|RConstitution:|N Self-ruling part of the USA. A governor appointed by the US president is supervising the local legislation exercised by a popularly elected 21 member national assembly. The governor rarely, if ever, intervenes.
|RNational holiday:|N Guam Discovery Day, first Monday in March.
|RNature and climate:|N The largest and southmost of the Mariana Islands in western Pacific Ocean. The northern part is a low coral plateau and the southern part of volcanic origin. Highest point 390 m.a.s.l.
Tropical climate with an average temperature between 21 and 32°C around the year.
The aborigines are originally Indonesians mixed with Philippino and Spaniards. They talk Chamorro.
52% of the population are immigrants of whom 47% come from Asia and 40% from the USA.
|REconomy:|N Guam is an important centre for communications in the western Pacific Ocean. The US have a large military base with a control station for satellites. 61% of the labour force is occupied in private business and 39% in the public sector.
The most important crops are fruits, vegetables, eggs and copra.
The light manufacturing is extensive and so is construction and banking.
Tourism is of great importance.
|RHistory:|N The island was inhabited by Chamorros as early as 1500 BC.
It was explored by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 and colonized by Spanish missionaries in 1688. These named the group of islands the Mariana Islands after the Spanish Queen Maria Anna.
In 1898 Spain seeded Guam to the USA and sold the rest of the islands to Germany.
During World War II, from 1941 to 1944, Japan occupied Guam making it the only inhabited US territory to fall in enemy hands during the war.
