The Bureau of Economic Analysis released estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for American Samoa for 2018, in addition to estimates of GDP by industry and compensation by industry for 2017. These estimates were developed under the Statistical Improvement Program funded by the Office of Insular Affairs of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Gross Domestic Product for 2018
The estimates of GDP for American Samoa show that real GDP—GDP adjusted to remove price changes—increased 2.2 percent in 2018 after decreasing 5.8 percent in 2017. For comparison, real GDP for the United States (excluding the territories) increased 2.9 percent in 2018 after increasing 2.4 percent in 2017.
The growth in the American Samoa economy reflected increases in private fixed investment and in exports of goods that were partly offset by a decrease in inventory investment.
Private fixed investment increased 7.7 percent, largely due to reconstruction and major repairs of homes and businesses that were destroyed or heavily damaged from Tropical Cyclone Gita. Exports of goods increased 15 percent, primarily reflecting an increase in exports of canned tuna and related products.
Gross Domestic Product by Industry for 2017
The estimates of GDP by industry show that the private sector and government sector contracted in 2017. The decline in the private sector reflected a decrease in output of the cannery industry, following the closure of one of two canneries. Output of nonmanufacturing industries, including construction, also decreased. The decline in the government sector primarily reflected a decrease in territorial government employment and compensation.
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