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Compare Gabon (2001) - Solomon Islands (2004)
Compare Gabon (2001) z Solomon Islands (2004)
| Gabon (2001) | Solomon Islands (2004) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem | 9 provinces and 1 capital territory*; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
33.29% (male 203,677; female 202,833) 15-64 years: 60.77% (male 373,828; female 368,282) 65 years and over: 5.94% (male 35,867; female 36,688) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.4% (male 113,183; female 108,816)
15-64 years: 54.4% (male 144,157; female 140,769) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 8,058; female 8,634) (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish | cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish |
| Airports | 59 (2000 est.) | 33 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
10 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
49 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 24 (2000 est.) |
total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total:
267,667 sq km land: 257,667 sq km water: 10,000 sq km |
total: 28,450 sq km
land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Colorado | slightly smaller than Maryland |
| Background | Ruled by autocratic presidents since independence from France in 1960, Gabon introduced a multiparty system and a new constitution in the early 1990s that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and for reforms of governmental institutions. A small population, abundant natural resources, and foreign private investment have helped make Gabon one of the more prosperous black African countries. | The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II occurred on these islands. 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, 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 been very effective in restoring law and order and rebuilding government institutions. |
| Birth rate | 27.42 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 31.6 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$1.5 billion expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $302 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $38 million
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA (2001) |
| Capital | Libreville | Honiara |
| Climate | tropical; always hot, humid | tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather |
| Coastline | 885 km | 5,313 km |
| Constitution | adopted 14 March 1991 | 7 July 1978 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Gabonese Republic conventional short form: Gabon local long form: Republique Gabonaise local short form: Gabon |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands |
| Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | Solomon Islands dollar (SBD) |
| Death rate | 17.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.04 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $3.9 billion (2000 est.) | $162.5 million (2001 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador James V. LEDESMA embassy: Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville mailing address: B. P. 4000, Libreville telephone: [241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, 74 34 92 FAX: [241] 74 55 07 |
the US does not have an embassy in Solomon Islands (embassy closed July 1993); the ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Ambassador Robert W. FITTS, is accredited to the Solomon Islands |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Paul BOUNDOUKOU-LATHA chancery: Suite 200, 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1000 FAX: [1] (202) 332-0668 consulate(s): New York |
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 | maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay | Australian defense personnel are dispatched at the invitation of the Solomon Islands' Government to restore law and order on the islands and reinforce regional security |
| Economic aid - recipient | $331 million (1995) | $28 million annually, mainly from Australia (2001 est.) |
| Economy - overview | Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most nations of sub-Saharan Africa. This has supported a sharp decline in extreme poverty; yet because of high income inequality a large proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon depended on timber and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s. The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Gabon continues to face fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, manganese, and uranium exports. Despite the abundance of natural wealth, the economy is hobbled by poor fiscal management. In 1992, the fiscal deficit widened to 2.4% of GDP, and Gabon failed to settle arrears on its bilateral debt, leading to a cancellation of rescheduling agreements with official and private creditors. Devaluation of its Francophone currency by 50% on 12 January 1994 sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%; the rate dropped to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a one-year standby arrangement in 1994-95, a three-year Enhanced Financing Facility (EFF) at near commercial rates beginning in late 1995, and stand-by credit of $119 million in October 2000. Those agreements mandate progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon had met IMF targets for mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticized the government for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing from the central bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatization and administrative reform. The rebound of oil prices in 1999-2000 helped growth, but drops in production hampered Gabon from fully realizing potential gains. An expected decline in oil output may lead to contraction in GDP in 2001-02. | The bulk of the population depends on agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their 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. However, severe ethnic violence, the closing of key business enterprises, and an empty government treasury have led to serious economic disarray, indeed near collapse. Tanker deliveries of crucial fuel supplies (including those for electrical generation) have become sporadic due to the government's inability to pay and attacks against ships. Telecommunications are threatened by the nonpayment of bills and by the lack of technical and maintenance staff many of whom have left the country. The disintegration of law and order left the economy in tatters by mid-2003, and on 24 July 2003 more than 2000 Australian soldiers entered the Solomon Islands to restore order and to facilitate the restoration of basic services. |
| Electricity - consumption | 948.6 million kWh (1999) | 29.76 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 1.02 billion kWh (1999) | 32 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
29.9% hydro: 70.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; poaching | deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | Bantu tribes including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke), other Africans and Europeans 154,000, including 10,700 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality | Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4% |
| Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro | Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - NA (2003), 6.7488 (2002), 5.278 (2001), 5.0889 (2000), 4.8381 (1999) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967) head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Francois NTOUTOUME-EMANE (since 23 January 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President El Hadj Omar BONGO reelected; percent of vote - El Hadj Omar BONGO 66.6%, Pierre MAMBOUNDOU 16.5%, Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE 13.4% |
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 Sir Allan KEMAKEZA (since 17 December 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Snyder RINI (since 17 December 2001) 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; 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 | $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | crude oil 75%, timber, manganese, uranium (1998) | timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa |
| Exports - partners | US 47%, France 19%, China 8%, Japan 1.3% (1999) | China 25.2%, South Korea 17.6%, Japan 13.4%, Philippines 8.4%, Singapore 5.9%, Thailand 5.9% (2003) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue | 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 | purchasing power parity - $7.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 million (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10% industry: 60% services: 30% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 42%
industry: 11% services: 47% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1.2% (2000 est.) | -10% (2001 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 1 00 S, 11 45 E | 8 00 S, 159 00 E |
| Geography - note | - | strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea |
| Government - note | - | June 2003 Prime Minister Sir Allen KEMAKEZA sought the intervention of Australia to aid in restoring order; parliament approved the request for intervention in July 2003; troops from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga arrived 24 July 2003 |
| Highways | total:
7,670 km paved: 629 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,041 km (1996) |
total: 1,360 km
paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 km (1999 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
| Imports | $1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, petroleum products, construction materials | food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals |
| Imports - partners | France 64%, US 4%, UK 2%, Netherlands 2%, (1999) | Australia 29.7%, Singapore 21.9%, Fiji 4.7%, New Zealand 4.7% (2003) |
| Independence | 17 August 1960 (from France) | 7 July 1978 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2.3% (1995) | NA |
| Industries | food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood; cement; petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, uranium, and gold mining; chemicals; ship repair | fish (tuna), mining, timber |
| Infant mortality rate | 94.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 22.09 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.15 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2000 est.) | 9% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting of three chambers - Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal; Court of State Security; County Courts | Court of Appeal |
| Labor force | 600,000 | 26,840 (1999) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 60%, services and government 25%, industry and commerce 15% | agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
2,551 km border countries: Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km |
0 km |
| Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 18% forests and woodland: 77% other: 3% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.64%
permanent crops: 2% other: 97.36% (2001) |
| Languages | French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi | Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English is official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population
note: 120 indigenous languages |
| Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English common law, which is widely disregarded |
| Legislative branch | bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (91 seats) and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats); members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms
elections: National Assembly - last held 15 and 29 December 1996 (next to be held NA December 2001); Senate - last held 26 January and 9 February 1997 (next to be held in January 2002) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 89, PGP 9, RNB 6, CLR 3, UPG 2, USG 2, independents 4, others 5; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 53, RNB 20, PGP 4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, CLR 1, independents 9 |
unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single-member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 5 December 2001 (next to be held not later than December 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 40%, SIACC 40%, PPP 20%; seats by party - PAP 16, SIACC 13, PPP 2, SILP 1, independents 18 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
49.59 years male: 48.47 years female: 50.75 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.38 years
male: 69.9 years female: 74.98 years (2004 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 63.2% male: 73.7% female: 53.3% (1995 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea |
| Map references | Africa | Oceania |
| Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | - | none |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard (charged with protecting the president and other senior officials), National Gendarmerie, National Police | no regular military forces; Solomon Islands National Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $91 million (FY96) | NA |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (FY96) | NA |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
281,218 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
145,062 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
11,304 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Founding of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), 12 March (1968) | Independence Day, 7 July (1978) |
| Nationality | noun:
Gabonese (singular and plural) adjective: Gabonese |
noun: Solomon Islander(s)
adjective: Solomon Islander |
| Natural hazards | NA | typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity |
| Natural resources | petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower | fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km | - |
| Political parties and leaders | African Forum for Reconstruction or FAR [Leon MBOU-YEMBI]; Circle of Liberal Reformers or CLR [General Jean Boniface ASSELE]; Democratic and Republican Alliance or ADERE [Divungui-di-Ndinge DIDJOB]; Gabonese Democratic Party or PDG, former sole party [Simplice Nguedet MANZELA, secretary general]; Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE, president]; Gabonese People's Union or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU]; Gabonese Socialist Union or USG [Serge MBA BEKALE]; National Rally of Woodcutters (Bucherons) or RNB [Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Louis Gaston MAYILA]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Pierre EMBONI]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Pierre Claver MAGANGA-MOUSSAVOU] | Association of Independents [Snyder RINI]; People's Alliance Party or PAP [Allan KEMAKEZA]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon Islands Alliance for Change Coalition or SIACC [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU]
note: in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 1,221,175
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
523,617 (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
| Population growth rate | 1.02% (2001 est.) | 2.76% (2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Cap Lopez, Kango, Lambarene, Libreville, Mayumba, Owendo, Port-Gentil | Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 7, shortwave 6 (1998) | AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Radios | 208,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
649 km (Gabon State Railways or OCTRA) standard gauge: 649 km 1.435-m gauge; single track (1994) |
- |
| Religions | Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1% | Anglican 45%, Roman Catholic 18%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 12%, Baptist 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4% |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 677; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 37,000 (1997) | 6,600 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 9,500 (1997) | 1,000 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (plus five low-power repeaters) (1997) | 0 (1997) |
| Terrain | narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south | mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls |
| Total fertility rate | 3.69 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.19 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 21% (1997 est.) | NA |
| Waterways | 1,600 km (perennially navigable) | - |
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