Samoa

total: 1,692 | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2017 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

total: 58,508 | percent of population: 29.4% (July 2016 est.)

general assessment: most households have at least one mobile phone; all businesses in the greater Apia area have access to broadband and Wi-Fi, which is reasonably reliable and fast; in rural Upolu and on Savaii Island there is now readily available high-speed Internet and Wi-Fi; due to the establishment of a regulatory infrastructure, liberalization and competition of the mobile market the telecom market has increased coverage and reduced cost; 4G LTE services accessible to about 95% of residents (2018) | domestic: fixed-line 4 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity 62 telephones per 100 persons (2018) | 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)

total subscriptions: 8,454 | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4 (2017 est.)

total subscriptions: 124,211 | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 62 (2017 est.)

coconuts, nonu, bananas, taro, yams, coffee, cocoa

revenues: 237.3 million (2017 est.) | expenditures: 276.8 million (2017 est.)

-4.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

8.76% (31 December 2017 est.) | 9.09% (31 December 2016 est.)

-$19 million (2017 est.) | -$37 million (2016 est.)

$447.2 million (31 December 2013 est.)

The economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on development aid, family remittances from overseas, tourism, agriculture, and fishing. It has a nominal GDP of $844 million. Agriculture, including fishing, furnishes 90% of exports, featuring fish, coconut oil, nonu products, and taro. The manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. Industry accounts for nearly 22% of GDP while employing less than 6% of the work force. The service sector accounts for nearly two-thirds of GDP and employs approximately 50% of the labor force. Tourism is an expanding sector accounting for 25% of GDP; 132,000 tourists visited the islands in 2013. The country is vulnerable to devastating storms. In September 2009, an earthquake and the resulting tsunami severely damaged Samoa and nearby American Samoa, disrupting transportation and power generation, and resulting in about 200 deaths. In December 2012, extensive flooding and wind damage from Tropical Cyclone Evan killed four people, displaced over 6,000, and damaged or destroyed an estimated 1,500 homes on Samoa's Upolu Island. The Samoan Government has called for deregulation of the country's financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline, while at the same time protecting the environment. Foreign reserves are relatively healthy and inflation is low, but external debt is approximately 45% of GDP. Samoa became the 155th member of the WTO in May 2012, and graduated from least developed country status in January 2014.

tala (SAT) per US dollar - | 2.566 (2017 est.) | 2.565 (2016 est.) | 2.565 (2015 est.) | 2.5609 (2014 est.) | 2.3318 (2013 est.)

$27.5 million (2014 est.)

fish, coconut oil and cream, nonu, copra, taro, automotive parts, garments, beer

Australia 22.9%, NZ 22.8%, American Samoa 22.1%, Afghanistan 14.9%, US 5.9% (2017)

June 1 - May 31

$841 million (2017 est.)

$1.137 billion (2017 est.) | $1.11 billion (2016 est.) | $1.036 billion (2015 est.) | note: data are in 2017 dollars

household consumption: NA | government consumption: NA | investment in fixed capital: NA | investment in inventories: NA | exports of goods and services: 27.2% (2015 est.) | imports of goods and services: -50.5% (2015 est.)

agriculture: 10.4% (2017 est.) | industry: 23.6% (2017 est.) | services: 66% (2017 est.)

$5,700 (2017 est.) | $5,700 (2016 est.) | $5,300 (2015 est.) | note: data are in 2017 dollars

2.5% (2017 est.) | 7.1% (2016 est.) | 1.6% (2015 est.)

lowest 10%: NA | highest 10%: NA

$89.29 billion (2018 est.) | $312.6 million (2016 est.)

machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, foodstuffs

NZ 22%, Singapore 20.7%, US 12.5%, China 10.1%, Australia 8.6%, Fiji 5.2% (2017)

-1.8% (2017 est.)

food processing, building materials, auto parts

1.3% (2017 est.) | 0.1% (2016 est.)

50,700 (2016 est.)

agriculture: 65% | industry: 6% | services: 29% (2015 est.)

NA

NA

49.1% of GDP (2017 est.) | 52.6% of GDP (2016 est.)

$133 million (31 December 2017 est.) | $122.5 million (31 December 2015 est.)

$147 million (31 December 2017 est.) | $131.7 million (31 December 2016 est.)

$404.3 million (31 December 2017 est.) | $389.5 million (31 December 2016 est.)

$147 million (31 December 2017 est.) | $131.7 million (31 December 2016 est.)

28.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

5.2% (2017 est.) | 5.5% (2016 est.) | NA

341,100 Mt (2017 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2018 est.)

122.8 million kWh (2016 est.)

0 kWh (2016 est.)

48% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)

23% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

29% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

0 kWh (2016 est.)

45,000 kW (2016 est.)

132 million kWh (2016 est.)

electrification - total population: 100% (2016)

0 cu m (2017 est.)

0 cu m (2017 est.)

0 cu m (2017 est.)

0 cu m (2017 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2014 est.)

2,400 bbl/day (2016 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

2,363 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2017 est.)

total: 2,831 sq km | land: 2,821 sq km | water: 10 sq km

slightly smaller than Rhode Island

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

403 km

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m | highest point: Mount Silisili 1,857 m

soil erosion, deforestation, invasive species, overfishing

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

13 35 S, 172 20 W

occupies an almost central position within Polynesia

0 sq km (2012)

0 km

agricultural land: 12.4% (2011 est.) | arable land: 2.8% (2011 est.) / permanent crops: 7.8% (2011 est.) / permanent pasture: 1.8% (2011 est.) | forest: 60.4% (2011 est.) | other: 27.2% (2011 est.)

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

Oceania

territorial sea: 12 nm | exclusive economic zone: 200 nm | contiguous zone: 24 nm

occasional cyclones; active volcanism volcanism: 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

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

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

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

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 (2017)

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 name "Samoa" is composed of two parts, "sa" meaning sacred and "moa" meaning center, so the name can mean Holy Center; alternatively, it can mean "place of the sacred moa bird" of Polynesian mythology

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)

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 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

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

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 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

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 (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 no later than March 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%

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)

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

Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP [TUILA'EPA Sailele Malielegaoi]

21 years of age; universal

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. In the late 2000s, Samoa began making efforts to more closely align 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 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 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

no regular military forces; Samoa Police Force (2019)

0-14 years: 30.67% (male 31,862 /female 29,875) | 15-24 years: 19.76% (male 20,413 /female 19,357) | 25-54 years: 36.68% (male 37,944 /female 35,893) | 55-64 years: 7.05% (male 7,223 /female 6,973) | 65 years and over: 5.85% (male 5,126 /female 6,650) (2018 est.) | population pyramid: The World Factbook Field Image Modal × Australia - Oceania :: Samoa Print Image Description This is the population pyramid for Samoa. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends. For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

20.2 births/1,000 population (2018 est.)

3.2% (2014)

26.9% (2014)

5.5% (2016)

5.4 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio: 74.2 (2015 est.) | youth dependency ratio: 64.9 (2015 est.) | elderly dependency ratio: 9.3 (2015 est.) | potential support ratio: 10.8 (2015 est.)

improved: urban: 97.5% of population | rural: 99.3% of population | total: 99% of population | unimproved: urban: 2.5% of population | rural: 0.7% of population | total: 1% of population (2015 est.)

4.1% of GDP (2016)

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

NA

NA

NA

total: 18 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.) | male: 21.6 deaths/1,000 live births | female: 14.2 deaths/1,000 live births

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

total population: 74.2 years (2018 est.) | male: 71.3 years | female: 77.3 years

definition: age 15 and over can read and write | total population: 99% | male: 99.1% | female: 98.8% (2015)

note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus

36,000 APIA (capital) (2018)

43 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

total: 24.8 years (2018 est.) | male: 24.5 years | female: 25.1 years

23.6 years (2009 est.) | note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

noun: Samoan(s) | adjective: Samoan

-8.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.)

47.3% (2016)

0.34 physicians/1,000 population (2016)

201,316 (July 2018 est.)

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

0.61% (2018 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%, Mormon 16.9%, Worship Centre 2.8%, other Christian 3.6%, other 2.9% (includes Baha'i, Muslim), none 0.2% (2016 est.)

improved: urban: 93.3% of population (2015 est.) | rural: 91.1% of population (2015 est.) | total: 91.5% of population (2015 est.) | unimproved: urban: 6.7% of population (2015 est.) | rural: 8.9% of population (2015 est.) | total: 8.5% of population (2015 est.)

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: 1.06 male(s)/female | 55-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female | 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female | total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

2.64 children born/woman (2018 est.)

total: 31.9% | male: 24.6% | female: 43.4% (2017 est.)

urban population: 18.1% of total population (2019) | rate of urbanization: -0.47% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

none

4 (2013)

total: 1 (2017) | 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2017)

total: 3 (2013) | under 914 m: 3 (2013)

5W (2016)

total: 13 | by type: general cargo 4, oil tanker 2, other 7 (2018)

number of registered air carriers: 1 (2015) | inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 1 (2015) | annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 270,908 (2015) | annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 0 mt-km (2015)

major seaport(s): Apia