American Samoa (2001) | Mauritius (2008) | |
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 districts and 3 dependencies*; Agalega Islands*, Black River, Cargados Carajos Shoals*, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues*, Savanne |
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: 23.5% (male 147,808/female 146,270)
15-64 years: 69.8% (male 436,043/female 437,441) 65 years and over: 6.7% (male 32,475/female 50,845) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish |
Airports | 4 (2000 est.) | 5 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
2 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total:
199 sq km land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total: 2,040 sq km
land: 2,030 sq km water: 10 sq km note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Although known to Arab and Malay sailors as early as the 10th century, Mauritius was first explored by the Portuguese in 1505; it was subsequently held by the Dutch, French, and British before independence was attained in 1968. A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Recent poor weather, declining sugar prices, and declining textile and apparel production, have slowed economic growth, leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community. |
Birth rate | 24.88 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.26 births/1,000 population (2007 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: $1.34 billion
expenditures: $1.642 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2007 est.) |
Capital | Pago Pago | name: Port Louis
geographic coordinates: 20 09 S, 57 29 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May) |
Coastline | 116 km | 177 km |
Constitution | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 | 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Territory of American Samoa conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius
conventional short form: Mauritius local long form: Republic of Mauritius local short form: Mauritius |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $2.583 billion (31 December 2007 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) | chief of mission: Ambassador Cesar CABRERA
embassy: 4th Floor, Rogers House, John Kennedy Street, Port Louis mailing address: international mail: P. O. Box 544, Port Louis; US mail: American Embassy, Port Louis, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2450 telephone: [230] 202-4400 FAX: [230] 208-9534 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Usha JEETAH
chancery: 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 441, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491, 1492 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0983 |
Disputes - international | none | Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius; claims French-administered Tromelin Island |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | $31.93 million (2005) |
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. | Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. The economy rests on sugar, tourism, textiles and apparel, and financial services, and is expanding into fish processing, information and communications technology, and hospitality and property development. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 15% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on creating vertical and horizontal clusters of development in these sectors. Mauritius has attracted more than 32,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India, South Africa, and China. Investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (1999) | 1.973 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 130 million kWh (1999) | 2.122 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Lata 966 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Piton 828 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, degradation of coral reefs |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, 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% | Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 31.798 (2007), 31.656 (2006), 29.496 (2005), 27.499 (2004), 27.902 (2003) |
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 Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 7 October 2003); Vice President Abdool Raouf BUNDHUN (since 25 February 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM (since 5 July 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 25 February 2002 (next to be held in 2007); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president, responsible to the National Assembly election results: Karl OFFMANN elected president and Raouf BUNDHUN elected vice president; percent of vote by the National Assembly - NA%; note - Karl OFFMANN stepped down on 30 September 2003 |
Exports | $500 million (1998) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% | clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses, fish |
Exports - partners | US 99.6% | UK 32.5%, France 15.1%, UAE 11.4%, US 8.3%, Madagascar 4.8% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 July - 30 June |
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 | four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 4.8%
industry: 25% services: 70.1% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5.5% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 20 17 S, 57 33 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 | the main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs |
Highways | total:
350 km paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | consumer and transshipment point for heroin from South Asia; small amounts of cannabis produced and consumed locally; significant offshore financial industry creates potential for money laundering, but corruption levels are relatively low and the government appears generally to be committed to regulating its banking industry |
Imports | $471 million (1996) | 21,380 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% | manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 62%, Japan 9%, NZ 7%, Australia 11%, Fiji 4%, other 7% | France 14.3%, India 13.6%, China 8.6%, South Africa 7.3% (2006) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 12 March 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.7% (2007 est.) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, mining, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 10.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 14.14 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.72 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 9.1% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 220 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 14,000 (1996) | 550,000 (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990) | agriculture and fishing 14%, construction and industry 36%, transportation and communication 7%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, finance 3%, other services 24% (1995) |
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: 49.02%
permanent crops: 2.94% other: 48.04% (2005) |
Languages | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4%, English (official; spoken by less than 1% of the population), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census) |
Legal system | NA | based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
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 (70 seats; 62 members elected by popular vote, 8 appointed by the election commission to give representation to various ethnic minorities; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 3 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AS 38, MSM/MMM 22, OPR 2; appointed seats - AS 4, MSM/MMM 2, OPR 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.32 years male: 70.89 years female: 80.02 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.88 years
male: 68.92 years female: 76.9 years (2007 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: 84.4% male: 88.4% female: 80.5% (2000 census) |
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 Madagascar |
Map references | Oceania | Political Map of the World |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 19,417 GRT/19,700 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, passenger/cargo 2, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 2 (India 2) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | no regular military forces; National Police Force, Special Mobile Force, National Coast Guard (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.3% (2006 est.) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Independence Day, 12 March (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
American Samoan(s) adjective: American Samoan |
noun: Mauritian(s)
adjective: Mauritian |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | arable land, fish |
Net migration rate | 3.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] | Alliance Sociale or AS [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM] (governing coalition - includes MLD, MMSM, MR, MSD, PMXD); Mauritian Labor Party or MLP [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM]; Mauritian Militant Movement or MMM [Paul BERENGER]; Mauritian Socialist Militant Movement or MMSM [Madan DOLLOO]; Militant Socialist Movement or MSM [Nando BODHA]; Mouvement Republicain or MR [Jayarama VALAYDEN]; Parti Mauricien Xavier Duval or PMXD [Xavier Luc DUVAL]; Rodrigues Movement or MR [Joseph (Nicholas) Von MALLY]; Rodrigues Peoples Organization or OPR [Serge CLAIR] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | various labor unions |
Population | 67,084 (July 2001 est.) | 1,250,882 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 10% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.42% (2001 est.) | 0.798% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 4, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | Hindu 48%, Roman Catholic 23.6%, Muslim 16.6%, other Christian 8.6%, other 2.5%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.4% (2000 census) |
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: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.011 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.997 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.639 male(s)/female total population: 0.971 male(s)/female (2007 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: small system with good service
domestic: monopoly over fixed-line services terminated in 2005; fixed-line teledensity roughly 30 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular services launched in 1989 with teledensity in 2006 exceeding 60 per 100 persons international: country code - 230; landing point for the SAFE submarine cable that provides links to Asia and South Africa where it connects to the SAT-3/WASC submarine cable that provides further links to parts of East Africa, and Europe; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries |
Telephones - main lines in use | 13,000 (1997) | 357,300 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,550 (1997) | 772,400 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 2 (plus several repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 3.5 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.94 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (1993) | 9.2% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |