Samoa

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:

1.06 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.78 male(s)/female

total population:

1.04 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

degree of risk:

high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases:

malaria

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"

name:

Apia

geographic coordinates:

13 49 S, 171 46 W

time difference:

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

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in September; ends first Sunday in April

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

• 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

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 2015

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

chief of state:

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

head of government:

Prime Minister TUILA'EPA Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi (since 23 November 1998); Deputy Prime Minister FIAME Naomi Mata’afa (since 2016)

cabinet:

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

elections/appointments:

• chief of state indirectly elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve a 5-year term (2- term limit);
• election last held on 4 July 2017 (next to be held in 2022);
• 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 unanimously elected by the Legislative Assembly on 5 July 2017

description:

• unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fono (50 seats for 2016-2021 term);
• members from 49 single-seat constituencies directly elected by simple majority vote and 1 seat for a woman, added for the 2016 election to meet the mandated 10% representation of women in the Assembly;
• members serve 5-year terms)

elections:

election last held on 4 March 2016 (next election to be held on 9 April 2021)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - HRPP 89.8%, Tautua Samoa 4.1%, independent 6.1%;
• seats by party – initial election results - HRPP 44, Tautua Samoa 2, independents 3;
• post-election party affiliation – HRPP 47, (informal) opposition 3;
• composition - men 45, women 5, percent of women 10%

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

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 Ambassador to New Zealand is accredited to Samoa

telephone:

[685] 21-631 (2018)

embassy:

Accident Corporation Building, 5th Floor, Matafele, Apia

mailing address:

P. O. Box 3430, Matafele, Apia

FAX:

[685] 22-030 (2018)

• 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: similar to the flag of Taiwan

name:

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

lyrics/music:

Sauni Liga KURESA

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

agriculture:

65%

industry:

6%

services:

29% (2015 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

• 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)

number of registered air carriers:

1 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 4

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

137,770 (2018)

• 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