While we wait for a resolution of the government crisis - some
statistical data on Russia, from US CIA (should be good?) factbook.
Gee, the government there spends 45% of GDP. No wonder those
posts are so lucrative. This is 1997 info.
Russia
Geography
Location: Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean
Geographic coordinates: 60 00 N, 100 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area:
total: 17,075,200 sq km
land: 16,995,800 sq km
water: 79,400 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than 1.8 times the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total : 19,917 km
border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,441 km, Norway 167 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km
Coastline: 37,653 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf : 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast
Terrain: broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Mount El'brus 5,633 m
Natural resources: wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber
note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources
Land use:
arable land : 8%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 4%
forests and woodland: 46%
other: 42% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 40,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula
Environment - current issues: air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and sea coasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Geography - note: largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture
People
Population: 147,305,569 (July 1997 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years : 20% (male 15,258,810; female 14,683,485)
15-64 years: 67% (male 47,945,470; female 51,067,792)
65 years and over: 13% (male 5,645,915; female 12,704,097) (July 1997 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.29% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 9.52 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 14.84 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.44 male(s)/female
total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (1997 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 23.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64.81 years
male: 58.39 years
female: 71.56 years (1997 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.35 children born/woman (1997 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Russian(s)
adjective: Russian
Ethnic groups: Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Byelorussian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1%
Religions: Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other
Languages: Russian, other
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male : 100%
female: 97% (1989 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form : Russian Federation
conventional short form: Russia
local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
local short form: Rossiya
former: Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Data code: RS
Government type: federation
National capital: Moscow
Administrative divisions: 49 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast'), 21 autonomous republics* (avtonomnyk respublik, singular - avtonomnaya respublika), 10 autonomous okrugs**(avtonomnykh okrugov, singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 6 krays*** (krayev, singular - kray), 2 federal cities (singular - gorod)****, and 1 autonomous oblast*****(avtonomnaya oblast'); Adygeya (Maykop)*, Aginskiy Buryatskiy (Aginskoye)**, Altay (Gorno-Altaysk)*, Altayskiy (Barnaul)***, Amurskaya (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'skaya, Astrakhanskaya, Bashkortostan (Ufa)*, Belgorodskaya, Bryanskaya, Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude)*, Chechnya (Groznyy)*, Chelyabinskaya, Chitinskaya, Chukotskiy (Anadyr')**, Chuvashiya (Cheboksary)*, Dagestan (Makhachkala)*, Evenkiyskiy (Tura)**, Ingushetiya (Nazran')*, Irkutskaya, Ivanovskaya, Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik)*, Kaliningradskaya, Kalmykiya (Elista)*, Kaluzkskaya, Kamchatskaya (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk)*, Kareliya (Petrozavodsk)*, Kemerovskaya, Khabarovskiy***, Khakasiya (Abakan)*, Khanty-Mansiyskiy (Khanty-Mansiysk)**, Kirovskaya, Komi (Syktyvkar)*, Koryakskiy (Palana)**, Kostromskaya, Krasnodarskiy***, Krasnoyarskiy***, Kurganskaya, Kurskaya, Leningradskaya, Lipetskaya, Magadanskaya, Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola)*, Mordoviya (Saransk)*, Moskovskaya, Moskva****, Murmanskaya, Nenetskiy (Nar'yan-Mar)**, Nizhegorodskaya, Novgorodskaya, Novosibirskaya, Omskaya, Orenburgskaya, Penzenskaya, Permskaya, Komi-Permyatskiy (Kudymkar)**, Primorskiy (Vladivostok)***, Pskovskaya, Rostovskaya, Ryazanskaya, Sakha (Yakutiya)*, Sakhalinskaya (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samarskaya, Sankt-Peterburg****, Saratovskaya, Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya (Vladikavkaz)*, Smolenskaya, Stavropol'skiy***, Sverdlovskaya (Yekaterinburg), Tambovskaya, Tatarstan (Kazan')*, Taymyrskiy (Dudinka)**, Tomskaya, Tul'skaya, Tverskaya, Tyumenskaya, Tyva (Kyzyl)*, Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)*, Ul'yanovskaya, Ust'-Ordynskiy Buryatskiy (Ust'-Ordynskiy)**, Vladimirskaya, Volgogradskaya, Vologodskaya, Voronezhskaya, Yamalo-Nenetskiy (Salekhard)**, Yaroslavskaya, Yevreyskaya*****; note - when using a place name with an adjectival ending 'skaya' or 'skiy', the word Oblast' or Avonomnyy Okrug or Kray should be added to the place name
note : the autonomous republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia were formerly the autonomous republic of Checheno-Ingushetia (the boundary between Chechnya and Ingushetia has yet to be determined); the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg are federal cities; administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Independence: 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, June 12 (1990)
Constitution: adopted 12 December 1993
Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state : President Boris Nikolayevich YEL'TSIN (since 12 June 1991)
head of government: Premier and Chairman of the Russian Federation Government Viktor Stepanovich CHERNOMYRDIN (since 14 December 1992), First Deputy Premiers and First Deputy Chairmen of the Government Anatoliy Borisovich CHUBAYS (since NA March 1997), Boris Y. NEMTSOV (since NA March 1997)
cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" appointed by the president
note: there is also a Presidential Administration that drafts presidential edicts and provides staff and policy support to the entire executive branch; a Security Council that was originally established as a presidential advisory body in June 1991 with responsibility for managing individual and state security; a Defense Council and a Foreign Policy Council formed in July 1996 and October 1996 respectively
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 16 June 1996 with runoff election on 3 July 1996 (next to be held NA June 2000); note - no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the premier succeeds him; the premier serves as acting president until a new presidential election is held, which must be within three months; premier and deputy premiers appointed by the president with the approval of the Duma
election results: Boris Nikolayevich YEL'TSIN elected president; percent of vote in runoff - YEL'TSIN 54%, Gennadiy ZYUGANOV 40%
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoe Sobranie consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (178 seats, filled ex-officio by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units - oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg; members serve four-year terms) and the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats, half elected in single-member districts and half elected from national party lists; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections : State Duma - last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held NA December 1999)
election results: State Duma - percent of vote received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats - Communist Party of the Russian Federation 22.3%, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 11.2%, Our Home Is Russia 10.1%, Yabloko Bloc 6.9%; seats by party - Communist Party of the Russian Federation 157, independents 78, Our Home Is Russia 55, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 51, Yabloko Bloc 45, Agrarian Party of Russia 20, Russia's Democratic Choice 9, Power To the People 9, Congress of Russian Communities 5, Forward, Russia! 3, Women of Russia 3, other parties 15
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Superior Court of Arbitration, judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president
Political parties and leaders:
pro-market democrats : Yabloko Bloc [Grigoriy YAVLINSKIY]; Russia's Democratic Choice Party [Yegor GAYDAR]; Forward, Russia! [Boris FEDOROV]
centrists/special interest parties: Our Home Is Russia [Viktor CHERNOMYRDIN]; Russian People's Republican Party [Aleksandr LEBED]; Congress of Russian Communities [Dmitriy ROGOZIN]; Women of Russia [Alevtina FEDULOVA and Yekaterina LAKHOVA]
anti-market and/or ultranationalist : Communist Party of the Russian Federation [Gennadiy ZYUGANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia [Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Agrarian Party [Mikhail LAPSHIN]; Power To the People [Nikolay RYZHKOV and Sergey BABURIN]; Russian Communist Workers' Party [Viktor ANPILOV and Viktor TYULKIN]
note: some 269 political parties, blocs, and associations tried to gather enough signatures to run slates of candidates in the 17 December 1995 Duma elections; 43 succeeded
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: BIS (pending member), BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NSG, OAS (observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIH, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNTAES, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant), ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador Yuliy Mikhaylovich VORONTSOV
chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone : [1] (202) 298-5700 through 5704
FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735
consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires John F. TEFFT
embassy : Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, Moscow
mailing address: APO AE 09721
telephone: [7] (095) 252-24-51 through 59
FAX: [7] (095) 956-42-61
consulate(s) general: St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
Economy
Economy - overview: Russia, a vast country with a wealth of natural resources, a well-educated population, and a diverse, but declining, industrial base, continues to experience formidable difficulties in moving from its old centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. Most of 1996 was a lost year for economic reforms, with government officials focused in the first half of the year on President YEL'TSIN's reelection and then on his medical problems. The only major success was in the fight against inflation, which fell from 131% in 1995 to 22% in 1996. Russia failed to make any progress in restructuring its social welfare programs to target the most needy - among whom are many of the old pensioners - or to pass needed tax reform. While approximately 75% of industry has now been privatized, the agricultural sector has undergone little reform since the break-up of the Soviet Union. Stockholder rights remain weak while crime and corruption are rampant in much of the economy. Many enterprises continue to operate without hard budget constraints, resulting in barter trade and increased inter-enterprise debts. According to official statistics, the Russian economy declined for the fifth straight year since the beginning of reforms, with GDP in 1996 falling by 6% and industrial output by 5%. The true size of the Russian economy remains controversial, however, with estimates of unreported economic activity ranging from 20%-50% of GDP. Indeed, according to Russian statistics, the Russian consumer has seen a small improvement in the last several years, with real average incomes growing by about 8% from early 1993 to late 1996. The share of the Russian population living below the poverty line is said to have dropped from one-third in early 1993 to one-fifth in late 1996. Few Russians lack basic necessities, and ownership of consumer goods such as VCRs and automobiles has increased markedly. The growth of wage and pension arrears slowed in the second half of 1996, and the government pledged to clear all budget-funded wage and pension arrears by the end of 1997. The government continued to be plagued with tax collection problems during 1996, forcing it to cut its planned spending by 18%. A crackdown on major tax debtors at the end of the year had only limited success. Spending by all levels of government remains high, between 40%-45% of GDP. The economy is continuing its integration into world markets. Russia's trade surplus, after adjustment for unreported "shuttle" trade, grew to a record $28.5 billion in 1996, according to official Russian statistics. Export growth, which slowed from 18% to 9%, was due mostly to increased raw material prices. After increasing by 15% in 1995, imports dipped by 2% in 1996 as Russian demand for Western consumer goods slackened. Russia is continuing to make progress in its WTrO negotiations; the government has made quick accession one of its major policy goals. The continued unsettled economic and political situation has discouraged foreign investment, which totaled only $6.5 billion in 1996, including $2.1 billion in direct investment; furthermore, capital flight continues to exceed in volume the inflow of foreign capital. The central bank estimates that $30 billion in US currency circulates in the Russian economy. In March 1997, YEL'TSIN signaled his intention to restart stalled economic reforms by reorganizing the cabinet, bringing in a new team of ministers with strong reform credentials.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $767 billion (1996 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)
GDP - real growth rate: -6% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,200 (1996 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 22% (1996)
Labor force:
total: 73 million (1996)
by occupation : NA
Unemployment rate: 9.3% (December 1996) (according to ILO definition) with considerable additional underemployment
Budget:
revenues : $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate: -5% (1996)
Electricity - capacity: 214.69 million kW (1994)
Electricity - production: 833.16 billion kWh (1994)
Electricity - consumption per capita: 5,114 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture - products: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits (because of its northern location does not grow citrus, cotton, tea, and other warm climate products); meat, milk
Exports:
total value: $88.3 billion (1996)
commodities : petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures
partners: Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries
Imports:
total value: $59.8 billion (1996)
commodities : machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, grain, sugar, semifinished metal products
partners: Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries
Debt - external: $130 billion (yearend 1996)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $13 billion (1990-96)
note : US commitments, including Ex-Im, $15 billion (1990-96); other countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1990-96), $125 billion
Currency: 1 ruble (R) = 100 kopeks
Exchange rates: rubles per US$1 - 5,727 (March 1997), 5,121 (1996), 4,559 (1995), 2,191 (1994), 992 (1993)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 25.4 million (1993 est.)
Telephone system: total pay phones for long distant calls 34,100; enlisting foreign help, by means of joint ventures, to speed up the modernization of its telecommunications system; in 1992, only 661,000 new telephones were installed compared with 855,000 in 1991, and in 1992 the number of unsatisfied applications for telephones reached 11,000,000; expanded access to international electronic mail service available via Sprint network; the inadequacy of Russian telecommunications is a severe handicap to the economy, especially with respect to international connections
domestic: NMT-450 analog cellular telephone networks are operational and growing in Moscow and St. Petersburg; intercity fiber-optic cable installation remains limited
international: international traffic is inadequately handled by a system of satellites, landlines, microwave radio relay, and outdated submarine cables; much of this traffic passes through the international gateway switch in Moscow which carries most of the international traffic for the other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States; a new Russian Intersputnik satellite will link Moscow and St. Petersburg with Rome from whence calls will be relayed to destinations in Europe and overseas; satellite earth stations - NA Intelsat, 4 Intersputnik (2 Atlantic Ocean Region and 2 Indian Ocean Region), NA Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean Region), and NA Orbita
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note - there are about 1,050 (including AM, FM, and shortwave) radio broadcast stations throughout the country
Radios: 50 million (1993 est.)(radio receivers with multiple speaker systems for program diffusion 74,300,000)
Television broadcast stations: 7,183
Televisions: 54.85 million (1992 est.)
Transportation
Railways:
total: 154,000 km; note - 87,000 km in common carrier service (38,000 km electrified); 67,000 km serve specific industries and are not available for common carrier use
broad gauge: 154,000 km 1.520-m gauge (1 January 1994)
Highways:
total : 948,000 km (including 416,000 km which serve specific industries or farms and are not maintained by governmental highway maintenance departments)
paved: 336,000 km
unpaved: 612,000 km (including 411,000 km of graveled or other forms of macadam surface and 201,000 km of unstabilized earth) (1995 est.)
Waterways: total navigable routes in general use 101,000 km; routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet 95,900 km; routes with night navigational aids 60,400 km; man-made navigable routes 16,900 km (1 January 1994)
Pipelines: crude oil 48,000 km; petroleum products 15,000 km; natural gas 140,000 km (30 June 1993)
Ports and harbors: Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Kaliningrad, Kazan', Khabarovsk, Kholmsk, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Nevel'sk, Novorossiysk, Petropavlovsk, St. Petersburg, Rostov, Sochi, Tuapse, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Vostochnyy, Vyborg
Merchant marine:
total: 660 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,731,677 GRT/7,940,756 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 24, cargo 348, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 15, container 28, multifunction large-load carrier 3, oil tanker 136, passenger 6, passenger-cargo 4, refrigerated cargo 20, roll-on/roll-off cargo 38, short-sea passenger 13, specialized tanker 2
note: Russia owns an additional 137 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,466,872 DWT operating under the registries of The Bahamas, Cyprus, Honduras, Liberia, Malta, Panama, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, and Vanuatu (1996 est.)
Airports: 2,517 (1994 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 630
over 3,047 m : 54
2,438 to 3,047 m: 202
1,524 to 2,437 m : 108
914 to 1,523 m: 115
under 914 m: 151 (1994 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1,887
over 3,047 m : 25
2,438 to 3,047 m: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 134
914 to 1,523 m: 291
under 914 m: 1,392 (1994 est.)
Military
Military branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Forces, Air Defense Forces, Strategic Rocket Forces
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 38,449,126 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males : 29,996,967 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 1,115,858 (1997 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
note : the Intelligence Community estimates that defense spending in Russia fell by about 10% in real terms in 1996, reducing Russian defense outlays to about one-sixth of peak Soviet levels in the late 1980s (1997 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: inherited disputes from former USSR including sections of the boundary with China; islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan; potential dispute with Ukraine over Crimea; Estonian and Russian negotiators reached a technical order agreement in December 1996, which Estonia is prepared to sign and ratify in January 1997; Estonia had claimed over 2,000 sq km of Russian territory in the Narva and Pechora regions - based on boundary established under the 1920 Peace Treaty of Tartu; based on the 1920 Treaty of Riga, Latvia had claimed the Abrene/Pytalovo section of the border ceded by the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944; has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation; dispute with Lithuania over the position of the riparian and maritime boundary with Kaliningrad Oblast; Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute in the Barents Sea between Norway and Russia
Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption; government has active eradication program; increasingly used as transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian opiates and cannabis and Latin American cocaine to Western Europe and the US
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