- Population:
- 204,898
- Religion:
- Christianity
'Samoa is an country comprising the westernmost group of the Samoan Islands in Polynesia. Many of its islands have reef-bordered beaches and rugged rainforested interiors with gorges and waterfalls. The islands include Upolu home to most of Samoa''s population and Savai''i one of the largest islands in the South Pacific. Smaller islands may have small villages or be uninhabited some with wildlife sanctuaries.'
New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962 when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the \"Western\" from its name in 1997.
