lly self-sufficient in food

_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $294
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $1,186 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $3.5 billion

_#_Currency: cordoba (plural--cordobas); 1 cordoba (C$) = 100
centavos

_#_Exchange rates: cordobas (C$) per US$1--13,300,000 (January
1991), 15,655 (1989), 270 (1988), 102.60 (1987), 97.48 (1986), 38.90
(1985)

_#_Fiscal year: calendar year

_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 373 km 1.067-meter gauge, government owned; majority of
system not operating; 3 km 1.435-meter gauge line at Puerto Cabezas (does
not connect with mainline)

_#_Highways: 25,930 km total; 4,000 km paved, 2,170 km
gravel or crushed stone, 5,425 km earth or graded earth, 14,335 km
unimproved; Pan-American highway 368.5 km

_#_Inland waterways: 2,220 km, including 2 large lakes

_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 56 km

_#_Ports: Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama

_#_Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,161
GRT/2,500 DWT

_#_Civil air: 12 major transport aircraft

_#_Airports: 251 total, 162 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

_#_Telecommunications: low-capacity radio relay and wire system being
expanded; connection into Central American Microwave System; 60,000
telephones; stations--45 AM, no FM, 7 TV, 3 shortwave; earth
stations--1 Intersputnik and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT

_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force

_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 845,961; 521,425 fit for
military service; 44,222 reach military age (18) annually

_#_Defense expenditures: $70 million, 3.8% of GDP (1991)
_%_
_@_Niger
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 1,267,000 km2; land area: 1,266,700 km2

_#_Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

_#_Land boundaries: 5,697 km total; Algeria 956 km, Benin 266 km,
Burkina 628 km, Chad 1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km, Nigeria 1,497
km

_#_Coastline: none--landlocked

_#_Maritime claims: none--landlocked

_#_Disputes: Libya claims about 19,400 km2 in northern Niger;
demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which
has led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting
ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; Burkina