Uzbekistan (2001) | Lebanon (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 12 wiloyatlar (singular - wiloyat), 1 autonomous republic* (respublikasi), and 1 city** (shahri); Andijon Wiloyati, Bukhoro Wiloyati, Farghona Wiloyati, Jizzakh Wiloyati, Khorazm Wiloyati (Urganch), Namangan Wiloyati, Nawoiy Wiloyati, Qashqadaryo Wiloyati (Qarshi), Qoraqalpoghiston* (Nukus), Samarqand Wiloyati, Sirdaryo Wiloyati (Guliston), Surkhondaryo Wiloyati (Termiz), Toshkent Shahri**, Toshkent Wiloyati
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
6 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
36.32% (male 4,646,341; female 4,489,265) 15-64 years: 59.06% (male 7,351,908; female 7,504,626) 65 years and over: 4.62% (male 466,029; female 696,895) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 520,270/female 499,609)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 1,216,738/female 1,324,031) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 120,176/female 145,194) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock | citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats |
Airports | 267 (2000 est.) | 8 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
10 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
257 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 222 |
total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
447,400 sq km land: 425,400 sq km water: 22,000 sq km |
total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut |
Background | Russia conquered Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after World War I was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic set up in 1925. During the Soviet era, intensive production of "white gold" (cotton) and grain led to overuse of agrochemicals and the depletion of water supplies, which have left the land poisoned and the Aral Sea and certain rivers half dry. Independent since 1991, the country seeks to gradually lessen its dependence on agriculture while developing its mineral and petroleum reserves. Current concerns include insurgency by Islamic militants based in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, a non-convertible currency, and the curtailment of human rights and democratization. | Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions since 1991 and the end of the devastating 15-year civil war. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections, most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central government authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, a radical Shia organization, retains its weapons. During Lebanon's civil war, the Arab League legitimized in the Ta'if Accord Syria's troop deployment, numbering about 16,000 based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Damascus justified its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000, however, encouraged some Lebanese groups to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. The passage of UNSCR 1559 in early October 2004 - a resolution calling for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and end its interference in Lebanese affairs - further emboldened Lebanese groups opposed to Syria's presence in Lebanon. Syria finally withdrew the remainder of its forces from Lebanon in April of 2005. |
Birth rate | 26.1 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $4.895 billion
expenditures: $6.642 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Tashkent (Toshkent) | Beirut |
Climate | mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows |
Coastline | 0 km; note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline | 225 km |
Constitution | new constitution adopted 8 December 1992 | 23 May 1926; amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Uzbekistan conventional short form: Uzbekistan local long form: Uzbekiston Respublikasi local short form: none former: Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form: Lebanese Republic
conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan |
Currency | Uzbekistani sum (UZS) | - |
Death rate | 8 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.24 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.3 billion (1999 est.) | $15.84 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador John Edward HERBST embassy: 82 Chilanzarskaya, Tashkent 700115 mailing address: use embassy street address; US Embassy Tashkent, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7110 telephone: [998] (71) 120-5444 FAX: [998] (71) 120-6335 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jeffrey D. FELTMAN
embassy: Awkar, Lebanon mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002 telephone: [961] (4) 542600, 543600 FAX: [961] (4) 544136 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Shavkat HAMRAKULOV chancery: 1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 887-5300 FAX: [1] (202) 293-6804 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Farid ABBOUD
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles |
Disputes - international | occasional target of Islamic insurgents based in Tajikistan and Afghanistan | intense international pressure prompts the removal of Syrian troops and intelligence personnel from Lebanon; Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; the roughly 2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in place since 1978 |
Economic aid - recipient | $276.6 million (1995) | $2.2 billion received (2003), out of the $4.2 billion in soft loans pledged at the November 2002 Paris II Aid Conference |
Economy - overview | Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 10% consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. More than 60% of its population lives in densely populated rural communities. Uzbekistan is now the world's third largest cotton exporter, a large producer of gold and oil, and a regionally significant producer of chemicals and machinery. Following independence in December 1991, the government sought to prop up its Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls on production and prices. Faced with high rates of inflation, however, the government began to reform in mid-1994, by introducing tighter monetary policies, expanding privatization, slightly reducing the role of the state in the economy, and improving the environment for foreign investors. The state continues to be a dominating influence in the economy and has so far failed to bring about much-needed structural changes. The IMF suspended Uzbekistan's $185 million standby arrangement in late 1996 because of governmental steps that made impossible fulfillment of Fund conditions. Uzbekistan has responded to the negative external conditions generated by the Asian and Russian financial crises by tightening export and currency controls within its already largely closed economy. Economic policies that have repelled foreign investment are a major factor in the economy's stagnation. A growing debt burden, persistent inflation, and a poor business climate led to stagnant growth in 2000, with little improvement predicted for 2001. | The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. In the years since, Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In an attempt to reduce the ballooning national debt, the HARIRI government began an austerity program, reining in government expenditures, increasing revenue collection, and privatizing state enterprises. In November 2002, the government met with international donors at the Paris II conference to seek bilateral assistance in restructuring its massive domestic debt at lower rates of interest. Substantial receipts from donor nations stabilized government finances in 2003, but did little to reduce the debt, which stood at nearly 180% of GDP. In 2004 the HARIRI government issued Eurobonds in an effort to manage maturing debt, and the KARAMI government has continued this practice. However, privatization of state-owned enterprises had not occurred by the end of 2004, as promised during the Paris II conference. |
Electricity - consumption | 43.455 billion kWh (1999) | 8.591 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 3.92 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 7.5 billion kWh (1999) | 1.09 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 42.876 billion kWh (1999) | 8.066 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
86.4% hydro: 13.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m |
Environment - current issues | drying up of the Aral Sea is resulting in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification; water pollution from industrial wastes and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many human health disorders; increasing soil salination; soil contamination from agricultural chemicals, including DDT | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Uzbek 80%, Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, Tatar 1.5%, other 2.5% (1996 est.) | Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | Uzbekistani sums per US dollar - 325.0 (January 2001), 141.4 (January 2000), 111.9 (February 1999), 110.95 (December 1998), 75.8 (September 1997), 41.1 (1996) | Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2004), 1,507.5 (2003), 1,507.5 (2002), 1,507.5 (2001), 1,507.5 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Islom KARIMOV (since 24 March 1990, when he was elected president by the then Supreme Soviet) head of government: Prime Minister Otkir SULTONOV (since 21 December 1995) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president with approval of the Supreme Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 9 January 2000 (next to be held NA January 2005); note - extension of President KARIMOV's original term for an additional five years overwhelmingly approved - 99.6% of total vote in favor - by national referendum held 27 March 1995; prime minister and deputy ministers appointed by the president election results: Islom KARIMOV reelected president; percent of vote - Islom KARIMOV 91.9%, Abdulkhafiz DZHALALOV 4.2% |
chief of state: President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Fuad SINIORA (since 30 June 2005); Deputy Prime Minister Elias MURR (since April 2005) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term; election last held 15 October 1998 (next election date NA); note - on 3 September 2004 the National Assembly voted 96 to 29 to extend Emile LAHUD's six-year term by three years; the prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by agreement, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shia Muslim election results: for 15 October 1998 election: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions |
Exports | $2.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | cotton, gold, natural gas, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, food products, automobiles | authentic jewelry, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer goods, fruit, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper |
Exports - partners | Russia 13%, Switzerland 10%, UK 10%, Belgium 3%, Kazakhstan 4%, Tajikistan 4% (1999) | Syria 24.9%, UAE 10%, Turkey 6.9%, Switzerland 6.7%, Saudi Arabia 5.3% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and green separated by red fimbriations with a white crescent moon and 12 white stars in the upper hoist-side quadrant | three horizontal bands consisting of red (top), white (middle, double width), and red (bottom) with a green cedar tree centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $60 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
28% industry: 21% services: 51% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 12%
industry: 21% services: 67% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.1% (2000 est.) | 4% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 41 00 N, 64 00 E | 33 50 N, 35 50 E |
Geography - note | along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world | Nahr el Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity |
Highways | total:
81,600 km paved: 71,237 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 10,363 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1996) |
total: 7,300 km
paved: 6,198 km unpaved: 1,102 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.1% highest 10%: 25.2% (1993) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and very small amounts of opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption, almost entirely eradicated by an effective government eradication program; increasingly used as transshipment point for illicit drugs from Afghanistan to Russia and Western Europe and for acetic anhydride destined for Afghanistan | cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to European markets and for Middle Eastern consumption |
Imports | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals; foodstuffs | petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco |
Imports - partners | Russia 14%, South Korea 14%, Germany 11%, US 8%, Turkey 4%, Kazakhstan 4% (1999) | Italy 11.2%, France 10.3%, Syria 9.8%, Germany 8.6%, China 5.8%, US 5.5%, UK 4.6% (2004) |
Independence | 1 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.4% (2000 est.) | NA |
Industries | textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, natural gas, chemicals | banking, food processing, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating |
Infant mortality rate | 71.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 24.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 40% (2000 est.) | 2% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 42 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 40,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,200 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Supreme Assembly) | four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed) |
Labor force | 11.9 million (1998 est.) | 2.6 million
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 44%, industry 20%, services 36% (1995) | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA |
Land boundaries | total:
6,221 km border countries: Afghanistan 137 km, Kazakhstan 2,203 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,099 km, Tajikistan 1,161 km, Turkmenistan 1,621 km |
total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km |
Land use | arable land:
9% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 3% other: 41% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 16.62%
permanent crops: 13.98% other: 69.4% (2001) |
Languages | Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1% | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian |
Legal system | evolution of Soviet civil law; still lacks independent judicial system | mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 5 December and 19 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 48, Self-Sacrificers Party 34, Fatherland Progress Party 20, Adolat Social Democratic Party 11, MTP 10, citizens' groups 16, local government 110, vacant 1 note: not all seats in the last Supreme Assembly election were contested; all parties in the Supreme Assembly support President KARIMOV |
unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held in four rounds on 29 May, 5, 12, 19 June 2005 (next to be held 2009) election results: percent of vote by group - NA; seats by group - Future Movement Bloc 36; Democratic Gathering 15; Development and Resistance Bloc 15; Loyalty to the Resistance 14; Free Patriotic Movement 14; Lebanese Forces 6; Qornet Shewan 5; Popular Bloc 4; Tripoli Independent Bloc 3; Syrian National Socialist Party 2; Kataeb Reform Movement 2; Tachnaq Party 2; Democratic Renewal Movement 1; Democratic Left 1; Nasserite Popular Movement 1; Ba'th Party 1; Kataeb Party 1; independent 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
63.81 years male: 60.24 years female: 67.56 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.63 years
male: 70.17 years female: 75.21 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (yearend 1996) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.4% male: 93.1% female: 82.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Asia, north of Afghanistan | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Middle East |
Maritime claims | none (doubly landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 44 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 198,602 GRT/248,313 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 26, livestock carrier 8, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 3 foreign-owned: 6 (Austria 1, Greece 5) registered in other countries: 40 (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Security Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard | Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF): Army, Navy, and Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $200 million (FY97) | $540.6 million (2002) (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY97) | 3.1% (FY99) (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
6,550,587 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
5,318,418 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
274,602 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 September (1991) | Independence Day, 22 November (1943) |
Nationality | noun:
Uzbekistani(s) adjective: Uzbekistani |
noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese |
Natural hazards | NA | dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land |
Net migration rate | -2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 250 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 810 km (1992) | oil 209 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party [Anwar JURABAYEV, first secretary]; Democratic National Rebirth Party (Milly Tiklanish) or MTP [Aziz KAYUMOV, chairman]; Fatherland Progress Party [Anwar Z. YOLDASHEV]; People's Democratic Party or NDP (formerly Communist Party) [Abdulkhafiz JALOLOV, first secretary]; Self-Sacrificers Party or Fidokorlar National Democratic Party [Ahtam TURSUNOV, first secretary] | Ba'th Party [leader NA]; Democratic Gathering [Walid JUNBLATT]; Democratic Left [leader NA]; Development and Resistance Bloc [Nabih BARRI, Amal leader/speaker]; Free Patriotic Movement [Michel AWN]; Future Movement Bloc [Sa'ad HARIRI]; Kataeb Party [leader NA]; Kataeb Reform Movement [leader NA]; Lebanese Forces [leader NA]; Loyalty to the Resistance [Mohammad RA'AD]; Nasserite Popular Movement [leader NA]; Popular Bloc [leader NA]; Qornet Shewan [leader NA]; Syrian National Socialist Party [leader NA]; Tripoli Independent Bloc [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Birlik (Unity) Movement [Abdurakhim PULAT, chairman]; Erk (Freedom) Democratic Party [Muhammad SOLIH, chairman] was banned 9 December 1992; Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan [Abdumanob PULAT, chairman]; Independent Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan [Mikhail ARDZINOV, chairman] | NA |
Population | 25,155,064 (July 2001 est.) | 3,826,018 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 28% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.6% (2001 est.) | 1.26% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Termiz (Amu Darya river) | Beirut, Chekka, Jounie, Tripoli |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 20, FM 7, shortwave 10 (1998) | AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 10.8 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
3,380 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 3,380 km 1.520-m gauge (300 km electrified) (1993) |
total: 401 km
standard gauge: 319 km 1.435-m narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050-m note: rail system became unusable because of damage during the civil war in the 1980s; short sections are operable (2004) |
Religions | Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3% | Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, Protestant), other 1.3%
note: seventeen religious sects recognized |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education |
Telephone system | general assessment:
antiquated and inadequate; in serious need of modernization domestic: the domestic telephone system is being expanded and technologically improved, particularly in Tashkent and Samarqand, under contracts with prominent companies in industrialized countries; moreover, by 1998, six cellular networks had been placed in operation - four of the GSM type (Global System for Mobile Communication), one D-AMPS type (Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System), and one AMPS type (Advanced Mobile Phone System) international: linked by landline or microwave radio relay with CIS member states and to other countries by leased connection via the Moscow international gateway switch; after the completion of the Uzbek link to the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable, Uzbekistan will be independent of Russian facilities for international communications; Inmarsat also provides an international connection, albeit an expensive one; satellite earth stations - NA (1998) |
general assessment: telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable international: country code - 961; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.98 million (1999) | 678,800 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 26,000 (1998) | 775,100 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (plus two repeaters that relay Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Tadzhik programs) (1997) | 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya, Sirdaryo (Syr Darya), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west | narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains |
Total fertility rate | 3.06 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.92 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% plus another 20% underemployed (1999 est.) | 18% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | 1,100 km (1990) | - |