Part 7
_#_Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)
_*_Economy _#_Overview: A per capita income of $6,500 gives Barbados one of the highest standards of living of all the small island states of the eastern Caribbean. Historically, the economy was based on the cultivation of sugarcane and related activities. In recent years, however, the economy has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. The tourist industry is now a major employer of the labor force and a primary source of foreign exchange. An unemployment rate of 18% remains one of the most serious economic problems facing the country.
_#_GDP: $1.7 billion, per capita $6,500; real growth rate 3.6% (1989 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.2% (1989)
_#_Unemployment: 18% (1990)
_#_Budget: revenues $501 million; expenditures $484 million, including capital expenditures of $113 million (FY91)
_#_Exports: $165 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--sugar and molasses, chemicals, electrical components, clothing, rum, machinery and transport equipment;
partners: CARICOM 30%, US 20%, UK 20%
_#_Imports: $701 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
commodities--foodstuffs, consumer durables, raw materials, machinery, crude oil, construction materials, chemicals;
partners--US 35%, CARICOM 13%, UK 12%, Japan 6%, Canada 8%, Venezuela 4%
_#_External debt: $550 million (June 1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 1.5% (1989); accounts for 14 % of GDP
_#_Electricity: 132,000 kW capacity; 494 million kWh produced, 1,880 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 10% of GDP; major cash crop is sugarcane; other crops--vegetables and cotton; not self-sufficient in food
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $15 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $169 million
_#_Currency: Barbadian dollars (plural--dollars); 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1--2.0113 (fixed rate)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
_*_Communications _#_Highways: 1,570 km total; 1,475 km paved, 95 km gravel and earth
_#_Ports: Bridgetown
_#_Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,200 GRT/7,338 DWT
_#_Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runways 2,440-3,659 m
_#_Telecommunications: islandwide automatic telephone system with 89,000 telephones; tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad and Saint Lucia; stations--3 AM, 2 FM, 2 (1 is pay) TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force, Coast Guard, Royal Barbados Police Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 69,038; 48,455 fit for military service, no conscription
_#_Defense expenditures: $10 million, 0.7% of GDP (1989) _%_ _@_Bassas da India (French possession) _*_Geography _#_Total area: undetermined
_#_Comparative area: undetermined
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 35.2 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Disputes: claimed by Madagascar
_#_Climate: tropical
_#_Terrain: a volcanic rock 2.4 m high
_#_Natural resources: none
_#_Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other (rock) 100%
_#_Environment: surrounded by reefs; subject to periodic cyclones
_#_Note: navigational hazard since it is usually under water during high tide; located in southern Mozambique Channel about halfway between Africa and Madagascar
_*_People _#_Population: uninhabited
_*_Government _#_Long-form name: none
_#_Type: French possession administered by Commissioner of the Republic Daniel CONSTANTIN, resident in Reunion
_*_Economy _#_Overview: no economic activity
_*_Communications _#_Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
_*_Defense Forces _#_Note: defense is the responsibility of France _%_ _@_Belgium _*_Geography _#_Total area: 30,510 km2; land area: 30,230 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
_#_Land boundaries: 1,385 km total; France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km
_#_Coastline: 64 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: not specific;
Exclusive fishing zone: equidistant line with neighbors (extends about 68 km from coast);
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Climate: temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy
_#_Terrain: flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast
_#_Natural resources: coal, natural gas
_#_Land use: arable land 24%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 20%; forest and woodland 21%; other 34%, includes irrigated NEGL%
_#_Environment: air and water pollution
_#_Note: majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels; crossroads of Western Europe; Brussels is the seat of the EC
_*_People _#_Population: 9,921,910 (July 1991), growth rate 0.1% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Belgian(s); adjective--Belgian
_#_Ethnic divisions: Fleming 55%, Walloon 33%, mixed or other 12%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 75%, remainder Protestant or other
_#_Language: Flemish (Dutch) 56%, French 32%, German 1%; legally bilingual 11%; divided along ethnic lines
_#_Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
_#_Labor force: 4,200,000; services 69%, industry 28%, agriculture 3% (1988)
_#_Organized labor: 70% of labor force
_*_Government _#_Long-form name: Kingdom of Belgium
_#_Type: constitutional monarchy
_#_Capital: Brussels
_#_Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (French--provinces, singular--province; Flemish--provincien, singular--provincie); Antwerpen, Brabant, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen, West-Vlaanderen
_#_Independence: 4 October 1830 (from the Netherlands)
_#_Constitution: 7 February 1831, last revised 8-9 August 1980; the government is in the process of revising the Constitution, with the aim of federalizing the Belgian state
_#_Legal system: civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
_#_National holiday: National Day, 21 July (ascension of King Leopold to the throne in 1831)
_#_Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, five deputy prime ministers, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Flemish--Senaat, French--Senat) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Representatives (Flemish--Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French--Chambre des Representants)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Flemish--Hof van Cassatie, French--Cour de Cassation)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--King BAUDOUIN I (since 17 July 1951); Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT of Liege (brother of the King; born 6 June 1934);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Wilfried MARTENS, (since April 1979, with a 10-month interruption in 1981)
_#_Political parties and leaders: Flemish Social Christian (CVP), Herman van ROMPUY, president; Walloon Social Christian (PSC), Gerard DEPREZ, president; Flemish Socialist (SP), Frank VANDENBROUCKE, president; Walloon Socialist (PS), Guy SPITAELS, president; Flemish Liberal (PVV), Guy VERHOFSTADT, president; Walloon Liberal (PRL), Antoine DUQUESNE, president; Francophone Democratic Front (FDF), Georges CLERFAYT, president; Volksunie (VU), Jaak GABRIELS, president; Communist Party (PCB), Louis van GEYT, president; Vlaams Blok (VB), Karel DILLEN; other minor parties
_#_Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
_#_Elections:
Senate--last held 13 December 1987 (next to be held by January 1992); results--CVP 19.2%, PS 15.7%, SP 14.7%, PVV 11.3%, PRL 9.3%, VU 8.1%, PSC 7.8%, ECOLO-AGALEV 7.7%, VB 2.0%, VDF 1.3%, other 1.96%; seats--(106 total) CVP 22, PS 20, SP 17, PRL 12, PVV 11, PSC 9, VU 8, ECOLO-AGALEV 5, VB 1, FDF 1;
Chamber of Representatives--last held 13 December 1987 (next to be held by January 1992); results--CVP 19.45%, PS 15.66%, SP 14.88%, PVV 11.55%, PRL 9.41%, PSC 8.01%, VU 8.05%, ECOLO-AGALEV 7.05%, VB 1.90%, FDF 1.16%, other 2.88%; seats--(212 total) CVP 43, PS 40, SP 32, PVV 25, PRL 23, PSC 19, VU 16, ECOLO-AGALEV 9, FDF 3, VB 2
_#_Communists: under 5,000 members (December 1985 est.)
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Christian and Socialist Trade Unions; Federation of Belgian Industries; numerous other associations representing bankers, manufacturers, middle-class artisans, and the legal and medical professions; various organizations represent the cultural interests of Flanders and Wallonia; various peace groups such as the Flemish Action Committee Against Nuclear Weapons and Pax Christi
_#_Member of: ACCT, AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-9, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NATO, NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Juan CASSIERS; Chancery at 3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 333-6900; there are Belgian Consulates General in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York;
US--Ambassador Maynard W. GLITMAN; Embassy at 27 Boulevard du Regent, B-1000 Brussels (mailing address is APO New York 09667-1000); telephone [32] (2) 513-3830; there is a US Consulate General in Antwerp
_#_Flag: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France
_*_Economy _#_Overview: This small private-enterprise economy has capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north, although the government is encouraging reinvestment in the southern region of Walloon. With few natural resources Belgium must import essential raw materials, making its economy closely dependent on the state of world markets. Over 70% of trade is with other EC countries. During the period 1988-90 Belgium's economic performance was marked by buoyant output growth, moderate inflation, and a substantial external surplus. Real GDP grew by an average of 3.9% in 1988-90. However, the economy is likely to slow in 1991-92 to below 3% GDP growth.
_#_GDP: $144.8 billion, per capita $14,600; real growth rate 3.3% (1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1991 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 8.2% est. (1991 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $45.0 billion; expenditures $55.3 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1989)
_#_Exports: $106 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union;
commodities--iron and steel, transportation equipment, tractors, diamonds, petroleum products;
partners--EC 74%, US 5%, Communist countries 2% (1989)
_#_Imports: $108 billion (c.i.f., 1989) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union;
commodities--fuels, grains, chemicals, foodstuffs;
partners--EC 73%, US 4%, oil-exporting less developed countries 4%, Communist countries 3% (1989)
_#_External debt: $28.8 billion (1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 1.3% (1991 est.); accounts for almost 30% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 17,325,000 kW capacity; 62,780 million kWh produced, 6,350 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: engineering and metal products, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum, coal
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 2% of GDP; emphasis on livestock production--beef, veal, pork, milk; major crops are sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, and tobacco; net importer of farm products
_#_Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $5.8 billion
_#_Currency: Belgian franc (plural--francs); 1 Belgian franc (BF) = 100 centimes
_#_Exchange rates: Belgian francs (BF) per US$1--31.102 (January 1991), 33.418 (1990), 39.404 (1989), 36.768 (1988), 37.334 (1987), 44.672 (1986), 59.378 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications _#_Railroads: Belgian National Railways (SNCB) operates 3,667 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, government owned; 2,563 km double track; 1,978 km electrified; 191 km 1.000-meter gauge, government owned and operated
_#_Highways: 103,396 km total; 1,317 km limited access, divided autoroute; 11,717 km national highway; 1,362 km provincial road; about 38,000 km paved and 51,000 km unpaved rural roads
_#_Inland waterways: 2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use)
_#_Ports: Antwerp, Brugge, Gent, Oostende, Zeebrugge
_#_Merchant marine: 69 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,785,066 GRT/2,927,618 DWT; includes 12 cargo, 6 roll-on/roll-off, 6 container, 7 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 9 liquefied gas, 3 combination ore/oil, 9 chemical tanker, 11 bulk, 6 combination bulk
_#_Pipelines: refined products 1,167 km; crude 161 km; natural gas 3,300 km
_#_Civil air: 47 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 42 total, 42 usable; 24 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 14 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: excellent domestic and international telephone and telegraph facilities; 4,720,000 telephones; stations--8 AM, 19 FM (42 relays), 25 TV (10 relays); 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT 3 Atlantic Ocean and EUTELSAT systems
_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,521,178; 2,115,935 fit for military service; 64,634 reach military age (19) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $4.8 billion, 2.5% of GDP (1990) _%_ _@_Belize _*_Geography _#_Total area: 22,960 km2; land area: 22,800 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Massachusetts
_#_Land boundaries: 516 km total; Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km
_#_Coastline: 386 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 3 nm
_#_Disputes: claimed by Guatemala, but boundary negotiations to resolve dispute are nearing completion
_#_Climate: tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to February)
_#_Terrain: flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south
_#_Natural resources: arable land potential, timber, fish
_#_Land use: arable land 2%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 2%; forest and woodland 44%; other 52%, includes irrigated NEGL%
_#_Environment: frequent devastating hurricanes (September to December) and coastal flooding (especially in south); deforestation
_#_Note: national capital moved 80 km inland from Belize City to Belmopan because of hurricanes; only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean
_*_People _#_Population: 228,069 (July 1991), growth rate 3.6% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 38 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 4 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 35 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: male 67 years, female 72 years (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 4.7 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Belizean(s); adjective--Belizean
_#_Ethnic divisions: Creole 39.7%, Mestizo 33.1%, Maya 9.5%, Garifuna 7.6%, East Indian 2.1%, other 8.0%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 30% (Anglican 12%, Methodist 6%, Mennonite 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Pentecostal 2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1%, other 2%), none 2%, unknown 3%, other 3% (1980)
_#_Language: English (official), Spanish, Maya, Garifuna (Carib)
_#_Literacy: 91% (male 91%, female 91%) age 15 and over having ever attended school (1970)
_#_Labor force: 51,500; agriculture 30.0%, services 16.0%, government 15.4%, commerce 11.2%, manufacturing 10.3%; shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (1985)
_#_Organized labor: 12% of labor force; 7 unions currently active
_*_Government _#_Long-form name: none
_#_Type: parliamentary democracy
_#_Capital: Belmopan
_#_Administrative divisions: 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo
_#_Independence: 21 September 1981 (from UK; formerly British Honduras)
_#_Constitution: 21 September 1981
_#_Legal system: English law
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 21 September
_#_Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Elmira Minita GORDON (since 21 September 1981);
Head of Government--Prime Minister George Cadle PRICE (since 4 September 1989)
_#_Political parties and leaders: People's United Party (PUP), George PRICE, Florencio MARIN, Said MUSA; United Democratic Party (UDP), Manuel ESQUIVEL, Dean LINDO, Dean BARROW; Belize Popular Party (BPP), Louis SYLVESTRE
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
National Assembly--last held 4 September 1989 (next to be held September 1994); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(28 total) PUP 15 seats, UDP 13 seats; note--in January 1990 one member expelled from UDP joined PUP, making the seat count 16 PUP, UDP 12
_#_Communists: negligible
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Society for the Promotion of Education and Research (SPEAR) headed by former PUP minister; United Workers Front
_#_Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, (observer), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador James V. HYDE; Chancery at Suite 2J, 3400 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 363-4505;
US--Ambassador Eugene L. SCASSA; Embassy at Gabourel Lane and Hutson Street, Belize City (mailing address is P. O. Box 286, Belize City); telephone [501] 77161 through 77163
_#_Flag: blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom edges; centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms; the coat of arms features a shield flanked by two workers in front of a mahogany tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in the Shade) on a scroll at the bottom, all encircled by a green garland
_*_Economy _#_Overview: The economy is based primarily on agriculture and merchandising. Agriculture accounts for more than 30% of GDP and provides 75% of export earnings, while sugar, the chief crop, accounts for almost 40% of hard currency earnings. The US, Belize's main trading partner, is assisting in efforts to reduce dependency on sugar with an agricultural diversification program.
_#_GDP: $290 million, per capita $1,320; real growth rate 9% (1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.8% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 12% (1988)
_#_Budget: revenues $87.4 million; expenditures $130.5 million, including capital expenditures of $53.5 million (FY90 est.)
_#_Exports: $108 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--sugar, clothing, seafood, molasses, citrus, wood and wood products;
partners--US 47%, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada (1987)
_#_Imports: $204 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
commodities--machinery and transportation equipment, food, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals;
partners--US 55%, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Mexico (1987)
_#_External debt: $169 million (December 1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 9.7% (1989); accounts for 16% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 34,700 kW capacity; 90 million kWh produced, 410 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: garment production, citrus concentrates, sugar refining, rum, beverages, tourism
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP (including fish and forestry); commercial crops include sugarcane, bananas, coca, citrus fruits; expanding output of lumber and cultured shrimp; net importer of basic foods
_#_Illicit drugs: an illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; eradication program cut marijuana production from 200 metric tons in 1987 to 66 metric tons in 1989; transshipment point for cocaine
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $104 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $199 million
_#_Currency: Belizean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Belizean dollar (Bz$) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: Belizean dollars (Bz$) per US$1--2.00 (fixed rate)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
_*_Communications _#_Highways: 2,710 km total; 500 km paved, 1,600 km gravel, 300 km improved earth, and 310 km unimproved earth
_#_Inland waterways: 825 km river network used by shallow-draft craft; seasonally navigable
_#_Ports: Belize City; additional ports for shallow draught craft include Corozol, Punta Gorda, Big Creek
_#_Civil air: no major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 42 total, 32 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 2,439 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: 8,650 telephones; above-average system based on radio relay; stations--6 AM, 5 FM, 1 TV, 1 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: British Forces Belize, Belize Defense Force (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Volunteer Guard), Belize National Police
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 53,184; 31,790 fit for military service; 2,545 reach military age (18) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $4.8 million, 1.8% of GDP (1990 est.) _%_ _@_Benin _*_Geography _#_Total area: 112,620 km2; land area: 110,620 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
_#_Land boundaries: 1,989 km total; Burkina 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km
_#_Coastline: 121 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 200 nm
_#_Climate: tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
_#_Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains
_#_Natural resources: small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber
_#_Land use: arable land 12%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and pastures 4%; forest and woodland 35%; other 45%, includes irrigated NEGL%
_#_Environment: hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north in winter; deforestation; desertification
_#_Note: recent droughts have severely affected marginal agriculture in north; no natural harbors
_*_People _#_Population: 4,831,823 (July 1991), growth rate 3.3% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 49 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 119 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 52 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 7.0 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Beninese (sing., pl.); adjective--Beninese
_#_Ethnic divisions: African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba); Europeans 5,500
_#_Religion: indigenous beliefs 70%, Muslim 15%, Christian 15%
_#_Language: French (official); Fon and Yoruba most common vernaculars in south; at least six major tribal languages in north
_#_Literacy: 23% (male 32%, female 16%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 1,900,000 (1987); agriculture 60%, transport, commerce, and public services 38%, industry less than 2%; 49% of population of working age (1985)
_#_Organized labor: about 75% of wage earners
_*_Government _#_Long-form name: Republic of Benin
_#_Type: dropped Marxism-Leninism December 1989; democratic reforms adopted February 1990; transition to multiparty system completed 4 April 1991
_#_Capital: Porto-Novo (official), Cotonou (de facto)
_#_Administrative divisions: 6 provinces; Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Mono, Oueme, Zou
_#_Independence: 1 August 1960 (from France; formerly Dahomey)
_#_Constitution: 2 December 1990
_#_Legal system: based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: National Day, 1 August (1990)
_#_Executive branch: president, cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Nicephore SOGLO (since 4 April 1991)
_#_Political parties and leaders: the People's Revolutionary Party of Benin (PRPB) headed by President Mathieu KEREKOU, chairman of the Central Committee, was dissolved 30 April 1990; Alliance of the Democratic Union for the Forces of Progress (UDFP), Timothee ADANLIN; Movement for Democracy and Social Progress (MDPS), Jean-Roger AHOYO; and the Union for Liberty and Development (ULD), Marcellin DEGBE;
Alliance of the National Party for Democracy and Development (PNDD) and the Democratic Renewal Party (PRD), Pascal Chabi KAO;
Alliance of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Union for Solidarity and Progress (UNSP), Bruno AMOUSSOU;
Our Common Cause (NCC), Albert TEVEODJRE; National Rally for Democracy (RND), Joseph KEKE;
Alliance of the National Movement for Democracy and Development (MNDD); Movement for Solidarity, Union, and Progress (MSUP); and Union for Democracy and National Reconstruction (UDRN), Bertin BORNA;
Union for Democracy and National Solidarity (UDS), Mama Amadou N'DIAYE; Assembly of Liberal Democrats for National Reconstruction (RDL), Severin ADJOVI;
Alliance of the Alliance for Social Democracy (ASD) and Bloc for Social Democracy (BSD), Robert DOSSOU;
Alliance of the Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ADP) and Democratic Union for Social Renewal (UDRS), Bio Gado Seko N'GOYE; National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP), Robert TAGNON; numerous other small parties
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
President--last held 10 and 24 March 1991 (next to be held March 1996); results--Nicephore SOGLO 68%, Mathieu KEREKOU 32%;
National Assembly--last held 10 and 24 March 1991 (next to be held March 1996); results--NA percent of the vote; seats--(64 total) UDFP-MDPS-ULD 12, PNDD/PRD 9, PSD/UNSP 8, NCC 7, RND 7, MNDD/MSUP/UDRN 6, UDS 5, RDL 4, ASD/BSD 3, ADP/UDRS 2, UNDP 1
_#_Communists: Communist Party of Dahomey (PCD) remains active
_#_Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Candide AHOUANSOU; Charge d'Affaires Corneille MEHISSOU; Chancery at 2737 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 232-6656;
US--Ambassador Harriet ISOM; Embassy at Rue Caporal Anani Bernard, Cotonou (mailing address is B. P. 2012, Cotonou); telephone [229] 30-06-50
_#_Flag: two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side
_*_Economy _#_Overview: Benin is one of the least developed countries in the world because of limited natural resources and a poorly developed infrastructure. Agriculture accounts for almost 40% of GDP, employs about 60% of the labor force, and generates a major share of foreign exchange earnings. The industrial sector contributes only about 15% to GDP and employs 2% of the work force. Persistently low prices in recent years have limited hard currency earnings from Benin's major exports of agricultural products and crude oil.
_#_GDP: $2.0 billion, per capita $400; real growth rate 2.6% (1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.0% (1990)
_#_Unemployment: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $194 million; expenditures $390 million, including capital expenditures of $104 million (1990 est.)
_#_Exports: $250 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--crude oil, cotton, palm products, cocoa;
partners--FRG 36%, France 16%, Spain 14%, Italy 8%, UK 4%
_#_Imports: $442 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco, petroleum products, intermediate goods, capital goods, light consumer goods;
partners--France 34%, Netherlands 10%, Japan 7%, Italy 6%, US 4%