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@ -26,10 +26,7 @@
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "slightly larger than South Carolina; slightly smaller than Maine",
"Area comparison map": {
"text": null
}
"text": "slightly larger than South Carolina; slightly smaller than Maine"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
@ -62,12 +59,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert; mountains in east"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Persian Gulf 0 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "149 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Jabal Yibir 1,527 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m ++ highest point: Jabal Yibir 1,527 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -85,18 +82,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "920 sq km (2010)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "0.15 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "3.99 cu km/yr (15%/2%/83%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "739.5 cu m/yr (2005)"
}
"text": "923 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "frequent sand and dust storms"
@ -117,6 +103,12 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "5,927,482 (July 2016 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "the UN estimated the country's total population was 9,267,000 as of mid-year 2016; immigrants make up almost 85% of the total population, according to 2015 UN data (2016)"
}
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Emirati(s)"
@ -126,7 +118,7 @@
}
},
"Ethnic groups": {
"text": "Emirati 19%, other Arab and Iranian 23%, South Asian 50%, other expatriates (includes Westerners and East Asians) 8% (1982)",
"text": "Emirati 19%, other Arab and Iranian 23%, South Asian 50%, other expatriates (includes Westerners and East Asians) 8%",
"note": {
"text": "less than 20% are UAE citizens (1982)"
}
@ -135,38 +127,26 @@
"text": "Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu"
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Muslim (Islam; official) 76%, Christian 9%, other (primarily Hindu and Buddhist, less than 5% of the population consists of Parsi, Baha'i, Druze, Sikh, Ahmadi, Ismaili, Dawoodi Bohra Muslim, and Jewish) 15%",
"text": "Muslim (official) 76%, Christian 9%, other (primarily Hindu and Buddhist, less than 5% of the population consists of Parsi, Baha'i, Druze, Sikh, Ahmadi, Ismaili, Dawoodi Bohra Muslim, and Jewish) 15%",
"note": {
"text": "represents the total population; about 85% of the population consists of noncitizens (2005 est.)"
},
"religious affiliation": {
"text": null
}
},
"Population": {
"text": "5,779,760",
"note": {
"text": "the UN estimates the country's total population to be 9,445,624 as of mid-year 2014; immigrants make up more than 80% of the total population, according to 2013 UN data (2014) (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "20.85% (male 616,669/female 588,546)"
"text": "20.94% (male 634,996/female 605,985)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "13.57% (male 466,663/female 317,735)"
"text": "13.53% (male 476,813/female 324,982)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "61.38% (male 2,704,889/female 842,852)"
"text": "61.27% (male 2,767,886/female 863,816)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "3.18% (male 137,753/female 46,214)"
"text": "3.23% (male 142,661/female 48,715)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "1.01% (male 36,725/female 21,714) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "1.04% (male 38,444/female 23,184) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -191,20 +171,20 @@
"text": "32.1 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "25.1 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "25.1 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "2.58% (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.47% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "15.43 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "15.3 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "1.97 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "2 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "12.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "11.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -228,16 +208,16 @@
"text": "1.47 male(s)/female"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "3.21 male(s)/female"
"text": "3.2 male(s)/female"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "2.98 male(s)/female"
"text": "2.93 male(s)/female"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "1.69 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "2.18 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.18 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
@ -245,31 +225,31 @@
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "10.59 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "10.3 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "12.35 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "12 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "8.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "8.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "77.29 years"
"text": "77.5 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "74.67 years"
"text": "74.8 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "80.04 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "80.2 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "2.35 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.33 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "3.2% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "3.6% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "2.53 physicians/1,000 population (2010)"
@ -319,7 +299,7 @@
"text": "93.1%"
},
"female": {
"text": "95.8% (2005 est.)"
"text": "95.8% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
@ -353,10 +333,13 @@
},
"abbreviation": {
"text": "UAE"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "self-descriptive country name; the name \"Arabia\" can be traced back many centuries B.C., the ancient Egyptians referred to the region as \"Ar Rabi\"; \"emirates\" derives from \"amir\" the Arabic word for \"commander,\" \"lord,\" or \"prince\""
}
},
"Government type": {
"text": "federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to member emirates"
"text": "federation of monarchies"
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
@ -379,7 +362,7 @@
"text": "Independence Day, 2 December (1971)"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "previous 1971 (provisional); latest drafted in 1979, became permanent May 1996; amended 2009 (2015)"
"text": "previous 1971 (provisional); latest drafted in 1979, became permanent May 1996; amended 2009 (2016)"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "mixed legal system of Islamic law and civil law"
@ -388,14 +371,17 @@
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship": {
"birthright citizenship": {
"text": ""
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "the father must be a citizen of the United Arab Emirates; if the father is unknown, the mother must be a citizen"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "no"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization": {
"text": ""
"text": "30 years"
}
},
"Suffrage": {
@ -418,15 +404,15 @@
"text": "KHALIFA bin Zayid Al-Nuhayyan reelected president; FSC vote NA"
},
"note": {
"text": "there is also a Federal Supreme Council (FSC) composed of the seven emirate rulers; the FSC is the highest constitutional authority in the UAE; establishes general policies and sanctions federal legislation; meets 4 times a year; Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) and Dubayy (Dubai) rulers have effective veto power"
"text": "there is also a Federal Supreme Council (FSC) composed of the 7 emirate rulers; the FSC is the highest constitutional authority in the UAE; establishes general policies and sanctions federal legislation; meets 4 times a year; Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) and Dubayy (Dubai) rulers have effective veto power"
}
},
"Legislative branch": {
"description": {
"text": "unicameral Federal National Council or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; 20 members appointed by the rulers of the 7 constituent states and 20 indirectly elected by an electoral college whose members are selected by each emirate ruler proportional to its FNC membership; members serve 4-year terms)"
"text": "unicameral Federal National Council (FNC) or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; 20 members appointed by the rulers of the 7 constituent states and 20 indirectly elected by an electoral college whose members are selected by each emirate ruler proportional to its FNC membership; members serve 4-year terms)"
},
"elections": {
"text": "last held on 3 October 2015 (next to be held in 2019); note - the electoral college was expanded from 129,274 electors in the December 2011 election to 224,279 in the October 2015 election; elections for candidates rather than political parties; 347 candidates including 78 women ran for 20 contested FNC seats"
"text": "last held on 3 October 2015 (next to be held in 2019); note - the electoral college was expanded from 129,274 electors in the December 2011 election to 224,279 in the October 2015 election; elections for candidates rather than political parties; 347 candidates including 78 women ran for 20 contested seats in the 40-member FNC; 80,000 voters, or 35% of eligible voters, turned out to vote and 19 men and one woman were elected"
},
"election results": {
"text": "elected FNC seats by emirate - Abu Dhabi 4, Dubai 4, Sharjah 3, Ras al-Khaimah 3, Ajman 2, Fujairah 2, Umm al-Quwain 2; note - only 1 woman (from Ras Al Khaimah) won an FNC seat"
@ -437,10 +423,10 @@
"text": "Federal Supreme Court (consists of the court president and 4 judges)"
},
"judge selection and term of office": {
"text": "judges appointed by the federal president following approval by the Federal Supreme Council, which includes the rulers of the 7 emirates; judge term NA"
"text": "judges appointed by the federal president following approval by the Federal Supreme Council, which includes the rulers of the 7 emirates; judges serve until retirement age or the expiry of their appointment term"
},
"subordinate courts": {
"text": "Federal Court of Cassation (determines the constitutionality of laws promulgated at the federal and local (emirate) levels; federal level courts of first instance and appeals courts; each emirate has its own court system"
"text": "Federal Court of Cassation (determines the constitutionality of laws promulgated at the federal and local (emirate) level; federal level courts of first instance and appeals courts; each emirate has its own court system"
}
},
"Political parties and leaders": {
@ -464,6 +450,9 @@
},
"FAX": {
"text": "[1] (202) 243-2432"
},
"consulate(s) general": {
"text": "Los Angeles"
}
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US": {
@ -506,58 +495,58 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "The UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Successful efforts at economic diversification have reduced the portion of GDP based on oil and gas output to 25%. Since the discovery of oil in the UAE more than 30 years ago, the country has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. The government has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure expansion and is opening up utilities to greater private sector involvement. The country's free trade zones - offering 100% foreign ownership and zero taxes - are helping to attract foreign investors. The global financial crisis of 2008, tight international credit, and deflated asset prices constricted the economy in 2009. UAE authorities tried to blunt the crisis by increasing spending and boosting liquidity in the banking sector. The crisis hit Dubai hardest, as it was heavily exposed to depressed real estate prices. Dubai lacked sufficient cash to meet its debt obligations, prompting global concern about its solvency and ultimately a $20 billion bailout from the UAE Central Bank and Abu Dhabi-emirate government that was refinanced in March 2014. Dependence on oil, a large expatriate workforce, and growing inflation pressures are significant long-term challenges. The UAE's strategic plan for the next few years focuses on economic diversification and creating more job opportunities for nationals through improved education and increased private sector employment."
"text": "The UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Successful efforts at economic diversification have reduced the portion of GDP based on oil and gas output to 25%. ++ ++ Since the discovery of oil in the UAE more than 30 years ago, the country has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. The government has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure expansion and is opening up utilities to greater private sector involvement. The country's free trade zones - offering 100% foreign ownership and zero taxes - are helping to attract foreign investors. ++ ++ The global financial crisis of 2008-09, tight international credit, and deflated asset prices constricted the economy in 2009. UAE authorities tried to blunt the crisis by increasing spending and boosting liquidity in the banking sector. The crisis hit Dubai hardest, as it was heavily exposed to depressed real estate prices. Dubai lacked sufficient cash to meet its debt obligations, prompting global concern about its solvency and ultimately a $20 billion bailout from the UAE Central Bank and Abu Dhabi Government that was refinanced in March 2014. ++ ++ Dependence on oil, a large expatriate workforce, and growing inflation pressures are significant long-term challenges. Low oil prices have prompted the UAE to take steps to reduce its social spending, including eliminating fuel subsidies in August 2015, but the UAE has sufficient assets to cover its deficits with money from its sovereign investment funds. The UAE's strategic plan for the next few years focuses on economic diversification and creating more job opportunities for nationals through improved education and increased private sector employment."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$617.1 billion (2014 est.) ++ $590.2 billion (2013 est.) ++ $565.7 billion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$644 billion (2015 est.) ++ $619.4 billion (2014 est.) ++ $600.9 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$399.5 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$370.3 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "4.6% (2014 est.) ++ 4.3% (2013 est.) ++ 7.2% (2012 est.)"
"text": "4% (2015 est.) ++ 3.1% (2014 est.) ++ 4.7% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$66,300 (2014 est.) ++ $63,400 (2013 est.) ++ $60,800 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$67,200 (2015 est.) ++ $66,600 (2014 est.) ++ $66,500 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "38.3% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 41.6% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 44.5% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "25.4% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 38.1% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 41.2% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "48.1%"
"text": "56%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "7.5%"
"text": "8.7%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "23.7%"
"text": "27.4%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "0.6%"
"text": "-3.1%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "98%"
"text": "90%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-77.9% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-79% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "0.7%"
"text": "0.8%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "55.1%"
"text": "46.9%"
},
"services": {
"text": "44.3% (2014 est.)"
"text": "52.3% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -567,12 +556,12 @@
"text": "petroleum and petrochemicals; fishing, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, commercial ship repair, construction materials, handicrafts, textiles"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "4.5% (2014 est.)"
"text": "2.4% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "4.891 million",
"text": "5.087 million",
"note": {
"text": "expatriates account for about 85% of the work force (2014 est.)"
"text": "expatriates account for about 85% of the workforce (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Labor force - by occupation": {
@ -602,83 +591,97 @@
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$150.8 billion"
"text": "$102.8 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$130.9 billion"
"text": "$116.5 billion"
},
"note": {
"text": "the UAE federal budget does not account for emirate-level spending in Abu Dhabi and Dubai (2014 est.)"
"text": "the UAE federal budget does not account for emirate-level spending in Abu Dhabi and Dubai (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "37.8% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "29.8% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "5% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-4% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "45.4% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 44.7% of GDP (2013 est.)"
"text": "51.3% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 43.5% of GDP (2014 est.)"
},
"Fiscal year": {
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "2.3% (2014 est.) ++ 1.1% (2013 est.)"
"text": "4.1% (2015 est.) ++ 2.3% (2014 est.)"
},
"Central bank discount rate": {
"text": "NA%"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$118.7 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $103.3 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$124.4 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $118.7 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$343.6 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $287.7 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$331.7 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $320.2 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$370.7 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $331.7 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$67.95 billion (31 December 2012 est.) ++ $71.33 billion (31 December 2011) ++ $77.08 billion (31 December 2010 est.)"
"text": "$195.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $201.6 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $180.3 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "$54.63 billion (2014 est.) ++ $71.38 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$12.31 billion (2015 est.) ++ $40.33 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$370.6 billion (2014 est.) ++ $374.2 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$333.3 billion (2015 est.) ++ $367.5 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "crude oil 45%, natural gas, reexports, dried fish, dates (2012 est.)"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "Japan 14.8%, Iran 11.4%, India 9.6%, South Korea 5.7%, China 5.5%, Singapore 5.4%, Thailand 4.5% (2014)"
"text": "Iran 14.5%, Japan 9.8%, India 9.2%, China 4.7%, Oman 4.3% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$239.8 billion (2014 est.) ++ $230 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$243.9 billion (2015 est.) ++ $239.8 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "China 15.7%, India 13.4%, US 8.9%, Germany 5.3% (2014)"
"text": "China 15.7%, India 12.8%, US 9.7%, Germany 6.8%, UK 4.4% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$78.42 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $68.2 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$93.93 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $78.42 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$171.9 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $167.1 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$204.3 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $192.5 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
"text": "$116.4 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $103.4 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$126.7 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $116.3 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad": {
"text": "$81.6 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $72.59 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$90.86 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $81.6 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "Emirati dirhams (AED) per US dollar - ++ 3.673 (2014 est.) ++ 3.673 (2013 est.) ++ 3.67 (2012 est.) ++ 3.673 (2011 est.) ++ 3.6725 (2010 est.)"
"text": "Emirati dirhams (AED) per US dollar - ++ 3.673 (2015 est.) ++ 3.673 (2014 est.) ++ 3.673 (2013 est.) ++ 3.67 (2012 est.) ++ 3.673 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"population without electricity": {
"text": "177,824"
},
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "98%"
},
"electrification - urban areas": {
"text": "99%"
},
"electrification - rural areas": {
"text": "93% (2012)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "100.5 billion kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -752,18 +755,18 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "2.1 million"
"text": "2,208,425"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "37 (2014 est.)"
"text": "38 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "16.8 million"
"text": "17.943 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "299 (2014 est.)"
"text": "310 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -771,34 +774,45 @@
"text": "modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile-cellular telephones; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubai"
},
"domestic": {
"text": "microwave radio relay, fiber optic and coaxial cable"
"text": "microwave radio relay, fiber-optic and coaxial cable"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 971; linked to the international submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe); landing point for both the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable networks; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia (2011)"
"text": "country code - 971; linked to the international submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe); landing point for both the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable networks; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "except for the many organizations now operating in Dubai's Media Free Zone, most TV and radio stations remain government-owned; widespread use of satellite dishes provides access to pan-Arab and other international broadcasts (2007)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 13, FM 8, shortwave 2 (2004)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "15 (2004)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".ae"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "5.2 million"
"text": "5.274 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "93.2% (2014 est.)"
"text": "91.2% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "12"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "498"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "84,738,479"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "16.647 billion mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "A6 (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "43 (2013)"
},
@ -839,7 +853,7 @@
"text": "6"
},
"under 914 m": {
"text": " ++ 6 (2013)"
"text": "6 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports": {
@ -882,39 +896,15 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "United Arab Emirates Armed Forces: Critical Infrastructure Coastal Patrol Agency (CICPA), Land Forces, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense, Presidential Guard (2015)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "18-30 years of age for compulsory military service for men, optional service for women; 17 years of age for male volunteers with parental approval; 2-year general obligation, 9 months for secondary school graduates; women may train for 9 months regardless of education (2014)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "2,676,928 (includes non-nationals)"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "981,649 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "2,229,366"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "842,759 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "27,439"
},
"female": {
"text": "24,419 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Military expenditures": {
"text": "NA% (2012) ++ 5.5% of GDP (2011) ++ NA% (2010)"
"text": "NA% (2012) ++ 5.5% of GDP (2011)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues": {

298
middle-east/aj.json
View file

@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "Azerbaijan - a nation with a majority-Turkic and majority-Shia Muslim population - was briefly independent (from 1918 to 1920) following the collapse of the Russian Empire; it was subsequently incorporated into the Soviet Union for seven decades. Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated region that Moscow recognized in 1923 as an autonomous republic within Soviet Azerbaijan after Armenia and Azerbaijan disputed the territory's status. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the area in 1988; the struggle escalated after both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, ethnic Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also seven surrounding provinces in the territory of Azerbaijan. The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by the United States, France, and Russia, is the framework established to mediate a peaceful resolution of the conflict. ++ Corruption in the country is widespread, and the government, which eliminated presidential term limits in a 2009 referendum, has been accused of authoritarianism. Although the poverty rate has been reduced and infrastructure investment has increased substantially in recent years due to revenue from oil and gas production, reforms have not adequately addressed weaknesses in most government institutions, particularly in the education and health sectors, as well as the court system."
"text": "Azerbaijan - a nation with a majority-Turkic and majority-Shia Muslim population - was briefly independent (from 1918 to 1920) following the collapse of the Russian Empire; it was subsequently incorporated into the Soviet Union for seven decades. Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily ethnic Armenian-populated region that Moscow recognized in 1923 as an autonomous republic within Soviet Azerbaijan after Armenia and Azerbaijan disputed the territory's status. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the area in 1988; the struggle escalated after both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, ethnic Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also seven surrounding provinces in the territory of Azerbaijan. The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by the US, France, and Russia, is the framework established to mediate a peaceful resolution of the conflict. ++ Corruption in the country is widespread, and the government, which eliminated presidential term limits in a 2009 referendum, has been accused of authoritarianism. Although the poverty rate has been reduced and infrastructure investment has increased substantially in recent years due to revenue from oil and gas production, reforms have not adequately addressed weaknesses in most government institutions, particularly in the education and health sectors, as well as the court system."
}
},
"Geography": {
@ -51,12 +51,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "large, flat Kur-Araz Ovaligi (Kura-Araks Lowland, much of it below sea level) with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, Qarabag Yaylasi (Karabakh Upland) to the west; Baku lies on Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) that juts into Caspian Sea"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Caspian Sea -28 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "384 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m ++ highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -74,18 +74,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "14,250 sq km (2010)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "34.68 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "12.21 cu km/yr (4%/18%/78%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "1,384 cu m/yr (2010)"
}
"text": "14,277 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "droughts"
@ -106,6 +95,9 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "9,872,765 (July 2016 est.)"
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Azerbaijani(s)"
@ -117,36 +109,33 @@
"Ethnic groups": {
"text": "Azerbaijani 91.6%, Lezgian 2%, Russian 1.3%, Armenian 1.3%, Talysh 1.3%, other 2.4%",
"note": {
"text": "almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region (2009 est.)"
"text": "the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region is populated almost entirely by ethnic Armenians (2009 est.)"
}
},
"Languages": {
"text": "Azerbaijani (Azeri) (official) 92.5%, Russian 1.4%, Armenian 1.4%, other 4.7% (2009 est.)"
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Muslim 96.9% (predominantly Shia), Christian 3%, other \nnote: religious affiliation is still nominal in Azerbaijan; percentages for actual practicing adherents are much lower\n\n"
},
"Population": {
"text": "9,780,780 (July 2015 est.)"
"text": "Muslim 96.9% (predominantly Shia), Christian 3%, other <0.1, unaffiliated <0.1 (2010 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "religious affiliation is still nominal in Azerbaijan; percentages for actual practicing adherents are much lower"
}
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "22.72% (male 1,190,101/female 1,031,632)"
"text": "22.82% (male 1,204,976/female 1,047,737)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "16.69% (male 847,738/female 784,379)"
"text": "15.77% (male 812,537/female 744,538)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "45.17% (male 2,158,226/female 2,259,284)"
"text": "45.28% (male 2,188,683/female 2,281,242)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "9.06% (male 409,137/female 477,078)"
"text": "9.64% (male 439,566/female 512,118)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "6.37% (male 237,547/female 385,658) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "6.5% (male 245,144/female 396,224) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -165,26 +154,26 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "30.5 years"
"text": "30.9 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "28.9 years"
"text": "29.3 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "32.2 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "32.6 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "0.96% (2015 est.)"
"text": "0.92% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "16.64 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "16.2 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "7.07 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "7.1 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -205,7 +194,7 @@
"text": "1.15 male(s)/female"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "1.08 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.09 male(s)/female"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "0.96 male(s)/female"
@ -217,42 +206,45 @@
"text": "0.62 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "0.98 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "0.98 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Mother's mean age at first birth": {
"text": "23.5 (2013 est.)"
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
"text": "25 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)"
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "25.68 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "24.7 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "26.52 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "25.6 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "24.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "23.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "72.2 years"
"text": "72.5 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "69.19 years"
"text": "69.5 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "75.54 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "75.8 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "1.91 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.9 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
"text": "51.1% (2006)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "5.6% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "6% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "3.4 physicians/1,000 population (2013)"
@ -277,22 +269,22 @@
}
},
"HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
"text": "0.14% (2014 est.)"
"text": "0.17% (2015 est.)"
},
"HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": {
"text": "8,400 (2014 est.)"
"text": "10,700 (2015 est.)"
},
"HIV/AIDS - deaths": {
"text": "400 (2014 est.)"
"text": "300 (2015 est.)"
},
"Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
"text": "22.2% (2014)"
},
"Children under the age of 5 years underweight": {
"text": "8.4% (2006)"
"text": "4.9% (2013)"
},
"Education expenditures": {
"text": "2.4% of GDP (2011)"
"text": "2.5% of GDP (2013)"
},
"Literacy": {
"definition": {
@ -310,13 +302,13 @@
},
"School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": {
"total": {
"text": "12 years"
"text": "13 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "12 years"
"text": "13 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "12 years (2012)"
"text": "13 years (2014)"
}
},
"Child labor - children ages 5-14": {
@ -327,18 +319,18 @@
"text": "7%"
},
"note": {
"text": "data represents children ages 5-17 (2005 est.)"
"text": "data represent children ages 5-17 (2005 est.)"
}
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
"total": {
"text": "14.2%"
"text": "13.8%"
},
"male": {
"text": "12.2%"
"text": "12%"
},
"female": {
"text": "16.3% (2012 est.)"
"text": "15.6% (2013 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -359,12 +351,12 @@
"former": {
"text": "Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic"
},
"note": {
"text": "the name translates as \"The Land of Fire\""
"etymology": {
"text": "the name translates as \"Land of fire\" and refers to naturally occurring surface fires on ancient oil pools or from natural gas discharges"
}
},
"Government type": {
"text": "republic"
"text": "presidential republic"
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
@ -375,9 +367,6 @@
},
"time difference": {
"text": "UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
},
"daylight saving time": {
"text": "+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October"
}
},
"Administrative divisions": {
@ -396,7 +385,7 @@
"text": "Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, 28 May (1918)"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "several previous; latest adopted 12 November 1995; amended 2002, 2009 (2015)"
"text": "several previous; latest adopted 12 November 1995; amended 2002, 2009 (2016)"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "civil law system"
@ -405,7 +394,10 @@
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship": {
"birthright citizenship": {
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "yes"
},
"citizenship by descent": {
"text": "yes"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
@ -432,7 +424,7 @@
"text": "president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for unlimited terms); election last held on 9 October 2013 (next to be held in October 2018); prime minister and first deputy prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly"
},
"election results": {
"text": "Ilham ALIYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Ilham ALIYEV (YAP) 84.5%, Jamil HASANLI (YAP) 5.5%, other 10%"
"text": "Ilham ALIYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Ilham ALIYEV (YAP) 84.5%, Jamil HASANLI (National Council of Democratic Forces) 5.5%, other 10%"
},
"note": {
"text": "OSCE observers concluded that the election did not meet international standards"
@ -443,25 +435,25 @@
"text": "unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis (125 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)"
},
"elections": {
"text": "last held on 7 November 2010 (next to be held on 1 November 2015)"
"text": "last held on 1 November 2015 (next to be held in November 2020)"
},
"election results": {
"text": "percent of vote by party - YAP 45.8%, CSP 1.6%, Motherland 1.4%, independents 48.2%, other 3.1%; seats by party - YAP 72, CSP 3, Motherland 2, Civil Unity 1, Democratic Reforms 1, Great Creation 1, Hope Party 1, Justice 1, Social Welfare 1, Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front 1, independent 41"
"text": "percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - YAP 72, CSP 2, Democratic Reforms 1, Social Democratic Party 1, Social Prosperity 1, Unity Party 1, Democratic Enlightenment 1, Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front 1, Motherland 1, Civil Unity 1, Great Undertaking Party 1, independent 42"
}
},
"Judicial branch": {
"highest court(s)": {
"text": "Supreme Court (consists of the chairman, deputy chairman, and at least 24 judges in plenum sessions); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges)"
"text": "Supreme Court (consists of the chairman, vice chairman, and 23 judges in plenum sessions and organized into civil, economic affairs, criminal, and rights violations chambers); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges)"
},
"judge selection and term of office": {
"text": "Supreme Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the Milli Majlis; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Court chairman and deputy chairman appointed by the president; other court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the Milli Majlis to serve single 15-year terms"
"text": "Supreme Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the Milli Majlis; judges appointed for 10 years; Constitutional Court chairman and deputy chairman appointed by the president; other court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the Milli Majlis to serve single 15-year terms"
},
"subordinate courts": {
"text": "Courts of Appeal (replaced the Economic Court in 2002); district and municipal courts;"
}
},
"Political parties and leaders": {
"text": "Azerbaijan Democratic Party or ADP [Sardar JALALOGLU] ++ Azerbaijan Popular Front or AXCP [Ali KARIMLI] ++ Civil Solidarity Party or CSP [Sabir RUSTAMKHANLI] ++ Civil Unity Party or CUP [Sabir HAJIYEV] ++ Classical Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan [Mirmahmud MIRALI-OGLU] ++ Democratic Reforms Party [Asim MOLLAZADE] ++ Great Creation Party [Fazil Gazanfaroglu MUSTAFAYEV] ++ Hope (Umid) Party [Igbal AGAZADE] ++ Justice Party [Ilyas ISMAILOV] ++ Liberal Party of Azerbaijan [Lala Shovkat HACIYEVA, Avaz TEMIRKHAN] ++ Motherland Party or AVP [Fazail AGAMALI] ++ Musavat (Equality) [Arif HAJILI] ++ Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan or SDP [Ayaz MUTALIBOV] ++ Social Welfare Party [Khanhusein KAZIMLI] ++ Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party [Gudrat HASANGULIYEV] ++ Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party or YAP [President Ilham ALIYEV]"
"text": "Civil Solidarity Party or CSP [Sabir RUSTAMKHANLI] ++ Civil Unity Party or CUP [Sabir HAJIYEV] ++ Democratic Enlightenment [Elshan MUSAYEV] ++ Democratic Reforms Party [Asim MOLLAZADE] ++ Great Undertaking [Fazil MUSTAFA] ++ Musavat [Arif HAJILI] ++ Popular Front Party [Ali KARIMLI] ++ Motherland Party or AVP [Fazail AGAMALI] ++ Social Democratic Party [Ayaz MUTALIBOV] ++ Social Prosperity Party [Khanhusein KAZIMLI] ++ Unity Party [Tahir KARIMLI] ++ Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party [Gudrat HASANGULIYEV] ++ Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party or YAP [President Ilham ALIYEV]"
},
"Political pressure groups and leaders": {
"text": "Club-125 [Ilhamia RZAYEVA] ++ Ireli Youth Movement [MirHasan SEYIDOV] ++ National Council of Democratic Forces [Jamil HASANLI] ++ NIDA Youth Movement [Turgut GAMBAR, Zaur GURBANLI] ++ Positive Change Youth Movement [Bakhtiyar HAJIYEV] ++ Republican Alternative or REAL [Ilgar MAMMADOV (in jail)]"
@ -523,58 +515,58 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Azerbaijan's high economic growth has been attributable to large and growing oil and gas exports, but some non-export sectors also featured double-digit growth, including construction, banking, and real estate. Oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline, the Baku-Novorossiysk, and the Baku-Supsa pipelines remain the main economic driver, but efforts to boost Azerbaijan's gas production are underway. The eventual completion of the geopolitically important Southern Gas Corridor between Azerbaijan and Europe will open up another, albeit, smaller source of revenue from gas exports. Azerbaijan has made only limited progress on instituting market-based economic reforms. Pervasive public and private sector corruption and structural economic inefficiencies remain a drag on long-term growth, particularly in non-energy sectors. Several other obstacles impede Azerbaijan's economic progress, including the need for stepped up foreign investment in the non-energy sector and the continuing conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Trade with Russia and the other former Soviet republics is declining in importance, while trade is building with Turkey and the nations of Europe. Long-term prospects depend on world oil prices, Azerbaijan's ability to negotiate export routes for its growing gas production, and its ability to use its energy wealth to promote growth and spur employment in non-energy sectors of the economy."
"text": "Azerbaijan's high economic growth has been attributable to large and growing oil and gas exports, but some non-export sectors also featured double-digit growth, including construction, banking, and real estate. Oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline, the Baku-Novorossiysk, and the Baku-Supsa pipelines remain the main economic driver, but efforts to boost Azerbaijan's gas production are underway. The eventual completion of the geopolitically important Southern Gas Corridor between Azerbaijan and Europe will open up another, albeit, smaller source of revenue from gas exports. ++ ++ Azerbaijan has made only limited progress on instituting market-based economic reforms. Pervasive public and private sector corruption and structural economic inefficiencies remain a drag on long-term growth, particularly in non-energy sectors. Several other obstacles impede Azerbaijan's economic progress, including the need for stepped up foreign investment in the non-energy sector and the continuing conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Trade with Russia and the other former Soviet republics is declining in importance, while trade is building with Turkey and the nations of Europe. ++ ++ Long-term prospects depend on world oil prices, Azerbaijan's ability to negotiate export routes for its growing gas production, and its ability to use its energy wealth to promote growth and spur employment in non-energy sectors of the economy."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$165.9 billion (2014 est.) ++ $161.4 billion (2013 est.) ++ $152.6 billion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$169.8 billion (2015 est.) ++ $167.9 billion (2014 est.) ++ $163.4 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$74.15 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$54.05 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "2.8% (2014 est.) ++ 5.8% (2013 est.) ++ 2.2% (2012 est.)"
"text": "1.1% (2015 est.) ++ 2.8% (2014 est.) ++ 5.8% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$17,800 (2014 est.) ++ $17,300 (2013 est.) ++ $16,300 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$18,000 (2015 est.) ++ $18,000 (2014 est.) ++ $17,600 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "38.2% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 39.5% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 44.5% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "26.1% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 36.7% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 42.1% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "46.3%"
"text": "55.8%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "10.9%"
"text": "12.5%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "25.8%"
"text": "28.6%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "-0.1%"
"text": "0.1%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "43.3%"
"text": "37.8%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-26.2% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-34.8% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "5.7%"
"text": "6%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "58.3%"
"text": "59.1%"
},
"services": {
"text": "36% (2014 est.)"
"text": "34.9% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -584,10 +576,10 @@
"text": "petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore; cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "0.3% (2014 est.)"
"text": "2.4% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "4.841 million (2014 est.)"
"text": "4.899 million (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force - by occupation": {
"agriculture": {
@ -601,7 +593,7 @@
}
},
"Unemployment rate": {
"text": "5.4% (2014 est.) ++ 5% (2013 est.)"
"text": "5.3% (2015 est.) ++ 5.4% (2014 est.)"
},
"Population below poverty line": {
"text": "6% (2012 est.)"
@ -619,26 +611,26 @@
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$23.46 billion"
"text": "$16.74 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$23.84 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$17.36 billion (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "31.6% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "31% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "-0.5% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-1.1% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "8.9% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 8.5% of GDP (2013 est.)"
"text": "20.1% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 11.6% of GDP (2014 est.)"
},
"Fiscal year": {
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "1.4% (2014 est.) ++ 2.4% (2013 est.)"
"text": "4% (2015 est.) ++ 1.4% (2014 est.)"
},
"Central bank discount rate": {
"text": "5% (31 December 2012) ++ 5.25% (31 December 2011)",
@ -647,58 +639,63 @@
}
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "14.19% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 14.43% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "13.86% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 14.19% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$16.36 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $16.24 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$5.612 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $16.36 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$24.18 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $20.95 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$25.38 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $18.76 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$15.63 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $25.38 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$NA"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "$10.43 billion (2014 est.) ++ $12.05 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "-$222 million (2015 est.) ++ $10.43 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$28.26 billion (2014 est.) ++ $31.7 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$15.59 billion (2015 est.) ++ $28.26 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "oil and gas 90%, machinery, foodstuffs, cotton"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "Italy 22%, Indonesia 9.2%, Germany 8.8%, Israel 8.1%, France 7% (2014)"
"text": "Italy 26.3%, Germany 13.3%, Indonesia 7%, France 6.9%, Czech Republic 6% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$9.332 billion (2014 est.) ++ $10.32 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$9.774 billion (2015 est.) ++ $9.332 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, metals, chemicals"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "Russia 14.3%, Turkey 14%, UK 10.7%, Germany 7.7%, China 7.6%, US 6.1%, Ukraine 4.6% (2014)"
"text": "Russia 19.9%, Turkey 16.5%, UK 8.6%, Germany 6.6%, Italy 6.3%, US 4.1% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$15.55 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $15.01 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$7.91 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $15.55 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$9.833 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $9.219 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$12.28 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $11.69 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
"text": "$59.02 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $50.97 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$66.5 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $59.02 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad": {
"text": "$11.22 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $9.007 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$14.48 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $11.22 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "Azerbaijani manats (AZN) per US dollar - ++ 0.7844 (2014 est.) ++ 0.7844 (2013 est.) ++ 0.79 (2012 est.) ++ 0.7897 (2011 est.) ++ 0.8027 (2010 est.)"
"text": "Azerbaijani manats (AZN) per US dollar - ++ 1.0246 (2015 est.) ++ 0.7844 (2014 est.) ++ 0.7844 (2013 est.) ++ 0.79 (2012 est.) ++ 0.7897 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "100% (2016)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "22.99 billion kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -772,18 +769,18 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "1.8 million"
"text": "1,796,027"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "19 (2014 est.)"
"text": "18 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "10.6 million"
"text": "10.697 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "109 (2014 est.)"
"text": "109 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -791,34 +788,45 @@
"text": "requires considerable expansion and modernization; fixed-line telephone and a broad range of other telecom services are controlled by a state-owned telecommunications monopoly and growth has been stagnant; more competition exists in the mobile-cellular market with four providers in 2009"
},
"domestic": {
"text": "teledensity of 17 fixed lines per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity has increased and now exceeds 100 telephones per 100 persons; satellite service connects Baku to a modern switch in its exclave of Naxcivan (Nakhichevan)"
"text": "teledensity of 18 fixed lines per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity has increased to 109 telephones per 100 persons; satellite service connects Baku to a modern switch in its exclave of Naxcivan (Nakhichevan)"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 994; the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic link transits Azerbaijan providing international connectivity to neighboring countries; the old Soviet system of cable and microwave is still serviceable; satellite earth stations - 2 (2011)"
"text": "country code - 994; the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic link transits Azerbaijan providing international connectivity to neighboring countries; the old Soviet system of cable and microwave is still serviceable; satellite earth stations - 2 (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "3 state-run and 1 public TV channels; 4 domestic commercial TV stations and about 15 regional TV stations; cable TV services are available in Baku; 1 state-run and 1 public radio network operating; a small number of private commercial radio stations broadcasting; local FM relays of Baku commercial stations are available in many localities; local relays of several international broadcasters had been available until late 2008 when their broadcasts were banned from FM frequencies (2010)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 10, FM 11, shortwave 1 (2010)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "10 (2010)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".az"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "5.8 million"
"text": "7.531 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "60.3% (2014 est.)"
"text": "77% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "2"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "35"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "1,803,112"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "41,954,600 mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "4K (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "37 (2013)"
},
@ -847,7 +855,7 @@
"text": "7"
},
"under 914 m": {
"text": " ++ 7 (2013)"
"text": "7 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports": {
@ -895,39 +903,15 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Army, Navy, Air, and Air Defense Forces (2010)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "18-35 years of age for cumpulsory military service; service obligation 18 months or 12 months for university graduates; 17 years of age for voluntary service; 17 year olds are considered to be on active service at cadet military schools (2012)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "2,354,249"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "2,334,632 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "1,773,993"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "1,964,012 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "76,923"
},
"female": {
"text": "71,024 (2010 est.)"
}
"text": "18-35 years of age for compulsory military service; service obligation 18 months or 12 months for university graduates; 17 years of age for voluntary service; 17 year olds are considered to be on active service at cadet military schools (2012)"
},
"Military expenditures": {
"text": "4.7% of GDP (2013) ++ 4.64% of GDP (2012) ++ 4.67% of GDP (2011) ++ 4.64% of GDP (2010)"
"text": "5.1% of GDP (2014) ++ 4.7% of GDP (2013) ++ 4.64% of GDP (2012) ++ 4.67% of GDP (2011) ++ 4.64% of GDP (2010)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues": {
@ -936,10 +920,10 @@
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"IDPs": {
"text": "up to 568,900 (conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh; IDPs are mainly ethnic Azerbaijanis but also include ethnic Kurds, Russians, and Turks predominantly from occupied territories around Nagorno-Karabakh; number includes IDPs' descendants, returned IDPs, and people living in insecure areas and excludes people displaced by natural disasters; around half the IDPs live in the capital Baku) (2014)"
"text": "618,220 (conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh; IDPs are mainly ethnic Azerbaijanis but also include ethnic Kurds, Russians, and Turks predominantly from occupied territories around Nagorno-Karabakh; includes IDPs' descendants, returned IDPs, and people living in insecure areas and excludes people displaced by natural disasters; around half the IDPs live in the capital Baku) (2015)"
},
"stateless persons": {
"text": "3,585 (2014)"
"text": "3,585 (2015)"
}
},
"Illicit drugs": {

290
middle-east/am.json
View file

@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
},
"Geography": {
"Location": {
"text": "Southwestern Asia, between Turkey (to the west) and Azerbaijan"
"text": "Southwestern Asia, between Turkey (to the west) and Azerbaijan; note - Armenia views itself as part of Europe; geopolitically, it can be classified as falling within Europe, the Middle East, or both"
},
"Geographic coordinates": {
"text": "40 00 N, 45 00 E"
@ -48,12 +48,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Debed River 400 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "1,792 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Aragats Lerrnagagat' 4,090 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Debed River 400 m ++ highest point: Aragats Lerrnagagat' 4,090 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -71,18 +71,10 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "2,735 sq km (2006)"
"text": "2,740 sq km (2012)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "7.77 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "2.86 cu km/yr (40%/6%/54%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "929.7 cu m/yr (2010)"
}
"Population - distribution": {
"text": "most of the population is located in the northern half of the country; the capital of Yerevan is home to more than three times as many people as the second largest city in the country"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts"
@ -103,6 +95,9 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "3,051,250 (July 2016 est.)"
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Armenian(s)"
@ -120,27 +115,21 @@
"Religions": {
"text": "Armenian Apostolic 92.6%, Evangelical 1%, other 2.4%, none 1.1%, unspecified 2.9% (2011 est.)"
},
"Population": {
"text": "3,056,382 (July 2015 est.)"
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "19.05% (male 310,893/female 271,479)"
"text": "19% (male 308,701/female 271,028)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "14.42% (male 225,029/female 215,700)"
"text": "13.58% (male 213,203/female 201,291)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "43.47% (male 638,983/female 689,519)"
"text": "43.46% (male 640,070/female 685,958)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "12.35% (male 171,584/female 205,751)"
"text": "12.96% (male 180,700/female 214,834)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "10.71% (male 130,804/female 196,640) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "10.99% (male 134,330/female 201,135) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -159,26 +148,29 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "34.2 years"
"text": "34.6 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "32.3 years"
"text": "32.8 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "36.1 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "36.5 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "-0.15% (2015 est.)"
"text": "-0.18% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "13.61 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "13.3 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "9.34 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "9.4 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "-5.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "-5.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Population distribution": {
"text": "most of the population is located in the northern half of the country; the capital of Yerevan is home to more than three times as many people as the second largest city in the country"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -196,57 +188,60 @@
"text": "1.13 male(s)/female"
},
"0-14 years": {
"text": "1.15 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.14 male(s)/female"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "1.04 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.06 male(s)/female"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "0.93 male(s)/female"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "0.83 male(s)/female"
"text": "0.84 male(s)/female"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "0.67 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "0.94 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "0.94 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Mother's mean age at first birth": {
"text": "24.1 (2013 est.)"
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
"text": "25 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)"
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "13.51 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "13.1 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "14.95 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "14.5 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "11.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "11.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "74.37 years"
"text": "74.6 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "71.13 years"
"text": "71.4 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "78.03 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "78.3 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "1.64 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.64 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
"text": "54.9% (2010)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "4.5% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "4.5% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "2.7 physicians/1,000 population (2013)"
@ -271,13 +266,13 @@
}
},
"HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
"text": "0.22% (2014 est.)"
"text": "0.2% (2015 est.)"
},
"HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": {
"text": "4,000 (2014 est.)"
"text": "3,600 (2015 est.)"
},
"HIV/AIDS - deaths": {
"text": "200 (2014 est.)"
"text": "100 (2015 est.)"
},
"Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
"text": "19.9% (2014)"
@ -286,7 +281,7 @@
"text": "5.3% (2010)"
},
"Education expenditures": {
"text": "2.3% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "2.2% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Literacy": {
"definition": {
@ -321,18 +316,18 @@
"text": "4%"
},
"note": {
"text": "data represents children ages 7-17 (2007 est.)"
"text": "data represent children ages 7-17 (2007 est.)"
}
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
"total": {
"text": "39.2%"
"text": "36.1%"
},
"male": {
"text": "35%"
"text": "31.8%"
},
"female": {
"text": "45% (2011 est.)"
"text": "41.5% (2013 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -352,10 +347,16 @@
},
"former": {
"text": "Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, Armenian Republic"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "the etymology of the country's name remains obscure; according to tradition, the country is named after Hayk, the legendary patriarch of the Armenians and the great-great-grandson of Noah; Hayk's descendant, Aram, purportedly is the source of the name Armenia"
}
},
"Government type": {
"text": "republic"
"text": "semi-presidential republic",
"note": {
"text": "a constituional referendum approved in December 2015 will change the government type to a parliamentary system, replacing the semi-presidential system and becoming effective for the 2017-18 electoral cycle"
}
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
@ -378,7 +379,10 @@
"text": "Independence Day, 21 September (1991)"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "previous 1915, 1978; latest adopted 5 July 1995; amended 2005; note - in March 2015, a concept for constitutional reforms approved by the president (2015)"
"text": "previous 1915, 1978; latest adopted 5 July 1995; amended 2005, 2015; note - the 2015 amendment, approved in December 2015 by a public referendum and effective for the 2017-18 electoral cycle, changes the government type from the current semi-presidential system to a parliamentary system (2016)",
"note": {
"text": "the 2015 amendment, approved in December 2015 by a public referendum and effective for the 2017-18 electoral cycle, changes the government type from the current semi-presidential system to a parliamentary system (2016)"
}
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "civil law system"
@ -387,8 +391,11 @@
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship": {
"birthright citizenship": {
"text": "no, unless one parent is an Armenian citizen"
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "at least one parent must be a citizen of Armenia"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "yes"
@ -405,7 +412,7 @@
"text": "President Serzh SARGSIAN (since 9 April 2008)"
},
"head of government": {
"text": "Prime Minister Hovik ABRAHAMYAN (since 13 April 2014)"
"text": "Prime Minister Karen KARAPETYAN (since 13 September 2016)"
},
"cabinet": {
"text": "Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister"
@ -415,6 +422,9 @@
},
"election results": {
"text": "Serzh SARGSIAN reelected president in one round; percent of vote - Serzh SARGSIAN (RPA) 58.6%, Raffi HOVHANNISIAN (Heritage Party) 36.7%, Hrant BAGRATIAN (ANM) 2.2%, other 2.5%"
},
"note": {
"text": "constitutional changes adopted in December 2015 will transform the government to a parliamentary system by 2018; for the scheduled February 2018 election, the president will be indirectly elected by parliament and will serve a single 7-year term; following the 2018 election, the prime minister will be elected based on majority support of the National Assembly"
}
},
"Legislative branch": {
@ -430,7 +440,7 @@
},
"Judicial branch": {
"highest court(s)": {
"text": "Court of Cassation (consists of the court chairman and organized into a criminal chamber and a civil and administrative chamber, each with a court chairman and 2 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges)"
"text": "Court of Cassation (consists of the court chairman and organized into the criminal chamber and a civil and administrative chamber, each with a chamber chairman and 2 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges)"
},
"judge selection and term of office": {
"text": "Court of Cassation judges nominated by the Judicial Council, a 9-member body of selected judges and legal scholars; judges appointed by the president; Constitutional Court judges - 4 appointed by the president, and 5 elected by National Assembly; judges of both courts can serve until retirement at age 65"
@ -440,17 +450,17 @@
}
},
"Political parties and leaders": {
"text": "Armenian National Congress or ANC (bloc of independent and opposition parties) [Levon TER-PETROSSIAN] ++ Armenian National Movement or ANM [Ararat ZURABIAN] ++ Armenian Revolutionary Federation (\"Dashnak\" Party) or ARF [Hrant MARKARIAN] ++ Heritage Party [Raffi HOVHANNISIAN] ++ People's Party of Armenia [Stepan DEMIRCHIAN] ++ Prosperous Armenia [Gagik TSARUKIAN] ++ Republican Party of Armenia or RPA [Serzh SARGSIAN] ++ Rule of Law Party (Orinats Yerkir) [Artur BAGHDASARIAN]"
"text": "Armenian National Congress or ANC (bloc of independent and opposition parties) [Levon TER-PETROSSIAN] ++ Armenian National Movement or ANM [Ararat ZURABIAN] ++ Armenian Revolutionary Federation or ARF (\"Dashnak\" Party) [Hrant MARKARIAN] ++ Heritage Party [Raffi HOVHANNISIAN] ++ People's Party of Armenia [Stepan DEMIRCHIAN] ++ Prosperous Armenia [Naira ZOHRABYAN] ++ Republican Party of Armenia or RPA [Serzh SARGSIAN] ++ Rule of Law Party (Orinats Yerkir) [Artur BAGHDASARIAN]"
},
"Political pressure groups and leaders": {
"text": "Aylentrank (Impeachment Alliance) [Nikol PASHINIAN] ++ Yerkrapah Union [Manvel GRIGORIAN]"
},
"International organization participation": {
"text": "ADB, BSEC, CD, CE, CIS, CSTO, EAEC (observer), EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO"
"text": "ADB, BSEC, CD, CE, CIS, CSTO, EAEC (observer), EAEU, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO"
},
"Diplomatic representation in the US": {
"chief of mission": {
"text": "Ambassador Tigran SARGSIAN (since 14 July 2014)"
"text": "Ambassador Grigor HOVHANNISSIAN (since 28 January 2016)"
},
"chancery": {
"text": "2225 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008"
@ -490,7 +500,7 @@
},
"National anthem": {
"name": {
"text": "\"Mer Hayrenik\"\"(Our Fatherland)"
"text": "\"Mer Hayrenik\" (Our Fatherland)"
},
"lyrics/music": {
"text": "Mikael NALBANDIAN/Barsegh KANACHYAN"
@ -502,58 +512,58 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics, in exchange for raw materials and energy. Armenia has since switched to small-scale agriculture and away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era. Armenia has only two open trade borders - Iran and Georgia - because its borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey have been closed since 1991 and 1993, respectively, as a result of Armenia's ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region. Armenia's geographic isolation, a narrow export base, and pervasive monopolies in important business sectors have made it particularly vulnerable to the sharp deterioration in the global economy and the economic downturn in Russia. Armenia is particularly dependent on Russian commercial and governmental support and most key Armenian infrastructure is Russian-owned and/or managed, especially in the energy sector, including electricity and natural gas. Remittances from expatriates working in Russia are equivalent to about 20% of GDP and partly offset the country's severe trade imbalance. Armenia joined Russia in the Eurasian Economic Union upon the bloc's launch in January 2015, even though the ruble's sharp depreciation in December 2014 led to currency instability, inflation, and significant decrease of export from Armenia to Russia. Armenia joined the WTO in January 2003. The government has made some improvements in tax and customs administration in recent years, but anti-corruption measures have been ineffective. Armenia will need to pursue additional economic reforms and to strengthen the rule of law in order to regain economic growth and improve economic competitiveness and employment opportunities, especially given its economic isolation from two of its nearest neighbors, Turkey and Azerbaijan."
"text": "Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics, in exchange for raw materials and energy. Armenia has since switched to small-scale agriculture and away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era. Armenia has only two open trade borders - Iran and Georgia - because its borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey have been closed since 1991 and 1993, respectively, as a result of Armenia's ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region. ++ ++ Armenia joined the WTO in January 2003. The government has made some improvements in tax and customs administration in recent years, but anti-corruption measures have been ineffective. Armenia will need to pursue additional economic reforms and strengthen the rule of law in order to regain economic growth and improve economic competitiveness and employment opportunities, especially given its economic isolation from two of its nearest neighbors, Turkey and Azerbaijan. ++ ++ Armenia's geographic isolation, a narrow export base, and pervasive monopolies in important business sectors have made it particularly vulnerable to the sharp deterioration in the global economy and the economic downturn in Russia. Armenia is particularly dependent on Russian commercial and governmental support and most key Armenian infrastructure is Russian-owned and/or managed, especially in the energy sector, including electricity and natural gas. Remittances from expatriates working in Russia are equivalent to about 20% of GDP and partly offset the country's severe trade imbalance. Armenia joined Russia in the Eurasian Economic Union upon the bloc's launch in January 2015, even though the ruble's sharp depreciation in December 2014 led to currency instability, inflation, and a significant decrease in exports from Armenia to Russia."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$24.37 billion (2014 est.) ++ $23.56 billion (2013 est.) ++ $22.76 billion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$25.4 billion (2015 est.) ++ $24.65 billion (2014 est.) ++ $23.79 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$11.64 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$10.53 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "3.4% (2014 est.) ++ 3.5% (2013 est.) ++ 7.1% (2012 est.)"
"text": "3% (2015 est.) ++ 3.6% (2014 est.) ++ 3.3% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$8,200 (2014 est.) ++ $7,900 (2013 est.) ++ $7,600 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$8,500 (2015 est.) ++ $8,300 (2014 est.) ++ $8,000 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "14.3% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 15% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 14.1% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "18.3% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 13.2% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 13.4% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "85.2%"
"text": "77.7%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "12.7%"
"text": "13.1%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "20.1%"
"text": "20.8%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "0.4%"
"text": "0.6%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "28.5%"
"text": "29.8%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-46.9% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-42% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "21.9%"
"text": "19.4%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "30.4%"
"text": "28.7%"
},
"services": {
"text": "47.7% (2014 est.)"
"text": "51.9% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -563,10 +573,10 @@
"text": "diamond processing, metal-cutting machine tools, forging and pressing machines, electric motors, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, chemicals, trucks, instruments, microelectronics, jewelry, software, food processing, brandy, mining"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "0.5% (2014 est.)"
"text": "2.5% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "1.506 million (2014 est.)"
"text": "1.56 million (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force - by occupation": {
"agriculture": {
@ -580,7 +590,7 @@
}
},
"Unemployment rate": {
"text": "17.6% (2014 est.) ++ 16.2% (2013 est.)"
"text": "18.5% (2015 est.)"
},
"Population below poverty line": {
"text": "32% (2013 est.)"
@ -598,26 +608,26 @@
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$2.833 billion"
"text": "$2.471 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$3.05 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$2.957 billion (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "24.3% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "23.4% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "-1.9% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-4.6% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "43.5% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 39.6% of GDP (2013 est.)"
"text": "48.8% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 43.7% of GDP (2014 est.)"
},
"Fiscal year": {
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "3% (2014 est.) ++ 5.8% (2013 est.)"
"text": "3.7% (2015 est.) ++ 3% (2014 est.)"
},
"Central bank discount rate": {
"text": "10.5% (10 February 2015) ++ 8% (11 January 2012)",
@ -626,58 +636,63 @@
}
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "16.21% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 15.04% (31 December 2013 est.)",
"text": "17.59% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 16.41% (31 December 2014 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "average lending rate on loans up to one year"
}
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$1.13 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $1.424 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$1.149 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $1.118 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$1.74 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $2.07 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$2.038 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $1.723 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$5.219 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $4.827 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$5.022 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $5.205 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$132.1 million (31 December 2012 est.) ++ $139.6 million (31 December 2011) ++ $144.8 million (31 December 2010 est.)"
"text": "$132.1 million (31 December 2012 est.) ++ $139.6 million (31 December 2011 est.) ++ $144.8 million (31 December 2010 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "-$849 million (2014 est.) ++ -$845 million (2013 est.)"
"text": "-$279 million (2015 est.) ++ -$883 million (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$1.665 billion (2014 est.) ++ $1.636 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$1.626 billion (2015 est.) ++ $1.698 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "pig iron, unwrought copper, nonferrous metals, gold, diamonds, mineral products, foodstuffs, energy"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "Russia 20.3%, China 11.3%, Germany 10.4%, Canada 6.1%, US 5.8%, Bulgaria 5.6%, Iran 5.6%, Georgia 5.5%, Iraq 5.3%, Netherlands 4.9%, Belgium 4.1% (2014)"
"text": "Russia 15.2%, China 11.1%, Germany 9.8%, Iraq 8.8%, Georgia 7.8%, Canada 7.6%, Bulgaria 5.3%, Iran 5.3% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$4.402 billion (2014 est.) ++ $4.386 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$2.78 billion (2015 est.) ++ $3.754 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds, pharmaceuticals, cars"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "Russia 24.9%, China 9.5%, Germany 6.4%, Turkey 5.3%, Iran 4.7%, Ukraine 4.6%, Italy 4.1% (2014)"
"text": "Russia 29.1%, China 9.7%, Germany 6.2%, Iran 6.1%, Italy 4.6%, Turkey 4.2% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$1.489 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $2.251 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$1.775 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $1.489 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$8.225 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $8.677 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$8.554 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $8.551 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
"text": "$4.817 billion (2013)"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "drams (AMD) per US dollar - ++ 415.92 (2014 est.) ++ 415.92 (2013 est.) ++ 401.76 (2012 est.) ++ 372.5 (2011 est.) ++ 373.66 (2010 est.)"
"text": "drams (AMD) per US dollar - ++ 477.92 (2015 est.) ++ 415.92 (2014 est.) ++ 415.92 (2013 est.) ++ 401.76 (2012 est.) ++ 372.5 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "100% (2016)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "7.622 billion kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -751,18 +766,18 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "560,000"
"text": "551,366"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "18 (2014 est.)"
"text": "18 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "3.5 million"
"text": "3.442 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "113 (2014 est.)"
"text": "113 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -770,34 +785,39 @@
"text": "telecommunications investments have made major inroads in modernizing and upgrading the outdated telecommunications network inherited from the Soviet era; now 100% privately owned and undergoing modernization and expansion; mobile-cellular services monopoly terminated in late 2004, and a second and third provider began operations in 2005 and 2009 respectively"
},
"domestic": {
"text": "reliable modern fixed-line and mobile-cellular services are available across Yerevan and in major cities and towns; significant but ever-shrinking gaps remain in mobile-cellular coverage in rural areas"
"text": "reliable modern fixed-line and mobile-cellular services are available across Yerevan and in major cities and towns; mobile-cellular coverage available in most rural areas"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 374; Yerevan is connected to the Trans-Asia-Europe fiber-optic cable through Iran; additional international service is available by microwave radio relay and landline connections to the other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, through the Moscow international switch, and by satellite to the rest of the world; satellite earth stations - 3 (2008)"
"text": "country code - 374; Yerevan is connected to the Trans-Asia-Europe fiber-optic cable through Iran; additional international service is available by microwave radio relay and landline connections to the other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, through the Moscow international switch, and by satellite to the rest of the world; satellite earth stations - 3 (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "2 public TV networks operating alongside about 40 privately owned TV stations that provide local to near nationwide coverage; major Russian broadcast stations are widely available; subscription cable TV services are available in most regions; Public Radio of Armenia is a national, state-run broadcast network that operates alongside 21 privately owned radio stations; several major international broadcasters are available (2015)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 9, FM 16, shortwave 1 (2006)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "48 (private television stations alongside 2 public networks; major Russian channels widely available) (2006)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".am"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "1.3 million"
"text": "1.78 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "43.6% (2014 est.)"
"text": "58.2% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "3"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "5 (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "EK (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "11 (2013)"
},
@ -846,39 +866,15 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Armenian Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Air Force and Air Defense; \"Nagorno-Karabakh Republic\": Nagorno-Karabakh Self-Defense Force (NKSDF) (2011)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "18-27 years of age for voluntary or compulsory military service; 2-year conscript service obligation; 17 year olds are eligible to become cadets at military higher education institutes, where they are classified as military personnel (2012)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "805,847"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "854,296 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "644,372"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "717,272 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "23,470"
},
"female": {
"text": "21,417 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Military expenditures": {
"text": "4.1% of GDP (2013) ++ 3.92% of GDP (2012) ++ 3.87% of GDP (2011) ++ 3.92% of GDP (2010)"
"text": "4.29% of GDP (2014) ++ 4.1% of GDP (2013) ++ 3.92% of GDP (2012) ++ 3.87% of GDP (2011) ++ 3.92% of GDP (2010)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues": {
@ -887,13 +883,13 @@
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"refugees (country of origin)": {
"text": "14,994 (Syria - ethnic Armenians) (2014)"
"text": "16,611 (Syria - ethnic Armenians) (2015)"
},
"IDPs": {
"text": "8,400 (conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2014)"
"text": "8,400 (conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2015)"
},
"stateless persons": {
"text": "206 (2014)"
"text": "311 (2015)"
}
},
"Illicit drugs": {

306
middle-east/ba.json
View file

@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "In 1783, the Sunni Al-Khalifa family took power in Bahrain. In order to secure these holdings, it entered into a series of treaties with the UK during the 19th century that made Bahrain a British protectorate. The archipelago attained its independence in 1971. Facing declining oil reserves, Bahrain has turned to petroleum processing and refining and has become an international banking center. Bahrain's small size and central location among Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. ++ The Sunni-led government has struggled to manage relations with its large Shia-majority population. In early 2011, amid Arab uprisings elsewhere in the region, the Bahraini Government confronted similar protests at home with police and military action, including deploying Gulf Cooperation Council security forces to Bahrain. Ongoing dissatisfaction with the political status quo has led to sporadic clashes between demonstrators and security forces."
"text": "In 1783, the Sunni Al-Khalifa family took power in Bahrain. In order to secure these holdings, it entered into a series of treaties with the UK during the 19th century that made Bahrain a British protectorate. The archipelago attained its independence in 1971. A steady decline in oil production and reserves since 1970 prompted Bahrain to take steps to diversify its economy, in the process developing successful petroleum processing and refining, aluminum production, and hospitality and retail sectors, and also to become a leading regional banking center, especially with respect to Islamic finance. Bahrain's small size and central location among Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. ++ The Sunni-led government has long struggled to manage relations with its large Shia-majority population. In early 2011, amid Arab uprisings elsewhere in the region, the Bahraini Government confronted similar pro-democracy and reform protests at home with police and military action, including deploying Gulf Cooperation Council security forces to Bahrain. Political talks throughout 2014 between the government and opposition and loyalist political groups failed to reach an agreement, prompting opposition political societies to boycott parliamentary and municipal council elections in late 2014. Ongoing dissatisfaction with the political status quo continues to factor into sporadic clashes between demonstrators and security forces."
}
},
"Geography": {
@ -26,10 +26,7 @@
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "3.5 times the size of Washington, DC",
"Area comparison map": {
"text": null
}
"text": "3.5 times the size of Washington, DC"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"text": "0 km"
@ -54,12 +51,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Persian Gulf 0 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "NA"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m ++ highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -77,18 +74,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "40.15 sq km (2003)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "0.12 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "0.36 cu km/yr (50%/6%/45%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "386 cu m/yr (2003)"
}
"text": "40 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "periodic droughts; dust storms"
@ -109,6 +95,12 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "1,378,904 (July 2016 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "immigrants make up approximately 50% of the total population, according to UN data (2015)"
}
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Bahraini(s)"
@ -118,38 +110,29 @@
}
},
"Ethnic groups": {
"text": "Bahraini 46%, Asian 45.5%, other Arabs 4.7%, African 1.6%, European 1%, other 1.2% (includes Gulf Co-operative country nationals, North and South Americans, and Oceanians) (2010 est.)"
"text": "Bahraini 46%, Asian 45.5%, other Arab 4.7%, African 1.6%, European 1%, other 1.2% (includes Gulf Co-operative country nationals, North and South Americans, and Oceanians) (2010 est.)"
},
"Languages": {
"text": "Arabic (official), English, Farsi, Urdu"
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Muslim 70.3%, Christian 14.5%, Hindu 9.8%, Buddhist 2.5%, Jewish 0.6%, folk religion \nreligious affiliation:\n\n \n\n"
},
"Population": {
"text": "1,346,613",
"note": {
"text": "immigrants make up almost 55% of the total population, according to UN data (2013) (July 2015 est.)"
}
"text": "Muslim 70.3%, Christian 14.5%, Hindu 9.8%, Buddhist 2.5%, Jewish 0.6%, folk religion \n\n"
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "19.48% (male 133,201/female 129,140)"
"text": "19.27% (male 134,899/female 130,792)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "15.84% (male 120,073/female 93,182)"
"text": "15.76% (male 122,683/female 94,627)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "56.13% (male 494,405/female 261,399)"
"text": "56.07% (male 505,181/female 268,034)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "5.79% (male 50,466/female 27,501)"
"text": "6.05% (male 53,693/female 29,717)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "2.77% (male 18,092/female 19,154) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "2.85% (male 19,253/female 20,025) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -168,26 +151,26 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "31.8 years"
"text": "32.1 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "33.3 years"
"text": "33.5 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "29.1 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "29.3 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "2.41% (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.33% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "13.66 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "13.5 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "2.69 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.7 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "13.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "12.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -208,19 +191,19 @@
"text": "1.03 male(s)/female"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "1.29 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.3 male(s)/female"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "1.89 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.88 male(s)/female"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "1.84 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.81 male(s)/female"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "0.95 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "1.54 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.54 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
@ -228,31 +211,31 @@
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "9.35 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "9.2 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "10.4 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "10.2 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "8.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "8.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "78.73 years"
"text": "78.9 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "76.53 years"
"text": "76.7 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "80.98 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "81.1 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "1.78 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.77 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "4.9% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "5% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "0.92 physicians/1,000 population (2012)"
@ -273,7 +256,7 @@
"text": " ++ urban: 99.2% of population ++ rural: 99.2% of population ++ total: 99.2% of population"
},
"unimproved": {
"text": " ++ urban: 0.8% of population ++ rural: 0.8% of population ++ total 0.8% of population (2015 est.)"
"text": " ++ urban: 0.8% of population ++ rural: 0.8% of population ++ total: 0.8% of population (2015 est.)"
}
},
"HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
@ -289,7 +272,7 @@
"text": "34.1% (2014)"
},
"Education expenditures": {
"text": "2.7% of GDP (2012)"
"text": "2.6% of GDP (2012)"
},
"Literacy": {
"definition": {
@ -305,23 +288,15 @@
"text": "93.5% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Child labor - children ages 5-14": {
"total number": {
"text": "5,530"
},
"percentage": {
"text": "5% (2000 est.)"
}
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
"total": {
"text": "5%"
"text": "5.3%"
},
"male": {
"text": "2.5%"
"text": "2.6%"
},
"female": {
"text": "11.6% (2010 est.)"
"text": "12.2% (2012 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -342,8 +317,8 @@
"former": {
"text": "Dilmun, State of Bahrain"
},
"note": {
"text": "the name means \"The Two Seas\" in Arabic and refers to the water bodies surrounding the archipelago"
"etymology": {
"text": "the name means \"the two seas\" in Arabic and refers to the water bodies surrounding the archipelago"
}
},
"Government type": {
@ -373,7 +348,7 @@
"text": "National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 was the date of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 was the date of independence from British protection"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "adopted 14 February 2002; amended 2012 (2015)"
"text": "adopted 14 February 2002; amended 2012 (2016)"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "mixed legal system of Islamic law, English common law, Egyptian civil, criminal, and commercial codes; customary law"
@ -382,8 +357,11 @@
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship": {
"birthright citizenship": {
"text": "no, unless the father was a citizen of Bahrain"
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "the father must be a citizen of Bahrain"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "no"
@ -414,7 +392,7 @@
"text": "bicameral National Assembly consists of the Consultative Council or Majlis al Shura (40 seats; members appointed by the king) and the Council of Representatives or Majlis al Nuwab (40 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote in two rounds if needed; members serve 4-year renewable terms)"
},
"elections": {
"text": "Council of Representatives - last held in two rounds on 23 and 29 November 2014 (next in November 2018)"
"text": "Council of Representatives - last held in two rounds on 23 and 29 November 2014 (next to be held in November 2018)"
},
"election results": {
"text": "Council of Representatives - percent of vote by society - NA; seats by society - Al-Asalah (Sunni Salafi) 2, Islamic Minbar (Sunni Muslim Brotherhood) 1, independent 36, other 1; note - Bahrain has societies rather than parties"
@ -422,10 +400,10 @@
},
"Judicial branch": {
"highest court(s)": {
"text": "Court of Cassation or Supreme Court of Appeal (consists of the chairman and 3 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of the president and 6 members); High Sharia Court of Appeal"
"text": "Court of Cassation or Supreme Court of Appeal (consists of the chairman and 3 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of the president and 6 members); High Sharia Court of Appeal (court sittings include the president and at least one judge); appeals beyond the High Sharia Court of Appeal are heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal"
},
"note": {
"text": "the judiciary of Bahrain is divided into civil law courts and sharia law courts"
"text": "the judiciary of Bahrain is divided into civil law courts and sharia law courts; sharia courts are further divided into Sunni Muslim and Shia Muslim"
},
"judge selection and term of office": {
"text": "Court of Cassation judges appointed by royal decree and serve for a specified tenure; Constitutional Court president and members appointed by the Higher Judicial Council, a body chaired by the monarch and includes judges from the Court of Cassation, sharia law courts, and Civil High Courts of Appeal; members serve 9-year terms; High Sharia Court of Appeal member appointment and tenure NA"
@ -436,7 +414,7 @@
},
"Political parties and leaders": {
"note": {
"text": "political parties are prohibited but political societies were legalized per a July 2005 law ++ Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society or Al-Wefeq [Ali SALMAN] ++ Arab Islamic Center Society [Abdulrahman AL-BAKER] ++ Constitutional Gathering Society [Abdulrahman AL-BAKER] ++ Islamic Asalah [Abd al-Halim MURAD] ++ Islamic Saff Society [Abdullah Khalil BU GHAMAR] ++ Islamic Shura Society ++ Movement of National Justice Society [Muhi al-Din KHAN] ++ National Action Charter Society [Muhammad AL-BUAYNAYN] ++ National Democratic Action Society [Radhi AL-MOUSAWI] ++ National Democratic Assembly [Hasan AL-ALI] ++ National Dialogue Society ++ National Fraternity Society [Musa AL-ANSARI] ++ National Islamic Minbar [Ali AHMAD] ++ National Progressive Tribune [Abd al-Nabi SALMAN] ++ National Unity Gathering ++ Unitary National Democratic Assemblage [Fadhil ABBAS] ++ "
"text": "political parties are prohibited, but political societies were legalized under a July 2005 law ++ Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society or Al-Wefeq [Ali SALMAN] ++ Arab Islamic Center Society [Abdulrahman AL-BAKER] ++ Constitutional Gathering Society [Abdulrahman AL-BAKER] ++ Islamic Asalah [Abd al-Halim MURAD] ++ Islamic Saff Society [Abdullah Khalil BU GHAMAR] ++ Islamic Shura Society ++ Movement of National Justice Society [Muhi al-Din KHAN] ++ National Action Charter Society [Muhammad AL-BUAYNAYN] ++ National Democratic Action Society [Radhi AL-MOUSAWI] ++ National Democratic Assembly [Hasan AL-ALI] ++ National Dialogue Society ++ National Fraternity Society [Musa AL-ANSARI] ++ National Islamic Minbar [Ali AHMAD] ++ National Progressive Tribune [Abd al-Nabi SALMAN] ++ National Unity Gathering [Abdullatif AL-MAHMOOD] ++ Unitary National Democratic Assemblage [Fadhil ABBAS] ++ "
}
},
"Political pressure groups and leaders": {
@ -502,47 +480,47 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Bahrain has made great efforts to diversify its economy; its highly developed communication and transport facilities make Bahrain home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. As part of its diversification plans, Bahrain implemented a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US in August 2006, the first FTA between the US and a Gulf state. Bahrain's economy, however, continues to depend heavily on oil. In 2013, petroleum production and refining accounted for 73% of Bahrain's export receipts, 88% of government revenues, and 21% of GDP. Other major economic activities are production of aluminum - Bahrain's second biggest export after oil - finance, and construction. Bahrain continues to seek new natural gas supplies as feedstock to support its expanding petrochemical and aluminum industries. In 2011 Bahrain experienced economic setbacks as a result of domestic unrest, however, the economy recovered in 2012-14, partly as a result of improved tourism. Lower oil prices in 2015 will likely exacerbate Bahrain's budget deficit."
"text": "Low oil prices have generated a budget deficit of at least a $4 billion deficit in 2015, 13% of GDP. Bahrain has few options for covering this deficit, with meager foreign assets and a constrained borrowing ability, stemming in part from a sovereign debt rating averaging just above “junk” status. ++ ++ Oil comprises 86% of Bahraini budget revenues, despite past efforts to diversify its economy and to build communication and transport facilities for multinational firms with business in the Gulf. As part of its diversification plans, Bahrain implemented a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US in August 2006, the first FTA between the US and a Gulf state. ++ ++ Other major economic activities are production of aluminum - Bahrain's second biggest export after oil - finance, and construction. Bahrain continues to seek new natural gas supplies as feedstock to support its expanding petrochemical and aluminum industries. ++ ++ In 2011 Bahrain experienced economic setbacks as a result of domestic unrest driven by the majority Shia population, however, the economy recovered in 2012-15, partly as a result of improved tourism. In addition to addressing its current fiscal woes, Bahraini authorities face the long-term challenge of boosting Bahrain’s regional competitiveness—especially regarding industry, finance, and tourism—and reconciling revenue constraints with popular pressure to maintain generous state subsidies and a large public sector."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$62.17 billion (2014 est.) ++ $59.49 billion (2013 est.) ++ $56.47 billion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$64.16 billion (2015 est.) ++ $62.37 billion (2014 est.) ++ $59.77 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$33.86 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$31.12 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "4.5% (2014 est.) ++ 5.3% (2013 est.) ++ 3.6% (2012 est.)"
"text": "2.9% (2015 est.) ++ 4.4% (2014 est.) ++ 5.4% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$49,000 (2014 est.) ++ $46,900 (2013 est.) ++ $44,500 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$49,600 (2015 est.) ++ $49,200 (2014 est.) ++ $48,100 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "19.6% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 24.7% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 27.3% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "20.6% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 32% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 34.5% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "41%"
"text": "46.7%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "15.7%"
"text": "17.2%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "15.3%"
"text": "17.6%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "1%"
"text": "-0.9%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "71.2%"
"text": "54.7%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-44.1% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-35.3% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
@ -550,10 +528,10 @@
"text": "0.3%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "47.1%"
"text": "38.3%"
},
"services": {
"text": "52.6% (2014 est.)"
"text": "61.4% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -563,12 +541,12 @@
"text": "petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, iron pelletization, fertilizers, Islamic and offshore banking, insurance, ship repairing, tourism"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "4.3% (2014 est.)"
"text": "2.2% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "738,000",
"text": "786,100",
"note": {
"text": "excludes unemployed; 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2014 est.)"
"text": "excludes unemployed; 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Labor force - by occupation": {
@ -583,7 +561,10 @@
}
},
"Unemployment rate": {
"text": "4.1% (2014 est.) ++ 4.3% (2013 est.)"
"text": "4.1% (2014 est.) ++ 4.3% (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "official estimate; actual rate is higher"
}
},
"Population below poverty line": {
"text": "NA%"
@ -598,80 +579,94 @@
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$8.217 billion"
"text": "$5.436 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$9.427 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$9.464 billion (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "24.3% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "17.9% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "-3.6% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-13.2% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "42.1% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 41.3% of GDP (2013 est.)"
"text": "66.7% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 42.6% of GDP (2014 est.)"
},
"Fiscal year": {
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "2.7% (2014 est.) ++ 3.3% (2013 est.)"
"text": "1.8% (2015 est.) ++ 2.7% (2014 est.)"
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "5.88% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 5.93% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "5.16% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 5.87% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$7.996 billion (30 September 2014 est.) ++ $7.416 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$8.762 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $8.232 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$25.95 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $24.36 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$27 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $25.95 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$25.44 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $25.77 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$28.29 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $25.44 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$22.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $18.57 billion (31 December 2013) ++ $15.65 billion (31 December 2012 est.)"
"text": "$19.25 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $22.07 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $18.57 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "$1.123 billion (2014 est.) ++ $2.56 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "-$965 million (2015 est.) ++ $1.523 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$20.75 billion (2014 est.) ++ $20.93 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$14.2 billion (2015 est.) ++ $20.75 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "Saudi Arabia 3.3%, US 2.4%, UAE 2.2% (2014)"
"text": "Saudi Arabia 3.6%, UAE 2.4%, US 2.2% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$13.32 billion (2014 est.) ++ $13.66 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$8.848 billion (2015 est.) ++ $13.32 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "crude oil, machinery, chemicals"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "Saudi Arabia 24%, Algeria 11.9%, China 8.2%, US 7%, Japan 5.7%, Australia 4.4% (2014)"
"text": "Saudi Arabia 29.1%, US 9.5%, China 7.6%, Japan 6.6%, Australia 5.1%, India 4.9% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$6.049 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $5.354 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$4.657 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $6.049 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$18.75 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $17.66 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$19.74 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $18.88 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
"text": "$18.77 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $17.82 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$17.31 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $18.77 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad": {
"text": "$10.72 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $10.75 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$11.22 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $10.72 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "Bahraini dinars (BHD) per US dollar - ++ 0.376 (2014 est.) ++ 0.376 (2013 est.) ++ 0.376 (2012 est.) ++ 0.376 (2011 est.) ++ 0.376 (2010 est.)"
"text": "Bahraini dinars (BHD) per US dollar - ++ 0.376 (2015 est.) ++ 0.376 (2014 est.) ++ 0.376 (2013 est.) ++ 0.376 (2012 est.) ++ 0.376 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"population without electricity": {
"text": "41,317"
},
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "98%"
},
"electrification - urban areas": {
"text": "98%"
},
"electrification - rural areas": {
"text": "93% (2012)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "13.26 billion kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -745,18 +740,18 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "280,000"
"text": "278,976"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "22 (2014 est.)"
"text": "21 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "2.3 million"
"text": "2.519 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "177 (2014 est.)"
"text": "187 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -767,31 +762,42 @@
"text": "modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile-cellular telephones"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 973; landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Middle East, Europe, and US; tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth station - 1 (2007)"
"text": "country code - 973; landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Middle East, Europe, and US; tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth station - 1 (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "state-run Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation (BRTC) operates 5 terrestrial TV networks and several radio stations; satellite TV systems provide access to international broadcasts; 1 private FM station directs broadcasts to Indian listeners; radio and TV broadcasts from countries in the region are available (2007)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "4 (1997)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".bh"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "1.3 million"
"text": "1.259 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "96.5% (2014 est.)"
"text": "93.5% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "6"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "42"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "5,313,756"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "240,107,004 mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "A9C (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "4 (2013)"
},
@ -843,37 +849,13 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Bahrain Defense Force (BDF): Royal Bahraini Army (RBA), Royal Bahraini Navy (RBN), Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF), Royal Bahraini Air Defense Force (RBADF) (2013)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "18 years of age for voluntary military service; 15 years of age for NCOs, technicians, and cadets; no conscription (2012)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "508,863"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "290,801 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "423,757"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "245,302 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "8,988"
},
"female": {
"text": "8,117 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Military expenditures": {
"text": "4.2% of GDP (2014) ++ 4.1% of GDP (2013) ++ 3.9% of GDP (2010)"
}
@ -881,14 +863,6 @@
"Transnational Issues": {
"Disputes - international": {
"text": "none"
},
"Trafficking in persons": {
"current situation": {
"text": "Bahrain is a destination country for men and women subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking; unskilled and domestic workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Eritrea, Uzbekistan, and other countries migrate willingly to Bahrain, but some face conditions of forced labor through the withholding of passports, restrictions on movement, nonpayment, threats, and abuse; many Bahraini labor recruitment agencies and some employers charge foreign workers exorbitant fees that make them vulnerable to forced labor and debt bondage; domestic workers are particularly at risk of experiencing forced labor and sexual exploitation because they are not protected under labor laws; women from Thailand, the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Morocco, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Russia, Ukraine, and other Eastern European countries are forced into prostitution in Bahrain"
},
"tier rating": {
"text": "Tier 2 Watch List – Bahrain does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; the government has a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute a significant effort toward meeting the minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking; an increased number of trafficking offenders were investigated, prosecuted, and convicted in 2013; the government did not prosecute or convict any forced labor perpetrators and often treated these cases as labor violations rather than serious crimes; some progress was made in identifying victims and referring them to protection services, but trafficking victims continued to be punished for crimes committed as a direct result of being trafficked (2014)"
}
}
}
}

314
middle-east/gg.json
View file

@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "The region of present day Georgia contained the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Kartli-Iberia. The area came under Roman influence in the first centuries A.D., and Christianity became the state religion in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks was followed by a Georgian golden age (11th-13th centuries) that was cut short by the Mongol invasion of 1236. Subsequently, the Ottoman and Persian empires competed for influence in the region. Georgia was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1921 and regained its independence when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. ++ Mounting public discontent over rampant corruption and ineffective government services, followed by an attempt by the incumbent Georgian Government to manipulate parliamentary elections in November 2003 touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, president since 1995. In the aftermath of that popular movement, which became known as the \"Rose Revolution,\" new elections in early 2004 swept Mikheil SAAKASHVILI into power along with his United National Movement (UNM) party. Progress on market reforms and democratization has been made in the years since independence, but this progress has been complicated by Russian assistance and support to the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Periodic flare-ups in tension and violence culminated in a five-day conflict in August 2008 between Russia and Georgia, including the invasion of large portions of undisputed Georgian territory. Russian troops pledged to pull back from most occupied Georgian territory, but in late August 2008 Russia unilaterally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Russian military forces remain in those regions. ++ Billionaire philanthropist Bidzina IVANISHVILI's unexpected entry into politics in October 2011 brought the divided opposition together under his Georgian Dream coalition, which won a majority of seats in the October 2012 parliamentary elections and removed UNM from power. Conceding defeat, SAAKASHVILI named IVANISHVILI as prime minister and allowed Georgian Dream to create a new government. Georgian Dream's Giorgi MARGVELASHVILI was inaugurated as president on 17 November 2013, ending a tense year of power-sharing between SAAKASHVILI and IVANISHVILI. IVANISHVILI voluntarily resigned from office after the presidential succession, and Georgia's legislature on 20 November 2013 confirmed Irakli GARIBASHVILI as his replacement. Georgia's recent elections represent unique examples of a former Soviet state that emerged to conduct democratic and peaceful government transitions of power. Popular and government support for integration with the West is high in Georgia. Joining the EU and NATO are among the country's top foreign policy goals."
"text": "The region of present day Georgia contained the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Kartli-Iberia. The area came under Roman influence in the first centuries A.D., and Christianity became the state religion in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks was followed by a Georgian golden age (11th-13th centuries) that was cut short by the Mongol invasion of 1236. Subsequently, the Ottoman and Persian empires competed for influence in the region. Georgia was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1921 and regained its independence when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. ++ Mounting public discontent over rampant corruption and ineffective government services, followed by an attempt by the incumbent Georgian Government to manipulate parliamentary elections in November 2003, touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, president since 1995. In the aftermath of that popular movement, which became known as the \"Rose Revolution,\" new elections in early 2004 swept Mikheil SAAKASHVILI into power along with his United National Movement (UNM) party. Progress on market reforms and democratization has been made in the years since independence, but this progress has been complicated by Russian assistance and support to the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Periodic flare-ups in tension and violence culminated in a five-day conflict in August 2008 between Russia and Georgia, including the invasion of large portions of undisputed Georgian territory. Russian troops pledged to pull back from most occupied Georgian territory, but in late August 2008 Russia unilaterally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Russian military forces remain in those regions. ++ Billionaire philanthropist Bidzina IVANISHVILI's unexpected entry into politics in October 2011 brought the divided opposition together under his Georgian Dream coalition, which won a majority of seats in the October 2012 parliamentary elections and removed UNM from power. Conceding defeat, SAAKASHVILI named IVANISHVILI as prime minister and allowed Georgian Dream to create a new government. Georgian Dream's Giorgi MARGVELASHVILI was inaugurated as president on 17 November 2013, ending a tense year of power-sharing between SAAKASHVILI and IVANISHVILI. IVANISHVILI voluntarily resigned from office after the presidential succession, and Georgia's legislature on 20 November 2013 confirmed Irakli GARIBASHVILI as his replacement. These changes in leadership represent unique examples of a former Soviet state that emerged to conduct democratic and peaceful government transitions of power. Popular and government support for integration with the West is high in Georgia. Joining the EU and NATO are among the country's top foreign policy goals."
}
},
"Geography": {
"Location": {
"text": "Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia, with a sliver of land north of the Caucasus extending into Europe; note - Georgia views itself as part of Europe"
"text": "Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia, with a sliver of land north of the Caucasus extending into Europe; note - Georgia views itself as part of Europe; geopolitically, it can be classified as falling within Europe, the Middle East, or both"
},
"Geographic coordinates": {
"text": "42 00 N, 43 30 E"
@ -26,10 +26,7 @@
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "slightly smaller than South Carolina; slightly larger than West Virginia",
"Area comparison map": {
"text": null
}
"text": "slightly smaller than South Carolina; slightly larger than West Virginia"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
@ -56,12 +53,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south; Kolkhet'is Dablobi (Kolkhida Lowland) opens to the Black Sea in the west; Mtkvari River Basin in the east; fertile soils in river valley flood plains and foothills of Kolkhida Lowland"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Black Sea 0 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "1,432 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Mt'a Shkhara 5,201 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Black Sea 0 m ++ highest point: Mt'a Shkhara 5,201 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -79,18 +76,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "4,328 sq km (2007)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "63.33 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "1.81 cu km/yr (20%/22%/58%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "410.6 cu m/yr (2005)"
}
"text": "4,330 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "earthquakes"
@ -111,6 +97,9 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "4,928,052 (July 2016 est.)"
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Georgian(s)"
@ -120,38 +109,32 @@
}
},
"Ethnic groups": {
"text": "Georgian 83.8%, Azeri 6.5%, Armenian 5.7%, Russian 1.5%, other 2.5% (2002 est.)"
"text": "Georgian 86.8%, Azeri 6.3%, Armenian 4.5%, other 2.3% (2014 est.)"
},
"Languages": {
"text": "Georgian (official) 71%, Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%",
"text": "Georgian (official) 87.6%, Azeri 6.2%, Armenian 3.9%, Russian 1.2%, other 1%",
"note": {
"text": "Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia"
"text": "Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Orthodox Christian (official) 83.9%, Muslim 9.9%, Armenian-Gregorian 3.9%, Catholic 0.8%, other 0.8%, none 0.7% (2002 census)"
},
"Population": {
"text": "4,931,226 (July 2015 est.)"
"text": "Orthodox (official) 83.4%, Muslim 10.7%, Armenian Apostolic 2.9%, other 1.2% (includes Catholic, Jehovah's Witness, Yazidi, Protestant, Jewish), none 0.5%, unspecified/no answer 1.2% (2014 est.)"
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "17.73% (male 460,376/female 414,028)"
"text": "17.91% (male 463,526/female 419,334)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "13.35% (male 344,179/female 314,321)"
"text": "12.61% (male 326,675/female 294,912)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "40.93% (male 978,151/female 1,040,364)"
"text": "40.93% (male 980,024/female 1,037,044)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "12.45% (male 275,586/female 338,524)"
"text": "12.77% (male 282,067/female 347,287)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "15.53% (male 299,876/female 465,821) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "15.77% (male 304,668/female 472,515) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -170,26 +153,26 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "37.9 years"
"text": "38 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "35 years"
"text": "35.1 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "40.5 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "40.7 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "-0.08% (2015 est.)"
"text": "-0.05% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "12.74 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "12.5 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "10.82 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "10.9 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "-2.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "-2.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -210,10 +193,10 @@
"text": "1.11 male(s)/female"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "1.1 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.11 male(s)/female"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "0.94 male(s)/female"
"text": "0.95 male(s)/female"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "0.81 male(s)/female"
@ -222,7 +205,13 @@
"text": "0.64 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "0.92 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "0.92 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Mother's mean age at first birth": {
"text": "24.4",
"note": {
"text": "data do not cover Abkhazia and South Ossetia (2013 est.)"
}
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
@ -230,28 +219,28 @@
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "16.15 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "15.6 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "18.31 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "17.8 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "13.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "13.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "75.95 years"
"text": "76.2 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "71.85 years"
"text": "72.1 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "80.36 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "80.6 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "1.76 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.76 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
"text": "53.4%",
@ -260,7 +249,7 @@
}
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "9.4% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "7.4% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "4.27 physicians/1,000 population (2013)"
@ -285,13 +274,13 @@
}
},
"HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
"text": "0.28% (2014 est.)"
"text": "0.39% (2015 est.)"
},
"HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": {
"text": "6,600 (2014 est.)"
"text": "9,600 (2015 est.)"
},
"HIV/AIDS - deaths": {
"text": "100 (2014 est.)"
"text": "200 (2015 est.)"
},
"Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
"text": "22.1% (2014)"
@ -318,13 +307,13 @@
},
"School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": {
"total": {
"text": "14 years"
"text": "15 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "14 years"
"text": "15 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "14 years (2013)"
"text": "15 years (2014)"
}
},
"Child labor - children ages 5-14": {
@ -337,7 +326,13 @@
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
"total": {
"text": "33.3% (2012 est.)"
"text": "35.6%"
},
"male": {
"text": "35.3%"
},
"female": {
"text": "36.4% (2013 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -357,10 +352,13 @@
},
"former": {
"text": "Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "the Western name may derive from the Persian designation \"gurgan\" meaning \"Land of the wolves\"; the native name \"Sak'art'velo\" means \"Land of the Kartvelians\" and refers to the core central Georgian region of Kartli"
}
},
"Government type": {
"text": "republic"
"text": "semi-presidential republic"
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
@ -376,7 +374,7 @@
"Administrative divisions": {
"text": "9 regions (mkharebi, singular - mkhare), 1 city (kalaki), and 2 autonomous republics (avtomnoy respubliki, singular - avtom respublika)",
"regions": {
"text": "Guria, Imereti, Kakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Samegrelo and Zemo Svaneti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Shida Kartli; note - the breakaway region of South Ossetia consists of the northern part of Shida Kartli, eastern slivers of the Imereti region and Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, and part of western Mtskheta-Mtianeti"
"text": "Guria, Imereti, Kakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Mtskheta Mtianeti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Samegrelo and Zemo Svaneti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Shida Kartli; note - the breakaway region of South Ossetia consists of the northern part of Shida Kartli, eastern slivers of the Imereti region and Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, and part of western Mtskheta-Mtianeti"
},
"city": {
"text": "Tbilisi"
@ -398,7 +396,7 @@
"text": "Independence Day, 26 May (1918); note - 26 May 1918 was the date of independence from Soviet Russia, 9 April 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "previous 1921, 1978 (based on 1977 Soviet Union constitution); latest approved 24 August 1995, effective 17 October 1995; amended several times, last in 2013 (2015)"
"text": "previous 1921, 1978 (based on 1977 Soviet Union constitution); latest approved 24 August 1995, effective 17 October 1995; amended several times, last in 2013 (2016)"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "civil law system"
@ -407,8 +405,11 @@
"text": "accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
},
"Citizenship": {
"birthright citizenship": {
"text": "no, unless at least one parent is a citizen of Georgia"
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "at least one parent must be a citizen of Georgia"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "no"
@ -425,7 +426,7 @@
"text": "President Giorgi MARGVELASHVILI (since 17 November 2013)"
},
"head of government": {
"text": "Prime Minister Irakli GARIBASHVILI (since 20 November 2013)"
"text": "Prime Minister Giorgi KVIRIKASHVILI (since 30 December 2015); First Deputy Prime Minister Dimitry KUMSISHVILI"
},
"cabinet": {
"text": "Cabinet of Ministers"
@ -442,25 +443,28 @@
"text": "unicameral Parliament or Sakartvelos Parlamenti (150 seats; 77 members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote and 73 directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; members serve 4-year terms)"
},
"elections": {
"text": "last held on 1 October 2012 (next to be held in 2016)"
"text": "last held on 8 October and 30 October 2012 (next to be held in 2020)"
},
"election results": {
"text": "percent of vote by party - Georgian Dream-led coalition 55%, United National Movement 40.3%, other 4.7%; seats by party - Georgian Dream 85, United National Movement 65"
"text": "percent of vote by party - Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia 48.7%, ENM 27.1%, Alliance of Patriots 5%, other 19.2%; seats by party - Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia 115, ENM 27, Alliance of Patriots 6, IWSG 1, independent 1"
}
},
"Judicial branch": {
"highest court(s)": {
"text": "Supreme Court (organized into several specialized judicial chambers; number of judges determined by the president of Georgia); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges) ++ note - the Abkhazian and Ajarian Autonomous republics each have a supreme court and a hierarchy of lower courts"
"text": "Supreme Court (organized into several specialized judicial chambers; number of judges determined by the president of Georgia); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges); note - the Abkhazian and Ajarian Autonomous republics each have a supreme court and a hierarchy of lower courts"
},
"note": {
"text": "Supreme Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the Parliament; judges serve not less than 10-year terms; Constitutional Court judges appointed by the president following candidate selection by the Justice Council of Georgia, a 12-member consultative body of high-level judges, and presidential and parliamentary appointees; judges appointed for 10-year terms"
},
"judge selection and term of office": {
"text": "Supreme Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the Parliament; judges serve not less than 10-year terms; Constitutional Court judges appointed by the president following candidate selection by the Justice Council of Georgia, a 12-member consultative body of high-level judges, and presidential and parliamentary appointees; judges appointed for 10-year terms"
"text": "Courts of Appeal; regional (town) and district courts"
},
"subordinate courts": {
"text": "Courts of Appeal; regional (town) and district courts"
}
},
"Political parties and leaders": {
"text": "Conservative Party [Zviad DZIDZIGURI] ++ European Democrats [Paata DAVITAIA] ++ Free Georgia [Kakha KUKAVA] ++ Georgian Dream (a six-party coalition composed of Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia, Republican Party, National Forum, Conservative Party, Industry Will Save Georgia, and Green Party of Georgia) ++ Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia [Irakli GARIBASHVILI] ++ Georgian People's Front [Nodar NATADZE] ++ Green Party of Georgia [Gia GACHECHILADZE] ++ Industry Will Save Georgia (Industrialists) or IWSG [Giorgi TOPADZE] ++ National Democratic Party or NDP [Bachuki KARDAVA] ++ National Forum [Kakhaber SHARTAVA] ++ Our Georgia-Free Democrats (OGFD) [Irakli ALASANIA] ++ People's Party [Koba DAVITASHVILI ++ Republican Party [Khatuna SAMNIDZE] ++ United Democratic Movement [Nino BURJANADZE] ++ United National Movement or UNM [Mikheil SAAKASHVILI]"
"text": "Alliance of Patriots [Irma INASHVILI] ++ Conservative Party [Zviad DZIDZIGURI] ++ European Democrats [Paata DAVITAIA] ++ Free Georgia [Kakha KUKAVA] ++ Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia [Giorgi KVIRIKASHVILI] ++ Green Party of Georgia [Gia GACHECHILADZE] ++ Industry Will Save Georgia (Industrialists) or IWSG [Giorgi TOPADZE] ++ National Democratic Party or NDP [Bachuki KARDAVA] ++ National Forum [Kakhaber SHARTAVA] ++ New Rights [Pikria CHIKHRADZE] ++ Our Georgia-Free Democrats (OGFD) [Irakli ALASANIA] ++ Republican Party [Khatuna SAMNIDZE] ++ United Democratic Movement [Nino BURJANADZE] ++ United National Movement or ENM [Davit BAKRADZE]"
},
"Political pressure groups and leaders": {
"other": {
@ -484,12 +488,12 @@
"text": "[1] (202) 387-0864"
},
"consulate(s) general": {
"text": "New York (closed)"
"text": "New York"
}
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US": {
"chief of mission": {
"text": "Ambassador Richard NORLAND (since 25 July 2012)"
"text": "Ambassador Ian C. KELLY (since 17 September 2015)"
},
"embassy": {
"text": "11 George Balanchine Street, T'bilisi 0131"
@ -524,58 +528,58 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Georgia's main economic activities include cultivation of agricultural products such as grapes, citrus fruits, and hazelnuts; mining of manganese, copper, and gold; and producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, metals, machinery, and chemicals in small-scale industries. The country imports nearly all of its needed supplies of natural gas and oil products. It has sizeable hydropower capacity that now provides most of its energy needs. Georgia has overcome the chronic energy shortages and gas supply interruptions of the past by renovating hydropower plants and by increasingly relying on natural gas imports from Azerbaijan instead of from Russia. Construction of the Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the South Caucasus gas pipeline, and the Kars-Akhalkalaki Railroad are part of a strategy to capitalize on Georgia's strategic location between Europe and Asia and develop its role as a transit point for gas, oil, and other goods. The expansion of the South Caucasus pipeline, as part of the Shah Deniz II Southern Gas Corridor project, will result in a $2 billion foreign investment in Georgia, the largest ever in the country. Gas from Shah Deniz II is expected to begin flowing in 2019. Georgia's economy sustained GDP growth of more than 10% in 2006-07, based on strong inflows of foreign investment and robust government spending. However, GDP growth slowed following the August 2008 conflict with Russia, and sunk to negative 4% in 2009 as foreign direct investment and workers' remittances declined in the wake of the global financial crisis. The economy rebounded in 2010-13, but FDI inflows, the engine of Georgian economic growth prior to the 2008 conflict, have not recovered fully. Unemployment has also remained high. Georgia has historically suffered from a chronic failure to collect tax revenues; however, since 2004 the government has simplified the tax code, improved tax administration, increased tax enforcement, and cracked down on petty corruption, leading to higher revenues. The country is pinning its hopes for renewed growth on a determined effort to continue to liberalize the economy by reducing regulation, taxes, and corruption in order to attract foreign investment, with a focus on hydropower, agriculture, tourism, and textiles production. The government has received high marks from the World Bank for its anti-corruption efforts. Since 2012, the Georgian Dream-led government has continued the previous administration's low-regulation, low-tax, free market policies, while modestly increasing social spending, strengthening anti-trust policy, and amending the labor code to comply with International Labor Standards. The government published its 2020 Economic Development Strategy in early 2014 and former Prime Minister Bidzina IVANISHVILI launched the Georgian Co-Investment Fund, a $6 billion private equity fund that will invest in tourism, agriculture, logistics, energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing. In mid-2014, Georgia signed an association agreement with the European Union, paving the way to free trade and visa-free travel."
"text": "Georgia's main economic activities include cultivation of agricultural products such as grapes, citrus fruits, and hazelnuts; mining of manganese, copper, and gold; and producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, metals, machinery, and chemicals in small-scale industries. The country imports nearly all of its needed supplies of natural gas and oil products. It has sizeable hydropower capacity that now provides most of its energy needs. ++ ++ Georgia has overcome the chronic energy shortages and gas supply interruptions of the past by renovating hydropower plants and by increasingly relying on natural gas imports from Azerbaijan instead of from Russia. Construction of the Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the South Caucasus gas pipeline, and the Kars-Akhalkalaki railroad are part of a strategy to capitalize on Georgia's strategic location between Europe and Asia and develop its role as a transit point for gas, oil, and other goods. The expansion of the South Caucasus pipeline, as part of the Shah Deniz II Southern Gas Corridor project, will result in a $2 billion foreign investment in Georgia, the largest ever in the country. Gas from Shah Deniz II is expected to begin flowing in 2019. ++ ++ Georgia's economy sustained GDP growth of more than 10% in 2006-07, based on strong inflows of foreign investment and robust government spending. However, GDP growth slowed following the August 2008 conflict with Russia, and sunk to negative 4% in 2009 as foreign direct investment and workers' remittances declined in the wake of the global financial crisis. The economy rebounded in 2010-13, but FDI inflows, the engine of Georgian economic growth prior to the 2008 conflict, have not recovered fully. Unemployment has also remained high. ++ ++ The country is pinning its hopes for renewed growth on a determined effort to continue to liberalize the economy by reducing regulation, taxes, and corruption in order to attract foreign investment, with a focus on hydropower, agriculture, tourism, and textiles production. Georgia has historically suffered from a chronic failure to collect tax revenues; however, since 2004 the government has simplified the tax code, improved tax administration, increased tax enforcement, and cracked down on petty corruption, leading to higher revenues. The government has received high marks from the World Bank for its anti-corruption efforts. Since 2012, the Georgian Dream-led government has continued the previous administration's low-regulation, low-tax, free market policies, while modestly increasing social spending, strengthening anti-trust policy, and amending the labor code to comply with International Labor Standards. The government published its 2020 Economic Development Strategy in early 2014 and former Prime Minister Bidzina IVANISHVILI launched the Georgian Co-Investment Fund, a $6 billion private equity fund that will invest in tourism, agriculture, logistics, energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing. In mid-2014, Georgia signed an association agreement with the EU, paving the way to free trade and visa-free travel."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$34.35 billion (2014 est.) ++ $32.78 billion (2013 est.) ++ $31.73 billion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$35.68 billion (2015 est.) ++ $34.72 billion (2014 est.) ++ $33.18 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$16.54 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$13.97 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "4.8% (2014 est.) ++ 3.3% (2013 est.) ++ 6.4% (2012 est.)"
"text": "2.8% (2015 est.) ++ 4.6% (2014 est.) ++ 3.4% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$9,200 (2014 est.) ++ $8,800 (2013 est.) ++ $8,500 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$9,600 (2015 est.) ++ $9,300 (2014 est.) ++ $8,800 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "21.5% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 19.6% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 18.1% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "20.4% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 19.2% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 19.5% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "69.6%"
"text": "71.2%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "16.7%"
"text": "16.5%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "25.8%"
"text": "28.5%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "5.4%"
"text": "3.7%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "42.9%"
"text": "45%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-60.4% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-64.9% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "9.1%"
"text": "9.2%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "21.8%"
"text": "22.1%"
},
"services": {
"text": "69.1% (2014 est.)"
"text": "68.7% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -585,7 +589,7 @@
"text": "steel, machine tools, electrical appliances, mining (manganese, copper, gold), chemicals, wood products, wine"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "5.6% (2014 est.)"
"text": "3.2% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "1.959 million (2011 est.)"
@ -602,7 +606,7 @@
}
},
"Unemployment rate": {
"text": "12.4% (2014 est.) ++ 14.6% (2013 est.)"
"text": "12% (2015 est.) ++ 12.4% (2014 est.)"
},
"Population below poverty line": {
"text": "9.2% (2010 est.)"
@ -620,20 +624,20 @@
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$4.624 billion"
"text": "$3.966 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$4.973 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$4.142 billion (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "28% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "28.3% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "-2.1% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-1.3% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "35.3% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 33.9% of GDP (2013 est.)",
"text": "41.4% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 35.4% of GDP (2014 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data cover general government debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities; Georgia does not maintain intra-governmental debt or social funds"
}
@ -642,7 +646,7 @@
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "3.1% (2014 est.) ++ -0.5% (2013 est.)"
"text": "4% (2015 est.) ++ 3.1% (2014 est.)"
},
"Central bank discount rate": {
"text": "3.75% (15 January 2013) ++ 5.25% (31 December 2012)",
@ -651,58 +655,63 @@
}
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "11.91% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 13.59% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "12.49% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 11.91% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$2.415 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $2.297 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$2.063 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $2.388 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$4.72 billion (31 September 2012 est.) ++ $4.249 billion (31 December 2011 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$7.596 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $6.634 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$6.946 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $7.51 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$943.4 million (31 December 2012 est.) ++ $795.7 million (31 December 2011) ++ $1.06 billion (31 December 2010 est.)"
"text": "$943.4 million (31 December 2012 est.) ++ $795.7 million (31 December 2011 est.) ++ $1.06 billion (31 December 2010 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "-$1.611 billion (2014 est.) ++ -$926 million (2013 est.)"
"text": "-$1.641 billion (2015 est.) ++ -$1.753 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$3.995 billion (2014 est.) ++ $4.191 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$3.043 billion (2015 est.) ++ $3.995 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "vehicles, ferro-alloys, fertilizers, nuts, scrap metal, gold, copper ores"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "Azerbaijan 19%, Armenia 10.1%, Russia 9.6%, Turkey 8.4%, US 7.3%, Bulgaria 5.7%, Ukraine 4.9% (2014)"
"text": "Azerbaijan 10.9%, Bulgaria 9.7%, Turkey 8.4%, Armenia 8.2%, Russia 7.4%, China 5.7%, US 4.7%, Uzbekistan 4.4% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$8.235 billion (2014 est.) ++ $7.697 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$7.363 billion (2015 est.) ++ $8.29 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "fuels, vehicles, machinery and parts, grain and other foods, pharmaceuticals"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "Turkey 20.1%, China 8.5%, Azerbaijan 7.4%, Russia 6.7%, Ukraine 6.4%, Germany 5.4%, Japan 4.3% (2014)"
"text": "Turkey 17.2%, Russia 8.1%, China 7.6%, Azerbaijan 7%, Ireland 5.9%, Ukraine 5.9%, Germany 5.6% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$2.699 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $2.823 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$2.521 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $2.699 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$13.58 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $13.69 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$13.31 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $13.91 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
"text": "$12.4 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $11.55 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$12.64 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $12.9 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad": {
"text": "$1.643 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $1.5 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$1.773 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $1.868 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "laris (GEL) per US dollar - ++ 1.7657 (2014 est.) ++ 1.7657 (2013 est.) ++ 1.65 (2012 est.) ++ 1.6865 (2011 est.) ++ 1.7823 (2010 est.)"
"text": "laris (GEL) per US dollar - ++ 2.2694 (2015 est.) ++ 1.7657 (2014 est.) ++ 1.7657 (2013 est.) ++ 1.65 (2012 est.) ++ 1.6865 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "100% (2016)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "9.475 billion kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -776,18 +785,18 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "1.1 million"
"text": "950,167"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "22 (2014 est.)"
"text": "19 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "5.4 million"
"text": "5.551 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "109 (2014 est.)"
"text": "113 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -795,34 +804,45 @@
"text": "fixed-line telecommunications network has limited coverage outside Tbilisi; multiple mobile-cellular providers provide services to an increasing subscribership throughout the country"
},
"domestic": {
"text": "cellular telephone networks cover the entire country; mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 100 per 100 people; intercity facilities include a fiber-optic line between T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi"
"text": "cellular telephone networks cover the entire country; mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 110 per 100 persons; intercity facilities include a fiber-optic line between T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 995; the Georgia-Russia fiber-optic submarine cable provides connectivity to Russia; international service is available by microwave, landline, and satellite through the Moscow switch; international electronic mail and telex service are available (2011)"
"text": "country code - 995; the Georgia-Russia fiber-optic submarine cable provides connectivity to Russia; international service is available by microwave, landline, and satellite through the Moscow switch; international electronic mail and telex service are available (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "1 public broadcaster in Tbilisi, 1 state-owned broadcaster in Ajaria Autonomous Republic; 8 privately owned TV stations; state run public broadcaster operates 2 TV stations; dozens of cable TV operators, several major commercial TV stations, and several dozen private radio stations; state run public broadcaster operates 2 radio stations (2012)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 7, FM 12, shortwave 4 (1998)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "12 (plus repeaters) (1998)"
"text": "1 public broadcaster in Tbilisi, 1 state-owned broadcaster in Ajaria Autonomous Republic; 8 privately owned TV stations; state-run public broadcaster operates 2 TV stations; dozens of cable TV operators, several major commercial TV stations, and several dozen private radio stations; state-run public broadcaster operates 2 radio stations (2012)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".ge"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "2.5 million"
"text": "2.227 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "50.6% (2014 est.)"
"text": "45.2% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "5"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "13"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "232,263"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "185,040 mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "4L (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "22 (2013)"
},
@ -857,7 +877,7 @@
"text": "2"
},
"under 914 m": {
"text": " ++ 1 (2013)"
"text": "1 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports": {
@ -905,7 +925,7 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Georgian Armed Forces: Land Forces (include Air and Air Defense Forces); separatist Abkhazia Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Air Forces; separatist South Ossetia Armed Forces",
"note": {
@ -915,32 +935,8 @@
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "18 to 34 years of age for compulsory and voluntary active duty military service; conscript service obligation is 18 months (2012)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "1,080,840"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "1,122,031 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "893,003"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "931,683 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "29,723"
},
"female": {
"text": "27,242 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Military expenditures": {
"text": "2.7% of GDP (2013) ++ 2.88% of GDP (2012) ++ 3.25% of GDP (2011) ++ 2.88% of GDP (2010)"
"text": "2.26% of GDP (2014) ++ 2.7% of GDP (2013) ++ 2.88% of GDP (2012) ++ 3.25% of GDP (2011) ++ 2.88% of GDP (2010)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues": {
@ -949,10 +945,10 @@
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"IDPs": {
"text": "232,700 (displaced in the 1990s as a result of armed conflict in the breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia; displaced in 2008 by fighting between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia) (2014)"
"text": "268,416 (displaced in the 1990s as a result of armed conflict in the breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia; displaced in 2008 by fighting between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia) (2015)"
},
"stateless persons": {
"text": "770 (2014)"
"text": "627 (2015)"
}
},
"Illicit drugs": {

272
middle-east/gz.json
View file

@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "Inhabited since at least the 15th century B.C., Gaza has been dominated by many different peoples and empires throughout its history; it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century. Gaza fell to British forces during World War I, becoming a part of the British Mandate of Palestine. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egypt administered the newly formed Gaza Strip; it was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967. Under a series of agreements signed between 1994 and 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled after the outbreak of an intifada in mid-2000. ++ In early 2003, the \"Quartet\" of the US, EU, UN, and Russia, presented a roadmap to a final peace settlement by 2005, calling for two states - Israel and a democratic Palestine. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004 and the subsequent election of Mahmud ABBAS (head of the Fatah political party) as the PA president, Israel and the PA agreed to move the peace process forward. Israel in late 2005 unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip, but continues to control maritime, airspace, and other access. In early 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won the Palestinian Legislative Council election, but attempts to form a unity government between Fatah and HAMAS failed, and violent clashes between Fatah and HAMAS supporters ensued, culminating in HAMAS's violent seizure of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip in June 2007. Fatah and HAMAS in May 2011 reached an agreement aimed at restoring political unity between Gaza and the West Bank, but struggled to implement it. In April 2014, the two factions signed another agreement and two months later President ABBAS formed an interim government of independent technocrats, none of whom were affiliated with HAMAS. In July 2014, HAMAS and other militant groups launched rockets into Israel that resulted in a 51-day conflict between Israel and militants in Gaza. An open-ended truce declared in late August 2014 continues to hold, despite the absence of a durable negotiated cease-fire and occasional truce violations. The status quo remains with HAMAS in control of the Gaza Strip and the PA governing the West Bank."
"text": "Inhabited since at least the 15th century B.C., Gaza has been dominated by many different peoples and empires throughout its history; it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century. Gaza fell to British forces during World War I, becoming a part of the British Mandate of Palestine. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egypt administered the newly formed Gaza Strip; it was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967. Under a series of agreements known as the Oslo accords signed between 1994 and 1999, Israel transferred to the newly-created Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled in 2001, after which the area witnessed a violent intifada or uprising. ++ ++ In early 2003, the \"Quartet\" of the US, EU, UN, and Russia presented a roadmap to a final peace settlement by 2005, calling for two states. Following PA President Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004 and the subsequent election of Mahmud ABBAS (head of the Fatah political faction) as the PA president in 2005, Israel and the Palestinians agreed to move the peace process forward. Israel by late 2005 unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip, but continues to control the Gaza Strip’s land and maritime borders and airspace. In early 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) won a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council election. Attempts to form a unity government between Fatah and HAMAS failed and violent clashes between their respective supporters ensued, culminating in HAMAS's violent seizure of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip in June 2007. Since HAMAS’s takeover, Israel and Egypt have enforced tight restrictions on movement and access of goods and individuals into and out of the territory. Fatah and HAMAS have since reached a series of agreements aimed at restoring political unity between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank but have struggled to implement them. In April 2014, the two factions signed an agreement and two months later President ABBAS formed an interim government of independent technocrats, none of whom were affiliated with HAMAS. The factions, however, continue to disagree over how to implement the deal and HAMAS remains in de facto control of the Gaza Strip. ++ ++ In July 2014, HAMAS and other Gaza-based militant groups engaged in a 51-day conflict with Israel — the third conflict since HAMAS’s takeover in 2007 — culminating in late August with an open-ended truce that continues to hold despite the absence of a negotiated cease-fire and occasional violations by both sides. Reconstruction efforts since the end of the conflict have been hampered by Israeli restrictions on goods entering the Gaza Strip and inadequate donor aid. The UN in 2015 published a study assessing that the Gaza Strip could become uninhabitable by 2020 absent a substantial easing on border restrictions. In an attempt to reenergize peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, France in June 2016 hosted a ministerial meeting that included participants from 29 countries, although not Israel or the Palestinians, to lay the groundwork for an envisioned \"multilateral peace conference\" later in the year."
}
},
"Geography": {
@ -51,19 +51,19 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Mediterranean Sea 0 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "NA"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Awdah) 105 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m ++ highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Awdah) 105 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
"text": "arable land, natural gas"
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "240 sq km; note - includes West Bank (2003)"
"text": "240 sq km; note - includes West Bank (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "droughts"
@ -76,6 +76,9 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "1,753,327 (July 2016 est.)"
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "NA"
@ -91,29 +94,26 @@
"text": "Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood)"
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Muslim 98.0 - 99.0% (predominantly Sunni), Christian \nnote: dismantlement of Israeli settlements was completed in September 2005; Gaza has had no Jewish population since then (2012 est.)\nreligious affiliation:\n\n \n\n"
},
"Population": {
"text": "1,869,055 (July 2015 est.)"
"text": "Muslim 98.0 - 99.0% (predominantly Sunni), Christian <1.0%, other, unaffiliated, unspecified <1.0%",
"note": {
"text": "dismantlement of Israeli settlements was completed in September 2005; Gaza has had no Jewish population since then (2012 est.)"
}
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "42.75% (male 410,599/female 388,473)"
"text": "45.4% (male 408,601/female 387,463)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "20.34% (male 194,798/female 185,295)"
"text": "21.21% (male 187,229/female 184,619)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "30.66% (male 293,556/female 279,471)"
"text": "27.56% (male 237,162/female 246,021)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "3.59% (male 33,843/female 33,198)"
"text": "3.32% (male 30,575/female 27,717)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "2.67% (male 20,667/female 29,155) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "2.51% (male 22,613/female 21,327) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -130,41 +130,41 @@
"text": "19.2%"
},
"note": {
"text": "data represents Gaza and the West Bank (2015 est.)"
"text": "data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "18.4 years"
"text": "16.9 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "18.2 years"
"text": "16.6 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "18.6 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "17.2 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "2.81% (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.39% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "31.11 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "32.3 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "3.04 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "3.2 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "-5.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
"text": "75.3% of total population (2015)"
},
"rate of urbanization": {
"text": "2.81% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)"
"text": "2.81% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)"
},
"note": {
"text": "data represents Gaza Strip and West Bank"
"text": "data represent Gaza Strip and West Bank"
}
},
"Sex ratio": {
@ -172,54 +172,60 @@
"text": "1.06 male(s)/female"
},
"0-14 years": {
"text": "1.06 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.05 male(s)/female"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "1.05 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.01 male(s)/female"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "1.05 male(s)/female"
"text": "0.96 male(s)/female"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "1.02 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.1 male(s)/female"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "0.71 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "1.04 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.02 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Mother's mean age at first birth": {
"text": "19",
"note": {
"text": "median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2004 est.)"
}
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
"text": "45 deaths/100,000 live births",
"note": {
"text": "data represents Gaza Strip and West Bank (2015 est.)"
"text": "data represent Gaza Strip and West Bank (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "14.94 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "17.1 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "15.97 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "18.2 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "13.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "15.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "74.87 years"
"text": "73.9 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "73.11 years"
"text": "72.3 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "76.74 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "75.7 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "4.08 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "4.3 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
"text": "52.5% (includes Gaza Strip and West Bank) (2010)"
@ -235,10 +241,10 @@
"text": " ++ urban: 50.7% of population ++ rural: 81.5% of population ++ total: 58.4% of population"
},
"unimproved": {
"text": " ++ urban: 49.3% of population ++ rural: 18.5% of population ++ total: 41.6% of population ++ "
"text": " ++ urban: 49.3% of population ++ rural: 18.5% of population ++ total: 41.6% of population"
},
"note": {
"text": "includes Gaza and the West Bank (2015 est.)"
"text": "includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Sanitation facility access": {
@ -246,10 +252,10 @@
"text": " ++ urban: 93% of population ++ rural: 90.2% of population ++ total: 92.3% of population"
},
"unimproved": {
"text": " ++ urban: 7% of population ++ rural: 9.8% of population ++ total: 7.7% of population ++ "
"text": " ++ urban: 7% of population ++ rural: 9.8% of population ++ total: 7.7% of population"
},
"note": {
"text": "includes Gaza and the West Bank (2015 est.)"
"text": "includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank (2015 est.)"
}
},
"HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
@ -275,7 +281,7 @@
"text": "94.5%"
},
"note": {
"text": "estimates are for Gaza and West Bank (2015 est.)"
"text": "estimates are for Gaza and the West Bank (2015 est.)"
}
},
"School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": {
@ -289,21 +295,21 @@
"text": "14 years"
},
"note": {
"text": "data represents Gaza and West Bank (2013)"
"text": "data represent Gaza and West Bank (2014)"
}
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
"total": {
"text": "38.8%"
"text": "41%"
},
"male": {
"text": "34.5%"
"text": "37%"
},
"female": {
"text": "62.2%"
"text": "64.7%"
},
"note": {
"text": "includes West Bank (2012 est.)"
"text": "includes the West Bank (2013 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -320,32 +326,61 @@
},
"local short form": {
"text": "Qita' Ghazzah"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "named for the largest city in the region, Gaza, whose settlement can be traced back to at least the 15th century B.C. (as \"Ghazzat\")"
}
}
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Israeli security controls imposed since the end of the second intifada have degraded economic conditions in the Gaza Strip, the smaller of the two areas comprising the Palestinian territories. Israeli-imposed border closures, which became more restrictive after HAMAS seized control of the territory in June 2007, have resulted in high unemployment, elevated poverty rates, and a sharp contraction of the private sector that had relied primarily on export markets. Egyptian authorities began a crackdown on Gaza’s extensive tunnel-based smuggling network in 2013, creating fuel, construction material, and consumer goods shortages in the territory. Israel’s military operation in Gaza from July to August 2014 - the latest in a series of periodic conflicts between Israel and Gaza-based Palestinian militants -destroyed one-fifth of the territory’s industrial infrastructure, displaced more than 100,000 people, and left 30% of households without access to potable water. Since the conflict, Israel has allowed limited Gaza exports and relaxed some restrictions on construction material imports to assist reconstruction efforts, but the Palestinian Authority will depend on donor and humanitarian aid to finance the $4billion needed to rebuild."
"text": "Israeli security measures and Israeli-Palestinian violence continue to degrade economic conditions in the Gaza Strip, the smaller of the two areas comprising the Palestinian territories. Israeli-imposed border controls became more restrictive after HAMAS seized control of the territory in June 2007. They have produced high unemployment, elevated poverty rates, and a sharp contraction of the private sector, which had relied primarily on export markets. ++ ++ Egypt’s ongoing crackdown on the Gaza Strip’s extensive tunnel-based smuggling network has exacerbated fuel, construction material, and consumer goods shortages in the territory. The 51-day conflict in July 2014 that HAMAS and other Gaza-based militant groups fought with Israel further depressed the Gaza Strip’s already aid-dependent economy. Donor support for reconstruction and relaxed Israeli import restrictions in 2014 and 2015 have fallen short of postconflict needs, with almost 100,000 people remaining internally displaced because their homes have yet to be rebuilt or repaired."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "see entry for West Bank"
"text": "see entry for the West Bank"
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$2.938 billion (2014 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "excludes the West Bank"
}
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "-15% (2014 est.) ++ 6% (2013 est.) ++ 7% (2012 est.)",
"text": "-15.2% (2014 est.) ++ 5.6% (2013 est.) ++ 7% (2012)",
"note": {
"text": "data exclude West Bank"
"text": "excludes the West Bank"
}
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "see entry for West Bank"
"text": "see entry for the the West Bank"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"text": "data exclude West Bank (2014 est.)"
"household consumption": {
"text": "93%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "26.6%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "23.8%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "-2.6%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "18.3%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-59.2%"
},
"note": {
"text": "data exclude the West Bank (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
"text": "5.7% ++ 16.9% ++ 77.4%",
"text": "4.7% ++ 13.7% ++ 81.6%",
"note": {
"text": "data exclude West Bank (2014 est.)"
"text": "data exclude the West Bank (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -355,81 +390,107 @@
"text": "textiles, food processing, furniture"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "see entry for West Bank"
"text": "3.4% see entry for the West Bank"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "1.255 million (2014 est.)"
"text": "1.106 million",
"note": {
"text": "excludes the West Bank (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Labor force - by occupation": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "8.4%"
"text": "5.2%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "12.3%"
"text": "10%"
},
"services": {
"text": "79.3%"
"text": "84.8%"
},
"note": {
"text": "data exclude West Bank (2013 est.)"
"text": "data exclude the West Bank (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Unemployment rate": {
"text": "45.1% (2014 est.) ++ 29.5% (2013 est.)",
"text": "25.9% (2014 est.) ++ 26.2% (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data exclude West Bank"
"text": "data exclude the West Bank"
}
},
"Population below poverty line": {
"text": "39%",
"text": "30%",
"note": {
"text": "data exclude West Bank (2011 est.)"
"text": "data exclude the West Bank (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Budget": {
"text": "see entry for West Bank"
"text": "see entry for the West Bank"
},
"Fiscal year": {
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "see entry for West Bank"
"text": "1.4% (2015 est.) ++ 1.7% (2014 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "2.9% excludes the West Bank"
}
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "see entry for West Bank"
"text": "see entry for the West Bank"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "see entry for West Bank"
"text": "see entry for the West Bank"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$2.356 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $2.16 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$1.147 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $1.168 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$1.418 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $1.147 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "(2014 est.)"
"text": "-$2.894 billion (2014 est.) ++ -$1.412 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "excludes the West Bank"
}
},
"Exports": {
"text": "(2013 est.)"
"text": "$1.343 billion (2013 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "strawberries, carnations, vegetables, fish (small and irregular shipments, as permitted to transit the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "see entry for West Bank"
"text": "see entry for the West Bank"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "food, consumer goods, fuel"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "see entry for West Bank"
"text": "see entry for the West Bank"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "see entry for West Bank"
"text": "see entry for the West Bank"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"population without electricity": {
"text": "80,930"
},
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "98%"
},
"electrification - urban areas": {
"text": "99%"
},
"electrification - rural areas": {
"text": "93%"
},
"note": {
"text": "data for Gaza Strip and West Bank combined (2012)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "51,000 kWh (2011 est.)"
},
@ -448,14 +509,14 @@
},
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"text": "403,118 (includes West Bank) (2014 est.)"
"text": "406,500 (includes the West Bank) (July 2015 est.)"
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "3,197,550 (includes West Bank)"
"text": "3,531,000 (includes the West Bank)"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "117 (includes West Bank) (2014 est.)"
"text": "76 (includes the West Bank) (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -472,21 +533,15 @@
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "1 TV station and about 10 radio stations; satellite TV accessible (2008)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 0, FM 10, shortwave 0 (2008)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "1 (2008)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".ps; note - same as West Bank"
"text": ".ps; note - same as the West Bank"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "1,379,000 (includes West Bank)"
"text": "2.673 million (includes the West Bank)"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "34.4% (includes West Bank) (2009)"
"text": "57.4% (includes the West Bank) (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -507,7 +562,7 @@
},
"Roadways": {
"note": {
"text": "see entry for West Bank"
"text": "see entry for the West Bank"
}
},
"Ports and terminals": {
@ -516,42 +571,21 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Hamas does not have a conventional military in the Gaza Strip, but maintains security forces in addition to its military wing, the 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades; the military wing reports to the external Hamas Political Bureau leadership, which has been in exile in Cairo and Doha since closing its Damascus headquarters in late 2011 (2013)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "385,961 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "335,820"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "319,847 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "18,805"
},
"female": {
"text": "17,903 (2010 est.)"
}
"text": "HAMAS does not have a conventional military in the Gaza Strip but maintains security forces in addition to its military wing, the 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades; the military wing reports to the Hamas Political Bureau leadership, which remains scattered throughout the region since relocating from its Damascus headquarters in early 2012 (2015)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues": {
"Disputes - international": {
"text": "the status of the Gaza Strip is a final status issue to be resolved through negotiations; Israel removed settlers and military personnel from Gaza Strip in August 2005"
"text": "the status of the Gaza Strip is a final status issue to be resolved through negotiations; Israel removed settlers and military personnel from Gaza Strip in September 2005"
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"refugees (country of origin)": {
"text": "1,258,559 (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)) (2014)"
"text": "1,276,929 (Palestinian refugees) (2015)"
},
"IDPs": {
"text": "at least 263,500 (includes persons displaced within the Gaza strip due to the intensification of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since June 2014 and other Palestinian IDPs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank who fled as long ago as 1967, although confirmed cumulative figures do not go back beyond 2006) (2015)"
"text": "221,000 (includes persons displaced within the Gaza strip due to the intensification of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since June 2014 and other Palestinian IDPs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank who fled as long ago as 1967, although confirmed cumulative data do not go back beyond 2006) (2015)"
}
}
}

339
middle-east/ir.json
View file

@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and Shah Mohammad Reza PAHLAVI was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces led by Ayatollah Ruhollah KHOMEINI established a theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority vested in a learned religious scholar referred to commonly as the Supreme Leader who, according to the constitution, is accountable only to the Assembly of Experts - a popularly elected 86-member body of clerics. US-Iranian relations became strained when a group of Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran in November 1979 and held embassy personnel hostages until mid-January 1981. The US cut off diplomatic relations with Iran in April 1980. During the period 1980-88, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq that eventually expanded into the Persian Gulf and led to clashes between US Navy and Iranian military forces. Iran has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism for its activities in Lebanon and elsewhere in the world and remains subject to US, UN, and EU economic sanctions and export controls because of its continued involvement in terrorism and concerns over possible military dimensions of its nuclear program. Following the election of reformer Hojjat ol-Eslam Mohammad KHATAMI as president in 1997 and a reformist Majles (legislature) in 2000, a campaign to foster political reform in response to popular dissatisfaction was initiated. The movement floundered as conservative politicians, supported by the Supreme Leader, unelected institutions of authority like the Council of Guardians, and the security services reversed and blocked reform measures while increasing security repression. Starting with nationwide municipal elections in 2003 and continuing through Majles elections in 2004, conservatives reestablished control over Iran's elected government institutions, which culminated with the August 2005 inauguration of hardliner Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD as president. His controversial reelection in June 2009 sparked nationwide protests over allegations of electoral fraud. These protests were quickly suppressed, and the political opposition that arose as a consequence of AHMADI-NEJAD's election was repressed. Deteriorating economic conditions due primarily to government mismanagement and international sanctions prompted at least two major economically based protests in July and October 2012, but Iran's internal security situation remained stable. President AHMADI-NEJAD's independent streak angered regime establishment figures, including the Supreme Leader, leading to conservative opposition to his agenda for the last year of his presidency, and an alienation of his political supporters. In June 2013 Iranians elected a moderate conservative cleric, Dr. Hasan Fereidun RUHANI to the presidency. He is a long-time senior member in the regime, but has made promises of reforming society and Iran's foreign policy. The UN Security Council has passed a number of resolutions calling for Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities and comply with its IAEA obligations and responsibilities, but in November 2013 the five permanent members, plus Germany, (P5+1) signed a joint plan with Iran to provide the country with incremental relief from international pressure for positive steps toward transparency of their nuclear program."
"text": "Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and Shah Mohammad Reza PAHLAVI was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces led by Ayatollah Ruhollah KHOMEINI established a theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority vested in a learned religious scholar referred to commonly as the Supreme Leader who, according to the constitution, is accountable only to the Assembly of Experts - a popularly elected 86-member body of clerics. US-Iranian relations became strained when a group of Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran in November 1979 and held embassy personnel hostages until mid-January 1981. The US cut off diplomatic relations with Iran in April 1980. During the period 1980-88, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq that eventually expanded into the Persian Gulf and led to clashes between US Navy and Iranian military forces. Iran has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism for its activities in Lebanon and elsewhere in the world and remains subject to US, UN, and EU economic sanctions and export controls because of its continued involvement in terrorism and concerns over possible military dimensions of its nuclear program. Following the election of reformer Hojjat ol-Eslam Mohammad KHATAMI as president in 1997 and a reformist Majles (legislature) in 2000, a campaign to foster political reform in response to popular dissatisfaction was initiated. The movement floundered as conservative politicians, supported by the Supreme Leader, unelected institutions of authority like the Council of Guardians, and the security services reversed and blocked reform measures while increasing security repression. ++ Starting with nationwide municipal elections in 2003 and continuing through Majles elections in 2004, conservatives reestablished control over Iran's elected government institutions, which culminated with the August 2005 inauguration of hardliner Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD as president. His controversial reelection in June 2009 sparked nationwide protests over allegations of electoral fraud. These protests were quickly suppressed, and the political opposition that arose as a consequence of AHMADI-NEJAD's election was repressed. Deteriorating economic conditions due primarily to government mismanagement and international sanctions prompted at least two major economically based protests in July and October 2012, but Iran's internal security situation remained stable. President AHMADI-NEJAD's independent streak angered regime establishment figures, including the Supreme Leader, leading to conservative opposition to his agenda for the last year of his presidency, and an alienation of his political supporters. In June 2013 Iranians elected a moderate conservative cleric Dr. Hasan Fereidun RUHANI to the presidency. He is a longtime senior member in the regime, but has made promises of reforming society and Iran's foreign policy. The UN Security Council has passed a number of resolutions calling for Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities and comply with its IAEA obligations and responsibilities, and in July 2015 Iran and the five permanent members, plus Germany (P5+1) signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) under which Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief."
}
},
"Geography": {
@ -26,10 +26,7 @@
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "almost 2.5 times the size of Texas; slightly smaller than Alaska",
"Area comparison map": {
"text": null
}
"text": "almost 2.5 times the size of Texas; slightly smaller than Alaska"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
@ -62,12 +59,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Caspian Sea -28 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "1,305 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m ++ highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -85,18 +82,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "87,000 sq km (2009)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "137 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "93.3 cu km/yr (7%/1%/92%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "1,306 cu m/yr (2004)"
}
"text": "95,530 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes"
@ -117,6 +103,9 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "82,801,633 (July 2016 est.)"
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Iranian(s)"
@ -132,32 +121,23 @@
"text": "Persian (official), Azeri Turkic and Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Luri, Balochi, Arabic, other"
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Muslim (official) 99.4% (Shia 90-95%, Sunni 5-10%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian) 0.3%, unspecified 0.4% (2011 est.)",
"religious affiliation": {
"text": null
}
},
"Population": {
"text": "81,824,270 (July 2015 est.)"
"text": "Muslim (official) 99.4% (Shia 90-95%, Sunni 5-10%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian) 0.3%, unspecified 0.4% (2011 est.)"
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "23.69% (male 9,937,715/female 9,449,716)"
"text": "23.65% (male 10,037,814/female 9,546,710)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "17.58% (male 7,386,826/female 6,998,188)"
"text": "16.57% (male 7,041,801/female 6,675,656)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "46.87% (male 19,534,794/female 18,817,480)"
"text": "47.59% (male 20,085,331/female 19,319,933)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "6.58% (male 2,650,049/female 2,731,997)"
"text": "6.79% (male 2,770,618/female 2,855,362)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "5.28% (male 1,990,961/female 2,326,544) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "5.4% (male 2,052,541/female 2,415,867) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -176,26 +156,26 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "28.8 years"
"text": "29.4 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "28.6 years"
"text": "29.1 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "29.1 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "29.7 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "1.2% (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.18% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "17.99 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "17.8 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "5.94 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "5.9 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "-0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -216,7 +196,7 @@
"text": "1.05 male(s)/female"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "1.06 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.05 male(s)/female"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "1.04 male(s)/female"
@ -228,7 +208,7 @@
"text": "0.86 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "1.03 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.03 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
@ -236,34 +216,34 @@
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "38.04 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "37.1 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "38.58 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "37.6 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "37.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "36.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "71.15 years"
"text": "71.4 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "69.56 years"
"text": "69.8 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "72.82 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "73.1 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "1.83 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.83 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
"text": "77.4% (2010/11)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "6.7% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "6.9% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "0.89 physicians/1,000 population (2005)"
@ -288,13 +268,13 @@
}
},
"HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
"text": "0.14% (2014 est.)"
"text": "0.14% (2015 est.)"
},
"HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": {
"text": "74,400 (2014 est.)"
"text": "73,200 (2015 est.)"
},
"HIV/AIDS - deaths": {
"text": "4,100 (2014 est.)"
"text": "4,000 (2015 est.)"
},
"Major infectious diseases": {
"degree of risk": {
@ -304,17 +284,14 @@
"text": "bacterial diarrhea"
},
"vectorborne diseases": {
"text": "Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever"
},
"note": {
"text": "highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2013)"
"text": "Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (2016)"
}
},
"Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
"text": "24.9% (2014)"
},
"Education expenditures": {
"text": "3.7% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "3% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Literacy": {
"definition": {
@ -338,18 +315,18 @@
"text": "15 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "15 years (2012)"
"text": "15 years (2014)"
}
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
"total": {
"text": "23%"
"text": "24.8%"
},
"male": {
"text": "20.2%"
"text": "21%"
},
"female": {
"text": "33.9% (2008 est.)"
"text": "42.8% (2014 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -369,6 +346,9 @@
},
"former": {
"text": "Persia"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "name derives from the Avestan term \"aryanam\" meaning \"Land of the noble [ones]\""
}
},
"Government type": {
@ -398,7 +378,7 @@
"text": "Republic Day, 1 April (1979)"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "previous 1906; latest adopted 24 October 1979, effective 3 December 1979; amended 1989 (2015)"
"text": "previous 1906; latest adopted 24 October 1979, effective 3 December 1979; amended 1989 (2016)"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "religious legal system based on secular and Islamic law"
@ -407,14 +387,17 @@
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship": {
"birthright citizenship": {
"text": ""
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "the father must be a citizen of Iran"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "no"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization": {
"text": ""
"text": "5 years"
}
},
"Suffrage": {
@ -434,7 +417,7 @@
"text": "supreme leader appointed for life by Assembly of Experts; president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term and an additional nonconsecutive term); election last held on 14 June 2013 (next to be held in June 2017)"
},
"election results": {
"text": "Hasan Fereidun RUHANI elected president; percent of vote - Hasan Fereidun RUHANI 50.7%, Mohammad Baqer QALIBAF 16.5%, Saeed JALILI 11.4%, Mohsen REZAI 10.6%, Ali Akber VELAYATI 6.2%, other 4.6%"
"text": "Hasan Fereidun RUHANI elected president; percent of vote - Hasan Fereidun RUHANI Moderation and Development Party) 50.7%, Mohammad Baqer QALIBAF (Progress and Justice Population of Islamic Iran) 16.5%, Saeed JALILI (Front of Islamic Revolution Stability) 11.4%, Mohsen REZAI (Conservative) 10.6%, Ali Akber VELAYATI (Islamic Coalition Party) 6.2%, other 4.6%"
},
"note": {
"text": "3 oversight bodies are also considered part of the executive branch of government"
@ -442,40 +425,32 @@
},
"Legislative branch": {
"description": {
"text": "unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e Shura-ye Eslami or Majles (290 seats; members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by two-round vote; members serve 4-year terms); note - all candidates to the Majles must be approved by the Guardian Council, a 12-member group of which 6 are appointed by the supreme leader and 6 are jurists nominated by the judiciary and elected by the Majles"
"text": "unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e Shura-ye Eslami or Majles (290 seats; 285 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by two-round vote, and 1 seat each for Zoroastrians, Jews, Assyrian and Chaldean Christians, Armenians in the north of the country, and Armenians in the South; members serve 4-year terms); note - all candidates to the Majles must be approved by the Guardian Council, a 12-member group of which 6 are appointed by the supreme leader and 6 are jurists nominated by the judiciary and elected by the Majles"
},
"elections": {
"text": "last held in two rounds on 2 March and 4 May 2012; (next to be held on 26 February 2016)"
"text": "first round held on 26 February 2016 with second round for 68 remaining seats held on 29 April 2016; (next to be held in 2020)"
},
"election results": {
"text": "percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA"
"text": "percent of vote by party - List of Hope 41.7%, Principalists Grand Coalition 28.6%, People's Voice Coalition 3.8%, religious minorities 1.7%, other 1.7%, independent 22.4%,; seats by party - List of Hope 121, Principalists Grand Coalition 83, People's Voice Coalition 11, religious minorities 5, other 5, independent 65"
}
},
"Judicial branch": {
"highest court(s)": {
"text": "Supreme Court (consists of a president and NA judges)"
"text": "Supreme Court (consists of the president and NA judges)"
},
"judge selection and term of office": {
"text": "Supreme Court president appointed by the head of the Supreme Judicial Council in consultation with judges of the Supreme Court; president appointed for a 5-year term; other judge appointments and tenure NA"
"text": "Supreme Court president appointed by the head of the High Judicial Council (HJC), a 5-member body to include the Supreme Court chief justice, the prosecutor general, and 3 clergy, in consultation with judges of the Supreme Court; president appointed for a 5-year term; other judges appointed by the HJC; judge tenure NA"
},
"subordinate courts": {
"text": "Penal Courts I and II; Islamic Revolutionary Courts; Courts of Peace; Special Clerical Court (functions outside the judicial system and handles cases involving clerics); military courts"
}
},
"Political parties and leaders": {
"note": {
"text": "formal political parties are a relatively new phenomenon in Iran and most conservatives still prefer to work through political pressure groups rather than parties; often political parties or coalitions are formed prior to elections and disbanded soon thereafter; a loose pro-reform coalition called the 2nd Khordad Front, which includes political parties as well as less formal groups and organizations, achieved considerable success in elections for the sixth Majles in early 2000; groups in the coalition included the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF), Executives of Construction Party (Kargozaran), Solidarity Party, Islamic Labor Party, Mardom Salari, Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization (MIRO), and Militant Clerics Society (MCS; Ruhaniyun); the coalition participated in the seventh Majles elections in early 2004 but boycotted them after 80 incumbent reformists were disqualified; following his defeat in the 2005 presidential elections, former MCS Secretary General and sixth Majles Speaker Mehdi KARUBI formed the National Trust Party; a new conservative group, Islamic Iran Developers Coalition (Abadgaran), took a leading position in the new Majles after winning a majority of the seats in February 2004; ahead of the 2008 Majles elections, traditional and hardline conservatives attempted to close ranks under the United Front of Principlists and the Broad Popular Coalition of Principlists; several reformist groups, such as the MIRO and the IIPF, also came together as a reformist coalition in advance of the 2008 Majles elections; the IIPF has repeatedly complained that the overwhelming majority of its candidates were unfairly disqualified from the 2008 elections"
}
"text": "List of Hope or People's Voice Coalition [Ali MOTAHARI] ++ Pervasive Coalition of Reformists: The Second Step [Ali SOUFI, chairman] (includes Council for Coordinating the Reforms Front, National Trust Party, Union of Islamic Iran People Party, Moderation and Development Party, Followers of Walayat [Ali LARIJANI]) ++ Principalists Grand Coalition [Alireza ZAKANI] (includes Combatant Clergy Association and Islamic Coalition Party, Society of Devotees and Pathseekers of the Islamic Revolution, Front of Islamic Revolution Stability) ++ Progress and Justice Population of Islamic Iran [Hssein GHORBANZADEH]"
},
"Political pressure groups and leaders": {
"groups that generally support the Islamic Republic": {
"text": " ++ Ansar-e Hizballah ++ Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader ++ Islamic Coalition Party (Motalefeh) ++ Islamic Engineers Society ++ Tehran Militant Clergy Association or MCA (Ruhaniyat)"
},
"active pro-reform student group": {
"text": " ++ Office of Strengthening Unity or OSU"
},
"opposition groups": {
"text": " ++ Freedom Movement of Iran ++ Green Path movement [Mehdi KARUBI, Mir-Hosein MUSAVI] ++ Marz-e Por Gohar ++ National Front ++ various ethnic and monarchist organizations"
"groups that support the Islamic Republic": {
"text": "Ansar-e Hizballah ++ Democracy Party (Hezb-e Mardom Salari) ++ Executives of Construction Party (Kargozaran) ++ Followers of the Guardianship of the Jurisprudent (Rahrovan) ++ Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader (Peyrovan) ++ Islamic Iran Freedom Party (Hezb-e Azadegi) ++ Islamic Coalition Party (Motalefeh) ++ Islamic Labor Party (Hezb-e Kar) ++ Militant Clerics Society or MCS (Ruhaniyun) ++ Moderation and Development Party (Hezb-e Etedal va Tose-eh) ++ Nation of Iran Unity Party (Hezb-e Etehad) ++ National Trust Party (Hezb-e Etemad-e Meli) ++ Qom Theological Lecturers Association ++ Reform Front Coordination Council (Shora-ye Hamahangi Eslahat) ++ Society of Devotees (Isargaran) ++ Society of Modern Thinking Muslim Women of Iran (Jamiat-e Zanan-e Noandish) ++ Steadfastness Front (Paydari) ++ Tehran Militant Clergy Association or MCA (Ruhaniyat) ++ Voice of Iranians (Neda) ++ Wayfarers of the Islamic Revolution (Rahpuyan) ++ "
},
"armed political groups repressed by the government": {
"text": " ++ Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan or KDPI ++ Harekat-e Ansar-e Iran (splinter faction of Jundallah) ++ Jaysh l-Adl (formerly known as Jundallah) ++ Komala ++ Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization or MEK (MKO) ++ People's Fedayeen ++ People's Free Life Party of Kurdistan or PJAK"
@ -510,47 +485,47 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Iran's economy is marked by statist policies, inefficiencies, and reliance on oil and gas exports, but Iran also possesses significant agricultural, industrial, and service sectors. The Iranian government directly owns and operates hundreds of state-owned enterprises and indirectly controls many companies affiliated with the country's security forces. Distortions - including inflation, price controls, subsidies, and a banking system holding billions of dollars of non-performing loans - weigh down the economy, undermining the potential for private-sector-led growth. Private sector activity includes small-scale workshops, farming, some manufacturing, and services, in addition to medium-scale construction, cement production, mining, and metalworking. Significant informal market activity flourishes and corruption is widespread. Fiscal and monetary constraints, following the expansion of international sanctions in 2012 on Iran's Central Bank and oil exports, significantly reduced Iran's oil revenue, forced government spending cuts, and sparked a sharp currency depreciation. Iran’s economy contracted for the first time in two decades during both 2012 and 2013, and grew only slightly 2014. Iran continues to suffer from high unemployment and underemployment. Lack of job opportunities has prompted many educated Iranian youth to seek employment overseas, resulting in a significant \"brain drain.\" In June 2013, the election of President Hasan RUHANI generated widespread public expectations of economic improvement and greater international engagement. In connection with ongoing international negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program the limited sanctions relief for Iran provided under the Joint Plan of Action of November 2013, helped to forestall the decline in the economy in 2014."
"text": "Iran's economy is marked by statist policies, inefficiencies, and reliance on oil and gas exports, but Iran also possesses significant agricultural, industrial, and service sectors. The Iranian government directly owns and operates hundreds of state-owned enterprises and indirectly controls many companies affiliated with the country's security forces. Distortions - including inflation, price controls, subsidies, and a banking system holding billions of dollars of non-performing loans - weigh down the economy, undermining the potential for private-sector-led growth. ++ ++ Private sector activity includes small-scale workshops, farming, some manufacturing, and services, in addition to medium-scale construction, cement production, mining, and metalworking. Significant informal market activity flourishes and corruption is widespread. ++ ++ Fiscal and monetary constraints, following the expansion of international sanctions in 2012 on Iran's Central Bank and oil exports, significantly reduced Iran's oil revenue, forced government spending cuts, and sparked a sharp currency depreciation. Iran’s economy contracted for the first time in two decades during both 2012 and 2013, but growth resumed in 2014. Iran continues to suffer from high unemployment and underemployment. Lack of job opportunities has prompted many educated Iranian youth to seek employment overseas, resulting in a significant \"brain drain.\" ++ ++ In June 2013, the election of President Hasan RUHANI generated widespread public expectations of economic improvement and greater international engagement. Almost two years into his term, RUHANI has achieved some success, including reining in inflation and, in July of 2015, securing the promise of sanctions relief for Iran by signing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the P5+1. The JCPOA, which severely limits Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for unfreezing Iranian assets and reopening Iran to international trade, should bolster foreign direct investment, increase trade, and stimulate growth. In spite of RUHANI’s efforts, Iran’s growth was tepid in 2015, and significant economic improvement resulting from sanctions relief will take months or years to materialize."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$1.357 trillion (2014 est.) ++ $1.301 trillion (2013 est.) ++ $1.326 trillion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$1.379 trillion (2015 est.) ++ $1.373 trillion (2014 est.) ++ $1.316 trillion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$416.5 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$390 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "4.3% (2014 est.) ++ -1.9% (2013 est.) ++ -6.6% (2012 est.)"
"text": "0.4% (2015 est.) ++ 4.3% (2014 est.) ++ -1.9% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$17,400 (2014 est.) ++ $16,700 (2013 est.) ++ $17,000 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$17,300 (2015 est.) ++ $17,500 (2014 est.) ++ $17,000 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "34.8% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 39.1% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 43.8% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "31.7% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 34.5% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 39.1% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "50.6%"
"text": "52.4%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "10.7%"
"text": "10.6%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "26.2%"
"text": "27%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "7.2%"
"text": "6.6%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "24.2%"
"text": "19.2%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-18.9% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-15.8% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
@ -558,10 +533,10 @@
"text": "9.2%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "37.7%"
"text": "38.8%"
},
"services": {
"text": "53.1% (2014 est.)"
"text": "51.9% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -571,12 +546,12 @@
"text": "petroleum, petrochemicals, gas, fertilizers, caustic soda, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), ferrous and nonferrous metal fabrication, armaments"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "4.9% (2014 est.)"
"text": "2.7% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "28.4 million",
"text": "29.07 million",
"note": {
"text": "shortage of skilled labor (2014 est.)"
"text": "shortage of skilled labor (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Labor force - by occupation": {
@ -591,7 +566,7 @@
}
},
"Unemployment rate": {
"text": "10.3% (2014 est.) ++ 10.4% (2013 est.)",
"text": "10.5% (2015 est.) ++ 10.3% (2014 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are according to the Iranian Government"
}
@ -612,20 +587,20 @@
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$62.11 billion"
"text": "$61.95 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$67.07 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$68.72 billion (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "14.9% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "16% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "-1.2% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-1.7% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "10.7% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 10.4% of GDP (2013 est.)",
"text": "11.4% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 10.3% of GDP (2014 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "includes publicly guaranteed debt"
}
@ -634,7 +609,7 @@
"text": "21 March - 20 March"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "15.5% (2014 est.) ++ 34.7% (2013 est.)",
"text": "11.9% (2015 est.) ++ 15.6% (2014 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "official Iranian estimate"
}
@ -643,58 +618,72 @@
"text": "NA%"
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "14% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 11% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "14.2% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 14% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$42.59 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $43.57 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$38.44 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $42.59 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$273.6 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $222.3 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$282.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $273.6 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$44.83 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $42.7 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$47.04 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $44.83 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$172 billion (31 December 2013 est.) ++ $140.8 billion (31 December 2012) ++ $107.2 billion (31 December 2011 est.)"
"text": "$89.43 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $116.6 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $345.8 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "$15.94 billion (2014 est.) ++ $26.52 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$8.234 billion (2015 est.) ++ $15.89 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$86.47 billion (2014 est.) ++ $93.12 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$64.6 billion (2015 est.) ++ $86.47 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets, cement, ore"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "China 29%, India 11.9%, Turkey 10.4%, Japan 6.5%, South Korea 4.8% (2014)"
"text": "China 22.2%, India 9.9%, Turkey 8.4%, Japan 4.5% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$65.08 billion (2014 est.) ++ $61.16 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$52.42 billion (2015 est.) ++ $65.08 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "industrial supplies, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "UAE 30.6%, China 25.5%, Algeria 8.3%, India 4.6%, South Korea 4.4%, Turkey 4.1% (2014)"
"text": "UAE 39.6%, China 22.4%, South Korea 4.7%, Turkey 4.6% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$109 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $108 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$110 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $109 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$6.922 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $7.646 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$5.348 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $5.495 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
"text": "$42.47 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $40.36 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$43.05 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $43.05 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad": {
"text": "$4.33 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $3.725 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$4.097 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $4.096 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "Iranian rials (IRR) per US dollar - ++ 25,912.3 (2014 est.) ++ 25,912.3 (2013 est.) ++ 12,175.5 (2012 est.) ++ 10,616.3 (2011 est.) ++ 10,254.18 (2010 est.)"
"text": "Iranian rials (IRR) per US dollar - ++ 29,011.5 (2015 est.) ++ 25,941.7 (2014 est.) ++ 25,912 (2013 est.) ++ 12,176 (2012 est.) ++ 10,616 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"population without electricity": {
"text": "1,100,000"
},
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "98.6%"
},
"electrification - urban areas": {
"text": "100%"
},
"electrification - rural areas": {
"text": "95% (2013)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "239.2 billion kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -723,7 +712,7 @@
"text": "0.8% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)"
},
"Crude oil - production": {
"text": "3.236 million bbl/day (2014 est.)"
"text": "3.614 million bbl/day (2014 est.)"
},
"Crude oil - exports": {
"text": "1.322 million bbl/day (2013 est.)"
@ -747,39 +736,39 @@
"text": "18,150 bbl/day (2012 est.)"
},
"Natural gas - production": {
"text": "161.3 billion cu m (2013 est.)"
"text": "172.6 billion cu m (2014 est.)"
},
"Natural gas - consumption": {
"text": "157.3 billion cu m (2013 est.)"
"text": "170.2 billion cu m (2014 est.)"
},
"Natural gas - exports": {
"text": "9.307 billion cu m (2013 est.)"
"text": "9.584 billion cu m (2014 est.)"
},
"Natural gas - imports": {
"text": "5.329 billion cu m (2013 est.)"
"text": "6.886 billion cu m (2014 est.)"
},
"Natural gas - proved reserves": {
"text": "33.8 trillion cu m (1 January 2014 est.)"
"text": "34.02 trillion cu m (2014 est.)"
},
"Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy": {
"text": "603.6 million Mt (2012 est.)"
"text": "650.4 million Mt (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "30.59 million"
"text": "30,418,973"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "38 (2014 est.)"
"text": "37 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "68.9 million"
"text": "74.219 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "85 (2014 est.)"
"text": "91 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -787,34 +776,45 @@
"text": "currently being modernized and expanded with the goal of not only improving the efficiency and increasing the volume of the urban service but also bringing telephone service to several thousand villages not presently connected"
},
"domestic": {
"text": "the addition of new fiber cables and modern switching and exchange systems installed by Iran's state-owned telecom company have improved and expanded the fixed-line network greatly; fixed line availability has more than doubled to more than 27 million lines since 2000; additionally, mobile-cellular service has increased dramatically serving roughly 56 million subscribers in 2011; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership now exceeds 100 per 100 persons"
"text": "heavy investment by Iran's state-owned telecom company has greatly improved and expanded both the fixed-line and mobile cellular networks; a huge percentage of the cell phones in the market have been smuggled into the country"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 98; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE with access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion to Georgia and Azerbaijan; HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; satellite earth stations - 13 (9 Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat) (2011)"
"text": "country code - 98; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE with access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion to Georgia and Azerbaijan; HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; satellite earth stations - 13 (9 Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat) (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "state-run broadcast media with no private, independent broadcasters; Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state-run TV broadcaster, operates 5 nationwide channels, a news channel, about 30 provincial channels, and several international channels; about 20 foreign Persian-language TV stations broadcasting on satellite TV are capable of being seen in Iran; satellite dishes are illegal and, while their use had been tolerated, authorities began confiscating satellite dishes following the unrest stemming from the 2009 presidential election; IRIB operates 8 nationwide radio networks, a number of provincial stations, and an external service; most major international broadcasters transmit to Iran (2009)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 72, FM 10, shortwave 21 (2010)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "29 (plus 450 repeaters) (1997)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".ir"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "22.9 million"
"text": "36.07 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "28.3% (2014 est.)"
"text": "44.1% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "15"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "228"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "15,003,958"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "107,184,869 mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "EP (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "319 (2013)"
},
@ -855,7 +855,7 @@
"text": "135"
},
"under 914 m": {
"text": " ++ 32 (2013)"
"text": "32 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports": {
@ -905,46 +905,19 @@
},
"Ports and terminals": {
"major seaport(s)": {
"text": "Bandar-e Asaluyeh, Bandar Abbas"
},
"river port(s)": {
"text": "Bandar Emam Khomeyni (Shatt al-Arab)"
"text": "Bandar-e Asaluyeh, Bandar Abbas, Bandar Emam"
},
"container port(s) (TEUs)": {
"text": "Bandar Abbas (2,752,460)"
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force (IRIAF), Khatemolanbia Air Defense Headquarters; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e Eslami, IRGC): Ground Resistance Forces, Navy, Aerospace Force, Quds Force (special operations); Law Enforcement Forces (2011)"
"text": "Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force (IRIAF), Khatemolanbia Air Defense Headquarters; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e Eslami, IRGC): Ground Resistance Forces, Navy, Aerospace Force, Qods Force (special operations); Law Enforcement Forces (2015)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "18 years of age for compulsory military service; 16 years of age for volunteers; 17 years of age for Law Enforcement Forces; 15 years of age for Basij Forces (Popular Mobilization Army); conscript military service obligation is 18 months; women exempt from military service (2012)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "23,619,215"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "22,628,341 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "20,149,222"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "19,417,275 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "715,111"
},
"female": {
"text": "677,372 (2010 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transnational Issues": {
@ -953,15 +926,15 @@
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"refugees (country of origin)": {
"text": "2.4 million (1 million registered, 1.4 million undocumented) (Afghanistan); 32,000 (Iraq) (2014)"
"text": "2.5 - 3.0 (1 million registered, 1.5 - 2.0 million undocumented) (Afghanistan); 28,268 (Iraq) (2015)"
}
},
"Trafficking in persons": {
"current situation": {
"text": "Iran is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor; Iranian women and children are subjected to sex trafficking in Iran, Pakistan, the Persian Gulf, and Europe; Iranian children are forced, sometimes by their parents or crime networks, to beg, to work in sweatshops, or to be prostitutes in Iran and abroad; Azerbaijani and, reportedly, Uzbek women and children are also sexually exploited in Iran; Pakistani migrant workers are sometimes subjected to forced labor, including debt bondage; criminal organizations play a large role in human trafficking in Iran"
"text": "Iran is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor; organized groups sex traffic Iranian women and children in Iran and to the UAE and Europe; the transport of girls from and through Iran en route to the Gulf for sexual exploitation or forced marriages is on the rise; Iranian children are also forced to work as beggars, street vendors, and in domestic workshops; Afghan boys forced to work in construction or agriculture are vulnerable to sexual abuse by their employers; Pakistani and Afghan migrants being smuggled to Europe often are subjected to forced labor, including debt bondage"
},
"tier rating": {
"text": "Tier 3 – Iran does not comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, and is not making significant efforts to do so; the government does not share information on its anti-trafficking efforts making it difficult to assess the country’s human trafficking problem or the government’s attempts to curb it; Iranian law does not prohibit all forms of human trafficking; existing laws against human trafficking, forced labor, and debt bondage reportedly remain unenforced because of a lack of political will and widespread political corruption; Iran has no apparent protection services or rehabilitation programs for victims and has reportedly punished sex trafficking victims for crimes committed as a direct result of being trafficked (2014)"
"text": "Tier 3 – Iran does not comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, and is not making significant efforts to do so; the government does not share information on its anti-trafficking efforts, but publically available information from NGOs, the media, and international organizations indicates that Iran is not taking adequate measures to address its trafficking problems, particularly protecting victims; Iranian law does not prohibit all forms of human trafficking; female victims find it extremely difficult to get justice because Iranian courts accord women’s testimony half the weight of men's, and female victims of sexual abuse, including trafficking, are likely to be prosecuted for adultery; the government did not identify or provide protection services to any victims and continued to punish victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked; the government made some effort to cooperate with neighboring governments and an international organization to combat human trafficking and other crimes (2015)"
}
},
"Illicit drugs": {

328
middle-east/is.json
View file

@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN proposed partitioning the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Nonetheless, an Israeli state was declared in 1948 and the Israelis subsequently defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. (The territories Israel occupied since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted.) On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a Declaration of Principles (also known as the \"Oslo Accords\"), enshrining the idea of a two-state solution to their conflict and guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. ++ Progress toward a permanent status agreement with the Palestinians was undermined by Israeli-Palestinian violence between 2001 and February 2005. Israel in 2005 unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip, evacuating settlers and its military while retaining control over most points of entry into the Gaza Strip. The election of HAMAS to head the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006 froze relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Israel engaged in a 34-day conflict with Hizballah in Lebanon in June-August 2006 and a 23-day conflict with HAMAS in the Gaza Strip during December 2008 and January 2009. Direct talks with the Palestinians launched in September 2010 collapsed following the expiration of Israel's 10-month partial settlement construction moratorium in the West Bank. In November 2012, Israel engaged in a seven-day conflict with HAMAS in the Gaza Strip. Direct talks with the Palestinians resumed in July 2013 but were suspended in April 2014. Three months later HAMAS and other militant groups launched rockets into Israel, which led to a 51-day conflict between Israel and militants in Gaza."
"text": "Following World War II, Britain withdrew from its mandate of Palestine, and the UN proposed partitioning the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Nonetheless, an Israeli state was declared in 1948, and Israel subsequently defeated the Arab armies in a series of wars that did not end deep tensions between the two sides. (The territories Israel has occupied since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted.) On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, Israel conducted bilateral negotiations with Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement with each. Israel and Palestinian officials on 13 September 1993 signed a Declaration of Principles (also known as the \"Oslo Accords\"), enshrining the idea of a two-state solution to their conflict and guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. The parties achieved six additional significant interim agreements between 1994 and 1999 aimed at creating the conditions for a two-state solution, but most were never fully realized. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty. ++ Progress toward a final status agreement with the Palestinians was undermined by Israeli-Palestinian violence between 2001 and February 2005. Israel in 2005 unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip, evacuating settlers and its military while retaining control over most points of entry into the Gaza Strip. The election of HAMAS to head the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006 temporarily froze relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Israel engaged in a 34-day conflict with Hizballah in Lebanon from July-August 2006 and a 23-day conflict with HAMAS in the Gaza Strip from December 2008-January 2009. In November 2012, Israel engaged in a seven-day conflict with HAMAS in the Gaza Strip. Direct talks with the Palestinians most recently launched in July 2013 but were suspended in April 2014. The talks represented the fourth concerted effort to resolve final status issues between the sides since they were first discussed at Camp David in 2000. Three months later HAMAS and other militant groups launched rockets into Israel, which led to a 51-day conflict between Israel and militants in Gaza."
}
},
"Geography": {
@ -26,10 +26,7 @@
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "slightly larger than New Jersey",
"Area comparison map": {
"text": null
}
"text": "slightly larger than New Jersey"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
@ -56,12 +53,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Dead Sea -408 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "508 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Har Meron 1,208 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m ++ highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -79,18 +76,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "2,250 sq km (2004)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "1.78 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "1.95 cu km/yr (39%/6%/55%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "282.4 cu m/yr (2009)"
}
"text": "2,250 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes"
@ -111,6 +97,12 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "8,174,527 (includes populations of the Golan Heights of Golan Sub-District and also East Jerusalem, which was annexed by Israel after 1967) (July 2016 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "approximately 20,500 Israeli settlers live in the Golan Heights; approximately 211,640 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem (2014)"
}
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Israeli(s)"
@ -120,41 +112,29 @@
}
},
"Ethnic groups": {
"text": "Jewish 75% (of which Israel-born 74.4%, Europe/America/Oceania-born 17.4%, Africa-born 5.1%, Asia-born 3.1%), non-Jewish 25% (mostly Arab) (2013 est.)"
"text": "Jewish 74.8% (of which Israel-born 75.6%, Europe/America/Oceania-born 16.6%, Africa-born 4.9%, Asia-born 2.9%), non-Jewish 25.2% (mostly Arab) (2015 est.)"
},
"Languages": {
"text": "Hebrew (official), Arabic (used officially for Arab minority), English (most commonly used foreign language)"
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Jewish 75%, Muslim 17.5%, Christian 2%, Druze 1.6%, other 3.9% (2013 est.)",
"religious affiliation": {
"text": null
}
},
"Population": {
"text": "8,049,314 (includes populations of the Golan Heights of Golan Sub-District and East Jerusalem, which was annexed by Israel after 1967) (July 2014 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "approximately 19,400 Israeli settlers live in the Golan Heights; approximately 200,000 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem (2013) (July 2015 est.)"
}
"text": "Jewish 74.8%, Muslim 17.6%, Christian 2%, Druze 1.6%, other 4% (2015 est.)"
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "27.95% (male 1,151,247/female 1,098,632)"
"text": "27.73% (male 1,159,980/female 1,106,946)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "15.5% (male 637,758/female 609,597)"
"text": "15.52% (male 648,199/female 620,218)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "37.13% (male 1,528,271/female 1,460,772)"
"text": "37.15% (male 1,552,754/female 1,484,059)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "8.57% (male 336,662/female 353,352)"
"text": "8.51% (male 340,601/female 355,382)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "10.85% (male 389,401/female 483,622) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "11.09% (male 405,511/female 500,877) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -173,26 +153,26 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "39.6 years"
"text": "29.7 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "28.9 years"
"text": "29.1 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "30.2 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "30.4 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "1.56% (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.53% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "18.48 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "18.3 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "5.15 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "5.2 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "2.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -203,7 +183,7 @@
}
},
"Major urban areas - population": {
"text": "Tel Aviv-Yafo 3.608 million; Haifa 1.097 million; JERUSALEM (capital) 839,000 (2015)"
"text": "Tel Aviv-Yafo 3.608 million; Haifa 1.097 million; JERUSALEM (proclaimed capital) 839,000 (2015)"
},
"Sex ratio": {
"at birth": {
@ -219,45 +199,48 @@
"text": "1.05 male(s)/female"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "0.95 male(s)/female"
"text": "0.96 male(s)/female"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "0.81 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "1.01 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.01 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Mother's mean age at first birth": {
"text": "27.3 (2011 est.)"
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
"text": "5 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)"
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "3.55 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "3.5 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "3.51 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "3.5 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "3.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "3.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "82.27 years"
"text": "82.4 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "80.43 years"
"text": "80.6 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "84.21 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "84.4 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "2.68 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.66 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "7.2% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "7.8% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "3.34 physicians/1,000 population (2012)"
@ -294,7 +277,7 @@
"text": "25.8% (2014)"
},
"Education expenditures": {
"text": "5.6% of GDP (2011)"
"text": "5.9% of GDP (2013)"
},
"Literacy": {
"definition": {
@ -315,21 +298,21 @@
"text": "16 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "15 years"
"text": "16 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "16 years (2012)"
"text": "16 years (2014)"
}
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
"total": {
"text": "12.1%"
"text": "10.6%"
},
"male": {
"text": "11.6%"
"text": "10.1%"
},
"female": {
"text": "12.7% (2012 est.)"
"text": "11.1% (2014 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -346,6 +329,9 @@
},
"local short form": {
"text": "Yisra'el"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "named after the ancient Kingdom of Israel; according to Biblical tradition, the Jewish patriarch Jacob received the name \"Israel\" (\"He who struggles with God\") after he wrestled an entire night with an angel of the Lord; Jacob's 12 sons became the ancestors of the Israelites, also known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel, who formed the Kingdom of Israel"
}
},
"Government type": {
@ -353,7 +339,7 @@
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
"text": "Jerusalem: note - Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like all other countries, maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv"
"text": "Jerusalem: note - while Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, the international community does not recognize it as such; the US, like all other countries, maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv-Yafo"
},
"geographic coordinates": {
"text": "31 46 N, 35 14 E"
@ -362,7 +348,7 @@
"text": "UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
},
"daylight saving time": {
"text": "+1hr, begins Friday before the last Sunday in March; ends the last Sunday in October"
"text": "+1hr, Friday before the last Sunday in March; ends the last Sunday in October"
}
},
"Administrative divisions": {
@ -375,23 +361,29 @@
"text": "Independence Day, 14 May (1948); note - Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "no formal constitution; some functions of a constitution are filled mostly by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws, and the Law of Return (as amended) (2015)"
"text": "no formal constitution; some functions of a constitution are filled mostly by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws, and the Law of Return (as amended); Basic Laws amended several times, last in 2014 (2016)"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "mixed legal system of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious laws"
},
"International law organization participation": {
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; withdrew acceptance of ICCt jurisdiction in 2002"
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; withdrew acceptance of International Criminal Court jurisdiction in 2002"
},
"Citizenship": {
"birthright citizenship": {
"text": ""
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "at least one parent must be a citizen of Israel"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "yes"
"text": "yes, but naturalized citizens are not allowed to maintain dual citizenship"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization": {
"text": ""
"text": "3 out of the 5 years preceding the application for naturalization"
},
"note": {
"text": "Israeli law (Law of Return, 5 July 1950) provides for the granting of citizenship to any Jew - defined as a person being born to a Jewish mother or having converted to Judaism while renouncing any other religion - who immigrates to and expresses a desire to settle in Israel on the basis of the Right of aliyah; the 1970 amendment of this act extended the right to family members including the spouse of a Jew, any child or grandchild, and the spouses of children and grandchildren"
}
},
"Suffrage": {
@ -408,7 +400,7 @@
"text": "Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset"
},
"elections/appointments": {
"text": "president indirectly elected by the Knesset for a 7-year term (limited to 1 term); election last held on 10 June 2014 (next to be held in 2021 but can be called earlier); following legislative elections, the president, in consultation with party leaders, selects a Knesset member as prime minister most likely to form a new government"
"text": "president indirectly elected by the Knesset for a 7-year term (limited to 1 term); election last held on 10 June 2014 (next to be held in 2021 but can be called earlier); following legislative elections, the president, in consultation with party leaders, tasks a Knesset member (usually the member of the largest party) with forming a government"
},
"election results": {
"text": "Reuven RIVLIN elected president in second round; Knesset vote - Reuven RIVLIN (Likud) 63, Meir SHEETRIT (The Movement) 53 , other/invalid 4"
@ -422,7 +414,7 @@
"text": "last held on 17 March 2015 (next to be held in 2019 but can be called earlier)"
},
"election results": {
"text": "percent of vote by party - Likud 23.4%, Zionist Union 18.7%, Joint List 10.6%, Yesh Atid 8.8%, Kulanu 7.5%, The Jewish Home 6.7%, Shas, 5.7%, Yisrael Beitenu 5.1%, UTJ 5%, Meretz 3.9%, Yachad 3.0%, other 1.6%; seats by party - Likud 30, Zionist Union 24, Joint List 13, Yesh Atid 11, Kulanu 10, The Jewish Home 8, Shas 7, Yisrael Beitenu 6, , UTJ 6, Meretz 5"
"text": "percent of vote by party - Likud 23.4%, Zionist Camp 18.7%, Joint List 10.6%, Yesh Atid 8.8%, Kulanu 7.5%, The Jewish Home 6.7%, Shas, 5.7%, Yisrael Beitenu 5.1%, UTJ 5.0%, Meretz 3.9%, Yachad 3.0%, other 1.6%; seats by party - Likud 30, Zionist Camp 24, Joint List 13, Yesh Atid 11, Kulanu 10, The Jewish Home 8, Shas 7, Yisrael Beitenu 6, UTJ 6, Meretz 5"
}
},
"Judicial branch": {
@ -430,17 +422,17 @@
"text": "Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 14 judges)"
},
"judge selection and term of office": {
"text": "judges selected by the Judicial Selection Committee, made up of all 3 branches of the government and chaired by the Minister of Justice; judges can serve up to mandatory retirement at age 70"
"text": "judges selected by the Judicial Selection Committee consisting of 3 Supreme Court judges, 2 Cabinet members including the Minister of Justice as chairman, 2 Knesset members, and 2 representatives from the Israel Bar Association; judges can serve up to mandatory retirement at age 70"
},
"subordinate courts": {
"text": "district and magistrate courts; national and regional labor courts; special and religious courts"
}
},
"Political parties and leaders": {
"text": "Balad [Jamal ZAHALKA] ++ Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (HADASH) [Aiman UDA] ++ Kadima [Shaul MOFAZ] ++ Kulanu [Moshe KAHLON] ++ Joint List [Ayman ODEH] ++ Labor Party [Isaac HERZOG] ++ Likud [Binyamin NETANYAHU] ++ Meretz [Zehava GALON] ++ Shas [Arye DERI] ++ The Jewish Home (Bayit Yehudi) [Naftali BENNETT] ++ The Movement (Hatnuah) [Tzipora \"Tzipi\" LIVNI] ++ The New Movement-Meretz [Haim ORON] ++ United Arab List-Ta'al [Ibrahim SARSUR] ++ United Torah Judaism or UTJ [Yaakov LITZMAN] (an alliance of three parties) ++ Yesh Atid [Yair LAPID] ++ Yisrael Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN] ++ Zionist Union [Isaac HERZOG, Tzipora \"Tzipi\" LIVNI] (established by the Labor Party and Hatnuah for March 2015 election)"
"text": "Balad [Jamal ZAHALKA] ++ Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (HADASH) [ODEH] ++ Kulanu [Moshe KAHLON] ++ Labor [Yitzhak HERZOG] ++ Likud [Binyamin NETANYAHU] ++ Meretz [Zehava GALON] ++ SHAS [Arye DERI] ++ Tekumah/National Union (Ichud Leumi) [Uri ARIEL] ++ The Jewish Home (Habayit Hayehudi) [Naftali BENNETT] ++ The Movement (Hatnuah) [Tzipora \"Tzipi\" LIVNI] ++ United Arab List-Ta'al [Masud GANAIM] ++ United Torah Judaism or UTJ [Yaakov LITZMAN] (an alliance of three parties) ++ Yesh Atid [Yair LAPID] ++ Yisrael Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN] ++ "
},
"Political pressure groups and leaders": {
"text": "Breaking the Silence [Yehuda SHAUL, Executive Director] collects testimonies from soldiers who served in the West Bank and Gaza Strip ++ B'Tselem [Jessica MONTELL, Executive Director] monitors human rights abuses ++ Peace Now [Yariv OPPENHEIMER, Secretary General] supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip ++ YESHA Council [Danny DAYAN, Chairman] promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise"
"text": "Breaking the Silence [Yehuda SHAUL, executive director] collects testimonies from soldiers who served in the West Bank and Gaza Strip ++ B'Tselem [Hagai EL-AD, executive director] monitors human rights abuses ++ Peace Now [Yariv OPPENHEIMER, secretary general] supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip ++ YESHA Council [Avi ROEHD, chairman] promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise"
},
"International organization participation": {
"text": "BIS, BSEC (observer), CE (observer), CERN, CICA, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO"
@ -499,58 +491,58 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Israel has a technologically advanced market economy. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and pharmaceuticals are among the leading exports. Its major imports include crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Israel usually posts sizable trade deficits, which are covered by tourism and other service exports, as well as significant foreign investment inflows. Between 2004 and 2013, growth averaged nearly 5% per year, led by exports. The global financial crisis of 2008-09 spurred a brief recession in Israel, but the country entered the crisis with solid fundamentals, following years of prudent fiscal policy and a resilient banking sector. Israel's economy also has weathered the Arab Spring because strong trade ties outside the Middle East have insulated the economy from spillover effects. Slowing demand domestically and internationally and reduced investment due to uncertainties caused by the Gaza conflict in summer 2014 have reduced GDP growth to about 2% during 2014. Natural gas fields discovered off Israel's coast since 2009 have brightened Israel's energy security outlook. The Tamar and Leviathan fields were some of the world's largest offshore natural gas finds this past decade. The massive Leviathan field is expected to come online no sooner than 2017, but production from Tamar provided a one percentage point boost to Israel's GDP in 2013 and a 0.5% boost in 2014. In mid-2011, public protests arose around income inequality and rising housing and commodity prices. Israel's income inequality and poverty rates are among the highest of OECD countries and there is a broad perception among the public that a small number of \"tycoons\" have a cartel-like grip over the major parts of the economy. The government formed committees and has started splitting up the oligopolies to address some of the grievances but has maintained that it will not engage in deficit spending to satisfy populist demands. Over the long term, Israel faces structural issues, including low labor participation rates for its fastest growing social segments - the ultra-orthodox and Arab-Israeli communities. Also, Israel's progressive, globally competitive, knowledge-based technology sector employs only 9% of the workforce, with the rest employed in manufacturing and services - sectors which face downward wage pressures from global competition."
"text": "Israel has a technologically advanced free market economy. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and pharmaceuticals are among its leading exports. Its major imports include crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Israel usually posts sizable trade deficits, which are covered by tourism and other service exports, as well as significant foreign investment inflows. ++ ++ Between 2004 and 2013, growth averaged nearly 5% per year, led by exports. The global financial crisis of 2008-09 spurred a brief recession in Israel, but the country entered the crisis with solid fundamentals, following years of prudent fiscal policy and a resilient banking sector. Israel's economy also weathered the 2011 Arab Spring because strong trade ties outside the Middle East have insulated the economy from spillover effects. ++ ++ Slowing domestic and international demand and decreased investment resulting from Israel’s uncertain security situation reduced GDP growth to an average of roughly 2.6% per year during 2014-15. Natural gas fields discovered off Israel's coast since 2009 have brightened Israel's energy security outlook. The Tamar and Leviathan fields were some of the world's largest offshore natural gas finds in the last decade. Political and regulatory issues have delayed the development of the massive Leviathan field, but production from Tamar provided a 0.8% boost to Israel's GDP in 2013 and a 0.3% boost in 2014. One of the most carbon intense OECD countries, Israel generates about 57% of its power from coal and only 2.6% from renewable sources. ++ ++ Income inequality and high housing and commodity prices continue to be a concern for many Israelis. Israel's income inequality and poverty rates are among the highest of OECD countries, and there is a broad perception among the public that a small number of \"tycoons\" have a cartel-like grip over the major parts of the economy. Government officials have called for reforms to boost the housing supply and to increase competition in the banking sector to address these public grievances. Despite calls for reforms, the restricted housing supply continues to impact the well-being of younger Israelis seeking to purchase homes. Tariffs and non-tariff barriers, coupled with guaranteed prices and customs tariffs for farmers have kept food prices high through 2015. ++ ++ In the long term, Israel faces structural issues, including low labor participation rates for its fastest growing social segments - the ultraorthodox and Arab-Israeli communities. Also, Israel's progressive, globally competitive, knowledge-based technology sector employs only about 8% of the workforce, with the rest mostly employed in manufacturing and services - sectors which face downward wage pressures from global competition. Expenditures on educational institutions remain low compared to most other OECD countries with similar GDP per capita."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$272.1 billion (2014 est.) ++ $265.3 billion (2013 est.) ++ $257 billion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$285.3 billion (2015 est.) ++ $278.3 billion (2014 est.) ++ $269.7 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$305.7 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$299.4 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "2.6% (2014 est.) ++ 3.3% (2013 est.) ++ 2.9% (2012 est.)"
"text": "2.5% (2015 est.) ++ 3.2% (2014 est.) ++ 4.4% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$33,100 (2014 est.) ++ $32,300 (2013 est.) ++ $31,300 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$34,100 (2015 est.) ++ $33,900 (2014 est.) ++ $33,500 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "24.3% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 23.2% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 22.5% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "24.6% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 24.2% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 23.6% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "55.9%"
"text": "55.3%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "22.5%"
"text": "22.3%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "19.4%"
"text": "18.6%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "0.6%"
"text": "0.9%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "32.3%"
"text": "31.2%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-30.6% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-28.3% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "2.4%"
"text": "2.1%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "25.7%"
"text": "27.2%"
},
"services": {
"text": "71.9% (2014 est.)"
"text": "69.1% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -560,121 +552,126 @@
"text": "high-technology products (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, construction, metal products, chemical products, plastics, cut diamonds, textiles, footwear"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "2% (2014 est.)"
"text": "3.2% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "3.778 million (2014 est.)"
"text": "3.846 million (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force - by occupation": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "1.6%"
"text": "1.1%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "18.1%"
"text": "17.3%"
},
"services": {
"text": "80.3% (2012 est.)"
"text": "81.6% (2015)"
}
},
"Unemployment rate": {
"text": "5.9% (2014 est.) ++ 6.2% (2013 est.)"
"text": "5.3% (2015 est.) ++ 5.9% (2014 est.)"
},
"Population below poverty line": {
"text": "21%",
"text": "22%",
"note": {
"text": "Israel's poverty line is $7.30 per person per day (2012 est.)"
"text": "Israel's poverty line is $7.30 per person per day (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Household income or consumption by percentage share": {
"lowest 10%": {
"text": "2.5%"
"text": "1.7%"
},
"highest 10%": {
"text": "24.3% (2008)"
"text": "31.3% (2010)"
}
},
"Distribution of family income - Gini index": {
"text": "37.6 (2012) ++ 39.2 (2008)"
"text": "42.8 (2013) ++ 39.2 (2008)"
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$78.78 billion"
"text": "$77.22 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$87.14 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$83.53 billion (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "25.8% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "26.1% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "-2.7% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-2.1% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "65.9% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 66% of GDP (2013 est.)"
"text": "63.3% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 65.9% of GDP (2014 est.)"
},
"Fiscal year": {
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "0.5% (2014 est.) ++ 1.5% (2013 est.)"
"text": "-0.6% (2015 est.) ++ 0.5% (2014 est.)"
},
"Central bank discount rate": {
"text": "0.25% (31 December 2014) ++ 1% (31 December 2013)"
"text": "0.1% (15 December 2015) ++ 0.25% (31 December 2014)"
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "3.91% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 4.54% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "3.46% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 3.91% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$43.13 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $39.39 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$63.41 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $43.13 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$153.5 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $155.6 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$246 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $155.6 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$201.2 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $217 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$211.6 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $201.2 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$148.4 billion (31 December 2012 est.) ++ $145 billion (31 December 2011) ++ $218.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.)"
"text": "$243.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $200.5 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $203.3 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "$13.25 billion (2014 est.) ++ $8.813 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$13.89 billion (2015 est.) ++ $12.48 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$63.34 billion (2014 est.) ++ $62.67 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$56.29 billion (2015 est.) ++ $63.76 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "US 26.9%, Hong Kong 8.9%, UK 5.8%, Belgium 4.8%, China 4%, Turkey 4% (2014)"
"text": "US 27.5%, Hong Kong 8%, UK 6.1%, China 4.9% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$71.2 billion (2014 est.) ++ $71.08 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$59.49 billion (2015 est.) ++ $70.36 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "US 11.8%, China 8.3%, Switzerland 7.2%, Germany 6.4%, Belgium 5.3% (2014)"
"text": "US 13%, China 9.3%, Switzerland 7.1%, Germany 6.1%, Belgium 5.3%, Italy 4% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$86.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $81.79 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$90.58 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $86.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$97.12 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $101.9 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$89.36 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $96.13 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
"text": "$98.7 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $87.97 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$104.1 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $93.28 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad": {
"text": "$78.02 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $75.37 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$89.39 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $79.69 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - ++ 3.5779 (2014 est.) ++ 3.5779 (2013 est.) ++ 3.86 (2012 est.) ++ 3.5781 (2011 est.) ++ 3.739 (2010 est.)"
"text": "new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - ++ 3.8869 (2015 est.) ++ 3.5779 (2014 est.) ++ 3.5779 (2013 est.) ++ 3.86 (2012 est.) ++ 3.5781 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "100% (2016)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "64.44 billion kWh (2014 est.)"
},
@ -748,18 +745,18 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "2.9 million"
"text": "3.412 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "37 (2014 est.)"
"text": "42 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "9.5 million"
"text": "10.57 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "120 (2014 est.)"
"text": "131 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -767,34 +764,45 @@
"text": "most highly developed system in the Middle East"
},
"domestic": {
"text": "good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital; four privately owned mobile-cellular service providers with countrywide coverage"
"text": "good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital; competition among both fixed-line and mobile cellular providers results in good coverage countrywide"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 972; submarine cables provide links to Europe, Cyprus, and parts of the Middle East; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) (2011)"
"text": "country code - 972; submarine cables provide links to Europe, Cyprus, and parts of the Middle East; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "state broadcasting network, operated by the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), broadcasts on 2 channels, one in Hebrew and the other in Arabic; 5 commercial channels including a channel broadcasting in Russian, a channel broadcasting Knesset proceedings, and a music channel supervised by a public body; multi-channel satellite and cable TV packages provide access to foreign channels; IBA broadcasts on 8 radio networks with multiple repeaters and Israel Defense Forces Radio broadcasts over multiple stations; about 15 privately owned radio stations; overall more than 100 stations and repeater stations (2008)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 0 (2010)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "7 (2009)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".il"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "6 million"
"text": "6.35 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "75.8% (2014 est.)"
"text": "78.9% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "6"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "60"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "6,064,478"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "758,633,996 mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "4X (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "47 (2013)"
},
@ -829,7 +837,7 @@
"text": "3"
},
"under 914 m": {
"text": " ++ 14 (2013)"
"text": "14 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports": {
@ -874,39 +882,15 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel Naval Force (IN), Israel Air Force (IAF) (2010)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "18 years of age for compulsory (Jews, Druzes) military service; 17 years of age for voluntary (Christians, Muslims, Circassians) military service; both sexes are obligated to military service; conscript service obligation - 36 months for enlisted men, 21 months for enlisted women, 48 months for officers; pilots commit to 9 years service; reserve obligation to age 41-51 (men), 24 (women) (2013)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "1,797,960"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "1,713,230 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "1,517,510"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "1,446,132 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "62,304"
},
"female": {
"text": "59,418 (2010 est.)"
}
"text": "18 years of age for compulsory (Jews, Druze) military service; 17 years of age for voluntary (Christians, Muslims, Circassians) military service; both sexes are obligated to military service; conscript service obligation - 32 months for enlisted men and 24 months for enlisted women (varies based on military occupation), 48 months for officers; pilots commit to 9 years service; reserve obligation to age 41-51 (men), age 24 (women) (2015)"
},
"Military expenditures": {
"text": "5.69% of GDP (2012) ++ 5.87% of GDP (2011) ++ 5.69% of GDP (2010)"
"text": "5.58% of GDP (2014) ++ 5.53% of GDP (2013) ++ 5.69% of GDP (2012) ++ 5.87% of GDP (2011) ++ 5.69% of GDP (2010)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues": {
@ -915,10 +899,10 @@
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"refugees (country of origin)": {
"text": "32,668 (Eritrea); 6,588 (Sudan) (2014)"
"text": "31,708 (Eritrea); 6,333 (Sudan) (2015)"
},
"stateless persons": {
"text": "10 (2014)"
"text": "15 (2015)"
}
},
"Illicit drugs": {

295
middle-east/iz.json
View file

@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A \"republic\" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of strongmen ruled the country until 2003. The last was SADDAM Husayn. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait but was expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions over a period of 12 years led to the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. US forces remained in Iraq under a UNSC mandate through 2009 and under a bilateral security agreement thereafter, helping to provide security and to train and mentor Iraqi security forces. ++ In October 2005, Iraqis approved a constitution in a national referendum and, pursuant to this document, elected a 275-member Council of Representatives (COR) in December 2005. The COR approved most cabinet ministers in May 2006, marking the transition to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half century. Nearly nine years after the start of the Second Gulf War in Iraq, US military operations there ended in mid-December 2011. In January 2009 and April 2013, Iraq held elections for provincial councils in all governorates except for the three comprising the Kurdistan Regional Government and Kirkuk Governorate. Iraq held a national legislative election in March 2010 - choosing 325 legislators in an expanded COR - and, after nine months of deadlock the COR approved the new government in December 2010. In April 2014, Iraq held a national legislative election and expanded the COR to 328 legislators. Prime Minister Nuri al-MALIKI dropped his bid for a third term in office, enabling new Prime Minister Haydar al-ABADI, a Shia from Baghdad, to win parliamentary approval of his new cabinet in September 2014. Since early 2015, Iraq has been engaged in a military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to recapture territory lost in the western and northern portion of the country."
"text": "Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A \"republic\" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of strongmen ruled the country until 2003. The last was SADDAM Husayn. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait but was expelled by US-led UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions over a period of 12 years led to the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. US forces remained in Iraq under a UNSC mandate through 2009 and under a bilateral security agreement thereafter, helping to provide security and to train and mentor Iraqi security forces. ++ In October 2005, Iraqis approved a constitution in a national referendum and, pursuant to this document, elected a 275-member Council of Representatives (COR) in December 2005. The COR approved most cabinet ministers in May 2006, marking the transition to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half century. Nearly nine years after the start of the Second Gulf War in Iraq, US military operations there ended in mid-December 2011. In January 2009 and April 2013, Iraq held elections for provincial councils in all governorates except for the three comprising the Kurdistan Regional Government and Kirkuk Governorate. Iraq held a national legislative election in March 2010 - choosing 325 legislators in an expanded COR - and, after nine months of deadlock the COR approved the new government in December 2010. In April 2014, Iraq held a national legislative election and expanded the COR to 328 legislators. Prime Minister Nuri al-MALIKI dropped his bid for a third term in office, enabling new Prime Minister Haydar al-ABADI, a Shia Muslim from Baghdad, to win parliamentary approval of his new cabinet in September 2014. Since early 2015, Iraq has been engaged in a military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to recapture territory lost in the western and northern portion of the country."
}
},
"Geography": {
@ -26,10 +26,7 @@
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "slightly more than three times the size of New York state",
"Area comparison map": {
"text": null
}
"text": "slightly more than three times the size of New York state"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
@ -56,12 +53,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Persian Gulf 0 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "312 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Cheekha Dar (Kurdish for \"Black Tent\") 3,611 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m ++ highest point: Cheekha Dar (Kurdish for \"Black Tent\") 3,611 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -79,18 +76,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "35,250 sq km (2003)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "89.86 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "66 cu km/yr (7%/15%/79%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "2,616 cu m/yr (2000)"
}
"text": "35,250 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "dust storms; sandstorms; floods"
@ -111,6 +97,9 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "38,146,025 (July 2016 est.)"
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Iraqi(s)"
@ -120,35 +109,32 @@
}
},
"Ethnic groups": {
"text": "Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian, or other 5%"
"text": "Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian, other 5%"
},
"Languages": {
"text": "Arabic (official), Kurdish (official), Turkmen (a Turkish dialect) and Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic) are official in areas where they constitute a majority of the population), Armenian"
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Muslim (official) 99% (Shia 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian 0.8%, Hindu \nnote: while there has been voluntary relocation of many Christian families to northern Iraq, recent reporting indicates that the overall Christian population may have dropped by as much as 50 percent since the fall of the Saddam HUSSEIN regime in 2003, with many fleeing to Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon (2010 est.)\nreligious affiliation:\n\n \n\n"
},
"Population": {
"text": "37,056,169 (July 2015 est.)"
"text": "Muslim (official) 99% (Shia 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian 0.8%, Hindu <0.1, Buddhist <0.1, Jewish <0.1, folk religion <0.1, unafilliated 0.1, other <0.1",
"note": {
"text": "while there has been voluntary relocation of many Christian families to northern Iraq, recent reporting indicates that the overall Christian population may have dropped by as much as 50 percent since the fall of the SADDAM Husayn regime in 2003, with many fleeing to Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "40.25% (male 7,615,835/female 7,300,957)"
"text": "39.88% (male 7,766,832/female 7,445,633)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "18.98% (male 3,576,740/female 3,454,768)"
"text": "19.07% (male 3,703,302/female 3,572,702)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "33.49% (male 6,276,669/female 6,132,968)"
"text": "33.7% (male 6,499,345/female 6,354,506)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "3.95% (male 693,629/female 771,624)"
"text": "3.96% (male 720,976/female 790,301)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "3.33% (male 549,034/female 683,945) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "3.39% (male 574,521/female 717,907) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -167,26 +153,26 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "19.7 years"
"text": "19.9 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "19.4 years"
"text": "19.6 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "20 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "20.2 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "2.93% (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.87% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "31.45 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "30.9 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "3.77 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "3.8 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "1.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -213,13 +199,13 @@
"text": "1.02 male(s)/female"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "0.9 male(s)/female"
"text": "0.91 male(s)/female"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "0.8 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "1.02 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.02 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
@ -227,34 +213,34 @@
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "37.49 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "37.5 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "40.6 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "34.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "34.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "74.85 years"
"text": "74.9 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "72.62 years"
"text": "72.6 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "77.19 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "77.2 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "4.12 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "4.06 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
"text": "52.5% (2011)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "5.2% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "5.5% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "0.61 physicians/1,000 population (2010)"
@ -292,10 +278,7 @@
"text": "intermediate"
},
"food or waterborne diseases": {
"text": "bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever"
},
"note": {
"text": "highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2013)"
"text": "bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever (2016)"
}
},
"Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
@ -343,10 +326,13 @@
},
"local short form": {
"text": "Al Iraq/Eraq"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "the name probably derives from \"Uruk\" (Biblical \"Erech\"), the ancient Sumerian and Babylonian city on the Euphrates River"
}
},
"Government type": {
"text": "parliamentary democracy"
"text": "federal parliamentary republic"
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
@ -369,7 +355,7 @@
"text": "Republic Day, July 14 (1958); note - the Government of Iraq has yet to declare an official national holiday but still observes Republic Day"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "several previous; latest adopted by referendum 15 October 2005; amended 2010, 2012, 2013 (2015)"
"text": "several previous; latest adopted by referendum 15 October 2005 (2016)"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "mixed legal system of civil and Islamic law"
@ -378,14 +364,17 @@
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship": {
"birthright citizenship": {
"text": ""
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "at least one parent must be a citizen of Iraq"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "yes"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization": {
"text": ""
"text": "10 years"
}
},
"Suffrage": {
@ -396,7 +385,7 @@
"text": "President Fuad MASUM (since 24 July 2014); Vice Presidents Ayad ALLAWI (since 9 September 2014), Nuri MALIKI (since 9 September 2014), Usama al-NUJAYFI (since 9 September 2014)"
},
"head of government": {
"text": "Prime Minister Haydar al-ABADI (since 8 September 2014); Deputy Prime Ministers Baha al-ARAJI (since 8 September 2014), Salih al-MUTLAQ (since 8 September 2014), Rowsch SHAWAYS (since 18 October 2014)"
"text": "Prime Minister Haydar al-ABADI (since 8 September 2014)"
},
"cabinet": {
"text": "Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, approved by Council of Representatives"
@ -405,7 +394,7 @@
"text": "president indirectly elected by Council of Representatives to serve a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 30 April 2014 (next to be held in 2018); prime minister nominated by the president, approved by Council of Representatives"
},
"election results": {
"text": "Fuad MASUM elected president; Council of Representatives vote count in second round - Fuad MASUM (PUK) 211, Barham SALIH (PUK) 17; Haydar al-ABADI (Da'wa Party) approved as prime minister"
"text": "Fuad MASUM elected president; Council of Representatives vote - Fuad MASUM (PUK) 211, Barham SALIH (PUK) 17; Haydar al-ABADI (Da'wa Party) approved as prime minister"
}
},
"Legislative branch": {
@ -416,35 +405,35 @@
"text": "last held on 30 April 2014 (next to be held in 2018)"
},
"election results": {
"text": "Council of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by coalition/party – State of Law Coalition 95, Sadrist Movement 34, ISCI 30, KDP 25, United for Reform Coalition/Muttahidun 23, PUK 21, Nationalism Coalition/Al-Wataniyah 19, other Sunni coalitions/parties 15, Al-Arabiyah Coalition 10, Goran 9, other Shia parties/coalitions 9, Fadilah 6, National Reform Trend 6, Iraq Coalition 5,Kurdistan Islamic Union 4, other parties 17"
"text": "Council of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by coalition/party – State of Law Coalition 95, Sadrist Movement 34, ISCI/Muwatin 30, KDP 25, United for Reform Coalition/Muttahidun 23, PUK 21, Nationalism Coalition/Wataniyah 19, other Sunni coalitions/parties 15, Al-Arabiyah Coalition 10, Goran 9, other Shia parties/coalitions 9, Fadilah 6, National Reform Trend 6, Iraq Coalition 5, KIU 4, other 17"
}
},
"Judicial branch": {
"highest court(s)": {
"text": "Federal Supreme Court or FSC (consists of 9 judges); note - court jurisdiction limited to constitutional issues); Court of Cassation (consists of a court president, 5 vice-presidents, and at least 24 judges)"
"text": "Federal Supreme Court or FSC (consists of 9 judges); note - court jurisdiction limited to constitutional issues and disputes between regions or governorates and the central government); Court of Cassation (consists of a court president, 5 vice-presidents, and at least 24 judges)"
},
"judge selection and term of office": {
"text": "Federal Supreme Court and Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Higher Juridical Council, a 26-member independent committee of judicial officials; FSC members appointed for life; Court of Cassation judges appointed for 1-year probationary period and upon satisfactory performance may be confirmed for permanent tenure until retirement at age 63"
"text": "Federal Supreme Court and Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Higher Juridical Council, a 25-member committee of judicial officials that manage the judiciary and prosecutors; FSC members appointed for life; Court of Cassation judges appointed for 1-year probationary period and upon satisfactory performance may be confirmed for permanent tenure until retirement nominally at age 63"
},
"subordinate courts": {
"text": "Courts of Appeal (governorate level); courts of first instance; personal status, labor, criminal, juvenile, and religious courts"
}
},
"Political parties and leaders": {
"text": "Al-Arabiyah Coalition [Deputy Prime Minister Salih al-MUTLAQ] ++ Badr Organization [Hadi al-AMIRI] ++ Fadilah Party [Ammar TUAMA] ++ Goran (Change) List (also known as the Movement for Change) [Nushirwan MUSTAFA] ++ Iraq Coalition [Abd al-Salam al-HAMMUDI] ++ Iraqi Front for National Dialogue [Deputy Prime Minister Salih al-MUTLAQ] ++ Iraqi Justice and Reform Movement [Shaykh Abdallah al-YAWR] ++ Iraqi National Congress or INC [Ahmad CHALABI] ++ Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq or ISCI [Ammar al-HAKIM] ++ Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP [Kurdistan Regional Government President Masud BARZANI] ++ Kurdish Islamic Union [ Mohammed FARAI] ++ Nationalism Coalition/Al Wataniyah [Vice President Ayad ALLAWI] ++ National Movement for Reform and Development [Muhammad al-KARBULI] ++ National Reform Trend [Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-JAFARI] ++ Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK [former President Jalal TALABANI] ++ Sadrist Movement [Muqtada al-SADR] ++ State of Law Coalition [Vice President Nouri al MALIKI] ++ United for Iraq/Muttahidun Party [Vice President Usama al-NUJAYFI] ++ United for Reform Coalition/Muttahidun Party [Vice President Usama al-NUJAYFI]",
"text": "Al-Arabiyah Coalition [Salih al-MUTLAQ] ++ Badr Organization [Hadi al-AMIRI] ++ Da`wa Party [Vice President Nuri al-MALIKI] ++ Da`wa Tanzim [Hashim al-MUSAWI] ++ Fadilah Party [Muhammad al-YAQUBI] ++ Goran Party [Nawhirwan MUSTAFA] ++ Iraq Coalition [Abd al-Salam al-HAMMUDI] ++ Iraqi Front for National Dialogue [Salih al-MUTLAQ] ++ Iraqi Justice and Reform Movement [Shaykh Abdallah al-YAWR] ++ Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq or ISCI/Muwatin Coalition [Ammar al-HAKIM] ++ Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP [Masud BARZANI] ++ Kurdistan Islamic Union or KIU [Mohammed FARA] ++ Nationalism Coalition/Wataniyah [Vice President Ayad ALLAWI] ++ National Movement for Reform and Development [Muhammad al-KARBULI] ++ National Reform Trend [Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-JAFARI] ++ Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK [former President Jalal TALABANI] ++ Sadrist Movement or Ahrar Bloc [Muqtada al-SADR] ++ State of Law Coalition [Vice President Nuri al MALIKI] ++ Unites for Reform Coalition/Muttahidun [Vice President Usama al-NUJAYFI]",
"note": {
"text": "numerous smaller local, tribal, and minority parties"
}
},
"Political pressure groups and leaders": {
"text": "Sunni militias"
"text": "Sunni militias; Shia militias, some associated with political parties"
},
"International organization participation": {
"text": "ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, CICA, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)"
},
"Diplomatic representation in the US": {
"chief of mission": {
"text": "Ambassador Luqman Abd al-Rahim FAYLI (since 31 May 2013)"
"text": "Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Mohamad Jawad Mahdi Jawad ALQURAISHY (since 1 July 2016)"
},
"chancery": {
"text": "3421 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20007"
@ -461,7 +450,7 @@
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US": {
"chief of mission": {
"text": "Ambassador Stuart E. JONES (since 2 October 2014)"
"text": "Ambassador Douglas A. SILLIMAN (since 1 September 2016)"
},
"embassy": {
"text": "Al-Kindi Street, International Zone, Baghdad"
@ -477,9 +466,9 @@
}
},
"Flag description": {
"text": "three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; the Takbir (Arabic expression meaning \"God is great\") in green Arabic script is centered in the white band; the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black), overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white); the Council of Representatives approved this flag in 2008 as a compromise temporary replacement for the Ba'athist Saddam-era flag",
"text": "three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; the Takbir (Arabic expression meaning \"God is great\") in green Arabic script is centered in the white band; the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black), overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white); the Council of Representatives approved this flag in 2008 as a compromise temporary replacement for the Ba'athist SADDAM-era flag",
"note": {
"text": "similar to the flag of Syria, which has two stars but no script; Yemen, which has a plain white band; and that of Egypt, which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band"
"text": "similar to the flag of Syria, which has two stars but no script; Yemen, which has a plain white band; and that of Egypt, which has a golden Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band"
}
},
"National symbol(s)": {
@ -499,58 +488,58 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "During 2014, worsening security and financial stability throughout Iraq - driven by an ongoing insurgency, decreasing oil prices, and political upheaval - decreased the prospects for improving the country's economic environment and securing much-needed foreign investment. Long-term fiscal health, a strengthened investment climate, and sustained improvements in the overall standard of living still depend on the central government passing major policy reforms. Iraq's largely state-run economy is dominated by the oil sector, which provides more than 90% of government revenue and 80% of foreign exchange earnings. Oil exports in 2014 remained relatively flat at 2.4 million barrels per day on average, despite new production coming online at the West Qurna 2 and Badrah oilfields, because repeated attacks on the Iraq-Turkey pipeline reduced export capacity. During the second half of 2014, government revenues decreased as global oil prices fell by more than 30%. Iraq's contracts with major oil companies have the potential to further expand oil exports and revenues, but Iraq will need to make significant upgrades to its oil processing, pipeline, and export infrastructure to enable these deals to reach their economic potential. The Iraqi Kurdistan Region's (IKR) autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) passed its own oil law in 2007, and has directly signed about 50 contracts to develop IKR energy reserves. The federal government has disputed the legal authority of the KRG to conclude most of these contracts, some of which are also in areas with unresolved administrative boundaries in dispute between the federal and regional government. In December, the federal government and the KRG agreed to sell oil exports from Kurdish-controlled oil fields under the federal oil ministry, in exchange for the central government paying $1 billion to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces and resuming budget transfers to the KRG that amount to 17% of Iraq's national budget. Iraq is making slow progress enacting laws and developing the institutions needed to implement economic policy, and political reforms are still needed to assuage investors' concerns regarding the uncertain business climate.. The government of Iraq is eager to attract additional foreign direct investment, but it faces a number of obstacles, including a tenuous political system and concerns about security and societal stability. Rampant corruption, outdated infrastructure, insufficient essential services, skilled labor shortages, and antiquated commercial laws stifle investment and continue to constrain growth of private, nonoil sectors. Under the Iraqi Constitution, some competencies relevant to the overall investment climate are either shared by the federal government and the regions or are devolved entirely to local governments. Investment in the IKR operates within the framework of the Kurdistan Region Investment Law (Law 4 of 2006) and the Kurdistan Board of Investment, which is designed to provide incentives to help economic development in areas under the authority of the KRG. Inflation has remained under control since 2006. However, Iraqi leaders remain hard pressed to translate macroeconomic gains into an improved standard of living for the Iraqi populace. Unemployment remains a problem throughout the country despite a bloated public sector. Encouraging private enterprise through deregulation would make it easier for Iraqi citizens and foreign investors to start new businesses. Rooting out corruption and implementing reforms - such as restructuring banks and developing the private sector - would be important steps in this direction."
"text": "During 2015, worsening security and financial stability throughout Iraq - driven by an ongoing insurgency, decreasing oil prices, and political upheaval - decreased prospects for improving the country's economic environment and securing much-needed foreign investment. Long-term fiscal health, a strengthened investment climate, and sustained improvements in the overall standard of living still depend on a rebound in global oil prices, the central government passing major policy reforms, and finishing the conflict with ISIL. ++ ++ Iraq's largely state-run economy is dominated by the oil sector, which provides more than 90% of government revenue and 80% of foreign exchange earnings. Oil exports in 2015 averaged 3.0 million barrels per day, up from 2014, but a failed revenue- and oil-sharing agreement with the Iraqi Kurdistan Region's (IKR) autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) resulted in a loss of exports from northern oil fields. Moreover, falling global oil prices resulted in declining export revenues. Iraq's contracts with major oil companies have the potential to further expand oil exports and revenues, but Iraq will need to make significant upgrades to its oil processing, pipeline, and export infrastructure to enable these deals to reach their economic potential. The IKR's autonomous KRG passed its own oil law in 2007, and has directly signed about 50 contracts to develop IKR energy reserves. The federal government has disputed the legal authority of the KRG to conclude most of these contracts, some of which are also in areas with unresolved administrative boundaries in dispute between the federal and regional government. In December 2014, the federal government and the KRG agreed to sell oil exports from Kurdish-controlled oilfields under the federal oil ministry, in exchange for the central government paying $1 billion to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces and resuming budget transfers to the KRG that amount to 17% of Iraq's national budget. However, that deal fell apart in 2015. ++ ++ Iraq is making slow progress enacting laws and developing the institutions needed to implement economic policy, and political reforms are still needed to assuage investors' concerns regarding the uncertain business climate. The Government of Iraq is eager to attract additional foreign direct investment, but it faces a number of obstacles, including a tenuous political system and concerns about security and societal stability. Rampant corruption, outdated infrastructure, insufficient essential services, skilled labor shortages, and antiquated commercial laws stifle investment and continue to constrain growth of private, nonoil sectors. Under the Iraqi constitution, some competencies relevant to the overall investment climate are either shared by the federal government and the regions or are devolved entirely to local governments. Investment in the IKR operates within the framework of the Kurdistan Region Investment Law (Law 4 of 2006) and the Kurdistan Board of Investment, which is designed to provide incentives to help economic development in areas under the authority of the KRG. ++ ++ Inflation has remained under control since 2006. However, Iraqi leaders remain hard-pressed to translate macroeconomic gains into an improved standard of living for the Iraqi populace. Unemployment remains a problem throughout the country despite a bloated public sector. Encouraging private enterprise through deregulation would make it easier for Iraqi citizens and foreign investors to start new businesses. Rooting out corruption and implementing reforms - such as restructuring banks and developing the private sector - would be important steps in this direction."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$526.1 billion (2014 est.) ++ $537.5 billion (2013 est.) ++ $504.3 billion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$534 billion (2015 est.) ++ $546.9 billion (2014 est.) ++ $549.4 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$223.5 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$165.1 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "-2.1% (2014 est.) ++ 6.6% (2013 est.) ++ 13.9% (2012 est.)"
"text": "-2.4% (2015 est.) ++ -0.4% (2014 est.) ++ 7.6% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$15,300 (2014 est.) ++ $15,700 (2013 est.) ++ $14,700 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$15,200 (2015 est.) ++ $16,000 (2014 est.) ++ $16,400 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "23.3% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 28.3% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 28.8% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "19.8% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 26.2% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 28.3% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "55.5%"
"text": "50.4%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "21.5%"
"text": "18.8%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "16.5%"
"text": "23.5%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "2%"
"text": "-4.5%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "40.8%"
"text": "39.7%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-36.3%"
"text": "-27.9%"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "4.2%"
"text": "5.3%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "59.5%"
"text": "48.8%"
},
"services": {
"text": "36.3% (2013 est.)"
"text": "45.9% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -560,7 +549,7 @@
"text": "petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "-2.1% (2014 est.)"
"text": "10.8% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "8.9 million (2010 est.)"
@ -592,74 +581,88 @@
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$86.03 billion"
"text": "$63.6 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$97.57 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$89.84 billion (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "38.5% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "37.5% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "-5.2% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-15.5% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Fiscal year": {
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "2.2% (2014 est.) ++ 1.9% (2013 est.)"
"text": "1.4% (2015 est.) ++ 2.2% (2014 est.)"
},
"Central bank discount rate": {
"text": "6% (December 2012) ++ 6% (December 2011)"
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "6% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 6% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "6% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 6% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$62.31 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $63.32 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$55.36 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $62.34 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$78.65 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $75.2 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$80.83 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $78.65 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$-359,300 (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $-898,500 (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$1.773 million (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $-718,800 (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$4 billion (9 December 2011) ++ $2.6 billion (31 July 2010) ++ $2 billion (31 July 2009 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "-$6.208 billion (2014 est.) ++ $3.024 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "-$11.84 billion (2015 est.) ++ -$1.728 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$83.98 billion (2014 est.) ++ $89.77 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$54.67 billion (2015 est.) ++ $83.98 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "crude oil 84%, crude materials excluding fuels, food and live animals"
"text": "crude oil 84%, crude materials excluding fuels, food, live animals"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "China 23.8%, India 18.4%, US 15.7%, South Korea 7.7%, Greece 5.9%, Italy 4.9% (2014)"
"text": "China 22.6%, India 21.1%, South Korea 11.2%, US 7.8%, Italy 6.7%, Greece 6% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$45.2 billion (2014 est.) ++ $49.98 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$43.84 billion (2015 est.) ++ $45.2 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "food, medicine, manufactures"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "Turkey 23.3%, Syria 17.3%, China 16.6%, US 4.5% (2014)"
"text": "Turkey 20.7%, Syria 19.6%, China 19.2%, US 4.8%, Russia 4.4% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$66.85 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $77.74 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$54.06 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $66.35 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$58.13 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $59.5 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$60.28 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $58.14 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "Iraqi dinars (IQD) per US dollar - ++ 1,213.7 (2014 est.) ++ 1,213.72 (2013 est.) ++ 1,166.17 (2012 est.) ++ 1,170 (2011 est.) ++ 1,170 (2010 est.)"
"text": "Iraqi dinars (IQD) per US dollar - ++ 1,167.6 (2015 est.) ++ 1,166 (2014 est.) ++ 1,213.72 (2013 est.) ++ 1,166.17 (2012 est.) ++ 1,170 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"population without electricity": {
"text": "600,000"
},
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "98%"
},
"electrification - urban areas": {
"text": "99.6%"
},
"electrification - rural areas": {
"text": "95.4% (2013)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "62.3 billion kWh (2013 est.)"
},
@ -733,53 +736,64 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "1.95 million"
"text": "1.997 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "5 (2014 est.)"
"text": "5 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "33 million"
"text": "33.559 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "92 (2014 est.)"
"text": "91 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
"general assessment": {
"text": "the 2003 liberation of Iraq severely disrupted telecommunications throughout Iraq including international connections; widespread government efforts to rebuild domestic and international communications through fiber optic links are in progress; the mobile cellular market expanded rapidly to some 27 million subscribers by the end of 2012"
"text": "the 2003 liberation of Iraq severely disrupted telecommunications throughout Iraq; widespread government efforts to rebuild domestic and international communications have slowed due to the ongoing conflict with ISIL"
},
"domestic": {
"text": "repairs to switches and lines destroyed during 2003 continue; additional switching capacity is improving access; 3 GSM operators since 2007 have expanded beyond their regional roots and offer near country-wide access to second-generation services; third-generation mobile services are not available nationwide; wireless local loop is available in some metropolitan areas and additional licenses have been issued with the hope of overcoming the lack of fixed-line infrastructure"
"text": "the mobile cellular market continues to expand (cell phones were banned prior to 2003 under the SADDAM regime); 3G services offered by three major mobile operators in 2015; ongoing conflict has destroyed infrastructure in areas"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 964; satellite earth stations - 4 (2 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean, 1 Intersputnik - Atlantic Ocean region, and 1 Arabsat (inoperative)); local microwave radio relay connects border regions to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey; international terrestrial fiber-optic connections have been established with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait, Jordan, and Iran; links to the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) and the Gulf Bridge International (GBI) submarine fiber-optic cables have been established (2011)"
"text": "country code - 964; satellite earth stations - 4 (2 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean, 1 Intersputnik - Atlantic Ocean region, and 1 Arabsat (inoperative)); local microwave radio relay connects border regions to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey; international terrestrial fiber-optic connections have been established with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait, Jordan, and Iran; links to the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) and the Gulf Bridge International (GBI) submarine fiber-optic cables have been established (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "the number of private radio and TV stations has increased rapidly since 2003; government-owned TV and radio stations are operated by the publicly funded Iraqi Media Network; private broadcast media are mostly linked to political, ethnic, or religious groups; satellite TV is available to an estimated 70% of viewers and many of the broadcasters are based abroad; transmissions of multiple international radio broadcasters are accessible (2015)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "55 (station frequency types NA) (2009)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "28 (2009)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".iq"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "2.8 million"
"text": "6.381 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "7.8% (2014 est.)"
"text": "17.2% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "4"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "39"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "484,803"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "10,758,230 mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "YI (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "102 (2013)"
},
@ -820,7 +834,7 @@
"text": "13"
},
"under 914 m": {
"text": " ++ 6 (2013)"
"text": "6 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports": {
@ -865,37 +879,13 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Ministry of Defense: Iraqi Army (includes Army Aviation Directorate), Iraqi Navy, Iraqi Air Force; Counterterrorism Service (2015)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "18-40 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2013)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "7,767,329"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "7,461,766 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "6,591,185"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "6,421,717 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "332,194"
},
"female": {
"text": "322,010 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Military expenditures": {
"text": "8.7% of GDP (2014) ++ 3.4% of GDP (2013) ++ 2.88% of GDP (2012) ++ 3.27% of GDP (2011) ++ 2.88% of GDP (2010)"
}
@ -906,13 +896,16 @@
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"refugees (country of origin)": {
"text": "16,637 (Turkey); 11,053 (Iran); 9,246 (West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2014); 244,765 (Syria) (2015)"
"text": "15,557 (Turkey); 9,250 (West Bank and Gaza Strip); 8,231 (Iran) (2015); 225,455 (Syria) (2016)"
},
"IDPs": {
"text": "4,160,864 (since 2006 from ethno-sectarian violence; includes 3,206,736 displaced in central and northern Iraq since January 2014) (2015)"
"text": "4,187,960 (since 2006 due to ethno-sectarian violence; includes 3,233,832 displaced in central and northern Iraq since January 2014) (2016)"
},
"stateless persons": {
"text": "120,000 (2014); note - in the 1970s and 1980s under SADDAM Husayn's administration, thousands of Iraq's Faili Kurds, followers of Shia Islam, were stripped of their Iraqi citizenship, had their property seized by the government, and many were deported; some Faili Kurds had their citizenship reinstated under the 2006 Iraqi Nationality Law, but others lack the documentation to prove their Iraqi origins; some Palestinian refugees, who were also persecuted under the SADDAM Husayn regime, still remain stateless in Iraq"
"text": "50,000 (2015); note - in the 1970s and 1980s under SADDAM Husayn's regime, thousands of Iraq's Faili Kurds, followers of Shia Islam, were stripped of their Iraqi citizenship, had their property seized by the government, and many were deported; some Faili Kurds had their citizenship reinstated under the 2006 Iraqi Nationality Law, but others lack the documentation to prove their Iraqi origins; some Palestinian refugees persecuted by the SADDAM regime remain stateless"
},
"note": {
"text": "estimate revised to reflect the reduction of statelessness in line with Law 26 of 2006, which allows stateless persons to apply for nationality in certain circumstances; more accurate studies of statelessness in Iraq are pending (2015)"
}
}
}

315
middle-east/jo.json
View file

@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations awarded Britain the mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain demarcated a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in the early 1920s. The area gained its independence in 1946 and thereafter became The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country's long-time ruler, King HUSSEIN (1953-99), successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population. Jordan lost the West Bank to Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. King HUSSEIN in 1988 permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank; in 1994 he signed a peace treaty with Israel. King ABDALLAH II, King HUSSEIN's eldest son, assumed the throne following his father's death in 1999. He implemented modest political and economic reforms, but in the wake of the \"Arab Revolution\" across the Middle East, Jordanians continue to press for further political liberalization, government reforms, and economic improvements. In January 2014, Jordan assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2014-15 term."
"text": "Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations awarded Britain the mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain demarcated a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in the early 1920s. The area gained its independence in 1946 and thereafter became The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country's long-time ruler, King HUSSEIN (1953-99), successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population. Jordan lost the West Bank to Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. King HUSSEIN in 1988 permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank; in 1994 he signed a peace treaty with Israel. King ABDALLAH II, King HUSSEIN's eldest son, assumed the throne following his father's death in 1999. He implemented modest political and economic reforms, but in the wake of the 2011 \"Arab Revolution\" across the Middle East, Jordanians continue to press for further political liberalization, government reforms, and economic improvements. Jordan held a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2014-15 term."
}
},
"Geography": {
@ -26,10 +26,7 @@
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "about three-quarters the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Indiana",
"Area comparison map": {
"text": null
}
"text": "about three-quarters the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Indiana"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
@ -53,12 +50,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates eastern and western banks of the Jordan River"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Dead Sea -408 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "812 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Jabal Umm ad Dami 1,854 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m ++ highest point: Jabal Umm ad Dami 1,854 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -76,18 +73,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "788.6 sq km (2004)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "0.94 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "0.94 cu km/yr (31%/4%/65%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "166 cu m/yr (2005)"
}
"text": "964 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "droughts; periodic earthquakes"
@ -108,6 +94,12 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "8,185,384",
"note": {
"text": "increased estimate reflects revised assumptions about the net migration rate due to the increased flow of Syrian refugees (July 2016 est.)"
}
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Jordanian(s)"
@ -123,32 +115,23 @@
"text": "Arabic (official), English (widely understood among upper and middle classes)"
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Muslim 97.2% (official; predominantly Sunni), Christian 2.2% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), Buddhist 0.4%, Hindu 0.1%, Jewish \nreligious affiliation:\n\n \n\n"
},
"Population": {
"text": "8,117,564",
"note": {
"text": "increased estimate reflects revised assumptions about the net migration rate due to the increased flow of Syrian refugees (July 2015 est.)"
}
"text": "Muslim 97.2% (official; predominantly Sunni), Christian 2.2% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), Buddhist 0.4%, Hindu 0.1%, Jewish <0.1, folk religionist <0.1, unaffiliated <0.1, other <0.1 (2010 est.)"
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "35.42% (male 1,474,464/female 1,400,926)"
"text": "35.04% (male 1,470,865/female 1,397,057)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "20.25% (male 840,714/female 803,237)"
"text": "20.12% (male 842,202/female 804,557)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "36.12% (male 1,468,388/female 1,463,452)"
"text": "36.44% (male 1,491,855/female 1,491,302)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "4.3% (male 169,857/female 179,275)"
"text": "4.46% (male 177,720/female 187,181)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "3.91% (male 149,207/female 168,044) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "3.94% (male 151,071/female 171,574) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -167,26 +150,26 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "22 years"
"text": "22.3 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "21.7 years"
"text": "21.9 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "22.4 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "22.7 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "0.83% (2015 est.)"
"text": "0.83% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "25.37 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "25.5 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "3.79 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "3.8 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "-13.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "-13.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -219,7 +202,13 @@
"text": "0.89 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "1.02 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.02 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Mother's mean age at first birth": {
"text": "24.7",
"note": {
"text": "median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2012 est.)"
}
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
@ -227,34 +216,34 @@
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "15.18 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "14.7 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "16.05 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "15.5 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "14.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "13.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "74.35 years"
"text": "74.6 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "73 years"
"text": "73.2 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "75.78 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "76.1 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "3.17 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "3.18 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
"text": "61.2% (2012)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "7.2% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "7.5% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "2.56 physicians/1,000 population (2010)"
@ -312,13 +301,13 @@
},
"School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": {
"total": {
"text": "14 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "13 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "12 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "14 years (2012)"
"text": "13 years (2012)"
}
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
@ -349,10 +338,13 @@
},
"former": {
"text": "Transjordan"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "named for the Jordan River, which makes up part of Jordan's northwest border"
}
},
"Government type": {
"text": "constitutional monarchy"
"text": "parliamentary constitutional monarchy"
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
@ -369,7 +361,7 @@
}
},
"Administrative divisions": {
"text": "12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); 'Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, Al'Asimah, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba"
"text": "12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); 'Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, Al'Asimah, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Ma'daba"
},
"Independence": {
"text": "25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)"
@ -378,14 +370,28 @@
"text": "Independence Day, 25 May (1946)"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "previous 1928 (preindependence); latest initially adopted 28 November 1947, revised and ratified 1 January 1952; amended several times, last in 2014 (2015)"
"text": "previous 1928 (preindependence); latest initially adopted 28 November 1947, revised and ratified 1 January 1952; amended several times, last in 2016 (2016)"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "mixed legal system of civil law and Islamic religious law; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal"
"text": "mixed system developed from codes instituted by the Ottoman Empire (based on French law), British common law, and Islamic law"
},
"International law organization participation": {
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
},
"Citizenship": {
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "the father must be a citizen of Jordan"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "yes"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization": {
"text": "15 years ++ Citizenship"
}
},
"Suffrage": {
"text": "18 years of age; universal"
},
@ -394,7 +400,7 @@
"text": "King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Crown Prince HUSSEIN (born 28 June 1994), eldest son of King ABDALLAH II"
},
"head of government": {
"text": "Prime Minister Abdullah NSOUR (since 11 October 2012)"
"text": "Prime Minister Hani MULKI (since 1 June 2016)"
},
"cabinet": {
"text": "Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch"
@ -405,24 +411,24 @@
},
"Legislative branch": {
"description": {
"text": "bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate, or the House of Notables or Majlis al-Ayan (60 seats; members appointed by the monarch to serve 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or House of Representatives or Majlis al-Nuwaab (150 seats; 108 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 27 directly elected in a single national constituency by proportional representation vote, and 15 seats reserved for women; members serve 4-year terms); note - the electoral law enacted in July 2012 allocated an additional 10 seats - 6 for women, 2 for Amman, and 1 seat each for the cities of Zarqa and Irbid; unchanged are 9 seats reserved for Christian candidates, 9 for Bedouin candidates, and 3 for Jordanians of Chechen or Circassian descent"
"text": "bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate, or the House of Notables or Majlis al-Ayan (60 seats; members appointed by the monarch to serve 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or House of Representatives or Majlis al-Nuwaab (130 seats; 115 members directly elected in single- and 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": "Chamber of Deputies - last held on 23 January 2013 (next election 2017); note - the King dissolved the previous Chamber of Deputies in November 2012, midway through the parliamentary term"
"text": "Chamber of Deputies - last held on 20 September 2016 (next to be held in 2020)"
},
"election results": {
"text": "Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - 27 elected on closed national list including: Islamic Centrist Party 3, Nation 2, National Union 2, Stronger Jordan 2, Ahl al-Himma 1, Al-Bayyan 1, Citizenship 1, Construction 1, Cooperation 1, Dawn 1, Dignity 1, Free Voice 1, Labor and Trade 1, National Accord Youth Block 1, National Action 1, National Current 1 (member resigned in February 2013), National Unity 1, Nobel Jerusalem 1, Salvation 1, The People 1, Unified Front 1, Voice of Nation 1; other 123; note - the IAF boycotted the election"
"text": "Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA"
}
},
"Judicial branch": {
"highest court(s)": {
"text": "Court of Cassation or Supreme Court (consists of 7 judges including the chief justice; 7-judge panels for important cases and 5 judge panels for most appeals cases)"
"text": "Court of Cassation or Supreme Court (consists of 15 judges including the chief justice; 7-judge panels for important cases and 5 judge panels for most appeals cases); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members including the court chairman)"
},
"judge selection and term of office": {
"text": "chief justice appointed by the king; other judges nominated by the Higher Judicial Council and approved by the king; judge tenure NA"
"text": "Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the king; other judges nominated by the Judicial Council, an 11-member judicial policy-making body consisting of high-level judicial officials and judges, and approved by the king; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Court members appointed by the king for 6-year non-renewable terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 2 years"
},
"subordinate courts": {
"text": "courts of appeal; magistrate courts; courts of first instance; religious courts; State Security Court"
"text": "Courts of Appeal; Major Felonies Court; Courts of First Instance; Magistrate Courts; religious courts; state security courts"
}
},
"Political parties and leaders": {
@ -436,7 +442,7 @@
},
"Diplomatic representation in the US": {
"chief of mission": {
"text": "Ambassador Alia Hatough BOURAN (since 14 September 2010)"
"text": "Ambassador Dina Khalil Tawiq KAWAR (since 27 June 2016)"
},
"chancery": {
"text": "3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008"
@ -485,58 +491,58 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Jordan's economy is among the smallest in the Middle East, with insufficient supplies of water, oil, and other natural resources underlying the government's heavy reliance on foreign assistance. Other economic challenges for the government include chronic high rates of poverty, unemployment, inflation, and a large budget deficit and resulting government debt. King ABDALLAH, during the first decade of the 2000s, implemented significant economic reforms, such as opening up foreign trade and privatizing state-owned companies that attracted foreign investment and contributed to average annual economic growth of 8% for 2004 through 2008. The global economic slowdown and regional turmoil since, however, reduced the average annual growth rate to 2.6% for the 2010-2013 period and hurt export-oriented sectors, construction, and tourism. Jordan's finances have been strained by a series of natural gas pipeline attacks in Egypt, causing Jordan to substitute more expensive diesel imports, primarily from Saudi Arabia, to generate electricity. To diversify its energy mix, Jordan is currently exploring nuclear power generation, exploitation of abundant oil shale reserves and renewable technologies, as well as the import of Israeli offshore gas. In August 2012, to correct budgetary and balance of payments imbalances, Jordan entered into a $2.1 billion, three year International Monetary Fund Stand-By Arrangement. In 2014, fiscal reform measures enacted in the previous few years continued to boost government revenues and reduced the budget deficit even as an influx of over 620,000 Syrian refugees since 2011 put additional pressure on expenditures."
"text": "Jordan's economy is among the smallest in the Middle East, with insufficient supplies of water, oil, and other natural resources, underlying the government's heavy reliance on foreign assistance. Other economic challenges for the government include chronic high rates of poverty, unemployment and underemployment, budget and current account deficits, and government debt. ++ ++ King ABDALLAH, during the first decade of the 2000s, implemented significant economic reforms, such as expanding foreign trade and privatizing state-owned companies that attracted foreign investment and contributed to average annual economic growth of 8% for 2004 through 2008. The global economic slowdown and regional turmoil contributed to slower growth from 2010 to 2014 - with growth averaging 2.8% per year - and hurt export-oriented sectors, construction, and tourism. Through 2014, Jordan's finances were strained by a series of natural gas pipeline attacks in Egypt, disrupting natural gas exports to Jordan, and led Jordan to rely on more expensive diesel imports, primarily from Saudi Arabia, to generate electricity. ++ ++ To diversify its energy mix, Jordan has secured several contracts for liquefied natural gas and is currently exploring nuclear power generation, exploitation of abundant oil shale reserves and renewable technologies, as well as the import of Israeli offshore gas. In August 2015, Jordan completed a $2.1 billion, three-year IMF Stand-By Arrangement, which the government had entered to help correct budgetary and balance of payments imbalances. Jordan plans to expand on its fiscal reform measures enacted over the previous few years with a follow-on IMF agreement in 2016 to boost government revenues, reduce the budget deficit, and manage its burgeoning debt, brought on in part by an influx of over 650,000 Syrian refugees since 2011, which put additional pressure on expenditures."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$79.91 billion (2014 est.) ++ $77.51 billion (2013 est.) ++ $75.38 billion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$82.8 billion (2015 est.) ++ $80.87 billion (2014 est.) ++ $78.44 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$35.88 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$37.57 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "3.1% (2014 est.) ++ 2.8% (2013 est.) ++ 2.7% (2012 est.)"
"text": "2.4% (2015 est.) ++ 3.1% (2014 est.) ++ 2.8% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$12,000 (2014 est.) ++ $11,600 (2013 est.) ++ $11,300 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$10,900 (2015 est.) ++ $10,900 (2014 est.) ++ $10,900 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "14.4% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 10.5% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 6.5% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "10.2% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 14.4% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 10.5% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "81.3%"
"text": "82%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "23.4%"
"text": "19.8%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "28%"
"text": "22.5%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "4.4%"
"text": "2.3%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "41%"
"text": "35.6%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-78.1% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-62.2% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "3.8%"
"text": "4.2%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "29.8%"
"text": "29.6%"
},
"services": {
"text": "66.4% (2014 est.)"
"text": "66.2% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -546,10 +552,10 @@
"text": "tourism, information technology, clothing, fertilizers, potash, phosphate mining, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, inorganic chemicals, light manufacturing"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "3.9% (2014 est.)"
"text": "2.2% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "1.959 million (2014 est.)"
"text": "2.055 million (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force - by occupation": {
"agriculture": {
@ -563,7 +569,7 @@
}
},
"Unemployment rate": {
"text": "11.9% (2014 est.) ++ 12.6% (2013 est.)",
"text": "13.1% (2015 est.) ++ 11.9% (2014 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "official rate; unofficial rate is approximately 30%"
}
@ -584,86 +590,100 @@
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$8.495 billion"
"text": "$8.324 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$11.06 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$10.88 billion (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "23.7% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "22.1% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "-7.1% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-6.8% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "90% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 86.8% of GDP (2013 est.)",
"text": "85.5% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 80.8% of GDP (2014 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data cover central government debt, and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions"
"text": "data cover central government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury, and treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions"
}
},
"Fiscal year": {
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "2.9% (2014 est.) ++ 4.8% (2013 est.)"
"text": "-0.9% (2015 est.) ++ 2.9% (2014 est.)"
},
"Central bank discount rate": {
"text": "0.3% (31 December 2010) ++ 4.75% (31 December 2009)"
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "8.74% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 8.85% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "8.24% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 8.84% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$13 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $11.84 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$13.92 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $13 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$42.26 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $38.58 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$43.64 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $41.18 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$38.71 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $37.58 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$39.57 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $38.04 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$27 billion (31 December 2012 est.) ++ $27.18 billion (31 December 2011) ++ $30.86 billion (31 December 2010 est.)"
"text": "$25.45 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $25.55 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $25.76 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "-$2.45 billion (2014 est.) ++ -$3.453 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "-$3.392 billion (2015 est.) ++ -$2.443 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$8.385 billion (2014 est.) ++ $7.913 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$7.829 billion (2015 est.) ++ $8.385 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "clothing, fertilizers, potash, phosphates, vegetables, pharmaceuticals"
"text": "textiles, fertilizers, potash, phosphates, vegetables, pharmaceuticals"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "US 15.8%, Iraq 15.3%, Saudi Arabia 12.4%, India 7.8% (2014)"
"text": "US 21%, Saudi Arabia 16.5%, Iraq 10.3%, India 8.7%, UAE 4.8%, Kuwait 4.4% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$20.18 billion (2014 est.) ++ $19.56 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$18.04 billion (2015 est.) ++ $20.35 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "crude oil, refined petroleum products, machinery, transport equipment, iron, cereals"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "Saudi Arabia 19.6%, China 10.5%, US 5.8%, India 5.5%, UAE 4.8% (2014)"
"text": "Saudi Arabia 15.4%, China 12.8%, US 6.2%, Germany 4.7%, UAE 4.2% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$16.04 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $13.82 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$16.57 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $16.04 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$24.75 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $23.97 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$25.16 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $24.26 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
"text": "$28.73 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $26.67 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$29.96 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $28.71 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad": {
"text": "$608 million (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $524.9 million (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$609.3 million (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $608.3 million (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "Jordanian dinars (JOD) per US dollar - ++ 0.71 (2014 est.) ++ 0.71 (2013 est.) ++ 0.709 (2012 est.) ++ 0.709 (2011 est.) ++ 0.71 (2010 est.)"
"text": "Jordanian dinars (JOD) per US dollar - ++ 0.71 (2015 est.) ++ 0.71 (2014 est.) ++ 0.71 (2013 est.) ++ 0.709 (2012 est.) ++ 0.709 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"population without electricity": {
"text": "40,926"
},
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "99.5%"
},
"electrification - urban areas": {
"text": "99%"
},
"electrification - rural areas": {
"text": "99.4% (2012)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "15.6 billion kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -680,7 +700,7 @@
"text": "3.193 million kW (2013 est.)"
},
"Electricity - from fossil fuels": {
"text": "99.6% of total installed capacity (2013)"
"text": "99.6% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)"
},
"Electricity - from nuclear fuels": {
"text": "0% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)"
@ -737,18 +757,18 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "380,000"
"text": "368,938"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "5 (2014 est.)"
"text": "5 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "11.1 million"
"text": "13.798 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "140 (2014 est.)"
"text": "170 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -756,34 +776,45 @@
"text": "service has improved recently with increased use of digital switching equipment; microwave radio relay transmission and coaxial and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk lines; growing mobile-cellular usage in both urban and rural areas is reducing use of fixed-line services"
},
"domestic": {
"text": "1995 telecommunications law opened all non-fixed-line services to private competition; in 2005, monopoly over fixed-line services terminated and the entire telecommunications sector was opened to competition; currently multiple mobile-cellular providers with subscribership reaching 115 per 100 persons in 2011"
"text": "1995 telecommunications law opened all non-fixed-line services to private competition; in 2005, monopoly over fixed-line services terminated and the entire telecommunications sector was opened to competition; currently multiple mobile-cellular providers with subscribership up to 170 per 100 persons"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 962; landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) FEA and FLAG Falcon submarine cable networks; satellite earth stations - 33 (3 Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals); fiber-optic cable to Saudi Arabia and microwave radio relay link with Egypt and Syria; participant in Medarabtel (2011)"
"text": "country code - 962; landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) FEA and FLAG Falcon submarine cable networks; satellite earth stations - 33 (3 Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals); fiber-optic cable to Saudi Arabia and microwave radio relay link with Egypt and Syria; participant in Medarabtel (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "radio and TV dominated by the government-owned Jordan Radio and Television Corporation (JRTV) that operates a main network, a sports network, a film network, and a satellite channel; first independent TV broadcaster aired in 2007; international satellite TV and Israeli and Syrian TV broadcasts are available; roughly 30 radio stations with JRTV operating the main government-owned station; transmissions of multiple international radio broadcasters are available (2007)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 1, FM 28 (2010)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "4 (2009)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".jo"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "3.6 million"
"text": "4.335 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "45.0% (2014 est.)"
"text": "53.4% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "7"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "40"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "3,065,145"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "169.105 million mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "JY (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "18 (2013)"
},
@ -809,7 +840,7 @@
"text": "2"
},
"under 914 m": {
"text": " ++ 2 (2013)"
"text": "2 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports": {
@ -854,37 +885,13 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF): Royal Jordanian Land Force (RJLF), Royal Jordanian Navy, Royal Jordanian Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Malakiya al-Urduniya, RJAF), Special Operations Command (Socom); Public Security Directorate (normally falls under Ministry of Interior, but comes under JAF in wartime or crisis) (2013)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "17 years of age for voluntary male military service; initial service term 2 years, with option to reenlist for 18 years; conscription at age 18 suspended in 1999; women not subject to conscription, but can volunteer to serve in noncombat military positions in the Royal Jordanian Arab Army Women's Corps and RJAF (2013)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "1,674,260"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "1,611,315 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "1,439,192"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "1,384,500 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "73,574"
},
"female": {
"text": "69,420 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Military expenditures": {
"text": "4.65% of GDP (2012) ++ 4.64% of GDP (2011) ++ 4.65% of GDP (2010)"
}
@ -895,7 +902,7 @@
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"refugees (country of origin)": {
"text": "2,097,338 (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)) (2014); 633,644 (Syria); 51,105 (Iraq) (2015)"
"text": "2,117,361 (Palestinian refugees) (2015); 655,365 (Syria); 59,196 (Iraq) (2016)"
}
}
}

322
middle-east/ku.json
View file

@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "Britain oversaw foreign relations and defense for the ruling Kuwaiti AL-SABAH dynasty from 1899 until independence in 1961. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led, UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. The AL-SABAH family has ruled since returning to power in 1991 and reestablished an elected legislature that in recent years has become increasingly assertive. The country witnessed the historic election in 2009 of four women to its National Assembly. Amid the 2010-11 uprisings and protests across the Arab world, stateless Arabs, known as bidun, staged small protests in February and March 2011 demanding citizenship, jobs, and other benefits available to Kuwaiti nationals. Youth activist groups - supported by opposition legislators - rallied repeatedly in 2011 for the prime minister's dismissal amid allegations of widespread government corruption. Demonstrators forced the prime minister to resign in late 2011. In late 2012, Kuwait witnessed unprecedented protests in response to the Amir's changes to the electoral law by decree reducing the number of votes per person from four to one. The opposition, led by a coalition of Sunni Islamists, tribalists, some liberals, and myriad youth groups, largely boycotted legislative elections in 2012 and 2013 ushering in legislatures more amenable to the government's agenda. Since 2006, the Amir has dissolved the National Assembly on five occasions (the Constitutional Court annulled the Assembly in June 2012 and again in June 2013) and shuffled the cabinet over a dozen times, usually citing political stagnation and gridlock between the legislature and the government."
"text": "Kuwait has been ruled by the AL-SABAH dynasty since the 18th century. The threat of Ottoman invasion in 1899 prompted Amir Mubarak AL-SABAH to seek protection from Britain, ceding foreign and defense responsibility to Britain until 1961, when the country attained its independence. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. The AL-SABAH family returned to power in 1991 and established one of the most independent legislatures in the Arab World. The country witnessed the historic election in 2009 of four women to its National Assembly. Amid the 2010-11 uprisings and protests across the Arab world, stateless Arabs, known as bidoon, staged small protests in February and March 2011 demanding citizenship, jobs, and other benefits available to Kuwaiti nationals. Youth activist groups - supported by opposition legislators - rallied repeatedly in 2011 for the prime minister's dismissal amid allegations of widespread government corruption, ultimately prompting the prime minister to resign in late 2011. Demonstrations, following a short lull, renewed in late 2012 in response to an Amiri decree amending the electoral law to reduce the number of votes per person from four to one. The opposition, led by a coalition of Sunni Islamists, tribalists, some liberals, and myriad youth groups, largely boycotted legislative elections in 2012 and 2013, which ushered in a legislature more amenable to the government's agenda. Since coming to power in 2006, the Amir has dissolved the National Assembly on five occasions (the Constitutional Court annulled the Assembly in June 2012 and again in June 2013) and shuffled the cabinet over a dozen times, usually citing political stagnation and gridlock between the legislature and the government."
}
},
"Geography": {
@ -26,10 +26,7 @@
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "slightly smaller than New Jersey",
"Area comparison map": {
"text": null
}
"text": "slightly smaller than New Jersey"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
@ -53,12 +50,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "flat to slightly undulating desert plain"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Persian Gulf 0 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "108 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "unnamed elevation 306 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m ++ highest point: unnamed elevation 306 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -76,18 +73,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "86 sq km (2007)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "0.02 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "0.91 cu km/yr (47%/2%/51%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "441.2 cu m/yr (2005)"
}
"text": "105 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year but are most common between March and August"
@ -108,6 +94,12 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "2,832,776 (July 2016 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "Kuwait's Public Authority for Civil Information estimates the country's total population to be 4,183,658 for 2015, with immigrants accounting more than 69%"
}
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Kuwaiti(s)"
@ -126,35 +118,23 @@
"text": "Muslim (official) 76.7%, Christian 17.3%, other and unspecified 5.9%",
"note": {
"text": "represents the total population; about 69% of the population consists of immigrants (2013 est.)"
},
"religious affiliation": {
"text": null
}
},
"Population": {
"text": "2,788,534",
"note": {
"text": "Kuwait's Public Authority for Civil Information estimates the country's total population to be 3,996,899 for 2014, with immigrants accounting for almost 69% (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "25.32% (male 367,176/female 338,883)"
"text": "25.18% (male 371,021/female 342,362)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "15.21% (male 233,306/female 190,903)"
"text": "15.16% (male 236,012/female 193,303)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "52.32% (male 924,103/female 534,769)"
"text": "52.28% (male 936,604/female 544,378)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "4.82% (male 76,707/female 57,663)"
"text": "4.95% (male 79,551/female 60,602)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "2.33% (male 30,681/female 34,343) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "2.43% (male 32,096/female 36,847) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -173,29 +153,26 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "29 years"
"text": "29.2 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "30.2 years"
"text": "30.3 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "27 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "27.2 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "1.62%",
"note": {
"text": "this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2015 est.)"
}
"text": "1.53% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "19.91 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "19.6 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "2.18 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.2 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "-1.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "-2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -219,16 +196,16 @@
"text": "1.22 male(s)/female"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "1.73 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.72 male(s)/female"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "1.33 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.31 male(s)/female"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "0.89 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "1.41 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.41 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
@ -236,31 +213,31 @@
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "7.31 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "7.1 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "7.09 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "6.9 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "7.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "7.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "77.82 years"
"text": "78 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "76.51 years"
"text": "76.6 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "79.19 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "79.4 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "2.48 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.44 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "2.9% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "3% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "1.79 physicians/1,000 population (2009)"
@ -281,16 +258,7 @@
"text": " ++ urban: 100% of population ++ rural: 100% of population ++ total: 100% of population"
},
"unimproved": {
"text": ""
},
"urban": {
"text": "0% of population"
},
"rural": {
"text": "0% of population"
},
"total": {
"text": "0% of population (2015 est.)"
"text": " ++ urban: 0% of population ++ rural: 0% of population ++ total: 0% of population (2015 est.)"
}
},
"HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": {
@ -303,7 +271,7 @@
"text": "38.3% (2014)"
},
"Children under the age of 5 years underweight": {
"text": "2.2% (2012)"
"text": "3% (2014)"
},
"Education expenditures": {
"text": "3.8% of GDP (2006)"
@ -322,15 +290,26 @@
"text": "95.8% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
"School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": {
"total": {
"text": "11.3%"
"text": "13 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "11.8%"
"text": "12 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "10% (2005 est.)"
"text": "14 years (2013)"
}
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
"total": {
"text": "14.6%"
},
"male": {
"text": "N/A"
},
"female": {
"text": "N/A (2011 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -347,10 +326,13 @@
},
"local short form": {
"text": "Al Kuwayt"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "the name derives from the capital city, which is from Arabic \"al-Kuwayt\" a diminutive of \"kut\" meaning \"fortress encircled by water\""
}
},
"Government type": {
"text": "constitutional emirate"
"text": "constitutional monarchy"
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
@ -373,7 +355,7 @@
"text": "National Day, 25 February (1950)"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 (2015)"
"text": "approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 (2016)"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "mixed legal system consisting of English common law, French civil law, and Islamic religious law"
@ -382,14 +364,17 @@
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship": {
"birthright citizenship": {
"text": ""
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "at least one parent must be a citizen of Kuwait"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "no"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization": {
"text": ""
"text": "not specified"
}
},
"Suffrage": {
@ -400,7 +385,7 @@
"text": "Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 January 2006); Crown Prince NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (born 25 June 1937)"
},
"head of government": {
"text": "Prime Minister JABIR AL-MUBARAK al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 30 November 2011); First Deputy Prime Minister SABAH Khaled al-Hamad al-Sabah; Deputy Prime Ministers KHALD al-Jarrah al-Sabah, MUHAMMAD AL-KHALID al-Hamad al-Sabah, Abdulmohsen MUDEJ"
"text": "Prime Minister JABIR AL-MUBARAK al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 30 November 2011); First Deputy Prime Minister SABAH Khaled al-Hamad al-Sabah; Deputy Prime Ministers al-KHALD al-Jarrah al-Sabah, MUHAMMAD AL-KHALID al-Hamad al-Sabah, Abdulmohsen MUDEJ"
},
"cabinet": {
"text": "Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, approved by the amir"
@ -461,7 +446,7 @@
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US": {
"chief of mission": {
"text": "Ambassador Douglas Alan SILLIMAN (since 31 August 2014)"
"text": "Ambassador Douglas A. SILLIMAN (since 31 August 2014)"
},
"embassy": {
"text": "Bayan 36302, Block 13, Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street (near the Bayan palace), Kuwait City"
@ -470,10 +455,10 @@
"text": "P. O. Box 77 Safat 13001 Kuwait; or PSC 1280 APO AE 09880-9000"
},
"telephone": {
"text": "[965] 2259-1001 [965] 2259-1001"
"text": "[965] 2259-1001"
},
"FAX": {
"text": "[965] 2538-6562 [965] 2538-6562"
"text": "[965] 2538-6562"
}
},
"Flag description": {
@ -496,47 +481,47 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Kuwait has a geographically small, but wealthy, relatively open economy with crude oil reserves of about 102 billion barrels - more than 6% of world reserves. Kuwaiti officials plan to increase oil production to 4 million barrels per day by 2020. Petroleum accounts for over half of GDP, 94% of export revenues, and 89% of government income. For the last decade, high oil prices have generated budget surpluses despite increasing budget expenditures, particularly on wage hikes for public sector employees. Despite Kuwait’s dependence on oil, the government has cushioned itself against the impact of lower oil prices by continuous saving of at least 10% of government revenue in the Fund for Future Generations. Kuwait has done little to diversify its economy, in part, due to a poor business climate and an acrimonious relationship between the National Assembly and the executive branch that has stymied most economic reforms. In 2010, Kuwait passed its first long-term economic development plan in almost twenty-five years. While the government planned to spend up $104 billion over four years to diversify the economy away from oil, attract more investment, and boost private sector participation in the economy, many of the projects did not materialize because of the uncertain political situation."
"text": "Kuwait has a geographically small, but wealthy, relatively open economy with crude oil reserves of about 102 billion barrels - more than 6% of world reserves. Kuwaiti officials plan to increase oil production to 4 million barrels per day by 2020. Petroleum accounts for over half of GDP, 94% of export revenues, and 90% of government income. ++ ++ In 2015, Kuwait, for the first time in 15 years, realized a budget deficit after decades of high oil prices. Kuwaiti authorities have tried to reduce the deficit by decreasing spending on subsidies for the local population, but with limited success. Despite Kuwait’s dependence on oil, the government has cushioned itself against the impact of lower oil prices, by saving annually at least 10% of government revenue in the Fund for Future Generations. ++ ++ Kuwait has failed to diversify its economy or bolster the private sector, because of a poor business climate, a large public sector that crowds out private employment of Kuwaiti nationals, and an acrimonious relationship between the National Assembly and the executive branch that has stymied most economic reforms. The Kuwaiti Government has made little progress on its long-term economic development plan first passed in 2010. While the government planned to spend up to $104 billion over four years to diversify the economy, attract more investment, and boost private sector participation in the economy, many of the projects did not materialize because of an uncertain political situation."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$282.6 billion (2014 est.) ++ $282.3 billion (2013 est.) ++ $280 billion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$289.9 billion (2015 est.) ++ $286.7 billion (2014 est.) ++ $284.9 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$172.6 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$114.1 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "0.1% (2014 est.) ++ 0.8% (2013 est.) ++ 7.7% (2012 est.)"
"text": "1.1% (2015 est.) ++ 0.6% (2014 est.) ++ 0.4% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$70,700 (2014 est.) ++ $70,600 (2013 est.) ++ $70,000 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$70,500 (2015 est.) ++ $71,700 (2014 est.) ++ $73,200 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "46.3% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 56.6% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 58.7% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "31.6% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 50.2% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 55.9% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "28.2%"
"text": "41.3%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "19.4%"
"text": "24.6%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "15.8%"
"text": "25%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "0%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "67.9%"
"text": "54.4%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-31.3% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-45.3% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
@ -544,10 +529,10 @@
"text": "0.4%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "60.6%"
"text": "59.7%"
},
"services": {
"text": "39% (2014 est.)"
"text": "39.9% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -557,12 +542,12 @@
"text": "petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, water desalination, food processing, construction materials"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "-1.3% (2014 est.)"
"text": "-1.7% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "2.397 million",
"text": "2.473 million",
"note": {
"text": "non-Kuwaitis represent about 60% of the labor force (2014 est.)"
"text": "non-Kuwaitis represent about 60% of the labor force (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Labor force - by occupation": {
@ -577,7 +562,7 @@
}
},
"Unemployment rate": {
"text": "3% (2014 est.) ++ 3% (2013 est.)"
"text": "3% (2015 est.) ++ 3% (2014 est.)"
},
"Population below poverty line": {
"text": "NA%"
@ -592,83 +577,97 @@
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$87.62 billion"
"text": "$53.07 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$75.28 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$68.01 billion (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "50.8% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "44% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "7.1% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-12.4% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "6.5% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 6.1% of GDP (2013 est.)"
"text": "10.5% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 6.6% of GDP (2014 est.)"
},
"Fiscal year": {
"text": "1 April - 31 March"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "2.9% (2014 est.) ++ 2.7% (2013 est.)"
"text": "3.2% (2015 est.) ++ 2.9% (2014 est.)"
},
"Central bank discount rate": {
"text": "1.25% (31 December 2010) ++ 3% (31 December 2009)"
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "4.3% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 4.6% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "4.3% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 4.3% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$32.8 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $31.86 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$30.95 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $32.8 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$116 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $116.5 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$114.8 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $116 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$96.65 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $95.09 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$98.46 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $96.61 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$99.77 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $100.9 billion (31 December 2011) ++ $119.6 billion (31 December 2010 est.)"
"text": "$99.77 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $100.9 billion (31 December 2011 est.) ++ $119.6 billion (31 December 2010 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "$53.53 billion (2014 est.) ++ $72.46 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$5.97 billion (2015 est.) ++ $54.23 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$103.4 billion (2014 est.) ++ $115.9 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$55.32 billion (2015 est.) ++ $104.5 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "oil and refined products, fertilizers"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "South Korea 16.7%, India 14.9%, Japan 12.3%, US 11.3%, China 9.9% (2014)"
"text": "South Korea 14.5%, China 12.1%, India 12.1%, Japan 10.4%, US 7.6%, Pakistan 5.9%, Singapore 4.3% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$27.38 billion (2014 est.) ++ $25.66 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$27.34 billion (2015 est.) ++ $26.99 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "US 12.7%, China 11.9%, Saudi Arabia 7.1%, South Korea 6.9%, Japan 6.6%, Germany 4.8%, India 4.2% (2014)"
"text": "China 13.2%, US 9.6%, Saudi Arabia 7.7%, Japan 6.5%, Germany 5.1%, France 4.3%, India 4.2% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$32.23 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $29.47 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$28.37 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $32.22 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$35.22 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $36.04 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$36.3 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $35.26 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
"text": "$3.882 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $3.744 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$12.16 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $11.87 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad": {
"text": "$36.85 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $33.12 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$69.6 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $64.19 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "Kuwaiti dinars (KD) per US dollar - ++ 0.2845 (2014 est.) ++ 0.2845 (2013 est.) ++ 0.28 (2012 est.) ++ 0.276 (2011 est.) ++ 0.2866 (2010 est.)"
"text": "Kuwaiti dinars (KD) per US dollar - ++ 0.3009 (2015 est.) ++ 0.2845 (2014 est.) ++ 0.2845 (2013 est.) ++ 0.28 (2012 est.) ++ 0.276 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"population without electricity": {
"text": "56,655"
},
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "98%"
},
"electrification - urban areas": {
"text": "98%"
},
"electrification - rural areas": {
"text": "93% (2012)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "58.9 billion kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -742,18 +741,18 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "490,000"
"text": "480,000"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "18 (2014 est.)"
"text": "17 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "7.6 million"
"text": "8.305 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "277 (2014 est.)"
"text": "298 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -761,34 +760,45 @@
"text": "the quality of service is excellent"
},
"domestic": {
"text": "new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and open-wire and fiber-optic cable; a mobile-cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones"
"text": "new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and open-wire and fiber-optic cable; a mobile-cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well-supplied with pay telephones"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 965; linked to international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 6 (3 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean, 1 Inmarsat - Atlantic Ocean, and 2 Arabsat) (2011)"
"text": "country code - 965; linked to international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 6 (3 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean, 1 Inmarsat - Atlantic Ocean, and 2 Arabsat) (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "state-owned TV broadcaster operates 4 networks and a satellite channel; several private TV broadcasters have emerged since 2003; satellite TV available with pan-Arab TV stations especially popular; state-owned Radio Kuwait broadcasts on a number of channels in Arabic and English; first private radio station emerged in 2005; transmissions of at least 2 international radio broadcasters are available (2007)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)"
"text": "state-owned TV broadcaster operates 4 networks and a satellite channel; several private TV broadcasters have emerged since 2003; satellite TV available with pan-Arab TV stations are especially popular; state-owned Radio Kuwait broadcasts on a number of channels in Arabic and English; first private radio station emerged in 2005; transmissions of at least 2 international radio broadcasters are available (2007)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".kw"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "2.4 million"
"text": "2.289 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "86.9% (2014 est.)"
"text": "82.1% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "3"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "31"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "3,655,366"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "275,777,666 mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "9K (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "7 (2013)"
},
@ -814,7 +824,7 @@
"text": "1"
},
"under 914 m": {
"text": " ++ 2 (2013)"
"text": "2 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports": {
@ -845,37 +855,13 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Kuwaiti Land Forces (KLF), Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya; includes Kuwaiti Air Defense Force, KADF), Kuwaiti National Guard (KNG) (2013)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "17-21 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription suspended (2012)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "1,002,480"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "616,958 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "840,912"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "523,206 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "17,653"
},
"female": {
"text": "16,232 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Military expenditures": {
"text": "0% of GDP (2012) ++ 3.35% of GDP (2011) ++ 0% of GDP (2010)"
}
@ -886,15 +872,15 @@
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"stateless persons": {
"text": "93,000 (2014); note - Kuwait's 1959 Nationality Law defined citizens as persons who settled in the country before 1920 and who had maintained normal residence since then; one-third of the population, descendants of Bedouin tribes, missed the window of opportunity to register for nationality rights after Kuwait became independent in 1961 and were classified as bidun (meaning without); since the 1980s Kuwait's bidun have progressively lost their rights, including opportunities for employment and education, amid official claims that they are nationals of other countries who have destroyed their identification documents in hopes of gaining Kuwaiti citizenship; Kuwaiti authorities have delayed processing citizenship applications and labeled biduns as \"illegal residents,\" denying them access to civil documentation, such as birth and marriage certificates; 2011 bidun demonstrations for the recognition of their Kuwaiti nationality led to several arrests"
"text": "93,000 (2015); note - Kuwait's 1959 Nationality Law defined citizens as persons who settled in the country before 1920 and who had maintained normal residence since then; one-third of the population, descendants of Bedouin tribes, missed the window of opportunity to register for nationality rights after Kuwait became independent in 1961 and were classified as bidun (meaning without); since the 1980s Kuwait's bidun have progressively lost their rights, including opportunities for employment and education, amid official claims that they are nationals of other countries who have destroyed their identification documents in hopes of gaining Kuwaiti citizenship; Kuwaiti authorities have delayed processing citizenship applications and labeled biduns as \"illegal residents,\" denying them access to civil documentation, such as birth and marriage certificates"
}
},
"Trafficking in persons": {
"current situation": {
"text": "Kuwait is a destination country for men and women subjected to forced labor and, to a lesser degree, forced prostitution; men and women migrate from India, Egypt, Bangladesh, Syria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Nepal, Iran, Jordan, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iraq, Lebanon, and Kenya to work in Kuwait, most of them in the domestic service, construction, and sanitation sectors; although most of these migrants enter Kuwait voluntarily, upon arrival some are subjected to conditions of forced labor by their sponsors and labor agents, including nonpayment of wages, long working hours without rest, deprivation of food, threats, physical or sexual abuse, and restrictions on movement, such as the withholding of passports or confinement to the workplace"
"text": "Kuwait is a destination country for men and women subjected to forced labor and, to a lesser degree, forced prostitution; men and women migrate from South and Southeast Asia, Egypt, the Middle East, and increasingly Africa to work in Kuwait, most of them in the domestic service, construction, and sanitation sectors; although most of these migrants enter Kuwait voluntarily, upon arrival some are subjected to conditions of forced labor by their sponsors and labor agents, including debt bondage; Kuwait’s sponsorship law restricts workers’ movements and penalizes them for running away from abusive workplaces, making domestic workers particularly vulnerable to forced labor in private homes"
},
"tier rating": {
"text": "Tier 3 - Kuwait does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making sufficient efforts to do so; no efforts were made to prosecute or convict trafficking offenders using the 2013 anti-trafficking law or other laws addressing trafficking crimes; victim protection measures remained weak particularly due to a lack of proactive victim identification procedures and non-enforcement of the law prohibiting sponsors from withholding workers’ passports; no system was developed to refer victims to protective services; the government initiated investigations of companies that brought in large numbers of unskilled foreign workers under false promises of work and that illegally sold visas (2014)"
"text": "Tier 3 - Kuwait does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making sufficient efforts to do so; although investigations into visa fraud rings lead to the referral of hundreds of people for prosecution, including complicit officials, the government has not prosecuted or convicted any suspected traffickers; authorities made no effort to enforce the prohibition against withholding workers’ passports, as mandated under Kuwaiti law; punishment of forced labor cases was limited to shutting down labor recruitment firms, assessing fines, and ordering the return of withheld passports and the paying of back-wages; the government made progress in victims’ protection by opening a high-capacity shelter for runaway domestic workers but still lacks formal procedures to identify and refer victims to care services (2015)"
}
}
}

310
middle-east/le.json
View file

@ -26,10 +26,7 @@
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "about one-third the size of Maryland",
"Area comparison map": {
"text": null
}
"text": "about one-third the size of Maryland"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
@ -53,12 +50,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Mediterranean Sea 0 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "1,250 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Qornet es Saouda 3,088 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m ++ highest point: Qornet es Saouda 3,088 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -76,18 +73,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "1,040 sq km (2003)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "4.5 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "1.31 cu km/yr (29%/11%/60%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "316.8 cu m/yr (2005)"
}
"text": "1,040 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "dust storms, sandstorms"
@ -108,6 +94,9 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "6,237,738 (July 2016 est.)"
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Lebanese (singular and plural)"
@ -129,32 +118,23 @@
"text": "Muslim 54% (27% Sunni, 27% Shia), Christian 40.5% (includes 21% Maronite Catholic, 8% Greek Orthodox, 5% Greek Catholic, 6.5% other Christian), Druze 5.6%, very small numbers of Jews, Baha'is, Buddhists, Hindus, and Mormons",
"note": {
"text": "18 religious sects recognized (2012 est.)"
},
"religious affiliation": {
"text": null
}
},
"Population": {
"text": "6,184,701 (July 2015 est.)"
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "25.08% (male 793,837/female 757,120)"
"text": "24.65% (male 786,842/female 750,449)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "17.04% (male 539,232/female 514,394)"
"text": "16.73% (male 534,040/female 509,663)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "44.13% (male 1,378,852/female 1,350,506)"
"text": "44.44% (male 1,401,857/female 1,370,462)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "7.18% (male 205,933/female 237,849)"
"text": "7.54% (male 220,020/female 250,288)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "6.58% (male 179,983/female 226,995) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "6.64% (male 181,627/female 232,490) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -173,26 +153,26 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "29.4 years"
"text": "29.9 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "28.8 years"
"text": "29.3 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "30 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "30.5 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "0.86% (2015 est.)"
"text": "0.85% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "14.59 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "14.4 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "4.88 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "-1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "-1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -219,13 +199,13 @@
"text": "1.02 male(s)/female"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "0.87 male(s)/female"
"text": "0.88 male(s)/female"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "0.79 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "1 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "1 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
@ -233,31 +213,31 @@
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "7.76 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "7.6 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "8.18 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "8 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "7.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "7.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "77.4 years"
"text": "77.6 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "76.18 years"
"text": "76.3 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "78.69 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "78.9 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "1.73 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.73 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "7.2% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "6.4% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "3.2 physicians/1,000 population (2011)"
@ -282,19 +262,19 @@
}
},
"HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
"text": "0.06% (2014 est.)"
"text": "0.06% (2015 est.)"
},
"HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": {
"text": "1,800 (2014 est.)"
"text": "2,400 (2015 est.)"
},
"HIV/AIDS - deaths": {
"text": "less than 100 (2014 est.)"
"text": "100 (2015 est.)"
},
"Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
"text": "30.8% (2014)"
},
"Education expenditures": {
"text": "2.6% of GDP (2012)"
"text": "2.6% of GDP (2013)"
},
"Literacy": {
"definition": {
@ -312,32 +292,24 @@
},
"School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": {
"total": {
"text": "14 years"
"text": "12 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "14 years"
"text": "12 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "14 years (2013)"
}
},
"Child labor - children ages 5-14": {
"total number": {
"text": "54,387"
},
"percentage": {
"text": "7% (2000 est.)"
"text": "12 years (2013)"
}
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
"total": {
"text": "16.8%"
"text": "22.1%"
},
"male": {
"text": "14.6%"
"text": "22.3%"
},
"female": {
"text": "22.3% (2009 est.)"
"text": "21.5% (2007 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -357,10 +329,13 @@
},
"former": {
"text": "Greater Lebanon"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "derives from the Semitic root \"lbn\" meaning \"white\" and refers to snow-capped Mount Lebanon"
}
},
"Government type": {
"text": "republic"
"text": "parliamentary republic"
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
@ -377,10 +352,7 @@
}
},
"Administrative divisions": {
"text": "6 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beqaa, Beyrouth (Beirut), Liban-Nord (North Lebanon), Liban-Sud (South Lebanon), Mont-Liban (Mount Lebanon), Nabatiye",
"note": {
"text": "two new governorates - Aakkar and Baalbek-Hermel - have been legislated but not yet implemented"
}
"text": "8 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Aakkar, Baalbek-Hermel, Beqaa, Beyrouth (Beirut), Liban-Nord (North Lebanon), Liban-Sud (South Lebanon), Mont-Liban (Mount Lebanon), Nabatiye"
},
"Independence": {
"text": "22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)"
@ -389,7 +361,7 @@
"text": "Independence Day, 22 November (1943)"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "drafted 15 May 1926, adopted 23 May 1926; amended several times, last in 2004 (2015)"
"text": "drafted 15 May 1926, adopted 23 May 1926; amended several times, last in 2004 (2016)"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "mixed legal system of civil law based on the French civil code, Ottoman legal tradition, and religious laws covering personal status, marriage, divorce, and other family relations of the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian communities"
@ -398,14 +370,17 @@
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship": {
"birthright citizenship": {
"text": ""
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "the father must be a citizen of Lebanon"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "yes"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization": {
"text": ""
"text": "unknown"
}
},
"Suffrage": {
@ -413,7 +388,7 @@
},
"Executive branch": {
"chief of state": {
"text": "President (vacant); note - President Michel SULAYMAN's term expired on 25 May 2014; the prime minister and his cabinet are temporarily assuming the duties of the president; as of November 2015, the National Assembly had failed to elect a president"
"text": "President Michel AOUN (since 31 October 2016)"
},
"head of government": {
"text": "Prime Minister Tamam SALAM (since 6 April 2013); Deputy Prime Minister Samir MOQBIL (since 7 July 2011)"
@ -422,16 +397,19 @@
"text": "Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and National Assembly"
},
"elections/appointments": {
"text": "president indirectly elected by the National Assembly for a 6-year term (eligible for non-consecutive terms); first round of election held on 23 April 2014 (next to be held in 2020); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly"
"text": "president indirectly elected by the National Assembly for a 6-year term (eligible for non-consecutive terms); in the first round of election held on 23 April 2014 no candidate received the required two-thirds vote of parliament and subsequent rounds failed because they lacked a quorum; the president was finally elected on the 46th attempt on 31 October 2016 (next to be held in 2022); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly"
},
"election results": {
"text": "NA; note - the April 2014 parliamentary vote failed to meet the required two-thirds majority vote threshold; subsequent voting from April 2014 through November 2015 also failed to meet a quorum or was postponed"
"text": "Michel AOUN elected president; AOUN received the required absolute majority of votes in the fourth round held on 31 October 2016"
}
},
"Legislative branch": {
"description": {
"text": "unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Nuwab in Arabic or Assemblee Nationale in French (128 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by majority vote; members serve 4-year terms); note - seats are apportioned among the Christian and Muslim denominations"
},
"note": {
"text": "Lebanon’s Constitution states the National Assembly cannot conduct regular business until it elects a president when the position is vacant"
},
"elections": {
"text": "last held on 7 June 2009 (next delayed due to a failure to elect a new president)"
},
@ -441,10 +419,10 @@
},
"Judicial branch": {
"highest court(s)": {
"text": "Court of Cassation or Supreme Court (organized into 4 divisions, each with a presiding judge and 2 associate judges); Constitutional Council (consists of 10 members)"
"text": "Court of Cassation or Supreme Court (organized into 8 chambers, each with a presiding judge and 2 associate judges); Constitutional Council (consists of 10 members)"
},
"judge selection and term of office": {
"text": "Court of Cassation judges appointed by Supreme Judicial Council, headed by the chief justice, and includes other judicial officials; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Council members appointed - 5 by the Council of Ministers and 5 by parliament; members serve 5-year terms"
"text": "Court of Cassation judges appointed by Supreme Judicial Council, a 10-member body headed by the chief justice, and includes other judicial officials; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Council members appointed - 5 by the Council of Ministers and 5 by parliament; members serve 5-year terms"
},
"subordinate courts": {
"text": "Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance; specialized tribunals, religious courts; military courts"
@ -452,13 +430,13 @@
},
"Political parties and leaders": {
"14 March Coalition": {
"text": " ++ Democratic Left Movement or DLM [Elias ATALLAH] ++ Future Movement Bloc [Sa'ad al-HARIRI] ++ Kataeb Party [Amine GEMAYEL] ++ Lebanese Forces [Samir GEAGEA] ++ Social Democratic Hunchakian Party [Hagop DIKRANIAN] ++ "
"text": " ++ Democratic Left Movement or DLM [Elias ATALLAH] ++ Future Movement Bloc [Sa'ad al-HARIRI] ++ Kata'ib Party [Sami GEMAYEL] ++ Lebanese Forces [Samir JA'JA] ++ Marada Movement [Sulayman FRANJIEH] ++ Social Democratic Hunchakian Party [Hagop DIKRANIAN]"
},
"8 March Coalition": {
"text": " ++ Amal Movement [Nabih BERRI] ++ Free Patriotic Movement [Michel AOUN] ++ Lebanese Democratic Party [Emir Talal ARSLAN] ++ Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc [Mohammad RA'AD] (includes Hizballah [Hassan NASRALLAH]) ++ Syrian Ba'th Party [Abdel Mouin GHAZI] ++ Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Ali QANSO] ++ Tashnag or ARF [Hagop DHATCHERIAN] ++ "
"text": " ++ Amal Movement [Nabih BERRI] ++ Free Patriotic Movement [Gibran BASSIL] ++ Lebanese Democratic Party [Emir Talal ARSLAN] ++ Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc [Mohammad RA'AD] (includes Hizballah [Hassan NASRALLAH]) ++ Marada Movement [Sulayman FRANJIEH] ++ Syrian Ba'th Party [Abdel Mouin GHAZI] ++ Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Ali QANSO] ++ "
},
"Independent": {
"text": " ++ Progressive Socialist Party or PSP [Walid JUMBLATT] ++ Metn Bloc [Michel MURR]"
"text": "Metn Bloc [Michel MURR] ++ Progressive Socialist Party or PSP [Walid JUNBLATT] ++ Tashnag or ARF [Hagop DHATCHERIAN]"
}
},
"Political pressure groups and leaders": {
@ -472,7 +450,7 @@
},
"Diplomatic representation in the US": {
"chief of mission": {
"text": "Ambassador Antoine CHEDID (since 4 June 2008)"
"text": "Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaries Carla JAZZAR (since 28 January 2016)"
},
"chancery": {
"text": "2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008"
@ -489,7 +467,7 @@
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US": {
"chief of mission": {
"text": "Ambassador David HALE (since 6 September 2013)"
"text": "Ambassador Elizabeth H. RICHARD (since May 2016)"
},
"embassy": {
"text": "Awkar, Lebanon (Awkar facing the Municipality)"
@ -524,58 +502,58 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Lebanon has a free-market economy and a strong laissez-faire commercial tradition. The government does not restrict foreign investment; however, the investment climate suffers from red tape, corruption, arbitrary licensing decisions, complex customs procedures, high taxes, tariffs, and fees, archaic legislation, and weak intellectual property rights. The Lebanese economy is service-oriented; main growth sectors include banking and tourism. The 1975-90 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and derailed Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Following the civil war, Lebanon rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure by borrowing heavily, mostly from domestic banks, which saddled the government with a huge debt burden. Pledges of economic and financial reforms made at separate international donor conferences during the 2000s have mostly gone unfulfilled, including those made during the Paris III Donor Conference in 2007, following the July 2006 war. Spillover from the Syrian conflict, including the influx of more than 1 million Syrian refugees, has increased internal tension and slowed economic growth to the 1-2% range in 2011-13, after four years of averaging 8% growth. Syrian refugees have increased the labor supply, but pushed more Lebanese into unemployment. Chronic fiscal deficits have made Lebanon’s debt-to-GDP ratio the third highest in the world; most of the debt is held internally by Lebanese banks. Weak economic growth limits tax revenues, while the largest government expenditures remain debt servicing and transfers to the electricity sector. These limitations constrain other government spending and limit the government’s ability to invest in necessary infrastructure improvements, such as water, electricity, and transportation."
"text": "Lebanon has a free-market economy and a strong laissez-faire commercial tradition. The government does not restrict foreign investment; however, the investment climate suffers from red tape, corruption, arbitrary licensing decisions, complex customs procedures, high taxes, tariffs, and fees, archaic legislation, and weak intellectual property rights. The Lebanese economy is service-oriented; main growth sectors include banking and tourism. ++ ++ The 1975-90 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and derailed Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Following the civil war, Lebanon rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure by borrowing heavily, mostly from domestic banks, which saddled the government with a huge debt burden. Pledges of economic and financial reforms made at separate international donor conferences during the 2000s have mostly gone unfulfilled, including those made during the Paris III Donor Conference in 2007, following the July 2006 war. ++ ++ Spillover from the Syrian conflict, including the influx of more than 1.1 million registered Syrian refugees, has increased internal tension and slowed economic growth to the 1-2% range in 2011-15, after four years of averaging 8% growth. Syrian refugees have increased the labor supply, but pushed more Lebanese into unemployment. Chronic fiscal deficits have increased Lebanon’s debt-to-GDP ratio, the fourth highest in the world; most of the debt is held internally by Lebanese banks. Weak economic growth limits tax revenues, while the largest government expenditures remain debt servicing, salaries for government workers, and transfers to the electricity sector. These limitations constrain other government spending and limit the government’s ability to invest in necessary infrastructure improvements, such as water, electricity, and transportation."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$81.42 billion (2014 est.) ++ $79.82 billion (2013 est.) ++ $77.88 billion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$83.23 billion (2015 est.) ++ $82.4 billion (2014 est.) ++ $80.79 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$50.03 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$50.81 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "2% (2014 est.) ++ 2.5% (2013 est.) ++ 2.8% (2012 est.)"
"text": "1% (2015 est.) ++ 2% (2014 est.) ++ 2.5% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$18,100 (2014 est.) ++ $17,700 (2013 est.) ++ $17,300 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$18,300 (2015 est.) ++ $18,300 (2014 est.) ++ $18,100 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "-2% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ -2.6% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ -0.2% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "1.1% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ -1.6% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ -2.2% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "89.5%"
"text": "89.1%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "12.5%"
"text": "12.6%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "27.2%"
"text": "26.6%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "0.6%"
"text": "0.5%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "22.9%"
"text": "22.5%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-52.7% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-51.3% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "5.5%"
"text": "5.6%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "24.8%"
"text": "24.9%"
},
"services": {
"text": "69.7% (2014 est.)"
"text": "69.5% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -585,12 +563,12 @@
"text": "banking, tourism, food processing, wine, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "2% (2014 est.)"
"text": "1.7% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "1.628 million",
"note": {
"text": "does not include as many as 1 million foreign workers (2013 est.)"
"text": "does not include as many as 1 million foreign workers, nor refugees (2013 est.)"
}
},
"Labor force - by occupation": {
@ -620,20 +598,20 @@
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$10.88 billion"
"text": "$9.576 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$13.95 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$13.53 billion (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "21.7% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "18.7% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "-6.1% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-7.7% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "134.8% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 132.9% of GDP (2013 est.)",
"text": "147.6% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 134.2% of GDP (2014 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data cover central government debt, and exclude debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment"
}
@ -642,52 +620,52 @@
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "1.9% (2014 est.) ++ 4.8% (2013 est.)"
"text": "-3.7% (2015 est.) ++ 1.9% (2014 est.)"
},
"Central bank discount rate": {
"text": "3.5% (31 December 2010) ++ 10% (31 December 2009)"
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "7.27% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 7.35% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "7.09% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 7.27% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$5.12 billion (11 December 2014 est.) ++ $5.007 billion (11 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$5.998 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $5.506 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$48.69 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $45.6 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$52.94 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $48.69 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$89.13 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $83.21 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$97.05 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $89.13 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$11.22 billion (30 December 2014 est.) ++ $10.55 billion (30 December 2013) ++ $10.42 billion (28 December 2012 est.)"
"text": "$11.22 billion (30 December 2014 est.) ++ $10.54 billion (30 December 2013 est.) ++ $10.42 billion (28 December 2012 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "-$12.45 billion (2014 est.) ++ -$12.73 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "-$10.65 billion (2015 est.) ++ -$14.01 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$3.787 billion (2014 est.) ++ $4.499 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$3.551 billion (2015 est.) ++ $4.1 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "jewelry, base metals, chemicals, consumer goods, fruit and vegetables, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "Saudi Arabia 10.8%, UAE 9.7%, Syria 8.7%, Iraq 7.6%, South Africa 7%, Switzerland 4% (2014)"
"text": "Saudi Arabia 12.1%, UAE 10.6%, Iraq 7.6%, Syria 7.1%, South Africa 6.6% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$18.99 billion (2014 est.) ++ $19.67 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$16.71 billion (2015 est.) ++ $19.16 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "China 11.8%, Italy 7.7%, US 6.8%, France 6.2%, Germany 5.4%, Russia 4.5%, Greece 4.1% (2014)"
"text": "China 11.5%, Italy 7.1%, Germany 6.8%, France 6%, US 5.7%, Russia 4.6%, Greece 4.4% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$50.5 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $47.85 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$48.6 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $50.5 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$31.59 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $32.2 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$37.08 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $34.42 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
"text": "$NA"
@ -696,10 +674,15 @@
"text": "$NA"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "Lebanese pounds (LBP) per US dollar - ++ 1,507.5 (2014 est.) ++ 1,507.5 (2013 est.) ++ 1,507.5 (2012 est.) ++ 1,507.5 (2011 est.) ++ 1,507.5 (2010 est.)"
"text": "Lebanese pounds (LBP) per US dollar - ++ 1,507.5 (2015 est.) ++ 1,507.5 (2014 est.) ++ 1,507.5 (2013 est.) ++ 1,507.5 (2012 est.) ++ 1,507.5 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "100% (2016)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "13.99 billion kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -776,7 +759,7 @@
"text": "970,000"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "16 (2014 est.)"
"text": "16 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
@ -784,7 +767,7 @@
"text": "4.4 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "75 (2014 est.)"
"text": "71 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -792,34 +775,45 @@
"text": "repair of the telecommunications system, severely damaged during the civil war, now complete"
},
"domestic": {
"text": "two mobile-cellular networks provide good service; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership roughly 100 per 100 persons"
"text": "two mobile-cellular networks provide good service; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership almost 90 per 100 persons"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 961; submarine cable links to Cyprus, Egypt, and Syria; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean); coaxial cable to Syria (2011)"
"text": "country code - 961; submarine cable links to Cyprus, Egypt, and Syria; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean); coaxial cable to Syria (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "7 TV stations, 1 of which is state owned; more than 30 radio stations, 1 of which is state owned; satellite and cable TV services available; transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are accessible through partner stations (2007)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 20, FM 30 (plus about a dozen unlicensed stations operating), shortwave 4 (2009)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "12 (2009)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".lb"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "4 million"
"text": "4.577 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "67.2% (2014 est.)"
"text": "74% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "2"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "21"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "2,583,274"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "53,902,026 mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "OD (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "8 (2013)"
},
@ -848,7 +842,7 @@
"text": "2"
},
"under 914 m": {
"text": " ++ 1 (2013)"
"text": "1 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports": {
@ -899,37 +893,13 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF): Lebanese Army ((Al Jaysh al Lubnani) includes Lebanese Navy (Al Quwwat al Bahiriyya al Lubnaniya), Lebanese Air Force (Al Quwwat al Jawwiya al Lubnaniya)) (2013)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "17-30 years of age for voluntary military service; 18-24 years of age for officer candidates; no conscription (2013)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "1,081,016"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "1,115,349 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "920,825"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "941,806 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "36,856"
},
"female": {
"text": "35,121 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Military expenditures": {
"text": "4.04% of GDP (2012) ++ 4.06% of GDP (2011) ++ 4.04% of GDP (2010)"
}
@ -940,21 +910,21 @@
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"refugees (country of origin)": {
"text": "449,957 (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)); 5,986 (Iraq) (2014); 1,078,338 (Syria) (2015)"
"text": "452,669 (Palestinian refugees); 7,234 (Iraq) (2015); 1,033,513 (Syria) (2016)"
},
"IDPs": {
"text": "19,719 (2007 Lebanese security forces' destruction of Palestinian refugee camp) (2014)"
"text": "12,000 (2007 Lebanese security forces' destruction of Palestinian refugee camp) (2015)"
},
"stateless persons": {
"text": "undetermined (2014); note - tens of thousands of persons are stateless in Lebanon, including many Palestinian refugees and their descendants, Syrian Kurds denaturalilzed in Syria in 1962, children born to Lebanese women married to foreign or stateless men; most babies born to Syrian refugees, and Lebanese children whose births are unregistered"
"text": "undetermined (2014); note - tens of thousands of persons are stateless in Lebanon, including many Palestinian refugees and their descendants, Syrian Kurds denaturalized in Syria in 1962, children born to Lebanese women married to foreign or stateless men; most babies born to Syrian refugees, and Lebanese children whose births are unregistered"
}
},
"Trafficking in persons": {
"current situation": {
"text": "Lebanon is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking; Eastern European women and children are transported through Lebanon for sexual exploitation in other Middle Eastern countries; women from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Madagascar, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Togo, Cameroon, and Nigeria are recruited by agencies to work in domestic service but are often subject to conditions indicative of forced labor, including the withholding of passports, nonpayment of wages, restricted movement, threats, and abuse; Lebanon’s artiste visa program enabling women to work as dancers for three months in the adult entertainment industry sustains a significant sex trade; anecdotal information indicates some Lebanese children are victims of forced labor, such as street begging and commercial sexual exploitation; Syrian refugee women and children in Lebanon are at increased risked of sex trafficking"
"text": "Lebanon is a source and destination country for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking and a transit point for Eastern European women and children subjected to sex trafficking in other Middle Eastern countries; women and girls from South and Southeast Asia and an increasing number from East and West Africa are recruited by agencies to work in domestic service but are subject to conditions of forced labor; under Lebanon’s artiste visa program, women from Eastern Europe, North Africa, and the Dominican Republic enter Lebanon to work in the adult entertainment industry but are often forced into the sex trade; Lebanese children are reportedly forced into street begging and commercial sexual exploitation, with small numbers of Lebanese girls sex trafficked in other Arab countries; Syrian refugees are vulnerable to forced labor and prostitution"
},
"tier rating": {
"text": "Tier 2 Watch List – Lebanon does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; the government has a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute a significant effort toward meeting the minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking; in 2013, authorities conducted an increased number of investigations of human trafficking and prosecuted and convicted some trafficking offenders; the government identified and referred some trafficking victims to NGO-run safe houses but did not directly fund protective services; Lebanon’s sponsorship system and the withholding of passports continued to put domestic workers at risk of exploitation (2014)"
"text": "Tier 2 Watch List – Lebanon does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; in 2014, Lebanon was granted a waiver from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 because its government has a written plan that, if implemented would constitute making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; law enforcement efforts in 2014 were uneven; the number of convicted traffickers increased, but judges lack of familiarity with anti-trafficking law meant that many offenders were not brought to justice; the government relied heavily on an NGO to identify and provide service to trafficking victims; and its lack of thoroughly implemented victim identification procedures resulted in victims continuing to be arrested, detained, and deported for crimes committed as a direct result of being trafficked (2015)"
}
},
"Illicit drugs": {

292
middle-east/mu.json
View file

@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "The inhabitants of the area of Oman have long prospered on Indian Ocean trade. In the late 18th century, a newly established sultanate in Muscat signed the first in a series of friendship treaties with Britain. Over time, Oman's dependence on British political and military advisors increased, but it never became a British colony. In 1970, QABOOS bin Said Al-Said overthrew his father, and has since ruled as sultan, but he has never designated a successor. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world while preserving the longstanding close ties with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries. Inspired by the popular uprisings that swept the Middle East and North Africa beginning in January 2011, some Omanis began staging marches, demonstrations, and sit-ins calling mostly for more jobs and economic benefits and an end to corruption. In response to those protester demands, QABOOS in 2011 pledged to implement economic and political reforms, such as granting legislative and regulatory powers to the Majlis al-Shura and introducing unemployment benefits. Additionally, in August 2012, the Sultan announced a royal directive mandating the speedy implementation of a national job creation plan for thousands of public and private sector jobs. As part of the government's efforts to decentralize authority and allow greater citizen participation in local governance, Oman successfully conducted its first municipal council elections in December 2012. Announced by the Sultan in 2011, the municipal councils will have the power to advise the Royal Court on the needs of local districts across Oman's 11 governorates. The Sultan returned to Oman in March 2015 after eight months in Germany, where he received medical treatment."
"text": "The inhabitants of the area of Oman have long prospered on Indian Ocean trade. In the late 18th century, the nascent sultanate in Muscat signed the first in a series of friendship treaties with Britain. Over time, Oman's dependence on British political and military advisors increased, but it never became a British colony. In 1970, QABOOS bin Said Al-Said overthrew his father, and has since ruled as sultan, but he has never designated a successor. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world while preserving the longstanding close ties with the UK and US. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with its neighbors and to avoid external entanglements. Inspired by the popular uprisings that swept the Middle East and North Africa beginning in January 2011, some Omanis staged demonstrations, calling for more jobs and economic benefits and an end to corruption. In response to those protester demands, QABOOS in 2011 pledged to implement economic and political reforms, such as granting legislative and regulatory powers to the Majlis al-Shura and increasing unemployment benefits. Additionally, in August 2012, the Sultan announced a royal directive mandating the speedy implementation of a national job creation plan for thousands of public and private sector jobs. As part of the government's efforts to decentralize authority and allow greater citizen participation in local governance, Oman successfully conducted its first municipal council elections in December 2012. Announced by the Sultan in 2011, the municipal councils will have the power to advise the Royal Court on the needs of local districts across Oman's 11 governorates. The Sultan returned to Oman in March 2015 after eight months in Germany, where he received medical treatment and has since appeared publicly on a few occasions."
}
},
"Geography": {
"Location": {
"text": "Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE"
"text": "Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and the UAE"
},
"Geographic coordinates": {
"text": "21 00 N, 57 00 E"
@ -26,10 +26,7 @@
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "twice the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than Kansas",
"Area comparison map": {
"text": null
}
"text": "twice the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than Kansas"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
@ -59,12 +56,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Arabian Sea 0 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "310 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Jabal Shams 2,980 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m ++ highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -82,18 +79,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "588.5 sq km (2004)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "1.4 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "1.32 cu km/yr (10%/1%/88%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "515.8 cu m/yr (2003)"
}
"text": "590 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts"
@ -110,10 +96,16 @@
}
},
"Geography - note": {
"text": "strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil"
"text": "consists of Oman proper and two northern exclaves, Musandam and Al Madhah; the former is a peninsula that occupies a strategic location adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil"
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "3,355,262 (July 2016 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "immigrants make up over 40% of the total population, according to UN data (2015)"
}
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Omani(s)"
@ -129,32 +121,26 @@
"text": "Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects"
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Muslim (official; majority are Ibadhi, lesser numbers of Sunni and Shia)) 85.9%, Christian 6.5%, Hindu 5.5%, Buddhist 0.8%, Jewish \nnote: approximately 75% of Omani citizens, who compose almost 70% of the country's total population, are Ibadhi Muslims; the Omani government does not keep statistics on religious affiliation (2013) (2010 est.)\nreligious affiliation:\n\n \n\n"
},
"Population": {
"text": "3,286,936",
"text": "Muslim (official; majority are Ibadhi, lesser numbers of Sunni and Shia) 85.9%, Christian 6.5%, Hindu 5.5%, Buddhist 0.8%, Jewish <0.1, other 1%, unaffiliated 0.2% (2010 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "immigrants make up just over 30% of the total population, according to UN data (2013) (July 2015 est.)"
"text": "approximately 75% of Omani citizens, who compose almost 70% of the country's total population, are Ibadhi Muslims; the Omani government does not keep statistics on religious affiliation (2013)"
}
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "30.23% (male 509,465/female 484,068)"
"text": "30.14% (male 518,600/female 492,782)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "19.51% (male 336,286/female 304,994)"
"text": "19.11% (male 336,310/female 304,871)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "43% (male 822,302/female 590,937)"
"text": "43.41% (male 843,531/female 613,004)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "3.9% (male 68,460/female 59,756)"
"text": "3.91% (male 69,904/female 61,248)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "3.37% (male 55,081/female 55,587) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "3.43% (male 56,816/female 58,196) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -173,26 +159,26 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "25.1 years"
"text": "25.4 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "26.3 years"
"text": "26.5 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "23.7 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "24 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "2.07% (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.05% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "24.44 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "24.3 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "3.36 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "3.3 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "-0.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -216,16 +202,16 @@
"text": "1.1 male(s)/female"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "1.39 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.38 male(s)/female"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "1.15 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.14 male(s)/female"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "0.99 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "1.2 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.19 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
@ -233,34 +219,34 @@
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "13.55 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "13.2 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "13.85 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "13.5 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "13.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "12.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "75.21 years"
"text": "75.5 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "73.29 years"
"text": "73.5 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "77.23 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "77.5 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "2.86 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.84 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
"text": "24.4% (2007/08)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "2.6% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "3.6% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "2.43 physicians/1,000 population (2012)"
@ -297,10 +283,10 @@
"text": "26.5% (2014)"
},
"Children under the age of 5 years underweight": {
"text": "8.6% (2009)"
"text": "9.7% (2014)"
},
"Education expenditures": {
"text": "4.2% of GDP (2009)"
"text": "5% of GDP (2013)"
},
"Literacy": {
"definition": {
@ -343,11 +329,14 @@
"text": "Uman"
},
"former": {
"text": "Muscat and Oman"
"text": "Sultanate of Muscat and Oman"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "the origin of the name is uncertain, but it apparently dates back at least 2,000 years since an \"Omana\" is mentioned by Pliny the Elder (1st century A.D.) and an \"Omanon\" by Ptolemy (2nd century A.D.)"
}
},
"Government type": {
"text": "monarchy"
"text": "absolute monarchy"
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
@ -370,7 +359,7 @@
"text": "Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940)"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "1996 (The Basic Law of the Sultanate of Oman serves as the constitution); amended by royal decree in 2011 (2015)"
"text": "1996 (the Basic Law of the Sultanate of Oman serves as the constitution); amended by royal decree in 2011 (2016)"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "mixed legal system of Anglo-Saxon law and Islamic law"
@ -378,6 +367,20 @@
"International law organization participation": {
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship": {
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "the father must be a citizen of Oman"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "no"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization": {
"text": "unknown"
}
},
"Suffrage": {
"text": "21 years of age; universal; note - members of the military and security forces by law cannot vote"
},
@ -397,13 +400,13 @@
},
"Legislative branch": {
"description": {
"text": "bicameral Council of Oman or Majlis Oman consists of the Council of State or Majlis al-Dawla (83 seats; members appointed by the sultan from among former government officials and prominent educators, businessmen, and citizens) and the Consultative Council or Majlis al-Shura (84 seats; members directly elected in single- and two-seat constituencies by simple majority popular vote to serve 4-year terms); note - following political reforms in 2011, legislation from the Consultative Council is submitted to the Council of State for passage and amendments"
"text": "bicameral Council of Oman or Majlis Oman consists of the Council of State or Majlis al-Dawla (85 seats including the chairman; members appointed by the sultan from among former government officials and prominent educators, businessmen, and citizens) and the Consultative Council or Majlis al-Shura (85 seats; members directly elected in single- and two-seat constituencies by simple majority popular vote to serve renewable 4-year terms); note - following political reforms in 2011, legislation from the Consultative Council is submitted to the Council of State for review by the Royal Court"
},
"elections": {
"text": "Consultative Assembly - last held on 25 October 2015 (next to be held in October 2019)"
},
"election results": {
"text": "percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; note - three prominent figures from the Arab Spring 2011 protests won seats; one woman also won a seat"
"text": "percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA"
}
},
"Judicial branch": {
@ -411,10 +414,10 @@
"text": "Supreme Court (consists of 5 judges)"
},
"judge selection and term of office": {
"text": "judges nominated by the 9-member Supreme Judicial Council (chaired by the monarch) and appointed by the monarch; judge tenure NA"
"text": "judges nominated by the 9-member Supreme Judicial Council (chaired by the monarch) and appointed by the monarch; judges appointed for life"
},
"subordinate courts": {
"text": "Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance; sharia courts; magistrates' courts"
"text": "Courts of Appeal; Administrative Court; Courts of First Instance; sharia courts; magistrates' courts; military courts"
}
},
"Political parties and leaders": {
@ -442,7 +445,7 @@
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US": {
"chief of mission": {
"text": "Ambassador Greta C. HOLTZ (since 27 September 2012)"
"text": "Ambassador Marc J. SIEVERS (since 7 January 2016)"
},
"embassy": {
"text": "Jamait Ad Duwal Al Arabiyya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat"
@ -454,7 +457,7 @@
"text": "[968] 24-643-400"
},
"FAX": {
"text": "[968] 24-64-37-40"
"text": "[968] 24-643-740"
}
},
"Flag description": {
@ -477,58 +480,58 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Oman is heavily dependent on dwindling oil resources, which generates 77% of government revenue. It is using enhanced oil recovery techniques to boost production. Muscat has actively pursued a development plan that focuses on diversification, industrialization, and privatization, with the objective of reducing the oil sector's contribution to GDP from 46% to 9% by 2020. Muscat also is focused on creating more jobs to employ the rising numbers of Omanis entering the workforce. Tourism and gas-based industries are key components of the government's diversification strategy. However, increases in social welfare benefits, particularly since the Arab Spring, have challenged the government's ability to effectively balance its budget as oil prices decline. Despite government acknowledgement that Oman’s expansive social welfare benefits are unsustainable, Oman authorities are comfortable with short-term budget deficits and have approved an expansionary 2015 budget. Concurrently, Oman has expanded efforts to support the development of small and medium-size enterprises and entrepreneurship. Government agencies and large oligarchic group companies have announced new initiatives to spin off non-essential functions to entrepreneurs, incubate new businesses, train and mentor up and coming business people, and provide financing for start-ups."
"text": "Oman is heavily dependent on its dwindling oil resources, which generate 84% of government revenue. In 2015, low global oil prices drove Oman’s budget deficit to $6.5 billion, or nearly 11% of GDP. Oman has limited foreign assets and is issuing debt to cover its deficit. ++ ++ Oman is using enhanced oil recovery techniques to boost production and has actively pursued a development plan that focuses on diversification, industrialization, and privatization, with the objective of reducing the oil sector's contribution to GDP from 46% at present to 9% by 2020. Tourism and gas-based industries are key components of the government's diversification strategy. ++ ++ Muscat also is focused on creating more jobs to employ the rising number of Omanis entering the workforce. Increases in social welfare benefits, however, particularly since the Arab Spring, dating to 2011, have challenged the government's ability to effectively balance its budget, as oil prices decline. Omani officials intend to reduce social entitlements to cut the deficit but have faced stiff public opposition to spending cuts, hindering their implementation."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$163 billion (2014 est.) ++ $158.3 billion (2013 est.) ++ $151.2 billion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$167.8 billion (2015 est.) ++ $162.4 billion (2014 est.) ++ $157.9 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$77.78 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$64.12 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "2.9% (2014 est.) ++ 4.7% (2013 est.) ++ 5.8% (2012 est.)"
"text": "3.3% (2015 est.) ++ 2.9% (2014 est.) ++ 3.2% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$43,800 (2014 est.) ++ $42,600 (2013 est.) ++ $40,700 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$43,700 (2015 est.) ++ $43,700 (2014 est.) ++ $43,900 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "30.4% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 34.6% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 35.6% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "11.5% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 27.7% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 32.5% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "30.6%"
"text": "37.3%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "21.5%"
"text": "28.7%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "29.2%"
"text": "33.9%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "-5.4%"
"text": "-1.3%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "68.9%"
"text": "53%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-44.8% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-51.6% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "1.2%"
"text": "1.5%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "65.1%"
"text": "55.1%"
},
"services": {
"text": "39.1% (2014 est.)"
"text": "47.2% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -538,7 +541,7 @@
"text": "crude oil production and refining, natural and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production; construction, cement, copper, steel, chemicals, optic fiber"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "0.3% (2014 est.)"
"text": "1.3% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "968,800",
@ -573,71 +576,71 @@
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$40.09 billion"
"text": "$23.58 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$37.65 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$35.63 billion (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "51.5% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "40.3% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "3.1% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-20.6% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "4.9% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 4.9% of GDP (2013 est.)"
"text": "8.3% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 4.9% of GDP (2014 est.)"
},
"Fiscal year": {
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "1% (2014 est.) ++ 1.2% (2013 est.)"
"text": "0.1% (2015 est.) ++ 1% (2014 est.)"
},
"Central bank discount rate": {
"text": "2% (31 December 2010) ++ 0.05% (31 December 2009)"
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "5.08% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 5.41% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "4.76% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 5.08% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$12.5 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $10.28 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$13.96 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $12.5 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$35.8 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $30.79 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$39.85 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $35.8 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$33.69 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $28.8 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$45.1 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $33.69 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$20.19 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $19.07 billion (31 December 2013) ++ $20.27 billion (31 December 2010 est.)"
"text": "$41.12 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $37.83 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $36.77 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "$7.978 billion (2014 est.) ++ $9.184 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "-$11.23 billion (2015 est.) ++ $4.662 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$53.22 billion (2014 est.) ++ $56.43 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$34.43 billion (2015 est.) ++ $53.22 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "China 43%, UAE 10.3%, South Korea 8.2% (2014)"
"text": "China 35.4%, UAE 15.3%, South Korea 6.8%, Saudi Arabia 5.8%, Pakistan 4.2% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$27.18 billion (2014 est.) ++ $31.84 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$28.27 billion (2015 est.) ++ $27.89 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "UAE 32.5%, Japan 12.2%, China 4.8%, India 4.3%, US 4.3%, Saudi Arabia 4.1% (2014)"
"text": "UAE 29.7%, Japan 10.2%, US 7.5%, China 6.7%, India 6.3% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$16.32 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $15.95 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$17.54 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $16.32 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$10.18 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $11.33 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$12.94 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $10.66 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
"text": "$NA"
@ -646,10 +649,24 @@
"text": "$NA"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "Omani rials (OMR) per US dollar - ++ 0.3845 (2014 est.) ++ 0.3845 (2013 est.) ++ 0.3845 (2012 est.) ++ 0.3845 (2011 est.) ++ 0.3845 (2010 est.)"
"text": "Omani rials (OMR) per US dollar - ++ 0.3845 (2015 est.) ++ 0.3845 (2014 est.) ++ 0.3845 (2013 est.) ++ 0.3845 (2012 est.) ++ 0.3845 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"population without electricity": {
"text": "100,000"
},
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "98%"
},
"electrification - urban areas": {
"text": "99%"
},
"electrification - rural areas": {
"text": "93% (2013)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "23.77 billion kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -723,18 +740,18 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "380,000"
"text": "434,932"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "12 (2014 est.)"
"text": "13 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "6.2 million"
"text": "6.647 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "192 (2014 est.)"
"text": "202 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -745,31 +762,42 @@
"text": "fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership both increasing with fixed-line phone service gradually being introduced to remote villages using wireless local loop systems"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 968; the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) and the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable provide connectivity to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat (2008)"
"text": "country code - 968; the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) and the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable provide connectivity to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "1 state-run TV broadcaster; TV stations transmitting from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Yemen available via satellite TV; state-run radio operates multiple stations; first private radio station began operating in 2007 and 2 additional stations now operating (2007)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "13 (plus 25 repeaters) (1999)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".om"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "2.1 million"
"text": "2.438 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "65.8% (2014 est.)"
"text": "74.2% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "1"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "45"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "6,365,784"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "412,234,008 mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "A4O (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "132 (2013)"
},
@ -804,7 +832,7 @@
"text": "33"
},
"under 914 m": {
"text": " ++ 26 (2013)"
"text": "26 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports": {
@ -847,39 +875,15 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Sultan's Armed Forces (SAF): Royal Army of Oman, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman (al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Sultanat Oman) (2013)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "18-30 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2012)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "985,957"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "737,812 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "837,886"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "642,427 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "31,959"
},
"female": {
"text": "30,264 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Military expenditures": {
"text": "8.61% of GDP (2012) ++ 6.13% of GDP (2011) ++ 8.61% of GDP (2010)"
"text": "11.8% of GDP (2014) ++ 15% of GDP (2013) ++ 8.61% of GDP (2012) ++ 6.13% of GDP (2011) ++ 8.61% of GDP (2010)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues": {
@ -888,7 +892,7 @@
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"refugees (country of origin)": {
"text": "5,000 (Yemen) (2015)"
"text": "5,000 (Yemen) (2016)"
}
}
}

312
middle-east/qa.json
View file

@ -26,10 +26,7 @@
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "almost twice the size of Delaware; slightly smaller than Connecticut",
"Area comparison map": {
"text": null
}
"text": "almost twice the size of Delaware; slightly smaller than Connecticut"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
@ -59,12 +56,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "mostly flat and barren desert"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Persian Gulf 0 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "28 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Tuwayyir al Hamir 103 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m ++ highest point: Tuwayyir al Hamir 103 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -82,18 +79,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "129.4 sq km (2003)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "0.06 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "0.44 cu km/yr (39%/2%/59%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "376.9 cu m/yr (2005)"
}
"text": "130 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "haze, dust storms, sandstorms common"
@ -110,10 +96,13 @@
}
},
"Geography - note": {
"text": "strategic location in central Persian Gulf near major petroleum deposits"
"text": "the peninsula occupies a strategic location in the central Persian Gulf near major petroleum deposits"
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "2,258,283 (July 2016 est.)"
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Qatari(s)"
@ -129,32 +118,23 @@
"text": "Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language"
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Muslim 77.5%, Christian 8.5%, other (includes mainly Hindu and other Indian religions) 14% (2004 est.)",
"religious affiliation": {
"text": null
}
},
"Population": {
"text": "2,194,817 (July 2015 est.)"
"text": "Muslim 77.5%, Christian 8.5%, other (includes mainly Hindu and other Indian religions) 14% (2004 est.)"
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "12.52% (male 139,353/female 135,514)"
"text": "12.57% (male 143,859/female 140,027)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "12.96% (male 207,493/female 76,879)"
"text": "12.62% (male 206,775/female 78,271)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "70.23% (male 1,278,442/female 263,051)"
"text": "70.45% (male 1,321,973/female 269,072)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "3.39% (male 57,581/female 16,886)"
"text": "3.41% (male 59,418/female 17,578)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "0.89% (male 12,365/female 7,253) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "0.94% (male 13,610/female 7,700) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -173,26 +153,26 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "32.8 years"
"text": "33 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "33.9 years"
"text": "24.1 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "28.1 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "28.1 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "3.07% (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.64% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "9.84 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "9.7 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "1.53 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.5 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "22.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "18.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -213,19 +193,19 @@
"text": "1.03 male(s)/female"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "2.7 male(s)/female"
"text": "2.64 male(s)/female"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "4.86 male(s)/female"
"text": "4.91 male(s)/female"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "3.41 male(s)/female"
"text": "3.38 male(s)/female"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "1.71 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "3.39 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "3.41 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
@ -233,34 +213,34 @@
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "6.32 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "6.2 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "6.61 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "6.4 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "6.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "6 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "78.59 years"
"text": "78.7 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "76.58 years"
"text": "76.7 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "80.65 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "80.8 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "1.91 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.9 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
"text": "38% (2012)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "2.2% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "2.2% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "7.74 physicians/1,000 population (2010)"
@ -297,7 +277,7 @@
"text": "41% (2014)"
},
"Education expenditures": {
"text": "2.4% of GDP (2008)"
"text": "3.5% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Literacy": {
"definition": {
@ -315,24 +295,24 @@
},
"School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": {
"total": {
"text": "14 years"
"text": "13 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "14 years"
"text": "13 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "14 years (2005)"
"text": "14 years (2011)"
}
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
"total": {
"text": "1.3%"
"text": "1.1%"
},
"male": {
"text": "0.4%"
},
"female": {
"text": "8.9% (2011 est.)"
"text": "6.2% (2013 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -352,10 +332,13 @@
},
"note": {
"text": "closest approximation of the native pronunciation is cutter"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "the origin of the name is uncertain, but it dates back at least 2,000 years since a term \"Catharrei\" was used to describe the inhabitants of the peninsula by Pliny the Elder (1st century A.D.), and a \"Catara\" peninsula is depicted on a map by Ptolemy (2nd century A.D.)"
}
},
"Government type": {
"text": "emirate"
"text": "absolute monarchy"
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
@ -378,7 +361,7 @@
"text": "National Day, 18 December (1878), anniversary of Al Thani family accession to the throne; Independence Day, 3 September (1971)"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "previous 1972 (provisional); latest drafted 2 July 2002, approved by referendum 29 April 2003, endorsed 8 June 2004, effective 9 June 2005 (2015)"
"text": "previous 1972 (provisional); latest drafted 2 July 2002, approved by referendum 29 April 2003, endorsed 8 June 2004, effective 9 June 2005 (2016)"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "mixed legal system of civil law and Islamic law (in family and personal matters)"
@ -386,6 +369,20 @@
"International law organization participation": {
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship": {
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "the father must be a citizen of Qatar"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "no"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization": {
"text": "20 years; 15 years if an Arab national"
}
},
"Suffrage": {
"text": "18 years of age; universal"
},
@ -405,7 +402,7 @@
},
"Legislative branch": {
"description": {
"text": "unicameral Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura (15 seats; members appointed by the monarch); note - the 2003 constitutional referendum called for the election of 30 members, however, the first election scheduled for 2013 was postponed and current term extended until 2016"
"text": "unicameral Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura (15 seats; members appointed by the monarch); note - the 2003 constitutional referendum called for the election of 30 members, however; the first election scheduled for 2013 was postponed and the current term was initially extended until 2016, but in June 2016, the Amir extended it until at least 2019"
},
"note": {
"text": "although the Advisory Council has limited legislative authority to draft and approve laws, the Amir has final vote on all legislation; Qatar's first legislative elections were expected to be held in 2013, but HAMAD postponed them in a final legislative act prior to handing over power to TAMIM; in principle, the public would elect 30 members and the Amir would appoint 15; the Advisory Council would have authority to approve the national budget, hold ministers accountable through no-confidence votes, and propose legislation; the 29-member Central Municipal Council - first elected in 1999 - has limited consultative authority aimed at improving municipal services; members elected for a 4-year term; next election scheduled for May 2019"
@ -413,13 +410,13 @@
},
"Judicial branch": {
"highest court(s)": {
"text": "Supreme Court or Court of Cassation (consists of the court president and several judges); Supreme Constitutional Court (consists of the chief justice and 6 members); note - the Supreme Constitutional Court was established in 1999, but has not been fully implemented"
"text": "Supreme Court or Court of Cassation (consists of the court president and several judges); Supreme Constitutional Court (consists of the chief justice and 6 members)"
},
"judge selection and term of office": {
"text": "Supreme Court judges nominated by the Supreme Judiciary Council, a 9-member independent body consisting of judiciary heads appointed by the Amir; judges appointed for 3-year renewable terms; Supreme Constitutional Court members nominated by the Supreme Judicial Supreme Council and appointed by the monarch; term of appointment NA"
"text": "Supreme Court judges nominated by the Supreme Judiciary Council, a 9-member independent body consisting of judiciary heads appointed by the Amir; judges appointed for 3-year renewable terms; Supreme Constitutional Court members nominated by the Supreme Judiciary Council and appointed by the monarch; term of appointment NA"
},
"subordinate courts": {
"text": "Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance; Sharia Courts; Courts of Justice; Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Center, established in 2009, provides dispute services for institutions and bodies in Qatar, as well as internationally"
"text": "Courts of Appeal; Administrative Court; courts of first instance; sharia courts; Courts of Justice; Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Center, established in 2009, provides dispute services for institutions and bodies in Qatar, as well as internationally"
}
},
"Political parties and leaders": {
@ -444,16 +441,16 @@
"FAX": {
"text": "[1] (202) 237-0061"
},
"consulates": {
"consulate(s) general": {
"text": "Houston, Los Angeles"
}
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US": {
"chief of mission": {
"text": "Ambassador Dana Shell SMITH (8 September 2014)"
"text": "Ambassador Dana Shell SMITH (since 8 September 2014)"
},
"embassy": {
"text": "Al-Luqta District, 22 February Road, Doha"
"text": "22 February Road, Al-Luqta District, Doha"
},
"mailing address": {
"text": "P. O. Box 2399, Doha"
@ -462,7 +459,7 @@
"text": "[974] 4496-6000"
},
"FAX": {
"text": "[974] 4488 4298"
"text": "[974] 4488-4298"
}
},
"Flag description": {
@ -488,47 +485,47 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Qatar has prospered in the last several years with continued high real GDP growth. GDP was driven largely by the oil and gas sector however growth in the manufacturing, construction, and financial services sectors have pushed the non-oil component to just over half of Qatar’s nominal GDP for the first time since 2000. Economic policy is focused on sustaining Qatar's nonassociated natural gas reserves and increasing private and foreign investment in non-energy sectors, but oil and gas still account for roughly 92% of export earnings, and 62% of government revenues. Oil and gas have made Qatar the world's highest per-capita income country and the country with the lowest unemployment. Proved oil reserves in excess of 25 billion barrels should enable continued output at current levels for about 56 years. Qatar's proved reserves of natural gas exceed 25 trillion cubic meters, about 13% of the world total and third largest in the world. Qatar's successful 2022 World Cup bid is accelerating large-scale infrastructure projects such as Qatar's metro system, light rail system, the construction of a new port, roads, stadiums and related sporting infrastructure. The new Hamad International Airport opened in mid-2014 with an initial annual passenger capacity of 24 million and with a projected 50 million when complete."
"text": "Qatar has prospered in the last several years with continued high real GDP growth, but low oil prices have dampened the outlook. Qatar was the only Gulf Cooperation Council member that avoided a budget deficit in 2015, but it projects a $12.8 billion deficit, 6% of GDP in 2016. ++ ++ GDP is driven largely by the oil and gas sector; however, growth in manufacturing, construction, and financial services have lifted the non-oil sectors to just over half of Qatar’s nominal GDP. Economic policy is focused on sustaining Qatar's non-associated natural gas reserves and increasing private and foreign investment in non-energy sectors, but oil and gas still account for roughly 92% of export earnings, and 56% of government revenues. Oil and gas have made Qatar the world's highest per-capita income country and the country with the lowest unemployment. Proved oil reserves in excess of 25 billion barrels should enable continued output at current levels for about 56 years. Qatar's proved reserves of natural gas exceed 25 trillion cubic meters, about 13% of the world total and third largest in the world. ++ ++ Qatar's successful 2022 World Cup bid is accelerating large-scale infrastructure projects such as its metro system, light rail system, construction of a new port, roads, stadiums and related sporting infrastructure."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$306.6 billion (2014 est.) ++ $294.9 billion (2013 est.) ++ $282 billion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$321.7 billion (2015 est.) ++ $310.3 billion (2014 est.) ++ $298.4 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$210.1 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$166.9 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "4% (2014 est.) ++ 4.6% (2013 est.) ++ 4.9% (2012 est.)"
"text": "3.7% (2015 est.) ++ 4% (2014 est.) ++ 4.6% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$137,200 (2014 est.) ++ $131,900 (2013 est.) ++ $126,100 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$132,900 (2015 est.) ++ $138,800 (2014 est.) ++ $145,900 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "58.5% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 59.5% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 60.7% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "47% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 57.6% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 59.7% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "14.8%"
"text": "22%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "14.1%"
"text": "19.4%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "33.9%"
"text": "37.2%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "-1.6%"
"text": "1.5%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "69.1%"
"text": "55.4%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-30.5% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-35.5% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
@ -536,10 +533,10 @@
"text": "0.1%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "68%"
"text": "55.7%"
},
"services": {
"text": "32.1% (2014 est.)"
"text": "44.1% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -549,13 +546,13 @@
"text": "liquefied natural gas, crude oil production and refining, ammonia, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel reinforcing bars, cement, commercial ship repair"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "0.9% (2014 est.)"
"text": "2% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "1.593 million (2014 est.)"
"text": "1.644 million (2015 est.)"
},
"Unemployment rate": {
"text": "0.4% (2014 est.) ++ 0.3% (2013 est.)"
"text": "0.4% (2015 est.) ++ 0.4% (2014 est.)"
},
"Population below poverty line": {
"text": "NA%"
@ -570,83 +567,97 @@
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$92.46 billion"
"text": "$57.45 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$58.54 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$56.44 billion (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "44% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "31% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "16.1% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "0.5% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "31.9% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 32.3% of GDP (2013 est.)"
"text": "41.6% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 31.9% of GDP (2014 est.)"
},
"Fiscal year": {
"text": "1 April - 31 March"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "3% (2014 est.) ++ 3.1% (2013 est.)"
"text": "1.8% (2015 est.) ++ 3.4% (2014 est.)"
},
"Central bank discount rate": {
"text": "4.5% (31 December 2012) ++ 4.93% (31 December 2011)"
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "4.5% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 4.5% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "4.5% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 4.5% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$34.14 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $29.1 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$34.87 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $34.14 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$142.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $125.2 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$155.8 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $138.5 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$168.9 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $149.5 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$200.6 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $168.9 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$126.4 billion (31 December 2012 est.) ++ $125.4 billion (31 December 2011) ++ $123.6 billion (31 December 2010 est.)"
"text": "$142.6 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $185.9 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $152.6 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "$54.84 billion (2014 est.) ++ $62.42 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$13.75 billion (2015 est.) ++ $49.41 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$131.6 billion (2014 est.) ++ $136.8 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$77.29 billion (2015 est.) ++ $126.7 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "liquefied natural gas (LNG), petroleum products, fertilizers, steel"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "Japan 25.3%, South Korea 18.8%, India 12.7%, China 7.7%, Singapore 6.2%, UAE 5.1% (2014)"
"text": "Japan 25.4%, India 14.6%, China 8.4%, UAE 6.8%, Singapore 5.6%, UK 5.5%, Thailand 4.2% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$38.23 billion (2014 est.) ++ $31.47 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$28.5 billion (2015 est.) ++ $31.15 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "machinery and transport equipment, food, chemicals"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "US 11.5%, China 10.6%, UAE 8.2%, Germany 7.1%, Japan 6.4%, UK 5.5%, Italy 4.9%, Saudi Arabia 4.6% (2014)"
"text": "China 11.9%, US 11.3%, UAE 9%, Germany 7.7%, Japan 6.7%, UK 5.9%, Italy 4.6%, Saudi Arabia 4.4% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$43.32 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $42.2 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$37.26 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $43.32 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$156.8 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $149.2 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$141.6 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $138.2 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
"text": "$33.46 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $32.42 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$34.53 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $33.46 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad": {
"text": "$45.71 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $38.96 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$49.73 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $45.71 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "Qatari rials (QAR) per US dollar - ++ 3.64 (2014 est.) ++ 3.64 (2013 est.) ++ 3.64 (2012 est.) ++ 3.64 (2011 est.) ++ 3.64 (2010 est.)"
"text": "Qatari rials (QAR) per US dollar - ++ 3.64 (2015 est.) ++ 3.64 (2014 est.) ++ 3.64 (2013 est.) ++ 3.64 (2012 est.) ++ 3.64 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"population without electricity": {
"text": "45,165"
},
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "98%"
},
"electrification - urban areas": {
"text": "98%"
},
"electrification - rural areas": {
"text": "93% (2012)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "32.7 billion kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -720,18 +731,18 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "420,000"
"text": "428,858"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "20 (2014 est.)"
"text": "20 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "3.3 million"
"text": "3.61 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "156 (2014 est.)"
"text": "164 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -739,34 +750,45 @@
"text": "modern system centered in Doha"
},
"domestic": {
"text": "combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular telephone subscribership exceeds 130 telephones per 100 persons"
"text": "combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular telephone subscribership exceeds 180 telephones per 100 persons"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 974; landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Middle East, Europe, and the US; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and the UAE; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (2011)"
"text": "country code - 974; landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Middle East, Europe, and the US; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and the UAE; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "TV and radio broadcast licensing and access to local media markets are state controlled; home of the satellite TV channel Al-Jazeera, which was originally owned and financed by the Qatari government, but has evolved to independent corporate status; Al-Jazeera claims editorial independence in broadcasting; local radio transmissions include state, private, and international broadcasters on FM frequencies in Doha; in August 2013, Qatar's satellite company Es'hailSat launched its first communications satellite Es'hail 1 (manufactured in the US), which entered commercial service in December 2013 to provide improved television broadcasting capability and expand availability of voice and internet; Es'hailSat released a request for proposals in March 2014 for its second satellite to launch in 2016 (2014)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1998)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "1 (plus 3 repeaters) (2001)"
"text": "TV and radio broadcast licensing and access to local media markets are state controlled; home of the satellite TV channel Al-Jazeera, which was originally owned and financed by the Qatari government but has evolved to independent corporate status; Al-Jazeera claims editorial independence in broadcasting; local radio transmissions include state, private, and international broadcasters on FM frequencies in Doha; in August 2013, Qatar's satellite company Es'hailSat launched its first communications satellite Es'hail 1 (manufactured in the US), which entered commercial service in December 2013 to provide improved television broadcasting capability and expand availability of voice and internet; Es'hailSat released a request for proposals in March 2014 for its second satellite to launch in 2016 (2014)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".qa"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "2.1 million"
"text": "2.039 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "96.7% (2014 est.)"
"text": "92.9% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "2"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "199"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "25,263,224"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "7,563,307,390 mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "A7 (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "6 (2013)"
},
@ -789,7 +811,7 @@
"text": "1"
},
"under 914 m": {
"text": " ++ 1 (2013)"
"text": "1 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports": {
@ -826,36 +848,12 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Qatari Emiri Land Force (QELF), Qatari Emiri Navy (QEN), Qatari Emiri Air Force (QEAF) (2013)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "conscription for males aged 18-35; 4 month general obligation, 3 months for graduates (2014)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "389,487"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "165,572 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "321,974"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "140,176 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "6,429"
},
"female": {
"text": "5,162 (2010 est.)"
}
"text": "conscription for males aged 18-35; 4-month general obligation, 3 months for graduates (2014)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues": {
@ -864,15 +862,15 @@
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"stateless persons": {
"text": "1,200 (2014)"
"text": "1,200 (2015)"
}
},
"Trafficking in persons": {
"current situation": {
"text": "Qatar is a destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor, and, to a much lesser extent, forced prostitution; the predominantly foreign workforce migrates to Qatar legally but often experiences situations of forced labor, including debt bondage, delayed or nonpayment of salaries, confiscation of passports, abuse, hazardous working conditions, and squalid living arrangements; foreign female domestic workers are particularly vulnerable to trafficking because of their isolation in private homes and lack of protection under Qatari labor laws; some women who migrate for work are also forced into prostitution"
"text": "Qatar is a destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor, and, to a much lesser extent, forced prostitution; the predominantly foreign workforce migrates to Qatar legally for low- and semi-skilled work but often experiences situations of forced labor, including debt bondage, delayed or nonpayment of salaries, confiscation of passports, abuse, hazardous working conditions, and squalid living arrangements; foreign female domestic workers are particularly vulnerable to trafficking because of their isolation in private homes and lack of protection under Qatari labor laws; some women who migrate for work are also forced into prostitution"
},
"tier rating": {
"text": "Tier 2 Watch List – Qatar does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; in 2013, the government took action to prevent human trafficking by convicting individuals for visa selling, doubling the number of labor inspectors, closing some recruitment firms, and implementing anti-trafficking awareness campaigns; authorities identified some trafficking victims and provided them with shelter and other protection services; the government did not reform the exploitive sponsorship system, prosecute or convict any trafficking offenders, or rigorously enforce laws prohibiting employers from wage and passport withholding (2014)"
"text": "Tier 2 Watch List – Qatar does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; the government investigated 11 trafficking cases but did not prosecute or convict any offenders, including exploitative employers and recruitment agencies; the primary solution for resolving labor violations was to transfer a worker’s sponsorship to a new employer with minimal effort to investigate whether a forced labor violation had occurred; authorities increased their efforts to protect some trafficking victims, although many victims of forced labor, particularly domestic workers, remained unidentified and unprotected and were sometimes punished for immigration violations or running away from an employer or sponsor; authorities visited worksites throughout the country to meet and educate workers and employers on trafficking regulations, but the government failed to abolish or reform the sponsorship system, perpetuating Qatar’s forced labor problem (2015)"
}
}
}

325
middle-east/sa.json
View file

@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam's two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. The king's official title is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The modern Saudi state was founded in 1932 by ABD AL-AZIZ bin Abd al-Rahman Al SAUD (Ibn Saud) after a 30-year campaign to unify most of the Arabian Peninsula. One of his male descendants rules the country today, as required by the country's 1992 Basic Law. King SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz ascended to the throne in 2015 and placed the first next-generation prince, MUHAMMAD BIN NAYIF bin Abd al-Aziz, in the line of succession as Crown Prince. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000 refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year. The continuing presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil after the liberation of Kuwait became a source of tension between the royal family and the public until all operational US troops left the country in 2003. Major terrorist attacks in May and November 2003 spurred a strong on-going campaign against domestic terrorism and extremism. ++ King ABDALLAH from 2005 to 2015 incrementally modernized the Kingdom - driven by personal ideology and political pragmatism - through a series of social and economic initiatives, including expanding employment and social opportunities for women, attracting foreign investment, increasing the role of the private sector in the economy, and discouraging businesses from hiring foreign workers. The Arab Spring inspired protests - increasing in number since 2011 but usually small in size - over primarily domestic issues among Saudi Arabia's majority Sunni population. Riyadh has taken a cautious but firm approach by arresting some protesters but releasing most of them quickly, and by using its state-sponsored clerics to counter political and Islamist activism. In addition, Saudi Arabia has seen protests among Shias in the Eastern Province, who have protested primarily against the detention of political prisoners, endemic discrimination, and Bahraini and Saudi Government actions in Bahrain. Protests are met by a strong police presence, with some arrests, but not the level of bloodshed seen in protests elsewhere in the region. ++ In response to the unrest, King ABDALLAH in February and March 2011 announced a series of benefits for Saudi citizens including funds to build affordable housing, salary increases for government workers, and unemployment entitlements. To promote increased political participation, the government held elections nationwide in September 2011 for half the members of 285 municipal councils - a body that holds little influence in the Saudi Government. Also in September 2011, King ABDALLAH announced that women will be allowed to run for and vote in future municipal elections - first held in 2005 - and serve as full members of the advisory Consultative Council. The country remains a leading producer of oil and natural gas and holds about 16% of the world's proven oil reserves. The government continues to pursue economic reform and diversification, particularly since Saudi Arabia's accession to the WTO in 2005, and promotes foreign investment in the kingdom. A burgeoning population, aquifer depletion, and an economy largely dependent on petroleum output and prices are ongoing governmental concerns."
"text": "Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam's two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. The king's official title is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The modern Saudi state was founded in 1932 by ABD AL-AZIZ bin Abd al-Rahman Al SAUD (Ibn Saud) after a 30-year campaign to unify most of the Arabian Peninsula. One of his male descendants rules the country today, as required by the country's 1992 Basic Law. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000 refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year. The continuing presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil after the liberation of Kuwait became a source of tension between the royal family and the public until all operational US troops left the country in 2003. Major terrorist attacks in May and November 2003 spurred a strong ongoing campaign against domestic terrorism and extremism. ++ From 2005 to 2015, King ABDALLAH incrementally modernized the Kingdom. Driven by personal ideology and political pragmatism, he introduced a series of social and economic initiatives, including expanding employment and social opportunities for women, attracting foreign investment, increasing the role of the private sector in the economy, and discouraging businesses from hiring foreign workers. Saudi Arabia saw protests during the 2011 Arab Spring among Shia Muslims in the Eastern Province, who protested primarily against the detention of political prisoners, endemic discrimination, and Bahraini and Saudi Government actions in Bahrain. Riyadh took a cautious but firm approach by arresting some protesters but releasing most of them quickly and by using its state-sponsored clerics to counter political and Islamist activism. In addition, protests were met by a strong police presence, with some arrests, but not the level of bloodshed seen in protests elsewhere in the region. ++ The government held its first-ever elections in 2005 and 2011, when Saudis went to the polls to elect municipal councilors. In December 2015, women were allowed to vote and stand as candidates for the first time in municipal council elections, with 21 women winning seats. King SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud ascended to the throne in 2015 and placed the first next-generation prince, MUHAMMAD BIN NAIF bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, in the line of succession as Crown Prince. He designated his son, MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, as the Deputy Crown Prince. In March 2015, Saudi Arabia led a coalition of 10 countries in a military campaign to restore the government of Yemen, which had been ousted by Huthi forces allied with former president ALI ABDULLAH al-Salih. The war in Yemen has led to civilian casualties and shortages of basic supplies, which has drawn considerable international criticism. In December 2015, Deputy Crown Prince MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN announced Saudi Arabia would lead a 34-nation Islamic Coalition to fight terrorism. In January 2016, Saudi Arabia executed 47 people on charges of terrorism, including Shia Muslim cleric NIMR al-Nimr. Iranian protesters overran Saudi diplomatic facilities in Iran to protest al-NIMR’s execution and the Saudi government responded by cutting off diplomatic ties with Iran. "
}
},
"Geography": {
@ -26,10 +26,7 @@
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "slightly more than one-fifth the size of the US",
"Area comparison map": {
"text": null
}
"text": "slightly more than one-fifth the size of the US"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
@ -59,12 +56,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "mostly sandy desert"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Persian Gulf 0 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "665 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Jabal Sawda' 3,133 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m ++ highest point: Jabal Sawda' 3,133 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -82,18 +79,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "16,200 sq km (2004)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "2.4 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "23.67 cu km/yr (9%/3%/88%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "928.1 cu m/yr (2006)"
}
"text": "16,200 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "frequent sand and dust storms",
@ -117,6 +103,12 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "28,160,273 (July 2016 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "immigrants make up more than 30% of the total population, according to UN data (2015)"
}
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Saudi(s)"
@ -135,35 +127,23 @@
"text": "Muslim (official; citizens are 85-90% Sunni and 10-15% Shia), other (includes Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh) (2012 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "despite having a large expatriate community of various faiths (more than 30% of the population), most forms of public religious expression inconsistent with the government-sanctioned interpretation of Sunni Islam are restricted; non-Muslims are not allowed to have Saudi citizenship and non-Muslim places of worship are not permitted (2013)"
},
"religious affiliation": {
"text": null
}
},
"Population": {
"text": "27,752,316",
"note": {
"text": "immigrants make up more than 30% of the total population, according to UN data (2013) (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "27.07% (male 3,850,992/female 3,661,194)"
"text": "26.56% (male 3,835,472/female 3,644,041)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "19.11% (male 2,839,161/female 2,463,216)"
"text": "18.85% (male 2,843,422/female 2,465,027)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "45.9% (male 7,244,386/female 5,495,284)"
"text": "46.4% (male 7,401,654/female 5,663,769)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "4.68% (male 710,827/female 587,281)"
"text": "4.86% (male 747,307/female 620,100)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "3.24% (male 460,209/female 439,766) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "3.34% (male 478,244/female 461,237) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -182,26 +162,26 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "26.8 years"
"text": "27.2 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "27.6 years"
"text": "27.9 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "25.8 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "26.2 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "1.46% (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.46% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "18.51 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "18.4 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "3.33 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "3.3 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "-0.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "-0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -225,7 +205,7 @@
"text": "1.15 male(s)/female"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "1.32 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.31 male(s)/female"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "1.21 male(s)/female"
@ -234,7 +214,7 @@
"text": "1.05 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "1.19 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.19 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
@ -242,34 +222,34 @@
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "14.09 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "13.6 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "16.16 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "15.6 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "11.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "11.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "75.05 years"
"text": "75.3 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "73 years"
"text": "73.2 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "77.2 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "77.4 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "2.12 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.11 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
"text": "23.8% (2007)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "3.2% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "4.7% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "2.49 physicians/1,000 population (2012)"
@ -305,9 +285,6 @@
"Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
"text": "33.7% (2014)"
},
"Children under the age of 5 years underweight": {
"text": "5.3% (2005)"
},
"Education expenditures": {
"text": "5.1% of GDP (2008)"
},
@ -330,21 +307,21 @@
"text": "16 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "16 years"
"text": "17 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "17 years (2013)"
"text": "15 years (2014)"
}
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
"total": {
"text": "28.3%"
"text": "30.4%"
},
"male": {
"text": "20.8%"
"text": "21.4%"
},
"female": {
"text": "54.4% (2012 est.)"
"text": "57.9% (2014 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -361,10 +338,13 @@
},
"local short form": {
"text": "Al Arabiyah as Suudiyah"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "named after the ruling dynasty of the country, the House of Saud; the name \"Arabia\" can be traced back many centuries B.C., the ancient Egyptians referred to the region as \"Ar Rabi\""
}
},
"Government type": {
"text": "monarchy"
"text": "absolute monarchy"
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
@ -387,7 +367,7 @@
"text": "Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932)"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "1 March 1992 - Basic Law of Government, issued by royal decree, serves as the constitutional framework and is based on the Qur'an and the life and tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (2015)"
"text": "1 March 1992 - Basic Law of Government, issued by royal decree, serves as the constitutional framework and is based on the Qur'an and the life and tradition of the Prophet Muhammad"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "Islamic (sharia) legal system with some elements of Egyptian, French, and customary law; note - several secular codes have been introduced; commercial disputes handled by special committees"
@ -395,21 +375,35 @@
"International law organization participation": {
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship": {
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "the father must be a citizen of Saudi Arabia; a child born out of wedlock in Saudi Arabia to a Saudi mother and unknown father"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "no"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization": {
"text": "5 years"
}
},
"Suffrage": {
"text": "21 years of age; male"
"text": "21 years of age; male; male and female for municipal elections"
},
"Executive branch": {
"chief of state": {
"text": "King and Prime Minister SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 23 January 2015); Heir Apparent Crown Prince MUHAMMAD BIN NAYIF bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (born 30 August 1959); Heir to the Crown Prince MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (born 31 August 1985); note - the monarch is both chief of state and head of government"
"text": "King and Prime Minister SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 23 January 2015); Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister MUHAMMAD BIN NAYIF bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (born 30 August 1959); Deputy Crown Prince and Second Deputy Prime Minister MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (born 31 August 1985); note - the monarch is both chief of state and head of government"
},
"head of government": {
"text": "King and Prime Minister SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 23 January 2015); Heir Apparent Crown Prince MUHAMMAD BIN NAYIF bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (born 30 August 1959); Heir to the Crown Prince MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (born 31 August 1985)"
"text": "King and Prime Minister SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 23 January 2015); Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister MUHAMMAD BIN NAYIF bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (born 30 August 1959); Crown Prince and Second Deputy Prime Minister MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (born 31 August 1985)"
},
"cabinet": {
"text": "Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch every 4 years and includes many royal family members"
},
"elections/appointments": {
"text": "none; the monarchy is hereditary; note - an Allegiance Commission created by royal decree in October 2006 established a committee of Saudi princes that will play a role in selecting future Saudi kings"
"text": "none; the monarchy is hereditary; note - an Allegiance Council created by royal decree in October 2006 established a committee of Saudi princes to a role in selecting future Saudi kings"
}
},
"Legislative branch": {
@ -419,16 +413,13 @@
},
"Judicial branch": {
"highest court(s)": {
"text": "High Court (consists of the court chief and organized into circuits with 3-judge panels except the criminal circuit which has a 5-judge panel for cases involving major punishments)"
"text": "High Court (consists of the court chief and organized into circuits with 3-judge panels except the criminal circuit, which has a 5-judge panel for cases involving major punishments)"
},
"judge selection and term of office": {
"text": "the High Court chief and chiefs of the High Court Circuits appointed by royal decree following the recommendation of the Supreme Judiciary Council, a 10-member body of high level judges and other judicial heads; new judges and assistant judges serve 1- and 2- year probations, respectively, before permanent assignment"
"text": "High Court chief and chiefs of the High Court Circuits appointed by royal decree following the recommendation of the Supreme Judiciary Council, a 10-member body of high-level judges and other judicial heads; new judges and assistant judges serve 1- and 2- year probations, respectively, before permanent assignment"
},
"subordinate courts": {
"text": "Court of Appeals; first-degree courts composed of general, criminal, personal status, and commercial courts, and the Labor Court; hierarchy of administrative courts"
},
"note": {
"text": "in 2005, King Abdullah issued decrees approving an overhaul of the judicial system and which were incorporated in the Judiciary Law of 2007; changes include the establishment of a High Court and special commercial, labor, and administrative courts"
"text": "Court of Appeals; Specialized Criminal Court, first-degree courts composed of general, criminal, personal status, and commercial courts; Labor Court; a hierarchy of administrative courts"
}
},
"Political parties and leaders": {
@ -444,7 +435,7 @@
},
"Diplomatic representation in the US": {
"chief of mission": {
"text": "Ambassador (vacant)"
"text": "Ambassador ABDALLAH bin Faysal bin Turki bin Abdallah Al Saud (since 28 January 2016)"
},
"chancery": {
"text": "601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037"
@ -470,10 +461,10 @@
"text": "American Embassy, Unit 61307, APO AE 09803-1307; International Mail: P. O. Box 94309, Riyadh 11693"
},
"telephone": {
"text": "[966] (1) 488-3800"
"text": "[966] (11) 488-3800"
},
"FAX": {
"text": "[966] (1) 488-7360"
"text": "[966] (11) 488-7360"
},
"consulate(s) general": {
"text": "Dhahran, Jiddah (Jeddah)"
@ -502,58 +493,58 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. It possesses about 16% of the world's proven petroleum reserves, ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 80% of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. Saudi Arabia is encouraging the growth of the private sector in order to diversify its economy and to employ more Saudi nationals. Diversification efforts are focusing on power generation, telecommunications, natural gas exploration, and petrochemical sectors. Over 6 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, particularly in the oil and service sectors, while Riyadh is struggling to reduce unemployment among its own nationals. Saudi officials are particularly focused on employing its large youth population, which generally lacks the education and technical skills the private sector needs. In 2014 the Kingdom ran its first budget deficit since 2009, and faces budget deficits for the foreseeable future because it requires an oil price greater than $100 per barrel to balance its budget. Although the Kingdom can finance high deficits for several years by drawing down its considerable foreign assets or borrowing, it probably will begin to reduce capital spending if oil prices stay low through the next year. "
"text": "Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. It possesses about 16% of the world's proven petroleum reserves, ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 87% of budget revenues, 42% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. ++ ++ Saudi Arabia is encouraging the growth of the private sector in order to diversify its economy and to employ more Saudi nationals. Over 6 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, particularly in the oil and service sectors; at the same time, however, Riyadh is struggling to reduce unemployment among its own nationals. Saudi officials are particularly focused on employing its large youth population, which generally lacks the education and technical skills the private sector needs. ++ ++ In 2015, the Kingdom incurred a budget deficit estimated at 13% of GDP, and it faces a deficit of $87 billion in 2016, which will be financed by bond sales and drawing down reserves. Although the Kingdom can finance high deficits for several years by drawing down its considerable foreign assets or by borrowing, it has announced plans to cut capital spending in 2016. Some of these plans to cut deficits include introducing a value-added tax and reducing subsidies on electricity, water, and petroleum products. In January 2016, Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN announced that Saudi Arabia intends to list shares of its state-owned petroleum company, ARAMCO - another move to increase revenue and outside investment. The government has also looked at privatization and diversification of the economy more closely in the wake of a diminished oil market. Historically, Saudi Arabia has focused diversification efforts on power generation, telecommunications, natural gas exploration, and petrochemical sectors. More recently, the government has approached investors about expanding the role of the private sector in the healthcare, education and tourism industries. While Saudi Arabia has emphasized their goals of diversification for some time, current low oil prices may force the government to make more drastic changes ahead of their long-run timeline."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$1.61 trillion (2014 est.) ++ $1.556 trillion (2013 est.) ++ $1.515 trillion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$1.689 trillion (2015 est.) ++ $1.632 trillion (2014 est.) ++ $1.574 trillion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$746.2 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$646 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "3.5% (2014 est.) ++ 2.7% (2013 est.) ++ 5.4% (2012 est.)"
"text": "3.5% (2015 est.) ++ 3.6% (2014 est.) ++ 2.7% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$52,300 (2014 est.) ++ $50,600 (2013 est.) ++ $49,200 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$53,800 (2015 est.) ++ $53,000 (2014 est.) ++ $52,500 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "38.1% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 44.4% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 48.8% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "26.4% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 38.3% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 44.4% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "32.5%"
"text": "40.8%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "26.4%"
"text": "29.6%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "24.3%"
"text": "28.8%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "3.5%"
"text": "5.9%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "47.5%"
"text": "33.8%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-34.2% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-38.8% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "1.9%"
"text": "2.3%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "57%"
"text": "46%"
},
"services": {
"text": "41.1% (2014 est.)"
"text": "51.8% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -563,12 +554,12 @@
"text": "crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals, ammonia, industrial gases, sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), cement, fertilizer, plastics, metals, commercial ship repair, commercial aircraft repair, construction"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "2.7% (2014 est.)"
"text": "4% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "11.22 million",
"text": "11.67 million",
"note": {
"text": "about 80% of the labor force is non-national (2014 est.)"
"text": "about 80% of the labor force is non-national (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Labor force - by occupation": {
@ -583,7 +574,7 @@
}
},
"Unemployment rate": {
"text": "11.6% (2014 est.) ++ 11.5% (2013 est.)",
"text": "11.4% (2015 est.) ++ 11.6% (2014 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are for Saudi males only (local bank estimates; some estimates are as high as 25%)"
}
@ -599,85 +590,102 @@
"text": "NA%"
}
},
"Distribution of family income - Gini index": {
"text": "45.9 (2013 est.)"
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$278.9 billion"
"text": "$164.2 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$293.3 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$260.8 billion (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "37.4% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "25.1% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "-1.9% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-14.8% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "1.6% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 2.7% of GDP (2013 est.)"
"text": "15% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 9.2% of GDP (2014 est.)"
},
"Fiscal year": {
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "2.7% (2014 est.) ++ 3.5% (2013 est.)"
"text": "2.2% (2015 est.) ++ 2.7% (2014 est.)"
},
"Central bank discount rate": {
"text": "2.5% (31 December 2008) ++ "
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "6.8% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 6.7% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "6.9% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 6.7% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$304.8 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $266.8 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$305.5 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $304.8 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$461.2 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $412 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$513.3 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $461.2 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$-38.16 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $-58.7 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$134.1 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $13.35 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$373.4 billion (31 December 2012 est.) ++ $338.9 billion (31 December 2011) ++ $353.4 billion (31 December 2010 est.)"
"text": "$421.1 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $483.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $467.4 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "$76.92 billion (2014 est.) ++ $135.4 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "-$53.48 billion (2015 est.) ++ $73.76 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$342.3 billion (2014 est.) ++ $375.9 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$202.3 billion (2015 est.) ++ $342.5 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "petroleum and petroleum products 90% (2012 est.)"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "China 13.3%, Japan 13%, US 12.9%, South Korea 10%, India 8.9%, Singapore 4% (2014)"
"text": "China 13.2%, Japan 10.9%, US 9.6%, India 9.6%, South Korea 8.5% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$158.5 billion (2014 est.) ++ $153.3 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$155 billion (2015 est.) ++ $158.5 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, motor vehicles, textiles"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "China 13.3%, US 12.1%, India 8.3%, Germany 6.5%, South Korea 5.4%, Japan 4.9% (2014)"
"text": "China 13.9%, US 12.7%, Germany 7.1%, South Korea 6.1%, India 4.5%, Japan 4.4%, UK 4.3% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$732.4 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $725.7 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$616.4 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $732.4 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$166.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $155.7 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$169.8 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $166.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
"text": "$242.6 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $234.5 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$250.7 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $242.6 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad": {
"text": "$32.46 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $27.06 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$37.98 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $32.46 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "Saudi riyals (SAR) per US dollar - ++ 3.75 (2014 est.) ++ 3.75 (2013 est.) ++ 3.75 (2012 est.) ++ 3.75 (2011 est.) ++ 3.75 (2010 est.)"
"text": "Saudi riyals (SAR) per US dollar - ++ 3.75 (2015 est.) ++ 3.75 (2014 est.) ++ 3.75 (2013 est.) ++ 3.75 (2012 est.) ++ 3.75 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"population without electricity": {
"text": "200,000"
},
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "98%"
},
"electrification - urban areas": {
"text": "99%"
},
"electrification - rural areas": {
"text": "93% (2013)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "255.4 billion kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -751,18 +759,18 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "3.92 million"
"text": "3,746,906"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "14 (2014 est.)"
"text": "14 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "52.7 million"
"text": "52.796 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "193 (2014 est.)"
"text": "190 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -773,31 +781,42 @@
"text": "mobile-cellular subscribership has been increasing rapidly"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 966; landing point for the international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) and for both the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable networks providing connectivity to Asia, Middle East, Europe, and US; microwave radio relay to Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Yemen, and Sudan; coaxial cable to Kuwait and Jordan; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region) (2011)"
"text": "country code - 966; landing point for the international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) and for both the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable networks providing connectivity to Asia, Middle East, Europe, and US; microwave radio relay to Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Yemen, and Sudan; coaxial cable to Kuwait and Jordan; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region) (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "broadcast media are state-controlled; state-run TV operates 4 networks; Saudi Arabia is a major market for pan-Arab satellite TV broadcasters; state-run radio operates several networks; multiple international broadcasters are available (2007)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 43, FM 31, shortwave 2 (1998)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "117 (1997)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".sa"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "16.2 million"
"text": "19.32 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "59.2% (2014 est.)"
"text": "69.6% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "12"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "214"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "32,778,827"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "1,783.086 million mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "HZ (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "214 (2013)"
},
@ -835,7 +854,7 @@
"text": "37"
},
"under 914 m": {
"text": " ++ 16 (2013)"
"text": "16 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports": {
@ -886,39 +905,15 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Ministry of Defense: Royal Saudi Land Forces, Royal Saudi Naval Forces (includes Marine Forces and Special Forces), Royal Saudi Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Malakiya as-Sa'udiya), Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces, Royal Saudi Strategic Rocket Forces, Ministry of the National Guard (SANG) (2015)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "17 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2012)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "8,644,522"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "6,601,985 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "7,365,624"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "5,677,819 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "261,105"
},
"female": {
"text": "244,763 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Military expenditures": {
"text": "7.98% of GDP (2012) ++ 7.25% of GDP (2011) ++ 7.98% of GDP (2010)"
"text": "12.6% of GDP (2015 planned) ++ 10.7% of GDP (2014 planned) ++ 9.4% of GDP (2013) ++ 7.98% of GDP (2012) ++ 7.25% of GDP (2011) ++ 7.98% of GDP (2010)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues": {
@ -927,18 +922,18 @@
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"refugees (country of origin)": {
"text": "30,000 (Yemen) (2015)"
"text": "30,000 (Yemen) (2016)"
},
"stateless persons": {
"text": "70,000 (2014); note - thousands of biduns (stateless Arabs) are descendants of nomadic tribes who were not officially registered when national borders were established, while others migrated to Saudi Arabia in search of jobs; some have temporary identification cards that must be renewed every five years, but their rights remain restricted; most Palestinians have only legal resident status; some naturalized Yemenis were made stateless after being stripped of their passports when Yemen backed Iraq in its invasion of Kuwait in 1990; Saudi women cannot pass their citizenship on to their children, so if they marry a non-national, their children risk statelessness"
"text": "70,000 (2015); note - thousands of biduns (stateless Arabs) are descendants of nomadic tribes who were not officially registered when national borders were established, while others migrated to Saudi Arabia in search of jobs; some have temporary identification cards that must be renewed every five years, but their rights remain restricted; most Palestinians have only legal resident status; some naturalized Yemenis were made stateless after being stripped of their passports when Yemen backed Iraq in its invasion of Kuwait in 1990; Saudi women cannot pass their citizenship on to their children, so if they marry a non-national, their children risk statelessness"
}
},
"Trafficking in persons": {
"current situation": {
"text": "Saudi Arabia is a destination country for men and women subjected to forced labor and, to a lesser extent, forced prostitution; many men and women from Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa who voluntarily travel to Saudi Arabia as domestic servants or low-skilled laborers subsequently face conditions of involuntary servitude, including nonpayment, withholding of passports, restriction of movement, food deprivation, and abuse; some migrant workers are forced to work indefinitely beyond the term of their contract because their employers will not grant them a required exit visa; foreign domestic workers are particularly vulnerable because of their isolation in private homes; women, primarily from Asian and African countries, are believed to be forced into prostitution in Saudi Arabia, while other foreign women were reportedly kidnapped and forced into prostitution after running away from abusive employers; Yemeni, Nigerian, Pakistani, Afghan, Chadian, and Sudanese children were subjected to forced labor as beggars and street vendors in Saudi Arabia, facilitated by criminal gangs"
"text": "Saudi Arabia is a destination country for men and women subjected to forced labor and, to a lesser extent, forced prostitution; men and women from South and East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa who voluntarily travel to Saudi Arabia as domestic servants or low-skilled laborers subsequently face conditions of involuntary servitude, including nonpayment and withholding of passports; some migrant workers are forced to work indefinitely beyond the term of their contract because their employers will not grant them a required exit visa; female domestic workers are particularly vulnerable because of their isolation in private homes; women, primarily from Asian and African countries, are believed to be forced into prostitution in Saudi Arabia, while other foreign women were reportedly kidnapped and forced into prostitution after running away from abusive employers; children from South Asia, East Africa, and Yemen are subjected to forced labor as beggars and street vendors in Saudi Arabia, facilitated by criminal gangs"
},
"tier rating": {
"text": "Tier 3 - Saudi Arabia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; in 2013, the government did not report prosecuting or convicting any trafficking offenders and identified and referred fewer victims to protection services than in the previous reporting period; the sponsorship system, including the exit visa requirement, continues to restrict the freedom of movement of migrant workers and to hamper the ability of victims to pursue legal cases against their employers; the withholding of workers’ passports remains widespread because legislation prohibiting the practice was not enforced; officials continue to arrest, detain, deport, and sometimes prosecute trafficking victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked (2014)"
"text": "Tier 2 Watch List - Saudi Arabia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; government officials and high-level religious leaders demonstrated greater political will to combat trafficking and publically acknowledged the problem – specifically forced labor; the government reported increased numbers of prosecutions and convictions of trafficking offenders; however, it did not proactively investigate and prosecute employers for potential labor trafficking crimes following their withholding of workers’ wages and passports, which are illegal; authorities did not systematically use formal criteria to proactively identify victims, resulting in some unidentified victims being arrested, detained, deported, and sometimes prosecuted; more victims were identified and referred to protective services in 2014 than the previous year, but victims of sex trafficking and male trafficking victims were not provided with shelter and remained vulnerable to punishment (2015)"
}
},
"Illicit drugs": {

324
middle-east/sy.json
View file

@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "Following World War I, France acquired a mandate over the northern portion of the former Ottoman Empire province of Syria. The French administered the area as Syria until granting it independence in 1946. The new country lacked political stability and experienced a series of military coups. Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In September 1961, the two entities separated, and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights region to Israel. During the 1990s, Syria and Israel held occasional peace talks over its return. In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a member of the socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawi sect, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. Following the death of President al-ASAD, his son, Bashar al-ASAD, was approved as president by popular referendum in July 2000. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005. During the July-August 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah, Syria placed its military forces on alert but did not intervene directly on behalf of its ally Hizballah. In May 2007, Bashar al-ASAD's second term as president was approved by popular referendum. ++ Influenced by major uprisings that began elsewhere in the region, antigovernment protests broke out in the southern province of Dar'a in March 2011 with protesters calling for the repeal of the restrictive Emergency Law allowing arrests without charge, the legalization of political parties, and the removal of corrupt local officials. Since then, demonstrations and violent unrest spread to nearly every city in Syria with the size and intensity of protests fluctuating. The government responded to unrest with a mix of concessions - including the repeal of the Emergency Law, new laws permitting new political parties, and liberalizing local and national elections - and military force. However, the government's response has failed to meet opposition demands for ASAD's resignation, and the government's ongoing violence to quell unrest and widespread armed opposition activity has led to extended clashes between government forces and oppositionists. International pressure on the ASAD regime has intensified since late 2011, as the Arab League, EU, Turkey, and the US expanded economic sanctions against the regime. In December 2012, the Syrian National Coalition, was recognized by more than 130 countries as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Peace talks between the Coalition and Syrian regime at the UN-sponsored Geneva II conference in 2014 failed to produce a resolution of the conflict. Unrest continues in Syria, and according to a January 2015 UN estimate, the death toll among Syrian Government forces, opposition forces, and civilians had reached 220,000. So far, the conflict has displaced 11.6 million people, including 7.6 million people internally, making the situation in Syria the largest humanitarian crisis worldwide."
"text": "Following World War I, France acquired a mandate over the northern portion of the former Ottoman Empire province of Syria. The French administered the area as Syria until granting it independence in 1946. The new country lacked political stability and experienced a series of military coups. Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In September 1961, the two entities separated, and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights region to Israel. During the 1990s, Syria and Israel held occasional, albeit unsuccessful, peace talks over its return. In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a member of the socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawi sect, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. Following the death of President Hafiz al-ASAD, his son, Bashar al-ASAD, was approved as president by popular referendum in July 2000. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005. During the July-August 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah, Syria placed its military forces on alert but did not intervene directly on behalf of its ally Hizballah. In May 2007, Bashar al-ASAD's second term as president was approved by popular referendum. ++ Influenced by major uprisings that began elsewhere in the region, and compounded by additional social and economic factors, antigovernment protests broke out first in the southern province of Dar'a in March 2011 with protesters calling for the repeal of the restrictive Emergency Law allowing arrests without charge, the legalization of political parties, and the removal of corrupt local officials. Demonstrations and violent unrest spread across Syria with the size and intensity of protests fluctuating. The government responded to unrest with a mix of concessions - including the repeal of the Emergency Law, new laws permitting new political parties, and liberalizing local and national elections - and military force. However, the government's response has failed to meet opposition demands for ASAD's resignation, and the government's ongoing violence to quell unrest and widespread armed opposition activity has led to extended clashes between government forces and oppositionists. International pressure on the ASAD regime has intensified since late 2011, as the Arab League, EU, Turkey, and the US expanded economic sanctions against the regime. In December 2012, the Syrian National Coalition, was recognized by more than 130 countries as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Peace talks between the Coalition and Syrian regime at the UN-sponsored Geneva II conference in 2014 failed to produce a resolution of the conflict. Unrest continues in Syria, and according to an April 2016 UN estimate, the death toll among Syrian Government forces, opposition forces, and civilians had reached 400,000. As of January 2016, approximately 13.5 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria, with 6.5 million people displaced internally, and an additional 4.8 million Syrian refugees, making the Syrian situation the largest humanitarian crisis worldwide."
}
},
"Geography": {
@ -29,10 +29,7 @@
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Pennsylvania",
"Area comparison map": {
"text": null
}
"text": "slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Pennsylvania"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
@ -59,12 +56,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "514 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Mount Hermon 2,814 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m ++ highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -82,18 +79,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "13,410 sq km (2010)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "16.8 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "16.76 cu km/yr (9%/4%/88%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "867.4 cu m/yr (2005)"
}
"text": "14,280 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "dust storms, sandstorms",
@ -117,6 +103,12 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "17,185,170 (July 2016 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "approximately 20,500 Israeli settlers live in the Golan Heights (2014)"
}
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Syrian(s)"
@ -129,38 +121,26 @@
"text": "Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%"
},
"Languages": {
"text": "Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian (widely understood); French, English (somewhat understood)"
"text": "Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian, French, English"
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Muslim 87% (official; includes Sunni 74% and Alawi, Ismaili, and Shia 13%), Christian (includes Orthodox, Uniate, and Nestorian) 10% (includes Orthodox, Uniate, and Nestorian), Druze 3%, Jewish (few remaining in Damascus and Aleppo)",
"religious affiliation": {
"text": null
}
},
"Population": {
"text": "17,064,854 (July 2014 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "approximately 18,900 Israeli settlers live in the Golan Heights (2012) (July 2015 est.)"
}
"text": "Muslim 87% (official; includes Sunni 74% and Alawi, Ismaili, and Shia 13%), Christian 10% (includes Orthodox, Uniate, and Nestorian), Druze 3%, Jewish (few remaining in Damascus and Aleppo)"
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "32.49% (male 2,841,760/female 2,701,998)"
"text": "31.95% (male 2,815,140/female 2,675,166)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "19.85% (male 1,713,286/female 1,673,560)"
"text": "19.65% (male 1,711,847/female 1,664,814)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "38.57% (male 3,283,267/female 3,298,387)"
"text": "39.03% (male 3,342,264/female 3,364,406)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "5.07% (male 427,655/female 438,105)"
"text": "5.26% (male 447,205/female 457,525)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "4.02% (male 309,947/female 376,889) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "4.11% (male 318,691/female 388,112) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -179,26 +159,26 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "23.8 years"
"text": "24.1 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "23.3 years"
"text": "23.7 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "24.1 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "24.6 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "-0.16% (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.56% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "22.17 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "21.7 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "4 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "4 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "-19.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "-2.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -209,7 +189,7 @@
}
},
"Major urban areas - population": {
"text": "Aleppo 3.562 million; DAMASCUS (capital) 2.566 million; Hims 1.641 million; Hamah 1.237 million; Lattakia 781,000 (2015)"
"text": "Aleppo 3.562 million; DAMASCUS (capital) 2.566 million; Hims (Homs) 1.641 million; Hamah 1.237 million; Lattakia 781,000 (2015)"
},
"Sex ratio": {
"at birth": {
@ -219,10 +199,10 @@
"text": "1.05 male(s)/female"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "1.02 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.03 male(s)/female"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "1 male(s)/female"
"text": "0.99 male(s)/female"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "0.98 male(s)/female"
@ -231,7 +211,7 @@
"text": "0.82 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "1.01 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.01 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
@ -239,34 +219,34 @@
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "15.61 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "15.2 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "17.95 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "17.5 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "13.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "12.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "74.69 years"
"text": "74.9 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "72.31 years"
"text": "72.5 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "77.21 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "77.4 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "2.6 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.55 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
"text": "53.9% (2009/10)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "3.3% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "3.3% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "1.46 physicians/1,000 population (2010)"
@ -306,7 +286,7 @@
"text": "10.1% (2009)"
},
"Education expenditures": {
"text": "4.9% of GDP (2007)"
"text": "5.1% of GDP (2009)"
},
"Literacy": {
"definition": {
@ -324,13 +304,13 @@
},
"School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": {
"total": {
"text": "12 years"
"text": "9 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "12 years"
"text": "9 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "12 years (2012)"
"text": "9 years (2013)"
}
},
"Child labor - children ages 5-14": {
@ -343,13 +323,13 @@
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
"total": {
"text": "19.2%"
"text": "35.8%"
},
"male": {
"text": "15.3%"
"text": "26.6%"
},
"female": {
"text": "40.2% (2010 est.)"
"text": "71.1% (2011 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -369,10 +349,13 @@
},
"former": {
"text": "United Arab Republic (with Egypt)"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "name ultimately derived from the ancient Assyrians who dominated northern Mesopotamia, but whose reach also extended westward to the Levant; over time, the name came to be associated more with the western area"
}
},
"Government type": {
"text": "republic under an authoritarian regime"
"text": "presidential republic; highly authoritarian regime"
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
@ -398,7 +381,7 @@
"text": "Independence Day, 17 April (1946)"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "several previous; latest issued 15 February 2012, passed by referendum 26 February 2012 (2015)"
"text": "several previous; latest issued 15 February 2012, passed by referendum 26 February 2012 (2016)"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "mixed legal system of civil and Islamic law (for family courts)"
@ -407,14 +390,17 @@
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship": {
"birthright citizenship": {
"text": ""
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "the father must be a citizen of Syria; if the father is unknown or stateless, the mother must be a citizen of Syria"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "yes"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization": {
"text": ""
"text": "10 years"
}
},
"Suffrage": {
@ -422,10 +408,10 @@
},
"Executive branch": {
"chief of state": {
"text": "President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice President Farouk al-SHARA (since 21 February 2006); Vice President Najah al-ATTAR (since 23 March 2006)"
"text": "President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice President Najah al-ATTAR (since 23 March 2006)"
},
"head of government": {
"text": "Prime Minister Wael al-HALQI (since 9 August 2012); Deputy Prime Ministers Fahd Jasim al-FURAYJ, Lt. Gen. Walid al-MUALEM"
"text": "Prime Minister Imad Muhammad Dib KHAMIS (since 22 June 2016); Walid al-MUALEM (since 2006); Deputy Prime Minister Fahd Jasim al-FURAYJ, Lt. Gen. (since 2012)"
},
"cabinet": {
"text": "Council of Ministers appointed by the president"
@ -442,15 +428,15 @@
"text": "unicameral People's Assembly or Majlis al-Shaab (250 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)"
},
"elections": {
"text": "last held on 7 May 2012 (next to be held in 2016)"
"text": "last held on 13 April 2016 (next to be held in 2020)"
},
"election results": {
"text": "percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA"
"text": "percent of vote by party - NPF 80%, other 20%; seats by party - NPF 200, other 50"
}
},
"Judicial branch": {
"highest court(s)": {
"text": "Court of Cassation (organized into civil, criminal, religious, and military divisions, each with 3 judges); Supreme Constitutional Court (consists of 4 members)"
"text": "Court of Cassation (organized into civil, criminal, religious, and military divisions, each with 3 judges); Supreme Constitutional Court (consists of 7 members)"
},
"judge selection and term of office": {
"text": "Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council or SJC, a judicial management body headed by the minister of justice with 7 members including the national president; judge tenure NA; Supreme Constitutional Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the SJC; judges appointed for 4-year renewable terms"
@ -471,9 +457,9 @@
}
},
"Political pressure groups and leaders": {
"text": "Free Syrian Army ++ Syrian Muslim Brotherhood or SMB [Muhammad Riyad al-SHAQFAH] (operates in exile in London) ++ Syrian Opposition Coalition or National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces [al-Asi- al-JARBAL]",
"text": "Free Syrian Army ++ Syrian Muslim Brotherhood or SMB [Muhammad Riyad al-SHAQFAH] (operates in exile in London) ++ Syrian Opposition Coalition or National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces [Anas al-ABDAH]",
"note": {
"text": "there are also hundreds of local groups that organize protests and stage armed attacks"
"text": "there are also hundreds of local and provincial political and armed opposition groups that organize protests, provide civilian services, and stage armed attacks"
}
},
"International organization participation": {
@ -481,10 +467,10 @@
},
"Diplomatic representation in the US": {
"note": {
"text": "Embassy ceased operation on 18 March 2014"
"text": "Embassy ceased operation and closed on 18 March 2014"
},
"chief of mission": {
"text": "Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Mounir KOUDMANI"
"text": "Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Mounir KOUDMANI (since 1 June 2012)"
},
"chancery": {
"text": "2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008"
@ -498,7 +484,7 @@
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US": {
"chief of mission": {
"text": "ambassador (vacant); Special Envoy to Syria Daniel RUBINSTEIN (since March 2014); note - on 6 February 2012, the US closed its embassy in Damascus"
"text": "ambassador (vacant); Special Envoy for Syria Michael RATNEY (since 27 July 2015); note - on 6 February 2012, the US closed its embassy in Damascus"
},
"embassy": {
"text": "Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansour Street, No. 2, Damascus"
@ -536,19 +522,19 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Syria's economy continues to deteriorate amid the ongoing conflict that began in 2011. The economy further contracted in 2014 because of international sanctions, widespread infrastructure damage, diminished domestic consumption and production, reduced subsidies, and high inflation. The government has struggled to address the effects of economic decline, which include dwindling foreign exchange reserves, rising budget and trade deficits, and the decreasing value of the Syrian pound and household purchasing power. During 2014, the ongoing conflict and continued unrest and economic decline worsened the humanitarian crisis and elicited a greater need for international assistance, as the number of people in need inside Syria increased from 9.3 million to 12.2 million, and the number of Syrian refugees increased from 2.2 million to more than 3.3 million. Prior to the turmoil, Damascus began liberalizing economic policies, including cutting lending interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating multiple exchange rates, raising prices on some subsidized items, and establishing the Damascus Stock Exchange, but the economy remains highly regulated. Long-run economic constraints include foreign trade barriers, declining oil production, high unemployment, rising budget deficits, increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture, rapid population growth, industrial expansion, water pollution, and widespread infrastructure damage."
"text": "Syria's economy continues to deteriorate amid the ongoing conflict that began in 2011, declining by 62% from 2010 to 2014. The government has struggled to address the effects of international sanctions, widespread infrastructure damage, diminished domestic consumption and production, reduced subsidies, and high inflation, which have caused dwindling foreign exchange reserves, rising budget and trade deficits, a decreasing value of the Syrian pound, and falling household purchasing power. ++ ++ During 2014, the ongoing conflict and continued unrest and economic decline worsened the humanitarian crisis and elicited a greater need for international assistance, as the number of people in need inside Syria increased from 9.3 million to 12.2 million, and the number of Syrian refugees increased from 2.2 million to more than 3.3 million. ++ ++ Prior to the turmoil, Damascus had begun liberalizing economic policies, including cutting lending interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating multiple exchange rates, raising prices on some subsidized items, and establishing the Damascus Stock Exchange, but the economy remains highly regulated. Long-run economic constraints include foreign trade barriers, declining oil production, high unemployment, rising budget deficits, increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture, rapid population growth, industrial expansion, water pollution, and widespread infrastructure damage."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$107.6 billion (2011 est.) ++ $110.1 billion (2010 est.) ++ $97.03 billion (2009 est.)",
"text": "$55.8 billion (2014 est.) ++ $61.9 billion (2013 est.) ++ $97.5 billion (2012 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2011 US dollars ++ the war driven deterioration of the economy resulted in a disappearance of quality national level statistics in 2012-13"
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars ++ the war-driven deterioration of the economy resulted in a disappearance of quality national level statistics in the 2012-13 period"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$64.7 billion (2011 est.)"
"text": "$24.6 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "NA% (2012 est.) ++ -2.3% (2011 est.) ++ 3.4% (2010 est.)"
"text": "-9.9% (2015 est.) ++ -36.5% (2014 est.) ++ -30.9% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$5,100 (2011 est.) ++ $5,100 (2010 est.) ++ $5,200 (2010 est.)",
@ -557,37 +543,37 @@
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "18.3% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 14.8% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 10.8% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "20% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 18.5% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 14.9% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "65.2%"
"text": "63.4%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "21.4%"
"text": "22.5%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "18.5%"
"text": "19.2%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "10.3%"
"text": "10.9%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "11.3%"
"text": "9.1%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-26.7% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-25.1% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "18.1%"
"text": "19.5%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "19%"
"text": "18.9%"
},
"services": {
"text": "62.9% (2014 est.)"
"text": "61.6% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -597,10 +583,10 @@
"text": "petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing, automobile assembly"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "-0.5% (2014 est.)"
"text": "-4.8% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "3.922 million (2014 est.)"
"text": "3.577 million (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force - by occupation": {
"agriculture": {
@ -614,10 +600,10 @@
}
},
"Unemployment rate": {
"text": "40% (2014 est.) ++ 35% (2013 est.)"
"text": "50% (2015 est.) ++ 57.7% (2014 est.)"
},
"Population below poverty line": {
"text": "11.9% (2006 est.)"
"text": "82.5% (2014 est.)"
},
"Household income or consumption by percentage share": {
"lowest 10%": {
@ -629,77 +615,94 @@
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$839.6 million"
"text": "$3.9 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$5.472 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$5.7 billion"
},
"note": {
"text": "government projections for FY2016"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "1.3% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "15.9% of GDP (2016 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "-7.2% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-7.3% of GDP (2016 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "51.1% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 47.7% of GDP (2013 est.)"
"text": "52% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 48.8% of GDP (2014 est.)"
},
"Fiscal year": {
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "29.2% (2014 est.) ++ 89.6% (2013 est.)"
"text": "38.1% (2015 est.) ++ 29.2% (2014 est.)"
},
"Central bank discount rate": {
"text": "0.75% (31 December 2014) ++ 5% (31 December 2013)"
"text": "0.75% (31 December 2015) ++ 5% (31 December 2014)"
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "17% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 16% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "27% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 18.5% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$5.536 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $6.884 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$5.254 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $6.718 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$11.05 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $12.71 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$6.119 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $8.25 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$5.285 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $8.6 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$NA"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "-$3.667 billion (2014 est.) ++ -$5.461 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "-$3.148 billion (2015 est.) ++ -$3.667 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$3.015 billion (2014 est.) ++ $2.889 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$2.14 billion (2015 est.) ++ $3.015 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "crude oil, minerals, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, textiles, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "Iraq 63.8%, Saudi Arabia 11.1%, Kuwait 7%, UAE 6%, Libya 4.5% (2014)"
"text": "Iraq 64.7%, Saudi Arabia 11.2%, Kuwait 7.1%, UAE 6.1%, Libya 4.6% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$8.028 billion (2014 est.) ++ $9.04 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$6.663 billion (2015 est.) ++ $8.028 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "Saudi Arabia 24.5%, UAE 12%, Turkey 10%, Iran 8.9%, Iraq 7.3%, China 5.5% (2014)"
"text": "Saudi Arabia 28%, UAE 13.7%, Iran 10.1%, Turkey 9%, Iraq 8.3%, China 6.1% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$1.428 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $1.895 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$772.9 million (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $1.428 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$5.812 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $4.753 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$5.3 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $4.597 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "Syrian pounds (SYP) per US dollar - ++ 153.695 (2014 est.) ++ 153.695 (2013 est.) ++ 64.39 (2012 est.) ++ 48.371 (2011 est.) ++ 11.225 (2010 est.)"
"text": "Syrian pounds (SYP) per US dollar - ++ 236.41 (2015 est.) ++ 153.695 (2014 est.) ++ 153.695 (2013 est.) ++ 64.39 (2012 est.) ++ 48.371 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"population without electricity": {
"text": "1,600,000"
},
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "96%"
},
"electrification - urban areas": {
"text": "100%"
},
"electrification - rural areas": {
"text": "81% (2013)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "29.48 billion kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -773,53 +776,64 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "3.99 million"
"text": "4.082 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "22 (2014 est.)"
"text": "24 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "15.6 million"
"text": "13.904 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "87 (2014 est.)"
"text": "81 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
"general assessment": {
"text": "fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology and expansion of the network to rural areas; the armed insurgency that began in 2011 has led to major disruptions to the network and has caused telephone and Internet outages throughout the country"
"text": "the armed insurgency that began in 2011 has led to major disruptions to the network and has caused telephone and Internet outages throughout the country"
},
"domestic": {
"text": "the number of fixed-line connections has increased markedly since 2000; mobile-cellular service growing with telephone subscribership nearly 60 per 100 persons in 2011"
"text": "the number of fixed-line connections increased markedly prior to the civil war in 2011; mobile-cellular service stands at about 80 per 100 persons"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 963; submarine cable connection to Egypt, Lebanon, and Cyprus; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel (2011)"
"text": "country code - 963; submarine cable connection to Egypt, Lebanon, and Cyprus; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "state-run TV and radio broadcast networks; state operates 2 TV networks and a satellite channel; roughly two-thirds of Syrian homes have a satellite dish providing access to foreign TV broadcasts; 3 state-run radio channels; first private radio station launched in 2005; private radio broadcasters prohibited from transmitting news or political content (2007)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 14, FM 15, shortwave 26 (2010)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".sy"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "4.8 million"
"text": "5.116 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "26.7% (2014 est.)"
"text": "30% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "2"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "11"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "475,932"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "1,517,388 mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "YK (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "90 (2013)"
},
@ -851,7 +865,7 @@
"text": "12"
},
"under 914 m": {
"text": " ++ 48 (2013)"
"text": "48 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports": {
@ -902,62 +916,38 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Syrian Armed Forces: Land Forces, Naval Forces, Air Forces (includes Air Defense Forces) (2013)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation is 18 months; women are not conscripted but may volunteer to serve; re-enlistment obligation 5 years, with retirement after 15 years or age 40 (enlisted) or 20 years or age 45 (NCOs) (2012)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "5,889,837"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "5,660,751 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "5,055,510"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "4,884,151 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "256,698"
},
"female": {
"text": "244,712 (2010 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transnational Issues": {
"Disputes - international": {
"text": "Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force patrolling a buffer zone since 1964; lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'a Farms in the Golan Heights; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation settles border dispute with Jordan"
"text": "Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force patrolling a buffer zone since 1964; lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'a Farms in the Golan Heights; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation would settle border dispute with Jordan"
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"refugees (country of origin)": {
"text": "526,744 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2014); undetermined (Iraq) (2015)"
"text": "528,616 (Palestinian Refugees); undetermined (Iraq) (2015)"
},
"note": {
"text": "the ongoing civil war has created nearly 4.3 million Syrian refugees - dispersed in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey - as of November 2015"
"text": "the ongoing civil war has created about 4.8 million Syrian refugees - dispersed in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey - as of October 2016"
},
"IDPs": {
"text": "7,632,500 (ongoing civil war since 2011) (2015)"
"text": "6,563,462 (ongoing civil war since 2011) (2015)"
},
"stateless persons": {
"text": "160,000 (2014); note - Syria's stateless population is composed of Kurds and Palestinians; stateless persons are prevented from voting, owning land, holding certain jobs, receiving food subsidies or public healthcare, enrolling in public schools, or being legally married to Syrian citizens; in 1962, some 120,000 Syrian Kurds were stripped of their Syrian citizenship, rendering them and their descendants stateless; in 2011, the Syrian Government granted citizenship to thousands of Syrian Kurds as a means of appeasement; however, resolving the question of statelessness is not a priority given Syria's ongoing civil war"
"text": "160,000 (2015); note - Syria's stateless population consists of Kurds and Palestinians; stateless persons are prevented from voting, owning land, holding certain jobs, receiving food subsidies or public healthcare, enrolling in public schools, or being legally married to Syrian citizens; in 1962, some 120,000 Syrian Kurds were stripped of their Syrian citizenship, rendering them and their descendants stateless; in 2011, the Syrian Government granted citizenship to thousands of Syrian Kurds as a means of appeasement; however, resolving the question of statelessness is not a priority given Syria's ongoing civil war"
}
},
"Trafficking in persons": {
"current situation": {
"text": "due to Syria’s political uprising and violent unrest, hundreds of thousands of Syrians, foreign migrant workers, and refugees have fled the country and are vulnerable to human trafficking; the lack of security and inaccessibility of the majority of the country makes it impossible to conduct a thorough analysis of the scope and magnitude of Syria’s human trafficking situation; Syria is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking; Syrian refugee women and girls are forced into exploitive marriages or prostitution in neighboring countries, while refugee children are forced into street begging domestically and abroad; the Syrian armed forces and opposition forces are using Syrian children in combat and support roles and as human shields"
"text": "as conditions continue to deteriorate due to Syria’s civil war, human trafficking has increased; Syrians remaining in the country and those that are refugees abroad are vulnerable to trafficking; Syria is a source and destination country for men, women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking; Syrian children continue to be forcibly recruited by government forces, pro-regime militias, armed opposition groups, and terrorist organizations to serve as soldiers, human shields, and executioners; ISIL forces Syrian women and girls and Yazidi women and girls taken from Iraq to marry its fighters, where they experience domestic servitude and sexual violence; Syrian refugee women and girls are forced into exploitive marriages or prostitution in neighboring countries, while displaced children are forced into street begging domestically and abroad"
},
"tier rating": {
"text": "Tier 3 - the government does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; increasing violence undercut any law enforcement efforts in 2013; the government failed to protect and prevent children from recruitment by government forces and armed opposition groups; a new law passed in 2013 criminalizing the recruitment of children under 18 by armed forces was not enforced; authorities did not make efforts to investigate and punish trafficking offenders, including complicit government employees; no trafficking victims were identified or provided with protective services; the government did not attempt to inform the public about human trafficking or to provide anti-trafficking training to officials (2014)"
"text": "Tier 3 - the government does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; in 2014, Syria’s violent conditions enabled human trafficking to flourish; the government made no effort to investigate, prosecute, or convict trafficking offenders or complicit government officials, including those who forcibly recruited child soldiers; authorities did not identify victims and failed to ensure victims, including child soldiers, were protected from arrest, detention, and severe abuse as a result of being trafficked (2015)"
}
},
"Illicit drugs": {

292
middle-east/tu.json
View file

@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title Ataturk or \"Father of the Turks.\" Under his leadership, the country adopted wide-ranging social, legal, and political reforms. After a period of one-party rule, an experiment with multi-party politics led to the 1950 election victory of the opposition Democratic Party and the peaceful transfer of power. Since then, Turkish political parties have multiplied, but democracy has been fractured by periods of instability and intermittent military coups (1960, 1971, 1980), which in each case eventually resulted in a return of political power to civilians. In 1997, the military again helped engineer the ouster - popularly dubbed a \"post-modern coup\" - of the then Islamic-oriented government. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to the \"Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,\" which only Turkey recognizes. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984 by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - now known as the Kurdistan People's Congress or Kongra-Gel (KGK) - dominated the Turkish military's attention and claimed more than 30,000 lives. After the capture of the group's leader in 1999, the insurgents largely withdrew from Turkey mainly to northern Iraq. In 2013, the PKK and the Turkish Government agreed to a cease-fire that continues despite slow progress in ongoing peace talks. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. In 1963, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community; it began accession membership talks with the EU in 2005. Over the past decade, economic reforms have contributed to a quickly growing economy."
"text": "Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title Ataturk or \"Father of the Turks.\" Under his leadership, the country adopted radical social, legal, and political reforms. After a period of one-party rule, an experiment with multi-party politics led to the 1950 election victory of the opposition Democrat Party and the peaceful transfer of power. Since then, Turkish political parties have multiplied, but democracy has been fractured by periods of instability and military coups (1960, 1971, 1980), which in each case eventually resulted in a return of formal political power to civilians. In 1997, the military again helped engineer the ouster - popularly dubbed a \"post-modern coup\" - of the then Islamic-oriented government. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to the \"Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,\" which only Turkey recognizes. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984 by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has long dominated the Turkish military's attention and claimed more than 40,000 lives. After the capture of the group's leader in 1999, the insurgents largely withdrew from Turkey mainly to northern Iraq. In 2013, the PKK and the Turkish Government agreed to a cease-fire, but fighting resumed in 2015. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. In 1963, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community; it began accession membership talks with the EU in 2005. Over the past decade, economic reforms have contributed to a quickly growing economy. ++ ++ Late 2015 and the first half of 2016 witnessed an uptick in terrorist violence in Turkey's two largest cities and elsewhere. Several car bomb and gun attacks in Ankara in October 2015, and two attacks there in February and June 2015 were followed by an attack on Istanbul's Ataturk Airport. On 15 July 2016, elements of the Turkish Armed forces attempted a coup at key government and infrastructure locations in Ankara and Istanbul. An estimated 300 people were killed and over 2,000 injured when Turkish citizens took to the streets en masse to confront the coup forces. Turkish Government authorities subsequently conducted mass arrests of military personnel, detained several thousand judges and journalists, and suspended thousands of educators in connection with the coup. The government accused coup leaders of links to the \"Gulen\" movement - an Islamic transnational religious and social movement, which the government designates as a terrorist group."
}
},
"Geography": {
@ -26,10 +26,7 @@
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "slightly larger than Texas",
"Area comparison map": {
"text": null
}
"text": "slightly larger than Texas"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
@ -56,12 +53,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Mediterranean Sea 0 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "1,132 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Mount Ararat 5,166 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m ++ highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -79,18 +76,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "53,400 sq km (2012)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "211.6 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "40.1 cu km/yr (14%/10%/76%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "572.9 cu m/yr (2008)"
}
"text": "52,150 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van",
@ -114,6 +100,9 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "80,274,604 (July 2016 est.)"
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Turk(s)"
@ -131,27 +120,21 @@
"Religions": {
"text": "Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)"
},
"Population": {
"text": "79,414,269 (July 2015 est.)"
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "25.45% (male 10,339,731/female 9,868,005)"
"text": "25.08% (male 10,303,153/female 9,833,713)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "16.25% (male 6,587,897/female 6,314,306)"
"text": "16.11% (male 6,605,634/female 6,329,921)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "43.07% (male 17,323,965/female 16,878,498)"
"text": "43.15% (male 17,541,137/female 17,094,141)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "8.15% (male 3,216,877/female 3,253,892)"
"text": "8.36% (male 3,335,021/female 3,374,965)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "7.09% (male 2,498,187/female 3,132,911) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "7.3% (male 2,603,655/female 3,253,264) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -170,26 +153,26 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "30.1 years"
"text": "30.5 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "29.7 years"
"text": "30.1 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "30.6 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "31 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "1.26% (2015 est.)"
"text": "0.9% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "16.33 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "16 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "5.88 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "5.9 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "2.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "-1.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -222,42 +205,45 @@
"text": "0.8 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "1.01 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.01 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Mother's mean age at first birth": {
"text": "22.3 (2010 est.)"
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
"text": "16 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)"
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "18.87 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "18.2 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "20.13 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "19.4 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "17.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "16.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "74.57 years"
"text": "74.8 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "72.26 years"
"text": "72.5 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "77 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "77.3 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "2.05 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.03 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
"text": "73% (2008)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "5.6% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "5.4% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "1.71 physicians/1,000 population (2011)"
@ -315,13 +301,13 @@
},
"School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": {
"total": {
"text": "15 years"
"text": "16 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "15 years"
"text": "17 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "14 years (2012)"
"text": "16 years (2013)"
}
},
"Child labor - children ages 5-14": {
@ -332,18 +318,18 @@
"text": "3%"
},
"note": {
"text": "data represents children ages 6-14 (2006 est.)"
"text": "data represent children ages 6-14 (2006 est.)"
}
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
"total": {
"text": "17.5%"
"text": "17.8%"
},
"male": {
"text": "16.3%"
"text": "16.6%"
},
"female": {
"text": "19.9% (2012 est.)"
"text": "20.2% (2014 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -360,10 +346,13 @@
},
"local short form": {
"text": "Turkiye"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "the name means \"Land of the Turks\""
}
},
"Government type": {
"text": "republican parliamentary democracy"
"text": "parliamentary republic"
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
@ -383,13 +372,13 @@
"text": "81 provinces (iller, singular - ili); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyonkarahisar, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir (Smyrna), Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon (Trebizond), Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak"
},
"Independence": {
"text": "29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)"
"text": "29 October 1923 (republic proclaimed succeeding to the Ottoman Empire)"
},
"National holiday": {
"text": "Republic Day, 29 October (1923)"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "several previous; latest ratified 9 November 1982; amended 2001, 2007, 2010; note - work on a new constitution begun in 2011 has stalled in parliament (2015)"
"text": "several previous; latest ratified 9 November 1982; amended several times, last in 2015 (2016)"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "civil law system based on various European legal systems notably the Swiss civil code"
@ -398,14 +387,17 @@
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship": {
"birthright citizenship": {
"text": ""
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "at least one parent must be a citizen of Turkey"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "yes, but requires prior permission from the government"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization": {
"text": ""
"text": "5 years"
}
},
"Suffrage": {
@ -416,7 +408,7 @@
"text": "President Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (since 10 August 2014)"
},
"head of government": {
"text": "Prime Minister Ahmet DAVUTOGLU (since 28 August 2014); Deputy Prime Ministers Yalcin AKDOGAN, Bulent ARINC, Ali BABACAN (all since 29 August 2014)"
"text": "Prime Minister Binali YILDIRIM (since 22 May 2016); Deputy Prime Ministers Nurettin CANIKLI (since 24 May 2016), Veysi KAYNAK (since 24 May 2016), Mehmet SIMSEK (since 24 November 2015), Yildirim Tugrul TURKES (since 29 August 2014), Numan KURTULMUS (since 29 August 2014)"
},
"cabinet": {
"text": "Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, appointed by the president"
@ -436,22 +428,22 @@
"text": "last held on 1 November 2015 (next to be held on June 2019); note - ERDOGAN was unable to form a coalition government and announced on 24 August 2015 that snap elections would be held; DAVUTOGLU formed the interim government"
},
"election results": {
"text": "percent of vote by party - AKP 49.5%, CHP 25.3%, MHP 11.9%, HDP 10.8, other 2.6%; seats by party - AKP 317, CHP 134, MHP 40, HDP 59; note - only parties surpassing the 10% threshold can win parliamentary seats"
"text": "percent of vote by party - AKP 49.5%, CHP 25.3%, MHP 11.9%, HDP 10.8%, other 2.6%; seats by party - AKP 317, CHP 134, MHP 40, HDP 59; note - only parties surpassing the 10% threshold can win parliamentary seats"
}
},
"Judicial branch": {
"highest court": {
"text": "Constitutional Court or Anayasa Mahkemesi (consists of 17 members); Supreme Court of Appeals (consists of about 390 judges and organized into 15 divisions with 23 civil and 15 criminal chambers); Council of State (organized into 15 divisions - 14 judicial and 1 consultative – each with a division head and at least 5 members)"
"text": "Constitutional Court or Anayasa Mahkemesi (consists of 17 members); Court of Cassation (consists of about 390 judges and organized into civil and penal chambers); Council of State (organized into 15 divisions - 14 judicial and 1 consultative - each with a division head and at least 5 members)"
},
"judge selection and term of office": {
"text": "Constitutional Court members - 3 appointed by the Grand National Assembly and 14 by the president of the republic from among candidates nominated by the plenary assemblies of the high courts (with the exception of the Court of High Accounts), the Higher Education Council, and from among senior government administrators, lawyers, judges and prosecutors, and Constitutional Court rapporteurs; court president and 2 deputy presidents appointed from among its members for 4-year terms; judges appointed for 12-year, non-renewable terms with mandatory retirement at age 65; Supreme Court of Appeals judges appointed by the Supreme Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors (SCJP), an independent body of judicial officials; judges appointed until retirement at age 65; Council of State members appointed by the SCJP and by the president of the republic; members appointed for renewable, 4-year terms"
"text": "Constitutional Court members - 3 appointed by the Grand National Assembly and 14 by the president of the republic from among candidates nominated by the plenary assemblies of the high courts (with the exception of the Court of High Accounts), the Higher Education Council, and from among senior government administrators, lawyers, judges and prosecutors, and Constitutional Court rapporteurs; court president and 2 deputy presidents appointed from among its members for 4-year terms; judges appointed for 12-year, non-renewable terms with mandatory retirement at age 65; Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Supreme Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors (SCJP), a 22-member body of judicial officials; Court of Cassation judges appointed until retirement at age 65; Council of State members appointed by the SCJP and by the president of the republic; members appointed for renewable, 4-year terms"
},
"subordinate courts": {
"text": "basic (first instance) courts, military courts, specialized courts, including administrative and audit"
"text": "regional appeals courts; basic (first instance) courts, peace courts; military courts; state security courts; specialized courts, including administrative and audit"
}
},
"Political parties and leaders": {
"text": "Anatolia Party or AnaParti [Emine Ulker TARHAN] ++ Center Party [Abdurrahim KARSLI] ++ Democratic Left Party or DSP [Masum TURKER] ++ Democratic Party or DP [Gultekin UYSAL] ++ Democratic Regions Party or DBP [Emine AYNA and Kamuran YUKSEK, co-chairs] ++ Electronic Democracy Party or e-Parti [Emrehan HALICI] ++ Felicity Party or SP [Mustafa KAMALAK] ++ Freedom and Solidarity Party or ODP [Alper TAS and Bilge Seckin CETINKAYA, co-chairs] ++ Grand Unity Party or BBP [Mustafa DESTICI] ++ Independent Turkey Party or BTP [Haydar BAS] ++ Justice and Development Party or AKP [Ahmet DAVUTOGLU] ++ Nation and Justice Party or MILAD [Idris Naim SAHIN] ++ Nationalist Movement Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI] ++ People's Democratic Party or HDP [Selahattin DEMIRTAS and Figen YUKSEKDAG, co-chairs] ++ Republican People's Party or CHP [Kemal KILICDAROGLU]"
"text": "Democratic Party or DP [Gultekin UYSAL] ++ Felicity Party or SP [Mustafa KAMALAK] ++ Grand Unity Party or BBP [Mustafa DESTICI] ++ Justice and Development Party or AKP [Ahmet DAVUTOGLU] ++ Nationalist Movement Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI] ++ People's Democratic Party or HDP [Selahattin DEMIRTAS and Figen YUKSEKDAG] ++ Republican People's Party or CHP [Kemal KILICDAROGLU]"
},
"Political pressure groups and leaders": {
"text": "Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey or TUSKON [Rizanur MERAL] ++ Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK [Lami OZGEN, Sazyie KOSE, co-chairs] ++ Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Tayfun GORGUN] ++ Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Nail OLPAK] ++ Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Mahmut ARSLAN] ++ Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Tugrul KUDATGOBILIK] ++ Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Ergun ATALAY] ++ Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK [Bendevi PALANDOKEN] ++ Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Muharrem YILMAZ] ++ Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU]"
@ -519,58 +511,58 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Turkey's largely free-market economy is increasingly driven by its industry and service sectors, although its traditional agriculture sector still accounts for about 25% of employment. An aggressive privatization program has reduced state involvement in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication, and an emerging cadre of middle-class entrepreneurs is adding dynamism to the economy and expanding production beyond the traditional textiles and clothing sectors. The automotive, construction, and electronics industries are rising in importance and have surpassed textiles within Turkey's export mix. ++ ++ Oil began to flow through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in May 2006, marking a major milestone that has brought up to 1 million barrels per day from the Caspian region to market. Several gas pipeline projects also are moving forward to help transport Caspian gas to Europe through Turkey, which over the long term will help address Turkey's dependence on imported oil and gas, which currently meets 97% of its energy needs. ++ ++ After Turkey experienced a severe financial crisis in 2001, Ankara adopted financial and fiscal reforms as part of an IMF program. The reforms strengthened the country's economic fundamentals and ushered in an era of strong growth averaging more than 6% annually until 2008. Global economic conditions and tighter fiscal policy caused GDP to contract in 2009, but Turkey's well-regulated financial markets and banking system helped the country weather the global financial crisis, and GDP rebounded strongly to around 9% in 2010-11, as exports returned to normal levels following the recession. Two rating agencies upgraded Turkey's debt to investment grade in 2012 and 2013, and Turkey's public sector debt to GDP ratio fell to 33% in 2014. The stock value of Foreign Direct Investment reached nearly $195 billion at year-end 2014. ++ ++ Despite these positive trends, GDP growth dropped to 4.4% in 2013 and 2.9% in 2014. Growth slowed considerably in the last quarter of 2014, largely due to lackluster consumer demand both domestically and in Europe, Turkey’s most important export market. High interest rates have also contributed to the slowdown in growth, as Turkey sharply increased interest rates in January 2014 in order to strengthen the country’s currency and reduce inflation. Turkey then cut rates in February 2015 in a bid to spur economic growth. ++ ++ The Turkish economy retains significant weaknesses. Specifically, Turkey's relatively high current account deficit, domestic political uncertainty, and turmoil within Turkey's neighborhood leave the economy vulnerable to destabilizing shifts in investor confidence. Turkey also remains dependent on often volatile, short-term investment to finance its large current account deficit."
"text": "Turkey's largely free-market economy is increasingly driven by its industry and service sectors, although its traditional agriculture sector still accounts for about 25% of employment. An aggressive privatization program has reduced state involvement in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. An emerging cadre of middle-class entrepreneurs is adding dynamism to the economy and expanding production beyond the traditional textiles and clothing sectors. The automotive, petrochemical, and electronics industries are rising in importance and have surpassed textiles within Turkey's export mix. ++ ++ Oil began to flow through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in May 2006, marking a major milestone that has brought up to 1 million barrels per day from the Caspian region to market. The joint Turkish-Azeri Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) is moving forward to help transport Caspian gas to Europe through Turkey, helping to address Turkey's dependence on imported gas, which currently meets 98% of its energy needs. ++ ++ After Turkey experienced a severe financial crisis in 2001, Ankara adopted financial and fiscal reforms as part of an IMF program. The reforms strengthened the country's economic fundamentals and ushered in an era of strong growth averaging more than 6% annually until 2008. Global economic conditions and tighter fiscal policy caused GDP to contract in 2009, but Turkey's well-regulated financial markets and banking system helped the country weather the global financial crisis, and GDP rebounded strongly to around 9% in 2010-11, as exports returned to normal levels following the crisis. Two rating agencies upgraded Turkey's debt to investment grade in 2012 and 2013, and Turkey's public sector debt to GDP ratio fell to 33% in 2014. The stock value of Foreign Direct Investment reached nearly $195 billion at yearend 2014. ++ ++ Despite these positive trends, GDP growth dropped to 4.4% in 2013 and 2.9% in 2014. Growth slowed considerably in the last quarter of 2014, largely due to lackluster consumer demand both domestically and in Europe, Turkey’s most important export market. High interest rates have also contributed to the slowdown in growth, as Turkey sharply increased interest rates in January 2014 in order to strengthen the country’s currency and reduce inflation. Turkey then cut rates in February 2015 in a bid to spur economic growth. ++ ++ The Turkish economy retains significant weaknesses. Specifically, Turkey's relatively high current account deficit, uncertain commitment to structural reform, and turmoil within Turkey's neighborhood leave the economy vulnerable to destabilizing shifts in investor confidence. Turkey also remains overly dependent on often volatile, short-term investment to finance its large current account deficit."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$1.515 trillion (2014 est.) ++ $1.472 trillion (2013 est.) ++ $1.413 trillion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$1.596 trillion (2015 est.) ++ $1.535 trillion (2014 est.) ++ $1.49 trillion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$798.3 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$717.9 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "2.9% (2014 est.) ++ 4.2% (2013 est.) ++ 2.1% (2012 est.)"
"text": "4% (2015 est.) ++ 3% (2014 est.) ++ 4.2% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$19,700 (2014 est.) ++ $19,100 (2013 est.) ++ $18,400 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$20,400 (2015 est.) ++ $19,800 (2014 est.) ++ $19,500 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "14.4% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 12.8% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 14% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "14.5% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 15% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 13.4% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "68.9%"
"text": "68.6%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "15.3%"
"text": "15.7%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "20.1%"
"text": "20.3%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "0.1%"
"text": "-1.7%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "27.8%"
"text": "27.9%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-32.2% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-30.8% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "8.1%"
"text": "8.7%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "27.6%"
"text": "27%"
},
"services": {
"text": "67.6% (2014 est.)"
"text": "67.8% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -580,12 +572,12 @@
"text": "textiles, food processing, automobiles, electronics, mining (coal, chromate, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "3.5% (2014 est.)"
"text": "3.3% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "28.79 million",
"text": "29.67 million",
"note": {
"text": "about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2014 est.)"
"text": "about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Labor force - by occupation": {
@ -600,7 +592,7 @@
}
},
"Unemployment rate": {
"text": "10% (2014 est.) ++ 9.1% (2013 est.)"
"text": "10.3% (2015 est.) ++ 10% (2014 est.)"
},
"Population below poverty line": {
"text": "16.9% (2010 est.)"
@ -618,20 +610,20 @@
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$194.5 billion"
"text": "$177.7 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$204.9 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$186 billion (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "24.4% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "24.2% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "-1.3% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-1.1% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "35% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 37.4% of GDP (2013 est.)",
"text": "34.7% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 35% of GDP (2014 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data cover central government debt, and excludes debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are sold at public auctions"
}
@ -640,64 +632,69 @@
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "8.9% (2014 est.) ++ 7.5% (2013 est.)"
"text": "7.7% (2015 est.) ++ 8.9% (2014 est.)"
},
"Central bank discount rate": {
"text": "5.25% (31 December 2011) ++ 15% (22 December 2009)"
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "13.38% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 11.12% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "13.66% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 13.23% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$111.3 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $107.4 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$107.1 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $111.3 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$474.7 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $425.1 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$618.6 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $576.8 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$581.8 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $618.6 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$308.8 billion (31 December 2012 est.) ++ $201.8 billion (31 December 2011) ++ $306.7 billion (31 December 2010 est.)"
"text": "$188.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $219.8 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $195.7 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "-$46.53 billion (2014 est.) ++ -$64.66 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "-$32.24 billion (2015 est.) ++ -$43.55 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$168.9 billion (2014 est.) ++ $161.8 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$152 billion (2015 est.) ++ $168.9 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "Germany 9.6%, Iraq 6.9%, UK 6.3%, Italy 4.5%, France 4.1%, US 4% (2014)"
"text": "Germany 9.3%, UK 7.3%, Iraq 5.9%, Italy 4.8%, US 4.5%, France 4.1% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$232.5 billion (2014 est.) ++ $241.7 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$200.1 billion (2015 est.) ++ $232.5 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "Russia 10.4%, China 10.3%, Germany 9.2%, US 5.3%, Italy 5%, Iran 4.1% (2014)"
"text": "China 12%, Germany 10.3%, Russia 9.9%, US 5.4%, Italy 5.1% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$127.3 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $131 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$110.5 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $127.3 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$402.9 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $388.2 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$397.8 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $408.2 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
"text": "$169.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $149.6 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$185.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $169.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad": {
"text": "$40.48 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $33.76 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$45.57 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $40.48 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "Turkish liras (TRY) per US dollar - ++ 2.1885 (2014 est.) ++ 2.1885 (2013 est.) ++ 1.8 (2012 est.) ++ 1.675 (2011 est.) ++ 1.5028 (2010 est.)"
"text": "Turkish liras (TRY) per US dollar - ++ 2.72 (2015 est.) ++ 2.1885 (2014 est.) ++ 2.1885 (2013 est.) ++ 1.8 (2012 est.) ++ 1.675 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "100% (2016)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "228.3 billion kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -771,18 +768,18 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "12.53 million"
"text": "11,493,057"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "16 (2014 est.)"
"text": "14 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "71.9 million"
"text": "73.639 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "92 (2014 est.)"
"text": "93 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -790,34 +787,45 @@
"text": "comprehensive telecommunications network undergoing rapid modernization and expansion, especially in mobile-cellular services"
},
"domestic": {
"text": "additional digital exchanges are permitting a rapid increase in subscribers; the construction of a network of technologically advanced intercity trunk lines, using both fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay, is facilitating communication between urban centers; remote areas are reached by a domestic satellite system; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is roughly 100 telephones per 100 persons"
"text": "additional digital exchanges are permitting a rapid increase in subscribers; the construction of a network of technologically advanced intercity trunk lines, using both fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay, is facilitating communication between urban centers; remote areas are reached by a domestic satellite system; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is roughly 105 telephones per 100 persons"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 90; international service is provided by the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable and by submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas that link Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat; mobile satellite terminals - 328 in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2010)"
"text": "country code - 90; international service is provided by the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable and by submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas that link Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat; mobile satellite terminals - 328 in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2015)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) operates multiple TV and radio networks and stations; multiple privately owned national television stations and up to 300 private regional and local television stations; multi-channel cable TV subscriptions available; more than 1,000 private radio broadcast stations (2009)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "1,090 (station frequency types NA) (2009)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "251 (2009)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".tr"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "36.6 million"
"text": "42.681 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "46.6% (2014 est.)"
"text": "53.7% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "15"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "531"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "96,604,665"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "2,882.162 million mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "TC (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "98 (2013)"
},
@ -852,7 +860,7 @@
"text": "4"
},
"under 914 m": {
"text": " ++ 2 (2013)"
"text": "2 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports": {
@ -909,39 +917,15 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Turkish Land Forces (Turk Kara Kuvvetleri), Turkish Naval Forces (Turk Deniz Kuvvetleri; includes naval air and naval infantry), Turkish Air Forces (Turk Hava Kuvvetleri) (2013)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "21-41 years of age for male compulsory military service; 18 years of age for voluntary service; 12 months conscript obligation for non-university graduates, 6-12 months for university graduates (graduates of higher education may perform 6 months of military service as short-term privates, or 12 months as reserve officers); conscripts are called to register at age 20, for service at 21; women serve in the Turkish Armed Forces only as officers; reserve obligation to age 41; Turkish citizens with a residence or work permit who have worked abroad for at least 3 years (1095 days) can be exempt from military service in exchange for 6,000 EUR or its equivalent in foreign currencies; a law passed in December 2014 introduced a one-time payment scheme which exempted Turkish citizens 27 and older from conscription in exchange for a payment of $8,150 (2013)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "21,079,077"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "20,558,696 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "17,664,510"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "17,340,816 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "700,079"
},
"female": {
"text": "670,328 (2010 est.)"
}
"text": "21-41 years of age for male compulsory military service; 18 years of age for voluntary service; 12-month conscript obligation for non-university graduates, 6-12 months for university graduates (graduates of higher education may perform 6 months of military service as short-term privates, or 12 months as reserve officers); conscripts are called to register at age 20, for service at 21; women serve in the Turkish Armed Forces only as officers; reserve obligation to age 41; Turkish citizens with a residence or work permit who have worked abroad for at least 3 years (1095 days) can be exempt from military service in exchange for 6,000 EUR or its equivalent in foreign currencies; a law passed in December 2014 introduced a one-time payment scheme which exempted Turkish citizens 27 and older from conscription in exchange for a payment of $8,150 (2013)"
},
"Military expenditures": {
"text": "2.29% of GDP (2015 forecast) ++ 2.36% of GDP (2014) ++ 2.39% of GDP (2013) ++ 2.31% of GDP (2012) ++ 2.28% of GDP (2011)"
"text": "2.29% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 2.36% of GDP (2014) ++ 2.39% of GDP (2013) ++ 2.31% of GDP (2012) ++ 2.28% of GDP (2011)"
},
"Military - note": {
"text": "the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has actively pursued the goal of asserting civilian control over the military since first taking power in 2002; the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) role in internal security has been significantly reduced; the TSK leadership continues to be an influential institution within Turkey, but plays a much smaller role in politics; the Turkish military remains focused on the threats emanating from the Syrian civil war, Russia's actions in Ukraine, and the PKK insurgency; primary domestic threats are listed as fundamentalism (with the definition in some dispute with the civilian government), separatism (Kurdish discontent), and the extreme left wing; Ankara strongly opposed establishment of an autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq; an overhaul of the Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC) taking place under the \"Force 2014\" program is to produce 20-30% smaller, more highly trained forces characterized by greater mobility and firepower and capable of joint and combined operations; the TLFC has taken on increasing international peacekeeping responsibilities including in Afghanistan; the Turkish Navy is a regional naval power that wants to develop the capability to project power beyond Turkey's coastal waters; the Navy is heavily involved in NATO, multinational, and UN operations; its roles include control of territorial waters and security for sea lines of communications; the Turkish Air Force adopted an \"Aerospace and Missile Defense Concept\" in 2002 and has initiated project work on an integrated missile defense system; Air Force priorities include attaining a modern deployable, survivable, and sustainable force structure, and establishing a sustainable command and control system; Turkey is a NATO ally and hosts NATO's Land Forces Command in Izmir, as well as the AN/TPY-2 radar as part of NATO Missile Defense (2014)"
@ -953,13 +937,13 @@
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"refugees (country of origin)": {
"text": "at least 103,000 (Iraq) (2014); 2,181,293 (Syria) (2015)"
"text": "at least 103,000 (Iraq) (2014); 2,753,696 (Syria) (2016)"
},
"IDPs": {
"text": "954,000-1.2 million (displaced from 1984-2005 because of fighting between Kurdish PKK and Turkish military; most IDPs are Kurds from eastern and southeastern provinces; no information available on persons displaced by development projects) (2014)"
"text": "954,000 (displaced from 1984-2005 because of fighting between the Kurdish PKK and Turkish military; most IDPs are Kurds from eastern and southeastern provinces; no information available on persons displaced by development projects) (2015)"
},
"stateless persons": {
"text": "780 (2014)"
"text": "780 (2015)"
}
},
"Illicit drugs": {

265
middle-east/we.json
View file

@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "From the early 16th century through 1917, the area now known as the West Bank fell under Ottoman rule. Following World War I, the Allied powers (France, UK, Russia) allocated the area to the British Mandate of Palestine. After World War II, the UN passed a resolution to establish two states within the Mandate, and designated a territory including what is now known as the West Bank as part of the proposed Arab state. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War the area was captured by Transjordan (later renamed Jordan). Jordan annexed the West Bank in 1950. In June 1967, Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. With the exception of East Jerusalem and the former Israeli-Jordanian border zone, the West Bank remained under Israeli military control until Israel transferred security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority (PA) under a series of agreements signed between 1994 and 1999. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled after the outbreak of an intifada in mid-2000. In early 2003, the \"Quartet\" of the US, EU, UN, and Russia, presented a roadmap to a final peace settlement by 2005, calling for two states - Israel and a democratic Palestine. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004 and the subsequent election of Mahmud ABBAS (head of the Fatah political faction) as PA president, Israel and the Palestinians agreed to move the peace process forward. Israel in late 2005 unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and redeployed its military from several West Bank settlements but continues to control maritime, airspace, and other access. In early 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won the Palestinian Legislative Council election and took control of the PA government. Attempts to form a unity government failed, and violent clashes between Fatah and HAMAS supporters ensued, culminating in HAMAS's violent seizure of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. Fatah and HAMAS have made several attempts at reconciliation, most recently signing an agreement in April 2014 following the collapse of US-brokered peace talks with Israel. The factions, however, have been unable to implement details on governance and security, and the status quo remains with HAMAS in de facto control of the Gaza Strip and the PA governing the West Bank."
"text": "From the early 16th century through 1917, the area now known as the West Bank fell under Ottoman rule. Following World War I, the Allied powers (France, UK, Russia) allocated the area to the British Mandate of Palestine. After World War II, the UN passed a resolution to establish two states within the Mandate, and designated a territory including what is now known as the West Bank as part of the proposed Arab state. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the area was captured by Transjordan (later renamed Jordan). Jordan annexed the West Bank in 1950. In June 1967, Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. With the exception of East Jerusalem, roughly 60% of the West Bank remains under Israeli military control. Israel transferred security and civilian responsibility for a number of Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority (PA) under a series of agreements signed between 1994 and 1999, the so-called “Oslo Accords.” Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled after the outbreak of an intifada in mid-2000. In early 2003, the \"Quartet\" of the US, EU, UN, and Russia, presented a roadmap to a final peace settlement by 2005, calling for two states - Israel and a democratic Palestine. ++ ++ Following Palestinian leader Yassir ARAFAT's death in late 2004 and the subsequent election of Mahmoud ABBAS (head of the Fatah political faction) as PA president, Israel and the Palestinians agreed to move the peace process forward. Israel in late 2005 unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and redeployed its military from several West Bank settlements but continues to control maritime, airspace, and other access. In early 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won the Palestinian Legislative Council election and took control of the PA government. Attempts to form a unity government failed, and violent clashes between Fatah and HAMAS supporters ensued, culminating in HAMAS's violent seizure of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. Fatah and HAMAS have made several attempts at reconciliation, but the factions have been unable to implement details on governance and security. In an attempt to reenergize peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, France in June 2016 hosted a ministerial meeting that included participants from 29 countries, although not Israel or the Palestinians, to lay the groundwork for an envisioned \"multilateral peace conference\" later in the year."
}
},
"Geography": {
@ -49,14 +49,14 @@
"text": "temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters"
},
"Terrain": {
"text": "mostly rugged, dissected upland in west, flat plains descending to Jordan River valley to the east"
"text": "mostly rugged, dissected upland in west, flat plains descending to Jordan River Valley to the east"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Dead Sea -408 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "NA"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Tall Asur 1,022 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m ++ highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -77,7 +77,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "240 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)"
"text": "240 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "droughts"
@ -90,6 +90,12 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "2,697,687 (represents Palestinian population only) (July 2016 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "approximately 371,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank; approximately 211,640 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem (2014)"
}
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "NA"
@ -105,32 +111,26 @@
"text": "Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)"
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Muslim 80.0 - 85.0% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 12.0 - 14.0%, Christian 1.0 - 2.5% (mainly Greek Orthodox), other, unaffiliated, unspecified \nnote: the proportion of Christians continues to fall mainly as a result of the growth of the Muslim population but also because of the migration and the declining birth rate of the Christian population (2012 est.)\nreligious affiliation:\n\n \n\n"
},
"Population": {
"text": "2,785,366 (represents Palestinian population only) (July 2014 est.)",
"text": "Muslim 80-85% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 12-14%, Christian 1-2.5% (mainly Greek Orthodox), other, unaffiliated, unspecified <1%",
"note": {
"text": "approximately 356,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank; approximately 200,000 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem (2013) (July 2015 est.)"
"text": "the proportion of Christians continues to fall mainly as a result of the growth of the Muslim population but also because of migration and the declining birth rate of the Christian population (2012 est.)"
}
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "33.09% (male 473,108/female 448,612)"
"text": "36.91% (male 511,026/female 484,808)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "21.52% (male 307,020/female 292,465)"
"text": "21.56% (male 297,058/female 284,677)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "36.96% (male 529,094/female 500,375)"
"text": "33.71% (male 462,201/female 447,200)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "4.57% (male 64,093/female 63,289)"
"text": "4.35% (male 60,360/female 56,936)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "3.85% (male 45,303/female 62,007) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "3.46% (male 41,587/female 51,834) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -147,41 +147,41 @@
"text": "19.2%"
},
"note": {
"text": "data represents the Gaza and the West Bank (2015 est.)"
"text": "data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "22.7 years"
"text": "20.8 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "22.6 years"
"text": "20.7 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "22.9 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "21 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "1.95% (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.86% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "22.99 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "26.7 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "3.5 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "3.5 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "-4.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
"text": "75.3% of total population (2015)"
},
"rate of urbanization": {
"text": "2.81% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)"
"text": "2.81% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)"
},
"note": {
"text": "data represents Gaza Strip and West Bank"
"text": "data represent Gaza Strip and West Bank"
}
},
"Sex ratio": {
@ -189,54 +189,54 @@
"text": "1.06 male(s)/female"
},
"0-14 years": {
"text": "1.06 male(s)/female"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "1.05 male(s)/female"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "1.04 male(s)/female"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "1.06 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.03 male(s)/female"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "1.01 male(s)/female"
"text": "1.06 male(s)/female"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "0.73 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "1.04 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.04 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
"text": "45 deaths/100,000 live births",
"note": {
"text": "data represents Gaza Strip and West Bank (2015 est.)"
"text": "data represent Gaza Strip and West Bank (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "13.08 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "14.6 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "14.7 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "16.4 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "11.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "12.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "75.91 years"
"text": "75 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "73.79 years"
"text": "73 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "78.17 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "77.1 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "2.76 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "3.33 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
"text": "52.5% (includes Gaza Strip and West Bank) (2010)"
@ -252,10 +252,10 @@
"text": " ++ urban: 50.7% of population ++ rural: 81.5% of population ++ total: 58.4% of population"
},
"unimproved": {
"text": " ++ urban: 49.3% of population ++ rural: 18.5% of population ++ total: 41.6% of population ++ "
"text": " ++ urban: 49.3% of population ++ rural: 18.5% of population ++ total: 41.6% of population"
},
"note": {
"text": "includes Gaza and the West Bank (2015 est.)"
"text": "includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Sanitation facility access": {
@ -263,10 +263,10 @@
"text": " ++ urban: 93% of population ++ rural: 90.2% of population ++ total: 92.3% of population"
},
"unimproved": {
"text": " ++ urban: 7% of population ++ rural: 9.8% of population ++ total: 7.7% of population ++ "
"text": " ++ urban: 7% of population ++ rural: 9.8% of population ++ total: 7.7% of population"
},
"note": {
"text": "includes Gaza and the West Bank (2015 est.)"
"text": "includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank (2015 est.)"
}
},
"HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
@ -306,21 +306,21 @@
"text": "14 years"
},
"note": {
"text": "data represents Gaza and West Bank (2013)"
"text": "data represent Gaza and West Bank (2014)"
}
},
"Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
"total": {
"text": "38.8%"
"text": "41%"
},
"male": {
"text": "34.5%"
"text": "37%"
},
"female": {
"text": "62.2%"
"text": "64.7%"
},
"note": {
"text": "includes Gaza Strip (2012 est.)"
"text": "includes Gaza Strip (2013 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -331,72 +331,81 @@
},
"conventional short form": {
"text": "West Bank"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "name refers to the location of the region - occupied and administered by Jordan after 1948 - that fell on the far side (west bank) of the Jordan River in relation to Jordan proper; the designation was retained following the 1967 Six-Day War and the subsequent changes in government"
}
}
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Economic growth in the West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian territories - has slowed since 2013, in part because of a decline in donor aid and government spending. Private sector development has been weak. Despite the Palestinian Authority's (PA) successful implementation of economic and security reforms and the easing of some movement and access restrictions by the Israeli government, Israeli closure policies continue to disrupt labor and trade flows, industrial capacity, and basic commerce, constraining the productive capacity of the West Bank economy. The biggest impediments to economic improvements in the West Bank remain Palestinians' inability to access land and resources in Israeli-controlled areas, import and export restrictions, and a high-cost capital structure. The PA for the foreseeable future will continue to rely heavily on donor aid for its budgetary needs and economic activity."
"text": "Israeli-Palestinian violence in 2015 exacerbated challenges to economic growth in the West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian Territories. Increased security restrictions and political instability slowed economic activity, and Israel’s four-month withholding of taxes and other fees it collects on the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) behalf caused the PA to delay salary payments to its employees, which in turn had broader effects on business activity and consumer demand. ++ ++ Longstanding Israeli closure policies continue to disrupt labor and trade flows and the territory’s industrial capacity, limit imports and exports, and constrain private sector development. The PA for the foreseeable future will continue to rely heavily on donor aid for its budgetary needs and economic activity."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$20.12 billion (2014 est.) ++ $20.02 billion (2013 est.) ++ $19.92 billion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$21.22 billion (2014 est.) ++ $20.15 billion (2013 est.) ++ $19.95 billion (2012 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2011 US dollars; includes Gaza Strip"
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars; includes Gaza Strip"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$6.641 billion",
"text": "$9.828 billion (2014 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "includes Gaza Strip (2008 est.)"
"text": "excludes Gaza Strip"
}
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "0.5% (2014 est.) ++ 0.5% (2013 est.) ++ 6.1% (2012 est.)",
"text": "5.3% (2014 est.) ++ 1% (2013 est.) ++ 6% (2012 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "includes Gaza Strip"
"text": "excludes Gaza Strip"
}
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$4,900 (2012 est.) ++ $4,400 (2011 est.) ++ $4,100 (2010 est.)",
"text": "$4,300 (2014 est.) ++ $4,400 (2013 est.) ++ $4,600 (2012 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "includes Gaza Strip"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "-12.3% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ -5.6% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ -15.2% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "7.8% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 9.5% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 5% of GDP (2012 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "includes Gaza Strip"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "96.1%"
"text": "85.7%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "28%"
"text": "21.9%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "21.3%"
"text": "26%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "-2.4%"
"text": "2.3%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "18%"
"text": "24.5%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-61% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-60.4%"
},
"note": {
"text": "excludes Gaza Strip (2014 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "3.8%"
"text": "3.5%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "20.2%"
"text": "25.2%"
},
"services": {
"text": "76%"
"text": "71.4%"
},
"note": {
"text": "includes Gaza Strip (2014 est.)"
"text": "excludes Gaza Strip (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -406,10 +415,16 @@
"text": "small-scale manufacturing, quarrying, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "-0.5% (2014 est.)"
"text": "-1.7%",
"note": {
"text": "includes Gaza Strip (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "1.255 million (2014 est.)"
"text": "828,000",
"note": {
"text": "excludes Gaza Strip (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Labor force - by occupation": {
"agriculture": {
@ -422,11 +437,14 @@
"text": "54.1%"
},
"note": {
"text": "includes Gaza Strip (2013 est.)"
"text": "excludes Gaza Strip (2013 est.)"
}
},
"Unemployment rate": {
"text": "26.9% (2014 est.) ++ 23.4% (2013 est.)"
"text": "17.7% (2014 est.) ++ 18.6% (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "excludes Gaza Strip"
}
},
"Population below poverty line": {
"text": "18% (2011 est.)"
@ -450,62 +468,62 @@
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$2.742 billion"
"text": "$2.75 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$4.279 billion"
"text": "$4.077 billion"
},
"note": {
"text": "includes Palestinian Authority expenditures in the Gaza Strip (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "41.3% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "28% of GDP (2014 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "-23.1% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-13.5% of GDP (2014 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "41% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 39% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "24.4% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 23.8% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"Fiscal year": {
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "1.7% (2014 est.) ++ 1.7% (2013 est.)",
"text": "1.2% (2014 est.) ++ 3.1% (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "includes Gaza Strip"
"text": "excludes Gaza Strip"
}
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "6.41% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 7.52% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "6.8% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 6.41% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$227.1 million (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $213.5 million (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$265.5 million (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $234.8 million (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$2.399 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $2.16 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$1.147 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $1.168 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$1.418 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $1.147 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$2.634 billion (31 December 2012 est.) ++ $2.532 billion (31 December 2011) ++ $2.45 billion (31 December 2010 est.)"
"text": "$2.634 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $2.532 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $2.45 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "-$2.894 billion (2014 est.) ++ -$1.412 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "-$2.149 billion (2014 est.) ++ -$2.383 billion (2013 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$2.107 billion (2014 est.) ++ $2.102 billion (2013 est.)",
"text": "$937.4 million (2014 est.) ++ $1.692 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "includes Gaza Strip"
"text": "excludes Gaza Strip"
}
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "stone, olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$6.261 billion (2013 est.) ++ $5.918 billion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$5.683 billion (2014 est.) ++ $6.261 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data include the Gaza Strip"
}
@ -514,16 +532,33 @@
"text": "food, consumer goods, construction materials, petroleum, chemicals"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$1.572 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $1.691 billion (31 December 2013 est.)",
"text": "$1.089 billion (2014 est.) ++ $1.191 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data include the Gaza Strip"
}
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - ++ 3.5779 (2014 est.) ++ 3.578 (2013 est.) ++ 3.86 (2012 est.) ++ 3.5781 (2011 est.) ++ 3.739 (2010 est.)"
"text": "new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - ++ 3.8869 (2015 est.) ++ 3.578 (2014 est.) ++ 3.578 (2013 est.) ++ 3.86 (2012 est.) ++ 3.5781 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"population without electricity": {
"text": "80,930"
},
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "98%"
},
"electrification - urban areas": {
"text": "99%"
},
"electrification - rural areas": {
"text": "93%"
},
"note": {
"text": "data for West Bank and Gaza Strip combined (2012)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "433 million kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -600,18 +635,18 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "400,000 (includes Gaza Strip)"
"text": "406,500 (includes Gaza Strip)"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "15 (2014 est.)"
"text": "9 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "3.2 million (includes Gaza Strip)"
"text": "3.531 million (includes Gaza Strip)"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "117 (includes Gaza Strip) (2014 est.)"
"text": "76 (includes Gaza Strip) (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -622,27 +657,21 @@
"text": "Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed-line services; PALTEL plans to establish a fiber-optic connection to Jordan to route domestic mobile calls; the Palestinian JAWWAL company and WATANIYA PALESTINE provide cellular services"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 970; 1 international switch in Ramallah (2009)"
"text": "country code - 970; 1 international switch in Ramallah (2010)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "the Palestinian Authority operates 1 TV and 1 radio station; about 20 private TV and 40 radio stations; both Jordanian TV and satellite TV are accessible (2013)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 0, FM 27, shortwave 0 (2010)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "31 (2010)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".ps; note - same as Gaza Strip"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "1.4 million (includes Gaza Strip)"
"text": "2.673 million (includes Gaza Strip)"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "34.4% (2009)"
"text": "57.4% (includes Gaza Strip) (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
@ -676,34 +705,16 @@
}
}
},
"Military": {
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "579,248"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "547,782 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "30,925"
},
"female": {
"text": "29,440 (2010 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transnational Issues": {
"Disputes - international": {
"text": "the current status of the West Bank is subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a \"seam line\" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from Gaza and four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region"
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"refugees (country of origin)": {
"text": "762,288 (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)) (2014)"
"text": "774,167 (Palestinian refugees) (2015)"
},
"IDPs": {
"text": "at least 263,500 (includes persons displaced within the Gaza strip due to the intensification of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since June 2014 and other Palestinian IDPs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank who fled as long ago as 1967, although confirmed cumulative figures do not go back beyond 2006) (2015)"
"text": "221,000 (includes persons displaced within the Gaza strip due to the intensification of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since June 2014 and other Palestinian IDPs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank who fled as long ago as 1967, although confirmed cumulative data do not go back beyond 2006) (2015)"
}
}
}

307
middle-east/ym.json
View file

@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "North Yemen became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement and brief civil war in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to delineate their border. Fighting in the northwest between the government and the Huthis, a Zaydi Shia minority, began in 2004 and has since resulted in six rounds of fighting that ended in early 2010 with a cease-fire. The southern secessionist movement was revitalized in 2008. Public rallies in Sana'a against then President SALIH - inspired by similar demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt - slowly built momentum starting in late January 2011 fueled by complaints over high unemployment, poor economic conditions, and corruption. By the following month, some protests had resulted in violence, and the demonstrations had spread to other major cities. By March the opposition had hardened its demands and was unifying behind calls for SALIH's immediate ouster. In in late April 2011. the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in an attempt to mediate the crisis in Yemen, proposed the GGC Initiative, an agreement in which the president would step down in exchange for immunity from prosecution. SALIH's refusal to sign an agreement led to further violence. The UN Security Council passed Resolution 2014 in October 2011 calling for an end to the violence and completing a power transfer deal. In late November 2011, SALIH signed the GCC Initiative to step down and to transfer some of his powers to Vice President Abd Rabuh Mansur HADI. Following HADI's election victory in February 2012, SALIH formally transferred his powers. In accordance with the GCC initiative, Yemen launched a National Dialogue Conference (NDC) in March 2013 to discuss key constitutional, political, and social issues. HADI concluded the NDC in January 2014. Subsequent steps in the transition process include constitutional drafting, a constitutional referendum, and national elections. Since the Arab Awakening in 2011, the Huthis have expanded their influence, culminating in a major offensive against military units and tribes affiliated with their Yemeni rivals and enabling their forces to overrun the capital, Sana'a, in September 2014. In January 2015, the Huthis attacked the presidential palace and President HADI's residence and surrounded key government facilities, prompting HADI and the cabinet to submit their resignations. HADI fled to Aden, and in late February he rescinded his resignation. He subsequently escaped to Saudi Arabia and asked the GCC to intervene militarily in Yemen to protect the legitimate government from the Huthis. In late March, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched Operation Decisive Storm, a series of airstrikes against Huthi and Huthi-affiliated forces. In late April, the Saudi Government announced completion of the operation and initiated Operation Restoring Hope, which focuses on humanitarian aid and a return to political dialogue. As of late April 2015, the Huthis controlled much of western Yemen."
"text": "North Yemen became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement and brief civil war in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to delineate their border. Fighting in the northwest between the government and the Huthis, a Zaydi Shia Muslim minority, began in 2004 and has since resulted in six rounds of fighting that ended in early 2010 with a cease-fire. The southern secessionist movement was revitalized in 2008. Public rallies in Sana'a against then President SALIH - inspired by similar demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt - slowly built momentum starting in late January 2011 fueled by complaints over high unemployment, poor economic conditions, and corruption. By the following month, some protests had resulted in violence, and the demonstrations had spread to other major cities. By March the opposition had hardened its demands and was unifying behind calls for SALIH's immediate ouster. In April 2011, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in an attempt to mediate the crisis in Yemen, proposed the GGC Initiative, an agreement in which the president would step down in exchange for immunity from prosecution. SALIH's refusal to sign an agreement led to further violence. ++ The UN Security Council passed Resolution 2014 in October 2011 calling for an end to the violence and completing a power transfer deal. In November 2011, SALIH signed the GCC Initiative to step down and to transfer some of his powers to Vice President Abd Rabuh Mansur HADI. Following HADI's election victory in February 2012, SALIH formally transferred his powers. In accordance with the GCC initiative, Yemen launched a National Dialogue Conference (NDC) in March 2013 to discuss key constitutional, political, and social issues. HADI concluded the NDC in January 2014. Subsequent steps in the transition process include constitutional drafting, a constitutional referendum, and national elections. Since the Arab Awakening in 2011, the Huthis have expanded their influence, culminating in a major offensive against military units and tribes affiliated with their Yemeni rivals and enabling their forces to overrun the capital, Sana'a, in September 2014. In January 2015, the Huthis attacked the presidential palace and President HADI's residence and surrounded key government facilities, prompting HADI and the cabinet to submit their resignations. HADI fled to Aden, and in February 2015 rescinded his resignation. He subsequently escaped to Saudi Arabia and asked the GCC to intervene militarily in Yemen to protect the legitimate government from the Huthis. In March, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched Operation Decisive Storm, a series of airstrikes against Huthi and Huthi-affiliated forces. In April 2015, the Saudi Government announced completion of the operation and initiated Operation Restoring Hope, which focuses on humanitarian aid and a return to political dialogue. However, fighting continued through the remainder of 2015 and into early 2016. In April, the UN brokered a \"cessation of hostilities\" among the warring parties and initiated peace talks in Kuwait."
}
},
"Geography": {
@ -29,10 +29,7 @@
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "almost four times the size of Alabama; slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming",
"Area comparison map": {
"text": null
}
"text": "almost four times the size of Alabama; slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
@ -65,12 +62,12 @@
"Terrain": {
"text": "narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula"
},
"Elevation extremes": {
"lowest point": {
"text": "Arabian Sea 0 m"
"Elevation": {
"mean elevation": {
"text": "999 m"
},
"highest point": {
"text": "Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m"
"elevation extremes": {
"text": "lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m ++ highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
@ -88,18 +85,7 @@
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "6,801 sq km (2004)"
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "2.1 cu km (2011)"
},
"Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)": {
"total": {
"text": "3.57 cu km/yr (7%/2%/91%)"
},
"per capita": {
"text": "162.4 cu m/yr (2005)"
}
"text": "6,800 sq km (2012)"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "sandstorms and dust storms in summer",
@ -123,6 +109,9 @@
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "27,392,779 (July 2016 est.)"
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Yemeni(s)"
@ -141,32 +130,23 @@
}
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Muslim 99.1% (official; virtually all are citizens, an estimated 65% are Sunni and 35% are Shia), other 0.9% (includes Jewish, Baha'i, Hindu, and Christian; many are refugees or temporary foreign residents) (2010 est.)",
"religious affiliation": {
"text": null
}
},
"Population": {
"text": "26,737,317 (July 2015 est.)"
"text": "Muslim 99.1% (official; virtually all are citizens, an estimated 65% are Sunni and 35% are Shia), other 0.9% (includes Jewish, Baha'i, Hindu, and Christian; many are refugees or temporary foreign residents) (2010 est.)"
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "41.09% (male 5,588,316/female 5,399,365)"
"text": "40.48% (male 5,639,657/female 5,447,662)"
},
"15-24 years": {
"text": "21.12% (male 2,865,453/female 2,782,109)"
"text": "21.16% (male 2,940,484/female 2,855,538)"
},
"25-54 years": {
"text": "31.33% (male 4,280,258/female 4,096,280)"
"text": "31.79% (male 4,451,305/female 4,257,877)"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "3.79% (male 468,869/female 543,336)"
"text": "3.87% (male 487,986/female 571,676)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "2.67% (male 330,966/female 382,365) (2015 est.)"
},
"population pyramid": {
"text": null
"text": "2.7% (male 342,053/female 398,541) (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
@ -185,26 +165,26 @@
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "18.9 years"
"text": "19.2 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "18.8 years"
"text": "19.1 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "19 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "19.3 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "2.47% (2015 est.)"
"text": "2.37% (2016 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "29.98 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "29.2 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "6.28 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)"
"text": "0.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
@ -231,48 +211,51 @@
"text": "1.05 male(s)/female"
},
"55-64 years": {
"text": "0.86 male(s)/female"
"text": "0.85 male(s)/female"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "0.87 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "1.03 male(s)/female (2015 est.)"
"text": "1.02 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Mother's mean age at first birth": {
"text": "21.4 ++ median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2013)"
},
"Maternal mortality rate": {
"text": "385 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)"
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "48.93 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "47.4 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"male": {
"text": "53.14 deaths/1,000 live births"
"text": "51.6 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "44.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
"text": "43.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "65.18 years"
"text": "65.5 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "63.05 years"
"text": "63.4 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "67.41 years (2015 est.)"
"text": "67.8 years (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "3.91 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
"text": "3.77 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
"text": "27.7% (2006)"
},
"Health expenditures": {
"text": "5.4% of GDP (2013)"
"text": "5.6% of GDP (2014)"
},
"Physicians density": {
"text": "0.2 physicians/1,000 population (2010)"
@ -297,13 +280,13 @@
}
},
"HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
"text": "0.05% (2014 est.)"
"text": "0.06% (2015 est.)"
},
"HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": {
"text": "7,200 (2014 est.)"
"text": "9,200 (2015 est.)"
},
"HIV/AIDS - deaths": {
"text": "300 (2014 est.)"
"text": "300 (2015 est.)"
},
"Major infectious diseases": {
"degree of risk": {
@ -316,14 +299,14 @@
"text": "dengue fever and malaria"
},
"water contact disease": {
"text": "schistosomiasis (2013)"
"text": "schistosomiasis (2016)"
}
},
"Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
"text": "14.2% (2014)"
},
"Children under the age of 5 years underweight": {
"text": "35.5% (2011)"
"text": "39.9% (2013)"
},
"Education expenditures": {
"text": "4.6% of GDP (2008)"
@ -347,7 +330,7 @@
"text": "9 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "11 years"
"text": "10 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "8 years (2011)"
@ -389,10 +372,13 @@
},
"former": {
"text": "Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "name derivation remains unclear but may come from the Arab term \"yumn\" (happiness) and be related to the region's classical name \"Arabia Felix\" (Fertile or Happy Arabia); the Romans referred to the rest of the peninsula as \"Arabia Deserta\" (Deserted Arabia)"
}
},
"Government type": {
"text": "republic"
"text": "in transition"
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
@ -406,7 +392,7 @@
}
},
"Administrative divisions": {
"text": "21 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah) and 1 municipality*; Abyan, 'Adan (Aden), Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, Amanat al 'Asimah (Sanaa City)*, 'Amran, Arkhabil Suqutra (Socotra Archipelago), Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Raymah, Sa'dah, San'a' (Sanaa), Shabwah, Ta'izz"
"text": "22 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan (Aden), Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, Amanat al 'Asimah (Sanaa City), 'Amran, Arkhabil Suqutra (Socotra Archipelago), Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Raymah, Sa'dah, San'a' (Sanaa), Shabwah, Ta'izz"
},
"Independence": {
"text": "22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen became independent in November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and became a republic with the overthrow of the theocratic Imamate in 1962; South Yemen became independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)"
@ -415,7 +401,7 @@
"text": "Unification Day, 22 May (1990)"
},
"Constitution": {
"text": "adopted by referendum 16 May 1991 (following unification); amended several times, last in 2009; note - from March 2014 to January 2015, a presidentially-formed Constitutional Drafting Committee drafted a new constitution and President Hadi reviewed it; the draft was slated for final revision by the National Authority, followed by a national referendum; however, with the resignation of the government in late January 2015, constitutional formation has been stalled (2015)"
"text": "adopted by referendum 16 May 1991 (following unification); amended several times, last in 2009; note - after the National Dialogue ended in January 2015, a presidentially-appointed Constitutional Drafting Committee worked to prepare a new draft constitution that was expected to be put to a national referendum before being adopted; however, the president’s resignation in January 2015 and the subsequent conflict interrupted the process (2016)"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "mixed legal system of Islamic law, Napoleonic law, English common law, and customary law"
@ -423,15 +409,29 @@
"International law organization participation": {
"text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship": {
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "the father must be a citizen of Yemen; if the father is unknown, the mother must be a citizen"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "no"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization": {
"text": "10 years"
}
},
"Suffrage": {
"text": "18 years of age; universal"
},
"Executive branch": {
"chief of state": {
"text": "President Abd Rabuh Mansur HADI (since 21 February 2012); note - President HADI submitted his resignation in late January 2015, but Parliament did not convene to accept it; he later rescinded his resignation and remains the internationally recognized President of Yemen; he fled to Saudi Arabia in late March 2015 but returned in September after government loyalist forces aided by a Saudi-led coalition regained control of Aden from Huthi rebels in July"
"text": "President Abd Rabuh Mansur HADI (since 21 February 2012); Vice President Mohsin al-AHMAR, Gen. (since 3 April 2016)"
},
"head of government": {
"text": "Prime Minister Khalid Mahfuz BAHAH; note - BAHAH submitted his resignation in late January 2015, but Parliament did not convene to accept it; BAHAH later rescinded his resignation and remains prime minister; on 13 April he was named vice president, but continues to be the prime minister; he returned to Yemen from weeks of exile in Saudi Arabia on the 16 September 2015"
"text": "Prime Minister Obaid bin DAGHR (since 3 April 2016)"
},
"cabinet": {
"text": "appointed by the president"
@ -451,7 +451,7 @@
"text": "last held on 27 April 2003 (next scheduled for April 2009 but postponed indefinitely)"
},
"election results": {
"text": "House of Representatives percent of vote by party - GPC 58%, Islah 22.6%, YSP 3.8%, Unionist Party 1.9%, other 13.7%; seats by party - GPC 238, Islah 46, YSP 8, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independent 4"
"text": "House of Representatives percent of vote by party - GPC 58.0%, Islah 22.6%, YSP 3.8%, Unionist Party 1.9%, other 13.7%; seats by party - GPC 238, Islah 46, YSP 8, Nasserist Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party 2, independent 4"
}
},
"Judicial branch": {
@ -466,10 +466,10 @@
}
},
"Political parties and leaders": {
"text": "Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party ++ General People's Congress or GPC [Ali Abdallah SALIH] ++ Nasserite Unionist Popular Organization [Abdallah NU'MAN] ++ Yemeni Reform Grouping or Islah [Muhammed Abdallah al-YADUMI, Abdul Wahab al-ANSI] ++ Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Dr. Abd al-Rahman Umar al-SAQQAF]"
"text": "General People's Congress or GPC [Ali Abdallah SALIH] ++ National Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party [Qassem Salam SAID] ++ Nasserist Unionist People's Organization [Abdallah NU'MAN] ++ Yemeni Reform Grouping or Islah [Muhammed Abdallah al-YADUMI, Abdul Wahab al-ANSI] ++ Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Dr. Abd al-Rahman Umar al-SAQQAF]"
},
"Political pressure groups and leaders": {
"text": "Houthis ++ Muslim Brotherhood ++ Women National Committee",
"text": "Huthis ++ Muslim Brotherhood ++ Women National Committee",
"other": {
"text": "conservative tribal groups; southern secessionist groups; al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)"
}
@ -479,7 +479,7 @@
},
"Diplomatic representation in the US": {
"chief of mission": {
"text": "Ambassador Ahmed Awad AHMED bin Mubarak (since 3 August 2015)"
"text": "Ambassador Ahmad Awadh BIN MUBARAK (since 3 August 2015)"
},
"chancery": {
"text": "2319 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008"
@ -493,7 +493,7 @@
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US": {
"note": {
"text": "US embassy operations suspended on 10 February 2015 amid growing violence; in March 2015, a team of US diplomats established the Yemen Affairs Unit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"
"text": "US Embassy operations were suspended on 10 February 2015 amid growing violence; in March 2015, a team of US diplomats established the Yemen Affairs Unit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"
},
"chief of mission": {
"text": "Ambassador Matthew H. TUELLER (since 10 June 2014)"
@ -534,58 +534,58 @@
},
"Economy": {
"Economy - overview": {
"text": "Yemen is a low-income country that is highly dependent on declining oil resources for revenue. Oil and gas revenues account for roughly 25% of GDP and 65% of government revenue. Yemen has tried to counter the effects of its declining oil resources and continuing attacks on its oil pipelines by diversifying its economy through a 2006 reform program that was designed to bolster non-oil sectors of the economy and foreign investment. In October 2009, Yemen exported its first liquefied natural gas as part of this diversification effort. In January 2010, the international community established the Friends of Yemen group that aimed to support Yemen's efforts toward economic and political reform. In 2012, the Friends of Yemen pledged nearly $7 billion in assistance to Yemen. The Yemeni Government also endorsed a Mutual Accountability Framework to facilitate the efficient implementation of donor aid. The unrest that began in early 2011 caused GDP to plunge almost 11% in that year. Progress toward achieving stability has been slow and uneven. Yemen continues to face difficult long-term challenges, including declining water resources, high unemployment, severe food scarcity, and a high population growth rate. The Yemeni Government regularly faces annual budget shortfalls. In July 2014, the government eliminated some fuel subsidies that accounted for approximately 25% of government spending in 2013; and in August 2014, the IMF approved a three-year, $570 million Extended Credit Facility for Yemen. Deteriorating security restricts economic growth and the provision of government services."
"text": "Yemen is a low-income country that faces difficult long-term challenges to stabilizing and growing its economy, and the current conflict has only exacerbated those issues. The ongoing war has halted Yemen’s exports, pressured the currency’s exchange rate, accelerated inflation, severely limited food and fuel imports, and caused widespread damage to infrastructure. At least 82% of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance. ++ ++ Prior to the start of the conflict in 2014, Yemen was highly dependent on declining oil resources for revenue. Oil and gas earnings accounted for roughly 25% of GDP and 65% of government revenue. The Yemeni Government regularly faced annual budget shortfalls and has tried to diversify the Yemeni economy through a reform program designed to bolster non-oil sectors of the economy and foreign investment. As part of these reform efforts, Yemen exported its first liquefied natural gas in October 2009. The international community supported Yemen’s efforts toward economic and political reform in part by establishing the Friends of Yemen group. In 2012, the Friends of Yemen pledged nearly $7 billion in assistance to Yemen. In July 2014, the government continued reform efforts by eliminating some fuel subsidies and in August 2014, the IMF approved a three-year, $570 million Extended Credit Facility for Yemen. ++ ++ However, the conflict that began in 2014 stalled these reform efforts. Rebel Huthi groups have interfered with Ministry of Finance and Central Bank operations and diverted funds for their own use. Yemen’s Central Bank reserves, which stood at $5.2 billion prior to the conflict, currently stand at $1.5 billion. The Central Bank is exposed to approximately $7 billion in overdraft, more than three times the legal limit, directly linked to the Huthis withdrawing $116 million on a monthly basis. The private sector is hemorrhaging, with almost all businesses making substantial layoffs. The Port of Hudaydah, which handles 60% of Yemen’s commercial traffic, was damaged in August 2015 as a result of the conflict and is only operating at 50% capacity. Access to food and other critical commodities such as medical equipment is limited across the country due to security issues on the ground. The Social Welfare Fund, a cash transfer program for Yemen’s neediest, is no longer operational and has not made any disbursements since late 2014. ++ ++ Yemen will require significant international assistance during and after the protracted conflict to stabilize its economy. Long-term challenges include a high population growth rate, high unemployment, declining water resources, and severe food scarcity."
},
"GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
"text": "$104 billion (2014 est.) ++ $104.2 billion (2013 est.) ++ $99.41 billion (2012 est.)",
"text": "$75.69 billion (2015 est.) ++ $105.3 billion (2014 est.) ++ $105.5 billion (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"GDP (official exchange rate)": {
"text": "$43.23 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$37.73 billion (2015 est.)"
},
"GDP - real growth rate": {
"text": "-0.2% (2014 est.) ++ 4.8% (2013 est.) ++ 2.4% (2012 est.)"
"text": "-28.1% (2015 est.) ++ -0.2% (2014 est.) ++ 4.8% (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
"text": "$3,800 (2014 est.) ++ $3,800 (2013 est.) ++ $3,600 (2012 est.)",
"text": "$2,700 (2015 est.) ++ $3,800 (2014 est.) ++ $4,000 (2013 est.)",
"note": {
"text": "data are in 2014 US dollars"
"text": "data are in 2015 US dollars"
}
},
"Gross national saving": {
"text": "6.2% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 5% of GDP (2013 est.) ++ 7% of GDP (2012 est.)"
"text": "-3.7% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 6.2% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 5% of GDP (2013 est.)"
},
"GDP - composition, by end use": {
"household consumption": {
"text": "77.1%"
"text": "98.5%"
},
"government consumption": {
"text": "16.2%"
"text": "11.9%"
},
"investment in fixed capital": {
"text": "17.3%"
"text": "7.2%"
},
"investment in inventories": {
"text": "-3%"
"text": "-5%"
},
"exports of goods and services": {
"text": "24.8%"
"text": "6.5%"
},
"imports of goods and services": {
"text": "-32.4% ++ (2014 est.)"
"text": "-19.1% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
"agriculture": {
"text": "15.8%"
"text": "22%"
},
"industry": {
"text": "32.1%"
"text": "11.3%"
},
"services": {
"text": "52.1% (2014 est.)"
"text": "66.6% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Agriculture - products": {
@ -595,10 +595,10 @@
"text": "crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles, leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; aluminum products; cement; commercial ship repair; natural gas production"
},
"Industrial production growth rate": {
"text": "-1.3% (2014 est.)"
"text": "-71.3% (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force": {
"text": "7.184 million (2014 est.)"
"text": "7.324 million (2015 est.)"
},
"Labor force - by occupation": {
"note": {
@ -613,91 +613,105 @@
},
"Household income or consumption by percentage share": {
"lowest 10%": {
"text": "2.9%"
"text": "2.6%"
},
"highest 10%": {
"text": "30.8% (2005)"
"text": "30.3% (2008 est.)"
}
},
"Distribution of family income - Gini index": {
"text": "37.7 (2005) ++ 33.4 (1998)"
"text": "37.9 (2009 est.) ++ 37.3 (1999 est.)"
},
"Budget": {
"revenues": {
"text": "$10.26 billion"
"text": "$3.113 billion"
},
"expenditures": {
"text": "$14.34 billion (2014 est.)"
"text": "$6.729 billion (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Taxes and other revenues": {
"text": "23.7% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "8.4% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
"text": "-9.4% of GDP (2014 est.)"
"text": "-9.8% of GDP (2015 est.)"
},
"Public debt": {
"text": "57.2% of GDP (2014 est.) ++ 57% of GDP (2013 est.)"
"text": "86.3% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 57.4% of GDP (2014 est.)"
},
"Fiscal year": {
"text": "calendar year"
},
"Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
"text": "8.2% (2014 est.) ++ 11% (2013 est.)"
"text": "39.4% (2015 est.) ++ 8.2% (2014 est.)"
},
"Central bank discount rate": {
"text": "NA%"
},
"Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
"text": "24% (31 December 2014 est.) ++ 22% (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "25% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 24% (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of narrow money": {
"text": "$5.256 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $5.196 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$4.993 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $5.256 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of broad money": {
"text": "$16.02 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $14.04 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
},
"Stock of domestic credit": {
"text": "$12.78 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $12.17 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$10.23 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $12.78 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Market value of publicly traded shares": {
"text": "$NA"
},
"Current account balance": {
"text": "-$715 million (2014 est.) ++ -$1.242 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "-$2.065 billion (2015 est.) ++ -$715 million (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports": {
"text": "$8.291 billion (2014 est.) ++ $7.842 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$1.364 billion (2015 est.) ++ $7.601 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Exports - commodities": {
"text": "crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish, liquefied natural gas"
},
"Exports - partners": {
"text": "China 28.3%, South Korea 23%, Thailand 11.2%, Japan 8.1%, UAE 5.3% (2014)"
"text": "China 24.5%, UAE 16.5%, South Korea 10%, Saudi Arabia 10%, Kuwait 9.1%, India 8.5% (2015)"
},
"Imports": {
"text": "$10.19 billion (2014 est.) ++ $10.76 billion (2013 est.)"
"text": "$4.793 billion (2015 est.) ++ $10.86 billion (2014 est.)"
},
"Imports - commodities": {
"text": "food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals"
},
"Imports - partners": {
"text": "China 15.9%, UAE 14%, India 9.6%, Saudi Arabia 6.6%, Kuwait 5%, Turkey 4.6% (2014)"
"text": "UAE 20.9%, China 14.3%, Saudi Arabia 9.9%, Kuwait 7.4%, India 4.6% (2015)"
},
"Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
"text": "$4.665 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $5.336 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$1.978 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $4.665 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Debt - external": {
"text": "$7.772 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $7.671 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text": "$7.697 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $7.71 billion (31 December 2014 est.)"
},
"Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
"text": "$NA"
},
"Exchange rates": {
"text": "Yemeni rials (YER) per US dollar - ++ 214.89 (2014 est.) ++ 214.89 (2013 est.) ++ 214.35 (2012 est.) ++ 213.8 (2011 est.) ++ 219.59 (2010 est.)"
"text": "Yemeni rials (YER) per US dollar - ++ 228 (2015 est.) ++ 214.89 (2014 est.) ++ 214.89 (2013 est.) ++ 214.35 (2012 est.) ++ 213.8 (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Energy": {
"Electricity access": {
"population without electricity": {
"text": "13,300,000"
},
"electrification - total population": {
"text": "48%"
},
"electrification - urban areas": {
"text": "79%"
},
"electrification - rural areas": {
"text": "33% (2013)"
}
},
"Electricity - production": {
"text": "6.185 billion kWh (2012 est.)"
},
@ -735,7 +749,7 @@
"text": "0 bbl/day (2012 est.)"
},
"Crude oil - proved reserves": {
"text": "3 billion bbl (1 January 2014 est.)"
"text": "3 billion bbl (1 January 2015 est.)"
},
"Refined petroleum products - production": {
"text": "27,840 bbl/day (2012 est.)"
@ -771,18 +785,18 @@
"Communications": {
"Telephones - fixed lines": {
"total subscriptions": {
"text": "1.17 million"
"text": "1.195 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "4 (2014 est.)"
"text": "4 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular": {
"total": {
"text": "17.1 million"
"text": "17.359 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
"text": "66 (2014 est.)"
"text": "65 (July 2015 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system": {
@ -793,31 +807,42 @@
"text": "the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, GSM and CDMA mobile-cellular telephone systems; fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity remains low by regional standards"
},
"international": {
"text": "country code - 967; landing point for the international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti (2006)"
"text": "country code - 967; landing point for the international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti (2010)"
}
},
"Broadcast media": {
"text": "state-run TV with 2 stations; state-run radio with 2 national radio stations and 5 local stations; stations from Oman and Saudi Arabia can be accessed (2007)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations": {
"text": "AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998)"
},
"Television broadcast stations": {
"text": "3 (including one Egypt-based station that broadcasts in Yemen); plus several repeaters (2007)"
},
"Internet country code": {
"text": ".ye"
},
"Internet users": {
"total": {
"text": "5 million"
"text": "6.711 million"
},
"percent of population": {
"text": "19.1% (2014 est.)"
"text": "25.1% (July 2015 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation": {
"National air transport system": {
"number of registered air carriers": {
"text": "2"
},
"inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
"text": "10"
},
"annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "1,387,999"
},
"annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
"text": "0 mt-km (2015)"
}
},
"Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
"text": "7O (2016)"
},
"Airports": {
"text": "57 (2013)"
},
@ -855,7 +880,7 @@
"text": "16"
},
"under 914 m": {
"text": " ++ 9 (2013)"
"text": "9 (2013)"
}
},
"Pipelines": {
@ -892,37 +917,13 @@
"text": "the International Maritime Bureau reports offshore waters in the Gulf of Aden are high risk for piracy; numerous vessels, including commercial shipping and pleasure craft, have been attacked and hijacked both at anchor and while underway; crew, passengers, and cargo are held for ransom; the presence of several naval task forces in the Gulf of Aden and additional anti-piracy measures on the part of ship operators reduced the incidence of piracy in that body of water"
}
},
"Military": {
"Military and Security": {
"Military branches": {
"text": "Land Forces, Naval and Coastal Defense Forces (includes Marines), Air and Air Defense Force (al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Yemeniya), Border Guards, Strategic Reserve Forces (2013)"
},
"Military service age and obligation": {
"text": "18 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; no conscription; 2-year service obligation (2012)"
},
"Manpower available for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "5,652,256"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "5,387,160 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service": {
"males age 16-49": {
"text": "4,056,944"
},
"females age 16-49": {
"text": "4,116,895 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually": {
"male": {
"text": "287,141"
},
"female": {
"text": "277,612 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Military expenditures": {
"text": "4.02% of GDP (2012) ++ 3.48% of GDP (2011) ++ 4.02% of GDP (2010)"
},
@ -936,18 +937,18 @@
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
"refugees (country of origin)": {
"text": "5,934 (Ethiopia) (2014); 249,061 (Somalia) (2015)"
"text": "5,645 (Ethiopia) (2015); 254,294 (Somalia) (2016)"
},
"IDPs": {
"text": "2,305,048 (conflict in Sa'ada governorate; clashes between AQAP and government forces) (2015)"
"text": "2,179,278 (conflict in Sa'ada Governorate; clashes between al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula and government forces) (2016)"
}
},
"Trafficking in persons": {
"current situation": {
"text": "Yemen is a source and, to a lesser extent, transit and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and women and children subjected to sex trafficking; some Yemeni children, mostly boys, migrate to Yemeni cities or across the border to Saudi Arabia and, less frequently Oman, where they end up as beggars, prostitutes, or forced laborers in domestic service or small shops; other Yemeni children were recruited as combatants or checkpoint guards by armed groups and continues to be used in the government’s military forces; Yemen is also a source country for girls sex trafficked within country or to Saudi Arabia; thousands of Yemeni migrant workers deported from Saudi Arabia and Syrian refugees are vulnerable to trafficking; additionally, Yemen is a destination and transit country for women and children from the Horn of Africa who are looking for work or receive fraudulent job offers in the Gulf states but are subjected to sexual exploitation or forced labor upon arrival; reports indicate that adults and children are still sold or inherited as slaves in Yemen"
"text": "Yemen is a source and, to a lesser extent, transit and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and women and children subjected to sex trafficking; trafficking activities grew in Yemen in 2014, as the country’s security situation deteriorated and poverty worsened; armed groups increased their recruitment of Yemeni children as combatants or checkpoint guards, and the Yemeni military and security forces continue to use child soldiers; some other Yemeni children, mostly boys, migrate to Yemeni cities or Saudi Arabia and, less frequently Oman, where they end up as beggars, drug smugglers, prostitutes, or forced laborers in domestic service or small shops; Yemeni children increasingly are also subjected to sex trafficking in country and in Saudi Arabia; tens of thousands of Yemeni migrant workers deported from Saudi Arabia and thousands of Syrian refugees are vulnerable to trafficking; additionally, Yemen is a destination and transit country for women and children from the Horn of Africa who are looking for work or receive fraudulent job offers in the Gulf states but are subjected to sexual exploitation or forced labor upon arrival; reports indicate that adults and children are still sold or inherited as slaves in Yemen"
},
"tier rating": {
"text": "Tier 3 – Yemen does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; prolonged political, economic, and security crises, as well as the continued conflation of trafficking and smuggling, impeded the government’s modest anti-trafficking efforts; authorities did not institute formal procedures to identify and protect trafficking victims in 2013, nor did they investigate or prosecute officials complicit in trafficking-related crimes; the government did not report efforts to investigate, prosecute, or convict trafficking offenses, and no known efforts were made to investigate or punish persons practicing chattel slavery; officials acknowledged the use of child soldiers and agreed to a UN action plan to eliminate it but did not make efforts to remove child soldiers from the military; draft anti-trafficking legislation still awaits parliamentary endorsement (2014)"
"text": "Tier 3 – Yemen does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; weak government institutions, corruption, economic problems, security threats, and poor law enforcement capabilities impeded the government’s ability to combat human trafficking; not all forms of trafficking are criminalized, and officials continue to conflate trafficking and smuggling; the status of an anti-trafficking law drafted with assistance from an international organization remains unknown following the dissolution of the government in January 2015; the government did not report efforts to investigate, prosecute, or convict anyone of trafficking or slavery offenses, including complicit officials, despite reports of officials willfully ignoring trafficking crimes and using child soldiers in the government’s armed forces; the government acknowledged the use of child soldiers and signed a UN action plan to end the practice in 2014 but made no efforts to release child soldiers from the military and provide them with rehabilitative services; authorities failed to identify victims and refer them to protective services; the status of a draft national anti-trafficking strategy remains unknown (2015)"
}
}
}