American Samoa (2004) | Australia (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 | 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 36.6% (male 10,983; female 10,208)
15-64 years: 60.3% (male 18,010; female 16,933) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 699; female 1,069) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years:
20.64% (male 2,045,892; female 1,948,949) 15-64 years: 66.86% (male 6,538,096; female 6,405,014) 65 years and over: 12.5% (male 1,059,107; female 1,360,536) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry |
Airports | 3 (2003 est.) | 411 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
271 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 118 914 to 1,523 m: 122 under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
140 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 112 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total:
7,686,850 sq km land: 7,617,930 sq km water: 68,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly smaller than the contiguous 48 states of the US |
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. | Australia became a commonwealth of the British Empire in 1901. It was able to take advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. A referendum to change Australia's status, from a commonwealth headed by the British monarch to an independent republic, was defeated in 1999. |
Birth rate | 24.46 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 12.86 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:
$94 billion expenditures: $103 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Pago Pago | Canberra |
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 | generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north |
Coastline | 116 km | 25,760 km |
Constitution | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 | 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form:
Commonwealth of Australia conventional short form: Australia |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 3.39 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 7.18 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | NA (2002 est.) | $220.6 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 Edward W. GNEHM, Jr. embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: APO AP 96549 telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600 FAX: [61] (02) 6214-5970 consulate(s) general: Sydney consulate(s): Melbourne and Perth |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael THAWLEY chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000 FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | territorial claim in Antarctica (Australian Antarctic Territory) |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.43 billion (FY97/98) |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | - |
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 is a promising developing sector. | Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP at the level of the four dominant West European economies. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Commodities account for 57% of the value of total exports, so that a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the economy. The government is pushing for increased exports of manufactured goods, but competition in international markets continues to be severe. While Australia has suffered from the low growth and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the early 1990s and during the recent financial problems in East Asia, the economy has expanded at a solid 4% annual growth pace in the last five years. Canberra's emphasis on reforms is a key factor behind the economy's resilience to the regional crisis and its stronger than expected growth rate. Growth in 2001 will depend on key international commodity prices, the extent of recovery in nearby Asian economies, and the strength of US and European markets. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (2001) | 178.306 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 130 million kWh (2001) | 191.727 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
89.93% hydro: 8.36% nuclear: 0% other: 1.71% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata 966 m |
lowest point:
Lake Eyre -15 m highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 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 | soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% | Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (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) 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 2 and 16 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Togiola TULAFONO elected governor; percent of vote: Togiola TULAFONO 55.7%, Afoa Moega LUTU 44.3% |
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Rev. Peter HOLLINGSWORTH (since 29 June 2001) head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister John ANDERSON (since NA) cabinet: Cabinet selected from among the members of Federal Parliament by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general for a three-year term note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party |
Exports | NA (2001) | $69 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% | coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment |
Exports - partners | Samoa 33.3%, Japan 22.2%, Australia 11.1%, Canada 11.1%, New Zealand 11.1% (2003) | Japan 19%, EU 14%, ASEAN 12%, US 9%, South Korea, NZ, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China (1999) |
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 | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $445.8 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture:
3% industry: 26% services: 71% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $23,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 4.7% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 27 00 S, 133 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 | world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer |
Highways | total: 350 km
paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
total:
913,000 km paved: 353,331 km (including 1,363 km of expressways) unpaved: 559,669 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
2% highest 10%: 25.4% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | - | Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate |
Imports | NA (2001) | $77 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% | machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Australia 33.3%, New Zealand 33.3%, Mauritius 9%, Japan 5.1%, South Korea 5.1%, UK 5.1% (2003) | EU 24%, US 22%, Japan 14%, ASEAN 13% (1999) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 1.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel |
Infant mortality rate | total: 9.48 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
4.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA (2003 est.) | 1.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU | ANZUS, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMEE, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 264 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 21,070 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) | High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general) |
Labor force | 14,000 (1996) | 9.5 million (December 1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | tuna canneries 34%, government 33%, other 33% (1990) | services 73%, industry 22%, agriculture 5% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 15% other: 75% (2001) |
arable land:
6% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 54% forests and woodland: 19% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
English, native languages |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law; 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 2 November 2004); Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held 2 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 2 November 2004); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA (Democrat) reelected as delegate |
bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats - 12 from each of the six states and two from each of the two territories; one-half of the members elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (148 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve three-year terms; no state can have fewer than five representatives)
elections: Senate - last held 3 October 1998 (next to be held by October 2001); House of Representatives - last held 3 October 1998 (next to be held by October 2001) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 35, Australian Labor Party 29, Australian Democratic Party 9, Green Party 1, One Nation Party 1, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 80, Australian Labor Party 67, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.62 years
male: 72.05 years female: 79.41 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
79.87 years male: 77.02 years female: 82.87 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: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (1980 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand | Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean |
Map references | Oceania | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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 | total:
54 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,558,371 GRT/2,038,776 DWT ships by type: bulk 26, cargo 3, chemical tanker 5, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 6 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $6.9 billion (FY98/99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.9% (FY98/99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
4,990,107 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
4,303,966 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
138,971 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) |
Nationality | noun: American Samoan(s)
adjective: American Samoan |
noun:
Australian(s) adjective: Australian |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | cyclones along the coast; severe droughts |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum |
Net migration rate | -20.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 4.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum products 500 km; natural gas 5,600 km |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] | Australian Democratic Party [Meg LEES]; Australian Labor Party [Kim BEAZLEY]; Green Party [Bob BROWN]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; National Party [John ANDERSON]; One Nation Party [Pauline HANSON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Australian Democratic Labor Party (anti-Communist Labor Party splinter group); Peace and Nuclear Disarmament Action (Nuclear Disarmament Party splinter group) |
Population | 57,902 (July 2004 est.) | 19,357,594 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.04% (2004 est.) | 0.99% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u | Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport (Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 25.5 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
33,819 km (2,540 km electrified) broad gauge: 3,719 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 15,422 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 14,506 km 1.067-m gauge dual gauge: 172 km NA gauges (1999) |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 24.3%, non-Christian 11% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: good telex, telegraph, facsimile and cellular telephone services; domestic satellite system with 1 Comsat earth station international: country code - 1-684; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment:
excellent domestic and international service domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones international: submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean regions) (1998) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 15,000 (2001) | 9.58 million (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,377 (1999) | 6.4 million (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2004) | 104 (1997) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 3.41 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.77 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (2000) | 6.4% (2000) |
Waterways | - | 8,368 km (mainly used by small, shallow-draft craft) |