Environment - current issues:
soil erosion, deforestation, invasive species, overfishing

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone
Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
occupies an almost central position within Polynesia

People Samoa

Population:
177,714 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 28.3% (male 25,548; female 24,668)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 72,820; female 43,563)
65 years and over: 6.3% (male 5,096; female 6,019) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 24.2 years
male: 26.8 years
female: 20.8 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.25% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
15.69 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
6.47 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)