Cambodia (2005) | Nauru (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 20 provinces (khaitt, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (krong, singular and plural)
provinces: Banteay Mean Chey, Batdambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Spoe, Kampong Thum, Kampot, Kandal, Koh Kong, Kracheh, Mondol Kiri, Otdar Mean Chey, Pouthisat, Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Rotanakir, Siem Reab, Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng, Takao municipalities: Keb, Pailin, Phnom Penh, Preah Seihanu |
14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.3% (male 2,559,734/female 2,510,235)
15-64 years: 59.7% (male 3,887,642/female 4,232,313) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 150,862/female 266,283) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
40.33% (male 2,510; female 2,365) 15-64 years: 57.97% (male 3,475; female 3,533) 65 years and over: 1.7% (male 103; female 102) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, rubber, corn, vegetables, cashews, tapioca | coconuts |
Airports | 20 (2004 est.) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 6
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 14
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 181,040 sq km
land: 176,520 sq km water: 4,520 sq km |
total:
21 sq km land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oklahoma | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, whose Angkor Empire extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries. Subsequently, attacks by the Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the empire ushering in a long period of decline. In 1863, the king of Cambodia placed the country under French protection; it became part of French Indochina in 1887. Following Japanese occupation in World War II, Cambodia became independent within the French Union in 1949 and fully independent in 1953. After a five-year struggle, Communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh in April 1975 and ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns; at least 1.5 million Cambodians died from execution, enforced hardships, or starvation during the Khmer Rouge regime under POL POT. A December 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside, led to a 10-year Vietnamese occupation, and touched off almost 13 years of civil war. The 1991 Paris Peace Accords mandated democratic elections and a ceasefire, which was not fully respected by the Khmer Rouge. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy and the final elements of the Khmer Rouge surrendered in early 1999. Factional fighting in 1997 ended the first coalition government, but a second round of national elections in 1998 led to the formation of another coalition government and renewed political stability. The July 2003 elections were relatively peaceful, but it took one year of negotiations between contending political parties before a coalition government was formed. Nation-wide local elections are scheduled for 2007 and national elections for 2008. | Nauru's phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium; the island was occupied by Australian forces in World War I. Upon achieving independence in 1968, Nauru became the smallest independent republic in the world; it joined the UN in 1999. |
Birth rate | 27.08 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 27.22 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $548.2 million
expenditures: $836.7 million, including capital expenditures of $291 million of which 75% was financed by external assistance (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$23.4 million expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY95/96) |
Capital | Phnom Penh | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District |
Climate | tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation | tropical; monsoonal; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 443 km | 30 km |
Constitution | promulgated 21 September 1993 | 29 January 1968 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Cambodia
conventional short form: Cambodia local long form: Preahreacheanacha Kampuchea (phonetic pronunciation) local short form: Kampuchea former: Kingdom of Cambodia, Khmer Republic, Democratic Kampuchea, People's Republic of Kampuchea, State of Cambodia |
conventional long form:
Republic of Nauru conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Currency | - | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 8.97 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 7.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.4 billion (2002 est.) | $33.3 million |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph A. MUSSOMELI
embassy: 27 EO Street 240, Phnom Penh mailing address: Box P, APO AP 96546 telephone: [855] (23) 216-436/438 FAX: [855] (23) 216-437/811 |
the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador EK SEREYWATH
chancery: 4530 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-7742 FAX: [1] (202) 726-8381 |
Nauru does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a UN office at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, New York 10017; telephone: (212) 937-0074
consulate(s): Hagatna (Guam) |
Disputes - international | Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; Cambodia and Thailand dispute sections of boundary with missing boundary markers and Thai encroachments into Cambodian territory; maritime boundary with Vietnam is hampered by unresolved dispute over offshore islands; Cambodia accuses Thailand of obstructing access to Preah Vihear temple ruins awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in 1962; in 2004 Cambodian-Laotian and Laotian-Vietnamese boundary commissions reerect missing markers completing most of their demarcations | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $504 million pledged in grants and concessional loans for 2005 by international donors | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) |
Economy - overview | Cambodia's economy slowed dramatically in 1997 and 1998 due to the regional economic crisis, civil violence, and political infighting, and foreign investment and tourism decreased. In 1999, the first full year of peace in 30 years, the government made progress on economic reforms. Growth resumed and remained about 5% from 2000 to 2004. Economic growth has been largely driven by expansion in the garment sector and tourism, but is expected to fall in 2005 as growth in the garment sector stalls. Clothing exports were fostered by a US-Cambodian Bilateral Textile Agreement signed in 1999 which gave Cambodia a guaranteed quota of US textile imports and established a bonus for improving working conditions and enforcing Cambodian labor laws and international labor standards in the industry. With the January 2005 expiration of a WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, Cambodia-based textile producers are in direct competition with lower priced producing countries such as China and India. Faced with the possibility that over the next five years Cambodia may lose orders and some of the 250,000 well-paid jobs the industry provides, Cambodia has committed itself to a policy of continued support for high labor standards in an attempt to maintain favor with buyers. Tourism growth remains strong, with arrivals up 15% in 2004. The long-term development of the economy after decades of war remains a daunting challenge. The population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure. Fully 75% of the population remains engaged in subsistence farming. Fear of renewed political instability and a dysfunctional legal system coupled with extensive government corruption discourage foreign investment. The Cambodian government continues to work with bilateral and multilateral donors to address the country's many pressing needs. In December 2004, official donors pledged $504 million in aid for 2005 on the condition that the Cambodian government begins taking steps to address rampant corruption. The next donor pledging session is scheduled for December 2005. The major economic challenge for Cambodia over the next decade will be fashioning an economic environment in which the private sector can create enough jobs to handle Cambodia's demographic imbalance. More than 50% of the population is 20 years or younger. | Revenues of this tiny island have come from exports of phosphates, but reserves are expected to be exhausted within five to ten years. Phosphate production has declined since 1989, as demand has fallen in traditional markets and as the marginal cost of extracting the remaining phosphate increases, making it less internationally competitive. While phosphates have given Nauruans one of the highest per capita incomes in the Third World, few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, including fresh water from Australia. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income have been invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. The government has been borrowing heavily from the trusts to finance fiscal deficits. To cut costs the government has called for a freezing of wages, a reduction of over-staffed public service departments, privatization of numerous government agencies, and closure of some overseas consulates. In recent years Nauru has encouraged the registration of offshore banks and corporations. Tens of billions of dollars have been channeled through their accounts. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's per capita GDP varying widely. |
Electricity - consumption | 100.6 million kWh (2002) | 27.9 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 122 million kWh (2003) | 30 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
Environment - current issues | illegal logging activities throughout the country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand have resulted in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries); soil erosion; in rural areas, most of the population does not have access to potable water; declining fish stocks because of illegal fishing and overfishing | limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4% | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
Exchange rates | riels per US dollar - 4,016.25 (2004), 3,973.33 (2003), 3,912.08 (2002), 3,916.33 (2001), 3,840.75 (2000) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: King Norodom SIHAMONI (since 29 October 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister HUN SEN (since 14 January 1985) and Deputy Prime Ministers SAR KHENG (since 3 February 1992), Norodom SIRIVUDH, SOK AN, LU LAY SRENG, TEA BANH, HOR NAMHONG, NHEK BUNCHHAY (since 16 July 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers in theory appointed by the monarch; in practice named by the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is chosen by a Royal Throne Council; following legislative elections, a member of the majority party or majority coalition is named prime minister by the Chairman of the National Assembly and appointed by the king |
chief of state:
President Bernard DOWIYOGO (since 19 April 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Bernard DOWIYOGO (since 19 April 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 8 April 2000 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Bernard DOWIYOGO elected president by a vote in Parliament of nine to eight note: former President Rene HARRIS was deposed in a no-confidence vote; this is the eighth change of government in Nauru since the fall of the Lagumont HARRIS government in a no-confidence motion in early November 1996; six of the last eight governments have resulted because of parliamentary no-confidence motions |
Exports | NA | $25.3 million (f.o.b., 1991) |
Exports - commodities | Clothing, timber, rubber, rice, fish, tobacco, footwear | phosphates |
Exports - partners | US 55.9%, Germany 11.7%, UK 6.9%, Vietnam 4.4%, Canada 4.2% (2004) | Australia, NZ |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double width), and blue with a white three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat outlined in black in the center of the red band; only national flag to incorporate a building in its design | blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $59 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 35%
industry: 30% services: 35% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.4% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 105 00 E | 0 32 S, 166 55 E |
Geography - note | a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap | Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator |
Heliports | 2 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 12,323 km
paved: 1,996 km unpaved: 10,327 km (2000 est) |
total:
30 km paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 33.8% (1997) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | narcotics-related corruption reportedly involving some in the government, military, and police; possible small-scale opium, heroin, and amphetamine production; large producer of cannabis for the international market; vulnerable to money laundering due to its cash-based economy and porous borders | - |
Imports | NA | $21.1 million (c.i.f., 1991) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, cigarettes, gold, construction materials, machinery, motor vehicles, pharmaceutical products | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | Thailand 22.5%, Hong Kong 14.1%, China 13.6%, Vietnam 10.9%, Singapore 10.8%, Taiwan 8.4% (2004) | Australia, UK, NZ, Japan |
Independence | 9 November 1953 (from France) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 22% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Industries | tourism, garments, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles | phosphate mining, financial services, coconut products |
Infant mortality rate | total: 71.48 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 80.13 deaths/1,000 live births female: 62.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
10.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.1% (2004 est.) | -3.6% (1993) |
International organization participation | ACCT, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, ICAO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 2,700 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Council of the Magistracy (provided for in the constitution and formed in December 1997); Supreme Court (and lower courts) exercises judicial authority | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 7 million (2003 est.) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 75% (2004 est.) | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation |
Land boundaries | total: 2,572 km
border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 20.96%
permanent crops: 0.61% other: 78.43% (2001) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Khmer (official) 95%, French, English | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
Legal system | primarily a civil law mixture of French-influenced codes from the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) period, royal decrees, and acts of the legislature, with influences of customary law and remnants of communist legal theory; increasing influence of common law in recent years | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law |
Legislative branch | bicameral, consists of the National Assembly (123 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Senate (61 seats; two members appointed by the monarch, two elected by the National Assembly, and 57 elected by "functional constituencies"; members serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly - last held 27 July 2003 (next to be held in July 2008); Senate - last held 2 March 1999 (scheduled to be held in 2004 but delayed) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CPP 47%, SRP 22%, FUNCINPEC 21%, other 10%; seats by party - CPP 73, FUNCINPEC 26, SRP 24; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CPP 31, FUNCINPEC 21, SRP 7, other 2 (July 2003) |
unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 9 April 2000 (next to be held NA April 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 58.92 years
male: 56.98 years female: 60.95 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
61.2 years male: 57.7 years female: 64.88 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 73.6% male: 84.7% female: 64.1% (2004 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 479 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,913,910 GRT/2,713,967 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 34, cargo 396, chemical tanker 9, container 6, livestock carrier 3, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 5, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 193 (Canada 4, China 39, China 2, Cyprus 4, Egypt 5, Estonia 2, France 1, Germany 1, Greece 6, Honduras 1, Hong Kong 3, Indonesia 1, Isle of Man 1, Israel 1, Italy 1, Japan 1, Lebanon 1, Nigeria 2, Norway 1, Russia 58, Singapore 5, South Korea 23, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 6, UAE 1, United States 7, Yemen 1) (2005) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | Royal Cambodian Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force | no regular armed forces; Directorate of the Nauru Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $112 million (FY01 est.) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3% (FY01 est.) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
3,018 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
1,661 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 9 November (1953) | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Cambodian(s)
adjective: Cambodian |
noun:
Nauruan(s) adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | oil and gas, timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential | phosphates |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Cambodian Pracheachon Party (Cambodian People's Party) or CPP [CHEA SIM]; National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia or FUNCINPEC [Prince NORODOM Ranariddh]; Sam Rangsi Party or SRP [SAM RANGSI] | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [Bernard DOWIYOGO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 13,607,069
note: estimates for this country take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) |
12,088 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.81% (2005 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Phnom Penh | Nauru |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 17, (2003) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 7,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 602 km
narrow gauge: 602 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
total:
5 km; note - used to haul phosphates from the center of the island to processing facilities on the southwest coast |
Religions | Theravada Buddhist 95%, other 5% | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.57 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate landline and/or cellular service in Phnom Penh and other provincial cities; mobile phone coverage is rapidly expanding in rural areas
domestic: NA international: country code - 855; adequate but expensive landline and cellular service available to all countries from Phnom Penh and major provincial cities; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
general assessment:
adequate local and international radiotelephone communications provided via Australian facilities domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 35,400 (2002) | 2,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 380,000 (2002) | 450 (1994) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (2003) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | 3.44 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.61 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 0% |
Waterways | 2,400 km (mainly on Mekong River) (2004) | none |