Samoa is a parliamentary democracy that incorporates certain traditional practices into government. The current head of state, who has executive authority and approves all legislation, is longstanding and for life, but his successor will be elected by the unicameral Legislative Assembly for a 5-year term. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the largest party in the Assembly and chooses the Cabinet. Members of the Legislative Assembly are elected from among ethnic Samoan village chiefs or matai. A total of 210 candidates contested the 49 seats in 2006 elections held on the basis of universal suffrage, with 2 seats representing non-Samoans or part-Samoans lacking a village affiliation.

18 candidates were women. Samoans resident overseas may vote if they register in the country. Samoan politics are dominated by 2 parties: the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) and the Samoa Democratic United Party. The ruling HRPP secured 30 of the 49 seats. 2 women were elected to the Assembly.

Discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, language or social status is prohibited, and the legislation is enforced. Matai privilege and power give advantages to certain families.

The judiciary is independent in law and in practice. The Court of Appeal is composed of a panel of retired New Zealand judges that sits once a year for several weeks. Civil and criminal matters are often handled by village assemblies, whose decisions are recognised. Village assemblies may impose banishment as a sentence. Corruption and impunity are not cited as problems among the police, but instances are reported of corrupt practice involving misuse of public funds. Freedom of speech and of the press are guaranteed, and Internet access is not restricted. Access to unclassified information is provided in legislation.

Education is compulsory for ages 5 to 14, but the legislation is not enforced. Education is not free, and children whose parents cannot pay the school fees cannot attend school. At every level of school, tuition and books must be paid for by families. Yet most children attend school. Corporal punishment is used in schools and within families.

A 2-year programme begins at age 3. All education at this level is private. The Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) is 49%. There are 127 ECE teachers (94% female). The pupil/teacher ratio (PTR) is 42 : 1.

Primary school begins at age 5 and lasts 6 years. At this level 17% of education is private. The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) is 90% (45% female). Of students who enrol in Grade 1, 96% reach the last grade of primary school. 1% of students repeat grades. There are 1,245 primary teachers (73% female). The PTR is 25 : 1.

Secondary education begins at age 11 and lasts 7 years. The NER is 66%. 3% of students repeat grades. There are 1,141 secondary teachers, 358 (74% female) in lower secondary and 783 (53% female) in upper secondary schools. The PTR is 25 : 1 in lower secondary and 19 : 1 in upper secondary education.

356 Samoan students are studying abroad, mainly in New Zealand (147), the USA (103), Australia (65), Japan (16) and Papua New Guinea (13).

Traditionally, families care for persons with disabilities. Special education and disability services have been in existence in Samoa for over 20 years. Until recently the services were provided by NGOs through special schools and vocational training; all were in the capital, Apia. In 1991 the Education Amendment Act gave the government responsibility for special education development. A Special Needs Education Survey project to identify all children with a disability to age 14 estimated that some 1,600 children were disabled. Education programmes to meet their needs were started.

In February 2001 the Samoa Department of Education opened the first Special Needs Unit in a village school staffed by the first Special Education teacher graduates from the National University of Samoa's Faculty of Education, and the next year 4 more Special Needs Units were opened in rural villages. Special education teacher graduates participated in an intensive practical training programme in New Zealand. Sign-language classes for parents and teachers from village schools have been provided, as well as training for teachers and parents of children with visual impairment. Pre-service training in special education is to be made compulsory.

The country is a signatory of the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol; however, the government has not enacted enabling legislation or established a system for providing protection to refugees. The government was prepared to cooperate with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in assisting refugees, but the need did not arise during the year.

Samoans make up 92.6% of the population, Euronesians (persons of European and Polynesian descent) compose 7% and Europeans 0.4%. Samoan and English are the languages used. Minorities can run for 2 seats in the Assembly.

Reports do not cite any restriction of violation of academic freedom. In 2006 the film The Da Vinci Code was banned from local television stations and cinemas following objections of the Samoa Council of Churches. The censorship office prohibited the sale or rental of future versions of the film for use at home.

Women and men have equal rights in law, and improvements are reported in the role of women. Literacy and training programmes for women who did not complete high school have been introduced to help integrate women into the economic mainstream.

Violence against women is prohibited in law, but abuse of women is tolerated and is reported to be common. Village assemblies reportedly prevent police from interfering in domestic violence cases. Sexual harassment is not a widespread problem.

The minimum age for employment is 15, though children under 15 may perform "safe and light work." Children work as petty traders in cities. Service rendered to the matai is not considered to be child labour, and some matai require children to work on village farms .

Workers have the right to form and join trade unions. Some 20% of private sector workers are union members. The Public Service Association covers all government workers, who account for about 80% of the paid work force. Collective bargaining is permitted and is used to negotiate wages and conditions of work. Workers have the right to strike, including public service workers.

A protracted strike by public hospital doctors over pay and working conditions in 2005 led to most doctors leaving public service. The attorney general deemed the strike illegal, but the doctors defied a back-to-work order. A commission of inquiry examined the doctors' complaints, and Cabinet approved the report, but the strikers rejected it and only a few doctors returned to work. The Ministry of Health has advertised vacancies for the doctors who had left.

Forced or compulsory labour is prohibited, but people are called upon to work for their villages. The minimum wage was increased to US$0.72 (WST$2.00) an hour, which does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. A 40-hour work week is standard for the private sector