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 about five times export earnings. Tourism has become the most important growth industry, and construction of the first international hotel is under way.

GDP: $115 million, per capita $620; real growth rate - 4.5% (1990 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 17% (1990 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%; shortage of skilled labor

Budget: revenues $70 million; expenditures $73 million, including capital expenditures of $41 million (1990)

Exports: $9.4 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--coconut oil and cream 54%, taro 12%, copra 9%, cocoa 3%; partners--NZ 28%, EC 23%, American Samoa 23%, Australia 11%, US 6% (1990)

Imports: $87 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.); commodities--intermediate goods 58%, food 17%, capital goods 12%; partners--New Zealand 31%, Australia 20%, Japan 15%, Fiji 15%, US 5%, EC 4% (1987)

External debt: $83 million (December 1990 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate - 4.3% (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 (1970-88), $291 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $4 million

Currency: tala (plural--tala); 1 tala (WS$) = 100 sene

Exchange rates: tala (WS$) per US$1--2.3170 (January 1991), 2.3095 (1990), 2.2686 (1989), 2.0790 (1988), 2.1204 (1987), 2.2351 (1986), 2.2437 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Western Samoa on this page is re-published from the 1991 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Western Samoa Economy 1991 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Western Samoa Economy 1991 should be addressed to the CIA.