Palau (2001) | Mali (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 18 states; Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Hatobohei, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui, Ngiwal, Palau Island, Peleliu, Sonsoral, Tobi | 8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
26.88% (male 2,641; female 2,491) 15-64 years: 68.46% (male 7,128; female 5,943) 65 years and over: 4.66% (male 420; female 469) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 48.2% (male 2,857,670/female 2,787,506)
15-64 years: 48.8% (male 2,804,344/female 2,910,097) 65 years and over: 3% (male 146,458/female 210,754) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes | cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 29 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 20
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 8 (2006) |
Area | total:
458 sq km land: 458 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1.24 million sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km water: 20,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independent status in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year when the islands gained their independence. | The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali. Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 by a coup that ushered in democratic government. President Alpha KONARE won Mali's first democratic presidential election in 1992 and was reelected in 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, KONARE stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou TOURE. |
Birth rate | 19.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 49.82 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$57.7 million expenditures: $80.8 million, including capital expenditures of $17.1 million (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $764 million
expenditures: $828 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
Capital | Koror; note - a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast of Koror | name: Bamako
geographic coordinates: 12 39 N, 8 00 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | wet season May to November; hot and humid | subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February) |
Coastline | 1,519 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 January 1981 | adopted 12 January 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Palau conventional short form: Palau local long form: Beluu er a Belau local short form: Belau former: Palau District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
conventional long form: Republic of Mali
conventional short form: Mali local long form: Republique de Mali local short form: Mali former: French Sudan and Sudanese Republic |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 7.23 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.89 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $0 (FY99/00) | $2.8 billion (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
the Ambassador to the Philippines is accredited to Palau; Charge d'Affaires Allen E. NUGENT embassy: address NA, Koror mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone: [680] 488-2920, 2990 FAX: [680] 488-2911 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Terrence P. MCCULLEY
embassy: Rue Rochester NY and Rue Mohamed V, Bamako mailing address: B. P. 34, Bamako telephone: [223] 222-5470 FAX: [223] 222-3712 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Hersey KYOTA chancery: 1150 18th Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814 FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Abdoulaye DIOP
chancery: 2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-2249, 939-8950 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6603 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $155.8 million (1995); note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, will provide Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities | $472.1 million (2002) |
Economy - overview | The economy consists primarily of subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. The population enjoys a per capita income of twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific and the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries. | Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, with 65% of its land area desert or semidesert and with a highly unequal distribution of income. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger. About 10% of the population is nomadic and some 80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities. Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices for cotton, its main export, along with gold. The government has continued its successful implementation of an IMF-recommended structural adjustment program that is helping the economy grow, diversify, and attract foreign investment. Mali's adherence to economic reform and the 50% devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994 have pushed up economic growth to a sturdy 5% average in 1996-2005. Worker remittances and external trade routes for the landlocked country have been jeopardized by continued unrest in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 762.6 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2003) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | - | 820 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Ngerchelchauus 242 m |
lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and overfishing | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 70%, Asian (mainly Filipinos, followed by Chinese, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese) 28%, white 2% (2000 est.) | Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Sandra PIERANTOZZI (since 19 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Sandra PIERANTOZZI (since 19 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet elections: president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. elected president; percent of vote - Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. 53%, Peter SUGIYAMA 46%; Sandra PIERANTOZZI elected vice president; percent of vote - Sandra PIERANTOZZI 52%, Alan SEID 45% |
chief of state: President Amadou Toumani TOURE (since 8 June 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Ousmane Issoufi MAIGA (since 30 April 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 12 May 2002 (next to be held April 2007); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Amadou Toumani TOURE elected president; percent of vote - Amadou Toumani TOURE 64.4%, Soumaila CISSE 35.6% |
Exports | $14.3 million (f.o.b., 1996) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | trochus (type of shellfish), tuna, copra, handicrafts | cotton, gold, livestock |
Exports - partners | US, Japan | China 25.2%, Pakistan 12.8%, Thailand 8.7%, Taiwan 6.7%, Italy 4.5% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $129 million (1998 est.)
note: GDP numbers reflect US spending |
- |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 45%
industry: 17% services: 38% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,100 (1998 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -1.4% (1998 est.) | 6.1% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 7 30 N, 134 30 E | 17 00 N, 4 00 W |
Geography - note | includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands; archipelago of six island groups totaling over 200 islands in the Caroline chain | landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan |
Highways | total:
61 km paved: 36 km unpaved: 25 km |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 40.4% (1994) |
Imports | $126 million (f.o.b., FY99/00) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs | petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | US | France 13.1%, Senegal 13.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 8.5% (2005) |
Independence | 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) | 22 September 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making | food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | 16.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 107.58 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 117.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 97.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 4.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 2,360 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; National Court; Court of Common Pleas | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 8,300 (1999) | 3.93 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 7,243 km
border countries: Algeria 1,376 km, Burkina Faso 1,000 km, Guinea 858 km, Cote d'Ivoire 532 km, Mauritania 2,237 km, Niger 821 km, Senegal 419 km |
Land use | arable land:
NA% permanent crops: NA% permanent pastures: NA% forests and woodland: NA% other: NA% |
arable land: 3.76%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 96.21% (2005) |
Languages | English and Palauan official in all states except Sonsoral (Sonsorolese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official) | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages |
Legal system | based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws | based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court (which was formally established on 9 March 1994); has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (16 seats; members elected by popular vote on a population basis to serve four-year terms) and the House of Delegates (16 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004); House of Delegates - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; House of Delegates - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 and 28 July 2002 (next to be held July 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Hope 2002 coalition 66, ADEMA 51, other 30 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.89 years male: 65.77 years female: 72.19 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 49 years
male: 47.05 years female: 51.01 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92% male: 93% female: 90% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.4% male: 53.5% female: 39.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines | Western Africa, southwest of Algeria |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM extended fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US; under a Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military is granted access to the islands for 50 years | - |
Military branches | NA | Army, Air Force, National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $106.3 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.9% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 9 July (1979) | Independence Day, 22 September (1960) |
Nationality | noun:
Palauan(s) adjective: Palauan |
noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian |
Natural hazards | typhoons (June to December) | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding |
Natural resources | forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited |
Net migration rate | 4.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -6.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Palau Nationalist Party [Johnson TORIBIONG]; Ta Belau Party [Kuniwo NAKAMURA] | Alliance for Democracy or ADEMA [Diounconda TRAORE, party chairman]; Hope 2002 (a coalition of CNID, MPR, RDT, and RPM); National Congress for Democratic Initiative or CNID [Mountaga TALL, chairman]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Me Idrissa TRAORE]; Party for National Renewal or PARENA [Tiebile DRAME, secretary general]; Patriotic Movement for Renewal or MPR [Choguel MAIGA]; Rally for Democracy and Labor or RDT; Rally for Mali or RPM [Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA, chairman]; Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally or US/RDA [Mamadou Bamou TOURE, secretary general]; Union for Democracy and Development or UDD [Moussa Balla COULIBALY]; Union for Republic and Democracy or URD [Soumaila CISSE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Koye or MPGK; United Movement and Fronts of Azawad or MFUA |
Population | 19,092 (July 2001 est.) | 11,716,829 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 64% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.69% (2001 est.) | 2.63% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Koror | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 28, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station in Bamako has seven frequencies and five transmitters and relays broadcasts for China Radio International (2001) |
Radios | 12,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 729 km
narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Christian (Catholics, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Assembly of God, the Liebenzell Mission, and Latter-Day Saints), Modekngei religion (one-third of the population observes this religion which is indigenous to Palau) | Muslim 90%, indigenous beliefs 9%, Christian 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.2 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.14 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: domestic system unreliable but improving; provides only minimal service
domestic: network consists of microwave radio relay, open-wire, and radiotelephone communications stations; expansion of microwave radio relay in progress international: country code - 223; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,500 (1988) | 75,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1988) | 869,600 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (plus repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast |
Total fertility rate | 2.47 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 7.42 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.3% (2000 est.) | 14.6% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | 1,815 km (2005) |