diff --git a/africa/cg.json b/africa/cg.json index dc60789c..61142cb5 100644 --- a/africa/cg.json +++ b/africa/cg.json @@ -1292,7 +1292,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "211,963 (Central African Republic), 208,328 (Rwanda), 53,194 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers), 436,272 (Burundi) (2023)" + "text": "211,963 (Central African Republic), 208,328 (Rwanda), 53,194 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers), 46,272 (Burundi) (2023)" }, "IDPs": { "text": "6.38 million (fighting between government forces and rebels since mid-1990s; conflict in Kasai region since 2016) (2023)" diff --git a/africa/cm.json b/africa/cm.json index f214b545..4392dec7 100644 --- a/africa/cm.json +++ b/africa/cm.json @@ -614,13 +614,13 @@ }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { - "text": "bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of:
Senate or Senat (100 seats; 70 members indirectly elected by regional councils and 30 appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms)
National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (180 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)" + "text": "bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of:
Senate or Senat (100 seats; 70 members indirectly elected by regional councils and 30 appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms)
National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (180 seats; members directly elected in 49 single and multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "Senate - last held on 12 March 2023 (next to be held in 2028)
National Assembly - last held on 9 February 2020 (current term extended by president)" + "text": "Senate - last held on 12 March 2023 (next to be held in 2028)
National Assembly - last held on 9 February 2020" }, "election results": { - "text": "Senate - percent of vote by party - CDPM 100% composition as of March 2023 - men 69, women 31, percent of women 31%
National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CPDM 139, UNDP 7, SDF 5, PCRN 5, UDC 4, FSNC 3, MDR 2, Union of Socialist Movements 2; 13 vacant; composition as of June 2023 - men 119, women 61, percent of women 33.9%; note - total Parliament percent of women 31.1%" + "text": "Senate - percent of vote by party - CDPM 100%; composition as of October 2023 - men 69, women 31, percent of women 31%
National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CPDM 139, UNDP 7, SDF 5, PCRN 5, UDC 4, FSNC 3, MDR 2, Union of Socialist Movements 2; other 13; composition as of October 2023 - men 119, women 61, percent of women 33.9%; note - total Parliament percent of women 31.1%" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/africa/ct.json b/africa/ct.json index 3e84468c..fb76a7bc 100644 --- a/africa/ct.json +++ b/africa/ct.json @@ -1175,7 +1175,7 @@ "text": "18 years of age for military service; no conscription (2022)" }, "Military - note": { - "text": "the 2013 coup resulted in the institutional collapse of the Central African Armed Forces (FACA); its forces were overwhelmed and forced to flee to neighboring countries; it has been estimated that only 10% of the FACA returned after the coup, and it has struggled to rebuild in the years of instability since, despite considerable foreign assistance; significant portions of the country remain outside state control and are ungoverned, with the presence of multiple armed actors creating insecurity in much of the country 

in late 2020 and early 2021, the Coalition des Patriotes pour le Change (CPC), a loose coalition of armed groups comprised largely of former Seleka and anti-Balaka fighters, attacked the capital Bangui; CAR Government forces, along with Russian private military contractors and Rwandan troops, repelled the attack but have not been able to stabilize the country; the CPC has retreated to its rear bases and into neighboring countries and continued conducting attacks; other armed groups are also active; forces on both sides have been accused of abuses and atrocities in the fighting 

in 2018, the UN Security Council approved Russian security assistance for the CAR to help train and advise FACA personnel, as well as transport them to operational areas, provide logistical support, and assist with medical evacuation; in addition to teams of military trainers, Russia sent private military contractors, and as of 2023, as many as 2,000 were providing assistance to the FACA, as well as performing other security roles such as guarding mines and government officials; some Russian contractors and the CAR forces they supported have been accused of carrying out indiscriminate killings, using excessive force against civilians, and looting

the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) has operated in the country since 2014; its mission includes providing security, protecting civilians, facilitating humanitarian assistance, disarming and demobilizing armed groups, and supporting the country’s fragile transitional government; as of early 2023, MINUSCA had almost 17,000 personnel 

the European Union Training Mission in the Central African Republic (EUTM-RCA) has operated in the country since 2016, providing advice, training, and educational programs to the country's security forces; since 2016, the EU mission has trained 5 territorial infantry battalions and 1 amphibious infantry battalion; the mission suspended operational training in 2021; France also provided assistance to the FACA before suspending its support, also in 2021 (2023)" + "text": "the 2013 coup resulted in the institutional collapse of the FACA; its forces were overwhelmed and forced to flee to neighboring countries; it has been estimated that only 10% of the FACA returned after the coup, and it has struggled to rebuild in the years of instability since, despite considerable foreign assistance; significant portions of the country remain outside state control and are ungoverned, with the presence of multiple armed actors creating insecurity in much of the country 

in late 2020 and early 2021, the Coalition des Patriotes pour le Change (CPC), a loose coalition of armed groups comprised largely of former Seleka and anti-Balaka fighters, attacked the capital Bangui; CAR Government forces, along with Russian private military contractors and Rwandan troops, repelled the attack but have not been able to stabilize the country; the CPC has retreated to its rear bases and into neighboring countries and continued conducting attacks; other armed groups are also active; forces on both sides have been accused of abuses and atrocities in the fighting 

in 2018, the UN Security Council approved Russian security assistance for the CAR to help train and advise FACA personnel, as well as transport them to operational areas, provide logistical support, and assist with medical evacuation; in addition to teams of military trainers, Russia sent private military contractors, and as of 2023, as many as 2,000 were providing assistance to the FACA, as well as performing other security roles such as guarding mines and government officials; some Russian contractors and the CAR forces they supported have been accused of carrying out indiscriminate killings, using excessive force against civilians, and looting

the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) has operated in the country since 2014; its mission includes providing security, protecting civilians, facilitating humanitarian assistance, disarming and demobilizing armed groups, and supporting the country’s fragile transitional government; as of early 2023, MINUSCA had almost 17,000 personnel 

the European Union Training Mission in the Central African Republic (EUTM-RCA) has operated in the country since 2016, providing advice, training, and educational programs to the country's security forces; since 2016, the EU mission has trained 5 territorial infantry battalions and 1 amphibious infantry battalion; the mission suspended operational training in 2021; France also provided assistance to the FACA before suspending its support, also in 2021 (2023)" } }, "Transnational Issues": { @@ -1187,7 +1187,7 @@ "text": "13,844 (Sudan) (refugees since 15 April 2023), 6,682 (Democratic Republic of Congo) (2023)" }, "IDPs": { - "text": "488,866 (clashes between army and rebel groups since 2005; tensions between ethnic groups) (2023)" + "text": "490,868 (clashes between army and rebel groups since 2005; tensions between ethnic groups) (2023)" } } } diff --git a/africa/et.json b/africa/et.json index dee87bca..2b3384a3 100644 --- a/africa/et.json +++ b/africa/et.json @@ -1272,7 +1272,7 @@ "text": "approximately 5-8,000 in Somalia (up to 4,000 for ATMIS; the remainder under a bilateral agreement with the Somali Government; note - foreign troop contingents in Somalia under ATMIS are drawing down towards a final withdrawal in December 2024); 1,450 South Sudan (UNMISS) (2023)" }, "Military - note": { - "text": "the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) has traditionally been one of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest, most experienced, and best equipped militaries, but it suffered heavy casualties and equipment losses during the 2020-2022 Tigray conflict; the Ground Forces are estimated to have more than 20 infantry divisions, including several that are mechanized, along with at least one division of commandos/special forces; the Air Force has combat squadrons of multipurpose fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, and armed unmanned aerial vehicles; ENDF operations are often supported by sizeable regional state paramilitary units 

the ENDF is focused on both external threats emanating from its neighbors and internal threats from multiple internal armed groups; since 1998, the ENDF has engaged in several conventional and counterinsurgency operations, including border wars with Eritrea (1998-2000) and Somalia (2006-2008) and internal conflicts with the Tigray regional state (2020-2022), several insurgent groups and ethnic militias (including the ethnonationalist Amhara Fano), and the al-Shabaab terrorist group (see Appendix T); the ENDF is currently conducting counterinsurgency operations against anti-government militants in several states, including in Oromya (Oromia) against the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), an insurgent group that claims to be fighting for greater autonomy for the Oromo, Ethiopia's largest ethnic group; in 2022, militants from the Somalia-based al-Shabaab terrorist group launched an incursion into Ethiopia's Somali (Sumale) regional state, attacking villages and security forces; the Ethiopian Government claimed that regional security forces killed hundreds of al-Shabaab fighters and subsequently deployed additional ENDF troops into Somalia’s Gedo region to prevent further incursions (2023)" + "text": "the ENDF has traditionally been one of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest, most experienced, and best equipped militaries, but it suffered heavy casualties and equipment losses during the 2020-2022 Tigray conflict; the Ground Forces are estimated to have more than 20 infantry divisions, including several that are mechanized, along with at least one division of commandos/special forces; the Air Force has combat squadrons of multipurpose fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, and armed unmanned aerial vehicles; ENDF operations are often supported by sizeable regional state paramilitary units 

the ENDF is focused on both external threats emanating from its neighbors and internal threats from multiple internal armed groups; since 1998, the ENDF has engaged in several conventional and counterinsurgency operations, including border wars with Eritrea (1998-2000) and Somalia (2006-2008) and internal conflicts with the Tigray regional state (2020-2022), several insurgent groups and ethnic militias (including the ethnonationalist Amhara Fano), and the al-Shabaab terrorist group (see Appendix T); the ENDF is currently conducting counterinsurgency operations against anti-government militants in several states, including in Oromya (Oromia) against the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), an insurgent group that claims to be fighting for greater autonomy for the Oromo, Ethiopia's largest ethnic group; in 2022, militants from the Somalia-based al-Shabaab terrorist group launched an incursion into Ethiopia's Somali (Sumale) regional state, attacking villages and security forces; the Ethiopian Government claimed that regional security forces killed hundreds of al-Shabaab fighters and subsequently deployed additional ENDF troops into Somalia’s Gedo region to prevent further incursions (2023)" } }, "Space": { diff --git a/africa/li.json b/africa/li.json index c2248b5d..0851d686 100644 --- a/africa/li.json +++ b/africa/li.json @@ -555,10 +555,10 @@ "text": "Cabinet appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 10 October 2023 with a run-off on 14 November 2023 " + "text": "president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 10 October 2023 with a run-off on 14 November 2023 (next to be held October 2028)" }, "election results": { - "text": "George WEAH elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - George WEAH (Coalition for Democratic Change) 38.4%, Joseph BOAKAI (UP) 28.8%, Charles BRUMSKINE (LP) 9.6%, Prince JOHNSON (MDR) 8.2%, Alexander B. CUMMINGS (ANC) 7.2%, other 7.8%; percentage of vote in second round - George WEAH 61.5%, Joseph BOAKAI 38.5%" + "text": "Joseph BOAKAI elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - George WEAH (CDC) 43.8%, Joseph BOAKAI (UP) 43.4%, Edward APPLETON (GDM) 2.20%, Lusinee KAMARA (ALCOP) 1.96%, Alexander B. CUMMINGS, Jr. (CPP) 1.61%, Tiawan Saye GONGLOE (LPP) 1.44%, other 5.59%; percentage of vote in second round - Joseph BOAKAI 50.6%, George WEAH 49.4% note - presidential inauguration in January 2024" } }, "Legislative branch": { diff --git a/africa/ma.json b/africa/ma.json index 99151cc6..67b25a9e 100644 --- a/africa/ma.json +++ b/africa/ma.json @@ -456,7 +456,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "21.44 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "16.02 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "3.91 megatons (2016 est.)" @@ -574,7 +574,7 @@ "text": "Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 7 November and 19 December 2018 (next to be held on 9 November 2023); prime minister nominated by the National Assembly, appointed by the president" + "text": "president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 7 November and 19 December 2018 (next to be held on 16 November 2023); prime minister nominated by the National Assembly, appointed by the president" }, "election results": { "text": "
2018: Andry RAJOELINA elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Andry RAJOELINA (TGV) 39.2%, Marc RAVALOMANANA (TIM) 35.4%, other 25.4%; percent of vote in second round - Andry RAJOELINA 55.7%, Marc RAVALOMANANA 44.3%

2013: Hery Martial RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Hery Martial RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA (HVM) 15.9%, Jean Louis ROBINSON (AVANA) 21.1%, other 63%; percent of vote in second round - Hery Martial RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA 53.5%, Jean Louis ROBINSON 46.5%" diff --git a/africa/ml.json b/africa/ml.json index 65be069f..5d6d1b04 100644 --- a/africa/ml.json +++ b/africa/ml.json @@ -468,7 +468,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "31.17 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "38.55 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "3.18 megatons (2016 est.)" @@ -632,7 +632,7 @@ "text": "

African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence or SADI [Oumar MARIKO]
Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP-Maliba [Amadou THIAM]
Alliance for Democracy in Mali-Pan-African Party for Liberty, Solidarity, and Justice or ADEMA-PASJ [Tiemoko SANGARE]
Alliance for the Solidarity of Mali-Convergence of Patriotic Forces or ASMA-CFP [Amadou CISSE, vice-president, acting]
Convergence for the Development of Mali or CODEM [Housseyni Amion GUINDO]
Democratic Alliance for Peace or ADP-Maliba [Aliou Boubacar DIALLO]
Movement for Mali or MPM [Brahima DIANESSY, deputy]                                                                                           
Party for National Renewal (also Rebirth or Renaissance or PARENA) [Tiebile DRAME]
Rally for Mali or RPM [Boucary TRETA] 
Social Democratic Convention or CDS [Mamadou Bakary \"Blaise\" SANGARE]
Union for Democracy and Development or UDD [Hassane BARRY]                                             
Union for Republic and Democracy or URD [Soumaïla CISSE]
Yéléma [Moussa MARA]

note 1: only parties with 2 or more seats in the last National Assembly parliamentary elections (30 March and 19 April 2020) listed

note 2:  the National Assembly was dissolved on 18 August 2020 following a military coup and replaced with a National Transition Council; currently 121 members, party affiliations unknown" }, "International organization participation": { - "text": "ACP, AfDB, AU (suspended), CD, ECOWAS (suspended), EITI (compliant country), FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSCA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISS, UNOPS, UN Women, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, World Bank Group, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO" + "text": "ACP, AfDB, AU (suspended), CD, ECOWAS (suspended), EITI (compliant country), FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSCA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOPS, UN Women, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, World Bank Group, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO" }, "Diplomatic representation in the US": { "chief of mission": { @@ -653,7 +653,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador Rachna KORHONEN (since 22 December 2022)" + "text": "Ambassador Rachna KORHONEN (since 16 March 2023)" }, "embassy": { "text": "ACI 2000, Rue 243, (located off the Roi Bin Fahad Aziz Bridge west of the Bamako central district), Porte 297, Bamako" diff --git a/africa/mz.json b/africa/mz.json index ac6a9cbb..4c546aec 100644 --- a/africa/mz.json +++ b/africa/mz.json @@ -452,7 +452,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "19.44 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "16.45 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "7.94 megatons (2016 est.)" @@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ "text": "Cabinet appointed by the president" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president elected directly by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for 2 consecutive terms); election last held on 15 October 2019 (next to be held on 15 October 2024); prime minister appointed by the president" + "text": "president elected directly by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for 2 consecutive terms); election last held on 15 October 2019 (next to be held on 9 October 2024); prime minister appointed by the president" }, "election results": { "text": "
2019: Filipe NYUSI reelected president in first round; percent of vote - Filipe NYUSI (FRELIMO) 73.0%, Ossufo MOMADE (RENAMO) 21.9%, Daviz SIMANGO (MDM) 5.1%

2014:  Filipe NYUSI elected president in first round; percent of vote - Filipe NYUSI (FRELIMO) 57.0%, Afonso DHLAKAMA (RENAMO) 36.6%, Daviz SIMANGO (MDM) 6.4%" @@ -616,7 +616,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Democratic Movement of Mozambique (Movimento Democratico de Mocambique) or MDM [Lutero SIMANGO]
Liberation Front of Mozambique (Frente de Liberatacao de Mocambique) or FRELIMO [Filipe NYUSI]
Mozambican National Resistance (Resistencia Nacional Mocambicana) or RENAMO [Ossufo MOMADE]

note: only parties with seats in the legislature listed" + "text": "Democratic Movement of Mozambique (Movimento Democratico de Mocambique) or MDM [vacant]
Liberation Front of Mozambique (Frente de Liberatacao de Mocambique) or FRELIMO [Filipe NYUSI]
Mozambican National Resistance (Resistencia Nacional Mocambicana) or RENAMO [Ossufo MOMADE]

note: only parties with seats in the legislature listed" }, "International organization participation": { "text": "ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CD, CPLP, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF (observer), OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNEP,  UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, Union Latina, UPU, WCO, WFP, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO" @@ -1263,7 +1263,7 @@ "text": "12,678 (Democratic Republic of Congo) (refugees and asylum seekers), 10,655 (Burundi) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2023)" }, "IDPs": { - "text": "834,304 (north Mozambique, violence between the government and an opposition group, violence associated with extremists groups in 2018, political violence 2019) (2023)" + "text": "850,599 (north Mozambique, violence between the government and an opposition group, violence associated with extremists groups in 2018, political violence 2019) (2023)" } }, "Trafficking in persons": { diff --git a/africa/ng.json b/africa/ng.json index 9f3c40f9..3b1a3195 100644 --- a/africa/ng.json +++ b/africa/ng.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "

Present-day Niger originated from the nomadic peoples of the Saharan north and the agriculturalists of the south. The Taureg kingdom of Takedda was one of the largest kingdoms in the north and played a prominent role in regional trade in the 14th century. In the south, the primary ethnic groups were the Songhai-Zarma in the west, the Hausa in the center, and the Kanuri in the east. When European colonizers arrived in the 19th century, the region was an assemblage of disparate local kingdoms.

In the late 19th century, the British and French agreed to partition the middle regions of the Niger River, and France began its conquest of what would become the colony of Niger.  France experienced determined local resistance - particularly during the Tuareg uprising (1916-1917) - but established a colonial administration in 1922.

After achieving independence from France in 1960, Niger experienced single-party or military rule until 1991 when political pressure forced General Ali SAIBOU to allow multiparty elections. Political infighting and democratic backsliding led to coups in 1996 and 1999. In December of that year, military officers restored democratic rule and held elections that brought Mamadou TANDJA to power. TANDJA was reelected in 2004 and spearheaded a 2009 constitutional amendment allowing him to extend his presidential term. In February 2010, military officers led another coup that deposed TANDJA. ISSOUFOU Mahamadou was elected in April 2011 and reelected in early 2016. In February 2021, BAZOUM Mohammed won the presidential election, marking Niger’s first transition from one democratically elected president to another. Nonetheless, a military junta once again seized power in late July 2023, detaining President BAZOUM, and announcing the creation of a National Council for the Salvation of the Homeland.

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world with minimal government services and insufficient funds to develop its resource base. It is ranked last in the world on the UN Development Program's Human Development Index. The largely agrarian and subsistence-based economy is frequently disrupted by extended droughts common to the Sahel region of Africa. The Nigerien Government continues its attempts to diversify the economy through increased oil production and mining projects. In addition, Niger is facing increased security concerns on its borders from various external threats including insecurity in Libya, spillover from the conflict and terrorism in Mali, and violent extremism in northeastern Nigeria.

" + "text": "

Present-day Niger originated from the nomadic peoples of the Saharan north and the agriculturalists of the south. The Taureg kingdom of Takedda was one of the largest kingdoms in the north and played a prominent role in regional trade in the 14th century. In the south, the primary ethnic groups were the Songhai-Zarma in the west, the Hausa in the center, and the Kanuri in the east. When European colonizers arrived in the 19th century, the region was an assemblage of disparate local kingdoms.

In the late 19th century, the British and French agreed to partition the middle regions of the Niger River, and France began its conquest of what would become the colony of Niger.  France experienced determined local resistance - particularly during the Tuareg uprising (1916-1917) - but established a colonial administration in 1922.

After achieving independence from France in 1960, Niger experienced single-party or military rule until 1991 when political pressure forced General Ali SAIBOU to allow multiparty elections. Political infighting and democratic backsliding led to coups in 1996 and 1999. In December of that year, military officers restored democratic rule and held elections that brought Mamadou TANDJA to power. TANDJA was reelected in 2004 and spearheaded a 2009 constitutional amendment allowing him to extend his presidential term. In February 2010, military officers led another coup that deposed TANDJA. ISSOUFOU Mahamadou was elected in April 2011 and reelected in early 2016. In February 2021, BAZOUM Mohammed won the presidential election, marking Niger’s first transition from one democratically elected president to another. Nonetheless, a military junta once again seized power in a late-July 2023 coup, detaining President BAZOUM, and announcing the creation of a National Council for the Salvation of the Homeland.

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world with minimal government services and insufficient funds to develop its resource base. It is ranked last in the world on the UN Development Program's Human Development Index. The largely agrarian and subsistence-based economy is frequently disrupted by extended droughts common to the Sahel region of Africa. The Nigerien Government continues its attempts to diversify the economy through increased oil production and mining projects. In addition, Niger is facing increased security concerns on its borders from various external threats including insecurity in Libya, spillover from the conflict and terrorism in Mali, and violent extremism in northeastern Nigeria.

" } }, "Geography": { @@ -552,7 +552,7 @@ "text": "several previous; passed by referendum 31 October 2010, entered into force 25 November 2010" }, "amendments": { - "text": "proposed by the president of the republic or by the National Assembly; consideration of amendments requires at least three-fourths majority vote by the Assembly; passage requires at least four-fifths majority vote; if disapproved, the proposed amendment is dropped or submitted to a referendum; constitutional articles on the form of government, the multiparty system, the separation of state and religion, disqualification of Assembly members, amendment procedures, and amnesty of participants in the 2010 coup cannot be amended; amended 2011, 2017" + "text": "proposed by the president of the republic or by the National Assembly; consideration of amendments requires at least three-fourths majority vote by the Assembly; passage requires at least four-fifths majority vote; if disapproved, the proposed amendment is dropped or submitted to a referendum; constitutional articles on the form of government, the multiparty system, the separation of state and religion, disqualification of Assembly members, amendment procedures, and amnesty of participants in the 2010 coup cannot be amended; amended 2011, 2017; suspended indefinitely by military coup on 26 July 2023" } }, "Legal system": { @@ -580,7 +580,7 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "President Mohamed BAZOUM (since 2 April 2021)" + "text": "President Mohamed BAZOUM (since 2 April 2021); note - BAZOUM has been under house arrest since a military coup on 26 July 2023" }, "head of government": { "text": "Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou MAHAMADOU (since 3 April 2021)" @@ -643,7 +643,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador (vacant), Chargé d’Affaires, Susan N’GARNIM (since 1 December 2021)" + "text": "Appointed Ambassador Kathleen FITZGIBBON (since 19 August 2023); note - Ambassador FITZGIBBON has not presented her credentials due to the current political crisis" }, "embassy": { "text": "BP 11201, Niamey" @@ -1237,7 +1237,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "221,076 (Nigeria), 67,191 (Mali) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2023)" + "text": "221,810 (Nigeria), 67,191 (Mali) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2023)" }, "IDPs": { "text": "335,277 (includes the regions of Diffa, Tillaberi, and Tahoua; unknown how many of the 11,000 people displaced by clashes between government forces and the Tuareg militant group, Niger Movement for Justice, in 2007 are still displaced; inter-communal violence; Boko Haram attacks in southern Niger, 2015) (2023)" diff --git a/africa/od.json b/africa/od.json index bdcb2a0d..8e409513 100644 --- a/africa/od.json +++ b/africa/od.json @@ -387,7 +387,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "41.12 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "20.18 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "1.73 megatons (2016 est.)" @@ -487,16 +487,16 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "President Salva KIIR Mayardit (since 9 July 2011); Vice Presidents TABAN Deng Gai, Riek MACHAR Teny Dhurgon, James Wani IGGA, Rebecca Nyandeng Chol GARANG de Mabior, Hussein ABDELBAGI Ayii (since 22 February 2020); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; TABAN served as first vice president from 23 July 2016 to February 2020" + "text": "President Salva KIIR Mayardit (since 9 July 2011); Vice Presidents Riek MACHAR Teny Dhurgon, TABAN Deng Gai, James Wani IGGA, Rebecca Nyandeng Chol GARANG de Mabior, Hussein ABDELBAGI Ayii (since 22 February 2020); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government" }, "head of government": { - "text": "President Salva KIIR Mayardit (since 9 July 2011); Vice Presidents TABAN Deng Gai, Riek MACHAR Teny Dhurgon, James Wani IGGA, Rebecca Nyandeng Chol GARANG de Mabior, Hussein ABDELBAGI Ayii (since 22 February 2020)" + "text": "President Salva KIIR Mayardit (since 9 July 2011); Vice Presidents Riek MACHAR Teny Dhurgon, TABAN Deng Gai, James Wani IGGA, Rebecca Nyandeng Chol GARANG de Mabior, Hussein ABDELBAGI Ayii (since 22 February 2020)" }, "cabinet": { "text": "National Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Transitional National Legislative Assembly" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 11-15 April 2010 (originally scheduled for 2015 but postponed several times, currently in 2024)" + "text": "president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 11-15 April 2010 (originally scheduled for 2015 but postponed several times, currently to 2024)" }, "election results": { "text": "Salva KIIR Mayardit elected leader of then-Southern Sudan in 2010; percent of vote - Salva KIIR Mayardit (SPLM) 93%, Lam AKOL (SPLM-DC) 7%" @@ -1016,7 +1016,7 @@ "Military and Security": { "Military and security forces": { "text": "South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF): Ground Force (includes Presidential Guard), Air Force, Air Defense Forces; National (or Necessary) Unified Forces (NUF)

Ministry of Interior: South Sudan National Police Service (2023)", - "note": "note 1: the NUF are being formed by retraining rebel and pro-government militia fighters into military, police, and other government security forces; in August 2022, South Sudan held the first graduation ceremony for retrained personnel

note 2: numerous irregular forces operate in the country with official knowledge, including militias operated by the National Security Service (an internal security force under the Ministry of National Security) and proxy forces" + "note": "note 1: the NUF are being formed by retraining rebel and pro-government militia fighters into military, police, and other government security forces; the first operational NUF deployed in November 2023

note 2: numerous irregular forces operate in the country with official knowledge, including militias operated by the National Security Service (an internal security force under the Ministry of National Security) and proxy forces" }, "Military expenditures": { "Military Expenditures 2022": { diff --git a/africa/se.json b/africa/se.json index bf86ceb3..1081818c 100644 --- a/africa/se.json +++ b/africa/se.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "

Seychelles was uninhabited prior to being discovered by Europeans early in the 16th century. A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814, when they were ceded to the latter. During colonial rule, a plantation-based economy developed that relied on imported labor, primarily from European colonies in Africa. Independence came in 1976. In 1977, prime minister France-Albert RENE launched a coup against the country’s first president and Seychelles became a socialist one-party state until adopting a new constitution and holding elections in 1993. RENE continued to lead Seychelles through two election cycles until he stepped down in 2004. Vice President James Alix MICHEL took over the presidency and in 2006 was elected to a new five-year term; he was reelected in 2011 and again in 2015. In 2016, James MICHEL resigned and handed over the presidency to his vice-president, Danny FAURE. In 2020, Wavel RAMKALAWAN was elected president, the first time an opposition candidate has won the presidency since independence.

" + "text": "

Seychelles was uninhabited prior to being discovered by Europeans early in the 16th century. A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814, when they were ceded to the latter. During colonial rule, a plantation-based economy developed that relied on imported labor, primarily from European colonies in Africa. Seychelles gained independence in 1976 through negotiations with Great Britain. In 1977, prime minister France-Albert RENE launched a coup against the country’s first president and Seychelles became a socialist one-party state until adopting a new constitution and holding elections in 1993. RENE continued to lead Seychelles through two election cycles until he stepped down in 2004. Vice President James Alix MICHEL took over the presidency and in 2006 was elected to a new five-year term; he was reelected in 2011 and again in 2015. In 2016, James MICHEL resigned and handed over the presidency to his vice-president, Danny FAURE. In 2020, Wavel RAMKALAWAN was elected president, the first time an opposition candidate has won the presidency.

" } }, "Geography": { @@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "18.72 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "16.96 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "0.61 megatons (2016 est.)" @@ -526,7 +526,7 @@ "text": "Council of Ministers appointed by the president" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 22-24 October 2020 (originally scheduled for December 2020 but rescheduled to coincide with the 22-24 October 2025 National Assembly election in order to cut election costs)" + "text": "president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 22-24 October 2020; next presidential election due in 2025" }, "election results": { "text": "
2020: Wavel RAMKALAWAN elected president; Wavel RAMKALAWAN (LDS) 54.9%, Danny FAURE (US) 43.5%, other 1.6%

2015:  President James Alix MICHEL reelected president in second round; percent of vote first round - James Alix MICHEL (PL) 47.8%, Wavel RAMKALAWAN (SNP) 35.3%, other 16.9%; percent of vote second round - James Alix MICHEL 50.2%, Wavel RAMKALAWAN 49.8%" @@ -540,7 +540,7 @@ "text": "last held on 22-24 October 2020 (next to be held in October 2025); note - the election was originally scheduled for 2021 but was moved up a year and held alongside the presidential election in order to cut election costs" }, "election results": { - "text": "percent of vote by party - LDS 54.8%, US 42.3% , other 2.9%; seats by party - LDS 25, US10; composition - men 27, women 8, percent of women 22.9%" + "text": "percent of vote by party - LDS 54.8%, US 42.3%, other 2.9%; seats by party - LDS 25, US 10; composition - men 27, women 8, percent of women 22.9%" } }, "Judicial branch": { @@ -581,8 +581,14 @@ } }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { + "chief of mission": { + "text": "Ambassador Henry V. JARDINE (since 22 February 2023); note - Ambassador JARDINE is posted in Mauritius but is accredited to Seychelles" + }, "embassy": { - "text": "the US does not have an embassy in Seychelles; the US Ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to Seychelles" + "text": "2nd Floor, Oliaji Trade Center, Victoria Mahe, Seychelles; note - US Embassy in Seychelles reopened on 1 June 2023 after having been closed in 1996" + }, + "telephone": { + "text": "[248] 422 5256" } }, "Flag description": { diff --git a/africa/sg.json b/africa/sg.json index 6ba3a6e2..90552ea1 100644 --- a/africa/sg.json +++ b/africa/sg.json @@ -1236,7 +1236,7 @@ "text": "200 Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 950 Mali (MINUSMA); note - Senegal also has up to 1,000 police deployed to UN peacekeeping missions in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), and Mali (MINUSMA) (2023)" }, "Military - note": { - "text": "despite limited resources, the FAS is considered to be a well-equipped, experienced, and professional military; it has a history of non-interference in the country’s political process and good relations with civil authorities; it is experienced in foreign deployments and has received considerable assistance from the French military, which maintains a presence in Senegal, and the US, with smaller levels from Germany, Spain, and the UK; the FAS’s primary focuses are border, internal, and maritime security; it is closely watching the prevalence of multiple active terrorist groups across the region and political instability in neighboring Mali and Guinea and has recently established new military and gendarmerie camps along its eastern border; it also works with the government in areas such as preventive healthcare, infrastructure development, environmental protection, and disaster response

the Army is spread amongst seven military zones and organized into a mix of light infantry battalions and light armored reconnaissance squadrons, as well as airborne, special operations, and artillery battalions; the Gendarmerie includes mobile units, as well as the Presidential Guard (aka “The Red Guard”); the Navy is a small force of coastal patrol craft; in recent years it has acquired some modern platforms from France and Israel, including its first offshore patrol vessel, to improve the Navy’s ability to patrol Senegal’s coastline and economic exclusion zone, conduct fisheries inspections, counter drug trafficking, and combat piracy; the Air Force is configured for supporting the ground forces and has a small number of light attack aircraft and helicopter gunships, as well as transport and reconnaissance aircraft

Senegalese security forces have been engaged in a low-level counterinsurgency campaign in the southern Casamance region against various factions of the separatist Movement of Democratic Forces of the Casamance (MDFC) since 1982; the conflict is one of longest running low-level insurgencies in the World, having claimed more than 5,000 lives while leaving another 60,000 displaced; in May 2023, a faction of the MFDC agreed to a peace deal (2023)" + "text": "despite limited resources, the FAS is considered to be a well-equipped, experienced, and professional military; it has a history of non-interference in the country’s political process and good relations with civil authorities; it is experienced in foreign deployments and has received considerable assistance from the French military, which maintains a presence in Senegal, and the US, with smaller levels from Germany, Spain, and the UK; the FAS’s primary focuses are border, internal, and maritime security; it is closely watching the prevalence of multiple active terrorist groups across the region and political instability in neighboring Mali and Guinea and has recently established new military and gendarmerie camps along its eastern border; it also works with the government in areas such as preventive healthcare, infrastructure development, environmental protection, and disaster response

the Army is spread amongst seven military zones and organized into a mix of light infantry battalions and light armored reconnaissance squadrons, as well as airborne, special operations, and artillery battalions; the Gendarmerie includes mobile units, as well as the Presidential Guard (aka “The Red Guard”); the Navy is a small force of coastal patrol craft; in recent years it has acquired some modern platforms from France and Israel, including two offshore patrol vessels, to improve the Navy’s ability to patrol Senegal’s coastline and economic exclusion zone, conduct fisheries inspections, counter drug trafficking, and combat piracy; the Air Force is configured for supporting the ground forces and has a small number of light attack aircraft and helicopter gunships, as well as transport and reconnaissance aircraft

Senegalese security forces have been engaged in a low-level counterinsurgency campaign in the southern Casamance region against various factions of the separatist Movement of Democratic Forces of the Casamance (MDFC) since 1982; the conflict is one of longest running low-level insurgencies in the World, having claimed more than 5,000 lives while leaving another 60,000 displaced; in May 2023, a faction of the MFDC agreed to a peace deal (2023)" } }, "Terrorism": { diff --git a/africa/so.json b/africa/so.json index 712f2746..43824056 100644 --- a/africa/so.json +++ b/africa/so.json @@ -596,7 +596,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador Larry E. ANDRE, Jr. (since 9 February 2022)" + "text": "Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Shane L. DIXON (since 25 July 2023)" }, "embassy": { "text": "Mogadishu, (reopened October 2019 on the grounds of the Mogadishu Airport)" diff --git a/africa/su.json b/africa/su.json index f72f8deb..74579373 100644 --- a/africa/su.json +++ b/africa/su.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "

Long referred to as Nubia, modern-day Sudan was the site of the Kingdom of Kerma (ca. 2500-1500 B.C.) until it was absorbed into the New Kingdom of Egypt. By the 11th century B.C., the Kingdom of Kush gained independence from Egypt; it lasted in various forms until the middle of the 4th century A.D. After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia. The latter two endured until around 1500. Between the 14th and 15th centuries much of Sudan was settled by Arab nomads, and between the 16th–19th centuries it underwent extensive Islamization. Following Egyptian occupation early in the 19th century, the British established an Anglo-Egyptian Sudan - nominally a condominium, but in effect a British colony.

Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since Sudan gained independence from Anglo-Egyptian co-rule in 1956. The 30-year reign of President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR, following months of nationwide protests, ended with the military forcing him out in April 2019. In July 2019, the country’s Transitional Military Council signed an agreement with the Forces for Freedom and Change (an umbrella group of civilian actors) to form a transitional government under a Constitutional Declaration. Economist and former international civil servant Abdalla HAMDOUK al-Kinani was selected to serve as prime minister of a transitional government, which was to have guided the country to credible democratic elections in late 2022. In October 2021, the Sudanese military organized a takeover that ousted Prime Minister HAMDOUK and his government and replaced civilian members of the Sovereign Council (Sudan’s collective Head of State) with individuals selected by the military. HAMDOUK was briefly reinstated in November 2021 but resigned in January 2022.

As of June 2023, General Abd-al-Fatah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman, the Chair of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, serves as de facto head of state and government. He presides over a Sovereign Council consisting of military leaders, former armed opposition group representatives, and civilians appointed by the military. A cabinet of acting ministers handles day-to-day administration. These acting ministers are either senior civil servants (some appointed by former Prime Minister HAMDOUK and some selected by the military) or holdover ministers from Prime Minister HAMDOUK’s former cabinet who were appointed by former armed opposition groups that the military allowed to remain in their positions. The Sudanese Armed Forces have been embroiled in a fight with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since mid-April 2023.

During most of the second half of the 20th century, Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of the largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern portion of the country. The first civil war ended in 1972, but another broke out in 1983. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04, and the final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years followed by a referendum on independence for Southern Sudan. South Sudan became independent in July 2011, but Sudan and South Sudan have yet to fully implement security and economic agreements relating to the normalization of relations between the two countries.

In the 21st century, Sudan faced conflict in Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile starting in 2003, and between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in 2023, sparking mass displacement.

 

" + "text": "

Long referred to as Nubia, modern-day Sudan was the site of the Kingdom of Kerma (ca. 2500-1500 B.C.) until it was absorbed into the New Kingdom of Egypt. By the 11th century B.C., the Kingdom of Kush gained independence from Egypt; it lasted in various forms until the middle of the 4th century A.D. After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia. The latter two endured until around 1500. Between the 14th and 15th centuries much of Sudan was settled by Arab nomads, and between the 16th–19th centuries it underwent extensive Islamization. Following Egyptian occupation early in the 19th century, the British established an Anglo-Egyptian Sudan - nominally a condominium, but in effect a British colony.

Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since Sudan gained independence from Anglo-Egyptian co-rule in 1956. The 30-year reign of President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR, following months of nationwide protests, ended with the military forcing him out in April 2019. In July 2019, the country’s Transitional Military Council signed an agreement with the Forces for Freedom and Change (an umbrella group of civilian actors) to form a transitional government under a Constitutional Declaration. Economist and former international civil servant Abdalla HAMDOUK al-Kinani was selected to serve as prime minister of a transitional government, which was to have guided the country to credible democratic elections in late 2022. In October 2021, the Sudanese military organized a takeover that ousted Prime Minister HAMDOUK and his government and replaced civilian members of the Sovereign Council (Sudan’s collective Head of State) with individuals selected by the military. HAMDOUK was briefly reinstated in November 2021 but resigned in January 2022.

As of June 2023, General Abd-al-Fatah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman, the Chair of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, serves as de facto head of state and government. He presides over a Sovereign Council consisting of military leaders, former armed opposition group representatives, and civilians appointed by the military. A cabinet of acting ministers handles day-to-day administration. These acting ministers are either senior civil servants (some appointed by former Prime Minister HAMDOUK and some selected by the military) or holdover ministers from Prime Minister HAMDOUK’s former cabinet who were appointed by former armed opposition groups that the military allowed to remain in their positions. The Sudanese Armed Forces have been embroiled in a fight with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since mid-April 2023.

During most of the second half of the 20th century, Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of the largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern portion of the country. The first civil war ended in 1972, but another broke out in 1983. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04, and the final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years followed by a referendum on independence for Southern Sudan. South Sudan became independent in July 2011, but Sudan and South Sudan have yet to fully implement security and economic agreements relating to the normalization of relations between the two countries.

In the 21st century, Sudan faced conflict in Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile starting in 2003, and between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in 2023, sparking mass displacement.

 

" } }, "Geography": { @@ -525,7 +525,7 @@ }, "Administrative divisions": { "text": "18 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); Blue Nile, Central Darfur, East Darfur, Gedaref, Gezira, Kassala, Khartoum, North Darfur, North Kordofan, Northern, Red Sea, River Nile, Sennar, South Darfur, South Kordofan, West Darfur, West Kordofan, White Nile", - "note": "note: the peace Agreement signed in October 2020 included a provision to establish a system of governance that will likely restructure the country's current 18 provinces/states into regions" + "note": "note: the peace Agreement signed in October 2020 included a provision to establish a system of governance to restructure the country's current 18 provinces/states into regions" }, "Independence": { "text": "1 January 1956 (from Egypt and the UK)" @@ -566,7 +566,7 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "Sovereign Council Chair and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces General Abd-al-Fatah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman; note – the 2019 Constitutional Declaration established a collective chief of state of the \"Sovereign Council,\" which was chaired by al-BURHAN; on 25 October 2021, al-BURHAN dissolved the Sovereign Council but reinstated it on 11 November 2021, replacing its civilian members (previously selected by the umbrella civilian coalition the Forces for Freedom and Change) with civilians of the military’s choosing; the Sovereign Council currently consists of 5 military-appointed civilians, 5 generals, and 3 representatives selected by former armed opposition groups" + "text": "Sovereign Council Chair and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces General Abd-al-Fatah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman; note – the 2019 Constitutional Declaration established a collective chief of state of the \"Sovereign Council,\" which was chaired by al-BURHAN; on 25 October 2021, al-BURHAN dissolved the Sovereign Council but reinstated it on 11 November 2021, replacing its civilian members (previously selected by the umbrella civilian coalition the Forces for Freedom and Change) with civilians of the military’s choosing, but then relieved the newly-appointed civilian members of their duties on 6 July 2022; note - Sovereign Council currently consists of only the 5 generals" }, "head of government": { "text": "Sovereign Council Chair and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces General Abd-al-Fatah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman; Acting Prime Minister Osman HUSSEIN (since 19 January 2022); note - former Prime Minister Abdallah HAMDOUK resigned on 2 January 2022; HAMDOUK served as prime minister from August 2019 to October 2019 before he was kidnapped; he was later freed and reinstated as prime minister on 21 November 2021" @@ -1259,7 +1259,7 @@ "text": "682,519 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers), 137,402 (Eritrea) (refugees and asylum seekers), 93,477 (Syria) (refugees and asylum seekers), 72,334 (Ethiopia) (refugees and asylum seekers), 18,597 (Central African Republic) (2023)" }, "IDPs": { - "text": "4.86 million (armed conflict between rival factions of the military government of Sudan since 15 April 2023) (2023); note - includes some non-Sudanese nationals" + "text": "4.96 million (armed conflict between rival factions of the military government of Sudan since 15 April 2023) (2023); note - includes some non-Sudanese nationals" } } } diff --git a/africa/tz.json b/africa/tz.json index 9a013291..c146d09e 100644 --- a/africa/tz.json +++ b/africa/tz.json @@ -607,7 +607,7 @@ "text": "president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by simple majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 28 October 2020 (next to be held in October 2025); prime minister appointed by the president" }, "election results": { - "text": "
2020: John MAGUFULI reelected president; percent of vote - John MAGUFULI (CCM) 84.4%, Tundu LISSU (CHADEMA) 13%, other 2.6%

2015: John MAGUFULI elected president; percent of vote - John MAGUFULI (CCM) 58.5%, Edward LOWASSA (CHADEMA) 40%, other 1.5%" + "text": "
2020: John MAGUFULI reelected president; percent of vote - John MAGUFULI (CCM) 84.4%, Tundu LISSU (CHADEMA) 13%, other 2.6%; note - President MAGUFULI died on 17 March 2021 and his Vice President, Samia Suluhu HASSAN, assumed the office of the President on 19 March 2021

2015: John MAGUFULI elected president; percent of vote - John MAGUFULI (CCM) 58.5%, Edward LOWASSA (CHADEMA) 40%, other 1.5%" }, "note": "note: Zanzibar elects a president as head of government for internal matters; elections were held on 28 October 2020; Hussein MWINYI (CCM) 76.3%, Maalim Seif SHARIF (ACT-Wazalendo) 19.9%, other 3.8%" }, diff --git a/africa/ug.json b/africa/ug.json index 2b768c07..78fce071 100644 --- a/africa/ug.json +++ b/africa/ug.json @@ -443,7 +443,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "48.41 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "31.31 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "5.68 megatons (2016 est.)" @@ -601,7 +601,7 @@ "text": "Democratic Party or DP [Norbert MAO]
Forum for Democratic Change or FDC [Patrick Oboi AMURIAT]
Justice Forum or JEEMA [Asuman BASALIRWA]
National Resistance Movement or NRM [Yoweri MUSEVENI]
National Unity Platform [Robert Kyagulanyi SSENTAMU, known as Bobi WINE]
People's Progressive Party or PPP [Jaberi Bidandi SSALI]
Uganda People's Congress or UPC [James AKENA]

note: only parties with seats in Parliament listed" }, "International organization participation": { - "text": "ACP, AfDB, ATMIS, AU, C, COMESA, EAC, EADB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITC, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCDF, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNFPA, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNOCI, UNOPS, UNSOM, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFP, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO" + "text": "ACP, AfDB, ATMIS, AU, C, COMESA, EAC, EADB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITC, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCDF, UNCTAD, UNECA, UNDP, UNFPA, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNOCI, UNOPS, UNSOM, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFP, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO" }, "Diplomatic representation in the US": { "chief of mission": { @@ -1246,7 +1246,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "898,513 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers), 500,520 (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 41,180 (Somalia), 38,593 (Burundi), 34,368 (Eritrea), 23,388 (Rwanda), 8,936 (Ethiopia), 5,776 (Sudan) (2023)" + "text": "905,568 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers), 500,520 (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 41,246 (Somalia), 38,880 (Burundi), 34,368 (Eritrea), 23,388 (Rwanda), 8,936 (Ethiopia), 5,776 (Sudan) (2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "67,000 (2022)" diff --git a/africa/uv.json b/africa/uv.json index 5c60550a..11f32952 100644 --- a/africa/uv.json +++ b/africa/uv.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "

Many of Burkina Faso’s ethnic groups arrived in the region between the 12th and 15th centuries. The Gurma and Mossi peoples established several of the largest kingdoms in the area and used horse-mounted warriors in military campaigns. Of the various Mossi kingdoms, the most powerful were Ouagadougou and Yatenga. In the late 19th century, European states competed for control of the region. France eventually conquered the area and established it as a French protectorate.

The area achieved independence from France in 1960 and changed its name to Burkina Faso in 1984. Repeated military coups were common in the country’s first few decades. The most successful coup occurred in 1987 when Blaise COMPAORE deposed the former president, established a government, and ruled for 27 years. In October 2014, COMPAORE resigned following protests against his repeated efforts to amend the constitution's two-term presidential limit. An interim administration led a year-long transition period organizing presidential and legislative elections. In November 2015, Roch Marc Christian KABORE was elected president; he was reelected in November 2020. In 2022, military personnel conducted two coups. First, in January 2022, Paul Henri DAMIBA, a colonel in the army, overthrew KABORE and then in September 2022, army captain Ibrahim TRAORE deposed DAMIBA and became transition president. The transition government plans to hold democratic election in July 2024.

Terrorist groups - including groups affiliated with Al-Qa’ida and the Islamic State - began attacks in the country in 2016 and conducted attacks in the capital in 2016, 2017, and 2018. By early 2023, insecurity in Burkina Faso had displaced more than 2 million people and led to significant jumps in humanitarian needs and food insecurity. In addition to terrorism, the country faces a myriad of problems including high population growth, recurring drought, pervasive and perennial food insecurity, and limited natural resources. It is one of the world’s poorest countries.

 

" + "text": "

Many of Burkina Faso’s ethnic groups arrived in the region between the 12th and 15th centuries. The Gurma and Mossi peoples established several of the largest kingdoms in the area and used horse-mounted warriors in military campaigns. Of the various Mossi kingdoms, the most powerful were Ouagadougou and Yatenga. In the late 19th century, European states competed for control of the region. France eventually conquered the area and established it as a French protectorate.

The area achieved independence from France in 1960 and changed its name to Burkina Faso in 1984. Repeated military coups were common in the country’s first few decades. In 1987 Blaise COMPAORE deposed the former president, established a government, and ruled for 27 years. In October 2014, COMPAORE resigned following protests against his repeated efforts to amend the constitution's two-term presidential limit. An interim administration led a year-long transition period organizing presidential and legislative elections. In November 2015, Roch Marc Christian KABORE was elected president; he was reelected in November 2020. In 2022, military personnel conducted two coups. First, in January 2022, Paul Henri DAMIBA, a colonel in the army, overthrew KABORE and then in September 2022, army captain Ibrahim TRAORE deposed DAMIBA and became transition president. The transition government had planned to hold democratic elections by July 2024, but may be delayed due to security concerns.

Terrorist groups - including groups affiliated with Al-Qa’ida and the Islamic State - began attacks in the country in 2016 and conducted attacks in the capital in 2016, 2017, and 2018. By early 2023, insecurity in Burkina Faso had displaced more than 2 million people and led to significant jumps in humanitarian needs and food insecurity. In addition to terrorism, the country faces a myriad of problems including high population growth, recurring drought, pervasive and perennial food insecurity, and limited natural resources. It is one of the world’s poorest countries.

 

" } }, "Geography": { @@ -569,7 +569,7 @@ "text": "transitional President Capt. Ibrahim TRAORE (since 30 September 2022); note - on 30 September 2022, a military junta led by TRAORE, took power and ousted President Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo DAMIBA and took over as head of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration" }, "head of government": { - "text": "Prime Minister Albert OUEDRAOGO (since 3 March 2022); note - transitional President Lt. Col. DAMIBA appointed OUEDRAOGO Prime Minister on 3 March 2022; the position had been vacant since 24 January 2022 when the military ousted former Prime Minister Lassina ZERBO" + "text": "Prime Minister Joachim KYLEM DE TAMBELA (since 21 October 2022); note - transitional President TRAORE appointed KYLEM DE TAMBELA Prime Minister on 21 October 2022; the position had been vacant since 30 September 2022 when the military ousted former Prime Minister Albert OUEDRAOGO" }, "cabinet": { "text": "Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister" diff --git a/australia-oceania/aq.json b/australia-oceania/aq.json index b6e63d18..2d61f198 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/aq.json +++ b/australia-oceania/aq.json @@ -420,7 +420,7 @@ "text": "bicameral Legislature or Fono consists of:
Senate (18 seats; members indirectly selected by regional governing councils to serve 4-year terms)
House of Representatives (21 seats; 20 members in single- and multi-seat constituencies directly elected by simple majority popular vote and 1 decided by public meeting on Swains Island; members serve 2-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "Senate - last held on 3 November 2020 (next to be held in November 2024)
House of Representatives - last held on 3 November 2020 (next to be held in November 2024)" + "text": "Senate - last held on 3 November 2020 (next to be held in November 2024)
House of Representatives - last held on 3 November 2020 (next to be held on 5 November 2024)" }, "election results": { "text": "Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independent 18; composition - men 17, women 1; percent of women 5.6%
House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 20, women 1; percent of women 4.8%; note total Legislature percent of women 5.1%" diff --git a/australia-oceania/rm.json b/australia-oceania/rm.json index a0292b22..f87525c1 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/rm.json +++ b/australia-oceania/rm.json @@ -395,7 +395,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "9.43 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "7.21 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "0.14 megatons (2016 est.)" @@ -522,7 +522,7 @@ "text": "unicameral National Parliament consists of:
Nitijela (33 seats; members in 19 single- and 5 multi-seat constituencies directly elected by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms); note - the Council of Iroij, a 12-member group of tribal leaders advises the Presidential Cabinet and reviews legislation affecting customary law or any traditional practice); members appointed to serve 1-year terms" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 18 November 2019 (next to be held by November 2023)" + "text": "last held on 18 November 2019 (next to be held on 20 November 2023)" }, "election results": { "text": "percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independent 33; composition - men 31, women 2, percent of women 6.1%" diff --git a/australia-oceania/tv.json b/australia-oceania/tv.json index 180b7df0..f58568cf 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/tv.json +++ b/australia-oceania/tv.json @@ -520,7 +520,7 @@ "text": "unicameral House of Assembly or Fale I Fono (16 seats; members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 9 September 2019 (next to be held in 2023)" + "text": "last held on 9 September 2019 (next to be held on 31 December 2023)" }, "election results": { "text": "percent of vote - NA; seats - independent 16 (9 members reelected)" diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/cj.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/cj.json index c840de34..9d168b86 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/cj.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/cj.json @@ -414,10 +414,10 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor Martyn ROPER (since 29 October 2018)" + "text": "King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor Jane OWEN (since 21 April 2023)" }, "head of government": { - "text": "Premier Wayne PANTON (since 21 April 2021)" + "text": "Premier Juliana O'CONNOR-CONNOLLY (since 15 November 2023)" }, "cabinet": { "text": "Cabinet selected from the Parliament and appointed by the governor on the advice of the premier" @@ -434,7 +434,7 @@ "text": "last held on 14 April 2021 (next to be held in 2025)" }, "election results": { - "text": "percent of vote by party - independent 79.1%, PPM 19.6%; seats by party - independent 12, PPM 7; composition of elected members - men 15, women 4, percent of women 21.1%; ex-officio members - men 2" + "text": "percent of vote by party - independent 79.1%, PPM 19.6%; elected seats by party - independent 12, PPM 7; composition of elected members - men 15, women 4, percent of women 21.1%; ex officio members - men 2" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/ho.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/ho.json index 7dd2e1fe..e7de69a5 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/ho.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/ho.json @@ -1235,7 +1235,7 @@ }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { - "text": "Honduras-El Salvador: International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of \"bolsones\" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border in 1992 with final settlement by the parties in 2006 after an Organization of American States survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned in the ICJ ruling, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca.

Honduras-Belize: Honduras claims the Belizean-administered Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize in its constitution, but agreed to a joint ecological park around the cays should Guatemala consent to a maritime corridor in the Caribbean under the OAS-sponsored 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum" + "text": "Honduras-El Salvador: International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of \"bolsones\" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border in 1992 with final settlement by the parties in 2006 after an Organization of American States survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned in the ICJ ruling, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca.

Honduras-Belize: Honduras claims the Belizean-administered Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize in its constitution; in 2022, Belize instituted proceedings against Honduras concerning sovereignty over the Sapodilla Cayes " }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "IDPs": { diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/nn.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/nn.json index 5d85bf5b..d3fbedfc 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/nn.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/nn.json @@ -365,7 +365,7 @@ "text": "unicameral Parliament of Sint Maarten (15 seats; members directly elected by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held 9 January 2020 (next to be held in 2024)" + "text": "last held 9 January 2020 (next to be held on 11 January 2024)" }, "election results": { "text": "percent of vote by party - NA 35.2%, UP 24.2%, US Party 13.2%, PFP 10.6%, UD 8.7%, other 8.1%; seats by party - NA 6, UP 4, PFP 2, US Party 2, UD 1" diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/vq.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/vq.json index ecb030ea..dc75445c 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/vq.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/vq.json @@ -434,7 +434,7 @@ "text": "unicameral Legislature of the Virgin Islands (15 seats; senators directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by simple majority popular vote to serve 2-year terms)

the Virgin Islands directly elects 1 delegate to the US House of Representatives by simple majority vote to serve a 2-year term" }, "elections": { - "text": "Legislature of the Virgin Islands last held on 8 November 2022 (next to be held in November 2024)
US House of Representatives last held on 8 November 2022 (next to be held in November 2024)" + "text": "Legislature of the Virgin Islands last held on 8 November 2022 (next to be held in November 2024)
Delegate to the US House of Representatives last held on 8 November 2022 (next to be held on 5 November 2024)" }, "election results": { "text": "Legislature of the Virgin Islands - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 9, independent 6; composition - men 9, women 6, percent of women 40%

delegate to US House of Representatives - seat by party - Democratic Party 1; composition - 1 woman" diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/hk.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/hk.json index 366306cf..d3ceba0f 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/hk.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/hk.json @@ -1053,7 +1053,7 @@ }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { - "text": "

Hong Kong plans to reduce its 2,800-hectare Frontier Closed Area (FCA) to 400 hectares by 2015; the FCA was established in 1951 as a buffer zone between Hong Kong and mainland China to prevent illegal migration from and the smuggling of goods

" + "text": "the Frontier Closed Area was established in 1951 as a buffer zone between Hong Kong and mainland China to prevent illegal migration and the smuggling of goods " }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "

modern banking system provides conduit for money laundering; groups involved in money laundering range from local street organizations to sophisticated international syndicates involved in assorted criminal activities, including drug trafficking; major source of precursor chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics

" diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/th.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/th.json index adbc90bc..34f900a4 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/th.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/th.json @@ -456,7 +456,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "26.23 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "24.64 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "283.76 megatons (2016 est.)" @@ -617,7 +617,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Action Coalition Party or ACP [ANEK Laothammathast]
Bhumjaithai Party (aka Phumchai Thai Party or PJT; aka Thai Pride Party) or BJT [ANUTIN Chanwirakun]
Chat Phatthana Kla arty (National Development Party) [KON Chatikawanit]
Chat Thai Phatthana Party (Thai Nation Development Party) or CTP [VARAWUT Silpa-archa]
New Economics Party or NEP [MANUN Siwaphiromrat]
Move Forward Party or MFP [PHITHA Limcharoenrat] 
Palang Pracharat Party (People's State Power Party) or PPRP [PRAWIT Wongsuwan] 
Prachachat Party or PCC [WAN Muhamad NOOR Matha]
Prachathipat Party (Democrat Party) or DP [JURIN Laksanawisit]
Puea Chat Party (For Nation Party) or PCP [SARUNWUT Sarunket]
Puea Thai Party (For Thais Party) or PTP [Chusak SIRINIL]
Puea Tham Party (For Dharma Party) [NALINI Thawisin]
Seri Ruam Thai Party (Thai Liberal Party or TLP) [SERIPHISUT Temiyawet]
Thai Civilized Party or TCL [MONGKOLKIT Suksintharanon]
Thai Local Power Party or TLP [CHATCHAWAI Kong-udom]
Thai People Power Party or TLPT [NIKHOM Bunwiset]
Thai Sang Thai Party [SUDARAT Keyuraphan]
United Thai Nation (Ruam Thai Sang Chat) or UTN [PHIRAPHAN Saliratthawiphak]" + "text": "Action Coalition Party or ACP [ANEK Laothammathast]
Bhumjaithai Party (aka Phumchai Thai Party or PJT; aka Thai Pride Party) or BJT [ANUTIN Chanwirakun]
Chat Phatthana Kla arty (National Development Party) [KON Chatikawanit]
Chat Thai Phatthana Party (Thai Nation Development Party) or CTP [VARAWUT Silpa-archa]
New Economics Party or NEP [MANUN Siwaphiromrat]
Move Forward Party or MFP [CHAITHAWAT Tulathon] 
Palang Pracharat Party (People's State Power Party) or PPRP [PRAWIT Wongsuwan] 
Prachachat Party or PCC [WAN Muhamad NOOR Matha]
Prachathipat Party (Democrat Party) or DP [JURIN Laksanawisit]
Puea Chat Party (For Nation Party) or PCP [SARUNWUT Sarunket]
Puea Thai Party (For Thais Party) or PTP [Chusak SIRINIL]
Puea Tham Party (For Dharma Party) [NALINI Thawisin]
Seri Ruam Thai Party (Thai Liberal Party or TLP) [SERIPHISUT Temiyawet]
Thai Civilized Party or TCL [MONGKOLKIT Suksintharanon]
Thai Local Power Party or TLP [CHATCHAWAI Kong-udom]
Thai People Power Party or TLPT [NIKHOM Bunwiset]
Thai Sang Thai Party [SUDARAT Keyuraphan]
United Thai Nation (Ruam Thai Sang Chat) or UTN [PHIRAPHAN Saliratthawiphak]" }, "International organization participation": { "text": "ADB, APEC, ARF, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, BIS, CD, CICA, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, PIF (partner), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNOOSA, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO" diff --git a/europe/al.json b/europe/al.json index 88f81684..7833b79e 100644 --- a/europe/al.json +++ b/europe/al.json @@ -1232,6 +1232,9 @@ "text": "

none identified

" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { + "refugees (country of origin)": { + "text": "7,495 (Ukraine) (as of 7 November 2023)" + }, "stateless persons": { "text": "1,948 (2022)" }, diff --git a/europe/an.json b/europe/an.json index 80bef891..a67a638d 100644 --- a/europe/an.json +++ b/europe/an.json @@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ } }, "Ethnic groups": { - "text": "Andorran 48.3%, Spanish 24.8%, Portuguese 11.2%, French 4.5%, Argentine 1.4%, other 9.8% (2021 est.)", + "text": "Andorran 47.6%, Spanish 24.8%, Portuguese 10.8%, French 4.5%, Argentine 1.7%, British, 1%, other 9.7% (2022 est.)", "note": "note: data represent population by nationality" }, "Languages": { @@ -380,7 +380,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "9.95 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "8.52 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "0.47 megatons (2016 est.)" diff --git a/europe/ax.json b/europe/ax.json index 82c16839..4ef5f883 100644 --- a/europe/ax.json +++ b/europe/ax.json @@ -229,6 +229,11 @@ } }, "Transnational Issues": { + "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { + "refugees (country of origin)": { + "text": "7,495 (Ukraine) (as of" + } + }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "NA" } diff --git a/europe/be.json b/europe/be.json index 5b5c3e68..3ad3ec8e 100644 --- a/europe/be.json +++ b/europe/be.json @@ -425,7 +425,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "12.88 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "11.26 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "96.89 megatons (2016 est.)" @@ -580,7 +580,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Flemish parties:
Christian Democratic and Flemish or CD&V [Sammy MAHDI]
Forward [Conner ROUSSEAU] (formerly Social Progressive Alternative or SP.A)
Groen or Green [Nadia NAJI and Jeremie VANEECKHOUT] (formerly AGALEV, Flemish Greens)
New Flemish Alliance or N-VA [Bart DE WEVER]
Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats or Open VLD [Egbert LACHAERT]
Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) or VB [Tom VAN GRIEKEN]
Francophone parties:
Ecolo (Francophone Greens) [Jean-Marc NOLLET and Rajae MAOUANE]
Francophone Federalist Democrats or Defi [Francois DE SMET]
Les Engages [Maxime PREVOT] (formerly Humanist and Democratic Center or CDH)
Reform Movement or MR [George-Louis BOUCHEZ]
Socialist Party or PS [Paul MAGNETTE]
Workers' Party or PVDA-PTB [Raoul HEDEBOUW]" + "text": "Flemish parties:
Christian Democratic and Flemish or CD&V [Sammy MAHDI]
Forward [Melissa DEPRAETERE] (formerly Social Progressive Alternative or SP.A)
Groen or Green [Nadia NAJI and Jeremie VANEECKHOUT] (formerly AGALEV, Flemish Greens)
New Flemish Alliance or N-VA [Bart DE WEVER]
Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats or Open VLD [Egbert LACHAERT]
Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) or VB [Tom VAN GRIEKEN]
Francophone parties:
Ecolo (Francophone Greens) [Jean-Marc NOLLET and Rajae MAOUANE]
Francophone Federalist Democrats or Defi [Francois DE SMET]
Les Engages [Maxime PREVOT] (formerly Humanist and Democratic Center or CDH)
Reform Movement or MR [George-Louis BOUCHEZ]
Socialist Party or PS [Paul MAGNETTE]
Workers' Party or PVDA-PTB [Raoul HEDEBOUW]" }, "International organization participation": { "text": "ADB (nonregional members), AfDB (nonregional members), Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC" diff --git a/europe/bk.json b/europe/bk.json index e993012c..852bdb3e 100644 --- a/europe/bk.json +++ b/europe/bk.json @@ -415,7 +415,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "27.25 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "26.19 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "21.85 megatons (2016 est.)" @@ -1223,7 +1223,7 @@ "stateless persons": { "text": "48 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 139,583 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-October 2023)" + "note": "note: 142,338 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-November 2023)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "

drug trafficking groups are major players in the procurement and transportation of large quantities of cocaine destined for European markets

" diff --git a/europe/da.json b/europe/da.json index b2d7ef86..8264f683 100644 --- a/europe/da.json +++ b/europe/da.json @@ -1244,7 +1244,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "19,424 (Syria), 5,885 (Eritrea) (mid-year 2022); 39,680 (Ukraine) (as of 5 November 2023)" + "text": "19,424 (Syria), 5,885 (Eritrea) (mid-year 2022); 39,680 (Ukraine) (as of 12 November 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "11,644 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/ez.json b/europe/ez.json index b1ebf1c5..b3e68879 100644 --- a/europe/ez.json +++ b/europe/ez.json @@ -421,7 +421,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "15.15 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "14.34 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "102.22 megatons (2016 est.)" @@ -1230,7 +1230,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "363,160 (Ukraine) (as of 15 October 2023)" + "text": "368,685 (Ukraine) (as of 12 November 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "1,625 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/hu.json b/europe/hu.json index bdc41fb7..5fa630b4 100644 --- a/europe/hu.json +++ b/europe/hu.json @@ -1282,7 +1282,7 @@ }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { - "text": "

bilateral government, legal, technical and economic working group negotiations continue in 2006 with Slovakia over Hungary's failure to complete its portion of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam project along the Danube; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Hungary has implemented the strict Schengen border rules

" + "text": "

Hungary and Slovakia have a long-running dispute over the implementation of a 1970s soviet-era hydropower project on the Danube, the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros project 

" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { diff --git a/europe/ic.json b/europe/ic.json index 0c2771cf..6e30c94d 100644 --- a/europe/ic.json +++ b/europe/ic.json @@ -415,7 +415,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "5.94 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "5.79 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "2.06 megatons (2016 est.)" @@ -1147,7 +1147,7 @@ }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { - "text": "

Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm; the European Free Trade Association Surveillance Authority filed a suit against Iceland, claiming the country violated the Agreement on the European Economic Area in failing to pay minimum compensation to Icesave depositors

" + "text": "in 2019, Denmark signed continental shelf delimitation agreements with Iceland and Norway to parts of the continental shelf in the Ægir Basin, which is located north of the Faroe Islands" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "stateless persons": { diff --git a/europe/lh.json b/europe/lh.json index 0e9b4171..da4e0337 100644 --- a/europe/lh.json +++ b/europe/lh.json @@ -1265,7 +1265,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "50,690 (Ukraine) (as of 27 October 2023)" + "text": "50,690 (Ukraine) (as of 10 November 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "2,720 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/lu.json b/europe/lu.json index 618ad64b..817e14b2 100644 --- a/europe/lu.json +++ b/europe/lu.json @@ -531,7 +531,7 @@ "text": "Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Heir Apparent Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch, born 11 November 1981)" }, "head of government": { - "text": "Prime Minister Xavier BETTEL (since 4 December 2013) (As of 9 October 2023 - Acting as Caretaker until new government is formed); Deputy Prime Minister Francois BAUSCH (since 11 October 2019); Deputy Prime Minister Daniel KERSCH (since 4 February 2020)" + "text": "Prime Minister Luc FRIEDEN (since 17 November 2023); Deputy Prime Minister Xavier BETTEL (since 17 November 2023)" }, "cabinet": { "text": "Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister, appointed by the monarch" diff --git a/europe/md.json b/europe/md.json index ebd6d4e1..a9b32e97 100644 --- a/europe/md.json +++ b/europe/md.json @@ -417,7 +417,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "15.97 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "12.37 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "5.12 megatons (2016 est.)" @@ -1201,7 +1201,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "113,000 (Ukraine) (as of 15 October 2023)" + "text": "111,185 (Ukraine) (as of 12 November 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "1,701 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/mj.json b/europe/mj.json index 80e648ed..98b9cbf2 100644 --- a/europe/mj.json +++ b/europe/mj.json @@ -1245,12 +1245,12 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "63,205 (Ukraine) (as of 6 November 2023)" + "text": "63,345 (Ukraine) (as of 15 November 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "468 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 33,784 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-November 2023)" + "note": "note: 33,825 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-November 2023)" }, "Trafficking in persons": { "tier rating": { diff --git a/europe/nl.json b/europe/nl.json index 8a761008..89e45c4b 100644 --- a/europe/nl.json +++ b/europe/nl.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "

The Dutch United Provinces declared their independence from Spain in 1579; during the 17th century, they became a leading seafaring and commercial power, with settlements and colonies around the world. After a 20-year French occupation, a Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830, Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I but suffered German invasion and occupation in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EEC (now the EU) and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999. In October 2010, the former Netherlands Antilles was dissolved and the three smallest islands - Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba - became special municipalities in the Netherlands administrative structure. The larger islands of Sint Maarten and Curacao joined the Netherlands and Aruba as constituent countries forming the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

In February 2018, the Sint Eustatius island council (governing body) was dissolved and replaced by a government commissioner to restore the integrity of public administration. According to the Dutch Government, the intervention will be as \"short as possible and as long as needed.\"

" + "text": "

The Dutch United Provinces declared their independence from Spain in 1581; during the 17th century, they became a leading seafaring and commercial power, with settlements and colonies around the world. After 18 years of French domination, the Netherlands regained its independence in 1813.  In 1830, Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I but suffered German invasion and occupation in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EEC (now the EU) and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999. In October 2010, the former Netherlands Antilles was dissolved and the three smallest islands - Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba - became special municipalities in the Netherlands administrative structure. The larger islands of Sint Maarten and Curacao joined the Netherlands and Aruba as constituent countries forming the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

In February 2018, the Sint Eustatius island council (governing body) was dissolved and replaced by a government commissioner to restore the integrity of public administration. According to the Dutch Government, the intervention will be as \"short as possible and as long as needed.\"

" } }, "Geography": { @@ -517,7 +517,7 @@ "note": "note 1: the Netherlands is one of four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; the other three, Aruba, Curacao, and Sint Maarten, are all islands in the Caribbean; while all four parts are considered equal partners, in practice, most of the Kingdom's affairs are administered by the Netherlands, which makes up about 98% of the Kingdom's total land area and population

note 2: although Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are officially incorporated into the country of the Netherlands under the broad designation of \"public entities,\" Dutch Government sources regularly apply to them the more descriptive term of \"special municipalities\"; Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are collectively referred to as the Caribbean Netherlands" }, "Independence": { - "text": "23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; on 26 July 1581, they formally declared their independence with an Act of Abjuration; however, it was not until 30 January 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia that Spain recognized this independence)" + "text": "26 July 1581 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries formally declared their independence with an Act of Abjuration; however, it was not until 30 January 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia that Spain recognized this independence)" }, "National holiday": { "text": "King's Day (birthday of King WILLEM-ALEXANDER), 27 April (1967); note - King's or Queen's Day is observed on the ruling monarch's birthday; currently celebrated on 26 April if 27 April is a Sunday" diff --git a/europe/ri.json b/europe/ri.json index b22d68a7..9f5c96ee 100644 --- a/europe/ri.json +++ b/europe/ri.json @@ -1244,7 +1244,7 @@ "stateless persons": { "text": "2,594 (includes stateless persons in Kosovo) (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 1,019,703 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-October 2023)" + "note": "note: 1,031,608 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-November 2023)" }, "Trafficking in persons": { "tier rating": { diff --git a/europe/ro.json b/europe/ro.json index 415decff..6bb60e13 100644 --- a/europe/ro.json +++ b/europe/ro.json @@ -1273,12 +1273,12 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "84,415 (Ukraine) (as of 29 October 2023)" + "text": "83,280 (Ukraine) (as of 12 November 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "297 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 14,979 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-October 2023)" + "note": "note: 15,377 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-November 2023)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "

a source country for cannabis

" diff --git a/europe/si.json b/europe/si.json index 2a040a4e..298c44d6 100644 --- a/europe/si.json +++ b/europe/si.json @@ -1241,12 +1241,12 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "10,405 (Ukraine) (as of 6 November 2023)" + "text": "10,435 (Ukraine) (as of 13 November 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "10 (2020)" }, - "note": "note:  611,883 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-September 2023)" + "note": "note:  6174,747 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-October 2023)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "minor transit point for cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe, and for precursor chemicals" diff --git a/europe/sp.json b/europe/sp.json index 732df9a0..4bcb1ca1 100644 --- a/europe/sp.json +++ b/europe/sp.json @@ -1296,12 +1296,12 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "14,994 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 438,400 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum, are recognized as refugees, or have received alternative legal stay) (2022); 185,875 (Ukraine) (as of 5 November 2023)" + "text": "14,994 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 438,400 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum, are recognized as refugees, or have received alternative legal stay) (2022); 185,875 (Ukraine) (as of 12 November 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "6,489 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 324,734 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals, including Canary Islands (January 2015-November 2023)" + "note": "note: 325,212 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals, including Canary Islands (January 2015-November 2023)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "

a primary European transit point for cocaine from South America and for hashish from Morocco; cocaine is shipped in raw or liquid form with mixed cargo to avoid detection or altered to escape detection Spanish chemists reconstitute it and distribute to Europe; minor domestic drug production; synthetic drugs, including ketamine, new psychoactive substances (NPS), and MDMA transit from Spain to the United States

" diff --git a/europe/uk.json b/europe/uk.json index 61ba974f..b74c8f9b 100644 --- a/europe/uk.json +++ b/europe/uk.json @@ -1293,7 +1293,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "21,904 (Iran), 15,615 (Eritrea), 11,371 (Sudan), 12,155 (Syria), 10,259 (Afghanistan), 8,009 (Pakistan), 7,699 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 210,800 (Ukraine) (as of 1 August 2023)" + "text": "21,904 (Iran), 15,615 (Eritrea), 11,371 (Sudan), 12,155 (Syria), 10,259 (Afghanistan), 8,009 (Pakistan), 7,699 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 246,760 (Ukraine) (as of 7 November 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "5,483 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/up.json b/europe/up.json index dc745c44..1ce3d2fa 100644 --- a/europe/up.json +++ b/europe/up.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "

Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine achieved a short-lived period of independence (1917-20) but was reconquered and endured a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although Ukraine overwhelmingly voted for independence in 1991 around the time of the dissolution of the USSR, democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control, patronage politics, and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties.

A peaceful mass protest referred to as the \"Orange Revolution\" in the closing months of 2004 and early 2005 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in legislative (Rada) elections, become prime minister in August 2006, and be elected president in February 2010. In October 2012, Ukraine held Rada elections, widely criticized by Western observers as flawed due to use of government resources to favor ruling party candidates, interference with media access, and harassment of opposition candidates. President YANUKOVYCH's backtracking on a trade and cooperation agreement with the EU in November 2013 - in favor of closer economic ties with Russia - and subsequent use of force against students, civil society activists, and other civilians in favor of the agreement and fed up with blatant corruption led to a three-month protest occupation of Kyiv's central square. The government's use of violence to break up the protest camp in February 2014 led to all out pitched battles, scores of deaths, international condemnation, a failed political deal, and the president's abrupt departure for Russia. New elections in the spring allowed pro-West president Petro POROSHENKO to assume office in June 2014; he was succeeded by Volodymyr ZELENSKY in May 2019.

Shortly after YANUKOVYCH's departure in late February 2014, Russian President PUTIN ordered the invasion of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula falsely claiming the action was to protect ethnic Russians living there. Two weeks later, a \"referendum\" was held regarding the integration of Crimea into the Russian Federation. The \"referendum\" was condemned as illegitimate by the Ukrainian Government, the EU, the US, and the UN General Assembly (UNGA). In response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, 100 members of the UN passed UNGA resolution 68/262, rejecting the \"referendum\" as baseless and invalid and confirming the sovereignty, political independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine. In mid-2014, Russia began supplying proxies in two of Ukraine's eastern provinces with manpower, funding, and materiel beginning an armed conflict with the Ukrainian Government. Representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the unrecognized Russian proxy republics signed the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum in September 2014 with the aim of ending the conflict. However, this agreement failed to stop the fighting or find a political solution. In a renewed attempt to alleviate ongoing clashes, leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany negotiated a follow-on Package of Measures in February 2015 to implement the Minsk agreements, but this effort failed as well. By early 2022, more than 14,000 civilians were killed or wounded as a result of the Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine.

On 24 February 2022, Russia escalated its conflict with Ukraine by launching a full-scale invasion of the country on several fronts in what has become the largest conventional military attack on a sovereign state in Europe since World War II. The invasion has received near universal international condemnation, and many countries have imposed sanctions on Russia and supplied humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. Russia made substantial gains in the early weeks of the invasion but underestimated Ukrainian resolve and combat capabilities. By the end of 2022, Ukrainian forces had regained all territories in the north and northeast and made some advances in the east and south. Nonetheless, Russia in late September 2022 unilaterally declared its annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts - Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia - even though none was fully under Russian control. The annexations remain unrecognized by the international community.

The invasion has also created Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. As of 7 November 2023, there were 6.2 million Ukrainian refugees recorded globally, and 3.67 million people were internally displaced as of September 2023.  Nearly 27,800 civilian casualties had been reported, as of 8 October 2023. The invasion of Ukraine remains one of the two largest displacement crises worldwide (the other is the conflict in Syria).

The Ukrainian people continue to fiercely resist Russia’s full-scale invasion, which has targeted civilian and critical infrastructure - including energy - to try to break the Ukrainian will. President ZELENSKYY has focused on the civic identity of Ukrainians, regardless of ethnic or linguistic background, to unite the country behind the goals of ending the war by regaining as much territory as possible and advancing Ukraine’s candidacy for membership in the European Union (EU). Support for joining the EU and NATO has grown significantly, overcoming the historical, and sometimes artificial, divide between eastern and western Ukraine.

" + "text": "

Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine achieved a short-lived period of independence (1917-20) but was reconquered and endured a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although Ukraine overwhelmingly voted for independence in 1991 around the time of the dissolution of the USSR, democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control, patronage politics, and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties.

A peaceful mass protest referred to as the \"Orange Revolution\" in the closing months of 2004 and early 2005 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in legislative (Rada) elections, become prime minister in August 2006, and be elected president in February 2010. In October 2012, Ukraine held Rada elections, widely criticized by Western observers as flawed due to use of government resources to favor ruling party candidates, interference with media access, and harassment of opposition candidates. President YANUKOVYCH's backtracking on a trade and cooperation agreement with the EU in November 2013 - in favor of closer economic ties with Russia - and subsequent use of force against students, civil society activists, and other civilians in favor of the agreement and fed up with blatant corruption led to a three-month protest occupation of Kyiv's central square. The government's use of violence to break up the protest camp in February 2014 led to all out pitched battles, scores of deaths, international condemnation, a failed political deal, and the president's abrupt departure for Russia. New elections in the spring allowed pro-West president Petro POROSHENKO to assume office in June 2014; he was succeeded by Volodymyr ZELENSKY in May 2019.

Shortly after YANUKOVYCH's departure in late February 2014, Russian President PUTIN ordered the invasion of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula falsely claiming the action was to protect ethnic Russians living there. Two weeks later, a \"referendum\" was held regarding the integration of Crimea into the Russian Federation. The \"referendum\" was condemned as illegitimate by the Ukrainian Government, the EU, the US, and the UN General Assembly (UNGA). In response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, 100 members of the UN passed UNGA resolution 68/262, rejecting the \"referendum\" as baseless and invalid and confirming the sovereignty, political independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine. In mid-2014, Russia began supplying proxies in two of Ukraine's eastern provinces with manpower, funding, and materiel beginning an armed conflict with the Ukrainian Government. Representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the unrecognized Russian proxy republics signed the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum in September 2014 with the aim of ending the conflict. However, this agreement failed to stop the fighting or find a political solution. In a renewed attempt to alleviate ongoing clashes, leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany negotiated a follow-on Package of Measures in February 2015 to implement the Minsk agreements, but this effort failed as well. By early 2022, more than 14,000 civilians were killed or wounded as a result of the Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine.

On 24 February 2022, Russia escalated its conflict with Ukraine by launching a full-scale invasion of the country on several fronts in what has become the largest conventional military attack on a sovereign state in Europe since World War II. The invasion has received near universal international condemnation, and many countries have imposed sanctions on Russia and supplied humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. Russia made substantial gains in the early weeks of the invasion but underestimated Ukrainian resolve and combat capabilities. By the end of 2022, Ukrainian forces had regained all territories in the north and northeast and made some advances in the east and south. Nonetheless, Russia in late September 2022 unilaterally declared its annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts - Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia - even though none was fully under Russian control. The annexations remain unrecognized by the international community.

The invasion has also created Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. As of 14 November 2023, there were 6.3 million Ukrainian refugees recorded globally, and 3.67 million people were internally displaced as of September 2023.  Nearly 27,800 civilian casualties had been reported, as of 8 October 2023. The invasion of Ukraine remains one of the two largest displacement crises worldwide (the other is the conflict in Syria).

The Ukrainian people continue to fiercely resist Russia’s full-scale invasion, which has targeted civilian and critical infrastructure - including energy - to try to break the Ukrainian will. President ZELENSKYY has focused on the civic identity of Ukrainians, regardless of ethnic or linguistic background, to unite the country behind the goals of ending the war by regaining as much territory as possible and advancing Ukraine’s candidacy for membership in the European Union (EU). Support for joining the EU and NATO has grown significantly, overcoming the historical, and sometimes artificial, divide between eastern and western Ukraine.

" } }, "Geography": { diff --git a/middle-east/gz.json b/middle-east/gz.json index 0209321a..13893d60 100644 --- a/middle-east/gz.json +++ b/middle-east/gz.json @@ -838,7 +838,7 @@ "text": "1.6 million (Palestinian refugees) (2022)" }, "IDPs": { - "text": "12,000 (includes persons displaced within the Gaza Strip due to the intensification of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since June 2014 and other Palestinian IDPs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank who fled as long ago as 1967, although confirmed cumulative data do not go back beyond 2006) (2022); note - data represent Gaza Strip and West Bank" + "text": "1.6 million (includes persons displaced within the Gaza Strip due to the intensification of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since June 2014 and other Palestinian IDPs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank who fled as long ago as 1967, although confirmed cumulative data do not go back beyond 2006) (2023); note - data represent Gaza Strip" } } } diff --git a/north-america/ca.json b/north-america/ca.json index 59643a05..dab8bb64 100644 --- a/north-america/ca.json +++ b/north-america/ca.json @@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "6.48 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "6.39 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "544.89 megatons (2016 est.)" @@ -586,7 +586,7 @@ "text": "Senate - appointed; latest appointments in July 2021
House of Commons - last held on 20 September 2021 (next to be held on or before 20 October 2025)" }, "election results": { - "text": "
Senate - composition as of May 2022 - men 47, women 45, percent of women 48.9%

House of Commons - percent of vote by party - CPC 33.7%, Liberal Party 32.6%, NDP 17.8%, Bloc Quebecois 7.7%, Greens 2.3%, other 5.9%; seats by party - Liberal Party 159, CPC 119, NDP 25, Bloc Quebecois 32, Greens 2, independent 1; composition as of May 2022 - men 235, women 103, percent of women 30.5%; note - total Parliament percent of women 34.4%" + "text": "
Senate - composition as of October 2023 - men 43, women 51, percent of women 54.3%

House of Commons - percent of vote by party - CPC 33.7%, Liberal Party 32.6%, NDP 17.8%, Bloc Quebecois 7.7%, Greens 2.3%, other 5.9%; seats by party - Liberal Party 159, CPC 119, NDP 25, Bloc Quebecois 32, Greens 2, independent 1; composition as of October 2023 - men 233, women 103; percent of women 30.6%; note - total Parliament percent of women 34.6%" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/south-america/ar.json b/south-america/ar.json index b573a09e..9828814d 100644 --- a/south-america/ar.json +++ b/south-america/ar.json @@ -447,7 +447,7 @@ }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { - "text": "11.83 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" + "text": "12.04 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "201.35 megatons (2016 est.)" @@ -586,10 +586,10 @@ "text": "Cabinet appointed by the president" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by qualified majority vote (to win, a candidate must receive at least 45% of votes or 40% of votes and a 10-point lead over the second place candidate; if neither occurs, a second round is held ); the president serves a 4-year term (eligible for a second consecutive term); election last held on 22 October 2023, with a runoff to be held 19 November 2023 (next to be held in October 2027)" + "text": "president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by qualified majority vote (to win, a candidate must receive at least 45% of votes or 40% of votes and a 10-point lead over the second place candidate; if neither occurs, a second round is held ); the president serves a 4-year term (eligible for a second consecutive term); election last held on 22 October 2023, with a runoff held 19 November 2023 (next to be held in October 2027)" }, "election results": { - "text": "
2023: percent vote in first round - Sergio Tomás MASSA (FR) 36.7%, Javier Gerardo MILEI (PL) 30%, Patricia BULLRICH 23.8% (JxC/PRO), Juan SCHIARETTI (PJ) 6.8%, Myriam BREGMAN (PTS) 2.7%; MASSA and MILEI advance to a runoff election scheduled for 19 November 2023

2019: Alberto Ángel FERNÁNDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Alberto Angel FERNÁNDEZ (TODOS) 48.1%, Mauricio MACRI (PRO) 40.4%, Roberto LAVAGNA (independent) 6.2%, other 5.3%

2015: Mauricio MACRI elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Daniel SCIOLI (PJ) 37.1%, Mauricio MACRI (PRO) 34.2%, Sergio MASSA (FR/PJ) 21.4%, other 7.3%; percent of vote in second round - Mauricio MACRI  51.4%, Daniel SCIOLI 48.6%" + "text": "


2023: Javier Gerardo MILEI elected president in second round; percent vote in first round - Sergio Tomás MASSA (FR) 36.7%, Javier Gerardo MILEI (PL) 30%, Patricia BULLRICH 23.8% (JxC/PRO), Juan SCHIARETTI (PJ) 6.8%, Myriam BREGMAN (PTS) 2.7%; percent of vote in second round - Javier Gerardo MILEI 55.7%, Sergio Tomás MASSA 44.3%; MILEI will take office 10 December 2023

2019: Alberto Ángel FERNÁNDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Alberto Angel FERNÁNDEZ (TODOS) 48.1%, Mauricio MACRI (PRO) 40.4%, Roberto LAVAGNA (independent) 6.2%, other 5.3%

" } }, "Legislative branch": { diff --git a/south-asia/bg.json b/south-asia/bg.json index e5541455..347508aa 100644 --- a/south-asia/bg.json +++ b/south-asia/bg.json @@ -598,7 +598,7 @@ "text": "unicameral House of the Nation or Jatiya Sangsad (350 seats; 300 members in single-seat territorial constituencies directly elected by simple majority vote; 50 members - reserved for women only - indirectly elected by the House of the Nation membership by proportional representation vote using single transferable vote method; all members serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 30 December 2018 (next to be held in January 2024)" + "text": "last held on 30 December 2018 (next to be held on 7 January 2024)" }, "election results": { "text": "percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party as of February 2022 - AL 299, JP 27, BNP 7, other 10, independent 7; composition - men 277, women 73, percent of women 20.9%" diff --git a/south-asia/in.json b/south-asia/in.json index 6030c6e8..8d3aee22 100644 --- a/south-asia/in.json +++ b/south-asia/in.json @@ -1345,7 +1345,7 @@ }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { - "text": "

India-China: since China and India launched a security and foreign policy dialogue in 2005, consolidated discussions related to the dispute over most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, Indian claims that China transferred missiles to Pakistan, and other matters continue; Kashmir remains the site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas)

India-Pakistan: India and Pakistan resumed bilateral dialogue in February 2011 after a two-year hiatus, have maintained the 2003 cease-fire in Kashmir, and continue to have disputes over water sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries; UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan has maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; to defuse tensions and prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary, India and Pakistan seek technical resolution of the disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch in the Arabian Sea; Pakistani maps continue to show its Junagadh claim in Indian Gujarat State

India-Bangladesh: Prime Minister SINGH's September 2011 visit to Bangladesh resulted in the signing of a Protocol to the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh, which had called for the settlement of longstanding boundary disputes over un-demarcated areas and the exchange of territorial enclaves, but which had never been implemented; Bangladesh referred its maritime boundary claims with Burma and India to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea

India-Nepal: the Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues to examine contested boundary sections, including the 400 sq km dispute over the source of the Kalapani River; India maintains a strict border regime to keep out Maoist insurgents and control illegal cross-border activities from Nepal

" + "text": "

India-China: India’s relations with China have been fraught for decades; issues include disputed frontiers, as well as China’s support for Pakistan, India’s key rival, and China’s growing influence in India’s periphery, including in the Indian Ocean; in 2020, the two engaged in the worst bilateral border conflict since the Sino-Indian War of 1962; despite ongoing negotiations, including nearly 20 rounds of military-to-military talks as of 2023, tensions at the disputed border, known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC), remain high, and China holds a reported 580 square miles of territory previously patrolled by India; non-lethal clashes involving hundreds of soldiers from each side occured in December 2022; both countries maintain tens of thousands of troops and heavy weaponry at the LAC, and both continue to improve their infrastructure and military capabilities in the disputed border region 

India-Pakistan: India and Pakistan have fought three wars since 1948 over the disputed former princely region of Kashmir, the most recent in 1999; the two sides are separated by a Line of Control (LoC), a provisional military control line established in 1972 that splits Kashmir into two administrative regions; both countries have maintained a fragile cease-fire since 2003, although they regularly exchange fire across the LoC; both sides accuse the other of violating the cease-fire and claim to be shooting in response to attacks; India largely cut off bilateral engagement following an early 2019 terrorist attack in Pulwama, in Indian-held Kashmir, and a subsequent Indian airstrike on a suspected militant camp inside Pakistan India’s government continues to hold Pakistan responsible for supporting cross-border anti-India militancy, while Islamabad highlights India’s alleged repression of the Kashmir Valley’s overwhelmingly Muslim populace 

India-Bangladesh: boundary disputes have been arbitrated

India-Nepal: both sides claim ownership of the Kalapani-Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh tri-junction area, as well as the Susta area, located in the southern part of Nepal’s Nawalparasi district; there have also been sporadic disputes over other borders, such as in the Mechi River and Kali River regions related to issues of encroachment, land use, and cross-border crime 

" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { diff --git a/south-asia/mv.json b/south-asia/mv.json index f5dee0eb..6305157b 100644 --- a/south-asia/mv.json +++ b/south-asia/mv.json @@ -592,10 +592,16 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador Hugo Yue-Ho JON (since 6 September 2023); note - Ambassador JON is the first resident US ambassador to the Republic of Maldives" + "text": "Ambassador Hugo Yue-Ho YON (since 6 September 2023); note - Ambassador YON is the first resident US ambassador to the Republic of Maldives" }, "embassy": { - "text": "the US does not have an embassy in Maldives; the US is in the process of opening an embassy in Maldives; as of March 2022, there is no US Ambassador to Maldives; until late 2021, the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka was also accredited to the Maldives" + "text": "210 Galle Road, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka; note - as of early November 2023, the US has no consular or diplomatic offices in Maldives; the US Mission to Maldives operates from US Embassy Colombo, Sri Lanka" + }, + "telephone": { + "text": "[94] (11) 249-8500" + }, + "FAX": { + "text": "[94] (11) 243-7345" } }, "Flag description": { diff --git a/world/xx.json b/world/xx.json index c7a07c9c..6e693119 100644 --- a/world/xx.json +++ b/world/xx.json @@ -858,7 +858,7 @@ "text": "

stretching over some 280,000 km, the world's 325 international land boundaries separate 197 independent states and 68 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities; ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries; most maritime states have claimed limits that include territorial seas and exclusive economic zones; overlapping limits due to adjacent or opposite coasts create the potential for 430 bilateral maritime boundaries of which 209 have agreements that include contiguous and non-contiguous segments; boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries tend to encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resource competition; ethnic and cultural clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation and internal displacement of the estimated 45.7 million people and cross-border displacements of approximately 31.7 million refugees and asylum seekers around the world as of yearend 2021; approximately 429,300 refugees were repatriated during 2021; other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially hydrocarbon) resources, fisheries, and arable land; armed conflict prevails not so much between the uniformed armed forces of independent states as between stateless armed entities that detract from the sustenance and welfare of local populations, leaving the community of nations to cope with resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, and environmental degradation

" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { - "text": "

the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that as of year-end 2022 there were 108.4 million people forcibly displaced worldwide; this includes 62.5 million IDPs, 35.3 million refugees, 5.4 million asylum seekers, 5.2 million others in need of international protection; the UNHCR estimates there are currently more than 4.4 million stateless persons as of year-end 2022 (the true estimate is estimated to be significantly higher)

" + "text": "

the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that as of mid-year 2023 there were 110 million people forcibly displaced worldwide; this includes 62.5 million IDPs, 36.4 million refugees, 6.1 million asylum seekers, 5.3 million others in need of international protection; the UNHCR estimates there are currently more than 4.4 million stateless persons as of year-end 2022 (the true estimate is estimated to be significantly higher)

" }, "Trafficking in persons": { "tier rating": {