Greenland (2006) | Samoa (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 districts (landsdele); Avannaa (Nordgronland), Tunu (Ostgronland), Kitaa (Vestgronland)
note: there are 18 municipalities in Greenland |
11 districts; A'ana, Aiga-i-le-Tai, Atua, Fa'asaleleaga, Gaga'emauga, Gagaifomauga, Palauli, Satupa'itea, Tuamasaga, Va'a-o-Fonoti, Vaisigano |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 24.5% (male 7,072/female 6,740)
15-64 years: 68.9% (male 20,904/female 17,919) 65 years and over: 6.6% (male 1,768/female 1,958) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.1% (male 41,551/female 40,085)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 63,320/female 57,277) 65 years and over: 5.6% (male 5,416/female 6,616) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | forage crops, garden and greenhouse vegetables; sheep, reindeer; fish | coconuts, bananas, taro, yams, coffee, cocoa |
Airports | 14 (2006) | 4 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2006) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 2,166,086 sq km
land: 2,166,086 sq km (410,449 sq km ice-free, 1,755,637 sq km ice-covered) (2000 est.) |
total: 2,944 sq km
land: 2,934 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
Background | Greenland, the world's largest island, is about 81% ice-capped. Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland; Danish colonization began in the 18th century, and Greenland was made an integral part of Denmark in 1953. It joined the European Community (now the EU) with Denmark in 1973 but withdrew in 1985 over a dispute over stringent fishing quotas. Greenland was granted self-government in 1979 by the Danish parliament. The law went into effect the following year. Denmark continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs. | New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997. |
Birth rate | 15.93 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 28.28 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $646 million
expenditures: $629 million; including capital expenditures of $85 million (1999) |
revenues: $171.3 million
expenditures: $78.1 million (FY04/05 est.) |
Capital | name: Nuuk (Godthab)
geographic coordinates: 64 11 N, 51 44 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: Greenland is divided into four time zones |
name: Apia
geographic coordinates: 13 50 S, 171 44 W time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters | tropical; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October) |
Coastline | 44,087 km | 403 km |
Constitution | 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) | 1 January 1962 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Greenland local long form: none local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat |
conventional long form: Independent State of Samoa
conventional short form: Samoa local long form: Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o Samoa local short form: Samoa former: Western Samoa |
Death rate | 7.84 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 5.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $25 million (1999) | $177 million (2004) |
Dependency status | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | chief of mission: none; US Ambassador to New Zealand is accredited to Samoa
embassy: Accident Compensation Board (ACB) Building, 5th Floor, Beach Road, Apia mailing address: P. O. Box 3430, Apia, 0815 telephone: [685] 21436/21452/21631/22696 FAX: [685] 22030 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | chief of mission: Ambassador Aliioaiga Feturi ELISAIA
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6196, 6197 FAX: [1] (212) 599-0797 |
Disputes - international | managed dispute between Canada and Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $380 million subsidy from Denmark (1997) | $43.95 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | The economy remains critically dependent on exports of fish and substantial support from the Danish Government, which supplies about half of government revenues. The public sector, including publicly-owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in the economy. Despite several interesting hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities, it will take a number of years before production can materialize. Tourism is the only sector offering any near-term potential, and even this is limited due to a short season and high costs. | The economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on development aid, family remittances from overseas, agriculture, and fishing. The country is vulnerable to devastating storms. Agriculture employs two-thirds of the labor force and furnishes 90% of exports, featuring coconut cream, coconut oil, and copra. The fish catch declined during the El Nino of 2002-03 but returned to normal by mid-2005. The manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. One factory in the Foreign Trade Zone employs 3,000 people to make automobile electrical harnesses for an assembly plant in Australia. Tourism is an expanding sector, accounting for 25% of GDP; about 100,000 tourists visited the islands in 2005. The Samoan Government has called for deregulation of the financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline, while at the same time protecting the environment. Observers point to the flexibility of the labor market as a basic strength for future economic advances. Foreign reserves are in a relatively healthy state, the external debt is stable, and inflation is low. |
Electricity - consumption | 225.3 million kWh (2003) | 97.65 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 242.2 million kWh (2003) | 105 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunnbjorn 3,700 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mauga Silisili (Savaii) 1,857 m |
Environment - current issues | protection of the arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting | soil erosion, deforestation, invasive species, overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Greenlander 88% (Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danish and others 12% (2000) | Samoan 92.6%, Euronesians 7% (persons of European and Polynesian blood), Europeans 0.4% |
Exchange rates | Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.3228 (2001) | tala per US dollar - 2.7594 (2006), 2.7103 (2005), 2.7807 (2004), 2.9732 (2003), 3.3763 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Soren MOLLER (since April 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Hans ENOKSEN (since 14 December 2002) cabinet: Home Rule Government is elected by the parliament (Landstinget) on the basis of the strength of parties elections: the monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; prime minister is elected by parliament (usually the leader of the majority party); election last held 3 December 2002 (next to be held December 2006) election results: Hans ENOKSEN elected prime minister note: government coalition - Siumut and Inuit Ataqatigiit |
chief of state: TUIATUA Tupua Tamasese Efi (since 20 June 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA (since 1996); Deputy Prime Minister MISA Telefoni (since 2001) cabinet: Cabinet consists of 12 members appointed by the chief of state on the prime minister's advice elections: chief of state is elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 15 June 2007 (next to be held in 2012); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the chief of state with the approval of the Legislative Assembly election results: TUIATUA Tupua Tamasese Efi unanimously elected by the Legislative Assembly |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | fish and fish products 94% (prawns 63%) | fish, coconut oil and cream, copra, taro, automotive parts, garments, beer |
Exports - partners | Denmark 62.5%, Japan 12.3%, China 5.3% (2005) | Australia 44%, American Samoa 29.9%, Taiwan 11.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | June 1 - May 31 |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white | red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side quadrant bearing five white five-pointed stars representing the Southern Cross constellation |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 11.4%
industry: 58.4% services: 30.2% (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.8% (2001 est.) | 5.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 72 00 N, 40 00 W | 13 35 S, 172 20 W |
Geography - note | dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast, but close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice cap | occupies an almost central position within Polynesia |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, petroleum products | machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Denmark 66.8%, Sweden 19.3%, Ireland 3.6% (2005) | NZ 21.5%, Fiji 14.8%, Singapore 13.2%, Australia 8.6%, Japan 8.6%, US 6.2%, Indonesia 5%, China 4.4% (2006) |
Independence | none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland) | 1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2.8% (2000) |
Industries | fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut); gold, niobium, tantalite, uranium, iron and diamond mining; handicrafts, hides and skins, small shipyards | food processing, building materials, auto parts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 15.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 25.89 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.6% (1999 est.) | 3.3% (2005) |
International organization participation | Arctic Council, NC, NIB, UPU | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IPU, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | NA | NA |
Judicial branch | High Court or Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen) | Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; District Court; Land and Titles Court |
Labor force | 24,500 (1999 est.) | 90,000 (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 21.13%
permanent crops: 24.3% other: 54.57% (2005) |
Languages | Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English | Samoan (Polynesian), English |
Legal system | Danish | based on English common law and local customs; judicial review of legislative acts with respect to fundamental rights of the citizen; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 15 November 2005 (next to be held by December 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Siumut 30.7%, Demokratiit 22.8%, Inuit Ataqatigiit 22.6%, Atassut Party 19.1%; Katusseqatigiit 4.1%, other 0.7%; seats by party - Siumut 10, Demokratiit 7, Inuit Ataqatigiit 7, Atassut 6, Katusseqatigiit 1 note: two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or Folketing on 8 February 2005 (next to be held February 2009); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Siumut 1, Inuit Ataqatigiit 1 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fono (49 seats, 47 elected by voters affiliated with traditional village-based electoral districts, 2 elected by independent, mostly non-Samoan or part-Samoan, voters who cannot, (or choose not to) establish a village affiliation; only chiefs (matai) may stand for election to the Fono from the 47 village-based electorates; members serve five-year terms)
elections: election last held 31 March 2006 (next election to be held not later than March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - HRPP 35, SDUP 10, independents 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.94 years
male: 66.36 years female: 73.6 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 71.3 years
male: 68.49 years female: 74.26 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2001 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.7% male: 99.6% female: 99.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Arctic Region | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,540 GRT/2,540 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger 2 registered in other countries: 2 (Cyprus 1, Denmark 1) (2006) |
total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 7,091 GRT/8,127 DWT
by type: cargo 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Cyprus 1) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Denmark | Samoa has no formal defense structure or regular armed forces; informal defense ties exist with NZ, which is required to consider any Samoan request for assistance under the 1962 Treaty of Friendship |
Military branches | - | no regular military forces; Samoa Police Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA |
National holiday | June 21 (longest day) | Independence Day Celebration, 1 June (1962); note - 1 January 1962 is the date of independence from the New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship; it is observed in June |
Nationality | noun: Greenlander(s)
adjective: Greenlandic |
noun: Samoan(s)
adjective: Samoan |
Natural hazards | continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island | occasional typhoons; active volcanism |
Natural resources | coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, molybdenum, gold, platinum, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas | hardwood forests, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -8.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -9.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Atassut Party (Solidarity, a conservative party favoring continuing close relations with Denmark) [Finn KARLSEN]; Demokratiit [Per BERTHELSEN]; Inuit Ataqatigiit or IA (Eskimo Brotherhood, a leftist party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule) [Josef MOTZFELDT]; Issituup (Polar Party) [Nicolai HEINRICH]; Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List, an independent right-of-center party with no official platform; Siumut (Forward Party, a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark) [Hans ENOKSEN] | Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP [Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA]; Samoa Christian Party or TCP [Tuala Tiresa MALIETOA]; Samoa Democratic United Party or SDUP [LE MAMEA Ropati]; Samoa Party or SP [Su'a Rimoni Ah CHONG]; Samoa Progressive Political Party or SPPP [Toeolesulusulu SIUEVA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 56,361 (July 2006 est.) | 214,265
note: prior estimates used official net migration data by sex, but a highly unusual pattern for 1993 lead to a significant imbalance in the sex ratios (more men and fewer women) and a seeming reduction in the female population; the revised total was calculated using a 1993 number that was an average of the 1992 and 1994 migration figures (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.03% (2006 est.) | 1.291% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran | Congregationalist 34.8%, Roman Catholic 19.6%, Methodist 15%, Latter-Day Saints 12.7%, Assembly of God 6.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.5%, Worship Centre 1.3%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.9%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.17 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.037 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.106 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.819 male(s)/female total population: 1.061 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate domestic and international service provided by satellite, cables and microwave radio relay; totally digitalized in 1995
domestic: microwave radio relay and satellite international: country code - 299; satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 2 Americom GE-2 (all Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,300 (2002) | 19,500 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 32,200 (2004) | 24,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 publicly-owned station, some local low-power stations, and three AFRTS (US Air Force) stations (1997) | 2 (2002) |
Terrain | flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast | two main islands (Savaii, Upolu) and several smaller islands and uninhabited islets; narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior |
Total fertility rate | 2.4 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 4.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% (2000 est.) | NA% |