nomic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to
October)

Terrain:
two main islands (Savaii, Upolu) and several smaller islands and
uninhabited islets; narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky,
rugged mountains in interior

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mauga Silisili (Savaii) 1,857 m

Natural resources:
hardwood forests, fish, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 21.2%
permanent crops: 24.38%
other: 54.42% (2001)

Irrigated land:
NA

Natural hazards:
occasional typhoons; active volcanism

Environment - current issues:
soil erosion, deforestation, invasive species, overfishing

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone
Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
occupies an almost central position within Polynesia

People Samoa

Population:
177,287 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 27.2% (male 24,517/female 23,660)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 73,495/female 44,208)
65 years and over: 6.4% (male 5,204/female 6,203) (2005 est.)

Median age:
total: 24.59 years
male: 27.42 years
female: 21.42 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.23% (2005 est.)

Birth rate:
15.95 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:
6.54 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate:
-11.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.66 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 1.39 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 27.71 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 32.68 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 22.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.72 years
male: 67.93 years
female: 73.65 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate:
3.01 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
12

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
3

Nationality:
noun: Samoan(s)
adjective: Samoan

Ethnic groups:
Samoan 92.6%, Euronesians 7% (persons of European and Polynesian
blood), Europeans 0.4%

Religions:
C