| Guam |
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| Background: Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific. |
| Geography and Environmental |
Capital: name: Hagatna (Agana)
geographic coordinates: 13 28 N, 144 45 E
time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Area Total: 541.3 sq km |
| Area Land: 541.3 sq km |
| Area Water: 0 sq km |
| Area Comparative: three times the size of Washington, DC |
| Coastline: 125.5 km |
| Climate: tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season (January to June), rainy season (July to December); little seasonal temperature variation |
| Terrain: volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low hills in center, mountains in south |
| Elevation Extremes Lowest Point: Pacific Ocean 0 m |
| Elevation Extremes Highest Point: Mount Lamlam 406 m |
| Natural Resources: fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan) |
| Land Use Arable Land: 3.64% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 18.18% |
| Land Use Other: 78.18% (2005) |
| Irrigated Land: NA |
| Natural Hazards: frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (June - December) |
| Environment Current Issues: extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake, an exotic, invasive species |
| Geography Note: largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean |
| Population |
| Population: 173,456 (July 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 28.6% (male 25,686/female 23,938) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 64.5% (male 57,023/female 54,872) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 6.9% (male 5,592/female 6,345) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 28.8 years |
| Median Age Male: 28.5 years |
| Median Age Female: 29 years (2007 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate: 1.4% (2007 est.) |
| Birth Rate: 18.56 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death Rate: 4.56 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1.06 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.073 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 1.039 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 0.881 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 1.037 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 6.68 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 7.35 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 5.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 78.76 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 75.69 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Female: 82.01 years (2007 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate: 2.57 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: NA |
| HIV AIDS People Living With HIV AIDS: NA |
| HIV AIDS Deaths: NA |
| Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.) |
| Languages: English 38.3%, Chamorro 22.2%, Philippine languages 22.2%, other Pacific island languages 6.8%, Asian languages 7%, other languages 3.5% (2000 census) |
| Literacy Definition: age 15 and over can read and write |
| Literacy Total Population: 99% |
| Literacy Male: 99% |
| Literacy Female: 99% (1990 est.) |
| Administrative Divisions: none (territory of the US) |
| Legal System: modeled on US; US federal laws apply |
| Economy |
| Overview: The economy depends largely on US military spending and tourism. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1.3 billion in 2004. Over the past 30 years, the tourist industry has grown to become the largest income source following national defense. The Guam economy continues to experience expansion in both its tourism and military sectors. |
| GDP Purchasing Power Parity: $2.5 billion (2005 est.) |
| GDP Real Growth Rate: NA% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: NA% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: NA% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Services: NA% |
| Labor Force: 62,050 (2002 est.) |
Labor Force By Occupation: agriculture: 26%
industry: 10%
services: 64% (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment Rate: 11.4% (2002 est.) |
Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: 2.5% (2005 est.) |
| Industries: US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles |
| Industrial Production Growth Rate: NA% |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 1.764 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 100% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Other: 0% (2001) |
| Electricity Consumption: 1.641 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Exports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Imports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Oil Production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Oil Consumption: 16,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Exports: $45 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
| Exports Commodities: mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products |
| Exports Partners: Japan 67.2%, Singapore 11.6%, UK 4.8% (2005) |
| Imports: $701 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
| Imports Commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods |
| Imports Partners: Singapore 50%, South Korea 21.4%, Japan 14%, Hong Kong 4.6% (2005) |
| Debt External: $NA |
| Economic Aid Recipient: Guam receives large transfer payments from the US Federal Treasury ($143 million in 1997) into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam (2001 est.) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 84,134 (2001) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 98,000 (2004) |
| Telephone System General Assessment: modern system, integrated with US facilities for direct dialing, including free use of 800 numbers |
| Telephone System Domestic: modern digital system, including cellular mobile service and local access to the Internet |
| Telephone System International: country code - 1-671; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to US and Japan (Guam is a trans-Pacific communications hub for MCI, Sprint, AT&T, IT&E, and GTE, linking the US and Asia) |
| Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2006) |
| Radios: 221,000 (1997) |
| Television Broadcast Stations: 3 (2006) |
| Televisions: 106,000 (1997) |
| Internet Service Providers-ISPs: 20 (2000) |
| Internet Users: 79,000 (2004) |
| Transportation |
| Airports: 5 (2006) |
| Disputes International: none |