Demographics of American Samoa

This article is about the demographics of American Samoa, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean.

Population in thousands; Data of FAO, year 2005.

Population statistics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1900	5,679	—
1912	7,251	+27.7%
1920	8,056	+11.1%
1930	10,055	+24.8%
1940	12,908	+28.4%
1950	18,937	+46.7%
1955	19,702	+4.0%
1960	20,051	+1.8%
1965	23,520	+17.3%
1970	27,159	+15.5%
1975	29,932	+10.2%
1980	32,297	+7.9%
1985	39,241	+21.5%
1990	46,773	+19.2%
1995	52,868	+13.0%
2000	57,291	+8.4%
2005	59,118	+3.2%
2010	55,519	−6.1%
2015	55,537	+0.0%
2018	55,212[1]	−0.6%

The statistics from 1900-1950 and every decennial census are from the U.S. Census Bureau. There was no census taken in 1910, but a special census taken in 1912. Any statistics from the years ending in "5" are estimates. The remaining statistics are from the World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.[2]

Population

• Approximately 55,212,[1][3][4][5] but the Factbook states 49,437 (2020 estimate). About 65% of the population are U.S. nationals, of whom at least 10% are U.S. citizens.[6] Of the foreign-born population, 81% are from Samoa, 9% are from other parts of Oceania, and 9% are from Asia.[6]

Age structure

• 0-14 years: 27.76% (male 7,063/female 6,662)
• 15-24 years: 18.16% (male 4,521/female 4,458)
• 25-54 years: 37.49% (male 9,164/female 9,370)
• 55-64 years: 9.69% (male 2,341/female 2,447)
• 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 1,580/female 1,831) (2020 est.)

Median age

• total: 27.2 years
• male: 26.7 years
• female: 27.7 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

• -2.1% (2021 est.)

Birth rate

• 17.19 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Death rate

• 6 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Net migration rate

• -32.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Urbanization

• Urban population: 87.2% of total population (2020)
• Rate of urbanization: 0.07% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Sex ratio

• At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
• 0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
• 15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
• 25-54 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
• 55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
• Total population: 1 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

American Samoa's population pyramid.

Infant mortality rate

• Total: 10.25 deaths/1,000 live births
• Male: 12.39 deaths/1,000 live births
• Female: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

• Total population: 75.06 years
• Male: 72.55 years
• Female: 77.72 years (2021 est.)

Total fertility rate

• 2.28 children born/woman (2021 est.)

Nationality

• Noun: American Samoan(s) (US Nationals)
• Adjective: American Samoan

Ethnic groups

• Pacific Islander 92.6% (includes Samoan 88.9%, Tongan 2.9%, other 0.8%)
• Asian 3.6% (includes Filipino 2.2%, other 1.4%)
• Mixed 2.7%
• Other 1.2% (2010 est.)

Religions

• Christian 98.3%
• Other 1%
• Unaffiliated 0.7% (2010 est.)

Major Christian denominations on the island include the Congregational Christian Church in American Samoa, the Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Methodist Church of Samoa. Collectively, these churches account for the vast majority of the population.

J. Gordon Elton in his book claims that the Methodists, Congregationalists with the London Missionary Society, and Catholics led the first Christian missions to the islands. Other denominations arrived later, beginning in 1895 with the Seventh-day Adventists, various Pentecostals (including the Assemblies of God), Church of the Nazarene, Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons.

The World Factbook 2010 estimate shows the religious affiliations of American Samoa as 98.3% Christian, other 1%, unaffiliated 0.7%.[2] World Christian Database 2010 estimate shows the religious affiliations of American Samoa as 98.3% Christian, 0.7% agnostic, 0.4% Chinese Universalist, 0.3% Buddhist and 0.3% Baháʼí.[7]

According to Pew Research Center, 98.3% of the total population is Christian. Among Christians, 59.5% are Protestant, 19.7% are Catholic and 19.2% are other Christians. A major Protestant church on the island, gathering a substantial part of the local Protestant population, is the Congregational Christian Church in American Samoa, a Reformed denomination in the Congregationalist tradition. As of August 2017, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints website claims membership of 16,180 or one-quarter of the whole population, with 41 congregations, and 4 family history centers in American Samoa.[8] The Jehovah's Witnesses claim 210 "ministers of the word" and 3 congregations.[9]

Languages

• Samoan 88.6%
• English 3.9%,
• Tongan 2.7%,
• Other Pacific islander 3%
• Other 1.8% (2010 est.)

References

1. "American Samoa Population (live) - Worldometers". www.worldometers.info.
2. "Australia-Oceania :: AMERICAN SAMOA". Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
3. Mendoza, Moises (October 11, 2014). "How a weird law gives one group American nationality but not citizenship". Public Radio International (PRI). Retrieved August 24, 2018. Those nationals — born on the 55,000-person US island territory in the South Pacific — receive US passports, can serve in the military and work and live on the mainland United States.
4. "U.S. nationals born in American Samoa sue for citizenship". Associated Press. NBC News. March 28, 2018. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
5. "Archived copy". 2010 United States Census. census.gov. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. 2010 American Samoa Demographic Profile Data, U.S. Census Bureau.
7. "American Samoa: Adherents Profile at the Association of Religion Data Archives, World Christian Database". Thearda.com. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
8. "LDS Newsroom". Mormonnewsroom.org. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
9. "American Samoa: How Many Jehovah's Witnesses Are There?". JW.ORG. Retrieved August 13, 2017.