Samoa (2002) | Yemen (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 | 19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz
note: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate |
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: 46.6% (male 4,751,776; female 4,582,277)
15-64 years: 50.6% (male 5,166,437; female 4,973,543) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 273,199; female 277,635) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, bananas, taro, yams | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish |
Airports | 3 (2001) | 44 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 2,944 sq km
land: 2,934 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming |
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. | North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. |
Birth rate | 15.53 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 43.16 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $105 million
expenditures: $119 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001/2002) |
revenues: $3.729 billion
expenditures: $4.107 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Apia | Sanaa |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (October to March), dry season (May to October) | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east |
Coastline | 403 km | 1,906 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1962 | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form: Independent State of Samoa
conventional short form: Samoa former: Western Samoa |
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman |
Currency | tala (WST) | Yemeni rial (YER) |
Death rate | 6.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $192 million (1999) | $6.044 billion (2003) |
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 Thomas C. KRAJESKI
embassy: Saawan Street, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 303-151 through 159 FAX: [967] (1) 303-160/161/162/164/165 |
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 Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI
chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 |
Disputes - international | none | Yemen protests Eritrea fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Yemen by the ICJ in 1999; nomadic groups in border region with Saudi Arabia resist demarcation of boundary in accordance wih 2000 Jeddah Treaty; Yemen protests Saudi erection of a concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities in sections of the boundary |
Economic aid - recipient | $42.9 million (1995) (1995) | $2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements) |
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. | Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production. It has been harmed by periodic declines in oil prices, but now benefits from current high prices. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. International donors, meeting in Paris in October 2002, agreed on a further $2.3 billion economic support package. Yemen has worked to maintain tight control over spending and to implement additional components of the IMF program. A markedly high population growth rate and internal political dissension complicate the government's task. Plans include a diversification of the economy, encouragement of tourism, and more efficient use of scarce water resources. |
Electricity - consumption | 95.79 million kWh (2000) | 2.8 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) | 3.01 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: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
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% | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans |
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) | Yemeni rials per US dollar - NA (2003), 175.625 (2002), 168.672 (2001), 161.718 (2000), 155.718 (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 Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL (since 4 April 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a seven-year term (recently extended from a five-year term by constitutional amendment); election last held 23 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 96.3%, Najib Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7% |
Exports | $17 million f.o.b. (2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | fish, coconut oil and cream, copra, taro, garments, beer | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
Exports - partners | Australia 62%, Indonesia 13%, US 11%, American Samoa 3%, New Zealand 3% (2000) | China 31.7%, Thailand 20.3%, India 15.6%, South Korea 4.9%, Malaysia 4.3% (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; similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $618 million (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15.09 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16%
industry: 18% services: 66% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 15.2%
industry: 45% services: 39.7% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2001 est.) | 2.8% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 35 S, 172 20 W | 15 00 N, 48 00 E |
Geography - note | occupies an almost central position within Polynesia | strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes |
Highways | total: 836 km
paved: 267 km unpaved: 569 km (1983) |
total: 67,000 km
paved: 7,705 km unpaved: 59,295 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (2003) |
Imports | $90 million f.o.b. (2000) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, foodstuffs | food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Australia 27%, US 26%, New Zealand 14%, Fiji 12%, Japan 9% (2000) | UAE 12.9%, Saudi Arabia 10.2%, China 8.9%, US 4.9%, Kuwait 4.4%, France 4.1% (2003) |
Independence | 1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship) | 22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen had become independent in November of 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.8% (2000) | 3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | food processing, building materials, auto parts | crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement |
Infant mortality rate | 30.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 63.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 68.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 58.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 10.8% (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) | AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 4,900 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 90,000 (2000 est.) | 5.79 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, services 30%, industry 5% (1995 est.) | most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
Land use | arable land: 19.43%
permanent crops: 23.67% other: 56.9% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 2.78%
permanent crops: 0.24% other: 96.98% (2001) |
Languages | Samoan (Polynesian), English | Arabic |
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, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; 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 |
a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held NA April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.8 years
male: 67.06 years female: 72.69 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 61.36 years
male: 59.53 years female: 63.29 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: 50.2% male: 70.5% female: 30% (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 Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Oceania | Middle East |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
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: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 19,766 GRT/24,794 DWT
by type: cargo 1, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: Hong Kong 2, Lebanon 1 registered in other countries: 5 (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 | establishment of a Coast Guard, scheduled for May 2001, has been delayed |
Military branches | no regular armed services; Samoa Police Force | Army (including Special Forces), Naval Forces and Coastal Defenses (including Marines), Air Force (including Air Defense Forces), Republican Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $885.6 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 7.9% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 4,617,064 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,590,720 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 255,426 (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 | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Samoan(s)
adjective: Samoan |
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons; active volcanism | sandstorms and dust storms in summer |
Natural resources | hardwood forests, fish, hydropower | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west |
Net migration rate | -11.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 88 km; oil 1,174 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] | there are more than 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qassim SALAAM]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]
note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won a landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and no longer governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah - the two parties had been in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, a loyal opposition party, represents the remnants of the former South Yemeni leadership; leaders of the 1994 secessionist movement have been pardoned by President SALIH and some are now returning to Yemen from exile |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 178,631 (July 2002 est.) | 20,024,867 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 15.7% (2001) |
Population growth rate | -0.25% (2002 est.) | 3.44% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Apia, Asau, Mulifanua, Salelologa | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 174,849 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
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 including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 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: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network
domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems international: country code - 967; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,183 (1998) | 542,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,545 (February 1998) | 411,100 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (1997) | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior | narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula |
Total fertility rate | 3.3 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.75 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA%; note - substantial underemployment | 35% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |