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Some Samoa Facts: Official languages are
Samoan and English The capital of Samoa is Apia Head of State is Malietoa Tanumafili II Prime Minister is Tauila’epa Sailele Malielegaoi Area is 2944 km˛ Population is 177,714 Independence from New Zealand on January 1, 1962 Currency is Tala 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 4000 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 northwards to Hawaii. In 1962 Western Samoa became the first Pacific Island state to regain its independence, although it remains closely tied to New Zealand. American Samoans still use the terms Western Samoa and Western Samoans to describe the Independent State of Samoa. While the two Samoas share language and ethnicity, their more recent culture has followed different paths with the American Samoans emigrating to Hawaii and the US and adopting many US customs such as American football and baseball. The western Samoans have emigrated to New Zealand and that influence on the Independent State of Samoa has made the sports of rugby and cricket more popular. The economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on development aid, private family remittances from overseas and agricultural exports. The country is vulnerable to devastating storms. Agriculture employs two-thirds of the labor force, and furnishes 90% of exports, featuring coconut cream, coconut oil, noni, and copra. Outside of a large automotive wire harness factory, the manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. Tourism is an expanding sector; more than 70,000 tourists visited the islands in 1996. The Samoan Government has called for deregulation of the financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline. Observers point to the flexibility of the labor market as a basic strength for future economic advances. Read My Analysis of Fata's Story Return to Fata's StoryReturn to Introduction |
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