| CIA Background Information |
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. | |
Location: American Samoa is Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand See Map
Capital: name: Pago Pago
geographic coordinates: 14 16 S, 170 42 W
time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Currency (Code): US dollar (USD) ...More
Area: total: 199 sq km , land: 199 sq km , water: 0 sq km , note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island ( 1 sq km is approximately 0.4 sq miles or 250 acres)
Area Comparison: slightly larger than Washington, DC
Elevation Extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m , highest point: Lata Mountain 964 m (1 meter = 3.28 feet)
Population: 64,827 (July 2008 est.)
Unemployment: 29.8% (2005)
Ethnic Groups: native Pacific islander 91.6%, Asian 2.8%, white 1.1%, mixed 4.2%, other 0.3% (2000 census)
Religion: Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30%
Languages: Samoan 90.6% (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English 2.9%, Tongan 2.4%, other Pacific islander 2.1%, other 2%
note: most people are bilingual (2000 census)
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