This article is about the state. For the archipelago, see Samoan Islands.
| National motto: Fa'avae i le Atua Samoa (Samoa is founded on God)
|
| Official languages
| Samoan, English
|
| Capital
| Apia
|
| Head of State
| Malietoa Tanumafili II
|
| Prime Minister
| Tuila'epa Sailele Malielegaoi
|
Area - Total - % water
| Ranked 175th 2944 km² 0.3%
|
Population - Total (Jul 2005 Est.) - Density
| Ranked 184th 185,000
60/km²
|
| HDI (2003) | 0.776 (74th) – medium
|
Independence - Date
| From New Zealand January 1, 1962
|
| Currency
| Tala (WST)
|
| Time zone
| UTC -11
|
| National anthem
| The Banner of Freedom
|
| Internet TLD
| .ws
|
| Calling Code
| 685
|
Samoa, officially the
Independent State of Samoa, is a country comprising a
group of islands in the South
Pacific Ocean.
Previous names were
German Samoa from
1900 to
1919, and
Western Samoa from
1914 to
1997. It was recognized by the
United Nations only on 15 December
1976 (
UN members) as Samoa. The entire group was known as
Navigators Islands before the 20th century because of the Samoans' excellent seafaring skills. It has a population of 176,710 (2001 census).
History
Main article: History of Samoa
The first Polynesians to arrive in the Samoan Islands came island-hopping over several generations from Southeast Asia, via Fiji and probably Tonga, more than 3000 years ago and from there settled the rest of Polynesia: first traveling eastward to the Marquesas Islands, and from there southwest, via the Society Islands to New Zealand, southeast to Easter Island, and northward to Hawai'i. Samoa enjoys a rich history, preserved in folklore and myth, of voyages across the ocean, conquests of different islands, and interisland warfare with other West Polynesian polities, mainly the Kingdom of Tonga and certain Fijian chieftainships. Some people believe that a temple on the island of Manono has a record, using a system of stone cairns, that commemorates more than 150 wars. Robert Louis Stevenson, who spent the last four years of his life in Samoa, remarked that "War is Samoa's favourite pastime."
More on
[ Samoa ]
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