The full story
The HRPP government's Strategy for the Development of Samoa 2016/17 to 2019/20 set 14 key outcomes, including average real growth of 3 to 4%, public debt no higher than 55% of GDP and 100% renewable electricity capacity by 2017. 10 Faleolo's new international terminal opened on 10 May 2018, but renewable sources supplied 43.5% of electricity in 2019, not 100%, and no indicator-by-indicator final assessment of the 14 outcomes was found. 71110
The Fiamē government launched the first Pathway for the Development of Samoa on 27 February 2022, with five key outcomes. 12 The Ministry of Finance lists a mid-term review of that plan, but no quantified end-of-plan assessment has been published. 3 The Laʻauli government launched the second Pathway, for FY2026/27 to FY2030/31, on 8 June 2026, with five key strategic outcomes and twelve key priority areas; FY2026/27 is its first year, so no target can be scored yet. 1336
On the Sustainable Development Goals, Samoa's 2020 voluntary national review judged 47% of its selected indicators achieved or on track, with universal access to primary education but declining literacy and numeracy and rising premature deaths from non-communicable diseases. 14 Samoa was among the countries presenting a voluntary national review at the 2024 High-level Political Forum. 15 The Sustainable Development Report 2026 lists no SDG Index score or rank for Samoa, so no index score exists to compare the periods. 16
Public debt was 49.2% of GDP in 2020 in the SBS 2020 abstract, a figure the 2024 abstract revises to 45.8%; it fell to 23.2% in 2024 and 19.4% in FY2025/26. 242512 The IMF reports 18.1% for FY2025/26; the two sources disagree. 17 Debt owed to China fell from SAT$390.3m in 2020 to SAT$258.6m in 2024 and SAT$204.3m in June 2026; a joint World Bank and IMF analysis put China Exim Bank at 41.5% of public debt at the end of FY2022. 241218 The Lowy Institute records that in 2021 Samoa confirmed the cancellation of a China-financed Vaiusu Bay port of about US$100m as surplus to need. 4 The IMF rated the risk of external and overall debt distress moderate in July 2026, noting that debt indicators are sensitive to more frequent and severe climate events. 5
Across 2008 to 2024, Australia, China, New Zealand, the World Bank and Japan supplied 23%, 16%, 13%, 12% and 11% of development finance spent in Samoa; loans fell from 47% of incoming development finance in 2010 to 8% since 2020. 19 Australia records total ODA to Samoa of A$77.7m in 2023-24 and A$65.1m in 2024-25, and estimates A$51.8m for 2025-26. 20 New Zealand's evaluation counts NZ$257m of development cooperation over 2018 to 2024. 21 The finance minister said in May 2026 that World Bank and ADB financing had been 100% grants and is now a 50% grant and 50% concessional loan mix, and the FY2026/27 budget plans SAT$41.5m of soft-term loans and SAT$215.9m of development spending. 6
State-owned enterprises' latest comparable results are for July to September 2025: EPC a net profit of SAT$3,831,981, Samoa Water Authority a net loss of SAT$1,163,179, Samoa Airways a profit of SAT$3,200,930 and Samoa Shipping Corporation SAT$838,295; the Samoa Ports Authority report gives SAT$13,584 in its table and SAT$2m in its text. 22 Samoa Airways reported a provisional SAT$11m profit for FY2024/25, after government wrote off a SAT$55m loan and paid SAT$11m to settle other debts. 239 The FY2026/27 budget continues SAT$5m each in community-service obligations for EPC and SWA and appropriates SAT$100m to support EPC and, to a lesser extent, SWA through the fuel crisis. 6 The ADB-funded Apia port upgrade, whose civil works contract was awarded in March 2021, was still ongoing in September 2025. 822