Samoa

New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997.

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Samoan(s)

adjective:

Samoan

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.08 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.78 male(s)/female

total population:

1.05 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

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

name:

Apia

geographic coordinates:

13 49 S, 171 46 W

time difference:

UTC+13 (18 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time); +1hr, begins last Sunday in September; ends first Sunday in April

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

• several previous (preindependence);
• latest 1 January 1962;
• amended several times, last in 2013 (2013)

chief of state:

TUI ATUA Tupua Tamasese Efi (since 20 June 2007)

head of government:

Prime Minister TUILA'EPA Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi (since 1998); Deputy Prime Minister FONOTOE Pierre Lauofo (since 2011)

cabinet:

Cabinet consists of 12 members appointed by the chief of state on the prime minister's advice; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• chief of state elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve a five-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 20 July 2012 (next to be held in 2017);
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually appointed prime minister by the chief of state with the approval of the Legislative Assembly

election results:

TUI ATUA Tupua Tamasese Efi unanimously elected by the Legislative Assembly

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 head 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 appointed until retirement at age 68

subordinate courts:

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

• Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP [Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA]
• Samoa Christian Party or TCP [Tuala Tiresa MALIETOA]
• Samoa Progressive Political Party or SPPP
• Tautua Samoa [Palusalue FA'APO II]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Aliioaiga Feturi ELISAIA (since 4 December 2003)

chancery:

800 Second Avenue, Suite 400J, New York, NY 10017

telephone:

[1] (212) 599-6196 through 6197

FAX:

[1] (212) 599-0797

consulate(s) general:

Pago Pago (American Samoa)

chief of mission:

the US does not have an embassy in Samoa; the US Ambassador to New Zealand, currently Ambassador David HUEBNER, is accredited to Samoa

embassy:

Accident Corporation Building, 5th Floor, Matafele, Apia

mailing address:

P. O. Box 3430, Matafele, Apia

telephone:

[685] 21436/21631/21452/22696

FAX:

[685] 22030

• 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

name:

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

lyrics/music:

Sauni Liga KURESA

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

agriculture:

65%

industry:

NA%

services:

NA%

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

adequate

domestic:

combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 100 telephones per 100 persons

international:

country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2007)

• 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 (2009)

total:

2,337 km

country comparison to the world: 172

paved:

332 km

unpaved:

2,005 km (2001)

males age 16-49:

38,260

females age 16-49:

38,032 (2010 est.)

male:

2,221

female:

2,062 (2010 est.)

• Samoa has no formal defense structure or regular armed forces;
• informal defense ties exist with NZ, which is required to consider any Samoan request for assistance under the 1962 Treaty of Friendship