Districts of Samoa

Samoa
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Samoa
Constitution

Samoa is made up of eleven itūmālō (political districts). These are the traditional eleven districts that were established well before European arrival. Each district has its own constitutional foundation (faavae) based on the traditional order of title precedence found in each district's faalupega (traditional salutations).[1]

The capital village of each district administers and coordinates the affairs of the district and confers each districts' paramount title, amongst other responsibilities. For example, the District of A'ana has its capital at Leulumoega. The paramount title of A'ana is the TuiA'ana. The orator group which confers this title – the Faleiva (House of Nine) – is based at Leulumoega. This is also the same for the other districts. In the district of Tuamasaga, the paramount title of the district – The Malietoa title – is conferred by the FaleTuamasaga based in Afega.

Political districts

Nr.DistrictCapitalArea
(km²)		Population
(Census 2016)[2]
Upolu (including minor islands)
1TuamasagaAfega47990,787
2A'anaLeulumoega19323,444
3Aiga-i-le-Tai1)Mulifanua274,939
4Atua2)Lufilufi41322,694
5Va'a-o-FonotiSamamea381,636
Savai'i
6Fa'asaleleagaSafotulafai26613,403
7Gaga'emauga3)Saleaula2237,844
8Gaga'ifomaugaAopo3654,899
9VaisiganoAsau1786,573
10Satupa'iteaSatupa'itea1275,467
11PalauliVailoa5239,317
 SamoaApia2,831192,1264)
1) including islands Manono, Apolima and Nu'ulopa
2) including the Aleipata Islands and Nu'usafe'e Island
3) smaller parts also on Upolu (Salamumu (incl. Salamumu-Utu) and Leauvaa villages)
4) includes 1,123 individuals in institutions, which are not divided by district

Exclaves of political districts

Note that several districts include multiple exclaves:

Electoral districts

The itūmālō are further subdivided in 41 faipule districts. They have no administrative function, but serve as electoral constituencies. The faipule districts are also used as regional units for statistics.

The faipule electoral districts are based loosely on the traditional sub-districts of the Itūmālō. For example, the faipule districts of Anoama'a West and Anoama'a East are based on the traditional sub-district of Anoama'a in the northern half of the Atua district.

Villages

At the local level, there are 265 villages. Additionally, there are some 45 villages the capital Apia is composed of. Apia does not have a common administration, the local power rests with the constituent villages.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About Samoa". Government of Samoa. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  2. ↑ Census 2016 Preliminary Count Report, Samoa Bureau of Statistics.
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