Reunion (2002) | Libya (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.7% (male 120,864; female 115,251)
15-64 years: 62.5% (male 228,864; female 235,991) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 17,459; female 25,552) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 34.5% (male 970,026; female 929,174)
15-64 years: 61.4% (male 1,744,992; female 1,630,399) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 109,262; female 115,221) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 2 (2001) | 136 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 58
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 78
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 39 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
Area | total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly larger than Alaska |
Background | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. |
Birth rate | 20.7 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 27.43 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $13.7 billion
expenditures: $8.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Saint-Denis | Tripoli |
Climate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 207 km | 1,770 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Currency | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
Death rate | 5.51 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 3.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $4.4 billion (2001 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | Libya does not have an embassy in the US |
Disputes - international | none | Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in Niger in currently dormant disputes; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France | $15 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to more than 40% of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. | The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. Higher oil prices in the last three years led to an increase in export revenues, which has improved macroeconomic balances but has done little to stimulate broad-based economic growth. Libya is making slow progress toward economic liberalization and the upgrading of economic infrastructure, but truly market-based reforms will be slow in coming. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.014 billion kWh (2000) | 18.77 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.09 billion kWh (2000) | 20.18 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 55%
hydro: 45% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.2 (2003), 0.6 (2002), 0.51 (2001), 0.5 (2000), 0.39 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
Exports | $214 million f.o.b. (1997) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) | crude oil, refined petroleum products (1999) |
Exports - partners | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (1994) | Italy 42.6%, Germany 14.1%, Spain 13.6%, Turkey 6.9%, Switzerland 4.4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.4 billion (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $33.36 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 9%
industry: 45% services: 46% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,200 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.8% (1998 est.) | 1.2% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 06 S, 55 36 E | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km note: 370 km of road are maintained by national authorities, 754 km by departmental authorities and 1,600 km by local authorities (1994) |
total: 83,200 km
paved: 47,590 km unpaved: 35,610 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $2.5 billion c.i.f. (1997) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods (1999) |
Imports - partners | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (1994) | Italy 25.6%, Germany 9.8%, South Korea 6.6%, UK 6.6%, Tunisia 6.5%, Japan 6.4%, France 5.7% (2002) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | 8.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 26.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.16 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 1% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, InOC, WFTU | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (1998 est.) | 4,700 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 261,000 (1995) (1995) | 1.5 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 8%, industry 19%, services 73% (1990) (1990) | services 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Creole widely used | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
Legal system | French law | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.18 years
male: 69.78 years female: 76.74 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 76.07 years
male: 73.91 years female: 78.34 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79% male: 76% female: 80% (1982 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | World | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 NM
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
ships by type: chemical tanker 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: France 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 130,081 GRT/115,480 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1, UAE 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) | Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy, Air and Air Defense Command (includes Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $1.3 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.9% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 194,485 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,546,432 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 99,251 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 914,649 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 17 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 6,243 (2002 est.) | males: 61,511 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | fish, arable land, hydropower | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 225 km; gas 3,196 km; oil 6,872 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements |
Population | 743,981 (July 2002 est.) | 5,499,074
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.52% (2002 est.) | 2.39% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Le Port, Pointe des Galets | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) |
Radios | 173,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | Sunni Muslim 97% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 268,500 (1999) | 500,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 197,000 (September 2000) | 20,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 2.55 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.49 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 42.8% (1998) (1998) | 30% (2001) |
Waterways | none | none |