enerally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade
winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December;
little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain:
volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coraline
limestone plateau (source of most fresh water) with steep coastal cliffs and
narrow coastal plains in north, low-rising hills in center, mountains in
south
Natural resources:
fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan)
Land use:
arable land 11%; permanent crops 11%; meadows and pastures 15%; forest and
woodland 18%; other 45%
Environment:
frequent squalls during rainy season; subject to relatively rare, but
potentially very destructive typhoons (especially in August)
Note:
largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago;
strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean 5,955 km west-southwest of
Honolulu about three-quarters of the way between Hawaii and the Philippines

:Guam People

Population:
142,271 (July 1992), growth rate 2.6% (1992)
Birth rate:
27 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
4 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
3 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
15 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
72 years male, 76 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
2.5 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Guamanian(s); adjective - Guamanian; note - Guamanians are US
citizens
Ethnic divisions:
Chamorro 47%, Filipino 25%, Caucasian 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and
other 18%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 98%, other 2%
Languages:
English and Chamorro, most residents bilingual; Japanese also widely spoken
Literacy:
96% (male 96%, female 96%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980)
Labor force:
46,930; federal and territorial government 40%, private 60% (trade 18%,
services 15.6%, construction 13.8%, other 12.6%) (1990)
Organized labor:
13% of labor force

:Guam Government

Long-form name:
Territory of Guam
Type:
organized, unincorporated territory of the US; policy relations between Guam
and the US are under the jurisdiction of the Office of Territorial and
International Affairs, US Department of the Interior
Capital:
Agana
Administrative divisions:
none (territory of the US)
Independence:
none