AMERICAN SAMOA
(territory of the US)
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 199 km2; land area: 199 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 116 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth);
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
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
Terrain: five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited
coastal plains, two coral atolls
Natural resources: pumice and pumicite
Land use: arable land 10%; permanent crops 5%; meadows and
pastures 0%; forest and woodland 75%; other 10%
Environment: typhoons common from December to March
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
PEOPLE
Population: 43,052 (July 1991), growth rate 2.9% (1991)
Birth rate: 41 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: - 8 immigrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 11 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 74 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 5.4 children born/woman (1991)
Religion: Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%,
Protestant denominations and other 30%
Language: Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian
languages) and English; most people are bilingual
Literacy: 97% (male 97%, female 97%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1980)
Labor force: 11,145; government 48%, tuna canneries 33%, other
19% (1986 est.)
Organized labor: NA
Note: about 65,000 American Samoans live in the States of
California and Washington and 20,000 in Hawaii
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Territory of American Samoa
Type: unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US
Capital: Pago Pago
Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US)
Independence: none (territory of the US)
Constitution: ratified 1966, in effect 1967
National holiday: Flag Day, 17 April (1900)
Executive branch: President of the US, governor, lieutenant
governor
Legislative branch: bicameral Legislative Assembly (Fono) consists
of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
Judicial branch: High Court
Leaders:
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)
Suffrage: universal at age 18; indigenous inhabitants are US
nationals, not US citizens
Elections:
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 NA November 1990 (next to be
held November 1992);
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 1990 (next
to be held November 1992);
results--Eni R. F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA reelected as a nonvoting delegate
Communists: none
Member of: IOC, SPC
Diplomatic representation: none (territory of the US)
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
Note: administered by the US Department of Interior, Office of
Territorial and International Affairs; indigenous inhabitants are US
nationals, not citizens of the US
ECONOMY
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.
GNP: $190 million, per capita $5,210; real growth rate NA% (1985)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.3% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 13.4% (1986)
Budget: revenues $51.2 million; expenditures $59.9 million,
including capital expenditures of $NA million (1990)
Economic aid: $21,042,650 million in operational funds and
$5,948,931 million in construction funds for capital improvement projects
from the US Department of Interior (1991)
Currency: US currency is used
Exchange rates: US currency is used
Fiscal year: 1 October-30 September
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: none
Highways: 350 km total; 150 km paved, 200 km unpaved
Ports: Pago Pago, Ta'u
Airports: 4 total, 4 usable; 2 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
Telecommunications: 6,500 telephones; stations--1 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV;
good telex, telegraph, and facsimile services; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT
earth station, 1 COMSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US
