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Introduction | Solomon Islands

Background: | The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the bitterest 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. In June 2003, Prime Minister Sir Allen KEMAKEZA sought the assistance of Australia in reestablishing law and order; the following month, an Australian-led multinational force arrived to restore peace and disarm ethnic militias. The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has been very effective in restoring law and order and rebuilding government institutions.

Geography | Solomon Islands

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 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: 0.64% permanent crops: 2% other: 97.36% (2001)
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: | strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea

People | Solomon Islands

Population: | 523,617 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 42.4% (male 113,183; female 108,816) 15-64 years: 54.4% (male 144,157; female 140,769) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 8,058; female 8,634) (2004 est.)
Median age: | total: 18.4 years male: 18.3 years female: 18.5 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate: | 2.76% (2004 est.)
Birth rate: | 31.6 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate: | 4.04 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate: | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 22.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 25.15 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 72.38 years male: 69.9 years female: 74.98 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 4.19 children born/woman (2004 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

Government | Solomon Islands

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, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell and 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 Nathaniel WAENA (since 7 July 2004) 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 Sir 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 not later than 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, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Collin David BECK telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193 chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017 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, Ambassador Robert W. FITTS, 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
Government - note: | June 2003 Prime Minister Sir Allen KEMAKEZA sought the intervention of Australia to aid in restoring order; parliament approved the request for intervention in July 2003; troops from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga arrived 24 July 2003

Economy | Solomon Islands

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. The disintegration of law and order left the economy in tatters by mid-2003, and on 24 July 2003 more than 2000 Australian soldiers entered the Solomon Islands to restore order and to facilitate the restoration of basic services.
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): | 9% (2002 est.)
Labor force: | 26,840 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate: | NA
Budget: | revenues: $38 million expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA (2001)
Agriculture - products: | cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish
Industries: | fish (tuna), mining, timber
Industrial production growth rate: | NA
Electricity - production: | 32 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption: | 29.76 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 1,250 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA (2001)
Oil - imports: | NA (2001)
Exports: | $90 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities: | timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa
Exports - partners: | China 25.2%, South Korea 17.6%, Japan 13.4%, Philippines 8.4%, Singapore 5.9%, Thailand 5.9% (2003)
Imports: | $100 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities: | food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals
Imports - partners: | Australia 29.7%, Singapore 21.9%, Fiji 4.7%, New Zealand 4.7% (2003)
Debt - external: | $162.5 million (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | $28 million annually, mainly from Australia (2001 est.)
Currency: | Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)
Currency code: | SBD
Exchange rates: | Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - NA (2003), 6.7488 (2002), 5.278 (2001), 5.0889 (2000), 4.8381 (1999)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Solomon Islands

Telephones - main lines in use: | 6,600 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 1,000 (2002)
Telephone system: | general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 677; 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 hosts: | 398 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 1 (2000)
Internet users: | 2,200 (2002)

Transportation | Solomon Islands

Highways: | total: 1,360 km paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 km (1999 est.)
Ports and harbors: | Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina
Merchant marine: | none
Airports: | 33 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 31 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)

Military | Solomon Islands

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

Transnational Issues | Solomon Islands

Disputes - international: | Australian defense personnel are dispatched at the invitation of the Solomon Islands' Government to restore law and order on the islands and reinforce regional security

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005