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); Exclusive 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: arable land 1%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and woodland 93%; other 4% 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: 347,115 (July 1991), growth rate 3.5% (1991) Birth rate: 40 births/1,000 population (1991) Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991) Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991) Infant mortality rate: 39 deaths/1,000 live births (1991) Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 72 years female (1991) Total fertility rate: 6.2 children born/woman (1991) Nationality: noun--Solomon Islander(s); adjective--Solomon Islander Ethnic divisions: Melanesian 93.0%, Polynesian 4.0%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4% Religion: almost all at least nominally Christian; Anglican 34%, Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5% Language: 120 indigenous languages; Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English spoken by 1-2% of population Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%) 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) 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 Sir Baddeley DEVESI (since NA October 1990) Political parties and leaders: People's Alliance Party (PAP); 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, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO 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 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. 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. GDP: $156 million, per capita $500 (1988); real growth rate 5.0% (1990 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10.8% (1989) Unemployment rate: NA% Budget: revenues $44 million; expenditures $45 million, including capital expenditures of $22 million (1989 est.) Exports: $75 million (f.o.b., 1989); 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: $94 million (f.o.b., 1989); 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); accounts for 5% of GDP Electricity: 21,000 kW capacity; 39 million kWh produced, 115 kWh per capita (1990) 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) Economic 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--2.5934 (January 1991), 2.5288 (1990), 2.2932 (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: 31 total, 29 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 2,439 m; 2 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: Police Force Manpower availability: males 15-49, 77,169; NA fit for military service Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP