Overview
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. 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. 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.
Geography
- Location
- Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand
- Total Area
- 2,831 sq km
- Climate
- tropical; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October)
- Terrain
- two main islands (Savaii, Upolu) and several smaller islands and uninhabited islets; narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rugged mountains in interior
- Natural Resources
- hardwood forests, fish, hydropower
- Coastline
- 403 km
- Land Borders
- 0 km
People & Society
- Population
- 210,223 (2025 est.)
- Languages
- Samoan (Polynesian) (official) 91.1%, Samoan/English 6.7%, English (official) 0.5%, other 0.2%, unspecified 1.6% (2006 est.)
- Religions
- 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.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Samoan 96%, Samoan/New Zealander 2%, other 1.9% (2011 est.)
- Life Expectancy
- 75.7 years (2024 est.)
- Literacy Rate
- 98% (2019 est.)
- Urbanization
- 17.5% of total population (2023)
Government
- Government Type
- parliamentary republic
- Capital
- Apia
- Independence
- 1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship)
- Constitution
- several previous (pre-independence); latest 1 January 1962
- Legal System
- mixed system of English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts involving fundamental citizen rights
- Executive Branch
- TUIMALEALI'IFANO Va aletoa Sualauvi II (since 21 July 2017)
Economy
- Economic Overview
- 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
- GDP (Official Rate)
- $1.068 billion (2024 est.)
- Major Industries
- food processing, building materials, auto parts