diff --git a/africa/eg.json b/africa/eg.json index 5edcce2b..1157dd5d 100644 --- a/africa/eg.json +++ b/africa/eg.json @@ -629,10 +629,10 @@ "text": "3521 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008" }, "telephone": { - "text": "[1] (202) 895-5400; [1] (202) 895-5408" + "text": "[1] (202) 895-5400" }, "FAX": { - "text": "[1] (202) 244-5131; [1] (202) 244-4319" + "text": "(202) 244-4319" }, "email address and website": { "text": "
consulate@egyptembassy.net

https://www.egyptembassy.net/" diff --git a/africa/ke.json b/africa/ke.json index fd910264..0e546410 100644 --- a/africa/ke.json +++ b/africa/ke.json @@ -586,10 +586,10 @@ "text": "Cabinet appointed by the president, subject to confirmation by the National Assembly" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president and deputy president directly elected on the same ballot by qualified majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); in addition to receiving an absolute majority popular vote, the presidential candidate must also win at least 25% of the votes cast in at least 24 of the 47 counties to avoid a runoff; election last held on 9 August 2022 (next to be held in 2027)" + "text": "president and deputy president directly elected on the same ballot by majority vote nationwide and at least 25% of the votes cast in at least 24 of the 47 counties; failure to meet these thresholds requires a runoff between the top two candidates; election last held on 9 August 2022 (next to be held in 2027)" }, "election results": { - "text": "2017: Uhuru KENYATTA reelected president; percent of vote - Uhuru KENYATTA (Jubilee Party) 98.3%, Raila ODINGA (ODM) 1%, other 0.7%; note - Kenya held a previous presidential election on 8 August 2017, but Kenya's Supreme Court on 1 September 2017 nullified the results, citing irregularities; the political opposition boycotted the October vote

2013:  Uhuru KENYATTA elected president in first round; percent of vote - Uhuru KENYATTA (TNA) 50.1%, Raila ODINGA (ODM) 43.7%, Musalia MUDAVADI (UDF) 4.0%, other 2.2%" + "text": "2017: Uhuru KENYATTA reelected president; percent of vote - Uhuru KENYATTA (JP) 98.3%, Raila ODINGA (ODM) 1%, other 0.7%; note - Kenya held a previous presidential election on 8 August 2017, but Kenya's Supreme Court on 1 September 2017 nullified the results, citing irregularities; the political opposition boycotted the October vote

2013:  Uhuru KENYATTA elected president in first round; percent of vote - Uhuru KENYATTA (TNA) 50.1%, Raila ODINGA (ODM) 43.7%, Musalia MUDAVADI (UDF) 4.0%, other 2.2%" } }, "Legislative branch": { @@ -615,7 +615,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "

Azimio La Umoja–One Kenya Coalition Party [Raila ODINGA] (includes DAP-K, JP, KANU, KUP, MCC, MDG, ODM, PAA, UDM, UDP, UPA, UPIA, and WDM-K)
Amani National Congress or ANC [Musalia MUDAVADI]
Chama Cha Kazi or CCK [Moses KURIA]
Democratic Action Party or DAP-K [Wafula WAMUNYINYI]
Democratic Party or DP [Joseph MUNYAO, Chairman]
Forum for the Restoration of Democracy–Kenya or FORD-Kenya  [Moses WETANGULA]
Grand Dream Development Party or GDDP [Fabian KYULE]           
Independents  
Jubilee Party or JP [Uhuru KENYATTA]
Kenya African National Union or KANU [Gideon MOI]
Kenya Kwanza coalition [William RUTO] (includes ANC, CCK, DP, FORD-Kenya, TSP, and UDA)
Kenya Union Party or KUP [John LONYANGAPUO]
Maendeleo Chap Chap Party or MCC [Alfred MUTUA]
Movement for Democracy and Growth or MDG [David OCHIENG]
National Agenda Party or NAP-K [Alfayo AGUFANA]                        
National Ordinary People Empowerment Union or NOPEU [Rodgers MPURU, Secretary General}
Orange Democratic Movement or ODM [Raila ODINGA]
Pamoja African Alliance or PAA [Amason KINGI]
The Service Party or TSP [Mwangi KIUNJURI]
United Democratic Alliance or UDA [William RUTO]
United Democratic Movement or UDM [Philip MURGOR]
United Democratic Party or UDP [Cyrus Jirongo]
United Party of Independent Alliance or UPIA [Ukur YATANI]                                      
United Progressive Alliance or UPA [Kenneth NYAMWAMU]                                        
Wiper Democratic Movement-Kenya or WDM-K [Kalonzo MUSYOKA]   

note: only parties with seats in the National Assembly and Senate included             

" + "text": "

Azimio La Umoja–One Kenya Coalition Party [Raila ODINGA] (includes DAP-K, JP, KANU, KUP, MCC, MDG, ODM, PAA, UDM, UDP, UPA, UPIA, and WDM-K)
Amani National Congress or ANC [Musalia MUDAVADI]
Chama Cha Kazi or CCK [Moses KURIA]
Democratic Action Party or DAP-K [Wafula WAMUNYINYI]
Democratic Party or DP [Joseph MUNYAO, Chairman]
Forum for the Restoration of Democracy–Kenya or FORD-Kenya [Moses WETANGULA]
Grand Dream Development Party or GDDP [Fabian KYULE]           
Jubilee Party or JP [Uhuru KENYATTA] (previously the National Alliance Party)
Kenya African National Union or KANU [Gideon MOI]
Kenya Kwanza coalition [William RUTO] (includes ANC, CCK, DP, FORD-Kenya, TSP, and UDA)
Kenya Union Party or KUP [John LONYANGAPUO]
Maendeleo Chap Chap Party or MCC [Alfred MUTUA]
Movement for Democracy and Growth or MDG [David OCHIENG]
National Agenda Party or NAP-K [Alfayo AGUFANA]                        
National Ordinary People Empowerment Union or NOPEU [Rodgers MPURU, Secretary General}
Orange Democratic Movement or ODM [Raila ODINGA]
Pamoja African Alliance or PAA [Amason KINGI]
The Service Party or TSP [Mwangi KIUNJURI]
United Democratic Alliance or UDA [William RUTO]
United Democratic Movement or UDM [Philip MURGOR]
United Democratic Party or UDP [Cyrus Jirongo]
United Party of Independent Alliance or UPIA [Ukur YATANI]                                      
United Progressive Alliance or UPA [Kenneth NYAMWAMU]                                        
Wiper Democratic Movement-Kenya or WDM-K [Kalonzo MUSYOKA]   

note: includes only parties with seats in the Senate and National Assembly

" }, "International organization participation": { "text": "ACP, AfDB, ATMIS, AU, C, CD, COMESA, EAC, EADB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCT, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNSOM, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WMO, WTO" @@ -1279,7 +1279,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "281,319 (Somalia), 157,402 (South Sudan), 56,582 (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 21,847 (Ethiopia), 8,392 (Burundi), 5,756 (Sudan) (2023)" + "text": "281,319 (Somalia), 157,402 (South Sudan), 57,286 (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 21,847 (Ethiopia), 8,392 (Burundi), 5,756 (Sudan) (2023)" }, "IDPs": { "text": "190,000 (election-related violence, intercommunal violence, resource conflicts, al-Shabaab attacks in 2017 and 2018) (2021)" diff --git a/africa/mz.json b/africa/mz.json index 5bbaae03..185c4528 100644 --- a/africa/mz.json +++ b/africa/mz.json @@ -619,7 +619,7 @@ "text": "Democratic Movement of Mozambique (Movimento Democratico de Mocambique) or MDM [Lutero SIMANGO]
Liberation Front of Mozambique (Frente de Liberatacao de Mocambique) or FRELIMO [Filipe NYUSI]
Mozambican National Resistance (Resistencia Nacional Mocambicana) or RENAMO [Ossufo MOMADE]

note: only parties with seats in the legislature listed" }, "International organization participation": { - "text": "ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CD, CPLP, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITC, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OCHA, OIC, OIF (observer), OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCDF, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNDSS, UNECA, UNEP,  UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNODC, UNOPS, UNV, Union Latina, UPU, WCO, WFP, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO" + "text": "ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CD, CPLP, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF (observer), OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNEP,  UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, Union Latina, UPU, WCO, WFP, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO" }, "Diplomatic representation in the US": { "chief of mission": { diff --git a/africa/ng.json b/africa/ng.json index 0d6d7406..c647a9a0 100644 --- a/africa/ng.json +++ b/africa/ng.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "

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

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

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

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 Programme's Human Development Index. The largely agrarian and subsistence-based economy is frequently disrupted by extended droughts common to the Sahel region of Africa. The Nigerien Government continues its attempts to diversify the economy through increased oil production and mining projects. In addition, Niger is facing increased security concerns on its borders from various external threats including insecurity in Libya, spillover from the conflict and terrorism in Mali, and violent extremism in northeastern Nigeria.

" + "text": "

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

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

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

" } }, "Geography": { @@ -1188,7 +1188,7 @@ "Military and Security": { "Military and security forces": { "text": "Nigerien Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN): Army, Nigerien Air Force, Niger Gendarmerie (GN)

Ministry of Interior: Niger National Guard (GNN), National Police (2023)", - "note": "note 1: the Gendarmerie (GN) and the National Guard (GNN) are paramilitary forces; the GN has primary responsibility for rural security while the GNN is responsible for domestic security and the protection of high-level officials and government buildings; the GNN was formerly known as the National Forces of Intervention and Security

note 2: the National Police includes the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance, which is charged with border management" + "note": "note 1: the Gendarmerie (GN) and the National Guard (GNN) are paramilitary forces; the GN has primary responsibility for rural security while the GNN is responsible for domestic security and the protection of high-level officials and government buildings; the GNN in past years was known as the National Forces of Intervention and Security and the Republican Guard

note 2: the National Police includes the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance, which is charged with border management" }, "Military expenditures": { "Military Expenditures 2022": { diff --git a/africa/ni.json b/africa/ni.json index dae05657..bc621da9 100644 --- a/africa/ni.json +++ b/africa/ni.json @@ -1267,7 +1267,7 @@ "note": "note: Nigeria has committed an Army combat brigade (approximately 3,000 troops) to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), a regional counter-terrorism force comprised of troops from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger; MNJTF conducts operations against Boko Haram and other terrorist groups operating in the general area of the Lake Chad Basin and along Nigeria's northeast border; national MNJTF troop contingents are deployed within their own country territories, although cross‐border operations are conducted periodically" }, "Military - note": { - "text": "the Nigerian military is sub-Saharan Africa’s largest and regarded as one of its most capable forces; the Army is organized into 8 divisions comprised of a diverse mix of more than 20 combat brigades, including airborne infantry, amphibious infantry, armor, artillery, light infantry, mechanized and motorized infantry, and special operations forces; there is also a presidential guard brigade; the Army typically organizes into battalion- and brigade-sized task forces for operations; the Air Force has a few squadrons of fighters, ground attack fighters, armed UAVs, and attack helicopter squadrons primarily for supporting the Army

the Army and Air Force are focused largely on internal security and face a number of challenges that have stretched their resources; the Army is deployed in all 36 of the country's states; in the northeast, it is conducting counterinsurgency/counterterrorist operations against the Boko Haram (BH) and Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham in West Africa (ISIS-WA) terrorist groups, where it has deployed as many as 70,000 troops at times and jihadist-related violence has killed an estimated 35-40,000 people, mostly civilians, since 2009; in the northwest, it faces growing threats from criminal gangs--locally referred to as bandits--and violence associated with long-standing farmer-herder conflicts, as well as BH and ISIS-WA terrorists; bandits in the northwestern Nigeria are estimated to number in the low 10,000s and violence there has killed more than 10,000 people since the mid-2010s; the military also continues to protect the oil industry in the Niger Delta region against militants and criminal activity, although the levels of violence there have decreased in recent years; since 2021, additional troops and security forces have been deployed to eastern Nigeria to quell renewed agitation for a state of Biafra (Biafra seceded from Nigeria in the late 1960s, sparking a civil war that caused more than 1 million deaths)

meanwhile, the Navy is focused on security in the Gulf of Guinea; since 2016, it has developed a maritime strategy, boosted naval training and its naval presence in the Gulf, increased participation in regional maritime security efforts, and acquired a considerable number of new naval platforms, including offshore and coastal patrol craft, fast attack boats, and air assets; its principal surface ships currently include a frigate and 4 corvettes or offshore patrol ships

the Nigerian military traces its origins to the Nigeria Regiment of the West African Frontier Force (WAFF), a multi-regiment force formed by the British colonial office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria (Lagos and the protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria), Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and Gambia; the WAFF served with distinction in both East and West Africa during World War I; in 1928, it received royal recognition and was re-named the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF); the RWAFF went on to serve in World War II as part of the British 81st and 82nd (West African) divisions in the East Africa and Burma campaigns; in 1956, the Nigeria Regiment of the RWAFF was renamed the Nigerian Military Forces (NMF) and in 1958, the colonial government of Nigeria took over control of the NMF from the British War Office; the Nigerian Armed Forces were established following independence in 1960 (2023)" + "text": "the Nigerian military is sub-Saharan Africa’s largest and regarded as one of its most capable forces; the Army is organized into 8 divisions comprised of a diverse mix of more than 20 combat brigades, including airborne infantry, amphibious infantry, armor, artillery, light infantry, mechanized and motorized infantry, and special operations forces; there is also a presidential guard brigade; the Army typically organizes into battalion- and brigade-sized task forces for operations; the Air Force has a few squadrons of fighters, ground attack fighters, armed UAVs, and attack helicopter squadrons primarily for supporting the Army

the Army and Air Force are focused largely on internal security and face a number of challenges that have stretched their resources; the Army is deployed in all 36 of the country's states; in the northeast, it is conducting counterinsurgency/counterterrorist operations against the Boko Haram (BH) and Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham in West Africa (ISIS-WA) terrorist groups, where it has deployed as many as 70,000 troops at times and jihadist-related violence has killed an estimated 35-40,000 people, mostly civilians, since 2009; in the northwest, it faces growing threats from criminal gangs--locally referred to as bandits--and violence associated with long-standing farmer-herder conflicts, as well as BH and ISIS-WA terrorists; bandits in the northwestern Nigeria are estimated to number in the low 10,000s and violence there has killed more than 10,000 people since the mid-2010s; the military also continues to protect the oil industry in the Niger Delta region against militants and criminal activity, although the levels of violence there have decreased in recent years; since 2021, additional troops and security forces have been deployed to eastern Nigeria to quell renewed agitation for a state of Biafra (Biafra seceded from Nigeria in the late 1960s, sparking a civil war that caused more than 1 million deaths)

meanwhile, the Navy is focused on security in the Gulf of Guinea; since 2016, it has developed a maritime strategy, boosted naval training and its naval presence in the Gulf, increased participation in regional maritime security efforts, and acquired a considerable number of new naval platforms, including offshore and coastal patrol craft, fast attack boats, and air assets; its principal surface ships currently include a frigate and 4 corvettes or offshore patrol ships

the Nigerian military traces its origins to the Nigeria Regiment of the West African Frontier Force (WAFF), a multi-regiment force formed by the British colonial office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria (Lagos and the protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria), Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and Gambia; the WAFF served with distinction in both East and West Africa during World War I; in 1928, it received royal recognition and was re-named the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF); the RWAFF went on to serve in World War II as part of the British 81st and 82nd (West African) divisions in the East Africa and Burma campaigns; in 1956, the Nigeria Regiment of the RWAFF was renamed the Nigerian Military Forces (NMF) and in 1958, the colonial government of Nigeria took over control of the NMF from the British War Office; the Nigerian Armed Forces were established following independence in 1960 (2023)" }, "Maritime threats": { "text": "

the International Maritime Bureau reported no incidents in the territorial and offshore waters of Nigeria in 2022, down from six attacks in 2021; the offshore waters of the Niger Delta and Gulf of Guinea remain a very high risk for piracy and armed robbery of ships; past incidents have been reported where vessels were attacked and crews kidnapped; these incidents showed that the pirates / robbers in the area are well armed and violent; pirates have robbed vessels and kidnapped crews for ransom; in the past, product tankers were hijacked and cargo stolen; the Maritime Administration of the US Department of Transportation has issued a Maritime Advisory (2023-001 - Gulf of Guinea-Piracy/Armed Robbery/Kidnapping for Ransom) effective 3 January 2023, which states in part, \"Piracy, armed robbery, and kidnapping for ransom continue to serve as significant threats to US-flagged vessels transiting or operating in the Gulf of Guinea\"

" diff --git a/africa/od.json b/africa/od.json index 20366cd4..c03166de 100644 --- a/africa/od.json +++ b/africa/od.json @@ -1059,7 +1059,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "139,912 (Sudan) (refugees since 15 April 2023), 9,782 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2023)" + "text": "139,912 (Sudan) (refugees since 15 April 2023), 12,491 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2023)" }, "IDPs": { "text": "2.23 million (alleged coup attempt and ethnic conflict beginning in December 2013; information is lacking on those displaced in earlier years by: fighting in Abyei between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in May 2011; clashes between the SPLA and dissident militia groups in South Sudan; inter-ethnic conflicts over resources and cattle; attacks from the Lord's Resistance Army; floods and drought) (2023)" diff --git a/africa/so.json b/africa/so.json index ee7a0bd8..aacc549b 100644 --- a/africa/so.json +++ b/africa/so.json @@ -1125,7 +1125,7 @@ "note": "note: in 2019, the Federal Government of Somalia renewed its commitment to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers by signing a roadmap detailing measures and practical actions to prevent violations against children, release children associated with armed forces, and reintegrate them into communities; the signing followed a similar accord committed to ending the use of child soldiers signed by both the Somali Transitional Government and the UN in 2012" }, "Military - note": { - "text": "the Somali National Army (SNA) and supporting security and militia forces are actively conducting operations against the al-Shabaab terrorist group (see Appendix T); al-Shabaab controls large parts of southern and central Somalia 

of the SNA’s approximately 13 brigades, the most effective are assessed to be the US-trained Danab (\"Lightning\") Advanced Infantry Brigade and those of the Turkish-trained Gorgor (\"Eagle\") Special Division; as of 2022, the Danab Brigade numbered about 1,500 troops with an eventual projected strength of 3,000, while the Gorgor Division was estimated to have up to 5,000 trained troops; the Somali Government has sent thousands of troops to Eritrea and Uganda for training and in 2023 announced plans to send additional personnel to Egypt and Ethiopia for training

the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) operated in the country with the approval of the UN from 2007-2022; its peacekeeping mission included assisting Somali forces in providing security for a stable political process, enabling the gradual handing over of security responsibilities from AMISOM to the Somali security forces, and reducing the threat posed by al-Shabaab and other armed opposition groups; in April 2022, AMISOM was reconfigured and replaced with the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS); the ATMIS mission is to support the Somalia Federal Government (FGS) in implementing the security objectives of the FGS's security transition plan, a comprehensive strategy developed by the FGS and its international partners in 2018 and updated in 2021 to gradually transfer security responsibilities from ATMIS to Somali security forces; ATMIS is projected to gradually reduce staffing from its 2022 level of about 20,000 personnel (civilians, military, and police) to zero by the end of 2024

UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM; established 2013) is mandated by the Security Council to work with the FGS to support national reconciliation, provide advice on peace-building and state-building, monitor the human rights situation, and help coordinate the efforts of the international community; the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS; established 2015) is responsible for providing logistical field support to ATMIS, UNSOM, and the Somali security forces on joint operations with ATMIS

the European Union Training Mission in Somalia (EUTM-S) has operated in the country since 2010; the EUTM provides advice and training to the Somali military; the US, UK, and Turkey maintain separate military training missions in Somalia (the US has also supported the SNA with air strikes); the UAE maintains a military presence in Somaliland (2023)" + "text": "the Somali National Army (SNA) and supporting security and militia forces are actively conducting operations against the al-Shabaab terrorist group (see Appendix T); al-Shabaab controls large parts of southern and central Somalia 

of the SNA’s approximately 13 brigades, the most effective are assessed to be the US-trained Danab (\"Lightning\") Advanced Infantry Brigade and those of the Turkish-trained Gorgor (\"Eagle\") Special Division; as of 2022, the Danab Brigade numbered about 1,500 troops with an eventual projected strength of 3,000, while the Gorgor Division was estimated to have up to 5,000 trained troops; the Somali Government has sent thousands of troops to Eritrea and Uganda for training and in 2023 announced plans to send additional personnel to Egypt and Ethiopia for training

the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) operated in the country with the approval of the UN from 2007-2022; its peacekeeping mission included assisting Somali forces in providing security for a stable political process, enabling the gradual handing over of security responsibilities from AMISOM to the Somali security forces, and reducing the threat posed by al-Shabaab and other armed opposition groups; in April 2022, AMISOM was reconfigured and replaced with the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS); the ATMIS mission is to support the Somalia Federal Government (FGS) in implementing the security objectives of the FGS's security transition plan, a comprehensive strategy developed by the FGS and its international partners in 2018 and updated in 2021 to gradually transfer security responsibilities from ATMIS to Somali security forces; originally about 20,000-strong (civilians, military, and police), ATMIS began reducing its staffing levels in mid-2023; its planned departure from Somalia is the end of 2024

UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM; established 2013) is mandated by the Security Council to work with the FGS to support national reconciliation, provide advice on peace-building and state-building, monitor the human rights situation, and help coordinate the efforts of the international community; the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS; established 2015) is responsible for providing logistical field support to ATMIS, UNSOM, and the Somali security forces on joint operations with ATMIS

the European Union Training Mission in Somalia (EUTM-S) has operated in the country since 2010; the EUTM provides advice and training to the Somali military; the US, UK, and Turkey maintain separate military training missions in Somalia (the US has also supported the SNA with air strikes); the UAE maintains a military presence in Somaliland (2023)" }, "Maritime threats": { "text": "

the International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) Piracy Reporting Center (PRC) reported no piracy attacks for the Horn of Africa in 2022; while there were no recorded incidents, the IMB PRC warned that Somali pirates continued to possess the capacity to carry out attacks in the Somali basin and wider Indian Ocean; the presence of several naval task forces in the Gulf of Aden and additional anti-piracy measures on the part of ship operators, including the use of on-board armed security teams, contributed to the drop in incidents; the EU naval mission, Operation ATALANTA, continues its operations in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean through 2024; naval units from China, India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, the US, and other countries also operate in conjunction with EU forces; China has established a base in Djibouti to support its deployed naval units in the Horn of Africa; the Maritime Administration of the US Department of Transportation has issued a Maritime Advisory (2023-003 - Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Bab al Mandeb Strait, Red Sea, and Somali Basin-Threats to Commercial Vessels) effective 23 February 2023, which states in part that \"Regional conflict, military activity, and political tensions pose threats to commercial vessels operating in the above listed geographic areas\"

" diff --git a/africa/ug.json b/africa/ug.json index 8ae1b761..5177cc86 100644 --- a/africa/ug.json +++ b/africa/ug.json @@ -602,7 +602,7 @@ "text": "Democratic Party or DP [Norbert MAO]
Forum for Democratic Change or FDC [Patrick Oboi AMURIAT]
Justice Forum or JEEMA [Asuman BASALIRWA]
National Resistance Movement or NRM [Yoweri MUSEVENI]
National Unity Platform [Robert Kyagulanyi SSENTAMU, known as Bobi WINE]
People's Progressive Party or PPP [Jaberi Bidandi SSALI]
Uganda People's Congress or UPC [James AKENA]

note: only parties with seats in Parliament listed" }, "International organization participation": { - "text": "ACP, AfDB, ATMIS, AU, C, COMESA, EAC, EADB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITC, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OHCHR, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAIDS, UNCDF, UNCTAD, UNDESA, UNDP, UNDSS, UNFCCC, UNFPA, UNDRR, UNECA, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNOCI, UNODC, UNOPS, UNSOM, UNV,  UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFP, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO" + "text": "ACP, AfDB, ATMIS, AU, C, COMESA, EAC, EADB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITC, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCDF, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNFPA, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNOCI, UNOPS, UNSOM, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFP, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO" }, "Diplomatic representation in the US": { "chief of mission": { diff --git a/australia-oceania/kr.json b/australia-oceania/kr.json index b302e657..0e257162 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/kr.json +++ b/australia-oceania/kr.json @@ -524,7 +524,7 @@ "text": "president directly elected by simple majority popular vote following nomination of candidates from among House of Assembly members; term is 4 years (eligible for 2 additional terms); election last held on 22 June 2020 (next to be held in 2024); vice president appointed by the president" }, "election results": { - "text": "Taneti MAAMAU reelected president; percent of vote - Taneti MAAMAU (TKB) 59.3%, Banuera BERINA (BKM) 40.7%." + "text": "Taneti MAAMAU reelected president; percent of vote - Taneti MAAMAU (TKB) 59.3%, Banuera BERINA (BKM) 40.7%" } }, "Legislative branch": { diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/es.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/es.json index dd214cbf..1295bb65 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/es.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/es.json @@ -603,7 +603,7 @@ "text": "infoEEUU@rree.gob.sv" }, "consulate(s) general": { - "text": "Atlanta, Boston, Brentwood (NY), Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas (NV), Loreado (TX), Los Angeles, McAllen (TX), New York, San Bernardino (CA), San Francisco, Tucson (AZ), Washington (DC), Woodbridge (VA)" + "text": "Atlanta, Boston, Brentwood (NY), Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas (NV), Laredo (TX), Los Angeles, McAllen (TX), New York, San Bernardino (CA), San Francisco, Tucson (AZ), Washington (DC), Woodbridge (VA)" } }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { diff --git a/central-asia/kg.json b/central-asia/kg.json index 085c0697..e1940569 100644 --- a/central-asia/kg.json +++ b/central-asia/kg.json @@ -557,7 +557,7 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "President Sadyr JAPAROV (since 28 January 2021)" + "text": "President Sadyr JAPAROV (since 28 January 2021); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government" }, "head of government": { "text": "President Sadyr JAPAROV (since 28 January 2021)" @@ -569,7 +569,7 @@ "text": "president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 10 January 2021 (next to be held in 2027)" }, "election results": { - "text": "2021: Sadyr JAPAROV elected president in first round; percent of vote - Sadyr JAPAROV (Mekenchil) 79.2%, Adakhan MADUMAROV (United Kyrgyzstan) 6.8%, other 14%

2017: Sooronbay JEENBEKOV elected president; Sooronbay JEENBEKOV (Social Democratic Party of Kosovo) 54.7%, Omurbek BABANOV (independent) 33.8%, Adakhan MADUMAROV (United Kyrgyzstan) 6.6%, and other 4.9%" + "text": "2021: Sadyr JAPAROV elected president in first round; percent of vote - Sadyr JAPAROV (Mekenchil) 79.2%, Adakhan MADUMAROV (United Kyrgyzstan) 6.8%, other 14%

2017: Sooronbay JEENBEKOV elected president; Sooronbay JEENBEKOV (Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan) 54.7%, Omurbek BABANOV (independent) 33.8%, Adakhan MADUMAROV (United Kyrgyzstan) 6.6%, other 4.9%" }, "note": "note: the President is both Chief of State and Head of Government." }, @@ -596,7 +596,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Alyans (Alliance) [Mirlan JEENCHOROEV]
Ata-Jurt Kyrgyzstan (Homeland) or AJK [Aybek MATKERIMOV]
Butun Kyrgyzstan (United) [Adakhan MADUMAROV]
Ishenim (Trust) [Rysbat AMATOV and Azamat DOROYEV]
Social Democrats or SDK [Temirlan SULTANBEKOV]
Yntymak (Unity) [Marlen MAMATALIEV]
Yiman Nuru (Light of Faith) [Nurjigit KADYRBEKOV]" + "text": "Alyans (Alliance) [Mirlan JEENCHOROEV]
Ata-Jurt Kyrgyzstan (Homeland) or AJK [Aybek MATKERIMOV]
Butun Kyrgyzstan (United Kyrgyzstan) [Adakhan MADUMAROV]
Ishenim (Trust) [Rysbat AMATOV and Azamat DOROYEV]
Social Democrats or SDK [Temirlan SULTANBEKOV]
Yntymak (Unity) [Marlen MAMATALIEV]
Yiman Nuru (Light of Faith) [Nurjigit KADYRBEKOV]" }, "International organization participation": { "text": "ADB, CICA, CIS, CSTO, EAEU, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EITI (compliant country), FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO" diff --git a/central-asia/kz.json b/central-asia/kz.json index e5a010ff..143ffd3f 100644 --- a/central-asia/kz.json +++ b/central-asia/kz.json @@ -575,10 +575,10 @@ "text": "the president appoints ministers based on the prime minister's recommendations; the president has veto power over all appointments and independently appoints the ministers of defense, internal affairs, and foreign affairs" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 7-year term (prior to September 2022, the president of Kazakhstan could serve up to two terms of five years each; the legislation was changed in September 2022, reducing the maximum number of terms to one term of seven years); election last held on 20 November 2022 (next to be held in 2029); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Mazhilis" + "text": "president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 7-year term (prior to September 2022, the president of Kazakhstan could serve up to two terms of 5 years each; the legislation was changed in September 2022, reducing the maximum number of terms to one term of 7 years); election last held on 20 November 2022 (next to be held in 2029); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Mazhilis" }, "election results": { - "text": "
2022: Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV elected president; percent of vote - Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV 81.3%, Zhiguli DAYRABAEV 3.4%, Karakat ABDEN 2.6%, Meyram KAZHYKEN 2.5%, Nurlan AUYESBAYEV 2.2%, Saltanat TURSYNBEKOVA 2.1%, other 5.8%

election results: 2019: Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV elected president; percent of vote - Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV (Nur Otan currently Amanat) 71%, Amirzhan KOSANOV (Ult Tagdyry) 16.2%, Daniya YESPAYEVA (Ak Zhol) 5.1%, other 7.7%" + "text": "
2022: Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV elected president; percent of vote - Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV (Amanat) 81.3%, Zhiguli DAYRABAEV (Auyl) 3.4%, Qaraqat or Karakat ÄBDEN (KÄQŪA) 2.6%, Meyram KAZHYKEN (Amanat) 2.5%, Nurlan AUYESBAYEV (NSDP) 2.2%, Saltanat TURSYNBEKOVA (QA-DJ) 2.1%, other 5.8%

2019: Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV elected president; percent of vote - Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV (Amanat) 71%, Amirzhan KOSANOV (Ult Tagdyry) 16.2%, Daniya YESPAYEVA (Ak Zhol) 5.1%, other 7.7%" } }, "Legislative branch": { @@ -604,7 +604,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Ak Zhol (Bright Path) Party or Democratic Party of Kazakhstan Ak Zhol [Azat PERUASHEV]
Amanat Party [Yerlan KOSHANOV] (formerly Nur Otan (Radiant Fatherland))
Baytak (Boundless) Party [Azamatkhan AMIRTAY]
National Social Democratic Party or NSDP [Askhat RAKHIMZHANOV]
People's Democratic (Patriotic) Party or Auvl or AHDPP [Ali BEKTAYEV]
People's Party of Kazakhstan or QHP [Yermkhamet YERTYSBAYEV]
Respublica Party [Avdarbek KHODZHANAZAROV]" + "text": "Ak Zhol (Bright Path) Party or Democratic Party of Kazakhstan Ak Zhol [Azat PERUASHEV]
Amanat Party [Yerlan KOSHANOV] (formerly Nur Otan (Radiant Fatherland))
Baytak (Boundless) Party [Azamatkhan AMIRTAY]
National Social Democratic Party or NSDP [Askhat RAKHIMZHANOV]
People's Democratic (Patriotic) Party or Auyl or AHDPP [Ali BEKTAYEV]
People's Party of Kazakhstan or QHP [Yermkhamet YERTYSBAYEV]
Respublica Party [Avdarbek KHODZHANAZAROV]" }, "International organization participation": { "text": "ADB, CICA, CIS, CSTO, EAEU, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EITI (compliant country), FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHRC, UNIDO, UN Security Council (temporary), UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC" diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/bm.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/bm.json index d243c289..1a4f8702 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/bm.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/bm.json @@ -601,9 +601,9 @@ "text": "
2018: WIN MYINT elected president in an indirect by-election held on 28 March 2018 after the resignation of HTIN KYAW; Assembly of the Union vote - WIN MYINT (NLD) 403, MYINT SWE (USDP) 211, HENRY VAN THIO (NLD) 18, 4 votes canceled (636 votes cast); note - WIN MYINT and other key leaders of the ruling NLD party were placed under arrest following the military takeover on 1 February 2021
2016: Assembly of the Union vote - HTIN KYAW elected president; HTIN KYAW (NLD) 360, MYINT SWE (USDP) 213, HENRY VAN THIO (NLD) 79 (652 votes cast)" }, "state counsellor": { - "text": "State Counselor AUNG SAN SUU KYI (since 6 April 2016); note - under arrest since 1 February 2021 (has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison as of late 2022); formerly served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for the Office of the President" + "text": "State Counselor AUNG SAN SUU KYI (since 6 April 2016); note - under arrest since 1 February 2021; formerly served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for the Office of the President" }, - "note": "note 1: a parliamentary bill creating the position of \"state counsellor\" was signed into law by former President HTIN KYAW on 6 April 2016; a state counsellor serves the equivalent term of the president and is similar to a prime minister in that the holder acts as a link between the parliament and the executive branch

note 2: in January 2023, the junta announced a 6-month extension on the state of emergency in place since 2021, a move that would likely delay elections that it had pledged to hold by August 2023" + "note": "note 1: a parliamentary bill creating the position of \"state counsellor\" was signed into law by former President HTIN KYAW on 6 April 2016; a state counsellor serves the equivalent term of the president and is similar to a prime minister in that the holder acts as a link between the parliament and the executive branch

note 2: in July 2023, the junta announced a 6-month extension on the state of emergency in place since 2021, a move that further delayed elections that it had pledged to hold by August 2023" }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { @@ -1268,7 +1268,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "IDPs": { - "text": "1.84 million (government offensives against armed ethnic minority groups near its borders with China and Thailand, natural disasters, forced land evictions) (2023)" + "text": "1.92 million (government offensives against armed ethnic minority groups near its borders with China and Thailand, natural disasters, forced land evictions) (2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "600,000 (2022); note - Rohingya Muslims, living predominantly in Rakhine State, are Burma's main group of stateless people; the Burmese Government does not recognize the Rohingya as a \"national race\" and stripped them of their citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship Law, categorizing them as \"non-nationals\" or \"foreign residents;\" under the Rakhine State Action Plan drafted in October 2014, the Rohingya must demonstrate their family has lived in Burma for at least 60 years to qualify for a lesser naturalized citizenship and the classification of Bengali or be put in detention camps and face deportation; native-born but non-indigenous people, such as Indians, are also stateless; the Burmese Government does not grant citizenship to children born outside of the country to Burmese parents who left the country illegally or fled persecution, such as those born in Thailand; the number of stateless persons has decreased dramatically because hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since 25 August 2017 to escape violence" diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/cb.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/cb.json index de410c9b..4b2dab94 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/cb.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/cb.json @@ -577,11 +577,12 @@ "text": "bicameral Parliament of Cambodia consists of:
Senate (62 seats; 58 indirectly elected by parliamentarians and commune councils, 2 indirectly elected by the National Assembly, and 2 appointed by the monarch; members serve 6-year terms)
National Assembly (125 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "
Senate - last held on 25 February 2018 (next to be held in 2024); National Assembly - last held on 29 July 2018 (next to be held in July 2023)" + "text": "Senate - last held on 25 February 2018 (next to be held in 2024); National Assembly - last held on 23 July 2023 (next to be held in July 2028)" }, "election results": { - "text": " 
Senate - percent of vote by party - CPP 96%, FUNCINPEC 2.4%, KNUP 1.6%; seats by party - CPP 58; FUNCINPEC 4; composition (as of April 2023) - men 52, women 10, percent of women 16.1%
National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CPP 76.9%, FUNCINPEC 5.9%, LDP 4.9%, Khmer Will Party 3.4%, other 8.9%; seats by party - CPP 125; composition (as of April 2023) - men 99, women 26, percent of women 20.8%; note - total Parliament of Cambodia percent of women 19.3%" - } + "text": "Senate - percent of vote by party - CPP 96%, FUNCINPEC 2.4%, KNUP 1.6%; seats by party - CPP 58; FUNCINPEC 4; composition (as of April 2023) - men 52, women 10, percent of women 16.1%
National Assembly - percent of vote by party (July 2023 election)- CPP 82.4%, FUNCINPEC 9.2%, KNUP 1.7%, CYP 1.3%, Other 5.4% (14 other parties received votes); seats by party - CPP 125, FUNCINPEC 5; composition (as of April 2023) - men 99, women 26, percent of women 20.8%; note - total Parliament of Cambodia percent of women 19.3%" + }, + "note": "note: the CPP had no meaningful opposition in the July 2023 legislative election as the only serious challenger, the Candlelight Party, was disqualified on a technicality in advance of the election; Western powers including the United States and EU condemned the poll as neither free nor fair" }, "Judicial branch": { "highest court(s)": { @@ -595,7 +596,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Candlelight Party or CP (the latest incarnation of the Sam Rainsy Party or SRP, which joined with the Human Rights Party or HRP to form the Cambodia National Rescue Party or CNRP in 2012; the CNRP was dissolved in 2017)
Cambodian People's Party or CPP [HUN SEN]
Cambodian Youth Party [PICH Sros]
Grassroots Democratic Party [YENG Virak]
Khmer National Unity Party or KNUP (an offshoot of FUNCINPEC) [NHEK BUN CHHAY]
League for Democracy Party or LDP [KHEM Veasna]
National United Front for Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia or FUNCINPEC [Prince NORODOM CHAKRAVUTH]", + "text": "Candlelight Party or CP (the latest incarnation of the Sam Rainsy Party or SRP, which joined with the Human Rights Party or HRP to form the Cambodia National Rescue Party or CNRP in 2012; the CNRP was dissolved in 2017)
Cambodian People's Party or CPP [HUN SEN]
Cambodian Youth Party or CYP [PICH Sros]
Grassroots Democratic Party [YENG Virak]
Khmer National Unity Party or KNUP (an offshoot of FUNCINPEC) [NHEK BUN CHHAY]
League for Democracy Party or LDP [KHEM Veasna]
National United Front for Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia or FUNCINPEC [Prince NORODOM CHAKRAVUTH]", "note": "note 1: 42 parties had registered with the Cambodian Government at the beginning of 2023

note 2: following the 2017 commune election, the CPP-led government arrested the CNRP president Kem SOKHA for treason, dissolved the party on similar grounds, and forced most of its senior leadership into exile, where the party’s former president, Sam RAINSY, had been living since late 2015; opposition parties, particularly the Candlelight Party, continue to report, intimidation, harassment, and arrests by the Cambodian Government; in May 2023, the Cambodian Government disqualified the Candlelight Party, which is the main opposition party, from the July 2023 election" }, "International organization participation": { diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/ja.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/ja.json index a83d498d..27b0cb54 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/ja.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/ja.json @@ -554,7 +554,7 @@ "text": "the monarchy is hereditary; the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister" }, "election results": { - "text": "Fumio KISHIDA relected prime minister on 10 November 2021 by the lower house with 297 votes against 108 for Yukio EDANO and in the upper houese 141 for KISHIDA and 60 for EDANO " + "text": "Fumio KISHIDA reelected prime minister on 10 November 2021; upper house vote - Fumio KISHIDA (LDP) 141, Yukio EDANO 60 (CDP); lower house vote - Fumio KISHIDA 297, Yukio EDANO 108" } }, "Legislative branch": { @@ -1272,7 +1272,7 @@ "text": "approximately 180 Djibouti (2022)" }, "Military - note": { - "text": "Japan was disarmed after its defeat in World War II; shortly after the Korean War began in 1950, US occupation forces in Japan created a 75,000-member lightly armed force called the National Police Reserve; the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) was founded in 1954; the current JSDF is a trained and professional military equipped with modern weaponry; its primary concerns are China and North Korea, as well as protecting the country’s territorial waters, countering piracy and terrorism, and conducting humanitarian operations; it exercises regularly with the US military and increasingly with other regional countries, such as Australia; the ground forces are organized into 10 divisions and 11 independent brigades, which include airborne, air assault, and amphibious rapid reaction forces; the maritime force is one of the largest and most modern navies in the world; its principal warships include four helicopter carriers (two are undergoing conversion to light aircraft carriers), nearly 50 destroyers and frigates/destroyer escorts, three landing platform/dock (LPD) amphibious assault ships, and more than 20 attack-type submarines; it also has a large force of maritime aircraft, including over 150 for anti-submarine warfare; the Air Self Defense Force has over 300 modern combat aircraft, as well as more than 200 other aircraft for surveillance, early warning, electronic warfare, search and rescue, transportation, and logistics

Japan’s alliance with the US (signed in 1951) is one of the cornerstones of the country’s security, as well as a large part of the US security role in Asia; approximately 55,000 US troops and other military assets, including aircraft and naval ships, are stationed in Japan and have exclusive use of more than 80 bases and facilities; in exchange for their use, the US guarantees Japan’s security; the Japanese Government provides about $2 billion per year to offset the cost of stationing US forces in Japan; in addition, it pays compensation to localities hosting US troops, rent for bases, and costs for new facilities to support the US presence; Japan also has Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status with the US, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation

Article 9 of Japan’s 1947 constitution renounced the use of force as a means of settling international disputes; however, Japan has interpreted Article 9 to mean that it can maintain a military for national defense purposes and, since 1991, has allowed the JSDF to participate in noncombat roles overseas in a number of UN peacekeeping missions and in the US-led coalition in Iraq; in 2014-2015 the Japanese Government reinterpreted the constitution as allowing for \"collective self-defense,\" described as the use of force on others’ behalf if Japan’s security was threatened; in 2022, the government released three documents that provided a blueprint that could fundamentally reshape Japan’s approach to its security; the documents labeled China as an “unprecedented strategic challenge,” declared Japan’s intention to develop \"counterstrike” capabilities, including cruise missiles and armed drones, and outlined plans to increase Japan’s security-related expenditures to 2% of its national gross domestic product (GDP), in line with NATO standards; post-war Japan generally has limited defense spending to 1% of its GDP (2023)" + "text": "Japan was disarmed after its defeat in World War II; shortly after the Korean War began in 1950, US occupation forces in Japan created a 75,000-member lightly armed force called the National Police Reserve; the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) was founded in 1954; the current JSDF is a trained and professional military equipped with modern weaponry; its primary concerns are China and North Korea, as well as protecting the country’s territorial waters, countering piracy and terrorism, and conducting humanitarian operations; it exercises regularly with the US military and increasingly with other regional countries, such as Australia; the ground forces are organized into 10 divisions and a number of independent brigades, which include airborne, air assault, and amphibious rapid reaction forces; the maritime force is one of the largest and most modern navies in the world; its principal warships include four helicopter carriers (two are undergoing conversion to light aircraft carriers), nearly 50 destroyers and frigates/destroyer escorts, three landing platform/dock (LPD) amphibious assault ships, and more than 20 attack-type submarines; it also has a large force of maritime aircraft, including over 150 for anti-submarine warfare; the Air Self Defense Force has over 300 modern combat aircraft, as well as more than 200 other aircraft for surveillance, early warning, electronic warfare, search and rescue, transportation, and logistics

Japan’s alliance with the US (signed in 1951) is one of the cornerstones of the country’s security, as well as a large part of the US security role in Asia; approximately 55,000 US troops and other military assets, including aircraft and naval ships, are stationed in Japan and have exclusive use of more than 80 bases and facilities; in exchange for their use, the US guarantees Japan’s security; the Japanese Government provides about $2 billion per year to offset the cost of stationing US forces in Japan; in addition, it pays compensation to localities hosting US troops, rent for bases, and costs for new facilities to support the US presence; Japan also has Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status with the US, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation

Article 9 of Japan’s 1947 constitution renounced the use of force as a means of settling international disputes; however, Japan has interpreted Article 9 to mean that it can maintain a military for national defense purposes and, since 1991, has allowed the JSDF to participate in noncombat roles overseas in a number of UN peacekeeping missions and in the US-led coalition in Iraq; in 2014-2015 the Japanese Government reinterpreted the constitution as allowing for \"collective self-defense,\" described as the use of force on others’ behalf if Japan’s security was threatened; in 2022, the government released three documents that provided a blueprint that could fundamentally reshape Japan’s approach to its security; the documents labeled China as an “unprecedented strategic challenge,” declared Japan’s intention to develop \"counterstrike” capabilities, including cruise missiles and armed drones, and outlined plans to increase Japan’s security-related expenditures to 2% of its national gross domestic product (GDP), in line with NATO standards; post-war Japan generally has limited defense spending to 1% of its GDP (2023)" } }, "Terrorism": { diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/kn.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/kn.json index f637a87d..989f5608 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/kn.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/kn.json @@ -522,7 +522,7 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "State Affairs Commission President KIM Jong Un (since 17 December 2011); note - within the North Korean system, KIM Jong Un's role as chief of state is secondary to his role as general secretary of the KWP; chief of state is used to engage with non-communist countries such as the US; North Korea revised its constitution in 2019 to define \"the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission\" as \"the supreme leader who represents the state\"; functions as the commander-in-chief and chief executive; the specific titles associated with this office have changed multiple times under KIM's tenure, however, KIM Jong Un has been supreme leader since his father's death in 2011" + "text": "State Affairs Commission President KIM Jong Un (since 17 December 2011); note - within the North Korean system, KIM Jong Un's role as chief of state is secondary to his role as general secretary of the Korean Workers' Party; chief of state is used to engage with non-communist countries such as the US; North Korea revised its constitution in 2019 to define \"the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission\" as \"the supreme leader who represents the state\"; functions as the commander-in-chief and chief executive; the specific titles associated with this office have changed multiple times under KIM's tenure, however, KIM Jong Un has been supreme leader since his father's death in 2011" }, "head of government": { "text": "Supreme People's Assembly President CHOE Ryong Hae (since 11 April 2019); note - functions as the technical head of state and performs related duties, such as receiving ambassadors' credentials" diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/ks.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/ks.json index 890b5e9b..ba20542a 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/ks.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/ks.json @@ -549,10 +549,10 @@ "text": "State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a single 5-year term; election last held on 9 March 2022 (next to be held March 2027); prime minister appointed by president with consent of National Assembly" + "text": "president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a single 5-year term; election last held on 9 March 2022 (next to be held March 2027); prime minister appointed by president with consent of the National Assembly" }, "election results": { - "text": "2022: YOON Suk-yeol (PPP) 48.56%, LEE Jae-myung (DP) 47.83% (note - voter turnout 77.1%)

2017: MOON Jae-in (DP) 41.09%, HONG Joon-pyo (Liberty Korea Party) 24.04%, AHN Cheol-soo (PP) 21.42%" + "text": "
2022: YOON Suk-yeol elected president; YOON Suk-yeol (PPP) 48.56%, LEE Jae-myung (DP) 47.83%

2017: MOON Jae-in elected president; MOON Jae-in (DP) 41.09%, HONG Joon-pyo (Liberty Korea Party) 24.04%, AHN Cheol-soo (PP) 21.42%" } }, "Legislative branch": { diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/la.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/la.json index fb395463..563b500e 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/la.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/la.json @@ -561,7 +561,7 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "President THONGLOUN Sisoulit (since 22 March 2021); Vice Presidents PANI Yathotou and BOUNTHONG Chitmani (since 22 March 2021)" + "text": "President THONGLOUN Sisoulith (since 22 March 2021); Vice Presidents PANI Yathotou and BOUNTHONG Chitmani (since 22 March 2021)" }, "head of government": { "text": "Prime Minister SONXAI Siphandon (since 30 December 2022)" @@ -573,7 +573,7 @@ "text": "president and vice president indirectly elected by the National Assembly for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 22 March 2021 (next to be held in March 2026); prime minister nominated by the president, elected by the National Assembly for 5-year term" }, "election results": { - "text": "
2021: THONGLOUN Sisoulit (LPRP) elected president; National Assembly vote: 161-1; PANI Yathotou and BOUNTHONG Chitmani (LPRP) elected vice presidents; National Assembly vote NA; PHANKHAM Viphavan (LPRP) elected prime minister; National Assembly vote: 158-3

2016: BOUNNYANG Vorachit (LPRP) elected president; PHANKHAM Viphavan (LPRP) elected vice president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA; THONGLOUN Sisoulit (LPRP) elected prime minister; percent of National Assembly vote - NA" + "text": "
2021: THONGLOUN Sisoulith elected president; National Assembly vote - THONGLOUN Sisoulith (LPRP161-1; PANI Yathotou and BOUNTHONG Chitmani (LPRP) elected vice presidents; National Assembly vote - NA; PHANKHAM Viphavan (LPRP) elected prime minister; National Assembly vote - 158-3

2016: BOUNNYANG Vorachit (LPRP) elected president; PHANKHAM Viphavan (LPRP) elected vice president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA; THONGLOUN Sisoulith (LPRP) elected prime minister; percent of National Assembly vote - NA" } }, "Legislative branch": { diff --git a/europe/an.json b/europe/an.json index 84cc8569..955b6b0c 100644 --- a/europe/an.json +++ b/europe/an.json @@ -762,7 +762,8 @@ }, "Exchange rates 2014": { "text": "0.885 (2014 est.)" - } + }, + "note": "note: while not an EU member state, Andorra has a 2011 monetary agreement with the EU to produce limited euro coinage—but not banknotes—that began enforcement in April 2012" } }, "Energy": { diff --git a/europe/be.json b/europe/be.json index b12e5186..ee64f87d 100644 --- a/europe/be.json +++ b/europe/be.json @@ -1271,7 +1271,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "20,086 (Syria), 7,049 (Afghanistan), 5,769 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 71,730 (Ukraine) (as of 4 July 2023)" + "text": "20,086 (Syria), 7,049 (Afghanistan), 5,769 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 71,730 (Ukraine) (as of 18 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "1,190 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/ei.json b/europe/ei.json index 7720a0fb..7e7d6b44 100644 --- a/europe/ei.json +++ b/europe/ei.json @@ -1215,7 +1215,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "88,435 (Ukraine) (as of 9 July 2023)" + "text": "89,900 (Ukraine) (as of 23 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "7 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/ez.json b/europe/ez.json index fe39cd00..c5e9845b 100644 --- a/europe/ez.json +++ b/europe/ez.json @@ -1230,7 +1230,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "352,315 (Ukraine) (as of 9 July 2023)" + "text": "356,625 (Ukraine) (as of 23 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "1,625 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/gm.json b/europe/gm.json index f0318d3d..4beb97a1 100644 --- a/europe/gm.json +++ b/europe/gm.json @@ -1285,7 +1285,7 @@ "note": "note: women have been eligible for voluntary service in all military branches and positions since 2001 and account for about 12% of the German military" }, "Military deployments": { - "text": "up to 500 Iraq (NATO); up to 1,400 Lithuania (NATO); approximately 1,100 Mali (MINUSMA/EUTM); 280 Slovakia (NATO) (2023)", + "text": "up to 500 Iraq (NATO); up to 1,400 Lithuania (NATO); approximately 1,100 Mali (MINUSMA/EUTM); 100 Niger; 280 Slovakia (NATO) (2023)", "note": "note 1: in November 2022, Germany pledged to withdraw its troops from Mali by Spring 2024

note 2: in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, some NATO countries, including Germany, have sent additional troops and equipment to the battlegroups deployed in NATO territory in eastern Europe" }, "Military - note": { diff --git a/europe/gr.json b/europe/gr.json index b4f4ad02..ec7d7c38 100644 --- a/europe/gr.json +++ b/europe/gr.json @@ -1234,12 +1234,12 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "41,594 (Syria), 33,549 (Afghanistan), 14,228 (Iraq), 6,366 (West Bank and Gaza) (mid-year 2022); 23,780 (Ukraine) (as of 30 April 2023)" + "text": "41,594 (Syria), 33,549 (Afghanistan), 14,228 (Iraq), 6,366 (West Bank and Gaza) (mid-year 2022); 25,050 (Ukraine) (as of 30 June 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "4,488 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 1,241,248 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-July 2023)" + "note": "note: 1,242,560 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-July 2023)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "a gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis products and heroin from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the West and precursor chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine transits or is consumed in Greece; money laundering related to drug trafficking and organized crime" diff --git a/europe/hr.json b/europe/hr.json index 0e43ac35..85947a75 100644 --- a/europe/hr.json +++ b/europe/hr.json @@ -1247,7 +1247,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "22,600 (Ukraine) (as of 7 July 2023)" + "text": "22,760 (Ukraine) (as of 14 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "2,889 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/hu.json b/europe/hu.json index 286defbf..b3756918 100644 --- a/europe/hu.json +++ b/europe/hu.json @@ -1277,7 +1277,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "52,335 (Ukraine) (as of 9 July 2023)" + "text": "52,335 (Ukraine) (as of 23 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "130 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/it.json b/europe/it.json index 49fe7a9c..8aedcd33 100644 --- a/europe/it.json +++ b/europe/it.json @@ -1277,12 +1277,12 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "21,441 (Nigeria), 17,706 (Afghanistan), 17,619 (Pakistan), 11,193 (Mali), 8,405 (Somalia), 6,324 (Gambia), 5,768 (Bangladesh), 5,463 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 183,685 (Ukraine) (as of 2 June 2023)" + "text": "21,441 (Nigeria), 17,706 (Afghanistan), 17,619 (Pakistan), 11,193 (Mali), 8,405 (Somalia), 6,324 (Gambia), 5,768 (Bangladesh), 5,463 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 163,570 (Ukraine) (as of 21 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "3,000 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 767,851 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-July 2023)" + "note": "note: 782,382 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-July 2023)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "

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

" diff --git a/europe/kv.json b/europe/kv.json index 9ec0a6e9..7684365c 100644 --- a/europe/kv.json +++ b/europe/kv.json @@ -432,7 +432,7 @@ "text": "president indirectly elected by at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly for a 5-year term; if a candidate does not attain a two-thirds threshold in the first two ballots, the candidate winning a simple majority vote in the third ballot is elected (eligible for a second term); election last held on 3-4 April 2021 (next to be held in 2026); prime minister indirectly elected by the Assembly" }, "election results": { - "text": "2021:  Vjosa OSMANI-Sadriu elected president in the third ballot; Assembly vote - Vjosa OSMANI-Sadriu (Guxo!) 71 votes; Albin KURTI (LVV) elected prime minister; Assembly vote - 67-30

2016: Hashim THACI elected president in third ballot; Assembly vote - Hashim THACI (PDK) 71 votes; Ramush HARADINAJ (AAK) elected prime minister; Assembly vote - 61 votes" + "text": "2021:  Vjosa OSMANI-Sadriu elected president in third ballot; Assembly vote - Vjosa OSMANI-Sadriu (Guxo!) 71; Albin KURTI (LVV) elected prime minister; Assembly vote - 67-30

2016: Hashim THACI elected president in third ballot; Assembly vote - Hashim THACI (PDK) 71; Ramush HARADINAJ (AAK) elected prime minister; Assembly vote - 61 " } }, "Legislative branch": { @@ -780,7 +780,8 @@ }, "Exchange rates 2017": { "text": "0.885 (2017 est.)" - } + }, + "note": "note: Kosovo, which is neither an EU member state nor a party to a formal EU monetary agreement, uses the euro as its de facto currency" } }, "Energy": { @@ -1039,7 +1040,7 @@ "IDPs": { "text": "16,000 (primarily ethnic Serbs displaced during the 1998-1999 war fearing reprisals from the majority ethnic-Albanian population; a smaller number of ethnic Serbs, Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians fled their homes in 2004 as a result of violence) (2021)" }, - "note": "note: 8,884 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-May 2023)" + "note": "note: 8,935 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-June 2023)" } } } \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/europe/lg.json b/europe/lg.json index 213fb35f..aea04529 100644 --- a/europe/lg.json +++ b/europe/lg.json @@ -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 votes, Didzis SMITS 24 votes, Juris JANSONS 8 votes; Krisjanis KARINS confirmed prime minister 61-39

2015: Raimonds VEJONIS elected president; Raimonds VEJONIS (the Green Party) 55 votes, Egils LEVITS (National Alliance) 42 votes" + "text": "2019: Egils LEVITS elected president; Parliament vote - Egils LEVITS 61, Didzis SMITS 24, Juris JANSONS 8; Krisjanis KARINS confirmed prime minister 61-39

2015: Raimonds VEJONIS elected president; Parliament vote - Raimonds VEJONIS (the Green Party) 55, Egils LEVITS (NA) 42" } }, "Legislative branch": { @@ -932,7 +932,7 @@ "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { - "text": "100% (2020)" + "text": "100% (2021)" } }, "Electricity": { @@ -1225,7 +1225,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "31,527 (Ukraine) (as of 19 May 2023)" + "text": "38,145 (Ukraine) (as of 25 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "195,354 (2022); note - individuals who were Latvian citizens prior to the 1940 Soviet occupation and their descendants were recognized as Latvian citizens when the country's independence was restored in 1991; citizens of the former Soviet Union residing in Latvia who have neither Latvian nor other citizenship are considered non-citizens (officially there is no statelessness in Latvia) and are entitled to non-citizen passports; children born after Latvian independence to stateless parents are entitled to Latvian citizenship upon their parents' request; non-citizens cannot vote or hold certain government jobs and are exempt from military service but can travel visa-free in the EU under the Schengen accord like Latvian citizens; non-citizens can obtain naturalization if they have been permanent residents of Latvia for at least five years, pass tests in Latvian language and history, and know the words of the Latvian national anthem" diff --git a/europe/lh.json b/europe/lh.json index f9e154c7..00ab70ff 100644 --- a/europe/lh.json +++ b/europe/lh.json @@ -558,13 +558,13 @@ "text": "Prime Minister Ingrida SIMONYTE (since 24 November 2020)" }, "cabinet": { - "text": "Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, appointed by the president, and approved by Parliament" + "text": "Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, appointed by the president, approved by Parliament" }, "elections/appointments": { "text": "president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 12 and 26 May 2019 (next to be held in May 2024); prime minister appointed by the president, approved by Parliament" }, "election results": { - "text": "
2019: Gitanas NAUSEDA elected president in second round; percent of vote - Gitanas NAUSEDA (independent) 66.7%, Ingrida SIMONYTE (independent) 33.3%

2014: elected president; percent by vote Dalia GRYBAUSKAITE (independent) 59.1%, Zigmantas BALCYTIS (Social Democratic Party) 40.9%" + "text": "
2019: Gitanas NAUSEDA elected president in second round; percent of vote - Gitanas NAUSEDA (independent) 66.7%, Ingrida SIMONYTE (independent) 33.3%

2014: Dalia GRYBAUSKAITE elected president; percent of vote - Dalia GRYBAUSKAITE (independent) 59.1%, Zigmantas BALCYTIS (Social Democratic Party) 40.9%" } }, "Legislative branch": { @@ -941,7 +941,7 @@ "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { - "text": "100% (2020)" + "text": "100% (2021)" } }, "Electricity": { @@ -1251,7 +1251,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "78,405 (Ukraine) (as of 4 July 2023)" + "text": "48,425 (Ukraine) (as of 24 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "2,720 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/lo.json b/europe/lo.json index 90decd7e..6e5bdd07 100644 --- a/europe/lo.json +++ b/europe/lo.json @@ -1220,7 +1220,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "104,290 (Ukraine) (as of 9 July 2023)" + "text": "105,245 (Ukraine) (as of 23 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "2,940 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/ls.json b/europe/ls.json index 8f25cb6c..c0e046e6 100644 --- a/europe/ls.json +++ b/europe/ls.json @@ -471,7 +471,7 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "Prince HANS-ADAM II (since 13 November 1989, assumed executive powers on 26 August 1984); Heir Apparent and Regent of Liechtenstein Prince ALOIS (son of the monarch, born 11 June 1968); note - 15 August 2004, HANS-ADAM II transferred the official duties of the ruling prince to ALOIS, but HANS-ADAM II retains status of chief of state" + "text": "Prince HANS-ADAM II (since 13 November 1989, assumed executive powers on 26 August 1984); Heir Apparent and Regent of Liechtenstein Prince ALOIS (son of the monarch, born 11 June 1968); note - on 15 August 2004, HANS-ADAM II transferred the official duties of the ruling prince to ALOIS, but HANS-ADAM II retains status of chief of state" }, "head of government": { "text": "Prime Minister Daniel RISCH; Deputy Prime Minister Sabine MONAUNI (both since 25 March 2021)" @@ -480,7 +480,7 @@ "text": "Cabinet elected by the Parliament, confirmed by the monarch" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the Parliament usually appointed the head of government by the monarch, and the leader of the largest minority party in the Landtag usually appointed the deputy head of government by the monarch if there is a coalition government" + "text": "the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in Parliament usually appointed the head of government by the monarch, and the leader of the largest minority party in Parliament usually appointed the deputy head of government by the monarch if there is a coalition government" } }, "Legislative branch": { @@ -725,7 +725,7 @@ "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { - "text": "100% (2020)" + "text": "100% (2021)" } } }, diff --git a/europe/md.json b/europe/md.json index 776c4b60..a233faf8 100644 --- a/europe/md.json +++ b/europe/md.json @@ -1204,7 +1204,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "113,110 (Ukraine) (as of 9 July 2023)" + "text": "115,305 (Ukraine) (as of 23 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "1,701 (2022)" diff --git a/europe/mj.json b/europe/mj.json index 5d6fcc8b..bfcb6635 100644 --- a/europe/mj.json +++ b/europe/mj.json @@ -950,7 +950,8 @@ }, "Exchange rates 2017": { "text": "0.885 (2017 est.)" - } + }, + "note": "note: Montenegro, which is neither an EU member state nor a party to a formal EU monetary agreement, uses the euro as its de facto currency" } }, "Energy": { @@ -1244,12 +1245,12 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "38,540 (Ukraine) (as of 26 June 2023)" + "text": "7,610 (Ukraine) (as of 24 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "468 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 31,515 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-July 2023)" + "note": "note: 31,873 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-July 2023)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "

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

" diff --git a/europe/mn.json b/europe/mn.json index e245fb26..d2086749 100644 --- a/europe/mn.json +++ b/europe/mn.json @@ -728,13 +728,14 @@ }, "Exchange rates 2013": { "text": "0.7634 (2013 est.)" - } + }, + "note": "note: while not an EU member state, Monaco, due to its preexisting monetary and banking agreements with France, has a 1998 monetary agreement with the EU to produce limited euro coinage—but not banknotes—that began enforcement in January 2002 and superseded by a new EU agreement in 2012" } }, "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { - "text": "100% (2020)" + "text": "100% (2021)" } } }, diff --git a/europe/ro.json b/europe/ro.json index d2e6528d..e8a31a80 100644 --- a/europe/ro.json +++ b/europe/ro.json @@ -947,7 +947,7 @@ "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { - "text": "100% (2020)" + "text": "100% (2021)" } }, "Electricity": { @@ -1265,12 +1265,12 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "137,130 (Ukraine) (as of 2 July b2023)" + "text": "95,035 (Ukraine) (as of 23 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "297 (2022)" }, - "note": "note: 14,050 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-May 2023)" + "note": "note: 14,408 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-July 2023)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "

a source country for cannabis

" diff --git a/europe/si.json b/europe/si.json index 163ed8b6..4377ae24 100644 --- a/europe/si.json +++ b/europe/si.json @@ -1228,12 +1228,12 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "9,865 (Ukraine) (as of 6 July 2023)" + "text": "9,970 (Ukraine) (as of 24 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "10 (2020)" }, - "note": "note:  582,844 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-May 2023)" + "note": "note:  587,663 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-June 2023)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "minor transit point for cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe, and for precursor chemicals" diff --git a/europe/sm.json b/europe/sm.json index 10e64af8..1575d1a8 100644 --- a/europe/sm.json +++ b/europe/sm.json @@ -788,13 +788,14 @@ }, "Exchange rates 2017": { "text": "0.885 (2017 est.)" - } + }, + "note": "note: while not an EU member state, San Marino, due to its preexisting monetary and banking agreements with Italy, has a 2000 monetary agreement with the EU to produce limited euro coinage—but not banknotes—that began enforcement in January 2002 and was superseded by a new EU agreement in 2012" } }, "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { - "text": "100% (2020)" + "text": "100% (2021)" } } }, diff --git a/europe/sp.json b/europe/sp.json index 97f28b42..46b86f8a 100644 --- a/europe/sp.json +++ b/europe/sp.json @@ -577,7 +577,7 @@ "text": "
Senate - last held on 23 July 2023 (next to be held no later than July 2027)
Congress of Deputies - last held on 23 July 2023 (next to be held no later than July 2027)" }, "election results": { - "text": "
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PP 120, PSOE 72, ERC 7, PNV 4, other 5; composition (as of mid-2022) - men 161, women 104; percent of women 39.3%
Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PP 38.9%, PSOE 34.9%, Vox 9.4%, Sumar 8.9%, ERC 2.0%, JuntsxCat 2.0%, EH-Bildu 1.7%, PNV 1.5% other .9%; seats by party - PP 136, PSOE 122, Vox 33, Sumar 31, ERC 7, JuntsxCat 7, EH-Bildu 6, PNV 5, other 3; men 196, women 154, percent of women 44%; note - overall General Courts percent of women 42%" + "text": "
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PP 120, PSOE 72, ERC 7, PNV 4, other 5; composition (as of mid-2022) - men 161, women 104; percent of women 39.3%
Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PP 33.3%, PSOE 32.0%, Vox 12.5%, Sumar 12.4%, ERC 1.9%, JuntsxCat 1.6%, EH-Bildu 1.4%, PNV 1.3% other 3.6%; seats by party - PP 136, PSOE 122, Vox 33, Sumar 31, ERC 7, JuntsxCat 7, EH-Bildu 6, PNV 5, other 3; men 196, women 154, percent of women 44%; note - overall General Courts percent of women 42%" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/europe/sw.json b/europe/sw.json index 6a7c8fd2..d659ae39 100644 --- a/europe/sw.json +++ b/europe/sw.json @@ -1257,7 +1257,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "113,213 (Syria), 26,857 (Afghanistan), 25,849 (Eritrea), 10,464 (Iraq), 9,315 (Somalia), 7,146 (Iran) (mid-year 2022); 56,165 (Ukraine) (as of 6 June 2023)" + "text": "113,213 (Syria), 26,857 (Afghanistan), 25,849 (Eritrea), 10,464 (Iraq), 9,315 (Somalia), 7,146 (Iran) (mid-year 2022); 40,455 (Ukraine) (as of 20 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "46,515 (2022); note - the majority of stateless people are from the Middle East and Somalia" diff --git a/europe/sz.json b/europe/sz.json index 54dfe8ae..94853f78 100644 --- a/europe/sz.json +++ b/europe/sz.json @@ -948,7 +948,7 @@ "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { - "text": "100% (2020)" + "text": "100% (2021)" } }, "Electricity": { @@ -1212,7 +1212,8 @@ }, "Military and Security": { "Military and security forces": { - "text": "Swiss Armed Forces: Land Forces, Swiss Air Force (Schweizer Luftwaffe) (2023)" + "text": "Swiss Armed Forces (aka Swiss Army or Schweizer Armee); Army (Heer; aka Land Forces), Swiss Air Force (Schweizer Luftwaffe)  (2023)", + "note": "note: the federal police maintain internal security and report to the Federal Department of Justice and Police, while the armed forces report to the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection, and Sport" }, "Military expenditures": { "Military Expenditures 2021": { @@ -1232,7 +1233,7 @@ } }, "Military and security service personnel strengths": { - "text": "the Swiss Armed Forces maintain a full-time professional cadre of about 4,000 personnel along with approximately 18-20,000 conscripts brought in annually for 18-23 weeks of training; approximately 120,000 reserve forces (2022)" + "text": "approximately 100,000, including cadre/professionals, conscripts, and militia; the Swiss Armed Forces consist of a small core of cadre/professional personnel along with a mix of militia and 18-20,000 conscripts brought in each year for training (2022)" }, "Military equipment inventories and acquisitions": { "text": "the military's inventory includes a mix of domestically produced and imported weapons systems; in recent years, the US has been the leading supplier of military armaments to Switzerland; the Swiss defense industry produces a range of military land vehicles (2023)" diff --git a/europe/uk.json b/europe/uk.json index 2dba8a7c..55ed2362 100644 --- a/europe/uk.json +++ b/europe/uk.json @@ -938,7 +938,7 @@ "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { - "text": "100% (2020)" + "text": "100% (2021)" } }, "Electricity": { diff --git a/europe/up.json b/europe/up.json index 3c1a85aa..122e8c28 100644 --- a/europe/up.json +++ b/europe/up.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "

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

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

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

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

The invasion has also created Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. As of 11 July 2023, there were 6.3 million Ukrainian refugees recorded globally, and 5.09 million people were internally displaced as of May 2023.  Almost 24,900 civilian casualties had been reported, as of 18 June 2023. The invasion of Ukraine remains one of the two largest displacement crises worldwide (the other is the conflict in Syria).

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

" + "text": "

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

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

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

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

The invasion has also created Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. As of 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.

" } }, "Geography": { @@ -1236,7 +1236,7 @@ }, "Military and Security": { "Military and security forces": { - "text": "Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU; Zbroyni Syly Ukrayiny or ZSU): Ground Forces (Sukhoputni Viys’ka), Naval Forces (Viys’kovo-Mors’ki Syly, VMS), Air Forces (Povitryani Syly, PS), Air Assault Forces (Desantno-shturmovi Viyska, DShV), Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (UASOF), Territorial Defense Forces (Reserves); Ministry of Internal Affairs: National Guard of Ukraine, State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (includes Maritime Border Guard) (2022)", + "text": "Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU; Zbroyni Syly Ukrayiny or ZSU): Ground Forces (Sukhoputni Viys’ka), Naval Forces (Viys’kovo-Mors’ki Syly, VMS), Air Forces (Povitryani Syly, PS), Air Assault Forces (Desantno-shturmovi Viyska, DShV), Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (UASOF), Territorial Defense Forces (Reserves); Ministry of Internal Affairs: National Guard of Ukraine, State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (includes Maritime Border Guard or Sea Guard) (2023)", "note": "note 1: in the event that martial law is declared, all National Guard units, with certain exceptions such as those tasked with providing for diplomatic security of embassies and consulates, would come under the command of the Ministry of Defense as auxiliary forces to the Armed Forces

note 2: the Territorial Defense Forces (TDF) were formally established in July 2021; the TDF evolved from former Territorial Defense Battalions and other volunteer militia and paramilitary units that were organized in 2014-2015 to fight Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas; in January 2022, the TDF was activated as a separate military branch; it is organized into 25 brigades of varying size representing each of the 24 oblasts, plus the city of Kyiv" }, "Military expenditures": { @@ -1257,7 +1257,7 @@ } }, "Military and security service personnel strengths": { - "text": "up to 700,000 active-duty personnel, including the Armed Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, National Guard, and State Border Guard (July 2022)", + "text": "at least 700,000 under arms, including the Armed Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, National Guard, and State Border Guard (2022)", "note": "note 1: following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, President ZELENSKY announced a general mobilization of the country; prior to the invasion, approximately 200,000 active Armed Forces troops (125,000 Army; 25,000 Airborne/Air Assault Forces; 2,000 Special Operations Forces; 10,000 Navy; 40,000 Air Force); approximately 50,000 National Guard; approximately 40,000 State Border Guard" }, "Military equipment inventories and acquisitions": { @@ -1268,7 +1268,7 @@ "note": "note 1: following the Russian invasion in 2022, all nonexempt men ages 18 to 60 were required to register with their local recruitment offices and undergo medical screening for possible service; the Territorial Defense Forces (TDF) accepts volunteers, 18-60 years of age; since the invasion, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have volunteered for the regular armed forces, the TDF, or to work in civilian defense activities 

note 2: women have been able to volunteer for military service since 1993; as of 2023, approximately 60,000 women were serving in the armed forces 

note 3: since 2015, the Ukrainian military has allowed foreigners and stateless persons, 18-45 (in special cases up to 60), to join on 3-5-year contracts, based on qualifications; following the Russian invasion in 2022, the military began accepting medically fit foreign volunteers on a larger scale, with an emphasis on persons with combat experience; wartime volunteers typically serve for 6 months" }, "Military deployments": { - "text": "note: prior to the Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine contributed about 500 troops to the Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine joint military brigade (LITPOLUKRBRIG), which was established in 2014; the brigade is headquartered in Poland and is comprised of an international staff, three battalions, and specialized units; units affiliated with the multinational brigade remain within the structures of the armed forces of their respective countries until the brigade is activated for participation in an international operation" + "text": "note: prior to the Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine had committed about 500 troops to the Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine joint military brigade (LITPOLUKRBRIG), which was established in 2014; the brigade is headquartered in Poland and is comprised of an international staff, three battalions, and specialized units; units affiliated with the multinational brigade remain within the structures of the armed forces of their respective countries until the brigade is activated for participation in an international operation" }, "Military - note": { "text": "Ukraine has a relationship with NATO dating back to the early 1990s when Ukraine joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (1991) and the Partnership for Peace program (1994); the relationship intensified in the wake of the 2014 Russia-Ukraine conflict and Russian seizure of Crimea to include NATO support for Ukrainian military capabilities development and capacity-building; NATO further increased its support to the Ukrainian military following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 (2023)" diff --git a/europe/vt.json b/europe/vt.json index 35e24982..8ae91449 100644 --- a/europe/vt.json +++ b/europe/vt.json @@ -476,7 +476,8 @@ }, "Exchange rates 2013": { "text": "0.7634 (2013 est.)" - } + }, + "note": "note: while not an EU member state, the Holy See, has a 2000 monetary agreement with Italy and the EU to produce limited euro coinage—but not banknotes—that began enforcement in January 2002" } }, "Energy": { diff --git a/middle-east/ku.json b/middle-east/ku.json index 849a34f6..07d06275 100644 --- a/middle-east/ku.json +++ b/middle-east/ku.json @@ -533,7 +533,7 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "Amir NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 September 2020); Crown Prince MISHAL al-Ahmad al-Sabah, born in 1940, is the brother of Amir NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah" + "text": "Amir NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 September 2020); Crown Prince MISHAL al-Ahmad al-Sabah, born 27 September 1940, is the brother of Amir NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah" }, "head of government": { "text": "Prime Minister Sheikh AHMAD AL-NAWAF Al-Ahmad al-Sabah (reappointed 5 March 2023); First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh TALAL al-Khalid Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah (since 16 October 2022); Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Khalid al-FADIL (since 9 April 2022); Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil Bader Hamed Yusef Al-Mula (since 16 October 2022)" @@ -1169,7 +1169,7 @@ "text": "the military's inventory consists of weapons from a wide variety of sources, including Western Europe, Russia, and the US; the US has been the leading supplier of arms to Kuwait (2023)" }, "Military service age and obligation": { - "text": "18-26 years of age for voluntary military service; Kuwait reintroduced 12-month mandatory service for men aged 18-35 in May 2017 after having suspended conscription in 2001; mandatory service is divided in two phases – 4 months for training and 8 months for military service; women were allowed to volunteer in 2021 (2023)", + "text": "18-55 years of age for voluntary military service; Kuwait reintroduced 12-month mandatory service for men aged 18-35 in May 2017 after having suspended conscription in 2001; mandatory service is divided in two phases – 4 months for training and 8 months for military service; women were allowed to volunteer in 2021 (2023)", "note": "note: the National Guard is restricted to citizens, but in 2018, the Army began allowing non-Kuwaitis to join on contract or as non-commissioned officers; that same year, it also began allowing stateless people (Bidoon) to join" }, "Military - note": { diff --git a/middle-east/le.json b/middle-east/le.json index d5c914b1..06d18f8b 100644 --- a/middle-east/le.json +++ b/middle-east/le.json @@ -558,7 +558,7 @@ "text": "president indirectly elected by Parliament with two-thirds majority vote in the first round and if needed absolute majority vote in a second round for a 6-year term (eligible for non-consecutive terms); last held on 31 October 2016 (presidential election ongoing as of mid-May 2023); prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with Parliament; deputy prime minister determined during cabinet formation" }, "election results": { - "text": "
2023: on 14 June 2023, Parliament failed in its twelfth session attempt to elect a president

2016: Michel AWN elected president in second round; Parliament vote - Michel AWN (FPM) 83 votes; note - in the initial election held on 23 April 2014, no candidate received the required two-thirds vote, and subsequent attempts failed because Parliament lacked the necessary quorum of 86 members to hold a vote; the president was finally elected in its 46th attempt on 31 October 2016" + "text": "
2023: on 14 June 2023, Parliament failed in its twelfth session attempt to elect a president

2016: Michel AWN elected president in second round; Parliament vote - Michel AWN (FPM) 83; note - in the initial election held on 23 April 2014, no candidate received the required two-thirds vote, and subsequent attempts failed because Parliament lacked the necessary quorum of 86 members to hold a vote; the president was finally elected in its 46th attempt on 31 October 2016" } }, "Legislative branch": { @@ -585,7 +585,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "

Al-Ahbash or Association of Islamic Charitable Projects or AICP [Shaykh Hussam QARAQIRA]
Amal Movement (\"Hope Movement\") [Nabih BERRI]
Azm Movement [Najib MIQATI]
Ba’th Arab Socialist Party of Lebanon [leader disputed]
Free Patriotic Movement or FPM [Gibran BASSIL]
Future Movement Bloc or FM [Sa'ad al-HARIRI] (resigned from politics in January 2022)
Hizballah [Hassan NASRALLAH]
Islamic Action Front or IAF [Sheikh Zuhayr al-JU’AYD]
Kata'ib Party [Sami GEMAYEL]
Lebanese Democratic Party [Talal ARSLAN]
Lebanese Forces or LF [Samir JA'JA]
Marada Movement [Sulayman FRANJIEH]
Progressive Socialist Party or PSP [Taymour JUMBLATT] (JUMBLATT is also a member of Parliament)
Social Democrat Hunshaqian Party [Sabuh KALPAKIAN]
Syrian Social Nationalist Party or SSNP [Rabi BANAT]
Tashnaq or Armenian Revolutionary Federation [Hagop PAKRADOUNIAN]

" + "text": "

Al-Ahbash (Association of Islamic Charitable Projects) or AICP [Shaykh Hussam QARAQIRA]
Amal Movement (\"Hope Movement\") [Nabih BERRI]
Azm Movement [Najib MIQATI]
Ba’th Arab Socialist Party of Lebanon [leader disputed]
Free Patriotic Movement or FPM [Gibran BASSIL]
Future Movement Bloc or FM [Sa'ad al-HARIRI] (resigned from politics in January 2022)
Hizballah [Hassan NASRALLAH]
Islamic Action Front or IAF [Sheikh Zuhayr al-JU’AYD]
Kata'ib Party [Sami GEMAYEL]
Lebanese Democratic Party [Talal ARSLAN]
Lebanese Forces or LF [Samir JA'JA]
Marada Movement [Sulayman FRANJIEH]
Progressive Socialist Party or PSP [Taymour JUMBLATT] (JUMBLATT is also a member of Parliament)
Social Democrat Hunshaqian Party [Sabuh KALPAKIAN]
Syrian Social Nationalist Party or SSNP [Rabi BANAT]
Tashnaq or Armenian Revolutionary Federation [Hagop PAKRADOUNIAN]

" }, "International organization participation": { "text": "ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)" diff --git a/middle-east/tu.json b/middle-east/tu.json index 0c3cf401..a6be39db 100644 --- a/middle-east/tu.json +++ b/middle-east/tu.json @@ -1236,7 +1236,7 @@ }, "Military and Security": { "Military and security forces": { - "text": "Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Turkish Land Forces (Turk Kara Kuvvetleri), Turkish Naval Forces (Turk Deniz Kuvvetleri; includes naval air and naval infantry), Turkish Air Forces (Turk Hava Kuvvetleri); Ministry of Interior: Gendarmerie of the Turkish Republic (aka Gendarmerie General Command), Turkish Coast Guard Command, National Police (2022)", + "text": "Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK): Turkish Land Forces (Turk Kara Kuvvetleri), Turkish Naval Forces (Turk Deniz Kuvvetleri; includes naval air and naval infantry), Turkish Air Forces (Turk Hava Kuvvetleri)

Ministry of Interior: Gendarmerie of the Turkish Republic (aka Gendarmerie General Command), Turkish Coast Guard Command, National Police (2023)", "note": "note: the Gendarmerie (Jandarma) is responsible for the maintenance of the public order in areas that fall outside the jurisdiction of police forces (generally in rural areas); in wartime, the Gendarmerie and Coast Guard would be placed under the operational control of the Land Forces and Naval Forces, respectively" }, "Military expenditures": { @@ -1286,7 +1286,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "10,244 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 3,329,516 (Syria), 44,955 (Ukraine) (as of 30 June 2023) (2023)" + "text": "10,244 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 3,329,516 (Syria), 43,895 (Ukraine) (as of 13 July 2023) (2023)" }, "IDPs": { "text": "1.099 million (displaced from 1984-2005 because of fighting between the Kurdish PKK and Turkish military; most IDPs are Kurds from eastern and southeastern provinces; no information available on persons displaced by development projects) (2021)" diff --git a/north-america/us.json b/north-america/us.json index ce0d1cb0..d319cb77 100644 --- a/north-america/us.json +++ b/north-america/us.json @@ -956,7 +956,7 @@ "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { - "text": "100% (2020)" + "text": "100% (2021)" } }, "Electricity": { @@ -1257,7 +1257,7 @@ "Military and Security": { "Military and security forces": { "text": "United States Armed Forces (aka US Military): US Army (USA), US Navy (USN; includes US Marine Corps or USMC), US Air Force (USAF), US Space Force (USSF); US Coast Guard (USCG); National Guard (Army National Guard and Air National Guard) (2023)", - "note": "note 1: the US Coast Guard is administered in peacetime by the Department of Homeland Security, but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy

note 2: the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard are reserve components of their services and operate in part under state authority; the US military also maintains reserve forces for each branch (US Army Reserve, US Navy Reserve, US Air Force Reserve, and US Coast Guard Reserve)" + "note": "note 1: the US Coast Guard is administered in peacetime by the Department of Homeland Security, but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy

note 2: the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard are reserve components of their services and operate in part under state authority; the US military also maintains reserve forces for each branch (US Army Reserve, US Navy Reserve, US Air Force Reserve, and US Coast Guard Reserve)

note 3: US law enforcement personnel include those of federal agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice, the 50 states, special jurisdictions, local sheriff’s offices, and municipal, county, regional, and tribal police departments " }, "Military expenditures": { "Military Expenditures 2023": { diff --git a/south-america/ec.json b/south-america/ec.json index 9972bf78..25af2789 100644 --- a/south-america/ec.json +++ b/south-america/ec.json @@ -627,7 +627,7 @@ "text": "
embassy@ecuador.org

http://www.ecuador.org/" }, "consulate(s) general": { - "text": "Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New Haven (CT), New Orleans, New York, Newark (NJ), Phoenix, San Francisco" + "text": "Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New Haven (CT), New York, Newark (NJ), Phoenix, San Francisco" } }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { diff --git a/south-asia/af.json b/south-asia/af.json index d71e75be..13beda0a 100644 --- a/south-asia/af.json +++ b/south-asia/af.json @@ -1206,7 +1206,7 @@ "note": "note: The United States has not recognized the Taliban or another entity as the government of Afghanistan. On August 15, 2021, the Taliban culminated its takeover of Kabul, and on September 7, 2021, the Taliban announced a so-called interim government. As of December 2021, the Taliban had not outlined steps or a timeline to establish a new permanent government. All references to “the pre-August 15 government” refer to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. References to the Taliban reflect events both prior to and after August 15." }, "Illicit drugs": { - "text": "

the world’s largest supplier of opiates, but it is not a major supplier to the United States; 233,000 hectares (ha) of opium poppy cultivated in Afghanistan in 2022; opium from poppies used to produce morphine and heroin; also produces large quantities of methamphetamine, cannabis, and cannabis products such as hashish; one of the world’s largest populations suffering from substance abuse; major source of precursor or essential chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics:

(2022)" + "text": "the world’s largest supplier of opiates, but it is not a major supplier to the United States; 233,000 hectares (ha) of opium poppy cultivated in Afghanistan in 2022; opium from poppies used to produce morphine and heroin; also produces large quantities of methamphetamine, cannabis, and cannabis products such as hashish; one of the world’s largest populations suffering from substance abuse; major source of precursor or essential chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics. (2022)" } } } \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/south-asia/in.json b/south-asia/in.json index 5556b4ad..863523dd 100644 --- a/south-asia/in.json +++ b/south-asia/in.json @@ -710,7 +710,7 @@ }, "Economy": { "Economic overview": { - "text": "largest South Asian economy; still informal domestic economies; COVID-19 reversed both economic growth and poverty reduction; credit access weaknesses contributing to lower private consumption and inflation; new social and infrastructure equity efforts" + "text": "largest South Asian economy; key US trading partner; many informal domestic economies; promoting self-reliance and increasing market access barriers; credit access weaknesses contributing to lower private consumption and inflation; ongoing social and infrastructure equity efforts" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity)": { "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2021": { @@ -925,7 +925,7 @@ } }, "Exports - partners": { - "text": "United States 17%, United Arab Emirates 9%, China 5% (2019)" + "text": "US 18%, UAE 6%, China 6%, Bangladesh 4%, Hong Kong 3% (2021)" }, "Exports - commodities": { "text": "refined petroleum, diamonds, packaged medicines, jewelry, rice (2021)" @@ -942,10 +942,10 @@ } }, "Imports - partners": { - "text": "China 15%, United States 7%, United Arab Emirates 6%, Saudi Arabia 5% (2019)" + "text": "China 17%, UAE 7%, US 7%, Switzerland 6%, Saudi Arabia 5% (2021)" }, "Imports - commodities": { - "text": "crude petroleum, gold, coal, diamonds, natural gas (2019)" + "text": "crude petroleum, gold, coal, diamonds, natural gas, integrated circuits (2021)" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": { "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2021": { diff --git a/world/xx.json b/world/xx.json index dfb84f2f..ffcc7ab5 100644 --- a/world/xx.json +++ b/world/xx.json @@ -438,6 +438,17 @@ "total World Heritage Sites": { "text": "1154 (897 cultural, 218 natural, 39 mixed) (2022)" } + }, + "Wonders of the World": { + "The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World": { + "text": "

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.

" + } } }, "Economy": {