central Intelligence Agency brings to the Factbook an editorial practice centered on utility. The voice is not personal or argumentative; it is procedural, aiming to state what is necessary for reference without digression. Across editions, the series constitutes an oeuvre of public information publishing: a cumulative, annually refreshed catalog of the world’s political-geographic units. The 1993 volume contributes a discrete installment to that continuum, fixed to its year yet aligned with the broader series in structure and scope, and therefore legible both on its own and within the larger sequence.

This collection preserves that contribution in a form optimized for reading and study. By gathering the 1993 text in a single, consistent presentation, it facilitates citation, classroom use, and historical comparison. It also foregrounds the editorial virtues that have made the Factbook durable: standardized organization, concise exposition, and an emphasis on practical relevance. Readers are invited to use this volume as a dependable point of entry into the world it describes and as a testament to a distinctive tradition of public reference publishing sustained by the United States. Central Intelligence Agency.

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Introduction

The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), established in 1947 by the National Security Act, is the nation’s lead foreign intelligence service, tasked with collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information to inform national security decisions and, when directed, conducting covert activities authorized by the President. As an institutional author, the CIA has produced a substantial public-facing corpus alongside classified work, notably reference publications, declassified historical collections, and professional literature in intelligence studies. While the present collection is titled simply “Text,” the Agency’s recognizable signature works include The World Factbook and the journal Studies in Intelligence, both central to its publicly accessible intellectual footprint.

Across the Cold War, the post–Cold War transition, and the post‑9/11 era, the CIA’s written output mirrored evolving strategic demands: from assessments of state adversaries to analyses of transnational threats, technology, and great‑power competition. These texts cultivated an institutional voice that prizes clarity, sourcing, and estimative caution, reflecting the Agency’s internal standards for tradecraft. Publicly released materials—ranging from country profiles to declassified analytic histories—have supported educators, journalists, and researchers, helping to define the parameters of modern intelligence discourse while remaining tightly bounded by legal constraints on sources and methods.

The CIA’s publications also situate the Agency within broader currents of U.S. governance and oversight. Reforms following mid‑1970s inquiries, and periodic transparency initiatives since, widened public access to selected materials, anchoring a documentary record that scholars use to reconstruct decision‑making and analytic practice. Through curated releases and institutional commentary on methodology, the CIA has become both a subject and producer of intelligence literature. Its best‑known works, such as The World Factbook and Studies in Intelligence, continue to shape how non‑specialists encounter the field, even as most operational activity remains classified and outside the scope of public bibliographies.

Education and Literary Influences

As an organization rather than an individual, the CIA’s “education” is institutional: it recruits from universities and professional backgrounds across the sciences, social sciences, languages, and engineering, and augments that expertise through internal training programs. Analytic tradecraft courses emphasize structured methods, sourcing rigor, and calibrated estimative language, cultivating a concise, non‑polemical prose style. Over decades, the Agency has codified these practices in internal guides, some of which have been released publicly, helping standardize how assessments are framed for senior policymakers. This training regime underpins the tone and architecture of CIA‑authored texts, from reference volumes to declassified studies of historical operations and analytic method.

The CIA’s literary and intellectual influences draw from the early U.S. intelligence tradition and its academic interlocutors. Sherman Kent’s work on strategic intelligence helped define analytic discipline and the ideal of speaking truth to power, shaping the Agency’s emphasis on objectivity and caveated judgments. External scholarship from history, political science, area studies, and economics informs assessments and retrospective analyses, while collaboration with the broader Intelligence Community and engagement with peer‑reviewed research further refine standards. As open‑source information expanded in the digital era, methodological influences widened, incorporating data analysis and geospatial tradecraft that increasingly appear in unclassified CIA publications and declassified monographs.

Literary Career

A durable pillar of the CIA’s public authorship is Studies in Intelligence, a journal founded to foster professional reflection on operations, analysis, history, and methodology. While many articles remain classified, a significant subset has been declassified and made available, creating a bridge between insiders and scholars of intelligence. The journal’s house style favors careful sourcing, understated rhetoric, and attention to lessons learned, reflecting the Agency’s pedagogical aims. Its reception in the academic community has been steady: researchers cite it as a primary venue for institutional self‑study, and its essays often contextualize newly released documents within broader debates in intelligence studies.

The World Factbook is the Agency’s most widely recognized reference publication. Compiled from a mix of open and government sources, it presents country‑by‑country profiles—geography, demographics, economy, government, and security‑relevant infrastructure—in a terse, standardized format. Its neutral tone and regular updates make it a staple for classrooms, newsrooms, and general reference, even as it avoids policy advocacy. Because the Factbook sits firmly in the public domain, it circulates broadly and is frequently republished or excerpted, illustrating how the CIA’s information products can serve civic and educational functions beyond their original national security context.

Declassified historical collections constitute another major strand of CIA authorship. Through its public website and archival releases, the Agency has made accessible a growing body of memoranda, case studies, and analytic histories, subject to review for sources and methods. These releases encompass Cold War episodes, regional analyses, and methodological reflections, enabling researchers to reconstruct analytic baselines and bureaucratic processes. They also include tradecraft primers and internal monographs that illuminate how analysts were trained to write. This documentary trail supports secondary scholarship while preserving the Agency’s institutional memory in vetted form, framing past practice as a resource for current professionals.

In addition to journals and declassified histories, the CIA produces maps, infographics, and thematic reference aids, often through its cartographic and analytic units. Many of these products have entered the public domain, becoming standard fixtures in educational and media settings. The Agency has also participated in the declassification of selected historical President’s Daily Brief materials from the 1960s–1970s, offering rare insight into how intelligence is distilled for senior leaders. Collectively, these outputs display a consistent stylistic signature: succinct prose, explicit sourcing constraints, careful caveats, and visual standardization designed to aid rapid comprehension by non‑specialist decision‑makers.

Beliefs and Advocacy

The CIA’s published statements consistently emphasize analytic objectivity, nonpartisanship, and adherence to U.S. law and oversight. These commitments are visible in its writing conventions: clearly labeled judgments, confidence levels, and sourcing caveats establish boundaries between evidence and inference. Public‑facing texts explain missions and authorities in general terms, aiming to demystify an organization whose core activities are necessarily classified. The Agency also underscores its responsibility to protect sources and methods, which shapes what can be released and how, and it frames declassification as a balance between transparency and safeguarding ongoing operations and partnerships.

Beyond doctrine, the CIA has engaged in measured transparency efforts intended to cultivate public understanding of intelligence as a profession. Through its Center for the Study of Intelligence, the journal Studies in Intelligence, historical web features, and curated archival releases, the Agency advocates for informed debate about the role of intelligence in democratic governance. It highlights professional ethics, the value of rigorous peer review, and the importance of learning from past analytic errors. Recruitment and outreach materials similarly promote diversity of backgrounds and skills, reinforcing the view—mirrored in its publications—that robust analysis benefits from varied perspectives and methodological pluralism.

Final Years & Legacy

In recent decades, CIA publications have reflected technological change, counterterrorism priorities, renewed great‑power competition, and the growth of open‑source information. Digital platforms now deliver The World Factbook and declassified materials to global audiences, while periodic releases of historical collections continue to enrich the documentary record of U.S. intelligence. Although the Agency is not a literary figure with a final period, its textual legacy is substantial: it helped professionalize intelligence writing, seeded a scholarly field with primary sources and practitioner reflection, and provided widely used reference tools. That legacy endures in classrooms, policy debates, and ongoing methodological discussions about rigorous, transparent analysis.

Historical Context

Table of Contents

The 1993 CIA World Factbook emerged from a reference tradition the Central Intelligence Agency developed after World War II to support policymakers with concise, standardized country profiles. The CIA, created in 1947 under the National Security Act, began issuing The World Factbook in 1962 primarily for government use; public editions followed in the mid-1970s. By 1993 the volume had become a widely consulted global almanac, organizing entries on geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues. Its format reflects Cold War–era habits of comparative analysis while adapting to a world that, after 1989–1991, was redefining borders, institutions, and security priorities.

The single most consequential change shaping the 1993 edition was the disintegration of the Soviet Union in December 1991. Fifteen independent states replaced a single superpower, each requiring new profiles: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The Commonwealth of Independent States formed as a loose association in late 1991. The Factbook’s treatments had to capture evolving sovereignty, citizenship, and economic data amid unstable statistics. It also reflected denuclearization commitments under the 1992 Lisbon Protocol, which tied Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan to START I obligations and eventual accession to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Western Europe, meanwhile, was consolidating a new political and economic center. The Maastricht Treaty, signed in 1992, laid the groundwork for the European Union, which would formally come into being in November 1993. The Single Market program, largely completed by the end of 1992, aimed to remove internal trade barriers. The 1993 Factbook therefore straddles nomenclature, referring to the European Community while signaling impending institutional change. It situates member states within converging regulatory frameworks and anticipates later monetary integration debates, even as exchange rates and labor mobility remained nationally distinct and subject to pressures revealed by the 1992 currency crises in the Exchange Rate Mechanism.

German unification in 1990 reshaped the center of Europe and symbolized the democratic transformations sweeping the eastern half of the continent. Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia moved from command economies toward market reforms, privatization, and plural politics after 1989. The most vivid cartographic update for the 1993 Factbook in this region was the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia on 1 January 1993 into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Across the region, the book recorded rapid institutional change—new constitutions, party systems, and trade patterns—while acknowledging incomplete legal and economic transitions, uneven inflation control, and continued reliance on international financial assistance.

The Balkan conflicts forced the Factbook to grapple with active warfare and contested sovereignty. Following Slovenia’s and Croatia’s declarations of independence in 1991, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 1992 move precipitated a multi-sided war featuring ethnic cleansing and sieges, notably around Sarajevo. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) emerged in 1992 but faced international sanctions and non-continuity claims regarding the former SFRY’s legal personality. The 1993 edition reflects these realities with revised maps, population displacement estimates from widely cited sources, and careful boundary notes, while recognizing the role of UNPROFOR and diplomatic efforts that had yet to produce a lasting settlement.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s map and political trajectories were markedly in flux. Eritrea secured internationally recognized independence in May 1993 after a decades-long conflict, requiring new entries and redefinitions for both Eritrea and Ethiopia. South Africa’s transition accelerated through multi-party negotiations, culminating in an interim constitution agreed in 1993 and foreshadowing the 1994 elections that would end apartheid. Elsewhere, peace advanced in Mozambique after the 1992 accord, while Angola’s civil war reignited. Somalia’s central government had collapsed in 1991; by 1993, UNOSOM II operated amid severe insecurity. Liberia’s war persisted. The Factbook documented shifting cease-fires, humanitarian emergencies, and fragile state institutions.

In the Middle East and North Africa, the post–Gulf War order dominated the 1993 landscape. Iraq remained under UN sanctions and inspections regimes established after 1991, with no-fly zones enforced by coalition forces. The Arab–Israeli conflict entered a new phase with the September 1993 Declaration of Principles between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, signaling an incremental diplomatic opening after the 1991 Madrid Conference. Yemen’s 1990 unification held but faced internal tensions. Lebanon continued reconstruction after its 1975–1990 civil war. Libya was under UN sanctions adopted in 1992 related to the Lockerbie bombing. The Factbook tracked these legal and security frameworks in country profiles.

East and Southeast Asia combined dynamic economic growth with significant political crosscurrents. China’s 1992 “Southern Tour” by Deng Xiaoping reinvigorated market-oriented reforms, accelerating special economic zones and coastal development. Hong Kong’s 1997 handover loomed, shaping migration and financial calculations. North Korea’s 1993 announcement of intent to withdraw from the NPT—later suspended—initiated a nuclear crisis that would capture international attention. Cambodia held UN-organized elections in 1993, restoring a constitutional monarchy. Indonesia under Suharto, Malaysia under Mahathir, and Singapore continued export-led development, even as Myanmar’s military government maintained tight control. The Factbook presented these trajectories alongside regional organizations such as ASEAN and APEC.

South Asia exhibited overlapping transitions in governance, security, and economic policy. India, after its 1991 balance-of-payments crisis, pursued liberalization—currency devaluation, deregulation, and expanded foreign investment—that reoriented industrial and trade patterns. Pakistan experienced political volatility and faced security tensions with India, particularly in Kashmir, where insurgency had intensified since 1989. Afghanistan’s central authority fractured after 1992 as factions fought for control of Kabul. Sri Lanka’s conflict with the LTTE continued. Bangladesh navigated competitive parliamentary politics after the 1990 end of military rule. The Factbook recorded these shifts while noting chronic development indicators—literacy, health, and infrastructure—that framed policy capacity.

Across the Americas, democratic consolidation coexisted with economic restructuring and unresolved crises. The North American Free Trade Agreement was signed in late 1992 and drew intense debate until its 1993 ratification, with implementation scheduled for January 1994. Central America moved beyond civil wars: El Salvador’s 1992 peace accords demobilized combatants and reformed institutions, while Guatemala’s negotiations progressed. Haiti, after a 1991 coup, saw the 1993 Governors Island Agreement aimed at restoring elected leadership. In South America, Peru’s 1992 “autogolpe” concentrated executive power even as counterinsurgency advanced; Colombia confronted narcotrafficking and insurgency; Chile’s post-1990 democracy deepened; Argentina pursued convertibility and privatization.

Oceania and the polar regions highlighted the Factbook’s attention to dispersed sovereignties and treaty regimes. Papua New Guinea grappled with the Bougainville conflict. Fiji continued political adjustments after the 1987 coups, holding elections under a new constitutional framework. Australia and New Zealand advanced market reforms and regional diplomacy in the South Pacific. Nuclear testing controversies persisted in the region’s recent memory, though France had declared a moratorium by 1992. The Antarctica entry underscored the Antarctic Treaty System’s demilitarization and scientific cooperation and noted the 1991 Madrid Protocol on environmental protection, adopted but not yet in force in 1993, shaping future governance of the continent.

The early 1990s global economy was defined by liberalization and turbulence. The Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations, launched in 1986, inched toward conclusion, laying groundwork for the World Trade Organization in 1995. Europe’s Exchange Rate Mechanism faced the 1992–1993 currency crises, exposing integration strains. Post-socialist economies implemented privatization and price liberalization, often with severe inflation. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, founded in 1991, supported transitions. Across Latin America, “Washington Consensus” reforms reduced tariffs and state ownership. The Factbook’s standardized economic tables—GDP, inflation, trade, debt—captured disparate starting points and reform tempos, enabling comparative readings of policy outcomes.

Demographic, environmental, and public health trends added a transnational dimension that the 1993 volume emphasized through dedicated sections. The HIV/AIDS pandemic continued to expand, with high prevalence in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and growing public health burdens elsewhere. Urbanization accelerated in Asia and Latin America, straining infrastructure and services. Refugee and internally displaced populations surged due to conflicts in the Balkans, the Horn of Africa, and Afghanistan. Environmental policy reflected the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, which produced conventions on climate change and biodiversity and framed national commitments. Montreal Protocol–driven ozone protection efforts were underway, and the Factbook regularly listed key treaty participation alongside environmental issues.

Technological change influenced both the subjects and the methods of the Factbook. Satellite remote sensing and geographic information systems improved mapping and boundary visualization, even as political disputes required cautionary notes. Global Positioning System satellites neared initial operational capability in 1993, enhancing navigation and surveying. Information technology began diffusing beyond laboratories: the World Wide Web appeared in 1991 and user-friendly browsers in 1993, foreshadowing broader data access. While the 1993 edition was primarily a printed government reference, the shift toward digital dissemination was imminent, and commercial publishers were already repackaging its public-domain content in electronic formats for libraries and researchers.

Institutionally, the CIA adjusted to a post–Cold War mission set. Robert Gates served as Director of Central Intelligence until early 1993, followed by R. James Woolsey. Emphasis expanded from superpower rivalry to regional instability, proliferation, terrorism, and economic security. The Factbook, produced by the Directorate of Intelligence with contributions from open sources and interagency data, reflected growing reliance on publicly verifiable statistics and internationally comparable indicators. Editorial policies adhered to U.S. Board on Geographic Names standards and U.S. Government recognition practices, and entries included disclaimers that maps and names did not imply endorsement of any particular boundary claims.

The 1993 Factbook’s structure exemplified a pragmatic, comparable approach to knowledge organization. Each country entry followed a consistent taxonomy—geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues—allowing users to track continuity and change across editions. New states inherited skeletal frameworks rapidly filled with emerging data, while longer-established countries displayed time series that highlighted policy shifts. Special entries covered non-sovereign territories and disputed areas, acknowledging complex legal statuses. The inclusion of national flags, standardized time zones, and international organization memberships conveyed both symbolic identity and embeddedness in treaties and alliances.

Because it follows U.S. recognition and naming conventions, the Factbook also reads as a snapshot of contemporaneous diplomatic positions. In 1993, the former Yugoslav republic admitted to the UN under the provisional reference “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” reflected ongoing disputes over state names; the Factbook mirrored this cautious nomenclature. Taiwan appeared under terms consistent with U.S. policy that recognized the People’s Republic of China. Western Sahara was listed separately as a disputed territory. The Spratly and Paracel Islands received dedicated entries reflecting overlapping claims. Such editorial choices double as a record of international legal and political contention at the time of publication. The Persian Gulf naming conventions, the status of Gaza Strip and West Bank as distinct entries, and boundary notes around the Golan Heights illustrated how the Factbook balanced cartography with diplomatic sensitivities. The result is a reference work that, while striving for neutrality, implicitly documents the policy frameworks within which U.S. agencies operated. For later readers, these layers enable both data retrieval and analysis of how official U.S. perspectives framed global geography in the immediate post–Cold War era.

Synopsis (Selection)

Table of Contents

Text

A reference compendium of standardized country profiles that summarize geography, demographics, government, economy, infrastructure, and military factors to depict the world in 1993. The work adopts an impersonal, data-forward style, emphasizing comparability and concise indicators rather than extended narrative or argument. Recurring concerns include borders and sovereignty, resource distribution, population and economic capacity, and basic security posture, yielding a utilitarian snapshot designed for quick consultation.

The 1993 CIA World Factbook

Main Table of Contents

Cover

Titlepage

Text

The World Factbook 1993

Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations A Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Arctic Ocean Argentina Armenia Aruba Ashmore and Cartier Islands Atlantic Ocean Australia Austria Azerbaijan

B Bahamas, The Bahrain Baker Island Bangladesh Barbados Bassas da India Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burma Burundi

C Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China (also see separate Taiwan entry) Christmas Island Clipperton Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Coral Sea Islands Costa Rica Cote d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic

D Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic

E Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Europa Island

F Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern and Antarctic Lands

G Gabon Gambia, The Gaza Strip Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Glorioso Islands Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana

H Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City) Honduras Hong Kong Howland Island Hungary

I Iceland India Indian Ocean Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel (also see separate Gaza Strip and West Bank entries) Italy

J Jamaica Jan Mayen Japan Jarvis Island Jersey Johnston Atoll Jordan (also see separate West Bank entry) Juan de Nova Island

K Kazakhstan Kenya Kingman Reef Kiribati Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kyrgyzstan

L Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg

M Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Man, Isle of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Midway Islands Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique

N Namibia Nauru Navassa Island Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway

O Oman

P Pacific Islands (Palau), Trust Territory of the Pacific Ocean 2 Pakistan Palmyra Atoll Panama Papua New Guinea Paracel Islands Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico

Q Qatar

R Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda

S Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain Spratly Islands Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria

T Taiwan entry follows Zimbabwe Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tromelin Island Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu

U Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan

V Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands

W Wake Island Wallis and Futuna West Bank Western Sahara Western Samoa World

Y Yemen

Z Zaire Zambia Zimbabwe Taiwan

Appendixes A: The United Nations System B: Abbreviations for International Organizations and Groups C: International Organizations and Groups D: Weights and Measures E: Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names

Reference Maps The World North America Central America and the Caribbean South America Europe Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe Middle East Africa Asia Commonwealth of Independent States— European States Commonwealth of Independent States—Central Asian States Southeast Asia Oceania Arctic Region Antarctic Region Standard Time Zones of the World

There have been some significant changes in this edition[1q]. Czechoslovakia has been superseded by the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia. The name of the Ivory Coast has been changed to Cote d'Ivoire and the Vatican City became the Holy See. New entries include Location, Map references, Abbreviation (often substituted for the country name), and Digraph (two-letter country code). Names is a new entry which includes long and short forms of both conventional and local names of countries as well as any former names. Most diacritical marks have been omitted. The electronic files used to produce the Factbook have been restructured into a database. As a result, the formats of some entries in this edition have been changed. Additional changes will occur in the 1994 Factbook. Irrigated land is a new entry with the data separate from the Land use entry. The Disputes entry is now International disputes. The GNP/GDP entry was renamed National Product and the per capita and real growth rate data placed in separate entries. Similar changes were made in the Population and Diplomatic Representation entries.

Abbreviations: (see Appendix B for international organizations and groups)

avdp. avoirdupois

c.i.f. cost, insurance, and freight

CY calendar year

DWT deadweight ton

est. estimate

Ex-Im Export-Import Bank of the United States

f.o.b. free on board

FRG Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany); used for information dated before 3 October 1990 or CY91

FY fiscal year

GDP gross domestic product

GDR German Democratic Republic (East Germany); used for information dated before 3 October 1990 or CY91

GNP gross national product

GRT gross register ton

GWP gross world product

km kilometer

km2 square kilometer

kW kilowatt

kWh kilowatt hour

m meter

NA not available

NEGL negligible

nm nautical mile

NZ New Zealand

ODA official development assistance

OOF other official flows

PDRY People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]; used for information dated before 22 May 1990 or CY91

UAE United Arab Emirates

UK United Kingdom

US United States

USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union); used for information dated before 25 December 1991

YAR Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen]; used for information dated before 22 May 1990 or CY91

Administrative divisions: The numbers, designatory terms, and first-order administrative divisions are generally those approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN). Changes that have been reported but not yet acted on by BGN are noted.

Area: Total area is the sum of all land and water areas delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines. Land area is the aggregate of all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers). Comparative areas are based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 km2, 69 miles 2) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 km2, 0.23 miles 2,146 acres).

Birth rate: The average annual number of births during a year per 1,000 population at midyear; also known as crude birth rate.

Dates of information: In general, information available as of 1 January 1993 was used in the preparation of this edition. Population figures are estimates for 1 July 1993, with population growth rates estimated for calendar year 1993. Major political events have been updated through June 1993.

Death rate: The average annual number of deaths during a year per l,000 population at midyear; also known as crude death rate.

Digraphs: The digraph is a two-letter "country code'' that precisely identifies every entity without overlap, duplication, or omission. AF, for example, is the digraph for Afghanistan. It is a standardized geopolitical data element promulgated in the Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS) 10-3 by the National Bureau of Standards (US Department of Commerce) and maintained by the Office of the Geographer (US Department of State). The digraph is used to eliminate confusion and incompatibility in the collection, processing, and dissemination of area-specific data and is particularly useful for interchanging data between databases.

Diplomatic representation: The US Government has diplomatic relations with 180 nations. The US has diplomatic relations with 174 of the 182 UN members (excluding the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia whose status in the UN is unclear)—the exceptions are Angola, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Macedonia, North Korea, and Vietnam. In addition, the US has diplomatic relations with 7 nations that are not in the UN-Andorra, Holy See, Kiribati, Nauru, Switzerland, Tonga, and Tuvalu.

Economic aid: This entry refers to bilateral commitments of official development assistance (ODA), which is defined as government grants that are administered with the promotion of economic development and welfare of LDCs as their main objective and are concessional in character and contain a grant element of at least 25%, and other official flows (OOF) or transactions by the official sector whose main objective is other than development motivated or whose grant element is below the 25% threshold for ODA. OOF transactions include official export credits (such as Ex-Im Bank credits), official equity and portfolio investment, and debt reorganization by the official sector that does not meet concessional terms. Aid is considered to have been committed when agreements are initialed by the parties involved and constitute a formal declaration of intent.

Entities: Some of the nations, dependent areas, areas of special sovereignty, and governments included in this publication are not independent, and others are not officially recognized by the US Government. "Nation'' refers to a people politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory. "Dependent area" refers to a broad category of political entities that are associated in some way with a nation. Names used for page headings are usually the short-form names as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names. There are 266 entities in The World Factbook that may be categorized as follows:

NATIONS

182 UN members (excluding the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia whose status in the UN is unclear)

8 nations that are not members of the UN—Andorra, Holy See, Kiribati, Nauru, Serbia and Montenegro, Switzerland, Tonga, Tuvalu

OTHER

1 Taiwan

DEPENDENT AREAS

6 Australia—Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island

2 Denmark—Faroe Islands, Greenland

16 France—Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island, French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Guadeloupe, Juan de Nova Island, Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Reunion, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Tromelin Island, Wallis and Futuna

2 Netherlands—Aruba, Netherlands Antilles

3 New Zealand—Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau

3 Norway—Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard

1 Portugal—Macau

16 United Kingdom—Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands

15 United States—American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Palau), Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island

MISCELLANEOUS

6 Antarctica, Gaza Strip, Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands, West Bank, Western Sahara

OTHER ENTITIES

4 oceans—Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean

1 World

266 total

note: The US Government does not recognize the four so-called independent homelands of Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, and Venda in South Africa. Exchange rate: The value of a nation's monetary unit at a given date or over a given period of time, as expressed in units of local currency per US dollar and as determined by international market forces or official fiat.

Gross domestic product (GDP): The value of all goods and services produced domestically in a given year.

Gross national product (GNP): The value of all goods and services produced domestically in a given year, plus income earned abroad, minus income earned by foreigners from domestic production.

Gross world product (GWP): The aggregate value of all goods and services produced worldwide in a given year.

GNP/GDP methodology: In the "Economy'' section, GNP/GDP dollar estimates for the OECD countries, the former Soviet republics, and the East European countries are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations rather than from conversions at official currency exchange rates. The PPP method normally involves the use of international dollar price weights, which are applied to the quantities of goods and services produced in a given economy. In addition to the lack of reliable data from the majority of countries, the statistician faces a major difficulty in specifying, identifying, and allowing for the quality of goods and services. The division of a PPP GNP/GDP estimate in dollars by the corresponding estimate in the local currency gives the PPP conversion rate. One thousand dollars will buy the same market basket of goods in the US as one thousand dollars—converted to the local currency at the PPP conversion rate— will buy in the other country. GNP/GDP estimates for the LDCs, on the other hand, are based on the conversion of GNP/GDP estimates in local currencies to dollars at the official currency exchange rates. Because currency exchange rates depend on a variety of international and domestic financial forces that often have little relation to domestic output, use of these rates is less satisfactory for calculating GNP/GDP than the PPP method. Furthermore, exchange rates may suddenly go up or down by 10% or more because of market forces or official fiat whereas real output has remained unchanged. One additional caution: the proportion of, say, defense expenditures as a percent of GNP/GDP in local currency accounts may differ substantially from the proportion when GNP/GDP accounts are expressed in PPP terms, as, for example, when an observer estimates the dollar level of Russian or Japanese military expenditures; similar problems exist when components are expressed in dollars under currency exchange rate procedures. Finally, as academic research moves forward on the PPP method, we hope to convert all GNP/GDP estimates to this method in future editions of The World Factbook.

Growth rate (population): The annual percent change in the population, resulting from a surplus (or deficit) of births over deaths and the balance of migrants entering and leaving a country. The rate may be positive or negative.

Illicit drugs: There are five categories of illicit drugs—narcotics, stimulants, depressants (sedatives), hallucinogens, and cannabis. These categories include many drugs legally produced and prescribed by doctors as well as those illegally produced and sold outside medical channels.

Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) is the common hemp plant, which provides hallucinogens with some sedative properties, and includes marijuana (pot, Acapulco gold, grass, reefer), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, Marinol), hashish (hash), and hashish oil (hash oil).

Coca (Erythroxylon coca) is a bush, and the leaves contain the stimulant cocaine. Coca is not to be confused with cocoa, which comes from cacao seeds and is used in making chocolate, cocoa, and cocoa butter.

Cocaine is a stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca bush.

Depressants (sedatives) are drugs that reduce tension and anxiety and include chloral hydrate, barbiturates (Amytal, Nembutal, Seconal, phenobarbital), benzodiazepines (Librium, Valium), methaqualone (Quaalude), glutethimide (Doriden), and others (Equanil, Placidyl, Valmid).

Drugs are any chemical substances that effect a physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral change in an individual.

Drug abuse is the use of any licit or illicit chemical substance that results in physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral impairment in an individual.

Hallucinogens are drugs that affect sensation, thinking, self-awareness, and emotion. Hallucinogens include LSD (acid, microdot), mescaline and peyote (mexc, buttons, cactus), amphetamine variants (PMA, STP, DOB), phencyclidine (PCP, angel dust, hog), phencyclidine analogues (PCE, PCPy, TCP), and others (psilocybin, psilocyn).

Hashish is the resinous exudate of the cannabis or hemp plant (Cannabis sativa).

Heroin is a semisynthetic derivative of morphine.

Marijuana is the dried leaves of the cannabis or hemp plant (Cannabis sativa).

Narcotics are drugs that relieve pain, often induce sleep, and refer to opium, opium derivatives, and synthetic substitutes. Natural narcotics include opium (paregoric, parepectolin), morphine (MS-Contin, Roxanol), codeine (Tylenol w/codeine, Empirin w/codeine, Robitussan AC), and thebaine. Semisynthetic narcotics include heroin (horse, smack), and hydromorphone (Dilaudid). Synthetic narcotics include meperidine or Pethidine (Demerol, Mepergan), methadone (Dolophine, Methadose), and others (Darvon, Lomotil).

Opium is the milky exudate of the incised, unripe seedpod of the opium poppy.

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) is the source for many natural and semisynthetic narcotics.

Poppy straw concentrate is the alkaloid derived from the mature dried opium poppy.

Qat (kat, khat) is a stimulant from the buds or leaves of Catha edulis that is chewed or drunk as tea.

Stimulants are drugs that relieve mild depression, increase energy and activity, and include cocaine (coke, snow, crack), amphetamines (Desoxyn, Dexedrine), phenmetrazine (Preludin), methylphenidate (Ritalin), and others (Cylert, Sanorex, Tenuate).

Infant mortality rate: The number of deaths to infants under one year old in a given year per l,000 live births occurring in the same year.

International disputes: This category includes a wide variety of situations that range from traditional bilateral boundary disputes to unilateral claims of one sort or another. Information regarding disputes over international boundaries and maritime boundaries has been reviewed by the Department of State. References to other situations may also be included that are border or frontier relevant, such as resource disputes, geopolitical questions, or irredentist issues. However, inclusion does not necessarily constitute official acceptance or recognition by the US Government.

Irrigated land: The figure refers to the number of km 2 that is artifically supplied with water.

Land use: Human use of the land surface is categorized as arable land—land cultivated for crops that are replanted after each harvest (wheat, maize, rice); permanent crops—land cultivated for crops that are not replanted after each harvest (citrus, coffee, rubber); meadows and pastures—land permanently used for herbaceous forage crops; forest and woodland land—under dense or open stands of trees; and other—any land type not specifically mentioned above (urban areas, roads, desert).

Leaders: The chief of state is the titular leader of the country who represents the state at official and ceremonial funcions but is not involved with the day- to-day activities of the government. The head of government is the administrative leader who manages the day-to-day activities of the government. In the UK, the monarch is the chief of state, and the Prime Minister is the head of government. In the US, the President is both the chief of state and the head of government.

Life expectancy at birth: The average number of years to be lived by a group of people all born in the same year, if mortality at each age remains constant in the future.

Literacy: There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise noted, all rates are based on the most common definition—the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of this publication.

Maps: All maps will be available only in the printed version of The World Factbook for the foreseeable future.

Maritime claims: The proximity of neighboring states may prevent some national claims from being extended the full distance.

Merchant marine: All ships engaged in the carriage of goods. All commercial vessels (as opposed to all nonmilitary ships), which excludes tugs, fishing vessels, offshore oil rigs, etc.; also, a grouping of merchant ships by nationality or register.

Captive register—A register of ships maintained by a territory, possession, or colony primarily or exclusively for the use of ships owned in the parent country; also referred to as an offshore register, the offshore equivalent of an internal register. Ships on a captive register will fly the same flag as the parent country, or a local variant of it, but will be subject to the maritime laws and taxation rules of the offshore territory. Although the nature of a captive register makes it especially desirable for ships owned in the parent country, just as in the internal register, the ships may also be owned abroad. The captive register then acts as a flag of convenience register, except that it is not the register of an independent state.

Flag of convenience register—A national register offering registration to a merchant ship not owned in the flag state. The major flags of convenience (FOC) attract ships to their register by virtue of low fees, low or nonexistent taxation of profits, and liberal manning requirements. True FOC registers are characterized by having relatively few of the ships registered actually owned in the flag state. Thus, while virtually any flag can be used for ships under a given set of circumstances, an FOC register is one where the majority of the merchant fleet is owned abroad. It is also referred to as an open register.

Flag state—The nation in which a ship is registered and which holds legal jurisdiction over operation of the ship, whether at home or abroad. Differences in flag state maritime legislation determine how a ship is manned and taxed and whether a foreign-owned ship may be placed on the register.

Internal register—A register of ships maintained as a subset of a national register. Ships on the internal register fly the national flag and have that nationality but are subject to a separate set of maritime rules from those on the main national register. These differences usually include lower taxation of profits, manning by foreign nationals, and, usually, ownership outside the flag state (when it functions as an FOC register). The Norwegian International Ship Register and Danish International Ship Register are the most notable examples of an internal register. Both have been instrumental in stemming flight from the national flag to flags of convenience and in attracting foreignowned ships to the Norwegian and Danish flags.

Merchant ship—A vessel that carries goods against payment of freight; commonly used to denote any nonmilitary ship but accurately restricted to commercial vessels only.

Register—The record of a ship's ownership and nationality as listed with the maritime authorities of a country; also, the compendium of such individual ships' registrations. Registration of a ship provides it with a nationality and makes it subject to the laws of the country in which registered (the flag state) regardless of the nationality of the ship's ultimate owner.

Money figures: All are expressed in contemporaneous US dollars unless otherwise indicated.

National product: The total output of goods and services in a country in a given year. See Gross domestic product (GDP), Gross national product (GNP), and GNP/GDP methodology.

Net migration rate: The balance between the number of persons entering and leaving a country during the year per 1,000 persons (based on midyear population). An excess of persons entering the country is referred to as net immigration (3.56 migrants/1,000 population); an excess of persons leaving the country as net emigration (-9.26 migrants/1,000 population).

Population: Figures are estimates from the Bureau of the Census based on statistics from population censuses, vital registration systems, or sample surveys pertaining to the recent past, and on assumptions about future trends.

Total fertility rate: The average number of children that would be born per woman if all women lived to the end of their childbearing years and bore children according to a given fertility rate at each age.

Years: All year references are for the calendar year (CY) unless indicated as fiscal year (FY).

***

THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993

Table of Contents

*Afghanistan, Geography

Location: South Asia, between Iran and Pakistan Map references: Asia, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World Area: total area: 647,500 km2 land area: 647,500 km2 comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas Land boundaries: total 5,529 km, China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) Maritime claims: none; landlocked International disputes: periodic disputes with Iran over Helmand water rights; Iran supports clients in country, private Pakistani and Saudi sources may also be active; power struggles among various groups for control of Kabul, regional rivalries among emerging warlords, traditional tribal disputes continue; support to Islamic fighters in Tajikistan's civil war; border dispute with Pakistan (Durand Line) Climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, talc, barites, sulphur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones Land use: arable land: 12% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 46% forest and woodland: 3% other: 39% Irrigated land: 26,600 km2 (1989 est.) Environment: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; soil degradation, desertification, overgrazing, deforestation, pollution, flooding Note: landlocked

*Afghanistan, People

Population: 16,494,145 (July 1993 est.) Population growth rate: 2.45% (1993 est.) Birth rate: 43.83 births/1,000 population (1993 est.) Death rate: 19.33 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.) Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.) Infant mortality rate: 158.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 44.41 years male: 45.09 years female: 43.71 years (1993 est.) Total fertility rate: 6.34 children born/woman (1993 est.) Nationality: noun: Afghan(s) adjective: Afghan Ethnic divisions: Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 6%, Hazara 19%, minor ethnic groups (Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others) Religions: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1% Languages: Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 29% male: 44% female: 14% Labor force: 4.98 million by occupation: agriculture and animal husbandry 67.8%, industry 10.2%, construction 6.3%, commerce 5.0%, services and other 10.7% (1980 est.)

*Afghanistan, Government

Names: conventional long form: Islamic State of Afghanistan conventional short form: Afghanistan former: Republic of Afghanistan Digraph: AF Type: transitional government Capital: Kabul Administrative divisions: 30 provinces (velayat, singular - velayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Vardak, Zabol note: there may be a new province of Nurestan (Nuristan) Independence: 19 August 1919 (from UK) Constitution: the old Communist-era constitution has been suspended; a new Islamic constitution has yet to be ratified Legal system: a new legal system has not been adopted but the transitional government has declared it will follow Islamic law (Shari'a) National holiday: Victory of the Muslim Nation, 28 April; Remembrance Day for Martyrs and Disabled, 4 May; Independence Day, 19 August Political parties and leaders: current political organizations include Jamiat-i-Islami (Islamic Society), Burhanuddin RABBANI, Ahmad Shah MASOOD; Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin (Islamic Party), Gulbuddin HIKMATYAR faction; Hizbi Islami-Khalis (Islamic Party) Yunis KHALIS faction; Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi Afghanistan (Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan), Abdul Rasul SAYYAF; Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami (Islamic Revolutionary Movement), Mohammad Nabi MOHAMMADI; Jabha-i-Najat-i-Milli Afghanistan (Afghanistan National Liberation Front), Sibghatullah MOJADDEDI; Mahaz-i-Milli-Islami (National Islamic Front), Sayed Ahamad GAILANI; Hizbi Wahdat (Islamic Unity Party), Abdul Ali MAZARI; Harakat-i-Islami (Islamic Movement), Mohammed Asif MOHSENI; a new northern organization consisting of resistance and former regional figures is Jonbesh-i-Milli Islami (National Islamic Movement), Rashid DOSTUM note: the former ruling Watan Party has been disbanded Other political or pressure groups: the former resistance commanders are the major power brokers in the countryside; shuras (councils) of commanders are now administering most cities outside Kabul; ulema (religious scholars); tribal elders Suffrage: undetermined; previously universal, male ages 15-50 Elections: President: last held NA December 1992 (next to be held NA December 1994); results - Burhanuddin RABBANI was elected to a two-year term by a national shura

*Afghanistan, Government

Executive branch: president, prime minister; Afghan leaders are still in the process of choosing a cabinet (May 1993) Legislative branch: a unicameral parliament consisting of 205 members was chosen by the shura in January 1993; non-functioning as of June 1993 Judicial branch: an interim Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has been appointed, but a new court system has not yet been organized Leaders: Chief of State: President Burhanuddin RABBANI (since 2 January 1993); First Vice President Mohammad NABI Mohammadi (since NA); First Vice President Mohammad SHAH Fazli (since NA) Head of Government: Prime Minister-designate Gulbaddin HIKMATYAR (since NA); Deputy Prime Minister Sulayman GAILANI (since NA); Deputy Prime Minister Din MOHAMMAD (since NA); Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad SHAH Ahmadzai (since NA) Member of: AsDB (has previously been a member of), CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Abdul RAHIM chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [phone] or 3771 US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: (vacant) embassy: Ansari Wat, Wazir Akbar Khan Mina, Kabul mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: 62230 through 62235 or 62436 note: US Embassy in Kabul was closed in January 1989 Flag: a new flag of unknown description reportedly has been adopted; previous flag consisted of three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green, with the national coat of arms superimposed on the hoist side of the black and red bands; similar to the flag of Malawi, which is shorter and bears a radiant, rising red sun centered in the black band

*Afghanistan, Economy

Overview: Fundamentally, Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on farming (wheat especially) and livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals during more than 13 years of war, including the nearly 10-year Soviet military occupation (which ended 15 February 1989). Over the past decade, one-third of the population fled the country, with Pakistan sheltering more than 3 million refugees and Iran about 1.3 million. Another 1 million probably moved into and around urban areas within Afghanistan. Although reliable data are unavailable, gross domestic product is lower than 12 years ago because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport. National product: GDP - exchange rate conversion - $3 billion (1989 est.) National product real growth rate: NA% National product per capita: $200 (1989 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): over 90% (1991 est.) Unemployment rate: NA% Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA Exports: $236 million (f.o.b., FY91 est.) commodities: natural gas 55%, fruits and nuts 24%, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides, and pelts partners: former USSR, Pakistan Imports: $874 million (c.i.f., FY91 est.) commodities: food and petroleum products partners: former USSR, Pakistan External debt: $2.3 billion (March 1991 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 2.3% (FY91 est.); accounts for about 25% of GDP Electricity: 480,000 kW capacity; 1,000 million kWh produced, 60 kWh per capita (1992) Industries: small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper Agriculture: largely subsistence farming and nomadic animal husbandry; cash products - wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts, wool, mutton Illicit drugs: an illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; world's second-largest opium producer (after Burma) and a major source of hashish Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $380 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $510 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $57 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $4.1 billion; net official Western disbursements (1985-89), $270 million

*Afghanistan, Economy

*Afghanistan, Communications

Railroads: 9.6 km (single track) 1.524-meter gauge from Kushka (Turkmenistan) to Towraghondi and 15.0 km from Termez (Uzbekistan) to Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya Highways: 21,000 km total (1984); 2,800 km hard surface, 1,650 km bituminous-treated gravel and improved earth, 16,550 km unimproved earth and tracks Inland waterways: total navigability 1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to about 500 metric tons Pipelines: petroleum products - Uzbekistan to Bagram and Turkmenistan to Shindand; natural gas 180 km Ports: Shir Khan and Kheyrabad (river ports) Airports: total: 41 usable: 36 with permanent-surface runways: 9 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 11 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 16 Telecommunications: limited telephone, telegraph, and radiobroadcast services; television introduced in 1980; 31,200 telephones; broadcast stations - 5 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 satellite earth station

*Afghanistan, Defense Forces

Branches: the military still does not yet exist on a national scale; some elements of the former Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Border Guard Forces, National Police Force (Sarandoi), and tribal militias remain intact Manpower availability: males age 15-49 4,094,481; fit for military service 2,196,136; reach military age (22) annually 153,333 (1993 est.) Defense expenditures: the new government has not yet adopted a defense budget

*Albania, Geography

Location: Southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula between Serbia and Montenegro and Greece Map references: Africa, Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World Area: total area: 28,750 km2 land area: 27,400 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland Land boundaries: total 720 km, Greece 282 km, Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km (114 km with Serbia, 173 km with Montenegro) Coastline: 362 km Maritime claims: continental shelf: not specified territorial sea: 12 nm International disputes: Kosovo question with Serbia and Montenegro; Northern Epirus question with Greece Climate: mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel Land use: arable land: 21% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 15% forest and woodland: 38% other: 22% Irrigated land: 4,230 km2 (1989) Environment: subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern coast Note: strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)

*Albania, People

Population: 3,333,839 (July 1993 est.) Population growth rate: 1.21% (1993 est.) Birth rate: 23.24 births/1,000 population (1993 est.) Death rate: 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.) Net migration rate: -5.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.) Infant mortality rate: 31.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73 years male: 70.01 years female: 76.21 years (1993 est.) Total fertility rate: 2.85 children born/woman (1993 est.) Nationality: noun: Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian Ethnic divisions: Albanian 90%, Greeks 8%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.) Religions: Muslim 70%, Greek Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10% note: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice Languages: Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek Literacy: age 9 and over can read and write (1955) total population: 72% male: 80% female: 63% Labor force: 1.5 million (1987) by occupation: agriculture 60%, industry and commerce 40% (1986)

*Albania, Government

Names: conventional long form: Republic of Albania conventional short form: Albania local long form: Republika e Shqiperise local short form: Shqiperia former: People's Socialist Republic of Albania Digraph: AL Type: nascent democracy Capital: Tirane Administrative divisions: 26 districts (rrethe, singular - rreth); Berat, Dibre, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh, Kolonje, Korce, Kruje, Kukes, Lezhe, Librazhd, Lushnje, Mat, Mirdite, Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Sarande, Shkoder, Skrapar, Tepelene, Tirane, Tropoje, Vlore Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire) Constitution: an interim basic law was approved by the People's Assembly on 29 April 1991; a new constitution was to be drafted for adoption in 1992, but is still in process Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 November (1944) Political parties and leaders: there are at least 18 political parties; most prominent are the Albanian Socialist Party (ASP; formerly the Albania Workers Party), Fatos NANO, first secretary; Democratic Party (DP), Eduard SELAMI, chairman; Albanian Republican Party (RP), Sabri GODO; Omonia (Greek minority party), leader NA (ran in 1992 election as Unity for Human Rights Party (UHP)); Social Democratic Party (SDP), Skender GJINUSHI; Democratic Alliance Party (DAP), Spartak NGJELA, chairman Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory Elections: People's Assembly: last held 22 March 1992; results - DP 62.29%, ASP 25.57%, SDP 4.33%, RP 3.15%, UHP 2.92%, other 1.74%; seats - (140 total) DP 92, ASP 38, SDP 7, RP 1, UHP 2 Executive branch: president, prime minister of the Council of Ministers, two deputy prime ministers of the Council of Ministers Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor) Judicial branch: Supreme Court Leaders: Chief of State: President of the Republic Sali BERISHA (since 9 April 1992)

*Albania, Government

Head of Government: Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers Aleksander Gabriel MEKSI (since 10 April 1992) Member of: BSEC, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IMF, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NACC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Roland BIMO chancery: 1511 K Street, NW, Washington, DC telephone: [phone] FAX: [phone] US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador William E. RYERSON embassy: Rruga Labinoti 103, room 2921, Tirane mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100 (A), APO AE 09624 telephone: [phone], 33520 FAX: [phone] Flag: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center

*Albania, Economy

Overview: The Albanian economy, already providing the lowest standard of living in Europe, contracted sharply in 1991, with most industries producing at only a fraction of past levels and an unemployment rate estimated at 40%. For over 40 years, the Stalinist-type economy operated on the principle of central