Overview: Agriculture employs two-thirds of the labor force, contributes 50% to GDP, and is the source of 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: $112 million, per capita $615; real growth rate 0.2% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.5% (1988)

Unemployment rate: NA%; shortage of skilled labor

Budget: revenues $54 million; expenditures $54 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1988)

Exports: $9.9 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--coconut oil and cream 42%, taro 19%, cocoa 14%, copra, timber; partners--NZ 30%, EC 24%, Australia 21%, American Samoa 7%, US 9% (1987)

Imports: $51.8 million (c.i.f., 1988); 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: $75 million (December 1988 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate - 4.0% (1987)

Electricity: 23,000 kW capacity; 35 million kWh produced, 190 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: timber, tourism, food processing, fishing

Agriculture: coconuts, fruit (including bananas, taro, yams)

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $16 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $261 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $4 million

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

Exchange rates: tala (WS$) per US$1--2.2857 (January 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 1990 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Western Samoa Economy 1990 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Western Samoa Economy 1990 should be addressed to the CIA.