Japan (2001) | Vanuatu (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi | 6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
14.64% (male 9,510,296; female 9,043,074) 15-64 years: 67.83% (male 43,202,513; female 42,790,187) 65 years and over: 17.53% (male 9,351,340; female 12,874,252) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 34.8% (male 35,499; female 33,992)
15-64 years: 61.8% (male 63,021; female 60,149) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 3,605; female 3,148) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish | copra, coconuts, cocoa, coffee, taro, yams, coconuts, fruits, vegetables; fish, beef |
Airports | 173 (2000 est.) | 30 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
142 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 36 1,524 to 2,437 m: 38 914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 30 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1524 to 2437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
31 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 27 (2000 est.) |
total: 27
914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 17 (2002) |
Area | total:
377,835 sq km land: 374,744 sq km water: 3,091 sq km note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto) |
total: 12,200 sq km
land: 12,200 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes more than 80 islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than California | slightly larger than Connecticut |
Background | While retaining its time-honored culture, Japan rapidly absorbed Western technology during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After its devastating defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become the second most powerful economy in the world and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth. | The British and French, who settled the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980. |
Birth rate | 10.04 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 24.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$441 billion expenditures: $718 billion, including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $84 billion (FY01/02 est.) |
revenues: $94.4 million
expenditures: $99.8 million, including capital expenditures of $30.4 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Tokyo | Port-Vila |
Climate | varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north | tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 29,751 km | 2,528 km |
Constitution | 3 May 1947 | 30 July 1980 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Japan |
conventional long form: Republic of Vanuatu
conventional short form: Vanuatu former: New Hebrides |
Currency | yen (JPY) | vatu (VUV) |
Death rate | 8.34 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.13 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $68.6 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate Howard H. BAKER, Jr. embassy: 10-5 Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 mailing address: Unit 45004, Box 205, APO AP 96337-5004 telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000 FAX: [81] (03) 3224-5856 consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya |
the US does not have an embassy in Vanuatu; the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Shunji YANAI chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Hagatna (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands) |
Vanuatu does not have an embassy in the US; it does, however, have a Permanent Mission to the UN |
Disputes - international | islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with South Korea; Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands) claimed by China and Taiwan | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by Vanuatu and France |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $9.1 billion (1999) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $45.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) have helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and third largest economy in the world after the US and China. One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The much smaller agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self-sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s largely because of the aftereffects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government efforts to revive economic growth have met little success and were further hampered in late 2000 by the slowing of the US and Asian economies. The crowding of habitable land area and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic strength, with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots". | The economy is based primarily on subsistence or small-scale agriculture, which provides a living for 65% of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with about 50,000 visitors in 1997, are other mainstays of the economy. Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits. A small light industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties. Economic development is hindered by dependence on relatively few commodity exports, vulnerability to natural disasters, and long distances from main markets and between constituent islands. A severe earthquake in November 1999 followed by a tsunami, caused extensive damage to the northern island of Pentecote and left thousands homeless. Another powerful earthquake in January 2002 caused extensive damage in the capital, Port-Vila, and surrounding areas, and also was followed by a tsunami. GDP growth rose less than 3% on average in the 1990s. In response to foreign concerns, the government has promised to tighten regulation of its offshore financial center. In mid-2002 the government stepped up efforts to boost tourism. Australia and New Zealand are the main suppliers of foreign aid. |
Electricity - consumption | 947.038 billion kWh (1999) | 40.42 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.018 trillion kWh (1999) | 43.46 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
58.91% hydro: 8.35% nuclear: 30.31% other: 2.43% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Hachiro-gata -4 m highest point: Fujiyama 3,776 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Tabwemasana 1,877 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere | a majority of the population does not have access to a potable and reliable supply of water; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, 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 |
party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Japanese 99.4%, Korean 0.6% (1999) | indigenous Melanesian 98%, French, Vietnamese, Chinese, other Pacific Islanders |
Exchange rates | yen per US dollar - 117.10 (January 2001), 107.77 (2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997), 108.78 (1996) | vatu per US dollar - 139.2 (2002), 145.31 (2001), 137.64 (2000), 129.08 (1999), 127.52 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI (since 24 April 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the Diet designates the prime minister; the constitution requires that the prime minister must command a parliamentary majority, therefore, following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister note: following the resignation of Prime Minister Yoshiro MORI, Junichiro KOIZUMI was elected as the new president of the majority Liberal Democratic Party, and soon thereafter designated by the Diet to become the next prime minister |
chief of state: President Father John BANI (since 25 March 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Edward Nipake NATAPEI (since 13 April 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Ham LINI (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected for a four-year term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils for a five-year term; election for president last held 25 March 1999 (next to be held NA 2004); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament from among its members; election for prime minister last held 2 August 2002 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Father John BANI elected president on second vote (24 March 1999) after the first (17 March 1999) did not have any candidate with the required two-thirds majority; percent of electoral college vote - NA% |
Exports | $450 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | motor vehicles, semiconductors, office machinery, chemicals | copra, beef, cocoa, timber, kava, coffee |
Exports - partners | US 30%, Taiwan 7%, South Korea 6.4%, China 6.2%, Hong Kong 5.6% (2000 est.) | India 32.5%, Thailand 22.8%, South Korea 10.5%, Indonesia 6.3%, Japan 4.9% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all separated by a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal Y (the two points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the triangle); centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two crossed namele leaves, all in yellow |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.15 trillion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $563 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
2% industry: 35% services: 63% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 26%
industry: 12% services: 62% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $24,900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.3% (2000 est.) | -0.3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 36 00 N, 138 00 E | 16 00 S, 167 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location in northeast Asia | a Y-shaped chain of four main islands and 80 smaller islands; several of the islands have active volcanoes |
Heliports | 16 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
1,152,207 km paved: 863,003 km (including 6,114 km of expressways) unpaved: 289,204 km (1997 est.) |
total: 1,070 km
paved: 256 km unpaved: 814 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.8% highest 10%: 21.7% (1993) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $355 billion (c.i.f., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, office machinery | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, fuels |
Imports - partners | US 19%, China 14.5%, South Korea 5.4%, Taiwan 4.8%, Indonesia 4.3%, Australia 3.9% (2000 est.) | Australia 22.1%, Japan 19.2%, New Zealand 10.1%, Singapore 8.1%, Fiji 6.6%, Taiwan 5%, India 5% (2002) |
Independence | 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu) | 30 July 1980 (from France and UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.3% (2000 est.) | 1% (1997 est.) |
Industries | among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals; textiles, processed foods | food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning |
Infant mortality rate | 3.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 58.11 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 60.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 55.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.7% (2000 est.) | 3.2% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | ACCT, ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, NAM, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 73 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 27,820 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet) | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, three other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission) |
Labor force | 67.7 million (December 2000) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | services 65%, industry 30%, agriculture 5% | agriculture 65%, services 30%, industry 5% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 2% forests and woodland: 67% other: 19% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.46%
permanent crops: 7.38% other: 90.16% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Japanese | three official languages: English, French, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama), plus more than 100 local languages |
Legal system | modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | unified system being created from former dual French and British systems |
Legislative branch | bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (252 seats; one-half of the members elected every three years - 76 seats of which are elected from the 47 multi-seat prefectural districts and 50 of which are elected from a single nationwide list; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - 180 of which are elected from 11 regional blocks on a proportional representation basis and 300 of which are elected from 300 single-seat districts; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Councillors - last held 12 July 1998 (next to be held NA July 2001); House of Representatives - last held 25 June 2000 (next to be held by June 2004) election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDP 102, DPJ 47, JCP 23, Komeito 22, SDP 13, Liberal Party 12, independents 26, others 7; note - the distribution of seats as of February 2001 is as follows - LDP 112, DPJ 58, Komeito 24, JCP 23, SDP 13, Liberal Party 5, independents 7, others 10; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDP 233, DPJ 127, Komeito 31, Liberal Party 22, JCP 20, SDP 19, other 28; note - the distribution of seats as of February 2001 is as follows - LDP 239, DPJ 129, Komeito 31, Liberal Party 22, JCP 20, SDP 19, other 20 |
unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2 May 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 15, VP 14, VRP 3, MPP 2, other and independent 18; note - political party associations are fluid note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of custom and land |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
80.8 years male: 77.62 years female: 84.15 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 61.71 years
male: 60.28 years female: 63.21 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1970 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 53% male: 57% female: 48% (1979 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia |
Map references | Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM; between 3 NM and 12 NM in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
630 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 11,691,174 GRT/15,484,848 DWT ships by type: bulk 137, cargo 51, chemical tanker 15, combination bulk 22, combination ore/oil 3, container 22, liquefied gas 49, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 194, refrigerated cargo 15, roll on/roll off 49, short-sea passenger 6, vehicle carrier 56 (2000 est.) |
total: 52 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,181,463 GRT/1,552,813 DWT
ships by type: bulk 26, cargo 5, combination bulk 3, container 3, liquefied gas 2, multi-function large-load carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 7, vehicle carrier 5 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 3, Canada 2, China 1, Japan 25, Monaco 4, Netherlands 1, NZ 5, Panama 1, Poland 1, Switzerland 2, UK 4, US 2, Vietnam 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force) | no regular military forces; Vanuatu Police Force (VPF; including the paramilitary Mobile Force or VMF) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $43 billion (FY01) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.96% (FY01) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
29,926,614 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
25,876,484 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
765,817 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933) | Independence Day, 30 July (1980) |
Nationality | noun:
Japanese (singular and plural) adjective: Japanese |
noun: Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural)
adjective: Ni-Vanuatu |
Natural hazards | many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons | tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanism causes minor earthquakes; tsunamis |
Natural resources | negligible mineral resources, fish | manganese, hardwood forests, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 84 km; petroleum products 322 km; natural gas 1,800 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Yukio HATOYAMA, leader, Naoto KAN, secretary general]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII, chairman, Tadaaki ICHIDA, secretary general]; Komeito [Takenori KANZAKI, president, Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Junichiro KOIZUMI, president, Taku YAMASAKI, secretary general]; Liberal Party [Ichiro OZAWA, president, Hirohisa FUJII, secretary general]; New Conservative Party [Chikage OGI, president, Takeshi NODA, secretary general]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Takako DOI, chairperson, Sadao FUCHIGAMI, secretary general] | Jon Frum Movement [Song KEASPAI]; Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]; National United Party or NUP [Dinh Van THAN]; Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Serge VOHOR]; Vanuaaku Party (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward NATAPEI]; Vanuatu Republican Party or VRP [Maxime Carlot KORMAN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 126,771,662 (July 2001 est.) | 199,414 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.17% (2001 est.) | 1.61% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Akita, Amagasaki, Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Higashi-Harima, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai | Forari, Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 190, FM 88, shortwave 24 (1999) | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 1 (2002) |
Radios | 120.5 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
23,670.7 km standard gauge: 2,893.1 km 1.435-m gauge (entirely electrified) narrow gauge: 89.8 km 1.372-m gauge (89.8 km electrified); 20,656.8 km 1.067-m gauge (10,383.6 km electrified); 31 km 0.762-m gauge (3.6 km electrified) (1994) |
0 km |
Religions | observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) | Presbyterian 36.7%, Anglican 15%, Roman Catholic 15%, indigenous beliefs 7.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.2%, Church of Christ 3.8%, other 15.7% (including Jon Frum Cargo cult) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.15 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
excellent domestic and international service domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind 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); submarine cables to China, Philippines, Russia, and US (via Guam) (1999) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 60.381 million (1997) | 5,500 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 63.88 million (2000) | 310 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 7,108 (plus 441 repeaters; note - in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services) (1999) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous | mostly mountains of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.41 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.98 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.7% (2000) | NA% |
Waterways | 1,770 km approximately
note: seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas |
none |