Reunion (2003) | Solomon Islands (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons | 7 provinces and 1 town*; Central, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Temotu, Western; note - there may be two new provinces of Choiseul (Lauru) and Rennell/Bellona and the administrative unit of Honiara may have been abolished |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.3% (male 121,119; female 115,501)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 233,607; female 240,502) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 18,036; female 26,406) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
43.79% (male 107,229; female 103,162) 15-64 years: 53.15% (male 129,315; female 126,021) 65 years and over: 3.06% (male 7,190; female 7,525) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn | cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish |
Airports | 2 (2002) | 31 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total:
28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. | 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. Current issues include government deficits, deforestation, and malaria control. |
Birth rate | 20.17 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 34.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
revenues:
$147 million expenditures: $168 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | Saint-Denis | Honiara |
Climate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April | tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather |
Coastline | 207 km | 5,313 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 7 July 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands |
Currency | euro (EUR) | Solomon Islands dollar (SBD) |
Death rate | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 4.27 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $152.4 million (1998) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department 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 department of France) | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Jeremiah MANELE chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193 FAX: [1] (212) 661-8925 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France | $47 million (1999 est.), mainly from Japan, Australia, China, and NZ |
Economy - overview | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. | 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 a continuing economic downslide. Deliveries of crucial fuel supplies (including those for electrical generation) by tankers have become sporadic due to the government's inability to pay and attacks against ships. Telecommunications are threatened by the lack of technical and maintenance staff many of whom have left the country. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.005 billion kWh (2001) | 27.9 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.08 billion kWh (2001) | 30 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 55.5%
hydro: 44.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; soil erosion; much of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.06 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998) | Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - 5.0968 (November 2000), 5.0864 (2000), 4.8381 (1999), 4.8156 (1998), 3.7169 (1997), 3.5664 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Father John LAPLI (since NA 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE (since 1 July 2000); Assistant Prime Minister Nathaniel WAENA (since 1 July 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Allan KEMAKEZA (since 1 July 2000); note - Prime Minister Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU was forced to resign his position in June 2000 following the armed takeover of the capital by elements supporting the opposition parties; Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE, who had been opposition leader, was then elected prime minister at a sitting of National Parliament on 30 June 2000 cabinet: Cabinet 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 (2001) | $165 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
Exports - commodities | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) | timber, fish, palm oil, cocoa, copra |
Exports - partners | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) | Japan 35.5%, other Asian countries 47.3% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar 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 | purchasing power parity - $4.174 billion (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
50% industry: 3.5% services: 46.5% (1995) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2002 est.) | 1% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 06 S, 55 36 E | 8 00 S, 159 00 E |
Geography - note | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean | - |
Highways | total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994) |
total:
1,360 km paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 km (includes about 800 km of private plantation roads) (1996 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | $152 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products | plant and equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) | Australia 38.5%, Singapore 15%, Japan 10.6%, NZ 6.2% (1999) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 7 July 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction | fish (tuna), mining, timber |
Infant mortality rate | total: 8.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
24.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 10% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, InOC, WFTU | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel | Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 309,900 (2000) | 26,842 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
1% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 88% other: 9% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Creole widely used | Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population
note: 120 indigenous languages |
Legal system | French law | English common law |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 August 1997 (next to be held by August 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GNUR 21, PAP 7, NAPSI 5, SILP 4, UP 4, independents 6, other 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.43 years
male: 70.03 years female: 77 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
71.55 years male: 69.12 years female: 74.1 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea |
Map references | World | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) | no regular military forces; Solomon Islands National Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 198,341 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 101,116 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 6,795 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 7 July (1978) |
Nationality | noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
noun:
Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander |
Natural hazards | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano | typhoons, but they are rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity |
Natural resources | fish, arable land, hydropower | fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] | there are two main coalitions - Coalition for National Unity, Reconciliation, and Peace or CNURP and Alliance for Change; the CNURP took power on 30 June 2000, it comprises members of the Liberal Party, People's Alliance Party, and the United Party, as well as a number of independents; the Alliance for Change, represents the former government and now is the opposition; in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions; Group for National Unity and Reconciliation or GNUR [leader NA]; Liberal Party [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; National Action Party of Solomon Islands or NAPSI [Francis SAEMALA]; People's Alliance Party or PAP [George LEPPING]; People's Progressive Party [Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU]; United Party or UP [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 755,171 (July 2003 est.) | 480,442 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.47% (2003 est.) | 2.98% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Le Port, Pointe des Galets | Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 57,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | Anglican 34%, Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 268,500 (1999) | 8,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 197,000 (September 2000) | 658 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) | 0 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast | mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 4.65 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 36% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | none |