American Samoa (2001) | Madagascar (2003) | |
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 | 6 provinces (faritany); Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara |
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: 45% (male 3,822,823; female 3,807,958)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 4,366,748; female 4,452,686) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 243,411; female 286,118) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products |
Airports | 4 (2000 est.) | 121 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 29
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
2 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 92
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 46 under 914 m: 44 (2002) |
Area | total:
199 sq km land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total: 587,040 sq km
land: 581,540 sq km water: 5,500 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of Arizona |
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. | Formerly an independent kingdom, Madagascar became a French colony in 1886, but regained its independence in 1960. During 1992-93, free presidential and National Assembly elections were held, ending 17 years of single-party rule. In 1997, in the second presidential race, Didier RATSIRAKA, the leader during the 1970s and 1980s, was returned to the presidency. The 2001 presidential election was contested between the followers of Didier RATSIRAKA and Marc RAVALOMANANA, nearly causing secession of half of the country. In April 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner. |
Birth rate | 24.88 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 42.16 births/1,000 population (2003 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: $553 million
expenditures: $735 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
Capital | Pago Pago | Antananarivo |
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 | tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south |
Coastline | 116 km | 4,828 km |
Constitution | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 | 19 August 1992 by national referendum |
Country name | conventional long form:
Territory of American Samoa conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form: Republic of Madagascar
conventional short form: Madagascar local long form: Republique de Madagascar local short form: Madagascar former: Malagasy Republic |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | Malagasy franc (MGF) |
Death rate | 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 11.88 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $4.6 billion (2002) |
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) | chief of mission: Ambassador Wanda L. NESBITT
embassy: 14-16 Rue Rainitovo, Antsahavola, Antananarivo 101 mailing address: B. P. 620, Antsahavola, Antananarivo telephone: [261] (20) 22-212-57, 22-212-73, 22-209-56 FAX: [261] (20) 22-345-39 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Rajaonarivony NARISOA
chancery: 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-5525, 5526 FAX: [1] (202) 483-7603 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France) |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | $838 million (1997) |
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. | Having discarded past socialist economic policies, Madagascar has since the mid 1990s followed a World Bank and IMF led policy of privatization and liberalization, which has placed the country on a slow and steady growth path. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is a mainstay of the economy, accounting for one-fourth of GDP and employing four-fifths of the population. Export earnings primarily are earned in the small industrial sector, which features textile manufacturing and agriculture processing. Deforestation and erosion, aggravated by the use of firewood as the primary source of fuel are serious concerns. The separatist political crisis of 2002 undermined macroeconomic stability, with the estimated drop in output being subject to a wide margin of error. Poverty reduction will be the centerpiece of economic policy for the next few years. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (1999) | 772.1 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 130 million kWh (1999) | 830.2 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 36.1%
hydro: 63.9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Lata 966 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Maromokotro 2,876 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 | soil erosion results from deforestation and overgrazing; desertification; surface water contaminated with raw sewage and other organic wastes; several species of flora and fauna unique to the island are endangered |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% | Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Malagasy francs per US dollar - 6,831.96 (2002), 6,588.49 (2001), 6,767.48 (2000), 6,283.77 (1999), 5,441.4 (1998) |
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: President Marc RAVALOMANANA (since 6 May 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Jacques SYLLA (27 May 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held NA November 2006); prime minister appointed by the president from a list of candidates nominated by the National Assembly election results: percent of vote - Didier RATSIRAKA (AREMA) 40.89%, Marc RAVALOMANANA 46.21%; note - on 29 April 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner by 51.5% after a recount; RATSIRIKA's prime minister was put under house arrest on 27 May 2002, and SYLLA was appointed the new prime minister by President RAVALOMANANA |
Exports | $500 million (1998) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% | coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar; cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products |
Exports - partners | US 99.6% | France 34%, US 24.6%, Netherlands 6%, Germany 5.9%, Mauritius 4% (2002) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12.59 billion (2002) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 25%
industry: 12% services: 63% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | -11.9% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 20 00 S, 47 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 | world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel |
Highways | total:
350 km paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
total: 49,827 km
paved: 5,780 km unpaved: 44,047 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29% (1999) |
Illicit drugs | - | illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption; transshipment point for heroin |
Imports | $471 million (1996) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% | capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food |
Imports - partners | US 62%, Japan 9%, NZ 7%, Australia 11%, Fiji 4%, other 7% | France 17.2%, Iran 11%, Mauritius 10.6%, Bahrain 9.4%, Hong Kong 6.9%, South Africa 5.9%, China 4.1% (2002) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 26 June 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | meat processing, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 10.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 80.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 88.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 71.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 7.4% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 10,900 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle |
Labor force | 14,000 (1996) | 7.3 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
5% permanent crops: 10% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 70% other: 15% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 4.41%
permanent crops: 0.93% other: 94.66% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
French (official), Malagasy (official) |
Legal system | NA | based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy law; 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 National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (160 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - the legislature is scheduled to become a bicameral Parliament with the establishment of a Senate; two-thirds of the seats of this Senate will be filled by regional assemblies whose members will be elected by popular vote; the remaining one-third of the seats will be appointed by the president; the total number of seats will be determined by the National Assembly; all members will serve four-year terms
elections: National Assembly - last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - TIM 103, FP 22, AREMA 3, LEADER/Fanilo 2, RPSD 5, others 3, independents 22 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.32 years male: 70.89 years female: 80.02 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 56.14 years
male: 53.82 years female: 58.53 years (2003 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
total population: 68.9% male: 75.5% female: 62.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or 100 NM from the 2,500-m deep isobath exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 14,865 GRT/17,936 DWT
ships by type: cargo 8, chemical tanker 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | People's Armed Forces (comprising Intervention Force, Development Force, Aeronaval [Navy and Air] Force), Gendarmerie, Presidential Security Regiment |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $52.3 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.2% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 3,880,332 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,300,587 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 163,864 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Independence Day, 26 June (1960) |
Nationality | noun:
American Samoan(s) adjective: American Samoan |
noun: Malagasy (singular and plural)
adjective: Malagasy |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | periodic cyclones |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 3.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] | Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar or AREMA [leader vacant]; Economic Liberalism and Democratic Action for National Recovery or LEADER/Fanilo [Herizo RAZAFIMAHALEO]; I Love Madagascar or TIM [leader NA]; National Union or FP [leader NA]; Renewal of the Social Democratic Party or RPSD [Evariste MARSON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Federalist Movement; National Council of Christian Churches or FFKM |
Population | 67,084 (July 2001 est.) | 16,979,744 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 71% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.42% (2001 est.) | 3.03% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u | Antsiranana, Antsohimbondrona, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2 (plus a number of repeater stations), FM 9, shortwave 6 (2001) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 732 km
narrow gauge: 732 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7% |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 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: system is above average for the region
domestic: open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter links connect regions international: submarine cable to Bahrain; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 13,000 (1997) | 55,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,550 (1997) | 63,100 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (plus 36 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center |
Total fertility rate | 3.5 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.73 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (1993) | 5.9% (1998) |
Waterways | none | of local importance only |