The 2003 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
km paved: 8,164 km unpaved: 35,033 km (2000)
Waterways:
1,500 km
Pipelines:
gas 71 km; oil 1,575 km; refined products 1,185 km (2003)
Ports and harbors:
Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, San
Lorenzo
Merchant marine:
total: 33 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 239,276 GRT/392,048 DWT
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of
convenience: Chile 1, Greece 1 (2002 est.)
ships by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 3, liquefied gas 1,
passenger 3, petroleum tanker 23, specialized tanker 1
Airports:
205 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 61 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 18 (2002) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 144 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 113 (2002)
Heliports: 1 (2002)
Military Ecuador
Military branches:
Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, National Police
Military manpower - military age:
20 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15–49: 3,555,068 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15–49: 2,395,178 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 137,433 (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$720 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
3.4% (FY98)
Transnational Issues Ecuador
Disputes - international:
none
Illicit drugs:
significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and
Peru; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit
narcotics; dollarization may raise the volume of money-laundering
activity, especially along the border with Colombia; increased
activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and
Colombian insurgents
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003
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@Egypt
Introduction Egypt
Background:
The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled
with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west,
allowed for the development of one of the world's great
civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C. and a series
of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last
native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were
replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who
introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and who
ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the
Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern after the
conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Following the
completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important
world transportation hub, but also fell heavily into debt.
Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized control of
Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman
Empire continued until 1914. Partially independent from the UK in
1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty following World War II. The
completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake
Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the
agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the
largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on
the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The
government has struggled to ready the economy for the new millennium
through economic reform and massive investment in communications and
physical infrastructure.
Geography Egypt
Location:
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and
the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the
Asian Sinai Peninsula
Geographic coordinates:
27 00 N, 30 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 1,001,450 sq km
land: 995,450 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico
Land boundaries:
total: 2,665 km
border countries: Gaza Strip 11 km, Israel 266 km, Libya 1,115 km,
Sudan 1,273 km
Coastline:
2,450 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM territorial sea: 12 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate:
desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
Terrain:
vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Qattara Depression −133 m
highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone,
gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc
Land use: arable land: 2.85% permanent crops: 0.47% other: 96.68% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
33,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides;
hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms,
sandstorms
Environment - current issues:
agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands;