Libya (2001) | Guam (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions | none (territory of the US) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
35.41% (male 947,645; female 907,854) 15-64 years: 60.64% (male 1,645,085; female 1,533,066) 65 years and over: 3.95% (male 101,701; female 105,248) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.8% (male 25,577; female 23,850)
15-64 years: 64% (male 54,220; female 52,026) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 4,912; female 5,505) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle | fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef |
Airports | 136 (2000 est.) | 5 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
58 over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
78 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
1,759,540 sq km land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 549 sq km
land: 549 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Alaska | three times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. | 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. |
Birth rate | 27.67 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.31 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$6.85 billion expenditures: $4.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $340 million
expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Tripoli | Hagatna (Agana) |
Climate | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior | 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 |
Coastline | 1,770 km | 125.5 km |
Constitution | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 | Organic Act of 1 August 1950 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
conventional long form: Territory of Guam
conventional short form: Guam local long form: Guahan |
Currency | Libyan dinar (LYD) | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 3.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.35 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.1 billion (2000 est.) | NA (2003 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 | the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 | none (territory of the US) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Libya does not have an embassy in the US | none (territory of the US) |
Disputes - international | Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger and also a part of southeastern Algeria | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.4 million (1995) | 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 (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. In this statist society, import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food requirements. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. Following the suspension of UN sanctions in 1999, Libya has been trying to increase its attractiveness to foreign investors, and several foreign companies have visited in search of contracts. | 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 had 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 17.577 billion kWh (1999) | 771.9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 18.9 billion kWh (1999) | 830 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 m |
Environment - current issues | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities | extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake, an exotic, invasive species |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Climate Change, Desertification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
- |
Ethnic groups | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians | Chamorro 37%, Filipino 26%, white 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other 27% |
Exchange rates | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.5101 (January 2001), 0.5081 (2000), 0.4616 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997), 0.3651 (1996)
note: Libya currently has two rates for foreign trade; one for government operations and foreign companies and one for Libyan individuals (0.45 dinars per US dollar in December 1998) |
the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
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% |
Exports | $13.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, refined petroleum products | mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products |
Exports - partners | Italy 33%, Germany 24%, Spain 10%, France 5%, Turkey 4%, Tunisia 4% (1999) | Japan 70.1%, South Korea 17.9%, Singapore 6% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $45.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7% industry: 47% services: 46% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 15% services: 78% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.5% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 25 00 N, 17 00 E | 13 28 N, 144 47 E |
Geography - note | - | largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean |
Highways | total:
24,484 km paved: 6,800 km unpaved: 17,684 km (1996) |
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 | $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods | petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | Italy 24%, Germany 12%, Tunisia 9%, UK 7%, France 6%, South Korea 5% (1999) | Singapore 35.8%, Japan 22.2%, South Korea 17.5%, Hong Kong 11.4% (2003) |
Independence | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) | none (territory of the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA |
Industries | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement | US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 28.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 18.5% (2000 est.) | 0% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 4,700 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president); Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by the governor) |
Labor force | 1.5 million (2000 est.) | 60,000 (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services and government 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) | private 74% (industry 10%, trade 24%, other services 40%), federal and territorial government 26% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
4,383 km border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,150 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 0% other: 91% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 9.09%
permanent crops: 16.36% other: 74.55% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities | English, Chamorro, Japanese |
Legal system | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | modeled on US; US federal laws apply |
Legislative branch | unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) | 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 5 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004); results - Madeleine BORDALLO (Democratic Party) was elected as delegate; percent of vote by party - Democratic Party 64.6%, Republican Party 35.4%; seats by party - Democratic Party 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.65 years male: 73.53 years female: 77.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.12 years
male: 75.08 years female: 81.34 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.2% male: 87.9% female: 63% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia | Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
12 NM note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 399,725 GRT/654,843 DWT ships by type: cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 (2000 est.) |
none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Command | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.3 billion (FY99/00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.9% (FY99/00) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,459,400 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
866,012 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
61,694 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) | Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521) |
Nationality | noun:
Libyan(s) adjective: Libyan |
noun: Guamanian(s)
adjective: Guamanian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms | frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (June - December) |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum | fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan) |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | Democratic Party (controls the legislature) [speaker, Vicente (Ben) PANGELINAN]; Republican Party (party of Governor CAMACHO) [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements | NA |
Population | 5,240,599
note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2001 est.) |
166,090 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 23% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.42% (2001 est.) | 1.5% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah | Apra Harbor |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 17, FM 4, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2003) |
Radios | 1.35 million (1997) | - |
Railways | note:
Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (1001) |
- |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 97% | Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections |
Telephone system | general assessment:
telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996 domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
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: country code - 1-671; 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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 380,000 (1996) | 84,134 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 32,600 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1998) | 5 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions | 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 |
Total fertility rate | 3.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.61 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (2000 est.) | 15% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |