American Samoa (2003) | Rwanda (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 | 12 prefectures (in French - prefectures, singular - prefecture; in Kinyarwanda - plural - NA, singular - prefegitura); Butare, Byumba, Cyangugu, Gikongoro, Gisenyi, Gitarama, Kibungo, Kibuye, Kigali Rurale, Kigali-ville, Umutara, Ruhengeri |
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:
42.4% (male 1,555,878; female 1,544,942) 15-64 years: 54.73% (male 1,989,501; female 2,013,012) 65 years and over: 2.87% (male 83,769; female 125,654) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock |
Airports | 3 (2002) | 8 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total:
26,338 sq km land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
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. | In 1959, three years before independence, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions culminating in April 1994 in the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and ended the killing in July 1994, but approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zaire, now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC). Since then most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda. Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 - the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output and to foster reconciliation. A series of massive population displacements, a nagging Hutu extremist insurgency, and Rwandan involvement in two wars over the past four years in the neighboring DROC continue to hinder Rwanda's efforts. |
Birth rate | 23.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 33.97 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:
$198 million expenditures: $411 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Pago Pago | Kigali |
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 | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible |
Coastline | 116 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 | on 5 May 1995, the Transitional National Assembly adopted as Fundamental Law the constitution of 18 June 1991, provisions of the 1993 Arusha peace accord, the July 1994 Declaration by the Rwanda Patriotic Front, and the November 1994 multiparty protocol of understanding |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form:
Rwandese Republic conventional short form: Rwanda local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda local short form: Rwanda former: Ruanda |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | Rwandan franc (RWF) |
Death rate | 4.38 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 21.13 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1.3 billion (1999) |
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 George M. STAPLES embassy: Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali telephone: [250] 756 01 through 03, 721 26, 771 47 FAX: [250] 721 28 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Richard SEZIBERA chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544 |
Disputes - international | none | Rwandan military forces are supporting the rebel forces in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | $591.5 million (1997); note - in summer 1998, Rwanda presented its policy objectives and development priorities to donor governments resulting in multiyear pledges in the amount of $250 million |
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. | Rwanda is a rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely populated country in Africa; is landlocked; and has few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary exports are coffee and tea. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and eroded the country's ability to attract private and external investment. However, Rwanda has made significant progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy. GDP has rebounded, and inflation has been curbed. In June 1998, Rwanda signed an Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) with the IMF. Rwanda has also embarked upon an ambitious privatization program with the World Bank. Continued growth in 2001 depends on the maintenance of international aid levels and the strengthening of world prices of coffee and tea. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (2001) | 191.8 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 1 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 70 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 130 million kWh (2001) | 132 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
3.03% hydro: 96.97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata 966 m |
lowest point:
Rusizi River 950 m highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 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 | deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% | Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Rwandan francs per US dollar - 432.24 (January 2001), 389.70 (2000), 333.94 (1999) 312.31 (1998), 301.53 (1997), 306.82 (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 Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME (FPR) (since 22 April 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Bernard MAKUZA (since 8 March 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: normally the president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term; special election for new president by deputies of the National Assembly and governmental ministers held 17 April 2000 (next national election to be held NA 2003); prime minister is appointed by the president election results: Paul KAGAME (FPR) elected president in a special parliamentary/ministerial ballot receiving 81 of a possible 86 votes |
Exports | NA (2001) | $68.4 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore |
Exports - partners | Indonesia 71.1%, Japan 7.7%, Samoa 7.7%, Australia 6.7% (2002) | Germany, Belgium, Pakistan, Italy, Kenya |
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 red (hoist side), yellow, and green with a large black letter R centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Guinea, which has a plain yellow band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture:
40% industry: 20% services: 40% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 2 00 S, 30 00 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 | landlocked; predominantly rural population |
Highways | total: 350 km
paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
total:
12,000 km paved: 1,000 km unpaved: 11,000 km (1997 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
4.2% highest 10%: 24.2% (1983-85) |
Imports | NA (2001) | $245.9 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material |
Imports - partners | Australia 41%, New Zealand 23%, South Korea 18% (2002) | Kenya, Tanzania, US, Benelux, France, India |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 8.7% (1998 est.) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes |
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.) |
118.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 4% (2000) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 40 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) | Supreme Court; communal courts; appeals courts |
Labor force | 14,000 (1996) | 3.6 million |
Labor force - by occupation | government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990) | agriculture 90% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
893 km border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km |
Land use | arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 10% other: 85% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
35% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 18% forests and woodland: 22% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers |
Legal system | NA | based on German and Belgian civil law systems and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; 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 Transitional National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale de Transition (a power-sharing body with 70 seats established on 12 December 1994 following a multiparty protocol of understanding; members were named by their parties, number of seats per party predetermined by the Arusha peace accord)
note: four additional seats, two for women and two for youth, added in 2001 elections: the last national legislative elections were held 16 December 1988 for the National Development Council (the legislature prior to the advent of the Transitional National Assembly); no elections have been held for the Transitional National Assembly as the distribution of seats was predetermined by the Arusha peace accord election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FPR 13, MDR 13, PSD 13, PL 13, PDC 6, RPA 6, PSR 2, PDI 2, UDPR 2; note - the distribution of seats was predetermined, four additional seats (two for women and two for youth) added in 2001 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.75 years
male: 71.35 years female: 80.41 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
38.99 years male: 38.35 years female: 39.65 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: 48% male: 52% female: 45% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $58 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.2% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,815,633 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
924,544 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun: American Samoan(s)
adjective: American Samoan |
noun:
Rwandan(s) adjective: Rwandan |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | 3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -1.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] | Centrist Democratic Party or PDC [Jean-Nipomuscene NAYINZIRA]; Democratic Socialist Party or PSD [Charles NTAKIRUTINKA, Vincent BIRUTA, Augusin IYAMUREMYE]; Democratic Popular Union of Rwanda or UDPR [Adrien RANGIRA]; Democratic Republican Movement or MDR [Celestin KABANDA, Emile NTWARABAKIGA, Christian MARARA]; Islamic Democratic Party or PDI [Andre BUMAYA]; Liberal Party or PL [Pie MUGABO, Enock KABERA, Prosper MUGIRANEZA]; Rwanda Patriotic Army or RPA [Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME, commander]; Rwanda Patriotic Front or FPR [Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME]; Rwandan Socialist Party or PSR [Medard RUTIJANWA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | IBUKA - association of genocide survivors |
Population | 70,260 (July 2003 est.) | 7,312,756
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 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 70% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.22% (2003 est.) | 1.16% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u | Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 601,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | Roman Catholic 52.7%, Protestant 24%, Adventist 10.4%, Muslim 1.9%, indigenous beliefs and other 6.5%, none 4.5% (1996) |
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: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal adult |
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:
telephone system primarily serves business and government domestic: the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the prefectures by microwave radio relay; the remainder of the network depends on wire and HF radiotelephone international: international connections employ microwave radio relay to neighboring countries and satellite communications to more distant countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) in Kigali (includes telex and telefax service) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 13,000 (1997) | 15,000 (1995) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,550 (1997) | NA
note: however, Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several prefecture capitals (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east |
Total fertility rate | 3.3 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 4.89 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (2000) | NA% |
Waterways | none | note:
Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft |