Country:  Solomon Islands
- Geography
Total area: 28,450 km2; land area: 27,540 km2
 
Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
 
Land boundaries: none
 
Coastline: 5,313 km
 
Maritime claims: (measured from claimed archipelagic baselines);
 
Extended 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
 
Natural resources: fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates
 
Land use: 1% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures;
93% forest and woodland; 4% other
 
Environment: subject to typhoons, which are rarely destructive;
geologically active region with frequent earth tremors
 
Note: located just east of Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean
 
- People
Population: 335,082 (July 1990), growth rate 3.5% (1990)
 
Birth rate: 41 births/1,000 population (1990)
 
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
 
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
 
Infant mortality rate: 40 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
 
Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 72 years female (1990)
 
Total fertility rate: 6.3 children born/woman (1990)
 
Nationality: noun--Solomon Islander(s); adjective--Solomon Islander
 
Ethnic divisions: 93.0% Melanesian, 4.0% Polynesian, 1.5% Micronesian,
0.8% European, 0.3% Chinese, 0.4% other
 
Religion: almost all at least nominally Christian; Anglican, Seventh-Day
Adventist, and Roman Catholic Churches dominant
 
Language: 120 indigenous languages; Melanesian pidgin in much of the
country is lingua franca; English spoken by 1-2% of population
 
Literacy: 60%
 
Labor force: 23,448 economically active; 32.4% agriculture, forestry, and
fishing; 25% services, 7.0% construction, manufacturing, and mining;
4.7% commerce, transport, and finance (1984)
 
Organized labor: NA, but most of the cash-economy workers have trade
union representation
 
- Government
Long-form name: none
 
Type: independent parliamentary state within Commonwealth
 
Capital: Honiara
 
Administrative divisions: 7 provinces and 1 town*; Central, Guadalcanal,
Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Temotu, Western
 
Independence: 7 July 1978 (from UK; formerly British Solomon Islands)
 
Constitution: 7 July 1978
 
Legal system: common law
 
National holiday: Independence Day, 7 July (1978)
 
Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister,
Cabinet
 
Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament
 
Judicial branch: High Court
 
Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented
by Governor General 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 Danny PHILIP (since 31 March 1989)
 
Political parties and leaders:
People's Alliance Party (PAP), Solomon Mamaloni;
United Party (UP), Sir Peter Kenilorea;
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
 
Elections:
National Parliament--last held 22 February 1989 (next to be held
February 1993);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(38 total) PAP 13, UP 6, NFP 4, SILP 4, LP 2, independents 9
 
Member of: ACP, ADB, Commonwealth, ESCAP, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, SPF, UN, UPU, WHO
 
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) 23488
 
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
 
- Economy
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 75% to GDP, with the
fishing and forestry sectors being important export earners. The service
sector contributes about 25% to GDP. Manufacturing activity is
negligible. 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 which caused widespread damage to the infrastructure.
 
GDP: $156 million, per capita $500; real growth rate 4.3% (1988)
 
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11.2% (1988)
 
Unemployment rate: NA%
 
Budget: revenues $139.0 million; expenditures $154.4 million, including
capital expenditures of $113.4 million (1987)
 
Exports: $80.1 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--fish 46%,
timber 31%, copra 5%, palm oil 5%; partners--Japan 51%, UK 12%,
Thailand 9%, Netherlands 8%, Australia 2%, US 2% (1985)
 
Imports: $101.7 million (f.o.b., 1988); 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)
 
External debt: $128 million (1988 est.)
 
Industrial production: growth rate 0% (1987)
 
Electricity: 15,000 kW capacity; 30 million kWh produced,
90 kWh per capita (1989)
 
Industries: copra, fish (tuna)
 
Agriculture: including fishing and forestry, accounts for about
75% 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)
 
Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1985), $16.1 million
 
Currency: Solomon Islands dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Solomon Islands dollar (SI$) = 100 cents
 
Exchange rates: Solomon Islands dollars (SI$) per US$1--2.4067
(January 1990), 2.3090 (1989), 2.0825 (1988), 2.0033 (1987), 1.7415 (1986),
1.4808 (1985)
 
Fiscal year: calendar year
 
- Communications
Highways: about 2,100 km total (1982); 30 km sealed, 290 km gravel,
980 km earth, 800 private logging and plantation roads of varied
construction
 
Ports: Honiara, Ringi Cove
 
Civil air: no major transport aircraft
 
Airports: 29 total, 27 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
 
Telecommunications: 3,000 telephones; stations--4 AM, no FM, no TV;
1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station
 
- Defense Forces
Branches: NA
 
Military manpower: NA
 
Defense expenditures: NA