Guam (2002) | Fiji (2006) | |
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: 31.1% (male 143,847/female 138,061)
15-64 years: 64.6% (male 293,072/female 292,312) 65 years and over: 4.3% (male 17,583/female 21,074) (2006 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) | 28 (2006) |
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 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 18 (2006) |
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). The coups and a 1990 constitution that cemented native Melanesian control of Fiji, led to heavy Indian emigration; the population loss resulted in economic difficulties, but ensured that Melanesians became the majority. A new constitution enacted in 1997 was more equitable. Free and peaceful elections in 1999 resulted in a government led by an Indo-Fijian, but a civilian-led coup in May 2000 ushered in a prolonged period of political turmoil. Parliamentary elections held in August 2001 provided Fiji with a democratically elected government led by Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE. |
Birth rate | 24.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 22.55 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $420 million
expenditures: $431 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $720.5 million
expenditures: $728.3 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Hagatna (Agana) | name: Suva (on Viti Levu)
geographic coordinates: 18 08 S, 178 25 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 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 marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 125.5 km | 1,129 km |
Constitution | Organic Act of 1 August 1950 | enacted on 25 July 1997 to encourage multiculturalism and make multiparty government mandatory; effective 28 July 1998 |
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 local long form: Republic of the Fiji Islands/Matanitu ko Viti local short form: Fiji/Viti |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 4.24 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.65 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $127 million (2004 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 Larry Miles DINGER
embassy: 31 Loftus Street, Suva mailing address: P. O. Box 218, Suva telephone: [679] 331-4466 FAX: [679] 330-0081 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Jesoni VITUSAGAVULU
chancery: 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 240, 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 | $63.9 million (2004) |
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, remittances from Fijians working abroad, and a growing tourist industry - with 300,000 to 400,000 tourists annually - are the major sources of foreign exchange. Fiji's sugar has special access to European Union markets, but will be harmed by the EU's decision to cut sugar subsidies. Sugar processing makes up one-third of industrial activity but is not efficient. Long-term problems include low investment, uncertain land ownership rights, and the government's ability to manage its budget. Yet, because of a tourist boom, short-run economic prospects are good, provided tensions do not again erupt between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians. Overseas remittances from Fijians working in Kuwait and Iraq have increased significantly. |
Electricity - consumption | 767.25 million kWh (2000) | 721.4 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 825 million kWh (2000) | 775.7 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
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, 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 - 1.691 (2005), 1.7331 (2004), 1.8958 (2003), 2.1869 (2002), 2.2766 (2001) |
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% |
chief of state: President Ratu Josefa ILOILOVATU Uluivuda (since 18 July 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE (since 10 September 2000) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament and is responsible to Parliament elections: president elected by the Great Council of Chiefs for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister appointed by the president; election last held 8 March 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Ratu Josefa ILOILOVATU Uluivuda elected president by the Great Council of Chiefs; percent of vote - NA |
Exports | $75.7 million f.o.b. (1999 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products | sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish, molasses, coconut oil |
Exports - partners | US 25% | US 19.7%, Australia 17%, UK 12.3%, Japan 5.4%, Samoa 4.1% (2005) |
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.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: 15% (1993) services: NA% (1993) |
agriculture: 8.9%
industry: 13.5% services: 77.6% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 1.7% (2005 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; 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 |
- |
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.) | NA bbl/day |
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% | Singapore 27.4%, Australia 23.6%, NZ 18.9%, Thailand 4.5% (2005) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 10 October 1970 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
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.) | total: 12.3 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0% (1999 est.) | 3% (2005) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC | ACP, AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 20 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 30 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 (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeal; High Court; Magistrates' Courts |
Labor force | 60,000 (2000 est.) | 137,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | federal and territorial government 26%, private 74% (trade 24%, other services 40%, industry 10%) (2000 est.) | agriculture: 70%
industry and services: 30% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.91%
permanent crops: 10.91% other: 78.18% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 10.95%
permanent crops: 4.65% other: 84.4% (2005) |
Languages | English, Chamorro, Japanese | English (official), Fijian (official), 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 president on the advice of the Great Council of Chiefs, 9 appointed by the president on the advice of the Prime Minister, 8 on the advice of the Opposition Leader, and 1 appointed on the advice of the council of Rotuma) and the House of Representatives (71 seats; 23 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 19 reserved for ethnic Indians, 3 reserved for other ethnic groups, 1 reserved for the council of Rotuma constituency encompassing the whole of Fiji, and 25 open seats; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 25 August through 1 September and 19 September 2001 (next to be held 6-13 May 2006) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - SDL 27.5%, FLP 26.5%, MV 4.2%, NLUP 1.3%, NFP 1.2%, independents 1.4%, UGP .3%; seats by party - SDL 32, FLP 27, MV 6, NLUP 2, NFP 1, independents 2, UGP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.11 years
male: 75.81 years female: 80.72 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 69.82 years
male: 67.32 years female: 72.45 years (2006 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: 93.7% male: 95.5% female: 91.9% (2003 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 straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; rectilinear shelf claim added |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 15,867 GRT/8,432 DWT
by type: passenger 3, passenger/cargo 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Australia 1) (2006) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF): Land Forces, Naval Forces (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $36 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.2% (FY02) |
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.) | -2.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party (party of Governor GUTIERREZ) [leader NA]; Republican Party (controls the legislature) [leader NA] | Conservative Alliance Party/Matanitu Vanua or CAMV [Ratu Josefa DIMURI]; Dodonu Ni Taukei Party or DNT [Fereti S. DEWA]; Fiji Democratic Party or FDP [Filipe BOLE] (a merger of the Christian Democrat Alliance or VLV [Poesci Waqalevu BUNE], Fijian Association Party or FAP, Fijian Political Party or SVT (primarily Fijian) [Sitiveni RABUKA], and New Labor Unity Party or NLUP [Ofa SWANN]); Fiji Labor Party or FLP [Mahendra CHAUDHRY]; General Voters Party or GVP (became part of United General Party); Girmit Heritage Party or GHP; Justice and Freedom Party or AIM; Lio 'On Famor Rotuma Party or LFR; National Federation Party or NFP (primarily Indian) [Pramond RAE]; Nationalist Vanua Takolavo Party or NVTLP [Saula TELAWA]; Party of National Unity or PANU [Ponipate LESAVUA]; Party of the Truth or POTT; United Fiji Party/Sogosogo Duavata ni Lewenivanua or SDL [Laisenia QARASE]; United General Party or UGP [Millis Mick BEDDOES] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 160,796 (July 2002 est.) | 905,949 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 23% (2001 est.) | 25.5% (1990-91) |
Population growth rate | 1.99% (2002 est.) | 1.4% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Apra Harbor | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 13, FM 40, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 221,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 597 km
narrow gauge: 597 km 0.600-m gauge note: belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation; used to haul sugarcane during harvest season (May to December) (2005) |
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 |
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: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 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: country code - 679; access to important cable links between US and Canada as well as between NZ and Australia; 2 satellite earth stations - 2 INMARSAT (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 84,134 (1998) | 102,000 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 55,000 (1998) | 142,200 (2004) |
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.) | 2.73 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (2000 est.) | 7.6% (1999) |
Waterways | none | 203 km
note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges (2004) |