Samoa is an independent island nation in the southern Pacific Ocean, located about 2900 km north east of New Zealand. It occupies the large western portion of the 480 km long Samoan archipelago that is divided at longitude 171? west; the Samoan islands east of this line form American Samoa. Known for many years as Western Samoa, the country west of this line changed its official name to Samoa in 1997.

Samoa is made up of nine islands with a total land area of 2,831 sq km. The two largest islands, Savai?i and Upolu, comprise more than 99 percent of the land. They are of volcanic origin and their mountainous interiors are covered with dense rain forests that contain valuable hardwood trees. The surrounding landscape consists of fertile plateaus and coastal plains with numerous rivers and streams.

The climate is tropical with high temperatures and humidity. Apia, which lies on the northern coast of Upolu, has an average daily temperature range of 21? to 31?C with little seasonal variation, and an average annual precipitation of 2,850 mm. Most rainfall occurs on the windward southern sides of the islands, where the annual precipitation can range from 5,080 mm to 7,110 mm. The heaviest rainfall occurs between the months of November and April, and cyclones, which are relatively frequent, are most likely to occur during these same months.

The population of Samoa is 178,173 giving the country an overall population density of 63 persons per sq km. The population is unevenly distributed, however, and about twothirds

of the people live on Upolu, primarily in oceanside villages of less than 500 people. Apia, with a

population of 38,000 is the only urban area. More than 90 percent of the population are Samoans, a Polynesian people. English and Samoan are the official languages, although Samoan is preferred. English is normally only used in business and government. Education, which is

provided by the government and church-sponsored schools, is not free but it is compulsory between the ages of 5 and 14. Primary school attendance is nearly universal, while 76 percent of secondary school-aged children are enrolled. Samoa?s adult literacy rate is 100 percent. The

National University of Samoa (founded in 1988) and the University of the South Pacific School of Agriculture (1977) are in Apia.

Religion is one of the most important aspects of Samoan culture, to the extent that it is incorporated in Samoa?s motto: "Samoa is founded on God". More than 99 percent of Samoans are Christians, with about 60 percent of the people belonging to Protestant denominations while Catholics make up the next largest Christian group.

Religion dominates much of Samoan life. Almost everyone wears white clothing on Sundays in observance of the Christian day of rest. Many villages have a 10- to 20-minute evening prayer curfew and churches organize recreational and social opportunities for their members.

Samoa is governed under a 1962 constitution. The country has an elected legislative assembly, called the Fono , that consists of 47 matai and two members representing the non-Samoan community. All citizens aged 21 and over are eligible to vote. Actual executive power is vested in the head of government, a prime minister who is selected by the Fono from among its members. The judiciary is independent of both executive and legislative branches and includes the Supreme Court and lower courts. The head of state appoints the chief justice. On the local village scene people are conservative and take pride in maintaining fa?a Samoa (the Samoan way of life). These traditions include preserving the role of the matai, a leader chosen to head an aiga (extended family of generally 20 to 30 members). The matai , who is usually a man, directs the extended family?s economic, social, and political affairs.

The islands of Samoa were first settled about 3,000 years ago, after a very gradual migration eastwards into the Pacific from people originating in South East Asia. Samoa, it seems, was the "cradle" of the Polynesian culture, and archaeological evidence suggests settlers from Samoa then spread to the other islands of Polynesia including Hawaii, Tahiti and New Zealand. Archaeologists have pondered for decades over the origin, purpose and use of the many prehistoric structures that are scattered over the islands. Many have been lost under centuries of dense jungle growth but many are still visible today and none is more impressive than the Tia Seu Ancient Mound on Savaii which is believed to be the largest prehistoric man-made monument in the Pacific.

Dutchman, Jacob Roggeveen, was the first European to sight the islands, in 1722. Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, a French explorer, named the islands the Navigator Islands in 1768, after encountering Samoans in ocean-going canoes. However, little was known of Samoa until after the arrival of the London Missionary Society in 1830. Toward the end of the 19 ^th century, Germany, Britain, and the United States competed for influence in Samoa. In 1899 treaties among the three powers resulted in Germany annexing Western Samoa (now called Samoa), the eastern part of the archipelago becoming American Samoa, and Britain withdrawing its claim to the islands.

The German era was marked by commercial development, but it was brief. At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, New Zealand occupied Western Samoa; after the war the League of Nations gave New Zealand a mandate to administer the islands. In 1962 Western Samoa became the first nation in the Pacific Islands to become an independent state. A Treaty of Friendship signed with New Zealand in the same year guarantees a high degree of cooperation and association, but New Zealand has no special responsibilities for the islands? affairs. Western Samoa changed its name to Samoa in 1997.