American Samoa

Basic Data

American Samoa has been occupied by the United States as a territory since 1900, but it is believed to have been inhabited since 600 B.C. Today, the country's five islands and two coral atolls, which lie near Western Samoa in the Pacific Ocean, are managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior and a local, popularly elected Governor. The legislature consists of a House of Representatives and a Senate, and the country also sends an elected delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. The population of American Samoa is estimated to be 607,000. The literacy rate is 97 percent. Most Samoans are bilingual in English and Samoan, a dialect closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages. The economy revolves around tuna fishing and tuna canning. The government is also a major employer. Efforts to diversify the economy have been hindered by the country's geographic isolation and a fierce hurricane season.

As a territory of the United States, American Samoa enjoys the press freedoms provided under the U.S. Constitution. American Samoa has two newspapers: the Samoa News and the Samoan Post. Stories in both newspapers appear in English and Samoan. The Samoan News is printed Monday through Saturday; its circulation is approximately 4,000 a day in addition to an online edition. The Samoan Post publishes Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Its approximate circulation is 1,500.

Three FM stations and three AM stations serve approximately 57,000 radios. One television station broadcasts over three channels to approximately 14,000 TV sets. It is owned by the Office of Public Information of the American Samoan government. Samoanet is the country's sole Internet service provider.