Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa, is a country governing the western half of the Samoan Islands archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean. Previous names were German Samoa from 1900 to 1919, and Western Samoa from 1914 to 1997. It was admitted to the United Nations on 15 December 1976 as Samoa. The entire island group, inclusive of American Samoa, was known as Navigators Islands before the 20th century because of the Samoans' seafaring skills.
History
Main article: Politics of Samoa Politics
The country is located east of the international dateline and south of the equator, about halfway between Hawai'i and New Zealand in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean. The Samoas are of volcanic origin, and the total land area is 2934 km² (slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Rhode Island), consisting of the two large islands of Upolu and Savai'i which account for 99% of the total land area, and eight small islets: the three islets in the Apolima Strait (Manono_Island, Apolima and Nu'ulopa), the four Aleipata Islands off the eastern end of Upolu (Nu'utele, Nu'ulua, Namua, and Fanuatapu), and Nu'usafe'e (less than 0.01 km² in area and about 1.4 km off the south coast of Upolu at the village of Vaovai). While all of the islands have volcanic origins, only Savai'i has had recent eruptions and could be considered volcanically active: the last major eruption occurred in the 1700s, and smaller eruptions occurred between 1904 - 1906. The highest point in Samoa is Mauga Silisili, at 1858 m. The main island of Upolu is home to nearly three-quarters of Samoa's population, and its capital city is Apia. The climate is tropical, with an average annual temperature of 26.5 °C, and a rainy season from November to April.
Geography
The country is located east of the international dateline and south of the equator, about halfway between Hawai'i and New Zealand in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean. The Samoas are of volcanic origin, and the total land area is 2934 km² (slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Rhode Island), consisting of the two large islands of Upolu and Savai'i which account for 99% of the total land area, and eight small islets: the three islets in the Apolima Strait (Manono_Island, Apolima and Nu'ulopa), the four Aleipata Islands off the eastern end of Upolu (Nu'utele, Nu'ulua, Namua, and Fanuatapu), and Nu'usafe'e (less than 0.01 km² in area and about 1.4 km off the south coast of Upolu at the village of Vaovai). While all of the islands have volcanic origins, only Savai'i has had recent eruptions and could be considered volcanically active: the last major eruption occurred in the 1700s, and smaller eruptions occurred between 1904 - 1906. The highest point in Samoa is Mauga Silisili, at 1858 m. The main island of Upolu is home to nearly three-quarters of Samoa's population, and its capital city is Apia. The climate is tropical, with an average annual temperature of 26.5 °C, and a rainy season from November to April.
Geography
Main article: Economy of Samoa Economy
See also: Rugby union in Samoa
The main sports played in Samoa are rugby union and Samoan cricket. About 30 ethnic Samoans, many from American Samoa, currently play in the National Football League. A 2002 article from ESPN estimated that a Samoan male (either an American Samoan, or a Samoan living in the 50 United States) is 40 times more likely to play in the NFL than a non-Samoan American. [4]
Rugby union is very popular in Samoa and the national team nicknamed the 'Manu' Samoa, is consistently competitive against teams from vastly more populous nations. Samoa have competed at every Rugby World Cup since 1991, and have made the quarter finals in 1991 (where they beat Wales and came close to upsetting eventual world champions Australia), 1995 and the second round of the 1999 world cup. At the 2003 world cup, Manu Samoa came close to beating eventual world champions, England. Samoa also play in the Pacific Nations Cup and the Pacific Tri-Nations The sport is governed by the Samoa Rugby Football Union, who are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, and thus, also contribute to the international Pacific Islanders rugby union team. At club level there is the National Provincial Championship and Pacific Rugby Cup Prominent Samoan players include Douglas Faaee, Pat Lam and Brian Lima. In addition there are many Samoans that have played for or are playing for the All Blacks.
Rugby league is also popular amongst Samoans, with Samoa reaching the quarter finals of the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. They also took home the cup at Wellington and the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens in 2007 - for which the Prime Minister of Samoa, also Chairman of the national rugby union, Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, declared a national holiday. Many Samoans and New Zealanders or Australians of Samoan descent play in the Super League and National Leagues in Britain. Examples are Ta'ane Lavulavu of Workington Town, Maurie Fa'asavalu of St Helens and David Fatialofa of Whitehaven.
The Samoan cricket team became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2000. In 2005, they competed in the East Asia/Pacific Cup, finishing in last place, thus missing out on qualification for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
Samoans have been very visible in American professional wrestling, despite the relatively small population of the islands. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Peter Maivia, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Umaga/Jamal, Rosey, Yokozuna, Wild Samoans, The Headshrinkers, Rikishi, Samoa Joe, and Sonny Siaki all have a Samoan heritage.
The former sumo wrestlers Konishiki, who reached the rank of Ozeki (champion), and Musashimaru, who reached the pinnacle rank of yokozuna (grand champion), are of Samoan descent
Several boxers and kickboxers are of Samoan descent, including former heavyweight contender David Tua, K-1 World Champion Mark Hunt as well as K-1 Super Heavyweight contenders Ray Sefo, Mighty Mo and Jason Suttie.
Sport
See also: Rugby union in Samoa
The main sports played in Samoa are rugby union and Samoan cricket. About 30 ethnic Samoans, many from American Samoa, currently play in the National Football League. A 2002 article from ESPN estimated that a Samoan male (either an American Samoan, or a Samoan living in the 50 United States) is 40 times more likely to play in the NFL than a non-Samoan American. [4]
Rugby union is very popular in Samoa and the national team nicknamed the 'Manu' Samoa, is consistently competitive against teams from vastly more populous nations. Samoa have competed at every Rugby World Cup since 1991, and have made the quarter finals in 1991 (where they beat Wales and came close to upsetting eventual world champions Australia), 1995 and the second round of the 1999 world cup. At the 2003 world cup, Manu Samoa came close to beating eventual world champions, England. Samoa also play in the Pacific Nations Cup and the Pacific Tri-Nations The sport is governed by the Samoa Rugby Football Union, who are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, and thus, also contribute to the international Pacific Islanders rugby union team. At club level there is the National Provincial Championship and Pacific Rugby Cup Prominent Samoan players include Douglas Faaee, Pat Lam and Brian Lima. In addition there are many Samoans that have played for or are playing for the All Blacks.
Rugby league is also popular amongst Samoans, with Samoa reaching the quarter finals of the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. They also took home the cup at Wellington and the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens in 2007 - for which the Prime Minister of Samoa, also Chairman of the national rugby union, Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, declared a national holiday. Many Samoans and New Zealanders or Australians of Samoan descent play in the Super League and National Leagues in Britain. Examples are Ta'ane Lavulavu of Workington Town, Maurie Fa'asavalu of St Helens and David Fatialofa of Whitehaven.
The Samoan cricket team became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2000. In 2005, they competed in the East Asia/Pacific Cup, finishing in last place, thus missing out on qualification for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
Samoans have been very visible in American professional wrestling, despite the relatively small population of the islands. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Peter Maivia, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Umaga/Jamal, Rosey, Yokozuna, Wild Samoans, The Headshrinkers, Rikishi, Samoa Joe, and Sonny Siaki all have a Samoan heritage.
The former sumo wrestlers Konishiki, who reached the rank of Ozeki (champion), and Musashimaru, who reached the pinnacle rank of yokozuna (grand champion), are of Samoan descent
Several boxers and kickboxers are of Samoan descent, including former heavyweight contender David Tua, K-1 World Champion Mark Hunt as well as K-1 Super Heavyweight contenders Ray Sefo, Mighty Mo and Jason Suttie.
Sport
Main article: Demographics of Samoa
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