1. An island group of the southern Pacific Ocean east-northeast of Fiji, divided between Samoa, a sovereign nation, and American Samoa, a territory of the United States. The islands were originally populated by Polynesians perhaps as early as 1000 BC and were first sighted by European explorers in 1722. Dual administration of the archipelago was established by treaty in 1899.

2. An island country of the southern Pacific Ocean comprising the western Samoa Islands. The islands, inhabited by a Polynesian people, were visited by Dutch and French navigators in the 1700s and became a German colony in 1899. Occupied by New Zealand during World War I, the islands, known as Western Samoa, were later administered as a League of Nations mandate and a UN trust territory. The country achieved independence as a constitutional monarchy in 1962, and in 1997 the country's name was formally changed to Samoa. Apia, on Upolu Island, is the capital.