| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Territory of Guam
conventional short form: Guam
local long form: Guahan |
| Capital: |
Hagatna (Agana) |
| Location: |
Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
13 28 N, 144 47 E |
| Area: |
total: 549 sq km
land: 549 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
three times the size of Washington, DC |
| Land
Boundaries: |
0 km |
| Coastline: |
125.5 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Climate: |
tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from 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 |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan) |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
NA (organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior ) |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
none (territory of the US) |
| Independence |
none (territory of the US) |
| National
Holiday: |
Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521) |
| Constitution: |
Organic Act of 1 August 1950 |
| Legal
System; |
modeled on US; US federal laws apply |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Felix P. P. CAMACHO (since 6 January 2003) and Lieutenant Governor Kaleo MOYLAN (since 6 January 2003)
cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with the consent of the Guam legislature
elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for a four-year term; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held November 2006)
election results: Felix P. P. CAMACHO elected governor; percent of vote - Felix P. P. CAMACHO (Republican Party) 55.4%, Robert A. UNDERWOOD (Democratic Party) 44.6% |
| Legislative
Branch: |
unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 6, Republican Party 9
note: Guam elects one nonvoting delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); results - Madeleine BORDALLO (Democratic Party) was elected as delegate; percent of vote by party - Democratic Party 64.6%, Republican Party 35.4%; seats by party - Democratic Party 1 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president); Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by the governor) |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Democratic Party [leader Michael PHILLIPS]; Republican Party (controls the legislature) [leader Philip J. FLORES] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
168,564 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 29.4% (male 25,645/female 23,887)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 55,115/female 52,935)
65 years and over: 6.5% (male 5,157/female 5,825) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 28.38 years
male: 28.16 years
female: 28.61 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Guamanian(s)
adjective: Guamanian |
| Ethnic groups: |
Chamorro 37%, Filipino 26%, white 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other 27% |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.) |
| Languages: |
English, Chamorro, Japanese |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
84,134 (2001) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
32,600 (2001) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: modern system, integrated with US facilities for direct dialing, including free use of 800 numbers
domestic: modern digital system, including cellular mobile service and local access to the Internet
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 4, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2003) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
5 (1997) |
| Internet country
code: |
.gu |
| Internet hosts: |
|
| Internet users: |
50,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 977 km
paved: 962 km
unpaved: 15 km (2004) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Apra Harbor |
| Merchant marine: |
|
| Airports: |
5 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
