Northern Mariana Islands (2001) | Togo (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order; Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian | 5 regions (regions, singular - region); De La Kara, Des Plateaux, Des Savanes, Centrale, Maritime |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
23.55% (male 8,929; female 8,639) 15-64 years: 74.72% (male 26,242; female 29,509) 65 years and over: 1.73% (male 639; female 654) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 45.1% (male 1,195,052; female 1,187,014)
15-64 years: 52.4% (male 1,351,345; female 1,420,617) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 56,270; female 75,203) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle | coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish |
Airports | 6 (2000 est.) | 9 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total:
477 sq km land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian |
total: 56,785 sq km
land: 54,385 sq km water: 2,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
Background | Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. | French Togoland became Togo in 1960. General Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, is Africa's longest-serving head of state. Despite the facade of multiparty elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government continues to be dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained power almost continually since 1967. In addition, Togo has come under fire from international organizations for human rights abuses and is plagued by political unrest. Most bilateral and multilateral aid to Togo remains frozen. |
Birth rate | 20.6 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 36.11 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$221 million expenditures: $213 million, including capital expenditures of $17.7 million (1996) |
revenues: $232 million
expenditures: $252 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | Saipan | Lome |
Climate | tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north |
Coastline | 1,482 km | 56 km |
Constitution | Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978 | multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands former: Mariana Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
conventional long form: Togolese Republic
conventional short form: Togo local long form: Republique Togolaise local short form: none former: French Togoland |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
Death rate | 2.4 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 11.3 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1.5 billion (1999) (1999) |
Dependency status | commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador Karl HOFMANN
embassy: Angle Rue Kouenou and Rue 15 Beniglato, Lome mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome telephone: [228] 221 29 91 through 221 29 94 FAX: [228] 221 79 52 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador Akoussoulelou BODJONA
chancery: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4212 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3190 |
Disputes - international | none | Benin accuses Togo of moving boundary markers and stationing troops in its territory |
Economic aid - recipient | extensive funding from US | $201.1 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | The economy benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with employment of 12,000 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. | This small sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for 65% of the labor force. Some basic foodstuffs must still be imported. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton generate about 40% of export earnings, with cotton being the most significant cash crop despite falling prices on the world market. Political unrest, including private and public sector strikes throughout 1992 and 1993, jeopardized the reform program, shrunk the tax base, and disrupted vital economic activity. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of the XOF currency by 50% provided an important impetus to renewed structural adjustment. In the industrial sector, phosphate mining is by far the most important activity. Togo is the world's fourth largest producer, and geological advantages keep production costs low. The recently privatized mining operation, Office Togolais des Phosphates (OTP), is slowly recovering from a steep fall in prices in the early 1990's, but continues to face the challenge of tough foreign competition, exacerbated by weakening demand. Togo serves as a regional commercial and trade center. It continues to expand its duty-free export-processing zone (EPZ), launched in 1989, which has attracted enterprises from France, Italy, Scandinavia, the US, India, and China and created jobs for Togolese nationals. The government's decade-long effort, supported by the World Bank and the IMF, to implement economic reform measures, encourage foreign investment, and bring revenues in line with expenditures has stalled. Progress depends on following through on privatization, increased openness in government financial operations, progress towards legislative elections, and possible downsizing of the military, on which the regime has depended to stay in place. Lack of large-scale foreign aid, deterioration of the financial sector, energy shortages, and depressed commodity prices continue to constrain economic growth. The takeover of the national power company by a Franco-Canadian consortium in 2000 should ease the energy crisis. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 525.21 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | - | 435 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by Ghana (2000) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 97 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 98%
hydro: 2% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Agou 986 m |
Environment - current issues | contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development | deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; water pollution presents health hazards and hinders the fishing industry; air pollution increasing in urban areas |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Chamorro, Carolinians and other Micronesians, Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean | native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 741.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro |
Executive branch | 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 Pedro P. TENORIO (since NA January 1998) and Lieutenant Governor Jesus R. SABLAN (since NA January 1998) cabinet: NA 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 in NA November 1997 (next to be held NA November 2001) election results: Pedro P. TENORIO elected governor in a three-way race; percent of vote - Pedro P. TENORIO (Republican Party) 47% |
chief of state: President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA (since 14 April 1967)
head of government: Prime Minister Koffi SAMA (since 29 June 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1998 (next to be held June 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Gnassingbe EYADEMA reelected president; percent of vote - Gnassingbe EYADEMA 52.13%, Gilchrist OLYMPIO 34.12%, other 13.75% |
Exports | $NA | $306 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | garments | cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa |
Exports - partners | US | Benin 12%, Nigeria 9%, Belgium 5%, Ghana 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath | five equal horizontal bands of green (top and bottom) alternating with yellow; there is a white five-pointed star on a red square in the upper hoist-side corner; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $900 million (2000 est.)
note: GDP numbers reflect US spending |
purchasing power parity - $7.6 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 42%
industry: 21% services: 37% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 2.2% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 12 N, 145 45 E | 8 00 N, 1 10 E |
Geography - note | strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean | the country's length allows it to stretch through six distinct geographic regions; climate varies from tropical to savanna |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
362 km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1991) |
total: 7,520 km
paved: 2,376 km unpaved: 5,144 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transit hub for Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers; money laundering not a significant problem |
Imports | $NA | $420 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US, Japan | Ghana 26%, France 11%, China 7%, Cote d'Ivoire 7% (2000) |
Independence | none (commonwealth in political union with the US) | 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts | phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 5.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 69.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.2% (1997 est.) | 2.3% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), SPC | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIPONUH, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 3 (2001) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 70 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (1995) | 1.74 million (1996) (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,647 km
border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km |
Land use | arable land:
21% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 19% forests and woodland: 0% other: 60% |
arable land: 41.37%
permanent crops: 1.84% other: 56.79% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, Chamorro, Carolinian
note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home |
French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north) |
Legal system | based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation | French-based court system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 9 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2001); House of Representatives - last held 9 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2001) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 6, Democratic Party 2, Reform Party 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 10, Democratic Party 8 note: the Commonwealth does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Juan N. BABAUTA) |
unicameral National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 October 2002 (next NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPT 72, RSD 3, UDPS 2, Juvento 2, MOCEP 1, independents 1 note: two opposition parties boycotted the election, the Union of the Forces for Change, and the Action Committee for Renewal |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.74 years male: 72.65 years female: 79.02 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 54.02 years
male: 52.03 years female: 56.07 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 97% female: 96% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 51.7% male: 67% female: 37% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 30 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,603 GRT/2,800 DWT
ships by type: specialized tanker 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Greece 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $21.9 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.8% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,220,758 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 640,280 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) | Independence Day, 27 April (1960) |
Nationality | noun:
NA adjective: NA |
noun: Togolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Togolese |
Natural hazards | active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) | hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | arable land, fish | phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land |
Net migration rate | 18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [Benigno R. FITIAL] | Action Committee for Renewal or CAR [Yawovi AGBOYIBO]; Coordination des Forces Nouvelles or CFN [Joseph KOFFIGOH]; Democratic Convention of African Peoples or CDPA [Leopold GNININVI]; Party for Democracy and Renewal or PDR [Zarifou AYEVA]; Patriotic Pan-African Convergence or CPP [Edem KODJO]; Rally of the Togolese People or RPT [President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA]; Union of Forces for Change or UFC [Gilchrist OLYMPIO (in exile), Jean Pierre FABRE, general secretary in Togo]; Union of Independent Liberals or ULI [Jacques AMOUZOU]
note: Rally of the Togolese People or RPT, led by President EYADEMA, was the only party until the formation of multiple parties was legalized 12 April 1991 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 74,612 (July 2001 est.) | 5,285,501
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 32% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.62% (2001 est.) | 2.48% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saipan, Tinian | Kpeme, Lome |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | NA | 940,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 525 km
narrow gauge: 525 km 1.000-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) | indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 29%, Muslim 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections | NA years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: fair system based on a network of microwave radio relay routes supplemented by open-wire lines and a mobile cellular system
domestic: microwave radio relay and open-wire lines for conventional system; cellular system has capacity of 10,000 telephones international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Symphonie |
Telephones - main lines in use | 21,000 (1996) | 25,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,200 (1995) | 2,995 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (on Saipan and one station planned for Rota; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (1997) | 3 (plus two repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic | gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes |
Total fertility rate | 1.76 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.14 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | none | 50 km (Mono river) |