Samoa (2002) | Mali (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 | 8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 30.6% (male 27,774; female 26,854)
15-64 years: 63.5% (male 71,358; female 42,150) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 4,859; female 5,636) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 48.2% (male 2,921,914/female 2,853,976)
15-64 years: 48.8% (male 2,891,494/female 2,959,142) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 149,301/female 219,575) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, bananas, taro, yams | cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 3 (2001) | 29 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 21
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 8 (2007) |
Area | total: 2,944 sq km
land: 2,934 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 1.24 million sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km water: 20,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | 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. | 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 military coup - led by the current president Amadou TOURE - enabling Mali's emergence as one of the strongest democracies on the continent. 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, who was subsequently elected to a second term in 2007. The elections were widely judged to be free and fair. |
Birth rate | 15.53 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 49.61 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $105 million
expenditures: $119 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001/2002) |
revenues: $764 million
expenditures: $828 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Apia | name: Bamako
geographic coordinates: 12 39 N, 8 00 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (October to March), dry season (May to October) | subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February) |
Coastline | 403 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 January 1962 | adopted 12 January 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Independent State of Samoa
conventional short form: Samoa former: Western Samoa |
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 | tala (WST) | - |
Death rate | 6.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 16.51 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $192 million (1999) | $2.8 billion (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: the Ambassador to New Zealand is accredited to Samoa
embassy: 5th floor John Williams Building, Beach Road, Apia mailing address: P. O. Box 3430, Apia telephone: [685] 21631 FAX: [685] 22030 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Terrence P. MCCULLEY
embassy: located just off the Roi Bin Fahad Aziz Bridge just west of the Bamako central district mailing address: ACI 2000, Rue 243, Porte 297, Bamako telephone: [223] 270-2300 FAX: [223] 270-2479 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Tuiloma Neroni SLADE
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6196, 6197 FAX: [1] (212) 599-0797 |
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 | $42.9 million (1995) (1995) | $691.5 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | The economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on development aid, family remittances from overseas, and agricultural exports. 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 manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. The decline of fish stocks in the area is a continuing problem. Tourism is an expanding sector, accounting for 16% of GDP; about 85,000 tourists visited the islands in 2000. The Samoan Government has called for deregulation of the financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline. 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. | 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 5% average in 1996-2007. Worker remittances and external trade routes for the landlocked country have been jeopardized by continued unrest in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire. |
Electricity - consumption | 95.79 million kWh (2000) | 412.9 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 103 million kWh (2000) | 444 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 59%
hydro: 41% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mauga Silisili 1,857 m |
lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion | 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, Nuclear Test Ban, 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, Wetlands, Whaling
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% | Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | tala per US dollar - 3.5236 (January 2002), 3.4722 (2001), 3.2712 (2000), 3.0120 (1999), 2.9429 (1998), 2.5562 (1997) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Chief Tanumafili II MALIETOA (cochief of state from 1 January 1962 until becoming sole chief of state 5 April 1963)
head of government: Prime Minister Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA (since 24 November 1998); note - TUILA'EPA served as deputy prime minister from 1992 until he assumed the prime ministership in November 1998, when former Prime Minister TOFILAU Eti Alesana resigned in poor health; the post of deputy prime minister is currently vacant cabinet: Cabinet consists of 12 members, appointed by the chief of state with the prime minister's advice elections: upon the death of Chief Tanumafili II MALIETOA, a new chief of state will be elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve a five-year term; 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 |
chief of state: President Amadou Toumani TOURE (since 8 June 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Modibo SIDIBE (since 28 September 2007) 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 29 April 2007 (next to be held April in 2012); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Amadou Toumani TOURE reelected president; percent of vote - Amadou Toumani TOURE 71.2%, Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA 19.2%, other 9.6% |
Exports | $17 million f.o.b. (2000) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | fish, coconut oil and cream, copra, taro, garments, beer | cotton, gold, livestock |
Exports - partners | Australia 62%, Indonesia 13%, US 11%, American Samoa 3%, New Zealand 3% (2000) | China 26.8%, Germany 24.9%, Thailand 7.1%, Taiwan 4.9%, Bangladesh 4% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side quadrant bearing five white five-pointed stars representing the Southern Cross constellation | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $618 million (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16%
industry: 18% services: 66% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 45%
industry: 17% services: 38% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2001 est.) | 4.3% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 35 S, 172 20 W | 17 00 N, 4 00 W |
Geography - note | occupies an almost central position within Polynesia | landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan |
Highways | total: 836 km
paved: 267 km unpaved: 569 km (1983) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 30.2% (2001) |
Imports | $90 million f.o.b. (2000) | 4,369 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, foodstuffs | petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | Australia 27%, US 26%, New Zealand 14%, Fiji 12%, Japan 9% (2000) | France 12.8%, Senegal 12.2%, Cote d'Ivoire 10.5% (2006) |
Independence | 1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship) | 22 September 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.8% (2000) | NA% |
Industries | food processing, building materials, auto parts | food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | 30.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 105.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 115.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 95.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 4.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW (signatory), Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 2,360 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 90,000 (2000 est.) | 3.93 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, services 30%, industry 5% (1995 est.) | 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: 19.43%
permanent crops: 23.67% other: 56.9% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 3.76%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 96.21% (2005) |
Languages | Samoan (Polynesian), English | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages |
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 | based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fono (49 seats - 47 elected by Samoans, 2 elected by non-Samoans; only chiefs or matai may stand for election to the Fono; members serve five-year terms)
elections: byelection last held NA November 2001 (next byelection to be held 29 March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HRPP 30, SNDP 13, independents 6 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 1 and 22 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ADP coalition 113 (including ADEMA 51, URD 34, MPR 8, CNID 7, UDD 3, and other 10), FDR coalition 15 (including RPM 11, PARENA 4), SADI 4, independent 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.8 years
male: 67.06 years female: 72.69 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 49.51 years
male: 47.6 years female: 51.46 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 80% male: 81% female: 79% (1999) |
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 South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Western Africa, southwest of Algeria |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,091 GRT/ 8,127 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
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 armed services; Samoa Police Force | Malian Armed Forces: Army, Republic of Mali Air Force (Force Aerienne de la Republique du Mali, FARM), National Guard (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.9% (2006) |
National holiday | Independence Day Celebration, 1 June (1962); note - 1 January 1962 is the date of independence from the New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship, 1 June 1962 is the date that independence is celebrated | Independence Day, 22 September (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Samoan(s)
adjective: Samoan |
noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons; active volcanism | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding |
Natural resources | hardwood forests, fish, hydropower | 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 | -11.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -6.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Party [leader NA]; Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP [Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA, chairman]; Samoa All People's Party or SAPP [Matatumua NAIMOAGA]; Samoan National Development Party or SNDP [LE MAMEA Ropati, chairman] (opposition); Samoa National Party [FETU Tiatia, party secretary]; Samoan Progressive Conservative Party [LEOTA Ituau Ale]; Samoan United Independent Party or SUIP [leader NA] | Alliance for Democratic Change (political group comprised mainly of Tuareg from Mali's northern region); African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence or SADI [Oumar MARIKO, secretary general]; Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP (a coalition of political parties including ADEMA and URD formed in December 2006 to support the presidential candidacy of Amadou TOURE); Alliance for Democracy or ADEMA [Diounconda TRAORE]; Convergence 2007 [Soumeylou Boubeye MAIGA]; Front for Democracy and the Republic or FDR (a coalition of political parties including RPM and PARENA formed to oppose the presidential candidacy of Amadou TOURE); National Congress for Democratic Initiative or CNID [Mountaga TALL]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Me Idrissa TRAORE]; Party for National Renewal or PARENA [Tiebile DRAME]; Patriotic Movement for Renewal or MPR [Choguel MAIGA]; Rally for Democracy and Labor or RDT; Rally for Mali or RPM [Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA]; Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally or US/RDA [Mamadou Bamou TOURE]; 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 | - |
Population | 178,631 (July 2002 est.) | 11,995,402 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 64% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.25% (2002 est.) | 2.681% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Apia, Asau, Mulifanua, Salelologa | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 230 (27 regional and government stations, and 203 private stations), shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | 174,849 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 729 km
narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Christian 99.7% (about one-half of population associated with the London Missionary Society; includes Congregational, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Latter-Day Saints, Seventh-Day Adventist) | Muslim 90%, Christian 1%, indigenous beliefs 9% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.69 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.39 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.024 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.977 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: domestic system unreliable but improving; provides only minimal service
domestic: fixed-line availability is gradually increasing, but subscribership remains less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has increased sharply to 13 per 100 persons international: country code - 223; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,183 (1998) | 82,500 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,545 (February 1998) | 1.513 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (1997) | 2 (plus repeaters) (2007) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast |
Total fertility rate | 3.3 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 7.38 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA%; note - substantial underemployment | 14.6% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | 1,800 km (2007) |