Polynesia · WSM
Samoa
The story · 8 chapters
How it was drawn
Germany, Britain and the United States competed for the Samoan islands until 1899 split them in two. The western half became the first independent Pacific island state.
Play the story Take the first lessonThrough the ages
Rivals in history
The kingdoms, empires and states Samoa fought or stood against, from the first to today.
- Tu'i Tonga1000 to 1300
Samoan tradition recalls a period of Tongan domination ended by a revolt led by the brothers Tuna and Fata. The dates are uncertain, but the memory lives on in the Malietoa title.
- German Empire1885 to 1914
Germany backs the chief Tamasese against Malietoa Laupepa, whom it deports in 1887. At Vailele in December 1888 Mata'afa Iosefo's fighters defeat German marines. Germany rules Western Samoa as a colony from 1900 until 1914.
- United States and Britain1899
In the civil war of 1899 American and British warships shell villages near Apia, and their landing parties fight the forces of Mata'afa Iosefo, who defeat them at Vailele in April. The powers then partition the islands.
- New Zealand1914 to 1962
New Zealand rules Western Samoa from 1914. Its officials let the 1918 influenza land, and its police kill Mau leaders in 1929. Samoa wins independence in 1962, and New Zealand formally apologises for these wrongs in 2002.
Today
Samoa now
, and early Samoans traded and intermarried with Fijian and Tongan nobility. The fa’amatai system of titles and nobility developed, which dominates Samoan politics to this day; all but two seats in the legislature are reserved for matai, or heads of families. A Dutch explorer was the first European to spot the islands in 1722. Christian missionaries arrived in the 1830s and were followed by an influx of American and European settlers and influence.
- Capital
- Apia
- Government
- parliamentary republic
- Head of government
- Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi
- Head of state
- Va'aletoa Sualauvi II
- Languages
- English, Samoan
- Area
- 2,840 km²
Through time
Then and now
- Population216,7002023 · 88,300 in 1950
- Life expectancy71.7 years2023 · 49.2 years in 1950
- Living in cities18%2025 · 13% in 1950
- Literacy98%2019 · 88% in 1950
- Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
- War deathsNone2025
Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.
Relations
Close partners and tensions
Close partners
- New Zealand
- United States
- Australia
Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.