Compare Jamaica (2005) - Solomon Islands (2005)

Compare Jamaica (2005) z Solomon Islands (2005)

	Jamaica (2005)	Solomon Islands (2005)

Administrative divisions	14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation	9 provinces and 1 capital territory; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western
Age structure	0-14 years: 27.5% (male 385,099/female 367,398) 15-64 years: 65.6% (male 897,953/female 893,509) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 83,632/female 104,241) (2005 est.)	0-14 years: 41.9% (male 114,860/female 110,404) 15-64 years: 54.9% (male 149,400/female 145,970) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 8,371/female 9,027) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, vegetables, poultry, goats, milk, crustaceans, and mollusks	cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish
Airports	35 (2004 est.)	33 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)	total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 24 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2004 est.)	total: 31 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 10,991 sq km land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km	total: 28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Connecticut	slightly smaller than Maryland
Background	Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a drop off in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s.	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	16.56 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	30.74 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $2.793 billion expenditures: $3.157 billion, including capital expenditures of $236 million (2004 est.)	revenues: $49.7 million expenditures: $75.1 million, including capital expenditures of $0 (2003)
Capital	Kingston	Honiara
Climate	tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior	tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
Coastline	1,022 km	5,313 km
Constitution	6 August 1962	7 July 1978
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jamaica	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands
Death rate	5.37 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	3.98 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$5.964 billion (2004 est.)	$180.4 million (2002)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Sue McCourt COBB embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 935-6001	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	chief of mission: Ambassador Gordon SHIRLEY chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami and 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	none	Australian Defense Force leads the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) at the invitation of the Solomon Islands' Government to maintain civil and political order and reinforce regional security
Economic aid - recipient	$16 million (2003)	$28 million annually, mainly from Australia (2003 est.)
Economy - overview	The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth; the economy rebounded moderately in 2003-04, with brisk tourist seasons. But the economy faces serious long-term problems: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a sizable merchandise trade deficit; large-scale unemployment; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy. The ratio of debt to GDP is close to 150%. Inflation, previously a bright spot, is expected to remain in the double digits. Uncertain economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. In 2004, the government faced the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem which is hampering economic growth. Attempts at deficit control were derailed by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, which required substantial government spending to repair the damage. Despite the hurricane, tourism looks set to enjoy solid growth for the foreseeable future.	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. 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 has enabled a return to law and order, a new period of economic stability, and modest growth as the economy rebuilds.
Electricity - consumption	5.849 billion kWh (2002)	29.76 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	6.289 billion kWh (2002)	32 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m
Environment - current issues	heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions	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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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	black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%	Melanesian 94.5%, Polynesian 3%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 1.1%, unspecified 0.2% (1999 census)
Exchange rates	Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002), 45.996 (2001), 42.986 (2000)	Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - 7.4847 (2004), 7.5059 (2003), 6.7488 (2002), 5.278 (2001), 5.0889 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991) head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister	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	NA	NA
Exports - commodities	alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels	timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa
Exports - partners	US 17.4%, Canada 14.8%, France 13%, China 10.5%, UK 8.7%, Netherlands 7.5%, Norway 6%, Germany 5.9% (2004)	China 27.8%, South Korea 17.1%, Thailand 15.7%, Japan 9.7%, Philippines 4.8% (2004)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	calendar year
Flag description	diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)	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: 6.1% industry: 32.7% services: 61.3% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 42% industry: 11% services: 47% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $4,100 (2004 est.)	purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1.9% (2004 est.)	5.8% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	18 15 N, 77 30 W	8 00 S, 159 00 E
Geography - note	strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal	strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea
Government - note	-	June 2003 Prime Minister Sir Allan 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. By the end of 2004 the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) had been scaled back to 302 police officers and 120 military in addition to civilian technical advisors.
Highways	total: 18,700 km paved: 13,109 km unpaved: 5,591 km (1999 est.)	total: 1,360 km paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.7% highest 10%: 30.3% (2000)	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions	-
Imports	NA	NA
Imports - commodities	food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials	food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals
Imports - partners	US 38.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.2%, France 5.6%, Japan 4.7% (2004)	Australia 24.6%, Singapore 23.1%, New Zealand 7.7%, Fiji 4.8%, Papua New Guinea 4.7% (2004)
Independence	6 August 1962 (from UK)	7 July 1978 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-2% (2000 est.)	NA
Industries	tourism, bauxite/alumina, textiles, agro processing, wearing apparel, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications	fish (tuna), mining, timber
Infant mortality rate	total: 12.36 deaths/1,000 live births male: 13.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)	total: 21.29 deaths/1,000 live births male: 24.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	12.4% (2004 est.)	10% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	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
Irrigated land	250 sq km (1998 est.)	NA
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal	Court of Appeal
Labor force	1.14 million (2004 est.)	26,840 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 20.1%, industry 16.6%, services 63.4% (2003)	agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 16.07% permanent crops: 10.16% other: 73.77% (2001)	arable land: 0.64% permanent crops: 2% other: 97.36% (2001)
Languages	English, patois English	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 English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	English common law, which is widely disregarded
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held in October 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26	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: 73.33 years male: 71.63 years female: 75.12 years (2005 est.)	total population: 72.66 years male: 70.16 years female: 75.28 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.)	definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba	Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Oceania
Maritime claims	measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin	measured from claimed archipelagic baselines territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 74,881 GRT/100,682 DWT by type: bulk carrier 5, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 8 (Germany 2, Greece 5, UAE 1) (2005)	-
Military branches	Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing	no regular military forces; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$31.2 million (2003)	NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.4% (2003)	NA
National holiday	Independence Day, 6 August (1962)	Independence Day, 7 July (1978)
Nationality	noun: Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican	noun: Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander
Natural hazards	hurricanes (especially July to November)	typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity
Natural resources	bauxite, gypsum, limestone	fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel
Net migration rate	-4.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Political parties and leaders	Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON]	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	New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)	NA
Population	2,731,832 (July 2005 est.)	538,032 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	19.7% (2002 est.)	NA
Population growth rate	0.71% (2005 est.)	2.68% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	Kingston, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Port Rhoades, Rocky Point	Honiara, Malloco Bay, Shortland Harbor, Viru Harbor, Yandina
Radio broadcast stations	AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2004)
Railways	total: 272 km standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge note: 207 of these km belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation had been in common carrier service until 1992 but are no longer operational; 57 km of the remaining track is privately owned and used by ALCAN to transport bauxite (2003)	-
Religions	Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7%	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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 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 (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	21 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network domestic: NA international: country code - 1-876; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 677; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	444,400 (2002)	6,600 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.4 million (2002)	1,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	7 (1997)	-
Terrain	mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain	mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls
Total fertility rate	1.95 children born/woman (2005 est.)	4.04 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	15% (2004 est.)	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.