Latvia (2001) | American Samoa (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 26 counties (singular - rajons) and 7 municipalities*: Aizkraukles Rajons, Aluksnes Rajons, Balvu Rajons, Bauskas Rajons, Cesu Rajons, Daugavpils*, Daugavpils Rajons, Dobeles Rajons, Gulbenes Rajons, Jekabpils Rajons, Jelgava*, Jelgavas Rajons, Jurmala*, Kraslavas Rajons, Kuldigas Rajons, Leipaja*, Liepajas Rajons, Limbazu Rajons, Ludzas Rajons, Madonas Rajons, Ogres Rajons, Preilu Rajons, Rezekne*, Rezeknes Rajons, Riga*, Rigas Rajons, Saldus Rajons, Talsu Rajons, Tukuma Rajons, Valkas Rajons, Valmieras Rajons, Ventspils*, Ventspils Rajons | none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three districts and two islands* at the second order; Eastern, Manu'a, Rose Island*, Swains Island*, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
16.55% (male 201,746; female 193,036) 15-64 years: 68.15% (male 776,509; female 848,908) 65 years and over: 15.3% (male 118,110; female 246,922) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 35.7% (male 10,705/female 9,956)
15-64 years: 61.3% (male 18,351/female 17,125) 65 years and over: 3% (male 664/female 1,080) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock |
Airports | 25 (2000 est.) | 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
64,589 sq km land: 64,589 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly larger than Washington, DC |
Background | After a brief period of independence between the two World Wars, Latvia was annexed by the USSR in 1940. It reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the last Russian troops left in 1994, the status of the Russian minority (some 30% of the population) remains of concern to Moscow. Latvia continues to revamp its economy for eventual integration into various Western European political and economic institutions. | Settled as early as 1000 B.C., Samoa was "discovered" by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year. |
Birth rate | 8.03 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 23.13 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.33 billion expenditures: $1.27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $121 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US grants)
expenditures: $127 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY96/97) |
Capital | Riga | Pago Pago |
Climate | maritime; wet, moderate winters | tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds; annual rainfall averages about 3 m; rainy season from November to April, dry season from May to October; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 531 km | 116 km |
Constitution | the 1991 Constitutional Law which supplements the 1922 constitution, provides for basic rights and freedoms | ratified 2 June 1966, effective 1 July 1967 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Latvia conventional short form: Latvia local long form: Latvijas Republika local short form: Latvija former: Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
Currency | Latvian lat (LVL) | - |
Death rate | 14.8 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.33 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $800 million (2000 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US; administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador James H. HOLMES embassy: Raina Boulevard 7, LV-1510, Riga mailing address: American Embassy Riga, PSC 78, Box Riga, APO AE 09723 telephone: [371] 721-0005 FAX: [371] 782-0047 |
none (territory of the US) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Aivis RONIS chancery: 4325 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-8213, 8214 FAX: [1] (202) 726-6785 |
none (territory of the US) |
Disputes - international | draft treaty delimiting the boundary with Russia has not been signed; has not ratified 1998 maritime boundary agreement with Lithuania (primary concern is oil exploration rights) | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $96.2 million (1995) | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 |
Economy - overview | In 2000, Latvia's transitional economy recovered from the 1998 Russian financial crisis, largely due to the SKELE government's budget stringency and a gradual reorientation of exports toward EU countries, lessening Latvia's trade dependency on Russia. Latvia officially joined the World Trade Organization in February 1999 - the first Baltic state to join - and was invited at the Helsinki EU Summit in December 1999 to begin accession talks in early 2000. Unemployment fell to 7.8% in 2000, down from 9.6% in 1999, and 9.2% in 1998. Privatization of large state-owned utilities and the shipping industry faced more delays in 2000, and political instability will continue to delay completion of the privatization process over the next year. Latvia projects 6% GDP growth, 2.5%-3.0% inflation, and a 1.7% fiscal deficit in 2001. Preparing for EU membership over the next few years remains a top foreign policy goal. | This is a traditional Polynesian economy in which more than 90% of the land is communally owned. Economic activity is strongly linked to the US, with which American Samoa conducts most of its foreign trade. Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna the primary export. Transfers from the US Government add substantially to American Samoa's economic well-being. Attempts by the government to develop a larger and broader economy are restrained by Samoa's remote location, its limited transportation, and its devastating hurricanes. Tourism is a promising developing sector. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.316 billion kWh (1999) | 120.9 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 3.996 billion kWh (1999) | 130 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
31.78% hydro: 68.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Gaizinkalns 312 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata 966 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution because of a lack of waste conversion equipment; Gulf of Riga and Daugava River heavily polluted; contamination of soil and groundwater with chemicals and petroleum products at military bases | limited natural fresh water resources; the water division of the government has spent substantial funds in the past few years to improve water catchments and pipelines |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
- |
Ethnic groups | Latvian 56.5%, Russian 30.4%, Byelorussian 4.3%, Ukrainian 2.8%, Polish 2.6%, other 3.4% | native Pacific islander 92.9%, Asian 2.9%, white 1.2%, mixed 2.8%, other 0.2% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | lati per US dollar - 0.614 (January 2001), 0.607 (2000), 0.585 (1999), 0.590 (1998), 0.581 (1997), 0.551 (1996) | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Vaira VIKE-FREIBERGA (since 8 July 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Andris BERZINS (since 5 May 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and appointed by the Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 17 June 1999 (next to be held by NA June 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Vaira VIKE-FREIBERGA elected as a compromise candidate in second phase of balloting, second round (after five rounds in first phase failed); percent of parliamentary vote - Vaira VIKE-FREIBERGA 53%, Valdis BIRKAVS 20%, Ingrida UDRE 9% |
chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001) and Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Togiola TULAFONO (since 7 April 2003) cabinet: cabinet made up of 12 department directors elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 2 and 16 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Togiola TULAFONO elected governor; percent of vote - Togiola TULAFONO 55.7%, Afoa Moega LUTU 44.3% |
Exports | $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA |
Exports - commodities | wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs | canned tuna 93% |
Exports - partners | Germany 16%, UK 11%, Sweden 11%, Russia 7% (1999) | Samoa 39.8%, Australia 19.9%, Japan 15.1%, New Zealand 10.5% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of maroon (top), white (half-width), and maroon | blue, with a white triangle edged in red that is based on the outer side and extends to the hoist side; a brown and white American bald eagle flying toward the hoist side is carrying two traditional Samoan symbols of authority, a staff and a war club |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $17.3 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5% industry: 33% services: 62% (1999) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,200 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 57 00 N, 25 00 E | 14 20 S, 170 00 W |
Geography - note | - | Pago Pago has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the South Pacific Ocean, sheltered by shape from rough seas and protected by peripheral mountains from high winds; strategic location in the South Pacific Ocean |
Highways | total:
59,178 km paved: 22,843 km unpaved: 36,335 km (1998 est.) |
total: 185 km
paved: 185 km unpaved: 0 km (2004) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 25.9% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from Central and Southwest Asia to Western Europe and Scandinavia and Latin American cocaine and some synthetics from Western Europe to CIS; limited production of illicit amphetamine, ephedrine, and ecstasy for export | - |
Imports | $3.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% |
Imports - partners | Russia 15%, Germany 10%, Finland 9%, Sweden 7% (1999) | Japan 31.4%, New Zealand 27.9%, Germany 17.1%, Australia 8.9% (2004) |
Independence | 18 November 1991 (from Soviet Union) | none (territory of the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.3% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | buses, vans, street and railroad cars, synthetic fibers, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, washing machines, radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, textiles; note - dependent on imports for energy, raw materials, and intermediate products | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | 15.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 9.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.85 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.7% (2000) | NA% |
International organization participation | BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 42 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 160 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges' appointments are confirmed by Parliament) | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) |
Labor force | 1.4 million (2000 est.) | 14,000 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 25%, services 65% (2000 est.) | tuna canneries 34%, government 33%, other 33% (1990) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,150 km border countries: Belarus 141 km, Estonia 339 km, Lithuania 453 km, Russia 217 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 46% other: 14% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 15% other: 75% (2001) |
Languages | Latvian or Lettish (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other | Samoan 90.6% (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English 2.9%, Tongan 2.4%, other Pacific islander 2.1%, other 2%
note: most people are bilingual (2000 census) |
Legal system | based on civil law system | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Saeima (100 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 October 1998 (next to be held NA October 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - People's Party 21%, LC 18%, TSP 14%, TB/LNNK 14%, Social Democrats 13%, New Party 7%; seats by party - People's Party 24, LC 21, TB/LNNK 17, TSP 16, Social Democrats 14, New Party 8 |
bicameral Fono or Legislative Assembly consists of the House of Representatives (21 seats - 20 of which are elected by popular vote and 1 is an appointed, nonvoting delegate from Swains Island; members serve two-year terms) and the Senate (18 seats; members are elected from local chiefs and serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - independents 18 note: American Samoa elects one nonvoting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA (Democrat) reelected as delegate |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.7 years male: 62.8 years female: 74.9 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 75.84 years
male: 72.27 years female: 79.62 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 99% (1989 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 98% female: 97% (1980 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand |
Map references | Europe | Oceania |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 27,984 GRT/29,978 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 3 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Security Forces, Border Guard, Home Guard (Zemessardze) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $60 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (FY99) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
590,784 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
463,944 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
19,114 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 18 November (1918); note - 18 November 1918 is the date of independence from Soviet Russia, 18 November 1991 is the date of independence from the Soviet Union | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) |
Nationality | noun:
Latvian(s) adjective: Latvian |
noun: American Samoan(s)
adjective: American Samoan |
Natural hazards | NA | typhoons common from December to March |
Natural resources | minimal; amber, peat, limestone, dolomite, hydropower, arable land | pumice, pumicite |
Net migration rate | -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -20.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 750 km; refined products 780 km; natural gas 560 km (1992) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Anticommunist Union or PA [P. MUCENIEKS]; Christian Democrat Union or LKDS [Talavs JUNDZIS]; Christian People's Party or KTP [Uldis AUGSTKALNS]; Democratic Party "Saimnieks" or DPS [Ziedonis CEVERS, chairman]; For Fatherland and Freedom or TB [Maris GRINBLATS], merged with LNNK; For Human Rights in a United Latvia [Janis JURKANS], a coalition of the People's Harmony Party or TSP, the Latvian Socialist Party or LSP, and the Equal Rights Movement; Green Party or LZP [Olegs BATAREVSKI]; Latvian Liberal Party or LLP [J. DANOSS]; Latvian National Conservative Party or LNNK [Andrejs KRASTINS]; Latvian National Democratic Party or LNDP [A. MALINS]; Latvian Social-Democratic Workers Party (Social Democrats) or LSDWU [Juris BOJARS and Janis ADAMSONS, leaders]; Latvian Unity Party or LVP [Alberis KAULS]; Latvia's Way or LC [Andrei PANTELEJEVS]; New Christian Party [Ainars SLESERS]; New Faction [Ingrida UDRE]; "Our Land" or MZ [M. DAMBEKALNE]; Party of Russian Citizens or LKPP [V. SOROCHIN, V. IVANOV]; People's Party [Andris SKELE]; Political Union of Economists or TPA [Edvins KIDE] | Democratic Party [Oreta M. TOGAFAU]; Republican Party [Tautai A. F. FAALEVAO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 2,385,231 (July 2001 est.) | 57,881 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | -0.81% (2001 est.) | -0.11% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Daugavpils, Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils | Pago Pago |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 56, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2004) |
Radios | 1.76 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
2,412 km broad gauge: 2,379 km 1.520-m gauge (271 km electrified) (1992) narrow gauge: 33 km 0.750-m gauge (1994) |
- |
Religions | Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female total population: 0.85 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal for Latvian citizens | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
inadequate, but is being modernized to provide an international capability independent of the Moscow international switch; more facilities are being installed for individual use domestic: expansion underway in intercity trunk line connections, rural exchanges, and mobile systems; still many unsatisfied subscriber applications international: international connections are now available via cable and a satellite earth station at Riga, enabling direct connections for most calls (1998) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: good telex, telegraph, facsimile and cellular telephone services; domestic satellite system with 1 Comsat earth station international: country code - 1-684; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 748,000 (1997) | 15,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 77,100 (1997) | 2,377 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 44 (plus 31 repeaters) (1995) | 1; note - one cable TV station (2004) |
Terrain | low plain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) |
Total fertility rate | 1.15 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.25 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.8% (2000 est.) | 6% (2000) |
Waterways | 300 km (perennially navigable) | - |