Compare Solomon Islands (2004) - British Virgin Islands (2003)

Compare Solomon Islands (2004) z British Virgin Islands (2003)

	Solomon Islands (2004)	British Virgin Islands (2003)

Administrative divisions	9 provinces and 1 capital territory; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Age structure	0-14 years: 42.4% (male 113,183; female 108,816) 15-64 years: 54.4% (male 144,157; female 140,769) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 8,058; female 8,634) (2004 est.)	0-14 years: 21.9% (male 2,401; female 2,358) 15-64 years: 73.1% (male 8,181; female 7,709) 65 years and over: 5% (male 578; female 503) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish
Airports	33 (2003 est.)	3 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 31 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)
Area	total: 28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km	total: 153 sq km land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland	about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
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. 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.	First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.
Birth rate	31.6 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $38 million expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA (2001)	revenues: $121.5 million expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997)
Capital	Honiara	Road Town
Climate	tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather	subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds
Coastline	5,313 km	80 km
Constitution	7 July 1978	1 June 1977
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands	conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI
Currency	Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)	US dollar (USD)
Death rate	4.04 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	4.46 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$162.5 million (2001 est.)	$36.1 million (1997)
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing
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, Ambassador Robert W. FITTS, is accredited to the Solomon Islands	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	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	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	Australian defense personnel are dispatched at the invitation of the Solomon Islands' Government to restore law and order on the islands and reinforce regional security	none
Economic aid - recipient	$28 million annually, mainly from Australia (2001 est.)	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 serious economic disarray, indeed near collapse. Tanker deliveries of crucial fuel supplies (including those for electrical generation) have become sporadic due to the government's inability to pay and attacks against ships. Telecommunications are threatened by the nonpayment of bills and by the lack of technical and maintenance staff many of whom have left the country. The disintegration of law and order left the economy in tatters by mid-2003, and on 24 July 2003 more than 2000 Australian soldiers entered the Solomon Islands to restore order and to facilitate the restoration of basic services.	The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. Tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster US economy. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959.
Electricity - consumption	29.76 million kWh (2001)	35.43 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	32 million kWh (2001)	38.1 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Sage 521 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying	limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments)
Environment - international 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	Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4%	black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed
Exchange rates	Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - NA (2003), 6.7488 (2002), 5.278 (2001), 5.0889 (2000), 4.8381 (1999)	the US dollar is used
Executive branch	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	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002) head of government: Chief Minister Orlando SMITH (since 17 June 2003) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor
Exports	NA (2001)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand
Exports - partners	China 25.2%, South Korea 17.6%, Japan 13.4%, Philippines 8.4%, Singapore 5.9%, Thailand 5.9% (2003)	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 April - 31 March
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	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)
GDP	purchasing power parity - $800 million (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $320 million (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 42% industry: 11% services: 47% (2000 est.)	agriculture: 1.8% industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-10% (2001 est.)	1% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	8 00 S, 159 00 E	18 30 N, 64 30 W
Geography - note	strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea	strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Government - note	June 2003 Prime Minister Sir Allen 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	-
Highways	total: 1,360 km paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 km (1999 est.)	total: 177 km paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center
Imports	NA (2001)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery
Imports - partners	Australia 29.7%, Singapore 21.9%, Fiji 4.7%, New Zealand 4.7% (2003)	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
Independence	7 July 1978 (from UK)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Industrial production growth rate	NA	NA
Industries	fish (tuna), mining, timber	tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center
Infant mortality rate	total: 22.09 deaths/1,000 live births male: 25.15 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)	total: 18.8 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	9% (2002 est.)	2.5% (2002)
International organization participation	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	Caricom (associate), CDB, ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	16 (2000)
Irrigated land	NA sq km	NA sq km
Judicial branch	Court of Appeal	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction
Labor force	26,840 (1999)	4,911 (1980)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.)	agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0.64% permanent crops: 2% other: 97.36% (2001)	arable land: 20% permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (1998 est.)
Languages	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	English (official)
Legal system	English common law, which is widely disregarded	English law
Legislative branch	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	unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 16 May 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 72.38 years male: 69.9 years female: 74.98 years (2004 est.)	total population: 76.06 years male: 75.07 years female: 77.1 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea	Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico
Map references	Oceania	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	measured from claimed archipelagic baselines territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM
Merchant marine	none	total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) 19,203 GRT/28,864 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.)
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the UK
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)	Territory Day, 1 July
Nationality	noun: Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander	noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander
Natural hazards	typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity	hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)
Natural resources	fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel	NEGL
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	10.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Political parties and leaders	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	Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	523,617 (July 2004 est.)	21,730 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	NA%
Population growth rate	2.76% (2004 est.)	2.1% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina	Road Town
Radio broadcast stations	AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)
Railways	-	0 km
Religions	Anglican 45%, Roman Catholic 18%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 12%, Baptist 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4%	Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991)
Sex ratio	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 (2004 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.15 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage	21 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 677; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)	general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: submarine cable to Bermuda
Telephones - main lines in use	6,600 (2002)	10,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1,000 (2002)	NA
Television broadcast stations	0 (1997)	1 (plus one cable company) (1997)
Terrain	mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls	coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly
Total fertility rate	4.19 children born/woman (2004 est.)	1.72 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA	3% (1995)
Waterways	-	none

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