The Economy of American Samoa

A proud people, the Samoans have managed to hold on to their traditional Polynesian economy and 90% of the land in American Samoa is communally owned. Major agricultural products include bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products and livestock.

Tuna fishing and tuna processing form the backbone of economy in American Samoa. The region also exports canned tuna to countries such as Indonesia, India, Australia, Japan and New Zealand. Tourism is a developing sector.

Samoa depends heavily on the US government for its economic well-being, both in terms of financial support as well as trade links. Its remote location, limited transportation and hurricanes have made it hard to expand or improve the economy here. However, the unemployment rate is low at 29.8% (2005).

The currency of American Samoa is the US Dollar.