American Samoa is a group of five volcanic islands and two coral atolls located some 2,600 miles south of Hawaii in the South Pacific. It includes the eastern Samoan islands of Tutuila, Aunu'u, and Rose; three islands (Ta'u, Olosega, and Ofu) of the Manu'a group; and Swains Island. 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.

It is an unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US; administered by the US Department of the Interior. This is a traditional Polynesian economy; more than 90% of the land is communally owned. Economic activity is strongly linked to the US, with which American Samoa conducts the great bulk of its foreign trade. Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna being the primary export. 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.

GOVERNMENT
Country name (conventional long form): Territory of American Samoa
Capital: Pago Pago
Nationality: American Samoa
House of Representatives: Congressional Delegate

ECONOMY
GDP: purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.)
Exports: $345 million (1999)
Agriculture: Bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock
Industry: Tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts