h 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

_*_People
_#_Population: 144,928 (July 1991), growth rate 2.8% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 26 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: 5 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 12 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 75 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 3.0 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Guamanian(s); adjective--Guamanian

_#_Ethnic divisions: Chamorro 47%, Filipino 25%, Caucasian 10%,
Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other 18%

_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 98%, other 2%

_#_Language: 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: 54,000; government 42%, private 58% (1988)

_#_Organized labor: 13% of labor force

_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Territory of Guam

_#_Type: organized, unincorporated territory of the US

_#_Capital: Agana

_#_Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US)

_#_Independence: none (territory of the US)

_#_Constitution: Organic Act of 1 August 1950

_#_Legal system: NA

_#_National holiday: Guam Discovery Day (first Monday in March),
6 March 1989

_#_Executive branch: President of the US, governor,
lieutenant governor, Cabinet

_#_Legislative branch: unicameral Legislature

_#_Judicial branch: Superior Court of Guam (Federal District Court)

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--President George BUSH (since 20 January 1989);

Head of Government--Governor Joseph A. ADA (since NA November
1986); Lieutenant Governor Frank F. BLAS

_#_Political partie