American Samoa | Facts & Information

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

American Samoa Profile

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Map of American Samoa

Facts & Figures

TERRITORY OF AMERICAN SAMOA

Status: Territory

Governor: Lolo Matalasi (2013)

Capital (2011 est.): Pago Pago, 64,000

Total area: 77 sq mi (199 sq km)

Population (2014 est.): 54,517 (growth rate: –0.35%); birth rate: 22.87/1000; infant mortality rate: 8.92/1000; life expectancy: 74.91

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)

Ethnicity/race: Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander 91.6%, Asian 2.8%, white 1.1%, mixed 4.2%, other 0.3% (2000 est.)

Religions: Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30%

Literacy rate: 97% (1980 est.)

Monetary unit: U.S. dollar

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $575.3 million; per capita $8,000. Real growth rate: 3%. Inflation: n.a. Unemployment: 29.8% (2005). Arable land: 9.5%. Agriculture: bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock. Labor force: 17,630 (2005); government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990). Industries: tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts. Natural resources: pumice, pumicite. Exports: $445.6 million (2004 est.): canned tuna 93% (2004 est.). Imports: $308.8 million (2004 est.): materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% (2004 est.). Major trading partners: Samoa, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Germany (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 10,000 (2012); mobile cellular: 2,550 (1997). Broadcast media: 3 TV stations; multi-channel pay TV services are available; about a dozen radio stations, some of which are repeater stations (2009). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2,387 (2012). Internet users: n.a.

Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 241 km. Ports and harbors: Pago Pago. Airports: 3 (2013).

International disputes: Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island (Olosega) in its 2006 draft independence constitution.

Major sources and definitions

American Samoa, a group of five volcanic islands and two coral atolls located some 2,600 mi south of Hawaii in the South Pacific, is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the U.S. It includes the eastern Samoan islands of Tutuila, Aunu'u, and Rose; three islands (Ta'u, Olosega, and Ofu) of the Manu'a group; and Swains Island. Around 1000 B.C. Proto-polynesians established themselves in the islands, and their descendants are one of the few remaining Polynesian societies. The Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen sighted the Manu'a Islands in 1722. American Samoa has been a territory of the United States since April 17, 1900, when the High Chiefs of Tutuila signed the first of two Deeds of Cession for the islands to the U.S. (Congress ratified the Deeds in 1929.) Swains Island, which is privately owned, came under U.S. administration in 1925.

Until World War II the United States operated a coaling station and naval base in Pago Pago. During the war, the islands were an important U.S. Marines staging area. In 1960 American Samoa ratified its territorial constitution and has since developed a modern, self-governing political system. American Samoans elect a governor, lieutenant governor, and legislature. The legislature (Fono) consists of two houses: the Senate, selected by village chiefs (matai) for four-year terms, and the House of Representatives, elected by the general population for two-year terms. The people of American Samoa are U.S. nationals, not U.S. citizens, but many have become naturalized American citizens. American Samoa does 80%–90% of its foreign trade with the U.S. Canned tuna is the primary export, earning $300 million annually. Transfers from the U.S. government add substantially to American Samoa's economic well-being.

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