American Samoa (2004) | Haiti (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 | 9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est |
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:
40.31% (male 1,421,945; female 1,385,580) 15-64 years: 55.52% (male 1,869,323; female 1,997,246) 65 years and over: 4.17% (male 140,556; female 149,899) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood |
Airports | 3 (2003 est.) | 13 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total:
27,750 sq km land: 27,560 sq km water: 190 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. | One of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. Over three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in 1990 when Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE was elected president. Most of his term was usurped by a military takeover, but he was able to return to office in 1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency in 1996. ARISTIDE won a second term as president in 2000, and took office early the following year. |
Birth rate | 24.46 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 31.68 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:
$317 million expenditures: $362 million, including capital expenditures of $84 million (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Pago Pago | Port-au-Prince |
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; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds |
Coastline | 116 km | 1,771 km |
Constitution | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 | approved March 1987; suspended June 1988, with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule, October 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form:
Republic of Haiti conventional short form: Haiti local long form: Republique d'Haiti local short form: Haiti |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | gourde (HTG) |
Death rate | 3.39 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 15 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | NA (2002 est.) | $1 billion (1998 est.) |
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 Brian Dean CURRAN embassy: 5 Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince telephone: [509] 222-0354, 222-0269, 222-0200, 223-4776 FAX: [509] 23-1641 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Louis Harold JOSEPH chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | none | claims US-administered Navassa Island |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | $730.6 million (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 is a promising developing sector. | About 80% of the population lives in abject poverty. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically active work force. The country has experienced little job creation since the former President PREVAL took office in February 1996, although the informal economy is growing. Following legislative elections in May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors - including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti. This destabilized the Haitian currency, the gourde, and, combined with a 40% fuel price hike in September, caused widespread price increases. Prices appear to have leveled off in January 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (2001) | 625 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 130 million kWh (2001) | 672 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
52.83% hydro: 47.17% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata 966 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 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 | extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% | black 95%, mulatto and white 5% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | gourdes per US dollar - 23.761 (January 2001), 22.524 (2000), 17.965 (1999), 16.505 (1998), 17.311 (1997), 15.093 (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 Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Marie CHERESTAL (since 9 February 2001) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the Congress election results: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE elected president; percent of vote - Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 92% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $186 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% | manufactures, coffee, oils, mangoes |
Exports - partners | Samoa 33.3%, Japan 22.2%, Australia 11.1%, Canada 11.1%, New Zealand 11.1% (2003) | US 89%, EU 8% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 October - 30 September |
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 equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture:
32% industry: 20% services: 48% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 1.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 19 00 N, 72 25 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 | shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic) |
Highways | total: 350 km
paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
total:
4,160 km paved: 1,011 km unpaved: 3,149 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | NA (2001) | $1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% | food, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials |
Imports - partners | Australia 33.3%, New Zealand 33.3%, Mauritius 9%, Japan 5.1%, South Korea 5.1%, UK 5.1% (2003) | US 60%, EU 13% (1999) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 1 January 1804 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 0.6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts |
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.) |
95.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA (2003 est.) | 19% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU | ACCT, ACP, Caricom (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 750 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) | Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation |
Labor force | 14,000 (1996) | 3.6 million (1995)
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | tuna canneries 34%, government 33%, other 33% (1990) | agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
275 km border countries: Dominican Republic 275 km |
Land use | arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 15% other: 75% (2001) |
arable land:
20% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 18% forests and woodland: 5% other: 44% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
French (official), Creole (official) |
Legal system | NA | based on Roman civil law system; accepts 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 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 National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (27 seats; members serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (83 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held for two-thirds of seats 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 9 July boycotted by the opposition; about eight seats still disputed; election for remaining one-third held on 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 30 July boycotted by the opposition; one vacant seat rerun 26 November 2000 (next election NA 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 26, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 73, OPL 1, other minor parties and independents 9 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.62 years
male: 72.05 years female: 79.41 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
49.38 years male: 47.67 years female: 51.17 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: 45% male: 48% female: 42.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand | Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none | none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Haitian National Police (HNP)
note: the regular Haitian Army, Navy, and Air Force have been demobilized but still exist on paper until constitutionally abolished |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA; note - mainly for police and security activities |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,635,253 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
888,305 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
87,049 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Independence Day, 1 January (1804) |
Nationality | noun: American Samoan(s)
adjective: American Samoan |
noun:
Haitian(s) adjective: Haitian |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -20.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -2.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] | Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti or ALAH [Reynold GEORGES]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convergence (opposition coalition composed of ESPACE, OPL, and MOCHRENA) [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES, Evans PAUL, Luc MESADIEU, Victor BENOIT]; Democratic Consultation Group coalition or ESPACE [Evans PAUL, Victor Benoit] composed of the following parties: National Congress of Democratic Movements or KONAKOM, National Progressive Revolutionary Party or PANPRA, Generation 2004, and Haiti Can; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Marie-France CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEM [Clark PARENT]; Lavalas Family or FL [Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert DE RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Rene THEODORE]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; Movement for the Organization of the Country or MOP [Gesner COMEAU and Jean MOLIERE]; National Front for Change and Democracy or FNCD [Evans PAUL and Turneb DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Autonomous Haitian Workers or CATH; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church |
Population | 57,902 (July 2004 est.) | 6,964,549
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 | 80% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.04% (2004 est.) | 1.4% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u | Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999) |
Radios | - | 415,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
40 km (single track; privately owned industrial line) - closed in early 1990s narrow gauge: 40 km 0.760-m gauge |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
note: roughly one-half of the population also practices Voodoo |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 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:
domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 15,000 (2001) | 60,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,377 (1999) | 0 (1995) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2004) | 2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | mostly rough and mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 3.41 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.4 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (2000) | widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (1999) |
Waterways | - | NEGL; less than 100 km navigable |