The Independent State of Samoa (formerly known as Western Samoa) is located south of the equator, in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand.
Samoa consists of two main islands Upolu and Savai’i and seven smaller islets.
Upolu is where Samoa’s capital city Apia is located and home to nearly three-quarters of Samoa’s total population.
The Lapita people discovered and settled the Samoan Islands around 3,500 years ago. They developed a unique Samoan language and Samoan cultural identity. Samoans consists of about 92.6 per cent of the total population.
The Samoans are the second-largest branch of the Polynesians, a people occupying the scattered islands of the Pacific from Hawaii to New Zealand and from eastern Fiji to Easter Island.
Most of the remaining Samoans are of mixed Samoan and European or Asian descent.
The Independent State of Samoa’s currency is Tala. Samoan and English are the official languages.