9 Aug 2012

Samoa government releases its first ever population and housing census

5:56 am on 9 August 2012

The Samoa Government has released its first ever population and housing census.

The total population for 2011 was 187,200, up from 179,000 in 1996, and 38 percent of the population is under 15-years old.

While boys out number girls 19,629 to 17,774 - girls out number boys at tertiary education, 1,952 to 1,759.

There are 16,787 matai-title holders living in the country, 10 percent are women.

A total of 7,415 foreign citizens reside in Samoa, over half of them are New Zealanders.

In launching the census, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi urged parents to have more children.

He says having more children and having bigger families not only contributes to the brain trust of the country, but also increases the village and national labour force which will expand the local consumer market.

He also says when young people move overseas, they tend to send back money to sustain their families.