American Samoa (2001) | Pacific Ocean (2008) | |
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 | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
38.44% (male 13,278; female 12,512) 15-64 years: 56.57% (male 18,784; female 19,163) 65 years and over: 4.99% (male 1,779; female 1,568) (2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | - |
Airports | 4 (2000 est.) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
2 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
199 sq km land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total: 155.557 million sq km
note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world |
Background | 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. | The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south. |
Birth rate | 24.88 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues:
$121 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US grants) expenditures: $127 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY96/97) |
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Capital | Pago Pago | - |
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 | planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December |
Coastline | 116 km | 135,663 km |
Constitution | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 | - |
Country name | conventional long form:
Territory of American Samoa conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
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Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $NA | - |
Dependency status | unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US; administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of the US) | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | - |
Disputes - international | none | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | - |
Economy - overview | This is a traditional Polynesian economy in which more than 90% of the land is communally owned. Economic activity is strongly linked to the US, with which American Samoa conducts the great bulk 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, a developing sector, has been held back by the recurring financial difficulties in East Asia. | The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of the US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has led to fluctuations in new drillings. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.9 million kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 130 million kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Lata 966 m |
lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
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 | endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea |
Ethnic groups | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% | - |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | - |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001) and Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Tauese P. SUNIA (since 3 January 1997) and Lieutenant Governor Togiola TULAFONO (since 3 January 1997) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Tauese P. SUNIA reelected governor; percent of vote - Tauese P. SUNIA (Democrat) 50.7%, Lealaifuaneva Peter REID (independent) 47.8% |
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Exports | $500 million (1998) | - |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% | - |
Exports - partners | US 99.6% | - |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | - |
Flag description | blue, with a white triangle edged in red that is based on the outer 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 | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | - |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 0 00 N, 160 00 W |
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 | the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean |
Highways | total:
350 km paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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Imports | $471 million (1996) | - |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% | - |
Imports - partners | US 62%, Japan 9%, NZ 7%, Australia 11%, Fiji 4%, other 7% | - |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | - |
Infant mortality rate | 10.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | - |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | - |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) | - |
Labor force | 14,000 (1996) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | - |
Land use | arable land:
5% permanent crops: 10% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 70% other: 15% (1993 est.) |
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Languages | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
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Legal system | NA | - |
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)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - only independents elected note: American Samoa elects one delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA (Democrat) reelected as delegate for a sixth term |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.32 years male: 70.89 years female: 80.02 years (2001 est.) |
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Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 98% female: 97% (1980 est.) |
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Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere |
Map references | Oceania | Political Map of the World |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | - |
Nationality | noun:
American Samoan(s) adjective: American Samoan |
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Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish |
Net migration rate | 3.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
Population | 67,084 (July 2001 est.) | - |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 2.42% (2001 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | - |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | - |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: good telex, telegraph, facsimile and cellular telephone services; domestic satellite system with 1 Comsat earth station international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
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Telephones - main lines in use | 13,000 (1997) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,550 (1997) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | - |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest |
Total fertility rate | 3.5 children born/woman (2001 est.) | - |
Transportation - note | - | Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (1993) | - |
Waterways | none | - |