Part 18

_#_Administrative divisions: 29 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Juan, San Pedro De Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Valverde

_#_Independence: 27 February 1844 (from Haiti)

_#_Constitution: 28 November 1966

_#_Legal system: based on French civil codes

_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 27 February (1844)

_#_Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

_#_Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)

_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State and Head of Government--President Joaquin BALAGUER Ricardo (since 16 August 1986, fifth elected term began 16 August 1990); Vice President Carlos A. MORALES Troncoso (since 16 August 1986)

_#_Political parties and leaders:

Major parties-- Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC), Joaquin BALAGUER Ricardo; Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), Jose Francisco PENA Gomez; Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Juan BOSCH Gavino; Independent Revolutionary Party (PRI), Jacobo MAJLUTA;

Minor parties-- National Veterans and Civilian Party (PNVC), Juan Rene BEAUCHAMPS Javier; Liberal Party of the Dominican Republic (PLRD), Andres Van Der HORST; Democratic Quisqueyan Party (PQD), Elias WESSIN Chavez; Constitutional Action Party (PAC), Luis ARZENO Rodriguez; National Progressive Force (FNP), Marino VINICIO Castillo; Popular Christian Party (PPC), Rogelio DELGADO Bogaert; Dominican Communist Party (PCD), Narciso ISA Conde; Anti-Imperialist Patriotic Union (UPA), Ivan RODRIGUEZ;

note--in 1983 several leftist parties, including the PCD, joined to form the Dominican Leftist Front (FID); however, they still retain individual party structures

_#_Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18 or if married; members of the armed forces and police cannot vote

_#_Elections:

President--last held 16 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994); results--Joaquin BALAGUER (PRSC) 35.7%, Juan BOSCH Gavino (PLD) 34.4%;

Senate--last held 16 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(30 total) PRSC 16, PLD 12, PRD 2;

Chamber of Deputies--last held 16 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(120 total) PLD 44, PRSC 41, PRD 33, PRI 2

_#_Communists: an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 members in several legal and illegal factions; effectiveness limited by ideological differences, organizational inadequacies, and severe funding shortages

_#_Member of: CARICOM (observer), ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), LORCS, NAM (guest), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Carlos A. MORALES Troncoso (serves concurrently as Vice President); Chancery at 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-6280; there are Dominican Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Consulates in Charlotte Amalie (Virgin Islands), Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Minneapolis, Mobile, Ponce (Puerto Rico), and San Francisco;

US--Ambassador Paul D. TAYLOR; Embassy at the corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo (mailing address is APO Miami 34041-0008); telephone [809] 541-2171

_#_Flag: a centered white cross that extends to the edges, divides the flag into four rectangles--the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms is at the center of the cross

_*_Economy _#_Overview: The economy is largely dependent on trade; imported components average 60% of the value of goods consumed in the domestic market. Rapid growth of free trade zones has established a significant expansion of manufacturing for export, especially wearing apparel. Over the past decade tourism has also increased in importance and is a major earner of foreign exchange and a source of new jobs. Agriculture remains a key sector of the economy. The principal commercial crop is sugarcane, followed by coffee, cotton, cocoa, and tobacco. Domestic industry is based on the processing of agricultural products, durable consumer goods, minerals, and chemicals. Unemployment is officially reported at about 30%, but there is considerable underemployment. An increasing foreign debt burden and galloping inflation are the economy's greatest weaknesses.

_#_GDP: $6.68 billion, per capita $940; real growth rate 4.2% (1989)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 70% (1990 est.)

_#_Unemployment rate: 29% (1990 est.)

_#_Budget: revenues $413 million; expenditures $522 million, including capital expenditures of $218 million (1988)

_#_Exports: $922 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);

commodities--sugar, coffee, cocoa, gold, ferronickel;

partners--US 60%, EC 19%, Puerto Rico 8% (1990)

_#_Imports: $1.9 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.);

commodities--foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals;

partners--US 50%

_#_External debt: $4.2 billion (1990 est.)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate 2.3% (1989 est.); accounts for 18% of GDP

_#_Electricity: 1,445,000 kW capacity; 4,200 million kWh produced, 580 kWh per capita (1990)

_#_Industries: tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco

_#_Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GDP and employs 49% of labor force; sugarcane most important commercial crop, followed by coffee, cotton, cocoa, and tobacco; food crops--rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; animal output--cattle, hogs, dairy products, meat, eggs; not self-sufficient in food

_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY85-89), $576.5 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $569 million

_#_Currency: Dominican peso (plural--pesos); 1 Dominican peso (RD$) = 100 centavos

_#_Exchange rates: Dominican pesos per US$1--11.850 (January 1991), 8.290 (1990), 6.3400 (1989), 6.1125 (1988), 3.8448 (1987), 2.9043 (1986), 3.1126 (1985)

_#_Fiscal year: calendar year

_*_Communications _#_Railroads: 1,655 km total in numerous segments; 4 different gauges from 0.558 m to 1.435 m

_#_Highways: 12,000 km total; 5,800 km paved, 5,600 km gravel and improved earth, 600 km unimproved

_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 96 km; refined products, 8 km

_#_Ports: Santo Domingo, Haina, San Pedro de Macoris, Puerto Plata

_#_Merchant marine: 4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 23,326 GRT/38,661 DWT

_#_Civil air: 14 major transport aircraft

_#_Airports: 44 total, 30 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 9 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

_#_Telecommunications: relatively efficient domestic system based on islandwide radio relay network; 190,000 telephones; stations--120 AM, no FM, 18 TV, 6 shortwave; 1 coaxial submarine cable; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police

_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,963,260; 1,241,370 fit for military service; 81,083 reach military age (18) annually

_#_Defense expenditures: $70 million, 1% of GDP (1990) _%_ _@_Ecuador _*_Geography _#_Total area: 283,560 km2; land area: 276,840 km2; includes Galapagos Islands

_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than Nevada

_#_Land boundaries: 2,010 km total; Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km

_#_Coastline: 2,237 km

_#_Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: claims continental shelf between mainland and Galapagos Islands;

Territorial sea: 200 nm

_#_Disputes: two sections of the boundary with Peru are in dispute

_#_Climate: tropical along coast becoming cooler inland

_#_Terrain: coastal plain (Costa), inter-Andean central highlands (Sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (Oriente)

_#_Natural resources: petroleum, fish, timber

_#_Land use: arable land 6%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures 17%; forest and woodland 51%; other 23% ; includes irrigated 2%

_#_Environment: subject to frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic

## activity; deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; periodic droughts

_#_Note: Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world

_*_People _#_Population: 10,751,648 (July 1991), growth rate 2.3% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 30 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 60 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 68 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Ecuadorian(s); adjective--Ecuadorian

_#_Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish) 55%, Indian 25%, Spanish 10%, black 10%

_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 95%

_#_Language: Spanish (official); Indian languages, especially Quechua

_#_Literacy: 86% (male 88%, female 84%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

_#_Labor force: 2,800,000; agriculture 35%, manufacturing 21%, commerce 16%, services and other activities 28% (1982)

_#_Organized labor: less than 15% of labor force

_*_Government _#_Long-form name: Republic of Ecuador

_#_Type: republic

_#_Capital: Quito

_#_Administrative divisions: 21 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe

_#_Independence: 24 May 1822 (from Spain; Battle of Pichincha)

_#_Constitution: 10 August 1979

_#_Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 10 August (1809, independence of Quito)

_#_Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)

_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State and Head of Government--President Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos (since 10 August 1988); Vice President Luis PARODI Valverde (since 10 August 1988)

_#_Political parties and leaders:

Right to center parties-- Social Christian Party (PSC), former President Leon FEBRES Cordero Rivadeneira; Conservative Party (PC), Alberto DAHIK, leader; Radical Liberal Party (PLR), Blasco Manuel PENAHERRERA Padilla, director;

Centrist parties-- Concentration of Popular Forces (CFP), Averroes BUCARAM Saxida, director; Radical Alfarist Front (FRA), Cecilia CALDERON de Castro, leader; People, Change, and Democracy (PCD), Aquiles RIGAIL Santistevan, director; Revolutionary Nationalist Party (PNR), Carlos Julio AROSEMENA Monroy, leader;

Center-left parties-- Democratic Left (ID), President Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos, leader; Roldosist Party of Ecuador (PRE), Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director; Popular Democracy (DP), Vladimiro ALVAREZ, president; Christian Democratic (CD), Julio Cesar TRUJILLO; Democratic Party (PD), Francisco HUERTA Montalvo, leader;

Far-left parties-- Broad Leftist Front (FADI), Rene MAUGE Mosquera, director; Socialist Party (PSE), Victor GRANDA Aguilar, secretary general; Democratic Popular Movement (MPD), Jaime HURTADO Gonzalez, leader; Ecuadorian National Liberation (LN), Alfredo CASTILLO, president; Popular Revolutionary Action Party (APRE), Lt. Gen. Frank VARGAS Pazzos, leader

_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18; compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters

_#_Elections:

President--first round held 31 January 1988 and second round on 8 May 1988 (next first round to be held May 1992 and second round June 1992); results--Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos (ID) 54%, Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz (PRE) 46%;

Chamber of Representatives--last held 17 June 1990 (next to be held June 1992); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(72 total) PSC 16, ID 14, PRE 13, PSE 8, DP 7, CFP 3, PC 3, PLR 3, FADI 2, FRA 2, MPD 1

_#_Communists: Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE, pro-Moscow), Rene Mauge Mosquera, secretary general, 5,000 members; Communist Party of Ecuador/Marxist Leninist (PCMLE, Maoist), 3,000 members; Socialist Party of Ecuador (PSE, pro-Cuba), 5,000 members (est.); National Liberation Party (PLN, Communist), 5,000 members (est.)

_#_Member of: AG, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jaime MONCAYO; Chancery at 2535 15th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 234-7200; there are Ecuadorian Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco, and a Consulate in San Diego;

US--Ambassador Paul C. LAMBERT; Embassy at Avenida Patria 120, on the corner of Avenida 12 de Octubre, Quito (mailing address is P. O. Box 538, Quito, or APO Miami 34039); telephone [593] (2) 562-890; there is a US Consulate General in Guayaquil

_#_Flag: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms

_*_Economy _#_Overview: Ecuador has substantial oil resources and rich agricultural areas. Growth has been uneven because of natural disasters (e.g., a major earthquake in 1987), fluctuations in global oil prices, and government policies designed to curb inflation. The government has not taken a supportive attitude toward either domestic or foreign investment, although its agreement to enter the Andean free trade zone is an encouraging move.

_#_GDP: $10.6 billion, per capita $1,010; real growth rate 1.5% (1990)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 49.5% (1990)

_#_Unemployment rate: 8.0% (1990)

_#_Budget: revenues $2.2 billion; expenditures $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $375 million (1991)

_#_Exports: $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 1990);

commodities--petroleum 47%, coffee, bananas, cocoa products, shrimp, fish products;

partners--US 60%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries

_#_Imports: $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 1990);

commodities--transport equipment, vehicles, machinery, chemicals;

partners--US 34%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC, Japan

_#_External debt: $11.8 billion (December 1990)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 3.8% (1989); accounts for almost 40% of GDP, including petroleum

_#_Electricity: 1,983,000 kW capacity; 6,011 million kWh produced, 570 kWh per capita (1990)

_#_Industries: petroleum, food processing, textiles, metal works, paper products, wood products, chemicals, plastics, fishing, timber

_#_Agriculture: accounts for 18% of GDP and 35% of labor force (including fishing and forestry); leading producer and exporter of bananas and balsawood; other exports--coffee, cocoa, fish, shrimp; crop production--rice, potatoes, manioc, plantains, sugarcane; livestock sector--cattle, sheep, hogs, beef, pork, dairy products; net importer of foodgrains, dairy products, and sugar

_#_Illicit drugs: relatively small producer of coca following the successful eradication campaign of 1985-87; significant transit country, however, for derivatives of coca originating in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru

_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $498 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $1.7 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $64 million

_#_Currency: sucre (plural--sucres); 1 sucre (S/) = 100 centavos

_#_Exchange rates: sucres (S/) per US$1--869.54 (December 1990), 767.75 (1990), 526.35 (1989), 301.61 (1988), 170.46 (1987), 122.78 (1986), 69.56 (1985)

_#_Fiscal year: calendar year

_*_Communications _#_Railroads: 965 km total; all 1.067-meter-gauge single track

_#_Highways: 28,000 km total; 3,600 km paved, 17,400 km gravel and improved earth, 7,000 km unimproved earth

_#_Inland waterways: 1,500 km

_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 800 km; refined products, 1,358 km

_#_Ports: Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, Esmeraldas

_#_Merchant marine: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 342,411 GRT/495,482 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 8 cargo, 17 refrigerated cargo, 2 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 16 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 1 bulk

_#_Civil air: 44 major transport aircraft

_#_Airports: 153 total, 151 usable; 46 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 23 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

_#_Telecommunications: domestic facilities generally adequate; 318,000 telephones; stations--272 AM, no FM, 33 TV, 39 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: Army (Ejercito Ecuatoriano), Navy (Armada Ecuatoriana), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana), National Police

_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,716,919; 1,840,296 fit for military service; 117,113 reach military age (20) annually

_#_Defense expenditures: $176 million, 1.6% of GDP (1990 est.) _%_ _@_Egypt _*_Geography _#_Total area: 1,001,450 km2; land area: 995,450 km2

_#_Comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico

_#_Land boundaries: 2,689 km total; Gaza Strip 11 km, Israel 255 km, Libya 1,150 km, Sudan 1,273 km

_#_Coastline: 2,450 km

_#_Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive economic zone: undefined;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

_#_Disputes: Administrative boundary with Sudan does not coincide with international boundary

_#_Climate: desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters

_#_Terrain: vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta

_#_Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc

_#_Land use: arable land 3%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland NEGL%; other 95%; includes irrigated 5%

_#_Environment: Nile is only perennial water source; increasing soil salinization below Aswan High Dam; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; water pollution; desertification

_#_Note: controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, shortest sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean; size and juxtaposition to Israel establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics

_*_People _#_Population: 54,451,588 (July 1991), growth rate 2.3% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 33 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 82 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 60 years male, 61 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 4.5 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Egyptian(s); adjective--Egyptian

_#_Ethnic divisions: Eastern Hamitic stock 90%; Greek, Italian, Syro-Lebanese 10%

_#_Religion: (official estimate) Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94%; Coptic Christian and other 6%

_#_Language: Arabic (official); English and French widely understood by educated classes

_#_Literacy: 48% (male 63%, female 34%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

_#_Labor force: 15,000,000 (1989 est.); government, public sector enterprises, and armed forces 36%; agriculture 34%; privately owned service and manufacturing enterprises 20% (1984); shortage of skilled labor; 2,500,000 Egyptians work abroad, mostly in Iraq and the Gulf Arab states (1988 est.)

_#_Organized labor: 2,500,000 (est.)

_*_Government _#_Long-form name: Arab Republic of Egypt

_#_Type: republic

_#_Capital: Cairo

_#_Administrative divisions: 24 governorates (muhafazat, singular--muhafazah); Ad Daqahliyah, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum, Al Gharbiyah, Al Iskandariyah, Al Ismailiyah, Al Jizah, Al Minufiyah, Al Minya, Al Qahirah, Al Qalyubiyah, Al Wadi al Jadid, Ash Sharqiyah, As Suways, Aswan, Asyut, Bani Suwayf, Bur Said, Dumyat, Janub Sina, Matruh, Shamal Sina, Suhaj

_#_Independence: 28 February 1922 (from UK); formerly United Arab Republic

_#_Constitution: 11 September 1971

_#_Legal system: based on English common law, Islamic law, and Napoleonic codes; judicial review by Supreme Court and Council of State (oversees validity of administrative decisions); accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

_#_National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 23 July (1952)

_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet

_#_Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Majlis al-Chaab); note--there is an Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura) that functions in a consultative role

_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Constitutional Court

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (was made acting President on 6 October 1981 upon the assassination of President Sadat and sworn in as President on 14 October 1981);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Atef Mohammed Najib SEDKY (since 12 November 1986)

_#_Political parties and leaders: formation of political parties must be approved by government; National Democratic Party (NDP), President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK, leader, is the dominant party; legal opposition parties are Socialist Liberal Party (SLP), Kamal MURAD; Socialist Labor Party, Ibrahim SHUKRI; National Progressive Unionist Grouping (NPUG), Khalid MUHYI-AL-DIN; Umma Party, Ahmad al-SABAHI; New Wafd Party (NWP), Fuad SIRAJ AL-DIN; Misr al-Fatah Party (Young Egypt Party), Ali al-Din SALIH; Democratic Unionist Party, Muhammad Abd al-Mun'im TURK; The Greens Party, Hasan RAJAB

_#_Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

_#_Elections:

President--last held 5 October 1987 (next to be held October 1993); results--President Hosni MUBAREK was reelected;

People's Assembly--last held 29 November 1990 (next to be held November 1995); results--NDP 78.4%, NPUG 1.4%, independents 18.7%; seats--(454 total, 444 elected)--including NDP 348, NPUG 6, independents 83; note--most opposition parties boycotted;

Advisory Council--last held 8 June 1989 (next to be held June 1995); results--NDP 100%; seats--(258 total, 172 elected) NDP 172

_#_Communists: about 500 party members

_#_Other political or pressure groups: Islamic groups are illegal, but the largest one, the Muslim Brotherhood, is tolerated by the government; trade unions and professional associations are officially sanctioned

_#_Member of: ABEDA, ACC, ACCT (associate), AfDB, AFESD, AG (observer), AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, EBRD, ECA, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador El Sayed Abdel Raouf EL REEDY; Chancery at 2310 Decatur Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 232-5400; there are Egyptian Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco;

US--Ambassador Frank G. WISNER; Embassy at Lazougi Street, Garden City, Cairo (mailing address is APO New York 09674-0006); telephone [20] (2) 355-7371; there is a US Consulate General in Alexandria

_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with the national emblem (a shield superimposed on a golden eagle facing the hoist side above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen which has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of Syria which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band

_*_Economy _#_Overview: Egypt has one of the largest public sectors of all the Third World economies, most industrial plants being owned by the government. Overregulation holds back technical modernization and foreign investment. Even so, the economy grew rapidly during the late 1970s and early 1980s, but in 1986 the collapse of world oil prices and an increasingly heavy burden of debt servicing led Egypt to begin negotiations with the IMF for balance-of-payments support. As part of the 1987 agreement with the IMF, the government agreed to institute a reform program to reduce inflation, promote economic growth, and improve its external position. The reforms have been slow in coming, however, and the economy has been largely stagnant for the past three years. The addition of 1 million people every seven months to Egypt's population exerts enormous pressure on the 5% of the total land area available for agriculture.

_#_GDP: $37.0 billion, per capita $700; real growth rate 1.0% (1990 est.)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 26% (FY90)

_#_Unemployment rate: 15% (1989 est.)

_#_Budget: revenues $7 billion; expenditures $11.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $4 billion (FY89 est.)

_#_Exports: $3.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990);

commodities--crude and refined petroleum, cotton yarn, raw cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals;

partners--EC, Eastern Europe, US, Japan

_#_Imports: $11.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989);

commodities--machinery and equipment, foods, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer goods, capital goods;

partners--EC, US, Japan, Eastern Europe

_#_External debt: $52 billion (December 1990 est.)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate 2-4% (1989 est.); accounts for 24% of GDP

_#_Electricity: 11,273,000 kW capacity; 42,500 million kWh produced, 780 kWh per capita (1989)

_#_Industries: textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, petroleum, construction, cement, metals

_#_Agriculture: accounts for 20% of GNP and employs more than one-third of labor force; dependent on irrigation water from the Nile; world's sixth-largest cotton exporter; other crops produced include rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruit, vegetables; not self-sufficient in food; livestock--cattle, water buffalo, sheep, and goats; annual fish catch about 140,000 metric tons

_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $15.7 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $9.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $2.4 billion

_#_Currency: Egyptian pound (plural--pounds); 1 Egyptian pound (5E) = 100 piasters

_#_Exchange rates: Egyptian pounds (5E) per US$1--2.9030 (January 1991), 2.7072 (1990), 2.5171 (1989), 2.2233 (1988), 1.5183 (1987), 1.3503 (1986), 1.3010 (1985)

_#_Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

_*_Communications _#_Railroads: 5,110 km total; 4,763 km 1,435-meter standard gauge, 347 km 0.750-meter gauge; 951 km double track; 25 km electrified

_#_Highways: 51,925 km total; 17,900 km paved, 2,500 km gravel, 13,500 km improved earth, 18,025 km unimproved earth

_#_Inland waterways: 3,500 km (including the Nile, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in the delta); Suez Canal, 193.5 km long (including approaches), used by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 16.1 meters of water

_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 1,171 km; refined products, 596 km; natural gas, 460 km

_#_Ports: Alexandria, Port Said, Suez, Bur Safajah, Damietta

_#_Merchant marine: 144 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,121,534 GRT/1,725,369 DWT; includes 5 passenger, 7 short-sea passenger, 2 passenger-cargo, 85 cargo, 3 refrigerated cargo, 13 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 14 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 15 bulk

_#_Civil air: 43 major transport aircraft

_#_Airports: 91 total, 82 usable; 66 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 44 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 22 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

_#_Telecommunications: system is large but still inadequate for needs; principal centers are Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, and Tanta; intercity connections by coaxial cable and microwave; extensive upgrading in progress; 600,000 telephones (est.); stations--25 AM, 5 FM, 47 TV; satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 INMARSAT, 1 ARABSAT; 4 submarine coaxial cables; tropospheric scatter to Sudan; radio relay to Libya (may not be operational); radio relay to Jordan

_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command

_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 13,333,285; 8,665,260 fit for military service; 584,780 reach military age (20) annually