Northern Mariana Islands (2005) | Guinea-Bissau (2003) | |
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 | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 19.9% (male 8,332/female 7,646)
15-64 years: 78.5% (male 26,121/female 36,982) 65 years and over: 1.6% (male 646/female 635) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.9% (male 284,150; female 285,370)
15-64 years: 55.2% (male 358,891; female 392,703) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,285; female 22,428) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
Airports | 5 (2004 est.) | 28 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total: 477 sq km
land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian |
total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
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. | In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal, the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998 created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. A military junta ousted the president in May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy, devastated in the civil war. |
Birth rate | 19.51 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 38.41 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $193 million
expenditures: $223 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY01/02 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Saipan | Bissau |
Climate | tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October | tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
Coastline | 1,482 km | 350 km |
Constitution | Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978; Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 |
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: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau local short form: Guine-Bissau former: Portuguese Guinea |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used |
Death rate | 2.3 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 16.62 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $941.5 million (2000 est.) |
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 | - | the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta; for the time being, US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX - [221] 822-5903 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique Adriano DA SILVA
chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 519, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950 FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954 |
Disputes - international | none | separatist war in Senegal's Casamance region results in refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling and other illegal activities, and political instability in Guinea-Bissau |
Economic aid - recipient | extensive funding from US | $115.4 million (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 17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. | One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2002. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in low growth in 2002 and dim prospects for 2003. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 51.15 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 55 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 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; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Asian 56.3%, Pacific islander 36.3%, Caucasian 1.8%, other 0.8%, mixed 4.8% (2000 census) | African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the XOF franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs 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 Juan N. BABAUTA (since 14 January 2002); Lieutenant Governor Diego T. BENAVENTE (since 14 January 2002) 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 3 November 2001 (next to be held November 2005) election results: Juan N. BABAUTA elected governor in a four-way race; percent of vote - Juan N. BABAUTA (Republican Party) 42.8% |
chief of state: President Henrique ROSA (interim; since 28 September 2003); note - a September 2003 coup overthrough the elected government of Kumba YALA; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 to 28 September 2003
head of government: Prime Minister Artur SANHA (since 28 September 2003) cabinet: NA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature election results: Kumba YALA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28% note: a bloodless coup led to the dissolution of the elected government of Kumba YALA in September 2003; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 September 2003 until stepping aside on 28 September 2003 with the establishment of a caretaker government |
Exports | NA | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | garments | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber |
Exports - partners | US (2000) | India 51.5%, Uruguay 19.5%, Thailand 19.4% (2002) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $901.4 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 62%
industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | -4.3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 12 N, 145 45 E | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 362 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1991) |
total: 4,400 km
paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
Imports | NA | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US, Japan (2000) | Senegal 19.6%, Portugal 19.1%, India 15.3%, Taiwan 5.1% (2002) |
Independence | none (commonwealth in political union with the US) | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 2.6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.11 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 110.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 120.99 deaths/1,000 live births female: 99.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.2% (1997 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | Interpol (subbureau) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 2 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA | 170 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) |
Labor force | 6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (June 1995) | 480,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture 82% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.04%
permanent crops: 4.35% other: 82.61% (2001) |
arable land: 10.67%
permanent crops: 1.78% other: 87.55% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Philippine languages 24.4%, Chinese 23.4%, Chamorro 22.4%, English 10.8%, other Pacific island languages 9.5%, other 9.6% (2000 census) | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
Legal system | based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation | NA |
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 1 November 2003 (next to be held 5 November 2005); House of Representatives - last held 1 November 2003 (next to be held 5 November 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Covenant Party 9, Republican Party 7, Democratic Party 1, independent 1 note: the Northern Mariana Islands 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 (Pedro A. TENORIO) |
unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years); note - President YALA dissolved the National People's Assembly in November 2002, elections for a new legislature were scheduled to fall in February 2003 but were then postponed to April, then July, and were last scheduled to occur in September 2003
elections: last held 28 November 1999 (next to be held NA September 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11 remaining seats went to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded candidates |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.88 years
male: 73.31 years female: 78.61 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 46.97 years
male: 45.09 years female: 48.91 years (2003 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: 42.4% male: 58.1% female: 27.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $5.6 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.8% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 318,711 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 181,318 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
Nationality | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
Natural hazards | active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Natural resources | arable land, fish | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
Net migration rate | 8.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [NA]; Covenant Party [Benigno R. FITIAL] | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Francisco BENANTE]; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 80,362 (July 2005 est.) | 1,360,827 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.61% (2005 est.) | 2.02% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saipan, Tinian | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.71 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 0.78 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-670; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 21,000 (2000) | 10,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3,000 (2000) | 0 (2001) |
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) | NA (1997) |
Terrain | southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
Total fertility rate | 1.27 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 5.07 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | NA% |
Waterways | - | several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping |