age 18-49: 1,204 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Transnational Issues Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Disputes - international:
joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves
Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which
permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large
portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US
and Europe; small-scale cannabis cultivation

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Samoa

Introduction Samoa

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.

Geography Samoa

Location:
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about
one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand

Geographic coordinates:
13 35 S, 172 20 W

Map references:
Oceania

Area:
total: 2,944 sq km
land: 2,934 sq km
water: 10 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Rhode Island

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
403 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to
October)

Terrain:
two main islands (Savaii, Upolu) and several smaller islands and
uninhabited islets; narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky,
rugged mountains in interior

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mauga Silisili (Savaii) 1,857 m

Natural resources:
hardwood forests, fish, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 21.13%
permanent crops: 24.3%
other: 54.57% (2005)

Irrigated land:
NA

Natural hazards:
occasional typhoons; active volcanism

Environment - current issues:
soil erosion, deforestation, invasive species, overfishing

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, D