Part 902

Military branches: NA

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49 : NA

Military manpower - fit for military service: males: NA

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: claimed and administered by Morocco, but sovereignty is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue; the UN-administered cease-fire has been in effect since September 1991 ______________________________________________________________________

WESTERN SAMOA

@Western Samoa:Geography

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: 2,860 sq km land: 2,850 sq km water: 10 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Rhode Island

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 403 km

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

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

Terrain: narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior

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

Natural resources: hardwood forests, fish

Land use: arable land : 19% permanent crops: 24% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 47% other: 10%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: occasional typhoons; active volcanism

Environment - current issues: soil erosion

Environment - international agreements: party to : Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified : none of the selected agreements

@Western Samoa:People

Population: 219,509 (July 1997 est.) note: other estimates range as low as 162,000