Nicaragua (2003) | Serbia and Montenegro (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas | 2 republics (republike, singular - republika); and 2 nominally autonomous provinces* (autonomn pokrajine, singular - autonomna pokrajina); Kosovo*, Montenegro, Serbia, Vojvodina* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.7% (male 984,719; female 949,282)
15-64 years: 59.2% (male 1,510,352; female 1,527,991) 65 years and over: 3% (male 68,332; female 87,841) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 19.3% (male 1,062,625; female 990,071)
15-64 years: 65.4% (male 3,422,543; female 3,548,058) 65 years and over: 15.3% (male 696,716; female 935,761) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products | cereals, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, olives; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 176 (2002) | 45 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
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 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 165
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2002) |
total: 26
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 12 (2002) |
Area | total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
total: 102,350 sq km
land: 102,136 sq km water: 214 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of New York | slightly smaller than Kentucky |
Background | The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. | 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 themselves as well as the invaders. The group headed by Marshal TITO took full control upon German expulsion in 1945. Although Communist, his new government successfully steered its 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, and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia all declared their independence in 1991; Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" (FRY) in 1992 and, under President Slobodan MILOSEVIC, Serbia led various military intervention efforts to unite Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." All of these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1999, 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 NATO, Russian, and other peacekeepers 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 was lifted, and it was once more accepted into UN organizations under the name 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. 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. An agreement was also reached to hold a referendum in each republic in three years on full independence. |
Birth rate | 26.29 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 12.74 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $726 million
expenditures: $908 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $3.9 billion
expenditures: $4.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Managua | Belgrade; note - Podgorica is the judicial capital |
Climate | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands | 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 | 910 km | 199 km |
Constitution | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 | 4 February 2003 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
conventional long form: Serbia and Montenegro
conventional short form: none local long form: Srbija i Crna Gora local short form: none |
Currency | gold cordoba (NIO) | new Yugoslav dinar (YUM); note - in Montenegro the euro is legal tender; in Kosovo both the euro and the Yugoslav dinar are legal (2002) |
Death rate | 4.69 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.62 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.8 billion (2002 est.) | $9.2 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Calandra MOORE
embassy: Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 266-6010, 266-2298, 266-6013 FAX: [505] 266-9074 |
chief of mission: Ambassador William D. MONTGOMERY
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN (since 5 December 2003)
chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6542 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York |
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 | territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank region; with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica | the Albanian government calls for the protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside its borders in the Kosovo region of Serbia and Montenegro while continuing to seek regional cooperation; several ethnic Albanian groups in Kosovo voice union with Albania; has delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute; in late 2002, Serbia and Montenegro and Croatia adopted an interim agreement to settle the disputed Prevlaka Peninsula, allowing the withdrawal of the UN monitoring mission (UNMOP), but discussions could be complicated by the inability of Serbia and Montenegro to come to an agreement on the economic aspects of the new federal union |
Economic aid - recipient | Substantial foreign support | $2 billion pledged in 2001 (disbursements to follow for several years) |
Economy - overview | Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stability over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Nicaragua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Donors have made aid conditional on the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Nicaragua met the conditions for additional debt service relief in December 2000. Growth should move up moderately in 2003 because of increased private investment and exports. | MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the economy, an extended period of economic sanctions, and the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry during the war in Kosovo have left the economy only half the size it was in 1990. Since the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC in October 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government has 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 will write off 66% of the debt; a similar debt relief agreement on its $2.8 billion London Club commercial debt is still pending. 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 moving toward local autonomy under United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and is dependent on the international community 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, and stagnation in the European economy are holding back the 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 | 2.388 billion kWh (2001) | 32.37 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 446 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 17 million kWh (2001) | 3.33 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 2.549 billion kWh (2001) | 31.71 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 83.9%
hydro: 7.7% nuclear: 0% other: 8.4% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 62.9%
hydro: 37.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Daravica 2,656 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution | 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Air Pollution, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% | Serb 62.6%, Albanian 16.5%, Montenegrin 5%, Hungarian 3.3%, other 12.6% (1991) |
Exchange rates | gold cordobas per US dollar - 14.25 (2002), 13.37 (2001), 12.68 (2000), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998) | new Yugoslav dinars per US dollar - official rate: 65 (2002), 10.0 (December 1998); black market rate: 14.5 (December 1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PC) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president |
chief of state: President Svetozar MAROVIC (since 7 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Dragisa PESIC (since 24 July 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub LABUS (since 25 January 2001) 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 NA 2007); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Svetozar MAROVIC elected president by the Parliament; vote was Svetozar MAROVIC 65, other 47 |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, bananas, beef, sugar, gold | manufactured goods, food and live animals, raw materials |
Exports - partners | US 59.4%, El Salvador 7.5%, Honduras 4.8% (2002) | Italy 32%, Germany 19.5%, Greece 7%, Austria 6.1%, France 4.6% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $11.16 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $23.15 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 26% services: 44% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 26%
industry: 36% services: 38% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.1% (2002 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 85 00 W | 44 00 N, 21 00 E |
Geography - note | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua | controls one of the major land routes from Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East; strategic location along the Adriatic coast |
Heliports | - | 4 (2002) |
Highways | total: 19,032 km
paved: 2,094 km unpaved: 16,938 km (2000) |
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%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 48.8% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing | 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 | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods | machinery and transport equipment, fuels and lubricants, manufactured goods, chemicals, food and live animals, raw materials |
Imports - partners | US 23.7%, Costa Rica 10.3%, Venezuela 10.1%, Guatemala 7.8%, Mexico 6.7%, El Salvador 6%, South Korea 4.6% (2002) | Germany 19.4%, Italy 18%, Austria 8.5%, Slovenia 5.6%, Greece 4.4%, France 4.3%, Bulgaria 4.2%, Romania 4.1% (2002) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 27 April 1992 (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or FRY formed as self-proclaimed successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or SFRY) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.4% (2000 est.) | 1.7% (2002 est.) |
Industries | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood | 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: 31.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 35.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 27.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 16.9 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.57 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.7% (2002 est.) | 19% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, BIS, CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | 9 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 880 sq km (1998 est.) | 570 sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) | Federal Court or Savezni Sud; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts are elected by the Federal Assembly for nine-year terms
note: after the promulgation of the new Constitution, the Federal Court will have constitutional and administrative functions; it will have an equal number of judges from each republic |
Labor force | 1.7 million (1999) | 3 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 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, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 221 km, Romania 476 km |
Land use | arable land: 20.24%
permanent crops: 2.38% other: 77.38% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 36.34%
permanent crops: 3.44% other: 60.22% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Serbian 95%, Albanian 5% |
Legal system | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCCN 3.73%, PCN 2.12%, MRS 1.33%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 42, FSLN 36, PCCN 4, PCN 3, PRONAL 2, MRS 1, PRN 1, PC 1, PLI 1, AU 1, UNO-96 1 |
unicameral Parliament (126 seats - 91 Serbian, 35 Montenegrin - filled by nominees of the two state parliaments for the first two years, after which the president will call for public elections
elections: last held 25 February 2003 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - DOS 37, DLECG 19, DSS 17, ZP 14, SPS 12, SRS 8, SDP 5, SSJ 5, other 9 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.68 years
male: 67.68 years female: 71.79 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 73.97 years
male: 71.03 years female: 77.16 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93% male: 97.2% female: 88.9% (1991) |
Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: natural prolongation
territorial sea: 200 NM |
NA |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Army (VJ) (including ground forces with border troops, naval forces, air and air defense forces) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $26 million (FY98) | $654 million (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY98) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,347,033 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,579,620 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 825,906 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,077,660 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 19 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 59,903 (2003 est.) | males: 81,547 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | National Day, 27 April |
Nationality | noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
noun: Serb(s); Montenegrin(s)
adjective: Serbian; Montenegrin |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish | oil, gas, coal, antimony, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, gold, pyrite, chrome, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -1.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 54 km (2003) | gas 3,177 km; oil 393 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Dr. Fernando AGUERO Rocha]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Virgilio GODOY]; Liberal Alliance (ruling alliance including Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC, New Liberal Party or PALI, Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN, and Central American Unionist Party or PUCA) [leader NA]; National Conservative Party or PC [Pedro SOLARZANO, Noel VIDAURRE]; National Project or PRONAL [Benjamin LANZAS]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO, Roberto RODRIGUEZ]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Sergio RAMIREZ]; Unity Alliance or AU [Alejandro SERRANO]; Union Nacional Opositora 96 or UNO-96 [Alfredo CESAR Aguirre] | Democratic Opposition of Serbia or DOS (a coalition of many small parties including DSS) [leader NA]; Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians or SVM [Jozsef KASZA]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Dr. Ibrahim RUGOVA, president]; Democratic List for European Montenegro or DLECG [Milo DJUKANOVIC, Ranko KRIVOKAPIC]; Democratic Party or DS [collective interim leadership led by Cedomir JOVANOVIC]; Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS [Vojislav KOSTUNICA]; Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Party of Serb Unity or SSJ [Borislav PELEVIC]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS [Tomislav NIKOLIC]; Serbian Socialist Party or SPS (former Communist Party and party of Slobodan MILOSEVIC) [Zoran ANDJELKOVIC, general secretary]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Rasim LJAJIC]; Together for Changes or ZP [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups | Alliance for the Future of Kosovo or AAK [Ramush HARADINAJ]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Ibrahim RUGOVA]; Democratic Party of Kosovo or PDK [Hashim THACI]; Group of 17 Independent Economists or G-17 [leader NA]; National Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo or LKCK [Sabit GASHI]; Otpor Student Resistance Movement [leader NA]; Political Council for Presevo, Meveda and Bujanovac or PCPMB [leader NA]; The People's Movement for Kosovo or LPK [Emrush XHEMAJLI] |
Population | 5,128,517 (July 2003 est.) | 10,655,774
note: a census was taken in Serbia 1-15 April 2002 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2001 est.) | 30% |
Population growth rate | 2.03% (2003 est.) | 0.07% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur | Bar, Belgrade, Kotor, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Tivat, Zelenika |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 113, FM 194, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Railways | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2002) |
total: 4,059 km
standard gauge: 4,059 km 1.435-m gauge (1,364 km electrified) (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant | Orthodox 65%, Muslim 19%, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, other 11% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 16 years of age; universal | 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment
domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 140,000 (1996) | 2.017 million (1995) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,911 (1997) | 87,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (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 | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes | 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 | 3 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.77 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 24% plus considerable underemployment (2002 est.) | 32% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes) | 587 km
note: the Danube River, central Europe's connection to the Black Sea, runs through Serbia; since early 2000, a pontoon bridge, replacing a destroyed conventional bridge, has obstructed river traffic at Novi Sad; the obstruction is bypassed by a canal system, but the inadequate lock size limits the size of vessels which may pass; the pontoon bridge can be opened for large ships but has slowed river traffic (2001) |