SOLOMON ISLANDS
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 28,450 km2; land area: 27,540 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 5,313 km
Maritime claims: (measured from claimed archipelagic baselines);
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
Natural resources: fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates
Land use: arable land 1%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
1%; forest and woodland 93%; other 4%
Environment: subject to typhoons, which are rarely destructive;
geologically active region with frequent earth tremors
Note: located just east of Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific
Ocean
PEOPLE
Population: 347,115 (July 1991), growth rate 3.5% (1991)
Birth rate: 40 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 39 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 72 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 6.2 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Solomon Islander(s); adjective--Solomon Islander
Ethnic divisions: Melanesian 93.0%, Polynesian 4.0%, Micronesian
1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4%
Religion: almost all at least nominally Christian; Anglican 34%,
Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%,
Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5%
Language: 120 indigenous languages; Melanesian pidgin in much of
the country is lingua franca; English spoken by 1-2% of population
Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
Labor force: 23,448 economically active; agriculture, forestry, and
fishing 32.4%; services 25%; construction, manufacturing, and mining
7.0%; commerce, transport, and finance 4.7% (1984)
Organized labor: NA, but most of the cash-economy workers have
trade union representation
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: none
Type: independent parliamentary state within Commonwealth
Capital: Honiara
Administrative divisions: 7 provinces and 1 town*; Central,
Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Temotu, Western
Independence: 7 July 1978 (from UK; formerly British Solomon
Islands)
Constitution: 7 July 1978
Legal system: common law
National holiday: Independence Day, 7 July (1978)
Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime
minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament
Judicial branch: High Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General George LEPPING (since 27 June 1989,
previously acted as governor general since 7 July 1988);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Solomon MAMALONI (since 28
March 1989);
Deputy Prime Minister Sir Baddeley DEVESI (since NA October 1990)
Political parties and leaders:
People's Alliance Party (PAP);
United Party (UP), Sir Peter KENILOREA;
Solomon Islands Liberal Party (SILP), Bartholemew ULUFA'ALU;
Nationalist Front for Progress (NFP), Andrew NORI;
Labor Party (LP), Joses TUHANUKU
Suffrage: universal at age 21
Elections:
National Parliament--last held 22 February 1989 (next to be held
February 1993);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(38 total) PAP 13, UP 6, NFP 4, SILP 4, LP 2, independents 9
Member of: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant) resides in Honiara
(Solomon Islands);
US--the ambassador in Papua New Guinea is accredited to the
Solomon Islands; Embassy at Mud Alley, Honiara (mailing address is
American Embassy, P. O. Box 561, Honiara); telephone (677) 23890
Flag: 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
Overview: About 90% of the population depend on subsistence
agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their livelihood.
Agriculture, fishing, and forestry contribute about 75% to GDP, with the
fishing and forestry sectors being important export earners. The service
sector contributes about 25% to GDP. Most manufactured goods and
petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped
mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. The economy
suffered from a severe cyclone in mid-1986 that caused widespread damage
to the infrastructure.
GDP: $156 million, per capita $500 (1988); real growth rate 5.0%
(1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10.8% (1989)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $44 million; expenditures $45 million,
including capital expenditures of $22 million (1989 est.)
Exports: $75 million (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--fish 46%, timber 31%, copra 5%, palm oil 5%;
partners--Japan 51%, UK 12%, Thailand 9%, Netherlands 8%, Australia
2%, US 2% (1985)
Imports: $94 million (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--plant and machinery 30%, fuel 19%, food 16%;
partners--Japan 36%, US 23%, Singapore 9%, UK 9%, NZ 9%, Australia
4%, Hong Kong 4%, China 3% (1985)
External debt: $128 million (1988 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 0% (1987); accounts for 5%
of GDP
Electricity: 21,000 kW capacity; 39 million kWh produced,
115 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: copra, fish (tuna)
Agriculture: including fishing and forestry, accounts for about
75% of GDP; mostly subsistence farming; cash crops--cocoa, beans,
coconuts, palm kernels, timber; other products--rice, potatoes,
vegetables, fruit, cattle, pigs; not self-sufficient in food grains;
90% of the total fish catch of 44,500 metric tons was exported (1988)
Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1985), $16.1 million
Currency: Solomon Islands dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Solomon Islands dollar (SI$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Solomon Islands dollars (SI$) per US$1--2.5934
(January 1991), 2.5288 (1990), 2.2932 (1989), 2.0825 (1988), 2.0033
(1987), 1.7415 (1986), 1.4808 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Highways: about 2,100 km total (1982); 30 km sealed, 290 km gravel,
980 km earth, 800 private logging and plantation roads of varied
construction
Ports: Honiara, Ringi Cove
Civil air: no major transport aircraft
Airports: 31 total, 29 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: 3,000 telephones; stations--4 AM, no FM, no TV;
1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Police Force
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 77,169; NA fit for military
service
Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP