Samoa (2007) | Reunion (2003) | |
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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 | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 38.1% (male 41,551/female 40,085)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 63,320/female 57,277) 65 years and over: 5.6% (male 5,416/female 6,616) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 31.3% (male 121,119; female 115,501)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 233,607; female 240,502) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 18,036; female 26,406) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, bananas, taro, yams, coffee, cocoa | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 4 (2007) | 2 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 2,944 sq km
land: 2,934 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
Background | New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 28.28 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 20.17 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $171.3 million
expenditures: $78.1 million (FY04/05 est.) |
revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
Capital | name: Apia
geographic coordinates: 13 50 S, 171 44 W time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Saint-Denis |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October) | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
Coastline | 403 km | 207 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1962 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
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 |
conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | - | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 5.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $177 million (2004) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: none; US Ambassador to New Zealand is accredited to Samoa
embassy: Accident Compensation Board (ACB) Building, 5th Floor, Beach Road, Apia mailing address: P. O. Box 3430, Apia, 0815 telephone: [685] 21436/21452/21631/22696 FAX: [685] 22030 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Aliioaiga Feturi ELISAIA
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6196, 6197 FAX: [1] (212) 599-0797 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $43.95 million (2005) | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France |
Economy - overview | The economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on development aid, family remittances from overseas, agriculture, and fishing. 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, and copra. The fish catch declined during the El Nino of 2002-03 but returned to normal by mid-2005. The manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. One factory in the Foreign Trade Zone employs 3,000 people to make automobile electrical harnesses for an assembly plant in Australia. Tourism is an expanding sector, accounting for 25% of GDP; about 100,000 tourists visited the islands in 2005. The Samoan Government has called for deregulation of the financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline, while at the same time protecting the environment. Observers point to the flexibility of the labor market as a basic strength for future economic advances. Foreign reserves are in a relatively healthy state, the external debt is stable, and inflation is low. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 97.65 million kWh (2005) | 1.005 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 105 million kWh (2005) | 1.08 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 55.5%
hydro: 44.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mauga Silisili (Savaii) 1,857 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion, deforestation, invasive species, overfishing | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | Samoan 92.6%, Euronesians 7% (persons of European and Polynesian blood), Europeans 0.4% | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
Exchange rates | tala per US dollar - 2.7594 (2006), 2.7103 (2005), 2.7807 (2004), 2.9732 (2003), 3.3763 (2002) | euros per US dollar - 1.06 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: TUIATUA Tupua Tamasese Efi (since 20 June 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA (since 1996); Deputy Prime Minister MISA Telefoni (since 2001) cabinet: Cabinet consists of 12 members appointed by the chief of state on the prime minister's advice elections: chief of state is elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 15 June 2007 (next to be held in 2012); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the chief of state with the approval of the Legislative Assembly election results: TUIATUA Tupua Tamasese Efi unanimously elected by the Legislative Assembly |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | fish, coconut oil and cream, copra, taro, automotive parts, garments, beer | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
Exports - partners | Australia 44%, American Samoa 29.9%, Taiwan 11.2% (2006) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | June 1 - May 31 | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side quadrant bearing five white five-pointed stars representing the Southern Cross constellation | the flag of France is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $4.174 billion (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11.4%
industry: 58.4% services: 30.2% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2005 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 35 S, 172 20 W | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
Geography - note | occupies an almost central position within Polynesia | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Highways | - | total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, foodstuffs | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | NZ 21.5%, Fiji 14.8%, Singapore 13.2%, Australia 8.6%, Japan 8.6%, US 6.2%, Indonesia 5%, China 4.4% (2006) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) |
Independence | 1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.8% (2000) | NA% |
Industries | food processing, building materials, auto parts | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | total: 25.89 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 8.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.3% (2005) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IPU, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) | FZ, InOC, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; District Court; Land and Titles Court | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 90,000 (2000 est.) | 309,900 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 21.13%
permanent crops: 24.3% other: 54.57% (2005) |
arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Samoan (Polynesian), English | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | based on English common law and local customs; judicial review of legislative acts with respect to fundamental rights of the citizen; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fono (49 seats, 47 elected by voters affiliated with traditional village-based electoral districts, 2 elected by independent, mostly non-Samoan or part-Samoan, voters who cannot, (or choose not to) establish a village affiliation; only chiefs (matai) may stand for election to the Fono from the 47 village-based electorates; members serve five-year terms)
elections: election last held 31 March 2006 (next election to be held not later than March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - HRPP 35, SDUP 10, independents 4 |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.3 years
male: 68.49 years female: 74.26 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 73.43 years
male: 70.03 years female: 77 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.7% male: 99.6% female: 99.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Oceania | World |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 7,091 GRT/8,127 DWT
by type: cargo 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Cyprus 1) (2007) |
- |
Military - note | Samoa has no formal defense structure or regular armed forces; informal defense ties exist with NZ, which is required to consider any Samoan request for assistance under the 1962 Treaty of Friendship | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Samoa Police Force (2005) | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | - |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 198,341 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 101,116 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 6,795 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day Celebration, 1 June (1962); note - 1 January 1962 is the date of independence from the New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship; it is observed in June | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Samoan(s)
adjective: Samoan |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons; active volcanism | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | hardwood forests, fish, hydropower | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -9.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP [Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA]; Samoa Christian Party or TCP [Tuala Tiresa MALIETOA]; Samoa Democratic United Party or SDUP [LE MAMEA Ropati]; Samoa Party or SP [Su'a Rimoni Ah CHONG]; Samoa Progressive Political Party or SPPP [Toeolesulusulu SIUEVA] | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 214,265
note: prior estimates used official net migration data by sex, but a highly unusual pattern for 1993 lead to a significant imbalance in the sex ratios (more men and fewer women) and a seeming reduction in the female population; the revised total was calculated using a 1993 number that was an average of the 1992 and 1994 migration figures (July 2007 est.) |
755,171 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.291% (2007 est.) | 1.47% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Le Port, Pointe des Galets |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Congregationalist 34.8%, Roman Catholic 19.6%, Methodist 15%, Latter-Day Saints 12.7%, Assembly of God 6.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.5%, Worship Centre 1.3%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.9%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census) | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.037 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.106 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.819 male(s)/female total population: 1.061 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19,500 (2005) | 268,500 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 24,000 (2005) | 197,000 (September 2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2002) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | two main islands (Savaii, Upolu) and several smaller islands and uninhabited islets; narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 4.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 36% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |