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Compare China (2003) - Northern Mariana Islands (2003)

Compare China (2003) z Northern Mariana Islands (2003)

 China (2003)Northern Mariana Islands (2003)
 ChinaNorthern Mariana Islands
Administrative divisions 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities** (shi, singular and plural); Anhui, Beijing**, Chongqing**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang* (Tibet), Yunnan, Zhejiang; note - China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order; Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian
Age structure 0-14 years: 23.1% (male 155,473,656; female 141,737,406)


15-64 years: 69.5% (male 461,223,219; female 433,154,970)


65 years and over: 7.4% (male 44,954,643; female 50,431,574) (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 23.3% (male 9,483; female 9,168)


15-64 years: 74.8% (male 27,839; female 32,041)


65 years and over: 1.8% (male 748; female 727) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle
Airports 500 (2002) 6 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total: 351


over 3,047 m: 32


2,438 to 3,047 m: 108


1,524 to 2,437 m: 143


914 to 1,523 m: 29


under 914 m: 39 (2002)
total: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 149


over 3,047 m: 4


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 25


914 to 1,523 m: 48


under 914 m: 71 (2002)
total: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


under 914 m: 2 (2002)
Area total: 9,596,960 sq km


land: 9,326,410 sq km


water: 270,550 sq km
total: 477 sq km


land: 477 sq km


water: 0 sq km


note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian
Area - comparative slightly smaller than the US 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Background For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But in the 19th and early 20th centuries, China was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a dictatorship that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping gradually introduced market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision-making. Output quadrupled by 2000. Political controls remain tight while economic controls continue to be relaxed. Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978.
Birth rate 12.96 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 19.97 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $224.8 billion


expenditures: $267.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000)
revenues: $193 million


expenditures: $223 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY 01/02 est.)
Capital Beijing Saipan
Climate extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October
Coastline 14,500 km 1,482 km
Constitution most recent promulgation 4 December 1982 Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978
Country name conventional long form: People's Republic of China


conventional short form: China


local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo


local short form: Zhong Guo


abbreviation: PRC
conventional long form: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands


conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands


former: Mariana Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands)
Currency yuan (CNY)


note:: also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB)
US dollar (USD)
Death rate 6.74 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 2.44 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $149.4 billion (2002 est.) $NA
Dependency status - commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr.


embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing


mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002


telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3831


FAX: [86] (10) 6532-6929


consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenyang
-
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador YANG Jiechi


chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500


FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582


consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
-
Disputes - international involved in complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea", a mechanism to ease tension but which fell short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; much of the rugged, militarized boundary with India is in dispute, but the two sides have participated in more than 13 rounds of joint working group sessions on this issue; India objects to Pakistan ceding lands to China in 1965 boundary agreement that India believes are part of disputed Kashmir; China, as well as Taiwan, claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) islands; negotiations with Tajikistan resolved the longstanding boundary dispute; China and Kazakhstan have resolved their border dispute and are working to delimit their large open borders to control population migration, illegal activities, and trade; Kyrgyzstan's constitutional court rules that 1,270 sq km ceded to China in 2000 delimitation agreement were legally transferred; certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers are in uncontested dispute with North Korea and a section of boundary around Mount Paektu is indefinite - China objects to illegal migration of North Koreans into northern China; China continues to seek a mutually acceptable solution to the disputed alluvial islands with Russia at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers and a small island on the Argun river as part of the 2001 Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation; boundary agreements signed in 2002 with Tajikistan cedes 1,000 sq km of Pamir Mountain range to China in return for China's relinquishing claims to 28,000 sq km; demarcation of land boundary with Vietnam continues but maritime boundary and joint fishing zone agreement remains unratified; China occupies Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan none
Economic aid - recipient $NA extensive funding from US
Economy - overview In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish, Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a political framework of strict Communist control, the economic influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has been steadily increasing. The authorities switched to a system of household and village responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprises in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. In 2003, with its 1.3 billion people but a GDP of just $5,000 per capita, China stood as the second-largest economy in the world after the US (measured on a purchasing power parity basis). Agriculture and industry have posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment has helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. The leadership, however, often has experienced - as a result of its hybrid system - the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy and lassitude) and of capitalism (windfall gains and growing income disparities). China thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. The government has struggled to (a) collect revenues due from provinces, businesses, and individuals; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, many of which had been shielded from competition by subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 80 to 120 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to maintaining long-term growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. Beijing says it will intensify efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure - such as water control and power grids - and poverty relief and through rural tax reform aimed at eliminating arbitrary local levies on farmers. Accession to the World Trade Organization helps strengthen China's ability to maintain strong growth rates but at the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of strong political controls and growing market influences. China has benefited from a huge expansion in computer internet use. Foreign investment remains a strong element in China's remarkable economic growth. The economy benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with employment of 17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions.
Electricity - consumption 1.312 trillion kWh (2001) NA kWh
Electricity - exports 10.3 billion kWh (2001) 0 kWh
Electricity - imports 1.55 billion kWh (2001) 0 kWh
Electricity - production 1.42 trillion kWh (2001) NA kWh
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 80.2%


hydro: 18.5%


nuclear: 1.2%


other: 0.1% (2001)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m


highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m


highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 m
Environment - current issues air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development
Environment - international agreements party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
-
Ethnic groups Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1% Chamorro, Carolinians and other Micronesians, Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean
Exchange rates yuan per US dollar - 8.28 (2002), 8.28 (2001), 8.28 (2000), 8.28 (1999), 8.28 (1998) the US dollar is used
Executive branch chief of state: President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) and Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003)


head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Vice Premiers HUANG Ju (since 17 March 2003), WU Yi (17 March 2003), ZENG Peiyan (since 17 March 2003), and HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003)


cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC)


elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for five-year terms; elections last held 15-17 March 2003 (next to be held mid-March 2008); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress


election results: HU Jintao elected president by the Tenth National People's Congress with a total of 2,937 votes (4 delegates voted against him, 4 abstained, and 38 did not vote); ZENG Qinghong elected vice president by the Tenth National People's Congress with a total of 2,578 votes (177 delegates voted against him, 190 abstained, and 38 did not vote); 2 seats were vacant
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 Juan N. BABAUTA (since NA January 2002); Lieutenant Governor Diego T. BENEVENTE (since NA January 2002)


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 NA November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005)


election results: Juan N. BABAUTA elected governor in a four-way race; percent of vote - Juan N. BABAUTA (Republican Party) 49%
Exports NA (2001) $NA
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment; textiles and clothing, footwear, toys and sporting goods; mineral fuels garments
Exports - partners US 21.5%, Hong Kong 18%, Japan 14.9%, South Korea 4.8% (2002) US (2000)
Fiscal year calendar year 1 October - 30 September
Flag description red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath
GDP purchasing power parity - $5.989 trillion (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $900 million


note: $900 million $900 million GDP estimate includes US subsidy (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 15.2%


industry and construction: 51.2%


services: 33.6% (2001)
agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: NA%
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $4,700 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 8% (official data) (2002 est.) NA%
Geographic coordinates 35 00 N, 105 00 E 15 12 N, 145 45 E
Geography - note world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak; strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean
Heliports - 1 (2002)
Highways total: 1,402,698 km


paved: 314,204 km (with at least 16,314 km of expressways)


unpaved: 1,088,494 km (2000)
total: 362 km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km (1991)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 2.4%


highest 10%: 30.4% (1998)
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors and methamphetamine -
Imports NA (2001) $NA
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, plastics, iron and steel, chemicals food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products
Imports - partners Japan 18.1%, Taiwan 10.5%, South Korea 9.7%, US 9.2%, Germany 5.6% (2002) US, Japan (2000)
Independence 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty 221 BC; Qing or Ch'ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912; People's Republic established 1 October 1949) none (commonwealth in political union with the US)
Industrial production growth rate 12.6% (2002 est.) NA%
Industries iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts
Infant mortality rate total: 25.26 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 24.91 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 25.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
total: 5.52 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 4.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) -0.8% (2002 est.) 1.2% (1997 est.)
International organization participation APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CDB, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), OPCW, PCA, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, IFC, UNHCR, UNIDO, AfDB, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), SPC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 3 (2000) 1 (2001)
Irrigated land 525,800 sq km (1998 est.) NA sq km
Judicial branch Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and local courts); Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport courts) Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court
Labor force 744 million (2001 est.) 6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 50%, industry 22%, services 28% (2001 est.) NA
Land boundaries total: 22,147.34 km


border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km
0 km
Land use arable land: 13.31%


permanent crops: 1.2%


other: 85.49% (1998 est.)
arable land: 15.22%


permanent crops: 6.52%


other: 78.26% (1998 est.)
Languages Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry) English, Chamorro, Carolinian


note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home
Legal system a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation
Legislative branch unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,985 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held NA December 2002-NA February 2003 (next to be held late 2007-NA February 2008)


election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA
bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)


elections: Senate - last held 5 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2003); House of Representatives - last held 1 November 2003 (next to be held NA November 2005)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 4, Democratic Party 3, Reform Party 1, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Covenant Party 9, Republican Party 7, Democratic Party 1, independent 1


note: the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Pedro A. TENORIO)
Life expectancy at birth total population: 72.22 years


male: 70.33 years


female: 74.28 years (2003 est.)
total population: 76.16 years


male: 73.06 years


female: 79.44 years (2003 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 86%


male: 92.9%


female: 78.8% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 97%


male: 97%


female: 96% (1980 est.)
Location Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines
Map references Asia Oceania
Maritime claims contiguous zone: 24 NM


continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin


territorial sea: 12 NM


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine total: 1,817 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 18,047,962 GRT/27,035,740 DWT


ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 348, cargo 824, chemical tanker 28, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 2, container 150, liquefied gas 28, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 47, petroleum tanker 267, refrigerated cargo 26, roll on/roll off 21, short-sea passenger 42, specialized tanker 8, vehicle carrier 2


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Germany 1, Hong Kong 16, Japan 2, Panama 2, South Korea 1, Spain 1, Taiwan 9, Tanzania 1, Turkey 1 (2002 est.)
none (2002 est.)
Military - note - defense is the responsibility of the US
Military branches People's Liberation Army (PLA): comprises ground forces, Navy (including naval infantry and naval aviation), Air Force, and II Artillery Corps (strategic missile force), People's Armed Police Force (internal security troops, nominally a state security body but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA), militia -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $55.91 billion (FY02) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 4.3% (FY02) -
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 375,520,255 (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 206 million (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 10,973,761 (2003 est.) -
National holiday Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949) Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978)
Nationality noun: Chinese (singular and plural)


adjective: Chinese
noun: NA


adjective: NA
Natural hazards frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November)
Natural resources coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest) arable land, fish
Net migration rate -0.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) 16.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines gas 13,845 km; oil 15,143 km; refined products 3,280 km (2003) -
Political parties and leaders Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao, General Secretary of the Central Committee]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [Benigno R. FITIAL]
Political pressure groups and leaders no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong sect and the China Democracy Party as potential rivals NA
Population 1,286,975,468 (July 2003 est.) 80,006 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line 10% (2001 est.) NA%
Population growth rate 0.6% (2003 est.) 3.37% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang (2001) Saipan, Tinian
Radio broadcast stations AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998) AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways total: 71,600 km


standard gauge: 68,000 km 1.435-m gauge (14,600 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 3,600 km 1.000-m and 0.750-m gauge local industrial lines (2002)
0 km
Religions Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4%


note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.09 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female


total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female


total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections
Telephone system general assessment: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns


domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place


international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); several international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany (2000)
general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 135 million (2000) 21,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular 65 million (January 2001) 1,200 (1995)
Television broadcast stations 3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997) 1 (on Saipan and one station planned for Rota; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (1997)
Terrain mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic
Total fertility rate 1.7 children born/woman (2003 est.) 1.75 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2002 est.) NA%
Waterways 110,000 km (1999) none
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