American Samoa (2001) | Mauritania (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 | 12 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 capital district*; Adrar, Assaba, Brakna, Dakhlet Nouadhibou, Gorgol, Guidimaka, Hodh Ech Chargui, Hodh El Gharbi, Inchiri, Nouakchott*, Tagant, Tiris Zemmour, Trarza |
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: 46% (male 671,080; female 668,408)
15-64 years: 51.8% (male 743,573; female 764,358) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 26,669; female 38,496) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, dates; cattle, sheep |
Airports | 4 (2000 est.) | 26 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
2 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 16
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
Area | total:
199 sq km land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total: 1,030,700 sq km
land: 1,030,400 sq km water: 300 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico |
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. | Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) in 1976, but relinquished it after three years of raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory. Opposition parties were legalized and a new constitution approved in 1991. Two multiparty presidential elections since then were widely seen as flawed, but October 2001 legislative and municipal elections were generally free and open. Mauritania remains, in reality, a one-party state. The country continues to experience ethnic tensions between its black minority population and the dominant Maur (Arab-Berber) populace. |
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: $421 million
expenditures: $378 million, including capital expenditures of $154 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Pago Pago | Nouakchott |
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 | desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty |
Coastline | 116 km | 754 km |
Constitution | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 | 12 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Territory of American Samoa conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Mauritania
conventional short form: Mauritania local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah local short form: Muritaniyah |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | ouguiya (MRO) |
Death rate | 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.04 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $2.5 billion (2000) |
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 Joseph E. LEBARON
embassy: Rue Abdallaye (between Presidency building and Spanish Embassy), Nouakchott mailing address: BP 222, Nouakchott telephone: [222] 25-26-60, 25-26-63, 25-11-41, 25-11-45 FAX: [222] 25-25-92 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamedou Ould MICHEL
chancery: 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2623 |
Disputes - international | none | Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara have been dormant in recent years |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | $220 million (2000) |
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. | Half the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood, even though many of the nomads and subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. Mauritania has extensive deposits of iron ore, which account for nearly 40% of total exports. The decline in world demand for this ore, however, has led to cutbacks in production. The nation's coastal waters are among the richest fishing areas in the world, but overexploitation by foreigners threatens this key source of revenue. The country's first deepwater port opened near Nouakchott in 1986. In the past, drought and economic mismanagement resulted in a buildup of foreign debt. In February 2000, Mauritania qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and in December 2001 received strong support from donor and lending countries at a triennial Consultative Group review. In 2001, exploratory oil wells in tracts 80 km offshore indicated potential extraction at current world oil prices. A new investment code approved in December 2001 improved the opportunities for direct foreign investment. Ongoing negotiations with the IMF involve problems of economic reforms and fiscal discipline. Substantial oil production and exports probably will not begin until 2005. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (1999) | 146.3 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) | 157.4 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 85.9%
hydro: 14.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Lata 966 m |
lowest point: Sebkha de Ndrhamcha -3 m
highest point: Kediet Ijill 910 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 | overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Senegal, which is the only perennial river |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% | mixed Maur/black 40%, Maur 30%, black 30% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | ouguiyas per US dollar - ouguiyas per US dollar - 254.350 (December 2001), 238.923 (2000), 209.514 (1999), 188.476 (1998), 151.853 (1997), 137.222 (1996) |
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 Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984)
head of government: Prime Minister Sghair Ould M'BARECK (since 6 July 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 7 November 2003 (next to be held NA 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA reelected for a third term with 60.8% of the vote |
Exports | $500 million (1998) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% | iron ore, fish and fish products, gold |
Exports - partners | US 99.6% | Italy 14.3%, France 14%, Spain 11.7%, Germany 10.9%, Belgium 9.9%, Japan 7.1% (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 | green with a yellow five-pointed star above a yellow, horizontal crescent; the closed side of the crescent is down; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.891 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 25%
industry: 29% services: 46% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 3.3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 20 00 N, 12 00 W |
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 | most of the population concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country |
Highways | total:
350 km paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
total: 7,720 km
paved: 830 km unpaved: 6,890 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 30.2% (2000) |
Imports | $471 million (1996) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | US 62%, Japan 9%, NZ 7%, Australia 11%, Fiji 4%, other 7% | France 18.5%, Belgium 7.8%, China 7%, Spain 5.9%, Germany 5.2% (2002) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 28 November 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum |
Infant mortality rate | 10.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 73.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 76.62 deaths/1,000 live births female: 70.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 3% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC | ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 5 (2001) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 490 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; Court of Appeals; lower courts |
Labor force | 14,000 (1996) | 786,000 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990) | agriculture 50%, services 40%, industry 10% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 5,074 km
border countries: Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km, Western Sahara 1,561 km |
Land use | arable land:
5% permanent crops: 10% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 70% other: 15% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.48%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.51% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
Hassaniya Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof (official), French |
Legal system | NA | a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law |
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 |
bicameral legislature consists of the Senate or Majlis al-Shuyukh (56 seats, a part of the seats up for election every two years; members elected by municipal leaders to serve six-year terms) and the National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani (81 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 12 April 2002 (next to be held NA April 2004); National Assembly - last held 19 and 26 October 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRDS 54, RFD 1, UNDD 1; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - PRDS 79%, RDU 3.5%, UDP 3.5%, AC 5%, UFP 3.5%, FP 1.5%; seats by party - PRDS 64, UDP 3, RDU 3, AC 4, RFD 3, UFP 3, and FP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.32 years male: 70.89 years female: 80.02 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 51.93 years
male: 49.78 years female: 54.13 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: 41.7% male: 51.8% female: 31.9% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | none (2002) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $37.11 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.7% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 665,112 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 322,288 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Independence Day, 28 November (1960) |
Nationality | noun:
American Samoan(s) adjective: American Samoan |
noun: Mauritanian(s)
adjective: Mauritanian |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish |
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] | Action for Change or AC [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR]; Alliance for Justice and Democracy or AJD [Kebe ABDOULAYE]; Democratic and Social Republican Party or PRDS (ruling party) [President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA]; Mauritanian Party for Renewal and Concorde or PMRC [Molaye El Hassen Ould JIYID]; National Union for Democracy and Development or UNDD [Tidjane KOITA]; Party for Liberty, Equality and Justice or PLEJ [Daouda M'BAGNIGA]; Popular Front or FP [Ch'bih Ould CHEIKH MALAININE]; Popular Progress Alliance or APP [Mohamed El Hafed Ould ISMAEL]; Popular Social and Democratic Union or UPSD [Mohamed Mahmoud Ould MAH]; Progress Force Union or UFP [Mohamed Ould MAOULOUD]; Rally of Democratic Forces or RFD [Ahmed Ould DADDAH]; Rally for Democracy and Unity or RDU [Ahmed Ould SIDI BABA]; Union for Democracy and Progress or UDP [Naha Mint MOUKNASS]
note: the Action for Change party was banned in January 2002; parties legalized by constitution ratified 12 July 1991, however, politics continue to be tribally based |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Arab nationalists; Ba'athists; General Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CGTM [Abdallahi Ould MOHAMED, secretary general]; Independent Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CLTM [Samory Ould BEYE]; Islamists; Mauritanian Workers Union or UTM [Mohamed Ely Ould BRAHIM, secretary general] |
Population | 67,084 (July 2001 est.) | 2,912,584 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.42% (2001 est.) | 2.91% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u | Bogue, Kaedi, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Rosso |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 14, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 717 km
standard gauge: 717 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | Muslim 100% |
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: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 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: limited system of cable and open-wire lines, minor microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations (improvements being made)
domestic: mostly cable and open-wire lines; a recently completed domestic satellite telecommunications system links Nouakchott with regional capitals international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 2 Arabsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 13,000 (1997) | 26,500 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,550 (1997) | 35,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills |
Total fertility rate | 3.5 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.08 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (1993) | 21% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | none | note: ferry traffic on the Senegal River |