:Western Samoa Economy
Overview:
Agriculture employs more than half of the labor force, contributes 50% to
GDP, and furnishes 90% of exports. The bulk of export earnings comes from
the sale of coconut oil and copra. The economy depends on emigrant
remittances and foreign aid to support a level of imports several times
export earnings. Tourism has become the most important growth industry, and
construction of the first international hotel is under way.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $115 million, per capita $690 (1989); real growth
rate -4.5% (1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
15% (1990)
Unemployment rate:
NA%; shortage of skilled labor
Budget:
revenues $95.3 million; expenditures $95.4 million, including capital
expenditures of $41 million (FY92)
Exports:
$9 million (f.o.b., 1990)
commodities:
coconut oil and cream 54%, taro 12%, copra 9%, cocoa 3%
partners:
NZ 28%, American Samoa 23%, Germany 22%, US 6% (1990)
Imports:
$75 million (c.i.f., 1990)
commodities:
intermediate goods 58%, food 17%, capital goods 12%
partners:
New Zealand 41%, Australia 18%, Japan 13%, UK 6%, US 6%
External debt:
$83 million (December 1990 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate -4% (1990 est.); accounts for 14% of GDP
Electricity:
29,000 kW capacity; 45 million kWh produced, 240 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries:
timber, tourism, food processing, fishing
Agriculture:
accounts for 50% of GDP; coconuts, fruit (including bananas, taro, yams)
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $18 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $306 million; OPEC
bilateral aid (1979-89), $4 million
Currency:
tala (plural - tala); 1 tala (WS$) = 100 sene
Exchange rates:
tala (WS$) per US$1 - 2,4284 (March 1992), 2,3975 (1991), 2.3095 (1990),
2.2686 (1989), 2.0790 (1988), 2.1204 (1987)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
:Western Samoa Communications
Highways:
2,042 km total; 375 km sealed; remainder mostly gravel, crushed stone, or
earth
Ports:
Apia
Merchant marine:
1 roll-on/roll-off ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,838 GRT/5,536 DWT
Civil air:
3 major transport aircraft
Airports:
3 total, 3 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over
3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; none with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
7,500 telephones; 70,000 radios; broadcast stations - 1 AM, no FM, no TV; 1
Pacific Ocean INTELSAT ground station
:Western Samoa Defense Forces
Branches:
Department of Police and Prisons
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, NA; NA fit for military service
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP
:World Geography
Total area:
510,072,000 km2
Land area:
148,940,000 km2 (29.2%)
Comparative area:
land area about 16 times the size of the US
Land boundaries:
442,000 km
Coastline:
356,000 km
Maritime claims:
range from 3 to 200 nm; 1 claim is rectangular; 112 states claim a 12 nm
limit; note - boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many
countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 nm;
41 nations and other areas are landlocked and include Afghanistan, Andorra,
Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina,
Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia,
Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino,
Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan,
Vatican City, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Contiguous zone:
39 states claim contiguous zone, 33 of which have 24 nm limits
Continental shelf:
approximately 78 states have specific continental shelf claims, the limit of
42 claims is based on depth (200 m) plus exploitability, 21 claims define
the continental shelf as 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Exclusive fishing zone:
23 claims with limits ranging from 12 nm to 200 nm
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ):
83 states claim an EEZ, with most limits being 200 nm
Territorial sea:
claims range from 3 to 200 nm, 112 states claim a 12 nm limit; note - 41
nations and miscellaneous areas are landlocked and comprise Afghanistan,
Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina,
Burundi, Byelarus, Central African Republic, Chad, Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macebia,
Zimbabwe
Disputes:
major international land boundary or territorial diputes - Bahrain-Qatar,
Chad-Libya, China-India, China-Russia, Ecuador-Peru, El Salvador-Honduras,
Israel-Jordan, Israel-Syria, Japan-Russia, North Korea-South Korea, Saudi
Arabia-Yemen, South China Sea
Climate:
two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate
zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates
Terrain:
highest elevation is Mt. Everest at 8,848 meters and lowest depression is
the Dead Sea at 392 meters below sea level; greatest ocean depth is the
Marianas Trench at 10,924 meters
Natural resources:
the rapid using up of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of
forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and
the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe and
the former USSR) pose serious long-term problems that governments and
peoples are only beginning to address
Land use:
arable land 10%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 24%; forest and
woodland 31%; other 34%; includes irrigated 1.6%
:World Geography
Environment:
large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters
(earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions), overpopulation,
industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances),
loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of
wildlife resources, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion