Bahamas, The (2002) | American Samoa (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29% (male 43,964; female 43,250)
15-64 years: 64.7% (male 95,508; female 98,859) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 7,948; female 11,000) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.1% (male 13,445; female 12,688)
15-64 years: 56.7% (male 19,228; female 19,741) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 1,931; female 1,655) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables; poultry | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock |
Airports | 67 (2001) | 4 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 30
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 34 35
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 3 23 (2002) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly larger than Washington, DC |
Background | Arawak Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. | 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. |
Birth rate | 18.69 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 24.04 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $918.5 million
expenditures: $956.5 million, including capital expenditures of $106.7 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $121 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US grants)
expenditures: $127 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY96/97) |
Capital | Nassau | Pago Pago |
Climate | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream | 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 |
Coastline | 3,542 km | 116 km |
Constitution | 10 July 1973 | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 |
Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas |
conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
Currency | Bahamian dollar (BSD) | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 7.49 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 4.34 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $381.9 million (2000) | $NA |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador J. Richard BLANKENSHIP
embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; stateside address: American Embassy Nassau, P. O. Box 599009, Miami, FL 33159-9009; pouch address: Nassau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222 |
none (territory of the US) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Joshua SEARS
chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
none (territory of the US) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.8 million (1995) | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 |
Economy - overview | The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs almost half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences have led to solid GDP growth in recent years. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the US, the source of the majority of tourist visitors. | 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, a developing sector, has been held back by the recurring financial difficulties in East Asia. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.432 billion kWh (2000) | 120.9 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 1.54 billion kWh (2000) | 130 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata 966 m |
Environment - current issues | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate pegged to the dollar) | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Ivy DUMONT (since NA May 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002) and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
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 Tauese P. SUNIA (since 3 January 1997) and Lieutenant Governor Togiola TULAFONO (since 3 January 1997) 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 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Tauese P. SUNIA reelected governor; percent of vote - Tauese P. SUNIA (Democrat) 50.7%, Lealaifuaneva Peter REID (independent) 47.8% |
Exports | $535.8 million (2000) | $345 million (1999) |
Exports - commodities | fish and crawfish; rum, salt, chemicals; fruit and vegetables (1999) | canned tuna 93% |
Exports - partners | US 28.2%, France 16.5%, Germany 14.1%, UK 12.4% (2000) | US 99.6% |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 7% services: 90% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2001) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 24 15 N, 76 00 W | 14 20 S, 170 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited | 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 |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 2,693 km
paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1997) |
total: 350 km
paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center | - |
Imports | $1.88 billion (2000) | $452 million (1999) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals (1999) | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% |
Imports - partners | US 31.6%, South Korea 18.2%, Italy 17.4%, Japan 5.8% (2000) | US 62%, Australia 11%, Japan 9%, NZ 7%, Fiji 4%, other 7% |
Independence | 10 July 1973 (from UK) | none (territory of the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | 17.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 10.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2001 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 19 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) |
Labor force | 156,000 (1999) | 14,000 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 40%, other services 50%, industry 5%, agriculture 5% (1995 est.) | government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990) (1990) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.6%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 99% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 10% other: 85% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants) | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
Legal system | based on English common law | NA |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 50.8%, FNM 41.1%, independents 5.2%; seats by party - PLP 29, FNM 7, independents 4 |
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 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA 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 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA (Democrat) reelected as delegate for a sixth term |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.87 years
male: 66.32 years female: 73.49 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 75.53 years
male: 71.12 years female: 80.21 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.2% male: 98.5% female: 98% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 98% female: 97% (1980 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1,076 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 31,309,187 GRT/45,859,485 DWT
ships by type: bulk 159, cargo 246, chemical tanker 41, combination bulk 13, combination ore/oil 22, container 80, liquefied gas 28, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large-load carrier 8, passenger 88, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 178, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 120, roll on/roll off 49, short-sea passenger 16, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 22 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Angola 1, Argentina 1, Australia 4, Belgium 18, Bermuda 1, Canada 5, Chile 1, China 3, Croatia 2, Cuba 3, Cyprus 2, Denmark 27, Ecuador 1, Estonia 2, Finland 9, France 15, Germany 26, Greece 173, Hong Kong 6, India 2, Indonesia 2, Ireland 1, Israel 3, Italy 9, Jamaica 1, Japan 32, Kenya 3, Malaysia 10, Malta 2, Monaco 67, Netherlands 32, New Zealand 2, Norway 237, Panama 2, Philippines 3, Poland 13, Reunion 1, Russia 6, Saudi Arabia 9, Singapore 13, Slovenia 1, South Korea 2, Spain 7, Sweden 12, Switzerland 8, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 2, Turkey 2, Ukraine 2, United Arab Emirates 10, United Kingdom 107, United States 159, Uruguay 1 (2002 est.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only), Royal Bahamas Police Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20 million (FY95/96) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.7% (FY99) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) |
Nationality | noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian |
noun: American Samoan(s)
adjective: American Samoan |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage | typhoons common from December to March |
Natural resources | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land | pumice, pumicite |
Net migration rate | -2.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 3.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 300,529
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.) |
68,688 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.86% (2002 est.) | 2.31% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 215,000 (1997) | 57,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern facilities
domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: good telex, telegraph, facsimile and cellular telephone services; domestic satellite system with 1 Comsat earth station international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 96,000 (1997) | 13,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,152 (1997) | 2,550 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) |
Total fertility rate | 2.28 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.4 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.9% (2001 est.) | 6% (2000) |
Waterways | none | none |