American Samoa (2001) | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (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 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick |
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: 28.2% (male 16,755; female 16,163)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 39,308; female 37,149) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 3,215; female 4,222) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish |
Airports | 4 (2000 est.) | 6 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
2 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total:
199 sq km land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km)
land: 389 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | twice 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. | Disputed between France and the United Kingdom in the 18th century, Saint Vincent was ceded to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979. |
Birth rate | 24.88 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.16 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: $94.6 million
expenditures: $85.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Pago Pago | Kingstown |
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; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) |
Coastline | 116 km | 84 km |
Constitution | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 | 27 October 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Territory of American Samoa conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.08 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $167.2 million (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) | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Ellsworth I. A. JOHN
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | protests Venezuela's claim to give full effect to Aves Island, which creates a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | $47.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (1998) |
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. | Bananas and other agricultural products remain the staple of this lower-middle income country's economy. Although tourism and other services have been growing moderately in recent years, the government has been ineffective at introducing new industries. Unemployment remains high, and economic growth hinges upon seasonal variations in the agricultural and tourism sectors. Tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994, 1995, and 2002, and tourism in the Eastern Caribbean has suffered low arrivals following 11 September 2001. Saint Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector, but its restrictive secrecy laws have come under international review. As of June 2001, it remained on the Financial Action Task Force's list of noncooperative jurisdictions. Saint Vincent is also the largest producer of marijuana in the Eastern Caribbean and is increasingly being used as a transshipment point for illegal narcotics from South America. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (1999) | 86 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) | 92.48 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 69.3%
hydro: 30.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Lata 966 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Soufriere 1,234 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 | pollution of coastal waters and shorelines from discharges by pleasure yachts and other effluents; in some areas, pollution is severe enough to make swimming prohibitive |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% | black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999), 2.7 (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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Fredrick Nathaniel BALLANTYNE (since 2 September 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Ralph E. GONSALVES (since 29 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister |
Exports | $500 million (1998) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% | bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets |
Exports - partners | US 99.6% | France 25.2%, Greece 19.1%, Spain 16.4%, UK 9.5%, US 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 | three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $339 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 10%
industry: 26% services: 64% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | -0.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 13 15 N, 61 12 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 | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is comprised of 32 islands and cays |
Highways | total:
350 km paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
total: 1,040 km
paved: 320 km unpaved: 720 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; small-scale cannabis cultivation |
Imports | $471 million (1996) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels |
Imports - partners | US 62%, Japan 9%, NZ 7%, Australia 11%, Fiji 4%, other 7% | France 32.7%, US 11.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.4%, Singapore 10.1%, Spain 7.9%, Greece 4.3% (2002) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 27 October 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | -0.9% (1997 est.) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch |
Infant mortality rate | 10.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 15.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | -0.4% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 15 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) |
Labor force | 14,000 (1996) | 67,000 (1984 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990) | agriculture 26%, industry 17%, services 57% (1980 est.) |
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: 10.26%
permanent crops: 17.95% other: 71.79% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
English, French patois |
Legal system | NA | based on English common 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 |
unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives and 6 appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 28 March 2001 (next to be held by March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.32 years male: 70.89 years female: 80.02 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.08 years
male: 71.3 years female: 74.92 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 has ever attended school
total population: 96% male: 96% female: 96% (1970 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 769 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,365,887 GRT/9,665,937 DWT
ships by type: bulk 133, cargo 376, chemical tanker 21, combination bulk 7, container 58, liquefied gas 8, livestock carrier 4, multi-functional large-load carrier 2, passenger 5, petroleum tanker 43, refrigerated cargo 46, roll on/roll off 45, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 10, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Albania 1, Anguilla 1, Argentina 1, Australia 2, The Bahamas 1, Bangladesh 1, Barbados 2, Belgium 4, Bulgaria 14, Canada 1, Cayman Islands 1, China 135, Colombia 1, Croatia 12, Cyprus 6, Denmark 16, Egypt 7, Estonia 6, France 27, Germany 12, Greece 156, Guyana 7, Hong Kong 23, Iceland 1, India 11, Indonesia 3, Israel 2, Italy 19, Japan 1, Kenya 4, Latvia 5, Lebanon 9, Liberia 5, Lithuania 1, Malta 1, Man, Isle of 1, Marshall Islands 3, Mexico 1, Monaco 6, Netherlands 14, Netherlands Antilles 1, Nigeria 3, Norway 33, Pakistan 5, Panama 2, Poland 2, Portugal 2, Puerto Rico 2, Russia 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saudi Arabia 3, Singapore 4, Slovenia 7, South Korea 4, Spain 1, Sweden 6, Switzerland 10, Syria 2, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 15, Ukraine 8, UAE 45, UK 16, US 25, Vietnam 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA% |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Independence Day, 27 October (1979) |
Nationality | noun:
American Samoan(s) adjective: American Samoan |
noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s)
adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | hydropower, cropland |
Net migration rate | 3.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -7.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] | National Reform Party or NRP [Joel MIGUEL]; New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Ken BOYEA]; Progressive Labor Party or PLP [leader NA]; United People's Movement or UPM [Adrian SAUNDERS]; Unity Labor Party or ULP [Ralph GONSALVES] (formed by the coalition of Saint Vincent Labor Party or SVLP and the Movement for National Unity or MNU) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 67,084 (July 2001 est.) | 116,812 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.42% (2001 est.) | 0.34% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u | Kingstown |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Hindu Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 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: adequate system
domestic: islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to the other islands of the Grenadines international: VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to Barbados; new SHF radiotelephone to Grenada and to Saint Lucia; access to Intelsat earth station in Martinique through Saint Lucia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 13,000 (1997) | 20,500 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,550 (1997) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (plus three repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | volcanic, mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 3.5 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.95 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (1993) | 22% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |