251 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
251 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
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TUNISIA
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 163,610 km2; land area: 155,360 km2
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Comparative area: slightly larger than Georgia
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Land boundaries: 1,424 km total; Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km
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Coastline: 1,148 km
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Maritime claims:
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Territorial sea: 12 nm
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Disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Libya
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Climate: temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry
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summers; desert in south
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Terrain: mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south
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merges into the Sahara
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Natural resources: crude oil, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc,
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salt
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Land use: arable land 20%; permanent crops 10%; meadows and
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pastures 19%; forest and woodland 4%; other 47%; includes irrigated
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1%
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Environment: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion;
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desertification
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Note: strategic location in central Mediterranean; only
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144 km from Italy across the Strait of Sicily; borders Libya on east
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PEOPLE
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Population: 8,276,096 (July 1991), growth rate 2.1% (1991)
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Birth rate: 26 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 38 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 74 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 3.3 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Tunisian(s); adjective--Tunisian
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Ethnic divisions: Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish less than 1%
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Religion: Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish less than 1%
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Language: Arabic (official); Arabic and French (commerce)
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Literacy: 65% (male 74%, female 56%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1990 est.)
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Labor force: 2,250,000; agriculture 32%; shortage of skilled labor
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Organized labor: about 360,000 members claimed, roughly 20% of
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labor force; General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT), quasi-independent
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of Constitutional Democratic Party
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Republic of Tunisia; note--may be changed to
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Tunisian Republic
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Type: republic
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Capital: Tunis
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Administrative divisions: 23 governorates (wilayat,
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singular--wilayah); Al Kaf, Al Mahdiyah, Al Munastir,
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Al Qasrayn, Al Qayrawan, Aryanah, Bajah, Banzart,
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Bin Arus, Jundubah, Madanin, Nabul, Qabis, Qafsah,
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Qibili, Safaqis, Sidi Bu Zayd, Silyanah, Susah,
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Tatawin, Tawzar, Tunis, Zaghwan
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Independence: 20 March 1956 (from France)
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Constitution: 1 June 1959
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Legal system: based on French civil law system and Islamic law;
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some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint
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session
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National holiday: National Day, 20 March (1956)
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Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet
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Legislative branch: unicameral Chamber of Deputies (Majlis
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al-Nuwaab)
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Judicial branch: Court of Cassation (Cour de Cassation)
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--President Gen. Zine el Abidine BEN ALI
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(since 7 November 1987);
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Head of Government--Prime Minister Hamed KAROUI (since 26 September
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1989)
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Political parties and leaders:
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Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (RCD), President BEN ALI (official
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ruling party);
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Movement of Democratic Socialists (MDS), Ahmed Mestiri;
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five other political parties are legal, including the Communist Party
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Suffrage: universal at age 20
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Elections:
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President--last held 2 April 1989 (next to be held April 1994);
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results--Gen. Zine el Abidine BEN ALI was reelected without opposition;
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Chamber of Deputies--last held 2 April 1989
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(next to be held April 1994);
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results--RCD 80.7%, independents/Islamists 13.7%, MDS 3.2%, other 2.4%;
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seats--(141 total) RCD 141
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Communists: a small number of nominal Communists, mostly students
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Member of: ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO,
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G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
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IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM,
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OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador-designate Habib LAZREG;
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Chancery at 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20005;
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telephone (202) 862-1850;
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US--Ambassador Robert H. PELLETREAU, Jr.; Embassy at
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144 Avenue de la Liberte, 1002 Tunis-Belvedere; telephone 216 (1)
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782-566
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Flag: red with a white disk in the center bearing a red crescent
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nearly encircling a red five-pointed star; the crescent and star are
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traditional symbols of Islam
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ECONOMY
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Overview: The economy depends primarily on petroleum, phosphates,
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tourism, and exports of light manufactures for continued growth.
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Following two years of drought-induced economic decline, the economy
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made a strong recovery in 1990 as a result of a bountiful harvest,
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continued export growth, and higher domestic investment. Continued
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high inflation and unemployment have eroded popular support for the
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government, however, and forced Tunis to slow the pace of economic
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reform. Nonetheless, the government appears committed to implementing
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its IMF-supported structural adjustment program and to servicing
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its foreign debt.
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GDP: $10 billion, per capita $1,235; real growth rate 6.5% (1990
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est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.4% (1989)
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Unemployment rate: 15.4% (1989)
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Budget: revenues $3.8 billion; expenditures $4.9 billion,
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including capital expenditures of $970 million (1991 est.)
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Exports: $3.3 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
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commodities--hydrocarbons, agricultural products, phosphates and
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chemicals;
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partners--EC 73%, Middle East 9%, US 1%, Turkey, USSR
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Imports: $4.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
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commodities--industrial goods and equipment 57%, hydrocarbons
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13%, food 12%, consumer goods;
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partners--EC 68%, US 7%, Canada, Japan, USSR, China, Saudi Arabia,
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Algeria
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External debt: $7.4 billion (December 1990 est.)
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Industrial production: growth rate 5% (1989); accounts for
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38% of GDP, including petroleum
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Electricity: 1,493,000 kW capacity; 4,210 million kWh produced,
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530 kWh per capita (1989)
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Industries: petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron
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ore), textiles, footwear, food, beverages
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Agriculture: accounts for 16% of GDP and one-third of labor force;
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output subject to severe fluctuations because of frequent droughts;
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export crops--olives, dates, oranges, almonds; other products--grain,
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sugar beets, wine grapes, poultry, beef, dairy; not self-sufficient in
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food; fish catch of 99,200 metric tons (1987)
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Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $730
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million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
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(1970-88), $4.9 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $684 million;
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Communist countries (1970-89), $410 million
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Currency: Tunisian dinar (plural--dinars);
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1 Tunisian dinar (TD) = 1,000 millimes
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Exchange rates: Tunisian dinars (TD) per US$1--0.8408 (January
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1991), 0.8783 (1990), 0.9493 (1989), 0.8578 (1988), 0.8287 (1987), 0.7940
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(1986), 0.8345 (1985)
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Fiscal year: calendar year
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: 2,154 km total; 465 km 1.435-meter standard gauge;
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1,689 km 1.000-meter gauge
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Highways: 17,700 km total; 9,100 km bituminous; 8,600 km improved
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and unimproved earth
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Pipelines: 797 km crude oil; 86 km refined products; 742 km natural
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gas
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Ports: Bizerte, Gabes, Sfax, Sousse, Tunis, La Goulette, Zarzis
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Merchant marine: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 160,172
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GRT/218,970 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 4 cargo, 2
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roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 6
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chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 5 bulk
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Civil air: 13 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 29 total, 28 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways;
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none with runways over 3,659 m; 7 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
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7 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: the system is above the African average;
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facilities consist of open-wire lines, multiconductor cable, and radio
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relay; key centers are Safaqis, Susah, Bizerte, and Tunis;
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233,000 telephones; stations--18 AM, 4 FM, 14 TV; 4 submarine cables;
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earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 ARABSAT with
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back-up control station; coaxial cable to Algeria; radio relay to
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Algeria, Libya, and Italy
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary forces
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,052,191; 1,180,614 fit for
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military service; 90,218 reach military age (20) annually
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Defense expenditures: $315 million, 2.6% of GDP (1990 est.)
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