Demographics of American Samoa

Demographics of American Samoa include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects. 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

Further information: List of states and territories of the United States by population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1900 5,679 —     1912 7,251 +2.06% 1920 8,056 +1.32% 1930 10,055 +2.24% 1940 12,908 +2.53% 1950 18,937 +3.91% 1960 20,051 +0.57%

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1970 27,159 +3.08% 1980 32,297 +1.75% 1990 46,773 +3.77% 2000 57,291 +2.05% 2010 55,519 −0.31% 2020 49,710 −1.10%

The statistics from 1900 to 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. Beginning with the 1930 Census, Swain Island is included in the population count for American Samoa. The remaining statistics are from the World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.^[1]

• Approximately 55,212,^[2][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]

Structure of the population

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	28 164	27 355	55 519	100
0–4	3 417	3 194	6 611	11.91
5–9	3 470	3 065	6 535	11.77
10–14	3 214	3 065	6 279	11.31
15–19	3 218	3 078	6 296	11.34
20–24	1 944	1 947	3 891	7.01
25–29	1 670	1 654	3 324	5.99
30–34	1 726	1 784	3 510	6.32
35–39	1 845	1 764	3 609	6.50
40–44	1 793	1 807	3 600	6.48
45–49	1 673	1 716	3 389	6.10
50–54	1 335	1 344	2 679	4.83
55–59	1 011	1 038	2 049	3.69
60–64	755	725	1 480	2.67
65–69	500	460	960	1.73
70–74	321	333	654	1.18
75–79	155	182	337	0.61
80–84	76	130	206	0.37
85+	41	69	110	0.20
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	10 101	9 324	19 425	34.99
15–64	16 970	16 857	33 827	60.93
65+	1 093	1 174	2 267	4.08

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 01.IV.2010): ^[7]

Vital statistics

Registered births and deaths^[8][9]

21st-century demography of American Samoa

Year	Population	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Rate of natural increase	Total Fertility Rate
2001	59,400	1,655	239	1,416	27.9	4.0	23.9	3.50
2002	60,800	1,629	295	1,334	26.8	4.9	21.9	3.86
2003	62,600	1,608	257	1,351	25.7	4.1	21.6	3.85
2004	64,100	1,713	289	1,424	26.7	4.5	22.2	4.14
2005	65,500	1,720	279	1,441	26.3	4.3	22.0	3.92
2006	66,900	1,442	267	1,175	21.6	4.0	17.6	3.52
2007	68,200	1,293	251	1,042	19.0	3.7	15.3	2.87
2008	69,200	1,338	240	1,098	19.3	3.5	15.8	2.91
2009	70,100	1,375	324	1,051	19.6	4.6	15.0	2.86
2010	67,380	1,279	247	1,032	19.0	3.7	15.3	3.11
2011	64,292	1,287	283	1,004	20.0	4.4	15.6	3.10
2012	63,596	1,175	282	893	18.5	4.4	14.1	2.85
2013	62,610	1,161	270	891	18.5	4.3	14.2	2.61
2014	61,811	1,084	259	825	17.5	4.2	13.3	2.60
2015	60,863	1,096	314	782	18.0	5.2	12.8	2.55
2016	60,200	1,013	280	733	16.8	4.7	12.1	2.69
2017	60,300	1,001	310	691	16.6	5.1	11.5	2.59
2018	59,600	921	298	623	15.5	5.0	10.5
2019	58,500	840	278	562	14.4	4.8	9.6
2020[10]	49,841	734	322	412	14.7	6.5	8.2
2021[10]	51,561	706	331	375	13.7	6.4	7.3
2022[10]	51,269	706	399	307	13.8	7.8	6.0
2023		737	356	381	13.8	6.7	7.1

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.)

Languages

Sign in English and Samoan in American Samoa

Native languages include:

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

English proficiency is very high.

Religion

• 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.^[11]

J. Gordon Melton 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 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The World Factbook 2010 estimate shows the religious affiliations of American Samoa as 98.3% Christian, other 1%, unaffiliated 0.7%.^[1] 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.^[12]

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^[update], 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.^[13] The Jehovah's Witnesses claim 210 "ministers of the word" and 3 congregations.^[14]

References

1. "American Samoa". The World Factbook (2025 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. October 6, 2021. (Archived 2021 edition.)
2. "American Samoa Population (live) – Worldometers". www.worldometers.info.
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". NBC News. Associated Press. March 28, 2018. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
5. "Census 2010 News | U.S. Census Bureau Releases 2010 Census Population Counts for American Samoa". 2010 United States Census. census.gov. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
6. 2010 American Samoa Demographic Profile Data, U.S. Census Bureau.
7. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
8. "Statistical Yearbook | Department of Commerce". October 15, 2018. Archived from the original on September 8, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
9. "Products – National Vital Statistics Reports". www.cdc.gov. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
10. "American Samoa Statistical Yearbook – 2022" (PDF). Archived from the original on May 20, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
11. Macpherson, Cluny; Macpherson, La'avasa (2011). "Churches and the Economy of Sāmoa". The Contemporary Pacific. 23 (2): 304–337. doi:10.1353/cp.2011.0042. hdl:10125/23847. JSTOR 23725519. S2CID 154742271.
12. "American Samoa: Adherents Profile at the Association of Religion Data Archives, World Christian Database". Thearda.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
13. "LDS Newsroom". Mormonnewsroom.org. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
14. "American Samoa: How Many Jehovah's Witnesses Are There?". JW.ORG. Retrieved August 13, 2017.