Compare Coral Sea Islands (2004) - Solomon Islands (2008)

Compare Coral Sea Islands (2004) z Solomon Islands (2008)

	Coral Sea Islands (2004)	Solomon Islands (2008)

Administrative divisions	-	9 provinces and 1 capital territory; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western
Age structure	-	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.)
Agriculture - products	-	cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; timber; cattle, pigs; fish
Airports	-	35 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 23 (2007)
Area	total: less than 3 sq km land: less than 3 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes numerous small islands and reefs scattered over a sea area of about 780,000 sq km, with the Willis Islets the most important	total: 28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km
Area - comparative	NA	slightly smaller than Maryland
Background	Scattered over some 1 million square kilometers of ocean, the Coral Sea Islands were declared a territory of Australia in 1969. They are uninhabited except for a small meteorological staff on the Willis Islets. Automated weather stations, beacons, and a lighthouse occupy many other islands and reefs.	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.
Birth rate	-	29.27 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $49.7 million expenditures: $75.1 million (2003)
Capital	-	name: Honiara geographic coordinates: 9 26 S, 159 57 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical	tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
Coastline	3,095 km	5,313 km
Constitution	-	7 July 1978
Country name	conventional long form: Coral Sea Islands Territory conventional short form: Coral Sea Islands	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Solomon Islands local long form: none local short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands
Death rate	-	3.87 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$166 million (2004)
Dependency status	territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Department of the Environment, Sport, and Territories	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of Australia)	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
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (territory of Australia)	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
Disputes - international	none	since 2003, the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), 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
Economic aid - recipient	-	$198.2 million annually, mainly from Australia (2005 est.)
Economy - overview	no economic activity	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.
Electricity - consumption	-	55.8 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	-	60 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Cato Island 6 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m
Environment - current issues	no permanent fresh water resources	deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying
Environment - international agreements	-	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
Ethnic groups	-	Melanesian 94.5%, Polynesian 3%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 1.1%, unspecified 0.2% (1999 census)
Exchange rates	-	Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - NA (2007), 7.3447 (2006), 7.5299 (2005), 7.4847 (2004), 7.5059 (2003)
Executive branch	administered from Canberra by the Department of the Environment, Sport, and Territories	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
Exports	-	0 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	-	timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa
Exports - partners	-	China 48%, South Korea 9.5%, Japan 8.9%, Thailand 4.7%, Italy 4.4%, Philippines 4.2% (2006)
Fiscal year	-	calendar year
Flag description	the flag of Australia is used	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
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 42% industry: 11% services: 47% (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	4.4% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	18 00 S, 152 00 E	8 00 S, 159 00 E
Geography - note	important nesting area for birds and turtles	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
Government - note	-	by the end of 2007, the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) - originally made up of police and troops from Australia, NZ, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga - had been scaled back to 303 police officers, 197 civilian technical advisers, and 72 military advisers from 15 countries across the region
Heliports	-	3 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	-	1,296 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	-	food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals
Imports - partners	-	Australia 25.5%, Singapore 23.5%, Japan 7.8%, NZ 5.1%, Fiji 4.2%, Papua New Guinea 4.1% (2006)
Independence	-	7 July 1978 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA%
Industries	-	fish (tuna), mining, timber
Infant mortality rate	-	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.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	6.6% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	-	ACP, ADB, 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
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	NA
Judicial branch	-	Court of Appeal
Labor force	-	249,200 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 75% industry: 5% services: 20% (2000 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mostly grass or scrub cover) (2001)	arable land: 0.62% permanent crops: 2.04% other: 97.34% (2005)
Languages	-	Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English (official; but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population); 120 indigenous languages
Legal system	the laws of Australia, where applicable, apply	English common law, which is widely disregarded
Legislative branch	-	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
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 73.16 years male: 70.64 years female: 75.81 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Location	Oceania, islands in the Coral Sea, northeast of Australia	Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
Map references	Oceania	Oceania
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	measured from claimed archipelagic baselines territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia; visited regularly by the Royal Australian Navy; Australia has control over the activities of visitors	-
Military branches	-	no regular military forces; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	3% (2006)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 7 July (1978)
Nationality	-	noun: Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander
Natural hazards	occasional tropical cyclones	typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earthquakes, tremors, and volcanic activity; tsunamis
Natural resources	NEGL	fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	-	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
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	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
Population	no indigenous inhabitants note: there is a staff of three to four at the meteorological station (2004 est.)	566,842 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA%
Population growth rate	-	2.54% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	none; offshore anchorage only	-
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2004)
Religions	-	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)
Sex ratio	-	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.)
Suffrage	-	21 years of age; universal
Telephone system	-	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 677; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	-	7,400 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	6,000 (2005)
Terrain	sand and coral reefs and islands (or cays)	mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls
Total fertility rate	-	3.78 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	NA%

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.