Gabon (2002) | Kuwait (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem | 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah, Al Jahra', Hawalli |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 33.3% (male 205,559; female 204,796)
15-64 years: 60.6% (male 376,103; female 371,422) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 37,220; female 38,253) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.5% (male 316,237; female 304,671)
15-64 years: 69.8% (male 1,007,298; female 569,128) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 38,408; female 21,807) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish | practically no crops; fish |
Airports | 59 (2001) | 7 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 10
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 47
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 24 (2002) |
total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 267,667 sq km
land: 257,667 sq km water: 10,000 sq km |
total: 17,820 sq km
land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Colorado | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | Ruled by autocratic presidents since independence from France in 1960, Gabon introduced a multiparty system and a new constitution in the early 1990s that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and for reforms of governmental institutions. A small population, abundant natural resources, and considerable foreign support have helped make Gabon one of the more prosperous black African countries. | Britain oversaw foreign relations and defense for the ruling Kuwaiti AL-SABAH dynasty from 1899 until independence in 1961. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led, UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. |
Birth rate | 27.24 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 21.85 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.8 billion
expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $310 million (2002 est.) |
revenues: $29.41 billion
expenditures: $17.57 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
Capital | Libreville | Kuwait |
Climate | tropical; always hot, humid | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters |
Coastline | 885 km | 499 km |
Constitution | adopted 14 March 1991 | approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 |
Country name | conventional long form: Gabonese Republic
conventional short form: Gabon local long form: Republique Gabonaise local short form: Gabon |
conventional long form: State of Kuwait
conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | Kuwaiti dinar (KWD) |
Death rate | 17.59 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.44 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.6 billion (2001 est.) | $12.18 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Kenneth P. MOOREFIELD
embassy: Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville mailing address: Centre Ville, B. P. 4000, Libreville telephone: [241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, after hours - 74 34 92 FAX: [241] 74 55 07 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard LEBARON
embassy: Bayan, Area 14, Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street (near the Bayan palace), Kuwait City mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat 13001 Kuwait; or PSC 1280 APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 539-5307, 5308 FAX: [965] 538-0282 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jules-Darius OGOUEBANDJA
chancery: Suite 200, 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1000 FAX: [1] (202) 332-0668 consulate(s): New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador SALIM al-Abdallah Jabir Al Sabah
chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 364-2868 |
Disputes - international | maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay | Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf |
Economic aid - recipient | $331 million (1995) (1995) | NA (2001) |
Economy - overview | Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most nations of sub-Saharan Africa. This has supported a sharp decline in extreme poverty; yet because of high income inequality a large proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon depended on timber and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s. The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Gabon continues to face fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, and manganese exports. Despite the abundance of natural wealth, the economy is hobbled by poor fiscal management. In 1992, the fiscal deficit widened to 2.4% of GDP, and Gabon failed to settle arrears on its bilateral debt, leading to a cancellation of rescheduling agreements with official and private creditors. Devaluation of its Francophone currency by 50% on 12 January 1994 sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%; the rate dropped to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a one-year standby arrangement in 1994-95, a three-year Enhanced Financing Facility (EFF) at near commercial rates beginning in late 1995, and stand-by credit of $119 million in October 2000. Those agreements mandate progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon had met IMF targets for mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticized the government for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing from the central bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatization and administrative reform. The rebound of oil prices in 1999-2000 helped growth, but drops in production hampered Gabon from fully realizing potential gains. In December 2000, Gabon signed a new agreement with the Paris Club to reschedule its official debt. A follow-up bilateral repayment agreement with the US was signed in December 2001. | Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with proved crude oil reserves of about 98 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. Kuwait's climate limits agricultural development. Consequently, with the exception of fish, it depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported. Kuwait continues its discussions with foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the country. |
Electricity - consumption | 790.5 million kWh (2000) | 29.29 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 850 million kWh (2000) | 31.49 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 29%
hydro: 71% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m |
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 306 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; poaching | limited natural fresh water resources; some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water; air and water pollution; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | Bantu tribes including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Bapounou, Nzebi, Obamba), other Africans and Europeans 154,000, including 10,700 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality | Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro | Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001), 0.3068 (2000), 0.3044 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967)
head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Francois NTOUTOUME-EMANE (since 23 January 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President El Hadj Omar BONGO reelected; percent of vote - El Hadj Omar BONGO 66.6%, Pierre MAMBOUNDOU 16.5%, Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE 13.4% |
chief of state: Amir JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 31 December 1977); Crown Prince SAAD al-Abdullah al-Salim Al Sabah
head of government: Prime Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 13 July 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior NAWWAF al-Ahmad Al Sabah (since 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers JABIR MUBARAK al-Hamad Al Sabah (since 2001) and Muhammad Dayfallah al-SHARAR (since 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 1.97 million bbl/day (2003) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil 81%, timber, manganese, uranium (2000) | oil and refined products, fertilizers |
Exports - partners | US 51%, France 17%, China 8%, Netherlands Antilles 4% (2000) | Japan 21.3%, South Korea 14.9%, US 11.5%, Singapore 9.8%, Taiwan 9.3% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side; design, which dates to 1961, based on the Arab revolt flag of World War I |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $6.7 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $41.46 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10%
industry: 60% services: 30% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 0.4%
industry: 59.5% services: 40% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,500 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 4.6% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 S, 11 45 E | 29 30 N, 45 45 E |
Geography - note | a small population and oil and mineral reserves have helped Gabon become one of Africa's wealthier countries; in general, these circumstances have allowed the country to maintain and conserve its pristine rain forest and rich biodiversity | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf |
Heliports | - | 3 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 8,454 km
paved: 838 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,616 km (2000) |
total: 4,450 km
paved: 3,587 km unpaved: 863 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $921 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2003) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction materials | food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing |
Imports - partners | France 62%, Cote d'Ivoire 7%, US 5%, Belgium 3% (2000) | US 14.7%, Japan 10.3%, Germany 9.6%, China 6.6%, UK 6.1%, Saudi Arabia 5.5%, Italy 5%, France 4.2% (2003) |
Independence | 17 August 1960 (from France) | 19 June 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -6.4% (2001 est.) | -5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood; cement; petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, and gold mining; chemicals; ship repair | petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing, construction materials |
Infant mortality rate | 93.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 10.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 11.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2001 est.) | 1.2% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 150 sq km (1998 est.) | 60 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting of three chambers - Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal; Court of State Security; County Courts | High Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 600,000 600,000 | 1.38 million
note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force. (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 60%, services and government 25%, industry and commerce 15% | agriculture NA, industries NA, services NA |
Land boundaries | total: 2,551 km
border countries: Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km |
total: 462 km
border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km |
Land use | arable land: 1.26%
permanent crops: 0.66% other: 98.08% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.73%
permanent crops: 0.11% other: 99.16% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi | Arabic (official), English widely spoken |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (91 seats; members elected by members of municipal councils and departmental assemblies) and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats); members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms
elections: National Assembly - last held 9 and 23 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2006); Senate - last held 26 January and 9 February 1997 (next to be held in January 2004) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 86, RNB-RPG 8, PGP 3, ADERE 3, CLR 2, PUP 1, PSD 1, independents 13, others 3; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 53, RNB 20, PGP 4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, CLR 1, independents 9 |
unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 July 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - Islamists 21, government supporters 14, liberals 3, and independents 12; note - all cabinet ministers are also ex officio members of the National Assembly |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.11 years
male: 48.01 years female: 50.25 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 76.84 years
male: 75.86 years female: 77.86 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 63.2% male: 73.7% female: 53.3% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.5% male: 85.1% female: 81.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 38 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,319,082 GRT/3,768,828 DWT
by type: bulk 1, container 6, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 21, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: India 1, Saudi Arabia 1 registered in other countries: 5 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Presidential (Republican) Guard (charged with protecting the president and other senior officials), National Gendarmerie, National Police | Land Forces, Navy, Air Force (including Air Defense Force), National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $70.8 million (FY01) | $2,500.4 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY01) | 5.8% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 284,358 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 880,461 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 146,908 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 531,556 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 11,304 (2002 est.) | males: 18,849 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Founding of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), 12 March (1968) | National Day, 25 February (1950) |
Nationality | noun: Gabonese (singular and plural)
adjective: Gabonese |
noun: Kuwaiti(s)
adjective: Kuwaiti |
Natural hazards | NA | sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year, but are most common between March and August |
Natural resources | petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 14.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km | gas 169 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | African Forum for Reconstruction or FAR [Leon MBOU-YEMBI]; Circle of Liberal Reformers or CLR [General Jean Boniface ASSELE]; Congress for Democracy and Justice or CDJ [Jules Aristide Bourdes OGOULIGUENDE]; Democratic and Republican Alliance or ADERE [Divungui-di-Ndinge DIDJOB]; Gabonese Democratic Party or PDG, former sole party [Simplice Nguedet MANZELA, secretary general]; Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE, president]; Gabonese People's Union or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU]; National Rally of Woodcutters-Rally for Gabon or RNB-RPG (Bucherons) [Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Louis Gaston MAYILA]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Pierre EMBONI]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Pierre Claver MAGANGA-MOUSSAVOU] | none; formation of political parties is illegal |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | several political groups act as de facto parties: Bedouins, merchants, Sunni and Shi'a activists, and secular leftists and nationalists |
Population | 1,233,353
note: estimates for this country explicitly 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 and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
2,257,549
note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.97% (2002 est.) | 3.36%
note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cap Lopez, Kango, Lambarene, Libreville, Mayumba, Owendo, Port-Gentil | Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 7 (and 11 repeaters), shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 208,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 649 km
standard gauge: 649 km 1.435-m gauge; single-track (2001) |
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Religions | Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1% | Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.77 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.76 male(s)/female total population: 1.52 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | adult males who have been naturalized for 30 years or more or have resided in Kuwait since before 1920 and their male descendants at age 21
note: only 10% of all citizens are eligible to vote; in 1996, naturalized citizens who do not meet the pre-1920 qualification but have been naturalized for 30 years were eligible to vote for the first time |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate service by African standards and improving with the help of the growing mobile cell system
domestic: adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable to be in service in 2002 |
general assessment: the quality of service is excellent
domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and open-wire and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones international: country code - 965; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2 Arabsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 39,000 (1998) | 486,900 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 120,000 (2000) | 1.42 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (plus four low-powered repeaters) (2001) | 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south | flat to slightly undulating desert plain |
Total fertility rate | 3.65 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.03 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 21% (1997 est.) | 2.1% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 1,600 km (perennially navigable) | - |