The full story
The 10% women's quota came from a 2013 constitutional amendment under HRPP and was first applied at the 2016 election: if fewer than 10% of elected members are women, the highest-polling women are added. 46 Under Fiamē, Parliament debated removing the quota in October 2023 but did not. 6 Six women sat in the Assembly in May 2024. 6 Five women won seats in 2025, and after the election petitions Aliʻimalemanu Moti Alofa Tuuau was added in October 2026 as the sixth, in a 52-member Assembly. 1
Among paid employees in the 2022 Labour Force Survey, women's average gross monthly earnings were SAT$1,670 and men's SAT$1,587; the national average was SAT$1,621. 7 That is an unadjusted average across different jobs and hours, not a measure of equal pay for equal work. 7
The Crimes Act 2013 still criminalises sexual acts between men, with a maximum of five years' imprisonment; there is no evidence of recent enforcement, and employment law protects against discrimination on sexual orientation. 8 A survey by the Samoa Faʻafafine Association found 61.5% of its respondents had experienced discrimination; that is a respondent figure, not a national rate. 8 The National Policy on Inclusive Government 2021–31 names people of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression among those whose participation it seeks. 9 The 2026/27 budget gives SAT$20,000 to the Samoa Faʻafafine Association. 3 The Samoa Law Reform Commission recommended repeal in 2010 and the government of the day rejected it; no government since has proposed repeal. 8
Unemployment among 15 to 24 year olds was 31.9% in 2017 and 13.4% in 2022, and the share of young people not in employment, education or training fell from 37.9% to 30.1%. 210 In 2023, 16.0% of 15 to 24 year olds were below the poverty line, and people under 25 were more than 60% of all those below it. 11 In a survey of 408 businesses from July 2025 to April 2026, 193 (47%) said they had lost staff to overseas work schemes. 12 The 2026/27 budget gives SAT$250,000 to apprenticeships, and a 12-month anti-drug campaign began in October 2025. 313
HRPP's 2019 education amendment raised the compulsory schooling age to 16. 16 Under Fiamē, a labour-law amendment in force from 5 February 2024 allowed unannounced inspections, and a 2024–27 child-labour action plan followed; the hazardous-work rules still did not cover street vending. 1415 The 2022 survey estimated 11.5% of 5 to 17 year olds in child labour, and a targeted count found 106 child street vendors in 2015 and 135 in 2022. 216 UNICEF put birth registration of under-fives at 67% in 2021. 17 Under Laʻauli, registration for the SAT$200 birth payment and SAT$100 monthly child benefit was under way in September 2026: 1,102 of an estimated 3,458 eligible children in Savaiʻi's 20 districts by 19 September 2026, with registration in Upolu running to 30 October 2026. 1819
Samoa ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 2 December 2016. 20 Under Fiamē, a SAT$100 monthly disability benefit started in 2021, the 2023/24 budget provided SAT$2m for 1,820 payments, 2,556 people were registered by March 2024, and a 2021–31 disability policy was adopted. 252122 Under Laʻauli, the benefit rose to SAT$300 a month and the 2026/27 budget address reported 2,875 recipients. 243 At the UN committee review in March 2026, the standalone disability bill promised since a 2015 legal review was still unenacted, and experts said there was no accessible public transport and asked how school buildings would be made accessible. 23
No measured impact published yet on whether the higher disability benefit or the coming child benefit reduces poverty among those households; the next household survey would show it. 11