American Samoa (2008) | Ghana (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 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 33.6% (male 10,049/female 9,345)
15-64 years: 63.5% (male 19,041/female 17,556) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 606/female 1,066) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.4% (male 4,116,600; female 4,063,654)
15-64 years: 56.1% (male 5,625,397; female 5,723,786) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 338,352; female 376,365) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber |
Airports | 3 (2007) | 12 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Oregon |
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. | Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. A long series of coups resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981 and the banning of political parties. A new constitution, restoring multiparty politics, was approved in 1992. Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS, head of state since 1981, won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. He was succeeded by John KUFUOR, who defeated former Vice President Atta MILLS in a free and fair election. |
Birth rate | 21.83 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 28.08 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $121 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US grants)
expenditures: $127 million (FY96/97) |
revenues: $1.603 billion
expenditures: $1.975 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 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) |
Accra |
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 | tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north |
Coastline | 116 km | 539 km |
Constitution | ratified 2 June 1966, effective 1 July 1967 | new constitution approved 28 April 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast |
Currency | - | cedi (GHC) |
Death rate | 3.24 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $5.96 billion (2001 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 Mary Carlin YATES
embassy: 6th and 10th Lanes, 798/1 Osu, Accra mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra telephone: [233] (21) 775-347, 775-348 FAX: [233] (21) 701-813 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Alan J. KYEREMATEN
chancery: 3512 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 686-4520 FAX: [1] (202) 686-4527 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island (Olohega) in its 2006 draft constitution | none |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | $6.9 billion (1999) (1999) |
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 commerce. 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. | Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and technical assistance. Gold, timber, and cocoa production are major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 36% of GDP and employs 60% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Excessively expansionary monetary and fiscal policy prior to the 2000 elections led to accelerating inflation in early 2001. A depressed cocoa market and continued weak growth in non-traditional exports led to disappointing growth in 2001. The late 2002 crisis in Cote d'Ivoire has boosted cocoa prices markedly. It remains to be seen if this portends a long-term shift in the cocoa market. Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program in 2002. |
Electricity - consumption | 167.4 million kWh (2005) | 5.484 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 422 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 400 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 180 million kWh (2005) | 5.92 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 30%
hydro: 70% 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: Mount Afadjato 880 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 | recurrent drought in north severely affects agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | native Pacific islander 92.9%, Asian 2.9%, white 1.2%, mixed 2.8%, other 0.2% (2000 census) | black African 98.5% (major tribes - Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%, Gurma 3%, Yoruba 1%), European and other 1.5% (1998) |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | cedis per US dollar - 7,195 (January 2002), 7,170.76 (2001), 5,455.06 (2000), 2,669.30 (1999), 2,314.15 (1998), 2,050.17 (1997) |
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 Constitution, 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 in November 2008) election results: Togiola TULAFONO elected governor; percent of vote - Togiola TULAFONO 55.7%, Afoa Moega LUTU 44.3% |
chief of state: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers; president nominates members subject to approval by Parliament elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 and 28 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004) election results: John Agyekum KUFUOR elected president in runoff election; percent of vote - John KUFUOR 56.4%, John Atta MILLS 43.6% |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | $1.94 billion f.o.b. (2000) |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% (2004 est.) | gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds |
Exports - partners | Indonesia 28.2%, India 22.3%, Australia 15.3%, Japan 11.2%, NZ 7.1% (2006) | Togo, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, US, France (1998) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Bolivia, which has a coat of arms centered in the yellow band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $39.4 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 36%
industry: 25% services: 39% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,980 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2003) | 3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 8 00 N, 2 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 | Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake |
Highways | - | total: 38,940 km
paved: 9,346 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 29,594 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 30% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; major transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and, to a lesser extent, South American cocaine destined for Europe and the US; widespread crime and corruption have made money laundering a problem, but the lack of a well-developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center |
Imports | 3,807 bbl/day (2004) | $2.83 billion f.o.b. (2000) |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% (2004 est.) | capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Australia 66%, Samoa 13.8%, NZ 10.8% (2006) | UK, Nigeria, US, Germany, Italy, Spain (1998) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 6 March 1957 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.8% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 8.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.47 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
55.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 25% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC, UPU | ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 12 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 110 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 17,630 (2005) | 9 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 34%
industry: 33% services: 33% (1990) |
agriculture 60%, industry 15%, services 25% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,094 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km |
Land use | arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 15% other: 75% (2005) |
arable land: 15.82%
permanent crops: 7.47% other: 76.71% (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) |
English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga) |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Fono or Legislative Assembly consists of the House of Representatives (21 seats; 20 members are elected by popular vote and 1 is an appointed, nonvoting delegate from Swains Island; to serve two-year terms) and the Senate (18 seats; members are elected from local chiefs to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held in November 2008); Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in 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 on 7 November 2006 (next to be held in November 2008); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA reelected as delegate |
unicameral Parliament (200 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 100, NDC 92, PNC 3, CPP 1, independents 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.25 years
male: 72.69 years female: 80.02 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 57.06 years
male: 55.66 years female: 58.51 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: 64.5% male: 75.9% female: 53.5% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,450 GRT/22,097 DWT
ships by type: petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 5 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Brazil 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Spain 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $35.2 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.7% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 5,045,355 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,799,292 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 213,237 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) |
Nationality | noun: American Samoan(s) (US nationals)
adjective: American Samoan |
noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -21.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
People - note | - | there are 9,500 Liberians, 2,000 Sierra Leoneans, and 1,000 Togolese refugees residing in Ghana (2002) |
Pipelines | - | 0 km |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Oreta M. TOGAFAU]; Republican Party [Tautai A. F. FAALEVAO] | Convention People's Party or CPP [Nii Noi DOWUONA, general secretary]; Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE [Owuraku AMOFA, chairman]; Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Dan LARTY]; National Convention Party or NCP [Sarpong KUMA-KUMA]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Dr. Huudu YAHAYA, general secretary]; New Patriotic Party or NPP [Samuel Arthur ODOI-SYKES]; People's Convention Party or PCP [P. K. DONKOH-AYIFI, acting chairman]; People's Heritage Party or PHP [Emmanuel Alexander ERSKINE]; People's National Convention or PNC [Edward MAHAMA]; Reform Party [Kyeretwie OPUKU, general secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 57,663 (July 2007 est.) | 20,244,154
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% | 31% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.262% (2007 est.) | 1.7% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Takoradi, Tema |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Radios | - | 12.5 million (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 953 km
narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge; undergoing major rehabilitation (2001 est.) |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | indigenous beliefs 21%, Muslim 16%, Christian 63% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.075 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.085 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.568 male(s)/female total population: 1.062 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 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: poor to fair system; Internet accessible; many rural communities not yet connected; expansion of services is underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has been installed international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay link to Panaftel system connects Ghana to its neighbors |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10,400 (2004) | 240,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,200 (2004) | 150,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2006) | 10 (2001) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area |
Total fertility rate | 3.07 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.69 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 29.8% (2005) | 20% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,293 km
note: Volta, Ankobra, and Tano Rivers provide 168 km of perennial navigation for launches and lighters; Lake Volta provides 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways |