_#_Climate: tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December)
_#_Terrain: most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base
_#_Natural resources: fish, fertile soil
_#_Land use: arable land 25%; permanent crops 55%; meadows and pastures 6%; forest and woodland 12%; other 2%
_#_Environment: archipelago of 170 islands (36 inhabited); subject to cyclones (October to April); deforestation
_#_Note: located about 2,250 km north-northwest of New Zealand, about two-thirds of the way between Hawaii and New Zealand
_*People #_Population: 102,272 (July 1991), growth rate 0.9% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 26 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 10 migrants/1,000 population (1991)