Solomon Islands
n 1: the southern Solomon Islands that since 1978 form an
independent state in the British Commonwealth
2: the northernmost islands are part of Papua New Guinea; the
remainder form an independent state within the British
Commonwealth [syn: Solomons]
Solomon Islands
Introduction Solomon Islands
----------------------------
Background: 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.
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
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 party to: Biodiversity, Climate
agreements: 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
People Solomon Islands
----------------------
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/ NA
AIDS:
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
(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 NA
leaders:
International organization ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77,
participation: 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 the US does not have an embassy in
US: 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
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.
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 lowest 10%: NA%
percentage share: 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
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
Communications Solomon Islands
------------------------------
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: 3,000 (2000)
Transportation Solomon Islands
------------------------------
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 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 29
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 9
under 914 m: 19 (2001)
Military Solomon Islands
------------------------
Military branches: no regular military forces; Solomon
Islands National Reconnaissance and
Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon
Islands Police (RSIP)
Military expenditures - dollar $NA
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of NA%
GDP:
Transnational Issues Solomon Islands
------------------------------------
Disputes - international: none
Dictionary
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