American Samoa (2003) | Mexico (2001) | |
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 | 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas |
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:
33.32% (male 17,312,220; female 16,635,438) 15-64 years: 62.28% (male 30,888,015; female 32,558,359) 65 years and over: 4.4% (male 1,997,219; female 2,487,920) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products |
Airports | 3 (2002) | 1,848 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
238 over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 90 914 to 1,523 m: 82 under 914 m: 27 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
1,610 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 65 914 to 1,523 m: 470 under 914 m: 1,073 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total:
1,972,550 sq km land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
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. | The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. |
Birth rate | 23.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 22.77 births/1,000 population (2001 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:
$125 billion expenditures: $130 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Pago Pago | Mexico |
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 | varies from tropical to desert |
Coastline | 116 km | 9,330 km |
Constitution | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 | 5 February 1917 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form:
United Mexican States conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | Mexican peso (MXN) |
Death rate | 4.38 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 5.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $162 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 Jeffery DAVIDOW embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal mailing address: P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087 telephone: [52] (5) 209-9100 FAX: [52] (5) 208-3373, 511-9980 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo, Nogales |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Juan Jose BREMER Martino chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600 FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, San Jose, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | $1.166 billion (1995) |
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. | Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. The number of state-owned enterprises in Mexico has fallen from more than 1,000 in 1982 to fewer than 200 in 2000. The ZEDILLO administration privatized and expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas distribution, and airports. A strong export sector helped to cushion the economy's decline in 1995 and led the recovery in 1996-2000. Private consumption became the leading driver of growth in 2000, accompanied by increased employment and higher real wages. Mexico still needs to overcome many structural problems as it strives to modernize its economy and raise living standards. Income distribution is very unequal, with the top 20% of income earners accounting for 55% of income. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. Mexico completed free trade agreements with the EU, Israel, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala in 2000, and is pursuing additional trade agreements with countries in Latin America and Asia to lessen its dependence on the US. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (2001) | 170.754 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 11 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 1.047 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 130 million kWh (2001) | 182.492 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
74.12% hydro: 17.75% nuclear: 5.21% other: 2.92% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata 966 m |
lowest point:
Laguna Salada -10 m highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 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 | natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% | mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Mexican pesos per US dollar - 9.7701 (January 2001), 9.4556 (2000), 9.5604 (1999), 9.1360 (1998), 7.9185 (1997), 7.5994 (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 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 Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2006) election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $168 billion (f.o.b., 2000), includes in-bond industries (assembly plant operations) |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% | manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton |
Exports - partners | Indonesia 71.1%, Japan 7.7%, Samoa 7.7%, Australia 6.7% (2002) | US 88.6%, Canada 2%, Spain 0.9%, Germany 0.9%, Japan 0.6%, UK 0.6%, Netherlands Antilles 0.5%, Switzerland 0.3% Venezuela 0.3%, Chile 0.3% (2000 est.) |
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 vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $915 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture:
5% industry: 27% services: 68% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 7.1% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 23 00 N, 102 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 | strategic location on southern border of US |
Heliports | - | 2 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 350 km
paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
total:
323,977 km paved: 96,221 km (including 6,335 km of expressways) unpaved: 227,756 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
1.8% highest 10%: 36.6% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | - | illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2000 - 1,900 hectares; potential heroin production - 2.4 metric tons) and cannabis cultivation in 2000 - 3,900 hectares; government eradication efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low; major supplier of heroin and marijuana to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America; two major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; primary supplier of methamphetamine to the US market; growing producer and distributor of ecstasy |
Imports | NA (2001) | $176 billion (f.o.b., 2000), includes in-bond industries (assembly plant operations) |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% | metal-working machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts |
Imports - partners | Australia 41%, New Zealand 23%, South Korea 18% (2002) | US 73.6%, Japan 3.7%, Germany 3.3%, Canada 2.3%, South Korea 2%, China 1.6%, Taiwan 1.2%, Italy 1%, Brazil 1% (2000 est.) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 16 September 1810 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7.5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism |
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.) |
25.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 9% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC | APEC, BCIE, BIS, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 51 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 61,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) |
Labor force | 14,000 (1996) | 39.8 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990) | agriculture 20%, industry 24%, services 56% (1998) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
4,538 km border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km |
Land use | arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 10% other: 85% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
12% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 39% forests and woodland: 26% other: 22% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages |
Legal system | NA | mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; 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 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 |
bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 59, PAN 45, PRD 17, PVEM 5, PT 1, PCD 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 211, PAN 208, PRD 50, PVEM 16, PT 7, PCD 3, PSN 3, PAS 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.75 years
male: 71.35 years female: 80.41 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
71.76 years male: 68.73 years female: 74.93 years (2001 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: 89.6% male: 91.8% female: 87.4% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US |
Map references | Oceania | North America |
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 (2002 est.) | total:
43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 590,657 GRT/920,456 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 28, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 3 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | National Defense Secretariat (includes Army and Air Force), Navy Secretariat (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $4 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
26,703,300 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
19,394,184 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age
note: starting in 2000, females will be allowed to volunteer for military service |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
1,077,536 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) |
Nationality | noun: American Samoan(s)
adjective: American Samoan |
noun:
Mexican(s) adjective: Mexican |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber |
Net migration rate | 3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -2.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] | Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Dulce Maria SAURI Riancho]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge GONZALEZ Torres]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Center or PCD [Manuel CAMACHO Solis]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Amalia GARCIA Medina]; Party of the Nationalist Society or PSN [Gustavo RIOJAIS Santana]; Social Alliance Party or PAS [Jose Antonio CALDERON Cardoso]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church |
Population | 70,260 (July 2003 est.) | 101,879,171 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 27% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.22% (2003 est.) | 1.5% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u | Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, La Paz, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 865, FM about 500, shortwave 13 (1999) |
Radios | - | 31 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
31,048 km standard gauge: 30,958 km 1.435-m gauge (246 km electrified) narrow gauge: 90 km 0.914-m gauge (1998 est.) |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% |
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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) |
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:
low telephone density with about 11 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 has brightened prospects for development domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, and mobile cellular service international: satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 13,000 (1997) | 9.6 million (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,550 (1997) | 2.02 million (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert |
Total fertility rate | 3.3 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 2.62 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (2000) | urban - 2.2% (2000); plus considerable underemployment |
Waterways | none | 2,900 km
note: navigable rivers and coastal canals |