Economy of American Samoa
Encyclopedia
The economy of American Samoa is a traditional Polynesia
n economy in which more than 90% of the land is communally owned. Economic activity is strongly linked to the United States
, with which American Samoa conducts the great bulk of its foreign trade. Tuna
fishing
and processing
plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna being the primary export. Transfers from the U.S. federal 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
, a developing sector, may be held back by the current financial difficulties in East Asia
.
: purchasing power parity
- $575.3 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 210
GDP (official exchange rate): $462.2 million (2005)
GDP - real growth rate: 3% (2003)
country comparison to the world: 139
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
NA%
industry:
NA%
services:
NA% (2002)
Labor Force: 17,630 (2005)
country comparison to the world: 203
Labor force - by occupation: government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 29.8% (2005)
country comparison to the world: 175
Population below poverty line:
NA% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
NA% (2003 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $155.4 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US grants)
expenditures: $183.6 million (FY07)
Agriculture - products: bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock
Industries: tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 180 GWh (2006)
country comparison to the world: 179
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro:
0%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: 167.4 GWh (2006)
country comparison to the world: 179
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2007)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2007)
Oil - production: 0 oilbbl/d (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 209
Oil - consumption: 4053 oilbbl/d (604 m³/d), 2006
country comparison to the world: 170
Oil - exports: 0 oilbbl/d (2005)
country comparison to the world: 142
Oil - imports: 4066 oilbbl/d (2005)
country comparison to the world: 166
Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2007)
country comparison to the world: 208
Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2007)
country comparison to the world: 207
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2007)
country comparison to the world: 202
Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2007)
country comparison to the world: 201
Natural gas - proved reserves: 0 cu m (2006)
country comparison to the world: 205
Exports: $445.6 million (2004)
country comparison to the world: 167
Exports - commodities:
canned tuna 93% (2004)
Exports - partners:
Indonesia
70%, Australia
6.7%, Japan
6.7%, Samoa
6.7% (2002)
Imports: $308.8 million (2004)
country comparison to the world: 195
Imports - commodities:
materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% (2004)
Imports - partners:
Australia
36.6%, New Zealand
20.3%, South Korea
16.3%, Mauritius
4.9% (2002)
Debt - external:
$NA (2002 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$NA; note - important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994
Currency:
US dollar (USD)
Currency code:
USD
Exchange rates:
US dollar is used
Fiscal year:
1 October - 30 September
Source: http://www.classbrain.com/art_cr/publish/american_samoa_economy.shtml
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
n economy in which more than 90% of the land is communally owned. Economic activity is strongly linked to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with which American Samoa conducts the great bulk of its foreign trade. Tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
fishing
Commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions...
and processing
Fish processing
The term fish processing refers to the processes associated with fish and fish products between the time fish are caught or harvested, and the time the final product is delivered to the customer...
plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna being the primary export. Transfers from the U.S. federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
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
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, a developing sector, may be held back by the current financial difficulties in East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
.
Numbers
GDPGross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
: purchasing power parity
Purchasing power parity
In economics, purchasing power parity is a condition between countries where an amount of money has the same purchasing power in different countries. The prices of the goods between the countries would only reflect the exchange rates...
- $575.3 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 210
GDP (official exchange rate): $462.2 million (2005)
GDP - real growth rate: 3% (2003)
country comparison to the world: 139
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
NA%
industry:
NA%
services:
NA% (2002)
Labor Force: 17,630 (2005)
country comparison to the world: 203
Labor force - by occupation: government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 29.8% (2005)
country comparison to the world: 175
Population below poverty line:
NA% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
NA% (2003 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $155.4 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US grants)
expenditures: $183.6 million (FY07)
Agriculture - products: bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock
Industries: tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 180 GWh (2006)
country comparison to the world: 179
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro:
0%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: 167.4 GWh (2006)
country comparison to the world: 179
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2007)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2007)
Oil - production: 0 oilbbl/d (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 209
Oil - consumption: 4053 oilbbl/d (604 m³/d), 2006
country comparison to the world: 170
Oil - exports: 0 oilbbl/d (2005)
country comparison to the world: 142
Oil - imports: 4066 oilbbl/d (2005)
country comparison to the world: 166
Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2007)
country comparison to the world: 208
Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2007)
country comparison to the world: 207
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2007)
country comparison to the world: 202
Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2007)
country comparison to the world: 201
Natural gas - proved reserves: 0 cu m (2006)
country comparison to the world: 205
Exports: $445.6 million (2004)
country comparison to the world: 167
Exports - commodities:
canned tuna 93% (2004)
Exports - partners:
Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
70%, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
6.7%, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
6.7%, Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
6.7% (2002)
Imports: $308.8 million (2004)
country comparison to the world: 195
Imports - commodities:
materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% (2004)
Imports - partners:
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
36.6%, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
20.3%, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
16.3%, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
4.9% (2002)
Debt - external:
$NA (2002 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$NA; note - important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994
Currency:
US dollar (USD)
Currency code:
USD
Exchange rates:
US dollar is used
Fiscal year:
1 October - 30 September
See also
- American SamoaAmerican SamoaAmerican Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
Source: http://www.classbrain.com/art_cr/publish/american_samoa_economy.shtml