245 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
245 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
SAUDI ARABIA
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 2,149,690 km2; land area: 2,149,690 km2
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Comparative area: slightly less than one-fourth the size of US
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Land boundaries: 4,410 km total; Iraq 488 km, Iraq-Saudi Arabia
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Neutral Zone 198 km, Jordan 742 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman 676 km, Qatar
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40 km, UAE 586 km, Yemen 1,458 km
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Coastline: 2,510 km
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Maritime claims:
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Contiguous zone: 18 nm;
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Continental shelf: not specific;
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Territorial sea: 12 nm
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Disputes: no defined boundaries with Yemen and UAE;
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shares Neutral Zone with Iraq--in December 1981, Iraq and Saudi Arabia
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signed a boundary agreement that divides the zone between them, but the
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agreement must be ratified before it becomes effective; Kuwaiti
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ownership of Qaruh and Umm al Maradim Islands is disputed by
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Saudi Arabia
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Climate: harsh, dry desert with great extremes of temperature
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Terrain: mostly uninhabited, sandy desert
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Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper
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Land use: arable land 1%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
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pastures 39%; forest and woodland 1%; other 59%; includes irrigated
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NEGL%
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Environment: no perennial rivers or permanent water bodies;
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developing extensive coastal seawater desalination facilities;
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desertification
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Note: extensive coastlines on Persian Gulf and Red Sea provide
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great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through Persian Gulf
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and Suez Canal
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PEOPLE
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Population: 17,869,558 (July 1991), growth rate 4.2% (1991);
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note--the population figure is based on growth since the last official
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Saudi census of 1974 that reported a total of 7 million persons and
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included foreign workers; estimates from other sources may be 15-30%
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lower
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Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: 12 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 69 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 68 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 6.7 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Saudi(s); adjective--Saudi or Saudi Arabian
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Ethnic divisions: Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
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Religion: Muslim 100%
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Language: Arabic
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Literacy: 62% (male 73%, female 48%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1990 est.)
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Labor force: 4,200,000; about 60% are foreign workers; government
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34%, industry and oil 28%, services 22%, and agriculture 16%
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Organized labor: trade unions are illegal
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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Type: monarchy
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Capital: Riyadh
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Administrative divisions: 14 emirates (imarat,
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singular--imarah); Al Bahah, Al Hudud ash Shamaliyah,
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Al Jawf, Al Madinah, Al Qasim, Al Qurayyat, Ar Riyad, Ash
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Sharqiyah, Asir, Hail, Jizan, Makkah, Najran,
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Tabuk
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Independence: 23 September 1932 (unification)
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Constitution: none; governed according to Sharia (Islamic law)
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Legal system: based on Islamic law, several secular codes have been
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introduced; commercial disputes handled by special committees; has not
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accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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National holiday: Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932)
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Executive branch: monarch and prime minister, crown prince and
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deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers
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Legislative branch: none
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Judicial branch: Supreme Council of Justice
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Leaders:
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Chief of State and Head of Government--King and Prime Minister
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FAHD bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 13 June 1982);
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Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al
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Saud (half-brother to the King, appointed heir to the throne 13 June
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1982)
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Suffrage: none
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Elections: none
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Communists: negligible
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Member of: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19,
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G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
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INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM,
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OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU,
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WHO, WIPO, WMO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador BANDAR Bin Sultan; Chancery
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at 601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037; telephone (202)
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342-3800; there are Saudi Arabian Consulates General in Houston, Los
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Angeles, and New York;
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US--Ambassador Charles W. FREEMAN, Jr.; Embassy at Collector Road
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M, Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh (mailing address is P. O. Box 9041, Riyadh
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11143, or APO New York 09038); telephone 966 (1) 488-3800; there are US
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Consulates General in Dhahran and Jiddah (Jeddah)
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Flag: green with large white Arabic script (that may be translated
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as There is no God but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God) above a
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white horizontal saber (the tip points to the hoist side); green is the
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traditional color of Islam
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ECONOMY
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Overview: The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 70% of
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budget revenues, 33% of GDP, and almost all export earnings. Saudi Arabia
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has the largest reserves of petroleum in the world, ranks as the largest
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exporter of petroleum, plays a leading role in OPEC, and invests
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substantial amounts abroad.
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GDP: $79 billion, per capita $4,800; real growth rate 0.5%
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(1989 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0% (1990 est.)
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Unemployment rate: 0% (1989 est.)
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Budget: revenues $31.5 billion; expenditures $38.2 billion,
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including capital expenditures of $6.9 billion (1990)
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Exports: $30.7 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
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commodities--petroleum and petroleum products 85%;
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partners--US 22%, Japan 20%, Singapore 7%, France 5%
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Imports: $20.0 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
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commodities--manufactured goods, transportation equipment,
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construction materials, processed food products;
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partners--UK 17%, US 15%, Japan 12%, FRG 6%
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External debt: $18.9 billion (December 1989 est.)
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Industrial production: growth rate - 1.1% (1989 est.); accounts for
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37% of GDP, including petroleum
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Electricity: 25,205,000 kW capacity; 50,500 million kWh produced,
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2,950 kWh per capita (1990)
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Industries: crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic
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petrochemicals, cement, small steel-rolling mill, construction,
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fertilizer, plastic
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Agriculture: accounts for about 10% of GDP, 16% of labor force;
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fastest growing economic sector; subsidized by government;
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products--wheat, barley, tomatoes, melons, dates, citrus fruit, mutton,
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chickens, eggs, milk; approaching self-sufficiency in food
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Economic aid: donor--pledged $64.7 billion in bilateral aid
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(1979-89)
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Currency: Saudi riyal (plural--riyals); 1 Saudi riyal (SR) = 100
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halalas
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Exchange rates: Saudi riyals (SR) per US$1--3.7450 (fixed rate
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since late 1986), 3.7033 (1986), 3.6221 (1985)
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Fiscal year: calendar year
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: 886 km 1.435-meter standard gauge
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Highways: 74,000 km total; 35,000 km bituminous, 39,000 km gravel
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and improved earth
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Pipelines: 6,400 km crude oil; 150 km refined products; 2,200 km
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natural gas, includes 1,600 km of natural gas liquids
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Ports: Jiddah, Ad Dammam, Ras Tanura, Jizan, Al Jubayl,
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Yanbu al Bahr, Yanbu al Sinaiyah
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Merchant marine: 84 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,492,174
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GRT/2,436,635 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 6 short-sea passenger,
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14 cargo, 12 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 container, 6 refrigerated cargo, 5
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livestock carrier, 26 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 8
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chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 1 specialized tanker, 1 bulk
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Civil air: 182 major transport aircraft available
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Airports: 207 total, 188 usable; 69 with permanent-surface runways;
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13 with runways over 3,659 m; 38 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 103 with
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runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: good system with extensive microwave and
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coaxial cable systems; 1,624,000 telephones; stations--21 AM, 16 FM,
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97 TV; radio relay to Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Yemen, and
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Sudan; coaxial cable to Kuwait; submarine cable to Djibouti and Egypt;
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earth stations--3 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT,
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1 ARABSAT, 1 INMARSAT, 1 ARABSAT
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, National
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Guard, Coast Guard, Frontier Force, Special Security Force, Public
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Security Force
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 6,663,217; 3,724,610 fit for
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military service; 165,167 reach military age (17) annually
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Defense expenditures: $13.9 billion, 16.9% of GDP (1990 est.)
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