Malo o Samoa Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi (sm)
Independent State of Samoa (fr)
Independent State of Samoa (en)
( Flag of Samoa ) ( Arms of Samoa )
Motto : "May God be the foundation of Samoa
Official Languages	Samoan 1 and English
Capital	Apia 13 35 'S, 172 20' W
Largest city	Apia
Form of State	Parliamentary democracy
- Head of State - Prime Minister	Tupua Tamasese Tupuola Tufuga Efi Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Area - Total - Water (%)	Ranked 164 th 2 944 km 2 0.3%
Population - Total ( 2008 ) - Density	Ranked 173rd 217 083 inhabitants. 60 inhabitants / km 2
Independence - Date	From New Zealand January 1, 1962
Demonym	Samoan
HDI ( 2007 )	0.771 (medium) ( 94th )
Currency	Tala ( WST )
Time Zone	UTC -11
National anthem	The Banner of Freedom
Internet domain	. Was
Indicative Telephone	+685
1 the Samoan is used by 86% of the population.

On or Samoa, formerly Western Samoa, in long form the Independent State of Samoa, the Independent State of Samoa and the Independent State of Samoa, in Samoa and formerly in English and formerly is a state independent of Polynesia , including four inhabited islands ( Upolu , Savai'i , Manono and Apolima ) and six uninhabited islets in the southern Pacific Ocean. This state is the western part of the Samoan archipelago , the eastern part being administered American. The two largest islands, Upolu and Savai'i in the west. The capital Apia and Faleolo International Airport are located on the north coast of Upolu.

The name change in July 1997 (and the disappearance of the name of I Sisifo Samoan, that is to say "Western", "the west") has indicated a desire to see closer relations with American Samoa and the entire archipelago together.

The Samoans are in order of importance, the second largest population after the Polynesian Maori of New Zealand.

Summary 1 History 2 Policy 3 Subdivisions 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture 7.1 Sport 8 Miscellaneous 8.1 Codes 9 Notes and references 10 See also 10.1 Bibliography 10.2 Related articles 3.10 External Links

/ / History

Inhabited since 3000 years ago by a people Polynesian , Samoa has been occupied around the year 1000 BC

They were conquered by the Tonga , and became a province of the Empire Tu'i Tonga until the Samoans revolted successfully XIII ^century and gained independence from the empire.

The Dutchman Jacob Roggeveen was the first European to identify the archipelago in 1722. The French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville named the archipelago the islands of the Navigator in 1768.

In 1889, was signed the Treaty of Berlin , ensuring the political independence of Samoa. The steady state was then a monarchy.

In 1899, Samoa was divided into two parts: the German Samoa and Samoa Eastern (under U.S. control). This division still exists today.

In 1914, New Zealand took control of Western Samoa. She then kept under mandate from the League of Nations mandate and then under the United Nations until 1961.

Western Samoa gained independence on ¹ January 1962 following a referendum.

The country became a member of the Commonwealth in 1970 and the UN in 1976.

Politics

Samoa are an independent constitutional monarchy. The 1960 constitution, which formally took effect at independence, is based on parliamentary democracy of the United Kingdom , modified to take into account the customs of Samoa. Grand Chief Samoan Fiame Mata'afa Faumuina Mulinu'u II was ^1, Prime Minister at independence in 1962 ^Subdivisions

Samoa was divided into eleven districts: A'ana, Aiga-i-le-Tai, Atua, Fa'asaleleaga, Gaga'emauga, Gagaifomauga, Palauli, Satupa'itea, Tuamasaga, Va'ao-Fonoti and Vaisigano.

Geography

Samoa is located near the international line date change , about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand , south of Kiribati ( Line Islands ). The islands east of 171 ^degrees west longitude form the American Samoa and those west Western Samoa. Samoa, include two large islands of Upolu and Savaii and eight islets. Almost three quarters of the population live on the main island of Upolu, which is also the capital, Apia.

The four inhabited islands of Samoa called Savai'i, Upolu, Manono and Apolima.

The six uninhabited islands called Fanuatapu, Namu'a, Nu'utele, Nu'ulua, and Nu'ulopa Nu'usafe'e.

Formerly named Navigator Archipelago, the islands forming the origin of Samoa are coral or volcanic. The presence of solidified lava makes several volcanic islands uninhabitable.

The Samoa (Western) are quite mountainous and the highest peak in the archipelago is Mauge Silisili (1858 m) on the island of Savai'i.

The climate is tropical with a rainy season starting in November and ending in April. The fauna of Samoa is quite limited, we find only few animals: snakes , lizards and birds. Samoa's flora is very rich in contrast, the forest covering the islands is luxuriant. Many plants and animals are endemic to Samoa (we do not find anywhere else on the planet). It is therefore the responsibility of the state of preservation. This is why Samoa has come with the muli o Faatotoe Ola (biodiversity strategy of Samoa) .

The cyclones are frequent and devastating for agriculture in Samoa. This is the main reason why Samoa, whose economy depends mainly on agriculture, still need international assistance.

On 29 September 2009 , Samoa was hit by a quake with a magnitude of 8 followed by a tsunami causing significant damage and killing more than 115 deaths .

The average annual temperature is 22 C.

Economy

Samoa's main exports are copra , the cocoa , the banana and coffee.

Agriculture employs two-thirds of the population of Samoa and provides 90% of export revenues. The main countries where the products are exported are of Australia , the United States and Japan.

Tourism is an expanding sector, accounting for 25% of GDP, with 88,000 tourists in 2001.

Only country in the Pacific have been classified by the UN under the category of least developed countries, this situation allows it to receive international aid (52 million in 1992, 41% of GNP). Imports of oil engulf 99% of export earnings.

Demographics

Apia , with a population of 33,000 inhabitants (1995), is the capital and commercial center of Samoa. 50% of Samoa's population live or work abroad. Most leave for New Zealand , the Australia or to American Samoa , the first step before a second migration to the United States.

Samoans are Christians to 99.7%.

Culture

The fa'asamoa could result in the Samoan way. It is a sort of code of conduct which mainly affects behavior towards others and implies a great respect for the authorities in place: seniors, police, parents, etc..

The fa'asamoa is also evident in the judicial system of Samoa who is separated in two. The first is a western-style and based on a police force as well as the courts administered by the central government. The second is traditional and is under the jurisdiction of each village.

Despite centuries of European influence, Samoa maintains its historical customs, its social systems and language which is thought to be the oldest form of Polynesian speech still in existence (hypothesis challenged by modern linguists).

Public Holidays

Date	French name	Local Name	Notes
January 1	New Year's Day
Friday	Friday
First Sunday following the first full moon after the equinox vernal	Easter
The day after Easter	Easter Monday
April 25	ANZAC Day		This day marks the anniversary of the first major military battle in which the armies of Australia and New Zealand took part in the Great War.
May 12	Mother's Day in Samoa
June 1	Independence Day
August 4	Labor Day
Second Monday of October	Festival of Children	Lotu has Tamaiti	This day is now called "White Sunday" through the Pacific islands, the children wearing white clothes during this festival.
November 7	Arbour Day	Arbor Day
December 25	Christmas

Sport

The rugby is extremely popular in Samoa. Many players of the championship in New Zealand are Samoan, even some of the All Blacks of Samoan origin, such as Tana Umaga. Recently, the team of Samoa is sometimes associated with other islands ( Fiji , Tonga , Cook Islands ) to form the "Pacific Warriors," sort of Barbarians Pacific archipelagos. Other major sport in Samoa, the kirikiti is a kind of derivative of cricket that is played with a rubber bullet. There is no official competition but this is probably the most popular sport ^{Miscellaneous}

• Telephone lines: 8000 (2005)
• Mobile Phones: over 30,000 (in 2005)
• Radio stations: 1 AM , 5 FM (2005)
• Radio Stations: 90% of 23 098 households (in 2001)
• TV stations: 3 (2005)
• Televisions: 15,603 (2001)
• Number of Internet Service Providers: 3 (2005)
• Roads: 866 km, 350 km paved, 516 km unpaved (2001 estimate)
• Railways: 0 km
• Waterways: 2 043 km
• Number of Airports: 3 (2005), 2 with paved trails (including the airport Faleolo Apia, code AITA APW)
• Ports: Apia , Asau , Mulifanua , Salelologa

Codes

Samoa has the code:

• Sat , according to the list of country codes IOC ,
• WAS , according to the list of international codes of plates ,
• WSM , according to the standard ISO 3166-1 (list of country codes), code alpha-3,
• WSM , according to the list of country codes used by NATO , code alpha-3,

References

See also

Bibliography

• RC Green, "The Immediate Origins of the Polynesians', in Polynesian Culture History, Honolulu (1967).

Related articles

• Polynesian Airlines
• American Samoa
• Samoan literature

External Links

• (Fr) Biodiversity Strategy of the Government of Samoa
• (En) Website of the Government of Samoa
• (En) History of Samoa