Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Air Force, Navy, Maritime Border Guard, National
Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops)

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,927,955; males fit for
military service 1,553,736; males reach military age (18) annually
68,407 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: 70.5 billion rubles, 10% of GDP (1993 budget
allocation); note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars
using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

________________________________________________________________________

THE BAHAMAS

@The Bahamas:Geography

Location: Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean,
southeast of Florida

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total area: 13,940 sq km
land area: 10,070 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 3,542 km

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

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream

Terrain: long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills

Natural resources: salt, aragonite, timber

Land use:
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 32%
other: 67%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
current issues: coral reef decay
natural hazards: hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause
extensive flood and wind damage
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

Note: strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island
chain

@The Bahamas:People

Population: 256,616 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 28% (female 35,924; male 36,504)
15-64 years: 66% (female 87,868; male 82,780)
65 years and over: 6% (female 8,247; male 5,293) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.09% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 19.23 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 5.79 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 24.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.12 years
male: 67.37 years
fem