The Country Studies/Area Handbook Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world.
The series examines the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural factors. Studies included here were published between 1988 and 1998. Information on some countries may no longer be up to date. See the "Research Completed" date at the beginning of each study or the "Data as of" date at the end of each section of text. Older studies, including some on countries that no longer exist in the same form, such as East Germany and the Soviet Union, may be retained because they continue to offer historical information of value to researchers.