| 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 etymology: the meaning of Samoa is disputed; some modern explanations are that the "sa" connotes "sacred" and "moa" indicates "center," so the name can mean "Holy Center"; alternatively, some assertions state that it can mean "place of the sacred moa bird" of Polynesian mythology; the name, however, may go back to Proto-Polynesian (PPn) times (before 1000 B.C.); a plausible PPn reconstruction has the first syllable as "sa'a" meaning "tribe or people" and "moa" meaning "deep sea or ocean" to convey the meaning "people of the deep sea" |
| Government type | parliamentary republic |
| Capital | name: Apia geographic coordinates: 13 49 S, 171 46 W time difference: UTC+13 (18 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in September; ends first Sunday in April etymology: name derives from the native village around which the capital was constructed in the 1850s; the village still exists within the larger modern capital |
| Administrative divisions | 11 districts; A'ana, Aiga-i-le-Tai, Atua, Fa'asaleleaga, Gaga'emauga, Gagaifomauga, Palauli, Satupa'itea, Tuamasaga, Va'a-o-Fonoti, Vaisigano |
| Independence | 1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship) |
| National holiday | Independence Day Celebration, 1 June (1962); note - 1 January 1962 is the date of independence from the New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship, but it is observed in June |
| Constitution | history: several previous (preindependence); latest 1 January 1962 amendments: proposed as an act by the Legislative Assembly; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly membership in the third reading - provided at least 90 days have elapsed since the second reading, and assent of the chief of state; passage of amendments affecting constitutional articles on customary land or constitutional amendment procedures also requires at least two-thirds majority approval in a referendum; amended several times, last in 2020 |
| Legal system | mixed legal system of English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts with respect to fundamental rights of the citizen |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Samoa dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years |
| Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: TUIMALEALI'IFANO Va’aletoa Sualauvi II (since 21 July 2017) head of government: Prime Minister TUILA'EPA Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi (since 23 November 1998); Deputy Prime Minister FIAME Naomi Mata’afa (since 2016) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the chief of state on the prime minister's advice elections/appointments: chief of state indirectly elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve a 5-year term (2- term limit); election last held on 4 July 2017 (next to be held in 2022); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the chief of state, approved by the Legislative Assembly election results: TUIMALEALI'IFANO Va’aletoa Sualauvi unanimously elected by the Legislative Assembly on 5 July 2017 |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fono (51 seats for 2021-2026 term); members from 51 single-seat constituencies directly elected by simple majority vote, with a minimum 10% representation of women in the Assembly required; members serve 5-year terms) elections: election last held on 9 April 2021 (next election to be held in 2026) note - head of state TUIMALEALI'IFANO Va’aletoa Sualauvi II declared 9 April 2021 election void on 4 May 2021, new elections set for 21 May 2021; on 17 May 2021, the Supreme Court invalidated the head of state's order allowing the 9 April 2021 election results to stand election results: percent of vote by party - HRPP 55%, FAST 37%, TSP 3%, independents 5%; seats by party – initial election results - FAST 25, HRPP 25, independents 1; composition - men 46, women 5, percent of women 9.8% note - on 2 June 2021, the Court of Appeals declared that a sixth seat for women is required to meet the minimum 10% representation for women, but that the seat would not be filled until after all election petitions and by-elections are settled |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: Court of Appeal (consists of the chief justice and 2 Supreme Court judges and meets once or twice a year); Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and several judges) judge selection and term of office: chief justice appointed by the chief of state upon the advice of the prime minister; other Supreme Court judges appointed by the Judicial Service Commission, a 3-member body chaired by the chief justice and includes the attorney general and an appointee of the Minister of Justice; judges normally serve until retirement at age 68 subordinate courts: District Court; Magistrates' Courts; Land and Titles Courts; village fono or village chief councils |
| Political parties and leaders | Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP [TUILA'EPA Sailele Malielegaoi] Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi or FAST [FIAME Naomi Mata'afa] Tautua Samoa Party or TSP [Afualo Wood Uti SALELE] |
| International organization participation | ACP, ADB, AOSIS, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Pa’olelei LUTERU (since 7 July 2021) chancery: 685 Third Avenue, 44th Street, 11th Floor, Suite 1102, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6196 FAX: [1] (212) 599-0797 email address and website: samoanymission@outlook.com https://www.un.int/samoa/samoa/embassy-independent-state-samoa-united-states-america consulate(s) general: Pago Pago (American Samoa) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: the US Ambassador to New Zealand is accredited to Samoa embassy: 5th Floor, Accident Corporation Building, Matafele Apia mailing address: 4400 Apia Place, Washington DC 20521-4400 telephone: [685] 21-436 (2018) FAX: [685] 22-030 (2018) email address and website: ApiaConsular@state.gov https://ws.usembassy.gov/ |
| Flag description | red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side quadrant bearing five white, five-pointed stars representing the Southern Cross constellation; red stands for courage, blue represents freedom, and white signifies purity note: similar to the flag of Taiwan |
| National symbol(s) | Southern Cross constellation (five, five-pointed stars); national colors: red, white, blue |
| National anthem | name: "O le Fu'a o le Sa'olotoga o Samoa" (The Banner of Freedom) lyrics/music: Sauni Liga KURESA note: adopted 1962; also known as "Samoa Tula'i" (Samoa Arise) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
