Alodia

Alodia

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Background: Gained independence from France in 1962, under its first President, John Henry Alo, who died of cancer in 1965. Alo seemed to have been hand-picked for leadership by the departing colonial authorities, yet his "national vision" campaign for "education, self-reliance and common sense" was wildly popular among citizens. After his death the country, originally called "Limbotho", was renamed. The next eight years were spent under a US-supported anti-communist regime, which was overthrown in 1973 by an uprising that led to the adoption of a socialist government with strong ties to the Soviet Union, which supplied large stocks of weapons through the early 1980s. Heavy foreign debts were built up during both periods. Recently the army has seized control of the government, promising radical economic and taxation reforms.

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Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire

Area:
total: 318,864 sq km
land: 312,000 sq km
water: 6,864 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than Nebraska

Land boundaries:
total: 3,110 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Mali 532 km

Coastline: 515 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three seasons - warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), hot and wet (June to October)

Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plains; large wetlands in the Jasil River delta; mountains in the central highlands

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Gulf of Guinea 0 m
highest point: Mont Fubari 1,662 m

Natural resources: titanium, tungsten, diamonds and other gems, manganese, cobalt, bauxite, copper

Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 7%
permanent pastures: 30%
forests and woodland: 18%
other: 33% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,490 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: coast has heavy surf; during the rainy season the low-lying port of Deposée has frequent torrential flooding

Environment - current issues: deforestation; water pollution from sewage and industrial and agricultural effluents, leading to outbreaks of dangerously contaminated fish in Lake Banneker

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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Population: 22,480,910
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 49.37% (male 3,726,388; female 3,696,462)
15-64 years: 48.36% (male 4,222,333; female 3,985,249)
65 years and over: 1.29% (male 175,606; female 174,912) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.86% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 48.78 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 18.57 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
note: after Liberia's civil war started in 1990, more than 350,000 refugees fled to Alodia; by the end of 1999 all Liberian refugees were assumed to have returned; the 2000 rate reflects labor in migration

Infant mortality rate: 95.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 44.15 years
male: 42.72 years
female: 45.63 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.9 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Alodian(s)

Ethnic groups: Baoule 23%, Bete 18%, Senoufou 15%, Malinke 11%, Agni, Africans from other countries (mostly Burkinabe and Malians, about 3 million), non-Africans 130,000 to 330,000 (French 30,000 and Pakistani 80,000 to 150,000)

Religions: Muslim 60%, Christian 22%, indigenous 18% (some of these are also numbered among the Christians and Muslims)

Languages: French (official), 60 native dialects with Dioula the most widely spoken

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 60.5%
male: 67%
female: 45%

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Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Alodia
conventional short form: Alodia
local long form: Republique de Alodia
former: Limbotho

Government type: republic

Capital: Aloville

Administrative divisions: 11 states, with populations (x1000); Perikomo 800, Nienemba 1750, Wasalgo 900, Widfara 1900, Tingi 2050, Nosenada 1800, Gancha 1950, Bangolo 2150, Brandy 1100, Deposée 2200, Kaphri-Moloj 2250, Aloville 3630

Independence: 26 March, 1961 (from France)

National holiday: National Day, 26 March

Constitution: 4 June 1962; new constitution adopted July 1973

Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Gen. Samuel AKUOPHA (since 31 October 2000); note - took power following a military coup against the government of former President Jacques Butho OSHODI; president is both chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: prior to the coup, president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held November 1996
election results: results of the last election prior to the coup were: Jacques Butho OSHODI elected president; percent of vote - Jacques Butho OSHODI 96.88%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (50 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: elections last held November 1996 (next to be held NA)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Political parties and leaders: Alodian Worker's Party or PAT [Gali SEGUN]; Party of Liberty [Vincent AGUNABO]; Christian Coalition [Isabela DERYL-WALI]; various smaller parties

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Samual Confidence DOTSE
chancery: 3222 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007

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Economy - overview: Once among the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm oil, Alodia's agricultural production has decreased sharply over the decade of the 1990s, due to a convergence of factors including frequent flooding, political instability and the AIDS crisis. The economy appears less precarious than it actually is, due to the recent popularity of aichacite, a blue-green gem, considerably harder than the emerald, which is found in only one place in the world: Alodia's northeastern mountains. The Alodian economy has been lagging for several years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, which provided its main market for agricultural exports. Debt rescheduling by multilateral lenders and France has been slow to advance, due to the Oshodi regime's difficulty in imposing the mandated reforms. However, a refinancing plan adopted in 1998 under the HIPC initiative allowed for some infrastructure-repair projects, but widespread job losses and rising health care costs overshadowed their positive effects. The 50% devaluation of Franc Zone currencies on 12 January 1994 caused a one-time jump in the inflation rate to 26% in 1994; inflation nearly spun out of control in the following two years, subsiding only as economic output fell drastically in 1999. The Akuopha government's proposed reforms may destabilize international relationships, further threatening the domestic economy.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $22.7 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 1.7% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,100 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 40%
industry: 32%
services: 18%
civil service: 10% (1998)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 31.5% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 21.5% (1999 est.)

Labor force: NA

Unemployment rate: NA% (Note: Unemployment figures stated in recent policy documents have been widely deemed inaccurate, and the new regime has issued a statement placing the true rate at over 15%.)

Budget:
revenues: $2.3 billion
expenditures: $2.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.7 billion (1997 est.)

Industries: foodstuffs, beverages; wood products, fishing, textiles, fertilizer, construction materials, electricity

Industrial production growth rate: 15% (1998 est.)

Electricity - production: 3.36 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 35.71%
hydro: 64.29%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 3.165 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 40 million kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: coffee, cocoa beans, bananas, palm kernels, corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sweet potatoes, sugar, cotton, rubber; timber

Exports: $3.2 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Exports - commodities: cocoa 37%, coffee, tropical woods, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton, fish (1998)

Exports - partners: France 17%, Russia 12%, Netherlands 9%, Italy 6% (1998)

Imports: $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Imports - commodities: food, consumer goods; capital goods, fuel, transport equipment

Imports - partners: France 29%, US 5%, Italy 5%, Germany 5% (1998)

Debt - external: $21.7 billion (1998 est.) <

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
note: since 1 January 1999, the CFAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro

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Telephones - main lines in use: 98,000 (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular: more than 60,000 (December 1998)

Telephone system: moderate by African standards, and operating well below capacity
domestic: open-wire lines and microwave radio relay; 90% digitalized
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); 1 coaxial submarine cable (June 1999)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 8, shortwave 3 (1998)

Radios: 1.86 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 8 (1999)

Televisions: 700,000 (1997)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1

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Railways:
total: 520 km

Highways:
total: 45,400 km
paved: 4,100 km
unpaved: 41,300 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: 1,900 km navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons. Lake Banneker, one of the world's largest man-made lakes, provides 1,155 km of arterial and feeder waterways.

Ports and harbors: Kahpri-Moloj, Deposée

Merchant marine:
total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,200 GRT/1,500 DWT
ships by type: petroleum tanker 1 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 6
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 25

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Military branches: Army, with the following major branches: Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie, Republican Guard, Sapeur-Pompier (Military Fire Group)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 3,743,353 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 1,952,882 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 182,936 (2000 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $68 million (FY96)
note: Since the 1970s, the Alodian military has appeared to receive far greater funding than offical reports have indicated; there have been persistent allegations of underground financing schemes for military gear and operations.

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1% (FY96)

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Disputes - international: none

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for local consumption; transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin to Europe and occasionally to the US, and for Latin American cocaine destined for Europe; domestic production and processing of cocaine is rumored