Guam (2001) | Congo, Republic of the (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (territory of the US) | 10 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
35.07% (male 28,978; female 26,270) 15-64 years: 58.78% (male 48,704; female 43,902) 65 years and over: 6.15% (male 4,871; female 4,832) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.3% (male 885,039/female 873,753)
15-64 years: 50.8% (male 958,992/female 973,445) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 44,994/female 64,387) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products |
Airports | 5 (2000 est.) | 31 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 26
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 9 (2007) |
Area | total:
549 sq km land: 549 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 342,000 sq km
land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
Area - comparative | three times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Montana |
Background | Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific. | Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government took office in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, and ushered in a period of ethnic and political unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003, but the calm is tenuous and refugees continue to present a humanitarian crisis. The Republic of Congo was once one of Africa's largest petroleum producers, but with declining production it will need to hope for new offshore oil finds to sustain its oil earnings over the long term. |
Birth rate | 25.07 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 42.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$605.3 million expenditures: $654.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000) |
revenues: $3.639 billion
expenditures: $2.104 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Hagatna (Agana) | name: Brazzaville
geographic coordinates: 4 15 S, 15 17 E time difference: UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation | tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator |
Coastline | 125.5 km | 169 km |
Constitution | Organic Act of 1 August 1950 | approved by referendum 20 January 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Territory of Guam conventional short form: Guam |
conventional long form: Republic of the Congo
conventional short form: Congo (Brazzaville) local long form: Republique du Congo local short form: none former: Middle Congo, Congo/Brazzaville, Congo |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 4.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $5 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert WEISBERG
embassy: BDEAC Building, 4th Floor, Brazzaville mailing address: NA telephone: [242] 81-1480 FAX:: [243] 81-5324 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Serge MOMBOULI
chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860 |
Disputes - international | none | Congo hosts about 63,000 refugees from neighboring states, primarily from the Pool border area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area |
Economic aid - recipient | Guam receives large transfer payments from the US Federal Treasury ($143 million in 1997) into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam | $1.449 billion (2005) |
Economy - overview | The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry has recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists. Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing. | The economy is a mixture of subsistance agriculture, an industrial sector based largely on oil, and support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. The government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings through oil-backed loans that have contributed to a growing debt burden and chronic revenue shortfalls. Economic reform efforts have been undertaken with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. However, the reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, who returned to power when the war ended in October 1997, publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. Economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the republic's budget deficit. The current administration presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic challenges of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty. Recovery of oil prices has boosted the economy's GDP and near-term prospects. In March 2006, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) treatment for Congo. |
Electricity - consumption | 744 million kWh (1999) | 5.272 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 1.8 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 6 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 800 million kWh (1999) | 7.341 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m |
Environment - current issues | extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake, an exotic species | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Chamorro 47%, Filipino 25%, white 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other 18% | Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 483.6 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) |
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 Carl GUTIERREZ (since 8 November 1994) and Lieutenant Governor Madeleine BORDALLO (since 8 November 1994) cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with the consent of the Guam legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for a four-year term; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 November 1998 (next to be held NA November 2002) election results: Carl GUTIERREZ reelected governor; percent of vote - Carl GUTIERREZ (Democrat) 53.2%, Joseph ADA (Republican) 46.8% |
chief of state: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA);
head of government: Prime Minister Isidore MVOUBA (since 7 January 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO reelected president; percent of vote - Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO 89.4%, Joseph Kignoumbi Kia MBOUNGOU 2.7% |
Exports | $75.7 million (f.o.b., 1999) | 20,750 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products | petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds |
Exports - partners | US 25% | US 35.9%, China 31.4%, Taiwan 9.9%, South Korea 8% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all four sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical ellipse containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a palm tree with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US flag is the national flag | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red
note: uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: 15% (1993) services: NA% |
agriculture: 5.6%
industry: 57.1% services: 37.3% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 2.8% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 28 N, 144 47 E | 1 00 S, 15 00 E |
Geography - note | largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them |
Highways | total:
885 km paved: 675 km unpaved: 210 km note: there are also 685 km of roads classified non-public, including roads located on federal government installations |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $203 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | 11,410 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods | capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 23%, Japan 19% | France 23.5%, China 13.2%, US 7.6%, India 7%, Italy 5.6%, Belgium 5.3% (2006) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 15 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | -1% (2007 est.) |
Industries | US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles | petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes |
Infant mortality rate | 6.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 83.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 88.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 77.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0% (1999 est.) | 7% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 20 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 20 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president); Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by the governor) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 60,000 (2000 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | federal and territorial government 26%, private 74% (trade 24%, other services 40%, industry 10%) (2000 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 5,504 km
border countries: Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Gabon 1,903 km |
Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 11% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 18% other: 45% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 1.45%
permanent crops: 0.15% other: 98.4% (2005) |
Languages | English, Chamorro, Japanese | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread) |
Legal system | modeled on US; US federal laws apply | based on French civil law system and customary law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 8, Democratic Party 7 note: Guam elects one delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); results - Robert UNDERWOOD was reelected as delegate; percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 1 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (66 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the National Assembly (137 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 11 July 2002 (next to be held in 2008); National Assembly - last held 24 June and 5 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FDP 56, other 10; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PCT 46, MCDDI 11, UPADS 11, MAR 5, MSD 5, independents 37, other 22 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.94 years male: 75.66 years female: 80.55 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 53.29 years
male: 52.1 years female: 54.52 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.8% male: 89.6% female: 78.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | registered in other countries: 1 (Congo, Democratic Republic of the 1) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Congolese Armed Forces (Forces Armees Congolaises, FAC): Army, Navy, Congolese Air Force (Armee de l'Air Congolaise), Gendarmerie, Special Presidential Security Guard (GSSP) (2008) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.1% (2006) |
National holiday | Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521) | Independence Day, 15 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun:
Guamanian(s) adjective: Guamanian |
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
Natural hazards | frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (especially in August) | seasonal flooding |
Natural resources | fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan) | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, gold, magnesium, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -3.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 89 km; liquid petroleum gas 4 km; oil 758 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party (party of the Governor) [leader NA]; Republican Party (controls the legislature) [leader NA] | Action Movement for Renewal or MAR; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; Congolese Labour Party or PCT; Movement for Solidarity and Development or MSD; Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin MBERI]; Rally for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president]; Rally for Democracy and the Republic or RDR [Raymond Damasge NGOLLO]; Union for Democracy and Republic or UDR; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO]; many less important parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC; General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC; Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC; Union of Congolese Socialist Youth or UJSC |
Population | 157,557 (July 2001 est.) | 3,800,610
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 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.09% (2001 est.) | 2.639% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Apra Harbor | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Radios | 221,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 894 km
narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.) | Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.14 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.013 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.985 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.699 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
modern system, integrated with US facilities for direct dialing, including free use of 800 numbers domestic: modern digital system, including cellular mobile service and local access to the Internet international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to US and Japan (Guam is a trans-Pacific communications hub for MCI, Sprint, AT&T, IT&E, and GTE, linking the US and Asia) |
general assessment: services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out of order; fixed-line infrastructure inadequate providing less than 1 connection per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has surged reaching 16 per 100 persons
domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: country code - 242; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 84,134 (1998) | 15,900 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 55,000 (1998) | 490,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low-rising hills in center, mountains in south | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin |
Total fertility rate | 3.85 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.99 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | 1,125 km (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2006) |