sociated in some way with a particular independent state.

Diplomatic representation
The US Government has diplomatic relations with 185 independent states,
including 183 of the 189 UN members (excluded UN members are Bhutan,
Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and the US itself). In addition, the US
has diplomatic relations with 2 independent states that are not in the
UN - Holy See and Switzerland.

Diplomatic representation from the US
This entry includes the chief of mission, embassy address, mailing
address, telephone number, FAX number, branch office locations,
consulate general locations, and consulate locations.

Disputes - international
This entry includes a wide variety of situations that range from
traditional bilateral boundary disputes to unilateral claims of one
sort or another. Information regarding disputes over international
terrestrial and maritime boundaries has been reviewed by the US
Department of State. References to other situations involving borders
or frontiers may also be included, such as resource disputes,
geopolitical questions, or irredentist issues; however, inclusion does
not necessarily constitute official acceptance or recognition by the US
Government.

Economic aid - donor
This entry refers to net official development assistance (ODA) from
OECD nations to developing countries and multilateral organizations.
ODA is defined as financial assistance that is concessional in
character, has the main objective to promote economic development and
welfare of the less developed countries (LDCs), and contains a grant
element of at least 25%. The entry does not cover other official flows
(OOF) or private flows.

Economic aid - recipient
This entry, which is subject to major problems of definition and
statistical coverage, refers to the net inflow of Official Development
Finance (ODF) to recipient countries. The figure includes assistance
from the World Bank, the IMF, and other international organizations and
from individual nation donors. Formal commitments of aid are included
in the data. Omitted from the data are grants by private organizations.
Aid comes in various forms including outright grants and loans. The
entry thus is the difference between new inflows and repayments.

Economy
This category includes the entries dealing with the size, development,
and management of productive resources, i.e., land, labor, and capital.

Economy - overview
This entry briefly describes the type of econ