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)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun--American Samoan(s); adjective--American Samoan               
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: Samoan (Polynesian) 90%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan                 
2%, other 6%                                                                    
                                                                                
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)                            
                                                                                
Exports: $288 million (f.o.b., 1987);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--canned tuna 93%;                                                   
                                                                                
partners--US 99.6%                                                              
                                                                                
Imports: $346 million (c.i.f., 1987);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--building materials 18%, food 17%, petroleum                        
products 14%;                                                                   
                                                                                
partners--US 72%, Japan 7%, NZ 7%, Australia 5%, other 9%                       
                                                                                
External debt: $NA                                                              
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate NA%                                          
                                                                                
Electricity: 42,000 kW capacity; 85 million kWh produced,                       
2,020 kWh per capita (1990)                                                     
                                                                                
Industries: tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign supplies               
of raw tuna)                                                                    
                                                                                
Agriculture: bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams,             
copra, pineapples, papayas                                                      
                                                                                
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                                   
                                                                                
