Samoa
Name
| Official name | Independent State of Samoa — Malo Saʻoloto Tutoʻatasi o Sāmoa |
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| Former names | Western Samoa (1962–97), the name dropped by the parliament on 4 July 1997; the Territory of Western Samoa of the New Zealand mandate and trusteeship (1920–62) and the occupation of 1914; German Samoa (1900–14); the Samoan Islands of the kingdom of Malietoa Laupepa and the three powers' condominium of 1889; the "Navigator Islands" of Bougainville |
| Demonym | Samoan; Sāmoa in the language |
| Meaning of the name | Disputed — "sacred center," from sā, sacred, and moa, center, by the reading the Samoans prefer, or "the place of the moa," the sacred hen of the myth of Tagaloa, or the "mamoa" of the "many," the etymologies the orators argue; the "Navigator Islands" of 1768 for the canoes; "Apia" the village's name; "Savaiʻi" the "Havaiki" of the Polynesian homeland of the myths and the "Hawaiʻi" of the cousins |
| Motto | "Faʻavae i le Atua Sāmoa" — Samoa is founded on God; on the arms since 1962 and in the Constitution since 2017 |
Quick facts
| Capital | Apia — the port village of the 1800s and the capital of the German colony, the mandate and the state; about 36,000 in the town and 80,000 in the urban area of Upolu's north coast |
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| Largest cities | Apia the only town; Vaitele of the factories and the brewery of the Apia sprawl; Faleasiʻu and Leulumoega of the northwest road; Salelologa, the ferry village of Savaiʻi and its largest; Safotu, Tuasivi and Asau of Savaiʻi; Mulifanua of the ferry and the Lapita site; Lotofaga of the To Sua; Lalomanu of the beach fales; the 330 villages of the two islands of the fono |
| Official languages | Samoan — Gagana Sāmoa — the Polynesian language of the 500,000 speakers of the islands and the diaspora, the language of the fono, the church and the chiefly oratory of the "gagana faʻaaloalo" of the respect, the first language of nearly all; English, the second official and the language of the business and the schools' upper years; the Samoan of New Zealand's "Samoan Language Week" of the Samoans of Auckland |
| Currency | Tala — WST, T or WS$; 100 sene; since 1967; about 2.8 to the U.S. dollar |
| Time zone | Samoa Time, UTC+13, since the date-line jump of 30 December 2011; the summer time of UTC+14 abolished in 2021; a day ahead of American Samoa 80 km east |
| Calling code | +685 |
| Internet domain | .ws — the "website" domain the country sells |
| ISO 3166 codes | WS · WSM · 882 |
| Vehicle registration code | WS |
| Driving side | Left — since 7 September 2009, the switch from the right |
| Electricity | 230 V, 50 Hz; plug type I |
| Independence | 1 January 1962, from New Zealand, the trusteeship of the United Nations ended after the plebiscite of 9 May 1961, the first Pacific island state to become independent; celebrated on 1 June for the weather; the Mau of the 1920s the road; the Tripartite Convention of 2 December 1899 that gave the western islands to Germany |
| National days | 1 June, Independence Day, the three days of the parades, the fautasi longboat races of the Apia harbor and the church services; 25 December and 26 December; 1 January and 2 January; Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Monday; the Mother's Day Monday of May and the Father's Day Monday of August of the law of the family; 1 October, the Lotu Tamaiti of the White Sunday's Monday, the children's day of the white clothes; the Teuila Festival of the first week of September of the Miss Samoa and the dances; the Palolo rising of October |
| Constitution | 1 January 1962 — the Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa, drafted by the convention of the matai of 1960 and approved by the plebiscite of 1961: a parliamentary republic with the O le Ao o le Malo, the head of state, elected by the Fono for five years since 2007 after the life tenure of the two paramount chiefs of 1962, the prime minister of the Fono's confidence, the Legislative Assembly of 51 elected by the matai-holders since the universal suffrage of the referendum of 29 October 1990 that let all adults vote and kept the candidacy for the chiefs, the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, the Land and Titles Court of the customary; the amendment of 2013 of the 10% quota of women that adds seats; the amendment of June 2017 that made Samoa "a Christian nation founded on God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit"; the three bills of 2020 on the Land and Titles Court that split the country and the HRPP; the crisis of 2021 of the tent swearing-in of 24 May and the Court of Appeal's ruling of 23 July that made it lawful; the "party democracy" of the anti-hopping rules of 2005 and 2022 |
| Population | 205,557 at the census of 2021; about 210,000 (2026 est.) — Upolu about 160,000, Savaiʻi about 45,000; as many Samoans abroad as at home |
| Area | 2,831 km² (1,093 sq mi) — land 2,821 km², water 10 km²; Savaiʻi 1,700 km², Upolu 1,120 km², Manono 3 km², Apolima 1 km² and the islets; the 167th of the world |
Flag & national symbols
| National flag | A red field with a blue canton in the upper hoist bearing the Southern Cross of five white five-pointed stars, four large and one small — the red for courage, the blue for freedom and the white for purity by the readings of the government, the Southern Cross of the navigators' sky and of the flags of New Zealand and Australia the Samoans knew; adopted 24 February 1949 under the New Zealand trusteeship with the fifth star added to the four of the flag of 26 May 1948, the flag of the "Malietoa" of the design of the New Zealand administration and the Samoan council, kept at independence in 1962 and flown beside the New Zealand and the United Nations flags until then; the one flag of the Pacific with the red field.Flag of Samoa |
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| Coat of arms | A shield of the Southern Cross on a blue field above a coconut palm growing from the waves on white, within the two olive branches of the United Nations' emblem of the trusteeship years, a cross of the Christian faith above the shield and the motto "Faʻavae i le Atua Sāmoa" on the scroll below; adopted at independence in 1962 from the arms of the trust territory of 1951 with the cross added; the arms of the state papers and the tala |
| National anthem | "O le Fuʻa o le Saʻolotoga o Sāmoa" ("The Banner of Freedom") — the words and the music of Sauni Iiga Kuresa, the composer of the Methodist college, adopted at independence on 1 January 1962; "Sāmoa, tulaʻi ma sisi ia lau fuʻa, lou pale lea," "Samoa, arise and raise your banner that is your crown," the "look at those stars that are waving on it, this is the symbol of Jesus who died on it for Samoa"; the "God Save the Queen" of the years before |
| National motto | "Faʻavae i le Atua Sāmoa" |
| National colors | Red, white and blue |
| National animal | The manumea, the tooth-billed pigeon Didunculus strigirostris, the endemic bird of the rainforest of Savaiʻi and Upolu, the closest living relative of the dodo, the "little dodo," down to a few hundred and perhaps fewer, the national bird of the 20-tala note and the conservation campaigns; the flying fox, the peʻa, of the two species of the evening skies and the tattoo's name; the Samoan starling and the maʻomaʻo; the green turtle; the palolo worm of the October rising of the delicacy; widely cited |
| National flower | The teuila, the red ginger Alpinia purpurata of the gardens and the festival of September, the national flower by the declaration; the ʻula fala of the pandanus necklaces of the orators; the frangipani of the ʻula garlands; the coconut palm of the arms; widely cited |
| National dish | Palusami — the young taro leaves baked with the coconut cream and the onion in the umu, the earth oven of the stones of the Sunday toʻonaʻi feast after church; the oka of the raw fish in the lime and the coconut cream; the faʻalifu of the taro and the green bananas in the coconut; the sapasui of the Chinese chop suey of the vermicelli; the pisupo of the corned beef of the tins, the feast food of a century; the koko Sāmoa of the cocoa drink of the mornings; the fa'apapa of the coconut bread; the pani popo; the Vailima beer of the brewery of 1978 and the kava of the ʻava ceremony of the chiefs; widely cited |
| National sport | Rugby union, the Manu Samoa of the World Cup quarterfinals of 1991, when they beat Wales at Cardiff, and 1995, the sevens of the World Series titles of 2009–10 and the Hong Kong of the "Manu," the Apia Park of the tests, the 2023 World Cup of France, the players of the New Zealand and the European clubs; rugby league, the Toa Samoa of the World Cup final of 19 November 2022 at Manchester, the first Pacific island nation in a final, lost to Australia, and the World Cup of 2026 of Australia and Papua New Guinea; kilikiti, the Samoan cricket of the three-sided bats and the whole village's teams, the national game of the tradition; the fautasi longboat races of Independence Day; the boxing of the heavyweights; the weightlifting of Ele Opeloge's silver of Beijing 2008, the country's one Olympic medal, awarded in 2016; the netball; the Pacific Games of Apia of 2007 and 2019; widely cited |
| Symbol status | The flag by the law of 1949 and the Constitution; the arms and the anthem by the independence of 1962; the motto by the Constitution of 2017; the manumea and the teuila by the declarations; the dishes and the sports widely cited |
Geography
| Location | The South Pacific, Polynesia — the western half of the Samoan archipelago halfway between Hawaiʻi and New Zealand, American Samoa 80 km east across the strait, Tonga 900 km south, Fiji 1,100 km southwest, Tokelau 500 km north, Wallis and Futuna 400 km west, Niue southeast; the Tonga trench to the south; the cyclone belt; the date line the country crossed in 2011 |
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| Land borders | None — the islands; the maritime boundaries with American Samoa of the United States of the treaty of 1980, Tokelau of New Zealand, Wallis and Futuna of France, Tonga and Niue; the exclusive economic zone of 130,000 km² |
| Coastline | 403 km (250 mi) — the fringing reefs of the lagoons of the north of Upolu and the south of the fales, the Apia harbor of the reef passage, the beaches of Lalomanu, Saleapaga and the Aleipata of the south coast that the tsunami of 29 September 2009 destroyed, the Palolo Deep marine reserve of Apia, the Manono and Apolima of the strait, the cliffs of Savaiʻi's west of the Alofaaga blowholes and the Falealupo of the sunset, the lava coast of Saleaula, the mangroves of the Safata; the Mulifanua of the ferry and the Lapita pottery of 800 BC under the water; the reefs of the coral bleaching |
| Highest point | Mount Silisili, 1,858 m (6,096 ft), on Savaiʻi; Mount Fito, 1,100 m, on Upolu |
| Lowest point | The Pacific Ocean, 0 m |
| Mean elevation | Not published; the two shield volcanoes and the coastal plains |
| Rivers | The Vaisigano of Apia of the flash floods of the cyclone Evan of 2012, the Faleata of the Vailima, the Sili of Savaiʻi, the Mulivai, the Fuluasou of the hydropower, the Falefa of the falls of the Le Mafa pass, the Afulilo of the dam of 1993 of the largest hydropower, the Sopoaga falls, the Papapapaitai falls of 100 m of the cross-island road, the Togitogiga; the short rivers of the volcanic islands that dry in the dry season; the Piula cave pool of the Methodist college; the Papaseea sliding rocks |
| Lakes | Lanotoʻo, the crater lake of the goldfish of the Upolu highlands at 760 m of the national park, the "goldfish lake"; the Afulilo reservoir of the dam; the Lanoanea and the Lanoataata craters; the To Sua ocean trench of Lotofaga, the sinkhole of 30 m of the sea water and the ladder; the Mataʻolealelo spring of Savaiʻi |
| Terrain | Two shield volcanoes of the hotspot — Savaiʻi of the high dome of Silisili and the lava fields of the north of the eruptions of 1760, 1902 and 1905–11 of Matavanu that buried the villages of Saleaula and left the church in the lava, the rainforest of the Falealupo and the Tafua of the canopy walkway, the cliffs of the west; Upolu of the ridge of the mountains from the Mount Fito down the length of the island, the rainforest of the O Le Pupu-Puē, the coastal plain of the north of Apia and the airport, the south coast of the beaches and the cliffs, the Le Mafa pass of the cross-island road; Manono of the no-cars and the no-dogs, Apolima of the crater village of 70; the Nuʻutele and Nuʻulua of the Aleipata of the seabirds; the coral reefs and the lagoons |
| Climate | Tropical maritime — 26 to 27°C all year with the trade winds, the wet season of November to April of the cyclones and the 3,000 mm of the mountains and the dry of May to October, the Apia of 2,900 mm and the leeward Savaiʻi of 2,000; the humidity of 80%; the cyclones of the summers, Ofa of February 1990, Val of December 1991 that destroyed the island for the second time in two years, Heta of 2004, Evan of 13 December 2012 with five dead and the Vaisigano flood, Gita of 2018, Lola of 2023; the El Niño droughts; the warming sea of the bleaching |
| Natural hazards | The tsunami of 29 September 2009 of the magnitude 8.1 earthquake of the Tonga trench, the waves of 14 m on the south coast of Upolu 15 minutes later, the villages of Lalomanu, Saleapaga and the Aleipata swept, 143 dead in Samoa of the 189 with American Samoa and Tonga, the beaches emptied and rebuilt; the cyclones of Ofa, Val, Evan and Gita; the volcano of Savaiʻi dormant since 1911, the earthquakes of the trench; the floods of the Vaisigano; the epidemics — the influenza of 7 November 1918 of the ship Talune from Auckland that killed 8,500, 22% of the people, the worst of any country of the pandemic and the grievance against New Zealand of the apology of 2002, the measles of October to December 2019 that killed 83, most of them children under five, in the country of the 31% vaccination after the deaths of the two babies of 2018 and the anti-vaccine fear, the state of emergency and the door-to-door vaccination of 90%, the dengue of January 2025 to 2026 of the 4,881 confirmed and 16,550 clinical cases and the eight dead of the children; the sinking of the New Zealand naval ship Manawanui on the reef of Upolu's south coast on 5 October 2024 with its fuel and the NZ$6 million of the compensation of 2025; the King's visit of 2024 the good news |
| Natural resources | The hardwood of the rainforest, the fish of the tuna and the reef, the hydropower of the Afulilo and the Fuluasou, the arable land of the volcanic soil of the taro, the coconuts, the bananas and the cocoa, the nonu of the juice the prime minister sells, the beaches and the fales of the tourists, the "website" of the .ws domain the state sells to the world, the remittances of the diaspora the largest resource of all; the sun of the solar farms of the 2010s of the 50% renewable target; no minerals |
| Land use | Agricultural land about 12%, the taro, the coconuts, the bananas, the cocoa and the breadfruit of the village plantations of the customary land of 81% of the country; forest about 60%, the rainforest of the mountains and the Savaiʻi lowlands, the logged and the replanted; the villages of the coast |
| National parks | The O Le Pupu-Puē National Park of 1978 of Upolu, the first national park of the South Pacific, 50 km² from the Mount Fito to the cliffs of the south coast of the Pupu, the Togitogiga falls and the Peapea cave of the swiftlets; the Lake Lanotoʻo National Park of the goldfish crater; the Falealupo Rainforest Preserve of Savaiʻi of the canopy walkway of 1997 and the village's conservation; the Tafua Peninsula Rainforest Preserve of the flying foxes and the crater; the Mount Vaea Scenic Reserve of Stevenson's grave; the Palolo Deep Marine Reserve of Apia; the Aleipata and the Safata marine protected areas; the Saleaula lava fields; the Nuʻutele of the seabirds; the "Samoa Conservation Society" of the manumea |
| UNESCO World Heritage | None — the Manono, Apolima and Nuʻulopa cultural landscape and the Fagaloa Bay and Uafato–Tiavea conservation zone on the tentative list since 2006; the Samoan tattoo of the peʻa and the malu, the fine mats of the ʻie tōga and the ʻava ceremony the intangible of the country not listed; the Lapita pottery of Mulifanua of 800 BC the oldest of Samoa |
| Administrative divisions | 11 districts — itūmālō — of the traditional divisions with no governments: Tuamasaga of Apia, Aʻana, Aiga-i-le-Tai of Manono and Apolima, Atua and Vaʻa-o-Fonoti on Upolu; Faʻasaleleaga, Gagaʻemauga, Gagaʻifomauga, Vaisigano, Satupaʻitea and Palauli on Savaiʻi; the 51 constituencies of the Fono of the reform of 2019 that gave each two of the districts' seats and the urban seats of Apia; the 330 villages of the fono of the matai, the village councils that make the by-laws, fine the offenders and banish the worst, the "faʻamatai" the government of the ground; the Apia of the no-council of the "Apia Urban Area"; the pulenuʻu of the villages' mayors of the state |
People
| Population | 205,557 (census of 2021); about 210,000 (2026 est.) |
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| Population density | About 75 per km² (190 per sq mi) — Upolu at 140, Savaiʻi at 27, the Apia urban area at 1,000 |
| Population growth | About 0.7% a year — the fertility of 3.5 and the emigration of the young to Auckland, Sydney and Honolulu that takes the natural increase, the Samoans of New Zealand of 180,000, of Australia of 100,000 and of the United States of 200,000 with the American Samoans; the "quota" of 1,100 a year of the New Zealand Samoan Quota of the treaty of 1962; the returnees of the pandemic |
| Median age | About 25 years |
| Life expectancy | About 73 years — the diabetes and the obesity of the "pisupo" diet, among the world's highest rates |
| Fertility rate | About 3.5 births per woman |
| Urban population | About 18%, the Apia urban area; the villages the rest |
| Adult literacy | About 99% |
| Ethnic groups | Samoan about 96%, the Polynesians of the islands, the second-largest Polynesian people after the Māori, the "faʻa Sāmoa" of the ʻāiga extended families, the matai chiefs of the 18,000 titles of the two orders of the aliʻi and the tulāfale orators, the four tama-a-ʻāiga paramount families of the Malietoa, the Tupua Tamasese, the Mataʻafa and the Tuimalealiʻifano who supply the heads of state, the tattoos of the peʻa of the men and the malu of the women, the faʻafafine of the third gender of the tradition; Samoan and New Zealander or other about 2%, the "afakasi" of the mixed of the German, British, Chinese and American of the traders and the plantations of the 1800s and 1900s; other about 2%, the Chinese of the shops of the indentured of 1903–34 and the new, the Europeans and the Americans of the business, the Fijians and the Tongans, the Indians of the shops; the "Samoan" of the census the one answer |
| Languages | Samoan by nearly all as the first language, the Polynesian of the 500,000 speakers of the islands and the diaspora, the language of the church of the "Tusi Paʻia" of 1862 and of the fono, the "gagana faʻaaloalo" of the respect the orators master, the "Samoan Language Week" of New Zealand and the schools of Auckland; English by most as the second, the language of the business, the government and the upper schools, the "Samoan English" of the returned; the Chinese of the few; the Samoan Sign Language of the deaf |
| Religion | Christian about 98% by the census of 2021, the church of every village of the pastor's house and the Sunday of the white clothes and the toʻonaʻi — the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa about 27%, the church of the London Missionary Society of John Williams of 1830, the largest, the "EFKS" of the pastors' tax quarrel with the state of 2018 and the ministers jailed; Roman Catholic about 19% of the cathedral of Apia and the Marists of 1845; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about 17% and growing, the temple of Apia of 1983 and the Pesega schools, the largest Mormon share of any country after Tonga; Methodist about 12% of the Piula college; the Assemblies of God about 7%, the Seventh-day Adventists about 4%, the Worship Centre, the Baháʼí of the temple of Tiapapata of 1984, one of the world's eight, the Jehovah's Witnesses; the Muslims of the few; none about 1%; the "Christian nation" of the Constitution of 2017 and the "Sa" of the evening prayer curfew of the villages |
| Human Development Index | 0.708 (2023 data, 2025 report) — high; about 114th of 193 |
| The faʻa Sāmoa and the matai | The Samoan way — the ʻāiga of the extended family, the matai of the chief chosen by the family to hold the title and the land, the 18,000 matai of the fono of the villages of the aliʻi of the rank and the tulāfale of the speech, the "faʻalavelave" of the obligations of the weddings, the funerals and the church of the fine mats and the money the diaspora pays, the "faʻalupega" of the honorifics, the ʻava ceremony, the tattoo of the peʻa of the 40 hours of the pain that makes the man a "soga'imiti," the fales of the open houses, the "Sa" of the prayer hour, the banishment of the village councils the courts and the Constitution weigh, the customary land of 81% of the country that cannot be sold; the vote of the matai alone until 1990 and the candidacy of the matai still; the Land and Titles Court of the disputes of the titles of the three bills of 2020 that made the crisis of 2021; the "faʻafafine" of the third gender the culture keeps and the law does not name; the Samoans abroad who keep it in Auckland and Los Angeles; the "New Zealand Samoans" of the 1962 treaty of friendship |
| Sport | Rugby — the Manu Samoa of the "siva tau" war dance, the World Cups of 1991 of the Welsh and the Argentine wins and the quarterfinal, of 1995 of the second quarterfinal, of 1999 of Wales again and of 2023 of France without the knockouts, the Apia Park of the tests against New Zealand of 2015 of the All Blacks' first visit, the Pacific Nations Cup of 2010 and 2012, the sevens of the "Manu" of the 2009–10 World Series title and the Hong Kong wins, the Samoans of the All Blacks and the Wallabies of the Michael Jones, the Frank Bunce and the Tana Umaga; rugby league of the Toa Samoa of the 2022 World Cup final of the Stephen Crichton and Jarome Luai of the NRL, the 2026 World Cup of October, the Samoans of a third of the NRL; kilikiti; the fautasi of the 50-paddle boats; the boxing of David Tua of the New Zealand Samoans and of the Olympians; the weightlifting of Opeloge's 2008 silver of the doping reallocation and the Commonwealth golds; the Pacific Games of 2007 and 2019 at Apia; the netball; the volleyball of the villages; the "Samoa Sevens" |
| Diaspora | About 500,000 Samoans abroad, more than at home — New Zealand of the 180,000 of Auckland's South Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch of the migration of the 1950s to the 1970s and the "dawn raids" of the 1970s of the apology of 2021, the Samoan Quota of the 1,100 a year; Australia of the 100,000 of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne of the Samoans of New Zealand who moved on; the United States of the 200,000 of the Samoan Americans of Hawaiʻi, California's Carson and Long Beach, Utah and Washington with the American Samoans of the east; the remittances of US$250 million a year, a third of the economy, the largest share of any country of the Pacific, the "faʻalavelave" and the church the takers; the Samoans of the NFL, the NRL and the All Blacks; the "Polyfest" of Auckland |
Government
| Form of government | Unitary parliamentary republic under the Constitution of 1962 — the O le Ao o le Malo, the head of state, elected by the Fono for five years since the death of the last life-tenured of 2007, the ceremonial office of the paramount chiefs; the prime minister of the Fono's confidence and the cabinet of 12 to 13; the unicameral Legislative Assembly of 51 elected and the women's quota seats; the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the Land and Titles Court; the faʻamatai of the village fono; the "party democracy" of the anti-hopping laws of 2005 and 2022 that bind the members to the party; the four decades of the HRPP of 1982–2021, the FAST of 2021–25 of Fiamē and the FAST of 2025 of Laʻauli, the "Christian nation"; "free" by Freedom House, the "flawed democracy" the crisis of 2021 tested; the first Pacific island state of the independence and of the first woman prime minister |
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| Head of State | Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II, the O le Ao o le Malo, since 21 July 2017, elected by the Fono unopposed for the five years and re-elected in 2022 for a second term to 2027 — born in 1947, the holder of the Tuimalealiʻifano paramount title since 1977, one of the four tama-a-ʻāiga, the lawyer, the former Council of Deputies member and the police officer of the youth, the pastor of the Congregational church; the head of state of the crisis of 2021 who called the second election the Supreme Court struck and swore in Fiamē on 27 July 2021 after the courts made him, of the Commonwealth summit of 2024 and of the snap election of 2025; Tui Ātua Tupua Tamasese Efi of 2007–17 the first elected, Malietoa Tanumafili II of 1962–2007 for life, the joint head with Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole until 1963, the longest-serving head of state of the world at his death of 11 May 2007 at 94; the Masiofo Faʻamausili Leinafo the wife |
| Prime Minister | Laʻauli Leuatea Schmidt (Faʻatuatua i le Atua Sāmoa ua Tasi — FAST), since 16 September 2025 — the eighth prime minister, "Laʻaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt" of the full titles; born 1965 in the Gagaʻemauga district of Savaiʻi, the businessman of the Local Partners and Associates of the nonu juice, the trucks and the shops of the "Laʻauli" empire, the member of the Fono for Gagaʻemauga 1 since 2006 of the HRPP, the minister of agriculture of Tuilaʻepa, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of 2011–16, the independent who left the HRPP in 2016 and beat the 100 charges of the forgery and the theft of the trucks' case in 2020, the co-founder and the chairman of FAST of July 2020 with Fiamē as the leader, the minister of agriculture and fisheries of 2021–25 of the Fiamē government; charged on 3 January 2025 with ten offenses of the conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, the fabrication of the evidence, the harassment and the false statements over the campaign to pin the hit-and-run death of the student Tuʻuau Maletino of April 2021 on the HRPP member Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi, "I did not step down and I will not step down," sacked by Fiamē on 10 January 2025, the chairman who expelled the prime minister and four ministers from the party, the leader of the 20 of the FAST majority who voted down her budget on 27 May 2025 by 34 to 16; the winner of the snap election of 29 August 2025 with 30 of the 51 seats, "the era of God-centred leadership," sworn 16 September 2025 as prime minister and minister of police before his trial's verdict; acquitted of every charge by the District Court of Judge Talasa Atoa-Saaga on 27 March 2026 after the four deferrals, the witness Samuelu Sua and two others convicted of the fabrication, the judge's recommendation of an inquiry into the death and the "assassination plot," the complainant's motion of May 2026 to appeal out of time and the HRPP's "to ensure there is no doubt"; the Deputy Prime Minister Toelupe Poumulinuku Onesemo convicted of the electoral bribery in March 2026 and his Falealili 1 seat annulled, the deputy since; the fiscal state of emergency of October 2025 of the unpaid nurses and police; "God-centred" of his word and "a politician facing ten criminal charges" of the analysts'; the term to the election due by 2030 |
| The 2025 election | The snap general election of 29 August 2025, called after the Fono voted down the budget of the Fiamē minority government on 27 May 2025 by 34 to 16, a year before the term: the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Sāmoa ua Tasi of Laʻauli 40.86% and 36,708 votes, 30 seats of the 51 and 31 with the independent who joined, the two-thirds of the constitutional majority; the Human Rights Protection Party of Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi, the prime minister of 1998–2021 at 80, 36.78% and 33,040 votes, 14 seats, down from 25; the Samoa Uniting Party of Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, the prime minister of 2021–25 and the first woman, founded in June 2025 after her expulsion from FAST, 8.62% and 7,746 votes, 3 seats, her own of Lotofaga and two, the "worst" of a sitting prime minister's party, most of her ministers defeated, the SUP short of the eight seats of a recognized party; four independents; the six women of the quota; the turnout of 88.65% of the 101,981 registered after the roll was cut by a fifth; the issues of the cost of living up 30% since 2021, the welfare, the health and the Laʻauli charges; the observers of the Commonwealth and the Pacific Islands Forum; the by-elections of Vaimauga 3 of 1 May 2026 and of Safata 2 of 10 July 2026 and of Falealili 1 of the deputy's annulment; the election of 9 April 2021 of the 25–25 tie of FAST and the HRPP, the sixth woman seat and the crisis |
| Parliament | The Legislative Assembly — the Fono Aoao Faitulafono — of the 51 members elected for five years from the 51 constituencies of 2019 by first past the post among the matai title-holders who alone may stand, with the seats added for the women to reach the 10% of the amendment of 2013, up to six; the Fono building of Mulinuʻu of 2019 of the Australian gift in the shape of the fale; the Speaker Papaliʻi Liʻo Taeu Masipau of FAST since 2021 and re-elected in September 2025; FAST 31, the HRPP 14, the SUP 3, the independents; the Leader of the Opposition Tuilaʻepa of the HRPP, the prime minister of 22 years and 8 months; the anti-hopping law of 2022 that empties the seat of the member who leaves the party; the "tent" of 24 May 2021 outside the locked parliament of the FAST swearing-in the Court of Appeal upheld; the former Speaker Vaʻa Tolofuaivalelei dead in 2026 |
| The next election | The general election due by 2030, five years from the Fono's first sitting of September 2025; the head of state's election of 2027 by the Fono; the by-elections of the annulments; the village fono of the matai every day |
| The crisis of 2021 and the split of 2025 | The four decades of the Human Rights Protection Party of 1982 to 2021 of Tofilau Eti Alesana's and Tuilaʻepa's governments, Tuilaʻepa the prime minister of 23 November 1998 to 24 July 2021, the second-longest-serving head of government of the world at his exit, the "Christian state" of 2017, the three bills of 2020 that split the Land and Titles Court from the Supreme Court and the party, Fiamē's resignation as deputy prime minister on 11 September 2020 over them and the FAST of July 2020 of Laʻauli's chairmanship she led from March 2021; the election of 9 April 2021 of the 25–25 tie, the independent Tuala who joined FAST, the sixth woman seat the electoral commissioner added for the HRPP to make it 26–26, the second election the head of state called and the Supreme Court struck on 17 May, the parliament locked on 24 May and the swearing-in of Fiamē in the tent on the lawn, the Court of Appeal of 23 July that made FAST the government since 24 May, Tuilaʻepa's concession of 26 July after three months, Fiamē the first woman prime minister of the country and the second of the Pacific islands; the FAST government of 2021–25 of the Commonwealth summit of October 2024 and the King, the Samoa Agreement of the European Union and the 79 states signed at Apia on 15 November 2023, the measles inquiry and the dengue; the split of January 2025 of Laʻauli's charges and Fiamē's sacking of him and the three, the expulsions, the 20 of FAST against the 15 of the government and the HRPP's 18, the two no-confidence motions survived on 25 February and 6 March 2025, the budget lost on 27 May, the Samoa Uniting Party of June and the landslide of August; "a party democracy" of the NZIIA's Herr and "the era of God-centred leadership" of the victor |
| Legal system | A mixture — the English common law of the New Zealand years and the Samoan custom of the faʻamatai, the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal of the New Zealand and the Samoan judges of the Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese since 2020, the District Court of the Laʻauli trial, the Land and Titles Court of the customary titles and the land of the three bills of 2020 that made it a court of equal standing, the village fono of the by-laws and the banishments the Village Fono Act of 1990 recognizes; the death penalty abolished 2004; the homosexuality criminal by the "sodomy" of the Crimes Act of 2013 and the faʻafafine of the culture accepted; the "Christian nation" of the Constitution; the Electoral Court of the bribery of every election that annuls the seats, the deputy prime minister's of March 2026 among the many; the Laʻauli of the 100 charges of 2020 and the ten of 2025 both beaten; the "treating" of the campaigns; the Ombudsman and the Human Rights Institution; the Chinese "Coconut Cartel" of the Australian gang leader Lorenzo Lemalu killed at Ho Chi Minh City by two Samoans in May 2026 the crime of the year |
| Local government | None of the elected — the village fono of the matai of the 330 villages, the government of the ground of the by-laws, the fines of the pigs and the fine mats, the curfews of the Sa and the church, the banishment of the worst the Constitution's courts have limited; the pulenuʻu, the village mayors, of the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development; the 11 districts of the tradition; the Apia Urban Area of no council and the Planning and Urban Management Agency; the "Samoa Umbrella for Non-Governmental Organisations"; the "Land and Titles" of the disputes |
| Defense | No army — the Samoa Police Service of 700 of the Ministry of Police, the Maritime Wing of the patrol boat Nafanua III of the Australian Pacific Patrol Boat Program of 2019 and the Nafanua II run aground in 2021, the Police Band of the parades of the Beach Road; the treaty of friendship with New Zealand of 1 August 1962 of the defense and the foreign affairs New Zealand once conducted; the Australian and the New Zealand navies of the search and the rescue and the Manawanui that sank; the Chinese police training of the quarrel; the Samoans of the New Zealand and the Australian armies and the Marines; the prime minister the minister of police |
| Foreign policy | New Zealand of the 1962 treaty, the quota, the 180,000 and the apology of 2002 for the influenza and the Mau, the Manawanui of 2024; Australia of the aid, the largest, the patrol boat and the Fono building; China of the roads, the Faleolo terminal, the loans of 40% of the debt, the aquatic center of the Pacific Games, the "comprehensive strategic partnership" of 2018 and the police cooperation the West watches, the Fiamē government's "no Chinese port" of 2021 of the Vaiusu wharf canceled; the United States of American Samoa next door, the Peace Corps and the tuna; Japan of the aid and the market; the Pacific Islands Forum of Suva of which Samoa is a founder of 1971 and the chair of 2024; the Commonwealth of 1970 and the summit of Apia of 21–26 October 2024 of the King's first Pacific visit and the reparations debate; the European Union of the Samoa Agreement of 15 November 2023 of the 106 states' twenty-year treaty; the climate of the "1.5" and the small islands' fight, the "Blue Pacific"; Taiwan not recognized since 1975 |
| United Nations | Member since 15 December 1976, the trusteeship of 1946–62 of New Zealand the last of the Pacific; the Alliance of Small Island States; the small island states' conference of Apia of 2014, the third of the "SIDS"; the UNESCO of no site; the climate of the "sinking" the highlands spare; the peacekeepers of none; the Samoa Agreement of the name |
| Other memberships | The Pacific Islands Forum (1971), a founder, the chair of 2024–25; the Commonwealth (1970), the summit of 2024; the Pacific Community; the Polynesian Leaders Group (2011), a founder; the WTO (2012); the Asian Development Bank; the Alliance of Small Island States; the Non-Aligned Movement; the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States of the Samoa Agreement; the World Rugby and the Pacific Games Council; the treaty of friendship with New Zealand (1962) |
Economy
| GDP (nominal) | About US$1.0 billion (2025, IMF) — the tala economy of the remittances and the aid |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita | About US$4,700 (2025) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | About US$7,000 (2025) |
| GDP growth | About 9.2% in the fiscal year of 2024 of the tourism's return and the Commonwealth summit's building, about 5% in 2025 and about 3.5% expected in 2026, the fiscal crisis of October 2025 of the government "out of money" and the state of emergency of the unpaid nurses and police the new government's inheritance; inflation about 4% after the 12% of 2023, the prices up 30% since 2021 of the campaign's anger; the tala steady at 2.8; the public debt about 35% of GDP of which the Chinese loans of the roads, the terminal and the hospital are 40%; unemployment about 9% and the "subsistence" of the villages; the remittances of a third of the economy the anchor |
| Economy by sector | Services about 65%, the government, the tourism, the trade, the transport and the remittance economy; industry about 25%, the construction of the aid projects, the brewery, the coconut oil, the food and the "Yazaki" of the past; agriculture and fishing about 10% of the taro, the coconuts, the bananas, the cocoa, the nonu and the fish of the subsistence of two-thirds of the households |
| Currency | Tala (WST) |
| Remittances, aid and the diaspora | The remittances of about US$250 million a year, a third of GDP, the highest share of any Pacific state, from the Samoans of New Zealand, Australia and the United States for the "faʻalavelave" of the families and the churches, the money of the Western Union and the Digicel of the villages; the aid of about US$100 million a year of Australia, the largest, New Zealand, China, Japan, the European Union and the Asian Development Bank, the projects of the roads, the airport, the Fono and the hospital, the "aid dependence" of the fifth of the budget; the seasonal workers of the New Zealand RSE and the Australian PALM schemes of the 5,000 a year of the orchards and the abattoirs of the "new remittances"; the Samoan Quota; the Pacific Games and the CHOGM of the building booms |
| Tourism | About 200,000 visitors of 2024 of the record, the recovery from the closure of 2020–22, the New Zealanders of the half of the "VFR" of the family visits, the Australians, the American Samoans of the shopping, the Americans; the beach fales of Lalomanu and the south coast of the US$30 a night, the resorts of the Sheraton Aggie Grey's of the hotel of 1933 of the "Aggie" of the Bloody Mary legend, the Taumeasina, the Return to Paradise of the Gary Cooper film of 1953, the Sinalei and the Coconuts of the south, the Le Lagoto and the Amoa of Savaiʻi; the To Sua trench, the Papaseea rocks, the Falealupo canopy, the Stevenson museum of Vailima, the lava fields, the Palolo Deep; the tourism of a fifth of GDP and the largest earner; the cruise ships of the few of Apia; the Teuila Festival |
| Farms, fish and the factories | The taro of the every plantation of the "talo" of the feast and the export to the Samoans of New Zealand, the leaf blight of 1993 that destroyed the crop and the new varieties; the coconuts of the copra, the oil and the cream of the 30% of the land, the "Samoa" of the Pacific's coconut; the bananas, the breadfruit, the cocoa of the koko Sāmoa and the export to the chocolate makers, the nonu of the juice of the Japanese and the Chinese markets of the prime minister's firm; the pigs and the chickens of the villages; the fish of the tuna longliners of the Apia fleet and the reef of the subsistence, the canning of the American Samoa next door; the Vailima brewery of 1978 of the Samoa Breweries of the Coca-Cola, the Yazaki automotive-harness plant of Vaitele of 1991 that employed 2,000 and closed in 2017 for Australia's car industry's end, the coconut oil of the Samoa Coconut Products, the "Made in Samoa" of the Frankie's supermarket chain and the Ah Liki |
| Trade and the money | Exports of about US$50 million — the coconut oil and the cream, the fish, the taro, the nonu juice, the beer, the cocoa — to American Samoa of the neighbor, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Japan and Tokelau; imports of about US$500 million of the food, the fuel, the machinery, the vehicles and the building materials of the aid from New Zealand at 25%, Singapore of the fuel, China, the United States, Australia and Fiji; the deficit of the tenfold the remittances, the tourism and the aid cover; the .ws domain sales of the "website"; the Samoa Agreement's market; the WTO of 2012 |
| Public finances | Public debt about 35% of GDP, the Chinese of the Exim Bank of the 40%, the World Bank and the ADB of the rest, the "debt distress" of the IMF's "high risk" of the 2010s eased by the grants; the budget of about 1.2 billion tala of the fiscal year of the June, the budget of 2025 voted down on 27 May 2025 by 34 to 16 that brought the election and the "supply" the new government passed, the state of emergency of October 2025 of the empty treasury, the government "out of money" of the unpaid public servants the RNZ reported; the VAGST of 15% of the value-added of 1994 and the income tax; the remittances untaxed; the "Samoa National Provident Fund" of the pensions; the "Church tax" of 2018 of the pastors' income that jailed the EFKS ministers; the aid of the fifth |
| Income classification | Lower-middle income (World Bank) |
Transport & infrastructure
| Airports | Faleolo International Airport, 35 km west of Apia on the north coast of Upolu, the 3,000-meter runway of the Air New Zealand, Fiji Airways, Qantas, Virgin Australia and Talofa Airways of Auckland, Sydney, Brisbane, Nadi, Honolulu and Pago Pago, about 300,000 passengers a year, the terminal of 2018 of the Chinese loan; Fagaliʻi of Apia of the American Samoa hops, closed in 2020 and reopened in 2023; the Maota and Asau airstrips of Savaiʻi; the Samoa Airways of the state of 2017, the Polynesian Airlines of 1959 renamed, of the Twin Otters of the American Samoa route and the leased 737 of the international ambition of 2017–20 that lost the millions, the "Talofa Airways" of the private; the LIAT of the region no; the Manuʻa of the American Samoa's |
|---|---|
| Ports | Apia — the Matautu wharf of the container port of the Asian Development Bank's 1990s of the ships of the Pacific Forum Line and the Matson, the cruise berth of the few, the marina; Mulifanua of the ferry terminal of the west of Upolu of the Savaiʻi crossing of 90 minutes to Salelologa of the Samoa Shipping Corporation's Lady Samoa III and the Fasefulu, the four sailings a day, the lifeline of the big island; Asau and Salelologa of Savaiʻi; the Apia harbor of the 1889 cyclone's wrecks and the Palolo Deep; the Vaiusu wharf the Chinese offered and Fiamē refused in 2021; the fautasi |
| Railways | None — never |
| Roads | About 2,340 km (1,450 mi), about 1,000 paved — the ring road of Upolu of the 180 km around the island by the coast, the cross-island road of Apia over the Le Mafa pass to the south coast of the Papapapaitai falls, the East Coast Road, the Faleolo airport road of the four lanes of the Chinese; the ring road of Savaiʻi of the 180 km of the villages of the coast; the driving on the left since 7 September 2009, the switch from the right made by the Tuilaʻepa government to let the Samoans of New Zealand and Australia send the used cars, the two-day holiday of the switch and the protests of the "People Against Switching," the first country to switch sides since the 1970s; the buses of the wooden bodies of the villages of the "Queen Poto" painted names and the music, the taxis of Apia; the road deaths of the 20 a year; the speed limit of 56 km/h of the 35 miles |
| The islands | The Savaiʻi ferry and the lava fields; the To Sua ladder; the Lalomanu fales; the Papaseea rocks; the Vailima museum and the Mount Vaea climb to Stevenson's grave of the "Requiem"; the Falealupo canopy walk and the "end of the world"; the Alofaaga blowholes and the coconuts they launch; the Manono walk of the no-cars island; the Piula cave pool; the Palolo Deep snorkel; the Teuila Festival; the Sunday toʻonaʻi of the umu; the fautasi of June |
History in dates
| c. 1000 BC | The Lapita at Mulifanua |
|---|---|
| c. 950 | The Tongans rule, to c. 1250 — the Malietoa's name |
| 1722 | Roggeveen sights the islands |
| 1768 | Bougainville — the Navigator Islands |
| 1787 | La Pérouse; the Tutuila massacre |
| 1830 | John Williams lands Christianity at Sapapaliʻi, 24 August |
| 1889 | The Apia cyclone sinks six warships, 15–16 March; the Berlin treaty, 14 June |
| 1899 | The islands divided, 2 December |
| 1900 | German Samoa, 1 March |
| 1908 | The Mau a Pule; Lauaki exiled, 1909 |
| 1914 | New Zealand takes it, 29 August |
| 1918 | The influenza of the Talune, 7 November — 8,500 dead |
| 1929 | Black Saturday, 28 December — Tamasese killed |
| 1962 | Independence, 1 January — the first of the Pacific |
| 1970 | The Commonwealth |
| 1976 | The United Nations, 15 December |
| 1978 | O Le Pupu-Puē — the first park of the South Pacific |
| 1982 | The HRPP takes power |
| 1990 | Universal suffrage, 29 October; Cyclone Ofa; Val, 1991 |
| 1997 | "Western" dropped, 4 July |
| 1998 | Tuilaʻepa, 23 November — 22 years |
| 2007 | Malietoa Tanumafili II dies, 11 May; the Pacific Games |
| 2009 | The road switch, 7 September; the tsunami, 29 September — 143 dead |
| 2011 | The date line jumped — 30 December skipped |
| 2012 | Cyclone Evan, 13 December |
| 2017 | Tuimalealiʻifano head of state, 21 July; the Christian state, June |
| 2019 | The measles, October–December — 83 dead; the Pacific Games |
| 2020 | The three bills; FAST founded, July; Fiamē resigns, 11 September |
| 2021 | The tie, 9 April; the tent, 24 May; the court, 23 July — Fiamē |
| 2023 | The Samoa Agreement, 15 November |
| 2024 | The Manawanui sinks, 5 October; the CHOGM and the King, 21–26 October |
| 2025 | Laʻauli charged, 3 January; sacked, 10 January; the budget falls, 27 May; the election, 29 August; Laʻauli, 16 September; the fiscal emergency, October |
| 2026 | The acquittal, 27 March; the deputy convicted, March; the by-elections, 1 May and 10 July; the Vietnam killing, 25 May |
Records & firsts
| The first Pacific island state to independence | 1 January 1962 |
|---|---|
| The first national park of the South Pacific | O Le Pupu-Puē, 1978 |
| The worst influenza toll of any country | 22%, 1918 |
| The last country to switch driving sides | 7 September 2009 |
| The day that never was | 30 December 2011 |
| The first to see the sunrise | Falealupo |
| The dodo's closest relative | The manumea |
| The highest remittance share of the Pacific | A third of GDP |
| The first Pacific island nation in a rugby league final | 2022 |
| The longest-serving head of state at his death | Malietoa, 45 years |
| The first Commonwealth summit of the Pacific islands | Apia, 2024 |
| The Samoa Agreement | 106 states, 2023 |
| The first woman prime minister | Fiamē, 2021 |
| The 88.65% turnout | 2025 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the official name of Samoa?
The Independent State of Samoa — Malo Saʻoloto Tutoʻatasi o Sāmoa in Samoan — the western islands of the Samoan archipelago, Upolu and Savaiʻi with Manono and Apolima, that Germany took in 1900 when the powers divided the islands, New Zealand seized in 1914 and ruled until the first independence of any Pacific island people on 1 January 1962, "Western Samoa" until the parliament dropped the "Western" on 4 July 1997 over the protest of the American Samoans to the east. The name is the islands' own, "Sāmoa" of the "sacred center" or the "place of the moa" of the readings the Samoans argue over, the "Navigator Islands" of Bougainville's 1768 for the canoes that met his ships; the state is the Malo, the country the atunuʻu, the way of life the faʻa Sāmoa.
What is the capital of Samoa?
Apia — the village on the harbor of the north coast of Upolu that became the port of the traders, the missionaries and the consuls of the 1800s, the town of the cyclone of March 1889 that sank six German and American warships in the bay and ended a war, of Robert Louis Stevenson's Vailima on the hill above where "Tusitala" died in 1894 and is buried on Mount Vaea, of the Mau march of Black Saturday 1929, of the Commonwealth summit of October 2024 that brought the king, and of the parliament of the Fono on the Mulinuʻu peninsula — about 36,000 people in the town and 80,000 in the urban area, two-fifths of the country, the Beach Road of the government buildings, the churches and the fish market, the Immaculate Conception cathedral of 2014, the Vailima brewery, the flea market and the buses of the villages. Salelologa on Savaiʻi of the ferry, Vaitele of the factories, Faleolo of the airport and the villages of the ring road follow; there is no other town.
How big is Samoa, and how many people live there?
About 2,831 km² (1,093 sq mi) — the size of Rhode Island, twice Singapore — two large volcanic islands, Savaiʻi of 1,700 km², the third-largest of Polynesia after the two of New Zealand and Hawaiʻi's Big Island, and Upolu of 1,120 km² where most people live, with Manono and Apolima in the strait between them and the Aleipata islets off the east, in the South Pacific 2,900 km northeast of Auckland and 80 km west of American Samoa across the strait. The census of 2021 counted 205,557 people and the estimate for 2026 is about 210,000, growing slowly at 0.7 percent because a nation as large again lives abroad in New Zealand, Australia and the United States — 96 percent Samoan, the largest Polynesian people after the Māori, Christian by 98 percent, and organized to the last village by the faʻamatai of the 18,000 chiefs.
What are the highest and lowest points of Samoa?
Mount Silisili, 1,858 m (6,096 ft), the summit of the shield volcano that is Savaiʻi, the highest point of the Samoan islands and of independent Polynesia outside New Zealand, the island of the lava fields of Saleaula that the eruption of Mount Matavanu of 1905 to 1911 poured over the villages and the church, of the Alofaaga blowholes and the Falealupo of the "end of the world" that became the first place on earth to see the sunrise when Samoa jumped the dateline in 2011; and the Pacific. Upolu rises to Mount Fito at 1,100 m above the rainforest of the O Le Pupu-Puē park, the first national park of the South Pacific, the To Sua ocean trench of Lotofaga that the tourists climb down a ladder into, the Papaseea sliding rocks, the crater lake of Lanotoʻo and the beaches of the south coast the tsunami of 2009 swept.
What currency does Samoa use?
The tala (ISO code WST, the symbol T or WS$), of 100 sene, the "dollar" and the "cents" in Samoan, the currency of 1967 that replaced the New Zealand pound five years after independence, issued by the Central Bank of Samoa since 1984, about 2.8 to the U.S. dollar in a managed float against the basket of New Zealand, Australia and the United States; the notes of the head of state, the Manu Samoa and the Teuila; the remittances of the New Zealand dollars the money of the villages. Clocks keep Samoa Time, UTC+13, since the country skipped the 30th of December 2011 and moved from the eastern to the western side of the date line to be a day ahead with its trading partners, the summer time abolished in 2021; Samoa drives on the left since 7 September 2009, when it switched from the right to take the cars of New Zealand and Australia, the first country to change sides in decades.
Who governs Samoa?
The O le Ao o le Malo, the head of state, Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II, one of the four paramount chiefs, elected by the parliament in 2017 and again in 2022; and Prime Minister Laʻauli Leuatea Schmidt, the businessman and chairman of the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi party, who was sacked from Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa's cabinet in January 2025 while facing ten criminal charges, expelled the prime minister from the party he chaired, brought down her budget on 27 May and won the snap election of 29 August 2025 with thirty of the fifty-one seats, the "era of God-centred leadership," sworn on 16 September 2025 as police minister too, and acquitted of every charge on 27 March 2026 by a court his opponents are trying to take to appeal. Fiamē, the first woman prime minister of the country, sits with three seats and the Human Rights Protection Party of Tuilaʻepa's 22 years with fourteen; the deputy prime minister was convicted of bribery in March and lost his seat. The next election is due by 2030.
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