8 Billion Lives
Be born

Where you could be born / Oceania / Polynesia

Born in Samoa

About 1 in 24,020 people born in 2023 started life in Samoa. A boy can expect to live 70 years and a girl 74, up from 47 and 52 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and nearly everyone has basic drinking water.

1 in 24,020
odds of being born here
5,500 births · Ranked 180th of 230
70 / 74
years of life, boys / girls
Was 47 / 52 in 1950
$4,854
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 123rd of 203 · extrapolated
18%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 22 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 156 in every 1,000 births to 16.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
050100150200195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth69.9 years for boys, 73.7 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 515.6 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year1,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.6World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles87%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year6 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 7.5 children on average in 1950. Now it is 3.8.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman3.83UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.3 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 46 and the poorest fifth 7.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2013
7%Poorest fifth
11%Second
15%Middle
21%Fourth
46%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $4,854 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth46% / 7% (2013)World Bank PIP
Unemployment4.9% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises7.9% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person14.5% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming29% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed45% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment87% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Apia, with 40,407 people.

18%
live in cities
100%
have electricity at home
99%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Apia40,407
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Samoan100%
English2%
Samoan, English is official.

People on the move

About 55% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are New Zealand, Australia, American Samoa.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
New Zealand63,075
Australia38,964
American Samoa15,931
Residents born abroad1.8% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 54.7% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostNew Zealand (63,075), Australia (38,964), American Samoa (15,931)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $288.1 million a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

94% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

94%
of older people receive a pension (2023)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2023)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 202431Our World in Data, from WHO
Hurricane-strength storms since 19802NOAA IBTrACS

Now live it.

Born in Samoa, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Samoa

Elsewhere in Oceania

All countries

How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences