Independence Year : 1962
Population : 180000
Life Expectancy : 69.2
Capital : 3169
GNP : 141.00
GNP Old : 157.00
Local Name : Samoa
Government Form : Parlementary Monarchy
Location : Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand.
Terrain : Volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior with narrow coastal plain
Climate : Tropical; dry season (May to October), rainy season (November to April).
Ethnic Group : Samoan 92.6%, Euronesians 7% (persons of European and Polynesian blood), Europeans 0.4%
Religions : Christian 99.7% (about one-half of population associated with the London Missionary Society).
Official Website :
www.govt.ws
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General Information - Samoa
Background
The Polynesian group of islands known as Samoa consists of two main islands Upolu and Savai'i and seven smaller islets. Upolu is home to nearly three-quarters of Samoa's population.
In the time of 1000 B.C. Southeast Asian immmigrants arrived in the Samoan islands and from there they settled the rest of Polynesia.
First sparsely contacts with Europeans began in the early 1700s, intensified with the arrival of English missionaries and traders in the 1830s.
Before World War I (Western) Samoa was a German protectorate, occupied by New Zealand in 1914. In 1962 Samoa became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century.
Despite of modern influences Samoan people still hold firmly to "Fa'asamoa", the traditional Samoan way, related to their language, dress, food, customs and even property.
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