Samoa "The heart of Polynesia" is a small country with an estimated population of 180,000 people, most of whom are Polynesians. It is made up of seven islands with, an area of 2,944 km2. The two biggest islands are Savai'i and Upolu. What makes Samoa unique from other countries is the fact that it is the last country in the world to see the sun everyday. It was also the first Pacific Island nation to gain independence in 1962. Samoa is headed by a Head of State, Tama-Aiga, His Highness Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi and has a legislative assembly, which is made up of 49 members. The current party in power is the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which is lead by Prime Minister Honourable Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi.

Samoans are proud of their culture especially their art which includes their Tatau (Tattoo for men) and the Malu (Tattoo for females) wood carving, printed material made from bark of a tree as well as the finemats made from the pandanus leaves. Samoa is famous in sports, particularly rugby, with its Manu Samoa team, known worldwide.

The country's motto "SAMOA IS FOUNDED ON GOD" signifies Samoans as religious people.

Its economy is dependent on remittances from family members living overseas as well as aid money from overseas countries, tourism, fish exports as well as agricultural produce including kava and noni. Multiple cropping is the main form of agriculture with very few farmers actually operating on a commercial basis.

Education is very important in Samoa and is compulsory. The importance of education can be seen not only in the number of students who attend school, but also by the number of schools in the country. For a small country, Samoa has two universities the National University of Samoa, which belongs to the government, and the University of the South Pacific.

For more information about Samoa please visit the Samoa Tourism Authority’s website on www.visitsamoa.ws