World Facts Index
Settled as early as 1000 B.C., Samoa was "discovered" by European explorers in the 18th century.
International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899
treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally
occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of
Pago Pago - the following year.
Geography of American Samoa
|
Location:
|
Oceania, group of islands in the South
Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand |
|
Coordinates:
|
14 20 S, 170 00 W |
|
Map references:
|
Oceania |
|
Area:
|
total: 199 sq km
note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island
water: 0 sq km
land: 199 sq km |
|
Area comparative:
|
slightly larger than Washington, DC |
|
Land boundaries:
|
0 km |
|
Coastline:
|
116 km |
|
Maritime claims:
|
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
|
Climate:
|
tropical marine, moderated by southeast
trade winds; annual rainfall averages about 3 m; rainy season from November to April, dry
season from May to October; little seasonal temperature variation |
|
Terrain:
|
five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and
limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) |
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata 966 m |
|
Natural resources:
|
pumice, pumicite |
|
Natural hazards:
|
typhoons common from December to March |
|
Environment - current issues:
|
limited natural fresh water resources; the
water division of the government has spent substantial funds in the past few years to
improve water catchments and pipelines |
|
Geography - note:
|
Pago Pago has one of the best natural
deepwater harbors in the South Pacific Ocean, sheltered by shape from rough seas and
protected by peripheral mountains from high winds; strategic location in the South Pacific
Ocean
|
Population of American Samoa
|
Population:
|
66,432 (July 2010 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years: 33.4% (male 11,159/female 10,768)
15-64 years: 62.7% (male 20,848/female 20,271)
65 years and over: 3.9% (male 1,211/female 1,371) |
|
Median age:
|
total: 23.6 years
male: 23.4 years
female: 23.8 years |
|
Growth rate:
|
0.04% (2004 est.), -0.19% (2006 est.), 1.236%
(2008 est.) |
|
Birth rate:
|
21.83 births/1,000 |
|
Death rate:
|
3.24 deaths/1,000 |
|
Net migration rate:
|
-21.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population |
|
Infant mortality:
|
total: 8.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.47 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 8.26 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 76.25 years
male: 72.69 years
female: 80.02 years |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
3.07 children born/woman |
|
Nationality:
|
noun: American Samoan(s)
adjective: American Samoan |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
native Pacific islander 92.9%, Asian 2.9%, white
1.2%, mixed 2.8%, other 0.2% |
|
Religions:
|
Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman
Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% |
|
Languages:
|
Samoan 90.6% (closely related to Hawaiian and
other Polynesian languages), English 2.9%, Tongan 2.4%, other Pacific islander
2.1%, other 2%
note: most people are bilingual |
|
Literacy:
|
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97%
male: 98%
female: 97%
|
Government
|
Country name:
|
conventional long form: Territory of
American Samoa
abbreviation: AS |
|
Dependency status:
|
unincorporated and unorganized territory of
the US; administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior |
|
Capital:
|
Pago Pago |
|
Administrative divisions:
|
none (territory of the US); there are no
first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three
districts and two islands* at the second order; Eastern, Manu'a, Rose Island*, Swains
Island*, Western |
|
Independence:
|
none (territory of the US) |
|
National holiday:
|
Flag Day, 17 April (1900) |
|
Constitution:
|
ratified 1966, in effect 1967 |
|
Legal system:
|
NA |
|
Suffrage:
|
18 years of age; universal |
|
Executive branch:
|
chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US
head of government: Governor Togiola TULAFONO
cabinet: Cabinet made up of 12 department directors
elections: under the US Consitution, residents of unincorporated territories, such
as American Samoa, do not vote in elections for US president and vice president; governor
and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms
(eligible for a second term) |
|
Legislative branch:
|
bicameral Fono or Legislative Assembly consists of the
House of Representatives (21 seats - 20 of which are elected by popular vote and 1 is an
appointed, nonvoting delegate from Swains Island; members serve two-year terms) and the
Senate (18 seats; members are elected from local chiefs and serve four-year terms) |
|
Judicial branch:
|
High Court (chief justice and associate
justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) |
Economy
 This is a traditional Polynesian economy in which more than 90% of the land
is communally owned. Economic activity is strongly linked to the United States,
with which American Samoa conducts most of its foreign trade. Tuna fishing and tuna
processing plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna the primary
export. Transfers from the US Government add substantially to American Samoa's economic
well being. Attempts by the government to develop a larger and broader economy are
restrained by Samoa's remote location, its limited transportation, and its devastating
hurricanes. Tourism is a promising developing sector.
|
GDP:
|
$575.3 million (2007 est.) |
|
GDP per capita:
|
$8,000 (2000
est.), $5,800 (2005 est.), $8,000 (2007 est.) |
|
Labor force:
|
14,000 (1996), 30,200 (2005) |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other
33% (1990) |
|
Unemployment:
|
6% (2000) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $121 million (37% in local
revenue and 63% in US grants)
expenditures: $127 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY96/97) |
|
Electricity production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% |
|
Industries:
|
tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign
fishing vessels), handicrafts |
|
Agriculture:
|
bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro,
breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock |
|
Exports:
|
canned tuna 93% |
|
Export partners:
|
Samoa 41.2%, Australia 18.7%, Japan 14.4%, NZ 9.9% (2005) |
|
Imports:
|
materials for canneries 56%, food 8%,
petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% |
|
Import partners:
|
NZ 48.2%, Australia 11.3%, UK 11.2%, Japan 6.6%, Samoa
5.8%, South Korea 5.7% (2005) |
|
Currency:
|
US dollar (USD) |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
Copyright 2004 - 2010 worldfacts.us |