World Factbook
Samoa
Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o Samoa
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
98.3% (2019 est.)
female
97.7% (2019 est.)
total population
98% (2019 est.)
Languages
Samoan (Polynesian) (official) 91.1%, Samoan/English 6.7%, English (official) 0.5%, other 0.2%, unspecified 1.6% (2006 est.)
Religions
Protestant 54.9% (Congregationalist 29%, Methodist 12.4%, Assembly of God 6.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 4.4%, other Protestant 2.3%), Roman Catholic 18.8%, Church of Jesus Christ 16.9%, Worship Centre 2.8%, other Christian 3.6%, other 2.9% (includes Baha'i, Muslim), none 0.2% (2016 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.04 male(s)/female
total population
1.03 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.81 male(s)/female
Birth rate
18.53 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
5.41 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
27 years
total
27.8 years (2025 est.)
female
27.8 years
Population
male
106,542
total
210,223 (2025 est.)
female
103,681
Nationality
noun
Samoan(s)
adjective
Samoan
Tobacco use
male
28.6% (2025 est.)
total
20.5% (2025 est.)
female
12.3% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
17.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
-0.03% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
26.9% (male 28,952/female 27,173)
15-64 years
65.9% (male 70,225/female 67,427)
65 years and over
7.2% (2024 est.) (male 6,743/female 8,333)
Ethnic groups
Samoan 96%, Samoan/New Zealander 2%, other 1.9% (2011 est.)
note: data represent the population by country of citizenship
Child marriage
men married by age 18
2% (2020)
women married by age 15
0.9% (2020)
women married by age 18
7.4% (2020)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
51.6 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
40.2 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
8.8 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
11.4 (2025 est.)
Physician density
0.56 physicians/1,000 population (2021)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
6.8% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
15.2% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-6.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.29 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 98.8% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 99% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 1.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
5.5% of GDP (2024 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
11.7% national budget (2025 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
20.9 deaths/1,000 live births
total
17.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
13.6 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
0.66% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.12 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
about three quarters of the population lives on the island of Upolu
Life expectancy at birth
male
72.8 years
female
78.7 years
total population
75.7 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
101 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 98.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 99% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 99.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 1.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0.3% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
2.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
2.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
36,000 APIA (capital) (2018)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
47.3% (2016)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
62% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
3.4% (2019 est.)