Photo: Neil derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 07 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Samoa: Environment & Sustainability
How much pressure does a country put on the natural world?
Samoa is placed 62nd of 181 countries on environment & sustainability in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 3 key statistics. Readings behind it: CO₂ Emissions per Capita 1.126 (2024); Ecological Footprint 2.287 (2025).
Environment & Sustainability
62nd
of 181 countries placed
Placed from 2 of 3 key statistics
01The evidence
The 3 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Samoa on environment & sustainability — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 3
CO₂ Emissions per Capita
Global Carbon Project
Why it is a key: How much carbon dioxide a country's own fuel burning puts into the air for each person living there.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
1.126
Fossil CO₂ (tonnes per person)
Lower is better
Samoa: 1.126. Across the 210 countries in this edition, values run from 0.054 (DR Congo) to 41.27 (Qatar); the world median is 3.21.
- World median
- 3.21
- Best in Polynesia
- 1.126 Samoa
Each grey tick is one of 210 countries in the 2024 edition.
Key 2 of 3
Water Stress
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: Whether a country withdraws more freshwater than nature replaces: the one pressure in this subject a country creates for itself rather than faces.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 4.0
No reading
Freshwater withdrawal as a share of available resources (%)
Lower is better
FAO publishes no 2023 figure for Samoa, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 177 countries in this edition, values run from 0.03 (Republic of the Congo) to 3,851 (Kuwait); the world median is 10.
- World median
- 10
Each grey tick is one of 177 countries in the 2023 edition.
Key 3 of 3
Ecological Footprint
Global Footprint Network
Why it is a key: How much of the planet's biological capacity a country's own consumption uses up.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0
2.287
Ecological Footprint (global hectares per person)
Lower is better
Samoa: 2.287. Across the 126 countries in this edition, values run from 0.514 (Yemen) to 11.73 (Qatar); the world median is 2.296.
- World median
- 2.296
- Best in Polynesia
- 2.287 Samoa
Each grey tick is one of 126 countries in the 2025 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.
CO₂ Emissions per Capita
Fossil CO₂ (tonnes per person) · lower is better
SamoaWorld median
Samoa rose from 0.787 in 2000 to 1.126 in 2024; the world median went from 2.662 to 3.21.
Every year’s figures
Year Samoa World median 2024 1.1264 3.210 2023 1.0839 3.145 2022 1.0962 3.162 2021 1.2512 3.087 2020 1.1064 2.903 2019 1.2401 3.273 2018 1.1297 3.036 2017 1.1416 3.049 2016 1.1703 2.894 2015 1.1258 2.846 2014 1.0074 2.919 2013 0.9610 2.779 2012 0.9696 2.770 2011 0.9785 2.748 2010 0.9681 2.812 2009 0.8801 2.799 2008 0.8480 2.979 2007 0.9512 2.593 2006 0.8979 2.865 2005 0.9210 2.885 2004 0.9049 2.802 2003 0.8694 2.918 2002 0.8739 2.785 2001 0.8402 2.726 2000 0.7865 2.662 Ecological Footprint
Ecological Footprint (global hectares per person) · lower is better
SamoaWorld median
Samoa fell from 2.912 in 2000 to 2.287 in 2025; the world median went from 1.95 to 2.296.
Every year’s figures
Year Samoa World median 2025 2.287 2.2963 2024 2.300 2.3139 2023 2.321 2.3174 2022 2.201 2.2724 2021 2.511 2.3370 2020 2.369 2.3057 2019 2.684 2.2578 2018 2.438 2.2485 2017 2.423 2.2209 2016 2.349 2.2308 2015 2.060 2.3000 2014 2.489 2.3814 2013 2.350 2.3363 2012 2.560 2.4200 2011 2.354 2.4794 2010 2.394 2.3679 2009 2.303 2.2224 2008 2.115 2.1727 2007 2.204 2.2036 2006 2.195 2.1203 2005 2.152 2.1512 2004 2.318 2.1055 2003 2.512 2.0449 2002 2.941 2.1195 2001 3.281 2.2004 2000 2.912 1.9499
03In context
Samoa beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 181 countries on environment & sustainability, 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 181 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | CO₂ Emissions per CapitaFossil CO₂ (tonnes per person) | Water StressFreshwater withdrawal as a share of available resources (%) | Ecological FootprintEcological Footprint (global hectares per person) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samoa | 62nd | 1.126 | — | 2.287 |
 Tonga | =93rd | 1.464 | — | 3.759 |
 American Samoa | not placed | — | — | — |
 Cook Islands | not placed | 5.833 | — | — |
 French Polynesia | not placed | 3.275 | — | — |
 Niue | not placed | 4.193 | — | — |
 Tuvalu | not placed | 1.186 | — | — |
“—” 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 181.
Placed either side on environment & sustainability
The countries immediately above and below Samoa in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Samoa is ahead of the world, and behind
17 more statistics filed under environment & sustainability, 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 median6
Statistics on which Samoa does better than the middle country measured.
Organic Agricultural AreaFAO · 2024 · world median 0.72586.380.725No real change since 2014
Samoa: 86.38 · world median 0.725 · Organic share of agricultural land (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 86.38; higher is better.
Position 1st of 150 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Wind and Solar Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · 2024 · world median 5.76918.755.769▲ Improved since 2014
Samoa: 18.75 · world median 5.769 · Wind and solar (% of electricity generated). Ember, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 69.12; higher is better.
Renewable Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · 2024 · world median 31.1443.7531.14▲ Improved since 2014
Samoa: 43.75 · world median 31.14 · Renewables (% of electricity generated). Ember, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 100; higher is better.
Position 75th of 190 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
World Risk IndexInstitute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV), Ruhr University Bochum · 2025 · world median 4.173.14.17▲ Improved since 2015
Samoa: 3.1 · world median 4.17 · WorldRiskIndex score (0–100, where 100 is the most at risk). Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV), Ruhr University Bochum, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.18 to 46.56; lower is better.
Position 119th of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Carbon Intensity of ElectricityEmber · 2024 · world median 468.81400468.81▲ Improved since 2014
Samoa: 400 · world median 468.81 · Carbon intensity (gCO₂e per kWh generated). Ember, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 23.49 to 1,306; lower is better.
Position 110th of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Low-Carbon Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · 2024 · world median 35.6643.7535.66▲ Improved since 2014
Samoa: 43.75 · world median 35.66 · Low-carbon sources (% of electricity generated). Ember, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 100; higher is better.
Position 84th of 190 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median3
Statistics on which Samoa does worse than the middle country measured.
Energy Intensity of GDP (PPP)EIA · 2024 · world median 2.7383.8442.738▼ Worsened since 2014
Samoa: 3.844 · world median 2.738 · Energy use per dollar of GDP (thousand Btu per US$ at PPP). U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.666 to 17.45; lower is better.
ND-GAIN Country IndexNotre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 2024 · world median 47.4440.147.44▼ Worsened since 2014
Samoa: 40.1 · world median 47.44 · ND-GAIN Index (0–100, where 100 is best placed to adapt). Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 26.42 to 71.85; higher is better.
Ranked 142nd of 190 by Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame.
Climate Vulnerability (ND-GAIN)Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 2024 · world median 0.450.5380.45▼ Worsened since 2014
Samoa: 0.538 · world median 0.45 · ND-GAIN Vulnerability (0–1, where 1 is the most vulnerable). Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.263 to 0.655; lower is better.
Ranked 160th of 190 by Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame.
No better end8
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Forest AreaFAO · 2023 · world median 31.0857.6431.08No real change since 2013
Samoa: 57.64 · world median 31.08 · Forest area (% of land area). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 94.45.
Position 32nd of 210 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Pesticide Use per HectareFAO · 2024 · world median 1.739.51.73Moved since 2014
Samoa: 9.5 · world median 1.73 · Pesticide use (kg per hectare of cropland). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 37.72.
Position 31st of 178 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Livestock DensityFAO · 2023 · world median 0.5351.070.535No real change since 2013
Samoa: 1.07 · world median 0.535 · Livestock units per hectare of agricultural land. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.02 to 43.97.
Position 44th of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Total Natural Resources Rents (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 2021 · world median 1.7080.281.708Moved since 2011
Samoa: 0.28 · world median 1.708 · Natural resources rents (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2021 edition, data for 2021.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 61.03.
Position 141st of 180 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Arable Land per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 0.1090.0490.109Moved since 2013
Samoa: 0.049 · world median 0.109 · Arable land (hectares per person). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1.459.
Position 148th of 206 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Agricultural LandFAO · 2023 · world median 37.9617.5637.96Moved since 2013
Samoa: 17.56 · world median 37.96 · Agricultural land (% of land area). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.445 to 86.48.
Position 158th of 209 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Agricultural EmissionsFAO · 2023 · world median 8,635154.098,635No real change since 2013
Samoa: 154.09 · world median 8,635 · Farm-gate emissions (kt CO₂eq). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1,044,508.
Position 165th of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Fertilizer Consumption per HectareFAO · 2023 · world median 87.361.02787.36No real change since 2013
Samoa: 1.027 · world median 87.36 · Fertilizer consumption (kg per hectare of arable land). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 2,926.
Position 184th of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for Samoa
Adjusted Net Savings (last 2020), Agricultural Irrigated Land, Internal Displacements by Disaster (last 2023), Land Under Cereal Production, Planetary pressures-adjusted HDI, Renewable Internal Freshwater Resources per Capita, Water Stress, Water Withdrawal by Sector and World Energy Trilemma Index. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Environment & Sustainability among Samoa’s 15 topics
Environment & Sustainability is Samoa’s 5th 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 environment & sustainability
The three countries placed highest of 181, and the leaders Samoa can most readily be measured against.
1
DR CongoMiddle Africa
1st of 181 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Christina Bergey derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
MozambiqueEastern Africa
2nd of 181 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Stig Nygaard derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
3
Guinea-BissauWestern Africa
3rd of 181 · 2 of 3 keys
Photo: (WT-en) Pis bus at English Wikivoyage · Public domain, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Oceania
Papua New Guinea5th2/3 keysHighest in Polynesia
Samoa62nd2/3 keys
Positions out of 181 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.
07Questions
Samoa on environment & sustainability: 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 environment & sustainability?
Samoa is placed 62nd of 181 countries on Environment & Sustainability in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 3 key statistics (CO₂ Emissions per Capita and Ecological Footprint). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest CO₂ Emissions per Capita figure for Samoa?
1.126 in 2024 (fossil CO₂ (tonnes per person)), according to Global Carbon Project. The world median in the same edition was 3.21.
What is the latest Ecological Footprint figure for Samoa?
2.287 in 2025 (ecological Footprint (global hectares per person)), according to Global Footprint Network. The world median in the same edition was 2.296.
How have Samoa’s environment & sustainability figures changed?
CO₂ Emissions per Capita rose from 0.787 in 2000 to 1.126 in 2024; Ecological Footprint fell from 2.912 in 2000 to 2.287 in 2025.
Which environment & sustainability statistics are missing for Samoa?
No current reading is published for Samoa on Adjusted Net Savings, Agricultural Irrigated Land, Internal Displacements by Disaster, Land Under Cereal Production, Planetary pressures-adjusted HDI, Renewable Internal Freshwater Resources per Capita, Water Stress, Water Withdrawal by Sector and World Energy Trilemma Index. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
08Keep 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
- Development & Human Capital=136th of 196
- 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 environment & sustainability
The key statistics, for every country
09Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Air quality and biodiversity are not keys, because the site does not yet hold data for them that passes every test. Forest cover, farmland, organic farming, farm emissions and the renewable share of electricity are published here as context. Exposure to natural hazards belongs to Risk & Resilience.
How the Environment & Sustainability 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 25 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. 181 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
- CO₂ Emissions per Capita — Global Carbon Project, CC BY 4.0
- Water Stress — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
- Ecological Footprint — Global Footprint Network, CC BY-SA 4.0
The other 17 statistics on this page come from 6 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
- DR Congo — Christina Bergey derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Mozambique — Stig Nygaard derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY 2.0
- Guinea-Bissau — (WT-en) Pis bus at English Wikivoyage, Public domain
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Samoa: Environment & Sustainability — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/samoa/environment