Solomon Islands

Airports

33 total, 30 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 2,439 m; 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

Highways

about 2,100 km total (1982); 30 km paved, 290 km gravel, 980 km earth, 800 private logging and plantation roads of varied construction

Ports

Honiara, Ringi Cove

Telecommunications

3,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 4 AM, no FM, no TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Branches

Police Force

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

NA

Agriculture

including fishing and forestry, accounts for about 70% of GDP; mostly subsistence farming; cash crops - cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, timber; other products - rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit, cattle, pigs; not self-sufficient in food grains; 90% of the total fish catch of 44,500 metric tons was exported (1988)

Budget

revenues $44 million; expenditures $45 million, including capital expenditures of $22 million (1989 est.)

Currency

Solomon Islands dollar (plural - dollars); 1 Solomon Islands dollar (SI$) = 100 cents

Economic aid

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $250 million

Electricity

21,000 kW capacity; 39 million kWh produced, 115 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates

Solomon Islands dollars (SI$) per US$1 - 2.8740 (March 1992), 2.7148 (1991), 2.5288 (1990), 2.2932 (1989), 2.0825 (1988), 2.0033 (1987)

Exports

$67.3 million (f.o.b., 1990) commodities: fish 46%, timber 31%, copra 5%, palm oil 5% partners: Japan 51%, UK 12%, Thailand 9%, Netherlands 8%, Australia 2%, US 2% (1985)

External debt

$128 million (1988 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $200 million, per capita $600; real growth rate 6.0% (1990 est.)

Imports

$86.0 million (c.i.f., 1990) commodities: plant and machinery 30%, fuel 19%, food 16% partners: Japan 36%, US 23%, Singapore 9%, UK 9%, NZ 9%, Australia 4%, Hong Kong 4%, China 3% (1985)

Industrial production

growth rate 0% (1987); accounts for 5% of GDP

Industries

copra, fish (tuna)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

10.2% (1990)

Overview

About 90% of the population depend on subsistence agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their livelihood. Agriculture, fishing, and forestry contribute about 70% to GDP, with the fishing and forestry sectors being important export earners. The service sector contributes about 25% to GDP. 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 economy suffered from a severe cyclone in mid-1986 that caused widespread damage to the infrastructure.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Climate

tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather

Coastline

5,313 km

Comparative area

slightly larger than Maryland

Disputes

none

Environment

subject to typhoons, which are rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors

Land area

27,540 km2

Land boundaries

none

Land use

arable land 1%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and woodland 93%; other 4%

Maritime claims

(measured from claimed archipelagic baselines) Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates

Note

located just east of Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean

Terrain

mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls

Total area

28,450 km2

Administrative divisions

7 provinces and 1 town*; Central, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Temotu, Western

Capital

Honiara

Constitution

7 July 1978

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador (vacant) resides in Honiara (Solomon Islands) US: the ambassador in Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands; Embassy at Mud Alley, Honiara (mailing address is American Embassy, P. O. Box 561, Honiara); telephone (677) 23890; FAX (677) 23488

Elections

National Parliament: last held 22 February 1989 (next to be held NA February 1993); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (38 total) PAP 13, UP 6, NFP 4, SILP 4, LP 2, independents 9

Executive branch

British monarch, governor general, prime minister, Cabinet

Flag

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

Independence

7 July 1978 (from UK; formerly British Solomon Islands)

Judicial branch

High Court

Leaders

Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir George LEPPING (since 27 June 1989, previously acted as governor general since 7 July 1988) Head of Government: Prime Minister Solomon MAMALONI (since 28 March 1989); Deputy Prime Minister Sir Baddeley DEVESI (since NA October 1990)

Legal system

common law

Legislative branch

unicameral National Parliament

Long-form name

none

Member of

ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

National holiday

Independence Day, 7 July (1978)

Political parties and leaders

People's Alliance Party (PAP); United Party (UP), leader NA; Solomon Islands Liberal Party (SILP), Bartholemew ULUFA'ALU; Nationalist Front for Progress (NFP), Andrew NORI; Labor Party (LP), Joses TUHANUKU

Suffrage

universal at age 21

Type

parliamentary democracy

Birth rate

40 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

5 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic divisions

Melanesian 93.0%, Polynesian 4.0%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4%

Infant mortality rate

30 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force

23,448 economically active; agriculture, forestry, and fishing 32.4%; services 25%; construction, manufacturing, and mining 7.0%; commerce, transport, and finance 4.7% (1984)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

67 years male, 72 years female (1992)

Literacy

NA% (male NA%, female NA%)

Nationality

noun - Solomon Islander(s); adjective - Solomon Islander

Net migration rate

0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor

NA, but most of the cash-economy workers have trade union representation

Population

360,010 (July 1992), growth rate 3.5% (1992)

Religions

almost all at least nominally Christian; Anglican 34%, Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5%

Total fertility rate

6.0 children born/woman (1992)