Samoa
Settled as early as 1000 B. C., Samoa was "discovered" by European explorers in the 18th century. It is is made up of nine volcanic islands, two of which - Savai'i and Upolu - comprise more than 99% of the land. International rivalries were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year. The Independent State of Samoa, known as Western Samoa until 1997, was governed by New Zealand until its people voted for independence in 1961.
Samoa has the world's second-largest Polynesian group, after the Maori. Its deeply conservative and devoutly Christian society is based on the extended family, which is headed by an elected chief who directs the family's social, economic and political affairs, and the church, which is a focus of recreational and social life. Many Samoan villages hold up to 20 minutes of prayer in the evenings.
Samoa's economy revolves around fishing and agriculture, which is vulnerable to cyclones and disease. Attempts at diversification are meeting with success. Tourism is growing, while offshore banking spearheads an expanding services sector. Light manufacturing is expanding and has attracted foreign investment. Despite this, many younger Samoans are leaving for New Zealand, the US and American Samoa. Money sent home by Samoans living abroad can be a key source of household income.
Prime Minister Tuila'epa's ruling Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) gained a landslide victory in parliamentary polls in April 2006, heralding a third term for the premier. Tuila'epa became prime minister in 1998 when his predecessor, Tofilau Eti Alesana, resigned on health grounds after 16 years in the job. He won a second term in 2001. All but two of the seats in the Fono (Samoa's 49-seat assembly) are reserved for ethnic Samoans and only the heads of extended families, known as "matai", may stand for election to them. The Fono selects the prime minister.
There are currently no known threats to expatriate travelers or residents in Samoa.
Australia announced in 2004 that it had given Samoa $7m to help train its security forces as part of a strategy to keep terror out of the Pacific Islands.
