Solomon Islands (2001) | Libya (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 35% (male 958,243; female 917,940)
15-64 years: 61% (male 1,694,986; female 1,581,400) 65 years and over: 4% (male 105,500; female 110,516) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 31 (2000 est.) | 136 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 58
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
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.) |
total: 78
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 39 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
Area | total:
28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly larger than Alaska |
Background | 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. | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. |
Birth rate | 34.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$147 million expenditures: $168 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $9.3 billion
expenditures: $9.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Honiara | Tripoli |
Climate | tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 5,313 km | 1,770 km |
Constitution | 7 July 1978 | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands |
conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Currency | Solomon Islands dollar (SBD) | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
Death rate | 4.27 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.5 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $152.4 million (1998) | $4.7 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 | the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
Libya does not have an embassy in the US |
Disputes - international | none | Chadian rebels from Aozou region reside in Libya; Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in Niger as well as part of southeastern Algeria in currently dormant disputes |
Economic aid - recipient | $47 million (1999 est.), mainly from Japan, Australia, China, and NZ | $7 million |
Economy - overview | 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. | The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. The suspension of UN sanctions in 1999 also boosted growth. Libya's January 2002 51% devaluation of the official exchange rate of the dinar is another fiscal plus, although it will also bring higher inflation. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.9 million kWh (1999) | 18.042 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 30 million kWh (1999) | 19.4 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; much of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4% | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
Exchange rates | 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) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.6501 (December 2001), 0.6501 (2001), 0.5403 (2000), 0.5403 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997); market rate for Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.55 (January 2002)
note: Libya devalued its official rate for foreign trade on 1 January 2002 to 21.30 dinars per US dollar; the previous official rate was 0.63 dinar per US dollar (Dec 2001 ) |
Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
Exports | $165 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | $13.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | timber, fish, palm oil, cocoa, copra | crude oil, refined petroleum products |
Exports - partners | Japan 35.5%, other Asian countries 47.3% (1999) | Italy 42%, Germany 19%, Spain 13%, Turkey 6%, France 4%, Switzerland 3%, Tunisia 2% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $900 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $40 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
50% industry: 3.5% services: 46.5% (1995) |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 47% services: 46% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2000 est.) | 3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 S, 159 00 E | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | - | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total:
1,360 km paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 km (includes about 800 km of private plantation roads) (1996 est.) |
total: 24,484 km
paved: 6,798 km unpaved: 17,686 km note: data for the length of unpaved roads include the assumption that because they were listed as secondary roads, they are unpaved; some may be paved and some part of the primary roads may not be paved (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $152 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | $8.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | plant and equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals, fuels, chemicals | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | Australia 38.5%, Singapore 15%, Japan 10.6%, NZ 6.2% (1999) | Italy 25%, Germany 10%, UK 8%, France 7%, Tunisia 7%, South Korea 4% (2000) |
Independence | 7 July 1978 (from UK) | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | fish (tuna), mining, timber | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | 24.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 27.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (1999 est.) | 13.6% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 4,700 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 26,842 | 1.5 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | services 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 88% other: 9% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population
note: 120 indigenous languages |
Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
Legal system | English common law | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.55 years male: 69.12 years female: 74.1 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 75.86 years
male: 73.71 years female: 78.11 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2% male: 87.9% female: 63% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 NM
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 209,000 GRT/278,277 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1, United Arab Emirates 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Solomon Islands National Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) | Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy, Air and Air Defense Command (includes Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $1.3 billion (FY99/00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 3.9% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,503,647 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 890,783 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 61,694 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 July (1978) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun:
Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | typhoons, but they are rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements |
Population | 480,442 (July 2001 est.) | 5,368,585
note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.98% (2001 est.) | 2.41% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | 1.35 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | note: Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard-gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (2001) |
Religions | Anglican 34%, Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4% | Sunni Muslim 97% |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,000 (1997) | 500,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 658 (1997) | 20,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 4.65 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.57 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 30% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |