- Official name
- Independent State of Samoa Malo Saʻoloto Tutoʻatasi o Sāmoa · Samoan
- Capital
- Apia
- Region
- Polynesia
- Population (2018 est.)
- ≈ 196,000
- Area
- 2,842 km²
- Currency
- Samoan tālā (WST)
- Neighbours
- None — island or sea borders only
- Internet / phone
- .ws · +685
Where it is
Notable facts
- Samoa dropped “Western” from its name in 1997.
- In 2011 it skipped 30 December entirely to move from the eastern to the western side of the date line, aligning with Australia and New Zealand.
- The tatau, the traditional Samoan tattoo, gave English the word “tattoo”.
- Robert Louis Stevenson spent his last years in Samoa and is buried on Mount Vaea above Apia.
National dish
Palusami Coconut cream wrapped in young taro leaves and baked in an umu until the leaves melt into it.
Oka i'a, raw fish in coconut cream, is the other Samoan answer.