Economy - overview Economic activity is strongly linked to the US, with which AmericanSamoa conducts the great bulk of its foreign trade. Tuna fishing and tunaprocessing plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tunathe primary export. The tuna canneries and the government are by far the twolargest employers. Other economic activities include a slowly developing touristindustry. Transfers from the US Government add substantially to American Samoa'seconomic well-being. According to one observer, attempts by the governmentto develop a larger and broader economy are restrained by Samoa's remote location,its limited transportation, and its devastating hurricanes.

GDP purchasing power parity - $128 million (1991 est.)

GDP - real growth rate NA%

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,600 (1991 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture : NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Inflation rate - consumer price index NA %

Labor force
total: 14,400 (1990)
by occupation: government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990)

Unemployment rate 12% (1991)

Budget
revenues: $97 million ($43 million in local revenue and $54 million in grant revenue)
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY90/91)

Industries tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate NA%

Electricity - capacity 33,000 kW (1993)

Electricity - production 100 million kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita 1,743 kWh (1995 est.)

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

Exports
total value: $306 million (f.o.b., 1989)
commodities: canned tuna 93%
partners : US 99.6%

Imports
total value: $360.3 million (c.i.f., 1989)
commodities: materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machineryand parts 6%
partners : US 62%, Japan 9%, NZ 7%, Australia 11%, Fiji 4%, other 7%

Debt - external $NA

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $NA
note : important financial support from the US

Currency 1 US dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates US currency is used

Fiscal year 1 October - 30 September

NOTE: The information regarding American Samoa on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of American Samoa Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about American Samoa Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.