Tier 2 Watch List — The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government finalized standard operating procedures for victim identification and referral for services and partnered with NGOs to identify more trafficking victims; the DRC investigated, prosecuted, and convicted traffickers, including complicit officials; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared with the previous year; Congolese National Army officers continued coordinating with an armed group allegedly engaged in forcibly recruiting and using children; authorities penalized victims for committing unlawful acts traffickers compelled them to commit, and official complicity in trafficking crimes remains a significant concern; the government did not adopt comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation for the third consecutive year; because the DRC has devoted sufficient resources to a plan that, if implemented, would constitute significant efforts to meet the minimum standards, it was granted a waiver per the TVPA from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3, therefore the DRC remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year (2022)
" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Congolese abroad; most trafficking is internal and involves the forced labor of men, women, and children in artisanal mining, agriculture, domestic servitude, sex trafficking, or child recruitment by armed groups; some traffickers are family members or others who promise victims or victims’ families educational or job opportunities and instead force victims to work as domestic servants, street vendors, gang members, or in commercial sex; some Congolese women and girls who migrate to other countries in Africa or the Middle East are exploited in sex trafficking or forced labor in agriculture, diamond mines, or domestic service; they may be fraudulently recruited by traffickers with false promises of jobs or education (2022)
" - } - }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "country of origin of methamphetamine destined for overseas markets;
" } diff --git a/africa/cm.json b/africa/cm.json index 31b88089..9726dd28 100644 --- a/africa/cm.json +++ b/africa/cm.json @@ -1303,14 +1303,6 @@ "IDPs": { "text": "1.01 million (2023) (includes far north, northwest, and southwest)" } - }, - "Trafficking in persons": { - "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Cameroon does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; authorities prosecuted and convicted more alleged traffickers; the government extended the 2020-2021 national action plan for an additional two years and conducted trafficking awareness activities; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to improve anti-trafficking capacity; officials investigated fewer trafficking cases and identified fewer victims, and did not investigate allegations of security forces involvement in sexual exploitation of women; officials prosecuted and convicted fewer traffickers; standard operating procedures for the identification and referral of trafficking victims were not widely disseminated; the government did not pass draft anti-trafficking legislation pending since 2012 to address victim and witness protection in conformity with international law; nonetheless, because the government devoted sufficient efforts to meet the minimum standards, Cameroon was granted a waiver per the TVPA from a downgrade to Tier 3, therefore Cameroon remained on Tier 2 Watch List for a third consecutive year (2022)" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Cameroon, and traffickers exploit victims from Cameroon abroad; deteriorating economic and education conditions and diminished police and judicial presence caused by conflict in the Northwest and Southwest has left displaced persons vulnerable to trafficking; parents may be lured by promises of education or a better life for their children in urban areas, and then the children are subject to forced labor and sex trafficking; teenagers and adolescents may be lured to cities with promises of employment and then become victims of forced labor and sex trafficking; children from neighboring countries are forced to work in spare parts shops or cattle grazing by business owners and herders; Cameroonians, often from rural areas, are exploited in forced labor and sex trafficking in the Middle East, Europe, the United States, and African countries (2022)" - } } } } \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/africa/cn.json b/africa/cn.json index d4673085..ea2c78d8 100644 --- a/africa/cn.json +++ b/africa/cn.json @@ -1110,14 +1110,6 @@ "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { "text": "claims French-administered Mayotte and challenges France's and Madagascar's claims to Banc du Geyser, a drying reef in the Mozambique Channel; in May 2008, African Union forces assisted the Comoros military in recapturing Anjouan Island from rebels who seized it in 2001
" - }, - "Trafficking in persons": { - "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Comoros does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; officials have made key achievements, and therefore, Comoros was upgraded to Tier 2 Watch List; the government has investigated trafficking crimes for the first time since 2014 and initiated its first trafficking prosecution; authorities have been identifying victims and referring them to protective services; Comoros partnered with an international organization and implemented standard operating procedures for victim identification and provided training for officials; the government also conducted anti-trafficking awareness campaigns; despite these achievements, the government has never reported convicting a trafficker, lacks a national referral mechanism, did not finalize a national action plan to combat trafficking, and did not allocate funds for anti-trafficking efforts (2022)" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Comoros and Comorians abroad; some Comorian women and children are subject to forced labor and may be vulnerable to sex trafficking; adults may be forced to work in agriculture, construction, or as domestics on Mayotte, a French department, and continental Africa; children on Anjouan, including some abandoned by parents who left to seek jobs abroad, are vulnerable to exploitation in domestic service, vending, baking, fishing, and agriculture; children from poor families whose parents place them with a relative or acquaintance for educational opportunities are vulnerable to domestic servitude and physical and sexual abuse; some children in Koranic schools may experience forced labor in agriculture or domestic servitude; inadequate border controls; government corruption, and international crime networks leave Comorians vulnerable to international trafficking (2022)" - } } } } \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/africa/ct.json b/africa/ct.json index 7c059011..60c5f63f 100644 --- a/africa/ct.json +++ b/africa/ct.json @@ -1169,7 +1169,7 @@ }, "Military equipment inventories and acquisitions": { "text": "the FACA is lightly armed; most of the military's heavy weapons and equipment were destroyed or captured during the 2012–2014 civil war; prior to the war, most of its equipment was of French, Russian, or Soviet origin; in recent years, it has received small amounts of secondhand equipment from China and Russia (2023)", - "note": "note: since 2013, CAR has been under a UNSC arms embargo; the embargo bans all supplies of arms and related materiel to the country except to the CAR security forces if approved in advance by the relevant UN Sanctions Committee" + "note": "note: since 2013, CAR has been under a UNSC arms embargo; the embargo bans all supplies of arms and related materiel to the country except to the CAR security forces if approved in advance by the relevant UN Sanctions Committee; in 2023, UNSC took a step towards relaxing the arms embargo by granting permission for weaponry to be supplied to government forces" }, "Military service age and obligation": { "text": "18 years of age for military service; no conscription (2022)" diff --git a/africa/et.json b/africa/et.json index 4e86f45e..089771e8 100644 --- a/africa/et.json +++ b/africa/et.json @@ -1295,14 +1295,6 @@ "text": "2.73 million (includes conflict- and climate-induced IDPs, excluding unverified estimates from the Amhara region; border war with Eritrea from 1998-2000; ethnic clashes; and ongoing fighting between the Ethiopian military and separatist rebel groups in the Somali and Oromia regions; natural disasters; intercommunal violence; most IDPs live in Sumale state) (2023)" } }, - "Trafficking in persons": { - "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Ethiopia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; efforts included prosecuting more potential trafficking crimes, convicting more traffickers, increasing training for law enforcement officials, drafting regulations to create a victim protection fund, and conducting awareness campaigns at the federal and regional levels; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared with the previous year to improve its anti-trafficking capacity; corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns; protection services for victims remained limited and the government continued to rely on civil society organizations to provide most victim services without financial support; officials continued to focus mostly on transnational trafficking rather than on internal trafficking crimes, including domestic servitude and child sex trafficking; many officials continued to conflate human trafficking and migrant smuggling; government efforts to protect Ethiopian trafficking victims abroad remained minimal, and protection services for returning victims were inadequate; therefore, Ethiopia remained on the Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year (2022)" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Ethiopia, as well as Ethiopians abroad; girls from rural areas are exploited in domestic servitude and sex trafficking within the country and boys in forced labor in weaving, construction, agriculture, forced begging, and street vending; girls are exploited by brothel owners in Addis Ababa; traffickers fraudulently recruit vulnerable populations and exploit them in forced labor; several million internally displaced persons are vulnerable to trafficking; nearly 60,000 Ethiopians fleeing conflict in northern regions to seek asylum in Sudan and other neighboring countries are increasingly vulnerable to trafficking; international organizations report armed actors, including Eritrean forces, regional forces, Ethiopian National Defense Force, and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front have committed human rights abuses and gender-based violence against women and girls in Tigray, including potential trafficking crimes; Ethiopian girls are exploited in domestic servitude and sex trafficking in neighboring countries, particularly Djibouti and Sudan; Ethiopian boys face forced labor or criminal activity in Djibouti; Ethiopian women and children are exploited in forced begging in Saudi Arabia, and some women suffer forced labor in Romania’s hotel industry; Ethiopia hosts more than 840,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, mainly from South Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea, who are increasingly vulnerable to trafficking; Cuban medical professionals in Ethiopia may have been forced to work by the Cuban government (2022)" - } - }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "transit hub for heroin originating in Southwest and Southeast Asia and destined for Europe, as well as cocaine destined for markets in southern Africa; cultivates qat (khat) for local use and regional export, principally to Djibouti and Somalia (legal in all three countries); the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money laundering center" } diff --git a/africa/gv.json b/africa/gv.json index 2715307f..7c046de9 100644 --- a/africa/gv.json +++ b/africa/gv.json @@ -1217,14 +1217,6 @@ "Disputes - international": { "text": "Sierra Leone considers Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa Rivers excessive and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands, including the hamlet of Yenga, occupied since 1998
" }, - "Trafficking in persons": { - "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Guinea does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government initiated more investigations, identified and referred more victims to services, and issued an emergency anti-trafficking national action plan (NAP) to supplement the 2020-2022 NAP; officials established a hotline and allocated resources to the anti-trafficking committee; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increased efforts compared to the last year; substantial personnel turnover related to the September 2021 coup d’état hindered anti-trafficking efforts; no data was provided on prosecution of trafficking cases, and while more traffickers were convicted than previously, their sentences did not serve to deter the crime; fines in lieu of imprisonment for sex trafficking remain in the penal code; shelter services for victims remained insufficient, and NGO’s providing victim services did not receive government support; Quranic teachers have not been prosecuted for allegedly forcing child begging; Guinea was granted a waiver per the TVPA from an otherwise required downgraded to Tier 3, therefore Guinea remained on the Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year (2022)" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Guinea and Guineans abroad; Guinea is a source, transit, and, to a lesser extent, a destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking; vulnerable populations include adults and children working in the informal labor sector, homeless and orphaned children, artisanal miners, children and adults with albinism, and the mentally ill; Guinean women and girls are subjected to domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation, while boys are forced to beg, work as street vendors and shoe shiners, or work in mining, herding, fishing, and agriculture; North Koreans working in mining, construction, fishing, and health sectors and Cuban medical professionals working in Guinea may have been forced to work by their respective governments, while Chinese women are reportedly forced into prostitution in Guinea; Guinean women and girls have been exploited in domestic service and sex trafficking in West Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States (2022)" - } - }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "NA" } diff --git a/africa/ly.json b/africa/ly.json index 715867b0..080c5ef2 100644 --- a/africa/ly.json +++ b/africa/ly.json @@ -1,9 +1,4 @@ { - "Introduction": { - "Background": { - "text": "Berbers have inhabited central north Africa since ancient times, but the region has been settled and ruled by Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Vandals. In the the 7th century, Islam spread through the region; in the mid-16th century, Ottoman rule began. The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks in the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not relinquish their hold until 1943 when they were defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar al-QADHAFI assumed leadership and began to espouse his political system at home, which was a combination of socialism and Islam. During the 1970s, QADHAFI used oil revenues to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversive and terrorist activities that included the downing of two airliners - one over Scotland, another in Northern Africa - and a discotheque bombing in Berlin. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically and economically following the attacks; sanctions were lifted in 2003 following Libyan acceptance of responsibility for the bombings and agreement to claimant compensation. QADHAFI also agreed to end Libya's program to develop weapons of mass destruction, and he made significant strides in normalizing relations with Western nations.
Unrest that began in several Middle Eastern and North African countries in late 2010 erupted in Libyan cities in early 2011. QADHAFI's brutal crackdown on protesters spawned an eight-month civil war that saw the emergence of a National Transitional Council (NTC), UN authorization of air and naval intervention by the international community, and the toppling of the QADHAFI regime. In 2012, the NTC handed power to an elected parliament, the General National Congress (GNC). Voters chose a new parliament to replace the GNC in June 2014 - the House of Representatives (HoR) - which relocated to the eastern city of Tobruk after fighting broke out in Tripoli and Benghazi in July 2014.
In December 2015, the UN brokered an agreement among a broad array of Libyan political parties and social groups - known as the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) - establishing an interim executive body, the Government of National Accord (GNA). However, the HoR and defunct-GNC-affiliated political hardliners continued to oppose the GNA and hamper the LPA’s implementation, leaving Libya with eastern and western-based rival governments. In September 2017, UN Special Representative Ghassan SALAME announced a new roadmap for national political reconciliation. In November 2018, the international community supported SALAME’s recalibrated Action Plan for Libya that aimed to break the political deadlock by holding a National Conference in early 2019. These plans, however, were derailed when the eastern-based self-described Libyan National Army (LNA) launched an offensive to seize Tripoli in April 2019. Several countries sent armed personnel and advanced military equipment into Libya. The LNA's offensive collapsed in June 2020, and a subsequent UN-sponsored cease-fire in October 2020 helped formalize the pause in fighting between rival camps, although some foreign forces, fighters, and mercenaries that aided eastern and western factions during the fighting remain in Libya.
In early 2021, the UN-facilitated Libyan Political Dialogue Forum selected a new prime minister for an interim government, the Government of National Unity (GNU), and a new presidential council charged with preparing for presidential and parliamentary elections in December 2021 and uniting the country’s state institutions. The HoR approved the GNU and its cabinet in March 2021, providing Libya with its first unified government since 2014. On 22 December 2021, Libya's parliament postponed the first round of the presidential election to an undetermined date in the future. In March 2022, Libya's HoR voted to replace the GNU's interim Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid DUBAYBAH, with a government led by Fathi BASHAGHA. GNU allegations of an illegitimate HoR vote have allowed Prime Minister DUBAYBAH to remain in office and rebuff BASHAGHA's attempts to seat his government in Tripoli. In late February 2023, Special Representative of the UN Security-General to Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, Abdoulaye BATHILY, announced a plan to enable Libyan presidential and legislative elections by the end of 2023.
Berbers have inhabited central north Africa since ancient times, but the region has been settled and ruled by Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Vandals. In the the 7th century, Islam spread through the region; in the mid-16th century, Ottoman rule began. The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks in the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not relinquish their hold until 1943 when they were defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar al-QADHAFI assumed leadership and began to espouse his political system at home, which was a combination of socialism and Islam. During the 1970s, QADHAFI used oil revenues to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversive and terrorist activities that included the downing of two airliners - one over Scotland, another in Northern Africa - and a discotheque bombing in Berlin. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically and economically following the attacks; sanctions were lifted in 2003 following Libyan acceptance of responsibility for the bombings and agreement to claimant compensation. QADHAFI also agreed to end Libya's program to develop weapons of mass destruction, and he made significant strides in normalizing relations with Western nations.
Unrest that began in several Middle Eastern and North African countries in late 2010 erupted in Libyan cities in early 2011. QADHAFI's brutal crackdown on protesters spawned an eight-month civil war that saw the emergence of a National Transitional Council (NTC), UN authorization of air and naval intervention by the international community, and the toppling of the QADHAFI regime. In 2012, the NTC handed power to an elected parliament, the General National Congress (GNC). Voters chose a new parliament to replace the GNC in June 2014 - the House of Representatives (HoR) - which relocated to the eastern city of Tobruk after fighting broke out in Tripoli and Benghazi in July 2014.
In December 2015, the UN brokered an agreement among a broad array of Libyan political parties and social groups - known as the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) - establishing an interim executive body, the Government of National Accord (GNA). However, the HoR and defunct-GNC-affiliated political hardliners continued to oppose the GNA and hamper the LPA’s implementation, leaving Libya with eastern and western-based rival governments. In September 2017, UN Special Representative Ghassan SALAME announced a new roadmap for national political reconciliation. In November 2018, the international community supported SALAME’s recalibrated Action Plan for Libya that aimed to break the political deadlock by holding a National Conference in early 2019. These plans, however, were derailed when the eastern-based self-described Libyan National Army (LNA) launched an offensive to seize Tripoli in April 2019. Several countries sent armed personnel and advanced military equipment into Libya. The LNA's offensive collapsed in June 2020, and a subsequent UN-sponsored cease-fire in October 2020 helped formalize the pause in fighting between rival camps, although some foreign forces, fighters, and mercenaries that aided eastern and western factions during the fighting remain in Libya.
In early 2021, the UN-facilitated Libyan Political Dialogue Forum selected a new prime minister for an interim government, the Government of National Unity (GNU), and a new presidential council charged with preparing for presidential and parliamentary elections in December 2021 and uniting the country’s state institutions. The HoR approved the GNU and its cabinet in March 2021, providing Libya with its first unified government since 2014. On 22 December 2021, Libya's parliament postponed the first round of the presidential election to an undetermined date in the future. In March 2022, Libya's HoR voted to replace the GNU's interim Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid DUBAYBAH, with a government led by Fathi BASHAGHA. GNU allegations of an illegitimate HoR vote have allowed Prime Minister DUBAYBAH to remain in office and rebuff BASHAGHA's attempts to seat his government in Tripoli. In late February 2023, Special Representative of the UN Security-General to Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, Abdoulaye BATHILY, announced a plan to enable Libyan presidential and legislative elections by the end of 2023.
a transit point for illicit drugs trafficked to Europe; trafficking controlled by armed groups, criminal organizations, terrorist groups and government officials that facilitate, protect and profit from the activity
" } diff --git a/africa/mr.json b/africa/mr.json index e8910c54..75b33925 100644 --- a/africa/mr.json +++ b/africa/mr.json @@ -1244,14 +1244,6 @@ "text": "26,000 (Sahrawis) (2021); 98,202 (Mali) (2022)" } }, - "Trafficking in persons": { - "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Mauritania does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government implemented a new law allowing anti-slavery NGOs to operate more freely, established a permanent anti-trafficking coordinating committee, and increased funding for its national action plan; officials conducted public awareness campaigns, helped organize a sub-regional symposium on combating slavery, and initiated three hereditary slavery investigations; however, Mauritania did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; the government did not prosecute or convict any alleged traffickers, courts effectively dismissed all pending cases against alleged slaveholders from the previous reporting period, and officials did not identify any victims for the fourth consecutive year; because the government has devoted sufficient resources to a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute significant efforts to meet the minimum standards, Mauritania was granted a waiver per the TVPA from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 and, therefore, remained on the Tier 2 Watch List (2022)" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Mauritania, as well as Mauritanians abroad; adults and children from traditional slave castes are subjected to slavery-related practices rooted in ancestral master-slave relationships; Mauritanian and other West African boys are trafficked within the country by religious teachers for forced begging; West African women and girls, especially Senegalese and Ivoirians, are exploited in domestic labor and sex trafficking in Mauritania; Sub-Saharan African migrants transiting the port city of Nouadhibou en route to Morocco and Europe are exploited in forced labor and sex trafficking; Mauritanian women and girls, fraudulently recruited for jobs abroad, are transported to Gulf states and subjected to domestic servitude and sex trafficking (2022)" - } - }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "NA" } diff --git a/africa/mz.json b/africa/mz.json index 185c4528..2c7c6c7c 100644 --- a/africa/mz.json +++ b/africa/mz.json @@ -590,7 +590,7 @@ "text": "president elected directly by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for 2 consecutive terms); election last held on 15 October 2019 (next to be held on 15 October 2024); prime minister appointed by the president" }, "election results": { - "text": "2019: Filipe NYUSI elected president in first round; percent of vote - Filipe NYUSI (FRELIMO) 73.0%, Ossufo MOMADE (RENAMO) 21.9%, Daviz SIMANGO (MDM) 5.1%Present-day Niger originated from the nomadic peoples of the Saharan north and the agriculturalists of the south. The Taureg kingdom of Takedda was one of the largest kingdoms in the north and played a prominent role in regional trade in the 14th century. In the south, the primary ethnic groups were the Songhai-Zarma in the west, the Hausa in the center, and the Kanuri in the east. When European colonizers arrived in the 19th century, the region was an assemblage of disparate local kingdoms.
In the late 19th century, the British and French agreed to partition the middle regions of the Niger River, and France began its conquest of what would become the colony of Niger. France experienced determined local resistance - particularly during the Tuareg uprising (1916-1917) - but established a colonial administration in 1922.
After achieving independence from France in 1960, Niger experienced single-party or military rule until 1991 when political pressure forced General Ali SAIBOU to allow multiparty elections. Political infighting and democratic backsliding led to coups in 1996 and 1999. In December of that year, military officers restored democratic rule and held elections that brought Mamadou TANDJA to power. TANDJA was reelected in 2004 and spearheaded a 2009 constitutional amendment allowing him to extend his presidential term. In February 2010, military officers led another coup that deposed TANDJA. ISSOUFOU Mahamadou was elected in April 2011 and reelected in early 2016. In February 2021, BAZOUM Mohammed won the presidential election, marking Niger’s first transition from one democratically elected president to another. Nonetheless, a military junta once again seized power in late April 2023, detaining President BAZOUM, and announcing the creation of a National Council for the Salvation of the Homeland.
Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world with minimal government services and insufficient funds to develop its resource base. It is ranked last in the world on the UN Development Program's Human Development Index. The largely agrarian and subsistence-based economy is frequently disrupted by extended droughts common to the Sahel region of Africa. The Nigerien Government continues its attempts to diversify the economy through increased oil production and mining projects. In addition, Niger is facing increased security concerns on its borders from various external threats including insecurity in Libya, spillover from the conflict and terrorism in Mali, and violent extremism in northeastern Nigeria.
Present-day Niger originated from the nomadic peoples of the Saharan north and the agriculturalists of the south. The Taureg kingdom of Takedda was one of the largest kingdoms in the north and played a prominent role in regional trade in the 14th century. In the south, the primary ethnic groups were the Songhai-Zarma in the west, the Hausa in the center, and the Kanuri in the east. When European colonizers arrived in the 19th century, the region was an assemblage of disparate local kingdoms.
In the late 19th century, the British and French agreed to partition the middle regions of the Niger River, and France began its conquest of what would become the colony of Niger. France experienced determined local resistance - particularly during the Tuareg uprising (1916-1917) - but established a colonial administration in 1922.
After achieving independence from France in 1960, Niger experienced single-party or military rule until 1991 when political pressure forced General Ali SAIBOU to allow multiparty elections. Political infighting and democratic backsliding led to coups in 1996 and 1999. In December of that year, military officers restored democratic rule and held elections that brought Mamadou TANDJA to power. TANDJA was reelected in 2004 and spearheaded a 2009 constitutional amendment allowing him to extend his presidential term. In February 2010, military officers led another coup that deposed TANDJA. ISSOUFOU Mahamadou was elected in April 2011 and reelected in early 2016. In February 2021, BAZOUM Mohammed won the presidential election, marking Niger’s first transition from one democratically elected president to another. Nonetheless, a military junta once again seized power in late July 2023, detaining President BAZOUM, and announcing the creation of a National Council for the Salvation of the Homeland.
Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world with minimal government services and insufficient funds to develop its resource base. It is ranked last in the world on the UN Development Program's Human Development Index. The largely agrarian and subsistence-based economy is frequently disrupted by extended droughts common to the Sahel region of Africa. The Nigerien Government continues its attempts to diversify the economy through increased oil production and mining projects. In addition, Niger is facing increased security concerns on its borders from various external threats including insecurity in Libya, spillover from the conflict and terrorism in Mali, and violent extremism in northeastern Nigeria.
In ancient and pre-colonial times, the area of present-day Nigeria was occupied by a great diversity of ethnic groups with different languages and traditions. These included large Islamic kingdoms such as Borno, Kano, and the Sokoto Caliphate dominating the north, the Benin and Oyo Empires that controlled much of modern western Nigeria, and more decentralized political entities and city states in the south and southeast. In 1914, the British amalgamated their separately administered northern and southern territories into a Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Nigeria achieved independence in 1960 and transitioned to a federal republic with three constituent states in 1963 under President Nnamdi AZIKIWE. This structure served to enflame regional and ethnic tension, contributing to a bloody coup led by predominately southeastern military officers in 1966 and a countercoup later that year masterminded by northern officers. In the aftermath of this tension, the governor of Nigeria’s Eastern Region, centered on the southeast, declared the region independent as the Republic of Biafra. The ensuring civil war (1967-1970), resulted in more than a million deaths, many from starvation. While the war forged a stronger Nigerian state and national identity, it contributed to long-lasting mistrust of the southeast’s predominantly Igbo population. Wartime military leader Yakubu GOWON ruled until a bloodless coup by frustrated junior officers in 1975. This generation of officers, including Olusegun OBASANJO, Ibrahim BABANGIDA, and Muhammadu BUHARI, continue to exert significant influence in Nigeria to the present day. Military rule predominated until the first durable transition to civilian government in 1999. The general elections of 2007 marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country's history. National and state elections in 2011 and 2015 were generally regarded as credible. The 2015 election was also heralded for the fact that the then-umbrella opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, defeated the long-ruling (since 1999) People's Democratic Party, and assumed the presidency, marking the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another. Presidential and legislative elections in 2019 and 2023 were deemed broadly free and fair despite voting irregularities, intimidation, and violence. The government continues to face the daunting task of institutionalizing democracy and reforming a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through decades of corruption and mismanagement. In addition, Nigeria faces increasing violence from Islamic terrorism, largely in the northeast, large scale criminal banditry focused in the northwest, secessionist violence in the southeast, and competition over land and resources nationwide.
" - } - }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon" @@ -117,6 +112,11 @@ "text": "the Niger River enters the country in the northwest and flows southward through tropical rain forests and swamps to its delta in the Gulf of Guinea" } }, + "Introduction": { + "Background": { + "text": "In ancient and pre-colonial times, the area of present-day Nigeria was occupied by a great diversity of ethnic groups with different languages and traditions. These included large Islamic kingdoms such as Borno, Kano, and the Sokoto Caliphate dominating the north, the Benin and Oyo Empires that controlled much of modern western Nigeria, and more decentralized political entities and city states in the south and southeast. In 1914, the British amalgamated their separately administered northern and southern territories into a Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Nigeria achieved independence in 1960 and transitioned to a federal republic with three constituent states in 1963 under President Nnamdi AZIKIWE. This structure served to enflame regional and ethnic tension, contributing to a bloody coup led by predominately southeastern military officers in 1966 and a countercoup later that year masterminded by northern officers. In the aftermath of this tension, the governor of Nigeria’s Eastern Region, centered on the southeast, declared the region independent as the Republic of Biafra. The ensuring civil war (1967-1970), resulted in more than a million deaths, many from starvation. While the war forged a stronger Nigerian state and national identity, it contributed to long-lasting mistrust of the southeast’s predominantly Igbo population. Wartime military leader Yakubu GOWON ruled until a bloodless coup by frustrated junior officers in 1975. This generation of officers, including Olusegun OBASANJO, Ibrahim BABANGIDA, and Muhammadu BUHARI, continue to exert significant influence in Nigeria to the present day. Military rule predominated until the first durable transition to civilian government in 1999. The general elections of 2007 marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country's history. National and state elections in 2011 and 2015 were generally regarded as credible. The 2015 election was also heralded for the fact that the then-umbrella opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, defeated the long-ruling (since 1999) People's Democratic Party, and assumed the presidency, marking the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another. Presidential and legislative elections in 2019 and 2023 were deemed broadly free and fair despite voting irregularities, intimidation, and violence. The government continues to face the daunting task of institutionalizing democracy and reforming a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through decades of corruption and mismanagement. In addition, Nigeria faces increasing violence from Islamic terrorism, largely in the northeast, large scale criminal banditry focused in the northwest, secessionist violence in the southeast, and competition over land and resources nationwide.
" + } + }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "230,842,743 (2023 est.)" @@ -576,10 +576,10 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "President Bola TINBU (since 29 May 2023); Vice President Kashim SHETTIMA (since 29 May 2023); note - the president is both chief of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces" + "text": "President Bola Ahmed Adekunle TINUBU (since 29 May 2023); Vice President Kashim SHETTIMA (since 29 May 2023); note - the president is both chief of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces" }, "head of government": { - "text": "President Bola TINBU (since 29 May 2023); Vice President Kashim SHETTIMA (since 29 May 2023)" + "text": "President Bola Ahmed Adekunle TINUBU (since 29 May 2023); Vice President Kashim SHETTIMA (since 29 May 2023)" }, "cabinet": { "text": "Federal Executive Council appointed by the president but constrained constitutionally to include at least one member from each of the 36 states" @@ -588,7 +588,7 @@ "text": "president directly elected by qualified majority popular vote and at least 25% of the votes cast in 24 of Nigeria's 36 states; president elected for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 25 February 2023 (next to be held on 27 February 2027)" }, "election results": { - "text": "2023: Bola TINUBU elected president; percent of vote - Bola TINUBU (APC) 36%, Atiku ABUBAKAR (PDP) 29%, Peter OBI (LP) 25%, Rabiu KWANKWASO (NNPP) 6%
2019: Muhammadu BUHARI elected president; percent of vote - Muhammadu BUHARI (APC) 53%, Atiku ABUBAKAR (PDP) 39%, other 8%
" + "text": "
2023: Bola Ahmed Adekunle TINUBU elected president; percent of vote - Bola Ahmed Adekunle TINUBU (APC) 36%, Atiku ABUBAKAR (PDP) 29%, Peter OBI (LP) 25%, Rabiu KWANKWASO (NNPP) 6%
2019: Muhammadu BUHARI elected president; percent of vote - Muhammadu BUHARI (APC) 53%, Atiku ABUBAKAR (PDP) 39%, other 8%
" } }, "Legislative branch": { diff --git a/africa/sg.json b/africa/sg.json index 6e09221c..96882e62 100644 --- a/africa/sg.json +++ b/africa/sg.json @@ -623,7 +623,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Alliance for Citizenship and Work or ACT [Abdoul MBAYE]
a transit point on the cocaine route from South America to Europe; large production of cannabis in southern Casamance region; the high domestic use of cannabis, crack cocaine and to a lesser extent heroin
" } diff --git a/africa/sh.json b/africa/sh.json index 56e58b86..9c497797 100644 --- a/africa/sh.json +++ b/africa/sh.json @@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ } }, "Climate": { - "text": "Saint Helena: tropical marine; mild, tempered by trade winds;
Ascension Island: tropical marine; mild, semi-arid;
Tristan da Cunha: temperate marine; mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena)
" + "text": "Saint Helena: tropical marine; mild, tempered by trade winds
Ascension Island: tropical marine; mild, semi-arid
Tristan da Cunha: temperate marine; mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena)
" }, "Terrain": { "text": "the islands of this group are of volcanic origin associated with the Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge
Saint Helena: rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains;
Ascension: surface covered by lava flows and cinder cones of 44 dormant volcanoes; terrain rises to the east;
Tristan da Cunha: sheer cliffs line the coastline of the nearly circular island; the flanks of the central volcanic peak are deeply dissected; narrow coastal plain lies between The Peak and the coastal cliffs
" @@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ "text": "development threatens unique biota on Saint Helena" }, "Climate": { - "text": "Saint Helena: tropical marine; mild, tempered by trade winds;
Ascension Island: tropical marine; mild, semi-arid;
Tristan da Cunha: temperate marine; mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena)
" + "text": "Saint Helena: tropical marine; mild, tempered by trade winds
Ascension Island: tropical marine; mild, semi-arid
Tristan da Cunha: temperate marine; mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena)
" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { diff --git a/africa/uv.json b/africa/uv.json index 728bdba6..49f9abe3 100644 --- a/africa/uv.json +++ b/africa/uv.json @@ -1227,14 +1227,6 @@ "IDPs": { "text": "1,761,915 (2022)
" } - }, - "Trafficking in persons": { - "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Burkina Faso does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government has established child protection units throughout the country, identifying potential victims, and continued working with teachers to prevent forced child begging; officials collaborated with international organizations and foreign donors to implement a humanitarian response plan to assist vulnerable people in conflict-affected areas, including potential trafficking victims; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared to the previous year to improve its anti-trafficking capacity; substantial personnel turnover, related to the January 2022 coup d’état and formation of a transition government, hindered Burkina Faso’s ability to maintain consistent anti-trafficking efforts; officials did not report any prosecutions or convictions for the third consecutive year nor effectively screen vulnerable populations; the national anti-trafficking committee did not meet or coordinate anti-trafficking activities; the government did not adequately address complicity in trafficking crimes, including allegations of local officials exploiting internally displaced persons (IDPs) in sex trafficking; therefore, Burkina Faso remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year (2022)" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Burkina Faso, and traffickers exploit victims from Burkina Faso abroad; traffickers fraudulently recruit Burkinabe children under the pretext of educational opportunities and exploit them as farm hands, laborers in artisanal mines, street vendors, and domestic servants; some parents knowingly allow their children to be exploited in domestic servitude to supplement family income; girls are exploited in sex trafficking in Ouagadougou and mining towns; some Quranic teachers force students to beg, sometimes with their parents’ knowledge; traffickers transport Burkinabe children—including homeless children—to Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, and Niger for forced labor in artisanal mining, forced begging, cocoa production, and sex trafficking; traffickers recruit women with fraudulent employment offers to work in Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and—to a lesser extent—Europe then exploit them in sex trafficking or domestic servitude; more than 1.4 million IDPs are vulnerable to forced labor and sex trafficking; violent extremist groups exploit women and children in forced labor and sex trafficking, recruit and use child soldiers, and reportedly coerce victims to carry out attacks or act as accomplices; traffickers exploit children from neighboring countries, including Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria, in forced labor and sex trafficking; women from other West African countries are falsely recruited for employment in Burkina Faso and then exploited in forced labor in restaurants or domestic service; Nigerian women and girls are recruited for work in shops and salons and instead exploited in sex trafficking in mining regions; Cubans, including medical professionals, working in Burkina Faso may have been forced to work by the Cuban government; Burkina Faso is a transit country for traffickers moving children from Mali to Cote d’Ivoire and women and girls from Cote d’Ivoire to Saudi Arabia, as well as Ghanaian migrants traveling to Libya and Italy, some of whom are trafficking victims (2022)" - } } } } \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/africa/za.json b/africa/za.json index b5057c6d..e987ed20 100644 --- a/africa/za.json +++ b/africa/za.json @@ -1245,15 +1245,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "55,753 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (refugees and asylum seekers), 7,866 (Burundi) (2023)" - } - }, - "Trafficking in persons": { - "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Zambia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; efforts included increasing investigations, prosecutions, and convictions in trafficking crimes, launching a national action plan for trafficking in persons and implementing a national referral mechanism, and increasing screening and identification of victims among migrants; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to expand anti-trafficking capacity; officials did not amend laws to criminalize all forms of child sex trafficking, nor approve guidelines for funding or shelter operations; because the government has devoted sufficient resources to a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute significant efforts to meet the minimum standards, Zambia was granted a waiver per the TVPA from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 and, therefore, remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year (2022)" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Zambia as well as Zambians abroad; most trafficking occurs within Zambia’s borders, with traffickers exploiting women and children from rural areas in domestic servitude or forced labor in agriculture, textile production, mining, construction, small businesses, and forced begging; Jerabo—small illegal mining gangs—may force Zambian children into illegal mining operations, such as loading stolen copper or crushing rocks; orphans and children from rural areas are vulnerable to sex trafficking and forced labor; truck drivers exploit Zambian boys and girls in sex trafficking in towns along the Zimbabwean and Tanzanian borders, and miners exploit them in Solwezi; Zambian boys are exploited for sex trafficking in Zimbabwe, women and girls face sex trafficking in South Africa, and some women are recruited for domestic servitude in Lebanon and Oman; women and children from neighboring counties are exploited in force labor and sex trafficking in Zambia; some Chinese women and girls brought to Zambia by Chinese traffickers are sexually exploited in brothels and massage businesses; traffickers exploit victims from Tanzania and Malawi in the Zambian timber industry (2022)" + "text": "56,687 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (refugees and asylum seekers), 7,866 (Burundi) (2023)" } }, "Illicit drugs": { diff --git a/africa/zi.json b/africa/zi.json index 39612621..ff1f4624 100644 --- a/africa/zi.json +++ b/africa/zi.json @@ -1220,15 +1220,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "11,781 (Democratic Republic of Congo) (refugees and asylum seekers), 9,907 (Mozambique) (2023)" - } - }, - "Trafficking in persons": { - "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List - Zimbabwe does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government investigated and prosecuted human trafficking cases and conducted training for law enforcement, immigration, and other key officials; however, Zimbabwe did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to increase anti-trafficking capacity; officials did not amend laws to criminalize all forms of trafficking, did not identify or provide care for any trafficking victims, nor convict any traffickers; therefore Zimbabwe remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year (2022)" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Zimbabwe, as well as Zimbabweans abroad; internal trafficking is prevalent and underreported, with adults and children exploited in sex trafficking and forced labor in cattle herding, domestic service, and the mining sectors; most child labor occurs in the agricultural sector; Zimbabwean women and girls from towns bordering South Africa, Mozambique, and Zambia are subjected to forced labor, including domestic servitude, and sex trafficking catering to long-distance truck drivers; Zimbabwean men and children are exploited in illegal diamond and gold mining, and some children are exploited by sex traffickers in illegal mining areas; Zimbabwean women and men are lured into forced labor in neighboring countries, particularly South Africa and the Middle East; women are sex trafficked in South Africa by international criminal syndicates, while traffickers force others into domestic servitude, forced labor, and sex trafficking in Iraq, Kenya, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, China, and Uganda, often under the guise of legitimate employment; Zimbabwe is a transit country for Somalis, Ethiopians, Malawians, and Zambians en route to South Africa, and is also a destination country for forced labor and sex trafficking (2022)" + "text": "11,811 (Democratic Republic of Congo) (refugees and asylum seekers), 9,907 (Mozambique) (2023)" } }, "Illicit drugs": { diff --git a/antarctica/fs.json b/antarctica/fs.json index ed13c4da..0736de5a 100644 --- a/antarctica/fs.json +++ b/antarctica/fs.json @@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ } }, "Climate": { - "text": "Ile Amsterdam et Ile Saint-Paul: oceanic with persistent westerly winds and high humidity;
Iles Crozet: windy, cold, wet, and cloudy;
Iles Kerguelen: oceanic, cold, overcast, windy;
Iles Eparses: tropical
" + "text": "Ile Amsterdam et Ile Saint-Paul: oceanic with persistent westerly winds and high humidity
Iles Crozet: windy, cold, wet, and cloudy
Iles Kerguelen: oceanic, cold, overcast, windy
Iles Eparses: tropical
" }, "Terrain": { "text": "Ile Amsterdam (Ile Amsterdam et Ile Saint-Paul): a volcanic island with steep coastal cliffs; the center floor of the volcano is a large plateau;
Ile Saint-Paul (Ile Amsterdam et Ile Saint-Paul): triangular in shape, the island is the top of a volcano, rocky with steep cliffs on the eastern side; has active thermal springs;
Iles Crozet: a large archipelago formed from the Crozet Plateau is divided into two groups of islands;
Iles Kerguelen: the interior of the large island of Ile Kerguelen is composed of high mountains, hills, valleys, and plains with peninsulas stretching off its coasts;
Bassas da India (Iles Eparses): atoll, awash at high tide; shallow (15 m) lagoon;
Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island: low, flat, and sandy;
Tromelin Island (Iles Eparses): low, flat, sandy; likely volcanic seamount
" @@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ "text": "introduction of foreign species on Iles Crozet has caused severe damage to the original ecosystem; overfishing of Patagonian toothfish around Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen" }, "Climate": { - "text": "Ile Amsterdam et Ile Saint-Paul: oceanic with persistent westerly winds and high humidity;
Iles Crozet: windy, cold, wet, and cloudy;
Iles Kerguelen: oceanic, cold, overcast, windy;
Iles Eparses: tropical
" + "text": "Ile Amsterdam et Ile Saint-Paul: oceanic with persistent westerly winds and high humidity
Iles Crozet: windy, cold, wet, and cloudy
Iles Kerguelen: oceanic, cold, overcast, windy
Iles Eparses: tropical
" } }, "Government": { diff --git a/australia-oceania/ps.json b/australia-oceania/ps.json index 790a335c..07e73822 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/ps.json +++ b/australia-oceania/ps.json @@ -839,7 +839,7 @@ "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { - "text": "100% (2018)" + "text": "100% (2021)" } } }, @@ -947,7 +947,7 @@ "text": "no regular military forces; the Ministry of Justice includes divisions/bureaus for public security, police functions, and maritime law enforcement (2023)" }, "Military equipment inventories and acquisitions": { - "text": "since 2018, Australia and Japan have provided patrol boats to Palau's Division of Marine Law Enforcement (2022)" + "text": "since 2018, Australia and Japan have provided patrol boats to Palau's Division of Marine Law Enforcement (2023)" }, "Military - note": { "text": "under the Compact of Free Association (COFA) between Palau and the US, the US is responsible for the defense of Palau and the US military is granted access to the islands, but it has not stationed any military forces there; the COFA also allows citizens of Palau to serve in the US armed forcesPalau-Indonesia: maritime delineation negotiations continue with Philippines, Indonesia
Palau-Philippines: maritime delineation negotiations continue with Philippines, Indonesia
" - }, - "Trafficking in persons": { - "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Palau does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; Palau convicted a trafficker for the first time since 2018, convicted a government official for corruption in trafficking-related crimes, initiated two prosecutions, established an interagency working group, and conducted public awareness campaigns; it also finalized and implemented a national action plan and hired an investigator and victim advocate for its Anti-Human Trafficking Unit; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared to the previous year to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; officials lacked standard operating procedures for victim identification and referral to services; a lenient sentence for a convicted trafficker weakened deterrence, undercut efforts to fight trafficking, and placed victims who cooperated with the investigation and prosecution at risk; therefore, Palau remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year (2022)" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Palau; foreigners in Palau number about one-third of the population of nearly 22,000, and those with little education or English language proficiency are particularly at risk of trafficking; Filipino, Bangladeshi, Nepali, Thai, Korean, and Chinese adult nationals pay thousands of dollars in recruitment fees to migrate to Palau for jobs in domestic service, agriculture, restaurants, or construction, but some become trafficking victims; some women from the Philippines and China, recruited to work as waitresses or clerks, are exploited in sex trafficking; some foreign workers on fishing boats experience conditions indicative of human trafficking; Cubans working in Palau may have been forced to work by the Cuban government; official complicity facilitates some trafficking; government officials--including labor, immigration, law enforcement, and elected officials—have been investigated for complicity in trafficking crimes (2022)" - } } } } \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/australia-oceania/rm.json b/australia-oceania/rm.json index f87fd90a..c7d5d82d 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/rm.json +++ b/australia-oceania/rm.json @@ -502,7 +502,7 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "President David KABUA (since 13 January 2020); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government" + "text": "President David KABUA (since 13 January 2020); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government" }, "head of government": { "text": "President David KABUA (since 13 January 2020)" @@ -514,7 +514,7 @@ "text": "president indirectly elected by the Nitijela from among its members for a 4-year term (no term limits); election last held on 6 January 2020 (next to be held in 2024)" }, "election results": { - "text": "David KABUA elected president; Parliament vote - David KABUA 20, Hilda C. HEINE 12" + "text": "David KABUA elected president; National Parliament vote - David KABUA 20, Hilda C. HEINE 12" } }, "Legislative branch": { diff --git a/australia-oceania/tn.json b/australia-oceania/tn.json index a932ef65..d9d7fce1 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/tn.json +++ b/australia-oceania/tn.json @@ -1126,14 +1126,6 @@ "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { "text": "Tonga-Fiji: Fiji does not recognize Tonga’s 1972 claim to the Minerva Reefs and their surrounding waters; the Minerva Reefs’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone includes valuable fishing grounds
" - }, - "Trafficking in persons": { - "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Tonga does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; these efforts included providing funding to an NGO to assist trafficking victims; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared to the previous year to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; officials did not identify any victims, develop procedures to do so, or investigate any cases of trafficking; therefore, Tonga remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year (2022)" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Tonga, as well as Tongans abroad; East Asian women, especially from China, are recruited for legitimate work but charged excessive recruitment fees and are vulnerable to sex trafficking; some Tongan women and children are vulnerable to forced labor in domestic work, and children are vulnerable to sex trafficking; Fijians working in Tonga’s domestic service industry may experience mistreatment indicative of trafficking; Chinese nationals working in construction on government infrastructure projects in Tonga are vulnerable to trafficking; Tongan adults working overseas, including in Australia and New Zealand, are vulnerable to labor trafficking (2022)" - } } } } \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/australia-oceania/um.json b/australia-oceania/um.json index 8238ef3b..f51fd982 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/um.json +++ b/australia-oceania/um.json @@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ } }, "Climate": { - "text": "
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun;
Johnston Atoll and Kingman Reef: tropical, but generally dry; consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation;
Midway Islands: subtropical with cool, moist winters (December to February) and warm, dry summers (May to October); moderated by prevailing easterly winds; most of the 107 cm of annual rainfall occurs during the winter;
Palmyra Atoll: equatorial, hot; located within the low pressure area of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) where the northeast and southeast trade winds meet, it is extremely wet with between 400-500 cm of rainfall each year
" + "text": "Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Johnston Atoll and Kingman Reef: tropical, but generally dry; consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation
Midway Islands: subtropical with cool, moist winters (December to February) and warm, dry summers (May to October); moderated by prevailing easterly winds; most of the 107 cm of annual rainfall occurs during the winter
Palmyra Atoll: equatorial, hot; located within the low pressure area of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) where the northeast and southeast trade winds meet, it is extremely wet with between 400-500 cm of rainfall each year
" }, "Terrain": { "text": "low and nearly flat sandy coral islands with narrow fringing reefs that have developed at the top of submerged volcanic mountains, which in most cases rise steeply from the ocean floor" @@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ "text": "Baker Island: no natural freshwater resources; feral cats, introduced in 1937 during a short-lived colonization effort, ravaged the avian population and were eradicated in 1965
Howland Island: no natural freshwater resources; the island habitat has suffered from invasive exotic species; black rats, introduced in 1854, were eradicated by feral cats within a year of their introduction in 1937; the cats preyed on the bird population and were eliminated by 1985
Jarvis Island: no natural freshwater resources; feral cats, introduced in the 1930s during a short-lived colonization venture, were not completely removed until 1990
Johnston Atoll: no natural freshwater resources; the seven decades under US military administration (1934-2004) left the atoll environmentally degraded and required large-scale remediation efforts; a swarm of Anoplolepis (crazy) ants invaded the island in 2010 damaging native wildlife; eradication has been largely, but not completely, successful
Midway Islands: many exotic species introduced, 75% of the roughly 200 plant species on the island are non-native; plastic pollution harms wildlife, via entanglement, ingestion, and toxic contamination
Kingman Reef: none
Palmyra Atoll: black rats, believed to have been introduced to the atoll during the US military occupation of the 1940s, severely degraded the ecosystem outcompeting native species (seabirds, crabs); following a successful rat removal project in 2011, native flora and fauna have begun to recover
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun;
Johnston Atoll and Kingman Reef: tropical, but generally dry; consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation;
Midway Islands: subtropical with cool, moist winters (December to February) and warm, dry summers (May to October); moderated by prevailing easterly winds; most of the 107 cm of annual rainfall occurs during the winter;
Palmyra Atoll: equatorial, hot; located within the low pressure area of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) where the northeast and southeast trade winds meet, it is extremely wet with between 400-500 cm of rainfall each year
" + "text": "Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Johnston Atoll and Kingman Reef: tropical, but generally dry; consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation
Midway Islands: subtropical with cool, moist winters (December to February) and warm, dry summers (May to October); moderated by prevailing easterly winds; most of the 107 cm of annual rainfall occurs during the winter
Palmyra Atoll: equatorial, hot; located within the low pressure area of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) where the northeast and southeast trade winds meet, it is extremely wet with between 400-500 cm of rainfall each year
" }, "Land use": { "other": { diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/aa.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/aa.json index 56816d98..a4fe90a7 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/aa.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/aa.json @@ -982,14 +982,6 @@ "text": "17,000 (Venezuela) (2021)" } }, - "Trafficking in persons": { - "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Aruba does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government identified more potential victims, investigated more trafficking cases, and produced a new awareness campaign; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts, compared to the previous reporting period, on its anti-trafficking capacity; authorities did not prosecute or convict any traffickers for the third consecutive year and sometimes relied on victims to self-identify; efforts depended on ad hoc funding, limiting key initiatives; officials conflated trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling, hindering the effectiveness of anti-trafficking efforts; because the government has devoted significant resources to a plan that, if implemented, would constitute significant efforts to meet minimum standards, Aruba was granted a waiver per the TVPA and thus remained on the Tier 2 Watch List for a third consecutive year (2022)" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims; traffickers exploit Venezuelan women in sex trafficking, and foreign men and women are subject to forced labor in Aruba’s services and construction sectors; Venezuelans overstaying visas are at risk of forced labor in domestic service, construction, and commercial sex; Chinese men and women and Indian men are subject to forced labor in retail businesses and domestic service; Arubans force Caribbean and South American women into domestic servitude; officials reported increases in forced criminality, where traffickers compel victims to commit unlawful acts, such as robberies and drug-related offenses (2022)
" - } - }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "northbound transshipment point for cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela; cocaine shipped to the United States, other Caribbean islands, Africa, and Europe
" } diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/ac.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/ac.json index 9b105df6..691f19cf 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/ac.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/ac.json @@ -1060,14 +1060,6 @@ "Disputes - international": { "text": "
none identified
" }, - "Trafficking in persons": { - "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch list – Antigua and Barbuda does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; more trafficking cases were investigated, Family and Social Services officials were trained for the first time, and funding continued for the National Action Plan; however, the government did not identify any victims for the second consecutive year, nor initiate any prosecutions or convictions of traffickers; therefore Antigua and Barbuda was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List (2022)" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Antigua and Barbuda, and exploit victims from Antigua and Barbuda abroad; individuals from minority communities are at higher risk; documented and undocumented migrants from the Caribbean, notably Jamaica, Guyana, and the Dominican Republic, were victims of sex trafficking and forced labor; traffickers exploited victims in multiple-destination trafficking, arriving in Antigua and Barbuda for a few months before being exploited in other Caribbean countries such as St. Kitts and Nevis and Barbados; sex trafficking, including girls, occurs in bars, taverns, and brothels; forced labor, including children, occurs in domestic service and retail stores, particularly family-owned businesses; Cuban and PRC nationals working in Antigua and Barbuda may have been forced to work there by their own governments (2022)" - } - }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "a transit point for cocaine and marijuana destined for North America, Europe, and elsewhere in the Caribbean; some local demand for cocaine and some use of synthetic drugs
" } diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/es.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/es.json index 1295bb65..8eff7e30 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/es.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/es.json @@ -1227,7 +1227,7 @@ "text": "175 Mali (MINUSMA) (May 2022)" }, "Military - note": { - "text": "the Armed Force of El Salvador (FAES) is responsible for defending national sovereignty and ensuring territorial integrity but also has considerable domestic security responsibilities; while the National Civil Police (PNC) is responsible for maintaining public security, the country’s constitution allows the president to use the FAES “in exceptional circumstances” to maintain internal peace and public security; in 2016, the government created a special 1,000-strong joint unit of Army commandos and police to fight criminal gangs; more military personnel were devoted to internal security beginning in 2019 when President BUKELE signed a decree authorizing military involvement in police duties to combat rising gang violence, organized crime, and narcotics trafficking, as well as assisting with border security; since the decree, a considerable portion of the Army has been deployed in support of the PNC; in late 2022 for example, more than 8,000 troops were deployed alongside some 2,000 police to a town on the outskirts of the capital to search for criminal gang membersSaint Lucia-Venezuela: joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea
" }, - "Trafficking in persons": { - "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Saint Lucia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government passed an amendment to remove the option for a fine in lieu of imprisonment, increased public awareness of a hotline to report trafficking, and worked with an international partner to investigate a potential child sex trafficking case; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared with the previous year to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; officials have not initiated a prosecution since 2015 and have never convicted a trafficker; the government did not identify any victims for the second consecutive year or report providing any services to victims, and it did not enact or fund a new national action plan; therefore, Saint Lucia was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List (2022)" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Saint Lucia, as well as victims from Saint Lucia abroad; children from economically disadvantaged families are at risk of sex trafficking, often forced by parents or caretakers in exchange for goods or services; disadvantaged young women from rural areas are vulnerable to sex trafficking, and children from poor communities are vulnerable to sexual exploitation; documented and undocumented migrants from the Caribbean and South Asia, including domestic workers, are vulnerable to trafficking; foreign women working in strip clubs and in commercial sex are at risk of sex trafficking; the government reports business owners from Saint Lucia, India, China, Cuba, and Russia are the most likely traffickers in the country; Cuban medical professionals working in Saint Lucia may have been forced to work by the Cuban Government (2022)" - } - }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "a transit point for cocaine and marijuana destined for North America, Europe, and elsewhere in the Caribbean; some local demand for cocaine and some use of synthetic drugs
" } diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/vc.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/vc.json index 02e57131..a547e560 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/vc.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/vc.json @@ -1,9 +1,4 @@ { - "Introduction": { - "Background": { - "text": "Resistance by native Caribs prevented colonization on Saint Vincent until 1719. Disputed by France and the UK for most of the 18th century, the island was ceded to Britain in 1783. The British prized Saint Vincent due to its fertile soil, which allowed for thriving slave-run plantations of sugar, coffee, indigo, tobacco, cotton, and cocoa. In 1834, the British abolished slavery. Immigration of indentured servants eased the ensuing labor shortage, as did subsequent Portuguese immigrants from Madeira and East Indian laborers. Conditions remained harsh for both former slaves and immigrant agricultural workers, however, as depressed world sugar prices kept the economy stagnant until the early 1900s. The economy then went into a period of decline with many landowners abandoning their estates and leaving the land to be cultivated by liberated slaves. Between 1960 and 1962, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was a separate administrative unit of the Federation of the West Indies. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979. In April 2021, the explosive eruption of the La Soufrière volcano in the north of Saint Vincent destroyed much of Saint Vincent’s most productive agricultural lands. Unlike most of its tourism-dependent neighbors, the Vincentian economy is primarily agricultural. The US provided $4.7 million in humanitarian support after the eruption." - } - }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago" @@ -100,6 +95,11 @@ "text": "the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is comprised of 32 islands and cays" } }, + "Introduction": { + "Background": { + "text": "Resistance by native Caribs prevented colonization on Saint Vincent until 1719. Disputed by France and the UK for most of the 18th century, the island was ceded to Britain in 1783. The British prized Saint Vincent due to its fertile soil, which allowed for thriving slave-run plantations of sugar, coffee, indigo, tobacco, cotton, and cocoa. In 1834, the British abolished slavery. Immigration of indentured servants eased the ensuing labor shortage, as did subsequent Portuguese immigrants from Madeira and East Indian laborers. Conditions remained harsh for both former slaves and immigrant agricultural workers, however, as depressed world sugar prices kept the economy stagnant until the early 1900s. The economy then went into a period of decline with many landowners abandoning their estates and leaving the land to be cultivated by liberated slaves. Between 1960 and 1962, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was a separate administrative unit of the Federation of the West Indies. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979. In April 2021, the explosive eruption of the La Soufrière volcano in the north of Saint Vincent destroyed much of Saint Vincent’s most productive agricultural lands. Unlike most of its tourism-dependent neighbors, the Vincentian economy is primarily agricultural. The US provided $4.7 million in humanitarian support after the eruption." + } + }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "100,804 (2023 est.)" @@ -825,7 +825,7 @@ "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { - "text": "100% (2020)" + "text": "100% (2021)" } }, "Electricity": { diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/bm.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/bm.json index 1a4f8702..9dfff824 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/bm.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/bm.json @@ -527,7 +527,7 @@ "note": "note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma and the deposed parliamentary government have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; the US Government has not officially adopted the name" }, "Government type": { - "text": "parliamentary republic" + "text": "previously parliamentary republic" }, "Capital": { "name": { @@ -607,7 +607,7 @@ }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { - "text": "bicameral Assembly of the Union or Pyidaungsu consists of:China's historical civilization dates to at least the 13th century B.C., first under the Shang (to 1046 B.C.) and then the Zhou (1046-221 B.C) dynasties. The imperial era of China began in 221 B.C. under the Qin Dynasty and lasted until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. During this period, China alternated between periods of unity and disunity under a succession of imperial dynasties. In the 19th century, the Qing Dynasty suffered heavily from overextension by territorial conquest, insolvency, civil war, imperialism, military defeats, and foreign expropriation of ports and infrastructure. It collapsed following the Revolution of 1911, and China became a republic under SUN Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (KMT or Nationalist) Party. However, the republic was beset by division, warlordism, and continued foreign intervention. In the late 1920s, a civil war erupted between the ruling KMT-controlled government led by CHIANG Kai-shek, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Japan occupied much of northeastern China in the early 1930s, and then launched a full-scale invasion of the country in 1937. The resulting eight years of warfare devastated the country and cost up to 20 million Chinese lives by the time of Japan’s defeat in 1945. The Nationalist-Communist civil war continued with renewed intensity following the end of World War II and culminated with a CCP victory in 1949, under the leadership of MAO Zedong.
MAO and the CCP established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring the PRC's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and launched agricultural, economic, political, and social policies - such as the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) - that cost the lives of millions of people. MAO died in 1976. Beginning in 1978, subsequent leaders DENG Xiaoping, JIANG Zemin, and HU Jintao focused on market-oriented economic development and opening up the country to foreign trade, while maintaining the rule of the CCP. Since the change, China has been among the world’s fastest growing economies, with real gross domestic product averaging over 9% growth annually through 2021, lifting an estimated 800 million people out of poverty, and dramatically improving overall living standards. By 2011, the PRC’s economy was the second largest in the world. The growth, however, has created considerable social displacement, adversely affected the country’s environment, and reduced the country’s natural resources. Current leader XI Jinping has continued these policies, but also has maintained tight political controls. Over the past decade, China has also increased its global outreach, including military deployments, participation in international organizations, and initiating a global connectivity initiative in 2013 called the \"Belt and Road Initiative\" (BRI). While many nations have signed on to BRI agreements to attract PRC investment, others have balked at the opaque lending behavior; weak environment, social, and governance (ESG) standards; and other practices that undermine local governance and foster corruption associated with some BRI-linked projects. XI Jinping assumed the positions of General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission in 2012 and President in 2013. In March 2018, the PRC’s National People’s Congress passed an amendment abolishing presidential term limits, opening the door for XI to seek a third five-year term in 2023, which he ultimately secured.
" - } - }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam" @@ -123,6 +118,11 @@ "text": "note 1: world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US) and largest country situated entirely in Asia; Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak above sea level
China's historical civilization dates to at least the 13th century B.C., first under the Shang (to 1046 B.C.) and then the Zhou (1046-221 B.C) dynasties. The imperial era of China began in 221 B.C. under the Qin Dynasty and lasted until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. During this period, China alternated between periods of unity and disunity under a succession of imperial dynasties. In the 19th century, the Qing Dynasty suffered heavily from overextension by territorial conquest, insolvency, civil war, imperialism, military defeats, and foreign expropriation of ports and infrastructure. It collapsed following the Revolution of 1911, and China became a republic under SUN Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (KMT or Nationalist) Party. However, the republic was beset by division, warlordism, and continued foreign intervention. In the late 1920s, a civil war erupted between the ruling KMT-controlled government led by CHIANG Kai-shek, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Japan occupied much of northeastern China in the early 1930s, and then launched a full-scale invasion of the country in 1937. The resulting eight years of warfare devastated the country and cost up to 20 million Chinese lives by the time of Japan’s defeat in 1945. The Nationalist-Communist civil war continued with renewed intensity following the end of World War II and culminated with a CCP victory in 1949, under the leadership of MAO Zedong.
MAO and the CCP established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring the PRC's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and launched agricultural, economic, political, and social policies - such as the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) - that cost the lives of millions of people. MAO died in 1976. Beginning in 1978, subsequent leaders DENG Xiaoping, JIANG Zemin, and HU Jintao focused on market-oriented economic development and opening up the country to foreign trade, while maintaining the rule of the CCP. Since the change, China has been among the world’s fastest growing economies, with real gross domestic product averaging over 9% growth annually through 2021, lifting an estimated 800 million people out of poverty, and dramatically improving overall living standards. By 2011, the PRC’s economy was the second largest in the world. The growth, however, has created considerable social displacement, adversely affected the country’s environment, and reduced the country’s natural resources. Current leader XI Jinping has continued these policies, but also has maintained tight political controls. Over the past decade, China has also increased its global outreach, including military deployments, participation in international organizations, and initiating a global connectivity initiative in 2013 called the \"Belt and Road Initiative\" (BRI). While many nations have signed on to BRI agreements to attract PRC investment, others have balked at the opaque lending behavior; weak environment, social, and governance (ESG) standards; and other practices that undermine local governance and foster corruption associated with some BRI-linked projects. XI Jinping assumed the positions of General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission in 2012 and President in 2013. In March 2018, the PRC’s National People’s Congress passed an amendment abolishing presidential term limits, opening the door for XI to seek a third five-year term in 2023, which he ultimately secured.
" + } + }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "1,413,142,846 (2023 est.)" diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/hk.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/hk.json index f3db486e..c7f9511a 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/hk.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/hk.json @@ -1054,14 +1054,6 @@ "Disputes - international": { "text": "
Hong Kong plans to reduce its 2,800-hectare Frontier Closed Area (FCA) to 400 hectares by 2015; the FCA was established in 1951 as a buffer zone between Hong Kong and mainland China to prevent illegal migration from and the smuggling of goods
" }, - "Trafficking in persons": { - "tier rating": { - "text": "Tier 2 Watch List — Hong Kong does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government trained more officials, prosecuted more employers of foreign domestic workers for crimes including assault, and reported increased actions against illegal brothels and perpetrators who solicit child sex trafficking victims; however, officials did not demonstrate overall increased efforts in anti-trafficking capacity and did not prosecute or convict any traffickers; criminals convicted for sex trafficking crimes received inadequate penalties, and the government did not enact legislation to fully criminalize all forms of trafficking; fewer victims were identified, and ineffective implementation of victim identification continued to result in inadequate victim identification and penalizing victims for unlawful acts traffickers compelled them to commit; because the government has devoted sufficient resources to a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute significant efforts to meet the minimum standards, Hong Kong was granted a waiver per the TVPA from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3; therefore, Hong Kong remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year (2022)" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Hong Kong, and traffickers exploit victims from Hong Kong abroad; victims include citizens from mainland China, Indonesia, Kenya, the Philippines, Thailand, Uganda, and other Southeast Asian countries, as well as countries in South Asia, Africa, and South America; foreign women, including from Eastern Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia are exploited in sex trafficking; traffickers exploit migrant workers in shipping, construction, electronic recycling, nursing homes, and private homes; foreign women are coerced to carry drugs into Hong Kong; some women in Hong Kong–often with the assistance of their families–deceive Indian and Pakistani men into arranged marriages involving forced domestic service, bonded labor in construction, and other physically demanding industries; traffickers recruit victims from the Philippines, South America, and mainland China under false pretenses and forced them into commercial sex (2022)" - } - }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "modern banking system provides conduit for money laundering; groups involved in money laundering range from local street organizations to sophisticated international syndicates involved in assorted criminal activities, including drug trafficking; major source of precursor chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics
" } diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/id.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/id.json index 3f130b78..f576f2d9 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/id.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/id.json @@ -1294,7 +1294,7 @@ "text": "225 (plus about 140 police) Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 1,025 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); 1,225 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (2022)" }, "Military - note": { - "text": "the military is responsible for external defense, combatting separatism, and responding to natural disasters; in certain conditions it may provide operational support to police, such as for counterterrorism operations, maintaining public order, and addressing communal conflicts; the TNI has undergone reforms since the 1990s to improve its professionalism and limit its involvement in internal politics; the infantry-heavy Army is the largest service and deployed throughout the country in 14 area (KODAM) and three joint area (KOGABWILHAN) defense commands; it also has a special forces command (KOPASSUS) and three strategic reserve (KOSTRAD) infantry division headquarters; as of 2023, the Army was conducting counter-insurgency operations in Papua against the West Papua Liberation Army, the military wing of the Free Papua Organization, which has been fighting a low-level insurgency since Indonesia annexed the former Dutch colony in the 1960s; it has also been assisting police in Sulawesi in countering the Mujahideen Indonesia Timur (MIT; aka East Indonesia Mujahideen), a local militant group affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); the Navy is organized and equipped for coastal defense and patrolling Indonesia’s territorial waters where it faces such issues as piracy, transnational crime, illegal fishing, and incursions by Chinese vessels; it has more than 30 frigates and corvettes, several attack-type submarines, and a force of coastal patrol vessels and maritime patrol aircraft; the Navy also has an amphibious force with several marine infantry brigades and landing platform dock (LPD) amphibious assault ships; the Air Force has more than 100 combat aircraftmajor transit point and destination for illicit narcotics; a destination for methamphetamine, ecstasy, and other illicit drugs; methamphetamine production facilities within Indonesia
" } diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/mc.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/mc.json index 7687a492..e8bbb083 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/mc.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/mc.json @@ -398,7 +398,7 @@ "text": "president indirectly elected by National People's Congress for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 10 March 2023 (next to be held in March 2028); chief executive chosen by a 400-member Election Committee for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 24 August 2019 (next to be held in 2024)" }, "election results": { - "text": "2019: HO Iat Seng (unopposed; received 392 out of 400 votes)
The Philippine Islands became a Spanish colony during the 16th century; they were ceded to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. In 1935 the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth. Manuel QUEZON was elected president and was tasked with preparing the country for independence after a 10-year transition. In 1942 the islands fell under Japanese occupation during World War II, and US forces and Filipinos fought together during 1944-45 to regain control. On 4 July 1946 the Republic of the Philippines attained its independence. A 21-year rule by Ferdinand MARCOS ended in 1986, when a \"people power\" movement in Manila (\"EDSA 1\") forced him into exile and installed Corazon AQUINO as president. Her presidency was hampered by several coup attempts that prevented a return to full political stability and economic development. Fidel RAMOS was elected president in 1992. His administration was marked by increased stability and by progress on economic reforms. In 1992, the US closed its last military bases on the islands. Joseph ESTRADA was elected president in 1998. He was succeeded by his vice-president, Gloria MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, in January 2001 after ESTRADA's stormy impeachment trial on corruption charges broke down and another \"people power\" movement (\"EDSA 2\") demanded his resignation. MACAPAGAL-ARROYO was elected to a six-year term as president in May 2004. Her presidency was marred by several corruption allegations, but the Philippine economy was one of the few to avoid contraction following the 2008 global financial crisis, expanding each year of her administration. Benigno AQUINO III was elected to a six-year term as president in May 2010 and was succeeded by Rodrigo DUTERTE in June 2016. During his six-year term, DUTERTE pursued a controversial drug war that garnered international criticism for alleged human rights abuses. Ferdinand MARCOS Jr., the son of MARCOS Sr., was elected president in May 2022 with the largest popular vote in a presidential election since his father's ouster.
The Philippine Government faces threats from several groups, some of which are on the US Government's Foreign Terrorist Organization list. Manila has waged a decades-long struggle against ethnic Moro insurgencies in the southern Philippines, which led to a peace accord with the Moro National Liberation Front and a separate agreement with a break away faction, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The decades-long Maoist-inspired New People's Army insurgency also operates through much of the country. In 2017, Philippine armed forces battled an ISIS-East Asia siege in Marawi City, driving DUTERTE to declare martial law in the region. In 2019, DUTERTE shepherded a landmark peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to establish a semi-autonomous region in the southern Philippines, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. The Philippines faces increased tension with China over disputed territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea.
" - } - }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam" @@ -105,6 +100,11 @@ "text": "note 1: for decades, the Philippine archipelago was reported as having 7,107 islands; in 2016, the national mapping authority reported that hundreds of new islands had been discovered and increased the number of islands to 7,641 - though not all of the new islands have been verified; the country is favorably located in relation to many of Southeast Asia's main water bodies: the South China Sea, Philippine Sea, Sulu Sea, Celebes Sea, and Luzon Strait
note 2: Philippines is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire
note 3: the Philippines sits astride the Pacific typhoon belt and an average of 9 typhoons make landfall on the islands each year - with about 5 of these being destructive; the country is the most exposed in the world to tropical storms
" } }, + "Introduction": { + "Background": { + "text": "The Philippine Islands became a Spanish colony during the 16th century; they were ceded to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. In 1935 the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth. Manuel QUEZON was elected president and was tasked with preparing the country for independence after a 10-year transition. In 1942 the islands fell under Japanese occupation during World War II, and US forces and Filipinos fought together during 1944-45 to regain control. On 4 July 1946 the Republic of the Philippines attained its independence. A 21-year rule by Ferdinand MARCOS ended in 1986, when a \"people power\" movement in Manila (\"EDSA 1\") forced him into exile and installed Corazon AQUINO as president. Her presidency was hampered by several coup attempts that prevented a return to full political stability and economic development. Fidel RAMOS was elected president in 1992. His administration was marked by increased stability and by progress on economic reforms. In 1992, the US closed its last military bases on the islands. Joseph ESTRADA was elected president in 1998. He was succeeded by his vice-president, Gloria MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, in January 2001 after ESTRADA's stormy impeachment trial on corruption charges broke down and another \"people power\" movement (\"EDSA 2\") demanded his resignation. MACAPAGAL-ARROYO was elected to a six-year term as president in May 2004. Her presidency was marred by several corruption allegations, but the Philippine economy was one of the few to avoid contraction following the 2008 global financial crisis, expanding each year of her administration. Benigno AQUINO III was elected to a six-year term as president in May 2010 and was succeeded by Rodrigo DUTERTE in June 2016. During his six-year term, DUTERTE pursued a controversial drug war that garnered international criticism for alleged human rights abuses. Ferdinand MARCOS Jr., the son of MARCOS Sr., was elected president in May 2022 with the largest popular vote in a presidential election since his father's ouster.
The Philippine Government faces threats from several groups, some of which are on the US Government's Foreign Terrorist Organization list. Manila has waged a decades-long struggle against ethnic Moro insurgencies in the southern Philippines, which led to a peace accord with the Moro National Liberation Front and a separate agreement with a break away faction, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The decades-long Maoist-inspired New People's Army insurgency also operates through much of the country. In 2017, Philippine armed forces battled an ISIS-East Asia siege in Marawi City, driving DUTERTE to declare martial law in the region. In 2019, DUTERTE shepherded a landmark peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to establish a semi-autonomous region in the southern Philippines, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. The Philippines faces increased tension with China over disputed territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea.
" + } + }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "116,434,200 (2023 est.)" @@ -680,7 +680,7 @@ }, "Economy": { "Economic overview": { - "text": "diversified, growing East Asian economy; major semiconductor, ship-building, and electronics exporter; significant remittances; COVID-19 hit consumption and investments hard; regional tensions with China; major geothermal energy user" + "text": "growing East Asian economy; hard post-pandemic recovery; key electronics exporter; significant remittances; growing regional tensions with China; declining unemployment; climate change risk to food security; major equity concerns" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity)": { "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2021": { @@ -891,10 +891,10 @@ } }, "Exports - partners": { - "text": "China 16%, United States 15%, Japan 13%, Hong Kong 12%, Singapore 7%, Germany 5% (2019)" + "text": "China 16%, United States 14%, Japan 12%, Hong Kong 12%, Singapore 7% (2021)" }, "Exports - commodities": { - "text": "integrated circuits, office machinery/parts, insulated wiring, semiconductors, transformers (2019)" + "text": "integrated circuits, office machinery/parts, insulated wiring, transformers, semiconductors (2021)" }, "Imports": { "Imports 2021": { @@ -908,10 +908,10 @@ } }, "Imports - partners": { - "text": "China 29%, Japan 8%, South Korea 7%, United States 6%, Singapore 6%, Indonesia 6%, Thailand 5%, Taiwan 5% (2019)" + "text": "China 34%, Japan 7%, South Korea 6%, Indonesia 6%, United States 6% (2021)" }, "Imports - commodities": { - "text": "integrated circuits, refined petroleum, cars, crude petroleum, broadcasting equipment (2019)" + "text": "integrated circuits, refined petroleum, office machinery, broadcasting equipment, cars (2021)" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": { "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2021": { diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/th.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/th.json index 6aafa08d..67e43d09 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/th.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/th.json @@ -618,7 +618,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Action Coalition Party or ACP [ANEK Laothammathast]The Moorish invasion of Spain in the 8th century and subsequent incursions into France were finally stemmed at the Pyrenees by Frankish King Charlemagne, who in 795 created the Hispanic March, a series of buffer states to keep the Muslim Moors from advancing into Christian France. The landlocked Principality of Andorra, one of the smallest states in Europe and nestled high in the Pyrenees between the French and Spanish borders, is the last independent survivor of these March states. For 715 years, from 1278 to 1993, Andorrans lived under a unique coprincipality, ruled by French and Spanish leaders (from 1607 onward, the French chief of state and the Bishop of Urgell). In 1993, this feudal system was modified with the introduction of a modern constitution; the co-princes remained as titular heads of state, but the government transformed into a parliamentary democracy.
Andorra has become a popular tourist destination visited by approximately 8 million people each year drawn by the winter sports, summer climate, and duty-free shopping. Andorra has also become a wealthy international commercial center because of its mature banking sector and low taxes. As part of its effort to modernize its economy, Andorra has opened to foreign investment, and engaged in other reforms, such as advancing tax initiatives aimed at supporting a broader infrastructure. Although not a member of the EU, Andorra enjoys a special relationship with the bloc that is governed by various customs and cooperation agreements and uses the euro as its national currency.
" - } - }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Southwestern Europe, Pyrenees mountains, on the border between France and Spain" @@ -95,6 +90,11 @@ "text": "landlocked; straddles a number of important crossroads in the Pyrenees" } }, + "Introduction": { + "Background": { + "text": "The Moorish invasion of Spain in the 8th century and subsequent incursions into France were finally stemmed at the Pyrenees by Frankish King Charlemagne, who in 795 created the Hispanic March, a series of buffer states to keep the Muslim Moors from advancing into Christian France. The landlocked Principality of Andorra, one of the smallest states in Europe and nestled high in the Pyrenees between the French and Spanish borders, is the last independent survivor of these March states. For 715 years, from 1278 to 1993, Andorrans lived under a unique coprincipality, ruled by French and Spanish leaders (from 1607 onward, the French chief of state and the Bishop of Urgell). In 1993, this feudal system was modified with the introduction of a modern constitution; the co-princes remained as titular heads of state, but the government transformed into a parliamentary democracy.
Andorra has become a popular tourist destination visited by approximately 8 million people each year drawn by the winter sports, summer climate, and duty-free shopping. Andorra has also become a wealthy international commercial center because of its mature banking sector and low taxes. As part of its effort to modernize its economy, Andorra has opened to foreign investment, and engaged in other reforms, such as advancing tax initiatives aimed at supporting a broader infrastructure. Although not a member of the EU, Andorra enjoys a special relationship with the bloc that is governed by various customs and cooperation agreements and uses the euro as its national currency.
" + } + }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "85,468 (2023 est.)" @@ -620,10 +620,13 @@ }, "Credit ratings": { "Fitch rating": { - "text": "BBB+ (2018)" + "text": "A- (2022)" + }, + "Moody's rating": { + "text": "Baa2 (2022)" }, "Standard & Poors rating": { - "text": "BBB (2017)" + "text": "BBB+ (2023)" }, "note": "note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained." }, diff --git a/europe/au.json b/europe/au.json index 8b71acce..8dc83e3f 100644 --- a/europe/au.json +++ b/europe/au.json @@ -1,9 +1,4 @@ { - "Introduction": { - "Background": { - "text": "Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's \"perpetual neutrality\" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the EU in 1995 somewhat altered the meaning of this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the EU Economic and Monetary Union in 1999." - } - }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia" @@ -106,6 +101,11 @@ "text": "note 1: landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube; population is concentrated on eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low temperatures elsewhereOnce the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the general political and economic integration of Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the EU) in 1973. However, the country has opted out of certain elements of the EU's Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic and Monetary Union, and justice and home affairs issues.
" - } - }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes several major islands (Sjaelland, Fyn, and Bornholm)" @@ -107,6 +102,11 @@ "text": "composed of the Jutland Peninsula and a group of more than 400 islands (Danish Archipelago); controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen" } }, + "Introduction": { + "Background": { + "text": "Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the general political and economic integration of Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the EU) in 1973. However, the country has opted out of certain elements of the EU's Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic and Monetary Union, and justice and home affairs issues.
" + } + }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "5,946,984 (2023 est.)" @@ -1230,7 +1230,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "19,424 (Syria), 5,885 (Eritrea) (mid-year 2022); 41,305 (Ukraine) (as of 9 July 2023)" + "text": "19,424 (Syria), 5,885 (Eritrea) (mid-year 2022); 41,305 (Ukraine) (as of 23 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "11,644 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/fr.json b/europe/fr.json index 03c35795..cb13ba98 100644 --- a/europe/fr.json +++ b/europe/fr.json @@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ } }, "Climate": { - "text": "metropolitan France: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as the mistral;
French Guiana: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation;
Guadeloupe and Martinique: subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average;
Mayotte: tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November);
Reunion: tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)
" + "text": "metropolitan France: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as the mistral
French Guiana: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation
Guadeloupe and Martinique: subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average
Mayotte: tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November)
Reunion: tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)
" }, "Terrain": { "text": "metropolitan France: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east;
French Guiana: low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains;
Guadeloupe: Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin;
Martinique: mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano;
Mayotte: generally undulating, with deep ravines and ancient volcanic peaks;
Reunion: mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast
" @@ -410,7 +410,7 @@ } }, "Climate": { - "text": "metropolitan France: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as the mistral;
French Guiana: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation;
Guadeloupe and Martinique: subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average;
Mayotte: tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November);
Reunion: tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)
" + "text": "metropolitan France: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as the mistral
French Guiana: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation
Guadeloupe and Martinique: subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average
Mayotte: tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November)
Reunion: tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)
" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { diff --git a/europe/gm.json b/europe/gm.json index 4beb97a1..f6c6a965 100644 --- a/europe/gm.json +++ b/europe/gm.json @@ -1274,8 +1274,7 @@ } }, "Military and security service personnel strengths": { - "text": "approximately 183,000 active-duty uniformed personnel (62,000 Army; 16,000 Navy; 27,000 Air Force; 20,000 Medical Service, 14,000 Cyber and Information Space Command; 43,000 other, including central staff, support, logistics, etc.) (2023)", - "note": "note: Germany in 2020 announced it planned to increase the size of the military to about 200,000 troops by 2025" + "text": "approximately 183,000 active-duty uniformed personnel (62,000 Army; 16,000 Navy; 27,000 Air Force; 20,000 Medical Service, 14,000 Cyber and Information Space Command; 43,000 other, including central staff, support, logistics, etc.) (2023)" }, "Military equipment inventories and acquisitions": { "text": "the German Federal Armed Forces inventory is comprised of weapons systems produced domestically or jointly with other European countries and Western imports, particularly from the US; in recent years, the US has been the leading foreign supplier; Germany's defense industry is capable of manufacturing the full spectrum of air, land, and naval military weapons systems, and is one of the world's leading arms exporters; it also participates in joint defense production projects with the US and European partners (2023)" @@ -1304,7 +1303,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "664,238 (Syria), 183,631 (Afghanistan), 151,254 (Iraq), 64,496 (Eritrea), 47,658 (Iran), 38,755 (Turkey), 32,155 (Somalia), 13,334 (Russia), 12,155 (Nigeria), 9,250 (Pakistan), 6,257 (Serbia and Kosovo), 6,912 (Ethiopia), 5,532 (Azerbaijan) (mid-year 2022); 1,076,680 (Ukraine) (as of 25 June 2023)" + "text": "664,238 (Syria), 183,631 (Afghanistan), 151,254 (Iraq), 64,496 (Eritrea), 47,658 (Iran), 38,755 (Turkey), 32,155 (Somalia), 13,334 (Russia), 12,155 (Nigeria), 9,250 (Pakistan), 6,257 (Serbia and Kosovo), 6,912 (Ethiopia), 5,532 (Azerbaijan) (mid-year 2022); 1,079,815 (Ukraine) (as of 10 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "28,941 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/lg.json b/europe/lg.json index aea04529..027d7df5 100644 --- a/europe/lg.json +++ b/europe/lg.json @@ -1,9 +1,4 @@ { - "Introduction": { - "Background": { - "text": "Several eastern Baltic tribes merged in medieval times to form the ethnic core of the Latvian people (ca. 8th-12th centuries A.D.). The region subsequently came under the control of Germans, Poles, Swedes, and finally, Russians. A Latvian republic emerged following World War I, but it was annexed by the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US and many other countries. Latvia reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the last Russian troops left in 1994, the status of the Russian minority (some 25% of the population) remains of concern to Moscow. Latvia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004; it joined the euro zone in 2014 and the OECD in 2016. A dual citizenship law was adopted in 2013, easing naturalization for non-citizen children." - } - }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania" @@ -104,6 +99,11 @@ "text": "most of the country is composed of fertile low-lying plains with some hills in the east" } }, + "Introduction": { + "Background": { + "text": "Several eastern Baltic tribes merged in medieval times to form the ethnic core of the Latvian people (ca. 8th-12th centuries A.D.). The region subsequently came under the control of Germans, Poles, Swedes, and finally, Russians. A Latvian republic emerged following World War I, but it was annexed by the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US and many other countries. Latvia reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the last Russian troops left in 1994, the status of the Russian minority (some 25% of the population) remains of concern to Moscow. Latvia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004; it joined the euro zone in 2014 and the OECD in 2016. A dual citizenship law was adopted in 2013, easing naturalization for non-citizen children." + } + }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "1,821,750 (2023 est.)" @@ -561,7 +561,7 @@ "text": "president indirectly elected by Parliament for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 29 May 2019 (next to be held in 2023); prime minister appointed by the president, confirmed by Parliament" }, "election results": { - "text": "2019: Egils LEVITS elected president; Parliament vote - Egils LEVITS 61, Didzis SMITS 24, Juris JANSONS 8; Krisjanis KARINS confirmed prime minister 61-39none identified
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { + "refugees (country of origin)": { + "text": "5,890 (Ukraine) (as of 16 July 2023)" + }, "stateless persons": { "text": "11 (2022)" }, diff --git a/europe/sp.json b/europe/sp.json index 46b86f8a..1cb266c8 100644 --- a/europe/sp.json +++ b/europe/sp.json @@ -1,9 +1,4 @@ { - "Introduction": { - "Background": { - "text": "Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World War I and II but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). A peaceful transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization (Spain joined the EU in 1986) gave Spain a dynamic and rapidly growing economy, and made it a global champion of freedom and human rights. More recently, Spain has emerged from a severe economic recession that began in mid-2008, posting solid years of GDP growth above the EU average. Unemployment has fallen but remains high, especially among youth. Spain is the euro-zone's fourth-largest economy. The country has faced increased domestic turmoil in recent years due to the independence movement in its restive Catalonia region.
" - } - }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Southwestern Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay, and Pyrenees Mountains; southwest of France" @@ -108,6 +103,11 @@ "text": "strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar; Spain controls a number of territories in northern Morocco including the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, and the islands of Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas, and Islas Chafarinas; Spain's Canary Islands are one of four North Atlantic archipelagos that make up Macaronesia; the others are Azores (Portugal), Madeira (Portugal), and Cabo Verde" } }, + "Introduction": { + "Background": { + "text": "Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World War I and II but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). A peaceful transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization (Spain joined the EU in 1986) gave Spain a dynamic and rapidly growing economy, and made it a global champion of freedom and human rights. More recently, Spain has emerged from a severe economic recession that began in mid-2008, posting solid years of GDP growth above the EU average. Unemployment has fallen but remains high, especially among youth. Spain is the euro-zone's fourth-largest economy. The country has faced increased domestic turmoil in recent years due to the independence movement in its restive Catalonia region.
" + } + }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "47,222,613 (2023 est.)" @@ -916,10 +916,10 @@ }, "Debt - external": { "Debt - external 2019": { - "text": "$2.338 billion (2019 est.)" + "text": "$2.338 trillion (2019 est.)" }, "Debt - external 2018": { - "text": "$2.366 billion (2018 est.)" + "text": "$2.366 trillion (2018 est.)" } }, "Exchange rates": { @@ -1270,12 +1270,12 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "14,994 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 438,400 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum, are recognized as refugees, or have received alternative legal stay) (2022); 185,120 (Ukraine) (as of 9 July 2023)" + "text": "14,994 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 438,400 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum, are recognized as refugees, or have received alternative legal stay) (2022); 186,045 (Ukraine) (as of 30 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "6,489 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 292,458 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals, including Canary Islands (January 2015-July 2023)" + "note": "note: 293,878 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals, including Canary Islands (January 2015-July 2023)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "a primary European transit point for cocaine from South America and for hashish from Morocco; cocaine is shipped in raw or liquid form with mixed cargo to avoid detection or altered to escape detection Spanish chemists reconstitute it and distribute to Europe; minor domestic drug production; synthetic drugs, including ketamine, new psychoactive substances (NPS), and MDMA transit from Spain to the United States
" diff --git a/europe/sz.json b/europe/sz.json index 94853f78..3952ae49 100644 --- a/europe/sz.json +++ b/europe/sz.json @@ -1,9 +1,4 @@ { - "Introduction": { - "Background": { - "text": "The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. A constitution of 1848, subsequently modified in 1874 to allow voters to introduce referenda on proposed laws, replaced the confederation with a centralized federal government. Switzerland's sovereignty and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and the country was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations but retains a strong commitment to neutrality.
" - } - }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy" @@ -106,6 +101,11 @@ "text": "landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe; along with southeastern France, northern Italy, and southwestern Austria, has the highest elevations in the Alps" } }, + "Introduction": { + "Background": { + "text": "
The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. A constitution of 1848, subsequently modified in 1874 to allow voters to introduce referenda on proposed laws, replaced the confederation with a centralized federal government. Switzerland's sovereignty and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and the country was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations but retains a strong commitment to neutrality.
" + } + }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "8,563,760 (2023 est.)" @@ -1261,7 +1261,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "14,726 (Eritrea), 11,441 (Afghanistan), 8,039 (Syria), (mid-year 2022); 65,435 (Ukraine) (as of 23 June 2023)" + "text": "14,726 (Eritrea), 11,441 (Afghanistan), 8,039 (Syria), (mid-year 2022); 65,345 (Ukraine) (as of 1 August 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "891 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/up.json b/europe/up.json index 122e8c28..cb501880 100644 --- a/europe/up.json +++ b/europe/up.json @@ -1,9 +1,4 @@ { - "Introduction": { - "Background": { - "text": "
Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine achieved a short-lived period of independence (1917-20) but was reconquered and endured a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although Ukraine overwhelmingly voted for independence in 1991 around the time of the dissolution of the USSR, democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control, patronage politics, and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties.
A peaceful mass protest referred to as the \"Orange Revolution\" in the closing months of 2004 and early 2005 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in legislative (Rada) elections, become prime minister in August 2006, and be elected president in February 2010. In October 2012, Ukraine held Rada elections, widely criticized by Western observers as flawed due to use of government resources to favor ruling party candidates, interference with media access, and harassment of opposition candidates. President YANUKOVYCH's backtracking on a trade and cooperation agreement with the EU in November 2013 - in favor of closer economic ties with Russia - and subsequent use of force against students, civil society activists, and other civilians in favor of the agreement and fed up with blatant corruption led to a three-month protest occupation of Kyiv's central square. The government's use of violence to break up the protest camp in February 2014 led to all out pitched battles, scores of deaths, international condemnation, a failed political deal, and the president's abrupt departure for Russia. New elections in the spring allowed pro-West president Petro POROSHENKO to assume office in June 2014; he was succeeded by Volodymyr ZELENSKY in May 2019.
Shortly after YANUKOVYCH's departure in late February 2014, Russian President PUTIN ordered the invasion of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula falsely claiming the action was to protect ethnic Russians living there. Two weeks later, a \"referendum\" was held regarding the integration of Crimea into the Russian Federation. The \"referendum\" was condemned as illegitimate by the Ukrainian Government, the EU, the US, and the UN General Assembly (UNGA). In response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, 100 members of the UN passed UNGA resolution 68/262, rejecting the \"referendum\" as baseless and invalid and confirming the sovereignty, political independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine. In mid-2014, Russia began supplying proxies in two of Ukraine's eastern provinces with manpower, funding, and materiel beginning an armed conflict with the Ukrainian Government. Representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the unrecognized Russian proxy republics signed the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum in September 2014 with the aim of ending the conflict. However, this agreement failed to stop the fighting or find a political solution. In a renewed attempt to alleviate ongoing clashes, leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany negotiated a follow-on Package of Measures in February 2015 to implement the Minsk agreements, but this effort failed as well. By early 2022, more than 14,000 civilians were killed or wounded as a result of the Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine.
On 24 February 2022, Russia escalated its conflict with Ukraine by launching a full-scale invasion of the country on several fronts in what has become the largest conventional military attack on a sovereign state in Europe since World War II. The invasion has received near universal international condemnation, and many countries have imposed sanctions on Russia and supplied humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. Russia made substantial gains in the early weeks of the invasion but underestimated Ukrainian resolve and combat capabilities. By the end of 2022, Ukrainian forces had regained all territories in the north and northeast and made some advances in the east and south. Nonetheless, Russia in late September 2022 unilaterally declared its annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts - Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia - even though none was fully under Russian control. The annexations remain unrecognized by the international community.
The invasion has also created Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. As of 25 July 2023, there were 6.2 million Ukrainian refugees recorded globally, and 5.09 million people were internally displaced as of May 2023. Over 26,000 civilian casualties had been reported, as of 30 July 2023. The invasion of Ukraine remains one of the two largest displacement crises worldwide (the other is the conflict in Syria).
The Ukrainian people continue to fiercely resist Russia’s full-scale invasion, which has targeted civilian and critical infrastructure - including energy - to try to break the Ukrainian will. President ZELENSKYY has focused on the civic identity of Ukrainians, regardless of ethnic or linguistic background, to unite the country behind the goals of ending the war by regaining as much territory as possible and advancing Ukraine’s candidacy for membership in the European Union (EU). Support for joining the EU and NATO has grown significantly, overcoming the historical, and sometimes artificial, divide between eastern and western Ukraine.
Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine achieved a short-lived period of independence (1917-20) but was reconquered and endured a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although Ukraine overwhelmingly voted for independence in 1991 around the time of the dissolution of the USSR, democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control, patronage politics, and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties.
A peaceful mass protest referred to as the \"Orange Revolution\" in the closing months of 2004 and early 2005 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in legislative (Rada) elections, become prime minister in August 2006, and be elected president in February 2010. In October 2012, Ukraine held Rada elections, widely criticized by Western observers as flawed due to use of government resources to favor ruling party candidates, interference with media access, and harassment of opposition candidates. President YANUKOVYCH's backtracking on a trade and cooperation agreement with the EU in November 2013 - in favor of closer economic ties with Russia - and subsequent use of force against students, civil society activists, and other civilians in favor of the agreement and fed up with blatant corruption led to a three-month protest occupation of Kyiv's central square. The government's use of violence to break up the protest camp in February 2014 led to all out pitched battles, scores of deaths, international condemnation, a failed political deal, and the president's abrupt departure for Russia. New elections in the spring allowed pro-West president Petro POROSHENKO to assume office in June 2014; he was succeeded by Volodymyr ZELENSKY in May 2019.
Shortly after YANUKOVYCH's departure in late February 2014, Russian President PUTIN ordered the invasion of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula falsely claiming the action was to protect ethnic Russians living there. Two weeks later, a \"referendum\" was held regarding the integration of Crimea into the Russian Federation. The \"referendum\" was condemned as illegitimate by the Ukrainian Government, the EU, the US, and the UN General Assembly (UNGA). In response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, 100 members of the UN passed UNGA resolution 68/262, rejecting the \"referendum\" as baseless and invalid and confirming the sovereignty, political independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine. In mid-2014, Russia began supplying proxies in two of Ukraine's eastern provinces with manpower, funding, and materiel beginning an armed conflict with the Ukrainian Government. Representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the unrecognized Russian proxy republics signed the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum in September 2014 with the aim of ending the conflict. However, this agreement failed to stop the fighting or find a political solution. In a renewed attempt to alleviate ongoing clashes, leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany negotiated a follow-on Package of Measures in February 2015 to implement the Minsk agreements, but this effort failed as well. By early 2022, more than 14,000 civilians were killed or wounded as a result of the Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine.
On 24 February 2022, Russia escalated its conflict with Ukraine by launching a full-scale invasion of the country on several fronts in what has become the largest conventional military attack on a sovereign state in Europe since World War II. The invasion has received near universal international condemnation, and many countries have imposed sanctions on Russia and supplied humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. Russia made substantial gains in the early weeks of the invasion but underestimated Ukrainian resolve and combat capabilities. By the end of 2022, Ukrainian forces had regained all territories in the north and northeast and made some advances in the east and south. Nonetheless, Russia in late September 2022 unilaterally declared its annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts - Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia - even though none was fully under Russian control. The annexations remain unrecognized by the international community.
The invasion has also created Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. As of 1 August 2023, there were 6.2 million Ukrainian refugees recorded globally, and 5.09 million people were internally displaced as of May 2023. Over 26,000 civilian casualties had been reported, as of 30 July 2023. The invasion of Ukraine remains one of the two largest displacement crises worldwide (the other is the conflict in Syria).
The Ukrainian people continue to fiercely resist Russia’s full-scale invasion, which has targeted civilian and critical infrastructure - including energy - to try to break the Ukrainian will. President ZELENSKYY has focused on the civic identity of Ukrainians, regardless of ethnic or linguistic background, to unite the country behind the goals of ending the war by regaining as much territory as possible and advancing Ukraine’s candidacy for membership in the European Union (EU). Support for joining the EU and NATO has grown significantly, overcoming the historical, and sometimes artificial, divide between eastern and western Ukraine.
Local border forces struggle to control the illegal transit of goods and people across the porous, undemarcated Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian borders.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: The dispute over the break-away Nagorno-Karabakh region and the Armenian military occupation of surrounding lands in Azerbaijan remains the primary focus of regional instability. Residents have evacuated the former Soviet-era small ethnic enclaves in Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan-Georgia: A joint boundary commission agrees on most of the alignment, leaving only small areas at certain crossing points in dispute. Consequently, the two states have yet to agree on a delimitation or demarcation of their common boundary. One area of contention is where the international boundary should run through the 6th-13th Century David-Gareja monastery complex.
Azerbaijan-Iran: none identified
Azerbaijan-Russia: Russia complains of cross-border smuggling.
Azerbaijan-Turkey: none identified
Caspian Sea (Maritime Boundary): Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia ratified the Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to insist on a one-fifth slice of the sea. Bilateral talks continue with Turkmenistan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian.
the third-largest source country of cocaine and a major transit country for Peruvian cocaine; coca cultivation in 2021 totaled 39,700 hectares (ha); most cocaine is exported to other Latin American countries, especially Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, for domestic consumption, or for onward transit from those countries to West Africa and Europe, not the United States.
" } diff --git a/south-america/br.json b/south-america/br.json index dcf57923..9261a7de 100644 --- a/south-america/br.json +++ b/south-america/br.json @@ -1,9 +1,4 @@ { - "Introduction": { - "Background": { - "text": "
Following more than three centuries under Portuguese rule, Brazil gained its independence in 1822, maintaining a monarchical system of government until the abolition of slavery in 1888 and the subsequent proclamation of a republic by the military in 1889. Brazilian coffee exporters politically dominated the country until populist leader Getúlio VARGAS rose to power in 1930. VARGAS governed over various versions of democratic and authoritarian regimes from 1930 to 1945. Democratic rule returned (including a democratically elected VARGAS administration from 1951 to 1955) and lasted until 1964, when the military overthrew President João GOULART. The military regime censored journalists and repressed and tortured dissidents in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The dictatorship lasted until 1985, when the military regime peacefully ceded power to civilian rulers, and the Brazilian Congress passed its current constitution in 1989.
By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil continues to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of its interior. Having successfully weathered a period of global financial difficulty in the late 20th century, under President Luiz Inácio LULA da Silva (2003-2010) Brazil was seen as one of the world's strongest emerging markets and a contributor to global growth. The awarding of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the first ever to be held in South America, was symbolic of the country's rise. However, from about 2013 to 2016, Brazil was plagued by a sagging economy, high unemployment, and high inflation, only emerging from recession in 2017. Former President Dilma ROUSSEFF (2011-2016) was removed from office in 2016 by Congress for having committed impeachable acts against Brazil's budgetary laws, and her vice president, Michel TEMER, served the remainder of her second term. A money-laundering investigation, Operation Lava Jato, uncovered a vast corruption scheme and prosecutors charged several high-profile Brazilian politicians with crimes. Former-President LULA was convicted of accepting bribes and served jail time (2018-19), although his conviction was overturned in early 2021. LULA's revival became complete in October 2022 when he narrowly defeated incumbent Jair BOLSONARO (2019-2022) in the presidential election.
Following more than three centuries under Portuguese rule, Brazil gained its independence in 1822, maintaining a monarchical system of government until the abolition of slavery in 1888 and the subsequent proclamation of a republic by the military in 1889. Brazilian coffee exporters politically dominated the country until populist leader Getúlio VARGAS rose to power in 1930. VARGAS governed over various versions of democratic and authoritarian regimes from 1930 to 1945. Democratic rule returned (including a democratically elected VARGAS administration from 1951 to 1955) and lasted until 1964, when the military overthrew President João GOULART. The military regime censored journalists and repressed and tortured dissidents in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The dictatorship lasted until 1985, when the military regime peacefully ceded power to civilian rulers, and the Brazilian Congress passed its current constitution in 1989.
By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil continues to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of its interior. Having successfully weathered a period of global financial difficulty in the late 20th century, under President Luiz Inácio LULA da Silva (2003-2010) Brazil was seen as one of the world's strongest emerging markets and a contributor to global growth. The awarding of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the first ever to be held in South America, was symbolic of the country's rise. However, from about 2013 to 2016, Brazil was plagued by a sagging economy, high unemployment, and high inflation, only emerging from recession in 2017. Former President Dilma ROUSSEFF (2011-2016) was removed from office in 2016 by Congress for having committed impeachable acts against Brazil's budgetary laws, and her vice president, Michel TEMER, served the remainder of her second term. A money-laundering investigation, Operation Lava Jato, uncovered a vast corruption scheme and prosecutors charged several high-profile Brazilian politicians with crimes. Former-President LULA was convicted of accepting bribes and served jail time (2018-19), although his conviction was overturned in early 2021. LULA's revival became complete in October 2022 when he narrowly defeated incumbent Jair BOLSONARO (2019-2022) in the presidential election.
Chile is in the advanced stages of demographic transition and is becoming an aging society - with fertility below replacement level, low mortality rates, and life expectancy on par with developed countries. Nevertheless, with its dependency ratio nearing its low point, Chile could benefit from its favorable age structure. It will need to keep its large working-age population productively employed, while preparing to provide for the needs of its growing proportion of elderly people, especially as women - the traditional caregivers - increasingly enter the workforce. Over the last two decades, Chile has made great strides in reducing its poverty rate, which is now lower than most Latin American countries. However, its severe income inequality ranks as the worst among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Unequal access to quality education perpetuates this uneven income distribution.
Chile has historically been a country of emigration but has slowly become more attractive to immigrants since transitioning to democracy in 1990 and improving its economic stability (other regional destinations have concurrently experienced deteriorating economic and political conditions). Most of Chile's small but growing foreign-born population consists of transplants from other Latin American countries, especially Peru.
" + "text": "Chile is in the advanced stages of demographic transition and is becoming an aging society—with fertility below replacement level, low mortality rates, and life expectancy on par with developed countries. The share of older, those 65 and early, people may exceed 65% by 2065. Nevertheless, with its dependency ratio nearing its low point, Chile could benefit from its favorable age structure. It will need to keep its large working-age population productively employed, while preparing to provide for the needs of its growing proportion of elderly people, especially as women—the traditional caregivers—increasingly enter the workforce. Over the last two decades, Chile has made great strides in reducing its poverty rate, but income inequality remains persistent in large part because a lack of a lack of access to quality education.
Chile has been both a country of emigration and immigration. After becoming independent in 1810, Chile began seeking out immigrants from Europe to establish factories and to populate the southern part of the country. Following the two World Wars, fears of an influx of refugees prompted Chile to stop encouraging European immigration. However, Arab immigration increased between 1907 and 1940. During the Pinochet dictatorship that began in 1973, hundreds of thousands of Chileans emigrated, adding to the thousands who had left in the 1950s. At the same time, the repressiveness of the Pinochet regime discouraged the arrival of new immigrants. With the return of democracy and improving economic stability in 1990, some emigrants returned and new immigrants arrived from other South American countries experiencing deteriorating economic and political conditions. Immigration became more diverse starting in the 2010s, with the arrival of Haitians and Colombians of African descent. However, the largest group of recent immigrants are Venezuelans fleeing their country’s socio-economic and political crisis. As of 2020, almost one-third of Chile’s immigrant population are Venezuelan, while other top source countries continue to be Peru, Haiti, and Colombia. Nearly 1.5 million immigrants account for almost 9% of Chile’s total population, as of 2020.
" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { @@ -1235,7 +1235,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "448,138 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum or have received alternative legal stay) (2020)" + "text": "457,324 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum or have received alternative legal stay) (2021)" } }, "Illicit drugs": { diff --git a/south-america/ec.json b/south-america/ec.json index 25af2789..3fbf7392 100644 --- a/south-america/ec.json +++ b/south-america/ec.json @@ -584,7 +584,7 @@ }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { - "text": "unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (137 seats; 116 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 15 members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote, and 6 directly elected in multi-seat constituencies for Ecuadorians living abroad by simple majority vote; members serve 4-year terms); note - all Assembly members have alternates from the same party who cast votes when a primary member is absent, resigns, or is removed from office" + "text": "unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (137 seats; 116 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 15 members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by open-list proportional representation vote, and 6 directly elected in multi-seat constituencies for Ecuadorians living abroad by simple majority vote; members serve 4-year terms); note - all Assembly members have alternates from the same party who cast votes when a primary member is absent, resigns, or is removed from office" }, "elections": { "text": "last held on 7 February 2021 (next scheduled in February 2025)" diff --git a/south-america/ve.json b/south-america/ve.json index d7a1ac51..9c0909ad 100644 --- a/south-america/ve.json +++ b/south-america/ve.json @@ -1,9 +1,4 @@ { - "Introduction": { - "Background": { - "text": "Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by military strongmen who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Although democratically elected governments largely held sway since 1959, the executive branch under Hugo CHAVEZ, president from 1999 to 2013, exercised increasingly authoritarian control over other branches of government. This undemocratic trend continued in 2018 when Nicolas MADURO claimed the presidency for his second term in an election boycotted by most opposition parties and widely viewed as fraudulent.
The last democratically-elected institution is the 2015 National Assembly. In 2020, legislative elections were held for a new National Assembly, which the opposition boycotted, and which were widely condemned as fraudulent. The resulting assembly is viewed by most opposition parties and many international actors as illegitimate. In November 2021, most opposition parties broke a three-year election boycott to participate in mayoral and gubernatorial elections, despite flawed conditions. As a result, the opposition more than doubled its representation at the mayoral level and retained four of 23 governorships. The 2021 regional elections marked the first time since 2006 that the EU was allowed to send an electoral observation mission to Venezuela.
The MADURO regime places strong restrictions on freedoms of expression and the press. Since CHAVEZ, the ruling party's economic policies expanded the state's role in the economy through expropriations of major enterprises, strict currency exchange and price controls that discourage private sector investment and production, and overdependence on the petroleum industry for revenues, among others. Years of economic mismanagement left Venezuela ill-prepared to weather the global drop in oil prices in 2014, sparking an economic decline that has resulted in reduced government social spending, shortages of basic goods, and high inflation. Worsened living conditions have prompted over 7 million Venezuelans to migrate, mainly settling in nearby countries. Since 2017, the US has imposed financial and sectoral sanctions on the MADURO regime, and the regime's mismanagement and lack of investment in infrastructure has debilitated the country's oil sector. Caracas has more recently relaxed some economic controls to mitigate the impact of its sustained economic crisis, such as allowing increased currency and liberalizing import flexibility for private citizens and companies. Other concerns include human rights abuses, rampant violent crime, political manipulation of the judicial and electoral systems, and corruption.
note 1: the country lies on major sea and air routes linking North and South America
note 2: Venezuela has some of the most unique geology in the world; tepuis are massive table-top mountains of the western Guiana Highlands that tend to be isolated and thus support unique endemic plant and animal species; their sheer cliffsides account for some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world including Angel Falls, the world's highest (979 m) that drops off Auyan Tepui
" } }, + "Introduction": { + "Background": { + "text": "Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by military strongmen who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Although democratically elected governments largely held sway since 1959, the executive branch under Hugo CHAVEZ, president from 1999 to 2013, exercised increasingly authoritarian control over other branches of government. This undemocratic trend continued in 2018 when Nicolas MADURO claimed the presidency for his second term in an election boycotted by most opposition parties and widely viewed as fraudulent.
The last democratically-elected institution is the 2015 National Assembly. In 2020, legislative elections were held for a new National Assembly, which the opposition boycotted, and which were widely condemned as fraudulent. The resulting assembly is viewed by most opposition parties and many international actors as illegitimate. In November 2021, most opposition parties broke a three-year election boycott to participate in mayoral and gubernatorial elections, despite flawed conditions. As a result, the opposition more than doubled its representation at the mayoral level and retained four of 23 governorships. The 2021 regional elections marked the first time since 2006 that the EU was allowed to send an electoral observation mission to Venezuela.
The MADURO regime places strong restrictions on freedoms of expression and the press. Since CHAVEZ, the ruling party's economic policies expanded the state's role in the economy through expropriations of major enterprises, strict currency exchange and price controls that discourage private sector investment and production, and overdependence on the petroleum industry for revenues, among others. Years of economic mismanagement left Venezuela ill-prepared to weather the global drop in oil prices in 2014, sparking an economic decline that has resulted in reduced government social spending, shortages of basic goods, and high inflation. Worsened living conditions have prompted over 7 million Venezuelans to migrate, mainly settling in nearby countries. Since 2017, the US has imposed financial and sectoral sanctions on the MADURO regime, and the regime's mismanagement and lack of investment in infrastructure has debilitated the country's oil sector. Caracas has more recently relaxed some economic controls to mitigate the impact of its sustained economic crisis, such as allowing increased currency and liberalizing import flexibility for private citizens and companies. Other concerns include human rights abuses, rampant violent crime, political manipulation of the judicial and electoral systems, and corruption.
Social investment in Venezuela during the CHAVEZ administration reduced poverty from nearly 50% in 1999 to about 27% in 2011, increased school enrollment, substantially decreased infant and child mortality, and improved access to potable water and sanitation through social investment. \"Missions\" dedicated to education, nutrition, healthcare, and sanitation were funded through petroleum revenues. The sustainability of this progress remains questionable, however, as the continuation of these social programs depends on the prosperity of Venezuela's oil industry. In the long-term, education and health care spending may increase economic growth and reduce income inequality, but rising costs and the staffing of new health care jobs with foreigners are slowing development.
While CHAVEZ was in power, more than one million predominantly middle- and upper-class Venezuelans are estimated to have emigrated. The brain drain is attributed to a repressive political system, lack of economic opportunities, steep inflation, a high crime rate, and corruption. Thousands of oil engineers emigrated to Canada, Colombia, and the United States following CHAVEZ's firing of over 20,000 employees of the state-owned petroleum company during a 2002-03 oil strike. Additionally, thousands of Venezuelans of European descent have taken up residence in their ancestral homelands. Nevertheless, Venezuela has attracted hundreds of thousands of immigrants from South America and southern Europe because of its lenient migration policy and the availability of education and health care. Venezuela also has been a fairly accommodating host to Colombian refugees, numbering about 170,000 as of year-end 2016. However, since 2014, falling oil prices have driven a major economic crisis that has pushed Venezuelans from all walks of life to migrate or to seek asylum abroad to escape severe shortages of food, water, and medicine; soaring inflation; unemployment; and violence. As of September 2022, an estimated 7.1 million Venezuelans were refugees or migrants worldwide, with almost 80% taking refuge in Latin America and the Caribbean (notably Colombia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Argentina, and Brazil, as well as the Dominican Republic, Aruba, and Curacao). Asylum applications increased significantly in the US and Brazil in 2016 and 2017. Several receiving countries are making efforts to increase immigration restrictions and to deport illegal Venezuelan migrants - Ecuador and Peru in August 2018 began requiring valid passports for entry, which are difficult to obtain for Venezuelans. Nevertheless, Venezuelans continue to migrate to avoid economic collapse at home.
" + "text": "Venezuela’s ongoing socio-economic, political, and human rights crises have resulted in widespread poverty and food insecurity and have devastated the country’s healthcare system. According to a 2018 national hospital survey, many hospitals were unable to provide basic services, and 20% of operating rooms and intensive care units were non-functional. Hospitals reported shortages in water (79%), medicines (88%), and surgical supplies (79%). The poor conditions in healthcare facilities have motivated many doctors and other health professionals to emigrate, resulting in shortages of specialists, particularly in emergency care. The scarcity of medicines, vaccines, medical supplies, and mosquito controls is leading to a rise in infectious diseases. Tuberculosis cases jumped by 68% between 2014 and 2017, and malaria rates had the largest rise in the world from 2016 to 2017 at 69%. Diptheria, which had been eradicated in the country in 1999, re-emerged in 2016, and new cases have surfaced in 2023. Infectious disease outbreaks, such as measles and malaria, have crossed into neighboring countries. Infant mortality, which had been decreasing since the 1950s, has been on the rise since 2009. Between 2015 and 2016, infant deaths increased 30%, while maternal mortality increased 65%.
Since 2015, more than 7.32 million Venezuelan migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers have been reported by host governments, with approximately 84% relocatingin Latin America and the Caribbean, as of May 2023. Colombia has been the largest recipient, accommodating almost 2.5 million as of February 2022, followed by Peru and Ecuador. As of June 2022, almost 212,000 of the refugees and close to 1.04 million of the fasylum seekers were recognized by national authorities. An additional 4.3 million Venezuelans have been granted residence permits or other types of regular stay arrangements, as of March 2023. The initial wave of migrants were highly educated professionals. These were followed by university-educated young people. As the economy collapsed in 2017-2018, Venezuelan migrants have been less-educated and from low-income households.
" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { diff --git a/south-asia/bt.json b/south-asia/bt.json index 290254b2..b0c54969 100644 --- a/south-asia/bt.json +++ b/south-asia/bt.json @@ -1083,14 +1083,6 @@ "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { "text": "Bhutan-China: Lacking any treaty describing the boundary, Bhutan and China continue negotiations to establish a common boundary alignment to resolve territorial disputes arising from substantial cartographic discrepancies, the most contentious of which lie in Bhutan's west along China’s Chumbi salient.
Bhutan-India: none identified
Tier 2 Watch List — Bhutan does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making efforts to do so; the government increased convictions of traffickers and the number of victims identified and referred to services; officials drafted and launched an anti-trafficking National Action Plan; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing anti-trafficking efforts compared with the previous year; the government reported only one investigation and did not initiate any new prosecutions, and the overall identification efforts remained insufficient; because the government has devoted sufficient resources to a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute significant efforts to meet the minimum standards, Bhutan was granted a waiver per the TVPA from a downgrade to Tier 3; therefore Bhutan remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year (2022)
" - }, - "trafficking profile": { - "text": "Trafficking profile: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Bhutan and exploit victims from Bhutan abroad; unregistered foreign employment recruitment agencies increasingly operate through social media to target unemployed or economically disadvantaged individuals; Bhutanese citizens working in hospitality, retail, and services sectors in the Gulf, including in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, and in India, Thailand, and the United Kingdom, reported indicators of trafficking; in recent years traffickers sent Bhutanese women to Iraq and Oman for forced labor in domestic work; traffickers have exploited Bhutanese women and girls in sex and labor trafficking, including in forced domestic labor and caregiving; reports indicate an increase in commercial sex by Bhutanese and Indian women in the Bhutan-India border’s growing hospitality and entertainment districts—including hotels, massage parlors, and nightclubs—some of which might be forced; traffickers reportedly have exploited Indian child domestic workers and male Indian migrants working in the construction and hydropower sectors; rural Bhutanese transported to urban areas may be involved in forced domestic work, and child labor in restaurants and automotive workshops may involve forced labor (2022)
" - } } } } \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/south-asia/in.json b/south-asia/in.json index 863523dd..d6ace543 100644 --- a/south-asia/in.json +++ b/south-asia/in.json @@ -1,9 +1,4 @@ { - "Introduction": { - "Background": { - "text": "The Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest, flourished during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. and extended into northwestern India. Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Islam spread across the subcontinent over a period of 700 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established the Delhi Sultanate. In the early 16th century, the Emperor BABUR established the Mughal Dynasty, which ruled India for more than three centuries. European explorers began establishing footholds in India during the 16th century.
By the 19th century, Great Britain had become the dominant political power on the subcontinent and India was seen as the \"Jewel in the Crown\" of the British Empire. The British Indian Army played a vital role in both World Wars. Years of nonviolent resistance to British rule, led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU, eventually resulted in Indian independence in 1947. Large-scale communal violence took place before and after the subcontinent partition into two separate states - India and Pakistan. The neighboring countries have fought three wars since independence, the last of which was in 1971 and resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998 emboldened Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. In November 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. India's economic growth following the launch of economic reforms in 1991, a massive youthful population, and a strategic geographic location have contributed to India's emergence as a regional and global power. However, India still faces pressing problems such as environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and widespread corruption, and its restrictive business climate challenges economic growth expectations.
" - } - }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan" @@ -120,6 +115,11 @@ "text": "dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal" } }, + "Introduction": { + "Background": { + "text": "The Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest, flourished during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. and extended into northwestern India. Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Islam spread across the subcontinent over a period of 700 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established the Delhi Sultanate. In the early 16th century, the Emperor BABUR established the Mughal Dynasty, which ruled India for more than three centuries. European explorers began establishing footholds in India during the 16th century.
By the 19th century, Great Britain had become the dominant political power on the subcontinent and India was seen as the \"Jewel in the Crown\" of the British Empire. The British Indian Army played a vital role in both World Wars. Years of nonviolent resistance to British rule, led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU, eventually resulted in Indian independence in 1947. Large-scale communal violence took place before and after the subcontinent partition into two separate states - India and Pakistan. The neighboring countries have fought three wars since independence, the last of which was in 1971 and resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998 emboldened Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. In November 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. India's economic growth following the launch of economic reforms in 1991, a massive youthful population, and a strategic geographic location have contributed to India's emergence as a regional and global power. However, India still faces pressing problems such as environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and widespread corruption, and its restrictive business climate challenges economic growth expectations.
" + } + }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "1,399,179,585 (2023 est.)" diff --git a/south-asia/np.json b/south-asia/np.json index 498a928c..d2fa9df4 100644 --- a/south-asia/np.json +++ b/south-asia/np.json @@ -1,9 +1,4 @@ { - "Introduction": { - "Background": { - "text": "During the late 18th-early 19th centuries, the principality of Gorkha united many of the other principalities and states of the sub-Himalayan region into a Nepali Kingdom. Nepal retained its independence following the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16 and the subsequent peace treaty laid the foundations for two centuries of amicable relations between Britain and Nepal. (The Brigade of Gurkhas continues to serve in the British Army to the present day.) In 1951, the Nepali monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system that brought political parties into the government. That arrangement lasted until 1960, when political parties were again banned, but was reinstated in 1990 with the establishment of a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy.
An insurgency led by Maoists broke out in 1996. During the ensuing 10-year civil war between Maoist and government forces, the monarchy dissolved the cabinet and parliament and re-assumed absolute power in 2002, after the crown prince massacred the royal family in 2001. A peace accord in 2006 led to the promulgation of an interim constitution in 2007. Following a nationwide Constituent Assembly (CA) election in 2008, the newly formed CA declared Nepal a federal democratic republic, abolished the monarchy, and elected the country's first president. After the CA failed to draft a constitution by a 2012 deadline set by the Supreme Court, then-Prime Minister Baburam BHATTARAI dissolved the CA. Months of negotiations ensued until 2013 when the major political parties agreed to create an interim government headed by then-Chief Justice Khil Raj REGMI with a mandate to hold elections for a new CA. Elections were held in 2013, in which the Nepali Congress (NC) won the largest share of seats in the CA and in 2014 formed a coalition government with the second-place Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) with NC President Sushil KOIRALA serving as prime minister. Nepal's new constitution came into effect in 2015, at which point the CA became the Parliament. Khagda Prasad Sharma OLI served as the first post-constitution prime minister from 2015 to 2016. OLI resigned ahead of a no-confidence motion against him, and Parliament elected Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) leader Pushpa Kamal DAHAL (aka \"Prachanda\") prime minister. The constitution provided for a transitional period during which three sets of elections – local, provincial, and national – needed to take place. The first local elections in 20 years occurred in three phases between May and September 2017, and state and federal elections proceeded in two phases in November and December 2017. The parties headed by OLI and DAHAL ran in coalition and swept the parliamentary elections, and OLI, who led the larger of the two parties, was sworn in as prime minister in February 2018. In May 2018, OLI and DAHAL announced the merger of their parties - the UML and CPN-M - to establish the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), which headed the government for roughly two years before infighting led the party to split. OLI from late 2020 sought to dissolve parliament and hold elections. The supreme court in July 2021 declared OLI's efforts unconstitutional and called for an appointment of the opposition-supported NC leader Sher Bahadur DEUBA as prime minister. DEUBA led Nepal with the support of his party and DAHAL's Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-MC) until December 2022. The NC won a majority of seats in the parliamentary elections on November 2022, but in late December 2022, DAHAL broke with the ruling coalition and sought a partnership with OLI and the CPN-UML to become prime minister. DAHAL's first post-election cabinet lasted approximately two months, until disagreements over ministerial assignments across the coalition caused OLI to withdraw his support. In March 2023, DAHAL survived a vote of confidence and formed a coalition with the NC to remain prime minister.
" - } - }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Southern Asia, between China and India" @@ -101,6 +96,11 @@ "text": "landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga - the world's tallest and third tallest mountains - on the borders with China and India respectively" } }, + "Introduction": { + "Background": { + "text": "
During the late 18th-early 19th centuries, the principality of Gorkha united many of the other principalities and states of the sub-Himalayan region into a Nepali Kingdom. Nepal retained its independence following the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16 and the subsequent peace treaty laid the foundations for two centuries of amicable relations between Britain and Nepal. (The Brigade of Gurkhas continues to serve in the British Army to the present day.) In 1951, the Nepali monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system that brought political parties into the government. That arrangement lasted until 1960, when political parties were again banned, but was reinstated in 1990 with the establishment of a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy.
An insurgency led by Maoists broke out in 1996. During the ensuing 10-year civil war between Maoist and government forces, the monarchy dissolved the cabinet and parliament and re-assumed absolute power in 2002, after the crown prince massacred the royal family in 2001. A peace accord in 2006 led to the promulgation of an interim constitution in 2007. Following a nationwide Constituent Assembly (CA) election in 2008, the newly formed CA declared Nepal a federal democratic republic, abolished the monarchy, and elected the country's first president. After the CA failed to draft a constitution by a 2012 deadline set by the Supreme Court, then-Prime Minister Baburam BHATTARAI dissolved the CA. Months of negotiations ensued until 2013 when the major political parties agreed to create an interim government headed by then-Chief Justice Khil Raj REGMI with a mandate to hold elections for a new CA. Elections were held in 2013, in which the Nepali Congress (NC) won the largest share of seats in the CA and in 2014 formed a coalition government with the second-place Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) with NC President Sushil KOIRALA serving as prime minister. Nepal's new constitution came into effect in 2015, at which point the CA became the Parliament. Khagda Prasad Sharma OLI served as the first post-constitution prime minister from 2015 to 2016. OLI resigned ahead of a no-confidence motion against him, and Parliament elected Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) leader Pushpa Kamal DAHAL (aka \"Prachanda\") prime minister. The constitution provided for a transitional period during which three sets of elections – local, provincial, and national – needed to take place. The first local elections in 20 years occurred in three phases between May and September 2017, and state and federal elections proceeded in two phases in November and December 2017. The parties headed by OLI and DAHAL ran in coalition and swept the parliamentary elections, and OLI, who led the larger of the two parties, was sworn in as prime minister in February 2018. In May 2018, OLI and DAHAL announced the merger of their parties - the UML and CPN-M - to establish the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), which headed the government for roughly two years before infighting led the party to split. OLI from late 2020 sought to dissolve parliament and hold elections. The supreme court in July 2021 declared OLI's efforts unconstitutional and called for an appointment of the opposition-supported NC leader Sher Bahadur DEUBA as prime minister. DEUBA led Nepal with the support of his party and DAHAL's Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-MC) until December 2022. The NC won a majority of seats in the parliamentary elections on November 2022, but in late December 2022, DAHAL broke with the ruling coalition and sought a partnership with OLI and the CPN-UML to become prime minister. DAHAL's first post-election cabinet lasted approximately two months, until disagreements over ministerial assignments across the coalition caused OLI to withdraw his support. In March 2023, DAHAL survived a vote of confidence and formed a coalition with the NC to remain prime minister.
" + } + }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "30,899,443 (2023 est.)" diff --git a/world/xx.json b/world/xx.json index ffcc7ab5..680cd723 100644 --- a/world/xx.json +++ b/world/xx.json @@ -2,6 +2,9 @@ "Introduction": { "Background": { "text": "Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating World Wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about environmental degradation including deforestation, energy and water shortages, declining biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820 to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1987, 6 billion in 1999, 7 billion in 2012, and 8 billion in 2022. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine and agriculture) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war)." + }, + "Women's World Cup 2023": { + "text": "Special World Cup One-Page Country Summaries of the eight quarterfinalists of this quadrennial football (soccer) tournament." } }, "Geography": { @@ -101,6 +104,17 @@ "text": "large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones); natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
The conquests of Alexander the Great (r. 336-323 B.C.) in the fourth century B.C. fostered the spread of Greek culture to the lands bordering the eastern Mediterranean and through much of the Middle East, ushering in what is today referred to as the Hellenistic Period (323-31 B.C.). Guidebooks compiled by Hellenistic sightseers focused on outstanding monuments in those parts of the world now brought into the Hellenistic sphere: Persia, Egypt, and Babylon. Generally, seven were emphasized since that number was considered magical, perfect, and complete. Not all Wonders lists from ancient times agreed completely, but generally six of the seven consistently appeared (the massive Walls of Babylon sometimes substituted for the Lighthouse of Alexandria). The seven described below represent the “classic” Seven Wonders most often cited.
1. The Great Pyramid of Egypt
The oldest of the Seven Wonders, the Great Pyramid is the only one that remains largely intact. Commissioned by the Pharaoh Khufu (r. ca. 2589-2566 B.C.), it is the largest of the three pyramids at Giza. It served as the ruler’s tomb and was built over a period of some 20 years, concluding about 2560 B.C. Estimated to have been 146.5 m tall when completed, it was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years (until the 14th century A.D.). Most of the original limestone casing stones that formed the outer smooth surface of the pyramid are gone. Today, the pyramid’s height is about 139 m.
2. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
This is the only one of the ancient Seven Wonders for which a definitive location has never been established. There are no surviving Babylonian texts mentioning the Gardens, nor have any archeological remains ever been discovered in today’s Iraq. According to tradition, the Gardens were a remarkable feat of engineering with an ascending series of mud-brick-tiered gardens containing a variety of trees, shrubs, and vines that when viewed from below resembled a leafy green mountain. The Gardens are frequently attributed to the Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605-562 B.C.), who had them built for his Median wife Queen Amytis, who missed the green hills and valleys of her homeland.
3. The Temple of Artemis (Artemision) at Ephesus
This Greek temple at Ephesus (3 km southwest of Selcuk in present-day western Turkey), dedicated to the goddess Artemis, was completely rebuilt twice: once after a 7th century B.C. flood and then following a 356 B.C. act of arson. In its final form it was judged to be one of the Seven Wonders and it survived for 600 years. The magnificent building was composed entirely of marble. Its massive dimensions were reported as 130 m by 69 m, with 127 columns, each some 18 m tall. The Temple was damaged in a Gothic raid in A.D. 268 and finally closed by Christians in the early-to-mid 5th century. The structure was dismantled in succeeding centuries and today almost nothing of the Temple remains.
4. The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
Constructed in about 350 B.C., the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was located on the site of the present-day city of Bodrun in southwestern Turkey. It was the tomb of Mausolus, a Persian ruler, and his wife. (It is from the ruler’s name that the term mausoleum is derived.) The structure stood about 45 m high and took some 20 years to complete. A series of earthquakes between the 12th and 15th centuries A.D. devastated the structure, the last of the original Seven Wonders to be destroyed.
5. The Colossus of Rhodes
This statue of the Greek sun god Helios, constructed to celebrate Rhodes’ successful repulse of a siege, was made of iron tie bars to which brass or bronze plates were attached to form a skin. Contemporary descriptions list its height at about 70 cubits or some 33 m – approximately the same height as the Statue of Liberty from heel to top of head (34 m) – thus making it the tallest statue in the ancient world. Completed in about 280 B.C. at the entrance to Rhodes harbor, the monument only stood for approximately 54 years until it toppled in a 226 B.C. earthquake. The impressive remains lay on the ground for over 800 years before finally being sold for scrap.
6. The Lighthouse (Pharos) of Alexandria
Completed around 275 B.C., the Alexandria Lighthouse stood on Pharos Island at the entrance to the Egyptian port city for some 1,600 years! It was severely damaged by three earthquakes between A.D. 956 and 1323, when it was deactivated. We have a fairly good idea of the shape of the structure since it appears on a number of ancient coins. A solid square base, which made up about half of the height, supported an octagonal middle section, and a cylindrical top. The height of the structure is thought to have been at least 100 m and perhaps as high as 140 m. (The tallest lighthouse in the world today is the Jeddah Light in Saudi Arabia, which stands at 133 m.) At its apex stood a mirror that reflected sunlight during the day; a fire burned at night. Since it could be seen at a very great distance, the Pharos light served as a reassuring beacon for mariners from all parts of the Mediterranean.
7. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia in Greece
The giant seated statue of the king of the Greek gods in the sanctuary of Olympia was completed by the Greek sculptor Phidias in approximately 435 B.C. Roughly 13 m tall, it was constructed of ivory plates and gold panels on a wooden framework; the god’s throne was ornamented with ebony, ivory, gold, and precious stones. With the rise of Christianity, the sanctuary at Olympia fell into disuse; the details of the statue’s final destruction are unknown.
note: The Lighthouse of Alexandria may have been the last of the Wonders to be completed (ca. 275 B.C.) and the Colossus of Rhodes was the first to be destroyed in about 226 B.C., so the Seven Wonders existed at the same time for only some 50 years in the middle of the third century B.C.
" + }, + "The New Seven Wonders of the World": { + "text": "A private initiative to come up with a new list for seven of the world’s wonders sprang up early in the new Millennium. Worldwide balloting – via the Internet or by telephone – took place covering a list of 200 existing monuments. Reportedly over 100 million votes were cast over a period of several years and the final list was announced on 7-7-2007. Even though the polling was unscientific, the seven “winners” were a worthy compilation of extraordinary Wonders to be found around the world. All seven of the New Wonders are inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and are frequently cited in the literature.
1. Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico
This archeological site includes the impressive remains of a large pre-Columbian Maya city that flourished from ca. A.D. 600-1100. Among the outstanding structures at the site are the massive Temple of the Warriors complex, an Observatory (El Caracol), the Great Ball Court, and the Sacred Cenote (sinkhole) where offerings were made. The most famous building, however, is the step-pyramid known as the Temple of Kukulcan that dominates the center of the site and serves as the symbol of Chichen Itza. The pyramidal structure is 24 m high; the crowning temple adds another 6 m. Although located in the dense jungles of Yucatan, it remains one of the most visited tourist sites in Mexico.
2. The Colosseum, Rome, Italy
Construction began with the Roman Emperor Vespasian in A.D. 72 and was completed by his son Titus in A.D. 80. Some further modifications were made by Domitian (A.D. 81-96). The three emperors make up the Flavian Dynasty, thus providing the alternate name for the structure as the Flavian Amphitheater. The massive structure is estimated to have seated, on average, about 65 thousand spectators and was most famously used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. Substantially ruined by earthquakes and thieves who looted much of the stone, the structure nonetheless remains an iconic symbol of Rome. The Colosseum is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the World.
3. Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Built between 1922 and 1931, the 30-meter-tall sculpture is reputed to be the largest Art Deco statue in the World. Its pedestal provides another 8 m in height and the arms stretch out to 28 m. Constructed of reinforced concrete and soapstone, the statue has become the cultural icon not only of Rio but also of Brazil.
4. Great Wall, China
The name refers to a remarkable series of fortification systems that stretched across the northern historical borders of China and served as protection against various nomadic peoples. The earliest of these walls date to the 7th century B.C.; certain stretches began to be linked in the 3rd century B.C. and successive dynasties added to or maintained various sections of the walls. The best known and best-preserved portions of the wall are those built by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). An archeological survey revealed that the Wall and all its associated branches measures 21,196 km. Winding through amazingly varied terrain, the Great Wall is acknowledged as one of the most impressive architectural feats in history.
5. Machu Picchu, Cuzco Region, Peru
Perhaps the most spectacular archeological site in the Americas, the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, situated on a 2,430 m Andean mountain ridge, is now thought to have been erected as an estate for the Inca Emperor Pachacuti (r. 1438-1471). Additionally, it may also have served as a religious sanctuary. Built between about 1450 and 1460, it was abandoned approximately a century later, at the time of the Spanish conquest. Construction was carried out in the classic Inca style of polished, dry-stone, fitted walls. Some 750 people lived at this royal estate, most of them support staff to the nobility. The site is roughly divided into an agricultural sector (with myriad terraces for raising crops) and an urban sector. The latter is composed of an upper town (with temples) and a lower town (with warehouses). Some of the religious monuments include: the Intiwatana (a carved, ritual stone that served as a type of sundial and that is referred to as “The Hitching Post of the Sun”); the Torreon or Temple of the Sun, a small tower that likely served as a type of observatory; and the Intimachay, a sacred cave with a masonry entrance.
6. Petra, Ma’an, Jordan
Petra is believed to have been established in the 4th century B.C. as the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom, an entity that grew fabulously wealthy as the nexus of trade routes in the southern Levant. The kingdom retained its independence until annexed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 106. The city is justifiably famous for two things, its stunning rock-cut architecture and its water conduit system, which allowed the Nabataeans to control and store the water supply in this desert region and create an artificial oasis. At its peak in the 1st century A.D., the city may have had a population of 20 thousand.
7. Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
This gorgeous ivory-white mausoleum – described as “one of the universally admired masterpieces of the World’s heritage” – was commissioned in 1632 by Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1658) as the final resting place for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The building also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The Taj Mahal is the centerpiece of an entire 17-hectare complex that also includes a guest house, a mosque, and formal gardens. The entire project was not completed until about 1653. The Taj Mahal remains one of the most visited tourist sites in the World.
note: The Great Pyramid of Egypt, the only surviving Wonder of the ancient Seven, received an honorary status among the New Seven Wonders. Its inclusion enabled a Wonder to be listed for each of the continents but Australia.
" + }, + "The World Factbook's Seven Natural Ultra-Wonders of the World": { + "text": "While all of the above Wonders are indeed outstanding, their presence in any type of list is entirely subjective. There are many other fabulous sites around the world that are equally worthy of being designated as Wonders. (An example is the inclusion of Chichen Itza from Mexico. While it is spectacular, it became a 'Wonder' for its popularity as a tourist site. Equally worthy in the same country is Teotihuacan, a far larger site outside of Mexico City that has two immense pyramids that dwarf the one at Chichen Itza.)
Taking these considerations into account, The World Factbook has come up with a Seven Wonders list that is indisputable, i.e., a list derived in a completely objective manner. A decision was made to focus on natural wonders and not anything man-made. These Wonders all are the biggest in their respective categories (they cannot be topped) and so there can be no dispute with the choice, therefore the 'ultra' designation. This fact distinguishes the Factbook listing from other Seven Natural Wonders lists that have been compiled in the past.
1. Amazonia
A trans-national Wonder that is: a. the World's largest collection of land biodiversity, b. the World's largest rainforest, and c. includes the World's largest swamp in the Amazon River floodplain; mostly in Brazil, Peru, and Colombia, but also in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.
2. Central Indo-Pacific Region
A Wonder hotspot that is the World's largest collection of marine biodiversity; best represented by the Coral Triangle in the tropical waters around the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste; as well as by the Great Barrier Reef (the World's largest reef) in Australia.
3. The Aurora (Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis; aka the Polar Lights)
The World's largest light display that never ceases to awe; seen in countries of the northern latitudes, as well as those of the southern latitudes and Antarctica.
4. Mount Everest and the Himalayas
The World's tallest mountain and mountain range above sea level that stretches across Nepal, China (Tibet), India, Pakistan, and Bhutan (see alternate below).
5. Victoria Falls
The World's largest unbroken waterfall on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe (see alternates below).
6. Sahara
The World's largest hot desert that spreads across Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, and Tunisia (see alternate below).
7. Animal Migrations
The Earth is full of astounding migrations – occurring daily, seasonally, or annually – that are truly awe-inspiring natural wonders. A few extraordinary examples are: a. the diel vertical migrations (DVM, the World's largest animal migration in terms of biomass and number of animals participating), which occur twice daily in all the oceans when zooplankton (microscopic animals) and fish rise to near the surface at night to feed on phytoplankton (microscopic plants) and then with the return of day dive back into the depths to hide in dark waters; b. the Arctic tern's annual round trip of 71,000 km (from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere and back (the World's longest avian migration); or c. the 22,000 km annual migration of the humpback whale (World's longest mammal migration).
Alternates
Mountain alternate (no. 4). If measured strictly from base to peak, then the World's tallest and largest mountains would be on the Island of Hawaii, which includes both the World's tallest mountain [Mauna Kea] and the World's largest active volcano and most voluminous mountain [Mauna Loa]); United States (Hawaii).
Waterfall alternate (no. 5). What constitutes the 'biggest' waterfall(s) can be approached in a number of ways. Depending on one's viewpoint, Iguazu Falls (World's largest waterfall system (275 drops)) in Argentina and Brazil, or Angel Falls (World's tallest waterfall) in Venezuela could substitute.
Desert alternate (no. 6). If a desert is defined as a barren area where little precipitation occurs, then Antarctica with the World's largest polar desert would certainly qualify; it is about 1.5 times the size of the Sahara. The southern continent does not belong to any one country but is a condominium governed by parties to the Antarctic Treaty.
note: A question might arise, how about the World's largest canyon? The Grand Canyon (United States, Arizona) is sometimes mentioned as a Wonder of the World, but 'largest' canyons can be notoriously difficult to define and measure. Does one go by length, depth, or total area of canyon system? Then too, there are largely inaccessible canyons in the Himalayas that have never been properly surveyed and massive canyons are known to exist in some ice-covered parts of Greenland and Antarctica. Therefore, it is not possible to come up with a superlative canyon.
note 1: the World is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13.8-billion-year age estimated for the universe; the earliest widely accepted date for life appearing on Earth is 3.48 billion years ago, but this date is conservative and may get pushed back further
note 2: although earthquakes can strike anywhere at any time, the vast majority occur in three large zones of the Earth; the world's greatest earthquake belt, the Circum-Pacific Belt (popularly referred to as the Ring of Fire), is the zone of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; about 90% of the World's earthquakes (81% of the largest earthquakes) and some 75% of the World's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire; the belt extends northward from Chile, along the South American coast, through Central America, Mexico, the western US, southern Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, to Japan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, island groups in the southwestern Pacific, and New Zealand
the second prominent belt, the Alpide, extends from Java to Sumatra, northward along the mountains of Burma, then eastward through the Himalayas, the Mediterranean, and out into the Atlantic Ocean; it accounts for about 17% of the world's largest earthquakes; the third important belt follows the long Mid-Atlantic Ridge
note 3: information on the origin sites for many of the World's major food crops may be found in the \"Geography - note\" for the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, and the United States
The conquests of Alexander the Great (r. 336-323 B.C.) in the fourth century B.C. fostered the spread of Greek culture to the lands bordering the eastern Mediterranean and through much of the Middle East, ushering in what is today referred to as the Hellenistic Period (323-31 B.C.). Guidebooks compiled by Hellenistic sightseers focused on outstanding monuments in those parts of the world now brought into the Hellenistic sphere: Persia, Egypt, and Babylon. Generally, seven were emphasized since that number was considered magical, perfect, and complete. Not all Wonders lists from ancient times agreed completely, but generally six of the seven consistently appeared (the massive Walls of Babylon sometimes substituted for the Lighthouse of Alexandria). The seven described below represent the “classic” Seven Wonders most often cited.
1. The Great Pyramid of Egypt
The oldest of the Seven Wonders, the Great Pyramid is the only one that remains largely intact. Commissioned by the Pharaoh Khufu (r. ca. 2589-2566 B.C.), it is the largest of the three pyramids at Giza. It served as the ruler’s tomb and was built over a period of some 20 years, concluding about 2560 B.C. Estimated to have been 146.5 m tall when completed, it was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years (until the 14th century A.D.). Most of the original limestone casing stones that formed the outer smooth surface of the pyramid are gone. Today, the pyramid’s height is about 139 m.
2. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
This is the only one of the ancient Seven Wonders for which a definitive location has never been established. There are no surviving Babylonian texts mentioning the Gardens, nor have any archeological remains ever been discovered in today’s Iraq. According to tradition, the Gardens were a remarkable feat of engineering with an ascending series of mud-brick-tiered gardens containing a variety of trees, shrubs, and vines that when viewed from below resembled a leafy green mountain. The Gardens are frequently attributed to the Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605-562 B.C.), who had them built for his Median wife Queen Amytis, who missed the green hills and valleys of her homeland.
3. The Temple of Artemis (Artemision) at Ephesus
This Greek temple at Ephesus (3 km southwest of Selcuk in present-day western Turkey), dedicated to the goddess Artemis, was completely rebuilt twice: once after a 7th century B.C. flood and then following a 356 B.C. act of arson. In its final form it was judged to be one of the Seven Wonders and it survived for 600 years. The magnificent building was composed entirely of marble. Its massive dimensions were reported as 130 m by 69 m, with 127 columns, each some 18 m tall. The Temple was damaged in a Gothic raid in A.D. 268 and finally closed by Christians in the early-to-mid 5th century. The structure was dismantled in succeeding centuries and today almost nothing of the Temple remains.
4. The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
Constructed in about 350 B.C., the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was located on the site of the present-day city of Bodrun in southwestern Turkey. It was the tomb of Mausolus, a Persian ruler, and his wife. (It is from the ruler’s name that the term mausoleum is derived.) The structure stood about 45 m high and took some 20 years to complete. A series of earthquakes between the 12th and 15th centuries A.D. devastated the structure, the last of the original Seven Wonders to be destroyed.
5. The Colossus of Rhodes
This statue of the Greek sun god Helios, constructed to celebrate Rhodes’ successful repulse of a siege, was made of iron tie bars to which brass or bronze plates were attached to form a skin. Contemporary descriptions list its height at about 70 cubits or some 33 m – approximately the same height as the Statue of Liberty from heel to top of head (34 m) – thus making it the tallest statue in the ancient world. Completed in about 280 B.C. at the entrance to Rhodes harbor, the monument only stood for approximately 54 years until it toppled in a 226 B.C. earthquake. The impressive remains lay on the ground for over 800 years before finally being sold for scrap.
6. The Lighthouse (Pharos) of Alexandria
Completed around 275 B.C., the Alexandria Lighthouse stood on Pharos Island at the entrance to the Egyptian port city for some 1,600 years! It was severely damaged by three earthquakes between A.D. 956 and 1323, when it was deactivated. We have a fairly good idea of the shape of the structure since it appears on a number of ancient coins. A solid square base, which made up about half of the height, supported an octagonal middle section, and a cylindrical top. The height of the structure is thought to have been at least 100 m and perhaps as high as 140 m. (The tallest lighthouse in the world today is the Jeddah Light in Saudi Arabia, which stands at 133 m.) At its apex stood a mirror that reflected sunlight during the day; a fire burned at night. Since it could be seen at a very great distance, the Pharos light served as a reassuring beacon for mariners from all parts of the Mediterranean.
7. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia in Greece
The giant seated statue of the king of the Greek gods in the sanctuary of Olympia was completed by the Greek sculptor Phidias in approximately 435 B.C. Roughly 13 m tall, it was constructed of ivory plates and gold panels on a wooden framework; the god’s throne was ornamented with ebony, ivory, gold, and precious stones. With the rise of Christianity, the sanctuary at Olympia fell into disuse; the details of the statue’s final destruction are unknown.
note: The Lighthouse of Alexandria may have been the last of the Wonders to be completed (ca. 275 B.C.) and the Colossus of Rhodes was the first to be destroyed in about 226 B.C., so the Seven Wonders existed at the same time for only some 50 years in the middle of the third century B.C.
" }, - "The New Seven Wonders of the World": { - "text": "A private initiative to come up with a new list for seven of the world’s wonders sprang up early in the new Millennium. Worldwide balloting – via the Internet or by telephone – took place covering a list of 200 existing monuments. Reportedly over 100 million votes were cast over a period of several years and the final list was announced on 7-7-2007. Even though the polling was unscientific, the seven “winners” were a worthy compilation of extraordinary Wonders to be found around the world. All seven of the New Wonders are inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and are frequently cited in the literature.
1. Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico
This archeological site includes the impressive remains of a large pre-Columbian Maya city that flourished from ca. A.D. 600-1100. Among the outstanding structures at the site are the massive Temple of the Warriors complex, an Observatory (El Caracol), the Great Ball Court, and the Sacred Cenote (sinkhole) where offerings were made. The most famous building, however, is the step-pyramid known as the Temple of Kukulcan that dominates the center of the site and serves as the symbol of Chichen Itza. The pyramidal structure is 24 m high; the crowning temple adds another 6 m. Although located in the dense jungles of Yucatan, it remains one of the most visited tourist sites in Mexico.
2. The Colosseum, Rome, Italy
Construction began with the Roman Emperor Vespasian in A.D. 72 and was completed by his son Titus in A.D. 80. Some further modifications were made by Domitian (A.D. 81-96). The three emperors make up the Flavian Dynasty, thus providing the alternate name for the structure as the Flavian Amphitheater. The massive structure is estimated to have seated, on average, about 65 thousand spectators and was most famously used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. Substantially ruined by earthquakes and thieves who looted much of the stone, the structure nonetheless remains an iconic symbol of Rome. The Colosseum is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the World.
3. Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Built between 1922 and 1931, the 30-meter-tall sculpture is reputed to be the largest Art Deco statue in the World. Its pedestal provides another 8 m in height and the arms stretch out to 28 m. Constructed of reinforced concrete and soapstone, the statue has become the cultural icon not only of Rio but also of Brazil.
4. Great Wall, China
The name refers to a remarkable series of fortification systems that stretched across the northern historical borders of China and served as protection against various nomadic peoples. The earliest of these walls date to the 7th century B.C.; certain stretches began to be linked in the 3rd century B.C. and successive dynasties added to or maintained various sections of the walls. The best known and best preserved portions of the wall are those built by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). A recent archeological survey revealed that the Wall and all its associated branches measures 21,196 km. Winding through amazingly varied terrain, the Great Wall is acknowledged as one of the most impressive architectural feats in history.
5. Machu Picchu, Cuzco Region, Peru
Perhaps the most spectacular archeological site in the Americas, the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, situated on a 2,430 m Andean mountain ridge, is now thought to have been erected as an estate for the Inca Emperor Pachacuti (r. 1438-1471). Additionally, it may also have served as a religious sanctuary. Built between about 1450 and 1460, it was abandoned approximately a century later, at the time of the Spanish conquest. Construction was carried out in the classic Inca style of polished, dry-stone, fitted walls. Some 750 people lived at this royal estate, most of them support staff to the nobility. The site is roughly divided into an agricultural sector (with myriad terraces for raising crops) and an urban sector. The latter is composed of an upper town (with temples) and a lower town (with warehouses). Some of the religious monuments include: the Intiwatana (a carved, ritual stone that served as a type of sundial and that is referred to as “The Hitching Post of the Sun”); the Torreon or Temple of the Sun, a small tower that likely served as a type of observatory; and the Intimachay, a sacred cave with a masonry entrance.
6. Petra, Ma’an, Jordan
Petra is believed to have been established in the 4th century B.C. as the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom, an entity that grew fabulously wealthy as the nexus of trade routes in the southern Levant. The kingdom retained its independence until annexed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 106. The city is justifiably famous for two things, its stunning rock-cut architecture and its water conduit system, which allowed the Nabataeans to control and store the water supply in this desert region and create an artificial oasis. At its peak in the 1st century A.D., the city may have had a population of 20 thousand.
7. Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
This gorgeous ivory-white mausoleum – described as “one of the universally admired masterpieces of the World’s heritage” – was commissioned in 1632 by Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1658) as the final resting place for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The building also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The Taj Mahal is the centerpiece of an entire 17-hectare complex that also includes a guest house, a mosque, and formal gardens. The entire project was not completed until about 1653. The Taj Mahal remains one of the most visited tourist sites in the World.
note: The Great Pyramid of Egypt, the only surviving Wonder of the ancient Seven, received an honorary status among the New Seven Wonders. Its inclusion enabled a Wonder to be listed for each of the continents but Australia.
" - }, - "The World Factbook's Seven Natural Ultra-Wonders of the World": { - "text": "While all of the above Wonders are indeed outstanding, their presence in any type of list is entirely subjective. There are many other fabulous sites around the world that are equally worthy of being designated as Wonders. (An example is the inclusion of Chichen Itza from Mexico. While it is spectacular, it became a “Wonder” for its popularity as a tourist site. Equally worthy in the same country is Teotihuacan, a far larger site outside of Mexico City that has two immense pyramids that dwarf the one at Chichen Itza.)
Taking these considerations into account, The World Factbook has come up with a Seven Wonders list that is indisputable, i.e., a list derived in a completely objective manner. A decision was made to focus on natural wonders and not anything man-made. These Wonders all are the biggest in their respective categories (they cannot be topped) and so there can be no dispute with the choice, therefore the “ultra” designation. This fact distinguishes the Factbook listing from other Seven Natural Wonders lists that have been compiled in the past.
1. Amazonia
A trans-national Wonder that is: a. the World’s largest collection of land biodiversity, b. the World’s largest rainforest, and c. includes the World's largest swamp in the Amazon River floodplain; mostly in Brazil, Peru, and Colombia, but also in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.
2. Central Indo-Pacific Region
A Wonder hotspot that is the World’s largest collection of marine biodiversity; best represented by the Coral Triangle in the tropical waters around the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste; as well as by the Great Barrier Reef (the World’s largest reef) in Australia.
3. The Aurora (Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis; aka the Polar Lights)
The World’s largest light display that never ceases to awe; seen in countries of the northern latitudes, as well as those of the southern latitudes and Antarctica.
4. Mount Everest and the Himalayas
The World’s tallest mountain and mountain range above sea level that stretches across Nepal, China (Tibet), India, Pakistan, and Bhutan (see alternate below).
5. Victoria Falls
The World’s largest unbroken waterfall on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe (see alternates below).
6. Sahara
The World’s largest hot desert that spreads across Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, and Tunisia (see alternate below).
7. Animal Migrations
The Earth is full of astounding migrations – occurring daily, seasonally, or annually – that are truly awe-inspiring natural wonders. A few extraordinary examples are: a. the diel vertical migrations (DVM, the World’s largest animal migration in terms of biomass and number of animals participating), which occur twice daily in all the oceans when zooplankton (microscopic animals) and fish rise to near the surface at night to feed on phytoplankton (microscopic plants) and then with the return of day dive back into the depths to hide in dark waters; b. the Arctic tern’s annual round trip of 71,000 km (from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere and back (the World’s longest avian migration); or c. the 22,000 km annual migration of the humpback whale (World’s longest mammal migration).
Alternates
Mountain alternate (no. 4). If measured strictly from base to peak, then the World’s tallest and largest mountains would be on the Island of Hawaii, which includes both the World’s tallest mountain [Mauna Kea] and the World’s largest active volcano and most voluminous mountain [Mauna Loa]); United States (Hawaii).
Waterfall alternate (no. 5). What constitutes the “biggest” waterfall(s) can be approached in a number of ways. Depending on one’s viewpoint, Iguazu Falls (World’s largest waterfall system (275 drops)) in Argentina and Brazil, or Angel Falls (World’s tallest waterfall) in Venezuela could substitute.
Desert alternate (no. 6). If a desert is defined as a barren area where little precipitation occurs, then Antarctica with the World’s largest polar desert would certainly qualify; it is about 1.5 times the size of the Sahara. The southern continent does not belong to any one country but is a condominium governed by parties to the Antarctic Treaty.
note: A question might arise, how about the World’s largest canyon? The Grand Canyon (United States, Arizona) is sometimes mentioned as a Wonder of the World, but “largest” canyons can be notoriously difficult to define and measure. Does one go by length, depth, or total area of canyon system? Then too, there are largely inaccessible canyons in the Himalayas that have never been properly surveyed and massive canyons are known to exist in some ice-covered parts of Greenland and Antarctica. Therefore, it is not possible to come up with a superlative canyon.