Housing Characteristics The average household size in American Samoa decreased from 6.00 in 2010 to 4.96 in 2020.
Most Samoan families are very large. There may be up to 12 children in one family! Children would work on the land, doing farming-type jobs. Samoans that have left Samoa to live elsewhere do not forget those in their homeland.
ʻAiga is a word in the Samoan language which means 'family. ' ʻAiga consists of a wider family group of blood and marriage or even adopted connections who all acknowledge the matai (head of the family).
Samoan society is based on a collectivist system known as 'fa'a Matai'. In this system, society is organised by extended families (aiga), with each family having its own 'Matai' ('chief' or 'leader') titles that are connected to certain districts, villages, and plots of family land.
There are 9,349 households in American Samoa of which 8,706 (93.1%) are family households and 643 non-family households (householder living alone).
The average household size in American Samoa decreased from 6.00 in 2010 to 4.96 in 2020.
Using the 2018 HIES data, it was estimated that 24.9% or a quarter of Samoa's population is multidimensionally poor. The average intensity of deprivation, which reflects the share of deprivations each poor person experiences on average, is 43.9%.
The arrival of fast food restaurants and other contemporary food items on the islands are one of the issues responsible for the obesity in Samoa. The earliest photographs of Samoans provide visual proof of the native population's natural physique before the introduction of processed foods by Western society.
The central element in Samoan culture is the aiga (family). Within the family, giving and receiving tautua (service), fa'aaloalo (respect) and alofa (love) are crucial in social relations.
Marriage. Members of the father's and mother's descent groups are forbidden as marriage partners, and community endogamy is also discouraged. Bride and groom should be of similar rank.
According to figures by the United Nations, 46 per cent of Samoan women who have ever been in a relationship have experienced one or more kinds of partner abuse. The most common form is physical abuse (38 per cent), followed by sexual abuse (20 per cent) and emotional abuse (19 per cent).
There are no real taboos, however it is considered very impolite to walk in front of people you are with (tu lou – bowing in front of a person meaning 'excuse me'). In Samoa, parents, their children and married children all live together in one compound area in separate houses.
On the island of Samoa, there are four recognized cultural genders: female, male, fa'afafine, and fa'afatama. Fa'afafine and fa'afatama are fluid gender roles that move between male and female worlds.
58.4% of adult (aged 18 years and over) women and 43.8% of adult men are living with obesity. Samoa's obesity prevalence is higher than the regional average of 31.7% for women and 30.4% for men and among the highest in the world.
Samoa's social acceptance of fa'afafine has evolved from the tradition of raising some boys as girls. These boys, were not necessarily homosexual, or noticeably effeminate, and they may never have felt like dressing as women.
In Samoan culture, most activities are done together. The traditional living quarters, or fale (houses), contain no walls and up to 20 people may sleep on the ground in the same fale. During the day, the fale is used for chatting and relaxing. One's family is viewed as an integral part of a person's life.
Fale is the Samoan word for all types of houses, from small to large. In general, traditional Samoan architecture is characterized by an oval or circular shape, with wooden posts holding up a domed roof. There are no walls. The base of the architecture is a skeleton frame.
children and view pregnancy as a sickness. cautioned against being alone in the house or going outside, especially after dark. Samoans believe that a lone pregnant woman can be hexed by evil spirits, causing abnormalities to the unborn child.
Samoans have a very strong sense of community.
Samoans are also very proud people. Samoan people are especially proud of their heritage, culture, and traditions, and they love showing it to others. Especially when you venture outside of the populated areas you'll find the locals to be very generous and lighthearted.
It appears to be “heavily influenced by globalization” and “the shift from subsistence agriculture to excess consumption of high calorie, processed foods and sedentary lifestyles.” “Infants in American Samoa show a remarkably rapid gain in weight but not in length in early infancy compared to U.S. infants,” she says.
The average height and weight of American Samoan men - 177cm (5′9) and 103.2 kilograms (227 lbs). The average weight and height of American Samoan women - 167cm (5′5) and 98.1 kilograms (215.8 lbs).
Iceland. Iceland stands at the top of countries with the lowest poverty rates with a poverty rate of 4.9% in 2021.
The economy of Samoa is dependent on agricultural exports, development aid and private financing from overseas. The country is vulnerable to devastating storms. Agriculture employs two-thirds of the labor force, and furnishes 9% of exports, featuring coconut cream, coconut oil and copra.
The prevalence of obesity in Samoa has steadily increased since the 1960s, and today, 53% of Samoa's adult population are obese. People living in the small island country of Samoa, with a total population of fewer than 200 thousand people, are one of the most obese people in the world today.