American Samoa (2004) | Canada (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three districts and two islands* at the second order; Eastern, Manu'a, Rose Island*, Swains Island*, Western | 10 provinces and 3 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Nunavut*, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory* |
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: 17.9% (male 3,016,032/female 2,869,244)
15-64 years: 68.9% (male 11,357,425/female 11,244,356) 65 years and over: 13.2% (male 1,842,496/female 2,475,488) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables; dairy products; forest products; fish |
Airports | 3 (2003 est.) | 1,326 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 503
over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 1,524 to 2,437 m: 150 914 to 1,523 m: 245 under 914 m: 75 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 823
1,524 to 2,437 m: 67 914 to 1,523 m: 347 under 914 m: 409 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total: 9,984,670 sq km
land: 9,093,507 sq km water: 891,163 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | somewhat larger than 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. | A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an unfortified border. Canada's paramount political problem is meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care and education services after a decade of budget cuts. The issue of reconciling Quebec's francophone heritage with the majority anglophone Canadian population has moved to the back burner in recent years; support for separatism abated after the Quebec government's referendum on independence failed to pass in October of 1995. |
Birth rate | 24.46 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 10.84 births/1,000 population (2005 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: $151 billion
expenditures: $144 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Pago Pago | Ottawa |
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 temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north |
Coastline | 116 km | 202,080 km |
Constitution | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 | made up of unwritten and written acts, customs, judicial decisions, and traditions; the written part of the constitution consists of the Constitution Act of 29 March 1867, which created a federation of four provinces, and the Constitution Act of 17 April 1982, which transferred formal control over the constitution from Britain to Canada, and added a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as procedures for constitutional amendments |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Canada |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 3.39 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 7.73 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | NA (2002 est.) | $570 billion (2004) |
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 David H. WILKINS
embassy: 490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8 mailing address: P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburgh, NY 13669-0430 telephone: [1] (613) 238-5335, 4470 FAX: [1] (613) 688-3082 consulate(s) general: Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Francis Joseph MCKENNA
chancery: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001 telephone: [1] (202) 682-1740 FAX: [1] (202) 682-7726 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, San Diego, and Seattle consulate(s): Anchorage, Houston, Philadelphia, Princeton, Raleigh, San Francisco, and San Jose |
Disputes - international | none | managed maritime boundary disputes with the US at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; working toward greater cooperation with US in monitoring people and commodities crossing the border; uncontested sovereignty dispute with Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $2 billion (2004) |
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. | As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, newly entered in the trillion dollar class, Canada closely resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and affluent living standards. Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which includes Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. Given its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant Canada enjoys solid economic prospects. Solid fiscal management has produced a long-term budget surplus which is substantially reducing the national debt, although public debate continues over how to manage the rising cost of the publicly funded healthcare system. Exports account for roughly a third of GDP. Canada enjoys a substantial trade surplus with its principal trading partner, the United States, which absorbs more than 85% of Canadian exports. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (2001) | 487.3 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 36.13 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 13 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 130 million kWh (2001) | 548.9 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata 966 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 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 | air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% | British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.301 (2004), 1.4011 (2003), 1.5693 (2002), 1.5488 (2001), 1.4851 (2000) |
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 Michaelle Jean (since 27 October 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Paul MARTIN (since 12 December 2003); Deputy Prime Minister Anne MCLELLAN (since 12 December 2003) cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister from among the members of his own party sitting in Parliament elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a five-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Commons is automatically designated prime minister by the governor general |
Exports | NA (2001) | 1.37 million bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% | motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum |
Exports - partners | Samoa 33.3%, Japan 22.2%, Australia 11.1%, Canada 11.1%, New Zealand 11.1% (2003) | US 85.2%, Japan 2.1%, UK 1.6% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | two vertical bands of red (hoist and fly side, half width), with white square between them; an 11-pointed red maple leaf is centered in the white square; the official colors of Canada are red and white |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 26.4% services: 71.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $31,500 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 2.4% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 60 00 N, 95 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 | second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km of the US border |
Heliports | - | 319 (2004) |
Highways | total: 350 km
paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
total: 1,408,800 km
paved: 497,306 km (including 16,900 km of expressways) unpaved: 911,494 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 23.8% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | - | illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market and export to US; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; transit point for heroin and cocaine entering the US market; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering because of its mature financial services sector |
Imports | NA (2001) | 987,000 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Australia 33.3%, New Zealand 33.3%, Mauritius 9%, Japan 5.1%, South Korea 5.1%, UK 5.1% (2003) | US 58.9%, China 6.8%, Mexico 3.8% (2004) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (independence recognized) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 2% (2004 est.) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products; wood and paper products; fish products, petroleum and natural gas |
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.) |
total: 4.75 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.21 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA (2003 est.) | 1.9% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU | ACCT, AfDB, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CDB, CE (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ESA (cooperating state), FAO, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 7,200 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) | Supreme Court of Canada (judges are appointed by the prime minister through the governor general); Federal Court of Canada; Federal Court of Appeal; Provincial Courts (these are named variously Court of Appeal, Court of Queens Bench, Superior Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Justice) |
Labor force | 14,000 (1996) | 17.37 million (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | tuna canneries 34%, government 33%, other 33% (1990) | agriculture 3%, manufacturing 15%, construction 5%, services 74%, other 3% (2000) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 8,893 km
border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska) |
Land use | arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 15% other: 75% (2001) |
arable land: 4.96%
permanent crops: 0.02% other: 95.02% (2001) |
Languages | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5% |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil law system based on French law prevails; 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 Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (members appointed by the governor general with the advice of the prime minister and serve until reaching 75 years of age; its normal limit is 105 senators) and the House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (308 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve for up to five-year terms)
elections: House of Commons - last held 28 June 2004 (next to be held by NA 2009) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 36.7%, Conservative Party 29.6%, New Democratic Party 15.7%, Bloc Quebecois 12.4%, Greens 4.3%, independents 0.4%, other 0.9%; seats by party - Liberal Party 134, Conservative Party 99, Bloc Quebecois 54, New Democratic Party 19, independent 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.62 years
male: 72.05 years female: 79.41 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 80.1 years
male: 76.73 years female: 83.63 years (2005 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: 97% (1986 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand | Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean on the east, North Pacific Ocean on the west, and the Arctic Ocean on the north, north of the conterminous US |
Map references | Oceania | North America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | none | total: 169 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,784,229 GRT/2,657,499 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 22, cargo 49, chemical tanker 6, combination ore/oil 1, container 1, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 65, petroleum tanker 13, roll on/roll off 6 foreign-owned: 6 (France 1, Germany 3, United States 2) registered in other countries: 112 (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Canadian Armed Forces: Land Forces Command, Maritime Command, Air Command, Canada Command (homeland security) to be operational in early 2006 (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $9,801.7 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.1% (2003) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Canada Day, 1 July (1867) |
Nationality | noun: American Samoan(s)
adjective: American Samoan |
noun: Canadian(s)
adjective: Canadian |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow east of the mountains |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -20.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude and refined oil 23,564 km; liquid petroleum gas 74,980 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] | Bloc Quebecois [Gilles DUCEPPE]; Conservative Party of Canada (a merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party) [Stephen HARPER]; Green Party [Jim HARRIS]; Liberal Party [Paul MARTIN]; New Democratic Party [Jack LAYTON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 57,902 (July 2004 est.) | 32,805,041 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.04% (2004 est.) | 0.9% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u | Fraser River Port, Goderich, Montreal, Port Cartier, Quebec, Saint John's (Newfoundland), Sept Isles, Vancouver |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 245, FM 582, shortwave 6 (2004) |
Railways | - | total: 48,683 km
standard gauge: 48,683 km 1.435-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | Roman Catholic 42.6%, Protestant 23.3% (including United Church 9.5%, Anglican 6.8%, Baptist 2.4%, Lutheran 2%), other Christian 4.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other and unspecified 11.8%, none 16% (2001 census) |
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: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 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: excellent service provided by modern technology
domestic: domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations international: country code - 1-xxx; 5 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) and 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 15,000 (2001) | 19,950,900 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,377 (1999) | 13,221,800 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2004) | 80 (plus many repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 3.41 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.61 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (2000) | 7% (2004) |
Waterways | - | 631 km
note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with United States (2003) |