Statistical information Samoa 2023

Samoa in the World

Samoa - Introduction 2023

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. Dutch explorer Jacob ROGGEVEEN was the first European to spot the islands in 1722. Christian missionaries arrived in the 1830s, converting most of the population. In the 1850s, Apia became a center for Pacific trading and hosted an American commercial agent and British and German consuls. In 1892, American traders convinced the Samoan king to align his country’s date with the US, moving to the east of the International Date Line.

Following the death of the Samoan king in 1841, rival families competed for his titles, devolving into civil war in 1886 with factions getting support from either Germany, the UK, or the US. All three countries sent warships to Apia in 1889, presaging a larger war, but a cyclone destroyed the ships and Malietoa LAUPEPA was installed as king. Upon LAUPEPA’s death in 1898, a second civil war over succession broke out. The war ended in 1899 and 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.

The Mau, a non-violent popular movement to advocate for Samoan independence, formed in 1908. New Zealand annexed Samoa in 1914 after the outbreak of World War I. Opposition to New Zealand’s rule quickly grew. In 1918, a New Zealand ship introduced the Spanish flu, infecting 90% of the population and killing more than 20%. In 1929, New Zealand police shot into a crowd of peaceful 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 current Prime Minister FIAME Naomi Mata'afa's Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi or FAST party gained a majority in elections in 2021.

In the late 2000s, Samoa began making efforts to align more closely with Australia and New Zealand. In 2009, Samoa changed its driving orientation to the left side of the road, in line with other Commonwealth countries. In 2011, Samoa jumped forward one day - skipping December 30 - by moving to the west side of the International Date Line so that it was one hour ahead of New Zealand and three hours ahead of the east coast of Australia, rather than 23 and 21 hours behind, respectively.

Samoa - Geography 2023

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

Geographic coordinates: 13 35 S, 172 20 W

Map reference: Oceania

Area
Total: 2,831 km²
Land: 2,821 km²
Water: 10 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Rhode Island

Land boundaries
Total: 0 km

Coastline: 403 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

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

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

Elevation
Highest point: Mount Silisili 1,857 m
Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

Natural resources: hardwood forests, fish, hydropower

Land use

Land use
Agricultural land: 12.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 2.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 7.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 1.8% (2018 est.)
Forest: 60.4% (2018 est.)
Other: 27.2% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 0 km² (2022)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 0 cubic meters (2017 est.)

Natural hazards: occasional cyclones; active volcanism

Geography
Note: occupies an almost central position within Polynesia

Samoa - People 2023

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Population
Distribution: about three-quarters of the population lives on the island of Upolu: 207,501 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: 0.65% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 20.3% (2013 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Samoan(s)
Adjective: Samoan

Ethnic groups: Samoan 96%, Samoan/New Zealander 2%, other 1.9% (2011 est.)
Note: data represent the population by country of citizenship

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

Religions: 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.)

Demographic profile

Age structure

Age structure
0-14 years: 27.33% (male 29,259/female 27,452)
15-64 years: 65.72% (male 69,635/female 66,745)
65 years and over: 6.94% (2023 est.) (male 6,415/female 7,995)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 74.9
Youth dependency ratio: 66
Elderly dependency ratio: 8.9
Potential support ratio: 11.2 (2020 est.)

Median age
Total: 26.9 years (2023 est.)
Male: 26.5 years
Female: 27.3 years

Population growth rate: 0.65% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 19 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 5.4 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: -7.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: about three-quarters of the population lives on the island of Upolu

Urbanization
Urban population: 17.5% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: -0.03% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 36,000 APIA (capital) (2018)

Environment
Current issues: soil erosion, deforestation, invasive species, overfishing
International agreements 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
International agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 7.78 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 0.25 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 0.27 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio: 59 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 17.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 21.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 14.1 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.5 years (2023 est.)
Male: 72.6 years
Female: 78.5 years

Total fertility rate: 2.37 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 16.6% (2019/20)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 100% of population
Improved rural: 98% of population
Improved total: 98.4% of population
Unimproved urban: 0% of population
Unimproved rural: 2% of population
Unimproved total: 1.6% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 5.3% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 0.6 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:

99.5% of population

rural: 99.5% of population

total: 99.5% of population

Unimproved urban:

0.5% of population

rural: 0.5% of population

total: 0.5% of population (2020 est.)

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 47.3% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 2.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 2.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 25.3% (2020 est.)
Male: 36.1% (2020 est.)
Female: 14.5% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 3.4% (2019/20)

Education expenditures: 4.8% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99.1%
Male: 99%
Female: 99.3% (2021)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 19.7% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 16.7%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 24.5%

Samoa - Government 2023

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Country name
Conventional long form: Independent State of Samoa
Conventional short form: Samoa
Local long form: Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o Samoa
Local short form: Samoa
Former: Western 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"

Government type: parliamentary republic

Capital
Name: Apia
Geographic coordinates: 13 49 S, 171 46 W
Time difference: UTC+13 (18 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
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

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

Dependent areas

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

National holiday: 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

Constitution
History: several previous (preindependence); latest 1 January 1962
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

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

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
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

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: TUIMALEALI'IFANO Va’aletoa Sualauvi II (since 21 July 2017)
Head of government: Prime Minister FIAME Naomi Mata’afa (since 24 May 2021)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the chief of state on the advice of the prime minister
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 2,027); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the chief of state, approved by the Legislative Assembly
Election results: TUIMALEALI'IFANO Va’aletoa Sualauvi II (independent) unanimously reelected by the Legislative Assembly

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fono (53 seats for 2021-2,026 term); members from 51 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)
Elections: election last held on 9 April 2021 (next election to be held in 2,026)
Election results: election results: percent of vote by party - HRPP 55%, FAST 37%, TSP 3%, independents 5%; seats by party - 35 FAST, 18 HRPP, 1 independent; composition - men 47, women 7, percent of women 14.9%
Election results note: on 29 November 2021, the Election Commissioner added two women seats to parliament, bringing the HRPP’s total from 20 to 22 seats

Judicial branch
Highest courts: 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

Political parties and leaders:

Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi or FAST [FIAME Naomi Mata'afa]
Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP [TUILA'EPA Sailele Malielegaoi]
Tautua Samoa Party or TSP [Afualo Wood Uti SALELE]

International organization participation: 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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador [link]