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Poland, Torun
SAMOA
COUNTRIES A-Z
Samoa Economy
Country Name: Independent State of Samoa
Capital City: Apia
Population: 214265
Population Growth: 1.291% (2007 est.)
Currency: tala (SAT)
Languages: Samoan (Polynesian), English
Area:
Inflation Rate: 3.3% (2005)
Unemployment Rate: NA%
Domain extension:
ECONOMIC DETAILS OF SAMOA
ECONOMY OVERVIEW
The economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on development aid, family remittances from overseas, agriculture, and fishing. The country is vulnerable to devastating storms. Agriculture employs two-thirds of the labor force and furnishes 90% of exports, featuring coconut cream, coconut oil, and copra. The fish catch declined during the El Nino of 2002-03 but returned to normal by mid-2005. The manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. One factory in the Foreign Trade Zone employs 3,000 people to make automobile electrical harnesses for an assembly plant in Australia. Tourism is an expanding sector, accounting for 25% of GDP; about 100,000 tourists visited the islands in 2005. The Samoan Government has called for deregulation of the financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline, while at the same time protecting the environment. Observers point to the flexibility of the labor market as a basic strength for future economic advances. Foreign reserves are in a relatively healthy state, the external debt is stable, and inflation is low.
The economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on development aid, family remittances from overseas, agriculture, and fishing. The country is vulnerable to devastating storms. Agriculture employs two-thirds of the labor force and furnishes 90% of exports, featuring coconut cream, coconut oil, and copra. The fish catch declined during the El Nino of 2002-03 but returned to normal by mid-2005. The manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. One factory in the Foreign Trade Zone employs 3,000 people to make automobile electrical harnesses for an assembly plant in Australia. Tourism is an expanding sector, accounting for 25% of GDP; about 100,000 tourists visited the islands in 2005. The Samoan Government has called for deregulation of the financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline, while at the same time protecting the environment. Observers point to the flexibility of the labor market as a basic strength for future economic advances. Foreign reserves are in a relatively healthy state, the external debt is stable, and inflation is low.
GDP - purchasing power parity:
$1 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
5.5% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita:
$2,100 (2005 est.)
GDP - by sector (agriculture):
agriculture: 11.4%
GDP - by sector (industry):
industry: 58.4%
GDP - by sector (services):
services: 30.2% (2004 est.)
Export Partners:
Australia 48.1%, American Samoa 32.6%, US 3.7% (2006)
Import Partners:
NZ 21.4%, Fiji 14.7%, Singapore 13.2%, Australia 8.6%, Japan 8.6%, US 6.2%, Indonesia 5%, China 4.4% (2006)
Export Commodities:
fish, coconut oil and cream, copra, taro, automotive parts, garments, beer
Import Commodities:
machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, foodstuffs
Exports Volume:
$94 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports Volume:
$285 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Labour Force:
90,000 (2000 est.)
Unemployment Rate:
NA%
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Inflation Rate:
3.3% (2005)
Investment (gross fixed):
Public Debt:
Agriculture Products:
coconuts, bananas, taro, yams, coffee, cocoa
Industries:
food processing, building materials, auto parts
Industrial Production Growth Rate:
2.8% (2000)
Electricity - production:
108 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - consumption:
100.5 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2004)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption:
1,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day
Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
Natural gas - exports:
Natural gas - imports:
Current Account Balance:
-$2.428 million (FY03/04)
Currency Code:
tala (SAT)