The literacy rate is estimated to be 97% in Samoa, where education is provided by the state in tandem with 5 religious missions, all following a common syllabus. The first 4 years of primary education take place at village schools, following which brighter pupils move on to district schools instead, where the medium of education is English. The only exception to this rule is found in Apia, where urban schools manage the entire process.
Tala or Samoa Dollar (WST; symbol St$) = 100 sene. Notes are in denominations of St$100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 2. Coins are in denominations of St$1, and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 sene.
The country is located east of the international date line and south of the equator, about halfway between Hawai‘i and New Zealand in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean.