Solomon Islands (2001) | Montenegro (2008) | |
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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 | 21 municipalities (opstine, singular - opstina); Andrijevica, Bar, Berana, Bijelo Polje, Budva, Cetinje, Danilovgrad, Herceg Novi, Kolasin, Kotor, Mojkovac, Niksic, Plav, Pljevlja, Pluzine, Podgorica, Rozaje, Savnik, Tivat, Ulcinj, Zabljak |
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.) |
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Agriculture - products | cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish | grains, tobacco, potatoes, citrus fruits, olives, grapes; sheepherding; commercial fishing negligible |
Airports | 31 (2000 est.) | 5 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
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: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total:
28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
total: 14,026 sq km
land: 13,812 sq km water: 214 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
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. | The use of the name Montenegro began in the 15th century when the Crnojevic dynasty began to rule the Serbian principality of Zeta; over subsequent centuries Montenegro was able to maintain its independence from the Ottoman Empire. From the 16th to 19th centuries, Montenegro became a theocracy ruled by a series of bishop princes; in 1852, it was transformed into a secular principality. After World War I, Montenegro was absorbed by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929; at the conclusion of World War II, it became a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. When the latter dissolved in 1992, Montenegro federated with Serbia, first as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and, after 2003, in a looser union of Serbia and Montenegro. In May 2006, Montenegro invoked its right under the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro to hold a referendum on independence from the state union. The vote for severing ties with Serbia exceeded 55% - the threshold set by the EU - allowing Montenegro to formally declare its independence on 3 June 2006. |
Birth rate | 34.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 11.18 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$147 million expenditures: $168 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA |
Capital | Honiara | name: Podgorica
geographic coordinates: 42 26 N, 19 16 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1 hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather | Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfalls inland |
Coastline | 5,313 km | 293.5 km |
Constitution | 7 July 1978 | 19 October 2007 (was approved by the Assembly) |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Montenegro
conventional short form: Montenegro local long form: Republika Crna Gora local short form: Crna Gora former: People's Republic of Montenegro, Socialist Republic of Montenegro |
Currency | Solomon Islands dollar (SBD) | - |
Death rate | 4.27 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $152.4 million (1998) | $650 million (2006) |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Roderick W. MOORE
embassy: Ljubljanska bb, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [382] 81 225 417 FAX: [382] 81 241 358 |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Miodrag VLAHOVIC
chancery: 1610 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-6108 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6109 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $47 million (1999 est.), mainly from Japan, Australia, China, and NZ | $NA |
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 republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and maintained its own central bank, used the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collected customs tariffs, and managed its own budget. The dissolution of the loose political union between Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 led to separate membership in several international financial institutions, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. On 18 January 2007, Montenegro joined the World Bank and IMF. Montenegro is pursuing its own membership in the World Trade Organization as well as negotiating a Stabilization and Association agreement with the European Union in anticipation of eventual membership. Severe unemployment remains a key political and economic problem for this entire region. Montenegro has privatized its large aluminum complex - the dominant industry - as well as most of its financial sector, and has begun to attract foreign direct investment in the tourism sector. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.9 million kWh (1999) | 18.6 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 30 million kWh (1999) | 2.864 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Bobotov Kuk 2,522 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; much of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying | pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor |
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: Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ship Pollution |
Ethnic groups | Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4% | Montenegrin 43%, Serbian 32%, Bosniak 8%, Albanian 5%, other (Muslims, Croats, Roma (Gypsy)) 12% |
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) | euros per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8089 (2004), 0.886 (2003) |
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: President Filip VUJANOVIC (since 11 May 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Milo DJUKANOVIC (since 29 February 2008) cabinet: Ministries act as cabinet elections: president elected by direct vote for five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 May 2003 (next to be held in 2008); prime minister proposed by president, accepted by Assembly election results: Filip VUJANOVIC elected on the third round; Filip VUJANOVIC 63.3%, Miodrag ZIVKOVIC 30.8% |
Exports | $165 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | $171.3 million (2003) |
Exports - commodities | timber, fish, palm oil, cocoa, copra | - |
Exports - partners | Japan 35.5%, other Asian countries 47.3% (1999) | Switzerland 83.9%, Italy 6.1%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.3% (2006) |
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 | a red field bordered by a narrow golden-yellow stripe with the Montenegrin coat of arms centered |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $900 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
50% industry: 3.5% services: 46.5% (1995) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2000 est.) | 6% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 S, 159 00 E | 42 30 N, 19 18 E |
Geography - note | - | strategic location along the Adriatic coast |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total:
1,360 km paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 km (includes about 800 km of private plantation roads) (1996 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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Imports | $152 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | $601.7 million (2003) |
Imports - commodities | plant and equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals, fuels, chemicals | - |
Imports - partners | Australia 38.5%, Singapore 15%, Japan 10.6%, NZ 6.2% (1999) | Greece 10.2%, Italy 10.2%, Germany 9.6%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 9.2% (2006) |
Independence | 7 July 1978 (from UK) | 3 June 2006 (from Serbia and Montenegro) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | fish (tuna), mining, timber | steelmaking, aluminum, agricultural processing, consumer goods, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 24.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (1999 est.) | 3.4% (2004) |
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 | CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal | Constitutional Court (five judges with nine-year terms); Supreme Court (judges have life tenure) |
Labor force | 26,842 | 259,100 (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 2%
industry: 30% services: 68% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 625 km
border countries: Albania 172 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 225 km, Croatia 25 km, Serbia 203 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 88% other: 9% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 13.7%
permanent crops: 1% other: 85.3% |
Languages | Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population
note: 120 indigenous languages |
Serbian (official; Ijekavian dialect), Bosnian, Albanian, Croatian |
Legal system | English common law | based on civil law system; 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 Assembly (81 seats; members elected by direct vote for four-year terms; changed from 74 seats in 2006)
elections: last held 10 September 2006 (next to be held 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - Coalition for European Montenegro 47.7%, Serbian List 14.4%, Coalition SNP-NS-DSS 13.8%, PZP 12.9%, Liberals and Bosniaks 3.7%, other (including Albanian minority parties) 7.5%; seats by party - Coalition for European Montenegro 41, Serbian List 12, Coalition SNP/NS/DSS 11, PZP 11, Liberals and Bosniaks 3, Albanian minority parties 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.55 years male: 69.12 years female: 74.1 years (2001 est.) |
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Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
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Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea | Southeastern Europe, between the Adriatic Sea and Serbia |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: defined by treaty |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 9,458 GRT/10,172 DWT
by type: cargo 4 registered in other countries: 3 (Bahamas 2, St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) |
Military - note | - | Montenegrin plans call for the establishment of a fully professional armed forces |
Military branches | 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% | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 July (1978) | National Day, 13 July (1878) |
Nationality | noun:
Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander |
noun: Montenegrin(s)
adjective: Montenegrin |
Natural hazards | typhoons, but they are rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel | bauxite, hydroelectricity |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
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] | Albanian Alternative or AA [Vesel SINISHTAJ]; Coalition for European Montenegro or DPS-SDP (bloc) [Milo DUKANOVIC] (includes Democratic Party of Socialists or DPS [Milo DUKANOVIC] and Social Democratic Party of SDP [Ranko KRIVOKAPIC]); Coalition SNP-NS-DSS (bloc) (includes Socialist People's Party or SNP [Srdjan MILIC], People's Party of Montenegro or NS [Predrag POPOVIC], and Democratic Serbian Party of Montenegro or DSS [Ranko KADIC]); Democratic League-Party of Democratic Prosperity or SPP [Mehmet BARHDI]; Democratic Union of Albanians or DUA [Ferhat DINOSA]; Liberals and the Bosniak Party (bloc) [Miodrag ZIVKOVIC] (includes Liberal Party of Montenegro or LP [Miodrag ZIVKOVIC] and Bosniak Party or BS [Rafet HUSOVIC]); Movement for Changes or PZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC]; Serbian List (bloc) [Andrija MANDIC] (includes Party of Serb Radicals or SSR [Dusko SEKULIC], People's Socialist Party or NSS [Emilo LABUDOVIC], and Serbian People's Party of Montenegro or SNS [Andrija MANDIC]) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
Population | 480,442 (July 2001 est.) | 684,736 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 7% (2007 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.98% (2001 est.) | -1% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | 31 (station types NA) (2004) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 250 km
standard gauge: 250 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified 169 km) (2006) |
Religions | Anglican 34%, Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4% | Orthodox, Muslim, Roman Catholic |
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.) |
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Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: modern telecommunications system with access to European satellites
domestic: GSM wireless service, available through 2 providers with national coverage, is growing rapidly international: country code - 382; 2 international switches connect the national system |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,000 (1997) | 353,300 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 658 (1997) | 821,800 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 13 (2004) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls | highly indented coastline with narrow coastal plain backed by rugged high limestone mountains and plateaus |
Total fertility rate | 4.65 children born/woman (2001 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 14.7% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |