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Basic Facts
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Official name
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Swiss
Confederation
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Capital
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Bern
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Area
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41,285
sq km
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15,940
sq mi
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People
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Population
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7,318,638
(2003 estimate)
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Population growth
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Population growth rate
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0.21
percent (2003 estimate)
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Projected population in 2025
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7,359,378
(2025 estimate)
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Projected population in 2050
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6,549,633
(2050 estimate)
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Population density
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177
persons per sq km (2003 estimate)
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459
persons per sq mi (2003 estimate)
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Urban/rural distribution
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Share urban
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67
percent (2001 estimate)
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Share rural
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33
percent (2001 estimate)
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Largest cities, with population
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Zürich
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337,900
(2001 estimate)
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Geneva
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175,800
(2001 estimate)
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Basel
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166,000
(2001 estimate)
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Bern
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122,500
(2001 estimate)
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Lausanne
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114,900
(2001 estimate)
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Ethnic groups
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Total population:
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German
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65
percent
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French
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18
percent
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Italian
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10
percent
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Romansch
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1
percent
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Other
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6
percent
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Swiss nationals:
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German
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74
percent
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French
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20
percent
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Italian
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4
percent
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Romansch
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1
percent
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Other
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1
percent
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Languages
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German (official), French (official), Italian (official),
Romansch, English, and others
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NOTE: Romansch, a Romance language, is spoken by less than 1
percent of the Swiss population, chiefly in the canton of Graubünden.
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Religious affiliations
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Roman Catholic
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44
percent
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Protestant
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41
percent
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Muslim
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3
percent
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Nonreligious
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7
percent
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Other
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5
percent
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Health and Education
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Life expectancy
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Total
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80
years (2003 estimate)
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Female
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83
years (2003 estimate)
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Male
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77.1
years (2003 estimate)
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Infant mortality rate
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4
deaths per 1,000 live births (2003 estimate)
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Population per physician
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294
people (1999)
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Population per hospital bed
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55
people (1998)
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Literacy rate
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Total
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99
percent (1995)
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Female
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Not
available
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Male
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Not
available
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Education expenditure as a share of gross national product
(GNP)
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5.2
percent (1999-2000)
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Number of years of compulsory schooling
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9
years (2000)
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Number of students per teacher, primary school
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14
students per teacher (1999-2000)
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Government
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Form of government
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Federal
republic
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Head of state
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President
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Head of government
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Bundesrat
(Federal Council): Seven members
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Legislature
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Bicameral
legislature (Federal Assembly)
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Nationalrat
(National Council): 200 members
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Ständerat
(Council of States): 46 members
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Voting qualifications
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Universal
at age 18
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Constitution
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29
May 1874; amended 1999, 2001, 2002
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Highest court
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Federal
Supreme Court
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Armed forces
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Army,
Air Force
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Total number of military personnel
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3,500
(2001)
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Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product
(GDP)
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1.2
percent (2001)
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First-level political divisions
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23
cantons (20 full cantons and 6 half-cantons)
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Economy
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Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$)
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$247.1
billion (2001)
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GDP per capita (U.S.$)
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$34,170
(2001)
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GDP by economic sector
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Agriculture, forestry, fishing
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1.6
percent (1998)
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Industry
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30.3
percent (1998)
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Services
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68
percent (1998)
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Employment
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Number of workers
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3,893,170
(2001)
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Workforce share of economic sector
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Agriculture, forestry, fishing
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5
percent (2000)
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Industry
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26
percent (2000)
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Services
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69
percent (2000)
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Unemployment rate
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2.7
percent (2000)
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National budget (U.S.$)
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Total revenue
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$60,773
million (2000)
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Total expenditure
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$63,963
million (2000)
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Monetary unit
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1 Swiss franc, Franke, or franco (SwF), consisting of 100
centimes, Rappen, or centesimi
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Agriculture
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Potatoes, apples, wheat, sugar beets, grapes, barley, dairy
products
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Mining
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Rock salt
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Manufacturing
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Clocks, watches, and other precision engineering products;
heavy engineering and machine building equipment; food products, including
chocolate and cheese; textiles; chemicals; pharmaceuticals
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Major exports
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Machinery, pharmaceuticals, clocks and watches, precision
instruments, textiles and clothing, chemicals, pigments, transportation
equipment
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Major imports
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Machinery, automobiles, clothing, chemicals, precision
instruments, pharmaceuticals
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Major trade partners for exports
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Germany, United States, France, Italy, and United Kingdom
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Major trade partners for imports
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Germany, France, Italy, United States, and United Kingdom
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Energy, Communications, and
Transportation
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Electricity production
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Electricity from thermal sources
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1.33
percent (2001 estimate)
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Electricity from hydroelectric sources
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59.54
percent (2001 estimate)
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Electricity from nuclear sources
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37.08
percent (2001 estimate)
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Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources
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2.05
percent (2001 estimate)
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Number of radios per 1,000 people
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979
(1997)
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Number of telephones per 1,000 people
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746
(2001)
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Number of televisions per 1,000 people
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542
(2000 estimate)
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Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people
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731
(2001)
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Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people
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373
(1999)
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Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people
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526
(1999)
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Paved road as a share of total roads
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Not
available
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Sources
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Basic Facts and People sections
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Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual
countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections
are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center,
International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population
data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United
Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population
data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of
individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from
the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and
from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from
the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of
Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
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Health and Education section
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Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United
States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International
database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population
per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int).
Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
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Government section
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Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest
court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government
Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is
from Military Balance.
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Economy section
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Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic
sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank
database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining,
manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is
from the latest Europa World Yearbook and various International
Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
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Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
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Electricity information is from the Energy Information
Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone,
television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank
database (www.worldbank.org).
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Note
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Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
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