American Samoa

Airports

3 total, 3 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440 to 3,659 m (international airport at Tafuna, near Pago Pago); small airstrips on Ta'u and Ofu

Highways

350 km total; 150 km paved, 200 km unpaved

Ports

Pago Pago, Ta'u

Railroads

small marine railroad in Pago Pago harbor

Telecommunications

6,500 telephones; stations--1 AM, no FM, 1 TV; good telex, telegraph, and facsimile services; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Note

defense is the responsibility of the US

Agriculture

bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas

Aid

$20.1 million in operational funds and $5.8 million in construction funds for capital improvement projects from the US Department of Interior (1989)

Budget

revenues $90.3 million; expenditures $93.15 million, including capital expenditures of $4.9 million (1988)

Currency

US currency is used

Electricity

35,000 kW capacity; 70 million kWh produced, 1,720 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

US currency is used

Exports

$288 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities--canned tuna 93%; partners--US 99.6%

External debt

$NA

Fiscal year

1 October-30 September

GNP

$190 million, per capita $5,210; real growth rate NA% (1985)

Imports

$346 million (c.i.f., 1987); commodities--building materials 18%, food 17%, petroleum products 14%; partners--US 72%, Japan 7%, NZ 7%, Australia 5%, other 9%

Industrial production

growth rate NA%

Industries

tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign supplies of raw tuna)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

4.3% (1989)

Overview

Economic development is strongly linked to the US, with which American Samoa does 90% of its foreign trade. Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are the backbone of the private sector economy, with canned tuna the primary export. The tuna canneries are the second-largest employer, exceeded only by the government. Other economic activities include meat canning, handicrafts, dairy farming, and a slowly developing tourist industry. Tropical agricultural production provides little surplus for export.

Unemployment rate

13.4% (1986)

Climate

tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds; annual rainfall averages 124 inches; rainy season from November to April, dry season from May to October; little seasonal temperature variation

Coastline

116 km

Comparative area

slightly larger than Washington, DC

Contiguous zone

12 nm;

Continental shelf

200 m;

Environment

typhoons common from December to March

Extended economic zone

200 nm;

Land boundaries

none

Land use

10% arable land; 5% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 75% forest and woodland; 10% other

Natural resources

pumice and pumicite

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 about 3,700 km south-southwest of Honolulu in the South Pacific Ocean about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand

Terrain

five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

199 km2; land area: 199 km2

Administrative divisions

none (territory of the US)

Capital

Pago Pago

Communists

none

Constitution

ratified 1966, in effect 1967

Diplomatic representation

none (territory of the US)

Executive branch

US president, governor, lieutenant governor

Flag

blue with a white triangle edged in red that is based on the fly side and extends to the hoist side; a brown and white American bald eagle flying toward the hoist side is carrying two traditional Samoan symbols of authority, a staff and a war club

Independence

none (territory of the US)

Judicial branch

High Court Chief of State--President George BUSH (since 20 January 1989); Vice President Dan QUAYLE (since 20 January 1989); Head of Government--Governor Peter Tali COLEMAN (since 20 January 1989); Lieutenant Governor Galea'i POUMELE (since NA 1989)

Legislative branch

bicameral Legislature (Fono) consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

Long-form name

Territory of American Samoa

National holiday

Flag Day, 17 April (1900)

Note

administered by the US Department of Interior, Office of Territorial and International Affairs; indigenous inhabitants are US nationals, not citizens of the US

Suffrage

universal at age 18; indigenous inhabitants are US nationals, not US citizens Governor--last held 7 November 1988 (next to be held November 1992); results--Peter T. Coleman was elected (percent of vote NA); Senate--last held 7 November 1988 (next to be held November 1992); results--senators elected by county councils from 12 senate districts; seats--(18 total) number of seats by party NA; House of Representatives--last held 7 November 1988 (next to be held November 1990); results--representatives popularly elected from 17 house districts; seats--(21 total, 20 elected and 1 nonvoting delegate from Swain's Island); US House of Representatives--last held 19 November 1988 (next to be held November 1990); results--Eni R. F. H. Faleomavaega elected as a nonvoting delegate

Type

unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US

Birth rate

41 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

4 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

90% Samoan (Polynesian), 2% Caucasian, 2% Tongan, 6% other

Infant mortality rate

11 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

10,000; 48% government, 33% tuna canneries, 19% other (1986 est.)

Language

Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages) and English; most people are bilingual

Life expectancy at birth

69 years male, 74 years female (1990)

Literacy

99%

Nationality

noun--American Samoan(s); adjective--American Samoan

Net migration rate

- 8 immigrants/1,000 population (1990)

Note

about 65,000 American Samoans live in the States of California and Washington and 20,000 in Hawaii

Organized labor

NA

Population

41,840 (July 1990), growth rate 2.9% (1990)

Religion

about 50% Christian Congregationalist, 20% Roman Catholic, 30% mostly Protestant denominations and other

Total fertility rate

5.4 children born/woman (1990)