_#_Terrain: volcanic origin; low hills
_#_Natural resources: negligible
_#_Land use: arable land 5%; permanent crops 20%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 75%
_#_Environment: both island groups have fringing reefs
_#_Note: located 4,600 km southwest of Honolulu in the South Pacific Ocean about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
_*People #_Population: 16,590 (July 1991), growth rate 3.0% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 8 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 30 deaths/1,000 population (1991)