ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in Samoa. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in Samoa. Samoans can change their government democratically. The 1960 constitution combines parliamentary democracy with traditional authority. The unicameral parliament has 49 seats, of which two are reserved for citizens of non-Samoan descent. In 1899, the United States annexed Eastern Samoa, while the Western Samoan islands became a German protectorate. The church is a powerful force in Samoan society. The matai often choose the religious denomination of their extended family in this predominantly Christian country, and there is strong societal pressure to support church leaders and projects financially.
