Region:
Oceania
Capital:
Hagatna (Agana)
Population:
166,090 (July
2004 est.)
Surface
area:
549 sq km
Currency:
US dollar (USD)
GDP
per capita:
purchasing power
parity - $21,000
(2000 est.)
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.
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
has 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.
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