American Samoa (2004) | Bangladesh (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 | 5 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi; note - there may be one additional division named Sylhet |
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:
35.04% (male 23,550,607; female 22,451,006) 15-64 years: 61.6% (male 41,432,123; female 39,434,633) 65 years and over: 3.36% (male 2,389,639; female 2,011,852) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry |
Airports | 3 (2003 est.) | 18 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
15 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total:
144,000 sq km land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Wisconsin |
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. | Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when Bengali East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan. About a third of this extremely poor country annually floods during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development. |
Birth rate | 24.46 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 25.3 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:
$4.9 billion expenditures: $6.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Pago Pago | Dhaka |
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; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 116 km | 580 km |
Constitution | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 | 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many times |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form:
People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh former: East Pakistan |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | taka (BDT) |
Death rate | 3.39 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | NA (2002 est.) | $17 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 Mary Ann PETERS embassy: Road 27, House 110, Banani, Dhaka mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 8824700 through 8824722 FAX: [880] (2) 8823744 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate A. Tariq KARIM chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
Disputes - international | none | a portion of the boundary with India is indefinite; exchange of 151 enclaves along border with India subject to ratification by Indian parliament; dispute with India over South Talpatty/New Moore Island |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | $1.575 billion (2000 est.) |
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. | Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains one of the world's poorest, most densely populated, and least developed nations. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single most important product. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Even so, Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA's Awami League government has made some headway improving the climate for foreign investors and liberalizing the capital markets. Progress on other economic reforms has been halting because of opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (2001) | 11.216 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) | 12.06 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
93.7% hydro: 6.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata 966 m |
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 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 | many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally-occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% | Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998) |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | taka per US dollar - 54.000 (January 2001), 52.142 (2000), 49.085 (1999), 46.906 (1998), 43.892 (1997), 41.794 (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:
President Shahabuddin AHMED (since 9 October 1996); note - the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at presidential direction - to supervise the elections head of government: Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA (since 13 July 1996) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 24 July 1996 (next to be held by NA October 2001); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Shahabuddin AHMED elected president without opposition; percent of National Parliament vote - NA% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $5.9 billion (2000) |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood |
Exports - partners | Samoa 33.3%, Japan 22.2%, Australia 11.1%, Canada 11.1%, New Zealand 11.1% (2003) | US 31.2%, Germany 9.95%, UK 8.06%, France 5.82%, Italy 4.42% (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 | green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center; the red sun of freedom represents the blood shed to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush countryside, and secondarily, the traditional color of Islam |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $203 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture:
30% industry: 18% services: 52% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,570 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 5.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 24 00 N, 90 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 | - |
Highways | total: 350 km
paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
total:
201,182 km paved: 19,112 km unpaved: 182,070 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
3.9% highest 10%: 28.6% (1995-96 est.) |
Illicit drugs | - | transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries |
Imports | NA (2001) | $8.1 billion (2000) |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, raw cotton, food, crude oil and petroleum products, cement |
Imports - partners | Australia 33.3%, New Zealand 33.3%, Mauritius 9%, Japan 5.1%, South Korea 5.1%, UK 5.1% (2003) | India 12.2%, Singapore 7.8%, Japan 6.7%, China 6.4%, US 5.3% (1999) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 6.1% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar |
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.) |
69.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA (2003 est.) | 5.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 10 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 31,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 14,000 (1996) | 64.1 million (1998)
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99 |
Labor force - by occupation | tuna canneries 34%, government 33%, other 33% (1990) | agriculture 63%, services 26%, industry 11% (FY95/96) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km |
Land use | arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 15% other: 75% (2001) |
arable land:
73% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 15% other: 5% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | bicameral Fono or Legislative Assembly consists of the House of Representatives (21 seats - 20 of which are elected by popular vote and 1 is an appointed, nonvoting delegate from Swains Island; members serve two-year terms) and the Senate (18 seats; members are elected from local chiefs and serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 November 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 |
unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad (330 seats; 300 elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies, 30 seats reserved for women; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 12 June 1996 (next to be held before 13 October 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - AL 33.87%, BNP 30.87%; seats by party - AL 178, BNP 113, JP 33, JI 3, other 3; note - the elections of 12 June 1996 brought to power an Awami League government for the first time in twenty-one years; held under a neutral, caretaker administration, the elections were characterized by a peaceful, orderly process and massive voter turnout, ending a bitter two-year impasse between the former BNP and opposition parties that had paralyzed National Parliament and led to widespread street violence |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.62 years
male: 72.05 years female: 79.41 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
60.54 years male: 60.74 years female: 60.33 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: 56% male: 63% female: 49% (2000 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India |
Map references | Oceania | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone:
18 NM continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none | total:
35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 268,566 GRT/375,110 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 25, container 3, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, paramilitary forces (includes Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Village Defense Parties, National Cadet Corps), Armed Police battalions |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $559 million (FY96/97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.8% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
36,005,553 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
21,362,279 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
Nationality | noun: American Samoan(s)
adjective: American Samoan |
noun:
Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal |
Net migration rate | -20.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -0.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | natural gas 1,250 km |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] | Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIAur Rahman]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Azizol HAQ]; Jamaat-E-Islami or JI [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 57,902 (July 2004 est.) | 131,269,860 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 35.6% (FY95/96 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.04% (2004 est.) | 1.59% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u | Chittagong, Dhaka, Mongla Port, Narayanganj (2001) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 12, FM 12, shortwave 2 (1999) |
Radios | - | 6.15 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
2,745 km broad gauge: 923 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2000) |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998) |
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:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.19 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 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: country code - 1-684; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment:
totally inadequate for a modern country domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 15,000 (2001) | 500,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,377 (1999) | 283,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2004) | 15 (1999) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 3.41 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.78 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (2000) | 35.2% (1996) |
Waterways | - | up to 8,046 km depending on season
note: includes 3,058 km main cargo routes |