Samoa (2007) | Libya (2002) | |
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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 | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 38.1% (male 41,551/female 40,085)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 63,320/female 57,277) 65 years and over: 5.6% (male 5,416/female 6,616) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 35% (male 958,243; female 917,940)
15-64 years: 61% (male 1,694,986; female 1,581,400) 65 years and over: 4% (male 105,500; female 110,516) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, bananas, taro, yams, coffee, cocoa | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 4 (2007) | 136 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 58
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 78
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 39 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
Area | total: 2,944 sq km
land: 2,934 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly larger than Alaska |
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. | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. |
Birth rate | 28.28 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 27.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $171.3 million
expenditures: $78.1 million (FY04/05 est.) |
revenues: $9.3 billion
expenditures: $9.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | name: Apia
geographic coordinates: 13 50 S, 171 44 W time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Tripoli |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October) | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 403 km | 1,770 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1962 | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 |
Country name | conventional long form: Independent State of Samoa
conventional short form: Samoa local long form: Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o Samoa local short form: Samoa former: Western Samoa |
conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Currency | - | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
Death rate | 5.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 3.5 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $177 million (2004) | $4.7 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: none; US Ambassador to New Zealand is accredited to Samoa
embassy: Accident Compensation Board (ACB) Building, 5th Floor, Beach Road, Apia mailing address: P. O. Box 3430, Apia, 0815 telephone: [685] 21436/21452/21631/22696 FAX: [685] 22030 |
the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Aliioaiga Feturi ELISAIA
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6196, 6197 FAX: [1] (212) 599-0797 |
Libya does not have an embassy in the US |
Disputes - international | none | Chadian rebels from Aozou region reside in Libya; Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in Niger as well as part of southeastern Algeria in currently dormant disputes |
Economic aid - recipient | $43.95 million (2005) | $7 million |
Economy - overview | The economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on development aid, family remittances from overseas, agriculture, and fishing. 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 fish catch declined during the El Nino of 2002-03 but returned to normal by mid-2005. The manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. One factory in the Foreign Trade Zone employs 3,000 people to make automobile electrical harnesses for an assembly plant in Australia. Tourism is an expanding sector, accounting for 25% of GDP; about 100,000 tourists visited the islands in 2005. The Samoan Government has called for deregulation of the financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline, while at the same time protecting the environment. 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. | The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. The suspension of UN sanctions in 1999 also boosted growth. Libya's January 2002 51% devaluation of the official exchange rate of the dinar is another fiscal plus, although it will also bring higher inflation. |
Electricity - consumption | 97.65 million kWh (2005) | 18.042 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 105 million kWh (2005) | 19.4 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mauga Silisili (Savaii) 1,857 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion, deforestation, invasive species, overfishing | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Samoan 92.6%, Euronesians 7% (persons of European and Polynesian blood), Europeans 0.4% | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
Exchange rates | tala per US dollar - 2.7594 (2006), 2.7103 (2005), 2.7807 (2004), 2.9732 (2003), 3.3763 (2002) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.6501 (December 2001), 0.6501 (2001), 0.5403 (2000), 0.5403 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997); market rate for Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.55 (January 2002)
note: Libya devalued its official rate for foreign trade on 1 January 2002 to 21.30 dinars per US dollar; the previous official rate was 0.63 dinar per US dollar (Dec 2001 ) |
Executive branch | chief of state: TUIATUA Tupua Tamasese Efi (since 20 June 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA (since 1996); Deputy Prime Minister MISA Telefoni (since 2001) cabinet: Cabinet consists of 12 members appointed by the chief of state on the prime minister's advice elections: chief of state is elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 15 June 2007 (next to be held in 2012); 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 election results: TUIATUA Tupua Tamasese Efi unanimously elected by the Legislative Assembly |
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $13.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | fish, coconut oil and cream, copra, taro, automotive parts, garments, beer | crude oil, refined petroleum products |
Exports - partners | Australia 44%, American Samoa 29.9%, Taiwan 11.2% (2006) | Italy 42%, Germany 19%, Spain 13%, Turkey 6%, France 4%, Switzerland 3%, Tunisia 2% (2000) |
Fiscal year | June 1 - May 31 | 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 | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $40 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11.4%
industry: 58.4% services: 30.2% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 47% services: 46% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2005 est.) | 3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 35 S, 172 20 W | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | occupies an almost central position within Polynesia | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 24,484 km
paved: 6,798 km unpaved: 17,686 km note: data for the length of unpaved roads include the assumption that because they were listed as secondary roads, they are unpaved; some may be paved and some part of the primary roads may not be paved (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $8.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, foodstuffs | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | NZ 21.5%, Fiji 14.8%, Singapore 13.2%, Australia 8.6%, Japan 8.6%, US 6.2%, Indonesia 5%, China 4.4% (2006) | Italy 25%, Germany 10%, UK 8%, France 7%, Tunisia 7%, South Korea 4% (2000) |
Independence | 1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship) | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.8% (2000) | NA% |
Industries | food processing, building materials, auto parts | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 25.89 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
27.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.3% (2005) | 13.6% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IPU, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA | 4,700 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; District Court; Land and Titles Court | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 90,000 (2000 est.) | 1.5 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
services 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land: 21.13%
permanent crops: 24.3% other: 54.57% (2005) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Samoan (Polynesian), English | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
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 Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fono (49 seats, 47 elected by voters affiliated with traditional village-based electoral districts, 2 elected by independent, mostly non-Samoan or part-Samoan, voters who cannot, (or choose not to) establish a village affiliation; only chiefs (matai) may stand for election to the Fono from the 47 village-based electorates; members serve five-year terms)
elections: election last held 31 March 2006 (next election to be held not later than March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - HRPP 35, SDUP 10, independents 4 |
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.3 years
male: 68.49 years female: 74.26 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 75.86 years
male: 73.71 years female: 78.11 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.7% male: 99.6% female: 99.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2% male: 87.9% female: 63% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 NM
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 7,091 GRT/8,127 DWT
by type: cargo 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Cyprus 1) (2007) |
total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 209,000 GRT/278,277 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1, United Arab Emirates 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 military forces; Samoa Police Force (2005) | Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy, Air and Air Defense Command (includes Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $1.3 billion (FY99/00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 3.9% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,503,647 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 890,783 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 61,694 (2002 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; it is observed in June | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: Samoan(s)
adjective: Samoan |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons; active volcanism | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | hardwood forests, fish, hydropower | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | -9.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km |
Political parties and leaders | Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP [Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA]; Samoa Christian Party or TCP [Tuala Tiresa MALIETOA]; Samoa Democratic United Party or SDUP [LE MAMEA Ropati]; Samoa Party or SP [Su'a Rimoni Ah CHONG]; Samoa Progressive Political Party or SPPP [Toeolesulusulu SIUEVA] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements |
Population | 214,265
note: prior estimates used official net migration data by sex, but a highly unusual pattern for 1993 lead to a significant imbalance in the sex ratios (more men and fewer women) and a seeming reduction in the female population; the revised total was calculated using a 1993 number that was an average of the 1992 and 1994 migration figures (July 2007 est.) |
5,368,585
note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.291% (2007 est.) | 2.41% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) |
Radios | - | 1.35 million (1997) |
Railways | - | note: Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard-gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (2001) |
Religions | Congregationalist 34.8%, Roman Catholic 19.6%, Methodist 15%, Latter-Day Saints 12.7%, Assembly of God 6.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.5%, Worship Centre 1.3%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.9%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census) | Sunni Muslim 97% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.037 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.106 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.819 male(s)/female total population: 1.061 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19,500 (2005) | 500,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 24,000 (2005) | 20,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2002) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | two main islands (Savaii, Upolu) and several smaller islands and uninhabited islets; narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 4.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.57 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 30% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |