Map of Solomon Islands | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background:


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Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 S, 159 00 E

Map reference: Oceania

Area
Total: 28,896 km²
Land: 27,986 km²
Water: 910 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries
Total: 0 km

Coastline: 5,313 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf:

Climate: tropical monsoon; few temperature and weather extremes

Terrain: mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls

Elevation
Highest point: Mount Popomanaseu 2,335 m
Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

Natural resources: fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel

Land use
Agricultural land: 3.9% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 0.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 2.9% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 0.3% (2018 est.)
Forest: 78.9% (2018 est.)
Other: 17.2% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 0 km² (2022)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 44.7 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

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

Geography
Note: strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea; Rennell Island, the southernmost in the Solomon Islands chain, is one of the world’s largest raised coral atolls; the island’s Lake Tegano, formerly a lagoon on the atoll, is the largest lake in the insular Pacific (15,500 hectares)


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Population
Distribution: most of the population lives along the coastal regions; about one in five live in urban areas, and of these some two-thirds reside in Honiara, the largest town and chief port: 714,766 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: 1.69% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 12.7% (2012 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Solomon Islander(s)
Adjective: Solomon Islander

Ethnic groups: Melanesian 95.3%, Polynesian 3.1%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 0.3% (2009 est.)

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

Religions: Protestant 73.4% (Church of Melanesia 31.9%, South Sea Evangelical 17.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 11.7%, United Church 10.1%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.5%), Roman Catholic 19.6%, other Christian 2.9%, other 4%, unspecified 0.1% (2009 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 31.06% (male 114,104/female 107,900)
15-64 years: 63.82% (male 233,501/female 222,640)
65 years and over: 5.12% (2023 est.) (male 17,238/female 19,383)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 74.8
Youth dependency ratio: 68.8
Elderly dependency ratio: 6
Potential support ratio: 16.5 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 24.8 years (2023 est.)
Male: 24.6 years
Female: 25 years

Population growth rate: 1.69% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 22.3 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: most of the population lives along the coastal regions; about one in five live in urban areas, and of these some two-thirds reside in Honiara, the largest town and chief port

Urbanization
Urban population: 26% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 3.57% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 82,000 HONIARA (capital) (2018)

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying, exhibiting the effects of climate change and rising sea levels
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
International agreements signed, but not ratified: Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 7.83 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 0.17 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 0.43 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 22.6 years (2015 est.)
Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-29

Maternal mortality ratio: 122 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 19.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 23.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 15.6 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77 years (2023 est.)
Male: 74.3 years
Female: 79.7 years

Total fertility rate: 2.82 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 29.3% (2015)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 95% of population
Improved rural: 65.9% of population
Improved total: 73.1% of population
Unimproved urban: 5% of population
Unimproved rural: 34.1% of population
Unimproved total: 26.9% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 4.4% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 0.19 physicians/1,000 population (2016)

Hospital bed density: 1.4 beds/1,000 population (2012)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 22.5% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 1.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 1.1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 36.5% (2020 est.)
Male: 53.8% (2020 est.)
Female: 19.2% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 16.2% (2015)

Education expenditures: 12.8% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Total population: NA
Male: NA
Female: NA

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 1.9% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 1.6%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 2.3%


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Solomon Islands
Local long form: none
Local short form: Solomon Islands
Former: British Solomon Islands
Etymology: Spanish explorer Alvaro de MENDANA named the isles in 1568 after the wealthy biblical King SOLOMON in the mistaken belief that the islands contained great riches

Government type: parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

Capital
Name: Honiara
Geographic coordinates: 9 26 S, 159 57 E
Time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: the name derives from "nagho ni ara," which in one of the Guadalcanal languages roughly translates as "facing the eastern wind"

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces and 1 city*; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira and Ulawa, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western

Dependent areas

Independence: 7 July 1978 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 7 July (1978)

Constitution
History: adopted 31 May 1978, effective 7 July 1978; note - in late 2017, provincial leaders agreed to adopt a new federal constitution; progress has been stalled, but as of February 2023, the draft constitution was with the Constitutional Review Unit in the prime minister's office 
Amendments: proposed by the National Parliament; passage of constitutional sections, including those on fundamental rights and freedoms, the legal system, Parliament, alteration of the constitution and the ombudsman, requires three-fourths majority vote by Parliament and assent of the governor general; passage of other amendments requires two-thirds majority vote and assent of the governor general; amended several times, last in 2018

Legal system: mixed legal system of English common law and customary law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of the Solomon Islands
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General David VUNAGI (since 8 July 2019)
Head of government: Prime Minister Manasseh SOGAVARE (since 24 April 2019)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
Elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the National Parliament for up to 5 years (eligible for a second term); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually elected prime minister by the National Parliament; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among members of the National Parliament
Election results: Manasseh SOGAVARE elected prime minister on 24 April 2019

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms)
Elections: last held on 3 April 2019 (next originally scheduled for April 2023, but delayed until 2024)
Election results: percent of vote by party - UDP 10.7%, DAP 7.8%, PAP 4.4%, independent 56.3%, other 20.8%; seats by party - DAP 7, UDP 5, PAP 3, KPSI 1, SIPFP 1, SIPRA 1, independent 32; composition - men 46, women 4, percent of women 8%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Court of Appeal (consists of the court president and ex officio members including the High Court chief justice and its puisne judges); High Court (consists of the chief justice and puisne judges, as prescribed by the National Parliament)
Judge selection and term of office: Court of Appeal and High Court president, chief justices, and puisne judges appointed by the governor general upon recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, chaired by the chief justice and includes 5 members, mostly judicial officials and legal professionals; all judges serve until retirement at age 60
Subordinate courts: Magistrates' Courts; Customary Land Appeal Court; local courts

Political parties and leaders:
Note: in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Jane Mugafalu Kabui WAETARA (since 16 September 2022)
In the us chancery: 685 Third Avenue, 11th Floor, Suite 1102, New York, NY 10,017
In the us telephone: [1] (212) 599-6,192
In the us FAX: [1] (212) 661-8,925
In the us email address and website: simun@solomons.com
From the us embassy: the US does not have an embassy in the Solomon Islands; the US 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; blue represents the ocean, green the land, and yellow sunshine; the five stars stand for the five main island groups of the Solomon Islands

National symbols: national colors: blue, yellow, green, white

National anthem
Name: "God Save Our Solomon Islands"
Lyrics/music: Panapasa BALEKANA and Matila BALEKANA/Panapasa BALEKANA
Note: adopted 1978

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 1 (natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: lower middle-income Pacific island economy; natural resource rich but environmentally fragile; key agrarian sector; growing Chinese economic relationship; infrastructure damage due to social unrest; metal mining operations

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: NA
Government consumption: NA
Investment in fixed capital: NA
Investment in inventories: NA
Exports of goods and services: 25.8% (2011 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -49.6% (2011 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 34.3% (2017 est.)
Industry: 7.6% (2017 est.)
Services: 58.1% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: oil palm fruit, sweet potatoes, coconuts, taro, yams, fruit, pulses, vegetables, cocoa, cassava

Industries: fish (tuna), mining, timber

Industrial production growth rate: -3.84% (2020 est.)

Labor force: 366,000 (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 1.9% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 1.6%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 2.3%

Population below poverty line: 12.7% (2012 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 37.1 (2013 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: NA
Highest 10%: NA

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $514 million (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $537 million (2019 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: -2.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 21.05% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Public debt:

Revenue
From forest resources: 20.27% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:

Exports:
Partners: China 59%, Italy 9%, India 6%, Netherlands 4%, Australia 3% (2021)
Commodities: lumber, tuna, palm oil, coconut oil, gold (2021)

Imports:
Partners: China 36%, Singapore 13%, Australia 12%, Malaysia 10%, New Zealand 6% (2021)
Commodities: refined petroleum, scrap iron, fish, iron structures, poultry meats, rice (2021)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification-total population: 76.3% (2021)
Access electrification-urban areas: 79.2% (2021)
Access electrification-rural areas: 75.3% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 40,000 kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 93.527 million kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 14 million kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 94.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 2.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 2.6% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 2,200 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 1,577 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 333,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 333,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 6.955 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 7,000 (2021 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2021 est.) less than 1
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 474,000 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 67 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) does not broadcast television; multi-channel pay-TV is available; SIBC operates 2 national radio stations and 2 provincial stations; there are 2 local commercial radio stations; Radio Australia is available via satellite feed (since 2009) (2019)

Internet
Country code: .sb
Users total: 255,600 (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 36% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 1,000 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 0.2 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces: no regular military forces; the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force is responsible for internal and external security and reports to the Ministry of Police, National Security, and Correctional Services (2023)

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 6
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 427,806 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 3.84 million (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: H4

Airports: 36 (2021)
With paved runways: 1
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 35
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 3 (2021)

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Total: 1,390 km (2011)
Paved: 34 km (2011)
Unpaved: 1,356 km (2011)
Note: includes 920 km of private plantation roads

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 27 (2022)
By type: general cargo 9, oil tanker 1, other 17

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Honiara, Malloco Bay, Viru Harbor, Tulagi


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Disputes international: from 2003 to 2017, at the request of the Solomon Islands Governor-General, the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), consisting of police, military, and civilian advisors drawn from 15 countries, assisted in reestablishing and maintaining civil and political order while reinforcing regional stability and security

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs