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Communications

Broadband - fixed subscriptions [time series]

total: 1,166 | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2017 est.)

Broadcast media [time series]

Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) does not broadcast television; multi-channel pay-TV is available; SIBC operates 2 national radio stations and 2 provincial stations; there are 2 local commercial radio stations; Radio Australia is available via satellite feed (since 2009) (2019)

Internet country code [time series]

.sb

Internet users [time series]

total: 69,859 | percent of population: 11% (July 2016 est.)

Telecommunication systems (Telephone system) [time series]

general assessment: Internet penetration has reached 20%; 3G mobile networks expanding and even 4G LTE services launched in the capital; otherwise 2G and satellite services for communication and Internet access; increase in broadband subscriptions (2018) | domestic: fixed-line is 1 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular telephone density is about 72 per 100 persons; domestic cable system to extend to key major islands (2018) | international: country code - 677; landing points for the CSCS and ICNS2 submarine cables providing connectivity from Solomon Islands, to PNG, Vanuatu and Australia; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2019)

Telephones - fixed lines [time series]

total subscriptions: 7,405 | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2017 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular [time series]

total subscriptions: 465,331 | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 72 (2017 est.)

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture - products) [time series]

cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, fruit; cattle, pigs; fish; timber

Budget [time series]

revenues: 532.5 million (2017 est.) | expenditures: 570.5 million (2017 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) [time series]

-2.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate [time series]

10.7% (31 December 2017 est.) | 10.1% (31 December 2016 est.)

Current account balance [time series]

-$54 million (2017 est.) | -$49 million (2016 est.)

Debt - external [time series]

$757 million (31 December 2017 est.) | $643 million (31 December 2016 est.)

Economic overview (Economy - overview) [time series]

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 closure of key businesses, and an empty government treasury culminated in economic collapse. RAMSI's efforts, which concluded in Jun 2017, to restore law and order and economic stability have led to modest growth as the economy rebuilds.

Exchange rates [time series]

Solomon Islands dollars (SBD) per US dollar - | 7.9 (2017 est.) | 7.94 (2016 est.) | 7.94 (2015 est.) | 7.9147 (2014 est.) | 7.3754 (2013 est.)

Exports [time series]

$468.6 million (2017 est.) | $419.9 million (2016 est.)

Exports - commodities [time series]

timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa, coconut oil

Exports - partners [time series]

China 64.5%, Italy 6.2%, Switzerland 4.6%, Philippines 4.4% (2017)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

GDP (official exchange rate) [time series]

$1.298 billion (2017 est.)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP (purchasing power parity)) [time series]

$1.33 billion (2017 est.) | $1.285 billion (2016 est.) | $1.242 billion (2015 est.) | note: data are in 2017 dollars

GDP - composition, by end use [time series]

GDP - composition, by sector of origin [time series]

agriculture: 34.3% (2017 est.) | industry: 7.6% (2017 est.) | services: 58.1% (2017 est.)

Real GDP per capita (GDP - per capita (PPP)) [time series]

$2,200 (2017 est.) | $2,100 (2016 est.) | $2,100 (2015 est.) | note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real GDP growth rate (GDP - real growth rate) [time series]

3.5% (2017 est.) | 3.5% (2016 est.) | 2.5% (2015 est.)

Gross national saving [time series]

13.1% of GDP (2017 est.) | 15.2% of GDP (2016 est.) | 14.5% of GDP (2015 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share [time series]

lowest 10%: NA | highest 10%: NA

Imports [time series]

$462.1 million (2017 est.) | $419.3 million (2016 est.)

Imports - commodities [time series]

food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals

Imports - partners [time series]

China 21.9%, Australia 19.6%, Singapore 10.7%, Vietnam 7.5%, NZ 6.2%, Papua New Guinea 5%, South Korea 4.7% (2017)

Industrial production growth rate [time series]

3.6% (2017 est.)

Industries [time series]

fish (tuna), mining, timber

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

0.5% (2017 est.) | 0.5% (2016 est.)

Labor force [time series]

202,500 (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation [time series]

agriculture: 75% | industry: 5% | services: 20% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line [time series]

Public debt [time series]

9.4% of GDP (2017 est.) | 7.9% of GDP (2016 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold [time series]

$0 (31 December 2017 est.) | $421 million (31 December 2016 est.)

Stock of broad money [time series]

$499.8 million (31 December 2017 est.) | $429.5 million (31 December 2016 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad [time series]

$59.2 million (31 December 2017 est.) | $50.1 million (31 December 2016 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home [time series]

$594.8 million (31 December 2017 est.) | $571.2 million (31 December 2016 est.)

Stock of domestic credit [time series]

$152.6 million (31 December 2017 est.) | $149.6 million (31 December 2016 est.)

Stock of narrow money [time series]

$499.8 million (31 December 2017 est.) | $429.5 million (31 December 2016 est.)

Taxes and other revenues [time series]

41% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Unemployment rate [time series]

Energy

Carbon dioxide emissions (Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy) [time series]

233,500 Mt (2017 est.)

Crude oil - exports [time series]

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Crude oil - imports [time series]

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Crude oil - production [time series]

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

Crude oil - proved reserves [time series]

0 bbl (1 January 2018 est.)

Electricity - consumption [time series]

95.79 million kWh (2016 est.)

Electricity - exports [time series]

0 kWh (2016 est.)

Electricity - from fossil fuels [time series]

92% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)

Electricity - from hydroelectric plants [time series]

0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

Electricity - from nuclear fuels [time series]

0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

Electricity - from other renewable sources [time series]

8% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

Electricity - imports [time series]

0 kWh (2016 est.)

Electricity - installed generating capacity [time series]

38,000 kW (2016 est.)

Electricity - production [time series]

103 million kWh (2016 est.)

Electricity access [time series]

electrification - total population: 47.9% (2016) | electrification - urban areas: 69.6% (2016) | electrification - rural areas: 41.5% (2016)

Natural gas - consumption [time series]

0 cu m (2017 est.)

Natural gas - exports [time series]

0 cu m (2017 est.)

Natural gas - imports [time series]

0 cu m (2017 est.)

Natural gas - production [time series]

0 cu m (2017 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves [time series]

0 cu m (1 January 2014 est.)

Refined petroleum products - consumption [time series]

1,600 bbl/day (2016 est.)

Refined petroleum products - exports [time series]

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Refined petroleum products - imports [time series]

1,577 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Refined petroleum products - production [time series]

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Geography

Area [time series]

total: 28,896 sq km | land: 27,986 sq km | water: 910 sq km

Area - comparative [time series]

slightly smaller than Maryland

Climate [time series]

tropical monsoon; few temperature and weather extremes

Coastline [time series]

5,313 km

Elevation [time series]

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m | highest point: Mount Popomanaseu 2,335 m

Environment - current issues [time series]

deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying; effects of climate change and rising sea levels

International environmental agreements (Environment - international agreements) [time series]

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

Geographic coordinates [time series]

8 00 S, 159 00 E

Geography - note [time series]

strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea

Irrigated land [time series]

0 sq km NA (2012)

Land boundaries [time series]

0 km

Land use [time series]

agricultural land: 3.9% (2011 est.) | arable land: 0.7% (2011 est.) / permanent crops: 2.9% (2011 est.) / permanent pasture: 0.3% (2011 est.) | forest: 78.9% (2011 est.) | other: 17.2% (2011 est.)

Location [time series]

Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea

Map references [time series]

Oceania

Maritime claims [time series]

territorial sea: 12 nm | exclusive economic zone: 200 nm | continental shelf: 200 nm | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines

Natural hazards [time series]

tropical cyclones, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earthquakes, tremors, and volcanic activity; tsunamis volcanism: Tinakula (851 m) has frequent eruption activity, while an eruption of Savo (485 m) could affect the capital Honiara on nearby Guadalcanal

Natural resources [time series]

fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel

Population distribution [time series]

most of the population lives along the coastal regions; about one in five live in urban areas, and of these some two-thirds reside in Honiara, the largest town and chief port

Terrain [time series]

mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

9 provinces and 1 city*; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira and Ulawa, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western

Capital [time series]

name: Honiara | geographic coordinates: 9 26 S, 159 57 E | time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) | etymology: the name derives from "nagho ni ara," which in one of the Guadalcanal languages roughly translates as "facing the eastern wind"

Citizenship [time series]

citizenship by birth: no | citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of the Solomon Islands | dual citizenship recognized: no | residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years

Constitution [time series]

history: adopted 31 May 1978, effective 7 July 1978; note - in late 2017, provincial leaders agreed to adopt a new federal constitution, with passage expected in 2018, but it has been postponed indefinitely | amendments: proposed by the National Parliament; passage of constitutional sections, including those on fundamental rights and freedoms, the legal system, Parliament, alteration of the constitution and the ombudsman, requires three-fourths majority vote by Parliament and assent of the governor general; passage of other amendments requires two-thirds majority vote and assent of the governor general; amended several times, last in 2014 (2018)

Country name [time series]

conventional long form: none | conventional short form: Solomon Islands | local long form: none | local short form: Solomon Islands | former: British Solomon Islands | etymology: Spanish explorer Alvaro de MENDANA named the isles in 1568 after the wealthy biblical King SOLOMON in the mistaken belief that the islands contained great riches

Diplomatic representation from the US [time series]

the US does not have an embassy in the Solomon Islands; the US Ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands

Diplomatic representation in the US [time series]

Ambassador Robert SISILO (since 21 July 2017) | chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017 | telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193 | FAX: [1] (212) 661-8925

Executive branch [time series]

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General David VUNAGI (since 8 July 2019) | head of government: Prime Minister Rick HOU (since 16 November 2017) | cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister | elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the National Parliament for up to 5 years (eligible for a second term); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually elected prime minister by the National Parliament; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among members of the National Parliament | election results: Manasseh SOGAVARE (independent) defeated in no-confidence vote on 6 November 2017; Rick HOU elected prime minister on 15 November 2017

Flag (Flag description) [time series]

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; blue represents the ocean, green the land, and yellow sunshine; the five stars stand for the five main island groups of the Solomon Islands

Government type [time series]

parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

Independence [time series]

7 July 1978 (from the UK)

International law organization participation [time series]

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

International organization participation [time series]

ACP, ADB, AOSIS, C, EITI (candidate country), ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Judicial branch [time series]

highest courts: Court of Appeal (consists of the court president and ex officio members including the High Court chief justice and its puisne judges); High Court (consists of the chief justice and puisne judges, as prescribed by the National Parliament) | judge selection and term of office: Court of Appeal and High Court president, chief justices, and puisne judges appointed by the governor general upon recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, chaired by the chief justice and includes 5 members, mostly judicial officials and legal professionals; all judges serve until retirement at age 60 | subordinate courts: Magistrates' Courts; Customary Land Appeal Court; local courts

Legal system [time series]

mixed legal system of English common law and customary law

Legislative branch [time series]

description: unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms) | elections: last held on 19 November 2014 (next to be held 3 April 2019) | election results: percent of vote by party - UDP 10.7%, DAP 7.8%, PAP 4.4%, other 20.8%, independent 56.3%; seats by party - DAP 7, UDP 5, PAP 3, KPSI 1, SIPFP 1, SIPRA 1, independent 32; composition - men 49, women 1, percent of women 2%

National anthem(s) (National anthem) [time series]

name: God Save Our Solomon Islands | lyrics/music: Panapasa BALEKANA and Matila BALEKANA/Panapasa BALEKANA | note: adopted 1978

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 7 July (1978)

National symbol(s) [time series]

national colors: blue, yellow, green, white

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Democratic Alliance Party or DAP [Steve ABANA] Kadere Party of Solomon Islands or KPSI [Peter BOYERS] People's Alliance Party or PAP [Nathaniel WAENA] Solomon Islands People First Party or SIPFP [Dr. Jimmie RODGERS] Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement or SIPRA [Manasseh MAELANGA] United Democratic Party or UDP [Sir Thomas Ko CHAN] | note: in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions

Suffrage [time series]

21 years of age; universal

Introduction

Background [time series]

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 and the Guadalcanal Campaign (August 1942-February 1943) proved a turning point in the Pacific War, since after the operation the Japanese lost their strategic initiative and remained on the defensive until thier final defeat in 1945. Self-government for the Solomon Islands came in 1976 and independence two years later. Ethnic violence, government malfeasance, endemic crime, and a narrow economic base have undermined stability and civil society. In June 2003, then Prime Minister Sir Allan 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), which ended in June 2017, was generally effective in restoring law and order and rebuilding government institutions.

Military and Security

Military and security forces [time series]

no regular military forces; Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (2019)

People and Society

Age structure [time series]

0-14 years: 34.05% (male 115,734 /female 109,009) | 15-24 years: 19.95% (male 67,794 /female 63,925) | 25-54 years: 36.89% (male 123,930 /female 119,577) | 55-64 years: 4.77% (male 16,112 /female 15,389) | 65 years and over: 4.34% (male 13,515 /female 15,136) (2018 est.) | population pyramid: The World Factbook Field Image Modal × Australia - Oceania :: Solomon Islands Print Image Description This is the population pyramid for the Solomon Islands. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends. For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Birth rate [time series]

24.5 births/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight [time series]

16.2% (2015)

Contraceptive prevalence rate [time series]

29.3% (2015)

Current health expenditure (Current Health Expenditure) [time series]

5.2% (2016)

Death rate [time series]

3.8 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios [time series]

total dependency ratio: 75.4 (2015 est.) | youth dependency ratio: 69.4 (2015 est.) | elderly dependency ratio: 6 (2015 est.) | potential support ratio: 16.6 (2015 est.)

Drinking water source [time series]

Education expenditure (Education expenditures) [time series]

9.9% of GDP (2010)

Ethnic groups [time series]

Melanesian 95.3%, Polynesian 3.1%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 0.3% (2009 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate [time series]

HIV/AIDS - deaths [time series]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS [time series]

Hospital bed density [time series]

1.4 beds/1,000 population (2012)

Infant mortality rate [time series]

total: 14.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.) | male: 16.3 deaths/1,000 live births | female: 12.2 deaths/1,000 live births

Languages [time series]

Melanesian pidgin (in much of the country is lingua franca), English (official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population), 120 indigenous languages

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 75.8 years (2018 est.) | male: 73.1 years | female: 78.6 years

Literacy [time series]

definition: age 15 and over can read and write | total population: 84.1% | male: 88.9% | female: 79.2% (2009)

Major urban areas - population [time series]

82,000 HONIARA (capital) (2018)

Maternal mortality ratio (Maternal mortality rate) [time series]

104 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Median age [time series]

total: 22.8 years (2018 est.) | male: 22.6 years | female: 23.1 years

Mother's mean age at first birth [time series]

22.6 years (2015 est.) | note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Nationality [time series]

noun: Solomon Islander(s) | adjective: Solomon Islander

Net migration rate [time series]

-1.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate [time series]

22.5% (2016)

Physician density (Physicians density) [time series]

0.2 physicians/1,000 population (2016)

Population [time series]

660,121 (July 2018 est.)

Population distribution [time series]

most of the population lives along the coastal regions; about one in five live in urban areas, and of these some two-thirds reside in Honiara, the largest town and chief port

Population growth rate [time series]

1.9% (2018 est.)

Religions [time series]

Protestant 73.4% (Church of Melanesia 31.9%, South Sea Evangelical 17.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 11.7%, United Church 10.1%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.5%), Roman Catholic 19.6%, other Christian 2.9%, other 4%, unspecified 0.1% (2009 est.)

Sanitation facility access [time series]

improved: urban: 81.4% of population (2015 est.) | rural: 15% of population (2015 est.) | total: 29.8% of population (2015 est.) | unimproved: urban: 18.6% of population (2015 est.) | rural: 85% of population (2015 est.) | total: 70.2% of population (2015 est.)

Sex ratio [time series]

Total fertility rate [time series]

3.09 children born/woman (2018 est.)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24) (Unemployment, youth ages 15-24) [time series]

total: 1.3% | male: 1% | female: 1.6% (2013)

Urbanization [time series]

urban population: 24.2% of total population (2019) | rate of urbanization: 3.91% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international [time series]

since 2003, the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, consisting of police, military, and civilian advisors drawn from 15 countries, has assisted in reestablishing and maintaining civil and political order while reinforcing regional stability and security

Trafficking in persons [time series]

current situation: the Solomon Islands is a source and destination country for local adults and children and Southeast Asian men and women subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution; women from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines are recruited for legitimate work and upon arrival are forced into prostitution; men from Indonesia and Malaysia recruited to work in the Solomon Islands’ mining and logging industries may be subjected to forced labor; local children are forced into prostitution near foreign logging camps, on fishing vessels, at hotels, and entertainment venues; some local children are also sold by their parents for marriage to foreign workers or put up for "informal adoption" to pay off debts and then find themselves forced into domestic servitude or forced prostitution | tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List – the Solomon Islands does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; in 2014, the Solomon Islands was granted a waiver from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 because its government has a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; the government gazetted implementing regulations for the 2012 immigration act prohibiting transnational trafficking, but the penalties are not sufficiently stringent because they allow the option of paying a fine; a new draft law to address these weaknesses awaits parliamentary review; no new trafficking investigations were conducted, even after labor inspections at logging and fishing companies, no existing cases led to prosecutions or convictions, and no funding was allocated for national anti-trafficking efforts; authorities did not identify or protect any victims and lack any procedures or shelters to do so; civil society and religious organizations provide most of the limited services available; a lack of understanding of the crime of trafficking remains a serious challenge (2015)

Transportation

Airports [time series]

36 (2013)

Airports - with paved runways [time series]

total: 1 (2013) | 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2013)

Airports - with unpaved runways [time series]

total: 35 (2013) | 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2013) | 914 to 1,523 m: 10 (2013) | under 914 m: 24 (2013)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix [time series]

H4 (2016)

Heliports [time series]

3 (2013)

Merchant marine [time series]

total: 23 | by type: general cargo 6, other 17 (2018)

National air transport system [time series]

number of registered air carriers: 1 (2015) | inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 3 (2015) | annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 373,738 (2015) | annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 3,691,584 mt-km (2015)

Ports (Ports and terminals) [time series]

major seaport(s): Honiara, Malloco Bay, Viru Harbor, Tulaghi

Roadways [time series]

total: 1,390 km (2011) | paved: 34 km (2011) | unpaved: 1,356 km (2011) | note: includes 920 km of private plantation roads