Nauru (2008) | Guatemala (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren | 22 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Chiquimula, El Progreso, Escuintla, Guatemala, Huehuetenango, Izabal, Jalapa, Jutiapa, Peten, Quetzaltenango, Quiche, Retalhuleu, Sacatepequez, San Marcos, Santa Rosa, Solola, Suchitepequez, Totonicapan, Zacapa |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 36.4% (male 2,508/female 2,410)
15-64 years: 61.6% (male 4,111/female 4,224) 65 years and over: 2% (male 144/female 131) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.11% (male 2,789,189; female 2,674,747) 15-64 years: 54.25% (male 3,518,209; female 3,519,851) 65 years and over: 3.64% (male 220,640; female 251,725) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts | sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens |
Airports | 1 (2007) | 477 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
466 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 124 under 914 m: 332 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
108,890 sq km land: 108,430 sq km water: 460 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Tennessee |
Background | The exact origins of the Nauruans are unclear, since their language does not resemble any other in the Pacific. The island was annexed by Germany in 1888 and its phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium. Nauru was occupied by Australian forces in World War I and subsequently became a League of Nations mandate. After the Second World War - and a brutal occupation by Japan - Nauru became a UN trust territory. It achieved its independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999 as the world's smallest independent republic. | Guatemala was freed of Spanish colonial rule in 1821. During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict, which had led to the death of more than 100,000 people and had created some 1 million refugees. |
Birth rate | 24.47 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 34.61 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $13.5 million
expenditures: $13.5 million (2005) |
revenues:
$2.2 billion expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Guatemala |
Climate | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) | tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 30 km | 400 km |
Constitution | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) | 31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986; note - suspended 25 May 1993 by former President SERRANO; reinstated 5 June 1993 following ouster of president; amended November 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru local long form: Republic of Nauru local short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
conventional long form:
Republic of Guatemala conventional short form: Guatemala local long form: Republica de Guatemala local short form: Guatemala |
Currency | - | quetzal (GTQ), US dollar (USD), others allowed |
Death rate | 6.65 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.79 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $33.3 million (2002) | $4.7 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru | chief of mission:
Ambassador Prudence BUSHNELL embassy: 7-01 Avenida Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City mailing address: APO AA 34024 telephone: [502] 331-1541/55 FAX: [502] 334-8477 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Vinci Niel CLODUMAR
chancery: 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 937-0074 FAX: [1] (212) 937-0079 consulate(s): Agana (Guam) |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Ariel RIVERA Irias chancery: 2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 745-4952 FAX: [1] (202) 745-1908 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | Guatemala periodically asserts claims to territory in southern Belize; to deter cross-border squatting, both states in 2000 agreed to a "line of adjacency" based on the de facto boundary, which is not recognized by Guatemala |
Economic aid - recipient | $20 million mostly from Australia (2005) | $212 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, now significantly depleted. An Australian company in 2005 entered into an agreement intended to exploit remaining supplies. Few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income were invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual bankruptcy. To cut costs the government has frozen wages and reduced overstaffed public service departments. In 2005, the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat continued to climb. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely. | The agricultural sector accounts for about one-fourth of GDP, two-thirds of exports, and half of the labor force. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are the main products. Former President ARZU (1996-2000) worked to implement a program of economic liberalization and political modernization. The 1996 signing of the peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch caused relatively little damage to Guatemala compared to its neighbors. Ongoing challenges include increasing government revenues, negotiating further assistance from international donors, and increasing the efficiency and openness of both government and private financial operations. Despite low international prices for Guatemala's main commodities, the economy grew by 3% in 2000 and is forecast to grow by 4% in 2001. Guatemala, along with Honduras and El Salvador, recently concluded a free trade agreement with Mexico and has moved to protect international property rights. However, the PORTILLO administration has undertaken a review of privatizations under the previous administration, thereby creating some uncertainty among investors. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.9 million kWh (2005) | 3.295 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 435 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 210 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 30 million kWh (2005) | 3.785 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
38.31% hydro: 61.69% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; Hurricane Mitch damage |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% | Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish or assimilated Amerindian - in local Spanish called Ladino), approximately 55%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian, approximately 43%, whites and others 2% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) | quetzales per US dollar - 7.8020 (January 2001), 7.7632 (2000), 7.3856 (1999), 6.3947 (1998), 6.0653 (1997), 6.0495 (1996), 5.8103 (1995) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Marcus STEPHEN (since 19 December 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Marcus STEPHEN (since 19 December 2007); note - President Ludwig SCOTTY defeated in a no confidence vote in parliament on 19 December 2007 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 19 December 2007 (next to be held in 2010) election results: NA |
chief of state:
President Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera (since 14 January 2000); Vice President Juan Francisco REYES Lopez (since 14 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera (since 14 January 2000); Vice President Juan Francisco REYES Lopez (since 14 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 7 November 1999; runoff held 26 December 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera elected president; percent of vote - Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera (FRG) 68%, Oscar BERGER Perdomo (PAN) 32% |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | $2.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates | coffee, sugar, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom, meat, apparel, petroleum, electricity |
Exports - partners | South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2006) | US 51.4%, El Salvador 8.7%, Honduras 5%, Costa Rica 3.4%, Germany 2.7% (1998) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru | three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist side), white, and light blue with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms includes a green and red quetzal (the national bird) and a scroll bearing the inscription LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (the original date of independence from Spain) all superimposed on a pair of crossed rifles and a pair of crossed swords and framed by a wreath |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $46.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture:
23% industry: 20% services: 57% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 0 32 S, 166 55 E | 15 30 N, 90 15 W |
Geography - note | Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator | no natural harbors on west coast |
Highways | - | total:
13,856 km paved: 4,370 km (including 140 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,486 km (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
0.6% highest 10%: 46.6% (1989) |
Illicit drugs | - | transit country for cocaine and heroin; minor producer of illicit opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; proximity to Mexico makes Guatemala a major staging area for drugs (cocaine and heroin shipments); money laundering is probably increasing |
Imports | 1,023 bbl/day (2004) | $4.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery | fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity |
Imports - partners | South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2006) | US 42.8%, Mexico 9.9%, Japan 4.8%, El Salvador 4.3%, Venezuela 3.8% (1998) |
Independence | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.1% (1999) |
Industries | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products | sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 9.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
45.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -3.6% (1993) | 6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, ADB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO | BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 5 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 1,250 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (thirteen members serve concurrent five-year terms and elect a president of the Court each year from among their number; the president of the Supreme Court of Justice also supervises trial judges around the country, who are named to five-year terms); Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitutcionalidad (five judges are elected for concurrent five-year terms by Congress, each serving one year as president of the Constitutional Court; one is elected by Congress, one elected by the Supreme Court of Justice, one appointed by the President, one elected by Superior Counsel of Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala, and one by Colegio de Abogados) |
Labor force | - | 4.2 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation (1992) | agriculture 50%, industry 15%, services 35% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
1,687 km border countries: Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256 km, Mexico 962 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land:
12% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 54% other: 5% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Nauruan (official; a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes | Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (more than 20 Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca) |
Legal system | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 25 August 2007 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 18; note - 15 of 18 incumbents reelected |
unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica (113 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 7 November 1999 (next to be held in November 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FRG 63, PAN 37, ANN 9, DCG 2, UD/LOV 1, PLP 1 note: for the 7 November 1999 election, the number of congressional seats was increased from 80 to 113 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 63.44 years
male: 59.85 years female: 67.21 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
66.51 years male: 63.85 years female: 69.31 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 63.6% male: 68.7% female: 58.5% (2000 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Honduras and Belize and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force (2008) | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $120 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 0.6% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
3,092,050 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
2,018,636 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
140,358 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
noun:
Guatemalan(s) adjective: Guatemalan |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms |
Natural resources | phosphates, fish | petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -1.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 275 km |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party; note - loose multiparty system | Authentic Integral Development or DIA [Jorge Luis ORTEGA]; Democratic Union or UD [Jose Luis CHEA Urruela]; Green Party or LOV [Jose ASTURIAS Rudecke]; Guatemalan Christian Democracy or DCG [Vinicio CEREZO Arevalo]; Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or URNG [Pablo MONSANTO, also known as Jorge SOTO]; Guatemalan Republican Front or FRG [Efrain RIOS Montt]; New Nation Alliance or ANN [leader NA], which includes the URNG; National Advancement Party or PAN [Leonel LOPEZ Rodas]; Progressive Liberator Party or PLP [Acisclo VALLADARES Molina] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Agrarian Owners Group or UNAGRO; Alliance Against Impunity or AAI; Committee for Campesino Unity or CUC; Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations or CACIF; Mutual Support Group or GAM |
Population | 13,528 (July 2007 est.) | 12,974,361 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 60% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.781% (2007 est.) | 2.6% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Champerico, Puerto Barrios, Puerto Quetzal, San Jose, Santo Tomas de Castilla |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 130, FM 487, shortwave 15 (2000) |
Radios | - | 835,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
884 km (102 km privately owned) narrow gauge: 884 km 0.914-m gauge (single track) |
Religions | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) | Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.041 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.973 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.099 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2007 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: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal (active duty members of the armed forces may not vote) |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
domestic: NA international: country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment:
fairly modern network centered in the city of Guatemala domestic: NA international: connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,900 (2002) | 665,061 (June 2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,500 (2002) | 663,296 (September 2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 26 (plus 27 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center | mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten) |
Total fertility rate | 3.02 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.58 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 90% (2004 est.) | 7.5% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | - | 990 km
note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during highwater season |