218 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
218 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
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WESTERN SAMOA
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 2,860 km2; land area: 2,850 km2
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Comparative area: slightly smaller than Rhode Island
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Land boundaries: none
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Coastline: 403 km
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Maritime claims:
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Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
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Territorial sea: 12 nm
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Climate: tropical; rainy season (October to March), dry season
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(May to October)
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Terrain: narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged
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mountains in interior
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Natural resources: hardwood forests, fish
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Land use: arable land 19%; permanent crops 24%; meadows and
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pastures NEGL%; forest and woodland 47%; other 10%
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Environment: subject to occasional typhoons; active volcanism
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Note: located 4,300 km southwest of Honolulu in the South Pacific
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Ocean about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand
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PEOPLE
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Population: 190,346 (July 1991), growth rate 2.3% (1991)
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Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: - 4 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 47 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 69 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 4.5 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Western Samoan(s); adjective--Western Samoan
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Ethnic divisions: Samoan; Euronesians (persons of European and
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Polynesian blood) about 7%, Europeans 0.4%
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Religion: Christian 99.7% (about half of population associated with
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the London Missionary Society; includes Congregational, Roman Catholic,
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Methodist, Latter Day Saints, Seventh-Day Adventist)
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Language: Samoan (Polynesian), English
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Literacy: 97% (male 97%, female 97%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1971)
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Labor force: 38,000; 22,000 employed in agriculture (1987 est.)
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Organized labor: Public Service Association (PSA)
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Independent State of Western Samoa
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Type: constitutional monarchy under native chief
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Capital: Apia
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Administrative divisions: 11 districts; Aana, Aiga-i-le-Tai,
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Atua, Faasaleleaga, Gagaemauga, Gagaifomauga, Palauli, Satupaitea,
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Tuamasaga, Vaa-o-Fonoti, Vaisigano
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Independence: 1 January 1962 (from UN trusteeship administered
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by New Zealand)
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Constitution: 1 January 1962
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Legal system: based on English common law and local customs;
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judicial review of legislative acts with respect to fundamental rights of
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the citizen; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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National holiday: National Day, 1 June
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Executive branch: monarch, Executive Council, prime minister,
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Cabinet
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Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly (Fono)
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Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Court of Appeal
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--Susuga Malietoa TANUMAFILI II (Co-Chief of State
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from 1 January 1962 until becoming sole Chief of State on 5 April 1963);
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Head of Government--Prime Minister TOFILAU Eti Alesana (since
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7 April 1988)
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Political parties and leaders:
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Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), TOFILAU Eti, chairman;
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Samoan National Development Party (SNDP), VA'AI Kolone,
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chairman
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Suffrage: universal adult at age NA, but only matai (head of
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family) are able to run for the Legislative Assembly
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Elections:
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Legislative Assembly--last held NA February 1991
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(next to be held by February 1994);
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results--percent of vote by party NA;
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seats--(47 total) HRPP 30, SNDP 14, independent 3
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Member of: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD,
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IFC, IMF, IOC, ITU, LORCS, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Fili (Felix) Tuaopepe
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WENDT; Chancery (temporary) at the Western Samoan Mission to the UN,
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820 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10017 (212) 599-6196;
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US--the ambassador to New Zealand, Della Newman, is accredited to
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Western Samoa (mailing address is P.O. Box 3430, Apia); telephone (685)
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21-631
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Flag: red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side quadrant
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bearing five white five-pointed stars representing the Southern Cross
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constellation
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ECONOMY
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Overview: Agriculture employs more than half of the labor force,
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contributes 50% to GDP, and furnishes 90% of exports. The bulk
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of export earnings comes from the sale of coconut oil and copra. The
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economy depends on emigrant remittances and foreign aid to support a
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level of imports about five times export earnings. Tourism has become the
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most important growth industry, and construction of the first
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international hotel is under way.
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GDP: $115 million, per capita $620; real growth rate - 4.5%
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(1990 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 17% (1990 est.)
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Unemployment rate: NA%; shortage of skilled labor
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Budget: revenues $70 million; expenditures $73 million,
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including capital expenditures of $41 million (1990)
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Exports: $9.4 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
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commodities--coconut oil and cream 54%, taro 12%, copra 9%,
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cocoa 3%;
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partners--NZ 28%, EC 23%, American Samoa 23%, Australia 11%,
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US 6% (1990)
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Imports: $87 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
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commodities--intermediate goods 58%, food 17%, capital goods 12%;
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partners--New Zealand 31%, Australia 20%, Japan 15%, Fiji 15%,
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US 5%, EC 4% (1987)
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External debt: $83 million (December 1990 est.)
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Industrial production: growth rate - 4.3% (1990 est.); accounts for
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14% of GDP
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Electricity: 29,000 kW capacity; 45 million kWh produced,
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240 kWh per capita (1990)
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Industries: timber, tourism, food processing, fishing
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Agriculture: accounts for 50% of GDP; coconuts, fruit (including
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bananas, taro, yams)
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Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $18
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million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
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(1970-88), $291 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $4 million
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Currency: tala (plural--tala); 1 tala (WS$) = 100 sene
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Exchange rates: tala (WS$) per US$1--2.3170 (January 1991), 2.3095
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(1990), 2.2686 (1989), 2.0790 (1988), 2.1204 (1987), 2.2351 (1986),
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2.2437 (1985)
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Fiscal year: calendar year
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Highways: 2,042 km total; 375 km sealed; remainder mostly gravel,
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crushed stone, or earth
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Ports: Apia
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Merchant marine: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 24,930
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GRT/34,135 DWT; includes 2 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo
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Civil air: 3 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 3 total, 3 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways;
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none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
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none with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: 7,500 telephones; 70,000 radios;
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stations--1 AM, no FM, no TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT station
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Department of Police and Prisons
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 49,119; NA fit for military
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service
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Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP
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