Samoa

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. A Dutch explorer was the first European to spot the islands in 1722. Christian missionaries arrived in the 1830s and were followed by an influx of American and European settlers and influence. By the 1880s, Germany, the UK, and the US had trading posts and claimed parts of the kingdom. In 1886, an eight-year civil war broke out, with rival matai factions fighting over royal succession and the three foreign powers providing support to the factions. Germany, the UK, and the US all sent warships to Apia in 1889 and came close to conflict, but a cyclone damaged or destroyed the ships of all three navies.  <br><br>At the end of the civil war in 1894, Malietoa LAUPEPA was installed as king, but upon his death in 1898, a second civil war over succession broke out. When the war ended in 1899, 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. <br><br>New Zealand occupied Samoa during World War I but was accused of negligence and opposed by many Samoans, particularly an organized political movement called the Mau (“Strongly Held View”) that advocated for independence. During the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, about 20% of the population died. In 1929, New Zealand police shot into a crowd of peaceful Mau 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 Prime Minister FIAME Naomi Mata'afa's Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party gained a majority in elections in 2021.

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

13 35 S, 172 20 W

Oceania

slightly smaller than Rhode Island

403 km

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

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

hardwood forests, fish, hydropower

0 sq km (2022)

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

occasional cyclones; active volcanism <br><br><strong>volcanism:</strong> Savai'I Island (1,858 m) is historically active

occupies an almost central position within Polynesia

Samoan 96%, Samoan/New Zealander 2%, other 1.9% (2011 est.)

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

0.66% (2025 est.)

18.53 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

5.41 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-6.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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

36,000 APIA (capital) (2018)

101 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

2.29 children born/woman (2025 est.)

1.12 (2025 est.)

0.56 physicians/1,000 population (2021)

47.3% (2016)

3.4% (2019 est.)

62% (2020 est.)

soil erosion; deforestation; invasive species; overfishing

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

7.8 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

parliamentary republic

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

mixed system of English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts involving fundamental citizen rights

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

21 years of age; universal

Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi or FAST <br>Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP <br>Sāmoa Uniting Party (SUP)<br>Tautua Samoa Party or TSP

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

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

Independence Day Celebration, 1 June (1962)

<strong>description:</strong> red with a blue rectangle in the upper-left quadrant; on the rectangle are five five-pointed white stars that represent the Southern Cross constellation<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> red stands for courage, blue for freedom, and white for purity

Southern Cross constellation (five five-pointed stars)

red, white, blue

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

$1.068 billion (2024 est.)

coconuts, bananas, taro, tropical fruits, pineapples, mangoes/guavas, papayas, root vegetables, milk, avocados (2023)

food processing, building materials, auto parts

4.2% (2024 est.)

57,200 (2024 est.)

21.9% (2018 est.)

26.7% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

India 26%, NZ 14%, USA 12%, American Samoa 10%, Australia 9% (2023)

refined petroleum, integrated circuits, coconut oil, fish, insulated wire (2023)

NZ 20%, Singapore 19%, China 17%, Australia 10%, Fiji 9% (2023)

refined petroleum, poultry, cars, plastic products, milk (2023)

state-owned TV station privatized in 2008; 4 privately owned TV stations; about a half-dozen privately owned radio stations and one state-owned; TV and radio broadcasts of several stations from American Samoa are available (2019)

.ws

5W

4 (2025)

no regular military forces; Samoa Police Service (includes a maritime unit) (2025)

informal defense ties exist with New Zealand, which pledged to afford assistance to Samoa in the conduct of its international relations under the 1962 Treaty of Friendship; New Zealand naval vessels patrol Samoan waters<br><br>Samoa has a "shiprider" agreement with the US, which allows local maritime law enforcement officers to embark on US Coast Guard (USCG) and US Navy (USN) vessels, including to board and search vessels suspected of violating laws or regulations within Somoa's designated exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or on the high seas; "shiprider" agreements also enable USCG personnel and USN vessels with embarked USCG law enforcement personnel to work with host nations to protect critical regional resources (2025)