automatic telephone system with 89,000 telephones; tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad and St. Lucia; stations—3 AM, 2 FM, 2 (1 is pay) TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
- Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force, Royal Barbados Police Force,
Coast Guard
Military manpower: males 15–49, 67,677; 47,566 fit for military service, no conscription
Defense expenditures: 0.6% of GDP (1986)
——————————————————————————
Country: Bassas da India
(French possession)
- Geography
Total area: undetermined
Comparative area: undetermined
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 35.2 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: claimed by Madagascar
Climate: tropical
Terrain: a volcanic rock 2.4 m high
Natural resources: none
Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 100% other (rock)
Environment: surrounded by reefs; subject to periodic cyclones
Note: navigational hazard since it is usually under water during high tide; located in southern Mozambique Channel about halfway between Africa and Madagascar
- People
Population: uninhabited
- Government
Long-form name: none
Type: French possession administered by Commissioner of the Republic
Daniel CONSTANTIN, resident in Reunion
- Economy
Overview: no economic activity
- Communications
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of France
——————————————————————————
Country: Belgium
- Geography
Total area: 30,510 km2; land area: 30,230 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries: 1,385 km total; France 620 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km, FRG 167 km
Coastline: 64 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: not specific;
Exclusive fishing zone: equidistant line with neighbors (extends about 68 km from coast);
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy
Terrain: flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast
Natural resources: coal, natural gas
Land use: 24% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 20% meadows and pastures; 21% forest and woodland; 34% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: air and water pollution
Note: majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels; crossroads of Western Europe; Brussels is the seat of the EC
- People
Population: 9,909,285 (July 1990), growth rate 0.1% (1990)
Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 80 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Belgian(s); adjective—Belgian
Ethnic divisions: 55% Fleming, 33% Walloon, 12% mixed or other
Religion: 75% Roman Catholic; remainder Protestant or other
Language: 56% Flemish (Dutch), 32% French, 1% German; 11% legally bilingual; divided along ethnic lines
Literacy: 98%
Labor force: 4,000,000; 58% services, 37% industry, 5% agriculture (1987)
Organized labor: 70% of labor force
- Government
Long-form name: Kingdom of Belgium
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Brussels
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (French—provinces,
singular—province; Flemish—provincien, singular—provincie); Antwerpen,
Brabant, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen,
West-Vlaanderen
Independence: 4 October 1830 (from the Netherlands)
Constitution: 7 February 1831, last revised 8–9 August 1980; the government is in the process of revising the Constitution, with the aim of federalizing the Belgian state
Legal system: civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: National Day, 21 July (ascension of King Leopold to the throne in 1831)
Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, five deputy prime ministers,
Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper chamber or
Senate (Flemish—Senaat, French—Senat) and a lower chamber or Chamber of
Representatives (Flemish—Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French—Chambre
des Representants)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Flemish—Hof van Cassatie,
French—Cour de Cassation)
Leaders:
Chief of State—King BAUDOUIN I (since 17 July 1951);
Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT of Liege (brother of the King; born 6
June 1934);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Wilfried MARTENS, (since April 1979, with a 10-month interruption in 1981)
Political parties and leaders: Flemish Social Christian (CVP), Herman van Rompuy, president; Walloon Social Christian (PSC), Gerard Deprez, president; Flemish Socialist (SP), Frank Vandenbroucke, president; Walloon Socialist (PS), Guy Spitaels, president; Flemish Liberal (PVV), Guy Verhofstadt, president; Walloon Liberal (PRL), Antoine Duquesne, president; Francophone Democratic Front (FDF), Georges Clerfayt, president; Volksunie (VU), Jaak Gabriels, president; Communist Party (PCB), Louis van Geyt, president; Vlaams Blok (VB), Karel Dillen; other minor parties
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at