Country and Culture

Geography and Climate

The islands of Samoa lie about 1,600 miles northeast of New Zealand and about 2,600 miles southwest of Hawaii. The narrow coastal plains on the four inhabited islands support most of the people, while the rugged island interiors are covered with dense forest. The islands are protected by coral reefs and lagoons. Sea breezes temper the tropical climate, and temperatures average about 80 degrees Fahrenheit year round. Although rain is an almost daily event, most of the 115 inches of annual rainfall (average) occurs between October and March.

The approximately 230,000 Samoans live in about four hundred coastal villages ranging in size from one hundred to two thousand people. The only large town is Apia, the capital and commercial center, with a population of about 40,000.

Economy and Government

Archaeological evidence suggests that Polynesians came to Samoa as early as 1000 B.C., Regular contact with Europeans was established throughout the 1800s with the British, Germans and Americans establishing consulates in Samoa. A succession dispute among the Samoan royal families after the death of King Malietoa Laupepa led to Samoan annexation in 1898: Germany took Samoa and the United States took Eastern (now American) Samoa.

After war broke out in Europe in 1914, New Zealand military forces occupied Samoa. In 1919, the League of Nations granted New Zealand a territorial mandate over Samoa. Patriotic Samoans, unhappy with the New Zealand occupation, led a peaceful civil disobedience campaign also known as the Mau Movement. Efforts to create a more representative Samoan government were interrupted by World War II.

In 1946, Samoa was made a United Nations Trusteeship under New Zealand, despite Samoan pleas for self-government. A series of constitutional advances brought Samoa from dependency to self-government. In 1961 a plebiscite showed overwhelming Samoan support for independence, which was formally granted on January 1, 1962.

Until recently, the economy of Samoa was based on the export of copra (dried coconut meat), cocoa and bananas. Due to declining world market prices for these commodities, the relatively low quality of Samoan agricultural products, and the growing demand for imported consumer goods, Samoa faces a widening trade gap. The government is working to diversify the economy.

Fishing, the most under-utilized available resource, has received a significant boost from Japanese and Australian aid, and other sectors of the economy are also receiving international development assistance. The beauty of the islands and the hospitality of Samoans, for example, are natural bases for the tourism industry, and new hotels, handicraft shops, tour companies and vendors are all parts of this industry.

Culture

Despite close contact with Europeans for over 160 years, the Samoans have retained a great deal of their own Polynesian cultural traditions. The Fa'aSamoa, or, the "Samoan Way," is the dominant social force. Samoan life revolves around the family group, which includes a wide group of relatives by blood, marriage or adoption, who acknowledge one person as the leader, or matai. He (sometimes she) holds a title of either chief or orator, is responsible for the leadership and welfare of his family, and is entitled to the services and cooperation of all family members in return. The Samoan system provides for the cultivation of family lands by younger members of the family, the resulting produce being shared among the whole family at the direction of the matai, who is thus able to care for the sick, the very young, and the aged members of his family.

Most Samoans are Christians; and church observances have been assimilated into the patterns of Samoan daily life. Over half of the people are Congregationalists, and trace the origin of their religion to the arrival of the Congregationalist London Missionary Society in 1830. Roman Catholics and Methodists are also large groups, and the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and Seventh Day Adventists are also well established. There is a large Baha'i temple on the island of'Upolu.

Education is compulsory (Years 1 - 8) but not free in government and mission schools. In addition to the 93.17 percent (1991 figure) of the children in local primary schools, 70 percent (1991 figure) continue into local secondary schools and some Samoans (an exact figure is not available) are enrolled overseas in secondary or technical schools or universities. Literacy levels are high, with an estimated 90 percent of the people over age 16 literate in the Samoan language, and perhaps half of them functionally literate in English.

Last updated Sep 28 2008