India (2004) | Serbia and Montenegro (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 28 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal | 2 republics (republike, singular - republika); and 2 nominally autonomous provinces* (autonomn pokrajine, singular - autonomna pokrajina); Kosovo* (currently under UN administration pending resolution of its future status), Montenegro, Serbia, Vojvodina* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.7% (male 173,869,856; female 164,003,915)
15-64 years: 63.5% (male 349,785,804; female 326,289,402) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 25,885,725; female 25,235,905) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 18.3% (male 1,027,479; female 956,681)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 3,602,959; female 3,627,616) 65 years and over: 14.9% (male 693,929; female 917,236) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish | cereals, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, olives; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 333 (2003 est.) | 45 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 234
over 3,047 m: 14 2,438 to 3,047 m: 47 1,524 to 2,437 m: 78 914 to 1,523 m: 74 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
total: 19
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 99
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 42 under 914 m: 45 (2004 est.) |
total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 13 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 3,287,590 sq km
land: 2,973,190 sq km water: 314,400 sq km |
total: 102,350 sq km
land: 102,136 sq km water: 214 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than one-third the size of the US | slightly smaller than Kentucky |
Background | The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in the 12th were followed by European traders, beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism under Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU led to independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Fundamental concerns in India include the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife, all this despite impressive gains in economic investment and output. | The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941 was resisted by various paramilitary bands that fought each other as well as the invaders. The group headed by Marshal TITO took full control upon German expulsion in 1945. Although Communist, his new government and its successors (he died in 1980) managed to steer their own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In the early 1990s, post-TITO Yugoslavia began to unravel along ethnic lines: Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina were recognized as independent states in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" (FRY) in April 1992 and, under President Slobodan MILOSEVIC, Serbia led various military intervention efforts to unite ethnic Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." All of these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful and led to Yugoslavia being ousted from the UN in 1992. In 1998-99, massive expulsions by FRY forces and Serb paramilitaries of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo provoked an international response, including the NATO bombing of Serbia and the stationing of a NATO-led force (KFOR), in Kosovo. Federal elections in the fall of 2000, brought about the ouster of MILOSEVIC and installed Vojislav KOSTUNICA as president. The arrest of MILOSEVIC in 2001 allowed for his subsequent transfer to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity. In 2001, the country's suspension from the UN was lifted, and it was once more accepted into UN organizations under the name of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Kosovo has been governed by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) since June 1999, under the authority of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, pending a determination by the international community of its future status. In 2002, the Serbian and Montenegrin components of Yugoslavia began negotiations to forge a looser relationship. These talks became a reality in February 2003 when lawmakers restructured the country into a loose federation of two republics called Serbia and Montenegro. The Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro includes a provision that allows either republic to hold a referendum after three years that would allow for their independence from the state union. |
Birth rate | 22.8 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 12.13 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $86.69 billion
expenditures: $114.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $13.5 billion (2003) |
revenues: $8.668 billion
expenditures: $9.633 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | New Delhi | Belgrade |
Climate | varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north | in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall); central portion, continental and Mediterranean climate; to the south, Adriatic climate along the coast, hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland |
Coastline | 7,000 km | 199 km |
Constitution | 26 January 1950 | 4 February 2003 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of India
conventional short form: India |
conventional long form: Serbia and Montenegro
conventional short form: none local long form: Srbija i Crna Gora local short form: none former: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia abbreviation: SCG |
Currency | Indian rupee (INR) | in Serbia the Serbian dinar (CSD) is legal tender, but the euro (EUR) is the de facto currency; in Montenegro and Kosovo the euro is legal tender. (2004) |
Death rate | 8.38 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 10.53 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $101.7 billion (2003 est.) | $14.01 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador David C. MULFORD
embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [91] (11) 2419-8000 FAX: [91] (11) 2419-0017 consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael C. POLT
embassy: Kneza Milosa 50, 11000 Belgrade mailing address: 5070 Belgrade Place, Washington, DC 20521-5070 telephone: [381] (11) 361-9344 FAX: [381] (11) 361-8230 consulate(s): Podgorica note: there is a branch office in Pristina at 30 Nazim Hikmet 38000 Pristina, Kosovo; telephone: [381](38)549-516; FAX: [381](38)549-890 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ranendra SEN
chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note - Consular Wing located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000 FAX: [1] (202) 265-4351 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ivan VUJACIC
chancery: 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-0333 FAX: [1] (202) 332-3933 consulate(s) general: Chicago |
Disputes - international | Kashmir remains the world's most highly militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas), but recent discussions and confidence-building measures among parties are beginning to defuse tensions; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding lands to China in the 1965 boundary agreement; disputes with Pakistan over Indus River water sharing and the terminus of the Sir Creek Estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch, which prevents maritime boundary delimitation; Pakistani maps continue to show Junagadh claim in Indian Gujarat State; most of the rugged, militarized boundary with China is in dispute, but sides have committed to begin resolution with discussions on the least disputed Middle Sector; Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues to work on resolution of minor disputed boundary sections; discussions with Bangladesh remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, to exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries, to allocate divided villages, and to stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, and violence; Bangladesh protests India's attempts to fence off high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; dispute with Bangladesh over volcanic New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; India seeks cooperation from Bhutan and Burma to keep out Indian Nagaland insurgents; joint border commission continues to work on small disputed sections of boundary with Nepal; India has instituted a stricter border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents and illegal cross-border activities from Nepal | the future status of Kosovo remains an unresolved issue in South Central Europe with Kosovo Albanians overwhelmingly supporting and Serbian officials opposing Kosovo independence; the international community has agreed to begin a process to determine final status only after significant progress has been made in solidifying multi-ethnic democracy in Kosovo as outlined in the policy of "standards before status"; the Contact group (including the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia) will review progress on the UNMIK standard around mid-2005; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo resist demarcation of the F.Y.R.O.M. boundary in accordance with the 2000 delimitation treaty, which transfers on net a small amount of land to F.Y.R.O.M.; Serbia and Montenegro have delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.9 billion (FY98/99) | $2 billion pledged in 2001 (disbursements to follow for several years) |
Economy - overview | India's economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of support services. Government controls have been reduced on foreign trade and investment, and privatization of domestic output has proceeded slowly. The economy has posted an excellent average growth rate of 6% since 1990, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. India is capitalizing on its large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language to become a major exporter of software services and software workers. Despite strong growth, the World Bank and others worry about the continuing public-sector budget deficit, running at approximately 60% of GDP. | MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the economy, an extended period of economic sanctions, and the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry during the NATO airstrikes in 1999 have left the economy only half the size it was in 1990. After the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC in October 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government implemented stabilization measures and embarked on an aggressive market reform program. After renewing its membership in the IMF in December 2000, Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate into the international community by rejoining the World Bank (IBRD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). A World Bank-European Commission sponsored Donors' Conference held in June 2001 raised $1.3 billion for economic restructuring. An agreement rescheduling the country's $4.5 billion Paris Club government debts was concluded in November 2001; it wrote off 66% of the debt. The smaller republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and continues to maintain its own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages its own budget. Kosovo, while technically still part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro) according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, is largely autonomous under United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and is greatly dependent on the international community and the diaspora for financial and technical assistance. The euro and the Yugoslav dinar are official currencies, and UNMIK collects taxes and manages the budget. The complexity of Serbia and Montenegro political relationships, slow progress in privatization, legal uncertainty over property rights, and scarcity of foreign-investment are holding back Serbia and Montenegro's economy. Arrangements with the IMF, especially requirements for fiscal discipline, are an important element in policy formation. Severe unemployment remains a key political economic problem. |
Electricity - consumption | 497.2 billion kWh (2001) | 32.37 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 321 million kWh (2001) | 446 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 1.54 billion kWh (2001) | 3.33 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 533.3 billion kWh (2001) | 31.71 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Daravica 2,656 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country; huge and growing population is overstraining natural resources | pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor; air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water pollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000) | Serb 62.6%, Albanian 16.5%, Montenegrin 5%, Hungarian 3.3%, other 12.6% (1991) |
Exchange rates | Indian rupees per US dollar - 46.5806 (2003), 48.6103 (2002), 47.1864 (2001), 44.9416 (2000), 43.0554 (1999) | new Yugoslav dinars per US dollar - official rate: 65 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Abdul KALAM (since 26 July 2002); Vice President Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT (since 19 August 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since NA May 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states for a five-year term; election last held NA July 2002 (next to be held 18 July 2007); vice president elected by both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 12 August 2002 (next to be held NA August 2007); prime minister chosen by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative elections; election last held April - May 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: Abdul KALAM elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 89.6%; Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT elected vice president; percent of Parliament vote - 59.8% |
chief of state: President Svetozar MAROVIC (since 7 March 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Svetozar MAROVIC (since 7 March 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Federal Ministries act as Cabinet elections: president elected by the Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 7 March 2003 (next to be held 2007) election results: Svetozar MAROVIC elected president by the Parliament; vote was Svetozar MAROVIC 65, other 47 |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures | manufactured goods, food and live animals, raw materials |
Exports - partners | US 20.6%, China 6.4%, UK 5.3%, Hong Kong 4.8%, Germany 4.4% (2003) | Italy 31.6%, Germany 17.5%, Austria 6.2%, France 6%, Greece 5.4%, Slovenia 4.1%, Hungary 4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of saffron (subdued orange) (top), white, and green with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk centered in the white band | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.033 trillion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $23.89 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 23.6%
industry: 28.4% services: 48% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 15.2%
industry: 28.2% services: 56.5% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 8.3% (2003 est.) | 1.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 N, 77 00 E | 44 00 N, 21 00 E |
Geography - note | dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes | controls one of the major land routes from Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East; strategic location along the Adriatic coast |
Heliports | 20 (2003 est.) | 4 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 3,319,644 km
paved: 1,517,077 km unpaved: 1,802,567 km (1999 est.) |
total: 49,805 km
paved: 31,029 km (including 560 km of expressways) unpaved: 18,776 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1997) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | world's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; transit point for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer of methaqualone; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through the hawala system | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western Europe on the Balkan route; economy vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals | machinery and transport equipment, fuels and lubricants, manufactured goods, chemicals, food and live animals, raw materials |
Imports - partners | US 6.4%, Belgium 5.6%, UK 4.8%, China 4.3%, Singapore 4% (2003) | Germany 18.8%, Italy 16.3%, Austria 8.1%, Slovenia 6.6%, Hungary 5.8%, France 4.8%, Bulgaria 4.6%, Greece 4.4% (2003) |
Independence | 15 August 1947 (from UK) | 27 April 1992 (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or FRY - now Serbia and Montenegro - formed as self-proclaimed successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or SFRY) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.5% (2003 est.) | 1.7% (2002 est.) |
Industries | textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software | machine building (aircraft, trucks, and automobiles; tanks and weapons; electrical equipment; agricultural machinery); metallurgy (steel, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, chromium, antimony, bismuth, cadmium); mining (coal, bauxite, nonferrous ore, iron ore, limestone); consumer goods (textiles, footwear, foodstuffs, appliances); electronics, petroleum products, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals |
Infant mortality rate | total: 57.92 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 58.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 57.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 13.43 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.8% (2003 est.) | 11.2% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, C, CERN (observer), CP, FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | BSEC, CE, CEI, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 590,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 570 sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65) | The Court of Serbia and Montenegro; judges are elected by the Serbia and Montenegro Parliament for six-year terms
note: since the promulgation of the 2003 Constitution, the Federal Court has constitutional and administrative functions; it has an equal number of judges from each republic |
Labor force | 472 million (2003) | 2.93 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 60%, industry 17%, services 23% (1999) | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA |
Land boundaries | total: 14,103 km
border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km |
total: 2,246 km
border countries: Albania 287 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 527 km, Bulgaria 318 km, Croatia (north) 241 km, Croatia (south) 25 km, Hungary 151 km, Macedonia 221 km, Romania 476 km |
Land use | arable land: 54.4%
permanent crops: 2.74% other: 42.86% (2001) |
arable land: 33.35%
permanent crops: 3.2% other: 63.45% (2001) |
Languages | English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language | Serbian 95%, Albanian 5% |
Legal system | based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States or Rajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more than 250 members, up to 12 of which are appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies; members serve six-year terms) and the People's Assembly or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543 elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Assembly - last held 20 April through 10 May 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - INC 145, BJP 138, CPI(M) 43, SP 36, RJD 21, BSP 19, DMK 16, SS 12, BJD 11, CPI 10, NCP 9, JDU 8, SAD 8, PMK 6, TDP 5, TRS 5, JMM 5, LJSP 4, MDMK 4, independents 5, other 30 |
unicameral Parliament (126 seats - 91 Serbian, 35 Montenegrin - filled by nominees of the two state parliaments for the first two years, after which the Constitutional Charter calls for direct elections
elections: last held 25 February 2003 (next to be held 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Serbian parties: SRS 30, DSS 20, DS 13, G17 Plus 12, SPO-NS 8, SPS 8; Montenegrin parties: DPS 15, SNP 9, SDP 4, DSS 3, NS 2, LSCG 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 63.99 years
male: 63.25 years female: 64.77 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 74.4 years
male: 71.9 years female: 77.12 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 59.5% male: 70.2% female: 48.3% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93% male: 97.2% female: 88.9% (1991) |
Location | Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Map references | Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
NA |
Merchant marine | total: 306 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,555,507 GRT/11,069,791 DWT
by type: bulk 90, cargo 77, chemical tanker 14, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 2, container 10, liquefied gas 10, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 93, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea/passenger 2, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: China 2, Portugal 1 registered in other countries: 63 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy (including naval air arm), Air Force, Coast Guard, various security or paramilitary forces (including Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, National Security Guards, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Special Frontier Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Railway Protection Force, and Defense Security Corps) | Army (VJ) (including ground forces with border troops, naval forces, air and air defense forces) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $14,018.8 million (2003) | $654 million (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.4% (2003) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 293,677,117 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,718,234 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 172,153,371 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,184,937 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 11,174,415 (2004 est.) | males: 81,245 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 26 January (1950) | National Day, 27 April |
Nationality | noun: Indian(s)
adjective: Indian |
noun: Serb(s); Montenegrin(s)
adjective: Serbian; Montenegrin |
Natural hazards | droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land | oil, gas, coal, iron ore, bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, antimony, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, magnesium, pyrite, limestone, marble, salt, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | -0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -1.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 6,171 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,195 km; oil 5,613 km; refined products 5,567 km (2004) | gas 3,177 km; oil 393 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [C. Jayalalitha JAYARAM]; All India Forward Bloc or AIFB, [D. BISWAS, general secretary]; Asom Gana Parishad [Brindaban GOSWAMI]; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Venkaiah NAIDU]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist or CPI/ML [Dipankar BHATTACHARYA]; Congress (I) Party [Sonia GANDHI]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK (a regional party in Tamil Nadu) [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National Congress or INC [leader NA]; Indian National League [Suliaman SAITH]; Janata Dal (Secular) [H. D. Deve GOWDA]; Janata Dal (United) or JDU [Sharad YADAV]; Jharkhand Mukti Morcha or JMM [leader NA]; Kerala Congress (Mani faction) [K. M. MANI]; Lok Jan Shakti Party or LSP [leader NA]; Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [VAIKO]; Muslim League [G. M. BANATWALA]; Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK [leader NA]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Revolutionary Socialist Party or RSP [Abani ROY]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD [G. S. TOHRA]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY]; Tamil Maanila Congress [G. K. VASAN]; Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS [leader NA]; Telugu Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]; Trinamool Congress [Mamata BANERJEE] | Democratic Party or DS [Boris TADIC]; Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS [Vojislav KOSTUNICA]; Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Democratic Serbian Party of Montenegro or DSS [Bozidar BOJOVIC]; G17 Plus [Miroljub LABUS]; New Serbia or NS [Velimir ILIC]; Liberal Party of Montenegro or LSCG [Miodrag ZIVKOVIC]; People's Party of Montenegro or NS [Dragan SOC]; Power of Serbia Movement or PSS [Bogoljub KARIC]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS [Tomislav NIKOLIC]; Serbian Renewal Movement or SPO [Vuk DRASKOVIC]; Serbian Socialist Party or SPS (former Communist Party and party of Slobodan MILOSEVIC) [Ivica DACIC, president of Main Board]; Social Democratic Party of Montenegro or SDP [Ranko KRIVOKAPIC]; Socialist People's Party of Montenegro or SNP [Predrag BULATOVIC]
note: the following political parties participate in elections and institutions only in Kosovo, which has been governed by the UN under UNSCR 1244 since 1999: Albanian Christian Democratic Party or PSHDK [Mark KRASNIQI]; Alliance for the Future of Kosovo or AAK [Ramush HARADINAJ]; Citizens' Initiative of Serbia or GIS [Slavisa PETKOVIC]; Democratic Ashkali Party of Kosovo or PDAK [Sabit RRAHMANI]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Ibrahim RUGOVA]; Democratic Party of Kosovo or PDK [Hashim THACI]; Justice Party of PD [Sylejman CERKEZI]; Kosovo Democratic Turkish Party of KDTP [Mahir YAGCILAR]; Liberal Party of Kosovo or PLK [Gjergj DEDAJ]; Ora [Veton SURROI]; New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo or IRDK [Bislim HOTI]; Party of Democratic Action or SDA [Numan BALIC]; Popular Movement of Kosovo or LPK [Emrush XHEMAJLI]; Prizren-Dragas Initiative or PDI [Ismajl KARADOLAMI]; Serb List for Kosovo and Metohija or SLKM [Oliver IVANOVIC]; United Roma Party of Kosovo or PREBK [Haxhi Zylfi MERXHA]; Vakat [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy, including the All Parties Hurriyat Conference | Political Council for Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac or PCPMB [leader NA]; Group for Changes of Montenegro or GZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC] |
Population | 1,065,070,607 (July 2004 est.) | 10,825,900 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 25% (2002 est.) | 30% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.44% (2004 est.) | 0.03% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chennai (Madras), Cochin, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay), Vishakhapatnam | Bar, Belgrade, Kotor, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Tivat, Zelenika |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998) | AM 113, FM 194, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Railways | total: 63,140 km (15,994 km electrified)
broad gauge: 45,099 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 14,776 km 1.000-m gauge; 3,265 km 0.762-m gauge and 0.610-m gauge (2003) |
total: 4,380 km
standard gauge: 4,380 km 1.435-m gauge (1,445 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000) | Orthodox 65%, Muslim 19%, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, other 11% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: recent deregulation and liberalization of telecommunications laws and policies have prompted rapid change; local and long distance service provided throughout all regions of the country, with services primarily concentrated in the urban areas; steady improvement is taking place with the recent admission of private and private-public investors, but telephone density remains low at about seven for each 100 persons nationwide but only one per 100 persons in rural areas and a national waiting list of over 1.7 million; fastest growth is in cellular service with modest growth in fixed lines
domestic: expansion of domestic service, although still weak in rural areas, resulted from increased competition and dramatic reductions in price led in large part by wireless service; mobile cellular service (both CDMA and GSM) introduced in 1994 and organized nationwide into four metropolitan cities and 19 telecom circles each with about three private service providers and one state-owned service provider; in recent years significant trunk capacity added in the form of fiber-optic cable and one of the world's largest domestic satellite systems, the Indian National Satellite system (INSAT), with 5 satellites supporting 33,000 very small aperture terminals (VSAT) international: country code - 91; satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region); nine gateway exchanges operating from Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai (Madras), Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, and Ernakulam; 5 submarine cables, including Sea-Me-We-3 with landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay), Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) with landing site at Mumbai (Bombay), South Africa - Far East (SAFE) with landing site at Cochin, i2icn linking to Singapore with landing sites at Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras), and Tata Indicom linking Singapore and Chennai (Madras), provide a significant increase in the bandwidth available for both voice and data traffic (2004) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 381; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 48.917 million (2003) | 2,611,700 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 26,154,400 (2003) | 3,634,600 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 562 (of which 82 stations have 1 kW or greater power and 480 stations have less than 1 kW of power) (1997) | more than 771 (including 86 strong stations and 685 low-power stations, plus 20 repeaters in the principal networks; also numerous local or private stations in Serbia and Vojvodina) (1997) |
Terrain | upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north | extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills; to the southwest, extremely high shoreline with no islands off the coast |
Total fertility rate | 2.85 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.67 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.5% (2003) | 34.5% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 14,500 km
note: 5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for mechanized vessels (2004) |
587 km
note: Danube River traffic delayed by pontoon bridge at Novi Sad; plan to replace by summer of 2005 (2004) |