Where is Samoa?
About Samoa
The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media
Samoa is a group of islands which form a country in Oceania. The two main islands of Upolu and Savai'i are home to 99% of the population. Together with 2 other
countries, Samoa forms a group of islands known as Polynesia.
Samoa is in the Pacific Ocean.
The land is a mixture of narrow coastal plains and inland mountains.
The geographical coordinates for the centre of Samoa, also known as lines of latitude and longtitude, are:-
Latitude - 13 35S
Longitude - 172 20W
Check the weather in Apia now.
This is the time in Apia now
The Samoan flag is red with a blue rectangle
in the top flag pole quarter. Inside the rectangle are 5 white stars representing the southern cross constellation.
We have already written our own history of England but are asking schools in Samoa to provide us with a detailed history of
their own country. Check how here.
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The total land area of Samoa is 2,821 sq kms which is the 7th largest in Oceania.
Samoa has lakes, rivers and canals which total 10 sq kms.
Samoa has no boundaries with other countries.
Samoa has a coastline of 403 kms which is the 11th longest in Oceania.
The highest point in Samoa is Mount Silisili at 1,857 metres.
The total population of Samoa is 201,108 people, making it the 8th largest country in Oceania by population.
Of this number 98,067 are females and 102,041 are males.
A person from Samoa is called a Samoan.
To be a citizen of Samoa, one of your parents must be a citizen of Samoa. It is not sufficient to be born in Samoa. You have to live in Samoa for
5 years before you can begin to apply for citizenship.
The largest five cities in Samoa, by population are:-
The birth rate in Samoa is 20.6 births per 1,000 of population
The death rate in Samoa is 5.3 deaths per 1,000 people.
Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then
the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.
There are 15.5 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 22.4 deaths of boys.
The median age for females is 24.2 and for males is 23.7. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number
of people above the median age as below it.
The average age of a woman when she has her first child is 23.6.
The elderly dependency ratio is 9.3. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).
The potential support ratio is 10.8. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.
Samoa spends 7.2% of its total income on health care.
There are 0.45 doctors per 1,000 people.
We have no figures for the number of hospital beds per 1,000 people.
47.3% of the population are estimated as obese.
97.5% of the urban population and 99.3% of the rural population have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or
protected rainwater collection facility.
Samoa spends 5.1% of its total income on education.
Children usually start school at age 6 in Samoa. Primary education is for eight years until age 14 and secondary education can continue till 19. This may be followed
by further education at a university or college.
Generally the school year consists of 4 terms and starts at the end of January and finishes in the middle of December. There is usually a 1 week
break at the end of term 1 in April, a 2 week break at the end of term 2 at the start of July and a 1 week break at the end of term 3 at the end of September.
98.8% of females and 99.1% of males are able to read and write by the age of 15.
19.1% of all people aged between 16 and 24 are not in work. Among females 25.3% are unemployed while with males 15.6% can't find work.
The total number of people available for work in Samoa is 50,700.
They work in the following sectors.
There is 1 paved airport in Samoa, which is equal 12th highest number in Oceania.
There are no railways in Samoa.
There are 1,200 kilometres of roads in Samoa, which means Samoa is in 7th place for the most kilometres of roads in Oceania.