Samoa at its true size
Samoa covers 2,842 km², number 167 of 194 countries by area. Home to 219,306 people (2025). Sitting near the equator, it is one of the few places Mercator gets almost right.
Equal-area projection · Natural Earth 50m
| Area | 2,842 km² Wikidata |
|---|---|
| Population | 219,306 World Bank, 2025 |
| Density | 77 per km² |
| Capital | Apia |
| Local time in Apia | |
| Time zone | UTC+13 IANA |
| Currency | Samoan tālā (WST) Wikidata |
| Languages | English, Samoan |
| Traffic | On the left |
| Region | Polynesia, Oceania |
| Status | Independent state |
| Coast | Has a coastline |
| Calling code | +685 |
| Codes | WS · WSM · 882 |
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Where Samoa ranks
Among the independent states, in 39 rankings. Each links to its table.
People
- Population#176 of 194219,306 people#7 of 13 in Oceania
- Population density#108 of 19477 people per km²#6 of 13 in Oceania
- Urban population#190 of 19218% urban#12 of 13 in Oceania
- Fertility rate#31 of 1923.80 births per woman#1 of 13 in Oceania
- Population growth#121 of 192+0.59% a year#8 of 13 in Oceania
- Birth rate#51 of 19225.0 births per 1,000 people#4 of 13 in Oceania
- Death rate#129 of 1926.2 deaths per 1,000 people#11 of 13 in Oceania
- Children under 15#32 of 19238.1% under 15#1 of 13 in Oceania
- People over 65#112 of 1926.1% aged 65 and over#7 of 13 in Oceania
- Net migration#188 of 192−12.8 per 1,000 people#11 of 13 in Oceania
- Refugees abroad#122 of 1900.08 refugees abroad per 1,000 people#6 of 13 in Oceania
Health & education
- Life expectancy#117 of 19271.8 years#4 of 13 in Oceania
- Infant mortality#97 of 19112.3 infant deaths per 1,000 live births#9 of 13 in Oceania
- Doctors#122 of 1780.56 doctors per 1,000 people#6 of 9 in Oceania
- University enrolment#119 of 14516.0% gross enrolment#7 of 8 in Oceania
- Human Development Index#121 of 190an index of 0.708#7 of 13 in Oceania
Economy
- GNI per capita#108 of 185$5,640 a person#8 of 13 in Oceania
- GDP per capita (PPP)#129 of 184$9,319 a person#6 of 13 in Oceania
- GDP growth#65 of 187+4.2% a year#3 of 13 in Oceania
- Inflation#113 of 176+2.2% a year#8 of 11 in Oceania
- Unemployment#93 of 1785.0% of the labour force#4 of 8 in Oceania
- Jobs in agriculture#70 of 17826.9% of jobs#5 of 8 in Oceania
- Jobs in industry#130 of 17815.9% of jobs#4 of 8 in Oceania
- Jobs in services#93 of 17857.2% of jobs#3 of 8 in Oceania
- Foreign investment#156 of 1840.2% of GDP#10 of 12 in Oceania
- Exports#107 of 16827.6% of GDP#6 of 12 in Oceania
- Mobile subscriptions#171 of 19162 subscriptions per 100 people#6 of 12 in Oceania
Energy & environment
- CO₂ per person#113 of 1851.60 tonnes a person#6 of 13 in Oceania
- Forest area#33 of 19258% forest#6 of 13 in Oceania
- Renewable energy#67 of 19035.9% renewable#4 of 13 in Oceania
- Access to electricity#1 of 192100.0% with electricity#1 of 13 in Oceania
- Air pollution (PM2.5)#187 of 1914.6 µg/m³#10 of 13 in Oceania
- Protected land#152 of 1917.9% of the land protected#7 of 13 in Oceania
- Arable land#138 of 1904.1% of the land arable#3 of 12 in Oceania
- Precipitation#7 of 1802,880 mm a year#3 of 7 in Oceania
Governance & safety
Countries of a similar size
Every country within 25% of Samoa’s area, lit up on the map →
- Luxembourg1.1×Samoa is 10% larger than Luxembourg.
- Mauritius1.39×Samoa is 39% larger than Mauritius.
- Comoros1.4×Samoa is 40% larger than Comoros.
- Cabo Verde0.7×Samoa is 30% smaller than Cabo Verde.
- Trinidad and Tobago0.55×Samoa is 45% smaller than Trinidad and Tobago.
- Brunei0.49×Samoa is 2.03 times smaller than Brunei.
How many times does Samoa fit into…
- Russia: about 6008 times
- Canada: about 3513 times
- United States: about 3458 times
The land itself
Rivers, summits and lakes Samoa shares with the rest of the world. Turn on “Rivers & lakes” and “Physical names” in the atlas to see them on the map.
Summits
- Silisili1,858 m
Rivers are listed by the published length of their whole course, not the part inside Samoa. Figures from Wikidata, features from Natural Earth.
Questions about Samoa
- How big is Samoa?
- Samoa covers 2,842 km², which makes it number 167 of 194 countries by area. About 219,306 people live there (2025), 77 per km².
- Is Samoa bigger than Luxembourg?
- Samoa is 10% larger than Luxembourg. Samoa: 2,842 km²; Luxembourg: 2,593 km².
- How much does the Mercator map distort Samoa?
- Samoa lies close to the equator, so Mercator draws it at nearly its true size. It is the countries far from the equator that Mercator inflates.
- Does Samoa have land borders?
- No. Samoa has no land neighbours; every border is a coastline.