Samoa

Independent State of Samoa Malo Saʻoloto Tutoʻatasi o Sāmoa
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Fa'avae i le Atua Sāmoa" "Samoa is founded on God"
Anthem: O Le Fu'a o Le Sa'olotoga o Samoa "The Banner of Freedom" The National Anthem of Samoa
Capital and largest city	Apia 13°50′S 171°45′W / 13.833°S 171.750°W / -13.833; -171.750
Official languages	Samoan English
Ethnic groups (2001)	92.6% Samoans 7.0% Euronesians 0.4% Europeans 0.1% East Asian
Demonym	Samoan
Government	Unitary parliamentary democracy
• O le Ao o le Malo a	Tufuga Efi
• Prime Minister	Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi
Legislature	Legislative Assembly
Independence from New Zealand
• Treaty of Berlin	14 June 1889
• Tripartite Convention	16 February 1900
• Colonization by Germany	1 March 1900
• Colonization by New Zealand	30 August 1914
• League mandate	17 December 1920
• UN trusteeship	13 December 1946
• Western Samoa Act 1961	1 January 1962
Area
• Total	2,842 km2 (1,097 sq mi) (174th)
• Water (%)	0.3
Population
• November 2016 census	192,342
• Density	68/km2 (176.1/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2016 estimate
• Total	$1.046 billion
• Per capita	$5,368
GDP (nominal)	2016 estimate
• Total	$876 million
• Per capita	$4,496
HDI (2014)	0.702 high · 105th
Currency	Tala (WST)
Time zone	UTC+13:00 (UTC+13b)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+14:00 (UTC+14)
Drives on the	leftc
Calling code	+685
ISO 3166 code	WS
Internet TLD	.ws
Head of state. Since 31 December 2011. Since 7 September 2009.

Coordinates: 13°35′S 172°20′W / 13.583°S 172.333°W / -13.583; -172.333

The Independent State of Samoa (Samoan: Malo Sa 'oloto Tuto 'atasi o Sāmoa, IPA: [ˌsaːˈmoa]), commonly known as Samoa (Samoan: Sāmoa) and, until 1997, known as Western Samoa, is a unitary parliamentary democracy with eleven administrative divisions. The two main islands are Savai'i and Upolu with four smaller islands surrounding the landmasses. The capital city is Apia. The Lapita people discovered and settled the Samoan islands around 3,500 years ago. They developed a unique language and cultural identity.

Samoa is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Western Samoa was admitted to the United Nations on 15 December 1976. The entire island group, which includes American Samoa, was called "Navigator Islands" by European explorers before the 20th century because of the Samoans' seafaring skills.

The oldest date so far for remains in Samoa has been calculated by New Zealand scientists to a likely true age of circa 3,000 years ago from a Lapita site at Mulifanua during the 1970s.