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Compare Russia (2003) - Benin (2001)

Compare Russia (2003) z Benin (2001)

 Russia (2003)Benin (2001)
 RussiaBenin
Administrative divisions 49 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast), 21 republics* (respublik, singular - respublika), 10 autonomous okrugs**(avtonomnykh okrugov, singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 6 krays*** (krayev, singular - kray), 2 federal cities (singular - gorod)****, and 1 autonomous oblast*****(avtonomnaya oblast'); Adygeya (Maykop)*, Aginskiy Buryatskiy (Aginskoye)**, Altay (Gorno-Altaysk)*, Altayskiy (Barnaul)***, Amurskaya (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'skaya, Astrakhanskaya, Bashkortostan (Ufa)*, Belgorodskaya, Bryanskaya, Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude)*, Chechnya (Groznyy)*, Chelyabinskaya, Chitinskaya, Chukotskiy (Anadyr')**, Chuvashiya (Cheboksary)*, Dagestan (Makhachkala)*, Evenkiyskiy (Tura)**, Ingushetiya (Nazran')*, Irkutskaya, Ivanovskaya, Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik)*, Kaliningradskaya, Kalmykiya (Elista)*, Kaluzhskaya, Kamchatskaya (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk)*, Kareliya (Petrozavodsk)*, Kemerovskaya, Khabarovskiy***, Khakasiya (Abakan)*, Khanty-Mansiyskiy (Khanty-Mansiysk)**, Kirovskaya, Komi (Syktyvkar)*, Koryakskiy (Palana)**, Kostromskaya, Krasnodarskiy***, Krasnoyarskiy***, Kurganskaya, Kurskaya, Leningradskaya, Lipetskaya, Magadanskaya, Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola)*, Mordoviya (Saransk)*, Moskovskaya, Moskva (Moscow)****, Murmanskaya, Nenetskiy (Nar'yan-Mar)**, Nizhegorodskaya, Novgorodskaya, Novosibirskaya, Omskaya, Orenburgskaya, Orlovskaya (Orel), Penzenskaya, Permskaya, Komi-Permyatskiy (Kudymkar)**, Primorskiy (Vladivostok)***, Pskovskaya, Rostovskaya, Ryazanskaya, Sakha (Yakutiya)*, Sakhalinskaya (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samarskaya, Sankt-Peterburg (Saint Petersburg)****, Saratovskaya, Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya [North Ossetia] (Vladikavkaz)*, Smolenskaya, Stavropol'skiy***, Sverdlovskaya (Yekaterinburg), Tambovskaya, Tatarstan (Kazan')*, Taymyrskiy (Dudinka)**, Tomskaya, Tul'skaya, Tverskaya, Tyumenskaya, Tyva (Kyzyl)*, Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)*, Ul'yanovskaya, Ust'-Ordynskiy Buryatskiy (Ust'-Ordynskiy)**, Vladimirskaya, Volgogradskaya, Vologodskaya, Voronezhskaya, Yamalo-Nenetskiy (Salekhard)**, Yaroslavskaya, Yevreyskaya*****; note - when using a place name with an adjectival ending 'skaya' or 'skiy,' the word Oblast' or Avonomnyy Okrug or Kray should be added to the place name


note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
6 provinces; Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Mono, Oueme, Zou; note - six additional provinces have been reported but not confirmed; they are Alibori, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Littoral, and Plateau; moreover, the term "province" may have been changed to "department"
Age structure 0-14 years: 16% (male 11,815,360; female 11,335,715)


15-64 years: 70.4% (male 49,399,322; female 52,367,194)


65 years and over: 13.6% (male 6,394,411; female 13,214,276) (2003 est.)
0-14 years:
47.32% (male 1,574,124; female 1,544,741)

15-64 years:
50.38% (male 1,607,900; female 1,712,360)

65 years and over:
2.3% (male 64,756; female 86,901) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk corn, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, rice, cotton, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, livestock
Airports 2,743 (2002) 5 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 471


over 3,047 m: 56


2,438 to 3,047 m: 178


1,524 to 2,437 m: 76


914 to 1,523 m: 69


under 914 m: 92 (2002)
total:
1

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 2,272


over 3,047 m: 28


2,438 to 3,047 m: 118


1,524 to 2,437 m: 204


914 to 1,523 m: 324


under 914 m: 1,598 (2002)
total:
4

2,438 to 3,047 m:
1

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1

914 to 1,523 m:
2 (2000 est.)
Area total: 17,075,200 sq km


land: 16,995,800 sq km


water: 79,400 sq km
total:
112,620 sq km

land:
110,620 sq km

water:
2,000 sq km
Area - comparative approximately 1.8 times the size of the US slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Background Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the 300-year old Romanov Dynasty. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN (1928-53) strengthened Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into 15 independent republics. Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict social, political, and economic controls of the Communist period. A determined guerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya. Dahomey gained its independence from France in 1960; the name was changed to Benin in 1975. From 1974 to 1989 the country was a socialist state; free elections were reestablished in 1991.
Birth rate 10.09 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 44.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget revenues: $70 billion


expenditures: $62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)
revenues:
$299 million

expenditures:
$445 million, including capital expenditures of $14 million (1995 est.)
Capital Moscow Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government
Climate ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Coastline 37,653 km 121 km
Constitution adopted 12 December 1993 December 1990
Country name conventional long form: Russian Federation


conventional short form: Russia


local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya


local short form: Rossiya


former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
conventional long form:
Republic of Benin

conventional short form:
Benin

local long form:
Republique du Benin

local short form:
Benin

former:
Dahomey
Currency Russian ruble (RUR) Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Death rate 13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 14.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $153.5 billion (yearend 2002) $1.6 billion (1998 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Alexander VERSHBOW


embassy: Bolshoy Devyatinskiy Pereulok No. 8, 121099 Moscow


mailing address: PSC-77, APO AE 09721


telephone: [7] (095) 728-5000


FAX: [7] (095) 728-5090


consulate(s) general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
chief of mission:
Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER

embassy:
Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou

mailing address:
B. P. 2012, Cotonou

telephone:
[229] 30-06-50, 30-05-13, 30-17-92

FAX:
[229] 30-14-39, 30-19-74
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV


chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007


telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700, 5701, 5704, 5708


FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735


consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
chief of mission:
Ambassador Lucien Edgar TONOUKOUIN

chancery:
2737 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:
[1] (202) 232-6656

FAX:
[1] (202) 265-1996
Disputes - international China continues to seek a mutually acceptable solution to the disputed alluvial islands at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers and a small island on the Argun River as part of the 2001 Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation; the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group identified by the Russians as the "Southern Kurils" and by Japan as the "Northern Territories" occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; boundary with Georgia has been largely delimited but not demarcated with several small, strategic segments remaining in dispute and OSCE observers monitoring volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge in Abkhazia; equidistant seabed treaties have been signed with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in the Caspian Sea but no resolution on dividing the water column among any of the littoral states; Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone; Russia continues to reject signing and ratifying the joint 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia; the Russian Parliament refuses to consider ratification of the boundary treaties with Estonia and Latvia, but in May 2003, ratified land and maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, which ratified the 1997 treaty in 1999, legalizing limits of former Soviet republic borders; discussions are still ongoing among Russia, Lithuania and the EU concerning a simplified transit document for residents of the Kaliningrad coastal exclave to transit through Lithuania to Russia; land delimitation with Ukraine is ratified, but maritime regime of the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait is unresolved; delimitation with Kazakhstan is scheduled for completion in 2003; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US in the Bering Sea none
Economic aid - recipient in FY01 from US, $979 million (including $750 million in non-proliferation subsidies); in 2001 from EU, $200 million $274.6 million (1997)
Economy - overview A decade after the implosion of the Soviet Union in December 1991, Russia is still struggling to establish a modern market economy and achieve strong economic growth. In contrast to its trading partners in Central Europe - which were able within 3 to 5 years to overcome the initial production declines that accompanied the launch of market reforms - Russia saw its economy contract for five years, as the executive and legislature dithered over the implementation of many of the basic foundations of a market economy. Russia achieved a slight recovery in 1997, but the government's stubborn budget deficits and the country's poor business climate made it vulnerable when the global financial crisis swept through in 1998. The crisis culminated in the August depreciation of the ruble, a debt default by the government, and a sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population. The economy subsequently has rebounded, growing by an average of more than 6% annually in 1999-2002 on the back of higher oil prices and the 60% depreciation of the ruble in 1998. These GDP numbers, along with a renewed government effort to advance lagging structural reforms, have raised business and investor confidence over Russia's prospects in its second decade of transition. Yet serious problems persist. Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Russia's industrial base is increasingly dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to maintain vigorous economic growth. Other problems include a weak banking system, a poor business climate that discourages both domestic and foreign investors, corruption, local and regional government intervention in the courts, and widespread lack of trust in institutions. In 2003 President PUTIN further tightened his control over the "oligarchs," especially in the realm of political expression. The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output averaged a sound 5% in 1996-99, but a rapid population rise offset much of this growth. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. Commercial and transport activities, which make up a large part of GDP, are vulnerable to developments in Nigeria, particularly fuel shortages. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation in recent years. While high fuel prices constrained growth in 2000, increased cotton production - enabled by a major restructuring program - and an expansion of the Cotonou port, may lead to increased growth in 2001.
Electricity - consumption 773 billion kWh (2001) 510.2 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports 21.16 billion kWh (2001) 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports 7 billion kWh (2001) 300 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production 846.5 billion kWh (2001) 226 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 64.3%


hydro: 20.5%


nuclear: 14.8%


other: 0.4% (2001)
fossil fuel:
24.78%

hydro:
75.22%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m


highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 m
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point:
Mont Sokbaro 658 m
Environment - current issues air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal, and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and seacoasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination; groundwater contamination from toxic waste; urban solid waste management; abandoned stocks of obsolete pesticides inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification
Environment - international agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Persistent Organic Pollutants
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Belarusian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1% (1989) African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500
Exchange rates Russian rubles per US dollar - 31.27 (2002), 29.17 (2001), 28.13 (2000), 24.62 (1999), 9.71 (1998)


note: the post-1 January 1998 ruble is equal to 1,000 of the pre-1 January 1998 rubles
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro
Executive branch chief of state: President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (acting president since 31 December 1999, president since 7 May 2000)


head of government: Premier Mikhail Mikhaylovich KASYANOV (since 7 May 2000); Deputy Premiers Viktor Borisovich KHRISTENKO (since 31 May 1999), Aleksey Leonidovich KUDRIN (since 18 May 2000), Aleksey Vasilyevich GORDEYEV (since 20 May 2000), Boris Sergeyevich ALESHIN (since 24 April 2003), Galina Nikolayevna KARELOVA (since 24 April 2003), Vladimir Anatolyevich YAKOVLEV (since 16 June 2003)


cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" composed of the premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the president


note: there is also a Presidential Administration (PA) that provides staff and policy support to the president, drafts presidential decrees, and coordinates policy among government agencies; a Security Council also reports directly to the president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 March 2000 (next to be held March 2004); note - no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the premier succeeds him; the premier serves as acting president until a new presidential election is held, which must be within three months; premier appointed by the president with the approval of the Duma


election results: Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN elected president; percent of vote - Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN 52.9%, Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV 29.2%, Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY 5.8%
chief of state:
President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:
President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections:
president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006)

election results:
Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9%

note:
the four top-ranking contenders following the first round presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore SOGOLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the second round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March, was postponed four days because both SOGOLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match"
Exports NA (2001) $396 million (f.o.b., 1999)
Exports - commodities petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa
Exports - partners Germany 7.5%, Italy 6.9%, Netherlands 6.7%, China 6.3%, US 6.1%, Ukraine 5.5%, Belarus 5.4%, Switzerland 5% (2002) Brazil 14%, Libya 5%, Indonesia 4%, Italy 4% (1999)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side
GDP purchasing power parity - $1.409 trillion (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $6.6 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 5.8%


industry: 34.6%


services: 59.6% (2002 est.)
agriculture:
37.9%

industry:
13.5%

services:
48.6% (1999)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $9,700 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $1,030 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4.3% (2002 est.) 5% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates 60 00 N, 100 00 E 9 30 N, 2 15 E
Geography - note largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture; Mount Elbrus is Europe's tallest peak no natural harbors
Highways total: 532,393 km


paved: 358,833 km


unpaved: 173,560 km (2000)
total:
6,787 km

paved:
1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways)

unpaved:
5,430 km (1997 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 5.9%


highest 10%: 47% (2001)
lowest 10%:
NA%

highest 10%:
NA%
Illicit drugs limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and producer of methamphetamine, mostly for domestic consumption; government has active illicit crop eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian opiates, cannabis, and Latin American cocaine bound for growing domestic markets, to a lesser extent Western and Central Europe, and occasionally to the US; major source of heroin precursor chemicals; corruption and organized crime are key concerns; heroin increasingly popular in domestic market transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US
Imports NA (2001) $566 million (c.i.f., 1999)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, sugar, semifinished metal products foodstuffs, tobacco, petroleum products, capital goods
Imports - partners Germany 14.3%, Belarus 8.9%, Ukraine 7.1%, US 6.4%, China 5.2%, Italy 4.8%, Kazakhstan 4.3%, France 4.1% (2002) France 38%, China 16%, UK 9%, Cote d'Ivoire 5% (1999)
Independence 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) 1 August 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate 3.7% (2002 est.) 6.9% (2000 est.)
Industries complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts textiles, cigarettes; beverages, food; construction materials, petroleum
Infant mortality rate total: 19.51 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 21.53 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 17.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
89.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 15% (2002 est.) 3% (2000 est.)
International organization participation APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, G- 8, GEF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WADB, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 300 (June 2000) 1 (2000)
Irrigated land 46,630 sq km (1998 est.) 100 sq km (1993 est.)
Judicial branch Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Superior Court of Arbitration; judges for all courts are appointed for life by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice
Labor force 71.8 million (2002 est.) NA
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 12.3%, industry 22.7%, services 65% (2002 est.) -
Land boundaries total: 19,990 km


border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,485 km, Norway 196 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km
total:
1,989 km

border countries:
Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km
Land use arable land: 7.46%


permanent crops: 0.11%


other: 92.43% (1998 est.)
arable land:
13%

permanent crops:
4%

permanent pastures:
4%

forests and woodland:
31%

other:
48% (1993 est.)
Languages Russian, other French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Legal system based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (178 seats; as of July 2000, members appointed by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units - oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; members serve four-year terms) and the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; 225 seats elected by proportional representation from party lists winning at least 5% of the vote, and 225 seats from single-member constituencies; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: State Duma - last held 7 December 2003 (next to be held NA December 2007)


election results: State Duma - percent of vote received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats - United Russia 37.1%, KPRF 12.7%, LDPR 11.6%, Motherland 9.1%; seats by party - United Russia 222, KPRF 53, LDPR 38, Motherland 37, People's Party 19, Yabloko 4, Union of Rightist Forces 2, other 7, independents 65, repeat election required 3
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections:
last held 30 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003)

election results:
percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RB 27, PRD 11, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 9, MADEP 6, E'toile 4, Alliance IPD 4, Car-DUNYA 3, MERCI 2, other 7
Life expectancy at birth total population: 67.66 years


male: 62.46 years


female: 73.11 years (2003 est.)
total population:
49.94 years

male:
49.02 years

female:
50.88 years (2001 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.7%


female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
37.5%

male:
52.2%

female:
23.6% (2000)
Location Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Nigeria and Togo
Map references Asia Africa
Maritime claims continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
territorial sea:
200 NM
Merchant marine total: 933 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,495,122 GRT/5,490,103 DWT


ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 22, cargo 553, chemical tanker 12, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 36, container 30, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 38, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 167, refrigerated cargo 21, roll on/roll off 20, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 1


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belize 1, Cambodia 1, Cyprus 9, Denmark 1, Estonia 4, Greece 3, Honduras 1, Latvia 4, Lithuania 3, Moldova 3, Netherlands 1, South Korea 1, Turkey 18, Turkmenistan 2, Ukraine 10, UK 5, US 1 (2002 est.)
none (2000 est.)
Military branches Ground Forces, Navy, Air Forces; Airborne troops, Strategic Rocket Forces, and Military Space Forces are classified as independent combat arms, not subordinate to any of the three branches Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie
Military expenditures - dollar figure $NA $27 million (FY96)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% 1.2% (FY96)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 36 million (2003 est.) males age 15-49:
1,455,433

females age 15-49:
1,489,947

note:
both sexes are liable for military service (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 24 million (2003 est.) males age 15-49:
743,980

females age 15-49:
755,149 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age (2003) 18 years of age
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 1.243 million (2003 est.) males:
70,088

females:
73,618 (2001 est.)
National holiday Russia Day, 12 June (1990) National Day, 1 August (1960)
Nationality noun: Russian(s)


adjective: Russian
noun:
Beninese (singular and plural)

adjective:
Beninese
Natural hazards permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula; spring floods and summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of European Russia hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north in winter
Natural resources wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber


note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources
small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber
Net migration rate 0.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Pipelines gas 135,771 km; oil 70,833 km; refined products 11,536 km; water 23 km (2003) -
Political parties and leaders Communist Party of the Russian Federation or KPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Motherland Bloc (Rodina) [Sergey GLAZYEV and Dmitriy ROGOZIN]; People's Party [Gennadiy RAYKOV]; Union of Rightist Forces or SPS [Anatoliy Borisovich CHUBAYS, Yegor Timurovich GAYDAR, Irina Mutsuovna KHAKAMADA, Boris Yefimovich NEMTSOV]; United Russia [Boris Vyacheslavovich GRYZLOV]; Yabloko Party [Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY] African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Sylvain Adekpedjou AKINDES]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD and the National Union for Solidarity and Progress or UNSP [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Cameleon Alliance or AC [leader NA]; Car-DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; Communist Party of Benin or PCB [Pascal FANTONDJI, first secretary]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Liberal Democrats' Rally for National Reconstruction-Vivoten or RDL-Vivoten [Severin ADJOVI]; Movement for Citizens' Commitment and Awakening or MERCI [Severin ADJOVI]; New Generation for the Republic or NGR [Paul DOSSOU]; Our Common Cause or NCC [Francois Odjo TANKPINON]; Party Democratique du Benin or PDB [Col. Soule DANKORO]; Rally for Democracy and Pan-Africanism or RDP [Dominique HOYMINOU, Dr. Giles Auguste MINONTIN]; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union for National Democracy and Solidarity or UDS [Adamou N'Diaye MAMA]

note:
the Coalition of Democratic Forces is an alliance of parties and organizations supporting President KEREKOU [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 144,526,278 (July 2003 est.) 6,590,782

note:
estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.)
Population below poverty line 25% (37622 est.) 37.2% (1999 est.)
Population growth rate -0.3% (2003 est.) 2.97% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', De-Kastri, Indigirskiy, Kaliningrad, Kandalaksha, Kazan', Khabarovsk, Kholmsk, Krasnoyarsk, Lazarev, Mago, Mezen', Moscow, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Nevel'sk, Novorossiysk, Onega, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Rostov, Shakhtersk, Saint Petersburg, Sochi, Taganrog, Tuapse, Uglegorsk, Vanino, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Vostochnyy, Vyborg Cotonou, Porto-Novo
Radio broadcast stations AM 420, FM 447, shortwave 56 (1998) AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios - 620,000 (1997)
Railways total: 87,157 km


broad gauge: 86,200 km 1.520-m gauge (40,300 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 957 km 1.067-m gauge (on Sakhalin Island)


note:: an additional 30,000 km of non-common carrrier lines serve industries (2002)
total:
578 km (single track)

narrow gauge:
578 km 1.000-m gauge (2000)
Religions Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female


total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.02 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.75 male(s)/female

total population:
0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: the telephone system has undergone significant changes in the 1990s; there are more than 1,000 companies licensed to offer communication services; access to digital lines has improved, particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail services are improving; Russia has made progress toward building the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy; however, a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfied


domestic: cross-country digital trunk lines run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital, are available in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services are still outdated, inadequate, and low density


international: Russia is connected internationally by three undersea fiber-optic cables; digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems
general assessment:
NA

domestic:
fair system of open wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections

international:
satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); submarine cable
Telephones - main lines in use 30 million (1998) 36,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 19 million (January 2003) 4,295 (1997)
Television broadcast stations 7,306 (1998) 2 (one privately-owned) (1997)
Terrain broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains
Total fertility rate 1.33 children born/woman (2003 est.) 6.23 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate 7.9% plus considerable underemployment (2002) NA%
Waterways 95,900 km (total routes in general use)


note: routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet - 95,900 km; routes with night navigational aids - 60,400 km; man-made navigable routes - 16,900 km (January 1994)
streams navigable along small sections, important only locally
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