Compare Samoa (2002) - Syria (2004)

Compare Samoa (2002) z Syria (2004)

	Samoa (2002)	Syria (2004)

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	14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus
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: 38% (male 3,524,406; female 3,319,323) 15-64 years: 58.7% (male 5,421,133; female 5,163,669) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 281,795; female 306,548) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	coconuts, bananas, taro, yams	wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk
Airports	3 (2001)	93 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002)	total: 26 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)	total: 66 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 54 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 2,944 sq km land: 2,934 sq km water: 10 sq km	total: 185,180 sq km land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Rhode Island	slightly larger than North Dakota
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.	Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. Over the past decade, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights.
Birth rate	15.53 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)	28.93 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $105 million expenditures: $119 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001/2002)	revenues: $6.106 billion expenditures: $7.397 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2003 est.)
Capital	Apia	Damascus
Climate	tropical; rainy season (October to March), dry season (May to October)	mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus
Coastline	403 km	193 km
Constitution	1 January 1962	13 March 1973
Country name	conventional long form: Independent State of Samoa conventional short form: Samoa former: Western Samoa	conventional long form: Syrian Arab Republic conventional short form: Syria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah local short form: Suriyah former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt)
Currency	tala (WST)	Syrian pound (SYP)
Death rate	6.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)	4.96 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$192 million (1999)	$21.55 billion (2003 est.)
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 Margaret SCOBEY embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 333-1342 FAX: [963] (11) 331-9678
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 Imad MUSTAFA chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548
Disputes - international	none	Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; Lebanon claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights; Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon since October 1976; Syria protests Turkish hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates waters; settled border dispute with Jordan in 2004
Economic aid - recipient	$42.9 million (1995) (1995)	$199 million (1997 est.)
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.	Syria's predominantly statist economy lately has been growing more slowly than its 2.4% annual population growth rate. Recent legislation allows private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. Factors, including the war between the US-led coalition and Iraq, probably drove real annual GDP growth levels back below 1% in 2003 following growth of 3.5% in 2001 and 4.5% in 2002. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution.
Electricity - consumption	95.79 million kWh (2000)	21.63 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2000)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2000)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	103 million kWh (2000)	23.26 billion kWh (2001)
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: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m
Environment - current issues	soil erosion	deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	Samoan 92.6%, Euronesians 7% (persons of European and Polynesian blood), Europeans 0.4%	Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
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)	Syrian pounds per US dollar - (Official rate): 11.225 (2003), 11.225 (2002), 11.225 (2001), 11.225 (2000), 11.225 (1999), (Free market rate): 49.65 (2001), 49.4 (2000), 51.7 (1999)
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 Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984) head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafiz al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29% note: Hafiz al-ASAD died on 10 June 2000; on 20 June 2000, the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council on 25 June 2000
Exports	$17 million f.o.b. (2000)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	fish, coconut oil and cream, copra, taro, garments, beer	crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat
Exports - partners	Australia 62%, Indonesia 13%, US 11%, American Samoa 3%, New Zealand 3% (2000)	Germany 20.9%, Italy 12.6%, UAE 7.6%, Lebanon 6.2%, Turkey 6%, France 5.4%, Croatia 4.8%, US 4.1% (2003)
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 horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, colors associated with the Arab Liberation flag; two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; former flag of the United Arab Republic where the two stars represented the constituent states of Syria and Egypt; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band, and that of Egypt, which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band; the current design dates to 1980
GDP	purchasing power parity - $618 million (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $58.01 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 16% industry: 18% services: 66% (2000 est.)	agriculture: 28.5% industry: 29.4% services: 42.1% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $3,300 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6% (2001 est.)	0.9% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	13 35 S, 172 20 W	35 00 N, 38 00 E
Geography - note	occupies an almost central position within Polynesia	there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.)
Heliports	-	7 (2003 est.)
Highways	total: 836 km paved: 267 km unpaved: 569 km (1983)	total: 43,381 km paved: 10,021 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 33,360 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	-	a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets; weak anti-money-laundering controls, bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money-laundering
Imports	$90 million f.o.b. (2000)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, foodstuffs	machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper
Imports - partners	Australia 27%, US 26%, New Zealand 14%, Fiji 12%, Japan 9% (2000)	Germany 7.2%, Italy 7.1%, China 6.3%, France 5.9%, Turkey 5.4% (2003)
Independence	1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship)	17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
Industrial production growth rate	2.8% (2000)	NA
Industries	food processing, building materials, auto parts	petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining
Infant mortality rate	30.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)	total: 30.6 deaths/1,000 live births male: 30.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 30.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.5% (2001 est.)	1.5% (2003 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)	ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	2 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	NA sq km	12,130 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Court of Appeal	Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts
Labor force	90,000 (2000 est.)	4.97 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 65%, services 30%, industry 5% (1995 est.)	agriculture, industry, services NA
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 2,253 km border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km
Land use	arable land: 19.43% permanent crops: 23.67% other: 56.9% (1998 est.)	arable land: 25.22% permanent crops: 4.43% other: 70.35% (2001)
Languages	Samoan (Polynesian), English	Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
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 Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; 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 People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 2-3 March 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, independents 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receives one-half of the seats
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 69.8 years male: 67.06 years female: 72.69 years (2002 est.)	total population: 69.71 years male: 68.47 years female: 71.02 years (2004 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: 76.9% male: 89.7% female: 64% (2003 est.)
Location	Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand	Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey
Map references	Oceania	Middle East
Maritime claims	exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 41 nm
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.)	total: 122 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 446,981 GRT/636,620 DWT by type: bulk 12, cargo 101, container 2, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: Egypt 1, Germany 1, Greece 1, Italy 1, Lebanon 10, Romania 1 registered in other countries: 83 (2004 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	Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (including Air Defense Command), Police and Security Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$NA	$858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA%	5.9% (FY00)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 4,876,040 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 2,716,054 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 216,077 (2004 est.)
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, 17 April (1946)
Nationality	noun: Samoan(s) adjective: Samoan	noun: Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian
Natural hazards	occasional typhoons; active volcanism	dust storms, sandstorms
Natural resources	hardwood forests, fish, hydropower	petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower
Net migration rate	-11.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004)
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]	National Progressive Front or NPF (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party; the governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallal Nasr Al-DIN]; Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yuusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL]; Arab Socialist Unionist Movement [Ahmed al-AHMED]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan QUDSI]); Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	conservative religious leaders; Kurdish Democratic Alliance [leader NA]; Kurdish Democratic Front [lader NA]; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in London) [Ali Badr Eddine al-BAYANOUNI]; National Democratic Front [Hassan Abd al-AZIM]
Population	178,631 (July 2002 est.)	18,016,874 note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	20% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	-0.25% (2002 est.)	2.4% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	Apia, Asau, Mulifanua, Salelologa	Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios	174,849 (1997)	-
Railways	0 km	total: 2,711 km standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2003)
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)	Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
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: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2004 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: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 963; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel
Telephones - main lines in use	8,183 (1998)	2,099,300 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1,545 (February 1998)	400,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	6 (1997)	44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior	primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Total fertility rate	3.3 children born/woman (2002 est.)	3.61 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%; note - substantial underemployment	20% (2002 est.)
Waterways	none	900 km (not economically significant) (2002)

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.