Samoa (Independent State of Samoa)

Samoa Independent State of Samoa
Status	Independent State
Social and Moral Index	102nd best
Capital	Apia
Land Area	2 830km21
Location	Australasia, Polynesia
Groupings	Small Islands
Population	0.2m (2011)2
Life Expectancy	73.67yrs (2017)3
GNI	$5 372 (2017)4
ISO3166-1 Codes	WS, WSM, 8825
Internet Domain	.ws6
Currency	Tala (WST)7
Telephone	+6858

1. Overview
2. Samoa National and Social Development
3. Population and Demographics
4. Gender Equality
5. Religion and Beliefs
6. The Internet
7. Public Health Issues
8. Politics and Freedom
9. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries
10. Links

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1. Overview

“New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997.”

CIA's The World Factbook (2013)₉

“Anchored at the heart of Polynesia, Samoa rises languidly from the sea, draped in jungle, dotted with flower-filled villages and surrounded by iridescent lagoons. This tiny nation´s proud history spans more than 3000 years and its people were the first Polynesians to reclaim independence following European colonisation. As such, Samoans have firmly held on to their customs.

Village life is still the norm here, and traditional governance and communal ownership carry much legal weight. The result is sweet, safe and gentle; a trip to Samoa is like sipping the world´s purest water on a warm day.

If your ideal for a South Pacific holiday involves spa treatments and jet skis, Samoa may not be for you. What Samoa excels in is affordable, unpretentious beachside accommodation, friendly people and a peace and quiet rare in this world.

It´s easy to get around, everyone speaks English and political stability is almost guaranteed.”

"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₁₀

2. Samoa National and Social Development

UN HDI (2016)11
Pos.		Lower is better Rank11
1	Norway	1
2	Australia	2
3	Switzerland	2
	...
101	Tonga	101
102	Libya	102
103	Belize	103
104	Samoa	104
105	Maldives	105
106	Uzbekistan	105
107	Moldova	107
108	Botswana	108
	World Avg	94.3
q=188.

Social & Moral Development Index12
Pos.		Higher is better Points12
1	Iceland	84.3
2	Sweden	81.7
3	Norway	80.9
	...
99	Dominica	52.2
100	Guatemala	52.1
101	Oman	52.0
102	Samoa	51.8
103	Bolivia	51.7
104	Belarus	51.5
105	Ukraine	51.5
106	Thailand	51.4
	World Avg	53.8
q=198.

The United Nations produces an annual Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index. The factors taken into account include life expectancy, education and schooling and Gross National Income (GNI) amongst many others..

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life.

3. Population and Demographics

Old-Age Dependency Ratio (2016)13
Pos.		Lower is better Per 10013
1	Uganda	04.3
2	Mali	04.5
3	Chad	04.7
	...
90	Nicaragua	13.1
91	Paraguay	13.2
92	Iran	13.4
93	Samoa	13.7
94	Algeria	14.0
95	Malaysia	14.5
96	Guyana	15.0
97	Fiji	15.3
	World Avg	18.3
q=185.

Emigrants (2010)14
Pos.		%14
1	Dominica	104.8
2	Palestine	68.4
3	Samoa	67.3
4	Grenada	65.5
5	St Kitts & Nevis	61.1
6	Guyana	56.9
7	Monaco	56.3
8	Antigua & Barbuda	47.6
9	Tonga	45.4
10	Albania	45.4
11	Barbados	41.0
12	Suriname	39.0
	World Avg	11.5
q=192.

Fertility Rate (2013)15
Pos.		2.0 is best15
1	Korea, N.	2.00
2	Brunei	1.99
3	St Vincent & Grenadines	2.01
	...
133	Sao Tome & Principe	3.52
134	Djibouti	3.61
135	Vanuatu	3.77
136	Samoa	3.77
137	Tonga	3.81
138	Papua New Guinea	3.83
139	Guatemala	3.86
140	Togo	3.90
	World Avg	2.81
q=180.

Immigrants (2010)14
Pos.		%14
1	Qatar	86.5
2	Monaco	71.6
3	UAE	70.0
	...
75	Botswana	5.8
76	Bhutan	5.7
77	Serbia	5.3
78	Samoa	5.0
79	Rwanda	4.5
80	Czech Rep.	4.4
81	Dominican Rep.	4.2
82	Uzbekistan	4.2
	World Avg	9.2
q=192.

Life Expectancy (2015)16
Pos.		Higher is better Years16
1	Hong Kong	84.16
2	Japan	83.68
3	Italy	83.34
	...
87	Colombia	74.23
88	Jordan	74.18
89	St Kitts & Nevis	73.98
90	Samoa	73.67
91	Dominican Rep.	73.65
92	Grenada	73.56
93	Cape Verde	73.54
94	Lithuania	73.50
	World Avg	71.27
q=190.

Population (2012)17
Pos.		The Overpopulation of the Earth17
1	China	1.4b
2	India	1.3b
3	USA	315.8m
	...
173	Belize	0.3m
174	Barbados	0.3m
175	Vanuatu	0.3m
176	Samoa	0.2m
177	St Lucia	0.2m
178	Sao Tome & Principe	0.2m
179	Micronesia	0.1m
180	St Vincent & Grenadines	0.1m
	World Avg	36.0m
q=195.

Samoa's population is predicted to rise to 200 406 by 2030. This country has a fertility rate of 3.77. The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population is growing, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity, i.e., the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate, which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1.

• The Overpopulation of the Earth
• Abortion, Birth Control and Contraception: How Religion is Making Overpopulation Worse

4. Gender Equality

Gender Inequality (2015)18
Pos.		Lower is better18
1	Switzerland	0.04
2	Denmark	0.04
3	Netherlands	0.04
	...
94	Algeria	0.43
95	Botswana	0.44
96	Philippines	0.44
97	Samoa	0.44
98	Bolivia	0.45
99	Suriname	0.45
100	Panama	0.46
101	Honduras	0.46
	World Avg	0.36
q=159.

Year Women Can Vote19
Pos.		Lower is better Year19
1	New Zealand	1893
2	Australia	1902
3	Finland	1906
	...
179	Djibouti	1986
180	Central African Rep.	1986
181	Namibia	1989
182	Samoa	1990
183	Kazakhstan	1993
184	Moldova	1994
185	Oman	1994
186	Qatar	2003
	World Avg	1930
q=189.

Gender inequality is not a necessary part of early human development. Although a separation of roles is almost universal due to different strengths between the genders, this does not have to mean that women are subdued, and, such patriarchialism is not universal in ancient history. Those cultures and peoples who shed, or never developed, the idea that mankind ought to dominate womankind, are better cultures and peoples than those who, even today, cling violently to those mores.

Samoa has made some steps towards ending gender inequality but much more needs to be done.

See:

• "Religion Versus Womankind" by Vexen Crabtree (2007)

5. Religion and Beliefs

#buddhism #christianity #hinduism #islam #judaism

Data from the Pew Forum, a professional polling outfit, states that in 2010 the religious makeup of this country was as follows in the table below₂₀:

Christian	96.8%
Muslim	0.1%
Hindu	0.1%
Buddhist	0.1%
Folk Religion	0.1%
Jew	0.1%
Unaffiliated	2.5%

The CIA World Factbook has slightly different data, and states: Protestant 59.9% (Congregationalist 34.8%, Methodist 15%, Assembly of God 6.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.5%), Roman Catholic 19.6%, Mormon 12.7%, Worship Centre 1.3%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.9%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)₂₁.

Links:

• A List of All Religions and Belief Systems

6. The Internet

Internet Users (2016)22
Pos.		Higher is better22
1	Iceland	100%
2	Faroe Islands	99%
3	Norway	98%
	...
132	Vanuatu	31%
133	Syria	30%
134	Sri Lanka	29%
135	Samoa	29%
136	Ghana	28%
137	Swaziland	28%
138	Guatemala	27%
139	Sudan	26%
	World Avg	48.1%
q=201.

IPv6 Uptake (2017)23
Pos.		Higher is better Ratio23
1	Belgium	55.4
2	Germany	41.8
3	Switzerland	35.1
	...
121	Georgia	0.0
122	Swaziland	0.0
123	Mongolia	0.0
124	Samoa	0.0
125	Albania	0.0
126	Micronesia	0.0
127	Algeria	0.0
128	Djibouti	0.0
	World Avg	3.82
q=176.

Internet access has become an essential research tool. It facilitates an endless list of life improvements, from the ability to network and socialize without constraint, to access to a seemingly infinite repository of technical and procedural information on pretty much any task. The universal availability of data has sped up industrial development and personal learning at the national and personal level. Individuals can read any topic they wish regardless of the locality of expert teachers, and, entire nations can develop their technology and understanding of the world simply because they are now exposed to advanced societies and moral discourses online. Like every communications medium, the Internet has issues and causes a small range of problems, but these are insignificant compared to the advantages of having an online populace.

7. Public Health Issues

Adolescent Birth Rate (2015)18
Pos.		Lower is better Per 100018
1	Korea, N.	0.5
2	Korea, S.	1.6
3	Switzerland	2.9
	...
72	New Zealand	23.6
73	Ukraine	24.1
74	India	24.5
75	Samoa	25.0
76	Rwanda	26.3
77	Iran	26.7
78	Turkey	27.6
79	Kazakhstan	27.9
	World Avg	47.9
q=185.

Alcohol Consumption (2010)24
Pos.		Lower is better Per Capita24
1	Libya	0.1
2	Pakistan	0.1
3	Kuwait	0.1
	...
58	Nauru	3.5
59	Mauritius	3.6
60	Congo, DR	3.6
61	Samoa	3.6
62	Sri Lanka	3.7
63	Korea, N.	3.7
64	Guatemala	3.8
65	Central African Rep.	3.8
	World Avg	6.2
q=191.

Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 (2015)25
Pos.		Higher is better Avg %25
1	Hungary	99.0
2	China	99.0
3	Uzbekistan	98.9
	...
178	Iraq	70.7
179	Afghanistan	70.6
180	Niger	69.7
181	Samoa	68.1
182	Yemen	67.4
183	Papua New Guinea	66.3
184	Haiti	65.7
185	Vanuatu	65.5
	World Avg	88.3
q=194.

Smoking Rates (2014)26
Pos.		Lower is better26
1	Guinea	15
2	Solomon Islands	26
3	Kiribati	28
4	Uganda	41
5	Rwanda	53
6	Samoa	54
7	Congo, DR	74
8	Ethiopia	76
9	Vanuatu	76
10	Guyana	77
11	Suriname	79
12	Malawi	80
	World Avg	819
q=182.

8. Politics and Freedom

Nominal Commitment to HR (2009)27
Pos.		Higher is better Treaties27
1	Argentina	24
2	Chile	23
3	Costa Rica	23
	...
162	Vietnam	10
163	Vanuatu	10
164	Iraq	9
165	Samoa	9
166	Papua New Guinea	9
167	Oman	9
168	Iran	9
169	St Kitts & Nevis	9
	World Avg	15.1
q=194.

Press Freedom (2013)28
Pos.		Lower is better28
1	Finland	638
2	Netherlands	648
3	Norway	652
	...
44	Malta	2330
45	Burkina Faso	2370
46	Taiwan	2382
47	Samoa	2384
48	Haiti	2409
49	Korea, S.	2448
50	Comoros	2452
51	S. Africa	2456
	World Avg	3249
q=178.

9. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries

There isn't much information in the database for Samoa, most likely because it is either a part of another country (i.e., a territory or posession) and therefore most international statistics are counted for the country as a whole, or, this is such an exotic place that little data exists about it.