Arctic Ocean (2001) | American Samoa (2007) | |
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: 33.6% (male 10,049/female 9,345)
15-64 years: 63.5% (male 19,041/female 17,556) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 606/female 1,066) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock |
Airports | - | 3 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total:
14.056 million sq km note: includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies |
total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
Area - comparative | slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US | slightly larger than Washington, DC |
Background | The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the recently delimited Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. A sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes circumscribes the Arctic Ocean. | 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. |
Birth rate | - | 21.83 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $121 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US grants)
expenditures: $127 million (FY96/97) |
Capital | - | name: Pago Pago
geographic coordinates: 14 16 S, 170 42 W time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow | tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds; annual rainfall averages about 3 m; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October); little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 45,389 km | 116 km |
Constitution | - | ratified 2 June 1966, effective 1 July 1967 |
Country name | - | conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
Death rate | - | 3.24 deaths/1,000 population (2007 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 | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island (Olohega) in its 2006 draft constitution |
Economic aid - recipient | - | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals. | American Samoa has 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 most of its commerce. 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. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 167.4 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | - | 180 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Fram Basin -4,665 m highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata Mountain 964 m |
Environment - current issues | endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack | 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 |
Ethnic groups | - | native Pacific islander 92.9%, Asian 2.9%, white 1.2%, mixed 2.8%, other 0.2% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | - | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | - | chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Togiola TULAFONO (since 7 April 2003) cabinet: Cabinet made up of 12 department directors elections: under the US Constitution, 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); election last held 2 and 16 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008) election results: Togiola TULAFONO elected governor; percent of vote - Togiola TULAFONO 55.7%, Afoa Moega LUTU 44.3% |
Exports | - | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | - | canned tuna 93% (2004 est.) |
Exports - partners | - | Indonesia 28.2%, India 22.3%, Australia 15.3%, Japan 11.2%, NZ 7.1% (2006) |
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 - composition by sector | - | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 3% (2003) |
Geographic coordinates | 90 00 N, 0 00 E | 14 20 S, 170 00 W |
Geography - note | major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow cover lasts about 10 months | 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 |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | - | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | - | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% (2004 est.) |
Imports - partners | - | Australia 66%, Samoa 13.8%, NZ 10.8% (2006) |
Independence | - | none (territory of the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA% |
Industries | - | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 8.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.47 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | NA% |
International organization participation | - | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC, UPU |
Irrigated land | - | NA |
Judicial branch | - | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) |
Labor force | - | 17,630 (2005) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 34%
industry: 33% services: 33% (1990) |
Land boundaries | - | 0 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 15% other: 75% (2005) |
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 (2000 census) |
Legal system | - | NA |
Legislative branch | - | bicameral Fono or Legislative Assembly consists of the House of Representatives (21 seats; 20 members are elected by popular vote and 1 is an appointed, nonvoting delegate from Swains Island; to serve two-year terms) and the Senate (18 seats; members are elected from local chiefs to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held in November 2008); Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008) 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 - independents 18 note: American Samoa elects one nonvoting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held on 7 November 2006 (next to be held in November 2008); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA reelected as delegate |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 76.25 years
male: 72.69 years female: 80.02 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 98% female: 97% (1980 est.) |
Location | body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America, mostly north of the Arctic Circle | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand |
Map references | Arctic Region | Oceania |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
National holiday | - | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) |
Nationality | - | noun: American Samoan(s) (US nationals)
adjective: American Samoan |
Natural hazards | ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May | typhoons common from December to March |
Natural resources | sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales) | pumice, pumicite |
Net migration rate | - | -21.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Democratic Party [Oreta M. TOGAFAU]; Republican Party [Tautai A. F. FAALEVAO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | - | 57,663 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | -0.262% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe Bay (US) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) |
Religions | - | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.075 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.085 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.568 male(s)/female total population: 1.062 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
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: country code - 1-684; satellite earth station - 1 (Intelsat-Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 10,400 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 2,200 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 1 (2006) |
Terrain | central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge) | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) |
Total fertility rate | - | 3.07 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 29.8% (2005) |