The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency (ebook reader 8 inch .txt) 📕

2em">Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Investment (gross fixed):

40.4% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $3.295 billion expenditures: $2.444 billion (2007 est.)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

2.7% (2007 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

15% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:

$1.4 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:

$204.3 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:

NA

Agriculture - products:

cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products

Industries:

petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes

Industrial production growth rate:

-12% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

444 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

564 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:

411 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 0.3% hydro: 99.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Oil - production:

261,000 bbl/day

Oil - consumption:

7,677 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:

230,200 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - imports:

1,702 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:

1.6 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production:

180 million cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

180 million cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

90.61 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current account balance:

-$1.491 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:

$5.8 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds

Exports - partners:

US 41%, China 36.5%, Taiwan 3.6% (2007)

Imports:

$2.634 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:

capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:

France 18.1%, South Korea 14.7%, China 12.6%, Italy 10.3%, India 4.7%, US 4.2% (2007)

Economic aid - recipient:

$1.449 billion (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$2.206 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:

$5 billion (2000 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$NA

Currency (code):

Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States

Currency code:

XAF

Exchange rates:

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 483.6 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003)

Communications
Congo, Republic of the

Telephones - main lines in use:

15,900 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

1.334 million (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out of order; fixed-line infrastructure inadequate providing less than 1 connection per 100 persons; in the absence of an adequate fixed line infrastructure, mobile-cellular subscribership has surged reaching 35 per 100 persons domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: country code - 242; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001)

Radios:

341,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

1 (2001)

Televisions:

33,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.cg

Internet hosts:

5 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

1 (2000)

Internet users:

70,000 (2006)

Transportation
Congo, Republic of the

Airports:

31 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 5 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 9 (2007)

Pipelines:

gas 89 km; liquid petroleum gas 4 km; oil 758 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 17,289 km paved: 864 km unpaved: 16,425 km (2004)

Waterways:

1,125 km (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2006)

Merchant marine:

registered in other countries: 1 (Congo, Democratic Republic of the 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Brazzaville, Djeno, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire

Military
Congo, Republic of the

Military branches:

Congolese Armed Forces (Forces Armees Congolaises, FAC): Army, Navy,
Congolese Air Force (Armee de l'Air Congolaise), Gendarmerie,
Special Presidential Security Guard (GSSP) (2008)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for voluntary military service; women allowed to serve (2007)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 842,771 females age 16-49: 833,624 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 519,296 females age 16-49: 509,564 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 45,671 female: 45,248 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

3.1% of GDP (2006)

Transnational Issues
Congo, Republic of the

Disputes - international:

the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 46,341 (Democratic Republic of Congo);
6,564 (Rwanda)
IDPs: 48,000 (multiple civil wars since 1992; most IDPs are ethnic
Lari) (2007)

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: Republic of the Congo is a source and destination country for children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation; girls are trafficked from rural areas within the country for commercial sexual exploitation, forced street vending, and domestic servitude; children are trafficked from other African countries for domestic servitude, forced market vending, and forced labor in the fishing industry tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Republic of the Congo is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons in 2007; struggling to recover from six years of civil conflict that ended in 2003, the Republic of the Congo's capacity to address trafficking is handicapped; the government neither monitors its borders for trafficking activity nor provides specialized anti-trafficking training for law enforcement officials; the government does not encourage victims to assist in trafficking investigations or prosecutions, and has not taken measures to reduce demand for commercial sex acts in the Republic of the Congo (2008)

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

======================================================================

@Cook Islands

Introduction
Cook Islands

Background:

Named after Captain COOK, who sighted them in 1770, the islands became a British protectorate in 1888. By 1900, administrative control was transferred to New Zealand; in 1965, residents chose self-government in free association with New Zealand. The emigration of skilled workers to New Zealand and government deficits are continuing problems.

Geography
Cook Islands

Location:

Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand

Geographic coordinates:

21 14 S, 159 46 W

Map references:

Oceania

Area:

total: 236.7 sq km land: 236.7 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:

1.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

120 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate:

tropical oceanic; moderated by trade winds; a dry season from April to November and a more humid season from December to March

Terrain:

low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Te Manga 652 m

Natural resources:

NEGL

Land use:

arable land: 16.67% permanent crops: 8.33% other: 75% (2005)

Irrigated land:

NA

Natural hazards:

typhoons (November to March)

Environment - current issues:

NA

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

the northern Cook Islands are seven low-lying, sparsely populated, coral atolls; the southern Cook Islands, where most of the population lives, consist of eight elevated, fertile, volcanic isles, including the largest, Rarotonga, at 67 sq km

People
Cook Islands

Population:

12,271 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: (male 1,834/female 1,624) 15-64 years: (male 3,973/female 3,747) 65 years and over: (male 542/female 551)

Median age:

total: 29.8 years male: 29 years female: 30.4 years (2001 census)

Population growth rate:

NA (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

16.71 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

NA (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2001 census)

Infant mortality rate:

total: NA male: NA female: NA (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: NA male: NA female: NA (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

3.1 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

NA

Nationality:

noun: Cook Islander(s) adjective: Cook Islander

Ethnic groups:

Cook Island Maori (Polynesian) 87.7%, part Cook Island Maori 5.8%, other 6.5% (2001 census)

Religions:

Cook Islands Christian Church 55.9%, Roman Catholic 16.8%,
Seventh-Day Adventists 7.9%, Church of Latter Day Saints 3.8%, other
Protestant 5.8%, other 4.2%, unspecified 2.6%, none 3% (2001 census)

Languages:

English (official), Maori

Literacy:

definition: NA total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA%

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 10 years male: 10 years female: 10 years (2005)

Education expenditures:

0.2% of GDP (2001)

People - note:

2001 census counted a resident population of 15,017

Government
Cook Islands

Country name:

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Cook Islands former: Harvey Islands

Dependency status:

self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Cook Islands is fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense, in consultation with the Cook Islands

Government type:

self-governing parliamentary democracy

Capital:

name: Avarua geographic coordinates: 21 12 S, 159 46 W time difference: UTC-10 (5 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

none

Independence:

none (became self-governing in free association with New Zealand on 4 August 1965 and has the right at any time to move to full independence by unilateral action)

National holiday:

Constitution Day, first Monday in August (1965)

Constitution:

4 August 1965

Legal system:

based on New Zealand law and English common law

Suffrage:

NA years of age; universal (adult)

Executive branch:

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Frederick GOODWIN (since 9 February 2001); New Zealand High Commissioner Brian DONNELLY (since 21 February 2008), representative of New Zealand head of government: Prime Minister Jim MARURAI (since 14 December 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Terepai MAOATE (since 9 August 2005) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister; collectively responsible to Parliament elections: the monarch is hereditary; the UK representative is appointed by the monarch; the New Zealand high commissioner is appointed by the New Zealand Government; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually becomes prime minister

Legislative branch:

bicameral Parliament consisting of a Legislative Assembly (or lower house) (24 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and a House of Ariki (or upper house) made up of traditional leaders note: the House of Ariki advises on traditional matters and maintains considerable influence but has no legislative powers elections: last held 26 September 2006 (next to be held by 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - Demo 51.9%, CIP 45.5%, independent 2.7%; seats by party - Demo 15, CIP 8, independent 1

Judicial branch:

High Court

Political parties and leaders:

Cook Islands Party or CIP [Henry PUNA]; Democratic Party or Demo
[Dr. Terepai MAOATE]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Reform Conference (lobby for political system changes) other: various groups