expenditures:
3.3% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world: 37
Transnational Issues ::Algeria
Disputes - international:
Algeria, and many other states, rejects Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; the Polisario Front, exiled in Algeria, represents the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic; Algeria's border with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations, each nation accusing the other of harboring militants and arms smuggling; Algeria remains concerned about armed bandits operating throughout the Sahel who sometimes destabilize southern Algerian towns; dormant disputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 sq km still reflected on its maps of southeastern Algeria and the FLN's assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 90,000 (Western Saharan Sahrawi, mostly living in Algerian-sponsored camps in the southwestern Algerian town of Tindouf)
IDPs: undetermined (civil war during 1990s) (2007)
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Algeria is a transit country for men and women trafficked from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude; criminal networks of sub-Saharan nationals in southern Algeria facilitate transit by arranging transportation, forged documents, and promises of employment
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Algeria is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List because it does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, however, it is making significant efforts to do so; in January 2009, the government approved new legislation that criminalizes trafficking in persons for the purposes of labor and sexual exploitation representing an important step toward complying with international standards; despite these efforts, the government did not show overall progress in punishing trafficking crimes and protecting trafficking victims and continued to lack adequate measures to protect victims and prevent trafficking (2009)
page last updated on January 20, 2011
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@American Samoa (Australia-Oceania)
Introduction ::American Samoa
Background:
Settled as early as 1000 B.C., Samoa was "discovered" by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year.
Geography ::American Samoa
Location:
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand
Geographic coordinates:
14 20 S, 170 00 W
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total: 199 sq km country comparison to the world: 215 land: 199 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
116 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:
tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds; annual rainfall averages about 3 m; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October); little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain:
five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island)
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata Mountain 964 m
Natural resources:
pumice, pumicite
Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 15%
other: 75% (2005)
Irrigated land:
NA
Natural hazards:
typhoons common from December to March
volcanism: American Samoa experiences limited volcanic activity on the Ofu and Olosega Islands, neither has erupted since the 19th century
Environment - current issues:
limited natural fresh water resources; the water division of the government has spent substantial funds in the past few years to improve water catchments and pipelines
Geography - note:
Pago Pago has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the South
Pacific Ocean, sheltered by shape from rough seas and protected by
peripheral mountains from high winds; strategic location in the
South Pacific Ocean
People ::American Samoa
Population:
66,432 (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 202
Age structure:
0–14 years: 33.4% (male 11,159/female 10,768)
15–64 years: 62.7% (male 20,848/female 20,271)
65 years and over: 3.9% (male 1,211/female 1,371) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 23.4 years
male: 23.3 years
female: 23.6
