November to April, dry season from
May to October; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain:
five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two
coral atolls
Natural resources:
pumice and pumicite
Land use:
arable land 10%; permanent crops 5%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and
woodland 75%; other 10%
Environment:
typhoons common from December to March
Note:
Pago Pago has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the South Pacific
Ocean, sheltered by shape from rough seas and protected by peripheral
mountains from high winds; strategic location about 3,700 km south-southwest
of Honolulu in the South Pacific Ocean about halfway between Hawaii and New
Zealand

:American Samoa People

Population:
51,115 (July 1992), growth rate 3.9% (1992); about 65,000 American Samoans
live in the states of California and Washington and 20,000 in Hawaii
Birth rate:
37 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
4 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
6 immigrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
19 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
71 years male, 75 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
4.5 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - American Samoan(s); adjective - American Samoan; US, noncitizen
nationals
Ethnic divisions:
Samoan (Polynesian) 90%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 2%, other 6%
Religions:
Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant
denominations and other 30%
Languages:
Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages) and
English; most people are bilingual
Literacy:
97% (male 97%, female 97%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980)
Labor force:
14,400 (1990); government 48%, tuna canneries 33%, other 19% (1986 est.)
Organized labor:
NA

:American Samoa Government

Long-form name:
Territory of American Samoa
Type:
unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US;
administered by the US Department of Interior, Office of Territorial and
International Affairs; indigenous inhabitants are US nationals, not citizens
of the US
Capital:
Pago Pago
Administrative divisions:
none (territory of the US)
Independence:
none (territory of the US)
Constitution:
ratified 1966, in effect 1967; note - a comprehensive revision is awaiting