The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II occurred on this archipelago. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. Ethnic violence, government malfeasance, and endemic crime have undermined stability and civil society. In June 2003, then Prime Minister Sir Allen KEMAKEZA sought the assistance of Australia in reestablishing law and order; the following month, an Australian-led multinational force arrived to restore peace and disarm ethnic militias. The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has generally been effective in restoring law and order and rebuilding government institutions.

Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
8 00 S, 159 00 E
Oceania
total: 28,450 sq km ; land: 27,540 sq km ; water: 910 sq km
slightly smaller than Maryland
0 km
5,313 km
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines ; territorial sea: 12 nm ; exclusive economic zone: 200 nm ; continental shelf: 200 nm
tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m ; highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m
fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel
arable land: 0.62% ; permanent crops: 2.04% ; other: 97.34% (2005)
NA
44.7 cu km (1987)

typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earthquakes, tremors, and volcanic activity; tsunamis
deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling ; signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea; on 2 April 2007 an undersea earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale occurred 345 km WNW of the capital Honiara, the resulting tsunami devastated coastal areas of Western and Choiseul provinces with dozens of deaths and thousands dislocated; the provincial capital of Gizo was especially hard hit
566,842 (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 40.7% (male 117,739/female 113,125) ; 15-64 years: 55.9% (male 160,310/female 156,773) ; 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 9,036/female 9,859) (2007 est.)
total: 19.1 years ; male: 19 years ; female: 19.3 years (2007 est.)
2.54% (2007 est.)
29.27 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
3.87 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.041 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 1.023 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 0.917 male(s)/female ; total population: 1.026 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 19.97 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 22.8 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 17.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 73.16 years ; male: 70.64 years ; female: 75.81 years (2007 est.)
3.78 children born/woman (2007 est.)
NA
NA
NA
noun: Solomon Islander(s) ; adjective: Solomon Islander
Melanesian 94.5%, Polynesian 3%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 1.1%, unspecified 0.2% (1999 census)
Church of Melanesia 32.8%, Roman Catholic 19%, South Seas Evangelical 17%, Seventh-Day Adventist 11.2%, United Church 10.3%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.4%, other Christian 4.4%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.2% (1999 census)
Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English (official; but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population); 120 indigenous languages
definition: NA ; total population: NA ; male: NA ; female: NA


conventional long form: none ; conventional short form: Solomon Islands ; local long form: none ; local short form: Solomon Islands ; former: British Solomon Islands
parliamentary democracy
name: Honiara ; geographic coordinates: 9 26 S, 159 57 E ; time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
9 provinces and 1 capital territory*; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western

7 July 1978 (from UK)
Independence Day, 7 July (1978)
7 July 1978
English common law, which is widely disregarded
21 years of age; universal
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Nathaniel WAENA (since 7 July 2004) ; head of government: Prime Minister Derek SIKUA (since 20 December 2007); note - Prime Minister Manasseh SOGAVARE defeated in a no confidence vote in parliament on 13 December 2007; SIKUA elected on 20 December 2007 ; cabinet: Cabinet consists of 20 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament ; elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of Parliament for up to five years (eligible for a second term); 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
unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single-member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms) ; elections: last held on 5 April 2006 (next to be held in 2010) ; election results: percent of vote by party - National Party 6.9%, PAP 6.3%, SIPRA 6.3%, Liberal 5%, Democratic 4.9%, SOCRED 4.3%, LAFARI 2.8%, independents 60.3%; seats by party - National Party 4, SIPRA 4, Democratic 3, PAP 3, LAFARI 2, Liberal 2, SOCRED 2, independents 30
Court of Appeal
Association of Independent Members or AIM [Thomas CHAN]; Christian Alliance Solomon Islands or CASI [Edward RONIA]; LAFARI Party [John GARO]; National Party [Francis HILLY]; People's Alliance Party or PAP [Sir Allan KEMAKEZA]; Social Credit Party or SOCRED [Manasseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon First Party [David QUAN]; Solomon Islands Democratic Party [Gabriel SURI]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU]; Solomon Islands Liberal Party [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement or SIPRA [Job D. TAUSINGA]; United Party [Sir Peter KENILOREA] ; note: in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions
Isatabu Freedom Movement (IFM); Malaita Eagle Force (MEF); note - these rival armed ethnic factions crippled the Solomon Islands in a wave of violence from 1999 to 2003
ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
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
chief of mission: Ambassador Collin David BECK ; chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017 ; telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193 ; FAX: [1] (212) 661-8925
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

by 2006, the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) - originally made up of troops from Australia, NZ, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga - had been scaled back to 259 police officers and 20 military, in addition to civilian technical advisers; in response to rioting that broke out in mid-April 2006, Australia dispatched an additional 220 troops and 70 police officers to help restore order



The bulk of the population depends on agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of its 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. Prior to the arrival of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), severe ethnic violence, the closing of key businesses, and an empty government treasury culminated in economic collapse. RAMSI's efforts to restore law and order and economic stability have led to modest growth as the economy rebuilds.
$800 million (2002 est.)
$286 million (2005)
4.4% (2005 est.)
$600 (2005 est.)
agriculture: 42% ; industry: 11% ; services: 47% (2000 est.)
249,200 (1999)
agriculture: 75% ; industry: 5% ; services: 20% (2000 est.)
NA%
NA%
lowest 10%: NA% ; highest 10%: NA%

6.6% (2005 est.)

revenues: $49.7 million ; expenditures: $75.1 million (2003)

cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; timber; cattle, pigs; fish
fish (tuna), mining, timber
NA%
60 million kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 100% ; hydro: 0% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
55.8 million kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
1,300 bbl/day (2005 est.)
0 bbl/day (2004)
1,296 bbl/day (2004)
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

$237 million f.o.b. (2006)
timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa
China 48%, South Korea 9.5%, Japan 8.9%, Thailand 4.7%, Italy 4.4%, Philippines 4.2% (2006)
$256 million f.o.b. (2006)
Australia 25.5%, Singapore 23.5%, Japan 7.8%, NZ 5.1%, Fiji 4.2%, Papua New Guinea 4.1% (2006)


$166 million (2004)



Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)
SBD
Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - NA (2007), 7.3447 (2006), 7.5299 (2005), 7.4847 (2004), 7.5059 (2003)
calendar year
$198.2 million annually, mainly from Australia (2005 est.)
7,400 (2005)
6,000 (2005)
general assessment: NA ; domestic: NA ; international: country code - 677; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2004)
57,000 (1997)

3,000 (1997)
.sb
3,414 (2007)
1 (2000)
8,000 (2006)

35 (2007)
total: 2 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 ; 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)
total: 33 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 ; 914 to 1,523 m: 9 ; under 914 m: 23 (2007)
3 (2007)


total: 1,360 km ; paved: 34 km ; unpaved: 1,326 km (1999)


Honiara, Malloco Bay, Viru Harbor

no regular military forces; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP)

males age 18-49: 114,253 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 92,796 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 6,033 (2005 est.)
3% (2006)

since 2003, Australian Defense Force leads the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) to maintain civil and political order and reinforce regional security
IDPs: 5,400 displaced by tsunami on 2 April 2007


