Solomon Islands (2001) | Uganda (2007) | |
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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 | 56 districts; Adjumani, Apac, Arua, Bugiri, Bundibugyo, Bushenyi, Busia, Gulu, Hoima, Iganga, Jinja, Kabale, Kabarole, Kaberamaido, Kalangala, Kampala, Kamuli, Kamwenge, Kanungu, Kapchorwa, Kasese, Katakwi, Kayunga, Kibale, Kiboga, Kisoro, Kitgum, Kotido, Kumi, Kyenjojo, Lira, Luwero, Masaka, Masindi, Mayuge, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto, Moyo, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nakapiripirit, Nakasongola, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Pader, Pallisa, Rakai, Rukungiri, Sembabule, Sironko, Soroti, Tororo, Wakiso, Yumbe
note: as of a July 2005, 13 new districts were reportedly added bringing the total up to 69; the new districts are Amolatar, Amuria, Budaka, Butaleja, Ibanda, Kaabong, Kabingo, Kaliro, Kiruhura, Koboko, Manafwa, Mityana, Nakaseke; a total of ten more districts are in the process of being added |
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: 50.2% (male 7,646,619/female 7,538,137)
15-64 years: 47.6% (male 7,231,196/female 7,185,058) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 281,317/female 380,283) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish | coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses, cut flowers; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry |
Airports | 31 (2000 est.) | 32 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 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: 27
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 9 (2007) |
Area | total:
28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
total: 236,040 sq km
land: 199,710 sq km water: 36,330 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Oregon |
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 colonial boundaries created by Britain to delimit Uganda grouped together a wide range of ethnic groups with different political systems and cultures. These differences prevented the establishment of a working political community after independence was achieved in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971-79) was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed at least another 100,000 lives. The rule of Yoweri MUSEVENI since 1986 has brought relative stability and economic growth to Uganda. During the 1990s, the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections. |
Birth rate | 34.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 48.12 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$147 million expenditures: $168 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $1.758 billion
expenditures: $1.984 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) |
Capital | Honiara | name: Kampala
geographic coordinates: 0 19 N, 32 25 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather | tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast |
Coastline | 5,313 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 7 July 1978 | 8 October 1995; in 2005 the constitution was amended removing presidential term limits and legalizing a multiparty political system |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Uganda
conventional short form: Uganda |
Currency | Solomon Islands dollar (SBD) | - |
Death rate | 4.27 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $152.4 million (1998) | $1.136 billion (2006 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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Steven BROWNING
embassy: 1577 Ggaba Road, Kampala mailing address: P. O. Box 7007, Kampala telephone: [256] (41) 234-142 FAX: [256] (41) 258-451 |
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 Perezi Karukubiro KAMUNANWIRE
chancery: 5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-7100 through 7102, 0416 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1727 |
Disputes - international | none | Uganda is subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces that extend across its borders; Uganda hosts 209,860 Sudanese, 27,560 Congolese, and 19,710 Rwandan refugees, while Ugandan refugees as well as members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) seek shelter in southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Garamba National Park; LRA forces have also attacked Kenyan villages across the border |
Economic aid - recipient | $47 million (1999 est.), mainly from Japan, Australia, China, and NZ | $1.198 billion (2005) |
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. | Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government - with the support of foreign countries and international agencies - has acted to rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing prices of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The policy changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting production and export earnings. During 1990-2001, the economy turned in a solid performance based on continued investment in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. In 2000, Uganda qualified for enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief worth $1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts combined with the original HIPC debt relief added up to about $2 billion. Growth for 2001-02 was solid, despite continued decline in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export. Growth in 2003-06 reflected an upturn in Uganda's export markets. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.9 million kWh (1999) | 1.674 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 170 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 30 million kWh (1999) | 1.983 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m |
lowest point: Lake Albert 621 m
highest point: Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley 5,110 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; much of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying | draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; widespread poaching |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4% | Baganda 16.9%, Banyakole 9.5%, Basoga 8.4%, Bakiga 6.9%, Iteso 6.4%, Langi 6.1%, Acholi 4.7%, Bagisu 4.6%, Lugbara 4.2%, Bunyoro 2.7%, other 29.6% (2002 census) |
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) | Ugandan shillings per US dollar - 1,834.9 (2006), 1,780.7 (2005), 1,810.3 (2004), 1,963.7 (2003), 1,797.6 (2002) |
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 Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 26 January 1986); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 26 January 1986); Prime Minister Apollo NSIBAMBI (since 5 April 1999); note - the prime minister assists the president in the supervision of the cabinet cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among elected legislators elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 23 February 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI 59.3%, Kizza BESIGYE 37.4%, other 3.3% |
Exports | $165 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | timber, fish, palm oil, cocoa, copra | coffee, fish and fish products, tea, cotton, flowers, horticultural products; gold |
Exports - partners | Japan 35.5%, other Asian countries 47.3% (1999) | Belgium 9.9%, Netherlands 9.4%, France 7.9%, Germany 7.7%, Rwanda 5.6%, Sudan 4.8% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 | six equal horizontal bands of black (top), yellow, red, black, yellow, and red; a white disk is superimposed at the center and depicts a red-crested crane (the national symbol) facing the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $900 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
50% industry: 3.5% services: 46.5% (1995) |
agriculture: 31.4%
industry: 24.6% services: 44% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2000 est.) | 5.3% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 S, 159 00 E | 1 00 N, 32 00 E |
Geography - note | - | landlocked; fertile, well-watered country with many lakes and rivers |
Highways | 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%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 37.7% (2002) |
Imports | $152 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | plant and equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals, fuels, chemicals | capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals |
Imports - partners | Australia 38.5%, Singapore 15%, Japan 10.6%, NZ 6.2% (1999) | Kenya 34.1%, UAE 8.5%, China 7.1%, India 5.6%, South Africa 5.4%, Japan 4.2% (2006) |
Independence | 7 July 1978 (from UK) | 9 October 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5.2% (2006 est.) |
Industries | fish (tuna), mining, timber | sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles; cement, steel production |
Infant mortality rate | 24.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 67.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 70.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 63.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (1999 est.) | 6.6% (2006 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 | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, EAC, EADB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 90 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal | Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the president and approved by the legislature); High Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 26,842 | 13.58 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 82%
industry: 5% services: 13% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,698 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 765 km, Kenya 933 km, Rwanda 169 km, Sudan 435 km, Tanzania 396 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 88% other: 9% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 21.57%
permanent crops: 8.92% other: 69.51% (2005) |
Languages | Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population
note: 120 indigenous languages |
English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic |
Legal system | English common law | in 1995, the government restored the legal system to one based on English common law and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 National Assembly (332 seats; 215 members elected by popular vote, 104 nominated by legally established special interest groups [women 79, army 10, disabled 5, youth 5, labor 5], 13 ex officio members; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 23 February 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NRM 191, FDC 37, UPC 9, DP 8, CP 1, JEEMA 1, independents 36, other 49 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.55 years male: 69.12 years female: 74.1 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 51.75 years
male: 50.78 years female: 52.73 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 66.8% male: 76.8% female: 57.7% (2002 census) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea | Eastern Africa, west of Kenya |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Solomon Islands National Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) | Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF): Army (includes Marine Unit), Air Force (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 2.2% (2006) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 July (1978) | Independence Day, 9 October (1962) |
Nationality | noun:
Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander |
noun: Ugandan(s)
adjective: Ugandan |
Natural hazards | typhoons, but they are rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity | NA |
Natural resources | fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel | copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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] | Conservative Party or CP [Ken LUKYAMUZI]; Democratic Party or DP [Kizito SSEBAANA]; Forum for Democratic Change or FDC [Kizza BESIGYE]; Justice Forum or JEEMA [Muhammad Kibirige MAYANJA]; National Democrats Forum [Chapaa KARUHANGA]; National Resistance Movement or NRM [Yoweri MUSEVENI]; Ugandan People's Congress or UPC [Miria OBOTE]
note: a national referendum in July 2005 opened the way for Uganda's transition to a multi-party political system |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Popular Resistance Against a Life President or PRALP |
Population | 480,442 (July 2001 est.) | 30,262,610
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 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 35% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.98% (2001 est.) | 3.572% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 7, FM 33, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 1,244 km
narrow gauge: 1,244 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Anglican 34%, Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4% | Roman Catholic 41.9%, Protestant 42% (Anglican 35.9%, Pentecostal 4.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.5%), Muslim 12.1%, other 3.1%, none 0.9% (2002 census) |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.014 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.006 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 1.004 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
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: seriously inadequate; 2 cellular systems have been introduced, but a sharp increase in the number of main lines is essential; e-mail and Internet services are available
domestic: intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communication stations, fixed and mobile cellular systems for short-range traffic international: country code - 256; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; analog links to Kenya and Tanzania |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,000 (1997) | 108,100 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 658 (1997) | 2.009 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 8 (plus 1 repeater) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls | mostly plateau with rim of mountains |
Total fertility rate | 4.65 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.84 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | none | on Lake Victoria, 200 km on Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, and parts of Albert Nile (2005) |