Background Note: Bhutan

Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Kingdom of Bhutan

Geography
Area: 46,500 sq. km.
Cities: Capital--Thimphu (pop. approx. 55,000) Other significant cities--Paro, Phoentsholing, Punakha, Bumthong.
Terrain: Mountainous, from the Himalayas to lower-lying foothills and some savannah.
Climate: Alpine to temperate to subtropical with monsoon season from June to September.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Bhutanese.
Population: Approximately 672,425 (according to the 2005 census). Domestic and international estimates of the population vary greatly.
Annual population growth rate (2007 est.): 2.082%. Density--45 per sq. km.
Ethnic groups: Drukpa 50% (which is also inclusive of Sharchops), as well as ethnic Nepalese (Lhotsampas) 35%, and indigenous or migrant tribes 15%.
Religions: Lamaistic Buddhist 75% (state religion), Indian- and Nepalese-influenced Hinduism 25%.
Languages: Dzongkha (official language), Bumthang-kha, English (medium of instruction), Sharchop-kha, Nepali.
Education: Years compulsory--11. Literacy--59.5% (Ministry of Education General Statistics 2007). Primary school net enrollment rate 82.1% (UNDP). Women's literacy--59.5% (2007).
Health: Infant mortality rate (2007 est.)--total: 96.37 deaths/1,000 live births; male: 94.09 deaths/1,000 live births; female: 98.77 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy --total population 67 years; male 69.1 years; female 59.5 years (Ministry of Education General Statistics 2007).
Work force (2005): Agriculture--94%; industry--1%; services--5%. The unemployment rate is 3.1% (2005 est.).

Government
Type: Constitutional monarchy.
Constitution: The Royal Government, prompted by the King, initiated a draft constitution in 2003, which was published in 2005. On July 18, 2008, the parliament formally adopted the constitution, marking the final step in Bhutan's historic transition from absolute monarchy to parliamentary democracy.
Branches: Executive--prime minister, cabinet. Legislative--parliament (National Council and National Assembly). The king appoints five members of the National Council and the remaining members are elected. Elections for the National Council (upper house) took place in December 2007. The 47-member National Assembly (lower house) was elected in March 2008. Judicial--High Court (Thrimkhang Gogma), District Courts, and local area arbitration.
National Day: December 17 (1907).
Administrative subdivisions (dzongkhags): 20.
Political parties: Two. Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) and People's Democratic Party (PDP).
Suffrage: Registered resident with legitimate citizenship, age 18 and above.

Economy
GDP (purchasing power parity 2007 est.): U.S. $3.359 billion.
Real growth rate (2007): 8.5%.
Per capita GDP PPP (2007 est.): U.S. $5,200.
Natural resources: hydroelectricity, timber, limestone, clay, and slate.
Sectors as percent of GDP (all figures, 2006-2007): Agriculture--22.3%; industry--37.9%; services--39.8%.
Trade: Principal exports (2006-2007)--electricity 26.5%, recorded media 16.8%, palm oil 7.4%, copper wire 6.2%. Principal imports (2006-2007)--diesel fuel 7.9%, copper wires 7.3%, crude palm oil 5.5%, petrol 3.1%. Major trade partners--India, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, Singapore, and Thailand.

PEOPLE
The people of Bhutan can be divided into three broad ethnic categories--Ngalops, Sharchops, and Lhotsampas. The Ngalops make up the majority of the population, living mostly in the western and central areas. The Ngalops are thought to be of Tibetan origin, arriving in Bhutan during the 8th and 9th centuries A.D. and bringing Buddhism with them. Most Ngalops follow the Drukpa Kagyupa discipline of Mahayana Buddhism. In a country that is deeply rooted within the Buddhist religion, many people's sect of religion, as opposed to their ethnic group, characterizes them. The Ngalops predominate in the government, and the civil service and their cultural norms have been declared by the monarchy to be the standard for all citizens.

The Sharchops, who live in the eastern section of Bhutan, are considered to be descendants of the earliest major group to inhabit Bhutan. Most follow the Ningmapa discipline of Mahayana Buddhism. Sharchop is translated as "people of the east." The Ngalops, Sharchops, and the indigenous tribal people are collectively known as Drukpas and account for about 65% of the population. The national language is Dzongkha, but English is the language of instruction in schools and an official working language for the government.

The Lhotsampas are people of Nepali descent, currently making up 35% of the population. They came to Bhutan in the 19th and 20th centuries, mostly settling in the southern foothills to work as farmers. They speak a variety of Nepali dialects and are predominantly Hindu.

HISTORY
Bhutan's early history is steeped in mythology and remains obscure. It may have been inhabited as early as 2000 B.C., but not much was known until the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism in the 9th century A.D. when turmoil in Tibet forced many monks to flee to Bhutan. In the 12th century A.D., the Drukpa Kagyupa school was established and remains the dominant form of Buddhism in Bhutan today. The country's political history is intimately tied to its religious history and the relations among the various monastic schools and monasteries.

The consolidation of Bhutan occurred in 1616 when Ngawana Namgyal, a lama from Tibet, defeated three Tibetan invasions, subjugated rival religious schools, codified an intricate and comprehensive system of law, and established himself as ruler (shabdrung) over a system of ecclesiastical and civil administrators. After his death, infighting and civil war eroded the power of the shabdrung for the next 200 years when in 1885, Ugyen Wangchuck was able to consolidate power and cultivated closer ties with the British in India.

In 1907, Ugyen Wangchuck was elected as the hereditary ruler of Bhutan, crowned on December 17, 1907, and installed as the head of state Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King). In 1910, King Ugyen and the British signed the Treaty of Punakha which provided that British India would not interfere in the internal affairs of Bhutan if the country accepted external advice in its external relations. When Ugyen Wangchuck died in 1926, his son Jigme Wangchuck became the next ruler, and when India gained independence in 1947, the new Indian Government recognized Bhutan as an independent country. In 1949, India and Bhutan signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which provided that India would not interfere in Bhutan's internal affairs but would be guided by India in its foreign policy. Succeeded in 1952 by his son Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Bhutan began to slowly emerge from its isolation and began a program of planned development. Bhutan became a member of the United Nations in 1971, and during his tenure the National Assembly was established and a new code of law, as well as the Royal Bhutanese Army and the High Court.

In 1972, Jigme Singye Wangchuck ascended the throne at age 16. He emphasized modern education, decentralization of governance, the development of hydroelectricity and tourism and improvements in rural developments. He was perhaps best known internationally for his overarching development philosophy of "Gross National Happiness." It recognizes that there are many dimensions to development and that economic goals alone are not sufficient. Satisfied with Bhutan's transitioning democratization process, he abdicated in December 2006 rather than wait until the promulgation of the new constitution in 2008. His son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, became King upon his abdication.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Traditionally a decentralized theocracy and, since 1907, a monarchy, Bhutan completed its successful transition to a constitutional monarchy in 2008. Bhutanese officials began preparations for the first-ever elections in 2006, shortly before King Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicated in December 2006. The National Council of the new bicameral parliament was elected in December 2007, and National Assembly elections followed in March 2008. The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) won 44 out of 47 seats in the latter election in which 80% of the 320,000 registered voters cast a ballot.

Migration by Nepalis into southern Bhutan began in the early 19th century. Currently these and other ethnic Nepalis, referred to as Lhotsampas, comprise 35% of Bhutan's population. In 1988, the government census led to the branding of many ethnic Nepalis as illegal immigrants. Local Lhotshampa leaders responded with anti-government rallies demanding citizenship and attacks against government institutions. Between 1988-1993, thousands of ethnic Nepalis fled to refugee camps in Nepal alleging ethnic and political repression. As of January 20, 2010, 85,544 refugees resided in seven camps. Bhutan and Nepal have been working for over seven years to resolve the refugee problem and repatriate certain refugees living in Nepal. The resettlement of Bhutanese refugees from the camps in Nepal to the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand is proceeding, with over 26,000 refugees repatriated to third countries (over 23,000 are now settled in the U.S.). The transition to democracy may improve the situation: of its 47 candidates, the DPT fielded nine Nepali speakers. Officials from both the DPT and PDP have said that resolving the grievances of ethnic Nepalis is a priority.

The spiritual head of Bhutan, the Je Khempo--the only person besides the king who wears the saffron scarf, an honor denoting his authority over all religious institutions--is nominated by monastic leaders and appointed by the king. The Monk Body is involved in advising the government on many levels.

Bhutan is divided into 20 districts or dzongkhags, each headed by a district officer (dzongda) who must be elected. Larger dzongkhags are further divided into subdistricts called dungkhags. A group of villages are grouped to form a constituency called gewog, administered by a locally elected leader entitled a gup. There are 201 elected gups. In 2002, the National Assembly created a new structure for local governance at the geog level. Each local area is responsible for creating and implementing its own development plan, in coordination with the district.

Principal Government Officials
Head of State--King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
Prime Minister--Jigme Y. Thinley
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Ugyen Tshering
Minister for Economic Affairs--Khandu Wangchuk
Minister for Trade and Industry--Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba
Minister for Home and Cultural Affairs--Minjur Dorji
Minister for Finance--Wangdi Norbu
Minister for Education--Thakur Singh Powdyel
Minister for Health--Zangley Dukpa
Minister for Labor and Human Resources--Dorji Wangdi
Minister for Works and Human Settlements--Yeshey Zimba
Minister for Information and Communications--Nandalal Rai
Minister for Agriculture--Pema Gyamtsho
Ambassador to the United Nations Headquarters--Lyonpo Daw Penjo

The United States and the Kingdom of Bhutan have not established formal diplomatic relations; however, the two governments have warm informal relations.

Bhutan maintains a Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. The address is 763 First Avenue, New York, NY 10017; tel: 212-682-2268, fax: 212-661-0551.

ECONOMY
The economy, one of the world's smallest and least developed, is based on hydroelectricity, tourism, agriculture, and forestry. Rugged terrain makes it difficult to develop roads and other infrastructure. Despite this constraint, hydroelectricity and construction continue to be the two major industries of growth for the country. As these two economic sectors contribute to increased productivity, Bhutan's development prospects are positive. The Tala hydroelectric project, completed March 2007, has bolstered government revenue and exports, and will continue to do so for the next several years. In late 2009, Bhutan signed four memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with India to prepare four additional hydroelectric projects in Bhutan.

The Bhutanese Government expects the tourism sector to expand as well; however, restrictions on visitor numbers and minimum per-day spending requirements will impede rapid growth.

Bhutan's tenth five-year plan (2008-2013) focuses on ways to manage the country's new-found wealth with special emphasis on three development areas: rural, regional, and private-sector. India has pledged to support the plan and promised to double the amount of aid given to Bhutan in the previous five-year plan. The parliament had not yet finalized the tenth five-year plan as of October 2008; it intended to do so during the next session later in 2008.

Bhutan's economy has been on an upturn due to recent subregional economic cooperation efforts. Already this plan has strengthened the current trade relations with India, as well as opened an avenue of trade with Bangladesh. In May 2003, the Bilateral Free Trade Agreement between Bangladesh and Bhutan was re-signed. Bangladesh is Bhutan's second largest trade partner, after India. In January 2004, as a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Bhutan also joined the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA); Bhutan will host the SAARC summit in Thimphu in April 2010. In February 2004 Bhutan joined the Bangladesh, Indian, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand Economic Cooperation Forum (BIMSTEC). Bhutan has applied for membership in the World Trade Organization and is in the process of developing clear legal and regulatory systems designed to promote business development

FOREIGN RELATIONS

India
India is Bhutan's largest trade and development partner, providing significant amounts of foreign aid and investment. Traditionally, the 1949 Treaty of Peace and Friendship governed relations between the countries. In February 2007, India and Bhutan signed a new treaty removing the clause that India will "guide" Bhutan's foreign policy and allowing Bhutan to purchase military equipment from other countries. However, bilateral ties remain close, demonstrated by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's May 2008 visit to Thimpu during which he addressed the newly elected parliament. Prime Minister Jigme Thinley returned the gesture when he made his first official trip abroad as prime minister to New Delhi in July 2008; King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck also visited India in December 2009.

In recent years, insurgents on the Indian side of the border from the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and the Bodos have used Bhutan as a safe haven. In December 2003, Bhutan military troops expelled Indian insurgents from Assam. Through this joint effort with India, Bhutan strengthened border security and continued cooperation with the Indian military.

China
Bhutan and China do not have diplomatic relations, although they have engaged in 19 rounds of high-level talks regarding a border dispute over three Chinese-built roads which the Bhutanese Government alleges encroach on its territory. Although the current official trade between the countries is minimal, the Chinese Government announced that trade had increased by 3,000% from 2006 to 2007.

Nepal
Bhutan and Nepal established diplomatic relations in 1983 and are still negotiating a solution to a protracted refugee situation, in which over 85,000 refugees reside in seven UNHCR camps in Nepal. Most of the refugees claim Bhutanese citizenship, while Bhutan alleges that they are non-nationals or "voluntary emigrants," who forfeited their citizenship rights. In 2003, a joint Bhutan-Nepal verification team categorized refugees from one camp into four groups, but progress remains stalled. Out of these refugee camps have arisen several insurgent groups, such as the Bhutan Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist), the Bhutan Tiger Force, and the United Revolutionary Front of Bhutan. Bhutanese security forces blamed these groups for a series of bombings targeting the country in the lead-up to the 2008 parliamentary elections.

United Nations
Bhutan became a member of the United Nations in 1971. Bhutan does not have diplomatic relations with any of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Bhutan was elected to the UN Commission on Human Rights in 2003 and served until 2006.

Other Countries
Bhutan enjoys diplomatic relations with seven European nations, which form The "Friends of Bhutan" group, together with Japan. These countries are Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, and Austria. Also known as donor nations, they contribute generously to Bhutanese development and social programs. Bhutan also has diplomatic relations with South Korea, Canada, Australia, Kuwait, Thailand, Bahrain, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

DEFENSE
Bhutan has 8,000 members in five military branches: the Royal Bhutan Army, Royal Bodyguard, National Militia, Royal Bhutan Police, and Forest Guards. In FY 2002, the Bhutanese Government spent 1.9% of its GDP on the military or U.S. $9.3 million. India maintains a permanent military training presence in Bhutan through IMTRAT, the Indian Military Training Team.

U.S.-BHUTAN RELATIONS
The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, has consular responsibilities for Bhutan, but U.S. citizens also may request assistance from U.S. Embassies in Kathmandu, Nepal, or Dhaka, Bangladesh. The United States and Bhutan do not have diplomatic relations, and the United States does not give foreign assistance to Bhutan. Informal contact is maintained through the U.S. Embassy and the Bhutanese Embassy in New Delhi. Bhutan does participate in a regional program for South Asia sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that helps countries develop their power infrastructure (SARI-E). A few Bhutanese military officers have attended courses at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. The U.S. Government annually brings several Bhutanese participants to United States through its International Visitors and Fulbright Programs.

Principal U.S. Officials (U.S. Embassy, India)
Ambassador--Timothy J. Roemer
Deputy Chief of Mission--Steven White
Public Affairs--Michael Pelletier
Political Affairs--Uzra Zeya
Economic and Scientific Affairs--Blair Hall
Commercial Affairs--Carmine D'Aloisio
Agricultural Affairs--Holly Higgins
Management Affairs--Gerri O'Brien
Consular Affairs--James Herman
USAID Mission, Director--Erin Soto

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.

Background Note: Zambia

Bureau of African Affairs

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Zambia

Geography
Area: 752,612 sq. km. (290,585 sq. mi.); slightly larger than Texas.
Cities: Capital--Lusaka (pop. approx. 1.7 million).
Other cities: Kitwe, Ndola, Livingstone, Kabwe.
Terrain: Varies; mostly plateau savanna.
Climate: Generally dry and temperate.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Zambian(s).
Population (mid-2009 est.): Approx. 12.9 million.
Annual growth rate (2009): 2.9%.
Ethnic groups: More than 70 ethnic groups.
Religions: Christian, indigenous beliefs, Muslim, Hindu.
Languages: English (official), about 70 local languages and dialects, including Bemba, Lozi, Kaonde, Lunda, Luvale, Tonga, and Nyanja.
Education: No compulsory education; seven years free education. Literacy--women: 60.6%; men: 81.6%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--70/1,000. Life expectancy--38.63 years. HIV prevalence (15-49)--14.3%.
Work force: Agriculture--75%; mining and manufacturing--6%; services--19%.

Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: October 24, 1964.
Constitution: 1991 (as amended in 1996).
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state and head of government), cabinet. Legislative--unicameral National Assembly. Judicial--Supreme Court, high court, magistrate courts, and local courts.
Ruling political party: Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD).
Suffrage: Universal adult.
Subdivisions: Nine provinces subdivided into 72 districts.

Economy
GDP (2008, purchasing power parity): $17.39 billion.
Annual growth rate (2009, projected): 4.3%.
Per capita GDP (2008, current prices): $1,500.
Natural resources: Copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydroelectric power, fertile land.
Agriculture: Products--corn, sorghum, rice, groundnuts, sunflower seeds, vegetables, fruits, flowers, tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, livestock, coffee, and soybeans.
Industry: Types--mining, transport, construction, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, and textiles.
Trade (2008 est.): Exports--$5.08 billion: copper, cobalt, lead, and zinc, cut vegetables, cotton, tobacco. Major markets--Switzerland, China, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Malawi. Imports--$5.06 billion: crude oil, refined petroleum products, manufactured goods, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals. Major suppliers--South Africa, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, United Kingdom.
Major donors: Donor contributions totaled $989 million in 2008, as reported by Ministry of Finance and National Planning. The World Bank is Zambia's largest multilateral donor. Other key multilateral donors include the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Union, UN agencies, and the African Development Bank. Counting direct bilateral assistance and assistance through multilateral agencies, the United States is Zambia's largest country donor, amounting to approximately $330 million in 2008.

PEOPLE
Zambia's population comprises more than 70 Bantu-speaking ethnic groups. Some ethnic groups are small, and only two have enough people to constitute at least 10% of the population. Most Zambians are subsistence farmers. The predominant religion is a blend of traditional beliefs and Christianity; Christianity is the official national religion. Expatriates, a majority of whom are British (about 15,000) and South African, live mainly in Lusaka and in the Copperbelt in northern Zambia, where they are employed in mines and related activities. Zambia also has a small but economically important Asian population, most of whom are Indians. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is ravaging Zambia. Approximately 14.3% of Zambians are infected by HIV. Over 800,000 Zambian children have lost one or both of their parents due to HIV/AIDS. Life expectancy at birth is 38.63 years.

HISTORY
The indigenous hunter-gatherer occupants of Zambia began to be displaced or absorbed by more advanced migrating tribes about 2,000 years ago. The major waves of Bantu-speaking immigrants began in the 15th century, with the greatest influx between the late 17th and early 19th centuries. They came primarily from the Luba and Lunda tribes of southern Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Angola but were joined in the 19th century by Ngoni peoples from the south. By the latter part of that century, the various peoples of Zambia were largely established in the areas they currently occupy.

Except for an occasional Portuguese explorer, the area lay untouched by Europeans for centuries. After the mid-19th century, it was penetrated by Western explorers, missionaries, and traders. David Livingstone, in 1855, was the first European to see the magnificent waterfalls on the Zambezi River. He named the falls after Queen Victoria, and the Zambian town near the falls is named after him.

In 1888, Cecil Rhodes, spearheading British commercial and political interests in Central Africa, obtained a mineral rights concession from local chiefs. In the same year, Northern and Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe, respectively) were proclaimed a British sphere of influence. Southern Rhodesia was annexed formally and granted self-government in 1923, and the administration of Northern Rhodesia was transferred to the British colonial office in 1924 as a protectorate.

In 1953, both Rhodesias were joined with Nyasaland (now Malawi) to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Northern Rhodesia was the center of much of the turmoil and crisis that characterized the federation in its last years. At the core of the controversy were insistent African demands for greater participation in government and European fears of losing political control.

A two-stage election held in October and December 1962 resulted in an African majority in the legislative council and an uneasy coalition between the two African nationalist parties. The council passed resolutions calling for Northern Rhodesia's secession from the federation and demanding full internal self-government under a new constitution and a new national assembly based on a broader, more democratic franchise. On December 31, 1963, the federation was dissolved, and Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on October 24, 1964.

At independence, despite its considerable mineral wealth, Zambia faced major challenges. Domestically, there were few trained and educated Zambians capable of running the government, and the economy was largely dependent on foreign expertise. Abroad, three of its neighbors--Southern Rhodesia and the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola--remained under white-dominated rule. Rhodesia's white-ruled government unilaterally declared independence in 1965. In addition, Zambia shared a border with South African-controlled South-West Africa (now Namibia). Zambia's sympathies lay with forces opposing colonial or white-dominated rule, particularly in Southern Rhodesia. During the next decade, it actively supported movements such as the Union for the Total Liberation of Angola (UNITA), the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC), and the South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO).

Conflicts with Rhodesia resulted in the closing of Zambia's borders with that country and severe problems with international transport and power supply. However, the Kariba hydroelectric station on the Zambezi River provided sufficient capacity to satisfy the country's requirements for electricity. A railroad to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam, built with Chinese assistance, reduced Zambian dependence on railroad lines south to South Africa and west through an increasingly troubled Angola.

By the late 1970s, Mozambique and Angola had attained independence from Portugal. Zimbabwe achieved independence in accordance with the 1979 Lancaster House agreement, but Zambia's problems were not solved. Civil war in the former Portuguese colonies generated refugees and caused continuing transportation problems. The Benguela Railroad, which extended west through Angola, was essentially closed to traffic from Zambia by the late 1970s. Zambia's strong support for the ANC, which had its external headquarters in Lusaka, created security problems as South Africa raided ANC targets in Zambia.

In the mid-1970s, the price of copper, Zambia's principal export, suffered a severe decline worldwide. Zambia turned to foreign and international lenders for relief, but as copper prices remained depressed, it became increasingly difficult to service its growing debt.

In response to growing popular demand, and after lengthy, difficult negotiations between the Kaunda government and opposition groups, Zambia enacted a new constitution in 1991 and shortly thereafter became a multi-party democracy. Kaunda's successor, Frederick Chiluba, made efforts to liberalize the economy and privatize industry, but allegations of massive corruption characterized the latter part of his administration. By the mid-1990s, despite limited debt relief, Zambia's per capita foreign debt remained among the highest in the world.

Although poverty continues to be a significant problem in Zambia, its economy has stabilized, attaining single-digit inflation in 2006-2007, real GDP growth, decreasing interest rates, and increasing levels of trade. Much of its growth is due to foreign investment in Zambia's mining sector and higher copper prices on the world market. In 2005, Zambia qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, consisting of approximately U.S. $6 billion in debt relief.

GOVERNMENT
Zambia became a republic immediately upon attaining independence in October 1964. The constitution promulgated on August 25, 1973, abrogated the original 1964 constitution. The new constitution and the national elections that followed in December 1973 were the final steps in achieving what was called a "one-party participatory democracy."

The 1973 constitution provided for a strong president and a unicameral National Assembly. National policy was formulated by the Central Committee of the United National Independence Party (UNIP), the sole legal party in Zambia. The cabinet executed the central committee's policy.

In accordance with the intention to formalize UNIP supremacy in the new system, the constitution stipulated that the sole candidate in elections for the office of president was the person selected to be the president of UNIP by the party's general conference. The second-ranking person in the Zambian hierarchy was UNIP's secretary general.

In December 1990, at the end of a tumultuous year that included riots in the capital and a coup attempt, President Kenneth Kaunda signed legislation ending UNIP's monopoly on power. Zambia enacted a new constitution in August 1991, which enlarged the National Assembly from 136 members to a maximum of 158 members, established an electoral commission, and allowed for more than one presidential candidate who no longer had to be a member of UNIP. The constitution was amended again in 1996 to set new limits on the presidency (including a retroactive two-term limit, and a requirement that both parents of a candidate be Zambian-born). The National Assembly is comprised of 150 directly elected members, up to eight presidentially-appointed members, and a speaker. Zambia is divided into nine provinces, each administered by an appointed deputy minister who essentially performs the duties of a governor.

The Supreme Court is the highest court and the court of appeal; below it are the high court, magistrate's court, and local courts.

Principal Government Officials
President--Rupiah Banda
Vice President and Minister of Justice--George Kunda
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Kabinga Pande
Minister of Defense--Kalombo Mwansa
Minister of Finance--Situmbeko Musokotwane
Minister of Health--Kapembwa Simbao
Ambassador to the United States--Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika
Ambassador to the United Nations--Lazarous Kapambwe

Zambia maintains an embassy in the United States at 2419 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel: 202-265-9717/8/9).

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The major figure in Zambian politics from 1964 to 1991 was Kenneth Kaunda, who led the campaign for independence and successfully bridged the rivalries among the country's various regions and ethnic groups. Kaunda tried to base government on his philosophy of "humanism," which condemned human exploitation and stressed cooperation among people, but not at the expense of the individual.

Kaunda's political party--the United National Independence Party (UNIP)--was founded in 1959 and was in power under Kaunda's leadership from 1964 to 1991. Before 1972, Zambia had three significant political parties, but only UNIP had a nationwide following.

In December 1972, Zambian law established a one-party state, and all other political parties were banned; this was later enshrined in the 1973 constitution. Kaunda, the sole candidate, was elected President in the 1973 elections. Elections also were held for the National Assembly. Only UNIP members were permitted to run, but these seats were sharply contested. President Kaunda's mandate was renewed in December 1978, October 1983, and October 1988 in a "yes" or "no" vote on his candidacy.

Growing opposition to UNIP's monopoly on power led to the rise in 1990 of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD). The MMD assembled an increasingly impressive group of important Zambians, including prominent UNIP defectors and labor leaders. Zambia's first multi-party elections for parliament and the presidency were held on October 31, 1991. MMD candidate Frederick Chiluba resoundingly carried the presidential election over Kenneth Kaunda with 81% of the vote. To add to the MMD landslide, in the parliamentary elections, the MMD won 125 of the 150 elected seats, and UNIP won the remaining 25.

By the end of Chiluba's first term as President (1996), the MMD's commitment to political reform had faded in the face of re-election aspirations. A number of prominent supporters founded opposing parties. Relying on the MMD's overwhelming majority in parliament, President Chiluba in May 1996 pushed through constitutional amendments that eliminated former President Kaunda and other prominent opposition leaders from the 1996 presidential elections. In the presidential and parliamentary elections held in November 1996, Chiluba was re-elected, and the MMD won 131 of the 150 seats in the National Assembly. Kaunda's UNIP party boycotted the parliamentary polls to protest the exclusion of its leader from the presidential race, alleging in addition that the outcome of the election had been predetermined due to a faulty voter registration exercise. As President Chiluba began his second term in 1997, the opposition and civil society challenged the results of the election amid international efforts to encourage the MMD and the opposition to resolve their differences through dialogue.

Early in 2001, supporters of President Chiluba mounted a campaign to amend the constitution to enable Chiluba to seek a third term of office. Civil society, opposition parties, and many members of the ruling party exerted sufficient pressure on Chiluba to force him to back away from any attempt at a third term.

Presidential, parliamentary, and local government elections were held on December 27, 2001. Eleven parties contested the elections. The elections encountered numerous administrative problems. Opposition parties alleged that serious irregularities occurred. Nevertheless, MMD presidential candidate Levy Mwanawasa, having garnered a plurality of the vote (29%), was declared the victor by a narrow margin, and he was sworn into office on January 2, 2002. Opposition parties won a majority of parliamentary seats in the December 2001 election, but subsequent by-elections gave the ruling MMD a majority in parliament.

During his first months in office, President Mwanawasa encouraged the Zambian Anticorruption Commission to aggressively pursue its mandate. In July 2002, in a speech before the Zambian National Assembly, President Mwanawasa provided details on a number of corruption allegations targeting former President Chiluba, and called for parliament to consider lifting Chiluba's immunity from prosecution.

On May 4, 2007, a British court found former president Chiluba and several others liable in a civil suit for misappropriating as much as $58 million of public resources, but the case has not yet been registered in Zambian courts and enforced. The government's Task Force on Corruption (originally established by former president Mwanwasa) has successfully prosecuted several cases of abuse of office and high-level corruption. In August 2009, and after 8 years, a Zambian magistrate acquitted Chiluba of corruption and the Government of Zambia decline to appeal the acquittal.

In February 2006 the government agreed to allow the formation of a Constituent Assembly to consider and adopt the draft constitution, subject to certain conditions. In August 2007, the Zambian parliament passed a government-sponsored law creating a National Constitutional Conference (NCC) charged with drafting a new constitution. The NCC, which is comprised of over 500 members drawn from parliament, political parties, civil society, and government, began meeting in late December 2007 and has had its mandate extended into 2010. Some members of civil society have refused to participate in the NCC, saying that its membership is too heavily stacked in the government's favor and pushing instead for the promised Constituent Assembly.

The Government of Zambia introduced very limited legislative changes to electoral procedures in mid-2006, including an electoral code of conduct and limits on politically-motivated donations and handouts. However, in parliamentary by-elections held in 2009, candidates from all parties violated the code of conduct, and the Electoral Commission of Zambia had insufficient capacity to enforce it.

President Mwanawasa died August 19, 2008 in a Paris hospital from complications of a stroke suffered June 29. In accordance with the constitution, Vice President Rupiah Banda assumed presidential powers but was required to hold elections within 90 days of Mwanawasa's death. Elections were held on October 30, 2008. Banda was declared the winner after narrowly defeating Michael Sata of the opposition Patriotic Front party by only 30,000 votes. International observers were satisfied overall with the conduct of the election and the management of the Electoral Commission of Zambia, although no voters had been registered since late 2005. Banda was sworn in on November 2, 2008 and announced new cabinet members on November 14. Banda has vowed to continue the business-friendly and corruption-fighting policies of his predecessor, but emerging corruption scandals in the Zambian Government and the acquittal of former President Chiluba have raised speculation about President Banda’s initial commitments to promote fiscal transparency and accountability and about his overall commitment to fighting corruption. Presidential and parliamentary elections are currently slated for 2011.

ECONOMY
About two-thirds of Zambians live in poverty. Per capita annual incomes are well below their levels at independence and, at $1,500, place the country among the world's poorest nations. Social indicators continue to decline, particularly in measurements of life expectancy at birth (about 39 years) and maternal mortality (101 per 1,000 live births). The country's rate of economic growth cannot support rapid population growth or the strain which HIV/AIDS-related issues (i.e., rising medical costs, decline in worker productivity) place on government resources. Zambia is also one of Sub-Saharan Africa's most highly urbanized countries. Over one-third of the country's 12.9 million people are concentrated in a few urban zones strung along the major transportation corridors, while rural areas are underpopulated. Unemployment and underemployment are serious problems.

HIV/AIDS is the nation's greatest challenge, with 14.3% prevalence among the adult population. HIV/AIDS will continue to ravage Zambian economic, political, cultural, and social development for the foreseeable future.

Once a middle-income country, Zambia began to slide into poverty in the 1970s when copper prices declined on world markets. The socialist government made up for falling revenue by increasing borrowing. After democratic multi-party elections, the Chiluba government (1991-2001) came to power in November 1991 committed to an economic reform program. The government was successful in some areas, such as privatization of most of the parastatals, maintenance of positive real interest rates, the elimination of exchange controls, and endorsement of free market principles. Corruption grew dramatically under the Chiluba government. Zambia has yet to address effectively issues such as reducing the size of the public sector and improving Zambia's social sector delivery systems.

For 30 years, copper production declined steadily from a 1973 high of 700,000 metric tons to a 2000 low of 226,192 metric tons. The decline was the result of poor management of state-owned mines and lack of investment. With the privatization of the mines in April 2000, the downward trend in production and exports was reversed as a result of investments in plant rehabilitation, expansion, increased exploration, and high copper prices on the international market. Copper production rose to 535,000 metric tons in 2007, but slumping copper prices in late 2008 put significant pressure on the mining companies and government revenue. Zambia experienced positive economic growth for the eleventh consecutive year in 2009, with a real growth rate of 4.3% (as projected by the government). The rate of inflation dropped from 30% in 2000 to single-digit inflation of 8.9% by December 2007 due to fiscal and monetary discipline and the growth of the domestic food supply. Year-on-year inflation rose above 14% in 2009, due to rising fuel and food prices.

In April 2005, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) provided Zambia significant debt service relief and debt forgiveness under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Zambia was the 17th country to reach the HIPC completion point and has benefited from approximately U.S. $6 billion in debt relief. In July 2005, the G-8 agreed on a proposal to cancel 100% of outstanding debt of eligible HIPC countries to the IMF, African Development Fund, and IDA. Zambia is among the beneficiaries of this additional multilateral debt relief. Zambia also completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement with the IMF for the period 2008-2011. The Zambian Government is pursuing an economic diversification program to reduce the economy's reliance on the copper industry. This initiative seeks to exploit other components of Zambia's rich resource base by promoting agriculture, tourism, gemstone mining, and hydropower. The government is also seeking to create an environment that encourages entrepreneurship and private-sector led growth.

Zambia's economy has weathered the effects of the global economic crisis and a subsequent fall in world copper prices. High inflation, currency volatility, rising unemployment, and restricted access to capital dampened Zambia’s economic performance in early 2009; however, copper prices have nearly returned to more stable, profit-yielding levels.

DEFENSE
The Zambian Defense Force (ZDF) consists of the army, the air force, and Zambian National Service (ZNS). The ZNS, while operating under the Ministry of Defense, is responsible primarily for public works projects. The ZDF is designed primarily for internal defense. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has hit the ZDF especially hard.

The ZDF has contributed to African Union and United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa, and in 2005 became a partner in the African Contingency Operations and Training Assistance (ACOTA) program. The first iteration of ACOTA peacekeeper training took place in 2007, but subsequent training sessions have been delayed.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Zambia is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the African Union, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), which is headquartered in Lusaka.

President Kaunda was a persistent and visible advocate of change in southern Africa, supporting liberation movements in Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), and South Africa. Many of these liberation organizations were based in Zambia during the 1970s and 1980s.

President Chiluba assumed a visible international role in the mid- and late 1990s. His government sponsored Angola peace talks that led to the 1994 Lusaka Protocols. Zambia provided troops to UN peacekeeping initiatives in Mozambique, Rwanda, Angola, and Sierra Leone. Zambia was the first African state to cooperate with the International Tribunal investigation of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

In 1998, Zambia took the lead in efforts to establish a cease-fire in Democratic Republic of the Congo. After the signing of a cease-fire agreement in Lusaka in July and August 1999, Zambia was active in supporting the Congolese peace effort, although activity diminished considerably after the Joint Military Commission tasked with implementing the ceasefire relocated to Kinshasa in September 2001.

During President Mwanawasa's administration, Zambia contributed troops to support UN peacekeeping operations in southern Sudan. During his tenure as SADC Chair, President Mwanawasa brought the issue of Zimbabwe to the fore in the SADC, taking a lead role in pressuring President Mugabe for reforms in his country. Zambia's history of stability and its commitment to regional peace has made it a haven for large numbers of refugees. Currently, Zambia hosts approximately 73,000 refugees (down from a high of 203,000 in 2002), including roughly 37,000 Congolese, 26,000 Angolans, and 9,000 other nationalities (mainly Rwandans, Burundians, and Somalis). In recent years, Zambia has made serious efforts to repatriate many of these refugees, including approximately 27,000 Congolese refugees in the past three years.

U.S.-ZAMBIAN RELATIONS
The United States and Zambia enjoy cordial relations. The United States works closely with the Zambian Government to defeat the HIV/AIDS pandemic that is ravaging Zambia, to promote economic growth and development, and to bring about political reform by promoting democratic principles and responsible government. The United States is also supporting the government's efforts to root out corruption. Zambia is a beneficiary of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and in December 2009 was re-selected as eligible for a Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) compact, for which it first qualified in 2008. The U.S. Government provides a variety of additional technical assistance and support that is managed by the Department of State, in cooperation with the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Centers for Disease Control, the Department of Treasury, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, and the Peace Corps. The majority of U.S. assistance is provided through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in support of the fight against HIV/AIDS.

In addition to supporting development projects, the United States has provided considerable emergency food aid during periods of drought and flooding through the World Food Program (WFP) and is a major contributor to refugee programs in Zambia through the UN High Commission for Refugees and other agencies.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
In 2008 USAID assistance to Zambia exceeded $210 million, including over $144 million for HIV/AIDS programs utilizing PEPFAR funding and $15 million to fight malaria. Other major programs include training and technical assistance to: promote economic growth with a focus on agriculture-related policy, trade, and production technologies; create health and educational opportunities to improve lives; and reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS through multi-sectoral responses. In addition, USAID helps build the capacity of the Government of Zambia to respond to emergency needs.

Peace Corps
A country agreement inviting the Peace Corps to work in Zambia was signed by the United States and Zambia on September 14, 1993. The first group of volunteers was sworn in on April 7, 1994. In 2009, the Peace Corps program in Zambia continued to increase understanding between Zambians and Americans. More than 160 two-year Volunteers and as many as 10 extension and Peace Corps Response Volunteers promote sustainable development through their activities in agricultural and natural resource management, health, rural education, and humanitarian assistance. Volunteers are working in eight of Zambia's nine provinces building local capacity to manage family fish farms, to promote food security and positive resource management practices near forest reserves, to implement health reforms at the village level, to promote and support rural education, and to extend HIV/AIDS education and prevention efforts through full participation in PEPFAR. Volunteers live primarily in rural villages in remote parts of the country without running water, electricity, or other amenities. New trainees undertake training in local language, culture, and the relevant technical specialty for 9 weeks at a center in the Chongwe district of Lusaka province.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Donald E. Booth
Deputy Chief of Mission--Michael Koplovsky
Public Affairs Officer--Priscilla Hernandez
Political/Economic Section Chief--Pamela Tremont
Consular Officer--Kate McGeary
Defense Attaché--Lt. Col. Derek West
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention--Lawrence Marum
USAID Mission Director--Melissa Williams
Peace Corps Director--Tom Kennedy

The U.S. Embassy in Zambia is at the corner of Independence and United Nations Avenues (P.O. Box 31617), Lusaka (tel: 260-1- 250955; fax 260-1-252225).

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.

Background Note: Benin

Bureau of African Affairs

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Benin

Geography
Area: 116,622 sq. km. (43,483 sq. mi.).
Cities: Capital--Porto-Novo (pop. 295,000). Political and economic capital--Cotonou (pop. 2 million).
Terrain: Mostly flat plains of 200 meters average elevation, but the Atacora Mountains extend along the northwest border, with the highest point being Mont Sokbaro 658 meters.
Climate: Tropical, average temperatures between 24^o and 31^oC. Humid in south; semiarid in north.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Beninese (singular and plural).
Population (2009): 8.79 million.
Annual growth rate (2008 est.): 3.2%.
Ethnic groups: African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Xwla, Fon, Adja, Yoruba, and Bariba),
Europeans 5,500.
Religions: Indigenous beliefs (animist) 35%, Christian 35%, Muslim 20%, others 10%,
Languages: French (official), Fon, Mina, Goun, and Yoruba in the south; Nagot, Bariba, and Dendi in the north.
Education (2008): Literacy--total population 44%; men 48%, women 23%.
Health (2008): Infant mortality rate--61/1,000. Life expectancy--55 yrs.
Work force: The labor market is characterized by an increased reliance on informal employment, family helpers, and the use of apprentices. Training and job opportunities are not well matched.

Government
Type: Republic under multiparty democratic rule.
Independence: August 1, 1960.
Constitution: December 11, 1990.
Branches: Executive--President, elected by popular vote for 5-year term, renewable once, appoints the Cabinet. Legislative--Unicameral, 83-seat National Assembly directly elected by popular vote for 4-year term. Judicial--Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, High Court of Justice.
Subdivisions: Twelve departments: Borgou, Alibori, Atakora, Donga, Zou, Collines, Mono, Couffo, Oueme, Plateau, Atlantique, and Littoral.
Political parties (partial listing of major parties): La Renaissance du Benin (RB), Party of Democratic Renewal (PRD), Social-Democrat Party (PSD), African Movement for Development and Progress (MADEP), Action Front for Democratic Renewal (FARD-ALAFIA), African Congress for Renewal (CAR-DUNYA), Impulse for Progress and Democracy (IPD), Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ADP), National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP), National Party Together (PNE), Key Force (FC), Hope Force (FE) Union for the Relief (UPR), Rally for Progress and Renewal (RPR), Movement for the People Alternative (MAP), Communist Party of Benin (PCB).

Economy
GDP (2009): $6.4 billion.
GDP growth rate (2009): 3.2%.
Per capita GDP (2009): $1,500.
Inflation rate (2009): 4%.
Natural resources: Small offshore oil deposits, unexploited deposits of high quality marble limestone, and timber.
Agricultural: Products--corn, sorghum, cassava, tapioca, yams, beans, rice, cotton, palm oil, cocoa, peanuts, poultry, and livestock. Arable land--13%. Permanent crops 4%, permanent pastures 4%, forests and woodland 31%.
Business and industry: Textiles, cigarettes, food and beverages, construction materials, petroleum.
Trade: Exports--$1.024 billion: cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood. Imports--$1.54 billion: foodstuffs, tobacco, petroleum products, energy, and capital goods. Major trade partners--Nigeria, France, China, Italy, Brazil, Libya, Indonesia, U.K., Cote d'Ivoire.

GEOGRAPHY
Benin, a narrow, north-south strip of land in West Africa, lies between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer. Benin's latitude ranges from 6^o30N to 12^o30N and its longitude from 10E to 3^o40E. Benin is bounded by Togo to the west, Burkina Faso and Niger to the north, Nigeria to the east, and the Bight of Benin to the south. With an area of 112,622 square kilometers, roughly the size of Pennsylvania, Benin extends from the Niger River in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the south, a distance of 700 kilometers (about 500 mi.). Although the coastline measures 121 kilometers (about 80 mi.), the country measures about 325 kilometers (about 215 mi.) at its widest point. It is one of the smaller countries in West Africa: eight times smaller than Nigeria, its neighbor to the east. It is, however, twice as large as Togo, its neighbor to the west. A relief map of Benin shows that it has little variation in elevation (average elevation 200 meters).

The country can be divided into four main areas from the south to the north. The low-lying, sandy, coastal plain (highest elevation 10 meters) is, at most, 10 kilometers wide. It is marshy and dotted with lakes and lagoons communicating with the ocean. The plateaus of southern Benin (altitude between 20 meters and 200 meters) are split by valleys running north to south along the Couffo, Zou, and Oueme Rivers. An area of flat lands dotted with rocky hills whose altitude seldom reaches 400 meters extends around Nikki and Save. Finally, a range of mountains extends along the northwest border and into Togo; this is the Atacora, with the highest point, Mont Sokbaro, at 658 meters. Two types of landscape predominate in the south. Benin has fields of lying fallow, mangroves, and remnants of large sacred forests. In the rest of the country, the savanna is covered with thorny scrubs and dotted with huge baobab trees. Some forests line the banks of rivers. In the north and the northwest of Benin the Reserve du W du Niger and Pendjari National Park attract tourists eager to see elephants, lions, antelopes, hippos, and monkeys.

Benin's climate is hot and humid. Annual rainfall in the coastal area averages 36 cm. (14 in.), not particularly high for coastal West Africa. Benin has two rainy and two dry seasons. The principal rainy season is from April to late July, with a shorter less intense rainy period from late September to November. The main dry season is from December to April, with a short cooler dry season from late July to early September. Temperatures and humidity are high along the tropical coast. In Cotonou, the average maximum temperature is 31^oC (89^oF); the minimum is 24^oC (75^oF).

Variations in temperature increase when moving north through a savanna and plateau toward the Sahel. A dry wind from the Sahara called the Harmattan blows from December to March. Grass dries up, the vegetation turns reddish brown, and a veil of fine dust hangs over the country, causing the skies to be overcast. It also is the season when farmers burn brush in the fields.

PEOPLE
The majority of Benin's 8.79 million people live in the south. The population is young, with a life expectancy of 55 years. About 42 African ethnic groups live in this country; these various groups settled in Benin at different times and also migrated within the country. Ethnic groups include the Yoruba in the southeast (migrated from Nigeria in the 12th century); the Dendi in the north-central area (they came from Mali in the 16th century); the Bariba and the Fulbe (Peul) in the northeast; the Betammaribe and the Somba in the Atacora Range; the Fon in the area around Abomey in the South Central and the Mina, Xueda, and Aja (who came from Togo) on the coast.

Recent migrations have brought other African nationals to Benin that include Nigerians, Togolese, and Malians. The foreign community also includes many Lebanese and Indians involved in trade and commerce. The personnel of the many European embassies and foreign aid missions and of nongovernmental organizations and various missionary groups account for a large number of the 5,500 European population.

Several religions are practiced in Benin. Animism is widespread (35%), and its practices vary from one ethnic group to the other. Arab merchants introduced Islam in the north and among the Yoruba. European missionaries brought Christianity to the south and central areas of Benin. Muslims account for 20% of the population and Christians for 35%. Many nominal Muslims and Christians continue to practice animistic traditions. Voodoo originated in Benin and was introduced to Brazil and the Caribbean Islands by African slaves taken from this particular area of the Slave Coast.

HISTORY
Benin was the seat of one of the great medieval African kingdoms called Danhomey. Europeans began arriving in the area in the 18th century, as the kingdom of Danhomey was expanding its territory. The Portuguese, the French, and the Dutch established trading posts along the coast (Porto-Novo, Ouidah, Cotonou), and traded weapons for slaves. Slave trade ended in 1848. Then, the French signed treaties with Kings of Abomey (Guezo, Glele) and Hogbonou (Toffa) to establish French protectorates in the main cities and ports. However, King Behanzin fought the French influence, which cost him deportation to Martinique. As of 1900, the territory became a French colony ruled by a French Governor. Expansion continued to the North (kingdoms of Parakou, Nikki, Kandi), up to the border with former Upper Volta. On December 4, 1958, it became the Republique du Dahomey, self-governing within the French community, and on August 1, 1960, the Republic of Benin gained full independence from France.

Post-Independence Politics
Between 1960 and 1972, a succession of military coups brought about many changes of government. The last of these brought to power Major Mathieu Kerekou as the head of a regime professing strict Marxist-Leninist principles. The Revolutionary Party of the People of Benin (PRPB) remained in complete power until the beginning of the 1990s. Kerekou, encouraged by France and other democratic powers, convened a national conference that introduced a new democratic constitution and held presidential and legislative elections. Kerekou's principal opponent at the 1991 presidential poll, and the ultimate victor, was Prime Minister Nicephore Soglo. Supporters of Soglo also secured a majority in the National Assembly. In the 1996 presidential poll Kerekou defeated Soglo, and was reelected in 2001. At the end of his second term in 2006, Kerekou successfully handed power over to Boni Yayi, elected with 75% of the votes cast.

In December 2002, Benin held its first municipal elections since before the institution of Marxism-Leninism. The process was smooth with the significant exception of the 12th district council for Cotonou, the contest that would ultimately determine who would be selected for the mayoralty of the capital city. That vote was marred by irregularities, and the electoral commission was forced to repeat that single election. Nicephore Soglo's Renaisance du Benin (RB) party won the new vote, paving the way for the former president to be elected Mayor of Cotonou by the new city council in February 2002.

On April 20 and May 1, 2008, Benin held its second local and municipal elections, which were marred by fraud allegations and irregularities. Voters filed appeals with the Supreme Court, which nullified results in a number of communes and ordered new elections and recounting of votes in constituencies where results were contested.

Former West African Development Bank Director Boni Yayi won the March 2006 election for the presidency in a field of 26 candidates. International observers including the United Nations, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and others called the election free, fair, and transparent. President Kerekou was barred from running under the 1990 constitution due to term and age limits. President Yayi was inaugurated on April 6, 2006.

Benin held legislative elections on March 31, 2007 for the 83 seats in the National Assembly. The "Force Cowrie for an Emerging Benin" (FCBE), a coalition of parties closely linked to President Yayi, won a plurality of the seats in the National Assembly, providing the president with considerable influence over the legislative agenda. The “G-13” deputies from minor political parties who had joined the FCBE to help President Yayi obtain a majority in the National Assembly subsequently left this coalition and joined undeclared opposition parties, including G4 and Force Cle, forming an unstable though blocking majority.

Principal Government Officials
President of the Republic (Head of State and Head of the Government)--Boni Yayi
Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration, Francophonie and the Beninese Diaspora--Jean-Marie Ehouzou
Minister of State in charge of Economic Forecasting, Development, Evaluation of Public Policies and Coordination of Governmental Action--Pascal Irenee Koupaki
Minister of State in charge of National Defense--Issifou Kogui N'douro
Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fishing--Gregoire Akofodji
Minister of Labor and Civil Service--Charles Kint Aguiar
Minister of Administrative and Institutional Reform--Joseph Ahanhanzo
Minister of Culture, Literacy and National Languages Promotion--Galiou Soglo
Minister of Urban Development, Housing, Land Reform and Coastal Erosion Prevention--Francois Gbenoukpo Noudegbessi (suspended)
Minister of Youth, Microfinance and Women and Youth Employment--Reckya Madougou
Minister of Interior and Public Security--Armand Zinzindohoue
Minister of Decentralization, Local Authority and Planning--Allassane Seidou
Minister of Economy and Finance--Idriss Liassou Daouda
Minister of Industry--Roger Dovonou
Minister of Mines, Energy and Water--Sacca Lafia
Minister of Health--Issifou Takpara
Minister of Nursery and Primary Education--Chabi Felicien Zacharie
Minister of Secondary Education, and Vocational and Technical Training--Bernard Lani Davo
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research--Francois Abiola
Minister of Sports and Leisure--Etienne Kossi
Minister of Family and Solidarity--Mamatou Joe Meba Bio Djossou
Minister of the Environment and the Conservation of Nature (Acting Minister of Urban Development, Housing, Land Reform and Coastal Erosion Prevention)--Justin Adanmayi
Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice, Legislation and Human Rights, Spokesman of the Government--Victor Topanou
Minister in charge of the Relations with the Institutions--Zakari Baba Body
Minister-Delegate for Communication and Information Technology in the Office of the President of the Republic--Desire Adadja
Minister-Delegate for Maritime Economy, Maritime Transport and Port Reforms in the Office of the President of the Republic--Issa Badarou Soule
Minister of Commerce--Christine Ouensavi
Minister Delegate in Charge of Ground Transport, Air Transport and Public Work in the Office of the President of the Republic--Nicaise Fagnon
Minister of Petroleum and Mining Research--Barthelemy Kassa
Minister in Charge of Small and Medium Scale Businesses and Promotion of Private Sector--Leandre Houaga
Minister of Handcraft Industry and Tourism--Mamata Bako Djaouga

Ambassador to the United States--Segbe Cyrille Oguin
Permanent Representative to the United Nations--vacant

Benin maintains an embassy in the United States at 2124 Kalorama Road, Washington, DC 20008, tel. 202-232-6656. The Permanent Representative of the Republic of Benin to the United Nations is located at 4 East 73rd Street, New York, NY 10021, tel. 212-249-6014, fax 212-734-4735.

ECONOMY
Benin's economy is chiefly based on agriculture. Cotton accounts for 40% of GDP and roughly 80% of official export receipts. There also is production of textiles, palm products, and cocoa. Corn, beans, rice, peanuts, cashews, pineapples, cassava, yams, and other various tubers are grown for local subsistence. Benin began producing a modest quantity of offshore oil in October 1982. Production ceased in recent years but exploration of new sites is ongoing. A modest fishing fleet provides fish and shrimp for local subsistence and export to Europe. A number of formerly government-owned commercial activities are now privatized, and the government, consistent with its commitments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, has plans to continue on this path. Smaller businesses are privately owned by Beninese citizens, but some firms are foreign owned, primarily French and Lebanese. The private commercial and agricultural sectors remain the principal contributors to growth.

Economic Development
Since the transition to a democratic government in 1990, Benin has undergone a remarkable economic recovery. A large injection of external investment from both private and public sources has alleviated the economic difficulties of the early 1990s caused by global recession and persistently low commodity prices (although the latter continues to affect the economy). The manufacturing sector is confined to some light industry, which is mainly involved in processing primary products and the production of consumer goods. Benin is dependent on imported electricity, mostly from Ghana, which currently accounts for a significant proportion of the country's imports. Benin has several initiatives to attract foreign capital to build electricity generation facilities in Benin in order to break this dependency. The service sector has grown quickly, stimulated by economic liberalization and fiscal reform. Membership of the CFA franc zone offers reasonable currency stability. Benin's trading partners include Germany, Brazil, U.A.E., Spain, the United States, Singapore, India, Netherlands, Japan, and China. Benin also is a member of ECOWAS.

In March 2003, the World Bank and IMF agreed to support a comprehensive debt reduction package for Benin under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Debt relief under HIPC amounts to approximately $460 million. Benin received $27.1 million in 2002 and received $32.9 million in 2003. HIPC will reduce Benin's debt-to-export ratio, freeing up considerable resources for education, health, and other anti-poverty programs.

Despite its growth, the economy of Benin still remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. Real economic growth for 2009 was 3.2%. Commercial and transport activities, which make up a large part of GDP, are vulnerable to developments in Nigeria, including fuel shortages.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Abroad, Benin has strengthened ties with France, the former colonial power, as well as the United States and the main international lending institutions. Benin also has adopted a mediating role in the political crises in Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, and Togo and provided a contribution to the UN force in Haiti. Benin currently has peacekeeping forces, under the UN aegis, in Cote d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Benin's democratic standing, stability, and positive role in international peacekeeping have helped Benin's international stature continue to grow. Benin enjoys stable relations with Nigeria, the main regional power. Benin held a seat on the UN Security Council; its membership term ended December 31, 2005.

U.S.-BENINESE RELATIONS
The United States and Benin have had an excellent history of relations in the years since Benin embraced democracy. The U.S. Government continues to assist Benin with the improvement of living standards that are key to the ultimate success of Benin's experiment with democratic government and economic liberalization, and are consistent with U.S. values and national interest in reducing poverty and promoting growth. The bulk of the U.S. effort in support of consolidating democracy in Benin is focused on long-term human resource development through U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs.

Efforts to pursue this national interest are spearheaded by USAID, which has effective programs focused on primary education, family health (including family planning), women's and children's health, and combating sexually transmitted diseases, especially the spread of HIV. USAID's Democracy and Governance program also emphasizes encouraging greater civil society involvement in national decisionmaking; strengthening mechanisms to promote transparency and accountability; improving the environment for decentralized private and local initiatives; and enhancing the electoral system and the national legislature. A panoply of military-to-military cooperation programs reinforces democratizing efforts. U.S.-Benin military cooperation is now being expanding, both bilaterally and within a broader regional framework.

In February 2006, the Government of Benin signed a 5-year $307 million Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) to increase investment and private sector activity in Benin. The program removes key constraints to growth and supports improvements in physical and institutional infrastructures in four critical sectors: land, financial services, justice, and markets. The proposed projects reinforce each other, contributing to an economic rate of return of 17%.

The U.S. advances the ethos of law enforcement by working with Beninese authorities to crack down on crimes; help eradicate corruption; and promote good governance, the rule of law, and greater official accountability.

The U.S. Public Affairs Office in Cotonou leads the U.S.-Benin cultural, professional, and educational exchanges, with a focus on helping educate the Government of Benin and the public on the trade opportunities and advantages of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The PA Office also helps in expanding efforts to build a more responsible media.

The U.S. Peace Corps program in Benin provides ongoing opportunities for increased understanding between Beninese and Americans. The approximately 110 volunteers promote sustainable development through activities in health, education, the environment, and small enterprise development. The U.S. Peace Corps program in Benin is one of the most successful in Africa, in part because of Beninese receptivity and collaboration.

Currently, trade between Benin and the United States is small, but interest in American products is growing. The United States is interested in promoting increased trade with Benin in order to contribute to U.S. trade with Benin's neighbors, particularly Nigeria, Niger, and Burkina Faso, which receive large amounts of their own imports through the port of Cotonou. Such trade also is facilitated by Benin's membership in ECOWAS and in the CFA franc monetary zone. The U.S. Government also works to stimulate American investment in key sectors such as energy, telecommunications, and transportation. Benin has been eligible for AGOA since the program began in 2000. It qualified for AGOA textile and apparel benefits in January 2004.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--James A. Knight
Deputy Chief of Mission--Martina Boustani
Director, USAID Mission--Janet Schulman
Peace Corps Director--Rebecca Brownie Lee
Public Affairs Officer--Rhonda Watson
Political/Economic Officer--Christina Day
Consular Officer--Richard Kolker
Management Officer--vacant

The U.S. Embassy is located on rue Caporal Bernard Anani, 01 BP 2012, Cotonou, Benin, tel. 229-21-30-06-50, fax 229-21-30-14-39. For American citizen services and visa questions, the Embassy consular section fax number is 229-21-30-66-82.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.

Background Note: Malaysia

Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Malaysia

Geography
Area: 329,748 sq. km. (127,315 sq. mi.); slightly larger than New Mexico.
Cities: Capital--Kuala Lumpur. Other cities--Penang, Ipoh, Malacca, Johor Baru, Shah Alam, Klang, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Kota Baru, Kuala Terengganu, Miri, Petaling Jaya.
Terrain: Coastal plains and interior, jungle-covered mountains. The South China Sea separates peninsular Malaysia from East Malaysia on Borneo.
Climate: Tropical.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Malaysian(s).
Population (2009): 28.3 million.
Annual growth rate: 2.0%.
Ethnic groups: Malay 53.3%, Chinese 26.0%, indigenous 11.8%, Indian 7.7%, others 1.2%.
Religions: Islam (60.4%), Buddhism (19.2%), Christianity (9.1%), Hinduism (6.3%), other/none (5.0%).
Languages: Bahasa Melayu (official), Chinese (various dialects), English, Tamil, indigenous.
Education: Years compulsory--6. Attendance--90.1% (primary), 60.0% (secondary). Literacy--93.5%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2007)--6.7/1,000. Life expectancy (2007)--female 76.4 yrs., male 71.9 yrs.
Work force (10.89 million, 2007): Services--57%; industry--28% (manufacturing--19%, mining and construction--9%); agriculture--15%.

Government
Type: Federal parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch.
Independence: August 31, 1957. (Malaya, which is now peninsular Malaysia, became independent in 1957. In 1963 Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore formed Malaysia. Singapore became an independent country in 1965.)
Constitution: 1957.
Subdivisions: 13 states and three federal territories (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan Island, Putrajaya federal administrative territory). Each state has an assembly and government headed by a chief minister. Nine of these states have hereditary rulers, generally titled "sultans," while the remaining four have appointed governors in counterpart positions.
Branches: Executive--Yang di-Pertuan Agong (head of state and customarily referred to as the king; has ceremonial duties), prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--bicameral parliament, comprising 70-member Senate (26 elected by the 13 state assemblies, 44 appointed by the king on the prime minister's recommendation) and 222-member House of Representatives (elected from single-member districts). Judicial--Federal Court, Court of Appeals, high courts, session's courts, magistrate's courts, and juvenile courts. Sharia courts hear cases on certain matters involving Muslims only.
Political parties: Barisan Nasional (National Front)--a coalition comprising the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and 12 other parties, most of which are ethnically based; Democratic Action Party (DAP); Parti Islam se Malaysia (PAS); Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). There are more than 30 registered political parties, including the foregoing, not all of which are represented in the federal parliament.
Suffrage: Universal adult (voting age 21).

Economy (2008)
Nominal GDP: $211.1 billion.
Annual real GDP growth rate: 5.9% (2006); 6.3% (2007); 4.6% (2008).
Nominal per capita income (GNI): $7,355.
Natural resources: Petroleum, liquefied natural gas (LNG), tin, minerals.
Agricultural products: Palm oil, rubber, timber, cocoa, rice, tropical fruit, fish, coconut.
Industry: Types--electronics, electrical products, chemicals, food and beverages, metal and machine products, apparel.
Trade: Merchandise exports--$188.0 billion: electronic products, manufactured goods, petroleum, palm oil, liquid natural gas, apparel, timber, rubber. Major markets--U.S. 12.1%, Singapore 14.7%, Japan 10.8%, China 9.5%. Merchandise imports--$147.8 billion: electronic products, machinery, chemicals, manufactured goods, petroleum products. Major suppliers--Japan 12.5%, China 12.8%, Singapore 11.0%, U.S. 10.8%.

PEOPLE
Malaysia's multi-racial society contains many ethnic groups. Malays comprise a majority of just over 50%. By constitutional definition, all Malays are Muslim. About a quarter of the population is ethnic Chinese, a group which historically played an important role in trade and business. Malaysians of Indian descent comprise about 7% of the population and include Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, and Christians. Non-Malay indigenous groups combine to make up approximately 11% of the population.

Population density is highest in peninsular Malaysia, home to some 20 million of the country's 28 million inhabitants. The rest live on the Malaysian portion of the island of Borneo in the large but less densely-populated states of Sabah and Sarawak. More than half of Sarawak's residents and about two-thirds of Sabah's are from indigenous groups.

HISTORY
The early Buddhist Malay kingdom of Srivijaya, based at what is now Palembang, Sumatra, dominated much of the Malay peninsula from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. The powerful Hindu kingdom of Majapahit, based on Java, gained control of the Malay peninsula in the 14th century. Conversion of the Malays to Islam, beginning in the early 14th century, accelerated with the rise of the state of Malacca under the rule of a Muslim prince in the 15th century. Malacca was a major regional commercial center, where Chinese, Arab, Malay, and Indian merchants traded precious goods.

Drawn by this rich trade, a Portuguese fleet conquered Malacca in 1511, marking the beginning of European expansion in Southeast Asia. The Dutch ousted the Portuguese from Malacca in 1641. The British obtained the island of Penang in 1786 and temporarily controlled Malacca with Dutch acquiescence from 1795 to 1818 to prevent it from falling to the French during the Napoleonic war. The British gained lasting possession of Malacca from the Dutch in 1824, through the Anglo-Dutch treaty, in exchange for territory on the island of Sumatra in what is today Indonesia.

In 1826, the British settlements of Malacca, Penang, and Singapore were combined to form the Colony of the Straits Settlements. From these strongholds, in the 19th and early 20th centuries the British established protectorates over the Malay sultanates on the peninsula. During their rule the British developed large-scale rubber and tin production and established a system of public administration. British control was interrupted by World War II and the Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1945.

Popular sentiment for independence swelled during and after the war. The territories of peninsular Malaysia joined together to form the Federation of Malaya in 1948 and eventually negotiated independence from the British in 1957. Tunku Abdul Rahman became the first prime minister. In 1963 the British colonies of Singapore, Sarawak, and Sabah joined the Federation, which was renamed Malaysia. Singapore's membership was short-lived, however; it left in 1965 and became an independent republic.

Neighboring Indonesia objected to the formation of Malaysia and began a program of economic, political, diplomatic, and military "confrontation" against the new country in 1963, which ended only after the fall of Indonesia's President Sukarno in 1966. Internally, local communists, nearly all Chinese, carried out a long, bitter insurgency both before and after independence, prompting the imposition of a state of emergency from 1948 to 1960. Small bands of guerrillas remained in bases along the rugged border with southern Thailand, occasionally entering northern Malaysia. These guerrillas finally signed a peace accord with the Malaysian Government in December 1989. A separate, small-scale communist insurgency that began in the mid-1960s in Sarawak also ended with the signing of a peace accord in October 1990.

GOVERNMENT
Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, nominally headed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, customarily referred to as the king. The king is elected for 5-year terms from among the nine sultans of the peninsular Malaysian states. The king also is the leader of the Islamic faith in Malaysia.

Executive power is vested in the cabinet led by the prime minister; the Malaysian constitution stipulates that the prime minister must be a member of the lower house of parliament who, in the opinion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, commands a majority in parliament. The cabinet is chosen from among members of both houses of parliament and is responsible to that body.

The bicameral parliament consists of the Senate (Dewan Negara) and the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat). All 70 Senate members sit for 3-year terms, which are normally extended for an additional 3 years; 26 are elected by the 13 state assemblies, and 44 are appointed by the king following the prime minister's recommendation. Representatives of the House are elected from single-member districts by universal adult suffrage. The 222 members of the House of Representatives are elected to parliamentary terms lasting up to 5 years. Legislative power is divided between federal and state legislatures.

The Malaysian legal system is based on English common law. The Federal Court reviews decisions referred from the Court of Appeal; it has original jurisdiction in constitutional matters and in disputes between states or between the federal government and a state. Peninsular Malaysia and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak each have a high court.

The federal government has authority over external affairs, defense, internal security, justice (except civil law cases among Malays or other Muslims and other indigenous peoples, adjudicated under Islamic and traditional law), federal citizenship, finance, commerce, industry, communications, transportation, and other matters.

Principal Government Officials
Prime Minister--Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Razak
Foreign Minister--Datuk Anifah Haji Aman
Ambassador to the U.S.--Dato' Sri Jamaludin Jarjis
Ambassador to the UN--Datuk Hamidon bin Ali

Malaysia maintains an embassy in the U.S. at 3516 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008, tel. (202) 572-9700; a Consulate General at 550 South Hope Street, Suite 400, Los Angeles, CA 90071, tel. (213) 892-1238; and a Consulate General at 313 East 43rd Street, New York City, NY 10017, tel. (212) 490-2722/23.

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Malaysia's predominant political party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), has held power in coalition with other parties continuously since independence in 1957. The UMNO coalition's share of the vote declined in national elections held in May 1969, after which riots broke out in Kuala Lumpur and elsewhere, mainly between Malays and ethnic Chinese. Several hundred people were killed or injured. The government declared a state of emergency and suspended all parliamentary activities.

In the years that followed, Malaysia undertook several initiatives that became integral parts of its socioeconomic model. The New Economic Policy (NEP), launched in 1971, contained a series of affirmative action policies designed to benefit Malays and certain indigenous groups (together known as bumiputera or "sons of the soil"). The constitution was amended to limit dissent against the specially-protected and sensitive portions of the constitution pertaining to the social contract. The government identified intercommunal harmony as one of its official goals. The previous alliance of communally based parties was replaced with a broader coalition--the Barisan Nasional (BN) or National Front. The BN won large majorities in the 1974 federal and state elections.

Mahathir Mohamad was Prime Minister between 1981 and 2003, leading UMNO and BN to successive election victories. Mahathir emphasized economic development during his tenure, in particular the export sector, as well as large-scale infrastructure projects. Mahathir attributed the success of the Asian tiger economies to the "Asian values" of its people, which he believed were superior to those of the West. Mahathir sharply criticized the International Monetary Fund (IMF), international financiers such as George Soros, and Western governments during the sharp economic and financial crisis that affected Asia in 1997-1998, and denied that the downturn was due to the failures of corruption and "crony capitalism."

The end of Mahathir's tenure was marred by a falling out with his deputy and presumed successor, Anwar Ibrahim. In September 1998, Mahathir dismissed Anwar and accused him of immoral and corrupt conduct. Although Anwar was convicted on both charges in 1999 and 2000, the trials were viewed as seriously flawed. Malaysia's Federal Court eventually freed Anwar after overturning his immoral conduct conviction in September 2004.

Mahathir stepped down as Prime Minister in October 2003 after 22 years in power, and his successor, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, was sworn into office. Abdullah called elections and won an overwhelming victory in March 2004. Abdullah, an Islamic scholar, promoted the concept of "Islam Hadhari" or "civilizational Islam," emphasizing the importance of education, social harmony, and economic progress. His relationship with Mahathir eventually soured, with Mahathir expressing regret at supporting Abdullah to be his successor.

Malaysia held national elections in March 2008. UMNO and its coalition allies in the BN won a simple majority of the seats in the national parliament, but for the first time in history failed to gain the two-thirds majority necessary to amend the constitution. A loose coalition of opposition parties, called the Pakatan Rakyat or Peoples Alliance, led by Anwar Ibrahim, won 82 of 222 seats in parliament and took control of the state-level assemblies in five of Malaysia's thirteen states. However, in February 2009 the opposition Alliance lost control of one of the states through defections of its assembly members to the National Front. Prime Minister Abdullah, taking responsibility for his party’s poor showing in the March 2008 general election, stepped down as Prime Minister in a carefully timed transfer of power to his deputy, Najib Tun Razak, in April 2009.

ECONOMY
Since it became independent, Malaysia's economic record has been one of Asia's best. Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an average of 6.5% per year from 1957 to 2005. Performance peaked in the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, as the economy experienced sustained rapid growth averaging almost 8% annually. High levels of foreign and domestic investment played a significant role as the economy diversified and modernized. Once heavily dependent on primary products such as rubber and tin, Malaysia today is a middle-income country with a multi-sector economy based on services and manufacturing. Malaysia is one of the world's largest exporters of semiconductor devices, electrical goods, and information and communication technology (ICT) products.

The government continues to actively manage the economy. Malaysia's New Economic Policy (NEP), first established in 1971, was a 10-year plan that sought to rectify a situation whereby ethnic Malays and indigenous peoples (“bumiputera”), who comprised nearly 60% of the population, held less than 3% of the nation’s wealth. Policy makers implemented a complex network of racial preferences intended to promote the acquisition of economic assets by bumiputera. In 1981 when the racial preferences were set to expire, the government extended the NEP for another 10 years, stating that its goals had not been achieved. The policies again were extended in 1991 and in 2001. The Malaysian Government plans to release a new economic model in 2010 which will modify and in some cases eliminate NEP measures in an effort to stimulate higher levels of investment and GDP growth over the next decade.

The Malaysian economy went into sharp recession in 1997-1998 during the Asian financial crisis, which affected countries throughout the region, including South Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand. Malaysia's GDP contracted by more than 7% in 1998. Malaysia narrowly avoided a return to recession in 2001 when its economy was negatively impacted by the bursting of the dot-com bubble (which hurt the ICT sector) and slow growth or recession in many of its important export markets. The global financial crisis threw Malaysia into recession again in 2009, and the government expects a contraction in GDP of around 3% for the year. Economists expect Malaysia to return to a positive growth path in 2010.

In July 2005, the government removed the 7-year-old peg linking the ringgit's value to the U.S. dollar at an exchange rate of RM 3.8/U.S. $1.0. The dollar peg was replaced by a managed float against an undisclosed basket of currencies. The new exchange rate policy was designed to keep the ringgit more broadly stable and to avoid uncertain currency swings which could harm exports.

The Malaysian financial system exhibited noteworthy resilience to the 2008 global financial crisis. Malaysian banks are well capitalized and have no measurable exposure to the U.S. sub-prime market. The central bank maintains a conservative regulatory environment, having prohibited some of the riskier assets in vogue elsewhere. However, decreasing demand in the U.S. and elsewhere is taking a toll on Malaysian exports, resulting in negative GDP growth for 2009 with recovery expected in 2010.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Regional cooperation is a cornerstone of Malaysia's foreign policy. It was a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and served as the group's chair most recently in 2005-2006. It hosted the ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit in December 2005, as well as the ASEAN Ministerial and the ASEAN Regional Forum in July 2006.

Malaysia is an active member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and the United Nations. It was chair of the OIC until March 2008 and has also chaired the NAM.

Malaysia is a frequent contributor to UN and other peacekeeping and stabilization missions, including recent deployments to Lebanon, Timor-Leste, Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, and Kosovo.

U.S.-MALAYSIAN RELATIONS
The United States and Malaysia share a diverse and expanding partnership. Economic ties are robust. The United States is Malaysia's largest trading partner and Malaysia is the sixteenth-largest trading partner of the U.S. Annual two-way trade amounts to $44 billion. The United States and Malaysia launched negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in June 2006.

The United States is the largest foreign investor in Malaysia on a cumulative basis. American companies are particularly active in the energy, electronics, and manufacturing sectors. The U.S. direct investment position in Malaysia for 2007 was $15.7 billion.

The United States and Malaysia cooperate closely on security matters, including counterterrorism, maritime domain awareness, and regional stability. The relationship between the U.S. and Malaysian militaries is also strong with numerous exchanges, training, joint exercises, and visits. The U.S. and Malaysia signed a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) in July 2006 during the visit to Kuala Lumpur by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The United States and Malaysia have a long history of people-to-people exchanges. Well over 100,000 Malaysians have studied in the U.S. At any one time there are over 7,000 Malaysians studying at U.S. universities. Last year approximately 130 Malaysians took part in U.S. Government-sponsored exchange programs for professional development and study. Each year, about 50 Americans travel to Malaysia under U.S. Government auspices to share their experience as visiting academics or speakers.

There are approximately 1,500 alumni of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and 2,000 from the Fulbright, Humphrey, Eisenhower, and Youth Exchange for Study (YES) programs. Prominent Malaysian alumni include federal ministers, deputy ministers, and members of parliament from both the ruling party and opposition parties. At least four current and past chief ministers (state governors) are alumni, and former Prime Minister Mahathir is an alumnus of a 1973 program. These alumni have used their educations to create a stronger Malaysian society and have built enduring understanding between Malaysia and America. Their contributions to Malaysian society will continue for many years to come.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--James R. Keith
Deputy Chief of Mission--Robert G. Rapson
Political Counselor--Brian D. McFeeters
Economic Counselor--Matt J. Matthews
Commercial Counselor--Nasir A. Abbasi
Public Affairs Officer--Marrie Y. Schaefer
Agricultural Attache--David W. Cottrell
Consul General--Charles J. Wintheiser

The U.S. Embassy in Malaysia is located at 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur (tel. 60-3-2168-5000, fax 60-3-2142-2207).

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.

Background Note: Uganda

Bureau of African Affairs

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Uganda

Geography
Area: 241,040 sq. km. (93,070 sq. mi.); about the size of Oregon.
Cities: Capital--Kampala (2002 pop. 1.2 million). Other cities--Jinja, Gulu, Mbale, Mbarara.
Terrain: 18% inland water and swamp; 12% national parks, forest, and game reserves; 70% forest, woodland, grassland.
Climate: In the northeast, semi-arid--rainfall less than 50 cm. (20 in.); in southwest, rainfall 130 cm. (50 in.) or more. Two dry seasons: Dec.-Feb. and June-July.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Ugandan(s).
Population (2007): 30.9 million.
Annual growth rate (2008 est.): 3.3%.
Ethnic groups: Baganda, Banyankole, Bahima, Bakiga, Banyarwanda, Bunyoro, Batoro, Langi, Acholi, Lugbara, Karamojong, Basoga, Bagisu, and others.
Religions (2007): Christian 85%, Muslim 12%, other 2%.
Languages: English (official); Luganda and numerous other local languages. Swahili is generally spoken only among the Ugandan military.
Education: Attendance (2008; primary school completion rate)--54%. Literacy (2003)--70%.
Health (2008 est.): Infant mortality rate--78/1,000. Life expectancy--51 yrs.

Government
Type: Republic.
Constitution: Ratified July 12, 1995; promulgated October 8, 1995.
Independence: October 9, 1962.
Branches: Executive--president, vice president, prime minister, cabinet. Legislative--parliament. Judicial--Magistrate's Court, High Court, Court of Appeals, Supreme Court.
Administrative subdivisions: 80 districts.
Political parties: In 2006, approximately 33 parties were allowed to function, including political parties that existed in 1986, when the National Resistance Movement assumed power.
Suffrage: Universal adult.
National holiday: Independence Day, October 9.

Economy
GDP (nominal, 2008/2009): $14.5 billion.
Inflation rate (annual headline or CPI, 2007/2008): 7%.
Natural resources: Copper, cobalt, limestone, phosphate, oil.
Agriculture: Cash crops--coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, sugar cane, cut flowers, vanilla. Food crops--bananas, corn, cassava, potatoes, millet, pulses. Livestock and fisheries--beef, goat meat, milk, Nile perch, tilapia.
Industry: Processing of agricultural products (cotton ginning, coffee curing), cement production, light consumer goods, textiles.
Trade: Exports (2008 est.)--$1.72 billion: coffee, fish and fish products, tea, electricity, horticultural products, vanilla, cut flowers, remittances from abroad. Major markets--EU, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Rwanda, U.K. Imports (2008 est.)--$4.5 billion: capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies, metals, cereals. Major suppliers--U.A.E., Kenya, EU, India, South Africa, China, U.S.
Fiscal year: July 1-June 30.

PEOPLE AND HISTORY
The Baganda are the largest ethnic group in Uganda and comprise approximately 18% of the population. Individual ethnic groups in the southwest include the Banyankole and Bahima, 10%; the Bakiga, 8%; the Banyarwanda, 6%; the Bunyoro, 3%; and the Batoro, 3%. Residents of the north, largely Nilotic, include the Langi, 6%, and the Acholi, 4%. In the northwest are the Lugbara, 4%, and the Karamojong, 2%, occupy the considerably drier, largely pastoral territory in the northeast. The Basoga, 8%, and the Bagisu, 5%, are among ethnic groups in the east.

Uganda's population is predominately rural, and its population density highest in the southern regions. Until 1972, Asians constituted the largest nonindigenous ethnic group in Uganda. In that year, the Idi Amin regime expelled 50,000 Asians, who had been engaged in trade, industry, and various professions. In the years since Amin's overthrow in 1979, Asians have slowly returned and now number around 30,000.

When Arab traders moved inland from their enclaves along the Indian Ocean coast of East Africa and reached the interior of Uganda in the 1830s, they found several African kingdoms with well-developed political institutions dating back several centuries. These traders were followed in the 1860s by British explorers searching for the source of the Nile River. Protestant missionaries entered the country in 1877, followed by Catholic missionaries in 1879.

In 1888, control of the emerging British "sphere of interest" in East Africa was assigned by royal charter to the Imperial British East Africa Company, an arrangement strengthened in 1890 by an Anglo-German agreement confirming British dominance over Kenya and Uganda. In 1894, the Kingdom of Buganda was placed under a formal British protectorate.

Britain granted internal self-government to Uganda in 1961, with the first elections held on March 1, 1961. Benedicto Kiwanuka of the Democratic Party became the first Chief Minister. Uganda maintained its Commonwealth membership. A second round of elections in April 1962 elected members to a new National Assembly. Milton Obote, leader of the majority coalition in the National Assembly, became prime minister and led Uganda to formal independence on October 9, 1962.

In succeeding years, supporters of a centralized state vied with those in favor of a loose federation and a strong role for tribally-based local kingdoms. Political maneuvering climaxed in February 1966, when Prime Minister Milton Obote suspended the constitution, assumed all government powers, and removed the ceremonial president and vice president. In September 1967, a new constitution proclaimed Uganda a republic, gave the president even greater powers, and abolished the traditional kingdoms. On January 25, 1971, Obote's government was ousted in a military coup led by armed forces commander Idi Amin Dada. Amin declared himself president, dissolved the parliament, and amended the constitution to give himself absolute power.

Idi Amin's 8-year rule produced economic decline, social disintegration, and massive human rights violations. The Acholi and Langi ethnic groups were particular objects of Amin's political persecution because they had supported Obote and made up a large part of the army. In 1978, the International Commission of Jurists estimated that more than 100,000 Ugandans had been murdered during Amin's reign of terror; some authorities place the figure much higher.

In October 1978, Tanzanian armed forces repulsed an incursion of Amin's troops into Tanzanian territory. The Tanzanian force, backed by Ugandan exiles, waged a war of liberation against Amin's troops and Libyan soldiers sent to help him. On April 11, 1979, Kampala was captured, and Amin fled with his remaining forces.

After Amin's removal, the Uganda National Liberation Front formed an interim government with Yusuf Lule as president. This government adopted a ministerial system of administration and created a quasi-parliamentary organ known as the National Consultative Commission (NCC). The NCC and the Lule cabinet reflected widely differing political views. In June 1979, following a dispute over the extent of presidential powers, the NCC replaced Lule with Godfrey Binaisa. In a continuing dispute over the powers of the interim presidency, Binaisa was removed in May 1980. Thereafter, Uganda was ruled by a military commission chaired by Paulo Muwanga. December 1980 elections returned the UPC to power under the leadership of President Obote, with Muwanga serving as vice president. Under Obote, the security forces had one of the world's worst human rights records. In their efforts to stamp out an insurgency led by Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army (NRA), they laid waste to a substantial section of the country, especially in the Luwero area north of Kampala.

Obote ruled until July 27, 1985, when an army brigade, composed mostly of ethnic Acholi troops and commanded by Lt. Gen. Basilio Olara-Okello, took Kampala and proclaimed a military government. Obote fled to exile in Zambia. The new regime, headed by former defense force commander Gen. Tito Okello (no relation to Lt. Gen. Olara-Okello), opened negotiations with Museveni's insurgent forces and pledged to improve respect for human rights, end tribal rivalry, and conduct free and fair elections. In the meantime, massive human rights violations continued as the Okello government murdered civilians and ravaged the countryside in order to destroy the NRA's support.

Negotiations between the Okello government and the NRA were conducted in Nairobi in the fall of 1985, with Kenyan President Daniel Moi seeking a cease-fire and a coalition government in Uganda. Although agreeing in late 1985 to a cease-fire, the NRA continued fighting, seized Kampala in late January 1986, and assumed control of the country, forcing Okello to flee north into Sudan. Museveni's forces organized a government with Museveni as president and dominated by the political grouping called the National Resistance Movement (NRM or the "Movement").

A referendum was held in March 2000 on whether Uganda should retain the Movement system, with limited operation of political parties, or adopt multi-party politics. Although 70% of voters endorsed retention of the Movement system, the referendum was widely criticized for low voter turnout and unfair restrictions on Movement opponents. Museveni was reelected to a second five-year term in March 2001. Parliamentary elections were held in June 2001, and more than 50% of contested seats were won by newcomers. Movement supporters nevertheless remained in firm control of the legislative branch. Observers believed that the 2001 presidential and parliamentary elections generally reflected the will of the electorate; however, both were marred by serious irregularities, particularly in the period leading up to the elections, such as restrictions on political party activities, incidents of violence, voter intimidation, and fraud.

A Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) issued a report proposing comprehensive constitutional change in December 2003. The government, however, took issue with many CRC recommendations and made counter-proposals in September 2004. A July 2005 national referendum resulted in the adoption of a multiparty system of government and the subsequent inclusion of opposition parties in elections and government.

In February 2006, the country held its first multiparty general elections since President Museveni came to power in 1986. The election generally reflected the will of the people, although serious irregularities occurred. Ruling NRM candidate President Museveni was declared the winner with 59.3% of the vote, giving him a third term in office following the passage of a controversial amendment in June 2005 to eliminate presidential term limits. Opposition FDC leader Kizza Besigye captured 37.4% of the vote, while the remaining contestants received less than 2% of the vote each, according to official figures from the Electoral Commission.

GOVERNMENT
The 1995 constitution established Uganda as a republic with an executive, legislative, and judicial branch. The constitution provides for an executive president, to be elected every 5 years. President Yoweri Museveni, in power since 1986, was elected in 1996 and reelected in 2001 and 2006. Legislative responsibility is vested in the parliament; legislative elections were last held February 2006. There are currently 102 women representatives in the 332-member parliament. The Ugandan judiciary operates as an independent branch of government and consists of magistrate's courts, high courts, courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court. Parliament and the judiciary have significant amounts of independence and wield significant power.

Principal Government Officials
President and Commander in Chief--Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
Vice President--Gilbert Bukenya
Prime Minister--Apollo Nsibambi
Foreign Minister--Sam Kutesa
Minister of Defense--Crispus Kiyonga
Ambassador to the United States--Perezi K. Kamunanwire

Uganda maintains an embassy in the United States at 5909 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 (tel. 202-726-7100).

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Since assuming power, Museveni and his government have largely put an end to the human rights abuses of earlier governments, initiated substantial economic liberalization and general press freedom, and instituted economic reforms in accord with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and donor governments.

The vicious and cult-like Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which seeks to overthrow the Ugandan Government, had murdered and kidnapped civilians in the north and east since 1986. Although the LRA does not threaten the stability of the government, LRA violence at one time displaced up to 1.8 million people, creating a humanitarian catastrophe, particularly when they were forced into internally displaced persons (IDP) camps for their own protection. The Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF) launched "Operation Iron Fist" against LRA rebels in northern Uganda in 2002 and conducted operations against LRA sanctuaries in southern Sudan with the permission of the Sudanese Government. The Sudanese Government had previously supported the LRA.

In 2005, the Ugandan military pushed the LRA out of northern Uganda. The LRA escaped to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.) and continued to operate there, southern Sudan, and occasionally in Central African Republic. Under military pressure, the LRA requested peace talks. Government of Southern Sudan Vice President Riek Machar mediated a 2-1/2 year peace process which resulted in a Final Peace Agreement (FPA) in April 2008. LRA leader Joseph Kony refused to sign the FPA and continued to commit atrocities against local populations in D.R.C., southern Sudan, and C.A.R. In December 2008, the Governments of Uganda, D.R.C., and southern Sudan launched a joint military operation against the LRA in northeastern D.R.C. A follow-on operation is ongoing.

There have been no LRA attacks in northern Uganda since August 2006. As a result, the majority of the 1.8 million IDPs have returned to or near their homes.

ECONOMY
Uganda's economy has great potential. Endowed with significant natural resources, including ample fertile land, regular rainfall, and mineral deposits, it appeared poised for rapid economic growth and development at independence. However, chronic political instability and erratic economic management produced a record of persistent economic decline that left Uganda among the world's poorest and least-developed countries.

Since assuming power in early 1986, Museveni's government has taken important steps toward economic rehabilitation. The country's infrastructure--notably its transportation and communications systems that were destroyed by war and neglect--is being rebuilt. Recognizing the need for increased external support, Uganda negotiated a policy framework paper with the IMF and the World Bank in 1987. It subsequently began implementing economic policies designed to restore price stability and sustainable balance of payments, improve capacity utilization, rehabilitate infrastructure, restore producer incentives through proper price policies, and improve resource mobilization and allocation in the public sector. Uganda's macroeconomic policies are sound and contributed to an 8.6% growth rate in fiscal year 2007-2008, compared to 7% in FY 2006-2007. Inflation ran at 240% in 1987 and 42% in June 1992, and was 5.1% in 2003. It bounced up to 7.7% in 2007 and 12% in 2008 and portions of 2009, well above the government's annual target average of 5%, as food prices rose.

Investment as a percentage of GDP was 17% in 2006/2007 compared to 15.7% in 2002/2003. Private sector investment, largely financed by private transfers from abroad, was 20% of GDP in 2006/2007. In the same year, gross national savings as a percentage of GDP fell to an estimated 12%, from 13% the previous fiscal year. The Ugandan Government has worked with donor countries to reschedule or cancel substantial portions of the country's external debts.

Agricultural products supply nearly all of Uganda's foreign exchange earnings, with coffee (of which Uganda is Africa's second leading producer) accounting for about 23% and fish 7% of the country's exports in 2007/2008. Exports of non-traditional products, including apparel, hides, skins, vanilla, vegetables, fruits, cut flowers, and fish are growing, while traditional exports such as cotton, tea, and tobacco continue to be mainstays. Significant discoveries of oil in the Albertine Rift in western Uganda in 2008 pose both a major challenge and a major opportunity for Uganda's economy and development. As of late 2009, the private sector had invested considerably in the oil sector, but production had not yet begun pending further feasibility studies on the funding and construction of the necessary infrastructure to support the industry.

Most industry is related to agriculture. The industrial sector has been rehabilitated and resumed production of building and construction materials, such as cement, reinforcing rods, corrugated roofing sheets, and paint. Domestically produced consumer goods include plastics, soap, cork, beer, and soft drinks.

Uganda has about 45,000 kilometers (28,000 mi.) of roads, of which 10,000 (6,213 miles) kilometers are main roads and 35,000 kilometers (21,747 miles) are feeder roads. Only 3,000 kilometers (1,864 mi.) are paved, and most roads radiate from Kampala. The country has about 1,350 kilometers (800 mi.) of rail lines, but most of it is not currently in use. A railroad originating at Mombasa on the Indian Ocean connects with Tororo, where it branches westward to Jinja, Kampala, and Kasese and northward to Mbale, Soroti, Lira, Gulu, and Pakwach. Uganda's important road and rail links to Mombasa serve its transport needs and also those of its neighbors--Rwanda, Burundi, and parts of Congo and Sudan. An international airport is at Entebbe on the shore of Lake Victoria, some 32 kilometers (20 mi.) south of Kampala.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
The Ugandan Government generally seeks good relations with other nations without reference to ideological orientation. Uganda's relations with Rwanda, D.R.C., and Sudan have sometimes been strained because of security concerns. Uganda, D.R.C., Rwanda, and Burundi participate in the U.S.-facilitated Tripartite Plus process, which has helped ease tensions and contributed to increased bilateral contacts with the aim of resolving conflicts between the neighbors. President Museveni remains active in attempts to implement a peace agreement in Burundi and continues to support peace initiatives in Sudan and Somalia. Uganda has approximately 2,700 peacekeepers in Somalia as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia.

In the past, neighbors were concerned about Uganda's relationship with Libya, which had supplied military equipment and bartered fuel to Uganda. In addition to its friendly ties to Western nations, Uganda has maintained ties with North Korea and Iran.

A rebel group operating in western Uganda and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, near the Rwenzori Mountains, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), emerged as a localized threat in 1996 and inflicted substantial suffering on the population in the area. It has largely been defeated by the UPDF and the affected areas of western Uganda have been secured. Remnants of the ADF remain in eastern Congo.

DEFENSE
The Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF)--previously the National Resistance Army--constitutes the armed forces of Uganda. Prior to 2000, U.S. military forces participated with the UPDF in training activities under the African Crisis Response Initiative. U.S. military assistance was terminated in 2000 as a result of the Ugandan incursion into the D.R.C. Following the June 2003 UPDF withdrawal of troops from the D.R.C., the U.S. restarted limited nonlethal military assistance.

U.S.-UGANDAN RELATIONS
Although U.S.-Ugandan relations were strained during the rule of Idi Amin in the 1970s, relations improved after Amin's fall. In mid-1979, the United States reopened its embassy in Kampala. Relations with successor governments were cordial, although Obote and his administration rejected strong U.S. criticism of Uganda's human rights situation.

Bilateral relations between the United States and Uganda have been good since Museveni assumed power, and the United States has welcomed his efforts to end human rights abuses and to pursue economic reform. Uganda is a strong supporter of counterterrorism efforts. The United States is helping Uganda achieve export-led economic growth through the African Growth and Opportunity Act and provides a significant amount of development assistance. At the same time, the United States is concerned about continuing human rights problems and the pace of progress toward the establishment of genuine political pluralism.

U.S. development assistance in Uganda has the overall goal of reducing poverty. Most U.S. program assistance is focused in the areas of health, education, and agriculture. Both the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have major programs to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Other programs promote trade and investment, curb environmental degradation, encourage the peaceful resolution of local and international conflicts, and promote honest and open government. The United States also provides large amounts of humanitarian assistance to populations without access to adequate food supplies because of conflict, drought, and other factors.

U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers are active in primary teacher training and HIV/AIDS programs. The Department of State carries out cultural exchange programs, brings Fulbright lecturers and researchers to Uganda, and sponsors U.S. study and tour programs for a wide variety of officials from government, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. Through the Ambassador's Self-Help Fund, local groups in poor areas receive assistance for small projects with a high level of community involvement.

U.S.-Ugandan relations also benefit from significant contributions to health care, nutrition, education, and park systems from U.S. missionaries, non-governmental organizations, private universities, HIV/AIDS researchers, and wildlife organizations. Expatriate Ugandans living in the U.S. also promote stronger links between the two countries.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Jerry P. Lanier
Deputy Chief of Mission--John Hoover
Public Affairs Officer--Joann Lockard
Director, USAID--David Eckerson

The U.S. Embassy in Uganda is at 1577 Ggaba Road, Kampala; tel. 259791/2/3/5; fax: 259-794; http://kampala.usembassy.gov/.
Northern Uganda Virtual Presence Post - http://northernuganda.usvpp.gov/.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.

Background Note: Qatar

Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs

 

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
State of Qatar

Geography
Area: 11,437 sq. km. (4,427 sq. mi.); about the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.
Cities: Capital--Doha 431,525 (2005 est.). Other cities--Messaieed, Al-Khor, Dukhan, Ruwais.
Terrain: Mostly desert, flat, barren.
Climate: Hot and humid, with a mild winter.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Qatari(s).
Population (May 2008 est.): 1,448,446; males 1,096,815 (75.7%); females 351,630 (24.3%).
Population growth (May 2008 est.): 59.6%.
Ethnic groups: Qatari (Arab) 20%; other Arab 20%; Indian 20%; Filipino 10%; Nepali 13%; Pakistani 7%; Sri Lankan 5%; other 5%.
Religion: Islam (state religion, claimed by virtually all of the indigenous population).
Languages: Arabic (official); English (widely spoken).
Education: Compulsory--ages 6-16. Attendance--98%. Literacy (2004 est.)--89% total population, 89.1% male, 88.6% female.
Health (2007 est.): Infant mortality rate--17.46/1,000 live births. Life expectancy--74.14 years.
Work force (2006): 508,000. Private sector--61.2%; mixed sector--28.5%; government--5.6%.

Government
Type: Constitutional monarchy.
Independence: September 3, 1971.
Constitution: Approved by popular vote 2003; came into force June 2005.
Branches: Executive--Council of Ministers. Legislative--Advisory Council (currently appointed pending elections; has assumed only limited responsibility to date). Judicial--independent.
Subdivisions: Fully centralized government; seven municipalities.
Political parties: None.
Suffrage: Universal over age 18, since 1999.

Economy
GDP (2007): $63.8 billion.
Real growth rate (2007): 12.5%.
Per capita income (2007): $67,000.
Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, fish.
Agriculture: Accounts for less than 2% of GDP. Products--fruits and vegetables (most food is imported).
Industry: Types--oil production and refining and natural gas development (60% of GDP), mining, manufacturing, construction, and power.
Trade (2006 est.): Exports--$34 billion, principally oil 47% and gas 36%. Partners (2005)--Japan 36.3%, South Korea 19.1%, Singapore 8.1%, India 5.1%, U.A.E. 2.9%, U.S. 1.2%. Imports--$6.7 billion, principally consumer goods, machinery, food. Partners (2005)--France 11.8%, Japan 10.7% U.S. 10.6%, Germany 8.5%, Saudi Arabia 7.4%, U.K. 7.1%, Italy 6.6%, South Korea 5.6%, U.A.E. 4.9%.

PEOPLE
Natives of the Arabian Peninsula, many Qataris are descended from a number of migratory tribes that came to Qatar in the 18th century from the neighboring areas of Nejd and Al-Hasa. Some came from neighboring Gulf emirates and others are descended from Persian merchants. Most of Qatar's 1.5 million inhabitants live in Doha, the capital. Foreigners with temporary residence status make up about three-fourths of the population. Foreign workers comprise as much as 85% of the total population and make up about 90% of the total labor force. Most are South and Southeast Asians, Egyptians, Palestinians, Jordanians, Lebanese, Syrians, Yemenis, and Iranians. About 8,000 U.S. citizens reside in Qatar.

For centuries, the main sources of wealth were pearling, fishing, and trade. At one time, Qataris owned nearly one-third of the Persian Gulf fishing fleet. With the Great Depression and the introduction of Japan's cultured-pearl industry, pearling in Qatar declined drastically.

The Qataris are mainly Sunni Muslims. Islam is the official religion, and Islamic jurisprudence is the basis of Qatar's legal system, although civil courts have jurisdiction over commercial law. Arabic is the official language, and English is widely spoken. Education is compulsory and free for all government employees' children from 6-16 years old. Qatar has an increasingly high literacy rate.

HISTORY
Qatar has been inhabited for millennia. The Al Khalifa family of Bahrain dominated the area until 1868 when, at the request of Qatari nobles, the British negotiated the termination of the Bahraini claim, except for the payment of tribute. The tribute ended when the Ottoman Empire occupied Qatar in 1872.

When the Ottomans left at the beginning of World War I, the British recognized Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani as ruler. The Al Thani family had lived in Qatar for 200 years. The 1916 treaty between the United Kingdom and Sheikh Abdullah was similar to those entered into by the British with other Gulf principalities. Under it, the ruler agreed not to dispose of any of his territory except to the U.K. and not to enter into relationships with any other foreign government without British consent. In return, the British promised to protect Qatar from all aggression by sea and to lend their good offices in case of a land attack. A 1934 treaty granted more extensive British protection.

In 1935, a 75-year oil concession was granted to the Qatar Petroleum Company, a subsidiary of the Iraq Petroleum Company, which was owned by Anglo-Dutch, French, and U.S. interests. High-quality oil was discovered in 1940 at Dukhan, on the western side of the Qatari peninsula. However, the start of WWII delayed exploitation of Qatar's oil resources, and oil exports did not begin until 1949.

During the 1950s and 1960s gradually increasing oil revenues brought prosperity, rapid immigration, substantial social progress, and the beginnings of Qatar's modern history. When the U.K. announced a policy in 1968 (reaffirmed in March 1971) of ending the treaty relationships with the Gulf sheikdoms, Qatar joined the other eight states then under British protection (the seven trucial sheikdoms--the present United Arab Emirates--and Bahrain) in a plan to form a union of Arab emirates. By mid-1971, as the termination date of the British treaty relationship (end of 1971) approached, the nine still had not agreed on terms of union. Accordingly, Qatar declared independence as a separate entity and became the fully independent State of Qatar on September 3, 1971.

In February 1972, the Heir Apparent, Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad, deposed his cousin, Amir Ahmad, and assumed power. Key members of the Al Thani family supported this move, which took place without violence or signs of political unrest.

On June 27, 1995, the Deputy Amir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa, deposed his father Amir Khalifa in a bloodless coup. An unsuccessful counter-coup was staged in 1996. The Amir and his father are now reconciled, though some supporters of the counter-coup remain in prison. The Amir announced his intention for Qatar to move toward democracy and has permitted a freer and more open press and municipal elections as a precursor to expected parliamentary elections. Qatari citizens approved a new constitution via public referendum in April 2003, which came into force in June 2005.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The ruling Al Thani family continued to hold power following the declaration of independence in 1971. The head of state is the Amir, and the right to rule Qatar is passed on within the Al Thani family. Politically, Qatar is evolving from a traditional society to one based on more formal and democratic institutions to meet the requirements of social and economic progress. The country's constitution formalizes the hereditary rule of the Al Thani family, but it also establishes an elected legislative body and makes government ministers accountable to the legislature. In current practice, the Amir's role is influenced by continuing traditions of consultation, rule by consensus, and the citizen's right to appeal personally to the Amir. The Amir, while directly accountable to no one, cannot violate the Shari'a (Islamic law) and, in practice, must consider the opinions of leading families and the religious establishment.

The opinions of the people are institutionalized in the Advisory Council, an appointed body that assists the Amir in formulating policy. Elections in 1999, in which both men and women participated, resulted in the formation of a municipal council. One woman candidate was elected to the municipal council in 2003. Municipal elections were held for the third time in April 2007.

There has been no serious challenge to Al Thani rule. As the most visible sign of the move toward openness, the Al Jazeera satellite television station based in Qatar is considered the most free and unfettered broadcast source in the Arab world. In practice, however, Al Jazeera rarely criticizes the ruling Al Thani family.

Principal Government Officials
Amir, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, and Minister of Defense--Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
Heir Apparent, Deputy Chief of the Armed Forces--Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs--Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabir Al Thani
Minister of Energy and Industry and Deputy Prime Minister--Abdullah al-Attiyah
Ambassador to the U.S.--Ali Fahad al-Hajri

Qatar maintains an embassy in the United States at 2555 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037 (tel. 202-274-1600) and a consulate in Houston at 4265 San Felipe Street, Suite 1100, Houston, Texas 77207 (tel. 713-968-9840). Qatar's Permanent Mission to the United Nations is at 747 Third Ave., 22nd floor, New York, NY 10017 (tel. 212-486-9335).

DEFENSE
Qatar's defense expenditures are estimated to be in the range of 10% of GDP. Qatar maintains a modest military force of about 12,000 men, including an army, navy, and air force. The country has a public security force of about 8,000 men, including a coast guard, national firefighting force, air wing, marine police, and an internal security force. Qatar also has signed defense pacts with the U.S., U.K., and France. Qatar plays an active role in the collective defense efforts of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC--the regional organization of the Arab states in the Gulf; the other five members are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the U.A.E., and Oman). Qatari forces played an important role in the first Gulf War, and Qatar has supported U.S. military operations critical to the success of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Qatar hosts CENTCOM Forward Headquarters.

ECONOMY
Oil formed the cornerstone of Qatar's economy well into the 1990s and still accounts for about 62% of total government revenue. In 1973, oil production and revenues increased sizably, moving Qatar out of the rank of the world's poorest countries and providing it with one of the highest per capita incomes. In 2007, Qatar's per capita income of nearly $67,000 was the fifth-highest in the world.

Qatar's economy suffered a downturn from in the mid-1990s. Lower Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil production quotas, a fall in oil prices, and the generally unpromising outlook on international markets reduced oil earnings. In turn, the Qatari Government cut spending plans to match lower income. The resulting recessionary local business climate caused many firms to lay off expatriate staff. With the economy recovering in the late 1990s, expatriate populations have grown again.

As of 2007, oil production was around 835,000 barrels a day (bpd), and was expected to reach 1.1 million bpd by 2009. At the current production pace, oil reserves are expected to last more than 40 years. Moreover, Qatar's proven reserves of gas are the third-largest in the world, exceeding 900 trillion cubic feet (14% of the world's total proven gas reserves). Qatar shares with Iran the largest single non-associated gas field in the world, the North Field. Qatar is now the world's largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with a capacity of more than 31 million metric tons per annum (mmta), and it expects to reach 77.5 mmta of LNG exports by 2010. By 2010, Qatar will account for one-third of the world's LNG supply.

The 1991 completion of the $1.5-billion Phase I of the North Field gas development project strongly boosted the economy. In 1996, Qatar began exporting liquefied natural gas to Japan. Further phases of North Field gas development costing billions of dollars are in various stages of planning and development, and Qatar has concluded agreements with the U.A.E. to export gas via pipelines and to Spain, Turkey, Italy, the U.S., France, South Korea, India, China, Taiwan, and the U.K. via ship. However, the government has halted any further expansion of gas production until 2010, as it assesses its plans for future exploitation of the field.

Qatar's natural gas liquefaction facilities and related industries are located in Ras Laffan Industrial City, site of the world's largest LNG exports of more than 31 million metric tons per year. Qatar's heavy industrial base, located in Messaieed, includes a refinery with a 140,000 bpd capacity, a fertilizer plant for urea and ammonia, a steel plant, and a petrochemical plant, and several new petrochemical plants will be built in the coming years. All these industries use gas for fuel. Most are joint ventures between U.S., European, and Japanese firms and the state-owned Qatar Petroleum (QP). The U.S. is the major equipment supplier for Qatar's oil and gas industry, and U.S. companies are playing a major role in the development of the oil and gas sector and petrochemicals.

The country's economic growth has been stunning. Qatar's nominal GDP, $63.8 billion for 2007, had recently been growing at an average of 15%, and the 2007 growth rate was 12.5%. Qatar's 2007 per capita GDP was $67,000, and projected to soon be the highest in the world. The Qatari Government's strategy is to utilize its wealth to generate more wealth by diversifying the economic base of the country beyond hydrocarbons.

Qatar pursues a vigorous program of "Qatarization," under which all joint venture industries and government departments strive to move Qatari nationals into positions of greater authority. Growing numbers of foreign-educated Qataris, including many educated in the U.S., are returning home to assume key positions formerly occupied by expatriates. In order to control the influx of expatriate workers, Qatar has tightened the administration of its foreign manpower programs over the past several years. Security is the principal basis for Qatar's strict entry and immigration rules and regulations.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Qatar achieved full independence in an atmosphere of cooperation with the U.K. and friendship with neighboring states. Most Arab states, the U.K., and the U.S. were among the first countries to recognize Qatar, and the state promptly gained admittance to the United Nations and the Arab League. Qatar established diplomatic relations with the U.S.S.R. and China in 1988. It was an early member of OPEC and a founding member of the GCC.

In September 1992, tensions arose with Saudi Arabia when Saudi forces allegedly attacked a Qatari border post, resulting in two deaths. Relations have since improved. In December 2008, Qatar and Saudi Arabia signed a land and maritime border agreement while pledging mutual cooperation on a number of industrial and commercial issues.

For years, both Qatar and Bahrain claimed ownership of the Hawar Islands. The case was eventually referred to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. The ICJ issued a ruling in June 2001, which both sides accepted. In the agreement Bahrain kept the main Hawar Island but dropped claims to parts of mainland Qatar, while Qatar retained significant maritime areas and their resources.

U.S.-QATARI RELATIONS
Bilateral relations are strong and expanding. The U.S. embassy was opened in March 1973. The first resident U.S. ambassador arrived in July 1974. Ties between the U.S. and Qatar are excellent. Amir Hamad last visited Washington in 2004, and President George W. Bush visited Qatar in 2003. Qatar and the United States coordinate closely on regional diplomatic initiatives, cooperate to increase security in the Gulf, and enjoy extensive economic links, especially in the hydrocarbons sector. Qatar sees the development of a world-class educational system as key to its continued success. As a result, hundreds of Qataris study in the United States. Cornell University has established a degree-granting branch medical school campus in Doha, and other universities including Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon University, the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Design, the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, and Northwestern also have branch campuses in Qatar's "Education City" complex.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Joseph LeBaron
Deputy Chief of Mission--Mirembe Nantongo
Political/Economic Counselor--Steven Rice
Senior Commercial Officer--Dao Le
Consular Officer--Alex Ave-Lallemant
Public Affairs Officer--Joey Hood
Senior Defense Official and Defense Attache--Commander Ken Rasmussen

The U.S. Embassy in Qatar is located in Doha at 22 February Road, Al Luqta District, Doha, Qatar. Mailing address: P.O. Box 23, Doha. Tel.: 974-488-4161; fax 4884150. The embassy is open Sunday through Thursday (Qatar's workweek), closed for U.S. and Qatari holidays.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.

Background Note: Niger

Bureau of African Affairs

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Niger

Geography
Area: 1,267,000 sq. km (490,000 sq. mi.); about three times the size of California.
Cities: Capital--Niamey (pop. approx. 1.2 million).
Other cities--Tahoua, Konni, Maradi, Zinder, Diffa, Dosso, Arlit, and Agadez.
Terrain: About two-thirds desert and mountains, one-third savanna.
Climate: Hot, dry, and dusty. Rainy season June - September.

People
Nationality: Noun and Adjective--Nigerien(s).
Population (2009 est.) 15,300,000.
Annual growth rate (2009): 3.3%.
Ethnic groups: Hausa 53%, Djerma (Zarma) 21%, Fulani 7%, Tuareg 11%, Beri Beri (Kanuri) 6%; Arab, Toubou, and Gourmantche 2%.
Religions: Islam (97%); remainder traditional and Christian.
Languages: French (official), Hausa, Djerma, Fulfulde, Kanuri, Tamachek, Toubou, Gourmantche, Arabic.
Education: Years compulsory--6. Attendance--45% (men), 31% (women). Literacy (2005)--28.7% (15% for women).
Health: Infant mortality rate--150/1,000. Life expectancy--54.5 yrs.

Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: August 3, 1960.
Constitution: The constitution of July 18, 1999 was revised by national referendum on August 4, 2009.
Branches: Executive--president and prime minister. Legislative--bicameral. National Assembly (143 members, 30 of which are appointed by the president); Senate (60 members, 20 of which are appointed by the president). Judicial--Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, High Court of Justice.
Political parties: Seven are represented in the National Assembly.
Suffrage: The constitution provides for universal suffrage for Nigeriens age 18 or older.
Administrative subdivisions: Eight regions subdivided into 36 districts (departments) and 266 communes (local councils, both urban and rural).

Economy
GDP (2009): $5.34 billion.
Annual growth rate (2009): 1.0%.
Per capita GDP (2009): $360.
Avg. inflation rate (2009): 4.8%.
Natural resources: Uranium, gold, oil, coal, iron, tin, and phosphates.
Agriculture (27.9% of GDP): Products--millet, sorghum, cowpeas, peanuts, cotton, and rice.
Industry (10.5% of GDP): Types--textiles, cement, soap, and beverages.
Trade (2006): Exports (freight on board--f.o.b.)--$275 million. Types--uranium, livestock, gold, cowpeas, and onions. Major markets--France 34.8%, Nigeria 16.7%, Japan 13.3%, Spain 9.5%, U.S. 0.3%. Imports (f.o.b.)--$792 million. Types--consumer goods, petroleum, foodstuffs, and industrial products. Major suppliers--France 16.3%, China 13.1%, U.S. 7.1%, Nigeria 6.6%, Cote d'Ivoire 6.3%, India 4.7%, Japan 3.9%.

PEOPLE
The largest ethnic groups in Niger are the Hausa, who also constitute the major ethnic group in northern Nigeria, and the Djerma-Songhai, who also are found in parts of Mali. Both groups, along with the Gourmantche, are sedentary farmers who live in the arable, southern tier of the country. The remainder of Nigeriens are nomadic or semi-nomadic livestock-raising peoples--Fulani, Tuareg, Kanuri, Arabs, and Toubou. With rapidly growing populations and the consequent competition for meager natural resources, lifestyles of agriculturalists and livestock herders are increasingly threatened.

Niger's high infant mortality rate is comparable to levels recorded in neighboring countries. However, the child mortality rate (deaths among children under age of 5) is particularly high (198 per 1,000) due to generally poor health conditions and inadequate nutrition for most of the country's children. Nonetheless, Niger's fertility rate (7.8 births/woman), is among the highest in the world, and is far higher than the sub-Saharan African average of 5.4. Two-thirds (66.7%) of the Nigerien population is under age 25. Primary school net enrollment rate is 49% for boys and 31% for girls. Additional education occurs through thousands of Koranic schools.

HISTORY
Considerable evidence indicates that about 600,000 years ago, humans inhabited what has since become the desolate Sahara of northern Niger. Long before the arrival of French influence and control in the area, Niger was an important economic crossroads, and the empires of Songhai, Mali, Gao, Kanem, and Bornu, as well as a number of Hausa states, claimed control over portions of the area.

During recent centuries, the nomadic Tuareg formed large confederations, pushed southward, and, siding with various Hausa states, clashed with the Fulani Empire of Sokoto, which had gained control of much of the Hausa territory in the late 18th century.

In the 19th century, contact with the West began when the first European explorers--notably Mungo Park (British) and Heinrich Barth (German)--explored the area searching for the mouth of the Niger River. Although French efforts at pacification began before 1900, dissident ethnic groups, especially the desert Tuareg, were not subdued until 1922, when Niger became a French colony.

Niger's colonial history and development parallel that of other French West African territories. France administered its West African colonies through a governor general at Dakar, Senegal, and governors in the individual territories, including Niger. In addition to conferring French citizenship on the inhabitants of the territories, the 1946 French constitution provided for decentralization of power and limited participation in political life for local advisory assemblies.

A further revision in the organization of overseas territories occurred with the passage of the Overseas Reform Act (Loi Cadre) of July 23, 1956, followed by reorganization measures enacted by the French Parliament early in 1957. In addition to removing voting inequalities, these laws provided for creation of governmental organs, assuring individual territories a large measure of self-government. After the establishment of the Fifth French Republic on December 4, 1958, Niger became an autonomous state within the French Community. Following full independence on August 3, 1960, however, membership was allowed to lapse.

For its first 14 years as an independent state, Niger was run by a single-party civilian regime under the presidency of Hamani Diori. In 1974, a combination of devastating drought and accusations of rampant corruption resulted in a military coup that overthrew the Diori regime. Lieutenant Colonel Seyni Kountche and a small group of military ruled the country until Kountche's death in 1987. He was succeeded by his Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Ali Saibou, who released political prisoners, liberalized some of Niger's laws and policies, and promulgated a new constitution. However, President Saibou's efforts to control political reforms failed in the face of union and student demands to institute a multi-party democratic system. The Saibou regime acquiesced to these demands by the end of 1990. New political parties and civic associations sprang up, and a national conference was convened in July 1991 to prepare the way for the adoption of a new constitution and the holding of free and fair elections. The debate was often contentious and accusatory, but under the leadership of Prof. Andre Salifou, the conference developed consensus on the modalities of a transition government. A transition government was installed in November 1991 to manage the affairs of state until the institutions of the Third Republic were put into place in April 1993. While the economy deteriorated over the course of the transition, certain accomplishments stand out, including the successful conduct of a constitutional referendum; the adoption of key legislation such as the electoral and rural codes; and the holding of several free, fair, and nonviolent nationwide elections. Freedom of the press flourished with the appearance of several new independent newspapers.

Rivalries within a ruling coalition elected in 1993 led to governmental paralysis, which provided Col. Ibrahim Bare Mainassara a rationale to overthrow the Third Republic and its President, Mahamane Ousmane, in January 1996. While leading a military authority that ran the government (Conseil de Salut National) during a 6-month transition period, Bare enlisted specialists to draft a new constitution for a Fourth Republic announced in May 1996. After dissolving the national electoral committee, Bare organized and won a flawed presidential election in July 1996 and his party won 90% of parliament seats in a flawed legislative election in November 1996. When his efforts to justify his coup and subsequent questionable elections failed to convince donors to restore multilateral and bilateral economic assistance, a desperate Bare ignored an international embargo against Libya and sought Libyan funds to aid Niger's economy. In repeated violations of basic civil liberties by the regime, opposition leaders were imprisoned; journalists often arrested, beaten, and deported by an unofficial militia composed of police and military; and independent media offices were looted and burned with impunity.

In the culmination of an initiative started under the 1991 national conference, however, the government signed peace accords in April 1995 with all Tuareg and Toubou groups that had been in rebellion since 1990, claiming they lacked attention and resources from the central government. The government agreed to absorb some former rebels into the military and, with French assistance, help others return to a productive civilian life.

In April 1999, Bare was overthrown and assassinated in a coup led by Maj. Daouda Mallam Wanke, who established a transitional National Reconciliation Council to oversee the drafting of a constitution for a Fifth Republic with a French style semi-presidential system. In votes that international observers found to be generally free and fair, the Nigerien electorate approved the new constitution in July 1999 and held legislative and presidential elections in October and November 1999. Heading a coalition of the National Movement for a Developing Society (MNSD) and the Democratic and Social Convention (CDS), Mamadou Tandja won the presidency.

In July 2004, Niger held municipal elections nationwide as part of its decentralization process. Some 3,700 people were elected to new local governments in 265 newly established communes. The ruling MNSD party won more positions than any other political party; however, opposition parties made significant gains.

In November and December 2004, Niger held presidential and legislative elections. Mamadou Tandja was elected to his second 5-year presidential term with 65% of the vote in an election that international observers called generally free and fair. This was the first presidential election with a democratically elected incumbent and a test to Niger's young democracy.

In the 2004 legislative elections, the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD), the Democratic and Socialist Convention (CDS), the Rally for Social Democracy (RSD), the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), the Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), and the Social Party for Nigerien Democracy (PSDN) coalition, which backed Tandja, won 88 of the 113 seats in the National Assembly.

In February 2007, a previously unknown rebel group, the Movement of Nigeriens for Justice (MNJ), emerged as a formidable threat to peace in the north of Niger. The predominantly Tuareg group issued a number of demands, mainly related to development in the north. It attacked military and other facilities and laid landmines in the north. The resulting insecurity devastated Niger's tourist industry and deterred investment in mining and oil. The government labeled the MNJ criminals and traffickers, and refused to negotiate with the group until it disarmed.

Since then, the Government of Niger, with U.S. encouragement that included a conflict negotiation workshop facilitated by the U.S. Institute of Peace, pursued several rounds of peace talks with the MNJ and other rebel groups, resulting in a de facto ceasefire, weapons handovers, and an executive order providing amnesty to rebels and those who supported them, including members of the Nigerien Armed Forces. The Government of Niger has made considerable progress in bringing peace and stability to the region; following the November 2009 lifting of the state of alert for Agadez Region, tourists are able to travel to and within the urban parts of Agadez city.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Niger’s young democracy faced a critical challenge in 2009 in what would have been the first peaceful transition of power from one president to another. President Tandja led the country down a different path than that carefully spelled out in its heavily-debated 1999 constitution drafted following the assassination of President Bare.

President Tandja systematically dismantled Niger’s democratic institutions in 2009 in order to extend his time in power, dissolving the National Assembly in May, followed by the Constitutional Court in June. He then accorded sweeping powers to the media regulatory body to curtail press freedoms, and held a referendum in August 2009 on a new, hastily drafted constitution that did not benefit from input from either civil society or the general public. It extended his current term by 3 years (without election) and allowed for an unlimited number of presidential terms.

Before adoption of the new constitution on August 4, the position of prime minister carried considerable clout, as it served as head of government. Under the new constitution, however, the role of prime minister is not defined clearly, and assumes a largely ceremonial role, while the president serves as both head of state and head of government.

The country held legislative elections on October 20. According to Niger's national Electoral Commission, 51.27% of the 6 million registered voters participated. The ruling party, the National Movement for a Society of Development (MNSD), won 76 out of 113 elective parliamentary seats. Five parties aligned with the presidential regime won 25 seats, while 11 independent candidates won seats in the National Assembly. One of the three opposition parties that participated in the election obtained one seat. This majority gives President Tandja control of the parliament.

The legislature elected in October 2009 has 113 deputies elected to 5-year terms under a proportional system of representation, with an additional 30 seats to be filled by the president. Political parties must attain at least 5% of the vote in order to gain a seat in the legislature.

Opposition parties boycotted the August 2009 referendum and both the October 2009 legislative and December 2009 local elections, refusing to legitimize the Sixth Republic established by the new constitution. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suspended Niger from its membership in October 2009 and has designated a mediator to help bring an end to the political crisis.

The country is currently divided into 8 regions, which are subdivided into 36 districts (departments). The chief administrators in each region (governor) and department (prefect) are appointed by the government and function primarily as the local agents of the central authorities.

Niger's independent judicial system is composed of four higher courts--the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court, the High Court of Justice, and the Constitutional Court. In January 2007, the National Assembly voted to divide the Supreme Court into three high courts--an Administrative Court, a Supreme Court of Justice, and an Audit Court.

Principal Government Officials
President and Chief of State--Mamadou Tandja
Prime Minister--Ali Badjo Gamatie
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation--Aichatou Mindaoudou
Ambassador to the United States--Aminata Maiga Djibrilla Toure

Niger maintains an embassy in the United States at 2204 R Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-483-4224/25/26/27) and a permanent mission to the United Nations at 417 East 50th Street, New York, NY 10022 (tel. 212-421-3260).

Next Elections Scheduled
Presidential elections--November/December 2012, two rounds; no date selected.
Legislative elections--December 2012; no date selected.
Local elections--Not scheduled, but expected in 2012. Last local election was in December 2009.

ECONOMY
One of the poorest countries in the world, ranking last on the United Nations Human Development Index, Niger's economy is based largely on subsistence crops, livestock, and some of the world's largest uranium deposits. Traditional subsistence farming, herding, small trading, seasonal migration, and informal markets dominate an economy that generates few formal sector jobs.

Niger's agricultural and livestock sectors are the mainstay of all but 20% of the population. Fourteen percent of Niger's GDP is generated by livestock production--camels, goats, sheep, and cattle--said to support 29% of the population. The 15% of Niger's land that is arable is found mainly along its southern border with Nigeria. Rainfall varies and when insufficient, Niger has difficulty feeding its population and must rely on grain purchases and food aid to meet food requirements. In 2004 localized drought and locust infestations contributed to a drop in global harvests of 11% and led the U.S. Embassy to make a disaster declaration. This decrease, combined with chronic structural food insecurity, high malnutrition, and other market factors, triggered a food crisis which began in May-June of 2005. Although cereal harvests were average or better in 2005-2008, insufficient and poorly distributed rainfall led to a poor harvest in 2009, and experts are working to manage anticipated food deficits. Millet and sorghum are Niger's principal rain-fed subsistence crops, and millet alone provides 75% of the total calories consumed by Niger’s population. Cowpeas and onions are grown for commercial export, as are limited quantities of garlic, peppers, gum arabic, and sesame seeds.

In 2007, foreign exchange earnings from livestock (18.8%) were second only to those from uranium (30.8), followed by onions (15.6%) and gold (9.7%). Actual livestock exports far exceed official statistics, which often do not include large herds of animals that are simply walked across the border to markets in Nigeria. Some hides and skins are exported, and some are transformed into handicrafts.

Niger’s revenue from uranium exports varies according to global prices. The nation enjoyed substantial export earnings and rapid economic growth during the 1960s and 1970s; however, when the uranium-led boom ended in the early 1980s the economy stagnated. The French nuclear power concern AREVA owns controlling shares in Niger's two national mining companies. As a result of higher world prices in 2007, AREVA agreed to pay the Government of Niger double what it had been paying for uranium. In 2007 the U.S. public utility holding company Exelon Corporation signed a contract with the Government of Niger to buy 300 tons of uranium each year for the next 10 years. AREVA controls the only two existing uranium mines in Niger (COMINAK's underground mine and SOMAIR's open pit mine) and is developing a huge new mine at Imouraren, which is expected to begin production in 2011. High uranium prices renewed interest in exploration, and in 2007 the Government of Niger awarded 122 new mineral exploration licenses to companies from France, China, Canada, Australia, India, South Africa, and the United States, but current market conditions make it difficult to finance exploration.

Exploitable deposits of gold are known to exist in Niger in the region between the Niger River and the border with Burkina Faso. Niger’s sole commercial gold mine, Samira Hill, opened in the region of Tera on October 5, 2004. Samira Hill is owned by a company called SML (Societe des Mines du Liptako), which is a joint venture between a Canadian company--Societe SEMAFO Inc.(80%) and the Government of Niger (20%). Gold prices have been very strong in recent years, but income from the Samira mine was restricted until April 2009, because a percentage of the mine’s production had been committed to forward sales at a lower price when the mine was initially financed. Now that this commitment has been fulfilled, Samira’s production is sold at market levels, and SML was recently awarded an additional concession which will extend the life of the mine.

Niger has oil potential. In 2006 an ExxonMobil-Petronas joint venture ceased exploration activities at what may be Niger's largest oil deposit, the Agadem block, located north of Lake Chad. In 2007 nineteen companies vied for exploration and production rights to the Agadem block, but none of these bids were accepted. The Government of Niger subsequently awarded the Agadem block to China National Petroleum Company, which agreed to construct a refinery north of Zinder. Both the petroleum and the refinery are under active development. The parastatal SONICHAR (Societe Nigerienne de Charbon) in Tchirozerine (north of Agadez) extracts coal from an open pit and fuels an electricity generating plant that supplies energy to the uranium mines. There are additional low quality coal deposits southwest of the current mines. Substantial deposits of phosphates, iron, limestone, and gypsum also have been found in Niger.

Niger’s economic growth rates vary widely reflecting the effect of rainfall on agricultural output. In 2005 the economy showed strong growth (7.1% real GDP growth) as a result of the agricultural sector's recovery from the poor harvests of 2004, when GDP actually dropped by 0.6%. In 2006, the real GDP growth rate was 4.8%. In 2007, after a below average harvest, it was 3.1%, and with a very good harvest in 2008 it rose to over 9%. The government actively seeks foreign private investment and considers it key to restoring economic growth and development. With the assistance of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), it has undertaken a concerted effort to revitalize the private sector. It revised the investment code (1997 and 2000), petroleum code (1992 and 2007), and mining code (1993) aimed at attracting investors. Niger has attracted significant new investments in uranium (AREVA’s new mine), the petroleum sector, and cellular communications, but poor legal and physical infrastructure make it less attractive for smaller firms.

Niger shares a common currency, the CFA franc, and a common central bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), with seven other members of the West African Monetary Union. The Treasury of the Government of France supplements the BCEAO's international reserves in order to maintain a fixed rate of 656 CFA to the euro.

Economic Reform
In January 2000, Niger's newly elected government inherited serious financial and economic problems, including a virtually empty treasury, past-due salaries (11 months of arrears) and scholarship payments, increased debt, reduced revenue performance, and lower public investment. In December 2000, Niger qualified for enhanced debt relief under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and concluded an agreement with the Fund on a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). In January 2001, Niger reached its decision point and subsequently reached its completion point in 2004. The debt relief provided under the enhanced HIPC initiative significantly reduces Niger's annual debt service obligations, freeing about $40 million per year over the coming years for expenditures on basic health care, primary education, HIV/AIDS prevention, rural infrastructure, and other programs geared at poverty reduction. Debt service as a percentage of government revenue was slashed from nearly 44% in 1999 to 10.9% in 2003 and will average 4.3% during 2010-2019. The debt relief cut debt service as a percentage of export revenue from more than 23% to 8.4% in 2003, and decreases it to about 5% in later years. In 2005, the IMF canceled all of Niger's debts to it (approximately $111 million) incurred before January 2005. In 2006, the African Development Fund canceled $193 million in debt for Niger. Furthermore, the World Bank announced that approximately $745 million in debt relief for Niger would be phased in over the next 37 years.

In its effort to consolidate macroeconomic stability under the PRGF, the government is also taking action to reduce corruption, and as the result of a participatory process encompassing civil society, has devised a Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan that focuses on improving health, primary education, rural infrastructure, agricultural production, environmental protection, and judicial reform. In late 2006, Niger qualified for the Millennium Challenge Corporation's (MCC) Threshold Program, under which Niger was to focus its MCC efforts on promoting girls' education, fighting corruption, and improving the business environment.

Under the auspices of the World Bank, the government launched a major privatization effort in 1998 to divest itself of monopolies in water, power, and telecommunications and to transfer other public enterprises to private sector management. In 2001 Niger successfully privatized its telecommunications monopoly; however, the privatization of other industries has stalled. The privatization of the state-owned electric utility (NIGELEC) and the national oil distribution company (SONIDEP) are on hold indefinitely.

Foreign Aid
The most important donors in Niger are France, the European Union, the World Bank, the IMF, and UN agencies--UNDP, UNICEF, FAO, WFP, and UNFPA. Other donors include the United States, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, China, Italy, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Iran, Denmark, Canada, and Saudi Arabia. While the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) does not have a Mission in Niger, the United States is a major donor, contributing on average $50 million each year to Niger's development. Although in early 2008 Niger concluded an agreement for a $23 million Millennium Challenge Account Threshold Program, it was suspended on December 31, 2009 due to the current political situation. Niger also benefits from the largest non-emergency PL 480 food assistance program in West Africa. Foreign aid represents 8.3% of Niger's GDP and over 40% of government revenues.

DEFENSE
The Niger Armed Forces total about 13,098 personnel composed of approximately 4,700 gendarmes, 398 air force, and 8,000 army personnel. The air force operates several transport and observation aircraft and two attack helicopters. The military is organized in five defense zones roughly aligned with national administrative boundaries and is comprised of two paratroop units, four light armored units, and nine motorized infantry units. In 1991, Niger sent a 400-man military contingent to join the American-led allied forces against Iraq during the Gulf War. Niger provides a battalion of peace-keeping forces to UN missions in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI), Haiti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Burundi.

Niger's defense budget is modest, accounting for about 1.6% of government expenditures. France provides the largest share of military assistance to Niger, and there are presently about 15 French military advisers assigned to the country. Many Nigerien military personnel receive training in France, and the Nigerien Armed Forces are equipped mainly with materiel either given by or purchased in France. Morocco, Algeria, China, and Libya also provide significant military assistance. A small U.S. foreign military assistance program was initiated in 1983. A U.S. Defense Attaché office opened in June 1985 and assumed Security Assistance Office responsibilities in 1987. The office closed in 1996 following a coup d'etat. The U.S. Defense Attaché office reopened in July 2000. The United States provided transportation and logistical assistance to Nigerien troops deployed to Cote d'Ivoire in 2003.

From 2003 to 2008, under the framework of the Department of State’s Pan-Sahel Initiative and the Trans Saharan Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP), a significant amount of military-to-military cooperation initiatives were initiated, including the training and equipping of specialized counterterrorism and military intelligence units. Military cooperation is presently suspended, including military-to-military and security assistance activities and training provided under TSCTP. United States Africa Command contributes funds for humanitarian assistance construction projects throughout the country.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Niger pursues a moderate foreign policy and maintains friendly relations with the West and the Islamic world as well as nonaligned countries. It belongs to the United Nations and its main specialized agencies and in 1980-81 served on the UN Security Council. Niger maintains a special relationship with France and enjoys close relations with its West African neighbors. Although Niger was suspended from the Economic Community of West African States in 2009, it is a charter member of the African Union and the West African Monetary Union and also belongs to the Niger River and Lake Chad Basin Commissions, the Nonaligned Movement, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

U.S.-NIGERIEN RELATIONS
President Tandja's recent undemocratic actions have put a strain on U.S.-Niger bilateral relations. As a consequence, the U.S. stopped all non-humanitarian projects in Niger in December 2009. With the exception of recent events, U.S. relations with Niger since its independence have generally been close and friendly. It is estimated that the U.S. administered nearly $50 million dollars in official aid for 2009 (prior to the suspension). These funds were administered through American and local non-governmental organizations with programs addressing food security, health, and communication/media outreach. The U.S. Peace Corps program in Niger started in 1962. The program has continued without interruption for the past 47 years. The size of the program recently declined from an average of 125 Peace Corps volunteers to 73 volunteers. This decrease was in response to safety concerns for volunteers stemming from increased Al Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) activity in the sub-region.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--vacant
Deputy Chief of Mission/Chargé d'Affaires--Eric Whitaker
Defense Attache--Lt. Col. Neil Clough
Management Officer--Sonja Rix
Economic/Commercial/Consular Officer--Karan Swaner
Public Affairs Officer--Robert Tate
Political Officer--Syga Thomas
Peace Corps Director--Mary Abrams
USAID A/Country Program Manager--Rob Luneberg

The U.S. Embassy in Niger is located on the Avenue des Ambassades. The telephone numbers for the embassy are (227) 20-72-26-61 through 65, and the fax number is (227) 20-73-31-67. The mailing address is B.P. 11201, Niamey.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.

Background Note: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Bureau of African Affairs

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Geography
Location: Central Africa. Bordering nations--Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia.
Area: 2.345 sq. km. (905,063 sq. mi.; about the size of the U.S. east of the Mississippi).
Cities: Capital--Kinshasa (pop. 8 million). Regional capitals--Bandundu, Bukavu, Goma, Kananga, Kindu, Kisangani, Lubumbashi, Matadi, Mbandaka, Mbuji-Mayi.
Terrain: Varies from tropical rainforests to mountainous terraces, plateaus, savannas, dense grasslands, and mountains.
Climate: Equatorial; ranges from tropical rainforest in the Congo River basin, hot and humid in much of the north and west, cooler and drier in the south central area and the east.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Congolese.
Population (2009, National Institute of Statistics estimate): 68 million.
Annual growth rate (2008 est.): 3.24%.
Ethnic groups: Approximately 250 African ethnic groups; the Luba, Kongo, and Anamongo are some of the larger groups.
Religions: Christian 70% (Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%); Kimbanguist 10%; other sects and traditional beliefs 10%; Muslim 10%.
Language: Official--French. National languages--Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba.
Education: Literacy (2008 est.)--French or local language: 55% (women), 76% (men). Schooling (2007 est.)--none 21%, primary 46%, secondary 30%, university 3%.
Health (2007 est.): Infant mortality rate--92/1,000 live births. Life expectancy (2008 est.)--51.3 yrs.

Government
Type: Republic; highly centralized with executive power vested in the president.
Independence: June 30, 1960 (from Belgium).
Constitution: The D.R.C. has had numerous constitutions, constitutional amendments, and transitional constitutions since independence. The currently operative constitution was approved by 84% of voters in a December 2005 referendum and officially promulgated in February 2006.
Branches: Executive--President is head of state. Cabinet is appointed by the ruling party in the parliament. Prime minister is elected by the parliament. Legislative--The 500-member lower house of parliament was elected in July 30, 2006 national elections. Provincial Assemblies elected the Senate in October 29, 2006 elections, and provincial governors in early 2007. Judicial--Supreme Court (Cour Supreme).
Administrative subdivisions: Eleven provinces including the capital city, Kinshasa.
Political parties: President Joseph Kabila's party is Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et le Développement (PPRD). Two main coalitions, the Alliance pour la Majorité Presidentielle (AMP) and the Union pour la Nation (UN), respectively represent President Kabila and former Transitional Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba. Bemba was Kabila’s principal opponent in the 2006 presidential election (see “Government and Political Conditions” section below), and despite his May 2008 arrest by Belgian authorities and transfer to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, is still the official president of the largest single opposition party, Mouvement pour la Libération du Congo (MLC).
Another important opposition party is the Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès Social (UDPS), led by aging Mobutu opponent Etienne Tshisekedi. Although the UDPS boycotted the 2006 elections, Tshisekedi announced in November 2009 that the UDPS would participate in upcoming local and national elections. Other parties include Forces du Futur (FDF), Forces Novatrices pour l'Union et la Solidarite (FONUS), Parti Democrate Social Chrétien (PDSC), Mouvement Social Démocratie et Développement (MSDD), Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution--Fait Prive (MPR-FP), Union des Nationalistes et des Fédéralistes Congolais (UNAFEC), and Mouvement National Congolais/ Lumumba (MNC/L). Former rebel movements-turned-political parties include the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD), Mouvement pour la Libération du Congo (MLC), and independent splinter groups of the RCD (RCD/ML, RCD/N, RCD/G). The former rebel group Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP) received official status as a political party in May 2009.
Suffrage: 18 years of age and universal.

Economy
GDP (2009): $10.82 billion.
Annual GDP growth rate (2009): 2.7%.
Per capita GDP (2009): $171.
Natural resources: Copper, cobalt, diamonds, gold, other minerals; petroleum; wood; hydroelectric potential.
Agriculture: Cash crops--coffee, rubber, palm oil, cotton, cocoa, sugar, tea. Food crops--manioc, corn, legumes, plantains, peanuts.
Land use: Agriculture 3%; pasture 7%; forest/woodland 77%; other 13%.
Industry: Types--processed and unprocessed minerals; consumer products, including textiles, plastics, footwear, cigarettes, metal products; processed foods and beverages, cement, timber.
Currency: Congolese franc (FC). The U.S. dollar is also used as legal tender.
Trade: Exports (2009 est.)--$3.787 billion. Products--diamonds, cobalt, copper, coffee, petroleum. Main partners--EU, Japan, South Africa, U.S., China. Imports (2009 est.)--$5.254 billion. Products--consumer goods (food, textiles), capital equipment, refined petroleum products. Partners--EU, China, South Africa, U.S.
Total external debt (2009): $12.5 billion.

GEOGRAPHY
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.) includes the greater part of the Congo River basin, which covers an area of almost 1 million square kilometers (400,000 sq. mi.). The country's only outlet to the Atlantic Ocean is a narrow strip of land on the north bank of the Congo River.

The vast, low-lying central area is a basin-shaped plateau sloping toward the west and covered by tropical rainforest. This area is surrounded by mountainous terraces in the west, plateaus merging into savannas in the south and southwest, and dense grasslands extending beyond the Congo River in the north. High mountains are found in the extreme eastern region.

The D.R.C. lies on the Equator, with one-third of the country to the north and two-thirds to the south. The climate is hot and humid in the river basin and cool and dry in the southern highlands. South of the Equator, the rainy season lasts from October to May and north of the Equator, from April to November. Along the Equator, rainfall is fairly regular throughout the year. During the wet season, thunderstorms often are violent but seldom last more than a few hours. The average annual rainfall for the entire country is about 107 centimeters (42 in.).

PEOPLE
The population of the D.R.C. was estimated at 68 million in 2009. As many as 250 ethnic groups have been distinguished and named. Some of the larger groups are the Kongo, Luba, and Anamongo. Although 700 local languages and dialects are spoken, the linguistic variety is bridged both by the use of French and the native languages Kikongo, Tshiluba, Swahili, and Lingala.

About 70% of the Congolese population is Christian, predominantly Roman Catholic. Most of the non-Christians adhere to either traditional religions or syncretic sects. Traditional religions include concepts such as monotheism, animism, vitalism, spirit and ancestor worship, witchcraft and sorcery, and vary widely among ethnic groups; none is formalized. The syncretic sects often merge Christianity with traditional beliefs and rituals. The most popular of these sects, Kimbanguism, was seen as a threat to the colonial regime and was banned by the Belgians. Kimbanguism, officially "the church of Christ on Earth by the prophet Simon Kimbangu," now claims about 3 million members, primarily among the Bakongo tribe of Bas-Congo province and Kinshasa. In 1969, it became the first independent African church admitted to the World Council of Churches.

Before independence in 1960, education was largely in the hands of religious groups. The primary school system was well developed at independence; however, the secondary school system was limited, and higher education was almost nonexistent in most regions of the country. The principal objective of this system was to train low-level administrators and clerks. Since independence, efforts have been made to increase access to education, and secondary and higher education have been made available to many more Congolese. According to estimates made in 2007, 21% of the population had no schooling, 46% had primary schooling, 30% had secondary schooling, and 3% had university schooling. At all levels of education, males greatly outnumber females. The largest state-run universities are the University of Kinshasa, the University of Lubumbashi, and the University of Kisangani. The elite continue to send their children abroad to be educated, primarily in Western Europe.

HISTORY
The area known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was populated as early as 10,000 years ago and settled in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. by Bantus from present-day Nigeria. Portuguese navigator Diego Cao was the first European known to have visited the area (in 1482), and English journalist Henry Morton Stanley later explored much of the region in the mid to late 19th century. The area was officially colonized in 1885 as a personal possession of Belgian King Leopold II as the Congo Free State. In 1907, administration shifted to the Belgian Government, which renamed the country the Belgian Congo. Following a series of riots and unrest, the Belgian Congo was granted its independence on June 30, 1960. Parliamentary elections in 1960 produced Patrice Lumumba as prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu as president of the renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Mobutu Era
Within the first year of independence, several events destabilized the country: the army mutinied; the governor of Katanga province attempted secession; a UN peacekeeping force was called in to restore order; Prime Minister Lumumba died under mysterious circumstances; and Col. Joseph Désiré Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Seko) took over the government and ceded it again to President Kasavubu.

Unrest and rebellion plagued the government until 1965, when Mobutu, by then a lieutenant general and commander-in-chief of the national army, again seized control of the country and declared himself president for five years. Mobutu quickly centralized power into his own hands and was elected unopposed as president in 1970.

Embarking on a campaign of cultural awareness, Mobutu renamed the country the Republic of Zaire and required citizens to adopt African names. Relative peace and stability prevailed until 1977 and 1978 when Katangan rebels, staged in Angola, launched a series of invasions into the Katanga region. The rebels were driven out with the aid of Belgian paratroopers.

During the 1980s, Mobutu continued to enforce his one-party system of rule. Although Mobutu successfully maintained control during this period, opposition parties, most notably the Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès Social (UDPS), were active. Mobutu's attempts to quell these groups drew significant international criticism.

As the Cold War came to a close, internal and external pressures on Mobutu increased. In late 1989 and early 1990, Mobutu was weakened by a series of domestic protests, heightened international criticism of his regime's human rights practices, and a faltering economy. In April 1990, Mobutu agreed to the principle of a multi-party system with elections and a constitution. As details of a reform package were delayed, soldiers in September 1991 began looting Kinshasa to protest their unpaid wages. Two thousand French and Belgian troops, some of whom were flown in on U.S. Air Force planes, arrived to evacuate the 20,000 endangered foreign nationals in Kinshasa.

In 1992, after previous similar attempts, the long-promised Sovereign National Conference was staged, encompassing more than 2,000 representatives from various political parties. The conference gave itself a legislative mandate and elected Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo as its chairman, along with Etienne Tshisekedi, leader of the UDPS, as prime minister. By the end of the year Mobutu had created a rival government with its own prime minister. The ensuing stalemate produced a compromise merger of the two governments into the High Council of the Republic-Parliament of Transition (HCR-PT) in 1994, with Mobutu as head of state and Kengo Wa Dondo as prime minister. Although presidential and legislative elections were scheduled repeatedly over the next two years, they never took place.

Beginning in late 1994, the war and genocide in neighboring Rwanda had spilled over to Zaire. Rwandan Hutu militia forces (Interahamwe), who fled Rwanda following the ascension of a Tutsi-led government, were using Hutu refugee camps in eastern Zaire as bases for incursions against Rwanda.

In October 1996, Rwandan troops (RPA) entered Zaire, simultaneously with the formation of an armed coalition led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila known as the Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo-Zaire (AFDL). With the goal of forcibly ousting Mobutu, the AFDL, supported by Rwanda and Uganda, began a military campaign toward Kinshasa. Following failed peace talks between Mobutu and Kabila in May 1997, Mobutu left the country.

From Dictatorship to Disintegration
Laurent-Désiré Kabila marched into Kinshasa on May 17, 1997 and declared himself president. He consolidated power around himself and the AFDL and renamed the country the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C.). Kabila's Army Chief and the Secretary General of the AFDL were Rwandan, and RPA units continued to operate tangentially with the D.R.C.'s military, which was renamed the Forces Armées Congolaises (FAC).

Over the next year, relations between Kabila and his foreign backers deteriorated. In July 1998, Kabila ordered all foreign troops to leave the D.R.C. Most refused to leave. On August 2, nationwide fighting erupted as Rwandan troops in the D.R.C. "mutinied," and fresh Rwandan and Ugandan troops entered the country. Two days later, Rwandan troops flew to Bas-Congo, with the intention of marching on Kinshasa, ousting Kabila, and replacing him with the newly formed Rwandan-backed rebel group called the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD). The Rwandan campaign was thwarted at the last minute when Angolan, Zimbabwean, and Namibian troops intervened on behalf of the D.R.C. Government. The Rwandans and the RCD withdrew to eastern D.R.C., where they established de facto control over portions of eastern D.R.C. and continued to fight the Congolese army and its foreign allies.

In February 1999, Uganda backed the formation of a rebel group called the Mouvement pour la Libération du Congo (MLC), which drew support from among ex-Mobutuists and ex-Zairian soldiers in Equateur province (Mobutu's home province). Together, Uganda and the MLC established control over the northern third of the D.R.C.

At this stage, the D.R.C. was divided de facto into three segments--one controlled by Laurent Kabila, one controlled by Rwanda, and one controlled by Uganda--and the parties had reached military deadlock. In July 1999, a cease-fire was proposed in Lusaka, Zambia, which all parties signed by the end of August. The Lusaka Accord called for a cease-fire, the deployment of a UN peacekeeping operation, the withdrawal of foreign troops, and the launching of an "Inter-Congolese Dialogue" to form a transitional government leading to elections. The parties to the Lusaka Accord failed to fully implement its provisions in 1999 and 2000. Laurent Kabila drew increasing international criticism for blocking full deployment of UN troops, hindering progress toward an Inter-Congolese Dialogue, and suppressing internal political activity.

On January 16, 2001, Laurent Kabila was assassinated, allegedly by a member of his personal bodyguard corps who was in turn killed by an aide-de-camp. Kabila was succeeded by his son Joseph, who reversed many of his father's negative policies. Over the next year, the UN peacekeeping mission in the D.R.C. (known by its French acronym MONUC) deployed throughout the country, and the Inter-Congolese Dialogue proceeded. By the end of 2002, all Angolan, Namibian, and Zimbabwean troops had withdrawn from the D.R.C. Following D.R.C.-Rwanda talks in South Africa that culminated in the Pretoria Accord in July 2002, Rwandan troops officially withdrew from the D.R.C. in October 2002. However, there were continued, unconfirmed reports that Rwandan soldiers and military advisers remained integrated with the forces of an RCD splinter group (RCD/G) in eastern D.R.C. Ugandan troops officially withdrew from the D.R.C. in May 2003.

National Dialogue, Transitional Government, and Nascent Democracy
In October 2001, the Inter-Congolese Dialogue began in Addis Ababa under the auspices of Facilitator Ketumile Masire (former president of Botswana). The initial meetings made little progress and were adjourned. On February 25, 2002, the dialogue was reconvened in South Africa. It included representatives from the government, rebel groups, political opposition, civil society, and Mai-Mai (Congolese local defense militias). The talks ended inconclusively on April 19, 2002, when the government and the MLC brokered an agreement that was signed by the majority of delegates at the dialogue but left out the RCD/G and opposition UDPS party, among others.

This partial agreement was never implemented, and negotiations resumed in South Africa in October 2002. This time, the talks led to an all-inclusive agreement, which was signed by delegates in Pretoria on December 17, 2002, and formally ratified by all parties on April 2, 2003. That same day, a transitional constitution was adopted.

Following nominations by each of the various signatory groups, President Joseph Kabila on June 30, 2003 issued a decree that formally announced the transitional government lineup. Four vice presidents (each representing a specific party, faction, or region) took their oaths of office on July 17, 2003, and most incoming ministers assumed their new functions within days thereafter.

During the transitional government period, President Joseph Kabila made significant progress in liberalizing domestic political activity and undertaking economic reforms in cooperation with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, serious human rights problems remained in the security services and justice system.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
In December 2005, roughly two-thirds of eligible Congolese voters participated in a referendum that resulted in approval of a new constitution. This constitution entered into force in February 2006. Extensive executive, legislative, and military powers are vested in the president. The legislature does not have the power to overturn the government through a vote of no confidence. The judiciary is only nominally independent. The president, due to the absence of the as-yet-unestablished Conseil Supérieur de la Magistrature (supreme judicial council; CSM), has the power to dismiss and appoint judges. The president is head of a cabinet of ministers. The current cabinet, appointed in late 2008, has 37 ministers.

On July 30, 2006 the D.R.C. held its first free, democratic, multi-party elections in more than 40 years. Over 25 million registered voters cast ballots for president (from among 33 candidates) and National Assembly deputies (from among over 9,500 candidates vying for 500 seats). Voter turnout was over 70%, and despite technical and logistical difficulties as well as isolated incidents of violence and intimidation, the elections were largely calm and orderly. International observers also judged them to have been credible. According to the D.R.C.’s Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) incumbent President Kabila won 44.81% of the vote, compared to 20.3% for Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, his nearest challenger. Hours after these tallies were released, the Gombe area of central Kinshasa saw clashes between militias loyal to these two candidates. With no one winning a majority, a second round was held on October 29; Kabila beat Bemba by a margin of 58% to 42% and was inaugurated on December 6, 2006, to a five-year term.

The National Assembly elections held simultaneously with the July 2006 first presidential round resulted in the election of 500 deputies representing 169 electoral districts. Winners in multiple-seat districts (approximately two-thirds of the total districts) were determined based on a complex formula involving the percentages of overall votes cast for a given party and proportional representation using open party lists. Like the president, National Assembly deputies serve five-year terms. Unlike the president, however, they are not term-limited. The National Assembly held its first session on September 22, 2006. Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga and his cabinet formally took office the following February; in May 2007, Kengo Wa Dondo was elected Senate President. In September 2008, Antoine Gizenga resigned for reasons of age and ill health. On October 10, 2008, President Kabila named Adolphe Muzito to succeed him. Muzito in turn appointed a new cabinet of ministers with a total of 37 ministerial positions.

The D.R.C.'s July 2006 elections presented significant organizational challenges. The presidential and legislative ballots were printed in South Africa and altogether weighed nearly 1,800 tons, requiring 75 round-trip flights between the D.R.C. and South Africa. The CEI, greatly supported by the MONUC peacekeeping mission, ran more than 50,000 polling stations nationwide and employed some 300,000 poll workers on election day and to oversee the ballot-counting process. Local elections are scheduled for February 2011, followed by presidential and parliamentary elections in fall 2011.

Principal Government Officials
President--Joseph Kabila
Prime Minister--Adolphe Muzito
Foreign Minister--Alexis Thambwe Mwamba
Defense Minister--Charles Mwando Nsimba
Finance Minister and Acting Minister of Economy and Trade--Athanase Matenda
Minister of International and Regional Cooperation--Raymond Tshibanda

Eastern Challenges
The Kabila administration identified five areas requiring particular attention: education, health, infrastructure, water/electricity, and job creation. The government has made little progress in these areas, however, due in large part to continuing insecurity and intermittent returns to armed conflict in several eastern provinces, particularly North and South Kivu and the Ituri and Haut-Uélé Districts of Orientale Province. A number of illegal Congolese and foreign militias have operated largely with impunity in these areas since before the overthrow of Mobutu in early 1997. Their relative strength and influence have waxed and waned over time, but two are of particular importance to the current situation: the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), led by individuals involved in perpetrating the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), a Congolese group led until recently by former Congolese army general Laurent Nkunda. These groups--the first predominantly Hutu, the second predominantly Tutsi--have fought each other and the D.R.C. military (FARDC), illegally exploited and exported D.R.C. natural resources to fund their weapons, and committed gross human rights violations (including indiscriminate killings, rapes, and forced child soldier recruitment) in the areas under their control.

On January 23, 2008, the Government of the D.R.C. and over 20 Congolese armed groups (including the CNDP) signed a peace accord in Goma, North Kivu Province, under which they agreed on the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the disengagement of troops, improved adherence to human rights standards, and the creation of UN buffer zones between and among the various factions. Between January and August 2008, most of the parties worked to implement the Goma Accords’ provisions, albeit with regular cease-fire violations. In late August 2008, intense fighting began again between the CNDP and the FARDC in the southern part of North Kivu province, also called the “Petit Nord.” Over the next four months, this fighting resulted in the internal displacement of a quarter million residents of North Kivu and led some 40,000 to flee into Uganda. Hundreds of people were killed, and by late October 2008, Nkunda’s CNDP forces--much stronger and better disciplined than the Congolese military--got to within a few miles of Goma before declaring a unilateral cease-fire. During this period, the United States, European Union, and United Nations all worked to develop plans for a lasting peace, and seek adherence to past agreements, but progress was slow.

By January 2009, a dramatic series of events significantly altered the political-military landscape in the Petit Nord. Infighting within the CNDP leadership led to a schism in which Nkunda’s military chief of staff staged a de facto internal coup and then signed an agreement with the D.R.C. Government to integrate his forces into the FARDC. A smaller but also dangerous militia group, PARECO, made a similar commitment. Meanwhile, the governments of the D.R.C. and Rwanda, which had been engaged in the gradual pursuit of rapprochement over several months, announced plans for Rwandan forces to enter the D.R.C. and join with the Congolese military in a concerted effort to eliminate the FDLR once and for all. On January 20, 2009, several thousand Rwandan soldiers crossed into the D.R.C. for the third time in 12 years, but this time at the invitation of the Congolese Government in Kinshasa. Two days later, Laurent Nkunda fled into Rwanda, where Rwandan officials took him into custody. He remains in custody, pending the resolution of Rwandan court proceedings. Between January 20 and the end of February 2009, the joint Rwandan-Congolese-CNDP-PARECO coalition of forces pressured the FDLR, engaged in a small number of battles with FDLR units, and convinced several hundred FDLR members and their families to return voluntarily to Rwanda. On February 25, 2009, the Rwandan forces left the D.R.C.

On March 23, 2009, the Government of the D.R.C. signed separate peace agreements with (1) the CNDP, (2) the North Kivu armed groups, and (3) the South Kivu armed groups. The rebel groups agreed to transform their movements from military to political in nature, while the government promised to work toward integrating rebel soldiers and officials into the FARDC, national police, and national and local political and administrative units. Many details of the agreements still require implementation, but the CNDP has already been registered as a political party, and various other rebel groups have declared their intention to establish political parties. The FARDC, with support from MONUC, offered ex-combatants the opportunity to undergo “accelerated integration” into the national army, a process that was less thorough than traditional integration but allowed for more expeditious demobilization of rebel forces. As part of the peace agreements, parliament passed and the president signed an amnesty law that pardoned people for crimes committed in the eastern D.R.C. during the fighting, other than crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The FARDC, with MONUC support, launched Operation Kimia II, a military operation against the FDLR in North and South Kivu in May 2009 and July 2009, respectively. Kimia II, which ended on December 31, 2009, registered some noticeable success, including pushing the bulk of the FDLR away from population centers and money-making enterprises, notably illegal mining. In addition, according to MONUC, in 2009 (roughly the same time period as Kimia II), 1,114 FDLR members were killed, and 1,522 FDLR combatants and 2,187 of their dependents were repatriated to Rwanda. However, human rights violations by the FDLR and by undisciplined FARDC elements increased during Kimia II operations. MONUC estimated that as many as 1,714 civilians were killed during the military operation. A follow-on operation, Amani Leo, was launched by the FARDC and MONUC in January 2010. It appears that Amani Leo will be more selective in its targets, as well as concentrating on holding re-captured territory and developing state institutions and authority in these areas.

Northeastern Challenges
The northeastern D.R.C. has also been the scene of fighting over the past eight months, as the FARDC has engaged a Ugandan rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), that operates in the D.R.C. Since 1988, the LRA, led by Joseph Kony, has waged an on-again, off-again insurgency against the Ugandan Government from bases in southern Sudan and, since 2005, in the D.R.C. The group is infamous for its brutal exactions on the local populations, including looting, rapes, and killings. It abducts young boys to serve as child soldiers and it often uses abducted young girls as sex slaves. On December 15, 2008, the governments of Uganda, the D.R.C. and southern Sudan launched a joint military operation, Operation Lightning Thunder, to capture or kill senior LRA commanders. The operation was launched after it became clear to regional governments that Kony was not interested in signing a UN-negotiated peace agreement. The D.R.C. Government authorized troops from the Ugandan People’s Defense Force (UPDF) to enter the D.R.C. The operation officially ended in March 2009 when the majority of UPDF troops withdrew from the D.R.C. A small residual UPDF element remains to support Operation Rudia II, a follow-on operation by FARDC and MONUC jointly targeting the LRA. These operations--Lightning Thunder and Rudia II--have succeeded in killing or capturing some LRA commanders, as well as dispersing the LRA into much smaller different groupings, thus significantly limiting its ability to carry out major fighting. However, the LRA is still committing gross human rights violations in the region (including the southeastern-most part of the Central African Republic) and Kony, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, remains at large.

Western Challenges
Fighting erupted in the western province of Equateur in late October to early November 2009 between two rival clans over a long-standing fishing dispute. Combatants from the Enyele clan killed approximately 45 police officers who had been sent to the region to restore order. The government responded by deploying a special, Belgian-trained brigade to the area, and MONUC shifted some of its resources to Equateur to assist. The fighting appears to have abated and the government security forces appear to have restored a modicum of security as of mid-January 2010, but the atmosphere remains very tense. Over 100,000 Congolese have fled in the neighboring Republic of Congo and approximately 15,000 into the Central African Republic. There are over 30,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region. Humanitarian assistance to IDPs remains difficult because of geographical obstacles and fears of renewed fighting.

ECONOMY

Overview
Sparsely populated in relation to its area, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is home to a vast potential of natural resources and mineral wealth. Nevertheless, the D.R.C. is one of the poorest countries in the world, with per capita annual income of about $171 in 2009. This is the result of years of mismanagement, corruption, and war.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the Congolese economy, accounting for 42.5% of GDP in 2007. The main cash crops include coffee, palm oil, rubber, cotton, sugar, tea, and cocoa. Food crops include cassava, plantains, maize, groundnuts, and rice. However, commercial agricultural production or processing remains limited, with many producers engaged in subsistence food production. Industry accounted for 28.4% of GDP in 2007, of which 6.4% was from manufacturing, and services accounted for 29.1% of GDP in 2007. The export of goods and services constituted 28.2% of GDP in 2007. The D.R.C.'s formal economy is dominated by the mining sector. Minerals account for the vast majority of the D.R.C.’s exports and represent the single largest source for foreign direct investment (FDI). Copper, cobalt, gold, coltan, tin, and zinc are the big metals being mined and produced in the D.R.C. The D.R.C.'s main copper and cobalt interests are dominated by Gecamines, the state-owned mining giant. Gecamines production has been severely affected by corruption, civil unrest, world market trends, and failure to reinvest. The diamond sector currently accounts for about 10% of the D.R.C.'s export revenue. This is from sales of both gem and industrial-grade diamond sales that were around $875 million in 2008 and were projected to approach an estimated $1 billion in 2009. Production by the D.R.C. parastatal, MIBA, has significantly declined from past decades; operations stopped during 2009 due to technical and financial difficulties. MIBA is currently working to restructure its operations and administration. All diamond production in the D.R.C. is currently artisanal.

For decades, corruption and misguided policy have created a dual economy in the D.R.C. Individuals and businesses in the formal sector operated with high costs under arbitrarily enforced laws. As a consequence, the informal sector now dominates the economy. In order to combat corruption, in September 2009, President Kabila launched a “zero-tolerance” campaign. Within this framework, he established the D.R.C. Financial Intelligence Unit to combat money laundering and misappropriation of public funds.

In recent years, the Congolese Government approved a new investment code and a new mining code and designed a new commercial court. The goal of these initiatives was to attract investment by promising fair and transparent treatment to private business. The D.R.C. Government recently established an inter-ministerial committee called the “Steering Committee for Investment and Business Climate Improvement” to support reforms that would improve the business climate. The D.R.C. expects to join the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) by March 2010; the Congolese parliament approved the D.R.C.’s accession to OHADA in December 2009. In 2007, shortly after the Joseph Kabila administration took office, the government launched a wholesale review of mining contracts that had been entered into from 1997-2002. In theory, the purpose of this contract review was to determine which negotiations may have been colored by corruption and revisit/renegotiate their terms as need be. In practice, this process has itself been opaque, with little information provided by the government to foreign (including American) investors. The Government of the D.R.C. reached agreement in December 2008 with the vast majority of the companies under review and formally announced the completion of the process in November 2009; one remaining company continues to negotiate its contract as part of the process. The World Bank also is supporting efforts to restructure the D.R.C.'s large parastatal sector, including Gecamines, and to rehabilitate the D.R.C.'s neglected infrastructure, including the Inga Dam hydroelectric system.

Effects of the World Financial Crisis
The D.R.C. has been significantly and negatively impacted by the global financial crisis due to its heavy reliance on natural resources for foreign exchange and revenues and limited capacity to protect against external shocks. Reduced demand for and lower prices of minerals over the past two years have resulted in a significant contraction of the D.R.C.’s mining sector, the driver of the D.R.C.’s recent economic growth and a major source of formal sector employment and investment. An IMF mission to the D.R.C. in March 2009 lowered its projection of GDP growth in 2009 to 2.7%--down from a projection of approximately 10% in September 2008. Reserves had reached the lowest levels in five years in early 2009, representing less than one week of imports, though they increased significantly following the provision of emergency financial assistance. The Congolese franc (CF) depreciated by 27% in 2008, with the rate of depreciation accelerating in the last quarter of the year and spiking in mid-January 2009. At the same time, continuing conflict in eastern D.R.C. is having an adverse impact on the fiscal balance through public expenditures. The international donor community, including the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, African Development Bank, and European Union, provided emergency financial assistance to the D.R.C. in early 2009 to augment international reserves and help ensure continued provision of basic services.

Economic and Structural Reforms
The Government of the D.R.C. continues to build on economic reforms initiated in 2001 aimed at stabilizing the macroeconomic situation and promoting economic growth. Reforms included liberalization of petroleum prices and exchange rates and adoption of disciplined fiscal and monetary policies. These policies have been successful in reducing inflation and supporting the resumption and acceleration of economic growth since 2002. The D.R.C.’s economy grew by 5.6% in 2006, 6.32 in 2007, and 6.15% in 2008. Inflation was reduced from over 501% in 2001 to approximately 27.6% in 2008. As a result of unexpected internal and external economic shocks in 2009, the annual inflation rate stood at 53.44% in 2009.

The D.R.C.’s development framework includes implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), approved in mid-2006 by the IMF and World Bank boards, and the government's five-year program, approved by the National Assembly in February 2007. The five-year program, known as the five pillars or “cinq chantiers” in French, is based on the PRSP and focuses heavily on President Kabila's five priority areas: infrastructure; employment; education; water/electricity; and health. At a November 2007 Consultative Group meeting, international donors pledged U.S. $4 billion to support the implementation of the PRSP and support broader economic development for the period 2008-2010. Many donors had disengaged from the D.R.C. prior to 2002.

Paris Club creditors had suspended interim debt relief when the D.R.C. failed to complete its sixth IMF review in 2006 due to fiscal slippages and slow implementation of key structural reforms. In early 2008, the Government of the D.R.C. concluded a U.S. $9.2 billion minerals-for-infrastructure agreement with the Chinese Government. Under pressure from international financial institutions and donors concerned about the potential negative effect of this deal on the D.R.C.’s debt burden, the Government of the D.R.C. and the Chinese amended the agreement in November 2009, reducing the overall value of the agreement by $3 billion among other changes. As a result, the IMF Board of Directors approved on December 11, 2009, a new, three-year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) program. The new PRGF program will allow the Paris Club group of official creditors to resume provisional debt relief and help pave the way for comprehensive debt relief (upon reaching the “completion point”) under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). This debt relief will help alleviate the D.R.C.’s official debt burden (estimated at U.S. $13.5 billion) and provide critically needed resources for poverty reducing programs.

Natural Resource Exploitation
In June 2000, the United Nations established a Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Congolese Resources to examine links between the wars and natural resource exploitation. Reports issued by the panel indicate that countries involved in the war in Congo developed significant economic interests in the D.R.C. that complicated Congolese Government efforts to control its resources and the mining sector. Although the original Panel of Experts was disbanded when its mandate ended in late 2003, a separate UN Group of Experts continued to look into these issues due to the apparent links between the illegal armed groups in the eastern part of the D.R.C. and natural resource exploitation. The Group of Experts published a report in December 2008 that documents how armed groups in eastern D.R.C. finance their activities through the exploitation of natural resources and provides evidence of the collaboration and support of Rwandan authorities and the Government of the D.R.C. in supporting such groups. In December 2009, the Group of Experts issued a new report, which states that armed groups in eastern D.R.C., in particular the FDLR, continue to engage in the illegal extraction of minerals to finance their activities. The report also documents that both FARDC and armed rebel groups continue to engage in human rights abuses, including attacks against civilians.

In 2008, the D.R.C. became a candidate country for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a multi-stakeholder effort to increase transparency in transactions between governments and companies in the extractive industries. Though the Government of the D.R.C. has taken some positive steps under EITI, including establishment of a National EITI Committee, publication of the first report on EITI in the D.R.C., and the hiring of an independent auditor to carry out the validation of the EITI process, the D.R.C. still has to organize a workshop to present the report at the provincial and national levels and have the EITI process validated before the March 10, 2010 deadline.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
The D.R.C.'s large size and strategic location in the center of Africa, as well as its vast mineral wealth, have made the country a key regional player since even before independence. The D.R.C.'s relations with its neighbors have often been driven by security concerns, leading to intricate, interlocking, and shifting alliances. The complexities and dangers of these relations were never clearer than in the 1997-2003 period described in the “From Dictatorship to Disintegration” section above. In addition, internal conflicts in Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda, Sudan, and Uganda have at various times created bilateral and regional tensions.

Over the past five years, the D.R.C. Government has signed agreements with its neighbors to improve the security of the D.R.C. and the wider region. In October 2004, with significant U.S. involvement and facilitation, the D.R.C. joined with Rwanda and Uganda in signing a Great Lakes regional security agreement that established a “Tripartite Commission” to address issues peacefully rather than militarily. (Burundi joined a year later and the expanded agreement is now known as “Tripartite Plus.”) In September 2007, the D.R.C. and Uganda signed the so-called “Ngurdoto Agreement” committing to strong bilateral efforts to eliminate all illegal armed groups operating in and between the two countries. In November 2007, with significant assistance from the UN, United States, and European Union, the D.R.C. reached a similar agreement with Rwanda. Known as the Nairobi Communiqué, this accord was designed to lay the groundwork for D.R.C.-Rwandan cooperation to disarm, demobilize, reintegrate and/or repatriate all foreign armed groups operating in the D.R.C., particularly the ex-FAR/Interahamwe (later the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda, FDLR).

Following up on enhanced military cooperation with Rwanda and Uganda, the D.R.C. re-established full diplomatic relations with Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda in 2009. President Kabila held bilateral talks with Rwandan President Kagame in January 2009 and again in August 2009. These were the first heads-of-state meetings between the D.R.C. and Rwanda in over 10 years.

U.S. CONGOLESE RELATIONS
U.S. relations with the D.R.C. are very strong. The success of the D.R.C.’s presidential and parliamentary elections in 2006 were the culmination of both the Congolese people's efforts to choose their leaders through a peaceful, democratic process and international support for numerous domestic and international peace agreements. The United States is proud to have played a role in the peace process in the D.R.C., and continues to encourage Congolese peace, prosperity, democracy, and respect for human rights. The United States facilitated the Nairobi Communiqué and Goma Accords described above, continues to play a leading role in the Tripartite Plus mechanism, and strongly supported UN efforts to create a Joint Verification Mechanism to monitor the border between the D.R.C. and Rwanda. The United States has pursued an active diplomatic strategy in the region and has supported internal reconciliation and democratization in the D.R.C. We support economic reform and transparency efforts and are a major international aid donor, providing more than $700 million in aid to the D.R.C. in 2008 through both bilateral and multilateral programs. We are also the largest donor to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the D.R.C. (MONUC), contributing almost one-third of MONUC’s $1 billion annual budget.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited the D.R.C. in August 2009, meeting with President Kabila and other senior officials, civil society representatives, and victims of the current conflicts. The Secretary reinforced the U.S. commitment to assist the D.R.C. to reduce sexual and gender-based violence, and to help the D.R.C. address corruption.

The United States appointed its current ambassador to the D.R.C. in November 2007. The D.R.C. appointed its current ambassador to the United States in 2000. The State Department has consistently issued cautionary travel information about Zaire/D.R.C. since 1977.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--William J. Garvelink
Deputy Chief of Mission--Samuel V. Brock

The U.S. Embassy is located at 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa (tel. 243-81-2255872; fax 243-81-3010561). Mailing address is American Embassy Kinshasa, Box 31550, APO AE 09828.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.

Background Note: El Salvador

Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of El Salvador

Geography
Area: 20,742 sq. km. (8,008 sq. mi.); about the size of Massachusetts.
Cities: Capital--San Salvador (pop. 1.6 million). Other cities--Santa Ana, San Miguel, Soyapango, and Apopa.
Terrain: Mountains separate country into three distinct regions--southern coastal belt, central valleys and plateaus, and northern mountains.
Climate: Tropical, distinct wet and dry seasons.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Salvadoran(s).
Population (2009 est.): 7.2 million.
Annual population growth rate (2009 est.): 1.7%.
Ethnic groups: Mestizo 90%, indigenous 1%, Caucasian 9%.
Religion (2003 est.): About 57% Roman Catholic, with significant and growing numbers of Protestant groups.
Language: Spanish.
Education: Free through high school. Attendance (grades 1-9)--92.4%. Literacy--86.1% nationally; 77.6% in rural areas.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2006)--22/1,000 (source: UNICEF). Life expectancy at birth (2008)--72.1 years.
Work force (about 2.9 million, 2008): Agriculture--17%; retail, hotels, and restaurants--29.8%; industry--16.9%; construction--6.3%; other services--20.9% (2007).

Government
Type: Republic.
Constitution: December 20, 1983.
Independence: September 15, 1821.
Branches: Executive--president and vice president. Legislative--84-member Legislative Assembly. Judicial--independent (Supreme Court).
Administrative subdivisions: 14 departments.
Political parties (represented in the legislature): Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), National Conciliation Party (PCN), Christian Democratic Party (PDC), and Democratic Change (CD).
Suffrage: Universal at 18.

Economy
GDP (2008): $22.3 billion; PPP GDP (2008): $43.94 billion (IMF estimate).
GDP annual real growth rate (2009): -3.5%.
Per capita income (2007): $3,547; PPP per capita income $5,842 (2007 IMF estimate).
Agriculture (11.2% of GDP, 2007): Products--coffee, sugar, livestock, corn, poultry, and sorghum. Arable, cultivated, or pasture land--68% (2005).
Industry (20.6% of GDP, 2007): Types--textiles and apparel, medicines, food and beverage processing, clothing, chemical products, petroleum products, electronics, call centers.
Trade (2008): Exports--$4.6 billion: textiles and apparel, ethyl alcohol, coffee, sugar, medicines, iron and steel products, tuna, light manufacturing, and paper products. Major markets--U.S. 50.8%, Central American Common Market (CACM) 33.7%. Imports--$9 billion: petroleum, iron products, machines and mechanical devices, cars, medicines, consumer goods, foodstuffs, capital goods, and raw industrial materials. Major suppliers--U.S. 35.6%, CACM 16.8%, Mexico 9.8%.

PEOPLE
El Salvador's population numbers about 7.2 million. Almost 90% is of mixed Indian and Spanish extraction. About 1% is indigenous; very few Indians have retained their customs and traditions. The country's people are largely Roman Catholic and Protestant. Spanish is the language spoken by virtually all inhabitants. The capital city of San Salvador has about 1.6 million people; an estimated 37.3% of El Salvador's population lives in rural areas.

HISTORY
The Pipil Indians, descendants of the Aztecs, and the Pocomames and Lencas were the original inhabitants of El Salvador.

The first Salvadoran territory visited by Spaniards was Meanguera Island, located in the Gulf of Fonseca, where Spanish Admiral Andrés Niño led an expedition to Central America and disembarked on May 31, 1522. In June 1524, the Spanish Captain Pedro de Alvarado started a war to conquer Cuscatlán. His cousin Diego de Alvarado established the village of San Salvador in April 1525. In 1546, Charles I of Spain granted San Salvador the title of city.

During the subsequent years, the country evolved under Spanish rule; however, toward the end of 1810 many people began to express discontent. On November 5, 1811, when Priest José Matias Delgado rang the bells of La Merced Church in San Salvador calling for insurrection, the people began to band together for freedom.

In 1821, El Salvador and the other Central American provinces declared their independence from Spain. When these provinces were joined with Mexico in early 1822, El Salvador resisted, insisting on autonomy for the Central American countries. In 1823, the United Provinces of Central America was formed of the five Central American states under Gen. Manuel Jose Arce. When this federation was dissolved in 1838, El Salvador became an independent republic. El Salvador's early history as an independent state--as with others in Central America--was marked by frequent revolutions; not until the period 1900-30 was relative stability achieved. Following a deterioration in the country's democratic institutions in the 1970s a period of civil war followed from 1980-1992. More than 75,000 people are estimated to have died in the conflict. In January 1992, after prolonged negotiations, the opposing sides signed peace accords which ended the war, brought the military under civilian control, and allowed the former guerillas to form a legitimate political party and participate in elections.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
El Salvador is a democratic republic governed by a president and an 84-member unicameral Legislative Assembly. The president is elected by universal suffrage by absolute majority vote and serves for a 5-year term. A second round runoff is required in the event that no candidate receives more than 50% of the first round vote. Members of the assembly are elected based on the number of votes that their parties obtain in each department (circumscriptive suffrage) and serve for 3-year terms. The country has an independent judiciary and Supreme Court. Legislative and municipal elections were held in January 2009, and presidential elections were held in March 2009.

Political Landscape
Hard-line conservatives, including some members of the military, created the Nationalist Republican Alliance party (ARENA) in 1981. ARENA almost won the election in 1984 with solid private sector and rural farmer support. By 1989, ARENA had attracted the support of business groups. Multiple factors contributed to ARENA victories in the 1988 legislative and 1989 presidential elections, including allegations of corruption in the ruling Christian Democratic party which had poor relations with the private sector, and historically low prices for the nation’s main agricultural exports.

The successes of Alfredo Cristiani's 1989-94 administration in achieving a peace agreement to end the civil war and in improving the nation's economy helped ARENA--led by former San Salvador mayor Armando Calderon Sol--keep both the presidency and a working majority in the Legislative Assembly in the 1994 elections. ARENA's legislative position was weakened in the 1997 elections, but it recovered its strength, helped by divisions in the opposition, in time for another victory in the 1999 presidential race, bringing President Francisco Guillermo Flores Perez to office. Flores concentrated on modernizing the economy and strengthening bilateral relations with the United States. Under his presidency El Salvador committed itself to combating international terrorism, including sending troops to aid in the reconstruction of Iraq. El Salvador also played a key role in negotiations for the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).

Taking advantage of both public apprehension of Flores’ policies and ARENA infighting, the chief opposition party, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), was able to score a significant victory against ARENA in the March 2003 legislative and municipal elections. ARENA, left with only 29 seats in the 84-seat Legislative Assembly, was forced to court the right-wing National Conciliation Party (PCN) in order to form a majority voting bloc. However, in 2003 the PCN entered into a loose partnership with the FMLN, further limiting ARENA’s ability to maneuver in the legislature.

Despite these constraints, ARENA made a strong showing in the March 2004 presidential election, which was marked by an unprecedented 67% voter turnout. ARENA candidate Elias Antonio "Tony" Saca handily defeated the FMLN candidate and party head Shafik Handal, garnering 57.7% of the votes cast. The defeat of the FMLN’s presidential candidate rekindled an internal FMLN struggle between hardliners and more moderate members who saw the party’s 2004 defeat as a call for reform.

In January 2009 legislative and municipal elections, the incumbent ARENA party garnered 32 assembly deputies and 122 mayoralties, while the opposition FMLN won 35 legislative seats and 75 city halls (plus 21 additional mayoralties in which they participated as part of a coalition). The PCN, PDC, and CD carried 11, 5, and 1 assembly seats, respectively. The new assembly took office in May 2009. In October 2009, twelve ARENA deputies left the party to form a new movement, the Great Alliance for National Unity (GANA), and two other deputies (one each from ARENA and the PCN) left their parties to become independents. As of January 2010, the assembly was composed as follows: FMLN - 35 seats, ARENA - 19 seats, GANA - 12 seats, PCN - 10 seats, PDC - 5 seats, CD - 1 seat, independent deputies - 2 seats. In December 2009, former President Antonio Saca was expelled from ARENA for his suspected involvement in the defection of the GANA deputies.

On March 15, 2009, FMLN candidate Mauricio Funes won El Salvador’s presidential elections, defeating ARENA candidate Rodrigo Avila. Final vote totals were 51.3% for the FMLN and 48.7% for ARENA. The elections marked the first time since the 1992 peace agreement that ended the civil war that an FMLN candidate was elected president and the first left-of-center government in El Salvador’s history. President Funes was inaugurated on June 1, 2009.

Human Rights and Post-War Reforms
During the 12-year civil war, human rights violations by both the government security forces and left-wing guerillas were rampant. The accords established a Truth Commission under UN auspices to investigate the most serious cases. The commission recommended that those identified as human rights violators be removed from all government and military posts. Thereafter, the Legislative Assembly granted amnesty for political crimes committed during the war. Among those freed as a result were the Salvadoran Armed Forces (ESAF) officers convicted in the November 1989 Jesuit murders and the FMLN ex-combatants held for the 1991 murders of two U.S. servicemen. The peace accords also established the Ad Hoc Commission to evaluate the human rights record of the ESAF officer corps.

In accordance with the peace agreements, the constitution was amended to prohibit the military from playing an internal security role except under extraordinary circumstances. Demobilization of Salvadoran military forces generally proceeded on schedule throughout the process. The Treasury Police, National Guard, and National Police were abolished, and military intelligence functions were transferred to civilian control. By 1993--9 months ahead of schedule--the military had cut personnel from a war-time high of 63,000 to the level of 32,000 required by the peace accords. By 1999, ESAF strength stood at less than 15,000, including uniformed and non-uniformed personnel, consisting of personnel in the army, navy, and air force. A purge of military officers accused of human rights abuses and corruption was completed in 1993 in compliance with the Ad Hoc Commission's recommendations. The military's new doctrine, professionalism, and complete withdrawal from political and economic affairs have made it one of the most respected institutions in El Salvador.

More than 35,000 eligible beneficiaries from among the former guerrillas and soldiers who fought in the war received land under the peace accord-mandated land transfer program, which ended in January 1997. The majority of them also received agricultural credits.

National Civilian Police
The National Civilian Police (PNC), created to replace the discredited public security forces, deployed its first officers in March 1993 and was present throughout the country by the end of 1994. The PNC has about 16,000 officers. The United States, originally through the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) and subsequently through the Department of State’s Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, led international support for the PNC and the National Public Security Academy (ANSP), providing about $32 million in non-lethal equipment and training since 1992.

Judiciary
Following the peace accords, both the Truth Commission and the Joint Group identified weaknesses in the judiciary and recommended solutions, including the replacement of all the magistrates on the Supreme Court. This recommendation was fulfilled in 1994 when an entirely new court was elected, but weaknesses remain. The process of replacing judges in the lower courts, and of strengthening the attorney generals' and public defender's offices, has moved slowly. The government continues to work in all of these areas with the help of international donors, including the United States. Action on peace accord-driven constitutional reforms designed to improve the administration of justice was largely completed in 1996 with legislative approval of several amendments and the revision of the Criminal Procedure Code--with broad political consensus.

Principal Government Officials
President--Carlos Mauricio FUNES Cartagena
Vice President--Salvador SANCHEZ CEREN
Minister of Foreign Relations--Hugo Roger MARTINEZ Bonilla
Ambassador to the United States--Chargé d’Affaires Francisco ALTSCHUL Fuentes
Representative to the OAS--Luis MENENDEZ Castro (interim)
Representative to the UN--Carmen Maria GALLARDO de Hernandez

El Salvador maintains an Embassy in the United States at 1400 16th Street NW, Washington, DC, 20036 (tel: 202-595-7500). There are consulates in Atlanta, GA; Brentwood, NY; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Elizabeth, NJ; Houston, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; New York, NY; Nogales, AZ; Santa Ana, CA; San Francisco, CA; and Woodbridge, VA.

ECONOMY
The Salvadoran economy continues to benefit from a commitment to free markets and careful fiscal management. The economy has been growing at a steady and moderate pace since the signing of peace accords in 1992, and poverty was cut from 66% in 1991 to 34.6% in 2007. Much of the improvement in El Salvador's economy is a result of the privatization of the banking system, telecommunications, public pensions, electrical distribution and some electrical generation; reduction of import duties; elimination of price controls; and improved enforcement of intellectual property rights. Capping those reforms, on January 1, 2001, the U.S. dollar became legal tender in El Salvador. The economy is now fully dollarized.

The Salvadoran Government has maintained fiscal discipline during post-war reconstruction and reconstruction following earthquakes in 2001 and hurricanes in 1998 and 2005. Taxes levied by the government include a value added tax (VAT) of 13%, income tax of 20%, excise taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, and import duties. The VAT accounted for about 52.2% of total tax revenues in 2007. El Salvador’s public external debt in November 2008 was about $5.6 billion, 27.4% of GDP.

Years of civil war, fought largely in the rural areas, had a devastating impact on agricultural production in El Salvador. The agricultural sector experienced significant recovery, buoyed in part by higher world prices for coffee and sugarcane and increased diversification into horticultural crops. Seeking to develop new growth sectors and employment opportunities, El Salvador created new export industries through fiscal incentives for free trade zones. The largest beneficiary has been the textile and apparel (maquila) sector, which directly provides approximately 70,000 jobs. Services, including retail and financial, have also shown strong employment growth, with about 48.7% of the total labor force now employed in the sector.

Remittances from Salvadorans working in the United States are an important source of income for many families in El Salvador. In 2008, the Central Bank estimated that remittances totaled $3.8 billion. UNDP surveys show that an estimated 22.3% of families receive remittances.

Under its export-led growth strategy, El Salvador has pursued economic integration with its Central American neighbors and negotiated trade agreements with the Dominican Republic, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Taiwan, Colombia, and the United States. Central American countries began negotiating an Association Agreement with the European Union in 2007. Trade agreements with CARICOM and Canada are also under negotiation, while agreements with Israel and Peru are being considered. Exports in 2008 grew 14.2%, while imports grew 12%. As in previous years, the large trade deficit was offset by family remittances.

The U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), implemented between El Salvador and the United States on March 1, 2006, provides El Salvador preferential access to U.S. markets. Textiles and apparel, shoes, and processed foods are among the sectors that benefit. In addition to trade benefits, CAFTA-DR also provides trade capacity building, particularly in the environment and labor areas, and a framework for additional reforms on issues such as intellectual property rights, dispute resolution, and customs that will improve El Salvador’s investment climate. For sensitive sectors such as agriculture, the agreement includes generous phase-in periods to allow Salvadoran producers an opportunity to become more competitive.

U.S. support for privatization of the electrical and telecommunications markets markedly expanded opportunities for U.S. investment in the country. More than 300 U.S. companies have established either a permanent commercial presence in El Salvador or work through representative offices in the country. The U.S. Department of Commerce maintains a Country Commercial Guide for U.S. businesses seeking detailed information on business opportunities in El Salvador.

On November 29, 2006, the Government of El Salvador and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) signed a five-year, $461 million anti-poverty Compact to stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty in the country’s northern region. The grant seeks to improve the lives of approximately 850,000 Salvadorans through investments in education, public services, enterprise development, and transportation infrastructure. The Compact entered into force in September 2007, and it is expected that incomes in the region will increase by 20% over the five-year term of the Compact, and by 30% within ten years of the start of the Compact.

Natural Disasters
Located on the Pacific’s earthquake-prone Ring of Fire and at latitudes plagued by hurricanes, El Salvador’s history is a litany of catastrophe, including the Great Hurricane of 1780 that killed 22,000 in Central America and earthquakes in 1854 and 1917 that devastated El Salvador and destroyed most of the capital city. More recently, an October 1986 earthquake killed 1,400 and seriously damaged the nation’s infrastructure. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch killed 10,000 in the region, although El Salvador--lacking a Caribbean coast--suffered less than Honduras and Nicaragua. Major earthquakes in January and February of 2001 took another 1,000 lives and left thousands more homeless and jobless. El Salvador’s largest volcano, Santa Ana (also known by its indigenous name Ilamatepec), erupted in October 2005, spewing sulfuric gas, ash, and rock on surrounding communities and coffee plantations, killing two people and permanently displacing 5,000. Also in October 2005, Hurricane Stan unleashed heavy rains that caused flooding throughout El Salvador. In all, the flooding caused 67 deaths and more than 50,000 people were evacuated at some point during the crisis. Damages from the storm were estimated at $355.6 million. In November 2008, rains from Tropical Storm Ida caused flooding and mudslides that killed at least 199 and left extensive property damage in the departments of Cuscatlan, La Paz, San Vicente, and San Salvador.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
El Salvador is a member of the United Nations and several of its specialized agencies, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Central American Common Market (CACM), the Central American Parliament, and the Central American Integration System (SICA). It actively participates in the Central American Security Commission (CASC), which seeks to promote regional arms control. From 2002-2003, El Salvador was chair of the OAS anti-terrorism coordinating body, CICTE. El Salvador also is a member of the World Trade Organization and is pursuing regional free trade agreements. An active participant in the Summit of the Americas process, El Salvador chairs a working group on market access under the Free Trade Area of the Americas initiative. El Salvador has joined its six Central American neighbors in signing the Alliance for Sustainable Development, known as the Conjunta Centroamerica-USA or CONCAUSA to promote sustainable economic development in the region.

El Salvador enjoys normal diplomatic and trade relations with all of its neighboring countries including Honduras, with which it has previously had territorial disputes. While the two nations continue to disagree over the status of their maritime borders in the Gulf of Fonseca, they have agreed to settle their land-border disputes with the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In September 1992, the Court awarded most of the territory in question to Honduras. In January 1998, Honduras and El Salvador signed a border demarcation treaty to implement the terms of the ICJ decree although delays continue due to technical difficulties.

U.S.-SALVADORAN RELATIONS
U.S.-Salvadoran relations remain close and strong. U.S. policy toward El Salvador promotes the strengthening of El Salvador's democratic institutions, rule of law, judicial reform, national reconciliation and reconstruction, and economic opportunity and growth. El Salvador was a committed member of the coalition of nations fighting against terrorism and sent 11 rotations of troops to Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003 through 2008.

The U.S. and Salvadoran Governments cooperate closely to combat narcotics trafficking and organized crime. El Salvador hosts the International Law Enforcement Academy, which provides training to police, prosecutors, and other officials from across the Latin American region. El Salvador’s Air Force installation near Comalapa Airport houses a monitoring facility that surveils narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and El Salvador’s National Civilian Police jointly operate the Transnational Anti-Gang unit, which addresses the growing problem of street gangs in both countries. In January 2009, the U.S. and El Salvador signed letters of agreement committing both countries to work jointly under the Merida Initiative to fight crime and drug trafficking.

U.S. ties to El Salvador are dynamic and growing. More than 19,000 American citizens live and work full-time in El Salvador. Most are private businesspersons and their families, but a small number of American citizen retirees have been drawn to El Salvador by favorable tax conditions. The Embassy's consular section provides a full range of citizenship services to this community. The American Chamber of Commerce in El Salvador is located at World Trade Center, Torre 2, local No. 308, 89 Av. Nte. Col. Escalón, phone: 2263-9494.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--vacant
Deputy Chief of Mission/Chargé d'Affaires--Robert Blau
USAID Mission Chief--Larry Brady
Political Counselor--Philip Laidlaw
Economic Counselor--Mitchell Ferguson
Commercial Counselor--Michael McGee
Public Affairs Counselor--Marti Estell
Consul General--Carl Cockburn

The U.S. Embassy in El Salvador is located at Final Blvd. Santa Elena, Antiguo Cuscatlán, La Libertad (phone (503) 2501-2999; fax number (503) 2501-2150). Internet website: http://sansalvador.usembassy.gov/

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.

Background Note: Swaziland

Bureau of African Affairs

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Kingdom of Swaziland

Geography
Area: 17,363 sq. km. (6,704 sq. miles); slightly smaller than New Jersey.
Major cities: Mbabane (capital, pop. 60,000), Manzini (principal commercial city, pop. 65,000).
Terrain: Mountainous plateau to savanna.
Climate: Near temperate to tropical.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Swazi(s).
Population: 1,128,814.
Annual growth rate: -0.41%.
Ethnic groups: African 97%, European 3%.
Religion: Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, other (includes Anglican, Baha'i, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish) 30%.
Education: Years compulsory--none. Attendance--65% primary and 44% secondary. Literacy--81.6%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2007)--70/1,000. Life expectancy--40 years. The prevalence of HIV in Swaziland's adult population is 39%, the highest in the world.
Work force: Agriculture and forestry--21.4%; construction--6.1%; distribution--10.5%; finance--8.3%; manufacturing--20.1%; mining and quarry--1%; services--32.6%; transport--2.9%.

Government
Type: Monarchy.
Independence: September 6, 1968.
Constitution: On July 26, 2005, King Mswati III ratified Swaziland's constitution. This is Swaziland's first constitution in over 30 years. It went into effect February 8, 2006.
Branches: Executive--monarch (head of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet (appointed by the king at the recommendation of the prime minister). Legislative--Parliament consisting of the House of Assembly (65 members: 55 elected, 10 appointed by the king) and Senate (30 members: 10 appointed by the House of Assembly, 20 appointed by the king). Judicial--a dual court system of traditional courts under chiefs and a Roman-Dutch system comprising magistrates courts, High Court, Supreme Court (formerly Court of Appeals).
Administrative subdivisions: 4 regions, 9 municipal governments, and 55 tinkhundla centers (traditional administrative units).
Political parties: None registered, though the new constitution does not forbid parties.
Suffrage: Universal after 18.

Economy
GDP (2007): $2.8 billion.
GDP real growth rate (2007): 3.5%.
Gross national income per capita (2007): $2,430.
Inflation (2007): 8.1%.
Natural resources: Coal, quarry stone, timber, talc.
Agriculture (11.8% of GDP): Products--sugarcane, corn, citrus fruits, livestock, wood, pineapple, tobacco, rice, peanuts.
Manufacturing (31.75% of GDP): Types--sugar refining, light manufactured goods, wood pulp, textiles, processed foods, consumer goods.
Trade (2007): Exports--$1.77 billion: soft drink concentrates, sugar, pulp, canned fruits, cotton yarn. Major markets--South Africa (80%), EU (10%), Mozambique (10%). Imports--$2.013 billion: chemicals, clothing, foodstuffs, machinery, motor vehicles, petroleum products.

PEOPLE
The majority of the population is ethnic Swazi, mixed with a small number of Zulus and non-Africans. Traditionally Swazis have been subsistence farmers and herders, but some now work in the growing urban formal economy and in government. Some Swazis work in the mines in South Africa. Christianity in Swaziland is sometimes mixed with traditional beliefs and practices. Most Swazis ascribe a special spiritual role to the monarch.

The country's official languages are SiSwati (a language related to Zulu) and English. Government and commercial business is conducted mainly in English.

HISTORY
According to tradition, the people of the present Swazi nation migrated south before the 16th century from what is now Mozambique. Following a series of conflicts with people living in the area of modern Maputo, the Swazis settled in northern Zululand in about 1750. Unable to match the growing Zulu strength, the Swazis moved gradually northward in the 1800s and established themselves in the area of modern or present Swaziland.

They consolidated their hold under several able leaders. The most important was Mswati II, from whom the Swazis derive their name. Under his leadership in the 1840s, the Swazis expanded their territory to the northwest and stabilized the southern frontier with the Zulus.

Contact with the British came early in Mswati's reign, when he asked British authorities in South Africa for assistance against Zulu raids into Swaziland. It also was during Mswati's reign that the first whites settled in the country. Following Mswati's death, the Swazis reached agreements with British and South African authorities over a range of issues, including independence, claims on resources by Europeans, administrative authority, and security. South Africans administered the Swazi interests from 1894 to 1902. In 1902 the British assumed control.

In 1921, after more than 20 years of rule by Queen Regent Lobatsibeni, Sobhuza II became Ngwenyama (lion) or head of the Swazi nation. The same year, Swaziland established its first legislative body--an advisory council of elected European representatives mandated to advise the British high commissioner on non-Swazi affairs. In 1944, the high commissioner conceded that the council had no official status and recognized the paramount chief, or king, as the native authority for the territory to issue legally enforceable orders to the Swazis.

In the early years of colonial rule, the British had expected that Swaziland would eventually be incorporated into South Africa. After World War II, however, South Africa's intensification of racial discrimination induced the United Kingdom to prepare Swaziland for independence. Political activity intensified in the early 1960s. Several political parties were formed and jostled for independence and economic development. The largely urban parties had few ties to the rural areas, where the majority of Swazis lived. The traditional Swazi leaders, including King Sobhuza II and his Inner Council, formed the Imbokodvo National Movement (INM), a political group that capitalized on its close identification with the Swazi way of life. Responding to pressure for political change, the colonial government scheduled an election in mid-1964 for the first legislative council in which the Swazis would participate. In the election, the INM and four other parties, most having more radical platforms, competed in the election. The INM won all 24 elective seats.

Having solidified its political base, INM incorporated many demands of the more radical parties, especially that of immediate independence. In 1966, the U.K. Government agreed to discuss a new constitution. A constitutional committee agreed on a constitutional monarchy for Swaziland, with self-government to follow parliamentary elections in 1967. Swaziland became independent on September 6, 1968. Swaziland's post-independence elections were held in May 1972. The INM received close to 75% of the vote. The Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) received slightly more than 20% of the vote, which gained the party three seats in parliament.

In response to the NNLC's showing, King Sobhuza repealed the 1968 constitution on April 12, 1973 and dissolved parliament. He assumed all powers of government and prohibited all political activities and trade unions from operating. He justified his actions as having removed alien and divisive political practices incompatible with the Swazi way of life. In January 1979, a new parliament was convened, chosen partly through indirect elections and partly through direct appointment by the King.

King Sobhuza II died in August 1982, and Queen Regent Dzeliwe assumed the duties of the head of state. In 1984, an internal dispute led to the replacement of the Prime Minister and eventual replacement of Dzeliwe by a new Queen Regent Ntombi. Ntombi's only child, Prince Makhosetive, was named heir to the Swazi throne. Real power at this time was concentrated in the Liqoqo, a supreme traditional advisory body that claimed to give binding advice to the Queen Regent. In October 1985, Queen Regent Ntombi demonstrated her power by dismissing the leading figures of the Liqoqo. Prince Makhosetive returned from school in England to ascend to the throne and help end the continuing internal disputes. He was enthroned as Mswati III on April 25, 1986. Shortly afterwards he abolished the Liqoqo. In November 1987, a new parliament was elected and a new cabinet appointed.

In 1988 and 1989, an underground political party, the People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) criticized the King and his government, calling for democratic reforms. In response to this political threat and to growing popular calls for greater accountability within government, the King and the Prime Minister initiated an ongoing national debate on the constitutional and political future of Swaziland. This debate produced a handful of political reforms, approved by the King, including direct and indirect voting, in the 1993 national elections.

Although domestic groups and international observers criticized the government in late 2002 for interfering with the independence of the judiciary, parliament, and freedom of the press, significant improvements have been made concerning rule of law over the past few years. Swaziland's Court of Appeals resumed hearing cases in late 2004 after a two-year absence in protest of the government's refusal to abide by the court's decisions in two important rulings. In addition, the new constitution went into effect in early 2006, and the 1973 proclamation, which, among other measures, banned political parties, lapsed at that time.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
On July 26, 2005 King Mswati III ratified Swaziland's constitution. It went into effect February 8, 2006. This is Swaziland's first constitution in over 30 years.

According to Swazi law and custom, the monarch holds supreme executive, legislative, and judicial powers. In general practice, however, the monarch's power is delegated through a dualistic system: modern, statutory bodies, like the cabinet; and less formal traditional government structures. The king must approve legislation passed by parliament before it becomes law. The prime minister, who is head of government, and the cabinet, which is recommended by the prime minister and approved by the king, exercise executive authority. At present, parliament consists of a 65-seat House of Assembly (55 members are elected through popular vote; 10 are appointed by the king) and 30-seat Senate (10 members are appointed by the House of Assembly, and 20 are appointed by the king). House of Assembly elections were last held on September 19, 2008. King Mswati III appointed a new cabinet on October 24, 2008.

For local administration Swaziland is divided into four regions, each with an administrator appointed by the king. Parallel to the government structure is the traditional system consisting of the king and his advisers, traditional courts, 55 tinkhundla (sub regional districts in which traditional chiefs are grouped), and approximately 360 chiefdoms.

Swaziland is a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), with which the U.S. began negotiating a free trade agreement in May 2003. The other members of SACU are Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, and South Africa.

Principal Government Officials
Head of State--King Mswati III
Head of Government--Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini
Deputy Prime Minister--Themba Masuku
Minister of Economic Planning--Prince Hlangusempi
Minister of Public Service--Mtiti Fakudze
Minister of Natural Resources and Energy--Princess Tsandzlle
Minister of Education and Training--Wilson Ntshangase
Minister of Health--Bennedict Xaba
Minister of Agriculture--Clement Dlamini
Minister of Information and Communication Technology--Nelisiwe Shogwe
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs--Ndumiso Mamba
Minister of Public Works and Transport--Ntuthuko Dlamini
Minister of Tourism and Environment--Moford Sibandze
Minister of Home Affairs--Chief Magwagwa Gamedze
Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Trade--Jabulile Mashwama
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation--Lutfo Dlamini
Minister of Local Government and Housing--Pastor Lindiwe Gwebu
Minister of Sports Culture and Youth Affairs--Hlobsile Ndlovu
Minister of Labour and Social Security--Patrick Magwebetane Mamba
Minister of Finance--Majozi V. Sithole

Permanent Representative to the United Nations--Joel Musa Nhleko
Ambassador to the United States--Ephraim M. Hlophe

Swaziland maintains an embassy in the United States at 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 (tel: 202-234-5002; fax: 202-234-8254). Swaziland's UN Mission is located at 408 East 50th Street, New York, NY 10022 (tel: 212-371-8910; fax: 212-754-2755).

ECONOMY
Swaziland ranks as a lower middle income country, but it's estimated that 69% of the population lives in poverty. Most of the high-level economic activity is in the hands of non-Africans, but ethnic Swazis are becoming more active. Small entrepreneurs are moving into middle management positions. Although 70% of Swazis live in rural areas, nearly every homestead has a wage earner. The past few years have seen wavering economic growth, which has been exacerbated by the economy's inability to create new jobs at the same rate that new job seekers enter the market. This is due in part to the country's population growth rate, which strains the natural heritage and the country's ability to provide adequate social services, such as health care and education. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and floods are persistent problems.

Nearly 60% of Swazi territory is held by the Crown in trust of the Swazi nation. The balance is privately owned, much of it by foreigners. The question of land use and ownership remains a very sensitive one. For Swazis living on rural homesteads, the principal occupation is either subsistence farming or livestock herding. Culturally, cattle are important symbols of wealth and status, but they are being used increasingly for milk, meat, and profit.

Swaziland enjoys well-developed road links with South Africa. It also has railroads running east to west and north to south. The older east-west link, called the Goba line, makes it possible to export bulk goods from Swaziland through the Port of Maputo in Mozambique. Most of Swaziland's imports were shipped through this port. Conflict in Mozambique in the 1980s diverted many Swazi exports to ports in South Africa. Swaziland mainly uses the port today for exports of sugar, citrus, and forest products, with future usage of the port expected to increase. A north-south rail link, completed in 1986, provides a connection between the Eastern Transvaal rail network and the South African ports of Richard's Bay and Durban.

The sugar industry, based solely on irrigated cane, is Swaziland's leading export earner and private-sector employer. Soft drink concentrate (a U.S. investment) is another large export earner, followed by wood pulp and lumber from cultivated pine forests. Pineapple and citrus fruit are other important agricultural exports.

Swaziland mines coal and diamonds for export. There also is a quarry industry for domestic consumption. In 2005, mining contributed about 0.6% of Swaziland's GDP, and predictions for the industry are mixed as coal mining is expected to increase but quarried stone production is expected to decrease.

A number of industrial firms have located at the industrial estate at Matsapha near Manzini. In addition to processed agricultural and forestry products, the industrial sector at Matsapha also produces garments, textiles, and a variety of light manufactured products. The Swaziland Industrial Development Company (SIDC) and the Swaziland Investment Promotion Authority (SIPA) have assisted in bringing many of these industries to the country. Government programs encourage Swazi entrepreneurs to run small and medium-sized firms. Tourism also is important, attracting more than 424,000 visitors annually, mostly from Europe and South Africa.

From the mid-1980s, foreign investment in the manufacturing sector boosted economic growth rates significantly. Beginning in mid-1985, the depreciated value of the currency increased the competitiveness of Swazi exports and moderated the growth of imports, generating trade surpluses. During the 1990s, the country often ran small trade deficits. South Africa and the European Union are major customers for Swazi exports.

Swaziland became eligible for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in 2000 and qualified for the apparel provision in 2001. AGOA created over 30,000 jobs, mostly for women, in Swaziland's apparel industry. However, the industry suffered in 2005-2006, due to both increased global competition as a result of the end of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) on January 1, 2005, and the strong Rand (Swaziland's currency is linked to the South African Rand at par), which reduced exports. There are an estimated 16,000 people employed in the apparel industry.

Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, and the Republic of South Africa form the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), where import duties apply uniformly to member countries. Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa also are members of the Common Monetary Area (CMA) in which repatriation and unrestricted funds are permitted. Swaziland issues its own currency, the lilangeni (plural: emalangeni).

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Swaziland is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Swaziland was the chair of the Southern African Development Community's (SADC) Organ for Defense, Politics, and Security from September 2008 until the beginning of September 2009 and remains a member of the Organ Troika. Ten accredited ambassadors or honorary consuls are resident in the country. Swaziland maintains diplomatic missions in Brussels, Copenhagen, Kuala Lumpur, London, Maputo, Nairobi, Pretoria, Taipei, the United Nations, and Washington.

U.S.-SWAZILAND RELATIONS
The United States seeks to maintain and strengthen the good bilateral relations that have existed since the kingdom became independent in 1968. U.S. policy stresses continued economic and political reform and improved industrial relations.

The United States assists Swaziland with a number of HIV/AIDS initiatives and programs implemented through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Peace Corps, African Development Foundation, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Defense. In June 2009, the U.S. and Swaziland finalized a Partnership Framework Agreement under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), increasing U.S. HIV/AIDS assistance to Swaziland to approximately $28 million per year. In addition, the U.S. supports small enterprise development, education, military training, institutional and human resources development, agricultural development, and trade capacity building. The U.S. is also the largest bilateral donor to the Global Fund, Swaziland's principal HIV/AIDS funding source. The U.S. Government sends about four Swazi professionals to the United States each year, from both the public and private sectors, primarily for master's degrees, and about five others for three- to four-week International Visitor programs. About six military members are sent to the United States for education and training purposes.

In 2003, Peace Corps volunteers returned to Swaziland after a nine-year absence. In June 2009, the U.S. and Swaziland finalized a memorandum of understanding (MOU) expanding the duties of the Peace Corps mission in Swaziland. The Peace Corps/Swaziland program, known as the Community Health Project, focuses on HIV/AIDS and provides assistance in the execution of two components of the HIV/AIDS national strategy--risk reduction and mitigation of the impact of the disease. Volunteers encourage youth to engage in appropriate behaviors that will reduce the spread of HIV; they work with children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic; and they assist in capacity building for non-governmental organizations and community based organizations.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Earl M. Irving
Deputy Chief of Mission--Sarah Morrison
Peace Corps Country Director--Eileen Cronin

The U.S. Embassy in Swaziland is situated in the Central Bank of Swaziland building in the Mbabane city center. The address is American Embassy, 7th floor Central Bank Building, Warner St., Box 199, Mbabane, Swaziland (tel. 268-404-6441/6445; fax 268-404-1695).

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
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For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

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The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

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Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

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STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.

Background Note: Bahrain

Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Kingdom of Bahrain

Geography
Area: 727 sq. km. (274 sq. mi.); approximately four times the size of Washington, DC. Bahrain is an archipelago of 36 islands located off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia. The four main islands are joined by causeways, and make up about 95% of the total land area.
Cities: Capital--Manama, pop. (2002 est.) 148,000. Other cities--Al Muharraq.
Terrain: Low desert plain (highest elevation point--122 m).
Climate: Hot and humid from May-September, with average highs ranging from 30^o-40^o C (86^o-104^o F). Maximum temperatures average 20^o-30^o C (68^o-86^o F) the remainder of the year.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Bahraini(s).
Population (January 2008 est.): 1,046,814, including about 517,368 non-nationals.
Annual growth rate (2008 est.): 3.6%.
Ethnic groups: Bahraini 63%, Asian 19%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8%.
Religions: 98% Muslim (approximately Shi'a 70%, Sunni 30%), with small Christian, Jewish, Baha’i, and Hindu communities.
Languages: Arabic (official), English, Farsi, and Urdu are also widely spoken.
Education: Education is not compulsory, but is provided free to Bahrainis and non-nationals at all levels, including higher education. Estimated net primary school attendance (1991-2001)--84%. Adult literacy, age 15 and over (2003 est.)--89.1% for the overall population (male 91.9%, female 85%).
Health: Infant mortality rate (2007 est.)--16.18 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy--72 yrs. males, 77 yrs. females.
Work force (2006 est.): 352,000 of which 44% are foreigners.

Government
Type: Constitutional hereditary monarchy.
Independence: August 15, 1971 (from the United Kingdom).
Constitution: Approved and promulgated May 26, 1973; suspended on August 26, 1975; the National Action Charter was approved by a national popular referendum on February 14-15, 2001, and a new constitution was issued on February 14, 2002.
Branches: Executive--King (chief of state); Prime Minister (head of government); Council of Ministers (cabinet) is appointed by the King and headed by the Prime Minister. Legislative--The bicameral parliament (al-Majlis al-Watani) consists of a 40-member elected Council of Representatives (elected in December 2006; next election scheduled for 2010) and a 40-member Shura (Consultative) Council appointed by the King. Members of both chambers serve four-year terms. Judicial--High Civil Appeals Court. The judiciary is independent with right of judicial review.
Administrative subdivisions: 12 municipalities (manatiq): Al Hidd, Al Manamah, Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Mintaqah al Wusta, Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq, Ar Rifa' wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs, Madinat Hamad, Madinat 'Isa, Juzur Hawar, Sitrah.
Political societies represented in parliament: al Wifaq, al Asala, al Minbar, al Mustaqbil.
Suffrage: Universal at age 18.

Economy
GDP (2007 est.): $18.44 billion.
Real GDP growth rate (2007 est.): 6.7%.
Per capita GDP (2007 est.): $17,615.
Natural resources: Oil, aluminum, textiles, natural gas, fish, pearls.
Agriculture (less than 1% of GDP): Products--fruit, vegetables, poultry, dairy products, shrimp, fish.
Industry: Types--oil and gas (13.1% of GDP), manufacturing (12.4% of GDP), aluminum.
Services: Finance (24.2% of GDP), transport and communications (8.9% of GDP), real estate (9.2% of GDP); government services (14.8% of GDP).
Trade (2006 est.): Exports--$12.62 billion: oil and other mineral products, aluminum, textiles. Major markets-- Saudi Arabia (3.2%), U.S. (3%), Japan (2.3%). Imports--$9.04 billion: crude oil, machinery and appliances, transport equipment, foodstuffs. Major suppliers--Saudi Arabia (37.3%), Japan (6.8%), U.S. (6.2%), U.K. (6.2%), Germany (5%), U.A.E. (4.2%).

PEOPLE
Bahrain is one of the most densely populated countries in the world; about 89% of the population lives in the two principal cities of Manama and Al Muharraq. Approximately 66% of the indigenous population is originally from the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Bahrain currently has a sizeable foreign labor force (about 49% of the total population). The government's policies on naturalization remain controversial. In June 2002, the King issued a decree allowing citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to take up dual Bahraini nationality. Opposition political groups charge that the government is granting citizenship to foreign nationals who have served in the Bahraini armed forces and security services to alter the demographic balance of the country, which is primarily Shi'a. According to passport officials, about 40,000 individuals have been naturalized over the past 50 years (about 10% of the total population).

The indigenous population is 98% Muslim. Although some two-thirds of the indigenous population is Shi'a Muslim, the ruling family and the majority of government, military, and corporate leaders are Sunni Muslims. The small indigenous Christian and Jewish communities make up the remaining 2% of the population. Roughly half of foreign resident community are non-Muslim, and include Christians, Hindus, Baha'is, Buddhists and Sikhs.

Bahrain has invested its oil revenues in developing an advanced educational system. The first public schools for girls and boys were opened in the 1920s. The government continues to pay for all schooling costs. Although school attendance is not compulsory, primary and secondary attendance rates are high, and literacy rates are currently among the highest in the region. Higher education is available for secondary school graduates at the Bahrain University, Arabian Gulf University and specialized institutes including the College of Health Sciences--operating under the direction of the Ministry of Health--which trains physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and paramedics. The government has identified providing educational services to the Gulf Cooperation Council as a potential economic growth area, and is actively working to establish Bahrain as a regional center for higher education.

HISTORY
The site of the ancient Bronze Age civilization of Dilmun, Bahrain was an important center linking trade routes between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley as early as 5,000 years ago. The Dilmun civilization began to decline about 2,000 B.C. as trade from India was cut off. From 750 B.C. on, Assyrian kings repeatedly claimed sovereignty over the islands. Shortly after 600 B.C., Dilmun was formally incorporated into the new Babylonian empire. There are no historical references to Bahrain until Alexander the Great's arrival in the Gulf in the 4th century B.C. Although Bahrain was ruled variously by the Arab tribes of Bani Wa'el and Persian governors, Bahrain continued to be known by its Greek name Tylos until the 7th century, when many of its inhabitants converted to Islam. A regional pearling and trade center, Bahrain came under the control of the Ummayad Caliphs of Syria, the Abbasid Caliphs of Baghdad, Persian, Omani and Portuguese forces at various times from the 7th century until the Al Khalifa family, a branch of the Bani Utbah tribe that have ruled Bahrain since the 18th century, succeeded in capturing Bahrain from a Persian garrison controlling the islands in 1783.

In the 1830s the Al Khalifa family signed the first of many treaties establishing Bahrain as a British Protectorate. Similar to the binding treaties of protection entered into by other Persian Gulf principalities, the agreements entered into by the Al Khalifas prohibited them from disposing of territory and entering into relationships with any foreign government without British consent in exchange for British protection against the threat of military attack from Ottoman Turkey. The main British naval base in the region was moved to Bahrain in 1935 shortly after the start of large-scale oil production.

In 1968, when the British Government announced its decision (reaffirmed in March 1971) to end the treaty relationships with the Persian Gulf sheikdoms, Bahrain initially joined the other eight states (Qatar and the seven Trucial Sheikhdoms now the United Arab Emirates) under British protection in an effort to form a union of Arab emirates. The nine sheikhdoms still had not agreed on terms of union by 1971, however, prompting Bahrain to declare itself fully independent on August 15, 1971.

Bahrain promulgated a constitution and elected its first parliament in 1973, but just two years later, in August 1975, the Amir disbanded the National Assembly after it attempted to legislate the end of Al-Khalifa rule and the expulsion of the U.S. Navy from Bahrain. In the 1990s, Bahrain suffered from repeated incidents of political violence stemming from the disaffection of the Shi'a majority. In response, the Amir instituted the first Bahraini cabinet change in 20 years in 1995 and also increased the membership of the Consultative Council, which he had created in 1993 to provide advice and opinion on legislation proposed by the cabinet and, in certain cases, suggest new laws on its own, from 30 to 40 the following year. These steps led to an initial decline in violent incidents, but in early 1996 a number of hotels and restaurants were bombed, resulting in several fatalities. Over 1,000 people were arrested and held in detention without trial in connection with these disturbances. The government has since released these individuals (see Government and Political Conditions Section below for details).

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa acceded to the throne in March 1999, after the death of his father Shaikh Isa bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Bahrain's ruler since 1961. He championed a program of democratic reform shortly after his accession. In November 2000, Shaikh Hamad established a committee to create a blueprint to transform Bahrain from a hereditary emirate to a constitutional monarchy within 2 years. The resulting "National Action Charter" was presented to the Bahraini public in a referendum in February 2001. In the first comprehensive public vote in Bahrain since the 1970s, 94.8% of voters overwhelmingly endorsed the charter. That same month, Shaikh Hamad pardoned all political prisoners and detainees, including those who had been imprisoned, exiled or detained on security charges. He also abolished the State Security Law and the State Security Court, which had permitted the government to detain individuals without trial for up to 3 years.

On February 14, 2002, one year after the referendum endorsing his National Action Charter, Shaikh Hamad pronounced Bahrain a constitutional monarchy and changed his status from Amir to King. He simultaneously announced that the first municipal elections since 1957 would be held in May 2002, and that a bicameral parliament, with a representative lower house, would be reconstituted with parliamentary elections in October 2002. As part of these constitutional reforms, the government created an independent financial watchdog empowered to investigate cases of embezzlement and violations of state expenditure in July 2002.

Turnout for the May 2002 municipal elections was 51%, with female voters making up 52% percent of voters. Turnout for the 2002 parliamentary elections--the first in almost three decades--was 53% in the first round and 43% in the second round, despite the fact that four political societies, including the largest Shi'a society, organized a boycott to protest constitutional provisions enacted by the King that gave the appointed upper chamber of parliament voting rights equal to the elected lower chamber. The new parliament held its first joint sitting in December 2002. Bahrain held its second set of parliamentary and municipal elections in November and December 2006. All registered political societies participated in the elections and a Shia society, Al Wifaq, now represents the largest single bloc inside the Council of Representatives. Thirty-two of the Council's 40 members represent Sunni and Shia Islamist societies. One woman, Lateefah Al-Qauod, ran uncontested and became the first woman elected to parliament in Bahrain.

Bahrain has a complex system of courts, based on diverse legal sources, including Sunni and Shi'a Sharia (religious law), tribal law, and other civil codes and regulations created with the help of British advisers in the early 20th century. In 2001, Shaikh Hamad created the Supreme Judicial Council to regulate these courts and separate the administrative and judicial branches of government.

Principal Government Officials
King--Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
Crown Prince and Commander in Chief of the Bahrain Defense Force--Shaikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
Prime Minister--Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa
Deputy Premier--Jawad bin Salem Al Arrayed
Deputy Premier--Shaikh Mohammad bin Mubarak Al Khalifa
Deputy Premier--Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa
Foreign Minister--Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa
Ambassador to the United States--Houda Nonoo
Ambassador to the United Nations--Tawfeeq Al-Ahmed Al-Mansoor

Bahrain maintains an embassy in the United States at 3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008; tel: [1] (202) 342-1111; fax: [1] (202) 362-2192. The Bahraini Mission to the UN is located at 866 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017; tel: [1] (212)223-6200; fax [1] (212) 319-0687.

ECONOMY
The first Gulf state to discover oil, Bahrain's reserves are expected to run out in 10-15 years. Accordingly, Bahrain has worked to diversify its economy over the past decade and has stabilized its oil production at about 40,000 barrels per day (b/d). Revenues from oil and natural gas currently account for approximately 10% of GDP yet currently provide about 75% of government income. The state-owned Bahrain Petroleum Company refinery built in 1935, the first in the Gulf, has a capacity of about 260,000 b/d. Saudi Arabia provides most of the crude for refinery operation via pipeline. Through an agreement with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain also receives half of the net output and revenues from Saudi Arabia's Abu Saafa offshore oilfield.

The Bahrain National Gas Company operates a gas liquefaction plant that utilizes gas piped directly from Bahrain's oilfields. Gas reserves should last about 50 years at present rates of consumption. However, rising domestic demand spurred by a recent development boom has highlighted the need to increase gas supplies. The Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company is a joint venture of the petrochemical industries of Kuwait, the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, and the Government of Bahrain. The plant, completed in 1985, produces ammonia and methanol for export. Growth in the hydrocarbons sector will be contingent upon new discoveries--Bahrain awarded exploration rights to Malaysia's Petronas and the U.S.'s Chevron Texaco after the resolution of Bahrain's long-standing territorial dispute with Qatar, but no meaningful finds have been announced to date. Bahrain's other industries include the majority state-owned Aluminum Bahrain (Alba)--which operates the largest aluminum smelter in the world outside Eastern Europe with an annual production of about 843,000 metric tons (mt) in 2005 after the completion of an expansion program--and related factories, such as the Aluminum Extrusion Company and the Gulf Aluminum Rolling Mill. Other plants include the Arab Iron and Steel Company's iron ore pelletizing plant (4 million tons annually) and a shipbuilding and repair yard.

Bahrain's development as a major financial center has been the most widely heralded aspect of its diversification effort. Bahrain is a regional financial and business center; international financial institutions operate in Bahrain, both offshore and onshore, without impediments, and the financial sector is currently the largest contributor to GDP at 30%. Over 370 offshore banking units and representative offices are located in Bahrain, as well as 65 American firms. Bahrain has also made a concerted effort to become the leading Islamic finance center in the Arab world, standardizing regulations of the Islamic banking industry. It currently has 32 Islamic commercial, investment and leasing banks as well as Islamic insurance (takaful) companies--the largest concentration of Islamic financial institutions in the Middle East.

Bahrain is working to develop other service industries such as information technology, healthcare and education. The government has used its oil revenues to build an advanced infrastructure in transportation and telecommunications. The state monopoly--Batelco--was broken in April 2003 following the establishment of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). Since that time, the TRA has granted some 63 licenses in the interest of promoting healthy industry competition.

Bahrain plans to expand its airport, one of the busiest in the Gulf. More than 4.8 million passengers transited Bahrain International Airport in 2005. A modern, busy port offers direct and frequent cargo shipping connections to the U.S., Europe, and the Far East. To boost its competitiveness as a regional center, Bahrain is building a new port and has privatized port operations.

The government of Bahrain moved toward privatizing the production of electricity and water by licensing Al Ezzal to construct an independent power plant at a cost of $500 million. The company commenced operations in May 2006. In January 2006, the government announced the sale of the Al Hidd Power Plant for $738 million to Hidd Power Company, a consortium of British, Japanese, and Belgian companies.

Regional tourism is also a significant source of income. The government continues to favor large-scale tourism projects. It opened the only Formula One race track in the Middle East in 2004, and has awarded tenders for several tourist complexes. New hotel and spa projects are progressing within the context of broader real estate development, much of which is geared toward attracting increased tourism.

Government revenues continue to be largely dependent on the oil industry. Bahrain has received significant budgetary support and project grants from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. Buoyed by rising oil revenues, the 2007-2008 budget approved by the parliament in July 2006 provided for sizable increases in urban development, education, and social spending. Ministry of Defense spending was expected to account for 13% of current spending in 2007 and 2008 based on the new budget. The Ministry of Education and Ministry of the Interior also received substantial budget allocations. Significant capital outlays were allocated to improving housing and infrastructure in line with government efforts to raise the standard of living of the Shi'a population and to attract foreign investment.

The government has also started to extend protections to workers. Private sector employees won permission to form unions in late 2002; King Hamad has given his tentative approval for the formation of unions in government departments. In June 2006, Bahrain passed laws legalizing the existence of multiple trade federations and codifying several protections for workers engaged in union activity. As part of the government's labor reform program, it has formed a Labor Market Regulatory Authority and established a fund to support the training of Bahraini workers

In 2006, bilateral trade exceeded $1 billion for the first time, representing almost 50% growth over 2005. The U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement took effect on August 1, 2006 and is generating increased U.S. commercial interest in Bahrain.

DEFENSE
The Bahrain Defense Force (BDF) numbers about 12,000 personnel and consists of army, navy, air force, air defense, and royal guard units. The public security forces and the coast guard are separate from the BDF and report to the Ministry of the Interior. Bahrain also has a national guard that consists of about 1,200 personnel. Bahrain's defense spending since 1999 has been steady. The government spends around $630 million annually on the military, about 20% of current expenditures. The parliamentary process has produced spirited debate over government spending, particularly defense spending, but no actual reductions.

With the help of the U.S. and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Bahrain has made significant efforts to upgrade its defense systems and modernize its armed forces over the last 20 years. In 1982, the GCC gave Bahrain $1.7 billion for this purpose. Since the 1991 Gulf War, the U.S. has provided military and defense technical assistance and training to Bahrain from Foreign Military Sales (FMS), commercial sources, excess defense article sales (EDA) and under the International Military and Education Training (IMET) program. The U.S. Office of Military Cooperation in Bahrain is attached to the U.S. Embassy and manages the security assistance mission. U.S. military sales to Bahrain since 2000 total $1.4 billion. Principal U.S. military systems acquired by the BDF include eight Apache helicopters, 54 M60A3 tanks, 22 F-16C/D aircraft, 51 Cobra helicopters, 9 MLRS Launchers (with ATACMS), 20 M109A5 Howitzers, 1 Avenger AD system, and the TPS-59 radar system. Bahrain has received $195 million in FMF and $410 million in U.S. EDA acquisition value delivered since the U.S.-Bahraini program began in 1993. The Bahrain Defense Force also placed orders for 9 UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters and 2 Mk-V Fast Patrol Boats. Delivery of both systems was planned for 2009.

Military exercises are conducted on a regular basis to increase the BDF's readiness and improve coordination with the U.S. and other GCC forces. The BDF also sends personnel to the United States for military training. This training includes courses from graduate level professional military education down to entry level technical training.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Since achieving independence in 1971, Bahrain has pursued a policy of close consultation with neighboring states. Bahrain became a member of the United Nations and the Arab League in 1971. In 1981 it joined its five neighbors--Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, the U.A.E. and Qatar--to form the strategic Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Bahrain has complied with GCC efforts steps to coordinate economic development and defense and security planning. In December 1994, for example, Bahrain concurred with the GCC decision to drop secondary and tertiary boycotts against Israel. Bahrain also responded positively to Kuwait's request to deploy the GCC collective defense force, "Peninsula Shield," during the buildup and execution of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) in 2003.

In addition to maintaining strong relations with its largest financial backers, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the U.A.E., Bahrain has worked to improve its relations with Qatar and has proper, but not warm, relations with Iran. Bahrain-Iran relations have been strained since the discovery in 1981 of an Iran-sponsored coup plot in Bahrain. Bahraini suspicions of the Iranian role in local unrest in the mid-1990s remain. On March 16, 2001, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced its judgment on the long-standing maritime delimitation and territorial dispute between Bahrain and Qatar. The binding judgment awarded sovereignty over the Hawar Islands and Qit'at Jaradah to Bahrain and sovereignty over Zubarah (part of the Qatar Peninsula), Janan Island and Fasht ad Dibal to Qatar. The peaceful settlement of this dispute has allowed for renewed co-operation, including plans to construct a causeway between the two countries.

Bahrain's strategic partnership with the U.S. has intensified since 1991. Bahraini pilots flew strikes in Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War, and the country was used as a base for military operations in the Gulf. Bahrain also provided logistical and basing support to international Maritime Interdiction efforts to enforce UN sanctions and prevent illegal smuggling of oil from Iraq in the 1990s. Bahrain also provided extensive basing and overflight clearances for a multitude of U.S. aircraft operating in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Bahrain also deployed forces in support of coalition operations during both OEF and OIF. Bahrain has delivered humanitarian support and technical training to support the reconstruction of the Iraqi banking sector, and has offered support for each stage of Iraq's political transformation. Bahrain has also cooperated effectively on criminal investigation issues in support of the campaign on terrorism; the Bahrain Monetary Agency (which became the Central Bank of Bahrain in September 2006) moved quickly to restrict terrorists' ability to transfer funds through Bahrain's financial system. In October 2006, Bahrain joined the U.S. and 23 other countries in a Proliferation Security Initiative interdiction exercise in the Persian Gulf.

U.S.-BAHRAINI RELATIONS
The American Mission Hospital, affiliated with the National Evangelical Church, has operated continuously in Bahrain for more than a century. Bahrain has also been a base for U.S. naval activity in the Gulf since 1947. When Bahrain became independent, the U.S.-Bahrain relationship was formalized with the establishment of diplomatic relations. The U.S. embassy at Manama was opened September 21, 1971, and a resident ambassador was sent in 1974. The Bahraini embassy in Washington, DC, opened in 1977. In October 1991, Amir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa made a state visit to Washington. In 2001, Amir Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa made his first visit to the U.S. after succeeding his father in 1999. He returned to Washington on an official visit in January 2003. King Hamad made an official visit to Washington in November 2004 to meet with President George W. Bush and cabinet-level officials. In January 2008, President Bush made the first visit by a sitting President to Bahrain. King Hamad visited Washington in March 2008.

Bahrain and the United States signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement in October 1991 granting U.S. forces access to Bahraini facilities and ensuring the right to pre-position material for future crises. Bahrain is the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. The U.S. designated Bahrain a Major Non-NATO Ally in October 2001. Bahrain and the United States signed a Free Trade Agreement in 2004.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Adam Ereli
Deputy Chief of Mission--Christopher Henzel
Political/Economic Section Chief--Steven Butler
Economic/Commercial Officer--Benjamin Thomson
Consular Section Chief--Nausher Ali
Public Affairs Officer--Rachel Graaf
Management Officer--George Navadel

The U.S. Embassy in Bahrain is located off Sheikh Isa Highway, at Building 979, Road 3119, Block 321, Zinj, Manama, Bahrain. The mailing address is P.O. Box 26431, Manama, Bahrain; tel: [973] 242-700; fax: [973] 272-594. The embassy's hours of operation outside of Ramadan are 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Sundays-Thursdays.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
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Background Note: Yemen

Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Yemen

Geography
Area: 527,970 sq. km. (203,796 sq. mi.); about the size of California and Pennsylvania combined.
Cities: Capital--Sanaa. Other cities--Aden, Taiz, Hodeida, and al-Mukalla.
Terrain: Mountainous interior bordered by desert with a flat and sandy coastal plain.
Climate: Temperate in the mountainous regions in the western part of the country, extremely hot with minimal rainfall in the remainder of the country. Humid on the coast.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Yemeni(s).
Population (July 2007 est.): 22,230,531.
Annual growth rate: 3%.
Ethnic group: Predominantly Arab.
Religions: Islam, small numbers of Jews, Christians, and Hindus.
Language: Arabic.
Education: Attendance (2004 est.)--80% for boys at the primary level and 50% for girls. Attendance was 55% for boys at the secondary level and 22% for girls. Literacy (2004 est.)--50% overall, including 70% of males, 30% of females.
Health: Infant mortality rate--75/1,000 live births. Life expectancy--62 years.
Work force (by sector): Agriculture--53%; public services--17%; manufacturing--4%; construction--7%; percentage of total population--25%.

Government
Type: Republic; unification (of former south and north Yemen): May 22, 1990.
Constitution: Adopted May 21, 1990 and ratified May 1991.
Branches: Executive--president, and prime minister with cabinet. Legislative--bicameral legislature with 111-seat Shura Council and 301-seat House of Representatives. Judicial--the constitution calls for an independent judiciary. The former northern and southern legal codes have been unified. The legal system includes separate commercial courts and a Supreme Court based in Sanaa.
Administrative subdivisions: 22 governorates subdivided into districts.
Main political parties: General People's Congress (GPC), Islah Party, Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP).
Suffrage: Universal over 18.
National holiday: May 22 (Unity Day).

Economy
GDP (2007 est.) $22.5 billion.
Per capital GDP (2006 est.): $870.
Natural resources: Oil, natural gas, fish and seafood, rock salt, minor deposits of coal and copper.
Agriculture (est. 12.5% of GDP): Products--qat (a shrub containing a natural amphetamine), coffee, cotton, fruits, vegetables, cereals, livestock and poultry. Arable land (est.)--3%.
Industry (est. 42.8% of GDP): Types--petroleum refining, mining, wholesale and retail trade, transportation, manufacturing, and construction.
Services (est. 43.7% of GDP).
Trade: Exports (2007)--$7.0 billion: crude petroleum, liquefied natural gas, refined oil products, seafood, fruits, vegetables, hides, tobacco products. Major markets--China, Thailand, India, South Korea, United States, Switzerland. Imports (2006)--$5 billion: petroleum products, cereals, feed grains, foodstuffs, machinery, transportation equipment, iron, sugar, honey. Major suppliers--United Arab Emirates, China, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Kuwait.
Exchange rate (2009): Market rate 210 rials per U.S. $1. The Yemeni rial (YR) floats freely based on an average of foreign currencies. Since the floating of the YR, the market usually reflects the official rate of exchange.

PEOPLE
Unlike other people of the Arabian Peninsula who have historically been nomads or semi-nomads, Yemenis are almost entirely sedentary and live in small villages and towns scattered throughout the highlands and coastal regions.

Yemenis are divided into two principal Islamic religious groups: the Shia Zaidi sect, found in the north and northwest, and the Shafa'i school of Sunni Muslims, found in the south and southeast. Yemenis are mainly of Semitic origin, although African strains are present among inhabitants of the coastal region. Arabic is the official language, although English is increasingly understood in major cities. In the Mahra area (the extreme east), several non-Arabic languages are spoken. When the former states of north and south Yemen were established, most resident minority groups departed.

HISTORY
Yemen was one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Between the 12th century BC and the 6th century AD, it was part of the Minaean, Sabaean, and Himyarite kingdoms, which controlled the lucrative spice trade, and later came under Ethiopian and Persian rule. In the 7th century, Islamic caliphs began to exert control over the area. After this caliphate broke up, the former north Yemen came under control of Imams of various dynasties usually of the Zaidi sect, who established a theocratic political structure that survived until modern times. (Imam is a religious term. The Shi’ites apply it to the prophet Muhammad's son-in-law Ali, his sons Hassan and Hussein, and subsequent lineal descendants, whom they consider to have been divinely ordained unclassified successors of the prophet.)

Egyptian Sunni caliphs occupied much of north Yemen throughout the 11th century. By the 16th century and again in the 19th century, north Yemen was part of the Ottoman Empire, and in some periods its Imams exerted control over south Yemen.

Former North Yemen
Ottoman control was largely confined to cities with the Imam's suzerainty over tribal areas formally recognized. Turkish forces withdrew in 1918, and Imam Yahya strengthened his control over north Yemen. Yemen became a member of the Arab league in 1945 and the United Nations in 1947.

Imam Yahya died during an unsuccessful coup attempt in 1948 and was succeeded by his son Ahmad, who ruled until his death in September 1962. Imam Ahmad's reign was marked by growing repression, renewed friction with the United Kingdom over the British presence in the south, and growing pressures to support the Arab nationalist objectives of Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser.

Shortly after assuming power in 1962, Ahmad's son, Badr, was deposed by revolutionary forces, which took control of Sanaa and created the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR). Egypt assisted the YAR with troops and supplies to combat forces loyal to the Imamate. Saudi Arabia and Jordan supported Badr's royalist forces to oppose the newly formed republic. Conflict continued periodically until 1967 when Egyptian troops were withdrawn. By 1968, following a final royalist siege of Sanaa, most of the opposing leaders reconciled; Saudi Arabia recognized the Republic in 1970.

Former South Yemen
British influence increased in the south and eastern portion of Yemen after the British captured the port of Aden in 1839. It was ruled as part of British India until 1937, when Aden was made a crown colony with the remaining land designated as east Aden and west Aden protectorates. By 1965, most of the tribal states within the protectorates and the Aden colony proper had joined to form the British-sponsored federation of south Arabia.

In 1965, two rival nationalist groups--the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY) and the National Liberation Front (NLF)--turned to terrorism in their struggle to control the country. In 1967, in the face of uncontrollable violence, British troops began withdrawing, federation rule collapsed, and NLF elements took control after eliminating their FLOSY rivals. South Arabia, including Aden, was declared independent on November 30, 1967, and was renamed the People's Republic of South Yemen. In June 1969, a radical wing of the Marxist NLF gained power and changed the country's name on December 1, 1970, to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY). In the PDRY, all political parties were amalgamated into the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), which became the only legal party. The PDRY established close ties with the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and radical Palestinians.

Republic of Yemen
In 1972, the governments of the PDRY and the YAR declared that they approved a future union. However, little progress was made toward unification, and relations were often strained. In 1979, simmering tensions led to fighting, which was only resolved after Arab League mediation. The northern and southern heads of state reaffirmed the goal of unity during a summit meeting in Kuwait in March 1979. However, that same year the PDRY began sponsoring an insurgency against the YAR. In April 1980, PDRY President Abdul Fattah Ismail resigned and went into exile. His successor, Ali Nasir Muhammad, took a less interventionist stance toward both the YAR and neighboring Oman. On January 13, 1986, a violent struggle began in Aden between Ali Nasir Muhammad and the returned Abdul Fattah Ismail and their supporters. Fighting lasted for more than a month and resulted in thousands of casualties, Ali Nasir's ouster, and Ismail's death. Some 60,000 persons, including Ali Nasir and his supporters, fled to the YAR.

In May 1988, the YAR and PDRY governments came to an understanding that considerably reduced tensions including agreement to renew discussions concerning unification, to establish a joint oil exploration area along their undefined border, to demilitarize the border, and to allow Yemenis unrestricted border passage on the basis of only a national identification card.

In November 1989, the leaders of the YAR (Ali Abdullah Saleh) and the PDRY (Ali Salim Al-Bidh) agreed on a draft unity constitution originally drawn up in 1981. The Republic of Yemen (ROY) was declared on May 22, 1990. Ali Abdullah Saleh became President, and Ali Salim Al-Bidh became Vice President.

A 30-month transitional period for completing the unification of the two political and economic systems was set. A presidential council was jointly elected by the 26-member YAR advisory council and the 17-member PDRY presidium. The presidential council appointed a Prime Minister, who formed a Cabinet. There was also a 301-seat provisional unified Parliament, consisting of 159 members from the north, 111 members from the south, and 31 independent members appointed by the chairman of the council.

A unity constitution was agreed upon in May 1990 and ratified by the populace in May 1991. It affirmed Yemen's commitment to free elections, a multiparty political system, the right to own private property, equality under the law, and respect of basic human rights. Parliamentary elections were held on April 27, 1993. International groups assisted in the organization of the elections and observed actual balloting. The resulting Parliament included 143 GPC, 69 YSP, 63 Islah (Yemeni Grouping for Reform, a party composed of various tribal and religious groups). The head of Islah, Paramount Hashid Sheik Abdullah Bin Hussein Al-Ahmar, was elected speaker of Parliament, and continues in that capacity.

Islah was invited into the ruling coalition, and the presidential council was altered to include one Islah member. Conflicts within the coalition resulted in the self-imposed exile of Vice President Ali Salim Al-Bidh to Aden beginning in August 1993 and a deterioration in the general security situation as political rivals settled scores and tribal elements took advantage of the unsettled situation.

Haydar Abu Bakr Al-Attas (former southern Prime Minister) continued to serve as the ROY Prime Minister, but his government was ineffective due to political infighting. Continuous negotiations between northern and southern leaders resulted in the signing of the document of pledge and accord in Amman, Jordan on February 20, 1994. Despite this, clashes intensified until civil war broke out in early May 1994.

Almost all of the actual fighting in the 1994 civil war occurred in the southern part of the country despite air and missile attacks against cities and major installations in the north. Southerners sought support from neighboring states and received billions of dollars of equipment and financial assistance. The United States strongly supported Yemeni unity, but repeatedly called for a cease-fire and a return to the negotiating table. Various attempts, including by a UN special envoy, were unsuccessful in bringing about a cease-fire.

Southern leaders declared secession and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Yemen (DRY) on May 21, 1994, but the DRY was not recognized by the international community. Ali Nasir Muhammad supporters greatly assisted military operations against the secessionists and Aden was captured on July 7, 1994. Other resistance quickly collapsed and thousands of southern leaders and military went into exile.

Early during the fighting, President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced a general amnesty, which applied to everyone except a list of 16 persons. Most southerners returned to Yemen after a short exile.

An armed opposition was announced from Saudi Arabia, but no significant incidents within Yemen materialized. The government prepared legal cases against four southern leaders--Ali Salim Al- Bidh, Haydar Abu Bakr Al-Attas, Abd Al-Rahman Ali Al-Jifri, and Salih Munassar Al-Siyali--for misappropriation of official funds. Abd Al-Rahman Ali Al-Rahman was allowed to return to Yemen in 2006. Others on the list of 16 were told informally they could return to take advantage of the amnesty, but most remained outside Yemen. Although many of Ali Nasir Muhammad's followers were appointed to senior governmental positions (including Vice President, Chief of Staff, and Governor of Aden), Ali Nasir Muhammad himself remained abroad in Syria.

In the aftermath of the civil war, YSP leaders within Yemen reorganized the party and elected a new politburo in July 1994. However, the party remained disheartened and without its former influence.

In 1994, amendments to the unity constitution eliminated the presidential council. President Ali Abdullah Saleh was elected by Parliament on October 1, 1994 to a 5-year term. In April 1997, Yemen held its second multiparty parliamentary elections. The country held its first direct presidential elections in September 1999, electing President Ali Abdullah Saleh to a 5-year term in what were generally considered free and fair elections.

Constitutional amendments adopted in the summer of 2000 extended the presidential term by 2 years, creating a seven-year presidential term. The constitution provides that henceforth the president will be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates selected by the legislature. The amendments also extended the parliamentary term of office to a 6-year term, with the next elections occurring in 2009. On February 20, 2001, a new constitutional amendment created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote). In April 2003, the third multiparty parliamentary elections were held with improvements in voter registration for both men and women and in a generally free and fair atmosphere. Two women were elected. In September 2006, citizens re-elected President Saleh to a second term in a generally open and competitive election, although there were multiple problems with the voting process and use of state resources on behalf of the ruling party.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Yemen is a republic with a bicameral legislature. Under the constitution, an elected president, an elected 301-seat House of Representatives, and an appointed 111-member Shura Council share power. The president is head of state, and the prime minister is head of government. The constitution provides that the president be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates endorsed by Parliament; the prime minister is appointed by the president. The presidential term of office is 7 years, and the parliamentary term of elected office is 8 years. Suffrage is universal over 18.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh was re-elected to a second term in 2006; the next presidential elections are scheduled for 2013. In the April 2003 parliamentary elections, the General People's Congress (GPC) maintained an absolute majority. International observers judged elections to be generally free and fair, and there was a marked decrease from previous years in election-related violence; however, there were some problems with underage voting, confiscation of ballot boxes, voter intimidation, and election-related violence. Parliamentary elections scheduled for April 2009 were postponed until 2011 by a parliamentary vote extending the members’ term in office to 8 years. In the September 2006 local council elections, the GPC won a majority of seats on local and provincial councils. International observers judged the elections to be generally open and competitive, with another marked decrease in election-related violence.

The constitution calls for an independent judiciary. The former northern and southern legal codes have been unified. The legal system includes separate commercial courts and a Supreme Court based in Sanaa.

Principal Government Officials
President--Ali Abdullah Saleh
Vice President--Abd Al-Rab Mansur Hadi
Prime Minister--Ali Muhammad Mujawwar
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior--Rashad al-Alimi
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning and International Cooperation--Abdulkarim Ismael Arhabi
Minister of Defense--Mohammed Nasser Ahmad
Minister of Finance--Numan Salih al-Suhaybi
Minister of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs--Abu Bakr al-Qirbi
Minister of Industry and Trade--Yahya al-Mutawakil
Minister of Justice--Ghazi al-Aghbari
Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources--Ameer Salem al-Aidarous
Ambassador to the United States--Abdulwahab Abdulla Al-Hajjri
Ambassador to the United Nations--Abdullah al-Said

The Republic of Yemen maintains an Embassy in the United States at 2319 Wyoming Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel: 202-965-4760).

ECONOMY
At unification, both the YAR and the PDRY were struggling, underdeveloped economies. In the north, disruptions of civil war (1962-70) and frequent periods of drought had dealt severe blows to a previously prosperous agricultural sector. Coffee production, formerly the north's main export and principal form of foreign exchange, declined as the cultivation of qat increased. Low domestic industrial output and a lack of raw materials made the YAR dependent on a wide variety of imports.

Remittances from Yemenis working abroad and foreign aid paid for perennial trade deficits. Substantial Yemeni communities exist in many countries of the world, including Yemen's immediate neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula, Indonesia, India, East Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Beginning in the mid-1950s, the Soviet Union and China provided large-scale assistance to the YAR. This aid included funding of substantial construction projects, scholarships, and considerable military assistance.

In the south, pre-independence economic activity was overwhelmingly concentrated in the port city of Aden. The seaborne transit trade, which the port relied upon, collapsed with the closure of the Suez Canal and Britain's withdrawal from Aden in 1967. Only extensive Soviet aid, remittances from south Yemenis working abroad, and revenues from the Aden refinery (built in the 1950s) kept the PDRY's centrally planned Marxist economy afloat. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union and a cessation of Soviet aid, the south's economy basically collapsed.

Since unification, the government has worked to integrate two relatively disparate economic systems. However, severe shocks, including the return in 1990 of approximately 850,000 Yemenis from the Gulf states, a subsequent major reduction of aid flows, and internal political disputes culminating in the 1994 civil war hampered economic growth.

Since the conclusion of the war, the government has entered into agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to institute an extremely successful structural adjustment program. Phase one of the IMF program included major financial and monetary reforms, including floating the currency, reducing the budget deficit, and cutting subsidies. Phase two will address structural issues such as civil service reform. The World Bank also is present in Yemen, with 19 active projects in 2005, including projects in the areas of public sector governance, water, and education. Since 1998, the government of Yemen has sought to implement World Bank economic and fiscal recommendations. In subsequent years, Yemen has lowered its debt burden through Paris Club agreements and restructuring U.S. foreign debt. In 2004, government reserves reached $4.7 billion.

Current U.S. Government commercial activities are focused on advocating on behalf of U.S. companies, protecting existing American business interests in the country, and diversifying Yemen’s economy toward non-petroleum sectors of the economy.

Following a minor discovery in southern Yemen in 1982, an American company found an oil basin near Marib in 1984. A total of 170,000 barrels per day were produced there in 1995. A small oil refinery began operations near Marib in 1986. A Soviet discovery in the southern governorate of Shabwa proved only marginally successful even when taken over by a different group. A Western consortium began exporting oil from Masila in the Hadramaut in 1993, and production there reached 420,000 barrels per day in 1999. More than a dozen other companies have been unsuccessful in finding commercial quantities of oil. There are new finds in the Jannah (formerly known as the Joint Oil Exploration Area) and east Shabwah blocks.

In November 2005, Hunt Oil’s 20-year contract for the management of Block 18 fields ended. Despite agreement with the Government of Yemen on a five-year extension, the Republic of Yemen Government abrogated the agreement via a parliamentary vote that was not called for in the contract. The U.S.-based Hunt Oil company sued Yemen in a Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce commercial arbitration court in 2005. The court’s decision has been kept confidential, according to both sides’ wishes. Hunt Oil continues to operate in Yemen, although in a much smaller-sized oil exploration block.

Yemen's oil exports in 1995 earned about $1 billion. By 2005, exports had grown to approximately $3.1 billion and comprised roughly 70% of government revenue. Crude oil production has declined steadily in past years due to dwindling reserves, lack of maintenance on some equipment, and a lack of new investment in exploration activities.

Oil located near Marib contains associated natural gas. Yemen’s natural gas reserves are currently being exported in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG), but plans are underway for Yemen’s gas to fuel several natural gas-fired power plants.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
The geography and ruling Imams of north Yemen kept the country isolated from foreign influence before 1962. The country's relations with Saudi Arabia were defined by the Taif Agreement of 1934, which delineated the northernmost part of the border between the two kingdoms and set the framework for commercial and other intercourse. The Taif Agreement has been renewed periodically in 20-year increments, and its validity was reaffirmed in 1995. Relations with the British colonial authorities in Aden and the south were usually tense.

The Soviet and Chinese Aid Missions established in 1958 and 1959 were the first important non-Muslim presence in north Yemen. Following the September 1962 revolution, the Yemen Arab Republic became closely allied with and heavily dependent upon Egypt. Saudi Arabia aided the royalists in their attempt to defeat the Republicans and did not recognize the Yemen Arab Republic until 1970. Subsequently, Saudi Arabia provided Yemen substantial budgetary and project support. At the same time, Saudi Arabia maintained direct contact with Yemeni tribes, which sometimes strained its official relations with the Yemeni Government. Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis found employment in Saudi Arabia during the late 1970s and 1980s.

In February 1989, north Yemen joined Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt informing the Arab Cooperation Council (ACC), an organization created partly in response to the founding of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and intended to foster closer economic cooperation and integration among its members. After unification, the Republic of Yemen was accepted as a member of the ACC in place of its YAR predecessor. In the wake of the Gulf crisis, the ACC has remained inactive. Yemen is not a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

British authorities left southern Yemen in November 1967 in the wake of an intense terrorist campaign. The people's democratic Republic of Yemen, the successor to British colonial rule, had diplomatic relations with many nations, but its major links were with the Soviet Union and other Marxist countries. Relations between it and the conservative Arab states of the Arabian Peninsula were strained. There were military clashes with Saudi Arabia in 1969 and 1973, and the PDRY provided active support for the Dhofar rebellion against the Sultanate of Oman. The PDRY was the only Arab state to vote against admitting new Arab states from the Gulf area to the United Nations and the Arab League. The PDRY provided sanctuary and material support to various international terrorist groups.

Yemen is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Yemen participates in the nonaligned movement. The Republic of Yemen accepted responsibility for all treaties and debts of its predecessors, the YAR and the PDRY. Yemen has acceded to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. The Gulf crisis dramatically affected Yemen's foreign relations. As a member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in 1990-1991, Yemen abstained on a number of UNSC resolutions concerning Iraq and Kuwait, and voted against the "use of force resolution." Western and Gulf Arab states reacted by curtailing or canceling aid programs and diplomatic contacts. At least 850,000 Yemenis returned from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

Subsequent to the liberation of Kuwait, Yemen continued to maintain high-level contacts with Iraq. This hampered its efforts to rejoin the Arab mainstream and to mend fences with its immediate neighbors. In 1993, Yemen launched an unsuccessful diplomatic offensive to restore relations with its Gulf neighbors. Some of its aggrieved neighbors actively aided the south during the 1994 civil war. Since the end of that conflict, tangible progress has been made on the diplomatic front in restoring normal relations with Yemen's neighbors. The Omani-Yemeni border has been officially demarcated. In the summer of 2000, Yemen and Saudi Arabia signed an International Border Treaty settling a 50-year-old dispute over the location of the border between the two countries. Yemen also settled its dispute with Eritrea over the Hanish Islands in 1998.

U.S.-YEMEN RELATIONS
The United States established diplomatic relations with the Imamate in 1946. A resident legation, later elevated to embassy status, was opened in Taiz (the capital at the time) on March 16, 1959 and moved to Sanaa in 1966. The United States was one of the first countries to recognize the Yemen Arab Republic, doing so on December 19, 1962. A major U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program constructed the Mocha-Taiz-Sanaa highway and the Kennedy memorial water project in Taiz, as well as many smaller projects. On June 6, 1967, the YAR, under Egyptian influence, broke diplomatic relations with the United States in the wake of the Arab-Israeli conflict of that year. Secretary of State William P. Rogers restored relations following a visit to Sanaa in July 1972, and a new USAID agreement was concluded in 1973.

On December 7, 1967, the United States recognized the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and elevated its Consulate General in Aden to embassy status. However, relations were strained. The PDRY was placed on the list of nations that support terrorism. On October 24, 1969, south Yemen formally broke diplomatic relations with the United States. The United States and the PDRY reestablished diplomatic relations on April 30, 1990, only 3 weeks before the announcement of unification. However, the embassy in Aden, which closed in 1969, was never reopened, and the PDRY as a political entity no longer exists.

During a 1979 border conflict between the Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, the United States cooperated with Saudi Arabia to greatly expand the security assistance program to the YAR by providing F-5 aircraft, tanks, vehicles and training. George H.W. Bush, while Vice President, visited in April 1986, and President Ali Abdullah Saleh visited the United States in January 1990. The United States had a $42 million USAID program in 1990. From 1973 to 1990, the United States provided the YAR with assistance in the agriculture, education, and health and water sectors. Many Yemenis were sent on U.S. Government scholarships to study in the region and in the United States. There was a Peace Corps program with about 50 volunteers. The U.S. Information Service operated an English-language institute in Sanaa.

In 1990, as a result of Yemen's actions in the Security Council following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the United States drastically reduced its presence in Yemen including canceling all military cooperation, non-humanitarian assistance, and the Peace Corps program. USAID levels dropped in FY 1991 to $2.9 million, but food assistance through the PL 480 and PL 416 (B) programs continued through 2006. In 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture provided 30,000 metric tons of soybean meal that were sold for approximately $7.5 million to finance programs in support of Yemen’s agricultural sector.

The United States was actively involved in and strongly supportive of parliamentary elections in 1993 as well as the 2006 presidential and local council elections, and continues working to strengthen Yemen's democratic institutions. The USAID program, focused in the health field, had slowly increased to $8.5 million in FY 1995, but ended in FY 2000. It was reinvigorated in 2003, and a USAID office was re-opened in Sanaa. Yemen has also received significant funding from the Middle East Partnership Initiative. Funds went, in large part, to support literacy projects, election monitoring, training for civil society, and the improvement of electoral procedures.

Defense relations between Yemen and the United States are improving rapidly, with the resumption of International Military Education and Training assistance and the transfer of military equipment and spare parts. In FY 2009 U.S. Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Yemen was $2.8 million, International Military Education and Training (IMET) was $1 million, and Non-Proliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining and Related Programs (NADR) was $2.5 million. In FY 2009 Yemen also received $19.8 million in Economic Support Funds (ESF), $11.2 million in development assistance, and $67.1 million in Section 1206 funding.

In November 2006, a World Bank-sponsored international donor conference in London resulted in pledges of $4.7 billion for Yemen's development. The funds were to be disbursed between 2007 and 2010; however, delivery has been much slower than expected.

Yemen is an important partner in counterterrorism efforts, providing assistance in the military, diplomatic, and counterterrorism finance arenas. Yemen has stepped up its counterterrorism cooperation efforts with the United States, achieving significant results and improving overall security in Yemen. In November 2005 and May 2007, President Saleh visited high-level officials in Washington, including President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Stephen A. Seche
Deputy Chief of Mission--Angie Bryan
Chief, Political, Economic, and Commercial Section--Lynn Gurian
Chief, Public Affairs Office--Deborah Smith

The address of the U.S. Embassy in Yemen is P.O. Box 22347, Sanaa, Republic of Yemen.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

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Background Note: Libya

Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Geography
Location: North Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, southern border with Chad, Niger, and Sudan.
Area: 1,759,540 million sq. km.
Cities: Tripoli (capital), Benghazi.
Terrain: Mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions.
Climate: Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior.
Land use: Arable land--1.03%; permanent crops--0.19%; other--98.78%.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Libyan(s).
Population (July 2009 est.): 6,310,434 (includes 349,040 non-nationals).
Annual growth rate (2009 est.): 2.17%. Birth rate (2009 est.)--25.15 births/1,000 population. Death rate (2009 est.)--3.45 deaths/1,000 population.
Ethnic groups: Berber and Arab 97%; other 3% (includes Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, and Tunisians).
Religion: Sunni Muslim 97%, other 3%.
Languages: Arabic is the primary language. English and Italian are understood in major cities.
Education: Years compulsory--9. Attendance--90%. Literacy (age 15 and over who can read and write)--total population 82.6%; male 92.4%; female 72% (2003 est.).
Health (2009 est.): Infant mortality rate--21.05 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy--total population 77.26 yrs.; male 74.98 yrs.; female 79.65 yrs.
Work force (2009 est.): 1.64 million.

Government
Official name: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
Type: "Jamahiriya" is a term Col. Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi coined and which he defines as a "state of the masses" governed by the populace through local councils. In practice, Libya is an authoritarian state.
Independence: Libya declared independence on December 24, 1951.
Revolution Day: September 1, 1969.
Constitution: No formal document. Revolutionary edicts establishing a government structure were issued December 11, 1969 and amended March 2, 1977 to establish popular congresses and people's committees that constitute the Jamahiriya system.
Administrative divisions: 32 municipalities (singular--"shabiya", plural--"shabiyat"): Butnan, Darnah, Gubba, al-Jebal al-Akhdar, Marj, al-Jebal al-Hezam, Benghazi, Ajdabiya, Wahat, Kufra, Surt, Al Jufrah, Misurata, Murgub, Bani-Walid, Tarhuna and Msallata, Tripoli, Jfara, Zawiya, Sabratha and Surman, An Nuqat al-Khams, Gharyan, Mezda, Nalut, Ghadames, Yefren, Wadi Alhaya, Ghat, Sabha, Wadi Shati, Murzuq, Tajura and an-Nuwaha al-Arba'a.
Political system: Political parties are banned. According to the political theory of Col. Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi, multi-layered popular assemblies (people's congresses) with executive institutions (people's committees) are guided by political cadres (revolutionary committees).
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory.

Economy
Real GDP (2009 est.): $89.92 billion.
GDP per capita (PPP, 2009 est.): $14,200.
Real GDP growth rate (2009 est.): 5.9%.
Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, gypsum.
Agriculture: Products--wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle; approximately 75% of Libya's food is imported.
Industry: Types--petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement.
Trade: Exports (2008 est.)--$64.5 billion f.o.b.: crude oil, refined petroleum products. Major markets (2008)--Italy (38%), Germany (12%), Spain (6.9%), France (7.4%), U.S. (6.4%), Switzerland 4.6%. Imports (2008 est.)--$26.55 billion f.o.b.: machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods. Major suppliers (2008)--Italy (22.2%), Germany (8.6%), Tunisia (5.8%), Turkey (6.1%), France (4.1%), South Korea (4.7%), China (9.3%).

PEOPLE
Libya has a small population in a large land area. Population density is about 50 persons per sq. km. (80/sq. mi.) in the two northern regions of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, but falls to less than one person per sq. km. (1.6/sq. mi.) elsewhere. Ninety percent of the people live in less than 10% of the area, primarily along the coast. More than half the population is urban, mostly concentrated in the two largest cities, Tripoli and Benghazi. Thirty-three percent of the population is estimated to be under age 15.

Native Libyans are primarily a mixture of Arabs and Berbers. Small Tebou and Tuareg tribal groups in southern Libya are nomadic or semi-nomadic. Among foreign residents, the largest groups are citizens of other African nations, including North Africans (primarily Egyptians and Tunisians), West Africans, and other Sub-Saharan Africans.

HISTORY
For most of their history, the peoples of Libya have been subjected to varying degrees of foreign control. The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, and Byzantines ruled all or parts of Libya. Although the Greeks and Romans left impressive ruins at Cyrene, Leptis Magna, and Sabratha, little else remains today to testify to the presence of these ancient cultures.

The Arabs conquered Libya in the seventh century A.D. In the following centuries, most of the indigenous peoples adopted Islam and the Arabic language and culture. The Ottoman Turks conquered the country in the mid-16th century. Libya remained part of their empire, although at times virtually autonomous, until Italy invaded in 1911 and, in the face of years of resistance, made Libya a colony.

In 1934, Italy adopted the name "Libya" (used by the Greeks for all of North Africa, except Egypt) as the official name of the colony, which consisted of the Provinces of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania, and Fezzan. King Idris I, Emir of Cyrenaica, led Libyan resistance to Italian occupation between the two world wars. Allied forces removed Axis powers from Libya in February 1943. Tripolitania and Cyrenaica came under separate British administration, while the French controlled Fezzan. In 1944, Idris returned from exile in Cairo but declined to resume permanent residence in Cyrenaica until the removal in 1947 of some aspects of foreign control. Under the terms of the 1947 peace treaty with the Allies, Italy relinquished all claims to Libya.

On November 21, 1949, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before January 1, 1952. King Idris I represented Libya in the subsequent UN negotiations. When Libya declared its independence on December 24, 1951, it was the first country to achieve independence through the United Nations and one of the first former European possessions in Africa to gain independence. Libya was proclaimed a constitutional and a hereditary monarchy under King Idris.

The discovery of significant oil reserves in 1959 and the subsequent income from petroleum sales enabled what had been one of the world's poorest countries to become extremely wealthy, as measured by per capita GDP. Although oil drastically improved Libya's finances, popular resentment grew as wealth was increasingly concentrated in the hands of the elite. This discontent continued to mount with the rise throughout the Arab world of Nasserism and the idea of Arab unity.

On September 1, 1969, a small group of military officers led by then 28-year-old army officer Mu'ammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi staged a coup d'état against King Idris, who was subsequently exiled to Egypt. The new regime, headed by the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. Qadhafi emerged as leader of the RCC and eventually as de facto head of state, a political role he still plays. The Libyan Government asserts that Qadhafi currently holds no official position, although he is referred to in government statements and the official press as the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution," among other honorifics.

The new RCC's motto became "freedom, socialism, and unity." It pledged itself to remedy "backwardness," take an active role in the Palestinian cause, promote Arab unity, and encourage domestic policies based on social justice, non-exploitation, and an equitable distribution of wealth.

An early objective of the new government was withdrawal of all foreign military installations from Libya. Following negotiations, British military installations at Tobruk and nearby El Adem were closed in March 1970, and U.S. facilities at Wheelus Air Force Base near Tripoli were closed in June 1970. That July, the Libyan Government ordered the expulsion of several thousand Italian residents. By 1971, libraries and cultural centers operated by foreign governments were ordered closed.

In the 1970s, Libya claimed leadership of Arab and African revolutionary forces and sought active roles in international organizations. Late in the 1970s, Libyan embassies were re-designated as "people's bureaus," as Qadhafi sought to portray Libyan foreign policy as an expression of the popular will. The people's bureaus, aided by Libyan religious, political, educational, and business institutions overseas, attempted to export Qadhafi's revolutionary philosophy abroad.

Qadhafi's confrontational foreign policies and use of terrorism, as well as Libya's growing friendship with the U.S.S.R., led to increased tensions with the West in the 1980s. Following a terrorist bombing at a discotheque in West Berlin frequented by American military personnel, in 1986 the U.S. retaliated militarily against targets in Libya, and imposed broad unilateral economic sanctions.

After Libya was implicated in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) passed in 1992 and 1993 obliged Libya to fulfill requirements related to the Pan Am 103 bombing before sanctions could be lifted. Qadhafi initially refused to comply with these requirements, leading to Libya's political and economic isolation for most of the 1990s.

In 1999, Libya fulfilled one of the UNSCR requirements by surrendering two Libyans who were suspected to have been involved with the bombing for trial before a Scottish court in the Netherlands. One of these suspects, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, was found guilty; the other was acquitted. Al-Megrahi's conviction was upheld on appeal in 2002. On August 19, 2009, al-Megrahi was released from Scottish prison on compassionate grounds due to a terminal illness and returned to Libya. In August 2003, Libya fulfilled the remaining UNSCR requirements, including acceptance of responsibility for the actions of its officials and payment of appropriate compensation to the victims' families. UN sanctions were lifted on September 12, 2003. U.S. International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)-based sanctions were lifted September 20, 2004.

On December 19, 2003, Libya publicly announced its intention to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)-class missile programs. Since that time, Libya has cooperated with the U.S., the U.K., the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons toward these objectives. Libya has also signed the IAEA Additional Protocol and has become a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention. These were important steps toward full diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Libya.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Libya's political system is in theory based on the political philosophy in Qadhafi's Green Book, which combines socialist and Islamic theories and rejects parliamentary democracy and political parties. In reality, Qadhafi exercises near total control over major government decisions. For the first seven years following the revolution, the Revolutionary Command Council, which included Colonel Qadhafi and 12 fellow army officers, began a complete overhaul of Libya's political system, society and economy. In 1973, Qadhafi announced the start of a "cultural revolution" in schools, businesses, industries, and public institutions to oversee administration of those organizations in the public interest. On March 2, 1977, Qadhafi convened a General People's Congress (GPC) to proclaim the establishment of "people's power," change the country's name to the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, and to vest, theoretically, primary authority in the GPC.

The GPC is the legislative forum that interacts with the General People's Committee, whose members are secretaries of Libyan ministries. It serves as the intermediary between the masses and the leadership and is composed of the secretariats of some 600 local "basic popular congresses." The GPC secretariat and the cabinet secretaries are appointed by the GPC secretary general and confirmed by the annual GPC congress. These cabinet secretaries are responsible for the routine operation of their ministries, but Qadhafi exercises real authority directly or through manipulation of the peoples and revolutionary committees.

Qadhafi remained the de facto head of state and secretary general of the GPC until 1980, when he gave up his office. Although he holds no formal office, Qadhafi exercises power with the assistance of a small group of trusted advisers, who include relatives from his home base in the Sirte region, which lies between the traditional commercial and political power centers in Benghazi and Tripoli.

In the 1980s, competition grew between the official Libyan Government, military hierarchies, and the revolutionary committees. An abortive coup attempt in May 1984, apparently mounted by Libyan exiles with internal support, led to a short-lived reign of terror in which thousands were imprisoned and interrogated. An unknown number were executed. Qadhafi used the revolutionary committees to search out alleged internal opponents following the coup attempt, thereby accelerating the rise of more radical elements inside the Libyan power hierarchy.

In 1988, faced with rising public dissatisfaction with shortages in consumer goods and setbacks in Libya's war with Chad, Qadhafi began to curb the power of the revolutionary committees and to institute some domestic reforms. The regime released many political prisoners and eased restrictions on foreign travel by Libyans. Private businesses were again permitted to operate.

In the late 1980s, Qadhafi began to pursue an anti-Islamic fundamentalist policy domestically, viewing fundamentalism as a potential rallying point for opponents of the regime. Qadhafi's security forces launched a pre-emptive strike at alleged coup plotters in the military and among the Warfallah tribe in October 1993. Widespread arrests and government reshufflings followed, accompanied by public "confessions" from regime opponents and allegations of torture and executions. The military, once Qadhafi's strongest supporters, became a potential threat in the 1990s. In 1993, following a failed coup attempt that implicated senior military officers, Qadhafi began to purge the military periodically, eliminating potential rivals and inserting his own loyal followers in their place.

Qadhafi's strategy of frequent re-balancing of roles and responsibilities of his lieutenants makes it difficult for outsiders to understand Libyan politics. Several key political figures hold overlapping portfolios, and switch roles in a country where personalities and relationships often play more important roles than official titles. While high-ranking officials may have official portfolios, it is not uncommon for supposed subordinates to report directly to Qadhafi on issues thought to be within the purview of other officials. Foreign Minister Musa Kusa was nominated for his current position in March 2009 after having served as the chief of the External Security Organization (Libya’s intelligence service) for over a decade. Prime Minister al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi oversees the day-to-day operation of the Libyan cabinet, and plays a key role in setting financial, and regulatory affairs, as well as domestic policies. National Security Adviser Mutassim al-Qadhafi is the Libyan leader’s fourth son; his portfolio includes security and military relations, as well as foreign intelligence. Qadhafi called for his second son, Saif al-Islam, to take appointment as the “General Coordinator of the People's Social Leadership” in October 2009, although as of January 2010 the younger Qadhafi had yet to announce that he would accept the position. Saif al-Islam is seen by many Western observers as a reformer. His Qadhafi International Charity and Development Foundation (QDF) serves as a platform from which he applies pressure on government officials on issues such as human rights, civil society development, and political and economic reforms. The QDF played a key role in brokering dialogue with former Libyan Islamic Fighting Group members (LIFG), which led to their subsequent release from prison, and recantation of violence as a tool of jihad.

The Libyan court system consists of three levels: the courts of first instance; the courts of appeals; and the Supreme Court, which is the final appellate level. The GPC appoints justices to the Supreme Court. Special "revolutionary courts" and military courts operate outside the court system to try political offenses and crimes against the state. "People's courts," another example of extrajudicial authority, were abolished in January 2005. Libya's justice system is nominally based on Sharia law.

Principal Government Officials
De facto Head of State--Mu'ammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi ("the Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution")
Secretary General of the General People's Committee (Prime Minister)--Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmudi
Secretary of the General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation (Foreign Minister)--Musa Kusa
National Security Advisor--Mutassim Billah al-Qadhafi
Ambassador--Ali Suleiman Aujali

The Libyan People’s Bureau (embassy-equivalent) is located at 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 705, Washington DC 20037 (tel. 202-944-9601, fax 202-944-9603).

ECONOMY
The government dominates Libya's socialist-oriented economy through complete control of the country's oil resources, which account for approximately 97% of export earnings, 75% of government receipts, and 54% of the gross domestic product. The severe drop in oil prices from peaks in late 2008 caused the government to abandon several economic reform projects and revise the budget downward. The expected weakness in world hydrocarbon prices throughout 2009 will constrain Libyan economic growth and further delay infrastructure development projects. Oil revenues constitute the principal source of foreign exchange. Much of the country's income has been lost to waste, corruption, conventional armaments purchases, and attempts to develop weapons of mass destruction, as well as to large donations made to developing countries in attempts to increase Qadhafi's influence in Africa and elsewhere. Although oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, the government's mismanagement of the economy has led to high inflation and increased import prices. These factors resulted in a decline in the standard of living from the late 1990s through 2003, especially for lower and middle income strata of the Libyan society.

Despite efforts to diversify the economy and encourage private sector participation, extensive controls of prices, credit, trade, and foreign exchange constrain growth. Import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have caused periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs.

On September 20, 2004, President George W. Bush signed an Executive Order ending economic sanctions imposed under the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). U.S. persons are no longer prohibited from working in Libya, and many American companies in diverse sectors are actively seeking investment opportunities in Libya. In 2008, the government announced ambitious plans to increase foreign investment in the oil and gas sectors to significantly boost production capacity from 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to 3 million bpd by 2012, a target that the National Oil Corporation now expects to slip to 2017. The government is also pursuing a number of large-scale infrastructure development projects such as highways, railways, air and seaports, telecommunications, water works, public housing, medical centers, shopping centers, and hotels.

Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps, including applying for World Trade Organization (WTO) membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization, are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy. The non-oil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for more than 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. Libya's primary agricultural water source remains the Great Manmade River Project, but significant resources are being invested in desalinization research to meet growing water demands. Government officials have also indicated interest in developing markets for alternative sources of energy, pharmaceuticals, health care services, and oil production byproducts.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Since 1969, Qadhafi has determined Libya's foreign policy. His principal foreign policy goals have been Arab unity, the incorporation of Israel and the Palestinian Territories into a single nation of "Isratine," advancement of Islam, support for Palestinians, elimination of outside, particularly Western, influence in the Middle East and Africa, and support for a range of "revolutionary" causes.

After the 1969 coup, Qadhafi closed American and British bases on Libyan territory and partially nationalized all foreign oil and commercial interests in Libya. He also played a key role in promoting the use of oil embargoes as a political weapon for challenging the West, hoping that an oil price rise and embargo in 1973 would persuade the West, especially the United States, to end support for Israel. Qadhafi rejected both Soviet communism and Western capitalism, and claimed he was charting a middle course.

Libya's relationship with the former Soviet Union involved massive Libyan arms purchases from the Soviet bloc and the presence of thousands of east bloc advisers. Libya's use, and heavy loss, of Soviet-supplied weaponry in its war with Chad was a notable breach of an apparent Soviet-Libyan understanding not to use the weapons for activities inconsistent with Soviet objectives. As a result, Soviet-Libyan relations reached a nadir in mid-1987.

After the fall of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union, Libya concentrated on expanding diplomatic ties with Third World countries and increasing its commercial links with Europe and East Asia. These ties significantly diminished after the imposition of UN sanctions in 1992. Following a 1998 Arab League meeting in which fellow Arab states decided not to challenge UN sanctions, Qadhafi announced that he was turning his back on pan-Arab ideas, which had been one of the fundamental tenets of his philosophy.

Instead, over the last decade, Libya pursued closer bilateral ties with North African neighbors Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco, and greater Africa. It has also sought to develop its relations with Sub-Saharan Africa, leading to Libyan involvement in several internal African disputes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Mauritania, Somalia, Central African Republic, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. Libya has also sought to expand its influence in Africa through financial assistance, granting aid donations to impoverished neighbors such as Niger and oil subsidies to Zimbabwe, and through participation in the African Union. Qadhafi has proposed a borderless "United States of Africa" to transform the continent into a single nation-state ruled by a single government. This plan has been greeted with skepticism. In recent years, Libya has played a helpful role in facilitating the provision of humanitarian assistance to Darfur refugees in Chad, contributing to efforts to forge a ceasefire between Chad and Sudan, and bringing an end to the conflict in Darfur.

One of the longest-standing issues in Libya's relationship with the European Union and the international community was resolved in July 2007 with the release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who had been convicted in 1999 of deliberately infecting over 400 children in a Benghazi hospital with the HIV virus. The six medics were sentenced to death in 2004, a sentence that was upheld by the Libyan Supreme Court, but commuted in July 2007 by the Higher Judicial Council to life in prison. Under a previous agreement with the Bulgarian Government on the repatriation of prisoners, the medics were allowed to return to Bulgaria to finish their sentence, where upon arrival the Bulgarian president pardoned all six. The Benghazi International Fund, established by the United States and its European allies, raised $460 million to distribute to the families of the children infected with HIV, each of whom received $1 million.

Since Libya’s 2003 decision to dismantle its WMD programs and renounce terrorism, it has sought to actively reengage the international community through improved bilateral relations with the West, as well as seeking leadership positions within international organizations. Libya served on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors from 2007-2008. From 2008-2009, Libya served a two-year non-permanent tenure on the UN Security Council representing the Africa group. In 2009, Libya became chair for one year of the African Union and played host to several AU summits. In 2009, Libya assumed the UN General Assembly presidency. Libya will host the March 2010 Arab League summit in Tripoli and an Arab-African summit in late 2010, and will hold the Arab League presidency for 2010-2011.

After 40 years in power, Qadhafi made his first trip to the United States in September 2009 to participate in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City and deliver his country’s speech. Qadhafi’s UNGA speech reinforced Libya’s assimilation within the international community and its emerging importance on the African scene. The trip came on the heels of the release from Scotland and return to Libya of convicted Pan Am 103 bomber Abdel Basset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi.

Terrorism
In 1999, the Libyan Government surrendered two Libyans suspected of involvement in the Pan Am 103 bombing, leading to the suspension of UN sanctions. On January 31, 2001, a Scottish court seated in the Netherlands found one of the suspects, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, guilty of murder in connection with the bombing, and acquitted the second suspect, Al-Amin Khalifa Fhima. Megrahi's conviction was upheld on March 14, 2002, but in October 2008 the Scottish High Court permitted Megrahi to appeal aspects of his case, formal hearings for which started in March 2009, when two separate requests for Megrahi’s release where concurrently considered by Scottish Justice authorities: the first involved Libya’s request for Megrahi’s transfer under the U.K.-Libya Prisoner Transfer Agreement, and the other for his release on compassionate grounds. After a Scottish medical committee announced that Megrahi’s life expectancy was less than three months (thereby falling under compassionate release guidelines), Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill granted Megrahi’s release from prison, and permitted him to return to Libya on August 20, 2009. The decision provoked widespread objections by the Lockerbie bombing victims’ families, who were particularly enraged by what appeared to be a “hero’s welcome” in Tripoli.

UN sanctions were lifted on September 12, 2003 following Libyan compliance with its remaining UNSCR requirements on Pan Am 103, including acceptance of responsibility for the actions of its officials and payment of appropriate compensation. Libya paid compensation in 1999 for the death of British policewoman Yvonne Fletcher, a move that preceded the reopening of the British Embassy in Tripoli, and paid damages to the non-U.S. families of the victims in the bombing of UTA Flight 772. With the lifting of UN sanctions in September 2003, each of the families of the victims of Pan Am 103 received $4 million of a maximum $10 million in compensation. After the lifting of U.S. IEEPA-based sanctions on September 20, 2004, the families received a further $4 million.

On November 13, 2001, a German court found four persons, including a former employee of the Libyan embassy in East Berlin, guilty in connection with the 1986 La Belle disco bombing, in which two U.S. servicemen were killed. The court also established a connection to the Libyan Government. The German Government demanded that Libya accept responsibility for the La Belle bombing and pay appropriate compensation. A compensation deal for non-U.S. victims was agreed to in August 2004.

By 2003, Libya appeared to have curtailed its support for international terrorism, although it may have retained residual contacts with some of its former terrorist clients. In an August 2003 letter to the UN Security Council, Libya took significant steps to mend its international image and formally renounced terrorism. In August 2004, the Department of Justice entered into a plea agreement with Abdulrahman Alamoudi, in which he stated that he had been part of a 2003 plot to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdallah (now King Abdallah) at the behest of Libyan Government officials. In 2005, the Saudi Government pardoned the individuals accused in the assassination plot.

During the 2005 UN General Assembly session, Libyan Foreign Minister Shalgam issued a statement that reaffirmed Libya's commitment to the statements made in its letter addressed to the Security Council on August 15, 2003, renouncing terrorism in all its forms and pledging that Libya will not support acts of international terrorism or other acts of violence targeting civilians, whatever their political views or positions. Libya also expressed its commitment to continue cooperating in the international fight against terrorism. On June 30, 2006, the U.S. rescinded Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

In May 2008, the U.S. and Libya began negotiations on a comprehensive claims settlement agreement to resolve outstanding claims of American and Libyan nationals against each country in their respective courts. On August 4, 2008 President Bush signed into law the Libyan Claims Resolution Act, which Congress had passed on July 31. The act provided for the restoration of Libya’s sovereign, diplomatic, and official immunities before U.S. courts if the Secretary of State certified that the United States Government had received sufficient funds to resolve outstanding terrorism-related death and physical injury claims against Libya. Subsequently, both sides signed a comprehensive claims settlement agreement on August 14. On October 31, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice certified to Congress that the United States had received $1.5 billion pursuant to the U.S.-Libya Claims Settlement Agreement. These funds were sufficient to provide the required compensation to victims of terrorism under the Libyan Claims Resolution Act. Concurrently, President Bush issued an executive order to implement the claims settlement agreement.

In September 2009, several leading members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) released a more than 400-page document in which they renounced violence and laid out what they claimed to be a clearer understanding of the ethics of Islamic Shari’a law and jihad, parting ways with Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups whose violent methods they described as ignorant and illegitimate. The release of this revisionist manuscript shortly followed a public statement in August 2009, where LIFG’s leaders apologized to the Libyan leader for their violent acts and pledged to continue working toward a complete reconciliation with remaining elements of LIFG in Libya or abroad. LIFG’s revised ideology and the subsequent release of many of its imprisoned members is due in large part to a two-year initiative by Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi, in his capacity as Chairman of the Qadhafi International Charity and Development Foundation, to broker the reconciliation between the Libyan Government and elements of LIFG leadership.

U.S.-LIBYAN RELATIONS
The United States supported the UN resolution providing for Libyan independence in 1951 and raised the status of its office in Tripoli from a consulate general to a legation. Libya opened a legation in Washington, DC in 1954. Both countries subsequently raised their missions to embassy level.

After Qadhafi's 1969 coup, U.S.-Libyan relations became increasingly strained because of Libya's foreign policies supporting international terrorism and subversion against moderate Arab and African governments. In 1972, the United States withdrew its ambassador. Export controls on military equipment and civil aircraft were imposed during the 1970s and U.S. embassy staff members were withdrawn from Tripoli after a mob attacked and set fire to the embassy in December 1979. The U.S. Government designated Libya a "state sponsor of terrorism" on December 29, 1979. In May 1981, the U.S. Government closed the Libyan "people's bureau" (embassy) in Washington, DC, and expelled the Libyan staff in response to a general pattern of conduct by the people's bureau contrary to internationally accepted standards of diplomatic behavior.

In August 1981, two Libyan jets fired on U.S. aircraft participating in a routine naval exercise over international waters of the Mediterranean claimed by Libya. The U.S. planes returned fire and shot down the attacking Libyan aircraft. In December 1981, the State Department invalidated U.S. passports for travel to Libya and, for purposes of safety, advised all U.S. citizens in Libya to leave. In March 1982, the U.S. Government prohibited imports of Libyan crude oil into the United States and expanded the controls on U.S.-origin goods intended for export to Libya. Licenses were required for all transactions, except food and medicine. In March 1984, U.S. export controls were expanded to prohibit future exports to the Ras Lanuf petrochemical complex. In April 1985, all Export-Import Bank financing was prohibited.

Due to Libya's continuing support for terrorism, the United States adopted additional economic sanctions against Libya in January 1986, including a total ban on direct import and export trade, commercial contracts, and travel-related activities. In addition, Libyan Government assets in the United States were frozen. When evidence of Libyan complicity was discovered in the Berlin discotheque terrorist bombing that killed two American servicemen, the United States responded by launching an aerial bombing attack against targets near Tripoli and Benghazi in April 1986. Subsequently, the United States maintained its trade and travel embargoes and brought diplomatic and economic pressure to bear against Libya. This pressure helped to bring about the Lockerbie settlement and Libya's renunciation of WMD and MTCR-class missiles.

In 1991, two Libyan intelligence agents were indicted by federal prosecutors in the U.S. and Scotland for their involvement in the December 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103. In January 1992, the UN Security Council approved Resolution 731 demanding that Libya surrender the suspects, cooperate with the Pan Am 103 and UTA 772 investigations, pay compensation to the victims' families, and cease all support for terrorism. Libya's refusal to comply led to the approval of UNSC Resolution 748 on March 31, 1992, imposing sanctions designed to bring about Libyan compliance. Continued Libyan defiance led to passage of UNSC Resolution 883, a limited assets freeze and an embargo on selected oil equipment, in November 1993. UN sanctions were lifted on September 12, 2003, after Libya fulfilled all remaining UNSCR requirements, including renunciation of terrorism, acceptance of responsibility for the actions of its officials, and payment of appropriate compensation to the victims' families.

On December 19, 2003, Libya announced its intention to rid itself of WMD and MTCR-class missile programs. Since that time, it has cooperated with the U.S., the U.K., the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons toward these objectives. Libya has also signed the IAEA Additional Protocol and has become a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

In recognition of these actions, the U.S. began the process of normalizing relations with Libya. The U.S. terminated the applicability of the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act to Libya and President Bush signed an Executive Order on September 20, 2004 terminating the national emergency with respect to Libya and ending IEEPA-based economic sanctions. This action had the effect of unblocking assets blocked under the Executive Order sanctions. Restrictions on cargo aviation and third-party code-sharing have been lifted, as have restrictions on passenger aviation. Certain export controls remain in place.

U.S. diplomatic personnel reopened the U.S. Interest Section in Tripoli on February 8, 2004. The mission was upgraded to a U.S. Liaison Office on June 28, 2004, and to a full embassy on May 31, 2006. The establishment in 2005 of an American School in Tripoli demonstrates the increased presence of Americans in Libya, and the continuing normalization of bilateral relations. Libya re-established its diplomatic presence in Washington with the opening of an Interest Section on July 8, 2004, which was subsequently upgraded to a Liaison Office in December 2004 and to a full embassy on May 31, 2006.

On May 15, 2006, the State Department announced its intention to rescind Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in recognition of the fact that Libya had met the statutory requirements for such a move: it had not provided any support for acts of international terrorism in the preceding six-month period, and had provided assurances that it would not do so in the future. On June 30, 2006, the U.S. rescinded Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

In 2007, there were a series of senior-level meetings between U.S. and Libyan officials that focused on a broad array of issues, including regional security and counterterrorism cooperation. Secretary Rice, in her meeting with then-Foreign Minister Shalgam on the margins of the UN General Assembly, discussed the resolution of outstanding issues and charting a path for future cooperation. On July 11, President Bush nominated career diplomat Gene A. Cretz as U.S. Ambassador to Libya.

On January 3, 2008, then-Foreign Minister Shalgam made an official visit to Washington, the first official visit by a Libyan Foreign Minister since 1972. During that visit the United States and Libya signed the Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement, their first bilateral agreement since the downgrading of diplomatic relations.

In May 2008, the U.S. and Libya began negotiations on a comprehensive claims settlement agreement to resolve outstanding claims of American and Libyan nationals against each country in their respective courts. On August 4, 2008 President Bush signed into law the Libyan Claims Resolution Act, which Congress had passed on July 31. The act provided for the restoration of Libya’s sovereign, diplomatic, and official immunities before U.S. courts if the Secretary of State certified that the United States Government had received sufficient funds to resolve outstanding terrorism-related death and physical injury claims against Libya. Subsequently, both sides signed a comprehensive claims settlement agreement on August 14. On October 31, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice certified to Congress that the United States had received $1.5 billion pursuant to the U.S.-Libya Claims Settlement Agreement. These funds were sufficient to provide the required compensation to victims of terrorism under the Libyan Claims Resolution Act. Concurrently, President Bush issued an executive order to implement the claims settlement agreement.

Resolution of outstanding claims permitted full normalization of ties and the exchange of ambassadors in January 2009 for the first time since 1973. U.S. Ambassador Gene A. Cretz was sworn in on December 17, 2008 and submitted his credentials to the General People’s Committee on January 11, 2009. Libyan Ambassador Ali Aujali submitted his credentials to President Bush on January 8, 2009.

The normalization of relations has provided the United States and Libya with increasing opportunities to push for progress in areas of mutual concern, such as nonproliferation, counterterrorism, trade and investment, human rights, and economic development. On January 16, 2009, the U.S. and Libya signed a Defense Contacts and Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding. On April 21, 2009, National Security Advisor Mutassim al-Qadhafi visited Washington, DC and met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as other senior U.S. Government officials. In September 2009, Qadhafi visited the U.S. for the first time to participate in the UN General Assembly in New York.

Principal U.S. Official
Ambassador--Gene A. Cretz

The U.S. Embassy in Libya is located on Jeraba Street behind the Libyan British Clinic in Tripoli (tel. 218-91-220-3239). The Consular Section (office tel. +218 (0)91-379-4560, e-mail: TripoliConsular@state.gov) provides the full range of American citizen services. Appointments can be made online via the embassy website (http://libya.usembassy.gov). For American citizen emergencies, please call +218 (0)91 220-0125. The Consular Section processes all non-immigrant U.S. visa applications for residents of Libya. Applicants can find further information and the online application on the embassy website. Immigrant visa applicants must apply at the U.S. Embassy in Tunis.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.