American Samoa (2003) | Ghana (2006) | |
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 | 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.5% (male 13,557; female 12,818)
15-64 years: 57% (male 19,712; female 20,346) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 2,081; female 1,746) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.8% (male 4,395,744/female 4,288,720)
15-64 years: 57.7% (male 6,450,828/female 6,483,781) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 371,428/female 419,071) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber |
Airports | 3 (2002) | 12 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 7
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Area | total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Oregon |
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. | Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. A long series of coups resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981 and a ban on political parties. A new constitution, restoring multiparty politics, was approved in 1992. Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS, head of state since 1981, won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR, who defeated former Vice President Atta MILLS in a free and fair election, succeeded him. |
Birth rate | 23.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 30.52 births/1,000 population (2006 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: $3.216 billion
expenditures: $3.506 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Pago Pago | name: Accra
geographic coordinates: 5 33 N, 0 13 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 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; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north |
Coastline | 116 km | 539 km |
Constitution | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 | approved 28 April 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 4.38 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.72 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $6.999 billion (2005 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 Mary Carlin YATES
embassy: 6th and 10th Lanes, 798/1 Osu, Accra mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra telephone: [233] (21) 775-347, 775-348 FAX: [233] (21) 701-813 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Fritz Kwabena POKU
chancery: 1156 15th St. NW #905, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1379 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1430 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | $6.9 billion (1999) |
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 most 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. | Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and technical assistance. Gold, timber, and cocoa production are major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 34% of GDP and employs 60% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program in 2002, but was included in a G-8 debt relief program decided upon at the Gleneagles Summit in July 2005. Priorities under its current $38 million Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) include tighter monetary and fiscal policies, accelerated privatization, and improvement of social services. Receipts from the gold sector helped sustain GDP growth in 2005 along with record high prices for Ghana's largest cocoa crop to date. Inflation should ease but remains a major internal problem. Ghana also remains a candidate country to benefit from Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funding that could assist in transforming Ghana's agricultural export sector. A final decision on its MCC bid is expected in spring 2006. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (2001) | 5.081 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 400 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 500 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 130 million kWh (2001) | 5.356 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata 966 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 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 | recurrent drought in north severely affects agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% | African 98.5% (includes Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%, Gurma 3%, Yoruba 1%), European and other 1.5% (1998) |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | cedis per US dollar - 9,072.5 (2005), 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4 (2003), 7,932.7 (2002), 7,170.8 (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 Togiola TULAFONO (since 7 April 2003) following the death of Governor Tauese P. SUNIA on 26 March 2003; TULAFONO had been the Lieutenant Governor 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% note: Togiola TULAFONO became acting governor 26 March 2003 upon the death of Governor Tauese P. SUNIA |
chief of state: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers; president nominates members subject to approval by Parliament elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held December 2008) election results: John Agyekum KUFUOR reelected president in election; percent of vote - John KUFUOR 53.4%, John Atta MILLS 43.7% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% | gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds |
Exports - partners | Indonesia 71.1%, Japan 7.7%, Samoa 7.7%, Australia 6.7% (2002) | Netherlands 12.6%, UK 8.3%, US 6.7%, Belgium 5.8%, France 5.7%, Germany 4.5% (2005) |
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 equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Bolivia, which has a coat of arms centered in the yellow band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 36.6%
industry: 24.6% services: 38.7% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5.9% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 8 00 N, 2 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 | Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake |
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%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 30.1% (1999) |
Illicit drugs | - | illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; major transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and, to a lesser extent, South American cocaine destined for Europe and the US; widespread crime and money laundering problem, but the lack of a well-developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% | capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Australia 41%, New Zealand 23%, South Korea 18% (2002) | Nigeria 15.4%, China 12.7%, US 6.4%, UK 5.3%, Netherlands 4.1%, South Africa 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 6 March 1957 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.8% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building |
Infant mortality rate | total: 9.82 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 11.61 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 55.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 59.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 50.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 15.1% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 310 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) | 10.62 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990) | agriculture: 60%
industry: 15% services: 25% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,094 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km |
Land use | arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 10% other: 85% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 17.54%
permanent crops: 9.22% other: 73.24% (2005) |
Languages | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga) |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law and customary 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 2002 (next to be held NA November 2004); 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 - independents 18 note: American Samoa elects one nonvoting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2004); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA (Democrat) reelected as delegate |
unicameral Parliament (230 seats; note - increased from 200 seats in last election; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held December 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPP 128, NDC 92, other 10 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.75 years
male: 71.35 years female: 80.41 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 58.87 years
male: 58.07 years female: 59.69 years (2006 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: 74.8% male: 82.7% female: 67.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 6,308 GRT/9,418 DWT
by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Brazil 1) (2006) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Ghanaian Army, Ghanaian Navy, Ghanaian Air Force (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $83.65 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.8% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) |
Nationality | noun: American Samoan(s)
adjective: American Samoan |
noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone |
Net migration rate | 3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -0.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | oil 13 km; refined products 316 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] | Convention People's Party or CPP [Nii Noi DOWUONA, general secretary]; Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE [Owuraku AMOFA, chairman]; Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Dan LARTY]; National Convention Party or NCP [Sarpong KUMA-KUMA]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Dr. Huudu YAHAYA, general secretary]; New Patriotic Party or NPP [Samuel Arthur ODOI-SYKES]; People's Convention Party or PCP [P. K. DONKOH-AYIFI, acting chairman]; People's Heritage Party or PHP [Emmanuel Alexander ERSKINE]; People's National Convention or PNC [Edward MAHAMA]; Reform Party [Kyeretwie OPUKU, general secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 70,260 (July 2003 est.) | 22,409,572
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 31.4% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.22% (2003 est.) | 2.07% (2006 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 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 953 km
narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | Christian 63%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 21% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.19 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 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: poor to fair system; Internet accessible; many rural communities not yet connected; expansion of services is underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has been installed international: country code - 233; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay link to Panaftel system connects Ghana to its neighbors; fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 13,000 (1997) | 321,500 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,550 (1997) | 2.842 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 10 (2001) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area |
Total fertility rate | 3.3 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.99 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (2000) | 20% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | none | 1,293 km
note: 168 km for launches and lighters on Volta, Ankobra, and Tano rivers; 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways on Lake Volta (2005) |