Compare Pacific Ocean (2008) - Samoa (2008)

Compare Pacific Ocean (2008) z Samoa (2008)

	Pacific Ocean (2008)	Samoa (2008)

Administrative divisions	-	11 districts; A'ana, Aiga-i-le-Tai, Atua, Fa'asaleleaga, Gaga'emauga, Gagaifomauga, Palauli, Satupa'itea, Tuamasaga, Va'a-o-Fonoti, Vaisigano
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 38.1% (male 41,551/female 40,085) 15-64 years: 56.3% (male 63,320/female 57,277) 65 years and over: 5.6% (male 5,416/female 6,616) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	coconuts, bananas, taro, yams, coffee, cocoa
Airports	-	4 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Area	total: 155.557 million sq km note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies	total: 2,944 sq km land: 2,934 sq km water: 10 sq km
Area - comparative	about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world	slightly smaller than Rhode Island
Background	The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south.	New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997.
Birth rate	-	28.28 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $171.3 million expenditures: $78.1 million (FY04/05 est.)
Capital	-	name: Apia geographic coordinates: 13 50 S, 171 44 W time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December	tropical; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October)
Coastline	135,663 km	403 km
Constitution	-	1 January 1962
Country name	-	conventional long form: Independent State of Samoa conventional short form: Samoa local long form: Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o Samoa local short form: Samoa former: Western Samoa
Death rate	-	5.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$177 million (2004)
Diplomatic representation from the US	-	chief of mission: none; US Ambassador to New Zealand is accredited to Samoa embassy: Accident Compensation Board (ACB) Building, 5th Floor, Beach Road, Apia mailing address: P. O. Box 3430, Apia, 0815 telephone: [685] 21436/21452/21631/22696 FAX: [685] 22030
Diplomatic representation in the US	-	chief of mission: Ambassador Aliioaiga Feturi ELISAIA chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6196, 6197 FAX: [1] (212) 599-0797
Disputes - international	some maritime disputes (see littoral states)	none
Economic aid - recipient	-	$43.95 million (2005)
Economy - overview	The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of the US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has led to fluctuations in new drillings.	The economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on development aid, family remittances from overseas, agriculture, and fishing. The country is vulnerable to devastating storms. Agriculture employs two-thirds of the labor force and furnishes 90% of exports, featuring coconut cream, coconut oil, and copra. The fish catch declined during the El Nino of 2002-03 but returned to normal by mid-2005. The manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. One factory in the Foreign Trade Zone employs 3,000 people to make automobile electrical harnesses for an assembly plant in Australia. Tourism is an expanding sector, accounting for 25% of GDP; about 100,000 tourists visited the islands in 2005. The Samoan Government has called for deregulation of the financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline, while at the same time protecting the environment. Observers point to the flexibility of the labor market as a basic strength for future economic advances. Foreign reserves are in a relatively healthy state, the external debt is stable, and inflation is low.
Electricity - consumption	-	97.65 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	-	105 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m highest point: sea level 0 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mauga Silisili (Savaii) 1,857 m
Environment - current issues	endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea	soil erosion, deforestation, invasive species, overfishing
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	-	Samoan 92.6%, Euronesians 7% (persons of European and Polynesian blood), Europeans 0.4%
Exchange rates	-	tala per US dollar - NA (2007), 2.7594 (2006), 2.7103 (2005), 2.7807 (2004), 2.9732 (2003)
Executive branch	-	chief of state: TUIATUA Tupua Tamasese Efi (since 20 June 2007) head of government: Prime Minister Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA (since 1996); Deputy Prime Minister MISA Telefoni (since 2001) cabinet: Cabinet consists of 12 members appointed by the chief of state on the prime minister's advice elections: chief of state is elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 15 June 2007 (next to be held in 2012); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the chief of state with the approval of the Legislative Assembly election results: TUIATUA Tupua Tamasese Efi unanimously elected by the Legislative Assembly
Exports	-	0 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	-	fish, coconut oil and cream, copra, taro, automotive parts, garments, beer
Exports - partners	-	Australia 44.1%, American Samoa 29.9%, Taiwan 11.3% (2006)
Fiscal year	-	June 1 - May 31
Flag description	-	red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side quadrant bearing five white five-pointed stars representing the Southern Cross constellation
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 11.4% industry: 58.4% services: 30.2% (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	5.5% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	0 00 N, 160 00 W	13 35 S, 172 20 W
Geography - note	the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean	occupies an almost central position within Polynesia
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	-	1,060 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	-	machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	-	NZ 21.5%, Fiji 14.8%, Singapore 13.2%, Australia 8.6%, Japan 8.6%, US 6.2%, Indonesia 5%, China 4.4% (2006)
Independence	-	1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship)
Industrial production growth rate	-	2.8% (2000)
Industries	-	food processing, building materials, auto parts
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 25.89 deaths/1,000 live births male: 30.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	3.3% (2005)
International organization participation	-	ACP, ADB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IPU, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land	-	NA
Judicial branch	-	Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; District Court; Land and Titles Court
Labor force	-	90,000 (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Land boundaries	-	0 km
Land use	-	arable land: 21.13% permanent crops: 24.3% other: 54.57% (2005)
Languages	-	Samoan (Polynesian), English
Legal system	-	based on English common law and local customs; judicial review of legislative acts with respect to fundamental rights of the citizen; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	-	unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fono (49 seats, 47 elected by voters affiliated with traditional village-based electoral districts, 2 elected by independent, mostly non-Samoan or part-Samoan, voters who cannot, (or choose not to) establish a village affiliation; only chiefs (matai) may stand for election to the Fono from the 47 village-based electorates; members serve five-year terms) elections: election last held 31 March 2006 (next election to be held not later than March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - HRPP 35, SDUP 10, independents 4
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 71.3 years male: 68.49 years female: 74.26 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.7% male: 99.6% female: 99.7% (2003 est.)
Location	body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere	Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Map references	Political Map of the World	Oceania
Maritime claims	-	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 7,091 GRT/8,127 DWT by type: cargo 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Cyprus 1) (2007)
Military - note	-	Samoa has no formal defense structure or regular armed forces; informal defense ties exist with NZ, which is required to consider any Samoan request for assistance under the 1962 Treaty of Friendship
Military branches	-	no regular military forces; Samoa Police Force (2005)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	NA
National holiday	-	Independence Day Celebration, 1 June (1962); note - 1 January 1962 is the date of independence from the New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship; it is observed in June
Nationality	-	noun: Samoan(s) adjective: Samoan
Natural hazards	surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December	occasional typhoons; active volcanism
Natural resources	oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish	hardwood forests, fish, hydropower
Net migration rate	-	-9.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	-	Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP [Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA]; Samoa Christian Party or TCP [Tuala Tiresa MALIETOA]; Samoa Democratic United Party or SDUP [LE MAMEA Ropati]; Samoa Party or SP [Su'a Rimoni Ah CHONG]; Samoa Progressive Political Party or SPPP [Toeolesulusulu SIUEVA]
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	NA
Population	-	214,265 note: prior estimates used official net migration data by sex, but a highly unusual pattern for 1993 lead to a significant imbalance in the sex ratios (more men and fewer women) and a seeming reduction in the female population; the revised total was calculated using a 1993 number that was an average of the 1992 and 1994 migration figures (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA%
Population growth rate	-	1.291% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 2, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)
Religions	-	Congregationalist 34.8%, Roman Catholic 19.6%, Methodist 15%, Latter-Day Saints 12.7%, Assembly of God 6.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.5%, Worship Centre 1.3%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.9%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.037 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.106 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.819 male(s)/female total population: 1.061 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	-	21 years of age; universal
Telephone system	-	general assessment: adequate domestic: NA international: country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	-	19,500 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	24,000 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	-	2 (2002)
Terrain	surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest	two main islands (Savaii, Upolu) and several smaller islands and uninhabited islets; narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior
Total fertility rate	-	4.21 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Transportation - note	Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state)	-
Unemployment rate	-	NA%

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