Photo: Neil derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 06 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Samoa: Development & Human Capital
Is a country turning its resources into better lives?
Samoa is placed joint 136th of 196 countries on development & human capital in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics. Readings behind it: Social Protection Coverage 20.2 (2025); Maternal Mortality Ratio 101.49 (2023).
Development & Human Capital
joint136th
of 196 countries placed
Placed from 3 of 3 key statistics
01The evidence
The 3 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Samoa on development & human capital — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used — or, for a survey-based key, each country’s latest reading; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 2 of 3
Maternal Mortality Ratio
UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG)
Why it is a key: Whether a woman survives giving birth — the reach of a health system at the moment it is hardest to fake.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
101.49
Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births
Lower is better
Samoa: 101.49. Across the 195 countries in this edition, values run from 0.11 (Cook Islands) to 992.83 (Nigeria); the world median is 46.65.
- World median
- 46.65
- Best in Polynesia
- 0.11 Cook Islands
Each grey tick is one of 195 countries in the 2023 edition.
Key 3 of 3
Human Development Index
UNDP Human Development Report Office
Why it is a key: The standard composite of health, schooling and income, carrying UNDP's own published rank.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
0.708
HDI score (0–1)
Higher is better
Ranked 122nd of 193 by UNDP Human Development Report Office
Samoa: 0.708. Across the 193 countries in this edition, values run from 0.388 (South Sudan) to 0.972 (Iceland); the world median is 0.762.
- World median
- 0.762
- Best in Polynesia
- 0.769 Tonga
Each grey tick is one of 193 countries in the 2023 edition.
02Over time
Which way Samoa is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Maternal Mortality Ratio
Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births · lower is better
SamoaWorld median
Samoa rose from 92.95 in 2000 to 101.49 in 2023; the world median went from 70.99 to 46.65.
Every year’s figures
Year Samoa World median 2023 101.49 46.7 2022 110.15 53.0 2021 115.37 76.6 2020 113.57 56.0 2019 110.51 48.4 2018 110.17 49.3 2017 110.63 47.2 2016 107.74 50.6 2015 107.74 51.9 2014 106.26 52.8 2013 100.47 53.3 2012 100.75 54.6 2011 92.88 55.0 2010 92.28 56.1 2009 93.60 56.3 2008 86.53 55.8 2007 84.97 56.8 2006 86.00 58.1 2005 87.43 60.1 2004 86.12 63.0 2003 86.65 66.8 2002 88.78 66.0 2001 92.71 68.1 2000 92.95 71.0 Human Development Index
HDI score (0–1) · higher is better
SamoaWorld median
Samoa rose from 0.676 in 2000 to 0.708 in 2023; the world median went from 0.672 to 0.762.
Every year’s figures
Year Samoa World median 2023 0.708 0.7620 2022 0.703 0.7610 2021 0.706 0.7450 2020 0.708 0.7425 2019 0.708 0.7515 2018 0.711 0.7520 2017 0.712 0.7480 2016 0.712 0.7500 2015 0.708 0.7430 2014 0.706 0.7410 2013 0.706 0.7390 2012 0.707 0.7350 2011 0.711 0.7250 2010 0.708 0.7250 2009 0.694 0.7220 2008 0.702 0.7180 2007 0.701 0.7100 2006 0.697 0.7045 2005 0.694 0.6960 2004 0.691 0.6960 2003 0.687 0.6910 2002 0.682 0.6845 2001 0.683 0.6770 2000 0.676 0.6720
03In context
Samoa beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 196 countries on development & human capital, never a place within the region.
Samoa and Polynesia
Samoa has no land border, so the table compares it with its sub-region. The standing is each country’s place among all 196 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Social Protection CoveragePopulation covered by at least one social protection benefit (%) | Maternal Mortality RatioMaternal deaths per 100,000 live births | Human Development IndexHDI score (0–1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cook Islands | 1st | 100 | 0.11 | — |
 Tonga | 115th | 28.2 | 66.78 | 0.769 |
| Samoa | =136th | 20.2 | 101.49 | 0.708 |
 Tuvalu | 155th | 4.5 | 169.71 | 0.689 |
 American Samoa | not placed | — | — | — |
 French Polynesia | not placed | — | — | — |
 Niue | not placed | 48.6 | — | — |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Polynesia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 196.
Placed either side on development & human capital
The countries immediately above and below Samoa in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Samoa is ahead of the world, and behind
24 more statistics filed under development & human capital, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median8
Statistics on which Samoa does better than the middle country measured.
Country Policy and Institutional AssessmentWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 3.2463.953.246No real change since 2015
Samoa: 3.95 · world median 3.246 · IDA Resource Allocation Index (1 = low to 6 = high). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1.617 to 4.225; higher is better.
Position 3rd of 78 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Child MarriageUNICEF · 2025 · world median 17.17.417.1No earlier reading
Samoa: 7.4 · world median 17.1 · Women 20–24 married before 18 (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 76.3; lower is better.
Position 107th of 143 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Stunting Prevalence in Children Under FiveUNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates) · 2024 · world median 13.87.29313.8No earlier reading
Samoa: 7.293 · world median 13.8 · Children under 5 who are stunted (%). UNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.518 to 52.8; lower is better.
Position 116th of 162 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Exclusive Breastfeeding Under Six MonthsUNICEF · 2024 · world median 40.7451.7440.74No earlier reading
Samoa: 51.74 · world median 40.74 · Infants under 6 months exclusively breastfed (%). UNICEF, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 3.497 to 83.3; higher is better.
Position 40th of 136 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Mean Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 9.93311.339.933▼ Worsened since 2013
Samoa: 11.33 · world median 9.933 · Mean years of schooling (adults 25+). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 1.412 to 14.3; higher is better.
Position 59th of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Coefficient of Human InequalityUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 17.0513.717.05No real change since 2019
Samoa: 13.7 · world median 17.05 · Coefficient of Human Inequality (%). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 4.865 to 43.08; lower is better.
Position 106th of 169 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Global Multidimensional Poverty IndexOPHI · 2025 · world median 0.0390.0250.039No real change since 2022
Samoa: 0.025 · world median 0.039 · MPI (0–1). Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 0.517; lower is better.
Position 65th of 109 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Infant Mortality RateUN IGME · 2024 · world median 12.2612.2612.26▼ Worsened since 2014
Samoa: 12.26 · world median 12.26 · Deaths before age one (per 1,000 live births). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1.214 to 71.87; lower is better.
Position 101st of 200 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median11
Statistics on which Samoa does worse than the middle country measured.
Under-Five Mortality RateUN IGME · 2024 · world median 14.5414.8614.54No real change since 2014
Samoa: 14.86 · world median 14.54 · Deaths before age five (per 1,000 live births). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1.26 to 115.65; lower is better.
Position 100th of 200 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Human Capital IndexWorld Bank Group · 2020 · world median 0.5640.5480.564▲ Improved since 2018
Samoa: 0.548 · world median 0.564 · HCI score (0–1). World Bank Group, 2020 edition, data for 2020.
Published values in that edition run from 0.292 to 0.879; higher is better.
Position 91st of 172 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Gender Inequality IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.3510.4160.351▲ Improved since 2019
Samoa: 0.416 · world median 0.351 · GII (0 = full equality, 1 = maximum inequality). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.003 to 0.838; lower is better.
Ranked 105th of 172 by UNDP Human Development Report Office.
Gender Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.9710.9550.971▼ Worsened since 2013
Samoa: 0.955 · world median 0.971 · Gender Development Index (1.000 = parity). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.407 to 1.038; higher is better.
Position 113th of 184 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Life Expectancy at BirthUN DESA Population Division · 2023 · world median 74.6371.774.63▼ Worsened since 2013
Samoa: 71.7 · world median 74.63 · Years a newborn would live at current death rates. UN DESA Population Division, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 54.46 to 86.37; higher is better.
Position 142nd of 222 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
GNI per Capita (PPP)World Bank Group · 2025 · world median 14,2738,55314,273▲ Improved since 2015
Samoa: 8,553 · world median 14,273 · GNI per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1,181 to 116,633; higher is better.
Position 66th of 102 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Statistical Performance IndicatorsWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 69.362.8369.3▼ Worsened since 2016
Samoa: 62.83 · world median 69.3 · SPI overall score (0–100). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 27.12 to 94.14; higher is better.
Position 125th of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Expected Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 13.3412.4413.34▼ Worsened since 2013
Samoa: 12.44 · world median 13.34 · Expected years of schooling. UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 5.635 to 21.69; higher is better.
Position 130th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
GDP per Capita (PPP)World Bank Group · 2025 · world median 17,2657,96317,265No real change since 2015
Samoa: 7,963 · world median 17,265 · GDP per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1,067 to 139,593; higher is better.
Position 130th of 185 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Completeness of Birth RegistrationUNICEF · 2025 · world median 98.466.998.4No earlier reading
Samoa: 66.9 · world median 98.4 · Children under 5 whose birth is registered (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 2.7 to 100; higher is better.
Violent Discipline of ChildrenUNICEF · 2025 · world median 75.890.875.8No earlier reading
Samoa: 90.8 · world median 75.8 · Children aged 1-14 experiencing violent discipline (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 37.6 to 94; lower is better.
Position 4th of 90 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Level with the median, or no median to compare2
Access to ElectricityWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 100100100▲ Improved since 2014
Samoa: 100 · world median 100 · Population with electricity access (%). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 5.4 to 100; higher is better.
Inequality-adjusted Human Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.6090.6090.609No real change since 2019
Samoa: 0.609 · world median 0.609 · IHDI (0–1). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.226 to 0.923; higher is better.
Position 85th of 169 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end3
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Children with Functional DifficultiesUNICEF · 2024 · world median 1322.613No earlier reading
Samoa: 22.6 · world median 13 · Children aged 5-17 with a functional difficulty (%). UNICEF, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.9 to 35.2.
Net Official Development Assistance ReceivedOECD Development Assistance Committee · 2023 · world median 2.57911.342.579Moved since 2013
Samoa: 11.34 · world median 2.579 · Net ODA received (% of GNI). OECD Development Assistance Committee, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from -0.001 to 101.78.
Position 20th of 130 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 2025 · world median 11.264.92511.26Moved since 2015
Samoa: 4.925 · world median 11.26 · Manufacturing value added (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.481 to 43.97.
Position 116th of 132 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for Samoa
Account Ownership at a Financial Institution, Cereal Yield, Planetary pressures-adjusted HDI, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day (last 2013), Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day (last 2013), Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day (last 2013) and Prosperity Gap (last 2013). Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Development & Human Capital among Samoa’s 15 topics
Development & Human Capital is Samoa’s 13th best-placed topic of 15. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Democracy & Civil Liberties34th of 1982/3 keys
- Food & Agriculture40th of 1753/4 keys
- Education & Knowledge43rd of 1714/4 keys
- Gender & Equality55th of 1832/4 keys
- Environment & Sustainability62nd of 1812/3 keys
- Energy72nd of 1932/3 keys
- Health & Wellbeing95th of 2004/4 keys
- Mobility & Trade70th of 1472/3 keys
- Risk & Resilience96th of 1923/3 keys
- Economy & Innovation91st of 1762/4 keys
- Governance & Institutionsjoint 106th of 1942/4 keys
- Poverty & Inequalityjoint 97th of 1592/2 keys
- Development & Human Capitaljoint 136th of 1963/3 keys
- Digital & Technology152nd of 1983/3 keys
- Work & Labour152nd of 1824/4 keys
No standing on Peace & Security: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.
06The top of the list
Who leads on development & human capital
The three countries placed highest of 196, and the leaders Samoa can most readily be measured against.
1Cook IslandsPolynesia
1st of 196 · 2 of 3 keys
Photo: Benedict Adam · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
2
NorwayNorthern Europe
2nd of 196 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Ximonic , Simo Räsänen · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3
DenmarkNorthern Europe
3rd of 196 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: User:Aconcagua · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Oceania
Cook Islands1st2/3 keysThis page
Samoa=136th3/3 keys
Positions out of 196 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Analysis
Charts and analysis about Samoa and development & human capital
On development & human capital
Global Hunger Index 2025: Countries with the Most Alarming Hunger Crisis
Thirteen countries scored across four editions — 2000, 2008, 2016 and 2025 — and five the report could not score at all. DR Congo and South Sudan share 121st place on 37.5.
On development & human capital
India vs Pakistan 2025: Comparison of Hunger Index, Happiness, HDI, Rule of Law, Literacy & GDP
India and Pakistan on six published measures: hunger, happiness, human development, rule of law, literacy and GDP per capita. India is the better placed on five of them; Pakistan on one.
08Questions
Samoa on development & human capital: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Samoa rank on development & human capital?
Samoa is placed joint 136th of 196 countries on Development & Human Capital in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics (Social Protection Coverage, Maternal Mortality Ratio and Human Development Index). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Social Protection Coverage figure for Samoa?
20.2 in 2025 (population covered by at least one social protection benefit (%)), according to International Labour Organization (ILO). The world median in the same edition was 52.1.
What is the latest Maternal Mortality Ratio figure for Samoa?
101.49 in 2023 (maternal deaths per 100,000 live births), according to UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG). The world median in the same edition was 46.65.
How have Samoa’s development & human capital figures changed?
Maternal Mortality Ratio rose from 92.95 in 2000 to 101.49 in 2023; Human Development Index rose from 0.676 in 2000 to 0.708 in 2023.
Which development & human capital statistics are missing for Samoa?
No current reading is published for Samoa on Account Ownership at a Financial Institution, Cereal Yield, Planetary pressures-adjusted HDI, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day and Prosperity Gap. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
Samoa, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions=106th of 194
- Economy & Innovation91st of 176
- Work & Labour152nd of 182
- Education & Knowledge43rd of 171
- Health & Wellbeing95th of 200
- Environment & Sustainability62nd of 181
- Gender & Equality55th of 183
- Democracy & Civil Liberties34th of 198
- Risk & Resilience96th of 192
- Mobility & Trade70th of 147
- Food & Agriculture40th of 175
- Poverty & Inequality=97th of 159
- Energy72nd of 193
- Digital & Technology152nd of 198
- The full Samoa profile
Nearby, on development & human capital
The key statistics, for every country
10Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Poverty lines, inequality and aid received are published here as context rather than as keys, often because they cover fewer countries or are measured too rarely. Development is also not the same as economic size or growth, which belong to Economy & Innovation.
How the Development & Human Capital standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 3 indicators on this topic are keys and 31 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2023 to 2025, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 3 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 196 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 3.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Social Protection Coverage — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
- Maternal Mortality Ratio — UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG), CC BY 3.0 IGO
- Human Development Index — UNDP Human Development Report Office, CC BY 3.0 IGO
The other 24 statistics on this page come from 8 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Samoa’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Samoa (banner) — Neil derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY 2.0
- Cook Islands — Benedict Adam, CC BY 2.0
- Norway — Ximonic , Simo Räsänen, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Denmark — User:Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Samoa: Development & Human Capital — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/samoa/development