Country · Oceania
Samoa
Independent State of Samoa
Samoa is a country in Polynesia. About 196 000 people live there, in an area of 2 842 square kilometres. Its capital city is Apia.
Picture credit: Stephen Glauser (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Rickard Törnblad (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Rickard Törnblad (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Michael Coghlan (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Michael Coghlan (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Samoa?
Samoa lies in Polynesia, on the continent of Oceania.
It sits in the southern half of the world, roughly 1 512 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 403 km long.
It has no land neighbours — every border it has is with the sea.
How big is Samoa?
Samoa covers 2 842 square kilometres.
Switzerland is about 15 times bigger.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 166th largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 69 people on every square kilometre.
That is close to the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Samoa?
About 196 000 people live in Samoa.
That is the 175th biggest population in the world.
People here speak English and Samoan.
They pay with the Samoan tālā (T).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 69 years.
The land of Samoa
Its coast runs for about 403 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 20 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Samoa different?
Websites from here often end in .ws.
Samoa and the rest of the world
Fewer than one person in every thousand on Earth lives in Samoa.
It takes up less than a hundredth of one per cent of all the land in the world.
Within Oceania the country ranks 7th of 14 by size, and 7th by population.
Nature and animals
The highest mountain in the country is Mauga Silisili, at 1 858 metres. The longest river in the country is the Vaisigano. The country has no large natural lake; its largest body of water, Lake Afulilo, is a reservoir.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Samoa compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 3 298 times as big as Samoa: 9 372 610 km² against 2 842 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 85 times as big as Samoa: 242 900 km² against 2 842 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Samoa?
The capital of Samoa is Apia. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Samoa?
About 196 000 people live in Samoa, which makes it the 175th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
How big is Samoa?
Samoa covers 2 842 square kilometres, making it the 166th largest country in the world. Switzerland is about 15 times bigger.
What is the highest mountain in Samoa?
The highest mountain in Samoa is Mauga Silisili, 1 858 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Samoa?
The longest river in Samoa is the Vaisigano, about 12 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Samoa?
The largest body of water in Samoa is Lake Afulilo, a reservoir of about 3 km²; there is no large natural lake in the country.
Which continent is Samoa in?
Samoa is in Oceania, in the part called Polynesia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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