American Samoa (2005) | Guinea-Bissau (2006) | |
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 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 35.7% (male 10,705/female 9,956)
15-64 years: 61.3% (male 18,351/female 17,125) 65 years and over: 3% (male 664/female 1,080) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.4% (male 297,623/female 298,942)
15-64 years: 55.6% (male 384,559/female 417,811) 65 years and over: 3% (male 18,048/female 25,046) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
Airports | 3 (2004 est.) | 28 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2006) |
Area | total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly less than three times the size of 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. | Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable political and military upheaval. In 1980, a military coup established authoritarian dictator Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA as president. Despite setting a path to a market economy and multiparty system, VIEIRA's regime was characterized by the suppression of political opposition and the purging of political rivals. Several coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him. In 1994 VIEIRA was elected president in the country's first free elections. A military mutiny and resulting civil war in 1998 eventually led to VIEIRA's ouster in May 1999. In February 2000, a transitional government turned over power to opposition leader Kumba YALA, after he was elected president in transparent polling. In September 2003, after only three years in office, YALA was ousted by the military in a bloodless coup, and businessman Henrique ROSA was sworn in as interim president. In August 2005, former President VIEIRA was re-elected president in the second round of presidential polling. Since formally assuming office in October 2005, Vieira has pledged to pursue economic development and national reconciliation. |
Birth rate | 23.13 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 37.22 births/1,000 population (2006 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: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
Capital | Pago Pago | name: Bissau
geographic coordinates: 11 51 N, 15 35 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
Coastline | 116 km | 350 km |
Constitution | ratified 2 June 1966, effective 1 July 1967 | 16 May 1984; amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, NA 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau local short form: Guine-Bissau former: Portuguese Guinea |
Death rate | 3.33 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 16.53 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $941.5 million (2000 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) | the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta; the US Ambassador to Senegal is accredited to Guinea-Bissau |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); note - Guinea-Bissau does not have official representation in Washington, DC; Guinea-Bissau's representative in Washington is Henrique Adriano DA SILVA, P.O. Box 33813, Washington, DC 20033, telephone: (301)947-3958 |
Disputes - international | none | attempts to stem refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and political instability from a separatist movement in Senegal's Casamance region |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | $115.4 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. | One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2002. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, offshore oil prospecting has begun and could lead to much-needed revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. In December 2003, the World Bank, IMF, and UNDP were forced to step in to provide emergency budgetary support in the amount of $107 million for 2004, representing over 80% of the total national budget. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in continued low growth in 2002-05. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (2002) | 52.08 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 130 million kWh (2002) | 56 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata 966 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 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 | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | native Pacific islander 92.9%, Asian 2.9%, white 1.2%, mixed 2.8%, other 0.2% (2000 census) | African 99% (includes Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001)
note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro |
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: cabinet made up of 12 department directors 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 Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA (since 1 October 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Aristides GOMES (since 2 November 2005) cabinet: NA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 24 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature election results: Joao Bernardo VIEIRA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Joao Bernardo VIEIRA 52.4%, Malan Bacai SANHA 47.6% |
Exports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber |
Exports - partners | Samoa 39.8%, Australia 19.9%, Japan 15.1%, New Zealand 10.5% (2004) | India 72%, Nigeria 17.1%, Ecuador 4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
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 yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 62%
industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 2.3% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 12 00 N, 15 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 | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland |
Highways | total: 185 km
paved: 185 km unpaved: 0 km (2004) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
Imports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Japan 31.4%, New Zealand 27.9%, Germany 17.1%, Australia 8.9% (2004) | Italy 25.3%, Senegal 18.6%, Portugal 15.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.3% (2005) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.7% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
Infant mortality rate | total: 9.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.85 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 105.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 115.53 deaths/1,000 live births female: 94.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 250 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) |
Labor force | 14,000 (1996) | 480,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | tuna canneries 34%, government 33%, other 33% (1990) | agriculture: 82%
industry and services: 18% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
Land use | arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 15% other: 75% (2001) |
arable land: 8.31%
permanent crops: 6.92% other: 84.77% (2005) |
Languages | Samoan 90.6% (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English 2.9%, Tongan 2.4%, other Pacific islander 2.1%, other 2%
note: most people are bilingual (2000 census) |
Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
Legal system | NA | 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 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) 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 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA (Democrat) reelected as delegate |
unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years)
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - PAIGC 31.5%, PRS 24.8%, PUSD 16.1%, UE 4.1%, APU 1.3%, 13 other parties 22.2%; seats by party - PAIGC 45, PRS 35, PUSD 17, UE 2, APU 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.84 years
male: 72.27 years female: 79.62 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 46.87 years
male: 45.05 years female: 48.75 years (2006 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: 42.4% male: 58.1% female: 27.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $9.46 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.1% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
Nationality | noun: American Samoan(s)
adjective: American Samoan |
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
Net migration rate | -20.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Oreta M. TOGAFAU]; Republican Party [Tautai A. F. FAALEVAO] | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior]; Democratic Social Front or FDS; Electoral Union or UE; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Alberto NAMBEIA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Platform or UP (coalition formed by PCD, FDS, FLING, and RGB-MB); United Popular Alliance or APU; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Francisco Jose FADUL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 57,881 (July 2005 est.) | 1,442,029 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.11% (2005 est.) | 2.07% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Pago Pago | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2004) | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 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: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications international: country code - 245 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 15,000 (2001) | 10,600 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,377 (1999) | 67,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1; note - one cable TV station (2004) | NA (2005) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
Total fertility rate | 3.25 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 4.86 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (2000) | NA% |
Waterways | - | four largest rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2006) |