Overview
American Samoa is a self-governing, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, within the Polynesia subregion of Oceania. It is situated 40 miles (64 km) southeast of the island country of Samoa, east of the International Date Line and the French territory of Wallis and Futuna, west of the Cook Islands, and north of Tonga. American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United States, positioned approximately 2,200 miles (3,500 km) southwest of Hawaii.
Geography and Climate
American Samoa consists of the eastern part of the Samoan archipelago, including the inhabited volcanic islands of Tutuila, Aunuʻu, Ofu, Olosega, and Taʻū, along with the uninhabited Rose Atoll and Swains Island. The total land area is 77 square miles (199 km²), slightly larger than Washington, D.C. Including its territorial waters, the total area is 117,500 square miles (304,000 km²), approximately the size of New Zealand.
The territory features a tropical climate, with 90 percent of its land covered by rainforests.
Population and Culture
As of 2024, American Samoa has a population of approximately 47,400, concentrated primarily on Tutuila, which hosts the capital and largest settlement, Pago Pago. The vast majority of residents are indigenous ethnic Samoans, most of whom are fluent in the official languages: Samoan and English.
Government and Political Status
American Samoa became self-governing in 1967 with the adoption of a constitution. Its local government is republican in form, with separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The territory remains officially unorganized and is directly administered by the federal government. American Samoa is listed among seventeen "non-self-governing territories" as defined by the United Nations but is a member of several intergovernmental organizations, including the Pacific Community, Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Unlike other U.S. territories, American Samoa is the only permanently inhabited U.S. territory in which citizenship is not granted at birth. Residents are considered "non-citizen nationals" with limited rights. This distinction reflects Samoan efforts to preserve indigenous culture and governance. The Samoan Fono unanimously passed a resolution in 2021 against birthright citizenship, with elected representatives expressing concerns that it would complicate the territory's political structure and lead to the erosion of indigenous governance, collective land ownership, and use of the Samoan language.
Economy
The U.S. military has a significant presence in American Samoa and plays a major role in its economy and society. The territory is noted for having the highest rate of military enlistment of any U.S. state or territory; as of 2021, the local U.S. Army recruiting station in Pago Pago ranked first in recruitment.
Tuna products are the main exports, with the U.S. proper serving as the largest trading partner. Tourism remains a nascent but underdeveloped sector, partly due to the territory's relative geographic isolation, which also contributes to high rates of poverty and emigration.
Etymology
The name "Samoa" means "holy center," derived from a compound of the Samoan sa ("sacred") and moa ("center"). The name is alternatively derived from a local chieftain named Samoa or an indigenous word meaning "place of the moa," a now-extinct bird known only from New Zealand.
Although the sovereign state of Samoa changed its name from Western Samoa in 1997, the territory is also sometimes referred to as Eastern Samoa to distinguish it from its neighbor.
History
Prehistoric and Early Polynesian Era
American Samoa has been inhabited by Polynesians since prehistoric times. According to traditional oral literature, the region was historically ruled by successive Tui Manuʻa dynasties that governed a confederacy of far-flung islands, including Tutuila and other western Pacific chiefdoms and Polynesian outliers such as Uvea, Futuna, Tokelau, and Tuvalu.
18th Century: First Western Contacts
Contact with Europeans began in the early 18th century. Dutchman Jacob Roggeveen was the first known European to sight the Samoan Islands in 1722, calling them the "Baumann Islands" after one of his captains. French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville visited and named them the "Îles des Navigateurs" in 1768. British explorer James Cook recorded the island names in 1773, though he never visited.
The 1789 visit by Lapérouse ended in tragedy when his men were attacked on Tutuila while attempting to obtain water. His second in command, Captain de Langle, scientist Robert de Lamanon, and several crew members were surrounded by over a thousand Samoans and killed. Lapérouse named the island "Massacre Island," and the bay near Aasu is still called Massacre Bay.
HMS Pandora, under the command of Admiral Edward Edwards, visited in 1791 during its search for H.M.S. Bounty mutineers. Von Kotzebue visited in 1824.
Mission work in the Samoas began in late 1830 when John Williams of the London Missionary Society arrived from the Cook Islands and Tahiti. By the late nineteenth century, French, British, German, and American vessels routinely stopped at Samoa, valuing Pago Pago Harbor as a refueling station for coal-fired shipping and whaling.
19th Century American Expansion
The United States Exploring Expedition visited the islands in 1839. In 1872, Commander Richard W. Meade of the USS Narragansett sailed from Hawaii to Pago Pago to explore the establishment of a U.S. naval station and to negotiate a treaty securing American interests in Samoa. After reaching Pago Pago on February 14, Meade informed High Chief Mauga of his intention to lease land for a naval base. Mauga granted the United States exclusive rights to build and maintain a naval station in exchange for "the friendship and protection of the great government of the United States." Meade also arranged commercial port regulations for Pago Pago with Mauga.
The United States took formal possession of American Samoa in the late 19th century and developed it into a major naval outpost. The territory's strategic value was reinforced by World War II and the subsequent Cold War.
Cultural Preservation and Self-Governance
Since the Deeds of Cession were signed in 1900 and 1904, Samoans have avoided further integration into the U.S. system. In 1949, the Department of the Interior moved to incorporate American Samoa through an Organic Act. However, fearing that incorporation might undermine Samoan culture and traditional land ownership, Samoan matai (chiefs) intervened and Congress halted the incorporation process. Instead, Samoa created its own government, the Samoan Fono, based on indigenous systems of governance. Since then, Samoans have declined to establish a federal district court, refused birthright citizenship, and American Samoa remains the only U.S. territory with its own immigration system.