nches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Civil Armed Forces, National
Guard

Military manpower-military age: 17 years of age

Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 32,450,056 (1998 est.)

Military manpower-fit for military service:
males: 19,888,353 (1998 est.)

Military manpower-reaching military age annually:
males: 1,472,272 (1998 est.)

Military expenditures-dollar figure: $3.3 billion (FY96/97)

Military expenditures-percent of GDP: 5.3% (FY96/97)

@Pakistan:Transnational Issues

Disputes-international: status of Kashmir with India; water-sharing
problems with India over the Indus River (Wular Barrage)

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium and hashish for the
international drug trade (cultivation in 1997-4,100 hectares, a 21%
increase over 1996; potential production-85 metric tons, a 13%
increase over 1996); center for processing Afghan heroin and key
transit area for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western markets

______________________________________________________________________

PALAU

@Palau:Geography

Location: Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean,
southeast of the Philippines

Geographic coordinates: 7 30 N, 134 30 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
total: 458 sq km
land: 458 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area-comparative: slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington,
DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,519 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
extended fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: wet season May to November; hot and humid

Terrain: varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island
of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier
reefs

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Ngerchelchauus 242 m

Natural resources: forests, minerals (especially gold), marine
products, deep-seabed minerals

Land use:
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA%
permanent pastures: NA%
forests and woodland: NA%
other: NA%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: typhoons (June to December)

Environment-current issues: inadequate facilities for disposal of
solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral
dredging, illegal fishing practices, and overfishing

Environment-international agreements:
party to: Law of the Sea
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements