lity:
males age 15-49: 194,337 (1999 est.)

Military manpower--fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 133,559 (1999 est.)

Military manpower--reaching military age annually:
males: 6,410 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures--dollar figure: $405 million (1996)

Military expenditures--percent of GDP: 5.4% (1996)

Transnational Issues

Disputes--international: 1974 hostilities divided the island into
two de facto autonomous areas, a Greek Cypriot area controlled by
the internationally recognized Cypriot Government (59% of the
island's land area) and a Turkish-Cypriot area (37% of the island),
that are separated by a UN buffer zone (4% of the island); there are
two UK sovereign base areas within the Greek Cypriot portion of the
island

Illicit drugs: transit point for heroin and hashish via air
routes and container traffic to Europe, especially from Lebanon and
Turkey; some cocaine transits as well

======================================================================

@Czech Republic
--------------

Introduction

Background: Once part of the Holy Roman Empire and, later, the
Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Czechoslovakia became an independent
nation at the end of World War I. Independence ended with the German
takeover in 1939. After World War II, Czechoslovakia fell within the
Soviet sphere of influence, and in 1968 an invasion by Warsaw Pact
troops snuffed out anti-communist demonstrations and riots. With the
collapse of Soviet authority in 1991, Czechoslovakia regained its
freedom. On 1 January 1993, the country peacefully split into its
two ethnic components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech
Republic, largely by aspiring to become a NATO and EU member, has
moved toward integration in world markets, a development that poses
both opportunities and risks. But Prague has had a difficult time
convincing the public that membership in NATO is crucial to Czech
security. At the same time, support for eventual EU membership is
waning. Coupled with the country's worsening economic situation,
Prague's political scene, troubled for the past three years, will
remain so for the foreseeable future.

Geography

Location: Central Europe, southeast of Germany

Geographic coordinates: 49 45 N, 15 30 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
total: 78,703 sq km
land: 78,645 sq km
water: 58 sq km

Area--comparative: s