PROFILE

Geography
Area: 301,225 sq. km. (116,303 sq. mi.); about the size of Georgia and Florida combined.
Cities: Capital--Rome (pop. 2.8 million, 3.7 million metro). Other cities--Milan (1.3 million, 3.9 metro), Naples (975,000, 3 million metro), Turin (900,000, 2.1 million metro).
Terrain: Mostly rugged and mountainous.
Climate: Generally mild Mediterranean; cold northern winters.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Italian(s).
Population (January 2011 est.): 60.6 million.
Annual population growth rate (2010 est.): 0.04%, mostly due to immigration.
Ethnic groups: Primarily Italian, but there are small groups of German-, French-, Slovene-, and Albanian-Italians.
Religion: Roman Catholic (majority).
Language: Italian (official).
Education: Years compulsory--16. Literacy--98%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--3.7/1,000 live births. Life expectancy--79.1 years for men; 84.3 years for women.
Work force (25.01 million, 2010): Services--67%; industry and commerce--29%; agriculture--4%. Unemployment rate is 8.5%.

Government
Type: Republic since June 2, 1946.
Constitution: January 1, 1948.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), Council of Ministers (cabinet) headed by the president of the council (prime minister). Legislative--bicameral parliament: 630-member Chamber of Deputies, 315-member Senate (plus a varying number of Senators “for life”). Judicial--independent constitutional court and lower magistracy.
Subdivisions: 94 provinces, 20 regions.
Political parties: People of Liberty, Democratic Party, Northern League, Future and Liberty, Italy of Values, Union of the Center, Movement for Autonomy.
Suffrage: Vote for House is universal over 18; vote for Senate is universal over 25.

Economy
GDP (purchasing power parity, 2011 est.): $1.63 trillion.
GDP per capita (purchasing power parity, 2010): $32,120.
GDP growth: 0.6% (2011); 1.2% (2010); -5.2% (2009); -1.3% (2008); 1.5% (2007); 2.0% (2006); 0.7% (2005); 1.5% (2004), 0.0% (2003 est.); 0.5% (2002); 1.8% (2001).
Natural resources: Fish and natural gas.
Agriculture: Products--wheat, rice, grapes, olives, citrus fruits, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, beef, dairy products.
Industry: Types--tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics.
Trade: Exports (2010)--$447.2 billion f.o.b.: mechanical products, textiles and apparel, transportation equipment, metal products, chemical products, food and agricultural products. Partners (2009)--Germany 12.7%, France 11.6%, U.S. 5.9%, Spain 5.7%, U.K. 5.1%. Imports (2010)--$483 billion c.i.f.: machinery and transport equipment, foodstuffs, ferrous and nonferrous metals, wool, cotton, energy products. Partners (2008)--Germany 16.7%, France 8.9%, China 6.5%, Netherlands 5.7%, Spain 4.4%, Russia 4.1%, Belgium 4.0%.

PEOPLE AND HISTORY
Italy is largely homogeneous linguistically and religiously but is diverse culturally, economically, and politically. Italy has the fifth-highest population density in Europe--about 200 persons per square kilometer (about 500 per sq. mi.). Minority groups are small, the largest being the German-speaking people of Bolzano Province and the Slovenes around Trieste. There are also small communities of Albanian, Greek, Ladino, and French origin. Immigration has increased in recent years; however, the Italian population is declining overall due to low birth rates. Although Roman Catholicism is the majority religion--85% of native-born citizens are nominally Catholic--the constitution provides for freedom of religion.

Greeks settled in the southern tip of the Italian Peninsula in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C.; Etruscans, Romans, and others inhabited the central and northern mainland. The peninsula was subsequently unified under the Roman Republic. The neighboring islands came under Roman control by the third century B.C.; by the first century A.D., the Roman Empire effectively dominated the Mediterranean world. After the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West in the fifth century A.D., the peninsula and islands were subjected to a series of invasions and lost political unity. Italy became an oft-changing succession of small states, principalities, and kingdoms, which fought among themselves and were subject to ambitions of foreign powers. Popes of Rome ruled central Italy; rivalries between the popes and the Holy Roman Emperors, who claimed Italy as their domain, often made the peninsula a battleground. Beginning in the 11th century, the commercial prosperity of northern and central Italian cities, combined with the influence of the Renaissance, somewhat mitigated the effects of these medieval political rivalries. Although Italy declined after the 16th century, the Renaissance had strengthened the idea of a single Italian nationality. By the early 19th century, a nationalist movement developed and led to the reunification of Italy--except for Rome--in the 1860s. In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II of the House of Savoy was proclaimed King of Italy. Rome was incorporated in 1870. From 1870 until 1922, Italy was a constitutional monarchy with a parliament elected under limited suffrage.

20th-Century History
During World War I, Italy renounced its standing alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary and, in 1915, entered the war on the side of the Allies. Under the postwar settlement, Italy received some former Austrian territory along the northeast frontier. In 1922, Benito Mussolini came to power and, over the next few years, eliminated political parties, curtailed personal liberties, and installed a fascist dictatorship termed the Corporate State. The king, with little or no effective power, remained titular head of state.

Italy allied with Germany and declared war on the United Kingdom and France in 1940. In 1941, Italy--with the other Axis powers, Germany and Japan--declared war on the United States and the Soviet Union. Following the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, the King dismissed Mussolini and appointed Marshal Pietro Badoglio as Premier. The Badoglio government declared war on Germany, which quickly occupied most of the country and freed Mussolini, who led a brief-lived regime in the north. An anti-fascist popular resistance movement grew during the last 2 years of the war, harassing German forces before they were driven out by Allied forces in April 1945. A 1946 plebiscite ended the monarchy, and a constituent assembly was elected to draw up plans for the republic.

Under the 1947 peace treaty, minor adjustments were made in Italy's frontier with France, the eastern border area was transferred to Yugoslavia, and the area around the city of Trieste was designated a free territory. In 1954, the free territory, which had remained under the administration of U.S.-U.K. forces (Zone A, including the city of Trieste) and Yugoslav forces (Zone B), was divided between Italy and Yugoslavia, principally along the zonal boundary. This arrangement was made permanent by the Italian-Yugoslav Treaty of Osimo, ratified in 1977 (currently being discussed by Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia). Under the 1947 peace treaty, Italy also relinquished its overseas territories and certain Mediterranean islands.

The Roman Catholic Church's status in Italy has been determined, since its temporal powers ended in 1870, by a series of accords with the Italian Government. Under the Lateran Pacts of 1929, which were confirmed by the present constitution, Vatican City is recognized by Italy as an independent, sovereign entity. While preserving that recognition, in 1984, Italy and the Vatican updated several provisions of the 1929 accords. Included was the end of Roman Catholicism as Italy's formal state religion.

Italy's Cultural Contributions
Europe's Renaissance period began in Italy during the 14th and 15th centuries. Literary achievements--such as the poetry of Petrarch, Tasso, and Ariosto and the prose of Boccaccio, Machiavelli, and Castiglione--exerted a tremendous and lasting influence on the subsequent development of Western civilization, as did the painting, sculpture, and architecture contributed by giants such as da Vinci, Raphael, Botticelli, Fra Angelico, and Michelangelo.

The musical influence of Italian composers Monteverdi, Palestrina, and Vivaldi proved epochal; in the 19th century, Italian romantic opera flourished under composers Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, and Giacomo Puccini. Contemporary Italian artists, writers, filmmakers, architects, composers, and designers contribute significantly to Western culture.

GOVERNMENT
Italy has been a democratic republic since June 2, 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum. The constitution came into force on January 1, 1948.

The Italian state is centralized. The prefect of each of the provinces is appointed by and answerable to the central government. In addition to the provinces, the constitution provides for 20 regions with limited governing powers. Five regions--Sardinia, Sicily, Trentino-Alto Adige, Valle d'Aosta, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia--function with special autonomy statutes. The other 15 regions were established in 1970 and vote for regional "councils." The establishment of regional governments throughout Italy has brought some decentralization to the national governmental machinery, and recent governments have devolved further powers to the regions. Many regional governments, particularly in the north of Italy, are seeking additional powers.

The 1948 constitution established a bicameral parliament (Chamber of Deputies and Senate), an independent judiciary, and an executive branch composed of a Council of Ministers (cabinet), headed by the president of the council (prime minister). The president of the republic is elected for 7 years by the parliament sitting jointly with a small number of regional delegates. The president nominates the prime minister, who chooses the other ministers. The Council of Ministers--in practice composed mostly of members of parliament--must retain the confidence of both houses.

The houses of parliament are popularly and directly elected by a proportional representation system. Under 2005 legislation, the Chamber of Deputies has 630 members (12 of whom are elected by Italians abroad). In addition to 315 elected members (six of whom are elected by Italians abroad), the Senate includes former presidents and several other persons appointed for life according to special constitutional provisions. Both houses are elected for a maximum of 5 years, but either may be dissolved before the expiration of its normal term. Legislative bills may originate in either house and must be passed by a majority in both.

The Italian judicial system is based on Roman law modified by the Napoleonic code and subsequent statutes. There is only partial judicial review of legislation in the American sense. A constitutional court, which passes on the constitutionality of laws, is a post-World War II innovation. Its powers and the volume and frequency of its decisions are not as extensive as those of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Principal Government Officials
President--Giorgio Napolitano
Prime Minister--Mario Monti (also Minister of Finance)
Foreign Minister--Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata
Minister of Defense--Giampaolo Di Paola
Minister of Finance--Mario Monti (also Prime Minister)
Minister of Justice--Paola Severino
Minister of the Interior--Anna Maria Cancellieri
Ambassador to the United States--Claudio Bisogniero

Italy maintains an embassy in the United States at 3000 Whitehaven Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-612-4400).

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The postwar period saw frequent government turnovers (more than 60 and counting), but the dominance of the Christian Democratic (DC) party--a broad group with both right-wing and left-wing factions--lent comparative stability to Italy's political scene.

From 1992 to 1997, Italy faced significant challenges as voters--disenchanted with past political paralysis, massive government debt, extensive corruption, and organized crime's considerable influence--demanded political, economic, and ethical reforms. In 1993 referenda, voters approved substantial changes, including the abolishment of some ministries and a move from a proportional to a largely majoritarian electoral system. (However, parliament passed a new electoral law in 2005 based on full proportional assignment of seats.)

Major political parties, beset by scandal and loss of voter confidence, underwent far-reaching changes. New political forces and new alignments of power emerged in March 1994 national elections. The election saw a major turnover in the new parliament, with 452 out of 630 deputies and 213 out of 315 senators elected for the first time. The 1994 elections also swept media magnate Silvio Berlusconi--and his Freedom Pole coalition--into office as Prime Minister. Berlusconi, however, was forced to step down in January 1995 when one member of his coalition withdrew support. The Berlusconi government was succeeded by a technical government headed by Prime Minister Lamberto Dini, which fell in early 1996. New elections in 1996 brought a center-left coalition to government for the first time since the end of World War II.

A series of center-left coalitions dominated Italy's political landscape between 1996 and 2001. In April 1996, national elections led to the victory of a center-left coalition (the Olive Tree) under the leadership of Romano Prodi. Prodi's government became the second-longest to stay in power before he narrowly lost a vote of confidence (by three votes) in October 1998. A new government was formed by Democratic Party of the Left leader and former-communist Massimo D'Alema. In April 2000, following a poor showing by his coalition in regional elections, D'Alema resigned. The succeeding center-left government, including most of the same parties, was headed by Giuliano Amato, who had previously served as Prime Minister in 1992-93.

National elections held on May 13, 2001, returned Berlusconi to power at the head of the five-party center-right Freedom House coalition, comprising the prime minister's own party, Forza Italia, the National Alliance, the Northern League, the Christian Democratic Center, and the United Christian Democrats. This Berlusconi government served its entire term.

In national elections held April 9-10, 2006, Romano Prodi's center-left Union coalition won a narrow victory over Berlusconi's Freedom House coalition. The Union coalition included the Democratic Party (born of the November 2007 fusion of the Democrats of the Left and the Daisy Party), UDEUR (Union of Democrats for Europe), Rose in the Fist (made up by Italian Social Democrats and Italian Radical Party), Communist Renewal, the Italian Communist Party, Italy of Values, and the Greens.

In May 2006, the parliament elected Giorgio Napolitano as the Republic's President. President Napolitano formerly served as a lifetime senator, Minister of the Interior, and a member of the European Parliament as a member of center-left parties. President Napolitano's term ends in May 2013. The Senate, lower house, and regional representatives will vote to elect his successor.

In January 2008, the Prodi government fell when small coalition partner UDEUR withdrew support. In February, the President dissolved parliament and Silvio Berlusconi returned to power after defeating former Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni by a comfortable margin in elections on April 13-14, 2008. Berlusconi's winning coalition was composed of the People of Liberty (a union of Forza Italia and National Alliance), the Northern League, and the Movement for Autonomy. Berlusconi was sworn in as Prime Minister on May 8. Veltroni resigned as leader of the opposition in February 2009. His deputy, Dario Franceschini, was elected new Democratic Party (PD) leader until party primary elections held in October 2009, when Pierluigi Bersani was elected PD national secretary. In April 2010, Gianfranco Fini, cofounder of the People of Liberty, and a number of adherents broke from it and established a new opposition party called Future and Liberty, weakening Berlusconi’s coalition, which continued nevertheless to govern.

In November 2011, escalating economic problems undermined the Berlusconi government, with severe debt and rising bond yields pressuring Italy’s economy. Berlusconi announced that he would resign from his post when parliament passed an economic stability law that would enact the first tranche of austerity measures demanded by the European Union (EU). Parliament passed the stability law November 12 and Berlusconi stepped down later the same day. President Napolitano appointed former EU Commissioner Mario Monti as the new Prime Minister on November 13. Monti named a government of technocrats and embarked on a series of reform measures to revive Italy’s stagnant economy.

Political Parties
Italy's dramatic self-renewal transformed the political landscape between 1992 and 1997. Scandal investigations touched thousands of politicians, administrators, and businessmen; the shift from a proportional to majoritarian voting system also altered the political landscape.

Party changes were sweeping. The Christian Democratic Party dissolved; the Italian People's Party and the Christian Democratic Center emerged. Other major parties, such as the Socialists, saw support plummet. A new populist and free-market oriented movement, Forza Italia, gained wide support among moderate voters. The National Alliance broke from the neofascist Italian Social Movement. A trend toward two large coalitions--one on the center-left and the other on the center-right--emerged from the April 1995 regional elections. For the 1996 national elections, the center-left parties created the Olive Tree coalition while the center right united again under the Freedom Pole. The May 2001 elections ushered into power a refashioned center-right coalition dominated by Berlusconi's party, Forza Italia. The April 2006 elections returned the center-left to power under the eight-party Union coalition, a successor to the Olive Tree.

In October 2007, the Democrats of the Left and the Daisy parties officially merged to form the Democratic Party. Veltroni was chosen as party leader and was the center-left's candidate in the April 2008 elections. Silvio Berlusconi launched an alliance between his Forza Italia party and Gianfranco Fini's National Alliance. The parties ran together under the People of Liberty symbol in April 2008. The election greatly simplified parliament, dramatically reducing the numbers of parties, and for the first time since World War II, leaving communist parties out of parliament. People of Liberty (37.4%) won the largest share of the vote and took power in coalition with a strengthened Northern League (8.3%) and the tiny Movement for Autonomy (1.1%). The Democratic Party scored 33.2% and ran in alliance with Italy of Values (4.4%), while the Union of the Center (5.6%) ran alone.

In March 2009, Forza Italia and National Alliance changed the People of Liberty identification from an alliance to a party. The mass center-right party, led by Berlusconi, is Italy's largest party and one of the largest in Europe.

ECONOMY
The Italian economy has changed dramatically since the end of World War II. From an agriculturally based economy, it has developed into an industrial state ranked as the world's eighth-largest market economy. Italy belongs to the Group of Eight (G-8) industrialized nations; it is a member of the European Union and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Italy has few natural resources. With much land unsuited for farming, Italy is a net food importer. There are no substantial deposits of iron, coal, or oil. Proven natural gas reserves, mainly in the Po Valley and offshore in the Adriatic, constitute the country's most important mineral resource. Most raw materials needed for manufacturing and more than 80% of the country's energy sources are imported. Italy's economic strength is in the processing and the manufacturing of goods, primarily in small and medium-sized family-owned firms. Its major industries are precision machinery, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electric goods, tourism, fashion, and clothing.

Italy continues to grapple with budget deficits and high public debt. Italy joined the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 by signing the Stability and Growth Pact, and as a condition of this Euro zone membership, Italy must keep its budget deficit beneath a 3% ceiling. The Italian Government has found it difficult to bring the budget deficit down to a level that would allow a rapid decrease of the debt. The worsening economic situation undermined this aim, and the deficit grew well above the 3% ceiling in 2009 and 2010, to 5.4% and 4.5% respectively. Prime Minister Mario Monti has announced plans to balance the budget by 2013 through EU-prescribed austerity measures, including tax increases and spending cuts.

Italy's economic growth averaged only 0.8% in the period 2001-2008. GDP contracted as the Euro zone and world economies slowed, decreasing 1.3% in 2008 and 5.2% in 2009 largely due to the global economic crisis and its impact on exports and domestic demand. GDP recovered only part of the ground lost, growing 1.2% in 2010. In 2011 GDP grew 0.6%.

Italy's closest trade ties are with the other countries of the European Union, with whom it conducts about 58.1% of its total trade (2009 data). Italy's largest European Union trade partners, in order of market share, are Germany (12.7%), France (11.6%), Spain (5.7%), and the United Kingdom (5.1%). Italy continues to grapple with the effects of globalization, where certain countries (notably China) have eroded the Italian lower-end industrial product sector.

The Italian economy is also affected by a large underground economy. The Italian statistical institute (Istat) estimates that untaxed transactions may amount to €275 billion (about $363 billion), or 18% of GDP, per year.

U.S.-Italy Economic Relations
The United States and Italy cooperate closely on major economic issues, including within the G-8. With a large population and a high per capita income, Italy was the United States' 16th-largest trading partner in 2010, with total bilateral trade of $42.7 billion comprised of exports to Italy totaling $14.2 billion and imports from Italy worth $28.5 billion. The U.S.'s $14.3 billion deficit with Italy in 2010 was largely in line with the $14.2 billion deficit registered in 2009. Machinery and aircraft are becoming important U.S. exports to Italy. U.S. foreign direct investment in Italy at the end of 2009 exceeded $28.7 billion.

Labor
Unemployment is a regional issue in Italy--low in the north, high in the south. Italy's official unemployment rate, 8.5% in 2011, is lower than the EU average. However, experts believe the real unemployment rate--which would count the underemployed and those who have stopped looking for work--has crept up to 11% as a decade of low growth and the slowing world economy have taken their toll. The U.S. Embassy and various economists expect the unemployment rate to remain high in 2012 and 2013. Traditional regional labor market disparities remain unchanged, with the southern third of the country posting a significantly higher unemployment rate compared to northern and central Italy. The overall national rate is at its lowest level since 1992. Chronic problems of inadequate infrastructure, corruption, and organized crime act as disincentives to investment and job creation in the south. A significant underground economy absorbs substantial numbers of people who work for low wages and without standard social benefits and protections. Women and youth have significantly higher rates of unemployment than men.

Unions claim to represent 40% of the work force. Most Italian unions are grouped in four major confederations: the General Italian Confederation of Labor (CGIL), the Italian Confederation of Workers' Unions (CISL), the Italian Union of Labor (UIL), and the General Union of Labor (UGL), which together claim 35% of the work force. These confederations formerly were associated with important political parties or currents, but they have evolved into fully autonomous, professional bodies. The CGIL, CISL, and UIL are affiliated with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and customarily coordinate their positions before confronting management or lobbying the government. The confederations have had an important consultative role on national social and economic issues.

Agriculture
Italy's agriculture is typical of the division between the agricultures of the northern and southern countries of the European Union. The northern part of Italy produces primarily grains, sugar beets, soybeans, meat, and dairy products, while the south specializes in fruits, vegetables, olive oil, wine, and durum wheat. Even though much of its mountainous terrain is unsuitable for farming, Italy has a large work force (1.4 million) employed in farming. Most farms are small, with the average size being only seven hectares (about 17 acres).

For further economic and commercial information, please refer to the Country Commercial Guide for Italy.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Italy was a founding member of the European Community--now the European Union (EU). Italy was admitted to the United Nations in 1955 and is a member and strong supporter of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization (GATT/WTO), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Council of Europe. It chaired the CSCE (the forerunner of the OSCE) in 1994; the EU from July to December 1990, January to June 1996, and July to December 2003; and the G-8 in 2001 and in 2009. Italy served a 2-year term on the UN Security Council in 2007-2008.

Italy firmly supports the United Nations and its international security activities. Italy is leading the UN mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and has actively participated in and deployed troops in support of UN peacekeeping missions in Somalia, Mozambique, and Timor-Leste. It has provided critical support for NATO and EU operations in Libya, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Albania, Georgia, and Chad. Italy, under NATO's ISAF, maintains a Provincial Reconstruction Team in the western Afghanistan province of Herat, commands RC-West, and maintains a Carabinieri police training center. Italy has supported reconstruction and development assistance to the Iraqi people through humanitarian workers and other officials, particularly in Dhi Qar Province, and was a leading contributor to the NATO Training Mission-Iraq, with approximately 70 military personnel and Carabinieri police trainers. Currently almost 6,500 Italian troops are deployed, including approximately 550 in Kosovo, 1,100 in Lebanon as part of UNIFIL, and approximately 4,200 in Afghanistan.

The Italian Government seeks to obtain consensus with other European countries on various defense and security issues within the EU as well as NATO. European integration and the development of common defense and security policies will continue to be of primary interest to Italy.

U.S.-ITALY RELATIONS
The United States enjoys warm and friendly relations with Italy. Italy is a leading partner in counterterrorism efforts. The two are NATO allies and cooperate in the United Nations, in various regional organizations, and bilaterally for peace, prosperity, and security. Italy has worked closely with the United States and others on such issues as NATO and UN operations as well as on assistance to Russia and the New Independent States; Lebanon; Libya; the Middle East peace process; multilateral talks; Somalia and Mozambique peacekeeping; and combating drug trafficking, trafficking in women and children, and terrorism.

Under longstanding bilateral agreements flowing from NATO membership, Italy hosts important U.S. military forces at Vicenza and Livorno (army); Aviano (air force); and Sigonella, Gaeta, and Naples--home port for the U.S. Navy Sixth Fleet. The United States has about 11,500 military personnel stationed in Italy. Italy hosts the NATO Defense College in Rome.

Italy remains a strong and active transatlantic partner which, along with the United States, has sought to foster democratic ideals and international cooperation in areas of strife and civil conflict. Toward this end, the Italian Government has cooperated with the United States in the formulation of defense, security, and peacekeeping policies.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--David Thorne
Deputy Chief of Mission--Douglas Hengel
Economic Affairs--John Carwile
Political Affairs--Daniel O’Grady
Consular Affairs--Richard Beer
Public Affairs--Benjamin Ziff
Commercial Affairs--Carmine D’Aloisio
Agricultural Section--James Dever
Defense Attache--CAPT Clifford Olsen

Consular Posts
Consul General, Florence--Sarah Morrison
Consul General, Milan--Kyle Scott
Consul General, Naples--Donald Moore

The U.S. Embassy in Italy is located at Via Veneto 119, Rome (tel. (39)(06) 46741).

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings, Trip Registration
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. The travel.state.gov website also includes information about passports, tips for planning a safe trip abroad and more.  More travel-related information also is available at  http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department's Smart Traveler app for U.S. travelers going abroad provides easy access to the frequently updated official country information, travel alerts, travel warnings, maps, U.S. embassy locations, and more that appear on the travel.state.gov site. Travelers can also set up e-tineraries to keep track of arrival and departure dates and make notes about upcoming trips. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (requires iOS 4.0 or later).

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to enroll in the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).  A link to the registration page is also available through the Department's Smart Traveler app. U.S. citizens without internet access can enroll directly at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.  By enrolling, you make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and so you can receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

Passports
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Health Information
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

More Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including more Background Notes, the Department's daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

Mobile Sources. Background Notes are available on mobile devices at http://m.state.gov/mc36882.htm, or use the QR code below.

In addition, a mobile version of the Department's http://www.state.gov website is available at http://m.state.gov, or use the QR code below. Included on this site are Top Stories, remarks and speeches by Secretary Clinton, Daily Press Briefings, Country Information, and more.

PROFILE

Geography
Area: 93,030 sq. km. (35,910 sq. mi.); about the size of Indiana.
Cities: Capital--Budapest (est. pop. 2 million). Other cities--Debrecen (208,000); Miskolc (170,000); Szeged (170,000); Pecs (157,000).
Terrain: Mostly flat, with low mountains in the north and northeast and north of Lake Balaton.
Climate: Temperate.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Hungarian(s).
Population (July 2011 est.): 9,996,000.
Ethnic groups: Magyar 89.9%, Romany 4% (est.), German 2.6%, Serb 2%, Slovak 0.8%, Romanian 0.7%.
Religions (2001 census): Roman Catholic 51.9%, Calvinist 15.9%, Lutheran 3%, Greek Catholic 2.6%, Jewish 1%, others, including Baptist Adventist, Pentecostal, Unitarian 3%.
Languages: Magyar 98.2%, other 1.8%.
Education: Compulsory to age 16. Attendance--96%. Literacy--99.4%.
Health (2007 est.): Infant mortality rate--8.21/1,000. Life expectancy--men 69.2 years, women 77.3 years.
Work force (2006 est., 4.21 million): Agriculture--5.0%; industry and commerce--31.0%; services--64.0%.

Government
Type: Republic.
Constitution: Adopted April 18, 2011; entered into effect January 1, 2012.
Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--National Assembly (386 members, 4-year term). Judicial--Curia (supreme court) and Constitutional Court.
Administrative regions: 19 counties plus capital region of Budapest.
Principal political parties: Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Party--center-right; Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP)--center-right; Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP)--center-left; Democratic Coalition (DK)--center-left; Politics Can Be Different (LMP)--Green party; Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik)--far-right.

Economy
GDP: HUF 27,947 billion (approx. $115.96 billion, at year-end 2011 exchange rate of U.S. $1=HUF 241).
Annual growth rate (2011): 1.9%.
Per capita GDP (2011): $11,596.
Natural resources: bauxite, coal, natural gas, and arable land.
Agriculture/forestry (2010, 2.94% of GDP): Products--meat, corn, wheat, sunflower seeds, potatoes, sugar beets, and dairy products.
Industry and construction (2010, 25.9% of GDP): Types--machinery, vehicles, chemicals, precision and measuring equipment, computer products, medical instruments, pharmaceuticals, and textiles.
Trade (2010): Exports ($112.7 billion)--machinery, vehicles, food, beverages, tobacco, crude materials, manufactured goods, fuels and electric energy. Imports ($103.11 billion)--machinery, vehicles, manufactured goods, fuels and electric energy, food, beverages, and tobacco. Major markets--EU (Germany, Austria, Italy, France, U.K., Romania, Poland). Major suppliers--EU (Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Netherlands, Poland), Russia, and China.

PEOPLE AND HISTORY
Ethnic groups in Hungary include Magyar (nearly 90%), Romany, German, Serb, Slovak, and others. The majority of Hungary's people are Roman Catholic; other religions represented are Calvinist, Lutheran, Jewish, Baptist, Adventist, Pentecostal, and Unitarian. Magyar is the predominant language. Hungary has long been an integral part of Europe. It converted to Western Christianity before AD 1000. Although Hungary was a monarchy for nearly 1,000 years, its constitutional system preceded by several centuries the establishment of Western-style governments in other European countries.

Following the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy (1867-1918) at the end of World War I, Hungary lost two-thirds of its territory and one-third of its population. It experienced a brief but bloody communist dictatorship and counterrevolution in 1919, followed by a 25-year regency under Admiral Miklos Horthy. Although Hungary fought in most of World War II as a German ally, it fell under German military occupation on March 19, 1944 following an unsuccessful attempt to switch sides. Under Nazi occupation, the Hungarian Government executed or deported and seized the property of hundreds of thousands of its minority citizens, mostly members of the Jewish community. On January 20, 1945, a provisional government concluded an armistice with the Soviet Union and established the Allied Control Commission, under which Soviet, American, and British representatives held complete sovereignty over the country. The Commission's chairman was a member of Stalin's inner circle and exercised absolute control.

Communist Takeover
The provisional government, dominated by the Hungarian Communist Party (MKP), was replaced in November 1945 after elections which gave majority control of a coalition government to the Independent Smallholders' Party. The government instituted a radical land reform and gradually nationalized mines, electric plants, heavy industries, and some large banks. The communists ultimately undermined the coalition regime by discrediting leaders of rival parties and through terror, blackmail, and show trials. In elections tainted by fraud in 1947, the leftist bloc gained control of the government.

By February 1949, all opposition parties had been forced to merge with the MKP to form the Hungarian Workers' Party. In 1949, the communists held a single-list election and adopted a Soviet-style constitution, which created the Hungarian People's Republic. Between 1948 and 1953, the Hungarian economy was reorganized according to the Soviet model. In 1949, the country joined the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA, or Comecon.) All private industrial firms with more than 10 employees were nationalized. Freedom of the press, religion, and assembly were strictly curtailed. The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty, was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Forced industrialization and land collectivization soon led to serious economic difficulties, which reached crisis proportions by mid-1953. Imre Nagy replaced Rakosi as prime minister in 1953 and repudiated much of Rakosi's economic program of forced collectivization and heavy industry. He also ended political purges and freed thousands of political prisoners. However, the economic situation continued to deteriorate, and Rakosi succeeded in disrupting the reforms and in forcing Nagy from power in 1955 for "right-wing revisionism." Hungary joined the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact Treaty Organization the same year.

1956 Revolution
Pressure for change reached a climax on October 23, 1956, when security forces fired on Budapest students marching in support of Poland's confrontation with the Soviet Union. The ensuing battle quickly grew into a massive popular uprising. Fighting did not abate until the Central Committee named Imre Nagy as prime minister on October 25. Nagy dissolved the state security police, abolished the one-party system, promised free elections, and negotiated with the U.S.S.R. to withdraw its troops.

Faced with reports of new Soviet troops pouring into Hungary, despite Soviet Ambassador Andropov's assurances to the contrary, on November 1 Nagy announced Hungary's neutrality and withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact. In response, the Soviet Union launched a massive military attack on Hungary on November 3. Some 200,000 Hungarians fled to the West. Nagy and his colleagues took refuge in the Yugoslav Embassy. Party First Secretary Janos Kadar defected from the Nagy cabinet, fleeing to the Soviet Union. On November 4 he announced the formation of a new government. He returned to Budapest and, with Soviet support, carried out severe reprisals; thousands of people were executed or imprisoned. Despite a guarantee of safe conduct, Nagy was arrested and deported to Romania. In June 1958, Nagy was returned to Hungary, and, following a secret trial, was executed by the communist government.

Reform Under Kadar
In the early 1960s, Kadar announced a new policy under the motto of "He Who is Not Against Us is With Us," and introduced a relatively liberal cultural and economic course aimed at overcoming the post-1956 hostility toward him and his regime. In 1966, the Central Committee approved the "New Economic Mechanism," through which it sought to overcome the inefficiencies of central planning, increase productivity, make Hungary more competitive in world markets, and create prosperity to ensure political stability. By the early 1980s, it had achieved some lasting economic reforms and limited political liberalization and pursued a foreign policy which encouraged more trade with the West. Nevertheless, the New Economic Mechanism led to mounting foreign debt incurred to shore up unprofitable industries.

Transition to Democracy
Hungary's transition to a Western-style parliamentary democracy was the first and the smoothest among the former Soviet bloc. By 1987, activists within the party and bureaucracy and Budapest-based intellectuals were increasingly pressing for change. Young liberals formed the Federation of Young Democrats (Fidesz); a core from the so-called Democratic Opposition formed the Association of Free Democrats (SZDSZ), and the neo-populist national opposition established the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF). Civic activism intensified to a level not seen since the 1956 revolution.

In 1988, Kadar was replaced as General Secretary of the MSZMP (the Communist Party), and that same year, the Parliament adopted a "democracy package," which included trade union pluralism; freedom of association, assembly, and the press; a new electoral law; and a radical revision of the constitution, among others. The Soviet Union reduced its involvement by signing an agreement in April 1989 to withdraw Soviet forces by June 1991.

National unity culminated in June 1989 as the country reburied Imre Nagy, his associates, and, symbolically, all other victims of the 1956 revolution. A national roundtable, comprising representatives of the new parties and some recreated old parties--such as the Smallholders and Social Democrats--the Communist Party, and different social groups, met in the late summer of 1989 to discuss major changes to the Hungarian constitution in preparation for free elections and the transition to a fully free and democratic political system.

Free Elections and a Democratic Hungary
The first free parliamentary election, held in March-April 1990, was a plebiscite of sorts on the communist past with the Democratic Forum (MDF) winning 43% of the vote and the Free Democrats (SZDSZ) capturing 24%. Under Prime Minister Jozsef Antall, the MDF formed a center-right coalition government with the Independent Smallholders' Party (FKGP) and the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) to command a 60% majority in the Parliament. Parliamentary opposition parties included SZDSZ, the Socialists (MSZP--successors to the Communist Party), and the Alliance of Young Democrats (Fidesz). Peter Boross succeeded as Prime Minister after Antall died and the Antall/Boross coalition governments achieved a reasonably well-functioning parliamentary democracy and laid the foundation for a free market economy.

In May 1994, the Socialists came back to win a plurality of votes and 54% of the seats after an election campaign focused largely on economic issues and the substantial decline in living standards since 1990. A heavy turnout of voters swept away the right-of-center coalition but soundly rejected extremists on both right and left. The MSZP continued economic reforms and privatization, adopting a painful, but necessary, policy of fiscal austerity (the "Bokros plan") in 1995. However, dissatisfaction with the pace of economic recovery, rising crime, and cases of government corruption convinced voters to propel center-right parties into power following national elections in May 1998. Fidesz captured a plurality of parliamentary seats and forged a coalition with the Smallholders and the Democratic Forum. The new government, headed by 35-year-old Prime Minister Viktor Orban, promised to stimulate faster growth, curb inflation, and lower taxes. Although the Orban administration also pledged continuity in foreign policy, and continued to pursue Euro-Atlantic integration as its first priority, it was a more vocal advocate of minority rights for ethnic Hungarians abroad than the previous government. During Orban’s tenure, Hungary acceded to NATO on March 12, 1999.

In April 2002, the country voted to return the MSZP-Free Democrat coalition to power with Peter Medgyessy as Prime Minister. The Medgyessy government placed special emphasis on solidifying Hungary's Euro-Atlantic course, which culminated in Hungary’s accession to the European Union on May 1, 2004. Prime Minister Medgyessy resigned in August 2004 after losing coalition support following an attempted cabinet reshuffle. Ferenc Gyurcsany succeeded Medgyessy as Prime Minister in September 29, 2004.

In the April 2006 election, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany and his Socialist-liberal coalition were re-elected, the first time since communism that a sitting government renewed its mandate. The SZDSZ pulled out of the coalition in April 2008, leaving the MSZP to govern alone.

The global economic crisis spilled over into Hungary in autumn 2008, and severely impacted the country. Prime Minister Gyurcsany resigned in March 2009 and was succeeded by a technocratic crisis management government led by Gordon Bajnai, the former Minister of Economy and National Development.

Parliamentary elections in April 2010 brought a Fidesz-KDNP coalition back to power with a two-thirds majority (262 seats). Viktor Orban became Prime Minister. Joining the MSZP in opposition were the newly elected far-right Jobbik party and the Green party, Politics Can Be Different (LMP). Today, Fidesz-KDNP has 263 seats. In the opposition, MSZP has 48 seats, Jobbik 46, and LMP 15; 10 Members of Parliament (MPs) have left MSZP to create a new party, the Democratic Coalition. There are four independent MPs. The Fidesz-dominated Parliament quickly launched an ambitious legislative agenda that has promised to reduce the overall number of seats in Parliament to 199 effective for the next election in 2014, cut by half the number of local representatives, and extended citizenship and voting rights to ethnic Hungarians living beyond the country’s present borders. In April 2011, Parliament adopted the country’s new constitution, which entered into effect January 1, 2012. Among other changes, the document makes reference to the role of Christianity in “preserving the nation” and sets the term of local government members at 5 years. Additionally, it mandated a process requiring the passage of several dozen so-called cardinal laws on issues such as religion, the media, the restructuring of the judiciary, elections, and the central bank. The majority of these laws were passed in 2011, and their future modification would require a two-thirds majority in Parliament.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The president of Hungary, elected by the National Assembly every 5 years, has a largely ceremonial role, but powers include requesting the winner of a parliamentary election to form a cabinet. That person then presents his program to Parliament, and is in turn ratified by that body as prime minister. The prime minister selects cabinet ministers and has the exclusive right to dismiss them. Each cabinet nominee appears before one or more parliamentary committees in consultative open hearings and must be formally approved by the president. The unicameral, 386-member National Assembly is the highest state legislative body and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the prime minister. The number of seats will decrease to 199 for the 2014 election. National parliamentary elections are held every 4 years (the last in April 2010). A party must win at least 5% of the national vote to enter Parliament. A 15-member Constitutional Court may challenge legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality; members are appointed by a two-thirds vote in Parliament for a 12-year term of office.

Principal Government Officials
President--Pal Schmitt
Prime Minister--Viktor Orban (Fidesz)
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Janos Martonyi
Ambassador to the United States--Gyorgy Szapary
Ambassador to the United Nations--Csaba Korosi

The Hungarian Embassy is located at 3910 Spring of Freedom St. NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-362-6730). Hungary has consulates in New York City and Los Angeles.

ECONOMY
Prior to World War II, the Hungarian economy was primarily oriented toward agriculture and small-scale manufacturing. Hungary's strategic position in Europe and its relative lack of natural resources dictated a traditional reliance on foreign trade. In the early 1950s, the communist government forced rapid industrialization following the standard Stalinist pattern in an effort to encourage a more self-sufficient economy. Most economic activity was conducted by state farms and state-owned enterprises or cooperatives. In 1968, Stalinist self-sufficiency was replaced by the "New Economic Mechanism," which gave limited freedom to the workings of the market, reopened Hungary to foreign trade, and allowed a limited number of small businesses to operate in the services sector.

Although Hungary enjoyed one of the most liberal and economically advanced economies of the former Eastern Bloc, both agriculture and industry began to suffer from a lack of investment in the 1970s. Belated reaction to the economic crisis of the early 1970s and deteriorating terms of trade resulted in increasing indebtedness. In response, the Hungarian Government launched a restrictive economic policy in the late 1970s and early 1980s, followed by the “Dynamization Program of 1985,” which increased consumer subsidies and investments--mainly in unprofitable state enterprises--eventually leading to a doubling of foreign debt levels. By 1993, Hungary's net foreign debt rose significantly--from $1 billion in 1973 to $15 billion. Liberalization of the economy continued, however, and in 1988-89 Hungary passed a joint venture law, adopted tax legislation, and joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. By 1988, Hungary developed a two-tier banking system and enacted significant corporate legislation which paved the way for the ambitious market-oriented reforms of the post-communist years.

The Antall government of 1990-94 began market reforms with price and trade liberation measures, a revamped tax system, and a nascent market-based banking system. As a result of the collapse of Eastern markets and the inability of state-owned companies to compete with foreign competitors, industrial production fell by 50% between 1989 and 1994, and the country faced high unemployment and inflation rates, as well as a deteriorating trade balance. By 1994, the costs of government overspending and hesitant privatization had become clearly visible. In 1996, austerity measures referred to as the “Bokros package” (for then-Finance Minister Lajos Bokros) improved both the fiscal and external balance situation, and increased investor confidence. Simplified and accelerated privatization led to significant inflow of foreign capital in industry, energy, and telecommunications sectors, and a number of greenfield investments were launched. Hungary's early openness to foreign direct investment (FDI) led to a sustained period of high growth and made Hungary a magnet for FDI in the late 1990s and early parts of this century.

In 1995, Hungary's currency--the forint (HUF)--became convertible for all current account transactions, and subsequent to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) membership in 1996, for almost all capital account transactions as well. In 2001, the Orban government lifted remaining currency controls and broadened the band around the exchange rate, allowing the forint to appreciate by more than 12% in a year. Trade with European Union (EU) and OECD countries now comprises over 75% and 85% of Hungary's total trade, respectively. Germany is Hungary's most important trading partner, followed by Italy and France. The United States has become Hungary's sixth-largest export market, while Hungary is ranked as the 72nd-largest export market for the United States. Bilateral trade between the two countries has increased to more than $1 billion per year.

With more than $60 billion in FDI since 1989, Hungary has been a leading destination for FDI in central and eastern Europe, although this level is beginning to decline. The largest U.S. investors include GE, Alcoa, General Motors, Coca-Cola, Ford, IBM, and PepsiCo, with the overall level of direct U.S. investment estimated at $9 billion. As a result of extensive and continuing liberalization, the private sector produces about 80% of Hungary’s output.

Close relationship with the economies of the EU helped pave the way for Hungary's EU accession in 2004. As part of its EU membership agreement, Hungary agreed to meet the economic criteria necessary to adopt the euro. In 2005 and 2006, however, it became clear that not only was a high budget deficit hurting the economy (nearly surpassing 10% of GDP in 2006), but that Hungary was moving away from meeting euro entry requirements, and would be subject to EU excessive deficit procedures. Against this backdrop, in fall 2006, Prime Minister Gyurcsany launched a program of fiscal consolidation by raising taxes, decreasing subsidies, and streamlining the public sector. Businesses complained, however, that increased taxes, particularly on labor, decreased Hungary's economic competitiveness compared to other countries in the region. Greater fiscal discipline allowed the government to reduce its deficit to 3.4% of GDP by 2008, but decreasing government spending during this period also reduced domestic consumption and contributed to a decrease in Hungary's GDP growth.

In October 2008, the effects of the global financial crisis spilled into Hungary. Despite its success in reducing its fiscal deficit, years of high budget deficits and Hungary’s high external debt levels fueled investor risk aversion, and negatively affected the foreign exchange, government securities, and equity markets in Hungary. The country was hit hard by global de-leveraging, and weak demand for government bonds. A sharp decline in the share of non-resident investors in the government securities market raised concerns that Hungary would be unable to meet its external financing requirements. In order to increase investor confidence and ensure liquidity in domestic financial markets, Hungary concluded a $25 billion financial stabilization package with the IMF, EU, and World Bank in November 2008.

Under this agreement, Hungary committed to further fiscal consolidation, financial sector reforms, and enacting banking sector support measures. Terms also included periodic assessment of macroeconomic and fiscal targets. Taking into consideration the worsening global economic and financial crisis, the IMF and the EU revised their projections of Hungary’s GDP decline in 2009 to -6.7%, and agreed to increase the 2.9% deficit target to 3.9% for 2009. Public debt was expected to increase to 83% of GDP in 2009 before returning to more sustainable levels through fiscal tightening.

To respond to the crisis, the Bajnai government in 2009 enacted a series of economic reforms and spending cuts intended to reduce the tax burden on labor, encourage employment, improve Hungary's economic competitiveness, and offset lost government revenue due to the deeper-than-expected recession. These measures included reforms to the pension and entitlement systems, as well as tax changes to shift the tax burden from labor to wealth and consumption. In addition to cuts in taxes for businesses and employees, tax changes included raising the value added tax (VAT), and a proposal for the introduction of a property tax. In 2009 GDP declined by 6.3%, and the Hungarian Government was able to meet the 3.9% deficit target.

Elected in 2010, the Orban government adopted what Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy described as an "unorthodox economic policy" to help steer Hungary through the economic crisis. This included the introduction of “crisis taxes” targeting banking, energy, telecommunications, and retail sectors. Originally unveiled as 3-year, limited-duration, and extraordinary measures, the crisis taxes were meant to shore up the government budget until more long-term, structural changes were made. In November 2010, the government acknowledged that the “crisis taxes” would exist in some form until 2014, 2 years later than previously asserted. In addition, in 2010 the government discontinued contributions to the voluntary private pillar of the pension system, and imposed financial disincentives on those who chose not to return to the state system. The government has used the resulting budgetary windfall to help reduce the country's debt levels and meet its deficit target of less than 3% for 2011 and 2012.

In March 2011, the government launched its Szell Kalman Plan, which outlines structural reform plans in the areas of local government finance, education, healthcare, employment, and public transportation for 2011-2014. The government began developing more detailed reform implementation plans in each of these areas. Initial market reaction to the plan was positive, and by May 2011, the country had already met its foreign currency financing requirements for 2011 through two large dollar and euro bond issuances.

Amid worsening investor sentiment and distrust toward the government’s economic policy, all three credit rating agencies in December 2011-January 2012 downgraded Hungary to non-investment grade, which resulted in a sharp depreciation of the Hungarian forint to almost 350 to the euro and a corresponding increase in government bond yields from below 7% to about 10%. Rising yields and the depreciating forint made the Debt Management Agency’s plan to issue 4.8 billion euros worth (approx. $6.3 billion) of foreign-currency denominated bonds questionable and prompted the government to seek a credit line from the EU and the IMF. Discussions are ongoing, but conditions are strict. The EU Commission initiated an infringement procedure in January 2012 requiring Hungary to change legislation hampering independence of the Central Bank, restore the authority of the Data Protection Ombudsman, and other issues. At the same time the ECOFIN Council voted to proceed with an Excessive Deficit Procedure against Hungary on the grounds that its 3% budget deficit target is unsustainable in 2013 unless corrective measures are implemented. The stakes are high for Hungary, which might partially or entirely lose support from the EU Cohesion Funds in 2013.

NATIONAL SECURITY
Hungary's key national security focus since joining NATO in 1999 has been contributing to the stability of the region while integrating its armed forces into NATO's force structure. Hungary takes a keen interest in NATO expansion and in the transatlantic link. It shares a more acute sense of the threat than many other European countries and is watching events in the Balkans, Ukraine, and Russia with great interest. Hungarians believe that Hungary's own security and that of its ethnic minorities in neighboring countries will be best served by a peaceful, unified region, which will be achieved when EU and NATO membership is extended to the entire region.

Hungary has been slowly modernizing and downsizing its armed forces since it left the Warsaw Pact in 1990. Transitioning from a heavy, slow-moving Warsaw Pact force to a lighter, versatile NATO force, the Hungarian military went from 130,000 in 1989 to approximately 24,000 combat and combat support forces in 2008. Implementing a new training, logistics, and leadership system and a new Joint Forces Command structure, the Hungarian military has gained considerable practical experience working with NATO and other forces serving in international military missions (about 1,000 at any given time). Hungary was especially helpful during the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords in the Balkans from 1995-2004, when its airbase at Taszar was used by coalition forces transiting the region. Hungary currently leads a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan. It deployed an additional Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT)--operating in partnership with the Ohio National Guard--an Air Mentor Team, and Special Forces personnel in Afghanistan. The Hungarian military is also deployed in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Cyprus, and the Sinai Peninsula on international peacekeeping and stabilization missions. Hungary’s Papa Airbase is the home base of the Strategic Airlift Consortium’s C-17 operations, expanding its contribution to NATO and other European partners. Hungary’s military still faces numerous challenges to its modernization program, as reflected in the country’s defense budget, which in recent years has dropped to less than 1% of GDP, well below the NATO target of 2%.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Except for the short-lived neutrality declared by Imre Nagy in November 1956, Hungary's foreign policy generally followed the Soviet lead from 1947 to 1989. During the communist period, Hungary maintained treaties of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance with the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Romania, and Bulgaria. It was one of the founding members of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact and Comecon, and it was the first central European country to withdraw from those now-defunct organizations.

As with any country, Hungarian security attitudes are shaped largely by history and geography. For Hungary, this is a history of more than 400 years of domination by great powers--the Ottomans, the Habsburgs, the Germans during World War II, and the Soviets during the Cold War. Hungary's foreign policy priorities, largely consistent since 1990, represent a direct response to these factors. Since 1990, Hungary's top foreign policy goal has been achieving integration into Western economic and security organizations. To this end, Hungary joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in May of 2004. Hungary also has improved its often-chilled neighborly relations by signing basic treaties with Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine. These renounce all outstanding territorial claims and lay the foundation for constructive relations. However, the issue of ethnic Hungarian minority rights in Slovakia and Romania periodically causes bilateral tensions to flare, including in June 2010 when the Parliament offered Hungarian citizenship to ethnic Hungarians living outside its borders. Hungary was a signatory to the Helsinki Final Act in 1975, has signed all of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE)/Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) follow-on documents since 1989, and served as the OSCE's Chairman-in-Office in 1997. Hungary's record of implementing CSCE Helsinki Final Act provisions, including those on reunification of divided families, remains among the best in eastern Europe. Hungary has been a member of the United Nations since December 1955.

During the first 6 months of 2011, Hungary held the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first time. The priorities of the Hungarian presidency, as outlined in its program entitled “Strong Europe,” included the promotion of Roma integration, supporting growth and increasing employment in the EU, expansion of the Schengen border regime area, and the enlargement of the European Union, with special emphasis on Croatia’s accession.

U.S.-HUNGARIAN RELATIONS
Relations between the United States and Hungary immediately following World War II were affected by the Soviet armed forces' occupation of Hungary. Full diplomatic relations were established at the legation level on October 12, 1945, before the signing of the Hungarian peace treaty on February 10, 1947. After the communist takeover in 1947-48, relations with Hungary became increasingly strained by the nationalization of U.S.-owned property, unacceptable treatment of U.S. citizens and personnel, and restrictions on the operations of the American legation. Though relations deteriorated further after the suppression of the Hungarian national uprising in 1956, an exchange of ambassadors in 1966 inaugurated an era of improving relations. In 1972, a consular convention was concluded to provide consular protection to U.S. citizens in Hungary.

In 1973, a bilateral agreement was reached under which Hungary settled the nationalization claims of American citizens. In January 1978, the United States returned to the people of Hungary the historic Crown of Saint Stephen, which had been safeguarded by the United States since the end of World War II. Symbolically and literally, this event marked the beginning of improved relations between the two countries. A 1978 bilateral trade agreement included extension of most-favored-nation status to Hungary. Cultural and scientific exchanges were expanded. As Hungary began to pull away from the Soviet orbit, the United States offered assistance and expertise to help establish a constitution, a democratic political system, and a plan for a free market economy.

Between 1989 and 1993, the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act provided more than $136 million for economic restructuring and private sector development. The Hungarian-American Enterprise Fund offered loans, equity capital, and technical assistance to promote private-sector development. The U.S. Government has provided expert and financial assistance for the development of modern and Western institutions in many policy areas, including national security, law enforcement, free media, environmental regulations, education, and health care. American direct investment has had a direct, positive impact on the Hungarian economy and on continued good bilateral relations. When Hungary acceded to NATO in April 1999, it became a formal ally of the United States. This move has been consistently supported by the 1.5 million-strong Hungarian-American community. The U.S. Government supported Hungarian European Union accession in 2004, and continues to work with Hungary as a valued partner in the transatlantic relationship. Hungary joined the Visa Waiver Program on November 17, 2008.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis
Deputy Chief of Mission--Timothy A. Betts
Public Affairs Counselor--Edward Loo
Political/Economic Counselor--Paul C. O’Friel
Management Counselor--Eric R. Kettner
Regional USAID Mission Director--David Leong
Commercial Counselor--Robert Peaslee
Senior Defense Official and Defense Attache--Col. Robert Duggleby, USA
Consul General--Jeffrey Lodinsky
Environment/Science/Technology Attache--Mark Canning

The U.S. Embassy in Hungary is located at Szabadsag Ter 12, Budapest 1054 (tel. (36) 1-475-4400).

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings, Trip Registration
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. The travel.state.gov website also includes information about passports, tips for planning a safe trip abroad and more.  More travel-related information also is available at  http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department's Smart Traveler app for U.S. travelers going abroad provides easy access to the frequently updated official country information, travel alerts, travel warnings, maps, U.S. embassy locations, and more that appear on the travel.state.gov site. Travelers can also set up e-tineraries to keep track of arrival and departure dates and make notes about upcoming trips. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (requires iOS 4.0 or later).

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to enroll in the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).  A link to the registration page is also available through the Department's Smart Traveler app. U.S. citizens without internet access can enroll directly at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.  By enrolling, you make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and so you can receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

Passports
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Health Information
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

More Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including more Background Notes, the Department's daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

Mobile Sources. Background Notes are available on mobile devices at http://m.state.gov/mc36882.htm, or use the QR code below.

In addition, a mobile version of the Department's http://www.state.gov website is available at http://m.state.gov, or use the QR code below. Included on this site are Top Stories, remarks and speeches by Secretary Clinton, Daily Press Briefings, Country Information, and more.

PROFILE

Geography
Area: 241,038 sq. km. (93,072 sq. mi.); about the size of Oregon.
Cities: Capital--Kampala (2009 pop. 1.5 million). Other cities--Gulu, Lira, Jinja, Kasese, Mbarara, Mbale.
Terrain: 27.9% of land area is arable, 11.2% is permanent cropland, and 17.5% is forest.
Climate: Tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Ugandan(s).
Population (2010): 33.4 million.
Annual population growth rate (2010 est.): 3.2%.
Ethnic groups: Baganda, Banyankole, Bahima, Bakiga, Banyarwanda, Bunyoro, Batoro, Langi, Acholi, Lugbara, Karamojong, Basoga, Bagisu, and others.
Religions (2009): Christian 85%, Muslim 12%, other 3%.
Languages: English (official), Swahili (official), Luganda, and numerous other local languages.
Education: Attendance (2010; primary school enrollment)--91%. Literacy (2010)--73.2%.
Health (2010 est.): Infant mortality rate--63/1,000. Life expectancy--53 years.

Government
Type: Republic.
Constitution: Ratified July 12, 1995; promulgated October 8, 1995.
Independence: October 9, 1962.
Branches: Executive--president, vice president, prime minister, cabinet. Legislative--parliament. Judicial--Magistrates' Courts, High Court, Court of Appeals (Constitutional Court), Supreme Court.
Administrative subdivisions: 112 districts.
Political parties: 38 registered parties. Major political parties include the National Resistance Movement (NRM, the ruling party), Forum for a Democratic Change (FDC), Democratic Party (DP), Conservative Party (CP), Justice Forum (JEEMA), and Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), among others.
National holiday: Independence Day, October 9.

Economy
GDP (nominal, 2010): $17.02 billion.
Natural resources: Copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, phosphate, oil.
Agriculture: Cash crops--coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, cut flowers. Food crops--bananas, corn, cassava, potatoes, millet, pulses. Livestock and fisheries--beef, goat meat, milk, poultry, Nile perch, tilapia.
Industry: Processing of agricultural products (cotton ginning, coffee curing), cement production, light consumer goods, textiles.
Trade: Exports (2010)--$2.9 billion: coffee, fish and fish products, tea, tobacco, textiles, cement, maize, electricity. Major markets--South Sudan, European Union, Kenya, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Imports (2010)--$4.5 billion: petroleum, road vehicles, cereals, industrial machinery, iron and steel, medical/pharmaceutical supplies. Major suppliers--Kenya, United Arab Emirates, China, India, South Africa, Japan, Germany.
Fiscal year: July 1-June 30.

PEOPLE
The Baganda are the largest ethnic group in Uganda and comprise approximately 17% of the population. Individual ethnic groups in the southwest include the Banyankole and Bahima (10%), the Bakiga (7%), the Banyarwanda (6%), the Bunyoro (3%), and the Batoro (3%). Residents of the north include the Langi (6%) and the Acholi (5%). In the northwest are the Lugbara (4%). The Karamojong (2%) occupy the considerably drier, largely pastoral territory in the northeast. Ethnic groups in the east include the Basoga (8%) and the Bagisu (5%).

Uganda's population is predominately rural, and its population density is highest in the southern regions. Asians constituted the largest nonindigenous ethnic group in Uganda until 1972, when the Idi Amin regime expelled 50,000 Asians who had been engaged in trade, industry, and various professions. After Amin's overthrow in 1979, Asians slowly began returning, but Uganda's Asian population has never reached its pre-1972 numbers.

HISTORY
Britain granted internal self-government to Uganda in 1961, with the first elections held on March 1, 1961. Benedicto Kiwanuka of the Democratic Party became the first Chief Minister. Uganda maintained its Commonwealth membership. A second round of elections in April 1962 elected members to a new National Assembly. Milton Obote, leader of the majority coalition in the National Assembly, became prime minister and led Uganda to formal independence on October 9, 1962.

In succeeding years, supporters of a centralized state vied with those in favor of a loose federation and a strong role for tribally-based local kingdoms. Political maneuvering climaxed in February 1966, when Prime Minister Milton Obote suspended the constitution, assumed all government powers, and removed the ceremonial president and vice president. In September 1967, a new constitution proclaimed Uganda a republic, gave the president even greater powers, and abolished the traditional kingdoms. On January 25, 1971, Obote's government was ousted in a military coup led by armed forces commander Idi Amin Dada. Amin declared himself president, dissolved the parliament, and amended the constitution to give himself absolute power.

Idi Amin's 8-year rule produced economic decline, social disintegration, and massive human rights violations. The Acholi and Langi ethnic groups were particular objects of Amin's political persecution because they had supported Obote and made up a large part of the army. In 1978, the International Commission of Jurists estimated that more than 100,000 Ugandans had been murdered during Amin's reign of terror; some estimates place the figure much higher.

In October 1978, Tanzanian armed forces repulsed an incursion of Amin's troops into Tanzanian territory. The Tanzanian force, backed by Ugandan exiles, waged a war of liberation against Amin's troops and Libyan soldiers sent to help him. On April 11, 1979, Kampala was captured, and Amin fled with his remaining forces.

After Amin's removal, the Uganda National Liberation Front formed an interim government with Yusuf Lule as president. This government adopted a ministerial system of administration and created a quasi-parliamentary organ known as the National Consultative Commission (NCC). The NCC and the Lule cabinet reflected widely differing political views. In June 1979, following a dispute over the extent of presidential powers, the NCC replaced Lule with Godfrey Binaisa. In a continuing dispute over the powers of the interim presidency, Binaisa was removed in May 1980. Thereafter, Uganda was ruled by a military commission chaired by Paulo Muwanga. December 1980 elections returned the UPC to power under the leadership of President Obote, with Muwanga serving as vice president. Under Obote, the security forces had one of the world's worst human rights records. In their efforts to stamp out an insurgency led by Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army (NRA), they laid waste to a substantial section of the country, especially in the Luwero area north of Kampala.

Obote ruled until July 27, 1985, when an army brigade, composed mostly of ethnic Acholi troops and commanded by Lt. Gen. Basilio Olara-Okello, took Kampala and proclaimed a military government. Obote fled to exile in Zambia. The new regime, headed by former defense force commander Gen. Tito Okello (no relation to Lt. Gen. Olara-Okello), opened negotiations with Museveni's insurgent forces and pledged to improve respect for human rights, end tribal rivalry, and conduct free and fair elections. In the meantime, massive human rights violations continued as the Okello government murdered civilians and ravaged the countryside in order to destroy the NRA's support.

Negotiations between the Okello government and the NRA were conducted in Nairobi in the fall of 1985, with Kenyan President Daniel Moi seeking a cease-fire and a coalition government in Uganda. Although agreeing in late 1985 to a cease-fire, the NRA continued fighting, seized Kampala in late January 1986, and assumed control of the country, forcing Okello to flee north into Sudan. Museveni's forces organized a government with Museveni as president and dominated by the political grouping called the National Resistance Movement (NRM or the "Movement").

A referendum was held in March 2000 on whether Uganda should retain the Movement system, with limited operation of political parties, or adopt multiparty politics. Although 70% of voters endorsed retention of the Movement system, the referendum was widely criticized for low voter turnout and unfair restrictions on Movement opponents. Museveni was reelected to a second 5-year term in March 2001. Parliamentary elections were held in June 2001, and more than 50% of contested seats were won by newcomers. Movement supporters nevertheless retained firm control of the legislative branch. Observers believed that the 2001 presidential and parliamentary elections generally reflected the will of the electorate; however, both were marred by serious irregularities, particularly in the period leading up to the elections, such as restrictions on political party activities, incidents of violence, voter intimidation, and fraud.

A July 2005 national referendum resulted in the adoption of a multiparty system of government, but in September 2005 Uganda's parliament amended the constitution to remove term limits for the president, enabling President Museveni to run again in the 2006 elections. In February 2006, the country held its first multiparty general elections since 1980. Ruling NRM candidate President Museveni was declared the winner with 59% of the vote, giving him a third term in office. Opposition Forum for a Democratic Change (FDC) leader Kizza Besigye captured 37% of the vote, while the remaining contestants received less than 2% of the vote each, according to official figures from the Electoral Commission. Besigye challenged the results in Uganda's Supreme Court, which ruled that serious irregularities had occurred but were not significant enough to alter the outcome of the elections.

On February 18, 2011, Uganda held its fourth presidential and parliamentary elections since Museveni came to power. Seven opposition presidential candidates, including FDC leader Kizza Besigye (the Inter-Party Cooperation candidate) ran against Museveni. On February 20, the Electoral Commission declared Museveni the winner with 68% of the vote; Kizza Besigye came in second with 26% of the vote.

GOVERNMENT
The 1995 constitution established Uganda as a republic with executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The constitution provides for an executive president, to be elected every 5 years. President Yoweri Museveni, in power since 1986, was elected in 1996 and reelected in 2001, 2006, and 2011. Legislative responsibility is vested in the parliament; legislative elections are held every 5 years. Because of redistricting, the parliament elected in February 2011 grew from 332 to 375 members, including 112 special seats for women, 10 special seats for military, five for youth, and five for persons with disabilities. The Ugandan judiciary operates as an independent branch of government and consists of magistrate's courts, high courts, courts of appeals (which also function as constitutional courts), and the Supreme Court. Parliament and the judiciary are independent bodies and wield significant power.

Principal Government Officials
President and Commander in Chief--Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
Vice President--Edward Ssekandi
Prime Minister--Amama Mbabazi
Foreign Minister--Sam Kutesa
Minister of Defense--Crispus Kiyonga
Ambassador to the United States--Perezi K. Kamunanwire

Uganda maintains an embassy in the United States at 5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 (tel. 202-726-7100).

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
After decades of internal strife, Uganda has experienced more than 20 years of relative political stability and economic growth. However, rampant corruption and one of the world’s highest population growth rates present challenges to the country’s continued economic growth and political stability.

Uganda's constitution provides for freedom of speech, religion, and movement. Press and civil society enjoy relative freedom. However, the government sometimes uses charges of unlawful assembly, inciting violence, and promoting sectarianism to curtail government critics’ freedom of speech and assembly. In 2011, Ugandan security forces used live ammunition, tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons to disrupt opposition-led protests against rising prices, leaving at least 10 dead and many more injured. In September 2009, the government’s restriction on the travel of the Buganda Kingdom’s prime minister to Kayunga district, combined with incorrect reports of the prime minister’s arrest, sparked 3 days of riots in Kampala that left at least 40 people dead and many more injured.

The vicious and cult-like Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) operated from 1986 to 2006 in northern Uganda, where it killed tens of thousands of people, abducted thousands of children to serve as soldiers and slaves, and displaced approximately 1.8 million Ugandans. In 2005, the Ugandan military pushed the LRA out of northern Uganda and into neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.). In December 2008, the Governments of Uganda, the D.R.C., and Southern Sudan launched a joint military operation against the LRA in northeastern D.R.C., dispersing groups of LRA fighters across the D.R.C., Central African Republic, and Southern Sudan (now South Sudan), where the group continues to commit atrocities against local populations. In 2011, the United States sent a small number of military advisers to the LRA-affected region to enhance the capacity of the Ugandan and other regional militaries to pursue the LRA and protect civilian populations.

There have been no LRA attacks in northern Uganda since August 2006. As a result, the vast majority of the 1.8 million former internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned to or near their homes. Assistance from the Government of Uganda through its Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP) and from international donors has helped communities in northern Uganda rebuild and recover from the 20-year humanitarian catastrophe caused by the LRA.

ECONOMY
Since assuming power in early 1986, Museveni's government has taken important steps toward economic rehabilitation and adopted policies that have promoted rapid economic development. The country's infrastructure--notably its transportation and communications systems that were destroyed by war and neglect--is being rebuilt. Recognizing the need for increased external support, Uganda negotiated a policy framework paper with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in 1987. It subsequently began implementing economic policies that resulted in a consistent pace of economic growth. Uganda was the first country to be eligible for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and had virtually all of its foreign debts forgiven by the IMF, World Bank, and major donors. Growth rates in fiscal years 2009 and 2010 were 7.2% and 5.2%, respectively. Food prices rose dramatically in 2011 and average annual inflation was 18.7%, the largest increase in two decades.

The service sector was the largest contributor to GDP in 2010 (at 50%). Manufacturing and agriculture contributed 26% and 24%, respectively. Despite their dwindling shares of Uganda’s GDP, the agriculture and fishing sectors provide approximately 80% of employment in Uganda. Uganda is Africa's second-leading producer of coffee, which accounted for about 17% of the country's exports in 2009 and 2010. Exports of nontraditional products, including apparel, hides, skins, vanilla, vegetables, fruits, cut flowers, and fish, are growing, while traditional exports such as cotton, tea, and tobacco continue to be mainstays.

Most industry is related to agriculture. The industrial sector has been rehabilitated and resumed production of building and construction materials, such as cement, reinforcing rods, corrugated roofing sheets, and paint. Domestically-produced consumer goods include plastics, soap, cork, beer, and soft drinks.

Oil experts estimate Uganda’s Albertine Basin has about 2.5 billion barrels of recoverable oil, positioning Uganda to become one of sub-Saharan Africa’s top oil producers and potentially doubling current government revenues within 10 years. Most of Uganda’s known oil reserves are located along Lake Albert and the D.R.C. border, in one of Africa’s most ecologically sensitive areas. Uganda and several private oil companies had hoped to begin small-scale production as early as 2012, but production has been delayed due to a capital gains tax dispute and a parliamentary resolution blocking new agreements with oil companies pending passage of oil legislation. Potential construction of a domestic oil refinery and export pipeline are contingent upon ongoing feasibility studies and negotiations between oil companies and the government.

Roads are the most commonly used transportation infrastructure in Uganda, accounting for more than 90% of cargo freight and passenger transportation. Uganda has about 78,100 kilometers (48,529 mi.) of roads. Only 3,000 kilometers (1,864 mi.) are paved, and most roads radiate from Kampala. The country has a 321 kilometer (200 mi.) rail network, much of which is not currently in use. Uganda's road and rail links to Mombasa serve some of the transportation needs of the neighboring countries of Rwanda, Burundi, and parts of D.R.C. and Sudan. Entebbe International Airport is on the shore of Lake Victoria, some 32 kilometers (20 mi.) south of Kampala.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
The Ugandan Government generally seeks good relations with other nations without reference to ideological orientation. Uganda's relations with Rwanda, D.R.C., and Sudan have sometimes been strained because of security concerns. Uganda, D.R.C., Rwanda, and Burundi participated in the U.S.-facilitated Tripartite Plus process, which helped ease tensions and contributed to increased bilateral contacts with the aim of resolving conflicts between the neighbors. Uganda has more than 5,000 peacekeepers in Somalia as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

In addition to its friendly ties to Western nations, Uganda has maintained ties with North Korea, Libya, and Iran.

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group operating in western Uganda and eastern D.R.C. near the Rwenzori Mountains, emerged as a localized threat in 1996 and inflicted substantial suffering on the population in the area. It has largely been defeated by the Uganda People's Defense Force, and the affected areas of western Uganda have been secured. Remnants of the ADF remain in eastern D.R.C.

DEFENSE
The Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF)--previously the National Resistance Army--constitutes the armed forces of Uganda. The UPDF's land and air forces have 50,000 soldiers, including approximately 6,000 currently deployed to AMISOM and the Operation Lightning Thunder (OLT) counter-LRA operations in central Africa. As the first country to deploy troops to AMISOM when it was established in 2007, Uganda has played a key and growing role in advancing regional peace and security. In recent years, the UPDF has become a modern and professionalized force that has largely moved beyond the human rights abuses committed during its military intervention in the D.R.C. in the 1990s. However, there are still reports of human rights abuses committed in the UPDF's ongoing Karamoja disarmament campaign in eastern Uganda, and some UPDF entities are alleged to have committed human rights violations with other organs of Uganda’s security apparatus against the political opposition.

U.S.-UGANDAN RELATIONS
Although U.S.-Ugandan relations were strained during the rule of Idi Amin in the 1970s, relations improved after Amin's fall. In mid-1979, the United States reopened its Embassy in Kampala. Relations with successive governments were cordial, though Obote and his administration rejected strong U.S. criticism of Uganda's human rights situation. Bilateral relations between the United States and Uganda have been good since Museveni assumed power, and the United States welcomed Museveni’s early efforts to end human rights abuses and to pursue economic reform.

U.S. assistance to Uganda promotes democratic governance, peace and security, and local development. In FY 2011, the United States provided over $600 million in assistance to Uganda. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) works with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In FY 2011, the United States provided approximately $285 million in PEPFAR assistance to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Other U.S. health assistance to Uganda targets malaria, family and reproductive health, child and maternal health, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases. Other programs promote trade and investment, curb environmental degradation, encourage the peaceful resolution of local and international conflicts, and promote honest and open government.

U.S. Peace Corps volunteers are active in primary-teacher training and HIV/AIDS programs. The Department of State carries out cultural exchange programs, brings Fulbright lecturers and researchers to Uganda, and sponsors U.S. study and tour programs for a wide variety of officials from government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector. Through the Ambassador's Self-Help Fund, local groups in poor areas receive assistance for small projects with a high level of community involvement.

U.S.-Ugandan relations benefit from significant contributions to health care, nutrition, education, and park systems from U.S. missionaries, nongovernmental organizations, private universities, HIV/AIDS researchers, and wildlife organizations. Expatriate Ugandans living in the United States also promote stronger links between the two countries.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Jerry P. Lanier
Deputy Chief of Mission--Virginia Blaser
Director, USAID--David Eckerson

The U.S. Embassy in Uganda is at 1577 Ggaba Road, Kampala; tel. +256 414-259-791; fax: +256 414-259-794; http://kampala.usembassy.gov/.
Northern Uganda Virtual Presence Post - http://northernuganda.usvpp.gov/.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
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The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. The travel.state.gov website also includes information about passports, tips for planning a safe trip abroad and more.  More travel-related information also is available at  http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

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The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to enroll in the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).  A link to the registration page is also available through the Department's Smart Traveler app. U.S. citizens without internet access can enroll directly at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.  By enrolling, you make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and so you can receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

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Passports
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Health Information
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

More Electronic Information
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PROFILE

Geography
Location: Central Africa. Bordering nations--Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda.
Area: 27,830 sq. km. (10,747 sq. mi.); about the size of Maryland.
Cities: Capital--Bujumbura (pop. 300,000). Other cities--Cibitoke, Rumonge, Nyanza-Lac, Muyinga, Ngozi, Bubanza, Gitega.
Climate: Equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade (73 to 63 degrees Fahrenheit) but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m (5,600 ft.); average annual rainfall is about 150 cm (59 in.); two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January).
Terrain: Hilly, rising from 780 meters (2,600 ft.) at the shore of Lake Tanganyika to mountains more than 2,700 meters (9,000 ft.) above sea level.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Burundian(s).
Population (2009): 8,303,330.
Annual population growth rate (2009): 2.8%.
Ethnic groups: Hutu (Bantu) 85%; Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%; Twa (Pygmy) 1.0%.
Religions: Christian 80% (Roman Catholic 65%-70%, Protestant 10%-15%, indigenous beliefs, Muslim less than 5%.
Languages: Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area), English.
Education: Years compulsory--6. Attendance--84.05% male, 62.8% female. Literacy (2009)--66.6% of total population over the age of 15 can read and write.
Health (2009): Life expectancy--total population 50.9 years; male 49.4 years; female 52.4 years. Infant mortality rate--101.3/1,000.

Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: July 1, 1962 (from Belgium).
Constitution: A transitional constitution was adopted October 18, 2001. The parliament adopted a post-transition constitution on September 17, 2004, which was approved in a nationwide referendum held February 28, 2005.
Branches: Executive--President, First Vice President in charge of political and administrative affairs, Second Vice President in charge of social and economic affairs, 21-member Council of Ministers. Legislative--bicameral parliament. A 100-member directly elected National Assembly plus additional deputies appointed as necessary to ensure an ethnic and gender composition of 60% Hutu, 40% Tutsi, 30% female, and 3 Batwa members. A 54-member Senate (3 seats reserved for former presidents; 3 seats reserved for the ethnic Twa minority; 2 Senators, one Hutu and one Tutsi, from each of the 16 provinces plus the city of Bujumbura appointed by an electoral college comprised of members of locally elected communal councils; women must comprise 30% of the Senate). Judicial--constitutional and subsidiary courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 17 provinces including Bujumbura, 129 communes.
Political parties: Multi-party system consisting of 44 registered political parties, of which CNDD- FDD (the National Council for the Defense of Democracy), FNL (the National Forces for Liberation), FRODEBU (the Front for Democracy in Burundi), and UPRONA (the National Unity and Progress Party) are national, mainstream parties. Other opposition parties include MSD (Movement for Solidarity and Democracy), CNDD (Council for the Defense of Democracy), PARENA (the Party for National Redress), and FRODEBU Nyakuri (a splinter of the mainstream FRODEBU that won important swing votes in the National Assembly in the 2010 elections).
Suffrage: Universal adult.

Economy
GDP (2009, World Bank): $1.325 billion.
Real growth rate (2009): 3.4%.
Per capita GDP (2009): $151.
Population below poverty line (2009): 70%.
Inflation rate (2009): 10.5%.
Central government budget (2010): Revenues--$588.5 million (internal and foreign grants); expenditures--$699.2 million, including capital expenditures.
Natural resources: Nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone.
Primary sector (2009 est.; 46% of GDP, of which agriculture is 45% of GDP): Coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca), beef, milk, hides. Arable land (2009 est.)--35.57%.
Secondary sector (2009 est.; 19% of GDP): Types--beverage production, coffee and tea processing, cigarette production, sugar refining, pharmaceuticals, light food processing, chemicals (insecticides), public works construction, consumer goods, assembly of imported components, light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap.
Services (2009 est.): 35% of GDP.
Mining: Commercial quantities of alluvial gold, nickel, phosphates, rare earth, vanadium and other; peat mining.
Trade (2009): Exports--$63.9 million f.o.b.: coffee (50% of export earnings), tea, sugar, cotton fabrics, hides. Major markets--U.K., Germany, Benelux, Switzerland. Imports--$402.3 million f.o.b.: food, beverages, tobacco, chemicals, road vehicles, petroleum products. Major suppliers--Benelux, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Japan.
Debt: In 2009, the country’s debt was erased through the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Heavily Indebted Poor Countries mechanism.

PEOPLE
At about 300 persons per sq. km., Burundi has the second-largest population density in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most people live on subsistence farms near areas of fertile volcanic soil. The population is made up of three major ethnic groups--Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. Kirundi is the most widely spoken language; French and Kiswahili also are widely spoken. Intermarriage takes place frequently between the Hutus and Tutsis. Although Hutus encompass the majority of the population, historically Tutsis have been politically and economically dominant.

HISTORY
In the 16th century, Burundi was a kingdom characterized by a hierarchical political authority and tributary economic exchange. A king (mwani) headed a princely aristocracy (ganwa) that owned most of the land and required a tribute, or tax, from local farmers and herders. In the mid-18th century, this predominantly-Tutsi royalty consolidated authority over land, production, and distribution with the development of the ubugabire--a patron-client relationship in which the populace received royal protection in exchange for tribute and land tenure.

Although European explorers and missionaries made brief visits to the area as early as 1856, it was not until 1899 that Burundi came under German East African administration. In 1916 Belgian troops occupied the area. In 1923, the League of Nations mandated to Belgium the territory of Ruanda-Urundi, encompassing modern-day Rwanda and Burundi. The Belgians administered the territory through indirect rule, building on the Tutsi-dominated aristocratic hierarchy. Following World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a United Nations Trust Territory under Belgian administrative authority. After 1948, Belgium permitted the emergence of competing political parties. Two political parties emerged: the Union for National Progress (UPRONA), a multi-ethnic party led by Tutsi Prince Louis Rwagasore and the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) supported by Belgium. In 1961, Prince Rwagasore was assassinated following an UPRONA victory in legislative elections.

Full independence was achieved on July 1, 1962. In the context of weak democratic institutions at independence, Ganwa King Mwambutsa IV established a constitutional monarchy comprising equal numbers of Hutus and Tutsis. The 1965 assassination of the Hutu prime minister set in motion a series of destabilizing Hutu revolts and subsequent governmental repression. In 1966, King Mwambutsa was deposed by his son, Prince Ntare IV, who himself was deposed the same year by a military coup led by Capt. Michel Micombero. Micombero abolished the monarchy and declared a republic, although a de facto military regime emerged. In 1972, an aborted Hutu rebellion triggered the flight of hundreds of thousands of Burundians. Civil unrest continued throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s.

In 1976, Col. Jean-Baptiste Bagaza took power in a bloodless coup. Although Bagaza led a Tutsi-dominated military regime, he encouraged land reform, electoral reform, and national reconciliation. In 1981, a new constitution was promulgated. In 1984, Bagaza was elected head of state, as the sole candidate. After his election, Bagaza's human rights record deteriorated as he suppressed religious activities and detained political opposition members.

In 1987, Maj. Pierre Buyoya overthrew Colonel Bagaza. He dissolved opposition parties, suspended the 1981 constitution, and instituted his ruling Military Committee for National Salvation (CSMN). During 1988, increasing tensions between the ruling Tutsis and the majority Hutus resulted in violent confrontations between the Tutsi-dominated army, the Hutu opposition, and Tutsi hardliners. During this period, an estimated 150,000 people were killed, with tens of thousands of refugees flowing to neighboring countries. Buyoya formed a commission to investigate the causes of the 1988 unrest and to develop a charter for democratic reform.

In 1991, Buyoya approved a constitution that provided for a president, multi-ethnic government, and a parliament. Burundi's first Hutu president, Melchior Ndadaye, of the Hutu-dominated FRODEBU Party, was elected in 1993. He was assassinated by factions of the Tutsi-dominated armed forces in October 1993. The country was then plunged into civil war, in which tens of thousands of people were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced by the time the FRODEBU government regained control and elected Cyprien Ntaryamira president in January 1994. Nonetheless, the security situation continued to deteriorate. In April 1994, President Ntaryamira and Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana died in a plane crash. This act marked the beginning of the Rwandan genocide, while in Burundi the death of Ntaryamira exacerbated the violence and unrest. Sylvestre Ntibantunganya was installed as president for a 4-year term on April 8, but the security situation further deteriorated. The influx of hundreds of thousands of Rwandan refugees and the activities of armed Hutu and Tutsi groups further destabilized the regime.

Burundi's civil war officially ended in 2006 under a South Africa-brokered cease-fire agreement with the last of Burundi's rebel groups. In 2009, the PALIPEHUTU-FNL, the last rebel group, disarmed, demobilized and registered as a political party (the FNL), in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Today the government is focused on rebuilding its infrastructure and reestablishing external relations with its regional neighbors.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
In November 1995, the presidents of Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) announced a regional initiative for a negotiated peace in Burundi facilitated by former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere. In July 1996, former Burundian President Buyoya returned to power in a bloodless coup. He declared himself president of a transitional republic, even as he suspended the National Assembly, banned opposition groups, and imposed a nationwide curfew. Widespread condemnation of the coup ensued, and regional countries imposed economic sanctions pending a return to a constitutional government. Buyoya agreed in 1996 to liberalize political parties. Nonetheless, fighting between the army and Hutu militias continued. In June 1998, Buyoya promulgated a transitional constitution and announced a partnership between the government and the opposition-led National Assembly. After Facilitator Julius Nyerere's death in October 1999, the regional leaders appointed Nelson Mandela as Facilitator of the Arusha peace process. Under Mandela the faltering peace process was revived, leading to the signing of the Arusha Accords in August 2000 by representatives of the principal Hutu (G-7) and Tutsi (G-10) political parties, the government, and the National Assembly. However, the FDD and FNL armed factions of the CNDD and Palipehutu G-7 parties refused to accept the Arusha Accords, and the armed rebellion continued.

In November 2001, a 3-year transitional government was established under the leadership of Pierre Buyoya (representing the G-10) as transitional president and Domitien Ndayizeye (representing the G-7) as transitional vice president for an initial period of 18 months. In May 2003, Ndayizeye assumed the presidency for 18 months with Alphonse Marie Kadege as vice president. In October and November 2003 the Burundian Government and the former rebel group the CNDD-FDD signed cease-fire and power-sharing agreements, and in March 2004 members of the CNDD-FDD took offices in the government and parliament. The World Bank and other bilateral donors provided financing for Burundi's disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration program for former rebel combatants.

National and regional mediation efforts failed to reach a compromise on post-transition power-sharing arrangements between the predominantly Hutu and Tutsi political parties, and in September 2004 over two-thirds of the parliament--despite a boycott by the Tutsi parties--approved a post-transition constitution. The Arusha Peace Agreement called for local and national elections to be held before the conclusion of the transitional period on October 31, 2004. On October 20, 2004, however, a joint session of the National Assembly and Senate adopted a previously approved draft constitution as an interim constitution that provided for an extension of transitional institutions until elections were held. On February 28, 2005, Burundians overwhelmingly approved a post-transitional constitution in a popular referendum, setting the stage for local and national elections. In April 2005, Burundi's transitional government was again extended and an electoral calendar was established at a regional summit held in Uganda.

In accordance with the new electoral calendar, the Burundian people voted for Communal Council members and National Assembly deputies through direct elections in June and July 2005. An electoral college of Communal Councils indirectly elected Senate members in July 2005. A joint session of the parliament elected Pierre Nkurunziza as President of Burundi on August 19, 2005 in a vote of 151 to 9 with one abstention, establishing the post-transition Hutu majority government. Finally, the Burundian people established Colline (hill) councils through direct elections in September 2005.

In September 2006, the last remaining rebel group in Burundi, the PALIPEHUTU-FNL, signed a peace agreement. Implementation obstacles and spurts of violence from the group slowed the process. In May 2008, the leaders of the PALIPEHUTU-FNL returned to Burundi to address the impasse and negotiate with the Government of Burundi. The two entities agreed upon a durable solution on December 4, 2008. In 2009, the PALIPEHUTU-FNL disarmed and demobilized in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Also in 2009, the FNL agreed to drop its ethnic derivative, “Palipehutu,” and the government agreed to integrate the FNL into the Burundian political system by allowing it to register and act as a full-fledged political party.

With its Communal Council elections on May 26, 2010, Burundi launched the first of five elections in 2010. The direct election of Communal Council members was followed by a direct election for President on June 28, in which Pierre Nkurunziza ran uncontested, and direct elections for National Assembly deputies on July 23. Electoral colleges of Communal Council members in each province indirectly elected Senate members on July 28, 2010. Colline (hill) Council elections were held September 7, 2010. The 2010 elections were widely considered to be the culmination of the peace process and marked the first direct presidential elections since 1993.

Principal Government Officials
President--Pierre Nkurunziza
First Vice President--Therence Sinunguruza
Second Vice President--Gervais Rufyikiri
Speaker of the National Assembly--Pie Ntavyohanyuma
President of the Senate--Gabriel Ntisezerana
Minister of Defense--Pontien Gaciyubwenge
Minister of External Relations and Cooperation (Foreign Minister)--Laurent Kavakure
Minister of Interior--Edouard Nduwimana
Minister of Justice--Pascal Barandigye
Minister of Public Security--Gabriel Nizigama
Ambassador to the United States--Angele Niyuhire

Burundi maintains an embassy in the United States at Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20007 (tel. 202-342-2574).

ECONOMY
Burundi's economy is based predominantly on agriculture, accounting for 45% of GDP in 2009. Agriculture supports more than 90% of the labor force, the majority of whom are subsistence farmers. Although Burundi is potentially self-sufficient in food production, the civil war, overpopulation, and soil erosion have contributed to the contraction of the subsistence economy by 30% in recent years. Large numbers of internally displaced persons have been unable to produce their own food and are dependent on international humanitarian assistance. Food imports accounted for 12.5% of total imports value in 2009.

The main cash crop is coffee, which accounted for 55.6% of exports in 2009. This dependence on coffee has increased Burundi's vulnerability to fluctuations in seasonal yields and international coffee prices. Coffee processing is the largest state-owned enterprise in terms of income. Although the government has tried to attract private investment to this sector, only a small number (12) of the 120 washing stations were sold to a foreign private company. Efforts to privatize other publicly held enterprises have likewise stalled. Other principal exports include tea and raw cotton.

Little industry exists except the processing of agricultural exports. There is potential wealth in petroleum, nickel, copper, gold, and other natural resources; however, these resources are not being exploited. Former studies reported evidence of offshore petroleum deposits in Lake Tanganyika as well as in the plain of Rusizi, although the uncertain security situation had prevented meaningful investor interest. Despite an improvement in the security situation, the lack of adequate infrastructure--transportation and energy--has limited industrial development, which is hampered by Burundi's distance from the sea and high transport costs. Lake Tanganyika remains an important regional trading point.

Burundi is heavily dependent on bilateral and multilateral aid. International Monetary Fund (IMF) structural adjustment programs in Burundi were suspended following the outbreak of violence in 1993; the IMF re-engaged Burundi in 2002 and 2003 with post-conflict credits, and in 2004 approved a $104 million Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility loan. In preparing a transition support strategy, the World Bank identified key areas for potential growth, including the productivity of traditional crops and the introduction of new exports, light manufactures, industrial mining, and services. Both the IMF and the World Bank assisted the Burundians in preparing a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, released in February 2007. More than 70% of Burundians live below the poverty line. Serious economic problems include the state's role in the economy and the question of governmental transparency, and debt reduction. In January 2009, the IMF and the World Bank decided that Burundi satisfied the requirements toward reaching its completion point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) and waived $424 million in debt.

Based on Burundi's successful transition from war to peace and the establishment of a democratically-elected government in Burundi in September 2005, the U.S. Government lifted all sanctions on assistance to Burundi on October 18, 2005. Burundi also became eligible for trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in December 2005, but no Burundian industries have yet taken advantage of AGOA benefits. Burundi joined the East Africa Community in 2007.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Burundi's relations with its neighbors have often been affected by security concerns. The Great Lakes is home to a number of illegal armed groups. Hundreds of thousands of Burundian refugees have at various times crossed into Rwanda, Tanzania, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. These Burundians fled to neighboring countries during the civil war, hundreds of thousands of whom sought refuge in Tanzania. Most refugees have returned or opted to settle permanently in countries of asylum. Burundi maintains close relations with all neighbors in the Great Lakes region, including Rwanda, Uganda, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. In reaffirming Burundi's commitment to regional peacekeeping and allegiance to the African Union, the government recently deployed troops to participate in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeeping operation.

Burundi is a member of various international and regional organizations, including the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the African Union, the African Development Bank, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the free-tariff zone of eastern and southern Africa, and the East Africa Community (EAC).

U.S.-BURUNDI RELATIONS
U.S. Government goals in Burundi are to help the people of Burundi realize a just and lasting peace based upon democratic principles and sustainable economic development. The United States encourages political stability, ongoing democratic reforms, political openness, respect for human rights, and economic development. In the long term, the United States seeks to strengthen the process of internal reconciliation and democratization within all the states of the region to promote a stable, democratic community of nations that will work toward mutual social, economic, and security interests on the continent. As the situation in Burundi normalizes, the United States seeks to facilitate its integration into regional and international markets, as a means to promote sustainable economic development.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Pamela J. Slutz
Deputy Chief of Mission--Samuel R. Watson
Political Officer--Kim Jordan
Economic Officer--Catherine McFarland
Consular Officer--Patrick Gann
Public Affairs Officer--Anita Doll
Regional Security Officer--Yvon Guillaume
General Services Officer--Johnathan Winston

The U.S. Embassy is located at Avenue des Etats-Unis (Boite Postale 1720), Bujumbura (tel. [257] 222234-54).

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
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The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. The travel.state.gov website also includes information about passports, tips for planning a safe trip abroad and more.  More travel-related information also is available at  http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department's Smart Traveler app for U.S. travelers going abroad provides easy access to the frequently updated official country information, travel alerts, travel warnings, maps, U.S. embassy locations, and more that appear on the travel.state.gov site. Travelers can also set up e-tineraries to keep track of arrival and departure dates and make notes about upcoming trips. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (requires iOS 4.0 or later).

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to enroll in the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).  A link to the registration page is also available through the Department's Smart Traveler app. U.S. citizens without internet access can enroll directly at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.  By enrolling, you make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and so you can receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

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Passports
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

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PROFILE

Geography
Area: 1.2 million sq. km. (470,462 sq. mi.).
Cities: Capitals--administrative, Pretoria; legislative, Cape Town; judicial, Bloemfontein. Other cities--Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth.
Terrain: Plateau, savanna, desert, mountains, coastal plains.
Climate: moderate; comparable to southern California.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--South African(s).
Population (2011): 50.59 million. Composition--black 79.5%; white 9%; colored 9%; Asian (Indian) 2.5%. (2011 Mid-Year Population Estimate Report at http://www.statssa.gov.za)
Annual population growth rate (2010): 1.1%.
Languages: Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, and Xitsonga (all official languages).
Religions: Predominantly Christian; traditional African, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish.
Education: Years compulsory--7-15 years of age for all children. The South African Schools Act (Act 84), passed by Parliament in 1996, aims to achieve greater educational opportunities for black children. This Act mandated a single syllabus and more equitable funding for schools.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2011)--37.9 per 1,000 live births. Life expectancy--59.1 years women; 54.9 years men. (Health data from 2011 Mid-Year Population Estimate Report: http://www.statssa.gov.za)

Government
Type: Parliamentary democracy.
Independence: The Union of South Africa was created on May 31, 1910; became a sovereign state within British Empire in 1934; became a republic on May 31, 1961; left the Commonwealth in October 1968; rejoined the Commonwealth in June 1994.
Constitution: Entered into force February 3, 1997.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state) elected to a 5-year term by the National Assembly. Legislative--bicameral Parliament consisting of 490 members in two chambers. National Assembly (400 members) elected by a system of proportional representation. National Council of Provinces consisting of 90 delegates (10 from each province) and 10 nonvoting delegates representing local government. Judicial--Constitutional Court interprets and decides constitutional issues; Supreme Court of Appeal is the highest court for interpreting and deciding nonconstitutional matters.
Administrative subdivisions: Nine provinces: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Limpopo, Western Cape.
Political parties: African National Congress (ANC), Democratic Alliance (DA), Congress of the People (COPE), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Pan-African Congress (PAC), Vryheidsfront Plus/Freedom Front Plus (FF+), United Democratic Movement (UDM), African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), and Azanian Peoples Organization (Azapo).
Suffrage: Citizens and permanent residents 18 and older.

Economy
GDP (2010): $357.3 billion.
Real GDP growth rate: (2008) 3.7%; (2009) -1.8%; (2010) 2.8%.
GDP per capita (2010): $10,700.
Unemployment (second quarter 2011): 25.7%.
Natural resources: Almost all essential commodities, except petroleum products and bauxite. It is the only country in the world that manufactures fuel from coal.
Industry: Types--minerals, mining, motor vehicles and parts, machinery, textiles, chemicals, fertilizer, information technology, electronics, other manufacturing, and agro-processing.
Trade (2010): Exports--$85.8 billion; merchandise exports: minerals and metals, motor vehicles and parts, agricultural products. Major markets--China, U.S., Japan, Germany, U.K., Sub-Saharan Africa. Imports--$81.86 billion: machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, textiles, and scientific instruments. Major suppliers--China, Germany, U.S., Saudi Arabia, Japan.
GDP composition (2010): Agriculture--2%; industry--30.8%; services--66.7%. South Africa is one of the largest producers of platinum, manganese, gold, and chrome in the world; also significant coal production.

PEOPLE
Prior to 1991, South African law divided the population into four major racial categories: Africans (black), whites, coloreds, and Asians. Although this law has been abolished, many South Africans still view themselves and each other according to these categories. Black Africans comprise about 80% of the population and are divided into a number of different ethnic groups. Whites comprise 9% of the population. They are primarily descendants of Dutch, French, English, and German settlers who began arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the late 17th century. Coloreds are mixed-race people primarily descending from the earliest settlers and the indigenous peoples. They comprise 9% of the total population. Asians are descended from Indian workers brought to South Africa in the mid-19th century to work on the sugar estates in Natal. They constitute about 2.5% of the population and are concentrated in the KwaZulu-Natal Province.

Education is in transition. Under the apartheid system schools were segregated, and the quantity and quality of education varied significantly across racial groups. The laws governing this segregation have been abolished. The long and arduous process of restructuring the country's educational system is ongoing. The challenge is to create a single, nondiscriminatory, nonracial system that offers the same standards of education to all people.

HISTORY
People have inhabited southern Africa for thousands of years. Members of the Khoisan language groups are the oldest surviving inhabitants of the land, but only a few are left in South Africa today--and they are located in the western sections. Most of today's black South Africans belong to the Bantu language group, which migrated south from central Africa, settling in the Transvaal region sometime before AD 100. The Nguni, ancestors of the Zulu and Xhosa, occupied most of the eastern coast by 1500.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach the Cape of Good Hope, arriving in 1488. However, permanent white settlement did not begin until 1652 when the Dutch East India Company established a provisioning station on the Cape. In subsequent decades, French Huguenot refugees, the Dutch, and Germans began to settle in the Cape. Collectively, they form the Afrikaner segment of today's population. The establishment of these settlements had far-reaching social and political effects on the groups already settled in the area, leading to upheaval in these societies and the subjugation of their people.

By 1779, European settlements extended throughout the southern part of the Cape and east toward the Great Fish River. It was here that Dutch authorities and the Xhosa fought the first frontier war. The British gained control of the Cape of Good Hope at the end of the 18th century. Subsequent British settlement and rule marked the beginning of a long conflict between the Afrikaners and the English.

Beginning in 1836, partly to escape British rule and cultural hegemony and partly out of resentment at the recent abolition of slavery, many Afrikaner farmers (Boers) undertook a northern migration that became known as the "Great Trek." This movement brought them into contact and conflict with African groups in the area, the most formidable of which were the Zulus. Under their powerful leader, Shaka (1787-1828), the Zulus conquered most of the territory between the Drakensberg Mountains and the sea (now KwaZulu-Natal).

In 1828, Shaka was assassinated and replaced by his half-brother Dingane. In 1838, Dingane was defeated and deported by the Voortrekkers (people of the Great Trek) at the battle of Blood River. The Zulus, nonetheless, remained a potent force, defeating the British in the historic battle of Isandhlwana before themselves being finally conquered in 1879.

In 1852 and 1854, the independent Boer Republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State were created. Relations between the republics and the British Government were strained. The discovery of diamonds at Kimberley in 1870 and the discovery of large gold deposits in the Witwatersrand region of the Transvaal in 1886 caused an influx of European (mainly British) immigration and investment. In addition to resident black Africans, many blacks from neighboring countries also moved into the area to work in the mines. The construction by mine owners of hostels to house and control their workers set patterns that later extended throughout the region.

Boer reactions to this influx and British political intrigues led to the Anglo-Boer Wars of 1880-81 and 1899-1902. British forces prevailed in the latter conflict, and the republics were incorporated into the British Empire. In May 1910, the two republics and the British colonies of the Cape and Natal formed the Union of South Africa, a self-governing dominion of the British Empire. The Union's constitution kept all political power in the hands of whites.

In 1912, the South Africa Native National Congress was founded in Bloemfontein and eventually became known as the African National Congress (ANC). Its goals were the elimination of restrictions based on color and the enfranchisement of and parliamentary representation for blacks. Despite these efforts the government continued to pass laws limiting the rights and freedoms of blacks.

In 1948, the National Party (NP) won the all-white elections and began passing legislation codifying and enforcing an even stricter policy of white domination and racial separation known as "apartheid" (separateness). In the early 1960s, following a protest in Sharpeville in which 69 protesters were killed by police and 180 injured, the ANC and Pan-African Congress (PAC) were banned. Nelson Mandela and many other anti-apartheid leaders were convicted and imprisoned on charges of treason.

The ANC and PAC were forced underground and fought apartheid through guerrilla warfare and sabotage. In May 1961, South Africa abandoned its British dominion status and declared itself a republic. It withdrew from the Commonwealth in part because of international protests against apartheid. In 1984, a new constitution came into effect in which whites allowed coloreds and Asians a limited role in the national government and control over their own affairs in certain areas. Ultimately, however, all power remained in white hands. Blacks remained effectively disenfranchised.

Popular uprisings in black and colored townships in 1976 and 1985 helped to convince some NP members of the need for change. Secret discussions between those members and Nelson Mandela began in 1986. In February 1990, State President F.W. de Klerk, who had come to power in September 1989, announced the unbanning of the ANC, the PAC, and all other anti-apartheid groups. Two weeks later, Nelson Mandela was released from prison.

In 1991, the Group Areas Act, Land Acts, and the Population Registration Act--the last of the so-called "pillars of apartheid"--were abolished. A long series of negotiations ensued, resulting in a new constitution promulgated into law in December 1993. The country's first nonracial elections were held on April 26-28, 1994, resulting in the installation of Nelson Mandela as President on May 10, 1994.

Following the 1994 elections, South Africa was governed under an interim constitution establishing a Government of National Unity (GNU). This constitution required the Constitutional Assembly (CA) to draft and approve a permanent constitution by May 9, 1996. After review by the Constitutional Court and intensive negotiations within the CA, the Constitutional Court certified a revised draft on December 2, 1996. President Mandela signed the new constitution into law on December 10, and it entered into force on February 3, 1997. The GNU ostensibly remained in effect until the 1999 national elections. The parties originally comprising the GNU--the ANC, the NP, and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)--shared executive power. On June 30, 1996, the NP withdrew from the GNU to become part of the opposition.

During Nelson Mandela's 5-year term as President of South Africa, the government committed itself to reforming the country. The ANC-led government focused on social issues that were neglected during the apartheid era such as unemployment, housing shortages, and crime. Mandela's administration began to reintroduce South Africa into the global economy by implementing a market-driven economic plan known as Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR). In order to heal the wounds created by apartheid, the government created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) under the leadership of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. During the first term of the ANC's post-apartheid rule, President Mandela concentrated on national reconciliation, seeking to forge a single South African identity and sense of purpose among a diverse and splintered populace, after years of conflict. The diminution of political violence after 1994 and its virtual disappearance by 1996 were testament to the abilities of Mandela to achieve this difficult goal.

Nelson Mandela stepped down as President of the ANC at the party's national conference in December 1997, when Thabo Mbeki assumed the mantle of leadership. Mbeki won the presidency of South Africa after national elections in 1999, when the ANC won just shy of a two-thirds majority in Parliament. President Mbeki shifted the focus of government from reconciliation to transformation, particularly on the economic front. With political transformation and the foundation of a strong democratic system in place after two free and fair national elections, the ANC recognized the need to focus on bringing economic power to the black majority in South Africa. In April 2004, the ANC won nearly 70% of the national vote, and Mbeki was reelected for his second 5-year term. In his 2004 State of the Nation address, Mbeki promised his government would reduce poverty, stimulate economic growth, and fight crime. Mbeki said that the government would play a more prominent role in economic development. Defeated in a bid for a third term as ANC chair in party elections in December 2007, Mbeki was "recalled" by the ANC and resigned as President in September 2008. Kgalema Motlanthe was sworn in as President on September 25, 2008 and served out the remainder of Mbeki's term. South Africa held its fourth democratic election on April 22, 2009. The ANC won with 65% of the vote followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) with 16% of the vote. The DA also won power in the Western Cape, which became the only province that the ANC does not govern. The newly formed Congress of the People, launched by ANC members angered at the firing of Mbeki, won 9% of the vote. The National Assembly elected Jacob Zuma president, with Motlanthe as his deputy, following the ANC’s win in the 2009 national election.

South Africa held its fourth post-apartheid local government elections on May 18, 2011. The elections were peaceful and well organized. While the International Electoral Commission (IEC) struggled with some minor technical glitches and mishaps, voting was orderly. The African National Congress (ANC) held onto its dominant position nationally with an estimated 64% of the vote, while the Democratic Alliance (DA), the nation’s major opposition party, saw growth in its voter base, winning an estimated 22% of the vote. The ANC is set to hold its national conference in 2012, where its leader for the next 5 years will be elected.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
South Africa is a multiparty parliamentary democracy in which constitutional power is shared between the president and the Parliament.

The Parliament consists of two houses, the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, which are responsible for drafting the laws of the republic. The National Assembly also has specific control over bills relating to monetary matters. The current 400-member National Assembly was retained under the 1997 constitution, although the constitution allows for a range of between 350 and 400 members. The Assembly is elected by a system of "list proportional representation." Each of the parties appearing on the ballot submits a rank-ordered list of candidates. The voters then cast their ballots for a party.

Seats in the Assembly are allocated based on the percentage of votes each party receives. In the 2009 election, the ANC won 264 seats in the Assembly, just shy of a two-thirds majority and a decrease of 33 seats from 2004; the Democratic Alliance (DA) won 67, the newly formed Congress of the People (COPE) won 30, and the IFP won 18. Smaller parties won the remaining 21 seats.

The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) consists of 90 members, 10 from each of the nine provinces. The NCOP replaced the former Senate as the second chamber of Parliament and was created to give a greater voice to provincial interests. It must approve legislation that involves shared national and provincial competencies as defined by an annex to the constitution. Each provincial delegation consists of six permanent and four rotating delegates.

The president is the head of state, and is elected by the National Assembly from among its members. The president's constitutional responsibilities include assigning cabinet portfolios, signing bills into law, and serving as commander in chief of the military. The president works closely with the deputy president and the cabinet.

The third arm of the central government is an independent judiciary. The Constitutional Court is the highest court for interpreting and deciding constitutional issues, while the Supreme Court of Appeal is the highest court for nonconstitutional matters. Most cases are heard in the extensive system of High Courts and Magistrates Courts. The constitution's bill of rights provides for due process including the right to a fair, public trial within a reasonable time of being charged and the right to appeal to a higher court. The bill of rights also guarantees fundamental political and social rights of South Africa's citizens.

Challenges Ahead
South Africa's post-apartheid governments have made remarkable progress in consolidating the nation's peaceful transition to democracy. Programs to improve the delivery of essential social services to the majority of the population are underway. Access to better opportunities in education and business is becoming more widespread. Nevertheless, transforming South Africa's society to remove the legacy of apartheid will be a long-term process requiring the sustained commitment of the leaders and people of the nation's disparate groups.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), chaired by 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, helped to advance the reconciliation process. Constituted in 1995 and having completed its work by 2001, the TRC was empowered to investigate apartheid-era human rights abuses committed between 1960 and May 10, 1994; to grant amnesty to those who committed politically motivated crimes; and to recommend compensation to victims of abuses. In November 2003, the government began allocation of $4,600 (R30,000) reparations to individual apartheid victims. The TRC's mandate was part of the larger process of reconciling the often conflicting political, economic, and cultural interests held by the diverse groups of people that make up South Africa's population. The ability of the government and people to agree on many basic questions of how to order the country's society will remain a critical challenge.

One important issue continues to be the relationship of provincial and local administrative structures to the national government. Prior to April 27, 1994, South Africa was divided into four provinces and 10 black "homelands," four of which were considered independent by the South African Government. Both the interim constitution and the 1997 constitution abolished this system and substituted nine provinces. Each province has an elected legislature and chief executive--the provincial premier. Although in form a federal system, in practice the nature of the relationship between the central and provincial governments continues to be the subject of considerable debate, particularly among groups desiring a greater measure of autonomy from the central government. A key step in defining the relationship came in 1997 when provincial governments were given more than half of central government funding and permitted to develop and manage their own budgets. Although South Africa's economy is in many areas highly developed, the exclusionary nature of apartheid and distortions caused in part by the country's international isolation until the 1990s have left major weaknesses. The economy is in a process of transition as the government seeks to address the inequities of apartheid, stimulate growth, and create jobs. Business, meanwhile, is becoming more integrated into the international system, and foreign investment has increased. Still, the economic disparities between population groups are expected to persist for many years, remaining an area of priority attention for the government.

Human Rights
The 1997 constitution's bill of rights provides extensive guarantees, including equality before the law and prohibitions against discrimination; the right to life, privacy, property, and freedom and security of the person; prohibition against slavery and forced labor; and freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and association. The legal rights of criminal suspects also are enumerated, as are citizens' entitlements to a safe environment, housing, education, and health care. The constitution provides for an independent and impartial judiciary, and, in practice, these provisions are respected.

Since the abolition of apartheid, levels of political violence in South Africa have dropped dramatically. Violent crime and organized criminal activity are at high levels and are a grave concern. Partly as a result, vigilante action and mob justice sometimes occur.

Some members of the police commit abuses, and deaths in police custody as a result of excessive force remain a problem. The government has taken action to investigate and punish some of those who commit such abuses. In April 1997, the government established an Independent Complaints Directorate to investigate deaths in police custody and deaths resulting from police action.

Although South Africa's society is undergoing a rapid transformation, some discrimination against women continues, and discrimination against those living with HIV/AIDS remains. Violence against women and children also is a serious problem.

Gender-Based Violence
South Africa has the world’s highest rate of rape and sexual assault for any country not embroiled in conflict. By some estimates, a woman in South Africa is raped every 26 seconds. The United States is committed to helping South Africa stem this epidemic of gender-based violence and assist the thousands of women and children affected. Through a national network of Thuthuzela Care Centers, the United States assists 10,000 victims of sexual violence annually with medical and legal help and counseling.

Youth Connections
Through robust educational and cultural exchanges, the United States and South Africa are building connections between the young leaders of tomorrow. In 2010, 24 South African students traveled to the U.S. as part of the Youth Leadership Program. Twenty-seven students traveled to the United States to spend a year studying at community colleges, and 190 students improved their English through the micro-access scholarship program. The United States sponsored 82 South African scholars through the Fulbright Program in 2010.

Principal Government Officials
State President--Jacob Zuma
Executive Deputy President--Kgalema Motlanthe

Ministers
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries--Tina Joemat-Pettersson
Minister of Arts and Culture--Paul Mashatile
Minister of Basic Education--Matsie Angelina Motshekga
Minister of Communications--Dina Pule
Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs--Richard Baloyi
Minister of Correctional Services--Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula
Minister of Defence and Military Veterans--Lindiwe Sisulu
Minister of Economic Development--Ebrahim Patel
Minister of Energy--Elizabeth Dipuo Peters
Minister of Finance--Pravin Gordhan
Minister of Health--Pakishe Aaron Motsoaledi
Minister of Higher Education and Training--Bonginkosi Emmanuel Nzimande
Minister of Home Affairs--Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
Minister of Human Settlements--Tokyo Sexwale
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation--Maite Nkoana-Mashabane
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development--Jeffrey Radebe
Minister of Labour--Mildred Oliphant
Minister of Mineral Resources--Susan Shabangu
Minister of Police--Nathi Mthethwa
Minister of Public Enterprises--Malusi Gigaba
Minister for the Public Service and Administration--Roy Padayachie
Minister of Public Works--Thembelani Nxesi
Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform--Gugile Nkwinti
Minister of Science and Technology--Grace Naledi Pandor
Minister of Social Development--Bathabile Dlamini
Minister of Sport and Recreation--Fikile Mbalula
Minister of State Security--Siyabonga Cwele
Minister in The Presidency for National Planning Commission--Trevor Manuel
Minister in The Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation--Ohm Collins Chabane
Minister of Tourism--Marthinus van Schalkwyk
Minister of Trade and Industry--Rob Davies
Minister of Transport--Joel Sbusiso Ndebele
Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs--Edna Molewa
Minister of Women, Youth, Children and People with Disabilities--Lulu Xingwana

The Republic of South Africa maintains an embassy in the United States at 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; tel. (202) 232-4400.

ECONOMY
South Africa has a two-tiered economy; one rivaling other developed countries and the other with only the most basic infrastructure. It therefore is a productive and industrialized economy that exhibits many characteristics associated with developing countries, including a division of labor between formal and informal sectors, and uneven distribution of wealth and income. The formal sector, based on mining, manufacturing, services, and agriculture, is well developed.

The transition to a democratic, nonracial government, begun in early 1990, stimulated a debate on the direction of economic policies to achieve sustained economic growth while at the same time redressing the socioeconomic disparities created by apartheid. The Government of National Unity's initial blueprint to address this problem was the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP). The RDP was designed to create programs to improve the standard of living for the majority of the population by providing housing--a planned 1 million new homes in 5 years--basic services, education, and health care. While a specific "ministry" for the RDP no longer exists, a number of government ministries and offices are charged with supporting RDP programs and goals.

The Government of South Africa demonstrated its commitment to open markets, privatization, and a favorable investment climate with its release of the crucial Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) strategy--the neoliberal economic strategy to cover 1996-2000. The strategy had mixed success. It brought greater financial discipline and macroeconomic stability but failed to deliver in key areas. Formal employment continued to decline, and despite the ongoing efforts of black empowerment and signs of a fledgling black middle class and social mobility, the country's wealth remains very unequally distributed along racial lines. However, South Africa's budgetary reforms such as the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and the Public Finance Management Act--which aims at better reporting, auditing, and increased accountability--and the structural changes to its monetary policy framework, including inflation targeting, have created transparency and predictability and are widely acclaimed. Trade liberalization also has progressed substantially since the early 1990s. South Africa reduced its import-weighted average tariff rate from more than 20% in 1994 to 7% in 2002. These efforts, together with South Africa's implementation of its World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations and its constructive role in launching the Doha Development Round, show South Africa's acceptance of free market principles.

Financial Policy
South Africa has a sophisticated financial structure with a large and active stock exchange that ranks 17th in the world in terms of total market capitalization. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) performs all central banking functions. The SARB is independent and operates in much the same way as Western central banks, influencing interest rates and controlling liquidity through its interest rates on funds provided to private sector banks. Quantitative credit controls and administrative control of deposit and lending rates have largely disappeared. South African banks adhere to the Bank of International Standards core standards.

The South African Government has taken steps to gradually reduce remaining foreign exchange controls, which apply only to South African residents. Private citizens are now allowed a one-time investment of up to 2,000,000 rand (R) in offshore accounts. During 2007, the shareholding threshold (the percentage of shareholding that must be South African) for foreign direct investment outside Africa was lowered from 50% to 25% to enable South African companies to engage in strategic international partnerships. In addition, South African companies involved in international trade were permitted to operate a single Customer Foreign Currency (CFC) account for all international transactions. Permission was also granted to the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) to establish a rand currency futures market, in order to deepen South Africa’s financial markets and increase liquidity in the local foreign exchange market.

Impact of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
On May 15, 2004, South Africa was awarded with the winning bid to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first African nation to serve as host for the international football (soccer) competition. Nine cities hosted matches for the event: Johannesburg (with two stadiums), Cape Town, Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Rustenburg, Nelspruit, and Polokwane. With a large number of tourists expected to arrive and travel throughout the country for the event, attention focused on improving transportation. Americans purchased the largest number of tickets from overseas. South Africa's transportation infrastructure is well developed, supporting both domestic and regional needs. Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport serves as a hub for flights to other southern African countries. Billions were spent to upgrade international airports and national roads for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The first segment of the Johannesburg-Pretoria urban rapid rail Gautrain, linking O.R. Tambo airport to the northern Johannesburg office node of Sandton began operations June 8. A brand-new international airport and trade port opened in Durban in May 2010. Bus-rapid-transit (BRT) systems for the World Cup host cities were also created, but faced strong opposition from existing minibus/taxi operators who feared the competition.

The 2010 World Cup was the largest event ever to be held on the African continent. In preparation, South Africa spent over $5 billion on building and improving stadiums and transportation systems, and ensuring that security measures were up to par for the event. By the end of the competition on July 11, over 3.18 million fans had attended the 64 matches, the third-highest turnout in FIFA’s history (falling short of the records held by Germany and the U.S.). The World Cup was expected to add an additional 0.5% to South Africa’s 2010 GDP growth, fully an additional $5 billion (R35 billion) to GDP, according to South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.

Trade and Investment
South Africa has rich mineral resources. It is the world's largest producer and exporter of platinum; is a significant producer of gold, manganese, chrome, vanadium, and titanium; and also exports a significant amount of coal. During 2000, platinum overtook gold as South Africa's largest foreign exchange earner. The value-added processing of minerals to produce ferroalloys, stainless steels, and similar products is a major industry and an important growth area. The country's diverse manufacturing industry is a world leader in several specialized sectors, including motor vehicles and parts, railway rolling stock, synthetic fuels, and mining equipment and machinery.

Primary agriculture accounts for about 2.5% of the gross domestic product. Major crops include citrus and deciduous fruits, corn, wheat, dairy products, sugarcane, tobacco, wine, and wool. South Africa has many developed irrigation schemes and is a net exporter of food.

The domestic telecommunications infrastructure provides modern and efficient service to urban areas, but at comparatively high costs and with limited coverage in rural areas. South Africa has made some strides towards liberalizing its telecommunication market; however, many obstacles exist for further progress. The passing of the Electronic Communications Act (ECA) of 2005 marked a new regulatory framework for liberalizing the telecommunication market in South Africa. Established entities such as Telkom and Multi-choice secured market-share under prior monopoly regimes, which make it difficult for new entrants to offer competitive telecommunications services (e.g. pay-TV and internet). The U.S.-led SEACOM project is the first of a series of undersea cable projects to become operational. SEACOM provides the first access to true broadband connectivity for countries on Africa’s eastern seaboard, which were previously 100% reliant on Telkom's expensive satellite-based technology. SEACOM's landing stations operate on a market-based, "open-access" system.

Annual GDP growth between 2004 and 2007 averaged 5.0%, but fell to a rate of 3.7% in 2008 because of higher interest rates, power shortages, and weakening commodities prices. GDP contracted by 1.8% in 2009 as South Africa experienced its first recession in 18 years. Growth of 2.8% returned in 2010. The government estimated that the economy must achieve growth at a minimum of 6% to offset unemployment, which was estimated at 25.7% in July 2011. Inflation averaged 11.3% in 2008 and 7.2% in 2009. Increasing food and fuel prices pushed inflation above the upper end of the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB’s) 3% to 6% inflation target range for the better part of 2007 and 2008. Inflation started to decline in 2009. A central inflation forecast by the SARB projected that inflation would continue its downward trajectory and return to the 3% to 6% target range in the second half of 2010. Inflation was expected to average 5.8% and 5.6% in 2010 and 2011, respectively. The SARB reduced interest rates at regular intervals from December 2008. The cumulative reduction through August 2009 was 500 basis points, bringing the prime overdraft rate to 10.5%. Subsequently over late 2009 and early 2010, the Reserve Bank left interest rates unchanged. The government managed to eliminate the fiscal deficit in FY 2007 and FY 2008. However, a fiscal deficit of 1.2% of GDP was recorded in FY 2009, mainly due to the impact of weak domestic demand and the global economic crisis on tax revenues. The fiscal deficit was expected to increase to 6.7% of GDP in 2009-2010, according to the Finance Minister's February 2010 budget speech.

Exports amounted to 24% of GDP in 2010. South Africa's major trading partners include China, Germany, the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Japan displaced the U.S. as South Africa's largest export market in 2008, and China overtook both in 2009. South Africa's trade with other Sub-Saharan African countries, particularly those in the southern Africa region, has increased substantially. South Africa is a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). In August 1996, South Africa signed a regional trade protocol agreement with its SADC partners. The agreement was ratified in December 1999, and implementation began in September 2000. It provided duty-free treatment for 85% of trade in 2008 and aims for 100% by 2012. A U.S.-SACU Trade, Investment and Development Cooperative Agreement was signed in July 2008. The four areas singled out for special attention under the TIDCA are customs cooperation, technical barriers to trade, sanitary/phytosanitary (SPS) issues, and trade and investment promotion.

South Africa has made great progress in dismantling its old economic system, which was based on import substitution, high tariffs and subsidies, anticompetitive behavior, and extensive government intervention in the economy. The leadership has moved to reduce the government's role in the economy and to promote private sector investment and competition. It has significantly reduced tariffs and export subsidies, loosened exchange controls, cut the secondary tax on corporate dividends, and improved enforcement of intellectual property laws. A competition law was passed and became effective on September 1, 1999. A U.S.-South Africa bilateral tax treaty went into effect on January 1, 1998, and a bilateral trade and investment framework agreement was signed in February 1999.

South Africa is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). U.S. products qualify for South Africa's most-favored-nation tariff rates. South Africa is also an eligible country for the benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and most of its products can enter the United States market duty free. South Africa has done away with most import permits except on used products and products regulated by international treaties. It also remains committed to the simplification and continued reduction of tariffs within the WTO framework and maintains active discussions with that body and its major trading partners.

As a result of a November 1993 bilateral agreement, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) can assist U.S. investors in the South African market with services such as political risk insurance and loans and loan guarantees. In July 1996, the United States and South Africa signed an investment fund protocol for a $120 million OPIC fund to make equity investments in South Africa and southern Africa. The Trade and Development Agency also has been actively involved in funding feasibility studies and identifying investment opportunities in South Africa for U.S. businesses.

HIV/AIDS
South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV prevalence in the world, with more than 5 million HIV-infected individuals. Overall, 11.8% of the population is infected. The prevalence rate among 15-49 year olds is 18.1%, and in parts of the country more than 35% of women of childbearing age are infected. About 1,000 new infections occur each day, and approximately 350,000 AIDS-related deaths occur annually. There are approximately 3.8 million children who have lost one or both parents, and 1.6 million children were expected to have been orphaned by AIDS by 2008. The marked rise in TB and HIV co-infection (with 50% co-infection rates) adds significantly to mortality in the country. South Africa has 0.7% of the world’s population, 17% of the global HIV epidemic, and 28% of global HIV and TB co-infected people. It was expected that the epidemic could cost South Africa as much as 17% in GDP growth by 2010, with the extraction industries, education, and health among the sectors that would be severely affected. A 2007-2011 national strategic plan provides the structure for a comprehensive response to HIV and AIDS, including a national rollout of antiretroviral therapy. Overall, 30% of those who need it are currently on antiretroviral therapy.

Environment
South Africa's government is committed to managing the country's rich and varied natural resources in a responsible and sustainable manner. In addition, numerous South African non-governmental organizations have emerged as a potent force in the public policy debate on the environment. In international environmental organizations, South Africa is seen as a key leader among developing countries on issues such as climate change, conservation, and biodiversity. This leading role was underscored by South Africa's selection to host the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 and the 17th session of the UN Convention Framework on Climate Change (COP-17) in Durban in 2011.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
South African forces fought on the Allied side in World Wars I and II and participated in the postwar UN force in Korea. South Africa was a founding member of the League of Nations and in 1927 established a Department of External Affairs with diplomatic missions in the main west European countries and in the United States. At the founding of the League of Nations, South Africa was given the mandate to govern Southwest Africa, now Namibia, which had been a German colony before World War I. In 1990, Namibia attained independence, with the exception of the enclave of Walvis Bay, which was reintegrated into Namibia in March 1994. After South Africa held its first nonracial election in April 1994, most sanctions imposed by the international community in opposition to the system of apartheid were lifted. On June 1, 1994, South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth, and on June 23, 1994, the UN General Assembly accepted its credentials. South Africa served as the African Union's (AU) first president from July 2003 to July 2004.

Having emerged from the international isolation of the apartheid era, South Africa has become a leading international actor. Its principal foreign policy objective is to promote the economic, political, and cultural regeneration of Africa, through the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD); to promote the peaceful resolution of conflict in Africa; and to use multilateral bodies to insure that developing countries' voices are heard on international issues. South Africa has played a key role in seeking an end to various conflicts and political crises on the African continent, including in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Sudan, Comoros, and Zimbabwe.

U.S.-SOUTH AFRICAN RELATIONS
The United States has maintained an official presence in South Africa since 1799, when an American consulate was opened in Cape Town. The U.S. Embassy is located in Pretoria, and Consulates General are in Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town. Americans and South Africans also have many nongovernmental ties; for example, black and white American missionaries have a long history of activity in South Africa. South Africans (particularly the ANC leadership) also acknowledge support from and ties to the anti-apartheid movement in the U.S.

From the 1970s through the early 1990s, U.S.-South Africa relations were severely affected by South Africa's racial policies. However, since the abolition of apartheid and democratic elections of April 1994, the United States has enjoyed a solid bilateral relationship with South Africa. Although there are differences of position between the two governments, mainly on political issues, these largely do not impede cooperation on a broad range of important subjects. Bilateral cooperation in counterterrorism, fighting HIV/AIDS, and military relations has been particularly positive. In April 2010, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched a strategic dialogue aimed at deepening cooperation on the entire range of issues of mutual interest and/or concern. U.S.-South African economic and trade relations remain strong. Through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States also provides assistance to South Africa to help it meet its development goals. Peace Corps volunteers began working in South Africa in 1997.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Donald Gips
Deputy Chief of Mission--Virginia Palmer
Commercial Counselor--Larry Farris
Economic Counselor--Terri Robl
Political Counselor--Walter N. S. Pflaumer
Management Counselor--Cherie Jackson
Public Affairs Counselor--Karl Stoltz
Defense and Army Attache--Colonel Dan Hampton
USAID Director--Jeff Borns
Agricultural Attache--Ross Kreamer
Health Attache--Mary Fanning
Country Consular Coordinator--Kent May
Consul General Cape Town--Erica Barks-Ruggles
Consul General Durban--Taylor Ruggles
Consul General Johannesburg--Earl Miller

The U.S. Embassy in South Africa is located at 877 Pretorius St, Pretoria; PO Box 9536, Pretoria 0001; tel: (27-12) 431-4000; fax: (27-12) 342-2299.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings, Trip Registration
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. The travel.state.gov website also includes information about passports, tips for planning a safe trip abroad and more.  More travel-related information also is available at  http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department's Smart Traveler app for U.S. travelers going abroad provides easy access to the frequently updated official country information, travel alerts, travel warnings, maps, U.S. embassy locations, and more that appear on the travel.state.gov site. Travelers can also set up e-tineraries to keep track of arrival and departure dates and make notes about upcoming trips. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (requires iOS 4.0 or later).

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to enroll in the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).  A link to the registration page is also available through the Department's Smart Traveler app. U.S. citizens without internet access can enroll directly at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.  By enrolling, you make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and so you can receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

Passports
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Health Information
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

More Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including more Background Notes, the Department's daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

Mobile Sources. Background Notes are available on mobile devices at http://m.state.gov/mc36882.htm, or use the QR code below.

In addition, a mobile version of the Department's http://www.state.gov website is available at http://m.state.gov, or use the QR code below. Included on this site are Top Stories, remarks and speeches by Secretary Clinton, Daily Press Briefings, Country Information, and more.

PROFILE

Geography
Area: 61.7 sq. miles. (160 sq km.); about the size of Washington, DC.
Cities: Capital--Vaduz.
Terrain: 66% mountains, the remainder hills and plateau situated next to the Rhine.
Climate: Cold winters, hot summers; due to the south wind (Fohn), the climate can be described as temperate varying by season.

People
Nationality: Noun--Liechtensteiner(s), adjective--Liechtenstein.
Population (June 2011): 36,281, of which 67% are Liechtensteiners, 10.1% are Swiss, 5.7% Austrians, 3.4% Germans, 3.3% Italians, and 9.9% others.
Annual population growth rate: 0.8%.
Religions (2000): Roman Catholic 78.4%, Protestant 8.3%, others 13.3%.
Languages: German (official), Alemannic dialect.

Government
Type: Hereditary constitutional monarchy.
Independence: January 23, 1719 Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein established; July 12, 1806 established independence from the Holy Roman Empire.
Constitution: October 5, 1921.
Branches: Executive--Chief of state: Prince Hans Adam II (assumed executive powers on August 26, 1984, acceded to the throne on November 13, 1989); the Hereditary Prince Alois, son of the monarch, was born on June 11, 1968. Alois was appointed the permanent representative of the Prince on August 15, 2004. Head of government: Klaus Tschutscher (since March 25, 2009). Cabinet: Five cabinet members. The cabinet is elected by the parliament, and approved by the Prince. Legislative--unicameral parliament or Landtag (25 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote under proportional representation to serve 4-year terms). Judicial--District Court (low), Superior Court (medium), Supreme Court (high).
Administrative subdivisions: The country is subdivided into 11 municipalities.
Political parties: Patriotic Union (VU), Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP), and the Free List (FL).
Currency: Swiss Franc.
National holiday: Assumption Day, August 15.

Economy
GDP (2009): U.S. $4.5 billion (SFr. 4.9 billion).
Annual growth rate (2008): -0.5%.
Unemployment (2009): 2.8%, or 518 individuals. (Unemployment rate for the year 2008: 2.3%.)
Avg. inflation rate (2011 est.): 0.3%.
Consumer price index: 3.6% since 2005.
Agriculture (2009): 8% of GDP; 0.8% of the total workforce. Products--wheat, barley, corn, potatoes, livestock, dairy products.
Industry (2009): 37% of GDP; 41.3% of the total workforce. Types--electronics, metal manufacturing, textiles, ceramics, pharmaceuticals, food products, precision instruments.
General services (2009): 28% of GDP; 48.4% of the total workforce.
Financial services (2009): 27% of GDP; 9.5% of the total workforce.
Workforce (2010): 51% of total 34,334-person workforce is filled by foreign commuters (51.7% Swiss, 45.7% Austrians), and 32.5% by Liechtenstein citizens.
Trade (2009): Exports--$2.79 billion (SFr 3.08 billion). Main products--small specialty machinery, dental products, stamps, hardware, pottery. Major markets--Western Europe (61.72%) Asia (12.49%), North America (12.07%). Imports--$1.73 billion (SFr 1.92 billion). Main products--machinery, metal goods, textiles, foodstuffs, motor vehicles. Major suppliers--EU countries, Switzerland.
Banking assets: In 2010, customer deposits were valued at $116 billion (SFr. 121 billion; -3.2% over 1 year).
Exchange rate (average 2011): $1 U.S. = 0.8861 CHF or SFr.

HISTORY
The Liechtenstein family, of Austrian origin, acquired the fiefs of Vaduz and Schellenberg in 1699 and 1713 respectively, and gained the status of an independent principality of the Holy Roman Empire in 1719 under the name Liechtenstein. The French, under Napoleon, occupied the country for a few years. Napoleon was the founder of the Rhine Confederation in 1806 and accepted Liechtenstein as a member. Liechtenstein considers itself therefore to be a sovereign state since 1806. In 1815 within the new German Confederation, Liechtenstein could prove its independence once more. In 1868, after the German Confederation dissolved, Liechtenstein disbanded its army of 80 men and declared its permanent neutrality, which was declared during both world wars.

In 1919, Liechtenstein and Switzerland concluded an agreement whereby Switzerland assumed representation of Liechtenstein's diplomatic and consular interests in countries where Switzerland maintains representation and Liechtenstein does not. According to an agreement concluded with Austria in 1979, Liechtenstein citizens may seek consular assistance from Austrian representatives abroad in countries in which neither Liechtenstein nor Switzerland maintain representation. After World War II, Liechtenstein became increasingly important as a financial center, resulting in more prosperity. In 1989, Prince Hans Adam II succeeded his father to the throne and in 1996 settled a long-running dispute with Russia over the Liechtenstein family's archives, which had been confiscated during the Soviet occupation of Vienna in 1945 and later moved to Moscow. Liechtenstein has been a participating state of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) since the 1975 start of its predecessor, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). Liechtenstein became a member of the Council of Europe in 1978 and joined the UN in 1990, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1991, and both the European Economic Area (EEA) and World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995.

GOVERNMENT
According to the constitution, the government is a collegial body consisting of five ministers, including the prime minister. The prime minister and ministers are appointed by the Prince, following the proposals of the parliament.

Amendments to the constitution and new laws have to be adopted by parliament, signed by both the Prince and the prime minister, and published in the Principality's Law Gazette.

Prince Hans Adam II is the head of state. He is entitled to exercise his right to state leadership in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and of other laws. On August 15, 2004 Prince Hans Adam II entrusted Hereditary Prince Alois as his representative with the exercise of all sovereign rights pertaining to him, in accordance with the Liechtenstein constitution.

He represents the state vis-a-vis foreign states. He signs international treaties either in person or delegates this function to a plenipotentiary. In accordance with international law, some treaties only become valid when they have been ratified by the parliament.

The Prince's involvement in legislation includes the right to take initiatives in the form of government bills and the right to veto parliamentary proposals.

The Prince has the power to enact princely decrees. Emergency princely decrees are possible when the security and welfare of the country is at stake. A countersignature by the prime minister is required.

The Prince has the right to convene and adjourn parliament and, for serious reasons, to adjourn it for 3 months or to dissolve it.

The Prince nominates the government, district and high court judges, the judges of the Supreme Court, and the presidents and their deputies of the Constitutional Court and of the Administrative Court of Appeal on the basis of the names put forward by the parliament.

The Prince's other authorities include mitigating and commuting punishments that have been imposed with legal force and the abolition--i.e. the dismissal--of investigations that have been initiated. All judgments are issued in the name of the Prince.

Citizens elect the parliament directly under a system of proportional representation. Until 1989, 15 members represented the population of the two constituencies (6 for the lowland area and 9 for the highland area). Since 1989 the lowland constituency has been entitled to have 10 members and the highland area 15 members.

The duties and working procedures of the parliament are laid down in the constitution and in the parliament's standing orders. The parliament's main task is to discuss and adopt resolutions on constitutional proposals and draft government bills. It has the additional duties of giving its assent to important international treaties, of electing members of the government, judges and board members of the Principality's institutions, setting the annual budget and approving taxes and other public charges, and supervising the administration of the state.

The parliament observes its rights and duties in the course of sessions of the whole parliament and through the parliamentary commissions that it elects. All members of parliament exercise their mandates in addition to their normal professions or occupations. The president of parliament and his deputy are both elected at the opening meeting for the current year. The president convenes the individual meetings during the session, leads them, and represents the parliament externally. Parliament meets eight to ten times each year for a duration of 1 to 3 days depending on the agenda.

During the parliamentary recess--normally from January to February/March--a "state committee" assumes the parliament's duties, and such a committee must also be elected in the case of any adjournment or dissolution of parliament. A "state committee" consists of the president of parliament and four other members.

Under the Liechtenstein constitution, voters can call for a legislative referendum to oppose a parliamentary decision if they succeed in collecting 1,000 signatures. This threshold is increased to 1,500 signatures in cases of constitutional amendments and international treaties.

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
In the February 8, 2009 parliamentary elections, the Patriotic Union (Vaterlandische Union, VU) won an absolute majority in parliament and thereby a mandate to form the government. With a voter turnout of 84.6%, the VU obtained 47.6% of the vote (9.4% greater than 2005), giving it 13 seats in the 25-member parliament. The Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP) obtained 11 seats in parliament, with 43.5% of the votes (5.2% less than 2005). A third party, the Free List, received 8.9% of the votes (down 4.1% from 2005) and one seat in the parliament. Following the elections, the VU offered to enter into a coalition with the FBP, which had led the government previously in a coalition with the VU. The VU and FBP subsequently agreed to form a coalition government in which the VU holds the prime ministership and two additional cabinet seats, and the FBP holds two cabinet seats, including the deputy prime ministership. On March 25, 2009 Klaus Tschutscher (VU) was confirmed as the new Prime Minister, succeeding Otmar Hasler (FBP).

There are 6 women in the 25-seat parliament and 2 in the 5-member cabinet. Women first gained the right to vote in Liechtenstein in 1984 and a growing number of women are active in politics. Women serve on the executive committees of the major parties.

Principal Government Officials

Government Ministries
Prime Minister (Head of the Government), Government Affairs, Finance, and Family and Equal Opportunity--Klaus Tschutscher
Deputy Prime Minister, Economic Affairs, Transport, and Construction and Public Works--Martin Meyer
Public Health, Social Affairs, Environmental Affairs, Land Use Planning, Agriculture, and Forestry--Renate Muessner
Home Affairs, Education, and Sport--Hugo Quaderer
Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Cultural Affairs--Aurelia Frick

Ambassador to the U.S.--Claudia Fritsche
Permanent Representative to the UN--Christian Wenaweser

Liechtenstein maintains an embassy in the United States at 2900 K Street, NW, Suite 602B, Washington, DC 20007. Telephone (202) 331-0590.

ECONOMY
Since the signing of a customs treaty in 1924, Liechtenstein and Switzerland have represented one mutual economic area with open borders between the two countries. Liechtenstein also uses the Swiss franc as its national currency, and Swiss customs officers secure the border with Austria.

Liechtenstein is a member of EFTA and joined the European Economic Area (EEA) in 1995 in order to benefit from the European Union (EU) internal market. The liberal economy and tax system make Liechtenstein a safe, trustworthy, and success-oriented place for private and business purposes, especially with its highly modern, internationally laid out infrastructure and nearby connections to the whole world. In 2007, Liechtenstein had an obligation under the EEA treaty to harmonize its laws with EU directives 2005/36 and 1999/42 on the mutual recognition of EU and EEA university and professional diplomas. Liechtenstein is also part of the EU fund on research and technology and is entitled to participate in EU projects and subsidies.

The Principality of Liechtenstein has gone through dramatic economic and cultural development in the last 40 years. In this short period of time, Liechtenstein developed from a mainly agricultural state to one of the most highly industrialized countries in the world.

The Principality of Liechtenstein ranks among the strongest industrialized areas of Europe according to a 2008 government economic study. The strong industrial sector focusing on the metal and machine industries, vehicle manufacturing, and the electrical and optical areas were well able to sustain their position in spite of the growing service sector. Approximately 5% of the country's revenue is invested in research and development.

The significance of the industrial sector for the Liechtenstein economy is reflected in foreign trade. As a result of the global economic crisis, total exports decreased by 27.4% in 2009, but recovered in 2010 (+7.9%), and imports continued to decrease in 2010 (-2.3%) after having declined by 21.8% in 2009. The export economy is tied to Western Europe. Approximately 60% of all Liechtenstein exports go to Western Europe, followed by North America and East Asia. In 2010, about 59% of Liechtenstein's goods were exported to Western Europe, 15.46% to the Americas, 11.53% to Asia, and the remaining share to the rest of the world. In 2010, the U.S. was one of the most important trading partners for Liechtenstein, with approximately $382 million (SFr. 398 million) worth of exports and $44.3 million (SFr. 46.2 million) of imports. Germany was first with a total trade value of $1.44 billion (SFr. 1.5 billion).

The Liechtenstein industrial sector contributes 37% of the country's GDP, services 55%, and agriculture 8%. Despite Liechtenstein's overall good competitive performance, some large manufacturing companies outsource their production to low-cost countries.

In addition to the industrial sector, Liechtenstein has developed a strong services sector, with an important financial center that includes a multitude of related service enterprises. In particular, branches such as real estate, information systems, and other services for enterprises showed a sharp increase, followed by trust companies and legal services. Five out of 10 employees now work in the services sector. As a rule, these newly established enterprises tend to be small. A 2008 economic study showed that approximately 99.5% of businesses located in Liechtenstein are small and medium-sized enterprises.

The economy of the Principality of Liechtenstein provides approximately 34,300 jobs, of which about half are filled by commuters from Switzerland, Austria, and Germany.

The Principality of Liechtenstein is known as an important financial center primarily because it specializes in financial services for foreign entities. The country's low tax rate and traditions of strict bank secrecy have contributed significantly to the ability of financial intermediaries in Liechtenstein to attract funds from outside the country's borders. In November 2009, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recognized Liechtenstein as a jurisdiction that has implemented international cooperation standards in tax matters, and it has removed Liechtenstein from the so-called OECD "grey list".

Liechtenstein’s financial services sector includes 17 banks, 107 asset management companies, 40 insurance companies and 71 insurance intermediaries, 33 pension schemes and six pension funds, 392 trust companies and 21 fund management companies with approximately 469 investment undertakings (funds), and 637 other financial intermediaries. Liechtenstein’s trust companies and law firms serve as nominees for, or manage, more than 75,000 entities (primarily corporations, institutions, or trusts), mostly for non-Liechtenstein residents. The Principality's laws permit the corporations it charters to issue bearer shares. Until recently, the Principality's banking laws permitted banks to issue numbered accounts, but new regulations require strict know-your-customer practices for all accounts.

DEFENSE AND FOREIGN RELATIONS
Liechtenstein became a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) predecessor in 1975, the Council of Europe in 1978, the UN in 1990, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1991, and both the European Economic Area (EEA) and World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995.

U.S.-LIECHTENSTEIN RELATIONS
The good relations between the two countries are based on close commercial interactions and common support for democracy, human rights, and free markets. The two countries in 2002 signed a mutual legal assistance treaty focused largely on jointly combating money laundering and other illegal banking activities. On December 8, 2008, the two countries also signed a tax information exchange agreement.

The U.S. does not have an embassy in Liechtenstein, but the U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland is also accredited to Liechtenstein.

Principal U.S. Official
Ambassador--Donald S. Beyer Jr.

The U.S. Embassy in Switzerland is at Sulgeneckstrasse 19, 3001 Bern, Switzerland, telephone: (41) (31) 357-7011.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings, Trip Registration
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. The travel.state.gov website also includes information about passports, tips for planning a safe trip abroad and more.  More travel-related information also is available at  http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department's Smart Traveler app for U.S. travelers going abroad provides easy access to the frequently updated official country information, travel alerts, travel warnings, maps, U.S. embassy locations, and more that appear on the travel.state.gov site. Travelers can also set up e-tineraries to keep track of arrival and departure dates and make notes about upcoming trips. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (requires iOS 4.0 or later).

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to enroll in the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).  A link to the registration page is also available through the Department's Smart Traveler app. U.S. citizens without internet access can enroll directly at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.  By enrolling, you make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and so you can receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

Passports
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Health Information
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

More Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including more Background Notes, the Department's daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

Mobile Sources. Background Notes are available on mobile devices at http://m.state.gov/mc36882.htm, or use the QR code below.

In addition, a mobile version of the Department's http://www.state.gov website is available at http://m.state.gov, or use the QR code below. Included on this site are Top Stories, remarks and speeches by Secretary Clinton, Daily Press Briefings, Country Information, and more.

PROFILE

Geography
Area: 26,338 sq. km. (10,169 sq. km.); about the size of Maryland.
Cities: Capital--Kigali (est. pop. 1 million). Other cities--Muhanga (formerly Gitarama), Huye (formerly Butare), Musanze (formerly Ruhengeri), Rubavu (formerly Gisenyi), Gicumbi (formerly Byumba), and Rusizi (formerly Cyangugu).
Terrain: Uplands and hills.
Climate: Mild and temperate, with two rainy seasons.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Rwandan(s) or Rwandese.
Population (2011 est.): 10.7 million.
Annual population growth rate (2009 est.): 3%.
Religions (2010 est.): Christian 96.9%, Muslim 1.3%, traditional African 0.1%, other 0.9%, 0.7% claim no religious beliefs.
Languages: Kinyarwanda, French, English.
Education: Years compulsory--9. Attendance (2010 est.)--95%. Literacy (2009 est.)--63%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2010 est.)--50 deaths/1,000. Life expectancy (2008 est.)--49.8 years.
Work force (2008): Agriculture--85%; industry and commerce, services, and government--15%.

Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: July 1, 1962.
Constitution: May 26, 2003.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), prime minister (head of government). Legislative--80-seat Chamber of Deputies; 26-member Senate. Judicial--Supreme Court; High Courts of the Republic; Provincial Courts; District Courts; mediation committees.
Administrative subdivisions: 4 provinces plus Kigali; 30 districts; 416 sectors; 2,148 cells.
Political parties: There are 10 registered political parties, including the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which leads a coalition that includes the Centrist [formerly Christian] Democratic Party (PDC), the Rwandan Socialist Party (PSR), the Ideal [formerly Islamic] Democratic Party (PDI), the Prosperity and Solidarity Party (PSP), the Concord Progressive Party (PPC), and the Democratic Popular Union (UPDR). Other parties include the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the Liberal Party (PL), and the Social Party Imberakuri (PS-Imberakuri).
Suffrage: Universal for citizens over 18--except refugees, prisoners, and certain categories of convicts.
Central government budget (2011 est.): 988 billion Rwandan francs ($1.6 billion).

Economy
GDP (2011 est.): $6.1 billion.
Real GDP growth rate (2011 est., International Monetary Fund): 8.2%.
Per capita income (2011 est.): $560 (exchange rate); $1,600 (purchasing power parity).
Average inflation rate (2011 est.): 7.8%.
Agriculture (2010): 33.6% of GDP. Products--coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes, and livestock.
Industry (2010): 14.1% of GDP. Types--cement, agricultural products, beer production, soft drinks, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes, and pharmaceuticals.
Services (2010): 52.3% of GDP.
Trade (2011 est.): Exports--$295 million: tea, coffee, cassiterite, coltan, and pyrethrum. Major markets--Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and China. Imports--$1.315 billion f.o.b.: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement, and construction material. Major suppliers--Kenya, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, and Tanzania.

GEOGRAPHY
Rwanda's countryside is covered by grasslands and small farms extending over rolling hills, with areas of rugged mountains that extend southeast from a chain of volcanoes in the northwest. The divide between the Congo and Nile drainage systems extends from north to south through western Rwanda at an average elevation of almost 9,000 feet. On the western slopes of this ridgeline, the land slopes abruptly toward Lake Kivu and the Rusizi River valley, which form the western boundary with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) and constitute part of the Great Rift Valley. The eastern slopes are more moderate, with rolling hills extending across central uplands at gradually reducing altitudes, to the plains, swamps, and lakes of the eastern border region.

Although located only two degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda's high elevation makes the climate temperate. The average daily temperature near Lake Kivu, at an altitude of 4,800 feet (1,463 meters) is 73^o F (23^o C). During the two rainy seasons (February-May and September-December), heavy downpours occur almost daily, alternating with sunny weather. Annual rainfall averages 80 centimeters (31 in.) but is generally heavier in the western and northwestern mountains than in the eastern savannas.

PEOPLE
Rwanda's population density is currently the highest in continental sub-Saharan Africa. It is still a very rural society, and many families live in self-contained compounds on hillsides. The urban concentrations are grouped around administrative centers. The indigenous population consists of three groups, or ubwoko--Bahutu, Batutsi, and Batwa. Traditionally, the population also is affiliated with one of 18 clans.

Accounts of the respective arrivals of each ubwoko centuries ago in the area of modern Rwanda were highly politicized throughout much of the 20th century. In 1994, the Rwandan Government exploited the former Belgian colonialists’ “racialization” of differences among ubwoko and its inclusion on identity cards to fuel a state-orchestrated genocide. After the genocide, Rwanda’s national unity government stopped collecting data on ubwoko and banned its inclusion on identity cards. All Rwandans share the same native language and culture, so ubwoko today reflects a family identity that has been passed patrilineally. The Rwandan Government does not permit politicization of this identity or any form of discrimination based on a person’s ubwoko.

Education
Until 1994, educational opportunities for Rwandans were extremely limited. After the genocide, most primary schools and more than half of prewar secondary schools reopened, though no more than 5% of the adult population received secondary education through 1996. Although educational quality remains an issue, access to education expanded dramatically in recent years and the Government of Rwanda’s Nine-Year Basic Education policy, implemented in 2010, contributed to an increase of the primary school completion rate from 52.4% in 2008 to 79% in 2011. Free basic education will be extended from 9 years to 12 years in 2012.

The National University (NUR) in Huye (formerly Butare), Rwanda’s sole university prior to 1994, reopened in April 1995; enrollment is over 7,000 students. Today, there are 29 institutions of higher learning in Rwanda. Between 1963 and 1993, Rwandan university graduates numbered roughly 1,900; today, Rwandan university enrollment exceeds 60,000. Sixty-three percent of the adult population is literate (2009). Building the educational system continues to be a high priority of the Rwandan Government. Rwanda has three official languages--Kinyarwanda, French, and English. The recent transition to English as the language of instruction in schools presents pedagogical challenges even as if offers prospects for increased opportunity within the East African Community and internationally.

HISTORY
The kingdoms of Rwanda began coalescing in the 11th century. In the 15th century, Rwandans established a monarchy headed by a Tutsi mwami (king) with a hierarchy of Tutsi nobles and gentry. In some areas of the country, independent Hutu principalities continued to exist, and in other areas, Tutsi and Hutu lineages lived in interdependent cooperation under the nominal control of the king. During the 17th century, pastoral relations of reciprocity known as ubuhake evolved into a system in which Hutu farmers pledged their services and those of their descendants to a Tutsi lord in return for the loan of cattle and use of pastures and arable land. However, membership in an ubwoko and class were fluid. Affiliation was determined by paternal ancestors. Intermarriage and multiple marriages were common. Some Hutus took Tutsi status and some Tutsis lost their status as Tutsis. Most rural Tutsis enjoyed few advantages over rural Hutus. The first European known to have visited Rwanda was German Count Von Goetzen in 1894. He was followed by missionaries called the “White Fathers.” In 1899, the mwami submitted to a German protectorate without resistance. Belgian troops from neighboring Belgian Congo chased the small number of Germans out of Rwanda in 1915 and took control of the country.

After World War I, the League of Nations mandated Rwanda and its southern neighbor, Burundi, to Belgium as the territory of Ruanda-Urundi. Following World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a UN Trust Territory with Belgium as the administrative authority. Reforms instituted by the Belgians in the 1950s encouraged the growth of democratic political institutions but were resisted by the Tutsi traditionalists who saw in them a threat to Tutsi rule. Hutu leaders, encouraged by the Belgian military, sparked a popular revolt in November 1959, resulting in the overthrow of the Tutsi monarchy. Two years later, the Party of the Hutu Emancipation Movement (PARMEHUTU) won an overwhelming victory in a UN-supervised referendum.

During the 1959 revolt and its aftermath, more than 160,000 Tutsis fled to neighboring countries. The PARMEHUTU government, formed as a result of the September 1961 election, was granted internal autonomy by Belgium on January 1, 1962. A June 1962 UN General Assembly resolution terminated the Belgian trusteeship and granted full independence to Rwanda (and Burundi) effective July 1, 1962.

Gregoire Kayibanda, leader of the PARMEHUTU Party, became Rwanda's first elected president, leading a one-party government chosen from the membership of the directly elected unicameral National Assembly. The Kayibanda government promoted a Hutu-supremacist ideology, and a series of anti-Tutsi “pogroms” and other violence gravely affected internal security and provoked the further flight of Rwandan Tutsis.

Rwanda established relations with 43 countries, including the United States, during the first 10 years. Despite some progress, inefficiency and corruption festered in government ministries in the mid-1960s. On July 5, 1973, the military took power by force under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Juvenal Habyarimana, who dissolved the National Assembly and the PARMEHUTU Party and abolished all political activity.

In 1975, President Habyarimana formed the National Revolutionary Movement for Development (MRND) as Rwanda’s only legal party. The movement was organized from the “hillside” to the national level and included elected and appointed officials. During his tenure, violence against Tutsis continued without effective prosecution of wrongdoers, prompting more exoduses.

Under MRND aegis, Rwandans went to the polls in December 1978, overwhelmingly endorsed a new constitution, and confirmed President Habyarimana as president. President Habyarimana was re-elected in 1983 and again in 1988, when he was the sole candidate. Responding to international as well as public pressure for political reform, President Habyarimana announced in July 1990 his intention to transform Rwanda's one-party state into a multi-party democracy. He also indicated that Rwanda “had no room” for its largely Tutsi population living in exile, so they were not welcome to return to Rwanda.

On October 1, 1990, Rwandan exiles banded together as the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and invaded Rwanda from their base in Uganda. The rebel force, composed primarily of ethnic Tutsis who had not been allowed to return to Rwanda under the Kayibanda or Habyarimana regimes, blamed the government for failing to democratize and resolve the problems of some 500,000 Tutsi refugees living in the diaspora around the world. The war dragged on for almost 2 years until a cease-fire accord was signed July 12, 1992, in Arusha, Tanzania, fixing a timetable for an end to the fighting and political talks leading to a peace accord and power sharing, and authorizing a neutral military observer group under the auspices of the Organization for African Unity. A cease-fire took effect on July 31, 1992, and political talks began on August 10, 1992. The talks concluded in a peace accord that was not implemented.

On April 6, 1994, the airplane carrying President Habyarimana and the President of Burundi was shot down as it prepared to land at Kigali. Both presidents were killed. Military and militia groups began rounding up and killing all Tutsis and political moderates, regardless of their ubwoko. The Rwandan prime minister and her 10 Belgian bodyguards were among the first victims. The killing swiftly spread from Kigali to all corners of the country; between April 6 and the beginning of July, a genocide of unprecedented swiftness left over 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead at the hands of organized bands of militia--Interahamwe. Even ordinary citizens were called on to kill their neighbors, friends, and family members by local officials and government-sponsored radio; many complied. The president's MRND Party was implicated in organizing many aspects of the genocide.

The RPF battalion stationed in Kigali under the Arusha Accords came under attack immediately after the shooting down of the president's plane. The battalion fought its way out of Kigali and joined up with RPF units in the north. The RPF then resumed its invasion, and civil war raged concurrently with the genocide for 2 months. French forces landed in Goma, Zaire in June 1994 and then deployed throughout southwest Rwanda in an area they called “Zone Turquoise,” ostensibly to quell the genocide and stop the fighting there, though some Rwandans asserted that they were complicit; many members of the genocidal rump regime established after the genocide began escaped through the French zone to eastern Zaire. The RPF defeated the Rwandan Army, which crossed the border to Zaire followed by some 2 million Rwandans who fled to Zaire, Tanzania, and Burundi as refugees. The RPF took Kigali on July 4, 1994, and the war ended on July 16, 1994. The country was decimated, having been ravaged by war and a brutal genocide. Over 800,000 had been murdered, another 2 million had fled, and another million were displaced internally.

The international community responded to the humanitarian disaster that developed among the refugees in Zaire with one of the largest humanitarian relief efforts ever mounted. The United States was one of the largest contributors. The UN peacekeeping operation, UNAMIR, was drawn down during the fighting but brought back up to strength after the RPF victory. UNAMIR remained in Rwanda until March 8, 1996.

Following the establishment of armed groups and a local rebellion in the camps in eastern Zaire, Rwandan and Ugandan troops invaded in late 1996. This triggered the return of more than 800,000 back to Rwanda in the last 2 weeks of November, followed at the end of December 1996 by the return of another 500,000 from Tanzania, both of which occurred in huge waves. Roughly 70,000 Rwandans are estimated to remain outside of Rwanda, and they include remnants of the defeated army of the former genocidal government, its allies in the civilian militias known as Interahamwe, soldiers recruited in the refugee camps before 1996, as well as children of those groups and opponents of today’s government.

In 2001, with over 120,000 Rwandans in prison and virtually no judicial system in existence (most lawyers and judges had been killed or fled during the genocide), the government began implementing a grassroots village-level justice system, known as gacaca, to address the enormous backlog of genocide cases. Many convicted were sentenced to public service rather than prison, but because of the continuing high numbers of prisoners, the Government of Rwanda periodically arranged prison releases, including the January 2006 release of approximately 7,000 prisoners. By December 2010, gacaca officials reported having concluded more than 1.2 million cases. These courts planned to complete their caseload in 2011.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
After its military victory in July 1994, the RPF organized a coalition government called “The Broad Based Government of National Unity.” Its fundamental law was based on a combination of the June 1991 constitution, the Arusha Accords, and political declarations by the parties. The government outlawed the MRND Party. In April 2003, the transitional National Assembly recommended the dissolution of the Democratic Republican Party (MDR), one of eight political parties participating in the Government of National Unity since 1994. Human rights groups noted the subsequent disappearances of political figures associated with the MDR, including at least one parliamentarian serving in the National Assembly. On May 26, 2003, Rwanda adopted a new constitution that eliminated reference to ubwoko and set the stage for presidential and legislative elections in August and September 2003. The seven remaining political parties endorsed incumbent Paul Kagame for president, who was elected to a 7-year term on August 25, 2003. Rwanda held its first-ever legislative elections September 29 to October 2, 2003. A ninth political party formed after these 2003 elections.

In the spring of 2006, the government conducted local non-partisan elections for district mayors and for sector and cell executive committees. Elections for the Chamber of Deputies occurred in September 2008; the RPF won an easy victory in coalition with six small parties, taking 42 of 53 directly-elected seats. As provided in the constitution, 24 seats were also accorded to women candidates in indirect elections. Women now hold 45 of the 80 seats in the Chamber. The elections were peaceful and orderly, despite irregularities. A tenth political party formed in 2010.

Presidential elections were held in August 2010; the National Electoral Commission reported that President Kagame won re-election with roughly 93% of the vote. The presidential election was peaceful and orderly, with heavy turnout. However, the pre-election period was marked by events of concern, including waves of terrorist attacks using grenades in populous areas, the murder of a journalist, the unexplained murder of the vice president of the unregistered Democratic Green Party, an assassination attempt on a former high-ranking government official accused of fomenting attacks, and the suspension of two local-language newspapers. In addition, two political opposition figures were arrested on criminal charges, and a party that had been seeking to register for many months was unable to do so.

Local elections again took place in the spring of 2011, with indirect Senate elections following in the fall. Both elections were peaceful and orderly. RPF candidates again dominated the field.

Challenges facing the government include maintaining internal and regional security, promoting further democratization; judicial and media reform; completion of prosecution of remaining individuals for crimes relating to the 1994 genocide, either by the regular court system or the gacaca system; integrating former combatants and prisoners; preventing the recurrence of any insurgency directed by ex-military and Interahamwe militia who remain in eastern Congo; and the continuing work on medium- and long-term development.

Principal Government Officials
President--Paul Kagame
Prime Minister--Pierre-Damien Habumuremyi
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Louise Mushikiwabo
Ambassador to the United States--James Kimonyo
Ambassador to the United Nations--Eugene-Richard Gasana

Rwanda maintains an embassy in the United States at 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 (tel. 202-232-2882).

ECONOMY
Since 1996, Rwanda has experienced steady economic recovery. The Government of Rwanda remains dedicated to a strong and enduring economic climate for the country, focusing on poverty reduction, infrastructure development, privatization of government-owned assets, expansion of the export base, and trade liberalization. Rwanda faces many challenges, including its dependence on significant foreign aid (now over $500 million per year).

The Rwandan economy is based on the largely rain-fed agricultural production of small, semi-subsistence, and increasingly fragmented farms. It has few natural resources to exploit and a small, uncompetitive industrial sector. While the production of coffee and tea is well-suited to the small farms, steep slopes, and cool climates of Rwanda, the average family farm size is one-half hectare, unsuitable for most agribusiness purposes. Agribusiness accounts for approximately 33.6% of Rwanda's GDP and 45% of exports. In 2010 export earnings were led by tea and coffee followed by minerals, tourism, and pyrethrum (whose extract is used as a natural insecticide). Mountain gorillas and other niche eco-tourism venues are increasingly important sources of tourism revenue.

During the 5 years of civil war that culminated in the 1994 genocide, GDP declined in 3 out of 5 years, posting a dramatic decline at more than 40% in 1994, the year of the genocide. The 9% increase in real GDP for 1995, the first postwar year, signaled the resurgence of economic activity and massive foreign aid inflows. In the immediate postwar period--mid-1994 through 1995--emergency humanitarian assistance of more than $307.4 million was largely directed to relief efforts in Rwanda and in the refugee camps in neighboring countries where Rwandans fled during the war. In 1996, humanitarian relief aid began to shift to reconstruction and development assistance.

Since 2002, the GDP growth rate ranged from 3% to 11% per annum, and inflation ranged between 2% and 9%. The agricultural sector performed strongly in 2009, propelling Rwanda to 4% GDP growth. This was well above the sub-Saharan average growth for the year, despite Rwanda's declines in overall exports (28% between 2008 and 2009) and remittances in 2009, which were due in part to the global economic crisis. GDP growth was estimated at 8.2% for 2011.

The Government of Rwanda has sought to privatize several key firms. Since 2007, the telecom and mining sectors have been largely privatized. The government has sold off all but two government-owned tea estates and has made great strides in completing privatization of the banking sector. RECO, the utility monopoly, remains to be privatized, as do several other parastatals. The implementation of a value added tax of 18% and improved tax collections are having a positive impact on government revenues and thereby on government services rendered. Banking reform and low corruption also are favorable current trends. The tourism industry has potential for further growth given the current political stability, travel infrastructure, and extensive national parks as well as other potential tourist sites. In 2006, Rwanda completed the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative and the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt initiative, significantly lowering its foreign debt load. Agricultural reforms, improved farming methods, and increased use of fertilizers are improving crop yields and national food supply. In the World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business" report released in September 2009, Rwanda catapulted from number 143 to number 67; in the 2010 report, Rwanda improved its ranking to number 58.

Many challenges remain for Rwanda. Although the government is pursing educational and healthcare programs that bode well for the long-term quality of Rwanda's human resource skills base, Rwanda's fertility rate--averaging 4.6 births (2010 est.) per woman--will continue to stress services, and diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis will have a major impact on human resources. The persistent lack of economic diversification beyond the production of tea, coffee, and minerals keeps the country vulnerable to market fluctuations. The country's exports continue to lag far behind imports, and the weakness of exports and low domestic savings rates limit growth. Exports have increased ($295 million for 2011), but Rwanda depends on significant foreign imports ($1.3 billion for 2011). Private investment remains low, although investment insurance is available through the Africa Trade Insurance Agency, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the World Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

Perhaps the largest constraint on private sector development is the limited availability and high cost of electricity, which is currently among the highest in the world at about $0.20 per kilowatt hour. Hydroelectric power development is underway, albeit primarily in the planning stages, as is methane development, but the country's energy needs will stress natural resources in wood and gas. Rwanda is examining the feasibility of peat-based energy. Strong highway infrastructure maintenance and good transport linkages to neighboring countries, especially Uganda and Tanzania, are critical given Rwanda's landlocked geography. Rwanda has no railway system for port access to Tanzania or Kenya. Transportation costs remain high and, therefore, burden import and export costs. Over 40% of Rwanda's imports originate in East Africa.

Rwanda is a member of the African Union (AU), the Commonwealth, the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), and the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL).

American business interests in Rwanda are modest, and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has yet to make a significant impact in Rwanda. In addition to long-standing tea production by an American firm, in 2008 a U.S. corporation concluded an agreement with Rwandan authorities to produce 100 megawatts of electrical power from methane extraction operations in Lake Kivu. In 2009 a U.S.-British consortium signed an agreement with the government to develop a biofuel project based on jatropha, and a U.S. mining company expanded its investment in local mineral production. In 2010, RwandAir signed a contract with Boeing for the purchase of two Boeing 737-800 aircraft, for an estimated $80 million. American exports of aviation, telecommunications, and construction equipment have increased in recent years.

In December 2011, the United States and Rwanda ratified the 2008 U.S.-Rwanda bilateral investment treaty (BIT) by exchanging treaty instruments of ratification signed by President Barack Obama and Rwandan Prime Minister Damien Habumuremyi. The treaty provides U.S. investors with legal protections that underscore the two countries' shared commitment to open investment and trade policies. The BIT is also intended to strengthen bilateral economic ties and enhance U.S. investor confidence in Rwanda, as well as Rwandan investor confidence in the United States.

Rwanda's government-run radio broadcasts in Kinyarwanda, English, and French, the national languages. News programs include regular re-broadcasts from international radio such as Voice of America, BBC, RFI, and Deutsche Welle. There is one government-operated television station. In addition to government-operated Radio Rwanda, there are a number of independent FM radio stations. There are few independent newspapers; most newspapers publish in Kinyarwanda on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis. Several Western nations, including the United States, are working to encourage freedom of the press, the free exchange of ideas, and responsible journalism.

DEFENSE
The military establishment is comprised of a well-trained army and a small, rotary-wing air force. The Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) is on an aggressive plan to professionalize. Following withdrawal of Rwandan Armed Forces from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in October 2009, the government completely restructured the military and launched an ambitious plan to demobilize thousands of soldiers. At end state, Rwanda will have a small, well-equipped army of 20,000 soldiers and a reserve force of more than 100,000.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Rwanda plays a growing role in international affairs, including important contributions to international peacekeeping missions. In 2011, Rwanda deployed approximately 3,500 RDF peacekeepers to Sudan and South Sudan in support of UNAMID, UNMIS, and UNMISS. As of September 2011, Rwanda was training its 28th peacekeeping battalion since 2006. Rwanda National Police (RNP) has approximately 375 peacekeeping officers serving in UN missions in Cote d’Ivoire, Haiti, Liberia, and Sudan. Rwanda is among the top 10 troop-contributing countries for UN operations.

Some 24 nations--including Belgium, Canada, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.), Egypt, France, Germany, the Holy See, Japan, Libya, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and all members of the EAC (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi)--maintain diplomatic missions in Kigali, as does the European Union.

In December 2008, after months of bilateral discussions, Rwanda and the D.R.C. announced rapprochement and a joint military operation against a root cause of instability in the Great Lakes Region--the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda). The two nations’ forces also cooperated in reintegrating renegade general Laurent Nkunda’s CNDP rebel force into the Congolese armed forces (FARDC); Nkunda was detained by Rwandan authorities.

In the fall of 2006, Rwanda broke diplomatic relations with France following a French judge's indictment of senior Rwandan officials on charges of having participated in the shooting down of the presidential jet in 1994. Rwanda rejected those charges. In January 2010, Rwanda and France renewed their diplomatic relations after France indicated it had reopened its investigation of the 2006 charges. Rwanda, along with Burundi, joined the EAC in 2007, and it acceded to the Commonwealth in 2009.

U.S.-RWANDAN RELATIONS
U.S. Government interests have shifted significantly since the 1994 genocide, from strictly humanitarian concern focused on stability and security to strong partnership with the Government of Rwanda focused on sustainable development. The three largest U.S. Government assistance programs are the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Feed the Future food-security initiative, and the President's Malaria Initiative, which aim to reduce the impact of two of the most prevalent debilitating diseases, and to reduce poverty and household food insecurity through improved agriculture and income opportunities. In partnership with the Government of Rwanda, U.S. Government (USG) agencies--U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), State Department, Peace Corps, and Department of Defense--work to strengthen Rwandan institutions and build local capacity.

USG programming plays a major role in helping Rwanda to improve the health and income opportunities of its people as well as the capacity of its institutions and systems to promote sustainable development. To achieve these ends, USAID activities focus on:

• Prevention, treatment, and care of HIV/AIDS;
• Reducing mortality and morbidity due to malaria;
• Promoting rural economic growth through agriculture-sector policy reform; increased production of staple crops, high-value crops for export, and dairy; and eco-tourism;
• Increasing rural household income through more efficient agricultural techniques, income diversification, and increased access to credit for small producers;
• Increasing access to, and use of, voluntary family planning methods;
• Improving maternal and child health;
• Reducing post-harvest losses of agriculture produce through improved handling and storage technologies;
• Increasing literacy and numeracy through improved quality of primary education;
• Encouraging participatory governance and decentralization; and
• Promoting a democratic Rwanda, where the government respects human rights, civil liberties, and the rule of law.

The State Department’s Public Affairs section (PAS) maintains an Information Resource Center (IRC) in Kigali, which offers public access to English-language publications, an English language lab for those preparing for English language exams, information on the United States, and information on studying in the United States. PAS closed the American Corner at the National University of Rwanda (NUR) in Huye (formerly Butare) in 2011, but will open a new American Corner in 2012 at the Rwanda Tourism University College (RTUC) in Rubavu (formerly Gisenyi). PAS also supports an English Language Resource Center at the Catholic Institute of Kabgayi (ICK) in Gitarama.

American business interests have been small; currently, private U.S. investment is limited to the tea industry, energy, mining, franchising (FedEx, Coca-Cola, Western Union, and Moneygram), and small holdings in service and manufacturing concerns. Annual U.S. exports to Rwanda, under $10 million annually from 1990-93, exceeded $40 million in 1994 and 1995. Although exports decreased in the years immediately after the genocide, in 2010 they were estimated at approximately $31 million out of a total bilateral trade of $37 million.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Donald Koran
Deputy Chief of Mission--Anne Casper
USAID Mission Director--Dennis Weller

The U.S. Embassy is located on 2657 Avenue de la Gendarmerie, Kigali (tel. 250-596-400, fax 250-596-591).

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings, Trip Registration
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. The travel.state.gov website also includes information about passports, tips for planning a safe trip abroad and more.  More travel-related information also is available at  http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department's Smart Traveler app for U.S. travelers going abroad provides easy access to the frequently updated official country information, travel alerts, travel warnings, maps, U.S. embassy locations, and more that appear on the travel.state.gov site. Travelers can also set up e-tineraries to keep track of arrival and departure dates and make notes about upcoming trips. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (requires iOS 4.0 or later).

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to enroll in the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).  A link to the registration page is also available through the Department's Smart Traveler app. U.S. citizens without internet access can enroll directly at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.  By enrolling, you make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and so you can receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

Passports
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Health Information
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

More Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including more Background Notes, the Department's daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

Mobile Sources. Background Notes are available on mobile devices at http://m.state.gov/mc36882.htm, or use the QR code below.

In addition, a mobile version of the Department's http://www.state.gov website is available at http://m.state.gov, or use the QR code below. Included on this site are Top Stories, remarks and speeches by Secretary Clinton, Daily Press Briefings, Country Information, and more.

PROFILE

Geography
Area: 20,742 sq. km. (8,008 sq. mi.); about the size of Massachusetts.
Cities: Capital--San Salvador (pop. 1.7 million). Other cities--Santa Ana, San Miguel, Soyapango, and Apopa.
Terrain: Mountains separate country into three distinct regions--southern coastal belt, central valleys and plateaus, and northern mountains.
Climate: Tropical, distinct wet and dry seasons.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Salvadoran(s).
Population (2011 est.): 6.1 million.
Annual population growth rate (2011 est.): 0.32%.
Ethnic groups: Mestizo 90%, indigenous 1%, Caucasian 9%.
Religion (2003 est.): About 57% Roman Catholic, with significant and growing numbers of Protestant groups.
Language: Spanish.
Education: Free through high school. Attendance (grades 1-9)--92.4%. Literacy--86.1% nationally; 77.6% in rural areas.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2011, CIA World Factbook)--20/1,000. Life expectancy at birth (2011)--73.4 years.
Work force (about 2.6 million, 2010): By occupation (2011)--agriculture 21%; retail, hotels, and restaurants 29%; industry 15%; construction 5%; other services 29%.

Government
Type: Republic.
Constitution: December 20, 1983.
Independence: September 15, 1821.
Branches: Executive--president and vice president. Legislative--84-member Legislative Assembly. Judicial--independent (Supreme Court).
Administrative subdivisions: 14 departments.
Political parties (represented in the legislature): Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), National Conciliation Party (PCN), Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Democratic Change (CD), and Great Alliance for National Unity (GANA).
Suffrage: Universal at 18.

Economy
GDP (2010, official exchange rate; CIA World Factbook): $21.7 billion.
GDP (2010, Central Bank): $21.2 billion.
GDP (2010, purchasing power parity; CIA World Factbook): $43.57 billion.
GDP annual real growth rate (2010): 1.4%.
Per capita income (2010, official exchange rate): $3,431.
Per capita income (2010, purchasing power parity; CIA World Factbook): $7,200.
Agriculture (12% of GDP, 2010): Products--coffee, sugar, livestock, corn, poultry, and sorghum. Arable, cultivated, or pasture land (2005)--68%.
Industry (19% of GDP, 2010; Central Bank): Types--textiles and apparel, medicines, food and beverage processing, clothing, chemical products, petroleum products, electronics, and call centers.
Trade (2010): Exports--$4.5 billion: textiles and apparel, ethyl alcohol, coffee, sugar, medicines, iron and steel products, tuna, light manufacturing, and paper products. Major markets--U.S. 48%, Central American Common Market (CACM) 35.9%. Imports--$8.5 billion: petroleum, iron products, machines and mechanical devices, cars, medicines, consumer goods, foodstuffs, capital goods, and raw industrial materials. Major suppliers--U.S. 36.8%, CACM 19.1%.

PEOPLE
El Salvador's population numbers about 6.1 million. Almost 90% is of mixed Indian and Spanish extraction. About 1% is indigenous; very few Indians have retained their customs and traditions. The country's people are largely Roman Catholic and Protestant. Spanish is the language spoken by virtually all inhabitants. The capital city of San Salvador has about 1.7 million people; an estimated 37.5% of El Salvador's population lives in rural areas.

HISTORY
The Pipil Indians, descendants of the Aztecs, and the Pocomames and Lencas were the original inhabitants of El Salvador.

The first Salvadoran territory visited by Spaniards was Meanguera Island, located in the Gulf of Fonseca, where Spanish Admiral Andres Nino led an expedition to Central America and disembarked on May 31, 1522. In June 1524, the Spanish Captain Pedro de Alvarado started a war to conquer Cuscatlan. His cousin Diego de Alvarado established the village of San Salvador in April 1525. In 1546, Charles I of Spain granted San Salvador the title of city.

During the subsequent years, the country evolved under Spanish rule; however, toward the end of 1810 many people began to express discontent. On November 5, 1811, when Priest Jose Matias Delgado rang the bells of La Merced Church in San Salvador calling for insurrection, the people began to band together for freedom.

In 1821, El Salvador and the other Central American provinces declared their independence from Spain. When these provinces were joined with Mexico in early 1822, El Salvador resisted, insisting on autonomy for the Central American countries. In 1823, the United Provinces of Central America was formed of the five Central American states under Gen. Manuel Jose Arce. When this federation was dissolved in 1838, El Salvador became an independent republic. El Salvador's early history as an independent state--as with others in Central America--was marked by frequent revolutions; not until the period 1900-30 was relative stability achieved. Following a deterioration in the country's democratic institutions in the 1970s a period of civil war followed from 1980-1992. More than 75,000 people are estimated to have died in the conflict. In January 1992, after prolonged negotiations, the opposing sides signed peace accords which ended the war, brought the military under civilian control, and allowed the former guerillas to form a legitimate political party and participate in elections.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
El Salvador is a democratic republic governed by a president and an 84-member unicameral Legislative Assembly. The president is elected by universal suffrage by absolute majority vote and serves for a 5-year term. A second round runoff is required in the event that no candidate receives more than 50% of the first round vote. Members of the assembly are elected based on the number of votes that their parties obtain in each department (circumscriptive suffrage) and serve for 3-year terms. The country has an independent judiciary and Supreme Court. Legislative and municipal elections were held in January 2009, and presidential elections were held in March 2009.

Political Landscape
Hard-line conservatives, including some members of the military, created the Nationalist Republican Alliance party (ARENA) in 1981. ARENA almost won the election in 1984 with solid private sector and rural farmer support. By 1989, ARENA had attracted the support of business groups. Multiple factors contributed to ARENA victories in the 1988 legislative and 1989 presidential elections, including allegations of corruption in the ruling Christian Democratic party which had poor relations with the private sector, and historically low prices for the nation’s main agricultural exports.

The successes of Alfredo Cristiani's 1989-94 administration in achieving a peace agreement to end the civil war and in improving the nation's economy helped ARENA--led by former San Salvador mayor Armando Calderon Sol--keep both the presidency and a working majority in the Legislative Assembly in the 1994 elections. ARENA's legislative position was weakened in the 1997 elections, but it recovered its strength, helped by divisions in the opposition, in time for another victory in the 1999 presidential race, bringing President Francisco Guillermo Flores Perez to office. Flores concentrated on modernizing the economy and strengthening bilateral relations with the United States. Under his presidency El Salvador committed itself to combating international terrorism, including sending troops to aid in the reconstruction of Iraq. El Salvador also played a key role in negotiations for the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).

Taking advantage of both public apprehension of Flores’ policies and ARENA infighting, the chief opposition party, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), was able to score a significant victory against ARENA in the March 2003 legislative and municipal elections. ARENA, left with only 29 seats in the 84-seat Legislative Assembly, was forced to court the right-wing National Conciliation Party (PCN) in order to form a majority voting bloc. However, in 2003 the PCN entered into a loose partnership with the FMLN, further limiting ARENA’s ability to maneuver in the legislature.

Despite these constraints, ARENA made a strong showing in the March 2004 presidential election, which was marked by an unprecedented 67% voter turnout. ARENA candidate Elias Antonio "Tony" Saca handily defeated the FMLN candidate and party head Shafick Handal, garnering 57.7% of the votes cast. The defeat of the FMLN’s presidential candidate rekindled an internal FMLN struggle between hardliners and more moderate members who saw the party’s 2004 defeat as a call for reform.

In January 2009 legislative and municipal elections, the incumbent ARENA party garnered 32 assembly deputies and 122 mayoralties, while the opposition FMLN won 35 legislative seats and 75 city halls (plus 21 additional mayoralties in which they participated as part of a coalition). The PCN, PDC, and CD carried 11, 5, and 1 assembly seats, respectively. The new assembly took office in May 2009. In October 2009, 12 ARENA deputies left the party to form a new movement, the Great Alliance for National Unity (GANA), and two other deputies (one each from ARENA and the PCN) left their parties to become independents. As of January 2010, the assembly was composed as follows: FMLN - 35 seats, ARENA - 19 seats, GANA - 12 seats, PCN - 10 seats, PDC - 5 seats, CD - 1 seat, independent deputies - 2 seats. In December 2009, former President Antonio Saca was expelled from ARENA for his suspected involvement in the defection of the GANA deputies.

On March 15, 2009, FMLN candidate Mauricio Funes won El Salvador’s presidential elections, defeating ARENA candidate Rodrigo Avila. Final vote totals were 51.3% for the FMLN and 48.7% for ARENA. The elections marked the first time since the 1992 peace agreement that ended the civil war that an FMLN candidate was elected president and the first left-of-center government in El Salvador’s history. President Funes was inaugurated on June 1, 2009.

Human Rights and Post-War Reforms
During the 12-year civil war, human rights violations by both the government security forces and left-wing guerillas were rampant. The accords established a Truth Commission under UN auspices to investigate the most serious cases. The commission recommended that those identified as human rights violators be removed from all government and military posts. Thereafter, the Legislative Assembly granted amnesty for political crimes committed during the war. Among those freed as a result were the Salvadoran Armed Forces (ESAF) officers convicted in the November 1989 Jesuit murders and the FMLN ex-combatants held for the 1991 murders of two U.S. servicemen. The peace accords also established the Ad Hoc Commission to evaluate the human rights record of the ESAF officer corps.

In accordance with the peace agreements, the constitution was amended to prohibit the military from playing an internal security role except under extraordinary circumstances. Demobilization of Salvadoran military forces generally proceeded on schedule throughout the process. The Treasury Police, National Guard, and National Police were abolished, and military intelligence functions were transferred to civilian control. By 1993--9 months ahead of schedule--the military had cut personnel from a war-time high of 63,000 to the level of 32,000 required by the peace accords. By 1999, ESAF strength stood at less than 15,000, including uniformed and non-uniformed personnel, consisting of personnel in the army, navy, and air force. A purge of military officers accused of human rights abuses and corruption was completed in 1993 in compliance with the Ad Hoc Commission's recommendations. The military's new doctrine, professionalism, and complete withdrawal from political and economic affairs have made it one of the most respected institutions in El Salvador.

More than 35,000 eligible beneficiaries from among the former guerrillas and soldiers who fought in the war received land under the peace accord-mandated land transfer program, which ended in January 1997. The majority of them also received agricultural credits.

National Civilian Police
The National Civilian Police (PNC), created to replace the discredited public security forces, deployed its first officers in March 1993 and was present throughout the country by the end of 1994. The PNC has 21,332 officers. The United States, originally through the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) and subsequently through the Department of State’s Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, led international support for the PNC and the National Public Security Academy (ANSP), providing about $32 million in non-lethal equipment and training since 1992.

Judiciary
Following the peace accords, both the Truth Commission and the Joint Group identified weaknesses in the judiciary and recommended solutions, including the replacement of all the magistrates on the Supreme Court. This recommendation was fulfilled in 1994 when an entirely new court was elected, but weaknesses remain. The process of replacing judges in the lower courts, and of strengthening the attorney generals' and public defender's offices, has moved slowly. The government continues to work in all of these areas with the help of international donors, including the United States. Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code were passed in 2011 and will go into force in May 2012.

Principal Government Officials
President--Carlos Mauricio FUNES Cartagena
Vice President--Salvador SANCHEZ CEREN
Minister of Foreign Relations--Hugo Roger MARTINEZ Bonilla
Ambassador to the United States--Francisco ALTSCHUL Fuentes
Representative to the OAS--Luis MENENDEZ Castro (interim)
Representative to the UN--Joaquin Alexander MAZA MARTELLI

El Salvador maintains an Embassy in the United States at 1400 16th Street NW, Washington, DC, 20036 (telephone: 202-595-7500). There are consulates in Brentwood, NY; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Coral Gables, FL; Dallas, TX; Duluth, GA; Elizabeth, NJ; Houston, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Nogales, AZ; Santa Ana, CA; San Francisco, CA; and Woodbridge, VA.

ECONOMY
The smallest country in Central America geographically, El Salvador has the third-largest economy in the region. In the last two decades, El Salvador has made considerable progress in social and economic transformation, undertaking significant social sector reforms that led to improvements in social indicators. These reforms contributed to an increase in the country’s Human Development Index--which aggregates measures of life expectancy, adult literacy and school enrollment, and income per capita--from 0.524 in 1990 to 0.674 in 2010, and a decrease in the share of households living in poverty by 23.2 percentage points, from 59.7% in 1990 and 36.5% in 2010. El Salvador ranks 105th in the Human Development Index worldwide.

Much of the improvement in El Salvador's economy is a result of the privatization of the banking system, telecommunications, public pensions, electrical distribution and some electrical generation; reduction of import duties; elimination of price controls; and improved enforcement of intellectual property rights. Capping those reforms, on January 1, 2001, the U.S. dollar became legal tender and the economy is now fully dollarized. However, El Salvador’s economy remains strongly linked to world and U.S. economic cycles. From 2000 to 2010, the Salvadoran economy averaged 2% annual economic growth, with GDP receding by 3.1% in 2009 due to the financial crisis and recovering only to 1.4% growth in 2010. El Salvador was expecting 1.4% economic growth in 2011, lower than previously anticipated. These rates of growth are decidedly below the Latin American average, and the Government of El Salvador is determined to reverse these trends by laying the groundwork for a development model built on a new cycle of investment and economic growth through the Partnership for Growth (PFG) initiative.

The Salvadoran Government has maintained fiscal discipline during post-war reconstruction and reconstruction following earthquakes in 2001 and hurricanes in 1998 and 2005. Taxes levied by the government include a value added tax (VAT) of 13%, income tax of 30%, excise taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, and import duties. The VAT accounted for about 51.7% of total tax revenues in 2011. El Salvador’s public external debt in December 2011 was about $11.9 billion, 53.2% of GDP. Performance under a 3-year Stand-By Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund remains on track.

Years of civil war, fought largely in the rural areas, had a devastating impact on agricultural production in El Salvador. The agricultural sector experienced significant recovery, buoyed in part by higher world prices for coffee and sugarcane and increased diversification into horticultural crops. Seeking to develop new growth sectors and employment opportunities, El Salvador created new export industries through fiscal incentives for free trade zones. The largest beneficiary has been the textile and apparel (maquila) sector, which directly provides approximately 80,000 jobs. Services, including retail and financial, have also shown strong employment growth, with about 63% of the total labor force now employed in the sector.

Remittances from Salvadorans working in the United States are an important source of income for many families in El Salvador. In 2011, the Central Bank estimated that remittances totaled $3.6 billion. UN Development Program (UNDP) surveys show that an estimated 21.3% of families receive remittances.

Under its export-led growth strategy, El Salvador has pursued economic integration with its Central American neighbors and negotiated trade agreements with the Dominican Republic, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Taiwan, Colombia, and the United States. In 2010, Central America signed an Association Agreement with the European Union that includes the establishment of a free trade area, which is expected to enter into force in 2012. In 2011, El Salvador signed a Partial Scope Agreement (PSA) with Cuba. The Central American countries are negotiating a free trade agreement with Canada and Peru. Exports grew by 18.4% in 2011 and imports by 19.1%. As in previous years, the large trade deficit was offset by family remittances.

In 2006, El Salvador was the first country to ratify the U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), which has bolstered the export of processed foods, sugar, and ethanol, and supported investment in the apparel sector amid increased Asian competition and the expiration of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement in 2005. From 2005 to 2011, Salvadoran exports to the U.S. increased by 27%, while imports from the U.S. increased 84%. In addition to trade benefits, CAFTA-DR provides trade capacity building, particularly in the environment and labor areas, and a framework for additional reforms on issues such as intellectual property rights, dispute resolution, and customs to improve El Salvador’s investment climate. As it has promoted an open trade and investment environment, El Salvador also has embarked on a wave of privatizations extending to telecommunications, electricity distribution, banking, and pension funds.

U.S. support for privatization of the electrical and telecommunications markets markedly expanded opportunities for U.S. investment in the country. More than 300 U.S. companies have established either a permanent commercial presence in El Salvador or work through representative offices in the country. The U.S. Department of Commerce maintains a Country Commercial Guide for U.S. businesses seeking detailed information on business opportunities in El Salvador.

On November 29, 2006, the Government of El Salvador and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) signed a 5-year, $461 million anti-poverty Compact to stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty in the country’s northern region. The grant seeks to improve the lives of approximately 850,000 Salvadorans through investments in education, public services, enterprise development, and transportation infrastructure. The Compact entered into force in September 2007 and will conclude in September 2012. In December 2011, the MCC Board of Directors approved El Salvador’s eligibility to develop a proposal for a second Compact for consideration.

El Salvador is one of four countries that will participate in the Partnership for Growth, which will put into practice the principles of President Barack Obama’s Policy Directive on Global Development. The Partnership for Growth represents a new way of doing business focused on using the full range of available development resources--trade, private investment, traditional financial assistance, technical assistance, private sector activity, and more--to spur higher, sustained, and more inclusive economic growth in El Salvador. To make this possible, a joint United States and El Salvador team conducted an in-depth analysis and identified the two primary constraints to economic growth in El Salvador--crime and insecurity and low productivity in trade-related activities. Having worked together to identify the key constraints, these two teams then worked together to craft joint solutions, which form the heart of the Joint Country Action Plan (JCAP). The JCAP lays out how the two countries will work together to unlock these constraints to growth by promoting a business-friendly environment, investing in people through education, and strengthening anti-crime and violence prevention efforts. The Action Plan also provides a framework for other partners--donor governments and institutions--to work with El Salvador in a similarly focused manner.

Natural Disasters
Located on the Pacific’s earthquake-prone Ring of Fire and at latitudes affected by hurricanes, El Salvador’s history has included a number of catastrophes, including the Great Hurricane of 1780 that killed 22,000 in Central America and earthquakes in 1854 and 1917 that devastated El Salvador and destroyed most of the capital city. In October 1986, an earthquake killed 1,400 and seriously damaged the nation’s infrastructure. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch killed 10,000 in the region, although El Salvador--lacking a Caribbean coast--suffered less than Honduras and Nicaragua. Major earthquakes in January and February of 2001 took another 1,000 lives and left thousands more homeless and jobless. El Salvador’s largest volcano, Santa Ana (also known by its indigenous name Ilamatepec), erupted in October 2005, spewing sulfuric gas, ash, and rock on surrounding communities and coffee plantations, killing two people and permanently displacing 5,000. Also in October 2005, Hurricane Stan unleashed heavy rains that caused flooding throughout El Salvador. In all, the flooding caused 67 deaths and more than 50,000 people were evacuated at some point during the crisis. Damages from the storm were estimated at $355.6 million.

In November 2008, rains from Tropical Storm Ida caused flooding and mudslides that killed at least 199 and left extensive property damage in the departments of Cuscatlan, La Paz, San Vicente, and San Salvador. In 2010 property evacuation operations by the authorities prevented a higher number of deaths. In June 2010, Tropical Storm Alex killed 5 people and damaged 349 homes, and in September 2010, Tropical Storm Matthew killed 3 people and damaged 141 homes. In October 2011, Tropical Depression Twelve-E and other weather systems hit El Salvador, killing 34 people and damaging 4,516 homes. The storm systems caused severe flooding, landslides, and damaged infrastructure, including 36 bridges.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
El Salvador is a member of the United Nations and several of its specialized agencies, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Central American Common Market (CACM), the Central American Parliament, and the Central American Integration System (SICA). It actively participates in the Central American Security Commission (CASC), which seeks to promote regional arms control. From 2002-2003, El Salvador was chair of the OAS anti-terrorism coordinating body, CICTE. El Salvador also is a member of the World Trade Organization and is pursuing regional free trade agreements. An active participant in the Summit of the Americas process, El Salvador has chaired a working group on market access under the Free Trade Area of the Americas initiative. El Salvador has joined its six Central American neighbors in signing the Alliance for Sustainable Development, known as the Conjunta Centroamerica-USA or CONCAUSA to promote sustainable economic development in the region.

El Salvador enjoys normal diplomatic and trade relations with all of its neighboring countries including Honduras, with which it has previously had territorial disputes. While the two nations continue to disagree over the status of their maritime borders in the Gulf of Fonseca, they have agreed to settle their land-border disputes with the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In September 1992, the Court awarded most of the territory in question to Honduras. In January 1998, Honduras and El Salvador signed a border demarcation treaty to implement the terms of the ICJ decree although delays continue due to technical difficulties.

U.S.-SALVADORAN RELATIONS
U.S.-Salvadoran relations remain close and strong. U.S. policy toward El Salvador promotes the strengthening of El Salvador's democratic institutions, rule of law, judicial reform, national reconciliation and reconstruction, and economic opportunity and growth. El Salvador was a committed member of the coalition of nations fighting against terrorism and sent 11 rotations of troops to Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003 through 2008.

The U.S. and Salvadoran Governments cooperate closely to combat narcotics trafficking and organized crime. El Salvador hosts the International Law Enforcement Academy, which provides training to police, prosecutors, and other officials from across the Latin American region. El Salvador’s Air Force installation near Comalapa Airport houses a monitoring facility that surveils narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and El Salvador’s National Civilian Police jointly operate the Transnational Anti-Gang unit, which addresses the growing problem of street gangs in both countries. In January 2009, the U.S. and El Salvador signed letters of agreement committing both countries to work jointly under the Merida Initiative to fight crime and drug trafficking.

In March 2011, President Obama visited San Salvador, affirming the United States' continued commitment to fight narco-trafficking and related violence in El Salvador and the Central American region. El Salvador will continue to receive funds through the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)--implemented in 2008--to increase public security and law enforcement as well as support economic and social development.

U.S. ties to El Salvador are dynamic and growing. More than 19,000 American citizens live and work full-time in El Salvador. Most are private business people and their families, but a small number of American citizen retirees have been drawn to El Salvador by favorable tax conditions. The Embassy's consular section provides a full range of citizenship services to this community. The American Chamber of Commerce in El Salvador is located at World Trade Center, Torre 2, local No. 308, 89 Av. Nte. Col. Escalon, phone: 2263-9494.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Charge d’Affaires--Sean Murphy
USAID Mission Director--Carl B. Derrick
Political Counselor--Maeve Dwyer
Economic Counselor--Mitchell Ferguson
Commercial Counselor--Ireas Cook
Public Affairs Counselor--Marti Estell
Consul General--Kathryn Cabral

The U.S. Embassy in El Salvador is located at Final Blvd. Santa Elena, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad (phone (503) 2501-2999; fax number (503) 2501-2150). Website: http://sansalvador.usembassy.gov/

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
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The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. The travel.state.gov website also includes information about passports, tips for planning a safe trip abroad and more.  More travel-related information also is available at  http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department's Smart Traveler app for U.S. travelers going abroad provides easy access to the frequently updated official country information, travel alerts, travel warnings, maps, U.S. embassy locations, and more that appear on the travel.state.gov site. Travelers can also set up e-tineraries to keep track of arrival and departure dates and make notes about upcoming trips. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (requires iOS 4.0 or later).

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to enroll in the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).  A link to the registration page is also available through the Department's Smart Traveler app. U.S. citizens without internet access can enroll directly at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.  By enrolling, you make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and so you can receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

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Passports
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Health Information
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

More Electronic Information
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PROFILE

Geography
Area: 13,939 sq. km. (5,382 sq. mi.); slightly larger than Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.
Cities: Capital--Nassau, New Providence. Second-largest city--Freeport, Grand Bahama.
Terrain: Low and flat.
Climate: Semitropical.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Bahamian(s).
Population (2010 unofficial est.): 353,658 including an estimated 30,000-60,000 undocumented Haitians.
Annual population growth rate (2010 est.): 1.24%.
Ethnic groups: African 85%, European 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%.
Religions: Baptist (35%), Roman Catholic, Anglican, Evangelical Protestants, Methodist, Church of God, Rastafarian, traditional African.
Language: English (official); Creole.
Education (2010): Years compulsory--through age 16. Attendance--92%. Literacy--95.5%.
Health (2010 est.): Infant mortality rate--16.1/1,000. Life expectancy--73.15 years.
Work force (2011): 190,075; majority employed in the tourism, government, and financial services sectors.

Government
Type: Constitutional parliamentary democracy.
Independence: July 10, 1973.
Branches: Executive--Queen Elizabeth II (head of state), governor general (representative of Queen Elizabeth II), prime minister (head of government), and cabinet. Legislative--bicameral Parliament (38-member elected House of Assembly, 16-member appointed Senate). Judicial--Privy Council in U.K., Court of Appeal, Supreme Court, and magistrates' courts.
Political parties: Free National Movement (FNM), Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), Bahamas Democratic Movement (BDM), National Development Party, Worker’s Party.
Suffrage (2007): Universal over 18; 150,689 registered voters.

Economy
GDP (2010 est., official exchange rate): $7.702 billion (current); $7.617 billion (constant).
Growth rate (2010 est.): -1.35% (current); 0.95% (constant).
Per capita GDP (2009 est.): $21,538 (constant).
Government spending (current expenditure only, 2010): 14.9% of GDP.
Natural resources: Salt, aragonite, timber.
Tourism (2004, including tourism-driven construction and manufacturing): 48% of GDP.
Financial services: 11.3% of GDP.
Business services and real estate: 17.7% of GDP.
Construction (2010; 11.4% of GDP): Products--largely tourism-related.
Manufacturing (2010; 3.3% of GDP): Products--plastics, pharmaceuticals, rum.
Agriculture and fisheries (2010; 1.2% of GDP): Products--fruits, vegetables, lobster, fish.
Trade (2009): Exports ($621 million)--mineral products and salt, rum, animal products, chemicals, fruits, and vegetables. Export partners (2007)--U.S. (75.6%), U.K. (4.9%), Canada (3.7%), France (3.8%). Imports ($2.9 billion)--foodstuffs and animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels. Import partners (2007)--U.S. (83.8%), Puerto Rico (7.0%), Trinidad and Tobago (2.3%).

PEOPLE
Eighty-five percent of the Bahamian population is of African heritage. About two-thirds of the population resides on New Providence Island (the location of Nassau). Many ancestors arrived in The Bahamas when the islands served as a staging area for the slave trade in the early 1800s. Others accompanied thousands of British loyalists who fled the American colonies during the Revolutionary War.

Haitians form the largest immigrant community in The Bahamas. 30,000-60,000 are estimated to be resident legally or illegally, concentrated on New Providence, Abaco, and Eleuthera islands.

School attendance is compulsory between the ages of 5 and 16. The government fully operates 157 of the 252 primary and secondary schools in The Bahamas. The other 95 schools are privately operated. Enrollment for state primary and secondary schools is 48,545, with more than 21,000 students attending private schools. The College of The Bahamas, established in Nassau in 1974, provides programs leading to bachelors and associates degrees. Several non-Bahamian colleges also offer higher education programs in The Bahamas.

HISTORY
In 1492, Christopher Columbus made his first landfall in the Western Hemisphere in The Bahamas. Spanish slave traders later captured native Lucayan Indians to work in gold mines in Hispaniola, and within 25 years, all Lucayans perished. In 1647, a group of English and Bermudan religious refugees, the Eleutheran Adventurers, founded the first permanent European settlement in The Bahamas and gave Eleuthera Island its name. Similar groups of settlers formed governments in The Bahamas until the islands became a British Crown Colony in 1717.

The late 1600s to the early 1700s were the golden age for pirates and privateers. Many famous pirates and privateers--including Sir Francis Drake and Blackbeard--used the islands of The Bahamas as a base. The numerous islands and islets with their complex shoals and channels provided excellent hiding places for the plundering ships near well-traveled shipping lanes. The first Royal Governor, Woodes Rogers, brought law and order to The Bahamas in 1718 when he expelled the buccaneers.

During the American Revolution, American colonists loyal to the British flag settled in The Bahamas. These Loyalists and new settlers from Britain brought Colonial building skills and agricultural expertise. Until 1834, when Britain abolished slavery, they also brought slaves, importing the ancestors of many modern Bahamians from Western Africa.

Proximity to the U.S. continued to provide opportunity for illegal shipping activity. In the course of the American Civil War, The Bahamas prospered as a center of Confederate blockade-running. During Prohibition, the islands served as a base for American rumrunners. Today, The Bahamas is a major transshipment point for narcotics on the way to the U.S.

Bahamians achieved self-government through a series of constitutional and political steps, attaining internal self-government in 1964 and full independence within the Commonwealth on July 10, 1973. Since independence, The Bahamas has continued to develop into a major tourist and financial services center.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The Bahamas is an independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is a parliamentary democracy with regular elections. As a Commonwealth country, its political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom. The Bahamas recognizes Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, while an appointed Governor General serves as the Queen's representative in The Bahamas. A bicameral legislature enacts laws under the 1973 constitution.

House of Assembly members are elected from individual constituencies for 5-year terms. In 2011, the number of seats was reduced from 41 to 38. As under the Westminster system, the government may dissolve the Parliament and call elections at any time. The House of Assembly performs all major legislative functions. The leader of the majority party serves as prime minister and head of government. The Cabinet consists of at least nine members, including the prime minister and ministers of executive departments. They answer politically to the House of Assembly.

The Senate consists of 16 members appointed by the Governor General, including nine on the advice of the Prime Minister, four on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition, and three on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition.

The Governor General appoints the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The Governor General appoints the other justices with the advice of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission. The Privy Council of the United Kingdom is the highest Court for The Bahamas. The Court of Appeal is separate from the Supreme Court, comprised of a President, three resident Justices of Appeal and one non-resident Justice of Appeal. The Chief Justice is part of the Court of Appeal by virtue of his title as Head of Judiciary.

Local government districts elect councils for town planning, business licenses, traffic issues and maintaining government buildings. In some large districts, lower level town councils also have minor responsibilities.

Prior to 1967, the white-dominated United Bahamian Party (UBP) ruled The Bahamas, then a dependency of the United Kingdom, while a group of influential white merchants, known as the "Bay Street Boys," dominated the local economy. In 1953, Bahamians dissatisfied with UBP rule formed the opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP). Under the leadership of Lynden Pindling, the PLP won control of the government in 1967 and led The Bahamas to full independence in 1973.

A coalition of PLP dissidents and former UBP members formed the Free National Movement (FNM) in 1971. Former PLP cabinet minister and member of Parliament Hubert Ingraham became leader of the FNM in 1990, upon the death of Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield. Under the leadership of Ingraham, the FNM won control of the government from the PLP in the August 1992 general elections. The PLP regained power in 2002 under the leadership of Perry Christie. The FNM, again led by Ingraham, returned to government by capturing 23 of the 41 seats in the House of Assembly during the May 2007 election; the PLP won 18 seats.

In July 2008 Prime Minister Ingraham announced changes to ministerial portfolios and the creation of two additional ministries--the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture and the Ministry of the Environment.

The next general election must be held no later than May 2012. Prime Minister Ingraham has said he will run for his seat in 2012. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Brent Symonette announced in January 2012 that he will retire from politics after the 2012 election.

Principal Government Officials
Governor General--Arthur A. Foulkes
Prime Minister--Hubert Ingraham
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs--Brent Symonette

Ambassador to the United States and to the OAS--Cornelius A. Smith
Deputy Chief of Mission--Rhoda Mae Jackson
Ambassador to the United Nations--Paulette Bethel
Consul General, Miami--Alma Adams
Consul General, New York--Eldred Bethel
Consul General, Atlanta--Kay Forbes Smith

The Bahamas maintains an embassy in the United States at 2220 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel: 202-319-2660) and Consulates General in New York at 231 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017 (tel: 212-421-6420); in Miami at Suite 818, Ingraham Building, 25 SE Second Ave., Miami, FL 33131 (tel: 305-373-6295); and in Atlanta at 2970 Clairmont Road, Atlanta, GA 30329 (tel: 404-636-3911).

ECONOMY
The Bahamian economy is driven by tourism and financial services. Tourism and tourism-related construction and manufacturing provide an estimated 60% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Tourism directly and indirectly employs about half the Bahamian work force. In 2008, 4.6 million tourists visited The Bahamas, 85% from the United States. The number of visitors declined in 2009 due to the global economic crisis, but by December 2010, The Bahamas once again enjoyed 5 million visitors. This was a 4.5% year-on-year decrease from 2007. There are about 110 U.S.-affiliated businesses operating in The Bahamas, and most are associated with tourism and banking. With few domestic resources and little industry, The Bahamas imports nearly all its food and manufactured goods from the United States. American goods and services tend to be favored by Bahamians due to cultural similarities and heavy exposure to American advertising. The Bahamian economy, due to its heavy dependence on U.S. tourism and trade, is deeply affected by U.S. economic performance.

The Bahamas has experienced an economic downturn as a result of the worldwide economic recession. Tourism numbers dropped significantly during the last quarter of 2008, and approximately 112,000 Bahamians were receiving unemployment benefits as of November 2009. The Bahamas is focusing on road works and other infrastructure projects in an effort to boost the economy and create employment. Future goals include continued development of tourism properties through large-scale private sector investment, including increased Bahamian ownership, redevelopment of the Grand Bahama economy following major hurricane losses in 2004, and the expansion of the robust Bahamian financial sector.

In addition to the decrease in tourism, other economic challenges facing The Bahamas include meeting continued employment demands, jumpstarting a lagging privatization process, and monitoring increasing levels of government debt. Currently, Bahamians do not pay income or sales taxes. Most government revenue is derived from high tariffs and import fees. Reduction of trade barriers will probably require some form of taxation to replace revenues. Government as well as private sector leaders have voiced the need for a value added tax (VAT). The Bahamas is taking steps toward its goal of joining the World Trade Organization. In December 2008 the Bahamian Government signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU).

A number of planned hotel projects have promised to increase economic growth and create short- and long-term employment. The Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island remains a major tourist draw and an engine of the economy; this resort is currently planning its "4th phase" of upgrades. In March 2009 the ExIm Bank of China formally agreed to $2.6 billion in financing for the major BahaMar resort project. Parliament also approved the contentious request for 8,150 mostly Chinese laborers to work on the project. The government is currently redeveloping Nassau’s Lynden Pyndling International Airport and has turned over its management to private operators. The new U.S. arrivals and departures terminal at the airport was completed in March 2011. The Bahamian Government also has adopted a proactive approach to courting foreign investors and has conducted major investment missions to Asia, Europe, Latin America, India, and Canada. The government continues to pay particular attention to China to encourage tourism and investment. The Bahamas has opened an embassy in Beijing; the Chinese are funding the construction of a new $30 million sports stadium in New Providence and are providing more than $100 million in road construction projects. While the FNM government has expressed a desire to increase Bahamian ownership interests in developments, The Bahamas' dependence on foreign investment is unlikely to change.

Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy, accounting for up to 11.3% of GDP, due to the country's status as a tax haven and offshore banking center. The Stop Tax Haven Abuse bill, which has been proposed in the U.S. Congress and which names The Bahamas as one of 34 secrecy jurisdictions, has generated considerable discussion in local media and amongst politicians. Many Bahamians feel the inclusion of The Bahamas in such a bill would result in significant job losses in the financial services sector. As of 2005, the government had licensed 262 banks and trust companies in The Bahamas. The Bahamas promulgated the International Business Companies (IBC) Act in January 1990 to enhance the country's status as a leading financial center. The act served to simplify and reduce the cost of incorporating offshore companies in The Bahamas. Within 9 years, more than 84,000 IBC-type companies had been established. In February 1991, the government also legalized the establishment of Asset Protection Trusts in The Bahamas. In 2000, in response to multilateral organizations' concerns, the government passed a legislative package of stronger measures to better regulate the financial sector and prevent money laundering in the country's banking sector, including creation of a Financial Intelligence Unit and enforcement of "know-your-customer" rules. Some of these measures have been challenged in Bahamian courts, and the number of offshore banks registered in The Bahamas has declined substantially since 2002. As many as half of the IBCs have also closed shop. The government is considering additional legislation to keep the industry competitive while complying with international standards, including possible reform of the regulatory structure. As of March 2010, The Bahamas had signed 20 bilateral Tax Information Exchange Agreements, 14 with Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members and seven with G-20 members. These agreements helped The Bahamas avoid placement on the OECD “gray” list of countries that are not compliant with OECD tax information exchange regulations.

Agriculture and fisheries together account for about 1% of GDP. The Bahamas exports lobster and some fish but does not raise these items commercially. There is no large-scale agriculture, and most agricultural products are consumed domestically. Following an outbreak of citrus canker on Abaco in 2005, The Bahamas lost a main agricultural export, and the Ministry of Agriculture banned the export of plant materials from Abaco. The Bahamas imports more than $250 million in foodstuffs per year, representing about 80% of its food consumption.

The Bahamian Government maintains the value of the Bahamian dollar on a par with the U.S. dollar. The Bahamas is a beneficiary of the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA), Canada's CARIBCAN program, and the EU’s Economic Partnership Agreement. Although The Bahamas participates in the political aspects of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), it has not entered into joint economic initiatives, like the CSME, with other Caribbean states.

The Bahamas has a few notable industrial firms: the pharmaceutical firm PFC Bahamas (formerly Syntex); the BORCO oil facility, doing business as Vopak Terminal Bahamas; Sands Beer; and the Bahamian Brewery in Grand Bahama, all in Freeport; and the Commonwealth Brewery in Nassau, which produces Heineken, Guinness, and Kalik beers. Other industries include sun-dried sea salt in Great Inagua, a wet dock facility in Freeport for repair of cruise ships, and mining of aragonite--a type of limestone with several industrial uses--from the sea floor at Ocean Cay.

The Hawksbill Creek Agreement established a duty-free zone in Freeport, The Bahamas' second-largest city, with a nearby industrial park to encourage foreign industrial investment. The Hong Kong-based firm Hutchison Whampoa operates the container port in Freeport. The Bahamian Parliament approved legislation in 1993 that extended most Freeport tax and duty exemptions through 2054.

Business Environment
The Bahamas offers attractive features to the potential investor: a stable democratic environment, relief from personal and corporate income taxes, timely repatriation of corporate profits, proximity to the United States with extensive air and telecommunications links, and a good pool of skilled professional workers. The Government of The Bahamas welcomes foreign investment in tourism and banking and has declared an interest in alternative energy, agricultural, and industrial investments to generate local employment, particularly in white-collar or skilled jobs. Despite its interest in foreign investment to diversify the economy, the Bahamian Government responds to local concerns about foreign competition and tends to protect Bahamian business and labor interests. As a result of domestic resistance to foreign investment and high labor costs, growth can stagnate in sectors which the government wishes to diversify.

The country's infrastructure is best developed in the principal cities of Nassau and Freeport, where there are relatively good paved roads and international airports. Electricity is generally reliable, although many businesses have their own backup generators. In Nassau, there are two daily newspapers, several weeklies, and international newspapers available for sale. There also are six radio stations. Both Nassau and Freeport have a television station. Cable TV and satellite also are available locally and provide most American programs with some Canadian and European channels.

Areas of Opportunity
The best U.S. export opportunities remain in the traditional areas of foodstuffs and manufactured goods: vehicles and automobile parts; hotel, restaurant, and medical supplies; and computers and electronics. Bahamian tastes in consumer products roughly parallel those in the United States. Merchants in southern Florida have found it profitable to advertise in Bahamian publications. Most imports are subject to high but nondiscriminatory tariffs.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
The Bahamas has strong bilateral relationships with the United States and the United Kingdom, represented by an ambassador in Washington and High Commissioner in London. The Bahamas also associates closely with other nations of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The Bahamas has an ambassador to Haiti and works closely with the United States and CARICOM on political and migration issues related to Haiti. The Bahamas has diplomatic relations with Cuba, including embassies in each other's capitals. A repatriation agreement was signed with Cuba in 1996, and there are commercial and cultural contacts between the two countries. The Bahamas also enjoys a strengthening relationship with China. The Commonwealth of The Bahamas became a member of the United Nations in 1973 and the Organization of American States in 1982.

The Bahamas holds membership in a number of international organizations: the UN and some specialized and related agencies, including Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the International Labor Organization (ILO); International Monetary Fund (IMF); International Telecommunication Union (ITU); World Bank; World Meteorological Organization (WMO); World Health Organization (WHO); OAS and related agencies, including Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), and Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO); the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), excluding its Common Market; the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL); Universal Postal Union (UPU); International Maritime Organization (IMO); World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); and obtained observer status in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001.

U.S.-BAHAMIAN RELATIONS
The United States historically has had close economic and commercial relations with The Bahamas. The countries share ethnic and cultural ties, especially in education, and The Bahamas is home to approximately 30,000 American residents. In addition, there are about 110 U.S.-related businesses in The Bahamas and, in 2008, 85% of the 4.6 million tourists visiting the country were American.

As a neighbor, The Bahamas and its political stability are especially important to the United States. The U.S. and the Bahamian Government have worked together on reducing crime and addressing migration issues. With the closest island only 45 miles from the coast of Florida, The Bahamas often is used as a gateway for drugs and illegal aliens bound for the United States. The United States and The Bahamas cooperate closely to handle these threats. U.S. assistance and resources have been essential to Bahamian efforts to mitigate the persistent flow of illegal narcotics and migrants through the archipelago. The United States and The Bahamas also actively cooperate on law enforcement, civil aviation, marine research, meteorology, and agricultural issues. The U.S. Navy operates an underwater research facility on Andros Island.

The Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Customs and Border Protection maintains "preclearance" facilities at the airports in Nassau and Freeport. Travelers to the U.S. are interviewed and inspected before departure, allowing faster connection times in the U.S.

Principal U.S. Officials
Charge d’Affaires--John Dinkelman
Consular Section Chief--John Armstrong
Management Officer--Cheryl Moore
Political-Economic Section Chief--Alex Sokoloff
Public Affairs Officer--Erica Thibault
Regional Security Officer--Bradley Lynn

The U.S. Embassy is located at 42 Queen Street, Nassau (tel. 242-322-1181; telex 20-138); the local postal address is P.O. Box N-8197, Nassau, The Bahamas.

Other Contact Information
U.S. Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
Office of Latin America and the Caribbean
14th and Constitution, NW
Washington, DC 20230
Tel: 202-482-0704; 800-USA-TRADE
Fax: 202-482-0464

Caribbean/Latin American Action
1818 N Street, NW, Suite 310
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202-466-7464
Fax: 202-822-0075

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings, Trip Registration
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. The travel.state.gov website also includes information about passports, tips for planning a safe trip abroad and more.  More travel-related information also is available at  http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department's Smart Traveler app for U.S. travelers going abroad provides easy access to the frequently updated official country information, travel alerts, travel warnings, maps, U.S. embassy locations, and more that appear on the travel.state.gov site. Travelers can also set up e-tineraries to keep track of arrival and departure dates and make notes about upcoming trips. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (requires iOS 4.0 or later).

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to enroll in the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).  A link to the registration page is also available through the Department's Smart Traveler app. U.S. citizens without internet access can enroll directly at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.  By enrolling, you make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and so you can receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

Passports
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Health Information
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

More Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including more Background Notes, the Department's daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

Mobile Sources. Background Notes are available on mobile devices at http://m.state.gov/mc36882.htm, or use the QR code below.

In addition, a mobile version of the Department's http://www.state.gov website is available at http://m.state.gov, or use the QR code below. Included on this site are Top Stories, remarks and speeches by Secretary Clinton, Daily Press Briefings, Country Information, and more.

PROFILE

Geography
Area: 207,600 sq. km. (80,100 sq. mi.); slightly smaller than Kansas.
Cities: Capital--Minsk.
Terrain: Landlocked, low-lying with thick forests, flat marshes and fields.
Climate: Cold winters, cool and moist summers, transitional between continental and maritime.

People
Nationality: Noun--Belarusian(s). Adjective--Belarusian.
Population (Nov. 1, 2011): 9,466,700 (urban 75%; rural 25%).
Population decline (2011 est.): -0.152%.
Ethnic groups (2009 census): Belarusian (83.7%), Russian (8.3%), Polish (3.1%), Ukrainian (1.7%), Jewish (0.14%), other (3%).
Religions (2010 est.): Eastern Orthodox 82.5%, Catholic 12%, Protestant 2%, other (including Autocephalous Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, and Krishna) 3.5%.
Languages: Belarusian and Russian (official).
Education: Literacy--99.6%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2011 est.)--3.6/1,000. Life expectancy (2011 est.)--71.2 years (men 65.57 years, women 77.18 years).
Work force (4.7 million, 2010): By occupation--industry 25.3%; agriculture 9.7%. (Note: The above data was taken from Belarus’ National Statistics Committee)

Government
Type: Republic.
Constitution: March 30, 1994. (Note: A revised constitution took effect November 27, 1996 granting the presidency greatly expanded powers at the expense of the legislature and judiciary. The new authority included the power of decree (independent legislative authority) and extensive appointment authority in the other branches of government. The November 24, 1996 national referendum on the revisions was not recognized internationally.)
Independence: 1991 (from Soviet Union).
Branches: Executive--President (head of state), Prime Minister (head of government), Council of Ministers (cabinet). Legislative--bicameral: the “House of Representatives” (110 deputies) and the “Council of the Republic” (64 deputies). (Note: The United States does not recognize this “parliament” as it was organized as a result of the 1996 referendum.)
Judicial--Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, and Supreme Economic Court.
Administrative subdivisions: Six oblasts (regions) and one city with special administrative status (Minsk).
Political parties: Belarus has 15 registered political parties, including Belarusian Agrarian Party (BAP); Belarusian Party “The Green” (BPG); Belarusian Social and Sports Party (BSSP); Belarusian Patriotic Party (BPP); Belarusian Popular Front (BNF); Conservative Christian Party-BNF; Social-Democratic Hramada Party (SDH); Belarusian Social-Democratic Party (Hramada); Social Democratic Party of Popular Accord (SDPPA); Communist Party of Belarus (CPB); Belarusian Party of the Left “Just World” (BPLJW); United Civic Party (UCP); Liberal Democratic Party (LDP); Republican Party (RP); Republican Party of Labor and Justice (RPPS). Several of these parties exist in name only. Other, unregistered parties are also active, such as the Belarusian Christian Democracy and Belarusian Party of Workers.
Suffrage: Universal at age 18.

Economy
GDP (2011 est., purchasing power parity (PPP)): $140.73 billion.
GDP real growth rate (2011): 5.3%.
Per capita GDP (2010 World Bank est., PPP): $13,928. The Belarusian ruble suffered a three-fold devaluation in 2011, thus likely reducing PPP estimates.
Natural resources: Forest land, peat deposits, potash, small amounts of oil and natural gas.
Agriculture: Products--grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax, beef, pork, milk.
Industry: Types--metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, synthetic fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators.
Trade (January-November 2011): Commodity exports--$36.5 billion (refined petroleum, potash fertilizers, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food products, metals, and textiles). Major markets--Russia, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Great Britain, Ukraine, and Latvia. Commodity imports--$41.3 billion (mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, crude oil and natural gas, chemicals, foodstuffs). Major suppliers--Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Poland, Italy, Lithuania, China.
Exchange rate (January 2012): 8,460 BYR (Belarusian rubles) = U.S. $1.

HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS
While archeological evidence points to settlement in today's Belarus at least 10,000 years ago, recorded history begins with settlement by Baltic and Slavic tribes in the early centuries A.D. With distinctive features by the ninth century, the emerging Belarusian state was then absorbed by Kievan Rus' in the ninth century. Belarus was later an integral part of what was called Litva, which included today's Belarus as well as today's Lithuania. Belarus was the site of the Union of Brest in 1597, which created the Greek Catholic Church, for long the majority church in Belarus until suppressed by the Russian empire. Occupied by the Russian empire from the end of the 18th century until 1918, Belarus declared its short-lived National Republic on March 25, 1918, only to be forcibly absorbed by the Bolsheviks into what became the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). Suffering devastating population losses under Soviet leader Josef Stalin and the German Nazi occupation, including mass executions of 800,000 Jews, Belarus was retaken by the Soviets in 1944. It declared its sovereignty on July 27, 1990, and independence from the Soviet Union on August 25, 1991. It has been run by the authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka since 1994.

GOVERNMENT
The constitution provides for a directly elected president who serves a 5-year term. The bicameral “parliament”, which was formed as a result of a flawed 1996 referendum and which the U.S. Government does not recognize, consists of the 64-seat “Council of the Republic” and the 110-seat “House of Representatives”. The “Council of the Republic” is the house of territorial representation. Eight members of the “Council” are appointed directly by the president of the Republic of Belarus, while local regional councils, whose heads are appointed by the president, elect the rest. The deputies to the “House of Representatives” are elected directly by the voters. The president appoints the prime minister, who is the head of government. The system of courts in Belarus is based on the territorial principle and specialization. The president alone appoints 6 of the 12 judges of the Constitutional Court and all the judges of the general jurisdiction and economic courts. The president appoints, with the consent of the Council of the Republic, the Chiefs of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Economic Court. With the consent of the Council of Republic, the president also appoints the General Prosecutor, the Chairman of the National Bank, and the Chairman of the Central Election Commission. The president alone appoints the head of the State Committee for Security (KGB).

POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Executive Branch
Since his election in July 1994, Alyaksandr Lukashenka has consolidated power steadily in the executive branch through authoritarian means, destroying checks and balances and thereby dominating all branches of government. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) monitors have never determined that an election in Belarus meets OSCE standards for free and fair elections. Lukashenka used a non-democratic referendum in November 1996 to amend the 1994 constitution to broaden his powers and illegally extend his term in office. He began to count his 5-year term in 1996, thereby adding 2 years to his first term in office. Based on the unrecognized 1996 constitution, Lukashenka announced that presidential elections were to be held in 2001. In 2004, he engineered a fraudulent referendum that removed term limits on the presidency. Independent exit polling of the referendum showed results far different from those officially announced.

OSCE/ODIHR observers reported that the March 19, 2006 presidential election failed to meet international standards, was characterized by a disregard for the basic rights of freedom of assembly, association, and expression, and included a highly problematic vote count. Authorities detained many opposition and civic activists during the campaign and used force against demonstrators protesting the fraudulent election. Opposition presidential candidate Alyaksandr Kazulin was beaten and arrested during post-election protests and sentenced to a 5-year jail term. (The Belarusian authorities released Kazulin on August 16, 2008.) In January 2010, Lukashenka further consolidated his rule through local elections that failed to meet international standards.

The December 19, 2010 presidential elections were marked by cosmetic improvements during the campaign, such as limited access to state media and the legalization of limited campaign finance accounts. However, on election night, in reaction to a massive, peaceful protest held in downtown Minsk, the Government of Belarus launched an unprecedented (and still ongoing) crackdown. The crackdown resulted in hundreds of arrests and the imprisonment of seven of the nine opposition presidential candidates. One of the presidential candidates, Uladzimir Nyaklayeau, was brutally beaten before the polls closed on election night, then abducted by unknown individuals from his hospital bed.

Lukashenka declared himself the victor of the 2010 presidential election, claiming 80% of the vote. However, the vote count was declared by the OSCE/ODIHR election monitoring mission to have been “bad and very bad in almost half of all observed polling stations.” Consequently, the United States Government does not recognize these results as legitimate. The United States considers the more than 50 persons imprisoned or suffering from restrictions on their freedom imposed by the Government of Belarus to be political prisoners. Eight of these individuals, including presidential candidates Mikola Statkevich and Andrei Sannikau, remain in prison. There are credible reports of mistreatment, including hindering access to legal counsel and relatives.

Legislative Branch
In October 2000, “parliamentary” elections occurred for the first time since the disputed referendum of 1996 that dissolved the unicameral parliament and created a bicameral system. According to the OSCE/ODIHR, these elections failed to meet international democratic standards. International monitors noted sweeping human rights violations and undemocratic practices throughout the election period, including massive vote-counting fraud. These irregularities led the OSCE/ODIHR to find that these elections failed to meet Belarus' OSCE commitments for democratic elections. The March 2003 local elections and October 2004 “parliamentary” elections also failed to meet international standards of freedom and fairness. OSCE/ODIHR observers declared that the “parliamentary” elections fell far short of international standards, citing abuses in the campaign period and the vote counting.

Belarus held “parliamentary” elections in late September 2008. Despite Belarusian authorities’ public assurances that the elections would be “unprecedentedly” democratic and transparent, the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission determined the elections fell short of OSCE standards. The authorities denied registration for approximately 20% of opposition candidates as well as candidates overall. While candidates were allotted their mandatory campaign airtime on various media outlets, restrictions on this access made it difficult for candidates to adequately present their platforms to the public.

OSCE/ODIHR observers noted good access to polling stations during early voting and on election day. However, the Belarusian authorities fell short on access for OSCE/ODIHR and other observers to the vote count, a crucial aspect for determining the transparency of the elections. OSCE/ODIHR observers assessed transparency of the vote count to have been bad or very bad in 48% of observed cases. The OSCE recognized minor improvements in the conduct of the elections, but the lack of a transparent vote count made it impossible to determine the validity of the elections. The Department of State issued a statement following OSCE/ODIHR’s preliminary assessment, expressing disappointment with the failure of the Belarusian elections to meet international standards.

The next “parliamentary” elections are to take place no later than September 2012.

Limitations on Freedom
Although the constitution provides for basic rights and the rule of law, in practice the Government of Belarus has not always respected this.

Freedom of Expression. Already tight government restrictions on basic freedoms worsened during the crackdown following the 2010 election. Efforts to infringe upon press freedoms have included the misuse of libel laws, increased restrictions on foreign funding, continuing pressure on businesses not to advertise with independent media, limitations on access to newsprint and printing presses, prohibiting access to state distribution networks, censorship, restrictions on the import of media-related materials, temporary and permanent suspension of independent and opposition periodicals, confiscation in quantity of printed publications, and detention of those distributing such material. Despite constitutional provisions, a 1998 government decree limited citizens' rights to express their own opinions. All Internet service providers in Belarus operate through a state-controlled portal, and a presidential decree restricting Internet use came into effect July 1, 2010. The Government of Belarus has continued to make use of its monopoly on television broadcasting to present biased news coverage and to minimize the presentation of opposing points of view.

Freedom of Assembly and Association. Both the 1994 and 1996 constitutions provide for freedom of peaceful assembly. However, the regime severely restricts this right in practice, and amendments passed in 2011 further restrict this right. For example, organizers cannot advertise an event until they receive official permission, which is rarely granted to opposition groups. Moreover, demonstrations require an application at least 15 days in advance of the event, and the local government must then respond positively or negatively at least 5 days prior to the event. Police and other security officials have detained, harassed, and beaten demonstration participants, opposition candidates, and, at times, their families after demonstrations, irrespective of their legal status. Police film all demonstrations, including sanctioned events.

Arrest and violence are often used to impede assembly, often by individuals in civilian clothes who present no law enforcement identification to the individual being arrested. Following the post-election demonstrations on December 19, 2010, police arrested and detained seven of the nine opposition presidential candidates and around 700 peaceful demonstrators. Pressure against families of those involved in opposition politics can include restricting their right to free movement, threatening removal from jobs, and, in one notable example, threatening to seize the child of Andrei Sannikau, an imprisoned opposition presidential candidate and his wife, Irina Khalip, also a political prisoner

Freedom of association is severely restricted by applying stringent registration requirements to political parties, trade unions, non-governmental associations and other organizations of civil society, which are required to register with the Ministry of Justice. Many organizations were unable to register and refused on minor technicalities. The Belarusian Christian Democracy party was refused registration three times, and a leading human rights group, Vyasna-96, has been unable to register for years after having been de-registered by the government. Individuals working for unregistered organizations can face up to 2 years of imprisonment. Ales Byalyatski, head of Vyasna-96, was tried, convicted, and sentenced by the Government of Belarus to 4-1/2 years of imprisonment in 2011 on trumped-up charges of tax evasion.

Freedom of Movement. On December 17, 2007, Lukashenka abolished exit stamps in favor of a computerized system that verifies the validity of passports. At the same time, however, he authorized the Interior Ministry to ban travel by individuals who had access to state secrets, who were facing criminal prosecution or civil suits, and who had outstanding financial commitments. The travel ban list allegedly has 100,000 names. Several opposition leaders and activists are subject to this travel ban and have been prevented from temporary travel abroad. In the wake of the December 2010 crackdown, some political prisoners who received suspended sentences have had travel restrictions placed on them; this includes both travel in Belarus and abroad and on occasion it also has been extended to their family members.

Labor Rights. The constitution provides for the right of workers, except for state security and military personnel, to voluntarily form and join independent unions and to carry out actions in defense of workers' rights, including the right to strike. In practice, however, these rights are limited. No independent unions have been established since 1999.

The Belarusian Free Trade Union (FTUB) was established in 1991 and registered in 1992. Following the 1995 Minsk metro workers strike, the President suspended its activities. In 1996, FTUB leaders formed a new umbrella organization, the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BCDTU), which encompasses four leading independent trade unions and is reported to have about 10,000 members. Membership has steadily declined under Government of Belarus harassment and pressure.

In June 2000, a complaint was lodged with the International Labor Organization (ILO) by several trade union organizations alleging the government was attempting to destroy the independent unions. A campaign was carried out to raise international awareness about trade unions and to put pressure on the Belarusian authorities. Late in 2001, the regime attempted to further restrict the unions by refusing to turn over dues paid by members. Once it became clear that the unions and the semi-official Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB) were adjusting to this change, the government embarked on a takeover of the FTUB and several of its branch unions in July 2002. The FTUB subsequently became an arm of the government after the election of the government nominee, Leonid Kozik, to the position of Chairman of the FTUB.

In November 2003, the ILO approved the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry to investigate alleged serious violations of workers' rights in the country. That same month the Ministry of the Economy informed the ILO that all activities related to its technical assistance project to labor unions must cease because registration of the project was denied. In 2004, the ILO presented the government with a list of 12 recommendations to improve its treatment of independent unions. A January 2006 ILO mission found that the government had not implemented any of these recommendations. As a result, in June 2007, the European Union (EU) suspended Belarus' trading preferences under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The United States had suspended GSP preferences in 2000 due to Belarus' failure to take steps that would allow the right of association and collective bargaining.

In March 2004, the government began forcing state employees (some 80% of Belarusian workers) to sign short-term work contracts, one of the main instruments by which the Government of Belarus maintains social control. Although contracts may be concluded for a period of 5 years, most expire after 1 year, which essentially grants the government the opportunity to annually fire anyone in its employ, usually anyone involved in opposition politics or civil protest. Many members of independent unions, political parties, and civil society groups have lost their jobs when their contracts were not renewed.

Freedom of Religion. The constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, the authorities have restricted this right in practice. Although Article 16 of the 1996 amended constitution reaffirms the equality of religions and denominations before the law, it also contains restrictive language stipulating that cooperation between the state and religious organizations "is regulated with regard for their influence on the formation of spiritual, cultural, and country traditions of the Belarusian people."

The government also restricts religious freedom using the provisions of a 2002 law on religion and a 2003 concordat with the Belarusian Orthodox Church (BOC), a branch of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the only officially recognized Orthodox denomination. Although there is no state religion, the concordat grants the BOC privileged status. Numerous anti-Semitic acts and attacks on religious monuments and buildings have occurred with little discernable response from the government. Authorities have kept many religious communities waiting as long as several years for decisions about property registration or restitution. Authorities also have harassed and fined members of certain religious groups, especially those that the authorities appear to regard as bearers of foreign cultural influence or as having a political agenda. Foreign missionaries, clergy, and humanitarian workers affiliated with churches have faced many government-imposed obstacles, including deportation and visa refusal or cancellation.

The State Department's reports on human rights practices in Belarus are located at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/.

Principal Government Officials
Office of President--Alyaksandr Lukashenka (Note: The United States does not recognize the results of December 19, 2010 elections under which the Central Election Commission of Belarus declared Lukashenka president.)
Prime Minister--Mikhail Myasnikovich
Foreign Minister--Syarhei Martynau

Ambassador to the U.S.--Note: The Government of Belarus recalled its Ambassador in 2008.
Ambassador to the UN--Andrey Dapkiunas

The Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the U.S. is located at 1619 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009; Main Telephone: 202-986-1604; Fax: 202-986-1805; Consular Section: 202-986-1606; website: http://www.usa.belembassy.org/eng/.

ECONOMY
As part of the former Soviet Union, Belarus had a relatively well-developed industrial base. Following the breakup of the U.S.S.R., Belarus retained this industrial base, which is now outdated, energy inefficient, and dependent on subsidized Russian energy and preferential access to Russian markets. The country also has a broad agricultural base that is equally inefficient and dependent on government subsidies, as well as a high education level. However, Belarus remains the only country in Europe with a higher education system that has not acceded to the Bologna Process promoting common European standards. The Government of Belarus has shown little interest in moving toward a free-market system given that the state- run economy provides a key element of social control.

After an initial burst of capitalist reform from 1991 to 1994, including privatization of state enterprises, creation of institutions of private property, and development of entrepreneurship, Belarus’ economic development has greatly slowed under Lukashenka, and in many cases, reversed its pace of privatization and other market reforms while emphasizing the need for a "socially oriented market economy." About 80% of all industry remains in state hands, and foreign investment has been hindered by a climate hostile to business. A few banks, which had been privatized after independence, were renationalized under Lukashenka, with state banks in 2011 accounting for 75% of the banking sector.

Potash, the country's most valuable mineral resource and a major hard currency earner, is sold as fertilizer. According to informal sources, Belarus accounts for more than 16% of world market’s potash supply. Belarus also has deposits of clay, sand, chalk, dolomite, phosphorite, and rock and potassium salt. Forests cover about a third of the land, and lumbering is an important occupation. Potatoes, flax, hemp, sugar beets, rye, oats, and wheat are the chief agricultural products. Dairy and beef cattle, pigs, and chickens are raised. Belarus has small reserves of crude oil, though it imports most of its crude oil and natural gas from Russia at prices substantially below world market prices. The main branches of industry produce tractors and trucks, earthmovers for use in construction and mining, metal-cutting machine tools, agricultural equipment, motorcycles, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, and consumer goods. The chief trading partners are Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Poland, and the Netherlands, though the vast majority of industrial goods go to Russia, with energy exports flowing west.

Economic output, which had declined for several years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, revived in the mid-2000s thanks to the boom in oil prices. Belarus exported at market prices refined oil products that were produced from Russian crude oil purchased at a steep discount. The funds from this so-called “oil off-shore” allowed the Government of Belarus to enter into a so-called “social contract” with Belarusians: political passivity in return for a slowly increasing standard of living.

However, in late 2006, Russia began a process of rolling back its subsidies on oil and gas to Belarus. In December 2006, after a short-lived dispute, Belarus and Russia agreed on a schedule of graduated price increases toward European market prices for the gas Belarus would receive. Russian gas giant Gazprom also bought a 50% stake in Belarus’ pipeline firm Beltransgaz. Under this deal, although Gazprom raised prices for Belarus gas deliveries in 2010, the costs were still less than the price paid by EU member states. Tensions over Russian energy reached a peak in 2010, when Russia stopped the export of all subsidized oil to Belarus save for domestic needs. However, in December 2010, Russia and Belarus again reached a deal to restart the export of discounted oil to Belarus, although the terms were far less favorable than before and increased Belarusian energy dependence on Moscow. In November 2011, Belarus and Russia reached an agreement to drastically reduce the price of natural gas in exchange for Russia gaining full control over Beltransgaz, the natural gas pipeline operator.

Due to the economic and political climate, little new foreign investment has occurred in recent years. However, the government publicly claims to support foreign investment and has made various regulatory changes designed to attract investment. Belarus was ranked number 58 in the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2010” report and was among the top 10 “reformers” for 2008-2009. In 2011, a financial crisis was triggered by the Government of Belarus raising salaries by over 30% and far ahead of productivity in the run-up to December 2010 elections. This policy was compounded by an increased cost in Russian energy inputs and an overvalued Belarusian ruble and eventually led to a nearly three-fold devaluation of the Belarusian ruble in 2011 and 118.1% year-on-year inflation, leading to a concomitant drop in living standards. The present situation has stabilized in the short term due to a $3 billion, multi-tranche, 3-year loan from the Russian-dominated Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) Bail-out Fund; a $1 billion loan from the Russian state-owned bank Sberbank (terms and duration are not public); and the $2.5 billion sale of Beltranzgas to Russia state-owned Gazprom.

Environmental Issues
Belarus has established ministries of energy, forestry, land reclamation, and water resources, as well as state committees to deal with ecology and safety procedures in the nuclear power industry. Belarus faces growing air, land, and water pollution levels from potash mining in the south of the country. The most serious environmental issue in Belarus results from the April 26, 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

The massive nuclear accident at Chernobyl had a devastating effect on Belarus. About 70% of the nuclear fallout from the plant landed on Belarusian territory and about 20% of the land remains contaminated. As a result of the radiation released, agriculture in a large part of the country was destroyed and many villages were abandoned. Resettlement and medical costs were substantial and long-term. Many living in Chernobyl-afflicted zones have infrequent access to medical treatment due to remoteness, inadequate equipment, and substantial costs. Although the Belarusian authorities claim otherwise, many radiation monitoring stations, especially in rural areas, are either ill-equipped, poorly staffed, and/or no longer in operation. Resettlement of those in affected areas remains incomplete.

The Government of Belarus’ plans to construct by 2017-2018 a 2.4-megawatt nuclear power plant near the border with Lithuania (approximately 50 km from its capital city Vilnius) triggered environment concerns in both countries. The Belarusian Government dismissed these concerns and in late 2011 signed a deal with the Russian Government for a $10 billion loan to construct a Russian-made nuclear power plant. As a Russian condition, a 50-50 joint venture was established to sell the nuclear power plant-generated electricity to domestic and foreign consumers.

DEFENSE AND MILITARY ISSUES
The United States continues to support Belarus' adherence to arms control agreements and treaties into which it has previously entered, including the Open Skies Treaty, which Belarus ratified in 2001.

Direct military to military cooperation continues to be minimal. Belarus currently has no International Military Education and Training (IMET) program, and bilateral exercises and cooperation are nonexistent.

Belarus has cooperated with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, through the Partnership for Peace Trust Fund, to destroy a total of 700,000 conventional landmines. Belarus also has a stockpile of over 3 million non-conventional anti-personnel mines, which it had pledged to destroy by March 2008 through an EU-funded project. In addition, there are numerous World War II-era minefields still in place that kill or injure several Belarusians every year.

The Ministry of Defense is experiencing success in the area of military reform. Planned changes include combining the Air and Air Defense Forces, downsizing the force structure about 30% from 83,000 to 60,000, transitioning from a conscript to a contract force, and modernizing the command and control structure by creating a Ground Forces Command between the Ministry of Defense and the units in the field. Implementation of these reforms will take an unspecified amount of time.

There have been numerous reports of Belarusian sales or delivery of weapons or weapons-related technologies to states of concern, including state sponsors of terrorism. In April and September 2004, the United States imposed sanctions for a period of 2 years on a Belarusian entity, Belvneshpromservice, pursuant to the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000 for the transfer to Iran of items on a multilateral export control list, or items having the potential of making a material contribution to weapons of mass destruction (WMD), or cruise or ballistic missile systems. The sanctions against Belvneshpromservice expired in April 2006. In December 2011, the U.S. Government re-imposed sanctions on Belvneshpromservice as it had re-engaged in transfer activities in violation of the Iran Nonproliferation Act.

In March 2011, the United States sanctioned Belarusneft, a state-owned Belarusian energy company, for its involvement in the Iranian petroleum sector, which--as UN Security Council Resolution 1929 recognized--Iran uses to fund its proliferation activities, as well as to mask procurement for the importation of dual-use items.

In May 2011, the United States imposed sanctions for a period of 2 years on a Belarusian entity, BelTechExport, pursuant to the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA). Sanctions were imposed on BelTechExport because there was credible information indicating that it had transferred to Iran, North Korea, or Syria equipment and technology listed on multilateral export control lists or otherwise having the potential to make a material contribution to weapons of mass destruction, or cruise or ballistic missile systems.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Under an arrangement with the former U.S.S.R., Belarus was an original member of the United Nations. It also is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS - a group of 12 former Soviet republics), the Belarusian and Russian Union State, the Customs Union (CU) and its successor, the Single Economic Space (SES) with Russia and Kazakhstan, the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Partnership for Peace, the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, the Non-Aligned Movement, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank.

Following the recognition of Belarus as an independent state in December 1991 by the European Community, EU-Belarus relations initially experienced a steady progression. The signing of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) in 1995 signaled a commitment to political, economic, and trade cooperation. Significant assistance was provided to Belarus within the framework of the TACIS technical assistance program and also through various aid programs and loans.

However, progress in EU-Belarus relations stalled in 1996 after serious setbacks in the development of democracy. The EU did not recognize the 1996 constitution that replaced the 1994 constitution. Neither the PCA nor its trade-related elements were implemented, and Belarus was not invited to join the EU's Neighborhood Policy. Belarusian membership in the Council of Europe was not supported, bilateral relations at the ministerial level were suspended, and EU technical assistance programs were frozen. In 1998, relations were further worsened when Lukashenka evicted several western ambassadors from their homes in the Drozdy area of Minsk, including the United States Ambassador. In 2004, the Council of Europe adopted a report written by special rapporteur Christos Pourgourides calling on Belarusian authorities to suspend various high-level officials after conducting a thorough investigation of the cases of several prominent Belarusian political figures who disappeared and remain unaccounted for.

In line with the U.S., the EU spoke strongly against the government's conduct of the 2006 election, noting that additional restrictive measures would be imposed against those officials responsible for abuses. After the election, the U.S. and EU imposed travel restrictions and asset bans against those responsible for abuses. The EU also launched a 2-year, 2 million Euro ($2.4 million) project to support Belarusian access to independent information, complementing U.S. assistance programs.

After the September 2008 parliamentary elections, the EU issued a statement expressing its concern about the conduct of the elections, which, despite limited progress, did not correspond to the OSCE’s democratic standards. In response to Belarus’ release of the political prisoners it held, the EU in October 2008 suspended for 6 months its visa sanctions on numerous Belarusian officials, including Lukashenka; this suspension was extended until December 2010. In May 2009, the EU launched its Eastern Partnership Initiative (EaP) for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The EaP’s ultimate aim is to forge closer ties between the six target countries and the EU, while promoting democratic and market reforms. However, Belarus downplayed the democracy and human rights aspect of the Eastern Partnership; in September 2011, the Government of Belarus walked out of the annual EaP conference in Warsaw.

Russia is the single largest partner for Belarus in the economic and political fields. One-third of all Belarusian exports go to Russia, including the vast majority of industrial goods--such as tractors, buses, and trucks--and dairy and meat products. Due to the structure of Belarusian industry, Belarus relies heavily on other CIS countries, and Russia in particular, both for export markets and for the supply of raw materials, subsidized energy, and components.

The framework for the Russia-Belarusian “Union State” was set out in the Treaty on the Formation of a Community of Russia and Belarus (1996), the Treaty on Russia-Belarus Union, the Union Charter (1997), and the Treaty of the Formation of a Union State (1999). The integration treaties contain commitments to monetary union, equal rights, single citizenship, and a common foreign and defense policy. They also have established a range of institutions modeled after the EU. With the exception of isolated progress, such as unification of the two countries' customs duties in March 2001, the Union State has not moved forward.

Belarus, Russia, and Kazakhstan signed on October 6, 2007 an agreement to establish a Customs Union. The CU was launched on July 6, 2010 after the customs code of the CU came into effect. On July 1, 2011, customs clearance among the three countries was terminated and was moved to the outer borders of the CU member states.

On December 9, 2010, Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan signed 17 agreements on the establishment of the Single Economic Space, which came into effect on January 1, 2012. Its member states claim that the SES was established in compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) norms, which will take precedence over SES obligations, and ensure a free flow of goods, capital, and labor among Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. However, due to Russia’s 2012 WTO accession, Belarus, which is not a WTO member, faces competition from cheap, world-class goods that will enter Russia through the WTO and from there to Belarus. Belarus will not have the same preferential access to WTO markets as Russia.

U.S.-BELARUS RELATIONS
The United States recognized Belarusian independence on December 25, 1991. After the two countries established diplomatic relations, the U.S. Embassy in Minsk was officially opened on January 31, 1992. The two countries exchanged top-level official visits in the early years of independence. Stanislau Shushkevich, the head of state as the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Belarus, met with President Bill Clinton in Washington in July 1992, and President Clinton visited Belarus in January 1994. After this high point, bilateral relations cooled following the election of Lukashenka as President in July 1994.

Ambassador David H. Swartz, the first Ambassador to Belarus, officially assumed post on August 25, 1992, the first anniversary of Belarusian independence, and departed post on completion of his term in late January 1994. On November 7, 1994, Ambassador Kenneth S. Yalowitz assumed post. He was succeeded by Ambassador Daniel V. Speckhard, who served from August 1997 to August 2000, but spent 1 year in Washington after the Government of Belarus confiscated his diplomatic residence, along with those of other ambassadors. Michael G. Kozak served as U.S. Ambassador from October 2000 to August 2003. George A. Krol served as U.S. Ambassador from September 2003 to July 2006. Karen B. Stewart replaced Ambassador Krol as U.S. Ambassador and arrived in Belarus on September 18, 2006.

Ambassador Stewart was recalled on March 12, 2008 following a threat of expulsion by the Belarusian authorities and the voluntary recall of Belarus’ Ambassador to the U.S. Belarus then unilaterally reduced the staff at its U.S. missions, excluding the mission to the UN, to five persons and demanded the U.S. reciprocate by reducing the U.S. Embassy in Minsk from 35 to five diplomats. When the U.S. refused to comply, the Belarusian authorities expelled the U.S. diplomats and capped the presence of American diplomats, stationed or visiting for technical or administrative support, at five. American diplomats are also now required to schedule all meetings with government, state institutions, and state enterprise--approximately 80% of society works for the state--via the Foreign Ministry (MFA). The MFA also requires 24-hour pre-notification before American diplomats travel outside of a 40-kilometer ring outside Minsk. In response, the U.S. applied reciprocal policy on Belarusians working in the U.S., with the caveat that the U.S. will lift the restrictions when the Government of Belarus does the same. The United States and Belarus are currently represented at the level of Charge d’Affaires.

In September 1995, three hot air balloons participating in the Coupe Gordon Bennett race entered Belarusian air space. Race organizers had informed the Belarusian authorities about the race in May, and flight plans had been filed. Nevertheless, the Belarusian air force shot down one balloon, killing two American citizens, and forced the other two to land. The crews of the other two balloons were fined for entering Belarus without a visa and released. To date, Belarus has not apologized or offered compensation for these killings.

In November 1996, the Lukashenka regime conducted an internationally unrecognized and highly flawed constitutional referendum, which resulted in the dissolution of Belarus' legitimate parliament and the centralization of power in the executive branch through the destruction of the separation of powers. In addition, Lukashenka used his newly centralized power to repress human rights throughout the country, including persecuting members of the illegally disbanded Belarusian Parliament (13th Supreme Soviet) and former members of his own government.

As a result of these events and tendencies, the United States announced in 1997 its decision to pursue a "selective engagement" policy with the Belarusian authorities. This policy included downgrading government-to-government contacts to the level of Assistant Secretary and below, as well as restricting U.S. Government assistance to the Belarusian authorities, with some exceptions including humanitarian assistance and exchange programs with state-run educational institutions. At the same time, the U.S. greatly expanded contacts with Belarusian civil society to promote democratization in Belarus.

Since 1997, despite U.S. engagement with Belarusian society, official bilateral relations have remained at a low level. In 1998, the Belarusian authorities provoked a diplomatic crisis by demanding and, in contravention of international law, eventually confiscating diplomatic residences in the Drozdy housing compound, including the U.S. Ambassador's residence. This action led the United States and other countries to withdraw their ambassadors from Belarus until the Belarusian authorities provided compensation and guarantees of respect for international law. In 2003, the United States, in tandem with the European Union, proposed a step-by-step, gradual approach to improve bilateral relations: the United States would respond positively to genuine efforts by Belarusian authorities to improve Belarus' human rights and electoral practices. Belarusian authorities failed to take the steps that warranted a positive response.

In October 2004, the U.S. Congress passed, and President George W. Bush signed, the Belarus Democracy Act, which was designed to promote democratization. In signing the act, President Bush noted that the authorities were turning Belarus into "a regime of repression in the heart of Europe," and set out the U.S. policy of working "with our allies and partners to assist those seeking to return Belarus to its rightful place among the Euro-Atlantic community of democracies." After a deeply flawed presidential election in March 2006, the U.S., acting with the EU, imposed travel restrictions and targeted financial sanctions against Belarusian officials implicated in human rights abuses and election fraud. The financial sanctions prohibited U.S. persons from engaging in financial transactions with named persons. On January 12, 2007, President Bush signed the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act, which repeated the call for targeted sanctions against Belarusian officials and continued assistance for democracy building activities.

In August 2007, the U.S. widened application of travel restrictions on Belarusians to include directors and deputy directors of state enterprises. In November 2007, the Treasury Department froze the U.S. assets of the Belarusian state oil and petrochemicals company, Belneftekhim, because of Lukashenka's control of the company. After the Belarusian authorities released the last of its political prisoners in August 2008, the U.S. suspended sanctions for 6 months on two Belneftekhim subsidiaries, Lakokraska and Polotsk Steklovolokno, while keeping sanctions in place against Belneftekhim as a whole.

In August 2009, Assistant Secretary of State Philip H. Gordon traveled to Belarus for meetings with government officials on improving bilateral relations on the basis of improved respect for human rights and democratic principles in Belarus. The Belarusian authorities failed to take any steps in this direction; moreover, following the December 2010 elections, they launched an unprecedented crackdown that represented a serious step backward in democratic development.

In response to the December 2010 crackdown, the United States in January 2011 announced additional travel restrictions and the re-imposition of sanctions suspended in 2008 against two Belneftekhim subsidiaries. On the same day, the EU announced its own sanctions regime of travel bans and asset freezes. In August 2011, the United States imposed additional sanctions against four major Belarusian state-owned enterprises that were determined to be owned or controlled by Belneftekhim.

On January 3, 2012, President Barack Obama signed into law the Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2011, which strengthened and expanded the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 and the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2006. The law affirms U.S. Belarus policy as calling for new presidential and parliamentary elections that comply with OSCE standards and for the release and rehabilitation of all political prisoners; includes an expansion of the criteria for Belarusian officials subject to visa restrictions and financial sanctions to those involved in post-election crackdowns; and calls on the International Ice Hockey Federation to suspend plans to hold the 2014 International World Ice Hockey championship in Minsk.

U.S.-Belarusian Economic Relations
The U.S. Government continues to support the development of the private sector in Belarus and its transition to a free-market economy. Under the Lukashenka regime, Belarusian authorities have pursued a generally hostile policy toward the private sector and have refused to initiate the basic economic reforms necessary to create a market-based economy. Most of the Belarusian economy remains under government control.

In February 1993, a bilateral trade treaty guaranteeing reciprocal most-favored-nation status entered into force. In January 1994, the U.S. and Belarus signed a bilateral investment treaty, which has been ratified by Belarus but has not been ratified by the U.S. Senate. In addition, due to continuing repression of labor rights in Belarus, the U.S. removed Belarus from the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in 2000.

The United States has encouraged Belarus to adhere to agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on macroeconomic stabilization and related reform measures, as well as to undertake increased privatization and to create a favorable climate for business and investment. An Overseas Private Investment Corporation agreement was signed in June 1992, but it has been suspended since 1995 because Belarus did not fulfill its obligations under the agreement. Belarus is eligible for Export-Import Bank short-term financing insurance for U.S. investments, but because of the adverse business climate, no projects have been initiated.

The IMF granted Belarus standby credit in September 1995, but Belarus fell off the program and did not receive the second tranche of funding, which had been scheduled for regular intervals throughout 1996. Belarus agreed to a stand-by arrangement with the IMF in 2008 (which was approved by the IMF in January 2009) and concluded the program in April 2010. In 2011, Belarus sought IMF assistance to deal with its ongoing economic crisis but was rebuffed by the IMF. In an October 17, 2011 public release the IMF stated that Belarus would need “to demonstrate a clear commitment--including at the highest level--to stability and reform and to reflect this commitment in their actions” before negotiations could begin.

The U.S. Government currently does not encourage U.S. companies to invest in Belarus. Belarus' opaque legal and regulatory systems do not create a business environment the U.S. Government recommends for investment.

U.S. Assistance to Belarus
The majority of U.S. Government assistance programs in Belarus aim to create space for the free expression of political views, advance human rights, support civil society development, and promote media freedom. Other programs strengthen entrepreneurs and business associations, support access to independent higher education, improve living standards through health projects and those addressing vulnerable populations, and combat trafficking in persons. With very limited exceptions, including humanitarian assistance and exchange programs involving state-run educational institutions, U.S. assistance is not channeled through the Government of Belarus.

In 2011, the U.S. provided $18 million in assistance to Belarusian civil society, including $4 million committed at an international donor conference in Warsaw. U.S. Government assistance to Belarus peaked in 1994 at approximately $76 million (consisting of more than $16 million in FREEDOM Support Act funds and some $60 million in funds from various U.S. Government agencies). However, U.S. assistance levels dropped sharply due to the lack of progress in democratic and economic reforms after Lukashenka came to power in mid-1994.

Belarus was previously a recipient of assistance under the U.S. Defense Department's Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program, whose objective is to reduce the threat posed to the United States by weapons of mass destruction remaining on the territory of the former Soviet Union by promoting denuclearization and demilitarization and preventing weapons proliferation. However, in February 1997, due to the Belarusian authorities’ poor record on human rights, President Clinton de-certified Belarus, thus rendering the country ineligible for further CTR assistance and placing restrictions on other security-related assistance as well. The United States and Belarus signed a government-to-government umbrella agreement on CTR assistance in 1992, seven agency-to-agency CTR implementing agreements, and one memorandum of understanding and cooperation. The umbrella agreement was extended for 1 year in October 1997 but has now expired.

For more detailed information on U.S. Government assistance to Belarus, please see the annual reports to Congress on U.S. Government Assistance to and Cooperative Activities with Eurasia, which are available in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs section on the State Department's website. A fact sheet on foreign operations appropriated assistance to Belarus can be found at http://www.state.gov/p/eur/rls/fs/167295.htm. Information is also available on the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) website at the address: http://www.usaid.gov.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Charge d'Affaires--Michael Scanlan
Political/Economic Chief--Chris Panico
Management Officer--John Janek (Acting)
Consul--Carrie Lee
Information Management Officer--John Janek

The U.S. Embassy in Minsk, Belarus is located at Starovilenskaya 46; tel: (375-17) 210-12-83; fax: (375-17) 234-78-53.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings, Trip Registration
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. The travel.state.gov website also includes information about passports, tips for planning a safe trip abroad and more.  More travel-related information also is available at  http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department's Smart Traveler app for U.S. travelers going abroad provides easy access to the frequently updated official country information, travel alerts, travel warnings, maps, U.S. embassy locations, and more that appear on the travel.state.gov site. Travelers can also set up e-tineraries to keep track of arrival and departure dates and make notes about upcoming trips. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (requires iOS 4.0 or later).

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to enroll in the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).  A link to the registration page is also available through the Department's Smart Traveler app. U.S. citizens without internet access can enroll directly at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.  By enrolling, you make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and so you can receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

Passports
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Health Information
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

More Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including more Background Notes, the Department's daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

Mobile Sources. Background Notes are available on mobile devices at http://m.state.gov/mc36882.htm, or use the QR code below.

In addition, a mobile version of the Department's http://www.state.gov website is available at http://m.state.gov, or use the QR code below. Included on this site are Top Stories, remarks and speeches by Secretary Clinton, Daily Press Briefings, Country Information, and more.

PROFILE

Geography
Area: 141,978 sq. km.
Capital: Dushanbe.
Terrain: Pamir and Alay mountains dominate landscape; western Ferghana valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest.
Climate: Mid-latitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir mountains.

People (data from CIA World Factbook unless otherwise noted)
Population (October 2011 estimate): 7,728,400.
Population growth rate (October 2011 estimate): 1.9%.
Ethnic groups: Tajik 80%, Uzbek 15%, Russian and others 5%.
Religion (2010 Embassy est.): Sunni Muslim 85%, Shi'a Muslim 5%, other 10%.
Language: Tajik (the official state language as of 1994, with follow-up legislation in 2009); Russian is widely used in government and business; 74% (est. 2010) of the population lives in rural communities where mostly Tajik is spoken.
Education: Literacy--98.4%. The Tajik education system has been struggling through a period of decline since independence, and some evidence suggests functional literacy is much lower.
Health (2010 est.): Life expectancy--62.97 years men; 69.25 years women. Infant mortality rate--38.54 deaths/1,000 live births.

Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: September 9, 1991 (from Soviet Union).
Constitution: November 6, 1994.
Branches: Executive--chief of state: President Emomali RAHMON since November 6, 1994; head of state and Supreme Assembly Chairman since November 19, 1992; head of government (appointed by the president): Prime Minister Oqil OQILOV since December 20, 1999; Oqilov has reached mandatory retirement age, but has not yet been replaced. Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Supreme Assembly. Elections: president elected by popular vote for a 7-year term; election last held November 6, 2006. Election results: Emomali RAHMON 79.3%, Olimjon BOBOYEV 6.2%, Amir QAROQULOV 5.3%, Ismoil TALBAKOV 5.1%, Abduhalim GHAFFOROV 2.8%. Legislative--bicameral Supreme Assembly or Majlisi Oli consists of the Assembly of Representatives or Majlisi Namoyandagon (lower chamber; 63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms) and the National Assembly or Majlisi Milli (upper chamber; 34 seats; members are indirectly elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms, 25 selected by local deputies, 8 appointed by the president, plus former presidents of Tajikistan--currently there is one; all serve 5-year terms). Elections: last held February 28, 2010, for the Assembly of Representatives. Official election results: percent of vote by party--People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan 71.04%, Islamic Revival 8.20%, Communist Party 7.01%, other 13.75%. Judicial--Supreme Court; judges are appointed by the president.
Political parties and leaders: People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMON]; Islamic Revival Party or IRPT [Muhiddin KABIRI]; Tajik Communist Party or CPT [Shodi SHABDOLOV]; Democratic Party or DPT [Maqsud Sobirov heads government-recognized faction; Mahmadruzi ISKANDAROV, currently serving 23-year prison term, is chairman of original DPT; Iskandarov’s faction of DPT is headed by Rahmatullo VALIYEV]; National Social Democratic Party or NSDPT [Rahmatillo ZOYIROV]; Socialist Party of Tajikistan or SPT [Abduhalim GHAFFOROV; Murhuseyn NARZIEV heads the original SPT party that is currently unrecognized by the government]; Agrarian Party or APT [Amir QAROQULOV]; Party of Economic Reform or PERT [Olimjon BOBOYEV].
Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal.
Defense (2010 est.): Military manpower (availability) 1,980,000.

Economy (data from IMF unless otherwise noted)
Nominal GDP: $5.64 billion (2010); $6.3 billion (2011).
Nominal per capita GDP (2010): $822.
Per capita GDP (purchasing power parity, 2009): $2,104.
GDP real growth rate: 6.5% (2010); 7.4% (2011); 7% (2012 projection).
Headline CPI inflation rate (end-of-year): 9.8% (2010); 13.6% (2011 projection); 10.0% (2012 projection).
Natural resources: Hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, gold, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten.
Work force (2010, CIA World Factbook): The official work force is 2.1 million. The actual number of working age citizens is closer to 4 million. As many as half of all working age males, and an increasing number of females, seek jobs outside of the country, primarily in Russia.
Official unemployment rate (2009, CIA World Factbook): 2.2% (2.6% reported by the State Statistics Agency in August 2011). The official rate is estimated based on the number of registered unemployment benefit recipients; it does not take into account the significant number of people who seek work abroad. Underemployment also is very high--possibly as high as 40% of the work force; 46.7% live below the poverty line according to the World Bank.
Agriculture: Products--cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats.
Industry: Types--aluminum, gold, silver, antimony, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, textiles, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers.
Trade (State Statistics Agency data): Exports (2011)--$1.2 billion: aluminum, electricity, raw cotton, cotton fiber, gold, fruits and vegetables, vegetable oil, textiles. Main export partners include Russia, China, Iran, and Turkey. Imports (2011)--$3.2 billion: electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs. Import partners include Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Turkmenistan.
Total public and publicly guaranteed external debt: $1.941 billion (2010); $2.124 billion (2011).
Debt/GDP ratio: 33.4% (2010 est.); 33.4% (2011).

GEOGRAPHY
At 36'40' northern latitude and 41'14' eastern longitude, Tajikistan is located between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to the north and west, China to the east, and Afghanistan to the south. Tajikistan is home to some of the highest mountains in the world, including the Pamir and Alay ranges. Ninety-three percent of Tajikistan is mountainous with altitudes ranging from 984 feet to 24,589 feet, with nearly 50% of Tajikistan's territory above 10,000 feet. Earthquakes of varying degrees are frequent. The massive mountain ranges are cut by hundreds of canyons and gorges; at the bottom of these run streams which flow into larger river valleys where the majority of the country's population lives and works. The principal rivers of Central Asia, the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, both flow through Tajikistan, fed by melting snow and glaciers in the mountains of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Flooding and landslides sometimes occur during the annual spring thaw.

PEOPLE
Contemporary Tajiks are the descendants of various ancient Iranian inhabitants of Central Asia, in particular the Soghdians and the Bactrians, and possibly other groups, with an admixture of Mongols and Turkic peoples. The largely Shi’a inhabitants of the Pamir mountains speak a number of mutually unintelligible eastern Iranian dialects quite distinct from the Tajik spoken in the rest of the country. Until the 20th century, people in the region tended to identify themselves more by way of life--nomadic versus sedentary--and place of residence than by ethnic group. The distinction between ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks was not always precise, and people in the region often used--and continue to use--each other's languages. The Soviets tended to reify ethnicity, and drew Central Asian republican boundaries so that they balanced ethnic representation in fertile areas such as the Ferghana Valley while also making large-scale ethnic mobilization difficult.

HISTORY
The current Tajik Republic hearkens back to the Samanid Empire (A.D. 875-999), which ruled what is now Tajikistan as well as territory to the south and west, as its role model and name for its currency. During their reign, the Samanids supported the revival of the written Persian language in the wake of the Arab Islamic conquest in the early 8th century and played an important role in preserving the culture of the pre-Islamic Persian-speaking world. They were the last Persian-speaking empire to rule Central Asia.

The expanding Russian Empire encompassed the territory that is now Tajikistan, along with most of the rest of Central Asia, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Russian rule collapsed briefly after the Russian Revolution of 1917, as the Bolsheviks consolidated their power and were embroiled in a civil war in other regions of the former Russian Empire. As the Bolsheviks attempted to regain Central Asia in the 1920s, an indigenous Central Asian resistance movement based in the Ferghana Valley, the "Basmachi movement," resisted but was largely eliminated by 1925. Tajikistan became fully established under Soviet control with the creation of Tajikistan as an autonomous Soviet socialist republic within Uzbekistan in 1924, and as an independent Soviet socialist republic in 1929. The northern Sughd region, previously part of the Uzbek republic, was added to the Tajik republic at this time.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The Republic of Tajikistan gained its independence during the breakup of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) on September 9, 1991 and soon fell into a civil war. From 1992 to 1997 internal fighting ensued between old-guard regionally based ruling elites and disenfranchised regions, democratic liberal reformists, and Islamists loosely organized in a United Tajik Opposition (UTO). Other combatants and armed bands that flourished in this civil chaos simply reflected the breakdown of central authority rather than loyalty to a political faction. The height of hostilities occurred between 1992 and 1993. By 1997, the predominantly Kulyabi-led Tajik Government and the UTO had negotiated a power-sharing peace accord and implemented it by 2000. Once guaranteed 30% of government positions, former oppositionists have almost entirely been removed from government as President Rahmon has consolidated power.

The last Russian border guards protecting Tajikistan's 1,344 km border with Afghanistan completed their withdrawal in July 2005. Russia maintains its military presence in Tajikistan with the basing of the Russian 201st Motorized Rifle Division that never left Tajikistan when it became independent. Most of these Russian-led forces, however, are local Tajik noncommissioned officers and soldiers.

In June 2003, Tajikistan held a flawed referendum to enact a package of constitutional changes, including a provision to allow President Rahmon the possibility of re-election to up to two additional 7-year terms after his term expired in 2006. Tajikistan's 2006 presidential election and 2010 parliamentary elections were considered to be flawed and unfair but peaceful. President Rahmon secured a new 7-year term in the November 6, 2006 election. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) determined that democratic practices were not fully tested "due to the absence of genuine competition, which provided voters with only nominal choices." There were four other candidates on the ballot but no strong opposition candidate. The strongest opposition party, the IRPT, decided not to field a candidate and two other parties (the DPT and SDPT) boycotted the presidential election. The ruling party secured 55 of the 63 seats in the 2010 parliamentary elections, which failed to meet many key ODIHR standards on democratic elections. Some observers saw them as even worse than the flawed 2005 parliamentary elections.

Lack of transparency in the legislative process and significant concerns regarding due process demonstrate the weakness of civil society in the country. Corruption is pervasive, and numerous observers have noted that power has been consolidated into the hands of a relatively small number of individuals.

Principal Government Officials
President--Emomali Rahmon
Prime Minister--Oqil Oqilov
Foreign Minister--Hamrokhon Zarifi
Ambassador to the United States--Abdujabbor Shirinov
Permanent Representative to the United Nations--Sirojiddin Aslov

Tajikistan established an embassy in Washington, DC in temporary offices in February 2003, and formally opened its first permanent chancery building in March 2004. Tajikistan's embassy in the United States is at 1005 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC 20037 (tel.: 202-223-6090; fax: 202-223-6091).

ECONOMY
Tajikistan is the poorest Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) country and one of the poorest countries in the world. Foreign revenue is precariously dependent upon exports of cotton and aluminum and on remittances from Tajik migrant workers abroad, mainly in Russia. The economy is highly vulnerable to external shocks. Despite this, Tajikistan managed modest growth during the height of the recent economic crisis, and growth picked up again in 2010 (6.5%) and 2011 (7.4%).

Tajikistan has great hydropower potential and has focused on attracting investment for projects for internal use and electricity exports. Meanwhile, the country faces severe electricity shortages, particularly during the winter and beyond, when most of Tajikistan's inhabitants receive little or no electricity for weeks at a time. The government sees the construction of the massive Roghun hydroelectric dam as the solution to the country’s chronic energy woes, but the dam has been a source of increasing friction with Uzbekistan.

Tajikistan has followed a relatively strict fiscal and monetary policy, which has resulted in macroeconomic stability. However, government interference in the economy and massive corruption stifle economic growth and private investment. The government has attracted state-led investment for major infrastructure projects, particularly from China, rather than implementing the necessary economic reforms to attract private investors. Two-thirds of the workforce of Tajikistan is in agriculture, where wages are abysmally low and sometimes non-existent. Tajikistan struggles to implement agricultural reforms that would allow many farmers to grow the crop of their choice, rather than being forced to grow cotton, as has been the practice from Soviet times. Income from narcotics trafficking, while difficult to quantify, has an increasingly visible impact on the Tajik economy.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Afghanistan continues to represent the primary security concern in Tajikistan's immediate neighborhood, although 2010 violence in Kyrgyzstan caused concern. With the ouster of the former Taliban government from Afghanistan, Tajikistan now has much friendlier relations with its neighbor to the south. The Taliban-allied Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), a U.S. Government-declared terrorist organization formerly active in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, has also been greatly diminished as a threat to Tajikistan's domestic stability. Rampant illicit trafficking of Afghan opium and heroin through Tajikistan remains a serious long-term threat to Tajikistan's stability and development, fostering corruption, violent crime, and economic distortions.

Tajikistan has a difficult relationship with Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is concerned about Tajikistan's plans to develop hydropower, which Uzbekistan views as a threat to downstream irrigation. Border disagreements arise sporadically between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. For the most part these are minor disagreements concerning people moving across mostly unmarked borders, but occasionally disputes develop into situations where gunfire is exchanged. For the most part relations are strained but peaceful.

U.S.-TAJIK RELATIONS
The United States remains committed to assisting Tajikistan in its economic and political development, as Tajikistan continues to recover from its civil war legacy. U.S. assistance efforts are evolving away from humanitarian aid and political reconciliation, as those needs increasingly have been met. Instead, U.S. efforts are targeted toward broader goals of democratic, social sector, and economic reform.

U.S.-Tajik relations have developed considerably since September 11, 2001. The two countries now have a broad-based relationship, cooperating in such areas as counter-narcotics, counterterrorism, non-proliferation, and regional growth and stability. In light of the Russian border forces' withdrawal from the Tajik-Afghan border, the U.S. Government leads an international donor effort to enhance Tajikistan's territorial integrity; prevent the transit of narcotics and material or technology related to weapons of mass destruction (WMD); and support a stable, peaceful Tajikistan in order to prevent the spread of influence and activities of radical groups and terrorists. In February 2010, the U.S. and Tajikistan launched an annual bilateral consultation process to enhance cooperation on a broad range of policy and assistance issues.

The U.S. continues to assist Tajikistan on economic reforms and integration into the broader global marketplace, for example in pursuing World Trade Organization (WTO) accession. U.S. assistance also supports health and education, as well as democracy, media, and local governance. Tajikistan has been a strong supporter of U.S. efforts on counterterrorism and in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan.

A U.S. Government-funded $36 million bridge over the Amu Darya River connecting Sher Khan, Afghanistan with Nizhniy Pyanzh, Tajikistan opened for commercial traffic in October 2007 and about 200 trucks cross daily. Since the opening, trade volume has more than tripled. The bridge and related customs facilities will continue to enhance economic and commercial opportunities on both sides of the river, allowing goods and people to move across more easily. On the Afghan side, the bridge road will connect to the Afghan Ring Road.

The U.S. Export-Import Bank and JP Morgan guaranteed and funded a $182 million purchase of Boeing 737-900ER airliners for the private Tajik airline company “Somon Air.”

The United States recognized Tajikistan on December 25, 1991, the day the U.S.S.R. dissolved, and opened a temporary embassy in a hotel in the capital, Dushanbe, in March 1992. After the bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998, Embassy Dushanbe American personnel were temporarily relocated to Almaty, Kazakhstan, due to heightened Embassy security standards. American Embassy Dushanbe has since returned to full operations and in July 2006 moved into a purpose-built embassy compound.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Ken Gross
Deputy Chief of Mission--Sarah Penhune
Management Officer--Mark Johnsen
Political/Economic Section Chief--Manuel Micaller
Public Affairs Officer--Wesley Roberston
Consular Officer--Mary C. Ermel
Defense Attache--James McAndrew (acting)
USAID Country Representative--Jeffrey Lehrer

The U.S. Embassy is located at 109-A Ismoili Somoni Avenue, Dushanbe, Tajikistan 734019. Embassy phone: [992] (37) 229-20-00, Consular section phone: [992] (37) 229-23-00, Embassy fax: [992] (37) 229-20-50. Website: dushanbe.usembassy.gov

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings, Trip Registration
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. The travel.state.gov website also includes information about passports, tips for planning a safe trip abroad and more.  More travel-related information also is available at  http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department's Smart Traveler app for U.S. travelers going abroad provides easy access to the frequently updated official country information, travel alerts, travel warnings, maps, U.S. embassy locations, and more that appear on the travel.state.gov site. Travelers can also set up e-tineraries to keep track of arrival and departure dates and make notes about upcoming trips. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (requires iOS 4.0 or later).

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to enroll in the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).  A link to the registration page is also available through the Department's Smart Traveler app. U.S. citizens without internet access can enroll directly at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.  By enrolling, you make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and so you can receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

Passports
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Health Information
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

More Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including more Background Notes, the Department's daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

Mobile Sources. Background Notes are available on mobile devices at http://m.state.gov/mc36882.htm, or use the QR code below.

In addition, a mobile version of the Department's http://www.state.gov website is available at http://m.state.gov, or use the QR code below. Included on this site are Top Stories, remarks and speeches by Secretary Clinton, Daily Press Briefings, Country Information, and more.

PROFILE

Geography
Area: 7.7 million sq. km. (3 million sq. mi.); about the size of the 48 contiguous United States.
Cities (2010): Capital--Canberra (pop. 358,000). Other cities--Sydney (4.6 million), Melbourne (4.1 million), Brisbane (2 million), Perth (1.7 million), Adelaide (1.2 million), Darwin (125,000), Hobart (215,000).
Terrain: Varied, but generally low-lying.
Climate: Relatively dry and subject to drought, ranging from temperate in the south to tropical in the far north.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Australian(s).
Population (January 2012 est.): 22.8 million.
Annual population growth rate: 1.8%.
Religions (2006 census): Catholic 26%, Anglican 19%, other Christian 19%, other non-Christian 1%, Buddhist 2.1%, Islam 1.7%, no religion 19%, and not stated 12%.
Languages: English.
Education: Years compulsory--to age 16 in all states and territories except New South Wales and the Northern Territory where it is 15, and Western Australia where it is 17. Literacy--over 99%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--4.7/1,000. Life expectancy--males 79.3 years, females 83.9 years.
Work force (11.4 million): Agriculture, fishing and forestry--3%; mining--1.8%; manufacturing--8.75%; retail trade--10.9%; public administration, defense, and safety--6.2%; construction--9%.

Government
Type: Constitutional monarchy: democratic, federal-state system.
Constitution: Passed by the British Parliament on July 9, 1900.
Independence (federation): January 1, 1901.
Branches: Executive--Queen Elizabeth II (head of state, represented by a governor general); the monarch appoints the governor general on the advice of the prime minister. Legislative--bicameral Parliament (76-member Senate, 150-member House of Representatives). The governor general appoints the prime minister (generally the leader of the party which holds the majority in the House of Representatives) and appoints ministers on the advice of the prime minister. Judicial--independent judiciary.
Administrative subdivisions: Six states and two territories.
Political parties (as of July 1, 2011): Labor, Liberal, Greens, the Nationals, and Democratic Labor Party.
Suffrage: Universal and compulsory 18 and over.
Central government budget (revenue): A$321.4 billion, or U.S. $331 billion (FY 2010-2011); A$336.4 billion, or U.S. $346.5 billion (FY 2011-2012 est.).
Defense (FY 2011-2012 est.): A$29.1 billion, or U.S. $30 billion (approx. 2.2% of GDP).

Economy (figures in U.S. dollars unless noted)
GDP (2011 estimate): A$1.3 trillion (U.S. $1.3 trillion).
Inflation rate forecast for 2011-2012 (from November 2011 budget update): 2.25%.
Reserve Bank official interest rate (January 2012): 4.25%.
Trade: Exports ($297.5 billion, 2010-2011)--coal, iron ore, education services, gold, travel services, oil and gas, wheat. Major markets--China (A$70.5 billion, or U.S. $73 billion), Japan (A$48.9 billion, or U.S. $51 billion), Korea (A$24.3 billion, or U.S. $25 billion), India (A$18.43 billion, or U.S. $19 billion), U.S. ($14.3 billion), and U.K. (A$10.6 billion, or U.S. $11 billion). Imports ($276.6 billion, 2010-2011 estimate)--travel services, petroleum, passenger motor vehicles, refined petroleum, freight transport services, medicaments ($8.2 billion), telecom equipment ($8.9 billion). Major suppliers--China (A$42.7 billion, or U.S. $44 billion), U.S. ($36.3 billion), Japan ($18.8 billion), Thailand ($11.1 billion), and Singapore ($15.1 billion).
Exchange rate (January 2012): U.S. $1.037 = A$1.

PEOPLE
Australia's indigenous inhabitants, a hunting-gathering people collectively referred to today as Aboriginals and Torres Straits Islanders, arrived more than 40,000 years ago. Although their technical culture remained static--depending on wood, bone, and stone tools and weapons--their spiritual and social life was highly complex. Most spoke several languages, and confederacies sometimes linked widely scattered tribal groups. Indigenous population density ranged from one person per square mile along the coasts to one person per 35 square miles in the arid interior. When Captain James Cook claimed Australia for Great Britain in 1770, the native population may have numbered 300,000 in as many as 500 tribes speaking many different languages. In 2006 the indigenous population was approximately 517,200, representing about 2.5% of the population. Since the end of World War II, the government and the public have made efforts to be more responsive to aboriginal rights and needs, such as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s February 2008 apology to the indigenous people that included a pledge “to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.”

Immigration has been vital to Australia's development since the beginning of European settlement in 1788. For generations, most settlers came from the British Isles, and the people of Australia are still predominantly of British or Irish origin. Non-British/Irish immigration has increased significantly since World War II through an extensive, planned immigration program. Since 1945, over 7 million migrants have settled in Australia, including 700,000 refugee and humanitarian entrants. About 80% have remained; 24%--almost one in four--of Australians are foreign-born. Britain, Ireland, Italy, Greece, New Zealand, and the former Yugoslavia were the largest sources of post-war immigration. In 2010-2011, China was the largest source country for permanent migrants to Australia, with New Zealand, India, Britain, and the Philippines making up the rest of the top five. Australia's humanitarian and refugee program of about 13,000 per year is in addition to other immigration programs. In recent years, refugees from Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia have comprised the largest element in Australia's refugee program.

Although Australia has fewer than three people per square kilometer, it is one of the world's most urbanized countries. Less than 2.5% of the population lives in remote or very remote areas.

Cultural Achievements
Much of Australia's culture is derived from European roots, but distinctive Australian features have evolved from the environment, aboriginal culture, and the influence of Australia's neighbors. The vigor and originality of the arts in Australia--film, opera, music, painting, theater, dance, and crafts--have achieved international recognition.

Australian actors and comedians including Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, Geoffrey Rush, Hugh Jackman, Sam Worthington, Chris Hemsworth, the late Heath Ledger, and Dame Edna Everage (Barry Humphries) have achieved great popularity in the United States. Directors including Baz Luhrmann, Peter Weir, Philip Noyes, and Russell Mulcahy; the conductor Sir Charles Mackerras; and singers and musicians including Olivia Newton-John, The Wiggles, AC/DC, Dame Joan Sutherland, Dame Nellie Melba, and Kylie Minogue are well known.

Australian artists with international reputations include Sidney Nolan, Russell Drysdale, Pro Hart, and Arthur Boyd. Writers who have achieved world recognition include Thomas Keneally, Colleen McCullough, Nevil Shute, Morris West, Jill Ker Conway, Peter Carey, Robert Hughes, Germaine Greer, and Nobel Prize winner Patrick White.

In sports, Australian athletes are internationally renowned, particularly in swimming, diving, cricket, netball, tennis, rugby, rugby league, and golf. Australia's share of Olympic medals and world titles is larger than its share of the world's population. In 2005 Andrew Bogut began playing for the Milwaukee Bucks after becoming the first Australian to be drafted number one overall in the U.S. National Basketball Association draft. Cadel Evans became the first Australian to win the Tour de France cycling race in July 2011. Australian football, or "footy," is a very popular contact sport for players and spectators.

HISTORY
Australia was uninhabited until stone-culture peoples arrived, perhaps by boat across the waters separating the island from the Indonesia archipelago more than 40,000 years ago. Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and English explorers observed the island before 1770, when Captain Cook explored the east coast and claimed it for Great Britain. (Three American colonists were crew members aboard Cook's ship, the Endeavour.)

On January 26, 1788 (now celebrated as Australia Day), the First Fleet under Captain Arthur Phillip landed at Sydney, and formal proclamation of the establishment of the Colony of New South Wales followed on February 7. Many of the first settlers were convicts, some condemned for offenses that today would often be thought trivial. From the mid-19th century convict transportation to Australia significantly declined; the last ship to arrive was in 1868. The discovery of gold in 1851 led to increased population, wealth, and trade.

The six colonies that now constitute the states of the Australian Commonwealth were established in the following order: New South Wales, 1788; Tasmania, 1825; Western Australia, 1829; South Australia, 1836; Victoria, 1851; and Queensland, 1859. Settlement preceded these dates in most cases. Discussions between Australian and British representatives led to adoption by the British Government of an act to constitute the Commonwealth of Australia in 1900, effective January 1, 1901. In 1911, control of the Northern Territory was transferred from South Australia to the Commonwealth. Also that year, the Australian Capital Territory (where the national capital, Canberra, is located), was established. The Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory were granted self-government in 1978 and 1988, respectively.

The first federal Parliament was opened at Melbourne in May 1901 by the Duke of York (later King George V). In May 1927, the seat of government was transferred to Canberra, a city designed by American Walter Burley Griffin. The first session of Parliament in Canberra was opened by another Duke of York (later King George VI). Australia passed the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act on October 9, 1942 (with effect as of September 3, 1939), which officially established Australia's complete autonomy in both internal and external affairs and formalized a situation that had existed for years. The Australia Act (effective March 3, 1986) eliminated almost all remaining vestiges of British legal authority, including the ability to appeal to the British Privy Council. "Advance Australia Fair" was adopted as the national anthem in 1984.

GOVERNMENT
The Commonwealth government is a constitutional monarchy with a Constitution patterned partly on the U.S. Constitution, although it does not include a "bill of rights." Powers of the Commonwealth are specifically defined in the Constitution, and the residual powers remain with the states. Proposed changes to the Constitution must be approved by the Parliament and the people, via referendum.

Australia is an independent nation within the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state and since 1973 has been officially styled "Queen of Australia." The Queen is represented federally by a governor general and in each state by a governor. By convention, the governor general generally acts on the advice of the prime minister and other ministers. However the governor general has "reserve powers," including the power to dismiss ministers, last exercised in 1975.

The federal Parliament is bicameral, consisting of a 76-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. Twelve senators from each state are elected for 6-year terms, with half elected every 3 years. Each territory has two senators who are elected for 3-year terms, concurrent with that of the House. Seats in the House of Representatives are allocated among the states and territories roughly in proportion to population. The two chambers have equal powers, except all proposals for appropriating revenue or imposing taxes must be introduced in the House of Representatives. Under the prevailing Westminster parliamentary system, the leader of the political party or coalition of parties that wins a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives becomes prime minister. The prime minister and the cabinet wield actual power and are responsible to the Parliament, of which they must be elected members. General elections are held at least once every 3 years.

Each state is headed by a premier, who is the leader of the party with a majority or a working minority in the lower house of the state legislature. (Queensland is an exception, with a unicameral parliament.) Australia's two self-governing territories have political systems similar to those of the states, but with unicameral assemblies. Each territory is headed by a chief minister who is the leader of the party with a majority or a working minority in the territory's legislature. More than 670 local councils assist in the delivery of services such as road maintenance, sewage treatment, and the provision of recreational facilities.

At the apex of the court system is the High Court of Australia. It has general appellate jurisdiction over all other federal and state courts and possesses the power of constitutional review.

Principal Government Officials
Governor General--Quentin Bryce
Prime Minister--Julia Gillard
Deputy Prime Minister--Wayne Swan
Treasurer--Wayne Swan
Foreign Minister--Kevin Rudd
Defense Minister--Stephen Smith
Trade Minister--Craig Emerson
Ambassador to the United States--Kim Beazley
Ambassador to the United Nations--Gary Quinlan

Australia maintains an embassy in the United States at 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 (tel. 202-797-3000), and consulates general in New York (212-351-6500), San Francisco (415-536-1970), Honolulu (808-524-5050), Los Angeles (310-229-4800), Chicago (312-419-1480), and Atlanta (404-760-3400).

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Three political parties dominate the center of the Australian political spectrum. The Liberal Party (LP), nominally representing urban business interests, and its smaller coalition partner, the Nationals, nominally representing rural interests, are the center-right parties. The center-left Australian Labor Party, founded by labor unions, nominally represents workers and left-of-center groups. While traditionally moderately socialist in its policies, today it is best described as a social democratic party. There is strong bipartisan sentiment on many international issues, including Australia's commitment to its alliance with the United States.

Julia Gillard assumed the office of Prime Minister in June 2010, succeeding Kevin Rudd following her unopposed election as Labor leader in a caucus ballot. The August 21, 2010, federal election produced a hung parliament, with neither the Labor Party, under the leadership of Gillard, nor the Liberal/National Coalition, led by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, holding a majority of seats. The Liberal/National Coalition gained 8 seats while the Labor Party lost 11. Subsequently, the Labor Party secured the support of the Greens Party Member of Parliament (MP) and three independent MPs to gain a majority of 76 seats. The government was sworn in September 14, 2010. Peter Slipper became Speaker of the House in November 2011, subsequently resigning as an Opposition MP to sit as an independent. With this change, the Gillard-led government can typically rely on the support of 76 voting lawmakers and the Opposition 73. The composition of the Senate, effective July 2011, is 34 seats for the Liberal/National Coalition, 31 for the Labor Party, nine for the Greens, one for the Democratic Labor Party, and one independent.

Gillard delivered on her campaign promise and passed landmark carbon price legislation in October 2011, and continued to work toward building a national broadband network. The Australian Government’s foreign policy shows strong continuity with that of its predecessors, including support for the U.S. alliance, engagement in the Asia-Pacific, and commitment to the mission in Afghanistan where it has deployed about 1,550 troops.

ECONOMY
Australia's economy is dominated by its services sector, yet it is the agricultural and mining sectors that account for the bulk of Australia's exports. Australia's comparative advantage in the export of primary products is a reflection of the natural wealth of the Australian continent and its small domestic market; 23 million people occupy a continent the size of the contiguous United States. The relative size of the manufacturing sector has been declining for several decades, but has now steadied at around 8.5% of GDP. The global recovery is putting upward pressure on prices for Australia's commodity exports, which caused a substantial rise in the terms of trade in 2011.

Since the 1980s, Australia has undertaken significant structural reform of its economy and has transformed itself from an inward-looking, highly protected, and regulated marketplace to an open, internationally competitive, export-oriented economy. Key economic reforms included unilaterally reducing high tariffs and other protective barriers to free trade, floating the Australian dollar, deregulating the financial services sector, including liberalizing access for foreign banks, increasing flexibility in the labor market, reducing duplication and increasing efficiency between the federal and state branches of government, privatizing many government-owned monopolies, and reforming the taxation system, including introducing a broad-based Goods and Services Tax (GST) and large reductions in income tax rates.

Australia enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the G7. Australia's economic standing in the world is a result of a commitment to best-practice macroeconomic policy settings, including the delegation of the conduct of monetary policy to the independent Reserve Bank of Australia, and a broad acceptance of prudent fiscal policy where the government aims for fiscal balance over the economic cycle. Economic recovery is strengthening, with GDP forecast to grow by 3.25% in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. The success of monetary and fiscal stimulus is projected to return the budget to surplus in 2012. Net debt is forecast to peak at 8.9% of GDP in 2011-2012.

The unemployment rate was 5.3% in November 2011. Labor market participation has remained at around 65%. Both the federal and state governments have recognized the need to invest heavily in water, transport, ports, telecommunications, and education infrastructure to expand Australia's supply capacity. The largest river system in Australia, the Murray-Darling, and related coastal lakes and wetlands in South Australia are threatened, although the long drought has broken, and the government has developed a plan to improve irrigation infrastructure and efficiency and buy back unused water allocations along the river.

A second significant issue is climate change. A report commissioned by Prime Minister John Howard recommended a domestic carbon emissions trading scheme and that Australia take an active role in developing a future global carbon emissions trading system. The Gillard government has passed legislation to price carbon at a rate of A$23 (about U.S. $24) per ton from July 2012, with free carbon credits provided to many companies.

The Australia-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) entered into force on January 1, 2005. The AUSFTA was the second free trade agreement (FTA) the United States concluded with a developed economy, following the U.S.-Canada FTA in 1988. Australia also has FTAs with New Zealand, ASEAN, Singapore, Thailand, and Chile, and is pursuing other FTAs, including with China, Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea. Australia is also involved in ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Australia has been an active participant in international affairs since federation in 1901, and Australian forces have fought beside the United States and other Allies in every significant conflict since World War I. On January 8, 1940, the governments of the United States and Australia announced the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations. In 1944, Australia concluded an agreement with New Zealand dealing with the security, welfare, and advancement of the people of the independent territories of the Pacific (the ANZAC pact). After World War II, Australia played a role in the Far Eastern Commission in Japan and supported Indonesian independence during that country's revolt against the Dutch. Australia was one of the founding members of the United Nations, the South Pacific Commission, and the Colombo Plan. In addition to contributing to UN forces in Korea--it was the first country to announce it would do so after the United States--Australia sent troops to fight the 1948-1960 communist revolt in Malaya and later to combat the 1963-1965 Indonesian-supported invasion of Sarawak. The United States, Australia, and New Zealand signed the ANZUS Treaty in 1951, which remains Australia's pre-eminent formal security treaty alliance. Australia sent troops to assist South Vietnamese and U.S. forces in Vietnam, and joined coalition forces in the Persian Gulf conflict in 1991, in Afghanistan in 2001, and in Iraq in 2003.

Australia has been active in the Australia-New Zealand-U.K. Agreement and the Five-Power Defence Arrangements--successive arrangements with Britain and New Zealand to ensure the security of Singapore and Malaysia. Australia participates in a Trilateral Security Dialogue with the United States and Japan. One of the drafters of the UN Charter, Australia has given firm support to the United Nations and its specialized agencies. It was a member of the UN Economic and Social Council 1986-1989, and a member of the UN Human Rights Commission 1994-1996 and 2003-2005. Australia is seeking a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2013-2014; it was last a member 1985-1986. Australia takes a prominent part in many other UN activities, including peacekeeping, nonproliferation and disarmament negotiations, and narcotics control. Australia also is active in the G20, the Commonwealth Heads of Government, the Pacific Islands Forum, the Cairns Group--countries pressing for agricultural trade reform in World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations--and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, of which it is a founding member. In 2002, Australia joined the International Criminal Court.

Australia has devoted particular attention to relations between developed and developing nations, with emphasis on the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the island states of the South Pacific. Australia is an active participant in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which promotes regional cooperation on security issues, and has been a member of the East Asia Summit (EAS) since its inauguration in 2005. Prime Minister Rudd's government argued that the Asia-Pacific area needs a regional body that addresses both security and economic issues; as Foreign Minister, Rudd has said this concept was reflected in the expanded East Asian Summit. Australia was active in urging the United States and Russia to participate in the EAS, which both countries officially joined in 2011. In September 1999, acting under a UN Security Council mandate, Australia led an international coalition to restore order in East Timor upon Indonesia's withdrawal from that territory. In 2006, Australia participated in an international peacekeeping operation in Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor). Australia led a regional mission to restore law and order in Solomon Islands in 2003 and again in 2006. Australia is part of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, which also includes the United States.

The government is committed to increasing official development assistance to 0.5% of gross national income by 2015-2016 (est. A$8 billion, about U.S. $8 billion). Australia budgeted $A4.8 billion (U.S. $5.1 billion) for FY 2011-2012 and A$4.35 billion (U.S. $4.7 billion) in FY 2010-2011. The Australian aid program provides development assistance to 75 countries and is concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region (Papua New Guinea and Indonesia are the largest recipients). Selected aid flows are allocated to Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Australia also delivers aid through several multilateral organizations, including the United Nations, the World Bank, and UNICEF. Contributions to global programs and other expenses account for 38% of the foreign assistance budget.

ANZUS AND DEFENSE
The Australia, New Zealand, United States (ANZUS) security treaty was concluded in San Francisco on September 1, 1951, and entered into force on April 29, 1952. The treaty bound the signatories to recognize that an armed attack in the Pacific area on any of them would endanger the peace and safety of the others. It committed them to consult in the event of a threat and, in the event of attack, to meet the common danger in accordance with their respective constitutional processes. The three nations also pledged to maintain and develop individual and collective capabilities to resist attack.

In 1984, the nature of the ANZUS alliance changed after the Government of New Zealand refused access to its ports by nuclear-weapons-capable and nuclear-powered ships of the U.S. Navy. The United States suspended defense obligations to New Zealand. Ministerial consultations (AUSMIN) involving the U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense and Australian Foreign and Defense Ministers now alternate between Australia and the United States. The U.S.-Australia alliance under the ANZUS Treaty remains in full force and was enlarged to include cyber security at the 2011 AUSMIN meeting in San Francisco. AUSMIN meetings are supplemented by consultations between the U.S. Combatant Commander, Pacific and the Australian Chief of Defence Force. There also are regular civilian and military consultations between the two governments at lower levels.

ANZUS has no integrated defense structure or dedicated forces. However, in fulfillment of ANZUS obligations, Australia and the United States conduct a variety of joint activities. These include military exercises ranging from naval and landing exercises at the task-group level, to battalion-level special forces training, to numerous smaller-scale exercises. There are numerous liaison and exchange officers assigned to each other's armed services. These officers work to standardize, where possible, equipment and operational doctrine. The biennial "Talisman Saber" exercise, conducted with Australia, is the United States' largest military training exercise. In 2011, it featured 14,000 U.S. and 8,500 Australian personnel. The two countries operate joint defense facilities in Australia.

As a result of terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, Prime Minister Howard and U.S. President George W. Bush jointly invoked the ANZUS Treaty for the first time on September 14, 2001. Australia was one of the earliest participants in Operation Enduring Freedom and remains an unwavering member of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Australia has an active deployment of approximately 1,550 troops in Afghanistan and also provides significant development and capacity building assistance to the country. The Australian Defence Force participated in coalition military action against Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Australian combat forces began their withdrawal from Iraq in mid-2008 and forces were fully removed by July 2009. The Australian Army is projected to grow from 30,617 in FY 2011-2012 to 31,076 in FY 2014-2015. This will enable the establishment of two Army battalions.

The U.S. and Australia signed a Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty in Sydney in September 2007. This treaty, when approved by Australia and implemented, will facilitate the trade of defense equipment and technology between the countries.

In May 2009, the Australian Government released its Defence White Paper, outlining Australia's long-term strategic outlook. In addition to buying Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, the White Paper proposed doubling Australia's submarine fleet via development and deployment of a new class of submarine, and replacing the ANZAC-class frigates and the Army’s armored personnel carriers. The next Defence White Paper is scheduled to be released in 2014.

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Gillard announced in November 2011 that from mid-2012, the U.S. will deploy a company-sized rotation of 250 Marines to the Northern Territory, Australia. This number is expected to increase to 2,500 over the next 6 years for 6-month rotations. They also announced plans for greater U.S. air and naval access to Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) facilities.

The Australian Government has stated its intention to maintain its investment in future capability of the Australian Defence Force. To do so, the government has committed to a 3% annual growth in real defense funding through 2018--and 2.2% annual real growth from 2018 to 2030--to ensure the Australian Defence Force can continue to meet capability and interoperability goals.

Australia is a significant purchaser of U.S. military equipment, consistently ranked in the top 10 globally based on sales in dollar value. In August 2004, Australia selected the U.S. Navy Aegis Combat System for three new air warfare destroyers, which will start coming into service in 2014. In a joint venture with the U.S. Navy, Australia is upgrading its Submarine Combat System, and its associated support infrastructure, for its six Collins-class submarines.

The F/A-18 fighter is the principal combat aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force. In October 2002, Australia became a Level III partner in the U.S.-led Joint Strike Fighter program. Additionally, the Australian Government signed the Joint Strike Fighter Production, Sustainment and Follow-on Development memorandum of understanding in 2006. Australia is projected to buy 72, and possibly up to 100, Joint Strike Fighter aircraft with deliveries starting in 2014. Australia's first operational squadron is planned to be ready for operations in 2018. Australia is also a developmental partner for the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. In 2011, the Royal Australian Air Force completed acquisition of 24 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet fighters as an interim strike capability to bridge the capability gap to Joint Strike Fighter delivery. The Royal Australian Air Force took delivery of its fifth Boeing C-17 strategic airlift aircraft in 2011, with delivery of its sixth scheduled in 2012. In addition, Boeing has provided the RAAF with an Airborne Early Warning and Control system based on the Next-Generation 737-700 aircraft as the airborne platform.

Recent major U.S. sales to Australia include MH-60 "Romeo" helicopters, CH-47F Chinook helicopters, the M1A1 Abrams tank, M-777 howitzers (artillery), tactical unmanned aerial systems, and numerous types of missiles and other munitions. Future opportunities include light cargo aircraft replacement, submarine technologies, and unmanned surveillance capabilities.

U.S.-AUSTRALIAN RELATIONS
The World War II experience, similarities in culture and historical background, and shared democratic values have made U.S. relations with Australia exceptionally strong and close. Ties linking the two nations cover the entire spectrum of international relations--from commercial, cultural, and environmental contacts to political and defense cooperation. Two-way trade was A$50.6 billion (U.S. $50.6 billion) in 2010-2011. Around 473,000 Americans visited Australia in the 12 months to April 2011.

Traditional friendship is reinforced by the wide range of common interests and similar views on most major international questions. For example, both attach high priority to controlling and eventually eliminating chemical weapons, other weapons of mass destruction, and anti-personnel landmines; and both work closely on global environmental issues such as slowing climate change and preserving coral reefs. The Australian Government and the Opposition share the view that Australia's security depends on firm ties with the United States, and the ANZUS Treaty enjoys broad bipartisan support. Presidential visits to Australia (in 1991, 1996, 2003, 2007, and 2011), a Vice Presidential visit in February 2007, and Australian Prime Ministerial visits to the United States (in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2011) have underscored the strength and closeness of the alliance.

The bilateral Australia-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) entered into force on January 1, 2005. This comprehensive agreement substantially liberalized an already vibrant trade and investment relationship and was only the second FTA between the U.S. and a developed nation. The AUSFTA created a range of ongoing working groups and committees to explore further trade reform in the bilateral context. Both countries share a commitment to liberalizing global trade. They work together very closely in the World Trade Organization (WTO), and both are active members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

A number of U.S. institutions conduct scientific activities in Australia because of its geographical position, large land mass, advanced technology, and, above all, the ready cooperation of its government and scientists. In 2005, a bilateral science and technology agreement was renewed. Under another agreement dating back to 1960 and since renewed, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) maintains in Australia one of its largest and most important programs outside the United States, including a number of tracking facilities vital to the U.S. space program. Indicative of the broad-ranging U.S.-Australian cooperation on other global issues, a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) was concluded in 1997, enhancing already close bilateral cooperation on legal and counter-narcotics issues. In 2001, the U.S. and Australia signed a new tax treaty and a bilateral social security agreement. The U.S. Studies Center was launched in 2006 at the University of Sydney with Commonwealth funding of A$25 million (U.S. $25 million). In April 2010, Australia and the U.S. signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen emergency management cooperation including during bushfires, major storms, and other severe natural disasters.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Jeffrey L. Bleich
Deputy Chief of Mission--Jason P. Hyland
Consular Affairs Coordinator--Eric Fichte (resident in Sydney)
Economic Counselor--Jonathan Fritz
Political Counselor--Nan Fife
Management Counselor--Kathy A. Johnson
Public Affairs Counselor--Judy A. Moon
Defense and Air Attache--Col. Richard Stockton, USAF
Agricultural Counselor--Joe Carroll
Senior Commercial Officer--Joe Kaesshaefer (resident in Sydney)
Melbourne Consul-General--Frank Urbancic
Sydney Consul-General--Niels Marquardt
Perth Consul-General--Aleisha Woodward

The U.S. Embassy in Australia is located at Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 (tel. 61-2-6214-5600; fax 61-2-6214-5970). Consulates General are in Sydney, (address: MLC Center, Level 59, 19-29 Martin Place, Sydney, NSW 2000; tel. 61-2-9373-9200; fax 61-2-9373-9125); Melbourne (address: 553 St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004; tel. 61-3-9526-5900; fax 61-3-9510-4646); and Perth (address: 13^th Floor, 16 St. George's Terrace, Perth, WA 6000; tel. 61-8-9202-1224; fax. 61-8-9231-9444).

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings, Trip Registration
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. The travel.state.gov website also includes information about passports, tips for planning a safe trip abroad and more.  More travel-related information also is available at  http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department's Smart Traveler app for U.S. travelers going abroad provides easy access to the frequently updated official country information, travel alerts, travel warnings, maps, U.S. embassy locations, and more that appear on the travel.state.gov site. Travelers can also set up e-tineraries to keep track of arrival and departure dates and make notes about upcoming trips. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (requires iOS 4.0 or later).

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to enroll in the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).  A link to the registration page is also available through the Department's Smart Traveler app. U.S. citizens without internet access can enroll directly at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.  By enrolling, you make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and so you can receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

Passports
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Health Information
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

More Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including more Background Notes, the Department's daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

Mobile Sources. Background Notes are available on mobile devices at http://m.state.gov/mc36882.htm, or use the QR code below.

In addition, a mobile version of the Department's http://www.state.gov website is available at http://m.state.gov, or use the QR code below. Included on this site are Top Stories, remarks and speeches by Secretary Clinton, Daily Press Briefings, Country Information, and more.

PROFILE

Geography
Area: 447,400 sq. km., slightly larger than California.
Major cities: Capital--Tashkent (pop. 2.5 million); Samarkand (600,000); Namangan (378,000); Bukhara (350,000).
Terrain: Flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat, intensely irrigated river valleys along Amu Darya, Syr Darya; shrinking Aral Sea; semiarid grasslands surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in east.
Climate: Mid-latitude desert; long, hot summers, mild winters.

People
Nationality: Uzbek.
Population (July 2011 est.): 28.128 million.
Ethnic groups (1996 est.): Uzbek 80%, Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, Tatar 1.5%, other 2.5%.
Religions: Muslim 88% (mostly Sunni), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3%.
Languages: Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%.
Education: Literacy--99.3% (total population).
Health (2011 est.): Life expectancy--69.48 years men; 75.71 years women.
Work force (15.28 million): Agricultural and forestry--28.2%; industry--33.9%; services--37.9%. (Source: World Development Indicators Database, April 2009).

Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: September 1, 1991.
Constitution: December 8, 1992.
Branches: Executive--president, prime minister, cabinet. Legislative--bicameral Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis consists of an Upper House or Senate (100 seats; 84 members are elected by regional governing councils to serve 5-year terms and 16 are appointed by the president) and a Lower House or Legislative Chamber (150 seats; elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms). Judiciary--Supreme Court, constitutional court, economic court.
Administrative subdivisions (viloyatlar): 12, plus Republic of Karakalpakstan and city of Tashkent.
Political parties and leaders: Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party--established February 18, 1995 in Tashkent, number of seats in the Legislative Chamber of the parliament 18, Ismail Saifnazarov, first secretary; Democratic National Rebirth Party (Milly Tiklanish Democratic Partiya) or MTP--established on June 3, 1995 in Tashkent, and merged with the National Democratic Party "Fidokorlar" ("Selfless men") on June 20, 2008, number of seats in the Legislative Chamber of the parliament 31, Ulugbek Muhammadiev, chairman; People's Democratic Party or PDPU (Uzbekiston Halq Democratic Partiya, formerly Communist Party)--established November 1, 1991 in Tashkent, number of seats in the Legislative Chamber of the parliament 32, Ulugbek Vafoev, first secretary; Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan--established December 3, 2003, number of seats in the Legislative Chamber of the parliament 52, Muhammadyusuf Teshaboev, chairman; Ecological (“Green”) Movement--established 2009 in Tashkent (15 seats, as reserved according to the constitution), Boriy Alixonov, chairman.
Other political or pressure groups and leaders: Birlik (Unity) Movement--Abdurakhim PULATOV, chairman; Erk (Freedom) Democratic Party--Mohammad SOLIH, chairman (banned Dec. 1992); party of Agrarians and Entrepreneurs of Uzbekistan--Marat ZAHIDOV, chairman; Ozod Dehkon (Free Farmers) Party--Nigara KHIDOYATOVA, general secretary; Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan--Abdujalil Boymatov, chairman; Independent Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan--Ismoil ODILOV, chairman; Ezgulik--Vasilya INOYATOVA, chairwoman.
Suffrage: Universal at age 18, unless imprisoned or certified as insane.
Defense: Manpower fit for military service--males age 16-49 fit for military service: 6,566,118 (2010 est.), females age 16-49 fit for military service: 6,745,818 (2010 est.); 18 years of age for compulsory military service; 1-year conscript service obligation.

Economy
(Note: Government of Uzbekistan statistics are not consistently reliable. This report relies on unofficial estimates and states clearly when a figure is an estimate. Estimates by international financial institutions also use Government of Uzbekistan statistics.)
GDP: 2011 real GDP growth was 8.3%, according to Government of Uzbekistan statistics. Actual GDP growth was likely lower; the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimate is 7.1%.
Inflation: The IMF estimated that consumer price inflation reached 13.1% in 2011, though actual inflation was likely higher, over 20%.
Per capita GDP: Estimated per capita GDP in 2010 was $1,336; GDP per capita on a purchasing power parity basis was $3,012.
Natural resources: Natural gas, petroleum, gold, coal, uranium, silver, copper, lead, zinc, tungsten, molybdenum. Natural gas production in 2010 was 60.1 billion cubic meters (bcm); oil production was 3.7 million tons.
Agriculture: Products--cotton, fourth-largest producer worldwide; vegetables, fruits, grain, livestock. The agricultural production growth rate in 2011 was 6.6%.
Industry: Types--textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, natural gas, automobiles, chemical. The industrial production growth rate in 2011 was 6.3%; electricity production was 51 billion kilowatt hours.
Budget (2012 projections): Revenues--$11.5 billion; expenditure and net lending--$12 billion.
Trade: Exports (2009)--largest contribution from energy products, cotton, gold, mineral fertilizers, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, food products, services, and automobiles. Imports (2009)--largest imports were machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Major trade partners (2010)--Russia 29.2%, China 9.5%, Kazakhstan 8.3%, South Korea 7.4%, Turkey 4.4%.
External debt (total gross, 2011 est.): $7.7 billion.

PEOPLE
Uzbekistan is Central Asia's most populous country. Its 28 million people, concentrated in the south and east of the country, are nearly half the region's total population. Uzbekistan had been one of the least developed republics of the Soviet Union; much of its population was engaged in cotton farming in small rural communities. The population continues to be heavily rural and dependent on farming for its livelihood. Uzbek is the predominant ethnic group. Other ethnic groups include Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, and Tatar 1.5%. The nation is approximately 88% Sunni Muslim. Uzbek is the official state language; however, Russian is the de facto language for interethnic communication, including much day-to-day government and business use.

The educational system has achieved 99% literacy, and the mean amount of schooling for men is 12 years and for women is 11 years. However, due to budget constraints and other transitional problems following the collapse of the Soviet Union, texts and other school supplies, teaching methods, curricula, and educational institutions are outdated and poorly kept. Although the government is concerned about this, budgets remain tight. Similarly, in health care, life expectancy is long, but after the breakup of the Soviet Union, health care resources have declined, reducing health care quality, accessibility, and efficiency. Uzbekistan continues to enjoy a highly educated and skilled labor force.

HISTORY
Located in the heart of Central Asia between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers, Uzbekistan has a long and interesting heritage. The leading cities of the famous Silk Road--Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva--are located in Uzbekistan, and many well-known conquerors passed through the land. Alexander the Great stopped near Samarkand on his way to India in 327 B.C. and married Roxanna, daughter of a local chieftain. Conquered by Muslim Arabs in the 8th century A.D., the indigenous Samanid dynasty established an empire in the 9th century. Genghis Khan and his Mongols overran its territory in 1220. In the 1300s, Timur, known in the west as Tamerlane, built an empire with its capital at Samarkand. Uzbekistan's most noted tourist sites date from the Timurid dynasty. Later, separate Muslim city-states emerged with strong ties to Persia. In 1865, Russia occupied Tashkent and by the end of the 19th century, Russia had conquered all of Central Asia. In 1876, the Russians dissolved the Khanate of Kokand, while allowing the Khanates of Khiva and Bukhara to remain as direct protectorates. Russia placed the rest of Central Asia under colonial administration, and invested in the development of Central Asia's infrastructure, promoting cotton growing and encouraging settlement by Russian colonists.

In 1924, following the establishment of Soviet power, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Uzbekistan was founded from the territories including the Khanates of Bukhara and Khiva and portions of the Ferghana Valley that had constituted the Khanate of Kokand. During the Soviet era, Moscow used Uzbekistan for its tremendous cotton growing and natural resource potential. The extensive and inefficient irrigation used to support the former has been the main cause of shrinkage of the Aral Sea to less than a third of its original volume, making this one of the world's worst environmental disasters. Uzbekistan declared independence on September 1, 1991.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The constitution of Uzbekistan provides for separation of powers, freedom of speech, and representative government. In reality, the executive holds almost all power. The judiciary lacks independence, and the legislature--which holds a few sessions each year--has limited power to shape laws. The president selects and replaces provincial governors. Islam Karimov, former First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Uzbek SSR Communist Party, was elected to a 5-year presidential term in December 1991 with 88% of the vote and was re-elected in January 2000 with 91.9% of the vote. After the parliament extended the presidential term to 7 years, President Karimov was re-elected in December 2007 with 88.1% of the vote. In December 2011, the Oliy Majlis (parliament) adopted amendments to the constitution which again reduced the presidential term to 5 years. However, this will not affect President Karimov’s current term, which is set to finish in 2014.

Parliamentary elections last took place in December 2009. While Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observers reported noticeable procedural improvements in comparison to the 2004 parliamentary elections, the OSCE did not deem the 2009 elections free and fair due to government restrictions on eligible candidates and total government control of media and campaign financing.

Uzbekistan has no meaningful political opposition within the country. Since 1991, virtually all prominent opponents of the government have fled or have been arrested. Five pro-government political parties hold all seats in the parliament, and independent political parties have been effectively suppressed since the early 1990s.

Pro-government media outlets (radio, TV, newspaper) dominate the media landscape and control all local reporting on political events. In the past, editors and journalists who have broached politically sensitive topics have experienced repercussions, including criminal libel charges and loss of employment, but this happens rarely today as self-censorship is the norm. The government blocks access to websites of opposition parties based outside of the country, independent media, and others critical of official government policy.

Following a 2010 speech by President Karimov on expanding the role of civil society, the Senate was granted some authority over domestic policy and some civil society actors were given more room to operate, particularly in education and women’s issues. The government also embarked on a campaign to draft new legislation that would, if enacted and adhered to, improve the operational environment for civil society. However, the government still controls most civil society activity.

Terrorism and Security
In the late 1990s, Uzbekistan began battling a low-intensity insurgency. Early in the following decade, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) launched a number of small, cross-border raids. The IMU in summer 2001 allied itself with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, where most IMU fighters were then based, and subsequently engaged U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Since the fall of the Taliban government in 2001, the IMU appears to have become less active in Uzbekistan. However, terrorist bombings blamed on the IMU and splinter groups have occurred sporadically, including multiple, simultaneous 1999 attacks in Tashkent that destroyed a portion of the Ministry of Interior headquarters and narrowly missed President Karimov, and 2004 suicide bombings of the U.S. and Israeli Embassies in Tashkent. In May 2009, a suicide bombing in the city of Andijon and an assault on a border post near the town of Khanabad on the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border led the Government of Uzbekistan to temporarily increase its border security with Kyrgyzstan and in several towns in the Ferghana Valley.

In May 2005, gunmen in the city of Andijon attacked a police station, seized weapons and then stormed a priso