Territory Name: Guam

Capital: Hagatna (Agana)

Government Type: unincorporated organized territory of the US with local self-government; republican form of territorial government with separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches

Background: Guam was settled by Austronesian people around 1500 B.C. These people became the indigenous Chamorro and were influenced by later migrations, including the Micronesians in the first millennium A.D., and island Southeast Asians around 900. Society was stratified with higher classes living along the coast and lower classes living inland. Spanish explorer Ferdinand MAGELLAN was the first European to see Guam in 1521, and Spain claimed the island in 1565 as it served as a refueling stop for ships between Mexico and the Philippines. Spain formally colonized Guam in 1668. Spain’s brutal repression of the Chamorro, along with new diseases and intermittent warfare, reduced the indigenous population from more than 100,000 to less than 5,000 by the 1700s. Spain tried to repopulate the island by forcing people from nearby islands to settle on Guam and preventing them from escaping.

Guam became a hub for whalers and traders in the western Pacific in the early 1800s. During the 1898 Spanish-American War, the US Navy occupied Guam and set up a military administration. The US Navy opposed local control of government despite repeated petitions by the Chamorro. Japan invaded Guam in 1941 and instituted a repressive regime. During the US recapture of Guam in 1944, the island’s two largest villages were destroyed. After World War II, political pressure from local Chamorro leaders led to Guam being established as an unincorporated organized territory in 1950 with US citizenship granted to all Chamorro. In a referendum in 1982, more than 75% of voters chose closer relations with the US over independence, although no change in status was made because of disagreements on the future right of Chamorro self-determination. The US military holds about 29% of Guam’s land and stations several thousand troops on the island. The installations are some of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific; they also constitute the island’s most important source of income and economic stability.

Continent: Oceania

Population: 169,330 (2023 est.)

Ethnic Groups: Chamorro 37.3%, Filipino 26.3%, White 7.1%, Chuukese 7%, Korean 2.2%, other Pacific Islander 2%, other Asian 2%, Chinese 1.6%, Palauan 1.6%, Japanese 1.5%, Pohnpeian 1.4%, mixed 9.4%, other 0.6% (2010 est.)

Languages: English 43.6%, Filipino 21.2%, Chamorro 17.8%, other Pacific island languages 10%, Asian languages 6.3%, other 1.1% (2010 est.)

Religions: Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic) 94.2%, folk religions 1.5%, Buddhist 1.1%, other 1.6%, unaffiliated 1.7% (2020 est.)

Economic Overview: small Pacific island US territorial economy; upper income, tourism-based economy; hard-hit by COVID-19 disruptions; relaunched many industries via vaccination tourism; domestic economy relies on multiple military bases; environmentally fragile economy

Currency: United States Dollar (USD)

Real GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $5.793 billion (2016 est.)

Real GDP Growth Rate: 1.06% (2021 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real GDP per Capita: $35,600 (2016 est.)

Exports: 

• $1.124 billion (2016 est.)

• Comparison Ranking: 178

Export Commodities: scrap iron, scrap copper, boring/sinking machinery, leather handbags, rubber, scrap aluminum (2021)

Export Partners: South Korea 31%, Hong Kong 27%, Taiwan 18%, Philippines 7% (2019)

Imports: 

• $2.964 billion (2016 est.)

• Comparison Ranking: 160

Import Commodities: refined petroleum, trunks/cases, cars, insulated wire, broadcasting equipment (2019)

Import Partners: Singapore 33%, Japan 21%, South Korea 18%, Hong Kong 9%, Malaysia 6% (2019)

Natural Resources: aquatic wildlife (supporting tourism), fishing (largely undeveloped)

Agricultural Products: fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef

Industries: national defense, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles

Industrial Production Growth Rate: 

• 4.3% (2014 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

• Comparison Ranking: 84

Labor Force: 80,000 (2022 est.)

Unemployment Rate: 5.57% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Natural Hazards: frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare but potentially destructive typhoons (June to December)

Geography:

• Total: 544 sq km

• Land: 544 sq km

• Water: 0 sq km

(Country Summary, The World Factbook, CIA.gov)

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