British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) | American Samoa (2004) | |
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: 36.6% (male 10,983; female 10,208)
15-64 years: 60.3% (male 18,010; female 16,933) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 699; female 1,069) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 3 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 60 sq km
land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago |
total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
Area - comparative | about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Washington, DC |
Background | Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. | 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 | - | 24.46 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $121 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US grants)
expenditures: $127 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY96/97) |
Capital | - | Pago Pago |
Climate | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds | 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 |
Coastline | 698 km | 116 km |
Constitution | - | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 |
Country name | conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | - | 3.39 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | - | NA (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London | 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 (overseas territory of the UK) | none (territory of the US) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | none (territory of the US) |
Disputes - international | Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 |
Economy - overview | All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. | 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 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 120.9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military | 130 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata 966 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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 | - | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | - | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch |
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 Togiola TULAFONO (since 7 April 2003) 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 2 and 16 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Togiola TULAFONO elected governor; percent of vote: Togiola TULAFONO 55.7%, Afoa Moega LUTU 44.3% |
Exports | - | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | - | canned tuna 93% |
Exports - partners | - | Samoa 33.3%, Japan 22.2%, Australia 11.1%, Canada 11.1%, New Zealand 11.1% (2003) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag | 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 |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 71 30 E | 14 20 S, 170 00 W |
Geography - note | archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility | 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 |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km |
total: 350 km
paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | - | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | - | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% |
Imports - partners | - | Australia 33.3%, New Zealand 33.3%, Mauritius 9%, Japan 5.1%, South Korea 5.1%, UK 5.1% (2003) |
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: 9.48 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | NA (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | - | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 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 | - | tuna canneries 34%, government 33%, other 33% (1990) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: NEGL
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 15% other: 75% (2001) |
Languages | - | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | 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 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004); Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held 2 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 - independents 18 note: American Samoa elects one nonvoting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA (Democrat) reelected as delegate |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 75.62 years
male: 72.05 years female: 79.41 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 98% female: 97% (1980 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | none |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 | defense is the responsibility of the US |
National holiday | - | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) |
Nationality | - | noun: American Samoan(s)
adjective: American Samoan |
Natural hazards | NA | typhoons common from December to March |
Natural resources | coconuts, fish, sugarcane | pumice, pumicite |
Net migration rate | - | -20.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2002 est.) |
57,902 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA |
Population growth rate | - | 0.04% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Diego Garcia | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Radios | NA | - |
Religions | - | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available
domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000) |
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 | NA | 15,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 2,377 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (2004) |
Terrain | flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation) | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) |
Total fertility rate | - | 3.41 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 6% (2000) |
Waterways | none | - |