Background: In 1893, Britain made the southern Solomon Islands a protectorate. Other islands were added to the group, including some ceded to Britain by Germany. The Solomon Islands were occupied by the Japanese during World War II. Following the war, internal self-government was established in 1976, and independence from the UK came two years later. Current issues include government deficits, deforestation, and malaria control.

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 S, 159 00 E

Map reference: Oceania

Area
Total: 28,450 km²
Land: 27,540 km²
Water: 910 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 5,313 km

Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
Continental shelf: 200 nm
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

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 1%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 1%
Forests and woodland: 88%
Other: 9% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA km²

Natural hazards: typhoons, but they are rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity

Population: 426,855 (July 1997 est.)
Growth rate: 3.3% (1997 est.)

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

Ethnic groups: Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4%

Languages: Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population
Note: 120 indigenous languages

Religions: Anglican 34%, Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5%, traditional beliefs 4%

Age structure
0-14 years: 45% (male 98,797; female 95,162)
15-64 years: 52% (male 111,702; female 108,505)
65 years and over: 3% (male 6,345; female 6,344) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.3% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 37.3 births/1000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 4.31 deaths/1000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (1997 est.)

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; much of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying

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: 1 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 24.9 deaths/1000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 71.45 years
Male: 68.96 years
Female: 74.07 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.27 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Literacy: NA

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Solomon Islands
Former: British Solomon Islands

Government type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Honiara

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

Independence: 7 July 1978 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 7 July (1978)

Constitution: 7 July 1978

Legal system: common law

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

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 Solomon MAMALONI (since 7 November 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Francis SAEMALA (since NA February 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

Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament (47 seats; members elected from single member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
Elections: last held 26 May 1993 (next to be held 6 August 1997)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GNUR 21, PAP 7, NAPSI 5, SILP 4, UP 4, independents 6

Judicial branch: High Court

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)
In the us chancery: Permanent Mission of the Solomon Islands to the UN, 820 Second Avenue, Suite 800, New York, NY 10,017
In the us telephone: [1] (212) 599-6,193
In the us FAX: [1] (212) 661-8,925
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

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

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. The Government of the Solomon Islands is nearing financial insolvency. In mid-1995 the central bank suspended interest and principal payments on government bonds and treasury bills held by financial institutions and the general public. The government so far has taken no steps to restrain expenditure or address the deficit, which is expected to be considerably higher than the $20 million forecasted in the 1996 budget.

Real gdp growth rate: 4.5% (1996 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,000 (1996 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: NA%
Industry: NA%
Services: NA%

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

Industries: copra, fish (tuna)

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force
Total: 26,842
By occupation services: 41.5%
By occupation agriculture forestry and fishing: 23.7%
By occupation commerce transport andfinance: 21.7%
By occupation construction andmining: 13.1% (1992 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $147 million
Expenditures: $168 million, including capital expenditures of $N/A (1997 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports
Total value: $170 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
Commodities: timber, fish, palm oil, cocoa, copra
Partners: Japan 39%, UK 23%, Thailand 9%, Australia 5%, US 2% (1991)

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%

Debt external: $100 million (1995 est.)

Exchange rates: Solomon Islands dollars (SI$) per US$1 - 3.7900 (November 1996), 3.4059 (1995), 3.2914 (1994), 3.1877 (1993), 2.9281 (1992)

Electricity
Capacity: 20,000 kW (1994)
Production: 55 million kWh (1994)
Consumption per capita: NA kWh

Telephones: 5,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system
Domestic: NA
International: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $NA
Percent of gdp: NA%

Airports: 29 (1996 est.)
With paved runways total: 19
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 17 (1996 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 10
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 9 (1996 est.)

Railways: 0 km

Merchant marine: none

Disputes international: none