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EDUCATION AND HEALTH CARE IN SAMOA
Education Expenditures: 4.8 percent of GDP (2020 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 85. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write; total population: 99.1 percent; male: 99 percent; female: 99.3 percent (2021). [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Youth Unemployment Rate (ages 15-24): total: 19.7 percent; male: 16.7 percent; female: 24.5 percent (2021 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 83
Health Expenditures: 5.3 percent of GDP (2020). [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Number of Doctors: 0.6 physicians per 1,000 people (2020). [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Sanitation Access: improved: urban: 99.5 percent of population; rural: 99.5 percent of population; total: 99.5 percent of population; unimproved: urban: 0.5 percent of population; rural: 0.5 percent of population; total: 0.5 percent of population (2020 estimate). [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Energy in Samoa
Energy Consumption Per Capita: 27.111 million Btu/person (2019 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 125. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Carbon Dioxide Emissions: 355,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 estimate)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 estimate)
from petroleum and other liquids: 355,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 estimate)
from consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: emissions 191.
[Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Electricity in Samoa
Access to Electricity: electrification: total population: 98.3 percent (2021); electrification: urban areas: 100 percent (2021); electrification: rural areas: 97.9 percent (2021). [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Electricity Consumption and Production: installed generating capacity: 50,000 kW (2020 estimate)
consumption: 120.13 million kWh (2019 estimate)
exports: 0 kWh (2020 estimate)
imports: 0 kWh (2020 estimate)
transmission/distribution losses: 15 million kWh (2019 estimate)
comparison rankings: installed generating capacity 191; consumption 193; exports 175; imports 182; transmission/distribution losses 189. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Sources of Electricity Generation: fossil fuels: 72.7 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate)
nuclear: 0 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate)
solar: 0 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate)
wind: 0.1 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate)
hydroelectricity: 27.2 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate)
tide and wave: 0 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate)
geothermal: 0 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate)
biomass and waste: 0 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate).
[Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Oil, Coal and Natural Gas
Coal: production: 0 metric tons (2020 estimate)
consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 estimate)
exports: 0 metric tons (2020 estimate)
imports: 0 metric tons (2020 estimate)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 estimate).
[Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Petroleum: total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 estimate)
refined petroleum consumption: 2,500 bbl/day (2019 estimate)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 estimate)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 estimate)
crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 estimate)
Refined petroleum products: production
0 bbl/day (2017 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 123.
[Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Refined Petroleum Products: Exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 146. Imports: 2,363 bbl/day (2015 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 187. Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Natural Gas: production: 0 cubic meters (2021 estimate)
consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 estimate)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 estimate)
imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 estimate)
proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 estimate).
[Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Communications in Samoa
Telephones: Fixed Lines: total subscriptions: 6,000 (2021 estimate); subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3 (2021 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: subscriptions 202. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Mobile Telephones: total subscriptions: 69,000 (2021 estimate); subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 32 (2021 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: subscriptions 197. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Telecommunication Systems: general assessment: Samoa was one of the first Pacific Island countries to establish a regulatory infrastructure and to liberalize its telecom market; the advent of competition in the mobile market saw prices fall by around 50 percent and network coverage increase to more than 90 percent of the population; Samoa also boasts one of the highest rates of mobile phone coverage in the Pacific region; the growth of fixed-line internet has been impeded by factors including the high costs for bandwidth, under investment in fixed-line infrastructure; Samoa’s telecoms sector has been inhibited by a lack of international connectivity; Samoa has had access to the Samoa-America-Samoa (SAS) cable laid in 2009, this cable has insufficient capacity to meet the country’s future bandwidth needs; this issue was addressed with two new submarine cables that became available in 2018 and 2019; combined with the Samoa National Broadband Highway (SNBH), have improved internet data rates and reliability, and have helped to reduce the high costs previously associated with internet access in Samoa; in April 2022, the Samoan government announced its decision to take over control of the Samoa Submarine Cable Company, looking to the cable to generate additional revenue for the state (2022). Domestic: fixed-line is 3 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity 32 telephones per 100 persons (2021). International: country code: 685; landing points for the Tui-Samo, Manatua, SAS, and Southern Cross NEXT submarine cables providing connectivity to Samoa, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, Cook Islands, Niue, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Los Angeles (US), and Tokelau; satellite earth station: 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2019). [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Broadcast Media: state-owned TV station privatized in 2008; 4 privately owned television broadcast stations; about a half-dozen privately owned radio stations and one state-owned radio station; TV and radio broadcasts of several stations from American Samoa are available (2019). [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Internet Users: total: 171,600 (2021 estimate); Percent of the Population: 78 percent (2021 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 182; Broadband: Fixed Subscriptions: total: 1,692 (2020 estimate); subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2020 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 199. Internet Country Code: .ws [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Transportation in Samoa
National Air Transport System: number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 4; annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 137,770 (2018); Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: 5W. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Airports: 4 (2021); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 183; Airports: with paved runways: 1. Paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 meters (16,000 feet), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 meters (8,000-13,000 feet); Airports with Unpaved Runways: 3. Unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Roads: total: 1,150 kilometers (2018); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 181. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Water Transport: Merchant Marine: total: 15; By Type: general cargo 3, oil tanker 5, other 7 (2022); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 152; Ports and Terminals: major seaport(s): Apia
Image Sources:
Text Sources: CIA World Factbook, 2023; “Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Volume 2: Oceania,” edited by Terence E. Hays, 1991, Wikipedia, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, BBC, CNN, and various books, websites and other publications.
Last updated August 2023