American Samoa (2004) | Jamaica (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 | 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland
note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation |
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: 27.5% (male 385,099/female 367,398)
15-64 years: 65.6% (male 897,953/female 893,509) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 83,632/female 104,241) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, vegetables, poultry, goats, milk, crustaceans, and mollusks |
Airports | 3 (2003 est.) | 35 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
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. | Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a drop off in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s. |
Birth rate | 24.46 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 16.56 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: $2.793 billion
expenditures: $3.157 billion, including capital expenditures of $236 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Pago Pago | Kingston |
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; hot, humid; temperate interior |
Coastline | 116 km | 1,022 km |
Constitution | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 | 6 August 1962 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 3.39 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 5.37 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | NA (2002 est.) | $5.964 billion (2004 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 Sue McCourt COBB
embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 935-6001 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Gordon SHIRLEY
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | $16 million (2003) |
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. | The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth; the economy rebounded moderately in 2003-04, with brisk tourist seasons. But the economy faces serious long-term problems: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a sizable merchandise trade deficit; large-scale unemployment; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy. The ratio of debt to GDP is close to 150%. Inflation, previously a bright spot, is expected to remain in the double digits. Uncertain economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. In 2004, the government faced the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem which is hampering economic growth. Attempts at deficit control were derailed by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, which required substantial government spending to repair the damage. Despite the hurricane, tourism looks set to enjoy solid growth for the foreseeable future. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (2001) | 5.849 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 130 million kWh (2001) | 6.289 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata 966 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 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 | heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002), 45.996 (2001), 42.986 (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 Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991)
head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% | alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels |
Exports - partners | Samoa 33.3%, Japan 22.2%, Australia 11.1%, Canada 11.1%, New Zealand 11.1% (2003) | US 17.4%, Canada 14.8%, France 13%, China 10.5%, UK 8.7%, Netherlands 7.5%, Norway 6%, Germany 5.9% (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 | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 6.1%
industry: 32.7% services: 61.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,100 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 1.9% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 18 15 N, 77 30 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 | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal |
Highways | total: 350 km
paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
total: 18,700 km
paved: 13,109 km unpaved: 5,591 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 30.3% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | - | major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% | food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials |
Imports - partners | Australia 33.3%, New Zealand 33.3%, Mauritius 9%, Japan 5.1%, South Korea 5.1%, UK 5.1% (2003) | US 38.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.2%, France 5.6%, Japan 4.7% (2004) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 6 August 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | -2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | tourism, bauxite/alumina, textiles, agro processing, wearing apparel, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications |
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: 12.36 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA (2003 est.) | 12.4% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 250 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 14,000 (1996) | 1.14 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | tuna canneries 34%, government 33%, other 33% (1990) | agriculture 20.1%, industry 16.6%, services 63.4% (2003) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 15% other: 75% (2001) |
arable land: 16.07%
permanent crops: 10.16% other: 73.77% (2001) |
Languages | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
English, patois English |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law; 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 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 consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held in October 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.62 years
male: 72.05 years female: 79.41 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 73.33 years
male: 71.63 years female: 75.12 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 has ever attended school
total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | none | total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 74,881 GRT/100,682 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 5, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 8 (Germany 2, Greece 5, UAE 1) (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $31.2 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.4% (2003) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Independence Day, 6 August (1962) |
Nationality | noun: American Samoan(s)
adjective: American Samoan |
noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | hurricanes (especially July to November) |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | bauxite, gypsum, limestone |
Net migration rate | -20.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -4.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] | Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) |
Population | 57,902 (July 2004 est.) | 2,731,832 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 19.7% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.04% (2004 est.) | 0.71% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u | Kingston, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Port Rhoades, Rocky Point |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 272 km
standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge note: 207 of these km belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation had been in common carrier service until 1992 but are no longer operational; 57 km of the remaining track is privately owned and used by ALCAN to transport bauxite (2003) |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7% |
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: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1 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: fully automatic domestic telephone network
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-876; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 15,000 (2001) | 444,400 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,377 (1999) | 1.4 million (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2004) | 7 (1997) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 3.41 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.95 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (2000) | 15% (2004 est.) |