The 1991 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

accounts for 10% of GDP; major cash crop is sugarcane; other crops—vegetables and cotton; not self-sufficient in food

      _#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70–89), $15 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970–88), $169 million

      _#_Currency: Barbadian dollars (plural—dollars); 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents

      _#_Exchange rates: Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1—2.0113 (fixed rate)

      _#_Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

      _*Communications #_Highways: 1,570 km total; 1,475 km paved, 95 km gravel and earth

      _#_Ports: Bridgetown

      _#_Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,200 GRT/7,338 DWT

      _#_Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft

      _#_Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runways 2,440–3,659 m

      _#_Telecommunications: islandwide automatic telephone system with 89,000 telephones; tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad and Saint Lucia; stations—3 AM, 2 FM, 2 (1 is pay) TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

      _*Defense Forces #_Branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force, Coast Guard, Royal Barbados Police Force

      _#_Manpower availability: males 15–49, 69,038; 48,455 fit for military service, no conscription

      _#Defense expenditures: $10 million, 0.7% of GDP (1989) % @Bassas da India (French possession) *Geography #_Total area: undetermined

      _#_Comparative area: undetermined

      _#_Land boundaries: none

      _#_Coastline: 35.2 km

      _#_Maritime claims:

      Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

      Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;

      Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;

      Territorial sea: 12 nm

      _#_Disputes: claimed by Madagascar

      _#_Climate: tropical

      _#_Terrain: a volcanic rock 2.4 m high

      _#_Natural resources: none

      _#_Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other (rock) 100%

      _#_Environment: surrounded by reefs; subject to periodic cyclones

      _#_Note: navigational hazard since it is usually under water during high tide; located in southern Mozambique Channel about halfway between Africa and Madagascar

      _*People #_Population: uninhabited

      _*Government #_Long-form name: none

      _#_Type: French possession administered by Commissioner of the Republic Daniel CONSTANTIN, resident in Reunion

      _*Economy #_Overview: no economic activity

      _*Communications #_Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

      _*Defense Forces #Note: defense is the responsibility of France % @Belgium *Geography #_Total area: 30,510 km2; land area: 30,230 km2

      _#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

      _#_Land boundaries: 1,385 km total; France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km

      _#_Coastline: 64 km

      _#_Maritime claims:

      Continental shelf: not specific;

      Exclusive fishing zone: equidistant line with neighbors (extends about 68 km from coast);

      Territorial sea: 12 nm

      _#_Climate: temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy

      _#_Terrain: flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast

      _#_Natural resources: coal, natural gas

      _#_Land use: arable land 24%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 20%; forest and woodland 21%; other 34%, includes irrigated NEGL%

      _#_Environment: air and water pollution

      _#_Note: majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels; crossroads of Western Europe; Brussels is the seat of the EC

      _*People #_Population: 9,921,910 (July 1991), growth rate 0.1% (1991)

      _#_Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)

      _#_Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

      _#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

      _#_Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

      _#_Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1991)

      _#_Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1991)

      _#_Nationality: noun—Belgian(s); adjective—Belgian

      _#_Ethnic divisions: Fleming 55%, Walloon 33%, mixed or other 12%

      _#_Religion: Roman Catholic 75%, remainder Protestant or other

      _#_Language: Flemish (Dutch) 56%, French 32%, German 1%; legally bilingual 11%; divided along ethnic lines

      _#_Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)

      _#_Labor force: 4,200,000; services 69%, industry 28%, agriculture 3% (1988)

      _#_Organized labor: 70% of labor force

      _*Government #_Long-form name: Kingdom of Belgium

      _#_Type: constitutional monarchy

      _#_Capital: Brussels

      _#_Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (French—provinces, singular—province; Flemish—provincien, singular—provincie); Antwerpen, Brabant, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen, West-Vlaanderen

      _#_Independence: 4 October 1830 (from the Netherlands)

      _#_Constitution: 7 February 1831, last revised 8–9 August 1980; the government is in the process of revising the Constitution, with the aim of federalizing the Belgian state

      _#_Legal system: civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

      _#_National holiday: National Day, 21 July (ascension of King Leopold to the throne in 1831)

      _#_Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, five deputy prime ministers, Cabinet

      _#_Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Flemish—Senaat, French—Senat) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Representatives (Flemish—Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French—Chambre des Representants)

      _#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Flemish—Hof van Cassatie, French—Cour de Cassation)

      _#_Leaders:

      Chief of State—King BAUDOUIN I (since 17 July 1951);

       Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT of Liege (brother of the King; born 6

       June 1934);

      Head of Government—Prime Minister Wilfried MARTENS, (since April 1979, with a 10-month interruption in 1981)

      _#_Political parties and leaders:

       Flemish Social Christian (CVP), Herman van ROMPUY, president;

       Walloon Social Christian (PSC), Gerard DEPREZ, president;

       Flemish Socialist (SP), Frank VANDENBROUCKE, president;

       Walloon Socialist (PS),