Health insurance, while recommended, is not mandatory. All health services available to locals are accessible to foreigners usually at minimal cost to the traveller. Emergency medical facilities are available at Moto'otua Hospital, in Apia. Private medical and dental treatment is also available.
Samoa has a population of 194,320. About three-quarters of the population live on the main island of Upolu.
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.