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The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the most bitter fighting of World War II occurred on these islands. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. Ethnic violence, government malfeasance, and endemic crime have undermined stability and civil society.

[edit] Geography

Location 

Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea

Geographic coordinates 

8 00 S, 159 00 E

Map references 

Oceania

Area 

total: 28,450 sq km
water: 910 sq km
land: 27,540 sq km

Area - comparative 

slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries 

0 km

Coastline 

5,313 km

Maritime claims 

measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM

Climate 

tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather

Terrain 

mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls

Elevation extremes 

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m

Natural resources 

fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel

Land use 

arable land: 1.5%
permanent crops: 0.64%
other: 97.86% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 

NA sq km

Natural hazards 

typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity

Environment - current issues 

deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying

Environment - international agreements 

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note 

strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea

[edit] People

Population 

494,786 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure 

0-14 years: 43.4% (male 109,339; female 105,170)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 134,125; female 130,804)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 7,467; female 7,881) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate 

2.91% (2002 est.)

Birth rate 

33.26 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate 

4.19 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate 

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio 

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate 

23.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth 

total population: 71.82 years
female: 74.39 years (2002 est.)
male: 69.38 years

Total fertility rate 

4.5 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate 

NA%

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS 

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths 

NA

Nationality 

noun: Solomon Islander(s)
adjective: Solomon Islander

Ethnic groups 

Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4%

Religions 

Anglican 45%, Roman Catholic 18%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 12%, Baptist 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4%

Languages 

Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English is official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population
note: 120 indigenous languages

Literacy 

definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%

[edit] Government

Country name 

conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Solomon Islands
former: British Solomon Islands

Government type 

parliamentary democracy tending toward anarchy

Capital 

Honiara

Administrative divisions 

9 provinces and 1 capital territory*; Central, Choiseul (Lauru), Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell/Bellona, Temotu, Western

Independence 

7 July 1978 (from UK)

National holiday 

Independence Day, 7 July (1978)

Constitution 

7 July 1978

Legal system 

English common law, which is widely disregarded

Suffrage 

21 years of age; universal

Executive branch 

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir John LAPLI (since NA 1999)
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of Parliament for up to five years; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament
cabinet: Cabinet consists of 20 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament
head of government: Prime Minister Allan KEMAKEZA (since 17 December 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Snyder RINI (since 17 December 2001)

Legislative branch 

unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single-member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 40%, SIACC 40%, PPP 20%; seats by party - PAP 16, SIACC 13, PPP 2, SILP 1, independents 18
elections: last held 5 December 2001 (next to be held by December 2005)

Judicial branch 

Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders 

Association of Independents [Snyder RINI]; People's Alliance Party or PAP [Allan KEMAKEZA]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon Islands Alliance for Change Coalition or SIACC [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU]
note: in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions

Political pressure groups and leaders 

NA

International organization participation 

ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US 

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Jeremiah MANELE
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017
telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193
FAX: [1] (212) 661-8925

Diplomatic representation from the US 

the US does not have an embassy in Solomon Islands (embassy closed July 1993); the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands

Flag description 

divided diagonally by a thin yellow stripe from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue with five white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the lower triangle is green

[edit] Economy

Economy - overview 

The bulk of the population depends on agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their livelihood. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. However, severe ethnic violence, the closing of key business enterprises, and an empty government treasury have led to serious economic disarray, indeed near collapse. Tanker deliveries of crucial fuel supplies (including those for electrical generation) have become sporadic due to the government's inability to pay and attacks against ships. Telecommunications are threatened by the nonpayment of bills and by the lack of technical and maintenance staff many of whom have left the country.

GDP 

purchasing power parity - $800 million (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 

-10% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita 

purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector 

agriculture: 42%
industry: 11%
services: 47% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line 

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share 

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 

7.9% (2001 est.)

Labor force 

26,842

Labor force - by occupation 

agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate 

NA%

Budget 

revenues: $38 million (2001)
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001)

Industries 

fish (tuna), mining, timber

Industrial production growth rate 

NA%

Electricity - production 

32 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source 

fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption 

29.76 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports 

0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports 

0 kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products 

cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish

Exports 

$165 million f.o.b. (1999 est.)

Exports - commodities 

timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa

Exports - partners 

Japan 22%, China 15%, Philippines 13%, South Korea 12%, UK 12%, Thailand 5% (2000)

Imports 

$152 million f.o.b. (1999 est.)

Imports - commodities 

plant and equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals, fuels, chemicals

Imports - partners 

Australia 27%, Singapore 25%, NZ 5.5%, Japan 5.3%, US 5.1% (2000)

Debt - external 

$137 million (2001 est.)

Economic aid - recipient 

$28 million mainly from Japan, Australia, China, and NZ (2001 est.)

Currency 

Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)

Currency code 

SBD

Exchange rates 

Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - 5.3728 (December 2001), 5.0889 (2000), 4.8381 (1999), 4.8156 (1998), 3.7169 (1997)

Fiscal year 

calendar year

[edit] Communications

Telephones - main lines in use 

8,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular 

658 (1997)

Telephone system 

general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations 

AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios 

57,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations 

0 (1997)

Televisions 

3,000 (1997)

Internet country code 

.sb

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 

1 (2000)

Internet users 

8,400 (2002)

[edit] Transportation

Railways 

0 km

Highways 

total: 1,360 km
paved: 34 km
unpaved: 1,326 km (includes about 800 km of private plantation roads) (1996 est.)

Waterways 

none

Ports and harbors 

Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina

Merchant marine 

none (2002 est.)

Airports 

31 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways 

total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways 

total: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 9
under 914 m: 20 (2002)

[edit] Military

Military branches 

no regular military forces; Solomon Islands National Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP)

Military expenditures - dollar figure 

$NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP 

NA%

[edit] Transnational Issues

Disputes - international 

none