1. Belgium Category: People - HIV/AIDS - deaths: fewer than 100 (2003 estimate)


2. Palmyra Atoll Category: Military - Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the US


3. French Polynesia Category: Economy - Economy - overview: Since 1962, when France stationed military personnel in the region, French Polynesia has changed from a subsistence agricultural economy to one in which a high proportion of the work force is either employed by the military or supports the tourist industry. With the halt of French nuclear testing in 1996, the military contribution to the economy fell sharply. Tourism accounts for about one-fourth of GDP and is a primary source of hard currency earnings. Other sources of income are pearl farming and deep-sea commercial fishing. The small manufacturing sector primarily processes agricultural products. The territory benefits substantially from development agreements with France aimed principally at creating new businesses and strengthening social services.


4. Heard Island and McDonald Islands Category: Introduction - Background: These uninhabited, barren, sub-Antarctic islands were transferred from the UK to Australia in 1947. Populated by large numbers of seal and bird species, the islands have been designated a nature preserve.


5. Puerto Rico Category: Economy - Exports: .9 billion f.o.b. (2001)

Oman Facts Info Stuff (OM):

1. Syria Category: Transportation - Merchant marine: total: 77; by type: bulk carrier 5, cargo 65, carrier 4, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1; foreign-owned: 7 (Jordan 2, Lebanon 3, Romania 2); registered in other countries: 196 (Barbados 1, Bolivia 2, Cambodia 48, Comoros 4, Cyprus 2, Dominica 2, Georgia 49, Hong Kong 1, North Korea 1, Lebanon 2, Libya 2, Malta 6, Moldova 1, Panama 32, Saint Kitts and Nevis 7, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 13, Sierra Leone 18, Slovakia 2, Togo 2, unknown 1) (2008)


2. Iles Eparses Category: Government - Executive branch: chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995); represented by Senior Administrator Michel CHAMPON


3. Niue Category: Government - Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives); elections: last held 7 June 2008 (next to be held in 2011); election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - 20 independents


4. Johnston Atoll Category: Government - Dependency status: unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Honolulu, HI, by Pacific Air Forces, Hickam Air Force Base, and the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system


5. Turks and Caicos Islands Category: Government - Legal system: based on laws of England and Wales, with a few adopted from Jamaica and The Bahamas

1. Navassa Island Category: Introduction - Background: This uninhabited island was claimed by the US in 1857 for its guano. Mining took place between 1865 and 1898. The lighthouse, built in 1917, was shut down in 1996 and administration of Navassa Island transferred from the Coast Guard to the Department of the Interior. A 1998 scientific expedition to the island described it as a unique preserve of Caribbean biodiversity; the following year it became a National Wildlife Refuge and annual scientific expeditions have continued.


2. Fiji Category: Economy - Oil - consumption (bbl/day): 9,971 bbl/day (2006 estimate)


3. Korea, South Category: Economy - GDP - composition by sector (%): agriculture: 3%; industry: 39.5%; services: 57.6% (2008 estimate)


4. Arctic Ocean Category: Geography - Natural hazards: ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May


5. Cote d'Ivoire Category: Economy - Labor force - by occupation (%): agriculture: 68%; industry and services: NA (2007 estimate)