users:
150,000 (2003)
Transportation Armenia
Railways:
total: 845 km
broad gauge: 845 km 1.520-m gauge (828 km electrified)
note: some lines are out of service (2004)
Highways:
total: 8,431 km
paved: 8,161 km (includes 7,567 km of expressways)
unpaved: 270 km (2002)
Pipelines:
gas 1,871 km (2004)
Airports:
16 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 11 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Military Armenia
Military branches:
Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force
Military service age and obligation: 18–27 years of age for compulsory military service, conscript service obligation - 12 months; 18 years of age for voluntary military service (May 2004)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 18–49: 722,836 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18–49: 551,938 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males: 31,774 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$135 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
6.5% (FY01)
Transnational Issues Armenia
Disputes - international:
Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh
and since the early 1990s, has militarily occupied 16% of Azerbaijan
- Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
continues to mediate dispute; over 800,000 mostly ethnic
Azerbaijanis were driven from the occupied lands and Armenia; about
230,000 ethnic Armenians were driven from their homes in Azerbaijan
into Armenia; Azerbaijan seeks transit route through Armenia to
connect to Naxcivan exclave; border with Turkey remains closed over
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute; ethnic Armenian groups in Javakheti region
of Georgia seek greater autonomy; tens of thousands of Armenians
emigrate, primarily to Russia, to seek employment
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 236,306 (Azerbaijan)
IDPs: 50,000 (conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2004)
Illicit drugs:
illicit cultivation of small amount of cannabis for domestic
consumption; used as a transit point for illicit drugs - mostly
opium and hashish - moving from Southwest Asia to Russia and to a
lesser extent the rest of Europe
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
======================================================================
@Aruba
Introduction Aruba
Background:
Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the
Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main
industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity
brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last
decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry.
Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a
separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in
1990.
Geography Aruba
Location:
Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela
Geographic coordinates:
12 30 N, 69 58 W
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 193 sq km
land: 193 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
68.5 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate:
tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain:
flat with a few hills; scant vegetation
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 m
Natural resources:
NEGL; white sandy beaches
Land use:
arable land: 10.53% (including aloe 0.01%)
permanent crops: 0%
other: 89.47% (2001)
Irrigated land:
0.01 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt
Environment - current issues:
NA
Geography - note:
a flat, riverless island renowned for its white sand beaches; its
tropical climate is moderated by constant trade winds from the
Atlantic Ocean; the temperature is almost constant at about 27
degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit)
People Aruba
Population:
71,566 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 19.9% (male 7,308/female 6,960)
15–64 years: 68.2% (male 23,736/female 25,068)
65 years and over: 11.9% (male 3,486/female 5,008) (2005 est.)
Median age:
total: 38 years
male: 36.07 years
female: 39.7 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate: