American Samoa (2001) | Korea, North (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three districts and two islands* at the second order; Eastern, Manu'a, Rose Island*, Swains Island*, Western | 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 special cities* (si, singular and plural); Chagang-do (Chagang Province), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong Province), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong Province), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae Province), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae Province), Kaesong-si* (Kaesong City), Kangwon-do (Kangwon Province), Najin Sonbong-si*, Namp'o-si* (Namp'o City), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan Province), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan Province), P'yongyang-si* (Pyongyang City), Yanggang-do (Yanggang Province) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
38.44% (male 13,278; female 12,512) 15-64 years: 56.57% (male 18,784; female 19,163) 65 years and over: 4.99% (male 1,779; female 1,568) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 25.4% (male 2,888,478; female 2,747,133)
15-64 years: 67.4% (male 7,380,183; female 7,612,275) 65 years and over: 7.2% (male 527,256; female 1,068,870) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs |
Airports | 4 (2000 est.) | 87 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 39
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
2 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 48
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 24 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 8 (2002) |
Area | total:
199 sq km land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Mississippi |
Background | Settled as early as 1000 B. C., Samoa was "discovered" by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year. | Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Communist domination and the southern portion becoming Western oriented. KIM Chong-il has ruled North Korea since his father and the country's founder, president KIM Il-song, died in 1994. After decades of mismanagement, the North relies heavily on international food aid to feed its population, while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of about 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, North Korea repudiated a 1994 agreement that shut down its nuclear reactors and expelled UN monitors, further raising fears it would produce nuclear weapons. |
Birth rate | 24.88 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$121 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US grants) expenditures: $127 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY96/97) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Pago Pago | Pyongyang |
Climate | tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds; annual rainfall averages about 3 m; rainy season from November to April, dry season from May to October; little seasonal temperature variation | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer |
Coastline | 116 km | 2,495 km |
Constitution | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 | adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Territory of American Samoa conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea
conventional short form: North Korea local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk local short form: none note: the North Koreans generally use the term "Choson" to refer to their country abbreviation: DPRK |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | North Korean won (KPW) |
Death rate | 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.96 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $12 billion (1996 est.) |
Dependency status | unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US; administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of the US) | none (Swedish Embassy in P'yongyang represents the US as consular protecting power) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | none; note - North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York |
Disputes - international | none | 33-km section of boundary with China in the Paektu-san (mountain) area is indefinite; Demarcation Line with South Korea |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | $NA; note - nearly $300 million in food aid alone from US, South Korea, Japan, and EU in 2001 plus much additional aid from the UN and non-governmental organizations |
Economy - overview | This is a traditional Polynesian economy in which more than 90% of the land is communally owned. Economic activity is strongly linked to the US, with which American Samoa conducts the great bulk of its foreign trade. Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna the primary export. Transfers from the US Government add substantially to American Samoa's economic well-being. Attempts by the government to develop a larger and broader economy are restrained by Samoa's remote location, its limited transportation, and its devastating hurricanes. Tourism, a developing sector, has been held back by the recurring financial difficulties in East Asia. | North Korea, one of the world's most centrally planned and isolated economies, faces desperate economic conditions. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and spare parts shortages. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. Despite a good harvest in 2001, the nation faces its ninth year of food shortages because of a lack of arable land; collective farming; weather-related problems, including major drought in 2000; and chronic shortages of fertilizer and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the regime to escape mass starvation since 1995-96, but the population remains vulnerable to prolonged malnutrition and deteriorating living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. Recently, the regime has placed emphasis on earning hard currency, developing information technology, addressing power shortages, and attracting foreign aid, but in no way at the expense of relinquishing central control over key national assets or undergoing widespread market-oriented reforms. In 2002, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue have held down the flow of desperately needed food aid and threaten fuel aid as well. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (1999) | 31.062 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 130 million kWh (1999) | 33.4 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 33%
hydro: 67% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Lata 966 m |
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources; the water division of the government has spent substantial funds in the past few years to improve water catchments and pipelines | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% | racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | official: North Korean won per US dollar - 2.15 (December 2001), 2.15 (May 1994), 2.13 (May 1992), 2.14 (September 1991), 2.1 (January 1990); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 200 (December 2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001) and Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Tauese P. SUNIA (since 3 January 1997) and Lieutenant Governor Togiola TULAFONO (since 3 January 1997) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Tauese P. SUNIA reelected governor; percent of vote - Tauese P. SUNIA (Democrat) 50.7%, Lealaifuaneva Peter REID (independent) 47.8% |
chief of state: KIM Chong-il (since NA July 1994); note - in September 1998, KIM Chong-il was reelected Chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded the nation's "highest administrative authority"; KIM Yong-nam was named President of the Supreme People's Assembly Presidium and given the responsibility of representing the state and receiving diplomatic credentials
head of government: Premier HONG Song-nam (since 5 September 1998); Vice Premiers CHO Ch'ang-tok (since NA), KWAK Pom-ki (since NA), Sin IL-nam (since NA April 2002) cabinet: Cabinet (Naegak), members, except for the Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by the Supreme People's Assembly elections: premier elected by the Supreme People's Assembly; election last held NA September 1998 (next to be held NA) election results: HONG Song-nam elected premier; percent of Supreme People's Assembly vote - NA% |
Exports | $500 million (1998) | $826 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products |
Exports - partners | US 99.6% | Japan 36.3%, South Korea 21.5%, China 5.2% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with a white triangle edged in red that is based on the outer side and extends to the hoist side; a brown and white American bald eagle flying toward the hoist side is carrying two traditional Samoan symbols of authority, a staff and a war club | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $22 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 32% services: 37% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 40 00 N, 127 00 E |
Geography - note | Pago Pago has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the South Pacific Ocean, sheltered by shape from rough seas and protected by peripheral mountains from high winds; strategic location in the South Pacific Ocean | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated |
Highways | total:
350 km paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
total: 31,200 km
paved: 1,997 km unpaved: 29,203 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $471 million (1996) | $1.874 billion c.i.f. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain |
Imports - partners | US 62%, Japan 9%, NZ 7%, Australia 11%, Fiji 4%, other 7% | China 26.7%, South Korea 16.2%, Japan 12.3% (2000) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 10.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 22.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | NA% |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC | ARF (dialogue partner), ESCAP, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 14,600 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) |
Labor force | 14,000 (1996) | 9.6 million |
Labor force - by occupation | government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990) | agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,673 km
border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km |
Land use | arable land:
5% permanent crops: 10% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 70% other: 15% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 14.12%
permanent crops: 2.49% other: 83.39% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
Korean |
Legal system | NA | based on German civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Fono or Legislative Assembly consists of the House of Representatives (21 seats - 20 of which are elected by popular vote and 1 is an appointed, nonvoting delegate from Swains Island; members serve two-year terms) and the Senate (18 seats; members are elected from local chiefs and serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - only independents elected note: American Samoa elects one delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA (Democrat) reelected as delegate for a sixth term |
unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26 July 1998 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - the KWP approves a single list of candidates who are elected without opposition; minor parties hold a few seats |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.32 years male: 70.89 years female: 80.02 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.3 years
male: 68.31 years female: 74.44 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 98% female: 97% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write Korean
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea |
Map references | Oceania | Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM note: military boundary line 50 NM in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 122 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 738,886 GRT/1,037,506 DWT
ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 102, combination bulk 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 6, refrigerated cargo 3, short-sea passenger 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 1, Greece 2, Pakistan 1, Singapore 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $5,124.1 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 31.3% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 6,032,376 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 3,619,535 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 179,136 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948) |
Nationality | noun:
American Samoan(s) adjective: American Samoan |
noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 3.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 37 km; petroleum product 180 km |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] | Chondoist Chongu Party [YU Mi-yong, chairwoman]; Korean Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong-tae, chairman]; major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Chong-il, General Secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 67,084 (July 2001 est.) | 22,224,195 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.42% (2001 est.) | 1.1% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u | Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | 3.36 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 5,000 km
standard gauge: 4,095 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified; 159 km double-tracked) narrow gauge: 665 km 0.762-m gauge dual gauge: 240 km 1.435-m and 1.600-m gauges (three rails provide two gauges) (1996) |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)
note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 17 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: good telex, telegraph, facsimile and cellular telephone services; domestic satellite system with 1 Comsat earth station international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing |
Telephones - main lines in use | 13,000 (1997) | 1.1 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,550 (1997) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 38 (1999) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east |
Total fertility rate | 3.5 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.22 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (1993) | NA% |
Waterways | none | 2,253 km
note: mostly navigable by small craft only |