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EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT 3:30 P.M. EDT, FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018
Technical:
Media:

Christina Hovland (BEA)
Jeannine Aversa (BEA)
Tanya Harris Joshua (OIA)

(301) 278-9076
(301) 278-9003
(202) 208-6008

BEA 18-42

territories@bea.gov
Jeannine.Aversa@bea.gov
Tanya_Joshua@ios.doi.gov

AMERICAN SAMOA GDP DECREASES IN 2017
Tuna canning industry exports decline significantly

UTULEI, AMERICAN SAMOA (August 24, 2018) -- Today, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is
releasing estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for American Samoa for 2017, in addition to
estimates of GDP by industry and compensation by industry for 2016. 1 These estimates were developed
under the Statistical Improvement Program funded by the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) of the U.S.
Department of the Interior.
Revised estimates of GDP for 2015 and 2016, as well as revised estimates of GDP by industry and
compensation by industry for 2015, are also presented in this release.
Gross Domestic Product for 2017
The estimates of GDP for American Samoa show that real GDP—GDP adjusted to remove price
changes—decreased 5.3 percent in 2017 after decreasing 2.7 percent in 2016 (see Table 1.3). For
comparison, real GDP for the United States (excluding the territories) increased 2.2 percent in 2017 after
increasing 1.6 percent in 2016.

Real GDP: Percent change from preceding year
2
1
0
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

1

These estimates are based on limited source data and are subject to revision.

The decline in the American Samoa economy reflected decreases in exports of goods and government
spending (see Table 1.4). These decreases were partly offset by a decrease in imports of goods, which is
a subtraction item in the calculation of GDP.
Exports of goods decreased 22.8 percent primarily due to a decrease in exports of canned tuna and
related products. One of two tuna canneries located in American Samoa closed in December 2016.
Government spending also decreased, reflecting a continued decline in investment spending by the
territorial government. Major infrastructure projects including the Satala Power Plant and the Ta’u solar
microgrid were complete or nearly complete by the end of 2016.
Gross Domestic Product by Industry and Compensation by Industry for 2016
The estimates of GDP by industry for American Samoa show that the private sector and government
sector contracted in 2016 (see Table 2.4). The decline in the private sector reflected a decrease in
output of the cannery industry and nonmanufacturing industries, including construction. The decline in
the government sector reflected a decrease in territorial government compensation and employment.
The compensation by industry estimates, which are measured in current dollars, show trends in
compensation for major industries (see Table 2.6). Total compensation increased in 2016, reflecting
growth in wages in the private sector.
The accompanying tables present estimates for GDP and its major components, GDP by industry, and
compensation by industry. Also included in this release are estimates for the major components of gross
domestic income.
Revisions to GDP
Estimates for 2015 and 2016 that were released on August 14, 2017 have been revised in order to
incorporate improvements to source data, including:
• newly available trade data from the American Samoa Department of Commerce,
• newly available data for territorial government spending from government financial statements, and
• newly available wage information from the Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns.
The revised estimates show a similar pattern of inflation-adjusted growth as the previously published
estimates (see Table 1.7).
Future directions
Moving forward, an agreement between OIA and BEA will extend and improve the estimates of GDP for
American Samoa. The information provided by the American Samoa Government will continue to be
critical to the successful production of these estimates.
BEA currently plans to release GDP estimates for 2018 beginning in the summer of 2019. GDP by
industry and compensation by industry estimates for 2017 will also be released at the same time.

-2-

Additional Information
Resources
•

•
•
•
•

goods and services. Exports measures the portion of total
American Samoa production of goods and services that is
provided to the rest of the world. Imports measures the
portion of total American Samoa expenditures that is
accounted for by goods and services provided by the rest of
the world.

Stay informed about BEA developments by
reading the BEA blog, signing up for BEA’s email
subscription service, or following BEA on Twitter
@BEA_News.
Historical time series for these estimates can be
accessed at BEA’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
for the U.S. Territories.
Access BEA data by registering for BEA’s Data
Application Programming Interface (API).
For more on BEA’s statistics, see our monthly
online journal, the Survey of Current Business.
BEA's news release schedule

Government consumption expenditures and gross
investment, or “government spending,” measures the
portion of GDP that is accounted for by the government
sector. Government consumption expenditures consists of
spending by government to produce and provide services
to the public. Gross investment consists of spending by
government for fixed assets that directly benefit the public
or that assist government agencies in their production
activities.

Definitions

Gross domestic income (GDI) is the sum of incomes earned
and costs incurred in the production of GDP. In national
economic accounting, GDP and GDI are conceptually equal.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the value of the goods and
services produced by the American Samoa economy less
the value of the goods and services used up in production.
GDP is also equal to the sum of personal consumption
expenditures, private fixed investment, change in private
inventories, net exports of goods and services, and
government consumption expenditures and gross
investment.

Current-dollar estimates are valued in the prices of the
period when the transactions occurred—that is, at “market
value.” Also referred to as “nominal estimates” or as
“current-price estimates.”
Real values are inflation-adjusted estimates—that is,
estimates that exclude the effects of price changes.

Personal consumption expenditures (PCE), also referred to
as “consumer spending,” measures the goods and services
purchased by “persons”—that is, by households and by
nonprofit institutions serving households (NPISHs)—who
are resident in American Samoa.

Statistical Conventions
Quantities and prices. Quantities, or “real” volume
measures, and prices are expressed as index numbers with
a specified reference year equal to 100 (currently 2009).
Quantity and price indexes are calculated using a Fisher
chain-weighted formula that incorporates weights from
two adjacent years. “Real” dollar series are calculated by
multiplying the quantity index by the current-dollar value in
the reference year (2009) and then dividing by 100.

Private fixed investment (PFI) measures spending by
private businesses, nonprofit institutions, and households
on fixed assets in the American Samoa economy. Fixed
assets consist of structures, equipment, and software that
are used in the production of goods and services.
Change in private inventories (CIPI), or “inventory
investment,” is a measure of the value of the change in the
physical volume of the inventories—additions less
withdrawals—that businesses maintain to support their
production and distribution activities.

Chained-dollar values are not additive because the relative
weights for a given period differ from those of the reference
year.

Net exports of goods and services is the difference
between exports of goods and services and imports of

-3-

List of News Release Tables
Table 1.1.
Table 1.2.
Table 1.3.
Table 1.4.
Table 1.5.
Table 1.6.
Table 1.7.
Table 2.1.
Table 2.2.
Table 2.3.
Table 2.4.
Table 2.5.
Table 2.6.

Gross Domestic Product
Real Gross Domestic Product, Chained Dollars
Percent Change From Preceding Year in Real Gross Domestic Product
Contributions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product
Percent Change From Preceding Year in Prices for Gross Domestic Product and Price
Indexes for Gross Domestic Product
Gross Domestic Income
Revisions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product
Value Added by Industry
Value Added by Industry as a Percentage of GDP
Real Value Added by Industry
Percent Changes in Real Value Added by Industry
Contributions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product by Industry
Compensation of Employees by Industry

-4-

American Samoa
1. Domestic Product and Income
Table 1.1. Gross Domestic Product
[Millions of dollars]
Line
Gross domestic product

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

1

520

563

678

576

574

644

641

643

661

653

634

Personal consumption expenditures
Goods
Durable goods
Nondurable goods
Services
Net foreign travel

2
3
4
5
6
7

383
195
23
171
189
-1

407
208
27
181
202
-3

398
196
24
172
207
-5

402
197
25
172
211
-5

414
188
23
166
229
-4

424
189
23
167
242
-6

447
214
29
185
242
-10

455
217
35
183
248
-11

444
207
31
177
246
-10

446
203
30
174
252
-9

460
206
26
180
264
-11

Private fixed investment
Change in private inventories

8
9

41
-8

46
-17

38
-6

49
-5

51
-3

53
0

60
5

66
31

53
24

51
44

51
41

Net exports of goods and services
Exports
Goods
Services
Imports
Goods
Services

10
11
12
13
14
15
16

-116
505
487
17
621
571
50

-113
641
621
20
754
698
56

-26
530
510
20
556
508
49

-174
364
341
22
537
489
48

-225
335
313
22
559
509
50

-161
482
456
26
643
588
55

-184
457
433
25
641
587
54

-252
426
400
26
678
616
63

-230
427
401
26
657
594
63

-208
427
401
26
634
572
62

-224
364
336
28
588
527
60

Government consumption
expenditures and gross investment
Federal
Territorial

17
18
19

220
17
203

241
20
220

275
30
244

304
22
281

337
23
314

329
22
306

313
22
291

344
24
319

370
26
345

320
26
294

306
26
281

NOTE. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

-5-

American Samoa

Table 1.2. Real Gross Domestic Product, Chained Dollars
[Millions of chained (2009) dollars]
Line
Gross domestic product

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

1

727

708

678

681

683

653

635

641

649

632

598

Personal consumption expenditures
Goods
Durable goods
Nondurable goods
Services
Net foreign travel

2
3
4
5
6
7

420
216
27
190
207
-3

410
212
27
185
202
-4

398
196
24
172
207
-5

381
187
24
163
200
-6

364
170
21
149
198
-4

357
165
19
146
197
-6

369
183
25
158
195
-8

372
185
29
156
196
-9

371
178
25
152
201
-8

375
175
25
151
206
-7

374
171
22
150
210
-7

Private fixed investment
Change in private inventories

8
9

40
-7

45
-11

38
-6

50
-4

52
-2

51
0

55
4

59
25

47
23

44
43

44
37

Net exports of goods and services
Exports
Goods
Services
Imports
Goods
Services

10
11
12
13
14
15
16

52
678
658
20
626
575
51

36
675
654
20
639
586
52

-26
530
510
20
556
508
49

-48
446
424
22
494
450
45

-67
394
372
20
460
417
44

-67
412
388
23
479
433
47

-84
410
387
22
494
448
46

-121
428
404
23
549
497
51

-114
460
437
22
575
523
52

-104
454
432
22
558
508
50

-128
358
333
23
486
436
50

Government consumption
expenditures and gross investment
Federal
Territorial

17
18
19

227
18
209

239
20
219

275
30
244

290
22
268

309
22
287

297
21
276

278
20
258

299
22
276

321
23
297

275
23
252

258
23
236

Addenda:
Population (thousands)1
Per capita real GDP (chained dollars)

20
21

64.8
11,219

65.1
10,876

62.4
10,865

55.5
12,270

56.0
12,196

56.5
11,558

57.0
11,140

57.5
11,148

58.1
11,170

58.6
10,785

58.7
10,187

1. BEA estimates based on data from the American Samoa Department of Commerce and the U.S. Census Bureau.

-6-

American Samoa

Table 1.3. Percent Change From Preceding Year in Real Gross Domestic Product
[Percent]
Line
Gross domestic product

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

1

-2.5

-4.2

0.4

0.3

-4.3

-2.8

1.0

1.3

-2.7

-5.3

Personal consumption expenditures
Goods
Durable goods
Nondurable goods
Services
Net foreign travel

2
3
4
5
6
7

-2.4
-1.9
3.0
-2.5
-2.3
……..

-2.9
-7.8
-12.7
-7.1
2.5
……..

-4.3
-4.6
0.9
-5.4
-3.4
……..

-4.6
-9.3
-14.6
-8.5
-0.9
……..

-2.0
-2.6
-5.7
-2.2
-0.5
……..

3.5
10.8
26.8
8.6
-1.2
……..

0.8
1.2
17.4
-1.4
0.7
……..

-0.3
-4.0
-12.1
-2.4
2.4
……..

1.2
-1.3
-2.9
-1.0
2.7
……..

-0.2
-2.5
-12.6
-0.8
2.0
……..

Private fixed investment
Change in private inventories

8
9

13.5
……..

-15.9
……..

30.9
……..

5.2
……..

-2.3
……..

8.0
……..

6.9
……..

-20.7
……..

-5.4
……..

-1.0
……..

Net exports of goods and services
Exports
Goods
Services
Imports
Goods
Services

10
11
12
13
14
15
16

……..
-0.4
-0.6
4.9
2.1
1.9
3.5

……..
-21.4
-22.1
-0.2
-12.9
-13.4
-7.3

……..
-15.8
-16.8
5.4
-11.1
-11.4
-8.0

……..
-11.8
-12.2
-5.8
-6.9
-7.4
-2.1

……..
4.7
4.1
13.0
4.1
3.8
7.3

……..
-0.5
-0.2
-6.2
3.1
3.6
-2.3

……..
4.4
4.4
4.9
11.1
11.0
12.1

……..
7.6
8.2
-1.7
4.7
5.1
1.2

……..
-1.3
-1.3
-2.6
-2.9
-2.9
-2.8

……..
-21.2
-22.8
5.6
-12.9
-14.2
-1.0

Government consumption
expenditures and gross investment
Federal
Territorial

17
18
19

5.4
12.3
4.8

15.0
49.5
11.8

5.6
-28.1
9.8

6.6
1.4
7.0

-4.1
-5.6
-4.0

-6.4
-3.6
-6.6

7.5
11.0
7.2

7.4
5.0
7.6

-14.3
-0.7
-15.3

-6.0
-2.1
-6.3

-7-

American Samoa

Table 1.4. Contributions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product
Line

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Percent change:
Gross domestic product
Percentage points:
Personal consumption expenditures
Goods
Durable goods
Nondurable goods
Services
Net foreign travel

1

-2.5

-4.2

0.4

0.3

-4.3

-2.8

1.0

1.3

-2.7

-5.3

2
3
4
5
6
7

-1.78
-0.69
0.13
-0.82
-0.83
-0.25

-1.83
-2.56
-0.54
-2.02
0.81
-0.08

-2.84
-1.50
0.03
-1.54
-1.18
-0.16

-3.32
-3.27
-0.66
-2.61
-0.36
0.30

-1.37
-0.81
-0.21
-0.59
-0.19
-0.38

2.26
3.17
0.94
2.23
-0.45
-0.45

0.57
0.39
0.80
-0.41
0.27
-0.10

-0.20
-1.34
-0.65
-0.68
0.92
0.22

0.77
-0.39
-0.13
-0.26
0.99
0.18

-0.10
-0.77
-0.56
-0.21
0.78
-0.11

Private fixed investment
Change in private inventories

8
9

0.99
-0.98

-1.14
0.90

1.89
0.43

0.44
0.35

-0.19
0.48

0.67
0.83

0.65
3.93

-2.12
-0.42

-0.43
3.05

-0.08
-0.84

Net exports of goods and services
Exports
Goods
Services
Imports
Goods
Services

10
11
12
13
14
15
16

-2.99
-0.46
-0.62
0.16
-2.53
-2.19
-0.33

-7.80
-22.11
-22.11
-0.01
14.31
13.69
0.62

-1.70
-12.25
-12.43
0.18
10.55
9.88
0.66

-0.80
-7.65
-7.42
-0.23
6.86
6.67
0.18

-0.97
2.96
2.49
0.47
-3.93
-3.33
-0.60

-3.33
-0.36
-0.12
-0.25
-2.97
-3.17
0.20

-7.86
2.99
2.79
0.19
-10.84
-9.80
-1.05

0.05
4.81
4.88
-0.07
-4.77
-4.65
-0.11

1.95
-0.87
-0.76
-0.10
2.81
2.54
0.27

-1.40
-14.19
-14.41
0.22
12.78
12.69
0.10

Government consumption
expenditures and gross investment
Federal
Territorial

17
18
19

2.21
0.40
1.81

5.67
1.58
4.09

2.58
-1.40
3.98

3.58
0.06
3.52

-2.27
-0.21
-2.06

-3.24
-0.12
-3.12

3.71
0.37
3.34

3.95
0.19
3.76

-7.99
-0.03
-7.97

-2.91
-0.08
-2.83

-8-

Table 1.5. Percent Change From Preceding Year in Prices for Gross Domestic Product
and Price Indexes for Gross Domestic Product
Line
Gross domestic product
Personal consumption expenditures
Gross domestic product
Personal consumption expenditures

2007

2008

2009

2010

1

3.0

11.1

25.7

-15.4

2

4.0

8.9

0.8

5.4

3

71.6

79.6

100.0

4

91.1

99.2

100.0

2011
-0.6

2012

2013

[Percent]
17.3

2014

2015

2016

2017

2.3

-0.6

1.4

1.6

2.6

7.8
4.7
1.8
[Index numbers, 2009=100]
84.6
84.1
98.7
101.0

1.0

-2.2

-0.6

3.2

100.3

101.8

103.4

106.1

122.3

119.6

118.9

122.7

105.4

113.7

119.0

121.1

Table 1.6. Gross Domestic Income
[Millions of dollars]
Line
Gross domestic income

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

1

520

563

678

576

574

644

641

643

661

653

634

Compensation of employees

2

265

274

271

270

262

272

279

297

311

312

……..

Taxes on production and imports
less subsidies

3

22

24

22

18

18

25

26

28

26

27

……..

Gross operating surplus

4

233

265

385

288

294

347

336

318

324

314

……..

NOTE. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

Table 1.7. Revisions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product
Line

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Percent change:
Revised
Previously published

1
2

-2.5
-2.5

-4.2
-4.2

0.4
0.4

0.3
0.3

-4.3
-4.3

-2.8
-2.8

1.0
1.0

1.3
1.2

-2.7
-2.5

Percentage points:
Revision

3

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.1

-0.2

-9-

American Samoa
2. GDP by Industry
Table 2.1. Value Added by Industry
[Millions of dollars]
Line
Gross domestic product

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1

520

563

678

576

574

644

641

643

661

653

Private industries
Manufacturing
Nonmanufacturing

2
3
4

365
77
288

404
112
291

514
163
351

389
41
348

389
21
368

450
89
361

450
93
358

455
77
378

465
92
374

457
89
367

Government
Federal
Territorial

5
6
7

156
14
142

160
16
144

165
18
146

187
18
169

185
17
168

195
17
177

190
18
172

188
18
171

195
18
177

196
19
178

NOTE. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

Table 2.2. Value Added by Industry as a Percentage of GDP
[Percent]
Line
Gross domestic product

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

Private industries
Manufacturing
Nonmanufacturing

2
3
4

70
15
55

72
20
52

76
24
52

68
7
60

68
4
64

70
14
56

70
15
56

71
12
59

70
14
57

70
14
56

Government
Federal
Territorial

5
6
7

30
3
27

28
3
26

24
3
22

32
3
29

32
3
29

30
3
27

30
3
27

29
3
27

30
3
27

30
3
27

- 10 -

American Samoa

Table 2.3. Real Value Added by Industry
[Millions of chained (2009) dollars]
Line
Gross domestic product

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1

727

708

678

681

683

653

635

641

649

632

Private industries
Manufacturing
Nonmanufacturing

2
3
4

568
204
366

544
205
345

514
163
351

501
143
353

514
132
365

474
138
331

464
135
324

478
140
334

485
160
330

469
156
318

Government
Federal
Territorial

5
6
7

163
14
148

166
17
149

165
18
146

177
17
160

170
16
154

176
16
160

168
17
151

162
16
146

163
16
147

161
16
145

Table 2.4. Percent Changes in Real Value Added by Industry
[Percent]
Line
Gross domestic product

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1

-2.5

-4.2

0.4

0.3

-4.3

-2.8

1.0

1.3

-2.7

Private industries
Manufacturing
Nonmanufacturing

2
3
4

-4.2
0.4
-5.7

-5.5
-20.3
1.7

-2.4
-12.3
0.7

2.5
-7.9
3.4

-7.7
4.9
-9.3

-2.2
-1.9
-2.2

3.1
3.3
3.1

1.4
14.5
-1.3

-3.3
-2.7
-3.5

Government
Federal
Territorial

5
6
7

1.7
14.7
0.4

-0.6
10.7
-1.8

7.8
-7.6
9.7

-4.2
-4.4
-4.1

3.4
-0.8
3.8

-4.3
4.8
-5.2

-3.9
-4.1
-3.8

0.8
-1.0
1.0

-1.0
1.8
-1.3

- 11 -

American Samoa

Table 2.5. Contributions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product by Industry
Line

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Percent change:
Gross domestic product
Percentage points:
Private industries
Manufacturing
Nonmanufacturing

1

-2.5

-4.2

0.4

0.3

-4.3

-2.8

1.0

1.3

-2.7

2
3
4

-3.03
0.07
-3.10

-4.14
-4.98
0.84

-1.81
-2.21
0.40

1.64
-0.47
2.11

-5.34
0.40
-5.74

-1.51
-0.27
-1.24

2.17
0.43
1.74

1.01
1.75
-0.74

-2.35
-0.37
-1.98

Government
Federal
Territorial

5
6
7

0.48
0.38
0.11

-0.14
0.28
-0.42

2.14
-0.23
2.37

-1.38
-0.14
-1.24

1.02
-0.02
1.04

-1.30
0.13
-1.43

-1.17
-0.12
-1.05

0.25
-0.03
0.28

-0.31
0.05
-0.36

NOTE. Percentage-point contributions do not sum to the percent change in real gross domestic product because of rounding and
differences in source data used to estimate GDP by industry and the expenditures measure of real GDP.

Table 2.6. Compensation of Employees by Industry
[Millions of dollars]
Line

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1

265

274

271

270

262

272

279

297

311

312

Private industries
Manufacturing
Nonmanufacturing

2
3
4

125
52
73

131
59
72

125
53
71

97
31
66

97
27
70

103
40
63

107
42
65

119
46
74

126
54
72

130
54
75

Government
Federal
Territorial

5
6
7

140
13
127

143
16
127

147
18
129

173
17
156

164
17
148

169
17
152

171
17
154

178
17
161

185
17
167

183
18
165

Total compensation

NOTE. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

- 12 -