eriod of two decades. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with
the signing of several accords; a final Naivasha peace treaty of
January 2005 granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years,
after which a referendum for independence is scheduled to be held. A
separate conflict that broke out in the western region of Darfur in
2003 has resulted in at least 200,000 deaths and nearly 2 million
displaced; as of late 2005, peacekeeping troops were struggling to
stabilize the situation. Sudan also has faced large refugee influxes
from neighboring countries, primarily Ethiopia and Chad, and armed
conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and lack of government
support have chronically obstructed the provision of humanitarian
assistance to affected populations.

Suriname
First explored by the Spaniards in the 16th century and
then settled by the English in the mid-17th century, Suriname became
a Dutch colony in 1667. With the abolition of slavery in 1863,
workers were brought in from India and Java. Independence from the
Netherlands was granted in 1975. Five years later the civilian
government was replaced by a military regime that soon declared a
socialist republic. It continued to exert control through a
succession of nominally civilian administrations until 1987, when
international pressure finally forced a democratic election. In
1990, the military overthrew the civilian leadership, but a
democratically elected government - a four-party New Front coalition
- returned to power in 1991 and has ruled since, expanding to eight
parties in 2005.

Svalbard
First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the
islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and
18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five
years later it officially took over the territory.

Swaziland
Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed
by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted in
1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s pressured King
Mswati III, the world's last absolute monarch, to grudgingly allow
political reform and greater democracy, although he has backslid on
these promises in recent years. Swaziland recently surpassed
Botswana as the country with the world's highest known rates of
HIV/AIDS infection.

Sweden
A military power during the 17th century, Sweden has not
participate