Compare Samoa (2008) - Syria (2004)

Compare Samoa (2008) z Syria (2004)

	Samoa (2008)	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: 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: 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, coffee, cocoa	wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk
Airports	4 (2007)	93 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007)	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 (2007)	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	28.28 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	28.93 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $171.3 million expenditures: $78.1 million (FY04/05 est.)	revenues: $6.106 billion expenditures: $7.397 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2003 est.)
Capital	name: Apia geographic coordinates: 13 50 S, 171 44 W time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Damascus
Climate	tropical; rainy season (November to April), 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 local long form: Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o Samoa local 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	-	Syrian pound (SYP)
Death rate	5.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	4.96 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$177 million (2004)	$21.55 billion (2003 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	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 Aliioaiga Feturi ELISAIA 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	$43.95 million (2005)	$199 million (1997 est.)
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.	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	97.65 million kWh (2005)	21.63 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	105 million kWh (2005)	23.26 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mauga Silisili (Savaii) 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, invasive species, overfishing	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, 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, 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 - NA (2007), 2.7594 (2006), 2.7103 (2005), 2.7807 (2004), 2.9732 (2003)	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: 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: 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	0 bbl/day (2004)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	fish, coconut oil and cream, copra, taro, automotive parts, garments, beer	crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat
Exports - partners	Australia 44.1%, American Samoa 29.9%, Taiwan 11.3% (2006)	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	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	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 - $58.01 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 11.4% industry: 58.4% services: 30.2% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 28.5% industry: 29.4% services: 42.1% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $3,300 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.5% (2005 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: 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	1,060 bbl/day (2004)	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	NZ 21.5%, Fiji 14.8%, Singapore 13.2%, Australia 8.6%, Japan 8.6%, US 6.2%, Indonesia 5%, China 4.4% (2006)	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	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.)	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)	3.3% (2005)	1.5% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, ADB, 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, 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
Irrigated land	NA	12,130 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; District Court; Land and Titles Court	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: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	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: 21.13% permanent crops: 24.3% other: 54.57% (2005)	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 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 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: 71.3 years male: 68.49 years female: 74.26 years (2007 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: 99.7% male: 99.6% female: 99.7% (2003 est.)	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	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 41 nm
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: 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 military forces; Samoa Police Force (2005)	Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (including Air Defense Command), Police and Security Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$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; it is observed in June	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	-9.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004)
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]	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	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.)	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	1.291% (2007 est.)	2.4% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 2,711 km standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2003)
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 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: 1.037 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: 1.06 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: country code - 685; 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	19,500 (2005)	2,099,300 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	24,000 (2005)	400,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	2 (2002)	44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	two main islands (Savaii, Upolu) and several smaller islands and uninhabited islets; narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior	primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Total fertility rate	4.21 children born/woman (2007 est.)	3.61 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	20% (2002 est.)
Waterways	-	900 km (not economically significant) (2002)

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