Samoa

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.

Economical characteristics

 * Currency: Tala (ISO code: WST)
 * Central bank discount rate:
 * Commercial banks lending rate: 12.08% (31 December 2009 )
 * Stock of money (M1): $60.13 million (31 December 2008)
 * Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $162.8 million (31 December 2008)

Links

 * Samoa on Wikipedia
 * Central bank of Samoa
 * Country profile (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
 * BBC country profile