¡¡¡¡SHANGHAI, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization will
convene its sixth summit meeting here on Thursday in Shanghai to celebrate the
fifth anniversary of its founding.
¡¡¡¡The following are basic facts about the four SCO
observer states -- Mongolia, Pakistan, India and Iran.
¡¡¡¡-- Mongolia
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¡¡¡¡Area: 1.56 million square km
¡¡¡¡Population: 2.55 million
¡¡¡¡Capital: Ulan Bator
¡¡¡¡Language: Mongolian
¡¡¡¡Religions: about 67 percent of the people believe in Lamaism
¡¡¡¡Economy: animal husbandry and mining are the major
pillars of Mongolia's economy. Its GDP totaled 1.88 billion U.S. dollars in
2005, with a growth rate of 6.2 percent.
¡¡¡¡-- Pakistan
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¡¡¡¡Area: 796,000 square km
¡¡¡¡Population: 149 million
¡¡¡¡Capital: Islamabad
¡¡¡¡Languages: Urdu (state), English (official)
¡¡¡¡Religions: Islam. Muslims account for 96 percent of the population
¡¡¡¡Economy: Agriculture as a pillar of the economy
accounts for 24 percent of the GDP. Thanks to the government's active and
prudent economic policy, Pakistan scored 8.4 percent growth in its GDP in the
2004/2005 fiscal year.
¡¡¡¡-- India
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¡¡¡¡Area: about 2.98 million square km (excluding the Indian-occupied area on
the Sino-Indian border and the Indian-controlled area in Kashmir)
¡¡¡¡Population: 1.09 billion
¡¡¡¡Languages: English and Hindi are both official languages
¡¡¡¡Religion: about 82 percent of residents believe in Hinduism
¡¡¡¡Capital: New Delhi
¡¡¡¡Economy: The country is basically self-sufficient in
agriculture, and its industry has formed a complete system. The Indian
government launched comprehensive economic reforms in July 1991, reducing
government control of industry, foreign trade and banking. Its economic growth
rate was 7.5 percent in the 2004-2005 fiscal year.
¡¡¡¡-- Iran
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¡¡¡¡Area: 1.65 million square km
¡¡¡¡Population: 67.48 million
¡¡¡¡Language: Persian
¡¡¡¡Religion: Islam
¡¡¡¡Capital: Tehran
¡¡¡¡Economy: Iran is the fourth largest oil producer, the second largest oil
exporter and the fifth largest natural gas producer in the world. Oil exports
account for more than 85 percent of Iran's foreign exchange revenues. In 2005,
Iran's GDP totaled 175.6 billion U.S. dollars, with a growth rate of 5.5
percent. Enditem