Solomon Islands

Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II (1952)

Governor-General: Nathaniel Waena (2004)

Prime Minister: Manasseh Sogavare (2006)

Land area: 10,633 sq mi (27,539 sq km); total area: 10,985 sq mi (28,450 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 552,438 (growth rate: 2.6%); birth rate: 30.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 20.6/1000; life expectancy: 72.9; density per sq mi: 52

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Honiara (on Guadalcanal), 54,600

Monetary unit: Solomon Islands dollar

Languages: English 1%–2% (official), Melanesian pidgin (lingua franca), 120 indigenous languages

Ethnicity/race: Melanesian 94.5%, Polynesian 3%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 1.1%, unspecified 0.2% (1999)

Religions: Church of Melanesia 33%, Roman Catholic 19%, Seventh-Day Adventist 11%, United Church 10%, Christian Fellowship Church 2%, other Christian 4% (1999)

Literacy rate: n.a

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2002 est.): $800 million; per capita $1,700. Real growth rate: 5.8% (2003 est.). Inflation: 10% (2003 est.). Unemployment: n.a. Arable land: 1%. Agriculture: cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; timber; cattle, pigs; fish. Labor force: 26,840 (1999); agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.). Industries: fish (tuna), mining, timber. Natural resources: fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel. Exports: $171 million f.o.b. (2004 est.): timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa. Imports: $159 million f.o.b. (2004): food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals. Major trading partners: China, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Philippines, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea (2004).

Member of British Commonwealth

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 8,000 (1997); mobile cellular: 658 (1997). Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998). Radios: 57,000 (1997). Television broadcast stations: 0 (1997). Televisions: 3,000 (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000). Internet users: 8,400 (2002).

Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 1,360 km; paved: 34 km; unpaved: 1,326 km (1999 est.). Ports and harbors: Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina. Airports: 32 (2002).

International disputes: none.


 

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