The 1997 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
however, the government limits the number of tourists to 4,000 per year to minimize foreign influence. The Bhutanese Government has made some progress in expanding the nation's productive base and improving social welfare, but growth continues to be constrained by the government's desire to protect the country's environment and cultural traditions. Growth picked up in 1995 and the country's balance of payments remained strong with comfortable reserves. The cautious fiscal stance planned for FY95/96 suggests continued economic stability in 1996. However, excessive controls and uncertain policies in areas like industrial licensing, trade, labor, and finance continue to hamper foreign investment.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (1995 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 6.9% (1995 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $730 (1995 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 42% industry: 31% services : 27%
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 8.6% (FY94/95 est.)
Labor force: NA by occupation : agriculture 93%, services 5%, industry and commerce 2% note: massive lack of skilled labor
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $52 million expenditures: $150 million, including capital expenditures of $95 million (FY93/94 est.) note: the government of India finances nearly three-fifths of Bhutan's budget expenditures
Industries: cement, wood products, processed fruits, alcoholic beverages, calcium carbide
Industrial production growth rate: 7.6% (1992 est.)
Electricity - capacity: 351,000 kW (1989)
Electricity - production: 1.67 billion kWh (1994) note: exports electricity to India
Electricity - consumption per capita: 79 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture - products: rice, corn, root crops, citrus, foodgrains; dairy products, eggs
Exports: total value: $70.9 million (f.o.b., FY94/95 est.) commodities: cardamom, gypsum, timber, handicrafts, cement, fruit, electricity (to India), precious stones, spices partners: India 94%, Bangladesh
Imports: total value: $113.6 million (c.i.f., FY94/95 est.) commodities : fuel and lubricants, grain, machinery and parts, vehicles, fabrics, rice partners: India 77%, Japan, UK, Germany, US
Debt - external: $141 million (October 1994)
Economic aid: recipient: $NA
Currency: 1 ngultrum (Nu) = 100 chetrum; note - Indian currency is also legal tender
Exchange rates: ngultrum (Nu) per US$1 - 35.872 (January 1997), 35.433 (1996), 32.427 (1995), 31.374 (1994), 30.493 (1993), 25.918 (1992); note - the Bhutanese ngultrum is at par with the Indian rupee
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
@Bhutan:Communications
Telephones: 4,620 (1991 est.)
Telephone system: domestic: domestic telephone service is very poor with very few telephones in use international : international telephone and telegraph service is by landline through India; a satellite earth station was planned (1990)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1990)
Radios: 23,000 (1989 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 0 (1990 est.)
Televisions: 200 (1985 est.)
@Bhutan:Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 2,210 km paved: 0 km unpaved : 2,210 km (1995 est.)
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 2 (1996 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1996 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1996 est.)
Military
Military branches: Royal Bhutan Army, Palace Guard, Militia
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15–49: 455,556 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males : 243,156 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 18,290 (1997 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none ______________________________________________________________________
BOLIVIA
@Bolivia:Geography
Location: Central South America, southwest of Brazil
Geographic coordinates: 17 00 S, 65 00 W
Map references: South America
Area: total: 1,098,580 sq km land: 1,084,390 sq km water : 14,190 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Montana
Land boundaries:
total : 6,743 km
border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km,
Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
Terrain: rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin
Elevation extremes: lowest point : Rio Paraguay 90 m highest point: Cerro Illimani 6,882 m
Natural resources: tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland : 53% other: 21% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,750 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: cold, thin air of high plateau is obstacle to efficient fuel combustion, as well as to physical activity by those unaccustomed to it from birth; flooding in the northeast (March-April)
Environment - current issues: the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
Geography - note: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru
@Bolivia:People
Population: 7,669,868 (July 1997 est.)
Age structure: 0–14 years: 40% (male 1,543,641; female 1,511,579) 15–64 years: 56% (male 2,081,792; female 2,184,876) 65 years and over : 4% (male 158,409; female 189,571) (July 1997 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.04% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 32.14 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 10.18 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Net