Solomon Islands

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.)

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. 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.

Electricity - capacity

20,000 kW (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita

NA kWh

Electricity - production

55 million kWh (1994)

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)

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)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $1.2 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $3,000 (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

4.5% (1996 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

10.4% (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.)

Unemployment rate

NA%

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, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified : Law of the Sea

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

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

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

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

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

FAX

[1] (212) 661-8925

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

Judicial branch

High Court

Legal system

common law

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

National capital

Honiara

National holiday

Independence Day, 7 July (1978)

Political parties and leaders

National Unity and Reconciliation Group (GNUR), Solomon MAMALONI; People's Alliance Party (PAP); National Action Party (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

Suffrage

21 years of age; universal

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%

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: NA

Military manpower - fit for military service

males: NA

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.)

Birth rate

37.3 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate

4.31 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Ethnic groups

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

Infant mortality rate

24.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 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: 71.45 years male: 68.96 years female: 74.07 years (1997 est.)

Literacy

NA

Nationality

noun: Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Population

426,855 (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate

3.3% (1997 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: 1 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate

5.27 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Disputes - international

none SOMALIA

Airports

29 (1996 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m : 17 (1996 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 (1996 est.)

Highways

total : 2,100 km paved: 32 km unpaved: 2,068 km (includes about 800 km of private plantation roads) (1995 est.)

Merchant marine

none

Ports and harbors

Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina

Railways

0 km