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:
176,908 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 26.1% (male 23,492/female 22,653)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 74,202/female 44,894)
65 years and over: 6.6% (male 5,299/female 6,368) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 25.2 years
male: 28.1 years
female: 22 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.2% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
16.43 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
6.62 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)