The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency (ebook reader 8 inch .txt) 📕

growth rate:

13.7% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$5,800 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 17.2% industry: 36.4% services: 46.4% (2007 est.)

Labor force:

1.2 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 46.2% industry: 15.6% services: 38.2% (2006 est.)

Unemployment rate:

7.1% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:

26.5% (2006 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 1.6% highest 10%: 41.3% (2004)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

37 (2006)

Investment (gross fixed):

33.6% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $1.666 billion expenditures: $1.735 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2007 est.)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

4.4% (2007 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

17.52% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:

$1.507 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:

$765.2 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:

$1.256 billion (31 December 2007)

Agriculture - products:

fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock

Industries:

diamond-processing, metal-cutting machine tools, forging-pressing machines, electric motors, tires, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, chemicals, trucks, instruments, microelectronics, jewelry manufacturing, software development, food processing, brandy

Industrial production growth rate:

3.2% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

5.544 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

4.539 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports:

322.6 million kWh; note - exports an unknown quantity to Georgia; includes exports to Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:

400.6 million kWh; note - imports an unknown quantity from Iran (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 42.3% hydro: 27% nuclear: 30.7% other: 0% (2001)

Oil - production:

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption:

41,090 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:

0 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports:

44,670 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:

0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

2.05 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

2.05 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

0 cu m (1 January 2006)

Current account balance:

-$571.4 million (2007 est.)

Exports:

$1.2 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

pig iron, unwrought copper, nonferrous metals, diamonds, mineral products, foodstuffs, energy

Exports - partners:

Russia 17.5%, Germany 14.7%, Netherlands 13.5%, Belgium 8.7%, Georgia 7.6%, US 6.6%, Switzerland 4.3%, Bulgaria 4.1%, Ukraine 4% (2007)

Imports:

$2.807 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:

natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds

Imports - partners:

Russia 15.1%, Ukraine 7.7%, Kazakhstan 7.4%, Germany 6.8%, China 6%,
France 4.6%, US 4.5%, Iraq 4.3% (2007)

Economic aid - recipient:

ODA, $180 million (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$1.657 billion (December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:

$1.372 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$42.8 million (2005)

Currency (code):

dram (AMD)

Currency code:

AMD

Exchange rates:

drams (AMD) per US dollar - 344.06 (2007), 414.69 (2006), 457.69 (2005), 533.45 (2004), 578.76 (2003)

Communications
Armenia

Telephones - main lines in use:

603,900 (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

1,185,400 (2006)

Telephone system:

general assessment: telecommunications investments have made major inroads in modernizing and upgrading the outdated telecommunications network inherited from the Soviet era; now 100% privately owned and undergoing modernization and expansion; mobile-cellular services monopoly terminated in late 2004 and a second provider began operations in mid-2005 domestic: reliable modern landline and mobile-cellular services are available across Yerevan in major cities and towns; significant but ever-shrinking gaps remain in mobile-cellular coverage in rural areas international: country code - 374; Yerevan is connected to the Trans-Asia-Europe fiber-optic cable through Iran; additional international service is available by microwave radio relay and landline connections to the other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, through the Moscow international switch, and by satellite to the rest of the world; satellite earth stations - 3 (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 9, FM 16, shortwave 1 (2006)

Radios:

850,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

48 (private television stations alongside 2 public networks; major Russian channels widely available) (2006)

Televisions:

825,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.am

Internet hosts:

26,081 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

9 (2001)

Internet users:

172,800 (2006)

Transportation
Armenia

Airports:

12 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 10 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)

Pipelines:

gas 2,036 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 839 km broad gauge: 839 km 1.520-m gauge (828 km electrified) note: some lines are out of service (2006)

Roadways:

total: 7,700 km paved: 7,700 km (includes 1,561 km of expressways) (2006)

Military
Armenia

Military branches:

Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Nagorno-Karabakh Self Defense Force
(NKSDF), Air Force and Air Defense (2008)

Military service age and obligation:

18-27 years of age for voluntary or compulsory military service; 2-year conscript service obligation (2007)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 809,576 females age 16-49: 870,864 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 637,776 females age 16-49: 729,846 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 30,548 female: 29,170 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

6.5% of GDP (FY01)

Transnational Issues
Armenia

Disputes - international:

Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh and since the early 1990s, has militarily occupied 16% of Azerbaijan - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute; over 800,000 mostly ethnic Azerbaijanis were driven from the occupied lands and Armenia; about 230,000 ethnic Armenians were driven from their homes in Azerbaijan into Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh; Azerbaijan seeks transit route through Armenia to connect to Naxcivan exclave; border with Turkey remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh dispute; ethnic Armenian groups in Javakheti region of Georgia seek greater autonomy; Armenians continue to emigrate, primarily to Russia, seeking employment

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 113,295 (Azerbaijan) IDPs: 8,400 (conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, majority have returned home since 1994 ceasefire) (2007)

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: Armenia is primarily a source country for women and girls trafficked to the UAE and Turkey for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; Armenian men and women are trafficked to Turkey and Russia for the purpose of forced labor tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Armenia is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for a fourth consecutive year; its efforts to increase compliance with the minimum standards were assessed based on its commitments to undertake future actions, particularly in the areas of improving victim protection and assistance; while the government elevated anti-trafficking responsibilities to the ministerial level, adopted a new National Action Plan, and drafted a National Referral Mechanism, it has yet to show tangible progress in identifying and protecting victims or in tackling trafficking complicity of government officials; the Armenian Government made some notable improvements in its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts, but it failed to demonstrate evidence of investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and sentences of officials complicit in trafficking (2008)

Illicit drugs:

illicit cultivation of small amount of cannabis for domestic consumption; minor transit point for illicit drugs - mostly opium and hashish - moving from Southwest Asia to Russia and to a lesser extent the rest of Europe

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Aruba

Introduction
Aruba

Background:

Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990.

Geography
Aruba

Location:

Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela

Geographic coordinates:

12 30 N, 69 58 W

Map references:

Central America and the Caribbean

Area:

total: 193 sq km land: 193 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly larger than Washington, DC

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

68.5 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate:

tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain:

flat with a few hills; scant vegetation

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 m

Natural resources:

NEGL; white sandy beaches

Land use:

arable land: 10.53% permanent crops: 0% other: 89.47% (2005)

Irrigated land:

0.01 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:

hurricanes; lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt and is rarely threatened

Environment - current issues:

NA

Geography - note:

a flat, riverless island renowned for its white sand beaches; its tropical climate is moderated by constant trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean; the temperature is almost constant at about 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit)

People
Aruba

Population:

101,541 note: estimate based on a revision of the base population, fertility, and mortality numbers, as well as a revision of 1985-1999 migration estimates from outmigration to inmigration, which is assumed to continue into the future; the new results are consistent with the 2000 census (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 19.4% (male 9,933/female 9,747) 15-64 years: 70.3% (male 34,123/female 37,228) 65 years and over: 10.4% (male 4,189/female 6,321) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 37.6 years male: 35.8 years female: 39.3 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.501% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

12.81 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

7.65 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

9.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.9 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 14.26 deaths/1,000 live births male: 18.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 75.06 years male: 72.03 years female: 78.14 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.85 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

NA

Nationality:

noun: Aruban(s) adjective: Aruban; Dutch

Ethnic groups:

mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80%, other 20%

Religions:

Roman Catholic 80.8%, Protestant 9%, other (includes Hindu, Muslim,
Confucian, Jewish) 5.6%, none or unspecified 4.6%

Languages:

Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 66.3%, Spanish 12.6%, English (widely spoken) 7.7%, Dutch (official) 5.8%, other 2.2%, unspecified or unknown 5.3% (2000 census)

Literacy:

definition: NA total population: 97.3% male: 97.5% female: 97.1% (2000 census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 14 years male: 13 years female: 14 years (2006)

Education expenditures:

4.8% of GDP (2005)

Government
Aruba

Country name:

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Aruba

Dependency status:

member country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs

Government type:

parliamentary democracy

Capital:

name: Oranjestad geographic coordinates: 12 31 N, 70 02 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Independence:

none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

National holiday:

Flag Day, 18 March (1976)

Constitution:

1 January 1986

Legal system:

based