Croatia (2001) | Nauru (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular), 1 city (grad -singular)*: Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska Zupanija, Brodsko-Posavska Zupanija, Dubrovacko-Neretvanska Zupanija, Istarska Zupanija, Karlovacka Zupanija, Koprivnicko-Krizevacka Zupanija, Krapinsko-Zagorska Zupanija, Licko-Senjska Zupanija, Medimurska Zupanija, Osjecko-Baranjska Zupanija, Pozesko-Slavonska Zupanija, Primorsko-Goranska Zupanija, Sibensko-Kninska Zupanija, Sisacko-Moslavacka Zupanija, Splitsko-Dalmatinska Zupanija, Varazdinska Zupanija, Viroviticko-Podravska Zupanija, Vukovarsko-Srijemska Zupanija, Zadarska Zupanija, Zagreb*, Zagrebacka Zupanija | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
18.16% (male 403,722; female 383,151) 15-64 years: 66.61% (male 1,452,872; female 1,434,086) 65 years and over: 15.23% (male 245,727; female 414,584) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.9% (male 2,517; female 2,368)
15-64 years: 59.3% (male 3,681; female 3,779) 65 years and over: 1.8% (male 116; female 109) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soy beans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products | coconuts |
Airports | 67 (2000 est.) | 1 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
22 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
45 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 36 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
56,542 sq km land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km |
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became an independent communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. | 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. Nauru achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic. |
Birth rate | 12.82 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 26.09 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$6 billion expenditures: $4.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 95/96) |
Capital | Zagreb | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District |
Climate | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast | tropical; monsoonal; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) | 30 km |
Constitution | adopted on 22 December 1990 | 29 January 1968 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Croatia conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska |
conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Currency | kuna (HRK) | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 11.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.08 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $9.9 billion (December 1999) | $33.3 million |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lawrence G. ROSSIN embassy: Andrije Hebranga 2, 100000 Zagreb mailing address: use street address telephone: [385] (1) 455-55-00 FAX: [385] (1) 455-85-85 |
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 Ivan GRDESIC chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899 FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York |
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 | Croatia and Italy made progress toward resolving a bilateral issue dating from World War II over property and ethnic minority rights; progress with Slovenia on discussions of adjustments to land boundary, but problems remain in defining maritime boundary in Gulf of Piran; Croatia and Yugoslavia are negotiating the status of the strategically important Prevlaka Peninsula, which is currently under a UN military observer mission (UNMOP) | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) |
Economy - overview | Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. Croatia faces considerable economic problems stemming from: the legacy of longtime communist mismanagement of the economy; damage during the internecine fighting to bridges, factories, power lines, buildings, and houses; the large refugee and displaced population, both Croatian and Bosnian; and the disruption of economic ties. Stepped-up Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, would help bolster the economy. The economy emerged from its mild recession in 2000 with tourism the main factor. Massive unemployment remains a key negative element. The government's failure to press the economic reforms needed to spur growth is largely the result of coalition politics and public resistance, particularly from the trade unions, to measures that would cut jobs, wages, or social benefits. | Revenues of this tiny island have come from exports of phosphates, but reserves are expected to be exhausted within a few 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 freeze on 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 GDP varying widely. |
Electricity - consumption | 13.643 billion kWh (1999) | 27.9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 4.45 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 10.96 billion kWh (1999) | 30 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
40.89% hydro: 59% nuclear: 0% other: 0.11% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Dinara 1,830 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; landmine removal and reconstruction of infrastructure consequent to 1992-95 civil strife | 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:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Croat 78.1%, Serb 12.2%, Bosniak 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, Czech 0.4%, Albanian 0.3%, Montenegrin 0.3%, Roma 0.2%, others 6.6% (1991) | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
Exchange rates | kuna per US dollar - 8.089 (January 2001), 8.277 (2000), 7.112 (1999), 6.362 (1998), 6.101 (1997), 5.434 (1996) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2641 (2002) 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Stjepan (Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Ivica RACAN (since 27 January 2000); Deputy Prime Ministers Goran GRANIC (since 27 January 2000), Zeljka ANTUNOVIC (since 27 January 2000), Slavko LINIC (since 27 January 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the House of Representatives elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 7 February 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister nominated by the president in line with the balance of power in the Assembly election results: Stjepan MESIC elected president; percent of vote - Stjepan MESIC (HNS) 56%, Drazen BUDISA (HSLS) 44% note: government coalition - SDP, HSLS, HSS, LP, HNS, IDS |
chief of state: President Rene HARRIS (since 8 August 2003) note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Rene HARRIS (since 8 August 2003) 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 29 May 2003 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Ludwig SCOTTY elected president 29 May 2003; Ludwig SCOTTY 10 parliamentary votes, Kinza CLODUMAR 7 note: Ludwig SCOTTY was removed from the presidency in a no-confidence vote 8 August 2003; Rene HARRIS became president |
Exports | $4.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels | phosphates |
Exports - partners | Italy 18%, Germany 15.7%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 12.8%, Slovenia 10.6%, Austria 6.2% (1999) | India 46.1%, South Korea 18.3%, Australia 10.6%, New Zealand 7.8%, Netherlands 5.6% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) | 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 - $24.9 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $60 million (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10% industry: 19% services: 71% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.2% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 45 10 N, 15 30 E | 0 32 S, 166 55 E |
Geography - note | controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits | 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 | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
27,840 km paved: 23,497 km (including 330 km of expressways) unpaved: 4,343 km (1998) |
total: 30 km
paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe; a minor transit point for maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe | broad-based money-laundering center |
Imports | $7.8 billion (c.i.f., 1999) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport and electrical equipment, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | Germany 18.5%, Italy 15.9%, Russia 8.6%, Slovenia 7.9%, Austria 7.1% (1999) | Australia 59.3%, US 10.1%, Ireland 7.6%, Malaysia 6% (2002) |
Independence | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.7% (2000) | NA% |
Industries | chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages; tourism | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
Infant mortality rate | 7.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 10.33 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | -3.6% (1993) |
International organization participation | BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 9 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the House of Representatives | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 1.68 million (October 2000) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation |
Land boundaries | total:
2,028 km border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Yugoslavia 266 km, Slovenia 501 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
21% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 38% other: 19% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
Legal system | based on civil law system | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law |
Legislative branch | bicameral Assembly or Sabor consists of the House of Counties or Zupanijski Dom (68 seats, 63 directly elected by popular vote, 5 appointed by the president; members serve four-year terms; note - House of Counties to be abolished in 2001) and House of Representatives or the Zastupnicki Dom (151 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Counties - last held 13 April 1997; House of Representatives - last held 2-3 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: House of Counties - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HDZ 42, HSLS/HSS 11, HSS 2, IDS 2, SDP/PGS/HNS 2, SDP/HNS 2, HSLS/HSS/HNS 1, HSLS 1; note - in some districts certain parties ran as coalitions, while in others they ran alone; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HDZ 46, SDP 44, HSLS 24, HSS 17, HSP/HKDU 5, IDS 4, HNS 2, independents 4, minority representatives 5 |
unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 3 May 2003 (next to be held not later than May 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - Nauru First Party 3, independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
73.9 years male: 70.28 years female: 77.73 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 61.95 years
male: 58.41 years female: 65.66 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 99% female: 95% (1991 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | Europe | Oceania |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
53 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 631,853 GRT/969,739 DWT ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 18, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 5, container 3, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 3 (2000 est.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $575 million (2000) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.8% (2000) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,085,877 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 3,190 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
859,621 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,762 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
30,037 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Republic Day/Statehood Day, 30 May (1990) | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Croat(s) adjective: Croatian |
noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower | phosphates, fish |
Net migration rate | 13.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 670 km; petroleum products 20 km; natural gas 310 km (1992) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance of Croatian Coast and Mountains Department or PGS [Luciano SUSANJ]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Marko VESELICA]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Dobroslav PARAGA]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Zlatko TOMCIC]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC]; Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Drazen BUDISA]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Liberal Party or LP [leader NA]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN]
note: the Social Democratic Party or SDP and the Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS formed a coalition as did the HSS, HNS, LP, and IDS, which together defeated the Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ in the 2000 lower house parliamentary election |
loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [leader NA]; Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 4,334,142 (July 2001 est.) | 12,570 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 4% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.48% (2001 est.) | 1.9% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Dubrovnik, Dugi Rat, Omisalj, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split, Vukovar (inland waterway port on Danube), Zadar | Nauru |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 1.51 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
2,296 km standard gauge: 2,296 km 1.435-m gauge (983 km electrified) (2000) |
total: 5 km
note: gauge unknown; used to haul phosphates from the center of the island to processing facilities on the southwest coast (2001) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8% (1991) | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed) | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: reconstruction plan calls for replacement of all analog circuits with digital and enlarging the network; a backup will be included in the plan for the main trunk international: digital international service is provided through the main switch in Zagreb; Croatia participates in the Trans-Asia-Europe (TEL) fiber-optic project which consists of two fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik; Croatia is also investing in ADRIA 1, a joint fiber-optic project with Germany, Albania, and Greece (2000) |
general assessment: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.488 million (1997) | 2,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 187,000 (yearend 1998) | 450 (1994) |
Television broadcast stations | 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (September 1995) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | 1.94 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.4 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 22% (October 2000) | 0% |
Waterways | 785 km
note: (perennially navigable; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris) |
none |