ARCHIVE // AS // 1990

American Samoa

1990 Edition — territory

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
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Communications
Airports [time series]
3 total, 3 usable; 1 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
Roadways (Highways) [time series]
350 km total; 150 km paved, 200 km unpaved
Ports [time series]
Pago Pago, Ta'u
Railways (Railroads) [time series]
small marine railroad in Pago Pago harbor
Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]
6,500 telephones; stations--1 AM, no FM, 1 TV; good telex, telegraph, and facsimile services; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Defense Forces
Note [time series]
defense is the responsibility of the US
Economy
Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]
bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas
Aid [time series]
$20.1 million in operational funds and $5.8 million in construction funds for capital improvement projects from the US Department of Interior (1989)
Budget [time series]
revenues $90.3 million; expenditures $93.15 million, including capital expenditures of $4.9 million (1988)
Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]
US currency is used
Electricity [time series]
35,000 kW capacity; 70 million kWh produced, 1,720 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates [time series]
US currency is used
Exports [time series]
$288 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities--canned tuna 93%; partners--US 99.6%
Debt - external (External debt) [time series]
$NA
Fiscal year [time series]
1 October-30 September
GNP [time series]
$190 million, per capita $5,210; real growth rate NA% (1985)
Imports [time series]
$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%
Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]
growth rate NA%
Industries [time series]
tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign supplies of raw tuna)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]
4.3% (1989)
Economic overview (Overview) [time series]
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. Tropical agricultural production provides little surplus for export.
Unemployment rate [time series]
13.4% (1986)
Geography
Climate [time series]
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
Coastline [time series]
116 km
Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]
slightly larger than Washington, DC
Contiguous zone [time series]
12 nm;
Continental shelf [time series]
200 m;
Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]
typhoons common from December to March
Extended economic zone [time series]
200 nm;
Land boundaries [time series]
none
Land use [time series]
10% arable land; 5% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 75% forest and woodland; 10% other
Natural resources [time series]
pumice and pumicite
Note [time series]
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
Terrain [time series]
five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls
Maritime claims (Territorial sea) [time series]
12 nm
Area (Total area) [time series]
199 km2; land area: 199 km2
Government
Administrative divisions [time series]
none (territory of the US)
Capital [time series]
Pago Pago
Political parties (Communists) [time series]
none
Constitution [time series]
ratified 1966, in effect 1967
Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]
none (territory of the US)
Executive branch [time series]
US president, governor, lieutenant governor
Flag [time series]
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
Independence [time series]
none (territory of the US)
Judicial branch [time series]
High Court 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)
Legislative branch [time series]
bicameral Legislature (Fono) consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
Country name (Long-form name) [time series]
Territory of American Samoa
National holiday [time series]
Flag Day, 17 April (1900)
Note [time series]
administered by the US Department of Interior, Office of Territorial and International Affairs; indigenous inhabitants are US nationals, not citizens of the US
Suffrage [time series]
universal at age 18; indigenous inhabitants are US nationals, not US citizens 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 7 November 1988 (next to be held November 1990); 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 1988 (next to be held November 1990); results--Eni R. F. H. Faleomavaega elected as a nonvoting delegate
Government type (Type) [time series]
unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US
People
Birth rate [time series]
41 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate [time series]
4 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]
90% Samoan (Polynesian), 2% Caucasian, 2% Tongan, 6% other
Infant mortality rate [time series]
11 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Labor force [time series]
10,000; 48% government, 33% tuna canneries, 19% other (1986 est.)
Languages (Language) [time series]
Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages) and English; most people are bilingual
Life expectancy at birth [time series]
69 years male, 74 years female (1990)
Literacy [time series]
99%
Nationality [time series]
noun--American Samoan(s); adjective--American Samoan
Net migration rate [time series]
- 8 immigrants/1,000 population (1990)
Note [time series]
about 65,000 American Samoans live in the States of California and Washington and 20,000 in Hawaii
Organized labor [time series]
NA
Population [time series]
41,840 (July 1990), growth rate 2.9% (1990)
Religions (Religion) [time series]
about 50% Christian Congregationalist, 20% Roman Catholic, 30% mostly Protestant denominations and other
Total fertility rate [time series]
5.4 children born/woman (1990)