1983 Edition

Agriculture

largely dominated by coconut production with subsistence crops of yams, taro, bananas; self-sufficient in rice

mainly a pastoral country, raising livestock; crops — bananas, sugarcane, cotton, cereals

Aid

economic commitments from Western (non-US) countries, ODA (1979), $13.3 million

Airfields

25 total, 23 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

58 total, 47 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 19 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Branches

executive authority in Governor General; unicameral legislature (38-member National Parliament)

President dominates the political system; Cabinet carries out day-to-day government functions; unicameral legislature (National People's Assembly) exists but possesses little power

Somali National Army (including Navy, Air Force, and Air Defense Force)

Budget

(1979) $22.45 million revenues, $37.3 million expenditures

(1981) revenue $373 million, current expenditures $444 million, development expenditures $45 million

Capital

Honiara on the island of Guadalcanal

Mogadishu

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

5 major transport aircraft

Coastline

3,025 km People

Communists

probably some Communist sympathizers in the government hierarchy

Elections

every four years, latest August Political parties and leaders: United Party, Peter Kenilorea; People's Alliance Party, Solomon Mamaloni, National Democratic Party, Bartholemew Ulufa'alu

Electric power

15,000 kW capacity (1983); 30 million kWh produced (1983), 117 kWh per capita

50,000 kW capacity (1983); 60 million kWh produced (1983), 10 kWh per capita

Ethnic divisions

85% Somali, rest mainly Bantu; 30,000 Arabs, 3,000 Europeans, 800 Asians

Exports

$68.4 million (1981); copra, timber, fish

$131 million (f.o.b., 1982); livestock, hides, skins, and bananas

External debt

$902 million (1981); external debt service 9% of exports of goods and serv-

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications

GDP

$1.875 million (1982 est), $375 per capita

GNP

$110 million (1980), $460 per capita

Government leader

Maj. Gen. Mohamed SIAD Barre, President Political party and leader: the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP), created on 1 July 1976, is sole legal party; Maj. Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre is general secretary of the SRSP

Government leaders

Sir Baddeley DEVESI, Governor General; Solomon S. MAMALONI, Prime Minister

Highways

834 km total; 241 km sealed or all-weather

17,215 km total; 2,335 km bituminous surface, 2880 km gravel, and 12,000 km improved earth or stabilized soil

Imports

$72.2 million (1981); energy fuels

$361 million (f.o.b., 1982); textiles, cereals, transport equipment, machinery, construction materials and equipment, petroleum products; also military materiel in

Inland waterways

none

Labor force

20,631 economically active (1980); 30% forestry and fishing, 28.2% social services, 10.8% manufacturing, 9.6% commerce, 7.7% construction, 7.1% transportation and communications Government

approx. 2.2 million; very few are skilled laborers; 70% pastoral nomads, 30% agriculturists, government employees, traders, fishermen, handicraftsmen, other

Land boundaries

2,263 km Water

Language

Somali (official); Arabic, Italian, English •

Legal system

a High Court plus Magistrates Courts, also a system of native courts throughout the islands

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

200 nm

Literacy

60%

Major industries

a few small industries, including sugar refining, tuna and beef canneries, textiles, iron rod plant, and petroleum refining

Major trade partners

exports — Japan 37%, UK 11%, Australia 3%; imports — Australia 31%, Singapore 16%, Japan 15%, UK 9% (1981)

exports — Saudi Arabia 69%, Italy 13% (1980); imports— Italy 35%, US 9%, UK 8% (1980)

Member of

ADB, Commonwealth, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IMF, UN, UPU Economy

AfDB, Arab League, EAMA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDE— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, QIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO Economy

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1983, $85 million; 29.5% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 1,248,000; 674,000 fit for military service; no conscription

Monetary conversion rate

1.222 Australian dollars=US$l (February 1984) Communications

15.261 Somali shillings=US$l (October 1983)

National holiday

21 October

Nationality

noun — Somali(s); adjective — Somali

Official name

Solomon Islands

Somali Democratic Republic

Organized labor

General Federation of Somali Trade Unions, a government-controlled organization, established in 1977 Government

Pipelines

15 km crude oil

Political subdivisions

4 administrative districts

16 regions, 60 districts

Population

6,393,000 (July 1984), average annual growth rate 2.3%

Ports

5 minor (including Honiara, Gizo, Yandina)

3 major (Mogadishu, Berbera, Chisimaio)

Railroad

none

Railroads

none

Religion

almost entirely Sunni Muslim

Suffrage

universal adult at age 21

Telecommunications

4 AM broadcast, no FM, and no TV stations; 2,000 telephones, no TV sets; one ground satellite station Land 686,803 km2; 32% grazing; 14% scrub and forest; 13% arable (0.3% cultivated); 41% mainly desert, urban, or other

poor telephone and telegraph service; radio-relay system centered on Mogadishu connects a few towns; 6,000 telephones (0.2 per 100 popl.); 1 INTELSAT ground station; 2 AM, no FM, 1 TV stations Defense Forces

Type

independent parliamentary state within Commonwealth

republic