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Official Name - The Independent State of Samoa
Land Area -
2,820 sq km on two main islands of Upolu and Savai’i and seven small islands
Population -
180,741 (2006 census)
Capital City - Apia
Religions -
Mostly Christian: 35% of the population affiliate to the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa, while the Roman Catholic, Methodist, and Latter-Day Saints Churches account for around 20%, 15%, and 13% of the population, respectively (2001 census)
Official Languages - Samoan, English
Currency - Samoan Tala SAT$ (or Samoan dollar) = 100 sene (cents)
Exchange rate -
SAT$1.85 = NZ$1
EEZ -
98,500 sq km
Political System -
Parliamentary democracy with a Westminster-style Cabinet government
National government -
The Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) holds 36 of the 49 seats in the Fono
National legislature -
Unicameral, 49-member Fono: 47 members are elected by all Samoans aged 21 or over to represent 41 constituencies, while the remaining two are elected from the electoral rolls made up of voters with no village affiliation. The Fono sits for five-year terms.
Last election -
4 March 2011 (legislature); 15 June 2007 (Head of State)
Next election -
March 2016 (legislature); 2012 (Head of State)
Head of State - His Highness Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi; elected 18 June 2007 following the death of Malietoa Tanumafili II. The Head of State is elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve a five-year term (no term limits).
Head of Government - Prime Minister Hon Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Neioti Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi. Prime Minister Tuilaepa is also responsible for Foreign Affairs, Tourism, Immigration, and the Office of Attorney General.
Council Of Deputies -
Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa II
Key Ministers -
Fonotoe Nuafesili Pierre Lauofo
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Labour
Le Mamea Ropati
Minister of Agriculture
Tuisugaletaua Sofara Aveau
Minister of Communications and Information Technology
Magele Mauiliu Magele
Minister of Education, Sports and Culture
Faumuina Tiatia Liuga
Minister of Finance
Tuitama Dr Leau Talalelei Tuitama
Minister of Health
Fiame Naomi Mataafa
Minister of Justice and Courts Administration
Fa’amoetauloa Ulaitino Fa’ale Tuma’ali’i
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment
Sala Fata Pinati
Minister of Police, Prison and Fire Servives
Tuiloma Pule Lameko
Minister of Revenue
Tolofuaivalelei Falemoe Leiataua
Minister of Women, Community and Social Development
Manu’alesagalala Enokati Posala
Minister of Works, Transport and Infrastructure
Key Opposition MPs -
The Tautua Samoa Party is the recognised Opposition. It holds 13 seats of the 49-seat Fono. Palusalue Fa’apo II, MP, Leader TSP.
Main political parties - Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), Tautua Samoa Party (TSP).
GDP -
SAT$1.48 billion
GDP breakdown - Goods: 24.7%, Services:
75.3%
GDP per capita - SAT$8,178
Real GDP growth - -1.7%
Exports -
SAT$30.4 million
Main exports -
Fish; coconut oil and cream; copra; automotive parts (re-exports, not included in exports figure above); taro; beer; nonu fruit products.
Imports -SAT$410.2 million
Main imports -
Machinery and equipment; industrial supplies; foodstuffs
Tourism -SAT$297.4 million; 20.1% of GDP
Remittances - SAT$348.4 million; 23.6% of GDP
New Zealand’s ODA Contribution - NZ$22 million, made up of the NZ$17m bilateral allocation plus approximately NZ$5 million delivered to Samoa via New Zealand’s support for regional initiatives. Agreed priorities under the NZ – Samoa Joint Commitment for Development are tourism, private sector development, renewable energy, agriculture, basic education, health, scholarships and training.
Government operating budget - SAT$714 million in 2011/12 (forecast)
Current account (net)-
Surplus SAT$3.8 million
Inflation -
3.25% (forecast 2011/12)
Gross external debt -
SAT$576.5 million; 40.3% of GDP
NZ Exports (FOB) -
NZ$124 million
Main Exports -
Motor vehicles; construction materials and machinery; sheep meat; dairy products
NZ Imports (CIF) -
NZ$2.5 million
Main Imports -
Prepared unrecorded media (phone cards); prepared foods (coconut cream); scrap metal; other coconut products (copra, drinking nuts); non-wheat flour
Migrants from Southeast Asia and Melanesia are believed to have arrived in the Samoan islands over 2,000 years ago and from there settled the rest of Polynesia further to the east. Samoa’s pre-European history was interwoven with chiefdoms of Fiji and the kingdom of Tonga, with archaeological records supporting indigenous genealogies and oral tradition telling of interisland voyaging and intermarriage.
The first major European settlements occurred in the 1830s for missionary work and trade, and in 1899 Samoa became a German colony. New Zealand assumed control of Samoa following the outbreak of World War One and the islands became a mandated territory of New Zealand under the auspices of the League of Nations. Between the Wars there was considerable agitation for the removal of foreign control over Samoan affairs. After World War Two, Samoa was administered by New Zealand as a United Nations trust territory and measures were gradually introduced to prepare for self-government. In 1962 Samoa became the first Pacific Island country to gain independence. With effect from 4 July 1997, a constitutional amendment changed the name of the country from Western Samoa to the Independent State of Samoa (or Samoa).
In June 2007, His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi was appointed Head of State for a five-year term. This followed the death in May of His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II, who had been appointed Head of State for life under the 1962 Constitution.
The government is a parliamentary democracy with a parliamentary term of five years. The Prime Minister, who is chosen by Parliament and appointed by the Head of State, leads a Cabinet of twelve members. The governing Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) is dominant in Samoan politics. It came to office in 1982, led then by the late Hon Tofilau Eti Alesana. The HRPP was re-elected in 1988, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, and most recently in March 2011, when it was returned to power. It currently holds 36 of the 49 parliamentary seats. Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi has been Prime Minister since November 1998, when Tofilau resigned due to failing health.
Tofilau’s period in office was associated with significant constitutional reform. Universal suffrage was introduced with the 1991 elections. Before that, all but two of the seats could be voted for solely by matai (chiefs). The two remaining members were elected on the basis of universal suffrage by citizens with no village affiliation. Candidates for election to Parliament must still hold matai titles. An exception from the matai requirement for the “Individual Voters” seats was removed in 2011).
The Tautua Samoa Party (TSP) is the formal opposition party in Parliament led by Palusalue Fa’apo II. In April 2008, two HRPP members resigned to become independents. They banded together with other independents to form a new political party, the TSP. The TSP won 13 seats in the 2011 general election, but then leader Va’ai Papu Vailupe subsequently lost his seat after an election petition hearing ruled him guilty of bribery and treating. The HRPP regained Va’ai’s seat in the subsequent by-election in July 2011.
Samoa is a small, fairly liberalised economy, with a GDP of around NZ$845 million (to the end of 2010). It is reliant on foreign imports and has a large trade deficit. The economy is largely driven by tourism (20-25 per cent of GDP), remittances (25 per cent of GDP), and foreign aid. Samoa is one of the highest recipients of remittances in the world as a proportion of GDP. This is a by-product of large expatriate Samoan communities in New Zealand, American Samoa, the United States and Australia, who retain strong links with their relatives back in Samoa. Fisheries, construction and, to a lesser extent, agriculture and small-scale manufacturing also contribute to GDP. Samoa’s exports consist mainly of fish, coconut products, beer, automotive parts (as re-exports from the Yazaki wire harness factory), nonu fruit products and taro. The increasing cost of fuel has also created challenges.
The most recent Budget was delivered on 31 May 2011. Key points were the expected return to economic growth (3 per cent in the year to June 2011) after two years of contraction, a reduction of ST$40m per annum in concessional borrowing, heavy emphasis on health and education (two areas of long-term development engagement by New Zealand) and significant investments in national broadband and the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa. The latter investments reflect Samoa’s determination to invest in the infrastructure for a knowledge-based economy before it graduates from Least Developed Country status in 2014.
Samoa’s economy remains highly vulnerable to fiscal shocks and natural disasters. For example, cyclones in 1990 and 1991, combined with taro blight, caused severe economic setbacks. The devastating tsunami which struck Samoa on 29 September 2009 killed 143 people (including several New Zealand tourists) and wiped out large stretches of the south and south-east coasts on the main island of Upolu. Tourism was particularly badly hit by the tsunami, which damaged or destroyed around 25% of Samoa’s tourist accommodation stock, including several high-end resorts in one of the most scenic parts of the country.
The fiscal cost of tsunami rehabilitation alone was estimated at between 15 per cent and 18 per cent of GDP and Samoa looked to its development partners to help fund the reconstruction. New Zealand contributed some NZ$10m in tsunami-related assistance (principally dedicated to tourism and housing reconstruction), in addition to the emergency assistance provided in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami. This tragic event brought into stark relief Samoa’s increasing dependence on tourism and this sector’s vulnerability given the country’s largely coastal infrastructure. Samoa also sought to bridge the gap in its public finances with increased resort to concessionary finance from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. This borrowing has increased its overall level of indebtedness, although it remains at what is regarded as a sustainable level.
Only around 12 per cent of Samoa’s total population is engaged in formal paid employment. Two-thirds of the potential labour force is absorbed by subsistence village agriculture, a dominant sector in the Samoan economy. Private sector growth is constrained by a narrow resource base, limited infrastructure, isolation, dependence on fuel imports, lack of skilled labour and a small domestic market.
Employment has been affected by a downturn in the manufacturing sector and a reduction of the operations of Samoa’s single largest private employer, Yazaki (a Japanese firm which produces wire harnesses for motor vehicles for export to Australia). Yazaki employs approx 1,000 employees, down from a high of 2000, due to reduced orders from Australia and the depression of global production caused by the earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan in March. Unemployment figures were exacerbated by the closure and down-sizing respectively of two fish canneries in American Samoa, following the gradual implementation of US Federal minimum wages there since 2007. A reversal of this policy saw one cannery re-open. Many of the canneries’ 2,000 employees were from (Western) Samoa.
The current framework for economic and social development is the Strategy for the Development of Samoa (SDS) 2008-2012. The SDS identifies seven key development priorities: 1) sustained macroeconomic stability; 2) private sector-led economic growth and employment creation; 3) improved education outcomes; 4) improved health outcomes; 5) community development including improved village governance; 6) improved public sector governance; and 7) environmental sustainability and disaster risk reduction.
Samoa is an active member of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), which is based in Samoa. Pacific regional offices for the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Educations, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), and the World Health Organisation (WHO) are located in Apia. Samoa is a member of the Commonwealth and became the 155th member of the World Trade Organization in May 2012.
Samoa’s membership of other international organisations includes the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific group (ACP), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), Group of 77 (G-77), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement (Sparteca), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), World Bank, and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
Samoa has supplied a small group of police for the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) since the inception of the mission in July 2003. It also has police deployed on peacekeeping operations in East Timor, Liberia and Sudan.
The special relationship between New Zealand and Samoa is underpinned by the 1962 Treaty of Friendship, concluded when Samoa became independent after a period of New Zealand trusteeship from 1919 to 1962. The relationship is rich and multi-stranded, with close links between New Zealand and Samoa underpinned by the large number of New Zealanders of Samoan descent or origin living in New Zealand. An estimated 131,100 Samoans now live in New Zealand, making up around 50 per cent of this country’s Pacific Island population (2006 census). The arts and culture of Samoan New Zealanders have become a distinctive voice and contributor to New Zealand society. Some thirty New Zealand government agencies have active links with Samoa.
Samoa is New Zealand’s 43rd largest export market and 92nd import. This reflects that New Zealand is not a major destination for Samoa’s products, but is Samoa’s main source of imports. Samoa has a constant trade imbalance with all countries, offset by remittances and tourism. Tourism is Samoa’s largest export, with New Zealand forming 40 per cent of its tourist market. The recent launch of the Auckland-based New Zealand Samoa Trade and Investment Commission in 2011 reflects the Samoan Government’s determination to expand and diversify its exports to New Zealand.
The Samoan Government and people responded swiftly and generously in the wake of the September 2010 Canterbury Earthquake, the October 2010 Pike River Mine disaster and the devastating February 2011 Christchurch Earthquake. This underscored the solidarity and reciprocal support between the two countries in times of trouble, as well as the close emotional ties.
The strength and quality of New Zealand’s relationship with Samoa was epitomised by the tremendous response by the New Zealand Government and people to the deadly tsunami that struck Samoa on 29 September 2009. On learning of the tsunami, the New Zealand Government pledged NZ$2m to the immediate disaster relief effort, as well as mobilising emergency personnel, substantial quantities of relief supplies and facilitating the transportation of supplies provided by international aid agencies.
The New Zealand Defence Force deployed air and naval assets and some 150 personnel from all three services to provide a wide range of assistance including:
The New Zealand Police provided essential radio communications equipment to the Samoan Police, and deployed specialist search staff, disaster victim identification experts, search dogs and handlers and radio technicians to assist.
New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management personnel supported Samoa’s Disaster Management Office, which had overall responsibility for co-ordinating the response and distributing relief supplies.
The New Zealand Ministry of Health sent over 2.5 tonnes of medical supplies and co-ordinated the deployment of specialist surgical teams to assist Samoa’s National Health Service to provide care to tsunami casualties. Mobile teams, including GPs, nurses and psychologists, were sent to the affected areas perform assessments and treat displaced people. Public health advisers (including an infectious disease specialist) supported the Samoan Ministry of Health. Psychosocial support and supervision have since been provided to front-line responders, while some US$3m of funding for the Samoan health sector (to which New Zealand contributes) has been reoriented to sustain the response to both ongoing health needs in disaster-affected areas and address systemic issues exposed by the scale of response required.
In addition to these official contributions, many thousands of New Zealanders donated money and goods to various relief efforts, and have subsequently volunteered their time and skills in the rebuilding of fales and community buildings lost in the tsunami.
New Zealand-Samoa air services are governed by the Multilateral Agreement on the Liberalisation of International Air Transportation (MALIAT), of which Samoa became the first non-APEC member in November 2002.
In 2005, Polynesian Blue (a joint venture between Pacific Blue and the international arm of the Samoan government-owned Polynesian Airlines) was formed. To date, the venture has adjusted well to the new competitive environment. Samoa’s decision to enter the joint venture arrangement for international air services was a bold decision to reform its national carrier in the interests of growing inbound tourism and avoiding future calls on the public purse. Some of the gains in the tourism sector can reasonably be attributed to the joint venture airline.
Although agriculture remains an important subsistence activity in Samoa, particularly in the villages, it contributes only minimally to foreign exchange receipts. Coconut products, cocoa, kava, taro and nonu are exported. By far the largest commodity export earner, however, is fish, at around 55 per cent of total exports by value (exports from the Yazaki Factory being classed as re-exports and are not included on the official statistics).
The appointment of a dedicated Pacific plant products advisor in MAF Biosecurity is proving effective in assisting Pacific island countries to meet New Zealand’s phytosanitary requirements. More recently, Samoa has experienced some success in the export of higher value products, most notably virgin coconut oil – a trade forged by local, New Zealand-funded organisation Women in Business Development Inc. supplying The Body Shop – and by pursuing organic and fair-trade premium markets.
Samoa has no standing army. Responsibility for security rests with the Samoan Police. New Zealand’s relationship with Samoa in this area remains close. Visits by Royal New Zealand Air Force and Royal New Zealand Navy assets are common.
Through NZDF’s Mutual Assistance Programme (MAP), New Zealand has provided training for the Samoan Police, including in preparation for deployments of Samoan civilian police officers to the United Nations in East Timor. The last MAP talks were held in January 2011. Other defence cooperation includes maritime surveillance flights by RNZAF aircraft over Samoa’s EEZ (sometimes with Samoan officials on board
Samoa’s education system comprises an eight-year primary and five-year secondary programme. Education is not compulsory for children over 14. Literacy rates are high compared to other developing countries, and figures show a 65 per cent participation rate for 15 to 19 year olds at secondary school. Pre-school education is informal, largely organised at the village level. Samoa Polytechnic and the National University of Samoa offer tertiary studies, and the University of the South Pacific’s School of Agriculture is also located in Apia.
New Zealand provides substantial assistance to support basic education in Samoa and scholarships for tertiary study in New Zealand (45) and the region (8). Vocational and workforce training is also supported through the Short-Term Training Awards (for study in New Zealand) and the Samoa In-Country Training Programme. In 2010, New Zealand and Australia jointly funded a major new initiative providing school fee grants to state, mission, and special education schools that removed the need for families to pay school fees. The scheme evolved as a response to the economic pressure on families from the Global Economic Crisis but has been taken on as a long term policy by the Samoan Government, and aims also to strengthen education standards in schools. Funding for this initiative has been extended for a further year.
The New Zealand Police and Samoa Police and Prison Service have shared a long and close association. There is active cooperation between the two services in both the bilateral and regional contexts. A revised and updated co-operative Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the two Police Commissioners in Wellington in August 2010. One of the outcomes of the MOU is to develop a joint plan of action for collaborative activities between the two services over a twelve to twenty-four month period. New Zealand Police currently supports Samoa’s Domestic Violence Unit and have provided training in prosecutions and maintaining public order and Samoa’s canine unit. In September 2009 a New Zealand Police Liaison Officer position was established within the New Zealand High Commission in Apia with responsibility for the south and south-west Pacific.
Immigration is an important element of the bilateral relationship. Under the 1982 Protocol to the Treaty of Friendship, New Zealand has a specific obligation to consult Samoa on immigration (and citizenship) matters affecting Samoa. A special immigration quota introduced in 1970 by the New Zealand Government annually permits up to 1,100 Samoans to be granted New Zealand permanent residence, in addition to those entering New Zealand under normal immigration arrangements.
Samoa was one of the first five Pacific Island countries to receive facilitated support for participation in the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme. The RSE allows workers to come to New Zealand for up to seven months to work in the horticulture and viticulture sectors. All Forum Island countries, apart from Fiji, are eligible under the scheme, but New Zealand has worked intensively with five to help kick-start the policy. In the 12 months to 30 June 2011, 1,038 Samoans had been to New Zealand under the RSE scheme.
Samoa’s development progress is reflected in GDP growth and increasing average incomes over the last twenty years, and progress in indicators such as primary school enrolment and child mortality. Samoa ranks first in the region for government effectiveness and has strong leadership of development priorities through its Samoa Development Strategy. Challenges include aid reliance and lack of employment opportunities, variable quality of government services, and looming issues of non-communicable diseases and evidence of stalled progress in education e.g. literacy.
Samoa was affected by the food and fuel crisis, the global economic crisis, and the 2009 Pacific tsunami. After a decade of steady economic growth, these factors led to two years of economic contraction which affected livelihoods and public finances. Samoa has increased its reliance on donor grants and concessionary loans to bridge the resulting budget deficit, maintain services and help finance the large tsunami recovery programme. While the economy is now slowly recovering, an increasing proportion of the population lives below the basic needs poverty line, up to 30 per cent in some areas. Inequality has increased.
With development assistance constituting 15 per cent of GDP, a number of donors are active in Samoa, including Australia, EU, China and New Zealand. The multi-donor environment is well coordinated by the Samoan Aid Coordination Unit in the Ministry of Finance. This has led to a number of multi-donor, multi-year sector wide programmes (SWAPs) of which New Zealand is committed to support Health and Education.
New Zealand and Samoa recently agreed a new Joint Commitment for Development reflecting an increased focus on sustainable economic development, including through tourism, private sector enabling environment, infrastructure, agriculture and energy. It also seeks to respond to Samoa’s request for budget support, possibly for education, in return for better results.
New Zealand’s major activities for 2011/12 are:
Tourism, although highly vulnerable to natural disasters, has developed into Samoa’s top foreign exchange earner (excluding remittances) – and not without justification. Samoa’s natural advantages of sun, scenery, and culture have drawn unprecedented numbers of tourists making the most of cheaper flights offered by both Polynesian Blue and Air New Zealand. New Zealanders comprising around 40 per cent of all tourist arrivals.
There are regular Ministerial visits in both directions.
The Safe Travel website provides a travel advisory for travellers to Samoa [external link].
