Guam (2002) | Fiji (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of the US) | 4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 35.1% (male 29,706; female 26,813)
15-64 years: 58.6% (male 49,457; female 44,697) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 5,070; female 5,053) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
32.92% (male 141,724; female 136,216) 15-64 years: 63.52% (male 268,411; female 267,871) 65 years and over: 3.56% (male 14,007; female 16,101) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef | sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish |
Airports | 5 (2001) | 27 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
3 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
24 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 19 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 549 sq km
land: 549 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
18,270 sq km land: 18,270 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | three times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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. | Fiji became independent in 1970, after nearly a century as a British colony. Democratic rule was interrupted by two military coups in 1987, caused by concern over a government perceived as dominated by the Indian community (descendants of contract laborers brought to the islands by the British in the 19th century). A 1990 constitution favored native Melanesian control of Fiji, but led to heavy Indian emigration; the population loss resulted in economic difficulties, but ensured that Melanesians became the majority. Amendments enacted in 1997 made the constitution more equitable. Free and peaceful elections in 1999 resulted in a government led by an Indo-Fijian, but a coup in May of 2000 ushered in a prolonged period of political turmoil. New elections are scheduled for August 2001. |
Birth rate | 24.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 23.33 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $420 million
expenditures: $431 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$610 million expenditures: $501 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Hagatna (Agana) | Suva |
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 marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 125.5 km | 1,129 km |
Constitution | Organic Act of 1 August 1950 | 10 October 1970 (suspended 1 October 1987); a new constitution was proposed on 23 September 1988 and promulgated on 25 July 1990; amended 25 July 1997 to allow nonethnic Fijians greater say in government and to make multiparty government mandatory; entered into force 28 July 1998; note - the May 1999 election was the first test of the amended constitution and introduced open voting - not racially prescribed - for the first time at the national level |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Guam
conventional short form: Guam local long form: Guahan |
conventional long form:
Republic of the Fiji Islands conventional short form: Fiji |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | Fijian dollar (FJD) |
Death rate | 4.24 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.75 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $193 million (1998) |
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 Osman M. SIDDIQUE embassy: 31 Loftus Street, Suva mailing address: P. O. Box 218, Suva telephone: [679] 314466 FAX: [679] 300081 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Salaseini Lelelvawalu VOSAILAGI chancery: Suite 240, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 337-8320 FAX: [1] (202) 337-1996 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
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 | $40.3 million (1995) |
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. | Fiji, endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, is one of the most developed of the Pacific island economies, though still with a large subsistence sector. Sugar exports and a growing tourist industry are the major sources of foreign exchange. Sugar processing makes up one-third of industrial activity. Roughly 300,000 tourists visit each year, including thousands of Americans following the start of regularly scheduled non-stop air service from Los Angeles. Fiji's growth slowed in 1997 because the sugar industry suffered from low world prices and rent disputes between farmers and landowners. Drought in 1998 further damaged the sugar industry, but its recovery in 1999 contributed to robust GDP growth. Long-term problems include low investment and uncertain property rights. The political turmoil in Fiji has had a severe impact with the economy shrinking by 8% in 1999 and over 7,000 people losing their jobs. The interim government's 2001 budget is an attempt to attract foreign investment and restart economic activity. The government's ability to manage the budget and fulfill predictions of 4% growth for 2001 will depend on a return to stability, a regaining of investor confidence, and the absence of international sanctions (which could cripple Fiji's sugar and textile industry). |
Electricity - consumption | 767.25 million kWh (2000) | 474.3 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 825 million kWh (2000) | 510 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
17.65% hydro: 82.35% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m |
Environment - current issues | extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake, an exotic, invasive species | deforestation; soil erosion |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Chamorro 37%, Filipino 26%, white 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other 27% | Fijian 51% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian admixture), Indian 44%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5% (1998 est.) |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Fijian dollars per US dollar - 2.1814 (January 2001), 2.1286 (2000), 1.9696 (1999), 1.9868 (1998), 1.4437 (1997), 1.4033 (1996) |
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 Felix P. P. CAMACHO (since 6 January 2003) and Lieutenant Governor Kaleo MOYLAN (since 6 January 2003) 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 term; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: Felix P. P. CAMACHO elected governor; percent of vote - Felix P. P. CAMACHO (Republican Party) 55.4%, Robert A. UNDERWOOD (Democratic Party) 44.6% |
note:
armed ethnic Fijian terrorists, led by George SPEIGHT stormed the Parliament building on 19 May 2000; ethnic Indo-Fijian Prime Minister Mahendra CHAUDHRY and his government were held hostage for 56 days; following the attempted coup, the Commander of the Fiji Military Forces, naval Commodore Frank BAINIMARAMA declared martial law and dissolved the government on 29 May 2000; an interim government, headed by interim Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE, was appointed to serve until a new constitution was initiated and subsequent elections held; in November 2000, Fiji's High Court upheld the 1997 constitution and ruled that Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA remained the president; Justice Anthony GATES concluded that MARA should recall the pre-May 19th Parliament and appoint a prime minister to form a new government; the Fiji Court of Appeals upheld GATES' decision on 1 March 2001; it ruled that the 1997 constitution had not been abrogated, Parliament had not been dissolved, only prorogued for six months, and that the presidency remained vacant since MARA's resignation took effect 15 December 2000; President Ratu Josefa ILOILO reinstated QARASE's interim government as the caretaker government and elections were scheduled for August 2001; approximately 23 fluid political parties are currently jockeying for power chief of state: President Ratu Josefa ILOILO (since NA 2000); Vice President Jope SENILOLI (since NA 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE (since NA 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Epeli NAILATIKAU (since NA 2000) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament and is responsible to Parliament; note -there is also a Presidential Council that advises the president on matters of national importance and a Great Council of Chiefs which consists of the highest ranking members of the traditional chiefly system elections: president elected by the Great Council of Chiefs for a five-year term; prime minister appointed by the president election results: Ratu Josefa ILOILO elected president by the Great Council of Chiefs; percent of vote - NA% |
Exports | $75.7 million f.o.b. (1999 est.) | $537 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products | sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish |
Exports - partners | US 25% | Australia 33.1%, US 14.8%, UK 13.8%, other Pacific island countries 8.8%, NZ 4.5%, Japan 4.5% (1999) |
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 | light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Fijian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield depicts a yellow lion above a white field quartered by the cross of Saint George featuring stalks of sugarcane, a palm tree, bananas, and a white dove |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.9 billion (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: 15% (1993) services: NA% (1993) |
agriculture:
16% industry: 30% services: 54% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,300 (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | -8% (1999 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 28 N, 144 47 E | 18 00 S, 175 00 E |
Geography - note | largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean | includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited |
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 |
total:
3,440 km paved: 1,692 km unpaved: 1,748 km (1996) |
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.) | $653 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods | manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 23%, Japan 19% | Australia 41.9%, US 14%, NZ 13.3%, Japan 4.8%, Taiwan 1.9% (1999) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 10 October 1970 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2.9% (1995) |
Industries | US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles | tourism, sugar, clothing, copra, gold, silver, lumber, small cottage industries |
Infant mortality rate | 6.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 14.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0% (1999 est.) | 0% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC | ACP, AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 20 (2000) | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 10 sq km (1993 est.) |
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 (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 60,000 (2000 est.) | 235,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | federal and territorial government 26%, private 74% (trade 24%, other services 40%, industry 10%) (2000 est.) | subsistence agriculture 67%, wage earners 18%, salary earners 15% (1987) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.91%
permanent crops: 10.91% other: 78.18% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
10% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 10% forests and woodland: 65% other: 11% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, Chamorro, Japanese | English (official), Fijian, Hindustani |
Legal system | modeled on US; US federal laws apply | based on British system |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 9, Republican Party 6 note: Guam elects one nonvoting delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held 5 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 (32 seats; 14 appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs, nine appointed by the prime minister, eight appointed by the leader of the opposition, and one appointed by the council of Rotuma) and the House of Representatives (71 seats; 23 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 19 reserved for ethnic Indians, three reserved for other ethnic groups, one reserved for the council of Rotuma constituency encompassing the whole of Fiji, and 25 open; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 11 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Fiji Labor Party 37, others 34 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.11 years
male: 75.81 years female: 80.72 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
68.25 years male: 65.83 years female: 70.78 years (2001 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: 91.6% male: 93.8% female: 89.3% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines | Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Oceania | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; rectilinear shelf claim added exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total:
6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 11,870 GRT/14,787 DWT ships by type: chemical tanker 2, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF; includes ground and naval forces) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $24 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.1% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
227,599 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
125,238 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
9,471 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521) | Independence Day, second Monday of October (1970) |
Nationality | noun: Guamanian(s)
adjective: Guamanian |
noun:
Fijian(s) adjective: Fijian |
Natural hazards | frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (June - December) | cyclonic storms can occur from November to January |
Natural resources | fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan) | timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -3.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party (party of Governor GUTIERREZ) [leader NA]; Republican Party (controls the legislature) [leader NA] | Fiji Labor Party or FLP [Mahendra CHAUDHRY]; Fijian Nationalist Federation Party or NFP [Singh RAKKA]; Fijian Political Party or SVT (primarily Fijian) [Maj. Gen. Sitiveni RABUKA]; National Federation Party or NFP (primarily Indian) [Jai Ram REDDY]; United General Party or UGP [David PICKERING] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 160,796 (July 2002 est.) | 844,330 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 23% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.99% (2002 est.) | 1.41% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Apra Harbor | Lambasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Savusavu, Suva |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 13, FM 40, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 221,000 (1997) | 500,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
597 km; note - belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation narrow gauge: 597 km 0.610-m gauge (1995) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.) | Christian 52% (Methodist 37%, Roman Catholic 9%), Hindu 38%, Muslim 8%, other 2%
note: Fijians are mainly Christian, Indians are Hindu, and there is a Muslim minority (1986) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.14 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections | 21 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:
modern local, interisland, and international (wire/radio integrated) public and special-purpose telephone, telegraph, and teleprinter facilities; regional radio communications center domestic: NA international: access to important cable links between US and Canada as well as between NZ and Australia; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 84,134 (1998) | 72,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 55,000 (1998) | 5,200 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1997) | NA |
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 hills in center, mountains in south | mostly mountains of volcanic origin |
Total fertility rate | 3.73 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.86 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (2000 est.) | 6% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | none | 203 km
note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges |