tled in 1993 and, in 1994, the remainder
was closed, the track and rolling stock being sold for scrap

Highways:
total : 17,146 km
paved: 1,715 km
unpaved: 15,431 km (1995 est.)

Waterways: 2,220 km, including 2 large lakes

Pipelines: crude oil 56 km

Ports and harbors: Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas,
Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur

Merchant marine: none

Airports: 147 (1996 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 115
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m : 3
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 107 (1996 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 32
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 31 (1996 est.)

Military

Military branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,027,630 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males: 632,433 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males : 49,552 (1997 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $27.48 million (1996)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.35% (1996)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: territorial disputes with Colombia over the
Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; with
respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) referred the disputants to an
earlier agreement in this century and advised that some tripartite
resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be
required; maritime boundary dispute with Honduras

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US
______________________________________________________________________

NIGER

@Niger:Geography

Location: Western Africa, southeast of Algeria

Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 8 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km
water : 300 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
total : 5,697 km
border countries: Algeria 956 km, Benin 266 km, Burkina Faso 628 km,
Chad 1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km, Nigeria 1,497 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south

Terrain: predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling
plains in south; hills in north