Samoa is not located on a continent but rather is part of a geopolitical region known as Oceania. Oceania encompasses Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and thousands of islands in the South Pacific Ocean.
Samoa is a separate country from American Samoa, which is a neighboring U.S. territory. Samoa is a group of Polynesian islands consisting of two main islands, Savai'i and Upolu, and seven smaller islets located about halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii. Previously these islands were known as the Navigator Islands. In 1962, Samoa gained independence from New Zealand, becoming the first island country in the region to gain independence.