Official name: Independent State of Samoa
Capital city: Apia
Internet country code: .ws
Flag description: Red with a blue rectangle in the upper
hoist-side quadrant bearing five white five-pointed stars representing the Southern Cross constellation
National anthem: “O le Fua o le Saolotoga o Samoa” (The Banner of Freedom), lyrics and music by Sauni I. Kuresa
National motto: “Faavae i le Atua Samoa” (God Be the Foundation of Samoa)
Geographical description: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Total area: 1,133 sq. mi. (2,934 sq. km.)
Climate: Tropical; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October)
Nationality: noun: Samoan(s); adjective: Samoan
Population: 214,265 (July 2007 CIA est.)
Ethnic groups: Samoan 92.6%, Euronesians (mixed European and Polynesian) 7%, Europeans 0.4%
Languages spoken: Samoan (Polynesian), English
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%
(or Samoan Islands; formerly Navigators’ Islands), 14 islands of volcanic origin located in the Pacific Ocean in Polynesia, between 13° and 15° S lat. The most important islands are Savai’i (1,800 sq km), Upolu (1,100 sq km), and Tutuila (137 sq km). Samoa is divided into Western Samoa, which has been an independent state since 1962, and American Samoa, which is a colonial possession of the USA.
In remote antiquity the islands were settled by tribes of Polynesians. The first European to visit Samoa was the Dutchman J. Roggeveen in 1722. In 1768, the islands were visited by the French navigator L. A. de Bougainville, who named them the Navigators’ Islands. In the mid-19th century a struggle developed between Germany, Great Britain, and the USA for possession of the islands. Samoa came under the joint administration of the three powers in 1889. After Great Britain, in exchange for compensation by Germany in other areas, renounced its claims to the islands in 1899, Samoa was divided between Germany, which received the western part, and the USA, which received the eastern part. The subsequent history of the islands is discussed in the articles WESTERN SAMOA and AMERICAN SAMOA.