importance.

Net migration rate: This entry includes the figure for the difference between the number of persons entering and leaving a country during the year per 1,000 persons (based on midyear population). An excess of persons entering the country is referred to as net immigration (e.g., 3.56 migrants/1,000 population); an excess of persons leaving the country as net emigration (e.g., -9.26 migrants/1,000 population). The net migration rate indicates the contribution of migration to the overall level of population change. High levels of migration can cause problems such as increasing unemployment and potential ethnic strife (if people are coming in) or reducing the labor force, perhaps in certain key sectors (if people are leaving).

People: This category includes the entries dealing with the characteristics of the people and their society.

People—note: This entry includes miscellaneous demographic information of significance not included elsewhere.

Pipelines: This entry gives the lengths and types of pipelines for transporting products like natural gas, crude oil, or petroleum products.

Political parties and leaders: This entry includes a listing of political organizations and their leaders.

Political pressure groups and leaders: This entry includes a listing of organizations with leaders involved in politics, but not standing for legislative election.

Population: This entry gives an estimate from the US Bureau of the Census based on statistics from population censuses, vital statistics registration systems, or sample surveys pertaining to the recent past, and on assumptions about future trends. Starting with the 1993 Factbook, demographic estimates for some countries (mostly African) have taken into account the effects of the growing incidence of AIDS infections; in 1997 these countries were Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Zaire which is now known as Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The total population presents one overall measure of the potential impact of the country on the world and within its region.

Population growth rate: The average annual percent change in the population, resulting from a surplus (or deficit) of births over deaths and the balance of migrants entering and leaving a country. The rate may be positive or negative. Also known as growth rate or average annual rate of growth. The growth rate is a factor in determining how rapidly a country responds to the changing needs of its people in terms of infrastructure (e.g., schools, hospitals, housing, roads), resources (e.g., food, water, electricity), and jobs. Rapid population growth can also be seen as threatening by neighboring countries.

Ports and harbors: This entry lists a few ports and harbors selected on the basis of overall importance to each country. This is determined by evaluating a number of factors (e.g., dollar value of goods handled, gross tonnage, facilities, military significance).

Radio broadcast stations: This entry includes the total number of AM,
FM, and shortwave broadcast stations.

Radios: This entry gives the total number of radio receivers.

Railways: This entry includes the total length of the railway network and component parts by gauge: broad, dual, narrow, standard, and other.

Reference maps: This section includes world, regional, and special or current interest maps.

Religions: This entry includes a rank ordering of religions starting with the largest and sometimes includes the percent of total population.

Sex ratio: This entry includes the number of males for each female in five age groups-at birth, under 15 years, 15-64 years, 65 years and over, and for the total population. Sex ratio at birth has recently emerged as an indicator of certain kinds of sex discrimination in some countries. For instance, high sex ratios at birth in some Asian countries are now attributed to sex-selective abortion and infanticide due to a strong preference for sons. This will affect future marriage patterns and fertility patterns and could cause unrest among young adult males who are unable to find partners. The sex ratio at birth for the World is 1.06 (1997 est.).

Suffrage: This entry gives the age at enfranchisement and whether the right to vote is universal or restricted.

Telephone numbers: All telephone numbers in the Factbook consist of the country code in brackets, the city or area code (where required) in parentheses, and the local number. The one component that is not presented is the international access code which varies from country to country. For example, an international direct dial telephone call placed from the US to Madrid, Spain, would be as follows:

011 [34] (1) 577-xxxx where 011 is the international access code for station-to-station calls (01 is for calls other than station-to-station calls), [34] is the country code for Spain, (1) is the city code for Madrid, 577 is the local exchange, and xxxx is the local telephone number.

An international direct dial telephone call placed from another country to the US would be as follows:

An international direct dial telephone call placed from another country to the US would be as follows:

[1] is the country code for the US, (202) is the area code for Washington, DC, 939 is the local exchange, and xxxx is the local telephone number.

Telephone system: This entry includes a brief characterization of the system with details on the domestic and international components. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry:

Arabsat-Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia)

Autodin—Automatic Digital Network (US Department of Defense)

CB—citizen's band mobile radio communications

cellular telephone system—the telephones in this system are radio

transceivers, each instrument having its own private radio frequency with sufficient radiated power to reach the booster station in its area (cell), from which the telephone signal is fed to a regular telephone exchange

Central American Microwave System—a trunk microwave radio relay system that links the countries of Central America and Mexico with each other

coaxial cable—a multichannel communication cable consisting of a central conducting wire, surrounded by and insulated from a cylindrical conducting shell; a large number of telephone channels can be made available within the insulated space by the use of a large number of carrier frequencies

DSN—Defense Switched Network (formerly Automatic Voice Network or
Autovon); basic general—purpose, switched voice network of the
Defense Communications System (US Department of Defense)

Eutelsat—European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Paris)

fiber-optic cable—a multichannel communications cable using a thread of optical glass fibers as a transmission medium in which the signal (voice, video, etc.) is in the form of a coded pulse of light

HF—high-frequency; any radio frequency in the 3,000- to 30,000-kHz range

Inmarsat-International Mobile Satellite Organization (London); provider of global mobile satellite communications for commercial and distress and safety applications, at sea, in the air, and on land

Intelsat—International Telecommunications Satellite Organization