1998 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1998 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Area
total: 28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km
Area-comparative
slightly smaller than Maryland
Climate
tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
Coastline
5,313 km
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m
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: none of the selected agreements
Geographic coordinates
8 00 S, 159 00 E
Irrigated land
NA sq km
Land boundaries
0 km
Land use
arable land: 1% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 88% other: 9% (1993 est.)
Location
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
Map references
Oceania
Maritime claims
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines continental shelf: 200 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural hazards
typhoons, but they are rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity
Natural resources
fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel
Terrain
mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 45% (male 101,338; female 97,584) 15-64 years: 52% (male 116,045; female 112,840) 65 years and over: 3% (male 6,571; female 6,661) (July 1998 est.)
Birth rate
36.62 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate
4.21 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Ethnic groups
Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4%
Infant mortality rate
23.93 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Languages
Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population note: 120 indigenous languages
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 71.77 years male: 69.26 years female: 74.41 years (1998 est.)
Literacy
NA
Nationality
noun: Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Population
441,039 (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate
3.24% (1998 est.)
Religions
Anglican 34%, Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5%, traditional beliefs 4%
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: 0.99 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate
5.12 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Government
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
Constitution
7 July 1978
Country name
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands
Data code
BP
Executive branch
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II of the UK (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 queen is a hereditary monarch; governor general appointed by the queen 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
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 type
parliamentary democracy
Independence
7 July 1978 (from UK)
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: Permanent Mission of the Solomon Islands to the UN, 820 Second Avenue, Suite 800, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6193 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
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 (SINURP), Danny PHILIP (leader of opposition); People's Alliance Party (PAP), leader NA; Group for National Unity and Reconciliation (GNUR), leader NA; National Action Party of Solomon Islands (NAPSI), leader NA; Solomon Islands Labor Party (SILP), leader NA; United Party (UP), leader NA; Nationalist Front for Progress (NFP), Andrew NORI; Labor Party (LP), Joses TUHANUKU; Christian Fellowship, leader NA; National Party, leader NA
Legal system
English common law
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
National capital
Honiara
National holiday
Independence Day, 7 July (1978)
Suffrage
21 years of age; universal
Economy
Agriculture-products
cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish
Budget
revenues: $147 million expenditures: $168 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)
Currency
1 Solomon Islands dollar (SI$) = 100 cents
Debt-external
$100 million (1995 est.)
Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $8.625 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.); $3.3 million from NZ (FY95/96)
Economy-overview
The bulk of the population depend on subsistence agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their livelihood. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. In recent years the government has poorly managed the country's finances. The new prime minister has vowed to cut expenditures and to promote the private sector to boost economic growth.
Electricity-capacity
12,000 kW (1995)
Electricity-consumption per capita
75 kWh (1995)
Electricity-production
30 million kWh (1995)
Exchange rates
Solomon Islands dollars (SI$) per US$1-3.7580 (November 1997), 3.5664 (1997), 3.4059 (1995), 3.2914 (1994), 3.1877 (1993)
Exports
total value: $168 million (f.o.b., 1995) commodities: timber, fish, palm oil, cocoa, copra partners: Japan 39%, UK 23%, Thailand 9%, Australia 5%, US 2% (1991)
Fiscal year
calendar year Communications
GDP
purchasing power parity-$1.27 billion (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector
agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
GDP-per capita
purchasing power parity-$3,000 (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate
3.5% (1997 est.)
Imports
total value: $152 million (c.i.f., 1995 est.) commodities: plant and machinery, manufactured goods, food and live animals, fuel partners: Australia 34%, Japan 16%, Singapore 14%, NZ 9%
Industrial production growth rate
NA%
Industries
copra, fish (tuna)
Inflation rate-consumer price index
11.8% (1996)
Labor force
total: 26,842 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.)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 4, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios
38,000 (1993 est.)
Telephone system
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station-1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones
5,000 (1991 est.)
Television broadcast stations
0
Televisions
2,000 (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate
NA%
Transportation
Airports
32 (1997 est.) Airports-with paved runways: total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1997 est.) Airports-with unpaved runways: total: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 20 (1997 est.)
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
Railways
0 km
Military and Security
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
Disputes-international
none