Compare French Southern and Antarctic Lands (2004) - Solomon Islands (2007)

Compare French Southern and Antarctic Lands (2004) z Solomon Islands (2007)

	French Southern and Antarctic Lands (2004)	Solomon Islands (2007)

Administrative divisions	none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 districts named Ile Crozet, Iles Kerguelen, and Iles Saint-Paul et Amsterdam; excludes "Adelie Land" claim in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US	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	none	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: 7,829 sq km land: 7,829 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen; excludes "Adelie Land" claim of about 500,000 sq km in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US	total: 28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly less than 1.3 times the size of Delaware	slightly smaller than Maryland
Background	The Southern Lands consist of two archipelagos, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen, and two volcanic islands, Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul. They contain no permanent inhabitants and are visited only by researchers studying the native fauna. The Antarctic portion consists of "Adelie Land," a thin slice of the Antarctic continent discovered and claimed by the French in 1840.	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	antarctic	tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
Coastline	1,232 km	5,313 km
Constitution	-	7 July 1978
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands conventional short form: French Southern and Antarctic Lands local long form: Territoire des Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises local short form: Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises	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	overseas territory of France since 1955; administered from Paris by Administrateur Superieur Michel CHAMPON (since 20 December 2004), assisted by Secretary General Jean-Yves HERMOSO (since NA)	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of France)	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 (overseas territory of France)	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	French claim to "Adelie Land" in Antarctica is not recognized by the US	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
Economic aid - recipient	-	$198.2 million annually, mainly from Australia (2005 est.)
Economy - overview	Economic activity is limited to servicing meteorological and geophysical research stations and French and other fishing fleets. The fish catches landed on Iles Kerguelen by foreign ships are exported to France and Reunion.	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: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Ross on Iles Kerguelen 1,850 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m
Environment - current issues	NA	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 - 7.3447 (2006), 7.5299 (2005), 7.4847 (2004), 7.5059 (2003), 6.7488 (2002)
Executive branch	-	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 Manasseh SOGAVARE (since 4 May 2006); note - Prime Minister Snyder RINI, elected on 18 April 2006 and sworn in on 20 April 2006, resigned on 26 April prior to no confidence vote in parliament; SOGAVARE elected on 4 May 2006 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	-	NA bbl/day
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 France 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	43 00 S, 67 00 E	8 00 S, 159 00 E
Geography - note	islands component is widely scattered across remote locations in the southern Indian Ocean	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 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
Heliports	-	3 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	-	NA bbl/day
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, 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
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% (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 France, 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	southeast of Africa, islands in the southern Indian Ocean, about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia; note - French Southern and Antarctic Lands include Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet, and Iles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, along with the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, "Adelie Land"; the US does not recognize the French claim to "Adelie Land"	Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
Map references	Antarctic Region	Oceania
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm from Iles Kerguelen (does not include the rest of French Southern and Antarctic Lands)	measured from claimed archipelagic baselines territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 70 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,092,387 GRT/5,056,658 DWT by type: bulk 4, cargo 2, chemical tanker 19, container 11, liquefied gas 7, petroleum tanker 14, roll on/roll off 11, vehicle carrier 2 foreign-owned: Denmark 2, France 49, Japan 4, Monaco 5, Norway 5, Sweden 5 (2004 est.)	-
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of France	-
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	Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes	typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earthquakes, tremors, and volcanic activity; tsunamis
Natural resources	fish, crayfish	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 (July 2002 est.) note: in 2002, there were 145 researchers whose numbers vary from winter (July) to summer (January) (July 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	volcanic	mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls
Total fertility rate	-	3.78 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	NA%

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