Where is the island state Samoa located?

Explanation

Samoa is a country encompassing several islands in the South Pacific Ocean. Samoa is a monarchy. It gained its independence from New Zeland in 1962. The islanders speak English and Samoan. The capital and most populous city is called Apia. Around 180,000 people live in Samoa. The islands were first inhabited around 1000 B.C. and were later discovered by the European explorer and scentist Louis Antoine de Bougainville in 1776.