Solomon Islands

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Background: In 1893, Britain made the southern Solomon Islands a protectorate. Other islands were added to the group, including some ceded to Britain by Germany. The Solomon Islands were occupied by the Japanese during World War II. Following the war, internal self-government was established in 1976, and independence from the UK came two years later. Current issues include government deficits, deforestation, and malaria control.

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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
land: 27,540 sq km
water: 910 sq km

Area—comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 5,313 km

Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 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%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 1%
forests and woodland: 88%
other: 9% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: typhoons, but they are rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity

Environment—current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; much of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying

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

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Population: 455,429 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 103,844; female 99,972)
15-64 years: 52% (male 120,518; female 117,298)
65 years and over: 3% (male 6,808; female 6,989) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.18% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 35.92 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 4.11 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 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: 0.97 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.09 years
male: 69.55 years
female: 74.75 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.96 children born/woman (1999 est.)

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 34%, Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5%, traditional beliefs 4%

Languages: Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population
note: 120 indigenous languages

Literacy: NA

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

Data code: BP

Government type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Honiara

Administrative divisions: 7 provinces and 1 town*; Central, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Temotu, Western
note: there may be two new provinces of Choiseul (Lauru) and Rennell/Bellona and the administrative unit of Honiara may have been abolished

Independence: 7 July 1978 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 7 July (1978)

Constitution: 7 July 1978

Legal system: English common law

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Moses PITAKAKA (since 10 June 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU (since 27 August 1997); Deputy Prime Minister Sir Baddeley DEVESI (since 27 August 1997)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament
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

Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 August 1997 (next to be held by August 2001)
election results: percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—GNUR 21, PAP 7, NAPSI 5, SILP 4, UP 4, independents 6, other 3

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders: characterized by fluid coalitions; Liberal Party [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; Solomon Islands National Unity, Reconciliation, and Progressive Party or SINURP [Job Duddley TAUSINGA] (leader of opposition); People's Alliance Party or PAP [leader NA]; Group for National Unity and Reconciliation or GNUR [leader NA]; National Action Party of Solomon Islands or NAPSI [leader NA]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [leader NA]; United Party or UP [leader NA]; Nationalist Front for Progress or NFP [Andrew NORI]; Labor Party or LP [Joses TUHANUKU]; Christian Fellowship [leader NA]; National Party [leader NA]

International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Stephen Rex HOROI (represents the country as both the Permanent Representative to the UN and the ambassador to the US)
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

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Economy—overview: The bulk of the population depend 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. Economic troubles in Southeast Asia led to a steep downturn in the timber industry, and economic output declined by about 10% in 1998. The government instituted public service pay cuts and other retrenchments.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$1.15 billion (1998 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: -10% (1998 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$2,600 (1998 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11.8% (1996)

Labor force: 26,842

Labor force—by occupation: services 41.5%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 23.7%, commerce, transport, and finance 21.7%, construction, manufacturing, and mining 13.1% (1992 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $147 million
expenditures: $168 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)

Industries: copra, fish (tuna)

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity—production: 30 million kWh (1996)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)

Electricity—consumption: 30 million kWh (1996)

Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)

Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)

Agriculture—products: cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish

Exports: $184 million (f.o.b., 1996)

Exports—commodities: timber, fish, palm oil, cocoa, copra

Exports—partners: Japan 50%, Spain 16%, UK, Thailand 5% (1996)

Imports: $151 million (c.i.f., 1996 est.)

Imports—commodities: plant and equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals, fuel

Imports—partners: Australia 42%, Japan 10%, Singapore 9%, NZ 8%, US 5% (1996)

Debt—external: $145 million (1996 est.)

Economic aid—recipient: $46.4 million (1995)

Currency: 1 Solomon Islands dollar (SI$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Solomon Islands dollars (SI$) per US$1—4.9334 (January 1999), 4.8156 (1998), 3.5664 (1997), 3.4059 (1995), 3.2914 (1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year

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Telephones: 5,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system:
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station—1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 38,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0 (1997)

Televisions: 2,000 (1992 est.)

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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.)

Ports and harbors: Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina

Merchant marine: none

Airports: 33 (1998 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1998 est.)

Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 9
under 914 m: 21 (1998 est.)

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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%

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Disputes—international: none