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
Legislative branch:
unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular
vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November
2004)
note: Guam elects one nonvoting delegate to the US House of
Representatives; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held
2 November 2004); 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
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
Democratic Party 9, Republican Party 6
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 (controls the legislature) [speaker, Vicente (Ben)
PANGELINAN]; Republican Party (party of Governor CAMACHO) [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU
Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (territory of the US)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (territory of the US)
Flag description:
territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all four
sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical ellipse
containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a palm tree
with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US flag is the
national flag
Economy Guam
Economy - overview:
The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the
export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and
procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20
years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a
construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones.
More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry had
recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese
slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists.
Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem
of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of
military downsizing.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
NA
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 7% industry: 15% services: 78% (2002 est.)
Population below poverty line:
23% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
0% (1999 est.)
Labor force:
60,000 (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
private 74% (industry 10%, trade 24%, other services 40%), federal
and territorial government 26% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate:
15% (2000 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $340 million
expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2000 est.)
Agriculture - products:
fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef
Industries:
US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services,
concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles
Industrial production growth rate:
NA
Electricity - production:
830 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption:
771.9 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
20,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Exports:
$38 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction
materials, fish, food and beverage products
Exports - partners:
Japan 70.1%, South Korea 17.9%, Singapore 6% (2003)
Imports:
$462 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods
Imports - partners:
Singapore 35.8%, Japan 22.2%, South Korea 17.5%, Hong Kong 11.4%
(2003)
Debt - external:
NA (2003 est.)
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.)
Currency: