American Samoa

American Samoa is a US territory. The archipelago of American Samoa is located at the Oceania on South Pacific Ocean. Among the five islands, Tutuila is the largest and most populous. Rose Atoll, and Swains Island are the two coral atolls, located in the archipelago of American Samoa. The archipelago is surrounded by the Cook Islands in the east, Tonga in the north, Tokelau in the south and the islands of the Wallis and Futuna group in the west. Pago Pogo (14 16 S, 170 42 W) is the capital while Fagatogo is the seat of the government.


HISTORY:- Samoan islands were inhabited in 1000 BC. It came with European contact in early 18th century. French explorers started fighting with the inhabitants of Tutuila island, giving them a charge of ferocity. Christianity was introduced in Samoa officially by John Williams of the Congregationalist London Missionary Society in the early 19th century. In 1889, German attacked a Samoan village. A devastating typhoon led to an armistice. In 1899, United States and Germany divided the land in Treaty of Berlin. They took over their respective portion of the archipelago of Samoa. Eastern Samoan islands became American Samoa and Western Samoa became independent state of Samoa. During World War I, American Samoa became the New Zealand protectorate. Mau movement of American Samoa was suppressed by US Navy.

 

GEOGRAPHY:- American Samoa is located at the point of 14 20 S, 170 00 W. It is an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean. The land occupies total 199 sq km land area with no watery portion within it. The total coastline is 116 km long along with the South Pacific Ocean. The lowest point is Pacific Ocean (0 m) and the highest point is Lata Mountain (964 m). American Samoa comprises five, rugged volcanic islands with rugged peaks and two coral atolls. The two coral atolls are Rose Island, Swains Island. Rose atoll is situated at the south most corner of the archipelago. The territory has limited coastal plains.

 

CLIMATE:- Mostly tropical marine climate can be seen in the region with moderate southeast trade winds. Average annual rainfall is about 3 m. The rainy season persists from November to April, while dry season stays from May to October. Frequent typhoons take place from December to March.

 

GOVERNMENT:- American Samoa is an unorganized and unincorporated territory of United States. The archipelago was governed by the Office of Insular Affairs and US Department of the Interior. The constitution was ratified on 2nd June 1966 but was effected since 1st July, 1967. The three branches of the governing body are:

Executive branch consists of the President of America (chief of state), Vice President, Governor (head of government), and cabinet.

Legislative branch consists of the bicameral Fono- the House of Representatives (21 seats) and the Senate (18 seats).

Judicial branch consists of the High Court.

Suffrage is universal above 18. Prominent political parties are Democratic Party and Republican Party.

Head of State  George W. Bush

Vice President  Richard B. Cheney

Governor  Togiola Tulafono

 

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- American Samoa is a territory of United states. It is administratively decomposed of 3 districts and 2 atolls. These in turn divided into 74 villages.

CULTURE:- Siva, a similar dance to Hawaiian is a very popular traditional dance of Samoa. In cuisine also, there is a lot of variety. Puletasi is a tradition clothing for women while lava lava, a sarong in worn by both men and women. Tattoo is very famous is the land. Rugby union is the most popular sport in samoa. American Samoa's national football team is the newest entrant in the world of football.

 

ECONOMY:- American Samoa has Polynesian economy. Tuna fishing and tuna processing is the backbone of Samoan economy. Over 90% of the archipelago is possessed by several communities. It is strongly dominated by US economy.

GDP - real growth rate: 3% (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:  

Agriculture: NA%

Industry: NA%

Services: NA%

Labor force: 17,630 (2005)

Labor force - by occupation:  

Agriculture: 34%

Industry: 33%

Services: 33% (1990)

Unemployment rate: 29.8% (2005)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:  

Lowest 10%: NA%

Highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Budget:  

Revenues: $121 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US grants)

Expenditures: $127 million (FY96/97)

Agriculture - products: bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock

Industries: tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts

Exports: $445.6 million (FY04 est.)

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)

Imports: $308.8 million (FY04 est.)

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)

Currency (code): US dollar (USD)

 

LANGUAGE:- English, Samoan are the official 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% (2000 census)

 

CITIES:- American Samoa is formed of 3 districts and 2 atolls. Pago Pago is the capital and among the largest villages. Fagatogo is the seat of the government. Tutuila is the largest island among the five.

 

POPULATION:- The estimated population is 57,496 (July 2008 est.) with a growth rate of -0.322% (2008 est.)

Literacy rate: 97%

 

RACE:-

Native Pacific islander 92.9%

Asian 2.9%

White 1.2%

Mixed 2.8%

Other 0.2% (2000 census)

 

RELIGION:-

Christian Congregationalist 50%

Roman Catholic 20%

Protestant and other 30%

 

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 21.24 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 3.24 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 8.69 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.45 years

Total fertility rate: 2.98 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

 

TRANSPORTATION:-

Airports: 3 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 3

Roadways: total: 185 km (2004)

Ports and terminals: Pago Pago

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