American Samoa (2006) | Cameroon (2002) | |
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; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 34.7% (male 10,388/female 9,654)
15-64 years: 62.4% (male 18,698/female 17,350) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 633/female 1,071) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.1% (male 3,443,505; female 3,367,571)
15-64 years: 54.5% (male 4,431,524; female 4,392,155) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 253,242; female 296,751) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber |
Airports | 3 (2006) | 49 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 11
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
Area | total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total: 475,440 sq km
land: 469,440 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly larger than California |
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. | The former French Cameroon and part of British Cameroon merged in 1961 to form the present country. Cameroon has generally enjoyed stability, which has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum industry. Despite movement toward democratic reform, political power remains firmly in the hands of an ethnic oligarchy. |
Birth rate | 22.46 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 35.66 births/1,000 population (2002 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: $2.2 billion
expenditures: $2.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
Capital | name: Pago Pago
geographic coordinates: 14 16 S, 170 42 W time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Yaounde |
Climate | tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds; annual rainfall averages about 3 m; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October); little seasonal temperature variation | varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north |
Coastline | 116 km | 402 km |
Constitution | ratified 2 June 1966, effective 1 July 1967 | 20 May 1972 approved by referendum; 2 June 1972 formally adopted; revised January 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form: Republic of Cameroon
conventional short form: Cameroon former: French Cameroon |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 3.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 12.08 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $10.9 billion (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) | chief of mission: Ambassador George McDade STAPLES
embassy: Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde mailing address: P. O. Box 817, Yaounde; pouch: American Embassy, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520 telephone: [237] 223-05-12, 222-25-89, 222-17-94, 223-40-14 FAX: [237] 223-07-53 branch office(s): Douala |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Raymond EPOTE
chancery: 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-8790 FAX: [1] (202) 387-3826 |
Disputes - international | none | oral arguments on the land and maritime boundary disputes between Cameroon and Nigeria were presented to the ICJ; disputes center around Bakasi Peninsula, where armed clashes continue, Bouram Island on Lake Chad, and the maritime boundary and economic zone dispute in the Gulf of Guinea, which also involves Equatorial Guinea; Lake Chad Basin Commission urges signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, the site of continuing armed clashes |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | on 23 January 2001, the Paris Club agreed to reduce Cameroon's debt of $1.3 billion by $900 million; total debt relief now amounts to $1.26 billion |
Economy - overview | American Samoa has 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. | Because of its oil resources and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Still, it faces many of the serious problems facing other underdeveloped countries, such as a top-heavy civil service and a generally unfavorable climate for business enterprise. Since 1990, the government has embarked on various IMF and World Bank programs designed to spur business investment, increase efficiency in agriculture, improve trade, and recapitalize the nation's banks. In June 2000, the government completed an IMF-sponsored, three-year structural adjustment program; however, the IMF is pressing for more reforms, including increased budget transparency and privatization. International oil and cocoa prices have considerable impact on the economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (2003) | 3.369 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 130 million kWh (2003) | 3.623 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 3%
hydro: 97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata Mountain 964 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Fako (on Cameroon Mountain) 4,095 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 | water-borne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | native Pacific islander 92.9%, Asian 2.9%, white 1.2%, mixed 2.8%, other 0.2% (2000 census) | Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, other African 13%, non-African less than 1% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); 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: under the US Consitution, residents of unincorporated territories, such as American Samoa, do not vote in elections for US president and vice president; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); 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 Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)
head of government: Prime Minister Peter Mafany MUSONGE (since 19 September 1996) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from proposals submitted by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 12 October 1997 (next to be held NA October 2004); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Paul BIYA reelected; percent of vote - Paul BIYA 92.6%; note - supporters of the opposition candidates boycotted the elections, making a comparison of vote shares relatively meaningless |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% (2004 est.) | crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton |
Exports - partners | Indonesia 28.2%, India 22.3%, Australia 15.3%, Japan 11.2%, NZ 7.1% (2005) | Italy 24%, France 18%, Netherlands 10% (2000 est.) |
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 | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), red, and yellow with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $26.4 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 44%
industry: 20% services: 36% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% NA% | 4.9% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 6 00 N, 12 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 | sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa; throughout the country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano |
Highways | - | total: 34,300 km
paved: 4,288 km unpaved: 30,012 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $1.5 billion f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% (2004 est.) | machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food |
Imports - partners | Australia 66%, Samoa 13.8%, NZ 10.8% (2005) | France 29%, Germany 7%, US 6%, Japan 6% (2000 est.) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.2% (1999 est.) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | petroleum production and refining, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber |
Infant mortality rate | total: 9.07 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.66 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
68.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 2% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC, UPU | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, C, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA | 330 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 are appointed by the president); High Court of Justice (consists of nine judges and 6 substitute judges, elected by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 17,630 (2005) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 34%
industry: 33% services: 33% (1990) |
agriculture 70%, industry and commerce 13%, other 17% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,591 km
border countries: Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km, Republic of the Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km, Nigeria 1,690 km |
Land use | arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 15% other: 75% (2005) |
arable land: 12.81%
permanent crops: 2.58% other: 84.61% (1998 est.) |
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) |
24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official) |
Legal system | NA | based on French civil law system, with common law influence; 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 2006 (next to be held November 2008); 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 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA (Democrat) reelected as delegate |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (180 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - the president can either lengthen or shorten the term of the legislature)
elections: last held 23 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RDCP 133, SDF 21, UDC 5, other 21 note: the constitution calls for an upper chamber for the legislature, to be called a Senate, but it has yet to be established |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.05 years
male: 72.48 years female: 79.82 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 54.36 years
male: 53.51 years female: 55.23 years (2002 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: 63.4% male: 75% female: 52.1% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 50 NM |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy (includes naval infantry), Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Presidential Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $118.6 million (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.4% (FY98/99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 3,872,965 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,959,357 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 174,308 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Republic Day (National Day), 20 May (1972) |
Nationality | noun: American Samoan(s) (US nationals)
adjective: American Samoan |
noun: Cameroonian(s)
adjective: Cameroonian |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -21.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Oreta M. TOGAFAU]; Republican Party [Tautai A. F. FAALEVAO] | Cameroonian Democratic Union or UDC [Adamou NDAM NJOYA]; Democratic Rally of the Cameroon People or RDCP [Paul BIYA]; Movement for the Defense of the Republic or MDR [Dakole DAISSALA]; Movement for the Liberation and Development of Cameroon or MLDC [leader Marcel YONDO]; Movement for the Youth of Cameroon or MYC [Dieudonne TINA]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Maigari BELLO BOUBA, chairman]; Social Democratic Front or SDF [John FRU NDI]; Union of Cameroonian Populations or UPC [Augustin Frederic KODOCK] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Southern Cameroon National Council [Frederick Ebong ALOBWEDE]; Human Rights Defense Group [Albert MUKONG, president] |
Population | 57,794 (July 2006 est.) | 16,184,748
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 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 48% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.19% (2006 est.) | 2.36% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bonaberi, Douala, Garoua, Kribi, Tiko |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2006) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (2002) |
Radios | - | 2.27 million (1997) |
Railways | - | 1,008 km
narrow gauge: 1,008 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 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 - 684; satellite earth station - 1 (Intelsat-Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: available only to business and government
domestic: cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 15,000 (2001) | 95,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,377 (1999) | 300,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (Low Power TV); note - one cable TV station (2006) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north |
Total fertility rate | 3.16 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 4.72 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 29.8% (2005) | 30% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | - | 2,090 km (of decreasing importance) (2002) |