]! ^! Settled as early as 1000 B.C., Samoa was "discovered" by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year. 
]" ^" Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand ^# 14 20 S, 170 00 W ^$ Oceania ^% `! 199 sq km `" 199 sq km `# 0 sq km `* includes Rose Island and Swains Island ^& slightly larger than Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 116 km ^) `$ 12 nm `N 200 nm ^* tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds; annual rainfall averages about 3 m; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October); little seasonal temperature variation ^+ five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) ^, `% Pacific Ocean 0 m `& Lata Mountain 964 m ^- pumice, pumicite ^. `' 10% `( 15% `) 75% (2005) ^/ NA ^0 typhoons common from December to March ^1 limited natural fresh water resources; the water division of the government has spent substantial funds in the past few years to improve water catchments and pipelines ^2 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 in the South Pacific Ocean 
]# ^3 57,663 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 33.6% (male 10,049/female 9,345) `, 63.5% (male 19,041/female 17,556) `- 2.9% (male 606/female 1,066) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 23.6 years `. 23.4 years `/ 23.8 years (2007 est.) ^6 -0.262% (2007 est.) ^7 21.83 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 3.24 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 -21.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.06 male(s)/female `1 1.075 male(s)/female `, 1.085 male(s)/female `- 0.568 male(s)/female `2 1.062 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 8.88 deaths/1,000 live births `. 9.47 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 8.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 76.25 years `. 72.69 years `/ 80.02 years (2007 est.) ^= 3.07 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `3 American Samoan(s) (US nationals) `4 American Samoan ^B native Pacific islander 92.9%, Asian 2.9%, white 1.2%, mixed 2.8%, other 0.2% (2000 census) ^C Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% ^D Samoan 90.6% (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English 2.9%, Tongan 2.4%, other Pacific islander 2.1%, other 2% `* most people are bilingual (2000 census) ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 97% `. 98% `/ 97% (1980 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Territory of American Samoa `7 American Samoa `] AS ^G unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US; administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior ^H NA ^I `8 Pago Pago `9 14 16 S, 170 42 W `: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three districts and two islands* at the second order; Eastern, Manu'a, Rose Island*, Swains Island*, Western ^K none (territory of the US) ^L Flag Day, 17 April (1900) ^M ratified 2 June 1966, effective 1 July 1967 ^N NA ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) `< Governor Togiola TULAFONO (since 7 April 2003) `= Cabinet made up of 12 department directors `> under the US Constitution, residents of unincorporated territories, such as American Samoa, do not vote in elections for US president and vice president; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 2 and 16 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008) `? Togiola TULAFONO elected governor; percent of vote - Togiola TULAFONO 55.7%, Afoa Moega LUTU 44.3% ^Q bicameral Fono or Legislative Assembly consists of the House of Representatives (21 seats - 20 of which are elected by popular vote and 1 is an appointed, nonvoting delegate from Swains Island; members serve two-year terms) and the Senate (18 seats; members are elected from local chiefs and serve four-year terms) `> House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held in November 2008); Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008) `? House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independents 18 `* American Samoa elects one nonvoting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held on 7 November 2006 (next to be held in November 2008); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA reelected as delegate ^R High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) ^S Democratic Party [Oreta M. TOGAFAU]; Republican Party [Tautai A. F. FAALEVAO] ^T NA ^U Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC, UPU ^V none (territory of the US) ^W none (territory of the US) ^X blue, with a white triangle edged in red that is based on the outer side and extends to the hoist side; a brown and white American bald eagle flying toward the hoist side is carrying two traditional Samoan symbols of authority, a staff and a war club 
]% ^Y American Samoa has a traditional Polynesian economy in which more than 90% of the land is communally owned. Economic activity is strongly linked to the US with which American Samoa conducts most of its commerce. Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna the primary export. Transfers from the US Government add substantially to American Samoa's economic well being. Attempts by the government to develop a larger and broader economy are restrained by Samoa's remote location, its limited transportation, and its devastating hurricanes. Tourism is a promising developing sector. ^Z $510.1 million (2003 est.) ^[ $333.8 million (2005) ^\ 3% (2003) ^] $5,800 (2005 est.) ^^ `@ NA% `A NA% `B NA% ^_ 17,630 (2005) ^` `@ 34% `A 33% `B 33% (1990) ^a 29.8% (2005) _! NA% _" `C NA% `D NA% _# NA% _$ `E $121 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US grants) `F $127 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY96/97) _& bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock _' tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts _( NA% _) 128 million kWh (2004) _* 119 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004) _. 3,900 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _3 $445.6 million (FY04 est.) _4 canned tuna 93% (2004 est.) _5 Indonesia 28.2%, India 22.3%, Australia 15.3%, Japan 11.2%, NZ 7.1% (2005) _6 $308.8 million (FY04 est.) _7 materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% (2004 est.) _8 Australia 66%, Samoa 13.8%, NZ 10.8% (2005) _9 $NA _: important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 _; US dollar (USD) _< the US dollar is used _= 1 October - 30 September 
]& _> 15,000 (2001) _? 2,377 (1999) _@ `G NA `H good telex, telegraph, facsimile and cellular telephone services; domestic satellite system with 1 Comsat earth station `I country code - 684; satellite earth station - 1 (Intelsat-Pacific Ocean) _A AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2006) _B 1 (2006) _C .as _D 1,456 (2006) _E NA 
]' _F 3 (2006) _G `! 2 `a 1 `c 1 (2006) _R `! 1 `W 1 (2006) _H `! 185 km (2004) _I Pago Pago 
]( _M defense is the responsibility of the US 
]) _N Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island (Olohega) in its 2006 draft constitution 