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Samoa, lying in the heart of the South Pacific, 2400 km (1500 miles) north of New Zealand, comprises nine volcanic islands. Four are inhabited – Apolima, Manono, Savai'i, and Upolu (where 72% of the population live). Rainforests cloak the mountains; vegetable gardens and coconut plantations thrive around the coasts. A relative boom in the economy in recent years has not lifted Samoa from the ranks of the UN's Least Developed Countries.