### Solomon Islands

- Introduction
- Geography
- People
- Government
- Economy
- Communications
- Transportation
- Military
- Transnational Issues

INTRODUCTION

Background:
The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II occurred on this archipelago. 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, then Prime Minister Sir Allan 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 generally been effective in restoring law and order and rebuilding government institutions.

GEOGRAPHY

Location:
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
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: 0.62%
permanent crops: 2.04%
other: 97.34% (2005)

Irrigated land: NA

Total renewable water resources: 44.7 cu km (1987)

Natural hazards:
typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earthquakes, tremors, and volcanic activity; tsunamis

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; on 2 April 2007 an undersea earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale occurred 345 km WNW of the capital Honiara, the resulting tsunami devastated coastal areas of Western and Choiseul provinces with dozens of deaths and thousands dislocated; the provincial capital of Gizo was especially hard hit

PEOPLE

Population: 581,318 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 40.1% (male 118,856/female 114,173)
15-64 years: 56.5% (male 166,004/female 162,317)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 9,487/female 10,481) (2008 est.)

Median age:
total: 19.4 years
male: 19.3 years
female: 19.6 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.467% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 28.48 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 3.81 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate: NA (2008 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: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 19.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.36 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 16.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.44 years
male: 70.9 years
female: 76.1 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.65 children born/woman (2008 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 94.5%, Polynesian 3%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 1.1%, unspecified 0.2% (1999 census)

Religions:
Church of Melanesia 32.8%, Roman Catholic 19%, South Seas Evangelical 17%, Seventh-Day Adventist 11.2%, United Church 10.3%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.4%, other Christian 4.4%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.2% (1999 census)

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

Literacy:
NA

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 8 years
male: 9 years
female: 8 years (2005)

Education expenditures: 3.3% of GDP (1999)

GOVERNMENT

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

Government type: parliamentary democracy

Capital:
name: Honiara
geographic coordinates: 9 26 S, 159 57 E
time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

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)
head of government: Prime Minister Derek SIKUA (since 20 December 2007); note - Prime Minister Manasseh SOGAVARE defeated in a no confidence vote in parliament on 13 December 2007; SIKUA elected on 20 December 2007
cabinet: Cabinet consists of 20 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament
elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of Parliament for up to five years (eligible for a second term); 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 on 5 April 2006 (next to be held in 2010)
election results: percent of vote by party - National Party 6.9%, PAP 6.3%, SIPRA 6.3%, Liberal 5%, Democratic 4.9%, SOCRED 4.3%, LAFARI 2.8%, independents 60.3%; seats by party - National Party 4, SIPRA 4, Democratic 3, PAP 3, LAFARI 2, Liberal 2, SOCRED 2, independents 30

Judicial branch:
Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders:
Association of Independent Members or AIM [Thomas CHAN]; Christian Alliance Solomon Islands or CASI [Edward RONIA]; LAFARI Party [John GARO]; National Party [Francis HILLY]; People's Alliance Party or PAP [Sir Allan KEMAKEZA]; Social Credit Party or SOCRED [Manasseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon First Party [David QUAN]; Solomon Islands Democratic Party [Gabriel SURI]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU]; Solomon Islands Liberal Party [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement or SIPRA [Job D. TAUSINGA]; United Party [Sir Peter KENILOREA]
note: in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Isatabu Freedom Movement (IFM); Malaita Eagle Force (MEF); note - these rival armed ethnic factions crippled the Solomon Islands in a wave of violence from 1999 to 2003

International organization participation:
ACP, ADB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Collin David BECK
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

Click to enlarge.
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:
by the end of 2007, the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) - originally made up of police and troops from Australia, NZ, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga - had been scaled back to 303 police officers, 197 civilian technical advisers, and 72 military advisers from 15 countries across the region

ECONOMY

Economy - overview: The bulk of the population depends on agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of its 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. Prior to the arrival of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), severe ethnic violence, the closing of key businesses, and an empty government treasury culminated in economic collapse. RAMSI's efforts to restore law and order and economic stability have led to modest growth as the economy rebuilds.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $1.126 billion (2008 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $460 million (2008 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 10% (2008 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,900 (2008 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 42%
industry: 11%
services: 47% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 249,200 (1999)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 75%
industry: 5%
services: 20% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

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

Budget:
revenues: $49.7 million
expenditures: $75.1 million (2003)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.3% (2007 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 14.12% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money: $118.3 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money: $57.89 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit: $126.9 million (31 December 2007)

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

Industries:
fish (tuna), mining, timber

Electricity - production: 70 million kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - consumption: 70 million kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption: 1,320 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports: 0 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports: 1,426 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance: -$143 million (2007 est.)

Exports: $237 million f.o.b. (2006)

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

Exports - partners:
China 50.8%, South Korea 7%, Thailand 6.5%, Japan 5.7%, Philippines 4.3% (2007)

Imports: $256 million f.o.b. (2006)

Imports - commodities:
food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals

Imports - partners:
Singapore 28.2%, Australia 25.4%, Japan 4.6%, NZ 4.5%, Fiji 4% (2007)

Debt - external: $166 million (2004)

Exchange rates:
Solomon Islands dollars (SBD) per US dollar - NA (2007), 7.3447 (2006), 7.5299 (2005), 7.4847 (2004), 7.5059 (2003)

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephones - main lines in use: 7,600 (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 10,900 (2007)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: country code - 677; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2004)

Internet country code:
.sb

Internet hosts: 3,804 (2008)

Internet users: 8,000 (2006)

TRANSPORTATION

Airports: 35 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 33
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 9
under 914 m: 23 (2007)

Heliports:
3 (2007)

Roadways:
total: 1,360 km
paved: 33 km
unpaved: 1,327 km
note: includes 800 km of private plantation roads (2002)

Ports and terminals: Honiara, Malloco Bay, Viru Harbor

MILITARY

Military branches:
no regular military forces; Solomon Islands Police Force (2009)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 141,051 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 116,891 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 6,924
female: 6,679 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures: 3% of GDP (2006)

TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES

Disputes - international: since 2003, the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), consisting of police, military, and civilian advisors drawn from 15 countries, has assisted in reestablishing and maintaining civil and political order while reinforcing regional stability and security

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 5,400 (displaced by tsunami on 2 April 2007) (2007)

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