American Samoa/

American Samoa has a traditional Polynesian economy in which more than 90% of the land is communally owned. Economic activity is strongly linked to the US with which American Samoa conducts most of its commerce. Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna the primary export. The two tuna canneries account for 80% of employment. In late September 2009, an earthquake and the resulting tsunami devastated American Samoa and nearby Samoa, disrupting transportation and power generation, and resulting in about 200 deaths. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency is overseeing a relief program of nearly $25 million. Transfers from the US 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 is a promising developing sector.

$575.3 million (2007 est.)

$510.1 million (2003 est.)

$462.2 million (2005)

3% (2003)

$8,000 (2007 est.)

$5,800 (2005 est.)

17,630 (2005)

29.8% (2005)

NA%

NA%

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

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

NA%

185 million kWh (2007 est.)

172.1 million kWh (2007 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

4,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

4,140 bbl/day (2007 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

$445.6 million (FY04 est.)

canned tuna 93%

$308.8 million (FY04 est.)

raw materials for canneries 56%, food, petroleum products, machinery and parts

$NA

the US dollar is used