Head of state: Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi Prime minister: Tuila'epa Sailele Malielegaoi
President: Lee Myung-bak
Population
194,320
48,860,500
Life Expectancy
72.660 years
79.300 years
Capital City
Seoul
Largest city
Apia (population: 40,407)
Seoul (population: 10,349,300)
Human Development Index
0.76
0.928
GDP per capita
$32,100 US
Literacy Rate
99.7%
97.9%
Corruption Perception Index
4.4
NA
Percentage of Women in Parliament
8.2%
13.7%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
3.400%
Death Penalty
Abolished
NA
Political System
parliamentary democracy
republic
Independence date
15 August 1945 (from Japan)
Religions
Congregationalist 34.8%, Roman Catholic 19.6%, Methodist 15%, Latter-Day Saints 12.7%, Assembly of God 6.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.5%, Worship Centre 1.3%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.9%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)
Christian 26.3% (Protestant 19.7%, Roman Catholic 6.6%), Buddhist 23.2%, other or unknown 1.3%, none 49.3% (1995 census)
Languages
Samoan (Polynesian), English
Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school
Exports
semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals
External Debt
$397,300,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
South Korean won (KRW) per US dollar - 1,101.7 (2008 est.), 929.2 (2007), 954.8 (2006), 1,024.1 (2005), 1,145.3 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
31
Location
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand
Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea
Area
2,831 km sq
99,720 km sq
Coastline
403 km
2,413 km
Climate
tropical; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October)
temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter
