American Samoa

American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the U.S. Office of the Interior Office of Insular Affairs, that includes some of the islands in the Samoan chain in the South Pacific Ocean. The United States acquired possession of American Samoa in 1899 in a treaty with Germany. The total land mass of American Samoa (popularly called simply “Samoa”) is 199 square kilometers, slightly larger than Washington, D.C.

Samoa has a high standard of living, due in part to support by the U.S. government, with life expectancy of 70.8 years for men and 76.8 years for women. Literacy is near-universal at 98 percent for men and 97 percent for women. Essentially, all births are attended by trained personnel, but the infant mortality rate is high at 10.18 per 1,000 live births, as compared to 6.22/1,000 in the United States, but nevertheless lower than in many Pacific nations. American Samoa conducts most of its commerce with the United States, with tuna fishing and processing providing most employment. Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007 was $8,000 and unemployment is high at 29.8 percent, but efforts to diversify the economy are hampered by the islands’ distant location and the frequency of hurricanes.

The population growth rate is 1.2 percent; a high fertility rate of 3.29 children per woman and birth rate of 23.31 births per 1,000 population (the adolescent birth rate is 36.3 per 1,000 women) is offset by a negative migration rate of minue 6.99 migrants per 1,000 population (among the highest in the world). Factors promoting outmigration include high unemployment and the fact that Samoans are American nationals and have the right of entry to the United States.

Most of the population (90.6 percent) are Samoan, with minorities of Asians (2.8 percent), whites (1.1 percent), mixed races (4.2 percent), and other races (0.3 percent). Christianity is the predominant religion, with 50 percent Christian Congregationalist and 20 percent Roman Catholic; most of the remainder belong to other Protestant churches.

Historically, American Samoa has been a male-dominated society, but this is changing somewhat with urbanization, and now women constitute 41.7 percent of the nonagricultural labor force. Most positions of authority are still held by men, although some women own businesses and hold government posts: examples of the latter include Le'ala Elisara, Director of the Arts Council; Dr. Claire Poumele, Director of Education; Evelyn Vaitautolu-Langford, Director of Human Resources; and Dr. Leuga Turner, Director of Youth and Women's Affairs. Samoa has never had a [Page 63]female governor. Traditional Polynesian customs are still influential in home and family life, even in urban areas: a young married couple most often settles in the household of the parents of either the husband or wife, households tend to be large and include collateral relatives as well as the nuclear family, and economic and social activities are directed by a matai or family chief who is responsible for the welfare of the extended family. Theoretically, either men or women can be matai, but most are male. Domestic violence is outlawed but remains a problem.

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