|
Source: CIA World Factbook
|
Capital
|
name: Apia
geographic coordinates: 13 50 S, 171 44 W
time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
+1hr, begins last Sunday in September; ends first Sunday in April
|
Country Name
|
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
|
Dependency Status
|
*
|
Type of Government
|
parliamentary democracy
|
Background
|
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.
|
Branches
|
no regular military forces; Samoa Police Force (2008)
|
Age Structure
|
0-14 years: 36% (male 35,686/female 33,491)
15-64 years: 58.8% (male 58,472/female 54,397)
65 years and over: 5.2% (male 4,425/female 5,530) (2010 est.)
|
Languages
|
Samoan (Polynesian), English
|
Population
|
192,001
note: prior estimates used official net migration data by sex, but a highly unusual pattern for 1993 lead to a significant imbalance in the sex ratios (more men and fewer women) and a seeming reduction in the female population; the revised total was calculated using a 1993 number that was an average of the 1992 and 1994 migration figures (July 2010 est.)
|
Religions
|
Congregationalist 34.8%, Roman Catholic 19.6%, Methodist 15%, Latter-Day Saints 12.7%, Assembly of God 6.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.5%, Worship Centre 1.3%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.9%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)
|
Internet Users
|
9,000 (2008)
|
Area - Comparative
|
slightly smaller than Rhode Island
|
Area
|
total: 2,831 sq km
land: 2,821 sq km
water: 10 sq km
|
Terrain
|
two main islands (Savaii, Upolu) and several smaller islands and uninhabited islets; narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior
|
Climate
|
tropical; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October)
|
Natural Hazards
|
occasional typhoons; active volcanism
|
