style="font-size:15px;"> 149 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 30 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 8 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 119 914 to 1,523 m: 24 under 914 m: 95 (2004 est.)
Military Costa Rica
Military branches:
no regular military forces; Ministry of Public Security,
Government, and Police
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age (2004)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 18–49: 997,690 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18–49: 829,874 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males: 41,097 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$64.2 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.4% (2003)
Transnational Issues Costa Rica
Disputes - international: legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on the border with Nicaragua remains unresolved
Illicit drugs:
transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America;
illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots; domestic
cocaine consumption, particularly crack cocaine, is rising
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
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@Cote d'Ivoire
Introduction Cote d'Ivoire
Background:
Close ties to France since independence in 1960, the development of
cocoa production for export, and foreign investment made Cote
d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the tropical African states,
but did not protect it from political turmoil. On 25 December 1999,
a military coup - the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history -
overthrew the government led by President Henri Konan BEDIE. Junta
leader Robert GUEI held elections in late 2000, but excluded
prominent opposition leader Alassane OUATTARA, blatantly rigged the
polling results, and declared himself winner. Popular protest forced
GUEI to step aside and brought runner-up Laurent GBAGBO into power.
Ivorian dissidents and disaffected members of the military launched
a failed coup attempt in September 2002. Rebel forces claimed the
northern half of the country and in January 2003 were granted
ministerial positions in a unity government under the auspices of
the Linas-Marcoussis Peace Accord. President GBAGBO and rebel forces
resumed implementation of the peace accord in December 2003 after a
three-month stalemate, but issues that sparked the civil war, such
as land reform and grounds for nationality remain unresolved. The
central government has yet to exert control over the northern
regions and tensions remain high between GBAGBO and rebel leaders.
Several thousand French and West African troops remain in Cote
d'Ivoire to maintain peace and facilitate the disarmament,
demobilization, and rehabilitation process.
Geography Cote d'Ivoire
Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana
and Liberia
Geographic coordinates:
8 00 N, 5 00 W
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 322,460 sq km
land: 318,000 sq km
water: 4,460 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries:
total: 3,110 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km,
Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km
Coastline:
515 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm
Climate:
tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three seasons - warm
and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), hot and wet
(June to October)
Terrain:
mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Gulf of Guinea 0 m
highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt,
bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, cocoa
beans, coffee, palm oil, hydropower
