Samoa

The first Austronesian settlers arrived in Samoa around 1000 B.C., and early Samoans traded and intermarried with Fijian and Tongan nobility. The fa’amatai system of titles and nobility developed, which dominates Samoan politics to this day; all but two seats in the legislature are reserved for matai, or heads of families. A Dutch explorer was the first European to spot the islands in 1722. Christian missionaries arrived in the 1830s and were followed by an influx of American and European settlers and influence. By the 1880s, Germany, the UK, and the US had trading posts and claimed parts of the kingdom. In 1886, an eight-year civil war broke out, with rival matai factions fighting over royal succession and the three foreign powers providing support to the factions. Germany, the UK, and the US all sent warships to Apia in 1889 and came close to conflict, but a cyclone damaged or destroyed the ships of all three navies.  At the end of the civil war in 1894, Malietoa LAUPEPA was installed as king, but upon his death in 1898, a second civil war over succession broke out. When the war ended in 1899, the Western powers abolished the monarchy, giving the western Samoan islands to Germany and the eastern Samoan islands to the US. The UK abandoned claims in Samoa and received former German territory in the Solomon Islands. New Zealand occupied Samoa during World War I but was accused of negligence and opposed by many Samoans, particularly an organized political movement called the Mau (“Strongly Held View”) that advocated for independence. During the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, about 20% of the population died. In 1929, New Zealand police shot into a crowd of peaceful Mau protestors, killing 11, in an event known as Black Sunday. In 1962, Samoa became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish its independence as Western Samoa but dropped the “Western” from its name in 1997. The Human Rights Protection Party dominated politics from 1982 until Prime Minister FIAME Naomi Mata'afa's Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party gained a majority in elections in 2021.

land

2,821 sq km

total

2,831 sq km

water

10 sq km

slightly smaller than Rhode Island

tropical; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October)

403 km

highest point

Mount Silisili 1,857 m

lowest point

Pacific Ocean 0 m

13 35 S, 172 20 W

occupies an almost central position within Polynesia

0 sq km (2022)

total

0 km

agricultural land

12.4% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: arable land

arable land: 2.8% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: permanent crops

permanent crops: 7.8% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: permanent pasture

permanent pasture: 1.8% (2018 est.)

forest

60.4% (2018 est.)

other

27.2% (2018 est.)

Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand

Oceania

contiguous zone

24 nm

exclusive economic zone

200 nm

territorial sea

12 nm

occasional cyclones; active volcanismvolcanism: Savai'I Island (1,858 m), which last erupted in 1911, is historically active

hardwood forests, fish, hydropower

about three-quarters of the population lives on the island of Upolu

two main islands (Savaii, Upolu) and several smaller islands and uninhabited islets; narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rugged mountains in interior

0-14 years

26.9% (male 28,952/female 27,173)

15-64 years

65.9% (male 70,225/female 67,427)

65 years and over

7.2% (2024 est.) (male 6,743/female 8,333)

beer

2.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits

0.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total

2.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

18.8 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

men married by age 18

2% (2020 est.)

women married by age 15

0.9%

women married by age 18

7.4%

3.4% (2019/20)

16.6% (2019/20)

5.3% of GDP (2020)

61.7% (2023 est.)

5.4 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

elderly dependency ratio

8.9

potential support ratio

11.2 (2020 est.)

total dependency ratio

74.9

youth dependency ratio

66

improved: rural

rural: 98% of population

improved: total

total: 98.4% of population

improved: urban

urban: 100% of population

unimproved: rural

rural: 2% of population

unimproved: total

total: 1.6% of population (2020 est.)

unimproved: urban

urban: 0% of population

4.8% of GDP (2020 est.)

Samoan 96%, Samoan/New Zealander 2%, other 1.9% (2011 est.)

note

note: data represent the population by country of citizenship

1.14 (2024 est.)

female

13.6 deaths/1,000 live births

male

20.9 deaths/1,000 live births

total

17.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

Samoan (Polynesian) (official) 91.1%, Samoan/English 6.7%, English (official) 0.5%, other 0.2%, unspecified 1.6% (2006 est.)

female

78.7 years

male

72.8 years

total population

75.7 years (2024 est.)

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

99.3% (2021)

male

99%

total population

99.1%

36,000 APIA (capital) (2018)

59 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

female

27.8 years

male

27 years

total

27.4 years (2024 est.)

adjective

Samoan

noun

Samoan(s)

-6.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)

47.3% (2016)

0.6 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

female

102,933 (2024 est.)

male

105,920

total

208,853

about three-quarters of the population lives on the island of Upolu

0.65% (2024 est.)

Protestant 54.9% (Congregationalist 29%, Methodist 12.4%, Assembly of God 6.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 4.4%, other Protestant 2.3%), Roman Catholic 18.8%, Church of Jesus Christ 16.9%, Worship Centre 2.8%, other Christian 3.6%, other 2.9% (includes Baha'i, Muslim), none 0.2% (2016 est.)

improved: rural

rural: 99.5% of population

improved: total

total: 99.5% of population

improved: urban

urban: 99.5% of population

unimproved: rural

rural: 0.5% of population

unimproved: total

total: 0.5% of population (2020 est.)

unimproved: urban

urban: 0.5% of population

0-14 years

1.07 male(s)/female

15-64 years

1.04 male(s)/female

65 years and over

0.81 male(s)/female

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female

total population

1.03 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

female

14.5% (2020 est.)

male

36.1% (2020 est.)

total

25.3% (2020 est.)

2.33 children born/woman (2024 est.)

rate of urbanization

-0.03% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

urban population

17.5% of total population (2023)

11 districts; A'ana, Aiga-i-le-Tai, Atua, Fa'asaleleaga, Gaga'emauga, Gagaifomauga, Palauli, Satupa'itea, Tuamasaga, Va'a-o-Fonoti, Vaisigano

etymology

name derives from the native village around which the capital was constructed in the 1850s; the village still exists within the larger modern capital

geographic coordinates

13 49 S, 171 46 W

name

Apia

time difference

UTC+13 (18 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

citizenship by birth

no

citizenship by descent only

at least one parent must be a citizen of Samoa

dual citizenship recognized

no

residency requirement for naturalization

5 years

amendments

proposed as an act by the Legislative Assembly; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly membership in the third reading - provided at least 90 days have elapsed since the second reading, and assent of the chief of state; passage of amendments affecting constitutional articles on customary land or constitutional amendment procedures also requires at least two-thirds majority approval in a referendum; amended several times, last in 2020

history

several previous (preindependence); latest 1 January 1962

conventional long form

Independent State of Samoa

conventional short form

Samoa

etymology

the meaning of Samoa is disputed; some modern explanations are that the "sa" connotes  "sacred" and "moa" indicates "center," so the name can mean "Holy Center"; alternatively, some assertions state that it can mean "place of the sacred moa bird" of Polynesian mythology; the name, however, may go back to Proto-Polynesian (PPn) times (before 1000 B.C.); a plausible PPn reconstruction has the first syllable as "sa'a" meaning "tribe or people" and "moa" meaning "deep sea or ocean" to convey the meaning "people of the deep sea"

former

Western Samoa

local long form

Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o Samoa

local short form

Samoa

chief of mission

the US Ambassador to New Zealand is accredited to Samoa

email address and website

ApiaConsular@state.govhttps://ws.usembassy.gov/

embassy

5th Floor, Accident Corporation Building, Matafele Apia

FAX

[685] 22-030

mailing address

4400 Apia Place, Washington DC 20521-4400

telephone

[685] 21-436

chancery

685 Third Avenue, 44th Street, 11th Floor, Suite 1102, New York, NY 10017

chief of mission

Ambassador Pa’olelei LUTERU (since 7 July 2021); note - also Permanent Representative to the UN

consulate(s) general

Pago Pago (American Samoa)

email address and website

samoa@samoanymission.wsAbout | Samoa Permanent Mission to the United Nations

FAX

[1] (212) 599-0797

telephone

[1] (212) 599-6196

cabinet

Cabinet appointed by the chief of state on the advice of the prime minister

chief of state

TUIMALEALI'IFANO Va’aletoa Sualauvi II (since 21 July 2017)

election results

TUIMALEALI'IFANO Va’aletoa Sualauvi II (independent) unanimously reelected by the Legislative Assembly

elections/appointments

chief of state indirectly elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve a 5-year term (2-term limit); election last held on 23 August 2022 (next to be held in 2026); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the chief of state, approved by the Legislative Assembly

head of government

Prime Minister FIAME Naomi Mata’afa (since 24 May 2021)

red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side quadrant bearing five white, five-pointed stars representing the Southern Cross constellation; red stands for courage, blue represents freedom, and white signifies purity

note

note: similar to the flag of Taiwan

parliamentary republic

1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship)

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

ACP, ADB, AOSIS, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

highest court(s)

Court of Appeal (consists of the chief justice and 2 Supreme Court judges and meets once or twice a year); Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and several judges)

judge selection and term of office

chief justice appointed by the chief of state upon the advice of the prime minister; other Supreme Court judges appointed by the Judicial Service Commission, a 3-member body chaired by the chief justice and includes the attorney general and an appointee of the Minister of Justice; judges normally serve until retirement at age 68

subordinate courts

District Court; Magistrates' Courts; Land and Titles Courts; village fono or village chief councils

mixed legal system of English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts with respect to fundamental rights of the citizen

description

unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fono (54 seats); members from single-seat constituencies directly elected by simple majority vote, with a minimum 10% representation of women in the Assembly required; members serve 5-year terms)

election results

percent of vote by party - HRPP 55%, FAST 37%, TSP 3%, independent 5%; seats by party – 35 FAST, HRPP 18, independent 1; composition - men 47, women 7, percentage women 13%

elections

election last held on 9 April 2021 (next election to be held in 2026)

lyrics/music

Sauni Liga KURESA

name

"O le Fu'a o le Sa'olotoga o Samoa" (The Banner of Freedom)

note

note: adopted 1962; also known as "Samoa Tula'i" (Samoa Arise)

Independence Day Celebration, 1 June (1962); note - 1 January 1962 is the date of independence from the New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship, but it is observed in June

Southern Cross constellation (five, five-pointed stars); national colors: red, white, blue

Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi or FAST Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP Tautua Samoa Party or TSP 

21 years of age; universal

coconuts, taro, bananas, tropical fruits, pineapples, mangoes/guavas, papayas, root vegetables, milk, pork (2022)

note

note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

expenditures

$297.736 million (2021 est.)

note

note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenses converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

revenues

$342.18 million (2021 est.)

Current account balance 2021

-$114.383 million (2021 est.)

Current account balance 2022

-$86.678 million (2022 est.)

Current account balance 2023

$46.511 million (2023 est.)

note

note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars

Debt - external 2022

$279.335 million (2022 est.)

note

note: present value of external debt in current US dollars

ower middle-income Pacific island economy; enormous fishing and agriculture industries; significant remittances; growing offshore financial hub; recently hosted Pacific Games to drive tourism and infrastructure growth

Currency

tala (SAT) per US dollar -

Exchange rates 2019

2.649 (2019 est.)

Exchange rates 2020

2.665 (2020 est.)

Exchange rates 2021

2.556 (2021 est.)

Exchange rates 2022

2.689 (2022 est.)

Exchange rates 2023

2.738 (2023 est.)

Exports 2021

$97.774 million (2021 est.)

Exports 2022

$162.803 million (2022 est.)

Exports 2023

$347.19 million (2023 est.)

note

note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

coconut oil, integrated circuits, insulated wire, citrus, power equipment (2022)

note

note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

India 23%, US 19%, NZ 12%, Hungary 8%, Poland 6% (2022)

note

note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports

exports of goods and services

28.9% (2023 est.)

government consumption

18.2% (2023 est.)

household consumption

86.2% (2023 est.)

imports of goods and services

-62.2% (2023 est.)

investment in fixed capital

34.7% (2023 est.)

investment in inventories

2.6% (2023 est.)

note

note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

agriculture

11% (2023 est.)

industry

11% (2023 est.)

note

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

services

67.6% (2023 est.)

$934.1 million (2023 est.)

note

note: data in current dollars at official exchange rate

Imports 2021

$430.011 million (2021 est.)

Imports 2022

$512.002 million (2022 est.)

Imports 2023

$560.488 million (2023 est.)

note

note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

refined petroleum, coated flat-rolled iron, fish, poultry, ships (2022)

note

note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

China 25%, Singapore 16%, NZ 14%, South Korea 7%, US 7% (2022)

note

note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports

-1.9% (2023 est.)

note

note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

food processing, building materials, auto parts

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2021

3.13% (2021 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022

10.96% (2022 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023

8.12% (2023 est.)

note

note: annual % change based on consumer prices

77,000 (2023 est.)

note

note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

21.9% (2018 est.)

note

note: % of population with income below national poverty line

Public debt 2017

49.1% of GDP (2017 est.)

note

note: data in 2021 dollars

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2021

$1.329 billion (2021 est.)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2022

$1.258 billion (2022 est.)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2023

$1.359 billion (2023 est.)

note

note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real GDP growth rate 2021

-7.08% (2021 est.)

Real GDP growth rate 2022

-5.31% (2022 est.)

Real GDP growth rate 2023

7.99% (2023 est.)

note

note: data in 2021 dollars

Real GDP per capita 2021

$6,100 (2021 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2022

$5,700 (2022 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2023

$6,000 (2023 est.)

note

note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities

Remittances 2021

29.44% of GDP (2021 est.)

Remittances 2022

33.61% of GDP (2022 est.)

Remittances 2023

28.36% of GDP (2023 est.)

note

note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2021

$294.682 million (2021 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2022

$321.163 million (2022 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2023

$447.09 million (2023 est.)

25.02% (of GDP) (2021 est.)

note

note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP

note

note: % of labor force seeking employment

Unemployment rate 2021

10.37% (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate 2022

9.92% (2022 est.)

Unemployment rate 2023

9.75% (2023 est.)

female

29.9% (2023 est.)

male

13.4% (2023 est.)

note

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

total

19.8% (2023 est.)

from petroleum and other liquids

311,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)

total emissions

311,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)

consumption

177.279 million kWh (2022 est.)

installed generating capacity

53,000 kW (2022 est.)

transmission/distribution losses

17.175 million kWh (2022 est.)

electrification - rural areas

97.9%

electrification - total population

98.3% (2022 est.)

electrification - urban areas

100%

biomass and waste

0.1% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)

fossil fuels

66.9% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)

hydroelectricity

20.6% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)

solar

12.3% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)

wind

0.1% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)

Total energy consumption per capita 2022

20.949 million Btu/person (2022 est.)

refined petroleum consumption

2,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

1 (2020 est.)

total

1,692 (2020 est.)

state-owned TV station privatized in 2008; 4 privately owned television broadcast stations; about a half-dozen privately owned radio stations and one state-owned radio station; TV and radio broadcasts of several stations from American Samoa are available (2019)

.ws

percent of population

78% (2021 est.)

total

171,600 (2021 est.)

domestic

fixed-line is 3 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity  32 telephones per 100 persons (2021)

general assessment

Samoa was one of the first Pacific Island countries to establish a regulatory infrastructure and to liberalize its telecom market; the advent of competition in the mobile market saw prices fall by around 50% and network coverage increase to more than 90% of the population; Samoa also boasts one of the highest rates of mobile phone coverage in the Pacific region; the growth of fixed-line internet has been impeded by factors including the high costs for bandwidth, under investment in fixed-line infrastructure; Samoa’s telecoms sector has been inhibited by a lack of international connectivity; Samoa has had access to the Samoa-America-Samoa (SAS) cable laid in 2009, this cable has insufficient capacity to meet the country’s future bandwidth needs; this issue was addressed with two new submarine cables that became available in 2018 and 2019; combined with the Samoa National Broadband Highway (SNBH), have improved internet data rates and reliability, and have helped to reduce the high costs previously associated with internet access in Samoa; in April 2022, the Samoan government announced its decision to take over control of the Samoa Submarine Cable Company, looking to the cable to generate additional revenue for the state (2022)

international

country code - 685; landing points for the Tui-Samo, Manatua, SAS, and Southern Cross NEXT submarine cables providing connectivity to Samoa, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, Cook Islands, Niue, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Los Angeles (US), and Tokelau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2019)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

2 (2022 est.)

total subscriptions

5,000 (2022 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

60 (2022 est.)

total subscriptions

134,000 (2022 est.)

3 (2024)

5W

by type

general cargo 3, oil tanker 1, other 9

total

13 (2023)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers

137,770 (2018)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers

4

number of registered air carriers

1 (2020)

key ports

Apia

ports with oil terminals

1

total ports

1 (2024)

very small

1

total

1,150 km (2018)

informal defense ties exist with New Zealand, which is required to consider any Samoan request for assistance under the 1962 Treaty of Friendship Samoa has a "shiprider" agreement with the US, which allows local maritime law enforcement officers to embark on US Coast Guard (USCG) and US Navy (USN) vessels, including to board and search vessels suspected of violating laws or regulations within Somoa's designated exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or on the high seas; "shiprider" agreements also enable USCG personnel and USN vessels with embarked USCG law enforcement personnel to work with host nations to protect critical regional resources (2024)

no regular military forces; Ministry of Police, Prisons, and Correction Services: Samoa Police Force (2024)

carbon dioxide emissions

0.25 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions

0.27 megatons (2020 est.)

particulate matter emissions

7.78 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

tropical; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October)

soil erosion, deforestation, invasive species, overfishing

party to

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified

none of the selected agreements

agricultural land

12.4% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: arable land

arable land: 2.8% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: permanent crops

permanent crops: 7.8% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: permanent pasture

permanent pasture: 1.8% (2018 est.)

forest

60.4% (2018 est.)

other

27.2% (2018 est.)

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

0.27% of GDP (2018 est.)

0 cubic meters (2017 est.)

rate of urbanization

-0.03% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

urban population

17.5% of total population (2023)

municipal solid waste generated annually

27,399 tons (2011 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually

9,864 tons (2013 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled

36% (2013 est.)