Reunion (2006) | Mongolia (2005) | |
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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 | 21 provinces (aymguud, singular - aymag) and 1 municipality* (singular - hot); Arhangay, Bayanhongor, Bayan-Olgiy, Bulgan, Darhan Uul, Dornod, Dornogovi, Dundgovi, Dzavhan, Govi-Altay, Govi-Sumber, Hentiy, Hovd, Hovsgol, Omnogovi, Orhon, Ovorhangay, Selenge, Suhbaatar, Tov, Ulaanbaatar*, Uvs |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.8% (male 120,147/female 114,589)
15-64 years: 64% (male 248,895/female 255,156) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 19,847/female 28,950) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 28.7% (male 407,547/female 392,440)
15-64 years: 67.7% (male 943,418/female 945,063) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 44,413/female 58,391) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn | wheat, barley, vegetables, forage crops, sheep, goats, cattle, camels, horses |
Airports | 2 (2006) | 46 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 15
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 31
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 1,564,116 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly smaller 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. | The Mongols gained fame in the 13th century when under Chinggis KHAN they conquered a huge Eurasian empire. After his death the empire was divided into several powerful Mongol states, but these broke apart in the 14th century. The Mongols eventually retired to their original steppe homelands and later came under Chinese rule. Mongolia won its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing. A Communist regime was installed in 1924. During the early 1990s, the ex-Communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) gradually yielded its monopoly on power to the Democratic Union Coalition (DUC), which defeated the MPRP in a national election in 1996. Since then, parliamentary elections returned the MPRP overwhelmingly to power in 2000 and produced a coalition government in 2004. |
Birth rate | 18.9 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 21.52 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $554.7 million
expenditures: $554.7 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
revenues: $582 million
expenditures: $602 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Saint-Denis
geographic coordinates: 20 52 S, 55 28 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Ulaanbaatar |
Climate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April) | desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges) |
Coastline | 207 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | 12 February 1992 |
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: none
conventional short form: Mongolia local long form: none local short form: Mongol Uls former: Outer Mongolia |
Death rate | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 7.03 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1.191 billion (2004 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela J. SLUTZ
embassy: Micro Region 11, Big Ring Road, C.P.O. 1021, Ulaanbaatar 13 mailing address: PSC 461, Box 300, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [976] (11) 329095 FAX: [976] (11) 320776 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Ravdangiyn BOLD
chancery: 2833 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 333-7117 FAX: [1] (202) 298-9227 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.) | $215 million (2003) |
Economy - overview | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. 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 one-third 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 illustrated the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. | Economic activity in Mongolia has traditionally been based on herding and agriculture. Mongolia has extensive mineral deposits; copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten and gold account for a large part of industrial production. Soviet assistance, at its height one-third of GDP, disappeared almost overnight in 1990 and 1991 at the time of the dismantlement of the USSR. The following decade saw Mongolia endure both deep recession due to political inaction and natural disasters, as well as economic growth due to reform embracing free-market economics and extensive privatization of the formerly state-run economy. Severe winters and summer droughts in 2000, 2001, and 2002 resulted in massive livestock die-off and zero or negative GDP growth. This was compounded by falling prices for Mongolia's primary sector exports and widespread opposition to privatization. Growth improved from 2002 at 4% to 2003 at 5%, due largely to high copper prices and new gold production, with the government claiming a 10.6% growth rate for 2004 that is unconfirmed. Mongolia's economy continues to be heavily impacted by its neighbors. For example, Mongolia purchases 80% of its petroleum products and a substantial amount of electric power from Russia, leaving it vulnerable to price increases. China is Mongolia's chief export partner and a main source of the "shadow" or "grey" economy. The World Bank and other international financial institutions estimate the grey economy to be at least equal to that of the official economy. The actual size of this grey - largely cash - economy is difficult to calculate since the money does not pass through the hands of tax authorities or the banking sector. Remittances from Mongolians working abroad both legally and illegally constitute a sizeable portion. Money laundering is growing as an accompanying concern. Mongolia settled its $11 billion debt with Russia at the end of 2003 on very favorable terms. Mongolia, which joined the World Trade Organization in 1997, seeks to expand its participation and integration into Asian regional economic and trade regimes. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.107 billion kWh (2003) | 2.209 billion kWh (2004 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 8.2 million kWh (2004 est.) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 130.5 million kWh (2004 est.) |
Electricity - production | 1.19 billion kWh (2003) | 2.692 billion kWh (2004 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
lowest point: Hoh Nuur 518 m
highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil (Huyten Orgil) 4,374 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | limited natural fresh water resources in some areas; the policies of former Communist regimes promoted rapid urbanization and industrial growth that had negative effects on the environment; the burning of soft coal in power plants and the lack of enforcement of environmental laws severely polluted the air in Ulaanbaatar; deforestation, overgrazing, and the converting of virgin land to agricultural production increased soil erosion from wind and rain; desertification and mining activities had a deleterious effect on the environment |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | Mongol (mostly Khalkha) 94.9%, Turkic (mostly Kazakh) 5%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 0.1% (2000) |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | togrogs/tugriks per US dollar - 1,185.3 (2004), 1,146.5 (2003), 1,110.3 (2002), 1,097.7 (2001), 1,076.7 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Pierre-Henry MACCIONI (since 28 August 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Nassimah DINDAR (since NA March 2004) 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: President Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR (since 24 June 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Tsakhi ELBEGDORJ (since 20 August 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Chultem ULAAN (since 28 September 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the State Great Hural (parliament) in consultation with the president elections: presidential candidates nominated by political parties represented in State Great Hural and elected by popular vote for a four-year term; presidential tenure limited to two four-year terms; election last held 22 May 2005 (next to be held in May 2009); following legislative elections, leader of majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by State Great Hural election results: Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR elected president; percent of vote - Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR (MPRP) 53.44%, Mendsaikhanin ENKHSAIKHAN (DP) 20.05%, Bazarsadyn JARGALSAIKHAN (MRP) 13.92%, Badarchyn ERDENEBAT (M-MNSDP) 12.59%; Tsakhi ELBEGDORJ elected prime minister by the State Great Hural 74 to 0 |
Exports | NA bbl/day | 497 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3% | copper, apparel, livestock, animal products, cashmere, wool, hides, fluorspar, other nonferrous metals |
Exports - partners | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2004) | China 47.8%, US 17.9%, UK 15.7% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | unofficial, local flag designed to emphasize solidarity among the people of Reunion; the field is divided vertically with three narrow stripes of blue, white, and red along the hoist edge representing the French national flag; the remainder of the field is divided diagonally into four triangles colored (clockwise from the hoist side) blue, golden yellow, red, and green; in the center, the apexes of the triangles are surmounted by a white disk; the only official flag is the national flag of France | three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), blue, and red; centered on the hoist-side red band in yellow is the national emblem ("soyombo" - a columnar arrangement of abstract and geometric representation for fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and the yin-yang symbol) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 20.6%
industry: 21.4% services: 58% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2005 est.) | 10.6% according to official estimate (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 06 S, 55 36 E | 46 00 N, 105 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 | landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia |
Heliports | - | 2 (2004 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 49,256 km
paved: 8,874 km unpaved: 40,376 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 37% (1995) |
Imports | NA bbl/day | 11,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products | machinery and equipment, fuel, cars, food products, industrial consumer goods, chemicals, building materials, sugar, tea |
Imports - partners | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2004) | Russia 33.3%, China 23.6%, Japan 7.4%, South Korea 6%, US 4.6% (2004) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 11 July 1921 (from China) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.1% (2002 est.) |
Industries | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction | construction and construction materials; mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, and gold); oil; food and beverages; processing of animal products, cashmere and natural fiber manufacturing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 53.79 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 57.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 50.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 11% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | InOC, UPU, WFTU | ARF, AsDB, CP, EBRD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (2003) | 840 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court (serves as appeals court for people's and provincial courts but rarely overturns verdicts of lower courts; judges are nominated by the General Council of Courts and approved by the president) |
Labor force | 299,000 (2002) | 1.488 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 13%
industry: 12% services: 75% (2000) |
herding/agriculture 42%, mining 4%, manufacturing 6%, trade 14%, services 29%, public sector 5%, other 3.7% (2003) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 8,220 km
border countries: China 4,677 km, Russia 3,543 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.94%
permanent crops: 1.59% other: 84.47% (2005) |
arable land: 0.77%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.23% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Creole widely used | Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999) |
Legal system | French law | blend of Soviet, German, and US systems that combine "continental" or "civil" code and case-precedent; constitution ambiguous on 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); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2010) 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 (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held in 2001 (next to be held in 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRC 1, UDF 1, UMP 1; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 3, PS 1, independent 1 |
unicameral State Great Hural 76 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms
elections: last held 27 June 2004 (next to be held in June 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - MPRP 48.78%, MDC 44.8%, independents 3.5%, Republican Party 1.5%, others 1.42%; seats by party - MPRP 36, MDC 34, others 4; note - following June 2004 election, two seats in dispute and unoccupied |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.18 years
male: 70.78 years female: 77.75 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 64.52 years
male: 62.3 years female: 66.86 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% male: 98% female: 97.5% (2002) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Northern Asia, between China and Russia |
Map references | World | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 1 (Bahamas 1) (2006) | total: 65 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 339,423 GRT/533,853 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 54, liquefied gas 2, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 38 (China 2, Lebanon 1, Philippines 1, Russia 10, Singapore 10, South Korea 1, Syria 1, Thailand 1, Ukraine 1, UAE 4, Vietnam 6) (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) (2005) | Mongolian Armed Forces: Mongolian People's Army (MPA), Mongolian People's Air Force (MPAF) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $23.1 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.2% (FY02) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day/Revolution Day, 11 July (1921) |
Nationality | noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
noun: Mongolian(s)
adjective: Mongolian |
Natural hazards | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano | dust storms, grassland and forest fires, drought, and "zud," which is harsh winter conditions |
Natural resources | fish, arable land, hydropower | oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Elie HOARAU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Michel VERGOZ]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP | Citizens' Will Republican Party or CWRP (also called Civil Courage Republican Party or CCRP) [Sanjaasurengiin OYUN]; Democratic Party or DP [R. GONCHIKDORJ]; Motherland-Mongolian New Socialist Democratic Party or M-MNSDP [Badarchyn ERDENEBAT]; Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party or MPRP [Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR]; Mongolian Republican Party or MRP [Bazarsadyn JARGALSAIKHAN]
note: DP and M-MNSDP formed Motherland-Democracy Coalition (MDC) in 2003 and with CWRP contested June 2004 elections as single party; MDC's leadership dissolved coalition in December 2004 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 787,584 (July 2006 est.) | 2,791,272 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 36.1% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.34% (2006 est.) | 1.45% (2005 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 7, FM 62, shortwave 3 (2004) |
Railways | - | total: 1,810 km
broad gauge: 1,810 km 1.524-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | Buddhist Lamaist 50%, none 40%, Shamanist and Christian 6%, Muslim 4% (2004) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
general assessment: network is improving with international direct dialing available in many areas
domestic: very low density of about 6.5 telephones for each thousand persons; two wireless providers cover all but two provinces international: country code - 976; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean Region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 300,000 (2001) | 142,300 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 579,200 (2004) | 404,400 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) | 52 (plus 21 provincial repeaters and many low power repeaters) (2004) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast | vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central |
Total fertility rate | 2.45 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.26 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 31% (2002) | 6.7% (2003) |
Waterways | - | 580 km
note: only waterway in operation is Lake Khovsgol (135 km); Selenge River (270 km) and Orkhon River (175 km) are navigable but carry little traffic; lakes and rivers freeze in winter, are open from May to September (2004) |