Palau (2004) | Nicaragua (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 16 states; Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Hatohobei, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui, Ngiwal, Peleliu, Sonsorol | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 26.6% (male 2,746; female 2,578)
15-64 years: 68.8% (male 7,456; female 6,319) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 437; female 480) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.1% (male 1,038,887; female 1,001,518)
15-64 years: 58.9% (male 1,570,494; female 1,586,706) 65 years and over: 3% (male 71,125; female 91,029) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 3 (2003 est.) | 176 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 165
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 458 sq km
land: 458 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than the state of New York |
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 independence 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 independence. | The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. |
Birth rate | 18.69 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 25.5 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $57.7 million
expenditures: $80.8 million, including capital expenditures of $17.1 million (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $672.5 million
expenditures: $954.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Koror; note - a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast of Koror | Managua |
Climate | Tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 1,519 km | 910 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1981 | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 |
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 Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | gold cordoba (NIO) |
Death rate | 6.89 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 4.54 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $0 (FY99/00) | $5.833 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Francis J. RICCIARDONE, US ambassador to the Philippines is accredited to Palau
embassy: Koror (no street address) mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone: [680] 488-2920, 2990 FAX: [680] 488-2911 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Calandra MOORE
embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 266-6010 FAX: [505] 266-9074 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Hersey KYOTA
chancery: 1800 K Street NW, Suite 714, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814 FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281 consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN (since 5 December 2003)
chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570, [1] (202) 939-6573 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6545 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | border delineation disputes being negotiated with Philippines, Indonesia | territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank region; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica |
Economic aid - recipient | $155.8 million ; note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, provides Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities | Substantial foreign support (2001) |
Economy - overview | The economy consists primarily of tourism, subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. Business and tourist arrivals numbered 50,000 in FY00/01. The population enjoys a per capita income twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the key tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific, the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries, and the willingness of foreigners to finance infrastructure development. | Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, massive unemployment, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stability over the past few years, GDP annual growth of 1.5% - 2.5% has been far too low to meet the country's need. Nicaragua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Nicaragua has undertaken significant economic reforms that are expected to help the country qualify for more than $4 billion in debt relief under HIPC in early 2004. Donors have made aid conditional on the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. A three-year poverty reduction and growth plan, agreed to with the IMF in December 2002, guides economic policy. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 2.388 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 17 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | - | 2.549 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Ngerchelchuus 242 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 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; water pollution |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
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, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 70%, Asian (mainly Filipinos, followed by Chinese, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese) 28%, white 2% (2000 est.) | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | gold cordobas per US dollar - 14.2513 (2003), 14.2513 (2002), 13.3719 (2001), 12.6844 (2000), 11.8092 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005); 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 Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005); 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 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. reelected president; percent of vote - Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. 64%, Polycarp BASILIUS 33%; Elias Camsek CHIN elected vice president; percent of vote - Elias Camsek CHIN 70%, Sandra PIERANTOZZI 29% |
chief of state: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PCN) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president |
Exports | $18 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | shellfish, tuna, copra, garments | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, bananas, beef, sugar, gold |
Exports - partners | US, Japan, Singapore (2000) | US 35.9%, El Salvador 17.2%, Costa Rica 8.1%, Honduras 7.3%, Mexico 4.6%, Guatemala 4.3% (2003) |
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 horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $174 million
note: GDP estimate includes US subsidy (2001 est.) |
purchasing power parity - $11.6 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 28.9%
industry: 25.4% services: 45.7% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2001 est.) | 2.3% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 7 30 N, 134 30 E | 13 00 N, 85 00 W |
Geography - note | westernmost archipelago in the Caroline chain, consists of six island groups totaling more than 300 islands; includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua |
Highways | total: 61 km
paved: 36 km unpaved: 25 km |
total: 19,032 km
paved: 2,094 km unpaved: 16,938 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 48.8% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing |
Imports | $99 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | US, Guam, Japan, Singapore, Korea (2000) | US 24.9%, Venezuela 9.7%, Costa Rica 9%, Mexico 8.4%, Guatemala 7.3%, El Salvador 4.9%, Japan 4.3% (2003) |
Independence | 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood |
Infant mortality rate | total: 15.3 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 30.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 26.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.4% (2000 est.) | 5.3% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 880 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; National Court; Court of Common Pleas | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 9,845 (2000) | 1.91 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry NA, services NA (1990) | agriculture 42%, industry 15%, services 43% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
Land use | arable land: 8.7%
permanent crops: 4.35% other: 86.95% (2001) |
arable land: 15.94%
permanent crops: 1.94% other: 82.12% (2001) |
Languages | English and Palauan official in all states except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official) | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Legal system | based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (9 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 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008); House of Delegates - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (four new members elected); House of Delegates - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 16 (one new member elected) |
unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; one seat for previous President, one seat for runner-up in previous Presidential election
elections: last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PCCN, PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCN 2.12%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 53, FSLN 38, PCN 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.82 years
male: 66.67 years female: 73.15 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 70.02 years
male: 67.99 years female: 72.16 years (2004 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: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm extended fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: natural prolongation |
Merchant marine | none | none |
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 | no regular military forces; Police Force | Army (includes Navy), Navy |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $30.8 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.2% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,399,356 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 858,022 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 61,869 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 9 July (1979) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Palauan(s)
adjective: Palauan |
noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
Natural hazards | typhoons (June to December) | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
Natural resources | forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish |
Net migration rate | 2.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -1.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | oil 54 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | none | Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Mario RAPPACCIOLI]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO Molina]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [leader NA]; Unity Alliance or AU [leader NA]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon, Oscar WENDOLYN Vargas, Karla WHITE]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups |
Population | 20,016 (July 2004 est.) | 5,359,759 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.46% (2004 est.) | 1.97% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Koror | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2002) | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Christian (Roman Catholics 49%, 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) | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.18 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.14 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 16 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 680; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment
domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6,700 (2002) | 171,600 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,000 (2002) | 202,800 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (cable) (2005) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes |
Total fertility rate | 2.46 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.89 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.3% (2000 est.) | 22% plus considerable underemployment (2003 est.) |
Waterways | - | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (1997) |