the world, with a per capita GDP of $47,400. In this market-oriented
economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the
decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods
and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business
firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western
Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off
surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they
face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets than
foreign firms face entering US markets. US firms are at or near the
forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in
medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has
narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology
largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor
market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the
professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and
more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage,
and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in
household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The war in
March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the
subsequent occupation of Iraq, required major shifts in national
resources to the military. Soaring oil prices between 2005 and the
first half of 2008 threatened inflation and unemployment, as higher
gasoline prices ate into consumers' budgets. Imported oil accounts
for about 60% of US consumption. Long-term problems include
inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising
medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and
budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower
economic groups. The merchandise trade deficit reached a record $840
billion in 2008 before shrinking to $506 billion in 2009, and
ramping back up to $630 billion in 2010. The global economic
downturn, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, investment bank failures,
falling home prices, and tight credit pushed the United States into
a recession by mid-2008. GDP contracted until the third quarter of
2009, making this the deepest and longest downturn since the Great
Depression. To help stabilize financial markets, the US Congress
established a $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in
October 2008. The government used some of these funds to purchase
equity in US banks and other industrial corporations, much of which
had been returned to the government by early 2011. In January 2009
the US Congress passed and President Barack OBAMA signed a bill
providing an additional $787 billion fiscal stimulus to be used over
10 years - two-thirds on additional spending and one-third on tax
cuts - to create jobs and to help the economy recover. Approximately
two-thirds of these funds were injected into the economy by the end
of 2010. In March 2010, President OBAMA signed a health insurance
reform bill into law that will extend coverage to an additional 32
million American citizens by 2016, through private health insurance
for the general population and Medicaid for the impoverished. In
July 2010, the president signed the DODD-FRANK Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act, a bill designed to promote financial
stability by protecting consumers from financial abuses, ending
taxpayer bailouts of financial firms, dealing with troubled banks
that are "too big to fail," and improving accountability and
transparency in the financial system - in particular, by requiring
certain financial derivatives to be traded in markets that are
subject to government regulation and oversight. In late 2010, the US
Federal Reserve Bank (The Fed) announced that it would purchase $600
billion worth of US Government bonds by June 2011, in an attempt to
keep interest rates from rising and snuffing out the nascent
recovery.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$14.72 trillion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
$14.33 trillion (2009 est.)
$14.72 trillion (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$14.62 trillion (2010 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
2.8% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 133
-2.6% (2009 est.)
0% (2008 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$47,400 (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10
$46,700 (2009 est.)
$48,300 (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.2%
industry: 22.2%
services: 76.7% (2010 est.)
Labor force:
153.9 million
country comparison to the world: 4
note: includes unemployed (2010 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
farming, forestry, and fishing: 0.7%
manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts: 20.3%
managerial, professional, and technical: 37.2%
sales and office: 24%
other services: 17.7%
note: figures exclude the unemployed (2009)
Unemployment rate:
9.6% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 107
9.3% (2009 est.)
Population below poverty line:
12% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 30% (2007 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
45 (2007)
country comparison to the world: 42
40.8 (1997)
Investment (gross fixed):
12.8% of GDP (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 142
Public debt:
58.9% of GDP (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 36
53.5% of GDP (2009 est.)
note: data cover only what the United States Treasury denotes as
"Debt Held by the Public," which includes all debt instruments
issued by the Treasury that are owned by non-US Government entities;
the data include Treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data
exclude debt issued by individual US states, as well as
intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of
Treasury borrowings from surpluses in the trusts for Federal Social
Security, Federal Employees, Hospital Insurance (Medicare and
Medicaid), Disability and Unemployment, and several other smaller
trusts; if data for intra-government debt were added, "Gross Debt"
would increase by about 30% of GDP
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.4% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 34
-0.3% (2009 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
0.5% (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 137
0.86% (31 December 2008)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
3.25% (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 149
5.09% (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of narrow money:
$1.74 trillion (31 December 2010 est)
country comparison to the world: 5
$1.722 trillion (31 December 2009 est)
Stock of broad money:
$12.39 trillion (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 3
$12.46 trillion (31 December 2008)
Stock of domestic credit:
$32.61 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
$31.53 trillion (31 December 2008 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$15.08 trillion (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 1
$11.74 trillion (31 December 2008)
$19.95 trillion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork,
poultry, dairy products; fish; forest products
Industries:
highly diversified, world leading, high-technology innovator, second
largest industrial output in world; petroleum, steel, motor
vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics,
food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining
Industrial production growth rate:
3.3% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 96
Electricity - production:
4.11 trillion kWh (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
Electricity - consumption:
3.873 trillion kWh (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
Electricity - exports:
24.08 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
57.02 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production:
9.056 million bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3
Oil - consumption:
18.69 million bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
Oil - exports:
1.704 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
Oil - imports:
11.31 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
Oil - proved reserves:
19.12 billion bbl (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
Natural gas - production:
593.4 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
Natural gas - consumption:
646.6 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
Natural gas - exports:
30.35 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 9
Natural gas - imports:
106.1 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
Natural gas - proved reserves:
6.928 trillion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
Current account balance:
-$561 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 190
-$378.4 billion (2009 est.)
Exports:
$1.27 trillion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4
$1.069 trillion (2009 est.)
Exports - commodities:
agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9.2%, industrial
supplies (organic chemicals) 26.8%, capital goods (transistors,
aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications
equipment) 49.0%, consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15.0%
Exports - partners:
Canada 19.37%, Mexico 12.21%, China 6.58%, Japan 4.84%, UK 4.33%,
Germany 4.1% (2009)
Imports:
$1.903 trillion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
$1.575 trillion (2009 est.)
Imports - commodities:
agricultural products 4.9%, industrial supplies 32.9% (crude oil
8.2%), capital goods 30.4% (computers, telecommunications equipment,
motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery),
consumer goods 31.8% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture,
toys)
Imports - partners:
China 19.3%, Canada 14.24%, Mexico 11.12%, Japan 6.14%, Germany
4.53% (2009)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$NA (31 December 2010 est.)
$130.8 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt - external:
$13.98 trillion (30 June 2010)
country comparison to the world: 1
$13.75 trillion (31 December 2008)
note: approximately 4/5ths of US external debt is denominated in US
dollars; foreign lenders have been willing to hold US dollar
denominated debt instruments because they view the dollar as the
world's reserve currency
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$2.581 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
$2.41 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$3.597 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
$3.367 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
Exchange rates:
British pounds per US dollar: 1 (2010), 0.6504 (2010), 0.6494
(2009), 0.5302 (2008), 0.4993 (2007), 0.5418 (2006)
Canadian dollars per US dollar: 1.0346 (2010), 1.1548 (2009), 1.0364
(2008), 1.0724 (2007), 1.1334 (2006)
Chinese yuan per US dollar: 6.7852 (2010), 6.8249 (2009), 6.9385
(2008), 7.61 (2007), 7.97 (2006)
euros per US dollar: 0.7715 (2010), 0.7338 (2009), 0.6827 (2008),
0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006)
Japanese yen per US dollar: 88.67 (2010), 94.5 (2009), 103.58
(2008), 117.99 (2007), 116.18 (2006)
Communications ::United States
Telephones - main lines in use:
141 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 2
Telephones - mobile cellular:
286 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 3
Telephone system:
general assessment: a large, technologically advanced, multipurpose
communications system
domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio
relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of
telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile
telephone traffic throughout the country
international: country code - 1; multiple ocean cable systems
provide international connectivity; satellite earth stations - 61
Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik
(Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean
regions) (2000)
Broadcast media:
4 major terrestrial television networks with affiliate stations
throughout the country, plus cable and satellite networks,
independent stations, and a limited public broadcasting sector that
is largely supported by private grants; overall, thousands of TV
stations broadcasting; multiple national radio networks with large
numbers of affiliate stations; while most stations are commercial,
National Public Radio (NPR) has a network of some 600 member
stations; satellite radio available; overall, nearly 15,000 radio
stations operating (2008)
Internet country code:
.us
Internet hosts:
439 million (2010); note - the US Internet total host count includes
the following top level domain host addresses: .us, .com, .edu,
.gov, .mil, .net, and .org
country comparison to the world: 1
Internet users:
245 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 2
Transportation ::United States
Airports:
15,079 (2010)
country comparison to the world: 1
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 5,194
over 3,047 m: 189
2,438 to 3,047 m: 235
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,479
914 to 1,523 m: 2,316
under 914 m: 975 (2010)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 9,885
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 155
914 to 1,523 m: 1,752
under 914 m: 7,971 (2010)
Heliports:
126 (2010)
Pipelines:
petroleum products 244,620 km; natural gas 548,665 km (2009)
Railways:
total: 226,427 km
country comparison to the world: 1
standard gauge: 226,427 km 1.435-m gauge (2007)
Roadways:
total: 6,506,204 km
country comparison to the world: 1
paved: 4,374,784 km (includes 75,238 km of expressways)
unpaved: 2,131,420 km (2008)
Waterways:
41,009 km (19,312 km used for commerce)
country comparison to the world: 4
note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint
Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with Canada (2008)
Merchant marine:
total: 418
country comparison to the world: 26
by type: barge carrier 6, bulk carrier 58, cargo 58, carrier 3,
chemical tanker 30, container 87, passenger 18, passenger/cargo 56,
petroleum tanker 45, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 27,
vehicle carrier 27
foreign-owned: 86 (Australia 1, Bermuda 5, Canada 1, Denmark 34,
France 4, Germany 3, Malaysia 2, Norway 10, Singapore 17, Sweden 5,
UK 4)
registered in other countries: 734 (Antigua and Barbuda 6, Australia
2, Bahamas 100, Belgium 2, Bermuda 25, Cambodia 4, Canada 9, Cayman
Islands 54, Comoros 2, Cyprus 7, Georgia 1, Greece 7, Hong Kong 31,
Indonesia 2, Ireland 2, Isle of Man 2, Italy 21, Liberia 39,
Luxembourg 3, Malta 35, Marshall Islands 168, Netherlands 15, Norway
9, Panama 102, Portugal 4, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines 19, Sierra Leone 1, Singapore 33, South Korea 8,
UK 11, unknown 8) (2010)
Ports and terminals:
cargo ports (tonnage): Baton Rouge, Corpus Christi, Houston, Long
Beach, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Plaquemines, Tampa, Texas
City
container ports (TEUs): Los Angeles (7,849,985), Long Beach
(6,350,125), New York/New Jersey (5,265,058), Savannah (2,616,126),
Oakland (2,236,244), Hampton Roads (2,083,278) (2008)
cruise departure ports (passengers): Miami (2,032,000), Port
Everglades (1,277,000), Port Canaveral (1,189,000), Seattle
(430,000), Long Beach (415,000) (2009)
Military ::United States
Military branches:
United States Armed Forces: US Army, US Navy (includes Marine
Corps), US Air Force, US Coast Guard; note - Coast Guard
administered in peacetime by the Department of Homeland Security,
but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy (2009)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age (17 years of age with parental consent) for male and
female voluntary service; maximum enlistment age 42 (Army), 27 (Air
Force), 34 (Navy), 28 (Marines); service obligation 8 years,
including 2-5 years active duty (Army), 2 years active (Navy), 4
years active (Air Force, Marines) (2010)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 73,145,586
females age 16-49: 71,880,788 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 60,388,734
females age 16-49: 59,217,809 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 2,174,260
female: 2,065,595 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
4.06% of GDP (2005 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
Transnational Issues ::United States
Disputes - international:
the U.S. has intensified domestic security measures and is
collaborating closely with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico, to
monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and
commodities across the international borders; abundant rainfall in
recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has
ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements; 1990
Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian
Duma ratification; managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada at
Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the
disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; The Bahamas and US have
not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at
Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US
abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims
US-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in
Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not
recognize the claims of any other states; Marshall Islands claims
Wake Island; Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island among
the islands listed in its 2006 draft constitution
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): the US admitted 62,643 refugees during
FY04/05 including; 10,586 (Somalia); 8,549 (Laos); 6,666 (Russia);
6,479 (Cuba); 3,100 (Haiti); 2,136 (Iran) (2006)
Illicit drugs:
world's largest consumer of cocaine (shipped from Colombia through
Mexico and the Caribbean), Colombian heroin, and Mexican heroin and
marijuana; major consumer of ecstasy and Mexican methamphetamine;
minor consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit
producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants,
hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center
page last updated on January 20, 2011
======================================================================
@United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges (Australia-Oceania)
Introduction ::United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
Background:
All of the following US Pacific island territories except Midway
Atoll constitute the Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge
(NWR) Complex and as such are managed by the Fish and Wildlife
Service of the US Department of the Interior. Midway Atoll NWR has
been included in a Refuge Complex with the Hawaiian Islands NWR and
also designated as part of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National
Monument. These remote refuges are the most widespread collection of
marine- and terrestrial-life protected areas on the planet under a
single country's jurisdiction. They sustain many endemic species
including corals, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, seabirds, water
birds, land birds, insects, and vegetation not found elsewhere.
Baker Island: The US took possession of the island in 1857. Its
guano deposits were mined by US and British companies during the
second half of the 19th century. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at
colonization began on this island but was disrupted by World War II
and thereafter abandoned. The island was established as a NWR in
1974.
Howland Island: Discovered by the US early in the 19th century, the
uninhabited atoll was officially claimed by the US in 1857. Both US
and British companies mined for guano deposits until about 1890. In
1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization began on this island,
similar to the effort on nearby Baker Island, but was disrupted by
World War II and thereafter abandoned. The famed American aviatrix
Amelia EARHART disappeared while seeking out Howland Island as a
refueling stop during her 1937 round-the-world flight; Earhart
Light, a day beacon near the middle of the west coast, was named in
her memory. The island was established as a NWR in 1974.
Jarvis Island: First discovered by the British in 1821, the
uninhabited island was annexed by the US in 1858 but abandoned in
1879 after tons of guano had been removed. The UK annexed the island
in 1889 but never carried out plans for further exploitation. The US
occupied and reclaimed the island in 1935. It was abandoned in 1942
during World War II. The island was established as a NWR in 1974.
Johnston Atoll: Both the US and the Kingdom of Hawaii annexed
Johnston Atoll in 1858, but it was the US that mined the guano
deposits until the late 1880s. Johnston and Sand Islands were
designated wildlife refuges in 1926. The US Navy took over the atoll
in 1934. Subsequently, the US Air Force assumed control in 1948. The
site was used for high-altitude nuclear tests in the 1950s and
1960s. Until late in 2000 the atoll was maintained as a storage and
disposal site for chemical weapons. Munitions destruction, cleanup,
and closure of the facility were completed by May 2005. The Fish and
Wildlife Service and the US Air Force are currently discussing
future management options; in the interim, Johnston Atoll and the
three-mile Naval Defensive Sea around it remain under the
jurisdiction and administrative control of the US Air Force.
Kingman Reef: The US annexed the reef in 1922. Its sheltered lagoon
served as a way station for flying boats on Hawaii-to-American Samoa
flights during the late 1930s. There are no terrestrial plants on
the reef, which is frequently awash, but it does support abundant
and diverse marine fauna and flora. In 2001, the waters surrounding
the reef out to 12 nm were designated a US NWR.
Midway Islands: The US took formal possession of the islands in
1867. The laying of the trans-Pacific cable, which passed through
the islands, brought the first residents in 1903. Between 1935 and
1947, Midway was used as a refueling stop for trans-Pacific flights.
The US naval victory over a Japanese fleet off Midway in 1942 was
one of the turning points of World War II. The islands continued to
serve as a naval station until closed in 1993. Today the islands are
a NWR and are the site of the world's largest Laysan albatross
colony.
Palmyra Atoll: 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 partly privately owned by the
Nature Conservancy with the rest owned by the Federal government and
managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. These organizations are
managing the atoll as a wildlife refuge. The lagoons and surrounding
waters within the 12 nm US territorial seas were transferred to the
US Fish and Wildlife Service and designated as a NWR in January 2001.
Geography ::United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
Location:
Oceania
Baker Island: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 1,830 nm (3,389 km)
southwest of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and Australia
Howland Island: island in the North Pacific Ocean 1,815 nm (3,361
km) southwest of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and
Australia
Jarvis Island: island in the South Pacific Ocean 1,305 nm (2,417 km)
south of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and Cook Islands
Johnston Atoll: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 717 nm (1,328 km)
southwest of Honolulu, about one-third of the way from Hawaii to the
Marshall Islands
Kingman Reef: reef in the North Pacific Ocean 930 nm (1,722 km)
south of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and American Samoa
Midway Islands: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 1,260 nm (2,334 km)
northwest of Honolulu near the end of the Hawaiian Archipelago,
about one-third of the way from Honolulu to Tokyo
Palmyra Atoll: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 960 nm (1,778 km)
south of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and American Samoa
Geographic coordinates:
Baker Island: 0 13 N, 176 28 W
Howland Island: 0 48 N, 176 38 W
Jarvis Island: 0 23 S, 160 01 W
Johnston Atoll: 16 45 N, 169 31 W
Kingman Reef: 6 23 N, 162 25 W
Midway Islands: 28 12 N, 177 22 W
Palmyra Atoll: 5 53 N, 162 05 W
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total - 6,959.41 sq km; emergent land - 22.41 sq km; submerged -
6,937 sq km
country comparison to the world: 238
Baker Island: total - 129.1 sq km; emergent land - 2.1 sq km;
submerged - 127 sq km
Howland Island: total - 138.6 sq km; emergent land - 2.6 sq km;
submerged - 136 sq km
Jarvis Island: total - 152 sq km; emergent land - 5 sq km; submerged
- 147 sq km
Johnston Atoll: total - 276.6 sq km; emergent land - 2.6 sq km;
submerged - 274 sq km
Kingman Reef: total - 1,958.01 sq km; emergent land - 0.01 sq km;
submerged - 1,958 sq km
Midway Islands: total - 2,355.2 sq km; emergent land - 6.2 sq km;
submerged - 2,349 sq km
Palmyra Atoll: total - 1,949.9 sq km; emergent land - 3.9 sq km;
submerged - 1,946 sq km
Area - comparative:
Baker Island: about two and a half times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
Howland Island: about three times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
Jarvis Island: about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington,
DC
Johnston Atoll: about four and a half times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
Kingman Reef: a little more than one and a half times the size of
The Mall in Washington, DC
Midway Islands: about nine times the size of The Mall in Washington,
DC
Palmyra Atoll: about 20 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
none
Coastline:
Baker Island: 4.8 km
Howland Island: 6.4 km
Jarvis Island: 8 km
Johnston Atoll: 34 km
Kingman Reef: 3 km
Midway Islands: 15 km
Palmyra Atoll: 14.5 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: equatorial; scant rainfall,
constant wind, burning sun
Johnston Atoll and Kingman Reef: tropical, but generally dry;
consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature
variation