Compare Solomon Islands (2004) - Dominican Republic (2003)

Compare Solomon Islands (2004) z Dominican Republic (2003)

	Solomon Islands (2004)	Dominican Republic (2003)

Administrative divisions	9 provinces and 1 capital territory; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western	29 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Valverde
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: 33.6% (male 1,497,777; female 1,431,104) 15-64 years: 61.2% (male 2,719,505; female 2,614,495) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 212,045; female 240,676) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish	sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs
Airports	33 (2003 est.)	30 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 13 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 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: 17 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 10 (2002)
Area	total: 28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km	total: 48,730 sq km land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland	slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire
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.	Explored and claimed by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative, rule for much of its subsequent history was brought to an end in 1966 when Joaquin BALAGUER became president. He maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. The Dominican economy has had one of the fastest growth rates in the hemisphere over the past decade.
Birth rate	31.6 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	23.94 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $38 million expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA (2001)	revenues: $2.9 billion expenditures: $3.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2001 est.)
Capital	Honiara	Santo Domingo
Climate	tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather	tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall
Coastline	5,313 km	1,288 km
Constitution	7 July 1978	28 November 1966
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands	conventional long form: Dominican Republic conventional short form: none local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: none
Currency	Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)	Dominican peso (DOP)
Death rate	4.04 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	6.88 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$162.5 million (2001 est.)	$4.8 billion (2002 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, Ambassador Robert W. FITTS, is accredited to the Solomon Islands	chief of mission: Ambassador Hans H. HERTELL embassy: corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo mailing address: Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500 telephone: [1] (809) 221-2171 FAX: [1] (809) 686-7437
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	chief of mission: Ambassador Hugo GUILIANI Cury chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280 FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Jacksonville, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Mobile and Ponce (Puerto Rico)
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	despite efforts to control illegal migration, destitute Haitians continue to cross into the Dominican Republic
Economic aid - recipient	$28 million annually, mainly from Australia (2001 est.)	$239.6 million (1995)
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 Dominican Republic's economy experienced dramatic growth over the last decade, even though the economy was hit hard by Hurricane Georges in 1998. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoy nearly 40% of national income. Growth probably will slow in 2003 with reduced tourism and expected low growth in the US economy, the source of 87% of export revenues.
Electricity - consumption	29.76 million kWh (2001)	8.543 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	32 million kWh (2001)	9.186 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 92% hydro: 7.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m	lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying	water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation; Hurricane Georges damage
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	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups	Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4%	white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73%
Exchange rates	Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - NA (2003), 6.7488 (2002), 5.278 (2001), 5.0889 (2000), 4.8381 (1999)	Dominican pesos per US dollar - 18.61 (2002), 16.95 (2001), 16.42 (2000), 16.03 (1999), 15.27 (1998)
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: President Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (since 16 August 2000); Vice President Milagros ORTIZ-BOSCH (since 16 August 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (since 16 August 2000); Vice President Milagros ORTIZ-BOSCH (since 16 August 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 16 May 2000 (next to be held NA May 2004) election results: Raphael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez elected president; percent of vote - Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (PRD) 49.87%, Danilo MEDINA (PLD) 24.95%, Joaquin BALAGUER (PRSC) 24.6%
Exports	NA (2001)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa	ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods
Exports - partners	China 25.2%, South Korea 17.6%, Japan 13.4%, Philippines 8.4%, Singapore 5.9%, Thailand 5.9% (2003)	US 85%, Canada 1.6%, UK 1.6% (2002)
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 centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms featuring a shield supported by an olive branch (left) and a palm branch (right) is at the center of the cross; above the shield a blue ribbon displays the motto, DIOS, PATRIA, LIBERTAD (God, Fatherland, Liberty), and below the shield, REPUBLICA DOMINICANA appears on a red ribbon
GDP	purchasing power parity - $800 million (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $53.78 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 42% industry: 11% services: 47% (2000 est.)	agriculture: 11% industry: 34% services: 55% (2001)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-10% (2001 est.)	4.1% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	8 00 S, 159 00 E	19 00 N, 70 40 W
Geography - note	strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea	shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic, western one-third is Haiti)
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: 12,600 km paved: 6,224 km unpaved: 6,376 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	lowest 10%: 2.1% highest 10%: 37.9% (1998)
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor the Dominican Republic for illicit financial transactions
Imports	NA (2001)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals	foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
Imports - partners	Australia 29.7%, Singapore 21.9%, Fiji 4.7%, New Zealand 4.7% (2003)	US 51.5%, Venezuela 9.6%, Mexico 5.1%, Spain 4% (2002)
Independence	7 July 1978 (from UK)	27 February 1844 (from Haiti)
Industrial production growth rate	NA	2% (2001 est.)
Industries	fish (tuna), mining, timber	tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco
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: 34.19 deaths/1,000 live births male: 36.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 31.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	9% (2002 est.)	5.3% (2002 est.)
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	ACP, Caricom (observer), ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	24 (2000)
Irrigated land	NA sq km	2,590 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Court of Appeal	Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are elected by a Council made up of members of the legislative and executive branches with the president presiding)
Labor force	26,840 (1999)	2.3 million - 2.6 million
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.)	services and government 58.7%, industry 24.3%, agriculture 17% (1998 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 360 km border countries: Haiti 360 km
Land use	arable land: 0.64% permanent crops: 2% other: 97.36% (2001)	arable land: 21.08% permanent crops: 9.92% other: 69% (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	Spanish
Legal system	English common law, which is widely disregarded	based on French civil codes
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	bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (30 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (149 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 24, PLD 3, PRSC 3; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 83, PLD 49, PRSC 17
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 72.38 years male: 69.9 years female: 74.98 years (2004 est.)	total population: 67.96 years male: 66.41 years female: 69.58 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.7% male: 84.6% female: 84.8% (2003 est.)
Location	Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea	Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti
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	contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 6 NM
Merchant marine	none	total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,587 GRT/1,165 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches	no regular military forces; Solomon Islands National Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP)	Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police
Military expenditures - dollar figure	NA	$180 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA	1.1% (FY98)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 2,319,419 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 1,453,705 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 89,073 (2003 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 7 July (1978)	Independence Day, 27 February (1844)
Nationality	noun: Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander	noun: Dominican(s) adjective: Dominican
Natural hazards	typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity	lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts
Natural resources	fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel	nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-3.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines	-	crude oil 96 km; petroleum products 8 km
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	Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Hatuey DE CAMPS]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Eduardo ESTRELLA]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	Collective of Popular Organizations or COP
Population	523,617 (July 2004 est.)	8,715,602 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	25%
Population growth rate	2.76% (2004 est.)	1.36% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina	Barahona, La Romana, Manzanillo, Puerto Plata, San Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo
Radio broadcast stations	AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 1,503 km standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge note:: 986 km also operated by sugar companies in 1.076-m, 0.889-m, and 0.762-m gauges (2002)
Religions	Anglican 45%, Roman Catholic 18%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 12%, Baptist 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4%	Roman Catholic 95%
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage	21 years of age; universal	18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age note: members of the armed forces and police cannot vote
Telephone system	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 677; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)	general assessment: NA domestic: relatively efficient system based on islandwide microwave radio relay network international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	6,600 (2002)	709,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1,000 (2002)	130,149 (1997)
Television broadcast stations	0 (1997)	25 (1997)
Terrain	mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls	rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed
Total fertility rate	4.19 children born/woman (2004 est.)	2.92 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA	14.5% (2002 est.)
Waterways	-	none

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