Part 27
Political parties and leaders: National Liberation Party or PLN [Rolando ARAYA]; Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Rafael Angel CALDERON Fournier]; National Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ]; National Agrarian Party or PAN; People's Party of Costa Rica or PPC [Lenin CHACON Vargas]; Agricultural Union Party or PUAC [Juan Guillermo BRENES Castillo]; Democratic Force Party or FD [Isaac Felipe AZOFEIFA Bolanos]; People United [Humberto VARGAS Carbonell]; Patriotic Front Party; New Democratic Party or PDN [Rodrigo GUTIERREZ)]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers or CCTD (Liberation Party affiliate); Confederated Union of Workers or CUT (Communist Party affiliate); Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers or CATD (Communist Party affiliate); Chamber of Coffee Growers; National Association for Economic Development or ANFE; Free Costa Rica Movement or MCRL (rightwing militants); National Association of Educators or ANDE; Federation of Public Service Workers or FTSP
International organization participation: AG (observer), BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Sonia PICADO chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-2945 FAX: [1] (202) 265-4795 consulate(s) general : Albuquerque, Atlanta, Chicago, Durham, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Tampa consulate(s): Austin
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Peter Jon DE VOS embassy: Pavas Road, San Jose mailing address: APO AA 34020 telephone: [506] 220-3939 FAX: [506] 220-2305
Flag description: five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white disk on the hoist side of the red band
Economy
Economy - overview: Costa Rica's basically stable and progressive economy depends especially on tourism and the export of bananas, coffee, and other agricultural products. Poverty has been substantially reduced over the past 15 years, and a strong social safety net has been put in place. Recent trends, however, have been disappointing. Economic growth slipped from 4.3% in 1994 to 2.5% in 1995, and to 0.9% in 1996. Inflation rose to 22.5% in 1995 from 13.5% in 1994, then dropped back to 13.9% in 1996. Unemployment appears moderate at little more than 5% but substantial underemployment continues. Furthermore, substantial government deficits have undermined efforts to maintain the quality of social services. The government thus faces a formidable set of problems: to curb inflation, reduce the deficit, encourage domestic savings, and improve public sector efficiency while increasing the role of the private sector, all this in harmony with IMF agreements.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $19 billion (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -0.9% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,500 (1996 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 18% industry: 24% services: 58% (1995)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 13.9% (1996 est.)
Labor force: total: 868,300 by occupation: industry and commerce 35.1%, government and services 33%, agriculture 27%, other 4.9% (1985 est.)
Unemployment rate: 5.5% (1996 est.); much underemployment
Budget: revenues : $1.1 billion expenditures: $1.34 billion, including capital expenditures of $110 million (1991 est.)
Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products
Industrial production growth rate: 10.5% (1992)
Electricity - capacity: 1,113,900 kW (1995)
Electricity - production: 5.138 billion kWh (1995)
Electricity - consumption per capita: 1,330 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture - products: coffee, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber (depletion of forest resources has resulted in declining timber output)
Exports: total value: $3.82 billion (f.o.b., 1996) commodities: coffee, bananas, textiles, sugar partners: US, Germany, Italy, Guatemala, El Salvador, Netherlands, UK, France
Imports: total value: $3.857 billion (c.i.f., 1996) commodities : raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum partners: US, Japan, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Germany
Debt - external: $3.2 billion (October 1996 est.)
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $NA
Currency: 1 Costa Rican colon (C) = 100 centimos
Exchange rates: Costa Rican colones (C) per US$1 - 219.29 (December 1996), 207.69 (1996), 179.73 (1995), 157.07 (1994), 142.17 (1993), 134.51 (1992)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Costa Rica:Communications
Telephones: 281,042 (1983 est.)
Telephone system: very good domestic telephone service domestic: NA international: connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 71, FM 0, shortwave 13
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 18
Televisions: 340,000 (1993 est.)
@Costa Rica:Transportation
Railways: total : 950 km narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) note: the entire system was scheduled to be shut down on 31 June 1995 because of insolvency
Highways: total : 35,600 km paved: 5,945 km unpaved: 29,655 km (1995 est.)
Waterways: about 730 km, seasonally navigable
Pipelines: petroleum products 176 km
Ports and harbors: Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas
Merchant marine: none
Airports: 143 (1996 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 115 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m : 1 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 96 (1996 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 28 914 to 1,523 m: 28 (1996 est.)
Military
Military branches: Coast Guard, Air Section, Ministry of Public Security Force (Fuerza Publica) note - during 1996, the Ministry of Public Security reorganized and eliminated the Civil Guard, Rural Assistance Guard, and Frontier Guards as separate entities; they are now under the Ministry and operate on a geographic command basis performing ground security, law enforcement, counternarcotics, and national security (border patrol) functions; the Constitution prohibits armed forces
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 940,666 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males: 631,426 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males : 34,422 (1997 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $55 million (1995)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2% (1995)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots ______________________________________________________________________
COTE D'IVOIRE
@Cote d'Ivoire:Geography
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia
Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 5 00 W
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 322,460 sq km land: 318,000 sq km water: 4,460 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries: total: 3,110 km border countries : Burkina Faso 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km, Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km
Coastline: 515 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 nm exclusive economic zone : 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three seasons - warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), hot and wet (June to October)
Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Gulf of Guinea 0 m highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m
Natural resources: petroleum, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper
Land use: arable land: 8% permanent crops : 4% permanent pastures: 41% forests and woodland: 22% other: 25% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 680 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible
Environment - current issues: deforestation (most of the country's forests - once the largest in West Africa - have been cleared by the timber industry); water pollution from sewage and industrial and agricultural effluents
Environment - international agreements: party to : Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Desertification
@Cote d'Ivoire:People
Population: 14,986,218 (July 1997 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years : 47% (male 3,537,190; female 3,496,749) 15-64 years: 51% (male 3,927,687; female 3,700,468) 65 years and over: 2% (male 165,544; female 158,580) (July 1997 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.35% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 42.43 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 17.11 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.) note : since 1989, over 350,000 refugees have fled to Cote d'Ivoire to escape the civil war in Liberia
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years : 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (1997 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 99.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 44.81 years male : 43.63 years female: 46.03 years (1997 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.06 children born/woman (1997 est.)
Nationality: noun: Ivorian(s) adjective: Ivorian
Ethnic groups: Baoule 23%, Bete 18%, Senoufou 15%, Malinke 11%, Agni, foreign Africans (mostly Burkinabe and Malians, about 3 million), non-Africans 130,000 to 330,000 (French 30,000 and Lebanese 100,000 to 300,000)
Religions: indigenous 25%, Muslim 60%, Christian 12%
Languages: French (official), 60 native dialects with Dioula the most widely spoken
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 40.1% male: 49.9% female: 30% (1995 est.)
@Cote d'Ivoire:Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Cote d'Ivoire conventional short form : Cote d'Ivoire local long form: Republique de Cote d'Ivoire local short form: Cote d'Ivoire former: Ivory Coast
Data code: IV
Government type: republic; multiparty presidential regime established 1960
National capital: Yamoussoukro note: although Yamoussoukro has been the capital since 1983, Abidjan remains the administrative center; foreign governments, including the US, maintain official presences in Abidjan
Administrative divisions: 50 departments (departements, singular - departement); Abengourou, Abidjan, Aboisso, Adzope, Agboville, Agnibilekrou, Bangolo, Beoumi, Biankouma, Bondoukou, Bongouanou, Bouafle, Bouake, Bouna, Boundiali, Dabakala, Daloa, Danane, Daoukro, Dimbokro, Divo, Duekoue, Ferkessedougou, Gagnoa, Grand-Lahou, Guiglo, Issia, Katiola, Korhogo, Lakota, Man, Mankono, Mbahiakro, Odienne, Oume, Sakassou, San-Pedro, Sassandra, Seguela, Sinfra, Soubre, Tabou, Tanda, Tingrela, Tiassale, Touba, Toumodi, Vavoua, Yamoussoukro, Zuenoula
Independence: 7 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday: National Day, 7 August
Constitution: 3 November 1960; has been amended numerous times, last time November 1990
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Henri Konan BEDIE (since 7 December 1993); note - succeeded to the presidency following the death of President Felix HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY, who had served continuously since November 1960 head of government: Prime Minister Daniel Kablan DUNCAN (since 10 December 1993) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 22 October 1995 (next to be held October 2000); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Henri Konan BEDIE elected president; percent of vote - Henri Konan BEDIE 96%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (175 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: elections last held 27 November 1995 (next to be held November 2000) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDCI 150, RDR 13, FPI 12
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party of the Cote d'Ivoire or PDCI [Henri Konan BEDIE]; Rally of the Republicans or RDR [Djeny KOBINA]; Ivorian Popular Front or FPI [Laurent GBAGBO]; Ivorian Worker's Party or PIT [Francis WODIE]; Ivorian Socialist Party or PSI [Morifere BAMBA]; over 20 smaller parties
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission : Ambassador Koffi Moise KOUMOUE-KOFFI chancery: 2424 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-0300
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Lannon WALKER embassy : 5 Rue Jesse Owens, Abidjan mailing address: 01 B. P. 1712, Abidjan telephone: [225] 21 09 79 FAX: [225] 22 32 59
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of orange (hoist side), white, and green; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and has the colors reversed - green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of Italy, which is green (hoist side), white, and red; design was based on the flag of France
Economy
Economy - overview: Cote d'Ivoire is among the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm-kernel oil. Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for coffee and cocoa and to weather conditions. Despite attempts by the government to diversify the economy, it is still largely dependent on agriculture and related activities, which engage roughly 85% of the population. After several years of lagging performance, the Ivorian economy began a comeback in 1994, due to improved prices for cocoa and coffee, growth in nontraditional primary exports such as pineapples and rubber, limited trade and banking liberalization, offshore oil and gas discoveries, and generous external financing and debt rescheduling by multilateral lenders and France. The 50% devaluation of Franc Zone currencies on 12 January 1994 caused a one-time jump in the inflation rate to 32% for 1994, but this rate fell to 8% by 1996, in part as the economy adjusted to the devaluation. Moreover, government adherence to donor-mandated reforms led to a jump in growth rates - 6.5% in GDP in 1996.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $23.9 billion (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 6.5% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,620 (1996 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 31% industry: 20% services : 49% (1994 est.)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 8% (1996 est.)
Labor force: NA
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $1.9 billion expenditures: $3.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $408 million (1993)
Industries: foodstuffs, beverages; wood products, oil refining, automobile assembly, textiles, fertilizer, construction materials, electricity
Industrial production growth rate: 9% (first half of 1996)
Electricity - capacity: 1.17 million kW (1994)
Electricity - production: 1.86 billion kWh (1994)
Electricity - consumption per capita: 118 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture - products: coffee, cocoa beans, bananas, palm kernels, corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sweet potatoes, sugar; cotton, rubber; timber
Exports: total value: $3.7 billion (f.o.b., 1995) commodities: cocoa 36%, coffee 22%; tropical woods 4%, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton, fish partners : France 18%, Germany 11%, Italy 8%, Burkina Faso, Mali, US, UK, Netherlands
Imports: total value : $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 1995) commodities: food, consumer goods; capital goods, fuel, transport equipment partners: France 32%, Nigeria 20%, US 6.7%, Germany, Italy, Ghana
Debt - external: $16.7 billion (1994)
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $552 million (1993)
Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 541.69 (January 1997), 511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992) note : beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Cote d'Ivoire:Communications
Telephones: 87,700 (1987 est.)
Telephone system: well-developed by African standards but operating well below capacity domestic: open-wire lines and microwave radio relay international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); 2 coaxial submarine cables
Radio broadcast stations: AM 71, FM 0, shortwave 13
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 18
Televisions: 810,000 (1993 est.)
@Cote d'Ivoire:Transportation
Railways: total : 660 km narrow gauge: 660 km 1.000-meter gauge; 25 km double track (1995 est.)
Highways: total: 46,331 km paved: 3,579 km unpaved : 42,752 km (1984 est.)
Waterways: 980 km navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons
Ports and harbors: Abidjan, Aboisso, Dabou, San-Pedro
Merchant marine: total : 1 oil tanker (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,200 GRT/2,181 DWT (1996 est.)
Airports: 34 (1996 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 17 over 3,047 m : 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 under 914 m: 10 (1996 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total : 17 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 11 (1996 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie, Presidential Guard
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 3,478,429 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males: 1,811,508 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 164,364 (1997 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $140 million (1993)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.4% (1993)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for local consumption; minor transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin to Europe and occasionally to the US ______________________________________________________________________
CROATIA
@Croatia:Geography
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia
Geographic coordinates: 45 10 N, 15 30 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 56,538 sq km land : 56,410 sq km water: 128 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries: total: 2,197 km border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia and Montenegro 266 km (241 km with Serbia; 25 km with Montenego), Slovenia 670 km
Coastline: 5,790 km (mainland 1,778 km, islands 4,012 km)
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast
Terrain: geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coast, coastline, and islands
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Dinara 1,830 m
Natural resources: oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt
Land use: arable land: 21% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures : 20% forests and woodland: 38% other: 19% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 30 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent and destructive earthquakes
Environment - current issues: air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; widespread casualties and destruction of infrastructure in border areas affected by civil strife
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Desertification
Geography - note: controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits
@Croatia:People
Population: 4,664,710 (July 1997 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18% (male 417,181; female 395,430) 15-64 years: 68% (male 1,590,334; female 1,593,470) 65 years and over: 14% (male 253,201; female 415,094) (July 1997 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.17% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 10.63 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 11.2 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth : 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female total population : 0.94 male(s)/female (1997 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population : 73.49 years male: 70.16 years female: 77.03 years (1997 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.56 children born/woman (1997 est.)
Nationality: noun: Croat(s) adjective: Croatian
Ethnic groups: Croat 78%, Serb 12%, Muslim 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, others 8.1% (1991)
Religions: Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Slavic Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8%
Languages: Serbo-Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czechoslovak, and German)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population : 97% male: 99% female: 95% (1991 est.)
@Croatia:Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Croatia conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska
Data code: HR
Government type: presidential/parliamentary democracy
National capital: Zagreb
Administrative divisions: 21 counties (zupanijas, zupanija - singular): Bjelovar-Bilogora, City of Zagreb, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Istra, Karlovac, Koprivnica-Krizevci, Krapina-Zagorje, Lika-Senj, Medimurje, Osijek-Baranja, Pozega-Slavonija, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Sibenik, Sisak-Moslavina, Slavonski Brod-Posavina, Split-Dalmatia, Varazdin, Virovitica-Podravina, Vukovar-Srijem, Zadar-Knin, Zagreb
Independence: 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)
National holiday: Statehood Day, 30 May (1990)
Constitution: adopted on 22 December 1990
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed)
Executive branch: chief of state: President Franjo TUDJMAN (since 30 May 1990) head of government: Prime Minister Zlatko MATESA (since NA November 1995); Deputy Prime Ministers Mate GRANIC (since 8 September 1992), Ivica KOSTOVIC (since 14 October 1993), Jure RADIC (since NA October 1994), Borislav SKEGRO (since 3 April 1993), and Ljerka MINTAS-HODAK (since November 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 4 August 1992 (next to be held 15 June 1997); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: President Franjo TUDJMAN reelected; percent of vote - Franjo TUDJMAN 56%, Dobroslav PARAGA 5%
Legislative branch: bicameral Assembly or Sabor consists of the House of Districts or Zupanijski Dom (68 seats - 63 directly elected by popular vote, 5 presidentially appointed; members serve four-year terms) and House of Representatives or the Zastupnicki Dom (127 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: House of Districts - last held 13 April 1997 (next to be held NA 2001); House of Representatives - last held 29 October 1995 (next to be held NA 1999) election results: House of Districts - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - HDZ 42, HDZ/HSS 11, HSS 2, IDS 2, SDP/PGS/HNS 2, SDP/HNS 2, HSLS/HSS/HNS 1, HSLS 1; note - in some districts certain
## parties ran as coalitions, while in others they ran alone; House of
Representatives - percent of vote by party - HDZ 45.23%, HSS/IDS/HNS/HKDU/SBHS 18.26%, HSLS 11.55%, SDP 8.93%, HSP 5.01%; seats by party - HDZ 75, HSLS 12, HSS 10, SDP 10, IDS 4, HSP 4, HNS 2, SNS 2, HND 1, ASH 1, HKDU 1, SBHS 1, independents 4
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the House of Representatives; Constitutional Court, judges appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the House of Representatives
Political parties and leaders: Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Franjo TUDJMAN, president]; Croatian Democratic Independents or HND [Stjepan MESIC, president]; Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Vlado GOTOVAC, president]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Ante DAPIC]; Croatian Peasants' Party or HSS [Zlatko TOMCIC]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Radimir CACIC, president]; Serbian National Party or SNS [Milan DJUKIC]; Action of the Social Democrats of Croatia or ASH [Silvija DEGEN]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Marko VASELICA, president]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JACKOVIC]; Slanvonsko-Baranja Croatian Party or SBHS; Primorje Gorski Kotar Alliance
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: CCC, CE, CEI, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Miomir ZUZUL chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899 FAX : [1] (202) 588-8936 consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Peter W. GALBRAITH embassy: Andrije Hebranga 2, Zagreb mailing address: US Embassy, Zagreb, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5080 telephone: [385] (1) 455-55-00 FAX : [385] (1) 455-85-85
Flag description: red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered)
Economy