Background: Tutuila -- the largest island in American Samoa -- was settled by 1000 B.C., and the island served as a refuge for exiled chiefs and defeated warriors from the other Samoan islands. The Manu’a Islands, which are also now part of American Samoa, developed a traditional chiefdom that maintained autonomy by controlling oceanic trade. In 1722, Dutch explorer Jacob ROGGEVEEN was the first European to sail through the Manu’a Islands, and he was followed by French explorer Louis Antoine DE BOUGAINVILLE in 1768. Whalers and missionaries arrived in American Samoa in the 1830s, but American and European traders tended to favor the port in Apia -- now in independent Samoa -- over the smaller and less-developed Pago Pago on Tutuila. In the mid-1800s, a dispute arose in Samoa over control of the Samoan archipelago, with different chiefs gaining support from Germany, the UK, and the US. In 1872, the high chief of Tutuila offered the US exclusive rights to Pago Pago in return for US protection, but the US rejected this offer. As fighting resumed, the US agreed to the chief’s request in 1878 and set up a coaling station at Pago Pago. In 1899, with continued disputes over succession, Germany and the US agreed to divide the Samoan islands, while the UK withdrew its claims in exchange for parts of the Solomon Islands. Local chiefs on Tutuila formally ceded their land to the US in 1900, followed by the chief of Manu’a in 1904. The territory was officially named 'American Samo' in 1911. The US administered the territory through the Department of the Navy. In 1949, there was an attempt to organize the territory, granting it formal self-government, but local chiefs helped defeat the measure in the US Congress. Administration was transferred to the Department of the Interior in 1951, and in 1967, American Samoa adopted a constitution that provides significant protections for traditional Samoan land-tenure rules, language, and culture. In 1977, after four attempts, voters approved a measure to directly elect their governor. Nevertheless, American Samoa officially remains an unorganized territory, and people born in American Samoa are US nationals rather than US citizens.

Area
Total: 224 km²
Land: 224 km²
Water: 0 km²
Note: includes Rose Atoll and Swains Island
Comparative: slightly larger than Washington, D.C.

Land boundaries
Total: 0 km

Coastline: 116 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: 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

Terrain: five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Atoll, Swains Island)

Elevation
Highest point: Lata Mountain 964 m
Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

Land use
Agricultural land: 14.8% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 5.2% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 9.6% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 0% (2023 est.)
Forest: 79.2% (2023 est.)
Other: 6% (2023 est.)

Irrigated land: 0 km² (2022)

Natural hazards: cyclones common from December to March
Volcanism: limited volcanic activity on the Ofu and Olosega Islands; neither has erupted since the 19th century

Geography
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 in the South Pacific Ocean

Population
Total: 43,895 (2024 est.)
Male: 21,804
Female: 22,091
Growth rate: -1.54% (2024 est.)

Languages: Samoan 87.9% (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English 3.3%, Tongan 2.1%, other Pacific Islander 4.1%, Asian languages 2.1%, other 0.5% (2020 est.)
Note: most people are bilingual

Religions: Christian 98.3%, other <1%, unaffiliated <1% (2020 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 25.3% (male 5,738/female 5,387)
15-64 years: 66% (male 14,291/female 14,679)
65 years and over: 8.7% (2024 est.) (male 1,775/female 2,025)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 51.5 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 38.4 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 13.1 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio: 7.6 (2024 est.)

Median age
Total: 30 years (2024 est.)
Male: 29.4 years
Female: 30.6 years

Population growth rate: -1.54% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 15.7 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Urbanization
Urban population: 87.2% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.26% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 49,000 PAGO PAGO (capital) (2018)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 9.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 11.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 7.6 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.8 years (2024 est.)
Male: 73.4 years
Female: 78.5 years

Total fertility rate: 2.06 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Drinking water source
Total: 0.2% of population (2020 est.)

Sanitation facility access
Total: 1.5% of population (2022 est.)

Capital
Name: Pago Pago
Geographic coordinates: 14 16 S, 170 42 W
Time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Note: pronounced PAHN-go PAHN-go

Administrative divisions: no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US government, but 3 districts and 2 islands* are considered second-order; Eastern, Manu'a, Rose Island*, Swains Island*, Western

Legal system: mixed legal system of US common law and customary law

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Donald J. TRUMP (since 20 January 2025)
Head of government: Governor Nikolao PULA (since 3 January 2025)
Cabinet: Cabinet consists of 12 department directors appointed by the governor with the consent of the Legislature or Fono
Election/appointment process: president and vice president indirectly elected on the same ballot by an Electoral College of 'electors' chosen from each state to serve a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); under the US Constitution, residents of unincorporated territories such as American Samoa do not vote in elections for US president and vice president; however, they may vote in Democratic and Republican presidential primary elections; governor and lieutenant governor directly elected on the same ballot by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term)
Most recent election date: 19 November 2024
Election results: Lemanu Peleti MAUGA elected governor in first round; percent of vote - Lemanu Peleti MAUGA (independent) 60.3%, Gaoteote Palaie TOFAU (independent) 21.9%, I'aulualo Fa'afetai TALIA (independent) 12.3%
Expected date of next election: November 2,028

Legislative branch
Note: American Samoa elects 1 member by simple majority popular vote to serve a 2-year term as a delegate to the US House of Representatives; the delegate can vote when serving on a committee and when the House meets as the Committee of the Whole House, but not when legislation is submitted for a “full floor” House vote

Flag description: a large white triangle edged in red is based on the right side and extends to the left side, and it is on a dark blue field; a bald eagle holding a Samoan war club (fa'alaufa'i) and a coconut-fiber fly whisk (fue) sits on the right side of the flag

National anthem
Title: 'The Star-Spangled Banner'
Lyrics/music: Francis Scott KEY/John Stafford SMITH
History: official anthem, as a US territory

Real gdp growth rate: 1.7% (2022 est.); -0.8% (2021 est.); 4.4% (2020 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real gdp per capita: 1.7% (2022 est.); -0.8% (2021 est.); 4.4% (2020 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Industries: tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts

Budget
Revenues: $249 million (2016 est.)
Expenditures: $262.5 million (2016 est.)

Exports: $409 million (2022 est.); $332 million (2021 est.); $427 million (2020 est.)
Note: GDP expenditure basis - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: animal meal, aluminum, refined petroleum, gas turbines, broadcasting equipment (2023)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports: $677 million (2022 est.); $694 million (2021 est.); $686 million (2020 est.)
Note: GDP expenditure basis - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: refined petroleum, fish, paper containers, wood, construction vehicles (2023)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Electricity
Installed generating capacity: 50,000 kW (2023 est.)
Consumption: 157.697 million kWh (2023 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 13.975 million kWh (2023 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 97.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources solar: 2.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

Petroleum
Refined petroleum consumption: 3,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 389,000 metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 389,000 metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 89.105 million Btu/person (2019 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 10,000 (2021 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 20 (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 2,250 (2009 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4 (2009 est.)

Internet
Users percent of population: 40.3% (1990 est.)

Airports: 3 (2025)