FAX: 488-2911

FAX: (202) 452-6281

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: the Ambassador to the Philippines is accredited to Palau; Charge d'Affaires Allen E. NUGENT

embassy: address NA, Koror

mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940

telephone: 488-2920, 2990

Flag description: light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side

Palau Economy

Economy - overview: The economy consists primarily of subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. The population enjoys a per capita income of twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific and the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $129 million (1998 est.)

note: GDP numbers reflect US spending

GDP - real growth rate: -1.4% (1998 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $7,100 (1998 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA%

industry: NA%

services: NA%

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%

highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 8,300 (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services
NA%

Unemployment rate: 2.3% (2000 est.)

Budget: revenues: $57.7 million

expenditures: $80.8 million, including capital expenditures of $17.1 million (FY98/99 est.)

Industries: tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Agriculture - products: coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes

Exports: $14.3 million (f.o.b., 1996)

Exports - commodities: trochus (type of shellfish), tuna, copra, handicrafts

Exports - partners: US, Japan

Imports: $126 million (f.o.b., FY99/00)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs

Imports - partners: US

Debt - external: $0 (FY99/00)

Economic aid - recipient: $155.8 million (1995); note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, will provide Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities

Currency: US dollar (USD)

Currency code: USD

Exchange rates: the US dollar is used

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September

Palau Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 1,500 (1988)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 0 (1988)

Telephone system: general assessment: NA

domestic: NA

international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios: 12,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997)

Televisions: 11,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .pw

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): NA

Palau Transportation

Railways: 0 km

Highways: total: 61 km

paved: 36 km

unpaved: 25 km

Waterways: none

Ports and harbors: Koror

Merchant marine: none (2000 est.)

Airports: 3 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 1

1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 2

1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.)

Palau Military

Military branches: NA

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the US; under a Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military is granted access to the islands for 50 years

Palau Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

@Palmyra Atoll

Palmyra Atoll Introduction

Background: The Kingdom of Hawaii claimed the atoll in 1862, and the US included it among the Hawaiian Islands when it annexed the archipelago in 1898. The Hawaii Statehood Act of 1959 did not include Palmyra Atoll, which is now privately owned by the Nature Conservancy. This organization is managing the atoll as a nature preserve. The lagoons and surrounding waters within the 12 nautical mile US territorial seas were transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife service and designated a National Wildlife Refuge in January 2001.

Palmyra Atoll Geography

Location: Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to American Samoa

Geographic coordinates: 5 52 N, 162 06 W

Map references: Oceania

Area: total: 11.9 sq km

land: 11.9 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: about 20 times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 14.5 km

Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: equatorial, hot, and very rainy

Terrain: very low

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

highest point: unnamed location 2 m

Natural resources: terrestrial and aquatic wildlife

Land use: arable land: 0%

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 0%

forests and woodland: 100%

other: 0%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: NA

Geography - note: about 50 islets covered with dense vegetation, coconut trees, and balsa-like trees up to 30 meters tall

Palmyra Atoll People

Population: no indigenous inhabitants; 4 to 20 Nature Conservancy staff, US Fish and Wildlife staff (July 2001 est.)

Palmyra Atoll Government

Country name: conventional long form: none

conventional short form: Palmyra Atoll

Dependency status: incorporated territory of the US; privately owned, but administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior

Legal system: the laws of the US, where applicable, apply

Flag description: the flag of the US is used

Palmyra Atoll Economy

Economy - overview: no economic activity

Palmyra Atoll Transportation

Highways: much of the road and many causeways built during World War
II are unserviceable and overgrown (2001)

Waterways: none

Ports and harbors: West Lagoon

Airports: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1

1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Palmyra Atoll Military

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the US

Palmyra Atoll Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

@Panama

Panama Introduction

Background: With US backing, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903 and promptly signed a treaty with the US allowing for the construction of a canal and US sovereignty over a strip of land on either side of the structure (the Panama Canal Zone). The Panama Canal was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. On 7 September 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of 1999. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility over the Canal were turned over in the intervening years. With US help, dictator Manuel NORIEGA was deposed in 1989. The entire Panama Canal, the area supporting the Canal, and remaining US military bases were turned over to Panama by or on 31 December 1999.

Panama Geography

Location: Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the
North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica

Geographic coordinates: 9 00 N, 80 00 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area: total: 78,200 sq km

land: 75,990 sq km

water: 2,210 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than South Carolina

Land boundaries: total: 555 km

border countries: Colombia 225 km, Costa Rica 330 km

Coastline: 2,490 km

Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May)

Terrain: interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

highest point: Volcan de Chiriqui 3,475 m

Natural resources: copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 7%

permanent crops: 2%

permanent pastures: 20%

forests and woodland: 44%

other: 27% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 320 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: water pollution from agricultural runoff threatens fishery resources; deforestation of tropical rain forest; land degradation and soil erosion threatens siltation of Panama Canal

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note: strategic location on eastern end of isthmus
forming land bridge connecting North and South America; controls
Panama Canal that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with
North Pacific Ocean

Panama People

Population: 2,845,647 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 30.13% (male 436,661; female 420,625)

15-64 years: 63.86% (male 920,787; female 896,520)

65 years and over: 6.01% (male 81,682; female 89,372) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.3% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 19.06 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 4.95 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female

total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 20.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.68 years

male: 72.94 years

female: 78.53 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.27 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.54% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 24,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,200 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Panamanian(s)

adjective: Panamanian

Ethnic groups: mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white 10%, Amerindian 6%

Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15%

Languages: Spanish (official), English 14%

note: many Panamanians bilingual

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 90.8%

male: 91.4%

female: 90.2% (1995 est.)

Panama Government

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Panama

conventional short form: Panama

local long form: Republica de Panama

local short form: Panama

Government type: constitutional democracy

Capital: Panama

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (provincias, singular -
provincia) and one territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui,
Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*, and
Veraguas

Independence: 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821)

National holiday: Independence Day, 3 November (1903)

Constitution: 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted 1978, 1983 and 1994

Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch: chief of state: President Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez (since 1 September 1999); First Vice President Arturo Ulises VALLARINO (since 1 September 1999); Second Vice President Dominador "Kaiser" Baldonero BAZAN Jimenez (since 1 September 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government: President Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez (since 1 September 1999); First Vice President Arturo Ulises VALLARINO (since 1 September 1999); Second Vice President Dominador "Kaiser" Baldonero BAZAN Jimenez (since 1 September 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president

elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 2 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2004)

election results: Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez elected president; percent of vote - Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez (PA) 44%, Martin TORRIJOS (PRD) 37%

note: government coalition - PA, MOLIRENA, Democratic Change, MORENA, PLN, PS

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (71 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections: last held 2 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2004)

election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 34, PA 18, PDC 5, PS 4, MOLIRENA 3, PLN 3, Democratic Change 2, PRC 1, MORENA 1

note: legislators from outlying rural districts are chosen on a plurality basis while districts located in more populous towns and cities elect multiple legislators by means of a proportion-based formula

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (nine judges appointed for 10-year terms); five superior courts; three courts of appeal

Political parties and leaders: Arnulfista Party or PA [Mireya Elisa
MOSCOSO Rodriguez]; Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Ruben
AROSEMENA]; Civic Renewal Party or PRC [Serguei DE LA ROSA];
Democratic Change [Ricardo MARTINELLI]; Democratic Revolutionary
Party or PRD [Martin TORRIJOS]; National Liberal Party or PLN [Raul
ARANGO Gasteazopo]; National Renovation Movement or MORENA [Pedro
VALLARINO Cox]; Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA
[Ramon MORALES]; Solidarity Party or PS [Samuel LEWIS Galindo]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Chamber of Commerce; National
Civic Crusade; National Council of Organized Workers or CONATO;
National Union of Construction and Similar Workers (SUNTRACS);
National Council of Private Enterprise or CONEP; Panamanian
Association of Business Executives or APEDE; Panamanian
Industrialists Society or SIP; Workers Confederation of the Republic
of Panama or CTRP

International organization participation: CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77,
IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES,
LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Alfredo BOYD

chancery: 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: (202) 483-1407

consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tampa

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Simon FERRO

embassy: Avenida Balboa and Calle 37, Apartado 6959, Panama City 5

mailing address: American Embassy Panama, Unit 0945, APO AA 34002

telephone: 207-7000