Micronesia, Federated States of (2005) | Jamaica (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 states; Chuuk (Truk), Kosrae (Kosaie), Pohnpei (Ponape), Yap | 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.1% (male 20,439/female 19,674)
15-64 years: 59.8% (male 32,382/female 32,313) 65 years and over: 3% (male 1,461/female 1,836) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.1% (male 399,249; female 380,864)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 858,433; female 859,174) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 81,321; female 100,988) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | black pepper, tropical fruits and vegetables, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), betel nuts, sweet potatoes; pigs, chickens | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk |
Airports | 6 (2004 est.) | 35 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2002) |
Area | total: 702 sq km
land: 702 sq km water: 0 sq km (fresh water only) note: includes Pohnpei (Ponape), Chuuk (Truk) Islands, Yap Islands, and Kosrae (Kosaie) |
total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC (land area only) | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
Background | In 1979 the Federated States of Micronesia, a UN Trust Territory under US administration, adopted a constitution. In 1986 independence was attained under a Compact of Free Association with the US, which was amended and renewed in 2004. Present concerns include large-scale unemployment, overfishing, and overdependence on US aid. | Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a dropoff in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Subsequent governments have been open market oriented. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s. |
Birth rate | 25.11 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 17.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $161 million ($69 million less grants)
expenditures: $160 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $2.23 billion
expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million |
Capital | Palikir | Kingston |
Climate | tropical; heavy year-round rainfall, especially in the eastern islands; located on southern edge of the typhoon belt with occasionally severe damage | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior |
Coastline | 6,112 km | 1,022 km |
Constitution | 10 May 1979 | 6 August 1962 |
Country name | conventional long form: Federated States of Micronesia
conventional short form: none former: Ponape, Truk, and Yap Districts (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) abbreviation: FSM |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
Currency | - | Jamaican dollar (JMD) |
Death rate | 4.87 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $53.1 million (FY02/03 est.) | $5.2 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Suzanne K. HALE
embassy: 101 Upper Pics Road, Kolonia mailing address: P. O. Box 1286, Kolonia, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia 96941 telephone: [691] 320-2187 FAX: [691] 320-2186 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Sue McCourt COBB
embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 926-6743 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jesse Bibiano MAREHALAU
chancery: 1725 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4383 FAX: [1] (202) 223-4391 consulate(s) general: Honolulu and Tamuning (Guam) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Seymour MULLINGS
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | under terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US pledged $1.3 billion in grant aid during the period 1986-2001; the level of aid has been subsequently reduced | $102.7 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity consists primarily of subsistence farming and fishing. The islands have few mineral deposits worth exploiting, except for high-grade phosphate. The potential for a tourist industry exists, but the remote location, a lack of adequate facilities, and limited air connections hinder development. The Amended Compact of Free Association with the US guarantees the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) millions of dollars in annual aid through 2023, and establishes a Trust Fund into which the US and the FSM make annual contributions in order to provide annual payouts to the FSM in perpetuity after 2023. The country's medium-term economic outlook appears fragile due not only to the reduction in US assistance but also to the slow growth of the private sector. Geographical isolation and a poorly developed infrastructure remain major impediments to long-term growth. | The economy, which depends heavily on tourism and bauxite, has been stagnant since 1995. After five years of recession, the economy grew 0.8% in 2000 and 1.1% in 2001, but the global economic slowdown, particularly in the United States after the 11 September terrorist attacks, has stunted the economic recovery. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy, particularly the financial sector. Depressed economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including a mounting crime rate. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, selling off reacquired firms, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies. |
Electricity - consumption | 178.6 million kWh (2002) | 6.27 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 192 million kWh (2002) | 6.74 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 89%
hydro: 3% nuclear: 0% other: 7% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Dolohmwar (Totolom) 791 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
Environment - current issues | overfishing, climate change, pollution | heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | nine ethnic Micronesian and Polynesian groups | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 47.277 (December 2001), 45.996 (2001), 42.701 (2000), 39.044 (1999), 36.550 (1998), 35.404 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Joseph J. URUSEMAL (since 11 May 2003); Vice President Redley KILLION (11 May 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Joseph J. URUSEMAL (since 11 May 2003); Vice President Redley KILLION (11 May 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet elections: president and vice president elected by Congress from among the four senators at large for four-year terms; election last held 11 May 2003 (next to be held May 2007); note - a proposed constitutional amendment to establish popular elections for president and vice president failed election results: Joseph J. URUSEMAL elected president; percent of Congress vote - NA%; Redley KILLION elected vice president; percent of Congress vote - NA% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991)
head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since NA 1993) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister |
Exports | $22 million (f.o.b.) (FY99/00 est.) | $1.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | fish, garments, bananas, black pepper | alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum |
Exports - partners | Japan, US, Guam (2000) | US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.9%, UK 13%, Canada 10.5% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | light blue with four white five-pointed stars centered; the stars are arranged in a diamond pattern | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $9.8 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 50%
industry: 4% services: 46% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 28% services: 65% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2002 est.) | 1.1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 55 N, 158 15 E | 18 15 N, 77 30 W |
Geography - note | four major island groups totaling 607 islands | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal |
Highways | total: 240 km
paved: 42 km unpaved: 198 km (1999 est.) |
total: 19,000 km
paved: 13,433 km unpaved: 5,567 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29% (1996) (1996) |
Illicit drugs | - | major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions |
Imports | $149 million f.o.b. (FY99/00 est.) | $3.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, beverages | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers |
Imports - partners | US, Australia, Japan (2000) | US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%, EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999) |
Independence | 3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) | 6 August 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | -2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, construction, fish processing, specialized aquaculture, craft items from shell, wood, and pearls | tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products |
Infant mortality rate | total: 30.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 26.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
13.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2002 est.) | 6.9% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO, WMO | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 21 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 250 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal |
Labor force | NA | 1.13 million (1998) (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | two-thirds are government employees | services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) (1998) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.71%
permanent crops: 45.71% other: 48.58% (2001) |
arable land: 16.07%
permanent crops: 9.23% other: 74.7% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi | English, patois English |
Legal system | based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Congress (14 seats; four - one elected from each state to serve four-year terms and 10 - elected from single-member districts delineated by population to serve two-year terms; members elected by popular vote)
elections: elections for four-year term seats last held 4 March 2003 (next to be held March 2007); elections for two-year term seats last held 8 March 2005 (next to be held March 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 14 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.75 years
male: 67.96 years female: 71.62 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 75.64 years
male: 73.65 years female: 77.73 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89% male: 91% female: 88% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 85% male: 80.8% female: 89.1% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island group in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Indonesia | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,423 GRT/1,551 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 foreign-owned: 2 (United States 2) (2005) |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 21,954 GRT/25,250 DWT
ships by type: petroleum tanker 1, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Latvia 2, United States 2 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is a sovereign, self-governing state in free association with the US; FSM is totally dependent on the US for its defense | - |
Military branches | no ministry of defense and no standing armed forces; the paramilitary Maritime Wing, a small maritime law enforcement unit, is responsible to the Division of Maritime Surveillance within the Office of the Attorney General (2003) | Jamaica Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $30 million (FY95/96 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 747,043 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 523,550 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 27,729 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 10 May (1979) | Independence Day, first Monday in August (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Micronesian(s)
adjective: Micronesian; Chuukese, Kosraen(s), Pohnpeian(s), Yapese |
noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
Natural hazards | typhoons (June to December) | hurricanes (especially July to November) |
Natural resources | forests, marine products, deep-seabed minerals, phosphate | bauxite, gypsum, limestone |
Net migration rate | -21.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -6.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 10 km |
Political parties and leaders | no formal parties | Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) |
Population | 108,105 (July 2005 est.) | 2,680,029 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 26.7% | 34% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.08% (2005 est.) | 0.56% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Tomil Harbor | Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1.215 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 272 km
standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge; note - 207 km, belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation, were in common carrier service but are no longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite (2000) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 47% | Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other, including some spiritual cults 34.7% |
Sex ratio | NA | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system
domestic: islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes), satellite (Intelsat) ground stations, and some coaxial and fiber-optic cable; cellular service available on Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap international: country code - 691; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2002) |
general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network
domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10,100 (2001) | 353,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,800 (2002) | 54,640 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 3; note - cable TV also available (2004) | 7 (1997) |
Terrain | islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Chuuk | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 3.25 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 2.05 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (1999 est.) | 16% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |