diff --git a/africa/bn.json b/africa/bn.json index cde840ed..5ca93e96 100644 --- a/africa/bn.json +++ b/africa/bn.json @@ -591,7 +591,7 @@ "text": "unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (109 seats, including 24 seats reserved for women; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms except for the current members whose terms will end in 2026 to facilitate general elections)" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 8 January 2023 (next to be held 11 January 2027)" + "text": "last held on 8 January 2023 (next to be held on 11 January 2027)" }, "election results": { "text": "percent of vote by party - Progressive Union for Renewal 37.6%, Bloc Republicain 29.2%, The Democrats 24%; seats by party - Progressive Union for Renewal 53, Bloc Republicain 28, The Democrats 28; composition as of May 2023 - men 80, women 29, percent of women 26.6%" diff --git a/africa/cg.json b/africa/cg.json index 2036e836..9302b62c 100644 --- a/africa/cg.json +++ b/africa/cg.json @@ -624,10 +624,10 @@ "text": "bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of:
Senate (109 seats; 109 members to include 108 indirectly elected by provincial assemblies by proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms and a former president, appointed for life)

National Assembly (500 seats; 439 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 61 directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms)

 

" }, "elections": { - "text": "

Senate - last held on 14 March 2019
National Assembly - last held on 30 December 2018 (first round), with a second round on 31 March 2019

 

" + "text": "

Senate - last held on 14 March 2019
National Assembly - last held on 30 December 2018 (first round), with a second round on 31 March 2019
(next election held 20 December 2023)

 

" }, "election results": { - "text": "

Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 22, MLC 14, FR 7, RCD 7, PDC 6, CDC 3, MSR 3, PALU 2, other 18, independent 26; composition as of 2022 - men 83, women 26, percent of women 23.9%

National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 62, UDPS 41, PPPD 29, MSR 27, MLC 22, PALU 19, UNC 17, ARC 16, AFDC 15, ECT 11, RRC 11, other 214 (includes numerous political parties that won 10 or fewer seats and 2 constituencies where voting was halted), independent 16; composition as of 2022 - men 436, women 64, percent of women 12.8%; total Parliament percent of women 14.8%

" + "text": "

Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 22, MLC 14, FR 7, RCD 7, PDC 6, CDC 3, MSR 3, PALU 2, other 18, independent 26; composition as of 2022 - men 83, women 26, percent of women 23.9%
National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 62, UDPS 41, PPPD 29, MSR 27, MLC 22, PALU 19, UNC 17, ARC 16, AFDC 15, ECT 11, RRC 11, other 214 (includes numerous political parties that won 10 or fewer seats and 2 constituencies where voting was halted), independent 16; composition as of 2022 - men 436, women 64, percent of women 12.8%; total Parliament percent of women 14.8%

" } }, "Judicial branch": { @@ -1295,7 +1295,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "211,366 (Central African Republic), 208,075 (Rwanda), 57,403 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers), 43,706 (Burundi) (2023)" + "text": "211,882 (Central African Republic), 208,075 (Rwanda), 53,164 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers), 43,250 (Burundi) (2023)" }, "IDPs": { "text": "6.17 million (fighting between government forces and rebels since mid-1990s; conflict in Kasai region since 2016) (2023)" diff --git a/africa/cn.json b/africa/cn.json index a77a7b6d..bcbef256 100644 --- a/africa/cn.json +++ b/africa/cn.json @@ -537,13 +537,13 @@ }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { - "text": "unicameral Assembly of the Union (33 seats; 24 members directly elected by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed and 9 members indirectly elected by the 3 island assemblies; members serve 5-year terms) (2017)" + "text": "unicameral Assembly of the Union (33 seats; 24 members directly elected by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed and 9 members indirectly elected by the 3 island assemblies; members serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 19 January 2020 with a runoff on 23 February 2020 (next to be held in 2025) (2020)" + "text": "last held on 19 January 2020 with a runoff on 23 February 2020 (next to be held in 2025)" }, "election results": { - "text": "percent of vote by party - 1st round - CRC 60.9%, Orange Party 4.3%, Independents 30.8%, other 4%; 2nd round - CRC 54.1%, Orange Party 18.9%, Independents 26.1%, other 1%; seats by party - 1st round -  CRC 16, Orange Party 1, Independents 2; 2nd round - CRC 4, Orange Party 1; note - 9 additional seats filled by the 3 island assemblies; composition for elected members as of 2022 - men 20, women 4, percent of women 16.7%

 

(2022)" + "text": "percent of vote by party - 1st round - CRC 60.9%, Orange Party 4.3%, Independents 30.8%, other 4%; 2nd round - CRC 54.1%, Orange Party 18.9%, Independents 26.1%, other 1%; seats by party - 1st round -  CRC 16, Orange Party 1, Independents 2; 2nd round - CRC 4, Orange Party 1; note - 9 additional seats filled by the 3 island assemblies; composition for elected members as of 2022 - men 20, women 4, percent of women 16.7%

 

" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/africa/iv.json b/africa/iv.json index 3bf0c17b..fde7a476 100644 --- a/africa/iv.json +++ b/africa/iv.json @@ -608,10 +608,10 @@ "text": "bicameral Parliament consists of:
Senate or Senat (99 seats; 66 members indirectly elected by the National Assembly and members of municipal, autonomous districts, and regional councils, and 33 members appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms)
National Assembly (255 seats - 254 for 2021-2026 term; members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "

Senate - first ever held on 25 March 2018 (next to be held in September 2023)
National Assembly - last held on 6 March 2021 (next to be held on 31 March 2026)

 

" + "text": "

Senate - last held on 16 September 2023 (next to be held in September 2028)
National Assembly - last held on 6 March 2021 (next to be held on 31 March 2026)

 

" }, "election results": { - "text": "

Senate - percent by party NA; seats by party - RHDP 50, independent 16; composition - men 80, women 19, percent of women 19.2%

National Assembly - percent of vote by party - RHDP 49.2%, PDCI-RRA-EDS 16.5%, DPIC 6%, TTB 2.1%, IPF 2%, other seats 24.2%; seats by party - RHDP, 137, PDCI-RRA-EDS 50, DPIC 23, EDS 8, TTB 8, IPF 2, independent 26; composition - men 218, women 36, percent of women 14.2%; note - total Parliament percent of women 15.6%

" + "text": "

Senate - percent by party NA; seats by party - RHDP 56, PDCI-RDA 6, independent 2, 2 seats unfilled; composition - men 54, women 10, percent of women 15.6%

National Assembly - percent of vote by party - RHDP 49.2%, PDCI-RRA-EDS 16.5%, DPIC 6%, TTB 2.1%, IPF 2%, other seats 24.2%; seats by party - RHDP, 137, PDCI-RRA-EDS 50, DPIC 23, EDS 8, TTB 8, IPF 2, independent 26; composition - men 218, women 36, percent of women 14.2%; note - total Parliament percent of women 7.6%

" }, "note": "

" }, diff --git a/africa/lt.json b/africa/lt.json index 08ae1d97..009bb83f 100644 --- a/africa/lt.json +++ b/africa/lt.json @@ -572,7 +572,7 @@ "text": "bicameral Parliament consists of:
Senate (33 seats; 22 principal chiefs and 11 other senators nominated by the king with the advice of the Council of State, a 13-member body of key government and non-government officials; members serve 5-year terms)
National Assembly (120 seats; 80 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 40 elected through proportional representation; members serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "

Senate - last nominated by the king on July 2022 (next in late July 2027)
National Assembly - last held on 7 October 2022 (next to be held in October 2027)

" + "text": "

Senate - last nominated by the king on July 2022 (next to be held in late July 2027)
National Assembly - last held on 7 October 2022 (next to be held in October 2027)

" }, "election results": { "text": "

Senate - percent of votes by party - NA, seats by party - NA; composition - men 26, women 7, percent of women 21.2%

National Assembly - percent of votes by party - RFP 38.9%, DC 24.7%, ABC 7.1%, BAP 5.4%, AD 4.0%, MEC 3.2%, LCD 2.3%, SR 2.1%, BNP 1.4%, PFD 0.9%, BCM 0.8%, MPS 0.8%, MIP 0.7%; seats by party - RFP 56, DC 29, ABC 8, BAP 6, AD 5, MEC 4, LCD 3, SR 2, BNP 1, PFD 1,BCM 1, MPS 1, NIP 1, HOPE 1, TBD 1; composition - men 87, women 28, percent of women 23.3%; note - total Parliament percent of women 22.9%

" diff --git a/africa/mr.json b/africa/mr.json index d9840016..83deb772 100644 --- a/africa/mr.json +++ b/africa/mr.json @@ -595,15 +595,15 @@ }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { - "text": "unicameral Parliament or Barlamane consists of the National Assembly or Al Jamiya Al Wataniya (157 seats statutory, 153 current term; 113 members in single- and multi-seat constituencies directly elected by a combination of plurality and proportional representation voting systems, 40 members in a single, nationwide constituency directly elected by proportional representation vote (20 seats are reserved for women candidates in the nationwide constituency) , and 4 members directly elected by the diaspora; all members serve 5-year terms)" + "text": "unicameral Parliament or Barlamane consists of the National Assembly or Al Jamiya Al Wataniya (176 seats statutory; 88 members filled from one or two seat constituencies elected by a two-round majority system and the other 88 members filled from a single, nationwide constituency directly elected by proportional representation vote); 20 seats are reserved for women candidates in the nationwide constituency, 11 seats are reserved for young candidates (aged between 25 and 35), and 4 members directly elected by the diaspora; all members serve 5-year terms" }, "elections": { - "text": "first held as the unicameral National Assembly in 2 rounds on 1 and 15 September 2018 (next to be held in 2023)" + "text": "last held in 2 rounds on 13 and 27 May 2023 (next to be held in May 2028)" }, "election results": { - "text": "National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UPR 95, Tawassoul 14, UDP 6, El Karama 6, AND 4, PUCM 4, RFD 3, UFP 3, Shura Party for Development 3, Burst of Youth for the Nation 3, SAWAB 3, APP 3, DIL 2, El Wiam 2, AJD/MR 2, Coalition of Wava Mauritanian Party 1, El Ghad 1, National Democratic Union 1, Ravah Party 1, Party of Peace and Democratic Progress 1, El Islah 1; composition - men, 122, women 31, percent of women 20.3%" + "text": "National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - El Insaf 107, Tawassoul 11, UDP 10, Sawab 5, FRUD (Republican Front for Unity and Democracy) 7, El Islah 6, National Democratic Alliance (AND) 6, Mauritanian Party for Union and Change (HATEM) 3, El Karama 5, Nida Elwatan 5, Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal 4, Hiwar 3, Party of the Mauritanian Masses 1, El Vadila 2, Union of Planning and Construction (UPC) 1; composition - men, 135, women 41, percent of women elected 23.3%" }, - "note": "note: a referendum held in August 2017 approved a constitutional amendment to change the Parliament structure from bicameral to unicameral by abolishing the Senate and creating Regional Councils for local development" + "note": "note - the early parliamentary elections in 2023 were the first to be held under President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, elected in 2019 in a first peaceful transition of power; the elections followed the agreement between the government and parties in September 2022 to renew the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) and hold the elections in the first semester of 2023 for climatic and logistical reasons" }, "Judicial branch": { "highest court(s)": { diff --git a/africa/ng.json b/africa/ng.json index bc5ab306..716287b5 100644 --- a/africa/ng.json +++ b/africa/ng.json @@ -600,7 +600,7 @@ "text": "unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (171 statutory seats - 166 currently; 158 members directly elected from 8 multi-member constituencies in 7 regions and Niamey by party-list proportional representation, 8 reserved for minorities elected in special single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 5 seats reserved for Nigeriens living abroad - l seat per continent - elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 27 December 2020 (next scheduled in December 2025)" + "text": "last held on 27 December 2020 (next to be held in December 2025)" }, "election results": { "text": "percent of vote by party - percent of vote by party - PNDS-Tarrayya 37.04%, MODEN/FA Lumana 8.71%, MPR-Jamhuriya 7.59%, MNSD-Nassara 6.77%,  RDR-Tchanji 4.41%, CPR-Inganci 4.15%, MPN-Kishin Kassa 3.97%, PJP Generation Dubara 2.88%, ANDP Zaman Lahya 2.46%, RPP Farrilla 2.10%, ARD Adaltchi-Mutuntchi 1.74%, AMEN AMIN 1.43%, MDEN Falala 1.42%, other 15.33%; seats by party - PNDS-Tarrayya 79, MODEN/FA Lumana 19, MPR-Jamhuriya 14, MNSD-Nassara 13, CPR-Inganci 8, MPN-Kishin Kassa 6, ANDP-Zaman Lahiya 3, RPP Farrilla 2, PJP Generation Dubara 2, ARD Adaltchi-Mutuntchi 2, AMEN AMIN 2, other 16; composition - men 123, women 43, percent of women 25.9%" @@ -1222,7 +1222,7 @@ "note": "note 1: Niger is part of a four (formerly five)-nation anti-jihadist task force known as the G5 (now G4) Sahel Group, set up in 2014 with Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali (withdrew in 2022), and Mauritania; it has committed 1,100 troops and 200 gendarmes to the force; defense forces from each of the participating states are allowed to pursue terrorist fighters up to 100 km into neighboring countries; the force is backed by France, the UN, and the US

note 2: Niger also has committed about 1,000 troops to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) against Boko Haram and other terrorist groups operating in the general area of the Lake Chad Basin and along Nigeria's northeast border; national MNJTF troop contingents are deployed within their own country territories, although cross‐border operations are conducted periodically" }, "Military - note": { - "text": "while the FAN is responsible for ensuring external security, much of its focus is internal, particularly counterinsurgency/counterterrorism operations against terrorist groups operating in the areas bordering Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali, and Nigeria, as well as much of northern Niger and the Diffa and Lake Chad regions; these groups include the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) in the Greater Sahara, Boko Haram, ISIS-West Africa, and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM); up to 70% of the security forces are assigned to fighting militants and protecting borders

the FAN is a lightly armed, but experienced military; it has conducted training and combat operations with foreign partners, including the French and US; the EU has also provided security assistance, particularly to the GN, GNN, and the National Police; the FAN also conducts counterterrorism operations with the G4 Sahel Group and the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which coordinates the Lake Chad states’ operations against Boko Haram

in recent years, Niger has focused on making its security services more mobile to improve their effectiveness in countering terrorism and protecting the country’s borders; with training support and material assistance from the US and the EU, each security service has created new units or reconfigured existing units with an emphasis on mobility, hybridization, and specialized training; since the 2010s, the Army has created a special operations command, several special intervention battalions, and an anti-terrorism unit known as the 1st Expeditionary Force of Niger (EFoN); the GN has created mobile units modeled on European gendarmerie forces known as the Rapid Action Group—Surveillance and Response in the Sahel (Groupe d'action Rapides—Surveillance et Intervention au Sahel or GAR-SI Sahel); the GNN has developed mobile Multipurpose Squadrons (Escadrons Polyvalentes de la Garde Nationale de Niger or EP-GNN), while the National Police have created Mobile Border Control Companies (Compagnie Mobile de Contrôle des Frontières or CMCF); Niger has also established training centers for special forces in Tillia and peacekeeping in Ouallam; meanwhile, the Air Force has received a few armed UAVs from Turkey

the Army was established in 1960 from French colonial forces, while the Air Force was formed as the Niger National Escadrille in 1961; the GN received its first Nigerien commander in 1962; since its establishment, Niger’s military has played a significant role in the country’s politics, conducting successful coups in 1974, 1996, 1999, and 2010, and ruling Niger for much of the period before 1999; the FAN also conducted counterinsurgency operations against Taureg rebels during 1990-95 and 2007-09 (2023)" + "text": "while the FAN is responsible for ensuring external security, much of its focus is internal, particularly counterinsurgency/counterterrorism operations against terrorist groups operating in the areas bordering Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali, and Nigeria, as well as much of northern Niger and the Diffa and Lake Chad regions; these groups include the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) in the Greater Sahara, Boko Haram, ISIS-West Africa, and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM); up to 70% of the security forces are assigned to fighting militants and protecting borders

the FAN is a lightly armed, but experienced military; it has conducted training and combat operations with foreign partners, including the French and US; the EU has also provided security assistance, particularly to the GN, GNN, and the National Police; the FAN also conducts counterterrorism operations with the G4 Sahel Group and the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which coordinates the Lake Chad states’ operations against Boko Haram; it conducted counterinsurgency operations against Taureg rebels during the periods of 1990-95 and 2007-09

in recent years, Niger has focused on making its security services more mobile to improve their effectiveness in countering terrorism and protecting the country’s borders; with training support and material assistance from the US and the EU, each security service has created new units or reconfigured existing units with an emphasis on mobility, hybridization, and specialized training; since the 2010s, the Army has created a special operations command, several special intervention battalions, and an anti-terrorism unit known as the 1st Expeditionary Force of Niger (EFoN); the GN has created mobile units modeled on European gendarmerie forces known as the Rapid Action Group—Surveillance and Response in the Sahel (Groupe d'action Rapides—Surveillance et Intervention au Sahel or GAR-SI Sahel); the GNN has developed mobile Multipurpose Squadrons (Escadrons Polyvalentes de la Garde Nationale de Niger or EP-GNN), while the National Police have created Mobile Border Control Companies (Compagnie Mobile de Contrôle des Frontières or CMCF); Niger has also established training centers for special forces in Tillia and peacekeeping in Ouallam; meanwhile, the Air Force has received a few armed UAVs from Turkey

the Army was established in 1960 from French colonial forces, while the Air Force was formed as the Niger National Escadrille in 1961; the GN received its first Nigerien commander in 1962; since its establishment, Niger’s military has played a significant role in the country’s politics, conducting successful coups in 1974, 1996, 1999, and 2010, and ruling Niger for much of the period before 1999; it seized control of the government again in 2023 (2023)" } }, "Terrorism": { @@ -1237,7 +1237,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "216,655 (Nigeria), 66,5020 (Mali) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2023)" + "text": "221,076 (Nigeria), 66,5020 (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/pu.json b/africa/pu.json index 3af20122..27c68dfd 100644 --- a/africa/pu.json +++ b/africa/pu.json @@ -563,10 +563,10 @@ "text": "unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (102 seats; 100 members directly elected in 27 multi-seat constituencies by closed party-list proportional representation vote and 2 elected in single-seat constituencies for citizens living abroad (Africa 1, Europe 1); all members serve 4-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "note: president dissolved the parliament on 16 May 2022; election held 4 June 2023" + "text": "last election held 4 June 2023 (next election on 30 June 2027)" }, "election results": { - "text": "percent of vote by party - PAIGC 35.2%, Madem G-15 21.1%, PRS 21.1%, other 22.6%; seats by party - PAIGC 47, Madem G-15 27, PRS- 21, other 7; composition - men 88, women 14, percent of women 13.7%" + "text": "percent of vote by party - PAIGC 39.4%, Madem G-15 21.1%, PRS 14.9%, other 12.5%; seats by party - PAIGC 54, Madem G-15 29, PRS- 12, other 7; composition - men 92, women 10, percent of women 9.8%" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/africa/rw.json b/africa/rw.json index a68d5e50..24afc343 100644 --- a/africa/rw.json +++ b/africa/rw.json @@ -580,7 +580,7 @@ "text": "bicameral Parliament consists of:

Senate or Senat (26 seats; 12 members indirectly elected by local councils, 8 appointed by the president, 4 appointed by the Political Organizations Forum - a body of registered political parties, and 2 selected by institutions of higher learning; members serve 8-year terms)

Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (80 seats; 53 members directly elected by proportional representation vote, 24 women selected by special interest groups, and 3 selected by youth and disability organizations; members serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "
Senate - last held on 16-18 September 2019 (next to be held in 2027)
Chamber of Deputies - last held on 3 September 2018 (next to be held in September 2023)" + "text": "
Senate - last held on 16-18 September 2019 (next to be held in 2027)
Chamber of Deputies - last held on 3 September 2018 (next to be held in August 2024)" }, "election results": { "text": "

Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 17, women 9, percent of women 34.6%

Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Rwandan Patriotic Front Coalition 40, PSD 5, PL 4, other 4 indirectly elected 27; composition - men 31, women 49, percent of women 54.7%; note - total Parliament percent of women 54.7%

 

" @@ -1212,7 +1212,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "79,569 (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 48,029 (Burundi) (2023)" + "text": "79,569 (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 48,133 (Burundi) (2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "9,500 (2022)" diff --git a/africa/sf.json b/africa/sf.json index 527b7783..dc2e566f 100644 --- a/africa/sf.json +++ b/africa/sf.json @@ -612,7 +612,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE]
African Independent Congress or AIC [Mandla GALO]
African National Congress or ANC [Cyril RAMAPHOSA]
African People's Convention or APC [Themba GODI]
Agang SA [Andries TLOUAMMA]
Congress of the People or COPE [Mosiuoa LEKOTA]
Democratic Alliance or DA [John STEENHUISEN]
Economic Freedom Fighters or EFF [Julius Sello MALEMA]
Freedom Front Plus or FF+ [Pieter GROENEWALD]
GOOD [Patricia de LILLE]
Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Velenkosini HLABISA]
National Freedom Party or NFP [vacant]
Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania or PAC [Mzwanele NYHONTSO]
United Christian Democratic Party or UCDP [Modiri Desmond SEHUME]
United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA]" + "text": "African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE]
African Independent Congress or AIC [Mandla GALO]
African National Congress or ANC [Cyril RAMAPHOSA]
African People's Convention or APC [Themba GODI]
Agang SA [Andries TLOUAMMA]
Congress of the People or COPE [Mosiuoa LEKOTA]
Democratic Alliance or DA [John STEENHUISEN]
Economic Freedom Fighters or EFF [Julius Sello MALEMA]
Freedom Front Plus or FF+ [Pieter GROENEWALD]
GOOD [Patricia de LILLE]
Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Velenkosini HLABISA]
National Freedom Party or NFP (vacant)
Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania or PAC [Mzwanele NYHONTSO]
United Christian Democratic Party or UCDP [Modiri Desmond SEHUME]
United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA]" }, "International organization participation": { "text": "ACP, AfDB, AU, BIS, BRICS, C, CD, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-24, G-5, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, NSG, OECD (enhanced engagement), OPCW, Paris Club (associate), PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNITAR, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC" @@ -1337,10 +1337,10 @@ }, "Trafficking in persons": { "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — South Africa does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government convicted and sentenced traffickers to significant prison terms, including government officials complicit in human trafficking; it also increased the number of victims identified and the number of shelters; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared with the previous year to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; some victims were unable to access emergency services due to a lack of inter-agency coordination in identifying, referring, and certifying victims; for the ninth consecutive year, the government failed to promulgate implementing regulations for the 2013 Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Person Act’s immigration provisions, leaving foreign victims unable to access immigration remedies; therefore, South Africa remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year (2022)" + "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — South Africa does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government increased investigations and convictions of traffickers, investigated and prosecuted some allegedly complicit government officials, coordinated with foreign governments on trafficking investigations and the repatriation of victims, and increased inspections to investigate forced labor; officials adopted an anti-trafficking National Action Plan, accredited two shelters, and expanded awareness-raising activities; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts, compared with the previous reporting period, to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; while the government approved regulations under the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act on immigration, the regulations had not been put into effect at the end of the reporting period; a lack of inter-agency coordination in identifying, referring, and certifying victims most likely hindered protection efforts; law enforcement personnel lacked the capacity and training to effectively identify and refer victims; victims were inappropriately penalized for offenses committed as a direct result of being trafficked, even after officials identified them as trafficking victims; reports of low-level official complicity persisted; because the government has devoted significant resources to a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute significant efforts to meet the minimum standards, South Africa was granted a waiver per the TVPA from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3; therefore, South Africa remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year (2023)" }, "trafficking profile": { - "text": "Human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in South Africa, as well as South Africans abroad; traffickers recruit victims from neighboring countries and rural areas within South Africa and exploit them in sex trafficking locally and in urban centers; both adults and children, particularly those from poor and rural areas and migrants, are forced into labor in domestic service, mining, food services, construction, criminal activities, agriculture, and the fishing sector; high unemployment, low wages, and pandemic-related restrictions increased the vulnerability of exploitation, particularly of youth, Black women, and foreign migrants; traffickers recruit victims who are unemployed and struggle with substance addiction, and commonly use substance abuse to control victims, including children; parents with substance abuse addiction sometimes exploit their children in sex trafficking to pay for drugs; migrants travel from East and Southern Africa to South Africa looking for work or fleeing conflict, particularly from Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Mozambique, and are vulnerable to exploitation; official complicity in trafficking crimes, especially by police, facilitated trafficking; syndicates, often dominated by Nigerians, force women from Nigeria and countries bordering South Africa into commercial sex; South African trafficking rings exploit girls as young as 10 years old in sex trafficking; syndicates also recruit South African women to go to Europe and Asia, where some are forced into commercial sex, domestic service, or drug smuggling; Chinese business owners exploit Chinese, South African, and Malawian adults and children in factories, sweatshops, and other businesses; the Cuban government may have forced Cuban medical workers to work in South Africa (2022)" + "text": "Human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in South Africa, as well as South Africans abroad; traffickers recruit victims from neighboring countries and rural areas within South Africa and exploit them in sex trafficking locally and in urban centers; adults and children, particularly from poor and rural areas, and migrants are forced into labor in domestic service, mining, food services, construction, criminal activities, agriculture, and the fishing sector; high unemployment and socioeconomic stratification increased the vulnerability of exploitation, particularly of youth, Black women, and foreign migrants; traffickers recruit victims who are unemployed and struggle with drug use, and commonly use substance abuse to control victims, including children; parents with substance abuse problems sometimes exploit their children in sex trafficking to pay for drugs; despite high unemployment, migrants travel from East, Central, and Southern Africa to South Africa looking for economic opportunity, particularly from Ethiopia and Mozambique, and are vulnerable to exploitation; official complicity in trafficking crimes, especially by police and immigration officials, facilitated trafficking; syndicates, often dominated by Nigerians, force women from Nigeria and countries bordering South Africa into commercial sex; South African trafficking rings exploit girls as young as 10 years old in sex trafficking; some brothels, previously identified as locations for sex trafficking, continue to operate with officials’ tacit approval; syndicates also recruit South African women to go to Europe, where some are forced into commercial sex, domestic service, or drug smuggling; Chinese business owners exploit Chinese, South African, and Malawian adults and children in factories, sweatshops, and other businesses; the Cuban government may have forced Cuban medical workers to work in South Africa (2023)" } }, "Illicit drugs": { diff --git a/africa/to.json b/africa/to.json index eeb80439..60f77ee8 100644 --- a/africa/to.json +++ b/africa/to.json @@ -592,7 +592,7 @@ "text": "unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (91 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed, party-list proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms); party lists are required to contain equal numbers of men and women" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 20 December 2018 (next to be held in 2023)" + "text": "last held on 20 December 2018 (next to be held on 31 December 2023)" }, "election results": { "text": "percent of vote by coalition/party - NA; seats by party - UNIR 59, UFC 7, NET 3, MPDD 2, MRC 1, PDP 1, independent 18; composition - men 76, women 15, percent of women 16.5%" @@ -1231,7 +1231,8 @@ "text": "the FAT has a small, mixed inventory of mostly older equipment from a variety of countries; in recent years, it has received limited amounts of equipment from several suppliers, including France, Russia, and the US (2023)" }, "Military service age and obligation": { - "text": "18 years of age for military service; 24-month service obligation; no conscription; women have been able to serve since 2007 (2023)" + "text": "18 years of age for military service for men and women; 24-month service obligation; no conscription (2023)", + "note": "note: as of 2022, about 7% of the military's personnel were women" }, "Military deployments": { "text": "725 (plus about 300 police) Mali (MINUSMA) (2023)" diff --git a/africa/tz.json b/africa/tz.json index acf9e789..d9aa65e1 100644 --- a/africa/tz.json +++ b/africa/tz.json @@ -1262,7 +1262,7 @@ "text": "the TPDF's inventory includes mostly Soviet-era and Chinese equipment; in recent years, China has been the leading supplier of arms and equipment (2023)" }, "Military service age and obligation": { - "text": "18-25 years of age for voluntary military service; 6-year commitment (2-year contracts afterwards); selective conscription for 2 years of public service (2023)" + "text": "18-25 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; 6-year commitment (2-year contracts afterwards); selective conscription for 2 years of public service (2023)" }, "Military deployments": { "text": "575 Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 850 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); 125 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (2023)", diff --git a/africa/wa.json b/africa/wa.json index 68a29a08..70724b5f 100644 --- a/africa/wa.json +++ b/africa/wa.json @@ -589,7 +589,7 @@ "text": "National Council - elections for regional councils to determine members of the National Council held on 25 November 2020 (next to be held on 25 November 2025)
National Assembly - last held on 27 November 2019 (next to be held in 2024)" }, "election results": { - "text": "

National Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - SWAPO 28, LPM 6,IPC 2, PDM 2, UDF 2, NUDO 1,  independent 1; composition as of July 2022 - men 36, women 6, percent of women 14.3%

National Assembly - percent of vote by party - SWAPO 65.5%, PDM 16.6%, LPM 4.7%, NUDO 1.9%, APP 1.8%, UDF 1.8%, RP 1.8%, NEFF 1.7%, RDP 1.1%, CDV .7%, SWANU .6%, other 1.8%; seats by party - SWAPO 63, PDM 16, LPM 4, NUDO 2, APP 2, UDF 2, RP 2, NEFF 2, RDP 1, CDV 1, SWANU 1; composition as of July 2022 - men 58, women 46, percent of women 44.2%; note - overall percent of women in Parliament 35.6%

" + "text": "

National Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - SWAPO 28, LPM 6,IPC 2, PDM 2, UDF 2, NUDO 1, independent 1; composition as of July 2022 - men 36, women 6, percent of women 14.3%

National Assembly - percent of vote by party - SWAPO 65.5%, PDM 16.6%, LPM 4.7%, NUDO 1.9%, APP 1.8%, UDF 1.8%, RP 1.8%, NEFF 1.7%, RDP 1.1%, CDV .7%, SWANU .6%, other 1.8%; seats by party - SWAPO 63, PDM 16, LPM 4, NUDO 2, APP 2, UDF 2, RP 2, NEFF 2, RDP 1, CDV 1, SWANU 1; composition as of July 2022 - men 58, women 46, percent of women 44.2%; note - overall percent of women in Parliament 35.6%

" } }, "Judicial branch": { @@ -604,7 +604,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "All People's Party or APP [Vacant]
Christian Democratic Voice or CDV [Gothard KANDUME]
Landless People's Movement or LPM [Bernadus SWARTBOOI]
National Unity Democratic Organization or NUDO [Estes MUINJANGUE]
Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters or NEFF [Epafras MUKWIILONGO]
Popular Democratic Movement or PDM [McHenry VENAANI] (formerly Democratic Turnhalle Alliance or DTA) 
Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Mike KAVEKOTORA]
Republican Party or RP [Henk MUDGE]
South West Africa National Union or SWANU [Charles KATJIVIRUE]
South West Africa People's Organization or SWAPO [Hage GEINGOB]
United Democratic Front or UDF [Apius AUCHAB]
United People's Movement or UPM [Jan J. VAN WYK]" + "text": "All People's Party or APP (vacant)
Christian Democratic Voice or CDV [Gothard KANDUME]
Landless People's Movement or LPM [Bernadus SWARTBOOI]
National Unity Democratic Organization or NUDO [Estes MUINJANGUE]
Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters or NEFF [Epafras MUKWIILONGO]
Popular Democratic Movement or PDM [McHenry VENAANI] (formerly Democratic Turnhalle Alliance or DTA) 
Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Mike KAVEKOTORA]
Republican Party or RP [Henk MUDGE]
South West Africa National Union or SWANU [Charles KATJIVIRUE]
South West Africa People's Organization or SWAPO [Hage GEINGOB]
United Democratic Front or UDF [Apius AUCHAB]
United People's Movement or UPM [Jan J. VAN WYK]" }, "International organization participation": { "text": "ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CD, CPLP (associate observer), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO" diff --git a/africa/wz.json b/africa/wz.json index b03213bb..4d910f4f 100644 --- a/africa/wz.json +++ b/africa/wz.json @@ -555,10 +555,10 @@ "text": "bicameral Parliament (Libandla) consists of:
Senate (30 seats; 20 members appointed by the monarch and 10 indirectly elected by simple majority vote by the House of Assembly; members serve 5-year terms)
House of Assembly (70 seats statutory, current 70; 59 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies or tinkhundla by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed, 10 members appointed by the monarch, 4 women elected by the members if representation of elected women is less than 30%, and 1 ex-officio member - the attorney general; members serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "

Senate - last held on 23 October 2018 (next to be held - 31 October 2023)
House of Assembly - last held on 29 September 2023 (next to be held in 2028)

 

" + "text": "

Senate - last held on 23 October 2018 (next to be held on 31 October 2023)
House of Assembly - last held on 29 September 2023 (next to be held in 2028)

 

" }, "election results": { - "text": "

Senate - percent of seats by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 18, women 12, percent of women 40%

House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independent 59; composition - men 56, women 13, percent of women 5.38%; note - total Parliament percent of women 4%

" + "text": "

Senate - percent of seats by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 18, women 12, percent of women 40%
House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independent 59; composition - men 58, women 12, percent of women 17.14%; note - total Parliament percent of women 4.1%

" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/australia-oceania/gq.json b/australia-oceania/gq.json index f3903ecb..efbf327a 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/gq.json +++ b/australia-oceania/gq.json @@ -442,7 +442,7 @@ "text": "unicameral Legislature of Guam or Liheslaturan Guahan (15 seats; members elected in a single countrywide constituency by simple majority vote to serve 2-year terms)
Guam directly elects 1 member by simple majority vote to serve a 2-year term as the delegate to the US House of Representatives; note - the delegate can vote when serving on a committee and when the House meets as the Committee of the Whole House, but not when legislation is submitted for a “full floor” House vote" }, "elections": { - "text": "Guam Legislature - last held on 3 November 2020 (next to be held on 5 November 2022)
delegate to the US House of Representatives - last held on 3 November 2020 with runoff on 17 November (next to be held on 5 November 2022)" + "text": "Guam Legislature - last held on 8 November 2022 (next to be held on  November 2024)
delegate to the US House of Representatives - last held on 8 November 2022 (next to be held on November 2024)" }, "election results": { "text": "Guam Legislature - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 10, Republican Party 5; composition - men 5, women 10, percent of women 66.7%
Guam delegate to the US House of Representatives - Democratic Party 1 (man)" diff --git a/australia-oceania/kt.json b/australia-oceania/kt.json index 77bb89cf..8d669d40 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/kt.json +++ b/australia-oceania/kt.json @@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ "text": "unicameral Christmas Island Shire Council (9 seats; members directly elected by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "held every 2 years with half the members standing for election; last held in October 2021 (next to be held in October 2023)" + "text": "held every 2 years with half the members standing for election; last held in October 2021 (next to be held in 21 October 2023)" }, "election results": { "text": "percent of vote - NA; seats by party - independent 9; composition as of 17 October 2021 - men 8, women 1, percent of women 11.1%" diff --git a/australia-oceania/nc.json b/australia-oceania/nc.json index ff3716c6..f1e9fdd9 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/nc.json +++ b/australia-oceania/nc.json @@ -444,7 +444,7 @@ "text": "unicameral Territorial Congress or Congrès du Territoire (54 seats; members indirectly selected proportionally by the partisan makeup of the 3 Provincial Assemblies or Assemblés Provinciales; members of the 3 Provincial Assemblies directly elected by party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms); note - the Customary Senate is the assembly of the various traditional councils of the Kanaks, the indigenous population, which rules on laws affecting the indigenous population
New Caledonia indirectly elects 2 members to the French Senate by an electoral colleges for a 6-year term with one seat renewed every 3 years and directly elects 2 members to the French National Assembly by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term" }, "elections": { - "text": "
Territorial Congress - last held on 12 May 2019 (next to be held in May 2024)
French Senate - election last held in September 2019 (next to be held not later than 2021)
French National Assembly - election last held on 12 and 19 June 2022 (next to be held by June 2027)" + "text": "
Territorial Congress - last held on 12 May 2019 (next to be held in May 2024)
French Senate - election last held on 24 September 2023 (next to be held on 30 September 2026)
French National Assembly - election last held on 12 and 19 June 2022 (next to be held by June 2027)" }, "election results": { "text": "
Territorial Congress - percent of vote by party - N/A; seats by party - Future With Confidence 18, UNI 9, UC 9, CE 7, FLNKS 6, Oceanic Awakening 3, PT 1, LKS 1 (Anti-Independence 28, Pro-Independence 26);
French Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 2
French National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CE 2" diff --git a/australia-oceania/tv.json b/australia-oceania/tv.json index a71ea6c6..be0cc637 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/tv.json +++ b/australia-oceania/tv.json @@ -512,7 +512,7 @@ "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 on 30 September 2023)" + "text": "last held on 9 September 2019 (next to be held in 2023)" }, "election results": { "text": "percent of vote - NA; seats - independent 16 (9 members reelected)" diff --git a/australia-oceania/wf.json b/australia-oceania/wf.json index 415657b9..5f181ba0 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/wf.json +++ b/australia-oceania/wf.json @@ -408,7 +408,7 @@ "text": "unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (20 seats - Wallis 13, Futuna 7; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms)
Wallis and Futuna indirectly elects 1 senator to the French Senate by an electoral college by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term, and directly elects 1 deputy to the French National Assembly by absolute majority vote for a 5-year term" }, "elections": { - "text": "Territorial Assembly - last held on 20 March 2022 (next to be held in March 2027)
French Senate - last held on 24 and 27 September 2020 (next to be held by September 2023)
French National Assembly - last held on 12 and 19 June 2022 (next to be held in June 2027)" + "text": "Territorial Assembly - last held on 20 March 2022 (next to be held in March 2027)
French Senate - last held on 24 September 2023 (next to be held on 30 September 2026)
French National Assembly - last held on 12 and 19 June 2022 (next to be held in June 2027)" }, "election results": { "text": "Territorial Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - 2 members are elected from the list Ofa mo'oni ki tou fenua and 2 members are elected from list Mauli fetokoniaki, 1 seat each from 16 other lists; composition - men NA, women NA, percent of women NA
representation in French Senate - LR 1 (man)
representation in French National Assembly - independent 1 (man)" diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/av.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/av.json index 5dc7d3f8..1aa43271 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/av.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/av.json @@ -380,7 +380,7 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor Dileeni DANIEL-SELVARATNAM
(since 18 January 2021)" + "text": "King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor Julia CROUCH
(since 11 September 2023)" }, "head of government": { "text": "Premier Dr. Ellis WEBSTER (since 30 June 2020); note -  starting in 2019, the title of head of government was changed to premier from chief minister of Anguilla" diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/cu.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/cu.json index 1c18622a..142923cb 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/cu.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/cu.json @@ -625,7 +625,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Timothy ZUNIGA-BROWN (since 31 July 2020)" + "text": "Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Benjamin G. ZIFF (since 14 July 2022)" }, "embassy": { "text": "Calzada between L & M Streets, Vedado, Havana" diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/do.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/do.json index 6f612b43..ec9d887b 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/do.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/do.json @@ -449,7 +449,7 @@ "text": "Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president nominated by the prime minister and leader of the opposition party and elected by the House of Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 1 October 2018 (next to be held in October 2023); prime minister appointed by the president" + "text": "president nominated by the prime minister and leader of the opposition party and elected by the House of Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 27 September 2023 (next to be held in October 2028); prime minister appointed by the president" }, "election results": { "text": "27 September 2023, parliament elects Sylvanie BURTON (DLP) with 20 votes for and five against; takes office on 2 October 2023" diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/es.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/es.json index 9452f814..0c9b88bc 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/es.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/es.json @@ -608,7 +608,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Patrick H. VENTRELL" + "text": "Ambassador William H. DUNCAN (since 24 January 2023)" }, "embassy": { "text": "Final Boulevard Santa Elena, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad, San Salvador" diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/gj.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/gj.json index 2189a3cc..5fbca5e3 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/gj.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/gj.json @@ -488,7 +488,7 @@ "text": "bicameral Parliament consists of:
Senate (13 seats; members appointed by the governor general - 10 on the advice of the prime minister and 3 on the advice of the leader of the opposition party; members serve 5-year terms)
House of Representatives (15 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "Senate - last appointments on 3 August 2022 (next no later than 2027)
House of Representatives - last held on 23 June 2022 (next no later than 2027)" + "text": "Senate - last appointments on 3 August 2022 (next to be held no later than 2027)
House of Representatives - last held on 23 June 2022 (next to be held no later than 2027)" }, "election results": { "text": "Senate - percent by party - NA; seats by party - NDC 7, NNP 3, independents 3
House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NDC 51.8%; NNP 47.8%; other 0.4%; seats by party - NDC 9; NNP 6" diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/nu.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/nu.json index 49ebefe5..12782fa4 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/nu.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/nu.json @@ -596,7 +596,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador Kevin K. SULLIVAN (since 14 November 2018)" + "text": "Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Kevin Michael O'REILLY (since 28 June 2023)" }, "embassy": { "text": "Kilometer 5.5 Carretera Sur, Managua" diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/pm.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/pm.json index fd522da5..5986721c 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/pm.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/pm.json @@ -614,7 +614,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador (vacant), Chargé d'Affaires Stewart TUTTLE (since August 2020)" + "text": "Ambassador Mari Carmen APONTE (since 21 November 2022)" }, "embassy": { "text": "Building 783, Demetrio Basilio Lakas Avenue, Clayton" diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/rn.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/rn.json index e3dd4abd..dc4bab8b 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/rn.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/rn.json @@ -341,7 +341,7 @@ "text": "unicameral Territorial Council (23 seats; members directly elected by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed to serve 5-year terms); Saint Martin elects 1 member to the French Senate and 1 member (shared with Saint Barthelemy) to the French National Assembly" }, "elections": { - "text": "Territorial Council - first round held on 20 March and second round held on 27 March2022 (next to be held in March 2027) and second round held on 27 March 2022" + "text": "Territorial Council - first round held on 20 March and second round held on 27 March 2022 (next to be held in March 2027)" }, "election results": { "text": "Territorial Council - percent of vote by party (first round) - RSM 25.4%, UD 24.7%, HOPE 17.5%, Saint Martin with You 13.8%, Alternative 11.2%, Future Saint Martin 7.5%; percent of vote by party (second round) - RSM and Alternative 49.1%, UD 33.3%, HOPE, Saint Martin with You, and Future Saint Martin 17.6%; seats by party - RSM and Alternative 16, UD 5, HOPE, Saint Martin with You, and Future Saint Martin 2; composition - men 13, women 10, percent of women 43.5%" diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/st.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/st.json index 627f789f..21f433f5 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/st.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/st.json @@ -515,7 +515,7 @@ "text": "bicameral Houses of Parliament consists of:
Senate (11 seats; all members appointed by the governor general; 6 on the advice of the prime minister, 3 on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and 2 upon consultation with religious, economic, and social groups; members serve 5-year terms)
House of Assembly (18 seats; 17 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and the speaker, designated from outside the Parliament; members serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "Senate - last appointments on 17 August 2021 (next in 2026)
House of Assembly - last held on 26 July 2021 (next to be held in 2026)" + "text": "Senate - last appointments on 17 August 2021 (next to be held in 2026)
House of Assembly - last held on 26 July 2021 (next to be held in 2026)" }, "election results": { "text": "Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 6, women 5, percent of women 45.5%
House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - SLP 50.1%, UWP 42.9%, other o.3%, independent 6.6%; seats by party - SLP 13, UWP 2, independent 2; composition (including the speaker) - men 16, women 2, percent of women 11.1%; note - total Parliament percent of women 24.1%" diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/tb.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/tb.json index e53f0475..9353fca4 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/tb.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/tb.json @@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ "text": "unicameral Territorial Council (19 seats; members elected by absolute majority vote in the first-round vote and proportional representation vote in the second round; members serve 5-year terms); Saint Barthelemy indirectly elects 1 senator to the French Senate by an electoral college for a 6-year term and directly elects 1 deputy (shared with Saint Martin) to the French National Assembly" }, "elections": { - "text": "Territorial Council - first round held on 20 March 2022 (next to be held in 2027); second round held on 27 March 2022
French Senate - election last held on 24 September 2020 (next to be held in September 2023)
French National Assembly - election last held on 12 and 19 June 2022 (next to be held by June 2027)" + "text": "Territorial Council - first round held on 20 March 2022 (next to be held in 2027); second round held on 27 March 2022
French Senate - election last held on 24 September 2023 (next to be held on 30 September 2026)
French National Assembly - election last held on 12 and 19 June 2022 (next to be held by June 2027)" }, "election results": { "text": "Territorial Council - percent of vote by party (first round) - SBA 46.2%, Saint Barth Action Equilibre 27.1%, Unis pour Saint Barthelemy 26.8%; percent of vote by party (second round) - Saint Barth Action Equilibre and Unis pour Saint Barthelemy 50.9%, SBA 49.2%, seats by party - Saint Barth Action Equilibre and Unis pour Saint Barthelemy 13, SBA 6; composition - men NA, women NA, percent of women NA
French Senate - percent of vote by party NA; seats by party UMP 1
French National Assembly - percent of vote by party NA; seats by party UMP 1" diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/td.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/td.json index 074b3db7..326504e1 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/td.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/td.json @@ -1109,8 +1109,8 @@ "text": "the TTDF's ground force inventory includes only light weapons, while the Coast Guard and Air Guard field mostly secondhand equipment from a mix of countries, including Australia, China, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US (2023)" }, "Military service age and obligation": { - "text": "18-25 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (some age variations between services, reserves); no conscription (2022)", - "note": "note: as of 2017, women comprised about 14% of the active duty military" + "text": "18-25 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (some age variations between services, reserves); no conscription (2023)", + "note": "note: as of 2019, women comprised about 14% of the active duty military" }, "Military - note": { "text": "the Police Service maintains internal security; the TTDF's primary responsibilities are conducting border and maritime security, assisting civil authorities in times of crisis or disaster, providing search and rescue services, and supporting law enforcement, particularly in countering gang-related crime and trafficking of narcotics and other illicit goods; the Coast Guard is responsible for maritime border security in places with no official ports of entry (2023)" @@ -1127,10 +1127,10 @@ }, "Trafficking in persons": { "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Trinidad and Tobago does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; officials increased investigations and prosecutions, identified more victims, and expanded training; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared to the previous year to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; the government has never convicted a trafficker under its 2011 anti-trafficking law; corruption and official complicity in trafficking remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement, and the government did not take action against senior officials alleged in 2020 to be involved in trafficking; victim identification and services remained weak, and the government did not formally adopt the National Action Plan for 2021-2023; therefore, Trinidad and Tobago remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year (2022)" + "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Trinidad and Tobago does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; officials implemented new standard operating procedures for victim referral and care, opened a government-funded and operated shelter for female child victims, provided the first government shelters for adult victims; and increased the size of the Counter-Trafficking Unit; officials took steps to prevent trafficking among vulnerable populations, including migrants, Cuban medical workers, and Venezuelan refugees and migrants; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts, compared to the previous year, to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; courts have never convicted a trafficker under the 2011 anti-trafficking law, and corruption and complicity among officials, including at senior levels, inhibited law enforcement action; victim identification, referral, and services remained weak, and interagency coordination was poor; because the government has devoted significant resources to a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute significant efforts to meet the minimum standards, Trinidad and Tobago was granted a waiver per the TVPA  from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3; therefore, Trinidad and Tobago remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year (2023)" }, "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Trinidad and Tobago, and also exploit victims from Trinidad and Tobago abroad; the country serves as a transit point for Venezuelan refugees and migrants en route to Europe, North Africa, and elsewhere in the Caribbean, and large numbers of Venezuelans in particular continued to arrive in large numbers on a daily basis; unaccompanied or separated Venezuelan children are at increased risk for sex trafficking; migrants from the Caribbean region and from Asia are at risk for forced labor in domestic service and the retail sector; women and girls primarily from Venezuela, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Guyana are at risk of sex trafficking; traffickers also exploit victims from Puerto Rico, the Philippines, China, India, Nepal, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and they increasingly target vulnerable foreign women and girls; LGBTQI+ persons are at risk for sex trafficking; Cuban medical professionals may have been forced to work in Trinidad and Tobago by the Cuban government; Corruption by police, immigration and customs, and coast guard officials has been associated with facilitating labor and sex trafficking; transnational organized crime may increasingly be involved in trafficking; Trinidad and Tobago is likely a sex tourism destination (2022)" + "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Trinidad and Tobago, and also exploit victims from Trinidad and Tobago abroad; the country serves as a transit point for Venezuelan refugees and migrants en route to Europe, North Africa, and elsewhere in the Caribbean who are at high risk for trafficking; sex trafficking is the most prevalent form of trafficking in the country, victimizing women and girls primarily from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Venezuela; however, the government reported an increase in male Venezuelan labor trafficking victims and domestic child sex trafficking victims; unaccompanied Venezuelan children are at risk for sex trafficking; Trinidad remains the primary hub for most sexual exploitation, but traffickers move some victims to Tobago during the tourist season; migrants from the Caribbean region and from Asia are at risk for forced labor in domestic service and the retail sector; traffickers also exploit victims from China, India, Kenya, Nepal, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines; migrants from the Caribbean region and Asia are at risk for forced labor in domestic service and the retail sector; LGBTQI+ persons are at risk for sex trafficking; Cuban medical professionals may have been forced to work in Trinidad and Tobago by the Cuban government; corruption by police, immigration and customs, and coast guard officials has been associated with facilitating labor and sex trafficking; transnational organized crime may increasingly be involved in trafficking; Trinidad and Tobago is a sex tourism destination, according to NGOs, and most sex tourists come from Canada, China, the US, and Western Europe (2023)" } }, "Illicit drugs": { diff --git a/central-asia/kz.json b/central-asia/kz.json index 0e86c134..5bf51b44 100644 --- a/central-asia/kz.json +++ b/central-asia/kz.json @@ -586,7 +586,7 @@ "text": "bicameral Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan consists of:
Senate (50 seats); 40 members indirectly elected by 2-round majority vote by the oblast-level assemblies and 10 members appointed by decree of the president; members serve 6-year terms, with one-half of the membership renewed every 3 years)
Mazhilis (98 seats; 69 members directly elected in a single national constituency by party list proportional representation vote (5% minimum threshold to gain seats) and 29 directly elected in single-seat constituencies to serve 5-year terms" }, "elections": { - "text": "Senate - last held on 14 January 2023 (next to be held in August 2023)
Mazhilis - last held on 19 March 2023 (next to be held in 2026)" + "text": "Senate - last held on 14 January 2023 (next to be held in 2026)
Mazhilis - last held on 19 March 2023 (next to be held in 2026)" }, "election results": { "text": "
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition (as of April 2023) - men 39, women 11, percent of women 22%
Mazhilis - percent of vote by party - Amanat (formerly Nur Otan) 53.9%, Auvl 10.9%, Respublica 8.6%, Ak Zhol 8.4%, QHP 6.8%, NSDP 5.2%, Baytak 2.3%, Against all 3.9%; percent of vote by party (single-mandate districts) Amanat (formerly Nur Otan) 75.9%, Independent 24%; seats by party Amanat (formerly Nur Qtan) 62, Auvl 8, Respublica 6, Ak Zhol 6, QHP 5, NSDP 4, Independents 7; composition (as of March 2023) - men 80, women 18, percent of women 18.4%; note - total Parliament percent of women 19.6%" diff --git a/central-asia/ti.json b/central-asia/ti.json index c7689728..f9729290 100644 --- a/central-asia/ti.json +++ b/central-asia/ti.json @@ -583,7 +583,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Agrarian Party of Tajikistan or APT [Rustam LATIFZODA]
Communist Party of Tajikistan or CPT [Miroj ABDULLOEV]
Democratic Party of Tajikistan or DPT [Saidjafar USMONZODA]
Party of Economic Reform of Tajikistan or PERT [Rustam RAHMATZODA]
People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMON]
Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan or SDPT [vacant]
Socialist Party of Tajikistan or SPT [Abduhalim GHAFFORZODA]" + "text": "Agrarian Party of Tajikistan or APT [Rustam LATIFZODA]
Communist Party of Tajikistan or CPT [Miroj ABDULLOEV]
Democratic Party of Tajikistan or DPT [Saidjafar USMONZODA]
Party of Economic Reform of Tajikistan or PERT [Rustam RAHMATZODA]
People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMON]
Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan or SDPT (vacant)
Socialist Party of Tajikistan or SPT [Abduhalim GHAFFORZODA]" }, "International organization participation": { "text": "ADB, CICA, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO" @@ -1178,7 +1178,7 @@ "text": "the military's inventory is comprised of older Russian and Soviet-era equipment; it has received limited quantities of weapons systems in recent years, most of which was secondhand material from Russia (2023)" }, "Military service age and obligation": { - "text": "18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service for men; women may volunteer; 24-month conscript service obligation; in August 2021, the Tajik Government began allowing men to pay a fee in order to avoid conscription (2023)" + "text": "18-27 years of age for compulsory (men only) or voluntary (men and women) military service; 24-month conscript service obligation; in August 2021, the Tajik Government began allowing men to pay a fee in order to avoid conscription (2023)" }, "Military - note": { "text": "Tajikistan is the only former Soviet republic that did not form its armed forces from old Soviet Army units following the collapse of the USSR in 1991; rather, Russia retained command of the Soviet units there while the Tajik government raised a military from scratch; the first ground forces were officially created in 1993 from groups that fought for the government during the Tajik Civil War

the military is a small and limited force equipped largely with Soviet-era weapons; its primary concerns are terrorism, border security, territorial defense, and instability in neighboring countries; following the 2021 Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, Tajikistan deployed thousands of troops to the Afghan border and conducted exercises focused on border-related scenarios; since 2012, Tajikistan has had more than 100 border-related clashes with Kyrgyzstan, triggered mostly by disputes over water, roads, or land along a poorly-defined frontier; the most recent in September 2022 saw the use of armored vehicles and artillery and resulted in about 100 killed; the Tajik Land and Mobile Forces have together an estimated 5 combat brigades of mechanized infantry, light/mountain infantry, air assault and special forces, and artillery; the Air and Air Defense force has a small number attack and multipurpose helicopters

Russia is Tajikistan’s primary security partner; approximately 5-7,000 Russian soldiers are stationed in the country, primarily at the 201st military base, which is leased until at least 2042; the Russian forces include combat troops and combat aircraft; Russia and Tajikistan have a joint air defense system and they conduct periodic joint exercises; Tajikistan has been a member of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) since 1994 and contributes troops to CSTO's rapid reaction force (2023)" diff --git a/central-asia/tx.json b/central-asia/tx.json index 6a48065c..ce6314f2 100644 --- a/central-asia/tx.json +++ b/central-asia/tx.json @@ -578,7 +578,7 @@ "text": "unicameral Assembly or Mejlis (125 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed to serve 5-year terms); formerly the Assembly was the lower house of the bicameral National Council or Milli Genes, which consisted of an upper house, the People's Council or Halk Maslahaty, and the Assembly or Mejlis" }, "elections": { - "text": "Mejlis (Assembly) - last held on 26 March 2023 for the Mejlis and local councils" + "text": "Mejlis (Assembly) - last held on 26 March 2023 for the Mejlis and local councils (next to be held in 2028)" }, "election results": { "text": "percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DPT 55, APT 11, PIE 11, independent 48 (individuals nominated by citizen groups); composition as of early as of April 2023 men 93, women 32, percent of women 25.6%" diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/bm.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/bm.json index 3c39a1e2..f9944049 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/bm.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/bm.json @@ -595,7 +595,7 @@ "text": "Cabinet appointments shared by the president and the commander-in-chief; note - after 1 February, the military junta replaced the Cabinet" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "prior to the military takeover, president was indirectly elected by simple majority vote by the full Assembly of the Union from among 3 vice-presidential candidates nominated by the Presidential Electoral College (consists of members of the lower and upper houses and military members); the other 2 candidates become vice presidents (president elected for a 5-year term); election last held on 28 March 2018; the military junta pledged to hold new elections in 2023" + "text": "prior to the military takeover, president was indirectly elected by simple majority vote by the full Assembly of the Union from among 3 vice-presidential candidates nominated by the Presidential Electoral College (consists of members of the lower and upper houses and military members); the other 2 candidates become vice presidents (president elected for a 5-year term); election last held on 28 March 2018; the military junta pledged to hold new elections in 2023, but has repeatedly announced delays " }, "election results": { "text": "
2018: WIN MYINT elected president in an indirect by-election held on 28 March 2018 after the resignation of HTIN KYAW; Assembly of the Union vote - WIN MYINT (NLD) 403, MYINT SWE (USDP) 211, HENRY VAN THIO (NLD) 18, 4 votes canceled (636 votes cast); note - WIN MYINT and other key leaders of the ruling NLD party were placed under arrest following the military takeover on 1 February 2021

2016: Assembly of the Union vote - HTIN KYAW elected president; HTIN KYAW (NLD) 360, MYINT SWE (USDP) 213, HENRY VAN THIO (NLD) 79 (652 votes cast)" @@ -656,7 +656,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Susan STEVENSON (since 10 July2023)" + "text": "Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Susan STEVENSON (since 10 July 2023)" }, "embassy": { "text": "110 University Avenue, Kamayut Township, Rangoon" diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/id.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/id.json index 34046a3b..2544c5c6 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/id.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/id.json @@ -592,7 +592,7 @@ "text": "Cabinet appointed by the president" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president and vice president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 17 April 2019 (next election 2024)" + "text": "president and vice president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 17 April 2019 (next to be held in 2024)" }, "election results": { "text": "
2019: Joko WIDODO elected president; percent of vote - Joko WIDODO (PDI-P) 55.5%, PRABOWO Subianto Djojohadikusumo (GERINDRA) 44.5%

2014: Joko WIDODO elected president; percent of vote - Joko WIDODO (PDI-P) 53.15%, PRABOWO Subianto Djojohadikusumo (GERINDRA) 46.85%" @@ -603,7 +603,7 @@ "text": "bicameral People's Consultative Assembly or Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat consists of:
Regional Representative Council or Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (136 seats; non-partisan members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies - 4 each from the country's 34 electoral districts - by proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms); note - the Regional Representative Council has no legislative authority
House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (575 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by single non-transferable vote to serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "Regional Representative Council - last held on 17 April 2019 (next to be held 2024)
House of Representatives - last held on 17 April 2019 (next to be held 2024)" + "text": "Regional Representative Council - last held on 17 April 2019 (next to be held in 2024)
House of Representatives - last held on 17 April 2019 (next to be held in 2024)" }, "election results": { "text": "Regional Representative Council - all seats elected on a non-partisan basis; composition - men 102, women 34, percent of women 25%
House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDI-P 19.3%, Gerindra 12.6%, Golkar 12.3%, PKB 9.7%, Nasdem 9.1%, PKS 8.2%, PD 7.8%, PAN 6.8%, PPP 4.5%, other 9.6%; seats by party - PDI-P 128, Golkar 85, Gerindra 78, Nasdem 59, PKB 58, PD 54, PKS 50, PAN 44, PPP 19; composition - men 449, women 126, percent of women 21.9%; total People's Consultative Assembly percent of women 22.5%" @@ -1265,6 +1265,9 @@ "note": "note 1: in 2014, Indonesia created a Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) to coordinate the actions of all maritime security agencies, including the Navy, the Indonesian Sea and Coast Guard (Kesatuan Penjagaan Laut dan Pantai, KPLP), the Water Police (Polair), Customs (Bea Cukai), and Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries

note 2: the Indonesian National Police, which reports directly to the president, includes a paramilitary Mobile Brigade Corps (BRIMOB); following the Bali terror bombing in 2002, the National Police formed a special counterterrorism force called Detachment 88 (Densus or Detasemen Khusus 88 Antiteror); Detachment 88 often works with the TNI's Joint Special Operations Command, which has counterterrorism and counterinsurgency units; the National Police are also bolstered by the KAMRA \"People's Security\" police auxiliaries" }, "Military expenditures": { + "Military Expenditures 2023": { + "text": "0.7% of GDP (2023 est.)" + }, "Military Expenditures 2022": { "text": "0.7% of GDP (2022 est.)" }, @@ -1276,9 +1279,6 @@ }, "Military Expenditures 2019": { "text": "0.8% of GDP (2019)" - }, - "Military Expenditures 2018": { - "text": "0.7% of GDP (2018)" } }, "Military and security service personnel strengths": { diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/kn.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/kn.json index c37713a4..9f4cd390 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/kn.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/kn.json @@ -543,7 +543,7 @@ "text": "unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members directly elected by majority vote in 2 rounds if needed to serve 5-year terms); note - functions as a rubberstamp legislature; the Korean Workers' Party selects all candidates" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 10 March 2019 (next to be held March 2024)" + "text": "last held on 10 March 2019 (next to be held in March 2024)" }, "election results": { "text": "percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - KWP 607, KSDP 50, Chondoist Chongu Party 22, General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) 5, religious associations 3; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; composition as of March 2022 - men 566, women 121, percent of women 17.6%

note: KWP, KSDP, Chondoist Chongu Party, and Chongryon are under the KWP's control; a token number of seats reserved for minor parties" diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/ks.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/ks.json index 7d38a687..e6fcd78d 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/ks.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/ks.json @@ -549,7 +549,7 @@ "text": "State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a single 5-year term; election last held on 9 March 2022 (next to be held March 2027); prime minister appointed by president with consent of the National Assembly" + "text": "president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a single 5-year term; election last held on 9 March 2022 (next to be held in March 2027); prime minister appointed by president with consent of the National Assembly" }, "election results": { "text": "
2022: YOON Suk-yeol elected president; YOON Suk-yeol (PPP) 48.56%, LEE Jae-myung (DP) 47.83%

2017: MOON Jae-in elected president; MOON Jae-in (DP) 41.09%, HONG Joon-pyo (Liberty Korea Party) 24.04%, AHN Cheol-soo (PP) 21.42%" diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/mg.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/mg.json index e6ff992a..e64e659e 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/mg.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/mg.json @@ -536,7 +536,7 @@ "text": "several previous; latest adopted 13 January 1992, effective 12 February 1992" }, "amendments": { - "text": "proposed by the State Great Hural, by the president of the republic, by the government, or by petition submitted to the State Great Hural by the Constitutional Court; conducting referenda on proposed amendments requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the State Great Hural; passage of amendments by the State Great Hural requires at least three-quarters majority vote; passage by referendum requires majority participation of qualified voters and a majority of votes; amended 1999, 2000, 2019" + "text": "proposed by the State Great Hural, by the president of the republic, by the government, or by petition submitted to the State Great Hural by the Constitutional Court; conducting referenda on proposed amendments requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the State Great Hural; passage of amendments by the State Great Hural requires at least three-quarters majority vote; passage by referendum requires majority participation of qualified voters and a majority of votes; amended 1999, 2000, 2019, 2023; note - an amendment passed in a referendum held in May 2023 increased the seats in the State Great Hural from 76 to 126" } }, "Legal system": { @@ -581,13 +581,13 @@ }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { - "text": "unicameral State Great Hural or Ulsyn Ikh Khural (76 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; each constituency requires at least 50% voter participation for the poll to be valid; members serve 4-year terms)" + "text": "unicameral State Great Hural or Ulsyn Ikh Khural (126 seats; 78 members directly elected in a selected constituency by simple majority vote and 48 members directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms); note - a constitutional referendum passed in May 2023 increased the number of seats to 126 from 76" }, "elections": { "text": "last held on 24 June 2020 (next to be held in 2024)" }, "election results": { - "text": "percent of vote by party - MPP 44.9%, DP 24.5%, Our Coalition 8.1%, independent 8.7%, Right Person Electorate Coalition 5.2%, other 8.5%; seats by party - MPP 62, DP 11, Our Coalition 1, Right Person Electorate Coalition 1; independent 1; composition -  63 men, 13 women; percent of women 17.1%" + "text": "percent of vote by party - MPP 44.9%, DP 24.5%, Our Coalition 8.1%, independent 8.7%, Right Person Electorate Coalition 5.2%, other 8.5%; seats by party - MPP 62, DP 11, Our Coalition 1, Right Person Electorate Coalition 1; independent 1; composition - 63 men, 13 women; percent of women 17.1%" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/my.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/my.json index cd74014d..a0bb9b95 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/my.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/my.json @@ -569,7 +569,7 @@ "text": "bicameral Parliament of Malaysia or Parlimen Malaysia consists of:
Senate or Dewan Negara (70 seats; 44 members appointed by the king and 26 indirectly elected by 13 state legislatures; members serve 3-year terms)
House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (222 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms) (2016)" }, "elections": { - "text": "Senate - appointed
House of Representatives - last held on 19 Nov 2022 (next scheduled for 2027)" + "text": "Senate - appointed
House of Representatives - last held on 19 Nov 2022 (next to be held in 2027)" }, "election results": { "text": "
Senate - appointed; composition - men 54, women 14, percent of women 20.6%

2022: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - PH 37.5%, PN 30.4%, BN 22.4%, GPS 4%, WARISAN 1.8%, GRS 1.3%, other 2.6%; seats by party/coalition - PH 81, PN 73, BN 30, GPS 23, GRS 6, WARISAN 3, PBM 1, KDM 1, MUDA 1, independents/unaffiliated 3

2018: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - PH 45.6%, BN 33.8%, PAS 16.9%, WARISAN 2.3%, other 1.4%; seats by party/coalition - PH 113, BN 79, PAS 18, WARISAN 8, USA 1, independent 3; composition - men 199, women 23, percent of women 10.4%; note - total Parliament percent of women 12.8%" @@ -1208,7 +1208,7 @@ }, "Military expenditures": { "Military Expenditures 2022": { - "text": "1% of GDP (2022 est.)" + "text": "1.1% of GDP (2022 est.)" }, "Military Expenditures 2021": { "text": "1% of GDP (2021)" @@ -1227,7 +1227,7 @@ "text": "approximately 110,000 active-duty troops (80,000 Army; 15,000 Navy; 15,000 Air Force) (2023)" }, "Military equipment inventories and acquisitions": { - "text": "the military fields a diverse mix of older and more modern imported weapons systems from a wide variety of suppliers across Europe, Asia, and the US; in recent years it has received military equipment from approximately 20 countries with South Korea as one of the leading suppliers (2023)" + "text": "the military fields a diverse array of mostly older weapons systems along with a modest mix of modern equipment; its inventory originates from a wide variety of suppliers across Europe, Asia, and the US; in recent years it has received military equipment from approximately 20 countries with South Korea as one of the leading suppliers (2023)" }, "Military service age and obligation": { "text": "17 years 6 months of age for voluntary military service for men and women (younger with parental consent and proof of age); maximum age of 27 to enlist; mandatory retirement age 60; no conscription (2023)", @@ -1237,7 +1237,7 @@ "text": "830 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (2023)" }, "Military - note": { - "text": "the MAF is a professional force primarily focused on internal and maritime security and responding to natural disasters; maritime security has received increased emphasis in recent years, particularly anti-piracy operations in the Strait of Malacca and countering Chinese incursions in Malaysia’s Economic Exclusion Zone, as well as addressing identified shortfalls in maritime capabilities; as such, Malaysia has undertaken efforts to procure more modern ships, improve air and maritime surveillance, expand the Navy’s support infrastructure (particularly bases/ports) and domestic ship-building capacities, restructure naval command and control, and increase naval cooperation with regional and international partners; as of 2023, for example, the Navy had 5 frigates on order (due in 2026), which would increase the number of operational frigates from 2 to 7, and complement its small inventory of littoral combat ships (comparable to light frigates in capabilities) and offshore patrol vessels, as well as its 2 attack-type submarines; in addition, the Navy conducts air and naval patrols with Indonesia and the Philippines; it also cooperates with the US military, including on maritime surveillance and training; the Army’s force structure reflects its traditional focus on counterinsurgency operations and terrorist threats; its 4 divisional commands are comprised largely of infantry brigades; it also has 2 security brigades, an airborne brigade that serves as a rapid-reaction force, and a special operations brigade; Malaysia does not have a marine corps, but places considerable emphasis on amphibious capabilities for some of its Army ground units; the Air Force has a mix of about 50 combat aircraft and helicopters 

Malaysia is a member of the Five Powers Defense Arrangements (FPDA), a series of mutual assistance agreements reached in 1971 embracing Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK; the FPDA commits the members to consult with one another in the event or threat of an armed attack on any of the members and to mutually decide what measures should be taken, jointly or separately; there is no specific obligation to intervene militarily (2023)" + "text": "the Malaysian military is a professional force primarily focused on internal and maritime security and responding to natural disasters; maritime security has received increased emphasis in recent years, particularly anti-piracy operations in the Strait of Malacca and countering Chinese incursions in Malaysia’s Economic Exclusion Zone, as well as addressing identified shortfalls in maritime capabilities; as such, Malaysia has undertaken efforts to procure more modern ships, improve air and maritime surveillance, expand the Navy’s support infrastructure (particularly bases/ports) and domestic ship-building capacities, restructure naval command and control, and increase naval cooperation with regional and international partners; as of 2023, for example, the Navy had five frigates on order (due in 2026-2029), which would increase the number of operational frigates from two to seven, and complement its small inventory of littoral combat ships (comparable to light frigates in capabilities) and offshore patrol vessels, as well as its two attack-type submarines; in addition, the Navy conducts air and naval patrols with Indonesia and the Philippines; it also cooperates with the US military, including on maritime surveillance and training; the Army’s force structure reflects its traditional focus on counterinsurgency operations and terrorist threats; its four divisional commands are comprised largely of infantry brigades; it also has two security brigades, an airborne brigade that serves as a rapid-reaction force, and a special operations brigade; Malaysia does not have a marine corps, but places considerable emphasis on amphibious capabilities for some of its Army ground units; the Air Force has a mix of about 50 combat aircraft and helicopters 

Malaysia is a member of the Five Powers Defense Arrangements (FPDA), a series of mutual assistance agreements reached in 1971 embracing Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK; the FPDA commits the members to consult with one another in the event or threat of an armed attack on any of the members and to mutually decide what measures should be taken, jointly or separately; there is no specific obligation to intervene militarily (2023)" }, "Maritime threats": { "text": "

the International Maritime Bureau reported four attacks in the territorial and offshore waters of Malaysia in 2022; the South China Sea remains a high risk for piracy and armed robbery against ships; numerous commercial vessels have been attacked and hijacked both at anchor and while underway; hijacked vessels are often disguised and cargo diverted to ports in East Asia; crews have been murdered or cast adrift; the Singapore Straits saw 38 attacks against commercial vessels in 2022, a slight increase over 2021 and the highest number of incidents reported since 1992; vessels were boarded in all of the 38 attacks while underway, four crew were taken hostage during these incidents

" @@ -1264,7 +1264,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "158,165 (Burma) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2022)" + "text": "157,731 (Burma) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "113,930 (2022); note - Malaysia's stateless population consists of Rohingya refugees from Burma, ethnic Indians, and the children of Filipino and Indonesian illegal migrants; Burma stripped the Rohingya of their nationality in 1982; Filipino and Indonesian children who have not been registered for birth certificates by their parents or who received birth certificates stamped \"foreigner\" are not eligible to attend government schools; these children are vulnerable to statelessness should they not be able to apply to their parents' country of origin for passports" diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/sn.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/sn.json index 7162865b..16bc08c7 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/sn.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/sn.json @@ -539,7 +539,7 @@ "text": "Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister; Cabinet responsible to Parliament" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 6-year term (no term limits); election last held on 13 September 2017 (next to be held on 1 Septembere 2023); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition appointed prime minister by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president" + "text": "president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 6-year term (no term limits); election last held on 13 September 2017 (next to be held on 1 September 2023); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition appointed prime minister by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president" }, "election results": { "text": "2023: THARMAN Shanmugaratnam elected president; percent of vote - THARMAN (independent) 70.4%, Ng Kok Song (independent) 15.7%, Tan Kin Lian (independent) 13.9%; turnout is 93.4%

2017: HALIMAH Yacob declared president on 13 September 2017, being the only eligible candidate

2011: Tony TAN Keng Yam elected president; percent of vote - Tony TAN Keng Yam (independent) 35.2%, TAN Cheng Bock (independent) 34.9%, TAN Jee Say (independent) 25%, TAN Kin Lian (independent) 4.9%" @@ -1180,7 +1180,7 @@ }, "Military expenditures": { "Military Expenditures 2022": { - "text": "2.9% of GDP (2022 est.)" + "text": "3% of GDP (2022 est.)" }, "Military Expenditures 2021": { "text": "3% of GDP (2021 est.)" diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/tt.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/tt.json index 9806faff..23ae8903 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/tt.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/tt.json @@ -547,7 +547,7 @@ "text": "Council of Ministers; ministers proposed to the prime minister by the coalition in the Parliament and sworn in by the President of the Republic" }, "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); last election held in April 2022; following parliamentary elections, the president appoints the leader of the majority party or majority coalition as the prime minister" + "text": "president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); last election held in April 2022 (next election to be held April 2027); following parliamentary elections, the president appoints the leader of the majority party or majority coalition as the prime minister" }, "election results": { "text": "
2022: José RAMOS-HORTA elected president in a runoff - RAMOS-HORTA (CNRT) 62.1%, Francisco GUTERRES (FRETILIN) 37.9%

2017: Francisco GUTERRES (FRETILIN) 57.1%, António da CONCEICAO (PD) 32.46%" @@ -1150,7 +1150,7 @@ "text": "the military is lightly armed and has a limited inventory consisting of equipment donated by other countries; in recent years, it has received small amounts of donated equipment from China, South Korea, and the US (2023)" }, "Military service age and obligation": { - "text": "18 years of age for voluntary military service; compulsory service was authorized in 2020 for men and women aged 18-30 for 18 months of service, but the level of implementation is unclear (2023)" + "text": "18 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; compulsory service was authorized in 2020 for men and women aged 18-30 for 18 months of service, but the level of implementation is unclear (2023)" }, "Military - note": { "text": "the small and lightly equipped F-FDTL has both external defense and internal security roles; it has two infantry battalions, a small air component, and a handful of naval patrol boats 

since achieving independence, Timor-Leste has received security assistance from or has made defense cooperation arrangements with Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Portugal, the UN, and the US; some Defense Force personnel train with the Indonesian military and the two countries maintain a joint Border Security Task Force to jointly monitor and patrol the border, particularly the Oecussi exclave area where smuggling and trafficking are prevalent (2023)" diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/tw.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/tw.json index 666a36e9..06add603 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/tw.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/tw.json @@ -1039,8 +1039,11 @@ "note": "note: the CGA is a law enforcement organization with homeland security functions during peacetime and national defense missions during wartime; it was established in 2000 from the integration of the Coast Guard Command (formerly under the Ministry of Defense), the Marine Police Bureau (formerly under the National Police), and several cutters from the Taiwan Directorate General of Customs (Ministry of Finance)" }, "Military expenditures": { + "Military Expenditures 2023": { + "text": "2.1% of GDP (2023 est.)" + }, "Military Expenditures 2022": { - "text": "2% of GDP (2022 est.)" + "text": "2.1% of GDP (2022)" }, "Military Expenditures 2021": { "text": "2.1% of GDP (2021)" @@ -1050,9 +1053,6 @@ }, "Military Expenditures 2019": { "text": "1.8% of GDP (2019)" - }, - "Military Expenditures 2018": { - "text": "1.7% of GDP (2018)" } }, "Military and security service personnel strengths": { diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/vm.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/vm.json index b4243013..2e772add 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/vm.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/vm.json @@ -1215,6 +1215,9 @@ "note": "note 1: the People's Public Security Ministry is responsible for internal security and controls the national police, a special national security investigative agency, and other internal security units, including specialized riot police regiments

note 2: the Vietnam Coast Guard was established in 1998 as the Vietnam Marine Police and renamed in 2013; Vietnam officially established a maritime self-defense force (civilian militia) in 2010 after the National Assembly passed the Law on Militia and Self-Defense Forces in 2009; the Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance (VFRS), established in 2013, is responsible for patrolling, monitoring for fishing violations, and carrying out fishery inspections; it is armed, allowed to use force if necessary, and works in tandem with the Vietnam Coast Guard" }, "Military expenditures": { + "Military Expenditures 2022": { + "text": "2.3% of GDP (2022 est.)" + }, "Military Expenditures 2021": { "text": "2.4% of GDP (2021 est.)" }, @@ -1226,9 +1229,6 @@ }, "Military Expenditures 2018": { "text": "2.3% of GDP (2018 est.)" - }, - "Military Expenditures 2017": { - "text": "2.3% of GDP (2017 est.)" } }, "Military and security service personnel strengths": { @@ -1270,10 +1270,10 @@ }, "Trafficking in persons": { "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Vietnam does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so, therefore Vietnam was upgraded to Tier 2 Watch List; the government took some steps to address trafficking, addressing inconsistencies in preexisting laws, increasing international cooperation, achieving a modest increase in identifying victims, and assisting more victims; however, fewer traffickers were convicted or prosecuted; officials did not hold accountable two Vietnamese diplomats who were allegedly complicit in trafficking abroad nor make sufficient effort to protect the victims; authorities reportedly harassed and pressured survivors and their families to silence allegations of official complicity (2023)" + "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Vietnam does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government made key achievements during the reporting period, therefore Vietnam was upgraded to Tier 2 Watch List; Vietnam initiated more investigations, prosecuted and convicted more traffickers, increased international law enforcement cooperation, and initiated criminal proceedings against allegedly complicit officials; officials also identified and assisted more victims and implemented protection for overseas workers; despite these achievements, the government did not proactively identify trafficking victims forced to work in cyber scams or provide services, including foreign national victims in Vietnam; authorities inspected thousands of the most at-risk establishments for sex trafficking but only identified two victims (2023)" }, "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Vietnam, as well as Vietnamese abroad; Vietnamese men and women migrate abroad, using illicit brokerage networks operated by Vietnamese nationals based abroad or state-owned or state-regulated recruitment enterprises, are vulnerable to debt bondage or other forms of exploitation; victims are subjected to forced labor in construction, agriculture, mining, maritime industries, logging, and manufacturing primarily in Malaysia, South Korea, Laos, Japan, and—to a lesser extent—in parts of the Middle East,  the United Kingdom and other countries in Europe; Vietnamese labor trafficking victims are reportedly in Taiwan, continental Europe, the Middle East, and in Pacific maritime industries; many Vietnamese are subjected to forced labor under the auspices of Japan’s Technical Intern Training Program and within agricultural education programs in Israel; other Vietnamese are exploited at Chinese-owned factories in the Balkan region; traffickers lure Vietnamese women and children with fraudulent job opportunities and send them to brothels on the borders of China, Cambodia, and Laos or elsewhere in Asia, West Africa, and Europe; sometimes family members or small-scale networks exploit Vietnamese men, women, and children—Including street children and children with disabilities—in forced labor; child sex tourists from Asia, the United Kingdom, other countries in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the United States exploit children in Vietnam (2022)" + "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Vietnam, as well as Vietnamese abroad; 55% of workers work in the informal economy where labor laws are not effectively enforced, increasing vulnerability to trafficking; Vietnamese men and women who migrate abroad, using illicit brokerage networks operated by Vietnamese nationals based abroad or state-owned or state-regulated recruitment enterprises, are vulnerable to debt bondage or other forms of exploitation; victims are subjected to forced labor in construction, agriculture, mining, maritime industries, logging, and manufacturing primarily in Japan, Laos, Malaysia, South Korea, and in some parts of the Middle East, the UK, and other countries in Europe; reports have increased of Vietnamese labor trafficking victims in Taiwan, continental Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and in Pacific maritime industries; Vietnamese traffickers, including members of Vietnam’s diplomatic service, reportedly have exploited Vietnamese nationals in forced labor in Saudi Arabia; many Vietnamese are subjected to forced labor under the auspices of Japan’s Technical Intern Training Program and in agricultural education programs in Israel; other Vietnamese are exploited at Chinese-owned factories associated with China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the Balkan region; widespread social stigma increases LGBTQI+ individuals’ vulnerability to trafficking; traffickers lure Vietnamese women and children with fraudulent job opportunities and send them to brothels on the borders of Cambodia, China, and Laos or elsewhere in Asia, West Africa, and Europe; Vietnamese women and girls are also exploited in sex trafficking in Vietnam, as well as Burma; sometimes family members or small-scale networks exploit Vietnamese men, women, and children—including street children and children with disabilities—in forced labor; child sex tourists from Asia, the UK, other countries in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the US exploit children in Vietnam (2023)" } }, "Illicit drugs": { diff --git a/europe/al.json b/europe/al.json index f351723e..2c20bc22 100644 --- a/europe/al.json +++ b/europe/al.json @@ -1235,7 +1235,7 @@ "stateless persons": { "text": "1,948 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 45,889 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-August 2023)" + "note": "note: 46,570 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-September 2023)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "

a source country for cannabis and an active transshipment point for Albanian narco-trafficking organizations moving illicit drugs into European markets

" diff --git a/europe/au.json b/europe/au.json index 8d30e64f..8aa50671 100644 --- a/europe/au.json +++ b/europe/au.json @@ -1233,7 +1233,7 @@ }, "Military service age and obligation": { "text": "registration requirement at age 17, the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; men above the age of 18 are subject to compulsory military service; women may volunteer; compulsory service is for 6 months, or optionally, alternative civil/community service (Zivildienst) for 9 months (2023)", - "note": "note 1: as of 2019, women made up about 4% of the military's full-time personnel

note 2: in a January 2013 referendum, a majority of Austrians voted in favor of retaining the system of compulsory military service (with the option of alternative/non-military service) instead of switching to a professional army system; approximately 40% of those liable to compulsory service have opted in favor of  alternative civil/community service" + "note": "note 1: as of 2022, women made up about 4% of the military's full-time personnel

note 2: in a January 2013 referendum, a majority of Austrians voted in favor of retaining the system of compulsory military service (with the option of alternative/non-military service) instead of switching to a professional army system; approximately 40% of those liable to compulsory service have opted in favor of  alternative civil/community service" }, "Military deployments": { "text": "170 Bosnia-Herzegovina (EUFOR stabilization force); 250 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR); 200 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (2023)" @@ -1263,7 +1263,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "68,700 (Syria), 43,725 (Afghanistan), 10,110 (Iraq), 8,684 (Somalia), 7,294 (Iran), 6,124 (Russia) (mid-year 2022); 68,700 (Ukraine) (as of 11 September 2023)" + "text": "68,700 (Syria), 43,725 (Afghanistan), 10,110 (Iraq), 8,684 (Somalia), 7,294 (Iran), 6,124 (Russia) (mid-year 2022); 68,700 (Ukraine) (as of 2 October 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "3,219 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/bu.json b/europe/bu.json index b2ecacb1..de1042b5 100644 --- a/europe/bu.json +++ b/europe/bu.json @@ -1290,12 +1290,12 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "22,226 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 56,845 (Ukraine) (as of 26 September 2023)" + "text": "22,226 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 54,715 (Ukraine) (as of 3 October 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "1,129 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 96,017 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-July 2023); Bulgaria is predominantly a transit country" + "note": "note: 100,671 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-August 2023); Bulgaria is predominantly a transit country" }, "Trafficking in persons": { "tier rating": { diff --git a/europe/cy.json b/europe/cy.json index 87c3188b..53512443 100644 --- a/europe/cy.json +++ b/europe/cy.json @@ -592,7 +592,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation in the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador Marios LYSIOTIS (since 17 September 2018)" + "text": "Ambassador Evangelos SAVVA (since 15 September 2023)" }, "chancery": { "text": "2211 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008" @@ -1222,7 +1222,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "10,869 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 18,225 (Ukraine) (as of 27 August 2023)" + "text": "10,869 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 19,125 (Ukraine) (as of 24 September 2023)" }, "IDPs": { "text": "246,000 (both Turkish and Greek Cypriots; many displaced since 1974) (2022)" diff --git a/europe/ei.json b/europe/ei.json index 81f721ca..b76c6cb9 100644 --- a/europe/ei.json +++ b/europe/ei.json @@ -1194,7 +1194,7 @@ }, "Military service age and obligation": { "text": "18-25 years of age for male and female voluntary military service recruits to the Defence Forces (18-27 years of age for the Naval Service); 18-26 for cadetship (officer) applicants; 12-year service (5 active, 7 reserves) (2023)", - "note": "note: as of 2021, women made up about 7% of the military's full-time personnel

note 2: the Defense Forces are open to refugees under the Refugee Act of 1996 and nationals of the European Economic Area, which include EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway" + "note": "note: as of 2023, women made up about 7% of the military's full-time personnel

note 2: the Defense Forces are open to refugees under the Refugee Act of 1996 and nationals of the European Economic Area, which include EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway" }, "Military deployments": { "text": "130 Golan Heights (UNDOF); 325 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (2023)" @@ -1215,7 +1215,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "93,810 (Ukraine) (as of 10 September 2023)" + "text": "95,905 (Ukraine) (as of 1 October 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "7 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/en.json b/europe/en.json index 1ef0508f..130c1e1a 100644 --- a/europe/en.json +++ b/europe/en.json @@ -571,10 +571,10 @@ "text": "unicameral Parliament or Riigikogu (101 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by open- list proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 5 March 2023" + "text": "last held on 5 March 2023; next elections 7 March 2027" }, "election results": { - "text": "2023: percent of vote by party - Reform 31.2%, EKRE 16.1%, Center 15.3%, E200 13.3%, SDE 9.3%, Pro Patria 8.2%, Left 2.4%, Right 2.3%, Greens 1.0%; seats by party - Reform 37, EKRE 17, Center 16, E200 14, SDE 9, Pro Patria 8; composition - men 71, women 30, percent of women 29.7%" + "text": "
2023: percent of vote by party - Reform 31.2%, EKRE 16.1%, Center 15.3%, E200 13.3%, SDE 9.3%, Pro Patria 8.2%, Left 2.4%, Right 2.3%, Greens 1.0%; seats by party - Reform 37, EKRE 17, Center 16, E200 14, SDE 9, Pro Patria 8; composition - men 71, women 30, percent of women 29.7%" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/europe/fo.json b/europe/fo.json index 22920f6a..dc0e03b2 100644 --- a/europe/fo.json +++ b/europe/fo.json @@ -427,13 +427,13 @@ "text": "Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Lene Moyell JOHANSEN, chief administrative officer (since 15 May 2017)" }, "head of government": { - "text": "Prime Minister Aksel V. JOHANNESEN  (since 22 December 2022)" + "text": "Prime Minister Aksel V. JOHANNESEN (since 22 December 2022)" }, "cabinet": { "text": "Landsstyri appointed by the prime minister" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "the monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually elected prime minister by the Faroese Parliament; election last held on 31 August 2019 (next to be held in 2023)" + "text": "the monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually elected prime minister by the Faroese Parliament; election last held on 8 December 2022 (next to be held in 2026)" } }, "Legislative branch": { @@ -441,10 +441,10 @@ "text": "unicameral Faroese Parliament or Logting (33 seats; members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
the Faroe Islands elect 2 members to the Danish Parliament to serve 4-year terms" }, "elections": { - "text": "Faroese Parliament - last held on 8 December 2022 (next to be held in 2023)
Faroese seats in the Danish Parliament last held on 5 June 2019 (next to be held no later than June 2023)" + "text": "Faroese Parliament - last held on 8 December 2022 (next to be held in 2026)
Faroese seats in the Danish Parliament last held on 31 October 2022 (next to be held no later than 31 October 2026)" }, "election results": { - "text": "Faroese Parliament percent of vote by party - JF 27.3%, B 21.2%, A 18.2%, E 18.2%, F 9.1%, H 6.0%, seats by party - JF 9, B 7, A 6, E 6, F 3, H 2; composition - men 27, women 6; percent of women 18.2%
Faroese seats in Danish Parliament - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - JF 1, B 1; composition - men 2

2019: Faroese Parliament percent of vote by party - People's Party 24.2%, JF 21.2%, Union Party 21.2%, Republic 18.2%, Center Party 6%, Progress Party 6%, Self-Government Party 3%, seats by party - People's Party 8, JF 7, Union Party 7, Republic 6, Center Party 2, Progress Party 2, Self-Government Party 1, composition - men 25, women 8; percent of women 24.2%
Faroese seats in Danish Parliament - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - JF 1, Republic 1; composition - men 2" + "text": "Faroese Parliament percent of vote by party - JF 26.6%, B 20%, A 18.9%, E 17.7%, F 7.5%, H 6.6%, seats by party - JF 9, B 7, A 6, E 6, F 3, H 2; composition - men 27, women 6; percent of women 18.2%
Faroese seats in Danish Parliament - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - JF 1, B 1; composition - men 2

2019: Faroese Parliament percent of vote by party - People's Party 24.2%, JF 21.2%, Union Party 21.2%, Republic 18.2%, Center Party 6%, Progress Party 6%, Self-Government Party 3%, seats by party - People's Party 8, JF 7, Union Party 7, Republic 6, Center Party 2, Progress Party 2, Self-Government Party 1, composition - men 25, women 8; percent of women 24.2%
Faroese seats in Danish Parliament - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - JF 1, Republic 1; composition - men 2" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/europe/fr.json b/europe/fr.json index c8fc6ae9..284e41a2 100644 --- a/europe/fr.json +++ b/europe/fr.json @@ -602,10 +602,10 @@ "text": "bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of:
Senate or Senat (348 seats - 328 for metropolitan France and overseas departments and regions of Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Reunion, and Mayotte, 2 for New Caledonia, 2 for French Polynesia, 1 for Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, 1 for Saint-Barthelemy, 1 for Saint-Martin, 1 for Wallis and Futuna, and 12 for French nationals abroad; members indirectly elected by departmental electoral colleges using absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed for departments with 1-3 members, and proportional representation vote in departments with 4 or more members; members serve 6-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 3 years)
National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (577 seats - 556 for metropolitan France, 10 for overseas departments, and 11 for citizens abroad; members directly elected by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed to serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "
Senate - last held on 24 and 27 September 2020 (next to be held in September 2023)
National Assembly - last held on 12 and 19 June 2022 (next to be held in June 2027)" + "text": "
Senate - last held on 24 September 2023 (next to be held by 30 September 2026)
National Assembly - last held on 12 and 19 June 2022 (next to be held in June 2027)" }, "election results": { - "text": "
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by political caucus (party or group of parties) - NA; composition - men 226, women 122, percent of women 35.1%
National Assembly - percent of vote by party/coalition in the first round - ENS 25.8%, NUPES 25.7%, RN 18.7%, UDC 11.3%, other 18.5%; seats by party/coalition in the first round - NUPES 4, ENS 1; percent of vote in the second round - ENS 38.6%, NUPES 31.6%, RN 17.3%, UDC 7.3%, other 5.2%, seats by party/coalition in the second round - ENS 244, NUPES 127, RN 89, UDC 64, other 48; composition - men 362, women 215, percent of women 37.3%" + "text": "
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by political caucus (party or group of parties) LR 139, SER 69, UC 51, RDPI 21, CRCE 17, LIRT 17, EST 16, RDSE 14: composition - men 222, women 126, percent of women 36.2%
National Assembly - percent of vote by party/coalition in the first round - ENS 25.8%, NUPES 25.7%, RN 18.7%, UDC 11.3%, other 18.5%; seats by party/coalition in the first round - NUPES 4, ENS 1; percent of vote in the second round - ENS 38.6%, NUPES 31.6%, RN 17.3%, UDC 7.3%, other 5.2%, seats by party/coalition in the second round - ENS 244, NUPES 127, RN 89, UDC 64, other 48; composition - men 362, women 215, percent of women 37.3%" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/europe/gm.json b/europe/gm.json index 84a7aa3b..140a3630 100644 --- a/europe/gm.json +++ b/europe/gm.json @@ -1284,7 +1284,7 @@ "note": "note: women have been eligible for voluntary service in all military branches and positions since 2001 and accounted for about 12% of the active-duty German military in 2023" }, "Military deployments": { - "text": "up to 500 Iraq (NATO); up to 1,400 Lithuania (NATO); approximately 1,100 Mali (MINUSMA/EUTM); 100 Niger; 280 Slovakia (NATO) (2023)", + "text": "up to 500 Iraq (NATO); up to 1,400 Lithuania (NATO); up to 1,000 Mali (MINUSMA/EUTM); 100 Niger; 280 Slovakia (NATO) (2023)", "note": "note 1: in November 2022, Germany pledged to withdraw its troops from Mali by Spring 2024

note 2: in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, some NATO countries, including Germany, have sent additional troops and equipment to the battlegroups deployed in NATO territory in eastern Europe" }, "Military - note": { diff --git a/europe/gr.json b/europe/gr.json index cfa3ac99..7c4a7b9a 100644 --- a/europe/gr.json +++ b/europe/gr.json @@ -577,7 +577,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Coalition of the Radical Left-Progressive Alliance or SYRIZA-PS (vacant)
Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Dimitrios KOUTSOUMBAS]
Course of Freedom [Zoe KONSTANTOPOULOU]
Democratic Patriotic Movement-Victory or NIKI [Dimitris NATSIOS]
Greek Solution [Kyriakos VELOPOULOS]
New Democracy or ND [Kyriakos MITSOTAKIS]
PASOK - Movement for Change or PASOK-KINAL [Nikolaos (Nikos) ANDROULAKIS]
Spartans [Vassilis STIGAS]" + "text": "Coalition of the Radical Left-Progressive Alliance or SYRIZA-PS [Stefanos KASSELAKIS]
Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Dimitrios KOUTSOUMBAS]
Course of Freedom [Zoe KONSTANTOPOULOU]
Democratic Patriotic Movement-Victory or NIKI [Dimitris NATSIOS]
Greek Solution [Kyriakos VELOPOULOS]
New Democracy or ND [Kyriakos MITSOTAKIS]
PASOK - Movement for Change or PASOK-KINAL [Nikolaos (Nikos) ANDROULAKIS]
Spartans [Vassilis STIGAS]" }, "International organization participation": { "text": "Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, 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, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC" @@ -1248,7 +1248,7 @@ "stateless persons": { "text": "4,488 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 1,258,580 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-September 2023)" + "note": "note: 1,264,621 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-October 2023)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "a gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis products and heroin from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the West and precursor chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine transits or is consumed in Greece; money laundering related to drug trafficking and organized crime" diff --git a/europe/it.json b/europe/it.json index 8c189e9a..c265f7f5 100644 --- a/europe/it.json +++ b/europe/it.json @@ -562,7 +562,7 @@ "text": "bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of:
Senate or Senato della Repubblica (200 elected seats; 122 members in multi-seat constituencies directly elected by proportional representation vote, 74 members in single-seat constituencies directly elected by plurality vote, and 4 members in multi-seat constituencies abroad directly elected by proportional representation vote; all members serve 5-year terms)
Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (400 seats; 245 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; 147 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by plurality vote and 8 members in multi-seat constituencies abroad directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "
Senate - last held on 25 September 2022 (next to be held no later than December 2027)
Chamber of Deputies - last held on 25 September 2022; note - snap elections were called when Prime Minister DRAGHI resigned, and the parliament was dissolved on 21 July 2022 (next to be held 30 September 2027)" + "text": "
Senate - last held on 25 September 2022 (next to be held no later than December 2027)
Chamber of Deputies - last held on 25 September 2022; note - snap elections were called when Prime Minister DRAGHI resigned, and the parliament was dissolved on 21 July 2022 (next to be held on 30 September 2027)" }, "election results": { "text": "
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - center-right coalition (FdI 65, Lega 30, FI 18), center-left coalition (PD 40, AVS 3), M5S 28, Action-Italia Viva 9, SVP 2, MAIE 1, ScN 1; composition (as of September 2022) - men 131, women 69, percent of women 34.5%
Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - center-right coalition (FdI 119, Lega 66, FI 45), center-left coalition (PD 69, AVS 12, +EU 2), M5S 52, Action-Italia Viva 21, SVP 3, MAIE 1, ScN 1; composition (as of September 2022) - men 271, women 129, percent of women 32.3%; note - total Parliament percent of women 33%" @@ -1254,8 +1254,8 @@ "text": "the military's inventory includes a mix of domestically manufactured, imported, and jointly produced weapons systems, mostly from Europe and the US; in recent years, the US has been the lead supplier of military hardware to Italy; the Italian defense industry is capable of producing equipment across all the military domains with particular strengths in aircraft, armored vehicles, and naval vessels; it also participates in joint development and production of advanced weapons systems with other European countries and the US (2023)" }, "Military service age and obligation": { - "text": "17-25 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (some variations on age depending on the military branch); voluntary service is a minimum of 12 months with the option to extend in the Armed Forces or compete for positions in the Military Corps of the Italian Red Cross, the State Police, the Carabinieri, the Guardia di Finanza, the Penitentiary Police, or the National Fire Brigade; recruits can also volunteer for 4 years military service; conscription abolished 2004 (2022)", - "note": "note: women may serve in any military branch; as of 2019, women made up about 6% of the military's full-time personnel" + "text": "17-25 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (some variations on age depending on the military branch); voluntary service is a minimum of 12 months with the option to extend in the Armed Forces or compete for positions in the Military Corps of the Italian Red Cross, the State Police, the Carabinieri, the Guardia di Finanza, the Penitentiary Police, or the National Fire Brigade; recruits can also volunteer for 4 years military service; conscription abolished 2004 (2023)", + "note": "note: women may serve in any military branch; as of 2020, women made up about 6% of the military's full-time personnel" }, "Military deployments": { "text": "120 Djibouti; approximately 750 Bulgaria (NATO); approximately 1,000 Middle East (NATO, European Assistance Mission Iraq); 850 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR); 250 Latvia (NATO); 1,000 Lebanon (UNIFIL); 400 Libya; 350 Niger; 250 Romania (NATO); 150 Somalia (EUTM) (2023)", @@ -1294,7 +1294,7 @@ "stateless persons": { "text": "3,000 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 826,119 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-September 2023)" + "note": "note: 833,841 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-October 2023)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "

important gateway for drug trafficking; organized crime groups allied with Colombian and Spanish groups trafficking cocaine to Europe

" diff --git a/europe/lg.json b/europe/lg.json index 97c1f172..6b8a3f25 100644 --- a/europe/lg.json +++ b/europe/lg.json @@ -549,7 +549,7 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "President Egils LEVITS (since 8 July 2019)" + "text": "President Edgars RINKEVICS (since 8 July 2023)" }, "head of government": { "text": "Prime Minister Evika SILINA (since 15 September 2023)" @@ -558,10 +558,10 @@ "text": "Cabinet of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, appointed by Parliament" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president indirectly elected by Parliament for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 29 May 2019 (next to be held in 2023); prime minister appointed by the president, confirmed by Parliament" + "text": "president indirectly elected by Parliament for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 31 May 2023 (next to be held in 2027); prime minister appointed by the president, confirmed by Parliament" }, "election results": { - "text": "
2019: Egils LEVITS elected president; Parliament vote - Egils LEVITS 61, Didzis SMITS 24, Juris JANSONS 8; Krisjanis KARINS confirmed prime minister 61-39

2015: Raimonds VEJONIS elected president; Parliament vote - Raimonds VEJONIS (Latvian Green Party) 55, Egils LEVITS (NA) 42" + "text": "
2023: Edgars RINKEVICS elected president; Parliament vote - Edgars RINKEVICS 52, Uldis Pīlēns 25 third round on 31 May 2023

2019: Egils LEVITS elected president; Parliament vote - Egils LEVITS 61, Didzis SMITS 24, Juris JANSONS 8; Krisjanis KARINS confirmed prime minister 61-39" }, "note": "note: on 15 September 2023, Parliament voted 53-39 to approve Prime Minister Evika SILINA" }, diff --git a/europe/lo.json b/europe/lo.json index 942ed8ff..1d91eb62 100644 --- a/europe/lo.json +++ b/europe/lo.json @@ -559,10 +559,10 @@ "text": "unicameral National Council or Narodna Rada (150 seats; members directly elected in a single- and multi-seat constituencies by closed, party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 30 September 2023" + "text": "last held on 30 September 2023; next election to be held in February 2024" }, "election results": { - "text": "percent of vote by party - SMER-SSD 22.9%, PS 18%, Hlas-SD 14.7%, OL'aNO 8.9%, KDH 6.8%, SaS 6.3%, SNS 5.6%; seats by party SMER-SSD 42, PS 32, Hlas-SD 27, OL'aNO 16, KDH 12, SaS 11, 10

2020; percent of vote by party - OLaNO-NOVA 25%, Smer-SD 18.3%, Sme-Rodina or SR 8.2%, LSNS 8%, SaS 6.2%, Za Ludi or ZL 5.8%, other 28.5%; seats by party - OLaNO-NOVA 53, Smer-SD 38, Sme-Rodina 17, LSNS 17, SaS 13, Za Ludi 12; composition (as of April 2023) - men 117, women 33, percent of women 22%" + "text": "
2023: percent of vote by party - SMER-SSD 23%, PS 18%, Hlas-SD 14.7%, OL'aNO 8.9%, KDH 6.8%, SaS 6.3%, SNS 5.6%; seats by party SMER-SSD 42, PS 32, Hlas-SD 27, OL'aNO 16, KDH 12, SaS 11, 10

2020; percent of vote by party - OLaNO-NOVA 25%, Smer-SD 18.3%, Sme-Rodina or SR 8.2%, LSNS 8%, SaS 6.2%, Za Ludi or ZL 5.8%, other 28.5%; seats by party - OLaNO-NOVA 53, Smer-SD 38, Sme-Rodina 17, LSNS 17, SaS 13, Za Ludi 12; composition (as of April 2023) - men 117, women 33, percent of women 22%" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/europe/lu.json b/europe/lu.json index 111f227d..28636081 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); Deputy Prime Minister Francois BAUSCH (since 11 October 2019); Deputy Prime Minister Daniel KERSCH (since 4 February 2020)" + "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)" }, "cabinet": { "text": "Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister, appointed by the monarch" @@ -545,10 +545,10 @@ "text": "unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms); note - a 21-member Council of State appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 14 October 2018 (next to be held by 31 October 2023)" + "text": "last held on 8 October 2023 (next to be held by 31 October 2028)" }, "election results": { - "text": "percent of vote by party - CSV 35%, DP 20%, LSAP 16.7%, Green Party 15%, ADR 6.7%, Pirate Party 3.3%, The Left 3.3%; seats by party - CSV 21, DP 12, LSAP 10, Green Party 9, ADR 4, Pirate Party 2, The Left 2; composition (as of July 2023) - men 39, women 21, percent of women 35%" + "text": "percent of vote by party - CSV 29.2%, LSAP 18.9%, DP 18.7%, ADR 9.3%, Green Party 8.6%, Pirate Party 6.7%, The Left 3.9%; seats by party - CSV 21, DP 14, LSAP 11, ADR 5, Green Party 4, Pirate Party 3, The Left 2; composition (as of October 2023) - men 39, women 21, percent of women 35%" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/europe/md.json b/europe/md.json index f0e52996..4c86328d 100644 --- a/europe/md.json +++ b/europe/md.json @@ -1204,7 +1204,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "116,615 (Ukraine) (as of 10 September 2023)" + "text": "118,635 (Ukraine) (as of 1 October 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "1,701 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/mj.json b/europe/mj.json index c64ad7df..3e3b6439 100644 --- a/europe/mj.json +++ b/europe/mj.json @@ -592,10 +592,10 @@ "text": "unicameral Assembly or Skupstina (81 seats; members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 30 August 2020 (next to be held on 11 June 2023)" + "text": "last held on 11 June 2023 (next to be held in June 2027)" }, "election results": { - "text": "percent of vote by party/coalition - DPS 35.1%, ZBCG 32.6%, MNIM 12.5%, URA 5.5%, SD 4.1%, BS 3.9%, SDP 3.1%, AL 1.6%, Albanian Coalition 1.1%, other 0.4%; seats by party/coalition - DPS 30, ZBCG 27, MNIM 10, URA 4, BS 3, SD 3, SDP 2, AL 1, Albanian Coalition 1.; composition as of July 2022 - men 59, women 22, percent of women 27.2%" + "text": "percent of vote by party/coalition - Europe Now! 25.5%, Together! 23.2%, For the Future of Montenegro 14.7%, Aleksa and Dritan - Count Bravely 12.5%, BP 7.1%, SNP-DEMOS 3.1%, Albanian Forum 1.9%, HGI 0.7%; seats by party/coalition Europe Now! 24, Together! 21, For the Future of Montenegro 13, Aleksa and Dritan - Count Bravely 11, BP 6, SNP-DEMOS 2, Albanian Forum 2, Albanian Alliance 1, HGI 1; composition - as of October 2023 - men 64, women 17, percent of women 21%" } }, "Judicial branch": { @@ -610,7 +610,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Albanian Alternative or AA [Nik DELJOSAJ]
Albanian Coalition (includes DP, DSCG, DUA for 2020 election)
Albanian Coalition Perspective or AKP
Albanian List or AL [Nik DELJOSAJ and Nazif CUNGU] (coalition includes AA, Forca, AKP, DSA)
Bosniak Party or BS [Ervin IBRAHIMOVIC]
Croatian Civic Initiative or HGI [Adrian VUKSANOVIC]
Croatian Reform Party [Marija VUCINOVIC]
Democratic Alliance or DEMOS [Miodrag LEKIC]
Democratic Front or DF [collective leadership] (coalition includes NOVA, PZP, DNP, RP)
Democratic League in Montenegro or DSCG [Mehmet BARDHI]
Democratic League of Albanians or DSA
Democratic Montenegro or DCG [Aleksa BECIC]
Democratic Party or DP [Fatmir GJEKA]
Democratic Party of Socialists or DPS [Danijel ZIVKOVIC, acting]
Democratic Party of Unity or DSJ [Nebojsa JUSKOVIC]
Democratic People's Party or DNP [Milan KNEZEVIC]
Democratic Serb Party or DSS [Dragica PEROVIC]
Democratic Union of Albanians or DUA [Mehmet ZENKA]
Europe Now! [Milojko SPAJIC]
For the Future of Montenegro or ZBCG [Zdravko KRIVOKAPIC] (electoral coalition includes SNP and 2 alliances - DF, NP) (dissolved in September 2020)
In Black and White [Dritan ABAZOVIC] (electoral list)
Liberal Party or LP [Andrija POPOVIC]
Movement for Changes or PZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC]
New Democratic Power or FORCA [Nazif CUNGU]
New Serb Democracy or NSD or NOVA [Andrija MANDIC]
Party of Pensioners, Disabled, and Restitution or PUPI [Momir JOKSIMOVIC]
Peace is Our Nation or MNIM [Aleksa BECIC] (coalition includes Democrats, DEMOS, New Left, PUPI)
Popular Movement or NP [Miodrag DAVIDOVIC] (coalition includes DEMOS, RP, UCG, and several minor parties)
Social Democratic Party or SDP [Rasko KONJEVIC]
Social Democrats or SD [Damir SEHOVIC]
Socialist People's Party or SNP [Vladimir JOKOVIC]
True Montenegro or PRAVA or PCG [Marko MILACIC]
United Montenegro or UCG [Goran DANILOVIC] (split from DEMOS)
United Reform Action or URA [Dritan ABAZOVIC]
Workers' Party or RP [Maksim VUCINIC]" + "text": "Albanian Alliance (electoral coalition includes FORCA, PD, DSCG)
Albanian Alternative or AA [Nik DELJOSAJ]
Albanian Democratic League or LDSH [Nicola CAMAJ]
Albanian Forum (electoral coalition includes AA, LDSH, UDSH)
Aleksa and Dritan - Count Bravely! [Aleksa BECIC] (electoral coalition includes Democrats, URA)
Bosniak Party or BS [Ervin IBRAHIMOVIC]
Civic Movement United Reform Action or United Reform Action or URA [Dritan ABAZOVIC]
Croatian Civic Initiative or HGI [Adrian VUKSANOVIC]
Democratic Alliance or DEMOS [Miodrag LEKIC]
Democratic League in Montenegro or DSCG [Mehmet BARDHI]
Democratic Montenegro or Democrats [Aleksa BECIC]
Democratic Party of Socialists or DPS [Danijel ZIVKOVIC, acting]
Democratic People's Party or DNP [Milan KNEZEVIC]
Democratic Union of Albanians or UDSH [Mehmet ZENKA]
Europe Now! [Milojko SPAJIC]
For the Future of Montenegro or ZBCG [Milan KNEZEVIC] (coalition includes NSD, DNP, RP)
Liberal Party or LP [Andrija POPOVIC]
New Democratic Power or FORCA [Nazif CUNGU]
New Serb Democracy or NSD or NOVA [Andrija MANDIC]
Social Democrats or SD [Damir SEHOVIC]
Socialist People's Party or SNP [Vladimir JOKOVIC]
Together! (electoral coalition includes DPS, SD, LP, UDSH)
United Montenegro or UCG [Goran DANILOVIC] (split from DEMOS)
Workers' Party or RP [Maksim VUCINIC]" }, "International organization participation": { "text": "CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO", @@ -1245,12 +1245,12 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "81,030 (Ukraine) (as of 18 September 2023)" + "text": "61,745 (Ukraine) (as of 25 September 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "468 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 33,335 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-September 2023)" + "note": "note: 33,521 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-October 2023)" }, "Trafficking in persons": { "tier rating": { diff --git a/europe/mk.json b/europe/mk.json index c4d571b0..8cf9079b 100644 --- a/europe/mk.json +++ b/europe/mk.json @@ -1180,12 +1180,12 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "17,315 (Ukraine) (as of 10 September 2023)" + "text": "18,345 (Ukraine) (as of 1 October 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "521 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 559,000 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-August 2023)" + "note": "note: 560,841 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-September 2023)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish; minor transit point for South American cocaine destined for Europe; although not a financial center and most criminal activity is thought to be domestic, money laundering is a problem due to a mostly cash-based economy and weak enforcement" diff --git a/europe/pl.json b/europe/pl.json index 4c8527b6..60ac5922 100644 --- a/europe/pl.json +++ b/europe/pl.json @@ -588,7 +588,7 @@ "text": "bicameral Parliament consists of:
Senate or Senat (100 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms)
Sejm (460 seats; members elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote with 5% threshold of total votes needed for parties and 8% for coalitions to gain seats; minority parties exempt from threshold; members serve 4-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "Senate - last held on 13 October 2019 (next to be held in October 2023)
Sejm - last held on 13 October 2019 (next to be held in October 2023)" + "text": "Senate - last held on 13 October 2019 (next to be held on 15 October 2023)
Sejm - last held on 13 October 2019 (next to be held on 15 October 2023)" }, "election results": { "text": "
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PiS 48, KO 43, PSL 3, SLD 2, independent 4; composition (as of October 2021) - men 76, women 24, percent of women 24%
Sejm - percent of vote by party - PiS 43.6%, KO 27.4%, SLD 12.6%, PSL 8.5% Confederation 6.8%, other 1.1%; seats by party - PiS 235, KO 134, SLD 49, PSL 30, KWiN 11, MN 1; men 330, women 130, percent of women 28.3%; note - total Parliament percent of women 27.5%" diff --git a/europe/ri.json b/europe/ri.json index f92e6440..d6e76b4f 100644 --- a/europe/ri.json +++ b/europe/ri.json @@ -1236,7 +1236,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "17,334 (Croatia), 7,997 (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (mid-year 2022); 5,710 (Ukraine) (as of 31 August 2023)" + "text": "17,334 (Croatia), 7,997 (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (mid-year 2022)" }, "IDPs": { "text": "196,066 (most are Kosovar Serbs, some are Roma, Ashkalis, and Egyptian (RAE); some RAE IDPs are unregistered) (2022)" @@ -1244,14 +1244,14 @@ "stateless persons": { "text": "2,594 (includes stateless persons in Kosovo) (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 1,007,648 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-September 2023)" + "note": "note: 1,016,089 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-September 2023)" }, "Trafficking in persons": { "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Serbia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; Serbia investigated more suspects, revised indicators to identify victims among schoolchildren, and increased resources for the Center for Protection of Trafficking Victims; officials developed a coordination body to support victims during criminal proceedings, formed four Special Working Groups for anti-trafficking issues, and designated an Ombudsman on trafficking; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared with the previous year to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; there were no proactive efforts to identify victims, and implementation of standard operating procedures remained inadequate; an anti-trafficking council did not meet, and the government did not adopt the 2021-2022 National Action Plan; official complicity in trafficking crimes remained a concern; therefore, Serbia was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List (2022)" + "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Serbia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government identified more victims and its Center for Protection of Trafficking Victims (CPTV) established a panel with a psychologist, educator, and social worker to conduct victim assessments within 24 hours of a referral; a court seized a house built from the profits of forced begging and gave ownership of the house to the victim as restitution; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts, compared with the previous reporting period, to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; fewer investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of traffickers took place; officials decreased resources for the CPTV, despite its lack of staff, skills, and resources to assess victims, coordinate care, and run the CTPV shelter; standard operating procedures on victim identification remained unclear, and implementation was “recommended” rather than required; authorities inappropriately penalized victims with imprisonment, probation, and fines for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked; the Anti-Trafficking Council has not met in three years, and the government has not adopted the 2021-2022 National Action Plan; official complicity in trafficking or inaction remained significant concerns; the government did not fully protect victims or fully investigate credible allegations that approximately 500 Vietnamese workers were subjected to forced labor at a factory owned by China; therefore, Serbia remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year (2023)" }, "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Serbia, as well as Serbians abroad; Serbian women are exploited in sex trafficking in Serbia, neighboring countries, and throughout Europe, particularly in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Turkey; Serbian nationals, primarily men, are exploited in forced labor in labor-intensive sectors in European countries—including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Russia, and Switzerland—and the United Arab Emirates; children, particularly Roma, are victims within the country in sex trafficking, forced labor, forced begging, and petty crime; foreign victims in Serbia are from Albania, Cameroon, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Mali, Nigeria, North Macedonia, and Pakistan; thousands of migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia transiting through or stranded in Serbia are vulnerable to trafficking; the government has not reported fully investigating credible allegations of Vietnamese victims of forced labor and instead states the workers are not trafficking victims (2022)" + "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Serbia, as well as Serbians abroad; Serbian women and girls are exploited in sex trafficking in Serbia, neighboring countries, and throughout Europe; Serbian nationals, primarily men, are exploited in forced labor in labor-intensive sectors, such as construction, in European countries—including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Russia, and Switzerland—and the UAE; children, particularly Roma, are victims within the country in sex trafficking, forced labor, forced begging, and petty crime; foreign victims in Serbia have been identified from Afghanistan, Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Cameroon, Croatia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Pakistan, the Philippines, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, and Vietnam; thousands of migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia transiting through or stranded in Serbia are vulnerable to trafficking; the government has not reported fully investigating credible allegations during the past several years of Vietnamese victims of forced labor in a Chinese-owned factory and instead has stated that the workers are not trafficking victims; Chinese workers at the same factory conducted a strike during the reporting period over claims that they had not been paid (2023)" } }, "Illicit drugs": { diff --git a/europe/si.json b/europe/si.json index 85a23b3c..24b17db7 100644 --- a/europe/si.json +++ b/europe/si.json @@ -1241,12 +1241,12 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "10,240 (Ukraine) (as of 25 September 2023)" + "text": "10,290 (Ukraine) (as of 2 October 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "10 (2020)" }, - "note": "note:  593,986 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-July 2023)" + "note": "note:  603,271 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-August 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 b7667ec0..f38b6c9b 100644 --- a/europe/sp.json +++ b/europe/sp.json @@ -1277,7 +1277,7 @@ "text": "Spanish Space Agency (became operational in April 2023); previously, the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial or INTA, established 1942), a public research organization that depends on the Ministry of Defense, acted as Spain’s space agency; Center for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI); Catalan Space Agency (established 2021); Valencian Space Consortium (established 2009) (2023)" }, "Space launch site(s)": { - "text": "Arenosillo Experiment Center/Range (Andalusia); private launch site (Teruel province) (2023)" + "text": "El Arenosillo Experiment Center/Range (Andalusia); private launch site (Teruel province) (2023)" }, "Space program overview": { "text": "space program is integrated into the European Space Agency (ESA) and dates back to the 1940s; manufactures and operates communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific/technology satellites; has developed sounding rockets; conducts research and development in a broad range of space-related capabilities, including astrobiology, astronomy, imaging/RS, materials, meteorology, optics, propulsion, robotics, satellites (particularly micro- and nano-satellites), satellite systems and subsystems, satellite/space launch vehicles (SLVs), and space sciences; participates in ESA, EU, and other international programs; hosts the European Space Astronomy Center (ESOC) and the ESA’s Space Surveillance and Tracking Data Centre (ESAC); cooperates with foreign space agencies and industries, including those of ESA and EU member states and the US; has a considerable commercial space industry, which is involved in a wide range of space-related research, development, and production, including satellites and SLVs; the CDTI coordinates the activities of the commercial space sector (2023)", @@ -1301,7 +1301,7 @@ "stateless persons": { "text": "6,489 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 304,984 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals, including Canary Islands (January 2015-September 2023)" + "note": "note: 310,120 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals, including Canary Islands (January 2015-October 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/sw.json b/europe/sw.json index 1b9b8711..fa43e514 100644 --- a/europe/sw.json +++ b/europe/sw.json @@ -568,7 +568,7 @@ "text": "unicameral Parliament or Riksdag (349 seats; 310 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by open party-list proportional representation vote and 39 members in \"at-large\" seats directly elected by open party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 11 September 2022" + "text": "last held on 11 September 2022 (next to beheld on 13 September 2026)" }, "election results": { "text": "percent of vote by party - S/SAP 30.3%, M 19.1%, SD 20.5%, C 6.7%, V 6.7%, KD 5.3%, L 4.6%, MP 5.1%, other 1.7%; seats by party - S/SAP 107, M 68, SD 73, C 24, V 24, KD 19, L 16, MP 18; composition as of mid-2022 - men 188, women 161, percent of women 46%" @@ -1283,7 +1283,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "113,213 (Syria), 26,857 (Afghanistan), 25,849 (Eritrea), 10,464 (Iraq), 9,315 (Somalia), 7,146 (Iran) (mid-year 2022); 41,165 (Ukraine) (as of 21 September 2023)" + "text": "113,213 (Syria), 26,857 (Afghanistan), 25,849 (Eritrea), 10,464 (Iraq), 9,315 (Somalia), 7,146 (Iran) (mid-year 2022); 41,235 (Ukraine) (as of 28 September 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "46,515 (2022); note - the majority of stateless people are from the Middle East and Somalia" diff --git a/europe/uk.json b/europe/uk.json index 3ef5700d..3697d0ef 100644 --- a/europe/uk.json +++ b/europe/uk.json @@ -1259,7 +1259,7 @@ }, "Military service age and obligation": { "text": "some variations by service, but generally 16-36 years of age for enlisted (with parental consent under 18) and 18-29 for officers; minimum length of service 4 years; women serve in all military services including combat roles; conscription abolished in 1963 (2023)", - "note": "note 1: women made up about 11% of the military's full-time personnel in 2021

note 2: the British military allows Commonwealth nationals who are current UK residents and have been in the country for at least 5 years to apply; it also accepts Irish citizens

note 3: the British Army has continued the historic practice of recruiting Gurkhas from Nepal to serve in the Brigade of Gurkhas; the British began to recruit Nepalese citizens (Gurkhas) into the East India Company Army during the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-1816); the Gurkhas subsequently were brought into the British Indian Army and by 1914, there were 10 Gurkha regiments, collectively known as the Gurkha Brigade; following the partition of India in 1947, an agreement between Nepal, India, and Great Britain allowed for the transfer of the 10 regiments from the British Indian Army to the separate British and Indian armies; four of the regiments were transferred to the British Army, where they have since served continuously as the Brigade of Gurkhas" + "note": "note 1: women made up over 11% of the military's full-time personnel in 2023

note 2: the British military allows Commonwealth nationals who are current UK residents and have been in the country for at least 5 years to apply; it also accepts Irish citizens

note 3: the British Army has continued the historic practice of recruiting Gurkhas from Nepal to serve in the Brigade of Gurkhas; the British began to recruit Nepalese citizens (Gurkhas) into the East India Company Army during the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-1816); the Gurkhas subsequently were brought into the British Indian Army and by 1914, there were 10 Gurkha regiments, collectively known as the Gurkha Brigade; following the partition of India in 1947, an agreement between Nepal, India, and Great Britain allowed for the transfer of the 10 regiments from the British Indian Army to the separate British and Indian armies; four of the regiments were transferred to the British Army, where they have since served continuously as the Brigade of Gurkhas" }, "Military deployments": { "text": "approximately 1,000 Brunei; approximately 400 Canada (BATUS); approximately 2,500 Cyprus (250 for UNFICYP); approximately 1,000 Estonia (NATO); approximately 1,200 Falkland Islands; approximately 200 Germany; 570 Gibraltar; more than 1,000 Middle East (counter-ISIS campaign); up to 350 Kenya (BATUK); approximately 300 Mali (MINUSMA); 150 Poland (NATO) (2023)", diff --git a/europe/up.json b/europe/up.json index d5200faa..85689e0c 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 26 September 2023, there were 6.2 million Ukrainian refugees recorded globally, and 5.09 million people were internally displaced as of June 2023.  More than 27,100 civilian casualties had been reported, as of 10 September 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 3 October 2023, there were 6.2 million Ukrainian refugees recorded globally, and 5.09 million people were internally displaced as of June 2023.  Nearly 27,450 civilian casualties had been reported, as of 24 September 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/ae.json b/middle-east/ae.json index ab442c7b..788f95e1 100644 --- a/middle-east/ae.json +++ b/middle-east/ae.json @@ -541,7 +541,7 @@ "text": "Council of Ministers announced by the prime minister and approved by the president" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president and vice president indirectly elected by the Federal Supreme Council - composed of the rulers of the 7 emirates - for a 5-year term (no term limits); unscheduled election held on 14 May 2022, following the death of President KHALIFA bin Zayid Al-Nuhayyan (next election NA); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president" + "text": "president and vice president indirectly elected by the Federal Supreme Council - composed of the rulers of the 7 emirates - for a 5-year term (no term limits); unscheduled election held on 14 May 2022, following the death of President KHALIFA bin Zayid Al-Nuhayyan (next election expected in 2027); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president" }, "election results": { "text": "MUHAMMAD BIN ZAYID Al-Nuhayyan elected president; Federal Supreme Council vote - NA" @@ -553,7 +553,7 @@ "text": "unicameral Federal National Council (FNC) or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; 20 members indirectly elected using single non-transferable vote by an electoral college whose members are selected by each emirate ruler proportional to its FNC membership, and 20 members appointed by the rulers of the 7 constituent states; members serve 4-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held for indirectly elected members on 5 October 2019 (next to be held in October 2023)" + "text": "last held for indirectly elected members on 7 October 2023 (next to be held in October 2027); last held for appointed members in October 2019 (next appointments expected in late 2023)" }, "election results": { "text": "all candidates ran as independents; seats by emirate - Abu Dhabi 4, Dubai 4, Sharjah 3, Ras al-Khaimah 3, Ajman 2, Fujairah 2, Umm al-Quwain 2; composition (preliminary) - 13 men, 7 women, percent of elected women 35%; note - to attain overall FNC gender parity, 13 women and 7 men will be appointed; overall FNC percent of women 50%" @@ -1202,8 +1202,8 @@ "text": "the military's inventory is comprised of a wide variety of mostly modern imported equipment; over the past decade, the UAE has acquired military equipment from more than 20 countries with the US as the leading supplier; in recent years, the UAE has tried to boost its domestic defense industry (2023)" }, "Military service age and obligation": { - "text": "18-30 years of age for compulsory military service for men (compulsory service initiated in 2014); 18-40 for voluntary service; 36-month service obligation for men without a secondary education and 11 months for secondary school graduates; women may volunteer (11-month service obligation regardless of education)  (2023)", - "note": "note 1: compulsory service may be completed in the uniformed military, the Ministry of Interior, or other security institutions designated by the military leadership

note 2: the UAE military employs a considerable number—estimates range from a low of about 30% to as much as 70% of the force—of foreign personnel on contract" + "text": "18-30 years of age for compulsory military service for men (compulsory service initiated in 2014); 18-40 for voluntary service; 36-month service obligation for men without a secondary education and 11 months for secondary school graduates; women may volunteer (11-month service obligation regardless of education) (2023)", + "note": "note 1: compulsory service may be completed in the uniformed military, the Ministry of Interior, or other security institutions designated by the military leadership

note 2: the UAE military employs a considerable number of foreign personnel on contracted service" }, "Military deployments": { "text": "continues to maintain a small force in Yemen; also maintains some troops at military bases in Eritrea and Somalia (Somaliland) (2023)", diff --git a/middle-east/is.json b/middle-east/is.json index 0e3190b7..d3c87ffb 100644 --- a/middle-east/is.json +++ b/middle-east/is.json @@ -572,7 +572,7 @@ "text": "unicameral Knesset (120 seats; members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by closed party- list proportional representation vote, with a 3.25% vote threshold to gain representation; members serve 4-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 1 November 2022 (next scheduled for November 2026)" + "text": "last held on 1 November 2022 (next to be held in November 2026)" }, "election results": { "text": "percent by party - Likud 23.4%, Yesh Atid 17.8%, Religious Zionism (electoral alliance of Religious Zionist Party, Jewish Strength, and Noam) 10.8%, National Unity 9.1%, Shas 8.2%, UTJ 5.9%, Yisrael Beiteinu 4.5%, United Arab List 4.1%, Hadash-Ta'al 3.8%, Labor 3.7%, Meretz 3.2%, other 1.6%; seats by party - Likud 32, Yesh Atid 24, Religious Zionism 14, National Unity 12, Shas 11, UTJ 7, Yisrael Beiteinu 6, Hadash-Ta'al 5, United Arab List 5, Labor 4; composition - men 91, women 29, percentage of women 24.2%; note - following the 1 November 2022 election, the Religious Zionism Alliance split into three parties in the Knesset:  Religious Zionism 7 seats, Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit) 6, and Noam 1" @@ -1262,7 +1262,7 @@ }, "Terrorism": { "Terrorist group(s)": { - "text": "Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; Palestinian Islamic Jihad", + "text": "Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; Palestinian Islamic Jihad; HAMAS", "note": "note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T" } }, diff --git a/middle-east/jo.json b/middle-east/jo.json index c833834e..129a8b23 100644 --- a/middle-east/jo.json +++ b/middle-east/jo.json @@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ "text": "bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of:
Senate or the House of Notables or Majlis al-Ayan (65 seats; members appointed by the monarch to serve 4-year terms)
Chamber of Deputies or House of Representatives or Majlis al-Nuwaab (130 seats; 115 members directly elected in 23 multi-seat constituencies by open-list proportional representation vote and 15 seats for women; 12 of the 115 seats reserved for Christian, Chechen, and Circassian candidates; members serve 4-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "Senate - last appointments on 27 Sep 2020 (next in 2024)
Chamber of Deputies - last held on 10 November 2020 (next anticipated in November 2024)" + "text": "Senate - last appointments on 27 Sep 2020 (next to be held in 2024)
Chamber of Deputies - last held on 10 November 2020 (next anticipated in November 2024)" }, "election results": { "text": "
2020:
Senate - composition men 58, women 7, percent of women 10.8%
2020:
Chamber of Deputies; note - tribal, centrist, and pro-government candidates dominated the  election; the Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, garnered only 10 seats, down from 15 in the previous election; women, who are guaranteed 15 seats by Jordan’s legislative quota system, won 16 seats, down from 20 seats won in the previous election; composition - men 114, women 16, percent of women 12.3%; note - total National Assembly percent of women 11.8%

 

" diff --git a/middle-east/le.json b/middle-east/le.json index 4720a940..3b712562 100644 --- a/middle-east/le.json +++ b/middle-east/le.json @@ -558,7 +558,7 @@ "text": "president indirectly elected by Parliament with two-thirds majority vote in the first round and if needed absolute majority vote in a second round for a 6-year term (eligible for non-consecutive terms); last held on 31 October 2016 (presidential election ongoing as of mid-May 2023); prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with Parliament; deputy prime minister determined during cabinet formation" }, "election results": { - "text": "
2023: on 14 June 2023, Parliament failed in its twelfth session attempt to elect a president

2016: Michel AWN elected president in second round; Parliament vote - Michel AWN (FPM) 83; note - in the initial election held on 23 April 2014, no candidate received the required two-thirds vote, and subsequent attempts failed because Parliament lacked the necessary quorum of 86 members to hold a vote; the president was finally elected in its 46th attempt on 31 October 2016" + "text": "
2023: on 14 June 2023, Parliament failed in its twelfth attempt to elect a president; Parliament vote (first round) - Sulayman FRANJIEH (Marada Movement) 59, Jihad AZOUR (independent) 51; note - the Hezbollah bloc withdrew following the first-round voting and a second round was not possible since Parliament lacked the required 86-member quorum for a second-round vote  

2016: Michel AWN elected president in second round; Parliament vote - Michel AWN (FPM) 83; note - in the initial election held on 23 April 2014, no candidate received the required two-thirds vote, and subsequent attempts failed because Parliament lacked the necessary quorum of 86 members to hold a vote; the president was finally elected in its 46th attempt on 31 October 2016" } }, "Legislative branch": { diff --git a/north-america/us.json b/north-america/us.json index 3f5374b5..645e58be 100644 --- a/north-america/us.json +++ b/north-america/us.json @@ -1298,14 +1298,14 @@ }, "Military service age and obligation": { "text": "18 years of age (17 years of age with parental consent) for voluntary service for men and women; no conscription (currently inactive, but males aged 18-25 must register with Selective Service in case conscription is reinstated in the future); maximum enlistment age 34 (Army), 39 (Air Force), 39 (Navy), 28 (Marines), 31 (Coast Guard); 8-year service obligation, including 2-5 years active duty (Army), 2 years active duty (Navy), 4 years active duty (Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard); all military occupations and positions open to women (2023)", - "note": "note 1: the US military has been all-volunteer since 1973, but an act of Congress can reinstate the draft in case of a national emergency

note 2: in 2020, women comprised 17.2 % of the total US military (16.9% of enlisted; 18.9% officers; highest was Air Force with women comprising 21.1% of its total personnel); a small number of American women were involved in combat during the Revolutionary (1775-1783), Mexican (1846-1848), and Civil (1861-1865) Wars, but they had to disguise themselves as men and enlist under aliases; the first official US military organization for women was the US Army Nurse Corps, established in 1901; during World War I, the US Navy and Marine Corps allowed women to enlist; nearly 350,000 women served in the US military during World War II; the 1991 Gulf War was the first war where women served with men in integrated units within a war zone; in 2015, women were allowed to serve in direct combat roles

note 3: non-citizens living permanently and legally in the US may join as enlisted personnel; must have permission to work in the US, a high school diploma, and speak, read, and write English fluently; minimum age of 17 with parental consent or 18 without; maximum age 29-39, depending on the service; under the US Nationality Act, honorable service in the military may qualify individuals to obtain expedited citizenship; under the Compact of Free Association, citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands may volunteer; under the Jay Treaty, signed in 1794 between Great Britain and the US, and corresponding legislation, Native Americans/First Nations born in Canada are entitled to freely enter the US and join the US military" + "note": "note 1: the US military has been all-volunteer since 1973, but an act of Congress can reinstate the draft in case of a national emergency

note 2: in 2021, women comprised over 17% of the total US active duty military personnel; a small number of American women were involved in combat during the Revolutionary (1775-1783), Mexican (1846-1848), and Civil (1861-1865) Wars, but they had to disguise themselves as men and enlist under aliases; the first official US military organization for women was the US Army Nurse Corps, established in 1901; during World War I, the US Navy and Marine Corps allowed women to enlist; nearly 350,000 women served in the US military during World War II; the 1991 Gulf War was the first war where women served with men in integrated units within a war zone; in 2015, women were allowed to serve in direct combat roles

note 3: non-citizens living permanently and legally in the US may join as enlisted personnel; must have permission to work in the US, a high school diploma, and speak, read, and write English fluently; minimum age of 17 with parental consent or 18 without; maximum age 29-39, depending on the service; under the US Nationality Act, honorable service in the military may qualify individuals to obtain expedited citizenship; under the Compact of Free Association, citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands may volunteer; under the Jay Treaty, signed in 1794 between Great Britain and the US, and corresponding legislation, Native Americans/First Nations born in Canada are entitled to freely enter the US and join the US military" }, "Military deployments": { "text": "5,000 Africa; 1,700 Australia; 250 Diego Garcia; 150 Canada; 650 Cuba (Guantanamo Bay); 290 Egypt (MFO); approximately 85-100,000 Europe; 150 Greenland; 6,200 Guam; 370 Honduras; 55,000 Japan; approximately 15,000 Middle East; 125 Philippines; 28,000 South Korea; 200 Singapore; 100 Thailand (2023)", "note": "note: US military rotational policies affect deployment sizes, and the numbers given may fluctuate; the US deploys ground and air units to select countries for 6-12 month rotational assignments on a continuous basis; in South Korea, for example, the US regularly rotates combat brigades (approximately 3,000 personnel) for 9 months at a time; contingencies also affect US troop deployments; in 2019-2020, the US deployed more than 15,000 additional military personnel to the Middle East for an extended period of time and has sent more than 30,000 reinforcements to Europe in response to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022; in addition, some overseas US naval bases, such as the headquarters of US Naval Forces Central Command (USNAVCENT) in Manama, Bahrain, are frequented by the crews of US ships on 6-9 month deployments; a US carrier strike group with an air wing and supporting ships typically includes over 6,000 personnel" }, "Military - note": { - "text": "the US is a member of NATO and was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949

the US military has 11 regional- or functionally-based joint service \"combatant\" commands: Africa Command; Central Command, Cyber Command, European Command, Indo-Pacific Command, Northern Command, Southern Command, Space Command, Special Operations Command, Strategic Command, and Transportation Command

Congress officially created the US military in September 1789; the US Army was established in June 1775 as the Continental Army; after the declaration of independence in July 1776, the Continental Army and the militia in the service of Congress became known collectively as the Army of the United States; when Congress ordered the Continental Army to disband in 1784, it retained a small number of personnel that would form the nucleus of the 1st American Regiment for national service formed later that year; both the US Navy and the US Marines were also established in 1775, but the Navy fell into disuse after the Revolutionary War, and was reestablished by Congress in 1794; the first US military unit devoted exclusively to aviation began operations in 1913 as part of the US Army; the Army Air Corps (AAC) was the US military service dedicated to aerial warfare between 1926 and 1941; the AAC became the US Army Air Forces in 1941 and remained as a combat arm of the Army until the establishment of the US Air Force in 1947" + "text": "the US is a member of NATO and was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949

the US military has 11 regional- or functionally based joint service \"combatant\" commands: Africa Command; Central Command, Cyber Command, European Command, Indo-Pacific Command, Northern Command, Southern Command, Space Command, Special Operations Command, Strategic Command, and Transportation Command

Congress officially created the US military in September 1789; the US Army was established in June 1775 as the Continental Army; after the declaration of independence in July 1776, the Continental Army and the militia in the service of Congress became known collectively as the Army of the United States; when Congress ordered the Continental Army to disband in 1784, it retained a small number of personnel that would form the nucleus of the 1st American Regiment for national service formed later that year; both the US Navy and the US Marines were also established in 1775, but the Navy fell into disuse after the Revolutionary War, and was reestablished by Congress in 1794; the first US military unit devoted exclusively to aviation began operations in 1913 as part of the US Army; the Army Air Corps (AAC) was the US military service dedicated to aerial warfare between 1926 and 1941; the AAC became the US Army Air Forces in 1941 and remained as a combat arm of the Army until the establishment of the US Air Force in 1947" } }, "Space": { diff --git a/south-america/ar.json b/south-america/ar.json index 3da679f1..e9e4be44 100644 --- a/south-america/ar.json +++ b/south-america/ar.json @@ -578,7 +578,7 @@ "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 27 October 2019 (next to be held in October 2023)" + "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 27 October 2019 (next to be held on 22 October 2023)" }, "election results": { "text": "
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 (PRO) 51.4%, Daniel SCIOLI (PJ) 48.6%" diff --git a/south-america/bl.json b/south-america/bl.json index aa2679f3..224f79c9 100644 --- a/south-america/bl.json +++ b/south-america/bl.json @@ -617,7 +617,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation in the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Maysa Rossana URENA MENACHO (since 1 September 2022)" + "text": "Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Maysa Rossana URENA MENACHO (since 1 September 2022) " }, "chancery": { "text": "3014 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20008" @@ -637,7 +637,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Charisse PHILLIPS (since August 2020)" + "text": "Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Debra HEVIA (since September 2023)" }, "embassy": { "text": "Avenida Arce 2780, La Paz" @@ -1255,14 +1255,14 @@ } }, "Military and security service personnel strengths": { - "text": "estimates range from 40,000 to as many as 70,000 active-duty military personnel; approximately 40,000 National Police (2023)" + "text": "approximately 40,000 active-duty military personnel; approximately 40,000 National Police (2023)" }, "Military equipment inventories and acquisitions": { "text": "the military is equipped with a mix of mostly older Brazilian, Chinese, European, and US equipment; in recent years, France has been the leading supplier (2023)" }, "Military service age and obligation": { "text": "compulsory for all men between the ages of 18 and 22; men can volunteer from the age of 16, women from 18; service is for 12 months; Search and Rescue service can be substituted for citizens who have reached the age of compulsory military service; duration of this service is 24 months (2023)", - "note": "note: foreign nationals 18-22 residing in Bolivia may join the armed forces; joining speeds the process of acquiring Bolivian citizenship by naturalization" + "note": "note 1: foreign nationals 18-22 residing in Bolivia may join the armed forces; joining speeds the process of acquiring Bolivian citizenship by naturalization

note 2: as of 2022, women comprised about 8% of the Bolivian military's personnel" }, "Military - note": { "text": "the Bolivian Armed Forces (FAB) are responsible for territorial defense but also have some internal security duties, particularly counternarcotics and border security; the FAB shares responsibility for border enforcement with the National Police (PNB), and it may be called out to assist the PNB with maintaining public order in critical situations; the Army is the largest service and is organized into 6 military regions and 10 divisional headquarters; most of the combat units are light, motorized, or mechanized infantry along with a sizeable contingent of mechanized, motorized, or horse cavalry; the Army also has a special operations command with airborne, ranger, and special forces units; the Air Force does not have any fighter aircraft but rather a small force of reconnaissance and transport aircraft and multirole helicopters 

Bolivia has a small naval force for patrolling some 5,000 miles of navigable rivers to combat narcotics trafficking and smuggling, provide disaster relief, and deliver supplies to remote rural areas, as well as for maintaining a presence on Lake Titicaca; the Navy also exists in part to cultivate a maritime tradition and as a reminder of Bolivia’s desire to regain the access to the Pacific Ocean that the country lost to Chile in the War of the Pacific (1879-1884); every year on 23 March, the Navy participates in parades and government ceremonies commemorating the Día Del Mar (Day of the Sea) holiday that remembers the loss (2023)" diff --git a/south-america/br.json b/south-america/br.json index 39a73a0c..f2f8bd69 100644 --- a/south-america/br.json +++ b/south-america/br.json @@ -654,7 +654,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Douglas A. KONEFF (since July 2021)" + "text": "Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley BAGLEY (since 5 February 2023)" }, "embassy": { "text": "SES - Avenida das Nações, Quadra 801, Lote 3, 70403-900 - Brasília, DF" @@ -1328,7 +1328,7 @@ }, "Military service age and obligation": { "text": "18-45 years of age for compulsory military service for men (women exempted); only 5-10% of those inducted are required to serve; conscript service obligation is 10-12 months; 17-45 years of age for voluntary service (2023)", - "note": "note: in 2020, women comprised approximately 9% of the Brazilian military" + "note": "note: in 2022, women comprised approximately 9% of the Brazilian military" }, "Military - note": { "text": "the Brazilian Armed Forces (BAF) are the second largest military in the Western Hemisphere behind the US; while they are responsible for external security and protecting the country’s sovereignty, Brazil does not have any territorial disputes with its neighbors or regional rivalries; the BAF’s missions include patrolling and protecting the country’s long borders and coastline and extensive territorial waters and river network, assisting with internal security, providing domestic disaster response and humanitarian assistance, and participating in multinational peacekeeping missions

the Army has a considerable internal security role; in the past decade, it has mobilized thousands of troops to conduct counternarcotics operations, support the police in combating crime, assist with disease outbreaks and humanitarian missions, and provide security for major events such as the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics; it has also cooperated with neighboring countries such as Argentina and Paraguay on border security to combat smuggling and trafficking; the Army is organized into regional commands, military regions, and geographically based divisions covering the entirety of the country; it has approximately 30 combat brigades which include light, mechanized, or motorized infantry, light armored/cavalry, special operations, artillery, and helicopter forces; many of the light infantry brigades are specialized for air mobile, airborne, jungle, mountain, or urban warfare operations; the Army has established a battalion-sized (1,000 troops) expeditionary force for foreign international missions that it plans to increase to a 3,000-strong brigade by 2030

the Navy conducts coastal, regional, and riverine operations and has a wide variety of missions ranging from sea patrolling and power projection to countering piracy, illegal fishing, narcotics trafficking, and organized crime; it is organized into 9 districts covering the entirety of the country; the Navy’s principal warships include approximately 14 frigates, corvettes, and offshore patrol ships, 7 attack submarines, and a multi-purpose helicopter landing platform (LPH) amphibious assault ship that serves as the fleet’s flagship; it also has a considerable coastal and riverine patrol vessel fleet, an aviation wing with about 50 combat aircraft and helicopters, and a marine amphibious force

the Air Force has over 100 fighter and ground attack aircraft, as well as dozens of support aircraft and helicopters for missions such as patrolling, reconnaissance, transport, logistics, special missions, and training

the three national police forces – the Federal Police, Federal Highway Police, and Federal Railway Police – have domestic security responsibilities and report to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Ministry of Justice); there are two distinct units within the state police forces: the civil police, which performs an investigative role, and the military police, charged with maintaining law and order in the states and the Federal District; despite the name, military police forces report to the Ministry of Justice, not the Ministry of Defense; the National Public Security Force (Forca Nacional de Seguranca Publica or SENASP) is a national police force made up of Military Police from various states; the armed forces also have some domestic security responsibilities and report to the Ministry of Defense

Brazil has Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status with the US, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation

the origins of Brazil's military stretch back to the 1640s; Brazil provided a 25,000-man expeditionary force with air and ground units to fight with the Allies in the Mediterranean Theater during World War II; the Navy participated in the Battle of the Atlantic (2023)" diff --git a/south-america/ci.json b/south-america/ci.json index 15022810..4555e307 100644 --- a/south-america/ci.json +++ b/south-america/ci.json @@ -620,7 +620,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Richard H. GLENN (since August 2020)" + "text": "Ambassador Bernadette M. MEEHAN (since 30 September 2022)" }, "embassy": { "text": "Avenida Andres Bello 2800, Las Condes, Santiago" diff --git a/south-america/ec.json b/south-america/ec.json index 36e70c85..b434d69c 100644 --- a/south-america/ec.json +++ b/south-america/ec.json @@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ "text": "unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (137 seats; 116 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 15 members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by open-list proportional representation vote, and 6 directly elected in multi-seat constituencies for Ecuadorians living abroad by simple majority vote; members serve 4-year terms); note - all Assembly members have alternates from the same party who cast votes when a primary member is absent, resigns, or is removed from office" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 20 August 2023 (next scheduled on 28 February 2025); note – on 18 May 2023, Ecuador’s National Electoral Council announced that the legislative and presidential elections—originally scheduled for February 2025—would be held on 20 August 2023 after President Guillermo LASSO dissolved the National Assembly by decree on 17 May 2023; a return to a regular election cycle will occur in February 2025" + "text": "last held on 20 August 2023 (next to be held on 28 February 2025); note – on 18 May 2023, Ecuador’s National Electoral Council announced that the legislative and presidential elections—originally scheduled for February 2025—would be held on 20 August 2023 after President Guillermo LASSO dissolved the National Assembly by decree on 17 May 2023; a return to a regular election cycle will occur in February 2025" }, "election results": { "text": "percent of vote by party - MRC  39.7%, Construye 20.4%, ADN 14.6%, PSC 11.9%, Actuemos 4.5%, PSP 3.2%, other 5.7%; seats by party - NA; note - defections by National Assembly members are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties" diff --git a/south-america/ns.json b/south-america/ns.json index f72a63ad..7ab606b5 100644 --- a/south-america/ns.json +++ b/south-america/ns.json @@ -599,7 +599,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador Robert J. FAUCHER (since 20 November 2018)" + "text": "Ambassador Robert J. FAUCHER (since 31 January 2023)" }, "embassy": { "text": "165 Kristalstraat, Paramaribo" diff --git a/south-america/pe.json b/south-america/pe.json index 2d684069..c7253b3a 100644 --- a/south-america/pe.json +++ b/south-america/pe.json @@ -652,7 +652,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador Lisa Suzanne KENNA (since 18 March 2021)" + "text": "Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires John T. MCNAMARA (since 8 September 2023)" }, "embassy": { "text": "Avenida La Encalada, Cuadra 17 s/n, Surco, Lima 33" diff --git a/south-america/uy.json b/south-america/uy.json index bf443ec6..3c30d893 100644 --- a/south-america/uy.json +++ b/south-america/uy.json @@ -629,7 +629,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Jennifer SAVAGE (since 20 January 2021)" + "text": "Ambassador Heide B. FULTON (since 22 March 2023)" }, "embassy": { "text": "Lauro Muller 1776, Montevideo 11200" diff --git a/south-america/ve.json b/south-america/ve.json index 06741d5d..284bfc3a 100644 --- a/south-america/ve.json +++ b/south-america/ve.json @@ -1186,8 +1186,7 @@ "note": "note: the US prohibited the sale or transfer of military arms or technology to Venezuela in 2006" }, "Military service age and obligation": { - "text": "18-30 (25 for women) for voluntary service; the minimum service obligation is 24-30 months; all citizens of military service age (18-50) are obligated to register for military service and subject to military training, although “forcible recruitment” is forbidden (2023)", - "note": "note: as of 2017, women made up more than 20% of the active duty military" + "text": "18-30 (25 for women) for voluntary service; the minimum service obligation is 24-30 months; all citizens of military service age (18-50) are obligated to register for military service and subject to military training, although “forcible recruitment” is forbidden (2023)" }, "Military - note": { "text": "the armed forces (FANB) are responsible for ensuring Venezuela’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity but also have a domestic role, including assisting with maintaining internal order and law enforcement, contributing to national socio-economic development, and providing disaster/humanitarian assistance; the military conducts security operations in large parts of the country and has been deployed against illegal armed groups operating in the Colombian border region and other areas of the country to combat organized crime gangs involved in narcotics trafficking and illegal mining

the military has a large role in the country’s economy and political sectors; between 2013 and 2017, Venezuela established at least a dozen military-led firms in economic areas, such as agriculture, banking, construction, insurance, the media, mining, oil, and tourism; military officers reportedly lead as many as 60 state-owned companies; as of 2023, 14 of 32 government ministries were controlled by the military, including the ministries of agriculture, food, petroleum, and water

the FANB is deployed throughout the country in one maritime and seven geographical regional commands known as Integral Strategic Defense Regions (Regiones Estrategicas de Defensa Integral or REDI) that are mandated to provide for the defense, security, social, and economic needs of their respective areas of responsibility; the REDIs are further broken down into zones and state commands; the Army has six divisional headquarters and approximately 21 combat brigades spread amongst the seven geographical REDIs; the brigades are a mix of armored, artillery, infantry, military police, motorized cavalry, and special operations forces; some infantry brigades are mechanized or are specialized for airborne, jungle, mountain, or security operations; the Army also has an aviation brigade; the Navy is a coastal defense force and includes commands for operations, aviation, and the coast guard; the operational readiness of the Navy’s ship inventory has been affected by Venezuela’s economic problems; its principal operational warships include two frigates and approximately four ocean-going patrol ships; it also has two attack submarines although they are not assessed to be operational; the Navy has a marine infantry force that includes several amphibious or riverine brigades and a special operations brigade; the Air Force has less than 50 US- and Russian-made fighters and multirole fighter aircraft; the National Guard is organized into nine regional commands which control battalion and regimental size units; the Bolivarian Militia is reportedly divided into a reserve service, a territorial guard component comprised of local battalions and detachments, and a coastal guard force

members of the terrorist organizations National Liberation Army (ELN) and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia dissidents (FARC-People's Army and Segundo Marquetalia - see Appendix T) operate in Venezuela, mostly in the states of Amazonas, Apure, Bolivar, Guarico, Tachira, and Zulia; the ELN is assessed to be present in 12 of Venezuela’s 23 states; the groups are particularly active in Apure state; the Venezuelan military has been deployed to the border region to patrol border crossings and has clashed with both the ELN and the FARC dissident groups (2023)" diff --git a/south-asia/bt.json b/south-asia/bt.json index e1c3ac31..036dc375 100644 --- a/south-asia/bt.json +++ b/south-asia/bt.json @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@ }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { - "text": "bicameral Parliament or Chi Tshog consists of:
non-partisan National Council or Gyelyong Tshogde (25 seats; 20 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 5 members appointed by the king; members serve 5-year terms)
National Assembly or Tshogdu (47 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies in a two-round majoritarian voting system; members serve 5-year terms)" + "text": "bicameral Parliament or Chi Tshog consists of:
non-partisan National Council or Gyelyong Tshogde (25 seats; 20 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 5 members appointed by the king; members serve 5-year terms)
National Assembly or Tshogdu (47 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies in a two-round system; in the primary round, contesting political parties are directly selected by simple majority vote; in the main round, the two top parties in the primary round field candidates who are directly elected by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms)  " }, "elections": { - "text": "
National Council - last held on 20 April 2023 (next to be held in 2028)
National Assembly - first round held on 15 September 2018 and second round held on 18 October 2018 (next to be held in October 2023)" + "text": "
National Council - last held on 20 April 2023 (next to be held in 2028)
National Assembly - primary round held on 15 September 2018 and main round held on 18 October 2018 (next primary round be held in December 2023 and main round to be held in January 2024)" }, "election results": { "text": "
National Council - seats by party - independent 20 (all candidates ran as independents) and 5 appointed by the king; composition (elected only) - men 19, women 1, percent of women 5%; note - composition of 5 appointments by the king unavailable as of mid-May 2023
National Assembly - first round - percent of vote by party - DNT 31.9%, DPT 30.9%, PDP 27.4%, BKP 9.8%; second round - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DNT 30, DPT 17; composition - men 40, women 7, percent of women 14.9%; note - total Parliament NA" diff --git a/south-asia/in.json b/south-asia/in.json index 47e6b00b..dd1905de 100644 --- a/south-asia/in.json +++ b/south-asia/in.json @@ -1292,6 +1292,9 @@ "note": "note 1: the Defense Security Corps provides security for Ministry of Defense sites

note 2: the Border Security Force (BSF) is responsible for the Indo-Pakistan and Indo-Bangladesh borders; the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB or Armed Border Force) guards the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders

note 3: the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) includes a Rapid Reaction Force (RAF) for riot control and the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) for counter-insurgency operations 

note 4: the Assam Rifles are under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs, while operational control falls under the Ministry of Defense (specifically the Indian Army)" }, "Military expenditures": { + "Military Expenditures 2023": { + "text": "2% of GDP (2023 est.)" + }, "Military Expenditures 2022": { "text": "2.1% of GDP (2022 est.)" }, @@ -1303,9 +1306,6 @@ }, "Military Expenditures 2019": { "text": "2.4% of GDP (2019 est.)" - }, - "Military Expenditures 2018": { - "text": "2.4% of GDP (2018 est.)" } }, "Military and security service personnel strengths": { @@ -1352,7 +1352,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "92,131 (Sri Lanka), 72,315 (Tibet/China), 74,607 (Burma) (refugees and asylum seekers), 10,064 (Afghanistan) (mid-year 2022)" + "text": "92,131 (Sri Lanka), 72,315 (Tibet/China), 10,064 (Afghanistan) (mid-year 2022); 78,731 (Burma) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2023)" }, "IDPs": { "text": "631,000 (armed conflict and intercommunal violence) (2022)" diff --git a/south-asia/io.json b/south-asia/io.json index f6888b6a..0cd76c97 100644 --- a/south-asia/io.json +++ b/south-asia/io.json @@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ "text": "King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022)" }, "head of government": { - "text": "Commissioner Paul CANDLER (since 8 July 2021); Administrator Kit PYMAN; note - both reside in the UK and are represented by Commander Steven R. DRYSDALE, RN, commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia (since 19 February 2021)" + "text": "Commissioner Paul CANDLER (since 8 July 2021); Administrator Balraj DHANDA; note - both reside in the UK and are represented by Commander Colvin OSBORN, RN, Officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia (since January 2022)" }, "cabinet": { "text": "NA" diff --git a/south-asia/pk.json b/south-asia/pk.json index 58a47c22..9841c5ea 100644 --- a/south-asia/pk.json +++ b/south-asia/pk.json @@ -601,7 +601,7 @@ "text": "Cabinet appointed by the president upon the advice of the prime minister" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president indirectly elected by the Electoral College consisting of members of the Senate, National Assembly, and provincial assemblies for a 5-year term (limited to 2 consecutive terms); election last held on 4 September 2018 (next to be held in 2023); prime minister elected by the National Assembly on 11 April 2022" + "text": "president indirectly elected by the Electoral College consisting of members of the Senate, National Assembly, and provincial assemblies for a 5-year term (limited to 2 consecutive terms); election last held on 4 September 2018 (next expected to be held in early 2024); prime minister elected by the National Assembly on 11 April 2022" }, "election results": { "text": "
2018: Arif ALVI elected president; Electoral College vote - Arif ALVI (PTI) 352, Fazl-ur-REHMAN (MMA) 184, Aitzaz AHSAN (PPP) 124; Imran KHAN elected prime minister; National Assembly vote - Imran KHAN (PTI) 176, Shehbaz SHARIF (PML-N) 96

2013: Mamnoon HUSSAIN elected president; National Assembly vote - Mamnoon HUSSAIN (PML-N) 432, Wajihuddin AHMED (PTI) 77" @@ -612,7 +612,7 @@ "text": "bicameral Parliament or Majlis-e-Shoora consists of:
Senate (100 seats; members indirectly elected by the 4 provincial assemblies and the federal capital territory indirectly elected by the National Assembly using proportional representation vote; members serve 6-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 3 years)
National Assembly (342 seats; 272 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 70 members - 60 women and 10 non-Muslims - directly elected by proportional representation vote; all members serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "
Senate - last held on 3 March 2021 (next to be held in March 2024)
National Assembly - last held on 25 July 2018 (next to be held in October 2023)
note: Parliament dissolved on 9 August 2023; government placed in caretaker status until new elections - initially scheduled for November 2023 - but expected to be delayed until February 2024 due to Election Commission of Pakistan changes in electoral districts" + "text": "
Senate - last held on 3 March 2021 (next to be held on 3 March 2024)
National Assembly - last held on 25 July 2018 (next rescheduled from October 2023 to 31 January 2024 to 4 February 2024 due to the redrawing of many electoral district boundaries)" }, "election results": { "text": "
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PTI 25, PPP 21, PML-N 18, BAP 13, JUI-F 5, other 13, independent 5; composition - men 81, women 19, percent of women 19%

National Assembly - percent of votes by party - NA; seats by party - PTI 156, PML-N 83, PPP 55, MMA 16, MQM-P 7, BAP 5, PML-Q 5, BNP-M 4, GDA 3, AML 1, ANP 1, JWP 1, independent 4; composition - men 272, women 70, percent of women 20.2%; note - total Parliament percent of women 20.1%"