China (2003) | Bosnia and Herzegovina (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities** (shi, singular and plural); Anhui, Beijing**, Chongqing**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang* (Tibet), Yunnan, Zhejiang; note - China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau | there are two first-order administrative divisions - the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska; note - Brcko in northeastern Bosnia is a self-governing administrative unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina; it is not part of either the Federation or Republika Srpska |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.1% (male 155,473,656; female 141,737,406)
15-64 years: 69.5% (male 461,223,219; female 433,154,970) 65 years and over: 7.4% (male 44,954,643; female 50,431,574) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
20.13% (male 405,713; female 383,850) 15-64 years: 70.78% (male 1,422,796; female 1,353,410) 65 years and over: 9.09% (male 150,802; female 205,634) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish | wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock |
Airports | 500 (2002) | 28 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 351
over 3,047 m: 32 2,438 to 3,047 m: 108 1,524 to 2,437 m: 143 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 39 (2002) |
total:
9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 149
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 48 under 914 m: 71 (2002) |
total:
19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 9,596,960 sq km
land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km |
total:
51,129 sq km land: 51,129 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the US | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
Background | For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But in the 19th and early 20th centuries, China was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a dictatorship that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping gradually introduced market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision-making. Output quadrupled by 2000. Political controls remain tight while economic controls continue to be relaxed. | Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in October 1991, was followed by a referendum for independence from the former Yugoslavia in February 1992. The Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form a "greater Serbia." In March 1994, Bosniaks and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement creating a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties signed a peace agreement that brought to a halt the three years of interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Agreement retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a joint multi-ethnic and democratic government. This national government is charged with conducting foreign, economic, and fiscal policy. Also recognized was a second tier of government comprised of two entities roughly equal in size: the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (RS). The Federation and RS governments are charged with overseeing internal functions. In 1995-96, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia to implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement. IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) whose mission is to deter renewed hostilities. SFOR remains in place at a level of approximately 21,000 troops. |
Birth rate | 12.96 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 12.86 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $224.8 billion
expenditures: $267.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000) |
revenues:
$1.9 billion expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Beijing | Sarajevo |
Climate | extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north | hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast |
Coastline | 14,500 km | 20 km |
Constitution | most recent promulgation 4 December 1982 | the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new constitution now in force |
Country name | conventional long form: People's Republic of China
conventional short form: China local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo local short form: Zhong Guo abbreviation: PRC |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina local long form: none local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina |
Currency | yuan (CNY)
note:: also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB) |
marka (BAM) |
Death rate | 6.74 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 7.99 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $149.4 billion (2002 est.) | $3.4 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr.
embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3831 FAX: [86] (10) 6532-6929 consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenyang |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Thomas J. MILLER embassy: Alipasina 43, 71000 Sarajevo mailing address: use street address telephone: [387] (33) 445-700 FAX: [387] (33) 659-722 branch office(s): Banja Luka, Mostar |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador YANG Jiechi
chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Igor DAVIDOVIC chancery: 2109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 337-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 337-1502 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | involved in complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea", a mechanism to ease tension but which fell short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; much of the rugged, militarized boundary with India is in dispute, but the two sides have participated in more than 13 rounds of joint working group sessions on this issue; India objects to Pakistan ceding lands to China in 1965 boundary agreement that India believes are part of disputed Kashmir; China, as well as Taiwan, claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) islands; negotiations with Tajikistan resolved the longstanding boundary dispute; China and Kazakhstan have resolved their border dispute and are working to delimit their large open borders to control population migration, illegal activities, and trade; Kyrgyzstan's constitutional court rules that 1,270 sq km ceded to China in 2000 delimitation agreement were legally transferred; certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers are in uncontested dispute with North Korea and a section of boundary around Mount Paektu is indefinite - China objects to illegal migration of North Koreans into northern China; China continues to seek a mutually acceptable solution to the disputed alluvial islands with Russia at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers and a small island on the Argun river as part of the 2001 Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation; boundary agreements signed in 2002 with Tajikistan cedes 1,000 sq km of Pamir Mountain range to China in return for China's relinquishing claims to 28,000 sq km; demarcation of land boundary with Vietnam continues but maritime boundary and joint fishing zone agreement remains unratified; China occupies Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $1 billion (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish, Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a political framework of strict Communist control, the economic influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has been steadily increasing. The authorities switched to a system of household and village responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprises in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. In 2003, with its 1.3 billion people but a GDP of just $5,000 per capita, China stood as the second-largest economy in the world after the US (measured on a purchasing power parity basis). Agriculture and industry have posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment has helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. The leadership, however, often has experienced - as a result of its hybrid system - the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy and lassitude) and of capitalism (windfall gains and growing income disparities). China thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. The government has struggled to (a) collect revenues due from provinces, businesses, and individuals; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, many of which had been shielded from competition by subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 80 to 120 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to maintaining long-term growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. Beijing says it will intensify efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure - such as water control and power grids - and poverty relief and through rural tax reform aimed at eliminating arbitrary local levies on farmers. Accession to the World Trade Organization helps strengthen China's ability to maintain strong growth rates but at the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of strong political controls and growing market influences. China has benefited from a huge expansion in computer internet use. Foreign investment remains a strong element in China's remarkable economic growth. | Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as the poorest republic in the old Yugoslav federation. Although agriculture is almost all in private hands, farms are small and inefficient, and the republic traditionally is a net importer of food. Industry has been greatly overstaffed, one reflection of the socialist economic structure of Yugoslavia. TITO had pushed the development of military industries in the republic with the result that Bosnia hosted a large share of Yugoslavia's defense plants. The bitter interethnic warfare in Bosnia caused production to plummet by 80% from 1990 to 1995, unemployment to soar, and human misery to multiply. With an uneasy peace in place, output recovered in 1996-98 at high percentage rates from a low base; but output growth slowed appreciably in 1999 and 2000, and GDP remains far below the 1990 level. Economic data are of limited use because, although both entities issue figures, national-level statistics are not available. Moreover, official data do not capture the large share of activity that occurs on the black market. The marka - the national currency introduced in 1998 - has gained wide acceptance, and the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina has dramatically increased its reserve holdings. Implementation of privatization, however, has been slower than anticipated. Banking reform accelerated in early 2001 as all the communist-era payments bureaus were shut down. The country receives substantial amounts of reconstruction assistance and humanitarian aid from the international community but will have to prepare for an era of declining assistance. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.312 trillion kWh (2001) | 2.684 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 10.3 billion kWh (2001) | 150 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 1.55 billion kWh (2001) | 430 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.42 trillion kWh (2001) | 2.585 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 80.2%
hydro: 18.5% nuclear: 1.2% other: 0.1% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
38.68% hydro: 61.32% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
lowest point:
Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maglic 2,386 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species | air pollution from metallurgical plants; sites for disposing of urban waste are limited; water shortages and destruction of infrastructure because of the 1992-95 civil strife |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to:
Air Pollution, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1% | Serb 31%, Bosniak 44%, Croat 17%, Yugoslav 5.5%, other 2.5% (1991)
note: Bosniak has replaced muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam |
Exchange rates | yuan per US dollar - 8.28 (2002), 8.28 (2001), 8.28 (2000), 8.28 (1999), 8.28 (1998) | marka per US dollar - 2.086 (January 2001), 2.124 (2000), 1.837 (1999), 1.760 (1998), 1.734 (1997), 0.015 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) and Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003)
head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Vice Premiers HUANG Ju (since 17 March 2003), WU Yi (17 March 2003), ZENG Peiyan (since 17 March 2003), and HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003) cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC) elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for five-year terms; elections last held 15-17 March 2003 (next to be held mid-March 2008); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress election results: HU Jintao elected president by the Tenth National People's Congress with a total of 2,937 votes (4 delegates voted against him, 4 abstained, and 38 did not vote); ZENG Qinghong elected vice president by the Tenth National People's Congress with a total of 2,578 votes (177 delegates voted against him, 190 abstained, and 38 did not vote); 2 seats were vacant |
chief of state:
Chairman of the Presidency Jozo KRIZANOVI (chairman since 14 June 2001, presidency member since NA March 2001 - Croat); other members of the three-member rotating (every 8 months) presidency: Zivko RADISIC (since 13 October 1998 - Serb) and Beriz BELKIC (since NA March 2001 - Bosniak); note - Ante JELAVIC was dismissed from his post by the UN High Representative in March 2001 head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA (since 18 July 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairman; approved by the National House of Representatives elections: the three members of the presidency (one Bosniak, one Croat, one Serb) are elected by popular vote for a four-year term; the member with the most votes becomes the chairman unless he or she was the incumbent chairman at the time of the election; election last held 12-13 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2002); the chairman of the Council of Ministers is appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the National House of Representatives election results: percent of vote - Zivko RADISIC with 52% of the Serb vote was elected chairman of the collective presidency for the first 8 months; Ante JELAVIC with 52% of the Croat vote followed RADISIC in the rotation; Alija IZETBEGOVIC with 87% of the Bosniak vote won the highest number of votes in the election but was ineligible to serve a second term until RADISIC and JELAVIC had each served a first term as Chairman of the Presidency; IZETBEGOVIC retired from the presidency 14 October 2000 and was temporarily replaced by Halid GENJAC; Ante JELAVIC was replaced by Jozo KRIZANOVIC in March 2001 note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Karlo FILIPOVIC (since 27 February 2001); Vice President Safet HALILOVIC (since 27 February 2001); note - president and vice president rotate every year; President of the Republika Srpska: Mirko SAROVIC (since 11 November 2000) |
Exports | NA (2001) | $950 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment; textiles and clothing, footwear, toys and sporting goods; mineral fuels | NA |
Exports - partners | US 21.5%, Hong Kong 18%, Japan 14.9%, South Korea 4.8% (2002) | Croatia, Switzerland, Italy, Germany |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner | a wide medium blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of the flag; the remainder of the flag is medium blue with seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.989 trillion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6.5 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15.2%
industry and construction: 51.2% services: 33.6% (2001) |
agriculture:
19% industry: 23% services: 58% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 8% (official data) (2002 est.) | 8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 35 00 N, 105 00 E | 44 00 N, 18 00 E |
Geography - note | world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak; | within Bosnia and Herzegovina's recognized borders, the country is divided into a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation (about 51% of the territory) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska or RS (about 49% of the territory); the region called Herzegovina is contiguous to Croatia and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority |
Heliports | - | 4 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 1,402,698 km
paved: 314,204 km (with at least 16,314 km of expressways) unpaved: 1,088,494 km (2000) |
total:
21,846 km paved: 14,020 km unpaved: 7,826 km note: road system is in need of maintenance and repair (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 30.4% (1998) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors and methamphetamine | minor transit point for marijuana and opiate trafficking routes to Western Europe |
Imports | NA (2001) | $2.45 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, plastics, iron and steel, chemicals | NA |
Imports - partners | Japan 18.1%, Taiwan 10.5%, South Korea 9.7%, US 9.2%, Germany 5.6% (2002) | Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Italy |
Independence | 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty 221 BC; Qing or Ch'ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912; People's Republic established 1 October 1949) | 1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 12.6% (2002 est.) | 10% (2000 est.) |
Industries | iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications | steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 25.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
24.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.8% (2002 est.) | 8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CDB, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), OPCW, PCA, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, IFC, UNHCR, UNIDO, AfDB, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | BIS, CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, ECE, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 525,800 sq km (1998 est.) | 20 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and local courts); Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport courts) | BiH Constitutional Court (consists of nine members: four members are selected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives, two members by the Republika Srpska's National Assembly, and three non-Bosnian members by the president of the European Court of Human Rights)
note: a new state court, established in November 1999, has jurisdiction over cases related to state-level law and appellate jurisdiction over cases initiated in the entities; the entities each have a Supreme Court; each entity also has a number of lower courts; there are ten cantonal courts in the Federation, plus a number of municipal courts; the Republika Srpska has five municipal courts |
Labor force | 744 million (2001 est.) | 1.026 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, industry 22%, services 28% (2001 est.) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 22,147.34 km
border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km |
total:
1,459 km border countries: Croatia 932 km, Yugoslavia 527 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.31%
permanent crops: 1.2% other: 85.49% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
14% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 39% other: 22% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry) | Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian |
Legal system | a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,985 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held NA December 2002-NA February 2003 (next to be held late 2007-NA February 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA |
bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the National House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats - 14 Serb, 14 Croat, and 14 Bosniak; members elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) and the House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats - 5 Bosniak, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members elected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve two-year terms); note - as of 1 January 2001, Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have a permanent election law; a draft law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures; officials elected in 2000 were elected to two-year terms on the presumption that a permanent law would be in place before 2002
elections: National House of Representatives - elections last held 11 November 2000 (next to be held in the fall of 2002); House of Peoples - last constituted after the 11 November 2000 elections (next to be constituted in the fall of 2002) election results: National House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDP 9, SDA 8, SDS 6, HDZ-BiH 5, SBH 5, PDP 2, NHI 1, BPS 1, DPS 1, SNS 1, SNSD-DSP 1, DNZ 1, SPRS 1; House of Peoples - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA%; seats by party/coalition - NA note: the Bosniak/Croat Federation has a bicameral legislature that consists of a House of Representatives (140 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 11 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDA 38, SDP 37, HDZ-BiH 25, SBH 21, DNZ 3, NHI 2, BPS 2, DPS 2, BOSS 2, GDS 1, RP 1, HSS 1, LDS 1, Pensioners' Party of FBiH 1, SNSD-DSP 1, HKDU 1, HSP 1; and a House of Peoples (74 seats - 30 Bosniak, 30 Croat, and 14 others); last constituted November 2000; the Republika Srpska has a National Assembly (83 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 11 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDS 31, PDP 11, SNSD 11, SDA 6, DSP 4, SDP 4, SPRS 4, SBH 4, DNS 3, SNS 2, NHI 1, DSRS 1, Pensioners' Party 1; as of 1 January 2001, Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have a permanent election law; a draft law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures; officials elected in 2000 were elected to two-year terms on the presumption that a permanent law would be in place before 2002 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.22 years
male: 70.33 years female: 74.28 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
71.75 years male: 69.04 years female: 74.65 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86% male: 92.9% female: 78.8% (2003 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia |
Map references | Asia | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
NA |
Merchant marine | total: 1,817 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 18,047,962 GRT/27,035,740 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 348, cargo 824, chemical tanker 28, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 2, container 150, liquefied gas 28, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 47, petroleum tanker 267, refrigerated cargo 26, roll on/roll off 21, short-sea passenger 42, specialized tanker 8, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Germany 1, Hong Kong 16, Japan 2, Panama 2, South Korea 1, Spain 1, Taiwan 9, Tanzania 1, Turkey 1 (2002 est.) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | People's Liberation Army (PLA): comprises ground forces, Navy (including naval infantry and naval aviation), Air Force, and II Artillery Corps (strategic missile force), People's Armed Police Force (internal security troops, nominally a state security body but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA), militia | Federation Army or VF (composed of both Croatian and Bosniak elements), Republika Srpska Army or VRS (composed of Bosnian Serb elements); note - within both of these forces air and air defense are subordinate commands |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $55.91 billion (FY02) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.3% (FY02) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 375,520,255 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,127,146 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 206 million (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
895,780 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 10,973,761 (2003 est.) | males:
29,757 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949) | National Day, 25 November (1943) |
Nationality | noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese |
noun:
Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s) adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian |
Natural hazards | frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest) | coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, forests, copper, chromium, lead, zinc, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 13,845 km; oil 15,143 km; refined products 3,280 km (2003) | crude oil 174 km; natural gas 90 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao, General Secretary of the Central Committee]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP | Bosnian Party or BOSS [Mirnes AJANOVIC]; Bosnian Patriotic Party or BPS [Sefer HALILOVIC]; Civic Democratic Party of BiH or GDS [Ibrahim SPAHIC]; Croat Christian Democratic Union or HKDU BiH [Ante PASALIC]; Croatian Democratic Union of BiH or HDZ-BiH [leader vacant]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Zdravko HRSTIC]; Croatian Peasants Party of BiH or HSS-BiH [Ilija SIMIC]; Democratic Action Party or SDA [Alija IZETBEGOVIC]; Democratic National Alliance or DNS [Dragan KOSTIC]; Democratic Party of Pensioners or DPS [Alojz KNEZOVIC]; Democratic Party of RS or DSRS [Dragomir DUMIC]; Democratic Peoples Union or DNZ [Fikret ABDIC]; Democratic Socialist Party or DSP [Nebojsa RADMANOVIC]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDS [Rasim KADIC]; New Croatian Initiative or NHI [Kresimir ZUBAK]; Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina or SBH [Haris SILAJDZIC]; Party of Democratic Progress or PDP [Mladen IVANIC]; Party of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD [Milorad DODIK]; Pensioners' Party of FBiH [Husein VOJNIKOVIC]; Pensioners' Party of SR [Stojan BOGOSAVAC]; Republican Party of BiH or RP [Stjepan KLJUIC]; Serb Democratic Party or Serb Lands or SDS [Dragan KALINIC]; Serb National Alliance (Serb People's Alliance) or SNS [Biljana PLAVSIC]; Social Democratic Party BIH or SDP-BiH [Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA]; Socialist Party of Republika Srpska or SPRS [Zivko RADISIC] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong sect and the China Democracy Party as potential rivals | NA |
Population | 1,286,975,468 (July 2003 est.) | 3,922,205
note: all data dealing with population are subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.6% (2003 est.) | 1.38% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang (2001) | Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanski Brod, Bosanski Samac, and Brcko (all inland waterway ports on the Sava), Orasje |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998) | AM 8, FM 16, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 940,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 71,600 km
standard gauge: 68,000 km 1.435-m gauge (14,600 km electrified) narrow gauge: 3,600 km 1.000-m and 0.750-m gauge local industrial lines (2002) |
total:
1,021 km (electrified 795 km; operating as diesel or steam until grids are repaired) standard gauge: 1,021 km 1.435-m gauge; note - many segments still need repair and/or reconstruction (2000) |
Religions | Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4%
note: officially atheist (2002 est.) |
Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.09 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns
domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); several international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany (2000) |
general assessment:
telephone and telegraph network is in need of modernization and expansion; many urban areas are below average when compared with services in other former Yugoslav republics domestic: NA international: no satellite earth stations |
Telephones - main lines in use | 135 million (2000) | 303,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 65 million (January 2001) | 9,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997) | 33 (plus 277 repeaters) (September 1995) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east | mountains and valleys |
Total fertility rate | 1.7 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.71 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2002 est.) | 35%-40% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 110,000 km (1999) | NA km; large sections of the Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris |