 |
|
Background:
|
The
Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the
world, dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes
from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their
merger with the earlier inhabitants created the
classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting
in the 8th century and Turkish in the 12th were
followed by European traders, beginning in the late
15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had
assumed political control of virtually all Indian
lands. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism
under Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU led to
independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided
into the secular state of India and the smaller
Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the
two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan
becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh.
Fundamental concerns in India include the ongoing
dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive
overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive
poverty, and ethnic and religious strife, all this
despite impressive gains in economic investment and
output. |
|
Location:
|
Southern
Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of
Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan |
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
20 00
N, 77 00 E |
|
Map references:
|
Asia |
|
Area:
|
total:
3,287,590 sq km
land: 2,973,190 sq km
water: 314,400 sq km |
|
Area - comparative:
|
slightly
more than one-third the size of the US |
|
Land boundaries:
|
total:
14,103 km
border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan
605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690
km, Pakistan 2,912 km |
|
Coastline:
|
7,000
km |
|
Maritime claims:
|
territorial
sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of
the continental margin
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
|
Climate:
|
varies
from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north |
|
Terrain:
|
upland
plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling
plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas
in north |
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest
point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m |
|
Natural resources:
|
coal
(fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore,
manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite,
natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable
land |
|
Land use:
|
arable
land: 54.4%
permanent crops: 2.74%
other: 42.86% (2001) |
|
Irrigated land:
|
590,000
sq km (1998 est.) |
|
Natural hazards:
|
droughts;
flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive
flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms;
earthquakes |
|
Environment - current issues:
|
deforestation;
soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air
pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle
emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and
runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not
potable throughout the country; huge and growing
population is overstraining natural resources |
|
Environment - international agreements:
|
party
to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands,
Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the
selected agreements |
|
Geography - note:
|
dominates
South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian
Ocean trade routes
|
|
Population:
|
1,065,070,607
(July 2004 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14
years: 31.7% (male 173,869,856; female
164,003,915)
15-64 years: 63.5% (male 349,785,804; female
326,289,402)
65 years and over: 4.8% (male 25,885,725;
female 25,235,905) (2004 est.) |
|
Median age:
|
total:
24.4 years
male: 24.4 years
female: 24.4 years (2004 est.) |
|
Population growth rate:
|
1.44%
(2004 est.) |
|
Birth rate:
|
22.8
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
|
Death rate:
|
8.38
deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
|
Net migration rate:
|
-0.07
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
|
Sex ratio:
|
at
birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female
total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2004
est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
total:
57.92 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 57.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2004
est.)
male: 58.52 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total
population: 63.99 years
male: 63.25 years
female: 64.77 years (2004 est.) |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
2.85
children born/woman (2004 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
0.8%
(2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
3.97
million (2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
310,000
(2001 est.) |
|
Nationality:
|
noun:
Indian(s)
adjective: Indian |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
Indo-Aryan
72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000) |
|
Religions:
|
Hindu
81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other
groups including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000) |
|
Languages:
|
English
enjoys associate status but is the most important
language for national, political, and commercial
communication; Hindi is the national language and
primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14
other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi,
Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya,
Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit;
Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken
widely throughout northern India but is not an
official language |
|
Literacy:
|
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 59.5%
male: 70.2%
female: 48.3% (2003 est.)
|
|
Country name:
|
conventional
long form: Republic of India
conventional short form: India |
|
Government type:
|
federal
republic |
|
Capital:
|
New
Delhi |
|
Administrative divisions:
|
28
states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar
Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam,
Bihar, Chandigarh*, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,
Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttaranchal, Uttar
Pradesh, West Bengal |
|
Independence:
|
15
August 1947 (from UK) |
|
National holiday:
|
Republic
Day, 26 January (1950) |
|
Constitution:
|
26
January 1950 |
|
Legal system:
|
based
on English common law; limited judicial review of
legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations |
|
Suffrage:
|
18
years of age; universal |
|
Executive branch:
|
chief
of state: President Abdul KALAM (since 26 July
2002); Vice President Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT (since
19 August 2002)
elections: president elected by an electoral
college consisting of elected members of both houses
of Parliament and the legislatures of the states for
a five-year term; election last held NA July 2002
(next to be held 18 July 2007); vice president
elected by both houses of Parliament for a five-year
term; election last held 12 August 2002 (next to be
held NA August 2007); prime minister elected by
parliamentary members of the majority party
following legislative elections; election last held
3 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan
SINGH (since NA May 2004)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by
the president on the recommendation of the prime
minister
election results: Abdul KALAM elected
president; percent of electoral college vote -
89.6%; Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT elected vice
president; percent of Parliament vote - 59.8%; Atal
Bihari VAJPAYEE elected prime minister; percent of
vote - NA |
|
Legislative branch:
|
bicameral
Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of
States or Rajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more
than 250 members, up to 12 of which are appointed by
the president, the remainder are chosen by the
elected members of the state and territorial
assemblies; members serve six-year terms) and the
People's Assembly or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543
elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the
president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Assembly - last held 20
April through 10 May 2004 (next to be held NA 2009)
election results: People's Assembly - percent
of vote by party - NA; seats by party - INC 145, BJP
138, CPI(M) 43, SP 36, RJD 21, BSP 19, DMK 16, SS
12, BJD 11, CPI 10, NCP 9, JDU 8, SAD 8, PMK 6, TDP
5, TRS 5, JMM 5, LJSP 4, MDMK 4, independents 5,
other 30 |
|
Judicial branch:
|
Supreme
Court (judges are appointed by the president and
remain in office until they reach the age of 65) |
|
Political parties and leaders:
|
All
India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [C.
Jayalalitha JAYARAM]; All India Forward Bloc or AIFB,
[D. BISWAS, general secretary]; Asom Gana Parishad [Brindaban
GOSWAMI]; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI];
Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Venkaiah NAIDU]; Biju
Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]; Communist Party
of India or CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan BARDHAN];
Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist or CPI/ML
[Dipankar BHATTACHARYA]; Congress (I) Party [Sonia
GANDHI]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK (a
regional party in Tamil Nadu) [M. KARUNANIDHI];
Indian National Congress or INC [leader NA]; Indian
National League [Suliaman SAITH]; Janata Dal
(Secular) [H. D. Deve GOWDA]; Janata Dal (United) or
JDU [Sharad YADAV]; Jharkhand Mukti Morcha or JMM
[leader NA]; Kerala Congress (Mani faction) [K. M.
MANI]; Lok Jan Shakti Party or LSP [leader NA];
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [VAIKO];
Muslim League [G. M. BANATWALA]; Nationalist
Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Pattali Makkal
Katchi or PMK [leader NA]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or
RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Revolutionary Socialist
Party or RSP [Abani ROY]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam
Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD [G. S.
TOHRA]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY]; Tamil
Maanila Congress [G. K. VASAN]; Telangana Rashtra
Samithi or TRS [leader NA]; Telugu Desam Party or
TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]; Trinamool Congress [Mamata
BANERJEE] |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders:
|
numerous
religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations,
including Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; various separatist
groups seeking greater communal and/or regional
autonomy, including the All Parties Hurriyat
Conference |
|
International organization participation:
|
AfDB,
ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, C, CP, FAO,
G- 6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MICAH,
MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK,
UNMOVIC, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
WTrO |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US:
|
chief
of mission: Ambassador Ranendra SEN
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New
York, and San Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 483-3972
telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000
chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008; note - Embassy located at 2536
Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US:
|
chief
of mission: Ambassador David C. Mulford
embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi
110021
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [91] (11) 419-8000
FAX: [91] (11) 419-0017
consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras),
Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay) |
|
Flag description:
|
three
equal horizontal bands of saffron (subdued orange)
(top), white, and green with a blue chakra
(24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band;
similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small
orange disk centered in the white band
|
|
Economy - overview:
|
India's
economy encompasses traditional village farming,
modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of
modern industries, and a multitude of support
services. Government controls have been reduced on
foreign trade and investment, and privatization of
domestic output has proceeded slowly. The economy
has posted an excellent average growth rate of 6%
since 1990, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage
points. India is capitalizing on its large numbers
of well-educated people skilled in the English
language to become a major exporter of software
services and software workers. Despite strong
growth, the World Bank and others worry about the
continuing public-sector budget deficit, running at
approximately 60% of GDP. |
|
GDP:
|
purchasing
power parity - $3.033 trillion (2003 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
8.3%
(2003 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing
power parity - $2,900 (2003 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture:
23.6%
industry: 28.4%
services: 48% (2002 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed):
|
23.1%
of GDP (2003) |
|
Population below poverty line:
|
25%
(2002 est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage
share:
|
lowest
10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1997) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
37.8
(1997) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
3.8%
(2003 est.) |
|
Labor force:
|
472
million (2003) |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture
60%, industry 17%, services 23% (1999) |
|
Unemployment rate:
|
9.5%
(2003) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues:
$86.69 billion
expenditures: $114.6 billion, including
capital expenditures of $13.5 billion (2003) |
|
Public debt:
|
59.7%
of GDP (2003) |
|
Agriculture - products:
|
rice,
wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane,
potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats,
poultry; fish |
|
Industries:
|
textiles,
chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation
equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery,
software |
|
Industrial production growth rate:
|
6.5%
(2003 est.) |
|
Electricity - production:
|
533.3
billion kWh (2001) |
|
Electricity - production by source:
|
fossil
fuel: 81.7%
hydro: 14.5%
other: 0.3% (2001)
nuclear: 3.4% |
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
497.2
billion kWh (2001) |
|
Electricity - exports:
|
321
million kWh (2001) |
|
Electricity - imports:
|
1.54
billion kWh (2001) |
|
Oil - production:
|
732,400
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
|
Oil - consumption:
|
2.13
million bbl/day (2001 est.) |
|
Oil - exports:
|
NA
(2001) |
|
Oil - imports:
|
NA
(2001) |
|
Oil - proved reserves:
|
4.33
billion bbl (1 January 2002) |
|
Natural gas - production:
|
22.75
billion cu m (2001 est.) |
|
Natural gas - consumption:
|
22.75
billion cu m (2001 est.) |
|
Natural gas - exports:
|
0 cu m
(2001 est.) |
|
Natural gas - imports:
|
0 cu m
(2001 est.) |
|
Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
542.4
billion cu m (1 January 2002) |
|
Current account balance:
|
$3.41
billion (2003) |
|
Exports:
|
$57.24
billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
|
Exports - commodities:
|
textile
goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods,
chemicals, leather manufactures |
|
Exports - partners:
|
US
20.3%, China 6.3%, UK 5.2%, Hong Kong 4.7%, Germany
4.3% (2003 est.) |
|
Imports:
|
$74.15
billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
|
Imports - commodities:
|
crude
oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals |
|
Imports - partners:
|
US
6.7%, Belgium 5.9%, UK 5%, China 4.5%, Singapore
4.2% (2003 est.) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
|
$102.3
billion (2003) |
|
Debt - external:
|
$101.7
billion (2003 est.) |
|
Economic aid - recipient:
|
$2.9
billion (FY98/99) |
|
Currency:
|
Indian
rupee (INR) |
|
Currency code:
|
INR |
|
Exchange rates:
|
Indian
rupees per US dollar - 46.5806 (2003), 48.6103
(2002), 47.1864 (2001), 44.9416 (2000), 43.0554
(1999) |
|
Fiscal year:
|
1 April
- 31 March
|
|
Telephones - main lines in use:
|
48.917
million (2003) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular:
|
26,154,400
(2003) |
|
Telephone system:
|
general
assessment: recent deregulation and
liberalization of telecommunications laws and
policies have prompted rapid change; local and long
distance service provided throughout all regions of
the country, with services primarily concentrated in
the urban areas; steady improvement is taking place
with the recent admission of private and
private-public investors, but telephone density
remains low at about seven for each 100 persons
nationwide but only one per 100 persons in rural
areas and a national waiting list of over 1.7
million; fastest growth is in cellular service with
modest growth in fixed lines
domestic: expansion of domestic service,
although still weak in rural areas, resulted from
increased competition and dramatic reductions in
price led in large part by wireless service; mobile
cellular service (both CDMA and GSM) introduced in
1994 and organized nationwide into four metropolitan
cities and 19 telecom circles each with about three
private service providers and one state-owned
service provider; in recent years significant trunk
capacity added in the form of fiber-optic cable and
one of the world's largest domestic satellite
systems, the Indian National Satellite system (INSAT),
with 5 satellites supporting 33,000 very small
aperture terminals (VSAT)
international: country code - 91; satellite
earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1
Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region); nine gateway
exchanges operating from Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi,
Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai (Madras), Jalandhar,
Kanpur, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, and Ernakulam; 5
submarine cables, including Sea-Me-We-3 with landing
sites at Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay), Fiber-Optic
Link Around the Globe (FLAG) with landing site at
Mumbai (Bombay), South Africa - Far East (SAFE) with
landing site at Cochin, i2icn linking to Singapore
with landing sites at Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai
(Madras), and Tata Indicom linking Singapore and
Chennai (Madras), provide a significant increase in
the bandwidth available for both voice and data
traffic (2004) |
|
Radio broadcast stations:
|
AM 153,
FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998) |
|
Radios:
|
116
million (1997) |
|
Television broadcast stations:
|
562 (of
which 82 stations have 1 kW or greater power and 480
stations have less than 1 kW of power) (1997) |
|
Televisions:
|
63
million (1997) |
|
Internet country code:
|
.in |
|
Internet hosts:
|
86,871
(2003) |
|
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
|
43
(2000) |
|
Internet users:
|
18.481
million (2003)
|
|
Railways:
|
total:
63,140 km (15,994 km electrified)
broad gauge: 45,099 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 14,776 km 1.000-m gauge; 3,265
km 0.762-m gauge and 0.610-m gauge (2003) |
|
Highways:
|
total:
3,319,644 km
paved: 1,517,077 km
unpaved: 1,802,567 km (1999 est.) |
|
Waterways:
|
14,500
km
note: 5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on
canals suitable for mechanized vessels (2004) |
|
Pipelines:
|
gas
5,798 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,195 km; oil 5,613
km; refined products 5,567 km (2003) |
|
Ports and harbors:
|
Chennai
(Madras), Cochin, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata
(Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay), Vishakhapatnam |
|
Merchant marine:
|
total:
306 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,555,507 GRT/11,069,791
DWT
by type: bulk 90, cargo 77, chemical tanker
14, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 2,
container 10, liquefied gas 10, passenger/cargo 5,
petroleum tanker 93, roll on/roll off 1,
short-sea/passenger 2, specialized tanker 1
registered in other countries: 63 (2003 est.)
foreign-owned: China 2, Portugal 1 |
|
Airports:
|
333
(2003 est.) |
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
total:
234
over 3,047 m: 14
2,438 to 3,047 m: 47
914 to 1,523 m: 74
under 914 m: 21 (2003 est.)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 78 |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways:
|
total:
99
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
under 914 m: 45 (2003 est.)
914 to 1,523 m: 42 |
|
Heliports:
|
20
(2003 est.)
|
|
Military branches:
|
Army,
Navy (including naval air arm), Air Force, Coast
Guard, various security or paramilitary forces
(including Border Security Force, Assam Rifles,
National Security Guards, Indo-Tibetan Border
Police, Special Frontier Force, Central Reserve
Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force,
Railway Protection Force, and Defense Security
Corps) |
|
Military manpower - military age:
|
17
years of age (2004 est.) |
|
Military manpower - availability:
|
males
age 15-49: 293,677,117 (2004 est.) |
|
Military manpower - fit for military service:
|
males
age 15-49: 172,153,371 (2004 est.) |
|
Military manpower - reaching military age
annually:
|
males:
11,174,415 (2004 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
|
$14,018.8
million (2003) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
|
2.4%
(2003)
|
| Transnational
Issues |
India |
|
Disputes - international:
|
Kashmir
remains the world's most highly militarized
territorial dispute with portions under the de facto
administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu
and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and
Northern Areas), but recent discussions and
confidence-building measures among parties are
beginning to defuse tensions; India does not
recognize Pakistan's ceding lands to China in the
1965 boundary agreement; disputes with Pakistan over
Indus River water sharing and the terminus of the
Sir Creek Estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch,
which prevents maritime boundary delimitation;
Pakistani maps continue to show Junagadh claim in
Indian Gujarat State; most of the rugged,
militarized boundary with China is in dispute, but
sides have committed to begin resolution with
discussions on the least disputed Middle Sector;
Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues to work
on resolution of minor disputed boundary sections;
discussions with Bangladesh remain stalled to
delimit a small section of river boundary, to
exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries,
to allocate divided villages, and to stop illegal
cross-border trade, migration, and violence;
Bangladesh protests India's attempts to fence off
high-traffic sections of the porous boundary;
dispute with Bangladesh over volcanic New
Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of
Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; India
seeks cooperation from Bhutan and Burma to keep out
Indian Nagaland insurgents; joint border commission
continues to work on small disputed sections of
boundary with Nepal; India has instituted a stricter
border regime to restrict transit of Maoist
insurgents and illegal cross-border activities from
Nepal |
|
Illicit drugs:
|
world's
largest producer of licit opium for the
pharmaceutical trade, but an undetermined quantity
of opium is diverted to illicit international drug
markets; transit point for illicit narcotics
produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer
of methaqualone; vulnerable to narcotics money
laundering through the hawala system
|
|
