Samoa

noun:

Samoan(s)

adjective:

Samoan

total:

27.4 years (2024 est.)

male:

27 years

female:

27.8 years

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:

0.81 male(s)/female

total population:

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

total:

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

male:

20.9 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

13.6 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

75.7 years (2024 est.)

male:

72.8 years

female:

78.7 years

total:

2.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

2.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

25.3% (2020 est.)

male:

36.1% (2020 est.)

female:

14.5% (2020 est.)

women married by age 15:

0.9%

women married by age 18:

7.4%

men married by age 18:

2% (2020 est.)

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

urban population:

17.5% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

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

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.)

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.)

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)

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 2020

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 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 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

election results:

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

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)

elections:

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

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%

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

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

chief of mission:

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

chancery:

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

telephone:

[1] (212) 599-6196

FAX:

[1] (212) 599-0797

email address and website:

[email protected]; About; Samoa Permanent Mission to the United Nations

consulate(s) general:

Pago Pago (American Samoa)

chief of mission:

the US Ambassador to New Zealand is accredited to Samoa

embassy:

5th Floor, Accident Corporation Building, Matafele Apia

mailing address:

4400 Apia Place, Washington DC 20521-4400

telephone:

[685] 21-436

FAX:

[685] 22-030

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://ws.usembassy.gov/

• 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)

• 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

agriculture:

11% (2023 est.)

industry:

11% (2023 est.)

services:

67.6% (2023 est.)

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

total:

19.8% (2023 est.)

male:

13.4% (2023 est.)

female:

29.9% (2023 est.)

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

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)

domestic:

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

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)

• 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)

total ports:

1 (2024)

large:

0

medium:

0

small:

0

very small:

1

ports with oil terminals:

1

key ports:

Apia