Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

 

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

Samoa does not have a standing army and relies on New Zealand for its external security. It currently only has a police force which is mostly unarmed. 

Samoa does not have a standing army and relies on New Zealand for its external security. It currently only has a police force which is mostly unarmed. 

Military membership

Samoa is also a member of 2 international military organizations. This makes it the 186th most militarily connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations: 

  • Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons 
  • Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 

Military membership

International wars

Samoa has not partaken in any international war. 

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

In total, Samoa is a member of 11 international political organizations. This makes it the 119th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations: 

  • Member state of the United Nations 
  • International Labour Organization 
  • Pacific Islands Forum 
  • Pacific Regional Environment Programme 
  • Pacific Community 
  • Commonwealth of Nations 
  • International Criminal Court 
  • Interpol 

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Even though Samoa holds regular elections. Some limitations are that Samoa has been ruled by a single political party for decades, and that there are limits on participating in politics based on family structure. 

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of Samoa take place in the form of a parliamentary democracy where the Prime Minister is head of government and the O le Ao o le Malo is head of state. 

  • Alliance of Small Island States 

  • Association of World Election Bodies 

  • Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation 

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If you want to know more about other states, click on the flag on the right to discover San Marino.

Samoa 

With its name deriving from the words holy and center, Samoa, officially called the independent state of Samoa has been contested by large European powers for more than 300 years. Before its contacts with Europeans, the island was inhabited by the Polynesians. At start of the 18th century, the Dutch explored the island. During the 18th century, the Dutch and the French traded with the Samoans until the end of the 19th century when Samoa was split into a German controlled island chain and an island chain that was controlled by the United States. At the start of the first world war, New Zealand took control over the German part and after the second world war it became a trust territory of the United Nations. In 1962, it became an independent state. Since then, the island has been struck by several hurricanes which limited its economic growth and made it dependent upon foreign aid.

 Located in the south Pacific, Samoa consists of two large islands with a central mountain range and large coastal plain. Its mountain range is densely forested and its coastal plain is lightly forested. As an island state, it does not border any other states. 

It is the 166th largest state with a total surface area of 2.856 square kilometers or 1.102 square miles. This makes Samoa slightly smaller than Luxembourg and slightly larger than Cabo Verde. 

It has a total water surface area of 10 square kilometers or 4 square miles. This makes Samoa the 148th largest state in the world. 

 

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

The majority of its water is derived from groundwater as well as surface water. Its tap water is considered unsafe to drink due to its low level of treatment. 

The climate of Samoa is a tropical climate which has slight variations throughout the year. It is only known to have a dry and a wet season. The average temperature is 26.2 degrees Celsius or 79 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes Samoa the 35th warmest state in the world. 

During its wet season, the average high temperature is 28.9 degrees Celsius or 84 degrees Fahrenheit. 

During its dry season, the average low temperature is 22.9 degrees Celsius or 73.2 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The vast majority of the rainfall occurs during its wet season between November and April which receives 70 percent of the annual rainfall. On average, Samoa receives 285.8 centimetres or 112.5 inches of rainfall per year which ranks it as the 5th highest in the world. 

The capital of Samoa, Apia, is home to approximately 40,000 people. The closest capital is Nukualofa, Tonga, with a distance of 878 kilometers or 546 miles. The capital that is the furthest removed is Abuja, Nigeria, with a distance of 19476 kilometers or 12102 miles.  

The economy of Samoa is an underdeveloped economy which is heavily reliant on its agriculture and fishing sector. Because of regular hurricanes as well as earthquakes, the economy of Samoa has seen several setbacks which increased its external debt and made it is heavily reliant on foreign aid. Most of its exported goods consists of coconut oil which is mainly exported to American Samoa of the United States which is solely responsible for more than 30 percent of all exports. Most of its imports comes from New Zealand's which is solely responsible for more than 25 percent of all imports. 

Samoa is a member of 11 international economic organizations. This makes it the 140th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations: 

  • Alliance for Financial Inclusion 
  • Asian Development Bank 
  • Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank 
  • International Monetary Fund 
  • World Bank Group 
  • World Customs Organization 
  • World Trade Organization 
  • Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States 
  • International Renewable Energy Agency 
  • International Solar Alliance 
  • Group of 77 

It has a GDP of US$841 million, which makes it the 184th highest in the world and represents 0.00001005 percent of total global GDP.  

Its GDP per surface area is the 116th highest in the world with US$294.615 per square kilometer or US$763.259 per square mile.  

Its GDP per capita is the 111th highest in the world with US$4.239. 

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power parity per capita is the 137th highest in the world with US$6.014. 

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

With a population of nearly 200.000 people, Samoa is the 177th most populous state in the world. Around 90 percent of the population is ethnically Polynesian which is, along with English, it's official language. 

It has the 114th highest population density in the world with 69 people per square kilometer or 180 people per square mile.  

Around 53.2 percent of the population, or just over 100,000 people have migrated to other states. This makes Samoa the 154th state with the highest amount of emigrants and represents 0.042 percent of total global emigration. The largest destination has been New Zealand which is solely responsible for more than 50 percent of all migrants from Samoa. The main reason for migration has been social economic with better job opportunities abroad as well as better social services regarding health and education. 

0.5 percent of the population, or approximately 1000 people have migrated to Samoa. This makes it the 161st state with the highest number of immigrants and represents less than 0.001 percent of total global emigration. The main reason for this low number of immigrants is its remote location, it's being an island state as well as its high population density combined with limited economic prosperity. The largest supplier of migrants has been New Zealand. 

The literacy rate in Samoa is 98.6 percent which is the 37th highest in the world. Its education is free and compulsory throughout the first eight years of education and takes place at local village schools that are properly funded. 

The health care system of Samoa is considered to be reasonably developed. The largest health threats to the population are communicable as well as noncommunicable diseases. The leading cause of death concerning noncommunicable diseases are related to obesity where Samoa ranks in the top 10 of the most obese states in the world. Communicable diseases are mainly related to sexual transmitted diseases as well as malaria. The average life expectancy is 73.77 years which is the 126th highest in the world. Women have an average life expectancy of 75.97 years, while men have an average life expectancy of 71.7 years. 

Before contact with the Europeans, Samoa was home to pantheistic religions. After European powers to control of Samoa, several Christian missionaries spread throughout Samoa and converted the majority of the population. Today, the government of Samoa provides freedom of religion towards all religions. 

With a total of 80.7 percent of the population adhering to Christianity, Samoa is the 51st most Christian state in the world. The largest denominations are Protestantism, followed by Catholicism and Mormonism. 

 

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed 

Islam is represented by less than 0.1 percent of the population and has been introduced at the end of the 20th century when Muslims settled Samoa. After establishing several Islamic organizations, the Muslim population started to grow and currently numbers in the hundreds. 

Buddhism is represented by less than 0.03 percent of the population. 

Judaism is represented by 0.03 percent of the population. 

Hinduism is represented by 0.04 percent of the population and mainly consists of migrants from Fiji. 

Other religions are represented by 0.28 percent of the population and are mainly adherence to the Baha'i faith. 

Irreligion is represented by 1.7 percent population.