Due to the large US Naval presence, Guam is cosmopolitan and energetic. Hagåtña, the capital, has many historic buildings dating from the Spanish period. Tumon Bay, just up the coast from Hagåtña, is the main tourist centre.

Guam is the largest and most southerly island of the Marianas Islands, which were occupied by the Chamorro Indians from 1500 BC. It was claimed by the Spanish in 1565 and ruled by Madrid until the Spanish-American War of 1898.

The Spanish governor was unaware of the war and, when a US frigate entered Hagåtña harbour with guns blazing, he apologised to the captain for not having a reciprocal salute ready. He surrendered the island the next day. US rule was interrupted by the Japanese invasion of 1941, to be reinstated after fierce fighting three years later. The island has been an important US strategic base since then.

549 sq km (212 sq miles).

168,000 (UN estimate 2005).

306 per sq km.

Hagåtña. Tamuning is the commercial centre. Population: 140,000 (UN estimate 2003) in Hagåtña.

US External Territory (Unincorporated). Gained internal autonomy in 1982.

English and Chamorro are the official languages. Japanese is also spoken - particularly by the older generation who were alive during the Japanese occupation.

Christian; 90% Roman Catholic.

GMT + 10.

Western customs are well understood – for the visiting Westerner it is quite likely that it will not be the customs of the locals that have to be observed, but those of the visiting Japanese who make up around 90% of the island’s tourists. The most evident Chamorro legacy is the Chamorro language and a range of facial expressions, called ‘Eyebrow’, which virtually constitutes a language of its own.

120 volts AC, 60Hz.

Governor Felix Camacho since 2003.

George W Bush since 2001.