lly:
males: 45,656 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures--dollar figure: $NA

Military expenditures--percent of GDP: NA%

Military--note: defense is the responsibility of China

Transnational Issues

Disputes--international: none

Illicit drugs: a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade;
transshipment and money-laundering center; increasing indigenous
amphetamine abuse

======================================================================

@Howland Island
--------------

Geography

Location: Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about
one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia

Geographic coordinates: 0 48 N, 176 38 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
total: 1.6 sq km
land: 1.6 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area--comparative: about three times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 6.4 km

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

Climate: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun

Terrain: low-lying, nearly level, sandy, coral island surrounded
by a narrow fringing reef; depressed central area

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 3 m

Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 5%
other: 95%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1998)

Natural hazards: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island
can be a maritime hazard

Environment--current issues: no natural fresh water resources

Environment--international agreements:
party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA

Geography--note: almost totally covered with grasses, prostrate
vines, and low-growing shrubs; small area of trees in the center;
primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds,
shorebirds, and marine wildlife

People

Population: uninhabited
note: American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and
naval attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during
World War II, but abandoned after the war; public entry is by
special-use permit from US Fish and Wildlife Service only and
generally restricted to scientists and educators; visited annually
by US Fish and Wildlife Service

Government

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional sho