Samoa/

The economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on development aid, family remittances from overseas, agriculture, and fishing. The country is vulnerable to devastating storms. Agriculture employs two-thirds of the labor force and furnishes 90% of exports, featuring coconut cream, coconut oil, and copra. The manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. One factory in the Foreign Trade Zone employs 3,000 people to make automobile electrical harnesses for an assembly plant in Australia. Tourism is an expanding sector accounting for 25% of GDP; 122,000 tourists visited the islands in 2007. In late September 2009, an earthquake and the resulting tsunami severely damaged Samoa, and nearby American Samoa, disrupting transportation and power generation, and resulting in about 200 deaths. The Samoan Government has called for deregulation of the financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline, while at the same time protecting the environment. Observers point to the flexibility of the labor market as a basic strength for future economic advances. Foreign reserves are in a relatively healthy state, the external debt is stable, and inflation is low.

$1.002 billion (2010 est.)

$1.022 billion (2009 est.)

$1.059 billion (2008 est.)

$550 million (2010 est.)

-2% (2010 est.)

-3.5% (2009 est.)

-3.4% (2008 est.)

$5,200 (2010 est.)

$5,400 (2009 est.)

$5,600 (2008 est.)

66,270 (2007 est.)

NA%

NA%

6% (2007 est.)

12.08% (31 December 2009 est.)

12.66% (31 December 2008 est.)

$80.56 million (31 December 2009)

$60.13 million (31 December 2008)

$283.2 million (31 December 2009)

$222.9 million (31 December 2008)

$243 million (31 December 2009)

$208.9 million (31 December 2008)

$NA

coconuts, bananas, taro, yams, coffee, cocoa

food processing, building materials, auto parts

2.8% (2000)

109 million kWh (2007 est.)

101.4 million kWh (2007 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

1,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

1,105 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.)

-$24 million (2007 est.)

$131 million (2006)

fish, coconut oil and cream, copra, taro, automotive parts, garments, beer

American Samoa 41.12%, Australia 24.74%, Taiwan 6.24%, China 5.61%, US 4.07% (2009)

$324 million (2006)

machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, foodstuffs

NZ 24.13%, Fiji 17.34%, Singapore 12.54%, China 10.02%, Australia 9.85%, US 5.95% (2009)

$70.15 million (FY03/04)

$177 million (2004)

tala (SAT) per US dollar - NA (2007), 2.7594 (2006), 2.7103 (2005), 2.7807 (2004), 2.9732 (2003)