Part 4
Economy--overview: Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on farming and livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals during two decades of war, including the nearly 10-year Soviet military occupation (which ended 15 February 1989). During that conflict one-third of the population fled the country, with Pakistan and Iran sheltering a combined peak of more than 6 million refugees. Now, only 750,000 registered Afghan refugees remain in Pakistan and about 1.2 million in Iran. Another 1 million have probably moved into and around urban areas within Afghanistan. Gross domestic product has fallen substantially over the past 20 years because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport. Much of the population continues to suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, and medical care. Inflation remains a serious problem throughout the country, with one estimate putting the rate at 240% in Kabul in 1996. International aid can deal with only a fraction of the humanitarian problem, let alone promote economic development. Government efforts to encourage foreign investment have not worked. The economic situation did not improve in 1998. Numerical data are likely to be either unavailable or unreliable.
GDP: purchasing power parity--$20 billion (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate: NA%
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$800 (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector: agriculture: 53% industry: 28.5% services: 18.5% (1990)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 240% (1996 est.)
Labor force: 7.1 million
Labor force--by occupation: agriculture and animal husbandry 67.8%, industry 10.2%, construction 6.3%, commerce 5%, services and other 10.7% (1980 est.)
Unemployment rate: 8% (1995 est.)
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper
Electricity--production: 540 million kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source: fossil fuel: 35.19% hydro: 64.81% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)
Electricity--consumption: 660 million kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports: 0 kWh (1996) (1996)
Electricity--imports: 120 million kWh (1996)
Agriculture--products: wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts; wool, mutton
Exports: $80 million (1996 est.)
Exports--commodities: fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems
Exports--partners: FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, India, UK, Belgium, Luxembourg, Czech Republic
Imports: $150 million (1996 est.)
Imports--commodities: food and petroleum products; most consumer goods
Imports--partners: FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea, Germany
Debt--external: $2.3 billion (March 1991 est.)
Economic aid--recipient: $214.6 million (1995); note?US provided $450 million in bilateral assistance (1985-93); US continues to contribute to multilateral assistance through the UN programs of food aid, immunization, land mine removal, and a wide range of aid to refugees and displaced persons
Currency: 1 afghani (AF) = 100 puls
Exchange rates: afghanis (Af) per US$1--4,750 (February 1999), 17,000 (December 1996), 7,000 (January 1995), 1,900 (January 1994), 1,019 (March 1993), 850 (1991); note--these rates reflect the free market exchange rates rather than the official exchange rate, which was fixed at 50.600 afghanis to the dollar until 1996, when it rose to 2,262.65 per dollar, and finally became fixed again at 3,000.00 per dollar on April 1996
Fiscal year: 21 March--20 March
Communications
Telephones: 31,200 (1983 est.)
Telephone system: domestic: very limited telephone and telegraph service; in 1997, telecommunications links were established between Mazar-e Sharif, Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad, and Kabul through satellite and microwave systems international: satellite earth stations--1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) linked only to Iran and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); commercial satellite telephone center in Ghazni
Radio broadcast stations: AM 6 (5 are inactive), FM 1, shortwave 3 (1998)
Radios: 1.67 million (1998 est.)
Television broadcast stations: NA note: in 1997, there was a station in Mazar-e Sharif reaching four northern Afghanistan provinces; also, the government ran a central television station in Kabul and regional stations in nine of the 30 provinces; it is unknown if any of these stations currently operate
Televisions: 100,000 (1998 est.)
Transportation
Railways: total: 24.6 km broad gauge: 9.6 km 1.524-m gauge from Gushgy (Turkmenistan) to Towraghondi; 15 km 1.524-m gauge from Termiz (Uzbekistan) to Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya
Highways: total: 21,000 km paved: 2,793 km unpaved: 18,207 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to about 500 DWT
Pipelines: petroleum products--Uzbekistan to Bagram and Turkmenistan to Shindand; natural gas 180 km
Ports and harbors: Kheyrabad, Shir Khan
Merchant marine: total: 1 container ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 11,982 GRT/14,101 DWT (1998 est.)
Airports: 44 (1998 est.)
Airports--with paved runways: total: 11 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (1998 est.)
Airports--with unpaved runways: total: 33 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 10 (1998 est.)
Heliports: 3 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: NA; note--the military does not exist on a national basis; some elements of the former Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Border Guard Forces, National Police Force (Sarandoi), and tribal militias still exist but are factionalized among the various groups
Military manpower--military age: 22 years of age
Military manpower--availability: males age 15-49: 6,326,135 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--fit for military service: males age 15-49: 3,392,336 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--reaching military age annually: males: 248,320 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures--dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures--percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international: support to Islamic militants worldwide by some factions; question over which group should hold Afghanistan's seat at the UN
Illicit drugs: world's second-largest illicit opium producer after Burma (cultivation in 1998--41,720 hectares, a 7% increase over 1997; potential production in 1998--1,350 metric tons) and a major source of hashish; increasing number of heroin-processing laboratories being set up in the country; major political factions in the country profit from drug trade
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@Albania -------
Geography
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro
Geographic coordinates: 41 00 N, 20 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 28,750 sq km land: 27,400 sq km water: 1,350 sq km
Area--comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries: total: 720 km border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km (114 km with Serbia, 173 km with Montenegro)
Coastline: 362 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 nm
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
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel
Land use: arable land: 21% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 38% other: 21% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 3,410 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast
Environment--current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents
Environment--international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography--note: strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
People
Population: 3,364,571 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 33% (male 568,642; female 530,088) 15-64 years: 61% (male 957,561; female 1,105,870) 65 years and over: 6% (male 84,280; female 118,130) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.05% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 20.74 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 7.35 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 42.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69 years male: 65.92 years female: 72.33 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.5 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian
Ethnic groups: Albanian 95%, Greeks 3%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.) note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)
Religions: Muslim 70%, Albanian 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: definition: age 9 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: NA% female: NA% (1997 est.)
Government
Country name: 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
Data code: AL
Government type: emerging democracy
Capital: Tirana
Administrative divisions: 36 districts (rrethe, singular--rreth) and 1 municipality* (bashki); Berat, Bulqize, Delvine, Devoll (Bilisht), Diber (Peshkopi), Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh, Has (Krume), Kavaje, Kolonje (Erseke), Korce, Kruje, Kucove, Kukes, Lac, Lezhe, Librazhd, Lushnje, Malesi e Madhe (Koplik), Mallakaster (Ballsh), Mat (Burrel), Mirdite (Rreshen), Peqin, Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Sarande, Shkoder, Skrapar (Corovode), Tepelene, Tirane (Tirana), Tirane* (Tirana), Tropoje (Bajram Curri), Vlore note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 November (1912)
Constitution: a new constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998; note--the opposition Democratic Party boycotted the vote
Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: President of the Republic Rexhep MEIDANI (since 24 July 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Pandeli MAJKO (since 2 October 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president elections: president elected by the People's Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 24 July 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Rexhep MEIDANI elected president; People's Assembly vote by number--total votes 122, for 110, against 3, abstained 2, invalid 7
Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly or Kuvendi Popullor (155 seats; most members are elected by direct popular vote and some by proportional vote for four-year terms) elections: last held 29 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party--PS 53.36%, PD 25.33%, PSD 2.5%, PBDNJ 2.78%, PBK 2.36%, PAD 2.85%, PR 2.25%, PLL 3.09%, PDK 1.00%, PBSD 0.84%; seats by party--PS 101, PD 27, PSD 8, PBDNJ 4, PBK 3, PAD 2, PR 2, PLL 2, PDK 1, PBSD 1, PUK 1, independents 3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chairman of the Supreme Court is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term
Political parties and leaders: Albanian Socialist Party or PS
International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Petrit BUSHATI chancery: 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Marisa R. LINO embassy: Rruga Elbasanit 103, Tirana mailing address: American Embassy, Tirana, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-9510
Flag description: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center
Economy
Economy--overview: An extremely poor country by European standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more open-market economy. The economy rebounded in 1993-95 after a severe depression accompanying the collapse of the previous centrally planned system in 1990 and 1991. However, a weakening of government resolve to maintain stabilization policies in the election year of 1996 contributed to renewal of inflationary pressures, spurred by the budget deficit which exceeded 12%. The collapse of financial pyramid schemes in early 1997--which had attracted deposits from a substantial portion of Albania's population--triggered severe social unrest which led to more than 1,500 deaths, widespread destruction of property, and an 8% drop in GDP. The new government installed in July 1997 has taken strong measures to restore public order and to revive economic activity and trade. The economy continues to be bolstered by remittances of some 20% of the labor force which works abroad, mostly in Greece and Italy. These remittances supplement GDP and help offset the large foreign trade deficit. Most agricultural land was privatized in 1992, substantially improving peasant incomes. In 1998, Albania probably recovered most if not all of the 7% drop in GDP of 1997.
GDP: purchasing power parity--$5 billion (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate: 7% (1998 est.)
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$1,490 (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector: agriculture: 56% industry: 21% services: 23% (1997)
Population below poverty line: 19.6% (1996 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 40% (1997 est.)
Labor force: 1.692 million (1994 est.) (including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed)
Labor force--by occupation: agriculture (nearly all private; but some state employed) 49.5%, private business sector 22.2%, state business sector 28.3% (including state-owned industry 7.8%); note--includes only those domestically employed
Unemployment rate: 14% (October 1997) officially, but likely to be as high as 28%
Budget: revenues: $624 million expenditures: $996 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower
Industrial production growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)
Electricity--production: 5.12 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source: fossil fuel: 4.3% hydro: 95.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)
Electricity--consumption: 5.27 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports: 0 kWh (1996) (1996)
Electricity--imports: 150 million kWh (1996)
Agriculture--products: wide range of temperate-zone crops and livestock
Exports: $212 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports--commodities: asphalt, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco
Exports--partners: Italy, Greece, Germany, Belgium, US
Imports: $791 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Imports--commodities: machinery, consumer goods, grains
Imports--partners: Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Debt--external: $645 million (1996)
Economic aid--recipient: $630 million (1997 pledged)
Currency: 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars
Exchange rates: leke (L) per US$1--139.93 (January 1999), 150.63 (1998), 148.93 (1997), 104.50 (1996), 92.70 (1995), 94.62 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 55,000
Telephone system: domestic: obsolete wire system; no longer provides a telephone for every village; in 1992, following the fall of the communist government, peasants cut the wire to about 1,000 villages and used it to build fences international: inadequate; international traffic carried by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece
Radio broadcast stations: AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios: 577,000 (1991 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 13 (1997)
Televisions: 300,000 (1993 est.)
Transportation
Railways: total: 447 km (none electrified) standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)
Highways: total: 18,000 km paved: 5,400 km unpaved: 12,600 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)
Pipelines: crude oil 145 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1991)
Ports and harbors: Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore
Merchant marine: total: 8 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,394 GRT/41,429 DWT (1998 est.)
Airports: 9 (1998 est.)
Airports--with paved runways: total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (1998 est.)
Airports--with unpaved runways: total: 6 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (1998 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Military manpower--military age: 19 years of age
Military manpower--availability: males age 15-49: 763,949 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--fit for military service: males age 15-49: 622,013 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--reaching military age annually: males: 32,954 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures--dollar figure: $60 million (1998)
Military expenditures--percent of GDP: 2% (1998)
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international: the Albanian Government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders but has downplayed them to further its primary foreign policy goal of regional cooperation; Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Serbian Republic; Albanians in The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia claim discrimination in education, access to public-sector jobs, and representation in government
Illicit drugs: increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and--to a far lesser extent--cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium and cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and rapidly expanding in Europe
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@Algeria -------
Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
Geographic coordinates: 28 00 N, 3 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 2,381,740 sq km land: 2,381,740 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area--comparative: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
Land boundaries: total: 6,343 km border countries: Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km, Mauritania 463 km, Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km, Western Sahara 42 km
Coastline: 998 km
Maritime claims: exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer
Terrain: mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m highest point: Tahat 3,003 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 2% other: 82% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 5,550 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mud slides
Environment--current issues: soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water
Environment--international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban
Geography--note: second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)
People
Population: 31,133,486 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 37% (male 5,911,910; female 5,696,538) 15-64 years: 59% (male 9,255,702; female 9,063,954) 65 years and over: 4% (male 559,570; female 645,812) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.1% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 27 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 5.52 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 43.82 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69.24 years male: 68.07 years female: 70.46 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.27 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Algerian(s) adjective: Algerian
Ethnic groups: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
Religions: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%
Languages: Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 61.6% male: 73.9% female: 49% (1995 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria conventional short form: Algeria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Shabiyah local short form: Al Jaza'ir
Data code: AG
Government type: republic
Capital: Algiers
Administrative divisions: 48 provinces (wilayas, singular--wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira, Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf, Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras, Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen
Independence: 5 July 1962 (from France)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 1 November (1954)
Constitution: 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996; note--referendum approving the revisions of 28 November 1996 was signed into law 7 December 1996
Legal system: socialist, based on French and Islamic law; judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials, including several Supreme Court justices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Liamine ZEROUAL (appointed president 31 January 1994, elected president 16 November 1995) head of government: Interim Prime Minister Smail HAMDANI (since 15 December 1998); note--appointed as interim prime minister until April 1999 presidential elections cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 November 1995 (next to be held NA April 1999; note--ZEROUAL announced in September 1998 his intention to step down after early presidential elections); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Liamine ZEROUAL elected president; percent of vote--Liamine ZEROUAL 61.3%
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the National People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani (380 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the Council of Nations (144 seats; one-third of the members appointed by the president, two-thirds elected by indirect vote; members serve six-year terms; created as a result of the constitutional revision of November 1996) elections: National People's Assembly--last held 5 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2001); elections for two-thirds of the Council of Nations--last held 25 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: National People's Assembly--percent of vote by party--NA%; seats by party--RND 156, MSP 69, FLN 62, Nahda Movement 34, FFS 20, RCD 19, PT 4, Republican Progressive Party 3, Union for Democracy and Freedoms 1, Liberal Social Party 1, independents 11; Council of Nations--percent of vote by party--NA%; seats by party--RND 80, FLN 10, FFS 4, MSP 2 (remaining 48 seats appointed by the president, party breakdown NA)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: Islamic Salvation Front or FIS BENHAMOUDA, secretary general]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS note: the government established a multiparty system in September 1989 and, as of 31 December 1990, over 50 legal parties existed; a new party law was enacted in March 1997
International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ramtane LAMAMRA chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Cameron R. HUME embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers mailing address: B. P. Box 549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers
Flag description: two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white with a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion)
Economy