Puerto Cutuco
Military ::El Salvador
Military branches:
Salvadoran Army (ES), Salvadoran Navy (FNES), Salvadoran Air Force
(Fuerza Aerea Salvadorena, FAS) (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for selective compulsory military service; 16–22 years of age for voluntary male or female service; service obligation - 12 months, with 11 months for officers and NCOs (2009)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16–49: 1,426,142
females age 16–49: 1,590,778 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16–49: 1,056,532
females age 16–49: 1,356,824 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 71,292
female: 68,821 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
0.6% of GDP (2009) country comparison to the world: 160
Transnational Issues ::El Salvador
Disputes - international:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary, in 1992, with final agreement by the parties in 2006 after an Organization of American States (OAS) survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca advocating Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not identified in the ICJ decision, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for cocaine; small amounts of marijuana produced for local consumption; significant use of cocaine
page last updated on January 19, 2011
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@Equatorial Guinea (Africa)
Introduction ::Equatorial Guinea
Background:
Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. This tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands, is one of the smallest on the African continent. President Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO has ruled the country since 1979 when he seized power in a coup. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996, 2002, and 2009 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 and 2004 legislative elections - were widely seen as flawed. The president exerts almost total control over the political system and has discouraged political opposition. Equatorial Guinea has experienced rapid economic growth due to the discovery of large offshore oil reserves, and in the last decade has become Sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil exporter. Despite the country's economic windfall from oil production resulting in a massive increase in government revenue in recent years, there have been few improvements in the population's living standards.
Geography ::Equatorial Guinea
Location:
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and
Gabon
Geographic coordinates:
2 00 N, 10 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 28,051 sq km country comparison to the world: 145 land: 28,051 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries:
total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km
Coastline:
296 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:
tropical; always hot, humid
Terrain:
coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, timber, gold, bauxite, diamonds, tantalum, sand and gravel, clay
Land use:
arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57%
other: 91.8% (2005)
Irrigated land:
NA
Total renewable water resources:
26 cu km (2001)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.11 cu km/yr (83%/16%/1%)
per capita: 220 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
violent windstorms; flash floods
volcanism: Santa Isabel (elev. 3,007 m, 9,865 ft), which last erupted in 1923, is the country's only historically active volcano; Santa Isabel, along with two dormant volcanoes, forms Bioko Island in the Gulf of Guinea
Environment - current issues:
tap water is not potable; deforestation
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
