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Date: May 31, 2011 For more information please contact: OIA: Wali Osman (202) 2084292 BEA: Aya Hamano (202) 6069683 OIABEA ANNOUNCE RELEASE OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) ESTIMATES FOR AMERICAN SAMOA FOR 2008 AND 2009 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) are pleased to announce the release of the gross domestic product (GDP) estimates for 2008 and 2009 for American Samoa. These estimates follow the initial GDP estimates for American Samoa for 20022007 which were released in May 2010. The release of GDP estimates for American Samoa by the BEA, the federal agency responsible for national economic accounts, is the product of a technical assistance agreement between OIA and the BEA. As currently formulated, the BEA’s mandate for GDP calculations, release and updates covers the 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC) but does not include the U.S. insular areas. To produce GDP data for the territories in the same manner it does for the 50 states and DC, OIA entered into a technical assistance agreement with the BEA that covers the cost of its technical expertise and field work in the territories. Over the course of the last year, the BEA has worked closely with local island staff to develop the firstever, comprehensive mechanisms for calculating the GDP data for American Samoa and the remaining insular areas. The BEA relies heavily on the federal government’s current research and data to estimate the GDP for the 50 states, DC and the United States as a whole. Presently, ongoing initiatives to conduct such research do not include the insular areas. The recent OIA–BEA agreement is the only vehicle to generate these basic economic data that are readily available for the 50 states and DC. GDP estimates produced by the BEA are essential to better understand the territorial economies and how they evolve over time. “I think this is a necessary step in the right direction and I believe strongly that once we formalize the collection of data and provide our insular governments with a sound sense of the economic activity that is generated on each island, governments will be better equipped to make informed decisions about their economic growth and development policies,” said Assistant Secretary Babauta. “Going forward, our objective is to formalize the scope of the BEA’s mandate to include the territories. This inclusion is critical as island leaders are increasingly asked to do more with less in the face of stringent budget cuts. The goal is to provide data that is current, accessible and employable,” added Babauta. www.doi.gov/oia ###
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